5,005 research outputs found
Metatickles and Death in Damascus
The prescriptions of our two most prominent strands of decision theory,
evidential and causal, differ in a general class of problems known as Newcomb
problems. In these, evidential decision theory prescribes choosing a dominated
act. Attempts have been made at reconciling the two theories by relying on
additional requirements such as ratification (Jeffrey 1983) or "tickles" (Eells
1982). It has been argued that such attempts have failed (Lewis 1981a; Skyrms
1982). More recently, Huttegger (forthcoming) has developed a version of
deliberative decision theory that reconciles the prescriptions of the
evidentialist and causalist. In this paper, I extend this framework to problems
characterised by decision instability, and show that it cannot deliver a
resolute answer under a plausible specification of the tickle. I prove that
there exists a robust method of determining whether the specification of the
tickle matters for all two-state, two-act problems whose payoff tables exhibit
some basic mathematical relationships. One upshot is that we have a principled
way of knowing ex-ante whether a reconciliation of evidential and causal
decision theory is plausible for a wide range of decision problems under this
framework. Another upshot is that the tickle approach needs further work to
achieve full reconciliation.Comment: In Proceedings TARK 2023, arXiv:2307.0400
The psychologisation of natal astrology in the twentieth century
This thesis discusses the idea that natal astrology was psychologised in the twentieth century through an examination of âpsychological astrologyâ. It is the first in-depth exploration of psychologisation in the English-speaking world through textual analysis of astrology books. It takes as a starting point the argument from Wouter Hanegraaff that magic survived the disenchantment of the world due to a process of psychologisation, which broadly means that magic has adapted along psychological
lines to become a different sort of magic to that previously found before the period characterised by disenchantment. The main reason for this adaptation is to acquire legitimisation from a subject, psychology, deemed to be scientific and acceptable in the modern world. The thesis asks whether the issues raised by Hanegraaffâs psychologisation thesis, and wider ideas on psychologisation, apply to the natal
astrology of the twentieth century, focusing on the form known as psychological astrology.
The question is tackled through textual analysis of the works of the three major astrologers identified by existing scholarship as having contributed to the twentieth
century development of psychological astrology: Alan Leo (1860-1917), Dane Rudhyar (1895-1985) and Liz Greene (1946- ). Significant consideration is also given to the major
psychological influence on Rudhyar and Greene: the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961).
Wider definitions of psychologisation considered include Christopher Plaisanceâs extension of Hanegraaffâs work through his four-fold typology of psychologisation as
applying to esoteric discourse.
In exploring conceptions of psychologisation and modernity as presented within the works of the key psychological astrologers, the thesis demonstrates that the label of
psychologisation may be partly applied to psychological astrology. However, this form of astrology does not represent a fully adapted, disenchanted form seeking
legitimisation but is an adaptation for modern people for philosophical reasons and principally to maximise the use of astrology to enhance free-will and psychological
development. In doing so it can be characterised as more enchanted than disenchanted
An Evaluation of Medication Safety related Communications in the Patient Healthcare Pathway in Kuwait
Background: Patient safety is a recognised public health issue. When post-market medication
safety information emerges, the benefits and risks of the medication concerned are usually
evaluated by drug regulatory agencies. The outcomes of such pharmacovigilance activities are
communicated to the public, patients and other healthcare professionals (HCPs). The aim of
these medication safety communications might vary from improving the intended recipientsâ
knowledge or attitudes to outlining specific actions to be followed by them. However, it is
currently recognised that sharing medication-related information does not improve patientsâ
safety on its own if not accompanied by an accurate implementation of these recommendations
in clinical practice. Despite their importance in protecting patient safety and subsequently
affecting public health, no previous study was found to have evaluated or described the process
of creating and disseminating medication safety communications by the Kuwaiti drug
regulatory agency. Equally, no study was found to have investigated the impact of or the factors
affecting the implementation of regulatory-related medication safety communications in
Kuwait. Therefore, this thesis aimed to address these gaps in knowledge by evaluating
medication safety communications in the patient healthcare pathway in Kuwait.
