Nigel Gilbert
Encyclopedia
Nigel Gilbert is a British
sociologist
and a pioneer in the use of agent-based models in the social sciences
. He is the founder and director of the Centre for Research in Social Simulation (University of Surrey
), author of several books on computational social sciences
, social simulation
and social research
and editor of the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation
(JASSS), the leading journal in the field.
engineering graduate (Emmanuel College
), he turned to the sociology of scientific knowledge
for his PhD under the direction of Michael Mulkay
. He was a lecturer at the University of York
(1974–76) and then joined the University of Surrey
where he became a professor in the Department of Sociology in 1991.
At the University of Surrey he founded the Social and Computer Sciences research group in 1984 with a grant from the Alvey Programme. The group focused on applying social science to the design of intelligent knowledge-based systems. Later he established the Centre for Research in Social Simulation (1997), and the Digital World Research Centre (1998), he served as Pro-Vice Chancellor (1998–2005) and he is the current Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies.
methods in the sociology of scientific knowledge
. By applying discourse analysis to extensive qualitative data on a scientific dispute in the field of chemistry, Gilbert and Mulkay account for the social processes that underpin knowledge production, especially when consensus has not yet been established within the scientific community.
, he was a pioneer in the use for academic analysis of computer files of survey data collected by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys
, a data source
that has now become commonplace in sociology.
benefits are entitled to (e.g. income support
, tax credits, disability living allowance
) are complicated and often very difficult for claimants to apprehend unaided. With the growing availability of personal computers in the 1980s, he realised that an interactive program, designed for claimants themselves to use, could be helpful to disadvantaged potential claimants
. He developed a prototype, which was taken up by both the then Department of Health and Social Security
and Citizens Advice Bureau
x, and which was the forerunner of the systems nowadays routinely used in advice centres. This work also contributed to understanding the interface requirements for publicly accessible computer systems, using graphical interfaces and, later, speech dialogue interfaces
.
, a discipline that merges social science research with simulation techniques
with the goal of modelling complex policy issues and fundamental aspects of human societies. His first work in this area was a project on modeling the emergence of organized society in prehistoric France, with Jim Doran. While this was only moderately successful, it led him to organize in 1992 the first of an influential series of workshops on ‘Simulating Societies’
. Later he established:
In 1997, CRESS received funding from the FAIR programme of the European Commission
for a project called IMAGES: Improving agri-environmental policies–a simulation approach to the role of the cognitive properties of farmers and institutions (1997–2000). This was the first of several EU
funded projects using social simulation, such as SEIN, FIRMA, SIMWEB, EMIL, NEMO, NEWTIES and PATRES.
In 1999, Nigel Gilbert and Klaus Troitzsch published Simulation for the social scientist, the first "how to" text book on social simulation. In 2006, he was an invited speaker at the First World Congress on Social Simulation in Kyoto
and in 2009, he chaired the sixth annual conference of the European Social Simulation Association at the University of Surrey.
He and Stuart Peters created a journal management system, epress, originally to make running Sociological Research Online and JASSS easier, but now available commercially and used by about 40 journals.
Beside his research activity, he has served on a number of government and national committees: as the Deputy Chairman of the Manufacturing, Production and Business Processes Foresight Panel (1994-9), Deputy Chairman of the Economic and Social Research Council
’s Research Priorities Board (1997–2000) and on the Advisory Group of the Foresight Intelligent Infrastructures Project, as well as on many research council boards, both in the UK and abroad. As Chairman of the Royal Academy of Engineering
's Group on Privacy and Surveillance, he published Dilemmas of Privacy and Surveillance: Challenges of Technological Change (2007). He was a member of the Sociology sub-panel for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise
(RAE) and previously served on the 2001 panel.
degree by the University of Cambridge. He is also a Fellow of the British Computer Society and of the Royal Society of Arts and an Academician of the Academy of the Social Sciences (for which he served as a Council Member). From 2004 to 2006, he was President of the European Social Simulation Association (ESSA).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and a pioneer in the use of agent-based models in the social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
. He is the founder and director of the Centre for Research in Social Simulation (University of Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
), author of several books on computational social sciences
Computational sociology
Computational sociology is a branch of sociology that uses computationally intensive methods to analyze and model social phenomena. Using computer simulations, artificial intelligence, complex statistical methods, and new analytic approaches like social network analysis, computational sociology...
