Substantive Interpretation Research Articles

Average treatment effects on binary outcomes with stochastic covariates.

When evaluating the effect of psychological treatments on a dichotomous outcome variable in a randomized controlled trial (RCT), covariate adjustment using logistic regression models is often applied. In the presence of covariates, average marginal effects (AMEs) are often preferred over odds ratios, as AMEs yield a clearer substantive and causal interpretation. However, standard error computation of AMEs neglects sampling-based uncertainty (i.e., covariate values are assumed to be fixed over repeated sampling), which leads to underestimation of AME standard errors in other generalized linear models (e.g., Poisson regression). In this paper, we present and compare approaches allowing for stochastic (i.e., randomly sampled) covariates in models for binary outcomes. In a simulation study, we investigated the quality of the AME and stochastic-covariate approaches focusing on statistical inference in finite samples. Our results indicate that the fixed-covariate approach provides reliable results only if there is no heterogeneity in interindividual treatment effects (i.e., presence of treatment-covariate interactions), while the stochastic-covariate approaches are preferable in all other simulated conditions. We provide an illustrative example from clinical psychology investigating the effect of a cognitive bias modification training on post-traumatic stress disorder while accounting for patients' anxiety using an RCT.

How to Fix a Failing Art. 102 TFEU: Substantive Interpretation, Evidentiary Requirements, and the Commission’s Future Guidelines on Exclusionary Abuses

How to Fix a Failing Art. 102 TFEU: Substantive Interpretation, Evidentiary Requirements, and the Commission’s Future Guidelines on Exclusionary Abuses

Identifying internalizing transdiagnostic profiles through motivational and cognitive control systems: Relations with symptoms, functionality, and quality of life

BackgroundThe diversity of patients' symptomatology among people seeking treatment on community-based mental health services poses significant challenges to traditional models of care. Recent approaches favor identifying transdiagnostic factors that allow a better understanding of patient heterogeneity and designing more effective and quality interventions. This study examines the heterogeneity of patients with internalizing symptoms based on profiles identified with cognitive and motivational control variables. Differences between these profiles on dimensional measures of psychopathology and quality of life are examined. Methods263 patients were selected by non-probabilistic sampling procedures on mental health services in the province of Huelva (Spain). A latent class analysis on the standardized scale scores of The Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation System Scales and the Effortful Control Scale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire Short-Form was conducted. Profiles were compared on the scores of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II, the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule II, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire SF-36. ResultsThe four latent profile solution is the one that showed the best fit indicators and substantive interpretability, with a kappa of 0.94 in the cross-validation procedure with 75% of the sample. No sex differences were found between the profiles (χ32 5.17, p = .160). Profiles #1 and #3, both characterized by an imbalance between low activation and high inhibition, had lower well-being, lower functionality, and quality of life. When comparing profile #2 (featuring the highest inhibitory control) lower scores on most internalizing scales are observed, specially claustrophobia, social anxiety, panic mania. Profile #4 (low control, high activation, and high inhibition) showed greater scores on both mania and euphoria and lower scores on emotional role. ConclusionsWe identified four distinctive profiles that had overly increased behavioral inhibition (as expected in internalizing disorders) and differed in the degree of imbalance between inhibition and activation systems, and between motivational systems and top-down cognitive control. The profile characterized by high activation and reduced cognitive (inhibitory) control was the one showing greater mood-related symptoms and lower levels of quality of life. These profiles could be generated by treatment providers to guide clinical management in an evidence-based manner.

Substantive Equality and the Possibilities of the Queensland Human Rights Act 2019

The passage of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) (‘HRA 2019’) was a significant achievement, particularly in a state often known for its parochial conservatism and disinterest in, if not outright rejection of, human rights. The HRA 2019 is substantially based upon the human rights Acts in place in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. However, there are some small, but potentially important differences between the HRA 2019 and the corresponding state and territory equivalents. In this article, I focus on one of these differences: the definition of discrimination contained in the HRA 2019. Unlike the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) the definition of discrimination in the HRA 2019 is not tied to the definition or grounds of discrimination in the state discrimination legislation. This small but important distinction could feasibly allow courts to define discrimination and the broader notion of equality in a more substantive manner, covering a wider variety of actions and conduct, and apply that wider definition to a broader range of attributes (commonly understood as ‘grounds’). The purpose of this article is to consider the possibilities and potential challenges confronting Queensland courts in broadening the definition of discrimination in the context of HRA 2019. I argue that, though a substantive interpretation of discrimination and equality is challenging and requires a degree of ‘creativity’ on the part of judges, it is a challenge worth undertaking.

