scholarly journals Conformity does not perpetuate suboptimal traditions in a wild population of songbirds

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (30) ◽  
pp. 7830-7837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy M. Aplin ◽  
Ben C. Sheldon ◽  
Richard McElreath
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Adaptive Behavior ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Maladaptive Behavior ◽  
History Of ◽  
Puzzle Box ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Sensitive Individual

Social learning is important to the life history of many animals, helping individuals to acquire new adaptive behavior. However despite long-running debate, it remains an open question whether a reliance on social learning can also lead to mismatched or maladaptive behavior. In a previous study, we experimentally induced traditions for opening a bidirectional door puzzle box in replicate subpopulations of the great titParus major. Individuals were conformist social learners, resulting in stable cultural behaviors. Here, we vary the rewards gained by these techniques to ask to what extent established behaviors are flexible to changing conditions. When subpopulations with established foraging traditions for one technique were subjected to a reduced foraging payoff, 49% of birds switched their behavior to a higher-payoff foraging technique after only 14 days, with younger individuals showing a faster rate of change. We elucidated the decision-making process for each individual, using a mechanistic learning model to demonstrate that, perhaps surprisingly, this population-level change was achieved without significant asocial exploration and without any evidence for payoff-biased copying. Rather, by combining conformist social learning with payoff-sensitive individual reinforcement (updating of experience), individuals and populations could both acquire adaptive behavior and track environmental change.

scholarly journals Patterns of Weight Change in Aging and Dying

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 491-491
Author(s):  
Stephen Thielke
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Weight Change ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Average Weight ◽  
Remaining Life ◽  
Entire Cohort ◽  
History Of

Abstract Little research has characterized the natural history of weight change in older adults. Different changes may occur during aging and dying. We analyzed 18 years of weight measures from a cohort of 736,361 Veterans, all of whom had died at age 70 or older. We produced summary measures that accounted for both chronological age and number of years before death. Several clear population-level trends appeared. (1) The average weight of the sample declined across all ages at a rate of about 0.18 BMI points per year. (2) Starting about seven years before death, the amount of loss began to accelerate, reaching a decline of 0.75 BMI points in the year before death. (3) Changes in weight relative to years of remaining life were independent of chronologic age. People who died at age 70 experienced, on average, the same type and duration of terminal decline as did those who died at age 95. (4) The dying process involved a cumulative loss of about 1.3 BMI points. (5) The distribution of weights during advancing age both declined and narrowed. (6) Disproportionate deaths occurred at the lower BMI ranges (below a BMI of 24), and especially below 18, regardless of age. (7) The finding in #5 is explained by the entire cohort losing weight, with death of the thinnest members. These findings argue for examining survival time in studies of weight change. They indicate that weight loss may be a natural part of dying, rather than a risk factor for it.

scholarly journals Decline in the frequency and benefits of multiple brooding in great tits as a consequence of a changing environment

2009 ◽  
Vol 276 (1663) ◽  
pp. 1845-1854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arild Husby ◽  
Loeske E.B. Kruuk ◽  
Marcel E. Visser
Keyword(s):  
Life History Traits ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Double Brooding ◽  
First Clutch ◽  
Second Clutch ◽  
Reproductive Events

For multiple-brooded species, the number of reproductive events per year is a major determinant of an individual's fitness. Where multiple brooding is facultative, its occurrence is likely to change with environmental conditions, and, as a consequence, the current rates of environmental change could have substantial impacts on breeding patterns. Here we examine temporal population-level trends in the proportion of female great tits ( Parus major ) producing two clutches per year (‘double brooding’) in four long-term study populations in The Netherlands, and show that the proportion of females that double brood has declined in all populations, with the strongest decline taking place in the last 30 years of the study. For one of the populations, for which we have data on caterpillar abundance, we show that the probability that a female produces a second clutch was related to the timing of her first clutch relative to the peak in caterpillar abundance, and that the probability of double brooding declined over the study period. We further show that the number of recruits from the second clutch decreased significantly over the period 1973–2004 in all populations. Our results indicate that adjustment to changing climatic conditions may involve shifts in life-history traits other than simply the timing of breeding.

