Sample records for universal human dignity
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The Core Meaning of Human Dignity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rinie Steinmann
2016-06-01
Full Text Available The concept of human dignity is relatively new in international and domestic constitutional law. Dignity is protected as a value or a right, or both, in international law and many domestic jurisdictions. It is difficult to define human dignity in a legal context, as the concept is not defined in the first international document which recognizes inherent human dignity and the protection thereof, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1946 and many international (and national documents enacted thereafter. Despite dissensus regarding the widespread use of the concept, dignity has come to display three elements in constitutional adjudication post World War Two: the ontological element which entails that human beings have equal inherent human dignity that cannot be waived or diminished; the second element being the claim that inherent human dignity has to be recognised and respected; and the limited-state claim as the third element which entails that states have a positive obligation to progressively realise human dignity through the mechanism of socio-economic rights. It is widely accepted that these elements root in Kantian moral ethics which holds that man's autonomy is based upon universal dignity, as a result of which man should never be used as a means to an end, but only as a means in himself. Kant expressed this idea through formulation of a categorical imperative, namely that everyone's inherent human dignity has to be respected and protected universally. The preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1946, article 1(1 of the German Basic Law and section 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 embody the elements of Kant's categorical imperative. As a result, the three elements are applied as a definitional term of human dignity in German and South African constitutional adjudication. Based on these elements, it can be argued that the current idea of universal inherent dignity, at least in German and
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Universalism, particularism and the ethics of dignity.
Pullman, Daryl
2001-12-01
This paper explores the problem of universalism and particularism in contemporary ethics, and its relationship to Christian bioethics in particular. An ethic of human dignity is outlined, which, it is argued, constrains moral discourse in the broad sense--thus meeting the demands of universalism--but which is at the same time amenable to a variety of particularist interpretations--thus acknowledging the current shift toward historicism, traditionalism, and culture. The particularist interpretations that are of central concern here are those provided by historic Christianity. The eventual goal is to indicate how a Christian conception of human dignity can have universal normative relevance both as a standard against which to assess competing particularist conceptions, and as a practical guide for everyday living. A Christian conception of dignity will in turn have significant implications when addressing contemporary issues in bioethics. These are ambitious goals, and a full explication of the ideas presented will not be possible in this context. Nevertheless, there is value in getting a bird's-eye view of the landscape before one goes about scaling the mountains and exploring the valleys. The present essay is intended as a general geography of the moral terrain in which an ethic of dignity in general, and a Christian perspective on dignity in particular, can provide normative guidance.
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Human Value, Dignity, and the Presence of Others.
Hernandez, Jill Graper
2015-09-01
In the health care professions, the meaning of--and implications for--'dignity' and 'value' are progressively more important, as scholars and practitioners increasingly have to make value judgments when making care decisions. This paper looks at the various arguments for competing sources of human value that medical professionals can consider--human rights, autonomy, and a higher-order moral value--and settles upon a foundational model that is related to (though distinct from) the Kantian model that is popular within the medical community: human value is foundational; human dignity, autonomy, and rights derive from the relational quality of human dignity. Moral dignity is expressed though the relationships we cultivate, the communal ends we pursue, and the rights we enjoy. Correlatively, human dignity is inseparable from its ground (i.e., morality), and the relationship between these two is best represented for Kant in the humanities formulation. The foundational model of dignity ensures that human value is non-circularly derived, but is ultimately tied to expressions of individual human dignity that comes from the dignity of morality. Linking Kant's dignity of humanity to the dignity of morality affords a unique and efficacious response to the discussion of human value. In one sense, dignity is amplificatory, since its worth is inextricable with that of autonomy and the rights afforded to the autonomous. But that isn't to say that the worth of dignity is merely amplificatory. Rather, human dignity indicates the absolute inner value (MM 6:435) found in each individual in virtue of being human (MM 6:435, 462). That inner worth engenders certain universal rights--derivable from the dignity and fundamental rational appeal of morality--just as it provides for the possibility for a community of beings to seek to live the moral life.
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The Death Penalty and Human Dignity: An Existential Fallacy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Susan Nagelsen
2016-06-01
Full Text Available Proponents of capital punishment in the United States frequently cite the evolution from electrocution and hanging to lethal injection as an indication that the evolving standards of decency exhibited by such a transition demonstrate a respect for human dignity. This essay examines that claim by evaluating two standards for assessing whether an act comports with accepted definitions of human dignity: a personal-achievement model, based on work by economist Amartya Sen of Harvard University, and a universal and intrinsic approach to human dignity articulated by criminologist Robert Johnson of the American University. We evaluate Sen’s capabilities model through the lens of a condemned prisoner’s ability to achieve self-defined goals. We then assess Johnson’s claim that preserving human dignity requires an elimination of the death penalty, irrespective of any prisoner’s ability to lead a restricted, albeit goal-directed, existence.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marjanović Miloš
2013-01-01
Full Text Available By opening the field of bioethics followed a new wave of intense debate on the theological, philosophical and legal significance of the concept of human dignity . Exactly ten years ago (December 2003 American bioethicist Ruth Maclin has proposed to divest ourselves of the concept of human dignity because it is vague, useless and redundant and that, without any loss, we can replace it by the ethical principle of personal autonomy. Her article was followed by harsh reactions and opposite views. What is this term in so broad, almost inflationary and opposite use is not a reason to deprive him, but, on the contrary, it shows how important it is and that it should be determined at least outline. As universal values and general concept, the human dignity has no pre-defined and narrow, precise meaning. It is more an evaluation horizon, the guiding principle and regulatory ideas that must constantly define and codify by many guaranted human rights and fundamental freedoms. As generic notion of each reasonable law, it is their foundation and a common denominator, legitimising basis of natural but also of positive law. As intrinsic and static value which means the humaneness, the humanity it is absolute, inherent to every human being without distinction and conditioning, as a unique and unrepeatable creation. In this meaning, the dignity is the obligation and limitation of the state, society and each of us. As an ethical and dynamic category, it is not given to us, but it is assign to us, and it is not in us, but always before us, as a guide of our actions in accordance with virtues, to treat ourselves, each other and the nature in a human way. The century in which we live is named the century of molecular biology and genetic engineering because of the enormous potential but also risks to human dignity. Because of that human dignity has become a central principle in all international documents relating to the human genome, genetics and bioethics, adopted
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Human dignity according to international instruments on human rights
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José Pablo Alzina de Aguilar
2011-01-01
Full Text Available According to international instruments on human rights, the dignity of the human person is the foundation of human rights, and both human dignity and human rights are inherent to the human being, universal and inviolable. This understanding of human dignity is not a fruitless truism, but the solid foundation on which to build a world community under the rule of the new ius gentium: the International Law for Humankind. Moreover, it is the clue to answer many questions raised by the new world of globalization and of the exponential growth of international rules.Consequently, there is a need to a common doctrine on a notion of human dignity which will allow the implementation and adjudication of the aforementioned instruments, at the service of the human person and in conformity with the juridical conscience which they reflect. Philosophy of Law concepts which can be traced back to Aristotle provide that notion. According to these concepts, the demanding nature of “human dignity” sustains the notion of “legal personhood”, and both notions pertain to the realm of Law and Right, not of Morale and Values. Thus, human dignity and human rights are and must be, respectively, a basic principle and a necessary part of any Law system, including international law
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Human dignity, humiliation, and torture.
Luban, David
2009-09-01
Modern human rights instruments ground human rights in the concept of human dignity, without providing an underlying theory of human dignity. This paper examines the central importance of human dignity, understood as not humiliating people, in traditional Jewish ethics. It employs this conception of human dignity to examine and criticize U.S. use of humiliation tactics and torture in the interrogation of terrorism suspects.
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Biotechnologies and Human Dignity
Sweet, William; Masciulli, Joseph
2011-01-01
In this article, the authors review some contemporary cases where biotechnologies have been employed, where they have had global implications, and where there has been considerable debate. The authors argue that the concept of dignity, which lies at the center of such documents as the 2005 Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, the…
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Human Dignity in Law – A Case Study of the Polish Legal System
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Magdalena Butrymowicz
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Human dignity is one of the most fundamental ideas in the entire international human rights system. As from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 1948, the concept of the human dignity become used as a tool to protect the basic needs of humans. The other formal instruments of international human rights also make reference to dignity. Whereas international law widely accepted the inherence of dignity, controversies still arise around the source of the dignity. Polish lawmakers, on the other hand, have no doubt about the fact the concept of dignity comes from natural law. Poland, in her Constitution, refers to the teaching of John Paul II about the source, value and meaning of human dignity. There is no doubt that concept of human dignity, even when it is controversial, is the most widely accepted by all religions and political society in the world.
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Human dignity in religion-embedded cross-cultural nursing.
Cheraghi, Mohammad A; Manookian, Arpi; Nasrabadi, Alireza N
2014-12-01
Although human dignity is an unconditional value of every human being, it can be shattered by extrinsic factors. It is necessary to discover the authentic meaning of patients' dignity preservation from different religious perspectives to provide professional cross-cultural care in a diverse setting. This article identifies common experiences of Iranian Muslim and Armenian Christian patients regarding dignified care at the bedside. This is a qualitative study of participants' experiences of dignified care elicited by individual in-depth semi-structured interviews. A purposeful sample of 10 participants (five Iranian Muslims and five Iranian Armenians) from various private and governmental hospital settings was chosen. This study was approved by the ethics committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All the participants were provided with information about the purpose and the nature of the study, the voluntary condition of their participation in this study, and the anonymous reporting of recorded interviews. The common experiences of Christian and Muslim patients regarding dignity preservation emerged as "exigency of respecting human nobility" and "providing person-centered care." It is essential to recognize the humanness and individuality of each patient to preserve and promote human dignity in diverse cross-cultural settings. The findings support and expand current understanding about the objective and subjective nature of dignity preservation in cross-cultural nursing. © The Author(s) 2014.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
J.M. Vorster
2010-07-01
Full Text Available Human dignity has become a major moral directive in the contemporary ethical reflection on human rights and bio-ethics. This article examines the theological foundations laid by the reformer Calvin regarding the inherent dignity of people, and his influence on post-World War ethical reflection about the violations of human rights. In this article his views on the “imago dei” and common grace, the “lex naturae” and the obligations of the civil authority are investigated in order to illuminate his ideas about the dignity of human beings. The article then deals with the influence of these ideas in the influential works of the twentieth century’s reformed theologians Barth, Berkhouwer and Moltmann.
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Human dignity in concept and practice
Mattson, D.J.; Clark, S.G.
2011-01-01
Dignity seems to be something that virtually all people want. It is a seminal expression of the human experience that gains authority through the convergent demands of people worldwide. Even so, the human dignity concept is in unhelpful disarray. Dignity is variously viewed as an antecedent, a consequence, a value, a principle, and an experience, from philosophical, legal, pragmatic, psychological, behavioral, and cultural perspectives. We ask which if any of these human dignity concepts will likely serve our global common interests best, as both common ground and policy diagnostic? We examine four broad themes: dignity as (1) a metaphysical justification for human rights and duties, (2) virtuous comportment or behavior, (3) a perspective of "other," and (4) a subjective experience of the individual, contingent on a broad and equitable sharing of values. We recommend viewing dignity as a commonwealth of individually assessed well-being, shaped by relationships with others, affected by the physical world, and framed in terms of values. Viewed this way, the idea of dignity accommodates the priorities of both individualistic and communitarian cultures. Conceiving of human dignity as a commonwealth of subjectively experienced value production and enjoyment has many practical policy implications. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC (outside the USA).
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Human dignity: intrinsic or relative value?
Thiel, Marie-Jo
2010-09-01
Is human dignity an intrinsic value? Or is it a relative value, depending on the perception or assessment of quality of life? History had delineated some of its key features, but the advent of human rights and the Holocaust put special emphasis on this notion, particularly in the field of bioethics. But if modern medicine regards human dignity as crucial, it tends to support this notion while assessing and measuring it. The quality of life becomes the gauge for measuring human dignity, starting from a distinction between a viable and a non-viable existence, which may eventually lead to assisted death, or to letting die. This article argues that the concept of quality of life is of great relevant for medical practice, but on the condition of not being used as a standard to measure the dignity of the individual. Rather, the quality of life should be regarded as an imperative posed by human dignity, which is necessarily intrinsic. If the quality of life measures dignity, humankind is divided into two categories: lives worthy of living, and lives unworthy of living, and society becomes a jungle. Raising the quality of life as a requirement of the inherent human dignity does not solve automatically all problems and does not eliminate a feeling of unworthiness. But it ensures its 'human' value: the equal respect for every human being.
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Does organ selling violate human dignity?
Alpinar-Şencan, Zümrüt; Baumann, Holger; Biller-Andorno, Nikola
2017-11-01
Shortages in the number of donated organs after death and the growing number of end-stage organ failure patients on waiting lists call for looking at alternatives to increase the number of organs that could be used for transplantation purposes. One option that has led to a legal and ethical debate is to have regulated markets in human organs. Opponents of a market in human organs offer different arguments that are mostly founded on contingent factors that can be adjusted. However, some authors have asked the question whether we still have a reason to believe that there is something wrong with offering human organs for sale for transplantation purposes, even if the circumstances under which the practice takes place are improved. One prominent argument regarding this appeals to the notion of human dignity. It is argued that organ selling violates human dignity. This paper presents a systematic discussion of dignity-based arguments in the organ selling debate, and then develops a social account of dignity. It is argued that allowing the practice of organ selling inherently runs the risk of promoting the notion that some persons have less worth than others and that persons have a price, which is incompatible with dignity. The approach is defended against possible objections and it is shown that it can capture the notion that autonomy is linked to human dignity in important ways, while dignity at the same time can constrain the autonomous choices of persons with regards to certain practices.
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Human Dignity – Constitutional Principle of Fundamental Human Rights
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Lucian Pop
2011-07-01
Full Text Available As a constitutional principle of the human rights, the human dignity is a supreme value, a norm and a right, thus that the reconfiguration of protection standards of fundamental human rights is made by cohesion of the legal, social and moral dimensions of human dignity. With this article, the author argues that legal meaning, social meaning and moral meaning of human dignity, are centerpiece of protection of freedom under law.
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Human Dignity in Contemporary Ethics
African Journals Online (AJOL)
In this strictly academic book, David. Kirchhoffer processes the complex issues surrounding the concept of human dignity through a clearly defined ethical method. At the outset, he questions whether it is possible to use human dignity as a normative criterion, when empirical research has shown there is no evidence that an ...
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Human dignity and human rights in bioethics: the Kantian approach.
Rothhaar, Markus
2010-08-01
The concept of human dignity plays an important role in the public discussion about ethical questions concerning modern medicine and biology. At the same time, there is a widespread skepticism about the possibility to determine the content and the claims of human dignity. The article goes back to Kantian Moral Philosophy, in order to show that human dignity has in fact a determinable content not as a norm in itself, but as the principle and ground of human rights and any deontological norms in biomedical ethics. When it comes to defining the scope of human dignity, i.e., the question which entities are protected by human dignity, Kant clearly can be found on the "pro life"-side of the controversy. This, however, is the result of some specific implications of Kant's transcendental approach that may be put into question.
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[Human dignity, human rights and bioethics: what is the connection?].
Andorno, Roberto
2010-12-01
Human rights are closely related to the notion of human dignity, to such a point that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to promote them without appealing, at least implicitly, to the idea that each individual has intrinsic worth simply by virtue of being human. This relationship between dignity and rights is even stronger in the field of bioethics, which deals directly with some of the most basic human rights, such as the rights to life and to physical integrity. It is therefore not by chance that the international norms relating to bioethics give a central role to the concept of human dignity. However, one should not expect from dignity more than it can offer; dignity is a "principle", not a "rule"; it embodies a fundamental value, but it alone does not determine the content of a particular decision.
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Death, dignity, and moral nonsense.
Pullman, Daryl
2004-01-01
Although the concept of human dignity is widely invoked in discussions regarding end-of-life decision making, the content of the notion is ambiguous. Such ambiguity has led some to conclude that human dignity is a redundant or even useless concept that we would be better off without. This paper argues, to the contrary, that the concept of human dignity is indispensable to moral discourse. Far from dispensing with human dignity, we must work to clarify the concept. The paper outlines two distinct but related conceptions of dignity that are often conflated in contemporary moral discourse. These conceptions are labelled "basic dignity" and "personal dignity", respectively. It is argued that basic dignity functions as a universal meaning constraint on moral discourse in general. Hence, to dispense with the notion could reduce us to speaking moral nonsense. Throughout the discussion, some implications for our understanding of end-of-life decision making are explored.
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Human dignity and biomedical ethics from a Christian theological ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The argument of human dignity plays an important role in current debates on human rights and their relevance in modern biomedicine. When discussing the contribution of Christian theology to current debates on human dignity and human rights the thesis is not that the modern idea of human dignity depends on a ...
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Human cloning laws, human dignity and the poverty of the policy making dialogue.
Caulfield, Timothy
2003-07-29
The regulation of human cloning continues to be a significant national and international policy issue. Despite years of intense academic and public debate, there is little clarity as to the philosophical foundations for many of the emerging policy choices. The notion of "human dignity" is commonly used to justify cloning laws. The basis for this justification is that reproductive human cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. The author critiques one of the most commonly used ethical justifications for cloning laws - the idea that reproductive cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. He points out that there is, in fact, little consensus on point and that the counter arguments are rarely reflected in formal policy. Rarely do domestic or international instruments provide an operational definition of human dignity and there is rarely an explanation of how, exactly, dignity is infringed in the context reproductive cloning. It is the author's position that the lack of thoughtful analysis of the role of human dignity hurts the broader public debate about reproductive cloning, trivializes the value of human dignity as a normative principle and makes it nearly impossible to critique the actual justifications behind many of the proposed policies.
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Human cloning laws, human dignity and the poverty of the policy making dialogue
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Caulfield Timothy
2003-07-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background The regulation of human cloning continues to be a significant national and international policy issue. Despite years of intense academic and public debate, there is little clarity as to the philosophical foundations for many of the emerging policy choices. The notion of "human dignity" is commonly used to justify cloning laws. The basis for this justification is that reproductive human cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. Discussion The author critiques one of the most commonly used ethical justifications for cloning laws – the idea that reproductive cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. He points out that there is, in fact, little consensus on point and that the counter arguments are rarely reflected in formal policy. Rarely do domestic or international instruments provide an operational definition of human dignity and there is rarely an explanation of how, exactly, dignity is infringed in the context reproductive cloning. Summary It is the author's position that the lack of thoughtful analysis of the role of human dignity hurts the broader public debate about reproductive cloning, trivializes the value of human dignity as a normative principle and makes it nearly impossible to critique the actual justifications behind many of the proposed policies.
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Human cloning laws, human dignity and the poverty of the policy making dialogue
Caulfield, Timothy
2003-01-01
Background The regulation of human cloning continues to be a significant national and international policy issue. Despite years of intense academic and public debate, there is little clarity as to the philosophical foundations for many of the emerging policy choices. The notion of "human dignity" is commonly used to justify cloning laws. The basis for this justification is that reproductive human cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. Discussion The author critiques one of the most commonly used ethical justifications for cloning laws – the idea that reproductive cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. He points out that there is, in fact, little consensus on point and that the counter arguments are rarely reflected in formal policy. Rarely do domestic or international instruments provide an operational definition of human dignity and there is rarely an explanation of how, exactly, dignity is infringed in the context reproductive cloning. Summary It is the author's position that the lack of thoughtful analysis of the role of human dignity hurts the broader public debate about reproductive cloning, trivializes the value of human dignity as a normative principle and makes it nearly impossible to critique the actual justifications behind many of the proposed policies. PMID:12887735
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The concept of human dignity in the ethics of genetic research.
Chan, David K
2015-05-01
Despite criticism that dignity is a vague and slippery concept, a number of international guidelines on bioethics have cautioned against research that is contrary to human dignity, with reference specifically to genetic technology. What is the connection between genetic research and human dignity? In this article, I investigate the concept of human dignity in its various historical forms, and examine its status as a moral concept. Unlike Kant's ideal concept of human dignity, the empirical or relational concept takes human dignity as something that is affected by one's circumstances and what others do. I argue that the dignity objection to some forms of genetic research rests on a view of human nature that gives humans a special status in nature - one that is threatened by the potential of genetic research to reduce individuals to their genetic endowment. I distinguish two main philosophical accounts of human nature. One of these, the Aristotelian view, is compatible with the use of genetic technology to help humans realize their inherent potential to a fuller extent. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Human dignity and biomedical ethics from a Christian theological perspective
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Ulrich H.J. Körtner
2011-07-01
Full Text Available The argument of human dignity plays an important role in current debates on human rights and their relevance in modern biomedicine. When discussing the contribution of Christian theology to current debates on human dignity and human rights the thesis is not that the modern idea of human dignity depends on a theological grounding. Also, it is not the task of theology to legitimate rights as Christian a posteriori. We do not need to deduce modern human rights from theological doctrines. The theological challenge is to find an access for Christians from their belief to the modern idea of human rights and human dignity and to discuss the contribution which theology and the churches can make to further development of human rights. The Christian image of man, which serves as the foundation for the church position on bioethical topics in the German-speaking context, is a mix of biblical motives, a Kantian interpretation of the concept of human dignity and an interpretation of the German constitutional law inspired by the Catholic tradition of natural law. The following presented theological understanding of human dignity, in contrast, was inspired by the insights of the Pauline doctrine of justification and its Protestant reinterpretation.
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[Philosophy of human dignity and the ethics of psychiatry].
Stoecker, Ralf
2014-07-01
Current moral philosophy has serious problems with the concept of human dignity. Although it seems to be an almost inevitable ingredient of every day moral judgments, philosophers have difficulties to find an analysis of the concept that could support this central role. One way out of these difficulties consists in a closer look at the various areas where the concept is used so widely and naturally, in the attempt to extract inductively an adequate understanding of human dignity from these contexts. In the article, this strategy is used to glean features of human dignity from the history of psychiatry, condense them into a plausible understanding of human dignity and finally sketch some practical implications for modern psychiatric ethics. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
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Nurses' human dignity in education and practice: An integrated literature review.
Parandeh, Akram; Khaghanizade, Morteza; Mohammadi, Eesa; Mokhtari-Nouri, Jamileh
2016-01-01
Human dignity, as a fundamental human right and a moral obligation, has been emphasized in different fields of nursing. The aim of the present integrative review was to explore the nature of nurses' human dignity in educational and clinical settings. A literature review was conducted on quantitative and qualitative research papers in English and Persian using the PubMed, ProQuest, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Google Scholar, SID, and Irandoc databases from the year 2000 to 2013. Keywords for the search included dignity, nursing, faculty, nurse clinicians, nursing student, and humanism. In total, 12 research papers met the inclusion criteria for the integrative review. From this review, four key themes emerged. The themes consisted of concept of human dignity (it was as an expression of the professional value in nursing settings), factors affecting human dignity (including respect, communication, autonomy and power, competency and ability, structure of the workplace, and value-based education), dimensions of human dignity (including intrinsic and professional domains), and consequences of human dignity [positive (individual and professional growth and caring professional behavior) and negative (loss of motivation, intention to leave the profession, and non-professional image of nursing in the minds of people)]. The small number of studies found for the review indicates the need for further research in the field of nurses' dignity. Recognizing nurses' dignity can help to improve the nursing practice and provide them a dignified workplace.
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Nurses’ human dignity in education and practice: An integrated literature review
Parandeh, Akram; Khaghanizade, Morteza; Mohammadi, Eesa; Mokhtari-Nouri, Jamileh
2016-01-01
Background: Human dignity, as a fundamental human right and a moral obligation, has been emphasized in different fields of nursing. The aim of the present integrative review was to explore the nature of nurses’ human dignity in educational and clinical settings. Materials and Methods: A literature review was conducted on quantitative and qualitative research papers in English and Persian using the PubMed, ProQuest, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Google Scholar, SID, and Irandoc databases from the year 2000 to 2013. Keywords for the search included dignity, nursing, faculty, nurse clinicians, nursing student, and humanism. In total, 12 research papers met the inclusion criteria for the integrative review. Results: From this review, four key themes emerged. The themes consisted of concept of human dignity (it was as an expression of the professional value in nursing settings), factors affecting human dignity (including respect, communication, autonomy and power, competency and ability, structure of the workplace, and value-based education), dimensions of human dignity (including intrinsic and professional domains), and consequences of human dignity [positive (individual and professional growth and caring professional behavior) and negative (loss of motivation, intention to leave the profession, and non-professional image of nursing in the minds of people)]. Conclusions: The small number of studies found for the review indicates the need for further research in the field of nurses’ dignity. Recognizing nurses’ dignity can help to improve the nursing practice and provide them a dignified workplace. PMID:26985216
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Human Dignity and the Ethics and Regulation of Technology
Duwell, M.
2017-01-01
This chapter investigates how human dignity might be understood as a normative concept for the regulation of technologies. First, various distinctions that are relevant for the way human dignity can be understood are discussed. It is argued that it is particularly important that we should see human
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Human dignity and the profoundly disabled: a theological perspective.
Matthews, Pia
2011-01-01
One challenge to the concept of human dignity is that it is a rootless notion invoked simply to mask inequalities that inevitably exist between human beings. This privileging of humans is speciesist and its weak point is the profoundly disabled human being. This article argues that far from being a weak point, the profoundly disabled person is a source of strength and witness to the intrinsic dignity that all human beings have by virtue of being human. The disabled represent the reality of human existence that is both strong and fragile. Although human dignity can be understood philosophically its depth is rooted in Christian theological insights. The profoundly disabled occupy a privileged position and share in a theology of mission since they testify to the interdependence of every human being and human dependence on God to a myopic world that only values strength, autonomy and independence.
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Is the creation of admixed embryos "an offense against human dignity"?
Jones, David Albert
2010-01-01
The controversy over the creation of admixed human-nonhuman embryos, and specifically of what have been termed "cybrids," involves a range of ethical and political issues. It is not reducible to a single question. This paper focuses on one question raised by that controversy, whether creating admixed human-nonhuman entities is "an offense against human dignity. "In the last decade there has been sustained criticism of the use of the concept of human dignity within bioethics. The concept has been criticized as "vague" and "useless." Nevertheless, the concept continues to be invoked in bioethical discussion and in international instruments. This paper defends a concept of human dignity that is coherent but that is wider than contemporary post-Kantian approaches. "Human dignity" is best regarded as having a set of analogically related meanings, more than one of which is relevant to the field of bioethics. A more subtle understanding of the concept of human dignity can help identify what is ethically problematic in human-nonhuman combinations and so shed light on one aspect of the admixed embryo debate.
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The History of Human Freedom and Dignity in Western Civilization
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jacobsen, Anders-Christian
2016-01-01
Kort introduktion til et europæisk forskningsprojekt "The History of Human Freedom and Dignity in Western Civilisation'......Kort introduktion til et europæisk forskningsprojekt "The History of Human Freedom and Dignity in Western Civilisation'...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Borja Fernandez Burgueño
2016-04-01
Full Text Available This paper will evaluate the convenience of using the legal concept of human dignity in the human rights discourse and its effectiveness to address injustice in a twenty-first century democratic society. This article will argue that the difficulty of defining human dignity does not diminish its merits and allows it to be both solid and adaptable to new challenges. Then, this paper will argue that human dignity is a powerful concept due to its capacity to bring change and modernise society and will conclude that there is a strong relationship between time, human dignity, human rights and democracy.
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Practices in Human Dignity in Palliative Care: A Qualitative Study.
Akin Korhan, Esra; Üstün, Çağatay; Uzelli Yilmaz, Derya
Respecting and valuing an individual's existential dignity forms the basis of nursing and medical practice and of nursing care. The objective of the study was to determine the approach to human dignity that nurses and physicians have while providing palliative care. This qualitative study was performed using a phenomenological research design. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted in 9 nurses and 5 physicians with human dignity approach in palliative care. Following the qualitative Colaizzi method of analyzing the data, the statements made by the nurses and physicians during the interviews were grouped under 8 categories. Consistent with the questionnaire format, 8 themes and 43 subthemes of responses were determined describing the human dignity of the nurse and the physicians. The results of the study showed that in some of the decisions and practices of the nurses giving nursing care and physicians giving medical care to palliative care patients, while they displayed ethically sensitive behavior, on some points, they showed approaches that violated human dignity and showed lack of awareness of ethical, medical, and social responsibilities.
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Human dignity in the Nazi era: implications for contemporary bioethics
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O'Mathúna Dónal P
2006-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background The justification for Nazi programs involving involuntary euthanasia, forced sterilisation, eugenics and human experimentation were strongly influenced by views about human dignity. The historical development of these views should be examined today because discussions of human worth and value are integral to medical ethics and bioethics. We should learn lessons from how human dignity came to be so distorted to avoid repetition of similar distortions. Discussion Social Darwinism was foremost amongst the philosophies impacting views of human dignity in the decades leading up to Nazi power in Germany. Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory was quickly applied to human beings and social structure. The term 'survival of the fittest' was coined and seen to be applicable to humans. Belief in the inherent dignity of all humans was rejected by social Darwinists. Influential authors of the day proclaimed that an individual's worth and value were to be determined functionally and materialistically. The popularity of such views ideologically prepared German doctors and nurses to accept Nazi social policies promoting survival of only the fittest humans. A historical survey reveals five general presuppositions that strongly impacted medical ethics in the Nazi era. These same five beliefs are being promoted in different ways in contemporary bioethical discourse. Ethical controversies surrounding human embryos revolve around determinations of their moral status. Economic pressures force individuals and societies to examine whether some people's lives are no longer worth living. Human dignity is again being seen as a relative trait found in certain humans, not something inherent. These views strongly impact what is taken to be acceptable within medical ethics. Summary Five beliefs central to social Darwinism will be examined in light of their influence on current discussions in medical ethics and bioethics. Acceptance of these during the Nazi
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Human dignity in the Nazi era: implications for contemporary bioethics.
O'Mathúna, Dónal P
2006-03-14
The justification for Nazi programs involving involuntary euthanasia, forced sterilisation, eugenics and human experimentation were strongly influenced by views about human dignity. The historical development of these views should be examined today because discussions of human worth and value are integral to medical ethics and bioethics. We should learn lessons from how human dignity came to be so distorted to avoid repetition of similar distortions. Social Darwinism was foremost amongst the philosophies impacting views of human dignity in the decades leading up to Nazi power in Germany. Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory was quickly applied to human beings and social structure. The term 'survival of the fittest' was coined and seen to be applicable to humans. Belief in the inherent dignity of all humans was rejected by social Darwinists. Influential authors of the day proclaimed that an individual's worth and value were to be determined functionally and materialistically. The popularity of such views ideologically prepared German doctors and nurses to accept Nazi social policies promoting survival of only the fittest humans.A historical survey reveals five general presuppositions that strongly impacted medical ethics in the Nazi era. These same five beliefs are being promoted in different ways in contemporary bioethical discourse. Ethical controversies surrounding human embryos revolve around determinations of their moral status. Economic pressures force individuals and societies to examine whether some people's lives are no longer worth living. Human dignity is again being seen as a relative trait found in certain humans, not something inherent. These views strongly impact what is taken to be acceptable within medical ethics. Five beliefs central to social Darwinism will be examined in light of their influence on current discussions in medical ethics and bioethics. Acceptance of these during the Nazi era proved destructive to many humans. Their widespread
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Natural Good Theories and the Value of Human Dignity.
Muders, Sebastian
2016-04-01
One of the widely recognized facts about human dignity is its vastly divergent applicability-from highly controversial issues in bioethics to broader topics in political philosophy. A group of theories that this article subsumes under the header "natural good theories" appears to be especially fitted for normatively multifaceted notions like dignity. However, the heavy normative weight the concept of dignity has to bear due to the central position it occupies within these theories creates its own difficulties. As is shown in a discussion of Martha Nussbaum's capability conception of dignity, dignity appears to be unable to mirror the special normative relevance people want to assign to it in cases of great moral misconduct. The article provides a suggestion on how to solve this problem by means of paradigmatic cases that work as material constraints regarding the exact boundaries of dignity violations.
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Basing Science Ethics on Respect for Human Dignity.
Aközer, Mehmet; Aközer, Emel
2016-12-01
A "no ethics" principle has long been prevalent in science and has demotivated deliberation on scientific ethics. This paper argues the following: (1) An understanding of a scientific "ethos" based on actual "value preferences" and "value repugnances" prevalent in the scientific community permits and demands critical accounts of the "no ethics" principle in science. (2) The roots of this principle may be traced to a repugnance of human dignity, which was instilled at a historical breaking point in the interrelation between science and ethics. This breaking point involved granting science the exclusive mandate to pass judgment on the life worth living. (3) By contrast, respect for human dignity, in its Kantian definition as "the absolute inner worth of being human," should be adopted as the basis to ground science ethics. (4) The pathway from this foundation to the articulation of an ethical duty specific to scientific practice, i.e., respect for objective truth, is charted by Karl Popper's discussion of the ethical principles that form the basis of science. This also permits an integrated account of the "external" and "internal" ethical problems in science. (5) Principles of the respect for human dignity and the respect for objective truth are also safeguards of epistemic integrity. Plain defiance of human dignity by genetic determinism has compromised integrity of claims to knowledge in behavioral genetics and other behavioral sciences. Disregard of the ethical principles that form the basis of science threatens epistemic integrity.
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A resource-based version of the argument that cloning is an affront to human dignity.
McDougall, R
2008-04-01
The claim that human reproductive cloning constitutes an affront to human dignity became a familiar one in 1997 as policymakers and bioethicists responded to the announcement of the birth of Dolly the sheep. Various versions of the argument that reproductive cloning is an affront to human dignity have been made, most focusing on the dignity of the child produced by cloning. However, these arguments tend to be unpersuasive and strongly criticised in the bioethical literature. In this paper I put forward a different argument that reproductive cloning is an affront to human dignity, one that looks beyond the dignity of the child produced. I suggest that allocating funds to such a pursuit can affront human dignity by diverting resources away from those existing people who lack sufficient health to enable them to exercise basic rights and liberties. This version of the argument posits cloning as an affront to human dignity in particular circumstances, rather than claiming the technology as intrinsically inconsistent with human dignity.
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[Dignity of human life: euthanasia and suicide].
Niebrój, Lesław
2005-07-01
Euthanasia is commonly considered as a form of suicide. The study aims to explore if such a presumption could be justified. Philosophical analysis of concepts of "human being", "human person", "biological life" and "life of human person", undertaken in this article, proved that the effective cause of suicide is obviously different from such a cause of euthanasia. Suicide aims to destruct life of a human person which is considered deprived of its dignity. Euthanasia's effective cause is to protect the dignity of such a life which is threatened by low quality of biological life caused both by the disease as well as by the applied treatment even if palliative only. On the basis of these considerations the main conclusion is drawn: suicide and euthanasia having different moral (material) subjects should be also ethically evaluated in a different way.
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HUMAN DIGNITY AND PROPORTIONALITY ANALYSIS / A DIGNIDADE HUMANA E A ANÁLISE DA PROPORCIONALIDADE
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Robert Alexy
2016-02-01
Full Text Available The relation between proportionality analysis and human dignity is one of the most contested questions in the debate about the normative structure of human dignity. Two conceptions stand in opposition: an absolute and a relative conception. According to the absolute conception, the guarantee of human dignity counts as a norm that takes precedence over all other norms in all cases. Taking precedence over all other norms in all cases implies that balancing is precluded. This, in turn, means that each and every interference with human dignity is a violation of human dignity. Thus, justified interference with human dignity becomes impossible. By contrast, proportionality analysis is intrinsically connected to the distinction between justified and unjustified interferences. A proportional interference is justified and is, therefore, constitutional. The opposite applies in the case of disproportional interference. The absolute conception is incompatible with this conceptual framework. For this reason, it is incompatible with proportionality analysis. According to the relative conception, precisely the opposite is true. The relative conception says that the question of whether human dignity is violated is a question of proportionality. With this, the relative conception is not only compatible with proportionality analysis, it presupposes it.
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Chigwenembe, Lucy
2011-01-01
Background and Objective The concept of dignity is broad and complex as its interpretation is based on culture and social norms of a particular setting. According to the United Nations General Assembly and the World Health Organization (WHO), human dignity is the understanding of human rights and the foundation for patients’ rights. A number of international instruments have been developed to promote patients’ rights and dignity. Such instruments include the Universal Declaration on Human ...
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Human Dignity in Healthcare: A Virtue Ethics Approach.
Jones, David Albert
The term ‘dignity’ is used in a variety of ways but always to attribute or recognize some status in the person. The present paper concerns not the status itself but the virtue of acknowledging that status. This virtue, which Thomas Aquinas calls ‘observantia’, concerns how dignity is honoured, respected, or observed. By analogy with justice (of which it is a part) observantia can be thought of both as a general virtue and as a special virtue. As a general virtue observantia refers to that respect for human dignity that is implicit in all acts of justice. As a special virtue it concerns the specific way we show esteem for people. Healthcare represents a challenge to observantia because those in need of healthcare are doubly restricted in expressing their dignity in action: in the first place by their ill health, and in the second place by the conditions required by healthcare (hence the sick are termed ‘patients’ rather than ‘agents’). To be understood properly, especially in the context of healthcare, the virtue of observantia needs both to qualify and to be qualified by the virtue of misericordia, empathy, or compassion for affliction. The unity of the virtues requires a simultaneous recognition of the common dignity and common neediness of human existence.
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Kleindienst Petra
2017-09-01
Full Text Available In 2011, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia made a historical decision on the ‘Tito street’ case, thereby placing human dignity at the centre of the constitutional order. A few years later, some related doubts not resolved by the Constitutional Court remain. For instance, the Court argues that an exhaustive a priori definition of human dignity is impossible since the notion depends on the development of its historical and ethical substance over time. The question thus arises of why legislation states that human dignity is universal even though it can be perceived as being a product of time and place. In this paper, we strive to answer this question by arguing that human dignity has two dimensions, initial dignity and realised dignity, and interpret the Court’s decision from a new angle. Thereby, the aim of this paper is to build a conceptual framework of human dignity and discuss it from a fresh perspective as well as to prove its applicability by presenting Slovenian constitutional case law. The paper offers significant insights into the discussion and may therefore help to improve future interpretations of human dignity in the field of constitutional case law.
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Attitudes of Korean adults towards human dignity: a Q methodology approach.
Jo, Kae Hwa; An, Gyeong-Ju; Doorenbos, Ardith Z
2012-06-01
The aim of this study was to identify the perceived attitudes of Korean adults towards human dignity in order to determine the relationship of human dignity to its social and cultural background. The Q methodology research technique was used to explore perceived attitude typology on the basis of the respondents' ranking order for different statements. A convenience sampling method was used to select 40 Korean adults who were interested in human dignity to create statements. From the questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and a literature review, a total of 158 statements was obtained. The final 34 Q samples were selected from a review by two nursing professors and a Q methodology expert. Moreover, 38 respondents participated as P samples by sorting 34 Q statements on a nine-point normal distribution scale. The data were analyzed by using the QUANL software package. The following four types of attitudes about human dignity were identified in Korea: a happiness-oriented-self-pursuit type, relationship-oriented-self-recognition type, reflection-oriented-self-unification type, and discrimination-oriented-self-maintenance type. The results indicate that approaches to developing human dignity education need to take this typology into account and the characteristics of the participants who fall into each category. These results provide general guidelines to understand Korean values for professional practice in various healthcare settings. © 2011 The Authors. Japan Journal of Nursing Science © 2011 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.
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Human Dignity, Misthanasia, Public Health and Bioethics in Brazil
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Anna Silvia Penteado Setti da Rocha
2017-10-01
Full Text Available This paper aims to reflect on human dignity and misthanasia in the public health system in Brazil. For this, concepts, document reviews and public data about the condition of the Brazilian population’s access to public health were all used. The indicators show the health inequalities in the country, with the north and northeast at a disadvantage both in terms of access to health and the number of available professionals. Thus, the most underserved population tends to continue to be excluded from society and impaired with respect to their human dignity.
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[Vulnerations of Human Dignity At The End of Life].
Germán Zurriaráin, Roberto
2017-01-01
Death is constitutive of human nature and therefore it must happen naturally. But there are mainly two ways that falsify it: euthanasia and therapeutic obstinacy. Two wrong choices that do not accept the human reality of death (the first, anticipates death and the second, delays it). From the philosophical and ethical point of view, both options are rejected, because they are against human dignity at the end of life. Aside from these, this article also rejects the different names which are given to refer to euthanasia, that also go against human nature at the end of life. On the other hand, do not confuse euthanasia with sedation. Both have a common goal to prevent the patient from feeling pain and suffering. To achieve this goal, both options administer ″drugs″ to the patient. But in the administration of drugs in euthanasia involves ending patient's life. The administration of drugs in sedation aims for the patient's death to occur naturally. Finally, we briefly discuss the basic care necessary in these situations. The absence of basic care cannot become a covert euthanasia. The patient must die from his/her illness, never from a lack of care. All human actions (euthanasia, sedation, therapeutic obstinacy and basic care) should be an expression and manifestation of what human dignity demands. Such dignity is expressed in the actions performed by human beings.
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Death with dignity from the Confucian perspective.
Li, Yaming; Li, Jianhui
2017-02-01
Death with dignity is a significant issue in modern bioethics. In modern healthcare, the wide use of new technologies at the end of life has caused heated debate on how to protect human dignity. The key point of contention lies in the different understandings of human dignity and the dignity of death. Human dignity has never been a clear concept in Western ethical explorations, and the dignity of death has given rise to more confusions. Although there is no such term as "dignity" in Confucian ethics, there are discussions of a number of ideas related to human dignity and the dignity of death. Therefore, Confucian bioethics can offer a new perspective for understanding the theoretical difficulties associated with the dignity of death and new methods for solving them. In this article, we attempt to reconstruct Confucian views on human dignity and the dignity of death and, based on those views, to analyze the following issues: the relationship between the dignity of death and biological life, the relationship between the dignity of death and suffering, the relationship between the dignity of death and the autonomy of human beings, and the relationship between the dignity of death and social justice. This article will also compare the Confucian views on these issues with the views of Western philosophers. Confucian ethics can offer distinct answers to the above issues and help resolve some confusions concerning concepts and theories in Western research on the dignity of death.
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Genuis, Quentin I T
2016-02-01
Predominant among the terminological ambiguities that plague contemporary bioethics is confusion attending the meaning of the term "human dignity," particularly as it applies to so-called end-of-life discussions. This study surveys current trends in treatment of the concept of dignity, examining relevant thinkers who see dignity as redundant or as capability-dependent. These inadequate views are contrasted with an attitude, based theologically in Mark 5, that understands human dignity to represent an absolute characteristic that is donated graciously to all bearers of imago Dei . Human dignity must thus be affirmed as inviolable and independent of autonomy, rationality, or capability. A specific task of the Christian Church is to faithfully recognize and proclaim this dignity. This investigation is particularly relevant in the face of contemporary discussions regarding euthanasia and physician-assisted death. Lay Summary: Much of the polarization within the contemporary bioethical discussion proceeds out of confusion regarding how we ought to define the terms of the debate. If we may take the existing debates regarding euthanasia and physician-assisted death as an example, we may understand the vital need for a sensible definition of the term that stands at the heart of the arguments of both sides of the debate: "human dignity." As such, this study seeks to define dignity in a logical, theological, deeply personal, and highly practical fashion, and to outline the critical role of the Church within such an understanding. Sometimes, when I walk into the room, he ignores me. Sometimes he thinks I am someone else. Most often he is asleep, subjugated by drugs designed to prevent agitation, although "agitation" is the sterilized hospital word for what I would call unbridled panic, total disorientation. The night he had the stroke, they had to tie him to the bed just to keep him in the hospital. And they wouldn't let me see him because he had been calling my name. Very
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1 HUMAN DIGNITY - OUR SUPREME CONSTITUTIONAL VALUE ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Administrator
5) Is our understanding of the concept/value/idea of human dignity not too ... second, it informs the scope and meaning of all the rights and guarantees of the .... describing the significance of group solidarity on survival issues so central to.
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Human dignity as a component of a long-lasting and widespread conceptual construct.
Baertschi, Bernard
2014-06-01
For some decades, the concept of human dignity has been widely discussed in bioethical literature. Some authors think that this concept is central to questions of respect for human beings, whereas others are very critical of it. It should be noted that, in these debates, dignity is one component of a long-lasting and widespread conceptual construct used to support a stance on the ethical question of the moral status of an action or being. This construct has been used from Modernity onward to condemn slavery and torture as violations of human dignity. In spelling it out, we can come to a better understanding of what "dignity" means and become aware that there exists a quite useful place for this notion in our ethical thought, albeit a modest one.
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R Ebert and RMJ Oduor The Concept of Human Dignity in German ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
R Ebert and RMJ Oduor
concept of human dignity in the two constitutions, each one of us from his ... We shall try to approach and circumscribe this ... Human dignity was introduced as the fundamental value of a new Germany when ..... involve] the degradation of the person to a thing, which can, in its entirety, be ..... The struggle for women's rights,.
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Ethical fundamentals in human subjects research : On equipoise and human dignity
van der Graaf - Verhave, R.
2010-01-01
In her PhD thesis Rieke van der Graaf has studied how we can ethically justify human subjects research. In particular she has studied two ethical fundamentals that play a key role in the justification process, that of equipoise and human dignity. Equipoise is often taken to mean that
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Shotton, L; Seedhouse, D
1998-05-01
It is difficult to understand the meaning of 'dignity' in human rights, bioethics and nursing literature because the word is used so vaguely. Unless dignity's meaning is spelt out it can disappear beneath more tangible priorities. In this article we define dignity and show how this can help health workers to maintain the dignity of people in their care.
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Human dignity and the future of the voluntary active euthanasia debate in South Africa.
Jordaan, Donrich W
2017-04-25
The issue of voluntary active euthanasia was thrust into the public policy arena by the Stransham-Ford lawsuit. The High Court legalised voluntary active euthanasia - however, ostensibly only in the specific case of Mr Stransham-Ford. The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the High Court judgment on technical grounds, not on the merits. This means that in future the courts can be approached again to consider the legalisation of voluntary active euthanasia. As such, Stransham-Ford presents a learning opportunity for both sides of the legalisation divide. In particular, conceptual errors pertaining to human dignity were made in Stransham-Ford, and can be avoided in future. In this article, I identify these errors and propose the following three corrective principles to inform future debate on the subject: (i) human dignity is violable; (ii) human suffering violates human dignity; and (iii) the 'natural' causes of suffering due to terminal illness do not exclude the application of human dignity.
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Human dignity and the future of the voluntary active euthanasia debate in South Africa
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Donrich W Jordaan
2017-05-01
Full Text Available The issue of voluntary active euthanasia was thrust into the public policy arena by the Stransham-Ford lawsuit. The High Court legalised voluntary active euthanasia – however, ostensibly only in the specific case of Mr Stransham-Ford. The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the High Court judgment on technical grounds, not on the merits. This means that in future the courts can be approached again to consider the legalisation of voluntary active euthanasia. As such, Stransham-Ford presents a learning opportunity for both sides of the legalisation divide. In particular, conceptual errors pertaining to human dignity were made in Stransham-Ford, and can be avoided in future. In this article, I identify these errors and propose the following three corrective principles to inform future debate on the subject: (i human dignity is violable; (ii human suffering violates human dignity; and (iii the ‘natural’ causes of suffering due to terminal illness do not exclude the application of human dignity.
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Black theology in South Africa – A theology of human dignity and black identity
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Timothy van Aarde
2016-08-01
Full Text Available Black theology in South Africa is still relevant 20 years after the apartheid regime ended. It is a theology that gave to Black South Africans human dignity and a black identity. Black theology in South Africa confronted the imbalances of power and abusive power structures through an affirmation of human dignity and the uniqueness of the identity of black people. The biblical narrative of the Exodus is a definitive narrative in American black theology and liberation theology in overcoming oppression understood as political victimisation. Black theology in South Africa is not primarily about power and economics but also about the rediscovery of human dignity and black identity and to a lesser extent about victimisation. A third generation of black theology in South Africa will gain impetus through a rediscovery of human dignity and identity as its core values instead of a Black American liberation theology of victimisation or a Marxist liberation theology of the eradication of all power or economic imbalances.
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The core meaning of human dignity | Steinmann | Potchefstroom ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
It is widely accepted that these elements root in Kantian moral ethics which holds that man's autonomy is based upon universal dignity, as a result of which man should never be used as a means to an end, but only as a means in himself. Kant expressed this idea through formulation of a categorical imperative, namely that ...
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The Relation between Law and Fraternity as a Promotional Instrument for Human Dignity in Labor Law
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Guilherme Domingos de Luca
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Examine in this study as a problem, the relationship of law and Fraternity as a promotional instrument of Human Dignity in Labour Law, pointing out the means by which positive law has constitutionalized the fundamental guarantees of man labor law. Understand the relationship of human labor versus the dignity of the human person, and the idea of fraternity as a promotional function. The research was based on bibliographic compared. The main object is to understand the role of the fraternity and the right to promote dignity in labor law. Specifically, to understand the role of the principle of brotherhood and human dignity in the protection of labor Fundamental Rights. It is a guided research in the hypothetical-deductive research method, starting from the hypothesis that the community contributes to the correct application of the law as the dignity of labor instrument.
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Allmark, P.
2002-01-01
The purpose of this article is to develop a conception of death with dignity and to examine whether it is vulnerable to the sort of criticisms that have been made of other conceptions. In this conception "death" is taken to apply to the process of dying; "dignity" is taken to be something that attaches to people because of their personal qualities. In particular, someone lives with dignity if they live well (in accordance with reason, as Aristotle would see it). It follows that health care professionals cannot confer on patients either dignity or death with dignity. They can, however, attempt to ensure that the patient dies without indignity. Indignities are affronts to human dignity, and include such things as serious pain and the exclusion of patients from involvement in decisions about their lives and deaths. This fairly modest conception of death with dignity avoids the traps of being overly subjective or of viewing the sick and helpless as "undignified". PMID:12161582
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Dignity and the use of body parts.
