Cooperation, Norms, and Revolutions: A Unified Game-Theoretical Approach

Cooperation is of utmost importance to society as a whole, but is often challenged by individual self-interests. While game theory has studied this problem extensively, there is little work on interactions within and across groups with different preferences or beliefs. Yet, people from different social or cultural backgrounds often meet and interact. This can yield conflict, since behavior that is considered cooperative by one population might be perceived as non-cooperative from the viewpoint of another. To understand the dynamics and outcome of the competitive interactions within and between groups, we study game-dynamical replicator equations for multiple populations with incompatible interests and different power (be this due to different population sizes, material resources, social capital, or other factors). These equations allow us to address various important questions: For example, can cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma be promoted, when two interacting groups have different preferences? Under what conditions can costly punishment, or other mechanisms, foster the evolution of norms? When does cooperation fail, leading to antagonistic behavior, conflict, or even revolutions? And what incentives are needed to reach peaceful agreements between groups with conflicting interests? Our detailed quantitative analysis reveals a large variety of interesting results, which are relevant for society, law and economics, and have implications for the evolution of language and culture as well

The Acceptable Limits of State Interference in Private Property Rights During Periods of Economic Crisis

The power of the state to compulsorily acquire the privately held real property of citizens is recognised in numerous developed democracies. However, the exercise of this power remains extremely controversial. In most jurisdictions the state’s power to compulsorily acquire private property is limited to instances of necessary public good. In many instances, such as hospitals or railways, a necessary public good is clearly identifiable. However, successive United States Supreme Court judgments have expanded the definition of public good to include redevelopment which is primarily to the benefit of another private party. The Supreme Court judgment in Kelo v. City of New London sparked a political outcry which led to severe limitations being placed on the power of state authorities to compulsorily acquire property for private redevelopment. Given the jurisprudence of the Irish Supreme Court in cases such as Clinton v An Bord Pleanála and others it is likely that the attitude of the Irish courts would be similar to that of their American counterparts in Kelo. Proponents of the Coase Theorem argue that the state should take a secondary role in such property disputes, leaving resolution to be achieved through private bargaining between the parties. However, this approach is predicated on an illusion of minimal transaction cost. The effectiveness of such an approach also declines as the distance between the parties to the transaction increases. Furthermore, property rights cannot be understood in purely economic terms. The role of law must be to delineate property rights in a manner which takes account of, and balances, private economic and other arguments such as community cohesion, economic development and social justice concerns

Substance use risk profiles and associations with early substance use in adolescence

We examined whether anxiety sensitivity, hopelessness, sensation seeking, and impulsivity (i.e., revised version of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale) would be related to the lifetime prevalence and age of onset of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use, and to polydrug use in early adolescence. Baseline data of a broader effectiveness study were used from 3,783 early adolescents aged 11–15 years. Structural equation models showed that hopelessness and sensation seeking were indicative of ever-used alcohol, tobacco or cannabis and for the use of more than one substance. Furthermore, individuals with higher levels of hopelessness had a higher chance of starting to use alcohol or cannabis at an earlier age, but highly anxiety sensitive individuals were less likely to start using alcohol use at a younger age. Conclusively, early adolescents who report higher levels of hopelessness and sensation seeking seem to be at higher risk for an early onset of substance use and poly substance use

Predicting norm enforcement: the individual and joint predictive power of economic preferences, personality, and self-control

This paper explores the individual and joint predictive power of concepts from economics, psychology, and criminology for individual norm enforcement behavior. More specifically, we consider economic preferences (patience and attitudes towards risk), personality traits from psychology (Big Five and locus of control), and a self-control scale from criminology. Using survey data, we show that the various concepts complement each other in predicting self-reported norm enforcement behavior. The most significant predictors stem from all three disciplines: stronger risk aversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism as well as higher levels of self-control increase an individual's willingness to enforce norms. Taking a broader perspective, our results illustrate that integrating concepts from different disciplines may enhance our understanding of heterogeneity in individual behavior

Parental knowledge of alcohol consumption : a cross sectional survey of 11-17 year old schoolchildren and their parents

Background: Developing timely and effective strategies for preventing alcohol misuse in young people is required in order to prevent related harms since, worldwide, alcohol consumption was associated with 320,000 deaths amongst 15–29 year olds in 2004. Providing guidance and advice to parents is essential if alcohol misuse is to be reduced. However, prevention of risky behaviours is hampered if parents are unaware of the risks involved. Methods: A cross-sectional school-based survey of parent–child dyads, simultaneously questioning 935 children aged 11–17 years old and their parent(s). Univariate and multivariate associations are reported between demography, alcohol behaviours and parental knowledge of their child’s alcohol consumption. Results: 41.1% (n = 384) of children reported drinking alcohol. Of these, 79.9% of their parents were aware of their child’s alcohol consumption. Children aged 11–14 years had over a twofold greater odds of consuming alcohol without parental knowledge compared with 15–17 year olds (AOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.3-5.7). Of parent–child dyads where the child reported consuming alcohol, 92.7% of parents reported that they had spoken to their child about alcohol at least once in the past three months, whereas 57.3% of their children reported that this had occurred. Children who consumed alcohol and whose parents did not know they drank alcohol were less likely to report having a parental discussion about alcohol in the last three months (AOR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.1-1.0) or report lifetime receipt of at least one other parenting protective measure (AOR: 0.5, 95% CI: 0.2-0.9) compared with those children who drank alcohol with parental knowledge. Conclusions: Whilst only small numbers of young adolescents in our sample were drinking alcohol compared with older adolescents, those who did were more likely to do so without their parents’ knowledge. These two factors combined (drinking earlier and drinking without parental knowledge) could place children at risk of immediate harm. Further research is essential to identify whether public health strategies should be developed which could support parents to employ lifestyle parenting techniques even before the parent believes the child to be at risk

