Background Between 2013 and 2016, West Africa experienced the largest ever outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease. In the absence of registered treatments or vaccines to control this lethal disease, the World Health Organization coordinated and supported research to expedite identification of interventions that could control the outbreak and improve future control efforts. Consequently, the World Health Organization Research Ethics Review Committee was heavily involved in reviews and ethics discussions. It reviewed 24 new and 22 amended protocols for research studies including (...) interventional and observational studies. WHO-ERC reviews WHO-ERC provided the reviews within on average 6 working days. The WHO-ERC often could not provide immediate approval of protocols for reasons which were not Ebola Virus Disease specific but related to protocol inconsistencies, missing information and complex informed consents. WHO-ERC considerations on Ebola Virus Disease specific issues are presented. Conclusions To accelerate study approval in future public health emergencies, we recommend: internally consistent and complete submissions with information documents in language participants are likely to understand, close collaboration between local and international researchers from research inception, generation of template agreements for data and sample sharing and use during the ongoing global consultations on bio-banks, formation of Joint Scientific Advisory and Data Safety Review Committees for all studies linked to a particular intervention or group of interventions, formation of a Joint Ethics Review Committee with representatives of the Ethics Committees of all institutions and countries involved to strengthen reviews through the different perspectives provided without the ‘opportunity costs’ for time to final approval of multiple, independent reviews, direct information exchange between the chairs of advisory, safety review and ethics committees, more Ethics Committee support for investigators than is standard and a global consultation on criteria for inclusion of pregnant women and children in interventional studies for conditions which put them at particularly high risk of mortality or other irreversible adverse outcomes under standard-of-care. (shrink)

Open Letter to Comrade Žižek is an attempt to question and highlight some incongruous points that Slavoj Žižek, one of the greatest critics of capitalism and its ideological effects in the contemporary world, expressed in his latest books about the Pandemics. The text focuses in the economic, political, social and cultural consequences of Žižek’s position and goes further in developing another position related to the spread of COVID-19 and the preventive measures to fight it.

We are going to analyse the issue of alterity in the philosophy of Miguel de Unamuno through the study of Abel Sánchez. In this nivola, Unamuno examines the concept of envy and establishes the bases of a theory of alterity based on the specular relationship with the other, which it is constituted by the scarcities of the one who looks. We will also look at what are the philosophical premises of this narration, in which way it is linked with the (...) organic philosophy of Unamuno, and what its relationship with the theatre piece El Otro is, released more than a decade after but of a quite similar subject. Finally, we will outline a possible theory of the alterity by Unamuno that it is formulated through the fraternity and altruistic help. (shrink)

The aim of this research was to determine the degree to which undergraduate students’ learning approach, academic achievement and satisfaction were determined by the combination of an intrapersonal factor (self-regulation) and a interpersonal factor (contextual or regulatory teaching). The hypothesis proposed that greater combined regulation (internal and external) would be accompanied by more of a deep approach to learning, more satisfaction and higher achievement, while a lower level of combined regulation would determine a surface approach, less satisfaction and lower achievement. (...) Within an ex post facto design by selection, 1036 university students completed validated questionnaires using an online tool. Several multivariate analyses were conducted. Results showed that the combination of self-regulation and external regulation can be ordered as levels along a five-point scale or heuristic. These levels linearly determine type of learning approach, academic achievement and satisfaction. Implications are established for quality and improvement of the teaching and learning process at university. (shrink)

La cultura esquimal proporciona multitud de ejemplos que ilustran las teorías científicas del complejo mundo animista y shamánico. De hecho, tradicionalmente los esquimales han sido considerados el paradigma ideal de sociedad animista y shamánica junto a algunas otras poblaciones siberianas. Pese a que en repetidas ocasiones se ha afirmado sin tapujos que es un pueblo sin religión, los esquimales poseen un amplísimo repertorio de rituales, ceremonias y festejos que reflejan a la perfección su profundo sentido religioso. La “fiesta de las (...) vejigas” es uno de esos acontecimientos. Los motivos que conducen a su celebración, así como las consecuencias de no llevarlo a cabo, constituyen los tres pilares básicos de la mentalidad religiosa esquimal: la falta, el castigo y la penitencia. (shrink)

