scholarly journals The scent of symbiosis: gut bacteria affect social interactions in leafcutting ants

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serafino Teseo ◽  
Jelle S. van Zweden ◽  
Luigi Pontieri ◽  
Pepijn W. Kooij ◽  
Søren J. Sørensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Nestmate Recognition ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽  
Nestmate Discrimination ◽  
Gut Microbes ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Microbial Strains ◽  
Leafcutting Ants

AbstractAnimal gut microbiota affect host physiology and behaviour. In eusocial Hymenoptera, where colony-level integrity is preserved via a nestmate discrimination system based on cuticular hydrocarbon mixtures, microorganismal effects may influence social dynamics. Although nestmate recognition has undergone a thorough exploration during the last four decades, few studies have investigated the putative role of gut microbes. Here we integrate metagenomic, chemical and behavioural approaches to test whether gut microbes affect nestmate recognition in Acromyrmex echinatior leaf-cutting ants. Treating workers with a sterile diet or with antibiotics resulted in a substantial alteration of their gut microbial communities. In pairwise social interactions, untreated vs. antibiotic-treated nestmates behaved more aggressively than other nestmate and non-nestmate pairs, suggesting that the suppression of microbes indirectly alters chemical social cues and triggers aggressive behaviour. Chemical analyses on treated individuals revealed a decrease in the abundance of two metapleural gland antifungal compounds, and we confirmed the correspondence between aggression levels and chemical profile differences. Feeding microbiota-remodelled ants with conspecific faecal droplets partially restored the original bacterial communities. Furthermore, non-nestmates fed with faecal droplets from different colonies were unusually aggressive compared to pairs fed with faecal droplets from the same colony. This suggests that chemicals derived from microbial strains may shape nestmate recognition, opening novel questions about the role of microorganisms in the evolution of social behaviour.

Shtetls, Taverns, and Baptisms

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie R. Schainker
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Military Personnel ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Religious Toleration ◽  
Local Elites ◽  
Imperial Russia ◽  
Conversion Narratives ◽  
The Social ◽  
Intimate Knowledge

Chapter 3 explores the social dynamics of religious toleration and the confessional state from below by examining the spaces of Jewish conversion. The chapter presents a range of conversion narratives which locate interfaith encounters at the local tavern as the springboard for migrating to a different confessional community. It analyzes daily social interactions among Jewish and neighboring Polish, Lithuanian, Belorussian, and Ukrainian communities, and how these encounters nurtured intimate knowledge of other confessional lifestyles, facilitated interfaith relationships, and provided access to the personnel and institutions of other faiths. By taking a geographical approach, the chapter presents the western provincial towns and villages of imperial Russia as interreligious zones wherein conversion was predicated on interconfessional networks, sociability, and a personal familiarity with Christianity via its adherents. In exploring forms of encounter, the chapter highlights the role of the local godparent—often local elites or civil/military personnel—in facilitating confessional transfers.

scholarly journals ‘Blood Doesn’t Become Water’? Syrian Social Relations during Displacement

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Lokot
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
The Family

Abstract Humanitarian discourses emphasize that displacement results in disruptions to family structures. This article challenges simplistic descriptions of change during displacement, highlighting the powerful role of the family in Middle Eastern societies through an anthropological exploration of social relations among Syrian refugees in Jordan. It contributes to academic analysis on social relations among refugees by presenting a more mixed picture of social dynamics within and outside the family—both before conflict and during displacement. It explores how the hold of the family among Syrians may limit social interactions with ‘outsiders’ during displacement, as well as how displacement may offer opportunities for tighter social regulations to be unravelled. These findings highlight that social relations among refugees must be analysed more carefully, and with consideration of intersectional power dynamics.

The origins of narrative

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Dautenhahn
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Intelligence ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Developmental Continuity ◽  
Narrative Format

This article presents work in progress towards a better understanding of the origins of narrative. Assuming an evolutionary and developmental continuity of mental experiences, we propose a grounding of human narrative capacities in non-verbal narrative transactions in non-human animals, and in pre-verbal narrative transactions of human children. We discuss narrative intelligence in the context of the evolution of primate (social) intelligence, and with respect to the particular cognitive limits that constrain the development of human social networks and societies. We explain the Narrative Intelligence Hypothesis which suggests that the evolutionary origin of communicating in a narrative format co-evolved with increasingly complex social dynamics among our human ancestors. This article gives examples of social interactions in non-human primates and how these can be interpreted in terms of narrative formats. Due to the central role of narrative in human communication and social interaction, we discuss how research into the origins of narrative can impact the development of humane technology which is designed to meet the biological, cognitive and social needs of human story-tellers.

Understanding Social Dynamics Online

2019 ◽  
pp. 214-221
Author(s):  
Nicole Ellison
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
The World ◽  
Exciting Time

The last two decades have witnessed dramatic advancements in technologies that support human social practices. The chapters in this section focus on the role of person-centered networks as they are articulated, reinforced, and shaped by social media and other online communication technologies. By combining new data sources and existing social theory, the authors of these chapters offer fresh perspectives and articulate promising future pathways for research exploring the intersections among social networks, social capital, and social interactions. As these chapters illustrate, this is an exciting time for scholars who want to design and build technical interventions that will make a difference in the world, for those who welcome the insights afforded by new sources of data, and for those who are eager to re-engage with established theories in productive ways.

