Mario Diani and Doug McAdam (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251780
- eISBN:
- 9780191599057
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251789.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Illustrates relational approaches to the study of social movements and collective action. Contributors analyse most recent developments in the analysis of the role of networks as facilitators or ...
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Illustrates relational approaches to the study of social movements and collective action. Contributors analyse most recent developments in the analysis of the role of networks as facilitators or constraints of individual recruitment, various forms of interorganizational networks, and the relationship between social networks and the political context in which social movements operate. They also relate the growing attention to social networks by social movement analysis to broader theoretical debates. Both quantitative and qualitative network analysis are considered, and attention is paid to the time dimension and the evolution of networks, through both simulation models and empirical data. Empirical chapters cover both contemporary and historical episodes of collective action, in reference to authoritarian as well as progressive, left‐libertarian movements. Chapters focusing on individual networks specify different effects of network embeddedness over participation in different types of collective action (Passy, Anheier). Interorganizational relations are explored by looking at leadership dynamics (Diani), the relationship between categorical traits and network position within coalitions (Ansell), and the role of individuals in linking different organizations both synchronically and diachronically (Osa). Network approaches to the political process illustrate shifts in alliance and conflict networks at a time of regime change (Tilly and Wood), the evolution of social networks during protest cycles (Oliver and Myers), and the role of local elites in shaping protest networks in the community (Broadbent). Theoretical chapters discuss network perspectives on social movements in relation to recent theoretical developments in rational choice theory (Gould), cultural analysis (Mische), and the analysis of social mechanisms (McAdam). A radical case is also made for a reorientation of the whole social movement agenda along network lines (Diani).Less
Illustrates relational approaches to the study of social movements and collective action. Contributors analyse most recent developments in the analysis of the role of networks as facilitators or constraints of individual recruitment, various forms of interorganizational networks, and the relationship between social networks and the political context in which social movements operate. They also relate the growing attention to social networks by social movement analysis to broader theoretical debates. Both quantitative and qualitative network analysis are considered, and attention is paid to the time dimension and the evolution of networks, through both simulation models and empirical data. Empirical chapters cover both contemporary and historical episodes of collective action, in reference to authoritarian as well as progressive, left‐libertarian movements. Chapters focusing on individual networks specify different effects of network embeddedness over participation in different types of collective action (Passy, Anheier). Interorganizational relations are explored by looking at leadership dynamics (Diani), the relationship between categorical traits and network position within coalitions (Ansell), and the role of individuals in linking different organizations both synchronically and diachronically (Osa). Network approaches to the political process illustrate shifts in alliance and conflict networks at a time of regime change (Tilly and Wood), the evolution of social networks during protest cycles (Oliver and Myers), and the role of local elites in shaping protest networks in the community (Broadbent). Theoretical chapters discuss network perspectives on social movements in relation to recent theoretical developments in rational choice theory (Gould), cultural analysis (Mische), and the analysis of social mechanisms (McAdam). A radical case is also made for a reorientation of the whole social movement agenda along network lines (Diani).
Pamela E. Oliver and Daniel J. Myers
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251780
- eISBN:
- 9780191599057
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251789.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Uses simulation models to explore network mechanisms in diffusion processes and protest cycles. The network dimension is taken into account, focusing on three processes: information flows, influence ...
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Uses simulation models to explore network mechanisms in diffusion processes and protest cycles. The network dimension is taken into account, focusing on three processes: information flows, influence flows, and the construction of joint action. The repeatable and reversible nature of protest requires models of diffusion that focus on the spread of actions and not the spread of ideas across actors. Moreover, while diffusion processes tend to generate waves or cycles of events, not all waves of events arise from diffusion processes. The effect of network structure varies greatly depending upon the nature of a particular network process.Less
Uses simulation models to explore network mechanisms in diffusion processes and protest cycles. The network dimension is taken into account, focusing on three processes: information flows, influence flows, and the construction of joint action. The repeatable and reversible nature of protest requires models of diffusion that focus on the spread of actions and not the spread of ideas across actors. Moreover, while diffusion processes tend to generate waves or cycles of events, not all waves of events arise from diffusion processes. The effect of network structure varies greatly depending upon the nature of a particular network process.
Michael C. Wolfson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195149289
- eISBN:
- 9780199865130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195149289.003.0016
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter argues for the expansion of the uses of health statistics to include the construction of simulation models. Simulation models can help policymakers to address “what if” questions in the ...
