Cognitive models of social anxiety disorder suggest that memory biases for negative social information contribute to symptoms of social anxiety. However, it remains unclear whether memory bias...

... Le figure del terzo legislatore e del terzo giudice costituiscono la garanzia che la tutela dei deboli non renda debole né il dovere né il diritto, ma ne fortifichi la consapevolezza responsabile in ognuno di noi, mostrando il significato giuridico del ‘dono di senso’, nucleo, nella mia interpretazione dell’intenso magistero di Bruno Romano. (Dalla Presentazione di L. Avitabile).

Background: Moral Case Deliberation is one form of clinical ethics support described as a facilitator-led collective moral reasoning by healthcare professionals on a concrete moral question connected to their practice. Evaluation research is needed, but, as human interaction is difficult to standardise, there is a need to capture the content beyond moral reasoning. This allows for a better understanding of Moral Case Deliberation, which may contribute to further development of valid outcome criteria and stimulate the normative discussion of what Moral (...) Case Deliberation should contain. Objective: To explore and compare the content beyond moral reasoning in the dialogue in Moral Case Deliberation at Swedish workplaces. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was applied for analysing audio-recordings of 70 periodic Moral Case Deliberation meetings at 10 Swedish workplaces. Moral Case Deliberation facilitators and various healthcare professions participated, with registered nurses comprising the majority. Ethical considerations: No objection to the study was made by an Ethical Review Board. After oral and written information was provided, consent to be recorded was assumed by virtue of participation. Findings: Other than ‘moral reasoning’ (median (md): 45% of the spoken time), the Moral Case Deliberations consisted of ‘reflections on the psychosocial work environment’ to a varying extent (md: 29%). Additional content comprised ‘assumptions about the patient’s psychosocial situation’ (md: 6%), ‘facts about the patient’s situation’ (md: 5%), ‘concrete problem-solving’ (md: 6%) and ‘process’ (md: 3%). Conclusion: The findings suggest that a restorative function of staff’s wellbeing in Moral Case Deliberation is needed, as this might contribute to good patient care. This supports outcome criteria of improved emotional support, which may include relief of moral distress. However, facilitators need a strategy for how to proceed from the participants’ own emotional needs and to develop the use of their emotional knowing to focus on the ethically difficult patient situation. (shrink)

This paper provides frameworks for understanding how ethics might be expressed in gameplay situations, and how we can study the ethical frameworks that games offer to players. There are many ways to delve into such topics, and this paper considers only a few approaches. It briefly surveys some of the important ques-tions and critiques arising from audience studies, theories of play and games, and work on cheating, and begins to build a framework for considering ethics in relation to games and (...) players that transcends the “place apart” that games are often constructed as. (shrink)

Much work on intellectual humility has focused on its epistemic benefits. We suggest that displaying (or failing to display) intellectual humility also has effects on how others perceive us and that, as a result, intellectual humility can serve reputation management purposes, in at least four ways: (i) Intellectual humility can be used to signal we are a good source of information; (ii) Intellectual humility can be used to signal we are competent through countersignaling; (iii) Intellectual humility can be used to (...) make sure others do not believe we are overclaiming superiority; (iv) lack of intellectual humility (or intellectual arrogance) can be used to signal dominance. The evidence suggests that intellectual humility (or lack thereof) can have each of these effects. Seeing intellectual humility as (inter alia) a reputation management tool predicts that people will be more or less likely to display intellectual humility in some contexts. For instance, people in a position of power might stand to lose less if they fail to be intellectual humble; accordingly, evidence suggests that they tend to display less intellectual humility. In conclusion, we speculate that understanding intellectual humility as reputation management could help construct environments more conducive to displays of intellectual humility. (shrink)

The notion of harm has been a recurring and a significant notion in the characterization of mental disorder. It is present in eminent diagnostic manuals such as DSM and ICD, as well as in the discussion on mental disorders in philosophy of psychiatry. Recent demotion of harm in the definition of mental disorders in DSM-5 shows a general trend towards reducing the significance of harm when thinking about the nature of mental disorders. In this paper, we defend the relevance of (...) the notion of harm in the characterization of mental disorder against some of these attacks. We approach this issue by using the method of conceptual explication pioneered by Rudolf Carnap. Within this framework, we argue that keeping the notion of harm not only helps to discriminate what is pathological from the nonpathological but also prevents potential misuses of psychiatric authority. (shrink)

What is the event? How the phenomenology of event is possible if the "event" is not the phenomenon in the classical meaning of this word? French philosopher Claude Romano discusses these questions with his Russian colleague Ruslan Loshakov. The interlocutors consider the concept of event in different contexts, paying special attention to the relationships which connect the phenomenology of event with Husserl, Bergson, Heidegger and Levinas' ideas.