The aim of this research was to establish linear relations (association and prediction) and inferential relations between three constructs at different levels of psychological research –executive dysfunction(microanalysis),self-regulation(molecular level), andself-vs.external regulation(molar level), in the prediction of emotion regulation difficulties. We hypothesized that personal and contextual regulatory factors would be negatively related to levels of executive dysfunction and emotion regulation difficulties; by way of complement, non-regulatory and dysregulatory personal, and contextual factors would be positively related to these same difficulties. To establish relationships, (...) we used a retrospective,ex postfacto design, where 298 university students voluntarily participated by completing standardized self-reports. Linear and structural correlational, predictive analyses were performed, as well as inferential analyses. Results were consistent and validated the proposed hypotheses, for both association and prediction. The most important result refers to the discriminant value of the five-level combination heuristic for predicting Executive Function and External (contextual) Dys-Regulation. In conclusion: (1) both personal and contextual regulation factors must be analyzed in order to better understand the variation in executive functions and emotion regulation difficulties; (2) it is important to continue connecting the different levels of the constructs referring to self-regulation, given their complementary role in the behavioral analysis of regulation difficulties. (shrink)

En este trabajo se propone una aproximación al uso filosófico del dios griego Dioniso en la obra de Platón, con especial referencia a la vertiente pedagógicopolítica del pensamiento platónico en la República y, sobre todo, en las Leyes. se discuten brevemente los trabajos anteriores que han tratado esta cuestión, incluidos los dos más recientes que versan sobre las Leyes y sobre la faceta filosófica de Dioniso, al hilo de una propuesta de lectura de las presencias y ausencias de Dioniso en (...) Platón a través de tres dimensiones −el simposio, los misterios y la poesía con fines educativos− que convergen en la finalidad política reformista del filósofo ateniense. (shrink)

A great variety of medical conditions are subject to the placebo effect. Although there is mounting evidence to suggest that the placebo effect is related to the expectation of clinical benefit, little is still known about the biochemical bases underlying placebo responses. Positron emission tomography studies have recently shown that the placebo effect in Parkinson’s disease, pain, and depression is related to the activation of the limbic circuitry. The observation that placebo administration induces the release of dopamine in the ventral (...) striatum of patients with Parkinson’s disease suggests a link between the placebo effect and reward mechanisms. In addition to Parkinson’s disease, the placebo-reward model may also apply to other disorders. However, the relative contribution of the different neurotransmitters and neuropeptides that are known to be involved in modulating the activity of the limbic system may be disease-specific. Thus, while the placebo-induced clinical benefit observed in Parkinson’s disease would mostly reflect the release of dopamine in the dorsal striatum, the activation of opioid and serotonin pathways could be particularly implicated in mediating placebo responses encountered in pain and depression, respectively. (shrink)

This theoretical analysis seeks to contribute to three objectives within the context of the proposed Frontiers Research Topic: delimit two levels of analysis in the present pandemic situation: medicine-epidemiology and behavioral psychology, still under-addressed. While medicine has its essential role on the biological side, psychology has a comparable role on the behavioral side. Analyze the importance of behavioral-educational factors in the pandemic situation, using a precise theoretical model from educational psychology for this analysis. Propose preventive, psychoeducational intervention strategies based on (...) the previous analyses. (shrink)

The sociology of art has experienced a significant revival during the last three decades. However, in the first instance, this renewed interest was dominated by the ‘production of culture’ perspective and was heavily focused on contextual factors such as the social organization of artistic markets and careers, and displays of ‘cultural capital’ through consumption of the arts. In this article, I outline a new mode of approaching art sociologically that begins with Alfred Gell’s (1998) Art and Agency, but comes to (...) full fruition in what I am calling the ‘new sociology of art’. A major theoretical statement that captures many of the aspirations of the new approach is Jeffrey Alexander’s essay: ‘Iconic Consciousness: The Material Feeling of Meaning’. It is suggested that the new sociology of art has much in common with material culture studies, and that a more robust concept of the artwork’s agency is needed now that art has well and truly taken on a social and cultural life well beyond those institutions traditionally understood as the ‘art world’. (shrink)

