Are widely used measurements in the human sciences (say happiness surveys or depression scales) quantitative or merely ordinal? If they are merely ordinal, could they be developed into quantitative measurements, just like in the progression from thermoscopes to thermometers? Taking inspiration from recent philosophy of measurement, some practitioners express optimism about future human science measurements. The so-called quantity objection stands out for having the only chance of settling the debate in favour of the pessimists. It claims that the (...) problem lies not with current, or likely future, measurement practices in the human sciences, but with human science attributes themselves—they just are not quantitative, but merely ordinal. Hence, they cannot not (thus will not) be measured quantitatively. The argument has a long and distinguished pedigree. This paper assesses old and recent versions of it, namely: the objection made originally to Fechner’s psychophysics by von Kries (among others) and Michell’s recent version of this objection. To do so, the paper first draws important distinctions between different versions of the argument that have been overlooked. Then, it argues that none of the versions of the quantity objection provide a good reason for the optimists to give up their optimism. In particular, Michell’s argument characterizes the measurand (that is, the attribute to be measured) in a way that optimists do not and need not accept. Yet the optimists’ defence articulated here brings with it serious burdens to discharge. The ball is in their court. (shrink)

The quantitative problem of old evidence is the problem of how to measure the degree to which e confirms h for agent A at time t when A regards e as justified at t. Existing attempts to solve this problem have applied the e-difference approach, which compares A's probability for h at t with what probability A would assign h if A did not regard e as justified at t. The quantitative problem has been widely regarded as unsolvable (...) primarily on the grounds that the e-difference approach suffers from intractable problems. Various philosophers have proposed that 'Bayesianism' should be rejected as a research strategy in confirmation theory in part because of the unsolvability of this problem. I develop a version of the e-difference approach which overcomes these problems and possesses various advantages (but also certain limitations). I develop an alternative 'theistic' approach which handles many cases that my development of the e-difference approach does not handle. I conclude with an assessment of the significance of the quantitative problem for Bayesianism and argue that this problem is misunderstood in so far as it is regarded as unsolvable, and in so far as it is regarded as a problem only for Bayesians. (shrink)

Quantitative genetics (QG) analyses variation in traits of humans, other animals, or plants in ways that take account of the genealogical relatedness of the individuals whose traits are observed. “Classical” QG, where the analysis of variation does not involve data on measurable genetic or environmental entities or factors, is reformulated in this article using models that are free of hypothetical, idealized versions of such factors, while still allowing for defined degrees of relatedness among kinds of individuals or “varieties.” (...) The gene - free formulation encompasses situations encountered in human QG as well as in agricultural QG. This formulation is used to describe three standard assumptions involved in classical QG and provide plausible alternatives. Several concerns about the partitioning of trait variation into components and its interpretation, most of which have a long history of debate, are discussed in light of the gene-free formulation and alternative assumptions. That discussion is at a theoretical level, not dependent on empirical data in any particular situation. Additional lines of work to put the gene-free formulation and alternative assumptions into practice and to assess their empirical consequences are noted, but lie beyond the scope of this article. The three standard QG assumptions examined are: (1) partitioning of trait variation into components requires models of hypothetical, idealized genes with simple Mendelian inheritance and direct contributions to the trait; (2) all other things being equal, similarity in traits for relatives is proportional to the fraction shared by the relatives of all the genes that vary in the population (e.g., fraternal or dizygotic twins share half of the variable genes that identical or monozygotic twins share); (3) in analyses of human data, genotype-environment interaction variance (in the classical QG sense) can be discounted. The concerns about the partitioning of trait variation discussed include: the distinction between traits and underlying measurable factors; the possible heterogeneity in factors underlying the development of a trait; the kinds of data needed to estimate key empirical parameters; and interpretations based on contributions of hypothetical genes; as well as, in human studies, the labeling of residual variance as a non-shared environmental effect; and the importance of estimating interaction variance. (shrink)

Aristotle's doctrine of the mean is expressed in quantitative terms, but this has been hard for some people to take literally, its more elaborate versions sometimes being described as “extremely silly.” Roughly two books of the Nicomachean Ethics are permeated with talk of character traits which are either deficient or excessive, however, and the aim of this paper is to examine how the doctrine might meet the objections of its critics.

