Major Disagreements Research Articles

The Practice of Islam in America: An Introduction

The Practice of Islam in America: An Introduction

The Practice of Islam in America: An Introduction

The Practice of Islam in America: An Introduction

John Dewey and Homer Lane: 'The Odd Couple" Among Educational Theorists

This paper attempts to describe how John Dewey and Homer Lane might have discussed problems about educational theories and practices. The author uses a fiction al dialogue between the spirits of Dewey and Lane as a means to explain some of the major disagreements that are hinted at in the works of these two men. It is argued that Dewey and Lane disagreed about how to answer basic educational problems such as, "Should students be allowed to be personally responsible for deciding their own school curriculum?".

Genetic resource management for enhancing saffron productivity in Jammu and Kashmir

Lack of high yielding cultivars due to triploid nature of saffron is a major concern of low productivity. To explore and utilize available genetic variability in natural populations of Jammu and Kashmir, about 2500 saffron accessions collected from saffron growing areas of Jammu and Kashmir during 2002-2006 were subjected to variability and divergence studies at genetic and molecular level. Selected lines from natural population exhibited a wide range of variability for economic, morphological and corm attributing traits indicating considerable scope for saffron improvement through clonal selection. Selection scheme for more yield gains have been designed. Stability analysis of 10 elite divergent lines confirmed that behavior of tested lines was predictable over environments for floral and yield attributing characters. Considering the desired population mean coupled with non-significant bi (equal to unity) and deviation from regression (S2di) equal to zero, two lines viz; SMD-45 and SD-3 were observed to be well adapted to all the environments. The results revealed average stability of all lines for these traits except for number of radical leaves and corm yield plot-1 (SD-3). Comparison of different stability models in terms of their relative performance for different traits under study produced uniform information and ranked lines without any major disagreement. Line SMD-45 was observed to be the most stable having high saffron yield.

Difference between college life adjustment and career decision self-efficacy according to level of major disagreement and academic achievement

Difference between college life adjustment and career decision self-efficacy according to level of major disagreement and academic achievement

Kornai: Shortage versus surplus economies

The economics of institutions and comparative systems owes an enormous debt to János Kornai. This was well exemplified by Kornai (2014a), offering a synthetic characterization of socialism and capitalism, respectively, as shortage and surplus economies. I was very fortunate, over the last fifty years, to have had many opportunities to meet him and to talk to him, and to discuss these issues directly with him. János can be very persuasive, and over the years I have somewhat converged towards his views, but in this essay, I am going to rehearse one residual major disagreement on the shortage economy, and three reservations on capitalism as the surplus economy which, after discovering from talking to him that he was in basic sympathy with them, I have downgraded to qualifications.

Digitally Mediated Protest: Social Media Affordances for Collective Identity Construction

Many scholars discuss the role of social media in the context of social movements, but there remain major disagreements regarding the precise role that social media plays. One area that deserves more in-depth study is the affordances of social media for constructing collective identity. This article examines the case of an Iranian women’s rights campaign page on Facebook, “My Stealthy Freedom,” using an analysis of textual and visual content. The article examines how online campaign pages on Facebook contribute to the formation of collective identity and the construction of a campaign narrative. Following the analysis, the authors discuss how photobiographic campaigns—social media users sharing personal photos and adjoining personal narratives in support of a cause—illustrate two affordances of social media for construction of collective identity: affordances for discourse and affordances for performance. Affordances for discourse contribute to the collective action framing process through sharing of grievances and collectively negotiating meaning. These affordances also contribute to a collectively and incrementally constructed narrative by sharing personal stories that resonate with the group. Affordances for performance focus on the enactment of protest through transgressive photobiographies deliberately staged to convey the movement message to broader audiences. Here, transgressive photobiographies are defined as modular performances that can be adopted for the repertoires of contentious politics through protesting of laws and norms, such as the mandatory hijab. These transgressive performances create group solidarity through engagement in risk, thereby contributing to the formation of group identities.

