The Sznajd model of consensus building with limited persuasion

The Sznajd model, where two people having the same opinion can convince their neighbours on the square lattice, is modified in the sense of Deffuant et al and Hegselmann, that only neighbours of similar opinions can be convinced. Then consensus is easy for the competition of up to three opinions but difficult for four and more opinions.Comment: Two pages, no figures, Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 13, No.

GOD ON TRIAL: ARE OUR MORAL JUDGMENTS DIFFERENT BASED ON WHETHER WE ARE JUDGING GOD OR HUMANS?

Past work in moral psychology has demonstrated that individuals’ judgments of other humans in hypothetical moral scenarios can be influenced by variables such as intentionality, causality and controllability. However, while empirical studies suggest that individuals similarly hold nonhuman agents such as robots morally accountable for their actions to the extent that they are perceived to possess humanlike attributes important for moral judgments, research is scant when God is introduced as a nonhuman agent. On one hand it is proposed that because people anthropomorphize God, our moral intuitions of humans and God tend to show similar effects. In this case, both humans and God should be morally blamed when they are perceived to have engaged in a moral transgression. On the other hand, opinion polls suggest that the public at large generally agrees that belief in God(s) is necessary for one to be moral. By extension, our moral intuitions of God and humans should diverge significantly. Both perspectives offer different predictions about how people morally judge God and humans. This study attempts to test both perspectives by examining whether moral judgments of God show similar patterns to the moral judgments of a human (anthropomorphic perspective) or if judgments are biased toward God even when an immoral deed has occurred (Divine Command perspective). A 2 (Target: human vs God) x 2 (Morality of scenario: moral vs immoral) x 3 (Scenarios: sexual assault vs robbery vs murder) mixed model design was conducted to examine both hypotheses. Exploratory variables (i.e., Morality Founded on Divine Authority (MFDA) scale, religiosity and gender) were also included to test for potential moderation effects. Initial results suggest that people’s moral intuitions of humans and God do diverge, and this effect was moderated only by the MFDA scale. Limitations, implications and possible alternative explanations are discussed

Journalists in film: Heroes and villians

In November 2010, the world watched as 33 Chilean miners were rescued from the depths of the earth where they had been stranded since July. We were able to watch because the world’s news media were there, drawn by the human drama, the suspense, the spectacle. It was a great news story, ideally suited for the 24-hour news culture we live in today, and the globalised audience that consumes it. Nothing much happened for 68 of those 69 days, until that final 24 hours when the miners emerged. But we were transfixed, engrossed, immersed in the story

Opinion formation by social influence: From experiments to modeling

Predicting different forms of collective behavior in human populations, as the outcome of individual attitudes and their mutual influence, is a question of major interest in social sciences. In particular, processes of opinion formation have been theoretically modeled on the basis of a formal similarity with the dynamics of certain physical systems, giving rise to an extensive collection of mathematical models amenable to numerical simulation or even to exact solution. Empirical ground for these models is however largely missing, which confine them to the level of mere metaphors of the real phenomena they aim at explaining. In this paper we present results of an experiment which quantifies the change in the opinions given by a subject on a set of specific matters under the influence of others. The setup is a variant of a recently proposed experiment, where the subject's confidence on his or her opinion was evaluated as well. In our realization, which records the quantitative answers of 85 subjects to 20 questions before and after an influence event, the focus is put on characterizing the change in answers and confidence induced by such influence. Similarities and differences with the previous version of the experiment are highlighted. We find that confidence changes are to a large extent independent of any other recorded quantity, while opinion changes are strongly modulated by the original confidence. On the other hand, opinion changes are not influenced by the initial difference with the reference opinion. The typical time scales on which opinion varies are moreover substantially longer than those of confidence change. Experimental results are then used to estimate parameters for a dynamical agent-based model of opinion formation in a large population. In the context of the model, we study the convergence to full consensus and the effect of opinion leaders on the collective distribution of opinions.Fil: Chacoma, Andrés Alberto. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Zanette, Damian Horacio. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentin

Manipulating Image and Communication Issues in the Dolly Ex-Prostitution District Community Development Program

This research focuses on the problematic meaning of opinion leaders' views on the Dolly Bangkit community development program initiated by the Surabaya City Government in response to the conflict following the closure of Dolly's prostitution site in Surabaya. The problems are described from the opinion leader's point of view. This research uses a qualitative approach and phenomenological methods. The aim is to describe the experience of opinion leaders in dealing with the Dolly Bangkit program, which in turn shapes the meaning of the program. The results indicate that there are problems with the experience as well as the meaning. On the one hand, this program is interpreted as a helpful program to change the negative image of the Dolly area. On the other hand, opinion leaders also interpret this program as an imaging event by the Surabaya City Government officials to show that they are responsible for the closure. They also saw that there was a neglect of several essential things in the community development program, such as the participation or involvement of the target community and training that facilitate the target community in finding solutions, as well as aspects of equality

Fremde in Deutschland - eine Klassengesellschaft? Erscheinungsformen der Fremdenfeindlichkeit

'Einerseits sind in den letzten Monaten verstärkt fremdenfeindliche Aktivitäten aufgetreten, während andererseits die Meinungsforschung für die letzten Jahre abnehmende fremdenfeindliche Einstellungen konstatiert. Dies führt zu der Frage, ob wir es mit einer abgrenzbaren, gewalttätigen Minderheit zu tun haben oder ob bei sich ändernden sozialen und ökonomischen Rahmenbedingungen auch bei größeren Bevölkerungsteilen Fremdenfeindlichkeit zu beobachten ist. Dabei ist zu prüfen, ob die in Deutschland lebenden verschiedenen Fremdengruppen in gleicher Weise von Fremdenfeindlichkeit betroffen und welche Unterschiede vorzufinden sind. Diese Fragen werden anhand von Daten aus Telefoninterviews beantwortet.' (Autorenreferat)'On the one hand we could observe increasing hostile activites against foreigners during the recent months and on the other hand opinion polls state decreasing hostile attitudes against foreigners during the last few years. These facts lead to the question, if we are confronting a distinct violent minority or if violent activities are to be observed in larger parts of the population in case of changing social and economic conditions. In our study we ask, if all groups of foreigners living in Germany are afflicted by xenophobe attitudes in the same way and which differences can be registered. These questions shall be answered with data, obtained by telephone interviews.' (author's abstract)