Against Inefficacy Objections: The Real Economic Impact of Individual Consumer Choices on Animal Agriculture

When consumers choose to abstain from purchasing meat, they face some uncertainty about whether their decisions will have an impact on the number of animals raised and killed. Consequentialists have argued that this uncertainty should not dissuade consumers from a vegetarian diet because the “expected” impact, or average impact, will be predictable. Recently, however, critics have argued that the expected marginal impact of a consumer change is likely to be much smaller or more radically unpredictable than previously thought. This objection to the consequentialist case for vegetarianism is known as the “causal inefficacy” (or “causal impotence”) objection. In this paper, we argue that the inefficacy objection fails. First, we summarize the contours of the objection and the standard “expected impact” response to it. Second, we examine and rebut two contemporary attempts (by Mark Budolfson and Ted Warfield) to defeat the expected impact reply through alleged demonstrations of the inefficacy of abstaining from meat consumption. Third, we argue that there are good reasons to believe that single individual consumers—not just individual consumers taken as an aggregate—really do make a positive difference when they choose to abstain from meat consumption. Our case rests on three economic observations: (i) animal producers operate in a highly competitive environment, (ii) complex supply chains efficiently communicate some information about product demand, and (iii) consumers of plant-based meat alternatives have positive consumption spillover effects on other consumers

Affective Impact of Close Counterfactuals: Implications of Possible Futures for Possible Pasts

Three studies examined the motivational implications of thinking about how things could have been worse. It was hypothesized that when these downward counterfactuals yield negative affect, through consideration of the possibility of a negative outcome, motivation to change and improve would be increased (the wake-up call). When downward counterfactuals yield positive affect, through diminishing the impact of a potentially negative outcome, motivation to change and improve should be reduced (the Pangloss effect). Results from three studies supported these hypotheses. Studies 1 and 2 showed that a manipulation of the counterfactual made about an investment influenced decisions toward that investment. Study 3 showed that students’ academic motivation was influenced by a manipulation of the type of downward counterfactual they made after an exam and that affect mediated the relationship between the counterfactual and motivation

"It Would Have Been Worse under Saddam:" Implications of Counterfactual Thinking for Beliefs Regarding the Ethical Treatment of Prisoners of War

In response to criticism following news of the mistreatment of Iraqis at the US prison in Abu Ghraib, some media personalities and politicians suggested that the treatment of these prisoners ‘‘would have been even worse’’ had former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein still been in power. It was hypothesized that the contemplation of this argument has undesirable consequences because counterfactual thinking can elicit both contrastive and assimilative effects. In the reported study, participants considered how the prisoners at Abu Ghraib would have been worse off under Saddam. The results revealed that generating downward counterfactuals made participants feel better about Abu Ghraib (thereby evidencing contrast), and also lowered ethical standards regarding how the US should treat prisoners of war in the future (thereby evidencing assimilation)

Downward Counterfactuals and Motivation: The Wake-Up Call and the Pangloss Effect

Three studies examined the motivational implications of thinking about how things could have been worse. It was hypothesized that when these downward counterfactuals yield negative affect, through consideration of the possibility of a negative outcome, motivation to change and improve would be increased (the wake-up call). When downward counterfactuals yield positive affect, through diminishing the impact of a potentially negative outcome, motivation to change and improve should be reduced (the Pangloss effect). Results from three studies supported these hypotheses. Studies 1 and 2 showed that a manipulation of the counterfactual made about an investment influenced decisions toward that investment. Study 3 showed that students’ academic motivation was influenced by a manipulation of the type of downward counterfactual they made after an exam and that affect mediated the relationship between the counterfactual and motivation

Effects of the Orion Launch Abort Vehicle Plumes on Aerodynamics and Controllability

Characterization of the launch abort system of the Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) for control design and accurate simulation has provided a significant challenge to aerodynamicists and design engineers. The design space of the launch abort vehicle (LAV) includes operational altitudes from ground level to approximately 300,000 feet, Mach numbers from 0-9, and peak dynamic pressure near 1300psf during transonic flight. Further complicating the characterization of the aerodynamics and the resultant vehicle controllability is the interaction of the vehicle flowfield with the plumes of the two solid propellant motors that provide attitude control and the main propulsive impulse for the LAV. These interactions are a function of flight parameters such as Mach number, altitude, dynamic pressure, vehicle attitude, as well as parameters relating to the operation of the motors themselves - either as a function of time for the AM, or as a result of the flight control system requests for control torque from the ACM. This paper discusses the computational aerodynamic modeling of the aerodynamic interaction caused by main abort motor and the attitude control motor of the MPCV LAV, showing the effects of these interactions on vehicle controllability

Counterfactual Thinking, Persistence, and Performance: A Test of the Reflection and Evaluation Model

