Mat is a specific domain of Russian obscene vocabulary including words related to sexuality. The first sociolinguistic studies on mat emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union, concomitantly with the formation of Russian gender studies in the early 1990s. Until today, research on gender and taboo in Russian has been exiguous. Many scholars claim that the use of mat is a male prerogative, whereas women’s use of mat is heavily sanctioned in society. Through data from a survey I carried (...) out with 772 participants, I illustrate that mat is strongly present in women’s language use and that stereotypical gender conceptualizations are undergoing change. From the participants’ answers it emerges that discussions about the use of obscene language play a critical role in the multifaceted process of renegotiation of gender roles in post-Soviet contexts. (shrink)

Medical students will face ethical issues throughout their lives as doctors. The present study aims to investigate medical students’ opinions on controversial ethical issues and factors associated with these opinions.

The psychological factors influencing a return to sport has gained increased research attention. In the current investigation, we explored professional basketball players’ perceptions of the psychological factors facilitating a return to performance equal to or exceeding previous performance standards. We also sought to describe athletes’ experiences – both positive and negative – of returning to sport following injury recovery. Ten Italian professional male basketball players (age range 22-36 years), were retrospectively interviewed in relation to three time-periods: (1) from the commencement (...) of rehabilitation to their first official competition, (2) the first official competition, and (3) the six-months following the initial competition. Hierarchical content analysis of the data revealed numerous themes across the three time periods. In regards to Period 1, participants indicated that social support, investment in rehabilitation and training programs, coping skills and motivation were fundamental in reaching pre-injury performance levels. During their first official game (i.e. Period 2), athletes reported that realistic performance expectations, focusing on the performance, positive emotions, motivation, arousal and social support facilitated their return to sport. Athletes however, also described a predominance of factors that hindered their return to pre- injury levels (i.e., low confidence in personal abilities, decrements in skill execution and dysfunctional physical sensations). Moreover, participants typically described a substandard level of performance during their first competition back following injury. In recounting experiences during the six months following their first official game, basketballers reported improvements in skill execution and highlighted the importance of coping skills, motivation and social support. The process of restoring self-confidence in one’s ability to successfully perform was perceived as crucial in enabling participants to move beyond a mere return to sport to a return to high performance ─ that is, to reach a level of proficiency equal to or exceeding previous performance standards. Findings support the relevance of cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses highlighted in the Integrated Model and suggest the importance of addressing psychological factors throughout the return-to-sport process. Finally, results from the present study hold a number of practical implications for athletes’ aiming to achieve a return to pre-injury levels. (shrink)

In this article, I address some infectious diseases that never really “ended,” even though their morbidity, their social impact, and their public visibility have faded away: AIDS, syphilis, and measles. I will use data from different projects I have conducted on each of those epidemics: HIV/AIDS at the doctoral training level in the 1990s, with a geographical focus on Brazil and the United States; syphilis in the context of a 2010 project on the social history of health in Lisbon in (...) the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and measles as part of my current project on labor migration in the 19th century, with a focus on epidemic outbreaks in migrant ships from Madeira to Hawaii. (shrink)

In only 12 years, from 1987 to 1999, world population increased from 5 to 6 billions. In the last years its growth has diminished, both in a relative way, and in a absolute way, due to a reduction in fertility faster that the one expected in the last years. Nevertheless, great differences between areas and nations exist; the poorest countries are the ones in which the growth is more extreme.The predictions of world population reaching 9–10 billions at the middle of (...) the next century could come true, followed by a stabilisation; the danger of an uncontrolled growth of the world population would be, in this way, avoided. The question of the credibility of these predictions, and of which alternatives can exist, belongs not only to the scientific debate. As it happens in social and economical planning, ethical choices, which in this case are definitely appointed to the peaceful cohabitation between nations and to their maximum welfare, must be faced. The debate will focus on how to reach them. (shrink)

Hermeneutics has a long tradition in the history of philosophy. It carries the task of Hermes to bring God’s message to humans and translate it without betraying it. This special issue of the journal Critical Hermeneutics proposes a double research track: veritative hermeneutics and hermeneutic realism. This double track testifies to the original purpose of hermeneutics to formulate fundamental philosophical questions in light of human historical experience. Opposed to relativism, veritative hermeneutics and hermeneutic realism focus on truth, objectivity, the structure (...) of reality, normativity, and meaning. The issue publishes contributions of this track’s pioneers (Gaspare Mura – veritative hermeneutics, Günter Figal, and Anton Friedrich Koch – hermeneutic realism) as well as authors that explore this track from various perspectives: ethics, personalism, normativity, testimony, Biblical hermeneutics and Jewish thought, religious language, meaning. In this introduction, we will first present the authors working on veritative hermeneutics, then those working on hermeneutic realism.... (shrink)

