Recent publications
The view that our best current physics deals with effective systems has gained philosophical traction in the last two decades. A similar view about open systems has also been picking up steam in recent years. Yet little has been said about how the concepts of effective and open systems relate to each other despite their apparent kinship—both indeed seem at first sight to presuppose that the system in question is somehow incomplete. In this paper, I distinguish between two concepts of effectiveness and openness in quantum field theory, which provides a remarkably well-developed theoretical framework to make a first stab at the matter, and argue that on both counts, every realistic effective system in this context is also open. I conclude by highlighting how the discussion opens novel avenues for thinking of systems as open across scales.
Digital technologies ignite new businesses and force existing companies to restructure their business models. Various independent academic research streams discuss the potential of digital technologies for business. However, these streams’ research findings are published across outlets in various communities, and an approach to bringing these streams together is missing. In this position paper, we propose to integrate these streams under the concept of Digital Business. We see Digital Innovations as the core of Digital Business and offer a framework for structuring the field. Using this framework, we describe the field’s development to date and provide three ideas for further integrating the field in the future. Altogether, a key aim of this paper is to create a conceptual basis that structures both research and education in the field Digital Business.
Drug‐induced hypotension can be harmful and may lead to hospital admissions. The occurrence of hypotension during drug therapy is preventable through increased awareness. This scoping review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of antihypertensive and nonantihypertensive drugs associated with hypotension in adults. A systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library, focusing on studies from January 2013 to May 2023. Search terms were developed to capture key concepts related to hypotension and adverse drug events in adults while excluding terms related to allergic reactions, phytotherapy and studies involving paediatric, pregnant or animal populations. The eligibility criteria included a wide range of study types evaluating hypotension as an adverse drug event across all healthcare settings. Relevant information was extracted from the included studies, while identified drugs associated with hypotension were categorised into drug classes. The review was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. In 97 eligible studies, we identified 26 antihypertensive drugs grouped into nine different antihypertensive classes and 158 other drugs grouped into 22 other drug classes. Common antihypertensive classes were angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors, beta blockers and diuretics. Frequently reported nonantihypertensive classes were neuroleptics, alpha‐1 blockers for benign prostatic hyperplasia, benzodiazepines, opioids and antidepressants. The results highlight the importance of healthcare professionals being aware of nonantihypertensive drugs that can cause hypotension. This review provides a basis for future systematic reviews to explore dose‐dependence, drug–drug interactions and confounding factors.
In response to the ethical and societal challenges of emerging technologies, there is a growing commitment to integrative socio-technical research. One such approach is embedded ethics and social science, which embeds the analysis of ethical, social, and legal aspects into the entire innovation process through direct collaboration between ethicists, social scientists, legal scholars, technical researchers, and experts in the field of application. We offer reflections on our experiences from the approach's pilot project, Responsible Robotics, where we were integrated into a research project on service robotics for senior care. Drawing on more than four years of embedded research, we present practices through which peer-to-peer relationships develop. These relationships challenge disciplinary identities and serve as grounds for mutual learning and capacity-building. Our insights contribute to the discourse on how science and technology studies (STS), ethics, and law can integrate with technological research to ensure ethically and socially responsible practices.
Statistical learning theory is often associated with the principle of Occam’s razor, which recommends a simplicity preference in inductive inference. This paper distills the core argument for simplicity obtainable from statistical learning theory, built on the theory’s central learning guarantee for the method of empirical risk minimization. This core “means-ends” argument is that a simpler hypothesis class or inductive model is better because it has better learning guarantees; however, these guarantees are model-relative and so the theoretical push towards simplicity is checked by our prior knowledge.
According to Aquinas, the Platonic doctrine of participation can be disentangled from a commitment to the theory of Forms which Aristotle attributes to Plato. In this article, I argue that we can learn three important things from close examination of this key insight. First, we can better understand Aquinas’s view of how the participation of an effect in its cause works. Second, the Platonic doctrine of participation can play an important role in explaining and defending Christian doctrines such as the doctrine of creation and the doctrine of divine simplicity. Third, it is possible to combine the Platonic doctrine of participation with Aristotle’s alternative account of forms into a coherent and powerful metaphysical synthesis.
