Costly and discrete communication: an experimental investigation

Language is an imperfect and coarse means of communicating information about a complex and nuanced world. We report on an experiment designed to capture this feature of communication. The messages available to the sender imperfectly describe the state of the world; however, the sender can improve communication, at a cost, by increasing the complexity or elaborateness of the message. Here the sender learns the state of the world, then sends a message to the receiver. The receiver observes the message and provides a best guess about the state. The incentives of the players are aligned in the sense that both sender and receiver are paid an amount which is increasing in the accuracy of the receiver’s guess. We find that the size of the language endogenously emerges as a function of the costs of communication. Specifically, we find that higher communication costs are associated with a smaller language. Although the equilibrium predictions do not perform well, this divergence occurs in a manner which is consistent with the experimental communication literature: overcommunication. We find that the sender’s payoffs, relative to equilibrium payoffs, are decreasing in the cost of communication. We also find that the receiver’s payoffs, relative to equilibrium payoffs, are increasing in the cost of communication. Finally, we find imperfections in coordination on the basis of the experimental labels.     

Not so cheap talk: costly and discrete communication

We model an interaction between an informed sender and an uninformed receiver. As in the classic cheap talk setup, the informed player sends a message to an uninformed receiver who is to take an action which affects the payoffs of both players. However, in our model, the sender can communicate only through the use of discrete messages which are ordered by the cost incurred by the sender. We characterize the resulting equilibria without refining out-of-equilibrium beliefs. Subsequently, we apply an adapted version of the no incentive to separate (NITS) condition to our model. We show that if the sender and receiver have aligned preferences regarding the action of the receiver, then NITS only admits the equilibrium with the largest possible number of induced actions. When the preferences between players are not aligned, we show that NITS does not guarantee uniqueness, and we provide an example where an increase in communication costs can improve communication. As we show, this improvement can occur to such an extent that the equilibrium outperforms the Goltsman et al. (J Econ Theory 144:1397–1420, 2009) upper bound for receiver’s payoffs in mediated communication.     

老年人日常照料的角色介入模型

本文在总结国内外老年人照料研究的基础上，提出老年人日常照料的角色介入模型，其核心是三个规律：即（1）成本命题：一个角色介入老年人日常照料的成本越大，其介入照料的概率就越低；（2）邻近命题：与被照料者的地理和社会邻近度越高，照料角色介入的可能性就越高；（3）责任命题：对被照料者的责任感越高，照料者介入的可能性就越大。由此三个命题所延伸出的六个假设，通过多元正态概率模型对2000年“中国城乡老年人口状况一次性抽样调查”的原始数据进行分析，结果显示，多数假设得到数据的支持。这一研究结果对厘清老年人照料的社会化和家庭照料之间的关系及其理性的公共政策选择，提供了新的视角和理论依据。     

香港长期病患者自助组织的探索性研究

自助组织为长期病患者提供一个自助互助的平台,病患者用自身对抗疾病的经历去开解患同类病的病人,病者从一个服务接受者变为服务的提供者,这对他们的康复作用并非笔墨所能形容。本文希望通过探讨专业机构香港复康会针对长期病患者服务的介入的原则与价值观及介入方式,对中国大陆自助组织的发展起到借鉴作用。     

老舍作品的“雅俗共赏”

老舍继承了满族文化艺术雅俗共赏的传统。老舍既做到了置身于市民生活之中,用"平视"眼光去悉心观察和表现他们的生活现实,又能动地逸出这种生活及观念的规约局限,用高屋建瓴的"俯视"眼光,扫瞄那种生活文化以及社会流行价值观的得与失——他既作了底层市民的亲密朋友,又作了对他们负有启蒙责任的"先生"。他的艺术,真正做到了"学问大的人看了不觉浅,学问小的人看了也不觉深",达到了雅俗共赏的高境界。     

Access to Services by the Elderly:

Abstract

This analysis evaluated the hypothesis that comorbidity, as a measure of physical health status, would negatively impact the stress management capability of caregivers. To examine this relationship, data from 3,112 caregivers participating in the Uniform Caregiver Assessment through California's Caregiver Resource Center System in 2000 were used. Results indicated that comorbidity was not a significant predictor of caregiver inability to manage stress; however, high depression scores, disruptive behavior by the care receiver, and reduced social support from family and friends were significantly associated. Implications for social workers in these areas are discussed.     

司马相如与长安文化

被誉为辞宗、赋圣的司马相如与长安文化呈现双向互动性。一方面长安文化玉成了司马相如，使他从纵横之士转变为辞赋之士，创作意识发生了转变；同时使其赋作具有儒家一统、帝王独尊的思想主题；长安文化的审美观念也使其赋作展现出一种大汉气象和大美风范。另一方面司马相如推动了长安文化的发展，他从长安文化的接受者转为传播者，扩大了长安文化的影响；赋作的重一统天下、重宏博气象进一步丰富了长安文化的内涵。     

The Evolution of Coding in Signaling Games

Signaling games with reinforcement learning have been used to model the evolution of term languages (Lewis 1969, Convention. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; Skyrms 2006, “Signals” Presidential Address. Philosophy of Science Association for PSA). In this article, syntactic games, extensions of David Lewis’s original sender–receiver game, are used to illustrate how a language that exploits available syntactic structure might evolve to code for states of the world. The evolution of a language occurs in the context of available vocabulary and syntax—the role played by each component is compared in the context of simple reinforcement learning.     

