scholarly journals The frontiers of empirical science: A Thomist-inspired critique of scientism

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Callum Scott
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Empirical Science ◽  
Physical Cosmology

Scientistic conceptualisations hold to the positivistic positions that science is limitless in its potential representations of material phenomena and that it is the only sure path to knowledge. In recent popular scientific literature, these presuppositions have been reaffirmed to the detriment of both philosophy and theology. This article argues for the contrary position by a meta-analysis of empirical science from a Thomist perspective. Identifying empirical science as limited in its method and bound to the material sphere of being alone, we posit that rather than standing as the sole path to the knowledge of being, empirical science is constrained at its frontiers. It is subsequently contended that far from empirical science having the explanatory ability to respond to all presenting scientific problems in principle, fundamentals without the grasp of the methodology of empirical science exist. To relate the article’s meta-analysis to scientific praxis, physical cosmology – as the most foundational empirical science – is exemplified in the discussion.Keywords: Philosophy; Religion; Science; Scientism; Thomism; Metaphysics; Epistemology

scholarly journals Erythritol-Enriched Air-Polishing Powder for the Surgical Treatment of Peri-Implantitis

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvio Taschieri ◽  
Roberto Weinstein ◽  
Massimo Del Fabbro ◽  
Stefano Corbella
Keyword(s):  
Surgical Treatment ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Major Complication ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Implant Surface ◽  
Treatment Protocols ◽  
Air Polishing ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Viable Treatment

Peri-implantitis represents a major complication that can compromise the success and survival of implant-supported rehabilitations. Both surgical and nonsurgical treatment protocols were proposed to improve clinical parameters and to treat implants affected by peri-implantitis. A systematic review of the literature was performed on electronic databases. The use of air-polishing powder in surgical treatment of peri-implantitis was investigated. A total of five articles, of different study designs, were included in the review. A meta-analysis could not be performed. The data from included studies reported a substantial benefit of the use of air-polishing powders for the decontamination of implant surface in surgical protocols. A case report of guided bone regeneration in sites with implants affected by peri-implantitis was presented. Surgical treatment of peri-implantitis, though demanding and not supported by a wide scientific literature, could be considered a viable treatment option if an adequate decontamination of infected surfaces could be obtained.

scholarly journals Health benefits induced by adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle components diet and physical activity

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Cécil J. W. Meulenberg
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Form Complex ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Diet And Physical Activity ◽  
The Mediterranean

The purpose of this overview is to present the evidence that adherence to Mediterranean lifestyle components is beneficial for functional and cognitive health. Although Mediterranean diet is the principal component of this lifestyle, other components, like physical activity and socializing, form complex interactions and together they complete into the Mediterranean lifestyle. Individual components and their interactions have not been studied thoroughly, however, there is an increasing attention for these matters through scientific literature in original research, reviews and meta-analysis. This paper considers the recent knowledge and trends related to defining the indicators concerning these lifestyle components, as well as summarizes the health benefits induced by adherence to them and explains why Mediterranean lifestyle components are important for health.

THE CONCEPT OF CRITICAL THINKING IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odeta Merfeldaite ◽  
Valdonė Indrašienė ◽  
Violeta Jegelevičienė ◽  
Asta Railienė ◽  
Jolanta Pivorienė ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Specific Area ◽  
Problem Solution ◽  
Professional Activities ◽  
Multidisciplinary Studies ◽  
Professional Fields

Critical thinking is considered a key competence, which is necessary for the citizens in participation in daily life, and in the society and enables employees to make decisions and start activities; it becomes one of the essential characteristics that employers expect their future employees to have. Scientists continuously raise the question of critical thinking (Lloyd & Bahr, 2010, Liu, Mao, Frankel, Xu, 2016 and others), what specific skills of critical thinking should be developed and how to make them adjustable in practice and remain stable, if the existing instruments of assessment are sufficient (Facione, Facione, 2013; Lai, 2011, Gudžinskienė, 2006). The existing variety of conceptions of critical thinking presupposes discussions about the skills, which are necessary for a critically thinking individual. The purpose of this presentation is to analyse the concept of critical thinking in higher education context based on multidisciplinary studies of critical thinking. In the investigation of the concept of critical thinking relating to multidisciplinary researches of critical thinking in Lithuania and abroad the analysis of discourse was involved. The selected strategy of the research helps to understand the concept of critical thinking in higher education context, to analyse this phenomenon in the background of different disciplines.  Analysis of scientific literature and theoretical meta-analysis were used in the research. The performed research showed that cognitive and non-cognitive dimensions develop in the interpretation of the concept of critical thinking in higher education context. Critical thinking is identified as cognitive and reflexive process of thinking including components of cognitive skills and dispositions, which enable to identify, analyse, justify decisions and arguments, to make decisions and to present problems for consideration. When analysing the interpretations of the concept of critical thinking it is important to identify which elements of the critical thinking concept and which results of critical thinking are emphasized in different sciences or in different areas of professional activities. The research has established that the skills of critical thinking are not linked to any specific area of science; in all of them the focus is on the skills orientated towards the process of problem solution in different professional fields.

