Social Competition Research Articles

The impact of stress on sleep quality: a mediation analysis based on longitudinal data

ObjectiveThis study evaluates the potential mechanisms through which stress affects sleep quality and examines the mediating roles of rumination, social anxiety, emotion-focused coping strategies, and smartphone dependence in the relationship between stress and sleep quality.MethodsFrom October 2023 to April 2024, we conducted three surveys with 426 university students and utilized structural equation modeling to explore the mechanisms by which stress impacts sleep quality.ResultsStress not only significantly predicts sleep quality but also significantly affects sleep quality through rumination, emotion-focused coping strategies, and smartphone dependence as independent mediators. Additionally, stress influences sleep quality through both dual-mediation and triple-mediation paths.ConclusionStress has a significant direct and indirect impact on sleep quality. This study reveals the complex mechanisms through which stress affects sleep quality. Improving individuals’ sleep quality requires not only considering the influence of real-life stressors but also examining the intersecting effects between stress and factors such as ruminative thinking, social anxiety, smartphone dependency, and emotion-focused coping strategies. The intense social competition in Chinese society exacerbates the decline in sleep quality, highlighting the need for the government to implement more policies aimed at maintaining the physical and mental health of the population to alleviate the increasingly severe sleep issues and mental health crisis.

Shaping New Identities in the First Intermediate Period (2160–2050 BC): Archers and Warriors in the Iconography of Upper Egypt

The First Intermediate Period was a time of cultural innovation and social competition. The collapse of the monarchy and the cultural productions it sponsored paved the way for the emergence of new artistic and cultural expressions, better adapted to a context of fragile authorities and competing local powers. Warfare between rival regional polities became frequent, so tomb scenes and funerary stelae from Middle and Upper Egypt began depicting military actions and men posing as archers. Moreover, local authorities sought the support of local levies and fellow citizens to strengthen and legitimate their fragile rule. Therefore, many monuments and inscriptions celebrate successful command, effective leadership, and caring about one’s city and its inhabitants. These conditions favoured the emergence of cultural innovations and social values aiming to express new identities. Depicting weapons, mainly bows, was crucial in this respect in some areas of Southern Egypt and echoed comparable phenomena occurring in neighbour regions like Nubia and the Levant.

The Influence of Social Competition and Maths Anxiety on Game Performance

Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) uses serious games to deliver educational content. DGBL has the potential to aid children’s development of maths skills, providing educators with alternatives to traditional mathematics teaching. However, the efficacy of serious games can be affected by their attributes, including whether they are single or multi-player. While competition in a multi-player environment may enhance players’ interest and motivation, potential social pressure may lead to anxiety and affect performance. In maths education, there are additional challenges. Mathematics Anxiety (MA), the negative emotional response to mathematics, may interact with game features and impact players’ experience. This study assesses players' performance in a digital maths game called ’Seven Spells’ across two different game modes (vs. Human and vs. CPU), and it also investigates whether MA levels impacted players’ performance. 43 children from two classes in an Irish primary school participated in thisstudy. Each class played a different game mode of the ‘Seven Spells’ game, one group playing against computer-controlled characters (vs. CPU) and the other playing against their classmates (vs. Human). The game mechanics were identical between the two competition game modes. The children completed the modified Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Scale (mAMAS) and a mathematics questionnaire before participating in the intervention, which included 4 sessions. They also participated in a focus group session at the end of the intervention. Data on their gameplay were collected throughout the first three sessions and analysed through multiple linear regression models to investigate possible connections between MA, maths knowledge, game modes and game performance. The results of the multiple linear regressions indicate that game performance was positively influenced by the duration of gameplay and the complexity of moves — measured by the number of moves and cards used — while being negatively affected by MA. However, a significant interaction between MA and the competition game mode was observed, suggesting that MA had a more pronounced negative impact on players in the vs. Human game mode compared to the vs. CPU game mode.

