The Dutch policy objective of a fully sustainable livestock sector without mutilations by 2023 is not compatible with the routine practice of tail docking to minimize the risk of tail biting. To examine farmer attitudes towards docking, a telephone survey was conducted among 487 conventional and 33 organic Dutch pig farmers. “Biting” (of tails, ears, or limbs) was identified by the farmers as a main welfare problem in pig farming. About half of the farmers reported to have no tail biting (...) problems in their own herd. When farmers did report problems, they most often reported figures between 1 and 5 % of the animals. High incidences of tail biting were anticipated when trying to keep undocked pigs. Enrichment materials used in the conventional sector included mainly chains (52–63 % of the farms) and hanging rubber or plastic balls (22–30 %). Straw, sawdust, or wood shavings was hardly provided in conventional pig farming (2–3 %), in contrast to organic farming (88–100 % of farms). Conventional pig farmers feel a curly tail is not very important for sustainable pig farming. They consider enrichment to be less effective and tail docking to be less stressful for them and their piglets than their organic colleagues do. Pig farmers identified climate as a main risk factor for tail biting as opposed to enrichment. The objective of reducing routine tail docking requires solutions for dealing with tail biting problems at the farm level. In this process, transfer of scientific knowledge about enrichment materials and other measures to prevent and cure tail biting is critical, as is a change in farmer attitudes and awareness of the moral issues involved. (shrink)

Recent policy developments in the area of livestock husbandry have suggested that, from the perspective of optimizing animal welfare, new animal husbandry systems should be developed that provide opportunities for livestock animals to be raised in environments where they are permitted to engage in “natural behavior.” It is not known whether consumers regard animal husbandry issues as important, and whether they differentiate between animal husbandry and other animal welfare issues. The responsibility for the development of such systems is allocated jointly (...) between farmers, regulators, different actors in the food chain, and consumers. This research focuses on understanding consumer attitudes and preferences regarding the development and introduction of such systems, to ensure that they are acceptable to consumers as well as producers, regulators, and scientists. Consumer perceptions of animal welfare and animal husbandry practices were evaluated using quantitative consumer survey, which focused on two animal husbandry issues – farmed pigs and farmed fish. Following pilot work, 1000 representative Dutch consumers were sampled about their attitudes to either pig or fish husbandry. The results indicated that consumers think about animal welfare in terms of two broad categories related to their health and living environment, but do not think about welfare issues at a more detailed level. Greater concern was expressed about the welfare of pigs compared to fish. Consumer trust in labeling also emerged as an important issue, since consumers need to trust different food chain actors with responsibility for promoting animal welfare, and are reluctant to consider the details of animal husbandry systems. As a consequence, a transparent, enforceable, and traceable monitoring system for animal welfare friendly products is likely to be important for consumers. (shrink)

Decisions related to animal welfare standards depend on farmer’s multiple goals and values and are constrained by a wide range of external and internal forces. The aim of this paper is twofold, i.e., to develop a theoretical framework for farmers’ AW decisions that incorporates farmers’ goals, use and non-use values and to present an approach to empirically implement the theoretical framework. The farmer as a head of the farm household makes choices regarding production to maximize the utility of the household. (...) The overall utility of the farmer is determined by his multiple objectives. For the analysis of multi-objective problems, the multiple criteria decision - making paradigm provides an appropriate theoretical framework. However, theories from the field of social-psychology are needed to facilitate the identification of all relevant aspects in the decision making. The practical use of the conceptual framework is demonstrated using a simple numerical application of a multi-objective programming model. Two workshops were devoted to examining the scientific consistency and the practical usefulness of the approach. Implementing this approach will increase knowledge of the main factors and barriers that determine farmers’ decisions with regard to AW standards. This knowledge is relevant during the development of new AW concepts that aims to supply products that comply with above-legal AW standards for middle-market segments. (shrink)

