Sample records for empirical research
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2012-01-01
Background The methodology of medical ethics during the last few decades has shifted from a predominant use of normative-philosophical analyses to an increasing involvement of empirical methods. The articles which have been published in the course of this so-called 'empirical turn' can be divided into conceptual accounts of empirical-normative collaboration and studies which use socio-empirical methods to investigate ethically relevant issues in concrete social contexts. Discussion A considered reference to normative research questions can be expected from good quality empirical research in medical ethics. However, a significant proportion of empirical studies currently published in medical ethics lacks such linkage between the empirical research and the normative analysis. In the first part of this paper, we will outline two typical shortcomings of empirical studies in medical ethics with regard to a link between normative questions and empirical data: (1) The complete lack of normative analysis, and (2) cryptonormativity and a missing account with regard to the relationship between 'is' and 'ought' statements. Subsequently, two selected concepts of empirical-normative collaboration will be presented and how these concepts may contribute to improve the linkage between normative and empirical aspects of empirical research in medical ethics will be demonstrated. Based on our analysis, as well as our own practical experience with empirical research in medical ethics, we conclude with a sketch of concrete suggestions for the conduct of empirical research in medical ethics. Summary High quality empirical research in medical ethics is in need of a considered reference to normative analysis. In this paper, we demonstrate how conceptual approaches of empirical-normative collaboration can enhance empirical research in medical ethics with regard to the link between empirical research and normative analysis. PMID:22500496
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Empirical Research In Engineering Design
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ahmed, Saeema
2007-01-01
Increasingly engineering design research involves the use of empirical studies that are conducted within an industrial environment [Ahmed, 2001; Court 1995; Hales 1987]. Research into the use of information by designers or understanding how engineers build up experience are examples of research...... of research issues. This paper describes case studies of empirical research carried out within industry in engineering design focusing upon information, knowledge and experience in engineering design. The paper describes the research methods employed, their suitability for the particular research aims...
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The Role of Empirical Research in Bioethics
Kon, Alexander A.
2010-01-01
There has long been tension between bioethicists whose work focuses on classical philosophical inquiry and those who perform empirical studies on bioethical issues. While many have argued that empirical research merely illuminates current practices and cannot inform normative ethics, others assert that research-based work has significant implications for refining our ethical norms. In this essay, I present a novel construct for classifying empirical research in bioethics into four hierarchical categories: Lay of the Land, Ideal Versus Reality, Improving Care, and Changing Ethical Norms. Through explaining these four categories and providing examples of publications in each stratum, I define how empirical research informs normative ethics. I conclude by demonstrating how philosophical inquiry and empirical research can work cooperatively to further normative ethics. PMID:19998120
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Empirical Phenomenology: A Qualitative Research Approach (The ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Empirical Phenomenology: A Qualitative Research Approach (The Cologne Seminars) ... and practical application of empirical phenomenology in social research. ... and considers its implications for qualitative methods such as interviewing ...
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Empirical research through design
Keyson, D.V.; Bruns, M.
2009-01-01
This paper describes the empirical research through design method (ERDM), which differs from current approaches to research through design by enforcing the need for the designer, after a series of pilot prototype based studies, to a-priori develop a number of testable interaction design hypothesis
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Empirical Scientific Research and Legal Studies Research--A Missing Link
Landry, Robert J., III
2016-01-01
This article begins with an overview of what is meant by empirical scientific research in the context of legal studies. With that backdrop, the argument is presented that without engaging in normative, theoretical, and doctrinal research in tandem with empirical scientific research, the role of legal studies scholarship in making meaningful…
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Reframing Serial Murder Within Empirical Research.
Gurian, Elizabeth A
2017-04-01
Empirical research on serial murder is limited due to the lack of consensus on a definition, the continued use of primarily descriptive statistics, and linkage to popular culture depictions. These limitations also inhibit our understanding of these offenders and affect credibility in the field of research. Therefore, this comprehensive overview of a sample of 508 cases (738 total offenders, including partnered groups of two or more offenders) provides analyses of solo male, solo female, and partnered serial killers to elucidate statistical differences and similarities in offending and adjudication patterns among the three groups. This analysis of serial homicide offenders not only supports previous research on offending patterns present in the serial homicide literature but also reveals that empirically based analyses can enhance our understanding beyond traditional case studies and descriptive statistics. Further research based on these empirical analyses can aid in the development of more accurate classifications and definitions of serial murderers.
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Wangmo, Tenzin; Hauri, Sirin; Gennet, Eloise; Anane-Sarpong, Evelyn; Provoost, Veerle; Elger, Bernice S
2018-02-07
A review of literature published a decade ago noted a significant increase in empirical papers across nine bioethics journals. This study provides an update on the presence of empirical papers in the same nine journals. It first evaluates whether the empirical trend is continuing as noted in the previous study, and second, how it is changing, that is, what are the characteristics of the empirical works published in these nine bioethics journals. A review of the same nine journals (Bioethics; Journal of Medical Ethics; Journal of Clinical Ethics; Nursing Ethics; Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics; Hastings Center Report; Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics; Christian Bioethics; and Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal) was conducted for a 12-year period from 2004 to 2015. Data obtained was analysed descriptively and using a non-parametric Chi-square test. Of the total number of original papers (N = 5567) published in the nine bioethics journals, 18.1% (n = 1007) collected and analysed empirical data. Journal of Medical Ethics and Nursing Ethics led the empirical publications, accounting for 89.4% of all empirical papers. The former published significantly more quantitative papers than qualitative, whereas the latter published more qualitative papers. Our analysis reveals no significant difference (χ2 = 2.857; p = 0.091) between the proportion of empirical papers published in 2004-2009 and 2010-2015. However, the increasing empirical trend has continued in these journals with the proportion of empirical papers increasing from 14.9% in 2004 to 17.8% in 2015. This study presents the current state of affairs regarding empirical research published nine bioethics journals. In the quarter century of data that is available about the nine bioethics journals studied in two reviews, the proportion of empirical publications continues to increase, signifying a trend towards empirical research in bioethics. The growing volume is mainly attributable to two
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Research across the disciplines: a road map for quality criteria in empirical ethics research.
Mertz, Marcel; Inthorn, Julia; Renz, Günter; Rothenberger, Lillian Geza; Salloch, Sabine; Schildmann, Jan; Wöhlke, Sabine; Schicktanz, Silke
2014-03-01
Research in the field of Empirical Ethics (EE) uses a broad variety of empirical methodologies, such as surveys, interviews and observation, developed in disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and psychology. Whereas these empirical disciplines see themselves as purely descriptive, EE also aims at normative reflection. Currently there is literature about the quality of empirical research in ethics, but little or no reflection on specific methodological aspects that must be considered when conducting interdisciplinary empirical ethics. Furthermore, poor methodology in an EE study results in misleading ethical analyses, evaluations or recommendations. This not only deprives the study of scientific and social value, but also risks ethical misjudgement. While empirical and normative-ethical research projects have quality criteria in their own right, we focus on the specific quality criteria for EE research. We develop a tentative list of quality criteria--a "road map"--tailored to interdisciplinary research in EE, to guide assessments of research quality. These quality criteria fall into the categories of primary research question, theoretical framework and methods, relevance, interdisciplinary research practice and research ethics and scientific ethos. EE research is an important and innovative development in bioethics. However, a lack of standards has led to concerns about and even rejection of EE by various scholars. Our suggested orientation list of criteria, presented in the form of reflective questions, cannot be considered definitive, but serves as a tool to provoke systematic reflection during the planning and composition of an EE research study. These criteria need to be tested in different EE research settings and further refined.
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Worship, Reflection, Empirical Research
Ding Dong,
2012-01-01
In my youth, I was a worshipper of Mao Zedong. From the latter stage of the Mao Era to the early years of Reform and Opening, I began to reflect on Mao and the Communist Revolution he launched. In recent years I’ve devoted myself to empirical historical research on Mao, seeking the truth about Mao and China’s modern history.
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Research across the disciplines: a road map for quality criteria in empirical ethics research
2014-01-01
Background Research in the field of Empirical Ethics (EE) uses a broad variety of empirical methodologies, such as surveys, interviews and observation, developed in disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and psychology. Whereas these empirical disciplines see themselves as purely descriptive, EE also aims at normative reflection. Currently there is literature about the quality of empirical research in ethics, but little or no reflection on specific methodological aspects that must be considered when conducting interdisciplinary empirical ethics. Furthermore, poor methodology in an EE study results in misleading ethical analyses, evaluations or recommendations. This not only deprives the study of scientific and social value, but also risks ethical misjudgement. Discussion While empirical and normative-ethical research projects have quality criteria in their own right, we focus on the specific quality criteria for EE research. We develop a tentative list of quality criteria – a “road map” – tailored to interdisciplinary research in EE, to guide assessments of research quality. These quality criteria fall into the categories of primary research question, theoretical framework and methods, relevance, interdisciplinary research practice and research ethics and scientific ethos. Summary EE research is an important and innovative development in bioethics. However, a lack of standards has led to concerns about and even rejection of EE by various scholars. Our suggested orientation list of criteria, presented in the form of reflective questions, cannot be considered definitive, but serves as a tool to provoke systematic reflection during the planning and composition of an EE research study. These criteria need to be tested in different EE research settings and further refined. PMID:24580847
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EMPIRICAL RESEARCH AND CONGREGATIONAL ANALYSIS ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
empirical research has made to the process of congregational analysis. 1 Part of this ... contextual congegrational analysis – meeting social and divine desires”) at the IAPT .... methodology of a congregational analysis should be regarded as a process. ... essential to create space for a qualitative and quantitative approach.
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Conducting empirical research in virtual worlds
Minocha, Shailey
2011-01-01
We will focus on the following aspects of conducting empirical research in virtual worlds: the toolbox of techniques for data collection; selection of technique(s) for the research questions; tips on how the techniques need to be adapted for conducting research in virtual worlds; guidance for developing research materials such as the consent form, project summary sheet, and how to address the possible concerns of an institution’s ethics committee who may not be familiar with the avatar-based ...
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Evidence-based Nursing Education - a Systematic Review of Empirical Research
Reiber, Karin
2011-01-01
The project „Evidence-based Nursing Education – Preparatory Stage“, funded by the Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg within the programme Impulsfinanzierung Forschung (Funding to Stimulate Research), aims to collect information on current research concerned with nursing education and to process existing data. The results of empirical research which has already been carried out were systematically evaluated with aim of identifying further topics, fields and matters of interest for empirical research in nursing education. In the course of the project, the available empirical studies on nursing education were scientifically analysed and systematised. The over-arching aim of the evidence-based training approach – which extends beyond the aims of this project - is the conception, organisation and evaluation of vocational training and educational processes in the caring professions on the basis of empirical data. The following contribution first provides a systematic, theoretical link to the over-arching reference framework, as the evidence-based approach is adapted from thematically related specialist fields. The research design of the project is oriented towards criteria introduced from a selection of studies and carries out a two-stage systematic review of the selected studies. As a result, the current status of research in nursing education, as well as its organisation and structure, and questions relating to specialist training and comparative education are introduced and discussed. Finally, the empirical research on nursing training is critically appraised as a complementary element in educational theory/psychology of learning and in the ethical tradition of research. This contribution aims, on the one hand, to derive and describe the methods used, and to introduce the steps followed in gathering and evaluating the data. On the other hand, it is intended to give a systematic overview of empirical research work in nursing education. In order to preserve a
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Empirical research on international environmental migration: a systematic review.
Obokata, Reiko; Veronis, Luisa; McLeman, Robert
2014-01-01
This paper presents the findings of a systematic review of scholarly publications that report empirical findings from studies of environmentally-related international migration. There exists a small, but growing accumulation of empirical studies that consider environmentally-linked migration that spans international borders. These studies provide useful evidence for scholars and policymakers in understanding how environmental factors interact with political, economic and social factors to influence migration behavior and outcomes that are specific to international movements of people, in highlighting promising future research directions, and in raising important considerations for international policymaking. Our review identifies countries of migrant origin and destination that have so far been the subject of empirical research, the environmental factors believed to have influenced these migrations, the interactions of environmental and non-environmental factors as well as the role of context in influencing migration behavior, and the types of methods used by researchers. In reporting our findings, we identify the strengths and challenges associated with the main empirical approaches, highlight significant gaps and future opportunities for empirical work, and contribute to advancing understanding of environmental influences on international migration more generally. Specifically, we propose an exploratory framework to take into account the role of context in shaping environmental migration across borders, including the dynamic and complex interactions between environmental and non-environmental factors at a range of scales.
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Qualitative Case Study Research as Empirical Inquiry
Ellinger, Andrea D.; McWhorter, Rochell
2016-01-01
This article introduces the concept of qualitative case study research as empirical inquiry. It defines and distinguishes what a case study is, the purposes, intentions, and types of case studies. It then describes how to determine if a qualitative case study is the preferred approach for conducting research. It overviews the essential steps in…
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Empirical research on Waldorf education
Randoll, Dirk; Peters, Jürgen
2015-01-01
Waldorf education began in 1919 with the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart and nowadays is widespread in many countries all over the world. Empirical research, however, has been rare until the early nineties and Waldorf education has not been discussed within educational science so far. This has changed during the last decades. This article reviews the results of surveys during the last 20 years and is mainly focused on German Waldorf Schools, because most investigations have been done in thi...
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Access to data and material for research: Putting empirical evidence into perspective
Rodriguez, V.
2009-01-01
The aim of this article is to put into critical perspective the empirical findings on secrecy and withholding in research. In other words, by taking existing empirical literature into account, it is intended that a crucial question is answered: Is secrecy and withholding in research harmful or
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Technology in Gifted Education: A Review of Best Practices and Empirical Research
Periathiruvadi, Sita; Rinn, Anne N.
2013-01-01
The article aims to explore the progress of technology use in gifted education and highlight the best practices and empirical research in this area. The literature on the use of technology with gifted students and their teachers has been extensive, with articles on best practices, but the empirical research in this area is still emerging. With the…
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A research program in empirical computer science
Knight, J. C.
1991-01-01
During the grant reporting period our primary activities have been to begin preparation for the establishment of a research program in experimental computer science. The focus of research in this program will be safety-critical systems. Many questions that arise in the effort to improve software dependability can only be addressed empirically. For example, there is no way to predict the performance of the various proposed approaches to building fault-tolerant software. Performance models, though valuable, are parameterized and cannot be used to make quantitative predictions without experimental determination of underlying distributions. In the past, experimentation has been able to shed some light on the practical benefits and limitations of software fault tolerance. It is common, also, for experimentation to reveal new questions or new aspects of problems that were previously unknown. A good example is the Consistent Comparison Problem that was revealed by experimentation and subsequently studied in depth. The result was a clear understanding of a previously unknown problem with software fault tolerance. The purpose of a research program in empirical computer science is to perform controlled experiments in the area of real-time, embedded control systems. The goal of the various experiments will be to determine better approaches to the construction of the software for computing systems that have to be relied upon. As such it will validate research concepts from other sources, provide new research results, and facilitate the transition of research results from concepts to practical procedures that can be applied with low risk to NASA flight projects. The target of experimentation will be the production software development activities undertaken by any organization prepared to contribute to the research program. Experimental goals, procedures, data analysis and result reporting will be performed for the most part by the University of Virginia.
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Teaching Integrity in Empirical Research: A Protocol for Documenting Data Management and Analysis
Ball, Richard; Medeiros, Norm
2012-01-01
This article describes a protocol the authors developed for teaching undergraduates to document their statistical analyses for empirical research projects so that their results are completely reproducible and verifiable. The protocol is guided by the principle that the documentation prepared to accompany an empirical research project should be…
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The use of moral deliberation in empirical research in bioethics
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Elma Zoboli
2016-10-01
Full Text Available The article presents an integrated empirical ethics research project that used the moral deliberation, according to the theoretical and philosophical conception, and methodical proposal of Diego Gracia, as a theoretical and methodological framework. The application showed the potential to realize the dynamics of the studied object in real life, making it possible, from the situation presented in the vignettes, for participants to include what they considered for dealing with the conflict of values. It also made the integration of philosophical and empirical approaches in bioethics research possible. The analytical category of prudence allowed the results to be assessed in a critical and comprehensive way.
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On Integrating Student Empirical Software Engineering Studies with Research and Teaching Goals
Galster, Matthias; Tofan, Dan; Avgeriou, Paris
2012-01-01
Background: Many empirical software engineering studies use students as subjects and are conducted as part of university courses. Aim: We aim at reporting our experiences with using guidelines for integrating empirical studies with our research and teaching goals. Method: We document our experience
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Educational texts as empirical basis in qualitative research in Physical Education
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Svendsen, Annemari Munk
This presentation will focus attention on educational texts as empirical basis in qualitative research in Physical Education (PE). Educational texts may be defined as all kinds of texts used in a pedagogical setting, including textbooks, popular articles, webpages and political reports (Selander......). This makes them fundamental sites for illuminating what counts as knowledge in an educational setting (Selander & Skjeldbred, 2004). This presentation will introduce a qualitative research study obtained with discourse analysis of educational texts in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) in Denmark...... (Svendsen & Svendsen, 2014). It will present the theoretical and methodological considerations that are tied to the analysis of educational texts and discuss the qualities and challenges related to educational texts as empirical basis in qualitative research in PE. References: Apple, M. W. & Christian...
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Empirical research on the experience of the New Homiletic in South Korea
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hyun W. Park
2016-03-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to present empirical research to reveal the reality of the New Homiletic in South Korea. This research was conducted by means of semistructured interviews with seven pastors and eight laypeople of the evangelical faith, residing in Seoul and its metropolitan areas, within the age limits of 20�59 years. The aim was to uncover the experience of the sermons by both the preachers and the hearers of the sermons. The researcher chose Pieterse�s methodology of analysing the data, which is an inductive analysis called open coding. Six main categories from the pastor�s group and five categories from the laypeople emerged from the data. The categories were rearranged into four themes, which is a valuable finding for current-day Korean preaching in order to enhance the homiletical praxis.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article presents empirical research on the reality of the New Homiletic in South Korea. The results indicate similarity between South Korea and the USA. The conclusion is that traditional discourse should give way to the New Homiletic. This research can become the basis for finding new strategies for evangelical preaching.Keywods: Preaching; South Korean church; Empirical research; New Homiletic
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Research on Evaluation Use: A Review of the Empirical Literature from 1986 to 2005
Johnson, Kelli; Greenseid, Lija O.; Toal, Stacie A.; King, Jean A.; Lawrenz, Frances; Volkov, Boris
2009-01-01
This paper reviews empirical research on the use of evaluation from 1986 to 2005 using Cousins and Leithwood's 1986 framework for categorizing empirical studies of evaluation use conducted since that time. The literature review located 41 empirical studies of evaluation use conducted between 1986 and 2005 that met minimum quality standards. The…
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Schmelowszky, Ágoston
2016-08-01
In the last decades one can perceive a striking parallelism between the shifting perspective of leading representatives of empirical dream research concerning their conceptualization of dreaming and the paradigm shift within clinically based psychoanalytic metapsychology with respect to its theory on the significance of dreaming. In metapsychology, dreaming becomes more and more a central metaphor of mental functioning in general. The theories of Klein, Bion, and Matte-Blanco can be considered as milestones of this paradigm shift. In empirical dream research, the competing theories of Hobson and of Solms respectively argued for and against the meaningfulness of the dream-work in the functioning of the mind. In the meantime, empirical data coming from various sources seemed to prove the significance of dream consciousness for the development and maintenance of adaptive waking consciousness. Metapsychological speculations and hypotheses based on empirical research data seem to point in the same direction, promising for contemporary psychoanalytic practice a more secure theoretical base. In this paper the author brings together these diverse theoretical developments and presents conclusions regarding psychoanalytic theory and technique, as well as proposing an outline of an empirical research plan for testing the specificity of psychoanalysis in developing dream formation.
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Empirical research in business process management: introduction to the special issue
Recker, Jan; Mutschler, B.B.; Wieringa, Roelf J.
In this editorial letter, we provide the readers of Information Systems and e-Business Management with an introduction to Business Process Management and the challenges of empirical research in this field. We then briefly describe selected examples of current research efforts in this field and how
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Towards Multi-Method Research Approach in Empirical Software Engineering
Mandić, Vladimir; Markkula, Jouni; Oivo, Markku
This paper presents results of a literature analysis on Empirical Research Approaches in Software Engineering (SE). The analysis explores reasons why traditional methods, such as statistical hypothesis testing and experiment replication are weakly utilized in the field of SE. It appears that basic assumptions and preconditions of the traditional methods are contradicting the actual situation in the SE. Furthermore, we have identified main issues that should be considered by the researcher when selecting the research approach. In virtue of reasons for weak utilization of traditional methods we propose stronger use of Multi-Method approach with Pragmatism as the philosophical standpoint.
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Physician assistant job satisfaction : a narrative review of empirical research
Hooker, Roderick S; Kuilman, Luppo; Everett, Christine M
2015-01-01
PURPOSE: To examine physician assistant (PA) job satisfaction and identify factors predicting job satisfaction and identify areas of needed research. With a global PA movement underway and a half-century in development, the empirical basis for informing employers of approaches to improve job
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Pay-What-You-Want pricing: An integrative review of the empirical research literature
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Torsten J.
2017-01-01
Full Text Available In a Pay What You Want (PWYW setting companies empower their customers to fix the prices buyers voluntarily pay for a delivered product or service. The seller agrees to any price (includ-ing zero customers are paying. For about ten years researchers empirically investigate customer reactions to and economic outcomes of this pricing method. The present paper distinguishes PWYW from other voluntary payment mechanisms and reviews 72 English- or German-speaking PWYW publications, which appeared between January 2006 and September 2016 and contain 97 independent empirical data sets. Prior PWYW research is structured with the help of a conceptual framework which incorporates payment procedure design, buyer, seller, focal sales object and market context characteristics as factors potentially influencing customer perceptions of the PWYW scheme and their behavioral reactions to PWYW offers. The review discusses both consistent key findings as well as contradictory results and derives recommendations for future empirical PWYW research efforts.
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How Often Are Theories Developed through Empirical Research into Higher Education?
Ashwin, Paul
2012-01-01
This article reports on a review of empirical research published in selected higher education journals in 2008, which was focused on examining how often theories are developed through research. This review found relatively little evidence of theory development. Drawing on the notions of internal and external languages of description, it is argued…
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Empirical Studies on Legitimation Strategies: A Case for International Business Research Extension
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Turcan, Romeo V.; Marinova, Svetla Trifonova; Rana, Mohammad Bakhtiar
2012-01-01
The paper focuses on legitimation and legitimation strategies applied by companies. Following the process of systematic review, we analyze empirical studies exploring legitimation and legitimation strategies from different theoretical perspectives. Using the key findings by reconnoitering and com...... and comparing the theoretical background, approaches, methodologies, and findings of these empirical studies, we outline potential directions for research in the legitimation strategies of firms engaged in international business operations....
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Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence: A Literature Review of Empirical Research.
Henry, Nicola; Powell, Anastasia
2018-04-01
Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) refers to a range of behaviors where digital technologies are used to facilitate both virtual and face-to-face sexually based harms. Such behaviors include online sexual harassment, gender- and sexuality-based harassment, cyberstalking, image-based sexual exploitation, and the use of a carriage service to coerce a victim into an unwanted sexual act. This article reviews the current state of knowledge on these different dimensions, drawing on existing empirical studies. While there is a growing body of research into technology-facilitated harms perpetrated against children and adolescents, there is a dearth of qualitative and quantitative research on TFSV against adults. Moreover, few of the existing studies provide reliable data on the nature, scope, and impacts of TFSV. Preliminary studies, however, indicate that some harms, much like sexual violence more broadly, may be predominantly gender-, sexuality-, and age-based, with young women being overrepresented as victims in some categories. This review collects the empirical evidence to date regarding the prevalence and gender-based nature of TFSV against adults and discusses the implications for policy and programs, as well as suggestions for future research.
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Bak, Hee-Je; Kim, Do Han
2015-01-01
While the public is concerned that emphasizing research performance among university faculty results in inadequate attention to undergraduate teaching, research on the relationship between research and teaching in higher education has failed to confirm or deny the validity of this concern. To empirically test this popular concern, we examined how…
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Salloch, Sabine; Wäscher, Sebastian; Vollmann, Jochen; Schildmann, Jan
2015-04-04
Empirical-ethical research constitutes a relatively new field which integrates socio-empirical research and normative analysis. As direct inferences from descriptive data to normative conclusions are problematic, an ethical framework is needed to determine the relevance of the empirical data for normative argument. While issues of normative-empirical collaboration and questions of empirical methodology have been widely discussed in the literature, the normative methodology of empirical-ethical research has seldom been addressed. Based on our own research experience, we discuss one aspect of this normative methodology, namely the selection of an ethical theory serving as a background for empirical-ethical research. Whereas criteria for a good ethical theory in philosophical ethics are usually related to inherent aspects, such as the theory's clarity or coherence, additional points have to be considered in the field of empirical-ethical research. Three of these additional criteria will be discussed in the article: (a) the adequacy of the ethical theory for the issue at stake, (b) the theory's suitability for the purposes and design of the empirical-ethical research project, and (c) the interrelation between the ethical theory selected and the theoretical backgrounds of the socio-empirical research. Using the example of our own study on the development of interventions which support clinical decision-making in oncology, we will show how the selection of an ethical theory as a normative background for empirical-ethical research can proceed. We will also discuss the limitations of the procedures chosen in our project. The article stresses that a systematic and reasoned approach towards theory selection in empirical-ethical research should be given priority rather than an accidental or implicit way of choosing the normative framework for one's own research. It furthermore shows that the overall design of an empirical-ethical study is a multi-faceted endeavor which has to
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Linguistic research in the empirical paradigm as outlined by Mario Bunge.
Zielińska, Dorota
2016-01-01
In view of the critique of the methodology of the dominant interdisciplinary research involving language studies as the main component, in particular clinical linguistics, Cummings (Pragmatic disorders. Perspectives in pragmatics, philosophy and psychology, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht, 2014) proposes that "It is perhaps appropriate at this point to move the debate onto non-empirical grounds." In Cummings (2014: 113) she starts such a debate on the grounds of the philosophy of language and pragmatics. In this article, I propose to expand that debate by including the input of the philosophy of science. I start the discussion by presenting the way one may carry out language research in the paradigm of empirical sciences from the perspective outlined in Bunge (Scientific research. Strategy and philosophy. Berlin, Springer, 1967; Method, model and matter (synthese library). D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, 1973; Emergence and convergence: qualitative novelty and the unity of knowledge. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 2003) and constrained by Altmann's (Towards a theory of language. Glottometrica 1:1-25, 1978) assumption about self-originating and self-regulatory nature of language.
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The Need for Large-Scale, Longitudinal Empirical Studies in Middle Level Education Research
Mertens, Steven B.; Caskey, Micki M.; Flowers, Nancy
2016-01-01
This essay describes and discusses the ongoing need for large-scale, longitudinal, empirical research studies focused on middle grades education. After a statement of the problem and concerns, the essay describes and critiques several prior middle grades efforts and research studies. Recommendations for future research efforts to inform policy…
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Visual impact in the digital press: a Spanish empirical research
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Joan Francesc Fondevila Gascón
2010-12-01
Full Text Available Visual resource (photography and video inclusion in digital journalism is obtaining importance in the multimedia area. The principal resources of digital press are multimedia, hypertext and interactivity. Multimedia is in an initial process of evolution. The objective of this research is to observe empirically the use of visual resources by the digital pure player press. These media try to take advantage of the new multimedia possibilities in the development and presentation of the contents. We have analyzed empirically video and photography inclusion in the multimedia framework (text, photography, video, audio, infograph and animation programs in four digital newspapers (Libertad Digital and El Plural, in Spanish, and Vilaweb.cat and e-Noticies, in Catalan analyzed according to journalistic genres.
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Empirical data and moral theory. A plea for integrated empirical ethics.
Molewijk, Bert; Stiggelbout, Anne M; Otten, Wilma; Dupuis, Heleen M; Kievit, Job
2004-01-01
Ethicists differ considerably in their reasons for using empirical data. This paper presents a brief overview of four traditional approaches to the use of empirical data: "the prescriptive applied ethicists," "the theorists," "the critical applied ethicists," and "the particularists." The main aim of this paper is to introduce a fifth approach of more recent date (i.e. "integrated empirical ethics") and to offer some methodological directives for research in integrated empirical ethics. All five approaches are presented in a table for heuristic purposes. The table consists of eight columns: "view on distinction descriptive-prescriptive sciences," "location of moral authority," "central goal(s)," "types of normativity," "use of empirical data," "method," "interaction empirical data and moral theory," and "cooperation with descriptive sciences." Ethicists can use the table in order to identify their own approach. Reflection on these issues prior to starting research in empirical ethics should lead to harmonization of the different scientific disciplines and effective planning of the final research design. Integrated empirical ethics (IEE) refers to studies in which ethicists and descriptive scientists cooperate together continuously and intensively. Both disciplines try to integrate moral theory and empirical data in order to reach a normative conclusion with respect to a specific social practice. IEE is not wholly prescriptive or wholly descriptive since IEE assumes an interdepence between facts and values and between the empirical and the normative. The paper ends with three suggestions for consideration on some of the future challenges of integrated empirical ethics.
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A new prescription for empirical ethics research in pharmacy: a critical review of the literature
Cooper, R J; Bissell, P; Wingfield, J
2007-01-01
Empirical ethics research is increasingly valued in bioethics and healthcare more generally, but there remain as yet under-researched areas such as pharmacy, despite the increasingly visible attempts by the profession to embrace additional roles beyond the supply of medicines. A descriptive and critical review of the extant empirical pharmacy ethics literature is provided here. A chronological change from quantitative to qualitative approaches is highlighted in this review, as well as differi...
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An empirically based conceptual framework for fostering meaningful patient engagement in research.
Hamilton, Clayon B; Hoens, Alison M; Backman, Catherine L; McKinnon, Annette M; McQuitty, Shanon; English, Kelly; Li, Linda C
2018-02-01
Patient engagement in research (PEIR) is promoted to improve the relevance and quality of health research, but has little conceptualization derived from empirical data. To address this issue, we sought to develop an empirically based conceptual framework for meaningful PEIR founded on a patient perspective. We conducted a qualitative secondary analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 patient research partners from a research centre-affiliated patient advisory board. Data analysis involved three phases: identifying the themes, developing a framework and confirming the framework. We coded and organized the data, and abstracted, illustrated, described and explored the emergent themes using thematic analysis. Directed content analysis was conducted to derive concepts from 18 publications related to PEIR to supplement, confirm or refute, and extend the emergent conceptual framework. The framework was reviewed by four patient research partners on our research team. Participants' experiences of working with researchers were generally positive. Eight themes emerged: procedural requirements, convenience, contributions, support, team interaction, research environment, feel valued and benefits. These themes were interconnected and formed a conceptual framework to explain the phenomenon of meaningful PEIR from a patient perspective. This framework, the PEIR Framework, was endorsed by the patient research partners on our team. The PEIR Framework provides guidance on aspects of PEIR to address for meaningful PEIR. It could be particularly useful when patient-researcher partnerships are led by researchers with little experience of engaging patients in research. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Strategic Orientation of SMEs: Empirical Research
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jelena Minović
2016-04-01
Full Text Available The main objective of the paper is to identify the sources of competitive advantage of small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia. Gaining a competitive advantage is the key priority of market-oriented enterprises regardless of their size and sector. Since business environment in Serbia is not stimulating enough for enterprises’ growth and development, the paper highlights the role of strategic orientation in business promotion and development. In order to identify the sources of competitive advantage, the empirical research is conducted by using the survey method. The research sample is created by using a selective approach, namely, the sample includes enterprises with more than ten employees, and enterprises identified to have the potential for growth and development. The research results indicate that small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia are generally focused on costs as a source of competitive advantage, i.e., they gain competitive advantage in a selected market segment by offering low price and average quality products/services. In addition, the results of the research point out that the Serbian small and medium-sized enterprises are innovation-oriented. Organizations qualifying as middle-sized enterprises are predominantly focused on process innovations, while small businesses are primarily oriented towards product innovations. One of the limitations of the research refers to the small presence of the research sample within the category of middle-sized enterprises. The smaller sample presence than it was previously planned is mostly due to the lack of managers’ willingness to participate in the research, as well as to the fact that these enterprises account for the smaller share in the total number of enterprises in the small-and medium-sized enterprises’ sector. Taking into account that the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises generates around 30% of the country’s GDP, we consider the research results to be
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An Empirical Review of Research Methodologies and Methods in Creativity Studies (2003-2012)
Long, Haiying
2014-01-01
Based on the data collected from 5 prestigious creativity journals, research methodologies and methods of 612 empirical studies on creativity, published between 2003 and 2012, were reviewed and compared to those in gifted education. Major findings included: (a) Creativity research was predominantly quantitative and psychometrics and experiment…
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The rise of empirical research in medical ethics: a MacIntyrean critique and proposal.
Lawrence, Ryan E; Curlin, Farr A
2011-04-01
Hume's is/ought distinction has long limited the role of empirical research in ethics, saying that data about what something is cannot yield conclusions about the way things ought to be. However, interest in empirical research in ethics has been growing despite this countervailing principle. We attribute some of this increased interest to a conceptual breakdown of the is/ought distinction. MacIntyre, in reviewing the history of the is/ought distinction, argues that is and ought are not strictly separate realms but exist in a close relationship that is clarified by adopting a teleological orientation. We propose that, instead of recovering a teleological orientation, society tends to generate its own goals via democratic methods like those described by Rousseau or adopt agnosticism about teleology such as described by Richard Rorty. In both latter scenarios, the distinction between is and ought is obscured, and the role for empirical research grows, but for controversial reasons. MacIntyre warns that the is/ought distinction should remain, but reminds ethicists to make careful arguments about when and why it is legitimate to move from is to ought.
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Trends of Empirical Research in South Korean Mental Health Social Work
Song, In Han; Lee, Eun Jung
2017-01-01
Since the introduction of evidence-based practice in South Korea, it has gained significant attention for its potential to promote the efficacy of social work services and to integrate knowledge and practice in mental health social work. In order to see how empirical research in South Korean mental health social work has changed, we examined…
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Educational virtual environments: A ten-year review of empirical research (1999-2009)
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mikropoulos, Tassos; Natsis, Antonios
2011-01-01
This study is a ten-year critical review of empirical research on the educational applications of Virtual Reality (VR). Results show that although the majority of the 53 reviewed articles refer to science and mathematics, researchers from social sciences also seem to appreciate the educational...... value of VR and incorporate their learning goals in Educational Virtual Environments (EVEs). Although VR supports multisensory interaction channels, visual representations predominate. Few are the studies that incorporate intuitive interactivity, indicating a research trend in this direction. Few...
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What 'empirical turn in bioethics'?
Hurst, Samia
2010-10-01
Uncertainty as to how we should articulate empirical data and normative reasoning seems to underlie most difficulties regarding the 'empirical turn' in bioethics. This article examines three different ways in which we could understand 'empirical turn'. Using real facts in normative reasoning is trivial and would not represent a 'turn'. Becoming an empirical discipline through a shift to the social and neurosciences would be a turn away from normative thinking, which we should not take. Conducting empirical research to inform normative reasoning is the usual meaning given to the term 'empirical turn'. In this sense, however, the turn is incomplete. Bioethics has imported methodological tools from empirical disciplines, but too often it has not imported the standards to which researchers in these disciplines are held. Integrating empirical and normative approaches also represents true added difficulties. Addressing these issues from the standpoint of debates on the fact-value distinction can cloud very real methodological concerns by displacing the debate to a level of abstraction where they need not be apparent. Ideally, empirical research in bioethics should meet standards for empirical and normative validity similar to those used in the source disciplines for these methods, and articulate these aspects clearly and appropriately. More modestly, criteria to ensure that none of these standards are completely left aside would improve the quality of empirical bioethics research and partly clear the air of critiques addressing its theoretical justification, when its rigour in the particularly difficult context of interdisciplinarity is what should be at stake.
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An Empirical Study Regarding Radical Innovation, Research and Development Management, and Leadership
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Isada Fumihiko
2017-06-01
Full Text Available The objective of this research is to empirically compare the management that is most suitable for radical innovation with that needed for incremental innovation. The relationship between the results of research and development and management styles was surveyed using a questionnaire. Respondents included research and development leaders in Japanese manufacturing, with special attention given to the differences between radical innovation and incremental innovation. Results verified, in an integrated way, the management and leadership factors, taking into consideration the differences arising from the object under analysis and the environmental factors.
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From Discovery to Justification: Outline of an Ideal Research Program in Empirical Psychology
Witte, Erich H.; Zenker, Frank
2017-01-01
The gold standard for an empirical science is the replicability of its research results. But the estimated average replicability rate of key-effects that top-tier psychology journals report falls between 36 and 39% (objective vs. subjective rate; Open Science Collaboration, 2015). So the standard mode of applying null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST) fails to adequately separate stable from random effects. Therefore, NHST does not fully convince as a statistical inference strategy. We argue that the replicability crisis is “home-made” because more sophisticated strategies can deliver results the successful replication of which is sufficiently probable. Thus, we can overcome the replicability crisis by integrating empirical results into genuine research programs. Instead of continuing to narrowly evaluate only the stability of data against random fluctuations (discovery context), such programs evaluate rival hypotheses against stable data (justification context). PMID:29163256
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tudor NISTORESCU
2017-05-01
Full Text Available The present research focuses on the empirical study about the features of clusters in Romania and its impact on business environment. In the scientific approach we tested five research hypotheses which have been validated. Methodological framework included as main instruments: questionnaires, semi-structured interviews with persons who represent the clusters, studies reported in the specialized literature, studies conducted in other projects, examples of best practice from countries with advanced economies. Findings which emerged from our empirical research, as a result of processing of data collection from respondents, may be useful to persons who manage clusters and decision-making authorities at regional and even national level.
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Physician Assistant Job Satisfaction: A Narrative Review of Empirical Research.
Hooker, Roderick S; Kuilman, Luppo; Everett, Christine M
2015-12-01
To examine physician assistant (PA) job satisfaction and identify factors predicting job satisfaction and identify areas of needed research. With a global PA movement underway and a half-century in development, the empirical basis for informing employers of approaches to improve job satisfaction has not received a careful review. A narrative review of empirical research was undertaken to inform stakeholders about PA employment with a goal of improved management. The a priori criteria included published studies that asked PAs about job satisfaction. Articles addressing PA job satisfaction, written in English, were reviewed and categorized according to the Job Characteristics Model. Of 68 publications reviewed, 29 met criteria and were categorized in a Job Characteristics Model. Most studies report a high degree of job satisfaction when autonomy, income, patient responsibility, physician support, and career advancement opportunities are surveyed. Age, sex, specialty, and occupational background are needed to understand the effect on job satisfaction. Quality of studies varies widely. Employers may want to examine their relationships with PAs periodically. The factors of job satisfaction may assist policymakers and health administrators in creating welcoming professional employment environments. The main limitation: no study comprehensively evaluated all the antecedents of job satisfaction. PAs seem to experience job satisfaction supported by low attrition rates and competitive wages. Contributing factors are autonomy, experienced responsibility, pay, and supportive supervising physician. A number of intrinsic rewards derived from the performance of the job within the social environment, along with extrinsic rewards, may contribute to overall job satisfaction. PA job satisfaction research is underdeveloped; investigations should include longitudinal studies, cohort analyses, and economic determinants.
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Personal dimensions of identity and empirical research in APA journals.
Munley, Patrick H; Anderson, Mary Z; Baines, Tonita C; Borgman, Amy L; Briggs, Denise; Dolan, James P; Koyama, Miki
2002-11-01
This study reviewed 402 empirical research papers published during 1999 in 9 American Psychological Association journals from the perspective of the Personal Dimensions of Identity (PDI) model. Descriptions of participants were reviewed to determine whether researchers reported information concerning Dimensions A, B, and C of the PDI model. PDI A and B Dimensions of age, gender, education, and geographic location were reported with the highest frequency: 88.56%, 89.30%, 78.50%, and 73.88%, respectively, whereas race/ethnicity was reported with moderate frequency, 60.70%. The remaining PDI A Dimensions of language, physical disability, sexual orientation, and social class, and the remaining B Dimensions of citizenship status, employment status, income, marital status, military experience, occupation, and religion, were reported in relatively low percentages of studies.
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A literature review of empirical research on learning analytics in medical education.
Saqr, Mohammed
2018-01-01
The number of publications in the field of medical education is still markedly low, despite recognition of the value of the discipline in the medical education literature, and exponential growth of publications in other fields. This necessitates raising awareness of the research methods and potential benefits of learning analytics (LA). The aim of this paper was to offer a methodological systemic review of empirical LA research in the field of medical education and a general overview of the common methods used in the field in general. Search was done in Medline database using the term "LA." Inclusion criteria included empirical original research articles investigating LA using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methodologies. Articles were also required to be written in English, published in a scholarly peer-reviewed journal and have a dedicated section for methods and results. A Medline search resulted in only six articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria for this review. Most of the studies collected data about learners from learning management systems or online learning resources. Analysis used mostly quantitative methods including descriptive statistics, correlation tests, and regression models in two studies. Patterns of online behavior and usage of the digital resources as well as predicting achievement was the outcome most studies investigated. Research about LA in the field of medical education is still in infancy, with more questions than answers. The early studies are encouraging and showed that patterns of online learning can be easily revealed as well as predicting students' performance.
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Bradley L Kirkman; Kevin B Lowe; Cristina B Gibson
2006-01-01
Since Geert Hofstede's Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values (Sage, 1980) was published, researchers have utilized Hofstede's cultural values framework in a wide variety of empirical studies. We review 180 studies published in 40 business and psychology journals and two international annual volumes between 1980 and June 2002 to consolidate what is empirically verifiable about Hofstede's cultural values framework. We discuss limitations in the Hofstede-inspir...
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Empirical research on constructing Taiwan's ecoenvironmental ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
In this paper, the material flow indicators and ecological footprint approach structured are adopted to construct eco-environmental stress indicators. We use relevant data to proceed with the empirical analyses on environmental stress and ecological impacts in Taiwan between the years of 1998 and 2007. Analysis of ...
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Social commitment of volunteering in clown-therapy: an empowering empirical research
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Rosaria Strollo
2015-12-01
Full Text Available This paper describes a quantitative empirical research on the factors influencing volunteers in clown-therapy. The field of the volunteering has social relevance particularly for its positive aspects on social community and on prosocial behavior. However, after a broad literature review on the topic of volunteering, the researcher aims to investigate the specific issue of volunteering in clown-therapy, exploring similarities and differences with voluntary activities in other settings, and analysing motivations and reasons for the choice to become a volunteer. A comparative and statistical approach is the real innovative aspect of this research in that it carried out factor analysis, comparative analysis and overcame the limits of the prior research on volunteering, which had dealt just with some dimensions of the complex phenomenon of volunteering.Finally, the research results confirm the hypothesis that volunteering in general, and volunteering in clown-therapy in particular, is an activity empowering both for the individual and for the entire community.
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De Vries, Martine; Van Leeuwen, Evert
2010-11-01
In ethics, the use of empirical data has become more and more popular, leading to a distinct form of applied ethics, namely empirical ethics. This 'empirical turn' is especially visible in bioethics. There are various ways of combining empirical research and ethical reflection. In this paper we discuss the use of empirical data in a special form of Reflective Equilibrium (RE), namely the Network Model with Third Person Moral Experiences. In this model, the empirical data consist of the moral experiences of people in a practice. Although inclusion of these moral experiences in this specific model of RE can be well defended, their use in the application of the model still raises important questions. What precisely are moral experiences? How to determine relevance of experiences, in other words: should there be a selection of the moral experiences that are eventually used in the RE? How much weight should the empirical data have in the RE? And the key question: can the use of RE by empirical ethicists really produce answers to practical moral questions? In this paper we start to answer the above questions by giving examples taken from our research project on understanding the norm of informed consent in the field of pediatric oncology. We especially emphasize that incorporation of empirical data in a network model can reduce the risk of self-justification and bias and can increase the credibility of the RE reached. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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Online gaming addiction in children and adolescents: A review of empirical research.
