Background Making appropriate end-of-life decisions in the intensive care unit (ICU) requires shared interprofessional decision-making. Thus, a decision-making climate that values the contributions of all team members, addresses diverse opinions and seeks consensus among team members is necessary. Little is known about religion’s influence on ethical decision-making climates. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between religious belief and ethical decision-making climates. Methods The study was a cross-sectional analytical observation study as a part of the prospective observational DISPROPRICUS study. (...) A total of 2,275 nurses and 717 physicians from 68 ICUs representing 12 countries in Europe and the US participated. All participants were asked which religion (if any) they belonged to and how important their religion (if any) was for their professional attitude towards end-of-life care. Perceptions of ethical decision-making climates were evaluated using a validated, 35-item self-assessment questionnaire that evaluates seven factors. Using cluster analysis, ICUs were categorised into four ethical decision-making climates: good, average (with nurses’ involvement at the end of life), average (without nurses’ involvement at the end of life) and poor. Results Of the 2,992 participants, 453 (15%) were religious (had religious convictions and found them important or very important for their attitude towards end-of-life care). The remaining 2,539 were non-religious (i.e. had religious convictions but assessed that they were not important for their attitude towards end-of-life care). When adjusting for country and ICU, the overall perception of the four ethical climates was associated with religious beliefs, with non-religious healthcare providers having more positive perceptions of the ethical climates compared to religious healthcare providers (p < 0.01). Within good climates, non-religious healthcare providers rated leadership by physicians (p < 0.01), interdisciplinary reflection (p = 0.049) and active decision-making by physicians (p = 0.02) as more positive compared to religious participants. In poor climates, religious healthcare providers had a more positive perception of the active involvement of nurses (p = 0.01). Within the other climates, no differences were found. Conclusions Overall perceptions of ethical decision-making climates were associated with religious beliefs, with non-religious healthcare providers generally having a more positive perception of the ethical climates than religious healthcare providers. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Introduction to the Mystery of the Church by Benoît-Dominique de La Soujeole, O.P.David OlsonIntroduction to the Mystery of the Church. By Benoît-Dominique de La Soujeole, O.P. Trans. by Michael J. Miller. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2014. Pp. xxviii + 640. $75.00 (cloth). ISBN: 978-0-8132-2607-1.La Soujeole intends his work to be a textbook in an introductory course in ecclesiology. While this is a (...) review of the English translation, the book was first published in French in 2007, and the preface to the original edition stated, “The present volume is a course in ecclesiology that has been taught regularly at the Dominican House of Studies in Toulouse” (xxv). As a textbook, it is well structured and should be accessible to a wide variety of students. The writing style in translation is clear and straightforward, with explanations given for any terms of art which are used, making it accessible to an audience with some theological training.The tone of the book is theological, that is to say, it is focused on an ordered view of the Catholic faith. It is not apologetic or polemical as is sometimes the case with books on ecclesiology, particularly those preceding the Second Vatican Council. On the other hand, it is certainly not a relativistic, blandly Christian study of various notions of church. Each of the topics within the book is situated within Scripture, and the author provides ample bibliography, though—not surprisingly, considering his religious order and background—the work leans heavily upon St. Thomas Aquinas. The book gives a very balanced view of the teachings of Vatican II.The author begins his work with a general introduction that provides a brief historical overview of important moments and trends in the theology of the Church, as well as a review of ecclesiology as a separate theological subject. One point is that the study of ecclesiology per se is relatively new, beginning only in the fourteenth century, but that questions concerning the ecclesia are found within all major areas of theological study. Ecclesiology cannot neatly be divorced from the study of the doctrine of God, Christology, or the sacraments. Issues regarding sacramental theology and Christology are prominent in the second portion of the book.Explanations are full and show a certain rigor. Some might consider them at times pedantic. For example, the distinction of belief in God from belief in the Church in the Nicene Creed is more than four pages in length, rehearsing difficulties of translation (296-301). More substantially on this point, over these four plus pages the author does not manage to make what would be to many theologians the obvious distinction between the absolute God and the created reality referred to as the Church. In fact, it is not clear that this is a distinction the author would want to make, as the second part of the book, containing his speculative theology, eschews a distinction between a visible and invisible church, the body of the Church and the grace of Jesus Christ. A [End Page 324] too-cursory reading of the second part could tend toward conflating the Church and the inner life of God.The book is divided into three parts. The first part is subdivided into thematic descriptions of the Church. The several themes explored are “Images of the Church and the Kingdom of God,” “the Church [as] the Body of Christ,” “the Church [as] the Temple of the Spirit,” and “the Church [as] the People of God.” The discussion on the Kingdom of God is the most limited. The first part of the book concludes with a section entitled “Recapitulation: The Church Is a Mystery.”The presentations on the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Spirit, and the People of God are done thoroughly. They follow a standard pattern of reviewing Scripture, patristic developments, the medieval period (mostly St. Thomas), and developments from Vatican II, which the author characterizes as the council on the Church. Following a thematic approach, particularly in teaching ecclesiology, seems most appropriate since the typical student may lack the needed... (shrink)

