We report the identification of a recurrent, 520-kb 16p12.1 microdeletion associated with childhood developmental delay. The microdeletion was detected in 20 of 11,873 cases compared with 2 of 8,540 controls and replicated in a second series of 22 of 9,254 cases compared with 6 of 6,299 controls. Most deletions were inherited, with carrier parents likely to manifest neuropsychiatric phenotypes compared to non-carrier parents. Probands were more likely to carry an additional large copy-number variant when compared to matched controls. The clinical (...) features of individuals with two mutations were distinct from and/or more severe than those of individuals carrying only the co-occurring mutation. Our data support a two-hit model in which the 16p12.1 microdeletion both predisposes to neuropsychiatric phenotypes as a single event and exacerbates neurodevelopmental phenotypes in association with other large deletions or duplications. Analysis of other microdeletions with variable expressivity indicates that this two-hit model might be more generally applicable to neuropsychiatric disease. © 2010 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved. (shrink)

Este articulo analiza el proceso de integración del Mercosur en el que participan Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay y sus efectos sobre la ciudadanía política y social. En la primera parte del mismo los autores examinan los rasgos, el contexto de nacimiento y la filos ofía del proceso de integración mercosureño. La segunda parte analiza la evoluciónde la democracia y de la justicia social durante el proceso de integración. Los autores llegan a la conclusión de que el modelo de integración (...) mercosureño no puede contrarrestar la crisis de la democracia y de la justicia social que tienen lugar especialmente en Argentina y Brasil. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza el proceso de integración del Mercosur en el que participan Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay y sus efectos sobre la ciudadanía política y social. En la primera parte del mismo los autores examinan los rasgos, el contexto de nacimiento y la filosofía del proceso de integración mercosureño. La segunda parte analiza la evolución de la democracia y de la justicia social durante el proceso de integración. Los autores llegan a la conclusión de que el modelo de integración (...) mercosureño no puede contrarrestar la crisis de la democracia y de la justicia social que tienen lugar especialmente en Argentina y Brasil. (shrink)

La aprobación en junio de 2008 por el Parlamento Europeo de la Directiva de retorno —denominada también Directiva de la infamia o Directiva de expulsión— consolida el proceso de involución que sobre los derechos humanos se viene produciendo en la Unión Europea desde que el miedo a la inmigración irregular se incardinó en sus instituciones. Si bien las legislaciones de extranjería de los años ochenta contenían normas que regulaban el internamiento y la expulsión no es hasta la Directiva 2001/40/CE que (...) comienza a tomar forma una política comunitaria centrada en la inmigración irregular y las expulsiones de migrantes. Las medidas de retorno son, dice la Comisión europea, “una piedra angular de la política de migración de la UE”. Desde entonces, la barbarie de los centros de retención e internamiento, el socavamiento de los derechos y la exclusión y criminalización de los migrantes extranjeros se han convertido en el caballo de batalla de las asociaciones defensoras de los derechos humanos. La erosión que las legislaciones y medidas de expulsión están provocado en los derechos y libertades y en las instituciones del Estado de derecho es inmensa. El retroceso y la erosión en los derechos y libertades es tan grande que ya no es posible continuar hablando sin más de Estados de derecho en la UE, sino más bien de máquinas administrativas para el internamiento y la expulsión, de “Estados expulsores” (1), donde las personas extranjeras son tratadas como semipersonas (2) e incluso como “no-personas” (3). (shrink)

This article discusses the character of hegemonic subjectification as it is seen by Ernesto Laclau. By explaining the concepts of the constitutive features and form of a hegemonically acquired political identity, such as antagonism, undecidability, overdetermination and decision, I define the social fields and dynamics of subjectification. At the same time, I adopt that such subjectification occurs within the boundaries of the particular –universal, i.e., the ideologically assigned view of identity as totality. Besides, in contrast to Laclau, I juxtapose the (...) dialectically conceived form of the particular–universal relation with its poststructuralist Laclau’s version, and I try to prove that—contrary to Laclau—the idea of hegemony enjoys its vitality thanks to Theodor W. Adorno’s concept of negative dialectics. To determine the points of similarity of the two methods of constructing and deconstructing identity and subjectivity, I reject Elmar Flatschart’s incomparability argument. Lastly, I point out the earlier mentioned points of convergence: on Adorno’s part—the concept of proper names and the concept of constellation; on Laclau’s part—the concept of undecidability and decision which keep discourse ontologically and epistemologically open. (shrink)

The majority of papers in this special issue were presented at a conference, ‘The Advancement of Science and the Dilemma of Dual Use: Why We Can’t Afford to Fail’ held on 9–10 November 2007. The conference chairman was Andrzej Górski and its patrons were UNESCO and the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Three additional papers on the subject of Dual Use have been included in this issue; the authors are T. A. Cavanaugh , J. Forge and D. Koepsall.