Simple methods for evaluating and comparing binary experiments

We consider a confidence parametrization of binary information sources in terms of appropriate likelihood ratios. This parametrization is used for Bayesian belief updates and for the equivalent comparison of binary experiments. In contrast to the standard parametrization of a binary information source in terms of its specificity and its sensitivity, one of the two confidence parameters is sufficient for a Bayesian belief update conditional on a signal realization. We introduce a confidence-augmented receiver operating characteristic for comparisons of binary experiments for a class of “balanced” decision problems, relative to which the confidence order offers a higher resolution than Blackwell’s informativeness order.

Where observation is concerned, Chance favors only the prepared mind. —Louis Pasteur (1822–1895).

     

Faith,Flight and Foreign Policy: Effects of war and migration on Western Australian Bosnian Muslims

This article examines the nexus between war, religion and migration through a series of qualitative interviews with Bosnian Muslim humanitarian entrants to Western Australia. By utilising a three‐tiered model for assessing religiosity, the interviews reveal that a substantial number of participants placed a greater emphasis on Islam during the Balkan conflict. The way in which individual religiosity was expressed upon resettlement in Western Australia was largely determined by pre‐migration religiosity and postmigration contact with other Muslims. In particular, migrants with a low level of Islamic knowledge tended to internalise the values and ideas of more conservative Muslims upon arriving in the receiver‐nation. Meanwhile, those with a well‐developed pre‐migration understanding of Islam tend to resist outside influence and continue their original beliefs and practices. The findings demonstrate that conflicts at the state level frequently precipitate psychological crises of identity at the personal level; this in turn has an effect on the cultural and political landscape of migrant receiving nations.     

Why to Buy Your Darling Flowers: On Cooperation and Exploitation

Trusting in someone's cooperation is often connected with the danger of being exploited. So it is important that signals are exchanged which make it probable enough that the potential partner is reliable. Such signals must be too expensive for partners who are planning to abuse the trust they are given but cheap enough for those who wish to initiate a long-term cooperation. In a game theoretical model, it is shown that such signals could consist of presents given before the partnership starts. These presents must be more expensive than the advantage of a one-period exploitation but smaller than the profit from a long-term partnership. In order to prevent that the receiver only collects presents, and that she is not interested in a firm partnership, these gifts should be of low value for her. Flowers are the prototype of such presents but usually not the only and not the most important signal of this kind. Nor is the partnership between men and women the only example of cooperative relations which are endangered by exploitation – but of all exploitation stories this one is most often narrated.     

The Taxonomy, Model and Message Strategies of Social Behavior

In an era of rising social awareness, both academics and practitioners have been concerned about the effectiveness of pro‐social consumer influence strategies. The main assumption here is that for social marketing to succeed one must first understand the factors underlying pro‐social consumer behavior. Firstly, drawing on two dimensions (i.e. the welfare receiver and restitution intention) the authors first identify four types of social behavior (altruism, compensation, reciprocity, and egoism). Next, the model describes social behavior as a result of preceding social behavior motivation and actual social behavior intention. Norms and economic evaluation have an impact on social behavior motivation, which in turn influences social behavior intention, eventually leading to actual social behavior. Actual control factors, such as the availability of resources and opportunities, decide whether social behavior intention can really translate into actual social behavior. Finally, authors propose message strategies (incorporating message appeal, message frame and central/peripheral processing) for each type of social behavior.     

Literary reading in the context of media culture

1980年代中国曾掀起文学阅读的高潮,但从1990年代始,文学阅读则进入一个缓慢的衰退期,新世纪以来,其衰退步伐进一步加快。在文学阅读式微的过程中,新媒介扮演着重要角色,其影响主要体现在：因文字转换成图像,接受者的感知结构得以重塑;因读屏代替了读书,阅读过程的沉思冥想无法启动。同时,新媒介还破坏了“孤独”的阅读状态,削平了接受的深度模式。从媒介文化角度看,文学阅读的式微是印刷文化遭到视觉文化重创后的结果,但由于新一代人已生活在视觉文化的环境中,他们游离于文学阅读将变得在所难免。此种阅读状况既会影响文学生产也会波及文学研究。而守护文学阅读并抵制新媒介的人,其私人记忆、感知结构甚至身体习惯恰恰是被印刷文化建构而成的。因此,游离或守护文学阅读的背后,其实隐含的是一种媒介文化的冲突。     

