Variation in the Social Systems of Extant Hominoids: Comparative Insight into the Social Behavior of Early Hominins

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1251-1277 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Malone ◽  
A. Fuentes ◽  
F. J. White
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
The Social ◽  
Insight Into

Social Sciences between the Systems: The Ecuadorian University between Science, Education, Politics and Economy

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Altmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Education Politics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Science And Politics ◽  
Global North ◽  
Self Production ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Operative Closure

Universities are, like all organizations, at the intersection of different functional subsystems. They are not only dedicated to research (science) and teaching (education) but are also place for communications that form part of politics, economics and so on. But, what happens to universities, and, more precisely, social sciences in university, if the social system they work in is not differentiated in the way the social sciences in the Global North are used to? What if there is no clear distinction between science and politics? Does academic autonomy lead in this situation to some kind of ‘university as a subsystem’, complete with its own code and autopoiesis? Or will the different subsystems de-differentiate increasingly, as predicted by Luhmann? This contribution will analyse social sciences in Ecuadorian universities as an example for organizations at the intersection of functional systems that are not fully differentiated. The development, the operative closure, the institutionalization and the self-production of a concrete discipline under constant pressure of other social systems will be analysed. The goal is a further insight into processes of differentiation in the Global South and the role of institutions in these processes. Part of this is the attempt to actualize and criticize Niklas Luhmann’s approach of systems theory to regions outside of the Global North. JEL: O300, Z130

scholarly journals Placing self-assessed health within the systems framework: a preliminary insight into social synergy and syntony

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 626-635
Author(s):  
Elena-Mădălina Vătămănescu ◽  
Andreia Gabriela Andrei ◽  
Adriana Zaiţ
Keyword(s):  
Social Trust ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Self Assessed Health ◽  
Systems Framework ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Specific Contribution

AbstractThe issue of self-assessed health (SAH) has been discussed within the scope of multiple interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary studies, gathering the attention and interest of scholars from various fields of study. Emerged at the confluence of subjective and objective measurements, the construct has triggered controversies and debates on its relevance and reliability, yet it is employed in many analyses as a pertinent reference point for individuals’ perceptions regarding their health status or wellbeing. Starting from these considerations, the current study aims to move the discussion further, by placing SAH in a broader argumentative perspective, as a multivalent process dependent on a myriad of individual, social, environmental, digital, etc. factors apposite to complex social systems. Therefore, the specific contribution intended via this approach is the advancement of a preliminary outlook on SAH within the social systems framework with a special emphasis on synergy and syntony. Against the backdrop of a conceptual undertaking, several factors are brought forward – i.e., environmental factors such as housing, neighborhood, residence and social (interactional) factors such as digital exposure, face-to-face communication, and social trust – hewing the path for future in-depth investigations on the topic.

scholarly journals Dopamine pathway is highly diverged in primate species that differ markedly in social behavior

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (22) ◽  
pp. 6178-6181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina M. Bergey ◽  
Jane E. Phillips-Conroy ◽  
Todd R. Disotell ◽  
Clifford J. Jolly
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Complex Traits ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
System Structure ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mating Opportunities ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Genomic Regions

In the endeavor to associate genetic variation with complex traits, closely related taxa are particularly fruitful for understanding the neurophysiological and genetic underpinnings of species-specific attributes. Similarity to humans has motivated research into nonhuman primate models, yet few studies of wild primates have investigated immediate causal factors of evolutionarily diverged social behaviors. Neurotransmitter differences have been invoked to explain the distinct behavioral suites of two baboon species in Awash, Ethiopia, which differ markedly in social behavior despite evolutionary propinquity. With this natural experiment, we test the hypothesis that genomic regions associated with monoamine neurotransmitters would be highly differentiated, and we identify a dopamine pathway as an outlier, highlighting the system as a potential cause of species-specific social behaviors. Dopamine levels and resultant variation in impulsivity were likely under differential selection in the species due to social system structure differences, with either brash or circumspect social behavior advantageous to secure mating opportunities depending on the social backdrop. Such comparative studies into the causes of the behavioral agendas that create and interact with social systems are of particular interest, and differences in temperament related to boldness and associated with dopamine variation likely played important roles in the evolution of all social, behaviorally complex animals, including baboons and humans.