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This chapter argues for the expansion of the uses of health statistics to include the construction of simulation models. Simulation models can help policymakers to address “what if” questions in the formulation of new health policies and to explore the causal relationships inherent in answers to those questions. To facilitate the increased use of health statistics for simulation modeling, the importance of fulfilling two needs are emphasized: first, the need for coherent frameworks for collecting the data that become health statistics; and second, the need to use electronic health records for the generation of health statistics.Less
This chapter argues for the expansion of the uses of health statistics to include the construction of simulation models. Simulation models can help policymakers to address “what if” questions in the formulation of new health policies and to explore the causal relationships inherent in answers to those questions. To facilitate the increased use of health statistics for simulation modeling, the importance of fulfilling two needs are emphasized: first, the need for coherent frameworks for collecting the data that become health statistics; and second, the need to use electronic health records for the generation of health statistics.
Roger White, Guy Engelen, and Inge Uljee
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029568
- eISBN:
- 9780262331371
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029568.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The modelling of urban and regional structure has a long history, with the land use model of Von Thunen, the central place theories of Christaller and Losch, and the industrial location model of ...
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The modelling of urban and regional structure has a long history, with the land use model of Von Thunen, the central place theories of Christaller and Losch, and the industrial location model of Weber providing the basis for the development of a mathematical location theory. For the most part, however, the equations could not be solved analytically without making unrealistic simplifying assumptions, so the results, like the concentric zones of the urban spatial structure models, were also unrealistic; one consequence was a shift away from mathematical modelling to inferential statistics and various postmodernist approaches. Another was the introduction of simulation modelling, especially of urban spatial structure, with agent based and CA based models being the preferred approaches. The models of Peter Allen, Juval Portugali and Izhak Benenson, Denise Pumain, Xia Li, and Keith Clarke are among the most important. The models of this book also belong with this group.Less
The modelling of urban and regional structure has a long history, with the land use model of Von Thunen, the central place theories of Christaller and Losch, and the industrial location model of Weber providing the basis for the development of a mathematical location theory. For the most part, however, the equations could not be solved analytically without making unrealistic simplifying assumptions, so the results, like the concentric zones of the urban spatial structure models, were also unrealistic; one consequence was a shift away from mathematical modelling to inferential statistics and various postmodernist approaches. Another was the introduction of simulation modelling, especially of urban spatial structure, with agent based and CA based models being the preferred approaches. The models of Peter Allen, Juval Portugali and Izhak Benenson, Denise Pumain, Xia Li, and Keith Clarke are among the most important. The models of this book also belong with this group.
C. David Johnson and Timothy A. Kohler
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520270145
- eISBN:
- 9780520951990
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520270145.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, American and Canadian Cultural Anthropology
Realistic simulation of long-term household settlement patterns is based on spatially and temporally variable supplies of critical natural resources produced by study-area soils. Annual net primary ...
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Realistic simulation of long-term household settlement patterns is based on spatially and temporally variable supplies of critical natural resources produced by study-area soils. Annual net primary productivity of native vegetation modulated by variability through time in precipitationprovides the basis for estimating supplies of fuelwood and high-quality animal protein required for successful human habitation in this area. This chapter describes soils in Village Ecodynamics Project study area; the native vegetation they supported; the number of deer, hare, and rabbit supported by the vegetation; and the methods by which agents in the simulation harvest fuelwood. Depletion of readily available fuelwood may have influenced long-term human behaviors related to architectural designs and settlement distributions.Less
Realistic simulation of long-term household settlement patterns is based on spatially and temporally variable supplies of critical natural resources produced by study-area soils. Annual net primary productivity of native vegetation modulated by variability through time in precipitationprovides the basis for estimating supplies of fuelwood and high-quality animal protein required for successful human habitation in this area. This chapter describes soils in Village Ecodynamics Project study area; the native vegetation they supported; the number of deer, hare, and rabbit supported by the vegetation; and the methods by which agents in the simulation harvest fuelwood. Depletion of readily available fuelwood may have influenced long-term human behaviors related to architectural designs and settlement distributions.
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226902029
- eISBN:
- 9780226902050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226902050.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter examines the source of credibility of computer simulation models. It suggests that the practice of using fictions in building credible simulations is worthy of closer scrutiny by ...
