The rule ‘Keep your promises’ is often presented as a challenge to consequentialism, because the ground of your moral obligation not to break a promise seems to lie in the past fact that you made the promise, which is not a consequence of the act. A different picture emerges, however, when we move beyond the question of whether you have any moral obligation at all to the related question of how strong that obligation is.If I promise to meet you and (...) some other mutual friends for a casual lunch, then my moral obligation to meet you is not as strong as when I promise to drive you to the airport to catch an important flight. Why not? The natural answer is that, if I break the lunch promise, not much bad will happen. You will still have a pleasant lunch with our other friends, and you and I can still have lunch some other time. I have some moral obligation to meet you, but not a very strong one. In contrast, if I break my driving promise, then my failure will cause much more harm, assuming that you will not find another way to get to the airport in time for your flight. These harmful consequences to you seem to be what give strength to my moral obligation to keep this promise.The relevant kind of strength is measured by how much is needed to override the obligation. I would need much stronger reasons to justify breaking my promise to drive you to the airport than to justify breaking my promise to meet you for lunch. The fact that my teenage child is sick at home might be enough to justify missing the lunch, even if the teenager would be safe at …. (shrink)

Henrich et al.'s findings are generally consistent with the findings of other experimental field studies. However, the methodological variations deployed across field sites produced several systematic biases in their results. Hence, although the project is destined to become a watershed study, their results should be interpreted prudently.

Hierbei beruhrt Husserl auch Themen, welche die Grenzen der Methode aufzeigen, z.B. die eidetische Variation meines eigenen Charakters.

The beginning of the 20th century coincides with the establishment of the modern disciplines of the social sciences, chiefly in the United States but on a smaller scale in Western Europe as well. These disciplinary structures, which varied from country to country, provide the organizing principle of this handbook.The immediate context of the disciplinarization of sociology was the transformation of two fields, statistics and history, which shed large chunks of content as they took their current shape. The principal body of (...) thought that is excluded from the discipline of history, for example, was philosophy of history. Émile Durkheim provided the earliest and most coherent reconciliation of this fundamental tension, and it is striking how similar the lists of intellectual sources and problems actually were between these principal solutions to the common problem of constructing a “science” out of the materials and topics in question. Durkheim's analytic strategy in this chapter relies on the preexisting methodological tradition about cause and statistics that was established in Mill's System of Logic, but rejected Mill's own understanding of the role of probability in favor of the method of concomitant variation, which Mill had thought was inapplicable in social science. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Mill on Our Knowledge of the External World Mill on Our Knowledge of “Necessary” Truths Mill's “Reduction” of Deductive Reasoning to Inductive Reasoning Mill on the Ground of Inductive Reasoning Mill's Methods Further Reading.

This paper contributes to the task of defining the relationship between the results of production and rating experiments in the context of language variation. We address the following research question: how may the grammatical options available to a single speaker be distributed in the two domains of production and perception? We argue that previous studies comparing acceptability judgments and frequencies of occurrence suffer from significant limitations. We approach the correspondence of production and perception data by adopting an experimental design (...) different from those used in previous research: (i) instead of using a corpus we use production data obtained experimentally from respondents who are later asked to make judgments, (ii) instead of pairwise phenomena we examine language variation, (iii) judgments are collected formally using the conditions and materials from the production experiment, (iv) we analyze the behavior of each participant across the production and acceptability judgment experiments. In particular, we examine three phenomena of variation in Russian: case variation in nominalizations, gender mismatch, and case variation in paucal constructions. Our results show that there is substantial alignment between acceptability ratings and frequency of occurrence. However, the distribution of frequencies and acceptability scores do not always correlate. Speakers are not consistent in choosing a single variant across the two types of experiment. Importantly, the types of inconsistency they display differ, which means that the variation can be characterized from this point of view. We conclude that the degree of coherence of the two experiments reflects the effects of the evolution of variation over time. Another result is that elicited production and acceptability judgments vary with respect to how they reveal variation in language. In the case of the development or disappearance of variants, production indicates this earlier than judgments, and the rating task has the effect of restricting the choices available to respondents. However, the production method should not thereby be considered more sensitive. We argue that only a combination of production and judgment data makes it possible to estimate the directionality of changes in variability and to see the full distribution of different variants. (shrink)

How should we understand postphenomenological methodology? Postphenomenology is a research perspective which builds on phenomenological and pragmatist philosophy to explore human–technology relations, but one with open methodological questions. Here, I offer some thoughts on the epistemological processes that should be (and often implicitly may be) at work in this research. In particular, I am concerned with postphenomenological research on technological “multistability,” i.e., a device’s ever-present capacity to be used for a variety of purposes, and to always be meaningful in multiple (...) ways. I develop a methodology called “variational cross-examination,” which entails the critical contrast of a device’s various stabilities. As a set of instructive examples, I draw on my own line of research on the politics of public spaces, and especially the critique of anti-homeless design. (shrink)

