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Purpose: We examine the relationships among leader spirituality, organizational innovativeness, transformational leadership style and project success. Integrating principles of behavioral learning and social learning theories, we argue that spiritual leadership style is positively linked to project success, and this relationship is mediated by transformational leadership. Furthermore, the relationship between leader spirituality and transformational leadership is moderated by organizational innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach: Data are collected from 180 individuals working in seven large project-based organizations from the telecom sector in Pakistan. The individuals comprise engineers, functional managers, dedicated project managers and individuals who have led and/or worked in project teams. Data are analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling. Findings: Results suggest that the relationship between spiritual leadership style and project success is positive and is partially mediated by transformational leadership. Furthermore, organizational innovativeness positively moderates the spiritual leadership and transformational leadership relationship. Originality/value: Research calls for examining the relationship between leadership styles and project success. We address this call through examining the role of spiritual leadership style (which is rather ignored in project management literature) for project success. Furthermore, we take a novel evolutionary approach of integrating different leadership styles and indicating determinants as well as contingencies to leadership development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity of agricultural innovations and heterogeneity of circumstances of technology application, outcomes, and social network structures have often led to obstacles in social learning and suboptimal adoption. In this article, we examine technology diffusion by focusing on the roles of peer adoption decision, peer experience, and network structures, using survey data from 500 farm households in Northern Ghana to generate social network contacts. Our results reveal that learning from peer experiences matter more in the diffusion process than just peer adoption decisions alone. We also find that social learning and the likelihood of adoption are higher when peers are central nodes, and particularly when they belong to cohesive subgroups, but lower when they are in highly segregated networks. Our results shed new light on the role of central agents, since highly cohesive neighbourhoods seem to promote diffusion more in high-modularity networks than central nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technologies enable consumers to actively participate in the design and production process for a wide range of products, giving rise to the concept of a 'prosumer.' A significant portion of the value for such products is generated through the prosumption process. A variety of firms are investing in building such capabilities; however, a major, largely unexplored, friction in prosumption is the customers' effort involved to undertake a creative exercise of designing products and extracting value from the process. In this study, we ask whether and how social learning—the act of showing creations made by other customers to focal customers—can ameliorate such friction. Arguably, by showing others' product designs to focal customers, especially if such designs are attractive and of high quality, the firm may entice users to initiate the design process. Showing others' designs is also likely to influence customers' beliefs about their own ability—their self-efficacy—to design a valuable product that they would like to purchase. Certain designs may be perceived as out of the creative reach of focal users and therefore reduce their likelihood of finishing the design and purchasing it. How does this understanding vary across different stages of the purchase funnel? In close collaboration with an e-commerce platform that specializes in customized photo products, we examine the effectiveness of social learning by means of two large scale in-vivo randomized field experiments. We exogenously vary both the availability of others' designs and the characteristics of the images shown to the treated users. Our analysis shows that showing other users' designs as examples can be highly effective in influencing the purchase and design behavior of focal customers, but firms must choose the right customers and carefully select the type of user image design for display. In the upper stages of the purchase funnel, showing high-quality designs to these customers significantly increases the likelihood of project creation. Lower down in the funnel the self-efficacy effect dominates, and users are more likely to finish designs and purchase products when shown designs that are easy to learn. This paper was accepted by D. J. Wu, information systems. Funding: T. Sun appreciates research support from CKGSB Research Institute and Center for Digital Transformation. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.00789. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primate populations are under threat due to human activities, like illegal trafficking, requiring conservation efforts such as reintroduction programs. However, these initiatives often encounter challenges, such as aspects of individual behavior related to movement and foraging. The presence of experienced conspecifics has been suggested to improve the success of these programs. This study focuses on woolly monkeys and examines how the presence of experienced conspecifics influences the performance of reintroduced individuals. Focal animal sampling was used to collect data on proximity, diet composition, home range, and use of vertical strata of three groups of reintroduced woolly monkeys. Data was analyzed for the first 2 and 6 months after release of individuals. The results reveal that the involvement of experienced conspecifics speeds up the process of adaptation, particularly in terms of diet diversity and spatial utilization; however, differences in individual responses were also prevalent. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating individuals with prior wild experience into reintroduction groups for improving the likelihood of success. Additionally, the study underscores the role of social learning in captive management practices, aiding in post-release behavioral adaptation and survival. This research offers valuable insights for primate conservation, emphasizing the significance of considering the presence of experienced individuals and possible social learning processes in the planning and execution of effective reintroduction efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Over the last years, powerful advances in the area of dynamic games have enriched game theory and made it more applicable to the modeling of real-world competitive strategies. The study of strategic behaviors of firms in an oligopoly market has received little attention, even though real firms have been shown to compete in output and in price in a single industry. The purpose of this study is to propose a game-theoretic approach to studying strategic behaviors of firms in an oligopoly market structure. Design/methodology/approach: This approach was developed to study market dynamics and pricing strategic behavior of firms that have the possibility of deciding to be one of the two types (price-maker or price-taker) and reconsider the choice overtime on the basis of their current insights and knowledge and their experience. Firms try to improve their performance in the competitive market in a strategic way, by considering their steady-state profits and choosing the best type given the other firms' types, actions and interactions. Findings: The results of the present study confirm the previous study that the Cournot market is a stable market, where each firm can be a price-maker and enjoy individual learning as well as social learning. On the contrary, the market with price-takers only is never stable, and, therefore, the Walrasian equilibrium may not be supported in some instances. The Cournot market loses its stability as the number of firms in the market increases due to the fact that it will be more profitable for a firm to switch to price-taking when the number of firms is high enough. In such a situation, when the number of price-takers increases, there are no stable markets and price dynamics are destabilized. Originality/value: The study and modeling of real-world competitive strategies would enhance the understanding of oligopoly markets. The study of strategic behaviors of firms in an oligopoly market has received little attention, even though real firms have been shown to compete in output and in price in a single industry as price-takers and price-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Although decades of research have deepened our understanding of the proximate triggers and ultimate drivers of migrations for a range of taxa, how populations establish migrations remains a mystery. However, recent studies have begun to illuminate the interplay between genetically inherited and learned migrations, opening the door to the evaluation of how migration may be learned, established, and maintained. Nevertheless, for