Foster, Charles
2014-01-01
This paper contends that the conventional ethical and legal ways of analysing the wrong involved in the misuse of human body parts are inadequate, and should be replaced with an analysis based on human dignity. It examines the various ways in which dignity has been understood, outlines many of the criticisms made of those ways (agreeing with many of the criticisms), and proposes a new way of seeing dignity which is exegetically consonant with the way in which dignity has been historically understood, and yet avoids the pitfalls which have led to dignity being dismissed by many as hopelessly amorphous or incurably theological. The account of dignity proposed is broadly Aristotelian. It defines dignity in terms of human thriving, and presupposes that it is possible, at least in principle, to determine empirically what makes humans thrive. It contends that humans are quintessentially relational animals, and that it is not possible (and certainly not ethically desirable) to define humans as atomistic entities. One important corollary of this is that when using dignity/thriving as a criterion for determining the ethical acceptability of a proposed action or inaction, one should ask not merely how the dignity interests of the patient (for instance) would be affected, but how the dignity interests of all stakeholders would be affected. The business of ethics is then the business of auditing all those interests, and determining the course of action which would maximise the amount of thriving in the world.
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Exploring nurses' personal dignity, global self-esteem and work satisfaction.
Sturm, Bonnie A; Dellert, Jane C
2016-06-01
This study examines nurses' perceptions of dignity in themselves and their work. Nurses commonly assert concern for human dignity as a component of the patients' experience rather than as necessary in the nurses' own lives or in the lives of others in the workplace. This study is exploratory and generates potential relationships for further study and theory generation in nursing. What is the relationship between the construct nurses' sense of dignity and global self-esteem, work satisfaction, and identified personal traits? This cross-sectional correlation study used a stratified random sample of nurses which was obtained from a US University alumni list from 1965 to 2009 (N = 133). University Institutional Review Board approval was achieved prior to mailing research questionnaire packets to participants. Participation was optional and numerical codes preserved confidentiality. Statistical results indicated a moderately strong association between the nurse's sense of personal dignity and self-esteem (rx = .62, p = .000) with areas of difference clarified and discussed. A positive but moderate association between nurses' personal dignity and nurses' work satisfaction (rx = .37, p = .000) and a similar association between self-esteem and nurses' work satisfaction (rs = .29, p = .001) were found. A statistically significant difference was found (F = 3.49 (df = 4), p = .01) for dignity and categories of spiritual commitment and for nurses' personal dignity when ratings of health status were compared (F = 21.24 (df = 4), p = .000). Personal sense of dignity is discussed in relation to conceptual understandings of dignity (such as professional dignity) and suggests continued research in multiple cultural contexts. The relationships measured show that nurses' sense of dignity has commonalities with self-esteem, workplace satisfaction, spiritual commitment, and health status; the meaning of the findings has ramifications for the welfare of nurses internationally. © The
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Human dignity and sexual behavious � A theological perspective
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N Vorster
2005-10-01
Full Text Available This article compares the sex ethic of Scripture with the anthropological values that underlie modern sexual morality and gives guidelines for a responsible� sex ethics that can safeguard human dignity. As point of departure it states that the biblical view of sexuality must be understood from the perspective of creation and re-creation and not the fall. The creation narratives teach that humanity possesses qualities of sameness and difference that constitutes our being. Sexuality forms the dynamic which bonds the dialectic of sameness and difference into a unity of persons. The� article concludes that the� African concept of gender , the radical freedom concept of secular society, the utilitarian view of sex, and the postmodern view that sexual behaviour and marriage are social constructs, aggravate sexual promiscuity. In order to fight HIV/AIDS and preserve human dignity the exclusiveness of the sex act, the importance of faithfulness and the sanctity of marriage must be proclaimed.
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[Surrogate Motherhood and Woman Dignity].
Aparisi Miralles, Ángela
2017-01-01
Motherhood by subrogation is an issue that directly affects human rights and, ultimately, human dignity. Therefore, if we want to give an adequate response to this issue, it is essential to reflect on how this practice affects the dignity and rights of the people involved in it and, more specifically, the pregnant mother. This study tries to show how in relation to the latter, maternity by subrogation directly contradicts some basic requirements of human dignity, since it reifies, instrumentalizes, convert into an object of commerce, and disregards the personal uniqueness of pregnant women.
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In defense of the dignity of being human.
Gaylin, W
1984-08-01
The concept of human dignity is examined in terms of the religious belief that man is created in God's image and from the Kantian viewpoint that man's autonomy gives special value to our species. The theory of psychic determinism and the prospect of genetic engineering of humans are seen as attacks on self determination. Five additional attributes that make humans "special" are explored: conceptual thought, the capacity for technology, our range of emotions, "Lamarckian" environmental genetics, and the freedom to change and modify ourselves.
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Giesinger, Johannes
2012-01-01
In this essay, Johannes Giesinger discusses the educational significance of Immanuel Kant's conception of human dignity. According to Kant, Giesinger claims, children can and should be educated for dignity: on the one hand, children realize their dignity by developing the capacity for moral autonomy; on the other hand, this capacity can only…
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THE FUNDAMENTALITY OF SOCIAL AND LABOR RIGHTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HUMAN DIGNITY
Pinto, Marcio Morena
2016-01-01
Dignity is the common point of unity and existence of all human beings and, therefore, its preservation must legitimize and justify the State action, which must ensure the effectiveness of certain rights considered essential for people to reach a necessary life standard in order to participate as full members of society. In this list of fundamental rights, social and labor rights are included. The purpose of this research is to analyze the scope of human dignity as the main principle of natio...
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[Is autonomy ground of human dignity?].
Gordillo Alvarez-Valdés, Lourdes
2008-01-01
This paper considers the conditions of autonomy if this is to be the foundation of human dignity. Since Kant Modernity has dissociated nature from morality and has tried to support autonomy in its purely formal aspect. To forget nature has voluntarist consequences that affect the way in which autonomy is understand. But autonomy does not consist of not having links, but of knowing how to assume one's own links freely and to be conscious of one's own limits. Autonomy and liberty are the very thing of the rational being, capable of discerning good and bad, and this must direct our actions. Reason directs as and distances us from reality to recognize the advisable thing in the human being.
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HOW UNIVERSAL ARE THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS TODAY?
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Lia-Alexandra BALTADOR
2016-12-01
Full Text Available This paper aims to contribute to a constructive debate on human rights. The two World Wars of the last century brought about the creation of the United Nations aimed “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”. Only three years later the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights was elaborated and promoted by the UN, considered to be the foundation of international human rights law. Today, as globalization brings all closer together in a “global village”, one can see that there are many ways to perceive and guarantee human rights, in different states, but also within different states. Poverty, illiteracy, censorship, cruel treatment and even the lack of guarantee for the right to life are, unfortunately, the norm for many people of the world. Such observations bring up questions regarding the legitimacy, universality and coherence of human rights.
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Ethical downsizing. Managers must focus on justice and human dignity.
Weber, L J
1994-01-01
It is vital that leaders and managers focus on justice and human dignity in the workplace when faced with the possible need to downsize. First, administrators should clearly identify the goals of work force reduction, evaluate their importance, and consider whether they could be achieved through other means. Once they have made the decision to downsize, top managers must clearly communicate the reasons and the goals to those responsible for identifying the employees affected. Employees selected for layoff should be identified on the basis of the articulated goals for work force reduction, whenever possible. When this is not clear, the tough decisions can be based on a variety of factors: "across-the-board" reductions; employee abilities, qualifications, and performance; diversity goals; seniority; or multiple criteria. It is also important to respect human dignity in the layoff process. Affected employees should be informed in advance and given an honest explanation for the layoff. Ordinarily, they should be encouraged to work until the effective date. All employees need a clear and honest explanation of the reasons for and the expected effects of the layoff. There should be a stress on the free flow of information, without an effort to control it. How downsizing is handled says a lot about the nature of an organization and its leadership. Ethical downsizing is, first of all, a refusal to deny the complexity of the issues and evidence of the organization's commitment to justice and human dignity.
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A concept analysis of dignity for older adults.
Jacelon, Cynthia S; Connelly, Thomas W; Brown, Rana; Proulx, Kathy; Vo, Thuy
2004-10-01
Human dignity is an essential value of professional nursing education as well as a component of the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics. Nurses are exhorted to treat patients with dignity, and older adults want to be treated with dignity and die with dignity. Although dignity, particularly the dignity of older adults, is often discussed in the health care literature, its meaning is not always clear. The aim of this paper is to describe a concept analysis to develop a definition of dignity in older adults. Data were collected using a literature review and five focus groups composed of older adults. The literature provided data about professionals' ideas of dignity and the focus groups provided qualitative data about the nature of dignity in older people. The literature review and focus groups were carried out concurrently, followed by synthesis of the findings. Dignity is an inherent characteristic of being human, it can be subjectively felt as an attribute of the self, and is made manifest through behaviour that demonstrates respect for self and others. Dignity must be learned, and an individual's dignity is affected by the treatment received from others. A behavioural definition of dignity was constructed and this could provide the theoretical basis for nurses to develop interventions that foster dignity for older people.
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The Concept of Human Dignity in German and Kenyan ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
... of the concept of human dignity in German and Kenyan constitutional law. We base our analysis on decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, in particular its take on life imprisonment and its 2006 decision concerning the shooting of hijacked airplanes, and on a close reading of the Constitution of Kenya.
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The Notions of the Human Person and Human Dignity in Aquinas and Wojtyla
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Jove Jim S. Aguas
2009-06-01
Full Text Available At the center of the various transformations and advancements inmodern society is man. It is man by whom and for whom these transformations and advancements are made. But one negative factoraccompanying these transformations is the violence or the degradation of the human person and his dignity, more alarming is the violence committed by man against his fellow man. Today, there is so much violence in the world, everyday we hear about killings, kidnappings, rapes, abortion, terrorist attacks, hunger, wars and many other acts of violence. It is ironic that, while the human person is the very victim of this violence, it is also the human person who is the perpetrator of such violence, man is simultaneously the victim and the culprit. Man indeed is a paradox, for while he is bestowed with dignity and good nature, he is also capable of doing evil and inflicting harm against others. This violent tendency happens because man fails to acknowledge the very dignity of his nature which is rooted in his fundamental relation with God and extended to his fellow human beings. Man is by nature good, but he is also capable of doing evil things. The Catholic Church through its teachings and writings have always emphasized the value of the person, while at the same time acknowledging the fact that he is as much capable of degrading himself. The Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, “Gaudium et Spes” acknowledges the many divergent and contradicting opinions of man about himself, one of which “exalts man as the absolute measure of all things and debases himself to the point of despair. The result is doubt and anxiety.”
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The interaction between religious freedom, equality and human dignity
African Journals Online (AJOL)
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acknowledged church dogma or religious belief, and is of such a nature that it passes the test of a nuanced and context-sensitive form of balancing of these freedoms and the right to human dignity and equality of persons affected by them. 1. BACKGROUND. Religious freedom (s 15(1)) and freedom of religious communities ...
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Equality, Human Dignity and Minorities: A Social Democracy in Construction
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Jacson Gross
2015-12-01
Full Text Available This article deals with equality, human dignity and the need to build a social democracy. Bringing equality concepts in a broad sense as foundation work, is set to develop writing by making some remarks on the dignity of the individual and minorities, often not heard, even within democratic scenarios since democracy is the voice the most by hiding voices and demands of sectors or groups excluded from the agenda. Minorities such as LGBT, black, residents of peripheral areas of large cities, among others, do not have their demands heard from this idea, we seek a concept of social democracy, which is wider than just the voice of the majority.
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A taxonomy of dignity: a grounded theory study
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Jacobson Nora
2009-02-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper has its origins in Jonathan Mann's insight that the experience of dignity may explain the reciprocal relationships between health and human rights. It follows his call for a taxonomy of dignity: "a coherent vocabulary and framework to characterize dignity." Methods Grounded theory procedures were use to analyze literature pertaining to dignity and to conduct and analyze 64 semi-structured interviews with persons marginalized by their health or social status, individuals who provide health or social services to these populations, and people working in the field of health and human rights. Results The taxonomy presented identifies two main forms of dignity–human dignity and social dignity–and describes several elements of these forms, including the social processes that violate or promote them, the conditions under which such violations and promotions occur, the objects of violation and promotion, and the consequences of dignity violation. Together, these forms and elements point to a theory of dignity as a quality of individuals and collectives that is constituted through interaction and interpretation and structured by conditions pertaining to actors, relationships, settings, and the broader social order. Conclusion The taxonomy has several implications for work in health and human rights. It suggests a map to possible points of intervention and provides a language in which to talk about dignity.
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Human cloning and human dignity
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Hasan Eslami
2006-12-01
Full Text Available Catholic Church and most of Muslims believe that human cloning is in contrast with human rights. They argue that applying Somatic Nuclear Transfer Technique or so-called cloning to humans is against human dignity. Their main reason is that the cloned person would be a copy or shadow of another person and lack his or her identity and uniqueness. They also argue that in the process of cloning human beings would be treated as laboratory mice. This article tries to evaluate this kind of argumentation and shows that the "human dignity" expression in the relevant writings is vague and has been used inappropriately. مسیحیان و برخی از مسلمانان استدلال میکنند که کاربست تکنیک شبیهسازی ناقض کرامت انسانی است. این دلیل خود به صورتهای مختلفی بیان میشود، مانند آنکه انسان موضوع آزمایشهای علمی قرار میگیرد و با او مانند حیوانات رفتار میشود. گاه نیز تغییر نحوة تولید مثل، مایة نقض کرامت انسانی قلمداد میگردد و گاه به مسئلة از بین رفتن هویت فردی اشاره میشود. نگارنده در دو قسمت، دیدگاه مسیحیان و مسلمانان را در این باره نقل و تحلیل کرده است و کوشیده است نشان دهد که استناد به مفهوم کرامت انسانی در این جا مبهم و ناگویاست و مخالفان کوشش دقیقی در جهت تبیین دلیل خود به عمل نیاوردهاند.
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The Relation between Law and Fraternity as a Promotional Instrument for Human Dignity in Labor Law
Guilherme Domingos de Luca; Lafayette Pozzoli
2015-01-01
Examine in this study as a problem, the relationship of law and Fraternity as a promotional instrument of Human Dignity in Labour Law, pointing out the means by which positive law has constitutionalized the fundamental guarantees of man labor law. Understand the relationship of human labor versus the dignity of the human person, and the idea of fraternity as a promotional function. The research was based on bibliographic compared. The main object is to understand the role of the fraternity an...
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Anne Becker
2015-05-01
Full Text Available The twentieth century has been characterised by the proliferation of human rights in the discursive practices of the United Nations (Baxi, 1997. In this article, we explore the continual process of rights-based education towards transformative action, and an open and democratic society, as dependent upon the facilitation of human rights literacy in teacher training. Our theoretical framework examines the continual process of moving towards an open and democratic society through the facilitation of human rights literacy, rights-based education and transformative action. We focus specifically on understandings of dignity, equality and freedom, as both rights (legal claims and values (moral action across horizontal and vertical applications, considering the internalisation and implementation of dignity, equality and freedom towards transformative action. Our analysis of data stemming from a project funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF entitled 'Human Rights Literacy: A quest for meaning', brought student-teachers' understandings into conversation with the proposed theoretical framework. In terms of understandings related to dignity, equality and freedom, participants seemingly understand human rights either as legal interests, or alternatively, as they pertain to values such as caring, ubuntu, respect, human dignity and equality. Legal understandings primarily focus on the vertical application of the Bill of Rights (RSA, 1996a and the role of government in this regard, whereas understandings related to the realisation of values tended to focus on the horizontal applications of particularly dignity and equality as the product of the relation between self and other. We conclude the article by linking the analysis and the theoretical framework to education as a humanising practice within human rights as a common language of humanity. In so doing, we argue that human rights literacy and rights-based education transcend knowledge about human
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Patients’ Dignity and Its Relationship with Contextual Variables: A Cross-Sectional Study
Zirak, Mohammad; Ghafourifard, Mansour; Aliafsari Mamaghani, Ebrahim
2017-01-01
Introduction: Dignity is considered as fundamental human needs and recognized as one of the central concepts in nursing science. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which patients’ dignity is respected and to evalutae its relationship with contextual variables. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 256 hospitalized patients in the two teaching hospitals affiliated to Zanjan University of medical sciences, Iran. Data were collected by a questionnaire consist of two sections: (a) demographic characteristics, and (b) patient dignity including 32 questions. Data were analyzed by SPSS (ver.13) software using independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation. Results: The result showed that the mean (standard deviation) of total score of patient’s dignity was 108.17 (25.28). According to the result, the majority of the respondents (76.2%) were not aware of patient’s rights. There was a significant difference in mean scores of total dignity between single and married persons, living in city or village, and hospitalization in Moosavi and Valiasr hospital. Conclusion: Health care systems should take the provision of the patients' dignity into account through using a comprehensive educational program for informing of patient, family members, and health professionals about patients’ dignity. PMID:28299297
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Patients' Dignity and Its Relationship with Contextual Variables: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Zirak, Mohammad; Ghafourifard, Mansour; Aliafsari Mamaghani, Ebrahim
2017-03-01
Introduction: Dignity is considered as fundamental human needs and recognized as one of the central concepts in nursing science. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which patients' dignity is respected and to evalutae its relationship with contextual variables. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 256 hospitalized patients in the two teaching hospitals affiliated to Zanjan University of medical sciences, Iran. Data were collected by a questionnaire consist of two sections: (a) demographic characteristics, and (b) patient dignity including 32 questions. Data were analyzed by SPSS (ver.13) software using independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation. Results: The result showed that the mean (standard deviation) of total score of patient's dignity was 108.17 (25.28). According to the result, the majority of the respondents (76.2%) were not aware of patient's rights. There was a significant difference in mean scores of total dignity between single and married persons, living in city or village, and hospitalization in Moosavi and Valiasr hospital. Conclusion: Health care systems should take the provision of the patients' dignity into account through using a comprehensive educational program for informing of patient, family members, and health professionals about patients' dignity.
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Patients’ Dignity and Its Relationship with Contextual Variables: A Cross-Sectional Study
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Mohammad Zirak
2017-03-01
Full Text Available Introduction: Dignity is considered as fundamental human needs and recognized as one of the central concepts in nursing science. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which patients’ dignity is respected and to evalutae its relationship with contextual variables. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 256 hospitalized patients in the two teaching hospitals affiliated to Zanjan University of medical sciences, Iran. Data were collected by a questionnaire consist of two sections: (a demographic characteristics, and (b patient dignity including 32 questions. Data were analyzed by SPSS (ver.13 software using independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation. Results: The result showed that the mean (standard deviation of total score of patient’s dignity was 108.17 (25.28. According to the result, the majority of the respondents (76.2% were not aware of patient’s rights. There was a significant difference in mean scores of total dignity between single and married persons, living in city or village, and hospitalization in Moosavi and Valiasr hospital. Conclusion: Health care systems should take the provision of the patients' dignity into account through using a comprehensive educational program for informing of patient, family members, and health professionals about patients’ dignity.
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Lee, Mei-Hsiu; Lee, Shui-Chuen; Lee, Shu-Chen
2012-04-01
Literature articles and clinical observation suggest disease and environmental factors as primary causes of the low self-esteem and stigmatization that typify most psychiatric patients. These patients are at risk of injury when subjected to inappropriate physical restraint. Hospital staffs, including nurses, are in immediate and close contact with psychiatric patients. Mencius's and Kant's thoughts on human dignity can enhance reflections on clinical nursing practices. Mencius's belief that preserving life is not the most desirable thing and death is not the most hated thing can help nurses realize the human dignity of psychiatric patients by understanding that, as an unrighteous act is more detestable than death, the meaning and value of righteousness are greater than life itself. In light of Kant's views on human dignity, nurses should treat patients as goals rather than means. Exploring such ideas can raise nursing quality, restore a positive sense of humanity to psychiatric patients, and develop nursing values and meaning to a higher plane.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cleide Aparecida Gomes Rodrigues Fermentão
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Recent technologies have changed the way media of the human being, which shall establish direct contact with many people anywhere in the world. Allied to this fact, there is a virtualization increasing the human person, culminating in an immersion in the virtual world, which ultimately creates an increasing dependence on technology in order to exist socially. This transformation in the world of concepts makes the virtual pass to have direct impact in the real world. Attracted by the glitter and glamor of virtual network, the person finds no limits to their self-promotion. The private life is increasingly exposed to an undetermined number of people. So the person who is exposed in the virtual media in search of acceptance, forgets that it is not only stripping of his clothes or his privacy, but mainly is stripped of his dignity. The frantic search for some "tanned" finds no limit on common sense, coisificando the person and transforming it into mere virtual profile. The human person is in this state, the total lack of dignity, without realizing it, it becomes an object on display. The internet is a stage conducive to the spectacle of the self virtual, making it fertile ground for the indignity. The history of civilization dating back to fighting and winning the dignity of the human person, however, the time in which we live watch a reverse movement. Contemporaneously it is no longer the state or private to be constant threat to human dignity. Those who, seduced by the possibility of becoming the personality of the time, voluntarily abdicate their dignity in a process whose reversibility is questionable. The legislation can not keep up the speed of the transformations occurred in the virtual world and this mismatch can leave unprotected person especially in relation to their rights to intimacy, privacy and human dignity itself.
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["Dignity" at the end of life: ethical and deontologic reflections].
Mazzon, Davide
2015-12-01
Bioethical reflection is often raised to qualify medical treatment in relation to the concept of "dignity" of the human being. In philosophy, the concept of human dignity is used to refer to the intrinsic value of every human being but it has been framed in many different ways depending on the theoretical matrix we refer to. According to Christian principles, the dignity of human beings resides on their being created in the image and likeness of God: hence, the holiness of life for the believer and the condemnation of all means of action intended to anticipate death from suicide to euthanasia. On the contrary, according to the liberal tradition, human dignity is especially expressed in the autonomy of every human being. The Italian and the German Constitutions recall the value of human dignity. In the article 32 of the Italian Constitution, the concept of dignity is taken into account when stating the autonomy of the individual decision-making about health treatment. This is confirmed by the Code of Medical Ethics (2014): the right to self-determination and the right of patients to decide for themselves in accordance with their own life plans, are at the core of the concept of "human dignity". For this reason, doctors should support and encourage the full right of every patient to be considered as an autonomous person until the end of life, affirming his dignity. The acronym ABCD (airway, breathing, circulation, drugs) synthetises the essentials of intensive care procedures in life-threatening events. The same acronym should guide our behavior in promoting dignity in clinical settings. Attitude: moving away from our certainties, to better understand the real nature of the sick person we are approaching. Behavior: always be inspired by kindness and respect. Compassion, that is, deep awareness of the suffering, coupled with the desire to bring relief. Dialogue, being open to know the human being "behind" disease. This approach, developed by Chochinov and called
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In defense of posthuman dignity.
Bostrom, Nick
2005-06-01
Positions on the ethics of human enhancement technologies can be (crudely) characterized as ranging from transhumanism to bioconservatism. Transhumanists believe that human enhancement technologies should be made widely available, that individuals should have broad discretion over which of these technologies to apply to themselves, and that parents should normally have the right to choose enhancements for their children-to-be. Bioconservatives (whose ranks include such diverse writers as Leon Kass, Francis Fukuyama, George Annas, Wesley Smith, Jeremy Rifkin, and Bill McKibben) are generally opposed to the use of technology to modify human nature. A central idea in bioconservativism is that human enhancement technologies will undermine our human dignity. To forestall a slide down the slippery slope towards an ultimately debased 'posthuman' state, bioconservatives often argue for broad bans on otherwise promising human enhancements. This paper distinguishes two common fears about the posthuman and argues for the importance of a concept of dignity that is inclusive enough to also apply to many possible posthuman beings. Recognizing the possibility of posthuman dignity undercuts an important objection against human enhancement and removes a distortive double standard from our field of moral vision.
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Human Dignity in the Surrogacy%代孕与人的尊严辨析
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
罗维萍; 韩跃红
2015-01-01
Commercial surrogacy is a deviation from the moral principle of“Man is the goal”,which dama-ges the dignity of life,human dignity and the dignity of human being of surrogate mother and the born babies. Aided surrogacy between relatives and volunteer surrogacy for some special unfortunate family are in accordance with the principle of life ethics and humanitarian spirit.Seeing that there are an enormous number of China's women loss fertility,the underground illegal surrogacy is rampant,and the dignity and human rights of surrogate women and the babies are seriously threatened,and thereby while the combat against commercial surrogacy is intensely carried out,the aided surrogacy between relatives could be cautiously initiated.%商业性代孕背离了“人是目的”的道德原则，损害了代孕妇女、代孕婴儿的生命尊严、人格尊严以及人类尊严。亲属间的援助性代孕和针对某些特殊不幸家庭的志愿者代孕符合生命伦理原则和人道主义精神。鉴于中国女性丧失生育能力者众多、地下非法代孕猖獗、代孕妇女和婴儿的尊严和人权受到严重威胁的现状，在加大打击商业性代孕的同时，可先行谨慎开放亲属间的援助性代孕。
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Clarifying appeals to dignity in medical ethics from an historical perspective.
Van Der Graaf, Rieke; Van Delden, Johannes Jm
2009-03-01
Over the past few decades the concept of (human) dignity has deeply pervaded medical ethics. Appeals to dignity, however, are often unclear. As a result some prefer to eliminate the concept from medical ethics, whereas others try to render it useful in this context. We think that appeals to dignity in medical ethics can be clarified by considering the concept from an historical perspective. Firstly, on the basis of historical texts we propose a framework for defining the concept in medical debates. The framework shows that dignity can occur in a relational, an unconditional, a subjective and a Kantian form. Interestingly, all forms relate to one concept since they have four features in common: dignity refers, in a restricted sense, to the 'special status of human beings'; it is based on essential human characteristics; the subject of dignity should live up to it; and it is a vulnerable concept, it can be lost or violated. We argue that being explicit about the meaning of dignity will prevent dignity from becoming a conversation-stopper in moral debate. Secondly, an historical perspective on dignity shows that it is not yet time to dispose of dignity in medical ethics. At least Kantian and relational dignity can be made useful in medical ethics.
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Dignity and the ownership and use of body parts.
Foster, Charles
2014-10-01
Property-based models of the ownership of body parts are common. They are inadequate. They fail to deal satisfactorily with many important problems, and even when they do work, they rely on ideas that have to be derived from deeper, usually unacknowledged principles. This article proposes that the parent principle is always human dignity, and that one will get more satisfactory answers if one interrogates the older, wiser parent instead of the younger, callow offspring. But human dignity has a credibility problem. It is often seen as hopelessly amorphous or incurably theological. These accusations are often just. But a more thorough exegesis exculpates dignity and gives it its proper place at the fountainhead of bioethics. Dignity is objective human thriving. Thriving considerations can and should be applied to dead people as well as live ones. To use dignity properly, the unit of bioethical analysis needs to be the whole transaction rather than (for instance) the doctor-patient relationship. The dignity interests of all the stakeholders are assessed in a sort of utilitarianism. Its use in relation to body part ownership is demonstrated. Article 8(1) of the European Convention of Human Rights endorses and mandates this approach.
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Érika do Amaral Véras
2016-12-01
Full Text Available This legal article works the theme of the collision of the fundamental principles, especially the principle of human dignity and the right to life, abortion perspective. First, we discuss of fundamental rights, bringing its definition, observed the distinction between human rights and fundamental rights. Then the super principle of human dignity is covered and, soon after, the right to life is highlighted through its relevant elements. Finally, talks on a possible collision beween the fundamental right to life and the principle of human dignity, with a special focus on the issue of abortion.
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"Death with dignity" in the Japanese context.
Shimoda, Motomu
2005-01-01
In Japan, "death with dignity" is a widely known term that is distinguished from "euthanasia." It is generally defined as "the act of letting a terminally ill or a patient in a persistent vegetative state die by withdrawing life-sustaining treatment on request in the form of a living will." Most Japanese people consider death with dignity a desirable way of terminating one's life and it is therefore acceptable as a "natural death" or "humane death." Originally, death with dignity was regarded as a passive intervention, but since the 1990s, its connotations have changed in western countries; people claim that voluntary active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide should be legalized as death with dignity or the "right to die." In this paper, I examine the points and problems of this new type of death with dignity and propose an alternative version of death with dignity especially for the Japanese context, i.e. the end-of-life care process in support of terminal living with dignity.
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[Respect of patient's dignity in the hospital].
Duguet, A-M
2010-12-01
Every code of ethics of health professionals in France considers the respect of dignity as a fundamental duty. The French 2002 Law on patient rights says that the person has the right to respect of dignity and of private life. After a presentation of the articles of ethics codes regarding dignity, this paper presents recommendations to deliver medical care in situations where dignity might be endangered such as for patients hospitalized in psychiatric services without consent, or for medical examination of prisoners or medical care to vulnerable patients unable to express their will, especially in palliative care or at the end of life. Respect of dignity after death is illustrated by the reflection conducted by the Espace Ethique de l'AP-HP (Paris area hospitals) and in the Chart of the mortuary yard. A survey of the patients' letters of complaint received by the emergency service of the Toulouse University Hospital showed that, in five years, there were 188 letters and 18 pointed out infringements to the dignity of the person. The health professional team is now aware of this obligation, and in the accreditation of the hospitals, the respect of dignity is one of the indicators of the quality of medical care.
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“Can’t you at least die with a little dignity?” The Right to Die Debates and Normative Dignity
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Gandsman, Ari
2014-08-01
Full Text Available In recent decades, the right to die has emerged as one of the most divisive social and political questions in North America and Europe, one that involves the mobilization of numerous social actors and activists as well as several legal challenges. In Québec, the provincial legislature formed the “Select Committee on Dying with Dignity”, a group of legislators tasked with examining the issue. In their 2012 report, they recommend the legalization of “medical aid in dying” as an appropriate part of the continuum of care at the end of life. From a meta-analysis of the written and oral submissions collected by the Committee in different locations throughout the province, this article presents several competing meanings of what human dignity means at the end of life. Intrinsic definitions of dignity – whether religious or philosophical – often associate dignity with an acceptance of death. These definitions of dignity compete with more relative and contingent understandings of dignity. In such a view, dignity depends on the physical or mental condition of the individual. Here “dying with dignity” means dying without undue suffering or loss of autonomy. Whether “dying with dignity” is defined as having a peaceful or meaningful death or alternatively as an end-of-life without undue suffering or loss of autonomy, these normative calls all take for granted that human beings want to die with dignity. This article analyzes the multiple meanings of dignity in the right to die debate while challenging the assumption that a “good death” is necessary synonymous with “dying with dignity.”
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Gustafsson, L-K; Wigerblad, A; Lindwall, L
2013-02-01
We must recognize the importance of increased understanding for maintaining patient dignity to expand earlier formulated knowledge about caring ethics. Illuminations of this topic can create conditions for changing and developing care, as well as making caregivers' preservation of dignity evident. The aim was to illuminate the meaning of maintenance of patient dignity in forensic care. A qualitative design with a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach was used to analyse and interpret focus group interviews with nurses in forensic care. In the text the meaning of maintenance of patient dignity was protection and respect but also brotherly humanity. Protection was shown outwards to cover or screen the patient and to guard against danger. The inner form was described as protecting the patients' needs and arousing the patients' protection resources. Respect was shown outwards to take the patient seriously and to show others that patients are to be reckoned with, inwards in teaching patients to create respect and in teaching patients to expect respect from others. Meeting patients with human brotherhood was shown in doing 'the little extra' and demonstrating human similarity. The new understanding will enable nurses to plan and provide professional care, based on caring science. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing.
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Personal Dignity in the European Legal Culture
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Lyudmila V. Butko
2017-09-01
Full Text Available The article presents the genesis of the origins of forming the legal mechanisms to protect the personal dignity in the European legal culture. It is noted that the legal content of dignity is predetermined by the moral aspect of consideration. In addition, the definition of "dignity" was transformed under the influence of the development of legal norms, doctrine and practice of protecting a person's rights and freedoms, the foundations of civil society and legal awareness. The chronological period of research was limited to the XIII-XIX centuries, within which the authors, using a comparative legal method, defined the directions of conceptualization and formalization of the personal dignity by scientists and legislation in the European countries. As a conclusion, it is shown that the observance of the right to personal dignity by the state will not only promote the exaltation of human dignity, but also simultaneously initiate the expansion of public law compensated by increasing the subjective rights.
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KANT ON HUMAN DIGNITY: A CRITICAL APPROACH -- KANT E A DIGNIDADE HUMANA: UMA INTERPRETAÇÃO CRÍTICA
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Antonio Pele
2016-08-01
Full Text Available In this article, I intend to reframe and qualify Kant’s moral philosophy for the understanding human dignity. Some Kant’s formulas seem to grant to the human being an inherent and absolute worthiness, when they are read (often in a very decontextualized way. To achieve this objective, I identify the basic characteristics we commonly attribute to the contemporary model of human dignity. This model has some expressions in the axiological field (inherent and absolute worth, and, at the same time, in the legal-political field (cornerstone of human rights and guiding principle of the Rule of law. I intend to see if we can find some of these latter characteristics in the mentioned usages that Kant gives to the term “dignity” and of formulas supposedly connected (“end in itself”, “autonomy”, “humanity”. When contextualizing these expressions, either in the motivations or in the results of Kant’s philosophy, I arrived to the conclusion that Kant was less concerned with the intrinsic worthiness of the human beings, than with establishing the authority of morality. Keywords: Categorical imperative. Human dignity. Humanity. Kant. Rights.
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Autonomy and dignity of patients with dementia: Perceptions of multicultural caretakers.
Bentwich, Miriam Ethel; Dickman, Nomy; Oberman, Amitai
2018-02-01
A key message in the World Health Organization's report on dementia emphasizes the need to improve public and professional attitudes to dementia and its understanding, while acknowledging the fact that the workforce in dementia care is becoming increasingly diverse culturally. To explore possible differences among formal caretakers from varied cultural background in their attitudes toward the autonomy and human dignity of patients with dementia. Semi-structured interviews and content analysis, utilizing two fictional vignettes for eliciting caretakers' attitudes toward dignity and autonomy of their patients. Participants and context: A total of 20 formal caretakers of patients with dementia from three different cultural groups in Israel ("Sabras," "Arabs," and "Russians"), working in nursing homes and a hospital. Ethical consideration: Approvals of relevant research ethics committees were obtained and followed. In comparison with the other groups, most Arab caretakers offer markedly richer perceptions of human dignity and autonomy. Their human dignity's conceptualization emphasizes "person-centered approach," and their perception of patients' autonomy includes provision of explanations and preservation and encouragement of independence. The differences found in the attitudes toward the meaning of autonomy and human dignity between the Arab caretakers and the other caretakers stand in contrast to previous studies regarding human dignity, emphasizing the common nature of these attitudes. Offering a linkage (theoretical and empirical) between the Arab perceptions of dignity and autonomy, the study strengthen and further the importance attributed in existing literature to person-centered care in enhancing the quality of care for patients with dementia. The conceptualization of human dignity may vary among different cultural groups. It may also influence the extent to which the caretaker holds a full-fledged perception of the patients' autonomy.
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What is dignity in prehospital emergency care?
Abelsson, Anna; Lindwall, Lillemor
2017-05-01
Ethics and dignity in prehospital emergency care are important due to vulnerability and suffering. Patients can lose control of their body and encounter unfamiliar faces in an emergency situation. To describe what specialist ambulance nurse students experienced as preserved and humiliated dignity in prehospital emergency care. The study had a qualitative approach. Data were collected by Flanagan's critical incident technique. The participants were 26 specialist ambulance nurse students who described two critical incidents of preserved and humiliated dignity, from prehospital emergency care. Data consist of 52 critical incidents and were analyzed with interpretive content analysis. Ethical considerations: The study followed the ethical principles in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The result showed how human dignity in prehospital emergency care can be preserved by the ambulance nurse being there for the patient. The ambulance nurses meet the patient in the patient's world and make professional decisions. The ambulance nurse respects the patient's will and protects the patient's body from the gaze of others. Humiliated dignity was described through the ambulance nurse abandoning the patient and by healthcare professionals failing, disrespecting, and ignoring the patient. It is a unique situation when a nurse meets a patient face to face in a critical life or death moment. The discussion describes courage and the ethical vision to see another human. Dignity was preserved when the ambulance nurse showed respect and protected the patient in prehospital emergency care. The ambulance nurse students' ethical obligation results in the courage to see when a patient's dignity is in jeopardy of being humiliated. Humiliated dignity occurs when patients are ignored and left unprotected. This ethical dilemma affects the ambulance nurse students badly due to the fact that the morals and attitudes of ambulance nurses are reflected in their actions toward the patient.
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Stakeholder Capability Enhancement as a Path to Promote Human Dignity and Cooperative Advantage
Westermann-Behaylo, M.K.; Van Buren III, H.J.; Berman, S.L.
2016-01-01
Promoting dignity is at the heart of the human capability approach to development. We introduce the concept of stakeholder capability enhancement, beginning with a discussion of the capability approach to development proposed by Sen (1985) and further advanced by Nussbaum (1990) to incorporate
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Maintaining dignity. The perspective of nursing home residents
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høy, Bente
2016-01-01
body image; feeling recognised and valued as a person of worth; Abilities and opportunities for changing of lifevalues; to exert control; to form and maintain meaningful relationships and to participation in meaningful activity. Conclusion. Although there is no one way to maintain dignity, the themes...... dignity is maintained. Background. Elderly living in nursing homes are vulnerable which appeal to nursing care ethics and emphasise the importance of care for human dignity. There have been several attempts to define dignity as a theoretical concept, but few studies on how dignity is maintained from...... was used to understand the meaning of the narrated text. Findings. The residents’ experiences revealed one main theme and seven sub-themes contributing to maintain dignity. The overall theme was: Coping with vulnerability and the subthemes were: Attention and care for basic needs; preserving a positive...
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Dignity and the death penalty in the United States Supreme Court
Malkani, Bharat
2016-01-01
The US Supreme Court has repeatedly invoked the idea of dignity in its Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, particularly in cases involving capital punishment. However, it has never articulated a clear and consistent conception of dignity. The first half of this paper examines the Court's inconsistent use, and highlights how various justices have used different conceptions of human dignity, communitarian dignity, and institutional dignity to uphold the constitutionality of capital punishment. This...
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Promoting Dignity: The Ethical Dimension of Health.
Buchanan, David R
2016-01-01
The article examines the limitations of a strict scientific account of the causes of unhealthy behaviors, based on the standards promoted in evidence-based medicine, where randomized controlled trials are seen to provide the gold standard for establishing the validity of different explanations. The article critiques this account based on its disputed assumption that human free will does not exist, and thus, human autonomy and moral responsibility are an illusion. By denying human autonomy, the naturalistic paradigm also denies the possibility of human dignity. In contrast, the article describes and explains a humanistic account of human agency where human beings are characterized by the capacity to choose how to live their lives based on values that matter. Based on this humanistic framework, the article explains why dignity is an essential dimension of human health and well-being and describes key research challenges in moving the field of health promotion in a more humanistic direction. The article concludes with the recommendation to expand the goal of health promotion beyond physical fitness and to reorient the methods of research toward articulating values that matter and promoting human dignity. © The Author(s) 2016.
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SOCIAL INCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN DIGNITY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yulia Aleksandrovna Afonkina
2016-02-01
Full Text Available The aim of the research presented in the article is the analysis of the concepts of disability in the context of inclusive processes in the Russian society and identification of scientific and theoretical approaches to the development of the concept of human dignity as correlating with the principles of social inclusion.The case study of disability problem realizes integrative and inclusive approach, which assumes that the value of human society does not depend on its characteristics and limitations, but it is determined by its inclusion in social practices.The novelty of the work is determined by the fact that it justifies the necessity to develop the concept of disability in Sociology in relation to the principles of inclusion, provides the interpretation of existing concepts of disability in inclusive context substantiates the concept of «human dignity» as basic for the development of inclusive practices of persons with disabilities.The author believes that successful social inclusion of persons with disabilities is determined social conditions to meet their basic human needs, uniting the human community.The results can be used to construct social models and programs of social inclusion of persons with disabilities, as well within the framework of the courses in «Social Rehabilitation», «Sociology of Disability».
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de Alba Ulloa, Jessica
2012-01-01
Making an attempt to frame the controversial topic of bioethics within international law and with the aim of watching over the society, the Council of Europe elaborated the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the application of biology and medicine. The instrument, which came into force 12 years ago, is opened to all countries but only 29 states have ratified it. This legal document represents the base of a universal legislation on the subject. The present article examines the origin of the Convention, its process and evolution. It analyses the intense debates with regard to the human dignity, the freedom of science, the beginning of life, among others; equally it explores the interests at stake within the convention, whether political, moral, scientific, and economic, at the moment of its draft and in the present. Finally, the article analyses the possibility of the adoption of the Convention by the Mexican government. It concludes on the effectiveness of the international law of bioethics, and calls for the need that the Convention be used as a base for universal legislation.
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Dying with dignity: a concept analysis.
Hemati, Zeinab; Ashouri, Elaheh; AllahBakhshian, Maryam; Pourfarzad, Zahra; Shirani, Farimah; Safazadeh, Shima; Ziyaei, Marziyeh; Varzeshnejad, Maryam; Hashemi, Maryam; Taleghani, Fariba
2016-05-01
This article is a report of an analysis of the concept of dying with dignity. Dignity is an important component of providing care for dying patients and their families. Nevertheless, given that this concept is poorly defined, concept analysis is one of the best ways to define and clarify the concept of death with dignity with the aim to enhance its application in clinical practice, research and education. A search of multiple nursing and social sciences databases was undertaken, including Academic Search Complete, Science Direct, ProQuest, Scopus, Medline, PubMed, EBSCO, Ovid, Noormage, Cinahl, Magiran, PsycINFO and SID. After an extensive review of the literature from 1998-2014, about 14 related articles were included in the study. Based on these articles, the applications, attributes and experimental results of and references to death with dignity were recorded. Based on this analysis, the most important attributes of this concept included respect for privacy, respect, spiritual peace and hope. The antecedents of this concept included consideration of moral values during caregiving, preservation of human dignity as a patient right and professional ethics, and belief in the dignity of self and others, consideration of culture in providing end-of-life care. The consequences of this concept included a sense of peace in the patient and their family, peaceful death and provision of patient privacy and comfort. The concept of patient dignity has been referred to in many contexts. However, considering the dignity of dying patients commensurate with their culture is the most important component of care provided by nurses to facilitate a peaceful death. Respecting the dignity of the patient results in the reduction of her/his suffering and prepares her/him for a comfortable death. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Human dignity after ten years of the constitutional state in South Africa
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The Constitution not only elevates human dignity to a specially entrenched value, but also affords it special protection in the context of fundamental rights. It is furthermore a specific consideration in the limitation of rights and in the development of the common law. It applies not only to the state/subject relationship, but also to ...
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Self-ownership, relational dignity, and organ sales.
Hershenov, David
2018-06-19
Material property has traditionally been conceived of as separable from its owner and thus alienable in an exchange. So it seems that you could sell your watch or even your kidney because it can be removed from your wrist or abdomen and transferred to another. However, if we are each identical to a living human animal, self-ownership is impossible for self-separation is impossible. We thus cannot sell our parts if we don't own the whole that they compose. It would be incoherent to own all of your body's parts but not the whole body; and it would be arbitrary to own some but not all of your removable parts. These metaphysical obstacles to organ sales do not apply to the selling of the organs of the deceased. The human being goes out of existence at death and is not identical to the body's remains. Any objections to selling the organs of the deceased must instead be due to dignity rather than metaphysical or conceptual considerations. But the remains lack the intrinsic dignity of the human being, instead possessing, at best, relational dignity. Relational dignity would not provide sufficient reason to prohibit life-saving sales. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Student nurses' experiences of preserved dignity in perioperative practice - Part I.
Blomberg, Ann-Catrin; Willassen, Elin; von Post, Iréne; Lindwall, Lillemor
2015-09-01
In recent years, operating theatre nurse students' education focussed on ethical value issues and how the patient's dignity is respected in the perioperative practice. Health professionals are frequently confronted with ethical issues that can impact on patient's care during surgery. The objective of this study was to present what operating theatre nurse students experienced and interpreted as preserved dignity in perioperative practice. The study has a descriptive design with a hermeneutic approach. Data were collected using Flanagan's critical incident technique. Operating theatre nurse students from Sweden and Norway participated and collected data in 2011, after education in ethics and dignity. Data consisting of 47 written stories and the text were analysed with hermeneutical text interpretation. The study was conducted accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by a local University Ethics Research Committee. The findings revealed that students experienced that operating theatre nurses perserved patient's dignity in perioperative practice by being present for each other and making themselves known to the patient. Operating theatre nurses caring for the patient by being compassionate and preserved the patient privacy. The new understanding that emerged was that the operating theatre nurse students understood that the operating theatre nurse wanted to care for the patient like a human being. In the discussion, we have illuminated how professional ethics may be threatened by more pragmatic and utilitarian arguments contained in regulations and transplant act. Preserved dignity is an ethical and caring act. Ethical questions and how to preserve dignity in perioperative practice should be discussed more both in educations of healthcare professionals and in clinical practice. © The Author(s) 2014.
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Nurses' human dignity in education and practice: An integrated literature review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Akram Parandeh
2016-01-01
Conclusions: The small number of studies found for the review indicates the need for further research in the field of nurses' dignity. Recognizing nurses' dignity can help to improve the nursing practice and provide them a dignified workplace.
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THE ROLE OF HUMAN DIGNITY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF FAIR COMPENSATION FOR UNFAIR DISMISSALS
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Stella Vettori
2012-11-01
Full Text Available South African labour law is concerned with the attainment of fairness for both the employer and the employee. In weighing up the interests of the respective parties it is of paramount importance to ensure that a delicate balance is achieved so as to give credence to commercial reality as well as an individual's right to dignity. In other words the attainment of fairness in the employment relationship must give cognisance not only to surrounding socio-economic reality but also to human rights. The environment within which the world of work operates has at its core a free enterprise economy. Ultimately, an employer should generally not be penalised to the extent that it is crippled and unable to continue operating. It is argued in this article that in ascertaining what constitutes appropriate compensation for an unfair dismissal, the underlying reality that labour law operates in a free enterprise system must be and is given cognisance to by the legislation and the courts. At the same time in ascertaining what constitutes fair compensation for unfair dismissal due regard must be had not only to the labour rights contained in the Constitution but also to other rights protected in terms of the Constitution, most importantly, the rights to dignity and equality. The fact that the basis of the employment relationship is commercial and an employer is entitled and even encouraged to make profits is reflected in our law by the fact that there are caps on the amount of compensation for unfair dismissal in the interests of business efficiency and certainty. However, an analysis of relevant case law demonstrates that this can never be at the expense of a person's dignity. Hence the notion that the employment relationship is relational. This is reflected by the interpretation given to the legislation by the courts. Where there has been discrimination or an impairment of the employee's dignity, there are no such limits as to the amount of compensation a court
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Cecília Máximo Teodoro
2016-06-01
Full Text Available Relate the theme regarding the Theory of Recognition Axel Honnet, the human right to work as a human right to claim to universal validity, from the perspective of the Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work ILO, for purposes of setting parameters and recognition of social (re integration of chemical class dependent workers is the main goal of this article. We will analyze the theoretical framework in which the pursuit of human dignity at work is the goal of the state to which we treat below the dignity of man as a right whose claim to universal validity is based on the recognition of the theory of Axel Honneth . That said, we analyze the possible dignity of man at work in a global context from the recognition of new rights, especially with regard to the category of workers who occupy the social portion of chemical-dependent, whose participation in the social process is prevented, creating a category of workers socially excluded, which is intended to overcome.
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Dying with dignity: the good patient versus the good death.
Proulx, Kathryn; Jacelon, Cynthia
2004-01-01
Death is a unique experience for each human being, yet there is tremendous societal pressure on a dying person to be a "goodpatient " while trying to experience the "good death. " These pressures shape patient, caregiver, and family choices in end-of-life situations. The purpose of this literature review was twofold: first, to develop an understanding of "dying with dignity" to enhance the end-of-life care received by dying patients, and second, to contribute to a concept analysis of dignity to improve the clarity and consistency of future research related to dignity in aging individuals. Articles pertaining to dying with dignity from the disciplines of nursing, medicine, ethics, psychology, and sociology were reviewed using a matrix method. A dichotomy surrounding dying with dignity emerged from this review. The definition of dignity in dying identifies not only an intrinsic, unconditional quality of human worth, but also the external qualities of physical comfort, autonomy, meaningfulness, usefulness, preparedness, and interpersonal connection. For many elderly individuals, death is a process, rather than a moment in time, resting on a need for balance between the technology of science and the transcendence of spirituality.
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Dependence and a Kantian conception of dignity as a value.
Byers, Philippa
2016-02-01
Kantian moral concepts concerning respect for human dignity have played a central role in articulating ethical guidelines for medical practice and research, and for articulating some central positions within bioethical debates more generally. The most common of these Kantian moral concepts is the obligation to respect the dignity of patients and of human research subjects as autonomous, self-determining individuals. This article describes Kant's conceptual distinction between dignity and autonomy as values, and draws on the work of several contemporary Kantian philosophers who employ the distinction to make sense of some common moral intuitions, feelings, and norms. Drawing on this work, the article argues that the conceptual distinction between dignity and autonomy as values is indispensable in the context of considering our obligations to those who are dependent and vulnerable.
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S P Kalantri
2003-01-01
The concept of dignity has beeen one of the ambiguous concepts in biomedical ethics. Thus the ambiguous nature of this concept has been extended to what it means to die with dignity. This research work is an investigation into the complexity in the understanding of "dying with dignity" in Applied Ethics.
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Exploring the value of dignity in the work-life of nurses.
