Background: Frailty is a common syndrome among older adults and patients with several comorbidities. Grip strength is a representative parameter of frailty because it is a valid indicator of current and long-term physical conditions in the general population and patients with severe mental illnesses. Physical and cognitive capacities of people with SMIs are usually impaired; however, their relationship with frailty or social functioning have not been studied to date. The current study aimed to determine if GS is a valid predictor (...) of changes in cognitive performance and social functioning in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus and SMIs. Methods: Assessments of social functioning, cognitive performance, and GS were conducted in 30 outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 35 with major depressive disorder, 42 with bipolar disorder, 30 with schizophrenia, and 28 healthy controls, twice during 1-year, follow-up period. Descriptive analyses were conducted using a one-way analysis of variance for continuous variables and the chi-squared test for categorical variables. Differences between groups for the motor, cognitive, and social variables at T1 and T2 were assessed using a one-way analysis of covariance, with sex and age as co-variates. To test the predictive capacity of GS at baseline to explain the variance in cognitive performance and social functioning at T2, a linear regression analysis was performed. Results: Predictive relationships were found among GS when implicated with clinical, cognitive, and social variables. These relationships explained changes in cognitive performance after one year of follow-up; the variability percentage was 67.7%, in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus and 89.1% in patients with schizophrenia. Baseline GS along with other variables, also predicted changes in social functioning in major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, with variability percentages of 67.3, 36, and 59%, respectively. Conclusion: GS combined with other variables significantly predicted changes in cognitive performance and social functioning in people with SMIs or type-2 diabetes mellitus. Interventions aimed to improve the overall physical conditions of patients who have poor GS could be a therapeutic option that confers positive effects on cognitive performance and social functioning. (shrink)

La investigación en medicina tiene por objetivo generar nuevos conocimientos que ayuden al diagnóstico, el tratamiento y la prevención de enfermedades. Pero la medicina no es una ciencia exacta, sino una actividad humana heterogénea que se basa solo parcialmente en la ciencia, con varios factores no científicos que influyen en la forma de desarrollar esta actividad. El dolor, como síntoma o como enfermedad, es probablemente el trastorno que más afecta y preocupa a las personas y el que con mayor frecuencia (...) motiva una consulta médica. A pesar de la magnitud del problema, y del interés médico y social por el dolor, la atención y el tratamiento de las personas con dolor crónico es un tema infravalorado o tratado inadecuadamente. Con base en múltiples preguntas que se plantean a lo largo del desarrollo del presente documento, nuestro objetivo es, por un lado, el de señalar que los cambios que se han producido en el manejo del dolor crónico hacen de los llamados protocolos de consenso un ejercicio obsoleto en la medicina del siglo XXI. Por otro lado, en términos de bioética, responder a la pregunta ¿se ajustan los protocolos de consenso al principio de beneficencia del paciente individual? (shrink)

This is a unique book. It is excellently written, crammed with information, wise and a pleasure to read.' ---Daniel C. Dennett, Tufts University.

Philosopher, theologian, educational theorist, feminist and political pamphleteer, Mary Astell was an important figure in the history of ideas of the early modern period. Among the first systematic critics of John Locke's entire corpus, she is best known for the famous question which prefaces her Reflections on Marriage: 'If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?' She is claimed by modern Republican theorists and feminists alike but, as a Royalist High Church Tory, the (...) peculiar constellation of her views sits uneasily with modern commentators. Patricia Springborg's study addresses these apparent paradoxes, recovering the historical and philosophical contexts to her thought. She shows that Astell was not alone in her views; rather, she was part of a cohort of early modern women philosophers who were important for the reception of Descartes and who grappled with the existential problems of a new age. (shrink)

In the early years of the twentieth century, Gottlob Frege and David Hilbert, two titans of mathematical logic, engaged in a controversy regarding the correct understanding of the role of axioms in mathematical theories, and the correct way to demonstrate consistency and independence results for such axioms. The controversy touches on a number of difficult questions in logic and the philosophy of logic, and marks an important turning-point in the development of modern logic. This entry gives an overview of that (...) controversy and of its philosophical underpinnings. (shrink)

This essay contrasts Damaris Masham and Catharine Trotter Cockburn’s respective moral philosophies. It argues that their views are both remarkably innovative, yet strikingly similar. By focusing on Masham and Cockburn’s accounts of agency and virtue, it is demonstrated that both thinkers take human nature as a sort of guide to moral behavior – i.e., it shows that the moral agent operates under the perception of moral principles as arising from human nature. While both thinkers are known to have been directly (...) influenced by John Locke, it is also argued that both of their moral philosophies bear significant dissimilarities to Lockean morality. (shrink)

