Promotion Systems and Organizational Performance: A Contingency Model

This study explores the organizational impact of a variety of important promotion systems commonly practiced in organizations including up-or-out systems, absolute merit-based systems, relative merit-based systems, and seniority-based systems. Through the computer simulation of organizations in a distributed decision making setting, the results indicate that the effectiveness of any promotion system is dependent on a range of factors including the nature of the task environment, the design of the organizational structure, the frequency of monitoring, the criteria of performance, and the transferability of task knowledge. This study has implications not only for understanding organizational promotion systems from the contingency perspective, but also for bridging the fields of strategic human resource management and computational organization theory.     

The Other Side of the Network Coin: Cost Considerations of Network Structure

The purpose of this study is to investigate the differential impact that inter-organizational network connections have on organizational level change. Drawing from the strategic leaning perspective on adaptation, this study investigates how the nature of inter-organizational ties among top management impact the cost and the effectiveness of an organizational level change process. To build on the existing empirical work in this area, this study employs a virtual experiment to create a controlled laboratory investigation of the hypothesized relationships among the strength, formalization, and functional equivalence of network ties; and the cost and effectiveness of an organizational change process. The findings of this study provide support for the strength of weak ties argument and structural hole theory, in addition to suggesting a caveat to Galbraith's information processing model. Furthermore, the results reveal that the tradeoff between increasing effectiveness and decreasing costs is not universally applicable across all decisions regarding network structure.     

Using abell's narrative method to build a theory: The case of the theory of distributive justice and its generalization to the theory of comparison processes

This paper examines the usefulness for theoretical work of the narrative method proposed by Peter Abell. Our assessment proceeds by using the narrative method to perform the two main tasks of theoretical analysis—constructing postulates and deriving predictions. Tb illustrate, we focus on the theory of distributive justice and the more general theory of comparison processes to which it led. The results of our assessment of the usefulness of Abell's narrative method for theoretical work indicate that the narrative method has far wider applicability than Abell has claimed for it. For example, (i) it is useful for all theoretical work in the sociobehavioral sciences, not only for theoretical work based on game theory, (ii) it is useful for analyzing thought‐experiments as well as narrative accounts of actual actions and events, and (iii) the events in the narrative need not be restricted to human actions but can include events not traceable to human agency. We conclude also that Abell's narrative method complements the use of mathematical analysis in theoretical work and that it may be especially valuable for theoretical derivation involving two or more theories jointly.     

Rationality vs. Learning in the Evolution of Solidarity Networks: A Theoretical Comparison

In this paper we analyze the evolution of solidarity relations between dissimilar actors by means of a cellular automaton framework. We assume that actors face two types of decisions in the course of an iterated game. First, actors&2018; solidarity decisions constitute mutual support relations between neighbors. Second, by migrating in a two dimensional world, actors select between potential solidarity partners. Moreover, actors are dissimilar with respect to their neediness class, i.e., their need for help. Hegselmann (1996) demonstrated by computer simulation that under these assumptions the behavior of (boundedly) rational egoists may lead to the emergence of a solidarity network that is characterized by class segregation. In the present paper, we explore whether the macro phenomenon of segregation depends on the micro assumption of rationality. We replace Hegselmann&2018;s rational egoist by an adaptive egoist, who takes solidarity and migration decisions on basis of the &2018;law of effect&2019;. A stochastic learning model (e.g., Flache and Macy, 1996) is used to simulate adaptive decision making. Our model of learning behavior, we show, entails the emergence of class segregated solidarity networks. At the same time, however, the evolving networks are considerably more fragile and less extended than those arising amongst rational egoists. While critics of the rational choice approach often argue that rational egoist models tend to underestimate the level of social solidarity, we showed that in this particular analysis relaxing the assumption of rationality may entail the prediction of less rather than more solidarity.     

Challenge Versus Exchange in Collective Decision Making: A Comparison of Two Simulation Models Based on Simulated Data

In collective decision making, actors can use different influence strategies to get their way. Differences in influence strategies may, or may not, be connected to differences in collective outcomes. This research studies two influence strategies: the exchange strategy and the challenge strategy. In the existing literature, these strategies are analyzed and compared using simulation models in which actor behavior regarding influence attempts based on one of the strategies is modeled explicitly. Until now, these models have been tested only empirically on limited data sets. However, a theoretical test is necessary to gain more precise insights in the effect of characteristics of collective decision making situations on the collective outcomes. In the present research, computer simulations are used in a structured comparison of two competing models (the iterative exchange model and challenge model). The analyses show that the outcomes of both models are captured for a large part in the actor characteristics on the issues. Besides this, the expected directions of challenges and exchanges play a major part in explaining the outcomes of the models. This research shows that the use of simulated data allows a structured search of the input space, which led to new insights into the iterative exchange model and challenge model, and therefore in the exchange strategy and the challenge strategy.     

梯形直觉模糊数排序方法及在多属性决策中应用

基于梯形直觉模糊数的值和模糊度两个特征,一类梯形直觉模糊数的排序方法被研究.首先,给出了梯形直觉模糊数的定义、运算法则和截集.其次,定义了梯形直觉模糊数关于隶属度和非隶属度的值和模糊度,以及值的指标和模糊度的指标.最后,给出了梯形直觉模糊数的排序方法,并将其应用到属性值为梯形直觉模糊数的多属性决策问题中.     