Lawless, Jane; Moss, Cheryle
2007-04-01
In this paper the authors draw attention to the value of nurse dignity in the work-life of nurses. How does the profession currently understand this as a concept and construct? How might the valuing of worker dignity in the workplace affect the wellbeing of the workforce? A review of nursing literature and a theoretical lens on worker dignity derived from recent work by Hodson (2001) was used to explore these questions. In the context of current and international workforce issues associated with recruitment and retention, analysis of the construct of worker dignity within the profession takes on a strong imperative. The large existing body of research into nursing workplace environments highlights concern that nurses have in understanding and improving work-life quality. Findings of this inquiry reveal that while there is a degree of coherence between the nursing research and elements of Hodson's (2001) research on worker dignity, the dignity of nurses, as a specific construct and as an intrinsic human and worker right has received little explicit attention. Reasons for this may lie partly in approaches that privilege patient dignity over nurse dignity and which rely on the altruism and self-sacrifice of nurses to sustain patient care in environments dominated by cost-control agendas. The value of dignity in the work-life of nurses has been under-explored and there is a critical need for further theoretical work and research. This agenda goes beyond acceptance of dignity in the workplace as a human right towards the recognition that worker dignity may be a critical factor in sustaining development of healthy workplaces and healthy workforces. Directing explicit attention to nurse dignity may benefit the attainment of both nurse and organisational goals. Hodson's (2001) framework offers a new perspective on dignity in the workplace and leads to new insights and a slightly different view of a 'road well travelled' in nursing literature.
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Bentwich, Miriam Ethel; Dickman, Nomy; Oberman, Amitai
2018-02-01
To explore whether gaps exist between caretakers from different ethno-cultural groups (Israeli-born Jews [Sabras], Israeli Arabs [Arabs], and migrants from Russia [Russians]) regarding their perceptions of autonomy and human dignity of patients with dementia. A mixed-methods research scheme was used, comprised of qualitative and quantitative methods, utilizing semi-structured interviews and self-reported questionnaires. Twenty formal caretakers participated in the qualitative portion, and approximately 200 caretakers were included in the quantitative portion. All participants were recruited from three nursing homes and one hospital in the Galilee region (Israel). The qualitative portion of the study yielded eight themes encapsulated in the concept of autonomy and ten themes entailed within human dignity, in the context of care for patients with dementia. By utilizing these themes in the quantitative portion, substantial differences in nursing homes were found in the attitudes to autonomy and dignity of patients with dementia between Russian and Arab as well as Sabra caretakers (index score for autonomy: 2.97, 4.07, and 4, respectively; index score for dignity: 3.17, 4.1, and 4.07). A multi-variable regression, focusing on caretakers from nursing homes, showed the most significant influencing variables on the indexes of autonomy and dignity were ethno-culture Arab/Russian (0.84, 0.62) and the patient's family (0.29, 0.30). Regarding the autonomy index, being a female caretaker also had a significant influence (0.24). In the hospital, no influence emerged for the ethno-culture variables, and neither type of institution showed any influence of religion or religiousness as well as societal or community norms. Contrary to past research, in nursing homes, significant differences were found between certain ethno-cultural groups (Arabs and Russians) regarding their stance toward the dignity and autonomy of patients with dementia. Arab caretakers' fostering of more
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Dignity realization of patients with stroke in hospital care: A grounded theory.
Rannikko, Sunna; Stolt, Minna; Suhonen, Riitta; Leino-Kilpi, Helena
2017-01-01
Dignity is seen as an important but complex concept in the healthcare context. In this context, the discussion of dignity includes concepts of other ethical principles such as autonomy and privacy. Patients consider dignity to cover individuality, patient's feelings, communication, and the behavior of healthcare personnel. However, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the realization of patients' dignity in hospital care and the focus of the study is therefore on the realization of dignity of the vulnerable group of patients with stroke. The aim of the study was to create a theoretical construct to describe the dignity realization of patients with stroke in hospital care. Research design and participants: Patients with stroke (n = 16) were interviewed in 2015 using a semi-structured interview containing open questions concerning dignity. The data were analyzed using constant comparison of Grounded Theory. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval for the research was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University. The permission for the research was given by the hospital. Informed consent was obtained from participants. The "Theory of Dignity Realization of Patients with Stroke in Hospital Care" consists of a core category including generic elements of the new situation and dignity realization types. The core category was identified as "Dignity in a new situation" and the generic elements as health history, life history, individuality and stroke. Dignity of patients with stroke is realized through specific types of realization: person-related dignity type, control-related dignity type, independence-related dignity type, social-related dignity type, and care-related dignity type. The theory has similar elements with the previous literature but the whole construct is new. The theory reveals possible special characteristics in dignity realization of patients with stroke. For healthcare personnel, the theory provides a frame for a better understanding and
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Watson, Clara
2016-11-01
The question of surrogacy has dominated much of the European human rights agenda over the last two years, at the time writing, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe hopes to adopt a resolution on surrogacy in the coming months. There is, however, danger in taking action at a supranational level to address the European 'surrogacy problem', without first honestly answering the question: does surrogacy undermine the human dignity and rights of the surrogate mother and child? This paper presents the case that surrogacy, by its nature, necessarily undermines the human dignity of both the woman and child born through such arrangements, and thus neither commercial nor altruistic surrogacy can ever be justified.
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Human cloning: category, dignity, and the role of bioethics.
Shuster, Evelyne
2003-10-01
Human cloning has been simultaneously a running joke for massive worldwide publicity of fringe groups like the Raelians, and the core issue of an international movement at the United Nations in support of a treaty to ban the use of cloning techniques to produce a child (so called reproductive cloning). Yet, even though debates on human cloning have greatly increased since the birth of Dolly, the clone sheep, in 1997, we continue to wonder whether cloning is after all any different from other methods of medically assisted reproduction, and what exactly makes cloning an 'affront to the dignity of humans.' Categories we adopt matter mightily as they inform but can also misinform and lead to mistaken and unproductive decisions. And thus bioethicists have a responsibility to ensure that the proper categories are used in the cloning debates and denounce those who try to win the ethical debate through well-crafted labels rather than well-reasoned argumentations. But it is as important for bioethicists to take a position on broad issues such as human cloning and species altering interventions. One 'natural question' would be, for example, should there be an international treaty to ban human reproductive cloning?
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Maintaining dignity in vulnerability
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høy, Bente
2016-01-01
to understand the meaning of the narrated text. Results. The meaning of maintaining dignity was constituted in a sense of vulnerability to the self, and elucidated in three major interrelated themes: Being involved as a human being, being involved as the person one is and strives to become, and being involved...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Aparecida Alkimim
2016-12-01
Full Text Available This paper, with methodology of philosophical, bibliographical and documentary research intends to apply the principle of dignity of human person to the vicissitudes around the advance directives of will, to the ethical aspects disciplined by the Code of Medical Ethics, as well as to what regards the legal aspects, involving the Federal Constitution, the Civil Code, the Code of Medical Ethics and the Resolution 1995/2012 (CFM. The principle of dignity of human person along with the consequent application in the principles of bioethics is considered in a personalistic perspective. This kind of approach is indicative of the interdisciplinarity of bioethics.
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Darwin and Lincoln: their legacy of human dignity.
Earls, Felton
2010-01-01
The legacy of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln is to champion the dignity inherent in every human being. The moment of the bicentennial of their births provides an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on ways they have shaped our understanding and commitment to human rights. The naturalist and the constitutional lawyer, so different in circumstance and discipline, were morally allied in the mission to eradicate slavery. The profound lessons to be extracted from the lives of these two icons bind us to the agonizing reality that nearly 150 years after Gettysburg and the publication of the Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, there remains much work to do toward advancing the security, respect, and equality of our species. This article describes how Darwin and Lincoln's inspiring legacies guided the author's personal choices as a scientist and activist. The essay concludes with a set of questions and challenges that confront us, foremost among which is the need to balance actions in response to the violation of negative rights by actions in the pursuit of positive rights.
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Are (Should) Human Rights (Be) Universal?
Howard, Rhoda E.
1998-01-01
Believes that the purpose of human rights is to change many culturally ingrained habits and customs that violate the dignity of the individual. Expounds the differences between cultural relativism and cultural absolutism. States that "weak" cultural relativism is sometimes an appropriate response to human-rights violations. (CMK)
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Allmark, P.
2002-01-01
The purpose of this article is to develop a conception of death with dignity and to examine whether it is vulnerable to the sort of criticisms that have been made of other conceptions. In this conception "death" is taken to apply to the process of dying; "dignity" is taken to be something that attaches to people because of their personal qualities. In particular, someone lives with dignity if they live well (in accordance with reason, as Aristotle would see it). It follows that health care pr...
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Child’s dignity in suffering and death.
Cepuch, Grażyna; Kruszecka-Krówka, Agnieszka
The magnitude of unfair, absurd, pointless suffering we cannot accept or understand makes it a phenomenon which defies human logic - especially when it concerns children. The source of suffering of a dying child is pain, fear, failure to satisfy the basic human needs and concern about the parents. It is also heightened by medical procedures, including treatments aimed at preventing the unavoidable death. Such actions, resulting from the fear of death and a lack of acceptance of death as the end of life burdened with suffering, pose a risk to the child’s fundamental rights and violate the source of human freedom - one’s inalienable dignity. Our priority should be to unconditionally respect the children’s rights postulated by Korczak, to ensure that while providing holistic care for a dying child, their dignity is always considered the greatest good.
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[Does the right to die with dignity exist?].
Toro Flores, Rafael
2008-12-01
Death is one of the few certainties in human beings. This reality generates uneasiness regarding how death will occur especially in circumstances of loneliness or suffering which can become agony. In this report, the author first analyzes the existence of the right to die with dignity as a human right which takes on the nature of being a subjective right. In continuation, the author describes the existing problematic in the application of this right to die in relationship to the so-called double effect mechanism and euthanasia. The author concludes this article by proposing previous instructions or anticipated desires as ideal measures to make the right to die with dignity valid.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høy, Bente; Hall, E.O.C
2012-01-01
appearance’. The study documents that caring for older people is about creating small everyday circumstances in which patient dignity can flourish. Shortcomings of a secondary analysis are discussed and suggestions for future research, such as how older hospital patients experience caring and dignity...
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Nurses’ commitment to respecting patient dignity
Raee, Zahra; Abedi, Heidarali; Shahriari, Mohsen
2017-01-01
Background: Although respecting human dignity is a cornerstone of all nursing practices, industrialization has gradually decreased the attention paid to this subject in nursing care. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate nurses’ commitment to respecting patient dignity in hospitals of Isfahan, Iran. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in hospitals of Isfahan. Overall, 401 inpatients were selected by cluster sampling and then selected simple random sampling from different wards. Data were collected through a questionnaire containing the components of patient dignity, that is, patient-nurse relationships, privacy, and independence. All items were scored based on a five-point Likert scale. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests. P < 0.05 were considered significant in all analyses. Findings: Most patients (91%) scored their relationships with nurses as good. Moreover, 91.8% of the participants described privacy protection as moderate/good. Only 6.5% of the subjects rated it as excellent. The majority of the patients (84.4%) believed their independence was maintained. These subjects also approved of taking part in decision-making. Conclusion: According to our findings, nurses respected patient dignity to an acceptable level. However, the conditions were less favorable in public hospitals and emergency departments. Nursing authorities and policy makers are thus required to introduce appropriate measures to improve the existing conditions. PMID:28546981
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Nurses' commitment to respecting patient dignity.
Raee, Zahra; Abedi, Heidarali; Shahriari, Mohsen
2017-01-01
Although respecting human dignity is a cornerstone of all nursing practices, industrialization has gradually decreased the attention paid to this subject in nursing care. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate nurses' commitment to respecting patient dignity in hospitals of Isfahan, Iran. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in hospitals of Isfahan. Overall, 401 inpatients were selected by cluster sampling and then selected simple random sampling from different wards. Data were collected through a questionnaire containing the components of patient dignity, that is, patient-nurse relationships, privacy, and independence. All items were scored based on a five-point Likert scale. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests. P < 0.05 were considered significant in all analyses. Most patients (91%) scored their relationships with nurses as good. Moreover, 91.8% of the participants described privacy protection as moderate/good. Only 6.5% of the subjects rated it as excellent. The majority of the patients (84.4%) believed their independence was maintained. These subjects also approved of taking part in decision-making. According to our findings, nurses respected patient dignity to an acceptable level. However, the conditions were less favorable in public hospitals and emergency departments. Nursing authorities and policy makers are thus required to introduce appropriate measures to improve the existing conditions.
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Fostering dignity in the care of nursing home residents through slow caring
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lohne, Vibeke; Høy, Bente; Lillestø, Britt
2017-01-01
Background: Physical impairment and dependency on others may be a threat to dignity. Research questions: The purpose of this study was to explore dignity as a core concept in caring, and how healthcare personnel focus on and foster dignity in nursing home residents. Research design: This study has...... personnel, maintaining human dignity requires slow caring in nursing homes, as an essential approach....... a hermeneutic design. Participants and research context: In all, 40 healthcare personnel from six nursing homes in Scandinavia participated in focus group interviews in this study. Ethical considerations: This study has been evaluated and approved by the Regional Ethical Committees and the Social Science Data...
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Bullying in the Workplace : An Analysis in the Light of the Dignity of the Human Person
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eveline Lima de Castro
2015-12-01
Full Text Available The reorganization of the global economic environment has brought the growing competitiveness in the workplace, subjecting the employee to repeated situations of strong psychological pressure, characterized as bullying, which has generated a significant concern for his mental health. For this reason, it seeks to maintain a healthy and balanced work environment, physically and psychically, which is essential for the preservation of the worker's life quality. With the change in the liability paradigm, who left to focus on tort to glimpse the wrongful damage caused to the victim, the worker has support for full compensation for the moral damage arising from harassment, whose foundation is the need to safeguard the human dignity, the supreme value advocated by the Constitution. From this premise, it is necessary an analysis of bullying in the light of the Constitution, which values the inviolability of the human person worker, providing ample protection to their rights of personality and therefore their dignity.
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The Decisonal Autonomy Defending the Right to Die With Dignity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Riva Sobrado de Freitas
2016-12-01
Full Text Available This article aims to verify the possibility that the terminal patient, provided with decisional autonomy, can claim the right to die with dignity. To achieve the intent, it was done a bibliographic exploratory-explanatory research, qualitative, using the deductive method. Concluding that, even if the subject is polemic, the decisional autonomy deserves to be considered, including in the execution of the right to die with dignity, since it is intended to safeguard the human being in the most intimate aspects of one’s life and, because, choose the death with dignity doesn’t mean to give up from the right to life.
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Dignity, Equality, Freedom: The EU-Policy Values Viewed Personalistically
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael Nnamdi Konye
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The author points out that dignity, equality, and freedom are leading themes of the European Union policy and should be respected and upheld if understood personalistically. He agrues that the subjectivity of the individual person, rather than that of the public state, underlines the context of interpreting those themes which are the liberal values the Western society purports to cultivate. Therefore, he claims that dignity is grounded on the understanding of man as imago Dei, equality is doubly grounded in both the unique identity and incommunicability of each human person, and freedom is doubly grounded in the dual responsibility of each human person for his or her actions as well as the responsibility we share for each human life from conception to natural death.
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God and Dignity of Labour in Nigeria: A Moral Perspective
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S. AWONIYI
2013-09-01
Full Text Available The concept labour can be viewed from different perspectives. In the first instance, it can be assessed in forms of work or vocation embarked upon as a source of livelihood either in a private or public affair of mankind. Also, it refers to work done for wages. Besides, it is equally a generic word for employees and trade unions as a collective. However, dignity of labour is fundamental to the nature of man because man often lifts himself when he does his work well. In line with this observation Pat Utomi writes that: The dignity of the human person is tied very closely to work. And when we work well, when we recognize the dignity of other human beings as they work, we essentially elevate the ordinary to the level of the engagement of the divine (Utomi,2004:29.
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The particularity of dignity: relational engagement in care at the end of life
Pols, J.; Pasveer, B.; Willems, D.
This paper articulates dignity as relational engagement in concrete care situations. Dignity is often understood as an abstract principle that represents inherent worth of all human beings. In actual care practices, this principle has to be substantiated in order to gain meaning and inform care
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Antoaneta-Laura (MIREA) SAVA
2016-01-01
This article presents the evolution of the concept of human dignity in conventions, treaties and other international documents, starting from the 13th century, when we meet different references to the human rights in the English Charter from 1215 –Magna Charta, and continuing with the American Declaration of Independence from 1776, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from 1789 etc. In present times, the most important and relevant documents are The Charter of the ...
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Patient's dignity in intensive care unit: A critical ethnography.
Bidabadi, Farimah Shirani; Yazdannik, Ahmadreza; Zargham-Boroujeni, Ali
2017-01-01
Maintaining patient's dignity in intensive care units is difficult because of the unique conditions of both critically-ill patients and intensive care units. The aim of this study was to uncover the cultural factors that impeded maintaining patients' dignity in the cardiac surgery intensive care unit. The study was conducted using a critical ethnographic method proposed by Carspecken. Participants and research context: Participants included all physicians, nurses and staffs working in the study setting (two cardiac surgery intensive care units). Data collection methods included participant observations, formal and informal interviews, and documents assessment. In total, 200 hours of observation and 30 interviews were performed. Data were analyzed to uncover tacit cultural knowledge and to help healthcare providers to reconstruct the culture of their workplace. Ethical Consideration: Ethical approval for the study from Ethics committee of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences was obtained. The findings of the study fell into the following main themes: "Presence: the guarantee for giving enough attention to patients' self-esteem", "Instrumental and objectified attitudes", "Adherence to the human equality principle: value-action gap", "Paternalistic conduct", "Improper language", and "Non-interactive communication". The final assertion was "Reductionism as a major barrier to the maintaining of patient's dignity". The prevailing atmosphere in subculture of the CSICU was reductionism and paternalism. This key finding is part of the biomedical discourse. As a matter of fact, it is in contrast with dignified care because the latter necessitate holistic attitudes and approaches. Changing an ICU culture is not easy; but through increasing awareness and critical self-reflections, the nurses, physicians and other healthcare providers, may be able to reaffirm dignified care and cure in their therapeutic relationships.
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Asmaningrum, Nurfika; Tsai, Yun-Fang
2018-03-01
To gain an understanding towards the perspectives of hospitalized inpatients in Indonesia regarding maintaining dignity during clinical care. Dignity is a basic human right that is crucial for an individual's well-being. Respect for a person as a valuable human is a concept that is comparable to treating a person with dignity. Maintaining patient's dignity is an ethical goal of nursing care. Nevertheless, the concept is highly dependent on cultural context. This issue has not been well studied in Indonesia. This study used a qualitative descriptive design. Thirty-five participants were recruited by purposive sampling from medical to surgical wards of six public hospitals in Eastern Java, Indonesia. Data were collected in 2016 through individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Inductive content analysis was applied to the data. Four major categories which described qualities of nursing care essential for maintaining a patient's dignity in clinical care settings were revealed: (1) responsiveness; (2) respectful nurse-patient relationships; (3) caring characteristics and (4) personalized service. Our findings provide a cultural viewpoint of dignity for care recipients in Indonesia. The findings provide empirical support for linking dignified care and person-centred care principles with regards to cultural sensitivity. Nurses must not only be clinically competent but also culturally competent. The ability to provide culturally competent care is important for nurses as a strategy to maintain patient dignity during hospitalized care. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Autonomy and dignity: a discussion on contingency and dominance.
Van Brussel, Leen
2014-06-01
With dying increasingly becoming a medicalised experience in old age, we are witnessing a shift from concern over death itself to an interest in dying 'well'. Fierce discussions about end-of-life decision making and the permissibility of medical intervention in dying, discursively structured around the notion of a 'good' death, are evidence of this shift. This article focuses on 'autonomy' and 'dignity' as key signifiers in these discussions. Rather than being fully fixed and stable, both signifiers are contingent and carry a variety of meanings within different discursive projects. The article aims to distinguish the varieties of these signifiers by elaborating existing theoretical perspectives on autonomy and dignity, and also, starting from a perspective on mass media as sites of meaning production and contestation, to study the contingency of autonomy and dignity in Belgian newspaper coverage of four prominent euthanasia cases. By means of a discourse-theoretical textual analysis, this study exposes a dominant--yet contested--articulation of rational-personal autonomy and of dignity in external terms as something that can be obtained, retained or lost, rather than in terms of intrinsic human integrity. These logics of representation reflect a more general late modern dominance of liberal autonomy and of dignity as being closely connected to self-identity, but at the same time result in limited visibility of alternative ways of experiencing an autonomous and dignified death.
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Dignity as an empirical lifeworld construction-in the field of surgery in Denmark.
Rasmussen, Tina Seidelin; Delmar, Charlotte
2014-01-01
Patient dignity is a complex yet central phenomenon. Disrespect for dignity can mean retention of sick role, loss of self-care and control, decreased participation and therefore influence healing. At the same time, nurses have an obligation to respect dignity, and patients expect it. In clinical practice, with the focus on efficiency and economy, dignity can be compromised. The surgical patient may be particularly vulnerable to loss of dignity, when focus is solely on surgical procedure, efficiency, and productivity. The aim of the article is to describe the characteristics of the importance of dignity perceived by four surgical patients at a university hospital in Denmark. The hermeneutic phenomenological approach of Van Manen is used to analyse and interpret data collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews. The interviews explored the lived experience with two women and two men who had undergone a surgical intervention in a Danish vascular surgery department. The thematic analysis led to the basic theme: "To be an important person" illustrated by the themes: "Being a co-player," "Over exposure," and "To swallow the bitter pill." The findings provide a better understanding of patient's perspective of dignity, which is characterized by a complex interaction of several factors. Nurses should be concerned with balancing expectations, values, and opinions to maintain dignity in nursing and create a common platform for collaboration. This collaboration makes it possible for patients to be involved and have a voice in relation to nursing, treatment, and administering of time even though it could be at the expense of the terms of the system.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Riva Sobrado de Freitas
2016-02-01
Full Text Available This paper aims to analyze if the rights of personality, primarily the right to own body, the right to psychophysical integrity, and, deeply, the right to life with dignity, can base the right to death with dignity, embodied in the anticipation of death in terminal patients. Therefore, it was realized an exploratory-explanatory bibliographical research, qualitative, using the hypothetical-deductive method. The obtained conclusion is that, although the right to life must be preserved, must since with dignity, and, being the death (with dignity part of the life (with dignity process, it must not be promptly rejected, for preserving the own rights of personality.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jorge Nicolás Lafferriere
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Biotechnological interventions affect the human body in new and powerful ways in the process of procreation, through actions of enhancement or replacement of the body, or by the search of the immortality of the body. This implies new legal challenges to prevent biotechnoscience from considering the human body as "operable and disposable matter", and treating it as the human person himself. In this article, we will study these challenges, starting from human dignity as a fundamental principle for an assessment of this biotechnology, and focusing on four legal issues: improvement interventions and their legal enforceability; the commodification of human life; growing social inequalities and the emergence of new forms of discrimination; and the principle of integrity of the human species.
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Aruna Shanbaug and the right to die with dignity: the battle continues.
Kishore, R R
2016-01-01
Aruna Shanbaug's protracted continuance in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) for nearly 42 years needs to be viewed seriously by all those who believe in a person's inalienable right to dignity in dying. A terminally ill and/or incapacitated individual is a helpless person confronted with perpetual risk of intrusion in to his autonomy by the moral paternalists, owing to false notion of human virtues. Legislative inadequacy coupled with judicial heterogeneity has exposed the decision making process to unwarranted ambiguity. Misapplication of moral and juristic principles is a global challenge. 29-year-old Brittany Maynard's recent act of ending her life by migrating from California to Oregon has ignited a fierce debate and nearly half of the states in the USA are contemplating enactment of death with dignity legislation. Across the Atlantic, the European Court of Human Rights judgment on June 5, 2015, endorsing Vincent Lambert's right to end medical support, is a resounding affirmation of an individual's right to die with dignity. This article is an attempt to explore various dimensions of one's right to dignity in dying, in the global as well as the Indian context.
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The meaning of dignity in nursing home care as seen by relatives
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wilhelm Rehnsfeldt, Arne; Lindwall, Lillemor; Høy, Bente
2014-01-01
culture is assumed to be a more ontological or universal concept than, for example, an ethical context or ethical person-to-person acts. Research design: The methodological approach is hermeneutic. The data consist of 28 interviews with relatives of older persons from Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Ethical...... considerations: The principles of voluntariness, confidentiality and anonymity were respected during the whole research process. Findings: Three patterns were revealed: dignity as at-home-ness, dignity as the little extra and non-dignifying ethical context. Discussion: Caring communion, invitation, at...
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Politics drives human functioning, dignity, and quality of life.
Barber, Brian K; Spellings, Carolyn; McNeely, Clea; Page, Paul D; Giacaman, Rita; Arafat, Cairo; Daher, Mahmoud; El Sarraj, Eyad; Mallouh, Mohammed Abu
2014-12-01
Too little is known about human functioning amidst chronic adversity. We addressed that need by studying adult Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), a population that has experienced longstanding economic and political hardships. Fourteen group interviews were conducted in February, 2010 in Arabic by local fieldworkers with 68 participants representing the main stratifications of Palestinian society: gender, region, refugee status, and political affiliation. Interview tasks included each participant: describing someone doing well and not well, free listing domains of functioning, and prioritizing domains to the three most important. Thematic analyses highlighted the dominating role of the political domain of functioning (e.g., political structures, constraints, effects, identity, and activism) and the degree to which political conditions impacted all other realms of functioning (economic, education, family, psychological, etc.). The discussion links the findings to relevant theory and empirical work that has called attention to the need to include the political in frameworks of quality of life. It also emphasized that values, such as justice, rights, dignity and self-determination, that underlie political structures and policies, are key elements of human functioning. This is the case not only in the oPt, but in any society where power imbalances marginalize segments of the population. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Death and dignity in Catholic Christian thought.
Sulmasy, Daniel P
2017-12-01
This article traces the history of the concept of dignity in Western thought, arguing that it became a formal Catholic theological concept only in the late nineteenth century. Three uses of the word are distinguished: intrinsic, attributed, and inflorescent dignity, of which, it is argued, the intrinsic conception is foundational. The moral norms associated with respect for intrinsic dignity are discussed briefly. The scriptural and theological bases for adopting the concept of dignity as a Christian idea are elucidated. The article concludes by discussing the relevance of this concept of dignity to the spiritual and ethical care of the dying.
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Ribera Casado, José Manuel
2015-01-01
A discussion is presented on what is understood by «dignity» when applied to the elderly, highlighting it universal character and contrasting it with the greater risks of suffering «indignities» to which the elderly are exposed. The discussion is divided into 3 sections. In the first, the risk factors in this sense could lead to physiological losses and illnessess, which in in the physical, mental and social sense are associated with ageing. In the second, the question of discrimination of the elderly as a form of aggression due to age, and is so widespread and infrequently studied. Lastly, it is discussed how to interpret the advice of the United Nations on how to promote active ageing as a defence system against indignities. It concludes with the message that neither the limitations that accompany the ageing process, nor the different forms of aggression that the elderly may be subjected to, provide sufficient argument neither for a loss of individual nor collective dignity. This is something which we all must endeavour to achieve and which must be maintained and be respected by individuals and by society at all times. Copyright © 2015 SEGG. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
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The life and times of religion and human rights
Gaay Fortman, B. de; Salih, Mohamed
2003-01-01
Seen from a human perspective and as communal protection of human dignity, human rights are universal challenges to which all major traditions of the human family have subscribed. However, ways and means as to the realisation of this universal human ideal have been subject to controversy because of
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[The dignity of older persons in view of postconciliar church teaching].
Necek, Ks Robert
2014-01-01
Dignity is innate value of human. In perspective of human dignity the health protection of patients is the essence of medical deontology, duty of love, which is taking by doctor and nurse is express by practice of profession, which does not lose human features. It is important, that is impossible to enjoin love, because love is not an order, it is open for other's needs. By virtue of this elderly cannot be treated like things in economic system of hospital, but through love "we should enable the elderly to grow in the conventional wisdom gathered by the entire life". Pope Benedict XVI notices that, every work, competence is the most important thing. Due to it, medicine extend respect for body human and the law, which rules it, furthermore recognize human life as sign of unexplored secret.
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Dignity as an empirical lifeworld construction—In the field of surgery in Denmark
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tina Seidelin Rasmussen
2014-07-01
Full Text Available Patient dignity is a complex yet central phenomenon. Disrespect for dignity can mean retention of sick role, loss of self-care and control, decreased participation and therefore influence healing. At the same time, nurses have an obligation to respect dignity, and patients expect it. In clinical practice, with the focus on efficiency and economy, dignity can be compromised. The surgical patient may be particularly vulnerable to loss of dignity, when focus is solely on surgical procedure, efficiency, and productivity. The aim of the article is to describe the characteristics of the importance of dignity perceived by four surgical patients at a university hospital in Denmark. The hermeneutic phenomenological approach of Van Manen is used to analyse and interpret data collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews. The interviews explored the lived experience with two women and two men who had undergone a surgical intervention in a Danish vascular surgery department. The thematic analysis led to the basic theme: “To be an important person” illustrated by the themes: “Being a co-player,” “Over exposure,” and “To swallow the bitter pill.” The findings provide a better understanding of patient's perspective of dignity, which is characterized by a complex interaction of several factors. Nurses should be concerned with balancing expectations, values, and opinions to maintain dignity in nursing and create a common platform for collaboration. This collaboration makes it possible for patients to be involved and have a voice in relation to nursing, treatment, and administering of time even though it could be at the expense of the terms of the system.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Leepo J. Modise
2016-03-01
Full Text Available This article is born out of my participation in the General Synod Ministerial Formation for theological training of Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA, when a decision was taken to license a student with a disability to be a minister of the Word in URCSA. Furthermore, my experience and observation of the licensing of the two candidates with hearing impairments to the ministry of the Word and Sacrament in URCSA and Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (DRCSA has encouraged me to conduct this research. This article is made up of four important parts: Firstly, the researcher will discuss Belhar Confession as the confession that emphasises unity (inclusivity, reconciliation and justice. Secondly, Belhar Confession and disability from the human dignity perspective will be discussed. Thirdly, the ecclesiological practices and shortcomings from the human dignity perspective will be highlighted. Fourthly, pastoral care as the affirmation of human dignity will be discussed.Interdisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The fields involved in this article are Systematic Theology, Sociology and Psychology. The author challenges classification of people with a disability under the category of limited competence by the Dutch Reformed Church when they license the ministerial candidates. The future results will reveal the inclusivity in terms of licensing and calling of ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church Family. This research calls for the change in the traditional discourse within ecclesiological, sociological and psychological fields, which exclude the people with a disability from the ministry of the Word and Sacraments.
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Factors affecting dignity of patients with multiple sclerosis.
Sharifi, Simin; Borhani, Fariba; Abbaszadeh, Abbas
2016-12-01
MS is one of the most common chronic diseases of the nervous system. Apart from disease progression, other complications such as unemployment, separation and divorce could potentially threat patients' dignity. Most of the previous studies have been done of maintaining patients' dignity in interaction with healthcare team, but studies on affecting factors of dignity in chronic patients in the society and in interaction with usual people are scarce. We aimed to investigate factors affecting dignity of Iranian patients with MS in daily living and in interaction of them with the society. In this qualitative study, 13 patients with multiple sclerosis were chosen by purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation. The study was done in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Factors affecting dignity were classified as 'personal factors' and 'social factors'. Personal factors consist of the following subcategories: patients' communication with self, patients' knowledge, patients' values and beliefs and patients' resources. Social factors include others' communication with patients, social knowledge, social values and beliefs and social resources. Multiple personal and social factors interfere in perceived patient dignity. In fact, interaction between personal and social factors can be influential in final perceived dignity. By focusing on whole aspects of the patients' lives, we can identify dignity-promoting or dignity-threatening factors and help patients maintain their dignity by taking appropriate measures for moderating threatening factors and improving dignity enhancing ones. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.
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Byk, Christian
2010-12-01
Included in human rights law just after the Second World War, dignity is the quality common to all people in that it symbolises their human condition. Inherent to each person, it is therefore independent of any other personal and random condition (physical state, origin, colour, religion...) just as it is independent of social conditions (a person's dignity cannot be questioned by society). However, the very context of this recognition--in the aftermath of the defeat of Nazism--emphasises the fact that it was not something evident in human history. So there is in this manifestation of the international community a strong political sign which makes dignity as much a construction of man as a quality consubstantial with his nature. A symbol of the human condition, dignity is therefore also a dynamic value, a combat value. As such, it forces us to wonder about what belongs to the human sphere and also about the particular responsibility which springs for every man and for mankind, from the dignity with which he is invested.
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Implementing a Death with Dignity program at a comprehensive cancer center.
Loggers, Elizabeth Trice; Starks, Helene; Shannon-Dudley, Moreen; Back, Anthony L; Appelbaum, Frederick R; Stewart, F Marc
2013-04-11
The majority of Death with Dignity participants in Washington State and Oregon have received a diagnosis of terminal cancer. As more states consider legislation regarding physician-assisted death, the experience of a comprehensive cancer center may be informative. We describe the implementation of a Death with Dignity program at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the site of care for the Fred Hutchinson-University of Washington Cancer Consortium, a comprehensive cancer center in Seattle that serves the Pacific Northwest. Institution-level data were compared with publicly available statewide data from Oregon and Washington. A total of 114 patients inquired about our Death with Dignity program between March 5, 2009, and December 31, 2011. Of these, 44 (38.6%) did not pursue the program, and 30 (26.3%) initiated the process but either elected not to continue or died before completion. Of the 40 participants who, after counseling and upon request, received a prescription for a lethal dose of secobarbital (35.1% of the 114 patients who inquired about the program), all died, 24 after medication ingestion (60% of those obtaining prescriptions). The participants at our center accounted for 15.7% of all participants in the Death with Dignity program in Washington (255 persons) and were typically white, male, and well educated. The most common reasons for participation were loss of autonomy (97.2%), inability to engage in enjoyable activities (88.9%), and loss of dignity (75.0%). Eleven participants lived for more than 6 months after prescription receipt. Qualitatively, patients and families were grateful to receive the lethal prescription, whether it was used or not. Overall, our Death with Dignity program has been well accepted by patients and clinicians.
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Dignity in the care of older people – a review of the theoretical and empirical literature
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jones Ian
2008-07-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Dignity has become a central concern in UK health policy in relation to older and vulnerable people. The empirical and theoretical literature relating to dignity is extensive and as likely to confound and confuse as to clarify the meaning of dignity for nurses in practice. The aim of this paper is critically to examine the literature and to address the following questions: What does dignity mean? What promotes and diminishes dignity? And how might dignity be operationalised in the care of older people? This paper critically reviews the theoretical and empirical literature relating to dignity and clarifies the meaning and implications of dignity in relation to the care of older people. If nurses are to provide dignified care clarification is an essential first step. Methods This is a review article, critically examining papers reporting theoretical perspectives and empirical studies relating to dignity. The following databases were searched: Assia, BHI, CINAHL, Social Services Abstracts, IBSS, Web of Knowledge Social Sciences Citation Index and Arts & Humanities Citation Index and location of books a chapters in philosophy literature. An analytical approach was adopted to the publications reviewed, focusing on the objectives of the review. Results and discussion We review a range of theoretical and empirical accounts of dignity and identify key dignity promoting factors evident in the literature, including staff attitudes and behaviour; environment; culture of care; and the performance of specific care activities. Although there is scope to learn more about cultural aspects of dignity we know a good deal about dignity in care in general terms. Conclusion We argue that what is required is to provide sufficient support and education to help nurses understand dignity and adequate resources to operationalise dignity in their everyday practice. Using the themes identified from our review we offer proposals for the direction of
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høy, Bente; Hall, E.O.C.; Wagner, L.
2007-01-01
the principles of nursing practice, protecting, enhancing and promoting the elderly patient's health potential. It is suggested that these themes of dignity provide a frame of reference in elder care; they shape the understanding of when health issues become a concern for health-promoting care for the elderly...... patient and what goals should be defined. Key words: Dignity, elderly patient, phenomenological hermeneutical method....
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Di Lorenzo R
2018-03-01
Full Text Available Rosaria Di Lorenzo,1 Paola Ferri,2 Carlotta Biffarella,2 Giulio Cabri,3 Eleonora Carretti,4 Gabriella Pollutri,5 Ludovica Spattini,5 Cinzia Del Giovane,6 Harvey Max Chochinov7 1Psychiatric Intensive Treatment Facility, Mental Health Department, Azienda USL, Modena, Italy; 2Department of Diagnostic, Clinical and Public Health Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; 3Service of Psychiatric Diagnosis and Treatment, Mental Health Department, Azienda USL, Modena, Italy; 4School of Nursing, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy; 5School of Specialization in Pscyhiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy; 6Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Primary Care (BIHAM, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; 7Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Background: During the last decades, dignity has been an emerging issue in mental health since its ethical and therapeutic implications became known. This study is an extension of the preliminary validation of the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI in a psychiatric setting, originally designed for assessing perceived dignity in terminal cancer patients. Methods: From October 21, 2015 to December 31, 2016, we administered the Italian PDI to all patients hospitalized in an acute psychiatric ward, who provided their consent and completed it at discharge (n=165. We performed Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and principal factor analysis. We administered other scales concomitantly to analyze the concurrent validity of PDI. We applied stepwise multiple linear regression to identify the patients’ demographic and clinical variables related to the PDI score. Results: Our response rate was 93%, with excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient=0.94. The factorial analysis showed three factors with eigenvalue >1, which explained >80% of total variance: 1 “loss of self-identity and anxiety for the future”, 2
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Protecting the dignity of displaced Syrians
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kholoud Mansour
2018-02-01
Full Text Available What does dignity mean to Syrian refugees and practitioners? And what can humanitarian organisations do – or abstain from doing – to help Syrians preserve and protect their dignity?
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Najafi, Fereshteh; Fallahi-Khoshknab, Masoud; Ahmadi, Fazlollah; Dalvandi, Asghar; Rahgozar, Mehdi
2017-03-01
Workplace violence against nurses is a challenging problem in both developed and developing countries. Because the concept of violence bears some cultural load, nurses' understanding is region-specific. This study explores Iranian nurses' perceptions of workplace violence. Using qualitative content analysis, 22 registered nurses underwent unstructured, in-depth interviews. The main themes of threats to human dignity and professional reputation emerged, plus four categories: physical violence, psychological violence, honor insults, and ethnic-religious insults. The term "honor insults," as a unique finding, was used instead of "sexual harassment." These findings may help to redefine workplace violence based on cultural background, design strategies for supporting nurses, and prevent and manage such violence. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
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Alexander Meiklejohn in Search of Freedom and Dignity.
Johnson, Tony W.
1982-01-01
Assesses the contributions of the philosopher/educator Alexander Meiklejohn. Discusses the influences of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and the U.S. Constitution on Meiklejohn's educational theories, which stressed that human freedom and dignity can be enhanced by rigorous examination of U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the meaning of…
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Maria Cecília Máximo Teodoro; Sabrina Colares Nogueira
2016-01-01
Relate the theme regarding the Theory of Recognition Axel Honnet, the human right to work as a human right to claim to universal validity, from the perspective of the Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work ILO, for purposes of setting parameters and recognition of social (re) integration of chemical class dependent workers is the main goal of this article. We will analyze the theoretical framework in which the pursuit of human dignity at work is the goal of the state to whic...
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The dignity of the nursing profession: a meta-synthesis of qualitative research.
Sabatino, Laura; Stievano, Alessandro; Rocco, Gennaro; Kallio, Hanna; Pietila, Anna-Maija; Kangasniemi, Mari K
2014-09-01
Nursing continues to gain legitimation epistemologically and ontologically as a scientific discipline throughout the world. If a profession gains respect as a true autonomous scientific profession, then this recognition has to be put in practice in all environments and geographical areas. Nursing professional dignity, as a self-regarding concept, does not have a clear definition in the literature, and it has only begun to be analyzed in the last 10 years. The purpose of this meta-synthesis was to determine the various factors that constitute the notion of nursing professional dignity. The target was to create a tentative model of the concept. The research design was a meta-synthesis (N = 15 original articles) of nursing professional dignity described in the literature, based on the guidelines by Noblit and Hare. Original studies were sought out from electronic databases and manual searches. The selection of literature was conducted on stages based on titles (n = 2595), abstracts (n = 70), and full-texts (n = 15) according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. From this analysis, a clear definition of nursing professional dignity emerged that underscored two main macro-dimensions constituting this intertwined, multidimensional, and complex notion: characteristics of the human beings and workplace elements. The recognition of nursing professional dignity could have a positive impact on patients because the results clearly showed that nurses are more prone to foster patients' dignity, patients' safety, and a better quality of care if their own dignity is respected. If nurses are uncomfortable, humiliated, or not seen in their professional role, it is difficult to give to others good care, good support, or good relationships. © The Author(s) 2014.
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Loss of Dignity in Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Solomon, Brahm K; Wilson, Keith G; Henderson, Peter R; Poulin, Patricia A; Kowal, John; McKim, Douglas A
2016-03-01
The maintenance of dignity is an important concept in palliative care, and the loss of dignity is a significant concern among patients with advanced cancer. The goals of this study were to examine whether loss of dignity is also a concern for patients receiving interdisciplinary rehabilitation for Stage III or IV chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We examined the prevalence and correlates of loss of dignity and determined whether it improves with treatment. Inpatients underwent a structured interview inquiry around their sense of dignity and completed measures of pulmonary, physical, and psychological function at admission (n = 195) and discharge (n = 162). Loss of dignity was identified as a prominent ongoing concern for 13% of patients. It was correlated with measures of depression and anxiety sensitivity, but not with pulmonary capacity or functional performance. A robust improvement in loss of dignity was demonstrated, with 88% of those who reported a significant problem at admission no longer reporting one at discharge. The prevalence of a problematic loss of dignity among patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is at least as high as among those receiving palliative cancer care. Loss of dignity may represent a concern among people with medical illnesses more broadly, and not just in the context of "death with dignity" at the end of life. Furthermore, interdisciplinary care may help to restore a sense of dignity to those individuals who are able to participate in rehabilitation. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Dignity and the challenge of dying in nursing homes: the residents' view.
Pleschberger, Sabine
2007-03-01
human dignity is discussed in almost all public debates on the care of the dying, as well as in international policies for health and social care of older people. Because nursing homes are gaining importance as places where residents live out their lives in modern western societies and since there is evidence that end-of-life care in nursing homes lacks quality, there is a growing discussion on introducing improved end-of-life care in these institutions. In order to accomplish this, the view of those who are most affected is of utmost importance. to explore the meaning of dignity with regard to end-of-life issues from the perspective of older nursing home residents in western Germany. this qualitative study is based on the Grounded Theory Approach, and the design included three steps of data generation; narrative interviews with residents of nursing homes constitute the main data pool (n = 20) of the results presented in this paper. Theoretical sampling was aimed at maximising the variety of organisational as well as residents' characteristics. Analysis of the transcripts was supported by Atlas/ti program and followed several different coding procedures and aimed at generating a concept of dignity. dignity was differentiated into intrapersonal dignity and relational dignity, socially constructed by the act of recognition. Social relations and encounters are a prerequisite for relational dignity, which underlines the vulnerability of nursing home residents' who increasingly lack social networks. A broad spectrum of attitudes and behaviour, which aimed at recognising dignity, was bundled under the category 'not being a burden'. In this light, dignity was challenged most by the threat of illness and having care needs. This was fostered by the perception of insufficient care in the nursing homes. In the light of this concept, death with dignity meant 'death at the right time', though the residents in the sample did not want to comment on the time of death, other than
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Realizing dignity as a part of intercultural competence
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Breunig, Steven
2014-01-01
in intercultural encounters with cognitive, behavioral and affective competence. Dignity contributes to intercultural competence by enabling persons to view the social world anew. In this paper, dignity is conceptualized as the development and self-expression of persons free from social categorization, while...... for effective and appropriate interaction between a Self and a culturally dissimilar Other. Accordingly, it is proposed that emotional regulation is essential for realizing dignity as an aspect of intercultural competence. Research on social dynamics and identity and the emotions is not without its precedence...... within intercultural communication. This project contributes to the objectives of intercultural communication and competence by theorizing how awareness of social dynamics and emotional regulation may support the realization of dignity during intercultural encounters. Dignity may complement other...
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Granting death with dignity: patient, family and professional perspectives.
Leung, Doris
2007-04-01
Dignity is a complex construct lacking clear meaning. While conceptualizing dignity as a basic right is useful in determining and justifying social and economic costs of health care, it is insufficient in considerations of personal dignity at the end of life. There is a dissonance between how dignity is shown to matter to healthcare professionals compared to patients. Furthermore, dignity is not clearly linked in the empirical literature to variables of quality of life and to a dignified death. Current studies about the construct of dignity enhance understanding of how we extrinsically construct moral worth, but not of how individuals interpret intrinsic moral worth through maintaining their personal integrity and attitudes of being cared for. References to key qualitative studies illuminate how clinicians ethically negotiate a creation of dying with dignity. As one's personal integrity fades, caregivers (i.e. healthcare providers, family and friends) are challenged to recognise and attend to the individual's vulnerability. I suggest that caregivers nurture personal integrity - through gestures that remember and honour aspects of the other as he/she was once known. Perhaps only through others can dying people be granted death with a sense of personal dignity.
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Development of the Attributed Dignity Scale.
Jacelon, Cynthia S; Dixon, Jane; Knafl, Kathleen A
2009-07-01
A sequential, multi-method approach to instrument development beginning with concept analysis, followed by (a) item generation from qualitative data, (b) review of items by expert and lay person panels, (c) cognitive appraisal interviews, (d) pilot testing, and (e) evaluating construct validity was used to develop a measure of attributed dignity in older adults. The resulting positively scored, 23-item scale has three dimensions: Self-Value, Behavioral Respect-Self, and Behavioral Respect-Others. Item-total correlations in the pilot study ranged from 0.39 to 0.85. Correlations between the Attributed Dignity Scale (ADS) and both Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (0.17) and Crowne and Marlowe's Social Desirability Scale (0.36) were modest and in the expected direction, indicating attributed dignity is a related but independent concept. Next steps include testing the ADS with a larger sample to complete factor analysis, test-retest stability, and further study of the relationships between attributed dignity and other concepts.
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Dignity Impact as a Primary Outcome Measure for Dignity Therapy.
Scarton, Lisa; Oh, Sungho; Sylvera, Ashley; Lamonge, Ralph; Yao, Yingwei; Chochinov, Harvey; Fitchett, George; Handzo, George; Emanuel, Linda; Wilkie, Diana
2018-01-01
Feasibility of dignity therapy (DT) is well established in palliative care. Evidence of its efficacy, however, has been inconsistent and may stem from DT's primary effects differing from the outcomes measured in previous studies. We proposed that DT effects were in the spiritual domain and created a new outcome measure, Dignity Impact Scale (DIS), from items previously used in a large randomized controlled trial (RCT). The purpose of this secondary analysis study was to examine properties of a new measure of dignity impact. Using the DIS, we conducted reanalysis of posttest data from a large 3-arm, multi-site RCT study. Participants were receiving hospice/palliative care (n = 326, 50.6% female, mean age = 65.1 years, 89.3% white, all with a terminal illness with 6 months or less life expectancy). They had been randomized to standard palliative care (n = 111), client-centered care (n = 107), or DT (n = 108). The 7-item DIS was derived from selected items in a posttest DT Patient Feedback Questionnaire. The DIS had strong internal consistency (α = 0.85). The DT group mean DIS score (21.4 ± 5.0) was significantly higher than the usual care group mean score (17.7 ± 5.5; t = 5.2, df = 216, P death, and life completion tasks. We propose that the DIS be used as the primary outcome measure in evaluating the effects of DT.
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Hladchenko, Myroslava; Westerheijden, Don F.
2018-01-01
This article aims to explore the academic identities under the conditions of means-ends decoupling at the nation-state level. For empirical evidence we choose Ukraine. In 2014, after the Revolution of Dignity despite the adoption of the policies aimed to construct academic identities like in the
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PH. BORDEYNE
2011-08-01
Full Text Available This contribution discusses the topic of moral ethics as expounded by the Second Vatican Council in its dogmatic constitution «Gaudium et Spes». It off ers a consistent and detailed analysis of the principle ideas essential for the understanding of the Council’s doctrine on the dignity of the human person and which are based on a theological interpretation of the human person as a social being. In this way, the Council took an innovative stance on the subject of the human person in society and the Roman Catholic Church consequently for the fi rst time in history opened itself more completely to the exploration of a full range of social problems
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Deprivation of Dignity in Nursing Home Residents
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høy, Bente
2016-01-01
deepened knowledge in how to maintain and promote dignity in nursing home residents. The purpose of this paper is to present results concerning the question: How is nursing home residents’ dignity maintained or deprived from the perspective of close family caregivers? In this presentation we only focus...... on deprivation of dignity. Methodology: The overall design of this study is modified clinical application research. The study took place at six different nursing home residences in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Data collection methods were individual research interviews. All together the sample consisted of 28...
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Euthanasia and death with dignity in Japanese law.
Kai, Katsunori
2010-12-01
In Japan, there are no acts and, specific provisions or official guidelines on euthanasia, but recently, as I will mention below, an official guideline on "death with dignity" has been made. Nevertheless in fact, this guideline provides only a few rules of process on terminal care. Therefore the problems of euthanasia and "death with dignity" are mainly left to the legal interpretation by literatures and judicial precedents of homicide (Article 199 of the Criminal Code; where there is no distinction between murder and manslaughter) and of homicide with consent (Article 202 of the Criminal Code). Furthermore, there are several cases on euthanasia or "death with dignity" as well as borderline cases in Japan. In this paper I will present the situation of the latest discussions on euthanasia and "death with dignity" in Japan from the viewpoint of medical law. Especially, "death with dignity" is seriously discussed in Japan, therefore I focus on it.
