Amicable Interactions Research Articles

Deficit of Trust in Pakistan-Afghanistan Bilateral Relations: An Evaluation from a Security and Economic Perspective from 2001 to 2021

At the crossroads of Central and Southern Asia lie two Muslim neighbors i.e., Pakistan and Afghanistan. Similarities in religion, culture, ethnicity, race, and history were predicted to cement the harmonious bilateral connection between the two countries. There have been a lot of obstacles to the development of positive relations between the two republics ever since they were established. Afghanistan's alone neighbor and a key commercial partner, Pakistan and the two countries have a difficult history despite Afghanistan's reliance on Pakistan's seaports and international trade. Tense relations began with the conflicts over the Durand line and Pakhtunistan stunt supported by Afghan government and were exacerbated by subsequent events like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the American involvement in the country after September 11, 2001. A large number of refugees fled to Pakistan as a result of these invasions, shaking up the country's politics and economy. India's involvement in Afghan politics has had a major effect on Pakistan's interests in the country and the surrounding region, especially after September 11th, when the United States attempted to offset Chinese influence in the area. India's engagement in Afghanistan and Pakistan's support in the US invasion of Afghanistan are at the root of the current state of bilateral ties. Normalizing bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan may require the involvement of a third party or agreement on confidence-building measures to enhance the welfare of persons living on the other side of the Durand line and encourage amicable interactions between the two countries. Using a qualitative approach, this article investigates the causes and consequences of the current mistrust in bilateral ties, with a particular emphasis on economic and security problems in the wake of 9/11.

Play face in Japanese macaques reflects the sender’s play motivation

Animals often initiate social interactions by exchanging signals. Especially when initiating amicable interactions, signaling one’s friendly stance toward others in advance may be important to avoid being misunderstood as having hostile intentions. We used data on dyadic play fighting in a group of Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata, to examine the function of “play face” at the opening of a play session. We found no support for the previously proposed hypothesis that play face expression is likelier before entering risky situations (e.g., before gaining an undue advantage over the partner) to avoid being misunderstood. The results showed that play face expression was likelier in male juveniles before initiating play with other males than in females before initiating play with males or other females and that juveniles were likelier to express play face before initiating play with others closer in age. As male Japanese macaques play more frequently than females, and juveniles prefer to play with individuals closer in age, play face expression before play initiation may reflect the individual’s motivation for subsequent play interactions. This interpretation is supported by our observation that play bouts lasted longer when initiated with bidirectional play face by both participants than when initiated without play face. We also argued that since there was no tendency that play face was likelier to be expressed toward individuals with low play propensity (e.g., females) or infrequent partners to play with (e.g., individuals more distant in age), Japanese macaques may not tactically deploy this signal to recruit reluctant partners.

The Canonization of Du Fu in the Context of East Asian Literature

Abstract In such regions of the East Asian cultural sphere as China, Korea and Japan, the canonization of Du Fu was a relatively lengthy process. It was achieved mainly because of strong support from three different cohorts: the first cohort is the Chinese literary giants who expressed strong commendations of Du Fu, the second cohort is the Japanese scholars who conducted rigorous evaluation of Du Fu’s poetry within academic frameworks, and the third cohort is the Korean royals who directly contributed to the rise of Du Fu’s poetry. The first two cohorts are unofficial, while the latter one is official but not without amicable interactions with the masses. Korean literature was in tune with the character of Du Fu’s poetry because it displayed a strong tendency towards politics; Japanese literature, on the other hand, was somewhat not, for it hardly included coverage on issues of social politics. Du Fu was given the highest literary recognition in both Korea and Japan for his poetic prowess, and his poetry was used by the state in both regions to serve different purposes; this goes to demonstrate that the two countries made their own culturally-driven decisions when accepting the influence of Chinese culture. It is a norm in East Asian literature for literary canons, whether old or new, to coexist, regardless of type or level, and such a norm is particular to the admission of literary works into literary canons within the East Asian cultural sphere.

