Amir Kargaran, Kamran Kaveh, Krishnendu Chatterjee
Cooperation is central to the organization of complex biological and social systems. Most theoretical models assume homogeneous environments; in reality, populations inhabit spatially varying landscapes in which the payoffs of cooperation differ across space. Here, we introduce a general framework for the evolution of cooperation in complex, heterogeneous environments where the benefit of cooperation depends on local environmental quality. Cooperators in environmentally rich sites confer greater benefits than those on poor sites. We show that whether heterogeneity promotes or suppresses cooperation is determined primarily by the spatial organization of environmental states. Across arbitrary environmental landscapes, a single quantity, the spatial correlation index (SCI), predicts the fixation probability of cooperators. Under weak selection, segregated environments enhance cooperation, whereas highly intermixed, checkerboard-like landscapes suppress it. Beyond fixation probabilities, environmental organization also controls evolutionary timescales: segregated landscapes generate long-lived metastable coexistence, whereas intermixed landscapes lead to faster but less successful fixation of cooperators. Together, these results provide a unifying description of how spatial environmental heterogeneity shapes the evolution of cooperation and suggest measurable predictors of cooperative success in biological and social settings.
This paper proposes a hybrid mono- and bi-static sensing framework, by leveraging the base station (BS) and user equipment (UE) cooperation in integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) systems. This scheme is built on 3GPP-supported sensing modes, and it does not incur any extra spectrum cost or inter-cell coordination. To reveal the fundamental performance limit of the proposed hybrid sensing mode, we derive closed-form Cramér-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for sensing target localization and velocity estimation, as functions of target and UE positions. The results reveal that significant performance gains can be achieved over the purely mono- or bi-static sensing, especially when the BS-target-UE form a favorable geometry, which is close to a right triangle. The analytical results are validated by simulations using effective parameter estimation algorithm and weighted mean square error (MSE) fusion method. Based on the derived sensing bound, we further analyze the sensing coverage by varying the UE positions, which shows that sensing coverage first improves then degrades as the BS-UE separation increases. Furthermore, the sensing accuracy for a potential target with best UE selection is derived as a function of the UE density in the network.
Abstract Evolutionary theory is based on the conflict that arises when certain heritable variants out-compete others. Given this foundational conflict, a central question for evolutionary biologists concerns the presence of cooperation found throughout all levels of biological organization; from biochemical pathways to complex animal societies. Human behavior is often distinguished from other animal behavior by the presence of acts of cooperative behavior called altruism. Altruism is a cooperative act that penalizes the actor for actions that benefit the recipient. Any other form of cooperation, one that does not penalize the actor, is formally not considered altruistic. How can costly altruistic behavior evolve? This question was the basis for development of a web application tool incorporating a game theory model to investigate conditions affecting cooperative behavior. The game theory model described as Prisoner’s Dilemma incorporates acts of cooperation and non-cooperation (defection). Computer simulations of Prisoner’s Dilemma were developed and online applications were administered for five semesters at Georgia Gwinnett College, using two simulation environments referred to as Random and Non-random. Data collected from simulation runs were used to evaluate the effect of environment on student cooperative behavior and actively engage students in concepts associated with the evolution of cooperation and game theory. Results from student game play suggest group simulation environment played a significant role in the likelihood of observing cooperative behavior. Educational content and attitudinal surveys suggested that PD game play in the undergraduate evolution class at Georgia Gwinnett College improved student knowledge and self-confidence.
Manuel Mosquera, Juan Sebastian Pinzon, Manuel Rios
et al.
As the field of AI continues to evolve, a significant dimension of this progression is the development of Large Language Models and their potential to enhance multi-agent artificial intelligence systems. This paper explores the cooperative capabilities of Large Language Model-augmented Autonomous Agents (LAAs) using the well-known Meltin Pot environments along with reference models such as GPT4 and GPT3.5. Preliminary results suggest that while these agents demonstrate a propensity for cooperation, they still struggle with effective collaboration in given environments, emphasizing the need for more robust architectures. The study's contributions include an abstraction layer to adapt Melting Pot game scenarios for LLMs, the implementation of a reusable architecture for LLM-mediated agent development - which includes short and long-term memories and different cognitive modules, and the evaluation of cooperation capabilities using a set of metrics tied to the Melting Pot's "Commons Harvest" game. The paper closes, by discussing the limitations of the current architectural framework and the potential of a new set of modules that fosters better cooperation among LAAs.
