1,720,955 research outputs found
Urban Development through the Lens of Agent-based Modelling
Get PDFCities are ever changing and growing phenomenon with many underlying complexities. Through its life cycle, a city experiences various forms of dynamics. Models allow for a better understanding of such complexities and dynamics. The model developed in this thesis intends to simulate the dynamics of certain processes such as: an urban market, agent interactions in that market, urban growth, sprawl and shrinkage and gentrification. The purpose of this model is to understand the behavioral pattern of the agents and demonstrate the life cycle of a city based on individual agents’ actions. This model is significant in its integration of various subsystems creating a larger system while observing developers’ behavior. Specifically, the model explores some well-known issues, including the Smith’s rent-gap theory, Burgess’s concentric zones model of urban growth, and Alonso’s bid rent theory. The main results from the model show that the agents move to and reside in properties within their income range, with similar neighbors. This is one of the first models that provides a new lens to explore urban development
COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF THE SOCIAL COMPLEXITY IN GÖBEKLI TEPE AND EARLIEST NEOLITHIC COMMUNITIES
No full textFor years, we believed that the transformation of human communities from simple nomadichunter-gatherer societies to complex sedentary societies occurred due to the expansion of cultivation and the rise of agriculture. Accepting this perspective as premise to years of archaeological research limited the field in investigating alternative explanations to the significant socio-cultural transition which potentially led to years of collaborative efforts in the Mesopotamian region of West Asia. Göbekli Tepe (pronunciation: gow·beh·klee.teh·puh), a pre-pottery Neolithic site in Turkey, requires such alternative explanations for the Neolithic Revolution. Since the site was discovered, various excavations and analyses have been conducted. However, all such investigations include traditional archaeological methods and expectations. This research proposes a multidisciplinary theory of the development of the social complexity of Göbekli Tepe and the contemporary communities in the Urfa region prior to the rise of agriculture. Understanding the interplay of factors resulting in group identity and social cohesion shed light on the reasons that motivated the collective action of hunter-gatherer societies of the region to construct this communal space for ritualistic purposes. This research, rooted in complex system theory, pioneers a novel exploration of the nonlinear dynamics of humanhuman and human-environment interactions among Neolithic communities. Utilizing a multi-method computational approach, it delves into group identity and social cohesion, departing from prior studies confined to single quantitative methods. The study employs quantitative and qualitative socio-cultural and environmental data to construct an artificial society, unveiling nuanced factors shaping interactions. Through agent-based modeling and social network analysis, it sheds light on the dynamics of trust, cooperation, leadership emergence, belief propagation, and universal narratives, offering insights into historical and contemporary societal behaviors. The model underwent continuous testing during implementation to ensure replicability of observed data, with a conceptualization involving three phases: agent-environmental dynamics, agent behavior, and analysis and interpretation of outcomes. Phase I focuses on agent dynamics during hunting and gathering, addressing survival, prosperity, and subsistence patterns, utilizing diverse data sources for model design. Phase II introduces sociopsychological elements like trust and cooperation, enhancing complexity and discovery pace. In phase III, results are analyzed to reveal patterns and insights on Göbekli Tepe’s dynamics, including group identity, social cohesion, and belief propagation. Social network analysis quantifies structural cohesion, identifies leaders, explores group identity factors, and compares parameters affecting subsistence patterns, combining socio-cultural factors influencing decision-making and adaptive behavior. Justified results include (i) demonstration of a consistent shift from hunting to gathering in simulated societies, showcasing adaptability and resilience, with insights into potential agricultural emergence from extended wild grain gatherings; (ii) improved understanding of the essential role of trust and cooperation in community formation among hunter-gatherers, impacting network connectivity and emphasizing their influence on the construction of Göbekli Tepe and early human societies; (iii) novel findings that suggest belief propagation in Neolithic communities, indicating a shared belief system’s crucial role in fostering collective identity and influencing the emergence of leaders, contributing to monumental construction at Göbekli Tepe; and, (iv) exploration of the development of universal narratives, demonstrating that trust thresholds influence narrative attachment growth, providing insights into symbolic motivations behind hunter-gatherer monumental structures and emphasizing storytelling’s pivotal role in fostering extensive cooperation. This dissertation’s research, grounded in complex system theory, innovatively integrates computational methods to explore group identity and social cohesion among Neolithic communities, surpassing prior studies relying on single quantitative methods. The consistent patterns across experiments demonstrate the adaptive resilience of simulated societies transitioning to gathering. Trust emerges as a crucial factor influencing cooperation, social cohesion, and group identity, with implications for modern societal dynamics and policymaking. The study also delves into the emergence of leaders and belief propagation dynamics, offering insights relevant to historical and contemporary societal behaviors. This interdisciplinary computational approach advances scientific understanding, with potential applications in anthropology, archaeology, and policy-making. Collaboration with the Göbekli Tepe archaeological team enhances study validity, fostering international research partnerships and future discoveries
Exploring Ecological Resilience in Annie Proulx’s Barkskins: A Bioregional Perspective
Get PDFThis study presents an eco-critical analysis of Annie Proulx’s novel Barkskins, leveraging key ecocritical perspectives alongside three pivotal bioregional principles: dwelling (inhabiting a place), sustainability (preserving natural resources for future generations), and reinhabitation (remediating past environmental harm). Through a detailed examination of the depiction of environmental boundaries, landscapes, indigenous flora, industrial practices, local cultures, and fauna within the narrative, this research elucidates the manner in which a novel may signify a profound sense of reverence toward the natural world. By subtly weaving the ecological themes throughout her Pulitzer Prize-winning work, Proulx seems to be able to instigate a subconscious awakening of the reader’s environmental consciousness. Amid environmental challenges and disconnection from nature, literary works such as Barkskins could serve as powerful tools for promoting ecological awareness. Proulx excels in ‘nature writing’ by skillfully integrating language and geography in the novel. Through rich ecological terms, she immerses readers in wilderness and prompts reflection on their relationship with the environment. The use of vivid imagery and metaphors enhances the reader’s engagement with ecological themes. This analysis hints at a bioregional perspective in the narrative, challenging regionalist views of the author’s work
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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