We show that there is an antichain basis for neither the class of non-potentially closed Borel subsets of the plane under Borel rectangular reducibility nor the class of analytic graphs of uncountable Borel chromatic number under Borel reducibility.

We study genericity and randomness with respect to ITTMs, continuing the work initiated by Carl and Schlicht. To do so, we develop a framework to study randomness in the constructible hierarchy. We then answer several of Carl and Schlicht’s question. We also ask a new question one the equality of two classes of randoms. Although the natural intuition would dictate that the two classes are distinct, we show that things are not as simple as they seem. In particular we show (...) that the categorical analogues of these two classes coincide, in contradiction with the natural intuition. Even though we are not able to answer the question for randomness in this article, we delineate and sharpen its contour and outline. (shrink)

D'" agronomie " à " physique quantique ", d'" Avicenne " à " Wittgenstein ", de " bioéthique " à " hasard " et " loi de la nature ", en passant par " neurone ", " Newton ", " Prigogine ", " symétrie "... Bien au-delà de l'inventaire des progrès marquants de l'histoire des sciences, ce dictionnaire, couronné par l'Institut de France, a pour ambition d'introduire ses lecteurs aux réalités de la pensée scientifique. Réflexion philosophique et enquête historique y (...) sont mêlées, mettant au jour les présupposés, ressorts et perspectives philosophiques des théories et des inventions scientifiques. Inédit en poche, ce dictionnaire, qui ne connaît aucun équivalent, s'adresse aux chercheurs, étudiants, ingénieurs ou pédagogues, mais aussi à tous ceux qui s'intéressent aux sciences de la nature et ne se satisfont pas du positivisme dominant. Fruit de la collaboration de près de deux cents chercheurs et universitaires français et étrangers, scientifiques, philosophes, historiens et sociologues, ce dictionnaire est publié sous la direction de Dominique Lecourt, professeur de philosophie à l'Université Denis Diderot-Paris VII où il dirige le Centre Georges Canguilhem. (shrink)

One of the areas of concern raised by cross-border reproductive travel regards the treatment of women who are solicited to provide their ova or surrogacy services to foreign consumers. This is particularly troublesome in the context of developing countries where endemic poverty and low standards for both medical care and informed consent may place these women at risk of exploitation and harm. We explore two contrasting proposals for policy development regarding the industry, both of which seek to promote ethical outcomes (...) and social justice: While one proposal advocates efforts to minimize cross-border demand for female reproductive resources through the pursuit of national self-sufficiency, the other defends cross-border trade as a means for meeting the needs of vulnerable groups. Despite the conflicting objectives of the proposed strategies, the paper identifies common values and points of agreement between the two, including the importance of regulations to safeguard those providing ova or surrogacy services. (shrink)

During the course of evolution, variations of a protein sequence is an ongoing phenomenon however limited by the need to maintain its structural and functional integrity. Deciphering the evolutionary path of a protein is thus of fundamental interest. With the development of new methods to visualize high dimension spaces and the improvement of phylogenetic analysis tools, it is possible to study the evolutionary trajectories of proteins in the sequence space. Using the data-driven high-dimensional scaling method, we show that it is (...) possible to predict and represent potential evolutionary trajectories by representing phylogenetic trees into a 3D projection of the sequence space. With the case of the aminodeoxychorismate synthase, an enzyme involved in folate synthesis, we show that this representation raises interesting questions about the complexity of the evolution of a given biological function, in particular concerning its capacity to explore the sequence space. (shrink)

This paper studies how in his Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smith answered to Mandeville on the role of pride and vanity in the economic and social dynamics of commercial societies. We show why vanity supersedes pride in his analysis and how he offers a more positive view of these two passions. We study in particular the economic and social consequences of pride and vanity and describe the psychological foundations of excessive self-esteem that these passions entail.

