The Collective Communication of Social Choice Messages

The research problem addressed in this dissertation is to develop a theory of collective communication. Collective communication is defined as social interaction mediated through messages whose production involves a collectivity. The focus of analysis is on social choice messages, messages that prescribe or proscribe the behavior of members of that collectivity. The theory developed here is used to describe the social choice messages necessary to realize common interests in specific economic environments and the collective communication systems necessary to communicate those messages in those environments. The theory of collective communication is developed in four steps. First, a mathematical theory of collective communication is derived from the unification of game theory and information theory. Building upon the work of von Neumann and Morgenstern, Shannon, Ashby and Conant, philosophical foundations are established and nineteen theorems are derived to predict the transmission of information in a basic game and in a metagame whose outcomes describe constraints to be imposed upon strategic behavior in the basic game. Second, this mathematical theory is formally interpreted as a social theory of collective communication. Third, these theorems are applied to a variety of political and social problems, including those of common property resource management, market failure, the provision of public goods, collective action and coordinated action. Finally, the empirical validity of this theory is tested against research on the development of property rights. The set of regulations and statutes governing mining activity in Nevada between 1858 and 1895 is studied using the techniques of content analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The predicted relationship between the precision of mining law and the value of mine output is found to be strong, with R squares as high as 0.82347. The research instrument is determined to be reliable and the findings to be statistically significant at the 0.01 level. The evidence presented here is limited but sufficient to motivate the continued development of a unified theory of information and games and the use of mathematical modeling to study salient social problems in the collective communication of social choice messages

Sex and communication effects in a mixed-motive game

This study investigates the effects of restricted communication opportunity and the sex of the subject on co-operative responses made by British dyads in a 180-trial matrix version of Prisoner's Dilemma. The first experiment employed 20 male, 20 female and 20 mixed-sex dyads who were assigned to one of four verbal communication conditions: none allowed; allowed before trial l; allowed after trial 31; allowed throughout. No differences due to the sex of the dyad were demonstrated but communication allowed throughout elicited significantly higher levels of co-operation. A financial incentive was introduced into the second experiment. Two communication conditions were retained: none allowed; allowed after trial 31. 10 male and 10 female dyads took part. Communication opportunity elicited higher levels of co-operation, especially for male pairs. Subjects were more than twice as co-operative when offered a financial incentive. Both of these experiments were conducted by a female E, the author. When experiment 2 was replicated by a male E communicaction effects, but no sex effects, were observed. However, there were no effects due to the sex of the subject but there was a main communication effect when Expts. 2 and 3 were replicated in a 8aianced sex of E.design. However, the female experimenter elicited higher levels of cooperation from all subjects regardless of their sex. The data from Expts. 2-4 were analysed in a multiple E design. Communication opportunity elicited significantly higher levels of cooperation and female Ss were less co-operative in the presence of male experimenters, but only as the duration of the inter-action increased. The experimenters themselves were found to elicit different levels of co-operation from subjects regardless of the sex of the player or of the sex of E. Experiment 2 was replicated by the author using 32 American students. American males were more co-operative than British men and both American and British women. No communication effects were observed. Experiment 2 was then repeated with E absent from the room. No significant main or inter-action effects were observed. It seems that the presence of the experimenter, whatever their sex, helps to define the psychological environment in which the subjects' strategic inter-action occurs

Multi-Agent Learning for Security and Sustainability

This thesis studies the application of multi-agent learning in complex domains where safety and sustainability are crucial. We target some of the main obstacles in the deployment of multi-agent learning techniques in such domains. These obstacles consist of modelling complex environments with multi-agent interaction, designing robust learning processes and modelling adversarial agents. The main goal of using modern multi-agent learning methods is to improve the effectiveness of behaviour in such domains, and hence increase sustainability and security. This thesis investigates three complex real-world domains: space debris removal, critical domains with risky states and spatial security domains such as illegal rhino poaching. We first tackle the challenge of modelling a complex multi-agent environment. The focus is on the space debris removal problem, which poses a major threat to the sustainability of earth orbit. We develop a high-fidelity space debris simulator that allows us to simulate the future evolution of the space debris environment. Using the data from the simulator we propose a surrogate model, which enables fast evaluation of different strategies chosen by the space actors. We then analyse the dynamics of strategic decision making among multiple space actors, comparing different models of agent interaction: static vs. dynamic and centralised vs. decentralised. The outcome of our work can help future decision makers to design debris removal strategies, and consequently mitigate the threat of space debris. Next, we study how we can design a robust learning process in critical domains with risky states, where destabilisation of local components can lead to severe impact on the whole network. We propose a novel robust operator κ which can be combined with reinforcement learning methods, leading to learning safe policies, mitigating the threat of external attack, or failure in the system. Finally, we investigate the challenge of learning an effective behaviour while facing adversarial attackers in spatial security domains such as illegal rhino poaching. We assume that such attackers can be occasionally observed. Our approach consists of combining Bayesian inference with temporal difference learning, in order to build a model of the attacker behaviour. Our method can effectively use the partial observability of the attacker’s location and approximate the performance of a full observability case. This thesis therefore presents novel methods and tackles several important obstacles in deploying multi-agent learning algorithms in the real-world, which further narrows the reality gap between theoretical models and real-world applications