The power of social structure: how we became an intelligent lineage

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Resendes de Sousa António ◽  
Dirk Schulze-Makuch
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
New World ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
New Findings ◽  
The Social

AbstractNew findings pertinent to the human lineage origin (Ardipithecus ramidus) prompt a new analysis of the extrapolation of the social behavior of our closest relatives, the great apes, into human ‘natural social behavior’. With the new findings it becomes clear that human ancestors had very divergent social arrangements from the ones we observe today in our closest genetic relatives.The social structure of chimpanzees and gorillas is characterized by male competition. Aggression and the instigation of fear are common place. The morphology of A. ramidus points in the direction of a social system characterized by female-choice instead of male–male competition. This system tends to be characterized by reduced aggression levels, leading to more stable arrangements. It is postulated here that the social stability with accompanying group cohesion propitiated by this setting is favorable to the investment in more complex behaviors, the development of innovative approaches to solve familiar problems, an increase in exploratory behavior, and eventually higher intelligence and the use of sophisticated tools and technology.The concentration of research efforts into the study of social animals with similar social systems (e.g., New World social monkeys (Callitrichidae), social canids (Canidae) and social rodents (Rodentia)) are likely to provide new insights into the understanding of what factors determined our evolution into an intelligent species capable of advanced technology.

Space and Molecular Human in the Process of Social Systems Digital Transformation in Belarus and Russia

2021 ◽  
pp. 84-97
Author(s):  
Andrey V. Kolesnikov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Computer Model ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Social System ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Unknown Object ◽  
Main Factor

To develop a strategy for building the Union State of Russia and Belarus’ better future, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms and identify the main causes that govern the dynamics of this complex and specifi c social system. As the main factor determining the social dynamics of a given civilization cluster, we consider the competition of two basic sociotypes. They are conditionally designated as a molecular man and a space man. A molecular person is a consumer whose social behavior is based on the power of the selfi sh gene and consumer society’s ideals. A space person is passionate, driven by the creative imperative of cognition and synthesis of culture. In our opinion, it is this fundamental confl ict that forms the social dynamics of the civilization cluster of the Union State. The scenario of its future development will depend on the resolution of this confl ict. In order to better understand this process, we have developed a cellular-automate computer model of competition between the two sociotypes in the framework of a unifi ed social system. This computer model can be considered as a simplifi ed cognitive proto-construct of the social system dynamics. By examining it, one can transfer the properties and features of its behavior to an unknown object under study - a society.

SURVIVING CRISIS: INSIGHTS FROM NEW EXCAVATION AT KARPHI, 2008

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 1-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saro Wallace ◽  
Dimitra Mylona
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
To Come ◽  
Representative Area ◽  
Insight Into

Seventy years after its first investigation, Karphi (Karfi) on Crete was the subject of a new pilot excavation in 2008. The main aim was to provide the first up-to-date detailed contextual records for the site across a representative area, thus filling in interpretative gaps left by the original extensive excavation. This paper presents and analyses these records with the aim of investigating the likely complexity of social systems at one of the largest new communities founded in Crete after the collapse of Bronze Age states c.1200 bc. Recent research has tended to focus on small villages, or on sites which later developed into poleis, meaning that crisis-period remains are poorly preserved. Occupied only between the crisis horizon of c.1200 bc and an important nucleation of Cretan communities at large ‘proto-polis’ settlements occurring in the early tenth century, the large Karphi site offers insight into the special challenges of creating large, potentially diverse new communities in crisis circumstances. It has one of the most dramatic of the new settlement locations, on steep-sided peaks 1100 m above sea level in an area which had never previously been settled. The social and economic adjustments needed here were particularly sharp and urgent, and the paper examines the structures which enabled them, using preliminary analyses of bioarchaeological data from the new project to assist reconstruction of the economy. The site has had other, highly specialised uses in its history, on which the new excavation has thrown light. The results highlight not only the resonance of this landscape in ancient consciousness, but also the ways in which such resonance could be exploited, both in the socially volatile post-collapse period and in the context of enhanced social and economic complexity as polis states started to come into being. Finally, a first set of radiocarbon dates from the new excavation is presented and assessed with regard to the dating of the Cretan Bronze to Iron Age transition and its wider ramifications.

