Social Space and Social Media: Analyzing Urban Space with Big Data

This dissertation focuses on the key role that big data can play in minimizing the perceived disconnect between social theory and quantitative methods in the discipline of geography. It takes as its starting point the geographic concept of space, which is conceptualized very differently in social theory versus quantitative methodology. Contrary to this disparity, an examination of the disciplinary history reveals a number of historic precedents and potential pathways for a rapprochement, especially when combined with some of the new possibilities of big data. This dissertation also proposes solutions to two common barriers to the adoption of big data in the social sciences: accessing and collecting such data and, subsequently, meaningful analysis. These methods and the theoretical foundation are combined in three case studies that show the successful integration of a quantitative research methodology with social theories on space. The case studies demonstrate how such an approach can create new and alternative understandings of urban space. In doing so it answers three specific research questions: (1) How can big data facilitate the integration of social theory on space with quantitative research methodology? (2) What are the practical challenges and solutions to moving “beyond the geotag” when utilizing big data in geographical research? (3) How can the quantitative analysis of big data provide new and useful insight in the complex character of social space? More specifically, what insights does such an analysis of relational social space provide about urban mobility and cognitive neighborhoods

The Messiah on Netflix: between confusion and inspiration

Abstract The Netflix series The Messiah has intrigued many spectators but has encountered criticism as well. The criticism is heterogeneous: both concerned Christians, often from American protestant background, as well as sceptic secular people have rejected person and message of the mysterious al-Masiḥ. In our article it is shown that this kind of criticism should be considered part and parcel of the Messianic impact of the series. By a careful comparison between Islamic and Christian Messianic motifs it becomes clear that the series has consciously found its way amids a plethora of motifs, hereby avoiding violent and intolerant elements of classical Messianism, although apocalyptic elements are not lacking either. The device exploited frequently is „the rhetorics of evasion and of confrontation‟, by which the search for truth falls back upon the follower him- or herself. Human existence is viewed as a struggle between the superficial and the existential, as well as between the self-assured and the wounded. Al-Masiḥ seems to be capable of confronting the people with the deeper layers of their existence, while transcending barriers of religion, politics and class

Attentional Social Media: Mapping the Spaces and Networks of the Fashion Industry

In this article we use big data methods to analyze the attention paid to the fashion industry on social media. The article argues that for the fashion industry, like many industries, the core product is a form of knowledge that is dependent on gaining and holding people’s attention. To understand this attentional economy, social media offers a unique window because it is increasingly a central space within which fashion knowledge is created and shared. Using long-term, geotagged big data from Twitter, we analyze the hitherto difficult-to-explore spaces and places of the global fashion industry. The article suggests that the data confirm the ideas that there are a series of global fashion capitals that are especially important to the industry and that attention paid to fashion is highly uneven and varied across industry functions, national origins, and companies. Evidence is presented that attention to fashion is a global phenomenon that does not always directly link to where fashion products are sold. Attention to fashion is both a market-making mechanism for the industry as well as an indicator of wider social and cultural processes of tastemaking and identity formation within which fashion is entwined. The article concludes by suggesting that such data offer geographers new ways of looking at and linking economic, social, and cultural spaces and geographies and that social media analysis can help bridge boundaries that divide geographers

Phenotypic error threshold; additivity and epistasis in RNA evolution

BACKGROUND: The error threshold puts a limit on the amount of information maintainable in Darwinian evolution. The error threshold was first formulated in terms of genotypes. However, if a genotype-phenotype map involves redundancy ("mutational neutrality"), the error threshold should be formulated in terms of phenotypes since there is no unique fittest genotype. A previous study formulated the error threshold in terms of phenotypes, and their results showed that a rather low degree of mutational neutrality can increase the error threshold unlimitedly. RESULTS: We obtain an analytical formulation of the phenotypic error threshold by considering the "additive assumption", in which base substitutions do not influence each other (no epistasis). Our formulation shows that an increase of the error threshold due to mutational neutrality is limited. Computer simulations of RNA evolution are conducted to verify our formulation, and the results show a good agreement between the analytical prediction and the simulations. The comparison with the previous formulation illustrates that it is important for the prediction of the error threshold to consider that the number of base substitutions per replication is rather large near the error threshold. To examine the additive assumption, a detailed analysis of additivity and epistasis in RNA folding of a particular sequence is performed. The results show a high degree of epistasis in RNA folding; furthermore, the analysis also elucidates the reason of the success of the additive assumption. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that an increase of the error threshold by mutational neutrality is limited, and that the additive assumption achieves a good prediction of the error threshold in spite of a high degree of epistasis in RNA folding because the average number of base substitutions of sequences retaining the phenotype per replication is sufficiently small to avoid of the effect of epistasis

Christaller and “big data”: recalibrating central place theory via the geoweb

This article utilizes central place theory (CPT) to navigate the “deluge” brought about by big data. While originating in the 1930s, CPT is a theoretical monument of 1960s spatial science. CPT aims to understand settlement geographies based on consumption behavior and is often presented as a singular, outdated, and rationalist theory. After critically reviewing the history of CPT, we assess the microfoundations of Christaller’s CPT–the threshold and range of goods–for various central functions in Louisville, Kentucky. The microfoundations are estimated through data from social media platforms Foursquare and Twitter. These sources alleviate many of the operationalization issues that traditionally hamper empirical use of CPT. The empirical application of CPT reveals that: (i) central functions have typical ranges and thresholds relating central places to population spread; (ii) central functions cluster based on an approximate hierarchical structure. The findings indicate the ongoing importance of CPT in shaping urban-economic geographies

Нові документи про родину Лисянських

Het lijkt een wet van Meden en Perzen: in tijden van crisis duikt ook steeds een roep om ingrijpende verandering op. Constante in deze dynamiek is het concept van de rechtvaardige stad. Hoewel al in de jaren zeventig geïntroduceerd, is het nog steeds onderdeel van verhit debat. In deze AGORA een historische en theoretische refl ectie en een analyse van rechtvaardigheid in de stedelijke praktijk