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- Author or Editor: Károly Takács x
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Conflicts between groups are among the central research problems in the social sciences. Several theoretical models have been proposed previously to understand and explain their causes, emergence, and dynamics. None of these models, however, captured the unintended nature of these conflicts as a result of individual actions and the structural embeddedness of actions at the same time. This study proposes such a framework as it integrates two-level models of intergroup relation known as team games and models of dyadic social control mechanisms. The proposed model demonstrates why and under what structural conditions can intergroup conflicts be considered as social dilemmas. Model predictions can be derived about the relation between certain properties of the social network and likelihood of intergroup conflict. In particular, the model provides an explanation why intergroup conflicts are often promoted by segregation and also describes some conditions under which the segregation effect becomes weaker.
Dense in-group and scarce out-group relations (network segregation) often support the emergence of conflicts between groups. A key underlying mechanism is social control that helps to overcome the collective action problem within groups, but contributes to harmful conflicts among them in segregated settings. In this study, a new experimental design is introduced to test whether internalized social control affects contribution decisions in intergroup-related collective action. Subjects played single-shot Intergroup Public Good games in two groups of five each without communication. Subjects were connected via computers and connection patterns were manipulated to detect forms of social control that are activated conditional on expectations and on the composition of the artificially created ego-network. Results confirm the influence of behavioral confirmation and the conditional impact of internalized traitor and selective incentives. As an aggregated consequence of these social control effects, harmful intergroup outcomes were least likely when members of the groups were arranged in a mixed network. JEL classification: C91; C92; D74; H41; Z13
Previous research describes social structure in which employees are embedded as one of the important determinants of intra-organizational career expectations. There are two contradictory arguments in the literature, however. First, social closure of informal relations is supposed to strengthen the intentions of staying. Second, the efficiency and effectivity of the individual social network is assumed to enhance in-house career expectations. This empirical study analyzed data from 44 R&D teams in the Netherlands. Multilevel analysis was used to separate individual and team influences. Results show that the prospects to stay in the R&D team are determined positively by social closure, whereas the expectation to stay in the organization is determined positively by the efficiency and effectivity of individual social networks. The conclusions highlight that different forms of social capital might be important for different types of career perspectives.
A simple thin-layer chromatography (TLC) method for continuous determination of metabolism of carbohydrate and production of polysaccharides in the course of bacterial fermentations is presented in this paper. Samples were taken from the supernatants of decanted fermentation broth and from the hydrolysates of both the supernatants and the fermentation broth. Hydrolysis of the exo-polysaccharides (EPSs) to the constituent monosaccharides was carried out by 10% v/v hydrochloric acid at 100°C. These samples were applied directly onto a precoated nano silica plate besides a series of mono-, oligo-, and polysaccharide reference solutions.The plates were developed in a twin-trough chamber previously saturated with a solution of chloroform-toluene-35% formic acid-methanol (10:2:2:7 v/v) for 1 h. The plates were placed in the empty trough of the chamber in order to be saturated and then transferred to the trough containing the solvent. After reaching a migration distance of 160 mm, the plates were dried out and placed in a chamber saturated with I2 vapor in order to detect starch-type polysaccharides.After drying, the plates were dipped into a dish containing a solution of 10% v/v concentrated sulfuric acid in n-propanol-toluene (1:1 v/v). The excess reagent was eliminated with filter papers. Visualization was achieved in an electric oven at 115°C for 10 min. Evaluation was accomplished by comparison of the R F values, and the intensities of the spots were evaluated instrumentally using a CAMAG TLC Scanner II. The presented method is suitable for monitoring the bacterial EPS production and determining the monosaccharide constituents.