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Ruiz, Alvaro
2008-06-01
The right to die with dignity is an ill-defined concept, with multiple, often inappropriate, interpretations. The current proposition is that the physician take full responsibility for protecting the patients rights, for ensuring a rational use of resources and for overseeing the decision-making process such that the information is adequate and the steps proportioned. This responsibility extends not only to the health status of the patient situation, to the patients prognosis, and to his/her expectations and wishes, but also to the benefits foreseen and to the cost-benefit ratio. Emphasis is placed on two aspects of this relationship. First, dignity can be interpreted in many ways and sometimes, in the name of dignity, the patient is exposed (or exposes him/herself) to suffering, pain and complications that can be avoided. Second, when no reasonable probability of survival is present and a better quality of life is impossible, efforts are better redirected to offering a better quality of death.
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Identifying care actions to conserve dignity in end-of-life care.
Brown, Hilary; Johnston, Bridget; Ostlund, Ulrika
2011-05-01
Community nurses have a central role in the provision of palliative and end-of-life care; helping people to die with dignity is an important component of this care. To conserve dignity, care should comprise a broad range of actions addressing the distress that might impact on the patient's sense of dignity. These care actions need to be defined. This study aims to suggest care actions that conserve dignity at the end of life based on evidence from local experience and community nursing practice. Data were collected by focus group interviews and analysed by framework analysis using the Chochinov model of dignity as a predefined framework. Suggestions on care actions were given in relation to all themes. As part of a multi-phase project developing and testing a dignity care pathway, this study might help community nurses to conserve dying patients' dignity.
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Complex contradictions in conceptualisations of 'dignity' in palliative care.
Williams, Lisa; Trussardi, Gabriella; Black, Stella; Moeke-Maxwell, Tess; Frey, Rosemary; Robinson, Jackie; Gott, Merryn
2018-01-02
Internationally, increasing attention is being paid to understanding patient experiences of health care. Within palliative care, the Views of Informal Carers - Evaluation of Services (VOICES) questionnaire is commonly used for this purpose. Among its objectives is to ask family members if their relatives were treated with dignity at the end of life. This is regarded as useful for understanding the quality of the health care received. To highlight the differences between family members' reports of dignity in the care provided to their relatives at the end of life, as reported in the VOICES questionnaire, and their narratives about the care their relatives received. A total of 21 cognitive interviews were conducted during a New Zealand pilot of the VOICES questionnaire. Discrepancies between ratings of dignity and the lived experience of care suggest that lay understandings of dignity may not be congruent with that of health care providers. Bereaved family members' self-reports of dignity in end-of-life care captured using survey methods alone are inadequate to understand the complex ways in which individuals conceptualise and experience dignity within a health care context. The authors advocate consideration of multiple, complementary approaches to gathering consumer experiences of end-of-life care, as well as research which enables service users to interrogate what dignity in care means in an end-of-life context.
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Milton, Constance L
2003-10-01
The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses calls for the nurse to practice with compassion and respect for every individual. What are the ethics and challenges of practicing professional nursing with expertise and educating a new generation of nurses while incorporating the interpretive statements into practice? This column differentiates the traditional biomedical views on human dignity and respect while exploring the embedded ethics of respect and self-determination and what it truly means to be an expert of nursing from the theoretical perspective of the human becoming school of thought.
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Dignity-conserving care actions in palliative care: an integrative review of Swedish research.
Harstäde, Carina Werkander; Blomberg, Karin; Benzein, Eva; Östlund, Ulrika
2018-03-01
Previous research has proposed that persons in need of palliative care often have a loss of functions and roles that affects social and existential self-image. Moreover, these individuals also commonly suffer from complex multisymptoms. This, together with the situation of facing an impending death, can lead to a loss of dignity. Therefore, supporting these persons' dignity is a crucial challenge for professional nurses. The 'Dignity Care Intervention' addresses the multidimensionality of dignity by identifying patients' dignity-related concerns and suggests care actions to address them. At the present, the Dignity Care Intervention is adapted for implementation in Swedish care settings. Because expressions of dignity are influenced by culture, and an overview of care actions in a Swedish context is lacking, this integrative review aimed to find suggestions from Swedish research literature on what kind of care actions can preserve dignity. An integrative literature review was conducted using the databases SwePub and SweMed+. Articles published from 2006 to 2015 and theses published from 2000 to 2015 were searched for using the terms 'dignity' and 'palliative care'. Result sections of articles and theses were reviewed for dignity-conserving care actions synthesised by thematic analysis and categorised under themes and subthemes in Chochinov's model of dignity. Fifteen articles and 18 theses were included together providing suggestions of care actions in all themes and subthemes in the dignity model. Suggested care actions included listening, communication, information, symptom control, facilitating daily living and including patients in decision-making. Additionally, nurses' perceptiveness towards the patients was a core approach. The review offers culturally relevant suggestions on how to address specific dignity-related concerns. The adapted Dignity Care Intervention will be a way for Swedish nurses to provide person-centred palliative care that will conserve
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Tait, Glendon R.; Hodges, Brian D.
2009-01-01
Objective: The authors examined psychiatric residents' attitudes, perceived preparedness, experiences, and needs in end-of-life care education. They also examined how residents conceptualized good end-of-life care and dignity. Methods: The authors conducted an electronic survey of 116 psychiatric residents at the University of Toronto. The survey…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Antoaneta-Laura (MIREA SAVA
2016-10-01
Full Text Available This article presents the evolution of the concept of human dignity in conventions, treaties and other international documents, starting from the 13th century, when we meet different references to the human rights in the English Charter from 1215 –Magna Charta, and continuing with the American Declaration of Independence from 1776, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from 1789 etc. In present times, the most important and relevant documents are The Charter of the United Nations, signed at San Francisco, California, on the 26th of June 1945, The European Convention of Human Rights, signed at Rome, on the 5th of November 1950, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted in 1963, The Charter of Paris, called “For a new Europe” – 1989, The Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, signed at San José, in Costa Rica, on the 22nd of November 1969, The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted during the Conference for Organisation of African Unity (OAU, on the 27th of June 1981, The Asian Human Rights Charter, elaborated by the Asian Human Rights Commission and proclaimed on the 17th of May 1998 etc.
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1 Corinthians 7:17�24. Identity and human dignity amidst power and liminality
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Jeremy Punt
2012-02-01
Full Text Available Paul�s concern with identity, and in particular the identity of the believer in relation to Jesus Christ, is an important concern in his writings. In the midst of an important section dedicated to advice and instruction on marriage in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul encouraged his audience in 1 Corinthians 7:17�24 to remain in the calling by, or position in, which they were called. Concerning these circumstances he refers to circumcision (1 Cor 7:18�19 and slavery (1 Cor 7:21�23 by name. These Pauline instructions are investigated against the backdrop of both the 1st century CE context and post-apartheid South Africa, where issues of identity and marginality rub shoulders with claims to ownership and entitlement, on the one hand, and issues of human dignity, on the other.
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Haugen, Hans Morten
2010-08-01
The article analyses the three terms autonomy, dignity and vulnerability. The relevance and practical application of the terms is tested in two spheres. First, as guiding principles in the area of ethics of medicines and science. Second, as human rights principles, serving to guide the conduct of public policies for an effective realization of human rights. The article argues that all human beings have the same dignity, but that the autonomy--and therefore vulnerability--differs considerably. Simply said, with reduced autonomy comes increased vulnerability, implying extra attention to the protective dimensions. The article finds that the three terms approach the protection of human beings in different ways and that all are relevant and applicable in both spheres, but that an isolated notion of autonomy and a 'group-based' notion of vulnerability are not adequate.
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Maintaining patients' dignity during clinical care: a qualitative interview study.
Lin, Yea-Pyng; Tsai, Yun-Fang
2011-02-01
This article is a report of a study undertaken to understand how nurses maintain patients' dignity in clinical practice. Dignity is a core concept in nursing care and maintaining patients' dignity is critical to their recovery. In Western countries, measures to maintain dignity in patients' care include maintaining privacy of the body, providing spatial privacy, giving sufficient time, treating patients as a whole person and allowing patients to have autonomy. However, this is an under-studied topic in Asian countries. For this qualitative descriptive study, data were collected in Taiwan in 2009 using in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 30 nurses from a teaching hospital in eastern Taiwan. The audiotaped interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis. Nurses' measures to maintain dignity in patient care were captured in five themes: respect, protecting privacy, emotional support, treating all patients alike and maintaining body image. Participants did not mention beneficence, a crucial element achieved through the professional care of nurses that can enhance the recovery of patients. In-service education to help nurses enhance dignity in patient care should emphasize emotional support, maintaining body image and treating all patients alike. Our model for maintaining dignity in patient care could be used to develop a clinical care protocol for nurses to use in clinical practice. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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Dignity and informed consent in the treatment of mature minors.
Bello, Bidemi Ademola
2010-12-01
In today's world, as evinced in various human rights provisions, emphasis is placed on the assertion and protection of the entrenched rights of every human and particularly the dignity of humans and respect of human autonomy. Medical/health workers are concerned about protecting every patient's right to the dignity of his or her person. This led to the formulation of the concept of self determination and informed consent in medical diagnosis and treatments. However, serious concern is placed on these principles especially as it affects mature minors, a group of individuals who by conduct demand a level of respect but may at the same time be viewed as not capable of making the "best" informed decisions, especially about health. The following issues may arise as a result of the aforementioned concerns: --are mature young ones entitled to right of self determination and informed consent despite the alleged fear that they may lack capacity to make informed decisions? --if no, who should decide on their behalf--their parents, their medical/health provider or the society/government (especially since the 3 (three) interested groups may have different and conflicting stands on what is best for the child); --if the answer to the initial question is yes, to what extent should mature minors be informed of their medical choices and be allowed to exercise their right of self determination? --should they be guided? --and who should so guide them? In resolving the above issue, due consideration has been given not only to legal and bio-ethical provisions of some countries but also to international conventions which several countries are party to. Thereafter, it became clear that most authorities are of the view that mature minors should be fully informed and be allowed to have a say in health decisions, coaching them with few exceptions. Ultimately, because of the importance of respect for human dignity, autonomy and self determination along with medical disclosure in today
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Do cultural diversity and human rights make a good match?
Donders, Y.
2010-01-01
The link between cultural diversity and human rights was clearly established by the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted by the member states of UNESCO in 2001, which holds that "the defence of cultural diversity is … inseparable from respect for human dignity" and that it " implies
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Educating student midwives around dignity and respect.
Hall, Jenny S; Mitchell, Mary
2017-06-01
There is currently limited information available on how midwifery students learn to provide care that promotes dignity and respect. In recent years the importance of dignity in healthcare and treating people with respect has received considerable emphasis in both a national and international context. The aim of this discussion paper is to describe an educational workshop that enables learning to promote dignity and respect in maternity care. An interactive workshop, using different creative methods as triggers for learning will be described. Provision of learning opportunities for students around dignity and respect is important to ensure appropriate care is provided in practice. The use of creative methods to inspire has contributed to deep learning within participants. An evaluation of the workshop illustrated how learning impacted on participants practice. Data to support this is presented in this paper. The use of creative teaching approaches in a workshop setting appears to provide an effective learning opportunity around dignified and respectful care. These workshops have evoked a deep emotional response for some participants, and facilitators must be prepared for this outcome to ensure a safe space for learning. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Gaay Fortman, B. de
2006-01-01
Human rights reflect a determined effort to protect the dignity of each and every human being against abuse of power. This endeavour is as old as human history. What is relatively new is the international venture for the protection of human dignity through internationally accepted legal standards
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Dignity and Dawn: Libya’s Escalating Civil War
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Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
2015-02-01
Full Text Available In this Research Paper, ICCT Associate Fellow Dr. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Nathaniel Barr provides a detailed examination of the armed conflict in Libya between the Operation Dignity and Libya Dawn military coalitions. The conflict erupted in May 2014, when Dignity leader Khalifa Hifter announced the launch of his campaign, which was aimed at ridding eastern Libya of Islamist militias, beginning with Benghazi. This offensive shattered a fragile status quo. Revolutionary forces concentrated in the city of Misrata and Islamist politicians perceived Hifter’s offensive as a direct affront and, following parliamentary elections that these factions lost, the Misrata-Islamist bloc announced the launch of the Libya Dawn offensive, aimed at driving pro-Dignity forces out of Tripoli. More broadly, the Dawn offensive was an effort to change facts on the ground in order to ensure that the Misrata-Islamist bloc retained political influence. The Dignity and Dawn offensives have contributed to the continuing political and geographic fragmentation of Libya. Libya now has two separate parliaments and governments, while much of the country has been carved into spheres of influence by warring factions. The Dignity-Dawn conflict has also caused a deterioration of security, which has played into the hands of a variety of violent non-state actors, including al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates that have capitalized on Libya’s security vacuum to establish bases of operation. This report provides a blow-by-blow account of the military conflict between Dignity and Dawn forces, then assesses the implications of the Libyan civil war on regional security and potential policy options for Western states.
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Washing the patient: dignity and aesthetic values in nursing care.
Pols, Jeannette
2013-07-01
Dignity is a fundamental concept, but its meaning is not clear. This paper attempts to clarify the term by analysing and reconnecting two meanings of dignity: humanitas and dignitas. Humanitas refers to citizen values that protect individuals as equal to one another. Dignitas refers to aesthetic values embedded in genres of sociality that relate to differences between people. The paper explores these values by way of an empirical ethical analysis of practices of washing psychiatric patients in nursing care. Nurses legitimate the washing of reluctant patients with reference to dignity. The analysis shows the intertwinement of humanitas and dignitas that gives dignity its fundamental meaning. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Gift T. Baloyi
2017-01-01
Full Text Available This article discusses the nature of human beings (men and women as an egalitarian one even beyond cultural expectations. It argues against some cultural practices on women, especially widows, which claim supremacy and bind the widows to its ritual processes among the Tsonga people. It stresses the importance of human individual that overtakes everything from God�s creation, including cultural rituals which are created by human beings. It claims that the existence of culture depends solely on the existence or presence of human beings and their communities. Therefore, culture cannot use humans to shape itself and to transform the community. It is humans themselves who use culture to identify themselves and ultimately change their communities. Although the paper is theological in its approach, it argues for individual human rights to be respected and weighed above all cultural practices. It further concludes that such cultural practices are not static and that they can be removed from the rest of culture.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article, from a practical theological view, challenges the African cultural rituals that claim authority over women�s rights and dignity. The interdisciplinary nature of this article indicates the sanctity of human individuals especially widows and thereby calls for paradigm shift to deconstruct certain oppressive teachings and practices against widows among African women. This article concludes thus, cultural deconstruction is possible.
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On the tenth anniversary of the "Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights".
Petrini, C
2015-01-01
In 2005 the representatives of 191 states meeting for the General Conference of UNESCO unanimously approved the "Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights". The Declaration is the only instrument of its kind: it was the first document adopted by a global organisation that addressed the whole range of issues with which bioethics is concerned and that is a legal instrument. Many of the principles affirmed in the Declaration had already been amply absorbed into the discipline of bioethics. All of them can be traced to the dignity and equality of every individual. The most evident novelty is to be found less in the content of the principles than in the balancing of individual and societal perspectives. Also in evidence are several compromises that were adopted in order to promote dialogue and mutual understanding.
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Dignity, religion and freedom of expression in South Africa
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Jacobus C.W. van Rooyen
2011-04-01
Full Text Available The issue that this article dealt with is whether, in South African law, speech that infringes upon the religious feelings of an individual is protected by the dignity clause in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The Constitution, as well as the Broadcasting Code, prohibits language that advocates hatred, inter alia, based on religion and that constitutes incitement to cause harm. Dignity, which is a central Constitutional right, relates to the sense of self worth which a person has. A Court has held that religious feelings, national pride and language do not form part of dignity, for purposes of protection in law. The Broadcasting Complaints Commission has, similarly, decided that a point of view seriously derogatory of ‘Calvinistic people’ blaming (some of them as being hypocritical and even acting criminally is not protected by dignity. It would have to be accompanied by the advocacy of hatred as defined previously. The author, however, pointed out that on occasion different facts might found a finding in law that religion is so closely connected to dignity, that it will indeed be regarded as part thereof.
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Building Social Inclusion through Critical Arts-Based Pedagogies in University Classroom Communities
Chappell, Sharon Verner; Chappell, Drew
2016-01-01
In humanities and education university classrooms, the authors facilitated counter-narrative arts-based inquiry projects in order to build critical thought and social inclusion. The first author examines public performance installations created by graduate students in elementary and bilingual education on needs-based and dignity-based rights of…
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights: English, French, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba
Soyinka, Wole
2013-01-01
PREAMBLE Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom justice and peace in the world. Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common p...
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1988-01-01
This document contains portions of the text of a 1988 UN Resolution on measures to improve the situation and ensure the human rights and dignity of all migrant workers. In this resolution, the General Assembly reaffirms international instruments protecting human rights but articulates a further need to improve the protection of human rights for migrant workers and their families. The General Assembly then noted the two most recent reports of the Working Group on the Drafting of an International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families and took measures to enable the Working Group to complete its task.
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Defining dignity in end-of-life care in the emergency department.
Fernández-Sola, Cayetano; Cortés, María Mar Díaz; Hernández-Padilla, José Manuel; Torres, Cayetano José Aranda; Terrón, José María Muñoz; Granero-Molina, José
2017-02-01
Respecting dignity is having a profound effect on the clinical relationship and the care framework for terminally ill patients in palliative care units, hospices and their own homes, with particular consequences for the emergency department. However, dignity is a vague and multifaceted concept that is difficult to measure. The aim of this study is to define the attributes of dignity in end-of-life care in the emergency department, based on the opinions of physicians and nurses. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach utilising Gadamer's philosophical underpinnings guided the study. Participants and research context: This research was conducted in Spain in 2013-2014. Participants included 10 physicians and 16 nurses with experience working in the emergency department. Two focus groups and 12 in-depth interviews were carried out. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the Research Centre Ethical Committee (Andalusian Health Service, Spain). The results point to the person's inherent value, socio-environmental conditions and conscious actions/attitudes as attributes of dignity when caring for a dying patient in the emergency department. Dying with dignity is a basic objective in end-of-life care and is an ambiguous but relevant concept for physicians and nurses. In line with our theoretical framework, our results highlight care environment, professional actions and socio-family context as attributes of dignity. Quality care in the emergency department includes paying attention to the dignity of people in the process of death. The dignity in the care of a dying person in the emergency department is defined by acknowledging the inherent value in each person, socio-environmental conditions and social and individual acceptance of death. Addressing these questions has significant repercussions for health professionals, especially nurses.
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McIlfatrick, Sonja; Connolly, Michael; Collins, Rita; Murphy, Tara; Johnston, Bridget; Larkin, Philip
2017-12-01
To evaluate a dignity care intervention provided by community nurses seeking to address dignity concerns for people with advanced and life-limiting conditions. Evidence would suggest that dying people fear a loss of dignity and a central focus of palliative care is to assist people to die with dignity. Whilst community nurses have a key role to play in the delivery of palliative care, specific interventions for dignity are lacking. A mixed methods study using online survey and focus group interviews and thematic analysis to examine data. Twenty four community nurses implemented the dignity care intervention for people with advanced and life-limiting conditions were recruited from four pilot sites across Ireland. Four focus group interviews and on line survey were conducted between March-June 2015. The community nurses found the dignity care intervention useful. It helped the nurses to provide holistic end-of-life care and assisted in the overall assessment of palliative care patients, identifying areas that might not otherwise have been noted. Whilst it was a useful tool for communication, they noted that it stimulated some emotionally sensitive conversations for which they felt unprepared. Implementing the dignity care intervention in practice was challenging. However, the dignity care intervention facilitated holistic assessment and identified patient dignity-related concerns that may not have been otherwise identified. Further support is required to overcome barriers and enable dignity-conserving care. Ensuring dignity is a key aspect of palliative and end-of-life care; however, community nurses may not feel equipped to address this aspect of care. Implementing a dignity care intervention can assist in identifying patient dignity-related concerns and provision of holistic care. Community nurses need more training to assist in difficult conversations relating to dignity and end-of-life care. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Economic Justice: Necessary Condition for Human Rights.
Cloud, Fred
1993-01-01
Economic justice means taking the personhood of poor people into account; respecting their needs, personal ambitions, rights, and dignity; and affording equal opportunity and equal access to education, health care, housing, and jobs. Examples of injustice to minority groups are provided, citing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (SLD)
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Bio-etiek sonder grense en menswaardigheid: 'n Gereformeerd-etiese beoordeling
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Riaan Rheeder
2013-02-01
Full Text Available Bioethics without boundaries and human dignity: A Reformed-ethical assessment. The Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBH seeks to guide the world community in ethical principles with regard to medicine, life sciences and related technologies. Human dignity as a principle was requested by the world community and serves as a point of departure in most human rights instruments, as well as in the UDBH. Human dignity serves as a foundation for ethical principles and human rights. In this article, attention was given to the question of whether human dignity could be accepted as part of the Biblical message. Human dignity as a principle and grounding in the UDBH was accepted by most major religions of the world. There exists today a universal consensus that human dignity is an extremely important concept in bioethics. In light of the Reformed tradition, all human beings have dignity, as they had been created in the image of God. Because God is absolute value, humans have derived, but definite value. Human dignity is not just a status, but also a command. All the ethical principles and human rights in the UDBH should be regarded as a way of giving expression to the dignity of man. When the dignity of the humans beings is infringed upon, an undignified image of God is revealed, and serves as a direct insult to God.
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Dignity, dependence and relational autonomy for older people living in nursing homes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Tolo Heggestad, Anne Kari; Høy, Bente; Wilhelm Rehnsfeldt, Arne
2015-01-01
Dignity is a core concept in nursing care . In earlier theories on dignity, close links have been drawn between dignity and autonomy, and autonomy has been closely related to independence . These traditional understandings of dignity and autonomy may be challenged when an individual moves...... into a nursing home . Our findings show that negative views about dependence, institutional frames and structures in the nursing home, and the attitudes and actions of healthcare personnel may diminish independence and lead to a lack of autonomy . Each of these areas can be experienced as a serious threat...
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Death and dignity through fresh eyes.
Phillips, Matthew; Pilkington, Ruth; Patterson, Aileen; Hennessy, Martina
2011-12-01
Trinity College Dublin remains one of the Medical Schools that uses traditional dissection to teach anatomy, exposing students from the first week of entry to cadavers. This early exposure makes it imperative that issues surrounding death and donor remains are explored early on within the main structure of the curriculum. The School of Medicine began a programme of Medical Humanities student-selected modules (SSMs) in 2010, and the opportunity to offer a module on medical ethics regarding death and dignity was taken. A course was devised that touched only lightly on subjects such as palliative care and the concept of a good death. The course focused much more strongly on the reality of death as part of cultural and societal identity and placement. This was facilitated by field trips to settings where discussions regarding death, dying and dignity were commonplace and authentic experiences, rather than classroom discussions based on theoretical circumstances that may not yet have been experienced by the student. The module ran very well, with students feeling that they had had a chance to think critically about the role of death as an event with significance within society and culture, rather than purely in a medico-legal framework. Options to extend the module to the compulsory element of the course, to be built upon in later years looking at more technical aspects surrounding death, are being explored. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Juliana Claassens
2013-09-01
Full Text Available This article seeked to read the interconnected narratives of Sarah and Hagar (Genesis 16, 21 in terms of the hermeneutical lens of human dignity. For the purpose of this article, recent studies on the performative nature of emotions, which considered the central role of emotions such as pain, disgust and hatred in shaping the lives of individuals as well as the ways in which people relate to one another, were helpful in contemplating the situations of dehumanisation faced by both Sarah and Hagar as well as the broader question regarding upholding human worth in a context of indignity. This article furthermore considered the role of emotions in a conversation on ethics and particularly the way in which the narrative offered a fruitful avenue for considering Israel�s relationship to their neighbours � a line of interpretation that holds potential for reflecting on complex interracial and interethnic relationships in today�s global context.
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Dignity in nursing care: What does it mean to student nurses?
Mullen, Rosemary.; Fleming, Anne.; McMillan, Laura.; Kydd, Angela.
2017-01-01
Background: Despite growing interest in the potential of nursing education to enhance dignity in nursingcare, relatively little is known about what dignity means to nursing students.Research question: What meaning does dignity in nursing care have for nursing students?Research design: Photo-elicitation was embedded within a Nominal Group Technique and responseswere analysed by qualitative and quantitative content analysis.Participants and research context: Participants were recruited from eac...
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Bentwich, Miriam Ethel; Dickman, Nomy; Oberman, Amitai
A key message in the World Health Organization report on dementia (2012) emphasizes this disease as a top priority in public health and the need to improve professional attitudes to patients with dementia, while acknowledging that the workforce in dementia care is becoming increasingly diverse culturally. To trace whether there are substantial gaps between formal caretakers from different cultural groups (Israeli born Jews [Sabras], Israeli Arabs [Arabs] and migrants from Russia [Russians]) regarding their stances on the human dignity and autonomy of patients with dementia, as well as understand the meaning of these gaps. quantitative analysis utilizing questionnaires that were filled-out by approximately 200 caretakers from the different cultural groups, working in a nursing home or a hospital. In nursing homes, substantial differences were found in the attitudes to human dignity and autonomy of patients with dementia between Russian and Arab as well as Sabra caretakers. In the hospital, there was no influence for the ethno-culture variable on dignity or autonomy. Contrary to past research, in nursing homes, significant differences were found between certain ethno-cultural groups (Arabs and Russians) regarding their stance towards the dignity of patients with dementia. Arab caretakers hold a conception of dignity and autonomy that resonates strongly with person-centered care and outweighs institutional settings as well as may be related to the fostering of virtues. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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[Death with dignity - dignity life. A debate].
Medina Morales, Diego
2013-01-01
Since 2010 in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia passed into law ″derechos y garantías de la dignidad de las personas en el proceso de muerte″. At national level, in Spain, it's disputed the need to legalize this delicate aspect therefore already been made some projects for legalization. This advised to review the pros and cons of some legislative implementation experiences and case mix in countries where it has already occurred. This paper undertakes the study of the implementation of the Death with Dignity Act in Oregon and highlight is what were the immediate consequences and risks that has produced a law of this nature.
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Villatore, Marco Antônio Cesar; Rodrigues, Marcelo Rodrigues
2017-01-01
New paradigms of social rights in relation to human dignity will be analyzed, principally in situations in which workers are morally degraded because of globalization, by virtue of its ready generation of unemployment. First, the distinction (or lack thereof) will be examined with respect to social rights in relation to other rights. The question of globalization will also be considered, emphasizing the economic crisis as a factor that directly and indirectly produces problems everywhere. Th...
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Learning from dying patients during their final days: life reflections gleaned from dignity therapy.
Hack, Thomas F; McClement, Susan E; Chochinov, Harvey M; Cann, Beverley J; Hassard, Thomas H; Kristjanson, Linda J; Harlos, Mike
2010-10-01
Dignity therapy is a novel therapeutic approach designed to decrease suffering, enhance quality of life and bolster a sense of dignity for patients approaching death. The benefits of dignity therapy were previously documented in a sample of 100 terminally ill patients. One of the products of dignity therapy is a transcript of the edited therapy session(s). In this qualitative study, 50 of the 100 (17 from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and 33 from Perth, Australia) dignity therapy transcripts were randomly drawn, and independently coded and analysed by three investigators using a grounded theory approach. The transcripts revealed that dignity therapy serves to provide a safe, therapeutic environment for patients to review the most meaningful aspects of their lives in such a manner that their core values become apparent. The most common values expressed by the patients included 'Family', 'Pleasure', 'Caring', 'A Sense of Accomplishment', 'True Friendship', and 'Rich Experience'. Exemplars of each of these values illustrate the pervasive, defining role of values in our lives. The findings are discussed in terms of values theory, the role of dignity therapy, and consideration of values clarification in clinicians' efforts to enhance the dignity of terminally ill patients.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Brenda Bentley
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Motor neurone disease (MND practice guidelines suggest developing interventions that will promote hope, meaning, and dignity to alleviate psychological distress, but very little research has been done. This study begins to address this need by exploring the use of dignity therapy with people with MND. Dignity therapy is a brief psychotherapy that promotes hope, meaning and dignity, and enhances the end of life for people with advanced cancer. The aims of this study are to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of dignity therapy for people with MND. METHODS/DESIGN: This cross-sectional feasibility study used a one-group pre-test post-test design with 29 people diagnosed with MND. Study participants completed the following self-report questionnaires: Herth Hope Index, FACIT-sp, Patient Dignity Inventory, ALS Assessment Questionnaire, ALS Cognitive Behavioural Screen, and a demographic and health history questionnaire. Acceptability was measured with a 25-item feedback questionnaire. Feasibility was assessed by examining the length of time taken to complete dignity therapy and how symptoms common in MND affected the intervention. Generalised linear mixed models and reliable change scores were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: There were no significant pre-test post-test changes for hopefulness, spirituality or dignity on the group level, but there were changes in hopefulness on the individual level. The results of the feedback questionnaire indicates dignity therapy is highly acceptable to people with MND, who report benefits similar to those in the international randomised controlled trial on dignity therapy, a population who primarily had end-stage cancer. Benefits include better family relationships, improved sense of self and greater acceptance. Dignity therapy with people with MND is feasible if the therapist can overcome time and communication difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: Dignity therapy for people with
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Slettebø, Åshild; Saeteren, Berit; Caspari, Synnøve
2017-01-01
BACKGROUND: Living in a nursing home may be challenging to the residents' experience of dignity. Residents' perception of how their dignity is respected in everyday care is important. AIM: To examine how nursing home residents experience dignity through the provision of activities that foster...... meaning and joy in their daily life. METHOD: A qualitative design was used and 28 individual semistructured interviews conducted with nursing home residents from six nursing homes in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Independent ethical committees in all...... participating countries granted their approval for the study. FINDINGS: The participants highlight two dimensions of the activities that foster experiences of dignity in nursing homes in Scandinavia. These two categories were (i) fostering dignity through meaningful participation and (ii) fostering dignity...
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Washing the patient: dignity and aesthetic values in nursing care
Pols, J.
2013-01-01
Dignity is a fundamental concept, but its meaning is not clear. This paper attempts to clarify the term by analysing and reconnecting two meanings of dignity: humanitas and dignitas. Humanitas refers to citizen values that protect individuals as equal to one another. Dignitas refers to aesthetic
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Revisiting Privacy and Dignity: Online Shaming in the Global E-Village
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Anne S.Y. Cheung
2014-06-01
Full Text Available Since the introduction of new Web-based technology in the early 21st century, online shaming against those who have violated social norms has been proliferating fast in cyberspace. We have witnessed personal information of targeted individuals being disclosed and displayed for the purpose of humiliation and social condemnation by the anonymous Internet crowd, followed often by harassment and abusive behavior online and offline, resulting in serious disruption of personal life. While public shaming as a form of criminal sanction has been widely discussed in present literature, social policing by shaming transgressions via the Internet is largely a new terrain yet to be explored and studied. Drawing on socio-legal literature on shaming and punishment, and jurisprudence from the English Courts on defamation, harassment and misuse of personal information and the European Court of Human Rights on the relationship between the right to private life and dignity, the discussion will explain how the role of dignity has informed the development of the right to privacy where its value has played a distinctive role. This refers especially to the context in which the plaintiffs could be said to be partly at fault as transgressor-victims. It argues that the recognition and protection of the dignity and privacy of an individual is necessary in order to arrive at norms and values inherent in decent participation in the e-village. In this article, the term “dignity” refers to one’s innate personhood, integrity and self-respect.
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Blanchard, Rosemary Ann
2013-01-01
Today's education for civic engagement requires a global dimension. To live responsibly in their own communities, young people need to situate their personal and local interests in the context of their global interconnections. Bridging the personal, local, and global begins with an awareness of the universal aspirations for dignity and human…
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Church and state in South Africa and human rights
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Piet J. Strauss
2015-10-01
Full Text Available After the Second World War, there was a universal rise and greater acknowledgement of human rights, which entered churches and ecumenical organisations’ way of thinking. Human rights influenced the church’s understanding of justice and human dignity both internally and externally. The concept of human dignity came from the biblical believe that man is created in the image of God. In South Africa human rights were also increasingly recognised and respected. A charter of human rights was included as chapter 2 of the 1996 Constitution and churches regard human dignity as a central tenet of their approach to members and non-members. Differences between church and state on the issue have arisen as the result of differences on the freedom of religion. Church and state in South Africa can complement each other in the promotion of human dignity. Opsomming: Kerk en staat in Suid-Afrika en menseregte. Na die Tweede Wêreldoorlog is menseregte wêreldwyd erken en aanvaar. Dit was ook die geval in kerke en ekumeniese organisasies. Menseregte het kerke se siening van geregtigheid en menswaardigheid in hulle interne sowel as eksterne optrede beïnvloed. Die begrip menswaardigheid het ontstaan uit die bybelse oortuiging dat die mens na die beeld van God geskape is. In Suid-Afrika is menseregte ook toenemend erken en aanvaar. ’n Verklaring van menseregte is as hoofstuk 2 in die 1996-grondwet ingesluit en kerke beskou menswaardigheid as toonaangewend in hulle benadering van mense binne en buite die kerk. Verskille tussen die kerk en die staat in Suid-Afrika oor menseregte het ontstaan as gevolg van verskille oor die inhoud van die vryheid van godsdiens. Teen hierdie agtergrond kan kerk en staat mekaar egter aanvul in die bevordering van menseregte.
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Schmidt, Kirsten
2008-01-01
Animal genetic engineering seems to point at a normative gap beyond pathocentric welfare theories in animal ethics. Recently developed approaches aim to bridge this gap by means of new normative criteria such as animal dignity and animal integrity. The following comparison of dignity and integrity in the context of animal ethics shows that the dignity concept faces serious problems because of its necessarily anthroporelational character and the different functions of contingent and inherent dignity within ethical reasoning. Unlike animal dignity the concept of animal integrity could prove to be a useful enhancement for pathocentric approaches.
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[Architecture, budget and dignity].
Morel, Etienne
2012-01-01
Drawing on its dynamic strengths, a psychiatric unit develops various projects and care techniques. In this framework, the institute director must make a number of choices with regard to architecture. Why renovate the psychiatry building? What financial investments are required? What criteria should be followed? What if the major argument was based on the respect of the patient's dignity?
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Opinion Humanity as an end in itself, pharmaceutical companies ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
nine million people worldwide were living with HIV at the end of 2005. ... Saharan Africa is the worst-affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. .... worth. Humanity has dignity and this dignity has intrinsic value. Human dignity .... paper titled “Human Rights and Global Health: A Research Program.” Poggle.
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Protection of honour and dignity in criminal law
Diāna Hamkova
2009-01-01
Annotation As it is not possible to analyze categories „honour” and „dignity” only from one point of view, the research is made in philosophical, legal and bioethical aspects. Legal analysis of corpus delicti – defamation and demeaning of the dignity is made in the research, as well as nuances of protection of honour and dignity in criminal and civil law are analyzed. In order to reach the objective of the research wide range of international regulations is dealt with as well as comparativ...
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Living and dying with dignity: a qualitative study of the views of older people in nursing homes.
Hall, Sue; Longhurst, Susan; Higginson, Irene
2009-07-01
most older people living in nursing homes die there. An empirically based model of dignity has been developed, which forms the basis of a brief psychotherapy to help promote dignity and reduce distress at the end of life. to explore the generalisability of the dignity model to older people in nursing homes. qualitative interviews were used to explore views on maintaining dignity of 18 residents of nursing homes. A qualitative descriptive approach was used. The analysis was both deductive (arising from the dignity model) and inductive (arising from participants' views). the main categories of the dignity model were broadly supported: illness-related concerns, social aspects of the illness experience and dignity conserving repertoire. However, subthemes relating to death were not supported and two new themes emerged. Some residents saw their symptoms and loss of function as due to old age rather than illness. Although residents did not appear to experience distress due to thoughts of impending death, they were distressed by the multiple losses they had experienced. these findings add to our understanding of the concerns of older people in care homes on maintaining dignity and suggest that dignity therapy may bolster their sense of dignity.
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Dignity in health-care: a critical exploration using feminism and theories of recognition.
Aranda, Kay; Jones, Andrea
2010-09-01
Growing concerns over undignified health-care has meant the concept of dignity is currently much discussed in the British National Health Service. This has led to a number of policies attempting to reinstate dignity as a core ethical value governing nursing practice and health-care provision. Yet these initiatives continue to draw upon a concept of dignity which remains reliant upon a depoliticised, ahistorical and decontexualised subject. In this paper, we argue the need to revise the dignity debate through the lens of feminism and theories of recognition. Postmodern feminist theories provide major challenges to what remain dominant liberal approaches as they pay attention to the contingent, reflexive, and affective aspects of care work. Theories of recognition provide a further critical resource for understanding how moral obligations and responsibilities towards others and our public and private responses to difference arise. This re-situates dignity as a highly contested and politicised concept involving complex moral deliberations and diverse political claims of recognition. The dignity debate is thus moved beyond simplistic rational injunctions to care, or to care more, and towards critical discussions of complex politicised, moral practices infused with power that involve the recognition of difference in health-care.
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Tweeting dignity: A practical theological reflection on Twitter’s normative function
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jan Albert Van den Berg
2017-08-01
Full Text Available Social media makes an important contribution to a rapidly changing world in which various domains of meaning are described anew. The evolving nature and dynamic character of social media therefore provides for a rich praxis terrain with which to interact from a practical theological orientation. More specifically associated with the theme of this contribution, the social media sphere also provides an excellent space not only to rethink but also to reenact expressions of dignity in society. The research is facilitated from a practical theological orientation, with particular focus on a normative dimension as embodied in aspects of dignity. Through the use of an interdisciplinary approach and methodology, some contours of dignity specifically associated with South African politics as well as the so-called Charlie Hebdo attacks in 2015 in Paris expressed on the social media platform, Twitter, are described and discussed. From this empirical analysis, description and discussion, a practical theological reflection is offered in which aspects of dignity associated with a normativity function are described. Some practical theological perspectives contributing to future relevant tweeting on dignity are also formulated and provided in conclusion.
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A new place for death with dignity: the golden room.
Keegan, Lynn; Drick, Carole Ann
2011-12-01
In this article, the authors consider how professional nurses can strive to advance death and dying to the next level in our evolution of compassionate end-of-life practices. The authors focus on describing the development of a place for dying that allows for a peaceful, profound experience that honors and respects human dignity and elevates the human family. Actual places called the Golden Room or Golden Room Centers are proposed to accommodate dying persons and their loved ones at end of life as they make the transition from physical life. The authors detail and propose a return to the sacredness of death and dying through access to a place for the physical transition.
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Nursing home staff's views on residents' dignity: a qualitative interview study
Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G.; Pasman, H. Roeline W.; van Gennip, Isis E.; Willems, Dick L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.
2013-01-01
Maintaining dignity is an important element of end-of-life care and also of the care given in nursing homes. Factors influencing personal dignity have been studied from both nursing home residents' and staff's perspective. Little is however known about the way nursing home staff perceive and promote
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christiane Splicido
2012-08-01
Full Text Available Resumo O presente estudo visa discorrer acerca da aplicação do princípio da dignidade da pessoa humana na hermenêutica jurídica contemporânea, sob a luz do pós-positivismo, abordando a origem e evolução histórica sobre tal princípio e pelo próprio Direito para chegar ao atual modelo principiológico que segue e vincula todo o ordenamento jurídico contemporâneo. Palavras-Chave: Princípio da Dignidade da Pessoa Humana – Pós-Positivismo – Interpretação Normativa – Regras e princípios. Abstract The present study contemporary aims at to discourse concerning the application of the beginning of the dignity of the person human being in the legal hermeneutics, under the light of the one post-positivism, approaching the origin and historical evolution on such principle and for the proper Right to arrive at the current study of the principles model that all follows and ties to the legal system contemporary. Keywords: Principle of the Dignity of the Person Human being – Post-positivism - Normative Interpretation - Rules and principles.
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The experiences on dignity from the perspective of the elderly in nursing homes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høy, Bente
2016-01-01
The aim of the study was to explore nursing home residents’ practice experiences on dignity in caring situations and everyday life in order to illuminate the significance for a life in dignity. Elderly living in nursing homes are vulnerable which appeal to nursing care ethics and emphasise....... From the literature we have knowledge of how dignity is violated among persons who are sick, weak and helpless; however, the knowledge is limited on how dignity is maintained among vulnerable elderly in nursing homes. A hermeneutic approach was used to interpret the material, which was gathered during...... semi-structured interviews with elderly living in six nursing homes in Scandinavian. A total of 28 interviews were transcribed. The findings will be presented at the conference....
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Mehnert, A; Schröder, A S; Puhlmann, K; Müllerleile, U; Koch, U
2006-11-01
Most patients, family members, health care professional as well as volunteers would agree that dignified care and being allowed to die with dignity are superior and unquestionable goals of palliative care. Although the majority of people have a more or less vague concept of dignity and despite its significance for palliative care, only a few empirical approaches to describe the sense of dignity from patients' and health care professionals' perspectives have been undertaken. However, individual descriptions of the dignity concept and definitions can serve as an impetus to improve the current palliative care practice by the development and evaluation of psychotherapeutic interventions for patients near the end of life and the allocation of resources. This article considers an internationally developed empirical-based model of dignity in severe and terminal ill patients by Chochinov et al. Furthermore, it illustrates the understanding of dignity as well as self-perceived exertions of influence on a patient's dignity from the perspective of health care professionals and volunteers. Psychotherapeutic interventions and strategies are introduced that can help conserve the sense of dignity of patients during palliative care.
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A prospective evaluation of Dignity Therapy in advanced cancer patients admitted to palliative care
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Houmann, Lise Jul; Chochinov, Harvey M; Kristjanson, Linda J
2014-01-01
questionnaires were completed when patients received the generativity document (T1) and 2 weeks later (T2). Changes from baseline (T0) were measured in sense of dignity, Structured Interview for Symptoms and Concerns items, Patient Dignity Inventory, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and European...... and will to live. Quality of life decreased (mean = -9 (95% confidence interval: -14.54; -2.49)) and depression increased (mean = 0.31 (0.06; 0.57)) on one of several depression measures. At T2 (n = 31), sense of dignity (mean = -0.52 (-1.01; -0.02)) and sense of being a burden to others (mean = -0.26 (-0.49; -0......Background:Dignity Therapy is a brief, psychosocial intervention for patients with incurable disease.Aim:To investigate participation in and evaluation of Dignity Therapy and longitudinal changes in patient-rated outcomes.Design:A prospective (pre/post) evaluation design was employed. Evaluation...
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[Dignity and the moralism of the values expressed by the European Convention on Biomedicine].
Byk, Christian
2010-12-01
With biolaw, new branches have sprouted from the tree of human rights aimed at encouraging its extension. Will they smother it or can we hope for a certain harmonisation, if not a new-found unity? But above all, doesn't biolaw, in a post-modern context, bring to human rights elements that are likely substantially to alter its philosophy? Thus it is with the primacy given by the European Convention on Biomedicine to values which, like dignity, may be turned against the philosophy of human rights by adopting the way of moralism and even sometimes of a new-found moral order.
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The Right to Dignity and Restorative Justice in Schools
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M Reyneke
2011-10-01
Full Text Available A retributive and punitive approach is normally adopted in dealing with misbehavior in South African schools. Despite the legal abolition of corporal punishment, more than 50 percent of schools still administer it. Other forms of punishment generally applied are also punitive in nature. The right to dignity of all of the parties affected by misbehaviour in schools is considered in this analysis. The possibility of adopting restorative justice as an alternative disciplinary approach is examined as a way of protecting, promoting and restoring the dignity of the victims of such misbehaviour.
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Resourcifying human bodies--Kant and bioethics.
Miyasaka, Michio
2005-01-01
This essay roughly sketches two major conceptions of autonomy in contemporary bioethics that promote the resourcification of human body parts: (1) a narrow conception of autonomy as self-determination; and (2) the conception of autonomy as dissociated from human dignity. In this paper I will argue that, on the one hand, these two conceptions are very different from that found in the modern European tradition of philosophical inquiry, because bioethics has concentrated on an external account of patient's self-determination and on dissociating dignity from internal human nature. However, on the other hand, they are consistent with more recent European philosophy. In this more recent tradition, human dignity has gradually been dissociated from contextual values, and human subjectivity has been dissociated from objectivity and absolutized as never to be objectified. In the concluding part, I will give a speculative sketch in which Kant's internal inquiry of maxim of ends, causality and end, and dignity as iirreplaceability is recombined with bioethics' externalized one and used to support an extended human resourcification.
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Dysthanasia: Between the Life Extension And the Right to Die With Dignity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alice Pompeu Viana
2016-12-01
Full Text Available During the XX century, arise new techniques and drugs that can prolong life. However, an unreasonable extension of the vital process of human being that does not have dignified conditions of living it could result in a slow and painful death. Dysthanasia is characterized as medical treatment whose beneficial potentials for the terminal patient are non-existent or unlikely, they are not able to overcome their maleficent potentials. In the context, the present study aims to demonstrate that to deny the right to die to such patient is violate the right to life, as well as to harm the human dignity.
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Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G.; Pasman, H. Roeline W.; van Gennip, Isis E.; Muller, Martien T.; Willems, Dick L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.
2014-01-01
To gain insight in the way nursing home residents experience personal dignity and the factors that preserve or undermine it. Nursing home residents are exposed to diverse factors which may be associated with the loss of personal dignity. To help them maintain their dignity, it is important to
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Dignity, Health, and Membership: Who Counts as One of Us?
Pilkington, Bryan C.
2016-01-01
This essay serves as an introduction to this issue of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. The five articles in this issue address a range of topics from the human embryo and substantial change to conceptions of disability. They engage claims of moral status, defense of our humanity, and argue for an accurate and just classification of persons of different communities within a healthcare system. I argue in this essay that though their concerns are diverse, the authors in this issue help to answer a common question: “Who counts as one of us?” Reading these articles through the lens of membership and the themes of dignity illustrates this commonality and bears fruit for further reflection on many of the challenging issues addressed in the subsequent papers. PMID:26868673
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Rodríguez-Prat, Andrea; Monforte-Royo, Cristina; Porta-Sales, Josep; Escribano, Xavier; Balaguer, Albert
2016-01-01
Research in the end-of-life context has explored the sense of dignity experienced by patients with advanced disease, examining the factors associated with it. Whereas certain perspectives regard dignity as an intrinsic quality, independent of external factors, in the clinical setting it is generally equated with the person's sense of autonomy and control, and it appears to be related to patients' quality of life. This study aims to explore the relationship between perceived dignity, autonomy and sense of control in patients at the end of life. We conducted a systematic review and meta-ethnography using reciprocal translation and line-of-argument synthesis. The search strategy used MeSH terms in combination with free-text searching of the Pubmed, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Cochrane databases, from their inception until 2015. This identified 186 articles, after excluding duplicates. The inclusion criterion was primary qualitative studies in which dignity, autonomy and control at the end of life were explored. Studies were evaluated using the CASP guidelines. Twenty-one studies recording the experiences of 400 participants were identified. Three themes emerged: a) dignity mediated by the loss of functionality, linked to the loss of control; b) dignity as identity; and c) autonomy as a determining factor of perceived dignity, understood as the desire for control over the dying process and the desire for self-determination. We propose an explanatory model which highlights that those patients with an intrinsic sense of dignity maintained a positive view of themselves in the face of their illness. This synthesis illustrates how dignity and autonomy are intertwined and can be perceived as a multidimensional concept, one that is close to the notion of personal identity. The ability to regard dignity as an intrinsic quality has a positive impact on patients, and the design of care strategies should take this into account.
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van Gennip, Isis E; Pasman, H Roeline W; Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G; Willems, Dick L; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D
2013-08-01
While knowledge on factors affecting personal dignity of patients nearing death is quite substantial, far less is known about how patients living with a serious disease understand dignity. To develop a conceptual model of dignity that illuminates the process by which serious illness can undermine patients' dignity, and that is applicable to a wide patient population. Qualitative interview study. 34 patients with either cancer, early stage dementia, or a severe chronic illness were selected from an extensive cohort study into advance directives. In-depth interviews were carried out exploring the experiences of seriously ill patients with regard to their personal dignity. The interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis and a conceptual model was constructed based on the resulting themes. We developed a two-step dignity model of illness. According to this model, illness related conditions do not affect patients' dignity directly but indirectly by affecting the way patients perceive themselves. We identified three components shaping self-perception: (a) the individual self: the subjective experiences and internally held qualities of the patient; (b) the relational self: the self within reciprocal interaction with others; and, (c) the societal self: the self as a social object in the eyes of others. The merits of the model are two-folded. First, it offers an organizing framework for further research into patients' dignity. Secondly, the model can serve to facilitate care for seriously ill patients in practice by providing insight into illness and dignity at the level of the individual patient where intervention can be effectively targeted. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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van Gennip, Isis E.; Pasman, H. Roeline W.; Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G.; Willems, Dick L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.
2013-01-01
While knowledge on factors affecting personal dignity of patients nearing death is quite substantial, far less is known about how patients living with a serious disease understand dignity. To develop a conceptual model of dignity that illuminates the process by which serious illness can undermine
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van Gennip, I.E.; Pasman, H.R.W.; Oosterveld-Vlug, M.G.; Willems, D.L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B.D.
