scholarly journals Subjectivism as an unavoidable feature of ecological statistics

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-143
Author(s):  
A. Martínez-Abrain ◽  
◽  
D. Conesa ◽  
A. Forte ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Parameter Estimation ◽  
Model Selection ◽  
Statistical Inference ◽  
Prior Information ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Model Specification ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
The Common ◽  
Ecological Statistics

We approach here the handling of previous information when performing statistical inference in ecology, both when dealing with model specification and selection, and when dealing with parameter estimation. We compare the perspectives of this problem from the frequentist and Bayesian schools, including objective and subjective Bayesians. We show that the issue of making use of previous information and making a priori decisions is not only a reality for Bayesians but also for frequentists. However, the latter tend to overlook this because of the common difficulty of having previous information available on the magnitude of the effect that is thought to be biologically relevant. This prior information should be fed into a priori power tests when looking for the necessary sample sizes to couple statistical and biological significances. Ecologists should make a greater effort to make use of available prior information because this is their most legitimate contribution to the inferential process. Parameter estimation and model selection would benefit if this was done, allowing a more reliable accumulation of knowledge, and hence progress, in the biological sciences.

The Logicism of Frege, Dedekind, and Russell

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Demopoulos ◽  
Peter Clark
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
The Core ◽  
Common Thread ◽  
Synthetic A Priori ◽  
The Common

This article is organized around logicism's answers to the following questions: What is the basis for our knowledge of the infinity of the numbers? How is arithmetic applicable to reality? Why is reasoning by induction justified? Although there are, as is seen in this article, important differences, the common thread that runs through all three of the authors discussed in this article their opposition to the Kantian thesis that reflection on reasoning with mere concepts (i.e., without attention to intuitions formed a priori) can never succeed in providing satisfactory answers to these three questions. This description of the core of the view differs from more usual formulations which represent the opposition to Kant as an opposition to the contention that mathematics in general, and arithmetic in particular, are synthetic a priori rather than analytic.

scholarly journals Linguistic validation of the simplified Chinese version of the US National Cancer Institute’s patient-reported outcomes version of the common terminology criteria for adverse events (PRO-CTCAE™)

BMC Cancer ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng KKF ◽  
S. A. Mitchell ◽  
N. Chan ◽  
E. Ang ◽  
W. Tam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Events ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Patient Reported Outcomes ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Cognitive Interviews ◽  
Simplified Chinese ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Common ◽  
Response Choices

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to translate and linguistically validate the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE™) into Simplified Chinese for use in Singapore. Methods All 124 items of the English source PRO-CTCAE item library were translated into Simplified Chinese using internationally established translation procedures. Two rounds of cognitive interviews were conducted with 96 cancer patients undergoing adjuvant treatment to determine if the translations adequately captured the PRO-CTCAE source concepts, and to evaluate comprehension, clarity and ease of judgement. Interview probes addressed the 78 PRO-CTCAE symptom terms (e.g. fatigue), as well as the attributes (e.g. severity), response choices, and phrasing of ‘at its worst’. Items that met the a priori threshold of ≥20% of participants with comprehension difficulties were considered for rephrasing and retesting. Items where < 20% of the sample experienced comprehension difficulties were also considered for rephrasing if better phrasing options were available. Results A majority of PRO-CTCAE-Simplified Chinese items were well comprehended by participants in Round 1. One item posed difficulties in ≥20% and was revised. Two items presented difficulties in < 20% but were revised as there were preferred alternative phrasings. Twenty-four items presented difficulties in < 10% of respondents. Of these, eleven items were revised to an alternative preferred phrasing, four items were revised to include synonyms. Revised items were tested in Round 2 and demonstrated satisfactory comprehension. Conclusions PRO-CTCAE-Simplified Chinese has been successfully developed and linguistically validated in a sample of cancer patients residing in Singapore.

THE INFLUENCE OF FAIR COMPETITION ON THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC UNDERTAKINGS

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-54
Author(s):  
Camille Carbonnaux
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
The Other ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Fair Competition ◽  
Management Perspective ◽  
The Common ◽  
European Competition Law

Since the 1990s, European judicial and normative institutions have paid particular attention to the competitive practices of public undertakings. Consequently, their regime is governed by a significant number of rules pursuing objectives appearing, a priori, contradictory. In fact, public undertakings may experience difficulties in their management. In this context, an approach of public competition law through the prism of fair competition can be very useful. Regarding the uniformity of its judgment, fair competition appears as an objective capable of coordinating rules and overcoming their contradictions. It thereby offers a global and coherent reading plan of all the legal translations of the European competitive order being of some practical importance. In illuminating the common features of the different legal aspects of competition, we can easily switch from one to the other. It therefore makes the European approach to competition more accessible and understandable. Furthermore, and most importantly, it leads to identifying legal opportunities and threats in a cross-disciplinary way. So, from a “Law & Management” perspective, it appears to be a precious tool for the management of public undertakings. Key words: European competition law, public undertakings, fair competition, “Management & law”.

scholarly journals Measurement of technical efficiency in the case of heterogeneity of technologies used between firms – Based on evidence from Polish crop farms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerzy Marzec ◽  
Andrzej Pisulewski
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Production Function ◽  
Prior Distribution ◽  
Prior Information ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Returns To Scale ◽  
Random Coefficients ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Model Specification ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Models

In the present study, we have investigated several competing stochastic frontier models which differ in terms of the form of the production function (Cobb-Douglas or translog), inefficiency distribution (half-normal or exponential distribution) and type of prior distribution for the parameters (hierarchical or non-hierarchical from the Bayesian point of view). This last distinction corresponds to a difference between random coefficients and fixed coefficients models. Consequently, this study aims to examine to what extent inferences about estimates of farms' efficiency depend on the above assumptions. Moreover, the study intends to investigate how far the production function's characteristics are affected by the choice of the type of prior distribution for the parameters. First of all, it was found that the form of the production function does not impact the efficiency scores. Secondly, we found that measures of technical efficiency are sensitive to distributional assumptions about the inefficiency term. Finally, we have revealed that estimates of technical efficiency are reasonably robust to the prior information about the parameters of crop farms' production technology. There is also a resemblance in the elasticity of output with respect to inputs between the models considered in this paper. Additionally, the measurement of returns to scale is not sensitive to model specification.

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