Conditional cooperation and group dynamics: Experimental evidence from a sequential public goods game

We design a novel sequential public goods experiment to study reciprocity, or conditional cooperation. In contrast to the standard simultaneous contribution game, our sequential design provides direct evidence on how subjects condition their own contributions on the contributions of other subjects in the experiment. We develop a simple but useful behavioral-type classification procedure and use it to analyze the data from this design. Our results inform two fundamental hypotheses: (1) subjects’ types are persistent over an experiment; and (2) the types of subjects included in a group affects a group’s ability to sustain cooperation. These hypotheses are often assumed in the public goods literature, yet neither has been directly supported. We find support for both hypotheses. Moreover, we provide a simple summary statistic that, we show, predicts group cooperative dynamics remarkably well.conditional cooperation, public goods games, behavioral type classification, experiments

Interactive Whiteboard Impact on Algebra Teachers’ Implementation of Selected Mathematics Teaching Practices

This study investigated the use of the interactive white board (IWB) and the impact the technology had on mathematics teaching practices for algebra teachers. The study used the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model as the conceptual framework for the investigation, collection, and analysis of data. Teachers were interviewed to obtain teacher level of IWB use, and the Mathematics Classroom Observation Protocol for Practices (MCOP2) was used to obtain data for effective mathematics teaching practices. Observations of teachers were analyzed in order to answer the research question: How does the use of an Interactive White Board impact an algebra teachers’ implementation of selected mathematics teaching practices? Findings from the study indicate the teachers most often used the IWB at the interactive level, followed by the enhanced interactive level, and least at the support didactic level. Posing purposeful questions and Using and Connecting Mathematical Representation were the most frequently used selected Mathematics Teaching Practices

A Critical Analysis of Refugee Law

A review of immigration law and history reveals that the United States admits large numbers of refugees from communist countries, but grants entrance to a disproportionate few from noncommunist states. The author interprets these figures to mean that the government uses the refugee admissions process as a ploy to accomplish political objectives. This article exposes the inequity in the admissions process by examining the legislative and executive responses to the refugee problem. Although many had hoped that the Refugee Act of 1980 would eliminate the political bias in refugee policy, the author suggests that the Act, in fact, institutionalizes preexisting political biases