Traditionally, syllogisms are arguments with two premises and one conclusion which are constructed by propositions of the form “All… are…” and “At least one… is…” and their respective negated versions. Unfortunately, the practical use of traditional syllogisms is quite restricted. On the one hand, the “All…” propositions are too strict, since a single counterexample suffices for falsification. On the other hand, the “At least one …” propositions are too weak, since a single example suffices for verification. The present contribution (...) studies algebraic interpretations of syllogisms with comparative quantifiers (e.g., “Most… are…”) and quantitative quantifiers (e.g., “n/m… are…”, “all, except n… are…”). This modern version of syllogistics is intended to be a more adequate framework for argumentation theory than traditional syllogistics. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:IntroductionConformément à la tradition des commentateurs de la Physique d'Aristote au xiiie siècle, Walter Burley a étudié avant 1320 de façon approfondie le rapport entre matière, substance et quantité en reprenant avec exhaustivité les théories avicénienne et averroïste sur la quantification de la matière première. Selon Avicenne, la matière est dimensionnée grâce à une forme inséparable d'elle et éternelle appartenant à la catégorie de substance. Contrairement à Avicenne, Averroès, (...) auquel se réfère Burley le plus souvent, soutient que la matière pourrait être quantifiée par une autre forme corporelle distincte d'elle ou dimension indéterminée qui serait de nature quantitative et accidentelle et donnerait à la matière son extension et sa capacité à recevoir différentes formes. L'objet de cette étude est de montrer que la première partie du Traité des formes réunit les principales sources sur les théories quantitatives de la matière chez Burley et témoigne d'un averroïsme teinté d'éclectisme. Nous présenterons d'abord l'économie générale de la première partie du Traité des formes et les foyers d'émergence de ces différentes théories. Nous mettrons alors en évidence trois conceptions parfois contradictoires de Burley sur la nature de ces dimensions, avant d'exposer un exemple remarquable d'averroïsme dans la discussion sur la composition des corps mixtes.les foyers d'emergence des theories quantitatives de la matiere dans le traite La première partie du Traité des formes est consacrée à l'étude de la matière et des différentes formes qu'elle reçoit lors de la génération et de la corruption. Elle présente six volets principaux dans sa structure d'ensemble: une première définition de la matière, une définition de la forme substantielle, un approfondissement de la nature de la matière première, une étude sur les conditions de réception des formes par la matière, un inventaire des difficultés sur la coexistence des différentes formes dans la matière, une longue conclusion sur le statut des formes accidentelles et le statut des universaux.Les différentes conceptions des dimensions indéterminées apparaissent dans le second, le quatrième, puis le sixième volet. Dans la seconde partie, Burley définit la nature de la forme substantielle, qui est la matière perfectionnée et non la quiddité du composé ou la forme accidentelle. La forme substantielle confère l'essence à ce qui est, elle perfectionne immédiatement la matière, alors que la forme accidentelle perfectionne immédiatement le composé. Burley recourt à la doctrine des dimensions indéterminées en exposant deux versions différentes qu'il rend complémentaires, la version averroïste et la version égidienne. Dans la quatrième étape du traité, Burley présente la théorie d'Avicenne selon lequel les dimensions indéterminées présentent une forme de corporéité inséparable de la matière lui permettant la réception des formes. Dans la sixième et dernière partie, Burley utilise la théorie d'Averroès contre Avicenne dans deux aspects de la discussion sur la composition des corps mixtes: la subsistance des formes élémentaires dans la matière des corps mixtes, puis dans les changements substantiel et qualitatif.Les trois conceptions des dimensions indeterminees dans le traiteLa position éclectique de Burley: une résistance traditionnelle à la conception averroïsteBurley reprend le plus souvent la théorie averroïste des dimensions indéterminées mais, comme la majorité de ses contemporains, Burley peine à admettre que des accidents inhérents à la matière puissent précéder le principe de la génération, la forme substantielle, qui donne l'être à tout ce qui advient dans la matière. Dans la seconde partie du traité, avant d'introduire la doctrine averroïste sur les dimensions indéterminées, Burley rappelle l'ordre ontologique entre forme substantielle et forme accidentelle dans la perfection de la matière:A propos de la forme qui parfait la matière, il faut savoir qu'une forme, d'une part, parfaisant la matière est substantielle, et qu'une autre forme, d'autre part, est accidentelle, et qu'entre ces deux formes existe une double différence. La première différence est que la forme substantielle donne l'être simple au composé dont elle est la forme, alors que la forme accidentelle donne l'être selon.. (shrink)

In this research, firstly, the related literature of cyberbullying/victimization, problematic internet usage and religiosity and correlations among religiosity, cyberbullying/victimization and problematic internet use were tried to be revealed. Subsequently, the differences between the gender groups on cyberbullying/victimization, problematic internet use and religiosity were examined. Moreover, the differences among the age groups on cyberbullying/victimization, problematic internet use and religiosity were analyzed. The study was conducted with 1130 participants between 16-55 years old. In the study, Personal Information Form, Revised CyberBullying Inventory, Generalized (...) Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS2) and two different Religiosity Scales were utilized. Personal Information Form was arranged by researchers. Two items of the Personal Information Form are derived from the Bapint Scale who developed by Öğel and et al. Revised CyberBullying Inventory was developed by Topçu and Erdur-Baker. Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS2) was developed by Caplan in 2010. The first religiosity scale was developed by Veysel and this version edited by Ayten was used. The second religiosity scale was developed by Ayten. According to the results of the study, it was seen that there was a statistically significant difference in the cyber bullying variable according to the sex. However, according to sex, cyber victimization, problematic internet use and religiosity variables were found not to be significantly differentiated. There is a significant difference in the cyberbullying, problematic internet use and religiosity according to the age variable. It has been found that there is no significant difference in the cyber victimization variable. According to the correlation which have been obtained, the significant negative relationship between religiosity, cyber bullying/victimization and problematic internet use were found. It is possible to say that as the religiousness increases, cyberbullying, cyber victimization and problematic internet usage decrease. (shrink)

Quantitative researchers often discuss research ethics as if specific ethical problems can be reduced to abstract normative logics (e.g., virtue ethics, utilitarianism, deontology). Such approaches overlook how values are embedded in every aspect of quantitative methods, including ‘observations,’ ‘facts,’ and notions of ‘objectivity.’ We describe how quantitative research practices, concepts, discourses, and their objects/subjects of study have always been value-laden, from the invention of statistics and probability in the 1600s to their subsequent adoption as a logic made (...) to appear as if it exists prior to, and separate from, ethics and values. This logic, which was embraced in the Academy of Management from the 1960s, casts management researchers as ethical agents who ought to know about a reality conceptualized as naturally existing in the image of statistics and probability (replete with ‘constructs’), while overlooking that S&P logic and practices, which researchers made for themselves, have an appreciable role in making the world appear this way. We introduce a different way to conceptualize reality and ethics, wherein the process of scientific inquiry itself requires an examination of its own practices and commitments. Instead of resorting to decontextualized notions of ‘rigor’ and its ‘best practices,’ quantitative researchers can adopt more purposeful ways to reason about the ethics and relevance of their methods and their science. We end by considering implications for addressing ‘post truth’ and ‘alternative facts’ problems as collective concerns, wherein it is actually the pluralistic nature of description that makes defending a collectively valuable version of reality so important and urgent. (shrink)

Scientific realism has been advanced as an interpretation of the natural sciences but never the behavioral sciences. This book introduces a novel version of scientific realism, Measured Realism, that characterizes the kind of theoretical progress in the social and psychological sciences that is uneven but indisputable. It proposes a theory of measurement, Population-Guided Estimation, that connects natural, psychological, and social scientific inquiry. Presenting quantitative methods in the behavioral sciences as at once successful and regulated by the world, the book (...) will engage philosophers of science, historians of science, sociologists of science, and scientists interested in the foundations of their own disciplines. Part I introduces measured realism beginning with a novel realist theory of measurement (Population-Guided Estimation, or PGE). It examines two other versions of scientific realism — minimal (Hacking) and robust (Boyd, Putnam, and Newton-Smith) — and advances measured realism as best supported by the evidence in the behavioral sciences. It also critically evaluates the anti-realist arguments of van Fraassen, Laudan, and Fine. Part II formulates and develops a version of epistemological naturalism most appropriate to measured realism. Drawing upon the realist theory of measurement developed earlier, it favorably appraises a variety of statistical methods in the behavioral sciences against selected criticisms. It concludes that traditional, narrative methods in the behavioral and social sciences are unreliable by the measures of epistemological naturalism. (shrink)

