RENT-SEEKING DECISIONS OF THE MAIN PARTICIPANTS IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS BASED ON EVOLUTIONARY-GAME AND SYSTEM DYNAMICS

The performance of a construction project can be severely harmed by its participants’ rent-seeking. In order to prevent such attempt, this research integrates the evolutionary game theory with system dynamics method to simulate the impact of the change of some factors that may cause/reduce rent-seeking. Based on the analysis of the behavioral characteristics and interactive relationships of the main participants (the owner, supervisor, and contractor), an evolutionary game model is constructed and simulated with the method of system dynamics based on the replication dynamic equation of the mixed strategy solution of the three-party static game model. By assigning the parameters of project scale, supervision likelihood, supervision success rate, supervision cost, and penalty intensity, the interaction mechanism of the participants on each factor is revealed through a case-based simulation. The results show that the impacts of these factors on participants’ rent-seeking decisions are significantly different. Furthermore, some management suggestions are provided to prevent rent-seeking for project owner according to the research conclusions. This research can help the project owners take proper measures to prevent rent-seeking of the supervisors and the contractors to improve the performances of the projects.

Behavioral Profiles of Adolescent Alcohol-Preferring/Non-preferring (P/NP) and High/Low Alcohol-Drinking (HAD/LAD) Rats Are Dependent on Line but Not Sex

Initial contact with alcohol generally occurs during adolescence, and high consumption during this period is associated with increased risk for later alcohol (AUDs) and/or substance use disorders (SUDs). Rodents selectively bred for high or low alcohol consumption are used to identify behavioral characteristics associated with a propensity for high or low voluntary alcohol intake. The multivariate concentric square field™ (MCSF) is a behavioral test developed to study rodents in a semi-naturalistic setting. Testing in the MCSF creates a comprehensive behavioral profile in a single trial. The current aim was to examine the behavioral profiles of adolescent, bidirectionally selectively bred male and female high alcohol-consuming (P and HAD1/2) and low alcohol-consuming (NP and LAD1/2) rat lines, and outbred Wistar rats. Alcohol-naïve rats were tested once in the MCSF at an age between postnatal days 30 and 35. No common behavioral profile was found for either high or low alcohol-consuming rat lines, and the effect of sex was small. The P/NP and HAD2/LAD2 lines showed within pair-dependent differences, while the HAD1/LAD1 lines were highly similar. The P rats displayed high activity and risk-associated behaviors, whereas HAD2 rats displayed low activity, high shelter-seeking behavior, and open area avoidance. The results from P rats parallel clinical findings that denser family history and risk-taking behavior are strong predictors of future AUDs, often with early onset. Contrarily, the HAD2 behavioral profile was similar to individuals experiencing negative emotionality, which also is associated with a vulnerability to develop, often with a later onset, AUDs and/or SUDs.

Fuzzy Cluster Analysis and Prediction of Psychiatric Health Data Based on BPNN

PMH (psychiatry/mental health) is affected by many factors, among which there are numerous connections, so the prediction of PMH is a nonlinear problem. In this paper, BPNN (Back Propagation Neural Network) is applied to fuzzy clustering analysis and prediction of PMH data, and the rules and characteristics of PMH and behavioral characteristics of people with mental disorders are analyzed, and various internal relations among psychological test data are mined, thus providing scientific basis for establishing and perfecting early prevention and intervention of mental disorders in colleges and universities. Artificial neural network is a mathematical model of information processing, which is composed of synapses similar to the structure of brain neurons. The fuzzy clustering analysis and data prediction ability of optimized PMH data are obviously improved. Applying BPNN to the fuzzy clustering analysis and prediction of PMH data, analyzing the rules and characteristics of PMH and the behavioral characteristics of patients with mental disorders, can explore various internal relations among psychological test data, and provide scientific basis for establishing early prevention and intervention of mental disorders.

