Skip to main content
Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

September 30, 2015

Speaker: Isaac Tamblyn, Faculty of Science, Ontario Tech University
Title: An agent based simulation of an online social network
Abstract: #k@ (http://hashkat.org) is a dynamical network simulation tool designed to model the growth of and information propagation within an online social network. It is an agent-based, kinetic Monte Carlo engine capable of simulating online networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

#k@ incorporates all elements of online social networks including multiple user profiles (e.g. standard users, organizations, celebrities, and bots), user messaging, trending topics, and advertising. Agents within the network make decisions (e.g. follow, unfollow, broadcast, and rebroadcast) based on a variety of user defined factors including geography, political affiliation, musical interests, and humour. #k@ allows for simulation of a realistic online social network, enabling users to test hypotheses for growth mechanisms and scenarios for information propagation. As it solves the forward problem, #k@ can be used with Big Data analytics tools to test data collection protocols and ensure inverse model validity.