In recent years, the flow of undocumented labor from the global South to richer nations has increased considerably. Many undocumented women workers find employment as caregivers for the dependent elderly, whose numbers are burgeoning in affluent countries. Here we present a profile of undocumented non-citizen caregivers in the United States and delineate some of the key injustices they suffer. After identifying the causal factors responsible for the flow of undocumented labor from the global South to richer nations like the United (...) States, we discuss the criteria that a theory of transnational justice must meet if it is to address the problem of justice for this population. We argue that Iris Young's "social connection" model of responsibility is a promising approach for helping to correct the injustices suffered by undocumented, non-citizen caregivers. (shrink)

Background: Nurses’ behavior in Educational-Medical centers is very important for improving the condition of patients. Ethical climate represents the ethical values and behavioral expectations. Attitude of people toward religion is both intrinsic and extrinsic. Different ethical climates and attitude toward religion could be associated with nurses’ behavior. Aim: To study the mediating effect of ethical climate on religious orientation and ethical behaviors of nurses. Research design: In an exploratory analysis study, the path analysis method was used to identify the effective (...) variables on ethical behavior. Participants/context: The participants consisted of 259 Iranian nurses from Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Ethical considerations: This project with an ethical code and a unique ID IR.UMSHA.REC.1395.67 was approved in the Research Council of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Findings: The beta coefficients obtained by regression analysis of perception of ethical climate of individual egoism (B = −0.202, p < 0.001), individual ethical principles (B = −0.184, p = 0.001), local egoism (B = −0.136, p = 0.003), and extrinsic religious orientation (B = −0.266, p = 0.007) were significant that they could act as predictors of ethical behavior. The summary of regression model indicated that 0.27% of ethical behaviors of nurses are justified by two variables: ethical climate and religious orientation. Discussion and conclusion: Intrinsic religious orientation has the most direct impact and then, respectively, the variables of ethical climate of perceptions in the dimensions of individual egoism, individual ethical principles, local egoism, global ethical principle, and ethical behavior and extrinsic religious orientation follow. All the above, except global ethical principles and intrinsic orientation of religion have a negative effect on ethical behavior and can be predictors of ethical behavior. Therefore, applying strategies to promote theories of intrinsic religious orientation and global ethical principles in different situations of nursing is recommended. (shrink)

Readers of literary narratives undergo an emotional experience by feeling varied emotions in various ways. While going through a narrative, we assume here, a fictive reader may be absorbed because they very often believe they develop a feel what is to be felt from a perspective presented and, similarly they understand what is to be understood in a given situation and character engaged in highly textually interwoven situation. Therefore, certain techniques and devices are employed by the authors of emotional fiction (...) to engage their readers emotionally and to create text- reader empathy. In this paper, an attempt has been made to discover the lexico-grammatical texturing of emotional fiction using the Corpus Stylistics Framework for identifying emotional intensity based on Systemic Functional Linguistics to unveil how this particular texturing causes emotional immersion. Through a lexico-grammatical analysis of the selected passages of ‘The Bride’, it is established that by using particular lexical choices and devices, the author engages the reader emotionally and therefore, enhances readers’ involvement in the text. Hence, it supports our claim that the lexicogrammar of the emotional passages is instrumentally di?erent for projecting emotionally engaged responses. (shrink)

This paper explores the use of art to recreate violent mythological landscapes in Roman domestic ensembles. Focusing on the Niobids found in two imperial horti it argues that the combination of sculpture and landscape exerted a powerful imaginative effect over ancient viewers, drawing them into the recreated mythological world. Mythological landscape paintings also offered a view out onto a mythological realm, fostering the illusion of direct access to the spaces of myth. However, these fantasy landscapes need to be seen in (...) the light of the associations which natural landscapes held in the Roman imagination. Recreations of mythological landscapes in domestic art express the desire to incorporate the natural world into the domestic sphere but through the presence of violent events they also highlight the inherent powers of those landscapes and the gods who frequent them. They speak to a yearning to immerse oneself in myth and the natural realm, yet also warn of the perils of such a desire. (shrink)

Brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) are abnormal vessels that are prone to rupture, causing life-threatening intracranial bleeding. The mechanism of bAVM formation is poorly understood. Nevertheless, animal studies revealed that gene mutation in endothelial cells (ECs) and angiogenic stimulation are necessary for bAVM initiation. Evidence collected through analyzing bAVM specimens of human and mouse models indicate that cells other than ECs also are involved in bAVM pathogenesis. Both human and mouse bAVMs vessels showed lower mural cell-coverage, suggesting a role of pericytes (...) and vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs) in bAVM pathogenesis. Perivascular astrocytes also are important in maintaining cerebral vascular function and take part in bAVM development. Furthermore, higher inflammatory cytokines in bAVM tissue and blood demonstrate the contribution of inflammatory cells in bAVM progression, and rupture. The goal of this paper is to provide our current understanding of the roles of different cellular loci in bAVM pathogenesis. (shrink)

Third-order exclusion is a form of epistemic oppression in which the epistemic lifeway of a dominant group disrupts the epistemic agency of members of marginalized groups. In this paper we apply situated perspectives in order to argue that philosophy as a discipline imposes third-order exclusions on members of marginalized groups who are interested in participating in philosophy. We examine a number of specific aspects of the epistemic lifeway embodied by academic philosophy and show how this produces inaccessibility to the discipline. (...) In addition to critiquing the discipline and its methods we also use this discussion to elaborate on third-order exclusion itself. We conclude by proposing an intersectional pedagogy as a step toward creating a more accessible discipline. (shrink)

The process of risk assessment of biotechnologies, such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), has normative dimensions. However, the US’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seems committed to the idea that such evaluations are objective. This essay makes the case that the agency’s regulatory approach should be changed such that the public is involved in deciding any ethical or social questions that might arise during risk assessment of GMOs. It is argued that, in the US, neither aggregative nor deliberative (representative) democracy (...) ought to be used to make such determinations. Instead, participatory (deliberative) democracy should be the means by which members of the polity decide which normative concerns ought to underlie FDA’s assessment of GMOs. This paper uses a hypothetical case involving a new GM seed to make that argument. (shrink)

In P v Cheshire West, Lady Hale stated that an act that would deprive an able-bodied or able-minded person of their liberty would do the same to a mentally or physically disabled person. Throughout the judgement, there is no definition of what liberty is, which makes defining an act that would deprive a person of it difficult. Ideas of liberty are described in terms of political liberty within a society, the state of being free from external influence and individual autonomy. (...) This essay explores various philosophical ideas of liberty and what a legitimate constraint of liberty is. It will be argued that defining liberty in terms external influence from other human agents undermines the impact of natural inability on a person’s ability to fulfil their intrinsic desires—a true constraint of liberty is any which prohibits a person from acting in the way they desire. If liberty is not the same for all, it follows that a deprivation of liberty differs between different agents. Although the government must protect personal liberty, it is important to recognise that an act that may deprive an able-bodied or minded person of their liberty, may in fact promote the liberty of a disabled persons. It will be argued that acts that allow a disabled person to act out desires that they ordinarily would not be able to perform, do not deprive them of their liberty. (shrink)

Gendered Morality offers a textual-critical examination of gender in Islamic metaphysics and virtue ethics. Through a close reading of how masculinity and femininity are constructed, the book argues that the historically contingent nature of gender hierarchy, characterized as Islamic and ethical, is at odds with the overarching goal of Islamic ethics as earthly justice. Because the book moves beyond the typical Qur'anic and jurisprudence-based discourses about women's status, it makes a lasting contribution to our understanding of gender in the ethical (...) philosophy of Islam. (shrink)

Recently, in increasing numbers, citizens of wealthy nations are heading to poorer countries for medical care. They are traveling to the global South as medical tourists because in their home nations either they cannot get timely medical care or they cannot afford needed treatments. This essay offers a robust, particularist ethical assessment of the practice of citizens of richer nations traveling to poorer countries for healthcare.

