This paper examines how to best be with women during birth, based on a phenomenological description of the birth experience. The first part of the paper establishes birth as an uncanny experience, that is, an experience that is not only entirely unfamiliar, but even unimaginable. The way in which birth happens under unknowable circumstances (in terms of when, how, with whom…) creates a set of a...

We study the effects of competition in a context in which people’s actions can not be contractually fixed. We find that in such an environment the very presence of competition does neither increase efficiency nor does it yield any payoff gains for the short side of the market. We also find that competition has a strong negative impact on social well-being, the disposition towards others, and in...

The concept of an animal welfare (AW) judging contest was presented at the 2001 International Society of Applied Ethology by Heleski, Zanella, and Pajor. The purpose was (and is) to promote concepts of AW science and behavior to undergraduate students using the model of traditional livestock judging. The first AWJAC was held at MSU in 2002 (18 participants, 4 teams, 4 universities). The 2010 co...

I usually prefer to deal with rational people. In the vernacular, being rational means being reasonable — that is, using reason when making decisions, taking actions, and achieving goals. Rational people tend to be more predictable and, therefore, understandable. Understanding a decision makes it easier for me to accept it. When I encounter and interact with agents on the Web, or when my own ag...