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Jiang, Ge. "Essays in evolutionary game theory." Thesis, University of Essex, 2016. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/16917/.
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This thesis contains three essays in evolutionary game theory. In the first chapter, we study the impact of switching costs on the long run outcome in 2X2 coordination games played in the circular city model of local interactions. We find that for low levels of switching costs, the risk dominant convention is the unique long run equilibrium. For intermediate levels of switching costs the set of long run equilibria contains the risk dominant convention but may also contain conventions that are not risk dominant. For high levels of switching costs also nonmonomorphic states will be included in the set of LRE. We study the impact of location heterogeneity on neighborhood segregation in the one-dimensional Schelling residential model in the second chapter. We model location heterogeneity by introducing an advantageous node, in which a player’s utility is impartial to the composition of her neighborhood. We find that when every player interacts with two neighbors, one advantageous node in the circular city will lead to a result that segregation is no longer the unique LRE. When players interact with more neighbors, more advantageous nodes are necessary to obtain the same result. In the third chapter, we consider a model of social coordination and network formation, where players of two groups play a 2X2 coordination game when connected. Players in one group actively decide on whom they play with and on the action in the game, while players in the other group decide on the action in the game only. We find that if either group’s population size is small in comparison to the linking restriction, all players will choose the risk dominant equilibrium, while when both groups are sufficiently large in population, the players of two groups will coordinate on the payoff dominant action.
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Ghachem, Montasser. "Essays in Evolutionary Game Theory." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Nationalekonomiska institutionen, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-132433.
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Evolutionary game theory tries to explain the emergence of stable behaviors observed in human and animal societies. Prominent examples of such behaviors are cooperative and conformist behaviors. In the first part of the thesis, we develop a model of indirect reciprocity with institutional screening to study how institutions may promote cooperative behavior. We show that cooperation can emerge if screening institutions are sufficiently reliable at identifying cooperators. The second part presents a large-population learning model in which individuals update their beliefs through time. In the model, only one individual updates his beliefs each period. We show that a population, playing a game with two strategies, eventually learns to play a Nash equilibrium. We focus on coordination games and prove that a unique behavior arises both when players use myopic and perturbed best replies. The third part studies the payoff calculation in an evolutionary setting. By introducing mutual consent as a requirement for game play, we provide a more realistic alternative way to compute payoffs.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.
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Borghoff, Thomas. "Evolutionary theory of the globalisation of firms." Wiesbaden Gabler, 2004. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2649426&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.
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Tsakas, Elias. "Essays on epistemology and evolutionary game theory." Göteborg : Dept. of Economics, School of Economics and Commercial Law, Göteborg University, 2008. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=016654920&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.
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Wallace, Christopher Conor. "Evolutionary game theory in the social sciences." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.322749.
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Baudisch, Annette. "Inevitable senescence? : contributions to evolutionary-demographic theory." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2006. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1445312/.
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The main thrust of my dissertation is to understand whether and when senescence is an inherent characteristic of life. Hamilton (1966) claimed to have proven that "senescence is an inevitable outcome of evolution". One major result of my work is that no dogmatic statement can be made about the universality of senescence. By carefully studying Hamilton's paper on the moulding of senescence, I show that Hamilton did not prove that senescence "cannot be avoided by any conceivable organism". I have developed simple models that contribute general insights to evolution ary demographic theory. The models are designed to shed light on whether and when non-senescent life-history strategies could be optimal. All models show that senescence is not inevitable. Sustenance can be an optimal life-history strategy. The results of my size-based models suggest that species with the ca pability of continued growth after the onset of reproduction are candidates for non-senescence. The results of my vitality-based model suggest that the costs of growth and maintenance and, to an almost equal extent, the costs of reproduction are major determinants of the choice between senescence and sustenance. My dissertation can be viewed as a theoretical exploration of the inter-species diversity of aging, i.e., of how varied aging can be for different species and of what factors determine whether a species' strategy involves sustenance or senescence. My models suggest that a remarkable variety of patterns may be optimal under different circumstances. The limited empirical data available suggests that species may show a rich diversity of age-schedules of mortality, fertility and growth. This dissertation shows that senescence and sustenance are two complemen tary sides of the process of aging. One cannot be deeply understood without the other. The new, burning question that arises from my work is: In what kind of species does senescence evolve and in what kind of species is it sustenance that evolves?
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George, Jessica. "Deadly light : Machen, Lovecraft, and evolutionary theory." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2014. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/58289/.
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This thesis explores the relationship between evolutionary theory and the weird tale in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Through readings of works by two of the writers most closely associated with the form, Arthur Machen (1863-1947) and H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937), it argues that the weird tale engages consciously, even obsessively, with evolutionary theory and with its implications for the nature and status of the "human". The introduction first explores the designation "weird tale", arguing that it is perhaps less useful as a genre classification than as a moment in the reception of an idea, one in which the possible necessity of recalibrating our concept of the real is raised. In the aftermath of evolutionary theory, such a moment gave rise to anxieties around the nature and future of the "human" that took their life from its distant past. It goes on to discuss some of the studies which have considered these anxieties in relation to the Victorian novel and the late-nineteenth-century Gothic, and to argue that a similar full-length study of the weird work of Machen and Lovecraft is overdue. The first chapter considers the figure of the pre-human survival in Machen's tale of lost races and pre-Christian religions, arguing that the figure of the fairy as pre-Celtic survival served as a focal point both for the anxieties surrounding humanity's animal origins and for an unacknowledged attraction to the primitive Other. The second chapter discusses the pervasiveness of degeneration theory at the fin de siècle, and the ways in which works by both Machen and Lovecraft make use of it to depict the backsliding of both the individual human subject and of wider society, raising the suggestion that the degenerate is always already present within the contemporary human. In the third chapter, portrayals by both authors of hybridity come under consideration. The chapter places these tales in their historical context, with reference to the cultural anxieties surrounding the decline of empire, the rise of anti-immigration sentiment in the United States, and the emergence of the eugenics movement, and argues that these fears become tied to notions about the fitness or otherwise to survive of a "human" associated with Anglo-Saxon whiteness. The fourth and final chapter discusses Lovecraft's portrayals of highly-advanced extraterrestrial civilisations, arguing that these stories partake of a Utopian impulse that nonetheless expresses itself via contemporary racist discourses, and that they both maintain the notion of a horrific primitive Other within the human and attempt to open up the possibility of a transhuman or posthuman future. The thesis concludes by considering these works in relation to the cyborg theory of Donna Haraway, suggesting that their portrayal of the necessity of inhabiting flux offers a new and less straightforwardly horrific way of thinking about human identity.
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Di, Nicola Alessandro. "Evolutionary theory and normative realism in epistemology." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:cf5de343-77b1-461f-9940-eeba1dd8b76b.