There is a “revolving door” between federal agencies and the industries regulated by them. Often, at the end of their industry tenure, key industry personnel seek employment in government regulatory entities and vice versa. The flow of workers between the two sectors could bring about good. Industry veterans might have specialized knowledge that could be useful to regulatory bodies and former government employees could help businesses become and remain compliant with regulations. But the “revolving door” also poses at least three (...) ethical and policy challenges that have to do with public trust and fair representation. First, the presence of former key industry personnel on review boards could adversely impact the public’s confidence in regulatory decisions about new technology products, including agrifood biotechnologies. Second, the ‘‘revolving door’’ may result in policy decisions about technologies that are biased in favor of industry interests. And third, the ‘‘revolving door’’ virtually guarantees industry a voice in the policy-making process, even though other stakeholders have no assurance that their concerns will be addressed by regulatory agencies. We believe these three problems indicate a failure of regulatory review for new technologies. The review process lacks credibility because, at the very least, it is procedurally biased in favor of industry interests. We argue that prohibiting the flow of personnel between regulatory agencies and industry would not be a satisfactory solution to the three problems of public trust and just representation. To address them, regulatory entities must reject the traditional notion of objectivity. Instead they should adopt the conception of objectivity developed by Sandra Harding and re-configure their regulatory review on the basis of it. That will ensure that a heterogeneous group of stakeholders is at the decision-making table. The fair representation of interests of different constituencies in the review process could do much to inspire warranted public confidence in regulatory protocols and decisions. (shrink)

Background: Rationing of various needed services, for example, nursing care, is inevitable due to unlimited needs and limited resources. Rationing of nursing care is considered an ethical issue since it requires judgment about potential conflicts between personal and professional values. Objectives: The present research sought to explore aspects of rationing nursing care in Iran. Research design: This study applied qualitative content analysis, a method to explore people’s perceptions of everyday life phenomena and interpret the subjective content of text data. Data (...) collection was performed through in-depth, unstructured, face-to-face interviews with open-ended questions. Participants and research context: The study population included Iranian nurses of all nursing positions, from clinical nurses to nurse managers. Purposive sampling was employed to select 15 female and 3 male nurses (11 clinical nurses, 3 supervisors, 1 matron, 1 nurse, and 2 members of the Nursing Council) working in hospitals of three cities in Iran. Ethical considerations: The study protocol was approved by Tehran University of Medical Sciences (91D1302870). Written informed consent was also obtained from all participants. Findings: According to the participants, rationing of nursing care consisted of two categories, that is, causes of rationing and consequences of rationing. The first category comprised three subcategories, namely, patient needs and demands, routinism, and VIP patients. The three subcategories forming the second category were missed nursing care, patient dissatisfaction, and nurses’ feeling of guilt. Conclusion: Levels at which healthcare practices are rationed and clarity of the rationing are important structural considerations in the development of an equal, appropriate, and ethical healthcare system. Moreover, the procedure of rationing is critical as it not only influences people’s lives but also reflects the values that dominate in the society. Therefore, in order to minimize the negative consequences of rationing of nursing care, further studies on the ethical dimensions of this phenomenon are warranted. (shrink)

This paper addresses the need for, and ultimately proposes, an educational framework to develop competencies in attending to ethical issues in mental health and substance use health (MHSUH) in healthcare ethics consultation (HCEC). Given the prevalence and stigma associated with MHSUH, it is crucial for healthcare ethicists to approach such matters skillfully. A literature review was conducted in the areas of bioethics, health professions education, and stigma studies, followed by quality improvement interviews with content experts to gather feedback on the (...) framework’s strengths, limitations, and anticipated utility. The proposed framework describes three key concepts: first, integrating self-reflexive practices into formal, informal, and hidden curricula; second, embedding structural humility into teaching methods and contexts of learning; and third, striking a balance between critical consciousness and compassion in dialogue. The proposed educational framework has the potential to help HCEC learners enhance their understanding and awareness of ethical issues related to structural stigma and MHSUH. Moreover, context-specific learning, particularly in MHSUH, can play a significant role in promoting competency-building among healthcare ethicists, allowing them to address issues of social justice effectively in their practice. Further dialogue is encouraged within the healthcare ethics community to further develop the concepts described in this framework. (shrink)

