The aim of the present investigation was to describe and to classify significant ethical problems encountered by the members of the staff during the daily clinical work at a hospital medical department. A set of definitions was prepared for the purpose, including the definition of a 'significant ethical problem'. During a three month period 426 inpatients and 173 outpatients were admitted. Significant ethical problems were encountered during the management of 106 in-patients (25 per cent) and 9 out-patients (5 per cent). (...) No significant difference was found between the frequency of ethical problems in female and male patients, but a positive correlation was noted between the number of problems and the patients' age. The problem types were classified according to a problem list. The results of this investigation suggest that greater attention must be paid to discussions about ethical problems among doctors and other categories of health personnel and that, among others, medical students ought to be taught the analysis of ethical problems. (shrink)

The article deals with the problem of the philosophy of interdisciplinarity, set forth in the work of the same name by J.K. Schmidt. The main goal the author sets for himself is to define the inner meaning of the concepts and goals of interdisciplinarity. In accordance with this, the tasks performed by the respective fields of work, divided into intrascientific and extrascientific. The first ones are related to fundamental research, rethinking the forms of scientific knowledge, methodologies, the relationship between (...) man and nature. The latter, embedded in social reality, are related to analysis of the problems of technoscience, knowledge production and science policy. Prof. Schmidt considers two approaches to interdisciplinarity: instrumental or strategic and critical-reflexive or communicative. The first of them is presented as a limited tool for solving actual problems of interdisciplinarity due to its proximity to soluchionism and its predominant focus on organizational and managerial problems of science. The critical-reflexive approach is, on the contrary, associated with a fundamental rethinking of the concept of knowledge. Interdisciplinarity is characteristic of the field of scientific research, while transdisciplinarity and its particular forms – object- and problem-oriented approaches – are associated with solving problems of the real world. The author conducts a comprehensive analysis of the problem of interdisciplinarity, analyzing the historical roots of technoscientific issues, assesses the current state of science, and proposes a paradigmatic ProTA program related to the realization of the predictive potential of the critical-reflexive approach to interdisciplinarity. (shrink)

Using multi–sources: archeaology, history, geography, anthropology, wildlife, zoology, biology, oral tradition and archival material, the article examines the history of the elephant in Ghana, highlighting the various methods employed in hunting as well as the cultural and economic use values of the elephant in Ghana.

In the present paper two kinds of quantum-theoretical states are considered: the “physical state” determined by a complete observation and the “intrinsic state” which comprises the values of the observed as well as the unobserved observables. It will be shown that the future values of all these observables are determined. Causality is therefore valid, though not verifiable.

We argue that developing a human ethics application is an effective method for refining the intent and design of research studies. Our study aimed to investigate the delivery of end-of-life and palliative care nursing to residents of an aged care unit in a Multi-purpose Service/centre in rural Victoria. We used the ethics application process as a strategy to focus the study, and to refine the data collection and analysis techniques. It is our contention that the process of completing the application (...) and gaining ethics approval is laborious; however, the intellectualising that occurs provides researchers with an opportunity to reflect upon and refine their studies, thus ensuring the ultimate success and timely completion of research investigations. (shrink)

Using multi–sources: archeaology, history, geography, anthropology, wildlife, zoology, biology, oral tradition and archival material, the article examines the history of the elephant in Ghana, highlighting the various methods employed in hunting as well as the cultural and economic use values of the elephant in Ghana.

The book provides a practical guide to the application of Critical Realism (CR), an increasingly popular philosophy of social science, in empirical research projects. Each purpose-written chapter reviews major social science research methods and contains extended illustration of how to conduct inquiry using CR.

This book is primarily concerned with the problem of human knowledge of the Divine. Its main emphasis is on the defense of the dualist views of the author, and in this defense he presents an extended criticism of the encounters of empiricist philosophy with religion. This is a good survey of the positivist and language-analysis theories of the possibility of knowing God, and while the approach is critical, the author does present a fairly extensive bibliography of his opponent's views. A (...) further item of interest is the author's unusual interpretation of the meaning of the traditional proofs of God's existence, in which he unites all these proofs by reducing them all to an intuition of the existence of God which is more an attitude than a demonstration. Finally, this book does suffer from the fact that it is supposed to be an introduction to the topic of philosophy religion, while it is in fact more an introduction to this subject from a special point of view. The result is unified but partisan, a perhaps unavoidable consequence in this subject.—K. O. (shrink)

This work consists of a series of articles which are general and mainly historical in nature. They trace, in more or less detailed fashion, the main patterns of thought in the great world religions in this century, especially in relation to science and economic systems. This is more an historical and sociological study than a philosophical one, and its value is primarily a peripheral one for the student of religious thought and practice. Of particular interest, mainly due to its esoteric (...) attraction, is an article on he position of the Orthodox Church in Soviet Russia, which is a model of Marxist interpretation of religion and its influence on society. In summary, more an interesting general history than an intensive study.—K. O. (shrink)