Background The American Association of Medical Colleges has called for incorporation of the health humanities into medical education, and many medical schools now offer formal programs or content in this field. However, there is growing recognition among educators that we must expand beyond empathy and wellness and apply the health humanities to questions of social justice – that is, critical health humanities. In this paper we demonstrate how this burgeoning field offers us tools for integrating social justice into medical education, (...) utilizing the frameworks of critical consciousness and structural competency. Practice of health humanities Critical health humanities can be applied at multiple levels of learners, and in a variety of contexts. We are two physician-writers who have developed several educational programs that demonstrate this. We taught a seminar that introduced first-year and second-year undergraduates to concepts such as social determinants of health, intergenerational trauma, intersectionality, resilience, and cross-cultural care through works of fiction, poetry, film, podcasts, stand-up comedy, and more. Through creative projects and empathic reflection, students engaged with the complexities of structural forces that create and maintain health disparities. Medical students in their clinical years can engage in critical health humanities learning experiences as well. We teach several multidisciplinary electives that address social (in)justice in medicine, as well as mentor fourth-year students engaged in independent electives that foster critical awareness around health equity and ethics. Beyond the classroom, we have actively engaged in critical health humanities practices through story slams, literary journal clubs, conference presentations, and Grand Rounds. Through these activities we have included learners at GME and CME levels. These examples also demonstrate how community engagement and multidisciplinary partnerships can contribute to the practice of critical health humanities. Conclusion In this paper, we explore the growing field of critical health humanities and its potential for teaching health equity through narrative practices. We provide concrete examples of educational activities that incorporate critical consciousness and structural competency – frameworks we have found useful for conceptualizing critical health humanities as a pedagogical practice. We also discuss the strengths and challenges of this work and suggest future directions. (shrink)

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) describes a recursive, unproductive pattern of thought that is commonly observed in individuals who experience anxiety and depression. Past research on RNT has primarily relied on self-report, which fails to capture the potential mechanisms that underlie the persistence of maladaptive thought. We investigated whether RNT may be maintained by a negatively biased semantic network. The present study used a modified free association task to assess state RNT. Following the presentation of a valenced (positive, neutral, negative) cue (...) word, participants generated a series of free associates, which allowed for the dynamic progression of responses. State RNT was conceptualised as the length of consecutive, negatively valenced free associates (i.e. chains). Participants also completed two self-report measures that assessed trait RNT and trait negative affect. Within a structural equation model, negative (but not positive or neutral) response chain length positively predicted trait RNT and negative affect, and this was only the case for positive (but not negative or neutral) cue words. These results suggest that RNT tendencies may be reflected in semantic retrieval and can be assessed without self-report. (shrink)

Introduction: Physical distancing under the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic had a significant impact on lifestyles, including exercise routines. In this study, we examined the relationship between mental health and addictive behaviors, such as excessive exercise and the use of image and performance enhancing drugs across 12 sport disciplines.Materials and methods: A large cross-sectional sample of the adult population was surveyed. The mean age was 33.09. The number of male participants was 668. The use of IPEDs was assessed in conjunction with (...) psychometric measures such as the Exercise Addiction Inventory and the Appearance Anxiety Inventory. The participants were grouped into activity group and non-activity group according to the presence or absence of their exercise habits. The results were compared between these groups, as well as across sport disciplines, while taking into account the relationship between different psychological measures and IPEDs consumption.Results: The frequency of IPEDs use was higher among AG than NAG, although AG participants reported less history of addictions than NAG. The logistic regression analysis revealed that scores equal to or above cutoff points, in both the EAI and AAI, predicted the IPEDs use. Regarding the differences across the various sport disciplines, those who were involved in practicing Weight Lifting and Cross Fit were found to be more at risk of excessive exercising and more inclined to use a wide range of IPEDs.Conclusions: Although exercise could help to increase well-being and prevent addictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, our results show that those in the AG are particularly vulnerable to excessive IPEDs use. Sport disciplines associated with higher EAI and AAI scores have also shown a higher tendency to excessive IPEDs use. Furthermore, the factor of having above the cutoff scores in EAI or AAI in each sport could indicate larger IPEDs consumption regardless of the discipline. In light of the current findings, it is necessary to better define the “non-excessive” levels of exercise in various sport disciplines and an adequate intake of IPEDs to ensure the safety and well-being of people during a pandemic. (shrink)

