| 1. |
- Allassonnière-Tang, Marc, et al.
(författare)
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Expansion by migration and diffusion by contact is a source to the global diversity of linguistic nominal categorization systems
- 2021
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Ingår i: Humanities & Social Sciences Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2662-9992. ; 8, s. 1-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Languages of diverse structures and different families tend to share common patterns if they are spoken in geographic proximity. This convergence is often explained by horizontal diffusibility, which is typically ascribed to language contact. In such a scenario, speakers of two or more languages interact and influence each other’s languages, and in this interaction, more grammaticalized features tend to be more resistant to diffusion compared to features of more lexical content. An alternative explanation is vertical heritability: languages in proximity often share genealogical descent. Here, we suggest that the geographic distribution of features globally can be explained by two major pathways, which are generally not distinguished within quantitative typological models: feature diffusion and language expansion. The first pathway corresponds to the contact scenario described above, while the second occurs when speakers of genetically related languages migrate. We take the worldwide distribution of nominal classification systems (grammatical gender, noun class, and classifier) as a case study to show that more grammaticalized systems, such as gender, and less grammaticalized systems, such as classifiers, are almost equally widespread, but the former spread more by language expansion historically, whereas the latter spread more by feature diffusion. Our results indicate that quantitative models measuring the areal diffusibility and stability of linguistic features are likely to be affected by language expansion that occurs by historical coincidence. We anticipate that our findings will support studies of language diversity in a more sophisticated way, with relevance to other parts of language, such as phonology.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Claes, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human culture
- 2023
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Ingår i: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. - 2662-9992. ; 10, s. 1-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is widely believed that human culture originated in the appearance of Oldowan stone-tool production (circa 2.9 Mya) and a primitive but effective ability to copy detailed know-how. Cumulative cultural evolution is then believed to have led to modern humans and human culture via self-reinforcing gene-culture co-evolution. This outline evolutionary trajectory has come to be seen as all but self-evident, but dilemmas have appeared as it has been explored in increasing detail. Can we attribute even a minimally effective know-how copying capability to Oldowan hominins? Do Oldowan tools really demand know-how copying? Is there any other evidence that know-how copying was present? We here argue that this account, which we refer to as “Trajectory A”, may be a red herring, and formulate an alternative “Trajectory B” that resolves these dilemmas. Trajectory B invokes an overlooked group-level channel of cultural inheritance (the Social Protocell) whereby networks of cultural traits can be faithfully inherited and potentially undergo cumulative evolution, also when the underpinning cultural traits are apelike in not being transmitted via know-how copying (Latent Solutions). Since most preconditions of Trajectory B are present in modern-day Pan, Trajectory B may even have its roots considerably before Oldowan toolmaking. The cumulative build-up of networks of non-cumulative cultural traits is then argued to have produced conditions that both called for and afforded a gradual appearance of the ability to copy know-how, but considerably later than the Oldowan.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Per, et al.
(författare)
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The effect of herd immunity thresholds on willingness to vaccinate
- 2022
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Ingår i: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2662-9992. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, media and policymakers openly speculated about the number of immune citizens needed to reach a herd immunity threshold. What are the effects of such numerical goals on the willingness to vaccinate? In a large representative sample (N = 1540) of unvaccinated Swedish citizens, we find that giving a low (60%) compared to a high (90%) threshold has direct effects on beliefs about reaching herd immunity and beliefs about how many others that will get vaccinated. Presenting the high threshold makes people believe that herd immunity is harder to reach (on average about half a step on a seven-point scale), compared to the low threshold. Yet at the same time, people also believe that a higher number of the population will get vaccinated (on average about 3.3% more of the population). Since these beliefs affect willingness to vaccinate in opposite directions, some individuals are encouraged and others discouraged depending on the threshold presented. Specifically, in mediation analysis, the high threshold indirectly increases vaccination willingness through the belief that many others will get vaccinated (B = 0.027, p = 0.003). At the same time, the high threshold also decreases vaccination willingness through the belief that the threshold goal is less attainable (B = -0.053, p < 0.001) compared to the low threshold condition. This has consequences for ongoing COVID-19 vaccination and future vaccination campaigns. One message may not fit all, as different groups can be encouraged or discouraged from vaccination.
