Moral Judgments in Social Dilemmas: How Bad is Free Riding?

In the last thirty years, economists and other social scientists have investigated people’s normative views on distributive justice. Here we study people’s normative views in social dilemmas, which underlie many situations of economic and social significance. Using insights from moral philosophy and psychology we provide an analysis of the morality of free riding. We use experimental survey methods to investigate people’s moral judgments empirically. We vary others’ contributions, the framing (“give-some” vs. “take-some”) and whether contributions are simultaneous or sequential. We find that moral judgments of a free rider depend strongly on others’ behaviour; and that failing to give is condemned more strongly than withdrawing all support.moral judgments, moral psychology, framing effects, public goods experiments, free riding

Combining different types of data in studying attitudes to English as a Lingua Franca

This paper deals with the attitudes of Croatian speakers to ELF, in particular to its pronunciation. Four methods were combined to reach conclusions about the status of ELF in Croatia: diary study, teacher interviews, a preliminary focus group interview and a survey. Whilst the first three methods revealed that the subjects regularly disfavour ‘bad pronunciation’, the survey showed that when it actually comes to talking to either native or non-native speakers, the subjects turned out to be tolerant to a slight accent. This clearly suggests a case of what is known as linguistic schizophrenia (B.B. Kachru 1977; Seidlhofer 2001). However, there are notable differences among groups of participants depending on variables such as professional profile, gender, degree of ease and success in learning pronunciation, and national pride. In any case, the combination of these methods proved to be a very good way to deal with the topic. The diary study is a valuable method to look into everyday practices and can feed nicely into survey questions. The preliminary survey highlighted the importance of different groups of participants and the need for groups of questions focusing around different factors. The preliminary focus group interview showed that it is crucial to have a single homogenous group of participants, as well as a trained facilitator. Finally, teacher interviews pointed to the possibility of similar attitudes being held by university teachers and the students they teach, which suggests that attitudes may be perpetuated. Overall, triangulation across methods and participants in the way proposed in the present paper provided a wealth of data, allowing a bottom-up view and a top-down view on the state of ELF in Croatia

Moral Judgments in Social Dilemmas: How Bad is Free Riding?

In the last thirty years, economists and other social scientists have investigated people’s normative views on distributive justice. Here we study people’s normative views in social dilemmas, which underlie many situations of economic and social significance. Using insights from moral philosophy and psychology we provide an analysis of the morality of free riding. We use experimental survey methods to investigate people’s moral judgments empirically. We vary others’ contributions, the framing (“give-some” vs. “take-some”) and whether contributions are simultaneous or sequential. We find that moral judgments of a free rider depend strongly on others’ behaviour; and that failing to give is condemned more strongly than withdrawing all support.moral judgments, moral psychology, framing effects, public goods experiments, free riding

PRELIMINARNO ISTRAŽIVANJE UČINKA HIGIJENE VIMENA KRMAČA NA SMANJENJE BROJA BAKTERIJA NA SISAMA

Research was conducted in order to determine efficiency of sows’ udder sanitation concerning reduction of bacteria, which enter through contaminated teats in piglets’ organism. The research was carried out in farrowing pen with 90 sows, which were separated into three equal groups. The first group, control, was not treated. In the second group sows’ udders were treated with water and in the third group with healthy and ecologically acceptable commercial antiseptic Oxyl® with powerful oxidising bactericidal activity. During the period of 24 days microbiologic purity of the teats was determined by the method of swab before and after teat treatment, and cultivation on nutrient media. Samples were analysed for presence of mesophilic aerobic bacteria which were expressed as their total number per cm2 (CFU/cm2) of teat. Study results showed in both treated groups, compared to the control, significantly reduced number of bacteria. Besides, significantly lower bacteria number was determined in the third group treated with antiseptic, compared to the second group, treated only with water. Accordingly, everyday use of udder sanitation, which is commonly component of ruminants’ milking hygiene, could also significantly reduce sows’ teat bacterial contamination and consequently entering excessive bacteria in the piglets’ alimentary system. The following researches should provide the evidence if there exists connection between udder sanitation, reduced number of bacteria as potential causes of piglets’ alimentary diseases, and diseases’ appearance.Istraživanje je provedeno u svrhu utvrđivanja učinkovitosti sanitacije vimena krmača obzirom na smanjenje broja bakterija, koje preko onečišćenih sisa ulaze u organizam prasadi. Istraživanje je obavljeno u prasilištu s 90 krmača, koje su podijeljene u tri jednake skupine. Prva skupina, kontrola, nije tretirana. U drugoj skupini vime krmača tretirano je vodom, a u trećoj zdravstveno i ekološki prihvatljivim komercijalnim antiseptikom Oxyl®-om sa snažnim oksidativnim baktericidnim djelovanjem. Mikrobiološka čistoća sisa utvrđivana je tijekom razdoblja od 24 dana metodom brisa, prije i nakon tretmana sisa, te nasađivanjem na hranjivi agar. Uzorci su analizirani na prisutnost aerobnih mezofilnih bakterija, a rezultati izraženi kao njihov ukupni broj po cm2 (CFU/ cm2) sise. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su u obje tretirane skupine, u usporedbi s kontrolom, značajno manji broj bakterija. Osim toga, značajno manji broj bakterija utvrđen je u trećoj skupini tretiranoj antiseptikom, u usporedbi s drugom skupinom, koja je tretirana samo vodom. Prema tome, svakodnevna sanitacija vimena, koja je sastavni dio higijene mužnje preživača, mogla bi značajno smanjiti i bakterijsko onečišćenje sisa krmača te posljedično unos prekomjernog broja bakterija u probavni sustav prasadi. Daljnja istraživanja trebala bi pokazati da li postoji povezanost između sanitacije vimena krmača, smanjenog broja bakterija kao mogućih uzroka probavnih bolesti prasadi i pojave bolesti