La question du sacerdoce des femmes dans l'Occident chrétien doit être examinée à la lumière des catégories sociales (masculin/féminin, laïc/ecclésiastique) imaginées par l'Église durant le Moyen Age. C'est en forgeant, entre le IIIe et le XIIe siècle, des systèmes de classification adaptés à leur insertion croissante dans la société que les clercs en vinrent à exclure catégoriquement les femmes du ministère sacerdotal, tout en définissant des fonctions socio-religieuses spécifiquement féminines. Au cours du XIIIe siècle, alors que l'ordre social défini par (...) les clercs était ébranlé par des expériences religieuses originales, qui furent le fait de femmes contestant (plus ou moins explicitement) leur état de subordination au sein de l'Église, l'institution ecclésiale surmonta l'épreuve en éradiquant toute forme de contestation et en réaffirmant de manière nouvelle les classifications qu'elle avait élaborées durant les siècles précédents. (shrink)

Public debate on acceptable farm animal husbandry suffers from a confusion of tongues. To clarify positions of various stakeholder groups in their joint search for acceptable solutions, the concept of animal welfare was split up into three notions: no suffering, respect for intrinsic value, and non-appalling appearance of animals. This strategy was based on the hypothesis that multi-stakeholder solutions should be based on shared values rather than on compromises. The usefulness of such an artificial value distinction strategy was tested in (...) a small series of experiments. The results demonstrate that the chosen concept to distinguish between values is effective in a stakeholder context. Farmers’ views on doing good to animals appeared to be largely based on their value to prevent suffering and predominantly focused on the provision of regular care. Their priority for this value is clearly shared with other stakeholders, providing a basis for joint solutions. The concept of intrinsic value does not play a discernable role in farmers’ considerations. Based on the varying views on welfare, it can be inferred that there is a gradual rather than a principal difference between government legislation and farmers’ values, whereas public perception and acceptance of farm practices remains complicated. Distinction between value groups and focusing on a selected notion (such as no suffering) proved to be effective in bringing representatives of stakeholder groups together, but is unlikely to bridge the emotional gap between commercial farm practices and public ideals. (shrink)

In this article we present a study of assessments of nanotechnology in food and agriculture. The study was conducted as a part of a project studying the need for integrated assessment of emerging science and technologies. The article first introduces central hopes and concerns regarding nanotechnology in food and agriculture, and how these are assessed in different assessment spheres. The question of whether there is a need for more integration in assessments in this field is then introduced and the multiple (...) interpretations of this notion are discussed, first in a sustainability context and then in the specific context of emerging science and technologies. This serves as the basis for analysing the current status of integration of nano-food assessments. The validity of our findings is discussed and the article ends with a summary of the main conclusions from the discussion. (shrink)

Any theory of information needs to comply with what we call the implementation, formalization, and representation constraints. These constraints are justified by basic considerations concerning scientific modelling and methodology. In the first part of this paper, we argue that the implementation and formalization constraints cannot be satisfied because the relation between Shannon information and IIT must be clarified. In the second part of the paper, we focus on the representation constraint. We argue that IIT cannot succeed in satisfying this constraint (...) for semantic contents without offering models for concepts, conceptual roles, and context sensitivity. In the final part of the paper, further complications are raised with respect to the distinction between consciousness and attention, which apply more specifically to the representation constraint. We conclude with some recommendations as to how IIT may succeed in solving these problems, highlighting the advantages and enormous potential of IIT as a scientific theory. (shrink)

Is there ever any reason for a doctor to lie to a patient? In this paper, we critically review the literature on lying to patients and challenge the common notion that while lying is unacceptable, a related entity--'benevolent deception' is defensible. Further, we outline a rare circumstance when treating psychotic patients where lying to the patient is justified. This circumstance is illustrated by a clinical vignette.

