Background: Medical education literature suggests that ethics education should be learner-centered and problem-based rather than theory-based. Team-based learning is an appropriate method for this suggestion. However, its effectiveness was not investigated enough in medical ethics education. Research question: Is team-based learning effective in medical ethics education in terms of knowledge retention, in-class learner engagement, and learner reactions? Research design: This was a prospective controlled follow-up study. We changed lecture with team-based learning method to teach four topics in a 2-week medical (...) ethics clerkship, while the remaining topics were taught by lectures. For comparison, we formed team-based learning and lecture groups, in which the students and instructor are the same, but the topics and teaching methodologies are different. We determined in-class learner engagement by direct observation and student satisfaction by feedback forms. Student success for team-based learning and lecture topics in the end-of-clerkship exam and two retention tests performed 1 year and 2 years later were compared. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval for the study was granted by Akdeniz University Board of Ethics on Noninvasive Clinical Human Studies Ethics committee. Findings: Short-term knowledge retention did not differ; however, team-based learning was found superior to lecture at long-term retention tests. Student satisfaction was high with team-based learning and in-class engagement was better in team-based learning sessions. Discussion: Our results on learner engagement and satisfaction with team-based learning were similar to those of previous reports. However, knowledge retention results in our study were contrary to literature. The reason might be the fact that students prepared for the end-of-clerkship pass/fail exam (short term) regardless of the teaching method. But, at long-term retention tests, they did not prepare for the exam and answered the questions just using the knowledge retained in their memories. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that team-based learning is a better alternative to lecture to teach ethics in medical education. (shrink)

The conference of Salat Levente, "The Challenge of Diversity Answers and Dilemmas".

Altered states of consciousness (ASC), especially hallucinatory ones, are philosophically and scientifically interesting modes of operation of the mind–brain complex. However, classical definitions of ASC seem to capture only a few common characteristics of traditionally regarded phenomena, thus lacking exact classification criteria for assessing altered and baseline states. The current situation leads to a priority problem between phenomena-based definitions and definition-based phenomena selection. In order to solve the problem, this paper introduces a self-mapping procedure that is based on a three-part (...) analysis on certain aspects of hallucinatory altered consciousness. Starting with commonalities found in current definitions of ASC, issues with self-evaluation, sources of data, and baseline comparison are analyzed first. Next, the concept of alterations is examined with respect to temporal dynamics, change mechanisms, and mental subsystems. Finally, hallucinatory phenomena are discussed regarding various definitions, the relationship between “external” and “internal,” and the “trueness” issue of hallucinations. Conclusive to the analysis above, a technically based working definition of ASC and a stepwise operationalization procedure are also proposed. (shrink)

In political economy, the seminal contribution of the Baron–Ferejohn bargaining model constitutes an important milestone for the study of legislative policy making. In this paper, we analyze a particular equilibrium characteristic of this model, equilibrium uniqueness. The Baron–Ferejohn model yields a class of payoff-unique stationary subgame perfect equilibria in which players’ equilibrium strategies are not uniquely determined. We first provide a formal proof of the multiplicity of equilibrium strategies. This also enables us to establish some important properties of SSPE. We (...) then introduce veto players into the original Baron–Ferejohn model. We state the conditions under which the new model has a unique SSPE not only in terms of payoffs but also in terms of players’ equilibrium strategies. (shrink)

This study looks at the ways how the Reformed Church encountered the new modern mission movement in Transylvania with the arrival of Dr. Béla Kenessey and Dr. István Kecskeméthy to the newly established Reformed Theological Seminary at Cluj in 1895. By the time being, some theologians expressed grave concerns about the dangers of theological liberalism to the Confessions. The paper argues that these young professors, touched by the mission movement and revival also sought to encompass those who had an evangelistic (...) fervor to reach unbelievers and to serve those people in their personal and social needs. As a result, Christian Covenant was established in 1896, with official recognition in 1903 as the Christian Endeavor. It is hoped to unfold the major shifts regarding the attitudes to mission in the Reformed Church of Hungary and throw lights on ambiguous beginnings of mission movements. (shrink)

