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- Lindahl, B. Ingemar B., 1949-
(författare)
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On Causal Attribution
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation treats of the problem of attributing the occurrence of an individual event or state to a single cause — a problem commonly understood either as a question of distinguishing the cause from the mere conditions or as a matter of singling out, from several causes, one cause, as the cause. The main purpose of the study is to clarify some basic concepts, and some criteria of ascertainment of the cause, that may be discerned in the literature on causal attribution. Special attention is devoted to how the adequacy of causal attributions depends on pragmatic factors. The study begins with an analysis of J. S. Mill’s distinction in A System of Logic between a scientific and a common-parlance approach to the problem of causal attribution. Mill’s assumption that causal attribution in science always requires a universal-law subsumption is then examined in the context of a general discussion of the range of applicability of the covering-law model of explanation. Mill’s scientific and common-parlance notions of cause are compared with R. G. Collingwood’s historical (sense-I) and scientific (sense-II and -III) notions of cause. It is argued that there are purposes of inquiry for which Mill’s common-parlance approach is more relevant to causal attribution in natural science than his scientific approach. And, more generally, it is argued that although law subsumptions are necessary for the ascertainment of the causes, more is often required for explaining the effect. Samuel Gorovitz’s differentiating-factor analysis is discussed, and limitations of the model are identified. The relevance of Morton White’s abnormalistic approach to historical research is also examined. Further, a number of objectivistic approaches are discussed, and it is argued that objectivity is not attainable in causal attributions in a sense in which it always implies an improvement of our ability to attribute the occurrence of an individual event or state to a single cause.
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| 2. |
- Lindahl, B Ingemar B
(författare)
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Selection of the principal cause of death : studies on the basis of mortality statistics for rheumatoid arthritis
- 1985
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The official statistics of Sweden for 1971-75 show a 2.7-fold increase in mortality for men and a 3.0-fold increase for women attributed to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as the underlying cause of death. In order to investigate the basis of this observed increase, all death certificates for 1971 and 1975 with a diagnosis of RA (N=1224) were studied. All information was re-coded according to the original entry on the death certificates. The aims of the study were to seek an explanation of the observed increase by investigating the National Central Bureau of Statistics' (NCBS) registration procedure, and to identify inadequacies in the completion of death certificates and major interpretation problems facing the certifiers and coders in the reporting and registration of the causes of death. The investigation showed that the observed increase was due to changes in the NCBS' registration procedure: An increased tendency by the NCBS to favour RA in the registration of the underlying cause of death even when RA was not reported as the underlying cause on the death certificates. Physicians had reported a slight decrease for men and practically no change at all for women between the years when RA was considered the underlying cause of death. The major inadequacies identified on the certificates were (1) an inadequate causal sequence, (2) diagnoses making the conditions difficult or impossible to code, (3) more than one diagnosis for each link in the causal sequence leading to death, and (4) an underlying condition not stated in accordance with other provisions of the official WHO instructions. The NCBS was found to have registered RA as the underlying cause instead of physicians' stated underlying condition (i) when RA was likely to have caused the stated underlying condition, (ii) when the non-RA diagnosis was the only entry in part I of the certificate and rendered an incomplete description of the fatal course of events, (iii) when the non-RA condition could only be classified by a rest-category code of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), and (iv) when the non-RA condition was considered 'trivial'. The NCBS' increased registration of RA as the underlying cause of death in the period examined could not be explained by inadequately made out death certificates, nor by a strict application of the rules for coders on selection of the underlying cause of death issued in the ICD. Several interpretation problems were identified of significance to cause-of-death statistics in general and different interpretations were discussed. Some of these problems were caused by inadequacies on the certificates. Others concerned incompleteness, ambiguities, and manifold meanings of the basic concepts and rules governing the reporting and registration of causes of death.
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| 3. |
- B. Forsberg, Petter, 1984-
(författare)
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Collaboration in practice : A multiple case study on collaboration between small enterprises and university researchers
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- University-industry collaborations (UICs) have been hailed as key for Sweden's innovativeness and economic growth. Similarly, building research and innovation policies for the promotion of collaboration between universities and industry have become a cornerstone for many other European countries.In academic literature there has been an emphasis on efficiency, facilitation, effects and values obtained in UICs. They have been widely studied, both in terms of the reasons why they are formed, their structure and the effects they create, but not much in terms of how they work on a daily basis. There is less attention in the literature to analyse or problematise how UIC work is carried out when a connection has already been formed or is repeatedly enacted. Additionally, there is also a lack of studies looking at small firms UICs. Through identifying a lack of perspective in the UIC literature this thesis builds on the recent developments in practice theory in addressing some of the gaps found. It thus analyses these collaborations from a perspective not present in the literature in pursuit of how UICs are carried out.Through four embedded case studies between small enterprises and university researchers the thesis questions some of the assumptions made in the UIC literature and policy documents. First of all, through the practice theory lens, the thesis shows how the creation of a node/linchpin, a boundary object or a broker, between university and industry is instrumental in enabling collaboration work to take place. Secondly, being able to work together successfully does not equal outcomes sought after by policy organisations. Nevertheless, a general conclusion is that there were valuable outcomes for both the companies and the researchers, confirming previous research on UICs. But, these benefits were often difficult to put into clear numbers or metrics and appeared only after a very long time.The thesis argues that policy (and associated organisations) should promote the connection between a research site/practices and a company site/practices rather than pushing for a joint practice. In such a way UICs can be valuable for both researchers and companies.
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| 4. |
- Söderberg, Ewa
(författare)
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Experimental septic shock – Effects of endotoxemia with special reference to pathophysiological responses in the pig
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sepsis and septic shock are conditions, with severe outcome or in many cases death. Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response trigger by bacteraemia but systemic inflammatory response can also be triggered by major trauma, major surgery, pancreatitis, severe burns etc.The systemic inflammatory reaction initiating the evolvement of septic organ dysfunction can be modelled using endotoxin, a Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide. This thesis used a porcine experimental sepsis model to examine timing of the inflammatory response due to endotoxin infusion (Paper I) and the influence of steroid treatment on the inflammatory response in endotoxemic pigs (Paper II). Timing of steroid treatment and the role of neutrophil granulocyte activation was evaluated with pig specific NGAL assessing neutrophil activation (Paper III). A clinical observational study was performed with the aim to differentiate between sepsis and other inflammatory conditions (e.g. trauma due to major surgery) evaluated by calprotectin as a marker of neutrophil activation (Paper IV).There was a dose-dependency in endotoxin tolerance which was measured with TNF-a. Pre-exposure to endotoxin did not reduce the pulmonary response to endotoxemic challenge. In fact, both PaO2 / FiO2 and static pulmonary compliance were reduced in this group when pre-treated with endotoxin at low dose.Endotoxemic animals treated with hydrocortisone were more stable in circulatory variables than those without such treatment. This was not explained by an ability of steroids to modulate the production of NO (Nitric oxide), which has been suggested to be a mechanism of steroids in this aspect.Pre-treatment with hydrocortisone attenuated the neutrophil granulocyte response and consequently diminished the release of NGAL in plasma. Circulatory derangement was associated with high plasma NGAL levels. Urine NGAL levels did not differ among the four groups.Plasma calprotectin levels on ICU admission is a sensitive marker of systemic inflammation and are markedly increased in patients with sepsis and patients with systemic inflammatory response. Plasma Calprotectin performed better than any of the other inflammatory variables in predicting mortality at 30 days, except from the composite mortality prediction score, SAPS 3.
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