Time-evolution of sound levels around a roadside building

The time evolution of the sound impact due to single cars driving along a road was evaluated at seven receivers in front of and behind a road-side building. The sound impact was measured in the field and around a scale model of the building in a laboratory. In addition, two calculation methods were applied: a complex numerical finite-difference time-domain model based on the Euler equation and a simple ray-based calculation according to the ISO 9613-2 standard. On the backside of the building where sound waves only arrive by diffraction, the differences between the four methods are disappointingly large. Some of the discrepancies can be explained by diverse assumptions and boundary conditions which go along with the individual methods. However, a major disagreement largely remains an open problem, namely the magnitude of the drop of the sound level in the acoustical shadow of the building. It is fairly strong in the scale-model measurements and the Euler model simulations on the one hand, but rather weak or even not existing in the field measurements and ISO 9613-2 calculations on the other hand.

A comparison of methods to measure central and peripheral oxytocin concentrations in human and non-human primates

Oxytocin (OT) concentration in the blood is considered to be a marker of its action in the brain. However, two problems have emerged when measuring OT level in the blood. First, it is unclear whether different methods of assessment lead to similar OT values. Second, it is unclear if plasma OT concentrations is informative on what OT does in the brain. To clarify these issues, we collected cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the brain ventricle of 25 patients during surgery to compare with plasma OT after simultaneous blood withdrawal. Additionally, we collected 12 CSF and blood samples from non-human primates while awake or under anaesthesia. We used four methods to assay OT concentrations: Commercial EIA with/without extraction, laboratory developed EIA with filtration and RIA with extraction. Three of these methods showed a positive correlation between plasma and CSF OT, suggesting a link between plasma and central OT, at least under specific testing conditions. However, none of the methods correlated to each other. Our results show major disagreements among methods used here to measure peripheral and brain OT and therefore they call for more caution when plasma OT is taken as a marker of central OT.

Yes, but … our response to: “professional ethics in the information age”

PurposeThis short viewpoint is a response to a lead paper on professional ethics in the information age. This paper aims to draw upon the authors’ experience of professional bodies such as the ACM over many years. Points of agreement and disagreement are highlighted with the aim of promoting wider debate.Design/methodology/approachAn analysis of the lead paper is undertaken using a binary agree/disagree approach. This highlights the conflicting views which can then be considered in more detail.FindingsFour major agreements and four major disagreements are identified. There is an emphasis on “acultural” professionalism to promote moral behavior rather than amoral behavior.Originality/valueThis is an original viewpoint which draws from the authors’ practical experience and expertise.

Edith Stein\u2019s phenomenology of sensual and emotional empathy

This paper presents and explicates the theory of empathy found in Edith Stein’s early philosophy, notably in the book On the Problem of Empathy, published in 1917, but also by proceeding from complementary thoughts on bodily intentionality and intersubjectivity found in Philosophy of Psychology and the Humanities published in 1922. In these works Stein puts forward an innovative and detailed theory of empathy, which is developed in the framework of a philosophical anthropology involving questions of psychophysical causality, social ontology and moral philosophy. Empathy, according to Stein, is a feeling-based experience of another person’s feeling that develops throughout three successive steps on two interrelated levels. The key to understanding the empathy process á la Stein is to explicate how the steps of empathy are attuned in nature, since the affective qualities provide the energy and logic by way of which the empathy process is not only inaugurated but also proceeds through the three steps and carries meaning on two different levels corresponding to two different types of empathy: sensual and emotional empathy. Stein’s theory has great potential for better understanding and moving beyond some major disagreements found in the contemporary empathy debate regarding, for instance, the relation between perception and simulation, the distinction between what is called low-level and high-level empathy, and the issue of how and in what sense it may be possible to share feelings in the empathy process.

