Background: Organ donation and transplantation represent one of the most important scientific advances over the last decades. Due to the complexity of these procedures and related ethical–legal aspects, however, there are a lot of doubts and uncertainty about the brain death diagnosis and the maintenance of potential organ donor. Aim: To identify and discuss the different meanings and experiences of registered nurses and physicians from an adult intensive care unit in relation to the diagnosis of brain death and the maintenance (...) of potential organ donors for transplantation purposes. Study Design: Participants were registered nurses and physicians from an adult intensive care unit at a University Hospital from Brazil. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing Research Ethics Committee. Results: Two main categories emerged from the analysis: brain death diagnosis and its implications and maintenance of the potential organ donor and its repercussion in the donation–transplantation process. Six subcategories were also identified: understanding the brain death diagnosis as a tool to aid decision-making; diagnosis as guarantee of rights; difficulties encountered to establish the diagnosis; clinical criteria adopted in Brazil and related ethical–legal aspects; specificities of care to the brain dead person and outcomes; and nurse’s duties toward the brain dead person. Conclusion: Although the brain death diagnosis is scientifically and legally defined in Brazil and the maintenance of the potential organ donor for transplantation purposes has been addressed during the last years, there are still some doubts about the subject, as its understanding varies according to the personal beliefs, culture, and educational background of individuals, including those who work in this scenario. (shrink)

Ugo Nespolo (1941) ha attraversato gli ultimi cinquant’anni sperimentando in quasi tutti i campi dell’arte ed esprimendo con ironia e atteggiamento ludico la propria poetica di confine, tra avanguardia e pop. Alla sua ricerca artistica - che spazia dalle installazioni oggettuali ai dipinti, dalle performance alle sculture, dalla produzione cinematografica a quella grafica e illustrativa - è dedicato questo numero speciale “Rivista di estetica” che offre riflessioni di carattere critico/letter...

Il programma di ricerca filosofica di Maurizio Ferraris può essere ricapitolato, come egli ha scritto, in tre fasi in cui ha proposto: una estetica come teoria della sensibilità, una ontologia naturale come teoria dell’inemendabilità e una ontologia sociale come teoria della documentalità (cfr. Ferraris 2012a: x-xi). Tra queste, è stata soprattutto la prima fase del suo pensiero a influenzare i miei studi. In essa sono presenti talune delle principali tesi della sua filosofia positiva che, a mio modo di vedere, possono (...) essere sviluppate anche nell’ambito delle ricerche sulle arti contemporanee. Al fine di mostrare questa possibilità, il testo è organizzato come segue. Nei primi due paragrafi mi soffermo sulla concezione dell’estetica come teoria della sensibilità e su alcuni dei principali nuclei teorici della sua filosofia positiva. I tre successivi mirano a portare in primo piano alcune questioni concernenti la delicata relazione tra estetica e arte, e ad affrontarle tenendo conto sia della natura della prima sia delle incessanti evoluzioni della seconda. I due conclusivi offrono i lineamenti della proposta che penso possa essere formulata mantenendo come riferimento due insegnamenti tratti dalla filosofia positiva di Ferraris. (shrink)

The investigation that can be carried out on a given problem often requires taking into account both its characteristics and the theoretical tools that make the investigation possible, as well as the resources that can contribute to feeding and developing it. The research work – or, to use an oxymoron, theoretical practice – is based both on the quality and rigour of the investigation that is conducted on the possibilities and limitations that it encounters while being as coherent and reliabl...

This essay has two aims. The first is to offer an explanation concerning the problem of form in Umberto Eco’s philosophical research, showing that he deals with it while admitting that form can be a temporary element connected to a system of relationships which may be subject to variability. Namely, his reflection is open to the issue of structure. The second aim is to identify some principles that, according to this theoretical approach, may be considered a basis for a positive (...) philosophy of the arts whose adoption might also lead to the understanding of their most recent evolutions. Focusing above all on the work Eco carried out in the years preceding the elaboration of his semiotic theory, I will pursue the following two objectives. After introducing some aspects of Eco’s philosophical methodology, I will focus on the theme of form, considering it in meta-operative terms in light of Luigi Pareyson’s ‘theory of formativity’ and in relation to the issue of structure. In the final part of the essay, I will then show how this theoretical approach provides significant resources for a positive philosophy that can successfully address the evolution of the arts. (shrink)

A reciprocal symmetry between art and culture, the reductionism and the impoverishment of the artistic practices are all consequences of the establishment of the new conceptualist paradigm in art since the 60s. Nespolo’s artistic production in that period exemplifies this features being thus conceivable as a variant of conceptualism since he adopts its new experimental rules mixing them with the traditional ones of the visual artistic paradigm.

