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Human societies demand of its composing members the development of a wide array of social tools and strategies. A notable example is human outstanding ability to cooperate with others, in all its complex forms, depicting the reality of a highly demanding social framework in which humans need to be integrated as to attain physical and mental benefits. Considering the importance of social engagement, it's not entirely unexpected that most psychiatric disorders involve some disruption of normal social behaviour, ranging from an abnormal absence to a significant increase of social functioning. It is however surprising that knowledge on these social anxiety disorders still remains so limited. Here we review the literature focusing on the social and cooperative toolbox of 3 fish model species (cleaner fishes, guppies and zebrafish) which are amenable systems to test for social disorders. We build on current knowledge based on ethological information, arising from studies on cooperative behaviour in cleanerfishes and guppies, while profiting from the advantages of the intense use of zebrafish, to create novel paradigms aiming at the major socio-cognitive modules/dimensions in fish species. This focus may enable the discovery of putative conserved endpoints which are relevant for research into social disorders. We suggest that cross-species, cross-domain, functional and genetic approaches could provide a wider array of information on the neurobiological bases of social and cooperative behaviour, crucial to understanding the neural bases of social disorders and key to finding novel avenues towards treatment.

Climate change, natural resource depletion and waste problems reveal the importance of natural resource saving. Resource-saving behaviour is necessary in order to enhance energy and water efficiency. By applying various theories of pro-environmental behaviour, researchers have recommended the main tools, such as financial, social and informational for the promotion of this behaviour. However, none of those works explored the impact of the proposed tools on the resource-saving behaviour. Therefore, this study showed the most effective tools, which can be regarded as the most important for policymakers. Furthermore, considering statements about the current level in respect of these tools, the aim of this study was to analyse the influence of declared financial, social and informational tools and real situations on resource-saving behaviour. Using data of the survey performed in Lithuania at the beginning of 2020, and by applying a new theory defined as “Assumptions and reflections of real situations”, the results revealed that according to citizens’ opinion, only the informational tool significantly determined the resource-saving behaviour. Social and financial tools had insignificant impact on this behaviour. However, the current level in respect of social and informational tools significantly affected resource-saving behaviour. Considering the financial tool, the results showed that only the money-saving aspect significantly determined resource-saving behaviour. A high price of resources did not motivate people to save natural resources. Therefore, this paper provided practical insights how effectively promote the resource-saving behaviour.

Waste sorting behavior is an important factor in reducing raw material usage through recycling programs and seeking circular economy implementation. Despite huge efforts to promote sorting behavior, in Lithuania 6 percent do not sort waste at all. The main tools which can promote this behavior are informational, social, convenience and financial. However, to the best of our knowledge, no research has analyzed the impact of all these tools on sorting behavior: this analysis revealed which tools were the most effective and to which policymakers should pay the most attention. Furthermore, we analyzed whether the identified tools really contribute to waste sorting behavior, including statements about the current situation in the model. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to investigate the impact of informational, social, convenience and financial tools – and the real situation – on waste sorting behavior. Referring to a representative survey conducted in Lithuania, the results showed that, according to respondents, only informational and financial tools had significant impact on waste sorting behavior, which was insignificantly affected by social and convenience tools. Considering the real situation, the current situation of convenience and social tools significantly influenced waste sorting behavior. Meanwhile, the current level of the informational aspect negatively and insignificantly determined waste sorting behavior. Therefore, this study provided practical insights for policymakers into which tools contribute to waste sorting behavior, and how to promote it effectively.

This conceptual article argues that the second language (L2) curriculum must incorporate broader notions of literacies, associated with the development of new digital genres. This article shows how the affordances of social tools can affect and enhance L2 learners’ writing practices and broaden their understanding of genre. As they become fully aware of the qualitative changes that social tools bring to the writing process, instructors will see the benefits of their integration in the L2 writing classroom. The article argues for the need to (1) question and redefine L2 writing pedagogy by reevaluating literacy, writing genres, and associated instructional practices in the L2 classroom; (2) acknowledge the acute transformation from traditional notions of literacies to notions of digital literacies; (3) recognize the affordances of social tools and argue how L2 learners can more efficiently acquire and practice digital literacies; and (4) provide pedagogical frameworks to foster L2 writing in an increasingly digital age. Finally, the article's conclusion highlights valuable avenues for future research.