The paper examines definitions of ‘cause’ in the epidemiological literature. Those definitions all describe causes as factors that make a difference to the distribution of disease or to individual health status. In the philosophical jargon, causes in epidemiology are difference-makers. Two claims are defended. First, it is argued that those definitions underpin an epistemology and a methodology that hinge upon the notion of variation, contra the dominant Humean paradigm according to which we infer causality from regularity. Second, despite the (...) fact that causes be defined in terms of ‘difference-making’, this cannot fixes the causal metaphysics. Causality in epidemiology ought to be interpreted according to the epistemic theory. In this approach relations are deemed causal depending on the evidence and on the available methods. Indeed, evidence to establish causal claims requires difference-making considerations; furthermore, those definitions of cause reflect the ‘variational’ epistemology and methodology of epidemiology. (shrink)

Husserlian variation, Bergsonian intuition and Peircean abduction are contrasted as methodological responses to the traditional philosophical problem of deriving knowledge of universals from singulars. Each method implies a correspondingly different view of the generation of the variations from which knowledge is derived. To make sense of the latter differences, and to distinguish the different sorts of variation sought by philosophers and scientists, a distinction between extensive, intensive, and abductive-intensive variation is introduced. The link between philosophical (...) class='Hi'>method and the generation of variation is used to illuminate different philosophical conceptions of nature and nature's relation to meaning and sense. (shrink)

Background Intestinal transplant in infants with severe short bowel syndrome (SBS) is an emerging therapy, yet without sufficient long-term data or established guidelines, resulting in possible variation in practice. Objectives To assess current attitudes and counselling practices among physicians regarding intestinal transplant in infants with SBS, and to determine whether counselling and management vary between subspecialists or centres. Methods A national sample of practicing paediatric surgeons and neonatologists was surveyed via the American Academy of Paediatrics listserves. Results were analysed (...) by physician subspecialty and again by presence or absence of intestinal transplant at respondent's centre. Results The survey was completed by 433 respondents, consisting of 363 neonatologists and 70 paediatric surgeons. Fifty-seven respondents (13.2%) practiced at a centre that performed intestinal transplants in children. The vast majority of respondents (91% for preterm, 95% for term neonates) felt that maintaining a neonate with SBS on total parenteral nutrition for intestinal transplant was ethically optional (neither impermissible nor obligatory), and that parents should be given an informed choice whether to pursue that option. However, only 33% indicated they often/always offer intestinal transplant as a treatment option to families in this situation. Conclusions There is a marked disparity between individual physicians’ beliefs regarding the acceptability of intestinal transplant for severe SBS and their reported practice. Wide variability exists among physicians with respect to their knowledge, beliefs and practice regarding severe SBS, raising concerns about transparency and justice. Survival data prior to transplant, currently unavailable, are essential to rational decision making and informed parental permission. (shrink)

Edmund Husserl’s eidetic phenomenology seeks a priori knowledge of essences and eidetic laws pertaining to conscious experience and its objects. Husserl believes that such eidetic knowledge has a higher epistemic status than the inherently fallible empirical knowledge, but a closer reading of his work shows that even eidetic claims are subject to error and open to modification. In this article, I develop a self-correcting account of Husserl’s method of eidetic variation, arguing that eidetic variation plays a critical (...) role in both challenging and improving upon the eidetic results in phenomenology. More specifically, I argue that the self-correcting account of eidetic variation 1) is consistent with Husserl’s own formulations of his eidetic methodology and epistemic principles; 2) captures the dual epistemic function of eidetic variation as means for both testing and intuitively validating eidetic claims; and 3) offers methodological support for contemporary attempts to integrate eidetic variation with non-eidetic methods and resources. To substantiate these claims, I first contrast the self-correcting account with the falsificationist interpretations of eidetic variation. Then, I turn to three applications of eidetic variation in order to examine how eidetic phenomenology could draw from real-life deviations, artificial variations, and critical–historical reflection. The goal is to lay the methodological groundwork for a self-correcting and integrative account of eidetic variation and illustrate its usefulness in research practice. (shrink)

The Hubbard model is studied at half filling, using two complementary variational wave functions, the Gutzwiller ansatz for the metallic phase at small values of the interaction parameter U and its analog for the insulating phase at large values of U. The metallic phase is characterized by the Drude weight, which exhibits a jump at the critical point Uc. In the insulating phase the system behaves as a collection of dipoles which increase both in number and in size as U (...) gets smaller. The two wave functions are able to describe the two asymptotic regimes (small and large values of U, respectively), but they can no longer be trusted in the region of the Mott transition (U≈Uc). More powerful methods are needed to study, for instance, the divergence of the electric susceptibility for U→Uc. (shrink)

