We revisit the problem of introducing an external global field – the mass media – in Axelrod’s model of social dynamics, where in addition to their nearest neighbors, the agents can interact with a virtual neighbor whose cultural features are fixed from the outset. The finding that this apparently homogenizing field actually increases the cultural diversity has been considered a puzzle since th...

This contribution deals with the interdependence of Eastern and Western Europe in the present historical developments. It emphasizes the importance to distinguish analytically between the social and the cultural. Pointing out an increasing neglect of the social in theory and research particularly with respect to the post-communist societies of Eastern and East-Central Europe. As social structur...

We present first ideas on how results about qualitative spatial reasoning can be exploited in reasoning about action and change. Current work concentrates on a line segment based calculus, the dipole calculus and necessary extensions for representing navigational concepts like turn right. We investigate how its conceptual neighborhood structure can be applied in the situation calculus for reaso...

culture as the philosophy of life refers to the values, norms and rules, and actual behaviorwhich is taken over by man from the past generations, and to leave it to next generation in a differentform, separates individuals belonging to the culture from individuals belonging to other cultures.each of these different attitudes describes the degree to which the culture values the past, the present...

Background: Despite the increased demand of donor oocyte treatment, little is known about the experience of donor oocyte recipient women and how they perceive motherhood especially in Iran, due to the cultural, social, and religious situation. The aim of this study is to recognize the recipient women