Showing papers on "Dilemma published in 1988"

Realism, Game Theory, and Cooperation

Abstract: Recent work has focused on the problem of how states cooperate in the environment of anarchy. Linked to the ideas of the Prisoners' Dilemma and public goods, that work has provided important insights and lines of research. But it also has problems and limitations, which are explored in the paper. The anarchy approach stresses individual actors' choices and slights questions of how issues are posed and constrained. It takes preferences as given without exploring either the frequency of PD situations or the ways in which preferences are formed and can change. Many of the concepts the framework uses—e.g., cooperation and defection, the distinction between offense and defense, and the nature of power—are problematical. Issues of beliefs, perceptions, norms, and values also lead to a different perspective on cooperation.

Seriousness of Social Dilemmas and the Provision of a Sanctioning System

Abstract: Two types of cooperation can be distinguished in social dilemmas. Elementary cooperation occurs when members cooperate for the benefit of the collectivity. Instrumental cooperation occurs when members cooperate to introduce a change in the incentive structure (such as the provision of a sanctioning system) so as to eliminate the dilemma from the original situation. The results of a social dilemma experiment, using 48 same-sex four-person groups, indicate that (a) in the absence of a sanctioning system, greater temptation to defect makes the subjects cooperate less fully, whereas (b) when opportunities to cooperate in a sanctioning system exist, greater temptation to defect in the original dilemma makes the subjects cooperate more fully for the provision or maintenance of the sanctioning system when the gain for cooperation is large. The implication of these findings is that as the social dilemma becomes more serious, people become more willing to cooperate in providing a change in the system which addresses the dilemma problem.

Realist Theory and the Problem of International Cooperation: Analysis with an Amended Prisoner's Dilemma Model

Abstract: Realist political theory finds that states are positional in character. Thus, states prefer that relative achievements of jointly produced gains not advantage partners, and their concerns about relative gains may constrain their willingness to cooperate. Conventional presentations of the game of Prisoner's Dilemma do not depict Realism's specification of the relative gains element of the structure of state preferences or Realism's analysis of the capacity of state concerns about relative gains to impede cooperation. However, by distinguishing between game payoffs and state utility, an Amended Prisoner's Dilemma model can depict both the relative-gains element of state preferences and the relative-gains problem for cooperation. This Amended Prisoner's Dilemma facilitates analysis of an important systemic constraint on international cooperation identified by Realist political theory, contributes to our understanding of international institutions, and draws our attention to a number of potentially interestin...

Anthropological Presuppositions of Indigenous Advocacy

Abstract: One often comes across the idea that social scientists must refrain from expressing opinions which can be characterized as political. It is high time we all recognize this dilemma as part of an old doctrine of academic conduct inherent in contemporary social science. Any concern with politically sensitive issues can be branded as "political," due among other reasons, to the fact that our research draws its data from human reality, which is at the same time the very object of activities and decisions of politicians. Confronted by a world where genocide, exploitation and deprivation of control over one's own life are constant facts of life for fellow human beings, social science must become the indefatigable eye watching over human inviolability. Only then will the social scientist become anything more than a predator consuming data. And only then will the concept of responsibility mean more than a buttonhole flower worn at academic ceremo· nies.

Experiments with N-Person Social Traps I Prisoner's Dilemma, Weak Prisoner's Dilemma, Volunteer's Dilemma, and Largest Number

Abstract: Subjects for single play experiments with n-person social traps (strong and weak versions of Prisoner's Dilemma, Volunteer's Dilemma, Largest Number) were recruited from several populations: studen...

Competence and timing dilemma in construction planning

Abstract: Who should be assigned the task of planning a construction project and within what time-frame poses serious problems. Choosing between the likely candidates — manager or staff specialist and their respective strengths and weaknesses — is fraught with pitfalls. The awards and penalties linked to long lead-time planning as against short-term planning befog the decision process. Many companies are vexed by the dilemmas resulting from any solution to the ‘who’ and ‘when’ questions but by sidestepping or overlooking them they invite deficiencies with dire consequences. After an analysis of these issues the article proposes a new approach for the design of the construction planning process.

Patterned Chaos in Global Life: Structure and Process in the Two Worlds of World Politics 1:

Abstract: The changing world scene is marked by innumerable developments for which extant paradigms have, at best, strained and insufficient explanations. Here the analysis undertakes a fresh approach to the emergent patterns of global life by tracing a bifurcation in which the state-centric world coexists and interacts with a diffuse multi-centric world consisting of diverse "sovereignty-free" actors who endlessly confront an "autonomy" dilemma that differs significantly from the "security" dilemma of states. An outline of the basic structures and processes of this two-world universe of world politics suggests that its equilibrium may derive from cyclical patterns in which orientations at the micro-level toward authority and legitimacy vary systematically to redress the balance of systems and subsystems at the macro level.

