Contrary Opinions Research Articles

Ockham’s Flying Soul An Argument Against Henry of Ghent on the Powers of the Soul

Medieval thinkers unanimously believed a human soul has various powers. Yet, the latter point is also nearly the only one they agreed upon. In the paper, I focus on two contrary opinions maintained by Henry of Ghent and William of Ockham. Whereas Henry of Ghent held powers of the soul are defined with respect to the activities they are powers-for, Ockham refuted such a contention. To make his point Ockham launches a thought experiment: if God created an intellective soul without creating anything else, wouldn’t the powers in this soul still exist fully? Upon succinctly presenting Henry of Ghent’s view on the powers of the soul, I provide a detailed analysis of Ockham’s counterargument. I argue Henry could still reply to Ockham’s rebuttal, and show how the latter bares a remote resemblance to Avicenna’s flying man argument.

Military Logistics in the Light of the VUCA-World

Abstract The term VUCA-world emerged in the military in the early 1990s and then entered the vocabulary of modern management. Moreover, despite many contrary opinions, it is still relevant. The phenomenon describes a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment in which military logistics must operate to ensure sustainability, operability and survivability. A resilient military logistics organisation that can withstand disruptions is essential to the delivery of services. This means that disruptions have less impact on performance and can be quickly restored. Resilience is generated by two main factors, robustness and agility. Robustness created through anticipation and preparation, while agility can be strengthened through flexibility and transparency.

Public opinion and expert critique: reconsidering the role of constitutional scholars in Japan’s security policy

Abstract Do experts’ opinions influence public opinion? Although experts with academic backgrounds are gaining a presence in policy debates, empirical studies deliver inconclusive results on whether experts have a cueing effect. Moreover, while most studies focus on cases where experts propose or recommend policies, the influence of their criticism on government policy has not received much research attention. To fill this gap, through an online survey in Japan, we test the effect of constitutional scholars’ criticism on people’s support for a dispatch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). Since constitutional academics, regarded as influential experts, have historically criticized the constitutional legitimacy of Japan’s security policy, they provide a suitable case to examine. The results show that such criticism has no causal effect on public attitudes even among the most liberal respondents or those with high confidence in constitutional scholars. Contrary opinions from retired general officers decreased support for the dispatch among individuals who were conservative or had high confidence in the JSDF. These findings imply that though people consciously sift through information from different sources, they mostly reject the opinions of academic experts.

The overlap between workplace bullying and organizational dissent in New Zealand

Purpose This study aims to examine the extent to which organizational dissent predicts perception of workplace bullying. As previous studies have reported inconsistent and sometimes contradictory results regarding the interaction between the reporting of bullying and demographic variables, these variables are examined in the New Zealand context. Organizational communication research provides considerable insight into the ways individuals make sense of and resist workplace bullying through juxtaposition with the concepts of dissent and intragroup conflict. Design/methodology/approach A nationally representative sample of managers in New Zealand (n = 239) was conducted. Surveys included demographic questions and the following measures: Organizational Dissent Scale and Negative Acts Questionnaire Revised Scale. Findings Key results and indications for further research are highlighted by the third model in this study. First, workers who reported they engaged in either articulated dissent or latent dissent were more likely to perceive workplace bullying. Second, workers who are more likely to express contrary opinions in the workplace are more likely to recognize, acknowledge and tolerate less positive interactions in the workplace such as bullying. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze dissent and bullying in the New Zealand context. Second, this research raises the question of whether there is a conflation of work-related bullying behaviors and bad leadership styles that may not be targeted (e.g. authoritative leadership and micromanaging). Finally, communication research provides a distinctive contribution by exploring the narrative form of worker responses to perceived bullying. In this manuscript, the authors examine potential predictors on the perception of workplace bullying in the context of New Zealand, particularly focus on the relationship between dissent and the perception of workplace bullying.

