RESUMEN El presente trabajo de revisión expone cómo las prácticas de gestión en la anestesiología deben ser modificadas para encarar las cambiantes necesidades de pacientes, otros profesionales y sistemas sanitarios, a fin de mantener una función significativa en la atención sanitaria. Los servicios de anestesia han adoptado una amplia variedad de modelos para hacer frente a las necesidades del medio local, la relación entre los anestesiólogos y la comunidad, y los papeles desempeñados por los anestesiólogos en el tratamiento perioperatorio. El (...) sistema sanitario cubano se encuentra inmerso en un proceso de permanente adecuación de sus servicios a los problemas, demandas y necesidades de la población cubana y sus determinantes. Por ello, objetivo es exponer consideraciones teóricas en función del perfeccionamiento del servicio de Anestesiología y Reanimación. ABSTRACT This review paper presents how anesthesiology management practices must be modified in order to deal with the changing needs patients, other professionals and health systems have, in order to maintain a significant function in health care. Anesthesiology services have adopted a wide variety of models to face up to the needs the city, the relationship between anesthesiologists and the community and the role anesthesiologists play in perioperative treatment have. The Cuban health system services are in a process of permanent adaptation to the problems, demands and needs the Cuban population and its determinants have. For that reason, this paper aims at presenting theoretical considerations towards the improvement of the Anesthesiology and Resuscitation service. (shrink)

The research on the information system and emotional intelligence in the corporate social responsibility of criminal justice modules in Piura 2023 analyses how the information system and emotional intelligence influence corporate social responsibility. The study, of a quantitative and explanatory nature, was carried out with a sample of 100 collaborators of the Criminal Justice Modules of Piura. Using questionnaires and ordinal logistic regression analysis, it was found that both emotional intelligence and an effective information system are essential to improve corporate (...) social responsibility in these modules. The research concludes that the development of emotional and technological capabilities is crucial to foster a more responsible and effective organizational environment. (shrink)

Mediante una investigación exploratoria-documental se estudia la administración de las organizaciones a partir de cuatro dimensiones filosóficas: la ontología, la axiología, la epistemología y la praxeología con un enfoque holístico; en cada dimensión se presenta un breve análisis del contexto colombiano, con percepciones susceptibles de ser ampliadas. En consecuencia, se pretende motivar a la academia y a las organizaciones a transformar su realidad desde la reflexión con algunas preguntas o premisas que encontrará el lector al final del desarrollo de cada (...) dimensión para finalmente proponer la Investigación Acción Participativa (IAP) como una opción para el cambio hacia una “administración alternativa”. (shrink)

Desde hace años, la hermenéutica de Paul Ricoeur ha sido trabajada, estudiada y difundida en México, de manera especial, por la doctora Gloria Prado, lo que se puede constatar en su libro “Creación, recepción y efecto. Una aproximación hermenéutica a la obra literaria“ (1992), así como en su artículo titulado “Neohermenéutica y teoría literaria” (Neohermenéutica. Literatura, filosofía y otras disciplinas, 2009). En ambos escritos, Prado establece cinco niveles hermenéuticos como método de análisis literario que permiten identificar la textura simbólica de (...) un texto. A partir de ello, de la mano de Ricoeur y de Prado, y sin dejar de propiciar el diálogo con otros pensadores como José Ortega y Gasset, Hans George Gadamer y Pierre Klossowski, me propongo llevar a cabo un análisis hermenéutico del cuento “El gato” (publicado en 1972 en Encuentros), del escritor mexicano Juan García Ponce, ubicado dentro de la denominada Generación de Medio Siglo; generación que, en su mayoría, se ve influenciada por la obra de Octavio Paz y Georges Bataille. (shrink)

Este trabajo investigativo estableció el grado de correlación entre las aptitudes emocionales de las áreas estratégica y experiencial de la inteligencia emocional en los estudiantes de licenciatura en educación infantil de una Corporación Universitaria Privada Colombiana. El estudio de tipo cuantitativo, se apoyó en el instrumento MSCEIT como instrumento de recolección de la información. Se identificó la incidencia recíproca de las variables y una correlación positiva entre las áreas estratégica y experiencial que se indica en las aptitudes emocionales de la (...) muestra (130 estudiantes). (shrink)

This article discusses the construction of the category “subject” in social sciences, pointing out the paradigmatic twist that recognizes the voice of the subjects of research, recognizing the character of the actors and constructors of knowledge, the owners of knowledge, and the participants ..