This introduction positions the special issue by highlighting the inherent relationality of place as well as how place is not just an object of analysis but something that shapes thinking, writing and experiences of the world. We reflect on why sociology has found it somewhat more difficult than its social science counterparts to give place the centrality it merits, and discuss whether this reflects a problem with dealing with questions of ‘scale’ and thinking the ‘in-betweenness’ of place. We assess important (...) formulations of place in recent place theories, including non-essentialist framings of place such as ‘progressive’ and as ‘assemblage’. We make a case for seeing the articles in this special issue (and Thesis Eleven’s own long history of publishing writing on the topic of place) as resonating with the themes of place as materiality, atmospheres and spaces of belonging. (shrink)

Este trabajo intenta analizar las tensiones e interrelaciones entre el paradigma del reconocimiento y el paradigma de la redistribución. En concreto se analiza críticamente la obra de Nancy Frazer. En este sentido, se propone el paradigma de la inclusión, para un tercer ámbito, el de la política. Este paradigma se basaría en el ideal de la igual dignidad y la tricotomía inclusión/exclusión/participación. También se plantean reservas a la noción de paridad participativa, que según Fraser, hace conmensurables todas las demandas de (...) justicia. La conclusión es que redistribución y reconocimiento son irreductibles, están interrelacionados y en tensión. Para los casos de soluciones contrapuestas, se propone la noción de inconmensurabilidad que sostienen los defensores del pluralismo de valores -Berlin,Gray-. En casos de conflicto, redistribución y reconocimiento abocarían a una respuesta similar a cómo se debería resolver un dilema. (shrink)

Vamos a ofrecer un esbozo de la presencia del sueño en la obra literaria y filosófica de Miguel de Unamuno. A partir del comentario de La vida es sueño repasaremos los posibles significados de este concepto en la escritura unamuniana que propone Carlos Blanco Aguinaga en El Unamuno contemplativo. Valoraremos la contradicción que supone entender el sueño como dinamismo lúcido creador de realidades nuevas y a la vez como una ensoñación pasiva sin conciencia de sí. Por último, expondremos qué consecuencias (...) depara esta preferencia por lo soñado en la escritura, y cómo la consideración onírica de la realidad altera la percepción del ser como autoconciencia reflexiva. (shrink)

In “Science as a Vocation,” Max Weber identifies a trajectory within modernity of increased rationalization, which results in a dangerous loss of meaning, a marginalization of religion, and a disenchanted view of the world. Weber’s misunderstanding of religion as premodern and “magical” results in his underestimating how religion can contribute to “re-enchanting” a field of knowledge, specifically medicine. This article proposes to turn to a theology of the Holy Spirit as “giver of life” for resources to “re-enchant” medicine. Re-enchantment does (...) not require returning to a magical view of the world but retrieving a real sense of God at work in the world, thereby enabling the health care worker and scientist to arrive at a deeper understanding of vocation. (shrink)

En este artículo se hace una reflexión sobre el arte latinoamericano como contribución al conocimiento de la cultura continental, más un breve recuento de cara al Bicentenario sobre los enigmas vacíos de las nuevas expresiones y el fenómeno de la postproducción vinculado al planteamiento de Néstor García Canclini sobre La sociedad sin relato, antropología y estética de la inminencia. En las artes y en las expresiones literarias se plasman identidades y constituyen un complemento fundamental de la historia ¿El arte actual (...) es el resultado de una sociedad sin relato? (shrink)