Limited dispersal and an unexpected aggression pattern in a native supercolonial ant.

Understanding how social groups function requires studies on how individuals move across the landscape and interact with each other. Ant supercolonies are extreme cooperative units that may consist of thousands of interconnected nests, and their individuals cooperate over large spatial scales. However, the inner structure of suggested supercolonial (or unicolonial) societies has rarely been extensively studied using both genetic and behavioral analyses. We describe a dense supercolony‐like aggregation of more than 1,300 nests of the ant Formica (Coptoformica) pressilabris. We performed aggression assays and found that, while aggression levels were generally low, there was some aggression within the assumed supercolony. The occurrence of aggression increased with distance from the focal nest, in accordance with the genetically viscous population structure we observe by using 10 DNA microsatellite markers. However, the aggressive interactions do not follow any clear pattern that would allow specifying colony borders within the area. The genetic data indicate limited gene flow within and away from the supercolony. Our results show that a Formica supercolony is not necessarily a single unit but can be a more fluid mosaic of aggressive and amicable interactions instead, highlighting the need to study internest interactions in detail when describing supercolonies.

Gratitude inhibits competitive behaviour in threatening interactions

ABSTRACT It is well established that gratitude favours prosocial tendencies in neutral and amicable social interactions. Less is clear, however, about the role of gratitude in threatening situations that breed competitive impulses. As gratitude inhibits self-centred impulses and motivates a communal orientation, we predict and demonstrate that gratitude reduces competitive behaviour in threatening interactions. In Study 1 (N = 171), after emotion induction, participants went through the classic Trucking game paradigm, whereby a bogus opponent behaved in a competitive manner (i.e. closing the gate on them). Gratitude, as compared to joy and a neutral mood state, reduced participants’ competitive behaviour against the opponent. In Study 2 (N = 422), after losing to a bogus opponent on a self-relevant task, participants were given an opportunity to sabotage the opponent’s chances of winning a lottery. Individuals induced to feel gratitude showed less sabotaging behaviour than those in a neutral mood state. Importantly, this effect was only observed against a highly competitive, but not a neutral, opponent, suggesting that gratitude inhibits competitive behaviour only under high threat. Our findings suggest that gratitude is instrumental in arresting the competitive cycles from developing in threatening social interactions.

Does a mouse have a friend? Mixed evidence for individual recognition in the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio)

AbstractIndividual recognition, the ability to discriminate between members of a social group according to their distinctive characteristics, is a sophisticated form of social recognition. Several laboratory studies demonstrated individual recognition in rodents, but not under natural conditions. We combined behavioral observations and an experiment to assess individual recognition in free‐living African striped mice Rhabdomys pumilio. Striped mice live in groups that share a nest, but forage alone during the day. Interactions among group members are typically amicable and take place at the nest. In order to determine whether striped mice have individualized relationships, we analyzed whether focal mice interacted repeatedly more often with one specific group member. Data from 58 focal individuals from 15 groups revealed that the individual with which amicable interactions occurred the most was often alone in one mode of the data distribution, indicating that behavior toward this specific individual differed compared to the behavior to all other group members. Striped mice consistently preferred this specific individual during the following weeks. Preferred social partners of both breeders and younger non‐breeders were young non‐breeders. Sex‐specific effects were obtained only for young adult males and breeding females, which both associated more often with the opposite sex. For 11 young adults from 11 groups, the preferred social partner was trapped and removed, either overnight (experiment) or only during the day (control), when striped mice forage solitarily and usually do not interact with group members. Striped mice interacted on average more with their preferred social partner after it returned in the experimental group compared to the control (7 of 11 experiments), but the difference was not significant (P = 0.16). Our study indicates that striped mice might have individualized relationships, although they failed to significantly indicate individual recognition during experimental removals. Future studies will have to test the adaptive function of individualized relationships in African striped mice.