Works concerning the history of the Hungarian Reform had been almost absent until the second half of the seventeenth century. The relatively peaceful process of the Hungarian Reform, the lack of armed conflicts, and the tragic memory of the battle of Mohács made the appearance of self-justifying religious narratives in Hungarian historiography seem unnecessary. On the other hand, the changes caused by the Tridentine Catholic renewal movement and the deterioration of the religious and political condition of the Protestant confession culminated (...) in punishing actions. This brought the polemical and self-justifying narratives to the forefront in both literature and historiography. First signs of interest regarding the history of Protestantism appeared on the Catholic side, but they emerged under the pressure of the circumstances. On the other hand, a growing foreign interest gradually appeared on the Protestant side, making way to historiographical works. An example of such an opus is the Historia Ecclesiae Reformatae in Hungaria et Transilvania (1706) by Pál Debreceni Ember. The author presents the history of the Reformed Church in Hungary. He also tries to present the origins of Hungarian Christianity, projecting it onto the Apostolic Period. Finally, he turns to the early Christian writers such as Jerome to prove his theory. The paper aims to present this chapter in Jerome’s reception and its religious background. (shrink)

We are surrounded by threats of environmental harm whose actual dangers to public health are scientifically unverified. It is widely presumed that under conditions of uncertainty, when it is not possible to foresee the outcomes of our actions, or to calculate the probability they will actually cause harm, we cannot be held culpable for the risks and harms our actions impose on others. It is commonly presumed, that is, that exposing others to what this paper terms ‘uncertain threats’ is permissible, (...) because conventional theories of moral responsibility understand uncertainty as implying that the effects of our actions are out of our control and, therefore, beyond our fault. In contrast, in rejecting arguments from moral luck, this paper denies that authors of uncertain threats of environmental harm are excusably ignorant, and denies that prevailing uncertainty diminishes their moral obligations or attenuates their culpability. For under conditions of uncertainty, culpability turns on the lack of due regard for others as moral equals – a consideration that neither luck nor ignorance excuses. To expose others to unconsented-to uncertain threats of harm without exercising due care to prevent possible injury is to wrongfully gamble with their welfare and their capacity for self-authorship. (shrink)

1980 sonrası dönemde evrimci iktisat yükselişe geçmiş ve ana akım iktisadı tek başına değiştirme gücü vurgulanmıştır. Fakat evrimci iktisadın ne olduğuna yönelik disiplin içinde bir anlaşmazlık ve karışıklık mevcuttur. Bu karışıklığa bağlı olarak evrimci iktisat disiplinde altı farklı yaklaşımla ifade edilmektedir. Bu çalışma ise Veblen’e atıfla gelişen ve 1980’lerden günümüze Hodgson tarafından güçlü bir şekilde sürdürülen evrimci-kurumsal iktisatla ilgilidir. Hodgson, iktisadın etkin bir sosyal bilim olabilmesi için Veblen’in düşüncelerini ve Veblen’le bağlantılı Darwinizmi benimsemesi gerektiğini vurgulamaktadır. Bu öneri Veblen’in post-Darwinist iktisat (...) önerisini genelleştirilmiş Darwinizm olarak sunmaktadır. Hodgson’ın Veblen’e yaslanarak geliştirdiği genelleştirişmiş Darwinizm önerisi, fizik özelinde başlayan iktisattaki bitmeyen doğa bilimi arayışının heterodoks iktisatta da güçlü bir şekilde karşılık bulduğunu göstermektedir. Burada yapılan veya yapılmak istenen doğacılık temelinde bir sosyal teori inşasıdır. 19. yüzyıl düşünsel kodlarına bir dönüş çağrısıdır. Özelde evrimci düşünce ve genelde de doğacılık düşüncesi 19. yüzyıl düşünsel koşullarına gömülüdür. Dolayısıyla günümüzde evrimci iktisadın yükselişi, bir taraftan 19. yüzyıldakine benzer şekilde hem doğa biliminde hem de sosyal bilim de tek geçerli bilim metodolojisi ve hatta metodoloji olmanın ötesinde ontoloji teklifini içerirken diğer taraftan Batı düşüncesinin doğalcılık ve bilimcilik şeklinde tekrar örgütlendiğini göstermektedir. (shrink)