ICBrainDB: An Integrated Database for Finding Associations between Genetic Factors and EEG Markers of Depressive Disorders

In this study, we collected and systemized diverse information related to depressive and anxiety disorders as the first step on the way to investigate the associations between molecular genetics, electrophysiological, behavioral, and psychological characteristics of people. Keeping that in mind, we developed an internet resource including a database and tools for primary presentation of the collected data of genetic factors, the results of electroencephalography (EEG) tests, and psychological questionnaires. The sample of our study was 1010 people from different regions of Russia. We created the integrated ICBrainDB database that enables users to easily access, download, and further process information about individual behavioral characteristics and psychophysiological responses along with inherited trait data. The data obtained can be useful in training neural networks and in machine learning construction processes in Big Data analysis. We believe that the existence of such a resource will play an important role in the further search for associations of genetic factors and EEG markers of depression.

Climate Change, Scorpion Ecology, and Envenomation

Every year, more than 1 million cases of scorpion envenomation are reported worldwide. Scorpions are thermophilic organisms. They are sensitive to weather and climate conditions, in such a way the ongoing trends of increasing temperature and more variable weather could lead to scorpionism spreading. There has been considerable debate as to whether global envenomation will be impacted by climate change which has focused on snake and spider envenomation risk. This debate didn't give enough interest to scorpion stings and its burden risks, in spite their widespread potential effects in many regions. Here, the authors review how climate and climate change may impact scorpion activity as well as scorpion envenomation. They contrast ecological and behavioral characteristics of these arthropods, and how weather, climate, climate change, and socioeconomic factors may have very different impacts on the spatiotemporal occurrence and abundance of scorpions, and the resulting scorpion envenomation.

Predicting Security Vulnerable Developers Based On Their Techno-Behavioral Characteristics

Assigning developers for highly secured software projects requires identifying developers’ tendency to contribute towards vulnerable software codes called developer-centric security vulnerability to mitigate issues on human resource management, financial and project timelines. There are problems in assessing the previous codebases in evaluating the developer-centric security vulnerability level of each developer. Thus, this paper suggests a method to evaluate this through the techno-behavioral features of their previous projects. Consequently, we present results of an exploratory study of the developer-centric security vulnerability level prediction using a dataset of 1827 developers by logically selecting 13 techno-behavioral features. Our results depict that there is a correlation between techno-behavioral features and developer-centric security vulnerability with 89.46% accuracy. This model enables to predict developer-centric security vulnerability level of any developer if the required techno-behavioral features are available avoiding the analysis of his/her previous codebases.

ON THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONAL MATURITY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The article sets out a problem aimed at determining the structure of personal maturity in the period of early adulthood. The theoretical study revealed a lack of unanimity in terms of interpreting and conceptualizing the concept of personal maturity and defining its structural and content elements. The empirical study involved humanitarian students from the first to the third courses (females (103) and males (22) aged 17-20 years). As a result of the exploratory factor analysis procedures, an integrative variable of personal maturity has been calculated which is considered as a set of cognitive (self-understanding, positive thinking), emotional (self-sympathy) and behavioral characteristics (autonomy, sociability). The personality of a mature subject in the period of early adulthood can be described as distinguished by an optimistic view of the world and a deep understanding of his or her identity combined with positive emotions and self-attitude and the ability to maintain personal boundaries even creating close relationships with others. The considered algorithm for calculating the integral variable can be applied in studies aimed at studying latent psychological phenomena.

Characteristics of Competitive Baton Twirling Athletes

Competitive baton twirling is a sport that combines elements of gymnastics, dance and ballet while necessitating cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance and power, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, kinesthetic awareness, timing and choreography. Approximately one million baton twirlers participating in the sport in the United States. Despite considerable participation in competitive baton twirling, little is known about the characteristics of the athletes. This work documents demographic and behavioral characteristics of competitive baton twirlers. Questionnaires were completed by 169 female twirlers from across the Unites States and Canada. Respondents reported a mean (± SD) age of 18.07 yrs. (±6.08) and height of 63.89 in (±6.24), weight 133.56 lbs. (±32.49), BMI (22.92), GPA 3.73 (±0.31), years of competing 8.02 yrs. (±1.81). All (100%) qualified respondents reported experiencing injury due to competing in or training for baton. The extent of the injuries reported varied greatly. A diversity of training, recovery, hydration, and nutrition habits were also reported. These findings indicate that the competitive baton twirlers that participated in this research are adolescent females, diverse in physical profile, of normal BMI, high academic achievers, dedicated athletes, consistently overcome injuries and train by diverse means. Future research may consider the long-term physical effects and an association with mental health competitive baton twirling has on the athletes.