Lifeboat ethics versus corporate ethics - social and demographic implications of stem and joint families

The author distinguishes the lifeboat ethic of Northern Europe's stem family system from the corporate ethic of North India's joint family system, which has much in common with that of China. She contrasts these family systems to show how norms of residence and inheritance: a) Profoundly influence our values and social constructs. b) Shape patterns of conflict and cooperation between people, thus influencing many basic aspects of social organization and behavior. c) Influence health outcomes by categorizing people according to whether their health is promoted or allowed to fail. d) Shape a wide range of other development outcomes, including migration, strategies of household resource management, ways of exploiting commercial opportunities, and the operation of civil society. The author develops a number of hypotheses about the nature of these relationships. Some of these are substantiated quantitatively, and others can be tested empirically.Population&Development,Social Inclusion&Institutions,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Education and Society,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Population&Development,Education and Society,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Anthropology

Societal background influences social learning in cooperative decision making

Humans owe their ecological success to their great capacities for social learning and cooperation: learning from others helps individuals adjust to their environment and can promote cooperation in groups. Classic and recent studies indicate that the cultural organization of societies shapes the influence of social information on decision making and suggest that collectivist values (prioritizing the group relative to the individual) increase tendencies to conform to the majority. However, it is unknown whether and how societal background impacts social learning in cooperative interactions. Here we show that social learning in cooperative decision making systematically varies across two societies. We experimentally compare people's basic propensities for social learning in samples from a collectivist (China) and an individualist society (United Kingdom; total n = 540) in a social dilemma and a coordination game. We demonstrate that Chinese participants base their cooperation decisions on information about their peers much more frequently than their British counterparts. Moreover, our results reveal remarkable societal differences in the type of peer information people consider. In contrast to the consensus view, Chinese participants tend to be substantially less majority-oriented than the British. While Chinese participants are inclined to adopt peer behavior that leads to higher payoffs, British participants tend to cooperate only if sufficiently many peers do so too. These results indicate that the basic processes underlying social transmission are not universal; rather, they vary with cultural conditions. As success-based learning is associated with selfish behavior and majority-based learning can help foster cooperation, our study suggests that in different societies social learning can play diverging roles in the emergence and maintenance of cooperation

Kulturelle Grundlagen der Ökonomie: Eine Analyse aus Sicht der modernen Informationsökonomik

Globalization puts the German economic model, the so-called social market economy, under pressure. Constituting elements of this model are fundamental social and economic values. Globalization puts some of these values under pressure and creates inefficiencies because the costs of running the social and economic fabric rise. This is an important justification to inquire into the normative foundations of economic efficiency The following article discusses to what extent culture is a base for efficient economic systems. Information theory is regarded as a key element for explaining social change. The arguments are based on institutional economics with a special view on transaction costs and on cooperation structures. It is shown that specific information technologies promote forms of cooperation, which influence institutional arrangements. The related information technologies themselves are part of the cultural system and its value structures. As a consequence, competition among economic systems favours certain combinations of technologies, cultural arrangements and economic systems. In as much as cultural competition precedes economic competition in the sense of a certain way of thinking, the cultural system can be regarded as a strategic competitive parameter for an economy.

Analisis Filsafat Stoikisme Pada Tokoh Andy Dufresne dalam Film The Shawshank Redemption

This research aims to analyze the influence of Stoicism values ​​on the development of moral character, dynamics of social relationships, and acceptance of destiny in the film "The Shawshank Redemption". The research method used is a descriptive qualitative approach, by identifying and describing in depth the Stoicism values ​​reflected in the film narrative. Data were analyzed using content analysis techniques to explore the philosophical and social implications contained in the depiction of stoicism in the film. The research results show that stoicism values, such as loyalty, trust, cooperation, and acceptance of fate, have a significant impact on the moral character that develops in the prison context. The dynamics of social relationships between characters, especially between Andy Dufresne and Red, are reflected as clear evidence of how Stoicism values ​​enrich human interactions in difficult conditions. Acceptance of fate, as the essence of stoicism, is illustrated through the character of Andy, who is able to maintain his composure and even make a positive impact in the harsh prison environment. The results of this research provide in-depth insight into how the philosophy of Stoicism can be applied in everyday life and create positive values ​​amidst difficult life challenges

Model of parental education and socio-educational values of sport in the opinion of junior high school students in Lodz

The author refers to the importance of universal paradigms of sport in the life of the modern family, pointing to its social and pedagogical values. Parents’ beliefs, sports traditions, the atmosphere of family environment and a model of education of both parents influence the shaping of positive or negative attitudes towards physical activity and sport .Empirical verification of the raised issues is an attempt to indicate by 2555 students of Lodz junior secondary schools the selected values of active participation in sport in the context of father’s and mother’s model of education . The research process includes five components of active participation in sport referring to evocation of positive emotions, acquisition of skills of cooperation and coexistence in a group, the phenomenon of selfishness and self-centeredness, the ability to apply the rules of sports in everyday life and character shaping. The results show that the students whose parents have a low educational status display - statistically higher (α = 0.05) - belief in the existence of educational and social values of the sport activity

Self-regulation versus social influence for promoting cooperation on networks

Cooperation is a relevant and controversial phenomenon in human societies. Indeed, although it is widely recognized essential for tackling social dilemmas, finding suitable policies for promoting cooperation can be arduous and expensive. More often, it is driven by pre-established schemas based on norms and punishments. To overcome this paradigm, we highlight the interplay between the influence of social interactions on networks and spontaneous self-regulating mechanisms on individuals behavior. We show that the presence of these mechanisms in a prisoner’s dilemma game, may oppose the willingness of individuals to defect, thus allowing them to behave cooperatively, while interacting with others and taking conflicting decisions over time. These results are obtained by extending the Evolutionary Game Equations over Networks to account for self-regulating mechanisms. Specifically, we prove that players may partially or fully cooperate whether self-regulating mechanisms are sufficiently stronger than social pressure. The proposed model can explain unconditional cooperation (strong self-regulation) and unconditional defection (weak self-regulation). For intermediate selfregulation values, more complex behaviors are observed, such as mutual defection, recruiting (cooperate if others cooperate), exploitation of cooperators (defect if others cooperate) and altruism (cooperate if others defect). These phenomena result from dynamical transitions among different game structures, according to changes of system parameters and cooperation of neighboring players. Interestingly, we show that the topology of the network of connections among players is crucial when self-regulation, and the associated costs, are reasonably low. In particular, a population organized on a random network with a Scale-Free distribution of connections is more cooperative than on a network with an Erdös-Rényi distribution, and, in turn, with a regular one. These results highlight that social diversity, encoded within heterogeneous networks, is more effective for promoting cooperation

How Committed Individuals Shape Social Dynamics: A Survey on Coordination Games and Social Dilemma Games

Committed individuals, who features steadfast dedication to advocating strong beliefs, values, and preferences, have garnered much attention across statistical physics, social science, and computer science. This survey delves into the profound impact of committed individuals on social dynamics that emerge from coordination games and social dilemma games. Through separate examinations of their influence on coordination, including social conventions and color coordination games, and social dilemma games, including one-shot settings, repeated settings, and vaccination games, this survey reveals the significant role committed individuals play in shaping social dynamics. Their contributions range from accelerating or overturning social conventions to addressing cooperation dilemmas and expediting solutions for color coordination and vaccination issues. Furthermore, the survey outlines three promising directions for future research: conducting human behavior experiments for empirical validation, leveraging advanced large language models as proxies for committed individuals in complex scenarios, and addressing potential negative impacts of committed individuals