Empirical Hypotheses Research Articles

Impact of FIFRELIN input parameters on fission observables

Evaluated nuclear data are essential for nuclear reactor studies. In order to significantly improve the precision of nuclear data, more and more fundamental fission models are used in the evaluation processing. Therefore, tests of fission models become a central issue. In this framework, FIFRELIN (FIssion Fragments Evaporation Leading to an Investigation of Nuclear data) is a Monte Carlo code developed in order to modelize fission fragments de-excitation through the emission of neutrons, γ and conversion e-. To be performed, a FIFRELIN calculation relies on several models such as gamma strength function and nuclear level density and of more empirical hypothesis such as total excitation energy repartition or angular momentum given by the fission reaction. Moreover, pre-emission mass yield and kinetic energy distribution per mass are necessary to process the simulation. A set of five free parameters are chosen to reproduce a target observable. Often this observable corresponds to the mean neutron multiplicity for heavy and light fragment. In this work, the impact of the set of parameters on different output observables (neutron emission probability, neutron multiplicity as function of the fission fragment mass) is investigated.

Theory of drives and emotions - from Sigmund Freud to Jaak Panksepp.

The article discusses the development of psychoanalytic theory in the direction of broadening the reflection on their own based on data derived from empirical studies other than clinical case study. Particularly noteworthy is the convergence that followed between neuroscience and psychoanalysis and the rise of the so-called neuropsychoanalysis. Consequently, this led to eject empirical hypotheses and begin research on defense mechanisms, self, memory, dreams, empathy, dynamic unconscious and emotional-motivational processes (theory of drives). Currently neuropsychoanalysis constituted itself as a discipline contained in itself three separate areas: the psychodynamic neuroscience, clinical neuropsychoanalysis and theory building. The article introduces the theory of Jaak Panksepp emotional systems as an example of anintegrated neurobiology of affect, behavioral biology, evolutionary psychology and psychoanalysis. The theory of emotional systems includes the description of the SEEKING system representing basic motivational system of the organism. Apart from a new perspective on the theory of drives described by Sigmund Freud, it offers the possibility to take into account the emotional and motivational systems within the understanding of mental disorders such as depression, addiction and psychosis, which is the core of psychoanalytic thinking.

Do cultural differences affect the trade of cultural goods? A study in trade of music

This study investigates the impact of cultural differences on trade decision and trade volume of cultural goods, using the data of traded music compact discs (CDs). According to ethnomusicological and civilization classifications, we classify countries into several groups and make novel variables that properly represent the cultural differences. We use the gravity model of trade proposed in Helpman et al. (The Quarterly Journal of Economics 123(2):441–487, 2008), which is utilized to avoid selection and endogeneity biases of estimation. In addition, we exploit an identifying assumption on the types of consumers, so that one of the cultural variables can satisfy the exclusion restriction in our two-stage estimation procedure. Our empirical hypothesis is that the trade volume of music is larger between two countries with greater cultural familiarity. The empirical results show that cultural differences have significant influences on the trading decision and volume of music traded in addition to the traditional determinants of trade. This finding supports our hypothesis that cultural familiarity promotes the cultural goods trade.

There Is No Pure Empirical Reasoning

The justificatory force of empirical reasoning always depends upon the existence of some synthetic, a priori justification. The reasoner must begin with justified, substantive constraints on both the prior probability of the conclusion and certain conditional probabilities; otherwise, all possible degrees of belief in the conclusion are left open given the premises. Such constraints cannot in general be empirically justified, on pain of infinite regress. Nor does subjective Bayesianism offer a way out for the empiricist. Despite often‐cited convergence theorems, subjective Bayesians cannot hold that any empirical hypothesis is ever objectively justified in the relevant sense. Rationalism is thus the only alternative to an implausible skepticism.

How Do Ancestral Traits Shape Family Trees Over Generations?