PENGARUH CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, CAPITAL INTENSITY DAN INTENSITAS PERSAINGAN TERHADAP AGRESIVITAS PAJAK

This research aims to provide empirical evidence of the influence of Corporate Social Responsibility, Capital Intensity, and Competition Intensity on Tax Aggressiveness for manufacturing companies listed on the BEI in 2018-2022. This research applies quantitative research methodology with secondary data as the data type. Purposive sampling was applied by researchers to be able to select samples for this study. The total data obtained was 40 data. The data analysis technique uses multiple linear regression analysis. Data processing using e-views 12. The results of this research show that Corporate Social Responsibility, Capital Intensity, and Competition Intensity simultaneously influence Tax Aggressiveness. The partial research results show that Capital Intensity and Competition Intensity have an effect on Tax Aggressiveness, while partial Corporate Social Responsibility has no effect on Tax Aggressiveness.

Increased sensitivity to social hierarchy during social competition versus cooperation.

Social hierarchy is a typical feature of social organization. The ability to quickly recognize social hierarchy information is crucial for adapting to social contexts. Here, we adopted fast periodic visual stimulation with electroencephalography to assess the neural responses to social hierarchy during social competition and cooperation, respectively. Participants first learned hierarchical faces from a competitive game versus a cooperative game. We then sequentially presented the learned hierarchical faces with a specific frequency in a set of faces. Results showed that participants rated the inferior player as lower in the social hierarchy in the cooperative context compared to the competitive context, indicating that social context affects the judgment of others' rank. Moreover, higher neural responses to high and low-hierarchy faces versus medium-hierarchy faces were observed, suggesting rapid discrimination of social hierarchy from faces. Interestingly, rank-specific neural responses were more pronounced in the competitive context than in the cooperative context, indicating increased sensitivity to social hierarchy during social competition versus social cooperation. This study provides behavioral and neural evidence for rapid, automatic processing of social hierarchy information and for an increased sensitivity to such information in competitive versus cooperative social contexts.

"Volume" of Chinese Family Education: Analysis and Discussion of Formation Causes

The "volume" phenomenon of Chinese family education attention continues to rise in recent years, this paper for the Chinese family education "volume" phenomenon, through the relevant literature, different views, combined with social and cultural background and family education practice, to cause Chinese family education "volume" of multiple factors are analyzed. The study found that parents' educational anxiety, the intensification of social competition pressure, different economic advantages and resource access, the unbalanced distribution of educational resources, the bias of educational concepts and systems, and the intensification of psychological pressure are all important factors leading to the "coil" of family education in China. This paper further points out that family education should return to its essence and focus on the all-round development of children, rather than excessive pursuit of academic achievement and graduation rates. Finally, this paper puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to alleviate the trend of "roll" education, in order to promote the formation of healthier and balanced family education model and guide Chinese family education towards a more healthy and rational direction.

Stocking density at feeders and drinkers and temporal feed restriction affects dairy cows' drinking behavior

Water is an essential resource for dairy cows and its consumption is closely linked to feed intake. Social competition can lead to changes in drinking behavior, especially for subordinate cows. We studied how changes in stocking density at the feeder (varied between 1 or 2 cows per feeder), and drinker (varied between 6 or 12 cows per drinker) and a temporal feed restriction (14 or 24 h access) impacts drinking in 4 groups of 6 cows each, following a Latin Square design. Within each group of 6 focal cows, we recorded drinking behavior and 2 were identified as most dominant, 2 as most subordinate, and the 2 others as intermediate, based on success in agonistic interactions at the drinker. Cows drank less water when feed availability was restricted (on average 5.3 L/d less ± 3.4; 4.5% average difference). Subordinate cows also spent less time drinking when overstocked (9.3 min/d less ± 6.7; 24.3% difference). During treatments with more competition, cows were more likely to be observed drinking in the hours after the peak in drinking observed for the control treatment. A high level of competition among group-housed animals is considered a welfare problem and can lead to injuries and reduced production. Our findings provide evidence that feed restriction and higher stocking density of cows at the drinker and feeders changes the drinking behavior of cows, with subordinate animals experiencing more pronounced effects.

