The Evolution of Evolutionary Explanations of Culture: How and Why Can a Critical Evaluation of Costly Signalling Theory Enhance Our Understanding of Cultural Practices?

<p>In the last two decades, evolutionary explanations of cultural practice have become prevalent within the social sciences and humanities, including religious studies. This thesis is a critical analysis and recension of one of these applications of evolutionary theory to cultural practice. Specifically, I analyse a secondary case study to investigate the explanatory power and politico-ethical considerations that arise from the application of costly signalling theory to Māori tā moko. Utilising primary and secondary source materials, this research was conducted within an interpretivist and inductive qualitative framework with the aim of offering a reflexive critique of the explanatory power that costly signalling theory carries for tā moko and, more broadly, of the illustrative efficacy of evolutionary explanations when applied to indigenous cultural practices. In a critique of the Cisco case study, I identify some of the more general, global deficiencies of evolutionary explanations of culture and explore the rich, indigenous narrative complexes which shape understandings of Māori tā moko. I maintain that the argument for moko as a costly signal, based, in part, upon Māori warfare is a reiteration of mythologised aspects of Māori culture which divorces tā moko from its ontological and epistemological underpinnings. In separating it from its Māori context, the reflexivity of tā moko is denied and Westernised and colonised conceptions of tā moko which etically view Māori cultural practice through a veil of alterity are perpetuated. In response to the concerns the application of costly signalling theory to tā moko generates, I propose an alternative model: transmissive assemblage. Drawing from actor-network theory, indigenous ontological perspectivism, and Kaupapa Māori, the transmissive assemblage model provides a symmetrical and decolonised framework which both challenges and enhances the dominant Western scientific paradigms used to explain indigenous practices. By focussing on the interactions between agents and the associations which circulate between them, rather than on the agents themselves, this integrative model makes an original contribution to scholarship in allowing the emergence of heteroglossia and by providing a balanced platform for indigenous voices and emic perspectives to be represented in the context of Western scientific research. In doing so, I argue that integrative, reflexive, and decolonised approaches to indigenous cultural practice which focus on process, as opposed to agency, enhance the explanatory power of evolutionary explanations by affording indigenous groups the opportunity to assert their own agency within the paradigm of Western science.</p>

The Evolution of Evolutionary Explanations of Culture: How and Why Can a Critical Evaluation of Costly Signalling Theory Enhance Our Understanding of Cultural Practices?

<p>In the last two decades, evolutionary explanations of cultural practice have become prevalent within the social sciences and humanities, including religious studies. This thesis is a critical analysis and recension of one of these applications of evolutionary theory to cultural practice. Specifically, I analyse a secondary case study to investigate the explanatory power and politico-ethical considerations that arise from the application of costly signalling theory to Māori tā moko. Utilising primary and secondary source materials, this research was conducted within an interpretivist and inductive qualitative framework with the aim of offering a reflexive critique of the explanatory power that costly signalling theory carries for tā moko and, more broadly, of the illustrative efficacy of evolutionary explanations when applied to indigenous cultural practices. In a critique of the Cisco case study, I identify some of the more general, global deficiencies of evolutionary explanations of culture and explore the rich, indigenous narrative complexes which shape understandings of Māori tā moko. I maintain that the argument for moko as a costly signal, based, in part, upon Māori warfare is a reiteration of mythologised aspects of Māori culture which divorces tā moko from its ontological and epistemological underpinnings. In separating it from its Māori context, the reflexivity of tā moko is denied and Westernised and colonised conceptions of tā moko which etically view Māori cultural practice through a veil of alterity are perpetuated. In response to the concerns the application of costly signalling theory to tā moko generates, I propose an alternative model: transmissive assemblage. Drawing from actor-network theory, indigenous ontological perspectivism, and Kaupapa Māori, the transmissive assemblage model provides a symmetrical and decolonised framework which both challenges and enhances the dominant Western scientific paradigms used to explain indigenous practices. By focussing on the interactions between agents and the associations which circulate between them, rather than on the agents themselves, this integrative model makes an original contribution to scholarship in allowing the emergence of heteroglossia and by providing a balanced platform for indigenous voices and emic perspectives to be represented in the context of Western scientific research. In doing so, I argue that integrative, reflexive, and decolonised approaches to indigenous cultural practice which focus on process, as opposed to agency, enhance the explanatory power of evolutionary explanations by affording indigenous groups the opportunity to assert their own agency within the paradigm of Western science.</p>

