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The Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) is a native Australian honeyeater that reduces avian biodiversity at sites it occupies through aggressive defence. Culling to remove miners has had limited success in some areas due to rapid recolonisation. This experiment trialled 'doughnut culls' as a new approach to reduce Noisy Miner aggression within a central area of colonies, by removing up to half the miners present within a 50 m radius of an identified central location in 29 different colonies on the New England Tablelands of NSW. Aggression from miners onsite within this central area was quantified before and after culling by presenting 3D printed models of three different bird species with accompanying vocal playback to resident miners at the centre of culled areas. These presentations identified a significant decline in Noisy Miner aggression onsite after doughnut culls, with this reduced rate of aggression (e.g. over 50% reduction in the maximum number of miners within a 20 m radius of models) remaining until the conclusion of the experiment at 28 days post culling, a timeframe commensurate with the duration of many passerine nesting attempts. Social hierarchy changes among remaining Noisy Miners may be the primary cause of this reduced aggression, with sufficient miners remaining onsite to prevent colony collapse and thus any recolonisation. While additional trials during peak Noisy Miner dispersal periods are warranted, this method provides an effective tool for land managers to reduce localised Noisy Miner aggression over the short to medium term when high conservation areas are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across two experimental studies, we explored whether exposure to intergroup conspiracy theories can increase violent reactions towards targeted groups. We also examined how ideological attitudes may moderate the effect. In Study 1 (N = 160, preregistered), we found that exposure to immigrant conspiracy theories (vs. control) increased the willingness to use violence for those who reported higher social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). Study 2 (N = 211, preregistered) sought to extend these results by focusing on a specific target: Muslim immigrants. Exposure to Muslim immigrant conspiracy theories (vs. control) increased motivation and willingness to use violence for those with higher SDO (but not RWA). These findings showcase how exposure to intergroup conspiracy theories and violent reactions are conditional on specific ideological attitudes. Thus, when considering interventions, we argue that it is crucial to consider the role of ideological worldviews when seeking to combat conspiracy-inspired violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the role of school education in diluting/reproducing social hierarchy in India. We argue the 'quality' of education and socialization provided by different school types is likely to affect the future position of the student in the social hierarchy. Using disaggregated data on school education and household occupation for 2007–2008 and 2017–2018, we rank schools based on their 'quality', and rank households, to which students belong, in terms of their primary occupation. We find a significant association between them has persisted over the period of analysis. Using a multinomial logistic model, we find even after controlling for income differences, students from higher-ranked households are more likely to attend better-'quality' schools, while those from lower-ranked households are segregated to low-'quality' schools. Persistence of such an association is likely to shape differential opportunities for social mobility for students, and, in the process, reproduce conditions of inequality and social hierarchy within the occupational structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relevance of social roles and hierarchies for the attribution of blame and causation in five culturally different countries, namely China, Germany, Poland, the United Arabic Emirates, and the United States of America. We demonstrate that in all these countries, hierarchical differences between the social roles occupied by two agents and associated differences in duties to care for others affect how these two agents are morally and causally judged when they make a decision together. Agents higher in a hierarchy are attributed more blame and considered more causally responsible for an action's consequences. We also demonstrate that the degree of this effect depends on culture-specific differences in how hierarchies are conceived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a distinction between two concepts of equality has been much discussed: "distributive" equality involves people having equal amounts of a good such as welfare or resources, and "social" or "relational" equality involves the absence of (certain kinds of) social hierarchy and the presence of (certain kinds of) equal social relations. This contrast is commonly thought to have important implications for our understanding of the relationship between equality and justice. But the nature and significance of the distinction is far from clear. I examine several accounts of this issue and argue none are entirely satisfactory. In turn, I offer an alternative proposal. Relational equality, on my account, involves a concern with each person having an equal "civic status." I characterize this concern and