Evidence-based Kernels: Fundamental Units of Behavioral Influence

This paper describes evidence-based kernels, fundamental units of behavioral influence that appear to underlie effective prevention and treatment for children, adults, and families. A kernel is a behavior–influence procedure shown through experimental analysis to affect a specific behavior and that is indivisible in the sense that removing any of its components would render it inert. Existing evidence shows that a variety of kernels can influence behavior in context, and some evidence suggests that frequent use or sufficient use of some kernels may produce longer lasting behavioral shifts. The analysis of kernels could contribute to an empirically based theory of behavioral influence, augment existing prevention or treatment efforts, facilitate the dissemination of effective prevention and treatment practices, clarify the active ingredients in existing interventions, and contribute to efficiently developing interventions that are more effective. Kernels involve one or more of the following mechanisms of behavior influence: reinforcement, altering antecedents, changing verbal relational responding, or changing physiological states directly. The paper describes 52 of these kernels, and details practical, theoretical, and research implications, including calling for a national database of kernels that influence human behavior

The downward spiral of mental disorders and educational attainment: a systematic review on early school leaving.

BACKGROUND: Most psychiatric disorders present symptom patterns that cause severe impairment on the emotional, cognitive and social level. Thus, adolescents who suffer from a mental disorder risk finding themselves in a downward spiral caused by the reciprocal association of psychological symptoms and negative school experiences that may culminate in early school leaving. In addition to previous collective work that mainly focused on school refusing behaviour among children and was presented as an expert's opinion, the following systematic review fills the knowledge gap by providing a structured overview of the bidirectional association between mental health and secondary school dropout based on a sound methodology and with a particular focus on mediating factors. METHODS: Four electronic databases were searched from January 1990 until June 2014. Selected references were assessed for study details, main results, mediating factors and methodological limitations. Standardized risk of bias assessment was conducted. RESULTS: Mood and anxiety disorders seemed to have a less consequential direct effect on early school leaving than substance use and disruptive behaviour disorders. The association between externalizing disorders and educational attainment was even stronger when the disorder occurred early in life. On the other hand, internalizing disorders were reported to develop as a consequence of school dropout. Only few studies had addressed gender differences, with discrepant results. Socio-economic background, academic achievement and family support were identified as significant mediating factors of the association between mental disorders and subsequent educational attainment. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggested a strong association between mental health and education, in both directions. However, most studies focused on mediating factors that could not be targeted by intervention programs

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Em engenharia, modelos podem ser entendidos como representações das características principais de um objeto, criadas com o propósito ele permitir a visualização e compreensão da estrutura e do comportamento do objeto, antes de sua construção. A estrutura de um objeto de engenharia pode ser definida por um modelo geométrico que descreve, exata ou aproximadamente, suas formas e dimensões materiais. O comportamento pode ser descrito por um conjunto de equações diferenciais de um modelo matemático que nos permite prever, sob certas condições, os efeitos de ações externas sobre o objeto. A solução do modelo matemático pode ser obtida pela análise computacional numérica de um modelo mecânico do objeto, através do método dos elementos finitos e/ou método dos elementos de contorno. Nesse trabalho, apresentamos um Sistema de Modelagem Estrutural Orientado a Objetos denominado OSW - Object Structural Workbench, destinado ao desenvolvimento de programas de análise e visualização de modelos em engenharia de estruturas. Na primeira parte do texto, introduzimos os fundamentos utilizados no desenvolvimento do sistema. Na segunda parte, descrevemos como empregar as bibliotecas de classes de OSW na construção de um programa de modelagem e apresentamos a alguns resultados obtidos com o sistema.In engineering, models may be thought as representations for the main characteristics of an object. Such representations enable us to visualize and understand the object structure and behaviour before constructing the object itself. The engineering ohject structure can be defined by a qeometric model which faith ful or approximately describes the object shape and size. The object behaviour can be ruled by a differential equations set from a mathematical model, which enables us to predict the effects of external forces acting on the object. The solution for the mathematical model can be obtained by applying the method of finite elements or method of boundary elements to an object mechanical model. In the text, we present an Object Oriented Structural Modeling System called OSW - Object Structural Workbench. The system has been designed to aid the development of computer programs for analysis and visualization of structural models. The text has been designed to aid the development of computer programs for analysis and visualization of structural models. The text has been divided into two parts. At the first one, we introduce the mathematical and computational basis employed in OSW construction. At the second one, we describe how to use the OSW class libraries to develop our own structural modeling applications, and also we present some results from OSW