Grounded Simulation - Advances in Social Simulation - page 348

4.1 Software Ontologies: An Example of the Contribution to Theoretical

Coding

Ontologies are used in information systems and knowledge engineering for purposes
of communication, automated reasoning and representation of knowledge. For this
reason an ontology is defined as an explicit specification of a conceptualisation [14].
Following the formalisation of [15], this can be clarified using intentional logic.
Without going into technical details, a conceptualisation can be defined as an inten-
sional relational structure, consisting of a universe of discourse D, a set of possible
worlds W and a set of conceptual relations R on the domain space <D,W>. This
means that a number of objects D exist in the domain with certain relations R between
them. Broadly speaking, the set of possible worlds is introduced in order that the do-
main does not only consist of the relations that have actually been realised but in-
cludes also possible relations. This is a first step of abstraction in reaching a theory
from a description of the domain. However, the question of what are possible rela-
tions is not unequivocal. For this reason they have to be restricted to the intended
models of the domain, i.e. to those relations that should be considered as relevant for
the domain. Others need to be left out. The relevant relations need to be defined in a
formal language L with a vocabulary V. This restriction of the scope of application is
denoted as ontological commitment K. Again without outlining the technical details,
an ontology can be defined as follows:
Let C be a conceptualisation, L a language with vocabulary V and ontological
commitment K. An ontology O K for C with vocabulary V and ontological commit-
ment K is a logical theory consisting of a set of formulas of L, designed so that the set
of its models approximates as well as possible the set of intended models of L accord-
ing to K [15: 11].
Thus the formulation of an ontology enables first a formal precision of the descrip-
tion of domain of study. Second , intensional logic is used to achieve a theoretical
generalization of the description. In the following it will be shown at an example how
this contributes to the process of theoretical coding. It is drawn from the ongoing FP 7
research project GLODERS, which aims to investigate the global dynamics of extor-
tion racket systems (ERS). The project is collaborative work of different project part-
ners. The purpose of the GLODERS project is to develop an computational model for
understanding the dynamics of ERS. The model development is informed in a
first instance by empirical evidence based on detailed analysis of the Sicilian Cosa
Nostra [16].
The history of the Sicilian Mafia goes back to the mid-19 th century. The Mafia of-
fered private protection and established a monopoly of violence in case of a weak
state authority and a lack of civil society [17]. This triggered a view on the Mafia as a
state-like organization [18]. However, in the 1970s and 1980s the Mafia radically
enlarged its business segment with drug trafficking and other illegal economic activi-
ties. Economic enrichment has become a dominant motive [19- 22]. This went along
with two Mafia wars in the 1960s and from the mid-1970s to 1980s [20]. This sug-
gests to integrate the phenomenon in the discussion of transnational crime taking
advantage of globalized markets [23]. However, evidence remains mixed. While fac-
tually the Mafia migrated to other territories, often this was not voluntarily and
changed the structure and the course of action [24]. Extortion remains a local