Pavlov and the prisoner's dilemma

Our Pavlov learns by conditioned response, through rewards and punishments, to cooperate or defect. We analyze the behavior of an extended play Prisoner's Dilemma with Pavlov against various opponents and compute the time and cost to train Pavlov to cooperate. Among our results is that Pavlov and his clone would learn to cooperate more rapidly than if Pavlov played against the Tit for Tat strategy. This fact has implications for the evolution of cooperation.     

High School Family Centers: Transformative Spaces Linking Schools and Families in Support of Student Learning

ABSTRACT

This study explores school, family, and community partnership at the high school level, using eight family centers as the entry point for the investigation. The purpose of the study was to identify ways that parents and school staff could collaborate to support high school students' achievement. The study findings led to the development of a model that represents three inputs that are crucial to the creation of a successful family center: (1) a supportive infrastructure, (2) the existence of skilled center staff, and (3) the presence of responsive programming. These three inputs led to the creation of a thriving center that acts as a transformative space, a “zone of community,” that results in four outputs: (1) the creation of relational trust among adults, (2) shift in parents' role construction and efficacy, (3) the generation of student relational trust, and (4) the development of student efficacy. The data from this study suggest that the relational trust developed in these transformative spaces called family centers can have a positive effect on student efficacy. The study concludes with seven recommendations for schools and districts looking to establish family centers in high schools as a way to expand family engagement at the high school level.     

Personal reflections on cautions and considerations for navigating the path of grounded theory doctoral theses and dissertations: a long walk through a dark forest

Grounded theory (GT) has been a popularly used qualitative research methodology in the social sciences and has become increasingly popular for doctoral theses and dissertations. Yet, issues such as the changing nature of grounded theory, time constraints, theses advisors, doctoral committee procedures and Institutional Review Board regulations create challenges for doctoral candidates (researchers) who choose to use GT for their dissertations. In this paper, we present the general and specific challenges of using GT for doctoral theses and dissertations by sharing our personal experiences from our Ph.D. programmes in the USA. We conclude by providing practical suggestions for doctoral researchers who are considering using GT for their theses and dissertations.     

Annexation as a factor in the growth of U.S. cities, 1950–1960 and 1960–1970

The incidence of annexation, the growth in the original area and in the area annexed, and the proportion of growth due to annexation between 1950 and 1970 are analyzed for U.S. cities grouped by size, metropolitan status, and region of the country. Over this period, annexation was a principal means of population growth for incorporated places outside the Northeast. Though often associated with metropolitan growth, annexation was even more important in the growth of nonmetropolitan cities. Overall growth differences by size of place, metropolitan status, and decade (1950--1960 or 1960--1970) could not be explained by the incidence and nature of annexation.     

Be Careful Where You Smile: Culture Shapes Judgments of Intelligence and Honesty of Smiling Individuals

Smiling individuals are usually perceived more favorably than non-smiling ones—they are judged as happier, more attractive, competent, and friendly. These seemingly clear and obvious consequences of smiling are assumed to be culturally universal, however most of the psychological research is carried out in WEIRD societies (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) and the influence of culture on social perception of nonverbal behavior is still understudied. Here we show that a smiling individual may be judged as less intelligent than the same non-smiling individual in cultures low on the GLOBE’s uncertainty avoidance dimension. Furthermore, we show that corruption at the societal level may undermine the prosocial perception of smiling—in societies with high corruption indicators, trust toward smiling individuals is reduced. This research fosters understanding of the cultural framework surrounding nonverbal communication processes and reveals that in some cultures smiling may lead to negative attributions.     

A Review of Nonfamilial Intergenerational Programs on Changing Age Stereotypes and Well-Being in East Asia

This paper examines whether nonfamilial intergeneration programs reduce age stereotyping and increase the well-being of both youth and older adults in five East Asian communities. We used the systematic review method and screened 2,261 abstracts, selecting 14 publications for full review. Studies reported positive attitudinal changes among young and old participants. The intergeneration programs generally covered one of two themes: art activities or cultural heritage. Three best practices that can enhance intervention effectiveness were pre-intervention training, maintaining the intensity of the intervention on a weekly base, and pair-wise matching between the two stakeholders. More studies are recommended to test intergenerational programs with randomized designs and a wider age range of young participants. Culturally specific intergenerational contact theory is also in need of development, particularly “status concern” between the young and old generation.