The comparison of growth, whether it is between different strains or under different growth conditions, is a classic microbiological technique that can provide genetic, epigenetic, cell biological, and chemical biological information depending on how the assay is used. When employing solid growth media, this technique is limited by being largely qualitative and low throughput. Collecting data in the form of growth curves, especially automated data collection in multi‐well plates, circumvents these issues. However, the growth curves themselves are subject to stochastic (...) variation in several variables, most notably the length of the lag phase, the doubling rate, and the maximum expansion of the culture. Thus, growth curves are indicative of trends but cannot always be conveniently averaged and statistically compared. Here, we summarize a simple method to compile growth curve data into a quantitative format that is amenable to statistical comparisons and easy to graph and display. (shrink)

This paper contains four variations on Duhem's theme about the contrast between the abstract French mind and the concrete British mind. The first variation brings out the real contrast between two types of methods and their results: the A method or models and the C method or models. The second variation gives a critical discussion of the Callender-Cohen deflationary contruel of scientific representation. The third variation discusses Russell's structuralism in connection to the theme. And the (...) fourth variation critically discusses the relationship between models and fiction in connection to the distinction between the A-models and the C-models. A coda maps out without sufficiently detailed arguments the author's view on the nature of the C-models and why they, and only they, can be viewed as fully fictional. (shrink)

The dichotomy between the conceptual and the empirical is part of common sense, yet its organizing force also extends to intellectual life more generally, including the disciplinary life of science and technology studies. This article problematizes this dichotomy as it operates in contemporary STS discussions, arguing instead that the conceptual and the empirical form unstable hybrids. Beginning with a discussion of the “discontents” with which the dominant theory methods packages in STS are viewed, it is suggested that STS has entered (...) a phase resembling Kuhnian normal science. Based on a discussion of the making of cognitive dissonance theory, it is then argued conceptual–empirical mixtures are unavoidable in actual research practice. This situation can be taken as an encouragement for more sustained exploration of conceptual–empirical relations and their inventive potentials. Invoking Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of “continuous variation,” the article concludes that STS as a discipline is well served by promoting an ethos of empirical and conceptual experimentation. (shrink)

Variation set structure — partial alignment of successive utterances in child-directed speech — has been shown to correlate with progress in the acquisition of syntax by children. The present study demonstrates that arranging a certain proportion of utterances in a training corpus in variation sets facilitates word segmentation and phrase structure learning in miniature artifi- cial languages by adults. Our findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms of L1 acquisition by children, and for the development of more efficient (...) algorithms for automatic language acquisition, as well as better methods for L2 instruction. (shrink)

In Bolzano's view, a proposition is necessarily true iff it is derivable from true propositions that include no intuition (Anschauung). This analysis is historically important because it displays close similarities to Quine's and Kripke's ideas. Its systematic significance, however, is reduced by the fact that derivability is defined with recourse to the method of variation, which we are allowed to apply even to propositions containing none of the respective variables. This liberality leads to the result that, according to (...) Bolzano's analysis, every truth is necessarily true. Even by introducing his condition of relevance (shared variables), Bolzano cannot avoid that some propositions come out as necessarily true which are merely contingently true. (shrink)

There is a growing appreciation of the extent of transcriptome variation across individual cells of the same cell type. While expression variation may be a byproduct of, for example, dynamic or homeostatic processes, here we consider whether single‐cell molecular variation per se might be crucial for population‐level function. Under this hypothesis, molecular variation indicates a diversity of hidden functional capacities within an ensemble of “identical” cells, and this functional diversity facilitates collective behavior that would be inaccessible (...) to a homogenous population. In reviewing this topic, we explore possible functions that might be carried by a heterogeneous ensemble of cells; however, this question has proven difficult to test, both because methods to manipulate molecular variation are limited and because it is complicated to define, and measure, population‐level function. We consider several possible methods to further pursue the hypothesis that “variation is function” through the use of comparative analysis and novel experimental techniques. (shrink)

Our theoretical understanding of individual differences can be used as a tool to test and refine theory. Individual differences are useful because judgments, including philosophically relevant intuitions, are the predictable products of the fit between adaptive psychological mechanisms (e.g., heuristics, traits, skills, capacities) and task constraints. As an illustration of this method and its potential implications, our target article used a canonical, representative, and affectively charged judgment task to reveal a relationship between the heritable personality trait extraversion and some (...) compatabilist judgments. In the current Reply, we further clarify major theoretical implications of these data and outline potential opportunities and obstacles for this methodology. Discussion focuses on (1) the need for theoretically grounded a priori predictions; (2) the use of precise process level data and theory; (3) the possibility of convergent validity as personality is known to predict life experiences and outcomes; and (4) the fundamentally adaptive nature of cognition. (shrink)

