This paper provides the theoretical analysis of forms of solidarity in academia and its relationship to academic integrity. This analysis is inspired by the Guidelines for an Institutional Code of Ethics in Higher Education drawn up by the International Association of Universities and the Magna Charta Observatory. These Guidelines refer to the principle of solidarity in the context of international cooperation between higher education institutions. However, the author of this paper believes that this principle might also be used in a (...) broader academic context, in particular, in the field of academic ethics and academic integrity. Therefore, this paper aims at revealing the relevance of solidarity in academia and argues that the principle of solidarity can be considered as one of fundamental principles of academic ethics and should be reflected in the structure and provisions of the codes of academic ethics. For this purpose the author explores the philosophical and sociological approaches towards solidarity and defines the concept of academic solidarity, discusses the conceptual connection between academic solidarity, ethics and integrity and illustrates the impact of solidarity on the development of academic integrity. This analysis allows the author of the paper to recommend embedding the principle of solidarity in the codes of academic ethics of higher education institutions as well as extending the scope of its application by linking the rights and responsibilities of different groups within the academic community in a way that best expresses their unity, shared responsibility, mutual support in meeting the standards of social ethos. (shrink)

Background Caring is a core function of nurses and it confers upon them ethical obligations as ethical agents. Failure to carry out such ethical obligations raises ethical concerns. This study was not intended to explore ethical concerns, but the reported findings reveal problems which have ethical implications. This paper aims to elucidate the ethical issues inherent in the findings and propose strategies to mitigate them. Research design and methods An exploratory-descriptive qualitative design was used within a larger Action Research Study. (...) Data were collected through focus group discussions with nurse/midwives, and through exit interviews which were conducted with the women who participated in the study on their day of discharge. Six focus group discussions and thirty exit interviews were conducted, and data were analysed through thematic analysis. Participants and research context The study took place at selected maternal and child healthcare settings in Lilongwe, Malawi. The participants were nurse/midwives and women who were admitted in maternal and child healthcare settings and were purposively sampled. Ethical considerations Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant ethics committee and all ethical guidelines were followed in the conduct of the study. Findings The findings are presented under three themes which emerged from the data. The findings reveal effects of staff shortages on patient outcomes, problems experienced in low resource clinical settings and disrespectful nurse/patient communication. Conclusion The findings reveal that institutional factors constrain moral agency and patient safety is severely compromised in some of the clinical settings in Malawi which raises serious ethical concerns. (shrink)

In the first part of this essay the author indicates some of the problems of contemporary society related to how fragmentation of the social order affects and transforms self-identity. Today identity is chosen rather than given as it was in the past. Such freedom to choose who, how and where to be not only opens the possibility of unrestrained creativity but requires that the subject face new ethical and political issues.In the second part the author introduces these themes and questions (...) as they have been discussed by others. The problem of identity is put in the framework of space and time and approached as well with questions regarding the theory of names. Social problems of contemporary society are also discussed by using the approach proposed by Kantian philosophy. In the final essay of the present issue the question of how technology re-shapes and effects our everyday life is raised. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to examine whether United States -style regulatory intervention to encourage whistle-blowing can be immediately effective if transplanted into another country with a distinctly different historical cultural background and institutional system. A total of 98 U.S. and 84 German accountants participated in a laboratory experiment relating to a case of financial statement fraud. The provision of anti-retaliation protection and monetary rewards for whistle-blowing were manipulated and participants were asked to assume the role of an internal (...) auditor. We hypothesize and find that the provision of anti-retaliation protection and monetary rewards encourage U.S. accountants to blow the whistle. In contrast, among German accountants, where their country features a historical fear and distrust of whistle-blowers, U.S.-style regulatory interventions are less effective. Together, our findings provide strong support for the theory of path-dependence, suggesting that whistle-blowing regulation should not be uniformly transplanted without due consideration of the unique history and culture of a country. (shrink)

The concept of „fundamental unity of life" belongs to the descriptive element of biology. It contrasts with the equally empirical concept of multiplicity and diversity of living forms. „Fundamental unity of life" means that however peculiar a biological form might be, some of its essential mechanisms are exactly the same as in the rest of the biological world. It is astonishing to realize that so different beings as bacteria, plants and men manifest several evidently non fortuitous identities. For thousands of (...) years man has been aware, that many behavioral traits are common to all living beings. Every living being processes matter, multiplies, regenerates, adapts to its surroundings'. During the last century a new, impressive confirmation and amplification of these resemblances was found on the molecular and subcellular level. One may say that the previous, rather raw concepts of nutrition, reproduction, adaptation and regeneration have been replaced by the more or less direct evidence, observable within the single living cells. So the idea of „fundamental unity of life" underwent a legitimate „reduction" to the level of biochemistry. (shrink)