Retrieval of daily gross primary production over Europe and Africa from an ensemble of SEVIRI/MSG products

The main goal of this paper is to derive a method for a daily gross primary production (GPP) product over Europe and Africa taking the full advantage of the SEVIRI/MSG satellite products from the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) sensors delivered from the Satellite Application Facility for Land Surface Analysis (LSA SAF) system. Special attention is paid to model the daily GPP response from an optimized Montheith's light use efficiency model under dry conditions by controlling water shortage limitations from the actual evapotranspiration and the potential evapotranspiration (PET). The PET was parameterized using the mean daily air temperature at 2m (Ta) from ERA-Interim data. The GPP product (MSG GPP) was produced for 2012 and assessed by direct site-level comparison with GPP from eddy covariance data (EC GPP). MSG GPP presents relative bias errors lower than 40% for the most forest vegetation types with a high agreement (r>0.7) when compared with EC GPP. For drylands, MSG GPP reproduces the seasonal variations related to water limitation in a good agreement with site level GPP estimates (RMSE=2.11gm−2day−1; MBE=−0.63gm−2day−1), especially for the dry season. A consistency analysis against other GPP satellite products (MOD17A2 and FLUXCOM) reveals a high consistency among products (RMSD<1.5gm−2day−1) over Europe, North and South Africa. The major GPP disagreement arises over moist biomes in central Africa (RMSD>3.0gm−2day−1) and over dry biomes with MSG GPP estimates lower than FLUXCOM (MBD up to −3.0gm−2day−1). This newly derived product has the potential for analysing spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of GPP at the MSG spatial resolutions on a daily basis allowing to better capture the GPP dynamics and magnitude.

Attitudes of physicians towards the care of critically ill elderly patients - a European survey.

Very elderly patients are one of the fastest growing population in ICUs worldwide. There are lots of controversies regarding admission, discharge of critically ill elderly patients, and also on treatment intensity during the ICU stay. As a consequence, practices vary considerably from one ICU to another. In that perspective, we collected opinions of experienced ICU physicians across Europe on statements focusing on patients older than 80. We sent an online questionnaire to the coordinator ICU physician of all participating ICUs of an recent European, observational study of Very old critically Ill Patients (VIP1 study). This questionnaire contained 12 statements about admission, triage, treatment and discharge of patients older than 80. We received answers from 162 ICUs (52% of VIP1-study) spanning 20 different European countries. There were major disagreements between ICUs. Responders disagree that: there is clear evidence that ICU admission is beneficial (37%); seeking relatives' opinion is mandatory (17%); written triage guidelines must be available either at the hospital or ICU level (20%); level of care should be reduced (25%); a consultation of a geriatrician should be sought (34%) and a geriatrician should be part of the post-ICU trail (11%). The percentage of disagreement varies between statements and European regions. There are major differences in the attitude of European ICU physicians on the admission, triage and treatment policies of patients older than 80 emphasizing the lack of consensus and poor level of evidence for most of the statements and outlining the need for future interventional studies.

The complete mitochondrial genomes of Tarsiger cyanurus and Phoenicurus auroreus: a phylogenetic analysis of Passeriformes.

Passeriformes is the largest group within aves and the phylogenetic relationships between Passeriformes have caused major disagreement in ornithology. Particularly, the phylogenetic relationships between muscicapoidea and sylvioidea are complex, and their taxonomic boundaries have not been clearly defined. Our aim was to study the status of two bird species: Tarsiger cyanurus and Phoenicurus auroreus. Furthermore, we analyzed the phylogenetic relationships of Passeriformes. Complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of both species were determined and the lengths were 16,803 (T. cyanurus) and 16,772bp (P. auroreus), respectively. Thirteen protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and one control region were identified in these mtDNAs. The contents of A and T at the base compositions was significantly higher than the content of G and C, and this AT skew was positive, while the GC skew was negative. The monophyly of Passeriformes is divided into four major clades: Corvoidea, Sylvioidea, Passeroidea, and Musicicapoidea. Paridae should be separated from the superfamily Sylvioidea and placed within the superfamily Muscicapoidea. The family Muscicapidae and Corvida were paraphyly, while Carduelis and Emberiza were grouped as a sister taxon. The relationships between some species of the order passeriformes may remain difficult to resolve despite an effort to collect additional characters for phylogenetic analysis. Current research of avian phylogeny should focus on adding characters and taxa and use both effectively to obtain a better resolution for deeper and shallow nodes.