migratory species where the role of learning is evident, we lack a comprehensive framework for understanding how populations learn specific routes and refine migratory movements over time (i.e., their origins). This review draws on advances in behavioural and movement ecology to offer a comprehensive framework for how populations could transition from resident to migratory by connecting cognitive research on fine‐scale perceptual cues and movement decisions with literature on learning and cultural transmission, to the emergent pattern of migration. We synthesize the multiple cognitive mechanisms and processes that allow a population to respond to seasonal resource limitation, then encode spatial and environmental information about resource availability in memory and engage in social learning to navigate their landscapes and track resources better. A rise in global reintroduction efforts, along with human‐induced rapid shifts in environmental cues and changing landscapes make evaluating the origins of this threatened behaviour more urgent than ever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, weather-related extreme events have shown the limits of technical approaches to urban water challenges and highlighted the urgent need to rethink the relationship between cities and water and to see water as a partner in shaping transformative, climate-safe and just urban futures. However, existing scientific studies depicting future trajectories of urban water management have struggled to make the intertwined social and ecological dynamics of (transformative) urban adaptation tangible and accessible. This study focuses on the potential of visual communication of scenarios to stimulate both learning among scientists (during the process of creating the scenarios) and social learning (as a next step using the developed "narrative images") to motivate diverse societal actors to engage with the complexity of sustainable urban water management. Art can overcome barriers of scientific and technical concepts and touch peoples' inner motivation for preserving and sustainably transforming our cities in a way that written texts cannot. As sustainability challenges transcend disciplines, this study draws methodically on an interdisciplinary scenario approach. Three adaptation scenarios were developed in a participatory process and professionally visualized as "narrative images" using the city of Hamburg as a case study. The scenarios take place in 2050 depicting a gradient ranging from coping to incremental adaptation to transformative adaptation for managing the water-adaptation nexus: "Water defensive city," "Water resilient city," and "Water aware city." The scenario study shows innovatively how to bring the humanities, natural and engineering sciences into a deliberative dialog, while at the same time promoting collective learning. It can serve as a model for successful future interdisciplinary research and scenario developing exercises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Calgary Audit and Feedback Framework (CAFF) is a pragmatic, evidence-based approach for the design and implementation of in-person social learning interventions using Audit and Group Feedback (AGF). This report describes extension of CAFF into the virtual environment as part of a multifaceted intervention bundle to reduce redundant daily laboratory testing in hospitals. We evaluate the process of extending CAFF in the virtual environment and share resulting evidence of participant engagement with planning for practice change. Methods: We describe an innovative virtually facilitated AGF intervention based on the CAFF. The AGF intervention was part of an intervention bundle which included individual physician laboratory test utilization reports and educational tools to reduce redundant daily laboratory testing in hospitals. We used data from recorded and transcribed virtual AGF sessions, post AGF session surveys and detailed field notes maintained by project team members. We used simple descriptive statistics for quantitative data and analyzed qualitative data according to the elements of CAFF. Results: Eighty-three physicians participated over twelve virtual AGF sessions conducted across four tertiary care hospitals during the study period. We demonstrate that all prerequisite activities for CAFF (relationship building, question choice and data representation) were present in every virtual AGF session. Virtual facilitation was effective in supporting the transition of participants through different steps of CAFF in each session to lead to change talk and planning. All participants contributed to discussion during the AGF sessions. The post AGF session surveys were filled by 66% of participants (55/83), with over 90% of respondents reporting that the session helped them improve practice. 46% of participants (38/83) completed personal commitment to change forms at the end of the sessions. Conclusions: Virtual AGF sessions, developed and implemented with fidelity to the CAFF approach, successfully engaged physicians in a group learning environment that led to change planning. Further studies are needed to determine the generalizability of our findings and to add to the literature on evidence-based virtual facilitation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical sustainability research pays insufficient attention to the need for language justice in action toward sustainable cities. Addressing this gap can increase inclusive action competence in sustainability. Including diverse languages, along with the work that goes into communicating effectively across languages, can counter the disproportionate dominance of English in sustainability. This is an underexamined aspect of the sustainability knowledge-action gap. Language diversity is large and growing in cities and professions pursuing sustainable development. While English is the lingua franca of sustainability science, learners and actors engage in translanguaging or moving across languages to inform their understanding and communication in culturally and personally relevant ways. Recognising the effort that goes into translanguaging and highlighting language-specific entry points to sustainability transition can deepen the meaningfulness of local sustainability efforts. We designed a workshop to engage the translanguaging competencies of interdisciplinary sustainability learners. Results demonstrate that students were able to build shared understanding through different languages and relate the concepts across languages. This was inclusive of cultural values and personally rewarding for participants. The workshop additionally exposed students to sustainability terms in a language foreign to all of them, Finnish. Students were able to relate meanings to a spectrum of sustainability-related actions that were more readily accessible to them than conventional English language action agendas for sustainability. This workshop demonstrates a replicable methodology to increase attention to diverse languages for activating sustainability agendas. The process of translanguaging, moving across languages to communicate and convey meaning, holds unrecognised value for inclusive sustainability action competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional models of social learning by imitation are based on simple contagion--where an individual may imitate a more successful neighbor following a single interaction. But real-world contagion processes are often complex, meaning that multiple exposures may be required before an individual considers changing their type. We introduce a framework that combines the concepts of simple payoff-biased imitation with complex contagion, to describe how social behaviors spread through a population. We formulate this model as a discrete time and state stochastic process in a finite population, and we derive its continuum limit as an ordinary differential equation that generalizes the replicator equation, a widely used dynamical model in evolutionary game theory. When applied to linear frequency-dependent games, social learning with complex contagion produces qualitatively different outcomes than traditional imitation dynamics: it can shift the Prisoner's Dilemma from a unique all-defector equilibrium to either a stable mixture of cooperators and defectors in the population, or a bistable system; it changes the Snowdrift game from a single to a bistable equilibrium; and it can alter the Coordination game from bistability at the boundaries to two internal equilibria. The long-term outcome depends on the balance between the complexity of the contagion process and the strength of selection that biases imitation toward more successful types. Our analysis intercalates the fields of evolutionary game theory with complex contagions, and it provides a synthetic framework to describe more realistic forms of behavioral change in social systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has experienced exponential growth in recent years, profoundly transforming various aspects of life, particularly in education. As a team of educational technology innovators, we have developed a series of generative AI features within our social learning management system, CourseNetworking, to boost student engagement in online discussions and enhance instructor efficiency. This article introduces three key features: automated hashtagging, automated post