Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences - Symposium - 2006, Edinburgh, UK

Symposium - 2006, Edinburgh, UK



Topic: Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences



Friday 1 December 2006, 1pm-5.30pm



Department of Sociology, University of Edinburgh
Rm 124/5 Adam Ferguson Building, George Square, Edinburgh



Speakers:

Prof John Urry: ‘Complexity and the Car System’

Prof David Byrne: ‘Can we establish cause in relation to the trajectories of complex systems? A review of the potential of the methods of social science for understanding complex systems.’

Prof Gregor McLennan : 'Complexity Rules? Four complications, three dangers, two conclusions'

Dr Monica Greco: Title to be confirmed



Summary:
Complexity theory is a recently developed approach to social theory and research practice which can be used to analyse unpredictable and self-organising phenomena such as the internet, global protest movements and 'glocalisation' processes. The speakers at this symposium will be critically interrogating concepts such as 'non-linearity', 'emergence', 'self-organisation' and 'the edge of chaos', whilst exploring how they can be used to make sense of important contemporary phenomena in the social and political worlds.

All are welcome - if you are interested in further details about this event, contact Stephen Kemp (s.kemp@ed.ac.uk) or Nick Prior (n.prior@ed.ac.uk)

LSE Complexity EPSRC Short Course to Train Researchers

TAUGHT COURSE – 2007, LONDON, UK

Topic: LSE Complexity EPSRC Short Course to Train Researchers, 20-28 March 2007

The LSE Complexity Group in association with the Open University are running a course to train researchers in complexity and network theory. It will focus on complex social systems, especially organisations, using both quantitative and qualitative tools and methods, including agent-based modelling.



The course is funded by the EPSRC and all UK and EU students and academic researchers are eligible to apply for a funded place on the course. Funding will cover the cost of the course as well as reasonable travelling expenses. Accommodation for non-London based students will be provided in LSE Halls of Residence.



The course will run from March 20-28 2007 and will be held at the LSE.



Further details are available to download from:

http://www.psych.lse.ac.uk/complexity/

California: Soc Chaos Theory in Psychology & Life Sciences' 17th Annual Conference

The Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology & Life Sciences is pleased to announce that its 17th Annual International Conference will be held at Chapman University, in Orange, California, July 27-29 2007.

Announcements regarding the Call for Papers will be forthcoming along with additional news on our web site: www.societyforchaostheory.org At this time we would like to encourage all nonlinear scientists, including graduate students who might be finishing up a dynamical thesis or dissertation, to think about giving a paper presentation, chairing a rountable session, or crafting another type of session. If you have any questions or ideas right now, please contact our President, Matthijs Koopmans (mkoopmans@nyu.edu )

We would also like to thank everyone who joined us for our 16th Annual in Baltimore last month for making that conference a huge success.

Complexity and Dynamics: Volatility & Stability in City & Regional Systems

Thursday 28th September
2006 ECCS 06 -
Complexity and Dynamics: Volatility & Stability in City & Regional Systems
Details of the workshop and a call for contributions/papers are available at http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/ECCS06/