El presente estudio tuvo como propósito recuperar la experiencia de un grupo de docentes de bachillerato, licenciatura y posgrado que participaron en un curso centrado en la promoción de competencias de comprensión lectora y composición escrita de textos científicos, dentro del cual tenían que apropiarse de una estrategia para realizar una composición escrita poniendo en ejecución estrategias de argumentación. Para ello contestaron un cuestionario al final del curso donde señalaron la importancia que tiene aplicar acciones puntuales de la estrategia socializada (...) antes, durante y después del proceso de composición de textos argumentativos. (shrink)

We agree with Müller's epigenetic view of evolution and ontogeny and applaud his multilevel perspective. With him, we stress the importance in ontogeny of progressive specialisation rather than prewired structures. However, we argue that he slips from “speech” to “language” and that, in seeking homologies, these two levels need to be kept separate in the analysis of evolution and ontogeny.

We address the issue of the nature of representations during development regarding language acquisition. The controversy of syntax as a process or operation for representation formation and syntax as a representation in itself is discussed. Eliminating the cognitive unconscious does not warrant a simplified, more parsimonious approach to human cognition in general.

The aim of this exploratory study was to examine client demographics and expectations, reasons for use, sensations during treatment, and perceived outcomes of Pranic Healing, an energy healing system lacking in scientific documentation but whose use in the general population is becoming more widespread internationally. This study consisted of a cross-sectional survey of adults (18+ years of age) receiving care from 12 Pranic Healing practices in four different states in the U.S. (N = 179) completing online questionnaires. Closed-ended response sets (...) were analyzed descriptively, while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. Reasons to use the therapy included physical, mental/emotional, and metaphysical issues, dissatisfaction with conventional care, and overall well-being. Expectations of care included enhanced abilities, cure or relief, or unsure. Respondents were more likely to cite a specific problem from which they needed alleviation than to cite overall health or wellness as their goal. Sensations experienced were reported to be of a relaxing nature and not, as was hypothesized, of an energizing nature. Results show that those who use Pranic Healing fit the sociodemographic profile of CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) users in the United States, that their reasons for use are not homogeneous, and that preliminary descriptive data from a selective subsample of respondents indicated that some respondents are experiencing positive outcomes attributed to this modality. (shrink)

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs) has emerged as a key strategy for improving quality management. This article discusses the main benefits and challenges of implementing AI in this context. A systematic review of the academic literature and relevant business reports was carried out, in order to collect and analyze empirical evidence on the application of AI in the quality management of SMEs, obtaining as results that the main benefits of the implementation of AI (...) in the quality management of SMEs include: Improved data-driven decision-making, process automation and error reduction, early detection of quality issues, customization of products and services, and resource optimization and cost reduction. On the other hand, the main challenges were: Lack of knowledge and skills in AI, high implementation costs, concerns about data security and privacy, resistance to cultural change, and integration of AI with existing systems and processes, concluding that the implementation of AI in SMB quality management offers significant benefits, but it also entails challenges that must be addressed strategically. SMEs that manage to overcome these challenges will be able to take advantage of the competitive advantages offered by AI, improving their efficiency, quality and adaptability in an increasingly dynamic business environment. (shrink)