reflection, and AI-driven quiz question generation. We examine the goals and technical implementation of each feature, present solutions to challenges encountered during development and deployment, and share the best practices we have accumulated. Additionally, we outline our plans for future advancements. This paper seeks to foster understanding and collaboration among developers, educators, institutional leaders, and researchers, with the aim of using AI technology to improve educational products and services, ultimately elevating learning experiences and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural flood management (NFM) is a nature-based solution (NbS) widely recognised as an option to regulate flooding whilst providing multiple ecosystem services (ES) for society and the environment. To address climate change-enhanced flood risk, localised-NFM could be scaled out (expanded geographically to the catchment level). Implementing catchment-scale NFM will not only change landscape appearance but also give rise to potential ES trade-offs between the 'providers' of upstream land for flood regulation and the 'beneficiaries' of reduced flooding downstream. This paper presents a live case study of four river catchments in the UK, where a multi-agency-funded collaborative project is implementing integrated, catchment-scale NFM to work with downstream urban flood defences. Assessment of the views of upstream-downstream catchment communities is limited. Utilising five focus groups (n = 17 participants) we investigate the potential misalignments or synergies between catchment communities that will provision or benefit from NFM that could either derail or support scaling out initiatives. Results reveal that upstream and downstream participants hold strong affinities to contemporary rural landscape aesthetics, expressing sympathies with tasking farmers with delivering flood regulation ES when their traditional vocation is to deliver provisioning ES. Participants also exhibited resistance to landscape change caused by NFM. Nevertheless, acceptability of scaling out NFM increased when aesthetic preferences were considered, especially in provider regions, while beneficiaries prioritised more effective NFM measures over appearance. Inclusive discussion and knowledge exchange (e.g. personal stories, catchment visualisations) in the focus groups facilitated greater appreciation of whole catchment community values and understanding for scaling out NFM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local participation in managing natural resources is key to ensuring that community members living within and relying upon ecosystems can influence planning and decision-making. Transformative and inclusive governance towards sustainable outcomes requires the presence of local actors with appropriate capabilities. This paper identifies means (or stepping stones) to cultivate transformative participatory governance capabilities. We analyse the outcomes of a learning system involving researchers and participants (collectively co-learners) employed within a transdisciplinary landscape restoration project – the Tsitsa Project, in the rural Tsitsa River Catchment in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Developing governance capabilities enhanced the sustainability of the project's localised impact. We conducted a qualitative analysis of the learning outcomes and process documentation, using a value creation framework. We found three stepping stones particularly effective at enabling transformative value creation: i) consistently adapting to novel and evolving constraints, ii) investing in effective, fair facilitation from the beginning, and iii) promoting participatory confidence through exposure to diverse governance spaces. The active, engaged development of participatory capabilities is a foundational step in the process of developing participatory governance practice. The insights can inform the development of transformative participation approaches in natural resource governance, particularly for rural communities. Key policy highlights: This research can empower policymakers, development organisations, and community leaders seeking to design more inclusive and effective natural resource governance practices, particularly for rural communities in developing countries. Here are the key takeaways: Invest in people: Growing the skills and knowledge of community members is a crucial early step for fostering effective participation. This includes formal training and opportunities to learn from each other. Remain flexible: View changing circumstances as opportunities to adapt and improve learning approaches. Focus on confidence: Expose participants to new experiences and responsibilities to help them grow their confidence and feel empowered to contribute. Invest in facilitation: Skilled facilitators can guide discussions, address inequalities, and ensure everyone feels included. Think long term: Building trust and achieving more transformative governance take time. Reliable long-term funding is necessary for successful participatory governance initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing recognition of the importance of local knowledge in conservation governance and sustainable use of natural resources. This article studies three social-ecological systems: Bigi Pan, Noord Coronie, and Noord Saramacca – each designated as a Multiple Use Management Area (MUMA) by the Surinamese government. The main focus of this article is how local knowledge and user perspectives may contribute to the management of a MUMA, including to making decisions about biodiversity and natural resources. We use an action research approach that includes qualitative case study methodology, participant observations, group and individual interviews. The analytical framework is based on the SES model from Ostrom (2009) to understand interactions between subsystems as mediated by local and other forms of knowledge. We also explore how participatory engagement with MUMA resource users includes local knowledge and user perspectives. The findings show how local knowledge can offer tools and solutions to improve conservation governance by supporting the development of realistic management plans and by supporting better understanding of the interactions between social and ecological subsystems. Moreover, action research helps to recognize local knowledge as valuable for science and promotes social learning among stakeholders. This paper concludes that local knowledge has contributed to policy decisions that are connected to the use practices of the people who are of the place and know the context well. The inclusion of local knowledge through participatory drafting of management plans has contributed to overcoming some major management challenges and helped to build a supportive social environment for conservation. Key policy highlights: Local support for MUMAs will only be successful if community engagement is truly institutionalized. Participatory drafting of management plans is helpful in recognizing local knowledge and promoting social learning among stakeholders. Embedding local knowledge in management plans is fundamental to securing sustainable outcomes in MUMAs. Local knowledge includes knowledge about the resource system, individual resource units, and the governance system. Local resource users and local government agencies held various opinions about community engagement. Local knowledge is the result of the interactions between subsystems of SES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulation-based training in computer-generated environments has always played an important role in clinical medical education. Recently, there has been a growing interest in using 360° videos of real-life situations for training in health professions. Several studies report positive results from using 360° Virtual Reality for individuals, yet there are currently no studies on collaborative 360° Virtual Reality training. In this paper, we evaluate how 360° Virtual Reality can support collaborative training in clinical medical education. The study population consisted of 14 medical students in semester 5 of their Bachelor's programme. The students were divided into three groups before watching and annotating a 360° video of an authentic learning situation inside a collaborative immersive virtual reality space. The original video shows a problem-based examination of the collateral and cruciate ligaments of the knee performed by students under the supervision of a professor. After training in collaborative 360° Virtual Reality, students then had to perform the same tests in a physical examination. The students' performance was subsequently evaluated by a professor with expertise in knee examinations. The results show that 12 out of 14 students received a score of 2 for one or more tests, thereby meeting the required learning objective. One student received a score of 1 and one student did not perform any of the tests. The students actively use the tools provided by the software and different communicative strategies when working collaboratively in 360° Virtual Reality, which enables them to perform the tests in the physical examination by transferring their constructed knowledge. The results indicate that our pedagogical design in collaborative immersive 360° Virtual Reality can become a relevant addition to face-to-face