Bibliographic Synthesis on the Influence of Cow Mastitis on Fresh Milk Quality

Mastitis in lactating cows lead to a decrease in the overall cow production; make milk unfit for human and calf consumption; deteriorate milk quality. However, data are not updated on the influence of mastitis on the physicochemical and microbiological quality of milk. Therefore, the present review was made to highlight the current state of knowledge on prior research on the impact of mastitis on milk quality, and to identify the shortcomings of these studies. Two themes were addressed to achieve this. We started by reviewing the prevalence, aetiology and factors associated with the occurrence of mastitis in the African continent. Then, we compared the variation of chemical components of mastitis milk in several studies. Our analysis shows that subclinical mastitis is predominant in Africa, with most prevalence higher than 50%. The majority of authors (83.33%) claimed that Staphylococci are the main cause of mastitis. The breed (83.33%) and lactation stage (66.66%) were the two most cited factors contributing to the occurrence of mastitis. Data collected on the chemical components of mastitis milk came mostly from studies prior to the year 2000. Several contrary opinions (increase/decrease/no variation) were stated by authors on the variation of chemical components of mastitic milk, specifically on fat, lactose and crude protein contents. Overall, it is challenging, if not impossible, to draw a definitive conclusion about the influence of mastitis on the chemical composition of milk for most chemical parameters, because the data examined in relation to the chemical components of milk with mastitis seem rather inconsistent.

КЛАССИФИКАЦИИ И НЕОПЕРАТИВНОЕ ЛЕЧЕНИЕ ОСТРОГО АППЕНДИЦИТА У ВЗРОСЛЫХ: СРАВНИТЕЛЬНЫЙ АНАЛИЗ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ

The issue of non-surgical treatment of acute appendicitis (AA) remains debatable in modern literature. In the last decade, a number of large studies have been conducted on this approach to the treatment of acute inflammation in the appendix. The researchers do not often come to the same conclusions or even have contrary opinions. This review highlights the differences in AA classifications. The analytical part includes a comparison of six original research articles on non-surgical treatment of AA. The objective was to identify potential reasons for inconsistent results of the studies and to outline the possibilities of non-surgical treatment of AA and its disadvantages.

Against Arguments There Are No Facts—The Inconsistencies of Critics of Homeopathy

Every homeopath at some point in his career faces negative or contrary opinions. Almost every year our profession is threatened by sceptics brandishing articles – with dubious methodologies to say the least – whose sole purpose is to declare ‘the end of homeopathy’.

The Elderly’s Thoughts and Attitudes about Polypharmacy and Deprescribing: A Qualitative Pilot Study in Portugal

The high prevalence of polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications in the elderly makes them a vulnerable group to adverse drug events. Deprescribing is the medication review plus cessation of potentially inappropriate medications with a health professional’s help. Several barriers and enablers influence it, and its knowledge can help health professionals. The objective of the study is to understand the Portuguese elderly’s attitudes and ideas about polypharmacy and deprescription. We made a qualitative approach through a focus group with elderly patients from an adult daycare center with transcription and codification into themes and subthemes based on previous frameworks. Eleven elderly patients participated in the focus group. The identified elderly’s ideas and attitudes could be clustered into five main barriers: appropriateness, process, influences, fear, and habit, and five main enablers: appropriateness, process, influences, dislike, and cost. Although the elderly’s strong beliefs regarding medication benefits and necessity prevail, contrary opinions regarding lack of benefit/necessity, drug interaction/side effects, and medication complexity/number may influence their willingness to deprescribe positively. The health professional’s influence and the patient’s trust in their doctors were perceived essential for decision-making as either a barrier or an enabler. The medication benefit was a big barrier, and side effects/drug interaction experiences are an important enabler.

Analysis of the most influential publications on vertebral augmentation for treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture: A review.

