There have been debates across the globe for a social and culturally sensitive ethics to meditate a catalyst of template for informed consent (IC) in the conduct of social researches and clinical trial. The study adopted ethical relativism theory to explore social and cultural contingencies on IC with descriptive research design and snowball sampling techniques with a pool of 23 participants randomly and purposively selected amongst the stakeholders including researchers. Seven lecturers and 5 medical practitioners from selected universities, 5 clergy (...) members of different genders and denominations with 2 Imams, 1 chief and 2 traditional health practitioners completing the pool. The data were compiled separately with pseudonym to maintain the anonymity of the participants and content analysed thematically to probe awareness, understanding, patriarchy and religious dimensions on IC. The paper argued that ethics and law regulations must be strengthened to leverage on different individual values, norms and social indices. The paper concluded and suggested that researchers can avoid and resolve ethical dilemmas and maintain research regularity when ethical obligations are well understood and strictly adhered to, and to develop the Informed Consent Evaluation Feedback Tool (ICEFbT) with oversight function from Institution Review Board (IRB) in the universities and research institutes before the commencement of research and/or medical procedures. (shrink)

This essay addresses one of the central questions in the ongoing debate about just war theory: are soldiers morally responsible for serving in unjust wars? Francisco de Vitoria addressed this question in the sixteenth century using the concepts of invincible and vincible ignorance. He excused soldiers serving in unjust wars, if they did not know the war was unjust and if they did not have the means to overcome their ignorance; if they had the means, they were morally culpable. In (...) modern just war theory, ignorance is still used both to blame and excuse military service in unjust wars. This essay identifies ten different ways that scholars have used ignorance to argue about the moral responsibilities of soldiers. It then applies the different meanings of ignorance to soldiers serving in Western nations and, using Vitoria’s means tests, evaluates if modern soldiers do indeed have the means to overcome their ignorance. Since many soldiers do have the means, invincible ignorance should no longer be used as an excuse for their service in unjust wars; furthermore, soldiers may, in fact, be morally culpable for serving in them. (shrink)

El problema de la exclusión social –situación de quienes encuentran cerrado el acceso a los bienes y servicios que permiten un básico desarrollo de la personalidad– constituye un desafío para la legitimidad del sistema social y las normas penales. Principalmente porque ello supone que en una misma sociedad hay individuos con estatus de persona –ciudadanos “normales”, incluidos– y otros que, por estar privados de los derechos asociados al estatus, están total o parcialmente excluidos del mismo. De cara a evitar su (...) instrumentalización penal se propone, en los delitos más conectados con la noción de ciudadanía que con la de dignidad, la atenuación o exclusión de la pena por disminución de la exigibilidad. Si el delito no se explica sólo por déficit de motivación del sujeto, sino también por un déficit de socialización imputable al propio sistema social, lo que tiene lugar es una especie de corresponsabilidad. (shrink)

This article highlights two possible unnoticed acrostics in Ovid's Metamorphoses concerning the predictions of Calchas and Helenus.

The menace of conflicts and natural disasters in different states of the world had spiralled into a global phenomenon of Internally Displaced Persons. These are groups of humans who had helplessly drifted away from their natural and ancestral home due to conflicts and disasters but had not crossed international boundaries into another country. They merely take solace by the protection offered by the spirit and letters of relevant international laws which have domesticated by member states. This paper seeks to answer (...) the question regarding the extent to which the IDPs have become a menace in Nigeria. The paper reveals that many governments’ actions are the primary and the root cause of the IDPs while others are recipient of the domino effect. The paper relies on a panel data elicited from thirteen out of the thirty six states in Nigeria. The paper reveals the need for urgent measures by government to douse the upsurge in the number of IDPs. The political settlement analysis was used to proffer a better way of culminating the crises. Recommendations are directed to the individuals, civil societies and the government at all levels. (shrink)