, social simulation
Social simulation
Social simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in the social sciences. The issues explored include problems in sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, archaeology and linguistics ....
and social research
Social research
Social research refers to research conducted by social scientists. Social research methods may be divided into two broad categories:* Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable evidence, and often rely on statistical analysis of many cases to create valid and reliable...
and editor of the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation
The Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal created and edited by Nigel Gilbert . The journal publishes articles in computational sociology, social simulation, complexity science, and artificial societies. Its approach is...
(JASSS), the leading journal in the field.
Career
A CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
engineering graduate (Emmanuel College
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
), he turned to the sociology of scientific knowledge
Sociology of scientific knowledge
The sociology of scientific knowledge ' is the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing "with the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes of scientific activity."...
for his PhD under the direction of Michael Mulkay
Mike Mulkay
Michael Joseph Mulkay is a retired British sociologist of science. He worked as a reader and researcher at the University of Cambridge until 1966, he was then lecturer in sociology at Simon Fraser University 1966 to 1969, at Aberdeen University from 1969 to 1973, and then as Professor of Sociology...
. He was a lecturer at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
(1974–76) and then joined the University of Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
where he became a professor in the Department of Sociology in 1991.
At the University of Surrey he founded the Social and Computer Sciences research group in 1984 with a grant from the Alvey Programme. The group focused on applying social science to the design of intelligent knowledge-based systems. Later he established the Centre for Research in Social Simulation (1997), and the Digital World Research Centre (1998), he served as Pro-Vice Chancellor (1998–2005) and he is the current Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies.
Sociology of scientific knowledge
Gilbert and Mulkay (1984) is a key contribution on the use of discourse analysisDiscourse analysis
Discourse analysis , or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken, signed language use or any significant semiotic event....
methods in the sociology of scientific knowledge
Sociology of scientific knowledge
The sociology of scientific knowledge ' is the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing "with the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes of scientific activity."...
. By applying discourse analysis to extensive qualitative data on a scientific dispute in the field of chemistry, Gilbert and Mulkay account for the social processes that underpin knowledge production, especially when consensus has not yet been established within the scientific community.
Secondary analysis of large government datasets
With Sara ArberSara Arber
Sara Arber is a British sociologist and Professor at University of Surrey. Professor Arber has previously held the position of President of British Sociological Association and Vice President of the European Sociological Association...
, he was a pioneer in the use for academic analysis of computer files of survey data collected by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys
Office of Population Censuses and Surveys
The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys , was created in May 1970 through the merger of the General Register Office and the Government Social Survey Department....
, a data source
Secondary data
Secondary data is data collected by someone other than the user. Common sources of secondary data for social science include censuses, surveys, organizational records and data collected through qualitative methodologies or qualitative research...
that has now become commonplace in sociology.
Access to social security information
The regulations determining what claimants of UK welfareWelfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
benefits are entitled to (e.g. income support
Income Support
Income support is an income-related means-tested benefit in the United Kingdom for people who are on a low income. Claimants of Income Support may be entitled to certain other benefits, for example, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and help with health costs...
, tax credits, disability living allowance
Disability Living Allowance
Disability living allowance is a non-means-tested, non-contributory benefit which can be claimed by a UK resident aged under 65 years who has care and/or mobility needs as a result of a mental or physical disability...
) are complicated and often very difficult for claimants to apprehend unaided. With the growing availability of personal computers in the 1980s, he realised that an interactive program, designed for claimants themselves to use, could be helpful to disadvantaged potential claimants
. He developed a prototype, which was taken up by both the then Department of Health and Social Security
Department of Health and Social Security
The Department of Health and Social Security was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Social Services.-History:...
and Citizens Advice Bureau
Citizens Advice Bureau
A Citizens Advice Bureau is one of a network of independent charities throughout the UK that give free, confidential information and advice to help people with their money, legal, consumer and other problems....
x, and which was the forerunner of the systems nowadays routinely used in advice centres. This work also contributed to understanding the interface requirements for publicly accessible computer systems, using graphical interfaces and, later, speech dialogue interfaces
.