Среди выдающихся латиноамериканских философов, которые так или иначе занимаются аксиологическими nроблемами, находится месиканец Эдуардo Гарсия Майнез. По мнению Майнеза, каnитальные проблемы аксиологии могут быть сведены к четырем: а) проблема существования ценности; б) nроблема оценочного nознания; в) проблема реализации ценности; д) проблема свободы выбора личностью ценности. В данной работе анализируется в основном те идеи этого автора, которые касаются nервой из этих больших nроблем - вопроса о существовании ценностей. Entre los más destacados filósofos mexicanos que trabajan la problemática axiológica se encuentra el (...) mexicano Eduardo García Maynez. En opinión de Maynez los problemas capitales de la axiología son cuatro: a) el problema de la existencia del valor; b) el problema del conocimiento valorativo; c) el problema de la realización del valor; d) el problema de la libertad del hombre en la elección del valor. En este trabajo se analiza, en los fundamental, las ideas de este autor referidas al primero de estos grandes problemas: el tema de la existencia de los valores. (shrink)

In this analytically oriented work, Peterson articulates and defends five moral principles for addressing ethical issues related to new and existing technologies: the cost-benefit principle, the precautionary principle, the sustainability principle, the autonomy principle, and the fairness principle.

RESUMEN La formación de profesionales competentes y comprometidos con el ideal de justicia social y solidaridad humana es un reto para las universidades médicas en Cuba. El protagonismo estudiantil en este contexto contribuye a formar jóvenes autodeterminados, críticos, reflexivos, que se hagan cargo de su desarrollo profesional y participen de forma creadora en la transformación de la sociedad. Se realizó una investigación cualitativa en la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Camagüey, con el objetivo de valorar la visión que tienen los (...) líderes estudiantiles sobre el protagonismo estudiantil, los factores que lo limitan y acciones para perfeccionarlo. Se utilizaron las técnicas entrevista estructurada, entrevista grupal y observación participante a una muestra de once dirigentes estudiantiles. Se logró identificar que los dirigentes estudiantiles tienen una visión acertada sobre el protagonismo estudiantil y señalan factores que limitan el protagonismo, asociados a los propios estudiantes, los profesores, las autoridades universitarias y la institución. ABSTARCT The formation of competent and committed professionals with the ideal of social justice and human solidarity is a challenge for the medical universities in Cuba. The student-leading role in this context helps to form self-determined, critical, reflective young people, who take charge of his professional development and take part of creative form in the transformation of the society. A qualitative investigation was carried out in the University of Medical Sciences, with the objective to value the vision that the student leaders have on the student-leading role, the factors that limit it and actions to perfect it. There used the techniques structured interview, group interview and taking part observation to a sample of eleven student leaders. It was identified that the student leaders have an appropriate vision on the student-leading role and indicated factors that limit the leading role, associated with the proper students, the teachers, the university authorities and the institution. (shrink)

The interdisciplinary spring school “Language, music, and cognition: Organizing events in time” was held from February 26 to March 2, 2018 at the Institute of Musicology of the University of Cologne. Language, speech, and music as events in time were explored from different perspectives including evolutionary biology, social cognition, developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience of speech, language, and communication, as well as computational and biological approaches to language and music. There were 10 lectures, 4 workshops, and 1 student poster session. Overall, (...) the spring school investigated language and music as neurocognitive systems and focused on a mechanistic approach exploring the neural substrates underlying musical, linguistic, social, and emotional processes and behaviors. In particular, researchers approached questions concerning cognitive processes, computational procedures, and neural mechanisms underlying the temporal organization of language and music, mainly from two perspectives: one was concerned with syntax or structural representations of language and music as neurocognitive systems (i.e., an intrapersonal perspective), while the other emphasized social interaction and emotions in their communicative function (i.e., an interpersonal perspective). The spring school not only acted as a platform for knowledge transfer and exchange but also generated a number of important research questions as challenges for future investigations. (shrink)

Humanización de los servicios de salud en Iberoamérica: una revisión sistemática de la literatura Humanização dos serviços de saúde na Ibero-América: uma revisão sistemática da literatura Humanization is an ethical imperative that contributes to safeguarding human dignity in harmony with bioethical principles and deontological regulations that govern health care practices. The present study aims to explore the advances in the humanization of Ibero-American health care in the last ten years through a systematic review. Results show that such advances point to (...) understanding the phenomenon based on theoretical approaches, a growing interest in the subject in recent years, and the creation of policies, programs and strategies that should be strengthened from a comprehensive view of the human being. Para citar este artículo / To reference this article / Para citar este artigo Carlosama DM, Villota NG, Benavides VK, Villalobos-Galvis FH, Hernández EL, Matabanchoy SM. Humanización de los servicios de salud en Iberoamérica: una revisión sistemática de la literatura. Pers Bioet. 2019;23:245-262. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5294/pebi.2019.23.2.6 Recibido: 21/06/2019 Aceptado: 04/09/2019. (shrink)

