Relevant Alternatives Research Articles

CROWDFUNDING AND NON-PROFIT MEDIA

The media environment has changed dramatically in the last few years. Audience fragmentation and online advertising atomisation have transformed existing business models and put into question traditional media management practices. Now more than ever, policy makers and editors are concerned about the future of newspapers. In this changing scenario, there are new media models that attempt to promote and preserve public interest journalism. Among them, non-profit institutions and community-funded platforms are the most innovative and relevant alternatives. They promote audience involvement using what is known as crowdfunding, or they are funded by grants received from wealthy millionaires. For these new models, profit margins and income are unwelcome. Despite the fact that they could be regarded as non-business models, they are actually changing the paradigm of public interest journalism while providing fresh ideas for traditional media. The aim of this paper is to explain the nature of crowdfunding by describing the context in which it takes place and considering its impact on journalism. We have created a database to identify all the crowdfunding initiatives around the world. The results highlight the emergence of these platforms and other systems that make possible crowdfunded journalism and investigative reporting. Transparency, user involvement and control over where their money goes tend to be the success factors of these initiatives.

The impact of travel information’s accuracy on route-choice

Advanced Travel Information Systems (ATISs) are designed to assist travellers in making better travel choices by providing pre-trip and en-route information such as travel times on the relevant alternatives. Travellers’ choices are likely to be sensitive to the accuracy of the provided information in addition to travel time uncertainty. A route-choice experiment with 36 participants, involving 20 repetitions under three different levels of information accuracy was conducted to investigate the impact of information accuracy. In each experiment respondents had to choose one of three routes (risky, useless and reliable). Provided information included descriptive information about the average estimated travel times for each route, prescriptive information regarding the suggested route and experiential feedback information about the actual travel times on all routes. Aggregate analysis using non-parametric statistics and disaggregate analysis using a mixed logit choice model were applied. The results suggest decreasing accuracy shifts choices mainly from the riskier to the reliable route but also to the useless alternative. Prescriptive information has the largest behavioural impact followed by descriptive and experiential feedback information. Risk attitudes also seem to play a role. The implications for ATIS design and future research are further discussed.

WALD TESTS FOR DETECTING MULTIPLE STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN PERSISTENCE

This paper considers the problem of testing for multiple structural changes in the persistence of a univariate time series. We propose sup-Wald tests of the null hypothesis that the process has an autoregressive unit root throughout the sample against the alternative hypothesis that the process alternates between stationary and unit root regimes. We derive the limit distributions of the tests under the null and establish their consistency under the relevant alternatives. We further show that the tests are inconsistent when directed against the incorrect alternative, thereby enabling identification of the nature of persistence in the initial regime. We also propose hybrid testing procedures that allow ruling out of stable stationary processes or ones that are subject to only stationary changes under the null, thereby aiding the researcher in interpreting a rejection as emanating from a switch between a unit root and stationary regime. The computation of the test statistics as well as asymptotic critical values is facilitated by the dynamic programming algorithm proposed in Perron and Qu (2006, Journal of Econometrics134, 373–399) which allows imposing within- and cross-regime restrictions on the parameters. Finally, we present Monte Carlo evidence to show that the proposed procedures perform well in finite samples relative to those available in the literature.

Cost effectivenes of erlotinib versus chemotherapy for first-line treatment of non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in fit elderly patients participating in a prospective phase 2 study (GFPC 0504)

BackgroundThe median age of newly diagnosed patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is 67 years, and one-third of patients are older than 75 years. Elderly patients are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of chemotherapy, and targeted therapy might thus be a relevant alternative. The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of erlotinib followed by chemotherapy after progression, compared to the reverse strategy, in fit elderly patients with advanced NSCLC participating in a prospective randomized phase 2 trial (GFPC0504).MethodsOutcomes (PFS and overall survival) and costs (limited to direct medical costs, from the third-party payer perspective) were prospectively collected until second progression. Costs after progression and health utilities (based on disease states and grade 3–4 toxicities) were derived from the literature.ResultsMedian overall survival, QALY and total costs for the erlotinib-first strategy were respectively 7.1 months, 0.51 and 27 734 €, compared to 9.4 months, 0.52 and 31 688 € for the chemotherapy-first strategy. The Monte Carlo simulation demonstrates that the two strategies do not differ statistically.ConclusionIn terms of cost effectiveness, in fit elderly patients with NSCLC, erlotinib followed by chemotherapy compares well with the reverse strategy.