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In this thesis I discuss one way in which evolutionary theory has been brought to bear on the evaluation of competing meta-normative views in epistemology. More specifically, I investigate whether normative realism in epistemology (epistemic realism) is compatible with the view that we are justified in holding many of the epistemic beliefs we hold, on the assumption that those beliefs can be explained in evolutionary terms. In Part I I discuss normativity in epistemology and meta-epistemology. I begin by drawing attention to the fact that there are very different ways of understanding which concepts in epistemology are normative and what their normativity consists in. I focus on the concept of an epistemic reason to illustrate this point. I then discuss, in some detail, how different interpretations of epistemic-normativity will affect the form which normative-realist views in epistemology can take. I conclude by drawing a taxonomy of epistemic-realist views which is mindful of the different interpretations of epistemic normativity which I distinguished. In Part II I turn to discuss the topic of Darwinian arguments against normative-realist views in epistemology. I begin by considering the form which Darwinian arguments have taken in recent metaethical literature. I argue that Darwinian arguments of a kind which is meant to raise a distinctively epistemological challenge for normative-realist views – I call those 'Darwinian-epistemological' arguments – represent a more interesting object of philosophical investigation than Darwinian arguments of a different 'metaphysical' kind. I then formulate a Darwinian-epistemological argument which targets normative-realist views in epistemology (DEA), explain how it works, and spend some time discussing its key premises. In Part III I engage with the Darwinian-epistemological challenge against realism about epistemic normativity that Sharon Street presents in her paper 'Evolution and the Normativity of Epistemic Reasons' (2009). I argue that Street’s epistemological challenge is best viewed as an instance of a Darwinian-epistemological argument of the kind I formulated (DEA). I then go on to reply to Street’s argument on behalf of the epistemic realist. I conclude that arguments with the form of DEA do not represent a serious threat for normative realist views in epistemology.
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Beauparlant, Marc A. "Evolutionary Game Theory and the Spread of Influenza." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/35635.
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Vaccination has been used to control the spread of infectious diseases for centuries with widespread success. Deterministic models studying the spread of infectious disease often use the assumption of mass vaccination; however, these models do not allow for the inclusion of human behaviour. Since current vaccination campaigns are voluntary in nature, it is important to extend the study of infectious disease models to include the effects of human behaviour. To model the effects of vaccination behaviour on the spread of influenza, we examine a series of models in which individuals vaccinate according to memory or individual decision-making processes based upon self-interest. Allowing individuals to vaccinate proportionally to an exponentially decaying memory function of disease prevalence, we demonstrate the existence of a Hopf bifurcation for short memory spans. Using a game-theoretic influenza model, we determine that lowering the perceived vaccine risk may be insufficient to increase coverage to established target levels. Utilizing evolutionary game theory, we examine models with imitation dynamics both with and without a decaying memory function and show that, under certain conditions, periodic dynamics occur without seasonal forcing. Our results suggest that maintaining diseases at low prevalence with voluntary vaccination campaigns could lead to subsequent epidemics following the free-rider dilemma and that future research in disease control reliant on individual-based decision-making need to include the effects of human behaviour.
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Jackson, Edgar Basil. "The faith dynamic in creationism and evolutionary theory." Thesis, North-West University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/9061.
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This study attempts to examine evolutionary theory and creationism objectively without engaging in an apology for or a criticism of either. It compares the presuppositions and assumptions of both systems, and examines the role of faith in religion and in the scientific theory of evolution. After discussing the nature of the scientific method and the development of the theory of evolution, the study explores the dichotomy of faith and reason, the ways in which these operate in theories of intelligent design and theistic evolution, and the question of whether scientific evolutionary theory can be considered to be a secular religion. The thesis argues that acceptance of the scientific theory of evolution is as dependent upon a faith commitment as is adherence to religion, though the type and quality of the two respective faith systems are very different and, therefore, worthy of comparison and contrast. The study concludes that, while science and evolutionary theory share many of the same features and characteristics of faith and presumption, it is presently not appropriate to claim that evolutionary theory is a secular religion, and that when this opinion is asserted it is worthwhile to analyze the motivation, conscious and unconscious, involved.Thesis (PhD (Dogmatics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in association with Greenwich School of Theology, U.K., 2013.
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Rael, Rosalyn Cherie. "Comparing theory and data on multi-species interactions using evolutionary game theory." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194398.
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Mathematical models with fixed parameters have a long history of use in describing the dynamics of populations in ecological interactions. However, in many instances, evolutionary changes in species characteristics can have a significant influence on these dynamics. Using evolutionary game theory, we incorporate evolution into population dynamic models and apply the resulting “Darwinian dynamic” models to study the effects that evolutionary changes can have on populations in several ecological scenarios. We start with a single species (Chapter 2), then add a competitor (Chapter 3), and a predator (Chapter 4). In Chapter 2, a rigorous mathematical analysis of the Darwinian logistic model for a single species shows that stable equilibria occur at strategies that maximize population size rather than growth rate. We apply this model to the data obtained from an experimental study on genetically perturbed populations of the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. In Chapter 3, we apply a Darwinian dynamic modification of the Lotka-Volterra model to investigate circumstances under which evolution will change expected competitive outcomes. We compare the results of our Darwinian Lotka-Volterra model to studies in which unusual observations were made in studies of the flour beetles T. castaneum and T. confusum, including a reversal in the “winner” of competitive exclusion, and evolution from exclusion to coexistence. Chapters 2 and 3 provide one of the few examples in which evolutionary game theory has been successfully applied to empirical data. From a foundation provided by the Darwinian logistic equation, we build Darwinian dynamic models with two and three trophic levels to study effects of evolution on some basic ecological interactions in Chapter 4. We show how a consumer can cause a resource (producer) species to evolve to a mean strategy that increases its growth rate rather than its population size. We also briefly study how predation on the consumer species can affect equilibrium strategies of species lower in the food chain. Our results show how evolutionary game theoretic methods can be useful for studying both theoretical and applied problems that arise due to evolutionary processes, even when they occur on a ecological time scale. They provide a foundation for the future study of evolutionary effects in larger complex networks of interacting species.
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Schlomer, Gabriel Lee. "Evolutionary Theory and Parent-Child Conflict: The Utility of Parent-Offspring Conflict Theory." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194662.
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Parent-offspring conflict theory (POCT) has been underutilized by researchers interested in family relationships. The goal of these three manuscripts is to help remedy this problem.Manuscript one presents POCT in its original formulation and more recent developments. The theory is described and explained and four topical areas of human development are discussed in terms of how POCT has been applied and how the theory can help inform future research.Manuscript two tests hypotheses derived from POCT about mother-adolescent conflict. This study showed that coresidence with a younger half sibling significantly incremented conflict between mothers and their children. This effect was not explained by SES, maternal depression, number of children in the household, or stepfather presence. In addition, children in younger half sibling households demonstrate elevated levels of conflict compared to families with a younger full sibling indicating that this effect is not an artifact of coresidence with a younger sibling. Presence of a younger half sibling also partially mediated the relationship between biological parental disruption and mother-child conflict.Manuscript three sought to extend on the findings from manuscript two by examining how different family contexts affect trajectories of mother-child conflict across adolescence. A piecewise growth model was implemented to estimate linear conflict trajectories from early to mid and from mid to late adolescence. Results indicated that conflict tends to increase from early to mid adolescence but remain constant from mid to late adolescence, that biological parental disruption did not differentiate trajectories of conflict, nor did living with a stepfather. In addition, despite a large difference in regression coefficients between families with and without a younger half sibling, younger half sibling status did not differentiate conflict trajectories from early to mid adolescence. Families did differ in their trajectories from mid to late adolescence with younger half sibling families showing a reduction in conflict over this time period. Inclusion of family level covariates effectively nullified all significant results. Results are discussed in the context of parent-offspring conflict theory. It is concluded that a larger sample with more diverse family types is needed to achieve sufficient power for additional analyses and future research.
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Blickle, Tobias. "Theory of evolutionary algorithms and application to system synthesis /." Zürich : vdf, Hochschulverlag AG an der ETH Zürich, 1997. http://opac.nebis.ch/cgi-bin/showAbstract.pl?u20=3728124338.
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Treacy, Brian. "A stochastic differential equation derived from evolutionary game theory." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Analys och sannolikhetsteori, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-377554.
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Picchini, Giorgia <1992>. "On the origin of storytelling : evolutionary theory and literature." Master's Degree Thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/15632.