In October 1941 about 512 Jews from Luxembourg and Trier were deported to the ghetto in Litzmannstadt. They were part of a total of 20.000 Jews brought there from the ‘German Reich’, joining the horrible living conditions of some hundred thousand Polish Jews. This article aims to show the fate of these Western­European Jews in the ghetto by examining an exemplary group of 120 persons among those deported from Trier. After short descriptions of the ghetto’s role during the extermination of (...) the European Jews and the persecution of Jews in the ‘German Reich’ and Trier before autumn 1941, the focus is on the integration of the Jews from western Europe in the existing ghetto society as well as on their living and working conditions. After this how and when the Jews from Trier died in the ghetto and the extermination camp at Chelmno will be described. This article is a short version of my master thesis from Trier University. It features several new findings about the fate of the Jews from Trier. Moreover it is meant to be an exemplary study about the Jews from western Europe in the ghetto in Litzmannstadt and their coexistence with Polish Jews. (shrink)

La nature catégorielle de la « voix », substance, quantité ou qualité, fait débat chez les grammairiens et logiciens du début du xii e siècle. Les discussions grammaticales se lisent dans les commentaires sur Priscien, aux chapitres initiaux du De uoce et du De littera, dont on édite ici plusieurs témoins majeurs, trois versions des Glosulae super Priscianum et les Notae Dunelmenses qui en dérivent, témoins anonymes où se lit l’influence de Guillaume de Champeaux. Les arguments tirés de ces (...) textes sont repris dans les commentaires sur les Catégories, faisant apparaître les enjeux physique, logique, ontologique et sémantique des débats sur la voix. (shrink)

Measurement is a crucial issue in psychological assessment. In this paper a contribution to this task is provided by means of the implementation of an adaptive algorithm for the assessment of depression. More specifically, the Adaptive Testing System for Psychological Disorders (ATS-PD) version of the Qualitative-Quantitative Evaluation of Depressive Symptomatology questionnaire (QuEDS) is introduced. Such implementation refers to the theoretical background of Formal Psychological Assessment (FPA) with respect to both its deterministic and probabilistic issues. Three models (one for each (...) sub-scale of the QuEDS) are fitted on a sample of 383 individuals. The obtained estimates are then used to calibrate the adaptive procedure whose performance is tested in terms of both efficiency and accuracy by means of a simulation study. Results indicate that the ATS-PD version of the QuEDS allows for both obtaining an accurate description of the patient in terms of symptomatology, and reducing the number of items asked by 40%. Further developments of the adaptive procedure are then discussed. (shrink)

It is well-known that an element of a commutative ring with identity is nilpotent if, and only if, it lies in every prime ideal of the ring. A modification of this fact is amenable to a very simple proof mining analysis. We formulate a quantitative version of this modification and obtain an explicit bound. We present an application. This proof mining analysis is theleitmotiffor some comments and observations on the methodology of computational extraction. In particular, we emphasize that the (...) formulation of quantitative versions of ordinary mathematical theorems is ofindependent interestfrom proof mining metatheorems. (shrink)

Mid-distance runners are subject to intense cognitive and somatic anxiety, not only during competition but also during practice. An important variable which may influence athletes’ performance is perceived behavioral control on anxiety. The aim of the present study was to examine whether aspects such as sex, sport/competition experience and weekly practices, differentiated the participants respectively. The participants consisted of 110 athletes, 61 male and 49 female athletes, between the ages of 15 and 28.They all completed the Greek version of the (...) “Pre- Race Questionnaire”. Results indicated differences between the less experienced and more experienced athletes in almost all factors of the questionnaire, for both sport/competition experience, and weekly practices. No gender differences were shown. Overall, results could help sport professionals such as coaches and the athletes themselves, become more familiar with the sport-specific psychological aspects involved in their unique sport. (shrink)

Seven problems that occur in attempts to measure complexity are pointed out as they occur in four proposed measurement techniques. Each example method is an improvement over the previous examples. It turns out, however, that none are up to the challenge of complexity. Apparently, there is no currently available method that truly gets the measure of complexity. There are two reasons. First, the most natural approach, quantitative analysis, is rendered inadequate by the very nature of complexity. Second, the intrinsic (...) magnitude of complexity is still holding at bay attempts to use both quantitative and qualitative methods combined. Further progress in complexity science and in systems science is required. Any method that simplifies will fail because it ignores what complexity is. Techniques of understanding that do not simplify, but rather provide ways for the mind to grasp and work with complexity are more effective in getting its measure. (shrink)

This paper investigates the affiliation of Book I of the Latin translation of Euclid's Elements attributed to Hermann of Carinthia with the Arabic transmission of the Greek mathematical work. It argues that it is a translation of a text of the Arabic secondary transmission, that is, of an Arabic edition mixed with comments. Two methodological claims are made in the paper. The first insists that the determination of a text whose transmission was as multifaceted and complex as the Euclidean Elements (...) needs to be based on a systematic investigation of entire books rather than on selected theorems or diagrams of global, mostly structural relevance. The second claim starts from the experience that almost all results regarding the place of a particular document in a chain of transmission are conjectural. It acknowledges that individual results are more or less persuasive, depending upon the qualitative status of the argument. It suggests that the quantitative accumulation of similarities, differences, errors, regularities, or peculiarities allows one to recognize patterns and thus improves the reliability of judgment. (shrink)

This article considers how people judge the identity of objects (e.g., how people decide that a description of an object at one time, t₀, belongs to the same object as a description of it at another time, t₁). The authors propose a causal continuer model for these judgments, based on an earlier theory by Nozick (1981). According to this model, the 2 descriptions belong to the same object if (a) the object at t₁ is among those that are causally close (...) enough to be genuine continuers of the original and (b) it is the closest of these close-enough contenders. A quantitative version of the model makes accurate predictions about judgments of which a pair of objects is identical to an original (Experiments 1 and 2). The model makes correct qualitative predictions about identity across radical disassembly (Experiment 1) as well as more ordinary transformations (Experiments 2 and 3). (shrink)

