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 $SL(2,Z)$ covariant D-string actions. Furthermore, it extends analogously to $d$-dimensional actions with $(d-1)$-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