clinical medical training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the causes of the incorporation of gender provisions into preferential trade agreements (PTAs), based an analysis of the reasons for the inclusion of both labour and gender provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and in the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA). Drawing upon feminist and constructivist analysis, it argues for the importance of ideational factors such as policy emulation, social learning, the formation of transnational advocacy networks (TANs), as well as the role of Global South actors. Gender provisions often contain neoliberal elements that promote female entrepreneurship rather than more transformational approaches. The comparison of the USMCA and the CCFTA shows that the inclusion of stronger gender provisions in labour chapters (as in the USMCA) may be a more effective way to promote the interests of vulnerable workers than the inclusion of a gender chapter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the removal from and dispossession of lands, Indigenous groups often need access to public land for traditional activities including ceremonies and gathering of culturally important plants. In California, USA, there is an ongoing effort to reconnect tribes with their ancestral lands by initiating tribal co-management on state-owned lands. However, its implementation is not well documented or studied. We explored the limited examples of co-management relationships occurring in California using semi-structured interviews. We found that recent policy evolution has created enabling conditions for successful co-management. However, efforts are complicated by limitations in both state employee and tribal capacities. Our 20 non-tribal participant interviews indicated that navigating the diversity of tribal interests and priorities is a hurdle to developing co-management agreements. Non-transactional gatherings are catalysts for relationship building between agencies and tribes which can facilitate social learning and the development of social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A majority of the world's population is multilingual, yet children's language-based preferences have largely been studied in Western monolingual contexts. The present research investigated language-based preferences in 4- to 8-year-old children living in Hyderabad, India, a multilingual region with languages such as Telugu (official language of the state, and the native language of many children in the state) and English (medium of instruction in some schools). We presented to children novel objects and probed their selective preference to learn from different speakers (Telugu, British-accented English, or Indian-accented English). In addition, the current study assessed the flexibility of children's preferences by manipulating the learning goal (i.e., performance goal vs. enjoyment goal) and learning content (i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [STEM] objects vs. cultural objects). Children showed a preference for both English speakers over Telugu speakers, a tendency that increased with age. This preference was especially pronounced for performance learning goals and for STEM learning content. Furthermore, children whose native language was Telugu showed a less pronounced English bias. The results of this study provide new insights into the development of language-based biases in multilingual environments. First, they highlight dual and intersecting considerations of speaker familiarity and speaker status in guiding children's choices about from whom to learn. Second, the results suggest that children's language-based preferences in a pedagogical setting are flexible, as children integrate social cues (e.g., language-based attitudes) as well as contextual cues (e.g., the learning goal) strategically. Public Significance Statement: In a rich multilingual society like India, we find nuance in children's reasoning about language. Our results demonstrate that children prefer to learn from English speakers, over local language speakers. This preference is modulated by the learning goal, learning content, and the child's native language. These findings suggest dual and intersecting considerations of speaker familiarity and speaker status in guiding children's choices about from whom to learn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study contributes to the conceptualisation of, and methodology for, studying caringscapes/carescapes that concern the relations among humans and between human and non‐human subjects. It analyses how some local villagers along the Lower Kinabatangan River express their 'duty of care' toward the river through their sustained local participation in restorative work by means of such projects as assessing changing water quality in their wetlands. Making sense of their emergent sense of responsibility to foster care for the river entails examining not only how the local sense of place centres upon the river, but also how the river itself affects local communal and personal identity in a two‐way flow. This case study highlights the agency of those experiencing the process of socioecological change involving a social learning process covering two decades via learning networks, community participation in citizen science, trust, and leadership by example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students in higher education experience a range of academic emotions, from enjoyment or boredom in learning, to fear of failure or optimism about high stakes assessments. While there is general consensus regarding the importance of academic emotions, reflected in the increased emphasis on social and emotional learning, and advocacy for the inclusion of learning experiences that foster relevant competences – there remains the need to further understand the role of academic emotions in higher education. This paper explores the role of emotion in a university-based global citizenship education (GCE) intervention. Focus groups were conducted with 36 pre-service teachers across six teacher education programmes that explored participants' understandings and experiences of GCE. Findings suggest marginally more naturally-occurring mentions of negative emotions and affect states compared to positive, with more of these relating to students' responses to epistemic awareness of humanitarian issues, than to pedagogy. Some implications for practice are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing attention and research on the impact of Q-learning-based strategy updating on the evolution of cooperation, the joint role of individual learners and social learners in evolutionary games has seldom been considered. Here, we propose a value-driven social learning model that incorporates a shape parameter, β , to characterize the degree of radicalism or conservatism in social learning. Using the prisoner's dilemma game on a square lattice as a paradigm, our simulation results show that the cooperation level has a non-trivial dependence of β , density ρ , and dilemma strength b. We find that both β and ρ have nonmonotonic effects on cooperation; specifically, moderate levels of radicalism in social learning can facilitate cooperation remarkably, and when slightly conservative, can form a favorable cooperation region with the appropriate ρ. Moreover, we have demonstrated that social learners play a key role in the formation of network reciprocity, whereas individual learners play a dual role of support and exploitation. Our results reveal a critical balance between individual learning and social learning that can maximize cooperation and provide insights into understanding the collective behavior in multi-agent systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals frequently update their beliefs and behaviours based on observation of others' experience. While often adaptive, social learning can contribute to the development of negative health expectations, leading to worsened health outcomes, a phenomenon known as the nocebo effect. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined: whether social learning is sufficient to induce the nocebo effect, how it compares to other forms of induction (classical conditioning and explicit instruction), and factors that influence these effects. The meta-analysis included twenty studies (n = 1388). Social learning showed a medium-large effect size (Hedges' g =.74) relative to no treatment and a to small-medium effect (g =.42) when compared to neutral modelling. The effect of social learning was similar in magnitude to classical conditioning but greater than explicit instruction with a small-medium effect (g =.46). Face-to-face social modelling, longer exposure, higher proportions of female participants and models, and greater observer empathy led to stronger socially-induced nocebo effects. However, further research is essential as only a minority of studies measured important constructs like negative expectancies and state anxiety. Nonetheless, the study highlights social learning as a key pathway for nocebo effects, suggesting it as a target for interventions to reduce the substantial personal and societal burden caused by nocebo effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecovillages are settlements that aim to combine human well-being and environmental sustainability. They serve as sites of social learning for sustainable consumption practices and may inspire lifestyle changes in mainstream society. However, most ecovillages fail in the first few years of establishment. Through an in-depth study of a Norwegian ecovillage's efforts at expansion, this article explores the factors that adversely affected the well-being of ecovillage residents and threatened the community's survival. The study applies mixed methods combining needs-based workshops, a well-being survey, and in-depth interviews. The transformation of the ecovillage into a larger settlement with modern houses was driven by a developer and with minimal involvement of residents. The resulting divergence in visions and values, coupled with structural problems of the homes, led to protracted conflicts, and resulted in the developer's bankruptcy. The study identifies strong social institutions and affordable infrastructures as crucial elements for both well-being and the success of ecovillages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes that action research, not as a predefined set of methods but rather as a mode of research, should be considered a key asset in creating transformative knowledge on just cycling futures. I explain, firstly, why action-oriented, experimental, and participatory research should deploy the concept of prefigurative politics – the performing of not-yet cycling futures here and now – as a theoretical, methodological and practical resource to counter hegemonic, oppressive, essentialist and authoritarian mobility rationalities. Second, I argue why prefigurative action research is most applicable when involving diverse actors across cycling governance networks into a democratic social learning process. These arguments are developed by synthesising literatures from social movement studies and mobility and transport justice, and by providing examples of four social cycling innovations among a population often marginalised from transport policy and planning – children and young people. In conclusion, the paper proposes a model for conducting prefigurative action research on cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Falling public trust in Australia's institutions warrants revisiting how public sector managers approach ethical decision‐making. This study presents the findings of in‐depth interviews with 35 local government managers in Australia and seeks to understand how managerial hierarchy influences the moral reasoning of managers. Through the lens of social learning and moral development theoretical perspectives, the findings indicate that local government managers do engage in different types of moral reasoning when presented with hypothetical ethical dilemmas, and their managerial status plays a pronounced role in shaping the content of that reasoning. We also find support for differences in moral reasoning across gender, which appear more evident at lower levels of management. Through providing an in‐depth analysis of managerial hierarchy and ethical decision‐making, the findings from this study can be used to guide organisational and individual managers' ethics training and development. Points for practitioners: The declining public trust in public administrators warrants regular risk management audits of internal and external environments of public sector organisations to identify potential or existing ethical challenges that require a response.Moral reasoning and ethical decision‐making are context specific and include the ethical climate of the organisation. We find support for the importance of organisational leadership visibly 'walking the talk' when it comes to ethics.While management hierarchy is seen to influence moral reasoning, or the deliberations when arriving at a decision, there is widespread acceptance of the basic tenets of abiding by the law and being truthful. Therefore, organisational ethical policies and codes of conduct should clearly articulate the legal implications, and consequences of any breaches.A one‐size‐fits‐all approach to ethics training is not advised. We find that moral reasoning differs with managerial experience. A case is made to account for training tailored at different managerial levels, along with scenario‐based training and mentoring from higher levels of management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a more‐than‐human world perspective for anthropology and education, I (re)examine a study of juvenile baboon social learning conducted almost 50 years ago. Major scientific disciplinary twists and turns over the decades are examined in order to (re)interpret specific affiliative behaviors, communicative events and public performances. I identify and describe a "Baboon Nursery School" participation structure that provides the context for behavioral practices that reproduce and perpetuate the troop's social hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A faculty of education has changed one postgraduate program from a fully residential offering to a blended model of teaching and learning. The change to a blended model necessitated the exploration of various online options. One such tool is an asynchronous discussion forum to engage students online. This project considered students' experiences of this online asynchronous conversation in comparison to a face-to-face (traditional) in-person class discussion. As a relatively new mode of teaching and learning, students' experiences can help inform and advance the improvement of student online engagement. This project was framed by Vygotsky's social cultural theory. The Integrated Learning Design Framework was used to design a meaningful learning opportunity for students. This framework also served as an opportunity to improve on the development of future learning activities for a blended model of teaching and learning. Data was collected through an online survey before engagement in the online conversation. Thereafter, students completed a questionnaire on their experiences. The findings indicate that although students appreciate the flexibility of the tool, they still prefer in-class conversations. Suggestions to improve the experience of online social learning include the addition of synchronous online activities. It is concluded that both synchronous and asynchronous online engagements are necessary for meaningful learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Indonesia, there is a significant gap between the skills, creativity, innovation abilities, and job awareness of college graduates as well as the demands of the modern workforce. This gap originates from a curriculum and learning design that has not kept pace with the rapidly evolving needs of society. In an era characterized by digitalization and the rapid development of technology, content, infrastructure, human, and environmental resources, it is essential to create an open and pervasive learning environment (PLE). Therefore, this research aimed to describe the design process and determine the feasibility and validity of a PLE model that integrated formal and informal cooperative social learning. Research and Development (R&D) for Education model was adopted in this study following the phases of analysis, design, development, and evaluation (ADDIE). Furthermore, the research procedure included two main stages, namely the development of the PLE model and validation of the product. The product validation process further included 13 experts in material design, 15 experts in learning media, and 95 students from state and private universities across Indonesia. Subsequently, descriptive statistical analysis was used in analyzing the obtained data from the validation process. The results showed that the developed PLE model design has utilized the power of technology, social interaction, and everyday environment, both formally and informally. The developed learning model design was suitable for implementation in educational settings. This learning design model offers a comprehensive, flexible, and inclusive learning ecosystem that is tailored to the needs of the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over the course of the last decade, cybercrime has become a significant global concern. A comprehensive approach to crimes that occur in cyber contexts needs to address not only the technological aspects of cybercrime but also the human elements. Therefore, the aim of the current research is twofold: first, to gain an in-depth understanding of the pathways that lead to criminal hacking behavior through interviews with current or former criminal hackers, and second, to explore how the lived experiences of these individuals fit within theoretical explanations of hacking. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of ten current and former criminal hackers. Participants for this study were recruited through social media and hacker forums. Interviews were conducted from November 2023 to March 2024. Data collected during the interviews were analyzed through a process of thematic analysis. Focusing on the lived experiences of these hackers, a "pathway of hacking" behavior, expanding upon those proposed in research emanating from Europe, was identified. Findings: Notably, the current study found that young males who are curious and creative in childhood, experience destabilizing events, and develop an early interest in technology are well placed to follow the pathway to criminal hacking behavior. Online gaming was identified as a possible gateway to criminal hacking activities. A sense of overcoming a challenge, being elite, and having "control over the machine" encourages youth to continue criminal hacking activities. In addition to the identification of a criminal hacking pathway, an integration of existing cyberpsychological, psychological, criminological, and sociological theories is presented to provide a theoretical explanation for the initiation, continuation, and desistence of criminal hacking behavior. This work represents the first effort to present an integration of theories (e.g., Social Learning, General Theory of Crime, Flow, and the cyberpsychological theoretical construct of the "Online Disinhibition Effect") based on the stages of the criminal hacking pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bluey stands as the current pinnacle in children's television series, lauded and adorned with multiple accolades for its educational and social merits. It stands out for its portrayal of childhood social learning within familial settings, offering a realistic depiction of everyday challenges. In addition, Bluey is based on the everyday life of Australian society, clearly reflecting the country's customs, social values, and natural environments, making it an invaluable resource for enriching the cultural learning of the English language and culture from an Australian point of view, an issue that is rarely addressed in the specialist literature. Thus, this study seeks to identify the cultural and societal facets of Australia depicted in it, with the aim of assessing its pedagogical value in teaching English to non-native learners within the context of primary education. Thirty evaluators analyzed the 52 episodes of the first season of Bluey, endeavoring to identify elements across nine thematic areas. To mitigate variances among evaluators, elements were verified only if agreement was reached by at least three evaluators. In total, evaluators identified 3327 elements representing Australian culture, comprising these categories: (1) Childhood; (2) Devices; (3) Lifestyles; (4) Food; (5) Language; (6) Sports; (7) Animals; (8) Nature; and (9) Places. A total of 1223 elements received verification by the requisite number of evaluators. The resulting catalog of Australia-specific elements per episode serves as a valuable tool in selecting the most instructive episodes for English-language and Australian cultural education for non-natives. This compilation facilitates a nuanced approach to teaching English, rooted in the diverse and culturally rich Australian context, thus breaking away from strictly British and American cultural associations and embracing a broader linguistic and cultural landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies how peers' financial behavior affects individuals' own investment choices. To identify the peer effect, we exploit the composition of the Luxembourg population and use the differences in stock market participation across various immigrant groups to study the effect on stock market participation of natives. We find that stock market participation of immigrant peers has a sizable effect on that of natives and that social learning is one of the channels through which this peer effect occurs. However, social learning alone does not account for the entire effect. Social utility might, therefore, also play an important role in peer effect transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Interviewers’ judgements play a critical role in competency-based assessments for selection such as the multiple-mini-interview (MMI). Much of the published research focuses on the psychometrics of selection and the impact of rater subjectivity. Within the context of selecting for entry into specialty postgraduate training, we used an interpretivist and socio-constructivist approach to explore how and why interviewers make judgments in high stakes selection settings whilst taking part in an MMI. Methods We explored MMI interviewers’ work processes through an institutional observational approach, based on the notion that interviewers’ judgements are socially constructed and mediated by multiple factors. We gathered data through document analysis, and observations of interviewer training, candidate interactions with interviewers, and interviewer meetings. Interviews included informal encounters in a large selection centre. Data analysis balanced description and explicit interpretation of the meanings and functions of the interviewers’ actions and behaviours. Results Three themes were developed from the data showing how interviewers make professional judgements, specifically by; ‘Balancing the interplay of rules and agency,’ ‘Participating in moderation and shared meaning making; and ‘A culture of reflexivity and professional growth.’ Interviewers balanced the following of institutional rules with making judgment choices based on personal expertise and knowledge. They engaged in dialogue, moderation, and shared meaning with fellow interviewers which enabled their consideration of multiple perspectives of the candidate’s performance. Interviewers engaged in self-evaluation and reflection throughout, with professional learning and growth as primary care physicians and supervisors being an emergent outcome. Conclusion This study offers insights into the judgment-making processes of interviewers in high-stakes MMI contexts, highlighting the balance between structured protocols and personal expertise within a socially constructed framework. By linking MMI practices to the broader work-based assessment literature, we contribute to advancing the design and implementation of more valid and fair selection tools for postgraduate training. Additionally, the study underscores the dual benefit of MMIs—not only as a selection tool but also as a platform for interviewers’ professional growth. These insights offer practical implications for refining future MMI practices and improving the fairness of high-stakes selection processes.

Abstract Background The Calgary Audit and Feedback Framework (CAFF) is a pragmatic, evidence-based approach for the design and implementation of in-person social learning interventions using Audit and Group Feedback (AGF). This report describes extension of CAFF into the virtual environment as part of a multifaceted intervention bundle to reduce redundant daily laboratory testing in hospitals. We evaluate the process of extending CAFF in the virtual environment and share resulting evidence of participant engagement with planning for practice change. Methods We describe an innovative virtually facilitated AGF intervention based on the CAFF. The AGF intervention was part of an intervention bundle which included individual physician laboratory test utilization reports and educational tools to reduce redundant daily laboratory testing in hospitals. We used data from recorded and transcribed virtual AGF sessions, post AGF session surveys and detailed field notes maintained by project team members. We used simple descriptive statistics for quantitative data and analyzed qualitative data according to the elements of CAFF. Results Eighty-three physicians participated over twelve virtual AGF sessions conducted across four tertiary care hospitals during the study period. We demonstrate that all prerequisite activities for CAFF (relationship building, question choice and data representation) were present in every virtual AGF session. Virtual facilitation was effective in supporting the transition of participants through different steps of CAFF in each session to lead to change talk and planning. All participants contributed to discussion during the AGF sessions. The post AGF session surveys were filled by 66% of participants (55/83), with over 90% of respondents reporting that the session helped them improve practice. 46% of participants (38/83) completed personal commitment to change forms at the end of the sessions. Conclusions Virtual AGF sessions, developed and implemented with fidelity to the CAFF approach, successfully engaged physicians in a group learning environment that led to change planning. Further studies are needed to determine the generalizability of our findings and to add to the literature on evidence-based virtual facilitation techniques.

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) has experienced exponential growth in recent years, profoundly transforming various aspects of life, particularly in education. As a team of educational technology innovators, we have developed a series of generative AI features within our social learning management system, CourseNetworking, to boost student engagement in online discussions and enhance instructor efficiency. This article introduces three key features: automated hashtagging, automated post reflection, and AI-driven quiz question generation. We examine the goals and technical implementation of each feature, present solutions to challenges encountered during development and deployment, and share the best practices we have accumulated. Additionally, we outline our plans for future advancements. This paper seeks to foster understanding and collaboration among developers, educators, institutional leaders, and researchers, with the aim of using AI technology to improve educational products and services, ultimately elevating learning experiences and outcomes.