Kuss, Daria J; Griffiths, Mark D
2012-03-01
Research suggests that excessive online gaming may lead to symptoms commonly experienced by substance addicts. Since games are particularly appealing to children and adolescents, these individuals may be more at risk than other groups of developing gaming addiction. Given these potential concerns, a literature review was undertaken in order (i) to present the classification basis of online gaming addiction using official mental disorder frameworks, (ii) to identify empirical studies that assess online gaming addiction in children and adolescents, and (iii) to present and evaluate the findings against the background of related and established mental disorder criteria. Empirical evidence comprising 30 studies indicates that for some adolescents, gaming addiction exists and that as the addiction develops, online gaming addicts spend increasing amounts of time preparing for, organizing, and actually gaming. Evidence suggests that problematic online gaming can be conceptualized as a behavioral addiction rather than a disorder of impulse control.
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Connecting Research to Teaching: Using Data to Motivate the Use of Empirical Sampling Distributions
Lee, Hollylynne S.; Starling, Tina T.; Gonzalez, Marggie D.
2014-01-01
Research shows that students often struggle with understanding empirical sampling distributions. Using hands-on and technology models and simulations of problems generated by real data help students begin to make connections between repeated sampling, sample size, distribution, variation, and center. A task to assist teachers in implementing…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Salpasaranis Konstantinos
2011-01-01
Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to present a short research about the overall broadband penetration in Greece. In this research, a new empirical deterministic model is proposed for the short-term forecast of the cumulative broadband adoption. The fitting performance of the model is compared with some widely used diffusion models for the cumulative adoption of new telecommunication products, namely, Logistic, Gompertz, Flexible Logistic (FLOG, Box-Cox, Richards, and Bass models. The fitting process is done with broadband penetration official data for Greece. In conclusion, comparing these models with the empirical model, it could be argued that the latter yields well enough statistics indicators for fitting and forecasting performance. It also stresses the need for further research and performance analysis of the model in other more mature broadband markets.
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Nicholls, Stuart G; Hayes, Tavis P; Brehaut, Jamie C; McDonald, Michael; Weijer, Charles; Saginur, Raphael; Fergusson, Dean
2015-01-01
To date there is no established consensus of assessment criteria for evaluating research ethics review. We conducted a scoping review of empirical research assessing ethics review processes in order to identify common elements assessed, research foci, and research gaps to aid in the development of assessment criteria. Electronic searches of Ovid Medline, PsychInfo, and the Cochrane DSR, ACP Journal Club, DARE, CCTR, CMR, HTA, and NHSEED, were conducted. After de-duplication, 4234 titles and abstracts were reviewed. Altogether 4036 articles were excluded following screening of titles, abstracts and full text. A total of 198 articles included for final data extraction. Few studies originated from outside North America and Europe. No study reported using an underlying theory or framework of quality/effectiveness to guide study design or analyses. We did not identify any studies that had involved a controlled trial--randomised or otherwise--of ethics review procedures or processes. Studies varied substantially with respect to outcomes assessed, although tended to focus on structure and timeliness of ethics review. Our findings indicate a lack of consensus on appropriate assessment criteria, exemplified by the varied study outcomes identified, but also a fragmented body of research. To date research has been largely quantitative, with little attention given to stakeholder experiences, and is largely cross sectional. A lack of longitudinal research to date precludes analyses of change or assessment of quality improvement in ethics review.
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Integrated empirical ethics: loss of normativity?
van der Scheer, Lieke; Widdershoven, Guy
2004-01-01
An important discussion in contemporary ethics concerns the relevance of empirical research for ethics. Specifically, two crucial questions pertain, respectively, to the possibility of inferring normative statements from descriptive statements, and to the danger of a loss of normativity if normative statements should be based on empirical research. Here we take part in the debate and defend integrated empirical ethical research: research in which normative guidelines are established on the basis of empirical research and in which the guidelines are empirically evaluated by focusing on observable consequences. We argue that in our concrete example normative statements are not derived from descriptive statements, but are developed within a process of reflection and dialogue that goes on within a specific praxis. Moreover, we show that the distinction in experience between the desirable and the undesirable precludes relativism. The normative guidelines so developed are both critical and normative: they help in choosing the right action and in evaluating that action. Finally, following Aristotle, we plead for a return to the view that morality and ethics are inherently related to one another, and for an acknowledgment of the fact that moral judgments have their origin in experience which is always related to historical and cultural circumstances.
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Rönnebeck, Silke; Bernholt, Sascha; Ropohl, Mathias
2016-01-01
Despite the importance of scientific inquiry in science education, researchers and educators disagree considerably regarding what features define this instructional approach. While a large body of literature addresses theoretical considerations, numerous empirical studies investigate scientific inquiry on quite different levels of detail and also…
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Reinert, Duane F.; Edwards, Carla E.; Hendrix, Rebecca R.
2009-01-01
The authors summarize the growing body of empirical research literature in the area of psychology of religion that has been guided by attachment theory and indicate implications for counseling, including practical suggestions for case conceptualization, possible spiritual interventions, and ethical guidelines for practice. Attachment theory…
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Is Investment in Maize Research Balanced and Justified? An Empirical Study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hari Krishna Shrestha
2016-12-01
Full Text Available The objective of this study was to investigate whether the investment in maize research was adequate and balanced in Nepalese context. Resource use in maize research was empirically studied with standard congruency analysis by using Full Time Equivalent (FTE of researchers as a proxy measure of investment. The number of researchers involved in maize was 61 but it was only 21.25 on FTE basis, indicating that full time researchers were very few as compared to the cultivated area of maize in the country. Statistical analysis revealed that the investment in maize research was higher in Tarai and lower in the Hills. Congruency index on actual production basis was found low across the eco-zones and even lower across the geographical regions indicating that the investment in maize research was a mismatch and not justified. While adjusted with the equity factor and the research progress factor in the analysis substantial difference was not found in congruency index. This study recommends that substantial increase in investment in maize research is needed with balanced and justified manner across the eco-zones and the geographical regions. Hills need special attention to increase the investment as maize output value is higher in this eco-zone. Eastern and western regions also need increased investment in maize according to their contribution in the output value.
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Empirical ethics, context-sensitivity, and contextualism.
Musschenga, Albert W
2005-10-01
In medical ethics, business ethics, and some branches of political philosophy (multi-culturalism, issues of just allocation, and equitable distribution) the literature increasingly combines insights from ethics and the social sciences. Some authors in medical ethics even speak of a new phase in the history of ethics, hailing "empirical ethics" as a logical next step in the development of practical ethics after the turn to "applied ethics." The name empirical ethics is ill-chosen because of its associations with "descriptive ethics." Unlike descriptive ethics, however, empirical ethics aims to be both descriptive and normative. The first question on which I focus is what kind of empirical research is used by empirical ethics and for which purposes. I argue that the ultimate aim of all empirical ethics is to improve the context-sensitivity of ethics. The second question is whether empirical ethics is essentially connected with specific positions in meta-ethics. I show that in some kinds of meta-ethical theories, which I categorize as broad contextualist theories, there is an intrinsic need for connecting normative ethics with empirical social research. But context-sensitivity is a goal that can be aimed for from any meta-ethical position.
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Empirical Research on Spatial Diffusion Process of Knowledge Spillovers
Jin, Xuehui
2018-02-01
Firstly, this paper gave a brief review of the core issues of previous studies on spatial distribution of knowledge spillovers. That laid the theoretical foundation for further research. Secondly, this paper roughly described the diffusion process of solar patents in Bejing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Pearl River Delta regions by means of correlation analysis based on patent information of the application date and address of patentee. After that, this paper introduced the variables of spatial distance, knowledge absorptive capacity, knowledge gap and pollution control and built the empirical model of patent, and then collecting data to test them. The results showed that knowledge absorptive capacity was the most significant factor than the other three, followed by the knowledge gap. The influence of spatial distance on knowledge spillovers was limited and the most weak influence factor was pollution control.
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Empirical Philosophy of Science
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mansnerus, Erika; Wagenknecht, Susann
2015-01-01
knowledge takes place through the integration of the empirical or historical research into the philosophical studies, as Chang, Nersessian, Thagard and Schickore argue in their work. Building upon their contributions we will develop a blueprint for an Empirical Philosophy of Science that draws upon...... qualitative methods from the social sciences in order to advance our philosophical understanding of science in practice. We will regard the relationship between philosophical conceptualization and empirical data as an iterative dialogue between theory and data, which is guided by a particular ‘feeling with......Empirical insights are proven fruitful for the advancement of Philosophy of Science, but the integration of philosophical concepts and empirical data poses considerable methodological challenges. Debates in Integrated History and Philosophy of Science suggest that the advancement of philosophical...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stuart G Nicholls
Full Text Available To date there is no established consensus of assessment criteria for evaluating research ethics review.We conducted a scoping review of empirical research assessing ethics review processes in order to identify common elements assessed, research foci, and research gaps to aid in the development of assessment criteria. Electronic searches of Ovid Medline, PsychInfo, and the Cochrane DSR, ACP Journal Club, DARE, CCTR, CMR, HTA, and NHSEED, were conducted. After de-duplication, 4234 titles and abstracts were reviewed. Altogether 4036 articles were excluded following screening of titles, abstracts and full text. A total of 198 articles included for final data extraction.Few studies originated from outside North America and Europe. No study reported using an underlying theory or framework of quality/effectiveness to guide study design or analyses. We did not identify any studies that had involved a controlled trial--randomised or otherwise--of ethics review procedures or processes. Studies varied substantially with respect to outcomes assessed, although tended to focus on structure and timeliness of ethics review.Our findings indicate a lack of consensus on appropriate assessment criteria, exemplified by the varied study outcomes identified, but also a fragmented body of research. To date research has been largely quantitative, with little attention given to stakeholder experiences, and is largely cross sectional. A lack of longitudinal research to date precludes analyses of change or assessment of quality improvement in ethics review.
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Nicholls, Stuart G.; Hayes, Tavis P.; Brehaut, Jamie C.; McDonald, Michael; Weijer, Charles; Saginur, Raphael; Fergusson, Dean
2015-01-01
Background To date there is no established consensus of assessment criteria for evaluating research ethics review. Methods We conducted a scoping review of empirical research assessing ethics review processes in order to identify common elements assessed, research foci, and research gaps to aid in the development of assessment criteria. Electronic searches of Ovid Medline, PsychInfo, and the Cochrane DSR, ACP Journal Club, DARE, CCTR, CMR, HTA, and NHSEED, were conducted. After de-duplication, 4234 titles and abstracts were reviewed. Altogether 4036 articles were excluded following screening of titles, abstracts and full text. A total of 198 articles included for final data extraction. Results Few studies originated from outside North America and Europe. No study reported using an underlying theory or framework of quality/effectiveness to guide study design or analyses. We did not identify any studies that had involved a controlled trial - randomised or otherwise – of ethics review procedures or processes. Studies varied substantially with respect to outcomes assessed, although tended to focus on structure and timeliness of ethics review. Discussion Our findings indicate a lack of consensus on appropriate assessment criteria, exemplified by the varied study outcomes identified, but also a fragmented body of research. To date research has been largely quantitative, with little attention given to stakeholder experiences, and is largely cross sectional. A lack of longitudinal research to date precludes analyses of change or assessment of quality improvement in ethics review. PMID:26225553
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Pickersgill, Martyn; Hogle, Linda
2015-12-01
For some time now, bioethicists have paid close attention to issues associated with 'enhancement'; specifically, the appropriate use and regulation of substances and artefacts understood by some to improve the functioning of human bodies beyond that associated with 'normal' function. Medical humanities scholars (aside from philosophers and lawyers) and social scientists have not been frequent participants in debates around enhancement, but could shine a bright light on the range of dilemmas and opportunities techniques of enhancement are purported to introduce. In this paper, we argue that empirical research into the notion and practice of enhancement is necessary and timely. Such work could fruitfully engage with-and further develop-existing conceptual repertoires within the medical humanities and social sciences in ways that would afford benefit to scholars in those disciplines. We maintain that empirical engagements could also provide important resources to bioethicists seeking to regulate new enhancements in ways that are sensitive to societal context and cultural difference. To this end, we outline an empirical agenda for the medical humanities and social sciences around enhancement, emphasising especially how science and technology studies could bring benefits to-and be benefitted by-research in this area. We also use the example of (pharmaceutical) cognitive enhancement to show how empirical studies of actual and likely enhancement practices can nuance resonant bioethical debates. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/
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O'Brien, Karen M.; Zamostny, Kathy P.
2003-01-01
Contrary to societal stereotypes about adoption, this integrative review of published empirical research on adoptive families noted several positive and few negative out-comes with regard to satisfaction with the adoption, familial functioning, and parent-child communication. The critical analysis of 38 studies on adoptive families revealed a…
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Hayes, Joseph; Schimel, Jeff; Arndt, Jamie; Faucher, Erik H
2010-09-01
Terror management theory (TMT) highlights the motivational impact of thoughts of death in various aspects of everyday life. Since its inception in 1986, research on TMT has undergone a slight but significant shift from an almost exclusive focus on the manipulation of thoughts of death to a marked increase in studies that measure the accessibility of death-related cognition. Indeed, the number of death-thought accessibility (DTA) studies in the published literature has grown substantially in recent years. In light of this increasing reliance on the DTA concept, the present article is meant to provide a comprehensive theoretical and empirical review of the literature employing this concept. After discussing the roots of DTA, the authors outline the theoretical refinements to TMT that have accompanied significant research findings associated with the DTA concept. Four distinct categories (mortality salience, death association, anxiety-buffer threat, and dispositional) are derived to organize the reviewed DTA studies, and the theoretical implications of each category are discussed. Finally, a number of lingering empirical and theoretical issues in the DTA literature are discussed with the aim of stimulating and focusing future research on DTA specifically and TMT in general.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Matthias Georg Will
2014-07-01
Full Text Available This paper takes both a conceptual and an empirical approach to answer the question as to how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR can be connected to the company’s role as an agent of social value creation when it operates within an imperfect institutional framework of market competition. To develop a functional design for an empirical study, we draw on the concept of ordonomics, which provides a heuristics for responsible business activities in society. Drawing on ordonomics, we devise three questions: Referring to action responsibility we ask in which CSR activities companies do invest in their day-to-day business. Referring to governance responsibility we ask as to how companies realize win-win solutions through strategic commitments. In addition, with regard to discourse responsibility we ask in which stakeholder dialogues companies engage in order to discuss and find functional rules for organizing win-win solutions. In our empirical study, we reveal insights into the micro-level analysis of the CSP-CFP link and generate several new questions to be the subject of future research.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Grund, Cynthia M.
The toolbox for empirically exploring the ways that artistic endeavors convey and activate meaning on the part of performers and audiences continues to expand. Current work employing methods at the intersection of performance studies, philosophy, motion capture and neuroscience to better understand...... musical performance and reception is inspired by traditional approaches within aesthetics, but it also challenges some of the presuppositions inherent in them. As an example of such work I present a research project in empirical music aesthetics begun last year and of which I am a team member....
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Greenberg, Kathleen Puglisi
2012-01-01
The scoring instrument described in this article is based on a deconstruction of the seven sections of an American Psychological Association (APA)-style empirical research report into a set of learning outcomes divided into content-, expression-, and format-related categories. A double-weighting scheme used to score the report yields a final grade…
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Anderson, Emily E.; Hoskins, Kent
2013-01-01
Research suggests that individual breast cancer risk assessment may improve adherence to recommended screening and prevention guidelines, thereby decreasing morbidity and mortality. Further research on the use of risk assessment models in underserved minority populations is critical to informing national public health efforts to eliminate breast cancer disparities. However, implementing individual breast cancer risk assessment in underserved patient populations raises particular ethical issues that require further examination. After reviewing these issues, we will discuss how empirical bioethics research can be integrated with health disparities research to inform the translation of research findings. Our in-progress National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded study, How Do Underserved Minority Women Think About Breast Cancer?, conducted in the context of a larger study on individual breast cancer risk assessment, is presented as a model. PMID:23124498
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Taxation and Foreign Direct Investment: A Synthesis of Empirical Research
Ruud A. de Mooij; Sjef Ederveen
2001-01-01
This paper reviews the empirical literature on the impact of company taxes on the allocation of foreign direct investment. We make the outcomes of 25 empirical studies comparable by computing the tax rate elasticity under a uniform definition. Read also the accompanying press release . The mean value of the tax rate elasticity in the literature is around 3.3, i.e. a 1%-point reduction in the host-country tax rate raises foreign direct investment in that country by 3.3%. There exists substanti...
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Umayyad Relations with Byzantium Empire
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mansoor Haidari
2017-06-01
Full Text Available This research investigates the political and military relations between Umayyad caliphates with the Byzantine Empire. The aim of this research is to clarify Umayyad caliphate’s relations with the Byzantine Empire. We know that these relations were mostly about war and fight. Because there were always intense conflicts between Muslims and the Byzantine Empire, they had to have an active continuous diplomacy to call truce and settle the disputes. Thus, based on the general policy of the Umayyad caliphs, Christians were severely ignored and segregated within Islamic territories. This segregation of the Christians was highly affected by political relationships. It is worthy of mentioning that Umayyad caliphs brought the governing style of the Sassanid kings and Roman Caesar into the Islamic Caliphate system but they didn’t establish civil institutions and administrative organizations.
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Empirical agent-based modelling challenges and solutions
Barreteau, Olivier
2014-01-01
This instructional book showcases techniques to parameterise human agents in empirical agent-based models (ABM). In doing so, it provides a timely overview of key ABM methodologies and the most innovative approaches through a variety of empirical applications. It features cutting-edge research from leading academics and practitioners, and will provide a guide for characterising and parameterising human agents in empirical ABM. In order to facilitate learning, this text shares the valuable experiences of other modellers in particular modelling situations. Very little has been published in the area of empirical ABM, and this contributed volume will appeal to graduate-level students and researchers studying simulation modeling in economics, sociology, ecology, and trans-disciplinary studies, such as topics related to sustainability. In a similar vein to the instruction found in a cookbook, this text provides the empirical modeller with a set of 'recipes' ready to be implemented. Agent-based modeling (AB...
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Rape treatment outcome research: empirical findings and state of the literature.
Vickerman, Katrina A; Margolin, Gayla
2009-07-01
This article reviews empirical support for treatments targeting women sexually assaulted during adolescence or adulthood. Thirty-two articles were located using data from 20 separate samples. Of the 20 samples, 12 targeted victims with chronic symptoms, three focused on the acute period post-assault, two included women with chronic and acute symptoms, and three were secondary prevention programs. The majority of studies focus on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and/or anxiety as treatment targets. Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure have garnered the most support with this population. Stress Inoculation Training and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing also show some efficacy. Of the four studies that compared active treatments, few differences were found. Overall, cognitive behavioral interventions lead to better PTSD outcomes than supportive counseling does. However, even in the strongest treatments more than one-third of women retain a PTSD diagnosis at post-treatment or drop out of treatment. Discussion highlights the paucity of research in this area, methodological limitations of examined studies, generalizability of findings, and important directions for future research at various stages of trauma recovery.
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Rape Treatment Outcome Research: Empirical Findings and State of the Literature
Vickerman, Katrina A.; Margolin, Gayla
2009-01-01
This article reviews empirical support for treatments targeting women sexually assaulted during adolescence or adulthood. Thirty-two articles were located using data from 20 separate samples. Of the 20 samples, 12 targeted victims with chronic symptoms, three focused on the acute period post-assault, two included women with chronic and acute symptoms, and three were secondary prevention programs. The majority of studies focus on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and/or anxiety as treatment targets. Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure have garnered the most support with this population. Stress Inoculation Training and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing also show some efficacy. Of the four studies that compared active treatments, few differences were found. Overall, cognitive behavioral interventions lead to better PTSD outcomes than supportive counseling does. However, even in the strongest treatments more than one-third of women retain a PTSD diagnosis at post-treatment or drop out of treatment. Discussion highlights the paucity of research in this area, methodological limitations of examined studies, generalizability of findings, and important directions for future research at various stages of trauma recovery. PMID:19442425
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Hindes, Yvonne L.; Andrews, Jac J. W.
2011-01-01
Twelve empirical studies published since 1996 regarding the effects of gender on the supervisory relationship are reviewed. Each study was reviewed and critiqued in relation to its methodology, research design, critical findings, and limitations. The results of these studies indicate that (a) gender influences the openness and affiliation one…
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Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
ZHANG Ping
2007-01-01
An empirical study of the 2001-2002 data from 356 Chinese companies listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges indicates that within the social context of China the characteristics of a firm's top management team have a different impact on firm performance from those of foreign countries. Also, the tenure heterogeneity and functional experience heterogeneity of the top management team are inversely related to firm performance. This paper analyzes and discusses the findings in detail and points out areas for future research.
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Mager, Ursula; Nowak, Peter
2012-01-01
This article reviews empirical research on the effects of student participation in school decision-making processes. Out of 3102 searched citations, a total of 32 publications met the inclusion criteria. The qualitative analyses employed in this review yielded a typology of student participation, a categorisation of the diverse effects of student…
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Symbiotic empirical ethics: a practical methodology.
Frith, Lucy
2012-05-01
Like any discipline, bioethics is a developing field of academic inquiry; and recent trends in scholarship have been towards more engagement with empirical research. This 'empirical turn' has provoked extensive debate over how such 'descriptive' research carried out in the social sciences contributes to the distinctively normative aspect of bioethics. This paper will address this issue by developing a practical research methodology for the inclusion of data from social science studies into ethical deliberation. This methodology will be based on a naturalistic conception of ethical theory that sees practice as informing theory just as theory informs practice - the two are symbiotically related. From this engagement with practice, the ways that such theories need to be extended and developed can be determined. This is a practical methodology for integrating theory and practice that can be used in empirical studies, one that uses ethical theory both to explore the data and to draw normative conclusions. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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Residential solar energy users: a review of empirical research and related literature
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Unseld, C.T.; Crews, R.
1979-12-01
This report reviews 15 empirical studies of residential solar energy users and related literature on residential solar energy use. The purpose of the review is to summarize and analyze the experiences of residential solar users for helping formulate policies concerning the accelerated commercialization of solar technologies. Four of the studies employed case histories or focus group techniques. The 11 questionnaire studies represented interviews with over 1,600 owners of solar systems. The demographic characteristics of samples are listed and compared; research findings and conclusions are presented. Findings on user satisfaction and system performance, possible reasons for evidence of lacking correlation between them, and implications for consumer protection and future research are discussed. General findings are: (1) systematic research on the experiences of solar users is lacking - much research remains to be done; (2) the reported overall experiences of users has been very positive; (3) user reports indicate that system performance is generally good but there is some evidence that user reports are not accurate measures of actual performance; (4) a need exists for adequate consumer protection; (5) design or installation problems are evidenced in significant numbers of early solar installations; and (6) these problems evidently are resolvable. An annotated bibliography describes 10 other studies in progress.
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Implementing community-based provider participation in research: an empirical study
2012-01-01
Background Since 2003, the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) has sought to restructure the clinical research enterprise in the United States by promoting collaborative research partnerships between academically-based investigators and community-based physicians. By increasing community-based provider participation in research (CBPPR), the NIH seeks to advance the science of discovery by conducting research in clinical settings where most people get their care, and accelerate the translation of research results into everyday clinical practice. Although CBPPR is seen as a promising strategy for promoting the use of evidence-based clinical services in community practice settings, few empirical studies have examined the organizational factors that facilitate or hinder the implementation of CBPPR. The purpose of this study is to explore the organizational start-up and early implementation of CBPPR in community-based practice. Methods We used longitudinal, case study research methods and an organizational model of innovation implementation to theoretically guide our study. Our sample consisted of three community practice settings that recently joined the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) in the United States. Data were gathered through site visits, telephone interviews, and archival documents from January 2008 to May 2011. Results The organizational model for innovation implementation was useful in identifying and investigating the organizational factors influencing start-up and early implementation of CBPPR in CCOP organizations. In general, the three CCOP organizations varied in the extent to which they achieved consistency in CBPPR over time and across physicians. All three CCOP organizations demonstrated mixed levels of organizational readiness for change. Hospital management support and resource availability were limited across CCOP organizations early on, although they improved in one CCOP organization
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Sugarman, J; McCrory, D C; Hubal, R C
1998-04-01
To perform a structured literature review of the published empirical research on informed consent with older adults in order to make recommendations to improve the informed consent process and to highlight areas needing further examination. Relevant literature was identified by searching electronic databases (AGELINE, BIOETHICSLINE, CancerLit, Ethics Index, Health, LegalTrac, MEDLINE, PAIS International, PsycInfo, and Sociofile). Studies were included if they were reports of primary research data about informed consent and, if patients or other subjects were used, older subjects were included in the sample. Data related to the aspect of informed consent under study (recruitment, decision-making capacity, voluntariness, disclosure of information, understanding of information, consent forms, authorization, and policies and procedures) were abstracted and entered into a specially designed database. Characterization of the population, age of subjects, setting, whether informed consent was being studied in the context of research or treatment, study design, the nature of outcome or dependent variables, independent variables (e.g., experimental conditions in a randomized controlled trial or patient/subject characteristics in a nonrandomized comparison), and results according to the aspect of informed consent under study. A total of 99 articles met all the inclusion criteria and posed 289 unique research questions covering a wide range of aspects of informed consent: recruitment (60); decision making capacity (21); voluntariness (6); disclosure (30); understanding (139); consent forms (7); authorization (11); policies (13); and other (2). In the secondary analyses of numerous studies, diminished understanding of informed consent information was associated with older age and fewer years of education. Older age was also sometimes associated with decreased participation in research. Studies of disclosure of informed consent information suggest strategies to improve
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An empirical analysis of overlap publication in Chinese language and English research manuscripts.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Joseph D Tucker
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: There are a number of sound justifications for publishing nearly identical information in Chinese and English medical journals, assuming several conditions are met. Although overlap publication is perceived as undesirable and ethically questionable in Europe and North America, it may serve an important function in some regions where English is not the native tongue. There is no empirical data on the nature and degree of overlap publication in English and Chinese language journals. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A random sample of 100 English manuscripts from Chinese institutions was selected from PubMed. Key words and institutions were searched in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, a comprehensive Chinese language research database. Unacknowledged overlap was a priori defined according to International Committee of Medical Journal Editor (ICMJE guidelines following examination by two individuals. 19% (95% CI 11-27 of English manuscripts from Chinese institutions were found to have substantial overlap with Chinese published work based on full text examination. None of the manuscripts met all of the criteria established by the ICMJE for an acknowledged overlap publication. Individual-level, journal-level, and institutional factors seem to influence overlap publication. Manuscripts associated with an institution outside of China and with more than one institution were significantly less likely to have substantial overlap (p<0.05. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Overlap publication was common in this context, but instances of standard ICMJE notations to acknowledge this practice were rare. This research did not cite the identified overlap manuscripts with the hope that these empirical data will inform journal policy changes and structural initiatives to promote clearer policies and manuscripts.
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Pels, Trees; de Ruyter, Doret J
2012-06-01
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Research into radicalization does not pay much attention to education. This is remarkable and possibly misses an important influence on the process of radicalization. Therefore this article sets out to explore the relation between education on the one hand and the onset or prevention of radicalization on the other hand. METHOD: This article is a theoretical literature review. It has analyzed empirical studies-mainly from European countries-about the educational aims, content and style of Muslim parents and parents with (extreme) right-wing sympathies. RESULTS: Research examining similarity in right-wing sympathies between parents and children yields mixed results, but studies among adolescents point to a significant concordance. Research also showed that authoritarian parenting may play a significant role. Similar research among Muslim families was not found. While raising children with distrust and an authoritarian style are prevalent, the impact on adolescents has not been investigated. The empirical literature we reviewed does not give sufficient evidence to conclude that democratic ideal in and an authoritative style of education are conducive to the development of a democratic attitude. CONCLUSION: There is a knowledge gap with regard to the influence of education on the onset or the prevention of radicalization. Schools and families are underappreciated sources of informal social control and social capital and therefore the gap should be closed. If there is a better understanding of the effect of education, policy as well as interventions can be developed to assist parents and teachers in preventing radicalization.
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Maes, Bea; Lambrechts, Greet; Hostyn, Ine; Petry, Katja
2007-01-01
Background: This study provides an overview of empirical research on the effectiveness of quality-enhancing interventions for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). Method: Through computerised searches of the PsycINFO and ERIC databases, and using several search criteria specifically relating to the target group and…
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Wang, Xing; Sun, Wenliang; Guo, Min; Li, Minjiao; Li, Wan
2018-01-01
The research object of this paper is fine particles in typical region. The construction of component spectrum bank is based on the technology of online source apportionment, then the result of the apportionment is utilized to verify the effectiveness of fine particles component spectrum bank and which also act as the matching basis of online source apportionment receptor sample. On the next, the particle source of air pollution is carried through the matching diagnosis empirical research by utilizing online source apportionment technology, to provide technical support for the cause analysis and treatment of heavy pollution weather.
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Becker, Carolyn Black; Stice, Eric; Shaw, Heather; Woda, Susan
2009-04-01
Dissemination, or distribution, of empirically supported interventions (ESIs) for psychopathology remains a significant challenge. This paper reviews the principles of community-partnership research (CPR) and explores why CPR might improve distribution of psychological ESIs. Benefits of CPR include building trust, pooling resources and knowledge, and better serving a community by directly involving its members in the design and implementation of research. In addition, after establishing a community's trust using CPR, researchers are likely to be better positioned to partner with communities in the further distribution of ESIs via community networks. This paper reviews the case of dissonance-based eating disorder prevention interventions to provide an example of how CPR can facilitate the adoption and distribution of an ESI by a community, in this case, sororities. CPR also presents a number of challenges, however, because it is time consuming and does not always align with funding mechanisms and research designs used in randomized controlled trials. Further, CPR does not necessarily solve the challenge of training providers, though it may help with problem solving. Ultimately, we suggest that the benefits of CPR far outweigh the challenges, and hope that more researchers will adopt these practices so that more individuals can benefit from empirically supported psychological interventions.
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The emerging empirics of evolutionary economic geography
Boschma, R.A.; Frenken, K.
2011-01-01
Following last decade’s programmatic papers on Evolutionary Economic Geography, we report on recent empirical advances and how this empirical work can be positioned vis-a`-vis other strands of research in economic geography. First, we review studies on the path dependent nature of clustering, and
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The emerging empirics of evolutionary economic geography
Boschma, R.A.; Frenken, K.
2010-01-01
Following last decade’s programmatic papers on Evolutionary Economic Geography, we report on recent empirical advances and how this empirical work can be positioned vis-à-vis other strands of research in economic geography. First, we review studies on the path dependent nature of clustering, and how
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The emerging empirics of evolutionary economic geography.
Boschma, R.A.; Frenken, K.
2011-01-01
Following last decade’s programmatic papers on Evolutionary Economic Geography, we report on recent empirical advances and how this empirical work can be positioned vis-a`-vis other strands of research in economic geography. First, we review studies on the path dependent nature of clustering, and
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tina Röbel
2016-10-01
Full Text Available As an effect of marketisation, the importance of workplace learning in Germany has increased. The article follows up on the long-standing discourse around the question of how economic and pedagogical ideals interact in this context. In order to develop a theoretical framework for empirical research, three major positions of the discipline of business ethics are introduced. Business ethics in more abstract ways deals with the very same question, namely how do ideas such as profit orientation interact with other norms and values? The new perspectives show that the discourse has been hitherto based on a specific understanding of economy. In order to derive an empirical answer to the research question, the question is re-formulated as follows: Which values are inherent in the decisions taken? Consequently, it suggests using the concept of "rationalities of justification" for empirical research. The article shows how this concept can be applied by conducting a test run.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Katarzyna Nagel
2015-04-01
Full Text Available The article aims to discuss the relationship between economic growth and unemployment as well as related determinant factors based on literature review. The traditional approach presents this relationship through the prism of the effects of creation, capitalization, pool of savings and creative destruction. Nowadays, an increasing number of researchers attach more importance to the impact of institutional factors, such as minimum and efficiency wages or the flexibility of the labor market. Both theoretical and empirical research reveal both the evolution of the relevant views and the lack of consistency between the concepts explaining the relationship between economic growth and unemployment in different regions of the world and in different groups of countries.
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Weathering the empire: meteorological research in the early British Straits Settlements.
Williamson, Fiona
2015-09-01
This article explores meteorological interest and experimentation in the early history of the Straits Settlements. It centres on the establishment of an observatory in 1840s Singapore and examines the channels that linked the observatory to a global community of scientists, colonial officers and a reading public. It will argue that, although the value of overseas meteorological investigation was recognized by the British government, investment was piecemeal and progress in the field often relied on the commitment and enthusiasm of individuals. In the Straits Settlements, as elsewhere, these individuals were drawn from military or medical backgrounds, rather than trained as dedicated scientists. Despite this, meteorology was increasingly recognized as of fundamental importance to imperial interests. Thus this article connects meteorology with the history of science and empire more fully and examines how research undertaken in British dependencies is revealing of the operation of transnational networks in the exchange of scientific knowledge.
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Lemmens, L.H.J.M.; Müller, V.N.L.S.; Arntz, A.; Huibers, M.J.H.
2016-01-01
We present a systematic empirical update and critical evaluation of the current status of research aimed at identifying a variety of psychological mediators in various forms of psychotherapy for depression. We summarize study characteristics and results of 35 relevant studies, and discuss the extent
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Empirical comparison of theories
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Opp, K.D.; Wippler, R.
1990-01-01
The book represents the first, comprehensive attempt to take an empirical approach for comparative assessment of theories in sociology. The aims, problems, and advantages of the empirical approach are discussed in detail, and the three theories selected for the purpose of this work are explained. Their comparative assessment is performed within the framework of several research projects, which among other subjects also investigate the social aspects of the protest against nuclear power plants. The theories analysed in this context are the theory of mental incongruities and that of the benefit, and their efficiency in explaining protest behaviour is compared. (orig./HSCH) [de
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An Empirical Taxonomy of Crowdfunding Intermediaries
Haas, Philipp; Blohm, Ivo; Leimeister, Jan Marco
2014-01-01
Due to the recent popularity of crowdfunding, a broad magnitude of crowdfunding intermediaries has emerged, while research on crowdfunding intermediaries has been largely neglected. As a consequence, existing classifications of crowdfunding intermediaries are conceptual, lack theoretical grounding, and are not empirically validated. Thus, we develop an empirical taxonomy of crowdfunding intermediaries, which is grounded in the theories of two-sided markets and financial intermediation. Integr...
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Weis, Daniel; Willems, Helmut
2017-06-01
The article deals with the question of how aggregated data which allow for generalizable insights can be generated from single-case based qualitative investigations. Thereby, two central challenges of qualitative social research are outlined: First, researchers must ensure that the single-case data can be aggregated and condensed so that new collective structures can be detected. Second, they must apply methods and practices to allow for the generalization of the results beyond the specific study. In the following, we demonstrate how and under what conditions these challenges can be addressed in research practice. To this end, the research process of the construction of an empirically based typology is described. A qualitative study, conducted within the framework of the Luxembourg Youth Report, is used to illustrate this process. Specifically, strategies are presented which increase the likelihood of generalizability or transferability of the results, while also highlighting their limitations.
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Rao, Pramila
2016-01-01
Purpose: This empirical research was conducted in a medium-sized private university located in the north-eastern region of the USA. The purpose of this paper was to understand whether demographic attributes (age, gender, country of origin and years of stay in the USA) of international students will predict any preferences for specific teaching…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Janina Söhn
2004-01-01
Full Text Available During this workshop scholars presented new, mainly empirical studies which explored different aspects of right-wing extremism in Germany. While a number of talks focused on political strategies and modern forms of organization of local neo-Nazi scenes, political elites and the music industry, others had chosen a biographical view on the personal development of young right-wing extremists. Studies on the local context of and conditions for right-wing extremist actions were complemented by representative survey data on political attitudes of German citizens. Apart from discussions about the phenomenon of right-wing extremism itself, participants had the opportunity to exchange their experience of doing empirical qualitative research in a dangerous field. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0401215
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Empirical knowledge in legislation and regulation : A decision making perspective
Trautmann, S.T.
2013-01-01
This commentary considers the pros and cons of the empirical approach to legislation from the vantage point of empirical decision making research. It focuses on methodological aspects that are typically not considered by legal scholars. It points out weaknesses in the empirical approach that are
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Empirical research on the internal audit position of companies in Serbia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ljubisavljević Snežana
2011-01-01
Full Text Available In the context of the globalization of business operations and the increasing use of information technologies, complexity of business transactions, and business risk, the role of internal audit is becoming increasingly important and the range of tasks performed by internal auditors is growing. As a part of the company control system, the internal audit assesses the efficiency, effectiveness, economy, and fairness of the realization of tasks, provides consulting services to the enterprise’s management, and promotes the effectiveness of risk management with the aim of creating added value and enhancing business activities. It is the aim of this work, through empirical research conducted in large and medium-sized Serbian companies, to show the degree of development of the internal audit, the perception of accountants in respect to the tasks and responsibilities of internal audit, and whether there is a connection between the enterprise size and legal form on the one hand, and the organization and responsibilities of internal audit on the other.
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Intermediation by Banks and Economic Growth: A Review of Empirical Evidence
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marijana Bađun
2009-06-01
Full Text Available This paper provides a review of empirical research on the link between financial intermediation by banks and economic growth. Special attention is paid to the issues of causality, non-linearity, time perspective, financial intermediation proxies, and interaction terms. The review shows that there are still quite a few unresolved issues in empirical research, which causes scepticism towards prioritizing financial sector policies in order to cause economic growth. Progress in the finance and growth literature is slow and researchers seem to go round in circles. A possibly fruitful direction for future empirical research is the relationship between government and banks, especially from the standpoint of political economy.
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Brown, Nancy C; McGee, Summer Johnson
2014-12-01
One of the challenges of modern healthcare ethics practice is the navigation of boundaries. Practicing healthcare ethicists in the performance of their role must navigate meanings, choices, decisions and actions embedded in complex cultural and social relationships amongst diverse individuals. In light of the evolving state of modern healthcare ethics practice and the recent move toward professionalization via certification, understanding boundary navigation in healthcare ethics practice is critical. Because healthcare ethics is endowed with many boundaries which often delineate concerns about professional expertise and authority, epistemological reflection on the relationship between theory and practice points toward the social context as relevant to the conceptualization of boundaries. The skills of social scientists may prove helpful to provide data and insights into the conceptualization and navigation of clinical ethics qua profession. Empirical ethics research, which combines empirical description (usually social scientific) with normative-ethical analysis and reflection, is a way forward as we engage and reflect upon issues which have implications for practice standards and professionalization of the role. This requires cooperative engagement of the descriptive and normative disciplines to explore our understandings of boundaries in healthcare ethics practice. This will contribute to the ongoing reflection not only as we envision the professional role but to ensure that it is enacted in practice.
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Clancey, William J.; Lee, Pascal; Sierhuis, Maarten; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)
2001-01-01
Living and working on Mars will require model-based computer systems for maintaining and controlling complex life support, communication, transportation, and power systems. This technology must work properly on the first three-year mission, augmenting human autonomy, without adding-yet more complexity to be diagnosed and repaired. One design method is to work with scientists in analog (mars-like) setting to understand how they prefer to work, what constrains will be imposed by the Mars environment, and how to ameliorate difficulties. We describe how we are using empirical requirements analysis to prototype model-based tools at a research station in the High Canadian Arctic.
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Empirical distribution function under heteroscedasticity
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Víšek, Jan Ámos
2011-01-01
Roč. 45, č. 5 (2011), s. 497-508 ISSN 0233-1888 Grant - others:GA UK(CZ) GA402/09/0557 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Robustness * Convergence * Empirical distribution * Heteroscedasticity Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics , Operational Research Impact factor: 0.724, year: 2011 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2011/SI/visek-0365534.pdf
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ruize Gao
2015-05-01
Full Text Available Purpose: Collusion is a common behavior of oligarch enterprises aiming to get an advantage in market competition. The purpose of the thesis is to use the empirical research methods to explore positive or negative effects that the electricity generation manufacturers’ collusion has caused at the macro level of Market Economy and the micro level of enterprises’ behaviors. Design/methodology/approach: The designed research model in the thesis is an extension of Porter’s model (Porter, 1984. It applies a more advanced measurement method, FIML. In the example of price bidding project that started by electricity generation enterprises of China’s power industry, the thesis analyzes the relevant price data of subordinate power plants of China’s five power generation groups in pilots of price bidding Policy. Findings: It is found in the thesis that power generation enterprises are facing collusion issues in the market. To be exact, it is such a situation in which non-cooperative competition and collusion alternate. Under the competition, market is relatively steady, thus forming a lower network price. It is helpful to the development of the whole industry. However, once Cartel is formed, the price will rise and clash with power enterprises and transmission-distribution companies concerning the interests conflicts. At the same time, a higher power price will form in the market, making consumers suffer losses. All of these are bad for industry development. Not only the collusion of power enterprises affects power price but also the market power that caused by long-time Cartel will reduce the market entrant in electricity generation. Market resources are centralized in the hands of Cartel, causing a low effective competition in the market, which has passive effects on users. Implications: The empirical research also indicates that collusion undoubtedly benefits the power enterprises that involved. As a cooperation pattern, collusion can lead to
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An empirical research on strategic planning in public libraries of Mainland China
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Ping KE; Yingfang HE; Wenliang ZHANG; Dongqin JIA; Tinghan LI
2012-01-01
Purpose:As an important issue,strategic planning in public libraries has been paid more attention in China recent years.However,a comprehensive and systematic research,especially strategic models based on empirical studies,is required in the public library strategic planning.The purpose of this research is to investigate the current practices and propose an appropriate reference and guidance of strategic planning in public libraries in Mainland China.Design/methodology/approach:A questionnaire-based survey method is carried out to collect the views of public libraries staff at different levels in Mainland China.The questionnaire is designed on the following four aspects toward strategic planning in public libraries:The attitude,the status quo,basic issues and the guides.The 882 valid questionnaires are processed by a statistic analysis to reflect the current practices of strategic planning in public libraries in Mainland China.Findings:Our research results reveal that the unclear and confused understanding of the strategic planning still exist among the public libraries staff in Mainland China.However,the majority of respondents still believe that the strategic planning in public libraries is significant and the library developments will be affected for lacking strategic planning.Moreover,it is considerable that the strategic plans are jointly made by independent agencies and public libraries,or by the public library itself.Also,guidelines and a set of softwares in strategic planning are needed.Research limitations/implications:The study was restricted to six main areas in China.A wider geographic sampling can preferable show the basic status of strategic planning in public libraries.The procedures of data collection would be another limitation.Nevertheless,case studies should be used in the further research.Originality:The importance of this research originates from a large number of first-hand data about strategic planning in public libraries in mainland China
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An empirical research on strategic planning in public libraries of Mainland China
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Ping; KE; Yingfang; HE; Wenliang; ZHANG; Dongqin; JIA; Tinghan; LI
2012-01-01
Purpose: As an important issue, strategic planning in public libraries has been paid more attention in China recent years. However, a comprehensive and systematic research, especially strategic models based on empirical studies, is required in the public library strategic planning. The purpose of this research is to investigate the current practices and propose an appropriate reference and guidance of strategic planning in public libraries in Mainland China.Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire-based survey method is carried out to collect the views of public libraries staff at different levels in Mainland China. The questionnaire is designed on the following four aspects toward strategic planning in public libraries: The attitude, the status quo, basic issues and the guides. The 882 valid questionnaires are processed by a statistic analysis to reflect the current practices of strategic planning in public libraries in Mainland China.Findings: Our research results reveal that the unclear and confused understanding of the strategic planning still exist among the public libraries staff in Mainland China. However, the majority of respondents still believe that the strategic planning in public libraries is significant and the library developments will be affected for lacking strategic planning. Moreover, it is considerable that the strategic plans are jointly made by independent agencies and public libraries, or by the public library itself. Also, guidelines and a set of softwares in strategic planning are needed.Research limitations/implications: The study was restricted to six main areas in China. A wider geographic sampling can preferable show the basic status of strategic planning in public libraries.The procedures of data collection would be another limitation. Nevertheless, case studies should be used in the further research.Originality: The importance of this research originates from a large number of first-hand data about strategic planning in public
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Critical Realism and Empirical Bioethics: A Methodological Exposition.
