Notion Of Evidence Research Articles

Ambiguous Transparency: Resumé Fetishism in a Slovak Workshop

This article considers how curricula vitae (C. V.s) reflect and contribute to the social and political conditions of their production. Working with observations of a 2001 workshop in Slovakia on how to write a new style of C. V. and with the related style of life chronicles from personnel files in socialist Czechoslovakia, I argue that this genre's social effects in different economic orders might arise from how authors couple or decouple the referent of a text to other actors in time and space. One ideology that I observed in the workshop encouraged shifts in notions of evidence. Such shifts, I argue, might be furthering the ideological work of creating new forms of personhood and inequality that underlie Slovakia's ‘transition’ to capitalism. Post-socialist C.V.s and socialist life chronicles appear to rise out of different graphic ideologies that govern how actors see themselves as social subjects.

Middle-School Children’s Understanding of Physical Activity: “If You’re Moving, You’re Doing Physical Activity”

This qualitative descriptive study explored the understanding of physical activity from the perspectives of middle-school children (n = 12; ages 11-15 years) who participated in 15 collaborative exploratory meetings (approximately 1.5 hours/meeting) that were audiorecorded. Content analysis was completed; a pediatric nurse specialist and the participating children validated the findings. The children understood physical activity concretely, considering everything they did as physical activity based on their primary criterion of body movement. The children adeptly recalled activities and activity time duration, but struggled with categorizing the intensity of their activities. Domains of activity included home and school; social activities crossed both arenas. The study contributes to our knowledge of children's understanding of physical activity, highlighting the concreteness of the children's thinking, including their perspectives on evidence and conclusions based on their notions of evidence. Implications for nursing are discussed.

Scientific Expertise: Epistemological Worries, Political Dilemmas (Focused Discussion Editor’s Introduction)

Scientific experts have come to play a prominent role as advisors in many areas of public life, including law and governmental policy. Yet these experts’ advice can often make it more difficult for the layperson to arrive at an informed decision. Different experts may represent opposing scientific schools of thought or divergent social interests, the details of which may not appear transparent to a casual observer. The role of experts and the nature of expert testimony thus raise important philosophical, historical and sociological questions, some of which are addressed in this focused discussion section. In a series of influential papers, John Hardwig (1985; 1991; 1994) has argued that when one turns to an expert’s advice, rationality requires that he submit to the expert’s epistemic authority rather than think for himself. This claim, which has received many criticisms, has to a large extent framed the debate about expertise. In this issue, Ben Almassi proposes a new interpretation of the notion of evidence that resolves inconsistencies in Hardwig’s account of expertise and does not entail the problematic conclusion. Steve Fuller is also among the critics of Hardwig’s position. According to Fuller, Hardwig’s authoritative model of expertise ascribes power to experts by virtue of their ability to systematically control and manipulate a closed system consisting of a prescribed set of variables. Fuller argues that experts’ mastery of such systems is not equivalent to a capacity to successfully address people’s actual concerns. For example, while an economist can derive laws from an idealized model of the market, she is not necessarily in a good epistemic position to advise the layperson where to invest his money. The layperson, then, still needs to think for himself (Fuller 2002, 280‐83). In this issue, Fuller delves into the historical dimension of this debate. In contemporary philosophy of science he identifies two competing social epistemologies, Hilary Putnam’s ‘linguistic division of labour’ and Philip Kitcher’s ‘division of cognitive labour’, which parallel Fuller’s own position and Hardwig’s position, respectively. He also