Current UK legislation is impacting upon the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of medical record-based research aimed at benefiting the NHS and the public heath. Whereas previous commentators have focused on the Data Protection Act 1998, the Health and Social Care Act 2001 is the key legislation for public health researchers wishing to access medical records without written consent. The Act requires researchers to apply to the Patient Information Advisory Group for permission to access medical records without written permission. We present a (...) case study of the work required to obtain the necessary permissions from PIAG in order to conduct a large scale public health research project. In our experience it took eight months to receive permission to access basic identifying information on individuals registered at general practices, and a decision on whether we could access clinical information in medical records without consent took 18 months. Such delays pose near insurmountable difficulties to grant funded research, and in our case £560 000 of public and charitable money was spent on research staff while a large part of their work was prohibited until the third year of a three year grant. We conclude by arguing that many of the current problems could be avoided by returning PIAG’s responsibilities to research ethics committees, and by allowing “opt-out” consent for many public health research projects. (shrink)

BackgroundThe current study set out to improve our understanding of the characteristics of individuals who are motivated to restrict their food intake yet who nevertheless fail to do so. We examined whether punishment sensitivity was related to restrained eating, and reward sensitivity to perceived dieting success. Additionally, it was examined whether executive control moderates the association between RS and perceived dieting success.MethodsFemale student participants completed questionnaires on restrained eating, perceived dieting success, RS and PS, and carried out a behavioral task (...) to index EC.ResultsPS was indeed positively related to restrained eating. RS was positively related to perceived dieting success, yet, EC did not moderate this association.ConclusionThe current study adds to the evidence that PS is related to individuals’ motivation to restrict their food intake. Furthermore, it shows support for the suggestion that RS may facilitate food restriction. (shrink)

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs has been a heavily contested issue over the past decade, touching on several issues of responsibility facing the pharmaceutical industry. Much research has been conducted on DTCA, but hardly any studies have discussed this topic from a corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspective. In this article, we use several elements of CSR, emphasising consumer autonomy and safety, to analyse differences in DTCA practices within two different policy contexts, the United States of America and the European (...) Union (EU). Doing so results in an alternative analysis of the struggle between proponents and opponents of DTCA from a CSR perspective, adding an alternative view on this debate. (shrink)

BĪRŪNĪ, ABŪ RAYḤĀN MOḤAMMAD b. Aḥmad (362/973- after 442/1050), scholar and polymath of the period of the late Samanids and early Ghaznavids and one of the two greatest intellectual figures of his time in the eastern lands of the Muslim world, the other being Ebn Sīnā.

### ­ In Who shall go first? A multicriteria approach to patient selection for first clinical trials of cardiac xenotransplantation, Kögel et al recommend the inclusion of patients who (1) have a (high) medical need for an allograft, (2) have the capacity to benefit from a xenograft, (3) have a ‘real’ choice between enrolment in a first-in-human clinical trial and an alternative life-sustaining treatment option and (4) have no clear record of previous non-compliance.1 As the authors discuss, patient selection must (...) promote the goal of gaining reliable and valid knowledge about the risks and benefits of cardiac xenotransplantation. While the four criteria outlined above certainly promote this goal, we argue it is crucial to add a fifth criterion emphasising the need to include diverse populations, particularly regarding sex, age, ethnicity and socioeconomic background.i In this commentary, we present two arguments for our claim and discuss the impact of neglecting diversity from the first trials on. ### The scientific rationale for including diverse populations First, including diverse populations in the first clinical trials of cardiac xenotransplantation enhances the scientific value of the data by assessing safety and efficacy among various populations. Treatment response can differ among patient (sub)groups as a result of genetic, physiological and socioeconomic factors.2 By including diverse populations from the first trials on, researchers can identify these …. (shrink)