Social simulation
Nigel Gilbert is one of the founders of modern computational sociologyComputational sociology
Computational sociology is a branch of sociology that uses computationally intensive methods to analyze and model social phenomena. Using computer simulations, artificial intelligence, complex statistical methods, and new analytic approaches like social network analysis, computational sociology...
, a discipline that merges social science research with simulation techniques
Social simulation
Social simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in the social sciences. The issues explored include problems in sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, archaeology and linguistics ....
with the goal of modelling complex policy issues and fundamental aspects of human societies. His first work in this area was a project on modeling the emergence of organized society in prehistoric France, with Jim Doran. While this was only moderately successful, it led him to organize in 1992 the first of an influential series of workshops on ‘Simulating Societies’
. Later he established:
- the SIMSOC mailing list. By January 1998, it had 367 members; as of December 2009 the list has 889 subscribers.
- the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social SimulationJournal of Artificial Societies and Social SimulationThe Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal created and edited by Nigel Gilbert . The journal publishes articles in computational sociology, social simulation, complexity science, and artificial societies. Its approach is...
(JASSS) was launched in 1998 to provide a publication outlet for simulation-based research. Professor Gilbert was then, and still is, the editor. JASSS is an online no-fee Open Access journal.
In 1997, CRESS received funding from the FAIR programme of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
for a project called IMAGES: Improving agri-environmental policies–a simulation approach to the role of the cognitive properties of farmers and institutions (1997–2000). This was the first of several EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
funded projects using social simulation, such as SEIN, FIRMA, SIMWEB, EMIL, NEMO, NEWTIES and PATRES.
In 1999, Nigel Gilbert and Klaus Troitzsch published Simulation for the social scientist, the first "how to" text book on social simulation. In 2006, he was an invited speaker at the First World Congress on Social Simulation in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
and in 2009, he chaired the sixth annual conference of the European Social Simulation Association at the University of Surrey.
Other research and advisory activity
In 1993, Gilbert founded the journal Sociological Research Online for which he currently serves as Chairman of the Management Board. He is also editor of the Social Research Update, a quarterly publication of the University of Surrey.He and Stuart Peters created a journal management system, epress, originally to make running Sociological Research Online and JASSS easier, but now available commercially and used by about 40 journals.
Beside his research activity, he has served on a number of government and national committees: as the Deputy Chairman of the Manufacturing, Production and Business Processes Foresight Panel (1994-9), Deputy Chairman of the Economic and Social Research Council
Economic and Social Research Council
The Economic and Social Research Council is one of the seven Research Councils in the United Kingdom. It receives most of its funding from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and provides funding and support for research and training work in social and economic issues, such as...
’s Research Priorities Board (1997–2000) and on the Advisory Group of the Foresight Intelligent Infrastructures Project, as well as on many research council boards, both in the UK and abroad. As Chairman of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
's Group on Privacy and Surveillance, he published Dilemmas of Privacy and Surveillance: Challenges of Technological Change (2007). He was a member of the Sociology sub-panel for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise
Research Assessment Exercise
The Research Assessment Exercise is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British higher education institutions...
(RAE) and previously served on the 2001 panel.
Awards and scientific recognitions
In 1999, he was appointed Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of his work as "a pioneer of the application of computer modelling to social science", becoming the first practicing social scientist to become a Fellow. He was awarded a Doctor of ScienceDoctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
degree by the University of Cambridge. He is also a Fellow of the British Computer Society and of the Royal Society of Arts and an Academician of the Academy of the Social Sciences (for which he served as a Council Member). From 2004 to 2006, he was President of the European Social Simulation Association (ESSA).
See also
- Agent-based model
- Artificial societyArtificial societyArtificial Society is the specific agent based computational model for computer simulation in social analysis. It is mostly connected to the theme in complex system, emergence, Monte Carlo Method, computational sociology, multi-agent system, and evolutionary programming. The concept itself is...
- Computational SociologyComputational sociologyComputational sociology is a branch of sociology that uses computationally intensive methods to analyze and model social phenomena. Using computer simulations, artificial intelligence, complex statistical methods, and new analytic approaches like social network analysis, computational sociology...
- Social simulationSocial simulationSocial simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in the social sciences. The issues explored include problems in sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, archaeology and linguistics ....
- Sociology and complexity scienceSociology and complexity scienceSociology and complexity science is the term used to describe a growing network of research taking place at the intersection of sociology and complexity science....