Variety Of Methodological Issues Research Articles

ISLAMIC ECONOMICS METHODOLOGY PATTERNS OF REASONING AND THE STRUCTURE OF THEORIES

In fact, the Islamic economy is a framework that has been extracted from the axiomatic scripture revealed by Allah Almighty S.W.T (The Holy Quran) and religious practices established by Muhammad SAW (Sunnah) to study contemporary economic phenomenon as per Islamic commercial jurisprudence confronting issues like employment, treatment of property, money, production and distribution, taxes, loans, interest (Riba) stability of prices, equitable distribution, growth rate, productivity, consumption of goods and services etc. that make sure maximum benefit (Falah) in a society or at large to the humanity (Ummah). The Islamic economy is not really a new discourse on whether its roots have evolved since the early days of Islamic civilization. Discussions on economic issues from an Islamic perspective started early and have flourished in the Islamic golden age since. However, economic issues are mainly solved by different branches and schools of economics. This raises a wide variety of methodological issues and several problems have been central to methodological reflection concerning economics. However, not much research attempts have been done to survey the origin of Islamic economic thought and portray its evolution towards becoming a discipline in contemporary times with its own body of knowledge and methodology. Therefore, this study is likely to fill this gap and chart the future direction of the discipline will also be highlighted with some evaluations of the current state of the arts.

Model-Based versus Model-Free Implied Volatility:Evidence from North American, European, and Asian Index Option Markets

The Black–Scholes (BS) implied volatility is well known to be a rather noisy forecast of future volatility. On the one hand, it has the advantage of potentially incorporating current information that cannot be captured by any statistical technique that relies on historical data. On the other hand, it is “risk neutral,” meaning that the market’s true volatility forecasts are distorted by risk preferences. But no other pricing model has taken the place of BS, so the forecasting performance “horse race” has been between BS IVs versus statistical models such as GARCH. In recent years, “model-free” implied volatility (MFIV) is becoming more common. MFIV is extracted from the entire set of current option prices without the need to assume any specific pricing model. That is certainly a desirable property, but there are a variety of methodological issues in calculating and using MFIV. In this article, Biktimirov and Wang conduct a serious horse race among these models, looking at how much each one contributes to forecast accuracy in predicting future volatility in 13 major international stock markets over a 10-year period. The winner, somewhat surprisingly, is BS IV, both in terms of in-sample “encompassing” models that include several forecasts in the same combined specification and also in out-of-sample forecasting.

Experiments in Intellectual Property

Perhaps more than any other area, intellectual property (IP) law is grounded in assumptions about how people behave. These assumptions involve how creators respond to incentives, how rights are licensed in markets, and how people decide whether to innovate or borrow from the culture and technologies that they see around them. Until recently, there had been little effort to validate any of these assumptions. Fortunately, the last decade has witnessed significant interest in empirically testing IP law’s foundations. This Chapter discusses the use of experimental and survey methods to understand how various features of copyright and patent law affect behavior. These methods are a valuable addition to the empirical toolkit, because they allow researchers to ask and answer questions that are not generally possible to approach with other empirical strategies. We first discuss some of the advantages of using experimental research. Then we highlight some of the findings that this research has produced in the copyright and patent fields thus far. Finally, we explore a variety of methodological issues that experimental researchers face.

Pilgrimage route recovery in an industrial landscape

Pilgrimage is an activity having a long tradition within the European historical context, and it has contributed to the overall spiritual aspect of European landscapes. Since the nineteenth century, however, the mining industry has strongly transformed many of those landscapes. The intangible cultural and spiritual values have been neglected in the process of mine rehabilitation. The aim of the present paper is to introduce a methodological approach to recovering the pilgrimage tradition in a post-mining landscape. The approach was developed in a case study regarding recovery of the Czech Republic's Osek–Mariánské Radšice pilgrimage route. Applying the principles of preservation, paraphrasing, evocation, and a new structure, the methodological framework for pilgrimage route recovery was designed and a variety of methodological issues regarding conflict between industrialism and the holy spirit of the original landscape were addressed.

