1,721,097 research outputs found
Language dynamics
No full textThirty authors of different disciplines, ranging from cognitive science and linguistics to mathematics and physics, address the topic of language origin and evolution. Language dynamics is investigated through an interdisciplinary effort, involving field and synthetic experiments, modelling and comparison of the theoretical predictions with empirical data. The result consists in new insights that significantly contribute to the ongoing debate on the origin and the evolution of language. In this Topical Issue the state of the art of this novel and fertile approach is reported by major experts of the field. © 2012 World Scientific Publishing Company
Measuring complexity with zippers
No full textPhysics concepts have often been borrowed and independently developed by other fields of science. In this perspective, a significant example is that of the entropy in information theory. The aim of this paper is to provide a short and pedagogical introduction to the use of data compression techniques for the estimate of the entropy and other relevant quantities in information theory and algorithmic information theory. We consider in particular the LZ77 algorithm as a case study and discuss how a zipper can be used for information extraction
Mathematical Modeling of Language Games
No full textIn this chapter we explore several language games of increasing complexity. We first consider the so-called Naming Game, possibly the simplest example of the complex processes leading progressively to the establishment of human-like languages. In this framework, a globally shared vocabulary emerges as a result of local ad ustnients ofindividual word-meanin,, association. The emergence of a common J t vocabulary only represents a first stage while it is interesting to investigate the emergence of higher forms of agreement, e.g., compositionality, categories, syntactic or grammatical Structures. As ail example in this direction we consider the so-called Category Game. Here one focuses on the process by which a population of individuals manages to categorize a single perceptually continuous channel. The problem of the emergence of a discrete shared set of categories out of a continuous perceptual channel is a notoriously difficult problem relevant for color categorization. vowels formation, etc. The central result here is the emergence of a hierarchical category structure made of two distinct levels: a basic layer, responsible for line discrimination of the environment, and a shared linguistic layer that groups together perceptions to guarantee communicative success
Exploring the roles of complex networks in linguistic categorization
Full text linkThis article adopts the category game model, which simulates the origins and evolution of linguistic categories in a group of artificial agents, to evaluate the effect of social structure on linguistic categorization. Based on the simulation results in a number of typical networks, we examine the isolating and collective effects of some structural features, including average degree, shortcuts, and level of centrality, on the categorization process. This study extends the previous simulations mainly on lexical evolution, and illustrates a general framework to systematically explore the effect of social structure on language evolution. © 2011 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.published_or_final_versio
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
A fast no-rejection algorithm for the Category Game
No full textThe Category Game is a multi-agent model that accounts for the emergence of shared categorization patterns in a population of interacting individuals. In the framework of the model, linguistic categories appear as long lived consensus states that are constantly reshaped and re-negotiated by the communicating individuals. It is therefore crucial to investigate the long time behavior to gain a clear understanding of the dynamics. However, it turns out that the evolution of the emerging category system is so slow, already for small populations, that such an analysis has remained so far impossible. Here, we introduce a fast no-rejection algorithm for the Category Game that disentangles the physical simulation time from the CPU time, thus opening the way for thorough analysis of the model. We verify that the new algorithm is equivalent to the old one in terms of the emerging phenomenology and we quantify the CPU performances of the two algorithms, pointing out the neat advantages offered by the no-rejection one. This technical advance has already opened the way to new investigations of the model, thus helping to shed light on the fundamental issue of categorization
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Emergence of Consensus in a Multi-Robot Network: From Abstract Models to Empirical Validation
No full textConsensus dynamics in decentralised multiagent systems are subject to intense studies, and several different models have been proposed and analyzed. Among these, the naming game stands out for its simplicity and applicability to a wide range of phenomena and applications, from semiotics to engineering. Despite the wide range of studies available, the implementation of theoretical models in real distributed systems is not always straightforward, as the physical platform imposes several constraints that may have a bearing on the consensus dynamics. In this letter, we investigate the effects of an implementation of the naming game for the kilobot robotic platform, in which we consider concurrent execution of games and physical interferences. Consensus dynamics are analyzed in the light of the continuously evolving communication network created by the robots, highlighting how the different regimes crucially depend on the robot density and on their ability to spread widely in the experimental arena. We find that physical interferences reduce the benefits resulting from robot mobility in terms of consensus time, but also result in lower cognitive load for individual agents
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