Animating the development of Social Networks over time using a dynamic extension of multidimensional scaling

The animation of network visualizations poses technical and theoretical challenges. Rather stable patterns are required before the mental map enables a user to make inferences over time. In order to enhance stability, we developed an extension of stress-minimization with developments over time. This dynamic layouter is no longer based on linear interpolation between independent static visualizations, but change over time is used as a parameter in the optimization. Because of our focus on structural change versus stability the attention is shifted from the relational graph to the latent eigenvectors of matrices. The approach is illustrated with animations for the journal citation environments of Social Networks, the (co-)author networks in the carrying community of this journal, and the topical development using relations among its title words. Our results are also compared with animations based on PajekToSVGAnim and SoNIA

Procedure Weak or Strong Understanding the Limits of Political Inquiries

The authors contrast two political inquiries in light of Luhmann’s system theory of procedure. The article asks whether and to what extent these inquiries can be considered as procedural systems, meaning as distinct frames of action that generate specific meanings and relevancies. Starting from the micro-sociological analysis of interactions in the British “Hutton Inquiry” and the European Union’s “CIA Inquiry” the authors reconstruct the specific functionalities of each with regard to their different ways of engaging and enabling self-referential processes of communication, knowledge production, and decision-making. As a system, each merges these three processes into a consistent, relatively strong or weak procedure, but they do so to different degrees. Overall, the article encourages a sociological understanding of the procedural mechanism as well as an empirical qualification and variation of system-theoretical assertions.Die Autoren nehmen zwei groβe politische Umfragen zum Anlaß, um zu erkennen, ob sie als prozedurale Systeme im Sinne der Luthmannschen Theorie begriffen werden können, d.h. als Handlungsrahmen verschiedener Interpretationsansätze und mit besonderen Konsequenzen. Der erste Fall ist die englische Umfrage ” Hutton “, der zweite die CIA Umfrage der europäischen Union. Eine microsoziale Arbeit fördert die Handlungsweise der einen und anderen zu Tage : Aufbau interner Kommunikationprozesse, Wissenserarbeitung und Entscheidungsfindung. Am Kreuzpunkt der drei Prozesse entsteht in jedem der beiden Fälle ein kohärenter, mehr oder wenig starker Wirkungsmechanismus, mit unterschiedlichen Ausmaßen. Letzterer sollte sowohl soziologisch als auch auf seine empirische Befähigung und als Variante systemtheoretischer Aussagen begriffen werden.Prenant deux grandes enquêtes politiques, les auteurs se posent la question de savoir si elles peuvent être considérées comme des systèmes procéduraux au sens de la théorie de Luhmann, c’est-à-dire des cadres d’action bien distincts porteurs d’interprétations et de conséquences spécifiques. L’un des cas se situe en Angleterre « l’enquête Hutton », l’autre « l’enquête CIA » dans l’Union européenne. Un travail microsociologique rapporte les manières de fonctionner de l’une et de l’autre aux modalités de construction des processus internes de communication, de la production de connaissances et de la prise de décision. Il ressort que chacune produit bien, au carrefour de ces trois processus, une procédure cohérente, plus ou moins forte et qui fait à quelque degré système.Peer Reviewe

Performance Assessment Links in Science

Accessed 39,263 times on https://pareonline.net from November 13, 1999 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Performance Assessment Links in Science

Accessed 39,263 times on https://pareonline.net from November 13, 1999 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Strong and Weak Procedures. Political Inquiries and Their Different Modes of Operation Based on the "Hutton Inquiry" in the UK and the EU's "CIA Inquiry"