2013-01-01
Background: While knowledge on factors affecting personal dignity of patients nearing death is quite substantial, far less is known about how patients living with a serious disease understand dignity. Objective: To develop a conceptual model of dignity that illuminates the process by which serious
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Abbas Hosseini
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Background: Palliative care is an approach that has been used to care for terminally ill patients. The current study was performed to assess the association between the status of patient dignity and quality of life (QOL in Iranian terminally ill patients with cancer. Materials and Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted on 210 end-stage cancer patients (102 men and 108 women who were referred to Seyed Al-Shohada Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, in 2015. To assess dignity status, we used the Patient Dignity Inventory. The Persian version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire was used for QOL assessment. Results: There was a significant negative association between total dignity status and QOL scales. In addition, significant negative relationship was observed between dignity-related domains (loss of worth sense: r = −0.50, P< 0.001; anxiety and uncertainty: r = −0.51, P< 0.001; symptom distress: r = −0.62, P< 0.001; and loss of autonomy: r = −0.61, P< 0.001 and functional scale and some subscales of the QOL scale. In contrast, a significant positive relationship was found between dignity-related domains, and total symptom scale and fatigue. No significant relationship was observed between different items of dignity and global health status/QOL scale. Conclusions: High dignity status in terminally ill patients was associated with higher QOL in terms of functional intactness and lower symptom distress. Further studies are necessary to shed light to our findings.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mariska G Oosterveld-Vlug
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Most nursing home residents spend the remainder of their life, until death, within a nursing home. As preserving dignity is an important aim of the care given here, insight into the way residents experience their dignity throughout their entire admission period is valuable. AIM: To investigate if and how nursing home residents' personal dignity changes over the course of time, and what contributes to this. DESIGN: A longitudinal qualitative study. METHODS: Multiple in-depth interviews, with an interval of six months, were carried out with 22 purposively sampled nursing home residents of the general medical wards of four nursing homes in The Netherlands. Transcripts were analyzed following the principles of thematic analysis. RESULTS: From admission onwards, some residents experienced an improved sense of dignity, while others experienced a downward trend, a fluctuating one or no change at all. Two mechanisms were especially important for a nursing home resident to maintain or regain personal dignity: the feeling that one is in control of his life and the feeling that one is regarded as a worthwhile person. The acquirement of both feelings could be supported by 1 finding a way to cope with one's situation; 2 getting acquainted with the new living structures in the nursing home and therefore feeling more at ease; 3 physical improvement (with or without an electric wheelchair; 4 being socially involved with nursing home staff, other residents and relatives; and 5 being amongst disabled others and therefore less prone to exposures of disrespect from the outer world. CONCLUSION: Although the direction in which a resident's personal dignity develops is also dependent on one's character and coping capacities, nursing home staff can contribute to dignity by creating optimal conditions to help a nursing home resident recover feelings of control and of being regarded as a worthwhile person.
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Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G; Pasman, H Roeline W; van Gennip, Isis E; Willems, Dick L; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D
2013-01-01
Most nursing home residents spend the remainder of their life, until death, within a nursing home. As preserving dignity is an important aim of the care given here, insight into the way residents experience their dignity throughout their entire admission period is valuable. To investigate if and how nursing home residents' personal dignity changes over the course of time, and what contributes to this. A longitudinal qualitative study. Multiple in-depth interviews, with an interval of six months, were carried out with 22 purposively sampled nursing home residents of the general medical wards of four nursing homes in The Netherlands. Transcripts were analyzed following the principles of thematic analysis. From admission onwards, some residents experienced an improved sense of dignity, while others experienced a downward trend, a fluctuating one or no change at all. Two mechanisms were especially important for a nursing home resident to maintain or regain personal dignity: the feeling that one is in control of his life and the feeling that one is regarded as a worthwhile person. The acquirement of both feelings could be supported by 1) finding a way to cope with one's situation; 2) getting acquainted with the new living structures in the nursing home and therefore feeling more at ease; 3) physical improvement (with or without an electric wheelchair); 4) being socially involved with nursing home staff, other residents and relatives; and 5) being amongst disabled others and therefore less prone to exposures of disrespect from the outer world. Although the direction in which a resident's personal dignity develops is also dependent on one's character and coping capacities, nursing home staff can contribute to dignity by creating optimal conditions to help a nursing home resident recover feelings of control and of being regarded as a worthwhile person.
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The end-of-life phase of high-grade glioma patients: dying with dignity?
Sizoo, Eefje M.; Taphoorn, Martin J. B.; Uitdehaag, Bernard; Heimans, Jan J.; Deliens, Luc; Reijneveld, Jaap C.; Pasman, H. Roeline W.
2013-01-01
In the end-of-life (EOL) phase, high-grade glioma (HGG) patients have a high symptom burden and often lose independence because of physical and cognitive dysfunction. This might affect the patient's personal dignity. We aimed to (a) assess the proportion of HGG patients dying with dignity as
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Heggestad, Anne Kari Tolo; Slettebø, Åshild
2015-08-01
The aim of this article was to present and discuss findings on what individuals with dementia do by themselves to maintain or promote their dignity of identity when they live in a nursing home. The majority of residents living in Norwegian nursing homes suffer from dementia. Individuals who suffer from dementia are particularly vulnerable, and their dignity of identity is at risk. It is therefore of great importance to explore how we can maintain their dignity of identity. The study builds on a phenomenological and hermeneutic design. The article reports three cases or life stories based on participant observation in two different nursing homes and interviews with five residents with dementia living in these nursing homes. Fifteen residents with dementia from these nursing home wards were included in the overall study. Individuals with dementia living in nursing homes may use life storytelling or narratives to manage chaos and to find safety in their lives. Storytelling is also used as a way to present and maintain identity. We can see this as a way of maintaining dignity of identity or social dignity. Life storytelling can be seen as an important way of preserving dignity for people with dementia. It is of great importance that health care professionals are open to and listen to the life stories people with dementia tell. As nurses we have an obligation to ensure that dignity is enhanced in care for people with dementia. Knowledge about how residents with dementia use life storytelling as a way to maintain dignity is therefore of great importance to health care workers in nursing homes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Ho, Andy Hau Yan; Chan, Cecilia Lai Wan; Leung, Pamela Pui Yu; Chochinov, Harvey Max; Neimeyer, Robert A; Pang, Samantha Mei Che; Tse, Doris Man Wah
2013-07-01
the empirical Dignity Model has profoundly influenced the provision of palliative care for older terminally ill patients in the West, as it provides practical guidance and intervention strategies for promoting dignity and reducing distress at the end-of-life. to examine the concept of 'living and dying with dignity' in the Chinese context, and explore the generalisability of the Dignity Model to older terminal patients in Hong Kong. using qualitative interviews, the concept of dignity was explored among 16 older Chinese palliative care patients with terminal cancer. Framework analysis with both deductive and inductive methods was employed. the three major categories of themes of the Dignity Model were broadly supported. However, the subtheme of death anxiety was not supported, while two subthemes of generativity/legacy and resilience/fighting spirit manifested differently in the Chinese context. Furthermore, four new emergent themes have been identified. They include enduring pain, moral transcendence, spiritual surrender and transgenerational unity. these findings highlight both a cultural and a familial dimension in the construct of dignity, underline the paramount importance of cultural awareness and competence for working with ethnically diverse groups, and call for a culturally sensitive and family oriented approach to palliative care interventions with older Chinese terminal patients.
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Dose, Ann Marie; Rhudy, Lori M
2018-01-01
Dignity therapy is a psychosocial intervention that has been used primarily at the end of life to improve quality of life and other patient outcomes, but many individuals are unable to complete it due to health decline and death. The purpose of this study was to identify what individuals with advanced pancreatic or lung cancer with limited life expectancy, undergoing active cancer treatment describe during the dignity therapy intervention as important to them when not immediately facing end of life. Twenty patients undergoing chemotherapy for advanced cancer participated in a dignity therapy intervention study. Initial interviews were analyzed using descriptive content analysis. Family provided the overall context and background for emerging themes of defining events, accomplishments, and God's plan, which led to lessons learned, and resulted in messages of hope. Interviews were often autobiographical in nature and contained much reminiscence, consistent with dignity therapy's intent. Few participants spoke about their cancer diagnoses during the interview. This study adds unique insight into the use of dignity therapy for those still receiving active cancer treatment, different from work by others in which it was offered only at end of life. As part of supportive care, clinicians need to validate the importance of family to those with advanced cancer and to provide opportunities for patients to share what they have learned throughout life and to impart messages of hope to those closest to them.
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Rodríguez-Prat, Andrea; Monforte-Royo, Cristina; Porta-Sales, Josep; Escribano, Xavier; Balaguer, Albert
2016-01-01
Background Research in the end-of-life context has explored the sense of dignity experienced by patients with advanced disease, examining the factors associated with it. Whereas certain perspectives regard dignity as an intrinsic quality, independent of external factors, in the clinical setting it is generally equated with the person’s sense of autonomy and control, and it appears to be related to patients’ quality of life. This study aims to explore the relationship between perceived dignity, autonomy and sense of control in patients at the end of life. Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-ethnography using reciprocal translation and line-of-argument synthesis. The search strategy used MeSH terms in combination with free-text searching of the Pubmed, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Cochrane databases, from their inception until 2015. This identified 186 articles, after excluding duplicates. The inclusion criterion was primary qualitative studies in which dignity, autonomy and control at the end of life were explored. Studies were evaluated using the CASP guidelines. Results Twenty-one studies recording the experiences of 400 participants were identified. Three themes emerged: a) dignity mediated by the loss of functionality, linked to the loss of control; b) dignity as identity; and c) autonomy as a determining factor of perceived dignity, understood as the desire for control over the dying process and the desire for self-determination. We propose an explanatory model which highlights that those patients with an intrinsic sense of dignity maintained a positive view of themselves in the face of their illness. Conclusion This synthesis illustrates how dignity and autonomy are intertwined and can be perceived as a multidimensional concept, one that is close to the notion of personal identity. The ability to regard dignity as an intrinsic quality has a positive impact on patients, and the design of care strategies should take this into account
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Kishore, R R
2016-04-01
In this article I analyse the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights in the Case of Lambert and Others v. France, delivered on 5 June 2015, affirming the Conseil d'État's decision holding that the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration from Vincent Lambert, a French national lying in tetraplegia and persistent vegetative state, was consistent with French domestic law and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In order to make a comparative evaluation I give an account of judicial decisions across the world and find that the European Court's decision is an affirmative pronouncement, in the prevailing milieu of judicial heterogeneity, as it recognizes a person's right to die with dignity in the face of conflicting claims and arguments, by giving supremacy to a person's autonomy and right of self-determination over the deep-rooted religious beliefs and undue paternalistic postures. I conclude that right to die with dignity is a profound area where judge-made law is not the answer. The situation calls for greater consensus and uniformity by evolving suitable legislative strategies.
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Cox, Brian
2014-01-01
Human life is a staggeringly strange thing. On the surface of a ball of rock falling around a nuclear fireball in the blackness of a vacuum the laws of nature conspired to create a naked ape that can look up at the stars and wonder where it came from. What is a human being? Objectively, nothing of consequence. Particles of dust in an infinite arena, present for an instant in eternity. Clumps of atoms in a universe with more galaxies than people. And yet a human being is necessary for the question itself to exist, and the presence of a question in the universe - any question - is the most wonderful thing. Questions require minds, and minds bring meaning. What is meaning? I don't know, except that the universe and every pointless speck inside it means something to me. I am astonished by the existence of a single atom, and find my civilisation to be an outrageous imprint on reality. I don't understand it. Nobody does, but it makes me smile. This book asks questions about our origins, our destiny, and our place i...
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Guo, Qiaohong; Chochinov, Harvey Max; McClement, Susan; Thompson, Genevieve; Hack, Tom
2018-01-01
Effective patient-family communication can reduce patients' psychosocial distress and relieve family members' current suffering and their subsequent grief. However, terminally ill patients and their family members often experience great difficulty in communicating their true feelings, concerns, and needs to each other. To develop a novel means of facilitating meaningful conversations for palliative patients and family members, coined Dignity Talk, explore anticipated benefits and challenges of using Dignity Talk, and solicit suggestions for protocol improvement. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Dignity Talk, a self-administered question list, was designed to prompt end-of-life conversations, adapted from the Dignity Therapy question framework. Participants were surveyed to evaluate the Dignity Talk question framework. Data were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. A total of 20 palliative patients, 20 family members, and 34 healthcare providers were recruited from two inpatient palliative care units in Winnipeg, Canada. Most Dignity Talk questions were endorsed by the majority of patients and families (>70%). Dignity Talk was revised to be convenient and flexible to use, broadly accessible, clearly stated, and sensitively worded. Participants felt Dignity Talk would be valuable in promoting conversations, enhancing family connections and relationships, enhancing patient sense of value and dignity, promoting effective interaction, and attending to unfinished business. Participants suggested that patients and family members be given latitude to respond only to questions that are meaningful to them and within their emotional capacity to broach. Dignity Talk may provide a gentle means of facilitating important end-of-life conversations.
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Oosterveld-Vlug, M.G.; Pasman, H.R.W.; van Gennip, I.E.; Willems, D.L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B.D.
2013-01-01
Background:Most nursing home residents spend the remainder of their life, until death, within a nursing home. As preserving dignity is an important aim of the care given here, insight into the way residents experience their dignity throughout their entire admission period is valuable.Aim:To
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Periyakoil, Vyjeyanthi S; Stevens, Marguerite; Kraemer, Helena
2013-03-01
The goal of this mixed-methods study was to characterize the perceptions of multicultural long-term care nurses about patient dignity at the end-of-life (EOL). The study was conducted in a large, urban, long-term care (LTC) facility. Participants were 45 long-term care nurses and 26 terminally ill nursing home residents. Nurses completed an openended interview about their perceptions of the concept of dying with dignity, and the data were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Main themes identified as promoting resident dignity at the EOL included treating them with respect, helping them prepare for the EOL, promoting shared decision-making, and providing high-quality care. The nurses’ cultural and religious backgrounds influenced their perceptions of what constitutes dignity-conserving care. Foreign-born nurses stressed the need for EOL rituals, but this was strikingly absent in the statements of U.S.-born nurses. Foreign-born Catholic nurses stated that the dying experience should not be altered using analgesics to relieve suffering or by attempts to hasten death by forgoing curative therapy or by other means. Nurses and terminally ill individuals completed the Dignity Card-sort Tool (DCT). A comparison of the DCT responses of the LTC nurses cohort with those of the terminally ill participants revealed that the nurses felt patient dignity was eroded when patient wishes were not followed and when they were treated without respect. In contrast, dying LTC residents felt that poor medical care and loss of ability to choose care options were the most important factors leading to erosion of dignity.
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Johnston, Bridget; Lawton, Sally; Pringle, Jan
2017-07-01
Dementia is a progressive condition that impacts on individuals, families and care professionals. Maintaining quality of life through engagement with the person with dementia is an important part of their care. Dignity Therapy is an interactive, psychotherapeutic intervention that uses a trained dignity therapist to guide the person with dementia through an interview that then creates a written legacy called a generativity document. This can provide knowledge to inform care, as the condition progresses. Generativity documents were analysed using framework analysis. Main themes from the analysis were origin of values, essence and affirmation of self, forgiveness and resolution and existentialism/ meaning of life. These themes provide evidence of the type, scope and contribution that information generated from Dignity Therapy can make to the care and support of people with dementia. They provide information about the values, self-identity and the people and events that have been important to them and influenced their lives.
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Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G.; Pasman, H. Roeline W.; van Gennip, Isis E.; Willems, Dick L.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.
2013-01-01
Most nursing home residents spend the remainder of their life, until death, within a nursing home. As preserving dignity is an important aim of the care given here, insight into the way residents experience their dignity throughout their entire admission period is valuable. To investigate if and how
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Kostopoulou, Sotiria; Parpa, Efi; Tsilika, Eleni; Katsaragakis, Stylianos; Papazoglou, Irene; Zygogianni, Anna; Galanos, Antonis; Mystakidou, Kyriaki
2018-04-01
The present study assesses the relationship between patient dignity in advanced cancer and the following variables: psychological distress, preparatory grief, and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The sample consisted of 120 patients with advanced cancer. The self-administered questionnaires were as follows: the Preparatory Grief in Advanced Cancer Patients (PGAC), the Patient Dignity Inventory-Greek (PDI-Gr), the Greek Schedule for Attitudes toward Hastened Death (G-SAHD), and the Greek version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (G-HADS). Moderate to strong statistically significant correlations were found between the 4 subscales of PDI-Gr (psychological distress, body image and role identity, self-esteem, and social support) with G-HADS, G-SAHD, and PGAC ( P dignity among patients with advanced cancer. Clinicians should assess and attend to dignity-distressing factors in the care of patients with advanced cancer.
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Evaluation of the Dignity Care Pathway for community nurses caring for people at the end of life.
Johnston, Bridget; Östlund, Ulrika; Brown, Hilary
2012-10-01
People nearing the end of life fear loss of dignity, and a central tenet of palliative care is to help people die with dignity. The Dignity Care Pathway (DCP) is an intervention based on the Chochinov theoretical model of dignity care. It has four sections: a manual, a Patient Dignity Inventory, reflective questions, and care actions. The feasibility and acceptability of the DCP were evaluated using a qualitative design with a purposive sample of community nurses. Data was collected from April to October 2010 using in-depth interviews, reflective diaries, and case studies and then analysed using framework analysis. The DCP was acceptable to the community nurses, helped them identify when patients were at the end of life, identified patients' key concerns, and aided nurses in providing holistic end-of-life care. It requires the nurse to have excellent communication skills. Some of the nurses found it hard to initiate a conversation on dignity-conserving care. The DCP helps nurses to deliver individualised care and psychological care, which has previously been identified as a difficult area for community nurses. All of the nurses wished to continue to use the DCP and would recommend it to others.
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Behuniak, Susan M
2011-01-01
Much of the American debate over physician assisted death (PAD) is framed as an ideological split between conservatives and liberals, pro life and pro choice advocates, and those who emphasize morality versus personal autonomy. Less examined, but no less relevant, is a split within the ranks of progressives--one that divides those supporting a right to die in the name of human rights from disability rights activists who invoke human rights to vehemently oppose euthanasia. This paper reviews how "dignity" serves both as a divisive wedge in this debate but also as a value that can span the divide between groups and open the way to productive discourse. Supporters of legalized euthanasia use "dignity" to express their position that some deaths might indeed be accelerated. At the same time, opponents adopt the concept to argue that physician assisted suicide stigmatizes life with a disability. To bridge this divide, the worldviews of two groups, Compassion & Choices and Not Dead Yet, are studied. The analysis concludes that the two organizations are more parallel than contrary--a finding that offers opportunities for dialogue and perhaps even advances in public policy.
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A Battle of Words: "Dignity" and "Peace" in the Writings of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.
Burnier, Daniel
2017-04-01
This article analyzes the writings of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross through the discursive lens of the phrase "dying with dignity." For her, the phrase meant allowing someone to die comfortably his/her own death. This phrase has to be understood in relationship with the final "stage of acceptance" of her model. Describing this key part of her well-known scientific output, she often used, in the early 1970s, the phrase "dying in peace and dignity." An evaluation of the evidence suggests that because the concept of dignity was co-opted by the pro-euthanasia movement during this decade, the language of dignity was little by little abandoned by her. In later years, only "peace" survived from her favorite expression. Although this concept of peace remains present to the end in all Kübler-Ross writings, the pro-euthanasia movement has also started to speak the language of peace.
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Gurdogan, Eylem Pasli; Kurt, Duygu; Aksoy, Berna; Kınıcı, Ezgi; Şen, Ayla
2017-03-01
Spiritual care is vital for holistic care and dying with dignity. The aim of this study was to determine nurses' perceptions of spiritual care and their attitudes toward dying with dignity. This study was conducted with 289 nurses working at a public hospital. Results showed three things. First, spiritual care perceptions and attitudes toward dying with dignity were more positive in female participants than in male participants. Second, there was a correlation between participants' education levels and their perceptions of spiritual care. Third, there was also a correlation between participants' attitudes toward dying with dignity and their perceptions of spiritual care.
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The end-of-life phase of high-grade glioma patients: dying with dignity?
Sizoo, Eefje M; Taphoorn, Martin J B; Uitdehaag, Bernard; Heimans, Jan J; Deliens, Luc; Reijneveld, Jaap C; Pasman, H Roeline W
2013-01-01
In the end-of-life (EOL) phase, high-grade glioma (HGG) patients have a high symptom burden and often lose independence because of physical and cognitive dysfunction. This might affect the patient's personal dignity. We aimed to (a) assess the proportion of HGG patients dying with dignity as perceived by their relatives and (b) identify disease and care factors correlated with dying with dignity in HGG patients. We approached relatives of a cohort of 155 deceased HGG patients for the study. Participants completed a questionnaire concerning the EOL phase of the patient, covering several subthemes: (a) symptoms and signs, (b) health-related quality of life, (c) decision making, (d) place and quality of EOL care, and (e) dying with dignity. Relatives of 81 patients participated and 75% indicated that the patient died with dignity. These patients had fewer communication deficits, experienced fewer transitions between health care settings in the EOL phase, and more frequently died at their preferred place of death. Relatives were more satisfied with the physician providing EOL care and reported that the physician adequately explained treatment options. Multivariate analysis identified satisfaction with the physician, the ability to communicate, and the absence of transitions between settings as most predictive of a dignified death. Physicians caring for HGG patients in the EOL phase should timely focus on explaining possible treatment options, because patients experience communication deficits toward death. Physicians should strive to allow patients to die at their preferred place and avoid transitions during the last month of life.
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Effects of dignity therapy on terminally ill patients: a systematic review.
Donato, Suzana Cristina Teixeira; Matuoka, Jéssica Yumi; Yamashita, Camila Cristófero; Salvetti, Marina de Goés
2016-01-01
Analyzing the evidence of the effects of dignity therapy onterminally ill patients. A Systematic review of the literature conducted using the search strategy in six databases. Inclusion criteria were primary studies, excluding literature reviews (systematic or not) and conceptual articles. Ten articles were analyzed regarding method, results and evidence level. Dignity therapy improved the sense of meaning andpurpose, will to live, utility, quality of life, dignity and family appreciationin studies with a higher level of evidence. The effects are not well established in relation to depression, anxiety, spirituality and physical symptoms. Studies with a moderate to high level of evidence have shown increased sense of dignity, will to live and sense of purpose. Further studies should be developed to increase knowledge about dignity therapy. Analisar as evidências sobre os efeitos da terapia da dignidade para pacientes em fase terminal de vida. Revisão sistemática da literatura realizada em seis bases de dados na estratégia de busca. Os critérios de inclusão foram estudos primários, excluindo-se revisões da literatura (sistemáticas ou não) e artigos conceituais. Dez artigos foram analisados quanto ao método, aos resultados e nível de evidência. Nos estudos com maior nível de evidência, a terapia da dignidade melhorou o senso de significado, propósito, vontade de viver, utilidade, qualidade de vida, dignidade e apreciação familiar.Os efeitos não estão bem estabelecidos em relação à depressão, ansiedade, espiritualidade e aos sintomas físicos. Os estudos de nível de evidência de moderado a alto demonstraram aumento do senso de dignidade, vontade de viver e senso de propósito. Mais estudos devem ser desenvolvidos para ampliar o conhecimento sobre a terapia da dignidade.
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Death with dignity in Washington patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Wang, Leo H; Elliott, Michael A; Jung Henson, Lily; Gerena-Maldonado, Elba; Strom, Susan; Downing, Sharon; Vetrovs, Jennifer; Kayihan, Paige; Paul, Piper; Kennedy, Kate; Benditt, Joshua O; Weiss, Michael D
2016-11-15
To describe the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients who sought medication under the Washington State Death with Dignity (DWD) Act since its inception in 2009. Chart review at 3 tertiary medical centers in the Seattle/Puget Sound region and comparison to publicly available data of ALS and all-cause DWD cohorts from Washington and Oregon. In Washington State, 39 patients with ALS requested DWD from the University of Washington, Virginia Mason, and Swedish Medical Centers beginning in 2009. The median age at death was 65 years (range 46-86). Seventy-seven percent of the patients used the prescriptions. All of the patients who used the medications passed away without complications. The major reasons for patients to request DWD as reported by participating physicians were loss of autonomy and dignity and decrease in enjoyable activities. Inadequate pain control, financial cost, and loss of bodily control were less commonly indicated. These findings were similar to those of the 92 patients who sought DWD in Oregon. In Washington and Oregon, the percentage of patients with ALS seeking DWD is higher compared to the cancer DWD cohort. Furthermore, compared to the all-cause DWD cohort, patients with ALS are more likely to be non-Hispanic white, married, educated, enrolled in hospice, and to have died at home. Although a small number, ALS represents the disease with the highest proportion of patients seeking to participate in DWD. Patients with ALS who choose DWD are well-educated and have access to palliative or life-prolonging care. The use of the medications appears to be able to achieve the patients' goals without complications. © 2016 American Academy of Neurology.
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Death with dignity and euthanasia: comparative European approaches.
Byk, Christian
2007-09-01
From 1800 to 1960, the average life expectancy doubled making medical activities a fight against death. In doing so, the dying process became medicalized. Some infectious diseases clearly disappeared while new surgical interventions, such as organ transplants, may be viewed as some kinds of human resuscitation. Sociologically, medicine has replaced religion and doctors are the new priests of our techno society. Paradoxically this has created a new fear The artificial process of dying is replacing death but it is transforming the individuals into artificially supported and suffering bodies relying on medical supervision while the family is left away, making social solidarity and compassion a relic of the past. There comes the wish to re appropriate our own death, to give a true meaning to the dying process by making it peaceful and respectful of our human dignity. This evolution takes place in a very controversial context because it is founded on various and contradictory attitudes. A rights based approach will support both the termination of futile treatment and active euthanasia while a duty-based approach will allow the physicians to accept responding positively to death claims that follow some predetermined criteria and refused others.
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The dignity of the child in a psychiatric hospital
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Błażej Kmieciak
2012-12-01
Full Text Available The right to respect the dignity of children using medical services in psychiatric units is regulated among other by the Patients’ Rights act and the Patients’ Rights Ombudsman act, Physician and Dentist Professions Act and the Medical Ethics Code. Although since 1994 the Mental Health Protection Act has existed, some information appears about the violation of the dignity of the child in psychiatric hospitals. Material and methods: Analysis of the information obtained from different sources (the media, the Internet, from patients and/or their legal guardians, peror Psychiatric Hospital Patients’ Ombudsman allowed to draw up a list of repeated situations in psychiatric units for children and adolescents where the dignity of the juvenile/minor patient may be violated. Results: The most frequently reported issues are: reduction of the minor/juvenile patients’ access to “privileges” (such as direct contacts with colleagues, lack of privacy (such as controls in toilets and bathrooms, irregularities during the use of direct coercion, lack of regular access to a mobile phone, the Internet, stereo equipment, lack of juvenile/minor patients’ consent for treatment (including the double permission, engaging the patients to cleaning work, and medical staff’s interventions of educational and corrective character (the patients perceive this as the use of penalties. Discussion: It was found out that the reaction of a minor/juvenile psychiatric unit patient or her/his carers to the detachment from her/his surroundings, favourite activities or things, and educational interventions are related to precise determination of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and rules prevalent in the group, privileges, consequences, and application of behavioural effects in the form of negative reinforcements (so-called penalties and positive reinforcements (rewards. A strong response to infringement of the rules may be perceived by the patients as a violation of
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Periyakoil, Vyjeyanthi S.; Stevens, Marguerite; Kraemer, Helena
2012-01-01
The goal of this mixed-methods study was to characterize the perceptions of multi-cultural long-term care nurses about patient dignity at the end-of-life (EOL). The study was conducted in a large, urban long-term care (LTC) facility. The participants were forty-five long-term care nurses and 26 terminally ill nursing home patients. Nurses completed an open-ended interview about their perceptions of the concept of dying with dignity and the data were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Main themes identified as promoting patient dignity at the EOL included treating them with respect, helping them prepare for their EOL, promoting shared decision making and providing high quality tenor of care. The nurses’ cultural and religious backgrounds influenced their perceptions of what constitutes dignity-conserving care. Foreign-born nurses stressed the need for end-of-life rituals but this was strikingly absent in the statements of US-born nurses. Foreign-born Catholic nurses stated that the dying experience should not be altered using analgesics to relieve suffering or by attempts to hasten death by forgoing curative therapy or by other means. Both nurses and terminally ill patients completed the Dignity Card-sort Tool (DCT). A comparison of the LTC nurses cohort to the terminally ill patient responses on the DCT revealed that the nurses felt that patient dignity was eroded when her/his wishes were not carried out and when s/he is treated without respect. In contrast, dying LTC patients felt that poor medical care and loss of ability to choose care options to be the most important factors leading to erosion of dignity. PMID:23496266
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An undignified side of death with dignity legislation.
Plaisted, Dennis
2013-09-01
The primary justification for Death with Dignity legislation has been the principle of respect for autonomy. However, some have objected that if respect for autonomy is the reason for allowing physician-assisted suicide, then why not allow it for people with longer than six months to live? Defenders of the laws have responded that respect for autonomy must be balanced against the state's interest in the lives of its citizens. Persons with less than six months remaining have virtually no life left to protect; persons with more time have a meaningfully long segment of life remaining. The state can therefore overrule their autonomy interests to preserve their lives. This paper will argue that this response constitutes an ironic affront to the dignity of people with less than six months to live, for it implies that their lives are not worth enough for the state to prevent them from committing physician-assisted suicide.
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Respect-Due and Respect-Earned: Negotiating Student-Teacher Relationships
Goodman, Joan F.
2009-01-01
Respect is a cardinal virtue in schools and foundational to our common ethical beliefs, yet its meaning is muddled. For philosophers Kant, Mill, and Rawls, whose influential theories span three centuries, respect includes appreciation of universal human dignity, equality, and autonomy. In their view children, possessors of human dignity, but…
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Madan, T N
1992-08-01
Death is a theme of central importance in all cultures, but the manner in which it is interpreted varies from society to society. Even so, traditional cultures, including Christian, Hindu and Jain religious traditions, exhibited a positive attitude to death and did not look upon it in a dualistic framework of good vs bad, or desirable vs undesirable. Nor was pessimism the dominant mood in their thinking about death itself. A fundamental paradigm shift occurred in the West in the eighteenth century when death was desacralized and transformed into a secular event amenable to human manipulation. From those early beginnings, dying and death have been thoroughly medicalized and brought under the purview of high technology in the twentieth century. Once death is seen as a problem for professional management, the hospital displaces the home, and specialists with different kinds and degrees of expertise take over from the family. Everyday speech and the religious idiom yield place to medical jargon. The subject (an ageing, sick or dying person) becomes the object of this make-believe yet real world. As the object of others' professional control, he or she loses the freedom of self-assessment, expression and choice. Or, he or she may be expected to choose when no longer able to do so. Thus, not only freedom but dignity also is lost, and lawyers join doctors in crisis manipulation and perpetuation. Although the modern medical culture has originated in the West, it has gradually spread to all parts of the world, subjugating other kinds of medical knowledge and other attitudes to dying and death.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Shared voices, different worlds: Process and product in the Food Dignity action research project
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christine M. Porter
2014-06-01
Full Text Available Diversity of perspective makes for greater depth when painting a portrait of community life. But embracing the idea of representing true diversity in a formal research project is a whole lot easier than putting it into practice. The three dozen members of the Food Dignity action research team, now entering the fourth year of a five-year project, are intimately familiar with this challenge. In this article, four of the collaborators explore the intricacies of navigating what it means to bring together a genuine cross-section of community-based activists and academics in an effort to draw on one another’s professional and personal strengths to collect and disseminate research findings that represent the truth of a community’s experiences, and are ultimately disseminated in a way that brings tangible benefit to the heart and soul of that community. The authors include Food Dignity’s principal investigator (Porter and three community organisers (Marshall, Herrera and Woodsum in organisations that have partnered with Food Dignity. Two of the organisers (Herrera and Woodsum also serve project-wide roles. These collaborators share their personal and professional hopes, struggles, concerns, successes and failures as participants in this cutting-edge effort to equalise community and university partnerships in research. Keywords: community-based participatory research (CBPR, food justice, equitable community-campus partnerships, food sovereignty, case study, action research
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Tweeting dignity: A practical theological reflection on Twitter's ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
2017-08-10
Aug 10, 2017 ... content in which a dynamic interpretation of dignity functions strongly. In the acknowledgement ... Koch, tweeting under the user-name of his puppet @ .... example Twitter and Instagram, have seen the light over the past ... and analyze one per cent of the public generated Tweets every 'streaming second' ...
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The human factor: enhancing women's rights.
Steinzor, N
1995-01-01
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948, declares that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person. In practice, however, far from everyone has these rights, especially women. Many women worldwide have neither the awareness of nor access to family planning methods with which they could regulate their fertility and childbearing. Thus deprived of their reproductive freedom, these women cannot pursue education, employment, and other life options which would otherwise be readily available to them were they not saddled with poor reproductive health and too many children. Expanded choices enhance the status of women, which in turn helps them to reduce fertility rates and stabilize population growth. The author discusses how the wide range of cultural and social norms, and economic and political systems worldwide make it very difficult and complex to actually implement universal human rights.
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Beyond Pain: Nurses' Assessment of Patient Suffering, Dignity, and Dying in the Intensive Care Unit.
Su, Amanda; Lief, Lindsay; Berlin, David; Cooper, Zara; Ouyang, Daniel; Holmes, John; Maciejewski, Renee; Maciejewski, Paul K; Prigerson, Holly G
2018-06-01
Deaths in the intensive care unit (ICU) are increasingly common in the U.S., yet little is known about patients' experiences at the end of life in the ICU. The objective of this study was to determine nurse assessment of symptoms experienced, and care received by ICU patients in their final week, and their associations with nurse-perceived suffering and dignity. From September 2015 to March 2017, nurses who cared for 200 ICU patients who died were interviewed about physical and psychosocial dimensions of patients' experiences. Medical chart abstraction was used to document baseline patient characteristics and care. The patient sample was 61% males, 70.2% whites, and on average 66.9 (SD 15.1) years old. Nurses reported that 40.9% of patients suffered severely and 33.1% experienced severe loss of dignity. The most common symptoms perceived to contribute to suffering and loss of dignity included trouble breathing (44.0%), edema (41.9%), and loss of control of limbs (36.1%). Most (n = 9) remained significantly (P dignity (AOR 3.15). Use of feeding tube was associated with severe loss of dignity (AOR 3.12). Dying ICU patients are perceived by nurses to experience extreme indignities and suffer beyond physical pain. Attention to symptoms such as dyspnea and edema may improve the quality of death in the ICU. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Mathematics education and the dignity of being
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Valero, Paola; García, Gloria; Camelo, Francisco
2012-01-01
On the grounds of our work as researchers, teacher educators and teachers engaging with a socio-political approach in mathematics education in Colombia, we propose to understand democracy in terms of the possibility of constructing a social subjectivity for the dignity of being. We address the di...... of territorialisation, and Latin American epistemology with the notion of intimate space as an important element of social subjectivity....
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van Gennip, Isis E; Pasman, H Roeline W; Kaspers, Pam J; Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G; Willems, Dick L; Deeg, Dorly J H; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D
2013-07-01
Death with dignity has been identified as important both to patients and their surviving family. While research results have been published on what patients themselves believe may affect the dignity of their deaths, little is known about what family caregivers consider to be a dignified death. (1) To assess the prevalence of death with dignity in older adults from the perspective of family caregivers, (2) to determine factors that diminish dignity during the dying phase according to family caregivers, and (3) to identify physical, psychosocial, and care factors associated with death with dignity. A survey study with a self-administered questionnaire. Family caregivers of 163 deceased older (>55 years of age) adults ("patients") who had participated in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Of the family caregivers, 69% reported that their relative had died with dignity. Factors associated with a dignified death in a multivariate regression model were patients feeling peaceful and ready to die, absence of anxiety and depressive mood, presence of fatigue, and a clear explanation by the physician of treatment options during the final months of life. The physical and psychosocial condition of the patient in combination with care factors contributed to death with dignity from the perspective of the family caregiver. The patient's state of mind during the last phase of life and clear communication on the part of the physician both seem to be of particular importance.
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Caspari., Synnøve; Høy, Bente; Lohne, Vibeke
2014-01-01
Aims and objectives: The aim of this cross-country Scandinavian study was to explore how residents in nursing homes experience that their dignity is promoted and attended to. This is one part of the Scandinavian project in which we interviewed residents, relatives and staff members. Background......: The main subject concerns the dignity of residents of nursing homes for older people. This article brings forward results from interviews of relatives on how they experience that the dignity is met, promoted and attended to for their next of kin. Design: The study was qualitative with a hermeneutic...... approach. Methods: Qualitative research interviews of 28 relatives of residents at six participating nursing homes in Scandinavia. The results derive from analysis of the interviews using Kvale’s three levels of interpretation; self-understanding, common sense and a theoretical understanding. Results...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Juan José Ruiz Ruiz
2014-11-01
La controversia en torno al art. II no sólo ha estado centrada en el supuesto enfoque más restrictivo del nuevo texto constitucional hacia el aborto, sino que se ha extendido a la propia concepción de derecho de la dignidad humana, que para cierta doctrina ha recibido una configuración distinta a la concepción predominante en el derecho europeo. Under Article II of Hungarian Basic Law «Human dignity shall be inviolable. Every human being shall have the right to life and human dignity; embryonic and foetal life shall be subject to protection from the moment of conception». It is evident that, unlike the previous Constitution, the Basic Law expressly mentions the fetal and embryonic life, as also expressly stipulates that it shall be protected from the moment of conception. This new constitutional provision would be for some scholars, not strictly expanding the holders of the right to life, but at least extending the protective cloak of the Constitution to fetal and embryonic life from its beginning, which would effectively exclude outright the possibility of legal abortion at discretion of woman in any event, implying an absence of constitutional guarantee for other mother’s fundamental rights at stake. The controversy about art. II has been focused not only on the supposed more restrictive approach of the new constitution to abortion, but has reached to the very conception of the right to human dignity, that for some scholars has received a different configuration to the prevailing conception in European law.
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Menswaardigheid na tien jaar van regstaatlikheid in Suid-Afrika
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
LWH Ackermann
2004-06-01
Full Text Available HUMAN DIGNITY AFTER TEN YEARS OF TEH CONSTITUTIONAL STATE IN SOUTH AFRICASpeech delivered on 16 March 2004 on the Potchefstroom campus of the North-West UniversityHuman dignity has been the marrow of our Constitution and our constitutional state since 1994. The inherent dignity of man is also a key principle of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. The Kantian categorical imperatives continue to provide guidance regarding the meaning of human dignity. At the very least, people are entitled to be regarded as moral subjects and not as objects: as subjects with absolute and inherent worth and therefore also as moral subjects of equal worth.The juridical core of the pathology of apartheid was the extensive and sustained attempt to deprive the majority of South Africans of the right to self-identification and self-determination. It amounted to an inversion of the Kantian imperatives. A reversal of this inversion has been attempted over the past ten years. The Constitution not only elevates human dignity to a specially entrenched value, but also affords it special protection in the context of fundamental rights. It is furthermore a specific consideration in the limitation of rights and in the development of the common law. It applies not only to the state/subject relationship, but also to "horizontal" relationships and it must be taken into account in the interpretation of the Constitution.Constitutional jurisprudence has established that the Constitution is more than a formal document, but that it also represents an objective, normative value system. Thus the foundational norm of human dignity radiates into all areas of the law. The role of human dignity in the interpretation and application of norms applicable to remedial or restitutionary equality, as well as in the achievement of constitutional equilibrium in the "horizontal" operation of the Bill of Rights, has also been established.The realization of human dignity is but in its
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The Right to Death with Dignity in the Perspective of the Terminal Patient’s Right to Autonomy
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Riva Sobrado de Freitas
2016-10-01
Full Text Available This article has as objective to investigate the possibility that the right to autonomy of terminal patient can base a possible right to death with dignity. Therefore, it was realized a bibliographic exploratory-explanatory research, qualitative, using the deductive method. The obtained conclusion is that, though there isn’t peacefulness, it’s necessary to attend for a right of unquestionable relevance, reflected in the decisional autonomy, that, even with controversy, deserves to be considered, even as north to the achievement of the right to die with dignity, because, choose the death with dignity doesn’t translate necessarily to abdicate from the right to life.
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Spirituality and Dignity of Thai Adolescents Living with HIV
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Karnsunaphat Balthip
2017-11-01
Full Text Available (1 Background: Adolescents are a key asset and resource for the social and economic development of any country, with the potential to make a significant contribution to their families, communities and countries. Healthy and educated adolescents are important. However, there are still significant rates of death, illness and disease among adolescents in some countries, where HIV is one of the most prevalent causes of death in this group. Adolescents living with HIV may experience and encounter social restrictions and physiological limitations. Therefore, this investigation explored whether the concepts of spirituality and dignity had any relevance to participants sense of meaning and purpose and whether these had any impact upon their health and well-being (2 Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used involving twenty-two adolescents living with HIV attending one regional hospital in Southern Thailand. One to one interviews and descriptive diaries were used to collect the data and thematic analysis enabled the identification of attributes of spirituality and dignity. (3 Results: The findings revealed that spirituality and dignity were present in the lives of Thai adolescents living with HIV expressed in the main category of living life responsibly. This comprised of six themes: (a Understanding the disease and accepting the truth about life, (b Maintaining hope for a cure, (c Focusing on life’s purposes, (d Making life choices, (e Caring for oneself and (f Responsibility towards other. (4 Conclusions: The findings provide helpful insights for parents, nurses, and other health professionals supporting adolescents living with HIV to obtain a holistic, dignified approach to care that includes attention to the spiritual dimension.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Oddgeir Synnes
2017-09-01
Full Text Available The focus of this special issue is some of the main tacit policies and practices in the Norwegian welfare state. By looking at what is tacit, mute, unarticulated and neglected we will contribute to raising and presenting knowledge about the social and ethical question of dignity in welfare. This introductory article will first give a short overview of the historical background of the Norwegian welfare state and some of its current features. This will be followed by our positioning of the Norwegian welfare state as situated within complex practices, political discourses and dimensions that might be characterised as tacit, implicit or unarticulated. The article aims to discuss the concept of dignity in welfare services, at the individual and structural level, by asking ‘what kind of practices and structural conditions preserve dignity and where might dignity be violated, ignored or left out?’ The various articles in this special issue of the International Practice Development Journal illuminate what can be said and what is mute and tacit in different ways, and consider a range of practice-based responses. By revealing tacit dimensions in the Norwegian welfare this issue offers important insight into practices and discourses where dignity is at stake. It is a requirement of us all that we revisit dignity and its location and representation in our health systems to ensure it is not left behind as the state and other systems within it evolve.
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Fernández-Sola, Cayetano; Granero-Molina, José; Díaz-Cortés, María Del Mar; Jiménez-López, Francisca Rosa; Roman-López, Pablo; Saez-Molina, Encarnación; Aranda-Torres, Cayetano José; Muñoz-Terrón, José María; García-Caro, María Paz; Hernández-Padilla, José Manuel
2018-06-01
To explore and understand the experiences of terminally ill patients and their relatives regarding dignity during end-of-life care in the emergency department. The respect given to the concept of dignity is significantly modifying the clinical relationship and the care framework involving the end-of-life patient in palliative care units, critical care units, hospices and their own homes. This situation is applicable to in-hospital emergency departments, where there is a lack of research which takes the experiences of end-of-life patients and their relatives into account. A phenomenological qualitative study. The protocol was approved in December 2016 and will be carried out from December 2016-December 2020. The Gadamer's philosophical underpinnings will be used in the design and development of the study. The data collection will include participant observation techniques in the emergency department, in-depth interviews with terminally ill patients and focus groups with their relatives. For the data analysis, the field notes and verbatim transcriptions will be read and codified using ATLAS.ti software to search for emerging themes. Emerging themes that contribute to comprehending the phenomenon of dignity in end-of-life care in the emergency department are expected to be found. This study's results could have important implications in the implementation of new interventions in emergency departments. These interventions would be focused on improving: the social acceptance of death, environmental conditions, promotion of autonomy and accompaniment and assumption (takeover) of dignified actions and attitudes (respect for human rights). © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Frydenlund, Knut; And Others
1978-01-01
Eleven articles examine human rights in Europe. Topics include unemployment, human rights legislation, role of the Council of Europe in promoting human rights, labor unions, migrant workers, human dignity in industralized societies, and international violence. Journal available from Council of Europe, Directorate of Press and Information, 67006…
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[The dignity of the patient: a legal problem?].
Schultz, H
1980-11-01
Rules of medical ethic bid since the times of antiquity to respect the patients dignity. Today to respect the dignity of any man is a general legal rule. In the same way other rules of the traditional medical ethic became legal norms as for instance the command forbidding to do harm to someone. The law intends to limit the possibilities to exercise power. Therefore it does not compete to the doctor alone to decide that a medical treatment has to be applied. The legal base of a medical treatment lies in the consent of the patient who has been duly cleared up on his state, the necessary treatment and its risks. If it has to be decided if a doctor has given the right treatment in a special case it does not suffice to consult the general rules of the law; the circumstances of the case have to be considered as well. The doctor has to decide, according to the actual medical knowledge and the rules of his professional art what the appropriate proceeding is. Legal and medical considerations are closely connected if one judges a doctor handling a special case. If the patient consents, the doctor is not obliged to treat him, but he is entitled to do it, cases of emergency excepted. If and in what way he treats the patient has to be decided by the doctor according to medical criterias. If a patient, sound of mind, who is suffering heavily by an incurable illness asks the doctor to restrain treatment to alleviating the pains and to the absolute cares to preserve life, the doctor is bound by his patient's wish. In analogy the legal construct of "conducting business without mandate" allows the doctor to proceed in the same way if the patient who lost consciousness is not able to decide upon the treatment and whose death is inevitable and imminent if this is the only wise to respect the dignity of the patient.
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Through the looking glass: good looks and dignity in care
Pols, Jeannette
2013-01-01
There are roughly two meanings attached to the concept of dignity: humanitas and dignitas. Humanitas refers to ethical and juridical notions of equality, autonomy and freedom. Much less understood is the meaning of dignitas, which this paper develops as peoples' engagement with aesthetic values and
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Through the looking glass: good looks and dignity in care
Pols, J.
2013-01-01
There are roughly two meanings attached to the concept of dignity: humanitas and dignitas. Humanitas refers to ethical and juridical notions of equality, autonomy and freedom. Much less understood is the meaning of dignitas, which this paper develops as peoples’ engagement with aesthetic values and
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Hall, Sue; Davies, Joanna M; Gao, Wei; Higginson, Irene J
2014-10-01
To provide effective palliative care in different settings, it is important to understand and identify the sources of dignity-related distress experienced by people nearing the end of life. To describe and compare the sources of dignity-related distress reported by cancer patients and care home residents. Secondary analysis of merged data. Participants completed the Patient Dignity Inventory (assessing 25 sources of dignity-related distress) and measures of quality of life and depression. A total of 45 adult patients with advanced cancer referred to hospital-based palliative care teams in London, United Kingdom, and 60 residents living in one of 15 care homes in London. Care home residents were older and had poorer functioning. Both groups reported a wide range of dignity-related problems. Although the number or problems reported on the Patient Dignity Inventory was similar for the two groups (mean (standard deviation): 5.9 (5.5) for cancer patients and 4.1 (4.3) for care home residents, p = 0.07), there was a tendency for more cancer patients to report some existential problems. Experiencing physically distressing symptoms and functional limitations were prevalent problems for both groups. Patient Dignity Inventory problems were associated with poorer performance status and functioning for residents, with age and cognitive impairment for cancer patients and with poorer quality of life and depression for both groups. Although characteristics of the samples differed, similarities in the dignity-related problems reported by cancer patients and care home residents support research suggesting a common pathway towards death for malignant and non-malignant disease. A wider understanding of the sources of dignity-related distress would help clinicians provide more effective end-of-life care. © The Author(s) 2014.
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Safety, Dignity and the Quest for a Democratic Campus Culture
Ben-Porath, Sigal
2016-01-01
In his excellent paper, Callan (2016) differentiates intellectual safety, which fosters smugness, indifference and lack of effort, from dignity safety, which is needed for participation, learning and engagement. He suggests that college classrooms that reject the first and espouse the second would be ones that focus on "cultivating…
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Hospice-assisted death? A study of Oregon hospices on death with dignity.
Campbell, Courtney S; Cox, Jessica C
2012-05-01
Nearly 90% of terminally ill patients who have used Oregon's distinctive death with dignity law to receive a medication to end their lives are enrolled in hospice care programs. In 2009-2010, we conducted a study of the policies developed by Oregon hospices to address patient inquiries and requests for death with dignity. The study examined the stated hospice values and positions and identified the boundaries to participation drawn by the hospice programs to protect personal and programmatic integrity. The boundaries were drawn around 6 key caregiving considerations: (1) language regarding physician-assisted death (PAD); (2) informed decision making by patients; (3) collaboration with physicians; (4) provision of lethal medication; (5) assistance in the patient's act of taking the medication; and (6) staff presence at the time of medication ingestion.
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The Right to Dignity and Restorative Justice in Schools | Reyneke ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
A retributive and punitive approach is normally adopted in dealing with misbehaviour in South African schools. Despite the legal abolition of corporal punishment, more than 50 percent of schools still administer it. Other forms of punishment generally applied are also punitive in nature. The right to dignity of all of the parties ...
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Biermans, M.
2005-01-01
The dichotomy between political and socio-economic rights has been subject to criticism ever since the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, almost sixty years ago. The declaration itself leaves little doubt regarding the interconnectedness between both types of human rights.
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The treatment of sex offenders: evidence, ethics, and human rights.
Birgden, Astrid; Cucolo, Heather
2011-09-01
Public policy is necessarily a political process with the law and order issue high on the political agenda. Consequently, working with sex offenders is fraught with legal and ethical minefields, including the mandate that community protection automatically outweighs offender rights. In addressing community protection, contemporary sex offender treatment is based on management rather than rehabilitation. We argue that treatment-as-management violates offender rights because it is ineffective and unethical. The suggested alternative is to deliver treatment-as-rehabilitation underpinned by international human rights law and universal professional ethics. An effective and ethical community-offender balance is more likely when sex offenders are treated with respect and dignity that, as human beings, they have a right to claim.
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van Gennip, I.E.; Pasman, H.R.W.; Kaspers, P.J.; Oosterveld-Vlug, M.G.; Willems, D.L.; Deeg, D.J.H.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B.D.
2013-01-01
Background: Death with dignity has been identified as important both to patients and their surviving family. While research results have been published on what patients themselves believe may affect the dignity of their deaths, little is known about what family caregivers consider to be a dignified
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van Gennip, Isis E.; Pasman, H. Roeline W.; Kaspers, Pam J.; Oosterveld-Vlug, Mariska G.; Willems, Dick L.; Deeg, Dorly J. H.; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.
