Subjective Homophily and the Fixtures Problem

Abstract

The Stable Fixtures problem (Irving and Scott (2007)) is a generalized matching model that nests the well-known Stable Roommates, Stable Marriage, and College Admissions problems as special cases. This paper extends a result of the Stable Roommates problem to demonstrate that a class of homophilic preferences with an appealing psychological interpretation is sufficient to ensure that starting from an arbitrary matching, a decentralized process of allowing the sequential matching of randomly chosen blocking pairs will converge to a pairwise-stable matching with probability one. Strategic implications of this class of preferences are examined and further possible generalizations and directions for future research are discussed.

That Dragon, Cancer—Exploring End of Life Through an Unwinnable Video Game

“…Evidence suggests that empathy decreases during medical training—Dr Abraham Verghese has written that “what medical schools need is not to teach empathy, but to preserve it”—and emotional experiences like the one offered in this game might be a powerful preservative. Not only are video games a medium to which today’s medical trainees are likely to have been exposed, but some studies suggest that the unique degree of interactivity video games supply has a more pronounced effect on reward circuits than more passive visual stimulation, such as a movie or painting . In contrast to virtual training modalities implemented to increase technical experiences, such as robotic surgery or resuscitation simulations, there are limited technical training opportunities aimed at enhancing compassion.…”