Mathematical Modeling of Trending Topics on Twitter

Created in 2006, Twitter is an online social networking service in which users share and read 140-character messages called Tweets. The site has approximately 288 million monthly active users who produce about 500 million Tweets per day. This study applies dynamical and statistical modeling strategies to quantify the spread of information on Twitter. Parameter estimates for the rates of infection and recovery are obtained using Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. The methodological strategy employed is an extension of techniques traditionally used in an epidemiological and biomedical context (particularly in the spread of infectious disease). This study, which addresses information spread, presents case studies pertaining to the prevalence of several “trending” topics on Twitter over time. The study introduces a framework to compare information dynamics on Twitter based on the topical area as well as a framework for the prediction of topic prevalence. Additionally, methodological and results-based comparisons are drawn between the spread of information and the spread of infectious disease

Between virtuality and reality: remarks about perception of city architecture

In the contemporary reality the term "diversity" has become the basic feature that characterizes both creation and perception of the surrounding world. Trying to describe the city as the place to live of the half of the Earth's population faces the same problem that occurs during attempts to define styles or tendencies in architecture, urbanism or each other area of human activity. Therefore it is not possible to indicate one model of the contemporary city, and to determine its appropriate scale, structure and function. Considering complexity of contemporaneity, it’s multi–layering and a variety of possible reference points (named here "perception"), the only element which can be identified as prevalent in discussion about the city is man. Developing space in our cities is followed by the continuous development of the parallel virtual world. Perhaps it is still too early to name it "virtual reality", comprehended in the way in which we perceive the reality around us. It doesn’t change the fact, that fragments of electronic space, acting as digital memory, change our perception of architecture and cities. Currently the technology development affects Homo Sapiens much more than other factors in the environment where we live. One can ask, whether this new reality won’t entirely replace the need of direct contact with the real world. The city and its architecture is perceived through electronic prostheses. The surrounding world ceases to be perceived in a natural way and images of images become objects of human perception. The intention of these considerations is not to answer these questions, but to focus attention on problems arising from the change of perceiving architecture

Tokyo. One city. Ten cases of architecture

Tokyo, one of the global cities – so multi-threaded, vast, that almost indescribable. This article attempts to present an overview of the city and selected examples of contemporary architecture, that permanently inscribing in the canon of architecture, not only certify their affiliation with the art of building, but also enable to show the characteristic icons of Tokyo. Simultaneously, attention was directed to the role of the tectonics of architectural form, and the shape of buildings with respect to its observer’s perception of architecture

Games of meanings in contemporary architecture

Meanings recorded at different levels of possible connotations become a pretext for the game between the designer and the user of the building. The studies relate to possible levels of connotations of these signs and a game, also the search for them by recipient, which – deriving pleasure from the perception of the art of architecture – can also be described as fun

About perception of art. Selected issues in the field of architecture and music coherence

W artykule skierowano uwagę na porównanie dwóch – zdaje się całkowicie różnych – sztuk: muzyki i architektury. Ze względu na złożoność problematyki zakres badań ograniczono do wybranych zagadnień, w szczególności: zmienności wrażeń i odbioru w czasie, a także zestawienia cech wspólnych i różnych w odniesieniu do formy i struktury dzieł. Wskazując cechy, które wydają się wspólne, przedstawiono zależności związane z istnieniem muzyki i architektury w przestrzeni. Porównanie tych cech stanowi intrygującą inspirację dla dokonania analizy porównawczej, zapoczątkowanej wspomnieniem muzycznych zainteresowań profesora Wojciecha Kosińskiego.The article focuses on the comparison of two – seemingly completely different – arts: music and architecture. Due to the complexity of the subject matter, the scope of research was limited to selected issues – in particular: variability of impressions and perception over time, also comparisons of common and different features in relation to the form and structure of works. By indicating the features that seem to be common, relationships related to the existence of music and architecture in space are presented. The comparison of these features is an intriguing inspiration for a comparative analysis, initiated by the memory of the musical interests of professor Wojciech Kosiński