Redefining evidence

17000 Background: In the last decade, the Program in Evidence-based Care (PEBC), the guideline initiative of the cancer system in Ontario, Canada, has evolved dramatically. In addition to providing recommendations to facilitate decisions of clinicians (clinical practice guidelines), PEBC reports provide recommendations to facilitate decisions regarding universal drug funding, resource allocation, models of care, and the organization of the cancer system. For many of these issues, there is little in terms of traditional evidence, regardless of study design. As such, extending and building upon traditional notions of evidence and methodologies to gather new kinds of evidence have been required. Methods and Results: The PEBC has evolved the way it which conceives of evidence, the methods used to assemble and appraise evidence, and the role of evidence in decision making. To this end, environmental scan and consensus methods, in addition to standard systematic review methodology, are employed. The environmental scan methodology we use includes systematic and transparent internet searches of, and/or direct inquires to, organizations in jurisdictions determined, a priori, to be generalizable to the Ontario experience. Here, evidence comes in the form of organizational reports, case studies and evaluation data. These methods continue to be refined and tested. The consensus methodology we use is a modified Delphi technique. To date, these methods have been applied to various topics including standards for diagnostic assessment programs, surgical oncology and systemic therapy models of care, patient education, multidisciplinary case conferences, patient safety, and treatment of rare diseases. Evaluations of these reports have been generally positive (approval rating range: 56% to 75%) but noticeably more varied than approval ratings of our clinical practice guidelines that have relied primarily on traditional systematic review methodology (approval ratings rarely below 80%). Conclusions: The PEBC's notions of evidence continue to evolve as does the refinement and testing of new methodologies. Through this evolution, we are now able to provide advice on issues we would otherwise be unable to using traditional methods only, while still remaining true to our core principles of being participatory, rigorous, systematic and transparent. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

On mathematical foundations of the plausibility theory

This article constructs a theoretical framework enabling the logic of plausibility to be axiomatised and for decisions about plausibility to be automated. One result is that undecidability presented in the initial theory is resolved. To arrive at a logical-mathematical basis of the theory of plausibility an axiomatization of plausibility logic based on notions of evidence is proposed. It is through these axioms that this logic is characterized and its properties deduced.

Hume’s Principle and Axiom V Reconsidered: Critical Reflections on Frege and His Interpreters

In this paper, I shall discuss several topics related to Frege’s paradigms of second-order abstraction principles and his logicism. The discussion includes a critical examination of some controversial views put forward mainly by Robin Jeshion, Tyler Burge, Crispin Wright, Richard Heck and John MacFarlane. In the introductory section, I try to shed light on the connection between logical abstraction and logical objects. The second section contains a critical appraisal of Frege’s notion of evidence and its interpretation by Jeshion, the introduction of the course-of-values operator and Frege’s attitude towards Axiom V, in the expression of which this operator occurs as the key primitive term. Axiom V says that the course-of-values of the function f is identical with the course-of-values of the function g if and only if f and g are coextensional. In the third section, I intend to show that in Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik (1884) Frege hardly could have construed Hume’s Principle (HP) as a primitive truth of logic and used it as an axiom governing the cardinality operator as a primitive sign. HP expresses that the number of Fs is identical with the number of Gs if and only if F and G are equinumerous. In the fourth section, I argue that Wright falls short of making a convincing case for the alleged analyticity of HP. In the final section, I canvass Heck’s arguments for his contention that Frege knew he could deduce the simplest laws of arithmetic from HP without invoking Axiom V. I argue that they do not carry conviction. I conclude this section by rejecting an interpretation concerning HP suggested by MacFarlane.

Evidence in action: fostering growth of research-based practice in children's cancer nursing

It is an honour to be the first children's nurse to be asked to deliver the Robert Tiffany Lecture. However, the invite also provoked some anxiety: the responsibility weighs heavy. An opportunity to both celebrate the success of the speciality and explore the challenges that still face children's cancer nurses could not be missed. Two themes provide the focus for this paper, that of growth and evidence in action. Firstly, I will spend some time reflecting on how far we have come, describing stages of growth, development, maturation and differentiation in children's cancer nursing that defines nurses, and the speciality, as both similar and different to other nurses and other specialities. Secondly, I want to explore the notion of evidence and action and share some of the challenges we face in developing research for practice. The challenges themselves are of interest to all cancer nurses, as the solutions described have the potential for translation to other areas within cancer care. Children's cancer nursing is a relatively new speciality, and in terms of research in nursing this has only become integrated into our work in more recent years. Like many areas in nursing we continue to evolve, by anticipating and responding to changes in cancer treatments and thus influence healthcare delivery. This paper represents a point in time in the United Kingdom. Children's cancer nursing has unique qualities that attract nurses to work in the speciality, the essence of which is knowing about children and young people.

Crisis and Certainty of Knowledge in al-Ghazali (1058-1111) and Descartes (1596-1650)

In his autobiographical account, the Munqidh min al-Dalāl, al-Ghazālī reflects on his conversion from skepticism to faith. Previous scholarship has interpreted this text as an anticipation of Cartesian positions regarding epistemic certainty. Although the existing similarities between al-Ghazālī and Descartes are striking, the focus of the present essay lies on the different philosophical aims pursued by the two thinkers. It is thus argued that al-Ghazālī operates with a broader notion of the Self than Descartes, because it is inclusive of the body. And it is shown that the two philosophers use completely diverging paradigms. While Descartes models his notion of evidence after mathematical certainty, al-Ghazālī draws his famous 'ilm al-yaqīnī (certain knowledge) from a religious context.

