We study borrowers’ optimal choice between formal and informal sources of credit in a setting with strategic default due to limited enforcement. Informal loans (e.g., from friends or relatives) can be enforced by the threat of severing social ties which hurts both the borrower and the lender, while formal loans (e.g., from banks) are enforced by requiring collateral. We show that in this settin...

This paper presents a brief overview of the Power of Numbers project (the “Project”), an independent research initiative involving 17 scholars and coordinated by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (The New School) and Alicia Ely Yamin (Harvard University). It arose out of a shared concern amongst the 17 participating scholars with the need to more fully understand the consequences of the Millennium Development...

Exploiting the tension between two dynamics of quantum theory (QT) in Wigner's Friend thought experiment, we point out that standard QT leads to inconsistency observed probabilities measurement outcomes superobservers: Wigner and his Student. To avoid such inconsistent predictions QT, hypothesize distinct perspectives. The first one is ``absoluteness (AoM),'' is, any process an absolute event i...

Preparations of pooled Friend virus used in this laboratory were found to contain lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) virus. Interrelationships between these viruses and the effects of drug treatment i~ vivo and virus neutralization in vitro were studied. Both 6-mercaptopurine and streptonigrin administered to Friend virus-infected mice delayed the onset of the 10to 100-fold normal elev,%tion of plasma...

Abstract How do states distribute the burdens of collective defense? This paper develops a network theory burden sharing. We focus on bilateral defense cooperation agreements (DCAs), which promote in variety defense, military, and security issue areas. Using computational model, we show that DCA partners’ spending depends structure their agreements. In terms, DCAs increase by committing to acti...

I am a 41 year old female who has been in a loving monogamous relationship for the past 14 years. Recently, at a party held in my office in my honor, I was holding a lollipop in my hand that I had been sucking on when my male co-worker grabbed the pop and sucked on it. I was distracted and when he placed it back in my hand, I immediately placed it in my mouth before I had realized it was just i...

The authors investigate the origins of homophily in a large university community, using network data in which interactions, attributes, and affiliations are all recorded over time. The analysis indicates that highly similar pairs do show greater than average propensity to form new ties; however, it also finds that tie formation is heavily biased by triadic closure and focal closure, which effec...

While direct social ties have been intensely studied in the context of computer-mediated social networks, indirect ties (e.g., friends of friends) have seen little attention. Yet in real life, we often rely on friends of our friends for recommendations (of good doctors, good schools, or good babysitters), for introduction to a new job opportunity, and for many other occasional needs. In this wo...

The Friend of a Friend (FOAF) ontology is a vocabulary for mapping social networks. In this paper we propose an extension to FOAF in order to allow it to model learners and their social networks. We analyse FOAF alongside different learner modeling standards and specifications, and based on this analysis we introduce a taxonomy of the different features found in those models. We then compare th...