Ethical debate about the use of animals in science is argued within different ethical frameworks; mainly utilitarianism, deontology, relativism or emotional ethics, with some debaters preferring particular frameworks. Stakeholders to the debate are veterinarians, scientists using animals, animal welfare groups and the general public. To estimate the balance of ethical frameworks used, we ran a discourse analysis of written texts by each stakeholder . The discourse analysis targeted the description of animals, instances of emotional language and language associated with utilitarianism, (...) deontology and relativism. Frequencies were compared using ANOVAs and Tukey tests. All stakeholders used words associated with all frameworks but emotional language was the most used followed by utilitarian , relativist and deontological language. Emotional language was used in texts from the general public more than in texts from veterinarians and scientists and animal welfare representatives . Animals were mainly described in a utilitarian way , more frequently by scientists than the general public . All stakeholders preferentially used negative emotional language when referring to animals than positive , and all stakeholders prioritised human interests over animals . Not surprisingly, a mixture of ethical frameworks were used to assess the ethics of animal experimentation. However, the language used in texts from animal welfare groups and the general public suggest that those two groups preferentially build arguments with emotion rather than utilitarianism, a framework that is privileged by veterinarians and scientists since they primarily use animals. (shrink)

II. Nouveaux addenda à la chronologie delphique. Des actes d'affranchissement inédits, revus ou complétés par des raccords nouveaux permettent d'apporter quelques précisions au tableau des archontes de la chronologie delphique : attribution de l'archontat 036 comme archontat de transition, sous lequel s'effectue le passage de la prêtrise XXXII à la prêtrise XXXIII (texte 8). Par ailleurs, la liste des secrétaires municipaux s'enrichit de deux noms nouveaux (textes 6 et 7). Essai de définition de cette fonction qui devait être annuelle et (...) renouvelable, sans que l'itération impliquât nécessairement la continuité. III. En marge des actes d'affranchissement delphiques : les calendriers phocidiens. Un raccord entre deux fragments d'affranchissement permet d'examiner sous un jour différent les calendriers phocidiens. A côté des deux calendriers fédéraux reconnus jusqu'alors (nominal et numéral), subsistaient durant le IIe s. av. J.-C. des calendriers locaux. Le calendrier fédéral numéral est le plus récent : il a probablement été adopté après 189, pour éviter les confusions que devait susciter la coexistence de plusieurs calendriers nominaux au sein du koinon. A partir du Ier siècle av. J.-C, il demeure seul attesté. (shrink)

Réfléchir à l’idée de justice et de prise en compte des intérêts, notamment économiques, ouvre un champ d’étude considérable, même en prenant comme point de départ l’analyse juridique. Aussi pour tenter de circonscrire l’objet de cette recherche, le choix a été fait de partir d’une situation, provoquant la mise en tension de l’idée même de justice d’une manière originale et d’envisager une réponse juridique nouvelle. A cet égard, partir des catastrophes industrielles s’est imposé à plusieurs titres. D’une part, le phénomène (...) est mondial puisque des catastrophes ont eu lieu tant dans des pays développés qu’en développement. D’autre part, il questionne l’idée de justice de manière complexe car les conséquences ne sont pas univoques et le profil des victimes est très divers. Enfin, les modalités d’intervention juridique pour réguler ces situations poussent à envisager un cadre transnational d’intervention cohérent avec la portée des catastrophes industrielles. Néanmoins, cette réglementation, au sein de traités négociés entre pays et qui relève du droit international économique ne fait pas figure d’évidence. Pour dépasser l’horizon national en matière de normes juridiques, il convenait donc d’identifier un concept à même de le justifier : la justice socio-environnementale. (shrink)

IV. Actes d'affranchissement inédits. Ce premier ensemble donne la publication de 14 affranchissements ou fragments d'affranchissements demeurés inédits. V. A propos du vocabulaire des actes d'affranchissement delphique. La relecture des actes d'affranchissement du théâtre de Delphes permet de revenir sur la série des composés en -θεσία, à propos de deux termes : du premier, ή ίερανθεσία, on ne possédait jusqu'à présent qu'une seule attestation ; le second, ή ώνανθεσία, est quant à lui entièrement nouveau.

