Objectives: To study the attitudes of both medical and non-medical students towards the do-not-resuscitate decision in a university in Hong Kong, and the factors affecting their attitudes.Methods: A questionnaire-based survey conducted in the campus of a university in Hong Kong. Preferences and priorities of participants on cardiopulmonary resuscitation in various situations and case scenarios, experience of death and dying, prior knowledge of DNR and basic demographic data were evaluated.Results: A total of 766 students participated in the study. There were statistically (...) significant differences in their DNR decisions in various situations between medical and non-medical students, clinical and preclinical students, and between students who had previously experienced death and dying and those who had not. A prior knowledge of DNR significantly affected DNR decision, although 66.4% of non-medical students and 18.7% of medical students had never heard of DNR. 74% of participants from both medical and non-medical fields considered the patient’s own wish as the most important factor that the healthcare team should consider when making DNR decisions. Family wishes might not be decisive on the choice of DNR.Conclusions: Students in medical and non-medical fields held different views on DNR. A majority of participants considered the patient’s own wish as most important in DNR decisions. Family wishes were considered less important than the patient’s own wishes. (shrink)

ABSTRACTDifficulties with inhibiting fear have been associated with the emergence of anxiety problems and poor response to cognitive–behavioural treatment. Fear inhibition problems measured using experimental paradigms involving aversive stimuli may be inappropriate for vulnerable samples and may not capture fear inhibition problems evident in everyday life. We present the Fear Inhibition Questionnaire, a self-report measure of fear inhibition abilities. We assess the FIQ’s factor structure across two cultures and how well it correlates with fear inhibition indices derived experimentally. Adolescent participants (...) from Hong Kong and England completed the FIQ, with the English participants also completing a conditioning and extinction task to assess fear inhibition problems. Across both cultures, the FIQ showed a single factor structure and low FIQ scores, or worse fear inhibition problems, were associated with self-reports of heightened anxiety. Correlation of FIQ scores with experimental indices, whi... (shrink)

Culture’s main task is to offer mankind a context of stability (human beings have been a specially precarious species), which allows it to display a notable civilizing capacity. During thousands of years the core of culture has been religion. But human norms and structures do not have the consis..

resumenEl ensayo trata de resaltar diversos aspectos promisorios y progresistas contenidos en el llamado orden premoderno y en la época anterior a la Primera Guerra mundial. Entre estos factores se hallaban la configuración de una estructura familiar sólida, la existencia de individualidades fuertes con concepciones firmes sobre la ética cotidiana y una cultura todavía alejada del relativismo axiológico a ultranza. Esta era del liberalismo clásico se diferenciaba del actual “capitalismo volátil”, caracterizado por su narcisismo autorreferencial y sus tendencias tecnocráticas. A (...) lo positivo del mundo de ayer contribuyó una aristocracia con algunos rasgos premodernos, que reconocía los límites que nos imponen el entorno natural y las carencias humanas.Palabras clave:alta cultura, aristocracia, límites, modernidad, tradicionalidadThe essay tries to detect some promising and progressive aspects which were embodied in the so-called premodern order and in the time previous to the First World War. Among those factors we can mention a solid familiar structure, the existence of strong individualities with firm conceptions about the daily sphere of ethics and a high culture, which was still very distant from the actual and extreme relativism of values. That time of classical liberalism was very different in comparison with the actual “volatile capitalism”, which is characterized by selfrefering narcissism and technocratic tendencies. A contribution to the positive aspects of the world of yesterday was done by an aristocracy, which acknowledged the limits fixed upon us by the natural environment and the human failures.Key words:high culture, aristocracy, limits, modernity, traditionality. (shrink)

ResumenBasado en elementos de la filosofía clásica, el common sense británico y la Escuela de Frankfurt, el autor postula un sentido común guiado críticamente, que serviría para evaluar las tendencias históricas y los modelos de modernización en el Tercer Mundo. Evitando extremos, este teorema rechazaría tanto las pretensiones de verdad de muchos enfoques racionalistas como el relativismo epistemológico y ético. La existencia de leyes y etapas obligatorias de la historia es uno de esos extremos; otro es la opción teórica que (...) afirma que los modelos culturales son incomparables e inconmensurables entre sí. La existencia de un solo paradigma normativo-positivo de desarrollo es insostenible, pero igualmente la posición que decreta la diversidad e incomparabilidad totales de los regímenes civilizatorios. Es conveniente adoptar una línea intermedia entre universalismo y particularismo y alcanzar una síntesis fructífera de ambos.Palabras claveEscuela de Frankfurt, Habermas, Kant, particularismo, sentido común, universalismoAbstractBased on elements of classical philosophy, the British common sense and the Frankfurt School, the author proposes a critically guided common sense, which could be used to evaluate historical tendencies and specially the modernization efforts in the Third World. Avoiding extremes, this theorem rejects the pretensions of truth of rationalist theories and also the epistemic and ethic relativism. The existence of obligatory laws and periods of historical development is one of these extremes; the other one is the position which states that cultural models are incomparable and immeasurable. It is reasonable, for instance, to take a middle way between universalism and particularism and also to reach a fruitful synthesis between both currents.KeywordsCommon sense, Frankfurt School, Habermas, Kant, particularism, universalism. (shrink)