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La narrazione ha accompagnato fin dalle origini la vita dell’uomo e continua a farlo anche oggi. Ad un certo punto della sua esistenza l’Homo sapiens ha sviluppato la capacità di costruire e narrare storie e, anche se non sono ancora chiari né il motivo, né le dinamiche, questa nuova facoltà ha avuto un impatto decisivo nella sua evoluzione.
La narrazione, la letteratura e tutte le forme artistiche hanno avuto e hanno una funzione di sopravvivenza: grazie ad esse a quest’unico ominide è stata concessa la possibilità di adattarsi meglio, di superare gli ostacoli ambientali, di dominare tutto il pianeta e di raccontare storie. Questa è la tesi di fondo su cui si basa il Darwinismo letterario, una nuova branca della critica letteraria che cerca di spiegare la narrazione in termini evolutivi.
L’uomo racconta se stesso agli altri attraverso una storia che descrive la sua identità, i suoi valori e i suoi obiettivi. I desideri, gli impulsi e i bisogni fondamentali di quest’ultimo sono anche i temi centrali della letteratura mondiale e sono basati sul ciclo di vita dell’uomo: la sopravvivenza, la crescita, il sesso e l’amore, la famiglia, la società, lo straniero e il nemico, e la vita della mente.
La mia tesi si concentrerà sull'analisi del nuovo dialogo tra letteratura e biologia, sull'apporto delle neuroscienze e su come la narrazione e le arti si siano rivelate necessarie per l’evoluzione dell’Homo sapiens, rappresentando un vantaggio in termini di selezione naturale.
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JAVARONE, MARCO ALBERTO. "Statistical Physics of Evolutionary Game Theory and its Applications." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11584/249581.
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Evolutionary Game Theory represents a vibrant and interdisciplinary research field, that is attracting the interest of scientists belonging to different communities, spanning from physicists to biologists, and from mathematicians to sociologists. In few words, it represents the attempt to study the evolutionary dynamics of a population by the framework of Game Theory, taking into account the Darwinian theory of natural evolution. As result, Evolutionary Game Theory allows to model a number of scenarios, as social and biological systems, with a high level of abstraction. On one hand, the contribution of the classical Game Theory can be identified at a local level, i.e. in the interactions among the agents. For instance, when agents play games like the Prisoner’s Dilemma, according to the Nash Equilibrium, they should defect. On the other hand, in some conditions, it is possible to observe final equilibria far from the expected one. Notably, here we identify the contribution of the Darwinian theory, since the agents can change their behavior according to adaptive mechanisms. Remarkably, often populations reaching non-expected equilibria show emergent behaviors, resulting from their interaction pattern, or from specific local behaviors. For this reason, evolutionary games must be considered as complex systems. Accordingly, we believe that statistical physics constitutes one of the most suitable approaches for studying and understanding their underlying dynamics. In this scenario, one of the aims of this dissertation is to illustrate some models that let emerge a direct link between Evolutionary Game Theory and statistical physics. In addition, we show that the link between the two fields allows to envision new applications beyond the current horizon of Evolutionary Game Theory, as defining optimization strategies. So, at the beginning, we focus on a statistical physics model devised for understanding ’why’ random motion, in continuous spaces (and within a particular speed range), is able to trigger cooperation in the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Then, we study the role of the temperature in the spatial Public Goods Game, defining a link between this game and the classical Voter Model. Eventually, mapping strategies to spins, we study the spatial Public Goods Game in presence of agents susceptible to local fields, i.e. fields generated by their nearest-neighbors. It is worth to note that, from a social point of view, an agent susceptible to a local field can be considered as a conformist, since it imitates the strategy (or behavior) of majority in its neighborhood. Later, we propose three applications of Evolutionary Game Theory. In particular, the first one is a new method for solving combinatorial optimization problems. The second application is focused on the definition of a game for studying the dynamics of Poker challenges. Finally, the third application aims to represent a phenomenon of social evolution, named group formation. To conclude, we deem that the achieved results shed new light on the relation between Evolutionary Game Theory and Statistical Physics, and allow to get insights useful to devise new applications in different domains.
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Xu, Tianbing. "Nonparametric evolutionary clustering." Diss., Online access via UMI:, 2009.
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Richter, James Neal. "On mutation and crossover in the theory of evolutionary algorithms." Thesis, Montana State University, 2010. http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/2010/richter/RichterJ0510.pdf.
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The Evolutionary Algorithm is a population-based metaheuristic optimization algorithm. The EA employs mutation, crossover and selection operators inspired by biological evolution. It is commonly applied to find exact or approximate solutions to combinatorial search and optimization problems. This dissertation describes a series of theoretical and experimental studies on a variety of evolutionary algorithms and models of those algorithms. The effects of the crossover and mutation operators are analyzed. Multiple examples of deceptive fitness functions are given where the crossover operator is shown or proven to be detrimental to the speedy optimization of a function. While other research monographs have shown the benefits of crossover on various fitness functions, this is one of the few (or only) doing the inverse. A background literature review is given of both population genetics and evolutionary computation with a focus on results and opinions on the relative merits of crossover and mutation. Next, a family of new fitness functions is introduced and proven to be difficult for crossover to optimize. This is followed by the construction and evaluation of executable theoretical models of EAs in order to explore the effects of parameterized mutation and crossover. These models link the EA to the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm. Dynamical systems analysis is performed on models of EAs to explore their attributes and fixed points. Additional crossover deceptive functions are shown and analyzed to examine the movement of fixed points under changing parameters. Finally, a set of online adaptive parameter experiments with common fitness functions is presented.
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Hölzl, Werner. "The evolutionary theory of the firm. Routines, complexity and change." Inst. für Volkswirtschaftstheorie und -politik, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, 2005. http://epub.wu.ac.at/1650/1/document.pdf.
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This paper provides an overview on the evolutionary theory of the firm. The specific feature of the evolutionary approach is that it explains the adaptive behaviors of firms through the tension between innovation and selection. It is suggested that the evolutionary theory can provide a useful basis for a theory of the firm which is concerned with change over time and development. (author's abstract)Series: Working Papers Series "Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness"
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Bell, Tom. "Evolutionary theory in the novelas contemporaneas of Benito Perez Galdos." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.289590.
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Elbergali, Abdalla Kh. "Factor analysis : theory and applications to evolutionary problems in chemometrics." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.282138.
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SALOMAO, GABRIEL MEYER. "ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY REGULATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EVOLUTIONARY GAME THEORY." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2017. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=31461@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
Um dos principais desafios do mundo moderno é equilibrar o desenvolvimento econômico com a responsabilidade ambiental, de forma a alcançar um crescimento sustentável que minimize os impactos gerados no meio ambiente. Isto tem feito com que muitos governos e empresas estabeleçam políticas ambientais como instrumentos para a garantia de um futuro com sustentabilidade e que favoreçam o bem estar social. A proposta desta dissertação é utilizar a teoria dos jogos evolucionários para analisar as interações entre agentes reguladores de políticas ambientais de comando e controle e os agentes (firmas) que impulsionam o desenvolvimento econômico, porém que impactam de alguma forma o meio ambiente. Enquanto os primeiros precisam determinar as melhores ações estratégicas para implementar a política e aumentar o bem estar social, os segundos só irão se adequar à regulamentação ambiental estabelecida se esta escolha lhe render um maior retorno (payoff). Os resultados mostram que o custo de fiscalização é determinante para estabelecer a política ambiental mais adequada e, dependendo da magnitude deste custo, existem diferentes formas de iniciar sua implementação a fim de favorecer o melhor resultado possível sob o ponto de vista do bem estar social.
