Emil Kraepelin's nosology has been reinvented, for better or worse. In the United States, the rise of the neo-Kraepelinian nosology of DSM-III resuscitated Kraepelin's work but also differed from many of his ideas, especially his overtly biological ontology. This neo-Kraepelinian system has led to concerns regarding overdiagnosis of psychiatric syndromes (.

The dissertation abstract and reflection commentary present the work of Dr. Maryam Kouchaki. The abstract provides an overview of research examining the role of professional identities on ethical behavior. Across a number of studies, this work demonstrates that professionalism, either measured or manipulated, can increase individuals’ unethical behaviors. This dissertation extends prior work on professionalism by examining its psychology and shedding new light on importance of its meanings in driving individuals’ behaviors. Below, the author discusses the reasons for why (...) professionals may engage in unethical behaviors. Finally, the reflection commentary provides insights about the author’s journey as a PhD student. (shrink)

The status quo: dogmatism, the biopsychosocial model, and alternatives -- What there is: of mind and brain -- How we know: understanding the mind -- What is scientific method? -- Reading Karl Jaspers's General Psychopathology -- What is scientific method in psychiatry? -- Darwin's dangerous method: the essentialist fallacy -- What we value: the ethics of psychiatry -- Desire and self: Hellenistic and Islamic approaches -- On the nature of mental illness: disease or myth? -- Order out of chaos: from (...) insanity to DSM-III to a pluralistic nosology -- A theory of DSM-IV: ideal types -- Dimensions versus categories -- The perils of belief: psychosis -- The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: depression -- Life's rollercoaster: mania -- Being self-aware: insight -- Calvinism or hedonism? -- Truth and statistics: problems of empirical psychiatry -- A climate of opinion: what remains of psychoanalysis -- Being there: existential psychotherapy -- Beyond eclecticism: teaching psychotherapy in the twenty-first century -- Bridging the biology/psychology dichotomy: the hopes of integrationism -- Why it is hard to be pluralist. (shrink)

Background Moral distress has negative effects on physical and mental health. However, there is little information about nurses’ coping strategies reducing moral distress. Aim The purpose of this study was to investigate the coping strategies of intensive care unit nurses reducing moral distress in Iran. Study design This is a qualitative study with a content analysis approach. Participants and research context The research sample consisted of nurses working in intensive care units of teaching hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical (...) Sciences. Samples were selected among eligible nurses by purposive sampling. Data were obtained through 17 in-depth, individual, and semi-structured interviews with 17 nurses. Graneheim and Lundman’s (2004) 6-step content analysis method was used to analyze the data. Data management was also performed by MAXQDA software version 20. The COREQ checklist was used to report the study. Ethical considerations This project was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All ethical guidelines in research were followed. Finding The data analysis resulted in the formation of two main categories of desirable coping strategies (with two subcategories of compensation and rejuvenation) and less desirable coping strategies (with three subclasses of indifference over time, escape and concealment). Discussion The intensive care unit nurses in dealing with ethical problems first try to solve the problem through discussion, but when they fail to resolve it peacefully, they resort to several coping strategies. Factors, such as increasing experience, lack of support from hospital managers and officials, poor communication between colleagues, the need to maintain hierarchy, fear of reprimand, and a sense of powerlessness, changed the nurses’ preferred strategies. It is important for managers to provide a blame/punishment-free atmosphere for expression of ethical experiences; a supportive atmosphere in which staff can engage in ethical discussions without fear of punishment. They should also provide opportunities for rest, rejuvenation, and adequate training for their employees. (shrink)

Abstractabstract:William Osler (1849–1919) is often considered the most influential physician in the emergence of science-based medicine. However, his approach to clinical medicine tends to be misunderstood, and its relevance to psychiatry has not been explored systematically. Osler's approach to the patient had four components: biological reductionism about disease, a scientific approach to clinical diagnosis, therapeutic conservatism, and a humanistic approach to the person. These concepts conflict with the pragmatic, eclectic, anti-reductionistic assumptions of contemporary psychiatry, as codified in its interpretation of (...) a "biopsychosocial" model. This model leads to unscientific practice, with excessive use of medications given for symptoms, and inattention to identifying and treating diseases. This article suggests that implementing Osler's philosophy of medicine in psychiatry would greatly benefit the latter. It would inaugurate a new "biohumanistic" approach to psychiatry. (shrink)