En el presente estudio se abordarán los crímenes cometidos por mujeres durante los últimos años de la España de la Restauración y la Dictadura de Primo de Rivera. De igual modo, se profundizará en la dicotomía espacial y discursiva que suponen estas acciones al ser cometidas en el ámbito de lo privado, pero pronto extrapoladas a lo público con fines sen­sacionalistas. Recortes de prensa, fragmentos literarios y pun­tualmente sentencias judiciales serán las fuentes de las que nos valdremos para desarrollar esta (...) investigación con el objeto de profundizar en esta difusa línea divisoria de actuación dialécti­ca. Contra los preceptos definidos por el discurso dominante en torno al «sexo femenino» que encasillaba a las mujeres en una concepción de perpetua debilidad, belleza y letargo, la trans­gresión nacida en el seno de lo privado se hará pública demos­trando que las idealizaciones creadas sobre ellas poco tenían que ver con la realidad. (shrink)

Partiendo del intenso impacto que está teniendo el big data y el resto de tecnologías conexas en nuestra existencia personal y social, el presente artículo busca, en primer lugar, realizar una aproximación a la naturaleza del conocimiento que los datos masivos generan desde el concepto foucaultiano de saber-poder, como también desentrañar el modo en que dicho conocimiento es utilizado para legitimar decisiones que se toman en la incertidumbre. En segundo lugar, intentará analizar qué novedad supone dicho saber en relación a (...) su más inmediato precedente: la estadística y, por último, tendrá como fin examinar el tipo de poder que surge de dicho saber, en relación especialmente con las ideas, de nuevo en la estela de Michel Foucault, acerca del poder pastoral y la conducción a través de la verdad confesada. (shrink)

Preserving dignity during the dying process requires reviewing the roles of those involved in the treatment, care methods and decision-making. This article examines the participation and responsibility assigned to nurses regarding decision-making in the final stages of life, as laid out in the Rights to and Guarantee of Dignity for the Individual During the Process of Death Act. This text has been analysed on the levels of socio-cultural practice and discourse practice, using the critical discourse analysis methodology. The results show (...) that, although the law is another result of the social trend of patient empowerment, the responsibility of the nurses is not recognised, and they are left out of the decision-making process in the final stages of life. (shrink)

El grano de ben es un fruto que ha sido utilizado con fines terapéuticos desde la Antigüedad. Su descripción está incluida en el libro VI del De simplicium medicamentorum facultatibus de Galeno (s. II), una de las obras farmacológicas más importantes de la historia de la medicina. En este artículo compararemos desde una perspectiva filológica la entrada que Galeno dedicó a este simple en dos de sus traducciones medievales: la árabe de Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq (s. IX) y la latina de (...) Gerardo de Cremona (s. XII). Nuestro análisis ayudará a profundizar en el estudio de estas dos traducciones y en la técnica de Gerardo de Cremona, el traductor más prolífico de obras de medicina griega y árabe al latín en la Edad Media. (shrink)

In recent years, there has been increasing concern about unethical conduct within corporate business, not least because of the scandalous behavior of former chief executives at top blue chip companies such as Enron, Worldcom, Parmalat, and Volkswagen. These scandals have not only threatened the privileged position of senior corporate employees but also the solvency of the companies they manage and lead. The high profile cases of corporate crime and corruption that occurred in the early 2000s together with the 2008 Wall (...) Street bailouts and the growth in criminal prosecutions since have raised the profile of business ethics to an unprecedented level. Greater public sensitivity toward and awareness about the unlawful and immoral conduct of firms in the United States and elsewhere, has created demand for organizations to become more accountable and socially responsible and prompted greater regulatory scrutiny. It has also served to highlight the embryonic and delimited state of research and scholarship on business ethics, where the focus has tended to remain on leadership. A neglected, though important, line of ethical enquiry concerns followership. Corporate wrongdoing would be less formidable and extensive if it was not aided and abetted. Two key questions arise. First, what prompts followers to support rather than oppose bad leaders? Second, what can be done to stem or at least curtail their allegiance to bad leaders? (shrink)