Accounting Conservatism

<p>This thesis provides an in-depth examination of accounting conservatism, which is one of the oldest and most important principles of accounting (Sterling, 1967;Watts, 2003a). Two main questions relating to accounting conservatism are extensively studied in this thesis: (1) How to measure accounting conservatism? (2) Why do firms adopt accounting conservatism? This thesis consists of three main chapters that answer these two questions from three different perspectives. The first chapter studies the existing empirical measures of accounting conservatism from a construct validity perspective and concludes that construct validity of the existing measures is mixed to low. The second chapter examines the validity and bias in the Basu (1997) measure of accounting conservatism - one of the most widely used measure of conservatism in the accounting literature. The second chapter shows, analytically and empirically, that the Basu (1997) measure is biased upwards by the default risk of a firm, and proposes a new measure of conservatism that is free from this bias. This new measure of conservatism is called the "Default-Adjusted-Basu" measure. The third chapter investigates the economic rationale for accounting conservatism, and proposes a signalling theory for accounting conservatism. In a debt market characterized by information asymmetry, a borrower firm's degree of conservatism can serve as a credible signal about that borrower firm's level of operating risk to the lenders in the debt market. Thus, one potential benefit of accounting conservatism is that it can reduce the degree of information asymmetry in the debt market.</p>

Accounting Conservatism

<p>This thesis provides an in-depth examination of accounting conservatism, which is one of the oldest and most important principles of accounting (Sterling, 1967;Watts, 2003a). Two main questions relating to accounting conservatism are extensively studied in this thesis: (1) How to measure accounting conservatism? (2) Why do firms adopt accounting conservatism? This thesis consists of three main chapters that answer these two questions from three different perspectives. The first chapter studies the existing empirical measures of accounting conservatism from a construct validity perspective and concludes that construct validity of the existing measures is mixed to low. The second chapter examines the validity and bias in the Basu (1997) measure of accounting conservatism - one of the most widely used measure of conservatism in the accounting literature. The second chapter shows, analytically and empirically, that the Basu (1997) measure is biased upwards by the default risk of a firm, and proposes a new measure of conservatism that is free from this bias. This new measure of conservatism is called the "Default-Adjusted-Basu" measure. The third chapter investigates the economic rationale for accounting conservatism, and proposes a signalling theory for accounting conservatism. In a debt market characterized by information asymmetry, a borrower firm's degree of conservatism can serve as a credible signal about that borrower firm's level of operating risk to the lenders in the debt market. Thus, one potential benefit of accounting conservatism is that it can reduce the degree of information asymmetry in the debt market.</p>

When does reputation lie? Dynamic feedbacks between costly signals, social capital and social prominence

Performing a dramatic act of religious devotion, creating an art exhibit, or releasing a new product are all examples of public acts that signal quality and contribute to building a reputation. Signalling theory predicts that these public displays can reliably reveal quality. However, data from ethnographic work in South India suggests that more prominent individuals gain more from reputation-building religious acts than more marginalized individuals. To understand this phenomenon, we extend signalling theory to include variation in people’s social prominence or social capital, first with an analytical model and then with an agent-based model. We consider two ways in which social prominence/capital may alter signalling: (i) it impacts observers’ priors, and (ii) it alters the signallers’ pay-offs. These two mechanisms can result in both a ‘reputational shield,’ where low quality individuals are able to ‘pass’ as high quality thanks to their greater social prominence/capital, and a ‘reputational poverty trap,’ where high quality individuals are unable to improve their standing owing to a lack of social prominence/capital. These findings bridge the signalling theory tradition prominent in behavioural ecology, anthropology and economics with the work on status hierarchies in sociology, and shed light on the complex ways in which individuals make inferences about others. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling’.