The technological literacy of students has recently become one of the primary goals of education in countries such as the USA, England, New Zealand, Australia, and so forth. However the question here is whether these educations - their long-term policy documents as well as the standards they provide in particular - address sufficient learning about the nature of technology. This seems to be an important concern that through taking advantage of the philosophy of technology (the arena which affords a bountiful (...) ground of various reflections on the nature of technology) is intended to be discussed throughout this study. In the first place, the paper presents a relevant framework based upon Mitcham's (1994) four-aspect account of technology, i.e., technology as objects, knowledge, activities, and volition. Then it categorizes the main relevant concepts and concerns put forward by many other philosophers of technology into this framework; this will yield a concrete model (tool) to analyze any intended standard such as the above mentioned ones. Afterwards, to show how this model works, the well-known case of the USA - Standards for Technological Literacy (ITEA, 2007) - will be used as an example for inspection; the results will disclose the points where the current American case needs to be modified. (shrink)

New Zealand’s curriculum, in terms of its approach to technological literacy, attempts to deliver a sound, philosophy-­based understanding of the nature of technology. The curriculum’s main authors claim that it conforms well to Mitcham’s (2014) categorization of different aspects of technology’s nature. Nevertheless, taking advantage of the existing literature of the philosophy of technology, this paper will reveal that the intended urriculum, though an admirable approach, still has a number of points needing improvement, and there are also certain gaps to (...) be bridged in the claimed conformity. This analysis primarily makes use of the method initiated by Nia and De Vries (2016a), based upon Mitcham’s suggested framework and other philosophers’ opinions as to the nature and various features of technology. (shrink)