Postsynaptic lncRNA Sera/Pkm2 pathway orchestrates the transition from social competition to rank by remodeling the neural ensemble in mPFC

Individuals’ continuous success in competitive interactions with conspecifics strongly affects their social hierarchy. Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is the key brain region mediating both social competition and hierarchy. However, the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the neural ensemble in the mPFC remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that in excitatory neurons of prelimbic cortex (PL), lncRNA Sera remodels the utilization of Pkm Exon9 and Exon10, resulting in a decrease in the Pkm1/2 ratio in highly competitive mice. By employing a tet-on/off system, we disrupt or rebuild the normal Pkm1/2 ratio by controlling the expression of Pkm2 in PL excitatory neurons. We find that long-term Pkm2 modulation induces timely competition alteration and hysteretic rank change, through phosphorylating the Ser845 site of GluA1. Together, this study uncovers a crucial role of lncRNA Sera/Pkm2 pathway in the transition of social competition to rank by remodeling neural ensemble in mPFC.

Innovative Approaches Supporting Social Change, Improved Quality of Human Life, and Enhanced Planetary Consciousness Across Europe

This research uses a dialogical approach to the theory of social representations to investigate examples of social innovation in volunteer and community projects across Europe. Social representational processes shape public agendas and determine which issues are put forward. One example of this dynamic communicative exchange is the annual Social Innovation Competition of the European Innovation Council, for which an award is given each year. The study looks at a total of 36 projects that won awards over 10 years of the competition in Europe. Our archival research focuses on and discusses the co-construction of the meaning of innovation in relation to ecology. The analysis concentrates on the countries of origin of the projects, as well as the thematic areas, in relation to the themes of social innovation selected by the European Innovation Council. In this process, three crucial voices are examined, including the voice of the European Innovation Council, voice of the innovator in each award-winning project, and voice of the general public. The results indicate that members of volunteer and community sectors propose socially innovative initiatives, especially in the areas of enhancing planetary consciousness and improving the quality of human life.

The Application of Language Acquisition in English Teaching

With the continuous informatization and internationalization of modern society, English has received more and more attention. No matter in primary school, junior high school, senior high school or college English education, people attach great importance to the cultivation of students' comprehensive English ability and comprehensive level, and believe that English teaching is an indispensable factor in the development of modern education. From a macro point of view, English is a special subject, which is widely used in modern society, and many fields involve the use of English, so it is crucial to strengthen English education for students. To promote the English education of students in different stages of our country, appropriate teaching methods and teaching systems should be adopted. But there will be some problems in the meantime. For students at any stage, it is not enough to only master the mother tongue, which does not allow students to better develop in the fierce social competition in the future. In order to better enhance their own competitiveness, they should also adopt the correct teaching methods and teaching methods for students of different ages.

Spanish Doctoral Dissertations on the Properties of Materials in Engineering

We present a bibliometric study of engineering doctoral dissertations focusing on the properties of materials. The study exhaustively examines the production of doctoral theses on material properties in the field of engineering at Spanish universities from 1977 to 2022. The main objective is to analyse the volume and temporal distribution of these theses, explore their production by authors and directors considering gender, and identify the most common descriptors in the research. Technological innovation and progress in engineering materials are essential for social welfare, economic competitiveness, and international cooperation, highlighting the significance of these studies. The results reveal a total of 508 valid theses after a meticulous filtering process, with a notable increase in production post-1998, particularly during 2011–2020. The study highlights the limited presence of women in both authorship and direction of these, indicating male dominance in the field. However, there is an increasing trend of female participation in these academic areas. This study offers detailed insights into the trends and composition of doctoral research in materials engineering in Spain, pointing to important gender dynamics and research themes.

Exploration of the Causes and Intervention Measures of Junior High School Students' Boredom

At present, boredom has become a major problem in China's basic education. Under the circumstances of increasingly fierce social competition and intensified education, the rate of boredom has risen rapidly, especially for junior high school students. Therefore, on the basis of a brief elaboration of the concept of boredom, analyze the reasons for its formation from the four aspects of themselves, school, family and society, and explore the "four-dimensional" path to solve the problem of boredom of junior high school students: stimulate internal learning motivation and correct their own learning attitude; implement the multi-faceted development of students to meet students' Psychological needs; adopt a scientific upbringing method to reasonably expect the growth of children; rectify the bad social atmosphere and create a learning society for all, with a view to improving the learning quality of junior high school students.

