Science Evidence Research Articles

The developing flood rich period: Science evidence and policy evolution for England. Is it time for place‐based socio‐ecological solutions?

The developing flood rich period: Science evidence and policy evolution for England. Is it time for place‐based socio‐ecological solutions?

Addressing researcher fraud: retrospective, real-time, and preventive strategies-including legal points and data management that prevents fraud.

Researcher fraud is often easy and enticing in academic research, with little risk of detection. Cases of extensive fraud continue to occur. The amount of fraud that goes undetected is unknown and may be substantial. Three strategies for addressing researcher fraud are (a) retrospective investigations after allegations of fraud have been made, (b) sting operations that provide conclusive evidence of fraud as it occurs, and (c) data management practices that prevent the occurrence of fraud. Institutional and regulatory efforts to address researcher fraud have focused almost exclusively on the retrospective strategy. The retrospective approach is subject to controversy due to the limitations of post-hoc evidence in science, the difficulty in establishing who actually committed the fraud in some cases, the application of a legal standard of evidence that is much lower than the usual standards of evidence in science, and the lack of legal expertise by scientists investigating fraud. The retrospective strategy may be reliably effective primarily in cases of extensive, careless fraud. Sting operations can overcome these limitations and controversies, but are not feasible in many situations. Data management practices that are effective at preventing researcher fraud and unintentional errors are well-established in clinical trials regulated by government agencies, but appear to be largely unknown or unimplemented in most academic research. Established data management practices include: archiving secure copies of the raw data, audit trails, restricted access to the data and data collection processes, software validation, quality control checks, blinding, preregistration of data processing and analysis programs, and research audits that directly address fraud. Current discussions about data management in academic research focus on sharing data with little attention to practices that prevent intentional and unintentional errors. A designation or badge such as error-controlled data management could be established to indicate research that was conducted with data management practices that effectively address intentional and unintentional errors.

The effectiveness of the Connect, Investigation, Analysis and Conclusion (CIAC) learning model in Promoting students’ Understanding on the Roles of Empirical Evidence in Science

This study aims to look at the effectiveness of the Connect, Investigation, Analyze and Conclution (CIAC) learning model on the Nature of Science (NOS) abilities of elementary school students on empirical characteristics. The research method used was a pre-experimental design with a One Group Pretest-Posttest Design with 38 elementary school students in Bandung Regency as the subject of research. Data collection methods used are questionnaires and observation. Meanwhile, to analyze the data using the normality test, homogeneity test, t test and gain test. The results showed that the average NOS pretest score of students on empirical properties was 2,56 and the average posttest NOS score of students on empirical properties was 2,86 this resulted in a gain value of 0,21. Based on the above results, the CIAC learning model can improve students' NOS abilities in the empirical aspect in elementary schools, especially girls if seen from the increase. In addition, students' interest in science is an important point in the acquisition of students' NOS abilities.

Low Back Pain - Value of Prevention and Physiotherapy?

Low Back Pain - Value of Prevention and Physiotherapy? Abstract. Physiotherapy plays a central role in the prevention and treatment of lumbar back pain. There is no clear evidence in science on the effectiveness of individual preventive measures; however, movement and active training as central elements are indispensable here. In the treatment of lumbar back pain, however, the picture is clear: while passive measures such as heat or cold applications as well as ultrasound and electrotherapy should no longer be used alone due to the lack of evidence, the combination of active exercises and patient education shows promising success. If these are supplemented by sporadically applied manual therapy methods, the result is an evidence-based management of both acute and chronic lumbar back pain. One example of a successful implementation of current evidence for the treatment of back pain is GLA:D®, which is also in use in Switzerland since 2021.