The strong focus seen on »culture«, as it describes itself or is described, has lead to critical reflection on the term's ubiquitous use. In the current article various forms of »culturalisation« are traced and put in the context of a wider diagnosis of time, based on the example of the treatment of Muslim immigrants. Thereby, both the attribution of a collective identity and governmental strategies for the construction of an accountable Muslim community are examined. On the other hand, the attribution (...) of a collective identity can be included in a modern theoretical programme that perceives the integration of a minority to be a cultural task. Finally, culturalisation arises, being explicitly used as a strategic argument in the interpretation of conflict insofar as it points out the »societal« causes of problem as an alternative to putting the emphasis on cultural origin. (shrink)

Sadece tarihi ilgilendiriyor gibi görünen felsefenin başlangıcı problemi, şüphesiz tarihsel bir meseledir, ama aynı zamanda felsefenin kendisine de ait bir konudur, çünkü bu probleme ilişkin değerlendirmeler zorunlu olarak felsefenin doğasını açığa vurmaktadır. Felsefeyi Miletli Thales’in başlattığına ve ilk filozof olduğuna dair yerleşik bir gelenek söz konusudur; bununla birlikte, felsefe kendine özgü belirlenimler kazanıp kendini belirlemesini sağlayan belli bir gelişme sürecinin ürünüdür ve bu bakımdan birçok filozofun emeğine gerek duymuştur. Felsefe tarihinin ilk döneminde Grek filozoflar yeni başlangıçlar yapmışlar ve böylelikle felsefenin (...) yeni yönlerinin açığa çıkmasına hizmet etmişlerdir. Bu çalışmada, felsefenin sadece bir kurucusu değil kurucuları olduğunu vurgulamak üzere Thales’ten Aristoteles’e dek Grek filozofların felsefenin oluşumuna sağladıkları katkı irdelenecektir. (shrink)

Arguably, the religious use of hallucinogenic drugs stems from a human search of metaphysical insight rather than from a direct need for cognitive, emotional, social, physical, or sexual improvement. Therefore, the sacramental and spiritual intake of hallucinogenic drugs goes so far beyond other biopsychosocial functions that it deserves its own category in the drug instrumentalization list.

The author discusses and critically questions the historical development of the nation-state – the „success story” of the last three hundred years. Its fundamental ideas are embraced both by the common mentality regarding the role of the state and the theory of international relations, which recognizes the nation-states as legitimate actors on the stage of international politics. The main challenges toward this model are, in the author’s view, the process of globalization and the reality of diversity (ethnic and linguistic). Even (...) if the nation-state successfully manages to adapt to globalization, in many cases it will still sacrifice the idea of diversity, through its various processes of homogenization. In the end, the author discusses the relation between democracy and the nation-state, and its influences in managing inner diversity. (shrink)

New applications in medicine, science and technology are changing our lives. The delicate border between clinical trials and conventional diagnostic / treatment methods is becoming more evident. At this border new questions arise that need both rational and humanistic answers and that affect humankind‘s understanding of self: What are our responsibilities towards human subjects in clinical trials? What are our responsibilities towards patients and decisionally impaired psychiatry patients? What are rules about the routine techniques on decisionally incompetent psychiatry patients? What (...) are the economic parameters‘ affecting decisions?Many current research projects are concerned with the ethical problems of clinical trials of newly used medication, clinical trials of newly used measurement techniques, clinical trials proposed as conventional treatment methods, new measuring methods or conventional measuring methods on irrelevant patient groups; all being concerned with clinical trials of EEG and neuroscience. In 2009, the Ministry of Health of Turkey implemented new legislation on ―clinical trials and newly established independent ethics committees ‖. These independent and multidisiplinary IRBs analyze research projects and make recommendations about them. What should be the rationale about psychiatric patients in Turkey in a global setting? (shrink)