Weiermann [18] introduces a new method to generate fast growing functions in order to get an elegant and perspicuous proof of a bounding theorem for provably total recursive functions in a formal theory, e.g., in PA. His fast growing function θαn is described as follows. For each ordinal α and natural number n let T α n denote a finitely branching, primitive recursive tree of ordinals, i.e., an ordinal as a label is attached to each node in the tree (...) so that the labelling is compatible with the tree ordering. Then the tree T α n is well founded and hence finite by Konig's lemma. Define θαn=the depth of the tree T α n =the length of the longest branch in T α n . We introduce new fast and slow growing functions in this mode of definitions and show that each of these majorizes provably total recursive functions in PA. (shrink)

In recent months months the hashtag #overlyhonestmethods has steadily been gaining popularity. Posts under this hashtag—presumably by scientists—detail aspects of daily scientific research that differ considerably from the idealized interpretation of scientific experimentation as standardized, objective and reproducible. Over and above its entertainment value, the popularity of this hashtag raises two important points for those who study both science and scientists. Firstly, the posts highlight that the generation of data through experimentation is often far less standardized than is commonly assumed. (...) Secondly, the popularity of the hashtag together with its relatively blasé reception by the scientific community reveal that the actions reported in the tweets are far from shocking and indeed may be considered just “part of scientific research”. Such observations give considerable pause for thought, and suggest that current conceptions of data might be limited by failing to recognize this “inherent variability” within the actions of generation—and thus within data themselves. Is it possible, we must ask, that epistemic virtues such as standardization, consistency, reportability and reproducibility need to be reevaluated? Such considerations are, of course, of particular importance to data sharing discussions and the Open Data movement. This paper suggests that the notion of a “moral professionalism” for data generation and sharing needs to be considered in more detail if the inherent variability of data are to be addressed in any meaningful manner. (shrink)

Sociolinguists study the interaction between language and society. Variationist sociolinguistics — the subfield of sociolinguistics which is the focus of this issue — uses empirical and quantitative methods to study the production and perception of linguistic variation. Linguistic variation refers to how speakers choose between linguistic forms that say the same thing in different ways, with the variants differing in their social meaning. For example, how frequently someone says fishin’ or fishing depends on a number of factors, such (...) as the speaker's regional and social background and the formality of the speech event. Likewise, if listeners are asked to use a rating scale make judgements about speakers who say fishin’ or fishing, their ratings depend on what other social characteristics are attributed to the speaker. This issue aims to reflect the growing number of interactions that bring variationist sociolinguistics into contact of different branches of cognitive science. After presenting current trends in sociolinguistics, we identify five areas of contact between the two fields: cognitive sociolinguistics, sociolinguistic cognition, acquisition of variation, computational modeling, and a comparative approach of variation in animal communication. We then explain the benefits of interdisciplinary work: fostering the study of variability and cultural diversity in cognition; bringing together data and modeling; understanding the cognitive mechanisms through which sociolinguistic variation is processed; examining indexical meaning; exploring links between different levels of grammar; and improving methods of data collection and analysis. Finally we explain how the articles in this issue contribute to each of these benefits. We conclude by suggesting that sociolinguistics holds a strategic position for facing the challenge of building theories of language through integrating its linguistic, cognitive, and social aspects at the collective and individual levels. (shrink)

Background In earlier work, we found important selection biases when we tried to obtain consent for participation in a national stroke registry. Recognizing that not all registries will be exempt from requiring consent for participation, we examine here in greater depth the reasons for the poor accrual of patients from a systems perspective with a view to obtaining as representative sample as possible. Methods We determined the percent of eligible patients who were approached to participate and, among those approached, the (...) percent who actually consented to participate. In addition we examined the reasons why people were not approached or did not consent and the variation across sites in the percent of patients approached and consented. We also considered site variation in restrictions on the accrual and data collection process imposed by either the local research ethics board or the hospital. Results Seventy percent of stroke patients were approached, with wide variations in approach rates across sites (from: 41% to 86%), and considerable inter-site variation in hospital policies governing patient accrual. Chief reasons for not approaching were discharge or death before being approached for consent. Seventeen percent of those approached refused to participate (range: 5% to 75%). Finally, 11% of those approached did not participate due to language or communication difficulties. Conclusion We found wide variation in approach and agree rates across sites that were accounted for, in part, by different approaches to accrual and idiosyncratic policies of the hospitals. This wide variation in approach and agree rates raises important challenges for research ethics boards and data protection authorities in determining when to waive consent requirements, when to press for increased quality control, when to permit local adaptation of the consent process, and when to permit alternatives to individual express consent. We offer several suggestions for those registries that require consent for participation. (shrink)