Levels of social behaviors and genetic structure in a population of round-tailed ground squirrels (Xerospermophilus tereticaudus)

Ground-dwelling sciurids exhibit a continuum of sociality and several models predict levels of sociality within this taxon. Models of ground squirrel sociality predict round-tailed ground squirrels (Xerospermophilus tereticaudus) to be solitary; however, previous behavioral studies suggest round-tailed ground squirrels have a matrilineal social structure. To resolve this discrepancy, we combined behavioral observations with genetic analyses of population structure. We assessed levels of agonistic and amicable behaviors combined with fine-scale population genetic structure of round-tailed ground squirrels in a multi-year study in AZ. Only 45 agonistic and 40 amicable interactions were observed between adults in over 137 h of observations. Overall rates of agonistic or amicable interactions between adults were low (≤0.69/h), with no relationship between relatedness of individuals and rates of either amicable or agonistic interactions. Interactions between juvenile littermates were predominantly amicable. Population substructure was not evident with Bayesian analyses, global or pairwise F ST values; average relatedness among females was not different from males. However, in 2006, the year after a population reduction through targeted animal elimination, a population bottleneck was detected within at least five of seven loci. Contrary to previous behavioral studies, this population of round-tailed ground squirrels, although aggregated spatially, did not exhibit high levels of social behavior nor subpopulation genetic structure. Analyses of the genetic relationships and sociality along a continuum, particularly within aggregates of individuals, may lead to insights into the origin and maintenance of social behaviors by elucidating the mechanisms by which aggregates with intermediate social levels are formed and maintained.

Spatial Proximity between Newborns Influences the Development of Social Relationships in Bats

AbstractAlthough bats are highly social mammals, the mechanisms influencing the establishment of social structures are far from being fully understood. So far, no study has addressed the effects of spatial proximity between newborns such as that occurring in nursery clusters on the development of preferential associations among individuals. We tested such effects on captive pups of Kuhl’s pipistrelle Pipistrellus kuhlii. During the first 6 wks, we kept them in separate rearing groups. Once able to fly, bats were allowed to freely interact in a common flight room, where those reared in the same groups showed higher rates of amicable interactions (proximity during roosting, allogrooming, huddling) but no effect on aggressive behaviour. Sex also influenced such frequencies, females being more likely to interact amicably. The phenomenon we describe may have significant implications for the development of bat social structures, including colony aggregation, within‐colony cryptic subunits or preferred association of individuals in fission–fusion dynamics. Our study adds a further dimension to bat sociality, highlighting the implications of spatial proximity in an early age phase.

The early years of light metals programming at TMS

The symposium “Extractive Metallurgy of Aluminum,” held in New York in 1962 under the auspices of The Metallurgical Society (TMS) of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers Inc. (AIME), was a groundbreaking event in the United States for the entire aluminum industry. As a result of two years of organizing, 55 contributors, 31 embracing the production of aluminum, freely shared results of research done within their companies or universities during this tentative opening up of communication and sharing of data and discoveries that had occurred previously only in a few conferences in Europe. The amicable interactions and success of this meeting led to the beginning of annual meetings organized by the Light Metals Committee of TMS. The consensus was emphatic that sharing non-competitive technology and discovering some of the trends in the strategies of competitors were all conducive to advancing competitiveness of the whole aluminum industry. Raising the awareness of the effectiveness of in-house R&D would enhance the innovations and creativity of all technologists. So in 1970, in Denver, the TMS Light Metals program began its series of annual symposia involving international industries, suppliers, and academia. This paper explores the inaugural TMS Light Metals symposia with the objective of commenting on how selected papers were “cutting edge” and how they influenced the electrolytic production of aluminum and inspired competitive research, improved funding, the attraction of future technologists, and “centers of excellence” for research into the Hall–Heroult process, novel processes, and advanced materials.