This study aimed to analyze the most influential publications on vertebral augmentation for treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. The Web of Science database was searched using the key words “percutaneous vertebroplasty,” “percutaneous kyphoplasty,” “balloon kyphoplasty,” “vertebroplasty,” “kyphoplasty,” and “vertebral augmentation.” The top 100 publications were arranged by citations per year and descriptively and visually analyzed. The top 100 publications were cited 25,482 times, with an average of 14.4 citations per paper per year. The corresponding authors of the publications represented 17 nations, with most authors being American (46 authors). Thirty-two journals were involved, with SPINE issuing the most publications (24 papers of the 100). Clinical research (73 of the 100 papers) outnumbered basic studies (14 papers) and systematic reviews (13 papers), and the most publications were published between 2000 and 2004. Co-citation analysis of the key words indicated that the top 5 focus areas were “complication,” “balloon kyphoplasty,” “vertebral compression fracture,” “biomechanics,” and “calcium phosphate cement.” The top 3 keywords with the strongest citation bursts were “compression fracture,” “cement,” and “balloon kyphoplasty.” The keywords with persistent strong citation bursts are “balloon kyphoplasty” and “augmentation.” There are still contrary opinions about vertebral augmentation; new research should be conducted with more deliberate design and longer follow-up.

Evolution of the myth of the human rete mirabile traced through text and illustrations in printed books: The case of Vesalius and his plagiarists

ABSTRACT Andreas Vesalius initially accepted Galen’s ideas concerning the rete mirabile in humans. In 1538, Vesalius drew a diagram of the human rete mirabile as a plexiform termination of the carotid arteries, where the vital spirit is transformed into the animal spirit, before being distributed from the brain along the nerves to the body. In 1540, Vesalius demonstrated the rete mirabile at a public anatomy, using a sheep’s head (due to his nascent realization that he could not demonstrate this adequately in a human cadaver, potentially eliciting ridicule). By 1543, Vesalius had fully reversed himself, denied the existence of the rete mirabile in humans, and castigated himself for his prior failure to recognize this error in Galen’s works. Vesalius nevertheless illustrated both the Galenic conception of the rete mirabile in humans and a schematic of the rete mirabile in ungulates. He intended the 1543 diagram of the human rete mirabile as an example of a mistake that resulted from Galen’s overreliance on animals as models of human anatomy. However, in spite of Vesalius’s intentions, for more than a century afterward, his figure was repeatedly and perversely plagiarized by advocates for Galenic doctrine, who misused it as a purportedly realistic representation of human anatomy and generally omitted the contrary opinions of Berengario da Carpi and Vesalius. The protracted use of stereotyped representations of the rete mirabile in extant printed illustrations provides tangible documentation of the stagnation in anatomical thought in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The Linking Between the Emerging Market Economy and Human Character in Volpone of Ben Jonson

Social developments/events of three different periods (Elizabethan Period (1558-1603), Jacobean Period (1603-1625) and Caroline Period (1625-1649) might have had great impact on Ben Jonson’s writing the play Volpone. In this qualitative study (conducted with literature research on the topic), Volpone through which he best reflected his corrupted society at that time will be examined. The play will be analysed to illuminate the native features related to the market economy. The economic sight based on commodity has such a great power in changing the characters of the people, losing their morals because of their greed towards the power and wealth during the mentioned period. Another point to be discussed is to reckon whether Ben Jonson as a Dramatist had contrary opinions against the developing capitalist world. In the study, it has been found that the play of Volpone (the fox) depicts one of the best evidence how the characters can be changed through materialism. As a main character, he is a wealthy Venetian nobleman and exceptionally cunning, who devises a plan (pretending to die) with the assistance of his henchman (Mosca/ fly) to exploit his relatives waiting to be an heir of him. The play shows how his relatives flatter him and give him the most expensive gifts. He deceives each of them at the end. The play draws attention to the materialistic power of the 16th century.