McKeown, Alex
2017-09-01
This paper shows how critical realism can be used to integrate empirical data and philosophical analysis within 'empirical bioethics'. The term empirical bioethics, whilst appearing oxymoronic, simply refers to an interdisciplinary approach to the resolution of practical ethical issues within the biological and life sciences, integrating social scientific, empirical data with philosophical analysis. It seeks to achieve a balanced form of ethical deliberation that is both logically rigorous and sensitive to context, to generate normative conclusions that are practically applicable to the problem, challenge, or dilemma. Since it incorporates both philosophical and social scientific components, empirical bioethics is a field that is consistent with the use of critical realism as a research methodology. The integration of philosophical and social scientific approaches to ethics has been beset with difficulties, not least because of the irreducibly normative, rather than descriptive, nature of ethical analysis and the contested relation between fact and value. However, given that facts about states of affairs inform potential courses of action and their consequences, there is a need to overcome these difficulties and successfully integrate data with theory. Previous approaches have been formulated to overcome obstacles in combining philosophical and social scientific perspectives in bioethical analysis; however each has shortcomings. As a mature interdisciplinary approach critical realism is well suited to empirical bioethics, although it has hitherto not been widely used. Here I show how it can be applied to this kind of research and explain how it represents an improvement on previous approaches.
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Cosgrove, R. B.; Bahcivan, H.; Klein, A.; Ortega, J.; Alhassan, M.; Xu, Y.; Chen, S.; Van Welie, M.; Rehberger, J.; Musielak, S.; Cahill, N.
2012-12-01
Empirical models of the incident Poynting flux and particle kinetic energy flux, associated with auroral processes, have been constructed using data from the FAST satellite. The models were constructed over a three-year period by a tag-team of three groups of undergraduate researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), working under the supervision of researchers at SRI International, a nonprofit research institute. Each group spent one academic quarter in residence at SRI, in fulfillment of WPI's Major Qualifying Project (MQP), required for graduation from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The MQP requires a written group report, which was used to transition from one group to the next. The student's research involved accessing and processing a data set of 20,000 satellite orbits, replete with flaws associated with instrument failures, which had to be removed. The data had to be transformed from the satellite reference frame into solar coordinates, projected to a reference altitude, sorted according to geophysical conditions, and etc. The group visits were chaperoned by WPI, and were jointly funded. Researchers at SRI were supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, which was tailored to accommodate the undergraduate tag-team approach. The NSF grant extended one year beyond the student visits, with increased funding in the final year, permitting the researchers at SRI to exercise quality control, and to produce publications. It is expected that the empirical models will be used as inputs to large-scale general circulation models (GCMs), to specify the atmospheric heating rate at high altitudes.; Poynting Flux with northward IMF ; Poynting flux with southward IMF
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shan-Ju L. Chang
2000-12-01
Full Text Available Browsing as an important part of human information behavior has been observed and investigated in the context of information seeking in the library in general and has assumed greater importance in human-machine interaction in particular. However, the nature and consequences of browsing are not well understood, and little is known of the success rate of such behavior.In this research, exploratory empirical case studies from three types of libraries were conducted, using questionnaires, observation logs, interviews, and computer search logs, to derive the empirical evidence to understand, from the user point of view, what are the consequences of browsing, what constitutes successful browsing, and what factors influence the extent of browsing. Content analysis and statistical analysis were conducted to analyze and synthesize the data. The research results show: (1 There are nine categories of the consequence of browsing, including accidental findings, modification of information need, found the desirable information, learning, feeling relaxation/recreational, information gathering, keeping updated, satisfying curiosity, and not finding what is needed. (2 Four factors that produce successful browsing: intention, the amount or quality of information, the utility of what is found, and help for solving problem or making judgment. (3 Three types of reasons for unsuccessful experience in browsing: not finding what one wanted, inadequate volume or quality of information, and not finding some things useful or interesting. (4 Three types of reasons for partial success: found the intended object but not happy with the quality or amount of information in it, not finding what one wanted but discovering new or potential useful information, not accomplish one purpose but achieve another one given multiple purposes. (5 The influential factors that affect the extent one engages in browsing include browser’s time, scheme of information organization, proximity to
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Sources of Currency Crisis: An Empirical Analysis
Weber, Axel A.
1997-01-01
Two types of currency crisis models coexist in the literature: first generation models view speculative attacks as being caused by economic fundamentals which are inconsistent with a given parity. Second generation models claim self-fulfilling speculation as the main source of a currency crisis. Recent empirical research in international macroeconomics has attempted to distinguish between the sources of currency crises. This paper adds to this literature by proposing a new empirical approach ...
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Two concepts of empirical ethics.
Parker, Malcolm
2009-05-01
The turn to empirical ethics answers two calls. The first is for a richer account of morality than that afforded by bioethical principlism, which is cast as excessively abstract and thin on the facts. The second is for the facts in question to be those of human experience and not some other, unworldly realm. Empirical ethics therefore promises a richer naturalistic ethics, but in fulfilling the second call it often fails to heed the metaethical requirements related to the first. Empirical ethics risks losing the normative edge which necessarily characterizes the ethical, by failing to account for the nature and the logic of moral norms. I sketch a naturalistic theory, teleological expressivism (TE), which negotiates the naturalistic fallacy by providing a more satisfactory means of taking into account facts and research data with ethical implications. The examples of informed consent and the euthanasia debate are used to illustrate the superiority of this approach, and the problems consequent on including the facts in the wrong kind of way.
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Empirical Estimates in Economic and Financial Optimization Problems
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Houda, Michal; Kaňková, Vlasta
2012-01-01
Roč. 19, č. 29 (2012), s. 50-69 ISSN 1212-074X R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP402/10/1610; GA ČR GAP402/11/0150; GA ČR GAP402/10/0956 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : stochastic programming * empirical estimates * moment generating functions * stability * Wasserstein metric * L1-norm * Lipschitz property * consistence * convergence rate * normal distribution * Pareto distribution * Weibull distribution * distribution tails * simulation Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/E/houda-empirical estimates in economic and financial optimization problems.pdf
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Empirical scholarship in contract law: possibilities and pitfalls
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Russell Korobkin
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Professor Korobkin examines and analyzes empirical contract law scholarship over the last fifteen years in an attempt to guide scholars concerning how empiricism can be used in and enhance the study of contract law. After defining the parameters of the study, Professor Korobkin categorizes empirical contract law scholarship by both the source of data and main purpose of the investigation. He then describes and analyzes three types of criticisms that can be made of empirical scholarship, explains how these criticisms pertain to contract law scholarship, and considers what steps researchers can take to minimize the force of such criticisms.
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Schoop, Eric; Kriaučiūnienė, Roma; Brundzaitė, Rasa
2004-01-01
This article analyses the needs and possibilities to educate new type of virtual collaboration skills for the university students, who are currently studying in business and information systems area. We investigate the possibility to incorporate problem-based group learning and computer supported tools into university curricula. The empirical research results are presented, which summarize experiences of using the virtual collaborative learning (VCL) environment, provided by Business informat...
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Schüssler, Gerhard
2002-01-01
The influence of the unconscious on psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy: a comprehensive concept of unconscious processes based on empirical evidence. The theory of the Unconscious constitutes the basis of psychoanalysis and of psychodynamic therapy. The traditional description of the Unconscious as given by Freud is of historical significance and not only gained widespread acceptance but also attracted much criticism. The most important findings of neurobiology, the cognitive sciences, social psychology and emotion research in relation to the Unconscious are compared with this traditional definition. Empirical observations on defence mechanisms are of particular interest in this context. A comprehensive concept of unconscious processes is revealed: the fundamental process of brain function is unconscious. Parts of the symbolic-declarative and emotional-procedural processing by the brain are permanently unconscious. Other parts of these processing procedures are conscious or can be brought to the conscious or alternatively, can also be excluded from the conscious. Unconscious processes exert decisive influence on experience and behaviour; for this reason, every form of psychotherapy should take into account such unconscious processes.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Downes, Barbara J; Miller, Fiona; Barnett, Jon; Glaister, Alena; Ellemor, Heidi
2013-01-01
We sought to understand how knowledge about resilience is produced. We examined empirical research into resilience from the social and natural sciences, randomly selected a sample of these studies and analysed their methods using common criteria to enable comparison. We found that studies of resilience from social scientists largely focus on the response of individuals to human-induced change events, while those from natural scientists largely focus on the response of ecological communities and populations to both environmental and human-induced change events. Most studies were of change over short time periods and focused on small spatial scales. Social science studies were dominated by one-off surveys, whereas natural science studies used a diversity of study designs to draw inferences about cause-and-effect. Whilst these differences typically reflect epistemological and methodological traditions, they also imply quite different understandings of resilience. We suggest that there are significant methodological barriers to producing empirical evidence about interactions between complex social and ecological systems. (letter)
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Using face validity to recognize empirical community observations.
Gaber, John; Gaber, Sharon L
2010-05-01
There is a growing interest among international planning scholars to explore community participation in the plan making process from a qualitative research approach. In this paper the research assessment tool "face validity" is discussed as one way to help planners decipher when the community is sharing empirically grounded observations that can advance the applicability of the plan making process. Face validity provides a common sense assessment of research conclusions. It allows the assessor to look at an entire research project and ask: "on the face of things, does this research make sense?" With planners listening to citizen comments with an ear for face validity observations, holds open the opportunity for government to empirically learn from the community to see if they "got it right." And if not, to chart out a course on how they can get it right. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jingxiao Zhang
2017-06-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to quantitatively evaluate the growth phase, position, and priorities of the industrialization policy management of the construction industry at firm level. The goal is to integrate quantitative dynamics into the policy-making process for sustainable policy development in future China. This research proposes an integrated framework, including growth management model and industrial policy evaluation method, to identify the challenges of construction industrialization and policy management. The research applies the mixed system method, which includes entropy method and average score method, to analyze the growth stage and major impact indexes targeting 327 survey samples. The empirical results show that the proposed conceptual framework and policy evaluation method could effectively determine the growth position and directions of the construction industrialization. For verification purpose, the study uses the local industry data from Shaanxi Province, China. The calculation results substantiate that the construction industry is in the middle section of the third growth phase. The comparison of the results from statistical methods shows that the local construction industry still needs substantial effort in policy management to improve its sustainable industrialization level. As countermeasures, the policy priorities should concentrate on: (1 enhancing effective cooperation among universities, research institutions and enterprises; (2 improving actions towards technology transfer into productivity; and (3 encouraging market acceptance of construction industrialization. This research complements the existing literature of policy evaluation of construction industrialization. Moreover, it provides theoretical and operational steps on industry policy evaluation and growth management framework, with accurate and ample data analysis on firm-level survey. Researchers and policy makers can use this research for further
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Empirical Estimates in Stochastic Optimization via Distribution Tails
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Kaňková, Vlasta
2010-01-01
Roč. 46, č. 3 (2010), s. 459-471 ISSN 0023-5954. [International Conference on Mathematical Methods in Economy and Industry. České Budějovice, 15.06.2009-18.06.2009] R&D Projects: GA ČR GA402/07/1113; GA ČR(CZ) GA402/08/0107; GA MŠk(CZ) LC06075 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Stochastic programming problems * Stability * Wasserstein metric * L_1 norm * Lipschitz property * Empirical estimates * Convergence rate * Exponential tails * Heavy tails * Pareto distribution * Risk functional * Empirical quantiles Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 0.461, year: 2010
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Caught between Empires: Ambivalence in Australian Films ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Caught between Empires: Ambivalence in Australian Films. Greg McCarthy. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms and Conditions of Use · Contact AJOL · News. OTHER RESOURCES... for Researchers · for ...
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Edge, Karen
2014-01-01
Most schools currently employ three generations of teachers and leaders: Baby Boomers (1946-65), Generation X (1966-80) and Generation Y (1981-2003). However, the implications for school leaders of multi-generational schools remain relatively unexplored. This paper examines the empirical multi-disciplinary generations at work evidence to identify…
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Elisabeth Scheibelhofer
2011-01-01
Based on the example of an empirical research study, the paper examines the strengths and limitations of a qualitative network approach to migration and mobility. The method of graphic drawings produced by the respondents within an interview setting was applied. With this method, we argue to be able to analyse migrants’ specific social embeddedness and its influence on future mobility aspirations. Likewise, connections between the migratory biography and the individuals’ various social relati...
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Empirical psychology, common sense, and Kant's empirical markers for moral responsibility.
Frierson, Patrick
2008-12-01
This paper explains the empirical markers by which Kant thinks that one can identify moral responsibility. After explaining the problem of discerning such markers within a Kantian framework I briefly explain Kant's empirical psychology. I then argue that Kant's empirical markers for moral responsibility--linked to higher faculties of cognition--are not sufficient conditions for moral responsibility, primarily because they are empirical characteristics subject to natural laws. Next. I argue that these markers are not necessary conditions of moral responsibility. Given Kant's transcendental idealism, even an entity that lacks these markers could be free and morally responsible, although as a matter of fact Kant thinks that none are. Given that they are neither necessary nor sufficient conditions, I discuss the status of Kant's claim that higher faculties are empirical markers of moral responsibility. Drawing on connections between Kant's ethical theory and 'common rational cognition' (4:393), I suggest that Kant's theory of empirical markers can be traced to ordinary common sense beliefs about responsibility. This suggestion helps explain both why empirical markers are important and what the limits of empirical psychology are within Kant's account of moral responsibility.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Swart, D.; Banz, I.
1985-01-01
The Empire State Electric Energy Research Corporation (ESEERCO) commissioned Westinghouse to conduct a human reliability analysis to identify and quantify human error probabilities associated with operator actions for four specific events which may occur in light water reactors: loss of coolant accident, steam generator tube rupture, steam/feed line break, and stuck open pressurizer spray valve. Human Error Probabilities (HEPs) derived from Swain's Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP) were compared to data obtained from simulator exercises. A correlation was found between the HEPs derived from Swain and the results of the simulator data. The results of this study provide a unique insight into human factors analysis. The HEPs obtained from such probabilistic studies can be used to prioritize scenarios for operator training situations, and thus improve the correlation between simulator exercises and real control room experiences
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Angrist, Joshua; Pischke, Jorn-Steffen
2010-01-01
This essay reviews progress in empirical economics since Leamer'rs (1983) critique. Leamer highlighted the benefits of sensitivity analysis, a procedure in which researchers show how their results change with changes in specification or functional form. Sensitivity analysis has had a salutary but not a revolutionary effect on econometric practice.…
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Bertone, Maria Paola; Meessen, Bruno; Clarysse, Guy; Hercot, David; Kelley, Allison; Kafando, Yamba; Lange, Isabelle; Pfaffmann, Jérôme; Ridde, Valéry; Sieleunou, Isidore; Witter, Sophie
2013-10-20
Communities of Practice (CoPs) are groups of people that interact regularly to deepen their knowledge on a specific topic. Thanks to information and communication technologies, CoPs can involve experts distributed across countries and adopt a 'transnational' membership. This has allowed the strategy to be applied to domains of knowledge such as health policy with a global perspective. CoPs represent a potentially valuable tool for producing and sharing explicit knowledge, as well as tacit knowledge and implementation practices. They may also be effective in creating links among the different 'knowledge holders' contributing to health policy (e.g., researchers, policymakers, technical assistants, practitioners, etc.). CoPs in global health are growing in number and activities. As a result, there is an increasing need to document their progress and evaluate their effectiveness. This paper represents a first step towards such empirical research as it aims to provide a conceptual framework for the analysis and assessment of transnational CoPs in health policy.The framework is developed based on the findings of a literature review as well as on our experience, and reflects the specific features and challenges of transnational CoPs in health policy. It organizes the key elements of CoPs into a logical flow that links available resources and the capacity to mobilize them, with knowledge management activities and the expansion of knowledge, with changes in policy and practice and, ultimately, with an improvement in health outcomes. Additionally, the paper addresses the challenges in the operationalization and empirical application of the framework.
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2013-01-01
Communities of Practice (CoPs) are groups of people that interact regularly to deepen their knowledge on a specific topic. Thanks to information and communication technologies, CoPs can involve experts distributed across countries and adopt a ‘transnational’ membership. This has allowed the strategy to be applied to domains of knowledge such as health policy with a global perspective. CoPs represent a potentially valuable tool for producing and sharing explicit knowledge, as well as tacit knowledge and implementation practices. They may also be effective in creating links among the different ‘knowledge holders’ contributing to health policy (e.g., researchers, policymakers, technical assistants, practitioners, etc.). CoPs in global health are growing in number and activities. As a result, there is an increasing need to document their progress and evaluate their effectiveness. This paper represents a first step towards such empirical research as it aims to provide a conceptual framework for the analysis and assessment of transnational CoPs in health policy. The framework is developed based on the findings of a literature review as well as on our experience, and reflects the specific features and challenges of transnational CoPs in health policy. It organizes the key elements of CoPs into a logical flow that links available resources and the capacity to mobilize them, with knowledge management activities and the expansion of knowledge, with changes in policy and practice and, ultimately, with an improvement in health outcomes. Additionally, the paper addresses the challenges in the operationalization and empirical application of the framework. PMID:24139662
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Empirical Model Building Data, Models, and Reality
Thompson, James R
2011-01-01
Praise for the First Edition "This...novel and highly stimulating book, which emphasizes solving real problems...should be widely read. It will have a positive and lasting effect on the teaching of modeling and statistics in general." - Short Book Reviews This new edition features developments and real-world examples that showcase essential empirical modeling techniques Successful empirical model building is founded on the relationship between data and approximate representations of the real systems that generated that data. As a result, it is essential for researchers who construct these m
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Empirical Studies of Exchange Rates: Price Behavior, Rate Determinationand Market Efficiency
Richard M. Levich
1983-01-01
Theoretical and empirical research completed over the last decade has dramatically increased our understanding of exchange rate behavior. The major insight to come from this decade of research is that foreign exchange is a financial asset. In an asset pricing framework, current exchange rates reflect the expected values of future exogenous variables. The purpose of this paper is to survay the empirical evidence on exchange rate behavior, market efficiency and related topics. Section 2 present...
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INNOVATION, CUSTOMER ATTACHMENT SOURCE IN RETAIL SERVICES EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IN DIY RETAIL
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Săniuţă Adina
2013-07-01
Full Text Available The topic of the present study is innovation of services in the retail trade of bricolage (Do-It-Yourself, DIY products and the influence that innovation has on the increase of customer attachment to companies in this field. The Romanian bricolage market brings together representatives of large specialised retail chains in Europe along with large domestic operators, which led us to the choice of this trade as a research field. Innovation is considered an important factor that brings a significant contribution to the success of a business (O\\'Cass, Song and Yuan, 2012, and services are a priority for economic development. Despite all these, innovation in services is still insufficiently exploited both theoretically and empirically. The object of this study is to apply a qualitative research through semi-conducted interviews with managers from the bricolage retail field in order to validate the conceptual model whose inputs, innovation along with the availability and professionalism of the sales staff, act as generators of customer attachment to the company, leading to increased turnover, a permanent fund of customers and loyalty to the store. As a second stage, the proposed model will be tested through a quantitative research, by making use of the customer’s points of view. The three hypotheses of this research (H1: Innovation in services is determined by: the customer’s involvement in the implementation of the service, the use of gadgets in the store to facilitate access to information to the customer, the extension of the in-store services to the virtual environment and customer experience; H2: Innovation together with the availability and knowledge of the sales staff are sources of the customer’s attachment; H3: attachment acts as a catalyst for the turnover, the permanent fund of customers and the loyalty to the store have been accepted, the study revealing that in the retail trade of bricolage products, the staff’s availability and
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The problem analysis for empirical studies
Groenland, E.A.G.
2014-01-01
This article proposes a systematic methodology for the development of a problem analysis for cross-sectional, empirical research. This methodology is referred to as the 'Annabel approach'. It is suitable both for academic studies and applied (business) studies. In addition it can be used for both
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New empirical generalizations on the determinants of price elasticity
Bijmolt, THA; Van Heerde, HJ; Pieters, RGM
The importance of pricing decisions for firms has fueled an extensive stream of research on price elasticities. In an influential meta-analytical study, Tellis (1988) summarized price elasticity research findings until 1986. However, empirical generalizations on price elasticity require
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Economic reasons behind the decline of the Ottoman empire
Duranoglu, Erkut; Okutucu, Guzide
2009-01-01
This study addresses the economic reasons of the decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire. On the contrary to the previous researches, by undertaking both global and domestic developments, the paper examines the decline of the empire from an economical point of perspective. Although international developments such as industrialization in European countries, pressure on the Ottomans in terms of integrating with the world economy, global economic factors like depressions and war...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. A. Oseev
2016-01-01
Full Text Available The article is devoted to methodological foundations of research of leader’s personal qualities. In difference from the previous work, which was devoted to a research of personal qualities of heads, including civil officers, at works of Plato, Aristotle and M. Weber, where were shown empirical models of structure of personal qualities of heads: instrumental-rational and value-rational social actions. This publication presents the empirical models of structure of personal qualities of heads of affective type of M. Weber’s social action. Thanks to it, M. Weber’s concept about social action receives one more approach to verification in practice. The following directions of social researches are allocated. The first direction. When in structure of personal qualities the emotional component is a dominant (“emotional unbalance”, in comparison with intellectual, moral, strong-willed and other personal qualities (diplomacy, social experience, and so forth. Those people, whose indicators of emotional unbalance are in extreme, in maximum borders - carry to psychopaths and they are an object of clinical psychology and medicine. The second direction. When in structure of personal qualities emotional unbalance competes on equal terms (equally has bright difference, a deviation from average values to intellectual, moral and strong-willed qualities. The third direction. When in structure of personal qualities intellectual, moral and strong-willed and others personal qualities dominate over affective lines.
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@doesyourairlinetweet? An empirical examination of the use of twitter by 50 international airlines
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lucy Budd
2012-10-01
Full Text Available Purpose: To provide empirical evidence of the extent to which 50 of the world’s largest passenger airlines use the social media site twitter.Design/methodology/approach: Original empirical data on the presence and usage of 50 airlines’ official twitter accounts was accessed.Research limitations/implications: Research demonstrates the extent to which airlines are using twitter as a communications tool and suggests that some airline are not currently utilising twitter to its full extent.Practical implications: The research provides information on current twitter use and penetration, thus enabling airlines to benchmark their performance in this social media channel.Originality/value: The paper provides an original empirical insight into a growing phenomenon which is currently underreported in academic literatures.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Khair, Tabish
2017-01-01
Review of 'Inglorious Empire: What the British did to India' by Shashi Tharoor, London, Hurst Publishers, 2017, 296 pp., £20.00......Review of 'Inglorious Empire: What the British did to India' by Shashi Tharoor, London, Hurst Publishers, 2017, 296 pp., £20.00...
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Thapa, Amrit
2013-01-01
School climate research is clearly evolving. The field demands rigorous and empirically sound research that focuses on relating specific aspects and activities of interventions to changes in specific components of school climate. We also need empirical evidence based on sound research techniques on how both interventions and climate affect…
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Lemmens, Lotte H J M; Müller, Viola N L S; Arntz, Arnoud; Huibers, Marcus J H
2016-12-01
We present a systematic empirical update and critical evaluation of the current status of research aimed at identifying a variety of psychological mediators in various forms of psychotherapy for depression. We summarize study characteristics and results of 35 relevant studies, and discuss the extent to which these studies meet several important requirements for mechanism research. Our review indicates that in spite of increased attention for the topic, advances in theoretical consensus about necessities for mechanism research, and sophistication of study designs, research in this field is still heterogeneous and unsatisfactory in methodological respect. Probably the biggest challenge in the field is demonstrating the causal relation between change in the mediator and change in depressive symptoms. The field would benefit from a further refinement of research methods to identify processes of therapeutic change. Recommendations for future research are discussed. However, even in the most optimal research designs, explaining psychotherapeutic change remains a challenge. Psychotherapy is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that might work through interplay of multiple mechanisms at several levels. As a result, it might be too complex to be explained in relatively simple causal models of psychological change. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Empirical research on drive mechanism of firms' environmental management
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
Cao Jingshan; Qin Ying
2007-01-01
Firms'transformation from passive envrionmental management to active environmental management is the key to solving environmental problems. This paper empirically studies the impact of environmental management incentives on environmental management through model construction. Based on the data and reality of China, we can build a concept model of environmental management driving mechanism, and put forward theoretical hypothesis that can be tested: take the 13 environmental management behaviors (EMBs) as substitute of the comprehensiveness, introduce counting variables, and use NB model, Possion Model and Ordered Probit model the regression analysis. The theory and methods brought forward in this paper will provide references for firms in China to further implement voluntary environmental management, and offer advises and countertneasures for leaders to implement environmental management effectively.
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Self-Published Books: An Empirical "Snapshot"
Bradley, Jana; Fulton, Bruce; Helm, Marlene
2012-01-01
The number of books published by authors using fee-based publication services, such as Lulu and AuthorHouse, is overtaking the number of books published by mainstream publishers, according to Bowker's 2009 annual data. Little empirical research exists on self-published books. This article presents the results of an investigation of a random sample…
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The Role of Ethnographic Studies in Empirical Software Engineering
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sharp, Helen; Dittrich, Yvonne; Souza, Cleidson R. B. de
2016-01-01
Ethnography is a qualitative research method used to study people and cultures. It is largely adopted in disciplines outside software engineering, including different areas of computer science. Ethnography can provide an in-depth understanding of the socio-technological realities surrounding ever...... as a useful and usable approach to empirical software engineering research. Throughout the paper, relevant examples of ethnographic studies of software practice are used to illustrate the points being made.......Ethnography is a qualitative research method used to study people and cultures. It is largely adopted in disciplines outside software engineering, including different areas of computer science. Ethnography can provide an in-depth understanding of the socio-technological realities surrounding...... everyday software development practice, i.e., it can help to uncover not only what practitioners do, but also why they do it. Despite its potential, ethnography has not been widely adopted by empirical software engineering researchers, and receives little attention in the related literature. The main goal...
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Debunking Confabulation : Emotions and the Significance of Empirical Psychology for Kantian Ethics
Kleingeld, Pauline; Cohen, Alix
2014-01-01
It is frequently argued that research findings in empirical moral psychology spell trouble for Kantian ethics. Sometimes the charge is merely that Kantianism is mistaken about the role of emotions in human action, but it has also been argued that empirical moral psychology ‘debunks’ Kantian ethics
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The empirical potential of live streaming beyond cognitive psychology
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alexander Nicolai Wendt
2017-03-01
Full Text Available Empirical methods of self-description, think aloud protocols and introspection have been extensively criticized or neglected in behaviorist and cognitivist psychology. Their methodological value has been fundamentally questioned since there apparently is no suficient proof for their validity. However, the major arguments against self-description can be critically reviewed by theoretical psychology. This way, these methods’ empirical value can be redeemed. Furthermore, self-descriptive methods can be updated by the use of contemporary media technology. In order to support the promising perspectives for future empirical research in the field of cognitive psychology, Live Streaming is proposed as a viable data source. Introducing this new paradigm, this paper presents some of the formal constituents and accessible contents of Live Streaming, and relates them to established forms of empirical research. By its structure and established usage, Live Streaming bears remarkable resemblances to the traditional methods of self-description, yet it also adds fruitful new features of use. On the basis of its qualities, the possible benefits that appear to be feasible in comparison with the traditional methods of self-description are elaborated, such as Live Streaming’s ecological validity. Ultimately, controversial theoretical concepts, such as those in phenomenology and cultural-historical psychology, are adopted to sketch further potential benefits of the utility of Live Streaming in current psychology debates.
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Empirical prediction of ash deposition propensities in coal-fired utilities
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Frandsen, F.
1997-01-01
This report contain an outline of some of the ash chemistry indices utilized in the EPREDEPO (Empirical PREdiction of DEPOsition) PC-program, version 1.0 (DEPO10), developed by Flemming Frandsen, The CHEC Research Programme, at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark. DEPO10 is a 1st generation FTN77 Fortran PC-programme designed to empirically predict ash deposition propensities in coal-fired utility boilers. Expectational data (empirical basis) from an EPRI-sponsored survey of ash deposition experiences at coal-fired utility boilers, performed by Battelle, have been tested for use on Danish coal chemistry - boiler operational conditions, in this study. (au) 31 refs.
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Some Preliminary Notes on an Empirical Test of Freud’s Theory on Depression
Desmet, Mattias
2012-01-01
A review of the literature indicates that empirical researchers have difficulty translating Freud’s theory on depression into appropriate research questions and hypotheses. In their attempt to do so, the level of complexity in Freud’s work is often lost. As a result, what is empirically tested is no more than a caricature of the original theory. To help researchers avoid such problems, this study presents a conceptual analysis of Freud’s theory of depression as it is presented in Mourning and Melancholia (Freud, 1917). In analyzing Freud’s theory on the etiology of depression, it is essential to differentiate between (1) an identification with the satisfying and frustrating aspects of the love object, (2) the inter- and an intrapersonal loss of the love object, and (3) conscious and unconscious dynamics. A schematic representation of the mechanism of depression is put forward and a research design by which this schema can be empirically investigated is outlined. PMID:23675357
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Some Preliminary Notes on an Empirical Test of Freud’s Theory on Depression
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mattias eDesmet
2013-05-01
Full Text Available A review of the literature indicates that empirical researchers have difficulty translating Freud’s theory on depression into appropriate research questions and hypotheses. In their attempt to do so, the level of complexity in Freud’s work is often lost. As a result, what is empirically tested is no more than a caricature of the original theory. To help researchers avoid such problems, this study presents a conceptual analysis of Freud’s theory of depression as it is presented in Mourning and Melancholia (Freud, 1917. In analyzing Freud’s theory on the etiology of depression, it is essential to differentiate between (1 an identification with the satisfying and frustrating aspects of the love object, (2 the inter- and an intrapersonal loss of the love object, and (3 conscious and unconscious dynamics. A schematic representation of the mechanism of depression is put forward and a research design by which this schema can be empirically investigated is outlined.
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Pluvials, Droughts, Energetics, and the Mongol Empire
Hessl, A. E.; Pederson, N.; Baatarbileg, N.
2012-12-01
The success of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous land empire the world has ever known, is a historical enigma. At its peak in the late 13th century, the empire influenced areas from the Hungary to southern Asia and Persia. Powered by domesticated herbivores, the Mongol Empire grew at the expense of agriculturalists in Eastern Europe, Persia, and China. What environmental factors contributed to the rise of the Mongols? What factors influenced the disintegration of the empire by 1300 CE? Until now, little high resolution environmental data have been available to address these questions. We use tree-ring records of past temperature and water to illuminate the role of energy and water in the evolution of the Mongol Empire. The study of energetics has long been applied to biological and ecological systems but has only recently become a theme in understanding modern coupled natural and human systems (CNH). Because water and energy are tightly linked in human and natural systems, studying their synergies and interactions make it possible to integrate knowledge across disciplines and human history, yielding important lessons for modern societies. We focus on the role of energy and water in the trajectory of an empire, including its rise, development, and demise. Our research is focused on the Orkhon Valley, seat of the Mongol Empire, where recent paleoenvironmental and archeological discoveries allow high resolution reconstructions of past human and environmental conditions for the first time. Our preliminary records indicate that the period 1210-1230 CE, the height of Chinggis Khan's reign is one of the longest and most consistent pluvials in our tree ring reconstruction of interannual drought. Reconstructed temperature derived from five millennium-long records from subalpine forests in Mongolia document warm temperatures beginning in the early 1200's and ending with a plunge into cold temperatures in 1260. Abrupt cooling in central Mongolia at this time is
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Academic Advising Systems: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Evidence
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Omiros Iatrellis
2017-12-01
Full Text Available This paper aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive background for understanding current knowledge on Academic Advising Systems (AAS and its impact on learning. It constitutes an overview of empirical evidence behind key objectives of the potential adoption of AAS in generic educational strategic planning. The researchers examined the literature on experimental case studies conducted in the domain during the past ten years (2008–2017. Search terms identified 98 mature pieces of research work, but inclusion criteria limited the key studies to 43. The authors analyzed the research questions, methodology, and findings of these published papers and categorized them accordingly. The results have highlighted three distinct major directions of the AAS empirical research. This paper discusses the emerged added value of AAS research and highlights the significance of further implications. Finally, the authors set their thoughts on possible uncharted key questions to investigate both from pedagogical and technical considerations.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Xiuping Wang
2017-11-01
Full Text Available Based on the relevant financial data indicators of A-share markets of Shanghai and Shenzhen in 2009, with all of 29 listed companies in the securities industry as the research objects, this paper selects 10variables that can fully reflect the financial capability indicators and uses the principal component analysis to carry out the empirical research on the financial capability. The research results show that the comprehensive financial capability of listed companies in A-share securities industry must be focused on the following four capabilities, investment and income, profit, capital composition and debt repayment and cash flow indicators. In addition, the principal component analysis can effectively evaluate the financial capability of listed companies in A-share securities industry, and solve the problems in the previous analysis methods, such as excessive indicators, information overlapping and so on.
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Empirically Based Myths: Astrology, Biorhythms, and ATIs.
Ragsdale, Ronald G.
1980-01-01
A myth may have an empirical basis through chance occurrence; perhaps Aptitude Treatment Interactions (ATIs) are in this category. While ATIs have great utility in describing, planning, and implementing instruction, few disordinal interactions have been found. Article suggests narrowing of ATI research with replications and estimates of effect…
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Essays in empirical industrial organization
Aguiar de Luque, Luis
2013-01-01
My PhD thesis consists of three chapters in Empirical Industrial Organization. The first two chapters focus on the relationship between firrm performance and specific public policies. In particular, we analyze the cases of cooperative research and development (R&D) in the European Union and the regulation of public transports in France. The third chapter focuses on copyright protection in the digital era and analyzes the relationship between legal and illegal consumption of di...
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Empirically Exploring Higher Education Cultures of Assessment
Fuller, Matthew B.; Skidmore, Susan T.; Bustamante, Rebecca M.; Holzweiss, Peggy C.
2016-01-01
Although touted as beneficial to student learning, cultures of assessment have not been examined adequately using validated instruments. Using data collected from a stratified, random sample (N = 370) of U.S. institutional research and assessment directors, the models tested in this study provide empirical support for the value of using the…
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The empirical turn in international legal scholarship
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gregory Shaffer
2015-07-01
Full Text Available This article presents and assesses a new wave of em- pirical research on international law. Recent scholar- ship has moved away from theoretical debates over whether international law “matters,” and focuses in- stead on exploring the conditions under which inter- national law is created and produces effects. As this empirical research program has matured, it has al- lowed for new, midlevel theorizing that we call “conditional international law theory”.
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Empirical Study on Learners' Self-Efficacy in ESL/EFL Context
Shi, Lihong
2016-01-01
With the popularity of learner-oriented approach in language teaching, research on learners is gaining more and more importance. This paper attempts to review the empirical researches on self-efficacy in the ESL/EFL settings during the past 10 years with the purpose of depicting the extent to which the self-efficacy research in ESL/EFL has…
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Parental alienation and the Brazilian justice system: an empirical approach
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Mariana Cunha de Andrade
2016-08-01
Full Text Available This research addresses the judiciary's role in the conflict resolution involving parental alienation. How the judiciary faces the allegations of parental alienation or sexual abuse? What is the predominant gender of alienating parents? What acts of parental alienation are alleged by the parties? Which measures the judges take to avoid parental alienation? The answers to these questions are gathered using an empirical research. For this purpose, we performed a data collection of cases involving parental alienation in the Courts of Appeal in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, between 2009 and 2014. It is a demographic and quantitative empirical study that seeks to provide an overview of actions involving the parental alienation phenomenon.
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The Role of Students’ Emotional Intelligence: Empirical Evidence
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Natalio Extremera Pacheco
2004-11-01
Full Text Available Emotional intelligence (EI has attracted great interest in the field of education as a vehicle to improve the socioemotional development of students. The first publications that appeared made a great number of claims about the positive influence of emotional intelligence in the classroom. The only problem was that not all these claims were coupled with empirical research to show, on the one hand, the predictive level of EI, and on the other hand, the actual role of EI in different areas of life. It has been only recently that the effect of a high level of EI exercises on people has been investigated. The object of this article is to examine the most relevant empirical research done within the educational setting, in order to collect the existing evidence for the influence of EI, evaluated by different instruments, in the personal, social and scholastic functioning of students.
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Lessons from empirical studies in product and service variety management.
Lyons, Andrew C.L.
2013-01-01
[EN] For many years, a trend for businesses has been to increase market segmentation and extend product and service-variety offerings in order to provid more choice for customers and gain a competitive advantags. However, there have been relatively few variety-related, empirical studies that have been undertaken. In this research, two empirical studies are presented that address the impact of product and service variety on business and business function performance. In the first (service-vari...
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The Role of Light and Music in Gambling Behaviour: An Empirical Pilot Study
Spenwyn, Jenny; Barrett, Doug J. K.; Griffiths, Mark D.
2010-01-01
Empirical research examining the situational characteristics of gambling and their effect on gambling behaviour is limited but growing. This experimental pilot investigation reports the first ever empirical study into the combined effects of both music and light on gambling behaviour. While playing an online version of roulette, 56 participants…
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An Empirical Investigation of Strategic Planning in QS Practices
Murphy, Roisin
2012-01-01
The benefit of engaging in strategic planning has been well documented over several decades of strategic management research. Despite the significant body of existing knowledge in the field, there remains a limited collection of empirically tested research pertaining to strategic planning within professional service firms (PSFs) in construction, particularly from an Irish context. The research is an exploratory study involving in-depth, semi-structured interviews and a widespread survey of...
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Plöntzke, Babett; Albrecht, Ulrike; Thalemann, Carolin; Grüsser, Sabine Miriam
2004-08-01
Gambling is one of the favourite leisure activities. 70-90 % of the grown-up population have gambled at least once in their life. Over the last few years, however, the variety of opportunities to gamble has changed. Decreasing numbers of casino visitors can be seen against an ever-increasing number of people using slot machines, and taking part in national lotteries and sport betting. Comprehensive empirical research regarding consumer behaviour and addiction potential involved in sport betting has been non-existent and only a few studies have dealt with lottery. In the present study, 108 subjects were questioned in Austrian betting offices. 33.3 % of the sample fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for pathological sport betting. Of the sport betting subjects who additionally play lottery, 22.92 % were diagnosed as being pathological lottery gamblers. Based on the criteria of substance addiction, the data demonstrate that sport betting and lottery have addiction potential and can therefore be seen as non-substance-related addiction.
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Balaji, M. S.; Chakrabarti, Diganta
2010-01-01
The present study contributes to the understanding of the effectiveness of online discussion forum in student learning. A conceptual model based on "theory of online learning" and "media richness theory" was proposed and empirically tested. We extend the current understanding of media richness theory to suggest that use of…
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Parrott, Andrew C
2014-03-01
Human Psychopharmacology recently published my review into the increase in empirical knowledge about the human psychobiology of MDMA over the past 25 years (Parrott, 2013a). Deficits have been demonstrated in retrospective memory, prospective memory, higher cognition, complex visual processing, sleep architecture, sleep apnoea, pain, neurohormonal activity, and psychiatric status. Neuroimaging studies have shown serotonergic deficits, which are associated with lifetime Ecstasy/MDMA usage, and degree of neurocognitive impairment. Basic psychological skills remain intact. Ecstasy/MDMA use by pregnant mothers leads to psychomotor impairments in the children. Hence, the damaging effects of Ecstasy/MDMA were far more widespread than was realized a few years ago. In their critique of my review, Doblin et al. (2014) argued that my review contained misstatements, omitted contrary findings, and recited dated misconceptions. In this reply, I have answered all the points they raised. I have been able to refute each of their criticisms by citing the relevant empirical data, since many of their points were based on inaccurate summaries of the actual research findings. Doblin and colleagues are proponents of the use of MDMA for drug-assisted psychotherapy, and their strongest criticisms were focused on my concerns about this proposal. However, again all the issues I raised were based on sound empirical evidence or theoretical understanding. Indeed I would recommend potentially far safer co-drugs such as D-cycloserine or oxytocin. In summary, MDMA can induce a wide range of neuropsychobiological changes, many of which are damaging to humans. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Supply chain strategy: empirical case study in Europe and Asia:
Sillanpää, Ilkka; Sillanpää, Sebastian
2014-01-01
The purpose of this case study research is to present a literature review of supply chain strategy approaches, develop supply chain strategy framework and to validate a framework in empirical case study. Literature review and case study research are the research methods for this research. This study presents the supply chain strategy framework which merges together business environment, corporate strategy, supply chain demand and supply chain strategy. Research argues that all the different c...
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A review of the empirical literature on Pay-What-You-Want price setting
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Gerpott Torsten J.
2016-12-01
Full Text Available In a Pay What You Want (PWYW setting companies empower their customers to fix the prices buyers voluntarily pay for a delivered product or service. The seller agrees to any price (including zero customers are paying. For about ten years researchers empirically investigate customer reactions to and economic outcomes of this pricing method. The present paper distinguishes PWYW from other voluntary payment mechanisms and reviews 72 English- or German-speaking PWYW publications, which appeared between January 2006 and September 2016 and contain 97 independent empirical data sets. Prior PWYW research is structured with the help of a conceptual framework which incorporates payment procedure design, buyer, seller, focal sales object and market context characteristics as factors potentially influencing customer perceptions of the PWYW scheme and their behavioral reactions to PWYW offers. The review discusses both consistent key findings as well as contradictory results and derives recommendations for future empirical PWYW research efforts.
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Connecting theoretical and empirical studies of trait-mediated interactions
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Bolker, B.; Holyoak, M.; Křivan, Vlastimil; Rowe, L.; Schmitz, O.
2003-01-01
Roč. 84, č. 5 (2003), s. 1101-1114 ISSN 0012-9658 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5007907 Keywords : community models * competition * empirical study Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 3.701, year: 2003
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paul V. Ellefson
2011-01-01
Full Text Available Transfer of technologies produced by research is critical to innovation within all organizations. The intent of this paper is to take stock of the conceptual underpinnings of technology transfer processes as they relate to wood utilization research and to identify conditions that promote the successful transfer of research results. Conceptually, research utilization can be viewed from multiple perspectives, including the haphazard diffusion of knowledge in response to vague and imprecise demands for information, scanning of multiple information sources by individuals and organizations searching for useful scientific knowledge, engagement of third parties to organize research results and communicate them to potential users, and ongoing and active collaboration between researchers and potential users of research. Empirical evidence suggests that various types of programs can promote technology transfer (venture capital, angel investors, business incubators, extension services, tax incentives, and in-house entities, the fundamental effectiveness of which depends on research results that are scientifically valid and consistent with the information needs of potential users. Furthermore, evidence suggests preference toward programs that are appropriately organized and governed, suitably led and creatively administered, and periodically evaluated in accordance with clear standards of success.
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Ethical and Epistemic Dilemmas in Empirically-Engaged Philosophy of Education
Newman, Anne; Glass, Ronald David
2015-01-01
This essay examines several ethical and epistemological issues that arise when philosophers conduct empirical research focused on, or in collaboration with, community groups seeking to bring about systemic change. This type of research can yield important policy lessons about effective community-driven reform and how to incorporate the voices of…
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Comparing empirical results of transaction avoidance rules studies
van Dijck, G.
2008-01-01
Empirical legal research in the UK and in the Netherlands has provided data on the extent to which the transaction avoidance rules (avoidance powers, actio Pauliana) generate practical problems. This article’s goal is to explore the similarities and differences of the data. To achieve this, existing
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Consumer trust in food safety--a multidisciplinary approach and empirical evidence from Taiwan.
Chen, Mei-Fang
2008-12-01
Food scandals that happened in recent years have increased consumers' risk perceptions of foods and decreased their trust in food safety. A better understanding of the consumer trust in food safety can improve the effectiveness of public policy and allow the development of the best practice in risk communication. This study proposes a research framework from a psychometric approach to investigate the relationships between the consumer's trust in food safety and the antecedents of risk perceptions of foods based on a reflexive modernization perspective and a cultural theory perspective in the hope of benefiting the future empirical study. The empirical results from a structural equation modeling analysis of Taiwan as a case in point reveal that this research framework based on a multidisciplinary perspective can be a valuable tool for a growing understanding of consumer trust in food safety. The antecedents in the psychometric research framework comprised reflexive modernization factors and cultural theory factors have all been supported in this study except the consumer's perception of pessimism toward food. Moreover, the empirical results of repeated measures analysis of variance give more detailed information to grasp empirical implications and to provide some suggestions to the actors and institutions involved in the food supply chain in Taiwan.
