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Formal Models in Narrative Analysis

David Herman

Apostolos Doxiadis and Barry Mazur (eds)

in Circles Disturbed: The Interplay of Mathematics and Narrative

This chapter considers formal models of narrative and the nature of the theory of narrative. After discussing the diachronic and synchronic approaches to investigating the role of formal models in ... More

This chapter considers formal models of narrative and the nature of the theory of narrative. After discussing the diachronic and synchronic approaches to investigating the role of formal models in narrative analysis, the chapter looks at those ideas about models and modeling as a kind of bridge between humanistic and technoscientific discourse. It then evaluates descriptive and functional classifications of models, along with a range of perspectives on mathematical models and modeling. It also presents a case study in metanarratology, with a particular focus on modeling practices that have been brought to bear on focalization. It also analyzes some instances of the confluence of the formal study of narrative and mathematics, including the use of permutation groups, as well as the synergy between mathematically based theories of structural linguistics and early work on story grammars.Less

Autocatalysis in Chemistry and the Origin of Life

John F. Padgett

in The Emergence of Organizations and Markets

This chapter provides an extensive review of the biochemistry literature on the origins of life where the concept of autocatalysis figures most prominently. There is a lively debate in the scientific ... More

This chapter provides an extensive review of the biochemistry literature on the origins of life where the concept of autocatalysis figures most prominently. There is a lively debate in the scientific literature between scientists who subscribe to an RNA-first hypothesis and scientists who subscribe to a metabolism-first hypothesis about the origin of life. Both are different versions of autocatalysis, and a sensible conclusion could be that biological life really took off when a symbiosis developed between the two. After that, the chapter reviews past formal modeling in this area, which is spotty but highly suggestive. The chapter identifies Eigen's and Schuster's model of hypercycles as the path-breaking work that first placed empirical chemistry and formal models into fruitful dialogue with each other. Finally, the chapter reviews a less successful, more philosophical descendant of autocatalysis called autopoiesis, which is the guise under which autocatalysis first was presented to social scientists.Less

Introduction

David J. Price and David J. Willshaw

in Mechanisms of Cortical Development

Life on Earth began several billion years ago. The cerebral cortex of mammals probably arose from the primordial cortex of amphibians and reptiles some 300 million years ago. The evolution of the ... More

Life on Earth began several billion years ago. The cerebral cortex of mammals probably arose from the primordial cortex of amphibians and reptiles some 300 million years ago. The evolution of the mammalian brain has involved the disproportionate enlargement of the cortex and, in particular, the rapid development of the neocortex. This book explains what is known about the fundamental mechanisms that underlie the development of the neocortex of mammals, drawing on supporting evidence from other species, particularly other vertebrates. The developmental biology of cortical cells and the morphology of the structures that they form is interwoven with a detailed account of their biochemistry and the genetic origin of the factors that are thought to control key developmental processes. While the primary account of the development of the neocortex necessarily is of the results of experimental neuroscience, where appropriate the results are interpreted on the basis of the various formal models that have been proposed. Understanding the mechanisms of cortical development will have a great impact on our ability to comprehend and treat neurological diseases.Less

Model Thinking and Formal Modeling to Improve Our Mental Models in Population Health Research

Michael K. Lemke

in Complex Systems and Population Health

When encountering complex systems, the human mind applies various heuristics, and from these heuristics, mental models—how people understand phenomena in the real world—emerge, which shape their ... More

When encountering complex systems, the human mind applies various heuristics, and from these heuristics, mental models—how people understand phenomena in the real world—emerge, which shape their decisions. Unfortunately, the same limitations that confound heuristics similarly cloud people’s mental models and result in fundamental misunderstandings and lead to flawed decisions. The development of models, through the act of modeling, provide means to mitigate inherent shortcomings in people’s cognitive abilities and mental models and can stimulate new ways of understanding and acting in population health, grounded in model thinking. For the study of complex systems in particular, computational simulation modeling approaches enable novel scientific inquiry and facilitate decision-making. Engagement in modeling can also overcome the difficulties in learning imposed by complex systems, leading to transformed mental models and the proliferation of model thinking in population health research and action.Less