El planteo que pretendo desarrollar en el presente trabajo surge de la reflexión sobre mi práctica docente en la cátedra de 'Introducción a la Filosofía' de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata, en la que me desempeño impartiendo clases teóricas desde el año 2003 a la fecha. Los destinatarios de las mismas son, principalmente, alumnos de la carrera de Psicología, en sus variantes de licenciatura y/o profesorado, de la Facultad de (...) Psicología de la UNLP. Las principales características de la materia son el abultado número de alumnos que la cursan, su organización cuatrimestral, y, como es obvio, su ubicación inicial en la carrera; su acreditación depende de la aprobación de un examen parcial escrito, en las clases de trabajos prácticos, y de la aprobación de un examen final, de modalidad oral. (shrink)

This work is a dialogical exercise between Georges Bataille, Maurice Blanchot and Didi-Huberman. The notion of revolt and the surrealist movement will be postulated as central axes of this dialogue. The hypothesis that guides this text is the possible relation between the unsolvable and sovereignty through desire. The surrealism will be recognized as a theoretical-aesthetic background from which these philosophers are nourished and positioned, either as referents or readers. We will analyze the networks woven between the following concepts: sovereignty, revolt (...) and submission. And, finally, we will think of the sphere of desire as that ontological substratum that allows human sovereignty to survive. (shrink)

Catholicism played a main role in the long and controversial process of constructing the Spanish national identity. as a consequence, the christian creed ended up becoming a condition sine qua non for “being Spanish”. Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo (1856-1912) and his Historia de los Heterodoxos Españoles were to become a basic milestone in the conformation of this peculiar case of Spanish catholicism, to whom we direct our attention at the present study.

En este artículo se presentan las reflexiones epistemológicas del filósofo Francisco Fernández Buey (1943-2012), las cuales, han estado continuamente presentes en la obra del autor al menos desde la publicación en 1991 de La ilusión del método, y culminan en su obra póstuma Para la tercera cultura (2013) en una apuesta por la complementariedad entre ciencias positivas y reflexión humanística. Partiendo de un marxismo heterodoxo tanto en el plano ético-político como en el epistemológico, Fernández Buey apuesta por una idea de (...) ciencia alejada del positivismo, a la vez que critica las filosofías contrarias a aquella en la medida en que la consideran como un conocimiento meramente reductor de una realidad que no puede ser aprehendida por la ciencia. Desde el concepto de dialéctica de Manuel Sacristán; el reconocimiento a la figura de Einstein como ejemplo de científico que no renuncia a otros modos de conocimiento; y la reflexión sobre la filosofía de la ciencia en la segunda mitad del siglo XX, el autor nos muestra la necesidad de un diálogo entre cultivadores de la ciencia y las humanidades para afrontar los desafíos del siglo XXI. (shrink)

This essay aims to analyse the theoretical and epistemological foundations of the symbol and their representations. First of all, we have explored its ontological scope. Secondly, we have highlighted its presence in everyday life. Thirdly, we have underlined the importance of the interpretation when addressing their multiple senses. And fourthly, we have expressed its social and cultural importance. The thesis here is that the symbolic is a structural condition of humankind, such as a being of mediation. Therefore we claim an (...) epistemological perspective that takes into consideration this notion, key to understanding human being and psychosocial reality. El presente ensayo tiene como objetivo principal analizar los fundamentos teórico- epistemológicos del concepto de símbolo y sus formas de representación. En primer lugar se delimitó el alcance ontológico de esta noción. En segundo se destacó su presencia en la realidad cotidiana. En tercero se subrayó la importancia de la interpretación a la hora de abordar sus múltiples sentidos y, en cuarto, se manifestó su relevancia social y cultural. La tesis que aquí se sostiene es que lo simbólico es una condición estructural del ser humano, como ser de mediaciones. Por ello reivindicamos una perspectiva epistemológica que tenga presente esta noción, clave para comprender al ser humano y la realidad psico-social en la que se inserta. (shrink)

