Conventions spreading in open-ended systems

We introduce a simple open-ended model that describes the emergence of a shared vocabulary. The ordering transition toward consensus is generated only by an agreement mechanism. This interaction defines a finite and small number of states, despite each individual having the ability to invent an unlimited number of new words. The existence of a phase transition is studied by analyzing the convergence times, the cognitive efforts of the agents and the scaling behavior in memory and timeComment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Symptomatic Primary Infection Due to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1: Review of 31 Cases

In this series of 31 patients with acute infection due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1, the male-to-female ratio was 3.4:1 and the mean age was 31.3 years. Sexual transmission accounted for 83.9% of cases; 45.2% of the patients were homosexual and 38.7% were heterosexual. The mean duration of symptoms and signs was 21 days (range, 5-60 days). Fever (87.1%) and skin rash (67.7%) were most commonly reported. Physical examination findings were abnormal for 96% of the patients; the oral cavity (76.7%) and the skin (73.3%) were the most frequently involved sites. Thirteen of 25 patients with sexually acquired infection had genital or oral ulcers, whereas five intravenous drug users had none (P = .052). Thrombocytopenia was the most common hematologic abnormality and was detected in 17 of 23 patients tested. P24 antigenemia, an initially negative screening test for HIV antibody, and a low CD4+ lymphocyte count were noted in 23 of 29, 23 of 30, and 14 of 21 tested patients, respectivel

Exploiting the Web for Semantic Change Detection

Detecting significant linguistic shifts in the meaning and usage of words has gained more attention over the last few years. Linguistic shifts are especially prevalent on the Internet, where words’ meaning can change rapidly. In this work, we describe the construction of a large diachronic corpus that relies on the UK Web Archive and we propose a preliminary analysis of semantic change detection exploiting a particular technique called Temporal Random Indexing. Results of the evaluation are promising and give us important insights for further investigations

Can the evolution of music be analyzed in a quantitative manner?

We propose a methodology to study music development by applying multivariate statistics on composers characteristics. Seven representative composers were considered in terms of eight main musical features. Grades were assigned to each characteristic and their correlations were analyzed. A bootstrap method was applied to simulate hundreds of artificial composers influenced by the seven representatives chosen. Afterwards we quantify non-numeric relations like dialectics, opposition and innovation. Composers differences on style and technique were represented as geometrical distances in the feature space, making it possible to quantify, for example, how much Bach and Stockhausen differ from other composers or how much Beethoven influenced Brahms. In addition, we compared the results with a prior investigation on philosophy. Opposition, strong on philosophy, was not remarkable on music. Supporting an observation already considered by music theorists, strong influences were identified between composers by the quantification of dialectics, implying inheritance and suggesting a stronger master-disciple evolution when compared to the philosophy analysis.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, added references for sections 1 and 4.C, better mathematical description on section 2. New values and interpretation, now considering a bootstrap metho

An unfolding signifier: London's Baltic Exchange in Tallinn

In the summer of 2007 an unusual cargo arrived at Muuga and Paldiski harbors outside Tallinn. It consisted of nearly 50 containers holding over 1,000 tons of building material ranging from marble columns, staircases and fireplaces, to sculpted allegorical figures, wooden paneling and old-fashioned telephone booths. They were once part of the Baltic Exchange in the City of London. Soon they will become facets of the landscape of Tallinn. The following article charts this remarkable story and deploys this fragmented monument to analyze three issues relating to the Estonian capital: the relocation of the ‘Bronze Soldier’, the demolition of the Sakala Culture Center, and Tallinn’s future role as European Cultural Capital in 2011

Unravelling social constructionism

Social constructionist research is an area of rapidly expanding influence that has brought together theorists from a range of different disciplines. At the same time, however, it has fuelled the development of a new set of divisions. There would appear to be an increasing uneasiness about the implications of a thoroughgoing constructionism, with some regarding it as both theoretically parasitic and politically paralysing. In this paper I review these debates and clarify some of the issues involved. My main argument is that social constructionism is not best understood as a unitary paradigm and that one very important difference is between what Edwards (1997) calls its ontological and epistemic forms. I argue that an appreciation of this distinction not only exhausts many of the disputes that currently divide the constructionist community, but also takes away from the apparent radicalism of much of this work

Body-part-specific Representations of Semantic Noun Categories.

Word meaning processing in the brain involves ventrolateral temporal cortex, but a semantic contribution of the dorsal stream, especially frontocentral sensorimotor areas, has been controversial. We here examine brain activation during passive reading of object-related nouns from different semantic categories, notably animal, food, and tool words, matched for a range of psycholinguistic features. Results show ventral stream activation in temporal cortex along with category-specific activation patterns in both ventral and dorsal streams, including sensorimotor systems and adjacent pFC. Precentral activation reflected action-related semantic features of the word categories. Cortical regions implicated in mouth and face movements were sparked by food words, and hand area activation was seen for tool words, consistent with the actions implicated by the objects the words are used to speak about. Furthermore, tool words specifically activated the right cerebellum, and food words activated the left orbito-frontal and fusiform areas. We discuss our results in the context of category-specific semantic deficits in the processing of words and concepts, along with previous neuroimaging research, and conclude that specific dorsal and ventral areas in frontocentral and temporal cortex index visual and affective–emotional semantic attributes of object-related nouns and action-related affordances of their referent objects

Language and Groundwater: Symbolic Gradients of the Anthropocene

This article argues that geographers must study the power of words as integral parts of human–environment relationships, with particular attention to local meanings, to intervene more effectively in the Anthropocene. Words are important tools by which people come to understand environmental changes and develop plans to facilitate mitigation and adaptation or, alternatively, to postpone these responses. This project considers the portion of Texas underlain by the Ogallala aquifer as a system of communication, exploring stakeholder articulations through in-depth interviews. The semiotic concepts of gradients, grading, degradation, and grace are employed to facilitate consideration of how verbal articulations intersect with resource use, conservation, anthropogenic environmental change, and action within a highly conservative political context.Office of the VP for Researc