This qualitative research study with a content analysis approach aimed to explore families’ experiences of an organ donation request after brain death. Data were collected through 38 unstructured and in-depth interviews with 14 consenting families and 12 who declined to donate organs. A purposeful sampling process began in October 2009 and ended in October 2010. Data analysis reached 10 categories and two major themes were listed as: 1) serenity in eternal freedom; and 2) resentful grief. The central themes were peace (...) and honor versus doubt and regret. The findings indicated that the families faced with an organ donation request of a brain-dead loved one experienced a lasting effect long after the patient's demise regardless of their decision to donate or refusal to donate. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of family support and follow-up in an efficient healthcare system aimed at developing trust with the families and providing comfort during and after the final decision. (shrink)

According to the ideological surround model of research, a more “objective” psychology of religion requires efforts to bring etic social scientific and emic religious perspectives into formal dialog. This study of 245 Iranian university students illustrated how the dialogical validity of widely used etic measures of religion can be assessed by examining an emic religious perspective on psychology. Integrative Self-Knowledge and Self-Control Scales recorded two aspects of the “Perfect Man” as described by the Iranian Muslim philosopher Mortazā Motahharī. Use of (...) these instruments in correlation and multiple regression procedures identified Intrinsic, Extrinsic Personal, Religious Interpretation, Extrovertive Mysticism, Prayer Fulfillment, Universality, Connectedness, and Religiosity Scales as adaptive in their implications for a Muslim psychology of religion. Religious Crisis had maladaptive and Extrinsic Social, Introvertive Mysticism, and Quest Scales had ambiguous implications. These data illustrated how etic forms of understanding can clarify and can be clarified by emic insights. (shrink)

The purpose of the present study was to compare differential functioning of Iranian English versus Persian teachers in responding to compliments and to investigate the possibility of sociolinguistic transmission of speech act of responding to compliments from English culture to native Iranian Persian speakers. Following Chen and Yang (2010), we hypothesized that exposure to English would affect the complimenting behavior of Persian speakers, leading to more acceptance of compliments compared to those with little or no exposure to English. Participants of (...) the study were 50 English teachers, regarded as “exposed-to-English” or E group, and 50 Persian teachers, considered as “unexposed-to-English” or U group. The participants’ age ranged from 20 to 35 and they were selected through non-randomized convenience sampling. A Discourse Completion Test (DCT) comprising eight complimenting situations was developed in two versions, i.e. English and Persian, in light of Mane’s (1983) taxonomy. The results revealed a significant difference in performance between groups and that Iranian English teachers’ Compliment Response (CR) behavior changed due to exposure to English and approached English culture. Further findings and implications are discussed in the paper. (shrink)

In this paper, three major themes in research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) are identified. Of particular interest, however, is the potential link between CSR and organizational effectiveness (OE). Data collected from 410 college graduate and undergraduate students were used to examine this relationship. Using factor analysis, eight dimensions of CSR and three components of OE were extracted. Canonical analysis was then performed. The result supports the proposition that specific CSR practices affect select OE outcomes. In addition, the method employed (...) here provides a parsimonious approach to give priority to social claims. (shrink)