On the Potential Implications of Reports of Fictitious Drug Use for Survey Research on Juvenile Delinquency

A variety of methodological issues have been raised over self-reports of delinquency and its correlates. In this study, we call attention to the provision of untruthful information and provide an investigation of this issue using a survey item that assesses a respondent's use of a fictitious drug in relation to reports of delinquency and traditional criminological correlates. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted based on data drawn from a probability sample of middle and high school students in Florida. Results show (a) there are important differences on key criminological variables between respondents who report use of a fictitious drug and those who do not; (b) the internal consistency of a variety index of delinquency is particularly sensitive to the inclusion of respondents reporting the use of a fictitious drug; and (c) the effect size of some criminological variables on delinquency may be sensitive to controlling for reports of fictitious drug use. Overall, the inclusion of fictitious drug use items within etiological models may serve as a useful approach to further establishing the reliability and validity of information provided by survey respondents.

Understanding the Role of Probiotics and Prebiotics in Preventing Allergic Disease: Evidence and Methodological Issues

Research in the area of prevention of allergic disorders through modification of the intestinal microbiota by provision of probiotics and/or prebiotics is relatively new. This paper briefly summarizes evidence regarding the role of probiotics and/or prebiotics in reducing the risk of allergy. There are studies that show a protective effect, no effect or even a predisposing effect of using probiotics and/or prebiotics in preventing allergic disease. A variety of methodological issues are likely to contribute to current uncertainty. These include differences in the study population (high-risk vs unselected population), optimal strain selection (all probiotics are not equal), differences in definitions of outcomes, timing and duration of the interventions, and a lack of repeat studies.

Prevalence and Correlates of Depressive Disorders among People Living with HIV/AIDS, in North Central Nigeria

Background: Depressive disorders are a significant public health issue. They are prevalent, disabling, and often chronic, with a high economic burden to the society. Although depression is common, determining its prevalence across studies and within different segments of the HIV population is not easy, given the variety of methodological issues that warrant consideration. This study estimates the prevalence of depressive disorders and its correlates. Objectives: The study sought to determine the prevalence of depression among adults, HIV/AIDS respondents, attending HIV/AIDS clinic in Kwara State specialist Hospital, Sobi, Ilorin, Nigeria. Methods: This was a hospital based, cross sectional, descriptive study of three hundred adult HIV/AIDS patients attending the HIV clinic of Kwara State specialist hospital, Sobi, Ilorin from 1 st of March to 30 th July, 2013. Informed consent was obtained from the respondents. The PHQ-9 was administered to the respondents to screen for depression. A pre-tested PHQ-9 questionnaire was used to collect data. Subject who scored one and more were assessed clinically for depression. The severity of the depression was further classified as minimal, mild, moderate and severe. The three keys of social determinants of depression (SDS) were assessed and the association with depression sought. Results: One hundred and seventy (56.7%) satisfied the criteria for a depressive disorder using the PHQ-9 score. Depressive symptoms were strongly related to gender, below average year of schooling, poor economic status, low social cohesion, and stressful life events. Conclusion: Clinicians should assess HIV-infected subjects for depression, to ensure early detection and treatment. Failure to recognize depression may endanger both the subjects and others in the community. This result calls for improved public health education and awareness programme, to highlight the health impact of depressive symptoms among People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

Quantification of brain endocannabinoid levels: methods, interpretations and pitfalls.

Endocannabinoids play an important role in a diverse range of neurophysiological processes including neural development, neuroimmune function, synaptic plasticity, pain, reward and affective state. This breadth of influence and evidence for altered endocannabinoid signalling in a variety of neuropathologies has fuelled interest in the accurate quantification of these lipids in brain tissue. Established methods for endocannabinoid quantification primarily employ solvent-based lipid extraction with further sample purification by solid phase extraction. In recent years in vivo microdialysis methods have also been developed for endocannabinoid sampling from the brain interstitial space. However, considerable variability in estimates of endocannabinoid content has led to debate regarding the physiological range of concentrations present in various brain regions. This paper provides a critical review of factors that influence the quantification of brain endocannabinoid content as determined by lipid extraction from bulk tissue and by in vivo microdialysis. A variety of methodological issues are discussed including analytical approaches, endocannabinoid extraction and purification, post-mortem changes in brain endocannabinoid content, cellular reactions to microdialysis probe implantation and caveats related to lipid sampling from the extracellular space. The application of these methods for estimating brain endocannabinoid content and the effects of endocannabinoid clearance inhibition are discussed. The benefits, limitations and pitfalls associated with each approach are emphasized, with an eye toward the appropriate interpretation of data gathered by each method.