Evidence of and for what?

What kind of language game do we initiate by making ‘evidence’ the focus of methodological discussion? Drawing on the example set by Wittgenstein, our first step might well be to consider the senses in which we can use the notion of evidence in anthropological writing. These senses must be different if we are asking for evidence of the existence or nature of a phenomenon (such as, for example, totemism or kinship), or evidence to test a hypothesis from the standpoint either of validation or falsification. The sense must also be different if evidence is to be understood in a juridical sense or an experimental sense. Again, evidence may be understood to be synonymous with data, or could imply a sense of what is evident, or even self-evidence - the immediacy of experience as examined by phenomenology. To determine how these different senses of evidence color our understanding of the ethnographic enterprise is the ultimate goal of this discussion.

À la recherche d’une texture dans les recherches interculturelles sur la schizophrénie. Contributions anthropologiques

Anthropology and psychiatry have a long history of collaboration. However, the questions they ask, their expert languages and their approaches appear to develop more and more within separate territories. The authors’ reflections concerning the contribution of anthropology to psychiatry science and clinical practice develop under the horizon of an articulation between evidence and theory. They illustrate their argument on the basis of the results of cross-cultural research about the outcome of schizophrenia. While cross-cultural research indicates that the prognosis of schizophrenia is better in developing countries, the variables documented in these studies prove to be insufficient to explain the observed differences. A first avenue of research that is explored here builds on a questioning of the very notion of evidence, its residues and their possible significance. A second avenue leans on a reflection about the ways the social and cultural context might influence an experience of oneself and the world altered by psychosis. To illustrate this second approach, the authors evoke ongoing studies in South India with recently diagnosed psychotic patients and their families. They present briefly the context of these studies, the methodology and a few results. Conceptual implications are discussed in reference to the notions of cultural idiom and the work of culture.

Relevance of medical rehabilitation in disease management programmes

Disease management programmes will increasingly be introduced in Germany due to the new risk adjustment scheme. The first disease management programmes started in 2003 for breast cancer and diabetes mellitus type II. German rehabilitation will have to face several challenges. Disease management programmes are strongly based on the notion of Evidence so that proof of the efficacy of a care giving task should be present. Verification of the evidence of the specifically German rehabilitation treatments must therefore be given. However, integration of rehabilitation in disease management programmes could lead to changes in the alignment of German rehabilitation. The essence of German rehabilitation, notably its holistic approach, could get lost with integration in disease management programmes.

The notion of evidence in evidence-based practice by the Nursing Philosophy Working Group.

Questions concerning the nature of evidence in evidence-based practice have kindled debate within nursing and other health care disciplines. Such questions include the ends for which evidence is sought, the form(s) of evidence, and the values underlying evidence-based practice. In this article, some of the issues, contradictions, and tensions implicit in these questions are highlighted. It is imperative that the nursing profession continue to explore the philosophic perspectives that underscore evidence-based practice and their implications for decision making in nursing practice.

Historical Justifications of Venetian Power in the Adriatic

This article asks whether a myth can be collapsed into history by describing the material signs of memory as "evidence." In a story dear to the Venetian hearts, in 1177 the Republic of Venice defeated the imperial fleet and brought peace back to Italy. For centuries, this narrative was recounted and its truth upheld against growing political and scholarly criticism, first through the ritual display of evidence, then through its discussion in a large literary production. In the seventeenth century, it is argued, the notion of evidence was abandoned in favor of the sheer affirmation of power.

Evidence and psychotherapy

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) and its relevance to psychotherapy and counselling are discussed. It is argued that much that is important to psychotherapy is ignored in EBM. Thus, tradition, custom, intuition and love are all important in psychotherapy. Also there are many sources of evidence that go beyond the positivistic notion of evidence in EBM. It is concluded that EBM has little relevance to psychotherapy and counselling.