ObjectiveTo evaluate the knowledge and performance of surgical residents regarding the person from whom informed consent should be taken for surgery and from whom the consent is taken in practice.Materials and methodsThis study was done in 2013. The population of this study was all residents of urology, surgery, orthopaedic surgery and gynaecology of Tehran and Iran University of Medical Sciences. The study tool was a self-administered questionnaire, containing questions on their knowledge and performance regarding informed consent acquisition from patients with (...) different conditions in terms of age, sex, marital status and their capacity to make treatment decisions.ResultsA total of 213 residents participated in the study. The mean score of the participants’ knowledge was 72.95 out of 100. There was no significant correlation between the residents’ knowledge and performance. Regarding a competent married male patient, 98.2% of the residents knew that the person’s consent was enough, but only 63.6% obtained informed consent only from the patient. These percentages were 69% and 19.7% for a competent married female patient, respectively. For a competent single male patient, 90.9% of the residents were aware that the patient’s consent was enough, while only 40% of the residents obtained informed consent only from the patient. These percentages were 65.3% and 16% for a competent single female patient, respectively.ConclusionDespite the residents’ average knowledge of patient autonomy, this right is not observed for female patients, and their treatment is subject to consent acquisition from other family members. (shrink)

Background: Equity in providing care is also a major value in the nursing profession. Equitable care aims to provide the entire population with safe, efficient, reliable, and quality nursing services at all levels of health. Objectives: This study was conducted to explain the process of the realization of equity in nursing care. Research design: This qualitative study uses Glaser’s approach to grounded theory. Participants and research context: Sample selection began with convenience sampling and continued with purposive sampling. A total of (...) 27 people were ultimately selected as the study subjects. Data were mainly collected through unstructured in-depth individual interviews plus observation and field notes. The data were then analyzed using the “Six C’s” coding family of Glaser. Ethical considerations: The study protocol was approved by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (91D1302870). Written informed consent was also obtained from all subjects. Findings: According to the findings, participants’ main concern in providing equitable care is the rationing of nursing care. The identification of participants’ main concern led to the emergence of the core category of the study, that is, “nurses’ domination.” The other categories revolving around the core category were conceptualized according to the six C’s coding family: “nurses being dominated,” “nurses’ ineffective power in the health system,” “low attention to equitable care in health system,” “lack of clarity in measuring equitable care,” “the health structure’s inconsistency with equity,” and “the inefficiency of the care system.” Conclusion: There is a mutual relationship between providing fair care and nurses’ perceptions of equity. Nurses who have themselves experienced equity can provide their patients the experience of equity. This mutual relationship is actualized in a context in which fair care is clearly defined and demanded. (shrink)

The primary responsibility of the US Food and Drug Administration is to protect public health by ensuring the safety of the food supply. To that end, it sometimes conducts risk assessments of novel food products, such as genetically modified food. The FDA describes its regulatory review of GM food as a purely scientific activity, untainted by any normative considerations. This paper provides evidence that the regulatory agency is not justified in making that claim. It is argued that the FDA’s policy (...) stance on GM food is shaped by neoliberal considerations. The agency’s review of a genetically engineered animal, the AquAdvantage salmon, is used as a case study to track the influence of neoliberalism on its regulatory review protocol. After that, an epistemic argument justifying public engagement in the risk assessment of new GM food is outlined. It is because risk evaluations involve normative judgments, in a democracy, layperson representatives of informal epistemic communities that could be affected by a new GM food should have the opportunity to decide the ethical, political or other normative questions that arise during the regulatory review of that entity. (shrink)

Empirical studies exploring managerial views of organizational politics (OP) are scarce. Furthermore, the literature is replete with inconsistent results regarding the correlates of OP. In this paper, data collected from 302 managers were used to examine the association between seven background and work experience variables and managerial attitudes regarding the ethics, locus, affect of OP on the organization, and the motives behind political maneuvering in the workplace. The results, however, show that association between managers' background and work experience factors and (...) attitudes regarding OP is weak. The results suggest several promising lines of inquiry for future research. (shrink)

