Search results for "Social system"
showing 10 items of 79 documents
Structure and evolution of a European Parliament via a network and correlation analysis
2016
We present a study of the network of relationships among elected members of the Finnish parliament, based on a quantitative analysis of initiative co-signatures, and its evolution over 16 years. To understand the structure of the parliament, we constructed a statistically validated network of members, based on the similarity between the patterns of initiatives they signed. We looked for communities within the network and characterized them in terms of members' attributes, such as electoral district and party. To gain insight on the nested structure of communities, we constructed a hierarchical tree of members from the correlation matrix. Afterwards, we studied parliament dynamics yearly, wi…
Damping in quantum love affairs
2011
In a series of recent papers we have used an operatorial technique to describe stock markets and, in a different context, {\em love affairs} and their time evolutions. The strategy proposed so far does not allow any dumping effect. In this short note we show how, within the same framework, a strictly non periodic or quasi-periodic effect can be introduced in the model by describing in some details a linear Alice-Bob love relation with damping.
Higher Dead End?
2005
One of the main problems of Finnish higher education researcher training is the lack of any systematic training. It seems, however, that it is not only one of the main problems but also a result of a development related to the structure of funding sources and the status of higher education research as an academic field. In this article I will begin by describing how this situation has developed and what are the current problems. Secondly, I will reflect on the future avenues of higher education research and researcher training, which seem to be approaching a (higher) dead end. The article is based on personal experiences gained as a researcher in several higher education research projects a…
The technological transplant
1990
Abstract This paper deals with technology transfer and conditions for successful diffusion of renewable energy technologies in developing countries. Issues such as perception of needs and resources are fully discussed, whether on mega-scale or micro-scale; that is to say, whether for a specific project or a whole country. A distinction is made between technology and the technological device, the latter being a component which is injected into a social system creating new links into the pre-existing structure; therefore, even if perfect in itself, it may not fit into the system in which it has to operate. The need for a complete analysis of the effects of the injection (or transplant) of the…
Structure and Evolution of a European Parliament via a Network and Correlation Analysis
2016
We present a study of the network of relationships among elected members of the Finnish parliament, based on a quantitative analysis of initiative co-signatures, and its evolution over 16 years. To understand the structure of the parliament, we constructed a statistically validated network of members, based on the similarity between the patterns of initiatives they signed. We looked for communities within the network and characterized them in terms of members’ attributes, such as electoral district and party. To gain insight on the nested structure of communities, we constructed a hierarchical tree of members from the correlation matrix. Afterwards, we studied parliament dynamics yearly, wi…
A Dominant Global Translation Strategy in Thai Translated Novels: The Translations of Religious Markers in Dan Brown’s Thriller Novels
2020
When translation is considered as an integral part of larger social systems (Even-Zohar 1990), the ways in which translations are produced to serve readers’ specificity could be affected. This paper examines whether there is a preference for a specific global translation strategy due to a readership that is specialized in terms of education level. Adopting Venuti’s (1995/2008) division of global translation strategies into exoticizing and domesticating translation, it examines the frequency of local translation strategies, which are part of a global translation strategy, used in translating English-Thai religious markers in Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, …
Review Paper: Are reproductive skew models evolutionarily stable?
2003
Reproductive skew theory has become a popular way to phrase problems and test hypotheses of social evolution. The diversity of reproductive skew models probably stems from the ease of generating new variations. However, I show that the logical basis of skew models, that is, the way in which group formation is modelled, makes use of hidden assumptions that may be problematical as they are unlikely to be fulfilled in all social systems. I illustrate these problems by re-analysing the basic concessive skew model with staying incentives. First, the model assumes that dispersal is an all-or-nothing response: all subordinates disperse as soon as concessions drop below a certain value. This leads …
Heterogeneity in family firms: contextualising the adoption of family governance mechanisms
2020
PurposeThis research is aimed to better understand what characteristics of family firms create a context in which family governance systems are more frequently adopted.Design/methodology/approachWe analyse a sample of 490 Spanish family businesses using cluster analysis, and we identify four different types of family businesses whose characteristics are associated to the adoption of different family governance systems, i.e. family councils and family protocols. The comparison between clusters of the baseline parameters was performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for parametric variables, the χ2 test for parametric variables and Kruskal-Wallis for nonparametric variables. By con…
Identity in virtual communities
1998
The usability of Collaborative Virtual Environments is a function of technical affordances with the implicit and explicit intentions of users. Intentions can be revealed by 'cyborg ethnography' -- a close examination of interactions and conversations conducted in CVE's. Three CVE's were examined ethnographically and it is found that social conventions develop around the theme of producing identity. However, there is doubt that such conventions constitute evidence of a 'virtual' social system.
The Sense of Belonging to the Country: Integrative Relationships and Spatiotemporal Commitment
2020
The satisfaction of the need to belong reflects in the sense of being an integrative part of the group or social system. There is some lack of empirical evidence for the structure of this sense at the macro level. This study assessed a two-dimensional model of the sense of belonging to the country, which included relational and spatiotemporal components. Participants were 539 university students from 18 to 50 (74% females). Questions regarding involvement, perceived acceptance, sense of commonality, and feeling at home represented the relational component of the sense of belonging. Four temporal categories—the recent past, present, and the near and distant future—were included in the assess…