Festschrift for Maḍiniyavela Śrī Mēdhaṅkara, Sri Lankan Buddhist monk; contributed articles chiefly on economic and ethical aspects of Buddhism.

Treatise on the monistic (Advaita) Hindu Vedanta philosophy.

This article deals with the prospect of genetically enhancing intelligence. We identify and contrast social attitudes (disapproval) to the use of future genetic technology with social attitudes (approval) for environmental methods of enhancing intelligence. Using various forms of the argument that the means by which enhancement is achieved has moral significance, we look for differences that could justify the different attitudes. We find that the different attitudes cannot be ethically justified. We predict that the lack of ethical justification for distinguishing (...) between means of enhancement is likely to result in the eventual acceptance of genetic enhancement of intelligence. (shrink)

Background: Attention to ethical leadership in nursing has diminished over the past several decades. Objectives: The aim of our study was to investigate how frontline nurses and formal nurse leaders envision ethical nursing leadership. Research design: Meta-ethnography was used to guide our analysis and synthesis of four studies that explored the notion of ethical nursing leadership. Participants and research context: These four original studies were conducted from 1999-2008 in Canada with 601 participants. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval from the original studies (...) covered future analysis. Findings: Using the analytic strategy of lines-of-argument, we found that 1) ethical nursing leadership must be responsive to practitioners and to the contextual system in which they and formal nurse leaders work, and 2) ethical nursing leadership requires receiving and providing support to increase the capacity to practice and discuss ethics in the day-to-day. Discussion and conclusion: Formal nurse leaders play a critical, yet often neglected role, in providing ethical leadership and supporting ethical nursing practice at the point of patient care. (shrink)

The present article focuses on the notion of intertextuality as put into practice on the Russian stage by the Podval generation (late 1980s). The author documents the aesthetic complexity of the stage imagery employed by this generation in an analysis of performances staged by the most important dramatist and theatre maker of Russian alternative theatre, Klim (born 1952 in Ukraine).

The author clarifies the attitudes of Herzen as a Westernizer of a special kind, a consistent liberal and democrat, and a defender of the historical role of the peasant commune.

The complex and dynamic nature of systems pose a particular challenge to researchers and require the use of a research methodology designed to deal with such systems. The properties of fit, relevance, understandability, generality, control, workability, generalizability, and modifiability make Glaserian grounded theory and grounded action particularly well suited for studying systems. These methods are innovative, systemic, and sophisticated enough to reveal the underlying complexities of systems and plan actions that address their complex, dynamic nature while remaining grounded in what (...) is occurring within the systems as they change over time. (shrink)

Complete works of Śaṅkarācārya, Hindu philosopher; with commentary and Bengali translation.

The term “principle of sufficient reason” (PSR) was coined by Leibniz, and he is often regarded as its paradigmatic proponent. But as Leibniz himself often insisted, he was by no means the first philosopher to appeal to the idea that everything must have a reason. Histories of the principle attribute versions of it to various ancient authors. A few of these studies include—or at least do not exclude—medieval philosophers; one finds the PSR in Abelard, another finds it in Aquinas. And (...) while Leibniz retains pride of place in these histories, Spinoza is sometimes said to precede him “in appreciating the importance of the Principle and placing it at the center of his philosophical system.” In this paper, the author argues that the same should be said of the Islamic philosopher Avicenna. Writing 600 years before his early modern counterparts, Avicenna routinely and consistently appeals to the PSR in generating his metaphysical system. The paper aims first to establish that Avicenna deserves a position of prominence in histories of the PSR, and then to consider how he addresses certain challenges to the PSR, especially the threat posed by necessitarianism. (shrink)

V. 1, Catuḥsūtryantapūrṇānandīyavyākhyāsaṃhitayā Śrīgovindānandapraṇītayā Ratnaprabhayā samanvitam; v. 2, Śrīgovindānandapraṇītayā Ratnaprabhayā samanvitam.

Collection of published and unpublished 48 works of Śaṅkarācārya.