Background: Physical restraint is among the commonly used methods for ensuring patient safety in intensive care units. However, nurses usually experience ethical dilemmas over using physical restraint because they need to weigh patient autonomy against patient safety. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore factors behind ethical dilemmas for critical care nurses over using physical restraint for patients. Design: This is a qualitative study using conventional content analysis approach, as suggested by Graneheim and Lundman, to analyze the data. (...) Methods: Seventeen critical care nurses were purposefully recruited from the four intensive care units in Tehran, Iran. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and were concurrently analyzed through conventional content analysis as suggested by Graneheim and Lundman. Ethical consideration: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran with the code: IR.IUMS.REC.1397.795. Before interviews, participants were provided with explanations about the aim of the study, the confidentiality of the data, their freedom to participate, and the right to withdraw the study, and their free access to the study findings. Finally, their consents were obtained, and interviews were started. Results: Factors behind ethical dilemmas for critical care nurses over using physical restraint were categorized into three main categories, namely the outcomes of using physical restraint, the outcomes of not using physical restraint, and emotional distress for nurses. The outcomes of using physical restraint were categorized into the three subcategories of ensuring patient safety, physical damage to patients, and mental damage to the patient. The outcomes of not using physical restraint fell into two subcategories, namely the risks associated with not using physical restraint and legal problems for nurses. Finally, the two subcategories of the emotional distress for nurses main category were nurses’ negative feelings about restraint use and uncertainty over the decision on physical restraint use. Conclusion: Decision-making for restraint use is often associated with ethical dilemmas, because nurses need to weight the outcomes of its use against the outcomes of not using it and also consider patient safety and autonomy. Health authorities are recommended to develop clear evidence-based guidelines for restraint use and develop and implement educational and counseling programs for nurses on the principles of ethical nursing practice, patient rights, physical restraint guidelines and protocols, and management of emotional, ethical, and legal problems associated with physical restraint use. (shrink)

Introduction: Critical care nurses work in a complex and stressful environment with diverse norms, values, interactions, and relationships. Therefore, they inevitably experience some levels of ethical conflict. Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship of ethical conflict with personal and organizational characteristics among critical care nurses. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted in 2017 on a random sample of 216 critical care nurses. Participants were recruited through stratified random sampling. Data collection tools were a demographic and (...) professional characteristics questionnaire, the Ethical Conflict in Nursing Questionnaire-Critical Care Version, and the Organizational and Managerial Factors Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software (v. 22.0). Ethical considerations: All participants were informed about the study’s aim and were assured that participation in and withdrawal from the study would be voluntary. Findings: The mean score of exposure to ethical conflict was 201.91 ± 80.38. The highest-scored conflict-inducing clinical situation was “working with professionally incompetent nurses or nurse assistants.” Married nurses, nurses with official employment, nurses with master’s degree, and nurses with the history of attending ethics education programs had significantly higher exposure to ethical conflict than the other nurses (p < 0.05). The significant predictors of exposure to ethical conflict were marital status, educational status, reward system, organizational culture, manager’s conduct, and organizational structure and regulations (p < 0.05). These predictors accounted for 37.2% of the total variance of exposure to ethical conflict. Conclusion: Critical care nurses experience moderate levels of exposure to ethical conflict. A wide range of personal and organizational factors can contribute to such exposure, the most significant of which is the professional incompetence of nursing colleagues, nurse assistants, and physicians. Therefore, many improvements at personal and organizational levels are needed to reduce critical care nurses’ exposure to ethical conflict. (shrink)

For the purposes of conservation or suppression of species, gene drive technology has significant potential. Theoretically speaking, with the release of even relatively few animals with gene drive systems in an ecosystem, beneficial or harmful genes could be introduced into the entire wild-type population of that species. Given the profound impact that gene drives could have on species and ecosystems, their use is a highly contentious issue. Communities and groups have differing beliefs about nature and its conservation or preservation, as (...) well as concerns about the ecological safety of the eradication, replacement or enhancement of particular species of animals by means of genetic engineering. For all those reasons, the rigorous regulation of insects and other animals with gene drive systems is crucial. In this paper, we consider the question of whether the United States Food and Drug Administration is prepared to effectively regulate insects and other animals with gene drives. (shrink)

In this article, we first provide a modified definition of SuperHyperGraphs (SHG) and we call it Restricted SuperHyperGraphs (R-SHG). We then generalize the R-SHG to the neutrosophic graphs and then define the corresponding trees. In the following, we examine the Helly property for subtrees of SuperHyperGraphs.