BackgroundThere is a lack of empirical research regarding the outcomes of such clinical ethics support methods as moral case deliberation (MCD). Empirical research in how healthcare professionals perceive potential outcomes is needed in order to evaluate the value and effectiveness of ethics support; and help to design future outcomes research. The aim was to use the European Moral Case Deliberation Outcome Instrument (Euro-MCD) instrument to examine the importance of various MCD outcomes, according to healthcare professionals, prior to participation.MethodsA North European (...) field survey among healthcare professionals drawn from 73 workplaces in a variety of healthcare settings in the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The Euro-MCD instrument was used.ResultsAll outcomes regarding the domains of moral reflexivity, moral attitude, emotional support, collaboration, impact at organisational level and concrete results, were perceived as very or quite important by 76%–97% of the 703 respondents. Outcomes regarding collaboration and concrete results were perceived as most important. Outcomes assessed as least important were mostly about moral attitude. ‘Better interactions with patient/family’ emerged as a new domain from the qualitative analysis. Dutch respondents perceived most of the outcomes as significantly less important than the Scandinavians, especially regarding emotional support. Furthermore, men, those who were younger, and physician-respondents scored most of the outcomes as statistically significantly less important compared with the other respondents.ConclusionsThe findings indicate a need for a broad instrument such as the Euro-MCD. Outcomes related to better interactions between professionals and patients must also be included in the future. The empirical findings raise the normative question of whether outcomes that were perceived as less important, such asmoralreflexivity andmoralattitude outcomes, should still be included. In the future, a combination of empirical findings (practice) and normative reflection (theories) will contribute to the revision of the instrument. (shrink)

Clinical ethics support, in particular Moral Case Deliberation, aims to support health care providers to manage ethically difficult situations. However, there is a lack of evaluation instruments regarding outcomes of clinical ethics support in general and regarding Moral Case Deliberation (MCD) in particular. There also is a lack of clarity and consensuses regarding which MCD outcomes are beneficial. In addition, MCD outcomes might be context-sensitive. Against this background, there is a need for a standardised but flexible outcome evaluation instrument. The (...) aim of this study was to develop a multi-contextual evaluation instrument measuring health care providers’ experiences and perceived importance of outcomes of Moral Case Deliberation. (shrink)

Claude Romano seeks to change all that, to describe precisely what sort of phenomenon an event is and to establish how it can be grasped via a phenomenology.

Based on a case study of a large multinational group, this paper addresses the way in which social and environmental reporting systems were changed and the consequences and controversies associated with this change. Drawing on Power’s work on the processes by which things are made auditable via underlying systems, we focus on how and why a specific programme with auditability as its ultimate aim changed the basis on which the external social and environmental report was prepared. Our analysis demonstrates that (...) the perceived alignment with the financial report preparation and the explicit pursuit of auditability legitimized SER and paved the way for data systems to be changed. The programme borrowed authority from financial accounting technologies not only to make a system change but also to push SER internally, as we suggest that an intraorganizational group used the programme to ensure the existence and organizational status of SER. However, we also illustrate some of the practical challenges associated with this change, which include issues related to internal control and the establishment of organizational boundaries. (shrink)

In inclusive dance settings, where people with different abilities and talents come together, the role of facilitators is essential in guiding the process of inclusion. Their behavior gives sensitive information to the individual about one’s status within the own-group affiliation. Even today, very little research on the motivation for facilitating inclusivity in dance contexts exists. This case study will examine the facilitator’s motivation by juxtaposing current theory next to experiences of seven experts of contemporary dance facilitation in Europe. Good opportunities (...) for meaningful interactions can be created in a dance setting: it promotes a deeper sense of community, gives us the feeling of belonging, generates respect and inclusion, and helps to prevent the feeling of loneliness. This research report sheds light on the motivation of being the facilitator of dance for heterogeneous groups and reveals three factors from the data. First, to be led by an artistic motivation, second, to have a vision in terms of changing the society, and third, to have another personal motivation. The motivation of the facilitator is regarded as highly important for inclusive work, as the person who facilitates plays a key role in these successful processes of inclusion. (shrink)

Peer interaction constitutes a focal site for understanding learning orientations and autonomous learning behaviors. Based on 10 h of video-recorded data collected from small-size conversation-for-learning classes, this study, through the lens of Conversation Analysis, analyzes instances in which L2 learners spontaneously exploit learning opportunities from the on-task public talk and make them relevant for private learning in sequential private peer interaction. The analysis of extended negation-for-meaning practices in peer interaction displays how L2 learners orient to public repair for their learning (...) opportunities in an immediate manner and in so doing, how different participation framework is being utilized to maximize their learning outcomes. As these extended repair practices are entirely managed by learners themselves, they yield both efficient and inefficient learning outcomes. Findings reveal that learners frequently resort to their peers to recycle the focal trouble words for learning opportunities, shifting their participating role from the on looking audience to active learners. By reporting the rather under-researched post-repair negotiation-for-meaning sequence in peer interactions, the study highlights the relevance between on-task classroom activities and private learning, contributing to understanding private learning behaviors in the language classroom and learning as a co-constructed activity locally situated in peer interaction. (shrink)

The European Legacy, Volume 17, Issue 5, Page 706-707, August 2012.