Taking advantage of economic opportunities has led to numerous conflicts between society and business in various geographies of the world. Companies have developed social responsibility programs to prevent and manage these types of problems. However, some authors comment that these programs lack a strategic vision. Starting with the Working with People model, created for the field of rural development planning, this paper proposes a methodology to prevent the generation of social conflicts from business strategy: the territorial dimension. The proposal emphasizes (...) that local development support prevents the generation of social conflicts. Finally, an experience in Peru, a country that has been characterized in recent years by high economic growth and also by the presence of social conflicts that have stopped entrepreneurship is analyzed. (shrink)

El artículo muestra una estrategia metodológica para garantizar la dirección del proceso educativo para el desarrollo de la habilidad intelectual modelación en los estudiantes; devela sus principales fundamentos epistémicos, sus etapas y acciones esenciales. Para ello se aplicaron métodos científicos de investigación. La constatación de los resultados brinda evidencias positivas acerca de su pertinencia, al considerar el carácter coparticipativo y coprotagónico que adquieren las influencias educativas en el contexto institucional en la dirección de un proceso educativo único. The article shows (...) a methodological strategy to ensure the teaching process direction in order develop intellectual skill modeling in students; It reveals its main epistemic foundations, its stages and essential actions. That is the reason for which different research scientific methods were applied. Verification of results provides positive evidence of its pertinence when considering the collaborative nature of the educational influences within the institutional context in the direction of a unique educational process. (shrink)

Este escrito es un esfuerzo investigativo de corte crítico que se mueve argumentativamente entre paradojas, en el que se describe una tendencia actual en la sociedad como patológica y deshumanizante. A tal tendencia le hemos llamado sedentarismo-nómada, primera paradoja, que no es más que la tendencia del hombre a ser sedentario de un lugar u objeto tecnológico de moda, mientras que está en la posibilidad de conocer el mundo mediante tal objeto, haciendo un clic, sin salir de su casa o (...) lugar de trabajo, pero al mismo tiempo viajando por todo el mundo. Tendencia que se da entre actores sociales caracterizados como singularidades-plurales-narrativas, segunda paradoja, que a su vez obedece a una política de la homogenización, un proceso de estandarización social en masa; una ética comerciante, un proceso de regulación y caracterización comportamental bajo la lógica del mercado en la instauración de una nueva forma de relacionarse con la vida, con el sí mismo y con el otro, una relación mercantil; como expresiones de una cultura pornográfica audio-visual, el otro hecho objeto de consumo; y una pedagogía del consumo, una cultura que educa por y para comprar y vender a través de objetos tecnológicos. La consideración de un mundo trágico y sin sentido pero al que, hay que hallarle razón de ser, es la última de las paradojas. Radiografía social que deja al hombre transformado en la única cosa que puede ser institucionalmente, mercancía de consumo, objeto prostituido. (shrink)

A partir del enfoque desarrollador del proceso de enseñanza- aprendizaje y teniendo en cuenta las dificultades que se muestran con la literatura en la asignatura Historia de Cuba I para algunos contenidos, se presenta un sistema de medios con el objetivo de resolver estas dificultades. Se concluye que el sistema que se ofrece contribuye a la motivación del estudiante por el estudio de la asignatura; eleva la calidad de la clase; proporciona la asimilación y profundización del contenido, así como el (...) desarrollo de habilidades docentes, intelectuales y específicas; permite la participación activa y reflexiva de los estudiantes en la clase y facilita un mayor nivel de organización del contenido para la realización de las tareas docentes. Taking into consideration a developmental approach to the teaching-learning process and the instructional challenges linked to literature content of Cuban History I coursework, a system of teaching aids is presented. It is suggested that the proposed system enhances student motivation to study this subject, raises the quality of instructional lessons, favors the assimilation of the content, and improves the development of educational, intellectual and specific skills. It also allows for the active and reflexive participation of students in the lessons and facilitates a greater level of content organization for successful instruction. (shrink)