In _Opposition to Philosophy in Safavid Iran_ Ata Anzali and S.M. Hadi Gerami offer a critical edition of what is arguably the most erudite and extensive critique of philosophy from the Safavid period. The editors’ extensive introduction offers an in-depth analysis that places the work within the broader framework of Safavid intellectual and social history.

This article contends that the environmental release of genetically engineered (GE) animals with heritable traits that are patented will present a challenge to the efforts of nations and indigenous peoples to engage in self‐determination. The environmental release of such animals has been proposed on the grounds that they could function as public health tools or as solutions to the problem of agricultural insect pests. This article brings into focus two political‐economic‐legal problems that would arise with the environmental release of such (...) organisms. To address those challenges, it is proposed that nations considering the environmental release of GE animals must take into account the underlying circumstances and policy failures that motivate arguments for the use of the modified animals. Moreover, countries must recognize that the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights place on them an obligation to ensure that GE animals with patented heritable traits are not released without the substantive consent of the nations or indigenous peoples that could be affected. (shrink)

In this paper the relationship between organizational politics (OP), and company strategy and performance was explored. Data were collected from 55 manufacturing firms. Controlling for company assets and industry type, OP intensity was associated with various stages of the strategic process. In addition, it was negatively associated with overall company performance. These results were corroborated by canonical analysis. Another important finding was that the stage of company evolution moderates the OP-strategic process relationship. Finally, future research directions and implications for managerial (...) behavior and ethics have been clarified. (shrink)

Genetically engineered (GE) insects, such as the GE OX513A Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, have been designed to suppress their wild-type populations so as to reduce the transmission of vector-borne diseases in humans. Apart from the ecological and epidemiological uncertainties associated with this approach, such biotechnological approaches may be used by individual governments or the global community of nations to avoid addressing the underlying structural, systemic causes of those infections... We discuss here key ethical questions raised by the use of GE mosquitoes, (...) with the aim of fostering discussion between the public, researchers, policy makers, healthcare organizations, and regulatory agencies at the local, national, and international levels. We affect that goal by outlining a procedural approach to decision-making about the use of the “biotechnology” that goes beyond “community engagement.” The protocol we advocate for entails informed deliberations and decision-making at the community level. It is designed to ensure that the voices of the marginalized and vulnerable groups that would be disproportionately affected by the decision are heard during the community-wide discussions. Moreover, we make the case that the values embedded in the risk assessment should be identified so that the community can make an informed decision about the use of GE insects. In addition, we advocate for the involvement of a variety of actors whose responsibility would be to ensure that the community has the opportunity to make an informed decision based on deliberations about the use of the “biotechnology.”. (shrink)

It is a widespread belief that Husserl’s conception of time obstructs the way to understanding world-time in a heideggerian sense. Unfolding world-time as one of the main topics of the last phases of Husserl’s analyses of time shall refute this criticism. The process of concretization of the transcendental ego also expresses the silent concretization of the world of phenomenology, and these concretizations lead to the topic of world-time. The study assumes that Husserl’s phenomenology undergoes a process of concretization with its (...) peak in the theme of world-time. (shrink)

Is the practice of UK patients traveling to India as medical tourists morally justified? This article addresses that question by examining three ethically relevant issues. First, the key factor motivating citizens of the United Kingdom to seek medical treatment in India is identified and analyzed. Second, the life prospects of the majority of the citizens of the two nations are compared to determine whether the United Kingdom is morally warranted in relying on India to meet the medical needs of its (...) citizens. Third, as neoliberal reforms are justified on the grounds that they will help the indigent populations affected by them, the impact of medical tourism-a neoliberal initiative-on India's socially and economically marginalized groups is scrutinized. © 2013, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc. (shrink)