Domestic violence represents a crucial underpinning of women's continued subordination, which is why much scholarly and activist energy has been expended in designing, implementing, and evaluating programs to reduce it. On the basis of three years of fieldwork, the authors analyze the interactional processes through which masculinity was constructed in one such program. They find that facilitators had success in getting the men to agree to take responsibility, use egalitarian language, control anger, and choose nonviolence, but the men were successful (...) in resisting taking victims' perspectives, deflecting facilitators' overtures to be emotionally vulnerable, and defining themselves as hardworking men entitled to a patriarchal dividend. The authors' analysis contributes to understandings of how hegemonic masculinity is interactionally constituted, and it adds evidence to the debate about such programs' effectiveness by raising the issue of how well the program met its goal of transforming masculinity. (shrink)

This research aimed to examine the relations between suitability of interest to occupation and employee’s productivity. The hypothesis tested whether there are correlations between suitability of interest to occupation and employee’s productivity on insurance agent. Subjects were insurance agent from Jiwasraya Company (N = 90). Two instruments were administered to collect the data i.e. Position Classification Inventory, and Vocational Preferences Inventory. The data were analyzed through Spearman’s correlation test. The results shows that there are positive an significant correlations between suitability (...) of interest to occupation and employee’s productivity (r(88) = 0,579, p < 0,01).  . (shrink)

Research on social influences often distinguishes between social and quality incentives to ascribe meaning to the value that popularity conveys. This study examines the neural correlates of those incentives through which popularity influences preferences. This research reports an functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment and a behavioral task in which respondents evaluated popular products with three focus perspectives; unspecified focus, focus on social aspects, and focus on quality. The results show that value derived with a social focus reflects inferences of approval (...) and reward value, and positively affects preferences. Value derived with a quality focus reflects inferences of quality and negatively affects preferences. This study provides evidence of two distinct inferential routes on both a neurological level, represented by different regions in the brain, and a behavioral level. These results provide the first evidence that a single popularity cue can in different ways influence the value derived from product popularity. (shrink)

Background The use of lengthy, detailed, and complex informed consent forms is of paramount concern in biomedical research as it may not truly promote the rights and interests of research participants. The extent of information in ICFs has been the subject of debates for decades; however, no clear guidance is given. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the perspectives of research participants about the type and extent of information they need when they are invited to participate in (...) biomedical research. Methods This multi-center, cross-sectional, descriptive survey was conducted at 54 study sites in seven Asia-Pacific countries. A modified Likert-scale questionnaire was used to determine the importance of each element in the ICF among research participants of a biomedical study, with an anchored rating scale from 1 to 5. Results Of the 2484 questionnaires distributed, 2113 were returned. The majority of respondents considered most elements required in the ICF to be ‘moderately important’ to ‘very important’ for their decision making. Major foreseeable risk, direct benefit, and common adverse effects of the intervention were considered to be of most concerned elements in the ICF. Conclusions Research participants would like to be informed of the ICF elements required by ethical guidelines and regulations; however, the importance of each element varied, e.g., risk and benefit associated with research participants were considered to be more important than the general nature or technical details of research. Using a participant-oriented approach by providing more details of the participant-interested elements while avoiding unnecessarily lengthy details of other less important elements would enhance the quality of the ICF. (shrink)

We present the inconsistency-adaptive deontic logic DP r , a nonmonotonic logic for dealing with conflicts between normative statements. On the one hand, this logic does not lead to explosion in view of normative conflicts such as O A ∧ O ∼A, O A ∧ P ∼A or even O A ∧ ∼O A. On the other hand, DP r still verifies all intuitively reliable inferences valid in Standard Deontic Logic (SDL). DP r interprets a given premise set ‘as normally (...) as possible’ with respect to SDL. Whereas some SDL-rules are verified unconditionally by DP r , others are verified conditionally. The latter are applicable unless they rely on formulas that turn out to behave inconsistently in view of the premises. This dynamic process is mirrored by the proof theory of DP r. (shrink)