The history of the recovery movement began with a pushback against treatment, and the philosophies that it was founded upon still have relevant applications to contemporary social work practice. Financial aspects of service provision for people with serious mental illnesses have enabled other actors in the medical model of psychosis treatment to benefit, while disempowering and dehumanizing the consumers of those services. Since then, other movements like Psychopolitics and the Mad Movement have helped empower psychosis survivors to advocate for their (...) right to self-determination amid the epistemological pressure to identify as disabled. Social workers would like to believe that the field has moved beyond the philosophies that perpetuated institutionalization of people with serious mental illnesses. Contemporary examples, however, reveal how social services in the US maintain the status quo of sanism for psychosis survivors. (shrink)

The papers from the 2000 symposium of the Royal Society of Canada explore the crucial relationship between science and ethics.

Imagining Dewey' features productive (re)interpretations of 21st century experience using the lens of John Dewey's 'Art as Experience', through the doubled task of putting an array of international philosophers, educators, and artists-researchers in transactional dialogue and on equal footing in an academic text. This book is a pragmatic attempt to encourage application of aesthetic learning and living, ekphrasic interpretation, critical art and agonist pluralism.0There are two foci: (a) Deweyan philosophy and educational themes with (b) analysis and examples of how educators, (...) artists, and researchers envision and enact artful meaning making. This structure meets the needs of university and high school audiences, who are accustomed to learning about challenging ideas through multimedia and aesthetic experience.00Contributors are: James M. Albrecht, Adam I. Attwood, John Baldacchino, Carolyn L. Berenato, M. Cristina Di Gregori, Holly Fairbank, Jim Garrison, Amanda Gulla, Bethany Henning, Jessica Heybach, David L. Hildebrand, Ellyn Lyle, Livio Mattarollo, Christy McConnell Moroye, Maria-Isabel Moreno-Montoro, Maria Martinez Morales, Stephen M. Noonan, Louise G. Phillips, Scott L. Pratt, Joaquin Roldan, Leopoldo Rueda, Tadd Ruetenik, Leisa Sasso, Bruce Uhrmacher, David Vessey, Ricardo Marin Viadel, Sean Wiebe, Li Xu and Martha Patricia Espiritu Zavalza. (shrink)

Human Specialization in Design and Technology explores emerging trends in learning and training-standardization, customization, personalization-with a unique focus on human needs and conditions. Analyzing evidence from current academic research as well as the popular press, this concise volume defines and examines the trajectory of instructional design and technologies toward more human-centered and specialized products, services, processes, environments, and systems. Examples from education, healthcare, business, and other sectors offer real-world demonstrations for scholars and graduate students of educational technology, instructional design, ICT, (...) and business development. (shrink)

Filósofos como Marcuse han subrayado las propiedades liberadoras del quehacer artístico. Pero si hemos de pensar el arte como el Gran Rechazo, es necesario mostrar qué rechaza el arte y con qué busca sustituirlo. Respecto a estas preguntas, existen dos respuestas antagónicas. Mientras una busca en la experiencia artística rechazar lo dado en nombre de una verdad intemporal, la otra también reniega de lo dado, pero admite el carácter provisorio de toda verdad. Aunque en apariencia sutil, esta distinción es sustancial. (...) A partir de una lectura de Platón, muestro por qué en la primera posición no hay cabida para lo humano, y por qué de ella se desprenden implicaciones totalitarias. Para caracterizar a la segunda posición, me sirvo de la concepción estética de Octavio Paz y de la propuesta escultórica de Alexander Calder. Ambas propuestas permiten conciliar la insatisfacción que palpita en el arte con la alteridad que caracteriza a lo humano. (shrink)

Energía: vital y fatal. Vital pues cierta cantidad de energía se ha convertido en un aspecto indispensable para las sociedades y personas modernas. Fatal pues los sistemas energéticos han generado la mayor parte de las emisiones de gases efecto invernadero desde por lo menos la segunda mitad del siglo veinte. Por lo tanto, es indispensable analizar las cuestiones de energía desde el punto de vista de su uso buscando responder preguntas como ¿cuánta energía se requiere para mantener o mejorar niveles (...) de bienestar humano?, ¿qué países han logrado alcanzar niveles altos de bienestar con niveles relativamente bajos de uso de la energía y cómo lo han logrado?, ¿qué impacto tiene nuestra comprensión del bienestar humano en cómo reflexionamos sobre la relación entre energía y bienestar? Este artículo tiene como objetivo presentar la historia del estudio de las relaciones energía-bienestar imperativa en la lucha por mitigar el cambio climático, desde una perspectiva de límites medioambientales. (shrink)

