A Typology for Representing Human Actors in MultiSector Dynamics Models
Abstract
The role of individual and collective human agency is increasingly recognized as a prominent and arguably paramount determinant in shaping the behavior, trajectory, and vulnerability of multisector systems. This human influence operates at multiple scales: from short-term (hourly to daily) to long-term (annually to decennially) timescales, and from the local to the global, pushing systems towards either desirable or undesirable outcomes. We present a new typology for classifying how human actors are represented in the broad suite of coupled human-natural system (CHNS) models that are applied in MultiSector Dynamics (MSD) research. The typology conceptualizes a sector as a system-of-systems that includes a diverse group of human actors, defined across individual to collective social levels, involved in governing, provisioning, and utilizing of a product, good, or service towards some human end, or in protecting a system against threats. In attempting to trace the salient features of modeled representations of human systems, we break the typology into three key components, each corresponding to a basic question: 1) Who are the modeled actors in MSD systems? 2) What are their modeled actions? 3) How and for what purpose are these actors and actions operationalized in a computational model? The typology is intended to facilitate systematic discussion around the representation of human actors and action in MSD models, identifying opportunities for continued CHNS model development and application to MSD topics of interest.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021AGUFMGC15E0731Y