Many Turkish people migrated to Germany between 1955 and 1975. This study was carried out in Göttingen, Germany. Fifty Turkish people (described as patients) were asked about the care they had received from German health care personnel, and 50 German nurses and 50 German physiotherapists were questioned about care they had given to Turkish patients. Significant findings were the needs of the Turkish patients for good communication, physical contact and understanding of their culture-based expressions of illness. The German nurses and (...) physiotherapists expressed the need for language barriers to be minimized and for education in the specific culture of Turkish patients. Our findings are discussed from an ethical viewpoint. The International Council of Nurses’ code of ethics is used to guide the ethical debate about the findings within the context of transcultural and multicultural care. Suggestions for better transcultural health care paradigms are made for relating to patients from different cultures when patients and care providers have little understanding of each other’s needs and expectations. (shrink)

A petition signed by Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals denouncing the attacks in South East of Turkey and demanding a return to peace opens up to question how this intellectual movement can be evaluated as a political action and/or a form of resistance. Here I will try to analyze it from two different aspects: 1) the role of intellectuals leading social change; 2) the form of this movement. The first aspect is associated with the relation of theory to praxis that matters (...) most. The questions are: Is the role of intellectuals in society only educative or pedagogical? Or can they also play the role of directors, organizers, and illuminators of larger groups? Regarding the second aspect, we should ask whether or not the movement led by this petition is spontaneous or organizational, which addresses us to the form of resistance. For this purpose, firstly, I will use Antonio Gramsci's theory of intellectuals. In the Prison Notebooks, Gramsci considers the problem not only as a cultural problem but as a problem directly linked to the concept of hegemony, praxis, and ideology. I will concentrate on some paragraphs in his fourth, twelfth, and eleventh Notebooks. Secondly, I will try to analyze this movement through Luxemburg’s concept of spontaneity and her understanding of consciousness especially by use of Mass Strike and Stagnation and Progress of Marxism. (shrink)

In contrast to the assumptions of standard economic theory, recent experimental evidence shows that the income of peers has a systematic impact on observed degrees of risk aversion. This paper reports the findings of two experiments examining the impact of income inequality on risk preferences and whether the knowledge of inequality mediates the decisions. In Experiment 1, participants who were recruited for a real-effort task were paid either a low wage or a high wage. Half of the participants were aware (...) of the income inequality, while the other half were not. After completing their task, they were invited to invest a part of their salary in a risky asset. In Experiment 2, we replicated the same experiment in the laboratory with windfall endowments to test the consistency of results in the laboratory settings. The results of the first experiment show that high-wage subjects take higher risks than low-wage participants do if they are aware of the inequality in wages. This finding supports the idea that income comparisons shape risky decisions. In Experiment 2, on the other hand, we did not observe any significant differences in decisions. This may suggest that the income comparison is sensitive to house-money effect. (shrink)

Cinsiyet gelişim bozukluklarını/CGB (hermafroditizm/interseksüalite/hünsâlık) İslamî biyoetiğe göre inceleyen bu makale, merkeze İslam hukukunu konumlandırarak CGB’li bireyler için dü-zenlenen dinî normların ardında yatan etik değerleri yansıtmaktadır. Makale, İslam hukukunda erken dönemlerden itibaren cinsiyet gelişim bozukluklarıyla ilgili normlar düzenlenirken etik değerlerin de dikkate alındığını iddia eder. Bu bağlamda makalenin kategorizasyonunda tarihsel ayrım tercih edilerek klasik dönemlerden çağdaş dönemlere İslam hukukçularının cinsiyet gelişim bozuklukları konusunda dikkate aldıkları etik değerler vurgulanmıştır. Sonuç olarak klasik İslam hukukunda cinsiyet gelişim bozukluklarına etik yaklaşımın daha çok insan onurunun (...) gözetilmesi ve mahremiyetin korunması amacıyla olası psikolojik komplikasyonların engellenmesi bağlamında şekillendiği saptanmıştır. Zamanla yaşanan tıbbî gelişmeler, CGB’li bireylerin bedenlerinden karşı cinse ait dokuları uzaklaştırma imkanı tanıyınca İslamî etik değerlerde bir kırılma yaşanmıştır. Klasik dönemlerde, olası psikolojik komplikasyonların engellenmesi şeklinde gelişen etik yaklaşım, cinsiyet düzeltme operasyonlarının hükmü, helal olması halinde delilleri, dinî meşruiyet parametreleri ve aydınlatılmış onam doktrini gibi daha çok CGB için tıbbî bakım standartları geliştirmeye evrilmiştir. (shrink)