Los summaria alexandrinorum (conocidos como ǧawāmiʿ al-iskandarāniyyīn en árabe) son resúmenes de obras galénicas que solo sobreviven en versiones hebreas o árabes. Tradicionalmente, estas traducciones se han atribuido a Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq (s. IX) y se han vinculado a la enseñanza de la medicina en la Alejandría de los siglos VI y VII. En este artículo presentamos la edición de uno de estos ǧawāmiʿ al-iskandarāniyyīn, en concreto el compendio árabe del De simplicium medicamentorum facultatibus de Galeno que se conserva en (...) el manuscrito Huntington 600/2 de la Bodleian Library de Oxford. Con la publicación de este texto inédito pretendemos contribuir a comprender mejor la naturaleza y el origen de este tipo de textos, así como a facilitar su consulta y estudio por parte de otros especialistas. Añadimos una breve introducción sobre los summaria alexandrinorum y su importancia en la enseñanza y la transmisión de la medicina en la Edad Media, seguida de una serie de apuntes acerca del De simpl. med. fac. A continuación, se describe el manuscrito fuente tanto en forma como en contenido y se fijan los criterios de edición. Asimismo, se han extraído del texto los usos y las características más comunes de la farmacopea galénica. Con el fin de ofrecer una edición rigurosa, se ha cotejado el texto con la traducción completa del De simpl. med. fac. al árabe, así como con otros tratados de simples andalusíes. (shrink)

The Habermasian concept of ‘interest’ has had a profound effect on the characterization of scientific disciplines. Going beyond issues unrelated to the theory itself, intra‐theoretical interest characterizes the specific ways of approaching any science‐related discipline, defining research topics and methodologies. This approach was developed by Jürgen Habermas in relation to empirical–analytical sciences, historical–hermeneutics sciences, and critical sciences; however, he did not make any specific references to health sciences. This article aims to contribute to shaping a general epistemological framework for health (...) sciences, as well as its specific implications for the medical and nursing areas, via an analysis of the basic knowledge interests developed by Habermas. (shrink)

Information on the risks and benefits related to surgical procedures is essential for patients in order to obtain their informed consent. Some disciplines, such as sociolinguistics, offer insights that are helpful for patient—professional communication in both written and oral consent. Communication difficulties become more acute when patients make decisions through an informed consent document because they may sign this with a lack of understanding and information, and consequently feel deprived of their freedom to make their choice about different treatments or (...) surgery. This article discusses findings from documentary analysis using the sociolinguistic SPEAKING model, which was applied to the general and specific informed consent documents required for laparoscopic surgery of the bile duct at Torrecárdenas Hospital, Almería, Spain. The objective of this procedure was to identify flaws when information was provided, together with its readability, its voluntary basis, and patients’ consent. The results suggest potential linguistic communication difficulties, different languages being used, cultural clashes, asymmetry of communication between professionals and patients, assignment of rights on the part of patients, and overprotection of professionals and institutions. (shrink)

The aim of the article is to establish which the features of egotistic literature are. In order to achieve such a purpose, the article presents a typology of the genre and describes its main types of works: a) autobiography and memorialistic prose; b) journals, personal diaries, cards and cahiers ; c) biography; and d) life stories. Bearing this in mind, the article suggests a theoretical basis for this particular kind of narratives. At the end, the article presents five conclusions: 1) (...) alterity is always present in biographical narratives; 2) biographical narratives are expressions of experiences; 3) biographical narratives provide some unity to plurality; 4) egotistic literature configures itself in an imaginative and fictional form; and 5) biographical narratives configure themselves in a temporal form. (shrink)

