Microfinance RCTs in Development

2020 ◽  
pp. 186-226
Author(s):  
Florent Bédécarrats ◽  
Isabelle Guérin ◽  
François Roubaud
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Data Entry ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Collection Data ◽  
The Many ◽  
Dissemination Of Results ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
Internal And External Validity ◽  
Political Success

Microcredit has long stood as a flagship topic for RCTs in development, starting with the publication of a special issue in a leading economics journal on six RCTs conducted in different world regions. This special issue was hailed as the first rigorous and conceivably definitive study on the impacts of microcredit. However, a detailed exploration of the implementation of these six RCTs reveals many limitations with respect to internal and external validity, ethics, and interpretation. This chapter uses analytical tools from statistics, political economy, and development anthropology to discuss the extent to which the entire RCT chain strays from the ideal RCT principles (from sampling, data collection, data entry and recoding, estimates and interpretation to publication and dissemination of results). It also raises questions about the disparity between the academic and political success of this special issue and the many inconsistencies of method.

scholarly journals A tale of three subspecialties: Diagnosis recording patterns are internally consistent but Specialty-Dependent

JAMIA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-377
Author(s):  
Jose-Franck Diaz-Garelli ◽  
Roy Strowd ◽  
Tamjeed Ahmed ◽  
Brian J Wells ◽  
Rebecca Merrill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
External Validity ◽  
Pancreatic Neoplasms ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Data Entry ◽  
Data Reuse ◽  
Secondary Use ◽  
Quality Assessments ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Internal And External Validity ◽  
Disease Specific

Abstract Background Structured diagnosis (DX) are crucial for secondary use of electronic health record (EHR) data. However, they are often suboptimally recorded. Our previous work showed initial evidence of variable DX recording patterns in oncology charts even after biopsy records are available. Objective We verified this finding’s internal and external validity. We hypothesized that this recording pattern would be preserved in a larger cohort of patients for the same disease. We also hypothesized that this effect would vary across subspecialties. Methods We extracted DX data from EHRs of patients treated for brain, lung, and pancreatic neoplasms, identified through clinician-led chart reviews. We used statistical methods (i.e., binomial and mixed model regressions) to test our hypotheses. Results We found variable recording patterns in brain neoplasm DX (i.e., larger number of distinct DX—OR = 2.2, P < 0.0001, higher descriptive specificity scores—OR = 1.4, P < 0.0001—and much higher entropy after the BX—OR = 3.8 P = 0.004 and OR = 8.0, P < 0.0001), confirming our initial findings. We also found strikingly different patterns for lung and pancreas DX. Although both seemed to have much lower DX sequence entropy after the BX—OR = 0.198, P = 0.015 and OR = 0.099, P = 0.015, respectively compared to OR = 3.8 P = 0.004). We also found statistically significant differences between the brain dataset and both the lung (P < 0.0001) and pancreas (0.009<P < 0.08). Conclusion Our results suggest that disease-specific DX entry patterns exist and are established differently by clinical subspecialty. These differences should be accounted for during clinical data reuse and data quality assessments but also during EHR entry system design to maximize accurate, precise and consistent data entry likelihood.

The German Post-Critical Belief Scale: Internal and External Validity

2003 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart Duriez ◽  
Claudia Appel ◽  
Dirk Hutsebaut
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
Present Article ◽  
External Validity ◽  
German Version ◽  
Dutch Version ◽  
German Sample ◽  
Belief Scale ◽  
Internal And External Validity

Abstract: Recently, Duriez, Fontaine and Hutsebaut (2000) and Fontaine, Duriez, Luyten and Hutsebaut (2003) constructed the Post-Critical Belief Scale in order to measure the two religiosity dimensions along which Wulff (1991 , 1997 ) summarized the various possible approaches to religion: Exclusion vs. Inclusion of Transcendence and Literal vs. Symbolic. In the present article, the German version of this scale is presented. Results obtained in a heterogeneous German sample (N = 216) suggest that the internal structure of the German version fits the internal structure of the original Dutch version. Moreover, the observed relation between the Literal vs. Symbolic dimension and racism, which was in line with previous studies ( Duriez, in press ), supports the external validity of the German version.

Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie im 21. Jahrhundert.

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (188) ◽  
pp. 453-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Peter Büttner
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
New World ◽  
Neoclassical Economics ◽  
Price Theory ◽  
Transformation Problem ◽  
Iron Cage ◽  
Analytical Tools

While the majority of the scientific community holds Marxian Value and Price Theory to be internally inconsistent because of the so-called “transformation problem”, these claims can be sufficiently refuted. The key to the solution of the “transformation problem” is quite simple, so this contribution, because it requires the rejection of simultanism and physicalism, which represent the genuine method of neoclassical economics, a method that is completely incompatible with Marxian Critique of Political Economy. Outside of the iron cage of neoclassical equilibrium economics, Marxian ‘Capital’ can be reconstructed without neoclassical “pathologies” and offers us a whole new world of analytical tools for a critical theory of capitalist societies and its dynamics.