The Image of the Future in the Situation of the Decline of Culture: Contemporary Russia from the Perspective of O. Spengle

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 323-334
Author(s):  
Inga V. Zheltikova
Keyword(s):  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Creative Activity ◽  
Russian Culture ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
Conservative Values ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Images Of The Future

The concept of O. Spengler suggests that the history of any culture goes through certain stages of development, the last of which is civilization. During this period creative activity in culture is replaced by mechanical imitation and lost connection with the culture formed by the «pra-phenomenon». The author correlates Spengler’s postulates with the processes of actual social reality and comes to the conclusion that contemporary Russia is going through the stage of civilization. The article raises the question of how the future is seen in this situation. The author uses the term “image of the future”, introduced by F. Polak to understand the disinterest of modern post-war Europe in its future. Thus, the lack of interest in the future can be recognized as another characteristic of the state of civilization. The existence in contemporary Russia of distinct images of the future is an open question. Using the methods of content analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that in Russian contemporary society there exists a retrospective image of the future, focused on conservative values, hierarchy of society and its closed nature to the world. Thus, it is concluded that it is wrong to talk about complete absence of images of the future in contemporary Russia. But the nature and content of these images demonstrate the low level of interest in the future, which also indicates the transition of Russian culture to civilization.

scholarly journals Maintaining consistent traceability in high precision isotope measurements of CO<sub>2</sub>: verifying atmospheric trends of δ<sup>13</sup>C

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 4003-4040 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Huang ◽  
A. Chivulescu ◽  
D. Ernst ◽  
W. Zhang ◽  
Y.-S. Lee
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Precision Measurements ◽  
Total Change ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ambient Measurements ◽  
Isotope Measurements ◽  
Δ13c And Δ18o

Abstract. Maintaining consistent traceability of high precision measurements of CO2 isotopes is critical in being able to observe accurate atmospheric trends of δ13C (CO2). Although a number of laboratories/organizations around the world have been involved in baseline measurements of atmospheric CO2 isotopes for several decades, the reports on their traceability measures are rare. In this paper, a principle and an approach for the traceability maintenance of high precision isotope measurements (δ13C and δ18O) in atmospheric CO2 is described. The uncertainties of the traceability have been estimated based on the history of annual calibrations over the last 10 yr. The overall uncertainties of CO2 isotope measurements for individual ambient samples carried out by our program at Environment Canada are estimated (excluding the uncertainty associated with the sampling). The values are 0.02‰ and 0.05‰ in δ13C and δ18O, respectively, close to the WMO targets for data compatibility. The annual rate of change in δ13C of the primary anchor used in our program (which is the laboratory standard linking ambient measurements back to the primary VPDB scale) is close to zero (−0.0016 ± 0.0012‰ per year) over the period of 10 yr (2001–2011). The average annual decreasing rate of δ13C in air CO2 measurements at Alert over the period from 1999 to 2010 has been confirmed and verified, which is −0.025 ± 0.003‰ per year. The total change of δ13C in the annual mean value during this period is ∼−0.27‰. The concept of "Big Delta" is introduced and its role in maintaining traceability of the isotope measurements is described and discussed extensively. Finally, the challenges and a strategy for maintaining traceability are also discussed and suggested.

scholarly journals Migration, acculturation, and the maintenance of between-group cultural variation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Mesoudi
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Social Learning Processes

AbstractHow do migration and acculturation (i.e. psychological or behavioral change resulting from migration) affect within- and between-group cultural variation? Here I answer this question by drawing analogies between genetic and cultural evolution. Population genetic models show that migration rapidly breaks down between-group genetic structure. In cultural evolution, however, migrants or their descendants can acculturate to local behaviors via social learning processes such as conformity, potentially preventing migration from eliminating between-group cultural variation. An analysis of the empirical literature on migration suggests that acculturation is common, with second and subsequent migrant generations shifting, sometimes substantially, towards the cultural values of the adopted society. Yet there is little understanding of the individual-level dynamics that underlie these population-level shifts. To explore this formally, I present models quantifying the effect of migration and acculturation on between-group cultural variation, for both neutral and costly cooperative traits. In the models, between-group cultural variation, measured using F statistics, is eliminated by migration and maintained by conformist acculturation. The extent of acculturation is determined by the strength of conformist bias and the number of demonstrators from whom individuals learn. Acculturation is countered by assortation, the tendency for individuals to preferentially interact with culturally-similar others. Unlike neutral traits, cooperative traits can additionally be maintained by payoff-biased social learning, but only in the presence of strong sanctioning institutions. Overall, the models show that surprisingly little conformist acculturation is required to maintain realistic amounts of between-group cultural diversity. While these models provide insight into the potential dynamics of acculturation and migration in cultural evolution, they also highlight the need for more empirical research into the individual-level learning biases that underlie migrant acculturation.