Development of the Social Behavior of Two Mice Species With Contrasting Social Systems

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 288-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Szenczi ◽  
Oxana Bánszegi ◽  
Zita Groó ◽  
Vilmos Altbäcker
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
The Social

Sport Socialization of Blind Athletes: An Exploratory Study

1986 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 740-744
Author(s):  
Claudine Sherrill ◽  
Carol Pope ◽  
Robert Arnhold
Keyword(s):  
Social Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personal Attributes ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
The Social ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
National Competition ◽  
Blind Persons ◽  
Socializing Agents ◽  
Insight Into

Because the United States Association for Blind Athletes (USABA) is the only organization that offers national competition in two or more sports for blind persons, and because few athletes take advantage of the opportunities presented, the USABA was selected as the population to be studied with the aim of gaining insight into social systems which contribute to sport socialization of blind persons. Interview data were obtained from 133 athletes (44% of entrants) competing in the sixth national USABA games. Findings are presented as percentages and chi-square values for personal attributes, socializing agents, and socializing situations. Information is given also on national meets: number of events entered, frequency of participation in each sport, and amount of training or practice before competition. The social learning model (Bandura, 1969; Kenyon & McPherson, 1973) is used as the theoretical framework of the study. Findings are discussed with reference to what is known about sport socialization of sighted athletes.

Behavior of a Captive Population of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs

Behaviour ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 46 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 189-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon L. Smith ◽  
Elizabeth C. Oppenheimer ◽  
Jill G. De VILLA ◽  
W. John Smith ◽  
Frederick A. Ulmer
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
The Social

Abstract(I) A colony of black-tailed prairie dogs in the Philadelphia zoo is being used for long term studies of various aspects of social behavior including pattern of social organization, stylized means of communicating, and the effects of individual behavioral differences on communication and social structure. (2) This report deals with the annual cycle of social behavior manifested by the colony during the first three years of study. In gross outline an annual cycle can be described as follows: during the summer most individuals have "friendly" inter-relationships, and little organization is apparent. During autumn the animals gradually band into coterie groups and each group begins to defend a common territory, primarily through a highly ritualized procedure of "challenging" neighbors across a common boundary. By midwinter the adult males are very aggressive. With the advent of the winter breeding season, the females too become aggressive, and some establish territories that may subdivide coterie territories. In spring males and then females gradually become less aggressive, so that by about the time the pups emerge onto the surface the relaxed social relationships typical of summer are developing generally. (3) The shifting pattern of social organization is based on the division of individuals into classes on the basis of sex, age, dominance, and coterie and other bonds, and modified by the considerable inter-individual differencees in what may loosely be called "temperament." (4) Comparisons of the patterns of social organization shown by the zoo prairie dogs with those thus far described in the literature for wild populations show fundamental similarities, although the very high density and lack of opportunity for emigration in the zoo colony have lead to some modifications which are described and discussed. (5) The complexity of the social; organization of the black-tailed prairie dog is unusual for a rodent, and a model is proposed to account for its evolution from more widespread patterns of rodent social behavior. As the model emphasizes the role of the very open grassland habitat of the species in intensifying the natural selection potentially responsible for the evolution of this socal complexity, it suggests that habitat similarities may underlie evolutionary convergences in the social systems of black-tailed prairie dogs and savanna-dwelling primates.

scholarly journals Association between social factors and gastrointestinal parasite product excretion in a group of non-cooperatively breeding carrion crows

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia A.F. Wascher
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Gastrointestinal Parasite ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Lower Ranking

AbstractThe social environment strongly affects the physiological stress response in group living animals, which in turn can affect the immune system and increase susceptibility to parasites. Here, I investigate relationships between social behavior and gastrointestinal parasite product excretion in the carrion crow (Corvus corone). Individuals from a population of non-cooperatively breeding carrion crows excreted less samples containing coccidian oocysts when kept in larger groups (8 or 9 individuals) compared to those individuals kept in smaller groups (2 or 3 individuals). Lower-ranking individuals excreted more samples containing parasite oocysts compared to higher-ranking individuals. The strength of affiliative relationships and number of related individuals in the group did not relate to the proportion of droppings containing coccidian oocysts. The present results confirm an association between social environment and parasite excretion patterns in carrion crows, but the patterns described in the present study differ from previously published data derived from a group of cooperatively breeding crows. This illustrates that differences between the social systems of carrion crows might result in different associations between the social environment and parasite product excretion patterns.Significance statementOne major cost of group living is an increase in susceptibility to parasites, however not all group living animals are affected by this in the same way. A better understanding how social behavior is associated with parasite burden can help to better understand evolution of group living. This study attempts to investigate associations between dominance rank, affiliative relationships as well as groups size and gastrointestinal parasite product excretion in a group of captive carrion crows. Lower-ranking individuals excreted more samples containing parasite oocysts compared to higher-ranking individuals, confirming an association between social relationships within the groups (for example dominance rank) and parasite excretion patterns.

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