show it has distinctive and normatively significant positional and temporal aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractLGBTQ+ events can challenge social hierarchies as part of the social movement for equality, with event attendance assumed to reflect solidarity with this cause. Applying Social Dominance Theory, this study evaluates intra-group differences based on LGBTQ+ people’s social dominance orientation (SDO) and their degree of outness. Using a sequential mixed methods design in Australia, Study One (n = 420) uncovers three clusters: Hierarchy Supporters, Hierarchy Reformers, and Hierarchy Disruptors, in decreasing order of their SDO. These clusters differ not only on their event motivation and participation behaviours but also on their gender identities and sexual orientation. In Study Two (n = 12), we found event characteristics that were either hierarchy attenuating or enhancing. Taken together, the findings demonstrate that LGBTQ+ people differ in their SDO with event characteristics attenuating or enhancing social hierarchies. As such, LGBTQ+ events through their design elements can diminish social hierarchies to make LGBTQ+ events more inclusive for all queer people. Such events can also have a transformative potential for Hierarchy Supporters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social hierarchies are a common form of social organization across species. Although hierarchies are largely stable across time, animals may socially ascend or descend within hierarchies depending on environmental and social challenges. Here, we develop a novel paradigm to study social ascent and descent within male CD-1 mouse social hierarchies. We show that mice of all social ranks rapidly establish new stable social hierarchies when placed in novel social groups with animals of equivalent social status. Seventy minutes following social hierarchy formation, males that were socially dominant prior to being placed into new social hierarchies exhibit higher increases in plasma corticosterone and vastly greater transcriptional changes in the medial amygdala (MeA), which is central to the regulation of social behavior, compared to males who were socially subordinate prior to being placed into a new hierarchy. Specifically, the loss of social status in a new hierarchy (social descent) is associated with reductions in MeA expression of myelination and oligodendrocyte differentiation genes. Maintaining high social status is associated with high expression of genes related to cholinergic signaling in the MeA. Conversely, gaining social status in a new hierarchy (social ascent) is related to relatively few unique rapid changes in the MeA. We also identify novel genes associated with social transition that show common changes in expression when animals undergo either social descent or social ascent compared to maintaining their status. Two genes, Myosin binding protein C1 (Mybpc1) and μ-Crystallin (Crym), associated with vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and thyroid hormone pathways respectively, are highly upregulated in socially transitioning individuals. Further, increases in genes associated with synaptic plasticity, excitatory glutamatergic signaling and learning and memory pathways were observed in transitioning animals suggesting that these processes may support rapid social status changes. Author summary: We investigate how male CD-1 mice behaviorally, physiologically, and molecularly respond to changes in their social hierarchies. We found that mice rapidly reform social hierarchies when placed into novel social groups. Formerly dominant mice experience the greatest increase in stress hormone levels and the largest shifts in gene expression in the medial amygdala, a brain region crucial for regulating social behavior. Specifically, we observed reduced expression of genes related to myelin production and maintenance as well as cholinergic functioning in formerly dominant males who socially descended. In contrast, formerly subordinate males who socially ascended displayed fewer genomic changes. Moreover, we identified a set of genes that change expression when animals transition their social status regardless of whether they rise or fall in rank. These social transition genes provide new insights into the biological mechanisms underpinning social plasticity. Our findings demonstrate the distinct molecular mechanisms that are shared between socially ascending versus descending mice, as well as those that are unique to each type of social transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This article presents an unpublished Sabaic inscription from the ʾAwām sanctuary of ʾAlmaqah, near Maʾrib. The inscription sheds new light on the mid‐third century ad adventures of a mqtwy (‘officer’) of the Sabaean kings already known from epigraphic evidence: Whbʾwm Yʾḏf. It attests to him waging previously unknown campaigns in ‘the land of the Abyssinians’ (ʾrḍ Ḥbs2t) alongside his own mqtwy, who subsequently dedicated the inscription, with a bronze statue, in thanksgiving to the deity. This is the only military, rather than diplomatic, Sabaean mission abroad to the land (ʾrḍ) of the Abyssinians so far attested. Wider evidence invites us to reconstruct Whbʾwm's extraordinary career and identify an overlooked religious dimension to the mqtwy's function. The inscription shows that divine thanksgiving from mqtwy for monarch took identical form lower down the social hierarchy, adumbrating not only