At the final stage of the global crisis: Economic tasksin 2017-2019

2018 ◽  
pp. 5-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. Mau
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Final Stage ◽  
Government Regulation ◽  
Inflation Targeting ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Growth Stimulation ◽  
Central Banks ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
National Trends

The paper deals with the global and national trends of economic and social development at the final stage of the global structural crisis. Special attention is paid to intellectual challenges economists will face with in the post-crisis world: prospects of growth without inflation, new global currencies and the role of cryptocurrencies, central banks independence and their role in economic growth stimulation, new tasks and patterns of government regulation, inequality and growth. Special features of Russian post-crisis development are also under consideration. Among them: prospects of macroeconomic support of growth, inflation targeting, new fiscal rule, social dynamics and new challenges to welfare state. The paper concludes that the main obstacles for economic growth in Russia are concentrated in the non-economic area.

Value-driven issues throughout the development of sociological theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 147-160
Author(s):  
Gulbarshyn Chepurko ◽  
Valerii Pylypenko
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social System ◽  
Sociological Theory ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Different Levels

The paper examines and compares how the major sociological theories treat axiological issues. Value-driven topics are analysed in view of their relevance to society in times of crisis, when both societal life and the very structure of society undergo dramatic change. Nowadays, social scientists around the world are also witnessing such a change due to the emergence of alternative schools of sociological thought (non-classical, interpretive, postmodern, etc.) and, subsequently, the necessity to revise the paradigms that have been existed in sociology so far. Since the above-mentioned approaches are often used to address value-related issues, building a solid theoretical framework for these studies takes on considerable significance. Furthermore, the paradigm revision has been prompted by technological advances changing all areas of people’s lives, especially social interactions. The global human community, integral in nature, is being formed, and production of human values now matters more than production of things; hence the “expansion” of value-focused perspectives in contemporary sociology. The authors give special attention to collectivities which are higher-order units of the social system. These units are described as well-organised action systems where each individual performs his/her specific role. Just as the role of an individual is distinct from that of the collectivity (because the individual and the collectivity are different as units), so too a distinction is drawn between the value and the norm — because they represent different levels of social relationships. Values are the main connecting element between the society’s cultural system and the social sphere while norms, for the most part, belong to the social system. Values serve primarily to maintain the pattern according to which the society is functioning at a given time; norms are essential to social integration. Apart from being the means of regulating social processes and relationships, norms embody the “principles” that can be applied beyond a particular social system. The authors underline that it is important for Ukrainian sociology to keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of axiology and make good use of those ideas because this is a prerequisite for its successful integration into the global sociological community.

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD THROUGH SKILL DEVELOPMENT AMONG RURAL YOUTH: ROLE OF MICRO-FINANCE IN THE DEVELOPMENTAL PARADIGM

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-173
Author(s):  
Vikram Singh
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Skill Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rural Youth ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Societal Structure ◽  
Policy Shifts

This  article  attempts to  analyse  the  process  of  sustainable  livelihood  through skill development and its conceptual and theoretical understanding in India with reference to rural youth. In India skill development is demanded for economic growth and inclusive development; hence the rural population cannot be overlooked. Employable skills alone have not been able to generate sufficient employment among rural youth or address/promote well-being and sustainable livelihood. Various frameworks associated with skill development leave scope for reforms to strengthen the implementation of various policy shifts in respect of rural development and government/non-government organisations. The process of skill development for rural youth through the establishment of institutions, launch of policy/programmes and their linkages with micro-finance are considered, as the distinctive nature and features of micro-finance in relation to the forces of societal structure, social relationships, and social interactions leading towards collective interests and norms that shape the lives of rural youth. Lastly, analysis is done and conclusions drawn on the basis of discussion.

A Phenomenology of Rhythm

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lexi Eikelboom
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Henri Lefebvre ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Social ◽  
Analytical Importance ◽  
Jazz Performance

This chapter proposes a framework for approaching the theological significance of rhythm through phenomenology, prosody, and the social sciences. In accordance with the general categories of phenomenology established by Merleau-Ponty and the “rhythmanalysis” of Henri Lefebvre, the chapter investigates two experiences of rhythm: approaches to analysing the human encounter with rhythm in the reading of poetry and the role of rhythm in social interactions introduced through commonalities between rhythm in conversation and in jazz performance. These explorations establish two features of rhythm that are of analytical importance for the chapters that follow: (1) the synchronic and the diachronic as two necessary but distinct theoretical perspectives on rhythm, each of which emphasizes different features of rhythm and (2) the importance of interruption for understanding rhythm’s significance.

scholarly journals Psychosocial Obstacles in Young Children Argumentative Interactions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 224
Author(s):  
Josephine Convertini
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Complex Activity ◽  
Group I

Argumentation is an important aspect in the field of education because of its impact on learning processes. At the same time, argumentation is a complex activity in terms of cognitive, relational, emotional and social dynamics. In this paper, I investigate and I describe possible difficulties encountered by children during the argumentative process. The study involves 25 preschool children at a kindergarten engaged in three building tasks. The tasks were video-recorded and the argumentative discussions transcribed. For the aim of this paper, I analyze how argumentation are distributed among participants. I select interactions in which participants apparently do not argue or there are differences in the degree of argumentative participation between participants of the same group. I analyze these interactions and moments of impasse in the argumentative steps. The findings show how the simplicity of solving the task (e.g., when children do not encounter any problem in completing the activity) and the children’s self-perception of their competences in solving the task may have an impact on argumentation activities. Moreover, this perception is co-constructed by children within the interaction. The study contributes to the line of research on designing argumentation and highlights the role of the adult in managing children’s interactions.

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