Hybrid belief aggregation addresses aggregation of individual probabilistic beliefs into collective binary beliefs. In line with the development of judgment aggregation theory, our research delves into the identification of precise agenda conditions associated with some key impossibility theorems in the context of hybrid belief aggregation. We determine the necessary and sufficient level of logical interconnection between the propositions in an agenda for some key impossibilities to arise. Specifically, we prove three characterization theorems about hybrid belief aggregation: (i) Precisely the path-connected and pair-negatable agendas lead to the ‘oligarchy result’—only oligarchic rules satisfy universal domain, proposition-wise independence, respect for unanimity, and deductive closure of collective beliefs. (ii) Precisely the negation-connected agendas lead to the ‘triviality result’—only unanimity rules satisfy those conditions as well as anonymity. (iii) Precisely the blocked agendas lead to the ‘non-existence result’—no rules satisfy those conditions as well as completeness and consistency of collective beliefs. Furthermore, we compare these novel findings with existing agenda-theoretic characterization theorems in the domains of judgment aggregation and belief binarization.
Objective:
To investigate the influence of four major life events (leaving home, full-time employment, married/cohabiting, parenthood) and socio-demographic variables on risky total leisure noise (TLN) during transition to adulthood with a special focus on visiting discotheques and listening to portable listening devices (PLDs).
Design:
Longitudinal analysis of the OHRKAN cohort. Risky TLN covering 22 activities was defined as exceeding 85 dB(A) averaged over a 40-hour week. Potential determinants were analysed using Generalised Linear Mixed Models.
Study sample:
A closed cohort of 2,148 students recruited in ninth grade at schools in Regensburg in 2009-2011 and surveyed five times over about 10 years. In waves 3 to 5, 1,608 individuals participated at least once.
Results:
The prevalence of risky TLN decreased from 72.5% (median age 20) to 38.5% (median age 26). A decrease was also observed for visiting discotheques while exposure to PLD use remained relatively constant. Marriage/cohabiting and parenthood significantly reduced the prevalence of risky TLN and discotheques visits while only marriage/cohabiting reduced the prevalence of risky PLD use.
Conclusions:
Young adults are particularly at risk to leisure noise exposure. The later major life events occur, the longer they expose themselves to risky leisure noise. Therefore, prevention is of utmost importance.
This introductory, editorial chapter sets the stage for the following contributions by discussing roles that logic has—and has not played—in the development of reasoning under uncertainty tracing from Boole and De Morgan, over Tarski to AI, the AI spring, and current trends in data-intensive methodology.
Models developed by the knowledge representation and reasoning community permit us to study defeasible inference based on argumentation and data. Scientific reasoning progresses by evaluating scientific hypotheses based on data and meta-evidence. Meta-evidence can be understood as arguments for discounting or even ignoring data or other meta-evidence. Non-monotonic reasoning is underpinned by non-monotonic logic. We here develop a method for modelling scientific inferences within formal argumentation models. We show how these models capture hypothesis testing, meta-analysis, strong inference and non-monotonic consequence relations.
Background
Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) significantly impairs patients' quality of life. Despite advances in diagnosis and therapy, treatment is still unsatisfactory. Telemedicine offers a promising solution to improve treatment. This pilot study assesses the acceptability and utilization of a digital health model for CSU, examines its impact on disease management, and identifies technical challenges.
Patients and Methods
In this prospective pilot study, CSU patients at a university hospital in Germany were included. Over 12 months, participants interacted with physicians via a telemedicine platform, which was the study‐specific intervention. After each three‐month digital visit, symptoms and quality of life were assessed using electronic patient reported outcomes (ePROs) and online questionnaires. In the end, patients and doctors rated the overall satisfaction, the user‐friendliness of the platform and the technical challenges.
Results
24 patients completed the study. The majority (92%) reported that the digital concept could be a promising alternative to traditional consultations. Analysis from baseline to end of study revealed that disease control remained stable while quality of life improved. All physicians found the digital application reliable and time‐saving.
Conclusions
This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility and high acceptance of a digital health model for the management of CSU. Further research with larger cohorts is needed and planned to determine broader applicability.
It is increasingly common in the philosophical literature to claim that political legitimacy, normatively understood, comes in degrees. However, most authors fail to specify what talk of degrees means, and the notion remains opaque. Using the Hohfeld schema as a guide, I survey possible accounts, distinguishing them into “width”, “depth”, and “weight” proposals. I argue that each fails to provide a convincing account of scalar legitimacy. Thus, talk of degrees of legitimacy, as currently used, is in serious need of explanation.
In his monumental work on Indian culture and society, al-Bīrūnī (d. around 1048 AD ) sets out a multifaceted program. He aims at gathering various Indian religious, philosophical, and scientific beliefs for his Muslim audience, and in a second step compares this material to Greek philosophy and even Islamic doctrines. In this paper, we discuss al-Bīrūnī’s attitude towards his sources and his methodology in distinguishing beliefs held by the masses throughout the various religious traditions from beliefs that are rather established on firmer grounds, namely by way of a rational examination. We approach such questions by two case studies, on divine action and reincarnation.
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