1,720,961 research outputs found
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
Structural Origins of Physical Constants and Laws
No full textThis work presents a structural reformulation of established physical relations using a discrete update framework and an emergent, geometrically organized vacuum medium. The analysis builds on a previously derived set of internal system parameters that characterize update dynamics and transport geometry. Using this parameter set—comprising a system cycle time, an elementary update action, a characteristic structural spacing, and a dimensionless geometric transport factor—several familiar physical constants are rewritten in structural form. These include the speed of light, Planck’s constant, the fine-structure constant, and the vacuum permittivity. No new dynamical assumptions are introduced; the standard empirical content of the relations is preserved. Once expressed in structural variables, a wide range of physical relations—covering energies, forces, impedances, characteristic lengths, and scattering cross sections—can be organized by a small number of recurring transport kernels. Differences between formulas arise from transport order, geometric dilution, counting of update events, and boundary conditions, rather than from distinct fundamental mechanisms. The results indicate that many physical laws can be understood as different geometric realizations of the same underlying update and transport structure, providing a unified structural perspective without modifying empirical predictions
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
Deriving Physical Constants from Discrete Dynamics and Emergent Structure
Full text linkWe investigate whether several physical constants can be understood as derived consequences of discrete update dynamics rather than independent empirical inputs. Physical evolution is modeled as a sequential algorithm operating in discrete system cycles: elementary constituents are updated one after another, and all sub-cycle behavior is inherently granular, requiring a transport description rather than continuous microscopic fields. From the resulting emergent background organization, we derive structural relations that express the speed of light, Planck’s constant, the fine-structure constant, and the vacuum permittivity in terms of a small set of internal system parameters (cycle time, elementary update action, a microscopic spacing scale, and a geometric transport factor). Physical units enter only through a minimal scale anchoring to established reference quantities; no multi-observable fitting is introduced. When rewritten in these structural variables, the standard QED definition of the fine-structure constant becomes algebraically identical to the effective oscillator-response relation of the emergent background, suggesting that quantum-electrodynamic vacuum relations can be interpreted as macroscopic parametrizations of a single underlying discrete transport-and-response structure
A Structural Algorithmic Model for Physical Systems
No full textModern physics provides highly accurate mathematical descriptions of natural phenomena, yet often lacks a clear account of the underlying mechanisms that give rise to these equations. This work addresses this gap by introducing a minimal, structurally defined algorithmic framework from which physical regularities can emerge. The model is based on a discrete structured system composed of three element types and a single elementary update operation. System dynamics arise from sequential processing, message-based interactions, and strict movement constraints, without assuming forces, fields, or continuous spacetime at the fundamental level. Time, interaction strength, stability, and persistent structures emerge as consequences of the algorithmic process. Physical concepts such as charge, particle-like entities, wave propagation, and inverse-square interaction behavior are interpreted as higher-level manifestations of repeated discrete reordering steps. Mathematical relations are not postulated but understood as compact descriptions of regular behavior generated by the underlying structure. This document presents the conceptual framework and algorithmic core of the model in a condensed, citable form. Detailed derivations and quantitative applications are reserved for subsequent publications
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
On the Structural Meaning of Planck’s Quantum
Full text linkStarting from the exact identity mc^2=hf, this work presents a purely analytical reorganization that makes explicit the internal structure shared by mass and Planck’s constant. By introducing a common structural factor, energy is expressed as the product of a frequency, a discrete elementary system change, and a propagation term. This decomposition leaves all standard relations unchanged but clarifies that mass necessarily encodes both a local system reordering and an intrinsic frequency, while Planck’s constant characterizes the propagated effect of a single elementary change. The analysis provides a compact reinterpretation of mass–energy equivalence and highlights a common structural core underlying mass- and frequency-based descriptions of energy
Muon and Tau as Resonant Extensions of the Electron
Full text linkIn the Standard Model, the masses and lifetimes of charged leptons are empirical inputs. We explore whether these quantities can instead follow from a minimal discrete-structure hypothesis in which the electron is treated as the smallest stable configuration of identical constituents, and heavier charged leptons correspond to symmetry-preserving extensions constrained by coherence and resonance conditions. Within this framework, the muon and tau arise as the first two admissible resonant extensions of the electron reference structure. Their masses follow from constituent counting combined with discrete resonance scaling, matching the experimental values within ≲0.6% without introducing additional particle species, interaction parameters, or fitted thresholds. The same resonance picture implies that these extensions are metastable: once coherent internal modes exist, finite leakage/dephasing provides a natural link between increasing mass scale and decreasing lifetime. We emphasize that this work does not model detailed decay dynamics; it provides a structural consistency argument connecting charged-lepton generations, mass gaps, and lifetime hierarchy under the stated discrete assumptions
Cross-Class Lifetime Clustering from Discrete Resonance Structure
No full textIn conventional particle physics, lifetimes are treated as interaction-dependent and class-specific quantities. In earlier work, we showed that this separation is not required for charged leptons: treating elementary particles as discrete structures composed of identical building blocks identifies the electron as a minimal stable configuration, with the muon and tau emerging as its first resonant extensions, whose masses follow directly from structural resonance constraints. In the present work, this structural perspective is extended to unstable particles across different classes. If metastable particles correspond to finite discrete resonators, then lifetime is determined by coherence and resonance stability rather than by particle class. Restricting the analysis to configurations capable of sustaining internal oscillations, we find that particle lifetimes follow a common mass–lifetime scaling and organize into distinct clusters instead of forming a continuous distribution. These features are characteristic of finite discrete resonance systems. The observed clustering and the termination of the sequence at three groups follow naturally from a finite resonance window, beyond which lifetimes fall below the minimum time required to establish coherent oscillations. Lifetime thus emerges as a structural property of discrete coherent matter rather than as an independent dynamical parameter
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