Whether and how does the structure of family trees differ by ancestral traits over generations? This is a fundamental question regarding the structural heterogeneity of family trees for the multi-generational transmission research. However, previous work mostly focuses on parent-child scenarios due to the lack of proper tools to handle the complexity of extending the research to multi-generational processes. Through an iterative design study with social scientists and historians, we develop TreeEvo that assists users to generate and test empirical hypotheses for multi-generational research. TreeEvo summarizes and organizes family trees by structural features in a dynamic manner based on a traditional Sankey diagram. A pixel-based technique is further proposed to compactly encode trees with complex structures in each Sankey Node. Detailed information of trees is accessible through a space-efficient visualization with semantic zooming. Moreover, TreeEvo embeds Multinomial Logit Model (MLM) to examine statistical associations between tree structure and ancestral traits. We demonstrate the effectiveness and usefulness of TreeEvo through an in-depth case-study with domain experts using a real-world dataset (containing 54,128 family trees of 126,196 individuals).

Empirical likelihood for outlier detection in regression models

Outlier detection and treatment are important steps in exploratory data analysis. A case deletion method in the empirical likelihood framework is suggested here for outlier detection in regression models. The theoretical properties of empirical likelihood hypothesis testing for outlier detection are investigated and asymptotic results are obtained and compared to the empirical likelihood displacement measure. The behavior of our test statistics in finite samples is studied by means of an extensive simulation experiment and some real data sets. A bootstrap version of the test is also proposed, which proves very useful in the case of data far from normality.

If-Conditionals in Economics Research Articles: From Keywords to Language Teaching/Learning in the L2 Writing-for-Publication Class?

Using the tools of corpus linguistics, this study identifies the basic means of knowledge construction in research articles in economics. The results suggest that discourse-signals realize conditional prediction and empirical hypothesis within the macro-speech acts of hypothesis, analysis/interpretation/generalization and prediction, with if being the most key of all connectors and cohesive devices. If-conditionals are described based on categories such as factual and theoretical conditionals, case-specifying and rhetorical conditionals. Given the vast array of forms and functions, the complexity of conditionals can be considered relatively high from the point of view of explicit knowledge. Turning to implications and applications of the research for an elective L2 writing-for-publication program intended for Ph.D. students and researchers in economics, however, it is clear that scholars in economics can use their domain expertise and L1 genre awareness in the L2 classroom. In this context, some recommendations are given for developing consciousness-raising tasks, activities and materials about if-conditionals. Materials are intended to promote semantic processing, noticing and/or reflecting based on nontechnical vocabulary and working explanations that are comprehensible to the learner and adequate to his/her background knowledge, needs and goals. They comprise grammaticality judgments, in-class comparison of well-formed examples for rule identification, explicit corrective (peer) feedback and discussion of multiple-choice items and gap-fills.

Moral vindications

Psychologists and neuroscientists have recently been unearthing the unconscious processes that give rise to moral intuitions and emotions. According to skeptics like Joshua Greene, what has been found casts doubt on many of our moral beliefs. However, a new approach in moral psychology develops a learning-theoretic framework that has been successfully applied in a number of other domains. This framework suggests that model-based learning shapes intuitions and emotions. Model-based learning explains how moral thought and feeling are attuned to local material and social conditions. Philosophers can draw on these explanations, in some cases, in order to vindicate episodes of moral change. Explanations can support justifications by showing that they are not mere rationalizations. In addition, philosophical justifications are a fertile source for empirical hypotheses about the rational learning mechanisms that shape moral intuitions and emotions.

Accounting research: between natural science and practice

Over the years, I have become increasingly interested in the nature of accounting knowledge. ˜ is interest is not about getting satis˚ ed by just ˚ nding another set of empirical hypotheses con˚ rmed. Rather, it is about understanding how such empirical con˚ rmations of theory consistent expectations form true accounting knowledge. My de˚ nition of true accounting knowledge extends the knowledge that we typically produce, exchange, and discuss in academic journals like the one you are reading. My de˚ nition of true accounting knowledge includes the accounting knowledge that actors in the world of accounting can actually put to use. My quest to understand the

(Meta-Philosophy) Exploration of and Theorizing about Philosophy

The processes of theorizing are explored, Weick's Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Conceptual Blending Thepry and Conceptual Metaphor tool are described. This Meta-Philosophy investigation of philosophy and philosophizing is an exercise in Experimental Philosophy. The Empirical Generalization or Hypothesis arrived at states that: Philosophy/izing is like or resembles the process/es of Theorizing.