Engineering Biomaterials for Feeder-Free Maintenance of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are capable of differentiating into any type of somatic cell, a characteristic that imparts significant therapeutic potential. Human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells are types of hPSCs. Although hPSCs have high therapeutic potential, their clinical relevance is limited by the requirement for animal feeder layers, which maintain their pluripotency and self-renewal. hPSCs grown on animal feeder cells are at high risk for pathogen contamination and can be affected by the immunogenicity of the feeder layer. The presence of animal feeder cells also limits the scalability of hPSCs in culture because of the high cost of culturing and batch-to-batch variations. Therefore, development of feeder-free systems is imperative for robust, lower-cost, xeno-free, scalable culture of hPSCs. Biomaterials engineered with bioactive molecules such as adhesion proteins and extracellular matrix proteins, or synthetic materials such as peptides and polymers, may provide alternative substrates to animal feeder cells. This article reviews biomaterial-based, feeder-free systems for hPSC growth and maintenance, which provide clinically relevant alternatives to feeder cell systems.

Material selection using multi-criteria decision-making methods: a comparative study

There is a vast array of materials with diverse mechanical, physical and chemical properties from which the design engineer has to choose the most suitable material satisfying different design requirements. The design engineer has to take into account also a large number of material selection criteria before arriving at the final decision, otherwise, there may be premature failure of the product during its operation. As the material selection decision for a specific product involves multiple conflicting criteria and a finite set of candidate alternatives, it is an example of multi-criteria decision-making problem. In this article, 10 most commonly used multi-criteria decision-making methods are considered and their relative performance are compared with respect to the rankings of the alternatives while selecting suitable materials for (a) a sailing boat mast, (b) a flywheel, and (c) a cryogenic storage tank. It is observed that for these three examples, all the 10 methods give almost the same rankings of the alternative materials, although VIKOR method has a relatively better performance than the others due to its computational simplicity. On the other hand, analytic hierarchy process has a comparatively poor performance which may be due to the decision maker’s involvement in making the pairwise comparisons between the criteria and alternatives introducing a chance of biasness and inconsistency in the decision-making process. It can be concluded that for a given material selection problem, more attention is to be paid on the proper selection of the relevant criteria and alternatives, not on choosing the most appropriate multi-criteria decision-making method to be adopted.

Comparative effectiveness of antibiotics for uncomplicated urinary tract infections: Network meta-analysis of randomized trials

The efficacies and adverse effects of different antibiotics for uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) have been studied by standard meta-analytic methods using pairwise direct comparisons of antimicrobial treatments: the effects of one treatment are compared to those of either another treatment or placebo. However, for clinical decisions, we need to know the effectiveness of each possible treatment in comparison with all relevant alternatives, not with just one. To compare the efficacies and adverse effects of all relevant antibiotics for UTI treatment simultaneously by performing a network meta-analysis using direct and indirect treatment comparisons. Using logistic regression analysis, we performed a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published after 1999 that compared different oral antibiotic or placebo regimens for UTI treatment in general practice or outpatient settings. We looked at five binary outcomes: early clinical, early bacteriological, late clinical and late bacteriological outcomes, as well as adverse effects. Consequently, a ranking of the antibiotic regimens could be composed. Using a network structure, we could compare and rank nine treatments from 10 studies. Overall, ciprofloxacin and gatifloxacin appeared the most effective treatments, and amoxicillin-clavulanate appeared the least effective treatment. In terms of adverse effects, there were no significant differences. Network meta-analysis shows some clear efficacy differences between different antibiotic treatments for UTI in women. It provides a useful tool for clinical decision making in everyday practice. Moreover, the method can be used for meta-analyses of RCTs across primary care and beyond.

Modeling Protein Evolution with Several Amino Acid Replacement Matrices Depending on Site Rates