A randomized trial of behavioral interventions yielding sustained reductions in distracted driving

Distracted driving is responsible for nearly 1 million crashes each year in the United States alone, and a major source of driver distraction is handheld phone use. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of interventions designed to create sustained reductions in handheld use while driving (NCT04587609). Participants were 1,653 consenting Progressive® Snapshot® usage-based auto insurance customers ages 18 to 77 who averaged at least 2 min/h of handheld use while driving in the month prior to study invitation. They were randomly assigned to one of five arms for a 10-wk intervention period. Arm 1 (control) got education about the risks of handheld phone use, as did the other arms. Arm 2 got a free phone mount to facilitate hands-free use. Arm 3 got the mount plus a commitment exercise and tips for hands-free use. Arm 4 got the mount, commitment, and tips plus weekly goal gamification and social competition. Arm 5 was the same as Arm 4, plus offered behaviorally designed financial incentives. Postintervention, participants were monitored until the end of their insurance rating period, 25 to 65 d more. Outcome differences were measured using fractional logistic regression. Arm 4 participants, who received gamification and competition, reduced their handheld use by 20.5% relative to control (P < 0.001); Arm 5 participants, who additionally received financial incentives, reduced their use by 27.6% (P < 0.001). Both groups sustained these reductions through the end of their insurance rating period.

Involvement Affects the Subjective Well-being of College Students Literature Review

With the intensification of social competition, the phenomenon of involution has become increasingly common among college students, which has a profound impact on the psychological health and subjective well-being of individuals. The purpose of this paper is to explore the main mechanisms by which involution affects college students' subjective well-being, as well as to actively propose improvement suggestions for the problem. Through a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature, this study reveals how the phenomenon of involution affects college students' sense of well-being through increased stress and anxiety, social comparison and self-denial, lack of satisfaction of individual psychological needs, social support, and interpersonal relationships; and it also suggests that college students' subjective well-being can be effectively enhanced by strengthening mental health education and improving lifestyles.

Antisocial Personality Disorder as a Form of Adaptive Strategy

Background: in contemporary domestic psychiatry the evolutionary explanations of antisocial personality disorder are practically lacking. The aim of study: the analysis of the significant concepts of the evolutionary approach to understanding the origins and typology of antisocial, or dissocial, personality disorder. Material and methods: a narrative review of contemporary English-language psychiatric and psychological literature using all available search engines using the keywords “antisocial psychopathy” and “evolutionary psychiatry and psychology”. Discussion and conclusion: in English-language psychiatric and psychological literature the affective component of antisocial traits, emphasized only in ICD-10, is called “primary psychopathy,” while the behavioral component of antisocial traits, associated with “sensation seeking” and “hyperactivation,” is called “secondary” psychopathy. Evolutionary and ecological approaches emphasize the adaptive role of aggressive and antisocial behavior, viewing such behavior as a “high-risk strategy” in social and sexual competition, as “costly” but potentially adaptive (rather than as “behavioral dysfunctions”). The understanding of persistent antisocial behavior as a social “trickster” strategy exploiting the trust and cooperative behavior of others is based on the R. Axelrod-W. Hamilton “iterated” prisoner’s dilemma. In the Prisoner’s Dilemma evolutionary model, the player’s payoff is determined by the effects on “fitness”: survival and fertility. Participating in several interactions with individuals, an antisocial “deceiver” with high mobility is able to exist, manifesting itself with a fairly low frequency in the population. Non-cooperative behavior in both animals and humans reduces the fitness of others and includes aggressive behavior, deception, betrayal, predation and social parasitism. From the point of view of the concept of “economic games,” people with subclinically expressed primary psychopathic traits (emotional coldness, manipulativeness, Machiavellianism) are represented as “strategists” with cooperation partners: they give with reciprocity to those partners whom they consider “highly valuable” (with the potential for great benefits in future), and only “take”, manipulating and deceiving, from those of “low value”. In a broad sense, evolutionary psychologists and psychiatrists find in the characteristics of antisocial individuals a predominance of a set of properties of “fast” life strategies, while the concept of “fast strategies” is also used to explain geographical differences in the prevalence of aggressive behavior.