Introduction to the Institutional Logics Perspective -- Precursors to the Institutional Logics Perspective -- Defining the Inter-institutional System -- The Emergence, Stability and Change of the Inter-institutional System -- Micro-Foundations of Institutional Logics -- The Dynamics of Organizational Practices and Identities -- The Emergence and Evolution of Field-Level Logics -- Implications for Future Research.

Biopolitics and Utopia explores the intersection of biopolitics and utopian thought. As an interdisciplinary work, it addresses many salient biopolitical issues (state and medical interventions in the body, fears over scientific progress, resistance to state biopower, and ethical concerns), while also engaging in the utopian drive behind biopolitical efforts. The book is structured into four main sections: Actions, Speculations, Reactions, and Reflections. The chapters in Actions examine the practices of direct, medical intervention to 'normalize' citizens' bodies. The next section, Speculations, (...) approaches the intersection of utopia and biopolitics through a literary lens, reviewing science fiction texts as expressions of cultural and social fears about scientific progress. Reactions outlines potential acts of resistance in the face of biopower. Finally, Reflections offers a more philosophical essay, which engages the reader in the potential for creating an ethics for scientific standards. (shrink)

In commerce, many moral failures are due to narrow mindsets that preclude taking into account the moral dimensions of a decision or action. In turn, sometimes these mindsets are caused by failing to question managerial decisions from a moral point of view, because of a perceived authority of management. In the 1960s, Stanley Milgram conducted controversial experiments to investigate just how far obedience to an authority figure could subvert his subjects' moral beliefs. In this thought-provoking work, the authors examine the (...) prevalence of narrow mental models and the phenomenon of obedience to an authority to analyse and understand the challenges which business professionals encounter in making ethical decisions. Obstacles to Ethical Decision-Making proposes processes - including collaborative input and critique - by which individuals may reduce or overcome these challenges. It provides decision-makers at all levels in an organisation with the means to place ethical considerations at the heart of managerial decision-making. (shrink)

One way to discuss personal identity is by distinguishing between specific and numerical types of similar things. Some of the ways in which the individuality of each clone comes out are found in the alterations they make to their alphanumeric designations, uniforms, and living environments. In his important article “Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person,” Harry G. Frankfurt explains that what makes humans unique according to his concept of personhood is their “capacity for reflective self‐evaluation.” The (...) activation of the Fett clones' inhibitor chips with Order 66 represents the intention of the Empire to deprive all the chipped clones of their freedom of action and will. As Frankfurt states, “Suppose, however, that he enjoys both freedom of action and freedom of the will. Then he is not only free to do what he wants to do; he is also free to want what he wants to want.”. (shrink)

Zachariah's description of a wonderful fornicating life for Sam and Dean captures some truth but it also misses the importance women play in shaping the Winchesters' moral decisions. In general, important women in the lives of Sam and Dean fall into three broad categories: mothers, lovers, and monsters. Sam and Dean are all too familiar with this philosophy of utilitarianism. Many times they have sacrificed relationships with women for the sake of their mission. Throughout Supernatural the objectification of the Winchesters (...) is contrasted with a happy domestic life. Sam and Dean are mistaken in thinking that their only value resides in the roles they play in the larger battles of good and evil; if they looked deeper they would see that they both would prefer a loving relationship with a woman. (shrink)

Overview -- Locke's internal sense and Kant's changing views -- Personal identity amd its problems -- Rationalist metaphysics of mind -- Consciousness, self-consciousness, and cognition -- Strands of Argument in the Duisburg Nachlass -- A transcendental deduction for a priori concepts -- Synthesis : why and how? -- Arguing for apperception -- The power of apperception -- "I-think" as the destroyer of rational psychology -- Is Kant's theory consistent? -- The normativity objection -- Is Kant's thinker (as such) a free (...) and responsible agent? -- Kant our contemporary. (shrink)

Del anormal al sujeto ce la resistencia -- Subjetividad y resistencia -- Vida cotidiana del habitante de calle -- Reflexión sobre el concepto de irrealidad como forma de resistencia y ejercicio de la libertad en la experiencia cinematográfica -- Poesía y resistencia.

