Explaining cooperative behavior in public goods games : how preferences and beliefs affect contribution levels

There is a large body of evidence showing that a substantial proportion of people cooperate in public goods games, even if the situation is one-shot and completely anonymous. In the present study, we bring together two major endogenous factors that are known to affect cooperation levels, and in so doing replicate and extend previous empirical research on public goods problems in several important ways. We measure social preferences and concurrently elicit beliefs on the individual level using multiple methods, and at multiple times during the experiment. With this rich set of predictor variables at the individual level, we test how well individual contribution decisions can be accounted for in both a one shot and a repeated interaction. We show that when heterogeneity in people’s preferences and beliefs is taken into consideration, more than 50% of the variance in individual choice behavior can be explained. Furthermore, we show that people do not only update their beliefs in a repeated public goods game, but also that their social preferences change, to some extent, in response to the choices of other decision makers

Stability and welfare of 'merit-based' group-matching mechanisms in voluntary contribution game

We study the stability and welfare properties of merit-based (meritocratic) group-matching mechanisms in voluntary contribution games. Meritocratic matching in this context means that players tend to be assortatively grouped according to their contributions. We let regimes di ffer from one another with respect to their matching fidelity. The stability analysis summarizes as follows. When there is not enough meritocracy, the only equilibrium state is universal free-riding. Above a first threshold, several Nash equilibria above free-riding emerge, but only the free-riding equilibrium is stochastically stable. There exists a second meritocratic threshold, above which an equilibrium with high contributions becomes the unique stochastically stable state. This operationalization of meritocracy sheds light on critical transitions, that are enabled by contribution-assortative matching, between equilibria related to "tragedy of the common

Meritocratic matching can dissolve the efficiency-equality tradeoff: the case of voluntary contributions

One of the fundamental tradeoffs underlying society is that between efficiency and equality. The challenge for institutional design is to strike the right balance between these two goals. Game-theoretic models of public-goods provision under ‘meritocratic matching’ succinctly capture this tradeoff: under zero meritocracy (society is randomly formed), theory predicts maximal inefficiency but perfect equality; higher levels of meritocracy (society matches contributors with contributors) are predicted to improve efficiency but come at the cost of growing inequality. We conduct an experiment to test this tradeoff behaviorally and make the astonishing finding that, notwithstanding theoretical predictions, higher levels of meritocracy increase both efficiency and equality, that is, meritocratic matching dissolves the tradeoff. Fairness considerations can explain the departures from theoretical predictions including the behavioral phenomena that lead to dissolution of the efficiency-equality tradeoff

THE ROLE OF ANXIETY IN GOLF PUTTING PERFORMANCE

Anxiety’s influence on performance continues to be one of the main research interests for sport psychologists (Hanin, 2000). It is apparent, though, that there is a lack of empirical research characterising the multi-disciplinary effect of anxiety on sports performance. The current study aimed to ascertain biomechanical (accuracy, movement variability) and psychological (anxiety) markers to determine how anxiety affects golf putting

Decision for reconstructive interventions of the upper limb in individuals with tetraplegia: the effect of treatment characteristics

Objective: To determine the effect of treatment characteristics on the\ud decision for reconstructive interventions for the upper extremities (UE) in\ud subjects with tetraplegia. - \ud Setting: Seven specialized spinal cord injury centres in the Netherlands. - \ud Method: Treatment characteristics for UE reconstructive interventions were\ud determined. Conjoint analysis (CA) was used to determine the contribution\ud and the relative importance of the treatment characteristics on the decision\ud for therapy. Therefore, a number of different treatment scenarios using these\ud characteristics were established. Different pairs of scenarios were presented\ud to subjects who were asked to choose the preferred scenario of each set. - \ud Results: forty nine subjects with tetraplegia with a stable C5, C6 or C7\ud lesion were selected. All treatment characteristics significantly influenced\ud the choice for treatment. Relative importance of treatment characteristics\ud were: intervention type (surgery or surgery with FES implant) 13%, number\ud of operations 15%, in patient rehabilitation period 22%, ambulant\ud rehabilitation period 9%, complication rate 15%, improvement of elbow\ud function 10%, improvement of hand function 15%. In deciding for therapy\ud 40% of the subjects focused on one characteristic. - \ud Conclusion: CA is applicable in Spinal Cord Injury medicine to study the\ud effect of health outcomes and non-health outcomes on the decision for\ud treatment. Non-health outcomes which relate to the intensity of treatment\ud are equally important or even more important than functional outcome in the\ud decision for reconstructive UE surgery in subjects with tetraplegia

CoCREATE: Collaborative Curriculum Reimagining and Enhancement Aiming to Transform Education

The establishment of TU Dublin in January 2019 provided a unique opportunity to create a bespoke curriculum framework for students, staff and stakeholders of TU Dublin, produced by the students, staff and stakeholders of TU Dublin. A curriculum framework is a set of guiding values that inform the design of teaching and learning activities within TU Dublin. A Teaching Fellowship Team, comprising eighteen teaching academics from across the three TU Dublin campuses and supported extensively by the Learning Teaching and Technology Centre (LTTC), was formed to collaboratively craft, in partnership with all stakeholders, a curriculum framework for TU Dublin. Working collaboratively under the project name CoCREATE (Collaborative Curriculum Reimagining and Enhancement Aiming to Transform Education) the Teaching Fellowship Team developed TU Dublin’s CoCREATED Curriculum Framework over eighteen months. The design and development of the CoCREATED Curriculum Framework was informed by consultation with all key stakeholders across all campuses, examination and synthesis of local, national and international best practice and policy, as well as relevant scholarly literature. The framework is underpinned by the core values and mission of TU Dublin, as well as local and national strategic plans. It provides a distinctive but tangible learning philosophy for all at TU Dublin. The framework is both considered, flexible and progressive so as to adapt to the diversity within TU Dublin, including accredited programmes, and is inclusive of all learners across the university. The four curriculum values of the TU Dublin CoCREATED Curriculum Framework are: Step forward and try new things Use all of our talents; everyone has something to learn and something to teach Make our learning experience active, useful and related to the world Create the space and time to do work that matters This new, dynamic and evolving TU Dublin CoCREATED Curriculum Framework characterises an innovative, responsive and caring learning environment for the diversity of our university’s student population across all programme levels. Simultaneously, it developed a synergy between staff, students, professional bodies, industry and community partners through a collaborative design process. It is as inspiring, distinctive and pioneering as Ireland’s first Technological University. The CoCREATED Curriculum Framework will support staff and students to develop a unique approach to teaching and learning, which will characterise a TU Dublin teaching and learning experience, and ultimately a TU Dublin graduate, in a competitive national and international higher education space. Going forward, the TU Dublin CoCREATED Curriculum Framework will empower the judicious creation of rich and diverse curricula across all disciplines and levels within TU Dublin, from apprenticeship, through undergraduate, to structured PhD

Corrigendum to “Effects of therapeutic hypothermia on the gut microbiota and metabolome of infants suffering hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy at birth” [Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol. 93 (December) (2017), 110-118]

peer-reviewedCorrigendum Refers to: Watkins, C., Murphy, K., Yen, S., Carafa, I., Dempsey, E., O’Shea, C., Vercoe, E., Ross, R., Stanton, C. and Ryan, C. (2017). Effects of therapeutic hypothermia on the gut microbiota and metabolome of infants suffering hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy at birth. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, [online] 93, pp.110-118. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocel.2017.08.01