scholarly journals Theoretical foundations and limits of word embeddings: what types of meaning can they capture?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Arseniev-Koehler
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Cultural Sociology ◽  
Static System ◽  
Word Embeddings ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Theoretical Foundations ◽  
Embedding Methods ◽  
Do So

Measuring meaning is a central problem in cultural sociology and word embeddings may offer powerful new tools to do so. But like any tool, they build on and exert theoretical assumptions. In this paper I theorize the ways in which word embeddings model three core premises of a structural linguistic theory of meaning: that meaning is relational, coherent, and may be analyzed as a static system. In certain ways, word embedding methods are vulnerable to the same, enduring critiques of these premises. In other ways, they offer novel solutions to these critiques. More broadly, formalizing the study of meaning with word embeddings offers theoretical opportunities to clarify core concepts and debates in cultural sociology, such as the coherence of meaning. Just as network analysis specified the once vague notion of social relations (Borgatti et al. 2009), formalizing meaning with embedding methods can push us to specify and reimagine meaning itself.

scholarly journals Sociocultural Mechanisms of Conflict: Combining Topic and Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models in an Analysis of Afghanistan, 1979-2001

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Karell ◽  
Michael Raphael Freedman
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Cultural Sociology ◽  
Conflict Studies ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Cultural Domain ◽  
Do So

How do sociocultural dynamics shape conflict? We develop a relational understanding of how social relations, culture, and conflict are interwoven. Using this framework, we examine how combatants' associations with cultural elements affect the interpersonal relationships underlying conflict dynamics, as well as how these relationships engender associations to cultural elements. To do so, we first introduce a novel analytical approach that synthesizes computational textual analysis and stochastic actor-oriented models of longitudinal networks. We then use our approach to analyze a two-level socio-semantic graph representing both the cultural domain and social relationships of prominent militants operating in one Afghan province, Balkh, between 1979 and 2001. Our results indicate that militants' interpersonal comradeships rely, in part, on their connections to cultural elements and relative power. Comradeship, in turn, fosters militants' connections to cultural elements. We conclude by discussing how conflict studies can continue to build on insights from cultural sociology, as well as how cultural sociology and socio-semantic network research can benefit from further engaging conflict studies and developing our analytical approach. We also highlight provisional insights into endogenous mechanisms of conflict resolution and cultural change.

Five Modes of Scepticism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Sienkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Sextus Empiricus ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Limiting Case ◽  
Do So

This book offers an account of the functioning of the five Agrippan modes of scepticism as presented in the works of Sextus Empiricus. These five modes (of disagreement, hypothesis, infinite regression, reciprocity, and relativity) are analysed, individually, in the book’s first five chapters, and, collectively, in its sixth. Two perspectives on these modes are distinguished from one another—a dogmatic perspective which considers how a dogmatic philosopher might come to suspend judgement on the basis of these modes and a sceptical perspective which considers how a sceptic might come to do so. It is argued that the standard way in which these modes have been understood has been from a dogmatic perspective. The book opens up an alternative sceptical perspective on the modes according to which mode of disagreement (or one version of it) is equivalent to the sceptic’s method of equipollence, and the modes of hypothesis, infinite regression, and reciprocity are different instances of that method (with the mode of hypothesis being a limiting case of the method). It is also argued that the mode of relativity is inconsistent with the mode of disagreement and should be discarded when considering how the modes work together in a combined sceptical strategy. The final chapter offers an account of four different ways in which the modes might be combined together and concludes that each of these ways turns on a number of theoretical assumptions which the sceptic is not in a position to make.

scholarly journals A Survey of Encoding Techniques for Signal Processing in Spiking Neural Networks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Auge ◽  
Julian Hille ◽  
Etienne Mueller ◽  
Alois Knoll
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Neural Networks ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Spiking Neural Networks ◽  
Biologically Inspired ◽  
Power Efficient ◽  
Signal Encoding ◽  
Uniform Nomenclature ◽  
Theoretical Foundations ◽  
Do So

AbstractBiologically inspired spiking neural networks are increasingly popular in the field of artificial intelligence due to their ability to solve complex problems while being power efficient. They do so by leveraging the timing of discrete spikes as main information carrier. Though, industrial applications are still lacking, partially because the question of how to encode incoming data into discrete spike events cannot be uniformly answered. In this paper, we summarise the signal encoding schemes presented in the literature and propose a uniform nomenclature to prevent the vague usage of ambiguous definitions. Therefore we survey both, the theoretical foundations as well as applications of the encoding schemes. This work provides a foundation in spiking signal encoding and gives an overview over different application-oriented implementations which utilise the schemes.