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A remark on empirical estimates in multistage stochastic programming
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Kaňková, Vlasta
2002-01-01
Roč. 9, č. 17 (2002), s. 31-50 ISSN 1212-074X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA402/01/0539; GA ČR GA402/02/1015; GA ČR GA402/01/0034 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1075907 Keywords : multistage stochastic programming * empirical estimates * Markov dependence Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Oleksandr Artemenko
2016-06-01
Full Text Available In this paper, we are choosing a suitable indoor-outdoor propagation model out of the existing models by considering path loss and distance as parameters. A path loss is calculated empirically by placing emitter nodes inside a building. A receiver placed outdoors is represented by a Quadrocopter (QC that receives beacon messages from indoor nodes. As per our analysis, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU model, Stanford University Interim (SUI model, COST-231 Hata model, Green-Obaidat model, Free Space model, Log-Distance Path Loss model and Electronic Communication Committee 33 (ECC-33 models are chosen and evaluated using empirical data collected in a real environment. The aim is to determine if the analytically chosen models fit our scenario by estimating the minimal standard deviation from the empirical data.
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“Empire is a state of mind” – Imagining Eurasia in Russia –
Vehkasalo, Veera Kaisa
2011-01-01
In this thesis I study the Neo-Eurasianist movement in Russia and the ways the activists of the movement construct Eurasia as a unified entity and an empire. The central research questions of this work are: What is the empire and what are its central motivations and themes? How is the idea of empire constructed or understood, and how can this be interpreted? What could be seen to be the effects of their ways of imagining Eurasia? My material consists of interviews that were collected during t...
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Appropriate methodologies for empirical bioethics: it's all relative.
Ives, Jonathan; Draper, Heather
2009-05-01
In this article we distinguish between philosophical bioethics (PB), descriptive policy orientated bioethics (DPOB) and normative policy oriented bioethics (NPOB). We argue that finding an appropriate methodology for combining empirical data and moral theory depends on what the aims of the research endeavour are, and that, for the most part, this combination is only required for NPOB. After briefly discussing the debate around the is/ought problem, and suggesting that both sides of this debate are misunderstanding one another (i.e. one side treats it as a conceptual problem, whilst the other treats it as an empirical claim), we outline and defend a methodological approach to NPOB based on work we have carried out on a project exploring the normative foundations of paternal rights and responsibilities. We suggest that given the prominent role already played by moral intuition in moral theory, one appropriate way to integrate empirical data and philosophical bioethics is to utilize empirically gathered lay intuition as the foundation for ethical reasoning in NPOB. The method we propose involves a modification of a long-established tradition on non-intervention in qualitative data gathering, combined with a form of reflective equilibrium where the demands of theory and data are given equal weight and a pragmatic compromise reached.
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Education, Internationalism and Empire at the 1928 and 1930 Pan-Pacific Women's Conferences
Goodman, Joyce
2014-01-01
In order to explore education at the first two Pan-Pacific Women's Conferences, this article builds on Campbell and Sherington's account of education in Oceania and on empirical research undertaken by Selleck and others, along with relevant primary source material. It traces elements of empire as they played out in inter-war women's education and…
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Owen, Art B
2001-01-01
Empirical likelihood provides inferences whose validity does not depend on specifying a parametric model for the data. Because it uses a likelihood, the method has certain inherent advantages over resampling methods: it uses the data to determine the shape of the confidence regions, and it makes it easy to combined data from multiple sources. It also facilitates incorporating side information, and it simplifies accounting for censored, truncated, or biased sampling.One of the first books published on the subject, Empirical Likelihood offers an in-depth treatment of this method for constructing confidence regions and testing hypotheses. The author applies empirical likelihood to a range of problems, from those as simple as setting a confidence region for a univariate mean under IID sampling, to problems defined through smooth functions of means, regression models, generalized linear models, estimating equations, or kernel smooths, and to sampling with non-identically distributed data. Abundant figures offer vi...
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Stevick, E. Doyle; Michaels, Deborah L.
2013-01-01
A scenario of Holocaust education gone awry, which was constructed from a real event in one author's experience, and a 2010 critique of Holocaust education by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, are used to explore key issues and dilemmas for Holocaust education. The authors argue that we should pursue clarity about the empirical and moral…
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Dissociative identity disorder: An empirical overview.
Dorahy, Martin J; Brand, Bethany L; Sar, Vedat; Krüger, Christa; Stavropoulos, Pam; Martínez-Taboas, Alfonso; Lewis-Fernández, Roberto; Middleton, Warwick
2014-05-01
Despite its long and auspicious place in the history of psychiatry, dissociative identity disorder (DID) has been associated with controversy. This paper aims to examine the empirical data related to DID and outline the contextual challenges to its scientific investigation. The overview is limited to DID-specific research in which one or more of the following conditions are met: (i) a sample of participants with DID was systematically investigated, (ii) psychometrically-sound measures were utilised, (iii) comparisons were made with other samples, (iv) DID was differentiated from other disorders, including other dissociative disorders, (v) extraneous variables were controlled or (vi) DID diagnosis was confirmed. Following an examination of challenges to research, data are organised around the validity and phenomenology of DID, its aetiology and epidemiology, the neurobiological and cognitive correlates of the disorder, and finally its treatment. DID was found to be a complex yet valid disorder across a range of markers. It can be accurately discriminated from other disorders, especially when structured diagnostic interviews assess identity alterations and amnesia. DID is aetiologically associated with a complex combination of developmental and cultural factors, including severe childhood relational trauma. The prevalence of DID appears highest in emergency psychiatric settings and affects approximately 1% of the general population. Psychobiological studies are beginning to identify clear correlates of DID associated with diverse brain areas and cognitive functions. They are also providing an understanding of the potential metacognitive origins of amnesia. Phase-oriented empirically-guided treatments are emerging for DID. The empirical literature on DID is accumulating, although some areas remain under-investigated. Existing data show DID as a complex, valid and not uncommon disorder, associated with developmental and cultural variables, that is amenable to
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Empirical Test Case Specification
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kalyanova, Olena; Heiselberg, Per
This document includes the empirical specification on the IEA task of evaluation building energy simulation computer programs for the Double Skin Facades (DSF) constructions. There are two approaches involved into this procedure, one is the comparative approach and another is the empirical one. I....... In the comparative approach the outcomes of different software tools are compared, while in the empirical approach the modelling results are compared with the results of experimental test cases....
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Working Capital Management and Firm Profitability. Empirical Evidence for the Romanian Industry
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Miloş Marius Cristian
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The paper aims on empirically testing the connection between a firm's liquidity, or else a firm's ability to manage short-term liabilities, without undue stress and its profitability. We are using both a static and dynamic measure of firm liquidity: the traditional current liquidity ratio alongside one of the most frequent used working capital management indicator, the cash conversion cycle. An empirical analysis is performed based on 50 listed companies from Bucharest Stock Exchange, covering various industries. The empirical results are confirming the previous research that has confirmed the negative connection between the days sales outstanding (DSO, respectively the days inventory outstanding (DIO and the profitability of the firm, while cash conversion cycle seems to be positively connected with the firm profitability, in contradiction with some of the previous empirical literature.
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Intrapreneur organizational culture and gender manager: an empirical study on SMES
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Monica García Solarte
2015-07-01
Full Text Available The aim of this research is to empirically identify the relationship between the gender manager of the SMEs and the characteristics of the intrapreneurculture. The empirical study was conducted using a sample of 600 SMEs in the region of Murcia (Spain. The intrapreneur culture is analyzed considering theclassification of Galvez and Garcia (2011. The results show that companies The results show that companies directed by women promoted greater extentthan men intrapreneur characteristics of culture such as: autonomy and risk taking, teamwork, compensation and support to management. The implicationsof our research are relevant and can help public authorities and managers to the analysis and development of policies that promote gender equity withinorganizations.
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GIS Teacher Training: Empirically-Based Indicators of Effectiveness
Höhnle, Steffen; Fögele, Janis; Mehren, Rainer; Schubert, Jan Christoph
2016-01-01
In spite of various actions, the implementation of GIS (geographic information systems) in German schools is still very low. In the presented research, teaching experts as well as teaching novices were presented with empirically based constraints for implementation stemming from an earlier survey. In the process of various group discussions, the…
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From micro data to causality: Forty years of empirical labor economics
van der Klaauw, B.
2014-01-01
This overview describes the development of methods for empirical research in the field of labor economics during the past four decades. This period is characterized by the use of micro data to answer policy relevant research question. Prominent in the literature is the search for exogenous variation
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Empirical Asset Pricing: Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen, and Robert Shiller
Campbell, John Y.
2016-01-01
The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for 2013 was awarded to Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen, and Robert Shiller for their contributions to the empirical study of asset pricing. Some observers have found it hard to understand the common elements of the laureates research, preferring to highlight areas of disagreement among them. This paper argues that empirical asset pricing is a coherent enterprise, which owes much to the laureates seminal contributions, and that important themes in ...
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Empirical Support for Perceptual Conceptualism
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Nicolás Alejandro Serrano
2018-03-01
Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to show that perceptual conceptualism can be understood as an empirically meaningful position and, furthermore, that there is some degree of empirical support for its main theses. In order to do this, I will start by offering an empirical reading of the conceptualist position, and making three predictions from it. Then, I will consider recent experimental results from cognitive sciences that seem to point towards those predictions. I will conclude that, while the evidence offered by those experiments is far from decisive, it is enough not only to show that conceptualism is an empirically meaningful position but also that there is empirical support for it.
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YOUTH STUDIES – A SPECIFIC GENRE OF THE EMPIRICAL PARADIGM IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Agnė Dorelaitienė
2017-09-01
Full Text Available The article presents the situation of youth in contemporary society. Neoliberal economy, ageing society, rapid globalisation, technological changes, increase of social risk have prompted specific, historically unfamiliar, and fairly difficult to forecast social change. Social adaptation and construction of own identity are becoming challenging to youth as a specific social group in this period of great uncertainty, risk, and opportunities. Youth studies are referred to as one of the means to help understand the youth phenomenon and form the respective policy. Aim of the article is to reveal the role of youth studies as a specific interdisciplinary genre of the empirical-analytic paradigm in social sciences. Research objectives: (1 To identify the traditions of youth studies and differences between them; (2. To reveal the specific character of youth studies as an empirical paradigm in the contemporary context. Analysis of scientific sources and document analysis are used for achievement of the goal and objectives. Since the 20th century, youth studies have been developing as an independent research discipline and tradition. Perception of the notion of a young person has been changing along with development of the paradigmatic and methodological research traditions. Modernity has doubtlessly contributed to a young person finding his/her place in other age groups and putting an emphasis on the importance of youth as a specific social group. Recently, youth has been viewed as both the risk and the opportunity group. Although qualitative research, in particular, where youth emancipation is aspired, prevails in the contemporary research tradition, the empirical-analytic paradigm has not lost its relevance. The research has demonstrated that empirical-analytic paradigm is a specific genre of the youth studies characterised by quantitative approach and strong link to politics and practical situation of the phenomenon.
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Andersson, Patric
2004-01-01
In this manuscript, empirical research on performance of various types of financial experts is reviewed. Financial experts are used as the umbrella term for financial analysts, stockbrokers, money managers, investors, and day-traders etc. The goal of the review is to find out about the abilities of financial experts to produce accurate forecasts, to issue profitable stock recommendations, as well as to make successful investments and trades. On the whole, the reviewed studies show discouragin...
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Empirical Investigation of Key Business Factors for Digital Game Performance
Aleem, Saiqa; Capretz, Luiz Fernando; Ahmed, Faheem
2015-01-01
Game development is an interdisciplinary concept that embraces software engineering, business, management, and artistic disciplines. This research facilitates a better understanding of the business dimension of digital games. The main objective of this research is to investigate empirically the effect of business factors on the performance of digital games in the market and to answer the research questions asked in this study. Game development organizations are facing high pressure and compet...
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An anthology of theories and models of design philosophy, approaches and empirical explorations
Blessing, Lucienne
2014-01-01
While investigations into both theories and models has remained a major strand of engineering design research, current literature sorely lacks a reference book that provides a comprehensive and up-to-date anthology of theories and models, and their philosophical and empirical underpinnings; An Anthology of Theories and Models of Design fills this gap. The text collects the expert views of an international authorship, covering: · significant theories in engineering design, including CK theory, domain theory, and the theory of technical systems; · current models of design, from a function behavior structure model to an integrated model; · important empirical research findings from studies into design; and · philosophical underpinnings of design itself. For educators and researchers in engineering design, An Anthology of Theories and Models of Design gives access to in-depth coverage of theoretical and empirical developments in this area; for pr...
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Victorian naturalists in China: science and informal empire.
Fan, Fa-ti
2003-03-01
This paper discusses the research of British naturalists in China during the period between the Opium War and the collapse of the Qing dynasty (1839-1911). China was defeated in the Opium War and forced to open treaty ports for trade with the Westerners. The foreign powers, particularly Britain, imposed upon the Qing government treaties, concession leases, favourable trade conditions, legal privileges and so on to reduce its political autonomy. In the shadow of the informal empire, not only did the British have more freedom to travel in China, first at the treaty ports and later in the interior, but they successively established diplomatic , commercial and missionary institutions in dozens of Chinese cities. The most important of them - the British Consular Service, the Chinese Maritime Customs and the Protestant missionary organizations - provided the talent and infrastructure for natural historical research and became networks for scientific information. The research into China's natural history epitomized the characteristics of British research on China in general: it engaged in collecting and circulating an ever-increasing amount of information and aimed at producing 'factual' and 'useful' knowledge about China. The paper modified current literature on scientific imperialism, which has dealt primarily with the colonial context, by examining the role of nineteenth-century British imperial science in the context of informal empire.
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Navigating Instructional Dialectics: Empirical Exploration of Paradox in Teaching
Thompson, Blair; Rudick, C. Kyle; Kerssen-Griep, Jeff; Golsan, Kathryn
2018-01-01
Navigating contradiction represents an integral part of the teaching process. While educational literature has discussed the paradoxes that teachers experience in the classroom, minimal empirical research has analyzed the strategies teachers employ to address these paradoxes. Using relational dialectics as a theoretical framework for understanding…
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A comparison of social accounting between local public healthcare services:An empirical research
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paolo Ursillo
2010-03-01
Full Text Available
Introduction: Social accounting in healthcare is a quantitative–qualitative accounting tool which marks the bond between the business and its social background. It displays healthcare business results and information to the stakeholder. Actually, its use is not widespread in Italy, but often published in United States and other Countries.
Methods: This work is based upon an empirical research, studying social accounting from Local Health Units (LHU, Italian ASL of Adria, Brindisi, Firenze and Umbria region published between 2006 and 2008. These documents have been analyzed, studying the business’ structure, healthcare services, social and economical conditions, financial status, performance indexes and much more data about most company activities.
Results: Accountability in Italy has been studied carefully through longitudinal and cross sectional analysis, observing models and contents, elaborating a concrete proposal for social accounting.
Discussion: Social accounting in healthcare can guarantee important information for non-expert users and expert technicians, allowing the former to take more conscious decisions, and the latter to study its business aspects more deeply. This is made possible by the consideration of extended economical data available in other accountability forms (like annual financial statement, and other performance indexes which give valuable data about social impact, efficiency and effectiveness to the end user.
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Center for Information Systems Research Research Briefings 2002
ROSS, JEANNE W.
2003-01-01
This paper is comprised of research briefings from the MIT Sloan School of Management's Center for Information Systems Research (CISR). CISR's mission is to perform practical empirical research on how firms generate business value from IT.
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Nudges and coercion: conceptual, empirical, and normative considerations.
Cratsley, Kelso
2015-01-01
Given that the concept of coercion remains a central concern for bioethics, Quigley's (Monash Bioethics Rev 32:141-158, 2014) recent article provides a helpful analysis of its frequent misapplication in debates over the use of 'nudges'. In this commentary I present a generally sympathetic response to Quigley's argument while also raising several issues that are important for the larger debates about nudges and coercion. I focus on several closely related topics, including the definition of coercion, the role of empirical research, and the normative concerns at the core of these disputes. I suggest that while a degree of precision is certainly required when deploying the relevant concepts, perhaps informed by empirical data, we need to continue to push these debates towards more pressing normative considerations.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tomasz Norek
2013-01-01
Full Text Available The essence and the importance of innovation in the process of building the competitiveness of enterprises is widely described in the economic literature. But the analysis of innovative activity of companies very often indicates that the innovations introduced to the market do not bring the expected benefits. This leads to the conclusion that very often innovation activities of enterprises are inefficient. And detailed analysis of such cases can identify the key barriers to implementing effective innovation.The modern model for the innovative activity indicates that one of the key factors for success of innovative activity of enterprises is properly implemented the introduction of new solutions to market. The problem of diffusion of innovation involves a number of issues related to the process of spreading and promoting innovation in the market. It is widely recognized that the powers of innovation diffusion is an important determinant of the capacity of firms.Author posed the following research hypothese: Innovative activities carried out by the surveyed companies is inefficient.The purpose of this paper is to present the problems associated with effective diffusion of innovation in the SME sector business activity in Poland, with particular emphasis on the barriers in this area. Commonly available statistical data, the author’s empirical research results from the period 2009–2012 and results of other studies conducted by the University of Szczecin were used to prepare this publication.
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Empirical projection-based basis-component decomposition method
Brendel, Bernhard; Roessl, Ewald; Schlomka, Jens-Peter; Proksa, Roland
2009-02-01
Advances in the development of semiconductor based, photon-counting x-ray detectors stimulate research in the domain of energy-resolving pre-clinical and clinical computed tomography (CT). For counting detectors acquiring x-ray attenuation in at least three different energy windows, an extended basis component decomposition can be performed in which in addition to the conventional approach of Alvarez and Macovski a third basis component is introduced, e.g., a gadolinium based CT contrast material. After the decomposition of the measured projection data into the basis component projections, conventional filtered-backprojection reconstruction is performed to obtain the basis-component images. In recent work, this basis component decomposition was obtained by maximizing the likelihood-function of the measurements. This procedure is time consuming and often unstable for excessively noisy data or low intrinsic energy resolution of the detector. Therefore, alternative procedures are of interest. Here, we introduce a generalization of the idea of empirical dual-energy processing published by Stenner et al. to multi-energy, photon-counting CT raw data. Instead of working in the image-domain, we use prior spectral knowledge about the acquisition system (tube spectra, bin sensitivities) to parameterize the line-integrals of the basis component decomposition directly in the projection domain. We compare this empirical approach with the maximum-likelihood (ML) approach considering image noise and image bias (artifacts) and see that only moderate noise increase is to be expected for small bias in the empirical approach. Given the drastic reduction of pre-processing time, the empirical approach is considered a viable alternative to the ML approach.
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Choice of Foreign Market Entry Mode - Cognitions from Empirical and Theoretical Studies
Zhao, Xuemin; Decker, Reinhold
2004-01-01
This paper analyzes critically five basic theories on market entry mode decision with respect to existing strengths and weaknesses and the results of corresponding empirical studies. Starting from conflictions both in theories and empirical studies dealing with the entry mode choice problem we motivate a significant need of further research in this important area of international marketing. Furthermore we provide implications for managers in practice and outline emerging trends in market entr...
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Is knowledge important? Empirical research on nuclear risk communication in two countries.
Perko, Tanja; Zeleznik, Nadja; Turcanu, Catrinel; Thijssen, Peter
2012-06-01
Increasing audience knowledge is often set as a primary objective of risk communication efforts. But is it worthwhile focusing risk communication strategies solely on enhancing specific knowledge? The main research questions tackled in this paper were: (1) if prior audience knowledge related to specific radiation risks is influential for the perception of these risks and the acceptance of communicated messages and (2) if gender, attitudes, risk perception of other radiation risks, confidence in authorities, and living in the vicinity of nuclear/radiological installations may also play an important role in this matter. The goal of this study was to test empirically the mentioned predictors in two independent case studies in different countries. The first case study was an information campaign for iodine pre-distribution in Belgium (N = 1035). The second was the information campaign on long-term radioactive waste disposal in Slovenia (N = 1,200). In both cases, recurrent and intensive communication campaigns were carried out by the authorities aiming, among other things, at increasing specific audience knowledge. Results show that higher prior audience knowledge leads to more willingness to accept communicated messages, but it does not affect people’s perception of the specific risk communicated. In addition, the influence of prior audience knowledge on the acceptance of communicated messages is shown to be no stronger than that of general radiation risk perception. The results in both case studies suggest that effective risk communication has to focus not only on knowledge but also on other more heuristic predictors, such as risk perception or attitudes toward communicated risks.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
A watershed moment of the twentieth century, the end of empire saw upheavals to global power structures and national identities. However, decolonisation profoundly affected individual subjectivities too. Life Writing After Empire examines how people around the globe have made sense of the post...... in order to understand how individual life writing reflects broader societal changes. From far-flung corners of the former British Empire, people have turned to life writing to manage painful or nostalgic memories, as well as to think about the past and future of the nation anew through the personal...
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The value of replicationg the data analysis of an empirical evaluation
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The aim of this research was to determine whether the results of an empirical evaluation could be confirmed using a different evaluation method. In this investigation the Qualitative Weight and Sum method used by the researchers Graf and List to evaluate several free and open source e-learning software platforms, were ...
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Processes of concentration of wholesale trade in poland in the light of empirical research
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Szymon Strojny
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Background: The increasing role of trade as the integrator of distribution channels has been observed in Poland recently. Retail companies have gained a competitive advantage in relationships with both suppliers and recipients. The natural questions are, how the situation of the wholesale trade looks at present in such a situation and what prospects it has for the future. The main aim of this paper is to identify and describe the influence of new conditions on the development of the wholesale trade as part of the supply chain. The hypothesis was assumed that this development is determined by processes related to the concentration of trade companies, which were also visiblerecently in Poland. Methods: The main concentration processes in Polish trade were identified based on a literature review and previous research. Then, based on the results of a survey and data obtained from the Central Statistical Office, the influence of these trends on the development of wholesale trade was evaluated. The further directions of changes in Polish wholesale trade were also indicated. Empirical research was conducted by the use of a direct interview with a random sample of 108 wholesale companies, both independent and as part of chains. The research focused on wholesalers' opinions of market trends and integration processes in Polish wholesale trade and cover the years 2014-15. Results: The results show the key market processes with regard to trade concentration. The biggest threats to the development of the wholesale trade are the processes of the horizontal concentration in retail. The concentration of retail companies leads to a shortening of the distribution channels and direct purchases from producers omitting the wholesale stage. Despite these threats, wholesalers describe their situation as good, and their opinion can be confirmed in data provided by the Central Statistical Office. Conclusions: The market processes identified must be taken into
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Researchers' Incentives and the Dearth of Practical Research Results.
Armstrong, David G.
1980-01-01
Educational researchers have been influenced too much by research schema derived from the assumptions of empirical researchers in the sciences. Theory building should be sacrificed for the development of research products with clearer, more concrete relevance for teachers. (JN)
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Empirical techniques in finance
Bhar, Ramaprasad
2005-01-01
This book offers the opportunity to study and experience advanced empi- cal techniques in finance and in general financial economics. It is not only suitable for students with an interest in the field, it is also highly rec- mended for academic researchers as well as the researchers in the industry. The book focuses on the contemporary empirical techniques used in the analysis of financial markets and how these are implemented using actual market data. With an emphasis on Implementation, this book helps foc- ing on strategies for rigorously combing finance theory and modeling technology to extend extant considerations in the literature. The main aim of this book is to equip the readers with an array of tools and techniques that will allow them to explore financial market problems with a fresh perspective. In this sense it is not another volume in eco- metrics. Of course, the traditional econometric methods are still valid and important; the contents of this book will bring in other related modeling topics tha...
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Peggs, S.; Talman, R.
1987-01-01
As proton accelerators get larger, and include more magnets, the conventional tracking programs which simulate them run slower. The purpose of this paper is to describe a method, still under development, in which element-by-element tracking around one turn is replaced by a single man, which can be processed far faster. It is assumed for this method that a conventional program exists which can perform faithful tracking in the lattice under study for some hundreds of turns, with all lattice parameters held constant. An empirical map is then generated by comparison with the tracking program. A procedure has been outlined for determining an empirical Hamiltonian, which can represent motion through many nonlinear kicks, by taking data from a conventional tracking program. Though derived by an approximate method this Hamiltonian is analytic in form and can be subjected to further analysis of varying degrees of mathematical rigor. Even though the empirical procedure has only been described in one transverse dimension, there is good reason to hope that it can be extended to include two transverse dimensions, so that it can become a more practical tool in realistic cases
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Empire as a Geopolitical Figure
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Parker, Noel
2010-01-01
This article analyses the ingredients of empire as a pattern of order with geopolitical effects. Noting the imperial form's proclivity for expansion from a critical reading of historical sociology, the article argues that the principal manifestation of earlier geopolitics lay not in the nation...... but in empire. That in turn has been driven by a view of the world as disorderly and open to the ordering will of empires (emanating, at the time of geopolitics' inception, from Europe). One implication is that empires are likely to figure in the geopolitical ordering of the globe at all times, in particular...... after all that has happened in the late twentieth century to undermine nationalism and the national state. Empire is indeed a probable, even for some an attractive form of regime for extending order over the disorder produced by globalisation. Geopolitics articulated in imperial expansion is likely...
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Rogiest, Sofie; Segers, Jesse; Witteloostuijn, van, Arjen
2018-01-01
Abstract: Although leadership is generally considered an important lever to increase commitment during organizational change, empirical research has yet to unravel many of the underlying mechanisms. In this paper, we propose that the impact of participative leadership on affective commitment to change will be contingent on employees orientation toward leadership. In our empirical study in two police organizations, we find evidence that followers orientation toward leadership is a useful inter...
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Social Justice Advocacy among Graduate Students: An Empirical Investigation
Linnemeyer, Rachel McQuown
2009-01-01
Although social justice advocacy has increasingly been acknowledged as important in the field of psychology (e.g., Goodman et al., 2004; Toporek et al., 2006a, Vera & Speight, 2003), there is a dearth of empirical research examining social justice advocacy across graduate psychology students. This mixed-methods study examined demographic and…
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Decoupling among CSR policies, programs, and impacts : An empirical study
Graafland, Johan; Smid, Hugo
2016-01-01
There are relatively few empirical studies on the impacts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and programs. This article addresses the research gap by analyzing the incidence of, and the conditions that affect, decoupling (defined as divergence) among CSR policies, implementation of
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Researching wicked problems in a construction project
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jacobsen, Peter Holm
(Lave, 1988) and critical psychology (Axel, 2002; Dreier, 2008; Højholt & Kousholt, 2011). Situated learning theories have developed some valuable methodologies that can be used to study learning as an aspect of social practices and critical psychology have expanded theories of situated learning...... be elaborated more upon (Pink et. al., 2010). Getting access, formulating strategies for analyses, finding concepts and selecting methods such as participant observations and interviews are often problematic aspects, that influences the knowledge that researchers produces in a number of ways that relates...... to empirical research. I will argue that uncertainty is an important aspect of doing empirical research because the empirical research is a part of a situated learning process and that uncertain situations are a central part of conducting empirical research. I will use an example from my study of the early...
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An Empirical Study of Audit Expectation Gap in Hungary
Judit Füredi-Fülöp
2015-01-01
The audit expectation gap has preoccupied the finance and accounting profession for a long time. Considerable research has been conducted into this issue and attempts have been made to provide an accurate definition of the audit expectation gap, model this concept and assess the possibilities of its narrowing. Also, a number of studies investigate whether there is an audit expectation gap in several researched regions. The objectives of empirical studies on the structure and nature of the aud...
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Is Economics an Empirical Science? If not, can it become one?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sergio Mario Focardi
2015-07-01
Full Text Available Today’s mainstream economics, embodied in Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE models, cannot be considered an empirical science in the modern sense of the term: it is not based on empirical data, is not descriptive of the real-world economy, and has little forecasting power. In this paper, I begin with a review of the weaknesses of neoclassical economic theory and argue for a truly scientific theory based on data, the sine qua non of bringing economics into the realm of an empirical science. But I suggest that, before embarking on this endeavor, we first need to analyze the epistemological problems of economics to understand what research questions we can reasonably ask our theory to address.. I then discuss new approaches which hold the promise of bringing economics closer to being an empirical science. Among the approaches discussed are the study of economies as complex systems, econometrics and econophysics, artificial economics made up of multiple interacting agents as well as attempts being made inside present main stream theory to more closely align the theory with the real world
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Debunking Confabulation: Emotions and the Significance of Empirical Psychology for Kantian Ethics
Kleingeld, Pauline; Cohen, Alix
2014-01-01
It is frequently argued that research findings in empirical moral psychology spell trouble for Kantian ethics. Sometimes the charge is merely that Kantianism is mistaken about the role of emotions in human action, but it has also been argued that empirical moral psychology ‘debunks’ Kantian ethics as the product of precisely the emotion-driven processes it fails to acknowledge. In this essay I argue for a negative and a positive thesis. The negative thesis is that the ‘debunking’ argument aga...
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Theological reflections on empire
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Allan A. Boesak
2009-11-01
Full Text Available Since the meeting of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Accra, Ghana (2004, and the adoption of the Accra Declaration, a debate has been raging in the churches about globalisation, socio-economic justice, ecological responsibility, political and cultural domination and globalised war. Central to this debate is the concept of empire and the way the United States is increasingly becoming its embodiment. Is the United States a global empire? This article argues that the United States has indeed become the expression of a modern empire and that this reality has considerable consequences, not just for global economics and politics but for theological refl ection as well.
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Intuition in Decision Making –Theoretical and Empirical Aspects
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kamila Malewska
2015-11-01
Full Text Available In an economy dominated by information and knowledge, analysis ceases to be the sole and sufficient source of knowledge. Managers seek alternative ways of obtaining and interpreting information and knowledge. Here, managerial intuitive potential begins to play an important role. The aim of this paper is to present the issue of intuition in decision making in both theoretical and empirical terms. The first part presents the essence of intuition and its role in management, especially in decision making. Then, the empirical part attempts to identify the intuitive potential of managers and the extent of its use in practical decision making. The case study method was used in order to achieve this goal. The analysis involved a Polish food company “Fawor” that employs more than 300 workers. These literature and empirical studies in the area of intuition were conducted within the research project „The impact of managerial intuitive potential on the effectiveness of decision making processes”, financed by the National Science Centre, Poland (funds allocated on the basis of decision No. DEC-2014/13/D/HS4/01750
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Towards an empirical ethics in care: relations with technologies in health care.
Pols, Jeannette
2015-02-01
This paper describes the approach of empirical ethics, a form of ethics that integrates non-positivist ethnographic empirical research and philosophy. Empirical ethics as it is discussed here builds on the 'empirical turn' in epistemology. It radicalizes the relational approach that care ethics introduced to think about care between people by drawing in relations between people and technologies as things people relate to. Empirical ethics studies care practices by analysing their intra-normativity, or the ways of living together the actors within these practices strive for or bring about as good practices. Different from care ethics, what care is and if it is good is not defined beforehand. A care practice may be contested by comparing it to alternative practices with different notions of good care. By contrasting practices as different ways of living together that are normatively oriented, suggestions for the best possible care may be argued for. Whether these suggestions will actually be put to practice is, however, again a relational question; new actors need to re-localize suggestions, to make them work in new practices and fit them in with local intra-normativities with their particular routines, material infrastructures, know-how and strivings.
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Architecture Between Mind and Empirical Experience
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shatha Abbas Hassan
2016-10-01
Full Text Available The research aims to identify the level of balance in the architectural thought influenced by the rational type human consciousness, the materialistic based on the Empirical type, moral based on human experience as source of knowledge. This was reflected in architecture in the specialized thought that the mind is the source of knowledge which explains the phenomena of life. The rational approach based on objectivity and methodology in (Form Production, the other approach is based on subjectivity in form production (Form Inspiration. The research problem is that there is imbalance in the relationship between the rational side and the human experience in architecture, which led into imbalance between theory and application in architecture according to architectural movements.
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Mayr, Toni; Ulich, Michaela
2009-01-01
Compared with the traditional focus on developmental problems, research on positive development is relatively new. Empirical research in children's well-being has been scarce. The aim of this study was to develop a theoretically and empirically based instrument for practitioners to observe and assess preschool children's well-being in early…
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Empirical methods for estimating future climatic conditions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Anon.
1990-01-01
Applying the empirical approach permits the derivation of estimates of the future climate that are nearly independent of conclusions based on theoretical (model) estimates. This creates an opportunity to compare these results with those derived from the model simulations of the forthcoming changes in climate, thus increasing confidence in areas of agreement and focusing research attention on areas of disagreements. The premise underlying this approach for predicting anthropogenic climate change is based on associating the conditions of the climatic optimums of the Holocene, Eemian, and Pliocene with corresponding stages of the projected increase of mean global surface air temperature. Provided that certain assumptions are fulfilled in matching the value of the increased mean temperature for a certain epoch with the model-projected change in global mean temperature in the future, the empirical approach suggests that relationships leading to the regional variations in air temperature and other meteorological elements could be deduced and interpreted based on use of empirical data describing climatic conditions for past warm epochs. Considerable care must be taken, of course, in making use of these spatial relationships, especially in accounting for possible large-scale differences that might, in some cases, result from different factors contributing to past climate changes than future changes and, in other cases, might result from the possible influences of changes in orography and geography on regional climatic conditions over time
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Ranking Multivariate GARCH Models by Problem Dimension: An Empirical Evaluation
M. Caporin (Massimiliano); M.J. McAleer (Michael)
2011-01-01
textabstractIn the last 15 years, several Multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) models have appeared in the literature. Recent research has begun to examine MGARCH specifications in terms of their out-of-sample forecasting performance. In this paper, we provide an empirical comparison of a set of models,
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ACCOUNTING MANIPULATION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY REGARDING MANAGERS’ BEHAVIOR
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Balaciu Diana Elisabeta
2014-07-01
Full Text Available The study analyses managers’ behaviour from Romania when dealing with creative accounting. For this we realized an empirical study within the Arad county space, having as main objective the identification of the managers’ perception regarding the usefulness of accounting information and of other factors considered when making decisions. Another aspect was to interpret the managers’ tendency towards manipulation or strategic management of results. The empirical research was carried out between December 2013 and January 2014, and the research method used was the survey, and as an instrument of the research we used the questionnaire. The questionnaires were posted on a website but some of them were applied directly in the field to ensure a response rate of at least 30%. For the analysis and confirmation of the feasibility of the questionnaire and of the measurement scale, we used Cronbach Alpha method. The results obtained after statistically processing the answers received from respondents and after testing the research hypotheses show that there is an increased interest of the managers from the investigated Arad firms to improve the quality of the financial accounting information and to give the users as beautiful an image as possible of the company’s performances; it is noticed their inclination to the manipulation of the accounting figures. On the other hand the results obtained demonstrate that, despite the fact that most of the managers from the sample consider that using ethics is a priority in making decisions, this idea is not an obstacle for more than a half to change an accounting policy that would affect the true image but would be favorable to the image of the company The utility of such research contributes to the insurance of the premises for the development of future research, looking to test the reaction of the professional accountants in our country, regarding the phenomenon of creative accounting.
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Eugene N. Anderson
2016-01-01
The Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire the world has ever known, had, among other things, a goodly number of falconers, poultry raisers, birdcatchers, cooks, and other experts on various aspects of birding. We have records of this, largely in the Yinshan Zhengyao, the court nutrition manual of the Mongol empire in China (the Yuan Dynasty). It discusses in some detail 22 bird taxa, from swans to chickens. The Huihui Yaofang, a medical encyclopedia, lists ten taxa used medicinally. Ma...
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The Evaluation of Innovation in the IT Service Sector: Methodological and Empirical Aspects
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eglė Kazlauskienė
2013-08-01
Full Text Available Purpose — Nowadays services are comprehended as the key factor for economic activity, growth and employment. Developed economies are service-dominated though little is known about the innovation details in the service sector and this study field has been neglected for a while. The innovation in service sector activities needs to be thoroughly evaluated because innovation is an interconnected process and cannot be defined using one or few indicators. IT services are an integral part of contemporary life, particularly for business. It can be introduced and implemented in all fields, especially when the world is becoming more multidimensional. Innovation performance in the IT sector has been under-researched, despite the fact that IT service sector plays the innovation disseminator role in other sectors by appliance of IT products. Design/methodology/approach — Based on scientific literature and methodological aspects analyses, an empirical research methodology was designed and the qualitative research on innovation in information technology service sector was accomplished. Findings — The article presents methodological aspects of innovation evaluation in service sector and empirical aspects on innovation implementation and development in the IT service companies in Lithuania. Research limitations/implications — For more comprehensive understanding of innovation in service sector, especially in IT services, the theory of service innovation is necessary. Deeper understanding and perspectives on how innovation benefits the information technology sector should be revealed in further researches and the multi-country analysis is needed. Practical implications — The finding of the paper can be used to improve the development of innovation in information technology service companies and create a model for more exhaustive multi-country empirical researches. Originality/value — The impact of innovation and its development in information
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Wireless and empire geopolitics radio industry and ionosphere in the British Empire 1918-1939
Anduaga, Aitor
2009-01-01
Although the product of consensus politics, the British Empire was based on communications supremacy and the knowledge of the atmosphere. Focusing on science, industry, government, the military, and education, this book studies the relationship between wireless and Empire throughout the interwar period.
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Integrating social science into empirical models of coupled human and natural systems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jeffrey D. Kline
2017-09-01
Full Text Available Coupled human and natural systems (CHANS research highlights reciprocal interactions (or feedbacks between biophysical and socioeconomic variables to explain system dynamics and resilience. Empirical models often are used to test hypotheses and apply theory that represent human behavior. Parameterizing reciprocal interactions presents two challenges for social scientists: (1 how to represent human behavior as influenced by biophysical factors and integrate this into CHANS empirical models; (2 how to organize and function as a multidisciplinary social science team to accomplish that task. We reflect on these challenges regarding our CHANS research that investigated human adaptation to fire-prone landscapes. Our project sought to characterize the forest management activities of land managers and landowners (or "actors" and their influence on wildfire behavior and landscape outcomes by focusing on biophysical and socioeconomic feedbacks in central Oregon (USA. We used an agent-based model (ABM to compile biophysical and social information pertaining to actor behavior, and to project future landscape conditions under alternative management scenarios. Project social scientists were tasked with identifying actors' forest management activities and biophysical and socioeconomic factors that influence them, and with developing decision rules for incorporation into the ABM to represent actor behavior. We (1 briefly summarize what we learned about actor behavior on this fire-prone landscape and how we represented it in an ABM, and (2 more significantly, report our observations about how we organized and functioned as a diverse team of social scientists to fulfill these CHANS research tasks. We highlight several challenges we experienced, involving quantitative versus qualitative data and methods, distilling complex behavior into empirical models, varying sensitivity of biophysical models to social factors, synchronization of research tasks, and the need to
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Respect for cultural diversity and the empirical turn in bioethics: a plea for caution.
Mbugua, Karori
2012-01-01
In the last two decades, there have been numerous calls for a culturally sensitive bioethics. At the same time, bioethicists have become increasingly involved in empirical research, which is a sign of dissatisfaction with the analytic methods of traditional bioethics. In this article, I will argue that although these developments have broadened and enriched the field of bioethics, they can easily be construed to be an endorsement of ethical relativism, especially by those not well grounded in academic moral philosophy. I maintain that bioethicists must resist the temptation of moving too quickly from cultural relativism to ethical relativism and from empirical findings to normative conclusions. Indeed, anyone who reasons in this way is guilty of the naturalistic fallacy. I conclude by saying that properly conceptualized, empirical research and sensitivity to cultural diversity should give rise to objective rational discourse and criticism and not indiscriminate tolerance of every possible moral practice. Bioethics must remain a normative discipline that is characterized by rigorous argumentation.
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Gaming addiction, definition, and measurement: a large-scale empirical study
Spekman, MLC; Konijn, EA; Roelofsma, PHMP; Griffiths, MD
2013-01-01
Aims: Although the general public appears to have embraced the term 'video game addiction', the scientific debate as to whether 'gaming addiction' can actually be considered an addiction similar to substance addictions of DSM-IV is still unsettled. To date, research on gaming addiction has focused on problematic behavior from the gaming activity itself and there has been little empirical research related to pathological personality patterns that usually are associated with substance addiction...
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Empirical inference festschrift in honor of Vladimir N. Vapnik
Schölkopf, Bernhard; Vovk, Vladimir
2013-01-01
This book honours the outstanding contributions of Vladimir Vapnik, a rare example of a scientist for whom the following statements hold true simultaneously: his work led to the inception of a new field of research, the theory of statistical learning and empirical inference; he has lived to see the field blossom; and he is still as active as ever.
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Measuring health lifestyles in a comparative analysis: theoretical issues and empirical findings.
Abel, T
1991-01-01
The concept of lifestyle bears great potential for research in medical sociology. Yet, weaknesses in current methods have restrained lifestyle research from realizing its full potentials. The present focus is on the links between theoretical conceptions and their empirical application. The paper divides into two parts. The first part provides a discussion of basic theoretical and methodological issues. In particular selected lines of thought from Max Weber are presented and their usefulness in providing a theoretical frame of reference for health lifestyle research is outlined. Next, a theory guided definition of the subject matter is introduced and basic problems in empirical applications of theoretical lifestyle concepts are discussed. In its second part the paper presents findings from comparative lifestyle analyses. Data from the U.S. and West Germany are utilized to explore issues of measurement equivalence and theoretical validity. Factor analyses indicate high conceptual equivalence for new measures of health lifestyle dimensions in both the U.S. and West Germany. Divisive cluster analyses detect three distinct lifestyle groups in both nations. Implications for future lifestyle research are discussed.
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Falling Standards of Education in Nigeria: An Empirical Evidence in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Falling Standards of Education in Nigeria: An Empirical Evidence in Delta State of Nigeria. ... Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ... the results are often devastating leading especially to poor quality output and wastage which in ... annual budget, inculcation of the tenets of traditional education, and utilization of research ...
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Empirical Models for the Estimation of Global Solar Radiation in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Empirical Models for the Estimation of Global Solar Radiation in Yola, Nigeria. ... and average daily wind speed (WS) for the interval of three years (2010 – 2012) measured using various instruments for Yola of recorded data collected from the Center for Atmospheric Research (CAR), Anyigba are presented and analyzed.
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Designing Educative Curriculum Materials: A Theoretically and Empirically Driven Process
Davis, Elizabeth A.; Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan; Arias, Anna Maria; Bismack, Amber Schultz; Marulis, Loren M.; Iwashyna, Stefanie K.
2014-01-01
In this article, the authors argue for a design process in the development of educative curriculum materials that is theoretically and empirically driven. Using a design-based research approach, they describe their design process for incorporating educative features intended to promote teacher learning into existing, high-quality curriculum…
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Empirical philosophy of science
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wagenknecht, Susann; Nersessian, Nancy J.; Andersen, Hanne
2015-01-01
A growing number of philosophers of science make use of qualitative empirical data, a development that may reconfigure the relations between philosophy and sociology of science and that is reminiscent of efforts to integrate history and philosophy of science. Therefore, the first part...... of this introduction to the volume Empirical Philosophy of Science outlines the history of relations between philosophy and sociology of science on the one hand, and philosophy and history of science on the other. The second part of this introduction offers an overview of the papers in the volume, each of which...... is giving its own answer to questions such as: Why does the use of qualitative empirical methods benefit philosophical accounts of science? And how should these methods be used by the philosopher?...
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Empirical research on constructing Taiwan's eco- environmental ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
EJIRO
Analysis of research results brings several important findings. (1) Taiwan's economic ..... above that this study is an innovative expansion and combination of material flow calculation and ..... using thermodynamic approach. Resour. Conserv.
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How not to Map Educational Research
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rasmussen, Palle
A critical discussion of the empirical surveys of Danish educational research that were used in the 2004 OECD review of educational R&D in Denmark......A critical discussion of the empirical surveys of Danish educational research that were used in the 2004 OECD review of educational R&D in Denmark...
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Röbel, Tina
2016-01-01
As an effect of marketisation, the importance of workplace learning in Germany has increased. The article follows up on the long-standing discourse around the question of how economic and pedagogical ideals interact in this context. In order to develop a theoretical framework for empirical research, three major positions of the discipline of business ethics are introduced. Business ethics in more abstract ways deals with the very same question, namely how do ideas such as profit orientation i...
