The Constitutional State, in its initial configuration as a liberal Constitutional State, recognised a series of basic individual rights as fundamental rights. Subsequently, in the second half of the 20 th century, social, economic and cultural rights were integrated into the Constitution, creating the social Constitutional State. However, although said group of rights are always mentioned as a compact group, or a package of rights, in fact the second recognition only took place, in the strictest sense, with respect of social (...) and economic rights, and, to a much lesser degree, in respect of cultural rights. Largely, the cultural rights are forgotten rights in the Constitutional State, but today our society is multicultural. This is a contradiction. The text provides the basis for a progressive recognition of cultural rights in the Constitutional State. Also, the text discusses the benefits for all if we consider these rights as rights of the person, that is, as rights of all persons and not only of minorities. (shrink)

Jacques Rancière, it seems to me, is right: politics are rare. Democratic political action makes manifest the part that has no part—not as a protest against the policing order but its rejection through the affirmation of the equality of speaking beings. How can such an affirmation be supported? How can it endure? Perhaps affirming this democratic commitment can find, through the notion of assemblages, an ally, a space encouraging its manifestation and eluding capture by that which speaks in its (...) name and allots it its place. But what notion of assemblages will best serve this democratic commitment? Manual DeLanda’s theoretical development of the notion first... (shrink)

Undocumented and undomiciled, Gustavo Jiménez had been in the United States for several years. He knew his leg wasn’t right when it began to swell and redden. After the cellulitis spread to his bloodstream, he was found unconscious on the street and admitted to the intensive care unit. He improved quickly and was soon able to tell a social worker his name and that he had family in Quito. Then his health took a turn for the worse, and he (...) developed multisystem organ failure. His doctors believed his prognosis grave and further care futile. They wanted to invoke a provision under their state’s law that allows, at the discretion of at least two physicians, for the withdrawal of life‐sustaining therapy for isolated and decisionally incapacitated patients, but the social worker had ethical concerns about the doctors’ desire to make such a momentous decision without family input. She asked for a “time‐out to locate his family,” but one of the doctors asserted, “His family isn’t here, and you’ll never find them. Besides we need the bed. The ER is full of patients we can help.” What is owed a patient and family in such a situation? (shrink)

Corporations despite their status as legally fictitious persons are not such, and to confound them with real persons in even the minimal legal sense is to negate much of the force of the concept of rights when applied to the society. When corporations have rights individual rights become meaningless. While corporations may need some form of protection to make them financially feasible investments, they need not be given the full protection of rights which are assigned to the individual. A (...) much attenuated version of corporate rights is warranted. I would argue against Werhane's notion of a corporation possessing “secondary rights” which can be asserted only after the claims of individual rights have been met. Ibid., p. 62.One solution to the problems raised in this essay would be to ascribe rights to individuals only. This could occur without interfering with the financial independence of the corporation by a simple legal prescription that individuals within a corporation be held responsible for their activities and that the corporation p e r se not be blamed for individual actions. This is consistent with the judgments against the Nazi war criminals who were denied the defense of justifying their actions on the basis of following orders. Responsibility for those actions which are the result of the workings of the “invisible hand” cannot be ascribed to any individual or group of individuals. Donaldson is helpful on this point in recommending an “office of social responsibility” be created as part of the corporation to monitor those actions which otherwise escape scrutiny. Donaldson, Corporations and Morality, p. 207.A more radical solution is to restructure the corporation in such a way as to introduce the element of democracy in the workplace. Opponents would argue that such a practice would diminish the profit-making potential of the corporation by limiting the discretion of the corporate officers in making decisions. Similar arguments have been advanced against the democratic state. Yet democratic states have proven to be viable institutions capable of effective action and demonstrably more survivable than the authoritarian regimes which are the analogs of the corporation.Given the current hierarchical structure of the corporation and its ability to dissolve in the face of questions of responsibility, individual accountability is the only viable solution. This requires that members of the corporation not find cover behind the “invisible hand.” This in turn necessitates the granting of a greater degree of discretionary power to corporate functionaries at all levels. We cannot be responsible for a state of affairs over which we have no effective control. The courts would make the ultimate decision as to the assignation of responsibility in particular cases of corporate crime, with the stipulation that the ascription be to an individual and not “the corporation.” By making corporate officers individually responsible for their actions a much more effective deterrent to corporate crimes would be created. Corporations can easily afford most of the fines that are imposed on them, and corporations cannot be put in prison.The view of the corporation advanced here puts it in a legal and moral position greatly inferior to that of the individual as well as the state. Consequently, corporate needs and welfare must remain a tertiary concern. The rights of the individual must figure primarily, and the welfare of the state as preserver of those rights secondarily, in social policy decisions. The libertarian vision of the corporation is therefore a misguided result of the conflation of the corporation and the individual in the legal and moral realms. Corporations and individuals are ontologically distinct entities and must be recognized as such. The failure to do so has enabled corporations to abrogate individual rights with legal and moral impunity. Such a situation is inconsistent with the demands of a rights-based democracy. (shrink)

