| 1. |
- Delios, A., et al.
(författare)
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Examining the generalizability of research findings from archival data
- 2022
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 119:30
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This initiative examined systematically the extent to which a large set of archival research findings generalizes across contexts. We repeated the key analyses for 29 original strategic management effects in the same context (direct reproduction) as well as in 52 novel time periods and geographies; 45% of the reproductions returned results matching the original reports together with 55% of tests in different spans of years and 40% of tests in novel geographies. Some original findings were associated with multiple new tests. Reproducibility was the best predictor of generalizability-for the findings that proved directly reproducible, 84% emerged in other available time periods and 57% emerged in other geographies. Overall, only limited empirical evidence emerged for context sensitivity. In a forecasting survey, independent scientists were able to anticipate which effects would find support in tests in new samples.
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| 2. |
- Liu, Y., et al.
(författare)
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Ladderpath Approach: How Tinkering and Reuse Increase Complexity and Information
- 2022
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Ingår i: Entropy. - : MDPI AG. - 1099-4300. ; 24:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The notion of information and complexity are important concepts in many scientific fields such as molecular biology, evolutionary theory and exobiology. Many measures of these quantities are either difficult to compute, rely on the statistical notion of information, or can only be applied to strings. Based on assembly theory, we propose the notion of a ladderpath, which describes how an object can be decomposed into hierarchical structures using repetitive elements. From the ladderpath, two measures naturally emerge: the ladderpath-index and the order-index, which represent two axes of complexity. We show how the ladderpath approach can be applied to both strings and spatial patterns and argue that all systems that undergo evolution can be described as ladderpaths. Further, we discuss possible applications to human language and the origin of life. The ladderpath approach provides an alternative characterization of the information that is contained in a single object (or a system) and could aid in our understanding of evolving systems and the origin of life in particular.
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| 3. |
- Liu, Zhixin, et al.
(författare)
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Microclimatic measurements in tropical cities: Systematic review and proposed guidelines
- 2022
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Ingår i: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0360-1323 .- 1873-684X. ; 222
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- To tackle urban overheating induced by the combined effect of global warming and intensive urbanization, researchers have recommended assimilating microclimate-related strategies into urban design practices. Field measurements, playing a central role in urban climatology, have been widely applied worldwide. Reviewing the last five years' field measurement studies and existing guidelines and standards from WMO (World Meteorological Organization) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization), this study identified a gap between available guidelines and researchers' practical needs to ascertain the collection of high caliber data. Therefore, dedicated guidelines are required to explain the crucial conceptual and application issues and refine systematic field measurement methods. This demand is particularly acute for microscale and urban environments. This study proposed and explained integrated and comprehensive guidelines for systematic microclimate field measurements. The suggested workflow included four main steps: formulating field measurement plan, preparing for field measurements, sustaining measurement quality, and curating data. The complex and heterogeneous environment in urban areas was carefully evaluated to hone the data acquisition campaign and ascertain data quality. Relevant concepts and practices learned from existing guidelines and standards, experiences from actual field studies, and professional recommendations were distilled and incorporated into the guidelines. The significance of a complete report with full metadata was emphasized. Detailed hints, precautions, recommendations, examples, and a metadata checklist were provided as a helpful and actionable package of research procedures.
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| 4. |
- Xu, Chi, et al.
(författare)
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Macroecological factors explain large-scale spatial population patterns of ancient agriculturalists
- 2015
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Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 0960-7447 .- 1466-822X. ; 24:9, s. 1030-1039
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: It has been well demonstrated that the large-scale distribution patterns of numerous species are driven by similar macroecological factors. However, understanding of this topic remains limited when applied to our own species. Here we take a large-scale look at ancient agriculturalist populations over the past two millennia. The main aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the patterns of agriculturalist populations were shaped by relevant macroecological factors.Location: China.Methods: Using detailed historical census data, we reconstructed spatial patterns of human population density over 13 imperial dynasties in ancient China, which was dominated by agrarian societies. We used simultaneous autoregressive models to examine the population densities of agriculturalists in relation to climatic, topographic, edaphic and hydrological variables, together with the spatial structure of a concentration of population toward national capitals. The pure and shared effects of these variables and the population-concentration structure were decomposed using a variation partitioning procedure.Results: Spatial population patterns of ancient agriculturalists can be well modelled by climate, topography, soil properties and local hydrological systems. A plausible explanation is that by influencing crop yield these environmental factors essentially drive the distribution of agriculturalists. The population-concentration structure can also explain agriculturalist patterns to a considerable extent. This structure and those environmental factors have largely shared effects in simultaneously shaping these agriculturalist patterns.Main conclusions: While humans can effectively temper environmental constraints at small spatial scales, our results demonstrate that macroecological factors underpin the spatial patterns of humans at large scales. Macroecological constraints and their relative importance are found to be similar for humans and other species, suggesting that similar mechanisms are likely to underlie these macroecological patterns. Our findings have potential implications for the assessment of future responses of humans to global environmental changes.
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