Attitudes to English and motivation to continue learning English in a tertiary education setting

This study investigates attitudes toward English, the primary language of international communication, and motivation of intermediate and advanced speakers of English required to pursue Business English as part of their university studies. Moreover, the study aims to establish the correlations between attitudes to English, different types of motivation and invested effort as a criterion related to motivated behaviour. Implications for teaching are finally provided on the basis of correlation and hierarchical regression analyses. Approximately 700 Croatian students of business and economics responded to a questionnaire based on earlier sociolinguistic (Erling, 2004; 2007) and L2 motivation research in the socio-psychological tradition (Dörnyei et al., 2006;  Mihaljević-Djigunović, 1998). Descriptive and inferential analyses (factor, correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analyses) of the collected data revealed a positive attitude to English as a lingua franca alongside a preference for native English varieties. The perception of English as a threat was weak among our respondents. As regards motivational dimensions, the sample was characterised by integrative and two types of instrumental motivation: future benefits and past/present benefits. Although a positive attitude to English as a lingua franca positively correlated with invested effort, hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that effort could only be predicted on the basis of integrative motivation and experienced benefits. Generally speaking, the findings provide insights into attitudes and motivation of students of English for specific purposes in contexts where opportunities to use English for academic and professional purposes are limited

Inhibition of prostatic epithelial cell proliferation by a factor secreted specifically by prostatic stromal cells

Stromal cells from the prostate were recently shown to inhibit clonal growth of the prostatic carcinoma cell lines PC-3 (hormone-independent) and LNCaP (hormone-sensitive) in coculture. Our study revealed that stromal cell-conditioned medium strongly inhibited proliferation of PC-3 and LNCaP cells when grown in monolayer culture. Antiproliferative activity was found to be reversible, and was produced specifically by prostatic stromal cells and not by stromal cells derived from skin, foreskin, uterus, kidney, and Wilms' tumor. Inhibition was not species-specific, since the cell lines AT-2.1 and MATLyLu, derived from the Dunning rat prostate tumor, were also sensitive. No inhibition, however, occurred on breast and renal carcinoma cell lines, suggesting a prostate-specific action. The putative inhibiting factor(s) could be concentrated and partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation. The possible role in stromal control of epithelial cell proliferation is discussed

Utjecaj negenskih čimbenika na porođajnu masu janjadi romanovske pasmine

The aim of this study was to analyse the non-genetic factors influencing the birth weight of Romanov lambs, and to determine which of them may be a useful source of information in the selection of female lambs for replacement. The study included 1712 lambs born in the period from 2016 to 2019. The linear model used in birth weight estimation included: birth type, sex, parity, year of birth, season of birth, and breeding group as fixed factors. Year of birth x season of birth interaction was also included in the model. All factors, except the season of birth, significantly affected birth weight (P0.05). Variations in birth weight are influenced by non-genetic factors, with birth type, sex, and parity being the most important. These factors should be considered in breeding and selection programs for lamb meat production, where fertility and growth traits have the key role.Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je analizirati negenske čimbenike porođajne mase janjadi romanovske pasmine i utvrditi koji od njih mogu biti korisni izvori informacija u selekciji ženskog rasplodnog podmlatka. U istraživanje je uključeno 1712 janjadi rođene u razdoblju od 2016. do 2019. godine. Za utvrđivanje utjecaja negenskih čimbenika na porođajnu masu korišten je model koji je uključivao tip rođenja, spol, redoslijed legla, godinu rođenja, sezonu rođenja i pripusnu skupinu kao fiksne čimbenike. Svi čimbenici osim sezone rođenja znakovito su utjecali na porođajnu masu (P 0,05) s obzirom na udio ženske i muške janjadi u leglu. Razlike između porođajne mase ženki iz legla dvojaka i ženki iz legla trojaka bile su statistički znakovite (P < 0,05). Na varijacije u porođajnoj masi utječu negenski čimbenici među kojima se ističu tip janjenja, spol i redoslijed legla. To treba uzeti u obzir u provedbi uzgojno-selekcijskog rada u kojemu se primarna pozornost posvećuje svojstvima plodnosti i rasta