O presente trabalho objetiva discutir as possíveis contribuições da Hermenêutica Filosófica de Gadamer para a pesquisa em Psicologia. Nessa direção, parte da problematização do modo como o conhecimento é produzido na Psicologia, com realce para a insuficiência do horizonte técnico-científico para aproximar-se dos fenômenos humanos. Recorre à Hermenêutica Filosófica de Gadamer na busca do desvelamento de outras possibilidades para tal fazer. Para tanto, parte da compreensão da hermenêutica, não na função de método, mas compreendida como condição humana originária. Aborda inicialmente (...) o reconhecimento da influência de Heidegger para o desenvolvimento da Hermenêutica Filosófica de Gadamer e, em seguida, tece uma possível articulação entre o horizonte aberto por Gadamer e a pesquisa em Psicologia, enfocando as compreensões do filósofo acerca da compreensão, do jogo e do diálogo. Por fim, ressalta as contribuições abertas pela Hermenêutica Filosófica para descortinar “direcionamentos” inspiradores às pesquisas no contexto da Psicologia na busca de compreender os fenômenos existenciais. Tal caminho, na medida em que não busca conclusões teoréticas e explicativas, ao manter-se na direção da pergunta, realça a dimensão compreensiva e hermenêutica originária da existência como radicalmente singular e possibilita a tessitura de diálogos entre Psicologia e Hermenêutica Filosófica. (shrink)

The authors explore whether the need for ethical reflection on the part of designing engineers is dependent on the type of design process. They use Vincenti's distinction between normal and radical design and different levels of design hierarchy. These two dimensions are coupled with the concept of ill-structured problems, which are problems in which possible solutions cannot be ordered on a scale from better to worse. Design problems are better structured at lower hierarchical levels and in cases of normal design. (...) Better structured design problems require less ethical reflection on the part of designing engineers if such situations are characterized by the existence of generally accepted normative frameworks. Engineers could then deal with moral problems within the bounds of such frameworks and without the need for further reflection. On the basis of a number of empirical cases, the authors explore whether these ideas hold water. They discuss four cases ranging from a high-level radical design process to a low-level normal design process. (shrink)

Marsilio de Pádua e Guilherme de Ockham viveram seus últimos anos na corte de Luís da Baviera. Ambos opuseram-se aos papas da época. Entretanto, a posição deles a respeito do primado do sumo pontífice não é idêntica. Enquanto Marsílio a nega quase totalmente, Ockham observa que se trata de um problema de cunho teológico e critica os argumentos de Marsílio.

Marsílio de Pádua, embora não tenha escrito sobre Teoria da História, contudo oferece pistas para analisar-se como a ciência histórica estava formulada no século XN. Pela leitura de seus textos, vê-se como formulou a teoria a partir de fatos candentes de seu tempo.

BackgroundIn gender-affirming medical care (GAMC), ethical challenges in decision-making are ubiquitous. These challenges are becoming more pressing due to exponentially increasing referrals, politico-legal contestation, and divergent normative views regarding decisional roles and models. Little is known, however, about what ethical challenges related to decision-making healthcare professionals (HCPs) themselves face in their daily work in GAMC and how these relate to, for example, the subjective nature of Gender Incongruence (GI), the multidisciplinary character of GAMC and the role HCPs play in assessing (...) GI and eligibility for interventions. Given the relevance and urgency of these questions, we conducted a qualitative study among HCPs providing GAMC to transgender adults in the Netherlands.MethodsIn this qualitative research, we conducted 11 semi-structured interviews between May 2020 and February 2021 with HCPs (six mental health professionals, two HCPs in endocrinology, two in plastic surgery, and one in nursing) working in two distinct GAMC settings. We purposively sampled for professional background and years of experience in GAMC. We analyzed our interview data using thematic analysis. As some respondents were more inclined to speak about what should or ought to be done to arrive at good or right decision-making, we identified both ethical challenges and norms. Furthermore, in our analysis, we differentiated between respondents’ explicit and implicit ethical challenges and norms and ascertained the specific context in which these challenges emerged.ResultsRespondents’ ethical challenges and norms centered on (1) dividing and defining decisional roles and bounds, (2) negotiating decision-making in a (multidisciplinary) team, and (3) navigating various decision-making temporalities. These themes arose in the context of uncertainties regarding (1) GAMC’s guidelines, evidence, and outcomes, as well as (2) the boundaries and assessment of GI.ConclusionsThis interview study provides detailed empirical insight into both the explicit and implicit ethical challenges that HCPs experience and their ethical norms regarding decision-making. It also describes how uncertainties and (implicit) normativities concerning GAMC and GI pre-structure the moral environment in which these challenges and norms manifest. We provide normative reflections and recommendations on handling these ethical challenges in a way that is sensitive to the context in which they arise. (shrink)