A new method for evaluating aircraft engine monitoring data is proposed. Commonly, prognostics and health management systems use knowledge of the degradation processes of certain engine components together with professional expert opinion to predict the Remaining Useful Life (RUL). New data-driven approaches have emerged to provide accurate diagnostics without relying on such costly processes. However, most of them lack an explanatory component to understand model learning and/or the nature of the data. A solution based on a novel recurrent version (...) of a VAE is proposed in this paper to overcome this gap. The latent space learned by the model, trained with data from sensors placed in different parts of these engines, is exploited to build a self-explanatory map that can visually evaluate the rate of deterioration of the engines. Besides, a simple regressor model is built on top of the learned features of the encoder in order to numerically predict the RUL. As a result, remarkable prognostic accuracy is achieved, outperforming most of the novel and state-of-the-art approaches on the available modular aero-propulsion system simulation data (C-MAPSS dataset) from NASA. In addition, a practical real-world application is included for Turbofan engine data. This study shows that the proposed prognostic and explainable framework presents a promising new approach. (shrink)

Heinrich Popitz’s Phenomena of Power aims to uncover power as “a universal component in the genesis and operation of human societies”. In order to uncover this “universal” concept of power, Popitz employs Husserl’s method of the “imaginative variation” [Phantasievariation]. Yet, contrary to phenomenology’s traditionally descriptive posture, Phenomena of Power’s project is at once descriptive and normative—seeking not only to describe power, but to also describe the way in which power can be remade. In the present paper it is (...) argued that this normative component of Popitz’s project offers the burgeoning field of critical phenomenology an illustration of the way in which Husserl’s “imaginative variation” might be employed not only as a descriptive tool of pure essences, but also as an instrument in the refashioning of social reality. (shrink)

This study investigated the impact of three prior distributions: matched, standard vague, and hierarchical in Bayesian estimation parameter recovery in two and one parameter models. Two Bayesian estimation methods were utilized: Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and the relatively new, Variational Bayesian (VB). Conditional (CML) and Marginal Maximum Likelihood (MML) estimates were used as baseline methods for comparison. Vague priors produced large errors or convergence issues and are not recommended. For both MCMC and VB, the hierarchical and matched priors showed (...) the lowest root mean squared errors (RMSEs) for ability estimates; RMSEs of difficulty estimates were similar across estimation methods. For the standard errors (SEs), MCMC-hierarchical displayed the largest values across most conditions. SEs from the VB estimation were among the lowest in all but one case. Overall, VB-hierarchical, VB-matched, and MCMC-matched performed best. VB with hierarchical priors are recommended in terms of their accuracy, and cost and (subsequently) time effectiveness. (shrink)

This paper sets out to show how Eddington's early twenties case for variational derivatives significantly bears witness to a steady and consistent shift in focus from a resolute striving for objectivity towards “selective subjectivism” and structuralism. While framing his so-called “Hamiltonian derivatives” along the lines of previously available variational methods allowing to derive gravitational field equations from an action principle, Eddington assigned them a theoretical function of his own devising in The Mathematical Theory of Relativity (1923). I make clear that (...) two stages should be marked out in Eddington's train of thought if the meaning of such variational derivatives is to be adequately assessed. As far as they were originally intended to embody the mind's collusion with nature by linking atomicity of matter with atomicity of action, variational derivatives were at first assigned a dual role requiring of them not only to express mind's craving for permanence but also to tune up mind's privileged pattern to “Nature's own idea”. Whereas at a later stage, as affine field theory would provide a framework for world-building, such “Hamiltonian differentiation” would grow out of tune through gauge-invariance and, by disregarding how mathematical theory might precisely come into contact with actual world, would be turned into a mere heuristic device for structural knowledge. (shrink)

It has been proved that total generalized variation can better preserve edges while suppressing staircase effect. In this paper, we propose an effective hybrid regularization model based on second-order TGV and wavelet frame. The proposed model inherits the advantages of TGV regularization and wavelet frame regularization, can eliminate staircase effect while protecting the sharp edge, and simultaneously has good capability of sparsely estimating the piecewise smooth functions. The alternative direction method of multiplier is employed to solve the new (...) model. Numerical results show that our proposed model can preserve more details and get higher image visual quality than some current state-of-the-art methods. (shrink)

