Description
A specialized presentation of fractal analysis oriented to the social sciences
This primer uses straightforward language to give the reader step-by-step instructions for identifying and analyzing fractal patterns and the social process that create them. By making fractals accessible to the social science students, this book has a significant impact on the understanding of human behavior.
Key Features
- Detailed examples help readers learn and understand the analytical methods presented.
- Matlab codes for programs allow users to implement, on their own, some of the techniques described in the text. Visit http://www.ccs.fau.edu/~liebovitch/larry.html for more details.
- Clear and logical explanations of fractals and their analysis enable the instructor to easily teach and the student to easily learn the material.
This is the only book designed to introduce fractal analysis to a general social science audience.
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Table of Contents
About the Authors
Series Editor's Introduction
Preface
Chapter 1. Introduction to Fractal Analysis
Mandelbrot
What Are Fractals?
Fractal Dimension: Quantifying Fractal Properties
The Formal Definition of Fractals
Discussion
Chapter 2. Fractal Analysis of Frequency Distributions
Power Laws
Summary
Chapter 3. Fractal Patterns Embedded in Two Dimensions
Estimating the Fractal Dimension of Empirical Data
Summary and Discussion
Chapter 4. Social Processes That Generate Fractals
How We Do Our "To Do" Lists: Preferential Priorities
How We Kill: Attendant Causes, Self-Organized Criticality, and Agent-Based Models
How We Network: Preferential Attachment
How We Decide Where to Live: Diffusion Limited Aggregation
How We Look for Food: Lévy Flights
How We Live Together: Balancing Cohesive and Disruptive Forces
Summary and Discussion
Chapter 5. Advanced Topics in Fractal Analysis
Multiscaling Fractal Patterns
Patterns Embedded in Three Dimensions
Self-Affine Fractals
Fractal Time Series
Multifractals
Lacunarity
Conclusion
Chapter 6. Final Considerations
Should I Try Fractal Analysis?
References
Author Index
Subject Index