Towards an ecology of context and communication: negotiating meaning and language education.

In this thesis I set out to develop a social symbolic approach to context and\ud communication which goes beyond a code-systemic perspective on language, and one\ud of economic exchange in language use. I begin by reviewing relations between\ud linguistics and language teaching, and the dangers to the latter when it becomes preoccupied\ud with linguistic theory and description. I consider the potential of applied\ud linguistics to synthesise key ideas from various language related disciplines in\ud descriptively adequate accounts of communication in social situations.\ud In the remainder of chapter one I examine a number of 'centrifugal' approaches to the\ud analysis of language use, arguing a tendency for them to underestimate the importance\ud of social symbolism in communication.\ud Taking a range of social symbolic structures and processes in educational contexts as\ud the starting point for 'centripetal' investigations, in chapter two I describe salient\ud aspects of social symbolism in contexts of communication. These include contrasting\ud social, educational and economic forces in educational institutions, conceptions of role\ud and role relations between students and teachers, and structural symbolic features such\ud as dominance and dependency within rites of transition.\ud In chapter three I explore further aspects of social symbolism revealed in\ud communication, such as identity and risk-taking. I also discuss criteria for developing\ud and appraising models of 'an ecology of context and communication'.\ud Chapter four deals with the notion of negotiating meaning as a key process in social\ud encounters, and the influence of social symbolic factors on meaning negotiation in\ud dyadic communication.\ud Having explored important dimensions of social symbolism in both context and\ud communication, along with implications for the negotiation of meaning, I argue the\ud value of raising awareness of social symbolism in educational processes in the final\ud chapter of the thesis. I address ways of incorporating major aspects of social\ud symbolism into language education and discuss a range of issues involved in so doing

Environmental Quality Management for Soil Protection: The Role of Citizen Science in the Process

Soil is a vital and non-renewable resource, which performs many important functions. Soil quality management is faced with a number of challenges including overcoming objections to policies for soil protection, and the resource requirements implementation will entail. Further to this, soil is often neglected, as it is not high on the public or regulatory agenda. This work has focused on collecting large and cost effective data sets and raising awareness of soil, through the use of members of the public or ‘citizen scientists’. The aim of this PhD research was to assess the challenges facing soil protection and to evaluate role of citizen science for this purpose. The emergence of policies dealing with soil degradation is likely to increase the requirement for soil quality assessment. Despite this, there remains an issue with soil protection policy, which has not been implemented to the same extent as for water and air policy. To increase understanding of these issues, this work evaluated soil quality, and the reservations which it faces. Findings reveal the need for a method of assessment that is not soil function dependent, but uses a number of cross-functional indicators. Examination of the policy drivers for water and air highlight the importance of moving toward more holistic management and protection of soil. To help to address challenges for soil protection policy, this work proposes a set of indicators that can be collected by members of the public, and which can be used to direct further detailed soil quality assessment. With the need for evidence based policy, and recognition that involving the public in environmental monitoring is an effective way of increasing understanding and commitment, there has been growing interest in public surveys. The development of a mass public soil survey, the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) Soil and Earthworm Survey, is presented as an example of public participation in soil surveys. This approach can deliver improvements in the quality of the evidence collected and provide effective public involvement in policymaking and implementation, on top of direct educational benefits. Such data from the public have been analysed to provide information about soils and earthworm distributions, and has indicated apparent differences in earthworm abundance across England. Investigation of the reliability of patterns shows the importance of following up apparent findings from public data with more detailed investigation. Examination of patterns in public data provided important information on threats to soil, and has allowed further examination of the main environmental drivers of earthworm distribution, as well as distribution and fate of contaminants. The work highlights the important role to be played by members of the public in the move toward a holistic and harmonised protection of soil resources, with great value in public participation in data collection, education and policy formation