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This chapter examines the source of credibility of computer simulation models. It suggests that the practice of using fictions in building credible simulations is worthy of closer scrutiny by philosophers of science interested in the various arguments for and against scientific realism. The chapter analyzes two examples of fictions from the field of computational fluid dynamics—so-called artificial viscosity and vorticity confinement—arguing that these kinds of model-building techniques are counterexamples to the doctrine that success implies truth.Less
This chapter examines the source of credibility of computer simulation models. It suggests that the practice of using fictions in building credible simulations is worthy of closer scrutiny by philosophers of science interested in the various arguments for and against scientific realism. The chapter analyzes two examples of fictions from the field of computational fluid dynamics—so-called artificial viscosity and vorticity confinement—arguing that these kinds of model-building techniques are counterexamples to the doctrine that success implies truth.
David R. Foster (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780300179385
- eISBN:
- 9780300186772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300179385.003.0009
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This chapter discusses the use of simulation models to address ecological questions. Ecological modelling refers to computer simulations of ecological processses represented and linked together using ...
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This chapter discusses the use of simulation models to address ecological questions. Ecological modelling refers to computer simulations of ecological processses represented and linked together using mathematical and statistical functions. These models enable scientists to generate hypotheses about the ways ecosystems work. The chapter focuses on a forest model that has been used to anticipate the effects of adelgid-induced deaths of hemlocks in eastern North America.Less
This chapter discusses the use of simulation models to address ecological questions. Ecological modelling refers to computer simulations of ecological processses represented and linked together using mathematical and statistical functions. These models enable scientists to generate hypotheses about the ways ecosystems work. The chapter focuses on a forest model that has been used to anticipate the effects of adelgid-induced deaths of hemlocks in eastern North America.
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226902029
- eISBN:
- 9780226902050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226902050.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter explores the theories used in computer simulation. It suggests that there is a class of computer simulation models that are especially important to philosophers interested in the ...
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This chapter explores the theories used in computer simulation. It suggests that there is a class of computer simulation models that are especially important to philosophers interested in the relations between theories at different levels of description. These are the so-called parallel multiscale simulation models, which are cobbled together using the resources of quantum mechanics, classical molecular dynamics, and the linear-elastic theory of solids. The chapter explains how it is possible for these different theoretical frameworks, which provide essentially incompatible descriptions of the underlying structure of the systems they describe, to be combined together.Less
This chapter explores the theories used in computer simulation. It suggests that there is a class of computer simulation models that are especially important to philosophers interested in the relations between theories at different levels of description. These are the so-called parallel multiscale simulation models, which are cobbled together using the resources of quantum mechanics, classical molecular dynamics, and the linear-elastic theory of solids. The chapter explains how it is possible for these different theoretical frameworks, which provide essentially incompatible descriptions of the underlying structure of the systems they describe, to be combined together.
Johannes Lenhard
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- March 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190873288
- eISBN:
- 9780190873318
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190873288.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
The chapter provides a brief overview of the history of simulation modeling and of philosophical accounts dealing with simulation. Computer and simulation modeling, it is stated, do form a new ...
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The chapter provides a brief overview of the history of simulation modeling and of philosophical accounts dealing with simulation. Computer and simulation modeling, it is stated, do form a new exploratory and iterative type of mathematical modeling. Four aspects are introduced: experiment and artificiality, visualization, plasticity, and epistemic opacity. The key thesis is that the novelty of simulation modeling rests on how these aspects are combined into a combinatorial style of reasoning. The computer as an instrument does not only speed up calculations but also channels mathematical modeling. This is exerting transformational power on central concepts like solution, validation, and the real—instrumental divide.Less
The chapter provides a brief overview of the history of simulation modeling and of philosophical accounts dealing with simulation. Computer and simulation modeling, it is stated, do form a new exploratory and iterative type of mathematical modeling. Four aspects are introduced: experiment and artificiality, visualization, plasticity, and epistemic opacity. The key thesis is that the novelty of simulation modeling rests on how these aspects are combined into a combinatorial style of reasoning. The computer as an instrument does not only speed up calculations but also channels mathematical modeling. This is exerting transformational power on central concepts like solution, validation, and the real—instrumental divide.