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE CYCLICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ECONOMY

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 133-147
Author(s):  
I.R. LYAPINA ◽  
◽  
T.A. ZHURAVLEVA ◽  
I.V. SKOBLIAKOVA ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Regulatory Processes ◽  
The Family ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Optimization Mechanism ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

The purpose of the research is to study of the features of the influence of social institutions on the cyclicality and dynamics of economic development in the context of identifying the role of social institutions at individual phases of the cycle of economic development, as well as consideration of the functions and tools of social institutions by phases of economic development. The subject of the research is a set of roles, functions and tools of social institutions related to different phases of the cycle of economic development. The methodological base is formed for the implementation of scientific research tasks. Its tools are methods that allow reflecting the features of the influence of social institutions on the cyclical nature of the economy: the method of theoretical foundations, the method of grouping, the method of analysis, the method of comparison, the method of implication. As a result of the study, it is indicated that the functions of social institutions should be highlighted: the consolidation of emerging social relations, adaptation, regulatory processes, a communication basis and a translational basis. The instruments that influence economic fluctuations are formed in the context of social institutions. Thus, the institution of the family is characterized by the use of an optimization mechanism, the concept of sustainability of social relations, the concept of production and distribution of economic benefits in order to meet the needs of each of the subjects.

The Head, the Hand, and Matter: New Materialism and the Politics of Knowledge

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 49-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Rekret
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Political Agency ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Counter Narrative ◽  
Karen Barad ◽  
Material Turn ◽  
Material Conditions ◽  
Do So

This article seeks to examine the political connotations of a recent ‘material turn’ in social and political theory and its implications for theorizations of political agency. ‘New materialist’ theories are premised upon transcending the limits which social constructivism places upon thought, viewed as a reification of the division of subject and object and so a hubristic anthropocentrism which places human beings at the centre of social existence. Yet new materialist theories have tended to locate the conditions of the separation of mind and world they seek to overcome upon the terrain of epistemic or ethical error. By taking the work of Quentin Meillassoux, Jane Bennett and Karen Barad as exemplary, this article contends that new materialist theories not only fall short of their own materialist pretensions insofar as they do not interrogate the material conditions of the separation of the mental and material, but that the failure to do so has profound repercussions for the success of their accounts of political agency. This essay seeks to offer a counter-narrative to new materialist theories by situating the hierarchy between thought and world as a structural feature of capitalist social relations.

scholarly journals Linear Algebraic Structure of Word Senses, with Applications to Polysemy

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 483-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjeev Arora ◽  
Yuanzhi Li ◽  
Yingyu Liang ◽  
Tengyu Ma ◽  
Andrej Risteski
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Random Walk ◽  
Algebraic Structure ◽  
Sparse Coding ◽  
Word Sense ◽  
Word Embeddings ◽  
Linear Superposition ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
Embedding Methods ◽  
Word Senses

Word embeddings are ubiquitous in NLP and information retrieval, but it is unclear what they represent when the word is polysemous. Here it is shown that multiple word senses reside in linear superposition within the word embedding and simple sparse coding can recover vectors that approximately capture the senses. The success of our approach, which applies to several embedding methods, is mathematically explained using a variant of the random walk on discourses model (Arora et al., 2016). A novel aspect of our technique is that each extracted word sense is accompanied by one of about 2000 “discourse atoms” that gives a succinct description of which other words co-occur with that word sense. Discourse atoms can be of independent interest, and make the method potentially more useful. Empirical tests are used to verify and support the theory.

scholarly journals The mutual specification of genres and audiences: Reflective two-mode centralities in person-to-culture data

