Model of mobile agents for sexual interactions networks

We present a novel model to simulate real social networks of complex interactions, based in a granular system of colliding particles (agents). The network is build by keeping track of the collisions and evolves in time with correlations which emerge due to the mobility of the agents. Therefore, statistical features are a consequence only of local collisions among its individual agents. Agent dynamics is realized by an event-driven algorithm of collisions where energy is gained as opposed to granular systems which have dissipation. The model reproduces empirical data from networks of sexual interactions, not previously obtained with other approaches.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure

Personality Profiles of Iditasport Ultra-marathon Participants

Each February, competitors convene in Big Lake, Alaska, to participate in the “Iditasport Human Powered Ultra-Marathon”. Who would attempt this challenging race? Personality might be one factor predicting participation. Iditasport represents a unique athletic event with a distinctive social and psychological climate that might be reflected in the personalities of the participants in many ways. This study was designed to identify the personality profile of Iditasport athletes when compared to normative populations and to explore differences between athletes competing in different race divisions

Are Nurses More Altruistic than Real Estate Brokers?

We report results from a dictator game experiment with nurse students and real estate broker students as dictators, and Amnesty International as the recipient. Although brokers contributed substantial amounts, nurses contributed significantly more, on average 76 percent of their endowment. In a second part, subjects chose between a certain repetition of the experiment and a 50-50 chance of costly exit. About one third of the brokers and half of the nurses chose the exit option. While generosity was indeed higher among nurses, even when taking exits into account, the difference cannot readily be attributed to different degrees of altruism.dictator game, exit option, generosity, occupational differences

Exploring the Role of Organisational Trust in Mergers and Acquisitions M/A Processes in Family Firms

In recent years, mergers and acquisitions (M/As) of family firms have started to play a more crucial role. But despite its increasing relevance this topic has not yet been studied in the family firm context. The existing theories on organisational trust in the M/A process might not necessarily apply in the family firm M/A (FF M/A) context as these companies are somehow unique, especially since the employees’ organisational trust in the family firm owners tends to be a key dynamic in merging family firms. Therefore, this thesis wants to close an application gap in research and explore how organisational trust can be applied to the family firm M/A context. M/As of German midsized family firms are explored in two different studies. In the quantitative study 1 data was collected in an employee survey (N=352). Data for the qualitative study 2 consists of 21 semi-structured interviews. In this thesis I generate an organisational trust framework in the context of family firms that have undergone M/As. This framework is valuable because it shows how family firms can use their specific nature as an asset to maintain their employees’ organisational trust even after an M/A. Therefore, M/As of family firms tend to be the less risky option for family firms that need to sell their businesses, and a way for them to maintain or restore their organisational trust. The three main contributions are the following: Firstly, there is not necessarily a trust breach under the premise of a “responsible” outcome. Secondly, there is an observation period in the M/A process where family firm employees will reserve judgement on the new family firm. Thirdly, the process of trust regain after the observation period is primarily based on trustworthiness demonstrated by role models, and especially by the new family firm owners. The analysis further shows that it should be a major concern of merging family firms to develop a reasonable, trust-enhancing concept because of the major consequences of a trust loss, such as a decrease of commitment and engagement. So from a practical point of view, this work’s framework can help family firms to prevent the employees’ loss of organisational trust due to M/As, and to establish a trusting relationship after the acquisition

On the proper reconstruction of complex dynamical systems spoilt by strong measurement noise

This article reports on a new approach to properly analyze time series of dynamical systems which are spoilt by the simultaneous presence of dynamical noise and measurement noise. It is shown that even strong external measurement noise as well as dynamical noise which is an intrinsic part of the dynamical process can be quantified correctly, solely on the basis of measured times series and proper data analysis. Finally real world data sets are presented pointing out the relevance of the new approach