2013-01-01
Death with dignity has been identified as important both to patients and their surviving family. While research results have been published on what patients themselves believe may affect the dignity of their deaths, little is known about what family caregivers consider to be a dignified death. (1)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Richardson Alison
2009-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Although most older people living in nursing homes die there, there is a dearth of robust evaluations of interventions to improve their end-of-life care. Residents usually have multiple health problems making them heavily reliant on staff for their care, which can erode their sense of dignity. Dignity Therapy has been developed to help promote dignity and reduce distress. It comprises a recorded interview, which is transcribed, edited then returned to the patient, who can bequeath it to people of their choosing. Piloting has suggested that Dignity Therapy is beneficial to people dying of cancer and their families. The aims of this study are to assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of Dignity Therapy to reduce psychological and spiritual distress in older people reaching the end of life in care homes, and to pilot the methods for a Phase III RCT. Methods/design A randomised controlled open-label trial. Sixty-four residents of care homes for older people are randomly allocated to one of two groups: (i Intervention (Dignity Therapy offered in addition to any standard care, and (ii Control group (standard care. Recipients of the "generativity" documents are asked their views on taking part in the study and the therapy. Both quantitative and qualitative outcomes are assessed in face-to-face interviews at baseline and at approximately one and eight weeks after the intervention (equivalent in the control group. The primary outcome is residents' sense of dignity (potential effectiveness assessed by the Patient Dignity Inventory. Secondary outcomes for residents include depression, hopefulness and quality of life. In view of the relatively small sample size, quantitative analysis is mainly descriptive. The qualitative analysis uses the Framework method. Discussion Dignity Therapy is brief, can be done at the bedside and could help both patients and their families. This detailed exploratory research shows if
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Hall, Sue; Chochinov, Harvey; Harding, Richard; Murray, Scott; Richardson, Alison; Higginson, Irene J
2009-03-24
Although most older people living in nursing homes die there, there is a dearth of robust evaluations of interventions to improve their end-of-life care. Residents usually have multiple health problems making them heavily reliant on staff for their care, which can erode their sense of dignity. Dignity Therapy has been developed to help promote dignity and reduce distress. It comprises a recorded interview, which is transcribed, edited then returned to the patient, who can bequeath it to people of their choosing. Piloting has suggested that Dignity Therapy is beneficial to people dying of cancer and their families. The aims of this study are to assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of Dignity Therapy to reduce psychological and spiritual distress in older people reaching the end of life in care homes, and to pilot the methods for a Phase III RCT. A randomised controlled open-label trial. Sixty-four residents of care homes for older people are randomly allocated to one of two groups: (i) Intervention (Dignity Therapy offered in addition to any standard care), and (ii) Control group (standard care). Recipients of the "generativity" documents are asked their views on taking part in the study and the therapy. Both quantitative and qualitative outcomes are assessed in face-to-face interviews at baseline and at approximately one and eight weeks after the intervention (equivalent in the control group). The primary outcome is residents' sense of dignity (potential effectiveness) assessed by the Patient Dignity Inventory. Secondary outcomes for residents include depression, hopefulness and quality of life. In view of the relatively small sample size, quantitative analysis is mainly descriptive. The qualitative analysis uses the Framework method. Dignity Therapy is brief, can be done at the bedside and could help both patients and their families. This detailed exploratory research shows if it is feasible to offer Dignity Therapy to residents of
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The golden triangle of human dignity: human security, human development and human rights
Gaay Fortman, B. de
2004-01-01
The success or failure of processes of democratization cannot be detached from processes of development related to the aspirations of people at the grassroots. Human rights, in a more theoretical terminology, require human development in order to enhance human security.
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Dignity, religion and freedom of expression in South Africa | van ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The issue that this article dealt with is whether, in South African law, speech that infringes upon the religious feelings of an individual is protected by the dignity clause in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The Constitution, as well as the Broadcasting Code, prohibits language that advocates hatred, inter alia, ...
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Chochinov, Harvey Max; Kristjanson, Linda J.; Breitbart, William; McClement, Susan; Hack, Thomas F; Hassard, Tom; Harlos, Mike
2011-01-01
Objectives Dignity Therapy is a unique, individualized, brief psychotherapy, developed for patients (and their families) living with life threatening or life limiting illness. The purpose of this study was to determine if Dignity Therapy could mitigate distress and/or bolster end-of-life experience for patients nearing death. Trial Design Multi-site randomized controlled trial, with patients assigned to Dignity Therapy, Client Centred Care or Standard Palliative Care. Study arm assignment was based on a computer-generated table of random numbers. Blinding was achieved using opaque sealed envelopes, containing allocations that were only opened once consent had been obtained. Participants Patients receiving hospital or community (hospice or home) based palliative care, in Winnipeg, New York, or Perth, randomly assigned to, Dignity Therapy [n=108], Client Centered Care [n=107] and Standard Palliative Care (n=111). Main Outcome Measures The primary outcome measures included the FACIT Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Patient Dignity Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; items from the Structured Interview for Symptoms and Concerns, the Quality of Life Scale and a modified Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. Mean changes between baseline and end of intervention ratings were determined. Secondary outcomes, examining self-report end-of-life experience, consisted of a post-study survey administered across all study arms. Intervention Dignity Therapy, a novel, brief psychotherapy, provides patients with life threatening and life limiting illnesses an opportunity to speak about things that matter most to them. These recorded conversations form the basis of a generativity document, which patients can bequeath to individuals of their choosing. Client Centred Care is a supportive psychotherapeutic approach, in which research nurse/therapists guide patients through discussions focusing on here and now issues. Findings No significant differences across study arms
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Ho, Andy H Y; Dai, Annie A N; Lam, Shu-Hang; Wong, Sandy W P; Tsui, Amy L M; Tang, Jervis C S; Lou, Vivian W Q
2016-06-01
The provision of end-of-life (EoL) care in long-term-care settings remains largely underdeveloped in most Chinese societies, and nursing home residents often fail to obtain good care as they approach death. This paper systematically describes the development and implementation mechanisms of a novel Dignity-Conserving EoL Care model that has been successfully adopted by three nursing homes in Hong Kong and presents preliminary evidence of its effectiveness on enhancing dignity and quality of life (QoL) of terminally ill residents. Nine terminally ill nursing home residents completed the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Nursing Facilities Quality of Life Questionnaire at baseline and 6 months post-EoL program enrollment. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to detect significance changes in each QoL domains across time. Although significant deterioration was recorded for physical QoL, significant improvement was observed for social QoL. Moreover, a clear trend toward significant improvements was identified for the QoL domains of individuality and relationships. A holistic and compassionate caring environment, together with the core principles of family-centered care, interagency and interdisciplinary teamwork, as well as cultural-specific psycho-socio-spiritual support, are all essential elements for optimizing QoL and promoting death with dignity for nursing home residents facing morality. This study provides a useful framework to facilitate the future development of EoL care in long-term-care settings in the Chinese context. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. Raath
2008-07-01
Full Text Available At the advent of the Reformation, the institution of marriage, with particular emphasis on the marriage of priests and the degeneration of married life in Germany, proved to be a contentious matter in the discourse on marriage between Martin Luther and his colleague Melanchthon on the one hand and the papal authorities on the other. Although Luther subscribed to the basic definition of marriage postulated by the classical Roman jurists, he placed the issue of man’s “de facto” conjugal union in a broader perspective of moral-jural right as the foundation of the spouses’ duties and rights in marriage. Hence the distinction between “de facto” and “de jure” conjugal union enabled Luther and Melanchthon to develop a broader natural law-inspired view on marital dignity and the right thereto. In this article the origin, content and some implications of Luther’s reformational perspectives on the dignity of marriage are investigated.
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Resource expenditure not resource allocation: response to McDougall on cloning and dignity.
Williams, M J
2009-05-01
This paper offers some comments on bioethical debates about resource allocation in healthcare. It is stimulated by Rosalind McDougall's argument that it is an affront to the human dignity of people with below "liberties-level" health to fund human reproductive cloning. McDougall is right to underline the relevance of resource prioritisation to the ethics of research and provision of new biomedical technologies. This paper argues that bioethicists should be careful when offering comments about such issues. In particular, it emphasises the need to represent accurately the reality of the situation-especially when we are passing judgement on technologies that are in their infancy and whose practical application is yet to be confirmed. The paper also emphasises the importance of the actual context to bioethical debate, and note that it would be better to talk about resource expenditure rather than resource allocation when it comes to discussing the rights and wrongs of how money is spent. It also reiterates the claims made by other writers that social and political philosophy need to have a transparent and considered role in debates about resources.
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Landorf, Hilary
2012-01-01
A study of human rights prepares students for their role as global citizens and their study of practices in the world's countries that relate to the rights of human beings. Today, when one talks of human rights it is usually with reference to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It is the task of teachers to give students the…
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Only a Foundation.
Reichert, Elisabeth
2002-01-01
Explains provisions contained within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, tracing historical beginnings of human rights to 1945, detailing events after 1945 up to the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, and explaining essential terminology used in describing human rights instruments that have been…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tatiana URIEN ORTIZ
2017-01-01
Full Text Available This article analyzes the ethical implications of acknowledging disability as a human rights issue. The most common way to understand disability is inspired by a welfarist structure where collective needs trump the wishes of the individual. This new conceptualization, inspired by influential philosophers, such as Dworkin and Margalit, understands dignity as the individual’s right to have their life unfold in an inclusive context that creates self-respect.
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Dignity at the end of our days: personal, familial, and cultural location.
McDonald, Michael
2004-01-01
The desire to be treated with dignity, particularly at the end of one's life, is a fairly universal preference found in most cultures. Such treatment requires positive actions of respect in the behaviour of others toward the dying and the dead. It also involves negative actions, particularly refraining from doing "dignatory harms" to the dead and the dying. Yet it is not always easy for clinicians and researchers who deal with the dying and dead to decide on appropriate action or inaction. I suggest that such decision making can be helped by locating the dying person along three dimensions: the personal, the familial, and the cultural. These elements are interrelated in complex ways that need to be unpacked in context. Thus, one person may locate herself within a familial context while a sibling may locate himself against that context. While locating individuals along the three dimensions suggested does not "solve" ethical problems, it should help clinicians in understanding and dealing more compassionately with the dead, the dying, their families, and their communities.
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The Fundamental Right To Grow Old With Dignity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Camila Rabelo de Matos Silva Arruda
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Over the years the role the growing old in society has been changing considerably, the population is aging and increasing life expectancy. Law No. 10741/03, which established the Statute of the Elderly, where the legislator sought to ensure the right to grow old with dignity. The increase in the number of retirees and unemployment generated changing the demand in the social security system, which is being processed at the national congress. This article examines how society has been treating the elderly and preparing to deal with the aging population.
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The concept of «honor», «dignity» in the context of the professionalization of public service
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. M. Serjogin
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The article analyzes ethical aspects of the personality of a public servant. Such concepts as, «professional honor», «professional dignity», «professional justice», «professional responsibility» are disclosed. The role of these concepts in public servants’ professional activities is defermined. It is stated that professional dignity of the public servant is closely connected with his position in the team, his personal merit and honor public servant. The matter is that a public servant is a representative a particular team, and the entire public service. The attention is focused on the fact that the higher developed feeling of personal and official dignity of public servants, the more he values his professional honor, the more significant social value he has to society. As a result, professional honor and professional dignity, complement each other, help to maintain a certain, fairly high level of a public servant’s morality. It was found that such concepts as «professional honor», «professional dignity», «professional justice», «professional responsibility» were brought up before and are brought up now in a large stable structures and organizations of the world. In developed countries, such as France, Germany, Japan, England – the honor and responsibility of public servant are essential professional qualities, which largely determine style of activities and influence decision-making process. In our country, nowadays, the education of a public servant is missed, therefore we will not be able in the future to count on the loyalty of civil servants to their job. We will have to deal with the satisfaction of public servants’ personal needs, as it often happens now. Based on the analysis concluded that the professional ethics of a public servant is a rather complicated and weighty task of harmonizing professional and personal moral responsibility, principles, values and interests.
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Human research ethics committees in technical universities.
Koepsell, David; Brinkman, Willem-Paul; Pont, Sylvia
2014-07-01
Human research ethics has developed in both theory and practice mostly from experiences in medical research. Human participants, however, are used in a much broader range of research than ethics committees oversee, including both basic and applied research at technical universities. Although mandated in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, non-medical research involving humans need not receive ethics review in much of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Our survey of the top 50 technical universities in the world shows that, where not specifically mandated by law, most technical universities do not employ ethics committees to review human studies. As the domains of basic and applied sciences expand, ethics committees are increasingly needed to guide and oversee all such research regardless of legal requirements. We offer as examples, from our experience as an ethics committee in a major European technical university, ways in which such a committee provides needed services and can help ensure more ethical studies involving humans outside the standard medical context. We provide some arguments for creating such committees, and in our supplemental article, we provide specific examples of cases and concerns that may confront technical, engineering, and design research, as well as outline the general framework we have used in creating our committee. © The Author(s) 2014.
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Cancer cachexia and its impact on patient dignity: What nurses need to know
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Susan McClement
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Noted physician, Sr. William Osler, is credited with saying, “Care more particularly for the individual patient than for the special features of the disease”. Osler understood that each patient for whom we care is first and foremost a person, who also happens to be living with a particular illness. In addition to understanding the nature of the patient's illness, therefore, it is also critically important that we come to understand the patient's unique story and set of circumstances. Doing so allows us to engage with patients in a way that affirms their sense of dignity and personhood. Drawing on the exemplar of cancer cachexia, this editorial reminds clinicians of the importance of Osler's sage advice to attend to patient dignity and personhood, and provides nurses with direction about how they can do that in practice.
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From Vulnerability to Dignity: The RN Declaration of Self-Esteem.
Janzen, Katherine J; Mitchell, Maureen; Renton, Lesley J; Currie, Genevieve; Nordstrom, Pamela M
2015-11-04
Registered nurses (RNs) experience vulnerability from a variety of sources in today's healthcare organizations. While RN vulnerability can be associated with positive outcomes with patients and clients, vulnerability can also be dangerous to RNs as they struggle with outside forces that many feel they have no control over. The study aims to maintain and enhance the dignity of RNs and provide a beacon to RNs who may have become wounded in the healthcare setting and/or their own profession. The study was conducted in a conference entitled "Advancing Nursing Practice Through Change, Innovation and Creativity" held at a midsized university in western Canada. The participants were 115 administrators, members of RN regulatory bodies, nursing faculty, nurse educators, and staff nurses. An activity entitled "Wild Thinking" gave participants an opportunity to reflect upon the conference and their personal experiences of change, innovation, and creativity they wished to see within the workplace. All responses were collected at the end of the activity, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed for themes. Arising from 16 themes, the RN Declaration of Self-Esteem was created. The RN Declaration of Self-Esteem may be helpful in promoting empowerment at the individual RN level as well as in the collective professional level. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Respektování lidské důstojnosti v ošetřovatelské péči u pacientů léčeben dlouhodobě nemocných
Řádová, Veronika
2010-01-01
88 Synopsis Author: Veronika Řádová Institutions: Charles University in Prague Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové Institute of Social Medicine Department of Nursing Title: Respecting human dignity in nursing care for patients in long stay hospitals Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Jana Kutnohorská, CSc. Number of pages: 102 Number of attachments: 3 Year of viva voice: 2010 Keywords: geriatrics, human dignity, respect for the patient, nursing care, nursing ethics The thesis deals with respect for hum...
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Chochinov, Harvey Max; Kristjanson, Linda J; Breitbart, William; McClement, Susan; Hack, Thomas F; Hassard, Tom; Harlos, Mike
2011-08-01
Dignity therapy is a unique, individualised, short-term psychotherapy that was developed for patients (and their families) living with life-threatening or life-limiting illness. We investigated whether dignity therapy could mitigate distress or bolster the experience in patients nearing the end of their lives. Patients (aged ≥18 years) with a terminal prognosis (life expectancy ≤6 months) who were receiving palliative care in a hospital or community setting (hospice or home) in Canada, USA, and Australia were randomly assigned to dignity therapy, client-centred care, or standard palliative care in a 1:1:1 ratio. Randomisation was by use of a computer-generated table of random numbers in blocks of 30. Allocation concealment was by use of opaque sealed envelopes. The primary outcomes--reductions in various dimensions of distress before and after completion of the study--were measured with the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Spiritual Well-Being Scale, Patient Dignity Inventory, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, items from the Structured Interview for Symptoms and Concerns, Quality of Life Scale, and modified Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. Secondary outcomes of self-reported end-of-life experiences were assessed in a survey that was undertaken after the completion of the study. Outcomes were assessed by research staff with whom the participant had no previous contact to avoid any possible response bias or contamination. Analyses were done on all patients with available data at baseline and at the end of the study intervention. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00133965. 165 of 441 patients were assigned to dignity therapy, 140 standard palliative care, and 136 client-centred care. 108, 111, and 107 patients, respectively, were analysed. No significant differences were noted in the distress levels before and after completion of the study in the three groups. For the secondary outcomes, patients reported that
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LGBT: equally entitled to human rights and dignity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anne C Richard
2013-04-01
Full Text Available Recognition that LGBT rights are universal rights is gaining ground.The trend, finally, is positive. But greater respect for LGBT rights andinclusion of LGBT people still is not a worldwide movement.
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Testing the feasibility of the Dignity Therapy interview: adaptation for the Danish culture
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Houmann, Lise J; Rydahl-Hansen, Susan; Chochinov, Harvey M
2010-01-01
ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: 'Dignity Therapy' (DT) is a brief, flexible intervention, which allows patients to complete an interview and create a document regarding their life, identity and what they want to leave in writing for their loved ones. DT is based on the DT Question Protocol. Developed...... patients, and to obtain preliminary estimates of patient uptake for DT. These results will be used to inform a larger evaluation study. METHOD: Ten professionals were interviewed about their perception of DT and the Question Protocol. It was then tested with 20 patients at two palliative care sites and one...... and tested in English speaking settings, DT has proven to be a feasible and effective way to enhance patient dignity, while diminishing suffering and depression. The aim of this study was to test the acceptability and feasibility of the DT Question Protocol among Danish health professionals and cancer...
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Do cultural diversity and human rights make a good match?
Donders, Yvonne
2010-01-01
The link between cultural diversity and human rights was clearly established by the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted by the member states of UNESCO in 2001, which holds that "the defence of cultural diversity is … inseparable from respect for human dignity" and that it "implies a commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms." The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, adopted in 2005, states that "cultural diversity can be protected and promoted only if human rights and fundamental freedoms … are guaranteed" (Article 2[1]). The precise relationship between cultural diversity and human rights, however, is not clarified and thus leaves room for further exploration. This contribution analyses the issues surrounding the relationship between cultural diversity and human rights, in particular cultural rights. Firstly, it addresses general human rights issues such as universality and cultural relativism and the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Secondly, it explores the scope of cultural rights, as well as the cultural dimension of human rights. Thirdly, several cases are discussed in which human rights were invoked to protect cultural interests, confirming the value of cultural diversity. Finally, some concluding remarks are presented, indicating which areas require attention in order to further improve the promotion and protection of human rights in relation to cultural diversity.
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A Critical Analysis of Criticisms of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act
Werth, James L., Jr.; Wineberg, Howard
2005-01-01
This article critically examines the validity of common criticisms of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, primarily through reviewing published research and analyses. After summarizing the law and recent developments, 11 areas of concerns are examined: (a) the amount of data collected, (b) the availability of the data, (c) the reporting process,…
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Universe, human immortality and future human evaluation
Bolonkin, Alexander
2011-01-01
This book debates the universe, the development of new technologies in the 21st century and the future of the human race. Dr Bolonkin shows that a human soul is only the information in a person's head. He offers a new unique method for re-writing the main brain information in chips without any damage to the human brain. This is the scientific prediction of the non-biological (electronic) civilization and immortality of the human being. Such a prognosis is predicated upon a new law, discovered by the author, for the development of complex systems. According to this law, every self-copying system tends to be more complex than the previous system, provided that all external conditions remain the same. The consequences are disastrous: humanity will be replaced by a new civilization created by intellectual robots (which Dr Bolonkin refers to as "E-humans" and "E-beings"). These creatures, whose intellectual and mechanical abilities will far exceed those of man, will require neither food nor oxygen to sustain their...
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Human Trafficking. Ministering to The 'Invisible' Victim.
Scanlon, Colleen; Krausa, Laura
2016-07-01
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery - an insidious, criminal industry that gener- ates billions of dollars in labor trafficking alone. It knows no boundary of continent, country, race or class; it is a shattering, impartial predator that robs individuals of their basic human dignity.
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A Prelinguistic Gestural Universal of Human Communication
Liszkowski, Ulf; Brown, Penny; Callaghan, Tara; Takada, Akira; de Vos, Conny
2012-01-01
Several cognitive accounts of human communication argue for a language-independent, prelinguistic basis of human communication and language. The current study provides evidence for the universality of a prelinguistic gestural basis for human communication. We used a standardized, semi-natural elicitation procedure in seven very different cultures…
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Gestational Surrogacy from the Perspective of Human Dignity%人格尊严视角下代孕技术的伦理审视
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
郑晓琴; 张振兴
2012-01-01
目前我国对代孕技术采取全面禁止的态度是伦理学界争议较大的问题之一。生育和人类的繁衍作为人类基本的一项权利，应当在社会中得到尊重，得到法律的保护。文章从“人格尊严”的视角出发，对代孕技术中涉及的委托父母、代孕母亲进行伦理审视和研究，从其人格尊严的价值层面寻找对代孕技术在计划生育政策条件下有限开放的伦理论证。%The ban on gestational surrogacy in China has triggered a heated argument in me acaaemla o, ethics. Rights of reproduction, being a basic human right, should get more respect and legal protection in the community. Based on the summary of several represent academic views of gestational surrogacy, this article pro- duces an ethical research of the infertile couples and surrogate mothers from the perspective of human dignity, and attempts to find the ethical argumentations to support the appropriate opening of gestational surrogacy.
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Human-provided waters for desert wildlife: What is the problem?
Mattson, D.J.; Chambers, N.
2009-01-01
Conflict persists in southwestern deserts of the United States over management of human-constructed devices to provide wildlife with water. We appraised decision processes in this case relative to the goal of human dignity and by the standards of civility and common interest outcomes. Our analysis suggested that conflict was scientized, rooted in worldviews, and aggravated by use of inflammatory symbols such as "wilderness" and "bighorn sheep." Contested problem definitions, framed as matters of science, advanced factional interests largely by allocating the burden of proof and failing to disclose private concerns about well-being, affection, respect, skill and power. Decision processes were shaped by precepts of scientific management, and thus largely failed to foster civility, common ground, and a focus on common interests, and instead tended to exacerbate deprivations of dignity and respect. If the status quo continues, we foresee further erosion of human dignity because there are likely to be increases in system stressors, such as climate change and human population growth. The prognosis would be more hopeful if alternatives were adopted that entailed authoritative, equitable, and collaborative public decision-making processes that took into consideration national-level common interests such as the U.S. Endangered Species Act. ?? Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2008.
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The End-of-Life Phase of High-Grade Glioma Patients: Dying With Dignity?
Sizoo, E.M.; Taphoorn, M.J.B.; Uitdehaag, B.M.J.; Heimans, J.J.; Deliens, L.; Reijneveld, J.C.; Pasman, H.R.W.
2013-01-01
Background. In the end-of-life (EOL) phase, high-grade glioma (HGG) patients have a high symptom burden and often lose independence because of physical and cognitive dysfunction. This might affect the patient's personal dignity. We aimed to (a) assess the proportion of HGG patients dying with
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Parpa, Efi; Kostopoulou, Sotiria; Tsilika, Eleni; Galanos, Antonis; Katsaragakis, Stylianos; Mystakidou, Kyriaki
2017-09-01
The patient dignity inventory (PDI) is an instrument to measure dignity distressing aspects at the end of life. The aims of the present study were the translation of the PDI in Greek language as well as to measure its psychometric aspects in a palliative care unit. A back-translation method was obtained at the Greek version. One hundred twenty advanced cancer patients completed the Greek version of the PDI, the Greek hospital anxiety and depression scale, the Greek schedule of attitudes toward hastened death (SAHD-Gr), and the Greek 12-item short form health survey. Confirmatory factor analysis failed to fit to the original instrument's structure and exploratory factor analysis was conducted revealing five factors ("Psychological Distress," "Body Image and Role Identity," "Self-Esteem," "Physical Distress and Dependency," and "Social Support"). The psychometric analysis of the PDI-Gr demonstrated a good concurrent validity, and the instrument discriminated well between subgroups of patients regarding age differences. Cronbach α were between 0.71 and 0.9 showing a good internal consistency. The Greek version of the PDI showed good psychometric properties in advanced cancer patients, supported the usefulness of the instrument assessing the sense of dignity distressing aspects of the terminally ill cancer patients. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Male nurses and the protection of female patient dignity.
Prideaux, Antony
Nurses need to be aware of their professional, legal and ethical responsibilities towards patients. Male nurses in particular face problems in their practice as a result of their gender and the stereotypes associated with male nurses. Such stereotypes can act as a barrier to their duty of care. This article examines the challenges associated with male nurses carrying out intimate, physical care. It discusses the ethical, legal and professional issues that male nurses should consider in relation to maintenance of patient dignity during nursing care provision, particularly in relation to female patients.
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Euthanasia and death with dignity: still poised on the fulcrum of homicide.
Biggs, H
1996-12-01
This article questions whether the law of homicide is an appropriate mechanism to adjudicate the humanitarian issues involved in voluntary euthanasia; particularly where painful protracted dying appears inherently more harmful than euthanasia. The author suggests that even if euthanasia can provide death with dignity this will not be achieved while the law requires the undignified criminalisation of the practitioner.
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Dignity and Distress towards the End of Life across Four Non-Cancer Populations
Chochinov, Harvey Max
2016-01-01
Objective The purpose of this study was to identify four non-cancer populations that might benefit from a palliative approach; and describe and compare the prevalence and patterns of dignity related distress across these diverse clinical populations. Design A prospective, multi-site approach was used. Setting Outpatient clinics, inpatient facilities or personal care homes, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Participants Patients with advanced Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD); and the institutionalized alert frail elderly. Main Outcome Measure In addition to standardized measures of physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of patient experience, the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI). Results Between February 2009 and December 2012, 404 participants were recruited (ALS, 101; COPD, 100; ESRD, 101; and frail elderly, 102). Depending on group designation, 35% to 58% died within one year of taking part in the study. While moderate to severe loss of sense of dignity did not differ significantly across the four study populations (4–11%), the number of PDI items reported as problematic was significantly different i.e. ALS 6.2 (5.2), COPD 5.6 (5.9), frail elderly 3.0 (4.4) and ESRD 2.3 (3.9) [p < .0001]. Each of the study populations also revealed unique and distinct patterns of physical, psychological and existential distress. Conclusion People with ALS, COPD, ESRD and the frail elderly face unique challenges as they move towards the end of life. Knowing the intricacies of distress and how they differ across these groups broadens our understanding of end-of-life experience within non-cancer populations and how best to meet their palliative care needs. PMID:26808530
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Basics of teaching Latin at Humanities University
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bragova Arina Mikhailovna
2017-04-01
Full Text Available The article reviews the goals, tasks, methods, and results of teaching Latin at Humanities University. The article points out that the basis of teaching is analytical reading with elements of discursive analysis. In Humanities University teaching is being provided through the interdisciplinary approach. The educational process includes interactive exercises, the use various forms of control, for example, lingual-didactic testing in a virtual learning environment. The results of current and final control are formed with the help of the point-rating system of assessing knowledge.
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Nguyen, T. L.
2016-01-01
At research-intensive universities, building human resources management (HRM) capacity has become a key approach to enhancing a university's research performance. However, despite aspiring to become a research-intensive university, many teaching-intensive universities in developing countries may not have created effective research-promoted HRM…
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Human Research Ethics Committees in Technical Universities
Koepsell, D.R.; Brinkman, W.P.; Pont, S.C.
2014-01-01
Human research ethics has developed in both theory and practice mostly from experiences in medical research. Human participants, however, are used in a much broader range of research than ethics committees oversee, including both basic and applied research at technical universities. Although
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Death AND DIGNITY. WHY VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA IS A QUESTION OF CHOICE.
Denton, Andrew
2016-12-01
The prospect of voluntary euthanasia has created strong debate for decades and provoked passionate opinions from both sides of the fence. While not legal in Australia, a recent revived push for national voluntary euthanasia legislation has once again opened up the conversation and nurses have been encouraged to join the debate. Robert Fedele investigates the latest thinking and why more people are supporting voluntary euthanasia and the right to die with dignity.
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Two Rounds of Postwar Restitution and Dignity Restoration in the Netherlands and in France
Veraart, Wouter
2016-01-01
The looting and systematic deprivation of the property rights of the Jewish population in the Netherlands and France during the years of occupation brought about a deprivation of dignity, since these measures were intended to hit these people in their capacities as legal subjects, destroying their
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Julião, Miguel; Oliveira, Fátima; Nunes, Baltazar; Carneiro, António Vaz; Barbosa, António
2017-12-01
Dignity therapy (DT) is a brief form of psychotherapy developed for patients living with a life-limiting illness that has demonstrated efficacy in treating several dimensions of end-of-life psychological distress. Our aim was to determine the influence of DT on demoralization syndrome (DS), the desire for death (DfD), and a sense of dignity (SoD) in terminally ill inpatients experiencing a high level of distress in a palliative care unit. A nonblinded phase II randomized controlled trial was conducted with 80 patients who were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the intervention group (DT + standard palliative care [SPC]) or the control group (SPC alone). The main outcomes were DS, DfD, and SoD, as measured according to DS criteria, the Desire for Death Rating Scale, and the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI), respectively. All scales were assessed at baseline (day 1) and at day 4 of follow-up. This study is registered with http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN34354086. Of the 80 participants, 41 were randomized to DT and 39 to SPC. Baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups. DT was associated with a significant decrease in DS compared with SPC (DT DS prevalence = 12.1%; SPC DS prevalence = 60.0%; p Dignity therapy had a beneficial effect on the psychological distress encountered by patients near the end of life. Our research suggests that DT is an important psychotherapeutic approach that should be included in clinical care programs, and it could help more patients to cope with their end-of-life experiences.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tone Svetelj
2014-04-01
Full Text Available Within the context of multi-cultural and multi-religious society, embedded in the process of globalization, a traditional understanding of humanism offers insufficient frameworks for an adequate comprehension of human flourishing and human search for meaning. In addition, modernity frames and evaluates in many aspects insufficiently the incomparable worth of the human person. This article offers some guidelines for further philosophical, theological and pedagogical reflection on a humanism that is more suitable for our life in the process of globalization and modernity. Such humanism continually moves us toward a better comprehension of what “human” means within a universe of divergent cultures, religions, traditions, and races. This humanism is called universal humanism , based on the Greek word kaqolou , comprising both universality and wholeness. The first part of this article analyzes some of the main characteristics of humanism in the Greek and Roman contexts, which provide historical and theoretical frameworks for universal humanism. The second part justifies the relevance and usefulness of such humanism: it helps us to transcend singular cultures, nations, political systems, religions, and, by default, to discover or explore anew the meaning of the human person on a global level. The last part of this article suggests some pedagogical attitudes that will help us to embrace and remain in a dialogical relationship with all of humanity, in order to enrich our comprehension of the incomparable worth of the human person, this time from a universal perspective.
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Details from dignity to decay: facial expression lines in visual arts.
Heckmann, Marc
2003-10-01
A number of dermatologic procedures are intended to reduce facial wrinkles. This article is about wrinkles as a statement of art. This article explores how frown lines and other facial wrinkles are used in visual art to feature personal peculiarities and accentuate specific feelings or moods. Facial lines as an artistic element emerged with advanced painting techniques evolving during the Renaissance and following periods. The skill to paint fine details, the use of light and shadow, and the understanding of space that allowed for a three-dimensional presentation of the human face were essential prerequisites. Painters used facial lines to emphasize respected values such as dignity, determination, diligence, and experience. Facial lines, however, were often accentuated to portrait negative features such as anger, fear, aggression, sadness, exhaustion, and decay. This has reinforced a cultural stigma of facial wrinkles expressing not only age but also misfortune, dismay, or even tragedy. Removing wrinkles by dermatologic procedures may not only aim to make people look younger but also to liberate them from unwelcome negative connotations. On the other hand, consideration and care must be taken-especially when interfering with facial muscles-to preserve a natural balance of emotional facial expressions.
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Value System and Standard of Education in Nigerian Third ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Nekky Umera
student's value orientation and his academic achievement. The variability in ... instruction. These include moral/spiritual values, dignity of human ..... Practices in the Universities Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia.” ... Economy and Management.
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The Oregon Death with Dignity Act: The Right to Live or the Right to Die?
Westefeld, John S.; Doobay, Alissa; Hill, Jennifer; Humphreys, Clare; Sandil, Riddhi; Tallman, Benjamin
2009-01-01
Two hundred six individuals were surveyed concerning their views about the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, which allows for physician-assisted suicide under certain conditions. Results indicated extensive heterogeneity and strong opinions concerning the act. Implications are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)
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[The gift of human body's products: philosophical and ethical aspects].
Baertschi, B
2014-09-01
In continental Europe, there is a very strong moral condemnation against putting parts or products of the human body on sale-and, consequently, against putting sperms and oocytes on sale. Only a gift is morally permissible. The situation is different in Anglo-Saxon countries. Who is right? Above all, it must be noticed that two views of the human body are facing each other here: for the first, the human body is a part of the person (so, it partakes of the person's dignity), whereas for the second, the human body is a possession of the person (the person is the owner of his/her body). In my opinion, the argument of dignity comes up against serious objections, and the property argument is more consistent. However, it does not follow that it would be judicious to put parts and products of the human body for sale on a market. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bas de Gaay Fortman
2006-12-01
Full Text Available This article looks at the development of law by the judiciary in the sense of judgments taking the law beyond the point of what was hitherto regarded as ius positivum. Its main perspective, however, is not the creation of law by the courts as such, but rather the ways and means in which the human rights idea has encouraged judges to deliver decisions that imply an overturning of 'settled' law. In the comparative exploration of 'adventurous' judgments that we shall embark on, our focus will be on the political morality of human rights as a driving force in judicial activism. It is assumed, in other words, that where the judiciary is 'active', human rights may play a part as general principles of law as distinct from rules already incorporated in positive law. Notably then, human rights in this way affect positive law in a manner other than through processes of international, regional and national standard setting connected with the establishment of new supervisory institutions and mechanisms. For this reason, the article does not so much consider typical human rights cases; instead the focus is on major decisions by national courts that were not in the first place regarded as human rights cases at all. In this endeavour, the article aims to be no more than an initial comparative exploration, intended to illustrate a function of human rights that is not normally highlighted, namely its function as an inspirational force towards 'adventurous' judgments. Yet, the judicial potential illustrated here is of great significance, as it may lead to law development inspired by the two principal pillars underpinning the international quest for the realization of human rights: universality and human dignity. After reviewing a variety of characteristic cases from such diverse legal backgrounds as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States of America, India, South Africa and Nigeria, some conclusions are drawn as to the ways in which human rights
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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Ionita COCHINTU; Laura TUTUNARU; Narcisa Mihaela STOICU; Daniela Cristina VALEA
2011-01-01
Trafficking in human beings, a phenomenon with global dimensions constitutes a serious violation of human rights, dignity and freedom, a social phenomenon with negative consequences for the entire society. Countries have been concerned over the time to find the most effective policy measures to combat and prevent human trafficking, and in this regard the United Nations, the European Union and the Council of Europe have developed a series of international documents which established an interna...
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Okishiro, Nao; Miyashita, Mitsunori; Tsuneto, Satoru; Sato, Kazuki; Shima, Yasuo
2009-01-01
There has been a debate in appropriateness of legalization of death with dignity and euthanasia in Japan. To clarify views about these issues, we conducted a large nationwide study of the bereaved whose family member died at palliative care units. The percentages of 429 bereaved family members (response rate 65%) who affirmed legal authorization were 52 for death with dignity and 45 for euthanasia and who affirmed assignment at the discretion of the physician involved were 37 for death with dignity and 38 for euthanasia. In conclusion, views about legalization of death with dignity and euthanasia among the bereaved are inconsistent. No consensus is reached as to legislation of these issues.
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Victims’ rights are human rights: The importance of recognizing victims as persons
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wemmers Jo-Anne
2012-01-01
Full Text Available In this paper the author argues that victims’ rights are human rights. Criminal law typically views victims as witnesses to a crime against the state, thus shutting them out of the criminal justice process and only allowing them in when they are needed to testify. This is a major source of dissatisfaction for victims who seek validation in the criminal justice system. Victims are persons with rights and privileges. Crimes constitute violations of their rights as well as acts against society or the state. While human rights instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, do not mention crime victims specifically, a number of rights are identified, which can be viewed from the victim’s perspective. As individuals with dignity, victims have the right to recognition as persons before the law. However, such rights are only meaningful if they can be enforced.
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Death with Dignity: The Developing Debate Among Health Care Professionals.
Oakman, Brittany N; Campbell, Hope E; Runk, Lindsay M
2015-06-01
The right-to-die movement-known variously as death with dignity, physician-assisted suicide, or aid in dying-remains controversial. The recently publicized death of 29-year-old Brittany Maynard, who chose to end her life through physician-assisted suicide, forced many health care professionals to evaluate or re-evaluate their stance on the issue. Currently, only five states have aid-in-dying laws, but many others have bills under consideration. The legalized process for physician-assisted suicide has a strict set of procedures that physicians and patients must follow to ensure the competency and safety of all parties involved. Opposition against legalizing physician-assisted suicide encompasses more than simply moral, religious, or ethical differences. While some individuals believe that physician-assisted suicide gives patients autonomy in their end-of-life care, health care professionals also may have reservations about the liability of the situation. Pharmacists, in particular, play a pertinent role in the dispensing of, and counseling about, the medications used to assist patients in hastening their death. It is imperative that pharmacists be aware of the intended use of the particular medication so that they can make informed decisions about their participation and ensure that they perform all the necessary steps required to remain compliant with the laws or statutes in their jurisdiction. This practice places an increased burden on pharmacists to evaluate their opinion on the concept of death with dignity and whether or not they want to participate.
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Psychological counselling and indigenous African knowledge ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Psychological counselling relates to basic humanity and universal values such as the regard for human dignity, healthy socialisation, and emotional health. Counselling individuals who experience emotional or relational problems is a function of the helping and health care professions. Effective counselling should provide ...
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Exploring care for human service profession
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høy, Bente
2016-01-01
maintain their dignity, it is important to explore, how dignity is maintained in such situations. Views of dignity and factors influencing dignity have been studied from both the nursing homes residents´ and the care providers´ perspective. However, little is known about how the residents’ experience...
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Dignity and cost-effectiveness: a rejection of the utilitarian approach to death.
Brooks, S A
1984-01-01
Utilitarianism is commonly assumed to be the most appropriate sub-structure for medical ethics. This view is challenged. It is suggested that the utilitarian approach to euthanasia works against the patient's individual advantage and is a corrupting influence in the relationship between the physician and society. Dignity for the individual patient is not easily achieved by assessing that person's worth against the yardstick of others' needs and wishes. PMID:6502643
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Reconciling Universality and Particularity through a Cosmopolitan Outlook on Human Rights
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rebecca Adami
2012-08-01
Full Text Available Human rights are today criticized as not compatible with different cultural values and the debate has circulated around Asian values and Islamic values as in dichotomy with human rights as universal ethics (Ignatieff, 2003. The theoretical dichotomy between universality and particularity is questioned pragmatically in this paper through a historical study. The working process of drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR in 1946-48, which included thousands of people, is explored as a cosmopolitan space in which individuals from different cultural contexts met to negotiate human rights through cultural narratives. The process where particular values were negotiated with universal notion on human rights resulted in a common proclamation (UDHR without a common philosophical or ideological ground. This paper puts forth a thesis that human rights discourse can work as a cosmopolitan space, in which particular value systems meet in processes characterized by conflict and cohesion. Hence human rights can be understood as a master narrative compatible with different conflicting cultural narratives (Gibson & Somers, 1994.
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A prelinguistic gestural universal of human communication.
Liszkowski, Ulf; Brown, Penny; Callaghan, Tara; Takada, Akira; de Vos, Conny
2012-01-01
Several cognitive accounts of human communication argue for a language-independent, prelinguistic basis of human communication and language. The current study provides evidence for the universality of a prelinguistic gestural basis for human communication. We used a standardized, semi-natural elicitation procedure in seven very different cultures around the world to test for the existence of preverbal pointing in infants and their caregivers. Results were that by 10-14 months of age, infants and their caregivers pointed in all cultures in the same basic situation with similar frequencies and the same proto-typical morphology of the extended index finger. Infants' pointing was best predicted by age and caregiver pointing, but not by cultural group. Further analyses revealed a strong relation between the temporal unfolding of caregivers' and infants' pointing events, uncovering a structure of early prelinguistic gestural conversation. Findings support the existence of a gestural, language-independent universal of human communication that forms a culturally shared, prelinguistic basis for diversified linguistic communication. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.
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Alonso, Juan Pedro; Villarejo, Agustina; Brage, Eugenia
2017-01-01
This article examines the regulation on terminal patients' rights in Argentina at two points in time: the first attempts to regulate end-of-life rights (1996), and the "death with dignity" law passed by the National Congress (2011-2012). Comparative analysis allows us to observe variations among the individuals and situations included in the legislation, as well as in the conceptualization of autonomy and the interventions that is considered lawful refuse. The political context and the differential way that "death with dignity" entered the legislative agenda in each period determined the public's construction of the problem and thus the extent and result of the debates.
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Ayers, David F.; Miller-Dyce, Cherrel; Carlone, David
2008-01-01
Researchers asked 17 participants in a job-training program to describe their personal struggles following an economic restructuring. Examined through a critical theoretical lens, findings indicate that the learners enrolled in the program to reclaim security, dignity, meaningful work, and caring relationships. Program planners at community…
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Menswaardigheid: ’n Verkenning van Biestek se siening
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
E.H. Ryke
2000-03-01
Full Text Available Human dignity: An exploration of Biestek’s viewSocial workers face the question of how to relate to other human beings, more specifically how to relate to client groups. Human dignity as a fundamental value of social work is widely used as a guiding principle in this regard. What is meant by the concept human dignity is not, however, always clear. It is argued that different, even opposing presuppositions, underpin and form the meaning and application of this concept and that as a practice principle human dignity is used in an intuitive way. Historically the term human dignity has had different meanings. In antiquity human dignity was linked with man’s rational capacities. The Christian perspective fuses human dignity with being created in the image of God. From a human-rights perspective human dignity is seen as a basic human right. In the post-modern context values are seen as relative and the question is what the implications for human dignity are if we accept it as a relative value in social work. The aim of this article is to show that human dignity is given meaning within a hierarchical ontology in social work. In this hierarchical ontology as argued by Biestek, man is viewed in a dualistic way where rationality dominates. It also places the individual central in the view of society.
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Human rights of persons with mental disabilities. The European Convention of Human Rights.
Gostin, L O
2000-01-01
It is not necessary to recount the numerous charters and declarations ... to understand human rights.... All persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone ... is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the international human rights instruments without discrimination, such as the rights to life, liberty, security of the person, privacy, health, education, work, social security, and to marry and found a family. Yet, violations of human rights are a reality to be found in every corner of the globe.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Séamus Ó Tuama
2016-03-01
Full Text Available The economic crisis that emerged in 2008 put great stress on the so-called European project. The economic downturn put additional pressure on economically and educationally marginalised populations, who continue to experience high levels of unemployment and lower levels of access to societal goods. Activation is seen as one of the main strategies to combat unemployment. The EU also recognises a systemic shift in the nature of work, such that individuals will have several transitions between work and education during their careers. This is a significant societal level challenge that will likely pose greater stress on groups and individuals that are marginalised socially, educationally and economically. To deliver better long-term outcome it is necessary to adopt reflexive activation approaches. Reflexive activation is one in which unemployed people actively co-design the proposed resolutions. It is also embedded in a societal context. It is cognisant of citizenship, autonomy and human rights and leans towards traditional adult education values. The model of reflexive activation explored here is infused with understandings emerging from Schuller's three types of capital and theories of recognition, respect and dignity developed by Honneth and others.
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Theory of defamation in the doctrine of honor and dignity protection
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Komissarova E.G.
2014-12-01
Full Text Available A significant growth of interest in the issue of protection of honor and dignity as personal intangible benefits is recently caused by two key acts: Federal Law of July 2, 2013 N 142 “On amendments to subsection 3 of section I of the first part of the RF Civil Code” and decision of the RF Constitutional Court of July 9, 2013 N 18 “On the case about verification of the constitutionality of the provisions of paragraphs 1, 5, 6 of Article 152 of the RF Civil Code in connection with the complaint of a citizen E.V. Krylov”. Further humanization of the civil law, its corresponding with human rights, as well as legislator’s wish to eliminate the backlog in regulations of relations on the protection of personal intangible benefits are obvious. The ongoing legislative changes became associated with the theory of defamation. A lot of defamation terms, relating to personal intangible benefits and characterizing the corresponding behavior, tort, doctrine, offence, appeared in the Russian jurisprudence. The phrase “defamation law” is more frequently used, but its logical-semantic boundaries, methodological guidelines and branch are not yet clear. Most of the provisions of the defamation theory are taken for granted, while the theory itself dates back to pre-revolutionary (bourgeois – for the Soviet jurisprudence law and is undergoing a significant transformation currently. The need for theoretical elaboration of the defamation doctrine as applied to the new conditions of its practical application is substantiated. Therefore the necessary methodological guidelines are considered in the article.
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Human rights – local value or universal norm?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Grigory Gutner
2011-03-01
Full Text Available The article argues for the universal character of human rights. It is demonstrated that they are not of specific value of Western culture but are a universal norm. This norm is valid not only for political practices but, first of all, for the morality and practice of argumentation. Human rights are strictly correlated with Kantian Categorical Imperative and can be substantiated by means of transcendentalpragmatic argument (K.O. Apel. The difference between values and norms are also considered. It is demonstrated that values are always subjective and arbitrary meanwhile final justification is possible for norms.
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Barretto, Vicente de Paulo; Lauxen, Elis Cristina Uhry
2017-07-13
Questions concerning the beginning of human life have pervaded society since antiquity. In the post-modern world, scientific and technological advances have fueled discussions on the issue, such that debates previously concentrated on abortion now also focus on biotechnological interventions. The article addresses the latter, reflecting on the extent to which human dignity can be considered a (hermeneutic) reference in establishing ethical and legal parameters for biotechnological advances in the definition of the beginning of human life. The study's method was critical hermeneutic ethics, with ethics at the center of the process of understanding and interpretation, observing the contours of facticity. No consensus was found on the beginning of human life, so it is essential to engage in dialogue with the new reality resulting from biotechnological advances in the process of defining ethical and legal principles for protecting the embryo and human nature, with human dignity as the reference.
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Conflict Mediation and the Pursuit Of Happiness in the Context of Human Rights
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carla Maria Franco Lameira Vitale
2015-12-01
Full Text Available This current work aims to contextualize the principle of the pursuit of happiness, institute that is not legalized in the Brazilian system, but it has been used to support important decisions. It is expressly provided in several human rights diplomas and international legislation, which supports the relevance of the subject. The concept of happiness is subjective, but the fact is that the man in his universal essence, search it as a form of satisfaction and pleasure. It also intends to demonstrate that mediation, as an appropriate method of resolving conflicts and guarantor way of access to justice can be an effective instrumet to achieve the desired happiness, to the extent that those involved are encouraged to seek the best solution to satisfies the personal desires and, above all, the dignity of the human person.
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Reconciling female genital circumcision with universal human rights.
Gordon, John-Stewart
2017-09-18
One of the most challenging issues in cross-cultural bioethics concerns the long-standing socio-cultural practice of female genital circumcision (FGC), which is prevalent in many African countries and the Middle East as well as in some Asian and Western countries. It is commonly assumed that FGC, in all its versions, constitutes a gross violation of the universal human rights of health, physical integrity, and individual autonomy and hence should be abolished. This article, however, suggests a mediating approach according to which one form of FGC, the removal of the clitoris foreskin, can be made compatible with the high demands of universal human rights. The argument presupposes the idea that human rights are not absolutist by nature but can be framed in a meaningful, culturally sensitive way. It proposes important limiting conditions that must be met for the practice of FGC to be considered in accordance with the human rights agenda. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Characterizing 18 Years of the Death With Dignity Act in Oregon.