The Matter of Facts: Skepticism, Persuasion, and Evidence in Science

Book Review| April 12 2023 The Matter of Facts: Skepticism, Persuasion, and Evidence in Science The Matter of Facts: Skepticism, Persuasion, and Evidence in Science. By Gareth Leng and Rhodri Ivor Leng. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2020. 376 pp. $29.95. Marcel Boumans Marcel Boumans Utrecht University Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google History of Political Economy 10621040. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-10621040 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Marcel Boumans; The Matter of Facts: Skepticism, Persuasion, and Evidence in Science. History of Political Economy 2023; 10621040. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-10621040 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search Books & JournalsAll JournalsHistory of Political Economy Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright 2023 by Duke University Press2023 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Lebanese Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of the Tentativeness and Evidence of the Theory of Evolution

Research has previously examined the role of the epistemological background of students in accepting or rejecting the theory of evolution. In this study, the participants were 11 undergraduate biology major students in a private university in Beirut, Lebanon. We collected data through semi-structured interviews, and we extracted the patterns regarding how they perceived tentativeness, what constituted acceptable evidence for them to accept the theory of evolution and the role of religion in their lives. Our findings indicated that, unlike their professor, students uncertain about the theory or rejecting it did so due to the tentative nature of science. They also rejected historical evidence as valid evidence in science, struggled to form a cooperative relationship between evolution and religion and refused common decent because they considered humans as superior organisms. We discuss the implications of those results for curriculum and instruction.

Protocol statements, physicalism, and metadata: Otto Neurath on scientific evidence

Otto Neurath's role in the so-called protocol sentence debates is typically framed as primarily an epistemologically radical rejection of empiricist foundationalism. However, less well recognized is that from this debate, Neurath emerges with a conception of protocol statements that functions as a radical reconceptualization of evidence. Whilst recognizably still empiricist, Neurath's conception of evidence breaks with many of the key assumptions that predominate within the empiricist tradition. In rejecting the assumption of an epistemologically privileged relationship between an observer and their own observation reports, Neurath shifts the emphasis onto the importance of contextualizing information that guarantees the stability of observation reports. In so doing, he not only provides a conception of evidence better suited to the actual role of evidence in science, but also anticipates contemporary discussion of the importance of evidential metadata.

It Is a Balancing Act: The Interface of Scientific Evidence and Policy in Support of Effective Marine Environmental Management

The marine environment is a complex system, and with growing human demand, the sustainable use of multiple marine resources is continually challenged. The increasing complexity of overlapping marine activities causes pressures on the environment. Here, we review the fundamental aspects for effective marine management, particularly the role of science and scientific evidence to inform marine policy and decision making. The outcomes of internal expert workshops were used to analyse currently applied marine management practices in the UK using four marine sectors in English waters based on the expertise: environmental impact assessments; dredge and disposal operations; marine protected areas; and offshore renewable energy. Strengths, weaknesses, and commonalities between these sectors were assessed in terms of their effectiveness for marine management. Finally, we make recommendations based on the outputs to better inform effective yet sustainable marine management. The importance of increasing accessibility to data, hypothesis-driven environmental monitoring, streamlining funding opportunities and ensuring effective dissemination of data to ensure scientific outcomes and achieve increased robustness of assessments is emphasised. We also recommend that assessment drivers align with the outputs and approaches should be holistic and engage with the public to ensure a shared understanding and vision.

Authentic Intelligent Machine for Scaling Driven Discovery: A Case for Chiral Quantum Dots.

The scaling laws have long been used as evidence of science where many fundamental physics laws emerge. As emerging nanomaterials, quantum dots are also sensitive to scaling because of their strong size effect. In this work, we developed the chiral dielectric theory based on the exciton absorption mechanism to explain the increment of the dielectric constant from chirality via its dimensionality. To help researchers discover and develop scaling relevant theories, the Authentic Intelligent Machine (AIM) protocol was developed to generate and interpret experimental data in an analytical and scaling-oriented manner. We show how the AIM protocol interprets spectra such as transient absorption data of chiral quantum dots with theories, where discrepancies concerning the dielectric constant were discovered. Examples for applying the AIM protocol on other spectra, such as absorption spectra and photoluminescence spectra, are also given.