In fungi, cell fusion between genetically unlike individuals triggers a cell death reaction known as the incompatibility reaction. In Podospora anserina, the genes controlling this process belong to a gene family encoding STAND proteins with an N‐terminal cell death effector domain, a central NACHT domain and a C‐terminal WD‐repeat domain. These incompatibility genes are extremely polymorphic, subject to positive Darwinian selection and display a remarkable genetic plasticity allowing for constant diversification of the WD‐repeat domain responsible for recognition of non‐self. Remarkably, (...) the architecture of these proteins is related to pathogen‐recognition receptors ensuring innate immunity in plants and animals. Here, we hypothesize that these P. anserina incompatibility genes could be components of a yet‐unidentified innate immune system of fungi. As already proposed in the case of plant hybrid necrosis or graft rejection in mammals, incompatibility could be a by‐product of pathogen‐driven divergence in host defense genes. (shrink)

Abstract: This paper considers the question of whether it is possible to be mistaken about the content of our first-order intentional states. For proponents of the rational agency model of self-knowledge, such failures might seem very difficult to explain. On this model, the authority of self-knowledge is not based on inference from evidence, but rather originates in our capacity, as rational agents, to shape our beliefs and other intentional states. To believe that one believes that p, on this view, constitutes (...) one's belief that p and so self-knowledge involves a constitutive relation between first- and second-order beliefs. If this is true, it is hard to see how those second-order beliefs could ever be false.I develop two counter-examples which show that despite the constitutive relation between first- and second-order beliefs in standard cases of self-knowledge, it is possible to be mistaken, and even self-deceived, about the content of one's own beliefs. These counter-examples do not show that the rational agency model is mistaken—rather, they show that the possibility of estrangement from one's own mental life means that, even within the rational agency model, it is possible to have false second-order beliefs about the content of one's first-order beliefs. The authority of self-knowledge does not entail that to believe that one believes that p suffices to make it the case that one believes that p. (shrink)

Ensuring that life-saving antimicrobials remain available as effective treatment options in the face of rapidly rising levels of antimicrobial resistance will require a massive and coordinated global effort. Setting a collective direction for progress is the first step towards aligning global efforts on AMR. This process would be greatly accelerated by adopting a unifying global target — a well-defined global target that unites all countries and sectors. The proposed pandemic instrument — with its focus on prevention, preparedness and response — (...) represents an ideal opportunity to develop and adopt a unifying global target that catalyzes global action on AMR. We propose three key characteristics of a unifying global target for AMR that — if embedded within the pandemic preparedness instrument — could rally public support, funding, and political commitment commensurate with the scale of the AMR challenge. (shrink)

Progressive supranuclear palsy is a movement disorder with prominent tau neuropathology. Brain diseases with abnormal tau deposits are called tauopathies, the most common of which is Alzheimer's disease. Environmental causes of tauopathies include repetitive head trauma associated with some sports. To identify common genetic variation contributing to risk for tauopathies, we carried out a genome-wide association study of 1,114 individuals with PSP and 3,247 controls followed by a second stage in which we genotyped 1,051 cases and 3,560 controls for the (...) stage 1 SNPs that yielded P ≤ 10-3. We found significant previously unidentified signals associated with PSP risk at STX6, EIF2AK3 and MOBP. We confirmed two independent variants in MAPT affecting risk for PSP, one of which influences MAPT brain expression. The genes implicated encode proteins for vesicle-membrane fusion at the Golgi-endosomal interface, for the endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response and for a myelin structural component. © 2011 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved. (shrink)