‘행정소송규칙’에 관한 현황 및 법적 과제

The Administrative Litigation Rules were established based on the rule-making power of the Supreme Court. Originating from England and America, the rule-making authority of the Supreme Court aims to ensure the independence and expertise of the judiciary branch. In Korea, the Supreme Court is granted broad discretion to establish rules regarding litigation procedures, internal regulations, and administrative procedures under the Constitution, even without the basis of law. However, Article 108 of the Constitution contrasts with Anglo-American systems in that the Article recognizes the supremacy of law over conflicting statutory and Supreme Court Rules, thereby affirming the principle of legal superiority. The Administrative Litigation Act has prompted demands for reform from academia, as it has long been left as is since its comprehensive revision in 1984. Now that the Administrative Litigation Rules have been established, such demands are expected to be met to a significant extent. It is noteworthy that the rules reflect significant aspects of past judicial precedents and legal principles adopted by the Supreme Court with regard to interpreting provisions of the Administrative Litigation Act, or common practices implemented without legal basis. However, uniformly regulating substantive legal interpretations based on Supreme Court Rules may contradict the purpose of Article 108 of the Constitution. Moreover, even for matters concerning litigation procedures, it is more preferable to regulate essential issues on realizing citizens' fundamental rights directly by law. In Korea, the process of establishing Supreme Court Rules is devoid of involvement from the National Assembly, and the sole procedural controls are inquiries of opinions from relevant agencies and prior announcements of legislation. Relying solely on such procedures, however, is limited in securing democratic legitimacy. Because judicial reviews for unlawful Supreme Court Rules are carried out by the same body responsible for the establishment, concerns arise over the effectiveness of judiciary controls. Therefore, supplementary legal measures thereof are called for, as well as proactive efforts for the revision of the Administrative Litigation Act.

Carlos Vaz Ferreira on intellectual flourishing as intellectual liberation

ABSTRACT I argue for a substantive interpretation of Carlos Vaz Ferreira’s account of intellectual flourishing as intellectual liberation. For Vaz Ferreira, I argue, there is an inescapable master-slave dynamic between language and language users, so that flourishing intellectually essentially involves a type of mastery of language that frees up thinking from enslaving linguistic/conceptual confusions and thus facilitates the acquisition of truth. Central to this project are Vaz Ferreira’s most interesting, and radical, views on the nature of language signification and thus on human’s ability to accurately describe and know reality, for failing to keep these linguistic limitations in mind, Vaz Ferreira argues, is a central way for language to enslave humans to confused thinking and thus prevent their intellectual flourishing.

Analysis and Formal and Substantive Evaluation of the Proposal of the European Regulation Authorizing the Marketing of Construction Products in the Harmonized Area

Aim: The aim of the article is to discuss issues related to the functioning of the current Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) No. 305/2011 establishing harmonized conditions for the marketing of construction products and the problems identified in this regard, as well as to discuss the assumptions of the proposal of the European regulation for construction products in the harmonized area. This article analyses and indicates the links of the proposal in question to the “European Green Deal” manifested in its inclusion of the assessment and communication of information on the environmental performance of construction products and the promotion of the circulation of construction products. Introduction: The area of conformity assessment of construction products in the EU is currently regulated by the Regulation 305/2011. Its main objective was to improve the functioning of the single market and improve the free movement of construction products in the EU by establishing harmonized conditions for their marketing. In practice, this meant allowing construction products to be legally marketed in one member state. However, the European Commission, after its analysis, identified some shortcomings in its implementation, which required further analysis and discussion. As a consequence, a draft of a new regulation establishing harmonized conditions for the marketing of construction products, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and repealing Regulation (EU) 305/2011 was developed to address a significant number of issues related to standardization, simplification for micro-enterprises, market surveillance and the enforcement of regulations. Methodology: The article uses theoretical research methods, including an analysis of the EC’s report on the ongoing analyses of Regulation 305/2011 and reports from entities directly involved in the opinion of the proposed regulation. The publication also includes the authors’ own formal and substantive interpretation of selected passages of the proposed regulation, which establishes harmonized conditions for the marketing of construction products. Conclusions: The proposal of the new regulation has both strengths and opportunities from the revision, as well as weaknesses and threats, or poses new challenges. Identifying the problems hindering the functioning of the single market for construction products, the EC pointed to two general goals of the CPR revision, i.e. to create a smoothly functioning single market for construction products and to contribute to the goals of green and digital transformation. The implementation of measures resulting from the entry into force of the new regulation will only show in practice whether the changes introduced have had the intended effect. Keywords: construction products, standardization, harmonized area, European Green Deal, sustainable environment, CPR