BackgroundSexual harassment in the workplace has many negative consequences for nurses and the delivery of patient care. Appropriate policies and strategies can help to create a safe work environment for nurses. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate Iranian nurses’ strategies for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.Materials and methodsThis qualitative descriptive-explorative study used conventional content analysis to investigate how Iranian nurses cope with sexual harassment. Participants were selected using a purposeful sampling method. Data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews (...) from September 2020 to April 2021. In order to obtain rich information, maximum variation was considered. The Guba and Lincoln criteria were used to increase the study’s trustworthiness, while the Graneheim and Lundman approach was used to analyze the content.ResultsOne hundred and twelve codes, one main category, four categories, and 12 subcategories were extracted. The main category, strategies to prevent sexual harassment among nurses in the workplace, includes four categories: behavioral response, working conditions adjustment, informing, and performance of hospital security guards. The most common strategy used by nurses was behavioral response.ConclusionBasic measures are required to prevent sexual misconduct against nurses, which is an obvious part of the professional organizational culture. Managers and policymakers should develop workplace ethics, legal accountability, and safety. They should also develop training programs and prevention strategies to help nurses improve their coping skills. Further quantitative and qualitative research in other healthcare groups is required to confirm the findings of this study. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:“No One Is Psychotic in My Presence”S. Nassir Ghaemi (bio)Keywordsexistentialism, Semrad, delusions, psychosis, empathy, HavensWe are all prone to make wrong judgments about others (and ourselves) based on inaccurate (or insufficient) information. I recently had this experience with a relative, who cited a number of behaviors as reasons for him to make a rather harsh judgment about my internal mental states. Before hearing his rationale—and despite my belief (...) that he was wrong—I had to reserve some doubt that I might, unconsciously, have those disagreeable habits that my kind relative ascribed to me. But after I heard his explanation, the only possibility that seemed to fit was psychosis (in him, not me); because I was rather certain that he did not have a psychotic illness, I had to conclude that he had beliefs that served his own purposes in some way, although they were simply wrong.We all do this, all the time (perhaps this is the source of the wisdom behind a peasant woman’s admonition to Maxim Gorky: “Remember, above all, do not judge: that is the Devil’s work” [Gorky 1949]).But we do not all have delusions, at least in the sense that delusions are supposed to mark out psychiatric illnesses. Rhodes and Gipps (2008) make this point in their critique of cognitive theories of delusion: “One (‘rationalist’) line of research has explored to what extent people with psychotic delusions may have a malfunction in their reasoning processes (Garety and Hemsley 1994). Another (‘empiricist’) approach has it that delusions are a product of normal reasoning processes running on data provided by abnormal perceptual experiences (Maher 1988, 1999).” Both approaches identify abnormal kinds of reasoning in persons with psychosis, most of which are shared with the normal population (like my relative). But: “the question needs to be asked as to why, in many cases, clear counter-evidence has no effect in correcting the delusional belief. Confirmation bias after all itself only explains why people may not look for disconfirming evidence (Wason 1968), and does not explain why people may fail to believe it when they happen upon or are presented with it” (Rhodes and Gipps 2008, 306).This gets to the distinction between non-bizarre and bizarre delusions (a distinction that the authors do not make in their paper): Non-bizarre delusions seem completely explainable on cognitive grounds—they are not incredibly irrational (my relative’s perspective is logically plausible), yet they are just wrong (it is empirically false, I think). (Another example: I could plausibly believe that the FBI has me—a Shiite Muslim Middle Eastern male who hails from the Axis of Evil—under surveillance; it would simply be false, or not). On the other hand, the authors’ examples of delusions are both bizarre and wrong at first glance, not because they are illogical (in their conceptual associations), but simply because they just seem wrong without [End Page 315] much need to explain why (unlike my relative’s theories): “What, then, needs accounting for is why deluded persons do not themselves recognize the following: the unlikeliness of their belief, the insufficiency of the grounds they provide, the unlikeliness of their premises when they provide them (as well as their conclusions), the greater likelihood that the evidence they adduce was (for example) hallucinated rather than perceived, and so on” (Rhodes and Gipps 2008, 297).The authors turn first to Ludwig Wittgenstein, then John Searle—the former for the notion that we have “Bedrock certainties” that are founded on having served us in acting in the world (these beliefs do not require rational or empirical justification), the latter for the notion of a Background “defined as those abilities and dispositions which themselves are neither representations nor rules, yet that we need to hypothesize as functioning before we can make sense of everyday perception, thinking and language” (Searle 1995, 129). Go mow the lawn, we say, presuming that scissors will not be used:The capacity to discern what counts as the relevant context is itself a Background capacity that cannot, on pains of an infinite regress of an infinity of disambiguations, be understood as consisting in further propositional knowledge. The cultural ‘common sense... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Postmodern Assumptions of Philosophy of PsychiatryThe author reports no conflicts of interest.This paper makes claims for relevance of philosophy to psychopathology, as inspired in part by the work of Karl Jaspers. Yet there is no such thing as philosophy, in a general sense; there are philosophies, or as Jaspers would prefer, there is philosophizing (Ehrlich & George, 1994; Jaspers, 1951). Jaspers' approach to philosophy was akin to Freud's approach (...) to psychology: the goal was to make unconscious assumptions conscious. The unconscious assumption in the present paper is that there is such a thing as philosophy, which could then be useful for psychopathology. In effect, the author is probably meaning academic philosophy, or mainstream thinking in current philosophy of psychiatry. If that is the meaning, then Jaspers' question would be: What are the unconscious underlying assumptions of modern academic philosophy of psychiatry? The author's paper does not ask that question. But if we do, my answer would be that current mainstream philosophy of psychiatry has a basic worldview, another concept very central to Jaspers' thinking (Rindermann, 2021). Its worldview is postmodernist relativism about truth and skepticism about science, especially biology as applied to psychiatry. This unconscious assumption in modern philosophy of psychiatry is a major impediment in any benefits it might provide to psychiatry and psychopathology, as will be explained in the rest of this commentary.The paper refers to major depressive disorder (MDD) without appreciating that the term itself makes assumptions which the paper wishes to argue should be in the province of philosophy to analyze. The term MDD is not the same as depression, although the paper synonymizes the two. This synonym is an unanalyzed assumption, namely, that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnostic system validly defines psychopathology. It clearly does not, for reasons that modern philosophy of psychiatry has not accurately analyzed (Ghaemi, 2014).About a decade ago, when DSM-5 was being developed, colleagues in the field of philosophy of psychiatry had worked for decades on psychiatric diagnosis, and there was initial hope that the time had come for an impact (Kendler et al., 2008). The leader of the prior edition of DSM was unhappy [End Page 17] with the fifth revision. A set of essays were published where philosophers and psychiatrists engaged the former DSM leader about psychiatric diagnosis (Frances, 2013). His response, with a somewhat derisive reference to "philosophyland," was eye opening to me. He explicitly stated that DSM revisions were not based on science or facts, but on "pragmatism," on the beliefs of DSM leaders about what was best for the profession or society. In short, it was admitted that DSM was a social construction, just as postmodern thinking had said about psychiatric diagnosis since Foucault. Yet this admission was made unconsciously; DSM leadership does not use that phrase, nor does it understand its conceptual foundations. Surprisingly to me, colleagues in the world of philosophy and psychiatry also failed to make the obvious connection, or if they did, they seemed to have little problem with it (Phillips et al., 2012). Social constructionism was their worldview too.In effect, philosophy of psychiatry had nothing to provide; it did not analyze or critique the philosophical worldview of DSM leadership; it shared that worldview and participated in it (Kendler, 2013).The result, in my view, is that mainstream philosophy of psychiatry has failed in the role which it could have played, the role of making the unconscious postmodern assumptions of psychiatry conscious, and criticizing those assumptions. Instead, it applauded them.My broader critique of mainstream philosophy of psychiatry gets played out in papers such as this one in relation to the DSM term MDD, which should be dropped because it is not a scientifically sound term; it has many conceptual and scientific falsehoods within it, which both a philosophical analysis and a scientific analysis would demonstrate.The term MDD was invented in the DSM-III process in the late 1970s to get votes for passage of that third revision by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980 (Decker, 2013). It literally was a social construction. To the extent that it had any scientific basis, it had its roots in the... (shrink)