A number of social animals produce food-associated calls, which have been interpreted as informative and referential about the quality or quantity of food accessed by the caller. In chimpanzees, however, some behavioural patterns have remained unexplained by this model, suggesting that food-associated calls have a more generalized social function beyond attracting others to food, such as promoting tolerance between co-feeding individuals. In this study, we investigated how wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of Budongo Forest, Uganda, use food associated-calls in situations when social tolerance is low, i.e., during agonistic interactions. We found a positive relationship between food calling and agonistic behaviours during a feeding event, independent of the number of males on the feeding patch. Moreover, food calling followed rather than preceded agonistic interactions, suggesting that aggression can trigger food call production. These results support the view that chimpanzee food-associated calls can act as social tools mediating competitive or aggressive interactions.

We structurally model personality and communicative influences on SNS activity.Results support the hypothesized model of SNS motivations and activity.SNSs were primarily used to maintain connections rather than explore new ones.SNS affordances favor individuals who are already proficient communicators.These platforms thus enable the "rich to get richer," in communicative terms. Based on the notion that individual users would utilize Social Networking Sites (SNSs) in characteristic ways, we tested a structural model hypothesizing that personality traits, communicative and social variables, attitudes, and motives would affect level of SNS activity. Participants (n=674) completed measures of personality, communication apprehension, self-esteem, need for affiliation, attitudes, motives of SNS use, and level of SNS activity. Results offered support for the hypothesized model of SNS motivations and activity, illustrating that SNSs were primarily used to maintain relational connections with others. In addition, support was found for the contention that SNSs offer beneficial social tools for all individuals; however, this effect was highest for individuals already proficient in face-to-face social and communicative behaviors.

How do you get your organization to start using social technologies to become more innovative and productive? Where and with whom should you begin? We interviewed over 70 managers across 30 companies and found that the most successful firms employ one of three jumpstart strategies, depending on the organization's mission, work processes, culture, and industry. Some start at the bottom of the organization, finding and enabling ‘young experimenters’ to use social technologies to enhance their individual productivity. Others start in the middle, finding and helping ‘corporate entrepreneurs’ in middle management to use social technologies to improve collaboration on teams and projects. Others begin at the top, finding ‘enlightened executives’ who are open to new technology and the potential of social tools to strengthen their organizational culture. We combine our research with concepts from change management, technology adoption, and social networks to suggest ways managers can best introduce social collaboration tools into their organizations.

In mammals, females are the main caretakers of offspring. In a number of species, however, males also care for young, and may spend considerable time with infants. In various nonhuman primates, male interactions with infants appear to benefit mainly the males, who use them to regulate their relationships, particularly with other male group members. We studied whether interactions with infants were related to glucocorticoid output in male Barbary macaques, Macaca sylvanus, at the enclosure ‘La Foret des Singes’, France. We used a combination of behavioural observations, social network analysis and measures of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as an indicator of physiological stress, and compared the results for the birth season in spring, during a time of intense interactions with infants, with a period in autumn, when males interacted less frequently with infants. Social network analyses revealed that infant carriers had stronger ties with other males than noncarriers. Overall, male relationships were stronger in spring than in autumn. Infant care was unevenly distributed among males and not related to rank, suggesting that the motivation to invest in infant carrying depends on the position in the social network and the current constellation of relationships. Despite the correlation of infant carrying with male interactions, the time spent with infants alone explained most of the variation in glucocorticoid levels, suggesting that access to the male–male network is paid for by an increase in stress hormone levels. Taken together, these results show that Barbary macaque infants can be viewed as costly social tools that facilitate networking among males.

Psychological models of judgement and decision making assume that people use heuristics to make inferences when faced with constraints in time, information, or processing capacity. This paper explores the use of heuristics in social interaction. Extending the concept of heuristics to social domains can be used to construct better understandings of behavioural regularities, especially when such regularities are not easily predicted by or accounted for in conventional models of rational choice.