Choice Of Interpretation Research Articles

Winning Arguments about Rights: An Empirical Analysis of Argument Construction at the European Court of Human Rights

This study examines the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) use of the canonical interpretation techniques (textual, systematic, historical, teleological) based on a novel comprehensive dataset of 8,436 judgments. We show that while interpretation techniques are used in about one-third of cases, the ECtHR often employs multiple methods simultaneously. Textual and teleological interpretation techniques emerged as the most commonly used, with systematic interpretation also being prevalent. Our findings indicate a discernible relationship between the type of rights being considered and the interpretation techniques employed by the ECtHR to construct arguments about rights. Additionally, the study sheds light on the Court’s interpretive choices: in general, the use of interpretation techniques does not enhance the likelihood of a Convention rights violation being found. Textual interpretation may overlook broader social or policy implications and thus make judges less likely to recognize violations. On the other hand, systematic interpretation is negatively associated with the finding of a violation in justice-related rights but is positively associated with the finding of a violation in Convention articles related to ‘life and limb’. This suggests that the Court interprets the justice-related rights more narrowly when applying a systematic approach. The study forms a substantial foundation for further research into the nuanced dynamics of the ECtHR’s use of canonical interpretative techniques.

Role function in postmenopausal women during aromatase inhibitor therapy for breast cancer.

Few studies have examined aromatase inhibitor therapy relating to role function in breast cancer survivors of working age. Our study sought to identify how pre-therapy sociodemographic and health/treatment-related characteristics, as well as patient-reported symptoms measured every six-months, influence role function during 18months of AI therapy for early-stage breast cancer. We performed a secondary analysis of longitudinal study data using linear mixed-effects modeling to examine role physical (RP) and role emotional (RE) functioning measured with the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 v2. The sample of postmenopausal women (N = 351) consisted of three cohorts: chemotherapy followed by anastrozole (CFAI), anastrozole only (AI only), and non-cancer controls. Our choice of variables and interpretation of findings was theoretically based on the Cancer Survivorship and Work Model. Stepwise backward deletion determined which predictors to include in the final model, accounting for treatment group. Both treatment groups were associated with greater limitations in RP functioning than controls. CFAI had twice the impact on RP compared to AI only. While the RP model displayed significant predictors across sociodemographic, health/treatment, and symptom characteristics, only symptoms were associated with greater limitations in RE functioning. Findings were significant at p < .05. Transitioning from acute to extended survivorship is a critical juncture in which multiple factors place breast cancer survivors at risk of diminished role function. Early interventions to address role function limitations during systemic treatment may lead to better work outcomes and improve the quality of long-term survivorship.

A framework for modeling performers' beat-to-beat heart intervals using music features and Interpretation Maps.

Music strongly modulates our autonomic nervous system. This modulation is evident in musicians' beat-to-beat heart (RR) intervals, a marker of heart rate variability (HRV), and can be related to music features and structures. We present a novel approach to modeling musicians' RR interval variations, analyzing detailed components within a music piece to extract continuous music features and annotations of musicians' performance decisions. A professional ensemble (violinist, cellist, and pianist) performs Schubert's Trio No. 2, Op. 100, Andante con moto nine times during rehearsals. RR interval series are collected from each musician using wireless ECG sensors. Linear mixed models are used to predict their RR intervals based on music features (tempo, loudness, note density), interpretive choices (Interpretation Map), and a starting factor. The models explain approximately half of the variability of the RR interval series for all musicians, with R-squared = 0.606 (violinist), 0.494 (cellist), and 0.540 (pianist). The features with the strongest predictive values were loudness, climax, moment of concern, and starting factor. The method revealed the relative effects of different music features on autonomic response. For the first time, we show a strong link between an interpretation map and RR interval changes. Modeling autonomic response to music stimuli is important for developing medical and non-medical interventions. Our models can serve as a framework for estimating performers' physiological reactions using only music information that could also apply to listeners.

Toxin-Induced Animal Models of Parkinson's Disease.

The debilitating motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) result primarily from the degenerative nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway. To elucidate pathogenic mechanisms and evaluate therapeutic strategies for PD, numerous animal models have been developed. Understanding the strengths and limitations of these models can significantly impact the choice of model, experimental design, and data interpretation. Herein, we systematically review the literature over the past decade. Some models no longer serve the purpose of PD models. The primary objectives of this review are: First, to assist new investigators in navigating through available animal models and making appropriate selections based on the objective of the study. Emphasis will be placed on common toxin-induced murine models. And second, to provide an overview of basic technical requirements for assessing the nigrostriatal pathway's pathology, structure, and function.