There is an important cultural context to the relationship between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. I'll label it, for simplicity, "postmodernism" (Kaplan 1993). Any single definition of a large cultural force, like socialism or communism or conservatism or liberalism, is bound to be inadequate in some ways. Yet general concepts can apply to such large forces. Postmodernism can have various nuances, but generally it applies to a way of thinking that is quite common nowadays: a skepticism about truth, knowledge, science, (...) and about any claims to being absolute about anything. One way of appreciating this way of thinking is to contrast it with its predecessors: the modern or Enlightenment era involved a .. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Adolf Meyer: Psychiatric AnarchistS. Nassir Ghaemi (bio)KeywordsMeyer, biopsychosocial model, Jaspers, pluralism, philosophy, psychiatryThey had weekly lunches in 1920s New York City: In one door stepped a stooped philosopher, with a mustache and a twinkle, perhaps ruminating on some recent Marxist theory; in the other door came the elegant Swiss physician, goateed and erudite. Every week, for a time, John Dewey (leader of American pragmatism) and Adolf Meyer (dean (...) of mid-twentieth century American psychiatry and long-time chair of the Johns Hopkins psychiatry department) lunched together and, somewhere in those conversations—one might imagine—the field of philosophy and psychiatry was born (Meyer 1948, 152).Yet pragmatism—as a proper school of philosophy—does not capture Meyer’s psychiatry. Rather, the core of his thinking, in my view, is to be found in a vague term that deserves analysis: eclecticism.EclecticismIt has been said that eclecticism is a vice in theory but a virtue in practice (Stone 1981), which highlights why so many are attracted to it. Deep down, practitioners just want to be free: They believe that their freedom of choice will tailor treatments best to patients and thus result in best outcomes. As a conceptual theory for psychiatry, eclecticism is a model that views any theory or method as potentially correct, but no theory or method as definitively incorrect. There is no way to avoid an “anything goes” practice with eclecticism: It is—to use a political analogy—an anarchism of mind.William James once remarked that the basis for all philosophies lies in the personalities of philosophers. So it was with Meyer’s eclecticism: congenial personally, he seemed congenitally incapable of disagreeing with any person. Any idea, even the most unusual, would receive a respectful hearing from Meyer. (Double brings out new, excellent documentary evidence of this extreme indecision in the drafts of Meyer’s unsent letters to the behaviorist John Watson.) Although quaint and commendable pedagogically, this excessive open mindedness left American psychiatry—so dependent on Meyer—prey to hard-headed biological radicals and psychoanalytic dogmatists. This is where his eclecticism failed us.Enabling Biological ExtremismMeyer played a key role in legitimizing extreme biological approaches. In addition to his interest in insulin coma (which Double mentions), Meyer enabled the popularization of colectomy and frontal [End Page 341] lobotomy. Psychiatric colectomy, developed by Henry Cotton, was based on the focal toxin theory of mental illness—the idea that mental illness was caused by toxins released by bacteria in the body, the specific locations of which where were the colon and rotted teeth. In one hundred case reports, with mostly short-term follow-up, published in his prominent text, The Defective Delinquent and Insane (Cotton 1921), Cotton laid out his case, which Meyer legitimized by writing a generous foreword. Meyer’s authority was powerful enough to render Cotton’s limited evidence base much more credible than it might otherwise have been. In the 1920s and 1930s, tens of thousands colectomies and full mouth teeth extractions were conducted in patients with mental illness. (Meyer himself sometimes recommended it).1The other biological extremist story is more famous. In a 1936 conference, with Meyer in attendance, the neurologist Walter Freeman presented, for the first time, cases of refractory schizophrenia treated with a new method: frontal lobotomy. Psychoanalyst attendees protested that Freeman was proposing nothing more than mutilation of the brain; yet Meyer intervened in favor of Free-man (“I am not antagonistic to this work, but find it very interesting” [El-Hai 2005]). Unfortunately, Freeman, like Cotton, was a dogmatist: Over time, he performed frontal lobotomy more and more extensively, not just as a treatment of last resort in the most ill schizophrenics (as in the first cases presented to Meyer), but later as a treatment of first resort for the mildest mood disorders. (By 1950 Freeman had personally conducted 2400 transorbital lobotomies, an “office procedure” that allowed him to lobotomize a patient in 15 minutes [El-Hai 2005]).2Lest my critique of Meyer in that era be seen as a Whiggish interpretation of history (the claim that we are so much smarter than those shrinks of the past; in fact I think... (shrink)