Quality spaces: Mental and physical

Perceptual-role theories of mental qualities hold that we can discover the nature of a being’s mental qualities by investigating that being’s capacity to make perceptual discriminations. Many advocates of perceptual-role theories hold that the best explanation of these capacities is that mental quality spaces are homomorphic to the spaces of the physical properties that they help to discriminate. This paper disputes this thesis on largely empirical grounds, and offers an alternative. The alternative explains interesting patterns in our perception of color differences and similarities across edges, emphasizing the importance of visual discontinuities. Further, it provides a simple explanation of the intransitivity of indiscriminability. The homomorphism thesis can explain this intransitivity only with the addition of an independently unsupported empirical hypothesis. Also, in contrast to the homomorphism thesis, the alternative view is perfectly consistent with empirical data that suggest (a) that the visual system uses the dynamic allocation of a limited range of responses in order to discriminate a wider range of physical stimuli and (b) that we are much better at detecting changes in relative luminance than changes in absolute luminance. Moreover, it does all this while using a more efficient strategy for encoding sensory information.

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing in wild-derived mice: generation of tamed wild-derived strains by mutation of the a (nonagouti) gene

Wild-derived mice have contributed to experimental mouse genetics by virtue of their genetic diversity, which may help increase the chance of identifying novel modifier genes responsible for specific phenotypes and diseases. However, gene targeting using wild-derived mice has been unsuccessful because of the unavailability of stable embryonic stem cells. Here, we report that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene targeting can be applied to the Japanese wild-derived MSM/Ms strain (Mus musculus molossinus). We targeted the nonagouti (a) gene encoding the agouti protein that is localized in hair and the brain. We obtained three homozygous knockout mice as founders, all showing black coat colour. While homozygous knockout offspring were physiologically indistinguishable from wild-type litter-mates, they showed specific domesticated behaviours: hypoactivity in the dark phase and a decline in the avoidance of a human hand. These phenotypes were consistent over subsequent generations. Our findings support the empirical hypothesis that nonagouti is a domestication-linked gene, the loss of which might repress aggressive behaviour.

Assertion, Nonepistemic Values, and Scientific Practice

This article motivates a shift in certain strands of the debate over legitimate roles for nonepistemic values in scientific practice from investigating what is involved in taking cognitive attitudes like acceptance toward an empirical hypothesis to looking at a social understanding of assertion, the act of communicating that hypothesis. I argue that speech act theory’s account of assertion as a type of doing makes salient legitimate roles nonepistemic values can play in scientific practice. The article also shows how speech act theory might provide a framework for fruitfully extending aspects of the social and pragmatic turns in the philosophy of science.

Background, framework and focus of the special issue

ABSTRACTThis Special Issue seeks to explore the potentialities of strengthening a new field of research within migration and diversity studies: Immigrant incorporation in political parties. The point of departure of all contributions is that there is what we call a “diversity gap” between political parties as public representative organisations and diversity dynamics in democratic societies. This Special Issue seeks to explore the current strategies of political parties developing first conceptual frameworks, theoretical foundations and empirical hypothesis and approaches. The case studies come from four European countries, two from the North and two from the South of Europe: Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Spain.

Globalization of Technological Development and Opportunities for National Innovation Systems of Developing Countries

Prior literature expects a lower marginal cash value for weaker governance firms. We test this empirical hypothesis by using the sample of publicly traded Korean firms from 2005 to 2013. To measure the quality of governance structures, we employ the corporate governance scores provided by Korean Corporate Governance Services. The empirical model of Faulkender and Wang (2006) is adopted to estimate the marginal value of cash. Our empirical analysis shows a higher marginal value of cash for the good governance firms in the examination of the total governance score. This finding is consistent to the agency view of cash policy predicting a larger marginal value of cash for the firms with higher governance scores. However, this positive relationship is not robust for a subset of detailed governance scores; a lower marginal cash value is observed for the firms with better qualities of board structure, auditing, dividend policies. Moreover, our empirical analysis verifies a quite low level of marginal cash value for Korean firms, which supports the existence of severe agency conflicts in Korean corporations. Our results verify the significant role of agency conflicts between a manager and shareholders in the determination of marginal cash values in the Korean firms.