The modern world faces the great challenge of balancing economic development and environmental responsibility in order to achieve sustainable growth that minimizes the impacts generated on the environment. This has forced some governments and firms establish environmental policies as instruments to guarantee a future with sustainability and favors social welfare. Using evolutionary games theory, this work aims to analyze the interactions between environmental policies regulators and firms that provide economic development impacting the environment. While the firsts need to choose the best strategic actions to established and inspect environmental standards sets to increase social welfare, the company will only complies if this choice yields a better payoff. The results show how the inspection cost is decisive for establishing the better environmental policy and depending on the magnitude of this cost, there are different ways to introduce it in order to provide a better social welfare result.
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Mambrini, Andrea. "Theory grounded design of genetic programming and parallel evolutionary algorithms." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2015. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5928/.
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Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) have been successfully applied to many problems and applications. Their success comes from being general purpose, which means that the same EA can be used to solve different problems. Despite that, many factors can affect the behaviour and the performance of an EA and it has been proven that there isn't a particular EA which can solve efficiently any problem. This opens to the issue of understanding how different design choices can affect the performance of an EA and how to efficiently design and tune one. This thesis has two main objectives. On the one hand we will advance the theoretical understanding of evolutionary algorithms, particularly focusing on Genetic Programming and Parallel Evolutionary algorithms. We will do that trying to understand how different design choices affect the performance of the algorithms and providing rigorously proven bounds of the running time for different designs. This novel knowledge, built upon previous work on the theoretical foundation of EAs, will then help for the second objective of the thesis, which is to provide theory grounded design for Parallel Evolutionary Algorithms and Genetic Programming. This will consist in being inspired by the analysis of the algorithms to produce provably good algorithm designs.
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He, Qian. "Spatio-Temporal Patterns, Correlations, and Disorder in Evolutionary Game Theory." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/40296.
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Evolutionary game theory originated from the application of mathematical game theory to biological studies.
Well-known examples in evolutionary game theory are the prisoner's dilemma, predator-prey models, the rock-paper-scissors game, etc.
Recently, such well-known models have attracted increased interest in population dynamics to understand the
emergence of biodiversity and species coexistence. Meanwhile, it has been realized that techniques from statistical
physics can aid us to gain novel insights into this interdisciplinary field. In our research, we mainly employ
individual-based Monte Carlo simulations to study emerging spatio-temporal patterns, spatial correlations,
and the influence of quenched spatial disorder in rock-paper-scissors systems either with or without conserved
total population number. In balanced rock-paper-scissors systems far away from the ``corner'' of configuration space,
it is shown that quenched spatial disorder in the reaction rates has only minor effects on the co-evolutionary dynamics.
However, in model variants with strongly asymmetric rates (i.e., ``corner'' rock-paper-scissors systems),
we find that spatial rate variability can greatly enhance the fitness of both minor species in``corner'' systems,
a phenomenon already observed in two-species Lotka-Volterra predator-prey models. Moreover, we numerically study the
influence of either pure hopping processes or exchange processes on the emergence of spiral patterns in spatial
rock-paper-scissors systems without conservation law (i.e., May-Leonard model). We also observe distinct extinction
features for small spatial May-Leonard systems when the mobility rate crosses the critical threshold which separates
the active coexistence state from an inactive absorbing state.
In addition, through Monte Carlo simulation on a heterogeneous interacting agents model,
we investigate the universal scaling properties in financial markets such as the fat-tail distributions in return and trading volume,
the volatility clustering, and the long-range correlation in volatility. It is demonstrated that the long-tail feature in trading volume distribution
results in the fat-tail distribution of asset return, and furthermore it is shown that the long tail in trading volume
distribution is caused by the heterogeneity in traders' sensitivities to market risk.Ph. D.
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Hanappi, Hardy, and Manuel Scholz-Wäckerle. "Evolutionary Political Economy: Content and Methods." Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2017.1287748.
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In this paper we present the major theoretical and methodological pillars of evolutionary political economy. We proceed in four steps. Aesthetics: In chapter 1 the immediate appeal of evolutionary political economy as a specific scientific activity is described. Content: Chapter 2 explores the object of investigation of evolutionary political economy. Power: The third chapter develops the interplay between politics and economics. Methods: Chapter 4 focuses on the evolution of methods necessary for evolutionary political economy.
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姚濬帆 and Chun-fan Yiu. "Evolutionary synthesis of time-optimal control policies." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2002. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B29866170.
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Yiu, Chun-fan. "Evolutionary synthesis of time-optimal control policies /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2002. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B25151058.
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Norman, William. "Evolutionary Game Dynamics and the Moran Model." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Analys och sannolikhetsteori, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-420672.
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Chotibut, Thiparat. "Statistical Fluctuations in Evolutionary and Population Dynamics." Thesis, Harvard University, 2016. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33493257.
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In this thesis, we study collective phenomena that arise from microscopic fluctuations at the individual level of two different living populations. First, we study evolutionary dynamics of two-species competitions in a well-mixed environment subject to population size fluctuations. We demonstrate a mechanism for neutral evolution such that population size fluctuations favor a fixation of one species over the other. An effective evolutionary dynamics for fluctuation-induced selection is derived. We then investigate strong mutualism, in a limit where a varying population size can strongly influence the evolutionary dynamics. We determine fixation probabilities as well as mean fixation times taking into account the population size degree of freedom. The results elucidate the interplay between population size fluctuations and evolutionary dynamics in well-mixed systems. Second, we investigate single species marine population subject to a constant flow field and quenched random spatially fluctuating growth rates. We show that the non-equilibrium steady-state population density of a generalized Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piscounov (FKPP) equation develops a flow-driven striation pattern. The striations are highly asymmetric with a longitudinal correlation length that diverges linearly with the flow speed and a transverse correlation length that approaches a finite velocity-independent value. The findings suggest that, although the growth disorder can be spatially uncorrelated, correlated population structures with striations emerge naturally at sufficiently strong advection.Physics
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Chang, Jung-Fu. "A simulation matching approach of mate selection : an integration study." Thesis, University of Reading, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.362226.
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Mendonça, G. P. A. de. "Nonlinear and evolutionary phenomena in deterministic growing economies." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2013. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/58404/.
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We discuss the implications of nonlinearity in competitive models of optimal endogenous growth. Departing from a simple representative agent setup with convex risk premium and investment adjustment costs, we define an open economy dynamic optimization problem and show that the optimal control solution is given by an autonomous nonlinear vector field in <3 with multiple equilibria and no optimal stable solutions. We give a thorough analytical and numerical analysis of this system qualitative dynamics and show the existence of local singularities, such as fold (saddle-node), Hopf and Fold-Hopf bifurcations of equilibria. Finally, we discuss the policy implications of global nonlinear phenomena. We focus on dynamic scenarios arising in the vicinity of Fold-Hopf bifurcations and demonstrate the existence of global dynamic phenomena arising from the complex organization of the invariant manifolds of this system. We then consider this setup in a non-cooperative differential game environment, where asymmetric players choose open loop no feedback strategies and dynamics are coupled by an aggregate risk premium mechanism. When only convex risk premium is considered, we show that these games have a specific state-separability property, where players have optimal, but naive, beliefs about the evolution of the state of the game. We argue that the existence of optimal beliefs in this fashion, provides a unique framework to study the implications of the self-confirming equilibrium (SCE) hypothesis in a dynamic game setup. We propose to answer the following question. Are players able to concur on a SCE, where their expectations are self-fulfilling? To evaluate this hypothesis we consider a simple conjecture. If beliefs bound the state-space of the game asymptotically and strategies are Lipschitz continuous, then it is possible to describe SCE solutions and evaluate the qualitative properties of equilibrium. If strategies are not smooth, which is likely in environments where belief-based solutions require players to learn a SCE, then asymptotic dynamics can be evaluated numerically as a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). We discuss this topic for a class of games where players lack the relevant information to pursue their optimal strategies and have to base their decisions on subjective beliefs. We set up one of the games proposed as a multi-objective optimization problem under uncertainty and evaluate its asymptotic solution as a multi-criteria HMM.We show that under a simple linear learning regime there is convergence to a SCE and portray strong emergence phenomena as a result of persistent uncertainty.