W monografii Radical Entlightenment. Philosophy and the Making of Modernity poświęconej dziejom oświecenia brytyjski historyk Jonathan Irvine Israel sformułował nową tezę dotyczącą datowania, źródeł i charakteru tego okresu historii i przypisał filozofii Spinozy znaczącą rolę w sformułowaniu haseł oświecenia. Jego praca wywołała szereg kontrowersji i uwag krytycznych, dotyczących oceny faktów należących do obszaru historii idei. Artykuł przypomina o interpretacjach roli filozofii Spinozy i o jej wczesnej recepcji, kiedy filozof oddziaływał bezpośrednio. Wydarzenia polityczne w Niderlandach w okresie 1648–1677 oraz losy filozofii (...) Descartes’a są czynnikami wydatnie ingerującymi w kształtowanie się pierwotnej recepcji spinozyzmu i przesądzają na długo o losach tej filozofii. (shrink)

This report examines the role of 1890 land-grant institutions and Tuskegee University in international research and curriculum development. It discusses the need for internationalizing curricula and the benefits and costs for 1890 institutions. Two particular strategies for infusing global perspectives using a small land-grant university as a case-study are presented. Two international projects served as a vehicle for enhancing faculty teaching, research and service capabilities.

The evolutionary theory of the knowledge reunites its facts of several independent sources: first of the Biological investigation of the conduct, Second, they constitute the systematic conditions of the evolution. Third it is continuum of the evolution, that comes in support of the thesis that as I ..

En este artículo me ocupo de la cuestión de cómo en las teorías de proceso dual se puede dar cuenta del autoengaño y su conexión con la racionalidad. Presento las versiones intencionalista y no intencionalista del autoengaño y muestro cómo el debate entre ellas puede dirimirse de manera más completa y satisfactoria en el marco de una teoría dual. En éste suelen aceptarse dos sistemas de razonamiento, uno heurístico y otro analítico, que compiten por el control de nuestras inferencias y (...) acciones, pero a veces interactúan y colaboran entre sí. Se defiende que si predomina la respuesta de S1, se puede ver el patrón del autoengaño como una forma de razonamiento heurístico y no únicamente como un vínculo causal. Se sugiere que las evaluaciones en cuanto a la racionalidad del proceso del autoengaño, dependerá del modo en que intervenga en el patrón de razonamiento y del sistema desde el cual se lleve a cabo. In this paper I discuss the phenomenon of self-deception and its connection with the notion of rationality linked to the dual process theories. I present the intentionalist and nonintentionalist accounts of self-deception and aim to show how the debate between them can be resolved in a more comprehensive and satisfactory manner, if it is placed in the frame of the dual process theories. The dual model usually accepts two kinds of reasoning processes, heuristic and analytic, referred to two different systems, S1 and S2. These processes compete for control of our inferences and actions, but sometimes they interact and collaborate. It is suggested that in a dual model, the evaluations in terms of the rationality of the process will depend on the way in which self-deception participates in the reasoning process and on the system from which the evaluation takes place. (shrink)

The article is the result of the research project “Higher Education in Humanistic Perspective: An Approach from Martha Nussbaum”, having Nussbaum’s book Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education as the main referent for the considerations presented. Hermeneutics is used as the philosophical method. One of the purposes of the article is to reveal how higher education courses in human development might be transformed from the perspective of self-examination in Martha Nussbaum’s thought, understanding the latter as one (...) of the three skills required for cultivating humanity. Self-examination is related to Bioethics in two different ways: first, by considering the current scientific context where some relevant issues arise and, second, it is exposed how its practice, by being in close relationship to the ethical and bioethical training of future professionals, is relevant for higher education teaching. Therefore, the consideration here presented is relevant and necessary precisely at a time when science progresses rapidly and not likewise the sense of humanity that should underlie and guide the actions of those involved in scientific progress and Health Care. Three topics are presented in the article: some considerations regarding the importance of bioethical thought, an approach to the particular meaning of Martha Nussbaum’s “self-examination”, and the examination of oneself and human formation related to Bioethics. (shrink)