Religious Narrative

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Armin Geertz
Keyword(s):  
Special Issue ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Religious Narrative ◽  
The Many ◽  
Definition Of

This introduction to the special issue on narrative discusses various ways of approaching religious narrative. It looks at various evolutionary hypotheses and distinguishes between three fundamental aspects of narrative: 1. the neurobiological, psychological, social and cultural mechanisms and processes, 2. the many media and methods used in human communication, and 3. the variety of expressive genres. The introduction ends with a definition of narrative.

scholarly journals Special Issue: Application of Extracellular Matrix in Regenerative Medicine

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3262
Author(s):  
Neill J. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Regenerative Medicine ◽  
Wound Repair ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Dynamic Structure ◽  
Scaffold Material ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Organ Regeneration ◽  
Scaffold Materials ◽  
The Many

The present Special Issue comprises a collection of articles addressing the many ways in which extracellular matrix (ECM), or its components parts, can be used in regenerative medicine applications. ECM is a dynamic structure, composed of a three-dimensional architecture of fibrous proteins, proteoglycans, and glycosaminoglycans, synthesized by the resident cells. Consequently, ECM can be considered as nature’s ideal biologic scaffold material. The articles in this Special Issue cover a range of topics from the use of ECM components to manufacture scaffold materials, understanding how changes in ECM composition can lead to the development of disease, and how decellularization techniques can be used to develop tissue-derived ECM scaffolds for whole organ regeneration and wound repair. This editorial briefly summarizes the most interesting aspects of these articles.

Exploring ‘digital placemaking’

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-578
Author(s):  
Germaine Halegoua ◽  
Erika Polson
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Sense Of Place ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Broad Framework ◽  
The Many ◽  
And Control ◽  
Connected Spaces

This brief essay introduces the special issue on the topic of ‘digital placemaking’ – a concept describing the use of digital media to create a sense of place for oneself and/or others. As a broad framework that encompasses a variety of practices used to create emotional attachments to place through digital media use, digital placemaking can be examined across a variety of domains. The concept acknowledges that, at its core, a drive to create and control a sense of place is understood as primary to how social actors identify with each other and express their identities and how communities organize to build more meaningful and connected spaces. This idea runs through the articles in the issue, exploring the many ways people use digital media, under varied conditions, to negotiate differential mobilities and become placemakers – practices that may expose or amplify preexisting inequities, exclusions, or erasures in the ways that certain populations experience digital media in place and placemaking.

scholarly journals How to publish a new fungal species, or name, version 3.0

IMA Fungus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Catherine Aime ◽  
Andrew N. Miller ◽  
Takayuki Aoki ◽  
Konstanze Bensch ◽  
Lei Cai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Data Dissemination ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Botanical Nomenclature ◽  
International Code ◽  
Code Of Nomenclature ◽  
Collection Data ◽  
Formal Requirements ◽  
Species Descriptions ◽  
Analytical Tools

AbstractIt is now a decade since The International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF) produced an overview of requirements and best practices for describing a new fungal species. In the meantime the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICNafp) has changed from its former name (the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature) and introduced new formal requirements for valid publication of species scientific names, including the separation of provisions specific to Fungi and organisms treated as fungi in a new Chapter F. Equally transformative have been changes in the data collection, data dissemination, and analytical tools available to mycologists. This paper provides an updated and expanded discussion of current publication requirements along with best practices for the description of new fungal species and publication of new names and for improving accessibility of their associated metadata that have developed over the last 10 years. Additionally, we provide: (1) model papers for different fungal groups and circumstances; (2) a checklist to simplify meeting (i) the requirements of the ICNafp to ensure the effective, valid and legitimate publication of names of new taxa, and (ii) minimally accepted standards for description; and, (3) templates for preparing standardized species descriptions.

Envisioning Entrepreneurship’s Future: Introducing Me-Search and Research Agendas

2021 ◽  
pp. 104225872110268
Author(s):  
Dean A. Shepherd ◽  
Johan Wiklund ◽  
Dimo Dimov
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Practical Problem ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Entrepreneurship Research ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
The Future ◽  
Research Agendas ◽  
The Many

The future of the field of entrepreneurship is bright primarily because of the many research opportunities to make a difference. However, as scholars how can we find these opportunities and choose the ones most likely to contribute to the literature? This essay introduces me-search and a special issue of research-agenda papers from leading scholars as tools for blazing new trails in entrepreneurship research. Me-search and the agenda papers point to the importance of solving a practical problem; problematizing, contextualizing, and abstracting entrepreneurship research; and using empirical theorizing to explore entrepreneurial phenomena.

scholarly journals A novel preference-informed complementary trial (PICT) design for clinical trial research influenced by strong patient preferences

Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samina Ali ◽  
◽  
Gareth Hopkin ◽  
Naveen Poonai ◽  
Lawrence Richer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
External Validity ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Clinical Effectiveness ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Innovative Design ◽  
Clinical Trial Research ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Internal And External Validity ◽  
Treatment Population

Abstract Background Patients and their families often have preferences for medical care that relate to wider considerations beyond the clinical effectiveness of the proposed interventions. Traditionally, these preferences have not been adequately considered in research. Research questions where patients and families have strong preferences may not be appropriate for traditional randomized controlled trials (RCTs) due to threats to internal and external validity, as there may be high levels of drop-out and non-adherence or recruitment of a sample that is not representative of the treatment population. Several preference-informed designs have been developed to address problems with traditional RCTs, but these designs have their own limitations and may not be suitable for many research questions where strong preferences and opinions are present. Methods In this paper, we propose a novel and innovative preference-informed complementary trial (PICT) design which addresses key weaknesses with both traditional RCTs and available preference-informed designs. In the PICT design, complementary trials would be operated within a single study, and patients and/or families would be given the opportunity to choose between a trial with all treatment options available and a trial with treatment options that exclude the option which is subject to strong preferences. This approach would allow those with strong preferences to take part in research and would improve external validity through recruiting more representative populations and internal validity. Here we discuss the strengths and limitations of the PICT design and considerations for analysis and present a motivating example for the design based on the use of opioids for pain management for children with musculoskeletal injuries. Conclusions PICTs provide a novel and innovative design for clinical trials with more than two arms, which can address problems with existing preference-informed trial designs and enhance the ability of researchers to reflect shared decision-making in research as well as improving the validity of trials of topics with strong preferences.

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