10,642 research outputs found
The limits of deontology in dental ethics education
Most current dental ethics curricula use a deontological approach to biomedical
and dental ethics that emphasizes adherence to duties and principles as properties
that determine whether an act is ethical. But the actual ethical orientation of students is
typically unknown. The purpose of the current study was to determine the ethical
orientation of dental students in resolving clinical ethical dilemmas. First-year students
from one school were invited to participate in an electronic survey that included eight
vignettes featuring ethical conflicts common to the health care setting. The
Multidimensional Ethics Scale was used to evaluate the students’ ethical judgments
of these conflicts. Students rated each vignette along 13 ethically relevant items using a
7-point scale. Nine of the thirteen items were analyzed because they represent the
dominant ethical theories, including deontology. One hundred sixteen dental students
successfully completed the survey. Of the analyzed items, those associated with
deontology had comparatively weak associations with whether students judged the
action to be ethical and whether students judged themselves likely to perform the
action. Whether an action was judged to be caring had the strongest association with
whether the action was judged to be ethical and whether students judged themselves
likely to perform the action. These results suggest that adherence to duties or principles
has weaker association with students’ ethical judgments and behavior compared to
caring, which was found to be more influential in their ethical judgments and behavior.
Current dental school curricula with a primary focus on deontology may n
Infinitely many rigid symmetries of kappa-invariant D-string actions
We show that each rigid symmetry of a D-string action is contained in a
family of infinitely many symmetries. In particular, kappa-invariant D-string
actions have infinitely many supersymmetries. The result is not restricted to
standard D-string actions, but holds for any two-dimensional action depending
on an abelian world-sheet gauge field only via the field strength. It applies
thus also to manifestly covariant D-string actions. Furthermore, it
extends analogously to -dimensional actions with -form gauge
potentials, such as brane actions with dynamical tension.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex; one reference added, complete names of author
Towards Python-based Domain-specific Languages for Self-reconfigurable Modular Robotics Research
This paper explores the role of operating system and high-level languages in
the development of software and domain-specific languages (DSLs) for
self-reconfigurable robotics. We review some of the current trends in
self-reconfigurable robotics and describe the development of a software system
for ATRON II which utilizes Linux and Python to significantly improve software
abstraction and portability while providing some basic features which could
prove useful when using Python, either stand-alone or via a DSL, on a
self-reconfigurable robot system. These features include transparent socket
communication, module identification, easy software transfer and reliable
module-to-module communication. The end result is a software platform for
modular robots that where appropriate builds on existing work in operating
systems, virtual machines, middleware and high-level languages.Comment: Presented at DSLRob 2011 (arXiv:1212.3308
Linear Approximations and Tests of Conditional Pricing Models
We construct a simple reduced-form example of a conditional pricing model with modest intrinsic nonlinearity. The theoretical magnitude of the pricing errors (alphas) induced by the application of standard linear conditioning are derived as a direct consequence of an omitted variables bias. When the model is calibrated to either characteristics sorted or industry portfolios, we find that the alphas generated by approximation-induced specification error are economically large. A Monte Carlo analysis shows that finite-sample alphas are even larger. It also shows that the power to detect omitted nonlinear factors through tests based on estimated risk premiums can sometimes be quite low, even when the effect of misspecification on alphas is large.