BackgroundBesides balancing burdens and benefits of intensive care, ethical conflicts in the process of decision-making should also be recognised. This calls for an ethical analysis relevant to clinicians. The aim was to analyse ethically difficult situations in the process of deciding whether a patient is admitted to intensive care unit.MethodsAnalysis using the ‘Dilemma method’ and ‘wide reflective equilibrium’, on ethnographic data of 45 patient cases and 96 stakeholder interviews in six UK hospitals.Ethical analysisFour moral questions and associated value conflicts were (...) identified. Who should have the right to decide whether a patient needs to be reviewed? Conflicting perspectives on safety/security. Does the benefit to the patient of getting the decision right justify the cost to the patient of a delay in making the decision? Preventing longer-term suffering and understanding patient’s values conflicted with preventing short-term suffering and provision of security. To what extent should the intensivist gain others’ input? Professional independence versus a holistic approach to decision-making. Should the intensivist have an ongoing duty of care to patients not admitted to ICU? Short-term versus longer-term duty to protect patient safety. Safety and security were key values at stake in the ethical conflicts identified. The life-threatening nature of the situation meant that the principle of autonomy was overshadowed by the duty to protect patients from harm. The need to fairly balance obligations to the referred patient and to other patients was also recognised.ConclusionProactive decision-making including advance care planning and escalation of treatment decisions may support the inclusion of patient autonomy. However, our analysis invites binary choices, which may not sufficiently reflect reality. This calls for a complementary relational ethics analysis. (shrink)

Developing countries need to reform legislation to ensure the global supply firms in ready-made garment industry is adequately addressing obligations of social responsibility. Literature typically focuses on strategies for raising responsible standards in global buying firms within the RMG industry, but fails to focus on implementing strategies for suppliers in developing countries. This article addresses this gap by specifically focusing on the RMG industry in Bangladesh, the home of the third largest RMG supplier in the world. It concentrates on analysing (...) how and to what extent the law can assist in developing social responsibility performance of the RMG manufacturing firms in developing countries. It ultimately concludes that a new governance approach in laws can effectively increase the social responsibility practice standards of an industry where global buying firms are profit-driven and governmental agencies are either inadequate or corrupt. (shrink)

Motivated by the increasing economic significance of investment advisory industries and the prevalence of wrongdoing in financial planning services, we examine whether, and to what extent, employee misconduct is shaped by their local corruption culture. Using novel data of more than 4.7 million adviser-year observations of financial advisers and the Department of Justice’s data on corruption, we find that financial advisers and advisory firms located in areas with higher levels of corruption are more likely to commit misconduct. These results hold (...) for both individual advisor and firm level analyses and are robust to the use of various fixed effects, model specifications, proxies for corruption and misconduct, and an instrumental variable approach. Using the passage of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Provision, which provides incentives for reporting corruption incidences and thereby reduces the incentives for fraud, we find that the relation between local corruption culture and adviser misconduct is attenuated after the provision enacted by the SEC. Overall, our study highlights the externalities of corruption culture on individual ethics and the essential role of whistleblowing laws in reducing corruption-prone norms. (shrink)

Une nouvelle écrite pour l’anthologie Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements [enfants d’Octavia: des histoires SF tirées des mouvements de justice sociale], éditée par adrienne maree brown et Walidah Imarisha. L’histoire parle d’un futur dans lequel toutes les personnes handicapées (appelées I. P. ou ImParfait·es) ont été envoyées sur une autre planète où, débarrassées des soldats envoyés pour les surveiller, ielles se sont créé une vie faite d’entraide. Cette vie est menacée par les Parfait·es, qui s’apprêtent à (...) revenir prendre le contrôle et créer une nouvelle dystopie pour eux. (shrink)

Despite societal concerns about the welfare of commercial laying hens, little attention has been paid to the welfare implications of the choices made by the genetics companies involved with their breeding. These choices regarding trait selection and other aspects of breeding significantly affect living conditions for the more than 7 billion laying hens in the world. However, these companies must consider a number of different commercial and societal interests, beyond animal welfare concerns. In this article we map some of the (...) relevant dilemmas faced by genetics companies in order to outline the scope of opportunities to improve welfare under current market conditions. This includes identifying cases where different animal welfare concerns conflict. We discuss the moral responsibility of laying hen genetics companies and the welfare implications that derive from the choices they make and the policies they follow. In addition to evaluating a selection of predominant current practices and breeding goals, we outline different angles from where to assess the moral legitimacy of various industry practices and policies. We discuss specific issues such as injurious pecking, bone health, induced moulting, chick culling and the circumstances of breeding stock. (shrink)