El artículo constituye un acercamiento a las razones que sustentan la necesidad de elevar la calidad de la orientación a las familias de niños en la primera infancia y su objetivo consistió en capacitar al personal de la salud para desarrollar la orientación familiar en función de la prevención de desviaciones en el desarrollo en esta etapa. En él se aborda el rol que tiene la familia en la formación de los niños y la incidencia de los médicos y enfermeras (...) en su orientación; se encuentran reflexiones y comentarios sobre cómo elevar la calidad de la orientación para que la familia pueda desarrollar, en las condiciones de convivencia familiar, la prevención de desviaciones en el desarrollo mediante la realización de un proceso educativo de calidad. The article is an approach to the reasons that support the need to improve the quality of the guidance given to families of early childhood children and its objective consisted on training health staff to develop family guidance according to the prevention of deviations in development during this stage. It deals with the role family plays in children's education and the impact of doctors and nurses on its guidance. Thoughts and comments on how to improve the quality of guidance can also be found so that the family can develop, on family living conditions, the prevention of deviations in development through a quality educational process. (shrink)

The project of this paper is to synthesize enactivist cognitive science and practice theory in order to develop a new account of pretend play. Pretend play is usually conceived of as a representationalist phenomenon where a pretender projects a fictional mental representation onto reality. It thus seems that pretense can only be explained in representationalist terms. In this paper, we oppose this usual approach. We instead propose not only new explanatory tools for pretend play, but also a fundamental reconceptualization of (...) the phenomena of pretend play, that is, of the very explanandum of theories of pretense. To do so, we suggest combining the turn to action and embodiment in the cognitive sciences with the practice turn in the humanities. From our point of view, pretend play has to be seen in its role in human life as a whole, which is to help children to learn to master the complex sociocultural contingencies of the manifold social practices that make up social reality. Pretend play should therefore be conceived as alternative sense-making that is always related, in varying ways, to ordinary social practices. Pretenders do not need to project mental representations onto reality, but make sense of their surroundings in different ways than encultured adults in ordinary practices. In the paper, we spell out this view and show how it enables an enactivist reconceptualization of imagination, intentions and knowledge, which are usually thought of as being available only to representationalist accounts of pretense. (shrink)

This paper proposes how various disciplinary theories of cognition may be combined into a unifying, sub-symbolic, computational theory of cognition. The following theories are considered for integration: psychological theories, including the theory of event coding, event segmentation theory, the theory of anticipatory behavioral control, and concept development; artificial intelligence and machine learning theories, including reinforcement learning and generative artificial neural networks; and theories from theoretical and computational neuroscience, including predictive coding and free energy-based inference. In the light of such a (...) potential unification, it is discussed how abstract cognitive, conceptualized knowledge and understanding may be learned from actively gathered sensorimotor experiences. The unification rests on the free energy-based inference principle, which essentially implies that the brain builds a predictive, generative model of its environment. Neural activity-oriented inference causes the continuous adaptation of the currently active predictive encodings. Neural structure-oriented inference causes the longer term adaptation of the developing generative model as a whole. Finally, active inference strives for maintaining internal homeostasis, causing goal-directed motor behavior. To learn abstract, hierarchical encodings, however, it is proposed that free energy-based inference needs to be enhanced with structural priors, which bias cognitive development towards the formation of particular, behaviorally suitable encoding structures. As a result, it is hypothesized how abstract concepts can develop from, and thus how they are structured by and grounded in, sensorimotor experiences. Moreover, it is sketched-out how symbol-like thought can be generated by a temporarily active set of predictive encodings, which constitute a distributed neural attractor in the form of an interactive free-energy minimum. The activated, interactive network attractor essentially characterizes the semantics of a concept or a concept composition, such as an actual or imagined situation in our environment. Temporal successions of attractors then encode unfolding semantics, which may be generated by a behavioral or mental interaction with an actual or imagined situation in our environment. Implications, further predictions, possible verification and falsifications, as well as potential enhancements into a fully spelled-out unified theory of cognition are discussed at the end of the paper. (shrink)