In this paper I consider the relationship between concept— assuming that it’s embedded in artwork — and visual representation. To this end, I first examine some of Paladino’s artworks considering them as: very classical, expressivist, postmodernist and anti-conceptualist. Finally, I assume the exhibition in Torino is not only a tribute to Philosophy but also an exhortation to reflect on the complicated relationship between art and reality.

In this introduction the coordinators of the First Congress of Postcolonial Studies (Buenos Aires, 5th, 6th, 7th December 2012) review some of the main questions and guidelines which characterized the workshops. Starting from a heated debate on the categories and the epistemological proposals developed by postcolonial studies and decolonial feminism, the Congress accepted the challenge of producing a South/South dialogue through the consolidation of a space of interdisciplinary discussion in the different theorical fields inquiring post-colonial experience.

Technological advances are bringing new light to privacy issues and changing the reasons for why privacy is important. These advances have changed not only the kind of personal data that is available to be collected, but also how that personal data can be used by those who have access to it. We are particularly concerned with how information about personal attributes inferred from collected data (such as online behaviour), can be used to tailor messages and services to specific individuals or (...) groups. This kind of ‘personalised targeting’ has the potential to influence individuals’ perceptions, attitudes, and choices in unprecedented ways. In this paper, we argue that because it is becoming easier for companies to use collected data for influence, threats to privacy are increasingly also threats to personal autonomy—an individual’s ability to reflect on and decide freely about their values, actions, and behaviour, and to act on those choices.4 While increasing attention is directed to the ethics of how personal data is collected, we make the case that a new ethics of privacy needs to also think more rigorously about how personal data may be used, and its potential impact on personal autonomy. (shrink)

This paper is about even in downward entailing contexts. Karttunen and Peters (1979) have shown that there are two different sets of implicatures of even in such contexts. They argue that the two sets of implicatures are derived by allowing even to take scope either higher or lower than a negative polarity licenser. Rooth (1985) argues that even is lexically ambiguous, that is, there is a negative polarity even. I argue against Rooth's ambiguity theory and show that within Rooth's theory (...) of focus, a scope theory of even has better empirical coverage. I also answer objections to the scope theory raised by Rooth (1985) and Karttunen and Karttunen (1977). (shrink)

Little is known empirically about the role of supervisor listening and the emotional conditions that listening facilitates. Having the opportunity to speak is only one part of the communication process between employees and supervisors. Employees also react to whether they perceive the supervisor as actively listening. In two studies, this paper examines three important outcomes of employee perceptions of supervisor listening. Furthermore, positive and negative affect are investigated as distinct mediating mechanisms. Results from Study 1 revealed that employee perceptions of (...) supervisor listening reflected supervisors’ self-ratings of how they listen to their employees and these perceptions were associated with the three work outcomes. Study 2 replicated the findings in a larger sample and found evidence for two explanatory mechanisms. Positive affect mediated the effects of perceived supervisor listening on organizational citizenship behavior and turnover intention, whereas negative affect mediated listening effects on emotional exhaustion and turnover intention. Implications for organizational research and managerial practice concerning workforce sustainability are discussed. (shrink)

Andy Clark and David Chalmers (1998) argue that certain mental states and processes can be partially constituted by objects located beyond one’s brain and body: this is their extended mind thesis (EM). But they maintain that consciousness relies on processing that is too high in speed and bandwidth to be realized outside the body (see Chalmers, 2008, and Clark, 2009). I evaluate Clark’s and Chalmers’ reason for denying that consciousness extends while still supporting unconscious state extension. I argue that their (...) reason is not well grounded and does not hold up against foreseeable advances in technology. I conclude that their current position needs re-evaluation. If their original parity argument works as a defence of EM, they have yet to identify a good reason why it does not also work as a defence of extended consciousness. I end by advancing a parity argument for extended consciousness and consider some possible replies. (shrink)

