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Various Concepts (various + concept)
Selected AbstractsThe Illusory Theory of Colours: An Anti-Realist TheoryDIALECTICA, Issue 3 2006Barry Maund Despite the fact about colour, that it is one of the most obvious and conspicuous features of the world, there is a vast number of different theories about colour, theories which seem to be proliferating rather than decreasing. How is it possible that there can be so much disagreement about what colours are? Is it possible that these different theorists are not talking about the same thing? Could it be that more than one of them is right? Indeed some theorists, e.g. Leo M. Hurvich, D. L. McAdam and K. Nassau, say that the term ,colour' is used to identify a range of different properties, e.g. pigments, properties of light, and sensations. Such a view has its attractions, but it raises the question of what it is that unites these various concepts , what is it that would make them all concepts of colour? What is it that justifies using the same terms, ,yellow', ,blue', ,pink', mauve', and so on? This paper aims to address this question, arguing that its answer supports the conclusion that the best theory of colour is a form of anti-realism: the Illusory theory of colours. There are two parts to this thesis, one negative, the other positive. The negative part is that there are no colours, as they are ordinarily conceived. The positive part is that, nevertheless, the world is such that ,it is as if there are such colours'. Such a theory has important implications. One is that it doesn't fall neatly into the usual taxonomy of philosophical theories. In particular, it does not deserve the label ,eliminativist'. Another is that it allows some space for the views expressed by Hurvich, McAdam and Nassau, but not quite in the sense that they intend. [source] Assessing program fidelity in substance abuse health services researchADDICTION, Issue 11s3 2000Robert G. Orwin This paper addresses how treatment fidelity and related constructs (e.g. program implementation) can be assessed in alcohol, drug abuse and mental health services research. First, it introduces definitions of fidelity and related concepts, and then describes various concepts and tools from program evaluation that have proven useful for assessing fidelity. Next, several of these are illustrated in detail through a case study of a multisite fidelity assessment in substance abuse services research: the process evaluation of the NIAAA Homeless Cooperative Agreement Program. This evaluation included analysis of implementation at the program- and participant-level, the development of scales from the individual services data to estimate intervention strength, fidelity, and "leakage" (i.e. the degree to which services intended exclusively for intervention groups were inadvertently delivered to comparison groups) and the methods with which these data were used to assess whether programs were implemented as planned. [source] ,I Can't Eat That, It's Purple': a Geography Field Course in Vanuatu and FijiGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2006JOHN CONNELL Abstract A month-long field course in the Pacific island states of Vanuatu and Fiji focused on development issues, involving lectures, seminars and much informal interaction. Students completed daily journals as a means of learning, a form of self-assessment of learning, a way of evaluating their participation in the course and their perception of its value. Journal themes reflected an evolution from unsettling rhetorical questions towards notions of discovery, autonomy, reflexivity and emerging cultural sensitivity. Students developed valuable social skills, and gained first-hand experience of various concepts of development and social justice. Grading the journals was difficult because of the extent of subjectivity and diverse personal experiences. The course, and the journals, emphasised the diverse values and roles of courses both on, and particularly in, developing countries, despite the substantial costs. [source] Primary care in the UK: understanding the dynamics of devolutionHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 5 2001Mark Exworthy Abstract The United Kingdom is ostensibly one country and yet public policy often varies between its constituent territories , England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Health policy illustrates the dilemmas inherent in an apparently unitary system that permits scope for territorial variation. Administrative devolution has now been accompanied by political devolution but their interaction has yet to produce policy outcomes. This paper describes recent health policy reform with regard to primary care in terms of the tension inherent in current policy between notions of a ,one nation NHS' and the territorial diversity wrought by devolution. The paper provides a framework for understanding the emergent outcomes by exploring various concepts. In particular, the existing character of territorial policy networks, the properties of policies in devolved territories and intergovernmental relations are considered from various disciplines to examine whether greater diversity or uniformity will result from the dual reform process. Whilst this evaluation can, at this stage, only be preliminary, the paper provides a framework to appraise the emerging impact of devolution upon primary care in the UK. [source] Causality and Causal Models: A Conceptual Perspective,INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL REVIEW, Issue 3 2006Benito V. Frosini Summary This paper aims at displaying a synthetic view of the historical development and the current research concerning causal relationships, starting from the Aristotelian doctrine of causes, following with the main philosophical streams until the middle of the twentieth century, and commenting on the present intensive research work in the statistical domain. The philosophical survey dwells upon various concepts of cause, and some attempts towards picking out spurious causes. Concerning statistical modelling, factorial models and directed acyclic graphs are examined and compared. Special attention is devoted to randomization and pseudo-randomization (for observational studies) in view of avoiding the effect of possible confounders. An outline of the most common problems and pitfalls, encountered in modelling empirical data, closes the paper, with a warning to be very cautious in modelling and inferring conditional independence between variables. Résumé Le but de cet article est d'offrir une vue d'ensemble sur le thème des relations causales, à partir de la doctrine philosophique aristotélique, et ensuite étendues et formalisées dans le champ de l'analyse statistique multivarée. Dans la revue philosophique on analyse plusieurs conceptions de cause, et les essais de reconnâtre les causes "fausses". La partie centrale du travail s'occupe de modèles causals en forme graphique, qui constituent l'instrument électif de plusieurs recherches causales, et met en evidence la différence entre conditionnement et intervention sur une variable. On a dedié une particulière attention aux procédures de randomization dans le but d'éviter de possible confusions. L'article termine en conseillant