Resumo O artigo trata dos diversos entendimentos acerca de quem faz parte da sociedade civil nos discursos de atores estatais e de organizações da sociedade civil no contexto da temática ambiental durante o governo Lula. Os dados são de entrevistas realizadas com organizações ambientalistas, assim como atores políticos do Ministério do Meio Ambiente e outros setores do governo Lula com alguma vinculação à questão ambiental. A análise aponta para um entendimento - do lado do governo - ampliado de sociedade civil, (...) incluindo desde organizações e movimentos sociais de diversas temáticas extrapolando a ambiental, e que inclui, em certos momentos, setores empresariais e sindicatos. Por outro lado, as organizações ambientalistas demonstram um entendimento mais hermético do conceito, do qual fazem parte, fundamentalmente, ONGs e movimentos sociais, mas com grande diferenciação de atuação. Esses aspectos trazem conseqüências para as relações estabelecidas entre Estado - sociedade civil e, principalmente, para os limites e funções de cada um. Assim, levantam questões sobre o papel esperado da sociedade civil no mundo contemporâneo - seus desafios na tentativa de participar e nfluenciar na política sem perder a sua identidade constitutiva. Palavras-chave: Sociedade civil; Organizações ambientalistas; Política ambiental; Participação política.The present paper concerns the several viewpoints on who comprises the civil society in the rhetoric of state actors and civil society organizations in the context of the environmental issue during the Lula administration. The data were gathered from interviews with environmental organizations as well as political actors from Ministry for the Environmental and other government sectors with some connection to the environmental issue. The analysis suggests an expanded understanding - on the government side - of civil society, including social movements and organizations with causes beyond the environmental and, on occasion, the business and union sectors. On the other hand, environmental organizations display a less flexible understanding of the concept, fundamentally composed of NGOs and social movements, albeit with great diversity of spheres of action. Key words: Civil society; Environmental organization; Environmental policy; Policy participation. (shrink)

This article embodies the result of a collective work that seeks to understand the manner in which the notion of conflict is transformed by the attempt to apply it to reality, according to the doctrines hereby comprise as “ontologies of conflict”. It seems that there are three resulting “logics of conflict” which may receive the following qualifications: logic of contradiction, logic of contrariety and logic of difference.

The article aims to demonstrate to what extent the work Art as Experience by the American philosopher and pedagogist John Dewey, a proponent of pedagogical activism, may have contributed to Loris Malaguzzi’s thought and the Reggio Emilia Approach. Starting from the idea of an aesthetic experience as a privileged means of knowledge, the comparison between the two authors continues through reflections on the relationship between art-community and art-ethics. The dialogue between these important educational approaches is proposed in order to highlight (...) their relevance and the role they could play in today’s schools thanks to the concept of knowledge based on the senses and on doing, contributing to the sensitisation of educational action towards the social aspect of art, both as an opening towards the community, and as a reflection on the values of the human being. The dialogue between these two important educational approaches is proposed in order to highlight their relevance and the role they could play in today's schools thanks to the concept of knowledge based on the senses and on doing, contributing to the sensitisation of educational action towards the social aspect of art, both as an opening towards the community, and as a reflection on the values of the human being. (shrink)

Befasst man sich mit dem Begriff ›Bürger‹ in Fichtes später Reflexionsentwicklung, so ist man mit der vorausgehenden Frage konfrontiert, welche Konnotationen hier als von der früheren Phase unterschieden gelten können. Eine vorläufige Betrachtung würde als erstes darauf hindeuten, dass schon der quantitative Gebrauch des Wortes »Bürger« in Fichtes Jenaer Zeit weniger häufig ist und mit unbestimmteren Sachverhalten im Zusammenhang steht. Aber eine quantitative Bewertung ist an sich nicht schlüssig, wenn sie nicht dabei durch eine begriffsinhaltliche Analyse untermauert wird. Und eine (...) derartige Analyse kann sich nicht nur auf das Spezifikum der Notion ›Bürger‹ berufen, sondern muss gleichzeitig die Korrelate in Betracht ziehen, welche den inhaltlichen Umfang zu erörtern vermögen, die gesamte gedankliche Konstellation umfassen und gleichwohl synthetisch veranschaulichen können. Ein besonders einleuchtendes Beispiel wird durch eine vergleichende Analyse der jeweils im Naturrecht von 1796 und in der Rechtslehre von 1812 enthaltenen korrelierenden Begriffsinhalte dargeboten. Schon der Unterschied in der Betitelung könnte auf eine gewichtige Sinnverschiebung anspielen. Wir wissen aber, dass das deutschsprachige Verständnis des Wortes ›Naturrechts‹ jenes Zeitalters nicht immer dem fachlichen Ausdruck genau entspricht. Der Terminus Naturrecht wird in der Tat oft als Oberbegriff verwendet, welcher gleichzeitig naturrechtliche Ansprüche, privates Recht und Staatsrecht deckt oder mit einbezieht. Einen eindeutigen Beweis dafür wird einige Jahre später die Hegelsche Rechtsphilosophie liefern, welche im Untertitel die Naturrechtslehre anspricht und sich jedoch als Gegendarstellung der durch die Feststellung der natürlichmenschlichen Konnotationen erworbenen, das Individuum betreffenden Rechtsansprüche erweist. Unter dieser Betrachtung soll die Behauptung eines schwerwiegenden Unterschieds vorerst aufgeschoben werden und eine umfangreichere Argumentation veranlassen. (shrink)