Molecular regulation of early forebrain and cortical development

David J. Price and David J. Willshaw

in Mechanisms of Cortical Development

Over the past few decades, higher mammals with larger and more advanced brains, such as cats and primates, have been studied by many scientists interested in the development of the cerebral cortex. ... More

Over the past few decades, higher mammals with larger and more advanced brains, such as cats and primates, have been studied by many scientists interested in the development of the cerebral cortex. Prominent examples are Nobel laureates David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel, who worked on cortical development and the effects of visual deprivation. Much of their work (as well as that of numerous researchers stimulated by their studies) was carried out on cats. One reason for this tendency may be a desire to understand the development of the human brain and its perceptual and cognitive functions. This chapter discusses the molecular recognition of early forebrain and cortical development, experiments with mouse developmental genetics, methods for manipulating the mouse genome, genes that regulate development in Drosophila, types of molecule that regulate forebrain development, transcription factors, extracellular signalling and cell adhesion, inductive interactions in forebrain development, generation of regional diversity in the forebrain, formal models of regional specification, regulation of size differences between major forebrain structures, growth factors, molecular control of cell migration and cell differentiation, and types of cortical cells.Less

Formal Models

Erik D. Reichle

in Computational Models of Reading: A Handbook

This chapter introduces formal models of cognition and explains how they are similar to verbal theories but use computer programs and mathematics to avoid the many limitations of human reasoning, ... More

This chapter introduces formal models of cognition and explains how they are similar to verbal theories but use computer programs and mathematics to avoid the many limitations of human reasoning, thereby adding precision and rigor to their explanations. The chapter discusses Marr’s (1982) levels of analyses and how information-processing systems can be understood and described in terms of the task being performed, the representations and algorithms used to perform the task, and how the latter are implemented by physical systems. This then motivates discussion of three common approaches to modeling human cognition and behavior: process models, production-system models, and connectionist models. Each of these approaches is critiqued, with discussion of its merits and limitations. The three modeling approaches are then further illustrated by showing how each might be used to explain the finding that words can be identified more efficiently if they occur in predictable sentence contexts. The chapter closes with a discussion of how cognitive models are evaluated using their simplicity, theoretical scope, compatibility (e.g., with biology), and their capacity to generate novel predictions for guiding research.Less

The Theory of Moral Hazard and Unobservable Behaviour: Part I

James A. Mirrlees

in Welfare, Incentives, and Taxation

This chapter discusses the different formal models of moral hazard, which include that of Zeckhauser and Mirrlees. It includes an argument that relies on first-order conditions which can help in ... More

This chapter discusses the different formal models of moral hazard, which include that of Zeckhauser and Mirrlees. It includes an argument that relies on first-order conditions which can help in fully determining the optimum. Some of the sections in the chapter contain discussions on an analysis of an interesting and special case and another rigorous analysis of unobservable behaviour in a fairly general form.Less

The time course of perceptual categorization

Thomas J. Palmeri

in Similarity and Categorization

Perceptual categorization is a fundamental aspect of human cognition. Any time we decide that some visually presented object is a dog rather than a cat, a bottle rather than a jar, or a tree rather ... More

Perceptual categorization is a fundamental aspect of human cognition. Any time we decide that some visually presented object is a dog rather than a cat, a bottle rather than a jar, or a tree rather than a shrub, we are making a categorization decision based on the perceptual attributes of that object. This chapter aims to review a class of theories of perceptual categorization with particular emphasis on how these theories account for the time course of these judgements. A key assumption of these theories is that perceptual categorization depends on the underlying perceptual similarity relations among objects. This general assumption is not without some controversy.Less

The Software Process

Bruce I. Blum

in Beyond Programming: To A New Era of Design

Now that the foundation has been laid, I can turn to the principal concern of this book: software design. I use the word design in its most expansive sense. That is, design is contrasted with ... More