As multiple and heterogenous unmanned vehicle systems continue to play an increasingly important role in addressing complex missions in the real world, the need for effective cooperation among unmanned vehicles becomes paramount. The concept of autonomous cooperation, wherein unmanned vehicles cooperate without human intervention or human control, offers promising avenues for enhancing the efficiency and adaptability of intelligence of multiple-heterogeneous unmanned vehicle systems. Despite the growing interests in this domain, as far as the authors are concerned, there exists a notable lack of comprehensive literature on defining explicit concept and classifying levels of autonomous cooperation of multiple-heterogeneous unmanned vehicle systems. In this aspect, this article aims to define the explicit concept of autonomous cooperation of multiple-heterogeneous unmanned vehicle systems. Furthermore, we provide a novel criterion to assess the technical maturity of the developed unmanned vehicle systems by classifying the autonomous cooperative levels of multiple-heterogeneous unmanned vehicle systems.
Mehran Noori, Nahid Azimi-Tafreshi, Mohammad Salahshour
People's cooperation in adopting protective measures is effective in epidemic control and creates herd immunity as a public good. Similarly, the presence of an epidemic is a driving factor for the formation and improvement of cooperation. Here, we study the coevolution of epidemic dynamics and the public good game as a paradigm of cooperation dynamics. Using simulations and a mean-field description, we show that the presence of an epidemic can promote cooperation even in regimes where cooperation would not naturally emerge in the standard public good game. The coupling of the two dynamics leads to a rich phenomenology, such as the more efficient control of epidemics, instead of higher cooperation, when the economic benefit of cooperation increases, or higher cooperation, but not higher disease spread, when disease transmission probability increases. Besides, our work shows that a higher altruistic effect of cooperation in controlling the disease can only be detrimental to the evolution of cooperation and disease control. Rather, individuals' choices in adopting costly preventive measures are predominantly driven by the self-interested effect of such measures in reducing the probability of getting infected.
Cooperative dynamics are central to our understanding of many phenomena in living and complex systems. However, we lack a universal mechanism to explain the emergence of cooperation. We present a novel framework for modelling social dilemma games with an arbitrary number of players by combining reaction networks, methods from quantum mechanics applied to stochastic complex systems, game theory and stochastic simulations of molecular reactions. Using this framework, we propose a novel and robust mechanism for cooperation based on risk aversion that leads to cooperative behaviour in population games. Rather than individuals seeking to maximise payouts in the long run, individuals seek to obtain a minimum set of resources with a given level of confidence and in a limited time span. We show that this mechanism can lead to the emergence of new equilibria in a range of social dilemma games.
Players cooperating in a line is a special while essential phenomenon in real life collaborating activities such as assembly line production, pipeline supply chain management and other streamlining operational settings. In this paper, we study the scenario of cooperative sewage discharge with multiple participants positioning in a line along a river such that the optimization decision and cooperation strategy are mutually affected by both upstream and downstream players. We make three main contributions accordingly: Firstly, we formalize the sewage discharge problem (SDP) for different groups of players, and use greedy strategy and dynamic programming to design the optimal algorithms to solve the SDP in polynomial time. Secondly, we show that the cooperative game defined on sewage discharge problem, referred to as SDG, has a non-empty core due to its special line-positioning structure. Therefore, a grand stable cooperation is guaranteed. Furthermore, inspired by the fact that the SDG is core non-empty while non-convex, we successfully identify a relaxed concept of convexity -- directional-convexity, which can also serve as a sufficient condition for a cooperative game having a non-empty core.
Kin selection and direct reciprocity are two most basic mechanisms for promoting cooperation in human society. Generalizing the standard models of the multi-player Prisoner's Dilemma and the Public Goods games for heterogeneous populations, we study the effects of genetic relatedness on cooperation in the context of repeated interactions. Two sets of interrelated results are established: a set of analytical results focusing on the subgame perfect equilibrium and a set of agent-based simulation results based on an evolutionary game model. We show that in both cases increasing genetic relatedness does not always facilitate cooperation. Specifically, kinship can hinder the effectiveness of reciprocity in two ways. First, the condition for sustaining cooperation through direct reciprocity is harder to satisfy when relatedness increases in an intermediate range. Second, full cooperation is impossible to sustain for a medium-high range of relatedness values. Moreover, individuals with low cost-benefit ratios can end up with lower payoffs than their groupmates with high cost-benefit ratios. Our results point to the importance of explicitly accounting for within-population heterogeneity when studying the evolution of cooperation.