A New Musical Helen

Abstract: This paper discusses compositional methods and interpretive choices behind “new ancient music” for Euripides’ Helen , how it supports or complicates the play’s musical design as previously understood, and how a newly musicalized “choral plot” can affect audience experience, ancient and modern. It is intended to complement performance recordings and scores, materials which, taken together, may help one understand the ancient experience of Greek dramatic music generally, or to evaluate musical effects of this specific play. It may also be useful for restaging Helen with this music, or new compositions of one’s own.

Áltudományos szövegek eszközei a meggyőzés szolgálatában

The aim of this paper, which presents research conducted within the Onomastics Students’ Workshop at ELTE, is to investigate the effectiveness of the persuasion techniques employed in pseudoscientific arguments (in this case, place-name interpretations). Two of these are commonly used in any pseudoscientific context (invoking non-scientific authority and the use of seemingly scientific terms), and two are specific to the study of language and onomastics (the effect of pseudoscientific theories on the language family of a language and mentioning the historical changes in the name). A questionnaire survey of high school students at four research sites nationwide seeks to discover the extent to which lay language users are influenced by each of these factors in determining the scientific validity of place-name etymologies. The results show that the use of seemingly scientific terms has an influential effect, but that the persuasive power of appeals to pseudoscientific (or even fictitious but apparently academic) authority is more significant. It has also been shown that the choice of a name interpretation associated with pseudoscientific theories of linguistic genealogy does not necessarily imply identification with the claims and ideology of these theories: many respondents chose these interpretations due to the influence of other factors. In connection to reflecting on changes in a name form, the results show that critical thinking is not enough, if not coupled with deep knowledge.

Digital distortions and interpretive choices: A cartographic perspective on encoding regulation

Rules as Code (RaC), which encompasses the conversion of legal and regulatory rules into computer code, is gaining traction internationally. This article analyses ‘digital distortions’ in RaC, which refer to disconnects between regulation and code that arise from interpretive choices in the encoding process. We contend that Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ ‘symbolic cartography of law’ provides valuable concepts for understanding digital distortions in encoding regulation. Specifically, we argue that the cartographic concepts of scale, projection, symbolisation and orientation highlight distortions that can arise from choices involving the documentation to code, logics to follow, languages to use and coded outputs to present. We demonstrate how these distortions arose in our attempt to convert the ePayments Code, an Australian voluntary code of conduct for consumer electronic payment transactions, into machine-executable code. The article concludes by underscoring the importance of greater awareness of interpretive coding choices and their implications for diverse users of digitised regulation.

UNVEILING CONFORMITY AND DIFFERENTIATION THROUGH DERRIDA'S "DIFFERANCE"

This essay investigates the complex area of linguistic interpretation through the lens of Jacques Derrida's seminal concept of "difference." It begins a journey from the pursuit of static unity to the embrace of static difference, in the process illustrating the paradoxical space between conformity and personal choice. Language is dynamic, subject to contextual changes and influenced by historical contingencies. In the pursuit of fixed unity, a resistance mechanism is triggered, leading to a proliferation of differences instead of conforming to predetermined axes. This resistance mechanism embodied by "difference" paradoxically intensifies the inherent complexity and ambiguity of language. This forces individuals to oscillate between their initial intentions and unintended consequences, often ending up with a unique fit within their chosen interpretive framework. "Difference" challenges traditional notions of fixed similarity and illuminates the nuanced interplay between conformity and difference in the complex web of linguistic coding. Ultimately, this study unravels the problem of interpretation and reveals that harmony can emerge beyond the boundaries of traditional unity shaped by individual motives and interpretive choices.

Abdominal Imaging Findings in Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (CO-VID-19) is known to predominantly present with respiratory symptoms; however, a significant proportion of patients present with digestive symptoms. These symptoms are often non-specific and as such prompt the treating physician to request further imaging evaluation. Understanding the abdominal imaging findings in COVID-19 and their possible associations is thus crucial to direct patient care and prevent misdiagnosis.The aim of this study was to describe abdominal imaging findings on both computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound scans in cases with positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests performed at our institution, and also, to evaluate the reason for requesting these imaging studies, and to correlate these findings with patients' demographics. A retrospective observational study was conducted at Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain, between February 2021 and March 2022. We examinedthe abdominal CT and ultrasound data for PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients. The demographic data, reason for requesting imaging and imaging findings were gathered by reviewing the hospital's electronic health records and picture archiving and communicating system (PACS). The study included 97 patients, with the majority being male (57.7%). The most common reason for imaging was abdominal pain, as seen in over half of the patients (60.8%), followed by deranged liver enzymes (18.6%). More than 75% of imaging studies showed positive abdominal findings with the majority (19.6%) showing non-specific inflammatory findings, followed by gallbladder disease (13.4%). The CT studies were more likely to yield positive findings as compared to ultrasound, with only 7 (11.3%) CT scans yielding normal findings (χ2 = 14.65; P < 0.01). To our knowledge, the research conducted on the abdominal manifestations of COVID-19 is still limited, especially in our region. Our study showed that there are variable presentations of abdominal organ involvement in COVID-19 cases, and as such more data is required to direct choice of imaging study, protocol, and interpretation of findings to better guide patient management.