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Lizardo
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Cultural Sociology ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Criterion Validity ◽  
Measurement Framework ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Cultural Choices ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

Recent developments at the intersection of cultural sociology and network theory suggest that the relations between persons and the cultural forms they consume can be productively analyzed using conceptual resources and methods adapted from network analysis. In this paper I seek to contribute to this developing line of thinking on the culture-networks link as it pertains to the sociology of taste. I present a general analytic and measurement framework useful for rethinking traditional survey (or population) based data on individuals and their cultural choices as a “two mode” persons X genres network. The proposed methodological tools allow me to develop a set of “reflective” metrics useful for ranking both persons and genres in terms of the pattern of choices and audience composition embedded in the cultural network. The empirical analysis shows that these metrics have both face and criterion validity, allowing us to extract useful information that would remain out of reach of standard quantitative strategies. I close by outlining the analytic and substantive implications of the approach.

scholarly journals CURRÍCULOS INTRA/INTERCULTURAL NA BOLÍVIA: a matemática e a perspectiva pós-colonial

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Harryson Júnio Lessa Gonçalves ◽  
Antônio Hilário Aguilera Urquiza
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
American Identity ◽  
Curricular Reform ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Do So

 O artigo tem como objetivo descrever, a partir de documentos curriculares, o processo de planificação dos currículos regionalizados do Estado Plurinacional da Bolívia. Para tanto, tem como objetivos específicos: a) identificar a organização e estrutura o sistema educacional boliviano a partir de algumas características sociais, histórica e econômicas; b) identificar pressupostos teóricos que consubstanciam a reforma curricular boliviana; c) descrever a organização curricular de Matemática no ensino secundário (Ensino Médio) viabilizada pelos currículos bolivianos. A investigação foi desenvolvida a partir de documentos curriculares que, pressupomos, são pouco conhecidos no Brasil e, por isso, como estratégia para afirmação da identidade latino-americana no Brasil. Assim, o estudo foi produzido a partir de pesquisa bibliográfica (artigos sobre ensino de Matemática na Bolívia) e documental (análise de documentos e currículos oficiais da Bolívia). Desse modo, nos consubstanciamos em um referencial teórico pós-colonial. O currículo analisado nos revelou um compromisso com a educação centrada em aspectos antropológicos que toma o conhecimento como histórica e socialmente posicionado a partir da diversidade cultural, valorizando, assim, saberes providos de povos indígenas originários; percebemos, ainda, um currículo distanciado de bases conceituais e epistemológicas preconizadas pela comunidade internacional de educadores matemáticos.Palavras-chave: Currículo de matemática. Bolívia. Educação boliviana.INTRA/INTERCULTURAL CURRICULA IN BOLIVIA: mathematics and the post-colonial perspective Abstract: The article aims to describe, from curricular documents, the process of planning the region's curriculum, of the Sate of Plurinational of Bolivia. To do so, it has specific objectives: a) to identify the organization and structure of the Bolivian educational system based on some social, historical and economic characteristics; b) to identify theoretical assumptions that underpin Bolivian curricular reform; c) describe the curricular organization of Mathematics in secondary education (Middle School) made possible by Bolivian curriculum. For that, the research was developed from curricular documents that, we assume, are little known in Brazil and, therefore, as a strategy for affirming the Latin American identity in Brazil. Thus, the study was produced from bibliographical research (articles on teaching Mathematics in Bolivia) and documentary (analysis of official documents and curricula from Bolivia). Therefore, we are based on a post-colonial theoretical framework. The curriculum analyzed showed us a commitment to education centered on anthropological aspects that takes knowledge as historical and socially positioned from cultural diversity, thus valuing the knowledge provided by native indigenous peoples; We also notice, a curriculum distanced from the conceptual and epistemological bases advocated by the international community of mathematical educators.Keywords: Mathematics curriculum. Bolivia. Bolivian education. CURRÍCULOS INTRA/INTERCULTURAL EN BOLIVIA: la matemática y la perspectiva post-colonial Resumen: El objetivo del artículo es describir, a partir los documentos curriculares, el proceso de planificación de los currículo regionalizados del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. Para ello, tenemos como objetivos específicos: a) identificar la organización y estructura del sistema educativo boliviano a partir de algunas características sociales, históricas y económicas; b) identificar los fundamentos teóricos que aportan la reforma curricular boliviana; ci) describir la organización curricular de Matemáticas en la educación secundaria viabilizada por los currículos bolivianos. La investigación fue desarrollada a partir de documentos curricular que, presumimos, son poco conocidos en Brasil y, por eso, se presenta como estrategia para la afirmación de la identidad latinoamericana en Brasil. Así, el estudio fue producido a partir de investigación bibliográfica (artículos sobre Enseñanza de Matemáticas en Bolivia) y documental (análisis de documentos y currículos oficiales de Bolivia). De ese modo, nos basamos en un marco teórico pos-colonial. El currículo analizado nos reveló un compromiso con la educación centrada en aspectos antropológicos que parte de un conocimiento histórico y socialmente posicionado a partir de la diversidad cultural, valorando los saberes provenientes de pueblos indígenas originarios; Percibimos también un currículo distanciado de bases conceptuales y epistemológicas preconizadas por la comunidad internacional de educadores matemáticos.Palabras clave: Currículo de matemática. Bolivia. Educación boliviana.               

