This study examines the communication strategies employed by MeritCare's public relations staff during the fen-phen case. The ethic of significant choice was the primary lens for the study. The study revealed that MeritCare's public relations staff members believed they did, in fact, follow the ethic of significant choice. Specifically, they perceived that the biases held by staff helped maintain the public's safety as the primary issue during the fen-phen events. They also believed that their communication strategies allowed them to avoid (...) ambiguity and emotionalized language. Finally, the staff members felt that teaming with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota enabled them to influence the marketplace of ideas by capitalizing on the credible standing of Mayo Clinic. (shrink)

This study examines the communication strategies employed by MeritCare’s public relations staff during the fen–phen case. The ethic of significant choice was the primary lens for the study. The study revealed that MeritCare’s public relations staff members believed they did, in fact, follow the ethic of significant choice. Specifically, they perceived that the biases held by staff helped maintain the public’s safety as the primary issue during the fen–phen events. They also believed that their communication strategies allowed them to avoid (...) ambiguity and emotionalized language. Finally, the staff members felt that teaming with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota enabled them to influence the marketplace of ideas by capitalizing on the credible standing of Mayo Clinic. (shrink)

Results: We analyzed 1,402 surveys and 15 in-depth interviews. Many (32%) CL participants reported greater difficulty refilling medications and a minority (14%) reported greater difficulty accessing HIV care during the pandemic. Most (99%) Opt4Mamas participants reported no difficulty refilling medications or accessing HIV/pregnancy care. Among the CL participants, older women were less likely (aOR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.98) and women with more children were more likely (aOR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.00–1.28) to report difficulty refilling medications. Only 2% of (...) CL participants reported greater difficulty managing FP and most (95%) reported no change in likelihood of using FP or desire to get pregnant. Qualitative analysis revealed three major themes: (1) adverse organizational/economic implications of the pandemic, (2) increased importance of pregnancy prevention during the pandemic, and (3) fear of contracting COVID-19. (shrink)

Many individuals who have mental disorders often report negative experiences of a distinctively epistemic sort, such as not being listened to, not being taken seriously, or not being considered credible because of their psychiatric conditions. In an attempt to articulate and interpret these reports we present Fricker’s concepts of epistemic injustice (Fricker, 2007, p. 1) and then focus on testimonial injustice and hermeneutic injustice as it applies to individuals with mental disorders. The clinical impact of these concepts on quality of (...) care is discussed. Within the clinical domain, we contrast epistemic injustice with epistemic privilege and authority. We then argue that testimonial and hermeneutic injustices also affect individuals with mental disorders not only when communicating with their caregivers but also in the social context as they attempt to reintegrate into the general society and assume responsibilities as productive citizens. Following the trend of the movement of mental health care to the community, the testimonies of people with mental disorders should not be restricted to issues involving their own personal mental states. (shrink)

Pedagogy is an inherently spatial practice. Implicit in much of the rhetoric of physical space designed for teaching and learning is an ontological position that assumes material space as distinct from human practice, often conceptualising space as causally impacting upon people’s behaviours. An alternative, and growing, perspective instead theorises infrastructure as a sociomaterial assemblage, an entanglement, with scholarly learning, teaching, institutional agendas, architectural intent, technology, staff, students, pedagogic outcomes, and built form all participants in an active symbiosis of becoming. This (...) article synthesises and works with spatial theories to elaborate on the emergent literature and illustrates a sociomaterial understanding through narratives of self and staff, teaching and learning in a university context. The terms sociomaterial, assemblage and entanglement allude to a relational ontology underlying spatial-social being-becoming. This understanding can support the realisation of the intent underlying transformations of material spaces to create collaborative and inclusive university environments, where staff and students can learn, belong, and become as part of a scholarly community. I argue that sociomaterial theory is valuable to make meaning of the inseparable mélange of people, place, technologies, interaction, discourse, feeling, value and power that is teaching and learning. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to examine relationships among religious coping styles, the experience of daily hassles, and resiliency. Through the use of a set of questionnaires, positive and negative religious coping styles are identified and analyzed in relation to a direct measure of resiliency, level of psychological distress, and level of daily hassles. Negative religious coping is positively related to psychological distress, while individuals who experience more daily hassles but use higher levels of positive religious coping have greater (...) resiliency than individuals who use higher levels of negative religious coping. Additionally, the combination of daily hassles, major life stressors, level of positive religious coping, and resiliency accounted for a significant proportion of the variability in psychological distress. Post hoc analyses removed questions of spirituality from the resiliency scale that could possibly overlap with the measure of religious coping. These exploratory analyses indicate that negative religious coping is negatively correlated with non-spiritual resiliency. Exploratory analyses also indicate that individuals who experience more daily hassles but use higher levels of positive religious coping do not have greater levels of non-spiritual resiliency than individuals who use negative religious coping. (shrink)