Multigene phylogeny of the scyphozoan jellyfish family Pelagiidae reveals that the common U.S. Atlantic sea nettle comprises two distinct species (Chrysaora quinquecirrha and C. chesapeakei).

BackgroundSpecies of the scyphozoan family Pelagiidae (e.g., Pelagia noctiluca, Chrysaora quinquecirrha) are well-known for impacting fisheries, aquaculture, and tourism, especially for the painful sting they can inflict on swimmers. However, historical taxonomic uncertainty at the genus (e.g., new genus Mawia) and species levels hinders progress in studying their biology and evolutionary adaptations that make them nuisance species, as well as ability to understand and/or mitigate their ecological and economic impacts.MethodsWe collected nuclear (28S rDNA) and mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase I and 16S rDNA) sequence data from individuals of all four pelagiid genera, including 11 of 13 currently recognized species of Chrysaora. To examine species boundaries in the U.S. Atlantic sea nettle Chrysaora quinquecirrha, specimens were included from its entire range along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts, with representatives also examined morphologically (macromorphology and cnidome).ResultsPhylogenetic analyses show that the genus Chrysaora is paraphyletic with respect to other pelagiid genera. In combined analyses, Mawia, sampled from the coast of Senegal, is most closely related to Sanderia malayensis, and Pelagia forms a close relationship to a clade of Pacific Chrysaora species (Chrysaora achlyos, Chrysaora colorata, Chrysaora fuscescens, and Chrysaora melanaster). Chrysaora quinquecirrha is polyphyletic, with one clade from the U.S. coastal Atlantic and another in U.S. Atlantic estuaries and Gulf of Mexico. These genetic differences are reflected in morphology, e.g., tentacle and lappet number, oral arm length, and nematocyst dimensions. Caribbean sea nettles (Jamaica and Panama) are genetically similar to the U.S. Atlantic estuaries and Gulf of Mexico clade of Chrysaora quinquecirrha.DiscussionOur phylogenetic hypothesis for Pelagiidae contradicts current generic definitions, revealing major disagreements between DNA-based and morphology-based phylogenies. A paraphyletic Chrysaora raises systematic questions at the genus level for Pelagiidae; accepting the validity of the recently erected genus Mawia, as well as past genera, will require the creation of additional pelagiid genera. Historical review of the species-delineating genetic and morphological differences indicates that Chrysaora quinquecirrha Desor 1848 applies to the U.S. Coastal Atlantic Chrysaora species (U.S. Atlantic sea nettle), while the name C. chesapeakei Papenfuss 1936 applies to the U.S. Atlantic estuarine and Gulf of Mexico Chrysaora species (Atlantic bay nettle). We provide a detailed redescription, with designation of a neotype for Chrysaora chesapeakei, and clarify the description of Chrysaora quinquecirrha. Since Caribbean Chrysaora are genetically similar to Chrysaora chesapeakei, we provisionally term them Chrysaora c.f. chesapeakei. The presence of Mawia benovici off the coast of Western Africa provides a potential source region for jellyfish introduced into the Adriatic Sea in 2013.

Telepathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology: A Retrospective Review of Consultations From 1996 to 1997.

- Telepathology is the practice of pathology at a distance, transmitting images using telecommunication methods for second opinion and/or diagnostic assistance, or for educational purposes. It may be the only means of consultation for some pathologists. - To retrospectively review and evaluate a subset of telepathology consultations from June 1996 to March 1997, and to determine the concordance between the telepathology diagnosis of the contributor and pathologists at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Washington, District of Columbia, as well as the concordance between the telepathology diagnosis and the glass slide diagnosis, when available. - Photocopies of de-identified telepathology reports from the AFIP during a 15-month period between June 1996 and March 1997 were reviewed. Contributor versus telepathology diagnosis was graded as 1 (complete agreement), 2 (partial agreement), 3 (disagreement; usually a diagnosis of benign versus malignant), and deferred. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. - Of the 262 cases, 194 (74%) were in complete agreement with the contributor's diagnosis, 34 of 262 (13%) were in minor disagreement, and 21 of 262 (8%) were in major disagreement. Diagnoses were deferred in 5% (13 of 262) of cases. - Using commercial off-the-shelf technology and despite telecommunication challenges during that time, the AFIP demonstrated that telepathology could be conducted reliably.

