The Evolution of Society

We re-examine the evolutionary stability of the tit-for-tat (tft) strategy in the context of the iterated prisoner's dilemma, as introduced by Axelrod and Hamilton. This environment involves a mixture of populations of "organisms" which interact with each other according to the rules of the prisoner's dilemma, from game theory. The tft strategy is nice, retaliatory and forgiving, and these properties contributed to the success of the strategy in the earlier experiments. However, it turns out that the property of being nice represents a weakness, when competing with an insular strategy, but the reverse is also true, which means that tft is not an evolutionarily stable strategy. In fact, insular strategies prove to be better at resisting incursion. Finally, we consider the implications of this result, in terms of naturally occurring societies.MIT Artificial Intelligence Laborator

Variety

Ames may not be the next Seattle, Chapel Hill, or wherever else bands seem to be popping up, but it does get its fair share of live music. Some of the shows were so good you just had to be there, but if you weren\u27t, here is a little overview of a few of the musicians who set Ames\u27 cumulative stage aglow

For a Deeper Understanding of the Sociality That Emanates From Virtual Communities of Consumption

This paper aims to improve our understanding of the sociality that emanates from virtual communities of consumption. We have collected life narratives, with a focus on agency in consumers' experiences of forums in a virtual community of video game players. Findings reveal the existence of different means of appropriation built on identified dimensions and leading to various knowledge projects. These projects are experienced throughout subject positions around which consumers build more or less salient identities. The roles that forums play in knowledge projects lead to four main interrelated consumption logics that are collectively embodied in different ways by social practices. [to cite]

Impression Evolution During Ad Exposure: Typicality Effects From 100 Ms Onwards

Although print ads display all information simultaneously, people are unable to process this all at once. This research investigates how people rapidly try to identify what ads are for over the course of a single ad exposure, and how this influences subsequent attention, impression formation, and memory. Three studies show that typical ads--which can be rapidly identified accurately--are liked even after 100ms, and retain this high liking. We find that evaluations for atypical ads, however, improve or deteriorate within a single exposure depending on the specific identification process engendered, and that memory effects critically depend on exposure duration

Towards Critical Human Resource Management Education (CHRME): a sociological imagination approach

This article explores the professional standing of the discipline of human resource management (HRM) in business schools in the post-financial crisis period. Using the prism of the sociological imagination, it explains the learning to be gained from teaching HRM that is sensitive to context, power and inequality. The context of crisis provides ideal circumstances for critical reflexivity and for integrating wider societal issues into the HRM curriculum. It argues for Critical Human Resource Management Education or CHRME, which, if adopted, would be an antidote to prescriptive practitioner-oriented approaches. It proceeds to set out five principles for CHRME: using the ‘sociological imagination’ prism; emphasizing the social nature of the employment relationship; investigating paradox within HRM; designing learning outcomes that encourage students to appraise HRM outcomes critically; and reflexive critique. Crucially, CHRME offers a teaching strategy that does not neglect or marginalize the reality of structural power, inequality and employee work experiences

Scale-dependent perspectives on the geomorphology and evolution of beachdune systems

Despite widespread recognition that landforms are complex Earth systems with process-response linkages that span temporal scales from seconds to millennia and spatial scales from sand grains to landscapes, research that integrates knowledge across these scales is fairly uncommon. As a result, understanding of geomorphic systems is often scale-constrained due to a host of methodological, logistical, and theoretical factors that limit the scope of how Earth scientists study landforms and broader landscapes. This paper reviews recent advances in understanding of the geomorphology of beach-dune systems derived from over a decade of collaborative research from Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. A comprehensive summary of key findings is provided from short-term experiments embedded within a decade-long monitoring program and a multi-decadal reconstruction of coastal landscape change. Specific attention is paid to the challenges of scale integration and the contextual limitations research at specific spatial and/or temporal scales imposes. A conceptual framework is presented that integrates across key scales of investigation in geomorphology and is grounded in classic ideas in Earth surface sciences on the effectiveness of formative events at different scales. The paper uses this framework to organize the review of this body of research in a 'scale aware' way and, thereby, identifies many new advances in knowledge on the form and function of subaerial beach-dune systems. Finally, the paper offers a synopsis of how greater understanding of the complexities at different scales can be used to inform the development of predictive models, especially those at a temporal scale of decades to centuries, which are most relevant to coastal management issues. Models at this (landform) scale require an understanding of controls that exist at both ‘landscape’ and ‘plot’ scales. Landscape scale controls such as sea level change, regional climate, and the underlying geologic framework essentially provide bounding conditions for independent variables such as winds, waves, water levels, and littoral sediment supply. Similarly, an holistic understanding of the range of processes, feedbacks, and linkages at the finer plot scale is required to inform and verify the assumptions that underly the physical modelling of beach-dune interaction at the landform scale

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

Smart Phones, Bad Decisions? the Impact of In-Store Mobile Technology Use on Consumer Decisions

We investigate lay beliefs of in-store mobile technology use and examine how mobile devices alter decisions. While consumers understand the positive implications of these devices, it appears they are unaware of the negatives. Specifically, mobile use leads to more unplanned purchases, more forgotten items, longer shopping times, and additional trips