Befasst man sich mit dem Begriff ›Bürger‹ in Fichtes später Reflexionsentwicklung, so ist man mit der vorausgehenden Frage konfrontiert, welche Konnotationen hier als von der früheren Phase unterschieden gelten können. Eine vorläufige Betrachtung würde als erstes darauf hindeuten, dass schon der quantitative Gebrauch des Wortes »Bürger« in Fichtes Jenaer Zeit weniger häufig ist und mit unbestimmteren Sachverhalten im Zusammenhang steht. Aber eine quantitative Bewertung ist an sich nicht schlüssig, wenn sie nicht dabei durch eine begriffsinhaltliche Analyse untermauert wird. Und eine (...) derartige Analyse kann sich nicht nur auf das Spezifikum der Notion ›Bürger‹ berufen, sondern muss gleichzeitig die Korrelate in Betracht ziehen, welche den inhaltlichen Umfang zu erörtern vermögen, die gesamte gedankliche Konstellation umfassen und gleichwohl synthetisch veranschaulichen können. Ein besonders einleuchtendes Beispiel wird durch eine vergleichende Analyse der jeweils im Naturrecht von 1796 und in der Rechtslehre von 1812 enthaltenen korrelierenden Begriffsinhalte dargeboten. Schon der Unterschied in der Betitelung könnte auf eine gewichtige Sinnverschiebung anspielen. Wir wissen aber, dass das deutschsprachige Verständnis des Wortes ›Naturrechts‹ jenes Zeitalters nicht immer dem fachlichen Ausdruck genau entspricht. Der Terminus Naturrecht wird in der Tat oft als Oberbegriff verwendet, welcher gleichzeitig naturrechtliche Ansprüche, privates Recht und Staatsrecht deckt oder mit einbezieht. Einen eindeutigen Beweis dafür wird einige Jahre später die Hegelsche Rechtsphilosophie liefern, welche im Untertitel die Naturrechtslehre anspricht und sich jedoch als Gegendarstellung der durch die Feststellung der natürlichmenschlichen Konnotationen erworbenen, das Individuum betreffenden Rechtsansprüche erweist. Unter dieser Betrachtung soll die Behauptung eines schwerwiegenden Unterschieds vorerst aufgeschoben werden und eine umfangreichere Argumentation veranlassen. (shrink)

Although Max Weber does not specifically analyze the topic of esteem, his investigation of the Protestant ethic offers interesting insights into it. The change in mentality it engendered essentially contributed to enhancing the meaning and importance of esteem in modern society. In his analysis, Weber ascertains that esteem was fundamental to being accepted and integrated into the social life of congregations. Nevertheless, he also highlights that esteem was supported by a form of self-esteem which was not simply derived from a (...) good social reputation, but also achieved through a deep and continual self-analysis as well as a strict discipline in the ethical conduct of life. The present analysis reconstructs the different aspects of the relationship between social and self-esteem and analyzes the consequences of that relationship by focusing on the exemplary case of the politician’s personality and ethic. (shrink)

In the Doctrine of Science nova methodo Fichte explains the difference between the mirror and the eye. While the former only mirrors without seeing itself by doing it, the eye is in its essential connotation „image for itself“. The capacity of becoming aware of the image as such and of conceiving it as image for itself plays an essential role also in the perception of the other and in the originating process of the intersubjective relationship. The paper first focuses on (...) reconstructing the meaning of the image for the intersubjective relationship and on evaluating whether and how far Fichte’s later elaboration of the theory of the image can be significant for the relationship to the other. Consideration of the different dimensions disclosed by the concept of image can also be helpful in illuminating the potential applications of the image of the other, especially in relation to the world of the media. The hypothesis is that Fichte’s conception of the image has a heuristic value also with respect to the image of the other in the present world and opens the way to further developments in the practical-ethical realm. (shrink)