Methods: This multiphase study was preceded by a systematic literature review of the factors
affecting HCPsâ implementation of regulatory-related medication safety communications,
using a narrative synthesis approach. Following the systematic review, multiphase research
was initiated. This consisted of three phases, each of which focused on a specific stakeholder
group involved in the process of medication safety communication. Phase 1 involved Kuwait
Drug and Food Control (KDFC), an administration within the Ministry of Health (MOH), as
the regulatory agency responsible for pharmacovigilance activities. This was a convergent
mixed-methods study. Data collection in this phase included documents produced by KDFC or
issued to KDFC relating to medication safety and three face-to-face interviews with KDFC
employees involved in pharmacovigilance activities. Documents were analysed using a
descriptive quantitative approach and a framework analysis technique.
Phase 2 focused on healthcare professionals working in MOH hospitals in Kuwait. This phase
was an exploratory mixed-methods study, where focus group discussions were conducted
followed by the distribution of an online survey. The focus group discussions were analysed
using a thematic analysis technique. In the second part of this phase, an online survey was
developed based on Phase 1, the focus group discussions and the systematic literature review.
Survey data analysis included descriptive analysis (frequency and percentile) and statistical
analysis including principal component analysis (PCA) and the KruskalâWallis H test, which
was followed by a post hoc analysis of variables that had significant results. Other statistical
tests applied included Fisherâs exact test, the MannâWhitney U Test, and multivariate
regression analysis. Participantsâ answers to open-ended survey questions were analysed using
a conventional content analysis technique.
Phase 3 was an interpretive phenomenology study. This phase involved semi-structured phone
interviews with six female patients of childbearing age who used a valproate-related
medication for epilepsy or migraine. These patients had been prescribed the valproate-related
medication in one of six secondary hospitals and one specialist neurology hospital within the
MOH hospitals. An interpretive phenomenological analysis technique was applied to analyse
the transcripts.
Results: The results of the systematic literature review indicated that the factors affecting
HCPsâ implementation of medication safety communications occur at multiple levels. These
levels included the sources or senders of the safety information (delays in the delivery of
medications safety communications), healthcare institutions (hospitalsâ position and
interpretations of the recommendations), the HCPs (knowledge of the content of medications
safety communications), and the patients and/or their carers (willingness to use the medication
concerned). Phase 1 revealed a lack of legislation and a pharmacovigilance-specific policy.
Results from Phase 2 reflected poor knowledge of the concept of medication safety
communications within the context of pharmacovigilance and a lack of familiarity with the
tools used by KDFC to communicate emerging medication information among HCPs. In the
survey, although the majority of HCPs who responded were aware of the teratogenicity of
VRM (65.1%, (n = 110/169)), only 2.6% had responded correctly to the statements of the VRM
KDFC recommendations. More than half of the participants (57%) reported changing their
practice to accommodate at least one intended KDFC recommendation. Providing female
patients with written information (37.2%) and counselling female patients about contraceptive
use (37.2%) were the most reported intended changes in practice. The most reported barriers
to implementation included not having the capacity in terms of time and/or the infrastructure
to implement the recommendations (33.8%).
Four themes originating from patient interviews included (1) the timeline of the patientâs
experience (2) varied knowledge and perception with valproate use, (3) patientâs expectations
from HCPs and (4) experiences and preferences towards medication safety communications.