Behavior-Dependent Contexts for Repeated Plays of the Prisoner's Dilemma

Abstract: This article analyzes the game-theoretic stability of three strategies, Tit-For-Tat (TFT), all-Defect (all-D), and all-Cooperate (all-C), that actors might use for repeated plays of the Prisoner's Dilemma (PD). The probability that there will be a next play is assumed to depend on the current behavior of one of the actors—it is w after cooperation and u after a defection—and two cases are examined. The first case is where an actor assumes that the continuation probability depends on its own behavior, and the second is where the continuation probability is assumed to depend on the other actor's behavior. It is shown that the potential for mutual cooperation is higher in the first case than in the second. A detailed examination of the first case reveals that when the ratio (1 - w)/(1 - u) is sufficiently extreme for certain classes of PD, the “cooperative” strategy TFT is stable and the “noncooperative” strategy all-D is unstable. For these classes of PD, it is thus possible both for cooperation to be maint...

The dilemma of government responsiveness

Abstract: The expectation that the government will respond to future circumstances, say bailing out a dictator to avoid a bloodbath, or raising taxes on immovable capital investments, often hinders the establishment of appropriate incentives for efficient behavior. The government's dilemma, simply, is that it may be unable to commit future governments not to be responsive. Contracts and constitutional provisions are mechanisms to limit responsiveness. So too are arrangements that increase the cost of being responsive, or build reputations for adhering to certain patterns of behavior. A promising strategy for being responsive is to base government actions on variables not under the control of individuals, such as unalterable characteristics or aggregate outcomes. These are at best palliative measures: Informed policy making must recognize the tension between providing appropriate incentives and permitting government to be responsive.

Cultural Brokers and Intercultural Politics: New York—Iroquois Relations, 1664–1701

Abstract: American colonial history seems almost hopelessly fragmented. Competing analytical perspectives on diverse ethnic groups, regions, colonies, counties, and towns have produced shelves of imaginative studies, but a coherent whole remains elusive. Two of the most fruitful of the various interpretive strategies are the community study, which stresses the minutiae of everyday social interaction, and the "North American perspective," which sees the continent as a grand stage for the interaction of Indian, European, and African cultures. For all their apparent differences, the community study approach and the North American perspective are intrinsically complementary. The strengths and weaknesses of each -rich detail and narrow vision in the first approach, broad canvas and sweeping generalization in the second-balance those of the other. The operational problem is how to achieve a synthesis, how exactly to connect the local community to wider developments.' Anthropological theorists have been struggling with much the same dilemma in their efforts to integrate traditional ethnological analysis of small communities with a "world-systems" approach. One promising avenue of inquiry examines links between local political structures and regional and international sources of power, for in local hands frequently lay the fate of both the imperial powers of the modern

The Field of Entrepreneurship: Is It Growing or Just Getting Bigger?

Abstract: Interest in entrepreneurship appears to be growing rapidly. Statements by government officials, business leaders, and professors of entrepreneurship reflect the opinion that entrepreneurial activity in both smaller and larger organizations will help the nation to re-energize its economic development and regain its competitive edge in world markets. In academia, this interest in entrepreneurship has resulted in a significant increase in the number of entrepreneurship courses, programs, centers, and endowed chairs or professorships. Economists might describe the current situation in academic entrepreneurship as one in which the demand exceeds the supply: classes are being closed out, requests for additional courses are not being satisfied, and faculty positions are going unfilled. Marketing people would describe the condition as a growing demand that has barely penetrated the market place. They would delight in describing the uniqueness of the market niche. However, they would also have concerns about the factors that could cause the window of opportunity to close. Strategic managers would have concerns about the ability to manage growth. Entrepreneurs might view it as an opportunity to be pursued regardless of the availability of resources, and efficiency-oriented managers would suggest that the dilemma should be solved by "working smarter" rather than harder. The field of entrepreneurship has not only gotten bigger, but indications are that it will continue to expand. The queston is: Is the field growing or just getting bigger? This essay is not intended either to bemoan the inadequacies of the field or to boast about its accomplishments. It is intended to delineate some of the factors that may impede growth if not addressed, to describe some of the current corrective actions underway, and to offer suggestions for improvement in other areas. Research in Entrepreneurship With regard to research in the field of entrepreneurship, economists would describe the situation as being in disequilibrium; marketeers would say it is fragmented; strategic managers would be concerned about direction; organizational behavioralists would be concerned about communications; and investors might wonder about the timing of a return on their investment. Although interest is high in entrepreneurship and media articles abound, it appears that research in the area could be described as one of academia's best-kept secrets. One needs only to referee papers for a meeting or serve on an editorial review board to accept this premise. This situation prevails despite the publication of the annual volume Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research (since 1981), the Journal of Business Venturing (since 1985), and the Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship and the Art and Science of Entrepreneurship (in 1980 and 1985). In addition, a number of other journals, including the Journal of Small Business Management, publish research on both small business and entrepreneurship. Although most researchers would agree that more has been learned about entrepreneurship since 1980 than in the previous 25 years, many of the papers which cite entrepreneurship research do so for articles published decades ago. When reading the literature searches, one sometimes wonders whether any research has been conducted since Schumpeter, McClelland, or Collins and Moore. The lack of adequate literature searches has also resulted in many attempts to reinvent the wheel or to use tools or technology that have been obsolete for a number of years. Are some new researchers in entrepreneurship not aware of previous research? Or don't they care about it? Perhaps they take the approach that if it can't be published elsewhere, add the words "new," "emerging," "small," or "growth," and it will be published in the entrepreneurship literature. The number of papers being written and submitted in the field has increased substantially. …