Cooperation within asymmetric populations has garnered significant attention in evolutionary games. This paper explores cooperation evolution in populations with weak and strong players, using a game model where players choose between cooperation and defection. Asymmetry stems from different benefits for strong and weak cooperators, with their benefit ratio indicating the degree of asymmetry. Varied rankings of parameters including the asymmetry degree, cooperation costs, and benefits brought by weak players give rise to scenarios including the prisoner's dilemma (PDG) for both player types, the snowdrift game (SDG), and mixed PDG-SDG interactions. Our results indicate that in an infinite well-mixed population, defection remains the dominant strategy when strong players engage in the prisoner's dilemma game. However, if strong players play snowdrift games, global cooperation increases with the proportion of strong players. In this scenario, strong cooperators can prevail over strong defectors when the proportion of strong players is low, but the prevalence of cooperation among strong players decreases as their proportion increases. In contrast, within a square lattice, the optimum global cooperation emerges at intermediate proportions of strong players with moderate degrees of asymmetry. Additionally, weak players protect cooperative clusters from exploitation by strong defectors. This study highlights the complex dynamics of cooperation in asymmetric interactions, contributing to the theory of cooperation in asymmetric games.
Evolutionary models of dyadic cooperation demonstrate that selection favors different strategies for reciprocity depending on opportunities to choose alternative partners. We propose that selection has favored mechanisms that estimate the extent to which others can switch partners and calibrate motivations to reciprocate and punish accordingly. These estimates should reflect default assumptions about relational mobility: the probability that individuals in one's social world will have the opportunity to form relationships with new partners. This prior probability can be updated by cues present in the immediate situation one is facing. The resulting estimate of a partner's outside options should serve as input to motivational systems regulating reciprocity: Higher estimates should down-regulate the use of sanctions to prevent defection by a current partner, and up-regulate efforts to attract better cooperative partners by curating one's own reputation and monitoring that of others. We tested this hypothesis using a Trust Game with Punishment (TGP), which provides continuous measures of reciprocity, defection, and punishment in response to defection. We measured each participant's perception of relational mobility in their real-world social ecology and experimentally varied a cue to partner switching. Moreover, the study was conducted in the US (n = 519) and Japan (n = 520): societies that are high versus low in relational mobility. Across conditions and societies, higher perceptions of relational mobility were associated with increased reciprocity and decreased punishment: i.e., those who thought that others have many opportunities to find new partners reciprocated more and punished less. The situational cue to partner switching was detected, but relational mobility in one's real social world regulated motivations to reciprocate and punish, even in the experimental setting. The current research provides evidence that motivational systems are designed to estimate varying degrees of partner choice in one's social ecology and regulate reciprocal behaviors accordingly.
abbas samadi, rohollah sohrabi, bahareh mahdavi nasab
et al.
What keeps entrepreneurs from making long-term efforts to pursue opportunities is entrepreneurial passion.Despite the importance of passion, especially in starting and growing a business and the entrepreneurial behavior of individuals, few studies have examined entrepreneurial passion Therefore, the present study has assessed the effect of entrepreneurial enthusiasm on the success of agricultural cooperatives in Hamadan province.In terms of method, this research is a descriptive and survey research. The statistical population of this study included 276 CEOs of agricultural cooperatives in Hamadan province which were selected as a sample according to Cochran's formula of 131 cooperatives. Structural equation and multivariate regression methods have been used to analyze the data. The entrepreneurial passion model is derived from the Cardon model, which classifies passion into three types: innovative, founding, and developmental. The results showed that all three types of enthusiasm affected the success of entrepreneurs, and the component of "Passion for Founding" had the greatest impact on the success of agricultural cooperatives. For this reason, it seems that in education, establishment and development of agricultural cooperatives, the issue of entrepreneurial enthusiasm and passion, especially founding enthusiasm, should be taken into consideration.
