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Emergy evaluation of DNA and culture in ‘information cycles’

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  • Abel, Thomas

Abstract

Explication of the ‘information cycle’ and its energy basis is a crowning component of H.T. Odum's theorizing of general systems. This paper applies the information cycle to cultural information. Specifically, the information cycle concept is applied to one domain of information production, regular conversation. The transformities of conversation production are estimated by adopting principles from Odum's rainforest examples where he estimated transformities of information flows of various kinds, specifically, the emergy to copy units containing information, emergy to isolate and extract information, emergy to sustain an information cycle, and emergy to develop new information. The second and third kinds have been evaluated for conversation. Transformities of conversation follow a similar pattern of increasing values (2.21E15 and 1.50E16sej/J, respectively). These results are compared with two other studies of cultural information production, one for television media and one for education. Taken together, these results suggest that cultural information is in fact a nested hierarchy of cultural information scales, with transformities that increase in order, with conversation first, then media, and finally education. This paper indicates how conversation can be illuminated as an information cycle, and located in a hierarchy of information production.

Suggested Citation

  • Abel, Thomas, 2013. "Emergy evaluation of DNA and culture in ‘information cycles’," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 85-98.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:251:y:2013:i:c:p:85-98
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.11.027
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Abel, Thomas, 2010. "Human transformities in a global hierarchy: Emergy and scale in the production of people and culture," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(17), pages 2112-2117.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Abel, Thomas, 2015. "Convergence and divergence in the production of energy transformation hierarchies," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 4-11.
    4. Rafael Araujo Nacimento & Mario Duarte Canever & Cecilia Almeida & Feni Agostinho & Augusto Hauber Gameiro & Biagio Fernando Giannetti, 2023. "Hidden Costs Associated with Smallholder Family-Based Broiler Production: Accounting for the Intangibles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-21, November.
    5. Giannetti, Biagio F. & Marcilio, Maria De Fatima D.F.B. & Coscieme, Luca & Agostinho, Feni & Liu, Gengyuan & Almeida, Cecilia M.V.B., 2019. "Howard Odum’s “Self-organization, transformity and information”: Three decades of empirical evidence," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 407(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Clasen, Arno P. & Agostinho, Feni & Sulis, Federico & Almeida, Cecília M.V.B & Giannetti, Biagio F., 2024. "Unlocking the potential of municipal solid waste: Emergy accounting applied in a novel biorefinery," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 492(C).
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