Intimate relationships regulate female brain activity in a competitive context: evidence from EEG and functional connectivity analysis.

Competition is common in life, and intimate relationships are essential. Understanding how intimate relationships impact an individual's competitive process is crucial. This study explored the impact of competitor gender on female competition using electroencephalography analysis. The results revealed that females exhibited a smaller median of the absolute value of reaction time difference (DRT) between their partners and their competitors when their partners were absent compared to when their partners were present. Additionally, females showed greater average amplitudes of N2 posterior contralateral component (N2pc) and Late Positive Potential (LPP), increased activation of the alpha frequency band, and enhanced theta frequency band functional connectivity between the central parietal lobe and occipital lobe. Furthermore, when competing with individuals of the same gender as opposed to individuals of the opposite gender, females exhibited greater average amplitudes of percentage of wins and N2pc. A significant negative correlation was noted between the DRT and the average wave amplitudes of N2pc and LPP. These findings suggest that females are more engaged in competitive tasks when partners are not present and have improved decision-making when competing with same-gender individuals. This study provides evidence for the influence of lovers on female competition, helping females adapt to social competition and promoting healthy relationships.

Taxing Dilemmas: A Decade of Balancing Act in India’s Individual and Corporate Taxation for Social Equity and Economic Progress

India’s tax rates over the past decade have been analyzed to balance social equality, economic competitiveness, and sustained progress. The government’s shift towards flatter tax structures aims to stimulate economic growth and promote manufacturing. However, the adverse effects of lowering corporate tax rates on ordinary citizens include widening income disparities, underfunding of social programs, job security decline, decreased government capacity, and impact on small enterprises. The government’s ability to fund infrastructure improvements, healthcare facilities, and educational programs is greatly impacted by corporate taxes. Small enterprises may experience increased competitiveness and financial strain, while major corporations may profit from lower tax burdens. To ensure a balanced economic trajectory, policymakers must continually evaluate and fine-tune the tax structure, considering the broader implications on social equity and the quality of life for the majority of the population.

Operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria in the Official Russian Discourse

Abstract In this article, we analyze how the operation of the Russian Aerospace forces is presented in the official Russian discourse. The analysis is based on a collected database of statements made by the Russian authorities. Relying on social identity theory, we argue that the Russian operation in Syria became a key element in changing the Russian strategy in the Middle East. In other words, beginning in the mid-2010s, Russian policy in the Middle East moved from social competition to social creativity. Taking the Russian operation in Syria as an example, we assert that the second half of 2017 was a turning point because the military narration of the discourse was replaced at that point with the narration of the unique role of Russia in the regulation of the Syrian conflict. This narration included narratives related to ‘sovereignty’, ‘territorial integrity’, and the creation of alternative platforms to maintain stability.

Optimal influence design in networks

We examine an influence designer's optimal intervention in the presence of social learning in a network. Before learning begins, the designer alters initial opinions of agents within the network to shift their ultimate opinions to be as close as possible to the target opinions. By decomposing the influence matrix, which summarizes the learning structure, we transform the designer's problem into one with an orthogonal basis. This transformation allows us to characterize optimal interventions under complete information. We also demonstrate that even in cases where the designer has incomplete information about the network structure, the designer can still design an asymptotically optimal intervention in a large network. Finally, we provide examples and extensions, including repeated social learning and competition.

Content moderation and advertising in social media platforms

AbstractWe study the incentive of an ad‐funded social media platform to curb the presence of unsafe content that entails reputational risk to advertisers. We identify conditions for the platform not to moderate unsafe content and demonstrate how the optimal moderation policy depends on the risk the advertisers face. The platform is likely to undermoderate unsafe content relative to the socially desirable level when both advertisers and users have congruent preferences for unsafe content and to overmoderate unsafe content when advertisers have conflicting preferences for unsafe content. Finally, to mitigate negative externalities generated by unsafe content, we study the implications of a policy that mandates binding content moderation to online platforms and how the introduction of taxes on social media activity and social media platform competition can distort the platform's moderation strategies.