Human Goodness presents an original, pragmatic moral theory that successfully revives and revitalizes the classical Greek concept of happiness. It also includes in-depth discussions of our freedoms, our obligations, and our virtues, as well as adroit comparisons with the moral theories of Kant and Hume. Paul Schollmeier explains that the Greeks define happiness as an activity that we may perform for its own sake. Obvious examples might include telling stories, making music, or dancing. He then demonstrates that we may use (...) the pragmatic method to discover and to define innumerable activities of this kind. Schollmeier's demonstration rests on the modest assumption that our happiness takes not one ideal form, but many empirical forms. (shrink)

In order to improve the iris classification rate, a novel biogeography-based optimization algorithm based on local search and nonuniform variation was proposed in this paper. Firstly, the linear migration model was replaced by a hyperbolic cotangent model which was closer to the natural law. And, the local search strategy was added to traditional BBO algorithm migration operation to enhance the global search ability of the algorithm. Then, the nonuniform variation was introduced to enhance the algorithm in the later (...) iteration. The algorithm could achieve a stronger iris classifier by lifting weaker similarity classifiers during the training stage. On this base, the convergence condition of NBBO was proposed by using the Markov chain strategy. Finally, simulation results were given to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed iris classification method. (shrink)

Sceptics vis-à-vis introspection often base their scepticism on ‘phenomenological disputes’, ‘introspective disagreement’, or ‘introspective disputes’ (Kriegel, 2007; Bayne and Spener, 2010; Schwitzgebel, 2011): introspectors massively diverge in their opinions about experiences, and there seems to be no method to resolve these issues. Sceptics take this to show that introspection lacks any epistemic merit. Here, I provide a list of paradigmatic examples, distill necessary and sufficient conditions for IDs, present the sceptical argument encouraged by IDs, and review the two main (...) strategies to reject such a scepticism. However, both types of strategies are unsatisfactory. In order to save introspection from the looming sceptical threat, I advocate a deflationary strategy, based on either an ‘Argument from Perceptual Kinship’ or an ‘Argument from Ownership’. In the end, there cannot be any genuine IDs, for nothing can fulfil the reasonable conditions for IDs. What looks like IDs may instead be indicators of phenomenal variation. Debates that look like IDs may then arise even if introspection were a perfect method to know one’s mind. Thus, scepticism vis-à-vis introspection based on IDs rests on shaky grounds. (shrink)

In order to solve the shortcomings of particle swarm optimization in solving multiobjective optimization problems, an improved multiobjective particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed. In this study, the competitive strategy was introduced into the construction process of Pareto external archives to speed up the search process of nondominated solutions, thereby increasing the speed of the establishment of Pareto external archives. In addition, the descending order of crowding distance method is used to limit the size of external archives and dynamically (...) adjust particle parameters; in order to solve the problem of insufficient population diversity in the later stage of algorithm iteration, time-varying Gaussian mutation strategy is used to mutate the particles in external archives to improve diversity. The simulation experiment results show that the improved algorithm has better convergence and stability than the other compared algorithms. (shrink)

Designing and manufacturing medical devices for specific patients is becoming increasingly feasible with developments in 3D printing and 3D imaging software. This raises the question of how patient-specific devices can be evaluated, since our ‘gold standard’ method for evaluation, the randomised controlled trial, requires that an intervention is standardised across a number of individuals in an experimental group. I distinguish several senses of patient-specific device, and focus the discussion on understanding the problem of variations between instances of an intervention (...) for RCT evaluation. I argue that, despite initial appearances, it is theoretically possible to use RCTs to evaluate some patient-specific medical devices. However, the argument reveals significant difficulties for ensuring the validity of such trials, with implications for how we should think about methods of evidence gathering and regulatory approaches for these technologies. (shrink)

The role of bacterial variation in the waxing and waning of epidemics was a subject of lively debate in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century bacteriology and epidemiology. The notion that changes in bacterial virulence were responsible for the rise and fall of epidemic diseases was an often-voiced, but little investigated hypothesis made by late nineteenth-century epidemiologists. It was one of the first hypotheses to be tested by scientists who attempted to study epidemiological questions using laboratory methods. This paper examines (...) how two groups of experimental epidemiologists, the British group led by W. W. C. Topley and Major Greenwood, and an American group directed by Leslie T. Webster at the Rockefeller Institute, studied the role of variations in bacterial virulence in the course of laboratory epidemics of mouse typhoid. Relying on Ludwik Fleck’s concept of thought styles and thought collectives, the paper analyzes the fundamental conceptual differences between these two groups of researchers and analyzes the kinds of innovations they introduced as they attempted to integrate bacteriological and epidemiological approaches. The paper shows that the stylistic differences between the two groups can be understood better in the context of the institutional histories and disciplinary relations of epidemiology and bacteriology in the two countries. (shrink)

One of the key features of modern mathematics is the adoption of the abstract method. Our goal in this paper is to propose an explication of that method that is rooted in the history of the subject.

