For the last fifty years, the United States healthcare system has done an extremely poor job of delivering healthcare in a just and fair manner. The United States holds the dubious distinction of being the only industrialized nation in the world lacking provisions to ensure universal coverage. We attempt to provide some of the reasons this dysfunctional system has persisted and show that healthcare should not be a commodity. We begin with a brief historical overview of healthcare delivery in the (...) United States since WWII. This is followed by a critical analysis of the for-profit model including reasons to support the view that healthcare should not be a free market commodity. We also demonstrate how special interest groups have been able to win support for their practices based on propaganda rather than fact. A brief analysis of the Affordable Care Act is offered along with critical comments regarding its ineffectiveness. We conclude with a brief overview of international approaches that have resulted in universal coverage and suggest the United States ought to adopt an approach similar to those outlined so that it no longer stands as the only industrialized nation to ignore the glaring problems that exist. (shrink)

Informed consent is a central concept for empirical and theoretical research concerning pregnancy management decisions and is often taken to be one of the more fundamental goals of the profession of genetic counseling. Tellingly, this concept has been seen by disability communities as salutary, despite longstanding critiques made by disability activists, advocates, and scholars concerning practices involved in genetic counseling more generally. In this chapter, we show that the widespread faith in informed consent is misleading and can be detrimental to (...) the practice of genetic counseling as guided by concerns of justice and equity. We proceed in two steps. First, we explain how informed consent is flawed as a practical concept. Second, we show how the inadequacy of informed consent illuminates the animating core of disability critiques of genetic counseling: the issue of ableism. We argue that the problem of ableism cannot be solved with informed consent because it is not merely a problem of information, but also of epistemic schemas. We suggest that what we call critically informed consent is better suited to move genetic counseling from being aware of the problem of ableism to becoming actively anti-ableist. (shrink)

The book Just Hierarchies: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World by Daniel A. Bell and Pei Wang aims to answer the following question: 'Should morally justifiable social hierarchies structure our social lives on an everyday basis, including our relations with loved ones?' Bell and Wang respond positively. In this article, I mainly focus on the relations between intimates, examining the arguments from the perspective of social egalitarianism and feminism. Bell and Wang argue that hierarchies (...) involving shifting roles are justified, but I shall argue that the defence of hierarchy in intimate relations is not completely convincing. First, the authors mistake hierarchical societies for hierarchical organisations. I will explain why this conflation is detrimental to the defence of hierarchies. Second, the authors neglect to mention some of the significant moral wrongs perpetuated by hierarchical systems. A hierarchy such as a caste system not only fixes inferior and superior positions but also conveys demeaning messages to those who are lower in rank. In addition, we also need to consider the macro-background of specific interpersonal hierarchies to be able to make sense of the wrongs of intimate hierarchies. Third, the practical implications of the defence of intimate hierarchies are ambiguous. I argue that, ultimately, the authors are not able to defend what they set out to defend at the very beginning of the book. (shrink)

Craig, Barry M Review of: Vatican council II: Reforming liturgy, by Carmel Pilcher, David Orr and Elizabeth Harrington, eds., pp. xxviii + 307, $49.95.

_Learning Communities_ is a groundbreaking book that shows how learning communities can be a flexible and effective approach to enhancing student learning, promoting curricular coherence, and revitalizing faculty. Written by Barbara Leigh Smith, Jean MacGregor, Roberta S. Matthews, and Faith Gabelnick¾acclaimed national leaders in the learning communities movement¾this important book provides the historical, conceptual, and philosophical context for LCs and clearly demonstrates that they can be a key element in institutional transformation.