We discuss the hypothesis that the debate about the interpretation of the orthodox formalism of quantum mechanics might have been misguided right from the start by a biased metaphysical interpretation of the formalism and its inner mathematical relations. In particular, we focus on the orthodox interpretation of the congruence relation, '=', which relates equivalent classes of different mathematical representations of a vector in Hilbert space, in terms of metaphysical identity. We will argue that this seemingly "common sense" interpretation, at the (...) semantic level, has severe difficulties when considering the syntactic level of the theory. (shrink)

© 2016 Regents of the University of California.The Review summarizes much of particle physics and cosmology. Using data from previous editions, plus 3,062 new measurements from 721 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons and the recently discovered Higgs boson, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as supersymmetric particles, heavy bosons, axions, dark photons, etc. All the particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We also give numerous (...) tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as Higgs Boson Physics, Supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theories, Neutrino Mixing, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Particle Detectors, Colliders, Probability and Statistics. Among the 117 reviews are many that are new or heavily revised, including those on Pentaquarks and Inflation. The complete Review is published online in a journal and on the website of the Particle Data Group. The printed PDG Book contains the Summary Tables and all review articles but no longer includes the detailed tables from the Particle Listings. A Booklet with the Summary Tables and abbreviated versions of some of the review articles is also available. (shrink)

Neste texto, os três professores que presidiram até hoje a Comissão Brasileira de Filosofia Medieval fazem um histórico da mesma, salientando 0s encontros e congressos realizados, as publicações feitas e os projetos para o futuro.

Em boa parte do Artigo 68 do Livro Primeiro de seu Estado e Pranto da Igreja, Álvaro Pais, O. Min. (c. 1270-1349) refuta 5 proposições com implicações políticas atribuídas a Marsílio de Pádua (1280-1342). Neste artigo, analisamos a refutação dessas proposições feitas pelo Menorita galego, comparando-as, de um lado, com os textos, efetivamente escritos pelo Médico paduano, que se encontram em sua obra Defensor da Paz (1324) e, de outro, cotejando-o com uma Epistula ad quosdam cardinales, de autoria do mencionado (...) Frade, escrita pelo menos dois anos antes. Desse estudo resultaram as seguintes conclusões: 1 – Frei Álvaro, sem fazer nenhuma alusão, apoiou-se basicamente na mencionada Epistula. 2 – Sob o aspecto doutrinal, essencialmente, não há diferença entre ambos os textos alvarinos. 3 – Nos dois textos, o Franciscano galego não compulsou o Defensor da Paz, tendo utilizado as teses que os censores dessa obra imputaram ao seu autor; em 1327, quando o Papa João XXII condenou-a como herética. PALAVRAS-CHAVE – Álvaro Pais. Marsílio de Pádua. Plenitude do poder. Filosofia política. ABSTRACT In a large part of the Article 68 of the Book one of his Status et Planctus Ecclesiae, Alvarus Pelagius O. Min. (c. 1270-1349) refutes five propositions, having political implications, attributed to Marsilius Patavinus (1280-1342). In this study, we analyze the refutation of these propositions made by Alvarus, comparing, on the one hand, with the texts, really, written by Marsilius, which are in his book entitled Defensor pacis (1324), and on the other hand, quoting Alvarus’ text with the Epistula ad quosdam cardinales, also written by the mentioned Franciscan friar two years before. From this study, resulted the following conclusions: 1 – Without to do any mention in the Article 68, the principal Alvarus’ source was the referred Epistula. 2 – Considering the two texts written by Fr. Alvarus, according the doctrinal aspect, they are essentially equal. 3 – In both texts we could see that Alvarus not had in his hands the Defensor Pacis, having used the thesis which the censors of this book imputed to Marsilius in 1327, when this book was condemned as heretic by the Pope John XXII. KEY WORDS – Alvarus Pelagius. Marsilius of Padua. Plentitude of power. Political philosophy. (shrink)