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Virtue-based Approaches to Professional Ethics: a Plea for More Rigorous Use of Empirical Science
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Georg Spielthenner
2017-08-01
Full Text Available Until recently, the method of professional ethics has been largely principle-based. But the failure of this approach to take into sufficient account the character of professionals has led to a revival of virtue ethics. The kind of professional virtue ethics that I am concerned with in this paper is teleological in that it relates the virtues of a profession to the ends of this profession. My aim is to show how empirical research can (in addition to philosophical inquiry be used to develop virtue-based accounts of professional ethics, and that such empirically well-informed approaches are more convincing than traditional kinds of professional virtue ethics. The paper is divided into four sections. In the first, I outline the structure of a teleological approach to virtue ethics. In Section 2, I show that empirical research can play an essential role in professional ethics by emphasizing the difference between conceptual and empirical matters. Section 3 demonstrates the relevance of virtues in professional life; and the last section is concerned with some meta-ethical issues that are raised by a teleological account of professional virtues.
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The Role of Empirical Evidence for Transferring a New Technology to Industry
Baldassarre, Maria Teresa; Bruno, Giovanni; Caivano, Danilo; Visaggio, Giuseppe
Technology transfer and innovation diffusion are key success factors for an enterprise. The shift to a new software technology involves, on one hand, inevitable changes to ingrained and familiar processes and, on the other, requires training, changes in practices and commitment on behalf of technical staff and management. Nevertheless, industry is often reluctant to innovation due to the changes it determines. The process of innovation diffusion is easier if the new technology is supported by empirical evidence. In this sense our conjecture is that Empirical Software Engineering (ESE) serves as means for validating and transferring a new technology within production processes. In this paper, the authors report their experience of a method, Multiview Framework, defined in the SERLAB research laboratory as support for designing and managing a goal oriented measurement program that has been validated through various empirical studies before being transferred to an Italian SME. Our discussion points out the important role of empirical evidence for obtaining management commitment and buy-in on behalf of technical staff, and for making technological transfer possible.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Skjaerseth, J.B.; Christiansen, A.C.
2006-01-01
This article explores the extent to which and in what ways environmental policy instruments may affect patterns of environmental friendly technological change in the energy sector. Our argument is based on the assumption, however, that technological change is also affected by the political context in which the instruments are applied and by the nature of the problem itself. Comparative empirical research involving different European countries, sectors and policy fields were examined, including climate change, air pollution and wind power. The relationship between environmental policy instruments and technological change is extremely complex, not least due to the impact of other factors that may be more decisive than environmental ones. Against this backdrop, it was concluded that: 1) a portfolio of policy instruments works to the extent that different types of policy instruments affect the different drivers and stages behind technological change needed to solve specific problems. The need for a portfolio of policy instruments depends on the technological challenge being faced; 2) voluntary approaches facilitated constructive corporate strategies, but mandatory approaches tended to be more effective in stimulating short term major technological change; 3) voluntary approaches work well in the short term when the problem to be solved is characterized by lack of information and coordination. (author)
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Using Loss Functions for DIF Detection: An Empirical Bayes Approach.
Zwick, Rebecca; Thayer, Dorothy; Lewis, Charles
2000-01-01
Studied a method for flagging differential item functioning (DIF) based on loss functions. Builds on earlier research that led to the development of an empirical Bayes enhancement to the Mantel-Haenszel DIF analysis. Tested the method through simulation and found its performance better than some commonly used DIF classification systems. (SLD)
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Empirically Examining Prostitution through a Feminist Perspective
Child, Shyann
2009-01-01
The purpose of this thesis is to empirically explore prostitution through a feminist perspective. Several background factors are explored on a small sample of women in the northeastern United States. Some of these women have been involved in an act of prostitution in their lifetime; some have not. This research will add to the body of knowledge on prostitution, as well as highlight the unique experiences of women. The goal is to understand whether or not these life experiences have had a h...
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Hernández-Marrero, Pablo; Martins Pereira, Sandra; de Sá Brandão, Patrícia Joana; Araújo, Joana; Carvalho, Ana Sofia
2017-12-01
Introduction Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a challenging global and public health issue, raising bioethical challenges, considerations and strategies. Objectives This research protocol presents a conceptual model leading to formulating an empirically based bioethics framework for antibiotic use, AMR and designing ethically robust strategies to protect human health. Methods Mixed methods research will be used and operationalized into five substudies. The bioethical framework will encompass and integrate two theoretical models: global bioethics and ethical decision-making. Results Being a study protocol, this article reports on planned and ongoing research. Conclusions Based on data collection, future findings and using a comprehensive, integrative, evidence-based approach, a step-by-step bioethical framework will be developed for (i) responsible use of antibiotics in healthcare and (ii) design of strategies to decrease AMR. This will entail the analysis and interpretation of approaches from several bioethical theories, including deontological and consequentialist approaches, and the implications of uncertainty to these approaches.
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A Formidable Task: Reflections on obtaining legal empirical evidence on human trafficking in Canada
Hayli Millar; Tamara O'Doherty; Katrin Roots
2017-01-01
This article explores the experiences, challenges and findings of two empirical research studies examining Canada’s legal efforts to combat human trafficking. The authors outline the methodologies of their respective studies and reflect on some of the difficulties they faced in obtaining empirical data on human trafficking court cases and legal proceedings. Ultimately, the authors found that Canadian trafficking case law developments are in their early stages with very few convictions, despit...
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Final Empirical Test Case Specification
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kalyanova, Olena; Heiselberg, Per
This document includes the empirical specification on the IEA task of evaluation building energy simulation computer programs for the Double Skin Facades (DSF) constructions. There are two approaches involved into this procedure, one is the comparative approach and another is the empirical one....
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gravier, Magali
2011-01-01
The article discusses the concepts of federation and empire in the context of the European Union (EU). Even if these two concepts are not usually contrasted to one another, the article shows that they refer to related type of polities. Furthermore, they can be used at a time because they shed light...... on different and complementary aspects of the European integration process. The article concludes that the EU is at the crossroads between federation and empire and may remain an ‘imperial federation’ for several decades. This could mean that the EU is on the verge of transforming itself to another type...
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Richter, Nicole Franziska; Schmidt, Robert; Ladwig, Tina J.
2017-01-01
used in empirical studies and the underlying theoretical streams that explain the effects on benefits and costs of multinationality. Our findings indicate that authors still largely rely on overall financial performance measures. Theoretical arguments, in contrast, refer to specific benefit and cost......This paper contributes to the core research in international business (IB), namely the relation between multinationality and performance, and is concerned with the quality of past empirical research designs. On the basis of 49 studies, we critically evaluate the match between performance measures...... positions that are better reflected in operational performance indicators. In our view, the idiosyncratic choice of the performance measures contributes to the varying results in past studies. We offer suggestions for improving future research designs....
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Empirical Bayes methods in road safety research.
Vogelesang, R.A.W.
1997-01-01
Road safety research is a wonderful combination of counting fatal accidents and using a toolkit containing prior, posterior, overdispersed Poisson, negative binomial and Gamma distributions, together with positive and negative regression effects, shrinkage estimators and fiercy debates concerning
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Franchised fast food brands: An empirical study of factors influencing growth
Christopher A. Wingrove; Boris Urban
2017-01-01
Orientation: Franchising is a popular and multifaceted business arrangement that captures a sizeable portion of the restaurant industry worldwide. Research purpose: The study empirically investigated the influence of various site location and branding factors on the growth of franchised fast food restaurant brands across the greater Gauteng region. Motivation of the study: Researching which factors influence the growth of franchised fast food restaurant brands is important for an emer...
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Udod, Sonia A; Racine, Louise
2017-12-01
To draw on the findings of a grounded theory study aimed at exploring how power is exercised in nurse-manager relationships in the hospital setting, this paper examines the empirical and pragmatic adequacy of grounded theory as a methodology to advance the concept of empowerment in the area of nursing leadership and management. The evidence on staff nurse empowerment has highlighted the magnitude of individual and organisational outcomes, but has not fully explicated the micro-level processes underlying how power is exercised, shared or created within the nurse-manager relationship. Although grounded theory is a widely adopted nursing research methodology, it remains less used in nursing leadership because of the dominance of quantitative approaches to research. Grounded theory methodology provides the empirical and pragmatic relevance to inform nursing practice and policy. Grounded theory is a relevant qualitative approach to use in leadership research as it provides a fine and detailed analysis of the process underlying complexity and bureaucracy. Discursive paper. A critical examination of the empirical and pragmatic relevance of grounded theory by (Corbin & Strauss, , ) as a method for analysing and solving problems in nurses' practice is provided. This paper provides evidence to support the empirical and pragmatic adequacy of grounded theory methodology. Although the application of the ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions of grounded theory is challenging, this methodology is useful to address real-life problems in nursing practice by developing theoretical explanations of nurse empowerment, or lack thereof, in the workplace. Grounded theory represents a relevant methodology to inform nursing leadership research. Grounded theory is anchored in the reality of practice. The strength of grounded theory is to provide results that can be readily applied to clinical practice and policy as they arise from problems that affect practice and that
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Stock Price Volatility and Role of Dividend Policy: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan
Shah, Syed Akif; Noreen, Umara
2016-01-01
Despite years of empirical research, the linkage between dividend policy and stock price volatility remains controversial among the researchers and scholars. This research endeavors to figure out the relationship between stock price volatility and dividend policy of listed companies in Pakistan. A sample of fifty firms, based upon consistent dividend paying behavior, listed on Karachi Stock Exchange has been selected from non-financial sectors, for the period of 2005 to 2012. Multiple regress...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stefania Vignini
2015-11-01
Full Text Available The aim of our research is to verify if Italian listed companies financial statements provide adequate information about the capitalization of costs related to intangible assets and if the information provided are reliable. Moreover, we investigated if they merely comply with law or provide additional information on cost capitalization and reveal if internal control systems (especially managerial accounting systems or other information systems are applied to support the measurement process and the cost control, thus guaranteeing the verifiability and representational faithfulness of the information disclosed. This paper is an empirical analysis and is concerned to investigate the financial statements of 250 Italian listed companies.
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The Apocalyptic Empire of America L’Empire apocalyptique américain
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Akça Ataç
2009-10-01
Full Text Available En général, les études traitant de « l’Empire » américain tendent à chercher à comprendre celui-ci à partir de termes concrets tels que la frontière, l’intervention militaire, le commerce international. Néanmoins, les Empires sont d’abord le résultat de profondes traditions intellectuelles intangibles qui encouragent et justifient les actions entreprises dans le cadre de politiques impériales. Dans le cas de l’Amérique, les fondements intellectuels du nouvel idéal impérial sont ancrés dans la vision apocalyptique transportée dans les bagages des premiers colons puritains. Si l’on ne prend pas en compte cet ancrage apocalyptique, on ne peut saisir, dans leur totalité, les principes fondamentaux de « l’Empire » américain. On devrait examiner des termes qui entrent en résonance avec le discours impérial tels que « mission » et « destinée » ainsi que de l’engagement explicite dans la rhétorique présidentielle en faveur de « l’amélioration » du monde à n’importe quel prix du point de vue de cette croyance apocalyptique éternelle. Cet article essaie d’élucider l’origine et l’essence de la vision apocalyptique américaine en portant une attention particulière sur son influence dans la genèse du concept d’Empire américain.
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lima, W. de; Poli CR, D. de
1999-01-01
The extrapolated range R ex of electrons is useful for various purposes in research and in the application of electrons, for example, in polymer modification, electron energy determination and estimation of effects associated with deep penetration of electrons. A number of works have used empirical equations to express the extrapolated range for some elements. In this work a generalized empirical equation, very simple and accurate, in the energy region 0.3 keV - 50 MeV is proposed. The extrapolated range for elements, in organic or inorganic molecules and compound materials, can be well expressed as a function of the atomic number Z or two empirical parameters Zm for molecules and Zc for compound materials instead of Z. (author)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Miguel Arato
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Corporate Social Responsibility has been recognized by policymakers and development specialists as a feasible driver for rural development. The present paper explores both theoretically and empirically how firms involved in CSR provide development opportunities to rural communities. The research first evaluates the applied literature on the implementation of CSR by private firms and policymakers as means to foster sustainable rural development. The empirical research analyses the CSR activities of 100 firms from a variety of industries, sizes, and countries to determine the type of companies who are involved in rural development and the kind of activities they deployed. Results from the empirical research show that although rural development initiatives are not relevant for all types of companies, a significant number of firms from a variety of industries have engaged in CSR programs supporting rural communities. Firms appear to be interested in stimulating rural development and seem to benefit from it. This paper also includes an exploration of the main challenges and constraints that firms encounter when encouraging rural development initiatives.
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Schukajlow, Stanislaw; Rakoczy, K.; Pekrun, R.
2017-01-01
Emotions and motivation are important prerequisites, mediators, and outcomes of learning and achievement. In this article, we first review major theoretical approaches and empirical findings in research on students' emotions and motivation in mathematics, including a discussion of how classroom instruction can support emotions and motivation.…
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Satisfaction of Polish Bank Employees with Incentive Systems: An Empirical Approach
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kaźmierczyk J.
2017-10-01
Full Text Available This article considers employee satisfaction with incentive systems. Strict requirements for the efficiency of human resource management (HRM and internal public relations make it a major management problem. The importance of this study lies in the fact that incentives affect all stages of HRM. This work reports the results of an empirical survey of Polish bank employees, which was aimed to establish to what degree incentive systems met employees’ expectations, and to analyse the impact of such incentives on employee satisfaction. The authors advance the thesis that male bank employees are more satisfied with existing incentive systems than their female counterparts. The discussion is supported by empirical research based on a sample of 1, 920 Polish bank employees. The article is divided into five sections. The introductory section is followed by Section Two, which reviews employee motivation and analyses the above thesis. Section Three describes data sources and research methods, and Section Four presents findings and conclusions.
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Review essay: empires, ancient and modern.
Hall, John A
2011-09-01
This essay drews attention to two books on empires by historians which deserve the attention of sociologists. Bang's model of the workings of the Roman economy powerfully demonstrates the tributary nature of per-industrial tributary empires. Darwin's analysis concentrates on modern overseas empires, wholly different in character as they involved the transportation of consumption items for the many rather than luxury goods for the few. Darwin is especially good at describing the conditions of existence of late nineteenth century empires, noting that their demise was caused most of all by the failure of balance of power politics in Europe. Concluding thoughts are offered about the USA. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2011.
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Westen, Drew; Shedler, Jonathan; Bradley, Bekh; DeFife, Jared A.
2013-01-01
Objective The authors describe a system for diagnosing personality pathology that is empirically derived, clinically relevant, and practical for day-to-day use. Method A random national sample of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists (N=1,201) described a randomly selected current patient with any degree of personality dysfunction (from minimal to severe) using the descriptors in the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure–II and completed additional research forms. Results The authors applied factor analysis to identify naturally occurring diagnostic groupings within the patient sample. The analysis yielded 10 clinically coherent personality diagnoses organized into three higher-order clusters: internalizing, externalizing, and borderline-dysregulated. The authors selected the most highly rated descriptors to construct a diagnostic prototype for each personality syndrome. In a second, independent sample, research interviewers and patients’ treating clinicians were able to diagnose the personality syndromes with high agreement and minimal comorbidity among diagnoses. Conclusions The empirically derived personality prototypes described here provide a framework for personality diagnosis that is both empirically based and clinically relevant. PMID:22193534
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Windows on Empire: Perspectives from History, Culture and Political Economy (roundtable discussion
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alex Colas
2010-01-01
Full Text Available At the start of the new century notions of Empire and imperialism had all but disappeared from the lexicon of western humanities. Washington’s ‘war on terror’ and the accompanying invasion ofAfghanistan and Iraq, coupled with the publishing sensation that was Hardt and Negri’s Empire suddenly reversed this neglect. Questions of political hierarchy, military competition and socioeconomicdomination which had apparently disappeared from the world stage with the end of the Cold War have returned with a vengeance. In recent years, the most innovative scholarship and trenchant political interventions in the humanities have arguably emerged from engagements with such questions, offering a fresh range of concepts, analyses and interpretations on the place of Empire and imperialism in our world today. Sanjay Seth is Professor in the department of politics at Goldsmiths, University of London. Leo Panitch is Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science at York University. Saskia Sassen is Professor of Sociology at Columbia University and the London School of Economics. She is also a member of the Committee on Global Thought. Christian Marazzi is Professor and Director of Socio-Economic Research at the Scuola Universitaria della Svizzera Italiana. The roundtable is chaired by Alex Colás, who is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Birkbeck, University of London.
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PROBLEMS WITH WIREDU'S EMPIRICALISM Martin Odei Ajei1 ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
In his “Empiricalism: The Empirical Character of an African Philosophy”,. Kwasi Wiredu sets out ... others, that an empirical metaphysical system contains both empirical ..... realms which multiple categories of existents inhabit and conduct their being in .... to a mode of reasoning that conceives categories polarized by formal.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Nils Bøgelund; Skytte, Hans
1997-01-01
This paper reviews the empirical research on behavioural processes in marketing channel relationships. Systematically examining nine international journals, we find 49 papers on behavioural processes. On the basis of the hypothesis tests in the papers, we discuss the results and integrate...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gloria Gil
2016-07-01
Full Text Available Abstract In spite of the existence of a substantial body of theoretical literature that deals with the intersection of language and culture in the field of English as a foreign/additional (EA/FL language teaching and learning, there are very few empirical studies that investigate this issue with real teachers and learners. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review some of those empirical studies with a view to informing additional/foreign language pedagogy and teacher education. For that, the paper, first, summarizes some of the main theoretical issues by discussing the different ways in which the relationship of language and culture has been subjacent to EA/FL pedagogies. Then, the paper shows that there are three different types of language-and-culture-related empirical studies: on coursebooks, on teacher cognition, and on classroom interaction and teacher cognition. A review of these types of studies is made by discussing their main findings. Finally, the paper brings about some implications for the field from the findings of the empirical studies and proposes some topics for further research. Key-words: Culture and language relation. English as an additional/foreign language. Empirical studies. Resumo Apesar da existência de uma vasta literatura teórica que lida com a interseção entre língua e cultura na área de ensino e aprendizagem do inglês como língua adicional/estrangeira (LA/E, existem poucos estudos empíricos que investigam essa questão com professores e alunos reais. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho é revisar alguns desses estudos empíricos com o intuito de contribuir com a pedagogia e a formação de professores de inglês como LA/E. Para isso este trabalho, em primeiro lugar, resume algumas das principais questões teóricas, discutindo as diferentes maneiras em que a relação entre língua e cultura tem subjazido às pedagogias do Inglês como LA/E. Em seguida, o trabalho mostra que há três tipos
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An Empirical Illustration of Positive Stigma towards Child Labor
Harry A Patrinos; Najeeb Shafiq
2010-01-01
This empirical note complements the qualitative and theoretical research on positive household stigma towards child labor. We use data from Guatemala and two instruments for measuring stigma: a child's indigenous background and household head's childhood work experience. We then adopt binomial probit regression methods to illustrate that positive stigma has a large effect on child labor practices, and a modest effect on school enrollment.
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Dupéy, Lauren Nicole; Smith, Jordan W.
2018-06-01
Social science research from a variety of disciplines has generated a collective understanding of how individuals prepare for, and respond to, the risks associated with prescribed burning and wildfire. We provide a systematic compilation, review, and quantification of dominant trends in this literature by collecting all empirical research conducted within the U.S. that has addressed perceptions and behaviors surrounding various aspects of prescribed burning and wildfire. We reviewed and quantified this literature using four thematic categories covering: (1) the theory and methods that have been used in previous research; (2) the psychosocial aspects of prescribed burning and wildfire that have been studied; (3) the biophysical characteristics of the fires which have been studied; and (4) the types of fire and management approaches that have been examined. Our integrative review builds on previous literature reviews on the subject by offering new insight on the dominant trends, underutilized approaches, and under-studied topics within each thematic category. For example, we found that a select set of theories (e.g., Protection Motivation Theory, Attribution Theory, etc.) and approaches (e.g., mixed-methods) have only been used sparingly in previous research, even though these theories and approaches can produce insightful results that can readily be implemented by fire-management professionals and decision makers. By identifying trends and gaps in the literature across the thematic categories, we were able to answer four questions that address how future research can make the greatest contribution to our understanding of perceptions and behaviors related to prescribed burning and wildfire.
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Dupéy, Lauren Nicole; Smith, Jordan W
2018-06-01
Social science research from a variety of disciplines has generated a collective understanding of how individuals prepare for, and respond to, the risks associated with prescribed burning and wildfire. We provide a systematic compilation, review, and quantification of dominant trends in this literature by collecting all empirical research conducted within the U.S. that has addressed perceptions and behaviors surrounding various aspects of prescribed burning and wildfire. We reviewed and quantified this literature using four thematic categories covering: (1) the theory and methods that have been used in previous research; (2) the psychosocial aspects of prescribed burning and wildfire that have been studied; (3) the biophysical characteristics of the fires which have been studied; and (4) the types of fire and management approaches that have been examined. Our integrative review builds on previous literature reviews on the subject by offering new insight on the dominant trends, underutilized approaches, and under-studied topics within each thematic category. For example, we found that a select set of theories (e.g., Protection Motivation Theory, Attribution Theory, etc.) and approaches (e.g., mixed-methods) have only been used sparingly in previous research, even though these theories and approaches can produce insightful results that can readily be implemented by fire-management professionals and decision makers. By identifying trends and gaps in the literature across the thematic categories, we were able to answer four questions that address how future research can make the greatest contribution to our understanding of perceptions and behaviors related to prescribed burning and wildfire.
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An empirically based model for knowledge management in health care organizations.
Sibbald, Shannon L; Wathen, C Nadine; Kothari, Anita
2016-01-01
Knowledge management (KM) encompasses strategies, processes, and practices that allow an organization to capture, share, store, access, and use knowledge. Ideal KM combines different sources of knowledge to support innovation and improve performance. Despite the importance of KM in health care organizations (HCOs), there has been very little empirical research to describe KM in this context. This study explores KM in HCOs, focusing on the status of current intraorganizational KM. The intention is to provide insight for future studies and model development for effective KM implementation in HCOs. A qualitative methods approach was used to create an empirically based model of KM in HCOs. Methods included (a) qualitative interviews (n = 24) with senior leadership to identify types of knowledge important in these roles plus current information-seeking behaviors/needs and (b) in-depth case study with leaders in new executive positions (n = 2). The data were collected from 10 HCOs. Our empirically based model for KM was assessed for face and content validity. The findings highlight the paucity of formal KM in our sample HCOs. Organizational culture, leadership, and resources are instrumental in supporting KM processes. An executive's knowledge needs are extensive, but knowledge assets are often limited or difficult to acquire as much of the available information is not in a usable format. We propose an empirically based model for KM to highlight the importance of context (internal and external), and knowledge seeking, synthesis, sharing, and organization. Participants who reviewed the model supported its basic components and processes, and potential for incorporating KM into organizational processes. Our results articulate ways to improve KM, increase organizational learning, and support evidence-informed decision-making. This research has implications for how to better integrate evidence and knowledge into organizations while considering context and the role of
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Evolution of the empirical and theoretical foundations of eyewitness identification reform.
Clark, Steven E; Moreland, Molly B; Gronlund, Scott D
2014-04-01
Scientists in many disciplines have begun to raise questions about the evolution of research findings over time (Ioannidis in Epidemiology, 19, 640-648, 2008; Jennions & Møller in Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, 269, 43-48, 2002; Mullen, Muellerleile, & Bryan in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1450-1462, 2001; Schooler in Nature, 470, 437, 2011), since many phenomena exhibit decline effects-reductions in the magnitudes of effect sizes as empirical evidence accumulates. The present article examines empirical and theoretical evolution in eyewitness identification research. For decades, the field has held that there are identification procedures that, if implemented by law enforcement, would increase eyewitness accuracy, either by reducing false identifications, with little or no change in correct identifications, or by increasing correct identifications, with little or no change in false identifications. Despite the durability of this no-cost view, it is unambiguously contradicted by data (Clark in Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7, 238-259, 2012a; Clark & Godfrey in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 16, 22-42, 2009; Clark, Moreland, & Rush, 2013; Palmer & Brewer in Law and Human Behavior, 36, 247-255, 2012), raising questions as to how the no-cost view became well-accepted and endured for so long. Our analyses suggest that (1) seminal studies produced, or were interpreted as having produced, the no-cost pattern of results; (2) a compelling theory was developed that appeared to account for the no-cost pattern; (3) empirical results changed over the years, and subsequent studies did not reliably replicate the no-cost pattern; and (4) the no-cost view survived despite the accumulation of contradictory empirical evidence. Theories of memory that were ruled out by early data now appear to be supported by data, and the theory developed to account for early data now appears to be incorrect.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tom R. Tyler
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Recent legal scholarship demonstrates increased attention to empirical research in the design and evaluation of law and the policies and practices of legal authorities. The growth of evidence informed law is an exciting development and one that promises to improve the legal system. In this paper I argue for the particular value of drawing not just upon empirical research methods when evaluating existing policies and practices but upon social science theories. Theory based research provides a basis for imagining and testing different models about how the legal system might operate. I support this argument by presenting research on social science frameworks for legal authority which are alternatives to the currently prevalent instrumental model.
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The Need for a Cross-Cultural Empirical Musicology
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marc Leman
2013-12-01
Full Text Available The paper by Lara Pearson shows that a case study based on qualitative description may reveal interesting aspects about the co-occurrence of hand gestures and singing in a particular music culture. However, above all the paper lets us dream about what could be possible if forces from cultural studies and music cognition research were to be combined. A cross-cultural empirical musicology holds the promise of scientific work that goes far beyond qualitative descriptions.
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A Balanced Theoretical and Empirical Approach for the Development of a Design Support Tool
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Thomas Aakjær; Hansen, Claus Thorp
1996-01-01
The introduction of a new design support system may change the engineering designer's work situation. Therefore, it may not be possible to derive all the functionalities for a design support system from solely empirical studies of manual design work. Alternatively the design support system could ...... system, indicating a proposal for how to balance a theoretical and empirical approach. The result of this research will be utilized in the development of a Designer's Workbench to support the synthesis activity in mechanical design....
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Supervision for School Psychologists in Training: Developing a Framework from Empirical Findings
Gibbs, Simon; Atkinson, Cathy; Woods, Kevin; Bond, Caroline; Hill, Vivian; Howe, Julia; Morris, Sue
2016-01-01
Similar to other professional disciplines, the importance of supervision within school psychology has attracted considerable attention within recent years. Despite this, systematic review of current literature reveals a dearth of empirical literature proposing underlying theoretical structures. This study extends recent qualitative research by…
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Exploring Advertising in Higher Education: An Empirical Analysis in North America, Europe, and Japan
Papadimitriou, Antigoni; Blanco Ramírez, Gerardo
2015-01-01
This empirical study explores higher education advertising campaigns displayed in five world cities: Boston, New York, Oslo, Tokyo, and Toronto. The study follows a mixed-methods research design relying on content analysis and multimodal semiotic analysis and employs a conceptual framework based on the knowledge triangle of education, research,…
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Foreign Language Research in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Volume 2.
de Bot, Kees, Ed.; And Others
Papers from a conference on empirical research on foreign language instruction in Europe and the United States include: "Foreign Language Instruction and Second Language Acquisition Research in the United States" (Charles A. Fergurson, Thom Huebner); "Empirical Foreign Language Research in Europe" (Theo van Els, Kees de Bot,…
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For a new dialogue between theoretical and empirical studies in evo-devo
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Giuseppe eFusco
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Despite its potentially broad scope, current evo-devo research is largely dominated by empirical developmental studies, whereas comparably little role is played by theoretical research. I argue that this represents an obstacle to a wider appreciation of evo-devo and its integration within a more comprehensive evolutionary theory, and that this situation is causally linked to a limited exchange between theoretical and experimental studies in evo-devo. I discuss some features of current theoretical work in evo-devo, highlighting some possibly concurring impediments to an effective dialogue with experimental studies. Finally, I advance two suggestions for enhancing fruitful cross-fertilization between theoretical and empirical studies in evo-devo: i to broaden the scope of evo-devo beyond its current conceptualization, teaming up with other variational approaches to the study of evolution, and ii to develop more effective forms of scientific interaction and communication.
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Critical Access Hospitals and Retail Activity: An Empirical Analysis in Oklahoma
Brooks, Lara; Whitacre, Brian E.
2011-01-01
Purpose: This paper takes an empirical approach to determining the effect that a critical access hospital (CAH) has on local retail activity. Previous research on the relationship between hospitals and economic development has primarily focused on single-case, multiplier-oriented analysis. However, as the efficacy of federal and state-level rural…
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Sugden, Nicole A.; Moulson, Margaret C.
2015-01-01
Psychological and developmental research have been critiqued for the lack of diversity of research samples. Because differences in culture, race, and ethnicity can influence participant behavior, limited diversity limits the generalizability of the findings. These differences may also impact how participants behave in response to recruitment attempts, which suggests that recruitment itself may be leveraged to increase sample diversity. The goal of the current study was to determine what factors, within a recruitment interaction, could be leveraged to increase success and diversity when recruiting families with children for developmental research. Study 1 found three factors influenced success: (1) recruitment was more successful when other potential participants were also interested (i.e., recruiters were busy), (2) recruiters of particular races were more successful than recruiters of other races, and (3) differences in success were related to what the recruiter said to engage the potential participant (i.e., the script). The latter two factors interacted, suggesting some recruiters were using less optimal scripts. To improve success rates, study 2 randomly assigned scripts to recruiters and encouraged them to recruit more vigorously during busy periods. Study 2 found that two factors influenced success: (1) some scripts were more successful than others and (2) we were more successful at recruiting non-White potential participants than White participants. These two interacted, with some scripts being more successful with White and other scripts being more successful with non-White families. This intervention significantly increased recruitment success rate by 8.1% and the overall number of families recruited by 15.3%. These findings reveal that empirically evaluating and tailoring recruitment efforts based on the most successful strategies is effective in boosting diversity through increased participation of children from non-White families. PMID:25972829
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eugene N. Anderson
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire the world has ever known, had, among other things, a goodly number of falconers, poultry raisers, birdcatchers, cooks, and other experts on various aspects of birding. We have records of this, largely in the Yinshan Zhengyao, the court nutrition manual of the Mongol empire in China (the Yuan Dynasty. It discusses in some detail 22 bird taxa, from swans to chickens. The Huihui Yaofang, a medical encyclopedia, lists ten taxa used medicinally. Marco Polo also made notes on Mongol bird use. There are a few other records. This allows us to draw conclusions about Mongol ornithology, which apparently was sophisticated and detailed.
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Corporate Diversification and Firm Performance: an Empirical Study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Olu Ojo
2009-05-01
Full Text Available The importance of diversification and performance in then strategic management literature is widely accepted among academics and practitioners . However, the proxies for performance and diversification that have been employed in past strategy research has not been unanimously agreed upon. Given the current state of confusion that exists with regard to the impact of corporate diversification on firm performance in selected Nigerian companies. The reason for increased interest in diversification has always been on the possibility that diversification is related to corporate performance. However , while this topic is rich in studies, empirical evidence semerging from various studies about the effect of diversification on performance have so far yield mixed results that are inconclusive and contradictory. In addition , despite the existence of these studies, very litlle attention has been given to the companies in developing countries including Nigeria. This means that there is a major gap in the relevant literature on developing countries which has to be covered by research. This research attempts to fill this gap by studying the situation of the Nigeria companies and providing more empirical evidence on the effects of corporate diversification on firm performance based on individual company-level data. Survey research design was adopted in this study with the application of simple random sampling tehnique in selecting our case study companies as well as our respondents. Primary data were collected through questionnaire. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics and correlation and coefficient of determination were used to test our hypothese. It was discovered that diversification impacted performance of these companies posivitely and we recommend that these companies should engage in geographical diversification in addition to other forms of diversification they are currently involved in for maximum performance.
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Children's self reported discomforts as participants in clinical research.
Staphorst, M.S.; Hunfeld, J.A.M.; van de Vathorst, S.; Passchier, J.; van Goudoever, J.B.
2015-01-01
Introduction: There is little empirical evidence on children's subjective experiences of discomfort during clinical research procedures. Therefore, Institutional Review Boards have limited empirical information to guide their decision-making on discomforts for children in clinical research. To get
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Mobile Systems Development: An Empirical Study
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hosbond, J. H.
As part of an ongoing study on mobile systems development (MSD), this paper presents preliminary findings of research-in-progress. The debate on mobility in research has so far been dominated by mobile HCI, technological innovations, and socio-technical issues related to new and emerging mobile...... work patterns. This paper is about the development of mobile systems.Based on an on-going empirical study I present four case studies of companies each with different products or services to offer and diverging ways of establishing and sustaining a successful business in the mobile industry. From...... the case studies I propose a five-layered framework for understanding the structure and segmentation of the industry. This leads to an analysis of the different modes of operation within the mobile industry, exemplified by the four case studies.The contribution of this paper is therefore two-fold: (1) I...
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A Systematic Analysis and Synthesis of the Empirical MOOC Literature Published in 2013-2015
Veletsianos, George; Shepherdson, Peter
2016-01-01
A deluge of empirical research became available on MOOCs in 2013-2015 and this research is available in disparate sources. This paper addresses a number of gaps in the scholarly understanding of MOOCs and presents a comprehensive picture of the literature by examining the geographic distribution, publication outlets, citations, data collection and…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ugochukwu O. Madu
2014-08-01
Full Text Available Orientation: Past research recognises that human resources management practices may influence innovative behaviour, particularly as compensation systems can be used as a tool to increase intrapreneurial activity. Research purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between actual versus desired compensation practices and elevated intrapreneurial behaviour. This is in line with research that focuses on how to promote business innovation, rather than merely research whether innovation is desirable for businesses or not. Motivation for the study: Recognising that entrepreneurial actions are the bedrock of intrapreneurial behaviour and that these behaviours may be critical to the long-term vitality of a firm and economy, it is important to facilitate the empirical study of them in an underresearched, emerging market environment. Moreover, compensation such as reward preferences and variable pay schemes remain controversial in terms of their costs versus contributions, and these constructs deserve more empirical research. Research approach, design and method: The study employed a quantitative research design, using a cross-sectional and empirical approach with primary data sources. A structured webbased instrument rendered a sample of 209 respondents from a diverse set of businesses. Canonical correlational analysis was carried out to test the hypotheses. Main findings: The results reveal that a gap exists between an employee’s perception of desired compensation practices and the actual compensation practices. The results further highlight that non-outcome-based measures like pay risk, job risk and expectations of success play a role in determining whether employees decide to be intrapreneurial or not. Practical/managerial implications: Due to the potential impact rewards have on intrapreneurial behaviour, it is necessary to design relevant compensation systems as part of organisational architecture in order to foster
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Determinants of user acceptance of internet banking: An empirical study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hessam Zandhessami
2014-07-01
Full Text Available The boom of Internet usage and the significant funding dynamism in electronic banking have attracted the attention of researchers towards Internet banking. In the past, the traditional focus of Internet banking research has been on technological development, but it is now switching to user-focused research. This paper presents an empirical investigation to determine determinants of user acceptance of internet banking. The proposed study uses Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL technique to measure the relationships between different factors in a case study of Iranian firm. The results indicate that trust is the most important factor for development of internet banking.
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2018-06-01
This document is a summary of the tasks performed for Project ICT-R27-149-1. Mechanistic-empirical (M-E)based flexible pavement design concepts and procedures were previously developed in Illinois Cooperative Highway Research Program projects IHR-...
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Children's self reported discomforts as participants in clinical research
Staphorst, Mira S.; Hunfeld, Joke A. M.; van de Vathorst, Suzanne; Passchier, Jan; van Goudoever, Johannes B.
2015-01-01
There is little empirical evidence on children's subjective experiences of discomfort during clinical research procedures. Therefore, Institutional Review Boards have limited empirical information to guide their decision-making on discomforts for children in clinical research. To get more insight
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Martin, Xavier
2013-01-01
Several theoretical and empirical developments in the literature on foreign entry mode and performance, and on (international) strategy more generally, were influenced or prefigured by Brouthers’ (2002) JIBS Decade Award winning paper. Regarding theory, Brouthers is an archetype of the integration
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Empirical Investigation into the Determinants of Compliance with IFRS 7 Disclosure Requirements
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Atanasko Atanasovski
2015-04-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of disclosures related to financial instruments provided in annual financial statements of Macedonian listed companies and empirically investigate factors that have the potential to influence the quality of these disclosures in accordance with IFRS 7 requirements. Based on the postulates and the results of the empirical investigations of prior IAS compliance studies I have constructed a disclosure index for each listed company and performed regression analysis with independent variables representing some characteristics of listed companies investigated, such as their size, industry, type of auditor engaged, ownership concentration, profitability and leverage. My regression analysis results supported the conclusion that the level of compliance with IFRS 7 requirements is related to the type of auditor engaged and ownership concentration in investigated companies. The results of my research will contribute the large body of empirical studies on IFRS disclosure and compliance, providing evidence from South- East European Transitional Economy that adopted IFRS as national financial reporting framework.
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A Place for Sexual Dysfunctions in an Empirical Taxonomy of Psychopathology
Forbes, Miriam K.; Baillie, Andrew J.; Eaton, Nicholas R.; Krueger, Robert F.
2017-01-01
Sexual dysfunctions commonly co-occur with various depressive and anxiety disorders. An emerging framework for understanding the classification of mental disorders suggests that such comorbidity is a manifestation of underlying dimensions of psychopathology (or “spectra”). In this review, we synthesize the evidence that sexual dysfunctions should be included in the empirical taxonomy of psychopathology as part of the internalizing spectrum, which accounts for comorbidity among the depressive and anxiety disorders. The review has four parts. Part 1 summarizes the empirical basis and utility of the empirical taxonomy of psychopathology. Part 2 reviews the prima facie evidence for the hypothesis that sexual dysfunctions are part of the internalizing spectrum (i.e., high rates of comorbidity; shared cognitive, affective, and temperament characteristics; common neural substrates and biomarkers; shared course and treatment response; and the lack of causal relationships between them). Part 3 critically analyzes and integrates the results of the eight studies that have addressed this hypothesis. Finally, Part 4 examines the implications of reconceptualizing sexual dysfunctions as part of the internalizing spectrum, and explores avenues for future research. PMID:28121167
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[Research on the hospital construction and structure in Daehan empire and colonial modern period].
Han, Dong Gwan; Ryu, Chang Ug; Ko, Sang Kyun; Jung, Jae Kook; Moon, Jong Youn; Park, Yoon Hyung
2011-12-31
It was the late Chosun Dynasty and Daehan Empire era that Western Medicine has firstly been introduced to Korea, previously operating on a basis of Korean traditional medicine. Western Medicine has been introduced by American missionary and Japanese Imperialism. An introduction of Western Medicine made it feasible to proceed new type medical care including operation, leading to require a new form of medical facilities. In the beginning, new facilities were constructed by Japanese Imperialism. Other hand many of facilities including Severance Hospital were established by missionaries. First of all, Daehan Empire established and managed a modern type of medical facility named "Jejoongwon" in 1885 as a government institution hospital. The Red Cross Hospital built in 1889. Afterwards, Jejoongwon and the Red Cross Hospital were taken over to missionary hospital and Japanese Imperialism, respectively. Japanese Imperialists firstly have protected their nationals residing in Chosun but have proceeded care a few Chosun people to exploit medical treatment as a mean to advertise superiority of the Empire of Japan. The facility that has firstly been established and managed was Jeseang Hospital in Busan in 1877, leading to establish in Wonju, Wonsan, and Mokpo. Afterwards, Japan has organized "Donginhoi" as a civil invasion organization, leading for "Donginhoi" to established "Dongin Hospital" in Pyeongyang, Daegu, and Seoul. Since 1909, governmental leading medical facility named Jahye Hospital was established according to an imperial order, leading to establish 32 hospitals all over the nation. American missionaries have established and managed 28 hospitals started from Severance Hospital built in 1904. However, Chosun doctors started to having educated and opening up their own hospital since 1920, leading for many of medical facilities to be established, but most of them have taken different roles followed by 6.25 War and economic development period. However, some of them
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An empirical study of Malaysian firms' capital structure
Zain, Sharifah Raihan Syed Mohd
2003-01-01
Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/821 on 27.03.2017 by CS (TIS) It is sometimes purported that one of the factors affecting a firm's value is its capital structure. The event of the 1997 Asian financial crisis was expected to affect the firms' gearing level as the firms' earnings deteriorated and the capital market collapsed. The main objective of this research is to examine empirically the determinants of the capital structure of Malaysian firms. The main additional aim is ...
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An empirical examination of the factor structure of compassion.
Gu, Jenny; Cavanagh, Kate; Baer, Ruth; Strauss, Clara
2017-01-01
Compassion has long been regarded as a core part of our humanity by contemplative traditions, and in recent years, it has received growing research interest. Following a recent review of existing conceptualisations, compassion has been defined as consisting of the following five elements: 1) recognising suffering, 2) understanding the universality of suffering in human experience, 3) feeling moved by the person suffering and emotionally connecting with their distress, 4) tolerating uncomfortable feelings aroused (e.g., fear, distress) so that we remain open to and accepting of the person suffering, and 5) acting or being motivated to act to alleviate suffering. As a prerequisite to developing a high quality compassion measure and furthering research in this field, the current study empirically investigated the factor structure of the five-element definition using a combination of existing and newly generated self-report items. This study consisted of three stages: a systematic consultation with experts to review items from existing self-report measures of compassion and generate additional items (Stage 1), exploratory factor analysis of items gathered from Stage 1 to identify the underlying structure of compassion (Stage 2), and confirmatory factor analysis to validate the identified factor structure (Stage 3). Findings showed preliminary empirical support for a five-factor structure of compassion consistent with the five-element definition. However, findings indicated that the 'tolerating' factor may be problematic and not a core aspect of compassion. This possibility requires further empirical testing. Limitations with items from included measures lead us to recommend against using these items collectively to assess compassion. Instead, we call for the development of a new self-report measure of compassion, using the five-element definition to guide item generation. We recommend including newly generated 'tolerating' items in the initial item pool, to determine
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chen Hao
2017-03-01
Full Text Available After the financial crisis in 2008, the risk control of financial institutions has once again become the focus of attention. This paper selects the unbalanced panel data of 44 listed financial institutions in China from 2009 to 2013 for empirical analysis to study the risk taking of China’s listed financial institutions based on the perspective of corporate governance. Then the paper analyzes the effect of corporate governance on the risk taking of listed financial institutions based on the empirical analysis from four aspects. The results indicate that there is a significant negative correlation between the proportion of the largest shareholder’s shareholding and risk taking; a significant positive correlation between the size of the board of supervisors and risk taking; a significant positive correlation between the executive pay and risk taking, and a significant negative correlation between the equity incentive and risk taking. By comparison, the factors related to governance of board of directors have no significant effect on the risk taking of listed financial institutions.
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Innovation Forms and Firm Export Performance: Empirical Evidence from ECA Countries
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrzej Cieślik
2017-06-01
Full Text Available Objective: The main objective of this paper is to verify empirically the relationship between various forms of innovation and export performance of firms from European and Central Asian (ECA countries. Research Design & Methods: In our empirical approach we refer to the self-selection hypothesis derived from the Melitz (2003 model which proposed the existence of a positive relationship between firm productivity and the probability of exporting. We argue that innovation activities should be regarded as a key element that can increase the level of firm productivity. We focus our analysis on four forms of innovation activities: product, process, marketing, organizational and managerial innovation. The empirical implementation of our analytical framework is based on the probit model, applied to the fifth edition of the BEEPS firm level dataset covering 2011-2014. Findings: Our empirical results indicate that the probability of exporting is positively related to both product and process innovations. The marketing and managerial innovations do not seem to affect positively export performance of firms from ECA countries. Implications & Recommendations: It is recommended to develop innovation supporting mechanisms that would target both product and process innovations rather than other forms of innovation in the ECA countries. Contribution & Value Added: The originality of this work lies in the use of the multi-country firm level dataset that allows distinguishing between various forms of innovations in the ECA countries.
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Integrating social science into empirical models of coupled human and natural systems
Jeffrey D. Kline; Eric M. White; A Paige Fischer; Michelle M. Steen-Adams; Susan Charnley; Christine S. Olsen; Thomas A. Spies; John D. Bailey
2017-01-01
Coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) research highlights reciprocal interactions (or feedbacks) between biophysical and socioeconomic variables to explain system dynamics and resilience. Empirical models often are used to test hypotheses and apply theory that represent human behavior. Parameterizing reciprocal interactions presents two challenges for social...