scholarly journals Modelling the HIV-Associated TB Epidemic and the Impact of Interventions Aimed at Epidemic Control

2019 ◽  
pp. 25-55
Author(s):  
P. J. Dodd ◽  
C. Pretorius ◽  
B. G. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Explicit Representation ◽  
Epidemic Control ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Tuberculosis Epidemiology ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In this chapter, we focus on mathematical models of tuberculosis epidemiology (TB) that include interactions with HIV and an explicit representation of transmission. We review the natural history of TB and illustrate how its features are simplified and incorporated in mathematical models. We then review the ways HIV influences the natural history of TB, the interventions that have been considered in models, and the way these individual-level effects are represented in models. We then go on to consider population-level effects, reviewing the TB/HIV modelling literature. We first review studies whose focus was on purely epidemiological modelling, and then studies whose focus was on modelling the impact of interventions. We conclude with a summary of the uses and achievements of TB/HIV modelling and some suggested future directions.

scholarly journals The Difference Culture Makes

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul K Wason
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Symbolic Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Difference

The dawn of culture and its subsequent elaboration is one of the most important developments in the history of life. It is now recognized that culture, at least in a minimalist sense of behavioral traditions shaped by social learning, is found widely throughout the animal kingdom.  And this fact, perhaps ironically for those of a reductionist bent, has made possible new understandings of just how distinctive humans are, especially in terms of symbolic thought, cooperativity far beyond genetic relatedness, the cumulative nature of our cultures, and our pervasive sense of transcendence. Yet, nearly 150 years after Tylor’s Primitive Culture, we are still coming to appreciate in sometimes surprising new ways how the phenomenon of culture is transforming this planet. I suggest that despite the apparent pervasiveness of the concept, or at least the word, in both scholarly and everyday discourse, we have yet to appreciate the full potential of the concept of culture as an intellectual tool. Through brief exploration of five different situations in which it is useful, I hope to illustrate the importance of the phenomenon and show the untapped potential of the concept. 

scholarly journals Samhällsvårdens Svarte Petter

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrika Levander ◽  
Lina Sturfelt
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Preventive Actions ◽  
Child Psychiatric ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mental Health Interventions ◽  
Public Responsibility ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Children In Care

Drawing the short straw. Contemporary and historical categorizations of children in foster and residential care with mental health disordersAbout 67 per cent of children placed in residential care in Sweden suffer from mental health disorders. Although the problem has been recognized for decades, the group’s access to sufficient mental healthcare is still lagging. In this article we examine contemporary and historical categorizations of mental health issues among children in foster and residential care. The study examines Swedish commission reports, government bills, and Children’s Acts published between 1902 and 2016 where the issue is discussed. Hereby, ”the history of the present”, and its implications for the targeted group, is analysed and problematized. Our findings show that continuous talk of preventive actions in the name of the all-embracing welfare state repeatedly has downplayed the group’s access to mental health interventions. Ever since the establishment of the child psychiatric field in the 1940s, a discursive battle about the public responsibility for the group is also raging. In the 1970s, coordination is articulated as the grand solution, but the problem still persists. Neither the contemporary child rights perspective nor the latest law regulations of forced coordination for children in care have changed the group’s underprivileged position. Whether the legal turn will finally lead to recognition of the group’s right to adequate mental health care remains an open question.

A Brief History of Social Learning Research

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Hoppitt ◽  
Kevin N. Laland
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Behavioral Repertoire ◽  
History Of Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
Learning Research ◽  
Evolution Of Mind ◽  
Animal Culture

This chapter provides a brief historical background to social learning research. The history of research into social learning and imitation dates back to Aristotle, who explicitly made the claim that animals acquire behavior through imitation and other forms of social learning. Aristotle was particularly impressed with the human imitative tendency. The three insights made in the fourth century BC—that humans are uncharacteristically reliant on imitative learning compared to other animals, that young children in particular acquire important aspects of their behavioral repertoire through copying, and that imitation appears intrinsically rewarding to children—are remarkably relevant to contemporary social learning research. The chapter examines how investigations of social learning have been central to research into the evolution of mind, the mechanisms of social learning, animal culture, the diffusion of innovations, child development, and cultural evolution.

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