Presentamos una serie de reflexiones sobre los compromisos del o de la terapeuta en las situaciones sociales generadas en el encuadre específico de los Grupos de Intervención sobre los Estados de Conciencia (GIEC). En el desarrollo de los GIEC se crea una cultura que actuará como herramienta terapéutica, y a la que la persona que ejerce como terapeuta debe estar atenta para que no se convierta en cultura enraizada que lleve a sus miembros a convertirse en lo que deben ser. (...) Lo importante es que dicha cultura mantenga una apertura a la posibilidad de explorar lugares disociados, tanto a nivel personal como social. En consecuencia, tal terapeuta se compromete con una manera concreta de entender las relaciones sociales desde la diversidad, apoyada por su conducta colaborativa y de apertura hacia la libertad propia y de quienes le rodean. Ese compromiso es posible interpretarlo como una posición ideológica básica que permitirá el desarrollo adecuado de los grupos. Sin embargo, nos preguntamos si sería posible interpretarla también como una postura ética. Para ello, nos basamos en el planteamiento de Emmanuel Levinas sobre la otredad, y desarrollamos sus implicaciones, beneficios y riesgos dentro del proceso de la terapia grupal. (shrink)

The present article is trying to study the alliance of religion and philosophy, from Farabi's view, by citing to his works. In this regard, first, we analyzed the historical reasons for the need for philosophy, then we will introduce the Farabi's purposes for constitution of this alliance, through which the necessity of this alliance becomes clear. The main claim of the article is that Farabi correlates the two through two different ways. The first depends upon the historical procedure of the (...) emergence of the language. Accordingly, philosophy would be chronologically prior to religion. And in the second way, he explains the relation between the two, by considering their methodological distinctions, toward pedagogy. Then we can claim that the first way is criticizable but the second is defensible. (shrink)

Robert F. is an eighty-five-year-old who suffered a heart attack at home in a rural location some thirty minutes from any major hospital. By the time the paramedics arrived, he was unconscious and nonresponsive. After spontaneous return of circulation, they began their standard procedure of therapeutic hypothermia. Robert's core temperature was lowered using ice packs, and cold intravenous fluids were initiated. Soon afterward, Robert started to shiver when his body temperature reached 35.6° Celsius. He was then given a bolus of (...) vecuronium as a neuromuscular blockade, sedated, and intubated. He was also given a low-dose vasopressin for blood-pressure control. Shortly after Robert arrived in the emergency room, his daughter, his medical decision-maker, produced an advance directive documenting that her father has a do-not-resuscitate order, and she demanded that the breathing tube and any other life-sustaining treatments be withdrawn immediately. The medical staff is very reluctant to comply with this demand for immediate action. Until the neuromuscular blockade wears off, removing the ventilator will prevent Robert from breathing. Furthermore, it may take some time to reverse the therapeutic hypothermia procedure to the point that the patient is at normal temperature. In addition, therapeutic hypothermia itself often causes arrest, so the patient may need to be resuscitated again. Should the staff wait until the patient is warm or honor the decision of his daughter, who holds his medical power of attorney? (shrink)

Urban agriculture is spreading within the Global North, largely for food production, ranging from household individual gardens to community gardens that boost neighborhood regeneration. Additionally, UA is also being integrated into buildings, such as urban rooftop farming. Some URF experiences succeed in North America both as private and community initiatives. To date, little attention has been paid to how stakeholders perceive UA and URF in the Mediterranean or to the role of food production in these initiatives. This study examines the (...) promotion and inclusion of new forms of UA through the practice of URF and contributes to the nascent literature on the stakeholder and public perceptions of UA. It seeks to understand how those perceptions shape the development of new urban agriculture practices and projects. Barcelona was used as a Mediterranean case study where UA and URF projects are growing in popularity. Through semi-structured interviews with 25 core stakeholders, we show that UA is largely perceived as a social activity rather than a food production initiative, because the planning of urban gardens in Barcelona was traditionally done to achieve leisure and other social goals. However, several stakeholders highlighted the potential to increase urban fertility through URF by occupying currently unused spaces. As a result, the positive valuation of URF depends on the conceptualization of UA as a social or food production activity. In turn, such conceptualization shapes barriers and opportunities for the development of URF. While most UA-related stakeholders preferred soil-based UA, newer stakeholders highlighted the economic, social and environmental opportunities of local and efficient food production through innovative URF. (shrink)