When punishment is emotion‐driven: Children's,adolescents', and adults' costly punishment of unfair allocations

When do children, adolescents, and adults decide to punish fairness violations? Two studies with 9‐year‐old children, 13‐year‐old adolescents, and adults investigated whether the link between unfairness and punishment was mediated by negative emotional reactions (measured through galvanic skin responses and emotion ratings). Study 1 (N = 117) examined this question in the context of second‐party punishment, where the punisher is a direct victim of the violation. Study 2 (N = 119) assessed third‐party punishment, where the punisher is an observer, unaffected by the violation. In each study, participants were presented with seven distributions of points, which differed in how fairly the points were allocated between a proposer and receiver, and had to decide whether to punish these distributions. Although the unfairness of the distribution strongly influenced second‐ and third‐party punishment in all age groups, the mediating role of emotional appraisals (i.e., galvanic skin responses vs. emotion ratings) depended on whether or not the punisher was personally affected by the violation and age. Thus, negative emotions primarily motivate costly punishment when the punisher is affected by the violation or when an unaffected third‐party punisher takes the perspective of the victim of a violation, an ability that develops between childhood and adolescence.     

“孙子比老人大”：阿卡礼中的祖孙关系及其扩展的亲属世界

本文通过考察云南哈尼族阿卡人家庭内部的祖孙关系及其在治疗祈福仪式“拴线礼”中的呈现,探索其建构社会的方式和过程。研究发现,阿卡父系家庭在强调丰产和家族延续的福气观念下,突出“老人大”和“孙子比老人大”的双向式等级结构。该结构经由辈分、性别、居住地、血亲、姻亲等差别变量的叠加互动,从家庭仪礼中扩展出卷动多个家系和村寨的人群等级关系,构建出更广大的社会世界,既体现了男/女性后代和姻亲对于家族延续的不同重要性,也表达了多姓村寨共同体内部的互助团结与整合精神。本文为等级、礼物和家庭研究拓宽了讨论空间。     

社会学家作为说故事者

过去,一些重要的西方社会学者主张,社会学者最主要的任务乃在于挖掘与诠释社会互动现象所可能意涵的“未预期结果”。在结构功能论之思维传统的主导下,最具代表性的,莫过于默顿的说法,他认为,“未预期结果”是客观地存在于社会体系中的一种具潜在功能作用的社会事实,乃反映着那些有助于体系的调整与适应、但却未能为该体系之参与者所意图、且认识到的客观结果。在本文中,笔者则采取另类的观点,尝试表达如下的见解,其实,社会学家原本只不过是一个编织故事的艺匠而已。他大体上犹如都市中漫游的行走者,一直处于当下此刻,在一再分岔的街道上一边行走一边浏览着沿途的景观,也就是说,他选择个人特别亲近的、但具深邃文化－历史意涵的某种核心概念作为出发点,以不断分岔的方式来编织“社会”的图像。准此,韦伯所提出之理念型的研究策略,可以说是最为典型的例证。     

Semicontinuous Representability of Homothetic Interval Orders by Means of Two Homogeneous Functionals

It is well known that interval orders are particularly interesting in decision theory, since they are reflexive, complete and nontransitive binary relations which may be fully represented by means of two real-valued functions. In this paper, we discuss the existence of a pair of nonnegative, positively homogeneous and semicontinuous real-valued functionals representing an interval order on a real cone in a topological vector space. We recover as a particular case a result concerning the existence of a nonnegative, positively homogeneous and continuous utility functional for a complete preorder on a real cone in a topological vector space.     

《礼记》伦理哲学的诗学旨趣

《礼记》是一部对于中国士人的精神建构产生了重要影响的儒家经典。把《礼记》作为一个系统文本予以整体探究,以一种宏观的诗性视角敞开《礼记》所包蕴的儒家早期伦理世界,而非断章取义、纠缠于单一的伦理或者诗学观念,有助于藉此探寻中国士人的原型精神,进而深入思考出早期中国传统诗学思想的产生发展以及演变轨迹,从历史纵深和横向发展的角度透视儒家的精神境界以及诗性人格建构。     

Willingness to Pay for Risk Reduction and Risk Aversion without the Expected Utility Assumption

By means of minimal assumptions on the individual preferences, I show that the Willingness To Pay (WTP) for both a FSD and SSD reduction of risk is the sum of a mean effect, a pure risk effect and a wealth effect. As a result, the WTP of a risk-averse decision maker may be lower than the WTP of a risk-neutral one, for a large class of individual preferences’ representation and a large class of risks.     

The "Special Path" and the Social Order in Today's Russia

Research data show that Russians still strongly adhere to the notion of a uniquely Russian path as a source of identity, but that this sense of uniqueness is based more on a negative view of the other than a positive view of the contents of Russian uniqueness. This view reinforces a degree of Russian isolation from the outside world, a sense of being surrounded by hostile forces, and a rejection of the West.