The evolution of cooperation: a recreation of Axelrod’s computer tournament

The iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma is a commonly studied game in Game Theory. Many real life situations, such as trench warfare during World War I, can be modeled by such a game. Robert Axelrod implemented a computer tournament in order to determine the best strategy during repeated interactions. Various entries, ranging from very simple to very sophisticated strategies, competed in his tournament. We recreate the tournament using a programming language Matlab and examine the results. Although our results are not entirely identical to Axelrod’s results, we confirm Axelrod’s general findings. In particular, in order for a strategy to be successful, it should be nice, forgiving, relatively easy to understand by its opponents and also retaliatory

Images

The purpose of these works is to explore human figures and birds in their surroundings. The works use basically flat images with strong emphasis placed on design rather than on painterly quality. Designing is the approach that I accept for the basis of this thesis. The aim of these paintings is to translate intense observation of my subject into colorful images that generate strong emotional responses. Frequently, repeated design patterns are used in constructing forms as well as creating compositional balance. The paintings usually use single, frontal images with the exception of some which combine several images. My images are painted fairly large allowing their presence to be felt immediately. Greater importance is given to the images in the foreground than the background arrangement. Design treatment of images shows influences of Egyptian and African motifs. The materials used in execution of works are acrylic paint, oil pastel, Liquitex polymer gloss medium, and charcoal on primed canvas. The sources of information for my paintings are African sculptures, Egyptian sculptures, colour photographs, and magazines

The philosophy of Lester Ward and its reflections on the New Deal

A cursory study of intellectual history reveals that theories sometimes appear in one period of time, apparently disappear for a while, and then reappear at some later date. Such a situation, the apparent similarities "between the philosophy of Lester Ward, an American sociologist in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and the policies and attitudes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his advisers in the 1930’s, stirred this writer's curiosity. Although there were reform movements between the period of Lester Ward and Roosevelt, such as Populism and Progressivism, no reform movement until the New Deal advocated positive governmental action to the degree that Ward had foreseen. While Populism and Progressivism called for government to be a regulator, the New Deal designed government to be an active initiator of social programs. Ward had been one of the early advocates of a planned economy and a regulated society. In the New Deal, the idea was again introduced, but more forcefully and with greater acceptance by the general public. How greatly did Ward influence the preparation and presentation of the New Deal

Teacher support for language development and content mastery in English learning Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE)

English Learners (ELs) as a whole are a diverse group culturally, linguistically, and academically. The EL group contains a subgroup of students who are either immigrants or refugees and whose formal schooling has been interrupted, causing them to begin in U.S. schools with many academic challenges. Due to war, trauma, cultural beliefs, and residing in refugee camps, students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) often encounter significant gaps in their formal education, ranging from two to 10 years, depending on their age (DeCapua & Marshall, 2015; Gahungu, Gahungu, & Luseno, 2011; Hos, 2016). This qualitative study focused on the education of SIFE ELs based on three elements: program models, instructional practices, and strategies to promote social and emotional well-being. The data collection for this research study focused on interviews with educators, classroom observations, and student artifacts. Two EL teachers assigned to teach the middle and high school SIFE students, a principal, and a Curriculum Facilitator participated in this study. Findings revealed that teachers set high expectations for students and provided students with academic supports, strategies, and scaffolds. School administration expects that all teachers and staff make close connections to all the students and families, and the school administrator works with a local university to provide mental health services for students and families. Obstacles include time constraints mandated from the Office of Civil Rights that stipulate students are able to attend for one year, and the lack of specific professional development to target SIFE EL needs. Based on the findings, suggestions are given to support SIFE EL teachers and students

What do family mediators do? A look at practices and models.

The principles and frameworks of family mediation were clearly articulated in a previous issue of Context (Butlin & Elliot, 2001). What I do , as a mediation researcher-practitioner, is try and understand what mediators are doing to practice these principles and fulfil these frameworks. I have been conducting nationwide research into mediation practice over the last two years, which as included a postal questionnaire to mediators all over the UK and observations of practice. This article presents preliminary findings from the survey

Baptized by fire

My work is a personal narrative. I work primarily in the mediums of video and performance. The latter usually being in conjunction with the former. I often have difficulty defining which of these terms are the most important to me. Therefore, I have come to adopt the concept of "video performance." During my time in graduate school, I have struggled with the importance of formal properties in my work and questioned how important formality is to me. My thesis work shows that I have learned to use those properties when they are necessary and that I am also able to ignore them and let the piece be driven solely by its content

Teacher collaboration and elementary science teaching : using action research as a tool for instructional leadership

"The primary purpose of this action research study was to explore an elementary science program and find ways to support science education as an administrator of an elementary school. The study took place in a large suburban school system in the southeastern United States. Seven teachers at a small rural school volunteered to participate in the study. Each participant became an active member of the research by determining what changes needed to take place and implementing the lessons in science. The study was also focused on teacher collaboration and how it influenced the science instruction. The data collected included two interviews, ten observations of science lessons, the implementation of four science units, and informal notes from planning sessions over a five month period. The questions that guided this study focused on how teachers prepare to teach science through active learning and how instruction shifts due to teacher collaboration. Teachers were interviewed at the beginning of the study to gain the perceptions of the participants in the areas of (a) planning, (b) active learning, (c) collaboration, and (d) teaching science lessons. The teachers and principal then formed a research team that determined the barriers to teaching science according to the Standards, designed units of study using active learning strategies, and worked collaboratively to implement the units of study. The action research project reviewed the National Science Education Standards, the theory of constructivism, active learning and teacher collaboration as they relate to the actions taken by a group of teachers in an elementary school. The evidence from this study showed that by working together collaboratively and overcoming the barriers to teaching science actively, teachers feel more confident and knowledgeable about teaching the concepts."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

A study of the relationship between selected learning independence characteristics of third-grade students and their reading achievement

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure the learning independence of third-grade students and to determine the relationships between the independence measure and the student variables which follow: reading performance, intelligence, sex, educational level of mother, and income level of parents. Another purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between personality traits of teachers and two variables: Learning Independence Scale (LIS) scores assigned to students by the teachers and reading scores obtained by students on a standardized reading test. The subjects were 187 third-grade students and eight classroom teachers. Students were rated by their teachers on 23 indicators of independence. The classroom teachers were administered a personality profile. Demographic data obtained from school records included IQ, sex, educational level of mother, income level of parents, and reading scale score from the California Achievement Test

Anthropology: The Incurable Disease

The new world, vast, untamed, and virtually unspoiled when found by the first white explorers, was abundant with plant and animal life: but also populated by humans. These humans numbered in the millions. Among these new found humans, there were many different cultures and languages, customs and religions. Some roamed the land hunting and fishing, while others lived settled lives farming as their ancestors had for thousands of years. These people were fascinating to the white explorers. The whites could not understand how so many traditions and languages could exist within one place. This complexity was new to the first white explorers of America

Impact of Social Issues on Public Sector Employees: Research Summary and Implications for Workplace Conflict Professionals

Employees in the Public Sector face a range of workplace conflicts from the “macro” to the “micro.” State and federal budget cutbacks can jeopardize programs, which can create conflicts with clients who no longer meet eligibility criteria and/or with coworkers whose positions are no longer funded. Increasing stress in and out of the workplace affects work and home life and employees across the spectrum need additional assistance managing the impact of these complicated issues. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) were designed as workplace benefit programs to provide services and training to help employees manage the issues most affecting their work