Hartmann's Rejection of the Notion of Evidence

Hartmann's Rejection of the Notion of Evidence

EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE: Interpreting Studies and Setting Policy

The ascendancy of EBM has been accompanied by a greater awareness of its shortcomings. It is increasingly evident from the cost, length, and difficulty of performing RCTs that studies cannot be launched to address every question in medicine. Good evidence is often lacking in medicine. Epistomologists question the very notions of evidence and the suitability of current study designs and measurement tools to research the salient issues of concern to patients and others concerned with quality. Lack of evidence of effectiveness does not prove ineffectiveness, yet, in reaction to EBM, insurance companies and government often make this inference to justify decisions to withhold coverage or research support. The unbridled enthusiasm for the evidence-based practice guideline of the early 1990s has been tempered by a more mature understanding of its limitations. Not many practice guidelines are developed well, and the implementation of flawed guidelines can cause harm. The seven-step process outlined earlier is slow, laborious, and expensive (sometimes costing hundreds of thousands of dollars). Moreover, there is little evidence that either the rigor of the methods or the guidelines themselves have a meaningful effect on practice behavior or patient outcomes. To the most cynical observers, the only consistent beneficiaries of guidelines are payers, who use guidelines with considerable success in reducing costs, lengths of stay, and utilization rates. Even ardent advocates of guidelines acknowledge the evidence that disseminating reviews and recommendations, by itself, fails to motivate clinicians to increase delivery of effective interventions and to abandon ineffective ones. This absence of response has stimulated a closer look at the barriers to behavior change and the design of thoughtful implementation strategies that begin with, but reach beyond, simple guidelines. Tools such as reminder systems, standing orders, academic detailing, peer review and audit, feedback, and health system changes recognize that knowing what to do is only one piece of an increasingly complex puzzle. The competitive marketplace of managed health care has added new economic influences on clinician behavior but is also fueling private-sector interest in good research. Patients, clinicians, and policy makers will continue to seek better data concerning what works in medicine and what does not.

Explaining by evidence

Given a system description and its observed behaviour, there usually exist several possible explanations of the situation. Different explanations may contradict one another and suggest conflicting actions. So, in order to take proper actions sanctioned by the real situation, we need to single out an explanation that is most adequate to the reality. Existing methods for determining of such a best explanation require an extensive statistical knowledge about the system behaviour, which often is either only partially available or not satisfactorily reliable. Trying to overcome this lack of data, we introduce the notion of evidence as a measure of credibility of beliefs based on the semantic information contained in the system and supplied by the observations. Reasoning by evidence is applied to the process of determining a best abductive explanation. The notion of conjecture is presented as a generalization of explanation.Then reasoning by evidence is applied to testing and refining of diagnoses.

Peirce Snatching: Towards a More Pragmatic View of Evidence

The running debate between Peter Achinstein and his critics concerning the nature of scientific evidence is misguided as each side attempts to explicate a distinct notion of evidence. Achinstein's approach, however, is valuable in helping to point out a problem with Carnap's statistical relevance model. By claiming an increase in probability to be necessary for evidence, the received view is incapable of accounting for evidence which is statistically irrelevant but explanatorily relevant. A broader view of evidence which can account for pragmatic concerns such as explanation is thereby required.

Science as Social Knowledge: Values and Objectivity in Scientific Inquiry

Conventional wisdom has it that the sciences, properly pursued, constitute a pure, value-free method of obtaining knowledge about the natural world. In light of the social and normative dimensions of many scientific debates, Helen Longino finds that general accounts of scientific methodology cannot support this common belief. Focusing on the notion of evidence, the author argues that a methodology powerful enough to account for theories of any scope and depth is incapable of ruling out the influence of social and cultural values in the very structuring of knowledge. The objectivity of scientific inquiry can nevertheless be maintained, she proposes, by understanding scientific inquiry as a social rather than an individual process. Seeking to open a dialogue between methodologists and social critics of the sciences, Longino develops this concept of contextual empiricism in an analysis of research programs that have drawn criticism from feminists. Examining theories of human evolution and of prenatal hormonal determination of gender-role behavior, of sex differences in cognition, and of sexual orientation, the author shows how assumptions laden with social values affect the description, presentation, and interpretation of data. In particular, Longino argues that research on the hormonal basis of sex-differentiated behavior involves assumptions not only about gender relations but also about human action and agency. She concludes with a discussion of the relation between science, values, and ideology, based on the work of Habermas, Foucault, Keller, and Haraway.

Bede's Miracle Stories: Notions of evidence and authority in old English history

Bede's Miracle Stories: Notions of evidence and authority in old English history