Renowed historian E.P. Thompson (1924-1993) single-handedly changed the marxist understanding of class and class consciousness in his pivotal book The Making of the English Working Class (1963). Thompson not only took issue with the economic and technological determinism that plagued marxist theory, he also took issue with philosophers — Althusser, Foucault, Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, etc. — who variously described history as a process without a subject. Thompson was wary of philosophers. He nonetheless approvingly quotes Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) in his polemical (...) essay The Poverty of Theory (1978). This surprising reference went unnoticed to this day. Following Thompson’s original reference to Merleau-Ponty’s The Structure of Behavior (1942) leads one to a number of observations that the french philosopher made to history, social classes and class counsciousness in works such as Phenomenology of Perception (1945), Sense and Non-Sense (1948) and the Adventures of the Dialectic (1955). Those various observations show that Thompson and Merleau-Ponty shared the same phenomenological understanding of class consciousness. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Literature 26.2 (2002) 405-414 [Access article in PDF] Nihilism in Seamus Heaney Irene Gilsenan Nordin I WISH TO BEGIN WITH THE WORDS of Nietzsche's madman as he makes his famous appearance, running into the crowded marketplace in the bright morning with his lit lantern in his hand, crying out his proclamation of the death of God: "'Where has God gone?' he [cries]. 'I shall tell you. We (...) have killed him—you and I. We are all his murderers.'" He calls out in despair to the bemused and indifferent crowd his rhetorical questions: How were we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What were we doing when we unchained the earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? 1These words of the madman express the abyss of despair experienced on the realization that God is dead, the state of desolation which articulates what Nietzsche himself understood to be the consequences of the triumph of the Enlightenment. But these words of despair sum up more than that; they sum up the underlying problems of Nietzsche's age, and indeed our age: the basic mistrust of all previously held systems of value; the collapse of all ordering principle; and the erosion of the authority of tradition. In other words, reason has revealed the inadequacy of tradition, and has itself lost the ability to provide us with [End Page 405] any reliable means of evaluation—since any such evaluation must be based on the very principles which are themselves under attack.This stark realization of the absence of all sense of meaning in values previously held to be true leads to the condition that Nietzsche calls "nihilism," (Latin nihil, "nothing"), the condition that he considered to be the central problem of Modernity. This condition, Nietzsche believed, is brought about by the realization of three factors: first, the loss of faith in what he calls a "'meaning' in all events," a loss which contributes to an experience of aimlessness; second, the realization that there is no inherent pattern to the world or to history that can lend universal coherence; and third, the loss of faith in the existence of a stable world of being which can be evaluated according to steadfast, enduring principles. The rejection of these three categories, which Nietzsche terms "aim," "unity," and "being," leads to an experience of a world that appears "valueless," in other words, the experience of nihilism. 2Nietzsche, whose thought was considered by Heidegger to be the "final thought of Western metaphysics," 3 is seen as a heralding voice of postmodernism. 4 In this respect, Nietzsche's "death of God" can be seen to be about the death of modernist philosophical presuppositions, the death of the logocentric metaphysics of presence. But, parallel with the notion of crisis that Nietzsche's announcement of the death of God expresses and the ensuing critique of "metanarratives" which his thought has helped to give rise to, 5 Nietzsche's declaration of crisis can also be seen as a statement of faith. His interpretation of the problems of our age, while on the one hand "negatively" proclaiming the death of God and denying the possibility of shared meaning—or in Lyotard's terms "the consensus of a taste which would make it possible to share collectively the nostalgia for the unattainable" (p. 81), can, on the other hand, be viewed in a more "positive" light. The term "nihilism" itself, as Nietzsche has shown us, is ambiguous, comprising both the concepts of what he termed "active nihilism" and "passive nihilism," which involves a complex interplay between the dual forces of affirmation and negation (WP, p. 22).As the Italian philosopher, Gianni Vattimo, points out, the most general distinction between these forces can be seen in terms of "strength of spirit," where nihilism is considered as both "a sign (Zeichen) of the strengthened power... (shrink)

In this paper, I examine the transmission of some ideas of the pragmatist tradition to Wittgenstein, in his ‘middle period,’ through the intermediary of F. P. Ramsey, with whom he had numerous fruitful discussions at Cambridge in 1929. I argue more specifically that one must first come to terms with Ramsey’s own views in 1929, and explain how they differ from views expressed in earlier papers from 1925-27, so a large part of this paper is devoted to this task. One (...) is then in a better position to understand the impact of Ramsey’s astute critique of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus in conjunction with his pragmatism, and explain how it may have set into motion the ‘later’ Wittgenstein. I then argue that Ramsey introduced his notion of ‘variable hypothetical’ as a rule, not a proposition, on pragmatist grounds and that Wittgenstein picked this up in 1929, along with a more ‘dynamic’ view of meaning than the ‘static’ view of the Tractatus, and that this explains in part Wittgenstein’s turn to his ‘later philosophy.’. (shrink)