Forensic Analysis of Crimes in the Sphere of Information Technologies

The article deals with the issues of foren-sic support for preventing commission of crimes in the field of information tech-nology. It is called to attention that alt-hough introduction of modern infor-mation processes in various spheres of government activities, production and public relations has brought positive re-sults, it has also led to an increase in the cases of committing cyber crimes. Cyber crimes are a new phenomenon in general crime, therefore, the development of ad-vanced techniques to combat them is re-quired. In this process, the forensic sci-ence plays an important role, first of all, for the preparation of recommendations on methods for investigating cyber crimes. Forensic analysis of information technology crimes which are called cyber crimes indicates that their investigation is different from the investigation of other crimes. This is largely due to the fact that computer objects can be both means of committing such crimes and objects of criminal encroachment. Information stored on computer media can be per-ceived and evaluated solely by using computer equipment and digital technol-ogy. Without this, it is impossible to iden-tify persons involved in committing a crime and obtain the evidence necessary to solve the crime. To study and evaluate them as sources of evidence, one needs to resort to the help of specialists, com-puter equipment and sophisticated soft-ware. It distinguishes computer objects from other material objects that is why it is necessary to put computer objects into a separate category of sources of evi-dence in forensic science and criminal procedure.

Bias in the Science and Religion Dialogue? A Critique of “Nature of Evidence in Religion and Natural Science”

ABSTRACT In their article “Nature of Evidence in Religion and Natural Science” (Theology & Science 2020), Petteri Nieminen and colleagues compare the use of evidence in religion and science. Their claim is that religious use of evidence is characterized by “experiential” thinking and confirmation bias, which makes integration with science difficult. I argue, however, that their methodology is unreliable and their theory of religious cognition is too simplistic. Further research should take the complexity of “science,” “religion” and “rationality” more sufficiently into account.

Forensic characteristics and population construction of two major minorities from southwest China revealed by a novel 37 Y-STR loci system.

Y-chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) have become important supplementary evidence in forensic science. Nowadays, the Y-chromosome STR haplotype reference database (YHRD) contains abundant Y-STR haplotype data from all over the world, while haplotype data of Guizhou Miao and Tujia are scarce. Hence, genetic polymorphisms of 37 Y-STRs were investigated in 446 unrelated males (206 Miao males and 246 Tujia males) residing in Guizhou Province. A total of 206 and 242 unique haplotypes with the highest diversity value of 0.9665 and 0.9470 were obtained. The heatmap, multidimensional scaling (MDS), the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) tree and principal component analysis (PCA) based on the genetic distance (Rst) value within our studied populations and other 26 populations indicated that population structures follow the boundary of the continent. Guizhou Miao and Guizhou Tujia populations have intimate relationships with East Asian populations, especially the geographically close, similar history and the same language family populations.

Pendidikan Kesehatan tentang Terapi Komplementer dalam Kehamilan

Complementary therapy in health care is a non-conventional treatment aimed at increasing the degree of public health. The terpi includes promotional, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative efforts that have proven their quality of safety, and effectiveness based on research and science (Evidence Based Medicine). In complementary therapy, the therapist treats various diseases or complaints using traditional techniques and is not done by surgery and drugs or pharmaceutical products, but by utilizing various types of therapy and herbs.The use of complementary therapies in the field of midwifery must be proven safe by research. Pregnant women are a group that is recommended to take advantage of complementary therapy or medicine in dealing with perceived complaints, because complementary therapy can avoid the side effects of conventional medicine and have great control over their own health. Although traditional / complementary medicine is relatively safer, it does not mean that it does not pose a risk, therefore pregnant women must have adequate knowledge about the use of safe complementary therapies during pregnancy.Health education on complementary therapies in pregnancy is provided by extension methods when pregnant women carry out motherhood classes in the working area of Puskesmas Putri Ayu, Jambi City. This activity was carried out in conjunction with the clinical practice of students of D III Midwifery Stikes Baiturrahim Jambi.

