Research

2024

1. Opinion Dynamics on Adaptive Networks with Heterogeneous Openness

   Bo-An Chen, and Hsuan-Wei Lee

   Working Paper, 2024

   Awareded Abs

   2024 College Student Research Creativity Award, National Science and Technology Council

   Adaptive networks serve as a valuable tool for investigating the co-evolving dynamics between network topology and agent opinions. These dynamics are primarily driven by two mechanisms: rewiring processes and opinion exchanges characterized by bounded confidence. When agents encounter conflicting opinions from their neighbors, they have the option to either sever their network connections or remain indifferent based on their level of openness. The model’s objective is to capture the interplay between opinion clustering and group formation, which can lead to phenomena such as opinion polarization and network fragmentation once agents reach a steady state. In this study, we present an opinion dynamics model implemented on adaptive networks where agents possess varying degrees of openness. Our findings indicate that agent heterogeneity plays a crucial role in mitigating opinion polarization within adaptive networks. Interestingly, the presence of low-openness agents prolongs the effective communication time, consequently increasing the likelihood of reaching a stronger consensus among agents. This suggests that agent heterogeneity introduces a trade-off between the time required to reach consensus and the inclusivity of network connections toward potentially marginalized agents. The simulation results from our model align with established frameworks in opinion dynamics and voter models, offering valuable insights within the realms of political science, economics, and sociology.

2023

1. Pilot Survey: The egalitarian ideology of labor movements in Japan-colonizing Taiwan (1898-1932)

   Bo-An Chen

   Draft in Mandarin, 2023

   Abs PDF

   Labor movements have often been viewed as collective rebellious forces against the capitalist colonial state. However, these movements have frequently been associated with or subordinated to nationalism and independence efforts, resulting in the neglect of their historical importance in the mechanisms of independent coalition formation. This research examines labor movements in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period (1898-1932) by analyzing the economic and strategic incentives through historical documents, highlighting the egalitarian ideology within coalition formation across colonial periods. We observe that institutionalized labor unions in the 1920s transformed coalition formation by creating centralized social networks in conjunction with auxiliary organizations such as the Taiwanese Cultural Association (臺灣文化協會), extending their influence beyond labor to democratic movements. This contrasts with the decentralized, labor-subjected movements of the early colonial period. Nonetheless, our collected legal documents and newspapers suggest that such transformation did not weaken the initiative of labor participants nor sacrifice their egalitarian strategies. In particular, the labor movements refused to compromise on the rights of the most marginalized workers in terms of gender and ethnicity, regardless of conflicts with auxiliary organizations. It is important to note that the historical documents referenced are severly limited in the current draft, and further robust statistical analysis should be conducted using larger datasets to be collected by advanced language models.

2. New Insights on 30 Dor B Revealed by High-quality Multiwavelength Observations

   Wei-An Chen, Chuan-Jui Li, You-Hua Chu , and 4 more authors

   The Astronomical Journal, 2023

   Abs HTML PDF

   The supernova remnant (SNR) 30 Dor B is associated with the H ii region ionized by the OB association LH99. The complex interstellar environment has made it difficult to study the physical structure of this SNR. We have used Hubble Space Telescope Hα; images to identify SNR shocks and deep Chandra X-ray observations to detect faint diffuse emission. We find that 30 Dor B hosts three zones with very different X-ray surface brightnesses and nebular kinematics that are characteristic of SNRs in different interstellar environments and/or evolutionary stages. The ASKAP 888 MHz map of 30 Dor B shows counterparts to all X-ray emission features except the faint halo. The ASKAP 888 and 1420 MHz observations are used to produce a spectral index map, but its interpretation is complicated by the background thermal emission and the pulsar PSR J0537−6910’s flat spectral index. The stellar population in the vicinity of 30 Dor B indicates a continuous star formation in the past 8–10 Myr. The observed very massive stars in LH99 cannot be coeval with the progenitor of 30 Dor B’s pulsar. Adopting the pulsar’s spin-down timescale, 5000 yr, as the age of the SNR, the X-ray shell would be expanding at approximately 4000 km/s and the post-shock temperature would be 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than that indicated by the X-ray spectra. Thus, the bright central region of 30 Dor B and the X-ray shell requires two separate SN events, and the faint diffuse X-ray halo perhaps other older SN events.