Background:Moral distress is considered to be the negative feelings that arise when one knows the morally correct response to a situation but cannot act because of institutional or hierarchal constraints.Objectives:To analyze moral distress and its relation with sociodemographic and academic variables in undergraduate students from different universities in Brazil.Method:Quantitative study with a cross-sectional design. Data were collected through the Moral Distress Scale for Nursing Students, with 499 nursing students from three universities in the extreme south of Brazil answering the scale. (...) The data were analyzed in the statistical software SPSS version 22.0, through descriptive statistical analysis, association tests (t-test and analysis of variance), and linear regression models.Ethical considerations:Approval for the study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande.Findings:The mean intensity of moral distress in the constructs ranged from 1.60 to 2.55. As to the occurrence of situations leading to moral distress in the constructs, the frequencies ranged from 1.21 to 2.43. The intensity level of moral distress showed higher averages in the more advanced grades of the undergraduate nursing course, when compared to the early grades of this course (between 5 and 10 grade, average = 2.60–3.14, p = 0.000).Conclusion:The demographic and academic characteristics of the undergraduate nursing students who referred higher levels of moral distress were being enrolled in the final course semesters, were at a federal university, and had no prior degree as an auxiliary nurse/nursing technician. (shrink)

Moral distress has been characterised as one of the main ethical problems affecting nurses in all health systems, and has been depicted as a threat to nurses’ integrity and to the quality of patient care. In recent years, several studies tried to investigate moral distress, its causes and consequences for health professionals, clients and organisations. However, such studies are considered controversial and vulnerable, mainly because they lack a solid philosophical and empirical basis. The present article aimed at elaborating a theoretical (...) model for moral distress, considering the process of moral deliberation, spaces of power and resistance and patient advocacy, and sought to carry out a reflection that culminated with the creation of a broader concept of moral distress. (shrink)

Historical foundations rooted in reproductive oppression have implications for how racism has been integrated into the structures of society, including public policies, institutional practices, and cultural representations that reinforce racial inequality in maternal health. This article examines these connections and sheds light on how they perpetuate both racial disparities in maternal health and high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity among Black women.

Human Rights have in the past been defined legalistically, a practice that tends to restrict their full import, and renders them inaccessible to those who need them. In this essay, I attempt to operationalize human rights without necessarily tying such rights to the legal meaning often attached to them. Definitions of `dignity,' 'access to resources,' `equality,' and `entitlement' are worked out in relation to the local context while simultaneously drawing on the aspirational model of Human Rights that I have developed (...) in this slum area within the city of Salé in Morocco. My research is guided by not only this aspirational concept of Human Rights, but also by Islam as an open and evolving entity and a fan of meanings that structures people's lives. The second component of this project is an examination of the sum of religious beliefs and practices that inform and structure the life of individuals in this slum. I try to establish what Islam is in its life-world dimension, particularly for the slum inhabitants, as a way of understanding and explaining their living conditions. The objective is to locate and emphasize the possible links and compatibilities between Islam and Human Rights in keeping with An-Na'im's postulations. This work then aligns itself with the line of inquiry which probes into the particularity and the preparedness of a context to adopt and/or translate Human Rights in a language that is dear and clear to its members. (shrink)

This semiotic research looks into the vehicle of the process of semiosis, the force or the medium by which the existence of a sign is recognized, and the process of semiosis is carried out. This force, which has been termed as ‘mind’ or ‘quasi-mind’ (Peirce 4.536 and 4.551), ‘organism’ (Johansen 1999), ‘codemaker’ or ‘agent’ (Barbieri 2007, 2008) and ‘interpreter’ (Emmeche et al. 2010) can be “any organism or a part of an organism, or just a product whose mechanism allows or (...) is able to carry out the process of semiosis”. These terms are used with reference to the existence of different types and domains of semiosis. In other words, it is not the process of semiosis, but the vehicle of the process of semiosis which makes the existence of different types and domains of semiosis. (shrink)