Paul N. Edwards
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262082853
- eISBN:
- 9780262275873
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262082853.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter explores the origins of two types of simulation models, namely numerical models of weather and climate, and world-dynamics models that are offshoots of a general method known as “system ...
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This chapter explores the origins of two types of simulation models, namely numerical models of weather and climate, and world-dynamics models that are offshoots of a general method known as “system dynamics.” By the 1960s, increasing computer power made possible detailed simulations of the general circulation of Earth’s atmosphere. This allowed scientists to simulate weather and climate—genuinely global systems. Computer pioneer Jay Forrester created techniques for simulating the dynamic behavior of large socio-technical systems during approximately the same period. He began in the late 1950s with factories, then proceeded to cities, eventually publishing a book on the general “principles of systems” in 1968, and finally, modeled “world dynamics” in the early 1970s. Under Forrester’s tutelage, the MIT System Dynamics Group used world-dynamics models as the basis for the controversial bestseller The Limits to Growth.Less
This chapter explores the origins of two types of simulation models, namely numerical models of weather and climate, and world-dynamics models that are offshoots of a general method known as “system dynamics.” By the 1960s, increasing computer power made possible detailed simulations of the general circulation of Earth’s atmosphere. This allowed scientists to simulate weather and climate—genuinely global systems. Computer pioneer Jay Forrester created techniques for simulating the dynamic behavior of large socio-technical systems during approximately the same period. He began in the late 1950s with factories, then proceeded to cities, eventually publishing a book on the general “principles of systems” in 1968, and finally, modeled “world dynamics” in the early 1970s. Under Forrester’s tutelage, the MIT System Dynamics Group used world-dynamics models as the basis for the controversial bestseller The Limits to Growth.
Edward N. Wolff
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199353958
- eISBN:
- 9780190224707
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199353958.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
Chapter 5 makes use of the so-called indirect method discussed in the literature review to analyze the role of inheritances and other intergenerational transfers on the wealth accumulation of ...
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Chapter 5 makes use of the so-called indirect method discussed in the literature review to analyze the role of inheritances and other intergenerational transfers on the wealth accumulation of households. A simulation model is developed to calibrate the quantitative importance of intergenerational transfers and other sources of household wealth over the period from 1983 to 2007. Two issues receive particular attention. First, for individual age groups, what are the relative contributions made to wealth accumulation of (i) savings out of income, (ii) capital gains on wealth, (iii) inheritances, and (iv) inter-vivos transfers? Second, what is the relative importance of intergenerational transfers versus savings in the lifetime accumulation of wealth? The major finding is that over the lifetime, about one-third of household wealth accumulation can be traced to household savings, another third to inheritances, and the remaining third to inter-vivos transfers.Less
Chapter 5 makes use of the so-called indirect method discussed in the literature review to analyze the role of inheritances and other intergenerational transfers on the wealth accumulation of households. A simulation model is developed to calibrate the quantitative importance of intergenerational transfers and other sources of household wealth over the period from 1983 to 2007. Two issues receive particular attention. First, for individual age groups, what are the relative contributions made to wealth accumulation of (i) savings out of income, (ii) capital gains on wealth, (iii) inheritances, and (iv) inter-vivos transfers? Second, what is the relative importance of intergenerational transfers versus savings in the lifetime accumulation of wealth? The major finding is that over the lifetime, about one-third of household wealth accumulation can be traced to household savings, another third to inheritances, and the remaining third to inter-vivos transfers.
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226902029
- eISBN:
- 9780226902050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226902050.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter, which focuses on simulation models of climate and its future, investigates whether it is reasonable to expect climate modelers to exclude non-epistemic values from the internal aspects ...
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This chapter, which focuses on simulation models of climate and its future, investigates whether it is reasonable to expect climate modelers to exclude non-epistemic values from the internal aspects of their research. It suggests that there are at least two features of climate models that make them worthy of special attention from the point of view of philosophy of science. The first is that the extremely complex modularity of global climate models leads to a novel kind of epistemological holism, and the second is that climate simulations have enormous public policy implications. The chapter also discusses the opposing arguments of Richard Rudner and Richard Jeffrey about inductive risk.Less
This chapter, which focuses on simulation models of climate and its future, investigates whether it is reasonable to expect climate modelers to exclude non-epistemic values from the internal aspects of their research. It suggests that there are at least two features of climate models that make them worthy of special attention from the point of view of philosophy of science. The first is that the extremely complex modularity of global climate models leads to a novel kind of epistemological holism, and the second is that climate simulations have enormous public policy implications. The chapter also discusses the opposing arguments of Richard Rudner and Richard Jeffrey about inductive risk.