The book’s argument divides into three parts. In the first, Wellman sets out an account of legal rights, and then uses it to work out an account of nonlegal institutional rights and noninstitutional moral rights. The second focuses on the question of whether various alleged right-holders are possible right-holders. The third then turns to conflicts of both rights and duties, and argues, on the basis of the conclusions of the first two parts, that although some conflicts between rights (...) are real, many supposed conflicts can be dissolved once we recognize that one of the rights is unreal or is limited in some way. Because most of the controversial argumentative work is done in the first two sections, I will focus on them. (shrink)

The recent Lithuanian court practice shows discrepancies in cases dealing with partitioning of common partial divided property. Moreover, no doctrinal research has been concluded on the limits and conditions of the co-owners‘ right to demand that his share should be partitioned from the common partial ownership in Lithuania. Taking into account that proper implementation of co-ownership rights is based on common agreement of co-owners, when no agreement is reached between co-owners regarding the fact and the mode of partitioning, a (...) question arises on what conditions and to what extent the co-owner is free to implement his right to demand partitioning of his share from the common partial ownership. The research on historical developments of the partition law in different European countries shows that the co-owner’s right to partition is based on the idea of pluralistic conception of the modern property law objects. The authors of this article argue that this conception allows the co-owner to enjoy the right to dispose of his share in the common ownership as a separate object of civil turnover at his own volition and without the other co-owner’s consent. However, the right to partition is not absolute and is limited by the rights of the other co-owner to his share of the same property, so the right to partition may be implemented only following the proportionality and interest balance between the co-owners. (shrink)

As a result of financial difficulties confronting American agriculture, public debate is focusing on longterm options for restoring economic stability and growth to the agricultural economy. Many believe that just as homeowners in small communities throughout the nation have been served by the development of a secondary market for residential mortgages sponsored by the federal government, farmers throughout the country would similarly benefit from the development of a secondary market for farm real estate mortgages. This paper discusses (...) issues relating to the development of a secondary market for agricultural real estate loans. The concept of a secondary market for agriculture is of considerable interest to Congress, as evidenced by recent enactment of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 which established the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (“Farmer Mac”) to create a secondary market for farm real estate loans. The first section discusses the general nature of secondary markets and their purposes, with particular attention given to the secondary market for home mortgages because it served as a model for a secondary market for farm loans. Section two discusses basic differences between agriculture and housing, and section three provides a brief discussion of federal credit subsidies designed to help meet social and economic goals by influencing the allocation of credit to particular sectors of the economy such as housing and agriculture. Potential benefits and costs associated with the development of a secondary market for agriculture are discussed in section four. (shrink)

Many Western nations are emphasizing the importance of population health across health care delivery organizations and education systems. Despite significant momentum to integrate population health into nursing practice, a parallel effort to examine how these efforts impact practicing nurses' views of their professional role and work identity has not occurred. This secondary qualitative analysis, employing an abductive approach, explored processes public health nurses use in creating and maintaining their work identity through three organizing themes: narrative self‐identity, mandated identity, and (...) identity as struggle. The analysis was based on interview data collected from 30 US public health nurses residing in 17 states. ‘Being a real nurse’ describes public health nurses' efforts to balance a contradictory work identity where at times they are expected to focus on populations and at other times, on individuals. The identity work revealed through this study should be further explicated and specific strategies developed for stabilizing a work identity for public health nurses, as well as for any nurse charged with a population health role. (shrink)

It helps ordinary citizens evaluate their options and their responsibility for global institutional factors, and it challenges social scientists to address the causes of poverty and hunger that act across borders.The present volume ...

The article presents and analyzes part of research outcomes, which was conducted in two lower secondary school in Poland. It rises issue of the level of respect the children’s right to self-expression at school as a key element of development democratic environment in education and create empowerment among students Giving children the opportunity to exercise their right is a key element in a democratic society.