Background: Although nurses worldwide are confronted with euthanasia requests from patients, the views of palliative care nurses on their involvement in euthanasia remain unclear.Objectives: In depth exploration of the views of palliative care nurses on their involvement in the entire care process surrounding euthanasia.Design: A qualitative Grounded Theory strategy was used.Setting and participants: In anticipation of new Belgian legislation on euthanasia, we conducted semistructured interviews with 12 nurses working in a palliative care setting in the province of Vlaams-Brabant.Results: Palliative care (...) nurses believed unanimously that they have an important role in the process of caring for a patient who requests euthanasia, a role that is not limited to assisting the physician when he is administering life terminating drugs. Nurses’ involvement starts when the patient requests euthanasia and ends with supporting the patient’s relatives and healthcare colleagues after the potential life terminating act. Nurses stressed the importance of having an open mind and of using palliative techniques, also offering a contextual understanding of the patient’s request in the decision making process. Concerning the actual act of performing euthanasia, palliative care nurses saw their role primarily as assisting the patient, the patient’s family, and the physician by being present, even if they could not reconcile themselves with actually performing euthanasia.Conclusions: Based on their professional nursing expertise and unique relationship with the patient, nurses participating as full members of the interdisciplinary expert team are in a key position to provide valuable care to patients requesting euthanasia. (shrink)

Santo Antônio de Lisboa, na qualidade de pregador, deixou um legado de sermões, nos quais encontra-se toda uma visão de vida cristã. A obra não pode ser qualificada como pertencente a um filósofo, tal como se deu este nome a outros seus contemporâneos, mas possui denso conteúdo teórico, como, por exemplo, no que se refere à dimensão ética do conceito de justiça.

O primeiro capítulo versa a respeito do objetivo do que há de ser tratado. O segundo mostra de que modo o Império Romano permaneceu sem alteração durante trezentos e cinqüenta e quatro anos e cinco meses, governado por trinta e três imperadores. O terceiro aborda porque os Orientais, a saber, os Persas, os Árabes, os Caldeus e outras nações limítrofes se subtraíram do domínio do Império Romano. O quarto capítulo discorre sobre quais foram os principais povos que se rebelaram por (...) causa das mencionadas circunstâncias. O quinto trata do princípio e da àisposição relativa à transferência do Império dos Gregos para os Francos. O sexto aborda de que modo Pepino, no tempo de Zacarias, papa romano, foi elevado de mordomo a rei dos Francos. O sétimo capítulo discorre de que maneira Pepino, rei dos Francos, por solicitação da Igreja Romana, veio à Itália lutar contra Astolfo, rei dos Lombardos, o venceu e restituiu à Igreja Romana seus bens temporais. O oitavo trata do modo como, no tempo do papa Adriano, Carlos Magno foi estabelecido patrício da cidade, e como lhe foi concedido o controle sobre a Sé Apostólica. O nono mostra de que maneira foi efetuada a translação do Império Romano dos Gregos para os Francos. O décimo considera como o Império foi transferido dos Francos ou Gauleses para os Germânicos. O décimo primeiro discorre acerca do modo como foram estabelecidos os eleitores do Império Germânico. O décimo segundo capítulo recapitula o que foi anteriormente abordado. (shrink)

The phenomenon of cheating in higher education is of overwhelming importance in that the students engaging in these acts are unlikely to have the skills necessary for their future professional life. Despite its relevance, the empirical evaluation of cheating in universities has been almost exclusively focused on the US context. Little is known about cheating at the European level, let alone in Portugal. Even less is explored at the regional level. In this paper we present evidence on the perception of (...) cheating by Portuguese undergraduate students of economics/business degrees. We undertake a large-scale survey, involving 2675 students from all Portuguese mainland public universities. We found that copying-favourable environments are associated with a higher propensity to cheat. Moreover, in universities where ‘codes of honour’ exist, this propensity tends to be lower. Finally, the propensity to copy seems to be highly influenced by the cultural systems and socially-related factors of different regions. (shrink)