d'user de la prudence dans la modelage de l'independence conditionnelle et dans son contrôl empirique. [source] The definition, source, manifestation and assessment of unintended effects in genetically modified plantsJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 14 2008Ping-Jian Deng Abstract At present, there is consensus among many relevant international agencies that unintended effects should be paid particular attention in the process of edible safety assessment of genetically modified plants (GMPs) and their products, especially in regard to some long-term and potential food safety issues. However, with respect to the current risk assessment of GMPs, serious dissension on the apprehension of unintended effects exists. The present paper interprets and systematically analyses this dissension in order to review development on the definition, source and manifestation of unintended effects in GMPs. First, differences in the various concepts of unintended effect are discussed and compared. Then the mechanisms whereby unintended effects may arise during GMP breeding are analysed and the main unexpected variation manifestations in GMPs are presented. With regard to the safety assessment of unintended effects in GMPs, the current evaluation strategy, detection methods and several assessment cases are expounded. In addition, the unique assessment standard for unintended effects in GMPs in China is outlined. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Using the simpsons to teach humanities with gen X and gen Y adult studentsNEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT & CONTINUING EDUCATION, Issue 115 2007Maxwell A. Fink This chapter discusses how the animated show The Simpsons can be used successfully to present and critique various concepts normally found in traditional undergraduate Humanities courses. [source] Help-seeking behaviour for cancer symptoms: perceptions of patients and general practitionersPSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 6 2001Jascha De Nooijer The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of the relationship between knowledge and interpretation of symptoms, fear and trust on the one hand, and the decision to consult a general practitioner (GP) for cancer symptoms on the other. Qualitative interviews were used to evaluate the various factors. Twenty-three patients and ten GPs were interviewed. A number of factors were found to play different roles for different patients groups, i.e. patients that consult their doctor prematurely, at the right time, or those that delay. A lot of the findings can be tested using various concepts of socio-psychological theory. Further research should provide an improved understanding of the way these models can be applied to help-seeking behaviour. In terms of implications for health education, we conclude that each patient group has different needs and requires different information. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] SOCIAL ECONOMY IN THE CO-CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC POLICYANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2009Yves Vaillancourt ABSTRACT:,In this paper, I focus on the contribution of the social economy to the democratization of the State and of public policy by making use of the distinction between the concepts of co-production and co-construction. In part one, I clarify the meanings given to various concepts. In particular, I pay attention to the idea of a co-production of public policy. This concept relates to the organizational dimension of policy and enables a contextualization of the participation of both civil society stakeholders and market forces in the implementation of services to the public. In part two, I discuss the concept of co-construction which relates to the institutional dimension of public policy and enables an analysis of how both civil society stakeholders and market forces are defining public policies. While the co-construction of public policy can produce various types of outcomes, I favor a solidarity-based model in which the State is open to forms of governance inclusive of the contributions of civil society stakeholders and market forces. This type of co-construction is fitting with a concern for the general interest and is ready to use the resources of the social economy. In part three, I review the housing policy case study in Canada and Quebec during the last twenty years. Three observations emerge from this case study: 1) the presence of both co-production and co-construction in public housing policy; 2) an active presence of the social economy such as co-operatives and non-profit organizations; 3) this active presence of the social economy has helped to produce a number of social innovations that have improved the democratization of public policy in the housing field. [source] Industrial ecology, life cycles, supply chains: differences and interrelationsBUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 5 2004Stefan Seuring Within recent years, various concepts have arisen in environmental management that directly address the flow of material (and information) along life cycles or supply chains and thereby relate to inter-organizational management aspects. These include industrial ecology (IE), life-cycle management, closed-loop supply chains, integrated chain management and green/environmental or sustainable supply chain management. It is not clear how these concepts relate to each other and whether or how they are different. Starting with sustainable development three criteria are identified that allow the comparison of the four concepts. Building on definitions the concepts are discussed and analysed using the three criteria while also identifying a distinctive feature of each approach. The criteria reveal that the concepts take a specific approach to study material flows in their particular system boundaries. This also relates to the time frame usually applied within the concept as well as the relevant actor network taken into account. Beyond these differences, it arises that the concepts have their strengths on different levels, which leads to a framework for the interrelation of the concepts. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] What is mild cognitive impairment?ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2003Variations in definitions, evolution of nondemented persons with cognitive impairment Numerous studies have endeavoured to explore the nature of cognitive impairment in nondemented elderly persons. Comparison of this literature is hampered by huge variations in criteria and methodology. Despite these limitations, there are repeated reports that nondemented persons with cognitive impairment have a higher chance of progressing to dementia. Evidence also indicates higher mortality in cognitively impaired persons but there is also a chance of improvement in cognition over time. The current paper provides an overview of the various concepts and criteria proposed for cognitive impairment in nondemented persons, discusses some of the problems with current research in this field, and presents some of the findings concerning the evolution of cognitive impairment in relation to dementia, mortality and cognitive improvement. [source] | |||||||||||||