Blanke, Charles; LeBlanc, Michael; Hershman, Dawn; Ellis, Lee; Meyskens, Frank
2017-10-01
Numerous states have pending physician-aided dying (PAD) legislation. Little research has been done regarding use of PAD, or ways to improve the process and/or results. To evaluate results of Oregon PAD, the longest running US program; to disseminate results; and to determine promising PAD research areas. A retrospective observational cohort study of 991 Oregon residents who had prescriptions written as part of the state's Death with Dignity Act. We reviewed publicly available data from Oregon Health Authority reports from 1998 to 2015, and made a supplemental information request to the Oregon Health Authority. Number of deaths from self-administration of lethal medication versus number of prescriptions written. A total of 1545 prescriptions were written, and 991 patients died by using legally prescribed lethal medication. Of the 991 patients, 509 (51.4%) were men and 482 (48.6%) were women. The median age was 71 years (range, 25-102 years). The number of prescriptions written increased annually (from 24 in 1998 to 218 in 2015), and the percentage of prescription recipients dying by this method per year averaged 64%. Of the 991 patients using lethal self-medication, 762 (77%) recipients had cancer, 79 (8%) had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 44 (4.5%) had lung disease, 26 (2.6%) had heart disease, and 9 (0.9%) had HIV. Of 991 patients, 52 (5.3%) were sent for psychiatric evaluation to assess competence. Most (953; 96.6%) patients were white and 865 (90.5%) were in hospice care. Most (118, 92.2%) patients had insurance and 708 (71.9%) had at least some college education. Most (94%) died at home. The estimated median time between medication intake and coma was 5 minutes (range, 1-38 minutes); to death it was 25 minutes (range, 1-6240 minutes). Thirty-three (3.3%) patients had known complications. The most common reasons cited for desiring PAD were activities of daily living were not enjoyable (89.7%) and losses of autonomy (91.6%) and dignity (78.7%); inadequate pain
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kaneji Shiratori
2004-10-01
preliminar para garantía de la dignidad del ser humano. Conclusión: Al promover la salud, mediante estrategias dialógicas de educación en salud, la enfermería respeta al ser humano en su dignidad, libertad y autonomía, observando y garantizando los derechos humanos fundamentales y aportando para la humanización de los espacios en los cuales se desarrollan los servicios de salud.It is a theoretical, reflexive study linked to the institutional research project named "Nursing Social Responsibility: from the meaning of person to bioethical paradigms." Objective: discussing health education as a strategy to ensure the human being's dignity. Methodology: it was based on a qualitative approach, in view of the identification and analysis of the theoretical elements obtained in the bibliographic surveys for the foundations of the study constituted as one of the preliminary aspects of the research. Results: the following were identified as theoretical elements: human dignity, its relation with humanization, fundamental human rights, and the international declarations to ensure them; human action; preliminary strategy for ensuring the dignity of the person. Conclusion: while health is being furthered through nursing by means of dialogical strategies on health education, the person is being respected as a dignified, free and autonomous human being, fundamental human rights are being taken into account and ensured, therefore contributing to the humanization of the areas where health services are developed.
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1968-01-01
Human Rights Year, so designated by the United Nations, is now coming to an end. The full text of the Universal Declaration, proclaimed in 1946, is given as a reminder of its ideals. In 1966 Covenants for acceptance by States were drawn up and opened for signature. (author)
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bentley Brenda
2012-09-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Development of interventions that address psychosocial and existential distress in people with motor neurone disease (MND or that alleviate caregiver burden in MND family carers have often been suggested in the research literature. Dignity therapy, which was developed to reduce psychosocial and existential distress at the end of life, has been shown to benefit people dying of cancer and their families. These results may not be transferable to people with MND. The objectives of this study are to assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of dignity therapy to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers. Methods/design This is a cross-sectional study utilizing a single treatment group and a pre/post test design. The study population will comprise fifty people diagnosed with MND and their nominated family carers. Primarily quantitative outcomes will be gathered through measures assessed at baseline and at approximately one week after the intervention. Outcomes for participants include hopefulness, spirituality and dignity. Outcomes for family carers include perceived caregiver burden, hopefulness and anxiety/depression. Feedback and satisfaction with the intervention will be gathered through a questionnaire. Discussion This detailed research will explore if dignity therapy has the potential to enhance the end of life experience for people with MND and their family carers, and fill a gap for professionals who are called on to address the spiritual, existential and psychosocial needs of their MND patients and families. Trial registration ACTRN Trial Number: ACTRN12611000410954
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Human Rights Here and Now: Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Flowers, Nancy, Ed.
Although December 10, 1998, marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), most people living in the United States remain unaware of this document, the foundation stone of all human rights. Intended for use by both community groups and teachers in elementary and secondary schools, this educational…
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van Leeuwen, F.C.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/265778646
2009-01-01
‘Women’s rights are human rights!’ This notion may seem self evident, as the international system for the promotion and the protection of human rights that was installed under the auspice of the United Nations (UN) builds on the idea of equality in dignity and rights of men and women. Yet, as was
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
George Maia Santos
2015-12-01
Full Text Available This article aims to demonstrate that the mandatory submission convicted of a crime committed, intentionally, with serious violence against person or heinous crime, to identify the genetic profile by DNA extraction - deoxyribonucleic acid, although by proper and painless technique is offensive to fundamental rights. For this purpose, it is part of the overall concept of the right to privacy, which is configured as a negative right or protection against unlawful state mismanagement, in order to protect a need or a basic right to the free individual self-determination. Then genetic intimacy is defined as an asset able to reveal the physical, psychological, behavioral and disease features, which, if disclosed or accessed without the consent of the accused, may generate stigmatization and discrimination of the subject involved, violating in this way, therefore, the right to privacy. In conclusion, we move towards emphasizing besides the right to privacy, compulsory provision of biological material to identify the genetic profile is offensive to fundamental rights to physical liberty or outpatient; physical integrity; to the freedom of religion or conscience; non-discrimination; the silence and non-production of evidences against himself, and in last instance, the biggest vector of all fundamental rights: the dignity of the human person.
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Oregon's Death With Dignity Act: 20 Years of Experience to Inform the Debate.
Hedberg, Katrina; New, Craig
2017-10-17
Twenty years ago, Oregon voters approved the Death With Dignity Act, making Oregon the first state in the United States to allow physicians to prescribe medications to be self-administered by terminally ill patients to hasten their death. This report summarizes the experience in Oregon, including the numbers and types of participating patients and providers. These data should inform the ongoing policy debate as additional jurisdictions consider such legislation.
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Considering ethics, aesthetics and the dignity of the individual.
Strebler, Aline; Valentin, Claude
2014-03-01
There are variations on vulnerability that are often based on opposing authorities. In his book Parcours de la reconnaissance, Paul Ricœur offers a reflection grounded in a survey from Aristotle to Levinas, with way stations in phenomenology, from Hegel to Husserl. He sketches the silhouette of capable man. In a reversal of thinking and positioning, weakness, which could be considered the hallmark of disability in all its forms, becomes a source of mutual wealth and an argument in favour of reciprocity and dialogue. Relying on clinical examples, we propose art as a mediator of the doctor-patient relationship, which in its present unique form forces us to question the dynamics of empathy. A. Strebler A FEW GRAMS OF GOLD IN AN INSECURE WORLD: Vulnerability has long gone hand in hand with precarity. It is disturbing in a world where all is 'comfort and beauty, calm and bliss.' Additionally, vulnerability is a type of wound and wounds are what knit the relationship between patient and care provider. Similarly disturbing is poverty: the pauper is "without": without work, without a home, without a legal residency permit, without money… Poverty is also a wound, and yet it may serve as a path to "truth," according to the philosopher Simone Weil. These two concepts, equally vulnerable, question man's finite nature, and may serve as an introduction to the art of living together. In the midst of this ambiguity, the word "art" stands out. It is a counter-power, a challenge to established authority and politico-economic forms of government; it is inessential, unclassifiable, ungraspable, unthinkable and cannot be evaluated. Art avenges the abyss of ambiguity. C. Valentin COMMON SUMMARY: This article, composed of two core pieces, was written for a common project leading to the creation of a university degree at Paris 5 University (chaired by Pr. Hervé): Ethics, Aesthetics and the Dignity of the Individual. Together, they serve as a forum for reflection and dialogue in which
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2011-03-15
...: University of Wyoming, Anthropology Department, Human Remains Repository, Laramie, WY AGENCY: National Park... in the possession and control of the University of Wyoming Anthropology Department, Human Remains... made by University of Wyoming, Anthropology Department, Human Remains Repository, professional staff in...
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Back to Basic Values: Education for Justice and Peace in the World.
Starkey, Hugh
1992-01-01
Contends that public education has basic, secular texts that include basic human rights common to all the world's peoples. Identifies the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 as the first of these documents. Argues that schools in all nations should emphasize equality of rights and equality of dignity. (CFR)
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[The meaning of dying with dignity from caregivers perspective: a phenomenological study].
Ibáñez-Masero, Olivia; Ortega-Galán, Ángela M; Carmona-Rega, M Inés; Ruiz-Fernández, M Dolores; Cabrera-Troya, José; García-Cisneros, Rogelio; Medina, Fernando Relinque
To explore the meaning of dying with dignity from the perspective of the direct witnesses who have accompanied this process in dying people from Andalusia. Phenomenological study conducted in different centres, which including analysing the transcriptions of the dialogues from discussion groups with 40 participants in five provinces in Southern Spain. The data was analysed using the Van Manen proposal and Atlas Ti 7.0 program was applied as a software tool. Being in the company of loved ones is noted as a key element in the perception of a dignified death. The following elements, according to a priority order, were also pointed out: relief of suffering, a good professional care, decision making ability, and the opportunity to consider their spiritual dimension. Achievement of their Living Wills is hardly mentioned. The essential elements defined in the Death with Dignity Law, 2/2010 are confirmed as being true (without suffering, with company, respecting living wills, having possibilities of the farewell, and the transcendental meaning of the death process). Caregivers, at the end of life, give priority to psychological aspects, underlying the need of company, a farewell of the loved ones, and a good professional care on the physical aspects. The promotion of the dignified Death Law and Living Wills are still being developed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.
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Mathematics education and the dignity of being
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Paola Valero
2012-11-01
Full Text Available On the grounds of our work as researchers, teacher educators and teachers engaging with a socio-political approach in mathematics education in Colombia, we propose to understand democracy in terms of the possibility of constructing a social subjectivity for the dignity of being. We address the dilemma of how the historical insertion of school mathematics in relation to the Colonial project of assimilation of Latin American indigenous peoples into the episteme of the Enlightenment and Modernity is in conflict with the possibility of the promotion of a social subjectivity in mathematics classrooms. We illustrate a pedagogical possibility to move towards a mathematics education for social subjectivity with our work in reassembling the notion of geometrical space in the Colombian secondary school mathematics curriculum with notions of space from critical geography and the problem of territorialisation, and Latin American epistemology with the notion of intimate space as an important element of social subjectivity.
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Food Security and Human Rights in Indonesia
Hadiprayitno, I.
2010-01-01
Food is crucial to an adequate standard of living. The acknowledgement of the right to food in government policies is fundamental to the protection of human dignity, particularly in relation to food insecurity. It allows the right-holder to seek redress and hold government accountable for
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Toward a Theory of Human Security
Tanaka, Akihiko
2015-01-01
“Human security” has occupied a significant place in the global discourses of peace, development, and diplomacy, despite often made criticisms of its conceptual ambiguity. Arguing for the merit of a broader definition of human security, i.e. “the right of people to live in freedom and dignity, free from poverty and despair” (UN Resolution A/RES/66/290), this paper offers an interdisciplinary theoretical framework in which key aspects of human security are systematically laid out: types of thr...
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2011-03-15
...: University of Wyoming, Anthropology Department, Human Remains Repository, Laramie, WY AGENCY: National Park... Anthropology Department, Human Remains Repository, Laramie, WY. The human remains and associated funerary... the human remains was made by University of Wyoming, Anthropology Department, Human Remains Repository...
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Human Resources Management in Educational Faculties of State Universities in Turkey
Öztürk, Sevim
2016-01-01
This study aims to evaluate the human resources management in the faculties of education of state universities in Turkey within the context of Human Resources Management Principles. The study population consisted of 40 academic members in the faculties of education of 20 different state universities and 10 academic unit administrators at different…
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Human rights on the thin red line between universality and relativity
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Avramović Dragutin
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Human rights represent an open legal and political concept with a very wide value variable. Academic discussions on human rights nature have mostly commenced after the World War II during the trend of human rights internationalization, reaching their climax after the Cold war. This paper examines actual theories on human rights, from those accepting them as universal, up to those marking another pole, favoring idea of absolute relativity of human rights. The author asserts that the most acceptable should be a middle solution, standing of moderate relativism or position of relative universalism of human rights. He claims that only a very limited circle of basic, 'substantial' human rights, having been accepted through an intercultural consensus, may pretend to be treated as universal. Out of that narrow sphere, there are many other human rights whose meaning and interpretation depend strongly upon concrete cultural context. The author points that in those cases it is important to respect a relativistic discourse and that the only solution should be explored within an intercultural and inter-civilizational dialogue, where non-western values should be equally treated as the western ones.
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On the universal structure of human lexical semantics.
Youn, Hyejin; Sutton, Logan; Smith, Eric; Moore, Cristopher; Wilkins, Jon F; Maddieson, Ian; Croft, William; Bhattacharya, Tanmoy
2016-02-16
How universal is human conceptual structure? The way concepts are organized in the human brain may reflect distinct features of cultural, historical, and environmental background in addition to properties universal to human cognition. Semantics, or meaning expressed through language, provides indirect access to the underlying conceptual structure, but meaning is notoriously difficult to measure, let alone parameterize. Here, we provide an empirical measure of semantic proximity between concepts using cross-linguistic dictionaries to translate words to and from languages carefully selected to be representative of worldwide diversity. These translations reveal cases where a particular language uses a single "polysemous" word to express multiple concepts that another language represents using distinct words. We use the frequency of such polysemies linking two concepts as a measure of their semantic proximity and represent the pattern of these linkages by a weighted network. This network is highly structured: Certain concepts are far more prone to polysemy than others, and naturally interpretable clusters of closely related concepts emerge. Statistical analysis of the polysemies observed in a subset of the basic vocabulary shows that these structural properties are consistent across different language groups, and largely independent of geography, environment, and the presence or absence of a literary tradition. The methods developed here can be applied to any semantic domain to reveal the extent to which its conceptual structure is, similarly, a universal attribute of human cognition and language use.
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Unfettered expression and human dignity: Langston Hughes's not ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
In literature as in other disciplines, freedom of speech entails the unburdening of one's intent from the innermost recesses of one's mind. It is a great relief and a ventilation of the conscious and sub-conscious being. Langston Hughes and Chinua Achebe are noted human rights proponents in their American and Nigerian ...
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 40th Anniversary.
Adams, Juanita, Ed.
December 10, 1988, marks the 40th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration represents the first comprehensive, global statement on basic human rights, embracing many of the values long held by U.S. citizens; and it urges all peoples and all nations to promote respect for the…
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"Dignity": A central construct in nursing home staff understandings of quality continence care.
Ostaszkiewicz, Joan; Tomlinson, Emily; Hutchinson, Alison M
2018-02-03
To explore nursing home staff members' beliefs and expectations about what constitutes "quality continence care" for people living in nursing homes. Most nursing home residents require assistance to maintain continence or manage incontinence. Best practice guidelines promote active investigation of incontinence, treatment of underlying potentially reversible causes, and initial conservative interventions to prevent, minimise and/or treat incontinence. Despite research showing the positive benefits of implementing active interventions, translating the findings of research into practice in nursing homes has been modest. Understanding the perspectives of individuals who provide continence care may help bridge the gap between evidence and practice. A qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 19 nursing home staff: eight registered nurses, four enrolled nurses and seven personal care workers working in a nursing home in Australia between 2014-2015. Data were analysed inductively to identify themes and subthemes that described and explained staff beliefs about quality continence care in nursing homes. Participants' understanding and expectations about quality continence care were linked to beliefs about incontinence being an intractable and undignified condition in nursing homes. The key theme to emerge was "protecting residents' dignity" which was supported by the following six subthemes: (i) using pads, ii) providing privacy, (iii) knowing how to "manage" incontinence, (iv) providing timely continence care, (v) considering residents' continence care preferences and (vi) communicating sensitively. The findings provide new insight into the basis for continence care practices in nursing homes. Education about continence care should challenge beliefs that limit continence care practice to cleaning, containing and concealing incontinence. There is a need for a multidimensional framework that is informed by social, psychological
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Celso Maran de Oliveira
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Access to potable water is absolutely essential to the maintenance of life, as well as to provide regular exercise of other human rights. The lack of access to water in sufficient quantity or access to non-potable water may cause serious and irreparable damage to people. This paper investigates the evolution of international and national recognition of this fundamental human right, whether implicit or explicit. This was accomplished by the study of international human rights treaties, bibliographic information on water resources and their corresponding legal systems, national and international. The results suggest that sustainable access to drinking water is a fundamental human right in the context of international relations and the State. Further, even without explicitly stating this right in the Constitution of 1988, Brazil has incorporated the main international provisions on the subject, but this right must be acknowledged according to the principles of non-typical fundamental rights and the dignity of the human person. This right should be universally guaranteed by the Government in sufficient quantity and quality, regardless of the economic resources of individuals.
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From individual to global: Human rights and aphasia.
Hersh, Deborah
2018-02-01
This commentary marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by examining Article 19 and its application to people with aphasia. This group of people still face lack of access, stigmatisation, exclusion, disadvantage and social withdrawal as well as poor public awareness of aphasia and inadequate prioritisation of support and resources. Nevertheless, a range of creative initiatives at individual, healthcare, local community, national and global levels have helped to connect and empower people with aphasia. Such initiatives include provision of accessible information in a range of media, inclusion of people with aphasia in decision-making and as research partners, awareness raising campaigns to counter attitudinal barriers, organisation of community aphasia groups, development of guidelines for best practice, national aphasia associations and international collaborations such as Aphasia United. While ongoing work and resourcing is needed to expand these efforts further, they have helped people with aphasia to be heard and to protect their sense of dignity which underlies human rights. A human rights approach can unite, politicise and refocus these efforts, and highlight the essential role of communication in fostering a better quality of life.
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Revisiting Kant's universal law and humanity formulas
Nyholm, S.R.
2015-01-01
This book offers new readings of Kant’s "universal law" and "humanity" formulations of the categorical imperative. It shows how, on these readings, the formulas do indeed turn out being alternative statements of the same basic moral law, and in the process responds to many of the standard objections
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康德哲学中的尊严与价值%Dignity and Value in Kant’s Philosophy
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
王福玲
2014-01-01
The relationship between dignity and value is the most troublesome one in Kant's philosophy.Through the analy-sis of the concept of intrinsic value and absolute value,we regard the concept of intrinsic value and absolute value as the de-scription of attributes of dignity,instead of definition.Some Kantianists insist that Kant defines dignity as value which consists of the ground of categorical imperative.In fact,the argument is in conflict with Kant’s principle,because in Kant’s philoso-phy,the concept of value can not be the basis of moral imperative.%尊严与价值的关系是康德哲学中最为扑簌迷离的问题。通过对康德哲学中内在价值和绝对价值概念的分析，我们主张，绝对价值和内在价值是对尊严之价值属性的描述，而非定义。有些康德主义者们认为，康德将尊严定义为价值，并进一步将其视为尊重人这一道德命令的根据。事实上，这一观点与康德哲学的思想存在分歧，因为在康德哲学中，价值概念不可能成为道德命令的根据。
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The Birth of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Cooper, Michael
1998-01-01
Outlines the history of the ideals and enactment of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Includes a discussion of the origins of the concept of human rights, the impact of World War II, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and the process of drafting and adopting the UDHR. (DSK)
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Professionalizing a Global Social Movement: Universities and Human Rights
Suarez, David; Bromley, Patricia
2012-01-01
Research on the human rights movement emphasizes direct changes in nation-states, focusing on the efficacy of treaties and the role of advocacy in mitigating immediate violations. However, more than 140 universities in 59 countries established academic chairs, research centers, and programs for human rights from 1968-2000, a development that…
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Book Review. Inger Marie Lid: Universal design. Core values, knowledge, and practices
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sigmund Asmervik
2013-12-01
Full Text Available Sigmund Asmervik, dr.ing. Professor emeritus, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB, has reviewed Inger Marie Lid’s book Universell utforming: Verdigrunnlag, kunnskap og praksis (Universal design: Core values, knowledge, and practices. He states that this book provides very good suggestions about topics relating to issues such as how people should be able to develop in the community with others and how to look after issues relating to dignity and bodily vulnerability. This expands and challenges the discourse around the concept of universal design, and is the book's most important contribution. As a textbook aimed at students of architecture and engineering, occupational therapy and physiotherapy studies, and otherwise to anyone who is engaged in universal design in practice, as it says on the publisher's website, it has some significant challenges.
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The Victim Handling Model of Human Trafficking Through Economic Independence
Nuraeny, Henny; Utami, Tanti Kirana
2016-01-01
Human Trafficking is a modern trading of human slavery. Human Trafficking is also one of the worst forms of violation of human dignity that results in trauma to the victims. To that end, there should be a comprehensive treatment for victims. The problems that can be studied is whether a model that can be applied in the treatment of victims of trafficking in Cianjur and disseminating technical how models Handling of Victims of Human Trafficking in Cianjur. This study used normative juridical a...
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Scaling and universality in the human voice.
Luque, Jordi; Luque, Bartolo; Lacasa, Lucas
2015-04-06
Speech is a distinctive complex feature of human capabilities. In order to understand the physics underlying speech production, in this work, we empirically analyse the statistics of large human speech datasets ranging several languages. We first show that during speech, the energy is unevenly released and power-law distributed, reporting a universal robust Gutenberg-Richter-like law in speech. We further show that such 'earthquakes in speech' show temporal correlations, as the interevent statistics are again power-law distributed. As this feature takes place in the intraphoneme range, we conjecture that the process responsible for this complex phenomenon is not cognitive, but it resides in the physiological (mechanical) mechanisms of speech production. Moreover, we show that these waiting time distributions are scale invariant under a renormalization group transformation, suggesting that the process of speech generation is indeed operating close to a critical point. These results are put in contrast with current paradigms in speech processing, which point towards low dimensional deterministic chaos as the origin of nonlinear traits in speech fluctuations. As these latter fluctuations are indeed the aspects that humanize synthetic speech, these findings may have an impact in future speech synthesis technologies. Results are robust and independent of the communication language or the number of speakers, pointing towards a universal pattern and yet another hint of complexity in human speech. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
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Human rights literacy: Moving towards rights-based education and ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Our theoretical framework examines the continual process of moving towards an open and democratic society through the facilitation of human rights literacy, rights-based education and transformative action. We focus specifically on understandings of dignity, equality and freedom, as both rights (legal claims) and values ...
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Evolution of Attitudes in the Field of Human Research Ethics
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Hugo Escobar-Melo
2008-05-01
Full Text Available The state of evolution of attitudes in a sample of 142 Medical Students at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota (at the beginning, middle and ending of their studies in the field of Human Research Ethics (HRE is analytically described. A complex scale of attitudes was used, with three components: affective, beliefs-related and behavioral, further divided into three theoretical categories taken from Bioethics: Subject-End/means- Dignity, Benefit and Justice. The relationship between the current medical education process and the attitudes regarding HRE in the sample are analyzed.A small trend towards progress in all categories and in all components of attitudes throughout medical education is described; neither the Benefit nor the Subject-End/means/Dignity categories evolve in a significant way; some significant differences were observed in the Justice category (beliefs and behavioral and in the Subject-End/means-Dignity category (beliefs component. The results allow for asking about the role of formation and evolution of those attitudes throughout the academic process. In conclusion, attitudes seem to be progressing relatively, without a decisive evolution.
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Evaluation of Human Rights Violations in Student Personnel ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
A five point Likert scale instrument, Students Legal Rights Protection Questionnaire (SLRPQ) was used for data collection and analyzed using the population (one sample t-test), at .05 level of significance. The finding was that there is significant violation of secondary school students' rights (right to dignity of human person, ...
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Quality Communication For human development
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Federico Mayor Zaragoza
2017-10-01
Full Text Available In the digital age, the Media are today, fortunately, affordable instruments that progressively allow all human beings –up to now confined and silent– to know what is happening anywhere in the world, being able, in addition, to express their own views and opinions. This article insists on the value of Communication to achieve the equality of the human being in all the senses. “The same dignity –writes the author– as the foundation of the world we long for.”
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rendtorff, Jacob Dahl
2015-01-01
Integrity can be defined in the following sense: Integrity accounts for the inviolability of the human being. Although originally a virtue of uncorrupted character, expressing uprightness, honesty, and good intentions, it has, like dignity, been universalized as a quality of the person as such...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Emilia D’Antuono
2017-12-01
Full Text Available The philosophical frame of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights: autonomy, dignity, vulnerability. Among the many different aspects of the Declaration (Unesco, 2005, some conceptual perspectives are now crucial in the international bioethical and biolegal debate. Particularly relevant is the link between notions like dignity, autonomy, vulnerability and responsibility. Even though they have different historical-philosophical origins, in the Unesco text they show reciprocal implications, which refer to the construction of a renewed semantics of personhood. Just as much relevant is the necessity of giving new meaning to the notion of universality. The Declaration suggests a perspective of inclusive universality, capable of embracing plurality. It also points out the practice of dialogue as the instrument for recognising diversities and for promoting the democratic participation in public debate, also through the dissemination of bioethics education programs.
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1 The Inscription of Fundamental Human Rights and the Liberation ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
NGOZI
dignity of the human person, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right ... exist in spite of women's legally guaranteed rights as inscribed in the constitution ..... and single – for they condone it and are not in a hurry to do away with it.
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Rural and remote speech-language pathology service inequities: An Australian human rights dilemma.
Jones, Debra M; McAllister, Lindy; Lyle, David M
2018-02-01
Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right for all Australians. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges the right to freedom of opinion and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. Capacities for self-expression and effective communication underpin the realisation of these fundamental human rights. For rural and remote Australian children this realisation is compromised by complex disadvantages and inequities that contribute to communication delays, inequity of access to essential speech-language pathology services and poorer later life outcomes. Localised solutions to the provision of civically engaged, accessible, acceptable and sustainable speech-language pathology services within rural and remote Australian contexts are required if we are to make substantive human rights gains. However, civically engaged and sustained healthcare can significantly challenge traditional professionalised perspectives on how best to design and implement speech-language pathology services that seek to address rural and remote communication needs and access inequities. A failure to engage these communities in the identification of childhood communication delays and solutions to address these delays, ultimately denies children, families and communities of their human rights for healthcare access, self-expression, self-dignity and meaningful inclusion within Australian society.
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In Search of a Universal Human Rights Metaphor: Moral Conversations across Differences
Gordon, Mordechai
2018-01-01
This article takes up the educational challenge of the framers of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Specifically, the author explores the question of: how can we talk about a universal conception of human rights in a way that both respects the need for cultural pluralism and the necessity to protect those rights and freedoms that all…
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The Right of the Child to Information: The Role of Public Libraries in Human Rights Education.
Koren, Marian
Information and education are crucial for child development. The child's right to information and education protect human values and the human dignity of the child. Formal and non-formal forms of education by parents, friends, schools, and libraries should be based on human rights. The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child…
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A Human Rights Approach to Localising The MDGs Through Gender-Equitable Local Development
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Ron McGill
2009-11-01
Full Text Available Until now, the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF Gender Equitable Local Development (GELD programme has not been presented within an explicit human rights framework. This is strange given that the human rights based approach to development (HRBAD aims to ensure that all human beings can live their lives fully and with dignity. HRBAD is fundamentally about the healthy and full development of individuals and communities. In addition, one of human rights’ central concerns is that people have equal access to the benefits of society. Initiatives to realize human rights therefore give priority to the most marginalized - the poorest - in a society. It is those individuals who have most difficulty in securing the basics that are essential to living their lives with dignity. Women in all communities are disproportionately represented among the poor. Thus, human rights have gender equity as a central focus. Put another way, we are dealing with the feminization of poverty. We are dealing with the concept of equal access (to development. In short, we are dealing with those who need (and deserve greater priority in access to infrastructure and supporting services in order to reach a point of equality.
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Human Rights and Cosmopolitan Democratic Education
Snauwaert, Dale T.
2009-01-01
The foundation upon which this discussion is based is the basic nature of democracy as both a political and moral ideal. Democracy can be understood as a system of rights premised upon the logic of equality. At its core is a fundamental belief in moral equality, a belief that all human beings possess an equal inherent dignity or worth. The ideal…
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Human language reveals a universal positivity bias.
Dodds, Peter Sheridan; Clark, Eric M; Desu, Suma; Frank, Morgan R; Reagan, Andrew J; Williams, Jake Ryland; Mitchell, Lewis; Harris, Kameron Decker; Kloumann, Isabel M; Bagrow, James P; Megerdoomian, Karine; McMahon, Matthew T; Tivnan, Brian F; Danforth, Christopher M
2015-02-24
Using human evaluation of 100,000 words spread across 24 corpora in 10 languages diverse in origin and culture, we present evidence of a deep imprint of human sociality in language, observing that (i) the words of natural human language possess a universal positivity bias, (ii) the estimated emotional content of words is consistent between languages under translation, and (iii) this positivity bias is strongly independent of frequency of word use. Alongside these general regularities, we describe interlanguage variations in the emotional spectrum of languages that allow us to rank corpora. We also show how our word evaluations can be used to construct physical-like instruments for both real-time and offline measurement of the emotional content of large-scale texts.
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Global-minded Human Resources and Expectations for Universities
Inoue, Hiroshi
Under the globalized economy, Japanese corporations compete with rivals of the western countries and emerging economies. And domestically, they face with deflation, falling birth-rate, an aging society, and shrinking market. So they need to foster and retain global-minded human resources who can play an active role in global business, and who can drive innovation. What Japanese corporations expect for global-minded human resources are ability to meet challenges, ability to think independently free from conventional wisdom, communication skills in foreign languages, interests in foreign cultures and different values, and so on. In order to foster global-minded human resources, Keidanren work with the 13 universities selected under the Japanese Government‧s “Global 30” projects to undertake “Global-minded Human Resources Development Projects” .
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Cultural Requirements of Policy Making System for Hijab and Dignity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shahla Bagheri
2012-12-01
Full Text Available Policy making and policy measures is important in the social system. occurs. Policy maker aimed to achieve cultural requirements of policy making system by interaction stale and society. After the Islamic Revolution of Iran. the strengths and weaknesses of the different levels of the system politically has been accompanied in the field of moral and sexual dignity and chastity, aside from the basic necessity of building systems - Iranian, coordination and harmony of the system was not relevant. That is in the realm of theoretical ideas and goals are expressed in practice, the relationship between logical and measurable programs are executed with the goals and policies have been developed. measures to improve processes, motivate and educate individuals and groups, and to monitor the development of information systems.
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Chimeras: an ethical consideration
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
H.J.G. Zandman
2011-07-01
For non-Christians the philosophical dilemma ought not to exist in the ethical sense if applied at the purest level. If the human is merely a kind of animal, along with and ontologically not diffe- rent from other animals, there is little logical reason to object to chimeric research apart from a concern about what such re- search and application might do to the order of life pragmati- cally. However, many non-Christian do object. Man is made in God’s image and the concept of human dignity and a universal sense of right and wrong still binds Christians and non-Chris- tians when considering ethics in the field of chimeric research. As the mixing of human stem cells with embryonic animals takes place, certain non-Christian authors protest that human dignity is being diminished and the animal essence is being vio- lated.
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The United States and the universality of human rights.
Chomsky, N
1999-01-01
The United States takes a highly relativistic stance toward the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It regards the socio-economic rights and the right to development as without status; exempts itself from all provisions of the Declaration by failing to sign the conventions designed to implement these provisions; and unilaterally qualifies its support of civil and political rights. Leading recipients of U.S. aid have traditionally included regimes with atrocious human rights records. Those struggling for human rights should have no illusions about the systems of power and their servants.
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Hise, Joan Vane; Koeplin, John P.
2010-01-01
This paper presents several reasons why mission-based values, in this case Catholic Social Teaching (CST), should be incorporated into a university business curriculum. The CST tenets include the sanctity of human life; call to family, community, and participation; rights and responsibilities; option for the poor and vulnerable; the dignity of…
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Zubrin, Robert
2005-01-01
With human colonization of Mars, I think you will see a higher standard of civilization, just as America set a higher standard of civilization which then promulgated back into Europe. I think that if you want to maximize human potential, you need a higher standard of civilization, and that becomes an example that benefits everyone. Without an open frontier, closed world ideologies, such as the Malthus Theory, tend to come to the forefront. It is that there are limited resources; therefore, we are all in deadly competition with each other for the limited pot. The result is tyrannical and potentially genocidal regimes, and we've already seen this in the twentieth century. There s no truth in the Malthus Theory, because human beings are the creators of their resources. With every mouth comes a pair of hands and a brain. But if it seems to be true, you have a vector in this direction, and it is extremely unfortunate. It is only in a universe of infinite resources that all humans can be brothers and sisters. The fundamental question which affects humanity s sense of itself is whether the world is changeable or fixed. Are we the makers of our world or just its inhabitants? Some people have a view that they re living at the end of history within a world that s already defined, and there is no fundamental purpose to human life because there is nothing humans can do that matters. On the other hand, if humans understand their own role as the creators of their world, that s a much more healthy point of view. It raises the dignity of humans. Indeed, if we do establish a new branch of human civilization on Mars that grows in time and potency to the point where it cannot really settle Mars, but transforms Mars, and brings life to Mars, we will prove to everyone and for all time the precious and positive nature of the human species and every member of it.
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Medical humanities and philosophy: is the universe expanding or contracting?
Stempsey, William E
2007-12-01
The question of whether the universe is expanding or contracting serves as a model for current questions facing the medical humanities. The medical humanities might aptly be described as a metamedical multiverse encompassing many separate universes of discourse, the most prominent of which is probably bioethics. Bioethics, however, is increasingly developing into a new interdisciplinary discipline, and threatens to engulf the other medical humanities, robbing them of their own distinctive contributions to metamedicine. The philosophy of medicine considered as a distinct field of study has suffered as a result. Indeed, consensus on whether the philosophy of medicine even constitutes a legitimate field of study is lacking. This paper presents an argument for the importance of a broad conception of the philosophy of medicine and the central role it should play in organizing and interpreting the various fields of study that make up the metamedical multiverse.
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Fournet, Caroline; Siller, Nicole
2015-01-01
‘We demand dignity for the victims’. Such was the pledge of the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs following the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight mh17 in rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine and the looting of the corpses of the 298 victims. Although not an isolated instance, the indecent
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DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sæteren, Berit; Tolo Heggestad, Anne Kari; Høy, B.
2016-01-01
The aim of this study was to answer the question "What do nursing home residents do themselves in order to maintain their dignity?" Twenty-eight residents, 8 men and 20 women, aged 62 to 103 years, from 6 different nursing homes in Scandinavia were interviewed. The results showed that the residents...
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The human touch our part in the creation of a Universe
Frayn, Michael
2007-01-01
MF will talk about his new book The Human Touch, in which he argues that our understanding of the universe is based upon a paradox. On the one hand, we all agree that humankind is a tiny and insignificant local anomaly. On the other hand, it is impossible to have any concept of the universe except through the constructions that human beings have placed upon it. Without human beings there would be no words or language. Would there still be numbers, if there were no one to count them? Or scientific laws, if there were no words or numbers in which to express them? Would the universe even be vast, without the very fact of our smallness and insignificance to give it scale? Could it have any expression in space and time at all, except in relation to our being where we are when we are? Some of these questions are no longer purely abstract, but are becoming of practical interest to cosmologists and physicists. About the speaker: Michael Frayn is the acclaimed author of Copenhagen, the theatre play that describes Heis...
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About social and cultural aspects of human nature in the context of philosophical anthropology
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. K. Kostiuchkov
2015-02-01
Full Text Available In the paper the approaches to sociocultural understanding of human nature in the context of philosophical anthropology, analyzes the essence of human nature contradictions inherent in the contradiction between biological and social components; author focuses attention on the concept of «identity» in the context of philosophical anthropology and characterization of the status of human life; put forward a reasoned statement that outlook, as the level of philosophical understanding of the world, combining both biological and social components of human nature. It is emphasized that universal principle transistorychnym public attitudes towards human life is the recognition of its absolute value in different dimensions religious, philosophical, scientific. The author notes that religious, especially biblical doctrine emphasizes the value of human life that flows from dignity of man, created in God’s image, a rational being who comes to Earth as, in a sense, a representative of God. The article stresses the urgency of a new philosophical paradigm as an important ideological guideline that requires perceive and understand the biological basis of man is not as indispensable, but neutral background of social life, but as a basis upon which and through which a person is transformed into a cultural and civilized being.
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Human rights & intellectual property for universal access to new essential medicines
Perehudoff, Katrina; 't Hoen, Elisabeth; Babar, Zaheer
2018-01-01
This chapter illustrates how human rights principles can help governments, even those with the most modest budgets, scale-up universal access to expensive essential medicines. The key message is that governments have legally binding human rights obligations to immediately take steps to provide
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Die waarde van menswaardigheid in die bioetiek
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. L. Rheeder
2009-07-01
Full Text Available The worth of human dignity in bioethics Bioethicists and jurists put forward that the notion of “human dignity” adds nothing to the field of bioethics and is essentially a meaningless term. Against this presupposition the view is put forward that the notion of “human dignity” belongs to the heart of the Bible and can therefore be used as a valuable notion in bioethics. Human dignity is founded in the fact that man is created in the image of God. The fact that man is created in God’s image, and therefore has human dignity, undoubtedly has implications for bioethics. Human dignity by and towards man in bioethics has the meaning that one must strive for the healing of disease; that man must act and be treated as a psychosomatic unit; that reproduction may occur exclusively within marriage; and that all human life has to be maximally protected. Where the aforementioned does not occur, God- given human dignity is impinged upon.
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Human Rights and the Political Economy of Universal Health Care
2016-01-01
Abstract Health system financing is a critical factor in securing universal health care and achieving equity in access and payment. The human rights framework offers valuable guidance for designing a financing strategy that meets these goals. This article presents a rights-based approach to health care financing developed by the human right to health care movement in the United States. Grounded in a human rights analysis of private, market-based health insurance, advocates make the case for public financing through progressive taxation. Financing mechanisms are measured against the twin goals of guaranteeing access to care and advancing economic equity. The added focus on the redistributive potential of health care financing recasts health reform as an economic policy intervention that can help fulfill broader economic and social rights obligations. Based on a review of recent universal health care reform efforts in the state of Vermont, this article reports on a rights-based public financing plan and model, which includes a new business tax directed against wage disparities. The modeling results suggest that a health system financed through equitable taxation could produce significant redistributive effects, thus increasing economic equity while generating sufficient funds to provide comprehensive health care as a universal public good. PMID:28559677
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3 CFR 8339 - Proclamation 8339 of January 15, 2009. National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009
2010-01-01
..., which allows authorities to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a... life and dignity of every human being. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth...
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"Goodbye Dolly?" The ethics of human cloning.
Harris, J
1997-01-01
The ethical implications of human clones have been much alluded to, but have seldom been examined with any rigour. This paper examines the possible uses and abuses of human cloning and draws out the principal ethical dimensions, both of what might be done and its meaning. The paper examines some of the major public and official responses to cloning by authorities such as President Clinton, the World Health Organisation, the European parliament, UNESCO, and others and reveals their inadequacies as foundations for a coherent public policy on human cloning. The paper ends by defending a conception of reproductive rights of "procreative autonomy" which shows human cloning to be not inconsistent with human rights and dignity. PMID:9451604
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Johnson, Scott D.; Martinez, Reynaldo L., Jr.
2009-01-01
This article features the University Council for Workforce and Human Resource Education, a nonprofit organization representing leading United States universities that offer graduate programs in career and technical education (CTE) and human resource development (HRD). The mission of the Council is to be a recognized force in shaping the future of…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Odunayo Paul SALAU
2016-12-01
Full Text Available The demand for higher education in Nigeria has been considered as not only an investment in human capital, but also a pre-requisite for economic development. Consequent upon the expansion of higher education in Nigeria, quite a number of institutions have suffered decay due to poor work environments, inadequate educational facilities and poor funding which have resulted into unabated brain drain, strike and turnover. However, the need to develop talents is no longer hidden, what remains controversial is knowing the best method for managing human capacity especially in Nigerian State owned universities. Thus, this study examined the relationship between human capital management and organizational success using three State owned universities in Southwest, Nigeria. These universities (Ekiti State University (EKSU, Lagos State University (LASU, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED were chosen for their uniqueness. Survey research design was adopted with 398 respondents (staff. Self-administered questionnaire was adopted and analyzed with the adoption of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM. However, the results indicated that adequate leadership practices; learning capacity; workforce optimization; knowledge accessibility; workplace culture and; mentorship are significant predictors of organizational success in higher education.
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Philosophical foundations of human rights
Liao, Matthew S
2015-01-01
What makes something a human right? What is the relationship between the moral foundations of human rights and human rights law? What are the difficulties of appealing to human rights? This book offers the first comprehensive survey of current thinking on the philosophical foundations of human rights. Divided into four parts, this book focusses firstly on the moral grounds of human rights, for example in our dignity, agency, interests or needs. 'Secondly, it looks at the implications that different moral perspectives on human rights bear for human rights law and politics. Thirdly, it discusses specific and topical human rights including freedom of expression and religion, security, health and more controversial rights such as a human right to subsistence. The final part discusses nuanced critical and reformative views on human rights from feminist, Kantian and relativist perspectives among others. The essays represent new and canonical research by leading scholars in the field. Each part is comprised of a set...
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Sugiyama, Michelle Scalise
2003-12-01
In 1966, Laura Bohannan wrote her classic essay challenging the supposition that great literary works speak to universal human concerns and conditions and, by extension, that human nature is the same everywhere. Her evidence: the Tiv of West Africa interpret Hamlet differently from Westerners. While Bohannan's essay implies that cognitive universality and cultural variation are mutually exclusive phenomena, adaptationist theory suggests otherwise. Adaptive problems ("the human condition") and cognitive adaptations ("human nature") are constant across cultures. What differs between cultures is habitat: owing to environmental variation, the means and information relevant to solving adaptive problems differ from place to place. Thus, we find differences between cultures not because human minds differ in design but largely because human habitats differ in resources and history. On this view, we would expect world literature to express both human universals and cultural particularities. Specifically, we should expect to find literary universality at the macro level (e.g., adaptive problems, cognitive adaptations) and literary variation at the micro level (e.g., local solutions to adaptive problems).
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Human rights from the grassroots up: Vermont's campaign for universal health care.
McGill, Mariah
2012-06-15
In 2008, the Vermont Workers' Center launched the "Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign," a grassroots campaign to secure the creation of a universal health care system in Vermont. Campaign organizers used a human rights framework to mobilize thousands of voters in support of universal health care. In response to this extraordinary grassroots effort, the state legislature passed health care legislation that incorporates human rights principles into Vermont law and provides a framework for universal health care. The United States has often lagged behind other nations in recognizing economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights, including the right to health. Nonetheless, activists have begun to incorporate ESC rights into domestic advocacy campaigns, and state and local governments are beginning to respond where the federal government has not. Vermont serves as a powerful example of how a human rights framework can inform health care policy and inspire grassroots campaigns in the United States. This three-part article documents the Vermont Workers' Center campaign and discusses the impact that human rights activity at the grassroots level may have on attitudes towards ESC rights in the United States. The first part describes the Vermont health care crisis and explains why the center adopted international human rights principles for their campaign. The article then goes on to discuss the three-year campaign and analyze the health care reform bill that the Vermont legislature passed. Finally, the article discusses the campaign's local and national impact. Copyright © 2012 McGill.
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Clark, S.G.; Rutherford, M.B.; Auer, M.R.; Cherney, D.N.; Wallace, R.L.; Mattson, D.J.; Clark, D.A.; Foote, L.; Krogman, N.; Wilshusen, P.; Steelman, T.
2011-01-01
Environmental studies and environmental sciences programs in American and Canadian colleges and universities seek to ameliorate environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. In a companion article (Part 1) we describe the environmental program movement (EPM) and discuss factors that have hindered its performance. Here, we complete our analysis by proposing strategies for improvement. We recommend that environmental programs re-organize around three principles. First, adopt as an overriding goal the concept of human dignity-defined as freedom and social justice in healthy, sustainable environments. This clear higher-order goal captures the human and environmental aspirations of the EPM and would provide a more coherent direction for the efforts of diverse participants. Second, employ an explicit, genuinely interdisciplinary analytical framework that facilitates the use of multiple methods to investigate and address environmental and social problems in context. Third, develop educational programs and applied experiences that provide students with the technical knowledge, powers of observation, critical thinking skills and management acumen required for them to become effective professionals and leaders. Organizing around these three principles would build unity in the EPM while at the same time capitalizing on the strengths of the many disciplines and diverse local conditions involved. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
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Imagination and the Humanities in Honors across the Disciplines at a Jesuit University
Kraus, Joe
2015-01-01
Not every student has done honors work in the humanities, but all students experience research at a human level that necessarily recalls the work of the humanities. This article describes how Joe Kraus, a professor of literature at the University of Scranton, was inspired to see applied humanities in stories of human experiences, which helped him…
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Maintaining excellence in teaching of human anatomy: University of ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Measures to address these challenges have resulted in wide disparities in curriculum design teaching methods, number and composition of instructors. Inspite of the challenges, the Department of Human Anatomy of the University of Nairobi (UON) maintained excellence of teaching for over 40yrs. This article describes the ...
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Statistical universals reveal the structures and functions of human music.
Savage, Patrick E; Brown, Steven; Sakai, Emi; Currie, Thomas E
2015-07-21
Music has been called "the universal language of mankind." Although contemporary theories of music evolution often invoke various musical universals, the existence of such universals has been disputed for decades and has never been empirically demonstrated. Here we combine a music-classification scheme with statistical analyses, including phylogenetic comparative methods, to examine a well-sampled global set of 304 music recordings. Our analyses reveal no absolute universals but strong support for many statistical universals that are consistent across all nine geographic regions sampled. These universals include 18 musical features that are common individually as well as a network of 10 features that are commonly associated with one another. They span not only features related to pitch and rhythm that are often cited as putative universals but also rarely cited domains including performance style and social context. These cross-cultural structural regularities of human music may relate to roles in facilitating group coordination and cohesion, as exemplified by the universal tendency to sing, play percussion instruments, and dance to simple, repetitive music in groups. Our findings highlight the need for scientists studying music evolution to expand the range of musical cultures and musical features under consideration. The statistical universals we identified represent important candidates for future investigation.
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Our cosmic future : humanity's fate in the universe
Prantzos, Nikos
2000-04-01
What is humankind's ultimate fate and destiny in the Universe? Can human life and intelligence go on forever? This captivating and unparalleled book explores the future of the human race in the Universe, for centuries, millennia, and eons to come. Nikos Prantzos, distinguished astrophysicist and popular science writer, focuses not on what will be done, but on what could be done in light of our current knowledge and the speculations of eminent scientists. While he employs many concepts from physics, Prantzos also provides historical accounts of such ideas as terraforming, asteroid mining, interstellar travel, astroengineering, and eschatology, discussing their philosophical and social implications. Moreover, he uses the work of well known science and science-fiction writers--including Verne, Wells, Clarke, Tsiolkovsky, and Dyson--to illustrate many possibilities and concepts. Our Cosmic Future offers compelling answers to such intriguing questions as: Should we return to the Moon and eventually colonize Mars and other planets in our solar system? Why haven't we encountered an extraterrestrial civilization up to this time in our history? How can we avoid various cosmic threats, such as asteroid collisions and supernova explosions? Could we escape the remote, yet certain, death of the Sun? What will eventually happen to stars, our Galaxy, distant galaxies, and the Universe itself? With its artful blend of historical, scientific accounts and themes from classic works of science fiction, Our Cosmic Future is a spellbinding work that will enchant all readers interested in space travel and colonization, cosmology, and humankind's future prospects in the Cosmos.
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Dignity in Employment – the Protection of a Fundamental Right
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Radu Răzvan Popescu
2014-05-01
Full Text Available The new Criminal Code brought a series of important changes also in respect to those offences that can be committed by employees. Both at the European and at the national level, the concept of dignity in employment suffered transformations. This change of perspective at the national level makes the object of this article. The regulation of sexual harassment in the work place was first introduced in the domestic legislation in 2001, undergoing, since then, a series of modifications which we shall analyze in depth. Sexual harassment in the work place is one of the most difficult problems to solve, at the European level because in the majority of situations there is a subordination relation between the two parties – the employer having the upper hand over the employee who is, in many cases, afraid of endangering his/her job by reporting the harassment offence. We think this article is an important step in the disclosure of the problem erased by the sexual harassment concept.
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25 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Is the World a Better Place for Children?
UNICEF, 2014
2014-01-01
Throughout history, the advance of civilization has been closely tied to the idea that all people have rights: universal, inalienable entitlements to freedom, dignity and security, to be treated fairly and to live free from oppression. The health and soul of all societies depend on how these human rights are recognized--and acted upon. Until the…
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Increase of Universality in Human Brain during Mental Imagery from Visual Perception
Bhattacharya, Joydeep
2009-01-01
BACKGROUND: Different complex systems behave in a similar way near their critical points of phase transitions which leads to an emergence of a universal scaling behaviour. Universality indirectly implies a long-range correlation between constituent subsystems. As the distributed correlated processing is a hallmark of higher complex cognition, I investigated a measure of universality in human brain during perception and mental imagery of complex real-life visual object like visual art. METHODO...
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International Cooperation of Izmail State University for Humanities in 2015-2016
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mykola Kapliienko
2016-05-01
Full Text Available The article presents the state and perspectives of international cooperation of Izmail State University for Humanities with academic partners abroad. Special attention is given to the participation of the University in European research networks for educational and curricula quality promotion, as well as to improvement of academic staff professional qualification in view of social and regional needs for sustainable economic and social development.
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Brazilian Constitution and the Fundamental Right to Sanitation
Michely Vargas Delpupo; José Geraldo Romanello Bueno
2015-01-01
The right to basic sanitation, was elevated to the category of fundamental right by the Constitution of 1988 to protect the ecologically balanced environment, ensuring social rights to health and adequate housing and put the dignity of the human person as the foundation of the Brazilian Democratic State. Before their essentiality to humans, this article seeks to understand why universal access to basic sanitation is a goal so difficult to achieve in Brazil. Therefore, thi...
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The incompatibility of the United Nations' goals and conventionalist ethical relativism.
Kopelman, Loretta M
2005-09-01
The Universal Draft Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights seeks to provide moral direction to nations and their citizens on a series of bioethical concerns. In articulating principles, it ranks respect for human rights, human dignity and fundamental freedoms ahead of respect for cultural diversity and pluralism. This ranking is controversial because it entails the rejection of the popular theory, conventionalist ethical relativism. If consistently defended, this theory also undercuts other United Nations activities that assume member states and people around the world can reach trans-cultural judgments having moral authority about health, pollution, aggression, rights, slavery, and so on. To illustrate problems with conventionalist ethical relativism and the importance of rejecting it for reasons of health, human rights, human dignity and fundamental freedoms, the widespread practice of female genital circumcision or cutting is discussed. These surgeries are virtually a test case for conventionalist ethical relativism since they are widely supported within these cultures as religious and health practices and widely condemned outside them, including by the United Nations.