Die vorliegende Verfahrensanalyse kontrastiert zwei politische Untersuchungsausschüsse. Die Autoren fragen, ob und inwiefern die Untersuchungen als Verfahren, d.h. mit Luhmann als abgegrenzte und eigensinnige Handlungszusammenhänge, gelten können. Ausgehend von den Frage-Antwort-Interaktionen in der englischen "Hutton Inquiry" und dem "CIA-Ausschuss" der EU rekonstruieren die Autoren die jeweiligen Funktionsweisen im Hinblick auf die Arten und Weisen der kommunikativen Anknüpfung, der Wissensgenerierung und der Entscheidungsfindung. Beide Untersuchungen fungieren als eigensinnige, selbstbezügliche Verfahren. Gleichzeitig zeigt das Diskursmaterial unterschiedliche Grade der Selbstbezüglichkeit, Integration und Abgrenzung der Kommunikations-, Wissens- und Entscheidungsprozesse. Letztere bündeln sich zu durchgängig (relativ) starken und schwachen Verfahren. Die konstatierten Stärken und Schwächen werden durch Ausnahmen bzw. durch Wechselspiele der Teilnehmer noch bestätigt: und zwar dort, wo diese gezielt das jeweils andere Verfahrensregister aufrufen. Im Ausblick verweisen die Autoren auf weitere Implikationen ihrer Verfahrensanalyse: Zum einen im Hinblick auf die politische Bewertung der Untersuchungen und ihrer Wirkungsweise, zum anderen im Hinblick auf epistemische Voraussetzungen des jeweiligen Realtypus. Insgesamt forciert der Artikel ein soziologisches Verständnis von Verfahren sowie eine empirische Relativierung systemtheoretischer Annahmen.The authors contrast two political inquiries in light of Luhmann's system theory of procedure. The article asks whether and to what extent these inquiries can be considered to be procedural systems, meaning distinct frames of action that generate specific meanings and relevancies. Starting from a micro-sociological analysis of question-answer interactions in the British "Hutton Inquiry" and the European Union's "CIA Inquiry" the authors aim at reconstructing the specific functionalities of the respective procedures with regard to their different ways of engaging and enabling self-referential processes of communication, knowledge production, and decision-making. Both inquiries show properties of procedural systems. But they do so to different degrees. The discourse material exhibits a gradation of self-reference, integration, and differentiation in terms of communication, knowledge production, and decision-making. As a system, each merges these three processes into a consistent, relatively strong or weak procedure. The two procedural registers are further confirmed by the participants' discourse strategies. The participants at times invoke the respective opposite - either weak or strong - type. We conclude with further implications of our functional analysis of procedure: on the political evaluation of inquiries and their effects; on the epistemic premises of each real type; and on the strengthening and weakening dynamics in the course of the procedure. Overall, the article encourages a sociological understanding of the procedural mechanism as well as an empirical qualification and variation of system-theoretical assertions

Metaphoric coherence: Distinguishing verbal metaphor from `anomaly\u27

Theories and computational models of metaphor comprehension generally circumvent the question of metaphor versus “anomaly” in favor of a treatment of metaphor versus literal language. Making the distinction between metaphoric and “anomalous” expressions is subject to wide variation in judgment, yet humans agree that some potentially metaphoric expressions are much more comprehensible than others. In the context of a program which interprets simple isolated sentences that are potential instances of cross‐modal and other verbal metaphor, I consider some possible coherence criteria which must be satisfied for an expression to be “conceivable” metaphorically. Metaphoric constraints on object nominals are represented as abstracted or extended along with the invariant structural components of the verb meaning in a metaphor. This approach distinguishes what is preserved in metaphoric extension from that which is “violated”, thus referring to both “similarity” and “dissimilarity” views of metaphor. The role and potential limits of represented abstracted properties and constraints is discussed as they relate to the recognition of incoherent semantic combinations and the rejection or adjustment of metaphoric interpretations

Analyzing Problem Solving Using Math in Physics: Epistemological Framing via Warrants

Developing expertise in physics entails learning to use mathematics effectively and efficiently as applied to the context of physical situations. Doing so involves coordinating a variety of concepts and skills including mathematical processing, computation, blending ancillary information with the math, and reading out physical implications from the math and vice versa. From videotaped observations of intermediate level students solving problems in groups, we note that students often "get stuck" using a limited group of skills or reasoning and fail to notice that a different set of tools (which they possess and know how to use effectively) could quickly and easily solve their problem. We refer to a student's perception/judgment of the kind of knowledge that is appropriate to bring to bear in a particular situation as epistemological framing. Although epistemological framing is often unstated (and even unconscious), in group problem solving situations students sometimes get into disagreements about how to progress. During these disagreements, they bring forth explicit reasons or warrants in support of their point of view. For the context of mathematics use in physics problem solving, we present a system for classifying physics students' warrants. This warrant analysis offers tangible evidence of their epistemological framing.Comment: 23 page