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Anticipation Induces Polarized Collective Motion in Attraction Based Models
Get PDFMoving animal groups are prime examples of natural complex systems. In most models of such systems each individual updates its heading based on the current positions and headings of its neighbors. However, recently, a number of models where the heading update instead is based on the future anticipated positions/headings of the neighbors have been published. Collectively these studies have established that including anticipation may have drastically different effects in different models. In particular, anticipation inhibits polarization in alignment-based models and in one alignment-free model, but promotes polarization in another alignment-free model. Indicating that our understanding of how anticipation affects the behavior of alignment-free models is incomplete. Given that attraction is a component of many alignment-free models we include anticipation in an attraction only model here to investigate. We establish that anticipation induces polarized collective motion and inhibits swarming and milling in combination with attraction alone. We also show that anticipation orients milling groups when attraction is sufficiently strong, but not otherwise. Finally, we derive an explicit heading update formula for this model with anticipation that allows for a simple heuristic explanation of its polarization inducing capacity. Due to the biological plausibility of both attraction and anticipation we believe that utilizing these components to explain collective motion in animal groups may be advantageous in some cases
A comparison of Indonesia and Malaysia\u27s COVID-19 public health policy response
Get PDFIn an effort to understand why two Southeast Asian countries with similar freedom scores, religious demographics, and cultures took a different approach to the novel coronavirus, this paper identifies and analyzes Indonesia and Malaysia’s public health policies from March to May of 2020. There was a stark difference between the two government’s attitudes toward a nation-wide lockdown. Whereas Indonesia refused to implement national stay-at-home measures despite legislators and citizens’ call to do so, its counterpart adopted comprehensive, nationally mandated lockdown policies. This paper argues that Indonesia’s political elites’ denial of the pandemic threat and incumbents’ economic and religious anxieties as well as the nation’s federal institutional design dictated its lackluster policy response. Comparatively, after the resolution of Malaysia’s political turmoil, the new incumbent was enabled by the country’s federal institutional design to create effective policies that prioritized health and safety over the short-term political concerns
Approximate Bayesian Computation of radiocarbon and paleoenvironmental record shows population resilience on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Get PDFExamining how past human populations responded to environmental and climatic changes is a central focus of the historical sciences. The use of summed probability distributions (SPD) of radiocarbon dates as a proxy for estimating relative population sizes provides a widely applicable method in this research area. Paleodemographic reconstructions and modeling with SPDs, however, are stymied by a lack of accepted methods for model fitting, tools for assessing the demographic impact of environmental or climatic variables, and a means for formal multi-model comparison. These deficiencies severely limit our ability to reliably resolve crucial questions of past human-environment interactions. We propose a solution using Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) to fit complex demographic models to observed SPDs. Using a case study from Rapa Nui (Easter Island), a location that has long been the focus of debate regarding the impact of environmental and climatic changes on its human population, we find that past populations were resilient to environmental and climatic challenges. Our findings support a growing body of evidence showing stable and sustainable communities on the island. The ABC framework offers a novel approach for exploring regions and time periods where questions of climate-induced demographic and cultural change remain unresolved
The relationship between small businesses and gentrification
Get PDFGentrification is a process of displacement of marginalized or lower-class communities to make room for more affluent communities. While gentrification affects many areas of life, such as price of rent and the job market, this research focuses on small business and the effects gentrification has on them. Small businesses on Main Street and the surrounding downtown in Binghamton, NY will be defined and their role in the community will be explored. This research seeks to understand the latest developments in those areas. In the last six years the area has seen a large boom in new small businesses, giving the area a “fresh look”. The area has been made more walkable, removing businesses or landmarks that could be considered “eye sores” or unsavory such as sex stores or dive bars. To address the relationship between small businesses and gentrification, interviews and surveys will be conducted. The interviews will include business owners, consumers and different members of different religious and racial communities, making sure to interview people from lower income communities assumed to be most affected. Surveys will be passed out to participating businesses to distribute to customers. Street surveys will also be conducted both on Main Street and downtown. Street survey questions will be broader pertaining to the area while the store surveys will be geared more towards the specific store and the relationship the customer has with the store. This research will provide insight on the relationship between small businesses and gentrification
Internal and external changes within food organizations due to the pandemic
Get PDFOver the decade preceding the pandemic, the number of people in the U.S. relying on subsidiary benefits such as SNAP, free meals from schools, and food pantries have been increasing. This gradually increasing need over time has been accelerating and was exacerbated by the pandemic. With the pandemic causing increased unemployment and forcing school closures, the number of people reliant on food resources outside of those provided by the government have increased. SNAP recipients reliant on sources outside of food stamps, rose from 27% to 60% between 2018 and October of 2020. Between March 9 and March 23 of 2020, the first weeks where schools across the nation closed, an estimated 169.6 million meals were missed. This sudden increase, compared to the gradual increase of the past few years has placed immense pressure on non-governmental organizations. Preliminary results show that volunteer numbers and the amount of donations began to decrease starting in fall of 2020. Coupled with the increased needs of community members these changes could make more organizations susceptible to closure, if they are unable to operate efficiently. To study the changes these institutions are undergoing to meet increased needs, and to uncover the implications of these changes, I will survey the Lee Barta Community Center, Catholic Charities Food Pantry, CHOW and the Food Bank of the Southern Tier, all organizations across Broome County. I will measure changes in volunteers, transportation, storage, distribution and funding through survey collection. I will also interview members of these organizations and synthesize data from previous research done before and after March of 2020. Distribution protocols have also changed with the creation of new routes to reach people in quarantine. What I expect to see is an overall increase in dependence on food organizations, and a decreased capacity to meet these needs
Torus Knot (3,1) Australian Red Coolibah Burl Cap
No full textThe burl cap was rather large and heavy, so I am cutting it into smaller pieces for carving separate sculptures. I made one into a (3,1) torus knot, and another into a (3,5) torus knot. Both are about 4.25 in diameter and 1.25 thick. A burl has very interesting grain, as well as intrusions, which show in these as dark cracks and black sections. Image 2 of 3https://orb.binghamton.edu/mathematical_sculptures/1600/thumbnail.jp
Torus Knot (3, 5) Australian Red Coolibah Burl Cap
No full textThe burl cap was rather large and heavy, so I am cutting it into smaller pieces for carving separate sculptures. I made one into a (3,1) torus knot, and another into a (3,5) torus knot. Both are about 4.25 in diameter and 1.25 thick. A burl has very interesting grain, as well as intrusions, which show in these as dark cracks and black sections. Image 1 of 3https://orb.binghamton.edu/mathematical_sculptures/1602/thumbnail.jp
Torus Knot (3, 5) Australian Red Coolibah Burl Cap
No full textThe burl cap was rather large and heavy, so I am cutting it into smaller pieces for carving separate sculptures. I made one into a (3,1) torus knot, and another into a (3,5) torus knot. Both are about 4.25 in diameter and 1.25 thick. A burl has very interesting grain, as well as intrusions, which show in these as dark cracks and black sections Image 3 of 3https://orb.binghamton.edu/mathematical_sculptures/1604/thumbnail.jp