Conclusion: Medication safety communications are essential tools for disseminating
information related to medication safety updates to HCPs, patients and the public. This research
identified challenges at the level of the sender (KDFC) and the intended recipients (HCPs and
patients) that could reduce the ability of KDFCâs medication safety communications to reach
clinical practices. The first step in increasing their reach is to adapt electronic methods for
disseminating such information. Involving stakeholders, such as HCPs and patients, in
evaluating the clarity and understandability of KDFCâs medication safety communications
should be the focus of future research
Something New in Medical Residency Matching Markets
Worldwide medical residency markets commonly employ variants of the two-sided central clearinghouse designed by Roth and Peranson in 1999. In the NSW physiotherapy residency matching market, a one-sided and computationally efficient matching mechanism is used â the Kuhn-Munkres algorithm. The mechanism is new for medical matching markets, with no publicly known application and no existing literature. A crucial contribution of the thesis is presenting the algorithm and starting a discussion around the Kuhn-Munkres algorithm in matching. The thesis models the iterative working of the Kuhn-Munkres algorithm. I show that the Kuhn-Munkres algorithm is rank-efficient, outcome unfair, procedurally fair and not strategy-proof. Comparing the Roth-Peranson and Kuhn-Munkres algorithms on efficiency, fairness and incentive properties, the thesis concludes that there is no settled winner
between the two algorithms. The competition eventually comes down to the trade-off between cost reductions and market complexities
Judicial indifference in criminal sentencing : explaining inequality of the Thai Fines
Courts in many jurisdictions remain indifferent to criticisms for their overly harsh or unequal treatments. There has been a debate whether this is attributed to judgesâ individual dispositions or rather their environments. This article contributes to this debate by offering evidence from Thai courts about their indifference to inequality generated by the wealth-insensitive fine and fine-default custody. It argues that judges are situationally driven to adopt rigid framing about justice when performing duties, as a result of which judges develop indifference to the âside-effectsâ of their frame-influenced decisions. The findings imply the possibility that the same mechanisms may exist in other jurisdictions and underline the need to address indifference to prevent failure in reforming for a more egalitarian system
Brain Computations and Connectivity [2nd edition]
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.
Brain Computations and Connectivity is about how the brain works. In order to understand this, it is essential to know what is computed by different brain systems; and how the computations are performed.
The aim of this book is to elucidate what is computed in different brain systems; and to describe current biologically plausible computational approaches and models of how each of these brain systems computes.
Understanding the brain in this way has enormous potential for understanding ourselves better in health and in disease. Potential applications of this understanding are to the treatment of the brain in disease; and to artificial intelligence which will benefit from knowledge of how the brain performs many of its extraordinarily impressive functions.
This book is pioneering in taking this approach to brain function: to consider what is computed by many of our brain systems; and how it is computed, and updates by much new evidence including the connectivity of the human brain the earlier book: Rolls (2021) Brain Computations: What and How, Oxford University Press.
Brain Computations and Connectivity will be of interest to all scientists interested in brain function and how the brain works, whether they are from neuroscience, or from medical sciences including neurology and psychiatry, or from the area of computational science including machine learning and artificial intelligence, or from areas such as theoretical physics
The Future of New Testament Theology
This collection of essays appears at the confluence of two major streamsâthe flowering of the âbiblical theology movementâ in a range of New Testament theologies published in the past two or three decades and the recent emergence of significant contributions to reflection on and the practice of theological interpretation of the Bible. To some, these two interests overlap enough to parade them under a single banner. To others, these are disparate approaches that draw on and display competing methodological commitments. Seasoned scholars and relative newcomers to the conversation orient readers to these concerns, not so much to resolve these differences but to explore them with an eye to the future of theological work with the New Testament
Corporate Social Responsibility: the institutionalization of ESG
Understanding the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on firm performance as it relates to industries reliant on technological innovation is a complex and perpetually evolving challenge. To thoroughly investigate this topic, this dissertation will adopt an economics-based structure to address three primary hypotheses. This structure allows for each hypothesis to essentially be a standalone empirical paper, unified by an overall analysis of the nature of impact that ESG has on firm performance. The first hypothesis explores the evolution of CSR to the modern quantified iteration of ESG has led to the institutionalization and standardization of the CSR concept. The second hypothesis fills gaps in existing literature testing the relationship between firm performance and ESG by finding that the relationship is significantly positive in long-term, strategic metrics (ROA and ROIC) and that there is no correlation in short-term metrics (ROE and ROS). Finally, the third hypothesis states that if a firm has a long-term strategic ESG plan, as proxied by the publication of CSR reports, then it is more resilience to damage from controversies. This is supported by the finding that pro-ESG firms consistently fared better than their counterparts in both financial and ESG performance, even in the event of a controversy. However, firms with consistent reporting are also held to a higher standard than their nonreporting peers, suggesting a higher risk and higher reward dynamic. These findings support the theory of good management, in that long-term strategic planning is both immediately economically beneficial and serves as a means of risk management and social impact mitigation. Overall, this contributes to the literature by fillings gaps in the nature of impact that ESG has on firm performance, particularly from a management perspective
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