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Project size and common pool size: An empirical test using Danish municipal mergers
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hansen, Sune Welling
The paper examines the proposition that project size tends to increase with common pool size from the law of 1 over n (Weingast et al, 1981). This remains under-investigated and a recent study conducted by Primo & Snyder (2008) argues, and empirically substantiates, a reverse law of 1 over n...... across two research designs, two outcome variables, two subsamples, and several model specifications The implications of the findings, combined with the limited potential for empirically testing Primo & Snyder’s alternative model, suggest a re-appreciation of the law of 1 over n as it was originally...
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Practice management: observations, issues, and empirical evidence.
Wong, H M; Braithwaite, J
2001-02-01
The primary objective of this study is to provide objective, empirical, evidence-based practice management information. This is a hitherto under-researched area of considerable interest for both the practitioner and educator. A questionnaire eliciting a mix of structured and free text responses was administered to a random sample of 480 practitioners who are members of the American Academy of Periodontology. Potential respondents not in private practice were excluded and the next listed person substituted. The results provide demographic and descriptive information about some of the main issues and problems facing practice managers, central to which are information technology (IT), financial, people management, and marketing. Human resource and marketing management appear to represent the biggest challenges. Periodontists running practices would prefer more information, development, and support in dealing with IT, finance, marketing, and people management. The empirical evidence reported here suggests that although tailored educational programs on key management issues at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels have become ubiquitous, nevertheless some respondents seek further training opportunities. Evidence-based practice management information will be invaluable to the clinician considering strategic and marketing planning, and also for those responsible for the design and conduct of predoctoral and postdoctoral programs.
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Kelly, Clint D
2006-09-01
That empirical evidence is replicable is the foundation of science. Ronald Fisher a founding father of biostatistics, recommended that a null hypothesis be rejected more than once because "no isolated experiment, however significant in itself can suffice for the experimental demonstration of any natural phenomenon" (Fisher 1974:14). Despite this demand, animal behaviorists and behavioral ecologists seldom replicate studies. This practice is not part of our scientific culture, as it is in chemistry or physics, due to a number of factors, including a general disdain by journal editors and thesis committees for unoriginal work. I outline why and how we should replicate empirical studies, which studies should be given priority, and then elaborate on why we do not engage in this necessary endeavor. I also explain how to employ various statistics to test the replicability of a series of studies and illustrate these using published studies from the literature.
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van Eemeren, F.H.; Garssen, B.; Meuffels, B.
2012-01-01
The main finding of a comprehensive empirical research project on the intersubjective acceptability of the pragma-dialectical discussion rules is that ordinary language users judge discussion moves that are considered fallacious from an argumentation-theoretical perspective as unreasonable. In light
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Governance of Interoperability in Intergovernmental Services - Towards an Empirical Taxonomy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Herbert Kubicek
2008-12-01
Full Text Available High quality and comfortable online delivery of governmental services often requires the seamless exchange of data between two or more government agencies. Smooth data exchange, in turn, requires interoperability of the databases and workflows in the agencies involved. Interoperability (IOP is a complex issue covering purely technical aspects such as transmission protocols and data exchange formats, but also content-related semantic aspects such as identifiers and the meaning of codes as well as organizational, contractual or legal issues. Starting from IOP frameworks which provide classifications of what has to be standardized, this paper, based on an ongoing research project, adopts a political and managerial view and tries to clarify the governance of achieving IOP, i.e. where and by whom IOPstandards are developed and established and how they are put into operation. By analyzing 32 cases of successful implementation of IOP in E-Government services within the European Union empirical indicators for different aspects of governance are proposed and applied to develop an empirical taxonomy of different types of IOP governance which can be used for future comparative research regarding success factors, barriers etc.
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AlRawi, Sara N; Khidir, Amal; Elnashar, Maha S; Abdelrahim, Huda A; Killawi, Amal K; Hammoud, Maya M; Fetters, Michael D
2017-03-14
Evidence indicates traditional medicine is no longer only used for the healthcare of the poor, its prevalence is also increasing in countries where allopathic medicine is predominant in the healthcare system. While these healing practices have been utilized for thousands of years in the Arabian Gulf, only recently has a theoretical model been developed illustrating the linkages and components of such practices articulated as Traditional Arabic & Islamic Medicine (TAIM). Despite previous theoretical work presenting development of the TAIM model, empirical support has been lacking. The objective of this research is to provide empirical support for the TAIM model and illustrate real world applicability. Using an ethnographic approach, we recruited 84 individuals (43 women and 41 men) who were speakers of one of four common languages in Qatar; Arabic, English, Hindi, and Urdu, Through in-depth interviews, we sought confirming and disconfirming evidence of the model components, namely, health practices, beliefs and philosophy to treat, diagnose, and prevent illnesses and/or maintain well-being, as well as patterns of communication about their TAIM practices with their allopathic providers. Based on our analysis, we find empirical support for all elements of the TAIM model. Participants in this research, visitors to major healthcare centers, mentioned using all elements of the TAIM model: herbal medicines, spiritual therapies, dietary practices, mind-body methods, and manual techniques, applied singularly or in combination. Participants had varying levels of comfort sharing information about TAIM practices with allopathic practitioners. These findings confirm an empirical basis for the elements of the TAIM model. Three elements, namely, spiritual healing, herbal medicine, and dietary practices, were most commonly found. Future research should examine the prevalence of TAIM element use, how it differs among various populations, and its impact on health.
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Market power in the Nordic electricity wholesale market: A survey of the empirical evidence
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fridolfsson, Sven-Olof; Tangeras, Thomas P.
2009-01-01
We review the recent empirical research assessing market power on the Nordic wholesale market for electricity, Nord Pool. The studies find no evidence of systematic exploitation of system level market power on Nord Pool. Local market power arising from transmission constraints seems to be more problematic in some price areas across the Nordic countries. Market power can manifest itself in a number of ways that have so far escaped empirical scrutiny. We discuss investment incentives, vertical integration and buyer power, as well as withholding of base-load (nuclear) capacity.
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Simon, Michael; Hausner, Elke; Klaus, Susan F; Dunton, Nancy E
2010-08-23
The identification of health services research in databases such as PubMed/Medline is a cumbersome task. This task becomes even more difficult if the field of interest involves the use of diverse methods and data sources, as is the case with nurse staffing research. This type of research investigates the association between nurse staffing parameters and nursing and patient outcomes. A comprehensively developed search strategy may help identify nurse staffing research in PubMed/Medline. A set of relevant references in PubMed/Medline was identified by means of three systematic reviews. This development set was used to detect candidate free-text and MeSH terms. The frequency of these terms was compared to a random sample from PubMed/Medline in order to identify terms specific to nurse staffing research, which were then used to develop a sensitive, precise and balanced search strategy. To determine their precision, the newly developed search strategies were tested against a) the pool of relevant references extracted from the systematic reviews, b) a reference set identified from an electronic journal screening, and c) a sample from PubMed/Medline. Finally, all newly developed strategies were compared to PubMed's Health Services Research Queries (PubMed's HSR Queries). The sensitivities of the newly developed search strategies were almost 100% in all of the three test sets applied; precision ranged from 6.1% to 32.0%. PubMed's HSR queries were less sensitive (83.3% to 88.2%) than the new search strategies. Only minor differences in precision were found (5.0% to 32.0%). As with other literature on health services research, nurse staffing studies are difficult to identify in PubMed/Medline. Depending on the purpose of the search, researchers can choose between high sensitivity and retrieval of a large number of references or high precision, i.e. and an increased risk of missing relevant references, respectively. More standardized terminology (e.g. by consistent use of the
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Essays on empirical likelihood in economics
Gao, Z.
2012-01-01
This thesis intends to exploit the roots of empirical likelihood and its related methods in mathematical programming and computation. The roots will be connected and the connections will induce new solutions for the problems of estimation, computation, and generalization of empirical likelihood.
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Empirical and dynamic primary energy factors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wilby, Mark Richard; Rodríguez González, Ana Belén; Vinagre Díaz, Juan José
2014-01-01
Current legislation, standards, and scientific research in the field of energy efficiency often make use of PEFs (primary energy factors). The measures employed are usually fixed and based on theoretical calculations. However given the intrinsically variable nature of energy systems, these PEFs should rely on empirical data and evolve in time. Otherwise the obtained efficiencies may not be representative of the actual energy system. In addition, incorrect PEFs may cause a negative effect on the energy efficiency measures. For instance, imposing a high value on the PEF of electricity may discourage the use of renewable energy sources, which have an actual value close to 1. In order to provide a solution to this issue, we propose an application of the Energy Networks (ENs), described in a previous work, to calculate dynamic PEFs based on empirical data. An EN represents an entire energy system both numerically and graphically, from its primary energy sources to their final energy forms, and consuming sectors. Using ENs we can calculate the PEF of any energy form and depict it in a simple and meaningful graph that shows the details of the contribution of each primary energy and the efficiency of the associated process. The analysis of these PEFs leads to significant conclusions regarding the energy models adopted among countries, their evolution in time, the selection of viable ways to improve efficiency, and the detection of best practices that could contribute to the overall energy efficiency targets. - Highlights: • Primary Energy Factors (PEFs) are foundation of much energy legislation and research. • Traditionally, they have been treated as geotemporally invariant. • This work provides a systematic and transparent methodology for adding variability. • It also shows the variability between regions due to market, policy, and technology. • Finally it demonstrates the utility of extended PEFs as a tool in their own right
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Educational Leaders and Emotions: An International Review of Empirical Evidence 1992-2012
Berkovich, Izhak; Eyal, Ori
2015-01-01
The aim of the present article is to review the international evidence about emotional aspects related to educational leaders. The review focuses on empirical studies published in peer-refereed educational journals between 1992 and 2012. First, we address the importance of researching emotions for understanding educational leaders. Next, we…
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The Theoretical and Empirical Basis for Meditation as an Intervention for PTSD
Lang, Ariel J.; Strauss, Jennifer L.; Bomyea, Jessica; Bormann, Jill E.; Hickman, Steven D.; Good, Raquel C.; Essex, Michael
2012-01-01
In spite of the existence of good empirically supported treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), consumers and providers continue to ask for more options for managing this common and often chronic condition. Meditation-based approaches are being widely implemented, but there is minimal research rigorously assessing their effectiveness.…
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General Strain Theory and School Bullying: An Empirical Test in South Korea
Moon, Byongook; Morash, Merry; McCluskey, John D.
2012-01-01
Despite recognition of bullying as a serious school and social problem with negative effects on students' well-being and safety, and the overlap between aggressive bullying acts and delinquent behavior, few empirical studies test the applicability of criminological theories to explaining bullying. This limitation in research is especially evident…
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Digital Education Research (DER as a theoretical/empirical bridge between research and training
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alberto Parola
2016-07-01
Full Text Available The article intends to propose an epistemological and methodological approach, called Digital Education Research (DER, which considers the “digital world” as the complexification of reality, suggesting inedited observation and assessment modality as part of educational research and teaching. This approach inevitably borrows issues, paradigms and methods of different disciplines (especially the intersubjectivity concept filtered from the psychological, anthropology and neuroscience theories lenses applying them to learning situations, which require the use of digital media. In this sense, teacher education needs a restructuration that guides design practices towards teaching to enable them to strengthen their capacity to formulate hypotheses and bring out evidences, in activities related to action research strategies that can accommodate mixed methods research, confirming scientific dignity to the various nature and origin data, unstructured, textual and audiovisual.La Digital Education Research (DER come ponte teorico/empirico tra ricerca e formazione L’articolo intende proporre un approccio epistemologico e metodologico, denominato digital education research, che considera il “mondo digitale” come una dimensione di complessificazione del reale, suggerendo modalità di osservazione e valutazione inedite nell’ambito della ricerca educativa e nell’insegnamento. Tale approccio inevitabilmente mutua temi, paradigmi e metodi di differenti discipline (in special modo il concetto di “intersoggettività” filtrata dalle lenti di teorie psicologiche, antropologiche e neuroscientifiche applicandoli ai contesti apprenditivi, che richiedono l’uso dei media digitali. In tal senso, la formazione degli insegnanti necessita di una ristrutturazione che orienta le pratiche progettuali verso una didattica che consenta loro di potenziare le capacità di formulare ipotesi e far emergere evidenze, in attività riferibili a strategie di ricerca
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J. Vanhamme (Joëlle)
2003-01-01
textabstractThis research investigates the specific influence of the emotion of surprise on customer transaction-specific satisfaction. Four empirical studies-two field studies (a diary study and a cross section survey) and two experiments-were conducted. The results show that surprise positively
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Rogiest, Sofie; Segers, Jesse; van Witteloostuijn, Arjen
2018-01-01
Although leadership is generally considered an important lever to increase commitment during organizational change, empirical research has yet to unravel many of the underlying mechanisms. In this paper, we propose that the impact of participative leadership on affective commitment to change will be
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Beyond Ideological Warfare: The Maturation of Research on Charter Schools
Smith, Joanna; Wohlstetter, Priscilla; Farrell, Caitlin C.; Nayfack, Michelle B.
2011-01-01
Philosophical debate about charter schools often results in theory and anecdotes overshadowing empirical research. This systematic review of trends in the charter school research over the last decade helps determine where empirical evidence exists and where new research is necessary. Findings reveal that student and school outcomes are the most…
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Repeat: a framework to assess empirical reproducibility in biomedical research
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Leslie D. McIntosh
2017-09-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background The reproducibility of research is essential to rigorous science, yet significant concerns of the reliability and verifiability of biomedical research have been recently highlighted. Ongoing efforts across several domains of science and policy are working to clarify the fundamental characteristics of reproducibility and to enhance the transparency and accessibility of research. Methods The aim of the proceeding work is to develop an assessment tool operationalizing key concepts of research transparency in the biomedical domain, specifically for secondary biomedical data research using electronic health record data. The tool (RepeAT was developed through a multi-phase process that involved coding and extracting recommendations and practices for improving reproducibility from publications and reports across the biomedical and statistical sciences, field testing the instrument, and refining variables. Results RepeAT includes 119 unique variables grouped into five categories (research design and aim, database and data collection methods, data mining and data cleaning, data analysis, data sharing and documentation. Preliminary results in manually processing 40 scientific manuscripts indicate components of the proposed framework with strong inter-rater reliability, as well as directions for further research and refinement of RepeAT. Conclusions The use of RepeAT may allow the biomedical community to have a better understanding of the current practices of research transparency and accessibility among principal investigators. Common adoption of RepeAT may improve reporting of research practices and the availability of research outputs. Additionally, use of RepeAT will facilitate comparisons of research transparency and accessibility across domains and institutions.
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Empirical Legality and Effective Reality
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hernán Pringe
2015-08-01
Full Text Available The conditions that Kant’s doctrine establishes are examined for the predication of the effective reality of certain empirical objects. It is maintained that a for such a predication, it is necessary to have not only perception but also a certain homogeneity of sensible data, and b the knowledge of the existence of certain empirical objects depends on the application of regulative principles of experience.
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Bao, Yaodong; Cheng, Lin; Zhang, Jian
Using the data of 237 Jiangsu logistics firms, this paper empirically studies the relationship among organizational learning capability, business model innovation, strategic flexibility. The results show as follows; organizational learning capability has positive impacts on business model innovation performance; strategic flexibility plays mediating roles on the relationship between organizational learning capability and business model innovation; interaction among strategic flexibility, explorative learning and exploitative learning play significant roles in radical business model innovation and incremental business model innovation.
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Teaching Empirical Software Engineering Using Expert Teams
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kuhrmann, Marco
2017-01-01
Empirical software engineering aims at making software engineering claims measurable, i.e., to analyze and understand phenomena in software engineering and to evaluate software engineering approaches and solutions. Due to the involvement of humans and the multitude of fields for which software...... is crucial, software engineering is considered hard to teach. Yet, empirical software engineering increases this difficulty by adding the scientific method as extra dimension. In this paper, we present a Master-level course on empirical software engineering in which different empirical instruments...... an extra specific expertise that they offer as service to other teams, thus, fostering cross-team collaboration. The paper outlines the general course setup, topics addressed, and it provides initial lessons learned....
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An Empirical Examination of Factors Affecting Group Effectiveness in Information Systems Projects
Hasan, Bassam; Ali, Jafar
2007-01-01
Although group project concepts and skills have become a major component in most information systems (IS) academic programs, very little research has attempted to examine factors that may improve or undermine effectiveness of IS group projects. Accordingly, based on relevant literatures, this study develops and empirically tests a model of factors…
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Gathering Empirical Evidence Concerning Links between Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Creativity
Musta'amal, Aede Hatib; Norman, Eddie; Hodgson, Tony
2009-01-01
Discussion is often reported concerning potential links between computer-aided designing and creativity, but there is a lack of systematic enquiry to gather empirical evidence concerning such links. This paper reports an indication of findings from other research studies carried out in contexts beyond general education that have sought evidence…
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Early Child Disaster Mental Health Interventions: A Review of the Empirical Evidence
Pfefferbaum, Betty; Nitiéma, Pascal; Tucker, Phebe; Newman, Elana
2017-01-01
Background: The need to establish an evidence base for early child disaster interventions has been long recognized. Objective: This paper presents a descriptive analysis of the empirical research on early disaster mental health interventions delivered to children within the first 3 months post event. Methods: Characteristics and findings of the…
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Empirical training for conditional random fields
Zhu, Zhemin; Hiemstra, Djoerd; Apers, Peter M.G.; Wombacher, Andreas
2013-01-01
In this paper (Zhu et al., 2013), we present a practi- cally scalable training method for CRFs called Empir- ical Training (EP). We show that the standard train- ing with unregularized log likelihood can have many maximum likelihood estimations (MLEs). Empirical training has a unique closed form MLE
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Trust in automation: integrating empirical evidence on factors that influence trust.
Hoff, Kevin Anthony; Bashir, Masooda
2015-05-01
We systematically review recent empirical research on factors that influence trust in automation to present a three-layered trust model that synthesizes existing knowledge. Much of the existing research on factors that guide human-automation interaction is centered around trust, a variable that often determines the willingness of human operators to rely on automation. Studies have utilized a variety of different automated systems in diverse experimental paradigms to identify factors that impact operators' trust. We performed a systematic review of empirical research on trust in automation from January 2002 to June 2013. Papers were deemed eligible only if they reported the results of a human-subjects experiment in which humans interacted with an automated system in order to achieve a goal. Additionally, a relationship between trust (or a trust-related behavior) and another variable had to be measured. All together, 101 total papers, containing 127 eligible studies, were included in the review. Our analysis revealed three layers of variability in human-automation trust (dispositional trust, situational trust, and learned trust), which we organize into a model. We propose design recommendations for creating trustworthy automation and identify environmental conditions that can affect the strength of the relationship between trust and reliance. Future research directions are also discussed for each layer of trust. Our three-layered trust model provides a new lens for conceptualizing the variability of trust in automation. Its structure can be applied to help guide future research and develop training interventions and design procedures that encourage appropriate trust. © 2014, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
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An Introduction to Experimental Design Research
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Cash, Philip; Stanković, Tino; Štorga, Mario
2016-01-01
Design research brings together influences from the whole gamut of social, psychological, and more technical sciences to create a tradition of empirical study stretching back over 50 years (Horvath 2004; Cross 2007). A growing part of this empirical tradition is experimental, which has gained in ...
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Extending Impact Analysis in Government Social Media Research
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Medaglia, Rony; Zheng, Lei
2017-01-01
of this phenomenon, and falls short of investigating the impacts that these dimensions have on each other. Drawing on a revised framework for classifying existing social media research foci in the categories of management, context, user behavior, user characteristics, platform properties, and effects, we present......The use of social media by governments is a complex phenomenon that touches upon multiple dimensions, and that involves a wide array of relationships between these dimensions. Existing empirical research on government social media, however, is still mostly focusing on describing isolated aspects...... five empirical cases to illustrate impacts between dimensions of government social media. The empirical findings from the cases extend impact analysis beyond the existing foci, and enable us to propose a research agenda for future research on impacts in government social media....
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Cornelis, Shana; Desmet, Mattias; Van Nieuwenhove, Kimberly L H D; Meganck, Reitske; Willemsen, Jochem; Inslegers, Ruth; Feyaerts, Jasper
2017-01-01
The classical symptom specificity hypothesis (Blatt, 1974) particularly associates obsessional symptoms to interpersonal behavior directed at autonomy and separation from others. Cross-sectional group research, however, has yielded inconsistent findings on this predicted association, and a previous empirical case study (Cornelis et al., in press; see Chapter 2) documented obsessional pathology to be rooted in profound ambivalences between autonomous and dependent interpersonal dynamics. Therefore, in the present empirical case study, concrete operationalizations of the classical symptom specificity hypothesis are contrasted to alternative hypotheses based on the observed complexities in Chapter 2. Dynamic associations between obsessional symptoms and interpersonal functioning is further explored, aiming at further contribution to theory building (i.e., through suggestions for potential hypothesis-refinement; Stiles, 2009). Similar to the first empirical case study (Chapter 1), Consensual Qualitative Research for Case studies is used to quantitatively and qualitatively describe the longitudinal, clinical interplay between obsessional symptoms and interpersonal dynamics throughout the process of supportive-expressive psychodynamic therapy. In line with findings from Chapter 1, findings reveal close associations between obsessions and interpersonal dynamics, and therapist interventions focusing on interpersonal conflicts are documented as related to interpersonal and symptomatic alterations. Observations predominantly accord to the ambivalence-hypothesis rather than to the classical symptom specificity hypothesis. Yet, meaningful differences are observed in concrete manifestations of interpersonal ambivalences within significant relationships. Findings are again discussed in light of conceptual and methodological considerations; and limitations and future research indications are addressed.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shana Cornelis
2017-06-01
Full Text Available The classical symptom specificity hypothesis (Blatt, 1974 particularly associates obsessional symptoms to interpersonal behavior directed at autonomy and separation from others. Cross-sectional group research, however, has yielded inconsistent findings on this predicted association, and a previous empirical case study (Cornelis et al., in press; see Chapter 2 documented obsessional pathology to be rooted in profound ambivalences between autonomous and dependent interpersonal dynamics. Therefore, in the present empirical case study, concrete operationalizations of the classical symptom specificity hypothesis are contrasted to alternative hypotheses based on the observed complexities in Chapter 2. Dynamic associations between obsessional symptoms and interpersonal functioning is further explored, aiming at further contribution to theory building (i.e., through suggestions for potential hypothesis-refinement; Stiles, 2009. Similar to the first empirical case study (Chapter 1, Consensual Qualitative Research for Case studies is used to quantitatively and qualitatively describe the longitudinal, clinical interplay between obsessional symptoms and interpersonal dynamics throughout the process of supportive-expressive psychodynamic therapy. In line with findings from Chapter 1, findings reveal close associations between obsessions and interpersonal dynamics, and therapist interventions focusing on interpersonal conflicts are documented as related to interpersonal and symptomatic alterations. Observations predominantly accord to the ambivalence-hypothesis rather than to the classical symptom specificity hypothesis. Yet, meaningful differences are observed in concrete manifestations of interpersonal ambivalences within significant relationships. Findings are again discussed in light of conceptual and methodological considerations; and limitations and future research indications are addressed.
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Empirical logic and quantum mechanics
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Foulis, D.J.; Randall, C.H.
1976-01-01
This article discusses some of the basic notions of quantum physics within the more general framework of operational statistics and empirical logic (as developed in Foulis and Randall, 1972, and Randall and Foulis, 1973). Empirical logic is a formal mathematical system in which the notion of an operation is primitive and undefined; all other concepts are rigorously defined in terms of such operations (which are presumed to correspond to actual physical procedures). (Auth.)
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Thomas Dilger; Sabine Graschitz
2015-01-01
Purpose – Since the 1960s earnings management has been a widely researched area and became presumably known by the current accounting scandals. This paper aims at empirically showing which factors affect earnings management. Design/methodology/approach – According to former research literature factors are derived, which might influence the companies' earnings management behavior. These factors are the applied accounting standard, the industry sector and the country of official quotation. ...
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An Analysis of Social Justice Research in School Psychology
Graybill, Emily; Baker, Courtney N.; Cloth, Allison H.; Fisher, Sycarah; Nastasi, Bonnie K.
2018-01-01
The purpose of the current content analysis was to build upon previous empirical research both within school psychology and in other subdisciplines of psychology to refine the operationalized definition of social justice within school psychology research. Operationalizing the definition and substantiating it within the empirical literature is a…
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Empirical Moral Philosophy and Teacher Education
Schjetne, Espen; Afdal, Hilde Wågsås; Anker, Trine; Johannesen, Nina; Afdal, Geir
2016-01-01
In this paper, we explore the possible contributions of empirical moral philosophy to professional ethics in teacher education. We argue that it is both possible and desirable to connect knowledge of how teachers empirically do and understand professional ethics with normative theories of teachers' professional ethics. Our argument is made in…
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The Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to the Definition of Audit Risk
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Berezhniy Yevgeniy B.
2017-12-01
Full Text Available The risk category is one of the key factors in planning the audit and assessing its results. The article is aimed at generalizing the theoretical and empirical approaches to the definition of audit risk and methods of its reduction. The structure of audit risk was analyzed and it has been determined, that each of researchers approached to structuring of audit risk from the subjective point of view. The author’s own model of audit risk has been proposed. The basic methods of assessment of audit risk are generalized, the theoretical and empirical approaches to its definition are allocated, also it is noted, that application of any of the given models can be suitable rather for approximate estimation, than for exact calculation of an audit risk, as it is accompanied by certain shortcomings.
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Kurniawati, Farida; Minnaert, A.E.M.G.; Mangunsong, F.; Ahmed, W.
2012-01-01
Empirical research revealed that teachers’ attitudes play a crucial role in successful implementation of inclusive education. This study aimed to examine primary school teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in Jakarta, Indonesia. Respondents completed the attitude scale which comprised the
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rasch, Astrid
of the collective, but insufficient attention has been paid to how individuals respond to such narrative changes. This dissertation examines the relationship between individual and collective memory at the end of empire through analysis of 13 end of empire autobiographies by public intellectuals from Australia......Decolonisation was a major event of the twentieth century, redrawing maps and impacting on identity narratives around the globe. As new nations defined their place in the world, the national and imperial past was retold in new cultural memories. These developments have been studied at the level......, the Anglophone Caribbean and Zimbabwe. I conceive of memory as reconstructive and social, with individual memory striving to make sense of the past in the present in dialogue with surrounding narratives. By examining recurring tropes in the autobiographies, like colonial education, journeys to the imperial...
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Using Graph and Vertex Entropy to Compare Empirical Graphs with Theoretical Graph Models
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tomasz Kajdanowicz
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Over the years, several theoretical graph generation models have been proposed. Among the most prominent are: the Erdős–Renyi random graph model, Watts–Strogatz small world model, Albert–Barabási preferential attachment model, Price citation model, and many more. Often, researchers working with real-world data are interested in understanding the generative phenomena underlying their empirical graphs. They want to know which of the theoretical graph generation models would most probably generate a particular empirical graph. In other words, they expect some similarity assessment between the empirical graph and graphs artificially created from theoretical graph generation models. Usually, in order to assess the similarity of two graphs, centrality measure distributions are compared. For a theoretical graph model this means comparing the empirical graph to a single realization of a theoretical graph model, where the realization is generated from the given model using an arbitrary set of parameters. The similarity between centrality measure distributions can be measured using standard statistical tests, e.g., the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test of distances between cumulative distributions. However, this approach is both error-prone and leads to incorrect conclusions, as we show in our experiments. Therefore, we propose a new method for graph comparison and type classification by comparing the entropies of centrality measure distributions (degree centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality. We demonstrate that our approach can help assign the empirical graph to the most similar theoretical model using a simple unsupervised learning method.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pintea Mirela-Oana
2012-07-01
Full Text Available Sustainable development and, therefore, globalization require new standards of performance that exceeds the economic field, both for domestic companies as well as international ones. So, these standards should be integrated into corporate strategy development to ensure sustainability of activities undertaken by harmonizing the economic, social and environmental objectives. For sustainable development of an entity, value creation can not be seen in strictly financial terms, therefore any strategies that are defined by entities concerns not only the quantitative aspects (economic-financial but also qualitative aspects (social and environmental. This study attempts to address the issue of building a set of indicators to assess overall performance and it stops at each of the three dimensions of performance, namely economic performance, social performance and environmental performance. In this scientific approach we try to stop on one of the priorities of economic research that is finding indicators that better reflect the three dimensions of performance. What indicators would best represent the overall performance?, What indicators would best represent the financial performance?, What indicators would best represent social performance?, What would be the best indicators of environmental performance? During this scientific approach will try to answer each of these questions through the empirical research conducted. To do this research we focused on statistical population consisting of the following categories of analysts: analysts from academic environment (Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest, Timisoara, Iasi, Craiova, Sibiu, Pitesti, Galati and financial analysts from the specific departments of the Financial Investment Services Company (Broker SA, BT Securities, Target Capital, Tradeville, Estinvest, Intercapital, KBC Securities, etc.. This distinction was made because we believe that in determining the optimal structure of such a model we need the views of
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Coping with the Stigma of Mental Illness: Empirically-Grounded Hypotheses from Computer Simulations
Kroska, Amy; Har, Sarah K.
2011-01-01
This research demonstrates how affect control theory and its computer program, "Interact", can be used to develop empirically-grounded hypotheses regarding the connection between cultural labels and behaviors. Our demonstration focuses on propositions in the modified labeling theory of mental illness. According to the MLT, negative societal…
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Reviewing Reviews of Research in Educational Leadership: An Empirical Assessment
Hallinger, Philip
2014-01-01
Purpose: Reviews of research play a critical but underappreciated role in knowledge production and accumulation. Yet, until relatively recently, limited attention has been given to the "methodology" of conducting reviews of research. This observation also applies in educational leadership and management where reviews of research have…
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Aspara, Jaakko; Klein, Jan; Luo, Xueming; Tikkanen, Henrikki
2017-01-01
We conduct a systematic exploratory investigation of the effects of firms’ existing service productivity on the success of their new service innovations. Although previous research extensively addresses service productivity and service innovation, respectively, this is the first empirical study that
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Rodway, Joelle
2015-01-01
Networks are frequently cited as an important knowledge mobilization strategy; however, there is little empirical research that considers how they connect research and practice. Taking a social network perspective, I explore how central office personnel find, understand and share research knowledge within a research brokering network. This mixed…
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Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Kaňková, Vlasta
2012-01-01
Roč. 19, č. 30 (2012), s. 92-111 ISSN 1212-074X R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP402/10/0956; GA ČR GAP402/11/0150; GA ČR GAP402/10/1610 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Stochastic optimization * empirical estimates * thin and heavy tails * independent and weak dependent random samples Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2013/E/kankova-empirical estimates in optimization problems survey with special regard to heavy tails and dependent data.pdf
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Climate Prediction for Brazil's Nordeste: Performance of Empirical and Numerical Modeling Methods.
Moura, Antonio Divino; Hastenrath, Stefan
2004-07-01
Comparisons of performance of climate forecast methods require consistency in the predictand and a long common reference period. For Brazil's Nordeste, empirical methods developed at the University of Wisconsin use preseason (October January) rainfall and January indices of the fields of meridional wind component and sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Atlantic and the equatorial Pacific as input to stepwise multiple regression and neural networking. These are used to predict the March June rainfall at a network of 27 stations. An experiment at the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction, Columbia University, with a numerical model (ECHAM4.5) used global SST information through February to predict the March June rainfall at three grid points in the Nordeste. The predictands for the empirical and numerical model forecasts are correlated at +0.96, and the period common to the independent portion of record of the empirical prediction and the numerical modeling is 1968 99. Over this period, predicted versus observed rainfall are evaluated in terms of correlation, root-mean-square error, absolute error, and bias. Performance is high for both approaches. Numerical modeling produces a correlation of +0.68, moderate errors, and strong negative bias. For the empirical methods, errors and bias are small, and correlations of +0.73 and +0.82 are reached between predicted and observed rainfall.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pavlova Milena
2010-09-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Empirical evidence demonstrates that informal patient payments are an important feature of many health care systems. However, the study of these payments is a challenging task because of their potentially illegal and sensitive nature. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review and analysis of key methodological difficulties in measuring informal patient payments. Methods The systematic review was based on the following eligibility criteria: English language publications that reported on empirical studies measuring informal patient payments. There were no limitations with regard to the year of publication. The content of the publications was analysed qualitatively and the results were organised in the form of tables. Data sources were Econlit, Econpapers, Medline, PubMed, ScienceDirect, SocINDEX. Results Informal payments for health care services are most often investigated in studies involving patients or the general public, but providers and officials are also sample units in some studies. The majority of the studies apply a single mode of data collection that involves either face-to-face interviews or group discussions. One of the main methodological difficulties reported in the publication concerns the inability of some respondents to distinguish between official and unofficial payments. Another complication is associated with the refusal of some respondents to answer questions on informal patient payments. We do not exclude the possibility that we have missed studies that reported in non-English language journals as well as very recent studies that are not yet published. Conclusions Given the recent evidence from research on survey methods, a self-administrated questionnaire during a face-to-face interview could be a suitable mode of collecting sensitive data, such as data on informal patient payments.
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Innovation and productivity: empirical evidence for Brazilian industrial enterprises
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Luciana Carvalho
Full Text Available Abstract The aim of this paper is to carry out an empirical investigation into the relationship between innovation and the productive performance of Brazilian businesses measured by Work Productivity and Total Factor Productivity. Data taken from the Research of Innovation and estimated cross section models and panel data was used. The results suggest that innovation produces an incipient impact on competition in the national industry, reflected in the small magnitude of coefficients associated with the diverse indicators of innovation.
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Empirical study on how social media promotes product innovation
Idota, Hiroki; Bunno, Teruyuki; Tsuji, Masatsugu
2014-01-01
Social media such as SNS, Twitter, and the blogs has been spreading all over the world, and a large number of firms recognize social media as new communication tools for obtaining information on consumer needs and market for developing new goods and services and promoting marketing. In spite of increasing its use in the reality, academic research on whether or how social media contributes to promoting product innovation is not enough yet. This study thus attempts to analyze empirically how so...
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Lessons from empirical studies in product and service variety management.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrew C.L. Lyons
2013-07-01
Full Text Available For many years, a trend for businesses has been to increase market segmentation and extend product and service-variety offerings in order to provid more choice for customers and gain a competitive advantags. However, there have been relatively few variety-related, empirical studies that have been undertaken. In this research, two empirical studies are presented that address the impact of product and service variety on business and business function performance. In the first (service-variety study, the focus concerns the relationship between service provision offered by UK-based, third-party logistics (3PL providers and the operational and financial performance of those providers. Here, the results of a large survey identify the most important services offered by 3PLs and the most important aspects of 3PL operational performance. Also, the research suggests that the range of service variety offered by 3PLs does not directly influence the 3PLs’ financial performance. The second (product-variety study presents the findings from an analysis of data from 163 manufacturing plants where the impact of product variety on the performance of five business functions is examined. An increase in product variety was found to influence business functions differently depending on the combination of customisation and variety offered to customers
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A Formidable Task: Reflections on obtaining legal empirical evidence on human trafficking in Canada
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hayli Millar
2017-04-01
Full Text Available This article explores the experiences, challenges and findings of two empirical research studies examining Canada’s legal efforts to combat human trafficking. The authors outline the methodologies of their respective studies and reflect on some of the difficulties they faced in obtaining empirical data on human trafficking court cases and legal proceedings. Ultimately, the authors found that Canadian trafficking case law developments are in their early stages with very few convictions, despite a growing number of police-reported charges. The authors assert it is difficult to assess the efficacy and effects of Canadian anti-trafficking laws and policies due to the institutional and political limitations to collecting legal data in this highly politicised subject area. They conclude with five recommendations to increase the transparency of Canada’s public claims about its anti-trafficking enforcement efforts and call for more empirically-based law reform.
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Collective animal navigation and migratory culture: from theoretical models to empirical evidence
Dell, Anthony I.
2018-01-01
Animals often travel in groups, and their navigational decisions can be influenced by social interactions. Both theory and empirical observations suggest that such collective navigation can result in individuals improving their ability to find their way and could be one of the key benefits of sociality for these species. Here, we provide an overview of the potential mechanisms underlying collective navigation, review the known, and supposed, empirical evidence for such behaviour and highlight interesting directions for future research. We further explore how both social and collective learning during group navigation could lead to the accumulation of knowledge at the population level, resulting in the emergence of migratory culture. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Collective movement ecology’. PMID:29581394
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Weber, Keith
2013-01-01
This paper presents the results of an experiment in which mathematicians were asked to rate how persuasive they found two empirical arguments. There were three key results from this study: (a) Participants judged an empirical argument as more persuasive if it verified that integers possessed an infrequent property than if it verified that integers…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Shabri Abd. Majid
2015-12-01
Full Text Available This research empirically measures the economic exposure of 11 selected miscellaneous companies in Indonesia. It also attempts to empirically explore the influence of firm size, export, liquidity, and leverage on the economic exposure of those companies. Annual data from 2007 to 2010, which was collected from the www.idx.co.id and www.bi.go.id were used and analyzed by the multiple linear regression to measure the economic exposure and examine the influences of the firm size, export, liquidity, and leverage on the economic exposure. Both partial (t-test and simultaneous (F-test hypotheses were constructed and tested using the software of SPSS for Windows. The research documented that, with the exception of the liquidity, which has a negative and significant effect partially on the economic exposure, all other variables, i.e., the firm size, export, and leverage were found to have insignificant effects. Meanwhile, based on the F-test, the research found that the firm size, export, liquidity, and leverage affected simultaneously and significantly the economic exposure of the companies. These findings imply that in order to manage their economic exposure, the companies should control these variables, especially the liquidity.
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Researching Values in Education.
Halliday, John
2002-01-01
Considers methodological issues that arise when values form the main focus of empirical educational research. Includes discussion of the idea that social science, in general, and educational research, in particular, are forms of moral inquiry. Outlines a methodology of educational research, drawing from work by Imre Lakatos, Alasdair MacIntyre,…
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Religiosity, CSR attitudes, and CSR behavior : An empirical study of executives’ religiosity and CSR
Mazereeuw, C.; Graafland, J.J.; Kaptein, M.
In this paper, we examine the relationship between Christian religiosity, attitudes towards corporate social responsibility (CSR), and CSR behavior of executives. We distinguish four types of CSR attitudes and five types of CSR behavior. Based on empirical research conducted among 473 Dutch
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Improved Wind Speed Prediction Using Empirical Mode Decomposition
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
ZHANG, Y.
2018-05-01
Full Text Available Wind power industry plays an important role in promoting the development of low-carbon economic and energy transformation in the world. However, the randomness and volatility of wind speed series restrict the healthy development of the wind power industry. Accurate wind speed prediction is the key to realize the stability of wind power integration and to guarantee the safe operation of the power system. In this paper, combined with the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD, the Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBF and the Least Square Support Vector Machine (SVM, an improved wind speed prediction model based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD-RBF-LS-SVM is proposed. The prediction result indicates that compared with the traditional prediction model (RBF, LS-SVM, the EMD-RBF-LS-SVM model can weaken the random fluctuation to a certain extent and improve the short-term accuracy of wind speed prediction significantly. In a word, this research will significantly reduce the impact of wind power instability on the power grid, ensure the power grid supply and demand balance, reduce the operating costs in the grid-connected systems, and enhance the market competitiveness of the wind power.
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Post-Foundational Discourse Analysis: A Suggestion for a Research Program
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tomas Marttila
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Post-foundational discourse analysis, also labeled as Essex School in Discourse Analysis, has been observed to suffer from a considerable methodological deficit that limits its applicability in empirical research. The principal aim of this article is to overcome this methodological deficit by constructing the research program of the post-foundational discourse analysis that facilitates its operationalization in empirical research. In accordance with Imre LAKATOS (1970 and David HOWARTH (2004a, a research program is referred to an internally consistent and openly scrutinizable system of theoretical, methodological and phenomenal concepts that opens up the possibility to distinguish between the "negative" and the "positive" heuristics of empirical research. The first three sections develop the positive heuristics of the post-foundational discourse analysis by elucidating its theoretical foundations, methodological position and phenomenal framework. The concluding fourth section draws on the presented positive heuristics to outline the analytical stages and strategies of the post-foundational discourse analysis and discusses suitable methods for sampling and interpreting empirical data. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs150319
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A Unified Checklist for Observational and Experimental Research in Software Engineering (Version 1)
Wieringa, Roelf J.
2012-01-01
Current checklists for empirical software engineering cover either experimental research or case study research but ignore the many commonalities that exist across all kinds of empirical research. Identifying these commonalities, and explaining why they exist, would enhance our understanding of
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An Empirical Application of a Two-Factor Model of Stochastic Volatility
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Kuchyňka, Alexandr
2008-01-01
Roč. 17, č. 3 (2008), s. 243-253 ISSN 1210-0455 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA402/07/1113; GA MŠk(CZ) LC06075 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : stochastic volatility * Kalman filter Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2008/E/kuchynka-an empirical application of a two-factor model of stochastic volatility.pdf
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Dynamics of International Business Research
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kunz, Werner; Manning, Stephan; Pedersen, Torben
2013-01-01
This study examines the evolution of the field of international business (IB) research based on a relational cluster analysis of co-citations in the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) from 1982 to 2011. Particularly, we examine the changing role of theory in relation to empirical IB...... research. Based on a factor and network analysis, we identify distinct clusters of IB research and their relations over time. We show that the initial focus of IB research on issues of international expansion has shifted towards issues of governance and implementation. In this process, debates on foreign...... entry mode and culture have served as important integrating themes. At the same time, theory debates in IB have expanded from a narrow focus on explaining international expansion, to a rather heterogeneous conglomerate of approaches which have assisted increasingly differentiated empirical research. Our...
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Contours of Neoliberalism in US Empirical Educational Research
Schmeichel, Mardi; Sharma, Ajay; Pittard, Elizabeth
2017-01-01
Neoliberalism has an enormous influence on P-12 education in most industrial societies. In this integrative, theoretical literature review, we surveyed the journal articles on neoliberalism in US-based educational research to better understand how neoliberalism has been conceptualized in this body of work and to offer implications for future…
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Empirical study on the feasibility of measures for public self-protection capability enhancement
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Goersch, Henning G.; Werner, Ute
2011-01-01
The empirical study on the feasibility of measures for public self-protection capability enhancement covers the following issues with several sections: (1) Introduction: scope of the study; structure of the study. (2) Issue coherence: self-protection; reduction and prevention of damage by personal emergency preparedness, personal emergency preparedness in Germany. (3) Solution coherence: scientific approaches, development of practical problem solution approaches, proposal of a promotion system. (4) Empirical studies: Promotion system evaluation by experts; questioning of the public; Delphi-study on minimum standards in emergency preparedness; local networks in emergency preparedness. (5) Evaluation of models for personal emergency preparedness (M3P). (6) Integration of all research results into the approach of emergency preparedness: scope; recommendations, conclusions.
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Board diversity in the perspective of financial distress: Empirical evidence from the Netherlands
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bernard Santen
2009-07-01
Full Text Available This paper analyses the relationship between board diversity (in gender and in nationality and financial distress. A summary of the theory behind board diversity precedes an overview of the empirical evidence on the relationship between diversity and company performance. The paper presents empirical research on the relationship between a negative performance measure, financial distress, and diversity on the board. The results show a positive relationship between the presence of foreign non-executive directors and financial distress. It is suggested that this is caused by negative communication and misunderstandings. No relationship is found between the gender of a director and financial distress. On a micro-level, the data do not show evidence for the glass cliff hypothesis.
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Multi-Ethnic Workforce and Business Performance: Review and Synthesis of the Empirical Literature
Shoobridge, Gonzalo E.
2006-01-01
This article provides an updated review and synthesis of the empirical literature of the determinants of business performance, and discusses directions for future research aimed at developing better theories and advancing knowledge of the specific influence of ethnic minorities on firm financial achievements. The review is intended to overcome the…
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Factors Influencing Beliefs for Adoption of a Learning Analytics Tool: An Empirical Study
Ali, Liaqat; Asadi, Mohsen; Gasevic, Dragan; Jovanovic, Jelena; Hatala, Marek
2013-01-01
Present research and development offer various learning analytics tools providing insights into different aspects of learning processes. Adoption of a specific tool for practice is based on how its learning analytics are perceived by educators to support their pedagogical and organizational goals. In this paper, we propose and empirically validate…
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Operations management research methodologies using quantitative modeling
Bertrand, J.W.M.; Fransoo, J.C.