scholarly journals Aquaculture farms can have many, highly-variable impacts on nearby wildlife

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
OCTO
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Individual Study ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Negative Impacts

Aquaculture farms have the potential to impact nearby wildlife in a number of ways: an individual study alone would be unable to measure all the impacts. So the authors performed a meta-analysis and review of the scientific literature, examining over 9000 research papers published through November 2017, to determine the consensus on both positive and negative impacts from aquaculture farms.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Psychopathy in the General Adult Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Sanz-García ◽  
Clara Gesteira ◽  
Jesús Sanz ◽  
María Paz García-Vera
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Sex Type ◽  
General Adult Population ◽  
Meta Regression ◽  
Definition Of

The main objective of this study was to systematically and meta-analytically review the scientific literature on the prevalence of psychopathy in the general adult population. A search in PsycInfo, MEDLINE, and PSICODOC identified 15 studies published as of June 2021. Altogether, 16 samples of adults totaling 11,497 people were evaluated. Joint prevalence rates were calculated using reverse variance heterogeneity models. Meta-regression analyses were conducted to examine whether the type of instrument, sex, type of sample, and country influenced prevalence. The meta-analytical results obtained allow us to estimate the prevalence rate of psychopathy in the general adult population at 4.5%. That being said, this rate varies depending on the participants' sex (higher in males), the type of sample from the general population (higher in samples from organizations than in community samples or university students), and the type of instrument used to define psychopathy. In fact, using the PCL-R, which is currently considered the “gold standard” for the assessment and definition of psychopathy, the prevalence is only 1.2%. These results are discussed in the context of the different theoretical perspectives and the existing problems when it comes to defining the construct of psychopathy.

scholarly journals Tobacco smoking and COVID-19 infections: A summary of facts from scientific literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-223
Author(s):  
Umesh Raj Aryal
Keyword(s):  
Tobacco Smoking ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Google Scholar ◽  
Protective Agent ◽  
Tobacco Products ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
French Study

The objective of the study is to summarise the association between COVID-19 and smoking published in peer-reviewed journals, preprint in MedRxiv /Qeios, news, and report. The literature search was conducted between 1st to 20th August 2020 using three databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google) with the keywords “Tobacco smoking and COVID-19” as search terms. A French study claimed that smoking is a protective agent for COVID-19 infections. A meta-analysis revealed that tobacco smoking is significantly associated with COVID-19 infections. Despite the controversy surrounding the connection between smoking and COVID-19, people should not smoke or use any tobacco products because smoking is associated with increased rates of severe COVID-19.

scholarly journals Role of Meta-analysis in Interpreting the Scientific Literature

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Jennions ◽  
Christopher J. Lortie ◽  
Julia Koricheva
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Power ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
P Values ◽  
Single Study ◽  
Broad Scale

This chapter begins with a brief review of why effect sizes and their variances are more informative than P-values. It then discusses how meta-analysis promotes “effective thinking” that can change approaches to several commonplace problems. Specifically, it addresses the issues of (1) exemplar studies versus average trends, (2) resolving “conflict” between specific studies, (3) presenting results, (4) deciding on the level at which to replicate studies, (5) understanding the constraints imposed by low statistical power, and (6) asking broad-scale questions that cannot be resolved in a single study. The chapter focuses on estimating effect sizes as a key outcome of meta-analysis, but acknowledges that other outcomes might be of more interest in other situations.

Climate Variability and Floods—A global Review

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kundzewicz ◽  
Szwed ◽  
Pińskwar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Water Abundance ◽  
Flood Magnitude ◽  
Analysis Of Results ◽  
Statistical Sense

There is a strong inter-annual and inter-decadal variability in time series of flood-related variables, such as intense precipitation, high river discharge, flood magnitude, and flood loss at a range of spatial scales. Perhaps part of this variability is random or chaotic, but it is quite natural to seek driving factors, in a statistical sense. It is likely that climate variability (atmosphere–ocean oscillation) track plays an important role in the interpretation of the variability of flood-related characteristics, globally and, even more so, in several regions. The aim of this review paper is to create an inventory of information on spatially and temporally organized links of various climate-variability drivers with variability of characteristics of water abundance reported in scientific literature for a range of scales, from global to local. The climate variability indices examined in this paper are: El Niño-Southern Oscillations (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillations (NAO), Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO), and Pacific Decadal Oscillations (PDO). A meta-analysis of results from many studies reported in scientific literature was carried out. The published results were collected and classified into categories after regions, climate variability modes, as well as flood-related variables: precipitation, river flow, and flood losses.

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