Recent protests in Iran (and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa) have clearly shown the extent of humanism there. Whilst resistance to dictatorship and Islamism has always been in existence, the 2009 Twitter revolution in Iran gave people everywhere an insight into a social movement that is deeply humanist, modern, and secular. What it has also shown is the irrelevance and antithetical character of Islamism with people’s demands and desires. This is what many of us have been saying (...) for a very long time. Recent events, broadcast via citizen journalism, however, have given the world an opportunity to see it for itself. There are several factors contributing to this rise. (shrink)

ObjectiveTo assess the scientific and ethical basis for clinical innovation in psychopharmacology.MethodsWe conducted a literature review, utilizing MEDLINE search and bibliographic cross-referencing, and historical evidence regarding the discovery and development of new medications in psychiatry. Clinical innovation was defined as use of treatments in a clinical setting which have not been well-proven in a research setting.ResultsEmpirical data regarding the impact of clinical innovation in psychopharmacology are lacking. A conceptual and historical assessment of this topic highlights the ethical and scientific importance (...) of clinical innovation. Ethically, it touches a borderline that, in our judgment, is not adequately framed in contemporary mainstream bioethics. Currently, research is viewed as not at all benefiting the patients who participate in it, while clinical care is viewed as being solely for the benefit of patients. Clinical innovation straddles these two worlds, uncomfortably at times. While many argue that clinical innovation should either be avoided or folded into research projects, we argue that clinical innovation is necessary for progress in psychopharmacology research, and that it can prosper best when guided by the following ethical principles: 1.) The treatment should be based on a viable hypothesis. 2.) Whenever possible, one's clinical observations should be reported so they can be evaluated by the scientific community. 3.) One should be willing to report unexpected observations of drug effects. 4.) A high standard of informed consent should be maintained. Again, this proposal goes against the standard view among bioethicists that research and clinical care are categorically opposed activities, as made clear by the either-or dichotomy of the Belmont Report on bioethics. This approach has so polarized our profession into clinicians versus researchers, that many clinicians will not apply new knowledge produced by clinical research until it eventually gets incorporated into formal treatment guidelines, while researchers have little to guide them as to what kind of new knowledge it is most important to provide.SummaryClinical innovation brings out the ambiguities in our current ethical conceptions of research versus clinical care. Yet, historically, clinical innovation has been an important contributor to progress in psychopharmacology. We argue that clinical innovation should not be discouraged, but rather it should occur under certain ethical conditions."Almost everyone can and should do research...because almost everyone has a unique observational opportunity at some time in his life which he has an obligation to record....If one considers the fundamental operations or methods of research, one immediately realizes that most people do research at some time or another, except that they do not call their activity by that name. There are seven operations....In simple language they are counting, sorting, measuring, comparing, nature-study, guess testing, and reappraisal....Guess testing is of course what most people think of when the word research is mentioned; except that it is bad manners to call a guess a guess. It should be called an hypothesis. Let us make one plea. Guessing becomes merely a game unless it is done in the context of a plan for action. It is a waste of time elaborating untestable hypotheses [1]."John Cade. (shrink)