Esta obra, que podemos encontrar dentro de la oportuna colección de Humanidades de las Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza es la primera traducción en castellano que se ha realizado de Eraclito e la sua legenda publicada en 1979, que hasta 2018 solo estaba al alcance de quienes hablaran italiano. Como su título indica, es un trabajo realmente útil para la investigación e interpretación de los textos de Heráclito de Éfeso. Su tesis es una propuesta de interpretación sustentada en una (...) rigurosa contextualización de la que se da cuenta a lo largo de la obra, cuya conclusión es que las lecturas que se han venido realizando han extraído y descontextualizado los ejemplos de carácter físico que el filósofo usa para explicar el objeto político de su obra, con lo que la tradición habría perdido de vista el sentido de la misma: la política del momento. Su autor, Antonio Capizzi desarrolló su docencia en la Universidad de La Sapienza de Roma, en la que se especializó en la historia de la filosofía griega. Sus trabajos se caracterizan por una detallada contextualización histórica, alejándose de otras interpretaciones heredadas de la tradición. Destacan sus trabajos Introduzione a Parmenide y Platone nel suo tempo, dedicados a Parménides y a Platón, respectivamente. (shrink)

Reviewed Works:F. P. Ramsey, D. H. Mellor, Philosophical Papers.F. P. Ramsey, D. H. Mellor, Foundations, Essays in Philosophy, Logic, Mathematics and Economics.Frank Plumpton Ramsey, Maria Carla Galavotti, Notes on Philosophy, Probability and Mathematics.Nils-Eric Sahlin, The Philosophy of F. P. Ramsey.

Après avoir présenté les grandes lignes de la réflexion phénoménologique de Wittgenstein en 1929 et son abandon de Vidée d'un langage phénoménologique, je montre qu'il fait face à un dilemme à propos de la notion de règle. Si on regarde l'expression symbolique d'une règle sous le mode physicaliste, on ne peut pas voir le lien entre celle-ci et ses applications. Comment peut-elle, de par elle-même, servir de guide à nos actions ? Il faut une intention, une interprétation, ce qui fait (...) de la règle un objet phénoménologique. L'abandon du langage phénoménologique doit cependant forcer Wittgenstein à reconnaître qu'une règle en tant qu'objet phénoménologique ne peut pas être comparée à ou être utilisée pour déclencher une action qui se déroule dans le monde physique. Je montre que c'est en tentant de sortir de ce dilemme que Wittgenstein en viendra aux conceptions exposées dans ses remarques sur « suivre une règle ». J'examine en dernier lieu quelques conséquences de cette interprétation sur celle de la philosophie des mathématiques de Wittgenstein.After presenting a broad sketch of Wittgenstein's phenomenology; in 1929, and of his abandonment of the idea of a phenomenological language, it is shown that the notion of a rule left him with a dilemma, if the symbolical expression of a rule is understood in a physicalist mode, one cannot see the link between it and its applications. How could it, of itself guide our actions? One needs an intention or interpretation, thus turning the rule into a phenomeno/ogica I object. The abandonment ofthe p he nojne no logical language must have foiled Wittgenstein to recognize that a rule, qua phenomenological object, cannot be compared to or used to trigger an action in the physical world. It is then shown how Wittgenstein reached, while trying to solve this dilemma, the conception of rules presented in the remarks on 'following a rule". Lastly, some of the consequences of this new reading on the interpretation of Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematics are examined. (shrink)

Pretende-se, neste artigo, inserir o leitor no universo do catolicismo popular do povo goiano a partir de suas três dimensões: o culto popular à figura de Deus Pai, que em Goiás ganha o nome de Divino Pai Eterno, na cidade de Trindade; a devoção popular à figura de Deus Filho, no culto ao Senhor Bom Jesus dos Passos, na Cidade de Goiás; e por último, no culto ao Espírito Santo, na Festa das Cavalhadas, na cidade de Pirenópolis. Na religiosidade popular (...) sagrado e profano se mesclam no cenário do cerrado goiano do Brasil Central. Na pesquisa realizada percebe-se que o povo goiano não separa sua experiência de fé das experiências do cotidiano em suas devoções populares. O povo do cerrado sabe suspender momentaneamente a dureza do dia-a-dia, mergulhar num estado de graça e dele sair revigorado para enfrentar as vicissitudes que a vida impõe a todos. O panorama religioso goiano é marcado pelas festas apresentadas nesse artigo e por outras que floreiam o calendário secular e religioso local. Palavras chave: Religiosidade popular, Divino Pai Eterno, Senhor Bom Jesus dos Passos, Festa do DivinoThis article intends to insert the reader within the universe of popular Catholicism in the state of Goiás in Brazil through three dimensions: the popular cult of God as father which is called in Goiás the Divino Pai Eterno in the city of Trindade; the devotion of the Son called Bom Jesus dos Passos in the city of Goiás and at last, the cult of Holy Spirit as it is shown in the city of Pirinópolis during a festivity known as Festa das Cavalhadas. In central region of Brazil the popular religiosity, the sacred and the profane appear mixed. This research clarifies that people does not separate their faith from their everyday experiences. People from Cerrado land knows both how to suspend temporarily the hardness of daily life and to dive into the state of grace. They come out from that experience fulfilled with the necessary energy to deal with the vicissitudes their lives impose upon them. In Goiás the religious scene is marked by the festivities described in this article along with other ones that brighten secular and religious calendar. Keywords: Popular religiosity, Divino Pai Eterno, Senhor Bom Jesus dos Passos, Festa do Divino. (shrink)