Este artículo presenta una aproximación al sentido de la esperanza en María Zambrano. Para ello fue necesario hacer uso de la hermenéutica como método filosófico. Por tanto, se presenta una aproximación al pensamiento de María Zambrano en relación con la esperanza, reflexión que en tiempos de desesperanza recobra sentido en tanto la intención subyacente que anima este escrito es invitar al hombre contemporáneo para que se sitúe en la esquina de la esperanza zambraniana, desde la cual le será posible transitar (...) de la esfera de lo imposible al escenario de lo posible, para ello se acudirá a algunas obras clave de la autora. A través de cuatro momentos: la esperanza en el proyecto de llegar a ser; la esperanza desesperanzada; la esperanza confundida; y esperanza y confesión; circula la idea de un hombre renovado, proyectándose con optimismo hacia la construcción de un nuevo humanismo animado por la esperanza y la reconciliación.AbstractThis article offers an approximation to the sense of hope in María Zambrano. We turned to the use of hermeneutics as a philosophical method. Thus, we presented an approximation to the thought of María Zambrano regarding hope, a reflection that in times of despair regains sense since the underlying intention of this paper is to invite contemporary man to place himself in the corner of Zambrano’s hope, from which it will be possible to move from the realm of the impossible to the scenario of the possible, recurring to some key works by the author. Through four stages: hope in the project of becoming; the hopeless hope; the confused hope; and hope confession; circulated the idea of a renewed man, projecting optimism towards building a new humanism animated by hope and reconciliation. (shrink)

The aim of the study was to determine the role of self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and risk perception in formulating the intention to undergo breast reconstruction in 178 women after total mastectomy. The social-cognitive variables were measured in the context of breast reconstruction, while depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory. The structural equation modeling revealed that among the predictors there were only two that accounted for the intention to undergo breast reconstruction, i.e. self-efficacy and outcome expectancies. Subsequent analyses of (...) the related moderators, i.e. depression, age, and duration of the disease indicated a good fit to the data. Nevertheless, in subgroups with poorer resources the direct effects of self-efficacy on intention were less noticeable or non-existent. The results suggest that self-efficacy may play the regulating role in making a breast reconstruction decision if individual resources are taken into account. (shrink)

How the insane asylum became a laboratory of democracy is revealed in this provocative look at the treatment of the mentally ill in nineteenth-century France. Political thinkers reasoned that if government was to rest in the hands of individuals, then measures should be taken to understand the deepest reaches of the self, including the state of madness. Marcel Gauchet and Gladys Swain maintain that the asylum originally embodied the revolutionary hope of curing all the insane by saving the glimmer of (...) sanity left in them. Their analysis of why this utopian vision failed ultimately constitutes both a powerful argument for liberalism and a direct challenge to Michel Foucault's indictment of liberal institutions. The creation of an artificial environment was meant to encourage the mentally ill to live as social beings, in conditions that resembled as much as possible those prevailing in real life. The asylum was therefore the first instance of a modern utopian community in which a scientifically designed environment was supposed to achieve complete control over the minds of a whole category of human beings. Gauchet and Swain argue that the social domination of the inner self, far from being the hidden truth of emancipation, represented the failure of its overly optimistic beginnings. Madness and Democracy combines rich details of nineteenth-century asylum life with reflections on the crucial role of subjectivity and difference within modernism. Its final achievement is to show that the lessons learned from the failure of the asylum led to the rise of psychoanalysis, an endeavor focused on individual care and on the cooperation between psychiatrist and patient. By linking the rise of liberalism to a chapter in the history of psychiatry, Gauchet and Swain offer a fascinating reassessment of political modernity. (shrink)

An important question in the business ethics literature concerns organizational response in the aftermath of an unethical business practice. This study examines factors affecting firms’ decision to take reparative action in the aftermath of an environmental violation. Specifically, we investigate environmental violators’ decision to undertake a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP), which is an initiative that promotes restorative justice. To settle an environmental violation, the United States’ environmental regulator allows offenders the option of either paying the full penalty or a reduced (...) sum while spending additional effort and engaging in an environmental project. As predicted, we find that firms with poorer past environmental performance and greater shareholder environmental activism are more likely to engage and invest in a SEP. Additionally, there is a stronger association between shareholder activism and SEP investment when firms have poorer past environmental performance. Our findings inform regulators, stakeholders, and business ethics researchers on the factors that lead firms to undertake reparative action following unethical business practices. (shrink)

Information transfer implies two independent beings and two distinct, although closely tied levels of reality. In other words the „information transfer" is a multi-layer reality. The investigation of the „causal" mechanisms presupposes a proper description of the phenomenal effects. It is the phenomenal sphere of the directly observable events which provokes - in our mind - the questions driving the effort to explore the „mechanisms". It is absolutely crucial, therefore, to approach the process of description with the sufficiently unbiased means. (...) A premature narrowing on the descriptive level may fatally affect our „explanatory" ideas on the underlying mechanisms. For instance, in the realm of „information theories" there is a deeply rooted, but not too reliable conviction, that the descriptive means, used in the process of the construction and utilization of some technical devices, give us a fair chance to describe the „Information transfer" within or between the living creatures. (shrink)

November 4th-5th, 2012 at Kyoto University. Organizers: Hisashi Nakao & Pierre-Alain Braillard.

