The existence of optimal strategies

2020 ◽  
pp. 195-200
Author(s):  
Jerzy Zabczyk
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Strategies

An Introduction to Uncertain Futures

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Beckert ◽  
Richard Bronk
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Strategies ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Objective Probability ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Probability Functions ◽  
Market Economies ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
The Future ◽  
Radical Uncertainty ◽  
Calculative Practices

This chapter provides a theoretical framework for considering how imaginaries and narratives interact with calculative devices to structure expectations and beliefs in the economy. It analyses the nature of uncertainty in innovative market economies and examines how economic actors use imaginaries, narratives, models, and calculative practices to coordinate and legitimize action, determine value, and establish sufficient conviction to act despite the uncertainty they face. Placing the themes of the volume in the context of broader trends in economics and sociology, the chapter argues that, in conditions of widespread radical uncertainty, there is no uniquely rational set of expectations, and there are no optimal strategies or objective probability functions; instead, expectations are often structured by contingent narratives or socially constructed imaginaries. Moreover, since expectations are not anchored in a pre-existing future reality but have an important role in creating the future, they become legitimate objects of political debate and crucial instruments of power in markets and societies.

scholarly journals Teaching Ethics and Professionalism: A National Survey of Ophthalmology Residency Program Directors

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (01) ◽  
pp. e88-e94
Author(s):  
Alyssa M. Kretz ◽  
Jennifer E. deSante-Bertkau ◽  
Michael V. Boland ◽  
Xinxing Guo ◽  
Megan E. Collins
Keyword(s):  
Residency Program ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Optimal Strategies ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
Global Evaluation ◽  
Teaching Ethics ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Unprofessional Behavior ◽  
Residency Program Directors ◽  
Trainee Competence

Abstract Background While ethics and professionalism are important components of graduate medical education, there is limited data about how ethics and professionalism curricula are taught or assessed in ophthalmology residency programs. Objective This study aimed to determine how U.S. ophthalmology residency programs teach and assess ethics and professionalism and explore trainee preparedness in these areas. Methods Directors from accredited U.S. ophthalmology residency programs completed an online survey about components of programs' ethics and professionalism teaching curricula, strategies for assessing competence, and trainee preparedness in these areas. Results Directors from 55 of 116 programs (46%) responded. The most common ethics and professionalism topics taught were informed consent (38/49, 78%) and risk management and litigation (38/49, 78%), respectively; most programs assessed trainee competence via 360-degree global evaluation (36/48, 75%). While most (46/48, 95%) respondents reported that their trainees were well or very well prepared at the time of graduation, 15 of 48 (31%) had prohibited a trainee from graduating or required remediation prior to graduation due to unethical or unprofessional conduct. Nearly every program (37/48, 98%) thought that it was very important to dedicate curricular time to teaching ethics and professionalism. Overall, 16 of 48 respondents (33%) felt that the time spent teaching these topics was too little. Conclusion Ophthalmology residency program directors recognized the importance of an ethics and professionalism curriculum. However, there was marked variation in teaching and assessment methods. Additional work is necessary to identify optimal strategies for teaching and assessing competence in these areas. In addition, a substantial number of trainees were prohibited from graduating or required remediation due to ethics and professionalism issues, suggesting an impact of unethical and unprofessional behavior on resident attrition.

scholarly journals Optimal, near-optimal, and robust epidemic control

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan H. Morris ◽  
Fernando W. Rossine ◽  
Joshua B. Plotkin ◽  
Simon A. Levin
Keyword(s):  
Robust Control ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Epidemic Model ◽  
Optimal Strategy ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Optimal Strategies ◽  
Economic Costs ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Intervention Policy ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions

AbstractIn the absence of drugs and vaccines, policymakers use non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing to decrease rates of disease-causing contact, with the aim of reducing or delaying the epidemic peak. These measures carry social and economic costs, so societies may be unable to maintain them for more than a short period of time. Intervention policy design often relies on numerical simulations of epidemic models, but comparing policies and assessing their robustness demands clear principles that apply across strategies. Here we derive the theoretically optimal strategy for using a time-limited intervention to reduce the peak prevalence of a novel disease in the classic Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered epidemic model. We show that broad classes of easier-to-implement strategies can perform nearly as well as the theoretically optimal strategy. But neither the optimal strategy nor any of these near-optimal strategies is robust to implementation error: small errors in timing the intervention produce large increases in peak prevalence. Our results reveal fundamental principles of non-pharmaceutical disease control and expose their potential fragility. For robust control, an intervention must be strong, early, and ideally sustained.

Optimal Strategies in Sports.

1979 ◽  
Vol 74 (367) ◽  
pp. 739
Author(s):  
Martin L. Puterman ◽  
Shaul P. Ladany ◽  
Robert E. Machol
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Strategies

scholarly journals How grow-and-switch gravitropism generates root coiling and root waving growth responses in Medicago truncatula

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (42) ◽  
pp. 12938-12943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tzer Han Tan ◽  
Jesse L. Silverberg ◽  
Daniela S. Floss ◽  
Maria J. Harrison ◽  
Christopher L. Henley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medicago Truncatula ◽  
Growth Medium ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Optimal Strategies ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Inclined Plane ◽  
Rigid Barrier ◽  
Primary Roots ◽  
Root Waving

Experimental studies show that plant root morphologies can vary widely from straight gravity-aligned primary roots to fractal-like root architectures. However, the opaqueness of soil makes it difficult to observe how environmental factors modulate these patterns. Here, we combine a transparent hydrogel growth medium with a custom built 3D laser scanner to directly image the morphology of Medicago truncatula primary roots. In our experiments, root growth is obstructed by an inclined plane in the growth medium. As the tilt of this rigid barrier is varied, we find Medicago transitions between randomly directed root coiling, sinusoidal root waving, and normal gravity-aligned morphologies. Although these root phenotypes appear morphologically distinct, our analysis demonstrates the divisions are less well defined, and instead, can be viewed as a 2D biased random walk that seeks the path of steepest decent along the inclined plane. Features of this growth response are remarkably similar to the widely known run-and-tumble chemotactic behavior of Escherichia coli bacteria, where biased random walks are used as optimal strategies for nutrient uptake.

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