Approximately twenty years after it was necessary to fight for human rights, the time came when it was necessary to do it again. Or to begin at the very least to protect them very strongly and thoroughly in a preventive manner. Other methods and means will revert to time when human rights were formally anchored but their material establishment is not yet realized, or not at least to the extent expected corresponding to their real substance. The beginning of the (...) 90’s in Central and Eastern Europe was a success in that human rights began to be looked on as natural, forming the basis of democratic State respecting the rule of law. Today we are increasingly more often encountering the reality that human rights, on the contrary, to the same extent that they have been able to be established, they are losing in value. The biggest danger consists in the fact that limiting of human rights often is attended by silence, without wider public discussion or deliberations. The lack of qualified discussion during the limiting of human rights by way of laws and implementing regulations is however a systemic problem. Correction of its results can be often very complex and doing away with the causes a long term effort. It is dependent on the quality of representative democracy and of the civil society as well. This article is devoted to problem of implementation of evidence of data accompanying telecommunications traffic, the so-called data retention, and in its development from lack of legal regulation to roughly unconstitutional legal regulation and finally to hope for a reasonably constitutional solution. (shrink)

Robert Zafft presents the too-often abstract language of business ethics in straight-forward language, laying out two themes commonly ignored: in the real world, it is often easy to lay out an ethical path but often very difficult to implement and encourage adherence to that path, and reputation is the single most important asset in business.

Slavoj Zizek _The Fright of Real Tears: Krzysztof Kieslowski Between Theory and Post-Theory_ London: British Film Institute, 2001 ISBN 0-85170-754-8 240 pp.

New developments in genetics could affect a variety of real property rights. Mortgage lenders, mortgage insurers, real estate sellers, senior living centers, retirement communities, or other parties in residential real estate transactions begin requiring predictive genetic information as part of the application process. One likely use would be by retirement communities to learn an individual's genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on disability, but it is not clear that it would (...) apply to genetic risk assessments. Only California law explicitly applies to this situation and there have been no reported cases. (shrink)

We investigated if emotion regulation can be improved through self-regulation training on non-emotional brain regions, as well as how to change the brain networks implicated in this process. During the training period, the participants were instructed to up-regulate their right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity according to real-time functional near-infrared spectroscopy neurofeedback signals, and there was no emotional element. The results showed that the training significantly increased emotion regulation, resting-state functional connectivity within the emotion regulation network and frontoparietal network, (...) and rsFC between the ERN and amygdala; however, training did not influence the rsFC between the FPN and the amygdala. However, self-regulation training on rDLPFC significantly improved emotion regulation and generally increased the rsFCs within the networks; the rsFC between the ERN and amygdala was also selectively increased. The present study also described a safe approach that may improve emotion regulation through self-regulation training on non-emotional brain regions. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology 11.2 (2004) 165-173 [Access article in PDF] Professional Judgment, Critical Realism, Real People, and, Yes, Two Wrongs Can Make a Right! K.W.M. Fulford Anthony Colombo Keywords values, values-based practice, models of disorder, concept of mental illness, user-centred practice, patient-centred practice, multidisciplinary teamwork We are grateful to our four commentators for putting much-needed conceptual air and space around the models project. Published originally as (...) an empirical study of the different implicit models of disorder, held by users of services, carers, nurses, psychiatrists, and social workers (Colombo et al. 2003), our paper outlined the philosophical roots of the models project in linguistic analytic philosophy of the "Oxford school" (Fulford and Colombo 2004). Our four commentators provide extra dimensions of understanding, respectively from professional education (Williams 2004), sociology (Bendelow 2004), Heideggerian phenomenology (Heginbotham 2004), and mental health policy and practice (Williamson 2004).Since the original study, the models project has been taken forward as a key contribution to a range of philosophy-into-practice initiatives called, collectively, Values-Based Practice. In this brief response, we outline the key features of Values-Based Practice and indicate how these connect with some of the many thoughtful points about models made by our commentators. Values-Based Practice Values-Based Practice, then, is the theory and skills-base for effective health care decision making where different, and hence potentially conflicting, values are in play (Fulford 2004). Premised on the democratic meta-value of equal respect for all voices, Values-Based Practice relies, much as a political democracy relies, on good process rather than preset outcomes for its practical effectiveness. The ten pointers to good process in Values-Based Practice are summarized in Figure 1. We return to the implications of these for the work on models below.Relying on good process may be thought to be a recipe more for relativism and indecision in clinical decision making than for practical effectiveness. To the contrary, however, the 'values democracy' of Values-Based Practice, again like a political democracy, carries a number of clear and coherent implications for policy and practice in health care. [End Page 165] Click for larger viewFigure 1 10 Pointers to Good Process in VBP [End Page 166]Examples of the implications of Values-Based Practice for policy and practice are given in the Values Framework shown in Figure 2. This is a policy framework for the development of Values-Based Practice in mental health produced by a project group in the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE), the section of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) responsible for implementing government policy on mental health as embodied in the National Service Framework for Mental Health (Department of Health 1999) and subsequent policies. The framework gives three key principles of Values-Based Practice (the three Rs of recognition, raising awareness, and respect) and then summarizes some of the specific implications of the approach. Racism, for example, is incompatible with Values-Based Practice because racism is by definition intolerant of diversity. Again, we indicate some of the policy implications of Values-Based Practice for the points about models made by our commentators below.Training for mental health practitioners in Values-Based Practice will be rolled out from April 2005, through both voluntary and statutory bodies, in each of the eight regions of the National Health Service of England and Wales. This roll out will be supported by training methods developed and piloted in a unique joint venture between Warwick University's Department of Philosophy and Medical School, and an in-service training provider, the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (Fulford, Williamson, and Woodbridge 2002; Woodbridge and Fulford 2003). These training methods are the basis of a detailed workbook for Values-Based Practice (Woodbridge and Fulford 2004). The workbook will be launched in July 2004 at a conference in London by the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Rosie Winterton. Professional Training and Professional Judgment The models project has been central to the development of... (shrink)