Gender role ideology, i.e. beliefs about how genders should behave, is shaped by social learning. Accordingly, if perceptions about the beliefs of others are inaccurate this may impact trajectories of cultural change. Consistent with this premise, recent studies report evidence of a tendency to overestimate peer support for inequitable gender norms, especially among men, and that correcting apparent norm misperception promotes transitions to relatively egalitarian beliefs. However, supporting evidence largely relies on self-report measures vulnerable to social desirability bias. Consequently, observed patterns may reflect researcher measurement error rather than participant misperception. Addressing this shortcoming, we examine mens gender role ideology using both conventional self-reported and a novel wife-reported measure of mens beliefs in an urbanising community in Tanzania. We confirm that participants overestimate peer support for gender inequity. However, the latter measure, which we argue more accurately captures mens true beliefs, implies that this tendency is relatively modest in magnitude and scope. Overestimation was most pronounced among men holding relatively inequitable beliefs, consistent with misperception of peer beliefs reinforcing inequitable norms. Furthermore, older and poorly educated men overestimated peer support for gender inequity the most, suggesting that outdated and limited social information contribute to norm misperception in this context.

Individuals learn about their environment through personal observations or by observing their social conspecifics. This results in two possible learning phenotypes – slow, accurate individual learners and fast, inaccurate social learners. While the costs and benefits of these different learning strategies are recognized, the neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie such cognitive variation remain less understood. We addressed this issue by measuring individual honey bees (Apis mellifera) for their performance on an individual and a social learning task followed by quantifying the concentrations of various neurotransmitters in their brains. Our results show that during individual learning, learning speed was associated with a positive interaction between octopamine and glutamate while learning accuracy was associated with a positive interaction between octopamine and serotonin. These patterns were exactly the opposite during social learning, where learning speed was associated with a positive interaction between octopamine and serotonin and learning accuracy was associated with a positive interaction between octopamine and serotonin. We discuss the mechanistic relevance of these patterns and the idea that mechanisms underlying social learning may be distinct from those involved in individual learning and how these differences may underlie different cognitive phenotypes that form the basis of slow-fast phenotypic differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Most studies in the field of addiction have focused on indicators affecting addiction, and a few studies have focused on the effect of social factors on drug relapse. Therefore, due to the multidimensional nature of the tendency to drug use, the study of drug reorientation through biological, social, cultural, and psychological factors is a basic necessity. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the social factors affecting the reduction of drug addicts' relapse. Methods: The research method was descriptive and correlational. The statistical population of this study consisted of all young people in the age range of 15 to 30 years old in Izeh city in 2024, which according to the report of the Drug Control Organization of Izeh city, is 3200 people. The sample consisted of 345 young drug users who were referred to addiction treatment camps in Izeh City and were selected by convenience sampling. To collect the research data, the researcher-made social learning, social support, and social participation questionnaires and the craving of Salehi Fadardi et al. (2010) were collected. To analyze the research data, SPSS.26 software was used using Pearson correlation coefficient and multivariate regression using simultaneous method. Results: The results of the Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there is a negative and significant relationship between social learning, social support, and social participation with craving (P< 0.05). The results of multivariate regression showed that social support (35%), social participation (62%), and social learning (13%) explained the variance of drug relapse temptation in young people, respectively. Conclusion: The results show that people who are more likely to reuse drugs have lower levels of support, participation, and social learning. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to these variables and develop educational programs based on these variables to reduce drug reuse in users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social learning is a collective approach to decentralised decision-making and is comprised of two processes; evidence updating and belief fusion. In this paper we propose a social learning model in which agents' beliefs are represented by a set of possible states, and where the evidence collected can vary in its level of imprecision. We investigate this model using multi-agent and multi-robot simulations and demonstrate that it is robust to imprecise evidence. Our results also show that certain kinds of imprecise evidence can enhance the efficacy of the learning process in the presence of sensor errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are employees more likely to identify with their organization and engage in helping behaviors on its behalf if the coworkers who make up their social networks identify and help the organization? We draw on social information processing theory, social learning theory, and research on diffusion of innovation to develop a model that predicts how relational (advice ties) and structural (structural equivalence) factors predict organizational identification and organizational citizenship. We argue that OI is neither a matter of individual perceptions generated in isolation, nor a simple function of the number of ties that an employee has, but that it is instead an outcome of relations and interactions with coworkers, as reflected in the social structure of the employing organization. We tested our model by conducting a social network study of employees in a construction company. Our findings show that (1) employees tend to have similar levels of OI to the OI of their advice ties; (2) employees who are structurally equivalent tend to demonstrate similar levels of OCB; (3) similarity in OI mediates the relationship between advice ties and similarity in OCB; and (4) advice ties with high and moderate levels of OI are most strongly associated with similarity in OCB. In a supplementary analysis we show that the social influence model that we tested offers a better explanation for the role that the social context plays in shaping OI than does a "more ties, more OI" model. We discuss implications for theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in HR has devoted little attention to the practice of scheduling shift workers into times and places to conduct their work. Relying upon the growing literature related to relational HR, we propose a relational view of scheduling that focuses on how employees' social contexts—particularly their being co‐scheduled with higher performers—relate to changes in performance over time. We apply resource dependence and social learning theories to describe how employees' performance over time depends upon their working alongside higher performers. Higher performers consume limited resources (thereby constraining peers' performance in the short term), yet also provide instructive role models for learning new skills (thereby elevating peers' performance over the longer term). We further hypothesize these effects are stronger for employees who are newer to the firm in contrast to those with more experience. We analyze scheduling and performance data from 7,893 retail sales representatives over a 1‐year period. Results show co‐scheduling with higher performers has an immediate negative effect on employee performance, but is positively related to employee performance over time. Unexpectedly, co‐scheduling effects were present for all employees and not only for those new to the organization. Our study points to the need for HR research on employee scheduling to better understand how shift workers' schedules provide the relational context for their work. The research offers several theoretical contributions in understanding the peer effects of higher performers, and we offer practical implications for managers seeking to design employees' schedules to encourage organizationally advantageous relationships between coworkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Sustainable and climate-adapted urban development requires integrative governance approaches and forms of collaboration between different disciplinary actors in urban society. Integrative approaches are a particular challenge for those planning cultures in which they are not yet sufficiently established. This also applies to formal urban land-use planning in Germany, which forms the governance setting of this study. This study aims to examine how interdisciplinary participation in formal urban land-use planning contributes to the consideration of climate adaptation in the planning process. Design/methodology/approach – This paper traces the process of two differently designed interdisciplinary participation formats based on the methodological framework of a gaming simulation, each in the context of a formal urban land-use planning procedure in Bottrop, Germany. The gaming simulations are designed as performance simulations in which we involved several representatives from different public authorities. Findings – The gaming simulations show that interdisciplinary participation can lead to an increased awareness of climate adaptation requirements in particular and a mutual understanding of different logics of action in the context of comprehensive and sustainable urban planning in general. In addition, this paper provides recommendations as to how and under what conditions the benefits of the simulations can be transferred to municipal practice. Originality/value – While integrative and interdisciplinary formats are increasingly being used in the context of informal urban planning, this does not apply to formal urban land-use planning. Participation in formal urban land-use planning procedures is classically linear and multidisciplinary in Germany. Using two simulated interdisciplinary participation formats, this paper tested to what extent the consideration of climate adaptation requirements as a cross-sectoral task can benefit from interdisciplinarity in the context of two formal urban land-use planning procedures.

