A Computational Agent Model for Temporal Dynamic Analysis in Virtual Community Cohesion

Community cohesion is a broad concept that commonly connotes better relationships among people of different backgrounds. It has resulted in long-term interactions amongst the participating community members, commonly in the physical community. The relationships among agents were represented as a conceptual model for virtual community cohesion, and those relationships were then modelled using a set of formal specifications. Later, the simulator was used to explore exciting patterns and traces that explain the agent model's behaviour related to virtual community cohesion as asserted in related literature. These traces show the necessary what-if conditions as the resulting input-output collaboration patterns in the entire virtual community cohesion emerge. Moreover, this computational agent model has been evaluated using mathematical analysis (whereby theoretical and value substitution analyses are performed) and automated logical verification (internal validation based on previous empirical studies). The simulation traces and patterns provide indications that the internal validation has been successful.