The use of the Internet in conducting psychological research has become increasingly common over the past few decades, as Internet access has become more widespread. Although web-based work has a number of benefits, including lower cost, easy access to large samples, and strict standardization of administration, the limitations must also be considered. Among these limitations are the ethics concerns related to conducting psychological research online. These concerns include limitations in maintaining confidentiality, conducting thorough informed consent, and conducting valid assessment. Particular (...) focus is given to the limitations inherent in conducting a fully automated online study. All of these limitations are discussed in detail through both a review of existing literature and the brief review of a recent study. The recent study identified areas in which participants struggled with completing a fully automated online task. This article discusses the ethics implications of Internet research as well as offering suggestions for researchers who intend to conduct web-based research, and thoughts on future directions as psychology moves forward in web-based research and assessment. (shrink)

Introduction The provision of abortion services in the Republic of Ireland is legally restricted. Recent legislation that has been implemented allows for abortion if there is a real and substantial risk to the woman's life, but in general Irish women must travel abroad for abortion services. The aims of this study were to investigate the clinical experiences of Irish obstetric non-consultant hospital doctors that work in this environment and to assess their attitudes towards termination of pregnancy. Methods We conducted an (...) online cross-sectional descriptive survey of 184 Irish obstetric NCHDs. Quantitate and qualitative analysis was performed. Results There was a 28% response rate. 88% of respondents thought that ToP should be permitted for fatal fetal abnormality if the parents choose, 96% if the woman's health is severely affected and 86% in cases of rape and incest. Over 90% of respondents believed a woman's health suffers because of the need to travel abroad to undergo a ToP. Physical, psychological and social reasons were explored. The research also highlights that obstetric trainees are actively involved in the provision of preabortion and postabortion care. Conclusions The clinical experiences and opinions of the respondents suggest that the current legal availability of abortion in Ireland is insufficient to guide best clinical practice and does not represent the views of those that provide obstetric care. (shrink)

After acquiring knowledge of the neuroscience of learning, memory, stress and emotions, teachers incorporate more cognitive engagement and student-centered practices into their lessons. However, the role understanding neuroscience plays in teachers own affective and motivational competencies has not yet been investigated. The goal of this study was to investigate how learning neuroscience effected teachers’ self-efficacy, beliefs in their ability to teach effectively, self-responsibility and other components of teacher motivation. A pilot training-of-trainers program was designed and delivered in Liberia combining basic (...) neuroscience with information on social, emotional, behavioral and mental health issues faced by students. Tier I of the professional development was a 2 weeks workshop led by a visiting neuroscientist. A subset of the 24 Tier I secondary science teachers formed a Leadership Team who adapted the content to the Liberian context and subsequently led additional workshops and follow-up sessions for the Tier II secondary science teachers. Science teachers in both tiers completed the affective-motivational scales from the internationally vetted, multiscale Innovative Teaching for Effective Learning Teacher Knowledge Survey from the OECD. Tier II teachers completed the survey in a pre-post-delayed post design. Tier I teachers completed the survey after the workshop with their attitudes at that time and separately with retrospective projections of their pre-workshop attitudes. Ten of the 92 Tier II teachers participated in structured interviews at follow-up. Statistical analysis of survey data demonstrated improved teacher self-efficacy, self-responsibility for student outcomes, and motivation to teach. Qualitatively, teachers expressed more confidence in their ability to motivate students, engage them through active learning, and manage the class through positive rather than negative reinforcement. Teachers’ own self-regulation improved as they made efforts to build supporting relationships with students. Together, these results demonstrated that (i) teacher affective-motivational attitudes can be altered with professional development, (ii) basic neuroscience, as knowledge of how students learn, can improve teacher competency, and (iii) a training-of-trainers model can be effective in a low and middle income country for disseminating neuroscience knowledge, increasing teachers’ knowledge of students’ social and emotional needs, and promoting educational improvement. (shrink)

This article confronts the challenges and opportunities presented by medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) representing families impacted by the family regulation system. Based on the authors’ experience developing a collaboration between a medical-legal partnership, interdisciplinary law school clinic and nurse home visiting program focused on clients impacted by the family regulation system, the article challenges traditional conceptions of the MLP model and proposes an expanded vision for MLPs to address systemic injustice and improve outcomes for families.