O artigo se propõe apresentar alguns elementos da cosmovisão umbandista para que possamos entender de que maneira esta legitima e ressignifica os espaços de inclusão social de parte da população brasileira. Esta cosmovisão recria e dá sentido às vidas e identidades das pessoas e, ao mesmo tempo, evidencia as exclusões sofridas ao longo das décadas. O texto busca uma compreensão dessas dinâmicas antropológicas e sociológicas baseado em algumas teorias que se debruçaram sobre a umbanda. Desde cedo afrodescendentes transitam entre universos (...) simbólicos distintos e lançam mão de sua espiritualidade para reelaborarem suas tradições criando possibilidades de jogar com papéis e identidades diversas. A Umbanda, por ser constitutivamente plural, é, muitas vezes, julgada por não ter identidade própria. Por isso alguns elementos que compõem o arranjo da cosmovisão umbandista foram levantados na expectativa de apresentar um eixo compreensivo dessa identidade religiosa. Entretanto, faz-se necessário apontar traços marcantes da Umbanda justamente para que seu caráter identitário não fique à margem de outras denominações religiosas afro-brasileiras. Palavras-chave : Umbanda. Espiritualidade. InclusãoThis article presents some elements of Umbanda worldview to a better understanding of how this religion legitimizes and reframes the spaces of social inclusion of a portion of the Brazilian population. This worldview recreates and gives meaning to the lives and identities of people and at the same time, highlights the exclusions suffered by this people over the decades. Since their early years, Brazilian Afrodescendants move between different symbolic universes and use their spirituality to redesign their traditions, creating possibilities to play with different roles and identities. Umbanda, being constitutively plural, is often judged not to have its own identity. Thus, some elements that comprise Umbanda worldview were raised with the purpose of presenting an axis understanding of this religious identity. However, it is necessary to point out some relevant features of Umbanda, so that their identity features do not stay on the sidelines of other african Brazilian religious denominations.Finally, it seeks an understanding of these anthropological and sociological dynamics, based on some theoretical currents that investigate the Umbanda. Keywords : Umbanda. Spirituality. Inclusion. (shrink)

Na busca da cura do corpo, a oração opera milagres: uma discussão sobre eficácia simbólica, perspectivismo, cura e religião (In the search for the healing of the body, prayer works miracles: a discussion on symbolic efficacy, perspectivism) - DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2013v11n31p965 O artigo busca descrever, compreender e interpretar o caso observado de uma jovem portadora de teratoma ovariano maligno, internada em hospital do câncer na cidade de Belém, estado do Pará. A jovem foi desenganada diante do diagnóstico da doença, mas sua (...) mãe agarrou-se na “fé em Deus”, pois “Ele opera milagres”, dizendo que dela retiraram “coisa feia”, cheia de dentes, cabelos e gorduras, que não sabia inteiramente explicar, mas que “Jesus cura”. A mãe, evangélica, mantinha a Bíblia na enfermaria, orando em voz alta diante do leito da menina. Aos poucos, amenizou-se a gravidade do caso, deixando perplexo o saber biomédico, diante do reconhecimento de outras buscas de cura, como através da oração, que levou aquela jovem a sair de alta hospitalar. Esse episódio, observado atentamente pela coautora deste artigo, permite uma discussão que transcende o âmbito da biomedicina, do ponto de vista antropológico, especialmente no campo da chamada “eficácia simbólica”, em que xamanismo e psicanálise podem ser chamados para conferir sentido a esse drama, cujo desfecho mostrou-se favorável para a jovem e sua mãe, até o ponto que foi possível observar. Palavras-chave : Cura. Religião. Eficácia Simbólica.This article aims to describe, understand and interpret the observed case of a young woman with ovarian malignant teratoma, hospitalized in the cancer hospital in the city of Belém, State of Pará, Brazil. The young woman was thought as incurable on the diagnosis of the disease, but her mother clung in “faith in God”, because “He works miracles”, saying that “ugly things”, full of teeth, hair and grease, were removed from her; she also said that she could not understand it all, or full explain it, but she is convinced that “Jesus heals”. The mother, an Evangelical woman, held the Bible in the infirmary, praying out loud in front of the girl’s bed. Gradually it was alleviated the severity of the case, leaving bewildered the biomedical knowledge, on the recognition of other results, such as healing through prayer, which led that young woman to leave the hospital. This episode, closely observed by one of the authors of this article, allows a discussion that transcends the scope of biomedicine, from the anthropological point of view, especially in the field of the so-called “symbolic efficacy” (Lévi-Strauss), in which shamanism and psychoanalysis can be called to give meaning to this drama, whose outcome was favorable to the young woman and to her mother, until the point that it was possible to observe. Keywords : Healing. Religion. Symbolic efficacy. (shrink)