RESUMENUn intento por comprender la realidad sociopolítica podría consistir en situarse entre posiciones que marcan polos opuestos en el espectro de las ideas. Desde la filosofía griega se conocen las bondades y desventajas de colocarse en puntos intermedios que se hallan entre actitudes extremas en lo concerniente a asuntos morales y sociales. Una de las respuestas plausibles es una forma de eclecticismo, que tendría la función de una síntesis fructífera. Este teorema del sentido común guiado críticamente se asienta en concepciones (...) filosóficas clásicas, incluyendo la Escuela de Frankfurt. El ensayo pone como ejemplo principal el tratamiento de las utopías políticas.PLABARAS CLAVEARISTÓTELES, HABERMAS, HEGEL, SENTIDO COMÚN, TEORÍA CRÍTICA, UTOPÍAABSTRACTAn effort to understand the social-political reality could consist in taking a position between opposite poles in the spectrum of ideas. The advantages and disadvantages of placing oneself midway between extreme attitudes concerning moral and social problems have been aknowledged since Greek philosophy. A plausible answer is a form of eclecticism, which could have the function of a fertile synthesis. This theorem of a critically guided common sense is based on classic philosophic conceptions, including the Frankfurt School. This essay sets the analysis of political utopias as a main example.KEY WORDSARISTOTLE, COMMON SENSE, CRITICAL THEORY, UTOPY. (shrink)

Mark, G. La crisis de la física clásica por obra del experimento.--Thirring, J. La transformación del sistema conceptual de la física.--Hahn, J. La crisis de la intuición.--Nöbeling, J. La cuarta dimensión y el espacio curvo.--Menger, C. La nueva lógica.

Background Ethically, informed consent regarding randomised controlled trials (RCTs) should be understandable to patients. The patients can then give free consent or decline to participate in a RCT. Little is known about what patients really understand in consultations about RCTs. Methods Cancer patients who were asked to participate in a randomised trial were surveyed using a semi-standardised interview developed by the authors. The interview addresses understanding, satisfaction and needs of the patients. The sample included eight patients who participated in a (...) trial and two who declined. The data were analysed on the basis of Mayring's qualitative analysis. Results Patients' understanding of informed consent was less developed than anticipated, especially concerning key elements such as randomisation, content and procedure of RCTs. Analysing the result about satisfaction of the patients, most of the patients described their consultations as hectic and without advance notice. Health limitations due to cancer played a decisive role. However, most of the patients perceived their physician to be sympathetic. Analysing the needs of patients, they ask for a clear informed consent consultation with enough time and adequate advance notice. Conclusion This study fills an important empirical research gap of what is ethically demanded in an RCT consultation and what is really understood by patients. The qualitative approach enabled us to obtain new results about cancer patients' understanding of informed consent, to clarify patients' needs and to develop new ideas to optimise the informed consent. (shrink)

It is traditionally believed that cerebral activation (the presence of low voltage fast electrical activity in the neocortex and rhythmical slow activity in the hippocampus) is correlated with arousal, while deactivation (the presence of large amplitude irregular slow waves or spindles in both the neocortex and the hippocampus) is correlated with sleep or coma. However, since there are many exceptions, these generalizations have only limited validity. Activated patterns occur in normal sleep (active or paradoxical sleep) and during states of anesthesia (...) and coma. Deactivated patterns occur, at times, during normal waking, or during behavior in awake animals treated with atropinic drugs. Also, the fact that patterns characteristic of sleep, arousal, and waking behavior continue in decorticate animals indicates that reticulo-cortical mechanisms are not essential for these aspects of behavior. (shrink)

The US neutrino community gathered at the Workshop on the Intermediate Neutrino Program at Brookhaven National Laboratory February 4-6, 2015 to explore opportunities in neutrino physics over the next five to ten years. Scientists from particle, astroparticle and nuclear physics participated in the workshop. The workshop examined promising opportunities for neutrino physics in the intermediate term, including possible new small to mid-scale experiments, US contributions to large experiments, upgrades to existing experiments, R&D plans and theory. The workshop was organized into (...) two sets of parallel working group sessions, divided by physics topics and technology. Physics working groups covered topics on Sterile Neutrinos, Neutrino Mixing, Neutrino Interactions, Neutrino Properties and Astrophysical Neutrinos. Technology sessions were organized into Theory, Short-Baseline Accelerator Neutrinos, Reactor Neutrinos, Detector R&D and Source, Cyclotron and Meson Decay at Rest sessions.This report summarizes discussion and conclusions from the workshop. (shrink)