Even given the final truths of what is right and wrong, good and bad, ethics is not complete. For one may yet ask “Why should I be moral?” Of course, we have no prior assurance that it will be possible to provide a non-moral and justifiable answer to the rational and self-interested person. Nevertheless, I claim that reasons for being moral can be provided even for the rational, self-interested, and remorseless individual who knows he will not be caught. In defending (...) my claim I will draw on empirical data from recent social psychology and game theory. Actual human selves are malleable in a number of ways. I will show that it is rational for the self-interested person to modify selves in such a way that moral actions are increasingly preferred. Specifically, I will argue that it is in one’s rational self-interest to enhance empathy in others and future selves in such a way that for increasing numbers other-injury becomes a component of self-injury, and other-benefit becomes a component of self-benefit. This will allow a linkage to be drawn from rational and self-interested action to moral action. The development of this theory will begin by distinguishing my approach from that of Gauthier, then three interpretations of the “Why be moral?” question will be delineated, next the decision theoretic components of my account will be presented, and finally the role of empathy will be considered in detail. (shrink)

A recent New York Times/CBS poll shows that nearly 80 percent of respondents think the American “health care system is headed toward a crisis because of rising costs.” Indeed, the public has become well acquainted with ominous-looking graphs that detail the nation’s health care spending. The increasingly steep slope of the graph showing the percentage of gross domestic product spent on health care invites tongue-in-cheek projections for when health care spending will finally consume it all.High aggregate health care expenditures result (...) from the low prices individuals pay for coverage. On average, patients pay only five cents out-of-pocket for every dollar of hospital charges they generate. The remainder is paid by private or public health insurance. Patients pay slightly more for physicians’ services—nineteen cents on each dollar. For health care of all types, patients pay approximately twenty-four cents on each dollar. With individuals paying what amount to fire sale prices for health care, it should come as no surprise that they purchase a great deal of coverage. (shrink)

This paper presents a succinct review of the movement for moral genesis in business that arose in the 1970s. The moral genesis movement is characterized by: the rejection of the premise that business and ethics are antagonistic; the rise of the Issues Management approach, which stresses the social responsibility of the corporation: disdain of government regulation as a means of business moralization, and a search for control measures aimed at improving organization moral behavior. This movement now begins to give rise (...) to a new organizational model, the Self-Moralizing Corporation, which transcends existing paradigms of corporate rectitude. The tenets of the Self-Moralizing Corporation are that: the moral behavior of members is a requisite to the attainment of organization goals; individual moral behavior is an asset which must be managed and developed by the corporation; individual moral development is a collectively and individually shared responsibility; and, the maintenance of moral values is more important than the preservation of organization structure. (shrink)

Biomedical advances of the past 20 years have stimulated a renewed interest in medical ethics. Transplantation of multiple human organs, implantation of artificial devices, advances in genetics, and stem cell research are a few of the medical procedures and discoveries that have awakened in both professionals and the public an awareness that medical discoveries often raise important ethical and societal issues. Today, members of the medical profession face issues that did not seem so pressing to their predecessors, and physician conduct (...) in response to many of these issues involves decision-making based on ethical principles. Issues of informed consent, gifts from pharmaceutical companies, and patient rights to privacy were not of great concern to most physicians a generation ago. However, these and other topics that involve a physician's ethical conduct have become increasingly pertinent to the practice of medicine.A renewed emphasis on ethics has been voiced by leaders in the field of medicine. (shrink)

Medically unnecessary penile circumcision (MUPC) performed on a non-consenting child has been the subject of increasing critical attention in recent years. This paper provides a behind-the-scenes narrative of the politics of ethical policymaking in the United Kingdom in this area including a discussion about some potential barriers to reform. After a brief overview of ethical guidance for medically unnecessary surgical procedures on children in general and on their genitalia in particular, the paper takes a closer look at three contemporary documents (...) released by UK medical bodies and highlights the unique ethical and safeguarding contradictions in this area. The outcomes of initiatives aimed at engaging constructively with the medical bodies and encouraging wider debate are then described, along with some of the main obstacles to engagement and counter-arguments employed. MUPC is subsequently discussed in a wider societal context, highlighting why serious safeguarding concerns have been raised about what many people believe to be a harmful, preventable practice hiding ‘in plain sight’. The paper ends by calling for UK MUPC guidance to be made consistent with the body of guidance that UK doctors are expected to follow. (shrink)

