736 research outputs found
Causality and Association: The Statistical and Legal Approaches
This paper discusses different needs and approaches to establishing
``causation'' that are relevant in legal cases involving statistical input
based on epidemiological (or more generally observational or population-based)
information. We distinguish between three versions of ``cause'': the first
involves negligence in providing or allowing exposure, the second involves
``cause'' as it is shown through a scientifically proved increased risk of an
outcome from the exposure in a population, and the third considers ``cause'' as
it might apply to an individual plaintiff based on the first two. The
population-oriented ``cause'' is that commonly addressed by statisticians, and
we propose a variation on the Bradford Hill approach to testing such causality
in an observational framework, and discuss how such a systematic series of
tests might be considered in a legal context. We review some current legal
approaches to using probabilistic statements, and link these with the
scientific methodology as developed here. In particular, we provide an approach
both to the idea of individual outcomes being caused on a balance of
probabilities, and to the idea of material contribution to such outcomes.
Statistical terminology and legal usage of terms such as ``proof on the balance
of probabilities'' or ``causation'' can easily become confused, largely due to
similar language describing dissimilar concepts; we conclude, however, that a
careful analysis can identify and separate those areas in which a legal
decision alone is required and those areas in which scientific approaches are
useful.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-STS234 the Statistical
Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical
Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
The effect of straw on the emergence of wheat seedlings
The emergence of wheat seedlings was decreased substantially when seed was planted close to oaten straw.
When the grain was placed a 1/4 inch above a straw layer emergence was depressed by more than half
Barley diseases in Western Australia
BARLEY DISEASES caused by pathogenic organisms are capable of reducing yields considerably.
The recognition of disease is important so that control measures can then be taken at the appropriate time
Oat diseases in Western Australia
OVER ONE MILLION acres of oats are grown yearly in this State, making the crop next in importance to wheat.
Pathogenic organisms are responsible for considerable reductions in yield, yet losses can be minimized if control measures are taken
Wheat diseases in Western Australia
DISEASES caused by pathogenic organisms can seriously affect the yield of wheat. Some diseases are comparatively rare whereas others occur over a large area of the wheatbelt year after year
New machine learning methods demonstrate the existence of a human stylome
Earlier research has shown that established authors can be distinguished by measuring specific properties of their writings, their stylome as it were. Here, we examine writings of less experienced authors. We succeed in distinguishing between these authors with a very high probability, which implies that a stylome exists even in the general population. However, the number of traits needed for so successful a distinction is an order of magnitude larger than assumed so far. Furthermore, traits referring to syntactic patterns prove less distinctive than traits referring to vocabulary, but much more distinctive than expected on the basis of current generativist theories of language learning
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