Background Assumptions Research Articles

Behavioral implications of shortlisting procedures

We consider two-stage “shortlisting procedures” in which the menu of alternatives is first pruned by some process or criterion and then a binary relation is maximized. Given a particular first-stage process, our main result supplies a necessary and sufficient condition for choice data to be consistent with a procedure in the designated class. This result applies to any class of procedures with a certain lattice structure, including the cases of “consideration filters,” “satisficing with salience effects,” and “rational shortlist methods.” The theory avoids background assumptions made for mathematical convenience; in this and other respects following Richter’s classical analysis of preference-maximizing choice in the absence of shortlisting.

GRADATIONAL ACCURACY AND NONCLASSICAL SEMANTICS

AbstractThis paper gives a generalization of Jim Joyce’s 1998 argument for probabilism, dropping his background assumption that logic and semantics are classical. Given a wide variety of nonclassical truth-value assignments, Joyce-style arguments go through, allowing us to identify in each case a class of “nonclassically coherent” belief states. To give a local characterization of coherence, we need to identify a notion of logical consequence to use in an axiomatization. There is a very general, ‘no drop in truth-value’ characterization that will do the job. The result complements Paris’s 2001discussion of generalized forms of Dutch books appropriate to nonclassical settings.

Developing Strategic and Operational Environmental Intelligence Capabilities

This article examines the role of environmental change in conducting intelligence assessments, and the important role in integrating scientific data with background assumptions behind military and security planning. Tracing the development of environmental security concepts, recent military and intelligence interest in climate and environmental changes are based on practical concerns over critical vulnerabilities of infrastructure, energy supplies, and system stability. Examples from Central Asia illustrate the cascading nature of environmental security risks, particularly with water and energy systems. The discussion follows with how scenarios and risk assessments can be integrated with concepts from environmental net assessments, and why traditional assumptions of probabilities, uncertainties and secrecy may be misleading. It is essential to understand not only how extreme future changes might be, but what capabilities we and allies posses to adapt to environmental-related hazards.

300 Circulating Progenitor Cells in Preterm Neonates with Cns Injury - A Preliminary Report

Background and AimsThe assumption that the circulating progenitor cells participate in a chemotactic way in the endogenous regeneration effort after damage of body tissues is controversial and the exact type...

Classificatory Theory in Biology

Scientific classification has long been recognized as involving a specific style of reasoning and doing research, and as occasionally affecting the development of scientific theories. However, the role played by classificatory activities in generating theories has not been closely investigated within the philosophy of science. I argue that classificatory systems can themselves become a form of theory, which I call classificatory theory, when they come to formalize and express the scientific significance of the elements being classified. This is particularly evident in some of the classification practices used in contemporary experimental biology, such as bio-ontologies used to classify genomic data and typologies used to classify “normal” stages of development in developmental biology. In this paper, I explore some characteristics of classificatory theories and ways in which they differ from other types of scientific theories and other components of scientific epistemology, such as models and background assumptions.

The DBO theory of action and distributed cognition

The DBO (Desires, Beliefs and Opportunities) theory of action proposed by analytical sociologists aims to provide an action-theoretical basis for building explanatory theories in sociology. Peter Hedström claims that the DBO theory is realistic because it does not make assumptions that are known to be false or seriously incompatible with the current scientific understanding about the nature of human action and cognition. This article nevertheless aims to show that the DBO theory is not only incomplete but also that its background assumptions are unrealistic, in the sense that they do not fit with the distributed nature of action-related cognition, which has recently become a growing topic of interest in cognitive sciences. The author also indicates that the neglect of the distributed and embodied aspects of cognition in the DBO theory leads to various biases in the process of constructing mechanism-based explanations in social sciences. Finally, an alternative approach to action theory is sketched on the basis of this critique.

Religious disagreements and epistemic rationality

Richard Feldman has argued that in cases of religious disagreement between epistemic peers who have shared all relevant evidence, epistemic rationality requires suspense of judgment. I argue that Feldman’s postulation of completely shared evidence is unrealistic for the kinds of disputes he is considering, since different starting points will typically produce different assessments of what the evidence is and how it should be weighed. Feldman argues that there cannot be equally reasonable starting points, but his extension of the postulate of completely shared evidence to evidence for starting points involves an illicit assimilation of ordinary cases of evidence assessment to cases in which substantial agreement about background assumptions is lacking. I also clarify why even if Feldman were correct about what epistemic norms require, his conclusion would not show that we should actually suspend judgment about religious or anti-religious truth claims.