Recipes for Theory Making

Abstract: This is a paper about philosophical inquiry and cooking. In it, I suggest that thinking about cooking can illuminate our understanding of other forms of inquiry. Specifically, I think it provides us with one way to circumvent the dilemma of absolutism and relativism.The paper is divided into two sections. In the first, I sketch the background against which my project is situated. In the second, I develop an account of cooking as inquiry, by exploring five aspects of recipe creation and use.

Alternative or additional medicine? A new dilemma for the doctor.

Abstract: The growth of alternative medicine poses particular problems for general practitioners working in the National Health Service. This paper reviews the subject and presents preliminary results of a two-stage study of the prevalence of use of alternative medicine in a south London practice. Extended interviews with users explored motivations for choice of treatment and attitudes towards orthodox and alternative health care. The study suggests that many patients are making use of alternative medicine in addition to their NHS consultations without the knowledge of their general practitioners. The clinical and ethical implications of this pattern of illness behaviour are discussed.

Teaching Innovative Accounting Topics: Student Reaction to a Course in Social Accounting

Abstract: Accounting students experience degree programmes with a fairly ‘traditional’ range of topics that are taught with an emphasis on technique and learning the ‘status quo’. To the extent that a topic may challenge this pattern by emphasizing new concepts, questioning existing concepts, being more concerned with what accounting ‘might be’ rather than current practice, or some combination of these, some topics may be considered ‘innovative’ additions to the curriculum. Social accounting is an innovative accounting topic that has attracted considerable attention in the literature. This paper reports on an implementation dilemma encountered in a course on social accounting resulting from a clash between preferred student learning attributes and those embodied in social accounting. The use of action oriented teaching strategies to counteract this dilemma is identified. Similar problems and solutions may be applicable for other innovative accounting topics.

Who's Responsible?: The Field Liability Dilemma

Abstract: This paper explores the growing tendency toward formality and legalism in social work field education. The findings of a national study of “field training agreements” is presented. It is the contention of the authors, that the more explicit the Curriculum Policy Statement and the Accreditation Standards become, in relation to the field component of the curriculum—the closer and more complex becomes the relationship between educational institutions and the practice community. This complexity, as well as the evolving legal climate—with concerns over liability—naturally leads to greater formality. Such formality has the potential for strengthening the university/field agency relationship or destroying it.

Problematic social situations and the “large‐number dilemma” a game‐theoretical analysis*

Abstract: (1988). Problematic social situations and the “large‐number dilemma” a game‐theoretical analysis. The Journal of Mathematical Sociology: Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 311-357.

Solving the medical care dilemma.

Abstract: THE United States spends more on medical care — both in absolute terms and as a percentage of its gross national product — than any other industrialized nation. American medical care is unsurpassed in technological sophistication, but its costs are very high and rising rapidly. The panoply of cost-containment programs developed over the past decade has had little effect on overall expenditures, but it has had serious consequences in other areas. As government and private purchasers of health insurance constrict benefit packages and restrict criteria for eligibility, a record number of Americans are squeezed out of our health insurance system. . . .

AIDS in Africa: The Social and Policy Impact

Abstract: This book seeks to clarify the health and social realities in Africa to pose questions and concepts for understanding the problem of AIDS and to provide bibliographic resources needed by instructors and researchers who would take up the AIDS challenge. This volume brings together working papers and resource material from authors in Africa North America and the United Kingdom. The writers are from both academic disciplines and operational organizations concerned with health and development. This diversity is a strength and a limitation. No single thread weaves this collection of papers together and no over-arching theme moves them towards a common conclusion. Rather these are position reports that begin to map the social science policy and health terrains of the disease. They are aimed not so much at the academic research world of African and international affairs but at those who would teach about AIDS in Africa and those African and non-African policy makers who might bring their existing expertise to bear on the problem. In this sense it is a recruiting volume one that is produced in hopes of helping solve the dilemma of HIV/AIDS. (authors modified)