Over the past few decades, a body of research has developed examining the academic dishonesty of university and college students. While research has explored academic dishonesty amongst American criminal justice and policing students, no research has specifically focused on investigating the dynamics and correlates of academic dishonesty amongst Australian criminology students. This study drew upon data obtained from a survey of 79 undergraduate criminal justice and policing students studying at an Australian university. Overall, the results suggest that male gender, viewing (...) academic dishonesty as less serious and holding justifications for engaging in this type of behaviour were significant predictors of self-reported academic dishonesty. The findings suggest that more proactive strategies need to be implemented by universities to prevent student involvement in academic dishonesty. (shrink)

If Place Spirituality is considered as an attachment experience to a geographic place or an “object,” for Muslims this concept can be explained by the sharia or Islamic law. However, in the highest level of experience as a Muslim, one may attach to God everywhere and at all times, without consideration of any place, time, or object. This experience can clearly be understood with the explanation of the three levels for Muslims: sharia or “conceptual knowledge,” tariqa or “experiential knowledge,” and (...) ma’rifa or “divine spiritual experiences” or “spiritual consciousness”. At the first and second levels, one may have a Place Spirituality, while at the third level the understanding of and connection to God might be enhanced, and the experience to connect to God can be everywhere, all the time. (shrink)

Virtues are standardly characterized as stable dispositions. A stable disposition implies that the virtuous actor must be disposed to act well in any domain required of them. For example, a politician is not virtuous if s/he is friendly in debate with an opponent, but hostile at home with a partner or children. Some recent virtue theoretic accounts focus on specific domains in which virtues can be exercised. I call these domain-variant accounts of virtue. This paper examines two such accounts: Randall (...) Curren and Charles Dorn’s (2018) discussion of virtue in the civic sphere, and Michael Brady’s (2018) account of virtues of vulnerability. I argue that being consistent with the standard characterization of virtue requires generalizing beyond a domain. I suggest four actions the authors could take to preserve their accounts while remaining consistent with the standard characterization. I also discuss how virtue education could be enhanced by domain-variant accounts. (shrink)

W.V. Quine and Ludwig Wittgenstein have been compared with regard to the analytic/synthetic distinction, propositions known a priori or a posteriori, mathematical and logical necessity and naturalism, amongst other topics. Following Pieranna Garavaso and Danièle Moyal-Sharrock, I compare how Quine and Wittgenstein conceptualize a system of beliefs. Overlooked is Wittgenstein's description of the role of propositions and Quine's description of the location of propositions. The difference between the role and location signals a difference in how these frameworks conceptualize the boundary (...) between empirical and logical propositions, and in particular the justificatory status of propositions in the system. The Wittgensteinian framework accommodates a change in the justificatory status of propositions: propositions can play at one time a rule-like role and at another time an empirical role. For Quine, change in status refers to revising the proposition (or not) in the light of recalcitrant evidence. (shrink)

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the leaders of the Genetics Society of America struggled to find an appropriate group response to Trofim Lysenko’s scientific claims and the Soviet treatment of geneticists. Although some of the leaders of the GSA favored a swift, critical response, procedural and ideological obstacles prevented them from following this path. Concerned about establishing scientific orthodoxy on one hand and politicizing the content of their science on the other, these American geneticists drew on democratic language (...) and concepts as they engaged in this political issue. The relatively weak statements that did emerge from the GSA attracted little attention in the scientific or popular press. The intensely politicized atmosphere of American science complicated the GSA’s task, as domestic concerns about protecting democracy were beginning to constrain academic freedom. In the context of American Cold War culture, Lysenko became just one example of the dangers the Cold War world presented to scientific freedom. (shrink)