LCA as an element in environmental management systems—comparison of conditions in selected organisations in Poland, Sweden and Germany

Purpose In this two-part paper (Background and Initial Assumptions (Part 1) and Results of Survey Research (Part 2)), we present surveys whose main objective is to determine, whether and to what extent the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique is used for the identification and assessment of environmental aspects in environmental management systems (EMS) and whether there are any differences in this respect between the companies and countries analysed. Methods The survey research was carried out using the computer assisted self-administered interviewing (CASI) method among selected Polish, German and Swedish organisations which implement EMS in accordance with the requirements of ISO 14001 and/or the EMAS regulation. Results The organisations investigated, regardless of their country, are dominated by qualitative and semi-quantitative techniques of assessment and identification of environmental aspects. LCA was used sporadically, although some differences can be observed between the countries analysed. Conclusions The environmental managers accustomed to traditional qualitative and semi-quantitative solutions, have not been given preparation to enable them to understand and adopt the different approaches such as LCA. On the other hand, representatives of the organisations investigated declared that they were ready to accept an even longer timescale for the identification and assessment processes relating to environmental aspects, which represents a potential opportunity for LCA. The more precise understanding and definition of environmental problems that are precisely defined in LCA would represent a novelty for environmental managers. In practice, environmental problems are defined in a general sense and rather ambiguously, as this level of detail is sufficient in the context of qualitative and semi-quantitative techniques commonly used for the identification and assessment of environmental aspects.

LCA as an element in environmental management systems—comparison of conditions in selected organisations in Poland, Sweden and Germany

In this two-part paper (Background and Initial Assumptions (part 1) and Results of Survey Research (part 2)), we present surveys whose main objective is to determine whether, and to what extent, the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique is used for the identification and assessment of environmental aspects in environmental management systems (EMS) and whether there are any differences in this respect between the companies and countries analysed. The survey research was carried out using the computer assisted self-administered interviewing method among selected Polish, German and Swedish organisations which implement EMS in accordance with the requirements of ISO 14001 and/or the EMAS regulation. The organisations investigated, regardless of their country, are dominated by qualitative and semi-quantitative techniques of assessment and identification of environmental aspects. LCA was used sporadically, although some differences can be observed between the countries analysed. The environmental managers accustomed to traditional qualitative and semi-quantitative solutions have not been given preparation to enable them to understand and adopt different approaches such as LCA. On the other hand, representatives of the organisations investigated declared that they were ready to accept an even longer timescale for the identification and assessment processes relating to environmental aspects, which represents a potential opportunity for LCA. The more precise understanding and definition of environmental problems that are precisely defined in LCA would represent a novelty for environmental managers. In practice, environmental problems are defined in a general sense and rather ambiguously, as this level of detail is sufficient in the context of qualitative and semi-quantitative techniques commonly used for the identification and assessment of environmental aspects.

Pragmatism as a Communication-Theoretical Tradition

Of recent attempts to appropriate pragmatism for communication studies, Robert Craig’s inclusion of a pragmatist “tradition” in his influential “metamodel” of communication theories constitutes one of the most prominent proposals to date. In this model, pragmatism is principally understood by contrast to other alternatives, such as phenomenology, semiotics, and rhetoric. As a communication-theoretical tradition in Craig’s sense, the pragmatist approach is expected to provide distinctive articulations of the nature of communication and communication problems, expressed in a particular vocabulary. Useful as such a partitioning may be for analytical and dialogical purposes, the delimitation of pragmatism that emerges from Craig’s efforts is in many respects problematic. After a summary of the background assumptions and disciplinary aims of Craig’s project, this article identifies three serious weaknesses in his account: its neglect of relevant intra-tradition distinctions and debates, its straightforward association of pragmatism with a strongly constitutive approach to communication, and its tendency to disconnect pragmatism from other communication-theoretical positions in ways that are not conducive to his objectives. This discussion highlights the contrast between Craig’s constructionist instrumentalism and the habit-realism of the classical pragmatisms of Peirce and Dewey.

Testing the Gauss linear assumption for on-line predictions

The article studies prediction under some background assumptions and tests the assumptions. We use a conformal predictors framework and obtain predictions as regions. This is done by an on-line compression model that satisfies our assumptions. If the assumptions are appropriate for data, the prediction regions are automatically valid. The validity means that for successive predictions an error rate does not exceed a prefixed significance level (up to statistical fluctuation). It is important to test our assumptions to maintain the validity property; or otherwise the predictions can be misleading. We perform testing by calculating martingales. The martingales here are functions of p-values that are the output of the on-line compression model. Large values of the martingales reflect departures from the assumptions. This article extends our previous work on martingale testing and focusses on the Gauss linear assumption. The article presents experiments for the predictions and testing. We use four synthetic datasets as well as a benchmark Abalone dataset that is assumed to agree with the Gauss linear assumption.