Webs of Community

2018 ◽  
pp. 129-161
Author(s):  
Susan Sleeper-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Exchange Process ◽  
Indian Women ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Kin Relations ◽  
The Face ◽  
Village Life ◽  
Indian Control ◽  
Do So

A network of Indian trading villages dominated the tributary rivers of the Ohio and fostered Indian control over the exchange process. The face-to-face exchange process that characterized these villages ushered in a golden age of Indigenous prosperity as Indian women sought new types of cloth, incorporated silks and calicoes into their wardrobes, and demanded silver ornaments to highlight and decorate their clothing. Kin-based networks controlled trade as well as social relations in the region. Traders who sought a share of this prosperity resided in these Indian trading villages and carefully observed Indigenous trade protocols. Those who failed to do so found themselves unwelcome in Indian villages. Change was ongoing: newcomers were incorporated, populations multiplied, and village life was defined by evolving kin relations. These changes occurred within the framework of an Indian world, one that was increasingly shaped by Miami hegemony over the Wabash region. Intermarriage blurred social borders and simultaneously created pathways to authority and power.

Network Perspectives on the Past: Tackling the Challenges

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Brughmans ◽  
Anna Collar
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Special Method ◽  
The Past ◽  
Full Diversity ◽  
Strength Of Weak Ties

As his keynote address to the 1990 Sunbelt Social Networks conference, Mark Granovetter presented a paper entitled ‘The Myth of Social Network Analysis as a Special Method in the Social Sciences’ (Granovetter 1990). In it, he described how the popular social network theory he proposed, ‘The Strength of Weak Ties’ (Granovetter 1973), was like a spectre that haunted his academic career: although he subsequently pursued other research interests, he found that ‘as I got more deeply into any subject, network ideas kept coming in the back door’. He concluded that social network analysis (SNA) is not a ‘special’ method in social science, because ‘no part of social life can be properly analysed without seeing how it is fundamentally embedded in networks of social relations’ (Granovetter 1990: 15). However, he noted that to many, SNA is an alien concept: ‘we need to remember that there are many scholars outside the house of social network analysis who think in a relational way but don’t see the kinship with network methods and ideas’ (Granovetter 1990: 15). This observation echoes the current position of network studies in archaeology and history. Few would argue that relationships between social entities are not important for understanding past social processes. However, more explicit application of network theories and methods is not yet a mainstream part of our disciplines. Although it is the case that some researchers are not aware of the advantages such perspectives might offer, the current ‘niche’ status of network applications in archaeological and historical research relates to a more general misperception: that network concepts and methodologies per se are simply not appropriate for use in research in these disciplines. This volume aims to address both issues: the contributions in this volume demonstrate both the enormous potential of network methodologies, and also—and perhaps more importantly—acknowledge and address a range of perceived problems and reservations relating to the application of network perspectives to the study of the past, thereby encouraging and enabling their wider use in archaeology and history. The full diversity of network perspectives has only been introduced in our disciplines relatively recently.

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