Recent philosophical literature on epistemic harms has paid little attention to the difference between deliberate and non-deliberate harms. In this paper, I analyze the “Curare Case,” a case from the 1940’s in which patient testimony was disregarded by physicians. This case has been described as an instance of epistemic injustice. I problematize this description, arguing instead that the case shows an instance of “epistemic disadvantage.” I propose epistemic disadvantage indicates when harms result from warranted asymmetric relations that justifiably exclude individuals (...) from hermeneutical participation. Epistemic disadvantage categorizes harms that result from justifiable exclusions, are non-deliberate, and result from poor epistemic environments. This analysis brings out a meaningful difference between accidental and deliberate harms in communicative exchanges. (shrink)

Virtues are standardly characterized as stable dispositions. A stable disposition implies that the virtuous actor must be disposed to act well in any domain required of them. For example, a politician is not virtuous if s/he is friendly in debate with an opponent, but hostile at home with a partner or children. Some recent virtue theoretic accounts focus on specific domains in which virtues can be exercised. I call these domain-variant accounts of virtue. This paper examines two such accounts: Randall (...) Curren and Charles Dorn’s discussion of virtue in the civic sphere, and Michael Brady’s account of virtues of vulnerability. I argue that being consistent with the standard characterization of virtue requires generalizing beyond a domain. I suggest four actions the authors could take to preserve their accounts while remaining consistent with the standard characterization. I also discuss how virtue education could be enhanced by domain-variant accounts. (shrink)

The aim of this study was to validate the Polish adaptation of the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire, which measures the degree of self-determination in risk behaviour changes. The study comprised 219 patients, beginning to undergo treatment. The Global Motivation Scale was used to test a convergent validity. The confirmatory factor analysis did not support the theoretical four-factor model, thus an exploratory analysis was conducted to determine an optimal model across risk behaviours. The adopted two-factor model matched original TSRQ subscales: autonomous motivation (...) and external regulation. The internal consistency of factors ranging from.78 to.89. Structural equation modeling revealed the impact of global motivation on contextual motivation, limited to the equivalent type of regulation. The action aimed at supporting patient’s autonomy should consider the particular behaviour and the global motivation as a resource in disease. (shrink)

The aim of the study was to confirm the mediation effects of the task-specific self-efficacy on the relationship between the general self-efficacy and intention and planning considering treatment. The study comprised 265 subjects, of which 165 were post-mastectomy women and 100 patients hospitalized due to acute coronary syndrome. The variables were assessed using the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale and tools developed to examine the context of treatment. The data were analyzed using the bootstrapping procedure. The results confirmed the indirect effects of (...) task-specific self-efficacy, both in women making a decision to undergo breast reconstruction, and in patients after ACS formulating intention to change risk behaviours. As smoking was considered to be a moderator in the post-ACS group, the obtained associations were observed only among the patients declaring quitting smoking. In view of the fact that taskspecific self-efficacy is susceptible to context, it is useful to assess it in order to increase treatment effectiveness. (shrink)

Food security is about ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic food they need. In a number of African countries chronic malnutrition and transitory food insecurity are pervasive. Like most African countries, Eritrea is also a victim of the problem of food insecurity. Based on this historical and recurrent food insecurity in Eritrea, an attempt is made in this paper to assess the possible causes of food insecurity in the country. Furthermore, (...) the paper captures the available food security policy proposals of Eritrea and eventually draws conclusions and extends possible recommendations and policy remedies suited to the country. (shrink)

All over the world, distance mode of education is gaining a momentum and becoming more popular than conventional education. It is a system in which schools, universities and other educational agencies offer instruction wholly or partly by mail. Eritrea, a newly independent country in Africa has been facing many challenges particularly in its education sector. It does not have sufficient educational institutions at tertiary level, thus, distance learning which is more cost effective, could be an alternative method of higher education (...) for this country. The distance education programme could promote higher education by providing access to large number of urban people and disadvantaged groups in rural and remote areas including working people, fighters, women and other adults. An attempt has been made in this paper to discuss various issues related to the establishment and development of distance education. It also provides the distance education programmes that so far undertaken in Eritrea and highlights the potential for the distance education in the country. (shrink)