The right to regulate and the interpretation of the WTO Agreement

ABSTRACT In contrast to international investment tribunals, World Trade Organization (WTO) adjudicators have been reluctant to acknowledge the inherent right to regulate under international law explicitly. Policy-based considerations arising from such a right have not been viewed as a standalone component under interpretive analyses in WTO dispute settlement. Instead, they have been integrated only to the extent they find expression in the treaty. This article explores how, on occasion, WTO adjudicators have departed from this orthodox approach by choosing to proactively interpret the WTO Covered Agreements in a way that presupposes a States’ right to regulate, even where this may seem contrary to, or unsupported by, the treaty text. In these cases, the question has not been whether such a right subsists within substantive WTO disciplines, but rather how such a right can be read into these disciplines in a manner that comports with the ordinary rules of treaty interpretation. While this unorthodox approach has resulted in interpretations that appear unclear and uncertain, these outcomes are ultimately explicable in terms of a general principle of regulatory autonomy that can form the basis for more principled interpretive choices.

Building risk mitigation strategies for circularity adoption in Indian textile supply chains.

Textile industries are among the most polluting and demand urgent management measures to mitigate their negative environmental impact. Thus, it is imperative to incorporate the textile industry into the circular economy and to foster sustainable practices. This study aims to establish a comprehensive, compliant decision framework to analyse risk mitigation strategies for circular supply chain (CSC) adoption in India's textile industries. The Situations Actors Processes and Learnings Actions Performances (SAP-LAP) technique analyses the problem. However, interpreting the interacting associations between the SAP-LAP model-based variables is somewhat lacking in this procedure, which might skew the decision-making process. As a result, in this study, the SAP-LAP method is accompanied by a novel ranking technique, namely, the Interpretive Ranking Process (IRP), which reduces decision-making issues in the SAP-LAP method and aids in evaluating the model by determining the ranks of variables; furthermore, the study also offers causal relationships among the various risks and risk factors and various identified risk-mitigation actions by constructing Bayesian Networks (BN) based on conditional probabilities. The study's originality represents the findings using an instinctive and interpretative choice approach to address significant concerns in risk perception and mitigation techniques for CSC adoption in the Indian textile industries. The suggested SAP-LAP and the IRP-based model would assist firms in addressing risk mitigation techniques for CSC adoption concerns by providing a hierarchy of the various risks and mitigation strategies to cope with. The simultaneously proposed BN model will help visualise the conditional dependency of risks and factors with proposed mitigating actions.

Ovid’s Cephalus and the dangers of mistranslation

This paper considers misunderstandings found within the story of Cephalus and Procris in Metamorphoses 7, misunderstandings that are regularly repeated in the scholarly interpretations and English translations of this episode. The interpretive challenges posed by Cephalus’ tale are indeed akin to those faced by the Ovidian translator, whose interpretive choices will influence how later readers construe his often ambiguous words. Whereas others see Cephalus as an unreliable narrator whose claim to have been raped by Aurora is open to doubt, I argue that his words are best read as he tells us to read them. Misunderstanding is due not to Cephalus’ unreliability but to the interpretive challenges posed by the changeable Ovidian world he inhabits, a world that is labyrinthine and ambiguous. Ovid himself helps us navigate the mazelike structure of Cephalus’ narrative by verbal clues and intra-/intertextual parallels that clearly align Cephalus with other rape victims in the epic. By understanding Cephalus first and foremost as a rape victim, his actions and words become more intelligible and shed light on the themes of rape, masculinity, and power within the epic as a whole.