This article introduces the N170 component and event related potential methodologies and interpretation, and provides a brief review of some important research questions that are addressed by employing the N170 as an electrophysiological marker of face processing. It discusses the basic properties of the N170 component, its neural basis, as well as some methodological issues needed when using this component to study face-specific processes, and when evaluating the results from previous N170 experiments. A recent methodological challenge to the claim that (...) the N170 reliably reflects face-specific brain processes is evaluated. The article reviews research that has employed the N170 component to investigate two central and interrelated issues in face processing. It deals with the domain-specificity or generality of face processing, as well as the possible role of expertise. Finally, some avenues for future research are outlined. (shrink)

Nursing acts occur in thousands of instances daily, being a major component of professional health care delivery in institutions, communities and homes. It follows that the ethical practice of most nurses is put to the test on an everyday rather than an occasional basis. Hence, within nursing practice there must be a rich and deep seam of reflective interpretation and practical wisdom that is 'embedded' within the experiences of every experienced nurse. This article presents discussion on some of the main (...) findings of a recently completed study on nursing ethics in New Zealand. An interpretation of a nurse's story taken from the study is offered and suggestions are made for nursing ethics education. (shrink)

This conceptual article introduces behavioral perspectives into the governance arena and undertakes a psychological assessment of managerial decision making in organizations by elaborating on the treatment of trust and pride in the extant literature. While trust is conceived by governance scholars as a device for monitoring relationships with others, we argue that authentic pride, contrary to hubris, could operate as an attribute of emotional self-regulation allowing corporate leaders to govern the social behavior of their own self. Contrasting the features of (...) trust and authentic pride, we advance several propositions to capture their relevance and simultaneous importance as viable governance mechanisms in light of a manager's level of cognitive moral reasoning. Our study builds a unified theoretical framework of governance which integrates human agency, psychological states, and moral judgment to foster a deeper understanding of complex self-regulatory processes that are activated by decision makers in the execution of their roles. (shrink)

The number of publications that highlight the influence of visions and futuristic narratives on the development of emerging technologies increases. Toolboxes such as “Hermeneutical Technology Assessment” and “Vision Assessment” provide methodological considerations on how to assess techno-futuristic narratives, their proponents, and their impact on technological development. Because of their contributions to the technoscientific discourse, a special responsibility for technological processes is attributed to the “visioneers” of such narratives. While such a claim naturally follows from an agential role in a process, (...) it is not clear whether visioneers should be held responsible. Some problems of this attribution will be addressed in the present paper. Particularly the following questions will be considered: Which role does autonomy play for responsibility? Is causation sufficient for the attribution of responsibility? Which role do intentions and alternatives play for the responsibility of visioneers? These questions will be discussed against the backdrop of contemporary approaches to the responsibility of visioneering and classic philosophical works in the field. Furthermore, the problem of accountability will be considered. Socio-technical systems are highly complex, which makes it hard to trace back the origins of particular developments. It will be argued that it is currently unreasonable to give visioneers the status of an important player. The article will shed light on the several dimensions of responsibility and provide a more nuanced understanding of responsibility in the context of new and emerging technologies. (shrink)