Inter-male aggression in relation to female availability and residence status in corn mice Calomys musculinus

We conducted an experimental study to test the hypothesis that, at low female availability, males show intrasexual aggressive behaviour and home range owners are more aggressive than home range intruders. Using field dyadic arena test, we carried out 35 male–male trials in four 0.25 ha enclosures, two male-biased (experimental enclosures) and two unbiased (control enclosures). Dyadic encounters were conducted between unrelated and sexually mature males of similar weight and age which established home ranges in the same enclosure at the same trapping session. Each inter-male encounter was performed in the home range of one of the opponents between the home range owner and a home range intruder. When sex ratios were male-biased, inter-male amicable behaviour was absent and we found significant rates of inter-male aggressiveness, being home range owners much more aggressive than intruders. In the unbiased enclosures, inter-male encounters resulted mainly in noninteractive or amicable interactions. We found that inter-male aggression varied in relation to female availability being more evident in home range owners.

Systems Management Study of a Private Brownfield Renovation

The writers examine the successful renovation of the former Kaufman Footwear manufacturing facility in downtown Kitchener, Ont. into residential lofts. The refurbishing of vacated facilities on private brownfield sites is a process involving many decision makers with distinct agendas, preferences, and options. The interaction of these decision makers can lead to a number of unique outcomes that are potentially positive or negative for each decision maker. These strategic interactions are analyzed using systems methodologies and tools, which illustrate how the amicable interaction of the various decision makers in a private brownfield conflict can cause them to come to a consensus which benefits all.

Effects of relatedness on social interaction rates in a solitary marmot

Kinship often influences social interactions, such that animals behave more amicably towards close kin than towards distant kin or unrelated individuals. However, competition also may affect interactions among kin and the degree of sociality in a population. I used microsatellite DNA markers and behavioural observations to examine effects of kinship on social interactions among woodchucks, Marmota monax, which generally are considered asocial or aggressive. Rates of agonistic interactions did not change with relatedness, but rates of amicable interactions increased with increasing relatedness. I observed more amicable interactions than expected between mother–offspring and littermate sibling dyads, but I observed fewer amicable interactions between nonlittermate siblings and more distant kin. Instances of physical aggression were less frequent than expected in mother–offspring, nonlittermate siblings and distant kin dyads, but more frequent than expected among littermate siblings. Interactions between mother–offspring dyads also changed with offspring age, with mothers behaving more amicably towards younger offspring and more agonistically towards older offspring, especially females. Among littermate siblings, rates of amicable interactions were highest between juveniles and yearlings, but then decreased between adult siblings. Social interactions reflected a balance between cooperation and competition. Although woodchucks in this population lived near kin and biased interactions based on kinship, many interactions were agonistic, and animals did not show greater degrees of sociality. Ecological factors, such as predation risk, resource distribution and climate, may favour solitary living in this population.

Social networking in the Columbian ground squirrel, Spermophilus columbianus

Networks are collections of units that potentially interact as a system. Electronic power grids, human societies, the Internet, food webs and metabolic pathways are examples of networks that have emergent properties that allow all vertices (viz. individuals, components, species, etc.) to be linked by a short chain of intermediate vertices. My field observations on a colony of 65 free-ranging Columbian ground squirrels suggest that their society also exhibits these characteristics via social interaction. On average, any dyad of squirrels in the colony can be connected via amicable interaction with three intermediate individuals. The connectivity of individuals (viz. the number of individuals to which an individual is directly connected) decays following a scale-free power law distribution. Individuals that have similar age, reproductive status and number of associates (viz. the number of individuals to which the individual is connected via social interaction) interact amicably with each other more than other squirrels. The network is robust to the removal of random individuals. However, simulated removal of individuals that are connected to many other squirrels increases the number of intermediates between two random individuals and fragments the network into smaller clusters when removals exceed 10% of the individuals in the colony. Thus, certain individuals appear to play more central roles than others in the cohesion of the network. My results reinforce previous studies showing that network theory can be used to determine the roles played by individuals in the cohesion of animal societies, thus providing a framework for studying sociality across species.