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Foord, Peter Michael, and res cand@acu edu au. "Theology Engaging Evolutionary Theory: Fresh insights into the nature of God." Australian Catholic University. School of Theology, 2004. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp45.29082005.
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This thesis explores the work of three theologians, Arthur Peacocke, John Haught and Denis Edwards, each of whom has made a significant contribution to the dialogue between contemporary evolutionary biology and the Christian understanding of God. The thesis explores and analyses how evolutionary theory throws light on key theological themes such as the nature of God's providence, especially in relation to pain, suffering and evil, and the meaning of Jesus Christ. The thesis involves a critical reading of the selected theologians' works, with their respective emphases on classical, process and kenotic types of theological thinking, and also draws on resources from the classical theological tradition, primarily St. Thomas Aquinas. The study gives a positive assessment of the contributions of the three chosen authors. It highlights the critical importance that theological methodology plays in formulating insights into the relationship of God to evolutionary processes. Peacocke emphasises the use of critical realism as the most credible methodology for theology, consistent with its use by science. Haught agrees with this approach stressing, however, that the data of theology is not the same as that for science. Consequently, he argues that theology ought to constitute the deepest layer of explanation for understanding reality and for understanding God as the ultimate explanation for evolution. Edwards argues that we must find a way of talking about God that is consonant with the reality of the world but that this God always remains ultimately Mystery. Peacocke, Haught and Edwards explore the usefulness of kenotic theology for explaining how belief in an omnipotent and supremely loving God can be reconciled with the existence of pain, suffering and evil in the creation. Although a kenotic approach can account for the scientific evidence of a “self-creative” and emergent cosmos along with the presence of suffering and evil, a more comprehensive theological viewpoint must include an understanding of how God is active in creation, sustaining it in existence and drawing it towards its divinely ordained end. Haught's argument for the presence of genuine contingency in the cosmos as evidence of God's on-going creativity is critically examined. Genuinely new possibilities, in evolutionary terms, new species, cannot be explained by material causation alone. In his “metaphysics of the future”, Haught argues that, despite the enormity of pain and suffering evidenced in evolution, God continues to lovingly draw the creation towards a hopeful and promised future in God. This thesis appreciates the value of Edwards’ trinitarian “God of evolution” for it combines a more classical theological approach with evolutionary theory. For Edwards, biological evolution is seen as a process within an ontologically relational creation that reflects the divine relations of the Trinity. The creation of being-in-relation flows out of, and reflects, the divine trinitarian relations of mutual love. Edwards’ insights into the nature of original sin and grace within an evolutionary context are also positively assessed. Both Peacocke and Edwards propose a Wisdom Christology as the most fruitful link between the biblical Sophia tradition and a creation theology, holding together insights on the divine Being, Wisdom and the Christ-event itself. Aspects of process and kenotic theologies can be usefully combined with Aquinas' expansive notion of God as ultimate Being. Through this synthesis, the drama of evolution is more intimately related with the ultimate reality, the Mystery of God. Throughout this thesis, gender-neutral language has been maintained except in some quotations of St. Thomas Aquinas.
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Rutledge, Michael L. "Indiana high school biology teachers and evolutionary theory : acceptance and understanding." Virtual Press, 1996. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1027093.
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The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the status of and relationships among the variables of teacher acceptance of evolutionary theory, teacher understanding of evolutionary theory, and teacher understanding of the nature of science among Indiana public high school biology teachers. The relationships between these variables and the emphasis evolution receives in the classroom and teacher academic variables were investigated. Teacher knowledge structure of the concept of evolution was also explored.To answer the questions and hypotheses delineated in the study, a 68-item questionnaire and concept mapping activity was administered to the population of 989 teachers. The response rate was 53%.The teachers exhibited only a moderate level of acceptance and a marginal level of understanding of evolutionary theory. Teacher understanding of the nature of science was moderately high. Evolution played only a minor role in the curriculum. While the teachers had completed considerable course work in biology, the vast majority lacked specific course work in evolution and the nature of science.The data revealed a significant relationship between teacher acceptance and teacher understanding of evolutionary theory and between teacher acceptance of evolutionary theory and teacher understanding of the nature of science. The data also revealed significant associations between teacher allocation of instructional time to evolution and teacher level of acceptance of evolutionary theory, teacher level of understanding of evolutionary theory, teacher level of understanding of the nature of science, and teacher completion of a course in evolution. Additionally, the data revealed significant associations between teacher level of understanding of evolutionary theory and teacher completion of a course in evolution and teacher academic background in biology. Significant associations were revealed between teacher level of acceptance of evolutionary theory and both teacher completion of a course in evolution and teacher completion of a course in the nature of science.A significant amount of the variance in teacher acceptance of evolutionary theory was explained by the other variables delineated. The concept mapping activity revealed that teacher acceptance and understanding of evolutionary theory was reflected in teacher knowledge structure of evolution and that teachers' knowledge structures were characterized by an unsophisticated organizational framework.Department of Biology
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Collard, Ian Frank. "Human evolutionary ecology in Africa : towards a theory of population differentiation." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.615804.
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Foord, Peter Michael. "Theology engaging evolutionary theory: Fresh insights into the nature of God." Thesis, Australian Catholic University, 2004. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/download/000a820c55899be157450dfd70a18dc1c18e3f74794e63a69b0d3f7f0c3c1b75/1039036/64868_downloaded_stream_93.pdf.
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This thesis explores the work of three theologians, Arthur Peacocke, John Haught and Denis Edwards, each of whom has made a significant contribution to the dialogue between contemporary evolutionary biology and the Christian understanding of God. The thesis explores and analyses how evolutionary theory throws light on key theological themes such as the nature of God's providence, especially in relation to pain, suffering and evil, and the meaning of Jesus Christ. The thesis involves a critical reading of the selected theologians' works, with their respective emphases on classical, process and kenotic types of theological thinking, and also draws on resources from the classical theological tradition, primarily St. Thomas Aquinas. The study gives a positive assessment of the contributions of the three chosen authors. It highlights the critical importance that theological methodology plays in formulating insights into the relationship of God to evolutionary processes. Peacocke emphasises the use of critical realism as the most credible methodology for theology, consistent with its use by science. Haught agrees with this approach stressing, however, that the data of theology is not the same as that for science. Consequently, he argues that theology ought to constitute the deepest layer of explanation for understanding reality and for understanding God as the ultimate explanation for evolution. Edwards argues that we must find a way of talking about God that is consonant with the reality of the world but that this God always remains ultimately Mystery. Peacocke, Haught and Edwards explore the usefulness of kenotic theology for explaining how belief in an omnipotent and supremely loving God can be reconciled with the existence of pain, suffering and evil in the creation.;Although a kenotic approach can account for the scientific evidence of a 'self-creative' and emergent cosmos along with the presence of suffering and evil, a more comprehensive theological viewpoint must include an understanding of how God is active in creation, sustaining it in existence and drawing it towards its divinely ordained end. Haught's argument for the presence of genuine contingency in the cosmos as evidence of God's on-going creativity is critically examined. Genuinely new possibilities, in evolutionary terms, new species, cannot be explained by material causation alone. In his 'metaphysics of the future', Haught argues that, despite the enormity of pain and suffering evidenced in evolution, God continues to lovingly draw the creation towards a hopeful and promised future in God. This thesis appreciates the value of Edwards' trinitarian 'God of evolution' for it combines a more classical theological approach with evolutionary theory. For Edwards, biological evolution is seen as a process within an ontologically relational creation that reflects the divine relations of the Trinity. The creation of being-in-relation flows out of, and reflects, the divine trinitarian relations of mutual love. Edwards' insights into the nature of original sin and grace within an evolutionary context are also positively assessed. Both Peacocke and Edwards propose a Wisdom Christology as the most fruitful link between the biblical Sophia tradition and a creation theology, holding together insights on the divine Being, Wisdom and the Christ-event itself. Aspects of process and kenotic theologies can be usefully combined with Aquinas' expansive notion of God as ultimate Being. Through this synthesis, the drama of evolution is more intimately related with the ultimate reality, the Mystery of God. Throughout this thesis, gender-neutral language has been maintained except in some quotations of St. Thomas Aquinas.