Logical information theory is the quantitative version of the logic of partitions just as logical probability theory is the quantitative version of the dual Boolean logic of subsets. The resulting notion of information is about distinctions, differences and distinguishability and is formalized using the distinctions of a partition. All the definitions of simple, joint, conditional and mutual entropy of Shannon information theory are derived by a uniform transformation from the corresponding definitions at the logical level. The purpose of (...) this paper is to give the direct generalization to quantum logical information theory that similarly focuses on the pairs of eigenstates distinguished by an observable, i.e., qudits of an observable. The fundamental theorem for quantum logical entropy and measurement establishes a direct quantitative connection between the increase in quantum logical entropy due to a projective measurement and the eigenstates that are distinguished by the measurement. Both the classical and quantum versions of logical entropy have simple interpretations as “two-draw” probabilities for distinctions. The conclusion is that quantum logical entropy is the simple and natural notion of information for quantum information theory focusing on the distinguishing of quantum states. (shrink)

The new logic of partitions is dual to the usual Boolean logic of subsets (usually presented only in the special case of the logic of propositions) in the sense that partitions and subsets are category-theoretic duals. The new information measure of logical entropy is the normalized quantitative version of partitions. The new approach to interpreting quantum mechanics (QM) is showing that the mathematics (not the physics) of QM is the linearized Hilbert space version of the mathematics of partitions. Or, (...) putting it the other way around, the math of partitions is a skeletal version of the math of QM. The key concepts throughout this progression from logic, to logical information, to quantum theory are distinctions versus indistinctions, definiteness versus indefiniteness, or distinguishability versus indistinguishability. The distinctions of a partition are the ordered pairs of elements from the underlying set that are in different blocks of the partition and logical entropy is defined (initially) as the normalized number of distinctions. The cognate notions of definiteness and distinguishability run throughout the math of QM, e.g., in the key non-classical notion of superposition (= ontic indefiniteness) and in the Feynman rules for adding amplitudes (indistinguishable alternatives) versus adding probabilities (distinguishable alternatives). (shrink)

Descartes' The World offers the most comprehensive vision of the nature of the world since Aristotle, and is crucial for an understanding of his later writings, in particular the Meditations and Principles of Philosophy. Above all, it provides an insight into how Descartes conceived of natural philosophy before he started to reformulate his doctrines in terms of a sceptically driven epistemology. Of its two parts, the Treatise on Light introduced the first comprehensive, quantitative version of a mechanistic natural philosophy, (...) supplying a theory of matter, a physical optics, and a cosmology. The Treatise on Man provided the first comprehensive mechanist physiology. This volume also includes translations of material important for an understanding of the work: related sections from the Dioptrics and the Meteors, and an English translation of the complete text of The Description of the Human Body. (shrink)

We introduce an epistemic theory of truth according to which the same rational degree of belief is assigned to Tr(. It is shown that if epistemic probability measures are only demanded to be finitely additive (but not necessarily σ-additive), then such a theory is consistent even for object languages that contain their own truth predicate. As the proof of this result indicates, the theory can also be interpreted as deriving from a quantitative version of the Revision Theory of Truth.

There is a fundamental subsets–partitions duality that runs through the exact sciences. In more concrete terms, it is the duality between elements of a subset and the distinctions of a partition. In more abstract terms, it is the reverse-the-arrows of category theory that provides a major architectonic of mathematics. The paper first develops the duality between the Boolean logic of subsets and the logic of partitions. Then, probability theory and information theory (as based on logical entropy) are shown to start (...) with the quantitative versions of subsets and partitions. Some basic universal mapping properties in the category of Sets are developed that precede the abstract duality of category theory. But by far the main application is to the clarification and interpretation of quantum mechanics. Since classical mechanics illustrates the Boolean worldview of full distinctness, it is natural that quantum mechanics would be based on the indefiniteness of its characteristic superposition states, which is modeled at the set level by partitions (or equivalence relations). This approach to interpreting quantum mechanics is not a jury-rigged or ad hoc attempt at the interpretation of quantum mechanics but is a natural application of the fundamental duality running throughout the exact sciences. (shrink)

In this Element, we extend our earlier treatment of biology's first law. The law says that in any evolutionary system in which there is variation and heredity, there is a tendency for diversity and complexity to increase. The law plays the same role in biology that Newton's first law plays in physics, explaining what biological systems are expected to do when no forces act, in other words, what happens when nothing happens. Here we offer a deeper explanation of certain features (...) of the law, develop a quantitative version of it, and explore its consequences for our understanding of diversity and complexity. (shrink)

We present the notion of finite high-order Gowers games, and prove a statement parallel to Gowers's Combinatorial Lemma for these games. We derive ‘quantitative’ versions of the original Gowers Combinatorial Lemma and of Gowers's Dichotomy, which place them in the context of the recently introduced infinite dimensional asymptotic theory for Banach spaces.

We present finitary formulations of two well known results concerning infinite series, namely Abel's theorem, which establishes that if a series converges to some limit then its Abel sum converges to the same limit, and Tauber's theorem, which presents a simple condition under which the converse holds. Our approach is inspired by proof theory, and in particular Gödel's functional interpretation, which we use to establish quantitative versions of both of these results.