CoSSoM'06 - Complex Systems and Self-organization Modelling at ESM'2006

CoSSoM'06 - Complex Systems and Self-organization Modelling at ESM'2006

ESM'2006
October 23-25, 2006, LAAS, Toulouse, France

Description
The aim of this workshop is to concern itself with the use of emergent computing and self-organization modelling within various applications of complex systems. We focus our attention both on the innovative concepts and implementations to model self-organizations, but also the relevant applicative domains which can use them in an efficient way. For the first part, collective intelligence and dynamic combinatorics are conceptual tools which can be used to model self-organization processes. For the second part, geographical information systems (GIS), cognitive sciences and natural ecosystems are some relevant applicative domains on which we propose to focus our attention.
Workshop Sessions
Different sessions will be developed covering the following topics:
· GIS and Complexity:
Geographical Information Systems are powerful tools which manage some great amounts of data in complicated way. But, they can be also the basis of complex self-organizing systems revealed by some applications. These applications can concern their own development like their updating processes or some spatial-temporal conceptual implementations for their evolution. Some other major applications on GIS are decision support systems for modelling social or urban development, for example.
· Collective Intelligence and neuronal learning:
We focus our attention for this session on self-organization models based on neuronal learning, using for example Kohonen Maps. We are also interested by collective intelligence concepts like artificial ant systems or immune systems. Innovative concepts or applications of these models are welcome.
· Dynamic Combinatorics and Complexity:
Dynamics Combinatorics deals with evolvable structures which motion can follow some properties or can be in correspondence to some enumerative structures. We focus our attention on some evolutionary systems build by elementary rules and leading to emergent properties. The goal is to find a better understanding of evolvable complex systems by this methodologies.
· Cognitive Science Modelling:
Cognition is typically the result of complex processes. Many works try to give some formal description to better understanding the involved complex interactions. We suggest here, for example, and without exclusivity, some contributions on the interaction emotion-cognition-action, both on experimental approaches but also on modelling approaches. Multi-disciplinary studies are welcome.
· Natural Ecosystems Modelling:
Natural ecosystems are complex systems. Simulations are often used to describe some complex interaction networks between involved species. The detection of dynamical natural structures or organizations like food chains is one of the great challenge of the Individual Based Models (IBM). This session deals with some generic methodologies which allow to model the detected organizations inside the simulations during its run. The study of the evolution and the stabilization of such detected structures are welcome for this session. Multi-scale processes, heterogeneous modelling are some thrilling solutions for example.
Program
In progress.
Submission
The submission must follow MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "85.255.195.219" claiming to be the ESM'06 process
Submit your proposal here
Workshop Committee
to be confirmed
· Aziz-Alaoui M.A., Le Havre University, France
· Bennani Y., Paris XIII University, France
· Bertelle C., Le Havre University, France
· Cotsaftis M., LTME/ECE, Paris, France
· Duchamp G.H.E., Paris XIII University, France
· Guinand F., Le Havre University, France
· Hadj Kacem H., Sfax University, Tunisia
· Kadri-Dahmani H., Paris XIII University, France
· Obaidat M.S., Monmouth University, USA
· Olivier D., Le Havre University, France
· Oqeili S., Al Balqa Applied University, Jordan
· Osmani A., Paris XIII University, France
· Sadoun B., Al Balqa Applied University, Jordan
Contact
To any additional informations, please contact
· Bertelle C., LITIS, Le Havre University
25 Rue Ph. Lebon, BP 540, 76058 Le Havre Cedex, France.
· Duchamp G.H.E. , LIPN, Paris 13 University
99 avenue Jean-Baptiste Clement, 93430 Villetaneuse, France.
Deadlines
· September 13, 2006 : Submission of full papers (5 to 8 proceeding pages)
· September 20, 2006 : Notification of acceptance or rejection
· October 5, 2005 : Authors provide camera-ready manuscript
· October 23-25, 2005: ESM'06 Conference & CoSSoM workshop at LAAS, Toulouse, France
Accommodation and fees
See the web site of the MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "85.255.195.219" claiming to be ESM'06 conference.



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ECCS'06: A One-Day Satellite Workshop - Complexity and Dynamics: Volatility & Stability in City & Regional Systems

ECCS'06: A One-Day Satellite Workshop:
Thursday 28th September 2006
Complexity and Dynamics: Volatility & Stability in City & Regional Systems

Details of the workshop and a call for contributions/papers are available at

http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/ECCS06/

Mike Batty and Peter Allen






Michael Batty Director Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA)
University College London - 1-19 Torrington Place - London - WC1E 6BT UK
_______________________________________________________________

tel 44 (0) 207 679 1781 fax 44 (0) 207 813 2843 mobile 44 (0) 7768 423 656

http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/people/MikesPage.htm
Cities and Complexity · GIS, Spatial Analysis and Modeling ·
http://www.complexcity.info/ and http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/GIS/

Conference of the Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences

JOIN US IN BALTIMORE!!

The annual conference of the Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences will take place at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, August 4-6.

Register Now!!!

Go to http://www.societyforchaostheory.org/conf2006

We have a very strong program lined up for you this year that includes keynote lectures by two leaders in the field of nonlinear dynamical systems science:

Robin Vallacher (Florida Atlantic University), well known for the two books he published with Andrej Novak on dynamical systems in social psychology, will speak on Saturday night immediately following the Banquet.

Steve Boker (University of Notre Dame), whose path-breaking work on the application of differential structural equation modeling techniques to interpersonal coordination analyzes some of the most central features of self-organizing behavior, will give a sunset keynote address on Friday evening to start us all off.

The abstracts of their presentations follow:

Finding Order in the Flow of Human Experience:

The Re-Emergence of Dynamical Social Psychology

Robin R. Vallacher

Florida Atlantic University



Abstract
Human experience qualifies as a complex system, in that any aspect of intrapersonal or interpersonal functioning can be analyzed with respect to myriad factors. Because these factors rarely operate as main effects but rather interact with one another over time to promote an ever-changing trajectory of experience, personal and interpersonal processes are open to investigation as nonlinear dynamical systems. The earliest formulations of social psychology were remarkably prescient in this regard. Such pioneers as William James, C. H. Cooley, George Herbert Mead, Kurt Lewin, and Solomon Asch all emphasized the multiplicity of interacting forces operating in individual minds and in social groups, the potential for sustained patterns of change resulting from such complexity, and the tendency for individuals and groups to strive for mental and interpersonal coherence. Despite this explicit focus on dynamics at the field’s inception, social psychology for much of the 20th century typically employed paradigms better suited to capture the static aspects of experience. This state of affairs has changed in recent years with novel adaptations of nonlinear dynamical systems to a host of personal and social processes at different levels of social reality. Though still in its infancy, dynamical social psychology shows signs of emerging as a major paradigm, with the promise of establishing coherence for a field that is currently highly fragmented.



