A computational model of public support for insurgency and terrorism a prototype for more-general social-science modeling

This report builds on earlier RAND research (e.g., Understanding and Influencing Public Support for Insurgency and Terrorism, 2012) that reviewed and integrated social science relevant to terrorism and insurgency. That research used qualitative conceptual causal models called "factor trees"...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Davis, Paul K.
Other Authors: O'Mahony, Angela
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Santa Monica, CA RAND 2013, 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: JSTOR Open Access Books - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
LEADER 03266nam a2200361 u 4500
001 EB001842975
003 EBX01000000000000001006964
005 00000000000000.0
007 tu|||||||||||||||||||||
008 180730 r ||| eng
020 |z 0833079190 
020 |a 0833079190 
020 |z 9780833079190 
020 |a 9780833079190 
050 4 |a HV6431 
100 1 |a Davis, Paul K. 
245 0 0 |a A computational model of public support for insurgency and terrorism  |h Elektronische Ressource  |b a prototype for more-general social-science modeling  |c Paul K. Davis and Angela O'Mahony 
260 |a Santa Monica, CA  |b RAND  |c 2013, 2013 
300 |a xxi, 88 pages  |b color illustrations 
505 0 |a Includes bibliographical references (pages 85-88) 
505 0 |a Introduction -- Specifying the model -- Implementation in a high-level language -- Looking ahead to exploratory analysis under uncertainty -- Using the model for knowledge elicitation, discussion, and diagnosis -- Appendix A: Primer on factor trees (a reprint) -- Appendix B: Verification and validation -- Appendix C: Eliciting factor values -- Appendix D: Mathematics for "and" and "or" relationships 
653 |a POLITICAL SCIENCE / Security (National & International) 
653 |a Terrorism / Prevention 
700 1 |a O'Mahony, Angela 
041 0 7 |a eng  |2 ISO 639-2 
989 |b ZDB-39-JOA  |a JSTOR Open Access Books 
500 |a "RAND National Defense Research Institute.". - "This research was conducted within the Acquisition and Technology Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute"--Preface 
024 8 |a RAND/TR-1220-OSD 
776 |z 9780833083203 
776 |z 0833083201 
856 4 0 |u https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt5hhw44  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
082 0 |a 303.6/2501 
520 |a This report builds on earlier RAND research (e.g., Understanding and Influencing Public Support for Insurgency and Terrorism, 2012) that reviewed and integrated social science relevant to terrorism and insurgency. That research used qualitative conceptual causal models called "factor trees" to identify the factors that contribute to various aspects of terrorism or insurgency at a slice in time and how the factors relate to each other qualitatively. This report goes beyond the conceptual and qualitative by specifying a prototype uncertainty-sensitive computational model for one of the factor trees from the earlier research, one that describes public support for terrorism and insurgency. The authors first detail their approach to designing such a model, emphasizing the challenges they encountered in assigning mathematical meaning to the factor tree's numerous factors and subfactors, identifying suitable "building block" combining algorithms, and the uncertainty in their values and the relationships among them. They then describe how they implemented the model in a high-level visual-programming environment, show how the model can be used for exploratory analysis under uncertainty, and discuss their initial experience with it. Methodologically, the work illustrates a new approach to causal, uncertainty-and-context-sensitive, social-science modeling. It also illustrates how such models can be reviewable, reusable, and potentially composable