the reciprocity and ritual that underpinned Sabaean elite society, but also the impact of Abyssinian hostilities at a pivotal moment in the twilight of Sabaean history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The actors are placed at nodes of the complete weighted graph. They are endowed with densities of contact with the other actors and with positions in a social hierarchy. These characteristics evolve in time according to the homophily principle and the Matthew effect. The result is that an actor with minimal status is excluded, and all other actors get the same high position. As for examples, the results allow us to make reference to racial criteria of promotion in the London Metropolitan Police, and to the scapegoating phenomenon, described in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking has historically been exploited for political purposes and to reify social hierarchies. Popular media and conspiracies such as QAnon have reinforced many of these myths about human trafficking. As reproductive rights have continued to be contested in the U.S. with the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the term 'abortion trafficking' has been introduced to leverage fears related to trafficking and unify opposition to abortion access. This article considers how 'abortion trafficking' reflects a tradition of laminating human trafficking onto polarizing discourse frames. Utilizing Goffman's conception of lamination in his work on frame analysis, identification of how 'abortion trafficking' has been manifested in popular discourse is identified. Implications of the effects of such laminations on theory and popular sentiment are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides school leaders with insights into within and beyond-school influences on school collaborative culture. The study examines how social demographics, and school culture prevalent in different school bandings, influence school capacities (principalleadership; shared and supportive leadership; shared values and vision; and collaborative learning). A structural equation model is constructed from 10 Hong Kong schools' survey data to trace the path influences of the study variables. The results show that hierarchical cultures tend to prevail in lower banding schools, affecting school collaborative culture negatively. In contrast, rule-seeking cultures have a positive influence on individuals with humbler childhood family upbringing. Likewise at the individual level, unlike most risk-takers found to negatively influence school collaborative culture, English childhood home language speakers' risk-taking values do not have a significant influence on such school capacities. Nevertheless, rule-seeking and risk-taking teachers are as likely to be recruited in schools regardless of school banding. The results have global significance on how broader social hierarchy embeds in leadership relations differentiated by school banding, with an impact on school collaborative culture. School leaders may consider leveraging leadership relations and professional development to promote school cultures that enhance collaboration at different levels of the organizational hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In social media, crisis information susceptible of generating different emotions could be spread at exponential pace via multilevel super-spreaders. This study aims to interpret the multi-level emotion propagation in natural disaster events by analyzing information diffusion capacity and emotional guiding ability of super-spreaders in different levels of hierarchy. Design/methodology/approach: We collected 47,042 original microblogs and 120,697 forwarding data on Weibo about the "7.20 Henan Rainstorm" event for empirical analysis. Emotion analysis and emotion network analysis were used to screen emotional information and identify super-spreaders. The number of followers is considered as the basis for classifying super-spreaders into five levels. Findings: Official media and ordinary users can become the super-spreaders with different advantages, creating a new emotion propagation environment. The number of followers becomes a valid basis for classifying the hierarchy levels of super-spreaders. The higher the level of users, the easier they are to become super-spreaders. And there is a strong correlation between the hierarchy level of super-spreaders and their role in emotion propagation. Originality/value: This study has important significance for understanding the mode of social emotion propagation and making decisions in maintaining social harmony. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-03-2024-0192. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's social preferences are influenced by the relative status of other individuals, but also by their social identity and the degree to which those individuals are like them. Previous studies have investigated these aspects separately and showed that in some circumstances children prefer high‐status individuals and own‐gender individuals. Gender is a particularly interesting case to study because it is a strong dimension of social identity, but also one of the most prevalent forms of social hierarchy, with males conceptualised as superior to females, by adults and children alike. Here we directly asked how children's social preferences are influenced by status (winner or loser of a zero‐sum conflict) and winner gender (female or male) in different scenarios (same or mixed‐gender). In Experiment 1, children saw same‐gender conflicts between two females or two males and they displayed an overall preference for winners. In Experiment 2, participants watched two mixed‐gender conflicts, one where the female prevailed and one where the male prevailed. In this case, children chose the winner, but only when they had the same gender as themselves. Experiment 3 confirmed that children preferred own‐gender individuals in the absence of conflict or status. Overall, children are sensitive to the relative status of other individuals and use this information to make social decisions. However, preschoolers do not prefer just any individual who wins access to a resource. They preferred dominant individuals, but only when they were of their own gender. This suggests that children's dominance evaluations are modulated by children's social identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karaoke has long been understood as an imitative musical practice, popular among the working class in western society. While scholars have noticed the communicative significance of karaoke in generating interpretive creativity and social interaction, they also point out the tendency of offline karaoke practices to strengthen cultural rules and social hierarchies. For this reason, this paper examines vibrant Chinese streaming karaoke practices and explores how Chinese streaming karaoke, as the originator of cultural and social enclave, offers hope for resistance against cultural censorship and social restriction. Through the lens of the theoretical concepts of tactics, affect and human flourishing, the analysis reveals that the karaoke enclave generates an affective field for vernacular creativities that foster personal wellbeing and social publicness in everyday life, through four playful tactics: to 'water' the vibrancy of life, to build 'asylum' so as to seek more intensified experiential connections and connect with total strangers, to 'morph' into unknown spontaneity and set up non-monetary values, and to perform 'freak show' to voice political affect and resonate with the most unlikely of people. The emancipatory power of streaming karaoke play, lies in the interdependence and interconnection of those tactics and they as a whole contribute to the human flourishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between top management team (TMT) members' learning behavior and the innovation strategy of technology ventures remains unclear, especially when complicated by social hierarchies within the team. We draw on organizational learning theory to theorize that diversity in TMT members' learning behavior has both positive and negative latent effects that produce an inverted U-shaped relationship between TMT learning diversity and a firm's radical innovation strategy. Building on the social hierarchy literature, we also suggest that CEO power moderates this relationship by altering the latent forces: structurally powerful CEOs neutralize the benefits of TMT learning diversity, turning the link between learning diversity and radical innovation strategy predominantly negative, whereas prestigiously powerful CEOs neutralize the costs of TMT learning diversity, turning its relationship with the firm's radical innovation strategy predominantly positive. Longitudinal, multi-source data from 77 TMTs support our model. The findings contribute to the research on learning and social hierarchies by illustrating how hierarchies rooted in different sources of power have different effects on the relationship between TMT learning diversity and innovation strategy. Plain English Summary: How can teams benefit from diversity? Two CEO approaches to power determine whether and when differences in learning behavior make SME top management teams more innovative. Top management teams (TMT) try to harness the power of diversity by combining team members who prioritize learning and constantly try to explore new areas with others who focus on implementing existing insights. This study investigates the effects of learning diversity in TMT on a firm's innovation strategy in the context of technology ventures. First, we found that a moderate level of diversity in learning behavior is linked to more radical innovations but that too much diversity hurts firm innovativeness. Moreover, we show that the power that CEOs wield plays a central role in these processes: if CEOs are prestigiously powerful (i.e., when they hold many other board appointments), they can guide their teams in ways that allow them to benefit from learning diversity. However, if CEOs are structurally powerful (i.e., they are also chairperson of the own board), their TMT will struggle to harness the power of diversity and end up seeing less radical innovation in their firm. These findings contribute to research by offering a novel theoretical account of diversity in learning behavior. Our study has implications for the design of TMTs, in the context where these teams' impact on firm innovation strategy is substantial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Philippe Major's book "Confucian Iconoclasm" explores how modern Confucianism in Republican China was iconoclastic rather than conservative, focusing on the texts of Liang Shuming and Xiong Shili. Major argues that these modern Confucians emerged in reaction to the May Fourth rejection of Confucianism, adapting to the pursuit of human liberty and scientific objectivity. By distinguishing between "tradition-as-history" and "tradition-as-value," Major shows how these Confucians aimed to revive Confucian ideals for a universal future of rationality and emancipation. The book provides a detailed analysis of the discursive tactics employed by Liang and Xiong to redefine Confucian tradition and its relevance in a changing world. [Extracted from the article]

