scholarly journals Evidence, Risk, and Proof Paradoxes: Pessimism about the Epistemic Project

2021 ◽  
pp. 136571272110358
Author(s):  
Giada Fratantonio

Why can testimony alone be enough for findings of liability? Why statistical evidence alone can't? These questions underpin the ‘Proof Paradox’. Many epistemologists have attempted to explain this paradox from a purely epistemic perspective. I call it the ‘Epistemic Project’. In this paper, I take a step back from this recent trend. Stemming from considerations about the nature and role of standards of proof, I define three requirements that any successful account in line with the Epistemic Project should meet. I then consider three recent epistemic accounts on which the standard is met when the evidence rules out modal risk (Pritchard 2018), normic risk (Ebert et al., 2020), or relevant alternatives (Gardiner 2019 2020). I argue that none of these accounts meets all the requirements. Finally, I offer reasons to be pessimistic about the prospects of having a successful epistemic explanation of the paradox. I suggest the discussion on the proof paradox would benefit from undergoing a ‘value-turn’.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Robert M. Anderson ◽  
Amy M. Lambert

The island marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus), thought to be extinct throughout the 20th century until re-discovered on a single remote island in Puget Sound in 1998, has become the focus of a concerted protection effort to prevent its extinction. However, efforts to “restore” island marble habitat conflict with efforts to “restore” the prairie ecosystem where it lives, because of the butterfly’s use of a non-native “weedy” host plant. Through a case study of the island marble project, we examine the practice of ecological restoration as the enactment of particular norms that define which species are understood to belong in the place being restored. We contextualize this case study within ongoing debates over the value of “native” species, indicative of deep-seated uncertainties and anxieties about the role of human intervention to alter or manage landscapes and ecosystems, in the time commonly described as the “Anthropocene.” We interpret the question of “what plants and animals belong in a particular place?” as not a question of scientific truth, but a value-laden construct of environmental management in practice, and we argue for deeper reflexivity on the part of environmental scientists and managers about the social values that inform ecological restoration.


Author(s):  
Marsel Eliaser Liunokas

Timorese culture is patriarchal in that men are more dominant than women. As if women were not considered in traditional rituals so that an understanding was built that valued women lower than men. However, in contrast to the article to be studied, this would like to see the priority of women’s roles in traditional marriages in Belle village, South Central Timor. The role of women wiil be seen from giving awards to their parents called puah mnasi manu mnasi. This paper aims to look at the meaning of the rituals of puah mnasi maun mnasi and the role and strengths that women have in traditional marriage rituals in the village of Belle, South Central Timor. The method used for this research is a qualitative research method using interview techniques with a number of people in the Belle Villa community and literature study to strengthen this writing. Based on the data obtained this paper shows that the adat rituals of puah mnasi manu mnasi provide a value that can be learned, namely respect for women, togetherness between the two families, and brotherhood that is intertwined due to customary marital affrairs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 2225-2252
Author(s):  
E.V. Popov ◽  
V.L. Simonova ◽  
O.V. Komarova ◽  
S.S. Kaigorodova

Subject. The emergence of new ways of interaction between sellers and buyers, the formation of new sales channels and product promotion based on the use of digital economy tools is at the heart of improving the business processes. Social networks became a tool for development; their rapid growth necessitates theoretical understanding and identification of potential application in enterprise's business process digitalization. Objectives. We explore the role of social media in the digitalization of business processes, systematize the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises in the digital economy. Methods. The theoretical and methodological analysis of social networks as a tool for digitalization of company's business processes rests on the content analysis of domestic and foreign scientific studies, comparison, generalization and systematization. Results. We highlight the key effects of the impact of social networks on the business processes of the company; show that the digitalization of business processes should be considered in the context of a value-based approach, aimed at creating a value through the algorithmization of company operations. We determine that social networks are one of the most important tools for digitalization of company's business processes, as they have a high organizational and management potential. We also systematize the effects of social media on company's business processes. Conclusions. We present theoretical provisions of the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises, which will enable to model and organize ideas about the development of digital ecosystems and the formation of business models.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 707
Author(s):  
Petros Vasilakos ◽  
Yongtao Hu ◽  
Armistead Russell ◽  
Athanasios Nenes