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Rotolo, Thomas. "Occupational ecology: An evolutionary theory of the social composition of occupations." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/187392.
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What accounts for shifts in the social composition of occupational groups? I demonstrate that the previous literature concerning the sociodemographic composition of occupations fails to satisfy a set of five criteria: (1) The Theory criterion (the study must be grounded in theory); (2) The Dynamic criterion (social composition must be examined over time); (3) The Multivariate criterion (multiple sociodemographic variables must be examined); (4) The Measurement criterion (segregation measures should not be used); (5) The System criterion (all types of occupational groups should be considered). This study fulfills these criteria by adapting a general ecological theory of competition from McPherson (1983) to model the social composition of occupations over time. The model assumes that the individual's social network mediates occupational outcomes and that social network ties are homophilous; the probability that any two individuals share a network connection is a function of their similarity. As occupational groups attract new members from existing network ties, these groups develop distinct sociodemographic niches in social space (e.g. in age, education, etc.). If two groups compete for individuals with similar sociodemographic characteristics, then their niches overlap. The competitive mechanism generates three testable dynamic hypotheses about shifts in the social composition of occupational groups. The first dynamic hypothesis posits that occupations move their niches (attract new associates with different sociodemographic characteristics) in response to competitive pressures produced from niche overlap (the movement hypothesis). The second dynamic hypothesis suggests that occupations increase and decrease in diversity in response to competitive pressures at the niche edges (the diversity hypothesis). The third dynamic hypothesis predicts that competitive pressures inside the niche produce growth and decline in occupational size (the growth hypothesis). I test the hypothesis with the Current Population Survey Annual Demographic Files, 1972-1989. I examine changes in movement, dispersion, and size in unidimensional social space (age and education), and multidimensional social space (age-race, age-sex, education-race, education-sex, and age-education for movement and dispersion only). I test the model in two separate time series (1972-1982 and 1983-1989), using two different occupational classification schemes. The data strongly support the movement and growth hypotheses.
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Yang, Jing. "Designing Superior Evolutionary Algorithms via Insights From Black-Box Complexity Theory." Thesis, Université Paris-Saclay (ComUE), 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018SACLX054/document.
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Il a été observé que l'exécution des heuristiques de recherche aléatoire dépend d'un ou de plusieurs paramètres. Un certain nombre de résultats montrent un avantage des paramètres dynamiques, c'est-à-dire que les paramètres de l'algorithme sont modifiés au cours de son exécution. Dans ce travail, nous montrons que la complexité de la boîte noire sans biais de la classe de fonction de référence OneMax est $n ln(n) - cn pm o(n)$ pour une constante $c$ comprise entre $0.2539$ et $0.2665$. L'exécution peut être réalisé avec un algorithme simple de type-(1+1) utilisant une puissance de mutation fitness dépendant. Une fois traduite dans le cas du budget fixe, notre algorithme trouve des solutions plus proches de l'optimum de 13% que celles des meilleurs algorithmes connus.Basé sur la puissance de mutation optimale analysée pour OneMaX, nous montrons qu'un choix auto-ajusté du nombre de bits à retourner atteint le même temps d'exécution (excepté $o(n)$ termes inférieurs) et le même (asymptotique) 13% amélioration de la fitness-distance par rapport au RLS. Le mécanisme d'ajustement doit apprendre de manière adaptative la puissance de mutation actuellement optimale des itérations précédentes. Cela vise à la fois à exploiter le fait que des problèmes généralement différents peuvent nécessiter des puissances de mutation différentes et que, pour un problème fixe, différentes puissances peuvent devenir optimales à différentes étapes du processus d'optimisation.Nous étendons ensuite notre stratégie d'auto-ajustement aux algorithmes évolutifs basés sur la population dans des espaces discrets de recherche. Grosso modo, il consiste à créer la moitié de la descendance avec un taux de mutation qui est deux fois plus élevé que le taux de mutation actuel et l'autre moitié avec la moitié du taux actuel. Le taux de mutation est ensuite mis à jour au taux utilisé dans cette sous-population qui contient la meilleure descendance. Nous analysons comment l'algorithme d'évolution $(1+lambda)$ avec ce taux de mutation auto-ajustable optimise la fonction de test OneMax. Nous montrons que cette version dynamique de $(1+lambda)$~EA trouve l'optimum dans un temps d'optimisation attendu (nombre d'évaluations de la fitness) de $O(nlambda/loglambda+nlog n)$. Le temps est asymptotiquement plus petit que le temps d'optimisation de l'EA classique $(1+lambda)$. Des travaux antérieurs montrent que cette performance est la meilleure possible parmi tous les algorithmes de boîtes noires sans biais unaire basés sur des mutations $lambda$-parallèles.Nous proposons et analysons également une version auto-réglage de l'algorithme évolutionnaire $(1,lambda)$ dans lequel le taux de mutation actuel fait partie de l'individu et donc également sujet à mutation. Une analyse d'exécution rigoureuse sur la fonction de référence OneMax révèle qu'un simple schéma de mutation pour le taux conduit à un temps d'optimisation attendu du meilleur $O(nlambda/loglambda+nlog n)$. Notre résultat montre que l'auto-réglage dans le calcul évolutif peut trouver automatiquement des paramètres optimaux complexes. En même temps, cela prouve qu'un schéma d'auto-ajustement relativement compliqué pour le taux de mutation peut être remplacé par notre schéma endogène simpleIt has been observed that the runtime of randomized search heuristics depend on one or more parameters. A number of results show an advantage of dynamic parameter settings, that is, the parameters of the algorithm are changed during its execution. In this work, we prove that the unary unbiased black-box complexity of the OneMax benchmark function class is $n ln(n) - cn pm o(n)$ for a constant $c$ which is between $0.2539$ and $0.2665$. This runtime can be achieved with a simple (1+1)-type algorithm using a fitness-dependent mutation strength. When translated into the fixed-budget perspective, our algorithm finds solutions which are roughly 13% closer to the optimum than those of the best previously known algorithms.Based on the analyzed optimal mutation strength for OneMax, we show that a self-adjusting choice of the number of bits to be flipped attains the same runtime (apart from $o(n)$ lower-order terms) and the same (asymptotic) 13% fitness-distance improvement over RLS. The adjusting mechanism is to adaptively learn the currently optimal mutation strength from previous iterations. This aims both at exploiting that generally different problems may need different mutation strengths and that for a fixed problem different strengths may become optimal in different stages of the optimization process.We then extend our self-adjusting strategy to population-based evolutionary algorithms in discrete search spaces. Roughly speaking, it consists of creating half the offspring with a mutation rate that is twice the current mutation rate and the other half with half the current rate. The mutation rate is then updated to the rate used in that subpopulation which contains the best offspring. We analyze how the $(1+lambda)$ evolutionary algorithm with this self-adjusting mutation rate optimizes the OneMax test function. We prove that this dynamic version of the $(1+lambda)$~EA finds the optimum in an expected optimization time (number of fitness evaluations) of $O(nlambda/loglambda+nlog n)$. This time is asymptotically smaller than the optimization time of the classic $(1+lambda)$ EA. Previous work shows that this performance is best-possible among all $lambda$-parallel mutation-based unbiased black-box algorithms.We also propose and analyze a self-adaptive version of the $(1,lambda)$ evolutionary algorithm in which the current mutation rate is part of the individual and thus also subject to mutation. A rigorous runtime analysis on the OneMax benchmark function reveals that a simple local mutation scheme for the rate leads to an expected optimization time of the best possible $O(nlambda/loglambda+nlog n)$. Our result shows that self-adaptation in evolutionary computation can find complex optimal parameter settings on the fly. At the same time, it proves that a relatively complicated self-adjusting scheme for the mutation rate can be replaced by our simple endogenous scheme
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Bailes, Rachael Louise. "An evolutionary psycholinguistic approach to the pragmatics of reference." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/22978.