Deciding for War

Decisions for war are among the most serious any government can make. Yet few are satisfied with either the process or outcome of those decisions. I argue that the decisionmaking failures in the major wars the U.S. has fought since 1945 fall into distinct patterns that are connected to a broader constitutional imbalance. More precisely, they are executive branch failures that stem from the lack of interbranch deliberation built into the post-1945 constitutional order. The most prominent patterns have been a failure to engage in realistic war planning, a closely related failure to decide on war aims, and a background assumption that the president can carry the entire burden of war decisionmaking alone. This Article is part of a larger project on war powers and hence a detailed description of the original constitutional order and how the executive and legislative branches departed from it are provided in a companion article, Reconceiving the War Powers Debate. I summarize the argument of this companion article in Part I, setting forth the views about the Constitution that provide the baseline for my inquiry into how the executive branch decided for war after 1945. The heart of the Article is a historical review of executive branch decisionmaking with respect to the five major military conflicts the United States has fought. These are presented as case studies in Parts II-V: Korea, Vietnam, the 1991 Gulf War, and the “9/11 Wars” of Afghanistan and Iraq. The case studies demonstrate the link between the lack of interbranch deliberation in the post-1945 constitutional order and the various pathologies of executive branch decisionmaking that resulted. Part VI employs the case studies to pose some challenges for presidentialist scholars who contend that the executive branch has a decisive advantage over Congress with respect to making decisions for war. Those interested in the argument of this paper should consult my forthcoming book, Long Wars and the Constitution, (Harvard University Press, June 2013).

McDowell and Perceptual Reasons

John McDowell claims that perception provides reasons for empirical beliefs. Perceptual reasons, according to the author of Mind and World, can be identified with passively “taken in” facts. Concepts figure in the acts of acquiring perceptual reasons, even though the acts themselves do not consist in judgments. Thus, on my reading, McDowell’s account of reasons-acquisition can be likened to Descartes’ account of the acquisition of ideas, rather than to Kant’s theory of judgment as an act by means of which one’s cognition comes to be endowed with objective validity. However, unlike Descartes, McDowell does not acknowledge the skeptical challenge which his conception of reasons-acquisition might face. He contends that perception is factive without arguing for the background assumption (about a “perfect match” between mind and world) on which it rests. Hence, as I suggest in my article, the McDowellian claim that perception provides reasons for empirical beliefs is not sufficiently warranted.

An Emancipatory Interpretation of Property-Owning Democracy:

An Emancipatory Interpretation of Property-Owning Democracy:

Subsidence Due to Groundwater Leakage into Tunnels

When rock tunnels are constructed under populated areas, additional geotechnical challenges that could often be met are ground subsidence due to groundwater leakage into the tunnels. The effect of such subsidence is a serious issue with regard to the infrastructures built around the tunnel areas. Subsidence analysis as adopted, today, for various transportation projects is based on classical consolidation theory. The increase in effective stress, which comes from groundwater-lowering, is assumed to induce an equivalent excess pore pressure that results in consolidation settlement. The settlements are then computed based on the classical theory of one-dimensional consolidation. However, in the particular type of problem, the total stresses in soil remains practically unchanged throughout the subsidence process. Therefore, excess pore pressure is not expected to be generated. In other words, the classical theory of primary consolidation alone under-predicts the subsidence. A real case example, the Hommelvik tunnel, from Norway is considered in this study to elaborate this. The paper presents subsidence data gathered during the past 20 years from representative locations at the tunnel site. The results show that the area has been subjected to larger subsidence than expected. This paper emphasizes the importance of prediction and instrumentations to understand resulting subsidence over a large area due to tunnel construction. The results obtained from the finite element (FE) analyses are discussed in light of these measured data and background assumptions. FE analysis using a soft soil creep model is seen to give a very promising framework to analyse such problems. This particular study calls for a better subsidence prediction procedure using a framework that also considers the effect of creep.