Eritrean higher education faced numerous challenges over many years. It was particularly suffered during the colonial periods. Eritrea exerted its efforts to develop its dilapidated educational system with the advent of its independence. Eritrea celebrated its sixteenth birthday recently. However, the educational challenges in higher education still remain high. The government of Eritrea established different colleges in different administrative regions. The University of Asmara is the only university in the country that had to be revitalized after its devastation by the (...) 30-year war of independence. Since independence, the University has been able to contribute to the nation's skill manpower considerably. This paper examines higher education of Eritrea for about 60 years period. It delves the University of Asmara and its birth, development and apogee. The paper also gives some insights on recent educational development in Eritrea. (shrink)

Women play a key role in economic growth and development, yet they are still discriminated against in economic life. Eritrea has extreme poverty and more than 66 percent of people live below poverty line. Eventually, the number of poor households in the country is high. Many are women-headed households, whose husbands died during the conflicts or who are now serving in the National Service. Women-headed households are particularly vulnerable. The Savings and Micro Credit Program (SMCP) provides major microfinance to women (...) entrepreneurs. A small group of women and men were interviewed to ascertain their successes and problems with micro credit and enterprise development. This paper delves how the women benefited from the microfinance program and got rid of their poverty. An attempt is made to explore and analyse various other institutions that provide microfinance to the women and other beneficiaries. The paper concludes that the women entrepreneurs are considerably supported and benefited by the microfinance program. (shrink)

The main economic activity of the people of Eritrea is agriculture: crop production and livestock herding. Agriculture mainly comprises mixed farming and some commercial concessions. Most agriculture is rain-fed. The main rain-fed crops are sorghum, millet and sesame, and the main irrigated crops are all horticultural crops like bananas, onions and tomatoes and cotton. The major livestock production constraints are disease, water and feed shortages and agricultural expansion especially in the river frontages. The agricultural sector employs eighty percent of the (...) working population, but its production has not managed to cover internal food demand and is forced to cover nearly 50 per cent of its annual cereal requirements through imports-commercial and food assistance. Like most African countries, Eritrea is also a victim of the problem of food insecurity. In good years the country produces only about 60 per cent of its total food needs and in poor years, it produces no more than 25 per cent. On average, once in 10 years, the country is threatened with famines. Annual crop production depends on rainfall that is variable and unevenly distributed from year to year. Therefore, the primary goal of Eritrea is to guarantee food security by introducing modern technology, irrigation, terracing, soil and water conservation, with less dependence on rainwater. Thus the Government has articulated its food policy, which stresses national ownership of grant food assistance and to achieve food security in the coming five years. The policy indeed encompasses all sectoral policies and represents the Government's engagements with regard to food security. Despite the general trends of improvement in the economy of Eritrea, it has not yet fully recovered, and thus will still continue to require variable degrees of food assistance for the coming few more years. Based on this historical and recurrent food insecurity in Eritrea, an attempt is made in this paper to assess the agriculture development and food policy in the country. Furthermore, the paper captures the available food security policy proposals of Eritrea and eventually draws conclusions. (shrink)

The ongoing national reconstruction process of Eritrea is centered on the educational reformation. The Government of Eritrea has developed educational policy on top priority of national development which demands the emergence of new class of trained youth blended with disciplined mind with skill instead of raw graduation. In this line, it laid down new policies and curricula suit to the immediate national scenario. It had installed about eight colleges at tertiary level within a short span of time to build manpower (...) resource required for present and future. This article analyses the strengths and weakness of the policies, planning and the infrastructure requirements to meet the intended goal. The outcome of the educational reformation is expected to have a profound effect on the development of the Nation. Hence, it becomes curious watch for the educational reformists around the globe. (shrink)

Education has long been recognized as a central element in development. The human capital formation is receiving increased attention from policy makers and scholars in different parts of the world particularly in developing countries. Eritrea is a newly born nation in Africa and is striving hard to develop its higher education. An attempt is made in this paper to analyze the sources of finance, the strategies and challenges for higher educational development in the country. Furthermore, the paper also delves the (...) development of higher education in the country since independence. The paper provides some implications for the for the policy purpose to develop higher education so as to curb the use of expatriate manpower in different sectors of the economy. (shrink)