Most protein substitution models use a single amino acid replacement matrix summarizing the biochemical properties of amino acids. However, site evolution is highly heterogeneous and depends on many factors that influence the substitution patterns. In this paper, we investigate the use of different substitution matrices for different site evolutionary rates. Indeed, the variability of evolutionary rates corresponds to one of the most apparent heterogeneity factors among sites, and there is no reason to assume that the substitution patterns remain identical regardless of the evolutionary rate. We first introduce LG4M, which is composed of four matrices, each corresponding to one discrete gamma rate category (of four). These matrices differ in their amino acid equilibrium distributions and in their exchangeabilities, contrary to the standard gamma model where only the global rate differs from one category to another. Next, we present LG4X, which also uses four different matrices, but leaves aside the gamma distribution and follows a distribution-free scheme for the site rates. All these matrices are estimated from a very large alignment database, and our two models are tested using a large sample of independent alignments. Detailed analysis of resulting matrices and models shows the complexity of amino acid substitutions and the advantage of flexible models such as LG4M and LG4X. Both significantly outperform single-matrix models, providing gains of dozens to hundreds of log-likelihood units for most data sets. LG4X obtains substantial gains compared with LG4M, thanks to its distribution-free scheme for site rates. Since LG4M and LG4X display such advantages but require the same memory space and have comparable running times to standard models, we believe that LG4M and LG4X are relevant alternatives to single replacement matrices. Our models, data, and software are available from http://www.atgc-montpellier.fr/models/lg4x.

Incorporating stakeholder decision support needs into an integrated regional Earth system model

A new modeling effort exploring the opportunities, constraints, and interactions between mitigation and adaptation at regional scale is utilizing stakeholder engagement in an innovative approach to guide model development and demonstration, including uncertainty characterization, to effectively inform regional decision making. This project, the integrated Regional Earth System Model (iRESM), employs structured stakeholder interactions and literature reviews to identify the most relevant adaptation and mitigation alternatives and decision criteria for each regional application of the framework. The information is used to identify important model capabilities and to provide a focus for numerical experiments. This paper presents the stakeholder research results from the first iRESM pilot region. The pilot region includes the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwest portion of the United States as well as other contiguous states. This geographic area (14 states in total) permits cohesive modeling of hydrologic systems while also providing strong gradients in climate, demography, land cover/land use, and energy supply and demand. The results from the stakeholder research indicate that, for this region, iRESM should prioritize addressing adaptation alternatives in the water resources, urban infrastructure, and agriculture sectors, including water conservation, expanded water quality monitoring, altered reservoir releases, lowered water intakes, urban infrastructure upgrades, increased electric power reserves in urban areas, and land use management/crop selection changes. For mitigation in this region, the stakeholder research implies that iRESM should focus on policies affecting the penetration of renewable energy technologies, and the costs and effectiveness of energy efficiency, bioenergy production, wind energy, and carbon capture and sequestration.

Foot-in-the-door and action identification. Binding communication applied to environmental conservation

IntroductionGrowing concern for the environment gives rise to the development of projects aimed at changing attitudes and/or behaviors of individuals in a more ecological way. While the traditional levers of change (information/persuasion) have clear limitations (Perloff, 2003), the promising results of Binding Communication (Joule et al., 2004) present a relevant alternative. ObjectiveOur research, based on the Binding Communication paradigm, aimed to encourage participation in a project to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emission. The underlying theoretical aim was to identify the impact of action identification (Vallacher and Wegner, 1985) on individual behavior. A variable that commitment theorists (Girandola, 2003; Joule and Beauvois, 1998; Joule et al., 2004) consider as decisive in the paradigm effect although it has not yet been empirically studied. MethodOne hundred and twenty-three households in Brittany, France received a letter inviting them to participate in the presented project. According to three experimental conditions, some households had already received a phone call in order to answer a questionnaire about the environment (8–10 days earlier), wording in reference to two distinct identification levels. ResultsStatistical analyses showed a positive effect of procedure on intention to participate when the wording of the initial questionnaire referred to a high and adequate level of identification. ConclusionDiscussed in the context of commitment (Joule and Beauvois, 1998, 2002; Kiesler, 1971), self-perception (Bem, 1972) and action identification (Vallacher and Wegner, 1985); the results provide the first empirical validation of the effect of action identification on Binding Communication.

Information technology of ranking of expert estimates on the basis of the theory of evidence

The article concerns the use of modern theories for the analysis of expert information. The results of our research in this area are presented. The main purpose of research is the development of techniques of analysis and aggregation of group expert estimates to solve the problems of ranking. The use of modern approaches of analysis of expert information allows us to take into consideration the forms of interaction of expert judgments, and some specific types of uncertainty, in the frameworks of which the experts’ estimates were formed. This article considers the technology of expert information processing on the basis of methods of mathematical theory of evidence, taking into account alternative techniques of evidence combining. The suggested technique allows to identify and analyze and only relevant alternatives or groups of alternatives. It can significantly reduce the time of the examination, and increase the efficiency of obtained expert information. We suggest the use of the technology for the formation of the collective opinion of an expert group in the case of inaccurate and incomplete expert information. The considered approach suggests new possibilities for the creation of information technologies of expert estimates structuring under conditions of uncertainty, which can be the basis of an automated decision-making support system

Inequity in health care utilization in Ecuador: an analysis of current issues and potential solutions

Background From an equity perspective, a health system needs to address social, political and economic inequalities that prevent people to achieve higher standards of living and exert their right to health [1,2]. The 2008 Ecuadorian Constitution guarantees the right to health, an important contributing factor to good living or Sumak Kawsay [3]. The purpose of this study was to analyze socioeconomic inequalities and its relationship to provision of health care services in Ecuador, and to discuss relevant policy alternatives.