Abstract The study aims to investigate the effect of organizational learning on business resilience in developing the hospitality industry, specifically focusing on four-star hotels in the southeast region of Nigeria. One of the major reasons why this research was conducted is because of the vacuum that exists between organizational learning and business resilience in the hospitality industry. A cross-sectional survey design was employed because it supports using questionnaires to collect data from participants. A validated and reliable instrument was used to collect data from two hundred thirty one participants drawn from the selected hospitality industry in the southern part of Nigeria. The results demonstrate that organizational learning significantly positively affects business resilience. Organizational learning also affects crisis anticipation and recoverability which are crucial to be resilient in the industry. The results of this research supported prior empirical findings and supported both social learning theory and resilience theory. Regarding originality, the geographical scope and the industry where this research was conducted distinguish it from other prior empirical investigations. It was recommended that since the hospitality business is highly competitive, managers should utilize organizational learning as a strategy to overcome their competitors and remain sustainable in the industry. The findings of the research will contribute to the literature and hospitality industry in developing country contexts.

Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are more solitary than many other pinnipeds. Yet, they are capable of vocal learning, a form of social learning. Most extant literature examines social animals when investigating social learning, despite sociality not being a prerequisite. Here, we report two formerly silent harbor seals who initiated vocalizations, after having repeatedly observed a conspecific receiving food rewards for vocalizing. Our observations suggest both social and vocal learning in a group of captive harbor seals, a species that lives semi-solitarily in the wild. We propose that, in this case, social learning acted as a shortcut to acquiring food rewards compared to the comparatively costly asocial learning.

Abstract Background While complex dog–human coexistence has been deeply investigated, there is a relative scarcity of similar knowledge regarding dog–dog interactions. Social learning, a fundamental synchronizing mechanism between dogs and humans, was recently found to be influenced by the functional breed selection of dogs: with the cooperative breeds being more effective learners from a human demonstrator than the independent working breeds were. Here, we investigated whether these differences would also be present when dogs had to learn from another dog and how to effectively perform a detour around a transparent V-shaped obstacle. We tested dogs from 28 independent and 19 cooperative breeds in three consecutive trials. In the control groups, all dogs had to detour on their own the obstacle. In the dog demonstration groups, in trial 1, the subjects had to detour on their own, but before the next two trials, a trained dog showed them the solution. Results We found that the performance of the two breed groups was the same in the without demonstration groups. However, after observing the dog demonstrator, the independent dogs learned the task more successfully than the cooperative breeds did. In the case of the independent working breeds, detour latencies significantly dropped along the consecutive trials, and these dogs also showed higher rate of successful detours after observing the demonstrator dog’s action than in the control group. Conclusions This is the first study where the consequences of functional breed selection were confirmed in a scenario that involved conspecific social learning in dogs. The results fit well to the ecologically valid framework of the evolutionary past of dog breed formation, in which cooperative breeds were selected for their interactivity with humans, whereas independent breeds often had to work together with their conspecifics. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Domestic dogs have been shown to copy their caregiver’s actions, including ones which are causally-irrelevant to a physical goal—a behaviour called “overimitation”. In a new overimitation task with a non-food reward, this study investigated “causal misunderstanding”—falsely assuming causally-irrelevant actions to have functional relevancy—as an explanation for dog overimitation (N = 81). By providing dogs with prior experience of the task to learn about the consequences of its irrelevant box-stepping and relevant bucket-opening action to obtain a toy-ball, we tested whether and when dogs would copy their caregiver’s irrelevant-action demonstrations. Dogs with and without prior experience were compared to a third (control) group of dogs, who had neither prior experience nor caregiver demonstrations of the task. Results revealed that the timing of overimitation, rather than its frequency, was closely related to dogs' prior experience: dogs with prior experience attended to their reward first, then interacted with the irrelevant box later (“post-goal overimitation”), while dogs without prior experience first interacted with the irrelevant box (“pre-goal overimitation”). Our results suggest that, when action consequences are understood, dogs are overimitating for a secondary social goal that is clearly distinct from the task goal of obtaining a physical reward.

Individual dietary specialization, where individuals occupy a subset of a population's wider dietary niche, is a key factor determining a species resilience against environmental change. However, the ontogeny of individual specialization, as well as associated underlying social learning, genetic, and environmental drivers, remain poorly understood. Using a multigenerational dataset of female European brown bears (Ursus arctos) followed since birth, we discerned the relative contributions of environmental similarity, genetic heritability, maternal effects, and offspring social learning from the mother to individual specialization. Individual specialization accounted for 43% of phenotypic variation and spanned half a trophic position, with individual diets ranging from omnivorous to carnivorous. The main determinants of dietary specialization were social learning during rearing (13%), environmental similarity (5%), maternal effects (11%), and permanent between-individual effects (9%), whereas the contribution of genetic heritability (3%) was negligible. The trophic position of offspring closely resembled the trophic position of their mothers during the first 3–4 years of independence, but waned with increasing time since separation. Our study shows that social learning and maternal effects were more important for individual dietary specialization than environmental composition. We propose a tighter integration of social effects into studies of range expansion and habitat selection under global change. Individual dietary specialization is impacted by development, social learning, genetics, and environment. Here, the authors document European brown bear diet in a multigenerational female sample, finding that social learning during rearing was the most important contributor to dietary specialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]