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Recently we have witnessed a number of rapid shifts toward populism in the rhetoric and policies of major political parties, as exemplified in the 2016 Brexit Referendum, 2016 US Election, and 2017 UK General Election. Our perspective here is to focus on understanding the underlying societal processes behind these recent political shifts. We use novel methods to study social dynamics behind the 2016 Presidential election. This is done by using network science methods to identify key groups associated with the US right-wing during the election. We investigate how the groups grew on Twitter, and how their associated accounts changed their following behaviour over time. We find a new external faction of Trump supporters took a strong influence over the traditional Republican Party (GOP) base during the election campaign. The new group dominated the GOP group in terms of new members and endorsement via Twitter follows. Growth of new accounts for the GOP party all but collapsed during the campaign. While the Alt-right group was growing exponentially, it has remained relatively isolated. Counter to the mainstream view, we detected an unexpectedly low number of automated 'bot' accounts and accounts associated with foreign intervention in the Trump-supporting group. Our work demonstrates a powerful method for tracking the evolution of societal groups and reveals complex social processes behind political changes.

Recently we have witnessed a number of rapid shifts toward populism in the rhetoric and policies of major political parties, as exemplified in the 2016 Brexit Referendum, 2016 US Election, and 2017 UK General Election. Our perspective here is to focus on understanding the underlying societal processes behind these recent political shifts. We use novel methods to study social dynamics behind the 2016 Presidential election. This is done by using network science methods to identify key groups associated with the US right-wing during the election. We investigate how the groups grew on Twitter, and how their associated accounts changed their following behaviour over time. We find a new external faction of Trump supporters took a strong influence over the traditional Republican Party (GOP) base during the election campaign. The new group dominated the GOP group in terms of new members and endorsement via Twitter follows. Growth of new accounts for the GOP party all but collapsed during the campaign. While the Alt-right group was growing exponentially, it has remained relatively isolated. Counter to the mainstream view, we detected an unexpectedly low number of automated 'bot' accounts and accounts associated with foreign intervention in the Trump-supporting group. Our work demonstrates a powerful method for tracking the evolution of societal groups and reveals complex social processes behind political changes.

AbstractThis article is framed by the 900‐plus year old debate on the importance of academic freedom for democracy and human progress outlined by Karran. In particular, it discusses some contemporary threats to academic freedom in relation to the role of researchers and research institutes in the public policy process. Using a series of recent case studies of attempts to interfere with the publication of research findings in key sensitive policy areas of genetically modified foodstuffs, climate change, and agriculture, it is argued that while academic freedom plays a crucial role in relation to the development of public policies, it is currently under threat. This matter is discussed within a framework that allows the understanding of the relationship between researchers and the intervening State, the corporate and non‐government sectors with economic or social interests in any particular intervention, the media, and citizens. We apply the framework to recent cases in several controversial areas of policy that illustrate problems that have arisen. Moreover, we hypothesise that the problems have become more acute since the start of the era of privatisation and new public management with research agendas and targets often being increasingly set by policymakers. Finally, we draw some conclusions about the role of researchers and institutes in relation to agricultural and rural matters in modern democracies, arguing that freedom of speech and expression is an essential element in the policy role of researchers. At the root of this is the intensifying debate between representative and participatory democracy.

Intro -- Foreword -- References -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Acronyms -- Part I Agent-Based Models -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Overview -- 1.2 Artificial Life as Digital Biology -- 1.2.1 Artificial Life as Empirical Data-Point -- 1.3 Social Simulation and Sociological Relevance -- 1.3.1 Methodological Concerns in Social Simulation -- 1.4 Case Study: Schelling's Residential Segregation Model -- 1.4.1 Implications of Schelling's Model -- 1.5 Social Simulation in Application: The Case of Demography -- 1.5.1 Building Model-Based Demography -- 1.6 General Summary -- 1.6.1 Alife Modelling -- 1.6.2 Simulation for the Social Sciences -- 1.6.3 Schelling's Model as a Case Study in Modelling -- 1.6.4 Developing a Model-Based Demography -- 1.6.5 General Conclusions of the Text: Messages for the Modeller -- 1.6.6 Chapter Summaries -- 1.6.7 Contributions -- References -- 2 Simulation and Artificial Life -- 2.1 Overview -- 2.2 Introduction to Simulation Methodology -- 2.2.1 The Goals of Scientific Modelling -- 2.2.2 Mathematical Models -- 2.2.3 Computational Models -- 2.2.4 The Science Versus Engineering Distinction -- 2.2.5 Connectionism: Scientific Modelling in Psychology -- 2.2.6 Bottom-Up Modelling and Emergence -- 2.3 Evolutionary Simulation Models and Artificial Life -- 2.3.1 Genetic Algorithms and Genetic Programming -- 2.3.2 Evolutionary Simulations and Artificial Life -- 2.3.3 Bedau and the Challenges Facing ALife -- 2.4 Truth in Simulation: The Validation Problem -- 2.4.1 Validation and Verification in Simulation -- 2.4.2 The Validation Process in Engineering Simulations -- 2.4.3 Validation in Scientific Simulations: Concepts of Truth -- 2.4.4 Validation in Scientific Models: Kuppers and Lenhard Case Study -- 2.5 The Connection Between Theory and Simulation -- 2.5.1 Simulation as `Miniature Theories'.

Widespread uptake of vaccines is necessary to achieve herd immunity. However, uptake rates have varied across U.S. states during the first six months of the COVID-19 vaccination program. Misbeliefs may play an important role in vaccine hesitancy, and there is a need to understand relationships between misinformation, beliefs, behaviors, and health outcomes. Here we investigate the extent to which COVID-19 vaccination rates and vaccine hesitancy are associated with levels of online misinformation about vaccines. We also look for evidence of directionality from online misinformation to vaccine hesitancy. We find a negative relationship between misinformation and vaccination uptake rates. Online misinformation is also correlated with vaccine hesitancy rates taken from survey data. Associations between vaccine outcomes and misinformation remain significant when accounting for political as well as demographic and socioeconomic factors. While vaccine hesitancy is strongly associated with Republican vote share, we observe that the effect of online misinformation on hesitancy is strongest across Democratic rather than Republican counties. Granger causality analysis shows evidence for a directional relationship from online misinformation to vaccine hesitancy. Our results support a need for interventions that address misbeliefs, allowing individuals to make better-informed health decisions.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Foreword -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Towards a Theory of Divergent Development -- 3. Cousins Divided? Development in and of Political Institutions in Scotland and Norway since 1814 -- 4. Agrarian Change in Scotland and Norway: Agricultural Production, Structures, Politics and Policies since 1800 -- 5. The Evolution of Local Government and Governance in Scotland and Norway -- 6. The Development of Industry and North Sea Oil in Scotland and Norway -- 7. Reflections on the Making of Norway -- 8. Money and Banking in Scotland and Norway -- 9. Religion in Scotland and Norway -- 10. The Nordic Welfare Model in Norway and Scotland -- 11. Access, Nature, Culture and the Great Outdoors - Norway and Scotland -- 12. Education in Norway and Scotland: Developing and Re-forming the Systems -- 13. Norway and the United Kingdom/Scotland after the Second World War -- 14. Conclusions -- The Contributors -- Bibliography -- Index