In 2011, Hibbard suggested an intelligence measure for agents who compete in an adversarial sequence prediction game. We argue that Hibbard’s idea should actually be considered as two separate ideas: first, that the intelligence of such agents can be measured based on the growth rates of the runtimes of the competitors that they defeat; and second, one specific (somewhat arbitrary) method for measuring said growth rates. Whereas Hibbard’s intelligence measure is based on the latter growth-rate-measuring method, we survey (...) other methods for measuring function growth rates, and exhibit the resulting Hibbard-like intelligence measures and taxonomies. Of particular interest, we obtain intelligence taxonomies based on Big-O and Big-Theta notation systems, which taxonomies are novel in that they challenge conventional notions of what an intelligence measure should look like. We discuss how intelligence measurement of sequence predictors can indirectly serve as intelligence measurement for agents with Artificial General Intelligence (AGIs). (shrink)

The present note was prompted by Weber’s approach to proving Cantor’s theorem, i.e., the claim that the cardinality of the power set of a set is always greater than that of the set itself. While I do not contest that his proof succeeds, my point is that he neglects the possibility that by similar methods it can be shown also that no non-empty set satisfies Cantor’s theorem. In this paper unrestricted abstraction based on a cut free Gentzen type sequential calculus (...) will be employed to prove both results. In view of the connection between Priest’s three-valued logic of paradox and cut free Gentzen calculi this, a fortiori, has an impact on any paraconsistent set theory built on Priest’s logic of paradox. (shrink)

RésuméDans cet article, nous analysons en détail les deux mémoires de Legendre, Sur les intégrations par arcs d’ellipse (1786a, 1786b), en comparant les deux démonstrations qu’il donne de la rectification de l’hyperbole au moyen de deux arcs d’ellipse. Entre le premier et le second mémoire, Legendre prend connaissance d’un théorème analogue de Landen, qu’il cherche à incorporer à son projet de constitution d’un calcul des arcs d’ellipse et dont il propose une interprétation originale en le déduisant de ses propres principes. (...) En retraçant la préhistoire de la transformation de Landen, des premières méthodes d’intégration par arcs de sections coniques chez Maclaurin, d’Alembert et Landen jusqu’à l’élaboration par Legendre des échelles de modules, nous cherchons à mettre en lumière les conditions de son identification. Nous montrons comment Legendre fut amené à discerner dans le théorème de Landen ce qui entre ses mains allait devenir l’instrument privilégié de la mise en ordre systématique des transcendantes elliptiques, grâce à une lecture orientée par les exigences spécifiques liées à une méthode d’approximation fondée sur la variation continue des paramètres et à la constitution de tables numériques d’arcs d’ellipse. (shrink)

Introduction: Wellbeing policy analysis is often criticized for requiring a cardinal interpretation of measurement scales, such as ranking happiness on an integer scale from 0-10. The commonly-used scales also implicitly constrain the human capacity for experience, typically that our most intense experiences can only be at most ten times more intense than our mildest experiences. This paper presents the alternative “heavy-tailed valence” (HTV) hypothesis: the notion that the accessible human capacity for emotional experiences of pleasure and pain spans a minimum (...) of two orders of magnitude. Methods: We specify five testable predictions of the HTV hypothesis. A pilot survey of adults aged 21-64 (n = 97) then tested two predictions, asking respondents to comment on the most painful and most pleasurable experiences they can recall, alongside the second most painful and pleasurable experiences. Results: The results find tentative support for the hypothesis. For instance, over half of respondents said their most intense experiences were at least twice as intense as the second most intense, implying a wide capacity overall. Simulations further demonstrate that survey responses are more consistent with underlying heavy-tailed distributions of experience than a “constrained valence” psychology. Discussion: A synthesis of these results with prior findings suggests a “kinked” scale, such that a wide range of felt experience is compressed in reports at the high end of intensity scales, even if reports at lower intensities behave more cardinally. We present a discussion of three stylized facts that support HTV and six against, lessons for a future survey, practical guidelines for existing analyses, and implications for current policy. We argue for a dramatic increase in societal ambition. Even in high average income countries, the HTV hypothesis suggests we remain far further below our wellbeing potential than a surface reading of the data might suggest. (shrink)

