Search results for "bias"

Metacognitive group training for forensic and dangerous non-forensic patients with schizophrenia: A randomised controlled feasibility trial

2014

BACKGROUND: In schizophrenia, the presence of certain cognitive biases has been established. Informed by this, metacognitive training (MCT) has been developed for schizophrenia. There is increasing evidence of its effectiveness with some patients, but its applicability to dangerous patients has not yet been demonstrated. AIMS: Our aim was to test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of MCT for patients in a high-security hospital setting. METHODS: Twenty of 33 eligible and selected male in-patients with schizophrenia and a history of violence were randomised pairwise to eight sessions of MCT or treatment as usual. Symptom severity and reasoning, according to the jumping to…

2014

Introduction Monitoring and reduction of aversive tension is a core issue in dialectical behaviour therapy of patients. It has been shown that aversive tension is increased in adult borderline personality disorder and is linked to low emotion labelling ability. However, until now there is no documented evidence that patients with anorexia nervosa suffer from aversive tension as well. Furthermore the usability of a smartphone application for ambulatory monitoring purposes has not been sufficiently explored. Methods and analysis We compare the mean and maximum self-reported aversive tension in 20 female adolescents (12–19 years) with anorexia nervosa in outpatient treatment with 20 healthy co…

Somatosensory Illusions Elicited by Sham Electromagnetic Field Exposure: Experimental Evidence for a Predictive Processing Account of Somatic Symptom…

2020

OBJECTIVE According to the predictive processing theory of somatic symptom generation, body sensations are determined by somatosensory input and central nervous predictions about this input. We examined how expectations shape predictions and consequently bodily perceptions in a task eliciting illusory sensations as laboratory analogue of medically unexplained symptoms. METHODS Using the framework of signal detection theory, the influence of sham Wi-Fi on response bias (c) and somatosensory sensitivity (d') for tactile stimuli was examined using the somatic signal detection task (SSDT). A healthy student sample (n = 83) completed the SSDT twice (sham Wi-Fi on/off) in a randomized order after…

Employment effects of reducing labour costs : considering potential bias in macro-estimates of the elasticity of labour demand

2017

In 2016 the Finnish government decided to implement the competitiveness pact in order to increase employment. The objective is to improve cost-competitiveness by lowering labor costs in the private sector. The elasticity of labour demand plays a key role in assessing the employment effects of the competitiveness pact. The idea of this study is based on the Economic Policy Council Report (2016) which argued that the government’s elasticity estimate is very high and predicts overly optimistic employment effects. The majority of studies estimate demand elasticities using aggregate data, which is likely to produce biased estimates. The problems relate in particular to the lack of exogenous vari…

Numerical Magnitude Affects Accuracy but Not Precision of Temporal Judgments

2021

A Theory of Magnitude (ATOM) suggests that space, time, and quantities are processed through a generalized magnitude system. ATOM posits that task-irrelevant magnitudes interfere with the processing of task-relevant magnitudes as all the magnitudes are processed by a common system. Many behavioral and neuroimaging studies have found support in favor of a common magnitude processing system. However, it is largely unknown whether such cross-domain monotonic mapping arises from a change in the accuracy of the magnitude judgments or results from changes in precision of the processing of magnitude. Therefore, in the present study, we examined whether large numerical magnitude affects temporal ac…

Structural Parameters under Partial Least Squares and Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling : A Comment on Yuan and Deng (2021)

2023

In their article, Yuan and Deng argue that a structural parameter under partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is zero if and only if the same structural parameter is zero under covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM). Yuan and Deng then conclude that statistical tests on individual structural parameters assessing the null hypothesis of no effect can achieve the same purpose in CB-SEM and PLS-SEM. Our response to their article highlights that the relationship they find between PLS-SEM and CB-SEM structural parameters is not universally valid, and that consequently, tests on individual parameters in CB-SEM and PLS-SEM generally do not fulfill the same pur…

Groźne i stronnicze : środki masowego przekazu w myśli Bronisława Łagowskiego

2017

Bronisław Łagowski, polski konserwatywny historyk i filozof idei, oferuje nader interesujące spojrzenie na funkcjonowanie środków masowego przekazu, szczególnie zaś telewizji komercyjnej. Z jego punktu widzenia telewizja jest potężnym i zagrażającym demokracji medium. Łagowski opisuje również polskie media, które - jak uważa - są bardzo stronnicze i nasycone ideologią, potępia choćby ich zdecydowaną antyrosyjskość. Z perspektywy myśliciela środki masowego przekazu powinny być kontrolowane przez społeczeństwo, stały się bowiem pierwszą i najważniejszą władzą.

High Bias Voltage CZT Detectors for High-flux Measurements

2017

In this work, we present the performance of new travelling heater method (THM) grown CZT detectors, recently developed at IMEM-CNR Parma, Italy. Thick planar detectors (3 mm thick) with gold electroless contacts on CZT crystals grown by Redlen Technologies (Victoria BC, Canada) were realized, with a planar cathode covering the detector surface (4.1 x 4.1 mm(2)) and a central anode (2 x 2 mm(2)) surrounded by a guard ring electrode. The detectors, characterized by low leakage currents at room temperature (4.7 nA/cm(2) at 1000 V/cm), allow good room temperature operation even at high bias voltages (> 7000 V/cm). At low rates, the detectors exhibit an energy resolution around 4 % FWIEM at 59.5…

Microscale X-ray mapping of CZT arrays: Spatial dependence of amplitude, shape and multiplicity of detector pulses

2018

In this work, we present the results of a microscale X-ray mapping of a 2 mm thick CZT pixel detector, with pixel pitches of 500 μm and 250 μm, using collimated synchrotron X-ray sources at the Diamond Light source (U. K.). The detector is dc coupled to a fast and low noise ASIC (PIXIE ASIC), characterized only by the preamplifier stage. A custom 16-channel digital readout electronics was used, able to perform online fast pulse shape and height analysis (PSHA), with low dead time and reasonable energy resolution at both low and high fluxes. The detector allows high bias voltage operation (> 5000 V/cm) and good energy resolution at room temperature (5.3 %, 2.3 % and 2.1 % FWHM at 22.1, 59…

Balancing food, activity and the dangers of sunlit nights

2019

Living in northern latitudes poses challenges to the animals that live in those habitats. The harsh environment provides a short breeding season where the sunlit summer nights provide little reprieve from visibility to predators and increased risk. In this paper, we tested the activity and food choice patterns of bank voles Myodes glareolus in early spring season, categorized by 18 h of daylight and 6 h of dusk in every day cycle. We found that territorial females showed a less predictable pattern of activity than males that were most active during the hours of dusk. The voles also showed preference to forage on high carbohydrate foods at sunset, while switching over to a more protein and f…