Marxism-Leninism and Christianity: dictatorship of the “proletariat” and terror

This article carries out a historical-theological analysis of compatibility of the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism with Christianity. The relevance of this topic is substantiate by the ongoing polemic, which is directly pertains to the social structure. The author reviews the historical-theological aspects of this question based on the critical study of historical-philosophical research, as well as historical documents on the matter. In order to conduct comprehensive analysis on this topic, the article explores the dictatorship of the “proletariat” and terror views of opposing sides, as well as describes contrary opinions, texts of Holy Scripture, and views of the Orthodox Church Fathers. The novelty of this research lies in introduction of certain documents in the context of articulated problem for the first time. The author gives a detailed historical-theological overview on the comparison of Marxism-Leninism with Orthodox Christianity. The goal of this work lies in examination of the historical documents and historical-theological writings on the topic at hand. The conclusion is made that despite apparent similarity of certain provisions, Marxism-Leninism and Christianity are by no means compatible. In theoretical terms, socialism could exist in symbiosis with Christianity if the existing contradictions are eliminated. However, such socialism would be no longer based on Marxism-Leninism.

The Choice between Norm and Freedom: Women and Witchcraft in the Late Middle Ages

Many women were targeted by the juridical system for practising witchcraft in the late Middle Ages, but their motivation and interest in practising witchcraft haven’t been widely analyzed. Thus, the analysis generally focuses on the social context of late medieval women that make them more interested in witchcraft by analyzing the social roles given and feminine consciousness in the practice of heresy. This work proposes two questions: How does witchcraft reflect women’s roles and social expectations in medieval society? Did the practice of heresy arouse feminine consciousness in the Middle Ages? This work chooses The Hammer of Witches by the 15th-century Dominican friars Jacob Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer as primary sources to analyze and found that hatred and loss of possession are the main motivations for women to involve with witchcraft. These motivations reflect women’s dissatisfaction and the restriction of being a housewife. There are different opinions toward the feminine consciousness in the practice of heresy. It is found that the practice of heresy helps women exert their great influence on their family and community by sharing their heresy, which is a part of the indication of feminine consciousness. But contrary opinions suggest that women’s act in heresy didn’t derive from their self-willingness, and instead their behaviours are generally from the devil’s intention.

Interpreting “Performers Rights” in The Indian Copyright Act to Appropriately Provide For Singers Rights

Performers act as a catalyst to communicate the relevant original content in a work. This article seeks to discuss two contentious questions with regard to the interpretation of Performers Rights provided under Section 38 and 39 of the Indian Copyright Act, specifically with respect to Singers’ Rights, and offers contrary opinions to the prevailing interpretations in the industry as well as one’s argued and accepted by the Delhi High Court. After analysing various doctrinal principles surrounding interpretation of statutes in India, this article firstly concludes that Section 39A of the Indian Copyright Act, and the royalty scheme therein, is applicable with a “Retroactive” effect in India; and secondly that every performance rendered in real time, irrespective of it being in front of an audience, on a stage, or in the studio, ought to be covered under the definition of a Performance under Section 2(q) read with Section 38 of the Indian Copyright Act, to effectively provide for Performers Rights, encapsulated within the Indian legislative schema. This article also attempts to harmonize these interpretations with a comparative as well as an international IP perspective.

Philosophy of Education and the Ideological Underpinning of the Curriculum

The seeming corpulent connection between theory and practice informs this inquiry. Whereas there have been claims from several quarters that the decline in the quality of pedagogy lies with poor theory but where there is a sound one, its deleterious practice or application is considered a foremost culprit. Consequent upon this, this research takes a twist on this issue. Through the method of critical analysis and interpretation, the study employs the Marxist theory of education as its theoretical framework. In other words, the paper takes its cue from a Marxist perspective to posit that the society is a battle ground of ideologies. What is perceived as failed theory and/or practice in pedagogy is actually the fulfillment of an ideology of the ruling class who are not only the ruling material force but also the society’s ruling intellectual force. This clearly portends that there is an ideology behind any curriculum and its application. It is always a curriculum put in place by the ruling class. It is calculated to produce minds that would condone and uphold the hegemonic status quo of the ruling intellectual force. It therefore does not matter whether or not society develops. For development is defined by the prevailing ideology. Contrary opinions are repressed and exterminated usually through force or rhetoric. If this is the case, the question of theory and practice in pedagogy does not arise. On the contrary, the main impetus ought to be how to deal with what kind of ideology persists in a society’s educational curriculum. Hence, the current study proposes a re-thinking away from the perceived and seemingly wide abyss between theory and practice. This is because every fact and practice is theory-laden. It is the submission of this paper that the ideological basis of a curriculum demands more attention.