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Levitt, Ruth; Celia, Claire; Diepeveen, Stephanie; Chonaill, Siobhan Ni; Rabinovich, Lila; Tiessen, Jan
2010-01-01
This project for the University of Cambridge and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) assesses the impacts of arts and humanities research at the University of Cambridge. Evidence from interviews, a survey of research staff and detailed case studies indicates that these disciplines already have a broad range of impacts. Many of these…
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Ubuntu is homeless: An urban theological reflection
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stephanus F. de Beer
2015-06-01
Full Text Available This article is reading ubuntu in the light of homelessness in the cities and towns of South Africa. It suggests that ubuntu itself is homeless and displaced as a way of being human together. Instead of the mediation of dignity and justice through an ubuntu-solidarity, street homeless people and others living vulnerably and in precarious circumstances are violated and excluded through a displacement of ubuntu-values. It also suggests a growing disconnect between the philosophy of ubuntu and its actual embodiment in the local urban political economy, local faith communities and local universities. Acknowledging the aspirational edge of ubuntu, the article then concludes to envision going beyond mere abstractions in the said spheres � the political economy, faith communities and local universities � in order to seek for concrete expressions of ubuntu-solidarity, asserting and mediating respect, dignity and justice.
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Chimeras: an ethical consideration
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
H. J.G. Zandman
2011-07-01
Full Text Available Scientists have started with experimentation that raises difficult ethical questions. It comprises taking material from the human blueprint (DNA and inserting this in various test animals. The purpose of such research is noble, namely the alleviation of hu- man suffering. Yet the ethical ramifications of blending the hu- man and animal genome are significant, especially for Chris- tians. The creation of all living entities after their kind and the image-bearing dignity attributed to man both come under se- vere ethical stress for those who presuppose divine order in God’s ecology. For non-Christians the philosophical dilemma ought not to exist in the ethical sense if applied at the purest level. If the human is merely a kind of animal, along with and ontologically not diffe- rent from other animals, there is little logical reason to object to chimeric research apart from a concern about what such re- search and application might do to the order of life pragmati- cally. However, many non-Christian do object. Man is made in God’s image and the concept of human dignity and a universal sense of right and wrong still binds Christians and non-Chris- tians when considering ethics in the field of chimeric research. As the mixing of human stem cells with embryonic animals takes place, certain non-Christian authors protest that human dignity is being diminished and the animal essence is being vio- lated.
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Seeking perfection: a Kantian look at human genetic engineering.
Gunderson, Martin
2007-01-01
It is tempting to argue that Kantian moral philosophy justifies prohibiting both human germ-line genetic engineering and non-therapeutic genetic engineering because they fail to respect human dignity. There are, however, good reasons for resisting this temptation. In fact, Kant's moral philosophy provides reasons that support genetic engineering-even germ-line and non-therapeutic. This is true of Kant's imperfect duties to seek one's own perfection and the happiness of others. It is also true of the categorical imperative. Kant's moral philosophy does, however, provide limits to justifiable genetic engineering.
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2010-02-01
... Wyoming, Anthropology Department, Human Remains Repository, Laramie, WY AGENCY: National Park Service... funerary objects in the possession and control of the University of Wyoming, Anthropology Department, Human... of Wyoming, Anthropology Department, Human Remains Repository professional staff in consultation with...
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Learning History through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Landorf, Hilary; Pineda, Martha Fernanda
2007-01-01
Although adolescent students often do not have knowledge of specific laws, they usually have a keen sense of justice and fairness. In this article, the author discusses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a powerful tool to channel students' sense of fairness into visible actions. Adopted in December 1948 by the General Assembly of…
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Debating death: religion, politics, and the Oregon Death With Dignity Act.
Purvis, Taylor E
2012-06-01
In 1994, Oregon passed the Oregon Death With Dignity Act, becoming the first state in the nation to allow physician-assisted suicide (PAS). This paper compares the public discussion that occurred in 1994 and during the Act's implementation in 1997 and examines these debates in relation to health care reform under the Obama administration. I argue that the 1994 and 1997 Oregon PAS campaigns and the ensuing public debate represent the culmination of a growing lack of deference to medical authority, concerns with the doctor-patient relationship, and a desire for increased patient autonomy over decisions during death. The public debate over PAS in Oregon underscored the conflicts among competing religious, political, and personal interests. More visible and widespread than any other American debate on PAS, the conflict in Oregon marked the beginning of the now nationwide problem of determining if and when a terminally ill person can choose to die.
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Euthanasia, empathy, compassion and Human Rights
Baum, Erica
2017-01-01
What is problematic in the study of empathy is his absence to the suffering of others. Euthanasia highlights the moral conflict about suffering or stop suffering facing at an irreversible and painful illness. I will analyze the conflict that has full respect of human dignity, laid down in Article 51 of the Civil and Commercial Code of Argentina, in relation to advance medical directives that involve a practice euthanasia, according to the Article 60 of the same legal body, should not be writt...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Adauto de Almeida Tomaszewski
2010-11-01
Full Text Available The dignity of the human person, as one of the founding principles of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Democratic State must, even as possible, be respected when interpreting a contract of health service providing by the operator of right in front of a concrete case. After showing this premise, this study has as main objective to perform an analysis of the many rules of interpretation of the contracts of health service providing, in face of the principles and constitutional norms, as well as infra-constitutional legislation applicable to it, also aiming to acquire economic equilibrium and contractual justice. This theme is very relevant, because the number of beneficiaries of contracts of health service increases every year, before State’s inability to provide to all citizens a public health model, sculptured in article 196 of the Constitution of 1988, giving to the private business the possibility of exploration of this relevant state activity (articles 170 and 199 of the Constitution of 1988. Finally, it aims to encourage the parties involved in the contract to have a real and permanent debate, as a result of a critical reflection about all the variables involved in this context, aimed also to improve the entire health system (public and private ones, and, as a consequence of it, the faithful fulfillment of constitutional guidelines, because the article XXV of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees to every person the right to have a comprehensive health and dignity.A dignidade da pessoa humana, enquanto um dos princípios fundantes da República Federativa do Brasil e do Estado Democrático de Direito, deve, sempre que possível, ser levada em linha de conta quando da interpretação de um contrato de prestação de serviços de saúde pelo operador do Direito, diante de um caso concreto. Colocada essa premissa, tem o presente estudo como objetivo primordial, efetuar a análise das diversas regras de interpreta
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Menswaardigheid: ’n Verkenning van Biestek se siening
E.H. Ryke
2000-01-01
Human dignity: An exploration of Biestek’s viewSocial workers face the question of how to relate to other human beings, more specifically how to relate to client groups. Human dignity as a fundamental value of social work is widely used as a guiding principle in this regard. What is meant by the concept human dignity is not, however, always clear. It is argued that different, even opposing presuppositions, underpin and form the meaning and application of this concept and that as a practice pr...
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Oregon's experience with aid in dying: findings from the death with dignity laboratory.
Coombs Lee, Barbara
2014-11-01
With passage of the Death with Dignity Act in 1994, Oregon became the first jurisdiction to authorize and regulate aid in dying. Data from that experience are comprehensive and bountiful, and answer a multitude of questions and concerns about whether the benefits of recognizing the medical practice of aid in dying justify the risks. An exhaustive description of findings from Oregon's aid-in-dying experience is beyond the scope of this or any single article on the subject. This article provides a summary of data highlights, gleaned from scientific investigations and governmental reporting. It organizes highlighted reports along subjects so that readers may see what various sources have to teach on a number of questions important to policy makers. © 2014 New York Academy of Sciences.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alessandra Danielle Carneiro dos Santos Hilário
2016-05-01
Full Text Available This article discusses the Right to the City, in a conceptual dimension and wide, and his dialectical relationship with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and its universalism and cultural relativism categories. The Right to the City (RtC is capitula- ted as one of the categories of the Human Right to Development from the compartments on Human Rights to descend from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Linked to this assumption, the discussion of universalism and cultural relativism theories bring to the fore important questions and considerations as to RtC condition, since in its current design and trampled by an evil legacy of neoliberalism, this right has demonstrated the need for authoritative action of the State, given the nature of fundamental human right of the third dimension. Through RtC, boasts up of economic, social and cultural rights, requiring a positive action of the state as compliance guarantee this human right. In this bias, relevant are discussions about the concept of law, morality, liberalism, effectiveness and universality of human rights theories and cultural relativism in dialectic with the RtC and its complexity. It starts from the assumption that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other statements which have descended universality (despite criticism, however, this har- vest, it is imperative closer examination of the concept, forecast, guarantee and effective- ness fundamental human rights, which may lead to a mixed application of universalistic and relativistic theories when analyzed from the perspective of these institutes. The Hu- man Right to Development (RtD presupposes notions of environmental sustainability and economic democracy, with qualified participation of social subjects (wide citizenship, seen continuous and articulated perspective as guiding the development process.
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THE DESIRE FOR RECOGNITION IN THE CONTEXT OF FRANCIS FUKUYAMA’S UNIVERSAL HISTORY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
T. V. Danylova
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Introduction. Francis Fukuyama in his famous book “The End of History and the Last Man” assumes that human history should be considered as the battle of ideologies that reaches its goal in the universalization of Western liberal democracy. Author’s ideas have gained many supporters. At the same time, they were subjected to severe criticism that reflected the important trends of political life and ideological preferences. Leaving aside the criticism based on geopolitical and civilizational confrontation and confusion which confronts Fukuyama’s theory, it should be stated that anthropological aspect of Fukuyama’s theory has vastly evaded philosophical comprehension. Purpose. This article attempts to test Fukuyama’s theory through the lens of philosophical anthropology and analyze human desire for recognition in the context of Fukuyama’s World History. Methodology. The analysis is focused on human desire for recognition as a significant dimension of human nature. The author has used hermeneutical methodology and anthropological integrative approach. Theoretical basis and results. Fukuyama is not satisfied by merely economic interpretation of history emphasizing that human is not simply an economic animal. Economic development fails to explain why people advocate the principles of liberal democracy. The author goes back to Hegel’s non-materialistic view of history based on the struggle for recognition. According to Fukuyama, this deeply rooted human desire for recognition is the great motor of history and cause of tyranny, conflicts, and wars. But at the same time, it also acts as a psychological foundation of many virtues – the spirit of citizenship, courage, and justice. Throughout history, this desire for recognition was not satisfied. Only modern liberal democracy provides universal recognition of all humans ensuring and protecting their rights. Originality. Fukuyama’s concept is important and interesting because it draws
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Solidarity and the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.
Gunson, Darryl
2009-06-01
Recent work has stressed the importance of the concept of solidarity to bioethics and social philosophy generally. But can and should it feature in documents such as the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights as anything more than a vague notion with multiple possible interpretations? Although noting the tension between universality and particularity that such documents have to deal with, and also noting that solidarity has a political content, the paper explores the suggestion that solidarity should feature more centrally in international regulations. The paper concludes with the view that when solidarity is seen aright, the UDBHR is an implicitly solidaristic document.
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Euthanasia and ethical dillemas: Human dignity against sanctity of life
Simović, Darko Z.; Simeunović-Patić, Biljana J.
2017-01-01
The paper analyses ethical dilemmas and conflicting issues tied to euthanasia and the institutionalization of the right to a dignified death, viewed through a prism of arguments in favour of and against euthanasia, solutions of comparative law and the practice of the European Council and The European Court of Human Rights in this field, as well as the existing practices of physicians with respect to the implementation of various modalities of euthanasia. At the national lavel, the topic is be...
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Advancing palliative care as a human right.
Gwyther, Liz; Brennan, Frank; Harding, Richard
2009-11-01
The international palliative care community has articulated a simple but challenging proposition that palliative care is an international human right. International human rights covenants and the discipline of palliative care have, as common themes, the inherent dignity of the individual and the principles of universality and nondiscrimination. However, when we consider the evidence for the effectiveness of palliative care, the lack of palliative care provision for those who may benefit from it is of grave concern. Three disciplines (palliative care, public health, and human rights) are now interacting with a growing resonance. The maturing of palliative care as a clinical specialty and academic discipline has coincided with the development of a public health approach to global and community-wide health problems. The care of the dying is a public health issue. Given that death is both inevitable and universal, the care of people with life-limiting illness stands equal to all other public health issues. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) includes the right to health care and General Comment 14 (paragraph 34) CESCR stipulates that "States are under the obligation to respect the right to health by, inter alia, refraining from denying or limiting equal access for all persons, ... to preventive, curative and palliative health services." However, these rights are seen to be aspirational-rights to be achieved progressively over time by each signatory nation to the maximum capacity of their available resources. Although a government may use insufficient resources as a justification for inadequacies of its response to palliative care and pain management, General Comment 14 set out "core obligations" and "obligations of comparable priority" in the provision of health care and placed the burden on governments to justify "that every effort has nevertheless been made to use all available resources at its disposal in order to satisfy, as
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Derechos humanos y la dignidad humana como presupuesto de la eutanasia
Aguilera Portales, Rafael; González Cruz, Joaquín
2012-01-01
Human rights and human dignity as assumption of euthanasiaThis article has a philosophical approach to provide us interesting thoughts in order to understand the euthanasia. To that end, initially it analyzes death connotations in the society in which we live followed by a broad reflection around death’s problem and human dignity in the capitalist society. Next, a rigorous analysis on human’s dignity idea in order to link its content with euthanasia reflection as well as with the end of life ...
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Zambezia: The Journal of Humanities of the University of Zimbabwe ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Zambezia: The Journal of Humanities of the University of Zimbabwe: Advanced Search ... Combine multiple words with OR to find articles containing either term; e.g., education OR research; Use parentheses to create more complex queries; e.g., archive ((journal OR conference) NOT theses); Search for an exact phrase by ...
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Zambezia: The Journal of Humanities of the University of Zimbabwe
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Zambezia is a bi-annual journal of the University of Zimbabwe. Its focus is humanities in Zimbabwe and the surrounding region but specialist articles of a more general interest are also published. Vol 32, No 1 (2005). DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT Subscription or Fee Access. Table of ...
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van der Sloot, B.
2014-01-01
Privacy is commonly seen as an instrumental value in relation to negative freedom, human dignity and personal autonomy. Article 8 ECHR, protecting the right to privacy, was originally coined as a doctrine protecting the negative freedom of citizens in vertical relations, that is between citizen and
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Organ markets and human dignity: on selling your body and soul.
Stempsey, W E
2000-08-01
This article addresses the ethics of selling transplantable organs. I examine and refute the claim that Catholic teaching would permit and even encourage an organ market. The acceptance of organ transplantation by the Church and even its praise of organ donors should not distract us from the quite explicit Church teaching that condemns an organ market. I offer some reasons why the Church should continue to disapprove of an organ market. The recent commercial turn in medicine can blind us to the problem of an organ market. In addition, the reliance on the gift image in organ transplantation raises difficulties of its own. What is needed is a fuller appreciation of the fact that the human person is essentially embodied with all its parts, and not merely an autonomous being that possesses organs as properties to sell. I support this vision of the embodied human person by appealing to the writings of Immanuel Kant.
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Human genome and genetic sequencing research and informed consent
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Iwakawa, Mayumi
2003-01-01
On March 29, 2001, the Ethical Guidelines for Human Genome and Genetic Sequencing Research were established. They have intended to serve as ethical guidelines for all human genome and genetic sequencing research practice, for the purpose of upholding respect for human dignity and rights and enforcing use of proper methods in the pursuit of human genome and genetic sequencing research, with the understanding and cooperation of the public. The RadGenomics Project has prepared a research protocol and informed consent document that follow these ethical guidelines. We have endeavored to protect the privacy of individual information, and have established a procedure for examination of research practices by an ethics committee. Here we report our procedure in order to offer this concept to the patients. (authors)
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Silk, Hugh; Shields, Sara
2012-01-01
Humanities in medicine (HIM) is an important aspect of medical education intended to help preserve humanism and a focus on patients. At the University of Massachusetts Family Medicine Residency Program, we have been expanding our HIM curriculum for our residents including orientation, home visit reflective writing, didactics and a department-wide…
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Koç, Zeliha
2015-01-01
Objectives: The current descriptive study aimed to determine university students' knowledge and attitudes regarding cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV vaccines in Turkey. Participants: A total of 800 students participated. Methods: This study was carried out between September 1, 2012, and October 30, 2012, in 8 female…
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Unlocking Human Dignity: A Plan to Transform the US Immigrant Detention System
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Migration and Refugee Services/ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
2015-05-01
Full Text Available Unlocking Human Dignity: A Plan to Transform the US Immigrant Detention System addresses one of the most troubled features of the US immigration system and highlights the need for fundamental changes to it. The report comes six years since the inception of the Obama administration’s detention reform initiative. In the interim, the number of immigrant detainees per year has risen to more than 400,000, the administration has opened immense new family detention centers, and the overwhelming majority of persons in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS have remained in prisons, jails and other secure facilities where they are subject to standards designed for criminal defendants and, in many ways, treated more harshly than criminals.The report’s overarching recommendation is that the US immigrant detention system be dismantled and replaced with a network of supervised release, case management, and community support programs, designed to ensure court appearances. It recognizes that detention may be necessary for short periods and in certain cases, but it rejects detention as a central immigrant “management” tool, and argues that detention should only be used as a last resort if less harmful strategies and programs—viewed on a continuum beginning with the least restrictive and moving to release programs with different levels of supervision, monitoring, and support—cannot reasonably ensure court appearances or (in rare cases protect the public. It opposes the detention of pregnant and nursing women, bona fide asylum seekers, the very ill, the disabled, the elderly, and other vulnerable persons. It calls for the substantial contraction of detention facilities and “bed space.”As the first step in this process, the report urges Congress to commission a comprehensive study on the benefits, challenges, cost, and time frame for creating a civil immigration detention system. It also proposes that the administration create a
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Quinn, Chris; Happell, Brenda
2015-08-01
To explore perceptions of privacy and dignity for sexual relationships in a Forensic mental health hospital. The role of nurses in forensic mental health hospitals is frequently complicated by opposing expectations of therapeutic relationships and maintaining security. What can result is an over-emphasis on risk reduction by controlling patient behaviour, which can extend to patient intimacy and sexual relationships. An exploratory, qualitative approach. Individual interviews were conducted with 12 nurses and 10 patients in a forensic mental health hospital. Thematic data analysis was undertaken to identify the main themes. The need for a private and dignified place for patient intimacy was one major theme to emerge from this research from both nurse and patient participants and is the focus of this article. A disparity is reported between the level of support reported by nurse participants with the experience of the patient participants. Sexual intimacy and sexual relationships are important components of normal human behaviour. Institutional rules and rule adherence create barriers for patients, forcing their intimacy and sexual relationships into secrecy. There is a need for further research to consider the benefits and risks of patient intimacy and sexual relationships for long-term patients in forensic mental health settings. Patients in forensic hospitals are sexually active and seek support from nurses. Nurses are in an ideal role to recognise the important part they can play in supporting the intimacy and sexual relationship needs of patients. Strategies to assist in developing confidence in responding to normal human behaviour is a matter of priority. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Gender disparities in Italy from a Human Development Perspective
Valeria Costantini; Salvatore Monni
2006-01-01
(1) All citizens have equal social dignity and are equal before the law, without distinction of sex, race, language, religion, political opinion, personal and social conditions. (2) It is the duty of the Republic to remove those obstacles of an economic or social nature which constrain the freedom and equality of citizens, thereby impeding the full development of the human person and the effective participation of all workers in the political, economic and social organisation of the country.*...
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[Women are human: Brief guide on international human rights law for psychiatrists].
Sobredo, Laura D
2017-07-01
Violence against women has gained public awareness in Argentina over the last few years. As any other social phenomena, gender violence is present in the work of psychiatrists, especially in the way they approach to clinical practice. International human rights' law enshrines the right of every women to live free from violence and to be treated with dignity and respect. This legal framework might nourish the practice of psychiatrists as a proposal for seeking cultural and social common grounds. The paper tries to get readers attention on the potentiality of this legal framework which ultimately, might in?uence not only everyday life but clinical practice as well.
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Do Colleges and Universities Increase Their Region's Human Capital? Staff Report No. 401
Abel, Jaison R.; Deitz, Richard
2009-01-01
We investigate whether the degree production and research and development (R&D) activities of colleges and universities are related to the amount and types of human capital present in the metropolitan areas where the institutions are located. We find that degree production has only a small positive relationship with local stocks of human capital,…
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Substantial Goodness and Nascent Human Life.
Floyd, Shawn
2015-09-01
Many believe that moral value is--at least to some extent--dependent on the developmental states necessary for supporting rational activity. My paper rejects this view, but does not aim simply to register objections to it. Rather, my essay aims to answer the following question: if a human being's developmental state and occurrent capacities do not bequeath moral standing, what does? The question is intended to prompt careful consideration of what makes human beings objects of moral value, dignity, or (to employ my preferred term) goodness. Not only do I think we can answer this question, I think we can show that nascent human life possesses goodness of precisely this sort. I appeal to Aquinas's metaethics to establish the conclusion that the goodness of a human being--even if that being is an embryo or fetus--resides at the substratum of her existence. If she possesses goodness, it is because human existence is good.
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Human Rights and the Political Economy of Universal Health Care: Designing Equitable Financing.
Rudiger, Anja
2016-12-01
Health system financing is a critical factor in securing universal health care and achieving equity in access and payment. The human rights framework offers valuable guidance for designing a financing strategy that meets these goals. This article presents a rights-based approach to health care financing developed by the human right to health care movement in the United States. Grounded in a human rights analysis of private, market-based health insurance, advocates make the case for public financing through progressive taxation. Financing mechanisms are measured against the twin goals of guaranteeing access to care and advancing economic equity. The added focus on the redistributive potential of health care financing recasts health reform as an economic policy intervention that can help fulfill broader economic and social rights obligations. Based on a review of recent universal health care reform efforts in the state of Vermont, this article reports on a rights-based public financing plan and model, which includes a new business tax directed against wage disparities. The modeling results suggest that a health system financed through equitable taxation could produce significant redistributive effects, thus increasing economic equity while generating sufficient funds to provide comprehensive health care as a universal public good.
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The value of respect in human research ethics: a conceptual analysis and a practical guide.
Pieper, I J; Thomson, C J H
2014-01-01
In order to continue to maintain public trust and confidence in human research, participants must be treated with respect. Researchers and Human Research Ethics Committee members need to be aware that modern considerations of this value include: the need for a valid consenting process, the protection of participants who have their capacity for consent compromised; the promotion of dignity for participants; and the effects that human research may have on cultures and communities. This paper explains the prominence of respect as a value when considering the ethics of human research and provides practical advice for both researchers and Human Research Ethics Committee members in developing respectful research practices.
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The Significance of UNESCOs Universal Declaration on the Human Genome & Human Rights
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Shawn H.E. Harmon
2005-03-01
Full Text Available Modern medical research, particularly genetic research, is changing the nature of medicine. Concerns surrounding these changes and their potential negative impact on human rights led UNESCO to spearhead collaboration by experts in the creation of an international instrument intended to provide guidance for the promotion of bioethics and the protection of human rights in the genetic context. The result was the Universal Declaration of the Human Genome and Human Rights. This article briefly highlights the scientific and social setting into which the Declaration was injected. This is followed by a consideration of the drafting body (the IBC so as to assess whether UNESCO was the appropriate body to lead this project. The process by which the Declaration was created is also considered so as to assess whether it represents an example of ethical and democratic drafting. Finally, the substantive content of the Declaration is considered and measured against the pre-existing regime so as to assess whether it represents an intelligible and coherent response to the concerns raised capable of offering guidance now and into the future. By assessing these procedural and substantive matters, one can draw some tentative conclusions about the utility and significance of the Declaration.
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莎士比亚《十四行诗集》中的人文主义情怀%Humanism in Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
王冰青
2015-01-01
威廉·莎士比亚是英国文艺复兴时期的文学巨匠。他的154首十四行诗被视为世界文学的瑰宝。在《十四行诗集》中，莎士比亚通过歌颂人的高贵性、永恒性以及肯定现世生活的重要性，表达了他的人文主义情怀。%William Shakespeare is the literary giant of English Renaissance.His Sonnets is universally acknowledged as the invaluable legacy in world literature.In his Sonnets,Shakespeare expresses his humanistic ideas not only by eulogizing the dignity and immortality of human beings but also by stressing the importance of the present life.
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A Local Response to the Global Human Rights Standard: The "Ubuntu" Perspective on Human Dignity
Murithi, Tim
2007-01-01
Some African leaders have made the argument that the promotion of an international human rights standard is a strategy that is used and abused by hypocritical Western governments to justify their intervention into the affairs of African countries. The tacit objective behind this articulation is the desire to avoid an external evaluation or…
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Information, perspective, and judgments about the self in face and dignity cultures.
Kim, Young-Hoon; Cohen, Dov
2010-04-01
People's judgments about their own moral status and well-being were made differently by those from a Dignity culture (Anglo-Americans) and by those from a Face culture (Asian Americans). Face culture participants were more influenced by information processed from a third-person (compared with first-person) perspective, with information about the self having a powerful effect only when seen through another's eyes. Thus, (a) Asian Americans felt the greatest need for moral cleansing when thinking about how others would judge their many (vs. few) transgressions, but this effect did not hold when others were not invoked, and (b) Asian Americans defined themselves as having a rich social network and worthwhile life when thinking about how others would evaluate their many (vs. few) friendships, but again, effects did not hold when others were not invoked. In contrast, Anglo-Americans responded to information about their transgressions or friendships, but effects were pronounced only when other people were not invoked.
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[Universal ethical principles and their application in clinical drug trials].
Gonorazky, Sergio Eduardo
2015-03-01
Since 1931, and especially since the Nuremberg Code of 1947, an increasing number of declarations, regulations, norms, guidelines, laws, resolutions, and rules intended to create conditions for better protection of subjects participating in research studies have been published, although some have meant setbacks in the human rights of vulnerable populations. As such, violations of the dignity of experimental subjects in clinical trials continue. What researchers investigate and how the research is done, the quality and transparency of the data, and the analysis and the publication of results (of both raw and processed data) respond to the financial interests of the pharmaceutical companies, coming into permanent tension with bioethical principles and the needs of society. The active participation of civil society is necessary to make it so that pharmaceutical research, results and applications subordinate economic benefits to the protection of human rights.
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The politics of universalism. Strategic uses of human rights discourses in early modernity
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Karen-Margrethe Simonsen
2013-11-01
Full Text Available This article investigates the political function of human rights in 16th-century Spain just after the conquest of America. It claims that the study of this period of early globalization is relevant for an understanding of the function of human rights discourses today, at the “end” of globalization. Historically speaking, human rights are closely connected with globalization, but at the same time, they raise the question about the foundation of globalization: is there a universal community or only economic and political power-relations? This article argues that the political use of human rights discourses is split down the middle: it serves both as a critique of power and as an extension of power, and the disclosure of this split helps us understand the inner politics of human rights. The article discusses the trial in Valladolid in 1550 when the rights of the barbarian Indians of America were put on trial. It focuses mainly on the arguments made by Bartolomé de las Casas and on the reasons why the King allowed las Casas’ fierce critique of the conquest to be published in a period of otherwise severe censorship. This article is inspired by Etienne Balibar's idea of “politics of universalism,” “political autonomy,” and “equaliberty.”.
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Elimination of corporal punishment of children's a human right
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Stevanović Ivana
2010-01-01
Full Text Available The authors indicate the necessity of explicit legal prohibition of all corporal punishment of children that represent a violation of the right of the child to respect his/her physical integrity and human dignity. The paper emphasizes why all corporal punishment of children should be prohibited and points out the progress made at the legislative level to the elimination of all corporal punishment of children in some member states of the Council of Europe and the Republic of Serbia.
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Universities and a Human Development Ethics: A Capabilities Approach to Curriculum
Walker, Melanie
2012-01-01
This article takes up the challenge of curriculum change in relation to the contested purposes of universities. It argues for an expansive, public good understanding, rather than the thin market exchange norms which currently drive higher education policies. The paper suggests that a human capital approach to curriculum is then insufficient to…
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University-Firm Interactions in Brazil: Beyond Human Resources and Training Missions
Rapini, Marcia Siqueira; Chiarini, Tulio; Bittencourt, Pablo Felipe
2015-01-01
The motivation for this article comes from the proposition in the literature that Latin American universities are detached from the research needs of the productive sector and that they limit their role to the human resources and training missions. The authors investigated the Brazilian scenario, using data from a survey conducted in 2008-2009…
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Juan de Dios Vial Correa
2009-01-01
Full Text Available El presente trabajo reflexiona sobre el concepto de "dignidad" desde sus orígenes y la evolución del término, en búsqueda de un sustrato filosófico y antropológico que fundamente el concepto, con el fin de que se respete la persona humana desde la fecundación hasta la muerte y la reflexión bioética tenga una base desde la cual proceder.O presente trabalho reflete sobre o conceito de "dignidade" desde suas origens e a evolução do termo. Busca um substrato filosófico e antropológico que fundamente o conceito, com a finalidade de que se respeite a pessoa humana desde a fecundação até a morte e que a reflexão bioética tenha uma base de ação.This work contemplates the concept of "dignity" from its origins and the evolution of the term, in search of a philosophical and anthropological substrate that grounds the concept, with the objective of the respect of the human being from its conception until death and the provision of a basis from which bioethical reflection may proceed.
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 50 Years Old but Still Coming of Age.
Flowers, Nancy
1998-01-01
Highlights the events of the past 50 years concerning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that is the first document in human history to codify rights that apply to every person regardless of citizenship in a particular country. Explains why the United States does not comprehend the value of the declaration. (CMK)
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Who's afraid of Patterns?: The Particular versus the Universal and the Meaning of Humanities 3.0
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Rens Bod
2013-12-01
Full Text Available The advent of Digital Humanities has enabled scholars to identify previously unknown patterns in the arts and letters; but the notion of pattern has also been subject to debate. In my response to the authors of this Forum, I argue that ‘pattern’ should not be confused with universal pattern. The term pattern itself is neutral with respect to being either particular or universal. Yet the testing and discovery of patterns – be they local or global – is greatly aided by digital tools. While such tools have been beneficial for the humanities, numerous scholars lack a sufficient grasp of the underlying assumptions and methods of these tools. I argue that in order to criticise and interpret the results of digital humanities properly, scholars must acquire a good working knowledge of the underlying tools and methods. Only then can digital humanities be fully integrated (humanities 3.0 with time-honoured (humanities 1.0 tools of hermeneutics and criticism.
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Getting Pole Position: Research Strategies in the Humanities at Swedish Universities
Geschwind, Lars
2010-01-01
The aim of this paper is to study research strategies in the Humanities in Sweden. The Swedish higher education sector is under transformation and a new funding system has been proposed. The study investigates the university strategy processes, mainly at the dean's level. The results show that most institutions are active in order to be well…
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The quantum theory of time, the block universe, and human experience.
Vaccaro, Joan A
2018-07-13
Advances in our understanding of the physical universe have dramatically affected how we view ourselves. Right at the core of all modern thinking about the universe is the assumption that dynamics is an elemental feature that exists without question. However, ongoing research into the quantum nature of time is challenging this view: my recently introduced quantum theory of time suggests that dynamics may be a phenomenological consequence of a fundamental violation of time reversal symmetry. I show here that there is consistency between the new theory and the block universe view. I also discuss the new theory in relation to the human experience of existing in the present moment, able to reflect on the past and contemplate a future that is yet to happen.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Foundations of quantum mechanics and their impact on contemporary society'. © 2018 The Authors.
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Towards a substantive knowledge that promotes the dignity of the human being
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Ginés Marco Perles
2017-05-01
Regarding this failure to take such life processes into account, and given its propensity for generalization, science stood out among these spheres as placing an excessive weight on positivist values that by their very nature disregarded anything that could not be classified as such. This approach was in stark contrast with the open tradition upheld by Miguel de Unamuno that would be eagerly taken up by Spanish philosophy in the twentieth century. From the perspective of that philosophy it is, therefore, worth asking whether all of those aspects and elements (not only those that form part of any given human life but also those belonging to the other two main spheres of culture – art and morality – displaced by scientism because they were not positive or verifiable through experiment, because they did not lend themselves to being understood using a rationalist or logical/scientific reasoning were not also human. Was their rejection justified?
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Tatiana González-Noguera
2018-01-01
Full Text Available The central interest of this document is to reflect on the ethical responsibility of the nursing educator in the promotion of the health and quality of life of university students, taking into account that nursing is considered a profession that benefits the people which has a close relationship with. To promote a good health in students is a task that implies ethical duties for society, institutions of higher education, of health and essentially for nursing. A nursing professsional is indispensable to produce changes in the lifestyles of the students through the rights and ethical duties that emanate from dignity and that is essential in the education of the youngest. As university educators we must accept the responsibility of promoting healthy lifestyles that protect the health of students and therefore the quality of life of them as future integral professionals.
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VNOUČKOVÁ, Lucie
2016-06-01
Full Text Available The quality of education, lessons, subjects and teachers perceived by students is currently often discussed topic regarding strategic management of universities. Assessment of higher education learning outcomes represents internalization of a higher education competition. The aim of the article is to evaluate perception of education quality of lectures, subjects and teachers by university students in the area of human resource management in private Czech university and to identify main approaches to academic staff. The data were collected by quantitative survey by questionnaire data collection (n=218. Students state that subjects, lessons and teachers in the area of human resource management lessons mostly satisfied their expectations (average value between 1.09 and 1.97. The students emphasised that the staff creates positive atmosphere and gives the opportunity to express an opinion which is very important for students at the university. Research outcomes show there is a dependency between the effort of teacher, student understanding and teachers’s willingness to give students an opportunity to express an opinion. The paper is extension of conference paper presented on ERIE conference 2016.
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Derechos humanos y la dignidad humana como presupuesto de la eutanasia
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Rafael Aguilera Portales
2012-12-01
Full Text Available Human rights and human dignity as assumption of euthanasiaThis article has a philosophical approach to provide us interesting thoughts in order to understand the euthanasia. To that end, initially it analyzes death connotations in the society in which we live followed by a broad reflection around death’s problem and human dignity in the capitalist society. Next, a rigorous analysis on human’s dignity idea in order to link its content with euthanasia reflection as well as with the end of life care is presented; reaching to critical conclusions of existing medical and legal regulations. Finally, some allegations and suggestions of analyzed issues are submitted.
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[Towards an universal biolaw? Biolaw in action and funcionalization of human life's value].
Albert, Marta
2013-01-01
The paper analyzes the question of the universal biolaw from the point of view of the biojuridical praxis. The main problems concerning life's protection are found in the process of interpretation and re-creation of the norms (not in their literal texts) regulating the right to life and new rights, as personal autonomy. But it is also at this sphere where the possibilities of an universal biolaw founded on the funcionalization of the human life value are to be found.
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Hierarchical Classification of Values
Ergen, Gürkan
2015-01-01
Values are of utmost importance for the creation, development and sustainability of a life worthy of human dignity. However, because even superficial views of values are regarded as values themselves, they have become relative and become degenerated; therefore, they have lost the properties--potentials and powers--essential to human dignity. This…
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Private law and the European constitutionalisation of values
Hesselink, M.W.
2016-01-01
According to the CFREU, the EU is founded on the general values such as values of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity. In addition, the TEU refers to a more political set of foundational values, ie respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for
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Human Space Exploration and Human Space Flight: Latency and the Cognitive Scale of the Universe
Lester, Dan; Thronson, Harley
2011-01-01
The role of telerobotics in space exploration as placing human cognition on other worlds is limited almost entirely by the speed of light, and the consequent communications latency that results from large distances. This latency is the time delay between the human brain at one end, and the telerobotic effector and sensor at the other end. While telerobotics and virtual presence is a technology that is rapidly becoming more sophisticated, with strong commercial interest on the Earth, this time delay, along with the neurological timescale of a human being, quantitatively defines the cognitive horizon for any locale in space. That is, how distant can an operator be from a robot and not be significantly impacted by latency? We explore that cognitive timescale of the universe, and consider the implications for telerobotics, human space flight, and participation by larger numbers of people in space exploration. We conclude that, with advanced telepresence, sophisticated robots could be operated with high cognition throughout a lunar hemisphere by astronauts within a station at an Earth-Moon Ll or L2 venue. Likewise, complex telerobotic servicing of satellites in geosynchronous orbit can be carried out from suitable terrestrial stations.
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A Tale of Many Cities: Universal Patterns in Human Urban Mobility
Noulas, Anastasios; Scellato, Salvatore; Lambiotte, Renaud; Pontil, Massimiliano; Mascolo, Cecilia
2012-01-01
The advent of geographic online social networks such as Foursquare, where users voluntarily signal their current location, opens the door to powerful studies on human movement. In particular the fine granularity of the location data, with GPS accuracy down to 10 meters, and the worldwide scale of Foursquare adoption are unprecedented. In this paper we study urban mobility patterns of people in several metropolitan cities around the globe by analyzing a large set of Foursquare users. Surprisingly, while there are variations in human movement in different cities, our analysis shows that those are predominantly due to different distributions of places across different urban environments. Moreover, a universal law for human mobility is identified, which isolates as a key component the rank-distance, factoring in the number of places between origin and destination, rather than pure physical distance, as considered in some previous works. Building on our findings, we also show how a rank-based movement model accurately captures real human movements in different cities. PMID:22666339
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A tale of many cities: universal patterns in human urban mobility.
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Anastasios Noulas
Full Text Available The advent of geographic online social networks such as Foursquare, where users voluntarily signal their current location, opens the door to powerful studies on human movement. In particular the fine granularity of the location data, with GPS accuracy down to 10 meters, and the worldwide scale of Foursquare adoption are unprecedented. In this paper we study urban mobility patterns of people in several metropolitan cities around the globe by analyzing a large set of Foursquare users. Surprisingly, while there are variations in human movement in different cities, our analysis shows that those are predominantly due to different distributions of places across different urban environments. Moreover, a universal law for human mobility is identified, which isolates as a key component the rank-distance, factoring in the number of places between origin and destination, rather than pure physical distance, as considered in some previous works. Building on our findings, we also show how a rank-based movement model accurately captures real human movements in different cities.
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Dignity of older people in a nursing home: narratives of care providers.
Jakobsen, Rita; Sørlie, Venke
2010-05-01
The purpose of this study was to illuminate the ethically difficult situations experienced by care providers working in a nursing home. Individual interviews using a narrative approach were conducted. A phenomenological-hermeneutic method developed for researching life experience was applied in the analysis. The findings showed that care providers experience ethical challenges in their everyday work. The informants in this study found the balance between the ideal, autonomy and dignity to be a daily problem. They defined the culture they work in as not supportive. They also thought they were not being seen and heard in situations where they disagree with the basic values of the organization. The results are discussed in terms of Habermas's understanding of modern society. Care settings for elderly people obviously present ethical challenges, particularly in the case of those suffering from dementia. The care provider participants in this study expressed frustration and feelings of powerlessness. It is possible to understand their experiences in terms of Habermas's theory of modern society and the concept of the system's colonization of the life world.
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Laws and regulations associated with ownership of human biological material in South Africa
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Kishen Mahesh
2015-05-01
Full Text Available Ownership with regard to human biological material (HBM is addressed to some extent within South African law, specifically in chapter eight of the National Health Act (NHA and its associated regulations. However, members of the legal fraternity struggle to conceptualise ownership of such materials without objectifying a person or people and risking reducing such individuals to a state of property. This then infers a reduction in human dignity by rendering one-self or parts of that same self as a commodity. The complexity of the issue raises much debate both legally as well as ethically.Â
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Unravelling 21st Century Riddles – Universal Network Visions from a Human Perspective
Baken, N.; Van Belleghem, N.; Van Boven, E.; De Korte, A.
2006-01-01
Networks are omnipresent and universal. Mankind, for example, forms a social network. Today, information and communications technology (ICT) exponentially accelerates the interaction between the human nodes of this global social network. In that way, ICT appears to evoke a phase transformation,
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Frati, P
1999-01-01
Following the approval on May 1998 of the European Union Common position no. 19/98 regarding the legal protection of biotechnological inventions, the debate on bioethical aspects of biotechnologies is increased. The European Union document clearly protects the patentability of inventions (that concerns more than a particular plant or animal variety or a single procedure if they are of industrial interest), but not the finding or discovery of that is in the nature, e.g. a gene. Some safeguards (the dignity and integrity of the person and of the human embryo, the plant diversity, etc.) and exclusions from patentability (plant and animal varieties, processes for the production of plants or animals, the human body at any stage of growth, cloning of human beings, modifications of germ line, use of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes as well as the inventions whose publication or exploitation would offend against public policy or morality, according to the Article 53a of the European Patenting Convention) are also indicated. Ethical issues discussed include the nature of human life and its protection, the safeguard of plant-animal biological diversity, the safeguard of human dignity and nature, whereas on several aspects (e. g. limits of the use of genetic material, xenotransplantation, etc.) the Parliament Assembly of the Council of Europe has requested a discussion or a moratorium (April, 1999). In this case an evaluation on the basis of the ethical beneficial principles should be performed and society should decide whether to master technologies and emulate the positive action of the hero Theseus against the Labyrinth-Minotaur syndrome or to renounce or "misuse" technologies like Daedalus and Icarus, who met a tragic end.
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Attitudes of Chinese Oncology Physicians Toward Death with Dignity.
Chen, Hui-Ping; Huang, Bo-Yan; Yi, Ting-Wu; Deng, Yao-Tiao; Liu, Jie; Zhang, Jie; Wang, Yu-Qing; Zhang, Zong-Yan; Jiang, Yu
2016-08-01
Death with dignity (DWD) refers to the refusal of life-prolonging measures for terminally ill patients by "living wills" forms in advance. More and more oncology physicians are receiving DWD requests from advance cancer patients in mainland China. The study objective was to investigate the attitudes of Chinese oncology physicians toward the legalization and implementation of DWD. A questionnaire investigating the understanding and attitudes toward DWD was administered to 257 oncology physicians from 11 hospitals in mainland China. The effective response rate was 86.8% (223/257). The majority of oncology physicians (69.1%) had received DWD requests from patients. Half of the participants (52.5%) thought that the most important reason was the patients' unwillingness to maintain survival through machines. One-third of participants (33.0%) attributed the most important reason to suffering from painful symptoms. Most oncology physicians (78.9%) had knowledge about DWD. A fifth of respondents did not know the difference between DWD and euthanasia, and a few even considered DWD as euthanasia. The majority of oncology physicians supported the legalization (88.3%) and implementation (83.9%) of DWD. Many Chinese oncology physicians have received advanced cancer patients' DWD requests and think that DWD should be legalized and implemented. Chinese health management departments should consider the demands of physicians and patients. It is important to inform physicians about the difference between DWD and euthanasia, as one-fifth of them were confused about it.
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Identity and the Hegemony of Universal Human Rights
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tony Evans
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Human rights are commonly portrayed as a narrative that passes through several chapters before reaching its inevitable conclusion. This narrative begins with the horror of Nazism, moves to the centrality of human rights in the UN Charter, eulogizes the Universal Declaration, celebrates the achievements of standard setting as set out in the major covenants, offers detailed analysis of methods of monitoring and, finally, speculates on the future of compliance. This narrative is sustained, firstly, by ‘naturalist’ foundationalism and, secondly, by a widely held assumptions about the move towards ‘settled norms’ in the contemporary world order. Although some pessimism is voiced over continued reports of torture, genocide, structural economic deprivation, disappearances, ethnic cleansing, political prisoners, the suppression of trade union rights, gender inequality, religious persecution, and many other violations of internationally agreed human rights, most commentators and activists tacitly adopt an optimistic stance that envisages a future rights based international order. The still prevalent naturalist account of human rights, together with a narrative that boasts ‘settled norms’, suggests that the human rights regime represents a final ‘truth’ about the essential nature of all humankind; a common identity that describes the individual in an increasingly globalized world. This paper interrogates the ‘naturalist-settled norm’ account of human rights from the perspective of power and knowledge. It begins by distinguishing between the international human rights regime and the global discourse of human rights. The former adopts a legal approach, where the neutral, value-free, unbiased and impartial nature of the law is tacitly accepted. The latter refers to human rights as social, political and economic practice, and must therefore include an account of power. From this perspective, the discourse of human rights might be said to
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What Constitutes Fair Compensation for Unfair Dismissal
African Journals Online (AJOL)
user
Professor, School of Business Leadership,. University of South ... towards its employees, especially in the light of the constitutionally protected right to dignity. The protection of fundamental freedoms such as gender equality, the right to dignity and the .... dismissal is provided for in terms of section 186(1)(e) of the LRA. 17.
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Zhu, Wei; Wang, Lijie; Yang, Chengshang
2018-03-01
In the medical practice in China, giving and taking "red envelopes" (monetary gifts) is a common phenomenon although few openly admit it. This paper, based on our empirical study including data collected from interviews and questionnaires with medical professionals and patients, attempts to explore why "red envelopes" have become a serious problem in the physician-patient relationship and how the situation can be improved. Previous studies show that scholars tend to correlate the spread of "red envelopes" in health care sector to the commercialization trend, the general erosion of traditional values, and the lowering of the moral level in the medical field. However, in this paper, the authors argue that medical professionals' choice of taking "red envelopes" is actually more a way to compensate for their problematic self-image and marred dignity in real practice. Medical professionals in China as a whole are in an embarrassing situation where the work pressure and income, and the sense of pride that used to be part of their profession are not comparable to each other. Under this circumstance, we believe that the effective way to deal with the "red envelopes" issue does not lie solely in introducing more stringent regulations or granting medical professionals higher payments, but rather in protecting and enhancing the professional dignity of all those working in healthcare. And on top of that, there must also be effort to cultivate a more favorable moral environment. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Health and human rights advocacy: perspectives from a Rwandan refugee camp.
Pavlish, Carol; Ho, Anita; Rounkle, Ann-Marie
2012-07-01
Working at the bedside and within communities as patient advocates, nurses frequently intervene to advance individuals' health and well-being. However, the International Council of Nurses' Code of Ethics asserts that nurses should expand beyond the individual model and also promote a rights-enabling environment where respect for human dignity is paramount. This article applies the results of an ethnographic human rights study with displaced populations in Rwanda to argue for a rights-based social advocacy role for nurses. Human rights advocacy strategies include sensitization, participation, protection, good governance, and accountability. By adopting a rights-based approach to advocacy, nurses contribute to health agendas that include more just social relationships, equitable access to opportunities, and health-positive living situations for all persons.
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LGBT rights versus Asian values: de/re-constructing the universality of human rights
Lee, Po-Han
2016-01-01
Law, especially from the international human rights regime, is a direct reference on which minority groups rely when it comes to ‘non-discrimination’. Drawing upon LGBT rights in Taiwan, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore, this article – through an application of K.H. Chen’s (2010) Asia as Method – critically reviews how global LGBT politics interact with local societies influenced by Confucianism. Along a perpetual competition between the universalism and cultural relativism of human rights,...
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An Alternative to Liquid Human Nature at the Crossroads of the Technological Era
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José Antonio Santos Arnaiz
2017-08-01
Full Text Available This paper discusses the idea of an ethic of weakness, expressing distrust about the rise of exacerbated capitalist individualism that drives a technological perfectionism. The extended modernity, as uncompleted project, provides context around the strong separation between humanity and nature. Both concepts posts in relation to perfectionism of the human beings eventually devalue and even deny a more or less permanent human nature. It therefore urges return to a concept of human nature understood as the development program of a free human being, which includes a number of common elements due to genotypic and phenotypic traits, while an ontological concept of human dignity that stems from political equity of all human beings. Historical time must be rethought to make ethical, medical and legal decisions in technology with prudence and responsibility, considering that unfortunately processes undertaken are irreversible.
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Tabora, N.; Zelaya, A.; Bakkers, J.; Melchers, W.J.; Ferrera, A.
2005-01-01
Sexually transmitted infections are a serious health problem in Honduras. Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis are major causes of sexually transmitted diseases. To determine the prevalence of C. trachomatis and HPV in young women, 100 female university students in Honduras were
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Norton, Elizabeth M; Miller, Pamela J
2012-01-01
This article presents data from a qualitative study of nine social work hospice practitioners and experts as they discuss Oregon's Death with Dignity Act. Three themes emerged from the analysis: (a) values regarding physician-assisted death; (b) agency policies about the option; and (c) the role of hospice social workers with physician-assisted death. Three states now allow terminally ill persons to obtain a lethal prescription if criteria are met. Two other states are actively considering and may pass similar legislation over time. Hospice social work practitioners work with patients and families as they consider this option and their voices reflect the complexities and nuances of these interactions.
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Curriculum, human development and integral formation within the colombian caribbean
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Álvaro Rodríguez Akle
2013-10-01
Full Text Available This article describes the reality of the colombian Caribbean from the perspective of human development integral to start to understand that problematic situations are opportunities to enhance the transformations that allow to retrieve the subject social and collective. So the reconstruction of regional identity from the contributions of educational communities that build-oriented curriculum to become full, proactive, people with leadership and management capacity for sustainable development in a changing world. The article proposes some strategies to address alternatives to a society in which the quality of life and human dignity are the sense of the daily work in the context of the caribbean colombianidad and globalism in practice.
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The contribution of deontological Christian ethics to the contemporary human rights discourse
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J. M. Vorster
2009-07-01
Full Text Available This article examines the possible role of a Christian deonto- logical ethics in the contemporary human rights debate. It concludes that a Christian deontological ethics in the Reformed tradition can be positively engaged in the human rights debate when Biblical theological topics are transposed into moral directives applicable to the current human rights concerns, such as religious extremism, femicide, ideologies of intolerance and ecocide. As an example of the applicability of a Christian deon- tological ethics from a reformed perspective, the following Bibli- cal topics are investigated: human dignity on the basis of the “imago dei”, creation and creational integrity, the kingdom of God and forgiveness. Furthermore, the article proposes that other concepts can be added to this list such as the Biblical idea of life, eschatology, covenant and holiness.