Flora: A Testbed for Evaluating the Potential Impact of Proposed Systems on Population Wellbeing

Authored by Edgar Sioson

Date Published: 2012-06

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: PHP

Model Documentation: Pseudocode Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: https://bitbucket.org/siosonel/flora/downloads

Abstract

We present Flora, a testbed that supports multidimensional fitness and resource modeling. Its main features are evaluation metrics related to population wellbeing, scalable representation of resource diversity, and composability of sociotechnical test scenarios through the TDI framework. We ran simulations to illustrate Flora's use in modeling the effects of using information infrastructures with different component systems. We analyzed the impact of hoarders in the absence of accounting systems, compared the performance of different decentralized currency systems in terms of accounting design features, and modeled the potential impact of reputation systems in deterring detrimental socioeconomic behavior. Among findings were the importance of having resource diversity as well as resources that each could target different fitness dimension needs; the inherent robustness of accounting systems that allow organizations to set budgets independently of centrally issued currency; and the greater effectiveness of buyer-screening compared to seller-screening as a means for influencing malevolent socioeconomic actors.

Tags

Agent-based model Decentralized Currency Modular Framework Reputation Systems Simulation Testbed