Predicting nonmutual therapy termination with the personality assessment inventory

Nonmutual termination represents an obstacle to successful psychotherapy. Despite a need to predict the likelihood of nonmutual termination, a variety of methodological issues have complicated research on potential predictors. The purpose of the current study was to test the validity of Personality Assessment Inventory indicators in predicting nonmutual, client-initiated termination. Results suggest that treatment amenability is significantly predictive of nonmutual termination for clients high, but not low, in treatment motivation. These findings are discussed in the context of previous literature and theory on psychotherapy process, and practical recommendations are offered for psychotherapists.

At the core of introductory psychology: A content analysis.

Foundational concepts in psychology are introduced to 27% of all full-time in postsecondary institutions each year (Scheirer & Rogers, 1985), constituting an annual North American class size of than one million adults. In part, these numbers reflect the growth in popularity and perceived value of academic psychology since it was made part of university and college curricula. Understandably, teachers of psychology and their professional organizations have expended considerable effort to set the pedagogical goals for this introduction to the topic (e.g., Gilliland, 1932; Goodwin, 1992; Irion, 1976; Sanford, 1910; Wolfle, 1942). Primary among these goals is that of imparting to students academic psychology's orientation, guiding principles, and facts, on the assumption that there is agreement about the conceptual heart of the discipline. The present study is intended to contribute to the identification of the conceptual core of the introductory psychology curriculum.Scrutiny of the introductory textbook is a common strategy for determining core psychology concepts. However, empirical investigations of textbook content are divided on the issue of content consistency. A number of studies employing gross measures of topic coverage (e.g., page counts devoted to a topic) in different texts at a single time point (Griggs, Jackson, & Napolitano, 1994), in the same text over time (Griggs & Jackson, 1996), and in different texts over time (Webb, 1991) give an impression of coherence and stable consensus about the introductory conceptual corpus. Other studies using similar approaches suggest a picture of variation and inconsistency (Harari & Jacobsen, 1984; Weiten, 1988). Efforts at identifying core concepts using fine-grained analyses of index terms (Boneau, 1990; Quereshi, 1993; Quereshi & Sackett, 1977; Quereshi & Zulli, 1975), glossaries (Boneau, 1990; Zechmeister & Zechmeister, 2000) or page-by-page content (Landrum, 1993) have led some to see convergence and coherence (Quereshi, 1993) and others to suggest that there is little compelling of a sizeable set of common concepts (Zechmeister & Zechmeister, 2000).A variety of methodological issues have undoubtedly contributed to the equivocal character of work in this area, including differences in chosen sets of textbooks to study; extraneous sources of content variance in the indices, glossaries, and textbook design; and variation in the criteria used for determining that a concept is common to a number of textbooks. This state of affairs leaves ample room for interpretive disagreement about the extent and nature of consensus about core concepts. Whereas Quereshi (1993) reported that recent texts were more comprehensive and similar to each other (p. 220) than previously examined texts, Zechmeister and Zechmeister (2000) found evidence for incoherence rather than coherence, instability as opposed to stability... (p. 6) when they examined Quereshi's (1993) data.The point of departure for the present study is the observation that however lamentably small the number, recent studies (Landrum 1993; Quereshi, 1993; Zechmeister & Zechmeister, 2000) have nonetheless been able to identify a number of core concepts in the introductory curriculum ranging from as few as 64 (Zechmeister & Zechmeister, 2000) using a 100% inclusion criteria in 10 books, to 141 in 75% of 52 books (Quereshi, 1993). Landrum's (1993) finding of 126 concepts common to all six texts he reviewed falls in this range. The thrust of our approach is to explore further where in the introductory curriculum consensus about core concepts exists. Using a content analysis approach, we specifically sought to identify which, if any, areas in the introductory curriculum exhibit consensus about core concepts.Two previous studies have examined concepts by topic or area. Quereshi (1993) classified 137 terms found common to 75% of 52 books into four broad areas: biopsychology, clinical psychology, learning and development, and popular psychology. …