The effectiveness of manual therapy applied to craniomandibular structures in the treatment of temporomandibular disorders: protocol for a systematic review

BackgroundThe term temporomandibular disorder (TMD) includes disorders of the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), masticatory muscles and adjacent tissues. Several studies have examined the effectiveness of manual therapy (MT) for TMDs by evaluating changes in pain and maximum mouth opening (MMO). Nevertheless, the effectiveness of MT exclusively applied to the craniomandibular structures (craniomandibular manual therapy (CMMT)) on pain and TMJ range of motion remains unclear. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of CMMT on pain and TMJ range of motion in people with TMDs.MethodsThis protocol is reported in line with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P). Databases including MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, ZETOC, Web of Science, SCOPUS, PEDro, PubMed, Cochrane Library and Best Evidence, EBM reviews–Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Index to Chiropractic Literature ChiroAccess and Google Scholar will be searched from inception as well as key journals and grey literature. Randomised controlled trials involving adults with TMD that compare the effect of any type of CMMT (e.g. mobilisation) on pain and range of motion with a placebo intervention, controlled care intervention or other types of treatment will be included. Two reviewers will independently screen articles for inclusion, extract data, assess risk of bias (revised Cochrane risk of bias tool) for included studies and evaluate overall quality of evidence (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation). A meta-analysis will be conducted if possible. If not, a narrative synthesis will be conducted reporting the effectiveness of CMMT according to disorder type (TMJ disorders, masticatory muscle disorders and mixed disorders).DiscussionIn this review, the effectiveness of MT applied to craniomandibular structures for the treatment of TMD will be evaluated. Results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at conferences. We expect our findings will facilitate treatment planning for manual therapists managing patients with TMD and provide future clinical research implications.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42019160213

The study of blood stains at the Department of Forensic Medicine of the Sechenov University over the period of its existence

The historical analysis and the results of research activities of the Department of Forensic Medicine of the Sechenov University on the study of blood stains as important material evidence in forensic medicine and forensic science are presented. The personal contribution to the solution of this problem of outstanding forensic doctors whose life and work was associated with the department was noted.

On the Nonindependent Parts of Time-Consciousness: Husserl’s Early Phenomenological Investigations and the Perception of Melody

Abstract Drawing upon Edmund Husserl’s Logical Investigations, I apply the laws of mereology—the study of parts and wholes—to the analysis of time-consciousness in his On the Phenomenology of the Consciousness of Internal Time (1893–1917), arguing that Husserl’s phenomenological solution to problems raised by empirical psychology in the late nineteenth century concerning the relation between subject and object was inspired by a rethinking of the notion of intentionality in terms of an extensional whole. Turning, then, to descriptions from Husserl’s careful analyses of tone and melody in On the Phenomenology of the Consciousness of Internal Time (1893–1917), I claim that melody’s structure of expression pertains specifically to retention (which I distinguish from recollection) as a nonindependent part of a flowing whole. This mereologic reformulation helps us think through the problem of how a melody is perceived in time. Furthermore, I show how, according to Husserl, there is a unity of the sensation of “tone” and the “flow of consciousness,” and I argue that by understanding this unity as a whole of nonindependent parts, we grasp a significant insight that illuminates phenomenology’s overall aim of considering the evidence of empirical science together with the formal laws of logic.

The Matter of Facts Skepticism, Persuasion, and Evidence in Science by Gareth Leng & Rhodri I. Leng, MIT Press, 2020

The Matter of Facts Skepticism, Persuasion, and Evidence in Science by Gareth Leng & Rhodri I. Leng, MIT Press, 2020

Free will and (in)determinism in the brain: a case for naturalized philosophy

In this article we study the question of free will from an interdisciplinary angle, drawing on philosophy, neurobiology and physics. We start by reviewing relevant neurobiological findings on the functioning of the brain, notably as presented in (Koch 2009); we assess these against the physics of (in)determinism. These biophysics findings seem to indicate that neuronal processes are not quantum but classical in nature. We conclude from this that there is little support for the existence of an immaterial ‘mind’, capable of ruling over matter independently of the causal past. But what, then, can free will be ? We propose a compatibilist account that resonates well with neurobiology and physics, and that highlights that free will comes in degrees – degrees which vary with the conscious grasp the ‘free’ agent has over his actions. Finally, we analyze the well-known Libet experiment on free will through the lens of our model. We submit this interdisciplinary investigation as a typical case of naturalized philosophy: in our theorizing we privilege assumptions that find evidence in science, but our conceptual work also suggests new avenues for research in a few scientific disciplines.