The concept of efficient causation originates with Aristotle, who states that the types of cause include ‘the primary source of the change or rest’. For Medieval Aristotelians, the scope of efficient causality includes creative acts. The Islamic philosopher Avicenna is an important contributor to this conceptual change. In his Metaphysics, Avicenna defines the efficient cause or agent as that which gives being to something distinct from itself. As previous studies of Avicenna's ‘metaphysical’ conception of the efficient cause attest, it takes (...) God as a model agent. This essay considers whether Avicenna's ‘metaphysical’ conception of the efficient cause applies to natural agents. It ultimately argues that Avicenna offers a unified view of the efficient cause, which includes both divine and natural agents. On this view, an efficient cause gives being to another and is simultaneous with its effect. While Avicenna's defence of this view is an important chapter in the history of the concept of the efficient cause, it is also of interest in its own right. By appeal to a version of the principle of sufficient reason, it challenges a widespread view that causes are temporally prior to their effects. (shrink)

Classical verse work on the Advaita philosophy and meditation.

In At the Roots of Causality, Francesco Omar Zamboni examines several doctrines related to Avicenna’s writings on existence, contingency, and causality, which generated debate in the two hundred ye...

Classical work on Jain philosophy; includes a Hindi supercommentary by Jayasundaravijaya.

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary with supercommentary on Catuḥsūtra of Brahmasūtra.

Contributed articles on Śaṅkarācārya, Hindu philosophy, and religious life.

Turkey has a complex character, which has differences from the Western world or Eastern Asia as well as common points. Even after more than a century of efforts to modernise and integrate with the West, Turkish society has values that are different from those of the West, as well as having Western values. It is worth questioning whether ordinary Turkish people show an individualistic character. The principle of respect for individual autonomy arises from a perception of oneself as an individual, (...) and the person’s situation may affect the applicability of the principle. Patients who perceive themselves to be members of a community rather than free persons and who prefer to participate in the common decisions of the community and to consider the common interest and the common value system of the community concerning problems of their life rather than to decide as independent, rational individuals may not be competent to make an autonomous choice. Expectations that such patients will behave as autonomous individuals may be unjustified. The family, rather than the patient, may take a primary role in decisions. A flexible system considering cultural differences in the concept of autonomy may be more feasible than a system following strict universal norms. (shrink)

Sanskrit text with commentary on Jaina logic.

On Jaina logic; Sanskrit text and Gujarati explanation.

Classical Sanskrit text with commentaries on Jaina philosophy and doctrines.

The perspectives of Ukraine which are outlined by the notion of the “Ukrainian project”, and determined by potential of development of civil society, as congruent with perspectives of steady international development for the sake of collaboration and peace, are examined in the article. Determination of such basic analytical notions as discursive practices of “prevailing” and “understanding” is offered with this purpose. Discourse is considered as reason for choice and giving the advantage to one meaning over the others that is set (...) in the certain modes of signification. Discourse of understanding – is the process of creation of such knowledge, the nominative function of which stops being the function of power, and becomes the instrument of the renewed perception and understanding at new level of communicative space. As discursive reality is reflected not only on the methods of thinking, but also on the practical behaviour of people, we have warrants to speak about its ethical conditionality and the corresponding discursive‐ethical practices of “freedom and authenticity”, “paternalism and clientism” and “nihilism and anarchy”. Last two discursive-ethical practices are examined as obstacles on the way to realization of the “Ukrainian project” in relation to itsdemocratic development in direction to the civilization values common with the European Union. (shrink)

There is increasing emphasis on the need for collaboration between practice and academic leaders in health care research. However, many problems can arise owing to differences between academic and clinical goals and timelines. In order for research to move forward it is important to name and address these issues early in a project. In this article we use an example of a participatory action research study of ethical practice in nursing to highlight some of the issues that are not frequently (...) discussed and we identify the impact of things not-named. Further, we offer our insights to others who wish to be partners in research between academic and practice settings. These findings have wide implications for ameliorating misunderstandings that may develop between nurse leaders in light of collaborative research, as well as for participatory action research. (shrink)