“Colours in Antiquity: Colour and Hue from Egypt to Byzantium”, University of Edinburgh, 10th -13th September 2001

st century there is no lack of conferences, symposia, workshops and congresses, even for relatively small fields such as archaeology, Classics and art history. Was it, therefore, sensible to participate in another conference on colour after the “Colour in Ancient Greece” conference held at Thessaloniki in 2000? I felt it certainly was. As much as the conference at Thessaloniki was overdue because of its overall theme (Brysbaert and Lindenlauf 2000: 114-115), so too was the Edinburgh conference, since it succeeded in covering a wide range of issues, geographical areas, periods of interest and methodological approaches in only four days. The conference was divided into eight sessions: Egypt, The Aegean World, Dyes and Pigments, Textiles and Cosmetics, Literature and Philosophy, Classical Art and Archaeology, Symbolism and Culture in the Greek World, and Symbolism and Culture in the Roman and Byzantine Worlds. Each session covered a variety of methodological issues and approaches and provided thorough insights into many different aspects of colour. The very accessible conference website promised an intense and interesting programme and included all abstracts. Thanks to the excellent organisation and good time keeping of all participants, the entire conference went smoothly, only brutally disrupted by the events of September 11. To give a flavour of the conference without providing a discussion of each paper, specific strands woven throughout the conference are outlined here, referring to specific papers to illustrate them. Participants shared their expertise in a variety of different ways: presentations with traditional visual aids, experimental demonstrations showing the production of different colours (and smells!) (Burke on Ruscillo’s experimental work; Greenspan) and colour schemes of Roman cookery (Grigorieva). A range of informative posters were also available for discussion during the coffee breaks (Chryssikopoulou et al.; Clarke; Cleland; Devlin et al.; Fountolakis). Across geographical and chronological boundaries we could observe that colour had a vital role to play in a variety of conceptual schemes within each society. That the meaning of colour was culture specific, and cannot just be transferred and accepted with the same meaning within another cultural context (even if contemporary), was exemplified by Harlow’s paper on the meaning of the colour white both in the Roman and in the early Christian context. Colour expressed directly or indirectly the concept of power through its meaning, whether or not it was associated with economic value. Gold as a colour and a material was the flesh of the gods and of the rulers in their afterlife in Egypt (Cashman).

Constructive Criticisms of Methodological and Editorial Practices

Thompson (1999a and elsewhere) has taken strong positions on a variety of methodological issues. In this article, the authors critique some of those positions and provide alternative views for each.

CLASSIFICATION METHODS FOR DENOMINATORS IN SMALL AREAS

Conventional methods fail to provide adequate assignments of individuals into appropriate subgroups for small area analyses, especially when studies cover only a portion of a county or use ecologic, descriptive variables. An unconventional aid to epidemiological investigations, such as a geographic information system (GIS), can aid public health investigators in determining denominators for studies of disease where overlays of environmental exposure and public health data define the geographic extent of the population being studied or where data must be analysed using a map. The basic functions of a GIS--to store, retrieve, transform and display data which have real earth-based co-ordinates--can facilitate this type of ecologic approach. In this paper, each denominator is chosen using the aid of a GIS to allow overlays of environmental elements with residential areas. A variety of methodological issues are associated with such studies, specifically the issue of thin cells (numerically). One solution is to avoid the use of denominators. Another involves careful classification rules for choosing the 'exposed' group. Each of these methods have relevance for environmental equity evaluations associated with environmental hazards.