This article demonstrates the ‘patterning’ of the ways discourse markers such as okay, right and yeah are used in academic lectures by native speaker lecturers. It presents an analysis of a) what the lecturers thought they would say and b) what they actually say in comparison to what the lecturers actually do say. In other words, it focuses on the differences between expectations of what would be said and speech, that is, what is actually said.The data comprise verbatim lecture (...) transcriptions of four native speaker lecturers of different disciplines, analysed using a discourse analytical approach. The findings and discussions exhibit the reasons for the differences between the ‘anticipated’ and ‘real’ meanings of the use of these discourse markers.They also reflect upon the significance of non-verbal features in determining the actual functions of these markers. In short, this article highlights the reality use of okay, right and yeah as interactive conversational markers in academic lectures. (shrink)

Lack of understanding about the relationship between federal and state educational institutions brings confusion into discussions of democracy, equity and equality in schools. The 'right to education' continues to be espoused by American society as a birthright, yet it does not figure in federal documentation. This matter has repeatedly come to the attention of legislative courts, who have insisted that the question of education as a fundamental right be addressed. Numerous court cases have attempted to bring closure on (...) this issue, on the basis of such abstractions as national rights, equal access, opportunity and economic disparity among the petitions. However, legal judgments remain inconclusive, reiterating that education remains a state legislative issue. This paper explores the implications of a fundamental right to education through an examination of federal and state legal litigation, discussing the philosophical and ideological roots of discussion of rights and democratic values, and evaluating how federal and judicial participation contributes to overall misunderstanding regarding public schooling. (shrink)

There is a strong pull to the idea that there is some metaphysically interesting distinction between the fully real, objective, observer‐independent qualities of things as they are in themselves, and the less‐than‐fully‐real, subjective, observer‐dependent qualities of things as they are for us. Call this (putative) distinction the primary/secondary quality distinction. The distinction between primary and secondary qualities is philosophically interesting because it is (a) often quite attractive to draw such a distinction, and (b) incredibly hard to (...) spell it out in any kind of satisfying and sensible way. I attempt such a spelling‐out after first trying to pin down in more detail what we want from the primary/secondary quality distinction, and saying a bit about why that is such a hard thing to get. (shrink)

The idea of legal rights today enjoys virtually universal appeal, yet all too often the meaning and significance of rights are poorly understood. The purpose of this volume is to clarify the subject of legal rights by drawing on both historical and philosophical legal scholarship to bridge the gap between these two genres--a gap that has divorced abstract and normative treatments of rights from an understanding of their particular social and cultural contexts. Legal Rights: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives shows that (...) the meaning and extent of rights has been dramatically expanded in this century, though along with the widespread and flourishing popularity of rights, voices of criticism have increasingly been raised. The authors take up the question of the foundation of rights and explore the postmodern challenges to efforts to ground rights outside of history and language. Drawing rich historical analysis and careful philosophical inquiry into productive dialogue, this book explores the many facets of rights at the end of the twentieth century. In these essays, potentially abstract debates come alive as they are related to the struggles of real people attempting to cope with, and improve, their living conditions. The significance of legal rights is measured not just in terms of philosophical categories or as a collection of histories, but as they are experienced in the lives of men and women seeking to come to terms with rights in contemporary life. Contributors are Hadley Arkes, William E. Cain, Thomas Haskell, Morton J. Horwitz, Annabel Patterson, Michael J. Perry, Pierre Schlag, and Jeremy Waldron. Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College. Thomas R. Kearns is William H. Hastie Professor of Philosophy, Amherst College. (shrink)