The issues of tithes and seed sowing have taken a central focus in contemporary Christianity in Nigeria among the preachers. Many a time, it is assumed that tithes and seed sowing are requirements for salvation, prosperity and total well-being of the members. Making many to believe that Christianity is a money-venture business one can succeed if he knows how to hoodwink the gullible. Many have been deceived that by parting with a substantial amount of money in the name of sowing (...) seed, their problems would be solved. Unfortunately, the person’s problem may remain the same or even be compounded. This paper evaluates the activities, attitude and their inordinate ambitions. It examines the impact of tithe and seed sowing on Christianity in Nigeria. The research method adopted for this work is the qualitative phenomenological method. The paper observed that the value of tithe and seed sowing has changed from what is prescribed in the bible to what is preached on the pulpits. The study recommends among other things, that these preachers should preach the gospel with decorum and as it were in the bible so that its influence on Nigerians will bring about a reduction in crime, corruption and other immoral activities in Nigeria. Contribution: The article is focused on the issues of tithes and seed sowing. It underscores the fact that the message of tithe and seed sowing has become a means of siphoning members and enriching the preachers. It further reveals its negative and positive impacts such as, the promotion of corruption and fraud in the church and society, contribution to the decline of morality in the church and the society, increasing crime rate and increasing poverty rate in Nigeria among others. (shrink)

In English: Epochs and formation an attempt of adaptation reconstruction.

Patrząc na osobnika z perspektywy jego rozwoju. można powiedzieć, że w swej najgłębszej istocie jest on nie tyle i nie przede wszystkim całościową funkcjonalną strukturą, która przejawia życie, ile jest raczej żywą dynamiką, której jednym z zasadniczych przejawów jest zintegrowane budowanie, odbudowywanie, naprawianie i modyfikowanie różnorakich skorelowanych struktur ciała, czyli maszyn molekularnych, organelli i organów, które warunkują zachodzenie różnorodnych procesów biochemicznych i fizjologicznych oraz umożliwiają selektywne interakcje ze środowiskiem abiotycznym i biotycznym. Dynamika rozwojowa — w przekonaniu Lenartowicza — jest podstawowym (...) behawiorem każdej istoty żywej i powinna być fundamentem kształtowania właściwej koncepcji życia. (shrink)

Kluczowe w filozofii Lenartowicza było pojęcie organizmu żywego rozumianego jako cykl życiowy, który będąc powiązany z innymi podobnymi cyklami wplata się w sieć linii pokoleń danego rodzaju istot żywych. Fundamentem cyklu życiowego jest dynamika rozwojowa rozpoczynająca się w momencie poczęcia organizmu. Patrząc na osobnika z perspektywy jego rozwoju, można powiedzieć, że w swej najgłębszej istocie jest on nie tyle i nie przede wszystkim całościową funkcjonalną strukturą, która przejawia życie, ile jest raczej żywą dynamiką, której jednym z zasadniczych przejawów jest zintegrowane (...) budowanie, odbudowywanie, naprawianie i modyfikowanie różnorakich skorelowanych struktur ciała, czyli maszyn molekularnych, organelli i organów, które warunkują zachodzenie różnorodnych procesów biochemicznych i fizjologicznych oraz umożliwiają selektywne interakcje ze środowiskiem abiotycznym i biotycznym. (shrink)

The Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is an intuitive device used by witnesses of an incident without medical training in cases of sudden cardiac arrest. Its operation consists in delivering an electrical pulse to the cardiac conduction system, as a result of which normal heart rate is restored. The lack of awareness in society concerning the usefulness of the device and the inadequate deployment of AEDs result in their too infrequent application by witnesses of incidents. The aim of this paper is (...) to verify whether cluster analysis is the appropriate statistical method to determine the appropriate deployment of AED devices on the basis of cases of sudden cardiac arrest in out-of-hospital conditions. The initial cluster analysis showed the validity of using the method in question for planning the appropriate locations of AEDs. (shrink)