Hovmand, Peter with Ron Pitner, "Combining System Dynamics, Social Networks, and Geographic Information Systems", 2005 July 17-2005 July 21
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System dynamics has always held the potential to synthesize and advance theories in social science. Increasingly, social scientists and policy makers are recognizing the importance of complexity and turning to methods like system dynamics, geographic information systems, social network analysis, and agent based modeling. All of these approaches draw on some underlying modeling mathematical framework. This research reports on a method for integrating system dynamics with social network analysis and geographic information systems. The method is then applied to the specific problem of improving city residents perceptions of crime and safety in a model based on existing social theory.