I introduce definition by genus and specific difference, afterwards using it to show that Karl Jaspers rejected the classic criteria for pathologically falsified judgment: ‘Absolute conviction,’ ‘incorrigibility,’ and ‘impossibility of content.’ Next I draw attention to the primary experience of delusion. Famously, Jaspers reckoned that that experience was “ununderstandable”—usually taken to imply something negative about one’s ability to empathize with the delusion holder. All the same, I propose that it was actually our static mode of understanding that he felt was (...) defeated by the aforementioned experience, not our genetic one. (shrink)

Medical practice is ideally based on robust, relevant research. However, the lack of disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s disease has motivated “innovative practice” to improve patients’ well-being despite insufficient evidence for the regular use of such interventions in health systems treating millions of patients. Innovative or new non-validated practice poses at least three distinct ethical questions: first, about the responsible application of new non-validated practice to individual patients ; second, about the way in which data from new non-validated practice are communicated (...) via the scientific and lay press ; and third, about the prospect of making new non-validated interventions widely available before more definitive testing. We argue that the authors of metabolic enhancement protocols for Alzheimer’s disease have overstated the evidence in favor of these interventions within the scientific and lay press, failing to communicate weaknesses in their data and uncertainty about their conclusions. Such unmeasured language may create false hope, cause financial harm, undermine informed consent, and frustrate the production of generalizable knowledge necessary to face the societal problems posed by this devastating disease. We therefore offer more stringent guidelines for responsible innovation in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. (shrink)

I introduce definition by genus and specific difference, afterwards using it to show that Karl Jaspers rejected the classic criteria for pathologically falsified judgment: ‘Absolute conviction,’ ‘incorrigibility,’ and ‘impossibility of content.’ Next I draw attention to the primary experience of delusion. Famously, Jaspers reckoned that that experience was “ununderstandable”—usually taken to imply something negative about one’s ability to empathize with the delusion holder. All the same, I propose that it was actually our static mode of understanding that he felt was (...) defeated by the aforementioned experience, not our genetic one. (shrink)

The contemporary sociology of morality is a form of descriptive ethics that shrinks away from any sort of prescriptive ethics. Building on the moral philosophies of John Dewey, and also of Alasdair MacIntyre and Paul Ricoeur, and in dialogue with recent work by Stefan Bargheer, this article proposes a more ambitious program of critical social ethics that connects concerns with character and the common good but tempers them with attention to alienation and oppression.

Introducing Dialogic Pedagogy presents some of the ideas of Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin concerning dialogism in a way that will engage and inspire those studying early childhood education. By translating the growing body of dialogic scholarship into a practical application of teaching and learning with very young children, this book provides readers with alternative ways of examining, engaging and reflecting on practice in the early years to provoke new ways of understanding and enacting pedagogy. This text combines important theoretical ideas (...) with a practical application to support practitioners who are keen to promote creativity and agency through ethical self-other relations. It provides unique insights into the amazing world of the youngest child, and offers enriched understandings of the profound impact of adults in their journey of becoming (or bildung). Key points covered include: Investigating dialogic philosophy and its application to early childhood education, with an emphasis on notions of justice, democracy, ethics and answerability Considering the relationship between dialogism and pedagogical approaches Theorising a range of approaches to relevant early childhood practice, as pedagogy This accessible and readable guide offers sound theoretical principles with practical suggestions for early years' settings. The book is supplemented by an extensive online video resource website that will bring these revolutionary ideas to life.. (shrink)

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies of the Office of Research Integrity, U.S.Department of Health, or any other Federal agency.

ABSTRACT This text aims to reflect on why speech genres are relevant to variation studies, especially for third wave studies, whose central issue is the notion of style. Through bibliographic research, we examine part of the literature of the third wave of variation studies and part of the literature of the Bakhtinian approach, focusing on the notion of style, to (i) highlight some connections between these approaches and to (ii) articulate them, in some other points. The results of this reflection (...) indicate that speech genres are relevant to the interests of third wave studies because (i) linguistic style is a property of speech genres, upgradeable due to the aesthetic finalizations they receive; and (ii) an understanding of style requires an understanding of the (social and formal) constitution of the genres, in which categories of analysis that are of interest to the third wave of variation studies are indicated. (shrink)

