Themis Dimitra Xanthopoulou

Universitetslektor

Fakultet for teknologi og realfag

E-post: themis.d.xanthopoulou@uia.no
Telefon: +47 37233443

Kontor A2122 (Jon Lilletuns vei 9, 4879 Grimstad, Norway)

Forskningsgrupper

Ansvarsområde

Motivantion

II entered academia in search of environmental solutions (Project "Production of green Nanozerovalent Iron using Plant extracts and Fruit Juices"). My quest led me to investigate coupled environmental human systems (Project "Socio-hydraulic analysis of a past Omani irrigation system" and "Understanding Ancient Water Systems using Agent-Based Modeling"). The significance of social factors in ecological issues motivated me to understand social systems better (Computer Tools for Modeling Religious and Social Conflict). Computer modelling and agent-based methods, in particular, is a grounded approach for my work though I do miss sometimes working in a laboratory.

Current work

In our current project, we research modelling social interactions with an interest in bullying dynamics. Our work demands interdisciplinary collaboration. To tackle communication issues, we have assigned part of the project in building a tool. The collaborators in the project write in simple English their understanding of the social situation, and the tool transforms it into a social model.

About Interdisciplinary work

Connecting different disciplines is fascinating and essential. My experience has taught me that what we seek in one scientific field might have already be answered in another! Building bridges in science takes time, and it is our responsibility to start the work. #unitedscience

Forskning

Utvalgte publikasjoner

Understanding aspects of the Hohokam society with a modeling approach grounded on different datasets of the archaeological record Aug 2017, Oral presentation at the European Association of Archaeologists Meeting, Maastricht

Using hydraulic modeling to simulate human interactions with water resources in an Omani irrigation system http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..1912457X

Statistical properties and Hurst-Kolmogorov dynamics in climatic proxy data and temperature reconstructions. https://doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.21134.56644

Comparative evaluation of five plant extracts and juices for nanoiron synthesis and application for hexavalent chromium reduction. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.08.091

Prinz, Andreas; Engebretsen, Martin; Gjøsæter, Terje; Møller-Pedersen, Birger & Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra (2023). Models, systems, and descriptions: A cross-disciplinary reflection on models. Frontiers in Computer Science. ISSN 2624-9898. 5. doi: 10.3389/fcomp.2023.1031807. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag
There are many different notions of models in different areas of science that are often not aligned, making it difficult to discuss them across disciplines. In this study, we look at the differences between physical models and mental models as well as the difference between static and dynamic models. Semiotics provides a philosophical underpinning by explaining meaning-making. This allows for identifying a common ground between models in different areas. We use examples from natural sciences and linguistics to illustrate different approaches and concepts and to find commonalities. This study distinguishes between systems, models, and descriptions of models. This distinction allows us to understand the commonalities of mental and physical models in different areas.
Prinz, Andreas; Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra; Gjøsæter, Terje & Møller-Pedersen, Birger (2022). On abstraction in the OMG hierarchy: systems, models, and descriptions, ACM / IEEE 25th International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems (MODELS). Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). ISSN 978-1-4503-9467-3. s. 322–330. doi: 10.1145/3550356.3561573. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag
The Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) uses a metadata hierarchy with several layers that are placed on top of each other. The traditional view is that the layers provide abstractions related to models in languages defined by meta-models. Over the years, it has been difficult to define a consistent understanding of the layers. In this paper, we propose such a consistent understanding by clarifying the relations between the different elements in the hierarchy. This is done based on the Scandinavian approach to modelling that distinguishes between systems and system descriptions. Systems can be physical, digital, or even mental, while descriptions can be programs, language descriptions, specifications, and diagrams. We relate descriptions and systems by explaining where semantics of objects originate and how they apply in the hierarchy.
Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra; Prinz, Andreas & Shults, Fount LeRon (2022). The Problem with Bullying: Lessons Learned from Modelling Marginalization with Diverse Stakeholders. I Czupryna, Marcin & Kamiński, Bogumił (Red.), Advances in Social Simulation. Proceedings of the 16th Social Simulation Conference, 20–24 September 2021. Springer Nature. ISSN 978-3-030-92843-8. s. 289–300. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-92843-8_22. Vis sammendrag
While building a simulation model to gain insights on bullying interventions, we encountered challenging issues that forced us to reconsider the concepts we model. We learned lessons about the need for quality assurance and a more demanding construction process when building models that aim to support decision making. One of the lessons is that even academically accepted concepts such as “bullying” can be ambiguous. Experts and interested parties do not agree about how to define and use the term bullying. Indeed, before we can model “bullying”, we need a shared understanding, of its meaning. Otherwise, insights from the model could be misinterpreted and lead to misleading conclusions. Concepts are inherently imprecise and contain grey areas. Although this may be true, not all of them are ambiguous. For the scope of this paper, ambiguity implies that the same word is used to point to different concepts. For different reasons, bullying has evolved to point to different concepts for different people and sometimes even for the same person. We propose to solve these challenges by identifying which concrete bullying behaviors to target, and by focusing on simulation models for interventions addressing those behaviors.
Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra; Prinz, Andreas; Puga-Gonzalez, Ivan & Shults, F. LeRon (2020). Modeling marginalization: Emergence, social physics, and social ethics of bullying. Simulation Series. ISSN 0735-9276. 52(1), s. 452–463.
Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra; Puga-Gonzalez, Ivan; Shults, F. LeRon & Prinz, Andreas (2020). Modeling Marginalization: Emergence, Social Physics, and Social Ethics of Bullying, Proceedings of the 2020 Spring Simulation Conference (SpringSim’20). IEEE conference proceedings. ISSN 978-1-56555-370-5. doi: 10.22360/SpringSim.2020.HSAA.005.
Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra; Prinz, Andreas & Shults, F. LeRon (2019). Generating Executable Code from High-Level Social or Socio-Ecological Model Descriptions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS). ISSN 0302-9743. 11753 LNCS, s. 150–162. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-30690-8_9. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

Se alle arbeider i Cristin

Prinz, Andreas; Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra; Gjøsæter, Terje & Møller-Pedersen, Birger (2022). On abstraction in the OMG hierarchy: systems, models, and descriptions.
Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra; Pardede, Saga & Prinz, Andreas (2021). Bully-proofing a learning environment.
Prinz, Andreas; Schmidt, Michael; Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra & Isabwe, Ghislain Maurice Norbert (2021). How to be different - mindset and tools.
Shults, F. LeRon & Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra (2020). Modeling Marginalization: The emergence, social physics, and social ethics of bullying.
Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra & Prinz, Andreas (2020). Tutorial: ODD2ABM – Creation of NetLogo Agent-Based Models from a Formalised ODD.
Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra; Prinz, Andreas; Shults, F. LeRon; Puga-Gonzalez, Ivan & Lund, Ingrid (2019). Social Simulation of University Bullying.
Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra; Prinz, Andreas; Shults, F. LeRon & Puga-Gonzalez, Ivan (2018). An agent-based model of bullying dynamics.
Xanthopoulou, Themis Dimitra (2023). Synchronising Wisdom and Implementation: A Formal ODD Approach to Expressing Insights on Bullying. Universitetet i Agder. ISSN 978-82-8427-158-3. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

Se alle arbeider i Cristin

Publisert 16. apr. 2024 10:57 - Sist endret 16. apr. 2024 10:57