Title: An ontologic agent-based model of recreational polydrug use: SimUse

Authors: François Lamy; Terry Bossomaier; Pascal Perez

Addresses: CRiCS, CSU, Clersé, USTL, Bathurst/Lille, Australia ' CRiCS, CSU, Bathurst, Australia ' SMART Infrastructure Facility, UoW, Wollongong, Australia

Abstract: SimUse is an ontology-based social simulation model aiming at reproducing trajectories of recreational poly-drug users. To describe and capture the complexity of this phenomenon, we bring together empirical evidence from ethnography with theoretical constructs from sociology and neuroscience into an agent-based model. After reviewing the context of recreational poly-substance use and justifying our approach, this paper describes the multi-layered structure of the simulation and details some of the key aspects of SimUse. We illustrate the capacity of SimUse to reproduce neurophysiological reactions to substance use and to explore 'what-if?' scenarios related to drug use.

Keywords: drug use; agent-based modelling; ABM; social simulation; sociology of deviance; ontology; agent-based systems; recreational drugs; polydrug users; ethnography; sociology; neuroscience; neurophysiological reactions; substance abuse.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSPM.2015.071378

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling, 2015 Vol.10 No.3, pp.207 - 222

Received: 26 Feb 2014
Accepted: 25 Aug 2014
Published online: 22 Aug 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article