2002-01-01
Gives an overview of quantitative model-based research in operations management, focusing on research methodology. Distinguishes between empirical and axiomatic research, and furthermore between descriptive and normative research. Presents guidelines for doing quantitative model-based research in
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Çiftçi Nusret
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The ethical position of organizations is of great importance to both organizations and society in general considering people spend their considerable lifespan in organizations. It is important to sustain the determination on ethics by detecting and revealing the ethical infringements inside the organization. In this context; whistleblowing, which is a concept deriving from the field of organizational psychology is defined as the action that informing the individuals and organizations for the on-going unethical and amoral activities in the organizations, has become important. The courage of individuals to report unethical, immoral or illegal activities to the authorities can be affected by the attitude of individuals towards the organization. One of the attitudes that are considered to affect that courage, which is named as whistleblowing, is organizational commitment. Organizational commitment shows the loyalty of employees to the organization. In this study it has been examined the relationship between employees’ organizational commitment and tendency to reporting immoral behaviours. The sample of the study is composed of the employees of Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at Selcuk University. For this empirical study, survey method has been used, and the reached sample chosen by simply random sampling is 88 employees.
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Verhagen, T.; Feldberg, J.F.M.; van den Hooff, B.J.; Meents, S.; Merikivi, J.
2012-01-01
Despite the growth and commercial potential of virtual worlds, relatively little is known about what drives users' motivations to engage in virtual worlds. This paper proposes and empirically tests a conceptual model aimed at filling this research gap. Given the multipurpose nature of virtual words
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bang, Peter Fibiger
2007-01-01
This articles seeks to establish a new set of organizing concepts for the analysis of the Roman imperial economy from Republic to late antiquity: tributary empire, port-folio capitalism and protection costs. Together these concepts explain better economic developments in the Roman world than the...
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Quantitative analyses of empirical fitness landscapes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Szendro, Ivan G; Franke, Jasper; Krug, Joachim; Schenk, Martijn F; De Visser, J Arjan G M
2013-01-01
The concept of a fitness landscape is a powerful metaphor that offers insight into various aspects of evolutionary processes and guidance for the study of evolution. Until recently, empirical evidence on the ruggedness of these landscapes was lacking, but since it became feasible to construct all possible genotypes containing combinations of a limited set of mutations, the number of studies has grown to a point where a classification of landscapes becomes possible. The aim of this review is to identify measures of epistasis that allow a meaningful comparison of fitness landscapes and then apply them to the empirical landscapes in order to discern factors that affect ruggedness. The various measures of epistasis that have been proposed in the literature appear to be equivalent. Our comparison shows that the ruggedness of the empirical landscape is affected by whether the included mutations are beneficial or deleterious and by whether intragenic or intergenic epistasis is involved. Finally, the empirical landscapes are compared to landscapes generated with the rough Mt Fuji model. Despite the simplicity of this model, it captures the features of the experimental landscapes remarkably well. (paper)
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Empirical pseudo-potential studies on electronic structure
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Theoretical investigations of electronic structure of quantum dots is of current interest in nanophase materials. Empirical theories such as effective mass approximation, tight binding methods and empirical pseudo-potential method are capable of explaining the experimentally observed optical properties. We employ the ...
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A sensitivity analysis of centrifugal compressors' empirical models
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yoon, Sung Ho; Baek, Je Hyun
2001-01-01
The mean-line method using empirical models is the most practical method of predicting off-design performance. To gain insight into the empirical models, the influence of empirical models on the performance prediction results is investigated. We found that, in the two-zone model, the secondary flow mass fraction has a considerable effect at high mass flow-rates on the performance prediction curves. In the TEIS model, the first element changes the slope of the performance curves as well as the stable operating range. The second element makes the performance curves move up and down as it increases or decreases. It is also discovered that the slip factor affects pressure ratio, but it has little effect on efficiency. Finally, this study reveals that the skin friction coefficient has significant effect on both the pressure ratio curve and the efficiency curve. These results show the limitations of the present empirical models, and more reasonable empirical models are reeded
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Strategic Management Tools and Techniques: A Comparative Analysis of Empirical Studies
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Albana Berisha Qehaja
2017-01-01
Full Text Available There is no doubt that strategic management tools and techniques are important parts of the strategic management process. Their use in organizations should be observed in a practice-based context. This paper analyzes the empirical studies on the usage of strategic management tools and techniques. Hence, the main aim of this study is to investigate and analyze which enterprises, according to their country development level, use more strategic management tools and techniques and which of these are used the most. Also, this paper investigates which strategic management tools and techniques are used globally according to the results of empirical studies. The study presents a summary of empirical studies for the period 1990–2015. The research results indicate that more strategic tools and techniques are used in developed countries, followed by developing countries and fewest in countries in transition. This study is likely to contribute to the field of strategic management because it summarizes the most used strategic tools and techniques at the global level according to varying stages of countries’ economic development. Also, the findings from this study may be utilized to maximize the full potential of enterprises and reduce the cases of entrepreneurship failures, through creating awareness of the importance of using strategic management tools and techniques.
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The ethical health lawyer: an empirical assessment of moral decision making.
Perry, Joshua E; Moore, Ilene N; Barry, Bruce; Clayton, Ellen Wright; Carrico, Amanda R
2009-01-01
Writing in 1999, legal ethics scholar Brad Wendel noted that "[v]ery little empirical work has been done on the moral decision making of lawyers." Indeed, since the mid-1990s, few empirical studies have attempted to explore how attorneys deliberate about ethical dilemmas they encounter in their practice. Moreover, while past research has explored some of the ethical issues confronting lawyers practicing in certain specific areas of practice, no published data exists probing the moral mind of health care lawyers. As signaled by the creation of a regular column "devoted to ethical issues arising in the practice of health law" in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, the time to address the empirical gap in the professional ethics literature is now. Accordingly, this article presents data collected from 120 health care lawyers. Presenting this population with a number of hypothetical scenarios relating to how they would respond when confronting an ethical dilemma without an obvious solution or when facing a situation in which their personal values were in tension with their professional obligations, this article represents a first step toward better understanding how lawyers who practice in health care settings understand and resolve the moral discomfort they encounter in their professional lives.
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Judgments under competition and uncertainty : empirical evidence from online poker
Engelbergs, Jörg
2010-01-01
Playing poker has many aspects in common with the making of business decisions. Agents act in a strategically rich, dynamic environment, where they are repeatedly facing competition under uncertain prospects. Their main goal is to maximize their resources. However simple this goal is put down, it is difficult to fulfill. As vast and rich research has shown, heuristics and biases affect human decision-making. This work adds to these findings by providing empirical evidence for behavioral patte...
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THE LEISURE IN ANCIENT ROME: CHRONICLES OF AN EMPIRE RISE
Maximiliano KORSTANJE
2009-01-01
The present research is aimed at describing scientifically how the citizenship practiced the leisure in Ancient Rome ranging from I B.C and I D. C centuries. Almost 123 years of history that deserves being uncovered. Readers who wish having clear how leisure conformed in High Empire should refer to classical biographers such as Cornelius Tacitus and Caius Suetonius. In different manners, both have contributed to understand further about how Romans lived. Like in Greece, mythology encouraged t...
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Co-creation has become a buzzword in many social science disciplines, in business and in tourism studies. Given the prominence of co-creation, surprisingly little discussion has evolved around its implications for research practices and knowledge production as well as what challenges there are fo......Co-creation has become a buzzword in many social science disciplines, in business and in tourism studies. Given the prominence of co-creation, surprisingly little discussion has evolved around its implications for research practices and knowledge production as well as what challenges...... there are for fulfilling the promise of co-creation in tourism research. This book aims to contribute to this discussion by addressing how tourism research comes together as a collaborative achievement and by exploring different ways of collaborative knowledge production in tourism research. It is structured to offer......, on one hand, an introduction to the ontological basis for collaborative research and, on the other hand, a set of empirical examples of how collaborative knowledge creation can inform tourism design, management, policy and education. The theoretical accounts and empirical cases of this book display how...
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Conducting Educational Design Research
McKenney, Susan; Reeves, Thomas
2012-01-01
Educational design research blends scientific investigation with systematic development and implementation of solutions to educational problems. Empirical investigation is conducted in real learning settings--not laboratories--to craft usable and effective solutions. At the same time, the research is carefully structured to produce theoretical…
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Guillemoles, A.; Lazareva, A.
2008-01-01
Gazprom is conquering the world. The Russian industrial giant owns the hugest gas reserves and enjoys the privilege of a considerable power. Gazprom edits journals, owns hospitals, airplanes and has even built cities where most of the habitants work for him. With 400000 workers, Gazprom represents 8% of Russia's GDP. This inquiry describes the history and operation of this empire and show how its has become a masterpiece of the government's strategy of russian influence reconquest at the world scale. Is it going to be a winning game? Are the corruption affairs and the expected depletion of resources going to weaken the empire? The authors shade light on the political and diplomatic strategies that are played around the crucial dossier of the energy supply. (J.S.)
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The scale-dependent market trend: Empirical evidences using the lagged DFA method
Li, Daye; Kou, Zhun; Sun, Qiankun
2015-09-01
In this paper we make an empirical research and test the efficiency of 44 important market indexes in multiple scales. A modified method based on the lagged detrended fluctuation analysis is utilized to maximize the information of long-term correlations from the non-zero lags and keep the margin of errors small when measuring the local Hurst exponent. Our empirical result illustrates that a common pattern can be found in the majority of the measured market indexes which tend to be persistent (with the local Hurst exponent > 0.5) in the small time scale, whereas it displays significant anti-persistent characteristics in large time scales. Moreover, not only the stock markets but also the foreign exchange markets share this pattern. Considering that the exchange markets are only weakly synchronized with the economic cycles, it can be concluded that the economic cycles can cause anti-persistence in the large time scale but there are also other factors at work. The empirical result supports the view that financial markets are multi-fractal and it indicates that deviations from efficiency and the type of model to describe the trend of market price are dependent on the forecasting horizon.
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Chen, Jiankun
2014-01-01
Globalization has greatly promoted student mobility around the world. Being a developing economy, China witnessed significant growth of students studying internationally, especially with the number of students study at undergraduate programs. However, empirical research on high school students' choice and the decision-making process of pursuing…
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Intermodal connectivity in Europe, an empirical exploration
de Langen, P.W.; Lases Figueroa, D.M.; van Donselaar, K.H.; Bozuwa, J.
2017-01-01
In this paper we analyse the intermodal connectivity in Europe. The empirical analysis is to our knowledge the first empirical analysis of intermodal connections, and is based on a comprehensive database of intermodal connections in Europe. The paper focuses on rail and barge services, as they are
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Relationship between innovativeness and strategic planning: Empirical research
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mamula Tatjana
2015-01-01
Full Text Available This paper studies the relationship between innovativeness and strategic planning in SMEs. In introduction part, the authors attempt to consider relevant findings about this specific relationship in the literature. The paper presents how the EU policy approaches the innovation management system within SMEs and where Serbia stands in catching up the process towards the EU in terms of innovativeness and competitiveness. The main research approach is to examine the relationship between innovativeness and strategic orientation, beginning with the existence of the four key strategic business documents: strategic, marketing, business plan and procedures, and innovation strategy documents. The last part is a discussion on the findings and considerations of the intensity of the relations among strategic orientations of the company expressed through the key strategic documents and innovativeness, and the relations among the three most practiced types of innovation in representative sample of 150 Serbian small and medium enterprises (SMEs.The research has shown that there is positive correlation between strategic planning approach in marketing and firm's innovativeness but the intensity of the relationship depends on the type of the innovativeness considered.
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Mehdizadeh, Saeid; Behmanesh, Javad; Khalili, Keivan
2016-08-01
In the present research, three artificial intelligence methods including Gene Expression Programming (GEP), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) as well as, 48 empirical equations (10, 12 and 26 equations were temperature-based, sunshine-based and meteorological parameters-based, respectively) were used to estimate daily solar radiation in Kerman, Iran in the period of 1992-2009. To develop the GEP, ANN and ANFIS models, depending on the used empirical equations, various combinations of minimum air temperature, maximum air temperature, mean air temperature, extraterrestrial radiation, actual sunshine duration, maximum possible sunshine duration, sunshine duration ratio, relative humidity and precipitation were considered as inputs in the mentioned intelligent methods. To compare the accuracy of empirical equations and intelligent models, root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute relative error (MARE) and determination coefficient (R2) indices were used. The results showed that in general, sunshine-based and meteorological parameters-based scenarios in ANN and ANFIS models presented high accuracy than mentioned empirical equations. Moreover, the most accurate method in the studied region was ANN11 scenario with five inputs. The values of RMSE, MAE, MARE and R2 indices for the mentioned model were 1.850 MJ m-2 day-1, 1.184 MJ m-2 day-1, 9.58% and 0.935, respectively.
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Empirical research on the external audit of banks in Serbia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jovković Biljana
2012-01-01
Full Text Available The paper first explains the role, importance, and objectives of the external audit of banks through their most important definitions, thus illustrating the subject and aim of the research. The methodology of the research and data on the sample are presented afterwards. Results of the questionnaire survey which comprised 28 banks in the Republic of Serbia (RS show what bankers prefer, and compared to global experience there is no significant difference. As a final point, the inherent limitations of the research and concluding remarks are presented.
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Tourist Satisfaction Enhancement Using Mobile QR Code Payment: An Empirical Investigation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Liguo Lou
2017-07-01
Full Text Available Innovative technologies have greatly changed people’s lives, including their travel experiences. This study investigates the antecedents and outcomes of the quick response (QR code payment technology used in tourism to provide empirical evidence that mobile technologies can be used to enhance tourist satisfaction. An empirical analysis using 247 field survey responses reveals that relative advantage, compatibility, and observability innovation attributes significantly affect tourists’ attitudes positively toward QR code payment services, which results in their use of the technology while traveling. However, image—the subjective norm in innovation diffusion—has no effect on such use. Furthermore, the study confirms that the use of the QR code payment technology in tourism influences an individual’s transaction satisfaction and travel satisfaction, suggesting that this technology can be used to advance the tourism industry. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings and future research directions are also discussed.
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Brand, Bethany L; Sar, Vedat; Stavropoulos, Pam; Krüger, Christa; Korzekwa, Marilyn; Martínez-Taboas, Alfonso; Middleton, Warwick
2016-01-01
Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a complex, posttraumatic, developmental disorder for which we now, after four decades of research, have an authoritative research base, but a number of misconceptualizations and myths about the disorder remain, compromising both patient care and research. This article examines the empirical literature pertaining to recurrently expressed beliefs regarding DID: (1) belief that DID is a fad, (2) belief that DID is primarily diagnosed in North America by DID experts who overdiagnose the disorder, (3) belief that DID is rare, (4) belief that DID is an iatrogenic, rather than trauma-based, disorder, (5) belief that DID is the same entity as borderline personality disorder, and (6) belief that DID treatment is harmful to patients. The absence of research to substantiate these beliefs, as well as the existence of a body of research that refutes them, confirms their mythical status. Clinicians who accept these myths as facts are unlikely to carefully assess for dissociation. Accurate diagnoses are critical for appropriate treatment planning. If DID is not targeted in treatment, it does not appear to resolve. The myths we have highlighted may also impede research about DID. The cost of ignorance about DID is high not only for individual patients but for the whole support system in which they reside. Empirically derived knowledge about DID has replaced outdated myths. Vigorous dissemination of the knowledge base about this complex disorder is warranted.
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Replication Research and Special Education
Travers, Jason C.; Cook, Bryan G.; Therrien, William J.; Coyne, Michael D.
2016-01-01
Replicating previously reported empirical research is a necessary aspect of an evidence-based field of special education, but little formal investigation into the prevalence of replication research in the special education research literature has been conducted. Various factors may explain the lack of attention to replication of special education…
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Methods for Calculating Empires in Quasicrystals
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fang Fang
2017-10-01
Full Text Available This paper reviews the empire problem for quasiperiodic tilings and the existing methods for generating the empires of the vertex configurations in quasicrystals, while introducing a new and more efficient method based on the cut-and-project technique. Using Penrose tiling as an example, this method finds the forced tiles with the restrictions in the high dimensional lattice (the mother lattice that can be cut-and-projected into the lower dimensional quasicrystal. We compare our method to the two existing methods, namely one method that uses the algorithm of the Fibonacci chain to force the Ammann bars in order to find the forced tiles of an empire and the method that follows the work of N.G. de Bruijn on constructing a Penrose tiling as the dual to a pentagrid. This new method is not only conceptually simple and clear, but it also allows us to calculate the empires of the vertex configurations in a defected quasicrystal by reversing the configuration of the quasicrystal to its higher dimensional lattice, where we then apply the restrictions. These advantages may provide a key guiding principle for phason dynamics and an important tool for self error-correction in quasicrystal growth.
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Wang, Jianjun; Oliver, Steve; Garcia, Augustine
2004-01-01
Positive self-concept and good understanding of science are important indicators of scientific literacy endorsed by professional organizations. The existing research literature suggests that these two indicators are reciprocally related and mutually reinforcing. Generalization of the reciprocal model demands empirical studies in different…
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Sburlati, Elizabeth S.; Lyneham, Heidi J.; Mufson, Laura H.; Schniering, Carolyn A.
2012-01-01
In order to treat adolescent depression, a number of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) have been developed from both the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-A) frameworks. Research has shown that in order for these treatments to be implemented in routine clinical practice (RCP), effective therapist…
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“Colony, Empire, and De-colonization” in Taiwanese Film History
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mamie Misawa
2014-08-01
Full Text Available A consideration of Taiwanese cinema during the Japanese colonial period must take into context the unique political history of Taiwan. This paper will first explain the larger current of research related to this political context and situate itself in relation to the observations and findings of others. This paper will then introduce the focus of the author’s research under the theme of this section, "Colony, Empire, and Post-colonialism,” illustrating an argument about the production and the reception of films by the Taiwanese during the colonial period. Lastly, this paper will also note the possibility of "de-colonization from the bottom up" in the “post-war” Taiwanese film market.
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Empirical studies on usability of mHealth apps: a systematic literature review.
Zapata, Belén Cruz; Fernández-Alemán, José Luis; Idri, Ali; Toval, Ambrosio
2015-02-01
The release of smartphones and tablets, which offer more advanced communication and computing capabilities, has led to the strong emergence of mHealth on the market. mHealth systems are being used to improve patients' lives and their health, in addition to facilitating communication between doctors and patients. Researchers are now proposing mHealth applications for many health conditions such as dementia, autism, dysarthria, Parkinson's disease, and so on. Usability becomes a key factor in the adoption of these applications, which are often used by people who have problems when using mobile devices and who have a limited experience of technology. The aim of this paper is to investigate the empirical usability evaluation processes described in a total of 22 selected studies related to mHealth applications by means of a Systematic Literature Review. Our results show that the empirical evaluation methods employed as regards usability could be improved by the adoption of automated mechanisms. The evaluation processes should also be revised to combine more than one method. This paper will help researchers and developers to create more usable applications. Our study demonstrates the importance of adapting health applications to users' need.
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Stochl, Jan; Jones, Peter B; Croudace, Tim J
2012-06-11
Mokken scaling techniques are a useful tool for researchers who wish to construct unidimensional tests or use questionnaires that comprise multiple binary or polytomous items. The stochastic cumulative scaling model offered by this approach is ideally suited when the intention is to score an underlying latent trait by simple addition of the item response values. In our experience, the Mokken model appears to be less well-known than for example the (related) Rasch model, but is seeing increasing use in contemporary clinical research and public health. Mokken's method is a generalisation of Guttman scaling that can assist in the determination of the dimensionality of tests or scales, and enables consideration of reliability, without reliance on Cronbach's alpha. This paper provides a practical guide to the application and interpretation of this non-parametric item response theory method in empirical research with health and well-being questionnaires. Scalability of data from 1) a cross-sectional health survey (the Scottish Health Education Population Survey) and 2) a general population birth cohort study (the National Child Development Study) illustrate the method and modeling steps for dichotomous and polytomous items respectively. The questionnaire data analyzed comprise responses to the 12 item General Health Questionnaire, under the binary recoding recommended for screening applications, and the ordinal/polytomous responses to the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. After an initial analysis example in which we select items by phrasing (six positive versus six negatively worded items) we show that all items from the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)--when binary scored--were scalable according to the double monotonicity model, in two short scales comprising six items each (Bech's "well-being" and "distress" clinical scales). An illustration of ordinal item analysis confirmed that all 14 positively worded items of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stochl Jan
2012-06-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Mokken scaling techniques are a useful tool for researchers who wish to construct unidimensional tests or use questionnaires that comprise multiple binary or polytomous items. The stochastic cumulative scaling model offered by this approach is ideally suited when the intention is to score an underlying latent trait by simple addition of the item response values. In our experience, the Mokken model appears to be less well-known than for example the (related Rasch model, but is seeing increasing use in contemporary clinical research and public health. Mokken's method is a generalisation of Guttman scaling that can assist in the determination of the dimensionality of tests or scales, and enables consideration of reliability, without reliance on Cronbach's alpha. This paper provides a practical guide to the application and interpretation of this non-parametric item response theory method in empirical research with health and well-being questionnaires. Methods Scalability of data from 1 a cross-sectional health survey (the Scottish Health Education Population Survey and 2 a general population birth cohort study (the National Child Development Study illustrate the method and modeling steps for dichotomous and polytomous items respectively. The questionnaire data analyzed comprise responses to the 12 item General Health Questionnaire, under the binary recoding recommended for screening applications, and the ordinal/polytomous responses to the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. Results and conclusions After an initial analysis example in which we select items by phrasing (six positive versus six negatively worded items we show that all items from the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12 – when binary scored – were scalable according to the double monotonicity model, in two short scales comprising six items each (Bech’s “well-being” and “distress” clinical scales. An illustration of ordinal item analysis
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An empirical analysis of Diaspora bonds
AKKOYUNLU, Şule; STERN, Max
2018-01-01
Abstract. This study is the first to investigate theoretically and empirically the determinants of Diaspora Bonds for eight developing countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Lebanon, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri-Lanka) and one developed country - Israel for the period 1951 and 2008. Empirical results are consistent with the predictions of the theoretical model. The most robust variables are the closeness indicator and the sovereign rating, both on the demand-side. The spread is ...
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Adapting the SERVQUAL scale to hospital services: an empirical investigation.
Babakus, E; Mangold, W G
1992-02-01
Defining and measuring the quality of service has been a major challenge for health care marketers. A comprehensive service quality measurement scale (SERVQUAL) is empirically evaluated for its potential usefulness in a hospital service environment. Active participation by hospital management helped to address practical and user-related aspects of the assessment. The completed expectations and perceptions scales met various criteria for reliability and validity. Suggestions are provided for the managerial use of the scale, and a number of future research issues are identified.
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Input Manipulation, Enhancement and Processing: Theoretical Views and Empirical Research
Benati, Alessandro
2016-01-01
Researchers in the field of instructed second language acquisition have been examining the issue of how learners interact with input by conducting research measuring particular kinds of instructional interventions (input-oriented and meaning-based). These interventions include such things as input flood, textual enhancement and processing…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Drăguşin Cristina-Petrina
2016-12-01
Full Text Available The present paper is materialized in an empirical study concerning the impact of the internal audit on the accounting system and its reliability, in case of public universities in Romania. In order to achieve the study, it was necessary to know the different points of view of the representatives of the accounting departments of public institutions of academic education, using a statistical survey based on questionnaire. The research objectives were focused on obtaining conclusions regarding: the importance of internal auditing of the accounting system and its reliability; the extent to which the internal audit manages to provide reasonable assurances regarding the accounting and financial activity; the importance in auditing of the items related to the accounting activity; the assurance and the adequacy of the human resources allocated to the internal audit departments; the frequency with which the internal audit reports projects are modified in order to follow the audited structure recommendations; the extent to which the audit reports reflect the reality; the internal audit activity contribution in improving the accounting systems and their reliability in the Romanian universities.
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How rational should bioethics be? The value of empirical approaches.
Alvarez, A A
2001-10-01
Rational justification of claims with empirical content calls for empirical and not only normative philosophical investigation. Empirical approaches to bioethics are epistemically valuable, i.e., such methods may be necessary in providing and verifying basic knowledge about cultural values and norms. Our assumptions in moral reasoning can be verified or corrected using these methods. Moral arguments can be initiated or adjudicated by data drawn from empirical investigation. One may argue that individualistic informed consent, for example, is not compatible with the Asian communitarian orientation. But this normative claim uses an empirical assumption that may be contrary to the fact that some Asians do value and argue for informed consent. Is it necessary and factual to neatly characterize some cultures as individualistic and some as communitarian? Empirical investigation can provide a reasonable way to inform such generalizations. In a multi-cultural context, such as in the Philippines, there is a need to investigate the nature of the local ethos before making any appeal to authenticity. Otherwise we may succumb to the same ethical imperialism we are trying hard to resist. Normative claims that involve empirical premises cannot be reasonable verified or evaluated without utilizing empirical methods along with philosophical reflection. The integration of empirical methods to the standard normative approach to moral reasoning should be reasonably guided by the epistemic demands of claims arising from cross-cultural discourse in bioethics.
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Clearing Away Assumptions through Philosophy and Research
Wortham, Stanton
2015-01-01
This article illustrates one way in which philosophical inquiry and empirical research can be combined to illuminate processes like learning and social identification. Over the past 20 years, my empirical work in classrooms and communities has drawn on philosophical discussions about how knowledge is interconnected with social relationships and…
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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Quigley, John; Hardman, Gavin; Bedford, Tim; Walls, Lesley
2011-01-01
Empirical Bayes provides one approach to estimating the frequency of rare events as a weighted average of the frequencies of an event and a pool of events. The pool will draw upon, for example, events with similar precursors. The higher the degree of homogeneity of the pool, then the Empirical Bayes estimator will be more accurate. We propose and evaluate a new method using homogenisation factors under the assumption that events are generated from a Homogeneous Poisson Process. The homogenisation factors are scaling constants, which can be elicited through structured expert judgement and used to align the frequencies of different events, hence homogenising the pool. The estimation error relative to the homogeneity of the pool is examined theoretically indicating that reduced error is associated with larger pool homogeneity. The effects of misspecified expert assessments of the homogenisation factors are examined theoretically and through simulation experiments. Our results show that the proposed Empirical Bayes method using homogenisation factors is robust under different degrees of misspecification.
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Mental disorder ethics: theory and empirical investigation
Eastman, N; Starling, B
2006-01-01
Mental disorders and their care present unusual problems within biomedical ethics. The disorders themselves invite an ethical critique, as does society's attitude to them; researching the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders also presents special ethical issues. The current high profile of mental disorder ethics, emphasised by recent political and legal developments, makes this a field of research that is not only important but also highly topical. For these reasons, the Wellcome Trust's biomedical ethics programme convened a meeting, “Investigating Ethics and Mental Disorders”, in order to review some current research, and to stimulate topics and methods of future research in the field. The meeting was attended by policy makers, regulators, research funders, and researchers, including social scientists, psychiatrists, psychologists, lawyers, philosophers, criminologists, and others. As well as aiming to inspire a stronger research endeavour, the meeting also sought to stimulate an improved understanding of the methods and interactions that can contribute to “empirical ethics” generally. This paper reports on the meeting by describing contributions from individual speakers and discussion sections of the meeting. At the end we describe and discuss the conclusions of the meeting. As a result, the text is referenced less than would normally be expected in a review. Also, in summarising contributions from named presenters at the meeting it is possible that we have created inaccuracies; however, the definitive version of each paper, as provided directly by the presenter, is available at http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/doc.WTX025116.html. PMID:16446414
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gut Arkadiusz
2016-12-01
Full Text Available In this paper, we present a battery of empirical findings on the relationship between cultural context and theory of mind that show great variance in the onset and character of mindreading in different cultures; discuss problems that those findings cause for the largely-nativistic outlook on mindreading dominating in the literature; and point to an alternative framework that appears to better accommodate the evident cross-cultural variance in mindreading. We first outline the theoretical frameworks that dominate in mindreading research, then present the relevant empirical findings, and finally we come back to the theoretical approaches in a discussion of their explanatory potential in the face of the data presented. The theoretical frameworks discussed are the two-systems approach; performance-based approach also known as modularity-nativist approach; and the social-communicative theory also known as the systems, relational-systems, dynamic systems and developmental systems theory. The former two, which both fall within the wider modular-computational paradigm, run into a challenge with the cross-cultural data presented, and the latter - the systemic framework - seems to offer an explanatorily potent alternative. The empirical data cited in this paper comes from research on cross-cultural differences in folk psychology and theory-of-mind development; the influence of parenting practices on the development of theory of mind; the development and character of theory of mind in deaf populations; and neuroimaging research of cultural differences in mindreading.
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Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Omelchenko, Vadym; Kaňková, Vlasta
2015-01-01
Roč. 84, č. 2 (2015), s. 267-281 ISSN 0862-9544 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-14445S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Stochastic programming problems * empirical estimates * light and heavy tailed distributions * quantiles Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2015/E/omelchenko-0454495.pdf
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Empirical studies on changes in oil governance
Kemal, Mohammad
Regulation of the oil and gas sector is consequential to the economies of oil-producing countries. In the literature, there are two types of regulation: indirect regulation through taxes and tariffs or direct regulation through the creation of a National Oil Company (NOC). In the 1970s, many oil-producing countries nationalized their oil and gas sectors by creating and giving ownership rights of oil and gas resources to NOCs. In light of the success of Norway in regulating its oil and gas resources, over the past two decades several countries have changed their oil governance by changing the rights given to NOC from ownership right to mere access rights like other oil companies. However, empirical literature on these changes in oil governance is quite thin. Thus, this dissertation will explore three research questions to investigate empirically these changes in oil governance. First, I investigate empirically the impact of the changes in oil governance on aggregate domestic income. By employing a difference-in-difference method, I will show that a country which changed its oil governance increases its GDP per-capita by 10%. However, the impact is different for different types of political institution. Second, by observing the changes in oil governance in Indonesia , I explore the impact of the changes on learning-by-doing and learning spillover effect in offshore exploration drilling. By employing an econometric model which includes interaction terms between various experience variables and changes in an oil governance dummy, I will show that the change in oil governance in Indonesia enhances learning-by-doing by the rigs and learning spillover in a basin. Lastly, the impact of the changes in oil governance on expropriation risk and extraction path will be explored. By employing a difference-in-difference method, this essay will show that the changes in oil governance reduce expropriation and the impact of it is different for different sizes of resource stock.
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Technology and Teacher-Student Interactions: A Review of Empirical Research
Harper, Ben
2018-01-01
As technology becomes ubiquitous in education, it is critical to understand the ways in which technology influences interactions between teachers and their students. The overarching research question that guided this systematic review was: What does research tell us about how technology influences interactions between teachers and students in K-12…
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Melinder, Karin
2000-01-01
Abstract There has been an increasing interest in determinants of public health at societal level. These factors have often been of a socio-economic nature, whereas culture has attracted less attention. The aim of this dissertation is to analyze, operationalize, and empirically explore the potentials of the concept of culture in macro- level injury research. The dissertation is built upon five different papers. The empirical papers investigate the scope available for emp...
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Monahan, Torin; Fisher, Jill A
2010-10-01
The aim of this study was to assess empirically the social and ethical risks associated with implantable radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices. Qualitative research included observational studies in twenty-three U.S. hospitals that have implemented new patient identification systems and eighty semi-structured interviews about the social and ethical implications of new patient identification systems, including RFID implants. The study identified three primary social and ethical risks associated with RFID implants: (i) unfair prioritization of patients based on their participation in the system, (ii) diminished trust of patients by care providers, and (iii) endangerment of patients who misunderstand the capabilities of the systems. RFID implants may aggravate inequalities in access to care without any clear health benefits. This research underscores the importance of critically evaluating new healthcare technologies from the perspective of both normative ethics and empirical ethics.
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Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Kaňková, Vlasta
2017-01-01
Roč. 53, č. 6 (2017), s. 1026-1046 ISSN 0023-5954 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-10331S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : stochastic programming * stochastic dominance * empirical estimates * financial applications Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research OBOR OECD: Statistics and probability Impact factor: 0.379, year: 2016 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2017/E/kankova-0485151.pdf
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Gender Roles, Gender (In)equality and Fertility: An Empirical Test of Five Gender Equity Indices
Mills, M.
2010-01-01
The division of gender roles in the household and societal level gender (in)equality have been situated as one of the most powerful factors underlying fertility behaviour. Despite continued theoretical attention to this issue by demographers, empirical research integrating gender roles and equity in
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A legal and empirical investigation into the direct selling industry’s advocacy in the EU
Tokaji-Nagy, Orsolya
2016-01-01
This dissertation is made up of legal and empirical research into the direct selling industry’s advocacy in the European Union. In the context of the European pluralistic democracy or, somewhat pejoratively, the Brussels “lobbyocracy”, the thesis intends to increase lobbying transparency by mapping
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Boumans, M.; Sent, E.M.
2013-01-01
This paper provides an assessment of the contributions of the 2011 Nobel Prize winners, Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims. They received the prize ‘for their empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy’. The paper illustrates that Sargent entertained different interpretations of
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Semi-empirical relationship between the hardness, grain size and mean free path of WC-Co
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Makhele-Lekala, L
2001-01-01
Full Text Available , grain size of WC and mean free path in Co was obtained. It was found that the empirical formula fitted our measured hardness well. However, when used against results of other researchers, it did not reproduce them satisfactorily at values higher than...
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Empirical Modeling on Hot Air Drying of Fresh and Pre-treated Pineapples
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tanongkankit Yardfon
2016-01-01
Full Text Available This research was aimed to study drying kinetics and determine empirical model of fresh pineapple and pre-treated pineapple with sucrose solution at different concentrations during drying. 3 mm thick samples were immersed into 30, 40 and 50 Brix of sucrose solution before hot air drying at temperatures of 60, 70 and 80°C. The empirical models to predict the drying kinetics were investigated. The results showed that the moisture content decreased when increasing the drying temperatures and times. Increase in sucrose concentration led to longer drying time. According to the statistical values of the highest coefficients (R2, the lowest least of chi-square (χ2 and root mean square error (RMSE, Logarithmic model was the best models for describing the drying behavior of soaked samples into 30, 40 and 50 Brix of sucrose solution.
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Environmental regulation of households. An empirical review of economic and psychological factors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M.
2008-01-01
The literature on sustainable consumption and environmental regulation of household behavior is dominated by conceptual and normative approaches. As a result, many suggestions lack a firm empirical basis. To overcome this deficiency, econometric studies in three areas of environmentally relevant activities of households are reviewed: residential use of energy, generation of solid waste and recycling, and residential use of water. Next to price and income elasticities, attention is devoted to individual socio-economic features and psychological factors, such as attitudes, knowledge, perceptions and values. Potential psychological determinants and related insights are further examined by discussing a range of representative and illustrative statistical-psychological studies of environmental behavior. One important general finding is that there are very few empirical studies that systematically combine socio-economic and psychological determinants. A range of insights for environmental policy is derived, and research recommendations are offered. (author)
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The effect of marketing expenses on car sales – an empirical analysis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tudose Mihaela Brînduşa
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The paper assesses empirically the relationship between marketing expenditures and sales in a highly competitive industry, namely automotive, by analyzing the marketing expending of Automobile Dacia S.A. The first part of the paper presents the state-of-the-art and discusses the studies previously conducted which focus on the structure, dynamic and the impact of marketing expenses, while the second part consists in an empirical analysis conducted on Automobile Dacia S.A. marketing spending. The results of the study show that the company managed to increase its’ market share by adopting differentiated marketing for each geographical area. Although the research revealed that the allocation percentage from sales for marketing spending is relatively low (5-6%, the analysis conducted on the cost per unit sold reveals a share of 3% on marketing spending.
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Nordic research in logistics and supply chain management
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Arlbjørn, Jan Stentoft; Jonsson, Patrik; Johansen, John
2006-01-01
management and to explain how the discipline differs in terms of demographics, research areas, methodological approach, resources and publication. The analysis is conducted in a Nordic research context through a survey distributed to persons with research interest in logistics and supply chain management......This article reflects on research completed within logistics and supply chain management in the Nordic countries based on an empirical analysis. The purpose of this paper is to describe the characteristics of the Nordic academic discipline working in the field of logistics and supply chain....... The research does not provide clear empirical evidence of the contours of a Nordic research paradigm within logistics and supply chain management. The analysis shows that the significant and typical research issues among the Nordic researchers are the focus on supply chains/networks as the most important...
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Subjective social status, social network and health disparities: empirical evidence from Greece.
Charonis, Antonios; Kyriopoulos, Ilias-Ioannis; Spanakis, Manos; Zavras, Dimitris; Athanasakis, Kostas; Pavi, Elpida; Kyriopoulos, John
2017-02-27
Several studies suggest that socioeconomic status affects (SES) affects self-rated health (SRH), both in Greece and internationally. However, prior research mainly uses objective measures of SES, instead of subjective evaluations of individuals' social status. Based on this, this paper aims to examine (a) the impact of the economic dowturn on SRH in Greece and (b) the relationship between subjective social status (SSS), social network and SRH. The descriptive analysis is based on four cross-sectional surveys conducted by the National School of Public Health, Athens, Greece (2002, 2006, 2011, 2015), while the data for the empirical investigation were derived from the 2015 survey (Health + Welfare Survey GR). The empirical strategy is based on an ordinal logistic regression model, aiming to examine how several variables affect SRH. Size of social network and SSS are among the independent variables employed for the empirical analysis RESULTS: According to our findings, average SRH has deteriorated, and the percentage of the population that reports very good/good SRH has also decreased. Moreover, our empirical analysis suggests that age, existence of a chronic disease, size of social network and SSS affect SRH in Greece. Our findings are consistent with the existing literature and confirm a social gradient in health. According to our analysis, health disparities can be largely attributed to socioeconomic inequalities. The adverse economic climate has impact on socioeconomic differences which in turn affect health disparities. Based on these, policy initiatives are necessasy in order to mitigate the negative impact on health and the disparities caused by economic dowturn and the occuring socioeconomic inequalities.
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African Journals Online (AJOL)
FIRST LADY
2011-01-18
Jan 18, 2011 ... Empirical results reveal that consumption of sugar in. Kenya varies ... experiences in trade in different regions of the world. Some studies ... To assess the relationship between domestic sugar retail prices and sugar sales in ...
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Empirical analysis of uranium spot prices
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Morman, M.R.
1988-01-01
The objective is to empirically test a market model of the uranium industry that incorporates the notion that, if the resource is viewed as an asset by economic agents, then its own rate of return along with the own rate of return of a competing asset would be a major factor in formulating the price of the resource. The model tested is based on a market model of supply and demand. The supply model incorporates the notion that the decision criteria used by uranium mine owners is to select that extraction rate that maximizes the net present value of their extraction receipts. The demand model uses a concept that allows for explicit recognition of the prospect of arbitrage between a natural-resource market and the market for other capital goods. The empirical approach used for estimation was a recursive or causal model. The empirical results were consistent with the theoretical models. The coefficients of the demand and supply equations had the appropriate signs. Tests for causality were conducted to validate the use of the causal model. The results obtained were favorable. The implication of the findings as related to future studies of exhaustible resources are: (1) in some cases causal models are the appropriate specification for empirical analysis; (2) supply models should incorporate a measure to capture depletion effects
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andreas J. Stylianides
2011-08-01
Full Text Available The concept of proof is central to meaningful learning of mathematics, but is hard for students to learn. A serious misconception dominant amongst students at all levels of schooling is that empirical arguments are proofs. An important question, then, is the following: What knowledge might enable teachers to help students overcome this misconception? Earlier research led to construction of a significant but rather incomplete ‘knowledge package’ for teaching in this area. Major elements of this knowledge package are summarised and its further development is contributed to by discussing a research-based instructional intervention found to be effective in helping secondary students begin to overcome the misconception that empirical arguments are proofs. Implications for mathematics teacher education are considered.
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EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF THE FIRMS’ VALUE DRIVERS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anita KISS
2015-12-01
Full Text Available This paper focuses on the value creation and the value drivers. One of the objectives of this paper is to present the concept of maximizing shareholder value. The main goal is to categorize the most important value drivers, and their role of the firms’ value. This study proceeds as follows. The first section presents the value chain, the primary and the support activities. The second part describes the theoretical background of maximizing shareholder value. The third part illustrates the key value drivers. The fourth empirical section of the study analyses the database featuring data from 18 European countries, 10 sectors and 1553 firms in the period between 2004 and 2011. Finally, the fifth section includes concluding remarks. Based on the related literature reviewed and in the conducted empirical research it can be assessed that, the EBIT, reinvestment, invested capital, the return on invested capital, the net margin and the sales growth rate all have a positive effect on firm value, while the tax rate and the market value of return on asset (MROA has a negative one.
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Kindness in Australia: an empirical critique of moral decline sociology.
Habibis, Daphne; Hookway, Nicholas; Vreugdenhil, Anthea
2016-09-01
A new sociological agenda is emerging that interrogates how morality can be established in the absence of the moral certainties of the past but there is a shortage of empirical work on this topic. This article establishes a theoretical framework for the empirical analysis of everyday morality drawing on the work of theorists including Ahmed, Bauman and Taylor. It uses the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes to assess the state and shape of contemporary moralities by asking how kind are Australians, how is its expression socially distributed, and what are the motivations for kindness. The findings demonstrate that Australians exhibit a strong attachment and commitment to kindness as a moral value that is primarily motivated by interiorized sources of moral authority. We argue these findings support the work of theorists such as Ahmed and Taylor who argue authenticity and embodied emotion are legitimate sources of morality in today's secular societies. The research also provides new evidence that generational changes are shaping understandings and practices of kindness in unexpected ways. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2016.
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Cognitive culture: theoretical and empirical insights into social learning strategies.
Rendell, Luke; Fogarty, Laurel; Hoppitt, William J E; Morgan, Thomas J H; Webster, Mike M; Laland, Kevin N
2011-02-01
Research into social learning (learning from others) has expanded significantly in recent years, not least because of productive interactions between theoretical and empirical approaches. This has been coupled with a new emphasis on learning strategies, which places social learning within a cognitive decision-making framework. Understanding when, how and why individuals learn from others is a significant challenge, but one that is critical to numerous fields in multiple academic disciplines, including the study of social cognition. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kang, M. Y.; Kim, J. H.; Choi, H. D. [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Sun, G. M. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)
2014-05-15
In the field of γ-ray measurements, the determination of full energy (FE) absorption peak efficiency for a voluminous sample is difficult, because the preparation of the certified radiation source with the same chemical composition and geometry for the original voluminous sample is not easy. In order to solve this inconvenience, simulation or semi-empirical methods are preferred in many cases. Effective Solid Angle (ESA) Code which includes semi-empirical approach has been developed by the Applied Nuclear Physics Group in Seoul National University. In this study, we validated ESA code by using Marinelli type voluminous KRISS (Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science) CRM (Certified Reference Materials) sources and IAEA standard γ-ray point sources. And semi-empirically determined efficiency curve for voluminous source by using the ESA code is compared with the experimental value. We calculated the efficiency curve of voluminous source from the measured efficiency of standard point source by using the ESA code. We will carry out the ESA code validation by measurement of various CRM volume sources with detector of different efficiency.
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Empirical evaluation methods in computer vision
Christensen, Henrik I
2002-01-01
This book provides comprehensive coverage of methods for the empirical evaluation of computer vision techniques. The practical use of computer vision requires empirical evaluation to ensure that the overall system has a guaranteed performance. The book contains articles that cover the design of experiments for evaluation, range image segmentation, the evaluation of face recognition and diffusion methods, image matching using correlation methods, and the performance of medical image processing algorithms. Sample Chapter(s). Foreword (228 KB). Chapter 1: Introduction (505 KB). Contents: Automate
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Empirical direction in design and analysis
Anderson, Norman H
2001-01-01
The goal of Norman H. Anderson's new book is to help students develop skills of scientific inference. To accomplish this he organized the book around the ""Experimental Pyramid""--six levels that represent a hierarchy of considerations in empirical investigation--conceptual framework, phenomena, behavior, measurement, design, and statistical inference. To facilitate conceptual and empirical understanding, Anderson de-emphasizes computational formulas and null hypothesis testing. Other features include: *emphasis on visual inspection as a basic skill in experimental analysis to help student
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Kim, Jane Paik; Roberts, Laura Weiss
Empirical ethics inquiry works from the notion that stakeholder perspectives are necessary for gauging the ethical acceptability of human studies and assuring that research aligns with societal expectations. Although common, studies involving different populations often entail comparisons of trends that problematize the interpretation of results. Using graphical model selection - a technique aimed at transcending limitations of conventional methods - this report presents data on the ethics of clinical research with two objectives: (1) to display the patterns of views held by ill and healthy individuals in clinical research as a test of the study's original hypothesis and (2) to introduce graphical model selection as a key analytic tool for ethics research. In this IRB-approved, NIH-funded project, data were collected from 60 mentally ill and 43 physically ill clinical research protocol volunteers, 47 healthy protocol-consented participants, and 29 healthy individuals without research protocol experience. Respondents were queried on the ethical acceptability of research involving people with mental and physical illness (i.e., cancer, HIV, depression, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder) and non-illness related sources of vulnerability (e.g., age, class, gender, ethnicity). Using a statistical algorithm, we selected graphical models to display interrelationships among responses to questions. Both mentally and physically ill protocol volunteers revealed a high degree of connectivity among ethically-salient perspectives. Healthy participants, irrespective of research protocol experience, revealed patterns of views that were not highly connected. Between ill and healthy protocol participants, the pattern of views is vastly different. Experience with illness was tied to dense connectivity, whereas healthy individuals expressed views with sparse connections. In offering a nuanced perspective on the interrelation of ethically relevant responses, graphical
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U-tube steam generator empirical model development and validation using neural networks
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Parlos, A.G.; Chong, K.T.; Atiya, A.