It was recently shown that the theories of generic algebraic curves converge to a limit theory as their degrees go to infinity. In this paper we give quantitative versions of this result and other similar results. In particular, we show that generic curves of degree higher than 22r cannot be distinguished by a first-order formula of quantifier rank r. A decision algorithm for the limit theory then follows easily. We also show that in this theory all formulas are (...) equivalent to boolean combinations of existential formulas, and give a quantitative version of this result. (shrink)

The dominated convergence theorem implies that if is a sequence of functions on a probability space taking values in the interval [0, 1], and converges pointwise a.e., then converges to the integral of the pointwise limit. Tao [26] has proved a quantitative version of this theorem: given a uniform bound on the rates of metastable convergence in the hypothesis, there is a bound on the rate of metastable convergence in the conclusion that is independent of the sequence and the (...) underlying space. We prove a slight strengthening of Tao’s theorem which, moreover, provides an explicit description of the second bound in terms of the first. Specifically, we show that when the first bound is given by a continuous functional, the bound in the conclusion can be computed by a recursion along the tree of unsecured sequences. We also establish a quantitative version of Egorov’s theorem, and introduce a new mode of convergence related to these notions. (shrink)

In the metaphor of behavioral momentum, the rate of a free operant in the presence of a discriminative stimulus is analogous to the velocity of a moving body, and resistance to change measures an aspect of behavior that is analogous to its inertial mass. An extension of the metaphor suggests that preference measures an analog to the gravitational mass of that body. The independent functions relating resistance to change and preference to the conditions of reinforcement may be construed as convergent (...) measures of a single construct, analogous to physical mass, that represents the effects of a history of exposure to the signaled conditions of reinforcement and that unifies the traditionally separate notions of the strength of learning and the value of incentives. Research guided by the momentum metaphor encompasses the effects of reinforcement on response rate, resistance to change, and preference and has implications for clinical interventions, drug addiction, and self-control. In addition, its principles can be seen as a modern, quantitative version of Thorndike's (1911) Law of Effect, providing a new perspective on some of the challenges to his postulation of strengthening by reinforcement. Key Words: behavioral momentum; clinical interventions; drug addiction; preference; reinforcement; resistance to change; response strength; self-control. (shrink)

This thesis is concerned with extending the underlying logical approach as well as the breadth of applications of the proof mining program to various (mostly previously untreated) areas of nonlinear analysis and optimization, with a particular focus being placed on topics which involve set-valued operators.For this, we extend the current logical methodology of proof mining by new systems and corresponding so-called logical metatheorems that cover these more involved areas of nonlinear analysis. Most of these systems crucially rely on the use (...) of intensional methods, treating sets with potentially high quantifier complexity in the defining matrix via characteristic functions and axioms that describe only their properties and do not completely characterize the elements of the sets.The applicability of all of these metatheorems is then substantiated by a range of case studies for the respective areas which in particular also highlight the naturalness of the use of intensional methods in the design of the corresponding systems.The first new area covered thereby is the theory of nonlinear semigroups induced by corresponding evolution equations for accretive operators. In that context, we present (besides an initial foray into the area from 2015) essentially the first applications of proof mining to the theory of partial differential equations. Concretely, we provide quantitative versions of four central results on the asymptotic behavior of solutions to such equations.The second new area unlocked in this thesis is that of the continuous dual of a Banach space and its norm (which are also approached via intensional methods). This in particular relies on a proof-theoretically tame treatment of suprema over (certain) bounded sets in this intensional context which is further exploited later on. These systems, which give access to this until now untreated fundamental notion from functional analysis, are then used to provide further substantial extensions to treat various notions from convex analysis like the Fréchet derivative of a convex function, Fenchel conjugates, Bregman distances, and monotone operators on Banach spaces in the sense of Browder.These systems are then utilized to provide applications in the context of Picard- and Halpern-style iterations of so-called Bregman strongly nonexpansive mappings where we provide both new quantitative and qualitative results.Lastly, we discuss the key notion of extensionality of a set-valued operator and its relation to set-theoretic maximality principles in more depth (which was already singled out—to some degree—in previous work). We thereby exhibit an issue arising with treating full extensionality in the context of these intensional approaches to set-valued operators and present useful fragments of the full extensionality statement where these issues are avoided.Corresponding to these fragments, we discuss a range of uniform continuity statements for set-valued operators beyond the usual notion involving the Hausdorff-metric. In particular, in that context, we utilize the previous tame treatment of suprema over bounded sets to also provide the first proof-theoretic treatment of that Hausdorff-metric in the context of systems for proof mining.The applicability of this treatment of the Hausdorff-metric is then in particular substantiated by a last case study where we provide quantitative information for a Mann-type iteration of set-valued mappings which are nonexpansive w.r.t. the Hausdorff-metric.The abstract was taken directly from the thesis.Abstract prepared by Nicholas Pischke, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, GermanyE-mail: [email protected]: https://doi.org/10.26083/tuprints-00026584. (shrink)

Several quantitative techniques for choosing among data models are available. Among these are techniques based on algorithmic information theory, minimum description length theory, and the Akaike information criterion. All these techniques are designed to identify a single model of a data set as being the closest to the truth. I argue, using examples, that many data sets in science show multiple patterns, providing evidence for multiple phenomena. For any such data set, there is more than one data model that (...) must be considered close to the truth. I conclude that, since the established techniques for choosing among data models are unequipped to handle these cases, they cannot be regarded as adequate. ‡I presented a previous version of this paper at the 20th Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Vancouver, November 2006. I am grateful to the audience for constructive discussion. I thank Leiden University students Marjolein Eysink Smeets and Lenneke Schrier for suggesting the cortisol example, and Remko van der Geest for comments on a draft. †To contact the author, please write to: Faculty of Philosophy, University of Leiden, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; e-mail: [email protected]. (shrink)

Dès le Ier siècle, quantité d'objections ont été soulevées contre la foi en l'Incarnation, c'est-a-dire contre le dogme selon lequel le Fils éternel de Dieu a vraiment assumé une existence humaine, pour apporter le salut à l'humanité. L'article examine et répond à certaines des objections soulevées d'un point de vue biblique, théologique et philosophique par une version révisionniste récente de la foi en l'Incarnation, à savoir le livre de John Hick : The Metaphor of God Incarnate.