Therapeutic strategies capable of inducing and enhancing prosthesis embodiment are a key point for better adaptation to and acceptance of prosthetic limbs. In this study, we developed a training protocol using an EMG-based human-machine interface that was applied in the preprosthetic rehabilitation phase of people with amputation. This is a case series with the objective of evaluating the induction and enhancement of the embodiment of a virtual prosthesis. Six men and a woman with unilateral transfemoral traumatic amputation without previous use (...) of prostheses participated in the study. Participants performed a training protocol with the EMG-based HMI, composed of six sessions held twice a week, each lasting 30 mins. This system consisted of myoelectric control of the movements of a virtual prosthesis immersed in a 3D virtual environment. Additionally, vibrotactile stimuli were provided on the participant’s back corresponding to the movements performed. Embodiment was investigated from the following set of measurements: skin conductance response, crossmodal congruency effect, ability to control the virtual prosthesis, and reports before and after the training. The increase in the skin conductance response in conditions where the virtual prosthesis was threatened, recalibration of the peripersonal space perception identified by the crossmodal congruency effect, ability to control the virtual prosthesis, and participant reports consistently showed the induction and enhancement of virtual prosthesis embodiment. Therefore, this protocol using EMG-based HMI was shown to be a viable option to achieve and enhance the embodiment of a virtual prosthetic limb. (shrink)

La crisis sanitaria ocasionada por la expansión del Covid-19 pone en evidencia las consecuencias que tiene sobre la vida común la mercantilización de lo público y el mercado como eje regulador de la vida y de las relaciones humanas. El contexto actual demostró la cadena de inequidades que enfrentan las mujeres en la región, pudiendo identificarse al menos tres dimensiones en las que se expresa esta desigualdad: los cuidados, el trabajo y la violencia. Es menester de este artículo realizar un (...) estudio del impacto de la pandemia en estas tres dimensiones, buscando aportar a la reflexión para la acción que permita repensar un mundo pospandemia, donde la perspectiva de género no se constituya como una agenda coyuntural de los gobiernos, sino como un elemento fundamental en la transformación de nuestras sociedades. Este artículo es fundamentalmente descriptivo, utilizando para su análisis la información de datos secundarios, principalmente cuantitativos, de diferentes fuentes de información; por tanto se trata de datos recolectados, procesados, analizados y publicados con propósito diferente a los objetivos de este artículo. Las principales fuentes de información han sido ONU, OIT, CEPAL, ONU MUJERES, UNESCO y ACNUR. (shrink)

Political Insults proposes a theory of international insult that focuses on interrelations between social identity and power. The book analyses conflicts between the U.S. and North Korea, sovereignty contestations around islands in the Japanese sea, Pussy Riot in Russia, veterans in Ukraine, and Nagorno-Karabakh.

This study explored the effect of attitude towards entrepreneurship, need for achievement, risk-taking propensity, proactive personality, self-efficacy, opportunity recognition competency, entrepreneurship education, uncertainty avoidance, and entrepreneurial knowledge on entrepreneurial intention among university students in Malaysia. This quantitative study had adopted the cross-sectional design approach and involved 391 university students in Malaysia via the online survey. The study outcomes revealed that the NFA, PRP, and SLE significantly affect students’ attitudes towards entrepreneurship. Moreover, entrepreneurship education and UNA significantly affect ORC. Finally, ATE (...) has a positive and significant effect on ENIN among university students in Malaysia. As entrepreneurship offers an alternative career path for people seeking economic prosperity and addressing social issues, including unemployment, the government should formulate effective policies and regulations that support entrepreneurship activities. Universities and other institutions should play a pivotal role in providing the proper exposure via entrepreneurship education while honing the essential traits for a career in entrepreneurship. (shrink)

Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computing, warned that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could one day pose an existential risk to humanity. Today, recent advancements in the field AI have been accompanied by a renewed set of existential warnings. But what exactly constitutes an existential risk? And how exactly does AI pose such a threat? In this chapter we aim to answer these questions. In particular, we will critically explore three commonly cited reasons for thinking that AI poses an existential (...) threat to humanity: the control problem, the possibility of global disruption from an AI race dynamic, and the weaponization of AI. (shrink)