in order to improve production situation and income of farmers tends to Cooperatives as a link among rural producers, government and consumers and are suitable tools to achieve the goals of sustainable development. In this study, according to the role of cooperatives in achieving sustainable agricultural development, first the sustainable development index in economic, social, institutional and environmental dimensions among a sample of members of agricultural cooperatives in Sirjan using different items in Likert spectra were evaluated. Then, the factors affecting different dimensions of stability were investigated using Seemingly Unrelated Regression Equations (SURE).Results shows different dimensions of economic, social, environmental and institutional sustainability are 0.50, 0.55, 0.55 and 0.47, respectively. According to the results of regression estimation, the variable of participation in educational-extension classes has a positive effect on various dimensions of the sustainable development index and interest in agricultural activities on social, institutional and environmental dimensions. In addition, the history of membership in cooperatives affects the social and institutional dimensions. Due to the importance of the role of education in improving the sustainability, it is recommended that agricultural cooperatives prioritize the provision of productive education tailored to the needs of farmers. Despite the severe instability in the institutional and economic dimensions, the government should try to implement supportive policies to strengthen and develop cooperatives so that they can invest in improving the state of infrastructure. Also, by creating sustainable employment and income, strengthen their interest in farming and staying in this high-risk job and bring more sustainability
The history of the formation of the Tobolsk District Union of Consumer Societies is studied. Archival materials are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The organizational and legal issues of the creation of the Tobolsk Union of Consumer Cooperatives and the network of societies that were part of it are studied. An attempt was made to comprehend the role of the Tobolsk cooperation in the life of the region, as well as the activities of its leaders, their participation in cooperative life. It was found that since the formation of the cooperation, it was possible to create a wide trading, procurement and grassroots network, consisting of 41 companies and 50,000 shareholders. The presented results indicate that the all-Russian trends in the development of consumer cooperation (both positive and negative) were also inherent in the cooperation of Tobolsk. The factors that influenced the work of consumer societies were identified: ignorance of the demand and needs for goods among the population, the presence of waste and theft among cooperators, unprofitability of some cooperatives, lack of control over trade and procurement operations. The composition and size of the management apparatus of the trade and procurement and grassroots network are described in the article. The admitted excesses in its activity are analyzed. The main stages of the formation and development of consumer cooperation are outlined.
Slavic languages. Baltic languages. Albanian languages
Nasrin Moradi, Mohammad Bagher Arayesh, hamed chaharsoughi amin
et al.
The present study aims to provide an appropriate model for handling losses in production cooperatives of Ilam province by consulting with experts in the field of cooperation and agriculture. To this aim, 24 experts in the field of agriculture and cooperation were selected based on purposive sampling. The data were collected and analyzed through semi-structured interviews. Then, an appropriate model was presented for handling losses in production cooperatives using grounded theory. Based on the results, this model includes the existence of deficiencies in economic, political, educational, international, infrastructural, socio-cultural, and skill dimensions; losses of companies, along with weak government support, intervening in cooperatives affairs, and strengthening the education-oriented culture of cooperative and collective activities; long inefficient organizational structure of the companies, lack of competitiveness with brokers in a volatile market, and traditional non-scientific management of companies; strengthening government-based organizational communications based on effective market-oriented training; and accelerating the process of rural and agricultural development under promoting the brand value of the companies and their revenue generation and competitiveness. Developing and implementing a model for handling losses in production cooperatives depends on the superior management of their components. The results indicated that the model for handling losses in production cooperatives can be classified into 100 mental concepts, 65 sub-categories, and 6 main categories. In addition, the results can increase the awareness of activists and researchers in the field of cooperative activities regarding the mechanisms, background, causes, interveners, and consequences of designing a model for handling losses in production cooperatives