Erectile dysfunction: The medicalization of male sexuality

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a highly prevalent disorder in males that increases markedly with aging. Diagnostic and treatment approaches for the disorder have proliferated in the past decade, along with increased understanding of the underlying physiology of male erection. Two specific themes have emerged in the recent literature on the topic: 1. (a) erectile dysfunction is a socially legitimate, medically treatable problem 2. (b) medical treatments are more reliable and effective than psychological interventions. This article reviews the efficacy and outcome data available for each of the major treatment approaches for ED, in addition to the risks and benefits associated with each approach. A variety of methodological issues are identified, including the lack of prospective study designs, inadequate assessment of sexual function, absence of long-term follow-up, and lack of attention to interactive effects of medical and psychological treatments. Although less widely publicized, cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal treatment approaches have been shown to be effective in a number of studies. Overall, there is a strong need for integration of medical and psychological approaches, in addition to increased outcome research in this area.

Cardiac output during exercise measured by acetylene rebreathing, thermodilution, and Fick techniques

In dogs during exercise, respiratory rate can reach 200 breaths/min, blood temperature can exceed 42 degrees C, and hematocrit can approach 60%. To determine whether these changes significantly affect the measurement of cardiac output by the acetylene rebreathing method (QcRB), we compared estimates of QcRB with those measured by thermodilution and Fick (QcFI) techniques in nine dogs at rest and during steady-state exercise on a treadmill up to near-maximal workloads. Solubility of acetylene in blood was corrected to the simultaneously measured blood temperature and hematocrit. Results were also adjusted for mixing efficiency. Up to a QcFI of 20 l/min, QcRB was not significantly different from QcFI (P > 0.05). However, cardiac output measured by thermodilution was consistently higher than those measured by the other techniques (P < 0.0001). We conclude that the overall agreement between QcRB and QcFI estimates supports the validity of the rebreathing technique under exercise conditions where body temperature and hematocrit are changing rapidly and the breathing pattern is unrestrained. Systematic error by the thermodilution technique may be related to a variety of methodological issues as well as possible dissipation of cooling into the myocardial tissue and subsequent incomplete washout.

Justice and organizational citizenship: A commentary on the state of the science

The present article discusses the state of the science regarding the connection between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as reflected by the articles included in this issue. The research described in these articles reaches a conclusion in need of further elaboration—namely, that people will behave altruistically toward the oroganizations in which they work when they believe those organizations have treated them fairly. Various conceptual issues are discussed. These include: the willingness of people to express inequity distress by withholding OCB, the relative importance of procedural justice compared to distributive justice as a determinant of OCB (especially the social aspects of procedural justice), and the extent to which a reduction in OCB may reflect a desire to influence another individual, or the organization in general. A variety of methodological issues are also discussed. In this connection, it is suggested that correlational, questionnaire measures be supplemented by open-ended interview studies as well as laboratory investigations. Moreover, if questionnaires continue to be used, then it is recommended that attempts be made to improve the validity of both measures of justice and OCB.

Childhood and adolescent depression. I. Epidemiological and aetiological aspects.

Depression in childhood and adolescence has become a topic of considerable research interest in the last decade. A number of studies ranging over the last half-century provide information about the prevalence of depressive symptoms and syndromes in non-referred populations. These studies are critically reviewed in the light of an analysis of the various meanings that the term 'depression' may carry, and a variety of methodological issues. The sparse evidence for the involvement of a number of potential risk factors for depressive disorders is then considered and suggestions for future work in this area are outlined.

Epidemiology of bulimia and bulimic behaviors.

A number of studies in recent years have attempted to establish prevalence rates for bulimia as defined by the DSM-III criteria and for bulimic behaviors such as binge eating, purging, and restrictive dieting. The literature has reported widely differing estimates of these behaviors. A critique of these studies suggests that a variety of methodological issues probably accounts for the lack of consistency across reports. A review of the literature indicates that some behaviors which could be considered bulimic are extremely widespread. Some recent work highlights the importance of using both behavioral and attitudinal variables in an assessment of clinically significant bulimia associated with life impairment, which is much less prevalent.