Information Flow and Symmetry Breaking in Interpersonal Coordination


Steven M. Boker

University of Notre Dame

Abstract

The semantic content of conversation is accompanied by coordinated prosody, head movement, eye movements, eyebrow movement, smiles, and other facial changes. Coordination between conversants' movements and/or facial expressions can be observed when an action generated by one individual is predictive of a symmetric movement by another. Both spatial and spatiotemporal symmetry is commonly observed in conversation and may be linked to mirror neuron systems that organize
embodied coordination into a perception--action loop. Overt expressions of symmetry thus are likely to be indicative of mutually shared inner states. But the greater the symmetry between two individuals, the greater the redundancy in their embodied states.
The greater the redundancy, the less information is transferred in a nonverbal communications channel. Therefore, symmetry breaking must also be a component of coordination in conversation. High degrees of nonstationarity in dyadic coordination have been observed in a recent set of motion tracking experiments. Current methods for estimation of nonstationarity in the association between variables are discussed
and the results of application of these methods to motion tracked dyadic conversations are presented. These results suggest that the ongoing mutual estimation of affect that occurs during human interaction may be framed as a dynamical systems model, and that this step may help us better understand emotion regulation.

Sincerely,

Matthijs Koopmans, Ed. D.
President
Society for Chaos Theory and Life Sciences
http://www.societyforchaostheory.org
(917)385-1529 (Voice)
(718)581-0951 (Fax)

Complexity Science for Beginners Course

I just wanted to mention / promote a course we are running twice at Cranfield University this September, called, ‘Complexity Science for Beginners’ (see http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/sims/mem/short_courses/complexity_science.htm for more info).

The course is intended for EPSRC PhD research students in the first 18 months of their research and is free for them. The course is ideal for people in that category who wish to get a taster of what complexity science is all about, its historical origins, the journey so far, how it fits in to a number of disciplines and how you can begin to make sense of it in the context of your own work or research. You can find photo’s from our pilot course that we ran in May at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/complexcarol/sets/72057594143008112/

For those with a hard technical/engineering background it will enable you to get to grips with how complexity science can be used to build models and simulations and what it means for nanotechnology, but will also present you with a framework for how to deal with the interface between the hard *and* the soft, i.e. where the world of engineering and social issues converge. This will become more relevant the further on in your career you get when the problems you are asked to deal with will not only be of a technical nature, but also involve the people dimension too! The good news here is that complexity science makes sense across the boundaries of all disciplines, albeit with subtle differences here and there.

If you know of anyone else who may be interested in this course then please do forward on this email and encourage them to have a look at http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/sims/mem/short_courses/complexity_science.htm

We would love to hear from you if you want to know more!

Thanks and best wishes, Carol

16th Annual Conference of the Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences

The 16th Annual Conference of the Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences is shaping up to be a truly outstanding venue for learning, networking, and scientific advancement. So mark your calendars now – August 4-6, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland. The call for presentations will be open until April 22, but don’t delay. For conference information, please visit our website: http://www.societyforchaostheory.org/conf2006/ or go directly to the on-line registration page: http://www.societyforchaostheory.org/form.html

A highlight of this year’s program will be a featured presentation by Robin R. Vallacher (abstract below).


Finding Order in the Flow of Human Experience:
The Re-Emergence of Dynamical Social Psychology

Robin R. Vallacher
Florida Atlantic University

Abstract

Human experience qualifies as a complex system, in that any aspect of intrapersonal or interpersonal functioning can be analyzed with respect to myriad factors. Because these factors rarely operate as main effects but rather interact with one another over time to promote an ever-changing trajectory of experience, personal and interpersonal processes are open to investigation as nonlinear dynamical systems. The earliest formulations of social psychology were remarkably prescient in this regard. Such pioneers as William James, C. H. Cooley, George Herbert Mead, Kurt Lewin, and Solomon Asch all emphasized the multiplicity of interacting forces operating in individual minds and in social groups, the potential for sustained patterns of change resulting from such complexity, and the tendency for individuals and groups to strive for mental and interpersonal coherence. Despite this explicit focus on dynamics at the field’s inception, social psychology for much of the 20th century typically employed paradigms better suited to capture the static aspects of experience. This state of affairs has changed in recent years with novel adaptations of nonlinear dynamical systems to a host of personal and social processes at different levels of social reality. Though still in its infancy, dynamical social psychology shows signs of emerging as a major paradigm, with the promise of establishing coherence for a field that is currently highly fragmented.

David Pincus, Ph.D., Secretary
Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences
Register online: www.societyforchaostheory.org/form.html
Contact fellow members: sctpls@listproc.umbc.edu
Send mail to: SCTPLS, PO Box 484, Pewaukee, WI 53072, USA
Fax: 1+714-997-6780