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226902029
- eISBN:
- 9780226902050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226902050.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This introduction discusses the theme of this book, which is about computer simulation and the philosophy of science. The book examines what philosophers of science should learn in the age of ...
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This introduction discusses the theme of this book, which is about computer simulation and the philosophy of science. The book examines what philosophers of science should learn in the age of simulation and what philosophy can contribute to our understanding of how the digital computer is transforming science. It investigates the relationship between computer simulation and experiment, the conditions under which computer simulation can be reliable, and the role of deliberately false assumptions in the construction of simulation models.Less
This introduction discusses the theme of this book, which is about computer simulation and the philosophy of science. The book examines what philosophers of science should learn in the age of simulation and what philosophy can contribute to our understanding of how the digital computer is transforming science. It investigates the relationship between computer simulation and experiment, the conditions under which computer simulation can be reliable, and the role of deliberately false assumptions in the construction of simulation models.
Hamid Faruqee, Douglas Laxton, Dirk Muir, and Paolo A. Pesenti
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226107264
- eISBN:
- 9780226107288
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226107288.003.0011
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter employs a sophisticated new open economy multicountry simulation model to examine different scenarios for global current account adjustment. The analysis indicates that ...
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This chapter employs a sophisticated new open economy multicountry simulation model to examine different scenarios for global current account adjustment. The analysis indicates that competition-friendly structural policies could play a prominent role in reducing current account imbalances on a sustainable basis if they were linked with a sustained increase in growth and a permanent downward shift in the net foreign asset positions of Europe and Japan. Japan and the euro area are relatively stable in terms of adjustment. US fiscal consolidation would not be obtained without some short-run costs for output growth. Europe and Japan could meaningfully add to the multilateral adjustment process through stronger pursuit of growth-enhancing structural reforms that align with their own national interests. Labor market reforms alone might not significantly contribute to rebalancing.Less
This chapter employs a sophisticated new open economy multicountry simulation model to examine different scenarios for global current account adjustment. The analysis indicates that competition-friendly structural policies could play a prominent role in reducing current account imbalances on a sustainable basis if they were linked with a sustained increase in growth and a permanent downward shift in the net foreign asset positions of Europe and Japan. Japan and the euro area are relatively stable in terms of adjustment. US fiscal consolidation would not be obtained without some short-run costs for output growth. Europe and Japan could meaningfully add to the multilateral adjustment process through stronger pursuit of growth-enhancing structural reforms that align with their own national interests. Labor market reforms alone might not significantly contribute to rebalancing.
Luke Rendell, Robert Boyd, Magnus Enquist, Marcus W. Feldman, Laurel Fogarty, and Kevin N. Laland
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199608966
- eISBN:
- 9780191804656
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199608966.003.0019
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
Darwinian processes should favour those individuals that deploy the most effective strategies for acquiring information about their environment. We organized a computer-based tournament to ...
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Darwinian processes should favour those individuals that deploy the most effective strategies for acquiring information about their environment. We organized a computer-based tournament to investigate which learning strategies would perform well in a changing environment. The most successful strategies relied almost exclusively on social learning (here, learning a behaviour performed by another individual) rather than asocial learning, even when environments were changing rapidly; moreover, successful strategies focused learning effort on periods of environmental change. Here, we use data from tournament simulations to examine how these strategies might affect cultural evolution, as reflected in the amount of culture (i.e. number of cultural traits) in the population, the distribution of cultural traits across individuals, and their persistence through time. We found that high levels of social learning are associated with a larger amount of more persistent knowledge, but a smaller amount of less persistent expressed behaviour, as well as more uneven distributions of behaviour, as individuals concentrated on exploiting a smaller subset of behaviour patterns. Increased rates of environmental change generated increases in the amount and evenness of behaviour. These observations suggest that copying confers on cultural populations an adaptive plasticity, allowing them to respond to changing environments rapidly by drawing on a wider knowledge base.Less
Darwinian processes should favour those individuals that deploy the most effective strategies for acquiring information about their environment. We organized a computer-based tournament to investigate which learning strategies would perform well in a changing environment. The most successful strategies relied almost exclusively on social learning (here, learning a behaviour performed by another individual) rather than asocial learning, even when environments were changing rapidly; moreover, successful strategies focused learning effort on periods of environmental change. Here, we use data from tournament simulations to examine how these strategies might affect cultural evolution, as reflected in the amount of culture (i.e. number of cultural traits) in the population, the distribution of cultural traits across individuals, and their persistence through time. We found that high levels of social learning are associated with a larger amount of more persistent knowledge, but a smaller amount of less persistent expressed behaviour, as well as more uneven distributions of behaviour, as individuals concentrated on exploiting a smaller subset of behaviour patterns. Increased rates of environmental change generated increases in the amount and evenness of behaviour. These observations suggest that copying confers on cultural populations an adaptive plasticity, allowing them to respond to changing environments rapidly by drawing on a wider knowledge base.