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Pragmatics concerns the material function of language use in the world, and thus touches on profound questions about the relationship between our cognition and the environments in which we operate. Both psycholinguistics and evolutionary linguistics have afforded greater attention to pragmatics in recent years. Though the potential of evolutionary psycholinguistics has been noted for over twenty-five years (e.g. Tooby & Cosmides, 1990; Scott-Phillips, 2010a), there has arguably been little dialogue between these two fields of study. This thesis explicitly acknowledges and investigates the adaptationist nature of functional claims in psycholinguistics, and attempts to demonstrate that psycholinguistic inquiry can provide evidence that is relevant to theories of how the cognitive architecture of linguistic communication evolved. Chapter two reviews a broad polarisation in the pragmatic and psycholinguistic literature concerning the relative roles of linguistic convention and contextual information in comprehension. It makes explicit the theoretical approaches that reliably give rise to these polar positions across scholarly domains. It goes on to map each model of comprehension to the adaptationist particulars it may entail, and in doing so illustrates two different pictures of how linguistic cognition has developed over phylogeny. The Social Adaptation Hypothesis (SAH) holds that linguistic comprehension is performed by relevance-oriented inferential mechanisms that have been selected for by a social environment (i.e. inference-using conspecifics). In particular, the SAH holds that linguistic conventions are attended to in the same way as other ostensive stimuli and contextual information, and because of their relevance to communicative interactions. The Linguistic Adaptation Hypothesis (LAH) holds that linguistic comprehension is performed by specialised cognition that has been selected for by a linguistic environment (i.e. language-using conspecifics) that was established subsequent to, and as a consequence of, the emergence of inferential communication. In particular, the LAH holds that linguistic conventions are a privileged domain of input for the comprehension system. The plausibility and congruence of both accounts with the current state of knowledge about the evolutionary picture necessitates empirical psycholinguistic evidence. The remainder of the thesis presents a series of experiments investigating referential expressions relevant to the contrastive predictions of these two adaptationist accounts. The broad question that covers all of these experiments is: how sensitive is the comprehension process to linguistic input qua linguistic input, relative to various other grades of relevant contextual information? Chapter three presents a reaction time experiment that uses speaker-specific facts about referents as referring expressions, in a conversational precedent paradigm. The experiment measures the relative sensitivity of comprehension processing to the knowledge states of speakers and the consistent use of linguistic labels, and finds greater sensitivity to linguistic labels. Chapter four introduces a further contextual variable into this paradigm, in the form of culturally copresent associations between labels and referents. The experiment presented in this chapter compares the relative sensitivity of processing to culturally copresent common ground, the privileged knowledge state of speakers, and the consistent use of linguistic labels. The results indicated greater sensitivity to linguistic labels overall, and were consistent with the LAH. Chapter five turns to visual context as a constraint on reference, and presents two pairs of experiments. Experiments 3 and 4 investigate the comprehension of referring expressions across congruous, incongruous, and abstract visual contexts. The experiments measured reaction time as subjects were prompted to identify constituent parts of tangram pictures. The results indicated a sensitivity to the visual context and the linguistic labels, and are broadly consistent with the SAH. If comprehension is characterised by particular sensitivities, we may expect speakers to produce utterances that lend themselves well to how hearers process them. Experiments 5 and 6 use a similar tangram paradigm to elicit referring expressions from speakers for component parts of tangrams. The experiments measure the consistency of produced labels for the same referents across visual contexts of varied congruity. The results indicated some methodological limitations of the tangram paradigm for the study of repeated reference across contexts. Lastly, the thesis concludes by considering the SAH and LAH in light of the empirical evidence presented and its accompanying limitations, and argues that the evidence is generally consistent with the assumptions of the LAH.
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Dukkipati, Ambedkar. "ACE-Model: A Conceptual Evolutionary Model For Evolutionary Computation And Artificial Life." Thesis, Indian Institute of Science, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/2005/47.
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Darwinian Evolutionary system - a system satisfying the abstract conditions: reproduction with heritable variation, in a finite world, giving rise to Natural Selection encompasses a complex and subtle system of interrelated theories, whose substantive transplantation to any artificial medium let it be mathematical model or computational model - will be very far from easy. There are two motives in bringing Darwinian evolution into computational frameworks: one to understand the Darwinian evolution, and the other is to view Darwinian evolution - that carries out controlled adaptive-stochastic search in the space of all possible DNA-sequences for emergence and improvement of the living beings on our planet - as an optimization process, which can be simulated in appropriate frameworks to solve some intractable problems. The first motive led to emerging field of study commonly referred to as Artificial Life, and other gave way to emergence of Evolutionary Computation, which is speculated to be the only practical path to the development of ontogenetic machine intelligence. In this thesis we touch upon all the above aspects.
Natural selection is the central concept of Darwinian evolution and hence capturing natural selection in computational frameworks which maintains the spirit of Darwinian evolution in the sense of conventional, terrestrial and biological perspectives is essential. Naive models of evolution define natural selection as a process which brings in differential reproductive capabilities in organisms of a population, and hence, most of the evolutionary simulations in Artificial Life and Evolutionary Computation implement selection by differential reproduction: the Attest members of the population are reproduced preferentially at the expense of the less fit members of the population. Formal models in evolutionary biology often subdivide selection into components called 'episodes of selection' to capture the different complex mechanisms of nature by which Darwinian evolution can occur. In this thesis we introduce the concept of 'episodes of selection' into computational frameworks of Darwinian evolution by means of A Conceptual Evolutionary model (ACE-model). ACE-model is proposed to be simple and yet it captures the essential features of modern evolutionary perspectives in evolutionary computation framework.
ACE-model is rich enough to offer abstract and structural framework for evolutionary computation and can serve as a basic model for evolutionary algorithms. It captures selection in two episodes in two phases of evolutionary cycle and it offers various parameters by which evolutionary algorithms can control selection mechanisms. In this thesis we propose two evolutionary algorithms namely Malthus evolutionary algorithms and Malthus Spencer evolutionary algorithms based on the ACE-model and we discuss the relevance of parameters offered by ACE-model by simulation studies.