Poverty is one of the serious problems of the world. The problem is more severe in Africa. Eritrea is 16 years old young nation got independence from Ethiopia. The economy of the country was quite good during 1993-97. Later, however, Eritrea has been exposed numerous challenges such as drought, famines, war. As a result, the poverty has become more rampant in the country where more than 66 percent people live below poverty line. Some families live on remittances. The government has (...) taken some poverty alleviation measures, the poverty did not come down due to lack of resources and the poor implementation of the program. An attempt is made in the paper to explore the incidence of poverty. It also provides the details of poverty surveys that are conducted since independence. The paper discusses various challenges of the poverty and provides some policy implications. (shrink)

African economies are facing the critical challenge of raising the rate of GDP growth and sustaining high growth rates and thus meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The performance of agriculture is more paradoxical and African exports of industrial goods are dominated by mining and crude oil. The financial systems remain largely underdeveloped both in terms of the size and range of financial instruments and services offered. This article explores the recent growth performance both at the continental and subregional level. (...) It discusses disparities in growth performance and the factors behind the observed disparities across countries and subregions. It also discusses developments at the sectoral level and progress and challenges in human development, closing with a brief exposition of the prospects for 2007. The paper further analyses the HIV/AIDS in the continent and its impact on the economy. (shrink)

The poverty problem is chronic in the Horn of Africa. Majority of the people in the region are suffering from this problem. There are numerous factors that cause poverty in the region. The challenge of poverty reduction in the Horn should therefore address the poverty reduction issues at national, provincial and local levels. A brief survey of literature has been made to enable us understand some theories and models that are related to poverty reduction in the developing economies. This paper (...) delves the incidence of poverty in the Horn of Africa region. It identifies the major threats and challenges of the poverty. It highlights different factors that cause the poverty and provides some implications to minimize the poverty levels in the Horn region. (shrink)

The role of Eritrean women in thirty years war of independence brought major changes and reflects in the present demography and economy of Eritrea in the development arena. Their participation in the economy contributes to local production and income by filling the gaps left by men who died in the war or who have left the country and settled in different parts of the world. Despite the growing importance of women for the formal economy, jobs and self-employment opportunities available to (...) women are still clustered in low-productivity and/or low-status industries. To cope with the growing number of female-headed households, Eritrea needs to increase the earning potential of women. This paper indicates that providing women with education at secondary or tertiary level is one way to go. This paper deals with, why Eritrean women are entering into the labour markets: one, family ties and control of women is weakened due to absent men and increasing divorce rates. The second, there is a shortage of male breadwinners. The third, growing education levels increase their earning potential. (shrink)

The three decades of armed struggle, the subsequent drought, and deliberate policies of neglect and mismanagement by the last two regimes in Eritrea made growth of the Eritrean economy practically impossible. After independence, the country achieved a steady growth for some years. However, due to the border conflict with Ethiopia, the economy was characterised by severe macroeconomic imbalances and unusually high level of public expenditure. Poverty and inflation also increased many folds. Both domestic and external public debts reached unsustainable levels. (...) Thus, an attempt is made in this paper to delve into some important trends of the Eritrean economy before and after 1998. The paper highlights some of the key economic issues like education, health, infrastructure, unemployment, poverty etc., and provides some concluding remarks. (shrink)

By confronting variable use, the variationist method can reveal patterns of subjectification of grammatical morphemes. Applying this method to the analysis of salir(se) ‘go out’ variation in Mexican Spanish oral data, we conclude that subjectification is manifested structurally in the tendency for middle-marked salirse to co-occur with first-person singular or referents close to the speaker, positive polarity and the past tense. Further comparative dialectal and diachronic data indicate the origins of the se -marked form in physical spatial deviation. Usage of (...) the form then extends to situations that denote deviation from social norms. We thus propose that the locus of subjectification of this counter-expectation marker is an increasingly speaker-based construal of expectation. This semantic change appears to proceed via absorption of contextual meaning in the frequently occurring + de ‘from’ construction. (shrink)

