1,942 research outputs found
Turchin P. Cycling in the Complexity of Early Societies
No full textAbstract: Warfare is commonly viewed as a driving force of the process of aggregation of initially independent villages into larger and more complex political units that started several thousand years ago and quickly lead to the appearance of chiefdoms, states, and empires. Here we build on extensions and generalizations of Cycling in the Complexity of Early Societies Sergey Gavrilets University of Tennessee David G. Anderson University of Tennessee Peter Turchin University of Connecticut Warfare is commonly viewed as a driving force of the process of aggregation of initially independent villages into larger and more complex political units that started several thousand years ago and quickly lead to the appearance of chiefdoms, states, and empires. Here we build on extensions and generalizations o
Search environments, representation, and encoding
No full textLael J. Schooler, Curt Burgess, Robert L. Goldstone, Wai-Tat Fu, Sergey Gavrilets, David Lazer, James A.R. Marshall, Frank Neumann, and Jan M. Wienerhttp://trove.nla.gov.au/version/17966155
//FS2/CUP/3-PAGINATION/SPDY/2-PROOFS/3B2/9780521883184C07.3D 102 [102–126] 31.7.2008 2:49PM CHAPTER SEVEN
No full textDynamic patterns of adaptive radiation: evolution of mating preferences sergey gavrilets and aaron vos
Rapid transition towards the Division of Labor via evolution of developmental plasticity.
No full textA crucial step in several major evolutionary transitions is the division of labor between components of the emerging higher-level evolutionary unit. Examples include the separation of germ and soma in simple multicellular organisms, appearance of multiple cell types and organs in more complex organisms, and emergence of casts in eusocial insects. How the division of labor was achieved in the face of selfishness of lower-level units is controversial. I present a simple mathematical model describing the evolutionary emergence of the division of labor via developmental plasticity starting with a colony of undifferentiated cells and ending with completely differentiated multicellular organisms. I explore how the plausibility and the dynamics of the division of labor depend on its fitness advantage, mutation rate, costs of developmental plasticity, and the colony size. The model shows that the transition to differentiated multicellularity, which has happened many times in the history of life, can be achieved relatively easily. My approach is expandable in a number of directions including the emergence of multiple cell types, complex organs, or casts of eusocial insects
Modeling Strategic Decisions in the Formation of the Early Neo-Assyrian Empire
No full textUnderstanding patterns of conflict and pathways in which political history became established is critical to understanding how large states and empires ultimately develop and come to rule given regions and influence subsequent events. We employ a spatiotemporal Cox regression model to investigate possible causes as to why regions were attacked by the Neo-Assyrian (912-608 BCE) state. The model helps to explain how strategic benefits and costs lead to likely pathways of conflict and imperialism based on elite strategic decision-making. We apply this model to the early 9th century BCE, a time when historical texts allow us to trace yearly campaigns in specific regions, to understand how the Neo-Assyrian state began to re-emerge as a major political player, eventually going on to dominate much of the Near East and starting a process of imperialism that shaped the wider region for many centuries even after the fall of this state. The model demonstrates why specific locations become regions of conflict in given campaigns, emphasizing a degree of consistency with which choices were made by invading forces with respect to a number of factors. We find that elevation and population density deter Assyrian invasions. Moreover, costs were found to be more of a clear motivator for Assyrian invasions, with distance constraints being a significant driver in determining where to campaign. These outputs suggest that Assyria was mainly interested in attacking its weakest, based on population and/or organization, and nearest rivals as it began to expand. Results not only help to address the emergence of this empire, but enable a generalized understanding of how benefits and costs to conflict can lead to imperialism and pathways to political outcomes that can have major social relevance
SERGEY YURIEVICH PREOBRAZHENSKY, SCHOLAR AND AUTHOR OF VERSES
No full textThe article is written in memoria of Sergey Yurievich Preobrahzhensky, linguist and poet. It tackles upon the scientific interests of the scholar, deals with his principal concepts in prosody and other spheres of poetics. Besides, It also contains a brief characteristics and examples of his own poetic work
Semantische en syntactische overdracht van fitness landschapsmodellen naar de analyse van collectieve en publieke besluitvormingsprocessen
No full textDissertation Erasmus University Rotterda
The concepts of irreversibility and reversibility in research on anthropogenic environmental changes
No full textAbstract The concept of “irreversibility” and its counterpart “reversibility” have become prominent in environmental and ecological research on human-induced changes, thresholds, climate tipping points, ecosystem degradation, and losses in the cryosphere and biosphere. Through a systematic literature review, we show that in these research fields, these notions are not only descriptive terms, but can have different semantic functions and normative aspects. The results suggest that, in the context of environmental and ecological research the concepts of irreversibility and reversibility have taken on additional usages in comparison to their contexts in theoretical thermodynamics and mechanics. Irreversible as a classification of anthropogenic environmental change can be used categorically, in the sense of a finite end, or relatively, i.e. on time or spatial scales of interest. Surprisingly, most of the analyzed scientific articles that use the terminology of (ir)reversibility substantively do not provide an explicit conceptualization or definition (74.7%). The research on potential (ir)reversibility of environmental change may affect the social and political willingness to bear the costs of interventions to mitigate or prevent undesirable environmental change. In particular, classifying a change as reversible or irreversible and determining the timescale(s) and spatial scale(s) involved has implications for policy and ecosystem management decisions, as suggested by its use in several high-level scientific and policy reports on ecosystem and climate change. Therefore, it is important to explicitly present a clear definition of irreversibility or reversibility for the readers from other fields, even if it could be the case that within a specific community an implicit definition was considered to be sufficient. We propose further recommendations for inter- and transdisciplinary reflection and conceptual use in the context of environmental, ecological, and sustainability research
Sergey Witte and his Foreign Investment Policy in the studies by English-speaking scholars
No full text. The article discusses the development of the interest of English-speaking historians in the foreign investment policy of Sergey Witte. The paper also examines the role of the Secret Memorandum of Sergey Wittein the understanding of the foreign investment in the Russian economy. The author shows that Russian and English-speaking historians, despite the political upheavals of the 20th century, were engaged in a scholarly conversation in their discussion of the subject
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