1,721,078 research outputs found
Effects of the topology of social networks on information transmission
No full textSocial behaviours cannot be fully understood without considering the network structures that underlie them. Developments in network theory provide us with relevant modelling tools. The topology of social networks may be due to selection for information transmission. To investigate this, we generated network topologies with varying proportions of random connections and degrees of preferential attachment. We simulated two social tasks on these networks: a spreading innovation model and a simple market. Results indicated that non-zero levels of random connections and low levels of preferential attachment led to more efficient information transmission. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed
Conditions for the evolution of mimicry
No full textMimicry is a poorly understood phenomenon; we present a simulation of the evolution of both Batesian (parasitic) and Muellerian (mutualistic) mimicry. In the model, multiple species are preyed upon by a single abstract predator; the appearance of each prey species can evolve but their palatability is fixed. Batesian mimicry evolves regardless of the initial phenotypic distance between the two species, whereas Muellerian mimicry requires an initial resemblance, except when a third (Batesian) species is present
Social learning mechanisms compared in a simple environment
No full textSocial learning can be adaptive, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Many researchers have focused on imitation but this may have led to simpler mechanisms being underestimated. We demonstrate in simulation that imitative learning is not always the best strategy for a group-living animal, and that the effectiveness of any such strategy will depend on details of the environment and the animal's lifestyle. We show that observations of behavioural convergence or "traditions" might suggest effective social learning, but are meaningless considered alone
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
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
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