Lance Taylor, Armon Rezai, Rishabh Kumar, Nelson Barbosa, and Laura Carvalho
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231175081
- eISBN:
- 9780231541213
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231175081.003.0015
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
the chapter analizes income distribution in the US, focusing on its regressive evolution and highlighting the severe constraints that prevent the reduction of inequality in the US. The authors ...
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the chapter analizes income distribution in the US, focusing on its regressive evolution and highlighting the severe constraints that prevent the reduction of inequality in the US. The authors develop a simulation model to illustrate how politically “reasonable” policies such as increased taxes on high income households, higher transfers to people with low incomes, and raising wages at the bottom do not reduce rich vs. poor inequality by much.Less
the chapter analizes income distribution in the US, focusing on its regressive evolution and highlighting the severe constraints that prevent the reduction of inequality in the US. The authors develop a simulation model to illustrate how politically “reasonable” policies such as increased taxes on high income households, higher transfers to people with low incomes, and raising wages at the bottom do not reduce rich vs. poor inequality by much.
Ron Eglash
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262062749
- eISBN:
- 9780262273343
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262062749.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This chapter explores the role of computational power in the social environment. The author examines the applications of computing power across various fields in the social dimensions. The chapter ...
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This chapter explores the role of computational power in the social environment. The author examines the applications of computing power across various fields in the social dimensions. The chapter focuses on simulation models, one of the key subject areas in the branch of computation. Additionally, the author emphasizes the concept of the realist critique and the outcomes of this concept with detailed illustrations. The chapter later turns the discussion to the technical definitions and dimensions of the computing power: speed, interactivity, and memory. It ends with a brief discussion of the contrast study between elite and lay public access to computing power.Less
This chapter explores the role of computational power in the social environment. The author examines the applications of computing power across various fields in the social dimensions. The chapter focuses on simulation models, one of the key subject areas in the branch of computation. Additionally, the author emphasizes the concept of the realist critique and the outcomes of this concept with detailed illustrations. The chapter later turns the discussion to the technical definitions and dimensions of the computing power: speed, interactivity, and memory. It ends with a brief discussion of the contrast study between elite and lay public access to computing power.
Habibollah Salami, Toktam Mohtashami, and Mohamad Saeid Noori Naeini
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199361786
- eISBN:
- 9780190235697
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199361786.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has sought food self-sufficiency as a major objective in its economic development. This chapter provides a review of the conditions for food self-sufficiency in ...
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Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has sought food self-sufficiency as a major objective in its economic development. This chapter provides a review of the conditions for food self-sufficiency in Iran, examining the past trends of self-sufficiency, and attempting to provide some critical analysis for what the prospects of food self-sufficiency in 2025 look like for Iran. This study projects the demand and supply of major food commodities in Iran for the year 2025, and hence forecast both levels of national food self-sufficiency and food per capita consumption. These projections are based on a policy simulation model which is an integration of the multimarket partial equilibrium model, the Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) model, and time series econometric models, and which includes equations of supply and demand, trade, price transmission and market equilibrium. The chapter concludes that Iran is close to agricultural commodity self-sufficiency based on domestic supply and demand for food.Less
Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has sought food self-sufficiency as a major objective in its economic development. This chapter provides a review of the conditions for food self-sufficiency in Iran, examining the past trends of self-sufficiency, and attempting to provide some critical analysis for what the prospects of food self-sufficiency in 2025 look like for Iran. This study projects the demand and supply of major food commodities in Iran for the year 2025, and hence forecast both levels of national food self-sufficiency and food per capita consumption. These projections are based on a policy simulation model which is an integration of the multimarket partial equilibrium model, the Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) model, and time series econometric models, and which includes equations of supply and demand, trade, price transmission and market equilibrium. The chapter concludes that Iran is close to agricultural commodity self-sufficiency based on domestic supply and demand for food.