Misbegotten methodologies and forgotten lessons from Tom Swift's electric factor analysis machine: A demonstration with competing structural models of psychopathology.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and its bifactor models are popular in empirical investigations of the factor structure of psychological constructs. CFA offers straightforward hypothesis testing but has notable pitfalls, such as the imposition of strict assumptions (i.e., simple structure) that obscure unmodeled complexity. Due to the limitations of bifactor CFAs, they have yielded anomalous results across samples and studies that suggest model misspecification (e.g., evaporating specific factors and unexpected loadings). We propose the use of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to evaluate the structural validity of CFA solutions-either before or after the estimation of more restrictive CFA models-to (a) identify model misspecifications that may drive anomalous estimates and (b) confirm CFA models by examining whether hypothesized structures emerge with limited researcher input. We evaluated the degree to which predominant factor structures were invariant across contexts along the exploratory-confirmatory continuum and demonstrate how poor methodological choices can distort results and impede theory development. All CFA models fit well, but there were numerous differences in replicability and substantive interpretability. Several similarities emerged between bifactor CFA and EFA models, including evidence of overextraction, the collapse of specific factors onto the general factor, and subsequent shifts in how the general factor was defined. We situate these methodological shortcomings within the broader literature on structural models of psychopathology, articulate implications for theories (such as the p-factor) that are borne out of factor analysis, outline several remedies for problems encountered when performing exploratory bifactor analysis, and propose alternative specifications for confirmatory bifactor models. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Jorge Portilla on philosophy and agential liberation

AbstractJorge Portilla argues that authentic philosophical inquiry plays a liberating function. This function is that of bringing more fully to consciousness aspects of identities or ways of being‐in‐the world that have been, up until then, tacit or opaque to the agent herself to facilitate her endorsement, rejection, or modification of these identities. For Portilla, this function facilitates greater self‐mastery by increasing the range of free variations of subjectivity available to the agent, and this increase in self‐mastery itself constitutes a kind of liberation. The main goal of this article is to provide a substantive interpretation of the nature of liberation Portilla thinks is embedded in this central function of authentic philosophical inquiry. I argue that this type of liberation should be understood ultimately in terms of increases in human agency, so I label it “agential liberation.” For Portilla, agential liberation involves two central elements: (i) a type of agential flourishing central to human flourishing, and (ii) an increase in the reach of intentional action that I describe as an expansion in the arena of human agency.

A constructive replication of client change during psychodynamic treatment in an outpatient setting

AbstractWe responded to the need for replication in psychotherapy research by extending a prior naturalistic study documenting the effectiveness of long‐term psychodynamic treatment. We employed three novel analytic strategies and evaluated their influence on substantive interpretations offered in the prior study. The sample consisted of clients (N = 387; Mage = 31.61; SD = 11.13; 58.9% female; 79.1% Caucasian/White) receiving outpatient treatment at a psychodynamic training clinic. Results replicated the original two‐class solutions for social functioning, depression and life satisfaction. Novel to the replication analyses, each trajectory for social functioning and depression exhibited nonlinear change and results advanced research on a theorised mechanism of effective psychodynamic treatment. Results showed that change in experiential avoidance was a possible mechanism between early‐treatment change in social functioning and later‐treatment changes in depression symptoms and life satisfaction. Clinical implications focus on the influence that initial levels of symptoms and well‐being may have on early and later phases of treatment, monitoring progress throughout treatment, and how to promote symptom and well‐being improvement.

How to improve the substantive interpretation of regression results when the dependent variable is logged – ERRATUM

How to improve the substantive interpretation of regression results when the dependent variable is logged – ERRATUM

Skewness and Staging: Does the Floor Effect Induce Bias in Multilevel AR(1) Models?