In Résolution des quatre principaux problèmes d’architecture (1673) then in Cours d’architecture (1683), the architect–mathematician Nicolas-François Blondel addresses one of the most famous architectural problems of all times, that of the reduction in columns (entasis). The interest of the text lies in the variety of subjects that are linked to this issue. (1) The text is a response to the challenge launched by Curabelle in 1664 under the name Étrenne à tous les architectes; (2) Blondel mathematicizes the problem in the (...) “style of the Ancients”; (3) The problem is reformulated and solved through the continuous drawing of the curve; (4) Blondel refutes the uniqueness of the curve by enumerating a variety of solutions (conchoid, spiral, parabola, ellipse, circle, hyperbola). This exuberance responds to an intention that does not coincide with the state of the art of mathematics at the end of the seventeenth century, nor with the taste for geometry of the Ancients, nor with any pedagogical project. This feature is explained by Blondel’s plan to found architecture on scientific bases. The reasons for his failure are analysed. (shrink)

In Australia, the ethics of the use of animals for scientific purposes are assessed by Animal Ethics Committees that are comprised of the four major parties involved in the animal experimentation debate: veterinarians, scientists using animals, animal welfare representatives and members of the public. AECs are required to assess animal experiments as ethical based on a cost/benefit analysis, suggesting the use of consequentialist ethics. However, people are more likely to use a mixture of frameworks when making ethical decisions. Therefore, we (...) hypothesised that AEC members will make their decisions using argumentation relying on multiple frameworks, including ethical relativism, deontology and emotional ethics; frameworks commonly used in the public debate about animal experimentation. The language used by AEC members, examined using discourse analysis techniques, can indicate which ethical frameworks they rely upon. Using a role playing method, representatives from each of the four AEC categories discussed the ethical value of eight fictional protocols involving animal experimentation. The discussions were recorded and analysed using Nvivo for instances of emotional and ethical language. Data were analysed using ANOVAs and Tukey tests. Emotional language was more common than ethical language (p. (shrink)

Depuis la seconde guerre mondiale, l'État fédéral canadien a été gouverné à sept reprises par des équipes sans majorité au parlement : en 1957, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1972, 1979 et 2004. Dans cette étude nous avons retenu deux cas : celui du gouvernement Trudeau 1972-1974 et celui du gouvernement Martin 2004 parce que dans ces deux cas, le même parti et le même chef ont assumé le pouvoir en situation majoritaire et en situation minoritaire. Le vocabulaire caractéristique de ces deux (...) équipes est mis en lumière grâce au calcul des 'spécificités du vocabulaire'. On présente ce calcul en détail : utilisation de la loi hypergéométrique et pondération en fonction de la catégorie grammaticale du mot étudié. Il apparaît que le discours gouvernemental minoritaire est nettement impersonnel ; il sous-utilise les verbes et se réfugie dans un catalogue d'actions de court terme. (shrink)

"Comment lire Derrida lorsqu'on n'est pas derridien? Sa philosophie exclut par avance toute lecture qui serait surplombante, que celle-ci relève de l'histoire de la philosophie ou de toute autre approche métaphilosophique. Mais l'impertinence exigerait tout autant le renversement de la question : Comment lire Derrida quand on est derridien? On ne peut qu'écrire avec lui, comme lui. N'a-t-il pas en effet disqualifié la différence même entre écriture et commentaire? Comment dès lors l'analyser sans se laisser contaminer par les effets déconstructifs (...) induits par son écriture, ni le trahir par une distance telle qu'elle ferait perdre la spécificité de son style philosophique? C'est le défi que les contributeurs de ce livre s'efforcent de relever en proposant des analyses croisées d'Éperons. Les Styles de Nietzsche dont la lecture s'avère à cet égard particulièrement pertinente puisqu'elle pose directement tout en les liant à la question du féminin et de la différence sexuelle les questions du style et de l'herméneutique. Les études proposées, inscrites dans différents champs disciplinaires philosophie, analyse de discours, sémiotique et stylistique, permettent de mesurer à quel point l'on peut faire droit à l'originalité de Derrida sans le poser comme indéchiffrable, et mettre à jour les caractéristiques d'une parole philosophique qui, tout en mimant la pratique traditionnelle du commentaire, entend produire un nouveau mode d'énonciation philosophique."--Quatrième de couverture. (shrink)