1992-01-01
Empirical modeling techniques that use model structures motivated from neural networks research have proven effective in identifying complex process dynamics. A recurrent multilayer perception (RMLP) network was developed as a nonlinear state-space model structure along with a static learning algorithm for estimating the parameter associated with it. The methods developed were demonstrated by identifying two submodels of a U-tube steam generator (UTSG), each valid around an operating power level. A significant drawback of this approach is the long off-line training times required for the development of even a simplified model of a UTSG. Subsequently, a dynamic gradient descent-based learning algorithm was developed as an accelerated alternative to train an RMLP network for use in empirical modeling of power plants. The two main advantages of this learning algorithm are its ability to consider past error gradient information for future use and the two forward passes associated with its implementation. The enhanced learning capabilities provided by the dynamic gradient descent-based learning algorithm were demonstrated via the case study of a simple steam boiler power plant. In this paper, the dynamic gradient descent-based learning algorithm is used for the development and validation of a complete UTSG empirical model
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Empirical testing of Kotler's high-performance factors to increase sales growth
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Oren Dayan
2010-12-01
Full Text Available Purpose and/or objectives: The primary objective of this study is to empirically test Kotler's (2003 high-performance model which ensures an increase in sales growth. More specifically, the study explores the influence of process variables (as measured by marketing strategies, resources management (as measured by the management of labour, materials, machines, information technology and energy and organisational variables (as measured by TQM and organisational culture on sales growth in the food, motorcar and high-technology manufacturing industries. Problem investigated Various research studies suggest that the managers of firms are continuously challenged in their attempts to increase their sales (Morre, 2007; Pauwels, Silva Risso, Srinivasan & Hanssens, 2004: 142-143; Gray & Hayes, 2007: 1. Kotler (2003 suggests a model that leads to a high performing business. The question is posed as to whether this model can be used to increase sales growth in all businesses. This study seeks to develop a generic model to increase sales growth across industries by using an adapted version of Kotler's (2003 high-performance model. The study investigates the application of this adapted model on the food, motorcar and high-technology manufacturing industries. Design and/or methodology and/or approach: An empirical causal research design that includes 770 marketing and product development practitioners from multinational food, motorcar and high-technology manufacturing firms, was used in this study. A response rate of 76.1% was achieved as only 571 useable questionnaires were returned. The internal reliability and discriminant validity of the measuring instrument were assessed by the calculation of Cronbach alpha coefficients and the conducting an exploratory factor analysis respectively. Structural Equation Modelling SEM was used to statistically test the relationships between the independent variables (marketing strategies, resource management, TQM and
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
R M Oosthuizen
2007-10-01
Full Text Available The general aim of the research was to theoretically and empirically study and evaluate job and family stressors amongst firefighters in the South African context. This also included an empirical evaluation of the stress symptoms of firefighters. The research was quantitative, consisting of a survey design. Three measuring instruments were used, namely the Experience of Work and Life Circumstances questionnaire, the Stress questionnaire as well as a biographical questionnaire. Task characteristics, organisational functioning, physical working conditions and job equipment, career and social matters, remuneration, fringe benefits and personnel policy were identified as causes of job stress originating within the work situation. Marital dysfunction and divorce, limited time with the family, problems with children, alcohol and drug abuse, lack of exercise, suicide, anger aimed at family members, physical and emotional exhaustion, lonely marital partners, unavailability to help the family when needed and depression were identified as causes of family stress arising outside the work situation.
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Trends in Research Methods in Applied Linguistics: China and the West.
Yihong, Gao; Lichun, Li; Jun, Lu
2001-01-01
Examines and compares current trends in applied linguistics (AL) research methods in China and the West. Reviews AL articles in four Chinese journals, from 1978-1997, and four English journals from 1985 to 1997. Articles are categorized and subcategorized. Results show that in China, AL research is heading from non-empirical toward empirical, with…
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Benin | IDRC - International Development Research Centre
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
... the country's decision-makers tools to design policies to combat poverty. ... Our funding in agricultural research in Benin has helped improve small farm operations. ... climate change on food security and rural poverty; reduce urban air pollution, ... research capabilities at Benin's Institute for Empirical Research in Political ...
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K.R. Jongsma (Karin); S. van de Vathorst (Suzanne)
2015-01-01
textabstractIn order to discover an effective treatment for dementia it is necessary to include dementia patients in clinical research trials. Dementia patients face an increased risk to lose the capacity to consent to research participation, and research possibilities with incompetent participants
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Ion temperature in the outer ionosphere - first version of a global empirical model
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Třísková, Ludmila; Truhlík, Vladimír; Šmilauer, Jan; Smirnova, N. F.
2004-01-01
Roč. 34, č. 9 (2004), s. 1998-2003 ISSN 0273-1177 R&D Projects: GA ČR GP205/02/P037; GA AV ČR IAA3042201; GA MŠk ME 651 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3042911 Keywords : plasma temperatures * topside ionosphere * empirical models Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 0.548, year: 2004
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New Product Development in the Fashion Industry: An Empirical Investigation of Italian Firms
Bandinelli, Romeo; Rinaldi, Rinaldo; Rossi, Monica; Terzi, Sergio
2013-01-01
This paper investigates how companies in the fashion industry organize, plan and perform their New Product Development process (NPD). The results have been achieved through an empirical study carried out by the authors with the support of the GeCo Observatory, an Italian research initiative launched in 2012. This paper shows the details of eight selected case studies from the Italian fashion industry.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tatyana B. Zagorulya
2015-01-01
Full Text Available The aim of the study is to consider the problem of empirical research aimed at identifying the personality traits of students as bearers of innovation culture: innovative susceptibility, assertiveness, autonomy in decision-making, initiative and responsibility.Methods. In accordance with the object and purpose of the empirical research, empirical methods are used: instructional design model, observation, notes and forming experiments, testing, questionnaire, interview, qualitative analysis of empirical data; block of complementary techniques: «Research of features of response to conflict» (by K. Thomas, «Assertiveness», «Leader. Qualities of a Leader», «Leading representative system».Scientific novelty and results. Scientific novelty consists in the justification of psycho-pedagogical tools for diagnosing the level of development of the innovation culture of students of high school. It is found that students who successfully realizing the potential strength and ability to organize their own life, educational activities and communication on the basis of aggregate conscious goals, values in assertiveness, are outer-directed to innovation taking place in society and in the world. The use of innovative technologies in the educational process, especially creative projects, the decision of cases, holding debates, simulations and role-playing games creates conditions for the development of assertive behavior required in the process of successful adaptation and integration of students in the educational environment of the university, the acquisition of competitiveness in the society. It is concluded that the presence of the students’ considerable potential for the development of an innovation culture, in particular the leading representative of different systems, allowing to develop communication skills and engage in constructive dialogue.Practical significance. Appropriate methods and appropriate tools for diagnosing the level
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A Web-based multimedia collaboratory. Empirical work studies in film archives
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pejtersen, A.M.; Albrechtsen, H.; Cleal, B.
2001-01-01
and interfaces for collaborative work and content-based access to digital repositories for film archives, researchers and end-users. This report is based on empirical analysis of three film archives inGermany, Austria and the Czech Republic, and seeks to elicit the user needs for a collaboratory in this domain....... Both the collection and analysis of data have been organised according to principles of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) as pioneered at Risø (cf.Rasmussen, Pejtersen and Goodstein 1994). Research based work on individual film projects is, due to international distribution and multiple versions, dependent......The Collaboratory for Annotation, Indexing and Retrieval of Digitized Historical Archive Material (Collate) is intended to foster and support collaboration on research, cultural mediation and preservation of films through a distributed multimediarepository. The tool will provide web-based tools...
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Empirical Investigation of Electricity Self-Generation in a Lubricated Sliding–Rolling Contact
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ščepanskis, Mihails; Gould, Benjamin; Greco, Aaron
2017-07-20
The paper reports the empirical observations of voltage generation in a lubricated tribocontact with different oils altering load, sliding and temperature. The investigation is done in the context of research of the root cause of white etching cracks (WEC) failure in bearings. Tested oils of different additive packages found completely different electrical behavior. The oil, which is known to produce WECs in laboratory tests, demonstrated non-zero voltage generation
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Manager’s decision-making in organizations –empirical analysis of bureaucratic vs. learning approach
Jana Frenová; Daniela Hrehová; Eva Bolfíková
2010-01-01
The paper is focused on the study of manager’s decision-making with respect to the basic model of learning organization, presented by P. Senge as a system model of management. On one hand, the empirical research was conducted in connection with key dimensions of organizational learning such as: 1. system thinking, 2. personal mastery, 3. mental models, 4. team learning, 5. building shared vision and 6. dynamics causes. On the other hand, the research was connected with the analysis of the bur...
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Skogh, I.B.; Vries, de M.J.
2013-01-01
This book presents the scientific output of the TUFF research school in Sweden. In this school, a group of active teachers worked together on a series of educational research studies. All of those studies were related to the teaching about technology and engineering. The research program consisted
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Forest canopy effects on snow accumulation and ablation: an integrative review of empirical results
Andres Varhola; Nicholas C. Coops; Markus Weiler; R. Dan Moore
2010-01-01
The past century has seen significant research comparing snow accumulation and ablation in forested and open sites. In this review we compile and standardize the results of previous empirical studies to generate statistical relations between changes in forest cover and the associated changes in snow accumulation and ablation rate. The analysis drew upon 33 articles...
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den Hond, F.; Boersma, F.K.; Heres, L.; Kroes, E.H.J.; van Oirschot, E.
2012-01-01
There is an increasing interest in the application of Structuration Theory in the fields of management and organization studies. Based upon a thorough literature review, we have come up with a data-set to assess how Structuration Theory has been used in empirical research. We use three key concepts
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Essays in empirical microeconomics
Péter, A.N.
2016-01-01
The empirical studies in this thesis investigate various factors that could affect individuals' labor market, family formation and educational outcomes. Chapter 2 focuses on scheduling as a potential determinant of individuals' productivity. Chapter 3 looks at the role of a family factor on
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A balanced scorecard approach in assessing IT value in healthcare sector: an empirical examination.
Wu, Ing-Long; Kuo, Yi-Zu
2012-12-01
Healthcare sector indicates human-based and knowledge-intensive property. Massive IT investments are necessary to maintain competitiveness in this sector. The justification of IT investments is the major concern of senior management. Empirical studies examining IT value have found inconclusive results with little or no improvement in productivity. Little research has been conducted in healthcare sector. The balanced scorecard (BSC) strikes a balance between financial and non-financial measure and has been applied in evaluating organization-based performance. Moreover, healthcare organizations often consider their performance goal at customer satisfaction in addition to financial performance. This research thus proposed a new hierarchical structure for the BSC with placing both finance and customer at the top, internal process at the next, and learning and growth at the bottom. Empirical examination has found the importance of the new BSC structure in assessing IT investments. Learning and growth plays the initial driver for reaching both customer and financial performance through the mediator of internal process. This can provide deep insight into effectively managing IT resources in the hospitals.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nils Petter Hauan
2014-04-01
Full Text Available One aim for many natural history museums, science museums and science centres is to contribute to school-related learning in science. In this article we review published empirical studies of this challenging area. The review indicates that the effectiveness of educational activities at different types of science-communication venues (SCV in supporting students’ science learning varies. There is also evidence of interesting differences between activities, depending on how these activities are designed. Firstly, these activities can stimulate interest and conceptual focus through a well-designed combination of structure and openness. Secondly, they can stimulate talks and explorations related to the presented topics. We have identified two possible areas which might prove fruitful in guiding further research: an exploration of the effects of different designs for guided exploratory learning, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of educational activities by studying the presence and quality of the learning processes visitors are engaged in.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Glenn D. Shean
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Empirically validated psychosocial therapies for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia were described in the report of the Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT, 2009. The PORT team identified eight psychosocial treatments: assertive community treatment, supported employment, cognitive behavioral therapy, family-based services, token economy, skills training, psychosocial interventions for alcohol and substance use disorders, and psychosocial interventions for weight management. PORT listings of empirically validated psychosocial therapies provide a useful template for the design of effective recovery-oriented mental health care systems. Unfortunately, surveys indicate that PORT listings have not been implemented in clinical settings. Obstacles to the implementation of PORT psychosocial therapy listings and suggestions for changes needed to foster implementation are discussed. Limitations of PORT therapy listings that are based on therapy outcome efficacy studies are discussed, and cross-cultural and course and outcome studies of correlates of recovery are summarized.
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OAH Magazine of History, 2002
2002-01-01
Summarizes a teaching document that is part of "Teaching the JAH" (Journal of American History) which corresponds to the article, "Empires, Exceptions, and Anglo-Saxons: Race and Rule between the British and Unites States Empires, 1880-1910" (Paul A. Kramer). Provides the Web site address for the complete installment. (CMK)
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Information Assurance in Saudi Organizations - An Empirical Study
Nabi, Syed Irfan; Mirza, Abdulrahman A.; Alghathbar, Khaled
This paper presents selective results of a survey conducted to find out the much needed insight into the status of information security in Saudi Arabian organizations. The purpose of this research is to give the state of information assurance in the Kingdom and to better understand the prevalent ground realities. The survey covered technical aspects of information security, risk management and information assurance management. The results provide deep insights in to the existing level of information assurance in various sectors that can be helpful in better understanding the intricate details of the prevalent information security in the Kingdom. Also, the results can be very useful for information assurance policy makers in the government as well as private sector organizations. There are few empirical studies on information assurance governance available in literature, especially about the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, therefore, the results are invaluable for information security researchers in improving the understanding of information assurance in this region and the Kingdom.
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Analytical and ethical complexities in video game research
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Andersen, Mads Lund; Chimiri, Niklas Alexander; Søndergaard, Dorte Marie
Session: Sociomaterial complexities in digital-analog spaces Abstract: Analytical and ethical complexities in video game research A central issue that video game research seldom explicitly articulates is the ethical complexities involved in its empirical and analytical work. The presentation...... explores common research questions posed and analytical foci chosen by video game researchers subscribing to either the media effects tradition, represented by (ref.) or to interdisciplinary Game Studies. Both fields, which tend to depict themselves as polar-opposites, build on ethical assumptions...... of theoretical or analytical arrogance. The relevance of acknowledging and situating ethical complexity becomes pertinent when alternatively taking a sociomaterial perspective on doing empirical and analytical work on video gaming. From an agential realist point of view, for instance, a researcher...
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Advancing Empirical Scholarship to Further Develop Evaluation Theory and Practice
Christie, Christina A.
2011-01-01
Good theory development is grounded in empirical inquiry. In the context of educational evaluation, the development of empirically grounded theory has important benefits for the field and the practitioner. In particular, a shift to empirically derived theory will assist in advancing more systematic and contextually relevant evaluation practice, as…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Boris Urban
2017-04-01
Full Text Available Orientation: A critical reading of the human resource management (HRM literature finds limited contributions to understanding the organisational determinants of social enterprises and how these may contribute to higher levels of social innovativeness. Although innovation is a key theme in organisational research it has been acknowledged that the field needs more theory-based examinations of different types of innovativeness. Research purpose: To determine how different organisational capabilities are related to social innovation. Motivation for the study: Many social enterprises in developing countries do not have the requisite capabilities to efficiently manage all their programmes, which presents a major threat to organisational sustainability. Research design, approach and method: The empirical analysis is a cross-sectional study based on primary survey data. Hypotheses are tested using correlational and regression analysis. Main findings: The results show that the organisational learning capabilities of knowledge conversion, risk management, organisational dialogue and participative decision-making all have a significant and positive relationship with social innovation. Practical/managerial implications: Managers and practitioners can leverage the different organisational learning capabilities to improve social innovations in their social enterprises. Contribution/value-add: The study is one of the first in an African market context to empirically investigate social enterprises in terms of social innovation and organisational learning perspectives.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Miloslava Chovancová
2015-06-01
Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between the adoption of a brand orientation strategy and customer relationship performance in a small service firm setting. More specifically, in addition to investigating the direct link between brand orientation and customer relationship performance, we further examine the moderating effects of entrepreneurial orientation and perceived competitive intensity on the empirical link between brand orientation and customer relationship performance. To test the hypothesized relationships in the conceptual framework, 105 usable structured questionnaires were collected from small service firms and the data were further analyzed using a hierarchical, moderated regression analysis. The results affirm the positive link between brand orientation and customer relationship performance. Moreover, entrepreneurial orientation is found to strengthen the brand orientation-customer relationship performance link. However, our results show that competitive intensity does not significantly moderate the brand orientation-customer relationship performance link. Nonetheless, it is highly suggestive that perceived competitive intensity is a direct predictor of customer relationship performance. In terms of the practical significance of the overall research model, the effect size is fairly large (Cohen’s f 2 = 0.33. The research implications and directions for future research are further highlighted in the penultimate section of the paper.
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Multiscale empirical interpolation for solving nonlinear PDEs
Calo, Victor M.
2014-12-01
In this paper, we propose a multiscale empirical interpolation method for solving nonlinear multiscale partial differential equations. The proposed method combines empirical interpolation techniques and local multiscale methods, such as the Generalized Multiscale Finite Element Method (GMsFEM). To solve nonlinear equations, the GMsFEM is used to represent the solution on a coarse grid with multiscale basis functions computed offline. Computing the GMsFEM solution involves calculating the system residuals and Jacobians on the fine grid. We use empirical interpolation concepts to evaluate these residuals and Jacobians of the multiscale system with a computational cost which is proportional to the size of the coarse-scale problem rather than the fully-resolved fine scale one. The empirical interpolation method uses basis functions which are built by sampling the nonlinear function we want to approximate a limited number of times. The coefficients needed for this approximation are computed in the offline stage by inverting an inexpensive linear system. The proposed multiscale empirical interpolation techniques: (1) divide computing the nonlinear function into coarse regions; (2) evaluate contributions of nonlinear functions in each coarse region taking advantage of a reduced-order representation of the solution; and (3) introduce multiscale proper-orthogonal-decomposition techniques to find appropriate interpolation vectors. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods on several nonlinear multiscale PDEs that are solved with Newton\\'s methods and fully-implicit time marching schemes. Our numerical results show that the proposed methods provide a robust framework for solving nonlinear multiscale PDEs on a coarse grid with bounded error and significant computational cost reduction.
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Calibrating mechanistic-empirical pavement performance models with an expert matrix
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tighe, S.; AlAssar, R.; Haas, R. [Waterloo Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Civil Engineering; Zhiwei, H. [Stantec Consulting Ltd., Cambridge, ON (Canada)
2001-07-01
Proper management of pavement infrastructure requires pavement performance modelling. For the past 20 years, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation has used the Ontario Pavement Analysis of Costs (OPAC) system for pavement design. Pavement needs, however, have changed substantially during that time. To address this need, a new research contract is underway to enhance the model and verify the predictions, particularly at extreme points such as low and high traffic volume pavement design. This initiative included a complete evaluation of the existing OPAC pavement design method, the construction of a new set of pavement performance prediction models, and the development of the flexible pavement design procedure that incorporates reliability analysis. The design was also expanded to include rigid pavement designs and modification of the existing life cycle cost analysis procedure which includes both the agency cost and road user cost. Performance prediction and life-cycle costs were developed based on several factors, including material properties, traffic loads and climate. Construction and maintenance schedules were also considered. The methodology for the calibration and validation of a mechanistic-empirical flexible pavement performance model was described. Mechanistic-empirical design methods combine theory based design such as calculated stresses, strains or deflections with empirical methods, where a measured response is associated with thickness and pavement performance. Elastic layer analysis was used to determine pavement response to determine the most effective design using cumulative Equivalent Single Axle Loads (ESALs), below grade type and layer thickness.The new mechanistic-empirical model separates the environment and traffic effects on performance. This makes it possible to quantify regional differences between Southern and Northern Ontario. In addition, roughness can be calculated in terms of the International Roughness Index or Riding comfort Index
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Gambling behavior and problems among older adults: a systematic review of empirical studies.
Tse, Samson; Hong, Song-Iee; Wang, Chong-Wen; Cunningham-Williams, Renee M
2012-09-01
With the rapid aging of the population and the increased availability of gambling facilities over the past three decades, older adults may gamble more and may be increasingly at risk for problem gambling (PG) or pathological gambling disorder (PGD). To facilitate a better understanding of gambling behavior among older adults that will inform preventive strategies, this article systematically examined empirical studies on issues related to older adults' gambling. This article reviewed 75 empirical studies including data on the distribution and determinants of PG and PGD and the outcomes of gambling. This review used the broad term of "disordered gambling" as a means to explain a continuum of problems caused by PG and PGD. The analyses covered seven topics concerning older adults' gambling behaviors: Participation rates for gambling, prevalence rates of disordered gambling, motivation for initially beginning to gamble, risk and protective factors for disordered gambling, and negative and positive health outcomes from gambling. Based on research gaps identified in the review, this article proposes six recommendations for future studies focusing on well-being of older adults who gamble, research method issues, and taking into account older adults' inspirations and adjustment to the aging process in the 21st century.
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EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON THE EXTERNAL AUDIT OF BANKS IN SERBIA
Biljana Jovković; Snežana Ljubisavljević; Vladimir Obradović
2012-01-01
The paper first explains the role, importance, and objectives of the external audit of banks through their most important definitions, thus illustrating the subject and aim of the research. The methodology of the research and data on the sample are presented afterwards. Results of the questionnaire survey which comprised 28 banks in the Republic of Serbia (RS) show what bankers prefer, and compared to global experience there is no significant difference. As a final point, the inherent l...
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Fisher, Monica G.
2004-01-01
Includes: On the Empirical Finding of a Higher Risk of Poverty in Rural Areas: Is Rural Residence Endogenous to Poverty?:COMMENT, by Thomas A. Hirschl; On the Empirical Finding of a Higher Risk of Poverty in Rural Areas: Is Rural Residence Endogenous to Poverty?: REPLY, by Monica Fisher. Research shows people are more likely to be poor in rural versus urban America. Does this phenomenon partly reflect that people who choose rural residence have unmeasured attributes related to human impoveris...
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Empirically sampling Universal Dependencies
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Schluter, Natalie; Agic, Zeljko
2017-01-01
Universal Dependencies incur a high cost in computation for unbiased system development. We propose a 100% empirically chosen small subset of UD languages for efficient parsing system development. The technique used is based on measurements of model capacity globally. We show that the diversity o...
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Advanced Marginality as a comparative research strategy in praxis:
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Larsen, Troels Schultz
2018-01-01
and homology. These concepts are applied as the foundation of a comparative research design comprising three necessary and interconnected analytical moments linking reflexivity, theory and empirical analysis. Empirically this strategy and design is confronted in the case of four Danish “Grey belt” housing...
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Evaluation of empirical atmospheric diffusion data
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Horst, T.W.; Doran, J.C.; Nickola, P.W.
1979-10-01
A study has been made of atmospheric diffusion over level, homogeneous terrain of contaminants released from non-buoyant point sources up to 100 m in height. Current theories of diffusion are compared to empirical diffusion data, and specific dispersion estimation techniques are recommended which can be implemented with the on-site meteorological instrumentation required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A comparison of both the recommended diffusion model and the NRC diffusion model with the empirical data demonstrates that the predictions of the recommended model have both smaller scatter and less bias, particularly for groundlevel sources
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DIF Testing with an Empirical-Histogram Approximation of the Latent Density for Each Group
Woods, Carol M.
2011-01-01
This research introduces, illustrates, and tests a variation of IRT-LR-DIF, called EH-DIF-2, in which the latent density for each group is estimated simultaneously with the item parameters as an empirical histogram (EH). IRT-LR-DIF is used to evaluate the degree to which items have different measurement properties for one group of people versus…
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Marx and Dahrendorf on Income Inequality, Class Consciousness and Class Conflict: An Empirical Test.
Robinson, Robert V.; Kelley, Jonathan
The issue addressed by this paper is the lack of empirical research on the class theories of Karl Marx and Ralf Dahrendorf. In order to bridge this gap, data are analyzed on the theoretical and statistical implications of Marx's theory (which focuses on ownership of the means of production) and Dahrendorf's theory (which focuses on authority in…
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Newly developed semi-empirical formulas for (p, α) at 17.9 MeV and ...
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 74; Issue 6. Newly developed semi-empirical formulas for (, ) at 17.9 MeV and (, ) at 22.3 MeV reaction cross-sections. Eyyup Tel Abdullah Aydin E Gamze Aydin Abdullah Kaplan Ömer Yavaş İskender A Reyhancan. Research Articles Volume 74 Issue 6 June ...
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Motivating University Researchers
Hendriks, P.H.J.; Alves de Sousa, C.A.
2008-01-01
This paper presents an empirical investigation into how universities approach the need and means for motivating university researchers through their management practices. The role of work motivation for this group deserves attention because pressures from outside and within the universities are said
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Who supported the Deutsche Bundesbank? An empirical investigation
Maier, P; Knaap, T
2002-01-01
The relevance of public support for monetary policy has largely been over-looked in the empirical Central Bank literature. We have constructed a new indicator for the support of the German Bundesbank and present descriptive and empirical evidence. We find that major German interest groups were quite
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Geir Stenseth
2008-12-01
Full Text Available This article presents an empirical legal study in the field of property theory. I take as my point of departure the perspective of exclusion. Such a basic perspective falls short, however, when we conceptualize the exceptions from the exclusion rule. In this respect, a diversified set of considerations and concerns claims attention, including the nature of the relationship between the possessor and the object in question. This research digs into the new achievements in the fields of economics and life sciences, investigating the validity and relevance of arguments which may be derived from the possessor-object dimension. The findings suggest a differentiated view on how people comprehend various situations of possession, and the article proposes a gradual theoretical model for shaping and managing the legal concept of property in this respect. Finally, I indicate some practical legal topics which may take advantage of the model (e.g. the field of expropriation, the problem of whether a possession should be protected by a property rule or by a liability rule, and the problems related to property as a human right.
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Accounting research in family firms: Theoretical and empirical challenges
Prencipe, A.; Bar-Yosef, S.; Dekker, H.C.
2014-01-01
Family firms play a significant role in the global economy. Consistently, over the last two decades academia has turned its attention to the family dimension as a determinant of business phenomena, and this interest has increased over time. While family business research has reached an age of
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An Empirical Analysis of Differences in GDP per Capita and the Role of Human Capital
Sfakianakis, George; Magoutas, Anastasios I.; Georgopoulos, Demosthenes
2010-01-01
Using a generalized production function approach and insights from empirical research on the determinants of growth, this paper assesses the relative importance of specific factors in explaining differences in the levels of per capita GDP. Emphasis is placed on education, physical capital accumulation, the share of the public sector in economic…
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Empirical study of the important elements in the researcher development journey
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anthony E. Ward
2013-03-01
Full Text Available This paper presents the results of a study into what is important in the researcher development journey as perceived by students, academic supervisors and research administrators. The study was undertaken within the Department of Electronics at the University of York to test the survey instrument for a wider, multidisciplinary and multi-institutional survey. It was undertaken in the National context of a focus on the importance of postgraduate skills development being an integral part of the researcher journey. An integrated support system is used in the department for all postgraduate students. Results show that students and supervisors both agree that helping the student gain a PhD and seeing them as a professional researcher are of high importance. Research outputs were rated lowest for students and both rate administrative needs low. The study informs engagement with the administrative and skills development agendas thinking and is being used by the system development team.
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Predictive Analytics in Information Systems Research
G. Shmueli (Galit); O.R. Koppius (Otto)
2011-01-01
textabstractThis research essay highlights the need to integrate predictive analytics into information systems research and shows several concrete ways in which this goal can be accomplished. Predictive analytics include empirical methods (statistical and other) that generate data predictions as
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Understanding Ethics in School-Based Research
Bryan, Hazel; Burstow, Bob
2018-01-01
The notion of the "teacher as researcher" has been in the education lexicon since the mid-1970s. School-based research, we suggest, is currently enjoying something of a renaissance, flourishing within the emerging, complex school landscape. This empirical research engages with 25 school leaders to explore the ways in which…
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Parnas, Josef; Handest, Peter; Jansson, Lennart Bertil
2005-01-01
, the vulnerability markers to Sz--indicators that are intrinsic to this disorder and which were historically considered as constituting the phenotypic anchor of the very concept and the diagnostic validity of Sz spectrum disorders. In a more pragmatic clinical context, these indicators, considered here as symptoms......Our research group has for several years conducted philosophically informed, phenomenological-empirical studies of morbid alterations of conscious experience (subjectivity) in schizophrenia (Sz) and its spectrum of disorders. Some of these experiential alterations constitute, in our view...
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Gottlieb, Jacqueline
2018-05-01
In natural behavior we actively gather information using attention and active sensing behaviors (such as shifts of gaze) to sample relevant cues. However, while attention and decision making are naturally coordinated, in the laboratory they have been dissociated. Attention is studied independently of the actions it serves. Conversely, decision theories make the simplifying assumption that the relevant information is given, and do not attempt to describe how the decision maker may learn and implement active sampling policies. In this paper I review recent studies that address questions of attentional learning, cue validity and information seeking in humans and non-human primates. These studies suggest that learning a sampling policy involves large scale interactions between networks of attention and valuation, which implement these policies based on reward maximization, uncertainty reduction and the intrinsic utility of cognitive states. I discuss the importance of using such paradigms for formalizing the role of attention, as well as devising more realistic theories of decision making that capture a broader range of empirical observations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Juho Ritola
2015-01-01
Full Text Available In this essay, I first discuss the conditions set by theorists of democratic deliberation on proper deliberation. These conditions call for reasoned decisions from mutually acceptable premises. Next, I present the ideal of critical thinking that should guide the citizen in this deliberation. I then examine the empirical literature on human reasoning. Some research results in the empirical literature paint a bleak picture of human rationality: we fall victim to heuristics and biases, persevere in our beliefs in the face of contrary evidence, and justify our moral judgments by post hoc-reasoning. In addition, the deliberating groups have problems of their own. The groups may, for example, amplify errors or fall victim to information cascades. Though these epistemically detrimental processes can be overcome, they do present a challenge to our rationality. The essay concludes by arguing that the empirical evidence in fact supports an internalistic approach to group deliberation, a claim challenged by Solomon (2006.
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Internet Gaming Addiction: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research
Kuss, Daria Joanna; Griffiths, Mark D.
2012-01-01
The activity of play has been ever present in human history and the Internet has emerged as a playground increasingly populated by gamers. Research suggests that a minority of Internet game players experience symptoms traditionally associated with substance-related addictions, including mood modification, tolerance and salience. Because the…
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[Empirical study of the market orientation of veterinarians in The Netherlands].
Schuurmans, A J; Smidts, A
1990-04-01
Linked to the theoretical framework of marketing in the veterinary practice, as explained in Schuurmans and Smidts (1) pp. 1-10 and Schuurmans and Smidts (2), an empirical research project has been undertaken. This research gives insight into the extent to which practices base their services on a marketing orientation. By means of telephone inquiries among a sample of 166 veterinarians, this was investigated. The research shows that veterinarians think more in a product-oriented way than in a market-oriented way, and they do not use all the opportunities a marketing orientation could bring to their services. This expresses itself, among others by not using market segmentation, by the inadequate use of the marketing mix elements communication and distribution, and by the fact that the opportunities of the marketing information system are hardly applied. By means of further research in individual practices it might be possible to give concrete advise fit for that practice. Research among the clients of the veterinarians might, beside many other kinds of research, also give valuable insights.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ahmed, Saeema; Storga, M
2009-01-01
to developing the ontology engineering design integrated taxonomies (EDIT) with a theoretical approach in which concepts and relations are elicited from engineering design theories ontology (DO) The limitations and advantages of each approach are discussed. The research methodology adopted is to map......This paper presents a comparison of two previous and separate efforts to develop an ontology in the engineering design domain, together with an ontology proposal from which ontologies for a specific application may be derived. The research contrasts an empirical, user-centered approach...
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Tools for Empirical and Operational Analysis of Mobile Offloading in Loop-Based Applications
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alexandru-Corneliu OLTEANU
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Offloading for mobile devices is an increasingly popular research topic, matching the popu-larity mobile devices have in the general population. Studying mobile offloading is challenging because of device and application heterogeneity. However, we believe that focusing on a specific type of application can bring advances in offloading for mobile devices, while still keeping a wide range of applicability. In this paper we focus on loop-based applications, in which most of the functionality is given by iterating an execution loop. We model the main loop of the application with a graph that consists of a cycle and propose an operational analysis to study offloading on this model. We also propose a testbed based on a real-world application to empirically evaluate offloading. We conduct performance evaluation using both tools and compare the analytical and empirical results.
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Goodness! The empirical turn in health care ethics
Willems, D.; Pols, J.
2010-01-01
This paper is intended to encourage scholars to submit papers for a symposium and the next special issue of Medische Antropologie which will be on empirical studies of normative questions. We describe the ‘empirical turn’ in medical ethics. Medical ethics and bioethics in general have witnessed a
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Learning to Read Empirical Articles in General Psychology
Sego, Sandra A.; Stuart, Anne E.
2016-01-01
Many students, particularly underprepared students, struggle to identify the essential information in empirical articles. We describe a set of assignments for instructing general psychology students to dissect the structure of such articles. Students in General Psychology I read empirical articles and answered a set of general, factual questions…
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Principles Involving Marketing Policies: An Empirical Assessment
JS Armstrong; Randall L. Schultz
2005-01-01
We examined nine marketing textbooks, published since 1927, to see if they contained useful marketing principles. Four doctoral students found 566 normative statements about pricing, product, place, or promotion in these texts. None of these stateinents were supported by empirical evidence. Four raters agreed on only twenty of these 566 statements as providing meaningful principles. Twenty marketing professors rated whether the twenty meaningful principles were correct, supported by empirical...
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Empirical microeconomics action functionals
Baaquie, Belal E.; Du, Xin; Tanputraman, Winson
2015-06-01
A statistical generalization of microeconomics has been made in Baaquie (2013), where the market price of every traded commodity, at each instant of time, is considered to be an independent random variable. The dynamics of commodity market prices is modeled by an action functional-and the focus of this paper is to empirically determine the action functionals for different commodities. The correlation functions of the model are defined using a Feynman path integral. The model is calibrated using the unequal time correlation of the market commodity prices as well as their cubic and quartic moments using a perturbation expansion. The consistency of the perturbation expansion is verified by a numerical evaluation of the path integral. Nine commodities drawn from the energy, metal and grain sectors are studied and their market behavior is described by the model to an accuracy of over 90% using only six parameters. The paper empirically establishes the existence of the action functional for commodity prices that was postulated to exist in Baaquie (2013).
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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Muinelo Gallo, L.
2012-07-01
This paper analyses the relationship between productivity, innovation and research at firm level using an extension of the structural model of Crepon, Duguet and Mairesse (1998). The study is performed for Spanish firms of manufacturing sector, by using information from the ''Encuesta sobre innovacion tecnologica en las empresas 2000 and 2004''. The empirical results suggest that the public fund, the size of the firms and the participation in the international markets plays an important role in the decisions to realize internal research activities. In addition, the firms that realize a major effort in research it is more probable that they are innovative of product and/or of process. Finally, the estimations also emphasize that increases in productivity are positively correlated with the introduction of new products and/or processes and the intensity of the physical capital. (Author)
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Engelen, Peter Jan; Lander, Michel W.; van Essen, Marc
Research on crime has by no means reached a definitive conclusion on which factors are related to crime rates. We contribute to the crime literature by providing an integrated empirical model of economic and sociological theories of criminal behavior and by using a very comprehensive set of
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WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ISO 9000 CERTIFICATION? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM FRENCH MICRO-DATA
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sanja Pekovic
2008-03-01
Full Text Available The ISO 9000 certification is often associated with quality approach, and activities that are by now widely diffused throughout business. The statistical research shows that quality management practice is one of the most utilized tools because in 1997, more than a third of industrial firms have received the quality certification. Regarded like an investment in a diploma, investment in quality norms can at the same time be a function of improvement of the company's competence and can also make a signal on the market. In our research, we want to understand those two functions of the ISO 9000 certification and to see how they act in the company and on the market. The paper will explore two possible functions of the certification and will analysis the consequences for the firms. The research will use national statistics sources and case research for the empirical investigation to identify the internal characteristics of ISO 9000 adoption. Also, it will use C.O.I database (Organizational Changes and Computerization of 1997 and E.A.E. database (Annual Survey of Industry. In this research, the empirical results show that ISO certification has a part of increase the level of firm's export. Moreover, the firms that have recently adopted the ISO certification invest more in quality than those that have adopted ISO certification more ago. The results show that the firms from same sector of activity "are pushed" to adopt certification. At the end, the results show that, the probability that the firm adopt ISO certification increase with firm's size.
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Factors affecting management accounting and control systems. A critical review of empirical studies
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Joanna Dyczkowska
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Knowledge of management accounting & control systems and factors which may affect the design of such systems has become crucial due to emerging changes both in the external and internal business environment. Therefore it is necessary to conduct comprehensive, long-term basic research in order to prove previously formulated hypotheses in new conditions and fulfil the research gap. Based on critical review of empirical studies published in prestigious scientific journals this paper aims at validating the assumed hypotheses and at generalising research findings on impacts of various determinants on man-agement accounting & control systems. The predominant contingent factors include: type of strategy implemented, national culture, perceived environment uncertainty and integrated information system.
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A Systematic Assessment of Empirical Research on Foreign Entry Mode
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wulff, Jesper
2016-01-01
of dimensions. Findings Findings question the frequent use of commonly used measures (e.g. advertising intensity) and control variables (e.g. firm size) and suggest that statements about the importance of mode choice for subsidiary performance may be premature. Methodologically, this study identifies critical...... issues with regard to interpretation of interactions and the entry mode choice set. Research limitations/implications This study limits itself to study the direction of relationships and does not analyze effect sizes. Further, future research may benefit from broadening the entry mode choice by extending...
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Khandekar, Aradhana; Sharma, Anuradha
2005-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the role of human resource capability (HRC) in organisational performance and sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in Indian global organisations. Design/Methodology/Approach: To carry out the present study, an empirical research on a random sample of 300 line or human resource managers from…
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Greenberg, Alissa L.
2011-01-01
Despite expansive improvements in both treatments and research, the majority of persons with autism use non-empirically supported interventions. One way to decrease the research-to-practice gap involves increasing the direct applicability of research findings to clinical settings. Effectiveness research achieves this goal by identifying treatments…
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Mikulich-Gilbertson, Susan K; Wagner, Brandie D; Grunwald, Gary K; Riggs, Paula D; Zerbe, Gary O
2018-01-01
Medical research is often designed to investigate changes in a collection of response variables that are measured repeatedly on the same subjects. The multivariate generalized linear mixed model (MGLMM) can be used to evaluate random coefficient associations (e.g. simple correlations, partial regression coefficients) among outcomes that may be non-normal and differently distributed by specifying a multivariate normal distribution for their random effects and then evaluating the latent relationship between them. Empirical Bayes predictors are readily available for each subject from any mixed model and are observable and hence, plotable. Here, we evaluate whether second-stage association analyses of empirical Bayes predictors from a MGLMM, provide a good approximation and visual representation of these latent association analyses using medical examples and simulations. Additionally, we compare these results with association analyses of empirical Bayes predictors generated from separate mixed models for each outcome, a procedure that could circumvent computational problems that arise when the dimension of the joint covariance matrix of random effects is large and prohibits estimation of latent associations. As has been shown in other analytic contexts, the p-values for all second-stage coefficients that were determined by naively assuming normality of empirical Bayes predictors provide a good approximation to p-values determined via permutation analysis. Analyzing outcomes that are interrelated with separate models in the first stage and then associating the resulting empirical Bayes predictors in a second stage results in different mean and covariance parameter estimates from the maximum likelihood estimates generated by a MGLMM. The potential for erroneous inference from using results from these separate models increases as the magnitude of the association among the outcomes increases. Thus if computable, scatterplots of the conditionally independent empirical Bayes
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An Empirical Study Of User Acceptance Of Online Social Networks Marketing
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Olumayowa Mulero
2013-07-01
Full Text Available The explosion of Internet usage has drawn the attention of researchers towards online Social Networks Marketing (SNM. Research has shown that a number of the Internet users are distrustful and indecisive, when it comes to the use of social networks marketing system. Therefore, there is a need for researchers to identify some of the factors that determine users’ acceptance of social networks marketing using Technology Acceptance Model (TAM. This study extended the Technology Acceptance Model theoretical framework to predict consumer acceptance of social networks marketing within Western Cape Province of South Africa. The research model was tested using data collected from 470 questionnaires and analysed using linear regression. The results showed that user intentions to use SNM are strongly and positively correlated with user acceptance of using SNM systems. Empirical results confirmed that perceived credibility and perceived usefulness are the strongest determinant in predicting user intentions to use SNM system.
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Reporting research methods of empirical studies | Korb | Journal of ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
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The effect of loss functions on empirical Bayes reliability analysis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Camara Vincent A. R.
1998-01-01
Full Text Available The aim of the present study is to investigate the sensitivity of empirical Bayes estimates of the reliability function with respect to changing of the loss function. In addition to applying some of the basic analytical results on empirical Bayes reliability obtained with the use of the “popular” squared error loss function, we shall derive some expressions corresponding to empirical Bayes reliability estimates obtained with the Higgins–Tsokos, the Harris and our proposed logarithmic loss functions. The concept of efficiency, along with the notion of integrated mean square error, will be used as a criterion to numerically compare our results. It is shown that empirical Bayes reliability functions are in general sensitive to the choice of the loss function, and that the squared error loss does not always yield the best empirical Bayes reliability estimate.
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Supply strategy configuration in fragmented production systems: An empirical study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Claudia Chackelson
2013-07-01
Full Text Available Purpose: Companies survive in saturated markets trying to be more productive and more efficient. In this context, it becomes critical for companies to manage the entire supply network to optimize overall performance. Hence, the supply strategy plays an important role because it influences the way in which production and logistics network has to be configured and managed. This paper explores the benefits obtained configuring different supply strategies adapted to customer needs.Design/methodology/approach: For this purpose a case research from a Tier 2 point of view of the supply chain has been conducted. Findings and Originality/value: The case research demonstrates that a higher service level, less holding costs and increase turnovers can be obtained implementing the adequate supply strategy. Originality/value: There is a scarcity of research specifically focused on applied Supply Chain Principles within network configuration processes. Moreover, there are few empirical studies of global Tier 2 with multiple decoupling points into its supply chain network.
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Viewing Agricultural Education Research through a Qualitative Lens
Dooley, Kim E.
2007-01-01
The Journal of Agricultural Education has primarily published research that uses quantitative research methods. Perhaps this is due partly to the lack of a qualitative research conceptual framework to guide our profession. Most researchers in agricultural education were academically prepared to conduct empirical research. Those who are in the…
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Analysis of foreign research on organisational culture in scools
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kuznetsova O.E.,
2017-10-01
Full Text Available The paper reviews theoretical and empirical research of foreign psychologists on organizational culture in schools. The key problematics is as follows: paradigm, methodology, typologies, impact on school effectiveness. The paper reveals basic contradictions of these problems and outlines possible solutions proposed by foreign researchers. It analyses functional and dynamic paradigms of research on organizational culture and perspectives of their integration; describes the typologies developed according to the specifics of educational organization. Empirical studies focus mainly on the impacts of organizational culture on school effectiveness, as well as on the development and transformation of culture