A Geografia da Religião configura-se no cenário acadêmico da Geografia Cultural como um subcampo dotado de potencialidades profícuas à apreensão do fenômeno religioso. Espacializar o rito, a prática cotidiana que se espraia em redes de informações fluídicas, repletas de subjetividades capazes de construir territórios e demarcar identidades é o objetivo principal deste campo do saber. É no tempo e no espaço que o sagrado se manifesta e semiografa indelevelmente como um mapa permanente as fronteiras entre o eu e o outro. (...) Esse fluxo humano contínuo que se reconfigura através de novas releituras e assimilações feitas pelos grupos estudados, releva ao espaço mudanças e permanências como um elemento chave, um conceito passível de ser analisado frente à relevância que ele apresenta como receptáculo dessas marcas físicas oriundas dos grupos religiosos que demarcam seus centros de cosmologia nos espaços escolhidos. Para um estudo mais aprofundado, busca-se na Filosofia husserliana o substrato teórico capaz de justificar o novo olhar geográfico ao subconsciente na conjunção do homem com o Criador. Portanto, leva-se a cabo uma detalhada revisão conceitual do termo fenomenologia e sua aplicabilidade á ciência geográfica. (shrink)

En el artículo se presentan los avances de un proyecto de investigación doctoral en ciencias sociales en la Universidad de Buenos Aires. A partir de una metodología cualitativa se exploraron espacios, clubes y centros culturales en la ciudad de Buenos Aires, desde el retorno de la democracia hasta los efectos de la crisis del 2001. De igual manera, se focalizó en la relevancia de la producción colectiva, es decir, en un proceso desencadenado por los cruces y anudamientos deseantes entre miembros (...) singulares. En tales coordenadas se encontró que el matiz lúdico habita los encuentros, ya que se trata de un espacio de sociabilidad en el que se improvisa con otros en las relaciones de intercambio que se establecen en un determinado grupo, cuya motivación pauta, incluso, los ritmos lógicos de su desarrollo. (shrink)

Este artigo busca aliar as leituras de Adorno e Dewey acerca do papel da educação frente o fenômeno da alienação social, focando principalmente a experiência dentro do processo de emancipação. Ao final, busca-se identificar os ideais de coletividade e compromisso como premissas falsas dos processos educacionais.

Noting that one may hear without listening, the article probes the phenomenological and epistemic distinction between hearing and listening. To listen is to be attuned to voices muffled by silence or camouflaged by a defensive rhetoric resonant with a voice inflected by festering wounds, existential and political. In exploring how one is to listen to these voices of silence, I draw upon Martin Buber’s concept of dialogical “inclusion” of others’ stories, to listen without interpretation to allow the voice behind his (...) – or her or their – story, be it merely etched viscerally in the language of silence, to dwell aside one’s own story in a dialogue unencumbered by perceptions of the Other forged by cultural, social, political constructs, and perhaps most insidiously one’s own defensive postures. (shrink)

Resumo e abstract da Dissertação – Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Religião, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG.

Vehicle externalism maintains that the vehicles of our mental representations can be located outside of the head, that is, they need not be instantiated by neurons located inside the brain of the cogniser. But some disagree, insisting that ‘non-derived’, or ‘original’, content is the mark of the cognitive and that only biologically instantiated representational vehicles can have non-derived content, while the contents of all extra-neural representational vehicles are derived and thus lie outside the scope of the cognitive. In this paper (...) we develop one aspect of Menary’s vehicle externalist theory of cognitive integration—the process of enculturation—to respond to this longstanding objection. We offer examples of how expert mathematicians introduce new symbols to represent new mathematical possibilities that are not yet understood, and we argue that these new symbols have genuine non-derived content, that is, content that is not dependent on an act of interpretation by a cognitive agent and that does not derive from conventional associations, as many linguistic representations do. (shrink)

The goal of this article is to show that formal analysis and reconstructions may be useful to discuss and shed light on substantive meta-theoretical issues. We proceed here by exemplification, analysing and reconstructing as a case study a paradigmatic biochemical theory, the Monod-Wyman-Changeux theory of allosterism, and applying the reconstruction to the discussion of some issues raised by prominent representatives of the new mechanist philosophy. We conclude that our study shows that at least in this case mechanicism and more traditional (...) accounts are not rivals but complementary approaches. (shrink)