Of principle, practicality, and precedents: the presumption of the arbitration agreement’s governing law

Abstract The issue of determining the appropriate law governing an arbitration agreement is one that has long vexed the courts in many jurisdictions. Most recently, both the English and Singapore Court of Appeals have waded into the fray, contributing contrary opinions in their respective decisions of Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi AS v OOO “Insurance Company Chubb” and BNA v BNB. This article examines these decisions and argues that there should be a presumption that the governing law of the arbitration agreement follows the matrix contract within which it is situated.

Echo Chambers and Audio Signal Processing

AbstractFollowing Cass Sunstein's popular treatment of the concept, echo chambers are often defined as environments which exclude contrary opinions through omission. C. Thi Nguyen contests the popular usage and defines echo chambers in terms of in-group trust and out-group distrust. In this paper, I argue for a more comprehensive treatment. While both exclusion by omission and out-group distrust help sustain echo chambers, neither defines the phenomenon. I develop a social network model of echo chambers which focuses on the role of belief-reinforcing echoes. First, I argue that the model allows us to incorporate Nguyen's main point about distrust without construing other commentators as deeply mistaken about the nature of echo chambers. Second, I use the model to develop an account ofcollaborative resistanceand use it to clarify the role echo chambers play in spreading misinformation.

A Privileged Point of View: Effects of Subjective Socioeconomic Status on Naïve Realism and Political Division.

In the United States, both economic inequality and political conflict are on the rise. We investigated whether subjective socioeconomic status (SSS) may help explain why these dual patterns emerge. We hypothesized that higher SSS may increase naïve realism-the belief that one perceives the world as it is, rather than as interpreted through one's own knowledge and beliefs-regarding political issues. Using a representative sample of the American electorate, we found that higher SSS predicted more political naïve realism toward those from a different political party (Study 1). The remaining experiments examined the causal relationship between SSS and political naïve realism (Studies 2-5). We extended these findings by investigating whether SSS influenced participants' willingness to exclude those with contrary views from a vote (Studies 4 and 5). Together, these studies demonstrate that SSS enhances political naïve realism and can lead to the exclusion of others with contrary opinions.

Issues associated with the possible contribution of battery energy storage in ensuring a stable electricity system

The purpose of this paper is to provide a consideration of the role of battery energy storage in enhancing electricity grid stability at a time of increased use of non-hydro renewable generation sources, focusing on the Australian case. Besides the creation of a strategic reserve one measure that might reduce this instability that have being increasingly attracted much attention by both the operators of power systems and electricity distribution networks is the use of battery energy storage. Together, the multitude of regulatory and advisory bodies operating in and around the National Electricity Market of Australia (NEM), and the diverse and sometimes contrary opinions as to the best underlying foundational architecture for the NEM, overlaid by ongoing disagreement at the government policy level, point to continuing uncertainty and difficulties for an Australian electricity system in a state of transition.

Awareness of crime prevention effects associated with a wall removal project in Seoul

ABSTRACTThis study investigated Groups' awareness of how wall removal affects crime prevention. Group 1 comprised of burglars, Group 2 of non-residents who have not removed walls, and Group 3 of residents who have removed walls and are living in wall removal project areas. First, we examine differences in awareness between Groups 1 and 2 regarding ease of crime in relation to the presence or absence of a wall. Second, we examined the awareness levels of Groups 1 and 2 in relation to important factors considered by intruders when committing a burglary. Finally, we examined how wall removal reduces the fear of crime in Groups 2 and 3. Group 1 believed a house with a wall was an easier target for crime, but Group 2, comprised of residents who did not perform wall removal, had contrary opinions. Group 2 believed that wall removal did not reduce the fear of crime, unlike Group 3. These results indicate that Group 2 has negative perceptions of wall removal in the context of crime prevention, which stems from the common belief that a wall will protect a house from outside threats. Therefore, changes in mindset are needed to create safe environments in detached housing areas.