Statistical mechanics has proven to be a very fruitful framework to describe phenomena outside the realm of traditional physics. The last years have witnessed the attempt by physicists to study phenomena which heavily rely on human behavior, like the dynamics of financial markets and the emergence of collective organization in social systems.

Social interactions are usually local: every individual interacts with a limited number of its peers, which is negligeable as compared with the total number of people inside a community. In spite of that, human societies are characterized by a number of stunning global regularities. There are remarkable transitions from disorder to order, like the emergence of a common language/culture or the creation of a consensus about a specific topic.

The conference, which is held in the beautiful city of Erice (Italy) from 14 to 19 July 2007, will specifically focus on three major research lines, i.e. opinion dynamics, dynamics in human language and the statistical physics of language dynamics.

For further info: http://pil.phys.uniroma1.it/erice2007

Deadline for registration: 1st April 2007

The Hotel Posta Marcucci (http://www.hotelpostamarcucci.it/) in Bagnovignoni
will host the second workshop on Semiotic Dynamics, focused this year
on Grammar. Here is the list of participants:

• Andrea Baldassarri
• Andrea Baronchelli
• Ciro Cattuto
• Joachim de Beule
• Bart De Vylder
• Vittorio Loreto
• James Minett
• Andrea Pagnani
• Alberto Petri
• Andrea Puglisi
• Vito D.P. Servedio
• Luc Steels
• Remi Van Trijp
• Pieter Wellens