The Indus Basin's advantageous climate and topography rendered it a prime site for the implementation of an irrigation system. This study looks at how the Indus Basin is affected by climate change. Changes in water flow, glacial/snow melt, and catchment areas in the Indus and its tributaries are revealed by trend analysis from hydro-logical stations. A network of canals constituted of trans-boundary rivers was built beside the Indus River System (IRS), soon after the implementation of the Indus Water Treaty, about (...) 70% of its water was allocated for irrigation purposes. An evident increase from 8.5 to 18.2 million hectares (MH) in the cropland area in Pakistan is monitored, whereas in India it increased widely from 2.02 to 8.5 MH that is about three times of the pre-vious figures due to expansion of the Indus irrigation network. Water tables have dropped and water logging has resulted from urbanization and groundwater extraction, while the use of pesticides and fertilizers has lowered the quality of the water.These problems are made worse by climate change, which presents serious obstacles to the region's water security, environmental sustainability, and economic growth.This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the modifications in the Indus Basin irrigation system and the impact of these changes on environmental resources. We can create practical plans to lessen the consequences of climate change and guarantee the Indus Basin has a safe and sustainable water supply in the future by comprehending how it affects the basin. (shrink)

BackgroundHaving moral courage is a crucial characteristic for nurses to handle ethical quandaries, stay true to their professional obligations towards patients, and uphold ethical principles. This concept can be influenced by various factors including personal, professional, organizational, and leadership considerations. The purpose of this study was to explore the predictors of moral courage among nurses working in hospitals.MethodsIn 2018, an observational cross-sectional study was carried out on 267 nurses employed in six hospitals located in the northern region of Iran. The (...) participants were selected through a simple random sampling technique. To collect data, a demographic information form was used along with two questionnaires. The first questionnaire was a standard survey on moral courage, while the second questionnaire was designed to assess the ethical climate. Linear regression was used to assess the predictors of moral courage.ResultsNurses had an average moral courage score of 87.07 ± 15.52 and an average moral climate score of 96.12 ± 17.17. The study showed that 16% of the variation in moral courage scores among nurses was explained by ethical climate and monthly overtime hours.ConclusionThis study underscores the significance of establishing an ethical work environment and minimizing overtime hours in order to enhance moral courage among nurses. These findings carry weight for both nursing practice and organizational policies focused on fostering ethical conduct within healthcare settings. (shrink)

Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900--Criticism and interpretation. ; Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900--Views on ethics.

Conflict of interests is a situation when someone is in need of other people’s trust on one the hand and has personal or general interests on the other hand, resulting in conflict with the given responsibility. In this research work, an attempt was made to find the relation between declarations of conflict of interests and reporting positive outcomes in the dental journals in Iran. In this analytical/cross-sectional study, first Health and Biomedical Information was searched and all the Persian and English (...) dental journals published in Iran were collected. Then, all the papers published in the journals from December 2000 to December 2016 were collected and categorized in terms of the year of publication, author or authors’ affiliations, Persian and English journal, type of the substance or the drug used, declarations of conflict of interests and the positive or negative conclusion of the report. Data were analyzed with the Fisher’s exact test and Chi squared test, using the program SPSS 18. In numerical analysis, the significance was set at P < 0.05. Seventeen dental journals in Persian and English were analyzed: 10 in English and 7 in Persian. Reviewing these studies showed that of 1021 articles in Persian, in 128 cases there was no mention of a declaration of conflict of interests and in 11 cases, the COI had been stated. In addition, from 1220 articles in English, in 825 cases there was no mention of declarations of conflict of interests and in 45 cases, the declarations of COI had been mentioned. There was no significant relation between the COI and ‘no’ COI and the reporting of positive outcomes in papers in Iranian dental journals in terms of the journal type, year of publication and the journals’ guarantee form. A total of 83% of studies with declarations of COI had one positive outcome, with a significant relationship in this field; however, in 73% of studies with no COI, there was one positive outcome, too. In general, the society expects that doctors would not consider any incentives except the health of the patients in the efforts made by them. The severity of the consequences of COI is of higher value when the patients’ health is endangered due to it. In addition, COI might change the attitude and approach of other doctors and peers. (shrink)