In his celebrated article on the narrative technique of Odysseus' Wanderings W. Suerbaum concludes that this character's narration is not essentially different from that of the primary narrator of the Odyssey . Even though Odysseus is a first-person narrator and hence is subject to certain restrictions, these are almost completely counterbalanced by his ex eventu knowledge. For example, he can even report a conversation which took place on Olympus , because it was afterwards reported to him by Calypso, who heard (...) it from Hermes . He can also tell what went on in the minds of his companions , because they later told him what they had felt . Suerbaum's conclusion is shared by M. Fusillo and A. Heubeck, p. 11. (shrink)

In his celebrated article on the narrative technique of Odysseus' Wanderings (‘Ich-Erzählungen’) W. Suerbaum concludes that this character's narration is not essentially (‘wesentlich’) different from that of the primary narrator of theOdyssey(p. 163). Even though Odysseus is a first-person narrator and hence is subject to certain restrictions, these are almost completely counterbalanced by hisex eventuknowledge. For example, he can even report a conversation which took place on Olympus (12.376–88), because it was afterwards reported to him by Calypso, who heard it (...) from Hermes (12.389–90). He can also tell what went on in the minds of his companions (10.415–17), because they later told him what they had felt (10.419–21). Suerbaum's conclusion is shared by M. Fusillo (‘Ulysse contrôle toujours une vision panoramique avec focalisation zéro et ne la concentre pas en lui-même comme personnage’) and A. Heubeck, p. 11 (‘the form in which Odysseus is made to tell his story is entirely in harmony with the narrative style elsewhere’). (shrink)

BackgroundMinorities are an underrepresented population in clinical trials. A potential explanation for this underrepresentation could be lack of willingness to participate. The aim of our study was to evaluate willingness to participate in different hypothetical clinical research scenarios and to evaluate the role that predictors could have on the willingness of minorities to participate in clinical research studies.MethodsWe conducted a mixed-methods study at the Miami VA Healthcare system and included primary care patients with hypertension. We measured willingness to participate as (...) a survey of four clinical research scenarios that evaluated common study designs encountered in clinical research and that differed in degree of complexity. Our qualitative portion included comments about the scenarios.ResultsWe included 123 patients with hypertension in our study. Of the entire sample, ninety-three patients were minorities. Seventy per cent of the minorities were willing to participate, compared to 60 per cent of the non-minorities. The odds ratio of willingness to participate in simple studies was 0.58; 95 per cent CI 0.18–1.88 p=0.37 and the OR of willingness to participate in complex studies was 5.8; 95 per cent CI 1.10–1.31 p=0.03. In complex studies, minorities with low health literacy cited obtaining benefits as the most common reason to be willing to participate. Minorities who were not willing to participate, cited fear of unintended outcomes as the main reason.ConclusionsMinorities were more likely to be willing to participate in complex studies compared to non-minorities. Low health literacy and therapeutic misconception are important mediators when considering willingness to participate in clinical research. (shrink)

Contributions de : Brumberg-Chaumont, J. ; Burnett, C. ; Caiazzo, I. ; Dutton, P. ; Fidora, A. ; Fredborg, M. ; Gautier Dalché, P. ; Jacquart, D. ; Jeauneau, E. ; Jolivet, J. ; Obrist, B. ; Poirel, D. ; Rodnite Lemay, H.