Does introducing lay people in criminal courts affect judicial decisions? Evidence from French reform

What is the effect of introducing jury members in criminal courts? While surveys regularly point out a demand by citizens for harsher punishment, the differences between surveys’ and real decisions’ conditions are large enough to cast a doubt on the results. The introduction of two jurors into a court composed of three professional judges in two French regions and for a subsample of crimes during sixteen months offers a good natural experiment. Difference-in-differences or triple-difference methods do not permit me to identify any major change in the probability of being convicted or in sentences given by a court including jurors. If some characteristics of the reform could partly explain those null results, they clearly go against the hypothesis of a major disagreement between professional judges and citizens when they have to make real decisions in criminal cases.

Pediatric cancer pathology review from a single institution: Neuropathology expert opinion is essential for accurate diagnosis of pediatric brain tumors.

Second pathology review has been reported to improve accuracy in oncologic diagnoses, including pediatric malignancies. We assessed the impact of second review on the diagnosis of pediatric malignancies at a tertiary care referral center in Beirut, Lebanon. Pathology reports of patients treated at the Children's Cancer Institute in Lebanon were retrospectively reviewed for the period 2008-2016 and compared with same samples' diagnoses at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Diagnostic disagreements were divided into major, minor, and none based on their effect on diagnosis and/or patient management. Second review was requested for 171 cases, accounting for 19% of all cases during that period. Second opinion was mostly requested for brain tumors (62% of all brain tumor cases) and neuroblastoma for NMYC testing (65% of all neuroblastoma), while hematologic malignancies had the fewest referrals (3% of all hematologic cases). Major disagreements in second review occurred in 20 cases (12% of total), and minor disagreements in 21 cases (12% of total). The largest proportion of major disagreements (71%) occurred in pediatric brain tumors, and novel molecular tests contributed to the diagnosis in 55% of these cases. The availability of a specialized pediatric neuropathologist and a basic panel of relevant molecular testing are essential for appropriate diagnosis of pediatric brain tumors. Centers that do not have the available infrastructure in place can benefit greatly from second review referrals for this challenging subset of tumors.

The Obama Legacy in the Middle East and the Trump Challenge

During the second term of President Barack Obama, US-Israeli relations sharply deteriorated. After a positive visit by President Obama to Israel in March 2013, major disagreements erupted over the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, over the nuclear deal with Iran and, especially, over the construction of Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Making matters worse, personal recriminations crept into the Israeli-American dialogue on the disputes. While the two countries signed a major military assistance agreement in September 2016, Israeli settlement expansion after the election of Donald Trump as the US President in November 2016 led to a further deterioration of relations between the Obama Administration and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, which was demonstrated by the Obama Administration’s failure to veto a UN Security Council Resolution condemning Israeli settlements.

Editors’ Introduction

AbstractThis paper presents the editors’ introduction for a symposium on Second and Third Best Theory forthcoming in The Pacific Economic Review, 22:2, May 2017. Unusual in such cases, the editors are the major protagonists in the debate. In the symposium Ng maintains that second‐best theory appears to preclude giving theory‐based policy advice because full second‐best optima can never be determined in practical cases. While agreeing about second‐best optima, Lipsey disagrees with Ng's conclusion regarding policy and discusses the development of context‐specific policies not based on the theory of optimal resource allocation. To allow for theory‐based policy, Ng offers his theory of third best. The major disagreement over this theory concerns its proposition: first‐best rules for third‐best worlds under Informational Poverty (not enough is known to determine the desirable direction of change of some the policy variable from the first‐best value). Lipsey argues that, if correct, this rule would upset the main result of second‐best theory that the sign of the change in the objective function may be either positive or negative when first‐best rules are fulfilled piecemeal in second‐best worlds. Woo supports Ng's third‐best theory and derives additional rules, while Boadway surveys the application of second‐best theory in several cases from the literature of public economics.