Interactions derived from social hierarchies are linked to the release of glucocorticoids, and the levels of this hormone may vary depending on the species’ reproductive strategy. In non-cooperative breeding species, dominant individuals have lower corticosterone levels compared to subordinates. The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) is the largest avian scavenger in South America and presents a social hierarchy system: males dominating over females and adults over immatures. Despite the large number of studies on the biology and ecology of the Andean Condor, the levels of corticosterone in the different age classes have not yet been evaluated. In this study, we compared corticosterone levels in shed feathers (CortFeather) of the Andean Condor by age classes (adult, subadult, and juvenile) over 4 years (2016–2019), covering two independent molting periods fitting a linear model (age classes*molting period). Because Andean Condor does not breed cooperatively, we expected lower levels of CortFeather in dominant adults compared to subordinates (subadults and juveniles). Contrary to our expectations, we observed a significant interaction between age classes and molting periods: adults in molting period 1 presented higher CortFeather levels than adults in molting period 2 and to subadults in molting period 2. The significant interaction we observed between age class and molting period suggests that the relationship between hormones and behavior in social species is not simple; both the social and abiotic environments influence. Since the hormone–behavior relationship is interdependent, studying it requires a solid understanding of the ecological and social context surrounding the subject. Thus, further research on hormone levels in relation to social systems—both with and without cooperative reproduction—is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study documents a rare aggressive interaction between two striped hyenas (Hyaena hyaena) observed in northern Israel. Agonistic behaviors, which include aggression, submission, and threat displays, are essential for managing social hierarchies and mitigating harm in animal societies. Although striped hyenas typically engage in ritualized behaviors to resolve conflicts non-lethally, the observed confrontation involved intense biting, vocalizations, and significant injuries. The fight’s cause remains unclear. This observation, combined with limited prior reports of similar behavior, highlights the need for continued research and citizen science contributions to better understand the complex and variable social dynamics of striped hyenas. Clinical trial number: Not applicable [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans often take decisive action to influence their social environments, including their own position within a social hierarchy. Those who are highly motivated by status attainment may be especially prone to such activity. Here, we ask whether desire for social status contributes to the early detection of social stimuli, and more specifically, whether it plays a role in which environmental stimuli are consciously detected. We used a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation task to examine vigilance to status-relevant versus non-status-relevant stimuli, and asked whether measure of narcissism, a personality trait strongly associated with a drive for status attainment, moderated people's task responses. Results showed that when task stimuli were status relevant, self-reported narcissism moderated stimulus processing such that as participants reported higher levels of narcissism, the likelihood that they would recognize these rapidly presented words increased if they were status relevant, but not if the stimuli were non-status-relevant. These results suggest that the motivations that underpin personality traits, for example the drive to seek social status associated with narcissism, may play a formative role in the early processing and detection of social stimuli, thereby shaping people's social behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersectionality has emerged as an important theoretical concept for examining overlapping social hierarchies and has garnered varying interpretations and applications in scholarly discourse. To help organize varied definitions of intersectionality that are commonly used in the social sciences, we propose a typology that distinguishes between primary, pragmatic, and pluralistic intersectionality. In this typology, primary intersectionality centers on Black women and has a social inequity focus, pragmatic intersectionality includes various groups with flexible applications, and pluralistic intersectionality encompasses a broad inclusion of categorizations without an inequity focus. This typology can be used to clarify research focus, enhance theoretical rigor, and prevent misinterpretation, thereby advancing understanding of intersectionality within social psychology and micro-organizational behavior., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no known conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)