Blog 8: Social Systems - The Game of Evolution

On Thursday the 13th of November in our social systems class our group came up with potentially the most groundbreaking "evolutionary game". The goal of this blog is to outline the instructions of the game, giving you the ability to take part in the fun.  

According to Boons : "Darwin’s crucial insight was that the extent to which these new characteristics spread through a population depends on whether they ‘fit’ with the environment in which the organisms live" (Boon 2009). This game emulates evolution by following the development of the "car" which "fits" the envionmental changes, continuing through evolution.  Boon's developed an evolutionary account of the strategic perspectives of firms, which he specified three crucial parts of any evolutionary mechanism.

1) Evolutionary account based in the occurrence of variety.
2) Specify the analogy of the biological mechanism of reproduction. 
3) Selection mechanisms are specified.

I have attempted to include these three aspects of the evolutionary mechanism in my game.  

" The Automobile Evolution" 

This is a simple game which can be played with unlimited player, and takes about 5 minutes. One die is neccessary for this game, not multiple dice. The goal of the game is to stay in the game the longest, by having the car which can withstand evolutionary changes. 

Firstly, to determine who may start the game the die will be rolled by each player. The player with the highest no. begins the game. 

In the first round: each player will roll the die in order to determine which car they will be allocated. 

Rolling a one  (1)   : Diesal  Car 

Rolling a two  (2)  : Bio-mass Car

Rolling a three(3)  : Electric Car 
Rolling a four (4)   :Hybrid Car
Rolling a five  (5)  :Hydrogen Car
Rolling a six   (6)  :Petroleum Car 

In the second round: each play will roll the die to determine the evolutionary scenario 

Rolling a one  (1): Scenario - plugin electricity car chargers cause too many injuries- deeming the use of them illegal- players with electric or hybrid car  have to leave the game.

Rolling a two  (2) :  Scenario- oil shortage leads to the ban of Petroleum use for automobiles - players with petroleum cars are out of the game. 

Rolling a three(3) :  Scenario - After many explosions due to hydrogen storage, there is a ban on the use of hydrogen cars- layers with electric or hybrid car  have to leave the game.

Rolling a four (4): Scenario - Research evidence suggests that Diesal exhaust is related to Lung Cancer - players with  diesal cars are out of the game.

Rolling a five  (5) : Scenario - Due to lack of Food availabilty Bio-Mass fuels are banned- players with  Bio-Mass cars are out of the game.

Rolling a six   (6) : Scenario- Technology improvements allow the player to improve the sustainablity of the player's car- players process to the next evolutionary round.

In the third round: the remaining players will play "scissors, paper, rock", those that loss players. Rock represesents ("competative advantage") which trumps scissors (consumer preference), Paper represents ("marketing") trumps Rock ("competative advantage").  If there are only two players left after the second round, they can skip the third and fourth round. 

In the fourth round: Due to "a race to the bottom approach" to the competitive automobile industry, all car manufacturers go "bankrupt". The government can only save one of the remaining manufacturers (players), but decides to undertake a referendum in order to allow the tax-payers to choice which one will survive. Every participant of the game may vote for what they perceive to be the most sustainable car available.

    The aim of the game is  to "Survive"!

References

1) Boons, F.A. 2009. An evolutionary approach towards the strategic perspectives of firms, chapter 8 in: Creating ecological value. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. 

Blog 6: Social Systems- Game Harvest: Tragedy of the Commons

The "Fishing Game" which was introduced to us in our social systems class attempts to challenge our understanding of the logic and consequences of social situations, and introduce us to the concept of "the Tragedy of the Commons". The core issue revolves around property rights, including both the formal and informal rules regarding the use, ownership, and transfer of property. Property ownership generally provides incentives for people to take into consideration the consequences of their actions regarding the property itself.  This is considered necessary due to the scarcity of certain resources. We were asked to understand the incentives that influence our decisions and explore what incentives would ensure sensible use of the resources, which in this case were fish. 

The students chose to continue harvesting the fish because they were afraid someone else would take the fish if they let them remain.  In this scenario the fish were the common good which is non-excludable, which means that there is a finite amount of the resource available and that it is therefore easily overexploited. Even though it was in their interest to sustain the fish populations they still over-fished which resulted in the depletion of the fish stock. I believe the saying "Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game" fits well in this situation. The problem was not the students but the rules of the game. The rules of the game are:

·         Each round is one year. Each team decides how many fish they want to catch. Write down this number and put it in your boat

·         Facilitator takes boats and gives fish randomly to teams until they are gone. Rest of teams receive nothing

·         You get back your boat and harvest. Write down your profit

·         The sea starts with the maximum number of fish: 50. Each year, the remaining fish are able to produce one new fish, with a maximum of 50.

