Research and technological developments made in the last few decades made computer technology an integral part of our daily activities. In some sense they shape our life. No one can really predict how the near and farther future will look like but nonetheless current research activities will play a role. Computerized systems, Digital information and Computer Science Technologies will be the mai...

Agent-based simulations are models where multiple entities sense and stochastically respond to conditions in their local environments, mimicking complex large-scale system behavior. We provide an overview of some important issues in the modeling and analysis of agent-based systems. Examples are drawn from a range of fields: biological modeling, sociological modeling, and industrial applications...

This paper presents a novel task of ordering given concepts (e.g., London, Paris, and Rome) on the basis of common attribute intensity expressed by a given adjective (e.g., safe) and proposes statistical ordering methods that integrate heterogeneous evidence extracted from text on concept ordering. This study is aimed at deriving collective wisdom on concept ordering from social media text. Sol...

We present here a typology of four forms of communication between posts and comments on blogs. They are described using different kinds of indicators, combining qualitative ethnographic approaches and quantitative social network analysis, showing the diversity of ways to produce one’s social identity.

The problem of generations is important enough to merit serious consideration. It is one of the indispensable guides to an understanding of the structure of social and intellectual movements. Its practical importance becomes clear as soon as one tries to obtain a more exact understanding of the accelerated pace of social change characteristic of our time. It would be regrettable if extra-scient...

est of the reader, he or she should consult the outside texts provided at the end of each chapter for more detailed information. With the arrival of the third edition comes the addition of current issues facing gender equality activists. The reader may find many of these fiercely debated topics familiar, thus establishing a connection between current events and the underlying theory discussed i...

This paper introduces modal logics to a sociological audience. We first provide an overview of the formal properties of this family of models and outline key differences with classical first-order logic. We then build a model to represent processes of perception and belief core to social theories. To do this, we define our multi-modal language and then add substantive constraints that specify t...

US sociology has been historically segregated in that, at least until the 1960s, there were two distinct institutionally organized traditions of sociological thought - one black and one white. For the most part, however, dominant historiographies have been silent on that segregation and, at best, reproduce it when addressing the US sociological tradition. This is evident in the rarity with whic...