Mark Rouleau's Profile

Biography

I have extensive interdisciplinary experience using Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) and other computer programming techniques to investigate a wide variety of social science phenomenon. At the University of Delaware, in collaboration with my thesis advisor, I developed an agent-based simulation to investigate norm competition in international climate-change policy. In collaboration with political scientists from George Mason University and Harvard University, I was the lead programmer for the development of an automated voter-redistricting program, using the optimization technique of simulated annealing to generate alternative policy scenarios for the Joyce Foundation. In collaboration with George Mason University's Center for Social Complexity, Yale University's Department of Archaeology, and the US Department of State, I was the lead programmer for multiple ABM simulations investigating the socio-environmental dynamics of civil unrest. Finally, I conducted simulation research as an assistant economist with the US Department of Agriculture, developing an ABM simulation to assess the viability of Water Quality Trading markets. The framework of this Water Quality Trading model is now serving as the foundation to my current research with Dr. Mayer investigating the land-use decision-making processes of private forest owners in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Mark's research projects

Changes in Attitude: Predicting Large-Scale Social Shifts

Understanding social norms—the set of unspoken rules dictating people's behaviors—allows scientists to predict sociological outcomes. Current computational behavior models fail to address changes in norm adherence over time. With new modeling tools, sociologists can better predict important social phenomena, such as political attitudes or consumer choices.