CITIES Seminar Series: Communication in Cognitive Cities and Understanding and Engineering the Firearm Ecosystem in the United States

CITIES Seminar Series in Collaboration with CUSP London and NY

Communication in Cognitive Cities with Professor Nicolas Holliman
It will be demonstrated how the recent research in urban data visualization addresses questions on how to engage people in data visualizations, ensure that data are truthful, and how to validate the quality of data visualizations.

Understanding and Engineering the Firearm Ecosystem in the United States with Professor Maurizio Porfiri
This talk presents new insight into the firearm ecosystem on three different scales. On the macroscale (nation and states), we put forward an information-theoretic framework to unravel causal links between mass shootings, media coverage on firearm control, and firearm prevalence. On the mesoscale (cities), we apply scaling theory to study firearm prevalence, accessibility, and violence throughout the country. On the microscale (people), we detail the modus operandi of fame-seeking mass shooters using the information-theoretic concept of surprisal.