Does the regulation of migration constitute a blatant case of arbitrary law-making? What is arbitrary law-making? And how does it manifest itself in contemporary migration policy? These are pressing issues that the scholars who come together in this special issue seek to engage with, by exploring international migration from the point of view of arbitrary power. When does legitimate state discretion slide into an exercise of arbitrary power? Since we cannot address what we do not understand, the urgency of the (...) matter addressed in this special issue speaks for itself. Deciding who may enjoy the right of abode, the right to remain, the right to asylum and to citizenship is a key power of the state: it is a regal prerogative, an act of sovereignty, limited only by deliberately accepted commitments, such as the respect for human rights. This makes migration policy an exceptionally interesting ground to test the limits of discretion and the forms of arbitrariness. Power can be understood to be of a discretional nature if it acts freely within the boundaries defined by law, whereas arbitrariness qualifies discretional power exceeding the limits of law. (shrink)

The notion of “cultural competency” in healthcare has gained currency in recent years. Health professionals are expected to be sensitive to the cultural backgrounds and language of their patients. Courses on cultural competency are now routinely offered to physicians, nurses, and others working in health fields. Although the rhetoric of cultural competency has been applied to clinical contexts, little attention has been given to its applicability in health research generally or, more specifically, in international health research. In this paper, I (...) briefly explore the relevance and limitations of cultural competency for informed consent to international health research, particularly in the context of low-resource settings. (shrink)

El presente artículo presenta parte de los resultados de un estudio de percepción y opinión pública realizado en las quince regiones de Chile, sobre la relación entre descentralización, desarrollo regional y gestión pública. El supuesto del que se parte es que la voluntad de descentralización de la ciudadanía y los actores sociales es un factor facilitador del desarrollo de las regiones. Se entiende por desarrollo regional el conjunto de los procesos políticos, sociales y económicos conducidos por los actores regionales articulados (...) en función de unas prioridades definidas por ellos mismos. Antecediéndolo lógicamente se asume que existe una heterogeneidad regional que proviene de la configuración histórica y cultural de las regiones, y que esta diversidad define una desigualdad en las condiciones iniciales para articular el desarrollo endógeno de cada región. (shrink)

Las expectativas de reconocimiento que tienen los migrantes puede entenderse en desde la noción de falso reconocimiento, en que el sujeto se identifica con la posición desfavorable que le impone la sociedad receptora. Las expectativas de los migrantes están mediadas por la percepción de que se contrae una deuda con la sociedad en virtud de que esta le ha entregado un espacio de oportunidades para la realización de un proyecto de vida orientado al bienestar y la seguridad. Lo cual redunda (...) en una concepción del acceso a los derechos restringida y centrada en el acceso al mercado de trabajo y de bienes de consumo. En este marco las principales estrategias de incorporación identificadas son el ocultamiento, la adaptación, la distinción al interior de los colectivos, el fortalecimiento de las redes y la priorización del trabajo. (shrink)

El último año un número significativo de países desarrollados y del tercer mundo iniciaron procesos de transformación social y política a partir de levantamientos, revoluciones y movimientos impulsados por una ciudadanía hasta ahora distanciada e incluso segregada de la esfera política. En algunos países el imperio del mercado, en otros la fuerza represiva de regímenes autoritarios, en los más privilegiados, un nihilismo extendido producto del bienestar material acumulado, venía desde hace añ..

La racionalidad técnica y el pensamiento experto aparecen hoy como el principal instrumento para legitimar la toma de decisiones en el campo de la política. El proceso de racionalización de todas las esferas de la vida que anunciara hace poco más de un siglo Max Weber, encuentra la política contemporánea, un territorio fértil para su reproducción. Las democracias latinoamericanas no están exentas de esta dinámica de reducción de lo político a lo técnico, que traduce los conflictos inherentes ..

El autor realiza un contrapunto entre un texto basado en supuestos científicos -"Del bosque a la ciudad: ¿Progreso?", de Juan Pablo Orrego- que realiza un diagnóstico y una prospección del sistema biótico, en particular del bosque, y que llama a la responsabilidad y a a una acción ante la lógica depredadora capitalista, además de criticar una visión occidental antropocentrista; y el texto, Sobre árboles y madres, del filósofo chileno Patricio Marchant, de interpretación filosófica y de reivindicación poética, que resalta la (...) quema como pérdida insoslayable del fundamento originario en la pérdida originaria del fundamento. No presenta el autor una tercera parte conclusiva, dejándolo esto como un surgimiento de las dos lecturas. (shrink)