Anthropology in psychology under the title of "personality theories" has been able to be effective in the field of behavioral studies and interpersonal relationships. The need to explain and analyze the true nature of man in the field of "being" - contrary to psychological personality theories that generally identify human nature in the field of "appearance" - caused this article based on Sadra's anthropological opinions and view According to Allport's trait theory, which is one of the pioneers of the trait (...) approach, it should be organized by descriptive-analytical method. The individualistic approach based on traits is the main feature of Allport's and Mulla Sadra's personality theory. The foundation of personality in both theories is based on the most profound characteristics of person; However, in the analysis of Mulla Sadra's philosophical texts, the quality of the appearance of these traits and why they influence the structure of personality and, accordingly, human behavior, have been explained. "Self" or ego, contrary to its abstract concept in Alport's view, is a real and existential thing in Sadrai's system. The dynamism and unity of Alporti's personality can be rationally explained by the rule of "unity of the known and the known" and "intrinsic volitional movement". (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference between the performance of Iranian male and female EFL learners on the five dimensions of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test.88 learners, out of 120, who were selected through convenience sampling method, participated in this study. The researcher used a quantitative research method with one-group pretest posttest design. This group received some treatment in the form of “the Meeting-House Debate” strategy. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. Result (...) showed that there was no significant difference in the performance of males and females on the sub-scales measured; i.e. evaluation, analysis, inference, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning. It was concluded that gender did not have a significant effect on the students’ critical thinking skills. (shrink)

Background: Breastfeeding is recognized as the optimal approach to provide essential nutrients and promote the health of infants. Aim: This study aims to assess the nurses’ knowledge in the obstetric unit regarding breastfeeding practices in KFGH. Methods: A descriptive research approach, utilizing a questionnaire to evaluate nurses’ knowledge of breastfeeding best practices was used in this study among nurses who are working at KFGH. Results: Of the total 64 nurses, and majority (39.5%) of them are aged from 26 to 30 (...) years. Most of them (98.4%) were female and 45.3% worked in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department, also, the majority (73.4%) held a Bachelor of Nursing degree. The results showed the attitude among nurses toward the breastfeeding management level was moderate with a mean score of 1.72 while the practice among nurses toward the breastfeeding management level was high with a mean score of 2.66, also, the knowledge among nurses toward the breastfeeding management level was high with mean score 2.36. The results showed there was a significant difference in the attitude level according to nationality (P-value = 0.007), but there was no significant difference according to the other demographic characteristics (age, marital status, department, education, experience, position, Course in obstetrics and Gynecology, and self-experience about breastfeeding). Conclusion: This study's findings gave insights into the current knowledge level of nurses in the obstetric unit regarding breastfeeding practices in KFGH and may contribute to the development of targeted interventions and educational programs to improve breastfeeding support and promotion in the hospital setting. (shrink)

Business ethics research has long examined the dichotomy between remaining silent or reporting ethical misconduct to a third party. Little is known, however, about ethical conversations within a work group after observing misconduct. Specifically, we do not know how many members of their work group individuals choose to communicate with. These conversations could have important implications for creating an ethical workplace. We propose that psychological standing is an important driver of individuals’ decisions not to remain silent and to instead raise (...) moral concerns with a greater number of others in their work group. In addition, integrating existing work on structural power, psychological standing, and the bystander effect, we develop a moderated mediation model with both structural power position and work group size as contextual drivers of psychological standing. Our model is supported across four studies using different designs and methodological approaches. Our results contribute to the understanding of when and why individuals raise moral concerns, and they provide insights into how an ethical context is created in organizations. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Note.