In recent decades, an increasing interest in the dynamics of collections has brought to view how objects circulate as parts of networks of knowledge and how collections can acquire new meanings. Introducing this special issue on Collections, Knowledge, and Time, we want to shift focus from geographical circulation towards the temporal dynamics of collections: the layering and interweaving of asynchronous temporalities as collections are preserved, frozen, reinterpreted, sampled, and destroyed over time, and how these temporalities constitute knowledge potentials. We treat (...) collections broadly across museums of history of medicine, history of science, and ethnography, and scientific institutions including biobanks, seed banks, and fly centres, to investigate the considerable overlap in collection practices, as well as how objects can move between cultural historical and scientific uses. We limit ourselves, however, to epistemic collections, mainly scientific ones, assembled with research as a main purpose. This introduction first explores apparently mundane collection practices such as preservation and care, as well as technologies such as freezers and boxes, to unravel them as temporal practices that make stored items transcend time. We then discuss historical practices across cultural and scientific collections to show how historical thinking plays a central part in scientific collection work and how new scientific methods shape investigations of the past. Finally, we outline the potentialities for future knowledge in collections. In conclusion, we sketch out a pluralist epistemology of collections focusing specifically on how the dynamics of time create multiple epistemic potentials for historical scholarship and scientific research in the present and future. (shrink)

The main theme of the article, which by genre falls into the area of semiotically influenced philosophy, is a reflection on the relationship between the human and the non-human, using two partial but parallel discourses. The first discourse is the perspective of general semiotics, which is defined in the article on the basis of two distinct forms of rationality that, in different guises, still intervene in debates about the nature of the humanities and social sciences today. The first form of (...) this rationality is semiological, which can be classified under the encyclopaedic rubric of structuralism, and which has its main source of inspiration in general linguistics and its continuation in philosophical anti-humanism. The second perspective has its origins in Peirce’s logicist theory of the sign and his pragmatist metaphysics, and opens up thinking about the sign, the human, and the non-human to a non-language-centric view of the world. Despite their demonstrable theoretical and methodological incompatibility, the present text treats them as incompatible but largely complementary perspectives. It is in their mutual exposition that one can see the moments in which the view of modern human as a semiological and semiotic animal takes shape. The text brings this fundamental and founding theoretical schism into focus by examining two images from post/modern art: Ted Chiang’s “The Great Silence” and Jorge Luis Borges’ “Averroës’s Search.”. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to re-examine an ethic of care as the main ethical approach to nursing practice in light of past and present developments in nursing ethics, and to briefly speculate whether or not it will survive within nursing in the future. Overall, it is maintained throughout that the terms ?caring?, ?nursing? and an ?ethic of care? are inextricably linked. This is because, it is argued, professionally focused nursing practices are based predominantly on a well-recognised moral commitment (...) to deliver expert care, and that a care-based ethic is the major factor in the construction and maintenance of these practices. Subsequently, the influences and developments of a caring ethic in nursing are firstly re-examined, and the discussion is supported by evidence from more recent nursing research and theoretical developments. Consideration is given to the philosophical underpinnings of both care theory and caring ethics, and the fundamental importance of caring in nursing, as an interpersonal relationship and as an appropriate ethical response, is made transparent. Finally, an outline of the future possibilities that may affect an ethic of care in nursing is offered. (shrink)

Abstract In the last few decades, a growing number of commentators have questioned the appropriateness of the 'justice view' of ethics as a suitable approach in health care ethics, and most certainly in nursing. Essentially, in their ethical deliberations, it is argued that nurses do not readily adopt the high degree of impartiality and objectivity that is associated with a justice view; instead their moral practices are more accurately reflected through the use of alternative approaches such as relational or care-based (...) ethics. Yet, it has also been argued that this viewpoint does not necessarily 'do justice' to the broader moral responsibilities of nurses towards humanity in general, i.e. to the wider socio-cultural and socio-political issues in society, and to the concept of social justice in particular. This criticism has triggered a much closer examination of relational and care-based ethics in nursing at levels beyond individual responsiveness within relationships and brought into the spotlight the need for a more ethically refined nursing response to an increasingly complex set of socio-cultural inequalities. This article explores a relational ethic within nursing practices with contemporary ideas regarding social justice. In particular, it is argued that the synergy between the two actually produces an ethic that is capable of not only challenging the continuing predominance of justice-based ethics within health care, but of replacing it. Subsequently, in the discussion that follows, it is suggested that a combined social justice and relational care-based approach, as a social ethic, should guide the moral deliberations and actions of nurses. It is maintained that such an approach is not only possible, but crucial if nurses are to realize their full potential as ethical agents for individual and social good. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. (shrink)