German and French writers: some relevant alternatives to IAS-IFRS conceptual framework

Germany and France have old glory and we wanted to recall some features of the history of their accountants on the threshold of the changing era of international standards. Many theories were put forth by creative European authors; Europeans discussed the personality and materialistic theories, the proprietary theory and the entity theory. In the 20th century, the Germans tried to solve problems of inflation and standardisation, the French tried to introduce a ‘scientific’ approach to accountancy. Then, the even more influential German scholars, like Schmalenbach and others, combined their practical business sense and their systematic aptitude in developing a variety of Bilanztheorien, the French standardised some charts of accounts. The European nations have learned the important lesson to ‘reconcile’ space and time. After centuries of warfare, they finally begun to cooperate closely and have made progress, reflecting their aspirations to establish accounting standards and systems of global dimensions.

Weight for Stephen Finlay

According to Stephen Finlay, ‘A ought to X’ means that X-ing is more conducive to contextually salient ends than relevant alternatives. This in turn is analysed in terms of probability. I show why this theory of ‘ought’ is hard to square with a theory of a reason’s weight which could explain why ‘A ought to X’ logically entails that the balance of reasons favours that A X-es. I develop two theories of weight to illustrate my point. I first look at the prospects of a theory of weight based on expected utility theory. I then suggest a simpler theory. Although neither allows that ‘A ought to X’ logically entails that the balance of reasons favours that A X-es, this price may be accepted. For there remains a strong pragmatic relation between these claims.

Potential of grasses and rhizosphere bacteria for bioremediation of diesel-contaminated soils

The techniques available for the remediation of environmental accidents involving petroleum hydrocarbons are generally high-cost solutions. A cheaper, practical and ecologically relevant alternative is the association of plants with microorganisms that contribute to the degradation and removal of hydrocarbons from the soil. The growth of three tropical grass species (Brachiaria brizantha, Brachiaria decumbens and Paspalum notatum) and the survival of root-associated bacterial communities was evaluated at different diesel oil concentrations. Seeds of three grass species were germinated in greenhouse and at different doses of diesel (0, 2.5, 5 and 10 g kg-1 soil). Plants were grown for 10 weeks with periodic assessment of germination, growth (fresh and dry weight), height, and number of bacteria in the soil (pots with or without plants). Growth and biomass of B. decumbens and P. notatum declined significantly when planted in diesel-oil contaminated soils. The presence of diesel fuel did not affect the growth of B. brizantha, which was highly tolerant to this pollutant. Bacterial growth was significant (p < 0.05) and the increase was directly proportional to the diesel dose. Bacteria growth in diesel-contaminated soils was stimulated up to 5-fold by the presence of grasses, demonstrating the positive interactions between rhizosphere and hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in the remediation of diesel-contaminated soils.

Some Difficulties for the Problem of Unconceived Alternatives

P. Kyle Stanford defends the problem of unconceived alternatives, which maintains that scientists are unlikely to conceive of all the scientifically plausible alternatives to the theories they accept. Stanford's argument has been criticized on the grounds that the failure of individual scientists to conceive of relevant alternatives does not entail the failure of science as a corporate body to do so. I consider two replies to this criticism and find both lacking. In the process, I argue that Stanford does not provide evidence that there are likely scientifically plausible unconceived alternatives to scientific theories accepted now and in the future.

Epistemic Focal Bias

This paper defends strict invariantism against some philosophical and empirical data that have been taken to compromise it. The defence involves a combination of a priori philosophical arguments and empirically informed theorizing. The positive account of the data is an epistemic focal bias account that draws on cognitive psychology. It involves the assumption that, owing to limitations of the involved cognitive resources, intuitive judgments about knowledge ascriptions are generated by processing only a limited part of the available information—the part that is in focus. According to the epistemic focal bias account, the intuitive judgments about knowledge ascriptions that constitute contrast effects amount to false positives, whereas the intuitive judgments that constitute salient alternatives effects amount to false negatives. I conclude by considering how the basic epistemic focal bias account may be developed further by reference to relevant alternatives theory in epistemology, pragmatics in the philosophy of language, and dual process theory in cognitive psychology.