Stroke-like manifestation of a spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma with spontaneous resolution: a case report

BackgroundThis case report presents the case of a man with no known coagulopathy or preceding trauma, who spontaneously developed a spinal epidural hematoma (SEH). This is an uncommon condition which can have variable presentations including hemiparesis mimicking stroke, resulting in the potential for misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment.Case presentationA 28-year-old Chinese male with no past medical history presented with sudden onset neck pain associated with bilateral upper limbs and right lower limb subjective numbness but intact motor function. He was discharged after adequate pain relief but re-attended the emergency department with right hemiparesis. A magnetic resonance imaging of his spine revealed an acute cervical spinal epidural hematoma at C5 and C6. While admitted, he had spontaneous improvement of his neurological function and was eventually managed conservatively.ConclusionsSEH, although uncommon, can be a mimic of stroke and it is important to avoid misdiagnosis as it is a time critical diagnosis, and administration of thrombolysis or antiplatelets can lead to unfavourable outcomes. Having a high clinical suspicion can help to guide us in the choice of imaging and interpretation of subtle signs to reach the correct diagnosis in a timely manner. Further research is required to better understand the factors that would favour a conservative approach as opposed to surgical treatment.

Quantitative Assessment of Treatment Response in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients by SPECT-CT Bone Imaging-Getting Closer to PET-CT.

Cancer represents the major cause of death mainly through its ability to spread to other organs, highlighting the importance of metastatic disease diagnosis and accurate follow up for treatment management purposes. Although until recently the main method for imaging interpretation was represented by qualitative methods, quantitative analysis of SPECT-CT data represents a viable, objective option. Seventy-five breast cancer patients presenting metastatic bone disease underwent at least two Bone SPECT-CT studies using [99mTc]-HDP between November 2019 to October 2022. Our findings show a good positive relationship between the qualitative methods of imaging interpretation and quantitative analysis, with a correlation coefficient of 0.608 between qualitative whole body scintigraphy and quantitative SPECT-CT, and a correlation coefficient of 0.711 between the qualitative and quantitative interpretation of SPECT-CT data; nevertheless, there is a need for accurate, objective and reproducible methods for imaging interpretation, especially for research purposes. Quantitative evaluation of the SPECT-CT data has the potential to be the first choice of imaging interpretation for patient follow up and treatment response evaluation, especially for research purposes, because of its objectivity and expression of uptake changes in absolute units.

Disclosing Structures: Scenes of Confession in Pale Fire

Abstract: The role that confession plays in Nabokov's fiction remains poorly understood, though the same can be said for confessional fiction in general. Part of the problem lies in the slipperiness of the word "confession" itself, which is why this essay begins by defining confession as a performative speech act through which the speaking or writing subject seeks to form, reform, and transform herself, addressing herself to another who is called to act as a witness to this creative act of self(trans)formation—a process akin to Nabokov's own description of a poet (not a "loony") who "peels off a drab past and replaces it with a brilliant invention" ( Pale Fire 188). Based on this capacious definition, the paper proposes reading Pale Fire , arguably the most elusive of Nabokov's confessional fictions, as the confession of the fictional editor, Charles Kinbote. Examining Kinbote's note to line 550 of the poem, where Kinbote confesses having been "tarrying on the brink of falsification" from the very beginning, I argue that Kinbote's commentary begins to act as his confession, allowing Kinbote to accumulate the kind of moral self-distance that serves as the basis for his reform. This reading is foregrounded by an analysis of two other interpretive strategies that are common in Pale Fire criticism: the "dialectic" reading that seeks to discover the truth of the text and the "paranoid" reading that promises to uncover a secret, a hidden truth. Whereas both of these strategies position the critic as the one who must disclose a truth that is not confessed in the novel, reading Pale Fire as Kinbote's confession in a deconstructive manner, as I propose doing, allows the novel to be endlessly "unfolded," to use Gilles Deleuze's metaphor, bringing to the fore the materiality of the text itself and the interpretive choices it imposes on its readers.

Требование внимания для моральной ответствен­ности

The article analyzes an epistemic condition for moral responsibility. The condition is taken in a dispositional form: the attribution of responsibility is appropriate only if the agent was in an epistemic position suitable for obtaining knowledge relevant to moral re­sponsibility. The choice of a dispositional interpretation of the epistemic condition is jus­tified with the help of four thought experiments showing that the actualist understanding of this condition is unacceptable. The main question of the article concerns this epistemic position. The article presents N. Levy’s criticism of the concept of responsibility that rests on the thesis that we never find ourselves in the epistemic position required for moral responsibility. Two lines of response to Levy’s criticism are briefly considered: the Reasonable Expectation Approach and the Attributionist Approach. With the help of the analysis of a thought experiment, the condition of basic knowledge of a morally significant situation is revealed. Further analysis of this condition exposes the condition of attention for moral responsibility. Attention refers to the ability to redirect one’s cogni­tive resources to different tasks. The moral significance of attention is demonstrated: inat­tention as an excusing factor is investigated, the connection between attention and such phenomena of moral life as care and respect is shown. The article shows that the require­ment of attention implies certain control over attention. The condition of attention pro­vides an answer to Levy’s criticism, according to which we have no control over the psy­chological states leading to actions. This is not the case since control of attention plays this role. In conclusion, the prospects for further research are discussed: the study of the concept of control over attention, the connection of moral responsibility and conscious­ness, and examination of the condition of attention in the context of virtue epistemology.