A critical interpretive synthesis of the roles of midwives in health systems

BackgroundMidwives’ roles in sexual and reproductive health and rights continues to evolve. Understanding the profession’s role and how midwives can be integrated into health systems is essential in creating evidence-informed policies. Our objective was to develop a theoretical framework of how political system factors and health systems arrangements influence the roles of midwives within the health system.MethodsA critical interpretive synthesis was used to develop the theoretical framework. A range of electronic bibliographic databases (CINAHL, EMBASE, Global Health database, HealthSTAR, Health Systems Evidence, MEDLINE and Web of Science) was searched through to 14 May 2020 as were policy and health systems-related and midwifery organisation websites. A coding structure was created to guide the data extraction.ResultsA total of 4533 unique documents were retrieved through electronic searches, of which 4132 were excluded using explicit criteria, leaving 401 potentially relevant records, in addition to the 29 records that were purposively sampled through grey literature. A total of 100 documents were included in the critical interpretive synthesis. The resulting theoretical framework identified the range of political and health system components that can work together to facilitate the integration of midwifery into health systems or act as barriers that restrict the roles of the profession.ConclusionsAny changes to the roles of midwives in health systems need to take into account the political system where decisions about their integration will be made as well as the nature of the health system in which they are being integrated. The theoretical framework, which can be thought of as a heuristic, identifies the core contextual factors that governments can use to best leverage their position when working to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Geosophy as a scientific discipline: issues of methodology and metatheory

Today is characterized by a dialectical combination of opposite processes in the development of science - differentiation, expressed in the emergence of new analytical, sectoral disciplines, and integration, which consists of the design of synthetic, complex disciplines mainly at the frontiers of science. One of the relatively young synthetic geographic disciplines is geosophy, which originated about a hundred years ago at the boundary of geography and philosophy. The object of geophysical research is human space, that is, space perceived and conceived by man. For a hundred years, this scientific discipline has undergone a difficult path of development, due to both internal, expressed in the nature of the discipline itself, and external (ideological, geopolitical, etc.) factors. Nowadays, post-non-classical methodological approaches are becoming more widely used in geosophy - besides geosophical, it is noospheric, synergistic, eco-evolutionary and passionate. They are based on a fundamentally new relationship between the subject and the research object, qualitatively different from what has traditionally been recognized as classical and non-classical geography. One feature of post-non-classical approaches is subject-object convergence. In particular, the content of the geophysical approach is to consider geographical features as totals that represent the interpenetrating unity of the mineral, organic and human components. Possibilities of its application exist in almost all sections of geography. A special place among the theoretical and methodological foundations of science is metatheoretical provisions - scientific developments that substantially go beyond this science. An essential feature of metatheory as an important attribute of science is its integrating role, both internally (enhancing systemic links between particular branches of science) and external (establishing and strengthening interdisciplinary links between the sciences of one cycle). Formation of metatheory involves the use of theoretical foundations, methods, approaches, evidence of other sciences, which has a verifiable, reflective, integrative and ideological significance. One of the main ones in all geography is the category of landscape. The ambiguity of its interpretation attests to the fundamental importance of this concept, its exceptional role in the knowledge of the Earth’s surface as a multidimensional reality. From the diversity of landscape understandings, two basic concepts stand out. The content of one of them, dating back to the 19th century, is to see the landscape as a general picture of the terrain, which from the point of view is interpreted as totality. From other positions, designed in the early twentieth century, the landscape is understood as a real existing natural material object, characterized by genetic homogeneity, the presence of vertical and horizontal structure and clearly defined boundaries. The coexistence of the aforementioned landscape concepts and the search for possibilities of combining them is one of the important theoretical problems of modern geography, in particular, geosophy.