Several quantitative studies (e.g. Kidd & Castano, 2013a; Djikic et al., 2013) have shown a positive correlation between literary reading and empathy. However, the literary nature of the stimuli used in these studies has not been defined at a more detailed, stylistic level. In order to explore the stylistic underpinnings of the hypothesized link between literariness and empathy, we conducted a qualitative experiment in which the degree of stylistic foregrounding was manipulated. Subjects (N = 37) read versions of (...) Katherine Mansfield's 'The Fly', a short story rich in foregrounding, while marking striking and evocative passages of their choosing. Afterwards, they were asked to select three markings and elaborate on their experiences in writing. One group read the original story, while the other read a 'non-literary' version, produced by an established author of suspense fiction for young adults, where stylistic foregrounding was reduced. We found that the non-literary version elicited significantly more (p < 0.05) explicitly empathic responses than the original story. This finding stands in contradiction to widely accepted assumptions in recent research, but can be assimilated in alternative models of literariness and affect in literary reading (e.g. Cupchik et al., 1998). We present an analysis of the data with a view to offering more than one interpretation of the observed effects of stylistic foregrounding. (shrink)

The main goal of the paper was to obtain insights into how gender measures can be incorporated into quantitative research on risk-related behaviour. We explored relations between the measures (short versions of Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), and Traditional Masculinity-Femininity (TMF) scale) and their explanatory power in relation to risky behaviours (Decision Outcome Inventory, DOI). The sample consisted of 470 adults (238 men). The corresponding BSRI and PAQ subscales correlated significantly, while TMF correlated positively (...) with the femininity subscales. All the instruments demonstrated good internal consistency and the measures explained a significant portion of risky behaviour. The results suggest that, although sex is a proxy of behaviour, using a measure of the gender-related aspects of identity could enhance understanding of risk-related behaviour. Finally, men and women viewed themselves as equally masculine, indicating that gender stereotypes about desirability of agentic characteristics change. (shrink)

In the article, different methods of presentation of quantitative information in the news media texts in their dependence on the author’s pragmatic preferences are considered. The object of the study is the Russian version of news reports from the websites of Ukrainian news agencies. Among the logical methods, the use of which is aimed at the realization of the informative function of the media, the following ones are to be mentioned: alternative ways of presenting the same quantity; providing data (...) against the background of the general situation for the fair presentation of scale of the problem; the use of multiple numeric symbols to ‘compress‘ information presentation. Among the rhetorical methods that influence the recipient the following ones have been analyzed: the use of units of different orders for representing the same amount; rounding of quantitative information in the headlines; comparison of facts; providing data without representing the overall situation; placing of pragmatically conditioned numbers in the headlines; creating of the number image. Applying logical methods of using of quantitatives to demonstration of new facts of reality can be considered as one of the methods of influence through informing in the news discourse. In rhetorical use of quantitative information, the presence of the author’s assessment in a media text affects the representation of numerical information. It has been concluded that the quantitatives are used in the news media texts not only as the source of information, but also as a source of influence on the recipient. (shrink)

IntroductionThe 2019–2020 pandemic COVID-19 has become a global health crisis. While many recent studies on COVID-19 pandemic have focused on disease epidemiology and psychological status of patients, few have explored the multi-facet influential factors or combined perspectives from both the patients and healthcare workers. The purposes of this study were to: analyze the influencing factors of psychological distress of COVID-19 patients; and describe the experience of healthcare workers relieving psychological distress.Materials and MethodsThis study uses a mixed-method cross-sectional design, including a (...) quantitative study and a qualitative study, targeting two populations: COVID-19 patient and health workers, respectively. In the quantitative part, we recruited a convenience sample of patients with COVID-19 from five hospitals in Wuhan, Hubei Province from 10 to 15 April, 2020. Besides, we collected data by using participants’ socio-demographic information sheet, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, the Herth Hope Index, the Distress Thermometer, the Revised Chinese Version of Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale, and the Chinese Version of Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale. In the qualitative part, the participants were healthcare workers involved in medical aid missions in Hubei Province, China. Meanwhile, we used sampling with convenient and purposive, data collection with a semi-structured online video interview, and text transcription with Colaizzi’s phenomenological method.ResultsThe results reveal that 25.7% of patients reported higher level of psychological distress. After controlling the sociodemographic variables, only severity of COVID-19 and uncertainty in illness shown significant effect on psychological distress in the regression model. The experience of healthcare workers emerged five themes: Particularly needed psychological care, Manifestation of negative emotion, Manifestation of proactive adaptation, Strategies relieving psychological distress, and gains of healthcare workers after delivering effective psychological care.ConclusionThe 25.7% of patients with COVID-19 still suffered from psychological distress, which should receive timely attention from healthcare workers. And the severity of the disease and disease uncertainty have a significant impact on distress. It is critical to train the healthcare workers on detecting the different manifestation of psychological distress, offering timely disease related information, and applying communication strategies. (shrink)

Simmel was (at least quantitatively) the main contributor to Logos. His engagement for the journal coincides with the philosophical turn in his oeuvre that culminates in his late work The View of Life (Lebensanschauung); earlier versions for three of its four main chapters had been previously published in Logos. The essay follows the hypothesis of an intrinsic relation between the content of a philosophy of culture the way Simmel developed it in the last decade of his life, and the (...) essentially essay- istic form of this philosophy that found its primary medium of articulation in the journal of Logos. The essay thus contributes to a clarification of the motives that motivated Simmel to participate in this new international format of publication and it offers insights into the hopes he pinned on the development of the journal. (shrink)

Dans la version française du Capital, Marx a choisi de traduire Mehrwert, non pas par survaleur, mais par « plus-value ». Heureux choix, car la différence entre les deux concepts ne relève pas seulement de la quantité, d’un « plus », mehr. Elle répond au clivage structurel – de l’abstrait au concret (de pensée) – entre deux registres distincts au sein du réel : au sein du rapport capitaliste. La valeur est un pouvoir sur des choses, à vendre ou à (...) consommer. La plus-value est un pouvoir sur des personnes, à exploiter pour produire plus de plus-value. La rationalité du rapport de valeur hante la plus-value. L’irrationnalité de la plus-value est introuvable dans la valeur. Ce point décisif échappe au marxisme commun, faute d’avoir élucidé les éléments constitutifs de la théorie de la valeur : le couple anthropologique travail concret/abstrait, la séquence épistémologique du rapport de travail au rapport de travail marchand. Il en suit une série de confusions portant sur l’ensemble de la théorie (plus-value absolue et plus-value relative, travail productif et production, soumission formelle / soumission réelle, etc.), qui obscurcissent les perspectives économiques, sociales et politiques que la théorie initiée par Marx ouvre à la pensée critique. (shrink)