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| 4. |
- Balestrini, Mara, et al.
(författare)
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Collaboration matters: capacity building, up-scaling, spreading, and sustainability in citizen-generated data projects
- 2021
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Ingår i: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2662-9992. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Projects producing citizen-generating data (CGD) to provide evidence and to drive change have increased considerably in the last decade. Many of these initiatives build on multi-actor collaboration and are often supported by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the public sector, businesses or community-based organisations. The joint efforts of these actors are often necessary to provide the resources and the support that citizens need to produce data. In return, organisations can harness the data to support their objectives. The recent growth (or up-scaling) of CGD projects has created opportunities, as well as challenges for capacity building and sustainability. These challenges can affect the continuity and effectiveness of these initiatives and, in turn, the quality and utility of collected data. This paper analyses two CGD projects to consider their social implications and the measures necessary to increase their capacity, up-scaling, spreading, and sustainability. The case studies on noise monitoring and invasive alien species describe, respectively, a bottom-up approach at city level and a top-down approach at the European level. Regardless of the approach, capacity building requires a process of infrastructuring that engages different actors, responds to matters of concern, assesses community capacities and needs, and develops a vision and action plan. Further, the appropriation and repurposing of technical systems is required to scale up and spread CGD projects. In this process, participants’ activities are shaped by technologies, while the meaning and effects of technologies are shaped through participants’ activities.
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| 5. |
- Bello, Pablo, et al.
(författare)
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Cultural Divergence in popular music : the increasing diversity of music consumption on Spotify across countries
- 2021
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Ingår i: HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS. - : SPRINGERNATURE. - 2662-9992. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The digitization of music has changed how we consume, produce, and distribute music. In this paper, we explore the effects of digitization and streaming on the globalization of popular music. While some argue that digitization has led to more diverse cultural markets, others consider that the increasing accessibility to international music would result in a globalized market where a few artists garner all the attention. We tackle this debate by looking at how cross-country diversity in music charts has evolved over 4 years in 39 countries. We analyze two large-scale datasets from Spotify, the most popular streaming platform at the moment, and iTunes, one of the pioneers in digital music distribution. Our analysis reveals an upward trend in music consumption diversity that started in 2017 and spans across platforms. There are now significantly more songs, artists, and record labels populating the top charts than just a few years ago, making national charts more diverse from a global perspective. Furthermore, this process started at the peaks of countries charts, where diversity increased at a faster pace than at their bases. We characterize these changes as a process of Cultural Divergence, in which countries are increasingly distinct in terms of the music populating their music charts.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Brusselaers, N., et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of science advice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: Humanities & Social Sciences Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2662-9992. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sweden was well equipped to prevent the pandemic of COVID-19 from becoming serious. Over 280 years of collaboration between political bodies, authorities, and the scientific community had yielded many successes in preventive medicine. Sweden's population is literate and has a high level of trust in authorities and those in power. During 2020, however, Sweden had ten times higher COVID-19 death rates compared with neighbouring Norway. In this report, we try to understand why, using a narrative approach to evaluate the Swedish COVID-19 policy and the role of scientific evidence and integrity. We argue that that scientific methodology was not followed by the major figures in the acting authorities-or the responsible politicians-with alternative narratives being considered as valid, resulting in arbitrary policy decisions. In 2014, the Public Health Agency merged with the Institute for Infectious Disease Control; the first decision by its new head (Johan Carlson) was to dismiss and move the authority's six professors to Karolinska Institute. With this setup, the authority lacked expertise and could disregard scientific facts. The Swedish pandemic strategy seemed targeted towards "natural" herd-immunity and avoiding a societal shutdown. The Public Health Agency labelled advice from national scientists and international authorities as extreme positions, resulting in media and political bodies to accept their own policy instead. The Swedish people were kept in ignorance of basic facts such as the airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission, that asymptomatic individuals can be contagious and that face masks protect both the carrier and others. Mandatory legislation was seldom used; recommendations relying upon personal responsibility and without any sanctions were the norm. Many elderly people were administered morphine instead of oxygen despite available supplies, effectively ending their lives. If Sweden wants to do better in future pandemics, the scientific method must be re-established, not least within the Public Health Agency. It would likely make a large difference if a separate, independent Institute for Infectious Disease Control is recreated. We recommend Sweden begins a self-critical process about its political culture and the lack of accountability of decision-makers to avoid future failures, as occurred with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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| 8. |