Endosomal Transport to Lysosomes and the Trans-Golgi Network in Neurons and Other Cells: Visualizing Maturational Flux.

High-level microscopy enables the comprehensive study of dynamic intracellular processes. Here we describe a toolkit of combinatorial approaches for fixed cell imaging and live cell imaging to investigate the interactions along the trans-Golgi network (TGN)-endosome-lysosome transport axis, which underlie the maturation of endosomal compartments and degradative flux. For fixed cell approaches, we specifically highlight how choices of permeabilization conditions, antibody selection, and antibody multiplexing affect interpretation of results. For live cell approaches, we emphasize the use of sensors that read out pH and degradative capacity in combination with endosomal identity for elucidating dynamic compartment changes.

“Fratelli dei cani”: Autobiographical and autodiegetic interferences of the incipit of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Orestiade

Abstract Starting from the examination of a marginal text like Letter of the translator, this article analyzes Pier Paolo Pasolini’s translation of the prologue to Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. The paper delves into the central image of Pasolini’s Letter: the comparison between the translator and a dog picking a bone. This juxtaposition alludes to the method used by the translator, which is based on an instinctive approach to the text, similar to that of a beast. I think that this rhetorical figure was suggested to Pasolini by the figure of the lookout on the roof of Atrides’ royal palace; his solitary nocturnal vigil is compared to the derelict condition of a dog. In the association between man and dog made by Aeschylus at the beginning of his trilogy (Orestea), Pasolini finds an expressive way very congenial to himself. In fact, this analogy is used in many points of his entire production as a writer to indicate the marginalization of the intellectual. The immediate proximity that the contemporary poet feels to the canine world implies an unconscious identification of the translator with the hardships of the Aeschylean character. This direct relationship between the human sphere and the animal sphere would explain the free and personal aspect of some interpretative choices about the introductory monologue of the Greek tragedy. It would also explain why Pasolini intended to reuse the prologue of Agamemnon, which he translated into a chapter of the posthumous novel entitled Petrolio.

Language Heightened

Poets and calligraphers are united in their appreciation for the beauty of words. Yet whereas many poets compose according to principles of sound, the calligrapher is guided above all by the sense of sight. This essay seeks to elucidate the hermeneutical dynamics at play in contemporary calligraphic renderings of poetic texts composed for oral recitation, using the work and interpretive legacy of Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins as a test-case. After briefly introducing my theme, I turn to consider Hopkins’s theory and practice of aural composition, drawing on specific poems to illuminate his mastery of acoustic depth. I go on to examine three transcriptions of his work by three contemporary calligraphic artists, focusing on key interpretive choices each scribe makes when translating Hopkins’s aural art into a visual form. At each stage of my investigation, I demonstrate how both the poet and his interpreters invite recipients of their artwork to a deeper appreciation for the wonder of language in ordinary circumstances.

Dame Wang’s Dumplings: Mediating the Obscene in Manchu Translations of Erotic Literature at the Turn of the Eighteenth Century

Abstract This article examines the surprising attention to taboo works of Chinese erotic literature within the corpus of early Manchu literary translations, focusing on the Manchu interpretations of Jinpingmei (The plum in the golden vase), Xixiang ji (The story of the western wing), and Rouputuan (The carnal prayer mat). The Qing court is well known to have sponsored translations of core works of the Chinese classical and historical tradition, while simultaneously banning texts perceived as heterodox, lascivious, or politically sensitive. A lively engagement among Manchu commercial publishers with the literary tradition, including vernacular novels and plays, highlights the broader reading habits of the early Qing Manchu reader in practice. In mediating erotic material for this new audience, translators employed a variety of interpretive choices, ranging from expurgation to the opposite extreme of hyper-sexualization. This study situates these translation practices within the broader Manchu justifications of reading this material, shifting our attention from the conventional representation of Manchu literary repression.