Showing papers by "David S. Ludwig published in 2019"

Translation, transduction, and transformation: expanding practices of responsibility across borders

Abstract: This special section addresses Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) as an increasingly global concept that is translated and transformed in heterogenous national contexts. Based on sev...

Philosophy of Ethnobiology: Understanding Knowledge Integration and Its Limitations. Journal of Ethnobiology

Abstract: Abstract. Ethnobiology has become increasingly concerned with applied and normative issues, such as climate change adaptation, forest management, and sustainable agriculture. Applied ethnobiology emphasizes the practical importance of local and traditional knowledge in tackling these issues but thereby also raises complex theoretical questions about the integration of heterogeneous knowledge systems. The aim of this article is to develop a framework for addressing questions of integration through four core domains of philosophy—epistemology, ontology, value theory, and political theory. In each of these dimensions, we argue for a model of “partial overlaps” that acknowledges both substantial similarities and differences between knowledge systems. While overlaps can ground successful collaboration, their partiality requires reflectivity about the limitations of collaboration and co-creation. By outlining such a general and programmatic framework, the article aims to contribute to developing “philosophy of ethnobiology” as a field of interdisciplinary exchange that provides new resources for addressing foundational issues in ethnobiology and also expands the agenda of philosophy of biology.

Scientific discourse in the era of open science: a response to Hall et al. regarding the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model.

Abstract: In November 2018, we presented the results of a large macronutrient feeding study at The Obesity Society’s Blackburn Symposium [1] and simultaneously in BMJ, with peer review available online [2]. In that study, total energy expenditure (TEE) measured by doubly-labeled water (DLW) at post-weight-loss and at 10 and 20 weeks of weight-loss maintenance was 200–280 kcal/day greater on a lowversus high-carbohydrate diet, consistent with the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of obesity [3]. To facilitate scientific discourse, we made the full database immediately available on Open Science Framework. At the Blackburn Symposium, and in subsequent comments elsewhere, Kevin Hall raised a series of concerns about our study, including the possibility of baseline instability in weight, randomization failure for other reasons, and inaccuracy of DLW due to isotope sequestration by de novo lipogenesis [4, 5]. We aimed to refute those criticisms with evidence to show baseline weight stability, a lack of difference in weight change between diet groups before and after randomization, and insignificant rates of de novo lipogenesis on relevant diets [6–8]. In their current reanalysis, Hall et al. [9] reiterate several previous concerns and raise new ones. Here, we respond to three key questions related to our study. To facilitate this response, we obtained more accurate and precise data on energy intake during the weight-loss maintenance phase of our study [10].

How Race Travels. Relating Local and Global Ontologies of Race. Philosophical Studies

Abstract: This article develops a framework for addressing racial ontologies in transnational perspective. In contrast to simple contextualist accounts, it is argued that a globally engaged metaphysics of race needs to address transnational continuities of racial ontologies. In contrast to unificationist accounts that aim for one globally unified ontology, it is argued that questions about the nature and reality of race do not always have the same answers across national contexts. In order address racial ontologies in global perspective, the article develops a framework that accounts for both continuities and discontinuities by looking beyond the referents of narrowly defined core concepts. By shifting the focus from narrow concepts to richer conceptions of race, racial ontologies become comparable through globally related but nonetheless distinct mappings between conceptions and property relations. The article concludes by showing how this framework can generate novel insights in case studies from Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Ethnoontology: Ways of world‐building across cultures

Abstract: This article outlines a program of ethnoontology that brings together empirical research in the ethnosciences with ontological debates in philosophy. First, we survey empirical evidence from heterogeneous cultural contexts and disciplines. Second, we propose a model of cross‐cultural relations between ontologies beyond a simple divide between universalist and relativist models. Third, we argue for an integrative model of ontology building that synthesizes insights from different fields such as biological taxonomy, cognitive science, cultural anthropology, and political ecology. We conclude by arguing that a program of ethnoontology provides philosophers both with insights about traditional issues such as debates about natural kinds and with novel strategies for connecting philosophy with pressing global issues such as the conservation of local environments and the self‐determination of Indigenous communities.

Global challenges, Dutch solutions? The shape of responsibility in Dutch science and technology policies

Abstract: The Netherlands has a well-established tradition of gearing science and technology to economic interests as well as societal and ethical concerns. This article outlines how national dynamics in the Netherlands have not only contributed to the adoption of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) frameworks but also to a distinctly Dutch meaning and institutionalization of responsibility. It identifies three core features of the Dutch context that have shaped this meaning and institutionalization: 1) a strong focus on the societal and economic relevance of research and innovation, 2) a political culture that emphasizes inclusive deliberation and collaboration, and 3) a focus on integration and synergy with respect to RRI. The integration of RRI in a collaborative system of companies, government and universities is embraced as contributing to a global leadership of the Netherlands in response to grand challenges. However, this integrative approach also limits the potential of Dutch RRI to function as a disruptive concept that challenges the status of interactions between science, technology, and society.

