Adaptive Build-up and Breakdown of Trust: An Agent Based Computational Approach

This article employs Agent-Based Computational Economics (ACE) to investigate whether, and under what conditions, trust is viable in markets. The emergence and breakdown of trust is modeled in a context of multiple buyers and suppliers. Agents develop trust in a partner as a function of observed loyalty. They select partners on the basis of their trust in the partner and potential profit, with adaptive weights. On the basis of realized profits, they adapt the weight they attach to trust relative to profitability, and their own trustworthiness, modeled as a threshold of defection. Trust and loyalty turn out to be viable under fairly general conditions.     

当代少数民族题材小说中民族文化英译的历时性研究——以茅盾文学奖作品为例

文化是人类所创造的精神财富总和,少数民族文化是其重要组成部分.本文借助于茅盾文学奖作品汉英平行语料库,从婚丧习俗、宗教祭祀、民族传说及民族史三个层面,考查当代少数民族题材小说《穆斯林的葬礼》《尘埃落定》和《额尔古纳河右岸》在民族文化英译过程中体现的历时性特征.研究发现,随着时间推移,民族文化信息在英译本中呈现出由缺损向保留逐渐过渡的历时性趋势,表明少数民族文化在英译过程中日益得到更多保留和再现.究其原因,主要有文化全球化背景下的读者需求转变、中西方文学翻译策略的转变及译者主体性差异等三方面因素.     

The Structure of Legal Relations in Online Transactions*

As the civil law expression of internet plus transactions, the legal relations in online trading platform transactions constitute a complex aggregate of legal relationships composed of groups of legal relations. Specifically, they consist of three basic interlinked legal relationships: Contract relations for online trading platform services between the platform provider and the seller or service provider, and between the platform provider and the consumer. This includes the sales or service contract relations between the triad of the seller, the service provider and the consumer. These relations contain five kinds of major content, viz., the provision of transaction space, the publishing of transaction information, price escrow payment, distribution and delivery of the commodity, and transaction credit evaluation. They involve three forms of supplementary legal relations: the supplementary contract relationship between the platform provider and a third party payment institution; between the seller and third party credit reporting agency; and between the seller and a logistics enterprise. The three forms of supplementary contractual legal relations are set up to act on the major contents of the basic legal relationships in online transactions. On the basis of the online trading platform service contract relationships between the platform provider and the triad of the seller, the service provider and the consumer, the flow of the above- mentioned legal relations centers on the contract of sales or service set up between the seller, the service provider and the consumer to accomplish the aim of the online transaction, meet social needs and boost economic development.     

Dyadic Analyses of Preschool‐aged Children's Friendships: Convergence and Differences between Friendship Classifications from Peer Sociometric Data and Teacher's Reports

Peer sociometrics and teachers' friendship reports were compared in 2179 preschool dyads. One hundred twenty of 306 reciprocated friend dyads from peer sociometric data were also identified as good friends by their classroom teachers, and 301 of 600 of non‐reciprocated dyads in peer data were named as friends by one or both classroom teachers (overall kappa = .16). Friendship classifications from both peer and teacher data had significant relations with variables relevant to peer interactions, social skills, peer acceptance, and teacher‐rated scales (six of seven tests significant for peer data; five of eight significant for teacher data). Multilevel analyses indicated that friendship status effects were not qualified by classroom‐level differences. Findings suggest that sociometric tasks can identify preschoolers' peer friendships and that the range of correlates may be broader in peer‐choice data than in teachers' friendship evaluations.     

Understanding Popularity and Relational Aggression in Adolescence: The Role of Social Dominance Orientation

This study investigated a potential moderator of the association between popularity and relational aggression: social dominance orientation (SDO), the degree to which an individual endorses the importance of social hierarchy. One hundred eighty‐five ninth graders completed a sociometric assessment of RA and popularity, and a self‐report SDO measure. SDO was positively associated with popularity for both boys and girls, and with RA for girls. Popularity and RA were positively correlated for both genders. Regression analyses showed that SDO moderated the association between popularity and RA for girls, but not for boys. Girls who were both popular and who were social dominance‐oriented were particularly high in peer‐nominated RA. SDO may provide a useful framework for understanding the role of popularity in adolescent peer groups.     

A bibliographic study of public relations in Spanish media and communication journals, 2000–2012

This study analyses the trends and visibility of research on public relations in the most relevant Spanish media and communication journals between the years 2000 and 2012. Bibliometrics and content analysis are used to show the reduced presence of articles on public relations in these publications. A trend towards gender parity in authorship is confirmed in the sample, as well as a plurality of universities and a variety of research themes. The study also proves preference for generic questions rather than for specialised topics. Another finding is that almost one fourth of the specific articles on this discipline do not contain the term “public relations”. This can hint towards the need to have a specific high-impact publication on public relations to bring together and provide visibility to the contributions of researchers in this field.     

Can Psychosocial Intervention Improve Peer and Sibling Relations Among War‐affected Children? Impact and Mediating Analyses in a Randomized Controlled Trial

Social resources are considered important protectors in traumatic conditions, but few studies have analyzed their role in psychosocial interventions among war‐affected children. We examined (1) whether a psychosocial intervention (teaching recovery techniques, TRT) is effective in improving peer and sibling relations, and (2) whether these potentially improved relations mediate the intervention's impacts on children's mental health. Participants were 428 Palestinian children [10–13 (mean = 11.29, standard deviation SD = .68)‐year‐old girls (49.4 percent) and boys (50.6 percent)], who were cluster‐randomized into the TRT and wait‐list control groups. They reported the quality of peer (friendship and loneliness) and sibling (intimacy, warmth, conflict, and rivalry) relations, and posttraumatic stress, depressive and psychological distress symptoms, as well as psychosocial well‐being at baseline (T1), postintervention (T2), and six month follow‐up (T3). Results showed gender‐specific TRT intervention effects: Loneliness in peer relations reduced among boys and sibling rivalry reduced among girls. The TRT prevented the increase in sibling conflict that happened in the control group. The mediating hypothesis was partially substantiated for improved peer relations, and beneficial changes in sibling relations were generally associated with improved mental health.     

A pilot qualitative study of the under-representation of Hispanics in public relations

This pilot study explored the under-representation of Hispanics/Latinos in the public relations profession by conducting focused interviews with Hispanic practitioners. The study found that public relations was not the Latinos’ initial career choice, identified three barriers to Hispanics entering the profession, elicited practical suggestions to attract more Hispanics, and also revealed opportunities for future scholarly research to address the under-representation of Hispanics in public relations.     

Using a “child's‐eye view” of social success to understand the importance of school readiness at the transition to formal schooling

Recent research into school readiness has highlighted the importance of not only children's cognitive and socio‐emotional skills, but also the degree to which they have family support in the home. The current study examines the association between social success upon school entry and teacher‐ratings of school readiness as assessed by the Brief Early Skills and Support Index (BESSI), controlling for language ability. Importantly, social success was assessed using a “child's‐eye view” with peer‐reported assessments of both social preference and reciprocated friendships. A total of 244 children (131 boys, M_age = 61 months, SD = 4.78 months) in their first year of formal schooling participated. Child school readiness was found to be important for social preference, with the association being more marked for boys versus girls. Family support was the only independent predictor of children's reciprocated friendships. The use of the BESSI, with its broad scope compared to other measures of school readiness, highlights the importance of focusing both on a child's cognitive and socio‐emotional skills at school entry and their family support when exploring the association of school readiness to children's social success at the transition to formal schooling.