The Marginal Value of Cash and Agency Conflicts in Korean Firms

Prior literature expects a lower marginal cash value for weaker governance firms. We test this empirical hypothesis by using the sample of publicly traded Korean firms from 2005 to 2013. To measure the quality of governance structures, we employ the corporate governance scores provided by Korean Corporate Governance Services. The empirical model of Faulkender and Wang (2006) is adopted to estimate the marginal value of cash. Our empirical analysis shows a higher marginal value of cash for the good governance firms in the examination of the total governance score. This finding is consistent to the agency view of cash policy predicting a larger marginal value of cash for the firms with higher governance scores. However, this positive relationship is not robust for a subset of detailed governance scores; a lower marginal cash value is observed for the firms with better qualities of board structure, auditing, dividend policies. Moreover, our empirical analysis verifies a quite low level of marginal cash value for Korean firms, which supports the existence of severe agency conflicts in Korean corporations. Our results verify the significant role of agency conflicts between a manager and shareholders in the determination of marginal cash values in the Korean firms.

"Feature Detection" vs. "Predictive Coding" Models of Plant Behavior.

In this article we consider the possibility that plants exhibit anticipatory behavior, a mark of intelligence. If plants are able to anticipate and respond accordingly to varying states of their surroundings, as opposed to merely responding online to environmental contingencies, then such capacity may be in principle testable, and subject to empirical scrutiny. Our main thesis is that adaptive behavior can only take place by way of a mechanism that predicts the environmental sources of sensory stimulation. We propose to test for anticipation in plants experimentally by contrasting two empirical hypotheses: “feature detection” and “predictive coding.” We spell out what these contrasting hypotheses consist of by way of illustration from the animal literature, and consider how to transfer the rationale involved to the plant literature.

Do Foreign Buyers Compress Office Real Estate Cap Rates?

We investigate the relation between the activity of foreign investors and capitalization rates in major European office markets. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of European office market capitalization rates. Using DTZ's Investment Transaction Database and data on a range of local sector-specific and macroeconomic variables across 28 key European cities over 1999—2013, we test several empirical hypotheses including potential endogenous determination of office capitalization rates and the level of foreign investment. A two-stage modeling exercise reveals that there is significant negative effect of foreign investment on office market capitalization rates. The results are robust across several model specifications and samples.

The future of social cognition: paradigms, concepts and experiments

Since the publication of Premack and Woodruff’s classic paper introducing the notion of a ‘theory of mind’ (Premack and Woodruff in Behav Brain Sci 1(4):515–526, 1978), interdisciplinary research in social cognition has witnessed the development of theory–theory, simulation theory, hybrid approaches, and most recently interactionist and perceptual accounts of other minds. The challenges that these various approaches present for each other and for research in social cognition range from adequately defining central concepts to designing experimental paradigms for testing empirical hypotheses. But is there any approach that promises to dominate future interdisciplinary research in social cognition? Is social cognition witnessing a gradual paradigm shift where hitherto grounding notions such as theory of mind are no longer viewed as explanatorily necessary? Or have we simply lost our way in attempting to devise adequate experimental setups that could sway the debate in favour of one of the contending accounts? This special issue addresses these questions in an attempt to discover what the future holds for interdisciplinary research in social cognition.

M&A Synergies in Domestic M&A Deals in Russia in 2006–2014

This article aims to develop econometric model suitable for valuation of synergies in Russian domestic M&A deals. The authors test several empirical hypotheses about factors of synergy creation in 2006–2014. The article looks into various ways to estimate synergies based on financial statements of companies that participated in the deal. Success rate of deals and synergy structure is estimated for the whole sample and for growth and crisis periods. Most important factors of synergy are estimated, and robustness of these factors during growth and crisis periods is analyzed.