Cellular automata (CA) are discrete, dynamical systems that perform computations in a distributed fashion on a spatially extended grid. The dynamical behavior of a CA may give rise to emergent computation, referring to the appearance of global information processing capabilities that are not explicitly represented in the system’s elementary components nor in their local interconnections. As suc...

Retropharyngeal abscesses in the pediatric population can cause severe respiratory distress. We report a rare case of significant airway obstruction in a 14-month-old patient requiring rapid, emergent tracheotomy after attempts at endotracheal intubation by an experienced airway surgeon were unsuccessful. The patient was diagnosed with streptococcal pharyngitis 9 days prior to presentation to o...

This paper describes a framework for modeling emotions within cognitive agents as an extention to an earlier SOMAgent model of communication and language learning, information fusion and emergent semantic memories. Emotion is considered as a continuous mechanism for flexible adaptation and it is captured through the emergence in an agent’s reaction-emotional memory. In addition to the elementar...

I am particularly interested in emergent patterns in complex multi-agent systems. I study both how to design effective autonomous decision-making systems as well as the rationale behind decisions of living agents in natural systems. Consequently, my transdisciplinary work connects engineering, computer science, and behavioral ecology. In general, I use theories from optimization, parallel compu...

Research suggests that teachers need to scaffold emergent bilingual students as they develop the complex language associated with school success. This may especially be true in dual language settings, where children are learning two languages simultaneously. In this study, therefore, I investigate the linguistic scaffolding practices of first-grade dual language teachers as they support academi...

Objectives: To define and assess 'Consumer Health Informatics' and related emergent issues in an era of new media and of personalisation of care, and from this to define what actions need to be taken to optimise benefits and address risks. Methods: Definition of key concepts; review of health personalisation, emergent health information and communication technologies and knowledge sources avail...

This article analyses a flocking algorithm that was developed specifically for small and simple swarm robots. It is similar to traditional flocking algorithms for swarm robots, however it does not need communication nor global information. Its only requirements are at least 4 circumferential distance sensors which can have very limited range. This is possible because our algorithm generates eme...

In this paper we introduce a formal model of Socio-Technical Systems (STSs) which makes use of Boolean games, a popular computational framework to model cooperation among autonomous agents, to study stability of the emergent behavior in STSs. We divide a STS into informationally independent organization units which affect system stability, inter-agent communication and information confidentiali...

This paper presents the results of our corroborated study of grassroots Internet sites and authors in the nation of Kyrgyzstan, exceptional in Central Asia for its deregulated Internet policy. The study presents a set of semistructured interviews with notable grassroots Internet authors and activists, including bloggers, forum participants, and journalists, and analyzes this data via a critical...

This paper explores the emergent nature of organizational knowledge, which has not been addressed sufficiently in the current Knowledge Management (KM) research. For the task, we reconsider the concept of knowledge by looking at four distinct discourses on knowledge; namely, knowledge as object, knowledge as interpretation, knowledge as process, and knowledge as relationship. Then the fundament...