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Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine 2020The sample size for a study needs to be estimated at the time the study is proposed; too large a sample is unnecessary and unethical, and too small a sample is...
The sample size for a study needs to be estimated at the time the study is proposed; too large a sample is unnecessary and unethical, and too small a sample is unscientific and also unethical. The necessary sample size can be calculated, using statistical software, based on certain assumptions. If no assumptions can be made, then an arbitrary sample size is set for a pilot study. This article discusses sample size and how it relates to matters such as ethics, statistical power, the primary and secondary hypotheses in a study, and findings from larger vs. smaller samples.
PubMed: 31997873
DOI: 10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_504_19 -
Journal of Experimental Psychology.... Apr 2023People have a strong preference for fairness. For many, fairness means equal reward and punishments for equal efforts and offences. However, this belief does not specify...
People have a strong preference for fairness. For many, fairness means equal reward and punishments for equal efforts and offences. However, this belief does not specify the units in which equality should be expressed. We show that people generally fail to take the interchangeability of units into account when judging and assigning fair punishments and reward. Therefore, judgments about and distributions of resources are strongly influenced by arbitrary decisions about which unit to express them in. For example, if points represent different monetary values for different recipients, people attempt to distribute money equally if money is salient but attempt to distribute points equally if points are salient. Because beliefs about fairness are a fundamental principle in many domains, the implications of these findings are broad. Essentially any distribution of outcomes can be made to appear more or less fair by changing the units these outcomes are expressed in. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Humans; Punishment; Reward; Judgment
PubMed: 36442034
DOI: 10.1037/xge0001300 -
Journal of Experimental Psychology.... Oct 2017Pseudo-set framing-arbitrarily grouping items or tasks together as part of an apparent "set"-motivates people to reach perceived completion points. Pseudo-set framing...
Pseudo-set framing-arbitrarily grouping items or tasks together as part of an apparent "set"-motivates people to reach perceived completion points. Pseudo-set framing changes gambling choices (Study 1), effort (Studies 2 and 3), giving behavior (Field Data and Study 4), and purchase decisions (Study 5). These effects persist in the absence of any reward, when a cost must be incurred, and after participants are explicitly informed of the arbitrariness of the set. Drawing on Gestalt psychology, we develop a conceptual account that predicts what will-and will not-act as a pseudo-set, and defines the psychological process through which these pseudo-sets affect behavior: over and above typical reference points, pseudo-set framing alters perceptions of (in)completeness, making intermediate progress seem less complete. In turn, these feelings of incompleteness motivate people to persist until the pseudo-set has been fulfilled. (PsycINFO Database Record
Topics: Adult; Decision Making; Female; Humans; Judgment; Male; Middle Aged; Motivation; Reward; Young Adult
PubMed: 28967777
DOI: 10.1037/xge0000337 -
Journal of Clinical Medicine Oct 2023Insulin resistance (IR) is a rather common condition that is often diagnosed on the basis of an arbitrary "increased insulin value" or the presence of symptoms...
Insulin resistance (IR) is a rather common condition that is often diagnosed on the basis of an arbitrary "increased insulin value" or the presence of symptoms indicative of the Metabolic Syndrome [...].
PubMed: 37835038
DOI: 10.3390/jcm12196394 -
Optics Express Sep 2022The polarizations of electromagnetic (EM) waves are very important for transceivers. We propose a broadband polarization-insensitive polarization rotator (PIPR), which...
The polarizations of electromagnetic (EM) waves are very important for transceivers. We propose a broadband polarization-insensitive polarization rotator (PIPR), which can realize 90° polarization rotation for incident waves with an arbitrary azimuth angle. A unit of the PIPR is composed of two types of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) units in a checkerboard pattern, which provides more than -0.2 dB transmission from 9.5 to 10.9 GHz. The electric field inside the cavity is analyzed to explain the working mechanism of the proposed rotator. A prototype is fabricated and measured to verify the proposed design, and satisfactory agreement between simulated and measured results is achieved, indicating that the converter has potential applications in imaging and communication systems.
PubMed: 36242472
DOI: 10.1364/OE.471970 -
Journal of Microscopy Jul 1988A new, fundamental stereological principle is described which allows unbiased estimates of absolute structural quantities in arbitrarily shaped structures to be made...
A new, fundamental stereological principle is described which allows unbiased estimates of absolute structural quantities in arbitrarily shaped structures to be made from observations sampled in arbitrary points on independently isotropic probes. As an introduction to the principle, method(s) are described which lead to assumption-free estimates of mean volume from the usual number-distribution of particle sizes. Specifically, the estimation is unbiased when arbitrarily shaped particles are sampled with uniform probability using the dissector or one of its many modifications. A special case, of interest when observations are restricted to sections, occurs when the particles are associated with some recognizable unit, like eukaryotic cells in biology. The estimation may then be carried out on a few sections of unknown thickness, or--under verifiable assumptions--on just one random section.