As an application of ACE-model to artificial life we study misconceptions involved in defining fitness in evolutionary biology, and we also discuss the importance of introducing fitness landscape in the theories of Darwinian evolution.
Another important and independent contribution of this thesis is: A Mathematical Abstraction of Evolutionary process. Evolutionary process is characterized by Evolutionary Criteria and Evolutionary Mechanism which are formalized by classical mathematical tools. Even though the model is in its premature stage to develop any theory based on it, we develop convergence criteria of evolutionary process based on this model.
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Zacchia, Paolo B. "Evolutionary macroeconomics : Schumpeterian long waves and shorter-term dynamics." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.336506.
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Jayachandran, Jayakanth. "Improving resiliency using graph based evolutionary algorithms." Diss., Rolla, Mo. : Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2010. http://scholarsmine.mst.edu/thesis/pdf/Jayachandran_09007dcc807d6ba6.pdf.
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Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri University of Science and Technology, 2010.Vita. The entire thesis text is included in file. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed July 19, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-62).
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Dewell, Doreen R. "Investigating the usefulness of evolutionary theory for understanding biology and attaining bioliteracy." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/mq37512.pdf.
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Hugie, Don Michael. "Applications of evolutionary game theory to the study of predator-prey interactions." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp02/NQ52711.pdf.
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Berry, Camilla Vidya. "Bulldog, watchdogs and underdogs, is evolutionary theory a paradigm or a kennel?" Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape2/PQDD_0021/MQ48209.pdf.
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Dunn, Malcolm. "Inside the capitalist firm : an evolutionary theory of the principal agent-relation." Universität Potsdam, 2013. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2013/6515/.
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This book deals with the inner life of the capitalist firm. There we find numerous conflicts, the most important of which concerns the individual employment relationship which is understood as a principal-agent problem between the manager, the principal, who issues orders that are to be followed by the employee, the agent. Whereas economic theory traditionally analyses this relationship from a (normative) perspective of the firm in order to support the manager in finding ways to influence the behavior of the employees, such that the latter – ideally – act on behalf of their superior, this book takes a neutral stance. It focusses on explaining individual behavioral patterns and the resulting interactions between the actors in the firm by taking sociological, institutional, and above all, psychological research into consideration. In doing so, insights are gained which challenge many assertions economists take for granted.
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Chen, J.-H. "An automated negotiation mechanism based on co-evolutionary processes and game theory." Thesis, Coventry University, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.427568.
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Breslin, Dermot Andrew. "Can evolutionary theory be used to shed light on mechanisms of change?" Thesis, University of Lincoln, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.517125.
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Elsdon-Baker, Fern. "Historiographical constraints on evolutionary theory : conceptualisations of the inheritance of acquired characteristics." Thesis, University of Brighton, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.439200.
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Izquierdo, Luis R. "Advancing learning and evolutionary game theory with an application to social dilemmas." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.444030.
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Geoffroy, Félix. "Explaining fine-grained properties of human cooperation : Insights from evolutionary game theory." Thesis, Montpellier, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018MONTG071/document.
Full textAbstract:
L'existence, dans de nombreuses espèces, de comportements coopératifs entre individus non-apparentés constitue un paradoxe apparent pour la théorie de l'évolution. L'explication la plus acceptée est que les comportements coopératifs peuvent être « incités » par un mécanisme qui récompense les coopérateurs et punit les tricheurs. On parle alors de « coopération conditionnelle ». La majorité des travaux en théorie des jeux évolutionnaires cherchent seulement à expliquer comment des comportements coopératifs en général peuvent exister à un équilibre évolutionnaire. Dans cette thèse, nous cherchons au contraire à montrer que la théorie des jeux évolutionnaires peut aussi permettre de comprendre certaines des propriétés fines des comportements coopératifs qu'on observe dans le vivant, en particulier dans le cas de l'espèce humaine. Tout d'abord, nous posons la question de l'origine de la coopération conditionnelle. Comment la coopération conditionnelle peut-elle évoluer à partir d'une situation initiale dans laquelle personne ne coopère ? A l'aide de méthodes empruntées à l'apprentissage automatique, nous montrons que la coopération conditionnelle peut évoluer en tant que sous-produit d'une adaptation à des interactions dans lesquelles les intérêts des participants sont alignés. Nous montrons également que ce processus évolutif ne peut aboutir qu'à deux résultats opposés. Soit toutes les opportunités de coopération sont « trouvées » par l'évolution, ce qui correspond à la prévalence des comportements coopératifs chez l'Homme, soit un nombre très réduit d'opportunités de coopération sont « trouvées », ce qui correspond aux comportements coopératifs non humains. Nous proposons également une variante de ce modèle qui permet d'expliquer pourquoi de nombreux mutualismes sont des formes exagérées de cas d'interactions basées sur des intérêts communs. Dans un second temps, nous nous concentrons sur un mécanisme particulier de coopération conditionnelle : le choix du partenaire. Nous utilisons des simulations individu-centrées, et nous montrons que si l'on peut choisir librement ses partenaires dans la coopération, alors le seul niveau d'effort investi dans la coopération qui est évolutivement stable est celui qui maximise l'efficacité sociale de la coopération. Puis, nous développons des modèles analytiques, importés de la théorie économique des appariements. Nous montrons que la seule distribution des bénéfices générés par la coopération qui est évolutivement stable ne dépend pas des rapports de force et est proportionnelle à la contribution de chacun des participants. Ainsi, la théorie du choix du partenaire explique deux propriétés fines des comportements coopératifs chez l'Homme : nos préférences pour les formes de coopération les plus socialement efficaces et notre sens de l'équité. Enfin, nous montrons que la théorie des signaux coûteux, appliquée à la coopération, peut expliquer plusieurs propriétés de la réputation morale, puis nous concluons en discutant de futures directions de rechercheThe existence of cooperation among non-kin in many species constitutes an apparent paradox for evolutionary biologists. The most commonly accepted explanation is that cooperation can be enforced by mechanisms that reward cooperators or punish cheaters. Most of the theoretical works in evolutionary game theory, however, aim only at explaining how some cooperation can exist at an evolutionary equilibrium, thanks to these enforcement mechanisms. Here, we aim at showing, instead, that evolutionary game theory can also explain the fine-grained properties of the cooperation that takes place in the living world, especially in the case of the human species. First, we address the question of the origin of enforced cooperation: How can enforced cooperation evolve from an initially non-cooperative state? Using tools from the field of machine learning, we show that enforced cooperation can evolve as a by-product of adaptation to interactions with shared interests. We also show that this process has only two possible evolutionary outcomes. Either all cooperative opportunities are enforced, which corresponds to the human cooperative syndrome, or only a very few number are, which corresponds to non-human cooperation. We also propose a variation of this model to explain why many mutualisms are exaggerated forms of cooperation with shared interests. In a second approach, we focus on one specific enforcement mechanism called partner choice. Using agent-based simulations, we show that, when individuals can freely choose their cooperative partners, the only level of effort invested into cooperation that is evolutionarily stable is the one that maximizes the social efficiency of cooperation. We then build analytical models of partner choice imported from economic matching theory. We show that the only evolutionarily stable distribution of the benefits of cooperation is both independent of bargaining power and proportional to each participant's relative contribution. Thus, partner choice explains two fine-grained properties of human cooperation, namely our preferences for the most socially efficient forms of cooperation and our concerns for fair distributions. Finally, we show that costly signalling models of cooperation can explain several properties of moral reputation, and we conclude by discussing directions for future research