Conyers, Toby Richard (1999) Automating Abell's theory of comparative narratives. PhD thesis, University of Greenwich.

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Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the progress that has been made towards the goal of producing a prototype computer model of Abell's Theory of Comparative Narratives, and subsequently, designing metrics to rigorously measure Abell's concept of 'closeness' of texts.

The production of such a model does not simply involve the mechanical (though distinctly non-trivial) transference of Abell's theory from paper to machine; various facets of the theory are not of a sufficiently high specification for a computer model and the fulfilment of such a computer model requires attention to these areas, specifically:

i) a repeatable method of comparing the structures of individual events;

ii) a consistent procedure of comparing the overall structure of a pair of texts, following on from Abell's basic concept of paths of social determination.

iii) metrics to demonstrate that the solutions proposed do indeed address the shortcomings of Abell's theory.

In order to preserve the qualitative nature of the theory and to demonstrate its potential real-world uses, the computer model attempts to avoid complex mathematics as far as possible and to produce transparent, non-expert results.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	uk.bl.ethos.550104
Uncontrolled Keywords:	comparative narratives, computer modelling, structure, metrics, methodological tools,
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics
Pre-2014 Departments:	School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for Numerical Modelling & Process Analysis
Last Modified:	24 Aug 2018 15:11
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/8241

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