Economic expert explains why Halloween has already invaded retail stores

Bewildering as the premature arrival of Halloween merchandise might seem, the impetus for retailers to get the jump on a holiday can be readily explained as simple economic behavior. Jadrian Wooten, a Virginia Tech professor of economics, explained what drives these early holiday displays.

Does staying informed help us cooperate?

In the face of existential dilemmas that are shared by all of humanity, including the consequences of inequality or climate change, it is crucial to understand the conditions leading to cooperation. A new game theory model developed at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) based on 192 stochastic games and on some elegant algebra finds that both cases – available information and the lack thereof – can lead to cooperative outcomes.

Shhhh … Speaking More Quietly in Restaurants Means Everyone Can Be Heard #ASA183

In a crowded restaurant, the sounds of conversations bounce off walls, creating background noise. Each individual wants to be heard, so they end up talking a little bit louder, which increases the overall din. Eventually – barring an interruption – the system gets loud enough to reach the limit of the human voice. Braxton Boren will discuss this cycle, called the Lombard effect, and how it can be disrupted in his presentation, “A game theory model of the Lombard effect in public spaces.”

CUR’s First Virtual UR Exchange Features Undergraduate Work across Borders amid COVID-19

The first virtual UR Exchange of the Council on Undergraduate Research featured many inspirational stories of faculty-student research conducted during the challenges of the COVID-19 environment.