                                                               .

Additional Rules of the Game

*Well defined, divisible and defendable property rights. This would established by allocating fishing permits. Each group would be given fishing permits at the start of the game giving them the right to harvest a particular amount of fish. This could be traded to other groups for existing fish in the risk of getting more or less fish in the future. 

*Negotiation time a start and middle of the game. Communication is vital in such undertakings, therefore if time would be allocated at the beginning and middle of the game for groups to discuss their plans outcomes would become more favorable to all players.

Tragedy of the Commons and Externalities

If property ownership is not clearly defined, divisible and defendable misuse of the property is likely to occur. The tragedy of the commons is a social dilemma where private ownership creates incentives that reward the efficient use of property and the conservation of resources for use in the future, public ownership tends to create incentives for overuse. This social dilemma is in fact a prisoner’s dilemma. Thus, negative externalities can be reversed by giving ownership of the problem. Hardin claimed that coercion could be a good way of creating self-restraint as long as it is mutually agreed upon by those affected. By owning the problem rational players will look for the best solution for both parties to benefit, in this case through fishing permits. Thus complete self-organization is not possible.

References
1) Hardin, G. 1968. The Tragedy of the Commons, Science pp. 1243-1248. 

2) Ostrom, E. (2008). Tragedy of the Commons. The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 3573-3576.

3) Hardin, G. (1998). Extensions of" The Tragedy of the Commons". Science, 280(5364), 682-683.

Blog 5: Social Systems - Regional Networks

Global Biomimicry Network

I choose the global biomimicry network "Biomimicry 3.8" as a case-study because it is relevant to our field of Industrial Ecology, and is a good example of self-organization. The regional network comprises of bodies that focus on the application of biomimicry. Biomimicry is the conscious emulation of nature’s design principle. By harnessing local resources and expertise the regional network connects with government officials and planners from all sectors to forward the movement for the use of biomimicry. The Biomimicry 3.8 regional network is encouraging the connection of networks of biomimicry leaders, experts, students and citizens who apply the concept of emulating nature.

The organization has helped more than 250 clients and partners redesign carpets, furniture, manufacturing processes, airplanes, and even entire cities, all in nature’s sustainable image [1]. In collaboration with its network partners Biomimicry 3.8 has reached of millions people through the media. Janine Benyus popularized the term biomimicry, in her book which escalated interest and sparked the movement that eventually created this regional network. In 2010, the hybrid social enterprise comprised of a for-profit Corporation and a not-for-profit corporation under a single brand and integrated management strategy.  The cooperative is managed through a self-governance mechanism. Based on the concepts of self-organization and co-evolution which we have discussed in class. The different existing relationships and interactions that actors engage in make a social network.

Global Biomimicry Network

We can analyze the ways in which the Biomimicry regional networks emerged and evolved. According  to Boon "self-organization is the process of ‘spontaneous’ coordination that is exemplified by the pure market such as shown in Adam Smith’s metaphor of the invisible hand" (2008). Actors within the Global network choose to share ideas in order to minimize transaction costs (Gordon & McCann, 2000). Biomimcry 3.8 characteristics of a social network. These types of networks are characterized by inter-actor trust and its ability to collectively undertake risky operations and pursue mutually beneficial goals (Gordon & McCann, 2000).

       

                 

                         
While it may be considered a cooperative a regional network, the partners are not positioned close enough to one another to for the organization to coordinate things such as closing material loops with other industries. In 2010 the Biomimicry Group united with the Biomimicry Institute under a shared brand, and in 2014 the two entities decided to revert to the original model of dual brands in order to more effectively achieve their missions. The Biomimicry Group consults clients such as Nike, Johnson & Johnson, Shell, and Colgate Palmolive. In 2008, the Biomimicry Group entered into a strategic alliance with one of the world’s largest architectural firms.

Through planning and coordination, the local firms and government. In terms of information sharing for example, members were able to track substance exchanges, waste quantities, and other crucial developments.  Moreover, a centralized management system that oversaw. The joint investments in technology and information systems kept actors updated about the flows of by-products and allowed the system to quickly adapt to any uncertainties.

References

1) Boons, F.A. 2008. Self-Organization and Sustainability: The Emergence of a Regional Industrial Ecology, Emergence: Complexity and Organization.      
2)       Gordon, I. and McCann, P. 2000. Industrial Clusters: Complexes, Agglomeration and/or Social Networks? Urban Studies 37(3): 513–532.