Linda L. Wallace (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300100488
- eISBN:
- 9780300127751
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300100488.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This book presents the history and aftereffects of the fires of 1988 that swept through the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE) describes the chronology of the fires, the areas burned, and the extent ...
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This book presents the history and aftereffects of the fires of 1988 that swept through the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE) describes the chronology of the fires, the areas burned, and the extent of fire in those regions. One of the biggest concerns of the public was how individual plants and animals fared. Thinking hierarchically, we know that the patterns seen at the community and ecosystem levels are the result of mechanistic responses at the individual and population levels. It is important to know how forest trees and grass-land species responded. Some of the greatest public concern was for large animals, particularly Elk. Elk mortality and population responses after the fires took some surprising turns. The GYE is an extremely heterogeneous environment. Plant communities provide essential habitat for the megaherbivores of the GYE as well. Although we know numbers and how the populations of these animals have changed since the fires, it is difficult to determine the mechanisms behind these changes. Using simulation models and comparing their results with reality can yield important insights as to the mechanisms governing ungulate response to fire. The sediments of Yellowstone's lakes provide an opportunity to reconstruct the vegetation and fire history of the region back to the time of late-Pleistocene deglaciation.Less
This book presents the history and aftereffects of the fires of 1988 that swept through the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE) describes the chronology of the fires, the areas burned, and the extent of fire in those regions. One of the biggest concerns of the public was how individual plants and animals fared. Thinking hierarchically, we know that the patterns seen at the community and ecosystem levels are the result of mechanistic responses at the individual and population levels. It is important to know how forest trees and grass-land species responded. Some of the greatest public concern was for large animals, particularly Elk. Elk mortality and population responses after the fires took some surprising turns. The GYE is an extremely heterogeneous environment. Plant communities provide essential habitat for the megaherbivores of the GYE as well. Although we know numbers and how the populations of these animals have changed since the fires, it is difficult to determine the mechanisms behind these changes. Using simulation models and comparing their results with reality can yield important insights as to the mechanisms governing ungulate response to fire. The sediments of Yellowstone's lakes provide an opportunity to reconstruct the vegetation and fire history of the region back to the time of late-Pleistocene deglaciation.
Peter Kareiva and Valerie Carranza
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- December 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198808978
- eISBN:
- 9780191846687
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198808978.003.0015
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology, Ecology
This chapter tells the story of how the management options regarding Snake River chinook salmon became conflated with advocacy efforts to remove four major hydroelectric dams. As a result, ...
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This chapter tells the story of how the management options regarding Snake River chinook salmon became conflated with advocacy efforts to remove four major hydroelectric dams. As a result, conservation scientists lost sight of the larger, more complicated landscape of threats to these salmon. Simulation models that were meant to explore a wide variety of management options were so complex as to be impenetrable, and model outputs were never compared to real population data. Based on these flawed models, advocates for dam removal overstated the peril to salmon with a certainty that was unjustified (e.g., forecasting certain extinction by 2017 that never happened). This chapter argues that turning a complicated decision about hydropower, engineering solutions, hatcheries, harvest, habitat degradation, and salmon into a symbolic choice of “dams or fish” has hindered the discovery of portfolios of intervention and management that might actually solve the problem.Less
This chapter tells the story of how the management options regarding Snake River chinook salmon became conflated with advocacy efforts to remove four major hydroelectric dams. As a result, conservation scientists lost sight of the larger, more complicated landscape of threats to these salmon. Simulation models that were meant to explore a wide variety of management options were so complex as to be impenetrable, and model outputs were never compared to real population data. Based on these flawed models, advocates for dam removal overstated the peril to salmon with a certainty that was unjustified (e.g., forecasting certain extinction by 2017 that never happened). This chapter argues that turning a complicated decision about hydropower, engineering solutions, hatcheries, harvest, habitat degradation, and salmon into a symbolic choice of “dams or fish” has hindered the discovery of portfolios of intervention and management that might actually solve the problem.