Multilevel autoregressive models are popular choices for the analysis of intensive longitudinal data in psychology. Empirical studies have found a positive correlation between autoregressive parameters of affective time series and the between-person measures of psychopathology, a phenomenon known as the staging effect. However, it has been argued that such findings may represent a statistical artifact: Although common models assume normal error distributions, empirical data (for instance, measurements of negative affect among healthy individuals) often exhibit the floor effect, that is response distributions with high skewness, low mean, and low variability. In this paper, we investigated whether—and to what extent—the floor effect leads to erroneous conclusions by means of a simulation study. We describe three dynamic models which have meaningful substantive interpretations and can produce floor-effect data. We simulate multilevel data from these models, varying skewness independent of individuals’ autoregressive parameters, while also varying the number of time points and cases. Analyzing these data with the standard multilevel AR(1) model we found that positive bias only occurs when modeling with random residual variance, whereas modeling with fixed residual variance leads to negative bias. We discuss the implications of our study for data collection and modeling choices

How to improve the substantive interpretation of regression results when the dependent variable is logged

Abstract Regression models with log-transformed dependent variables are widely used by social scientists to investigate nonlinear relationships between variables. Unfortunately, this transformation complicates the substantive interpretation of estimation results and often leads to incomplete and sometimes even misleading interpretations. We focus on one valuable but underused method, the presentation of quantities of interest such as expected values or first differences on the original scale of the dependent variable. The procedure to derive these quantities differs in seemingly minor but critical aspects from the well-known procedure based on standard linear models. To improve empirical practice, we explain the underlying problem and develop guidelines that help researchers to derive meaningful interpretations from regression results of models with log-transformed dependent variables.

Sampling variability and centrality score comparisons in archaeological network analysis: A case study of the San Pedro Valley, Arizona

Archaeological network analysis often focuses on networks in which ties between sites reflect some sort of similarity, such as in artifact assemblages. Site centrality is often of interest, but an apparent difference in two sites’ centrality may not be meaningful once sampling variability is considered. We investigate bootstrap assessments of sampling variability in centrality scores of a set of late pre-Hispanic archaeological sites in the San Pedro Valley, U.S. Southwest, for which ceramic assemblage data can be transformed into networks of ceramic similarity. We considered a variety of bootstrap confidence intervals for site eigenvector centrality scores and the implications of these intervals for interpretation of the site’s structural importance. In analysis of the San Pedro Valley for CE 1300–1349, small differences among site centrality were not statistically distinguishable, but moderate to large differences were, with conclusions consistent across methods of constructing bootstrap confidence intervals. Similar patterns were evident when examining a broader region in which the Valley is located. It appears that substantive interpretation of site centrality differences often will be justified.

Религиозная идентичность в парадигме современной культуры

The article analyzes the nature and essence of religious identity in modern culture. Since modern culture tends more and more towards individualization and the development of personal lifestyle options, the format of the social existence of religious ideas is also changing. The authors define the specificity of religious identity in the paradigm of modern culture through the transition from the ways of defining the subjects of social relations in traditional society to modern. It is demonstrated that in traditional societies the method of external prescription of static roles that set the limits of the freedoms and opportunities of the individual prevailed, while in modern societies the form of self-determination dominates, when the individual independently and arbitrarily builds his identity from the resources provided to him by culture. Thus, thanks to the philosophical analysis of sociological data, the substantive interpretation of religious identity within the framework of traditional culture and its constructivist (narrative) rethinking within the framework of modern culture are substantiated. In modern society, religion becomes a matter of personal choice, along with the choice of clothing style, cultural activities, reading circle, music playlist, etc. Ultimately, there is an inversion of cause and effect. In a traditional society, the religious worldview was the center of the subject's identity and largely determined its values and characteristics; in modern society, religious identity is shifting to the periphery of the field of free autonomous action of the subject, driven by the mechanisms of intrinsic value and selfjustification of the European humanism of the New Time.

Advocacy of Criminal Justice Restrictions

Under the influence of the current positive view of criminal law, China's criminal legislation actively participates in social governance, and the activities of legislative revision in the late past have shown the characteristics and trends of misdemeanor legislation and the expansion of the crime circle. This indicates, on the one hand, the proactive nature of the initiation of state penal power and, on the other hand, the need to be alert to the potential impact of legislative expansion. Therefore, a balance must be struck at the level of criminal justice, guided by the idea of protection of legal interests, using the method of substantive interpretation to determine the elements of crime, and adhering to the principle of modesty of criminal law, in order to avoid formal criminalization, resulting in the judicial criminalization of undue expansion of criminalization.