Resumo: O atual ecossistema de mídia em rede é claramente caracterizado pela convergência. Recentemente, a convergência de mídia tem progredido rapidamente, tanto nos círculos teóricos quanto nas aplicações práticas, e o desenvolvimento da convergência tornou-se inevitavelmente uma tendência importante no desenvolvimento da mídia. A convergência de mídias transformou, de forma única, a ecologia das notícias, da comunicação e da opinião pública, na qual uma revisão da produção de notícias se destaca enquanto sua expressão principal. Como resultado da convergência da mídia, (...) a produção de notícias mudou de um modo linear tradicional para um modo não linear. Devido ao uso de vídeo, áudio e formas H5 de notícias, na nova mídia, além da mídia tradicional, baseada principalmente em conteúdo de texto e imagem, as reportagens de notícias são agora mais diversificadas, visualmente atraentes e inovadoras. O processo de produção de notícias mudou como resultado da convergência da mídia, tornando-se mais eficaz, adaptável e diversificado. Ao estudar o impacto da integração da mídia sobre a produção de notícias, este artigo teve, por objetivo, entender como a mídia deve ser ajustada na era da integração, de que maneira a produção de notícias deve se desenvolver e se superar, e as leis gerais da produção de notícias no processo de desenvolvimento da integração. Ao mesmo tempo, nesse contexto, a pesquisa em questão investiga o impacto da convergência da mídia na produção de notícias, delineia a maneira como a mídia pode se adaptar a cenários dinâmicos, propõe novos métodos de produção de notícias para promover o progresso da era da convergência e visa estabelecer os princípios básicos da produção de notícias no desenvolvimento integrado. Sob a tendência de digitalização, rede e informatização, o modo de produção de notícias passou por mudanças. Com o surgimento da nova mídia e a transformação gradual da mídia tradicional, o ambiente e o modo de produção de notícias também passaram por mudanças profundas. Este artigo revelou os mecanismos subjacentes e as tendências futuras dessa mudança, que podem melhorar a eficiência e a qualidade da produção de notícias, e aumentar sua competitividade em um ambiente de mídia diversificado. Ele tem um valor de referência importante para organizações de notícias, profissionais de mídia e formuladores de políticas relevantes, podendo fornecer uma base científica para a tomada de decisões. (shrink)

This paper is about the contribution of Saint Augustine to the reform of the Catholic Church in North Africa, through his ministry of preaching. When he was still a priest at Hippo, Augustine waged a forceful and successful war against some pagan practices which had gradually crept into the Church. The common practice of celebrating the dead in the Roman world was being applied to the Saints of the Church and Christians were celebrating their memory by getting drunk. The prohibition (...) of such practices by the authority of the Church met with the resistance of the faithful, so Augustine decided to act precisely through the power of the Word he proclaimed to his flock. In his Letter 29 addressed to Alypius the Bishop of Thagaste, he narrates how he convinced the faithful to stop the celebration of the feast called Laetitia on the feast day of Saint Leontius. After sketching the background of the devotion to the Saints in North Africa, our study examines the line of Augustine’s argumentation that led to the success of this preaching, and hence shows how he contributed to the reform of the Church of his day. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the availability of financial bounties and anonymous reporting channels impact individuals’ general reporting intentions of questionable acts and whether the availability of financial bounties will prompt people to reveal their identities. The recent passage of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 creates a financial bounty for whistle-blowers. In addition, SOX requires companies to provide employees with an anonymous reporting channel option. It is unclear of the effect (...) of these provisions as they relate to whistle-blowing. Our results indicate that a financial bounty has the potential to increase participants’ propensity to report questionable acts and their willingness to reveal their identities when reporting, but the availability of an anonymous reporting channel does not affect participants’ propensity to report questionable acts. These findings could potentially help corporate management, government policy makers and accounting researchers to assess the effectiveness of their internal compliance programs and help determine if financial bounties in the private sector could encourage whistle-blowing. (shrink)

Historically, most Darul Ulooms in South Africa have been modelled along the curriculum of Darul Uloom Deoband in India, which was established in 1866, and there is a need for reforming the curriculum in a world that has evolved over time. In recent years, the role of the Darul Uloom has become more crucial as more students, both nationally and internationally, are now studying at the South African Darul Ulooms. This research article aims to propose some reforms to the (...) current Deoband curriculum adopted by some of these South African Darul Ulooms. CONTRIBUTION: This proposal suggests applying themes from Al-Mawwaq's work to foster reforms to the curriculum, which will enhance and produce scholars who are more tolerant and able to deal with the changing circumstances, both nationally and internationally. (shrink)