Formation of aerosol from biogenic hydrocarbons relies heavily on anthropogenic emissions since they control the availability of species such as sulfate and nitrate, and through them, aerosol acidity (pH). To elucidate the role that acidity and emissions play in regulating Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA), we utilize the 2013 Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) dataset to enhance the extensive mechanism of isoprene epoxydiol (IEPOX)-mediated SOA formation implemented in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model (Pye et al., 2013), which was then used to investigate the impact of potential future emission controls on IEPOX OA. We found that the Henry’s law coefficient for IEPOX was the most impactful parameter that controls aqueous isoprene OA products, and a value of 1.9 × 107 M atm−1 provides the best agreement with measurements. Non-volatile cations (NVCs) were found in higher-than-expected quantities in CMAQ and exerted a significant influence on IEPOX OA by reducing its production by as much as 30% when present. Consistent with previous literature, a strong correlation of isoprene OA with sulfate, and little correlation with acidity or liquid water content, was found. Future reductions in SO2 emissions are found to not affect this correlation and generally act to increase the sensitivity of IEPOX OA to sulfate, even in extreme cases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 474 (16) ◽  
pp. 2713-2731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athinoula L. Petrou ◽  
Athina Terzidaki

From kinetic data (k, T) we calculated the thermodynamic parameters for various processes (nucleation, elongation, fibrillization, etc.) of proteinaceous diseases that are related to the β-amyloid protein (Alzheimer's), to tau protein (Alzheimer's, Pick's), to α-synuclein (Parkinson's), prion, amylin (type II diabetes), and to α-crystallin (cataract). Our calculations led to ΔG≠ values that vary in the range 92.8–127 kJ mol−1 at 310 K. A value of ∼10–30 kJ mol−1 is the activation energy for the diffusion of reactants, depending on the reaction and the medium. The energy needed for the excitation of O2 from the ground to the first excited state (1Δg, singlet oxygen) is equal to 92 kJ mol−1. So, the ΔG≠ is equal to the energy needed for the excitation of ground state oxygen to the singlet oxygen (1Δg first excited) state. The similarity of the ΔG≠ values is an indication that a common mechanism in the above disorders may be taking place. We attribute this common mechanism to the (same) role of the oxidative stress and specifically of singlet oxygen, (1Δg), to the above-mentioned processes: excitation of ground state oxygen to the singlet oxygen, 1Δg, state (92 kJ mol−1), and reaction of the empty π* orbital with high electron density regions of biomolecules (∼10–30 kJ mol−1 for their diffusion). The ΔG≠ for cases of heat-induced cell killing (cancer) lie also in the above range at 310 K. The present paper is a review and meta-analysis of literature data referring to neurodegenerative and other disorders.


Author(s):  
Xitong Li ◽  
Jörn Grahl ◽  
Oliver Hinz

The findings underscore the important role of consumers’ consideration sets in mediating the positive effects of recommender systems on consumer purchases. Practical strategies can be developed to facilitate the formation of the consideration sets. For example, to reduce consumers’ search costs and cognitive efforts, online retailers can display the recommended products in a descending order according to the predicted closeness of consumers’ preferences. Online retailers can further indicate the predicted closeness scores of consumers’ preferences for the recommended products. Given such a placement arrangement, consumers can quickly screen the recommended products and add the most relevant alternatives to their consideration sets, which should facilitate consumers’ shopping process and increase the shopping satisfaction. The findings also suggest that a larger consideration set due to the use of recommender systems could induce consumers to buy. Yet, it is difficult for consumers to manage many alternatives when the consideration set is very large. To facilitate consumers’ shopping process, online retailers need to consider strategies and tools that help consumers manage the alternatives in the consideration set in a better-organized manner and facilitate the comparison across the alternatives.


Author(s):  
Alaigul Karabaevna Bekboeva

This article considers the role of the media as a partner of the state and society, as well as spontaneity. Due to this, media serve as one of the factors in the formation of national self-consciousness and its elements, such as shame. The author analyzes such element of national identity as national shame. It is proved that national shame as a social phenomenon has a social meaning of the regulator of human relationships in social existence. It is noted that national shame is socially determined, has a permanent character, and its socially significant semantic principles are passed from generation to generation as a form of behavior through implantation and interspersing it as a daily norm of people's behavior, giving each act a value-significant meaning.