网络结构、采纳者偏好与创新扩散:基于采纳者决策过程的创新扩散系统动力学模型仿真分析

在对采纳者决策过程分析的基础上,将网络结构和采纳者偏好作为核心参数,构建基于采纳者决策过程的创新扩散系统动力学模型。对模型进行仿真发现,在采纳者趋同化偏好条件下,网络平均度、网络重连概率与采纳者偏好强度的变动趋势与创新扩散效率的变动趋势相同,而在采纳者差异化偏好条件下则与创新扩散效率变动趋势相反。网络平均路径长度对创新扩散的影响方向与采纳者偏好特征无关,提高网络平均路径长度会始终降低创新扩散的效率。采纳者的趋同化偏好能够放大创新扩散对网络结构变量与采纳者偏好强度变量的敏感程度,采纳者差异化偏好则会缩小创新扩散对网络结构变量与采纳者偏好强度变量的敏感程度。研究结果对于制定创新推广策略具有一定的指导意义。     

Fostering construction of a meaning for multiplication that subsumes whole-number and fraction multiplication: A study of the Learning Through Activity research program

We report on a teaching experiment intended to foster a concept of multiplication that would both subsume students’ multiple-groups concept of whole number multiplication and provide a conceptual basis for understanding multiplication of fractions. The teaching experiment, which used a rigorous single-subject methodology, began with an attempt to build on students’ multiple-groups concept by promoting generalizing assimilation. This was not totally successful and led to a redesign aimed at promoting reflective abstraction. Analysis of this latter phase led to several significant conclusions, which in turn led to a revised hypothetical learning trajectory. The revised trajectory aims to foster a concept of multiplication as a change in units.     

Back to the future: A retrospective assessment of model‐based scenarios for the management of the shrimp fishery in French Guiana facing global change

While the number of models dedicated to predicting the consequences of alternative resource management strategies has increased, instances in which authors look back at past predictions to learn from discrepancies between these and observed developments are scarce. In the past decades, the French Guiana shrimp fishery has experienced shrimp market globalization and decreasing levels of shrimp recruitment due to environmental changes. In 2006, a bio‐economic model of this fishery was developed to simulate its possible responses to economic and environmental scenarios up to 2016. Here, we compare here these predictions to the observed trajectories. While the number of active vessels corresponds to that which was predicted, the estimated shrimp stock does not. Important driving factors had not been anticipated, including a general strike, natural disasters, and the end of the global financial crisis. These results show the importance of participative approaches involving stakeholders in the co‐construction and shared representation of scenarios. Recommendations for resource managers

• Effective fisheries resources management and a fortiori, the capacity of the fisheries to adapt to global change, requires understanding of both ecological and economics dynamics.
• The temporal trajectory of the trawling shrimp fisheries has been well monitored, and the decline of both stock and fleet is understood regarding ecological and economic changes: Changes in the environmental conditions of shrimp recruitment, and oil price increase and selling price decrease.
• However, our bio‐economic modeling work showed that, even with a good understanding of the dynamics explaining past trajectories, unpredictable events (strike, natural disasters…) have acted as other key driving factors altering the capacity of the model to represent possible futures.
• These results led us to recommend a better integration of the expertise of social and political scientists in developing models of bio‐economic systems to increase the quality of scenario predictions, and to argue for more participative approaches involving the stakeholders.

     

气候政策的经济环境效应分析与比较—基于碳税、许可交易和总量控制的动态微分博弈

基于产品差别化假设,建立双寡头动态微分博弈模型,比较碳税和许可交易以及总量控制3种气候政策的经济环境效应.研究发现,不同气候政策对两国的经济效应不同.进一步研究还发现,在企业产品差别化竞争时,从碳排放流量来看,碳税政策和许可交易政策与总量控制政策之间没有严格的优劣之分;碳排放存量对碳税政策最敏感.从碳存量对政策的边际影响来看,许可交易政策与总量控制政策是相同的,而碳税政策与之相反.当两国生产的产品完全同质时,从均衡碳排放流量和碳排放存量来看,许可交易政策最优,总量控制政策次之,碳税政策最差.若政府单纯以控制碳排放量为目的,许可交易政策是最佳选择.     

A genetic tuning to improve the performance of Fuzzy Rule-Based Classification Systems with Interval-Valued Fuzzy Sets: Degree of ignorance and lateral position

Fuzzy Rule-Based Systems are appropriate tools to deal with classification problems due to their good properties. However, they can suffer a lack of system accuracy as a result of the uncertainty inherent in the definition of the membership functions and the limitation of the homogeneous distribution of the linguistic labels.The aim of the paper is to improve the performance of Fuzzy Rule-Based Classification Systems by means of the Theory of Interval-Valued Fuzzy Sets and a post-processing genetic tuning step. In order to build the Interval-Valued Fuzzy Sets we define a new function called weak ignorance for modeling the uncertainty associated with the definition of the membership functions. Next, we adapt the fuzzy partitions to the problem in an optimal way through a cooperative evolutionary tuning in which we handle both the degree of ignorance and the lateral position (based on the 2-tuples fuzzy linguistic representation) of the linguistic labels.The experimental study is carried out over a large collection of data-sets and it is supported by a statistical analysis. Our results show empirically that the use of our methodology outperforms the initial Fuzzy Rule-Based Classification System. The application of our cooperative tuning enhances the results provided by the use of the isolated tuning approaches and also improves the behavior of the genetic tuning based on the 3-tuples fuzzy linguistic representation.