Background Decision making regarding the treatment of neonates with poor prognoses is difficult for healthcare staff working in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of physicians and nurses about the value of life and ethical decision making when encountering neonates with poor prognosis in the NICU. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in five NICUs of five hospitals in Tehran city, Iran. The attitudes of 144 pediatricians, gynecologists and nurses were assessed using the (...) questionnaire of attitude toward the value of life and agreement on intensive care management based on three hypothetical case scenarios of neonates with poor prognosis. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics via the SPSS software. Results The negative agreement on the no initiation of intensive care measures and the discontinuation of resuscitation in neonates with poor prognosis was more than the positive agreement. Also, various factors influenced the participants’ decision making for the provision of care to neonates. Regarding the case scenarios, the participants agreed on the provision of aggressive, conservative, and palliative care with various frequencies. This study confirms the importance of healthcare providers’ perspectives and their impacts on ethical decision making. The participants favored the value or sacredness of life and agreed on the use of all therapeutic measures for saving the lives of neonates with poor prognosis. Conclusion More studies are required to improve our understandings of factors influencing ethical decision making by healthcare providers when encountering neonates with poor prognosis in NICUs. (shrink)

By interpreting Merleau-Ponty's “flesh” as the intertwining of dualities, my paper will show how metaphorical language reveals our non-dualistic and reversible reality by referring to the inter-related or confounding dualities of lover and beloved in the Sufi poetry of Rūmī. The metaphor lies between the writer’s expression of the real and the reader’s imaginal reception of it and mirrors the non-dualistic nature of reality. Using this conception, I will then move on to study the metaphor of lovers/beloveds alternating roles in (...) Rūmī’s poetry, which is grounded in the soteriological and social aspects of Sufi ideas and praxis. Hence, I will essentially be showing how aesthetics and comparative philosophy can prove to be fertile ground for cross-pollination and a more nuanced study of ontology for scholars interested in Merleau-Ponty’s embodiment and Sufi poetry as a form of philosophical discourse. (shrink)

In this chapter, Zahra Meghani provides a brief overview of the regulatory framework for consumer products in the United States, the European Union and Japan, followed by an extended analysis of their regulation of genetically modified food. The regulatory regimes for GM food of the three regions differ substantially, but they are committed to the same model of scientific risk assessment. That paradigm assumes that risk evaluations are not influenced by any normative concerns. This chapter critiques that conception of (...) risk assessment. It is argued that in the interest of presenting to the public an accurate account of their work, the regulatory entities of the US, the EU, and Japan should acknowledge that their risk assessment of GM food involve normative choices. Moreover, they should create open, transparent, democratic processes to include the public in the deliberations and decision-making about the values that should shape the risk evaluation of GM foods at every stage of the risk assessment process. (shrink)

This paper argues that regulatory agencies have a responsibility to further the public interest when they determine the conditions under which new technological products may be commercialized. As a case study, this paper analyzes the US 9th Circuit Court’s ruling on the efforts of the US Environmental Protection Agency to regulate an herbicide meant for use with seed that are genetically modified to be tolerant of the chemical. Using that case, it is argued that when regulatory agencies evaluate new technological (...) products, they have an obligation to draw on data, analyses, and evaluations from a variety of credible epistemic sources, and not rely solely or even primarily on the technology developer. Otherwise, they create conditions for their own domination and that of the polity by the technology developer. Moreover, in the interest of advancing the public interest, regulatory agencies must evaluate new technologies in a substantively and procedurally unbiased manner. (shrink)

Recent research shows that 20% of children face a form of chronic illness during childhood. The illness and its associated physical and mental challenges can affect such children's ‘being’ and influence how they develop as people. A significant aspect of a child's life that can be profoundly influenced by a chronic illness is education. This study employed a phenomenological approach to shed more light on the special education of such children. Temporality and embodiment were examined as two philosophical bases in (...) the phenomenological education of children with such chronic illnesses. Also, this educational model highlights that phenomenological understanding, and the healing connection in education, can increase the affected children's positive self-concept, directing them towards a satisfying and happy life. (shrink)