The benefits of being seen to help others: indirect reciprocity and reputation-based partner choice

When one individual helps another, it benefits the recipient and may also gain a reputation for being cooperative. This may induce others to favour the helper in subsequent interactions, so investing in being seen to help others may be adaptive. The best-known mechanism for this is indirect reciprocity (IR), in which the profit comes from an observer who pays a cost to benefit the original helper. IR has attracted considerable theoretical and empirical interest, but it is not the only way in which cooperative reputations can bring benefits. Signalling theory proposes that paying a cost to benefit others is a strategic investment which benefits the signaller through changing receiver behaviour, in particular by being more likely to choose the signaller as a partner. This reputation-based partner choice can result in competitive helping whereby those who help are favoured as partners. These theories have been confused in the literature. We therefore set out the assumptions, the mechanisms and the predictions of each theory for how developing a cooperative reputation can be adaptive. The benefits of being seen to be cooperative may have been a major driver of sociality, especially in humans. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling’.

The Application of Human Capital Theory and Educational Signalling Theory to Explain Parental Influences on the Chinese Population’s Social Mobility Opportunities

Existing studies argue life chances are, in part, vertically reproduced. Such a statement is applicable to the Chinese contexts as, but not limited to, parental hukou status, to some extent, determines the life chances their children receive. In this essay, the author would like to introduce human capital theory (HCT) and educational signalling theory (EST), and assess how the applications of each of these two models can enrich the understanding of vertical reproduction of individuals’ social mobility opportunities. The author would also present the limitations of each of these two models when addressing relevant Chinese contexts.

RE-CONTEXTUALIZING OPPORTUNITY AS ARTIFACT SIGNALLING FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTION

In exploring entrepreneurial action as a response to opportunities, this paper uses signalling theory to provide new insights as the entrepreneur moves from perception to recognition to enactment. We adopt a dynamic approach to how entrepreneurs perceive opportunities and form initial opportunity beliefs, recognizing that, over time, beliefs change. The perceived potentialities from the signals arising from opportunities also change. Strength of the initial opportunity beliefs, morph-ability of opportunities, frequency of opportunity appearances, multiple interpretations of opportunity, latency of opportunity, observability (intensity, visibility, strength and clarity), distortions of opportunity and false opportunity are topics that are not sufficiently addressed in research on entrepreneurial opportunities. We argue that the signalling effects open new avenues of inquiry related to the central role of opportunity in the entrepreneurial process. Instead of seeing opportunity from either the discovery or creation approaches, opportunity should be viewed as an artifact with embedded perceived potentialities. Implications are drawn for the developmental context.

The Applications of Human Capital Theory and Educational Signalling Theory to Explain Parental Influences on the Chinese Population’s Social Mobility Opportunities

Exisitng studies argue life chances are, in part, vertically reproduced. Such a statement is applicable to the Chinese contexts as, but not limited to, parental hukou status, to some extent, determines the life chances their children receive. In this essay, the author would like to introduce human capital theory (HCT) and educational signalling theory (EST), and assess how the applications of each of these two models can enrich the understanding of vertical reproduction of individuals&rsquo; social mobility opportunities. The author would also present the limitations of each of these two models when addressing relevant Chinese contexts.

Beyond the game: perceptions and practices of sports sponsorship in German SMEs

Purpose The purpose of this study is by drawing on signaling theory to address the need for more investigation into the conceptual underpinnings of sponsorships by investigating and seeking to understand sponsorship objectives, opinions and practices, with a focus on smaller organisations. Design/methodology/approach This empirical study contributes to the literature through researched findings from German respondents and a critical evaluation of literature relating to the impact of sports sponsorship on SMEs within local German communities. Findings Drawing on signalling theory and extant studies, the following four categories of SME sport sponsorship activities are proposed: value-based connections, social engagement, recognition and bonding. Research limitations/implications Sponsor, sponsee and dyadic antecedents have increased in both sophistication and complexity, resulting in expected positive consumer outcomes as the justification for marketing communication investments. Practical implications Sponsorship has evolved from short-term philanthropic activities to long-term strategic alliances involving billions of dollars of annual spending globally. Social implications SME companies have certain local opportunities that larger multinational corporations cannot replicate. Originality/value No study to date has provided researchers with a framework to understand sports sponsorship from an SME perspective. This paper contributes to the theories and practice of sport sponsorship, drawing on signalling theory and extant studies.