Professor David Earnest

David C. Earnest is an associate professor of political science and international studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia USA. He completed his Ph.D. in political science at The George Washington University in 2004. He also holds an M.A. in security policy studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, and a B.A. in political science from Stanford University. He teaches international political economy and political methodology. His substantive research focuses on the political incorporation of migrants in democratic societies, while his methodology interests are in the application of agent-based models to problems of international politics.

Dr. Earnest has published in leading journals, including World Politics and the International Studies Quarterly. He is author of Old Nations, New Voters: Nationalism, Transnationalism and Democracy in the Era of Global Migration (2008, State University of New York Press).

Previously he held an appointment as a Fellow in Political-Military Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, where he was a specialist in military technology, the defense industrial base, and transatlantic security relations.

David teaches two specialist postgraduate courses in agent-based modeling at Old Dominion that provide the foundation for the design of this intensive course:

• IS 795/895: Agent-Based Modeling & Simulation for International Studies
  This course introduces masters and doctoral students to complex systems theory and to the application of agent-based modeling technologies to a variety of social systems. The course seeks to train graduate students to use basic computer simulations as a tool of inference for their research in international studies. Topics include the principles of chaos and complex systems and their relevance to contemporary issues in world politics; the epistemological foundations of simulation; object-oriented programming for the beginner; basic genetic algorithms, and the inferential challenges of nonlinear systems. Consistent with the University’s commitment to modeling and simulation, the course emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of agent-based modeling and simulation and welcomes students from a variety of disciplines, including physics, chemistry, geography, biology, engineering, sociology, psychology, economics and international studies.
• IS 697: Independent Research
  This directed-reading course offers advanced graduate students the opportunity to prepare for their comprehensive exams in the IPE and Modeling & Simulation fields. The course will emphasize broadening the student’s familiarity with important works in M&S as well as developing practical skills to succeed in the comprehensive exam. Toward this end, much of the course work consists of exercises in agent-based modeling. By the end of the semester, students will have enhanced his or her skills in agent-based modeling and social network analysis through two practical analytical exercises.

These courses have been combined, redesigned and adapted for intensive model delivery focusing on business and marketing systems as well as other types of social systems.

David will be assisted by other faculty in delivering the course. These include:

• Professor Ian Wilkinson, Honorary Professor of Marketing,
  University of Sydney Business School
• Professor Bob Marks, Emeritus Professor,
  School of Economics, University of New South Wales
• Professor Louise Young, Professor of Marketing,
  University of Western Sydney
• Professor Terry Bossomaier, Director Centre for Research in Complex Systems,
  Charles Sturt University, Bathurst
• Fabian Held, Doctoral Student, Discipline of Marketing,
  University of Sydney Business School