In the present article, after reviewing the existing bibliography on De uera religione, a study is made of the text of the uera rel. 3, 3, where St. Augustine presents what we have called a Platonic dialogue written by the Doctor of Hippo himself. The dialogue is analysed, presenting first of all the “lectio magistralis” that Augustine puts in Plato’s mouth, pointing out from this discourse the contingency of created beings and their link with the concept of creatio ex nihilo (...) that Augustine himself had already presented some years before in the De Genesi aduersus manicheos. Subsequently, the article highlights the reflection on the human being as a rational entity capable of contemplating the Beauty and Greatness of God, as well as the impediments that may exist for this. Finally, the article exposes what we have called the “myth of the perfect man”, with which St. Augustine, in imitation of Plato himself, closes his dialogue with a myth with which he synthesizes all that he had affirmed up to this point. (shrink)

The combination of student Self-Regulation (SR) and the context of Regulatory Teaching (RT), each in varying degree, has recently been demonstrated to have effects on achievement emotions, factors and symptoms of stress, and coping strategies. The aim of the present research study is to verify its possible further effects, on academic behavioral confidence and procrastination. A total of 1193 university students completed validated online questionnaires with regard to specific subjects in their degree program. Using an ex post facto design, multivariate (...) analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM) were carried out in order to test the relationships predicted by the model. SR and RT had a significant joint effect in determining the degree of academic behavioral confidence and of procrastination. Academic behavioral confidence also significantly predicted reasons for procrastinating, and these in turn predicted activities of procrastination. Conclusions are discussed, insisting on the combined weight of the two variables in determining academic behavioral confidence, reasons for procrastinating and activities subject to procrastination, in university students. Implications for guidance and educational support of university students and teachers are analyzed. (shrink)

A great variety of medical conditions are subject to the placebo effect. Although there is mounting evidence to suggest that the placebo effect is related to the expectation of clinical benefit, little is still known about the biochemical bases underlying placebo responses. Positron emission tomography studies have recently shown that the placebo effect in Parkinson’s disease, pain, and depression is related to the activation of the limbic circuitry. The observation that placebo administration induces the release of dopamine in the ventral (...) striatum of patients with Parkinson’s disease suggests a link between the placebo effect and reward mechanisms. In addition to Parkinson’s disease, the placebo-reward model may also apply to other disorders. However, the relative contribution of the different neurotransmitters and neuropeptides that are known to be involved in modulating the activity of the limbic system may be disease-specific. Thus, while the placebo-induced clinical benefit observed in Parkinson’s disease would mostly reflect the release of dopamine in the dorsal striatum, the activation of opioid and serotonin pathways could be particularly implicated in mediating placebo responses encountered in pain and depression, respectively. (shrink)

The SRL vs. ERL theory has shown that the combination of levels of student self-regulation and regulation from the teaching context produces linear effects on achievement emotions and coping strategies. However, a similar effect on stress factors and symptoms of university students has not yet been demonstrated. The aim of this study was to test this prediction. It was hypothesized that the level of student self-regulation (low/medium/high), in interaction with the level of external regulation from teaching (low/medium/high), would also produce (...) a linear effect on stress factors and symptoms of university students. A total of 527 undergraduate students completed validated questionnaires about self-regulation, regulatory teaching, stress factors and symptoms. Using an ex post facto design by selection, ANOVAs and MANOVAs (3 x 3; 5 x 1; 5 x 2) were carried out. The results confirmed that the level of self-regulation and the level of regulatory teaching jointly determined the level of stress factors and symptoms of university students. Once again, a five-level heuristic of possible combinations was configured to jointly determined university students’ level of academic stress. We concluded that the combination of different levels of student regulation levels and regulation from teaching process jointly determines university students’ level of academic stress. The implications for university students’ emotional health, stress prevention and well-being are established. (shrink)

The consideration of racial differences in the biology of disease and treatment options is a hallmark of modern medicine. However, this time-honored medical tradition has no scientific basis, and the premise itself, that is, the existence of biological differences between the commonly known races, is false inasmuch as races are only sociocultural constructions. It is time to rid medical research of the highly damaging exercise of searching for supposed racial differences in the biological manifestations of disease. The practice not only (...) condoned but required by the National Institutes of Health of utilizing racial identification as a demographic characteristic with assumed biological implications is at best badly flawed, and at worst unintentionally contributes to perpetuating the fallacy of natural differences between persons of different skin color, which has been used in the past to advance the cause of racial discrimination. (shrink)