Our research focuses on oral summarization competence and descriptive discursive conduct in late elementary school students. We examined (1) students' level of fluency in oral summarization, (2) changes observed when they redid the task, and (3) modifications made with documentary support. Twenty-four students spontaneously produced two versions of the same summary, some with written support. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that (1) structuring the summary posed difficulties, (2) reorganizing without intervention did not improve performance, and (3) documentary support (...) did not bring about any significant improvement. (shrink)

The classic model of blood pressure regulation by Guyton et al. (Annu Rev Physiol 34:13–46, 1972a; Ann Biomed Eng 1:254–281, 1972b) set a new standard for quantitative exploration of physiological function and led to important new insights, some of which still remain the focus of debate, such as whether the kidney plays the primary role in the genesis of hypertension (Montani et al. in Exp Physiol 24:41–54, 2009a; Exp Physiol 94:382–388, 2009b; Osborn et al. in Exp Physiol 94:389–396, 2009a; (...) Exp Physiol 94:388–389, 2009b). Key to the success of this model was the fact that the authors made the computer code (in FORTRAN) freely available and eventually provided a convivial user interface for exploration of model behavior on early microcomputers (Montani et al. in Int J Bio-med Comput 24:41–54, 1989). Ikeda et al. (Ann Biomed Eng 7:135–166, 1979) developed an offshoot of the Guyton model targeting especially the regulation of body fluids and acid–base balance; their model provides extended renal and respiratory functions and would be a good basis for further extensions. In the interest of providing a simple, useable version of Ikeda et al.’s model and to facilitate further such extensions, we present a practical implementation of the model of Ikeda et al. (Ann Biomed Eng 7:135–166, 1979), using the ODE solver Berkeley Madonna. (shrink)

As humans, why do we walk such a fine line between depression and addiction, paranoia and recklessness, fatigue and burnout? Why are humans so prone to self-delusion and self-deception? Why do we have so many conflicting stories and versions of the truth? In this book, we learn, in simple language, about the neurochemical soups that make our brains prone to metabolic imbalance, self-delusion, addiction, broken feedback loops and unfettered quantitative growth targets that construct a world of winners, losers (...) and barely anyone in between. (shrink)

The author presents a version of the ontological scheme of Newton’s mechanistic worldview based on both the study of previous versions of its understanding and the text of the “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”. Newton developed a model of new universality or a homogeneous and isotropic world in which uniform laws operate. This model is based on several ontological postulates Newton introduced, which can be isolated from several provisions of his classic work. The new mechanistic worldview is based on (...) the imputation of the world of universal simplicity. The quantitative “unit” of a simple, homogeneous, physical-geometric universe is an ambivalent corpuscle-point. The main constants of the “mechanistic universe” are the diversity of the numbers of masses, motions, and forces connected by clear reciprocal relationships. Newton also introduced theoretical space and time as a privileged, absolute reference system. Finally, in the Newtonian version of the mechanistic worldview, there are compelled metaphysical ingredients or inexplicable and transcendental qualities. They are gravity, ether, and God. Thus, the ontological scheme of Newton’s mechanistic worldview is a construction based on the sequential mental experiment of presenting the universe exclusively from the side of its “objectivity” and “sensory certification”. (shrink)

This study aimed to analyse the contribution of infaq funds to the social and economic resilience of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic in West Papua, Indonesia. This study uses a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative studies. Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions with administrators, Dai [Islamic preacher] and mosque congregations to obtain information about the form and mechanism for disbursing infaq funds. Furthermore, the state of distribution of infaq funds is confirmed to the recipient community (...) with an online survey as quantitative data. The data obtained were tabulated and analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics using multiple linear regression assisted by SPSS software 25 version. The research findings show that: firstly, the form of the social-economic contribution of infaq funds is carried out by: (1) financial assistance, (2) social assistance, and (3) health assistance. Secondly, infaq, an instrument of Islamic economics, can contribute to tackling the social and economic impacts of the community amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Thirdly, of the three forms of assistance provided, the health assistance aspect contributed 38.320%, the financial assistance aspect amounted to 37.173% and 24.339% to social assistance. This study shows that the community most needed health and financial assistance from infaq funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.Contribution: This study complements the existing literature and provides a new scientific treasure. That the infaq fund, as a philanthropy, turned out to be able to contribute to realising the social-economic resilience of the community during a disease outbreak. The form of health, financial and social assistance from infaq funds is a priority in accelerating the community’s economic recovery. It can be a countermeasure to socio-economic impacts during disasters and disease outbreaks. (shrink)

John Locke proposed a straightforward relationship between qualitative and quantitative doxastic notions: belief corresponds to a sufficiently high degree of confidence. Richard Foley has further developed this Lockean thesis and applied it to an analysis of the preface and lottery paradoxes. Following Foley's lead, we exploit various versions of these paradoxes to chart a precise relationship between belief and probabilistic degrees of confidence. The resolutions of these paradoxes emphasize distinct but complementary features of coherent belief. These features suggest (...) principles that tie together qualitative and quantitative doxastic notions. We show how these principles may be employed to construct a quantitative model - in terms of degrees of confidence - of an agent's qualitative doxastic state. This analysis fleshes out the Lockean thesis and provides the foundation for a logic of belief that is responsive to the logic of degrees of confidence. (shrink)

Tacking by conjunction is a well-known problem for Bayesian confirmation theory. In the first section, disadvantages of existing Bayesian solution proposals to this problem are pointed out and an alternative solution proposal is presented: that of genuine confirmation. In the second section, the notion of GC is briefly recapitulated and three versions of GC are distinguished: full GC, partial GC and quantitative GC. In the third section, the application of partial GC to pure post-facto speculations is explained. In (...) the fourth section it is demonstrated that full GC is a necessary condition for Bayesian convergence to certainty based on the accumulation of conditionally independent pieces of evidence. It is found that whenever a hypothesis is equivalent to a disjunction of more fine-grained hypotheses conveying different probabilities to the evidence, then conditional independence of the evidence fails. This failure occurs typically for unspecific negations of hypotheses. A refined version of the convergence to certainty theorem that overcomes this difficulty is developed in the final section. (shrink)