Social Organization in Woodchucks (Marmota monax) and its Relationship to Growing Season

AbstractAmong sciurids, delayed dispersal may result from slow rates of maturation associated with short growing seasons and large body mass. However, woodchucks (Marmota monax) experience a range of ecological conditions and display behavioral flexibility, often ignored in models of sociality. To investigate relationships between social organization and growing season, I collected data on interaction rates, timing of dispersal, and body mass of woodchucks in southern Maine, and I gathered comparative data from the literature. Interaction rates peaked in spring then declined, with agonistic interactions exceeding amicable interactions in adults and in yearling males. Adult males and females weighed comparable amounts early and late in the season, but female weights lagged behind those of males in early summer. Woodchucks did not attain adult mass until after their second hibernation period. Nearly 50% of juveniles postponed dispersal beyond their first summer, and nearly half of those individuals remained philopatric in the following year. Populations faced with longer growing seasons matured more slowly, but timing of dispersal did not correspond to growing season or maturation rate. Other ecological factors, including burrow density, or benefits associated with joint hibernation, may influence timing of dispersal and degree of sociality and deserve further study.

Conditions for Sexual Interactions Between Wild Grey Wolves, <em>Canis lupus</em>, and Coyotes, <em>Canis latrans</em>

Genetic evidence for the hybridization of wild Grey Wolves and Coyotes was first reported by Lehmann et al (1991). Subsequent genetic and landscape-environmental analyses have attempted to grasp the extent of Wolf-Coyote crosses in North America. Since Wolves are normally territorial and thus aggressive towards Coyotes, hybridization events remain rare, not withstanding the taxonomic debates regarding Canis in eastern Ontario. In this paper I report on amicable interactions between Wolves and Coyotes observed in Wisconsin in recent decades and discuss circumstances that may lead to pairing between individuals of the two species.

Vocal communication in the bicoloured white-toothed shrewCrocidura leucodon

Vocal sounds of 15 individuals ofCrocidura leucodon (Hermann, 1780) emitted during agonistic and amicable interactions in male-male, female-female and male-female dyadic encounters, and intraspecific cage groups, were studied. An analysis of spectral properties, along with an examination of context and function, were performed. The sounds registered during agonistic interactions showed an increase, then a decrease in frequency, often followed a complex undulating curve. The dominant frequency (DF) was 10.7±0.05 kHz, and duration (DU) was 104.2±4.4 ms. The calls emitted by shrews at investigation and grooming often ended with chirping notes (DF=4.8±0.2 kHz, DU=23.5±1.1 ms). While clustering and huddling up to the partner, the animals produced calls consisting of short notes with a very low intensity (DF=1.0±0.07 kHz, DU=35.2±0.8 ms). Based on these finding, it can be assumed that threatening sounds, emitted in agonistic encounters, allow shrews to avoid conflicts, while those, emitted when clustering and huddling up to the partner, contribute to maintenance of group cohesiveness. The variability of frequency ranges and intensity of sounds probably reflects the territorial and gregarious behaviour ofC. leucodon and adaptation to communication in variable acoustic environments.

Seasonal changes in social behaviour and spatial structure ofCrocidura leucodon in north-western Bulgaria

The patterns of social behaviour and spatial structure ofCrocidura leucodon (Hermann, 1780) were studied against the background of the seasonal changes in its density and demographic features. Field and lab research were conducted. Field investigations (with CMR method) were conducted from 1997 to 1999 in north-western Bulgaria, in a grassland with patches of tree-shrub vegetation. In the lab, the social interactions were studied in male-male, female-female and male-female dyadic encounters during summer and autumn. A total of 26 shrews were tested. The number ofC. leucodon was lowest in spring and greatest in autumn. In early summer the sex ratio was balanced, the home range of one male overlapped that of one female, and aggressiveness and marking activity was increased. So, it can be assumed that in this period males and females form pairs, which possess defended territories. Higher aggressiveness and marking activity displayed by males suggest their greater role in defending the territories. In autumn the home ranges overlapped greatly and amicable interactions prevailed over agonistic ones probably due to shifting to a gregarious way of life. So, the patterns of spatial structure and social behaviour undergo the seasonal changes inC. leucodon life-cycle and its density dynamics.