The chapter discusses the limits of testamentary freedom in medieval Swedish law. Last wills, testaments and donations for pious causes were introduced in Sweden in the twelfth century. Some thirteenth-century papal decretals indicate that according to Swedish law, the consent of relatives was required to valid deathbed donations. This was condemned as a “perverse custom” by the popes, advocating testamentary freedom. However, both these decretals and the Swedish thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century provincial laws provide evidence of the tensions between ecclesiastical (...) authorities and Swedish lay society. The provincial laws limited testamentary freedom regarding various aspects: requiring the consent of the heirs, the timing of the bequest, the proportion of the donation vis-à-vis the whole property of the donor, and type of property. With the free assent of one’s closest heirs, all and any restrictions of testamentary freedom could be overcome. In legal practice, donators often sought to ensure the consent of their heirs in advance. They used them as witnesses and signatories, they used redemption clauses or bought off relatives with claims to the property. Acquiring the consent of heirs to wills and donations of land became customary practice in later medieval Sweden. (shrink)

The convergence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance (CG) has changed the corporate accountability mechanism. This has developed a socially responsible ‘corporate self-regulation’, a synthesis of governance and responsibility in the companies of strong economies. However, unlike in the strong economies, this convergence has not been visible in the companies of weak economies, where the civil society groups are unorganised, regulatory agencies are either ineffective or corrupt and the media and non-governmental organisations do not mirror the corporate conscience. (...) Using the case of Bangladesh, this article investigates the convergence between CSR and CG in the self-regulation of companies in a less vigilant environment. (shrink)

Mandalas in the Making: The Visual Culture of Esoteric Buddhism at Dunhuang, by Michelle C. Wang. Leiden: Brill, 2018. xviii + 318 pages. Hb. $147.00, ISBN-13: 9789004357655; Ebook $25.00, ISBN-13: 9789004360402.

Claude Romano repense à nouveaux frais la méthode phénoménologique en la mettant en dialogue avec d'autres courants de la philosophie contemporaine, et notamment la philosophie analytique. Sa réflexion s'ordonne autour de trois axes. Tout d'abord, la question des rapports entre langage et expérience, dans le sillage des recherches empiriques en linguistique : le langage n'exige-t-il pas, pour pouvoir être compris, que l'on interroge ses liens avec des significations pré-linguistiques qui fondent notre expérience même du monde? Ensuite, la question du (...) réalisme : la phénoménologie entretient-elle une affinité nécessaire avec l'idéalisme, comme l'ont cru un certain nombre de disciples de Husserl, ou ne nous met-elle pas plutôt sur la voie d'un réalisme qui demanderait à être reformulé? Enfin, comment une phénoménologie réaliste et soucieuse d'une articulation plus fine entre expérience et langage permet-elle d'approcher de manière renouvelée des phénomènes " classiques " comme le corps, les émotions ou l'habitude? (shrink)

This paper investigates the relationship between the experiences of mass vaccinations against two pandemic viruses: the swine flu in 2009–2010 and COVID-19 in the early 2020s. We show how distressing memories from the swine flu vaccination, which led to the rare but severe adverse effect of narcolepsy in approximately 500 children in Sweden, were triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The narcolepsy illness story has rarely been told in academic contexts; therefore, we will provide space for this story. It is presented (...) through a dialogue with the aim of shedding light on the interrelationship between pandemics—and between mass vaccinations—to investigate what could be termed cultural wounds that influence societies because they are characterized by the difficulty of talking about them. The paper explores the multiple shocks of illness in life and what can be learned from them by sharing them. (shrink)

This paper aims to clarify some conceptual aspects of decoherence that seem largely overlooked in the recent literature. In particular, I want to stress that decoherence theory, in the standard framework, is rather silent with respect to the description of (sub)systems and associated dynamics. Also, the selection of position basis for classical objects is more problematic than usually thought: while, on the one hand, decoherence offers a pragmatic-oriented solution to this problem, on the other hand, this can hardly be seen (...) as a genuine ontological explanation of why the classical world is position-based. This is not to say that decoherence is not useful to the foundations of quantum mechanics; on the contrary, it is a formidable weapon, as it accounts for a realistic description of quantum systems. That powerful description, however, becomes manifest when decoherence theory itself is interpreted in a realist framework of quantum mechanics. (shrink)