Teenagers Expand Their Conceptions of Climate Change Adaptation Through Research-Education Cooperation

Abstract: Unlike previous generations, today’s youth is directly affected by global anthropogenic climate change (CC), and its increasing consequences throughout their lifetimes. However, both the educational strategies to prepare them for CC adaptation, and their conceptions of CC adaptation, remain insufficiently understood. This study sets out to investigate the CC adaptation conceptions of 120 students from four high-schools in Austria and Italy. The influence of a year-long research-education cooperation between students and 28 CC adaptation experts is examined. In the educational design, the focus lies on moderate-constructivist theories, and the transdisciplinary dialogue between students and experts. A mixed-methodologies approach is applied, which combines content analysis to study students’ conceptions of CC adaptation and test statistics (chi-square and t-test) to assess the impact of the educational intervention. The results show that students’ conceptions differ in degree of sophistication, and also include misconceptions. Some students relate adaptation to limiting disadvantages due to CC, others confuse adaptation with mitigation or environmental protection. After the educational intervention, most students have expanded their CC adaptation conceptions and overcome misconceptions, and their performance to differentiate between adaptation and mitigation increased significantly. This paper will be useful to researchers and teachers interested in utilizing education as a means to adapting to CC.

Discrepancies in the Registries of Diet vs Drug Trials

Abstract: This cross-sectional study examines discrepancies between registered protocols and subsequent publications for drug and diet trials whose findings were published in prominent clinical journals in the last decade.

Incorrect analyses were used in "Different enteral nutrition formulas have no effect on glucose homeostasis but on diet-induced thermogenesis in critically ill medical patients: a randomized controlled trial" and corrected analyses are requested

Abstract: Wewalka et al. conducted a valuable parallel, randomized clinical cohort study investigating glucose homeostasis in response to continuous fat-based (group A) or glucosebased (group B) enteral nutrition formulas in medical critically ill patients [1]. Because of the rigorous control of nutrient intake, such feeding studies offer a unique capability to address a hypothesis that we are also interested in [2], about the effects of macronutrient composition on energy expenditure at isocaloric levels. Unfortunately, we believe the analyses presented in the published manuscript do not test the effects of the interventions. Analyses for all outcomes in the article are presented as a combination of comparisons between groups, separately at each time point, as well as within groups, across time points. For example, for Resting Energy Expenditure (REE), results showed energy expenditure “significantly increased in the group receiving fat-based (treatment), whereas it remained unchanged in the patients receiving glucose-based (treatment)”, which led to the conclusion that “diet-induced thermogenesis was substantially higher in critically ill patients receiving fat-based enteral nutrition.” In other words, there was a significant change for group A (p < 0.05) but not in group B (p > 0.05), so the article concluded that group A increased more than group B. However, informal comparison of the nominal significance of change in each within-group comparison is not the same as a significance test of the difference in changes between the two groups. Using the within-group comparisons to imply differences between groups is known as the Differences in Nominal Significance (DINS) error [3]. This approach is statistically invalid and can lead to false positives, where the expected type-I error rate of 0.05 may actually inflate to as high as 50% [4–7] when only two groups with equal sample sizes are used. With more groups or unequal sample sizes, type-1 error rates can approach 1.0. Use of the DINS error has led to the correction [8] or retraction [9] of multiple papers within nutrition and obesity research [6]. In absence of a valid and more powerful test, such as that based on ANCOVA or repeated measures, readers are limited to making inferences from valid but less powerful post-only analyses at Day 7, which are not statistically significant and therefore qualitatively contradict the authors’ findings about REE. We contacted the authors to ask for the raw data so that we could conduct corrected analyses, but they declined to provide such data. We therefore ask that they conduct and present the results of the proper statistical analysis in the Journal. It is possible that correcting the analyses may not change the conclusions, but it is valuable to have corrected analyses and results in the literature to buttress the conclusions even if the conclusions are not altered. * Stephanie L. Dickinson sd3@indiana.edu

Higher energy requirement during weight-loss maintenance on a low- versus high-carbohydrate diet: secondary analyses from a randomized controlled feeding study

Abstract: Background Longer-term feeding studies suggest that a low-carbohydrate diet increases energy expenditure, consistent with the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity. However, the validity of methodology utilized in these studies, involving doubly-labeled water, has been questioned. Objective The aim of this study was to determine whether dietary energy requirement for weight-loss maintenance is higher on a low-versus high-carbohydrate diet. Methods The study reports secondary outcomes and exploratory analyses from a feeding study in which the primary outcome was total energy expenditure. After attaining a mean Run-in weight loss of 10.5%, 164 adults with pre-weight-loss BMI of ≥25 were randomly assigned to Test diets containing Low (20%), Moderate (40%) or High (60%) carbohydrate for 20 weeks. Calorie content of Test diets was adjusted to maintain individual body weight within 2 kg of the post-weight-loss value. In analyses by Intention-to-Treat (ITT, study completers, n=148) and Per Protocol (PP, those achieving the weight-loss maintenance target, n=110), we compared estimated energy requirement from 10 to 20 weeks on the Test diets using ANCOVA. Insulin secretion was assessed pre-weight-loss as insulin concentration 30 minutes following 75 grams oral glucose (Insulin-30). Results Estimated energy requirement was higher in the Low vs High group by models involving ITT (ranging from 181 [CI 8–353] to 223 [40–406] kcal/d; P≤0.04) and PP (ranging from 245 [43–446] to 295 [91–499] kcal/d; P≤0.02). This difference remained significant in sensitivity analyses accounting for change in adiposity and possible non-adherence. In observational analyses, pre-weight loss Insulin-30 predicted adverse change in body composition following weight loss. Conclusions Energy requirement was higher on a low-versus high-carbohydrate diet during weight-loss maintenance, commensurate with total energy expenditure. These data are consistent with the carbohydrate-insulin model and lend qualified support for the validity of the doubly-labeled water method with diets varying in macronutrient composition.