The present research extends previous functional accounts of counterfactual thinking by incorporating the notion of reflective and evaluative processing. Participants generated counterfactuals about their anagram performance, after which their persistence and performance on a second set of anagrams was measured. Evaluative processing of upward counterfactuals elicited a larger increase in persistence and better performance than did reflective processing of upward counterfactuals, whereas reflective processing of downward counterfactuals elicited a larger increase in persistence and better performance than did evaluative processing of downward counterfactuals. Moreover, path analyses indicated that whereas the relationship between counterfactual thinking and persistence was accounted for by emotional responses following upward and downward counterfactual generation, the relationship between counterfactual thinking and performance was accounted for by enhanced persistence following reflective processing of downward counterfactuals, but was accounted for by both enhanced persistence and strategic thinking following evaluative processing of upward counterfactuals

Prospectus, May 6, 1992

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1992/1013/thumbnail.jp

Murine ethanol ingestion promotes hepatic platelet accumulation mimicking acute Ccl₄ exposure

Background: Dysregulated coagulation contributes to inflammation and fibrosis from chemical injury. Platelets are key contributors to inflammation and are primary sources of TGF-b, PDGF, and EGF that promote fibrosis, and so may contribute to hepatic fibrosis. We questioned whether platelets accumulate during chronic ethanol- or chemical-induced hepatic injury, whether platelet accumulation would occur prior to induction of hepatic fibrotic responses, and whether platelet accumulation reflects deposition of intravascular microthrombi or individual platelets intercalated into liver parenchyma.Methods: We modeled acute hepatic injury with a single injection of CCl₄, a chronic model of moderate ethanol ingestion, or a combination of the two insults. C57Bl6 mice ingested a control liquid diet or provided free access to 1% ethanol (2d), then 2% ethanol (2d, 11% calories). At day 4, mice received, or not, a single i.p. injection of CCl₄ (1 μl/g, 1:3 in olive oil), with sacrifice 72h later. Formalin-fixed livers were transversely sectioned, paraffin-embedded prior to immunohistochemistry with anti platelet integrin gpIIb (CD41), endothelial CD31, or a-smooth muscle actin (aSMA) antibodies with DAPI nuclear staining. Adherent platelets spread to micron thickness, so detection was by serial tyramide amplification (Biotium). This catalyzed reporter deposition system uses a single tyramide dye activated by HRP-derived H₂O₂ to a reactive specie that multiply ligates adjacent molecules before the antibody complex is thermally stripped prior to a subsequent tyramide labeling.Results: Our preliminary data show basal parenchymal platelet deposition with inflammation 24h after CCl₄ injection massively increasing platelet accumulation, with enhanced expression of aSMA, just below the outer Glisson’s sheath encasement, correlating to the area of highest arterial flow (DOI 10.1139/y93- 018). Platelet accumulation, but not aSMA, within liver parenchyma was modestly increased at this time. 72h after CCl₄ injection, subsurface platelet accumulation in association with endothelial cell PECAM1 remained apparent, with aSMA now extended in disordered filaments surrounding portal tracts. Ethanol ingestion alone, similar to CCl₄ exposure, revealed massive platelet accumulation just below the Glisson’s sheath liver encasement in association with endothelial cell PECAM1 without aSMA deposition. The combination of ethanol and CCl₄ presented similarly.Conclusions: We conclude ethanol ingestion promotes hepatic platelet accumulation, providing a nontranscriptional source of fibrotic growth factors, that parallels hepatic injury invoked by CCl₄ exposure

Examination of England’s New Medicine Service (NMS) of complex health care interventions in community pharmacy

Background: Community pharmacies are increasingly commissioned to deliver new, complex health interventions in response to the growing demands on family doctors and secondary health care services. Little is known about how these complex interventions are being accommodated and translated into the community pharmacy setting and whether their aims and objectives are realized in practice. The New Medicine Service (NMS) is a complex medicine management intervention that aims to support patients’ adherence to newly prescribed medicines for a long-term condition. Objective: This study explores the recent implementation of the NMS in community pharmacies across England. It also seeks to understand how the service is becoming manifest in practice and what lessons can be learned for future service implementation. Methods: Structured, organizational ethnographic observations and in situ workplace interviews with pharmacists and support staff were undertaken within 23 English community pharmacies. Additionally, one-toone, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 47 community pharmacists and 11 general practitioners (GPs). Observational and interview data were transcribed and analysed thematically and guided by Damschroder’s consolidated framework for implementation research. Results: The NMS workload had been implemented and absorbed into pharmacists’ daily routines alongside existing responsibilities with no extra resources and little evidence of reduction in other responsibilities. Pharmacists were pragmatic, simplifying, and adapting the NMS to facilitate its delivery and using discretion to circumvent perceived non-essential paperwork. Pharmacist understanding of the NMS was found to impact on what they believed should be achieved from the service. Despite pharmacists holding positive views about the value of the NMS, not all were convinced of its perceived benefits and necessity, with reports that many consultations did not identify any problems with the patients’ medicines. GPs were generally supportive of the initiative but were unaware of the service or potential benefits. Poorly developed existing pharmacist-GP relationships impeded implementation. Conclusions: This study identifies the multifaceted and complex processes involved in implementing a new community pharmacy service in England. Community pharmacy workflow, infrastructure, and public and professional relationships all affect NMS implementation. Greater prior engagement with the pharmacy workforce and GPs, robust piloting and a phased rollout together with ongoing support and updates, are potentials strategies to ensure future implementation of pharmacy services meet their intended aims in practice