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND GROUP FORMATION IN THE COYPU (MYOCASTOR COYPUS) IN THE ARGENTINEAN PAMPAS

This study presents the first description of social behavior and structure in native populations of the coypu (Myocastor coypus). Data from behavioral observations and trapping were used to describe group composition and behavior at 3 study areas in east-central Argentina in 1999‐2000. Seven groups were described (11 coypus/group 6 1.5 SE). Groups were characterized by several adult and subadult females, 1 dominant male, several adult and subadult males, and a variable number of juveniles. Subgroups (mainly composed of juveniles and small adult males) were also identified within some groups. Group fidelity was relatively high. Amicable interactions and cooperative behaviors such as nursing in groups, allogrooming, and alarm calls occurred within groups. Agonistic interactions and marking behavior were rare but suggested that the largest male was socially dominant. This study confirms gregarious habits and a polygynous mating system for the species and provides the first report of the existence of some cooperative behaviors.

Register and prosodic variation, a cross language comparison

It is widely recognized that prosody serves as a cue for information content and for mutual agreement (or lack thereof) among dialogue participants. It is also true that different social situations require dissimilar prosodic strategies. The present paper will address the problem of prosodic prominence and contours on negatives in various interactive and noninteractive registers of Continental French, and will compare the results with those from American English negatives in similar situational contexts. Negatives were studied because they provide vital information—which should be emphasized prosodically to maximize comprehension—yet their presentation can be critical to amicable interaction, and under certain social conditions should be de-emphasized to minimize possible sources of discord. Consequently, analysis of prosody on negatives permits us to juxtapose theories of how language is produced and how it is interpreted. The study will provide evidence of three different loci of prosodic variation: language, culture, and social situation, concluding that each of the three variables influences prosodic realization.

Group member discrimination by Columbian ground squirrels via familiarity with substrate-borne chemical cues

Abstract. Most studies of social discrimination by ground squirrels (Spermophilus) focus on the discrimination of conspecifics on the basis of kinship. However, juvenile Columbian ground squirrels, Spermophilus columbianus, discriminate members of their own local population (colony) from conspecifics inhabiting other colonies. In the present study, behavioural data were obtained from interactions of littermate pairs, non-neighbouring colony member (intra-site) pairs, and non-colony member (inter-site) pairs of juveniles. Colony member pairs were significantly more cohesive and less agonistic than were pairs of juveniles from separate colonies. To examine the role of indirect familiarization to colony member discrimination, live-traps were used as potential vectors for the transmission of chemical cues. Juveniles in each class (intra-site or inter-site) were either exposed to live-traps interchanged routinely between the interactant's natal areas, or to traps that were not interchanged. Juveniles exposed to interchanged traps were significantly more cohesive and tended to be less aggressive than juveniles reared without trap mixing. Littermates and colony members residing in areas where traps were interchanged were more cohesive and less aggressive than colony members that did not experience trap mixing (although these trends fell short of statistical significance). The results suggest that Columbian ground squirrels recognize local group members through a process of indirect familiarization that relies upon chemical discriminator substances. However, in the absence of trap-induced familiarity, the recognition of group members is apparently restricted to a more circumscribed area than was previously assumed. The discrimination of local group members promotes amicable interactions, reducing costs of aggression and could facilitate kin selection since residents of the same local area are likely to share genes through both maternal and paternal descent. The results also suggest that the amicable treatment of conspecifics can be artificially enhanced by trap-induced familiarity. That finding necessitates new caution in the execution and interpretation of experiments examining the behavioural ecology of ground squirrels where live-trapping is employed.