There is a strong pull to the idea that there is some metaphysically interesting distinction between the fully real, objective, observer-independent qualities of things as they are in themselves, and the less-than-fully-real, subjective, observer-dependent qualities of things as they are for us. Call this (putative) distinction the primary/secondary quality distinction. The distinction between primary and secondary qualities is philosophically interesting because it is (a) often quite attractive to draw such a distinction, and (b) incredibly hard to (...) spell it out in any kind of satisfying and sensible way. I attempt such a spelling-out after first trying to pin down in more detail what we want from the primary/secondary quality distinction, and saying a bit about why that is such a hard thingto get. (shrink)

G.W.F. Hegel's Elements of the Philosophy of Right is his last major published statement not only on the philosophy of law but on ethical theory, natural law, social and political theory as well. The studies of Right, Morality, Ethical Life discuss Hegel's views both historically and systematically, contributing to the lively discussions concerning the significance of Hegel's view in the present philosophical contexts. Contributors are Eerik Lagerspetz, Ossi Martikainen, Markku Mäki, Tuija Pulkkinen, Michael Quante, Hannu Sivenius, Markus Wahlberg (...) and Jussi Kotkavirta. "Right, Morality, Ethical Life offers refreshing and relevant interpretations of Hegel's legal philosophy, particularly on the issues of personal autonomy, modern society, and constitutional theory. It's chief merit is its ability to perceive Hegel as a real contributor to contemporary debates on the notions of person, morality, and law." Professor David Rasmussen, Boston University Editor of Philosophy and Social Criticism. (shrink)

The focus of this article is the notion of alethic rights, the rights related to truth. The concept of truth grounds many norms and customary and official rules, but there is no clear and shared idea about its power to generate specific rights. The juridical and political archetype called ‘the right to truth’ is still subject of controversies, and there are doubts about its being a real ‘right,’ to be protected by positive (new) norms. In the article (...) the problem is explored in truth-theoretical perspective: can philosophy support the idea of truth as a source of rights? Can an updated and well-developed theory of truth be proposed, to help activists and theorists concerned with the need for truth of individuals and communities? I present six alethic rights, corresponding to six different aspects of the human need for truth, then I specifically focus on the truth theory that can justify the hypothesis. (shrink)

Osteoporosis (OP) is a bone disease which affects a number of post‐menopausal females and puts many at risk for fractures. A large number of patients are taking bisphosphonates (BPs) to treat their OP and a rare complication is the development of atypical femoral fractures (AFF). No real explanations for the mechanisms underlying the basis for development of where AFF develop while on BPs has emerged. The present hypothesis will discuss the possibility that part of the risk for an AFF (...) is a secondary effect of BPs on a subset of vascular cells in a genetically at‐risk population, leading to localized deregulation of the endothelial cell (EC)‐bone cell‐matrix units in nutrient channels/canals of the femur and increased risk for AFF. This concept of targeting ECs is consistent with location of AFF in the femur, the bilateral risk for occurrence of AFF, and the requirement for long term exposure to the drugs. (shrink)

ABSTRACT The category of the right to the city, conceptualized over five decades ago by the French Marxist philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre, is currently experiencing its second life. It has become a significant political slogan, which – in its counter-hegemonic aspirations towards social change and transgressing the existing order, primarily in the fight against the reality of neoliberal urbanization – rallies together various socio-political movements most often defined under the umbrella term of urban social movements. In my analysis (...) of Lefebvrian notions, I utilize the increasingly widespread category of ‘real utopia’. Additionally, this real utopia treats the right to the city in epistemological terms: as a peculiar type of knowledge co-produced at the intersection of academia and social activism, which remains a relatively rare interpretation among readers, interpreters and practitioners following Lefebvre. I search for these themes both directly in Lefebvre’s work as well as that of his continuators, observing the practices of producing knowledge useful to contemporary Polish right to the city movements. (shrink)

Many works of fiction include portraits in their storyworlds. Some of these portraits are themselves fictional, such as the portrait of Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde's novel. Others are real, such as the Darnley portrait of Elizabeth I in A. S. Byatt's The Virgin in the Garden. When authors invent portraits, they expect us to visualise them. When they refer to real portraits, they exploit our familiarity with how they actually look. Like representations of other real entities (...) in fiction, references to real portraits function to ground the story in the real world. But portraits are more than material entities; they are also representational in their own right. In contrasting the ways real portraits are used in Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time and Orhan Pamuk's My Name is Red, I argue that authors can be criticised when they mischaracterise the representational features of real portraits. (shrink)