Modeling cooperation among self-interested agents: a critique

This paper reviews recent attempts to model cooperation in groups of self-interested unrelated individuals. It concludes that no empirically plausible model has been developed, and the economist's quest for an explanation of human prosociality in terms of self-interested agents has not been successful. We show that the equilibrium criteria employed in standard game-theoretic models have no attractive dynamic properties, and the mechanisms deployed in these models are not generally seen in empirical examples of cooperative groups. We also show that these models are not robust to plausible rates of signaling error and mutation. We present an alternative, involving strongly reciprocal agents, that satisfies all the requirements for a dynamically stable model of cooperation.     

Women's employment decisions in Malaysia: Does religion matter?

Religion may influence female employment decisions because different religions specify different life styles. This study investigates whether religion is a significant determinant of married and single women's paid-work and full-time employment in Malaysia. Using the Second Malaysian Family Life Survey and a sequential logit approach, this paper finds that religion is less influential in urban areas than in rural areas.     

葬礼:面对死亡的社会安排 ———城市环境下葬礼仪式浅析

通过实地观察和对殡仪馆工作人员的访谈，描绘了天津市城市内部现有的国家规范框架下葬礼仪式的具体过程以及附着在这个框架下的民间习俗的现状，试图通过对国家规范框架下的“正式”葬礼仪式及与其相对的“非正式”仪式——家庭告别仪式的程序形式的简略描述，展现在城市中普通个人的葬礼基于公共环境和家庭环境不同场景所采用的不同仪式过程。这是民间习俗对规范仪式的补充，同时也是“正式”规范对这种“非正式”实践的通融和消化。在描述现状之外，作者试图讨论蕴含在葬礼仪式中，不同死亡个体的葬礼仪式形式、规模及参与者等方面的区分所展现出的一种社会对死亡个体生前所处社会结构地位的认同，这种认同不仅反映了仪式所处社会背景的秩序和结构，也强化了这个社会的秩序和价值判断标准。     

How culture influences foreign trade: evidence from the U.S. and China

Using a gravity model of trade and the U.S. and Chinese panel data, I present evidence that supports the views that linguistic links have become more important in foreign trade than geographical proximity and that linguistic influence on trade is more significant in China than in the U.S. The estimated result based on a broad panel of economies shows little overall relation between religious similarity and foreign trade in both the U.S. and China. But there is an indication that the religious dissimilarity tends to retard foreign trade with poor countries and regions and to encourage foreign trade with richer places. I also found that, although religious retardation on foreign trade is more significant in China than in the U.S., religious dissimilarity tends to retard the US export more than that of China; by contrast, it tends to retard the Chinese import more than that of the U.S. At last, the socio-economic implications of the estimated results are discussed.     

Neighborhood conditions,religious coping,and uncontrolled hypertension

The purpose of this study is to see whether God-mediated control beliefs moderate the relationship between living in rundown neighborhoods and uncontrolled hypertension. God-mediated control refers to the belief that God will help people handle the stressors that arise in life. Data are provided by a nationwide survey of adults (N = 1919). Three ways of assessing uncontrolled hypertension are examined: a binary format contrasting people with and without uncontrolled hypertension, systolic and diastolic blood pressure scored continuously, and a four ordinal category scheme recommended by the American Heart Association. The data suggest that stronger God-mediated control beliefs moderate the relationship between neighborhood conditions and uncontrolled blood pressure when blood pressure is scored continuously and when the American Heart Association scheme are used as outcomes.     

Leaving my religion: Understanding the relationship between religious disaffiliation,health, and well-being

Religious disaffiliation—leaving the religious tradition in which one was raised for no religious affiliation in adulthood—has become more common in recent years, though few studies have examined its consequences for the health and well-being of individuals. We use an innovative approach, comparing the health and subjective well-being of religious disaffiliates to those who remain affiliated using pooled General Social Survey samples from 1973 through 2012. We find that religious disaffiliates experience poorer health and lower well-being than those consistently affiliated and those who are consistently unaffiliated. We also demonstrate that the disadvantage for those who leave religious traditions is completely mediated by the frequency of church attendance, as disaffiliates attend church less often. Our results point to the importance of the social processes surrounding religious disaffiliation and emphasize the role of dynamics in the relationship between religious affiliation and health.     

Reaching Isolated Older People

In the second part of a paper reporting a unique single day a week adult day program, the service methodologies developed in the program are described as well as a study of outcomes in four areas: success in reaching the target group, attendance, length of participation, and resolution of psychosocial and health related problems. Outcomes, illustrated by statistical and case material, indicate success in achieving the overall goal of maintenance and enhancement of the participant's life and functioning as a whole. Such a resource is recommended as a vital one for the target population of isolated older people described in the paper.     

谈学习民歌的意义

从《诗经》到现在的《中国民歌集成》都真实地反映了许多历史故事、人物及人民的生活。每一个历史时期都有其不同的表现形式、不同的风格及丰富的内容,了解和学习民歌的意义不仅在于它的形式和风格,更重要的是深含在其中的民族文化的精华,体现出一种不屈、乐观和奋发自信的民族精神,了解和学习民歌是陶冶情操,加深修养,提高文化素质的重要内容。也是加强爱国主义教育,促进精神文明建设的有效途径。     

《滇南山谣三首》创作中的文化体现与创新发展

《滇南山谣三首》是当代著名作曲家张朝创作的钢琴组曲,其源于云南彝族民族民间音乐,具有云南的民俗特色和人文特色。作品既继承传统民风、民俗文化精髓,又推陈出新,并同西方钢琴组曲的创作技法相结合,是国内现代钢琴曲中的成功之作。     

清至民国时期的东北民神

民神信仰是民俗文化的重要组成部分,东北地区由于特殊的历史和地理背景,在其民神形成的历史过程中,既有与全国民神共同的特点,也有自身的地城特征.