SISTEM PAKAR DIAGNOSA UNTUK MEMBANTU PROGRAM PENGONTROLAN BERAT BADAN

Useful as a decision support system that can support systems and decision support that leverages the benefits of human and electronic devices such as computers. Too much use of computers will result in a mechanical solution, a reaction that is not flexible, and shallow decisions. Whereas if you use too many men will bring a slow reaction, the utilization of the data which is too limited, and lags in reviewing the relevant alternatives. The purpose of this expert system design is to create software on weight control. Software used to build an expert system is Visual Basic 6.0. Results to be achieved in the design of this system is a software that can serve as an expert for weight control. Keywords: Expert Systems, Control Weight Loss

How individual characteristics affect university students drop-out: a semiparametric mixed-effects model for an Italian case study

University drop-out is a topic of increasing concern in Italy as well as in other countries. In empirical analysis, university drop-out is generally measured by means of a binary variable indicating the drop-out versus retention. In this paper, we argue that the withdrawal decision is one of the possible outcomes of a set of four alternatives: retention in the same faculty, drop out, change of faculty within the same university, and change of institution. We examine individual-level data collected by the administrative offices of “Sapienza” University of Rome, which cover 117 072 students enrolling full-time for a 3-year degree in the academic years from 2001/2002 to 2006/2007. Relying on a non-parametric maximum likelihood approach in a finite mixture context, we introduce a multinomial latent effects model with endogeneity that accounts for both heterogeneity and omitted covariates. Our estimation results show that the decisions to change faculty or university have their own peculiarities, thus we suggest that caution should be used in interpreting results obtained without modeling all the relevant alternatives that students face.

Cost Effectiveness of Denosumab Compared with Oral Bisphosphonates in the Treatment of Post-Menopausal Osteoporotic Women in Belgium

Denosumab has recently been shown to be well tolerated, to increase bone mineral density (BMD) and to significantly reduce the risk of hip, vertebral and non-vertebral fractures in the FREEDOM (Fracture REduction Evaluation of Denosumab in Osteoporosis every 6 Months) trial. It is becoming increasingly important to evaluate not only the therapeutic value of a new drug but also the cost effectiveness compared with the most relevant treatment alternatives. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost effectiveness of denosumab compared with oral bisphosphonates (branded and generic drugs) in the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporotic women in Belgium. Cost effectiveness of 3 years of treatment with denosumab was compared with branded risedronate and branded and generic alendronate using an updated version of a previously validated Markov microsimulation model. The model was populated with relevant cost, adherence and epidemiological data for Belgium from a payer perspective and the results were presented as costs per QALY gained (&U20AC;, year 2009 values). Analyses were performed in populations (aged ≥60 years) in which osteoporosis medications are currently reimbursed in many European countries, i.e. those with BMD T-score of -2.5 or less or prevalent vertebral fracture. Patients receiving denosumab were assumed to have a 46% lower risk of discontinuation than those receiving oral bisphosphonates, and the effect of denosumab after treatment cessation was assumed to decline linearly to zero over a maximum of 1 year. Denosumab was cost effective compared with all other therapies, assuming a willingness to pay of &U20AC;40 000 per QALY gained. In particular, denosumab was found to be cost effective compared with branded alendronate and risedronate at a threshold value of &U20AC;30 000 per QALY and denosumab was dominant (i.e. lower cost and greater effectiveness) compared with risedronate from the age of 70 years in women with a T-score of -2.5 or less and no prior fractures. The cost effectiveness of denosumab compared with generic alendronate was estimated at &U20AC;38 514, &U20AC;22 220 and &U20AC;27 862 per QALY for women aged 60, 70 and 80 years, respectively, with T-scores of -2.5 or less. The equivalent values were &U20AC;37 167, &U20AC;19 718 and &U20AC;19 638 per QALY for women with prevalent vertebral fractures. This study suggests, on the basis of currently available data, that denosumab is a cost-effective strategy compared with oral bisphosphonates (including generic alendronate) for the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporotic women, aged ≥60 years in Belgium. Denosumab therefore appears to have the potential to become a first-line treatment for post-menopausal women with osteoporosis. However, further studies would be required to evaluate the long-term safety and adherence of denosumab in real-world clinical practice as well as head-to-head effectiveness compared with oral bisphosphonates.