BackgroundExpanded access is the use of investigational drugs (IDs) outside of clinical trials. Generally it is performed in patients with serious and life-threatening diseases who cannot be treated satisfactorily with authorized drugs. Legal regulations of expanded access to IDs have been introduced among others in the USA, the European Union (EU), Canada and Australia. In addition, in the USA an alternative to expanded access is treatment under the Right-to-Try law. However, the treatment use of IDs is inherently associated with a (...) number of ethically relevant problems.Main textThe objective of this article is to present a coherent framework made up of eight requirements which have to be met for any treatment use of an ID to be ethical. These include a justified need for the use of an ID, no threat to clinical development of the ID, adequate scientific evidence to support the treatment, patient’s benefit as the primary goal of the use of an ID, informed decision of a patient, fair access of patients to IDs, independent review, as well as the dissemination of treatment results.ConclusionsWhile this framework is essentially consistent with the legal regulations of expanded access of the USA, the EU, Canada and Australia, it is substantially wider in scope because it addresses some important issues that are not covered by the regulations. Overall, the framework that we developed minimizes the risks and threats, and maximizes potential benefits to each of the four key stakeholders involved in the treatment use of IDs including patients, doctors, drug manufacturers, and society at large. (shrink)

The technological advances of the 20th century resulted in the creation of the Internet and its introduction into everyday life on a global scale. The Internet provides access to information and the sale and purchase of goods. Medications are also subject to trade. Their sale is conducted by online pharmacies and their global turnover amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars. Medications ordered over the Internet are sent by mail all over the world. Considering the events of recent years, we (...) cannot exclude the risk of a terrorist attack through online pharmacies. Terrorists can establish such companies, legally or illegally, or acquire ones already existing. Parcels, which are highly trusted by the customers of online pharmacies, can, for example, be contaminated with dangerous materials. The sale of online medications in the international system is potentially dangerous and requires international regulation. (shrink)

_Seeing the World through Children’s Eyes_ brings an overarching emphasis on ‘seeing’ to early years research and provides an opportunity to see and hear from leading researchers in the field concerning how they work with visual methodologies in their early years research.

In the light of a vast political information ‘buffet’, so-called news-avoiders stay away from the news for indefinite periods of time. Recent research suggests that news avoidance can be intentional or unintentional. However, research has mostly focused on one form of news avoidance or has not differentiated at all. Based on survey data, this study (a) identifies and compares motivations for intentional and unintentional avoidance and (b) investigates drivers of different news avoidance motives. Findings suggest that, overall, avoidance is rooted (...) in the preference for other pastimes, with intentional avoiders also being tired of news and seeing it as too negative, biased, and unreliable. Further, different motives are driven by specific characteristics: Political knowledge and internal efficacy relate to ‘cognitive’ motives, empathy, and being negativity-prone to ‘emotional’ motives, while external efficacy relates to ‘political’ motives. (shrink)

Standard models of adolescent risk taking posit that the cognitive abilities of adolescents and adults are equivalent, and that increases in risk taking that occur during adolescence are the result of socio emotional differences in impulsivity, sensation seeking, and lack of self-control. Fuzzy-trace theory incorporates these socio emotional differences. However, it predicts that there are also cognitive differences between adolescents and adults, specifically that there are developmental increases in gist-based intuition that reflects understanding. Gist understanding, as opposed to verbatim-based analysis, (...) generally has been hypothesized to have a protective effect on risk taking in adolescence. Gist understanding is also an essential element of informed consent regarding risks in medical decision- making. Evidence thus supports the argument that adolescents’ status as mature minors should be treated as an exception rather than a presumption, because accuracy in verbatim analysis is not mature gist understanding. Use of the exception should be accompanied by medical experts’ input on the bottom-line gist of risks involved in treatment. (shrink)

The foundation of the Christian counselling movement -- Christian counselling in the UK -- The aims of Christian counselling -- Integrating psychological and biblical truth -- Sigmund Freud--the founding father of psychotherapy -- The individual psychology of Alfred Adler -- Abraham Maslow--the man with new age tendencies -- Carl Rogers--a man who believed in himself -- Albert Ellis--the aggressive atheist -- The Bible's verdict on psychological 'truth' -- The case against Larry Crabb -- Self-esteem: the secular foundation -- Self-esteem and (...) the Christian counselling movement -- Self-esteem dogma in the light of scripture. (shrink)

The Great Psychotherapy Debate: Models, Methods, and Findings comprehensively reviews the research on psychotherapy to dispute the commonly held view that the benefits of psychotherapy are derived from the specific ingredients contained in a given treatment (medical model). The author reviews the literature related to the absolute efficacy of psychotherapy, the relative efficacy of various treatments, the specificity of ingredients contained in established therapies, effects due to common factors, such as the working alliance, adherence and allegiance to the therapeutic protocol, (...) and effects that are produced by different therapists. In each case, the evidence convincingly corroborates the contextual model and disconfirms the prevailing medical model. (shrink)

Big Ideas for Little Kids includes everything a teacher, a parent, or a college student needs to teach philosophy to elementary school children from picture books. Written in a clear and accessible style, the book explains why it is important to allow young children access to philosophy during primary-school education. Wartenberg also gives advice on how to construct a "learner-centered" classroom, in which children discuss philosophical issues with one another as they respond to open-ended questions by saying whether they agree (...) or disagree with what others have said. (shrink)

