Search results for "SIMILARITY"

The ABC of society: Perceived similarity in agency/socioeconomic success and conservative-progressive beliefs increases intergroup cooperation

2020

Abstract The dimensions that explain which societal groups cooperate more with which other groups remain unclear. We predicted that perceived similarity in agency/socioeconomic success and conservative-progressive beliefs increases cooperation across groups. Self-identified members (N = 583) of 30 society-representative U.S. groups (gays, Muslims, Blacks, upper class, women, Democrats, conservatives etc.) played an incentivized one-time continuous prisoner's dilemma game with one self-identified member of each of these groups. Players knew nothing of each other except one group membership. Consistent with the ABC (agency-beliefs-communion) model of spontaneous stereotypes, perceived self-gr…

A chain of solvable non-Hermitian Hamiltonians constructed by a series of metric operators

2021

We show how, given a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian $H$, we can generate new non-Hermitian operators sequentially, producing a virtually infinite chain of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians which are isospectral to $H$ and $H^\dagger$ and whose eigenvectors we can easily deduce in an almost automatic way; no ingredients are necessary other than $H$ and its eigensystem. To set off the chain and keep it running, we use, for the first time in our knowledge, a series of maps all connected to different metric operators. We show how the procedure works in several physically relevant systems. In particular, we apply our method to various versions of the Hatano-Nelson model and to some PT-symmetric Hamiltonians.

Individual and culture-level components of survey response styles: A multi-level analysis using cultural models of selfhood

2016

Variations in acquiescence and extremity pose substantial threats to the validity of cross-cultural research that relies on survey methods. Individual and cultural correlates of response styles when using 2 contrasting types of response mode were investigated, drawing on data from 55 cultural groups across 33 nations. Using 7 dimensions of self-other relatedness that have often been confounded within the broader distinction between independence and interdependence, our analysis yields more specific understandings of both individual- and culture-level variations in response style. When using a Likert-scale response format, acquiescence is strongest among individuals seeing themselves as simi…

What Symbionts Teach us about Modularity

2013

The main goal of Synthetic Biology is to apply engineering principles to biotechnology in order to make life easier to engineer. These engineering principles include modularity: decoupling of complex systems into smaller, orthogonal subsystems that can be used in a range of different applications. The successful use of modules in engineering is expected to be reproduced in synthetic biological systems. But the difficulties experienced up to date with synthetic biology approaches question the short-term feasibility of designing life. Considering the “engineerable” nature of life, here we discuss the existence of modularity in natural living systems, particularly in symbiotic interactions, an…

Experimental Modeling of Submerged Pivot Weir

2020

An inclined rectangular overflow structure, also called a pivot weir, consists of a rectangular plate, angled downstream from the vertical, that can be used as an upstream water level control device. A pivot weir is submerged when the upstream water level is influenced by the downstream flow depth. In this paper, to investigate factors influencing submerged flow conditions, an extensive experimental program including 251 experimental trials was carried out using weir inclination angles of 39.6°, 53°, 85°, and 90° and weir heights ranging from 0.263 to 0.312 m. A formula to distinguish between free and submerged flow conditions was developed using the Π theorem of dimensional analysis and th…

Morphological Similarity of Channels: From Linear Erosional Features (Rill, Gully) to Alpine Rivers

2017

Similarity between morphological characteristics of rills and ephemeral gullies in Sicily, Italy

2009

This paper reports the results of a field investigation aimed to establish morphological similarity between rills and ephemeral gullies. Rill measurements were made on 14 plots having a surface area of 22–352 m2 located on a 14·9% slope and on a plot 6·0 m wide and 22·0 m long having a uniform 22·0% slope. The plots are located on the experimental station for soil erosion measurements, ‘Sparacia’, of the Agricultural Faculty of Palermo University, in Sicily, Italy. All plots are subjected to natural rainfall. The measurements were made immediately following five events between November 2004 and December 2005. The ephemeral gully measurements were made on a cultivated area of about 120 ha, l…

Fuzzy Concepts in Small Worlds and the Identification of Leaders in Social Networks

2014

In the study of the Social Networks, the Small World phenomenon appears frequently. We apply some techniques of graph theory and fuzzy sets to characterize the Small World features as well as the existence of the figure of leader in Social Networks. These techniques help to the conceptual formalization in relational networks analysis, by transforming linguistic and human-focused manner concepts related to social networks in some formal representation. These techniques are also applied when the similarity among nodes wants to be measured in order to study the current homophily present in a Network.

Play together, think alike: Shared mental models in expert music improvisers

2015

International audience; When musicians improvise together, they tend to agree beforehand on a common structure (e.g. a jazz standard) which helps them coordinate. However, in the particular case of collective free improvisation (CFI), musicians deliberately avoid having such a referent. How, then, can they coordinate? We propose that CFI musicians who have experience playing together come to share higher-level knowledge, which is not piece-specific but rather task-specific: an implicit mental model of what it is to improvise freely. We tested this hypothesis on a group of 19 expert improvisers from the Parisian CFI community, who had various degrees of experience playing with one another. D…

Convergence and divergence in organization of phytoplankton communities under various regimes of physical and biological control

2010

The hypothesis that physical constraints may be as important, if not more important, than biological ones in shaping the structure of phytoplankton assemblage was tested by analyzing longterm (11–29 years) phytoplankton series in eight lakes and nine sites located along a latitudinal gradient in the Northern hemisphere. Phytoplankton biomass was used and similarity of assemblages in same months of the annual data sets was then calculated by subtracting the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index from 1. The extent of biological and physical forcing was partly based on ‘‘expert evaluation’’: the importance of four physical (light availability, temperature, conductivity, and sediment stirring up) and…