studies conducted in different parts of the world and in Iran show that production cooperatives, as a suitable exploitation system, can have a good impact on the performance of farmers and agricultural development by creating suitable fields. They are also one of the most effective networks in the village, which directly serve farmers and rural masses and play an important role in the implementation of the country's macro-programs.Therefore, the effective functions of cooperatives can make their role more colorful in rural development.In this regard, the present study examined the effective functions in production cooperatives in Lorestan province.In the present study, a qualitative approach and a case study method were performed with the aim of investigating the dynamic model of rural production cooperatives' functions.The statistical population under study includes members of the Lorestan Rural Production Cooperative he sampling method was randomly simple.335 members of seven rural production cooperatives in four cities (Dorud, Boroujerd, Khorramabad and Aligudarz) were studied. In order to analyze information obtained from the method of analytical and dynamic content analysis, the Grand Theory method (background theory) was used.Vensim software was used to draw the dynamic model. The results showed that most important social, economic, individual and environmental effects of rural production cooperatives, respectively, include creating empathy and cooperative trust in order to produce agricultural products and exploitation, supply of fertilizers and pesticides and providing the required inputs. Farmers' need for respect, friendly relations, and a sense of calm and empathy between members has been consolidation of agricultural land
The main goal of this article was to design and implement a light livestock (sheep or goat) micro-insurance model in rural areas in the form of a cooperative insurance. In the first phase, to identify the pillars of cooperative micro-insurance (i.e., insurers, policyholders, actuary, and reinsurance), the grounded theory framework has been conducted by several in-depth interviews. In the second step, based on the pricing index method, we employed weather indices. To derive an appropriate model, we used Mashhad city’s data from period 1950 to 2018. Among all available weather indices, only “Lowest temperature”, “Highest temperature” and “Average temperature in winter, spring and summer” indices have significant impact on loss ratio. The well fitted time series model for these indices are ARIMA(0,1,1), ARIMA(0,1,1), ARIMA(0,1,1), ARIMA(0,1,1) and ARIMA(0,1,1), respectively. Moreover, the best fitted distribution for loss ratio and present value of claims are LogNormal and mixture LonNormal, respectively. Using these findings, price of the light livestock insurance coverage has been estimated. In the third phase, in the form of two types of reinsurance, stop-loss and proportional reinsurances with upper limit, the share of the main insurer (cooperative insurance fund) and the reinsurer (agricultural products insurance fund); premium and damages have been determined exactly. The results of this study showed that the use of this type of micro-insurance, in addition to eliminating moral hazards and adverse selection, will make the share of the reinsurer (Agricultural Products Insurance Fund) more homogeneous than the damages.
Companies have become increasingly aware of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) vital role in global competition and have come to the conclusion that they must not only focus on the production of goods and services, but also make decisions that are ethically and socially accepted by all stakeholders. One of the most important aspects of CSR is responsibility for the environment. However, there is still exist a gap in CSR studies on factors that influencing Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR). Accordingly, the purpose of the manuscript was to identify factors affecting the ECSR activities in Kayaran’s rural cooperatives. The statistical population included cooperatives members at Kamyaran township (N= 14100). Form these, 358 persons were selected as sample using proportional assignment random sampling method. The made questioner was used ton data gathering which its content and structure reliability, and its validity arrangement confirmed by exploratory factor analysis (KMO= 0.961, p= 0.00) and Cronbach's alpha (α= 0.81-0.91). Results of explanatory factor analysis showed that four factors including of “support, guidance and monitoring strategy”, “Psychological and structural legitimacy and empowerment”, “Endogeneity and Extroversion”, and “participatory mechanism” explaining about 66% of variance of cooperatives social responsibility to pro-environmental activities.
The present research is an applied research conducted by survey method in order to determine the sustainable farming system in the downstream lands of the Karamabad dam. The statistical population includes all experts who had sufficient information and experience about dimensions of sustainability of farming systems especially in the research area. Using targeted sampling method, 15 experts were identified. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by the faculty members in economics, extension and environment majors of the Urmia University. The inconsistibility rate was used to measure reliability. Utilizing the Hierarchical Analysis Process (AHP) the decision tree was made consisting of criteria, sub-criteria and options, for determining a sustainable farming system. The data were analyzed using Expert choice software. The results showed that considering economic, social and environmental criteria, farming joint stock companies was introduced as the most sustainable farming system from the viewpoint of experts. Also, in terms of economic and environmental criteria, the agro-industry farming system was in the second priority. In terms of social sub-criteria, the small peasant farming system had better than other farming systems because of solving the problem of ownership conflict. Necessary suggestions for setting up farming joint stock companies in the study area were provided.