Experimental design is one aspect of a scientific method. A well-designed, properly conducted experiment aims to control variables in order to isolate and manipulate causal effects and thereby maximize internal validity, support causal inferences, and guarantee reliable results. Traditionally employed in the natural sciences, experimental design has become an important part of research in the social and behavioral sciences. Experimental methods are also endorsed as the most reliable guides to policy effectiveness. Through a discussion of some of the central (...) concepts associated with experimental design, including controlled variation and randomization, this chapter will provide a summary of key ethical issues that tend to arise in experimental contexts. In addition, by exploring assumptions about the nature of causation and by analyzing features of causal relationships, systems, and inferences in social contexts, this chapter will summarize the ways in which experimental design can undermine the integrity of not only social and behavioral research but policies implemented on the basis of such research. (shrink)

Abbildungsverzeichnis 8Abkürzungsverzeichnis 9I Verfahrensentwicklung: Topic-informierte Diskursanalyse zur Analyse von Diskurstransformationen im Zeitverlauf1 Einleitung 112 Forschungsstand 202.1 Wissenschaftliche Dichotomien in der Krise 222.1.1 Big Data und das Aufbrechen etablierter Forschungsparadigmen 222.1.2 Von der Notwendigkeit eines Digitalen Forschungsparadigmas 242.2 Digital Humanities zwischen Transparadigmatischem Forschungsprogramm und paradigmatischer Positionierung 252.2.1 Digital Humanities als eigenständige Wissenschaftsdisziplin? 252.2.2 Digital Humanities zwischen digitalem Forschungsparadigma und methodischer Neutralität 272.3 Methodenstreit 2.0: Digital Humanities zwischen 'End of Theory' und 'Anything goes' 292.3.1 Datengeleitete versus theoriegeleitete Forschung 302.3.2 End of Theory (...) in den Computational Sciences? 332.3.3 Anything goes - Methodenanarchismus als digitales Paradigma? 352.4 Digital Humanities zwischen 'Digital' und 'Humanities' 392.4.1 Der Qualitative Turn in den Digital Humanities 392.4.2 Cultural Turn in den Digital Humanities als mögliche Brückenbildung? 402.5 Bridging the Digital Gap - Dritte Wege für die Digital Humanities 423 Bridging the Paradigm Gap - Grundlegung eines integrativen Forschungsansatzes 433.1 Von inkommensurablen Paradigmen... 443.2...über eine Übersetzung des sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschungsprozesses in die Digital Humanities 463.2.1 Der sozialwissenschaftliche Forschungsprozess im Mixed-Methods Design 473.2.2 Vier Positionierungen im Forschungsprozess 473.3...zur Konzeptionierung eines integrativen Forschungsansatzes im Mixed-Methods-Design 494 Epistemologische Ausrichtung und theoretische Perspektive 504.1 Sozialer Wandel als sozialer Konstruktionsprozess 524.1.1 Sozialkonstruktivistische Tradition - Wissenssoziologie nach Berger und Luckmann 534.1.2 Vom Sozialkonstruktivismus zum Diskurskonstruktivismus 554.2 Sozialer Wandel als diskursiver Konstruktionsprozess 574.2.1 Diskursbegriff 584.2.2 Eigenschaften von Diskursen 604.2.3 Regeln des Diskurses 634.3 Diskursforschung meets Digital Humanities 645 Methodologische Ausrichtung 665.1 Bridging the Methodological Gap - Text-Mining meets Diskursforschung 665.1.1 Text-Mining-Verfahren 685.1.2 Text-Mining meets Diskursforschung 705.2 Mixed-Methods meets Digital Humanities 715.2.1 Mixed-Methods-Forschung als Drittes Forschungsparadigma 715.2.2 Mixed-Methods-Forschung innerhalb einer pragmatistischen Ausrichtung 726 Forschungsdesign 766.1 Designs in der Mixed-Methods-Forschung 766.2 Das Exploratory Design 796.3 Erweiterung des Exploratory Design 816.4 Forschungsdesign für eine Topic-informierte Diskursanalyse 826.4.1 Variation 1: Sichtung des Forschungsstandes als qualitative Exploration 826.4.2 Variation 2: Erweiterung um eine quantitative Exploration 836.4.3 Variation 3: Erweiterung um eine dritte, qualitative Phase 836.5 Übersetzung des Forschungsdesigns in die Digital Humanities 846.5.1 Distant Reading 856.5.2 Das Interpretationsproblem im Distant Reading-Verfahren 866.5.3 Blended Reading als Überbrückungsmöglichkeit 866.5.4 Close Reading 876.6 Überblick Forschungsdesign 886.7 Verfahrensablauf 887 Methodik 957.1 Sozialwissenschaftliche Diskursanalyse 967.2 Die Kombination aus Diskursanalyse und Text-Mining-Verfahren 987.3 Topic-Modeling-Verfahren 99. (shrink)