Health justice is an aspirational north star for scholars, practitioners, and anyone who refuses to accept the status quo of profound inequity. But what does health justice mean? How ought we conceptualize it? There is no correct answer to these questions, but any robust rendering of health justice must account for power and politics. This article posits that the path to health justice requires political struggle taking (at least) two forms: (1) building power and (2) breaking power. Building power for (...) health justice means cultivating the political capacity of people who are disproportionately harmed by health inequity, and who therefore have the most at stake. Breaking power involves weakening and destabilizing the economic and political forces that perpetuate health inequity. By surfacing and elaborating these crucial modes of political struggle, this article points to a way forward for achieving health justice. (shrink)

This article aims to shed light on Hegel's conception of colonialism and its implications for the postcolonial reception of Hegel. Drawing on the abundant literature on the topic, it begins by engaging with Hegel's understanding of colonialism through a close reading of relevant passages of his works, in particular the Heidelberg Vorlesungen über Naturrecht und Staatswissenschaft (1817–18), the Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts (1821), the Vorlesungen über die Philosophie des Rechts (1819/20, 1821/22, 1822/23, 1824/25) and the Vorlesungen über die Philosophie (...) der Weltgeschichte (1822/23, 1830). Having mapped and reconstructed Hegel's conception of colonialism through his writings and lectures, the article argues that his account of Europe's modern colonial expansion is based primarily on economic considerations, rather than on civilizational assumptions proclaiming the spiritual superiority of European peoples—to which Hegel nevertheless subscribes. The conclusion explores distinct and divergent postcolonial perspectives for engaging with the contemporary legacy of Hegelianism. It addresses, on the one hand, Tibebu's critical reading of Hegel's philosophical enterprise as ‘the coldest rationalisation of genocidal murder and carnage’ based on ‘paradigmatic apartheid’ and, on the other, Brennan's redemptive reading of Hegel, which values his theoretical contribution to the shaping of 20th century anticolonial thought. After contrasting these two interpretations, the article argues in favour of postcolonial strategies for critical reappropriation and sabotage of the legacy of Hegel's philosophy. (shrink)

This paper describes how to ethically conduct research with Black populations at the intersection of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement. We highlight the issues of historical mistrust in the USA and how this may impact Black populations’ participation in COVID-19 vaccination trials. We provide recommendations for researchers to ethically engage Black populations in research considering the current context. Our recommendations include understanding the impact of ongoing trauma, acknowledging historical context, ensuring diverse research teams and engaging in open and (...) honest conversations with Black populations to better address their needs. The core of our recommendation is recognising the impact of trauma in our research and health care practices. (shrink)

Volume 20, Issue 4, May 2020, Page 118-120.

Eugenio Colorni, assassinato dai nazifascisti nel 1944, fu tra i primi pensatori italiani ad abbandonare il tracciato della critica neoidealista per dedicarsi a studi di ambito metodologico ed epistemologico. La prematura scomparsa ha impedito a Colorni di elaborare in sistema compiuto le sue intuizioni filosofiche più originali, che restano dunque per la maggior parte affidate alla frammentarietà di alcuni scritti pubblicati dopo la caduta del regime fascista. L’interesse per il pensiero colorniano non consiste però soltanto nell’epistemologia abbozzata durante gli anni (...) Quaranta, ma anche e soprattutto nel particolare itinerario produttivo seguito dall’autore. Esso sembra infatti rispecchiare, sotto certi aspetti, il medesimo percorso seguito dalla filosofia italiana nel tentativo di svincolarsi dalla pesante eredità delle istanze storicistiche ed attualistiche. In questo lavoro si è perciò analizzato il complessivo sviluppo della riflessione colorniana cercando di porre in evidenza quelle continuità e discontinuità che ne hanno segnato il passaggio dal crocianesimo iniziale agli ultimi studi di filosofia della scienza. (shrink)

In an earlier paper on this topic, ‘Eupatridai, Archons, and Areopagus,'3 I was primarily concerned to recover the views of Aristotle, as expressed in the ‘Αθ. πολ., on such elements of Attic Society as Eupatridai, Gennetai, etc. I sought to establish that to him at least these two were not identical: that, more precisely, he recorded two stages of development— ‘Ion’: in whose day the whole body of Athenians was composed of Gennetai, while Eupatridai had not yet been created. ‘Theseus’: (...) who created the Eupatridai—distinguishing them, as a Third Estate, from those two Estates which had hitherto, since Ion, composed the body of Athenians. (shrink)

Journey to the Spiritual Lands. By Wallace W. Zane. 1999. New York: Oxford University Press.