Poverty discrimination under the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act: A transformative substantive equality approach

This article considers the implications of a transformative substantive equality interpretation of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 (the Equality Act) for the interpretation stage of a claim of poverty-based discrimination. It draws from the work of the critical social and global justice theorist, Nancy Fraser, to briefly develop and extend existing transformative accounts of substantive equality that are faithful to the constitutional text and its legislative expression in the Equality Act. The article shows that the Equality Act could be interpreted to capture poverty discrimination that manifests along three intersecting axes, namely ‘misrepresentation’, ‘maldistribution’, and ‘misrecognition’. These axes highlight the political marginalisation, material disadvantage and pervasive prejudices, violence and stigma that characterise the disadvantages of poverty. The article then proposes three inquiries of an unfair discrimination analysis under the Equality Act that provide adjudicators with a critical legal framework to interpret the various stages in line with a transformative substantive equality approach.

ДІДЖИТАЛІЗАЦІЯ ПРАЦІ ЯК СУЧАСНИЙ ВЕКТОР ЗМІН В СОЦІАЛЬНО-ТРУДОВІЙ СФЕРІ

The processes of digitalization of labour, which are currently taking place under the influence of the development and spread of digital technologies, are causing rapid changes in the social and labor sphere, primarily related to the development of digital skills of personnel and an even greater strengthening of the role of human capital and human creativity. The purpose of the article is to study theoretical approaches to the substantive interpretation of the economic category "digitalization of labour", and also to characterize the processes and changes taking place in the labor sphere in the context of the spread of digital technologies. For this purpose, using general scientific and special methods, a study of the substance of the categories of "digitalization" and "digitalization of labour" was carried out (historical and logical method), to identify the factors that contribute to the spread of digital technologies and cause modern changes in the field of labor, as well as to identify and characterize changes in the social and labor sphere that occur in the context of digitalization (classification and analytical method), to illustrate the studied socio-economic phenomena and processes, graphic analytics were used. It is determined that the spread of digital technologies in the field of labor is facilitated primarily by such factors as: globalization processes; technological development, increase in the level of robotization and automation of production processes; higher level of mobility of modern personnel, change in their expectations regarding the content of labour and its organization; development of creative industries. Characterizing the processes in the social and labor sphere that are taking place in the context of digitalization, it is possible to identify, first of all, changes in the traditional division of labour, methods and forms of employment, increased mobility of people of working age, strengthening the role of human capital, and its understanding as a determining factor of production.

The Impossibility of Neutrality? How Courts Engage with the Neutrality Argument

Abstract The principle of state neutrality vis-à-vis religion and belief is contested and illusive. Some scholars even label it an impossible principle. Nevertheless, the meanings and functions assigned to neutrality are often determinative of, among others, the scope of the right to manifest one’s religion in public institutions. Focusing on recent developments in Europe, this article makes two claims: one conceptual and the other doctrinal. The conceptual claim is that neutrality can be deployed either as a shield to protect freedom of religion and belief or as a sword to strike religious claims down. Given that lawmakers and policymakers in Europe are increasingly relying on the second function of neutrality, the article goes on to evaluate how the courts have responded. The doctrinal claim of the article is that courts can engage—and have engaged—with the neutrality argument in three ways: (i) through deference to other interpreters of neutrality; (ii) through substantive interpretation of the neutrality principle; and (iii) through circumvention of the neutrality argument. The article suggests that the third approach may well be preferable.

The use of low-level theory to guide the interpretation of road safety evaluation studies

There are two main interpretations of empirical research: methodological and substantive. A methodological interpretation usually rejects a study by arguing that it is based on poor data or methods. A substantive interpretation accepts results as showing real effects. This paper argues that by developing and testing hypotheses about systematic variation in the effects of road safety measures, it may be possible to defend a substantive interpretation of the results of studies that might otherwise be rejected on methodological grounds. Studies evaluating the road safety effects of road lighting are used to illustrate the approach. Ten hypotheses are proposed and tested by means of two meta-analyses. Most of the hypotheses are supported. Thus, although many studies evaluating the road safety effects of road lighting control poorly for potential confounding factors, the systematic pattern of results found in these studies indicates that they mainly show the effects of road lighting, not of confounding factors not controlled for.