The contentious question of bilingual processing cost may be recast as a fresh question of code-switching (CS) strategies—quantitative preferences and structural adjustments for switching at particular junctures of two languages. CS strategies are established by considering prosodic and syntactic variables, capitalizing here on bidirectional multi-word CS, spontaneously produced by members of a bilingual community in northern New Mexico who regularly use both languages (Torres Cacoullos and Travis, 2018). CS strategies become apparent by extending the equivalence constraint, which states that bilinguals (...) avoid CS at points of word placement conflict (Poplack, 1980), to examine points of inconsistent equivalence between the languages. Such sites of variable equivalence are junctures where the word strings of the two languages are equivalent only sometimes due to language-internal variable structures. A case in point for the English-Spanish language pair is the boundary between main and complement clauses, where a conjunction occurs always in Spanish but variably in English. The prosodic distancing strategy is to separate the juncture of the two languages. Here the complement clause appears in a different prosodic unit from the main clause, disproportionately as compared both with monolingual benchmarks and with bilinguals' own unilingual English and Spanish. Prosodic distancing serves to mitigate variable equivalence. The syntactic selection strategy is to opt for the variant that is more quantitatively available and more discourse neutral. Here the preference is for the Spanish complementizer que—regardless of main or complement clause language— which is the more frequent option in bilinguals' combined experience in both their languages, whereas English complementizer that is subject to a number of conditioning factors. Syntactic selection serves to restore equivalence at sites of variable equivalence. Discovery of community CS strategies may spur reconsideration of processing cost as a matter of relative difficulty, which will depend on bilinguals' prosodic and syntactic choices at particular CS sites. (shrink)

The complexity and inefficiency of the U.S. health care system complicates the distribution of life-saving medical technologies. When the public health is at stake, however, there are alternatives. The proposal for a national PrEP program published in this issue of the Journal applies some of the lessons of the national COVID vaccine campaign to HIV prevention. In doing so, it draws on other examples of public health approaches to the financing of medical technology, from vaccines for children to hepatitis C (...) treatment. (shrink)

This article looks at ethical issues when conducting qualitative semi-structured interviews in the field outside of the researcher’s country of residence. What makes this research unique is that I...

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the leaders of the Genetics Society of America (GSA) struggled to find an appropriate group response to Trofim Lysenko's scientific claims and the Soviet treatment of geneticists. Although some of the leaders of the GSA favored a swift, critical response, procedural and ideological obstacles prevented them from following this path. Concerned about establishing scientific orthodoxy on one hand and politicizing the content of their science on the other, these American geneticists drew on democratic (...) language and concepts as they engaged in this political issue. The relatively weak statements that did emerge from the GSA attracted little attention in the scientific or popular press. The intensely politicized atmosphere of American science complicated the GSA's task, as domestic concerns about protecting democracy were beginning to constrain academic freedom. In the context of American Cold War culture, Lysenko became just one example of the dangers the Cold War world presented to scientific freedom. (shrink)

Atypical sensorimotor developmental trajectories greatly contribute to the profound heterogeneity that characterizes Autism Spectrum Disorders. Individuals with ASD manifest deviations in sensorimotor processing with early markers in the use of sensory information coming from both the external world and the body, as well as motor difficulties. The cascading effect of these impairments on the later development of higher-order abilities underlines the need for interventions that focus on the remediation of sensorimotor integration skills. One of the promising technologies for such stimulation (...) is Immersive Virtual Reality. In particular, head-mounted displays have unique features that fully immerse the user in virtual realities which disintegrate and otherwise manipulate multimodal information. The contribution of each individual sensory input and of multisensory integration to perception and motion can be evaluated and addressed according to a user’s clinical needs. HMDs can therefore be used to create virtual environments aimed at improving people’s sensorimotor functioning, with strong potential for individualization for users. Here we provide a narrative review of the sensorimotor atypicalities evidenced by children and adults with ASD, alongside some specific relevant features of IVR technology. We discuss how individuals with ASD may interact differently with IVR versus real environments on the basis of their specific atypical sensorimotor profiles and describe the unique potential of HMD-delivered immersive virtual environments to this end. (shrink)

It is a rare patient who always does everything healthcare providers advise. Sometimes no harm comes from this; sometimes good does. But occasionally, great harm comes from not listening, as when it results in patients returning time and again for costly and invasive treatments of, say, infections, valve replacements, pressure ulcers, and so forth. No class of patients arouses more anger and resentment in healthcare providers, who often put out a call to invoke some version of the three strikes rule (...) and refuse care. And if the patients are also unemployed substance abusers who live in a local park, impolite or dangerous to staff, disruptive to other patients, and have intimidating visitors, the call to say “No” is louder. Can care ever be refused? If so, when? These are the questions we take up in this article. The answers we provide were developed as part of a Paraplegics and Quadriplegics with Pressure Ulcers Project carried out at Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre. Following an established usage, we refer to patients who exhibit a cluster of the above characteristics, the dominant one of which is a reluctance to heed medical advice, as “noncompliant patients.” This term is offensive to some, but the politically correct lexicon does not provide any alternative which is as short and clear or substantially different. We use the term as a convenient way of referring to a familiar class of patients and without any imputation of blame. (shrink)

v. 1. De la Renaștere la epoca "Luminilor".