Topics: Animals; Cell Nucleus; Cells; Computer Simulation; Eukaryotic Cells; Humans; Mathematics; Models, Biological
PubMed: 3193456
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1988.tb04609.x -
Advances in Neural Information... Nov 2022Training with backpropagation (BP) in standard deep learning consists of two main steps: a forward pass that maps a data point to its prediction, and a backward pass...
Training with backpropagation (BP) in standard deep learning consists of two main steps: a forward pass that maps a data point to its prediction, and a backward pass that propagates the error of this prediction back through the network. This process is highly effective when the goal is to minimize a specific objective function. However, it does not allow training on networks with cyclic or backward connections. This is an obstacle to reaching brain-like capabilities, as the highly complex heterarchical structure of the neural connections in the neocortex are potentially fundamental for its effectiveness. In this paper, we show how predictive coding (PC), a theory of information processing in the cortex, can be used to perform inference and learning on arbitrary graph topologies. We experimentally show how this formulation, called , can be used to flexibly perform different tasks with the same network by simply stimulating specific neurons. This enables the model to be queried on stimuli with different structures, such as partial images, images with labels, or images without labels. We conclude by investigating how the topology of the graph influences the final performance, and comparing against simple baselines trained with BP.
PubMed: 37090087
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Medical Ethics Sep 1989The ethical problem of how to apportion limited resources amongst the needy has been forced on us by arbitrary limitation of health expenditure. Its solution would not...
The ethical problem of how to apportion limited resources amongst the needy has been forced on us by arbitrary limitation of health expenditure. Its solution would not be required if health expenditure were higher. Distribution of resources according to best value for money, assessed as Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) per unit cost, has been suggested as a possible solution, but leads to absurd anomalies. In the calculation of QALYs the implied value of life is no more than the absence of suffering. The use of QALYs for the comparison of treatments that are symptomatic or life-saving therefore leads to serious undervaluation of life and treatments that prolong it. Moreover, distribution of resources by best value for money, however assessed, is inequitable since for a given degree of suffering those whose illnesses happen to be cheaper to treat will be treated in preference to those whose treatments are more expensive.
Topics: Economics; Health Care Rationing; Health Resources; Models, Statistical; Pain; Patient Selection; Quality of Life; Resource Allocation; Social Values; Stress, Psychological; United Kingdom; Value of Life
PubMed: 2795628
DOI: 10.1136/jme.15.3.143 -
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care Jun 2021The COVID-19 pandemic has made unprecedented global demands on healthcare in general and especially the intensive care unit (ICU). the virus is spreading out of control.... (Review)
Review
The COVID-19 pandemic has made unprecedented global demands on healthcare in general and especially the intensive care unit (ICU). the virus is spreading out of control. To this day, there is no clear, published directive for doctors regarding the allocation of ICU beds in times of scarcity. This means that many doctors do not feel supported by their government and are afraid of the medicolegal consequences of the choices they have to make. Consequently, there has been no transparent discussion among professionals and the public. The thought of being at the mercy of absolute arbitrariness leads to fear among the population, especially the vulnerable groups.
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Intensive Care Units; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2; Triage
PubMed: 33541855
DOI: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002793 -
Biology of Sport Jul 2023The aims of this scoping review were (i) to characterize the main methodological approaches to assessing individualized running speed thresholds in team sports players;... (Review)
Review
The aims of this scoping review were (i) to characterize the main methodological approaches to assessing individualized running speed thresholds in team sports players; (ii) to assess the use of traditional arbitrary (absolute) thresholds compared to individualized running speed thresholds in team sports players; (iii) to provide an evidence gap map (EGM) about the approaches and study designs employed in investigations in team sports and (iv) to provide directions for future research and practical applications for the strength and conditioning field. Methods studies were searched for in the following databases: (i) PubMed; (ii) Scopus; (iii) SPORTDiscus and (iv) Web of Science. The search was conducted on 15/07/2022. Risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies (RoBANS). From 3,195 potentially relevant articles, 36 were eligible for inclusion in this review. Of the 36 included articles, 27 (75%) focused on the use of arbitrary and individualized running speed thresholds to describe the locomotor demands (e.g., high intensity running) of players. Thirty-four articles used individualized speed running thresholds based on physical fitness assessments (e.g., 40-m linear sprint) or physical performance (e.g., maximal acceleration). This scoping review supported the need for a greater focus to be placed on improving the methodological aspects of using individualized speed running thresholds in team sports. More than just creating alternatives to arbitrary thresholds, it is essential to increase the replicability of methodological conditions whilst ensuring that research comparing the most adequate measures and approaches to individualization takes into consideration the population and context of each study.
PubMed: 37398971
DOI: 10.5114/biolsport.2023.122480