An economically viable and environmental friendly method of generating hydrogen for fuel cells is by the reaction of certain metals with steam, called metalsteam reforming (MSR). This technique does not generate any toxic by-products nor contributes to the undesirable greenhouse effect. From the standpoint of favorable thermodynamics, total environmental benignity, and attractive economics, iron appears to be the metal of choice for such a process. An inexpensive source of iron for the MSR is the steel industry's mill-scale waste via (...) hydrogen and carbothermic reduction, both of which are energy-intensive processes. These have been eliminated by a novel, solution-based room temperature technique producing nanoscale iron, thus obviating the sintering of iron or iron oxide and deactivation during the cyclic operation of MSR. Some preliminary results are presented of an investigation aimed at converting the mill-scale waste into nanoscale iron, which was subsequently used in generating hydrogen for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. (shrink)

New data-driven ideas of healthcare have increased pressures to reform existing data infrastructures. This article explores the role of data governing institutions during a reform of both secondary health data infrastructure and related legislation in Finland. The analysis elaborates on recent conceptual work on data journeys and data frictions, connecting them to institutional and regulatory issues. The study employs an interpretative approach, using interview and document data. The results show the stark contrast between the goals of open and Big Data (...) inspired reforms and the existing institutional realities. The multiple tensions that emerged during the process indicate how data frictions emanate to the institutional level, and how mundane data practices and institutional dynamics are intertwined. The article argues that in the Finnish case, public institutions acted as sage-guards of public interest, preventing more controversial parts from passing. Finally, it argues that initiating regulatory and infrastructural reforms simultaneously was beneficial for solving the tensions of the initiative and analysing either side separately would have produced misleading accounts of the overall initiative. The results highlight the benefits of analysing institutional dynamics and data practices as connected issues. (shrink)

Contrary to appearances, Machiavelli's Art of War is a carefully ordered whole. The order of treatment of topics in the body of the work deviates from the order initially proposed by the dialogue's main interlocutor, yet it strictly follows another order, inscribed in the text itself, which is neither accidental nor dependent on any ancient source. A clear understanding of this new order, and of the dramatic event that precipitates it, illuminates key questions, including the work's dialogic character, its relation (...) to its ancient sources, Machiavelli's apparent deprecation of cavalry as opposed to infantry, and, most importantly, Machiavelli's own long-term impresa to blaze an altogether new path in political thought. More specifically, attention to the order of the military section suggests that the dialogue's main speaker and his young interlocutors become the commanders of an army-in-speech on the march against an entire way of life whose origins are found in Christianity. (shrink)

The legendary Greek figure Orpheus was said to have possessed magical powers capable of moving all living and inanimate things through the sound of his lyre and voice. Over time, the Orphic theme has come to indicate the power of music to unsettle, subvert, and ultimately bring down oppressive realities in order to liberate the soul and expand human life without limits. The liberating effect of music has been a particularly important theme in twentieth-century African American literature. The nine original (...) essays in Black Orpheus examines the Orphic theme in the fiction of such African American writers as Jean Toomer, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, James Baldwin, Nathaniel Mackey, Sherley Anne Williams, Ann Petry, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, Gayl Jones, and Toni Morrison. The authors discussed in this volume depict music as a mystical, shamanistic, and spiritual power that can miraculously transform the realities of the soul and of the world. Here, the musician uses his or her music as a weapon to shield and protect his or her spirituality. Written by scholars of English, music, women's studies, American studies, cultural theory, and black and Africana studies, the essays in this interdisciplinary collection ultimately explore the thematic, linguistic structural presence of music in twentieth-century African American fiction. (shrink)

How many questions could you answer in a pub quiz about British values? Designed to ensure new migrants have accepted British values and integrated, the UK's citizenship test is often portrayed as a bad pub quiz with answers few citizens know. With the launch of a new post-Brexit immigration system, this is a critical time to change the test. Thom Brooks draws on first-hand experience of taking the test, and interviews with key figures including past Home Secretaries, to expose the (...) test as ineffective and a barrier to citizenship. This accessible guide offers recommendations for transforming the citizenship test into a 'bridge to citizenship' which fosters greater inclusion and integration. (shrink)