Modes of Cognitive Praxis in Transnational Alternative Policy Groups

Abstract

Transnational alternative policy groups (TAPGs) are networks and centres within and around which counter-hegemonic knowledge is produced and mobilized among subaltern communities and critical social movements. Based on in-depth interviews with practitioners at 16 TAPGs, this article presents eight modes of cognitive praxis and discusses how they appear in the work of alternative policy groups. The eight modes are not sealed off from each other, but overlap and interpenetrate. In combination, these modes of cognitive praxis strive to produce transformative knowledge concomitantly with knowledge-based transformation. The analysis evidences tracings of a double dialectic in the cognitive praxis of alternative policy groups: a dialectic of theory and practice, and one of dialogue. It is in a forward movement—fostering solidaristic dialogue among counterpublics in combination with the iterative integration of theory and practice—that alternative knowledge makes its indispensable contribution to counter-hegemony.     

Longitudinal predictors of cigarette use among students from 24 Texas colleges

ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine differences between current and non-current cigarette users, focusing on sociodemographic factors, non-cigarette tobacco product use, parental and friend use, and alcohol and marijuana use; and to identify predictors of cigarette use sixmonths later. Participants: Participants included young adults (n = 4,296) from 24 Texas colleges, participating in a young adult cohort study, beginning in fall 2014. Methods: Mixed effects logistic regressions were conducted accounting for school-level variability. Results: Cigarette users were older, more likely to report use of non-cigarette tobacco products and peer use of cigarettes than non-current users. Wave 1 cigarette and non-cigarette tobacco product use, marijuana use and binge drinking, and peer use all uniquely predicted cigarette use at wave 2. Conclusions: Colleges need prevention programs targeting multiple tobacco products, because non-cigarette tobacco use and other risky behaviors appear to be independent risk factors for cigarette use in young adults.     

Clinical Trials of Drugs Used Off-Label in Neonates: Ethical Issues and Alternative Study Designs

The use of drugs for indications unapproved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), often called “off-label use,” is widespread in children, including neonates. The widespread off-label use of drugs in neonates presents ethical and safety challenges. Since the passage of the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) in 2002, both the FDA and National Institutes of Health (NIH) have taken initiatives to facilitate and encourage research to achieve the necessary labeling for drugs routinely used in infants and children. Federal regulations provide broad rules and guidance for the protection of human subjects in research. However, there are ethical issues that a physician may face when designing clinical trials of drugs in neonates that are routinely used off-label and widely believed to be beneficial. We attempt to describe these ethical challenges and provide recommendations, including alternative study designs, to resolve them in an ethical framework that takes into account the Belmont Report, the statement of the World Medical Association (WMA), and federal regulations.     

Aromatherapy and the Mixed Blessing of Feminization

ABSTRACT

Aromatherapy is a complementary and alternative medicine practice with several distinct lineages and with some uncertainty about the most appropriate way to professionalize. The historical feminization of smell and perfumes means that aromatherapy is culturally marked as a “feminized” practice. This feminization is a mixed blessing in relation to aromatherapy's attempts to advance itself as a discipline. While for many practitioners and clients the traditionally feminized associations of smell, such as its connections to emotions, memory, and the unconscious, serve as a source of value, for others, feminized languages and practices stand in the way of aromatherapy's advancement as a scientifically validated discipline.     

警惕调解的滥用和强制趋势

诉讼调解是富有中国特色的民事纠纷解决方式,有着深厚的传统文化蕴涵。新中国成立之后,中国的民事诉讼调解经历了从一度过热到渐渐趋冷,然后又走向重兴的“U”字形过程。在这中间有许多可以认真总结的经验,也有许多引人思考的问题。但从国际司法界的发展大势来讲,调解,即ADR日益为世界各国所采纳和接受。ADR即英文Alter-nativeDisputeResolution的缩写,其字面意义为“代替性纠纷解决方式”,也可以根据其内容实质意译为“审判外纠纷解决方式”或“非诉讼纠纷解决程序”、“法院外纠纷解决方式”等。包括中国在内的世界各国都在探讨和摸索ADR的实践经验,原则是既将非诉讼解决纠纷机制引入民事诉讼程序,强调调解作为非诉讼解决纠纷方式的地位,同时又不使其偏离法治的轨道。当前,无论在现实层面还是在法理层面,诉讼调解一直是中国法学界和社会舆论的热点话题,同时也是一个至今仍有争议的法律问题。各种仁者见仁、智者见智的观点都在不同程度上深化着人们的认识。应当说,理论探讨可能对司法实践产生影响,司法实践同样也会推动理论的发展,这或许正是从事学术研究的正确方法。     

一种具有不确定偏好序信息的多指标群决策方法

针对具有不确定偏好序信息的多指标群决策问题,给出了一种决策分析方法。在本文中,首先对具有不确定偏好序信息的多指标群决策问题进行了描述;然后给出了将不确定偏好序转换为投票数的计算公式;进一步地,依据Bernardo方法的基本思想,根据每个专家给出的不确定偏好序信息,计算相应的投票数并构建群体投票矩阵,并基于群体投票矩阵构建0-1整数规划模型,通过求解模型可得到方案排序结果。最后,通过一个算例以及与已有方法的对比分析说明了本文给出的方法的可行性和有效性。     

Reweighted Smooth Tests of Goodness of Fit

Starting from a smooth test for goodness of fit we develop a method to alter this test to a reweighted smooth test, which has greater power to a certain directional alternative. Whereas the original smooth test gives equal weight to the different directions in the space of alternatives, the reweighted smooth test makes a distinction in importance of the directions. The advantage of this test, as opposed to directional tests, is that the smooth character is largely maintained. We discuss both nested and non nested directional alternatives.     

Computing the distribution of sequential Hölder norms of the Brownian motion

ABSTRACT

In this article, we give explicit formulas and study practical computations for the distribution function of sequential Hölder norms of a Brownian motion and of a Brownian bridge. We also discuss some statistical applications in the detection of some short “epidemic” changes in a sample.