- Dahlin, Emma
(författare)
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Mind the gap! : On the future of AI research
- 2021
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Ingår i: Humanities and Social Science Communications. - : Springer. - 2662-9992. ; 8, s. 1-4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research on AI tends to analytically separate technical and social issues, viewing AI first as a technical object that only later, after it has been implemented, may have social consequences. This commentary paper discusses how some of the challenges of AI research relate to the gap between technological and social analyses, and it proposes steps ahead for how to practically achieve prosperous collaborations for future AI research. The discussion draws upon three examples to illustrate the analytical gap in different phases of the development of AI systems. Attending to the planning phase, the first example highlights the risk of oversimplifying the task for an AI system by not incorporating a social analysis at the outset of the development. The second example illuminates the issue of system acceptance, where the paper elaborates on why acceptance is multifaceted and need not be approached as merely a technical problem. With the third example, the paper notes that AI systems may change a practice, suggesting that a continuous analysis of such changes is necessary for projects to maintain relevance as well as to consider the broader impact of the developed technology. The paper argues that systematic and substantial social analyses should be integral to AI development. Exploring the connections between an AI’s technical design and its social implications is key to ensuring feasible and sustainable AI systems that benefit society. The paper calls for further multi-disciplinary research initiatives that explore new ways to close the analytical gap between technical and social approaches to AI.
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| 9. |
- Dick-Sagoe, Christopher, et al.
(författare)
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Stakeholder perceptions on causes and effects of public project failures in Ghana
- 2023
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Ingår i: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2662-9992. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Factors responsible for the failure of most development projects are multifaceted. This study focused on unearthing the causes and effects of public project failure from the perspective of project stakeholders. Sixty stakeholders working on different public projects in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana completed a questionnaire. This study found that major causes of project failure were related to corruption, payment delays, procurement processes, planning, monitoring, bureaucracy, communication, and supervision. The perceived effects of project failure included revenue loss, discouraged investment, and unemployment. Project failure increased the initial cost of projects, impacted economic growth, led to the provision of substandard infrastructure and service relocation. Other effects of project failure were loss of capacity for public projects and emotional stress experienced by project stakeholders. The government of Ghana should adopt strategies to overcome corruption, bureaucracy, and unnecessary political influence. Finally, the government should cooperate with relevant stakeholders to implement measures geared towards improving the current system for procurement, supervision, monitoring, planning, and management practices.
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| 10. |
- Eriksson, Kimmo, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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The common-is-moral association is stronger among less religious people
- 2021
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Ingår i: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2662-9992. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Questionable behaviours that are perceived as more common also tend to be judged as more morally justified. Here we explore this phenomenon in survey data from 31 countries in the European Values Study, allowing us to examine the universality of the common-is-moral association. More than 35,000 participants rated eight questionable behaviours (e.g., cheating on taxes, having casual sex) on how frequent they are and how justified they are. We estimated common-is-moral associations both across individuals for each behaviour and across behaviours within each individual; in both cases, the association tended to be positive. We further examined the hypothesis that the common-is-moral association would be stronger among less religious people, who are less likely to adopt their moral judgements from religious authorities and therefore should be more susceptible to the heuristic of using the perceived commonness of a behaviour as a guide to how it should be morally judged. Indeed, we found the common-is-moral association to be somewhat stronger among less religious people, whether the association was estimated across individuals or within individuals. We discuss alternative explanations, implications and directions for future research.
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