Do all schizophrenia patients need antipsychotic treatment continuously throughout their lifetime? A 20-year longitudinal study

The prevailing standard of care in the field involves background assumptions about the importance of prolonged use of antipsychotic medications for all schizophrenia (SZ) patients. However, do all SZ patients need antipsychotics indefinitely? Are there factors that help to identify which SZ patients can enter into prolonged periods of recovery without antipsychotics? This 20-year longitudinal research studied these issues. A total of 139 early young psychotic patients from the Chicago Follow-up Study, including 70 patients with SZ syndromes and 69 with mood disorders, were assessed, prospectively, at the acute phase and then followed up six times over the next 20 years. Patients were assessed with standardized instruments for major symptoms, psychosocial functioning, personality, attitudinal variables, neurocognition and treatment. At each follow-up, 30-40% of SZ patients were no longer on antipsychotics. Starting at the 4.5-year follow-ups and continuing thereafter, SZ patients not on antipsychotics for prolonged periods were significantly less likely to be psychotic and experienced more periods of recovery; they also had more favorable risk and protective factors. SZ patients off antipsychotics for prolonged periods did not relapse more frequently. The data indicate that not all SZ patients need treatment with antipsychotics continuously throughout their lives. SZ patients not on antipsychotics for prolonged periods are a self-selected group with better internal resources associated with greater resiliency. They have better prognostic factors, better pre-morbid developmental achievements, less vulnerability to anxiety, better neurocognitive skills, less vulnerability to psychosis and experience more periods of recovery.

Knowledge of Partial Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness: Implications for Ethical Evaluations?

Recent results from neuroimaging appear to indicate that some patients in a vegetative state have partially intact awareness. These results may demonstrate misdiagnosis and suggest the need not only for alternative forms of treatment, but also for the reconsideration of end-of-life decisions in cases of disorders of consciousness. This article addresses the second consequence. First, I will discuss which aspects of consciousness may be involved in neuroimaging findings. I will then consider various factors relevant to ethical end-of-life decision-making, and analyse whether and to what extent the above consequence applies to these factors. It will be shown that knowledge of the existence of partial awareness in patients with disorders of consciousness only influences end-of-life decision-making if certain background assumptions are made.

Is novelty always a good thing? Towards an evolutionary welfare economics

Evolutionary economists are increasingly interested in developing policy implications. As a rule, contributions in this field implicitly assume that policy should focus on the encouragement of learning and innovation. We argue that, from an individualistic perspective, this position is not easy to justify. Novelty and evolutionary change have in fact a rather complex normative dimension. In order to cope with this, the evolutionary approach to policy-making needs to be complemented with an account of welfare the background assumptions of which are compatible with an evolutionary world-view. Standard welfare economics is unsuited to the job, since the orthodox way to conceptualize welfare as the satisfaction of given and rational preferences cannot be applied in a world in which preferences tend to be variable and incoherent. We argue that, in order to deal with the specific normative issues brought up in an evolving economy, welfare should be conceptualized in a procedural way: At the individual level, it should be understood as the capacity and motivation to engage in the ongoing learning of instrumentally effective preferences. Evolutionary-naturalistic insights into the way human agents bring about, value, and respond to novelty-induced change turn out to be a valuable input into this extended concept of welfare. Finally, some implications of this concept are explored.

Indexing Voice: A Morality Tale

Jane Hill’s work demonstrates a rare ability to bring precise linguistic analysis to bear on broad questions of social existence, with a special sensitivity to subtle traces of power and structures of inequality. In this article I will draw on her well known essay, “The Voices of Don Gabriel” (Hill 1995) to explore some of the implications of her analysis for social thought in fields beyond the discipline of linguistic anthropology. Hill’s essay is notable for its innovative synthesis of the work of Erving Goffman and M. M. Bakhtin. This synthesis gives substance to a point of convergence that might otherwise remain virtual, which she identifies with the concept of voice. Before turning to Don Gabriel, however, I will discuss the theoretical problem to which, among other things, Hill offers a response. The implications and problems I discuss here should not be taken as self-evident. Although they derive from background assumptions shared by many linguistic anthropologists, since they are not always as evident to colleagues beyond the subfield, this article will begin by sketching them out. Just what is the pertinence of the close analysis of speech for our understanding of other scales of social life? What bearing does the study of conversation, for instance, have on empirical observations and forms of explanation that are not wholly identi

Picture–word interference and the Response-Exclusion Hypothesis: A response to Mulatti and Coltheart

Mulatti and Coltheart (2011, this issue) review and summarize several findings from the picture-word interference paradigm that the authors argue challenge the Response Exclusion Hypothesis. However, the hypothesis they take to be the Response Exclusion Hypothesis is not that theory—it is an account developed by Mulatti and Coltheart that holds that target naming latencies in the picture-word paradigm are affected only by the process of excluding the distractor word (and by nothing else). We consider some of the background assumptions implicit in Mulatti and Coltheart’s discussion that may have led to this misattribution. Finally, we report a replication of an effect originally described by Dalrymple-Alford (1972) that serves as an empirical basis for reiterating the main points of our proposal and outlining the challenges that lie ahead.