Background While academic dishonesty among nursing students is becoming a global problem, the instruments used in studies on this topic are heterogeneous and, in many cases, not even validated. This makes it difficult or impossible to compare the findings on a global scale. Objectives To investigate the profile of Croatian nursing students’ dishonest behaviour in classroom and clinical settings and to examine the relationship between the incidence of dishonest behaviour in both settings. Research design A quantitative cross-sectional study using (...) a Croatian online version of the Nursing Student Perceptions of Dishonesty Scale (overall Cronbach’s alpha 0.933). Participants and research context 446 nursing students from a higher education institution in Croatia, EU, in the academic year 2020/21. Ethical considerations The study was approved by the relevant committee of the higher education institution. Findings/results Almost all participants (91.3%) performed dishonest behaviour on two or more occasions in the classroom and 32.5% did so in the clinical setting. The incidence of dishonest behaviour increased with the students’ year of BSc study ( p =.008). All subscales of dishonest behaviour in the classroom were significantly and positively associated with dishonest behaviour in the clinical setting, except for the Not My Problem and Non-Compliance subscales. Discussion Based on these results, the following should be taken into consideration: 1) dishonest behaviour in the classroom is associated with dishonest behaviour in the clinical setting; 2) even the slightest occurrence of dishonest behaviour in the clinical setting can lead to fatal events. Conclusions The gradual increase in BSc nursing students’ dishonest behaviour with their year of study raises several questions regarding the development of ethical and moral values in this population. This raises the need for early and continuous exposure of students to ethical content from the beginning of their studies and support from competent educators. (shrink)

This paper documents a quantitative study into socially responsible principles and practices adopted in registered clubs in New South Wales Australia to manage one of their social impacts – problem gambling. The survey utilised an adapted version of Aupperle''s (1982) corporate social responsibility instrument to measure the priority given to economic, legal, ethical and discretionary principles in club machine gambling operations. The survey also assessed support for certain management practices in responsible gambling. The results indicate that the participating club (...) managers prioritise economic, legal, ethical and discretionary principles respectively, and that these are statistically related to practices they have implemented and support in responsible gambling. The managers most favoured secondary harm minimisation practices, followed by reactive primary intervention. Less favoured were proactive primary intervention and discretionary practices. These principles and practices contrast markedly with those advocated by key stakeholder groups, as expressed in semi-structured interviews and submissions to the NSW Gaming Inquiry. Non-industry stakeholders favoured a more balanced set of principles and a more holistic set of management practices in responsible gambling. The results also provide validation of Aupperle''s (1982) instrument when applied to corporate management of a single social impact and for Carroll''s (1979, 1991) construct of corporate social responsibility. (shrink)

Suppositions can be introduced in either the indicative or subjunctive mood. The introduction of either type of supposition initiates judgments that may be either qualitative, binary judgments about whether a given proposition is acceptable or quantitative, numerical ones about how acceptable it is. As such, accounts of qualitative/quantitative judgment under indicative/subjunctive supposition have been developed in the literature. We explore these four different types of theories by systematically explicating the relationships canonical representatives of each. Our representative qualitative accounts (...) of indicative and subjunctive supposition are based on the belief change operations provided by AGM revision and KM update respectively; our representative quantitative ones are offered by conditionalization and imaging. This choice is motivated by the familiar approach of understanding supposition as `provisional belief revision' wherein one temporarily treats the supposition as true and forms judgments by making appropriate changes to their other opinions. To compare the numerical judgments recommended by the quantitative theories with the binary ones recommended by the qualitative accounts, we rely on a suitably adapted version of the Lockean thesis. Ultimately, we establish a number of new results that we interpret as vindicating the often-repeated claim that conditionalization is a probabilistic version of revision, while imaging is a probabilistic version of update. (shrink)

Background: Nurses need moral courage to ensure ethically good care. Moral courage is an individual characteristic and therefore it is relevant to examine its association with nurses’ socio-demographic factors. Objective: To describe nurses’ self-assessed level of moral courage and its association with their socio-demographic factors. Research design: Quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study. The data were collected with Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale and analyzed statistically. Participants and research context: A total of 482 registered nurses from a major university hospital in Southern (...) Finland completed the Finnish language version of Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale in autumn 2017. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the university ethics committee and permission for the data collection from the participating hospital. Ethical principles and scientific guidelines were followed throughout the research process. Findings: Nurses’ self-assessed level of moral courage was rather high. On Visual Analogy Scale (0–10), the mean value was 8.20 and the mean score of the four dimensional, 21-item Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale was 4.09 on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Respondents’ gender, present work role, ethical knowledge base, additional ethics education, self-study as a means to acquire ethical knowledge, and frequency of work situations needing moral courage were statistically significantly associated with nurses’ moral courage. Discussion: Strongest association was found between nurses’ higher moral courage level and formal and informal ethics education. Honesty and patient’s humane and dignified encounter received the highest scores indicating respondents’ internalization of the core values of nursing. Conclusion: Although nurses were fairly morally courageous, moral courage should be a part of nurses’ basic and continuing education thus covering its theoretical and practical learning. Since moral courage is a virtue that can be taught, learnt, and practiced, education is a relevant way to maintain and further strengthen nurses’ moral courage. (shrink)

We study model theoretic tree properties and their associated cardinal invariants. In particular, we obtain a quantitative refinement of Shelah’s theorem for countable theories, show that [Formula: see text] is always witnessed by a formula in a single variable and that weak [Formula: see text] is equivalent to [Formula: see text]. Besides, we give a characterization of [Formula: see text] via a version of independent amalgamation of types and apply this criterion to verify that some examples in the literature (...) are indeed [Formula: see text]. (shrink)

John Locke proposed a straightforward relationship between qualitative and quantitative doxastic notions: belief corresponds to a sufficiently high degree of confidence. Richard Foley has further developed this Lockean thesis and applied it to an analysis of the preface and lottery paradoxes. Following Foley's lead, we exploit various versions of these paradoxes to chart a precise relationship between belief and probabilistic degrees of confidence. The resolutions of these paradoxes emphasize distinct but complementary features of coherent belief. These features suggest (...) principles that tie together qualitative and quantitative doxastic notions. We show how these principles may be employed to construct a quantitative model - in terms of degrees of confidence - of an agent's qualitative doxastic state. This analysis fleshes out the Lockean thesis and provides the foundation for a logic of belief that is responsive to the logic of degrees of confidence. (shrink)