Now that the foundation has been laid, I can turn to the principal concern of this book: software design. I use the word design in its most expansive sense. That is, design is contrasted with discovery; it encompasses all deliberate modifications of the environment, in this case modifications that employ software components. Thus, software design should not be interpreted as a phase in the development of a product— an activity that begins after some prerequisite is complete and that terminates with the acceptance of a work product. The context of software design in Part III is extended to include all aspects of the software process from the design of a response to a real-world need (which ultimately may be expressed as a requirements document) through the design of changes to the product (i.e., lifetime maintenance). This broader use of “design” can be confusing, and the reader may think of software design as the equivalent of the software process. In what follows, the goal is to discover the essential nature of software design, which I also shall refer to as the software process. what of the foundation constructed so laboriously during the first two parts of the book? It is not one of concrete and deep pilings. Rather it is composed of crushed rock. It can support a broad-based model of software design, but it may be unstable when it comes to specifics. The foundation has been chipped from the monolith of Positivism, of Technical Rationality. Its constituents are solid and cohesive models, but they defy unification and resist integration. we interpret them as science, technology, culture, philosophy, cognition, emotion, art; they comprise the plural realities from which we compose human knowledge. Unfortunately, my description of the foundation holds little promise of broad, general answers. Indeed, it suggests that science may be of limited help to design and that we may never discover the essence of design. That is, we must accept design as a human activity; whatever answers we may find will be valid within narrow domains where knowledge is determined by its context. Thus, Parts I and II prepare us to accept that the study of software design may not be amenable to systematic analysis. Less

Torture’s Confession

John W. Schiemann

in Does Torture Work?

Having established that interrogational torture fails, this chapter discusses some of the policy implications of that failure. It also draws on the implications, trade-offs, and paradoxes identified ... More

Having established that interrogational torture fails, this chapter discusses some of the policy implications of that failure. It also draws on the implications, trade-offs, and paradoxes identified earlier to explore just why and how it fails. The chapter also discusses the role of formal models in political philosophy, drawing on John Stuart Mill as well as a more modern conceptualization of the use of formal models.Less

Maximizing Utility vis-à-vis Developing Countries

Sarah Blodgett Bermeo

in Targeted Development: Industrialized Country Strategy in a Globalizing World

This chapter develops a formal model of targeted development. It starts from the assumption that governments in industrialized states seek to maximize their own utility in interactions with ... More

This chapter develops a formal model of targeted development. It starts from the assumption that governments in industrialized states seek to maximize their own utility in interactions with developing countries. Development concerns compete with other policy goals for scarce government resources. The level of development resources an industrialized country government targets to a particular developing country depends on the weight the government places on development in that country as well as the efficiency of the country in turning resources into development outcomes that the industrialized state values. One of the key insights of the model is that, as governments work to maximize the utility gained per dollar (or euro, yen, etc.) spent, development motives will influence policy in multiple issue areas. The chapter also draws out implications of the theory for each of the issue areas examined in the empirical chapters.Less

Diversity, Rationality, and the Division of Cognitive Labor

Ryan Muldoon

in Scientific Collaboration and Collective Knowledge: New Essays

Existing models of the division of cognitive labor in science assume that scientists have a particular problem they want to solve and can choose between different approaches to solving the problem. ... More

Existing models of the division of cognitive labor in science assume that scientists have a particular problem they want to solve and can choose between different approaches to solving the problem. In this essay I invert the approach, supposing that scientists have fixed skills and seek problems to solve. This allows for a better explanation of increasing rates of cooperation in science, as well as flows of scientists between fields of inquiry. By increasing the realism of the model, we gain additional insight into the social structure of science and gain the ability to ask new questions about the optimal division of labor.Less

To Thine Own Selves Be True-ish: Shakespeare’s as Formal Model

Joshua Landy

in Shakespeare's Hamlet: Philosophical Perspectives

This chapter presents the core challenge before Hamlet as that of achieving authenticity in the face of inner multiplicity. Authenticity—which this chapter will take to mean (1) acting on the (2) ... More

This chapter presents the core challenge before Hamlet as that of achieving authenticity in the face of inner multiplicity. Authenticity—which this chapter will take to mean (1) acting on the (2) knowledge of (3) what one truly is, beneath one’s various masks and social roles—becomes a particularly pressing need under conditions of (early) modernity, when traditional forms of action-guidance are at least halfway off the table. But authenticity is highly problematic when the self that is discovered turns out to be multiple. Which self, exactly, should one be true to? Hamlet’s solution, this chapter suggests, is an “actor’s ethos,” in which each of his aspects is given its day in the sun, granted full commitment by means of what we now call “method acting.” That is what Hamlet learns from the players—and that too is what we stand to learn from Hamlet: not an idea but a method.Less