English title: The Reception of Søren Kierkegaard’s Thought in Józef Tischner’s Philosophy. The aim of this article is to indicate sources of Józef Tischner’s philosophical inspiration in Søren Kierkegaard’s texts. For Tischner Kierkegaard apperared as a great expert of human matters and as a exquisite, subtle romantic writer. In his refined use of metaphors Tischner searches material to describe a network of almost imperceptible connections of values, norms and customs, by which a human being is wrapped in his/her everyday life. (...) This network Tischener calls a „little axiology of everyday life”. He does not penetrate in all the structure of the very complicated existential philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, but using his quasi-fenomenological descriptions our philosopher performs his own analises in the sphere of philosophy of drama and philosophy of meeting. Tischner devotes a lot of attention to a phenomenon of existential dispair, and to a certain degree he has a dispute with Kierkegaard. In the last part of this article were indicated philosophical divergences of both philosophers, which have the source in different Christian profession and in historical differences of national cultures. (shrink)

The paper aims at presenting a synthetic reconstruction of Kierkegaard’s late critique of what he called “official Christianity,” that is that which in the world counts as Christianity but which, according to Kierkegaard, has nothing to do with real Christianity. The paper begins with a short presentation of what according to Kierkegaard the essence of real Christianity is, with special emphasis on his idea of imitating Christ. Then his main reproaches follow: leading a pagan life and calling it Christian, rejection (...) of imitation of Christ and putting some verbal activities instead, and rejection of imitation of Christ and worshiping him instead. Those three points are supplemented by Kierkegaardian critique of clergy. In the final section it is argued that Kierkegaard’s critique is universal in scope, i.e. it concerns all major Christian denominations. (shrink)

Kierkegaardovo misaono nadahnuće motivirano je dvama nezadovoljstvima: prvo se tiče spekulativne filozofije i njezine nemogućnosti da zahvati zbiljnost pojedinca u njegovoj egzistencijalnoj danosti, a drugo se tiče građansko-kršćanskog svijeta njegova doba koji je u rasulu i gdje je »individua« posve dokinuta prevlašću »gomile«. Kako postati samim sobom, »jedan jedini«, odnosno »individua« , pitanje je koje Kierkegaard postavlja u središte svog filozofskog interesa. Put od običnog opstanka do zbiljskog egzistiranja, odnosno od »gomile« do »individue« ostvaruje se kroz tri stadija. To su (...) estetski, etički i religiozni stadij egzistiranja. U ovom se radu analiziraju njihovi ključni konstituensi i suodnos iščitavanjem primarno tri Kierkegaardova djela: Ili-ili, Bolest na smrt, Strah i drhtanje. I dok je odnos između estetskog i etičkog stadija dijalektički, religiozno stoji naspram estetskog i etičkog u naddijalektičkom odnosu. Taj se nad-dijalektički odnos pokazuje ključnim za interpretaciju Kierkegaardova mišljenja. -/- Kierkegaard’s philosophical inspiration was motivated by two displeasures: The first one concerns speculative philosophy and its incapability to grasp the reality of an individual in their existential givenness, and the second one has to do with the contemporary bourgeois-Christian world that had been falling apart and in which the “individual” was quite abrogated by the domination of the “crowd”. How to become one’s self, “unique”, or an “individual”, is the question Kierkegaard places into the center of his philosophical interest. The path from a common survival to a real existence, i. e., from the “crowd” to the “ndividual” is realized in three stages, through the esthetic, ethical, and the religious stages of exiastence. This paper analyzes their key constituents and their interrelation with an analysis of thre of Kierkegaard’s works: Either/Or, The Sickness unto Death, and Fear and Trembling. While the relation between the esthetic and ethical stages is a dialectical one, the religious is in a supradialectical relation to the esthetic and the ethical. This supradialectical relation is the key to the interpretation of Kierkegaard’s thought. (shrink)