The concept of informed consent was one of the most fruitful ideas that deeply changed the relationships between physicians and their patients from paternalism to respect for the personal autonomy of subjects needing professional medical care. The great progress in medicine, also involving the pharmaceutical industry, has created an increasing need to perform different clinical and experimental trials. The evolution of clinical research in the last decades has influenced strongly the design of these studies. One of the most important changes (...) in this field has been the use of placebo groups in double-blind controlled studies. The controversies have involved not only the use of placebo when standard or proven treatment was available, but also some specific problems concerning the procedure of obtaining informed consent in such trials. This paper briefly presents the evolution of informed consent in Poland as well as different ethical and legal problems concerning informed consent and the use of placebo controls in clinical trials. (shrink)

En esta contribución se analizan dos grandes períodos de la obra intelectual de Pietro Barcellona. El primero se corresponde con sus originarias reflexiones sobre los distintos usos del derecho, en el sentido de la transformación-adecuación de las instituciones y del ordenamiento jurídico italiano de la postguerra con los principios de la Constitución de 1948. De este primer período hay que destacar sus investigaciones sobre el uso alternativo del derecho y de los lazos de funcionalidad existentes entre el Estado, la economía (...) y el derecho. En el segundo período, se analiza el tránsito del pensamiento barcelloniano hacia las cuestiones que deben enriquecer un concepto de democracia plena de sentido para un individuo cada vez más alienado, sometido a la lógica de lo económico y, por tanto, menos libre y autónomo. Barcellona afronta esta última cuestión analizando los fundamentos de la Modernidad, para comprender principalmente dos cosas: a) el destino del individuo en esta fase de la sociedad occidental, y b) saber cómo ha logrado la burguesía, a través de qué principios y formas, consolidar y reproducir su hegemonía social en la sociedad moderna. En esta etapa el siguiente trabajo se centra, en primer lugar, en su teoría del individualismo propietario y en la crítica al "derecho igual", para después, en un segundo momento, plantear sus propuestas acerca de la política y de la democracia como forma de vida. Todo el análisis de la obra de Barcellona, considerada por los autores del siguiente ensayo, como fundamental para entender diversos aspectos jurídico-políticos de las sociedades post-industriales, ha sido desarrollado respetando el orden cronológico de la producción intelectual de Barcellona a lo largo de los dos períodos tratados. (shrink)

What is the relationship between natural science, social science, and religion? The dominant paradigm in contemporary social science is scientism, the attempt to apply the methods of natural science to the study of society. However, scientism is problematic: it rests on a conception of natural science that cannot be sustained. Natural scientific understanding emerges from an instrumental and objectifying relation to the world; it is oriented toward control and manipulation of the physical world. Social‐scientific understanding, by contrast, must begin with (...) a practical and meaningful relation to the world: it is oriented toward the mediation of values and objective possibilities in the social world. Social science is therefore a form of practical reason based on objective claims. But while social‐scientific understanding starts with interpretation, its possibilities by no means end there. In particular, by developing abstract and objectified models of society as a system, social science opens existing social organization to critical reflection. Religion, by contrast, is a form of speculative reason about ultimate values, based on subjective claims of religious experience. Social science nevertheless shares with religion an orientation toward values and concern with the “good life.”. (shrink)

The editors assembled this book in order to highlight the voices of those who do have an idea—of people who have experienced or witnessed the impact of educational injustice on the lives of marginalized youth and the educators who advocate for them. They set out to collect writing about people’s experiences--their reflections on social justice and injustice, equity and inequity in and out of schools that influence educational access and opportunity. By sharing stories in poetry and prose and photography, telling (...) truths either as people on the margins or as their partners in struggles for educational justice, it is the editors intentions to expand the narrative of the educational policy and practice. (shrink)

Several logical puzzles, riddles and problems are defined based on the notion of games in informative contexts. Hintikka argues that epistemology or the theory of knowledge must be considered from the notion of information. So, knowledge cannot just be based on the notions of belief and justification. The present proposal will focus on the logical structure of information, and not only on the quantification of information as suggested by Claude A. Shannon. In many cases, the information bits, although seemingly or (...) factually contradictory, are quite relevant. The paraconsistent systems of logic offer a formalization of reasoning that can support certain contradictions. The well-known “Bar-Hillel–Carnap Paradox” causes embarrassment when it concludes that the informational content of a contradiction would be maximum, opposing the traditional notion that the semantic information must be true, and that contradictions are necessarily false. (shrink)

_The Cinema of Andrzej Wajda: The Art of Irony and Defiance_ Edited by John Orr and Elzbieta Ostrowska Foreword by Andrzej Wajda London: Wallflower Press, 2003 ISBN 1-903364-89-2 227 pages.