Sandhill Crane Roost Selection, Human Disturbance, and Forage Resources
Sites used for roosting represent a key habitat requirement for many species of birds because availability and quality of roost sites can influence individual fitness. Birds select roost sites based on numerous factors, requirements, and motivations, and selection of roosts can be dynamic in time and space because of various ecological and environmental influences. For sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) at their main spring staging area along the Platte River in south-central Nebraska, USA, past investigations of roosting cranes focuse donphysical channel characteristics related to perceived security as motivating roost distribution.We used 6,310 roost sites selected by 313 sandhill cranes over 5 spring migration seasons (2003–2007) to quantify resource selection functions of roost sites on the central Platte River using a discrete choice analysis. Sandhill cranes generally showed stronger selection for wider channels with shorter bank vegetation situated farther from potential human disturbance features such as roads, bridges, and dwellings.Furthermore, selection for roost sites with preferable physical characteristics (wide channels with short bank vegetation) was more resilient to nearby disturbance features than more narrow channels with taller bank vegetation. The amount of cornfields surrounding sandhill crane roost sites positively influenced relative probability of use but only for more narrow channels \u3c100m and those with shorter bank vegetation. We confirmed key resource features that sandhill cranes selected at river channels along the Platte River, and after incorporating spatial variation due to human disturbance, our understanding of roost site selection was more robust, providing insights on how disturbance may interact with physical habitat features. Managers can use information on roost-site selection when developing plans to increase probability of crane use at existing roost sites and to identify new areas for potential use if existing sites become limited
Analytic Methods for Optimizing Realtime Crowdsourcing
Realtime crowdsourcing research has demonstrated that it is possible to
recruit paid crowds within seconds by managing a small, fast-reacting worker
pool. Realtime crowds enable crowd-powered systems that respond at interactive
speeds: for example, cameras, robots and instant opinion polls. So far, these
techniques have mainly been proof-of-concept prototypes: research has not yet
attempted to understand how they might work at large scale or optimize their
cost/performance trade-offs. In this paper, we use queueing theory to analyze
the retainer model for realtime crowdsourcing, in particular its expected wait
time and cost to requesters. We provide an algorithm that allows requesters to
minimize their cost subject to performance requirements. We then propose and
analyze three techniques to improve performance: push notifications, shared
retainer pools, and precruitment, which involves recalling retainer workers
before a task actually arrives. An experimental validation finds that
precruited workers begin a task 500 milliseconds after it is posted, delivering
results below the one-second cognitive threshold for an end-user to stay in
flow.Comment: Presented at Collective Intelligence conference, 201
Exploration of material dependent memory lateralization of the hippocampus and adjourning anatomical regions by fMRI
The concept of functional asymmetry is a basic principle of organization of human brain
function. This basic concept also applies to the encoding of memory data. A number of
studies have been conducted to explore the asymmetry of memory encoding using
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a technique which utilizes the high
oxygen levels in activated brain areas to indirectly detect brain activation. The
lateralization of encoding processes is determined, among other things, by the
verbalizability of the memorized material (Golby, Poldrack et al. 2001; Golby, Poldrack
et al. 2002; Powell, Koepp et al. 2005). Encoding of verbal stimuli preferentially relies
on left-hemispheric brain regions, while encoding of visual (non-verbal) material relies
on right-hemispheric areas. The study of Jansen et al. (Jansen, Sehlmeyer et al. 2009)
was used as prototype study for this project, though only containing two stimulus
classes and not addressing the issue of reliability. Reliability has only been addressed by
a few studies (Bennett and Miller 2010), why we enclosed it into my study. The four
objectives of this study are:
1. Implementations of the task at the new 3 tesla Siemens MRI scanner.
2. Expansion of the paradigm by two newly implemented stimulus classes
3. Development of stimuli with less verbalizeable patterns
4. Testing the reliability of the results by comparing it to a second run of the study
The establishment of the paradigm at the new scanner was successful. Through the
inclusion of two additional stimulus classes (Scenes and Faces), to the existing classes
(words and shapes), two additional steps between the existing very well verbalizeable
and almost not verbalizeable, were established. The newly introduced almost not
verbalizeable patterns showed, as expected, right lateralized activations. Overall similar
results to those already published by Golby et al. and Jansen et al could be achieved.
The reliability of the results was not entirely homogenous, since the two implemented
techniques, the intra-class-correlations (ICC) and the lateralization indices (LI), showed
deviating results. LIs resulted in a quite good reliability, but ICCs showed good
reliability only for a few select activation clusters. This indicates that in the planning of
future fMRI studies, reliability should be a key issue
The Effects of ITQ Management on Fishermen’s Welfare When the Processing Sector is Imperfectly Competitive
In this paper we use a general model of imperfect competition to predict welfare changes within an open-access fishery transitioning to individual transferable quota (ITQ) management. Although related research has explored the effects of market power in the harvesting sector on ITQ performance, none have considered the implications of an imperfectly competitive processing sector. This study addresses this question specifically in the context of the Atlantic herring fishery, although its implications are relevant to all fisheries with similar industry structure. Our results show that ITQs could have a negative impact on fishermen’s welfare when processors have market power and the cap on aggregate harvest is binding or becomes binding with the implementation of ITQs.ITQ, imperfect competition, welfare analysis, fisheries
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