1982 ◽  
Vol 243 (3) ◽  
pp. F260-F264 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Kastner ◽  
J. E. Hall ◽  
A. C. Guyton

Studies were performed to quantitate the effects of progressive increases in renal venous pressure (RVP) on renin secretion (RS) and renal hemodynamics. RVP was raised in 10 mmHg increments to 50 mmHg. Renin secretion rate increased modestly as RVP was increased to 30 mmHg and then increased sharply after RVP exceeded 30 mmHg. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), renal blood flow (RBF), and filtration fraction (FF) did not change significantly when RVP was elevated to 50 mmHg. GFR and RBF were also measured after the renin-angiotension system (RAS) was blocked with the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (CEI) SQ 14225. After a 60-min CEI infusion, RBF was elevated (32%), GFR was unchanged, FF was decreased, and total renal resistance (TRR) was decreased. As RVP was increased to 50 mmHg, GFR and FF decreased to 36.3 and 40.0% of control, respectively, RBF returned to a value not significantly different from control, and TRR decreased to 44.8% of control. The data indicate that the RAS plays an important role in preventing reductions in GFR during increased RVP because blockade of angiotensin II (ANG II) formation by the CEI results in marked decreases in GFR at high RVPs. The decreases in GFR after ANG II blockade and RVP elevation were not due to lack of renal vasodilation, since TRR was maintained below while RBF was maintained either above or at the pre-CEI levels.


Author(s):  
M. Gambini ◽  
G. L. Guizzi ◽  
M. Vellini

In this paper, the thermodynamic potentialities and limits of the H2/O2 cycles are investigated. Starting from the conventional gas turbine and steam turbine technology, the paper qualitatively tackles problems related to a change of oxidizer and fuel: from these considerations, an internal combustion steam cycle (ICSC) is analyzed where steam, injected in the combustion chamber together with oxygen and hydrogen, is produced in a regenerative way and plays the important role of inert. A proper parametric analysis is then performed in order to evaluate the influence of the main working parameters on the overall performance of H2/O2 cycles. All the results are carried out neglecting the energy requirements for O2 and H2 production systems, but taking into account their work compression only. This choice permits great freedom in the definition of these thermodynamic cycles and allows general considerations because there is no need of any specification about H2 and/or O2 production systems and their integration with thermodynamic cycles. Therefore this paper can be framed in a context of oxygen and hydrogen centralized production (by nuclear or renewable energy sources for example) and in their distribution as pure gases in the utilization place. Adopting realistic assumptions, TIT of about 1350°C, the potentialities of H2/O2 cycles are very limited: the net efficiency attains a value of about 50%. Instead, adopting futurist assumptions, TIT = I700°C, a different H2/O2 cycle scheme can be proposed and more interesting performance is attained (a net efficiency value over 60%). The thermodynamic and technological aspects are completely addressed in the paper, underlining the great importance of the choice of the main working parameters.


2014 ◽  
Vol 78 (7) ◽  
pp. 1671-1675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Roper ◽  
Peter Leverett ◽  
Timothy D. Murphy ◽  
Peter A. Williams

AbstractSynthesis and solubility studies of onoratoite have been undertaken to determine the role of this rare secondary phase in the immobilization of Sb and the conditions responsible for its formation in the supergene zone. Solubility studies were undertaken at 298.15 K. A value of ΔGfθ (Sb8O11Cl2, s, 298.15 K) = –2576 ±12 kJ mol–1 was derived. Calculations involving sénarmontite, Sb2O3, klebelsbergite, Sb4O4SO4(OH)2 and schafarzikite, FeSb2O4, show that onoratoite is a thermodynamically stable phase only at negligible activities of SO42–(aq) and low activities of Fe2+(aq), at low pH and very high activities of Cl–(aq). This explains why onoratoite is such a rare secondary phase and why it cannot exert any significant influence on the dispersion of Sb in the supergene environment.


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