The Open Ethics Journal最新文献

{"title":"Civil Society and Tobacco Control in Indonesia: The Last Resort","authors":"Harsman Tandilittin, C. Luetge","doi":"10.2174/1874761201307010011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761201307010011","url":null,"abstract":"In many countries around the world, the mechanisms of civil society have become very commonplace. Large companies are under constant pressure from civil society organizations to change their policies, strategies and approaches. The tobacco industry in particular is under heavy pressure in many parts of the world. Smoking has been prohibited in many public as well as private or semi-private areas in a large number of countries. However, while smoking as an addic- tion seems to be declining in some countries, in others it is not. This paper presents an example of a country (Indonesia) in which smoking is still on the rise. We discuss how mechanisms of civil society are a chance to at least improve the situa- tion and effectively combat a grave social problem.","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125968151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fewer Boundaries between Employers and Employees Emerge on The Coattails of Health Care Reform","authors":"M. Beckford","doi":"10.2174/1874761220130909001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761220130909001","url":null,"abstract":"The Affordable Care Act (ACA), legislated under the Obama administration, will be fully implemented by 2014. The premise of this health care reform is to make insurance coverage available to a majority of the nearly 50 million uninsured Americans. Cost containment is integral to the viability and longevity of such a significant endeavor. To date 85% of the U.S. population enjoys employer based health care benefits. As part of health care reform, the insured are being pushed to be more responsible consumers of health care services. The insured are also being asked to be better stewards of health behaviors. Under the premise of reform, employers are seizing the opportunity to mandate enrollment in newly established Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Thus there may be greater involvement of employing agencies into what was once considered private personal health information. When employers oversee and monitor the health behaviors of employees there becomes a potential conflict of interest, loss of individual autonomy, and discrimination becomes apparent. The end result could be a greater paternalistic role for the employer. There is a possibility of job loss and consequential lack of health insurance for those who are most in need.","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122934877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Nietzschean Justification of Legal Realism","authors":"K. Diener","doi":"10.2174/1874761201307010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761201307010001","url":null,"abstract":"This essay examines the thought of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, the advances made by the legal realist juris- prudential movement, and correlates the two. It concludes that legal realism is entailed in Nietzschean metaphysics, and particularly his doctrine of will to power. Legal realism is d etermined to be a symptom of th e more comprehensive Nietzschean principle of power. A preliminary framework for a Nietzschean justification of legal realism is developed.","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134119416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Constitutional Mandate for Judge-Made-Law and Judicial Activism: A Case Study of the Matter of Elizabeth Vaah v. Lister Hospital and Fertility Centre","authors":"I. Norman, M. Aikins, F. Binka, D. N. Banyubala, Ama K. Edwin","doi":"10.2174/1874761201206010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761201206010001","url":null,"abstract":"The case of Elizabeth Vaah v. Lister Hospital and Fertility Centre presents many compelling ethical issues. These include the Physician-Patient relationship, ownership of Health Records and the fiduciary duties of the Physician to the patient. It also questions the pro-active approach of the Court in Ghana regarding the imposition of fiduciary duties on medical staff, and the remedies available for breach of such fiduciary duty. Lastly, it investigates whether judicial activism should be accepted as the inevitable consequence of the administration of justice in Ghana. We agree with the outcome of the Vaah case that Elizabeth Vaah is entitled to a copy of her medical record from Lister Hospital. We however disagree with the approach used in formulating the decision. The decision would open the floodgate for further litigation by patient's counsel seeking patient records that may not even exist. The decision would place an additional burden on the already severely challenged healthcare delivery system in Ghana. This investigative study consisted of a literature and documentary review of case law, the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and other medico-legal writings from Ghana and other common-law jurisdictions on the issue of the production of patient records. An electronic internet search was conducted with carefully designed phrases like, \"medical malpractice in Ghana\", \"judicial activism\", \"medical malpractice cases involving refusal to release medical records\", \"patient request of medical records resulting in court cases\". The study revealed that the decision of the court was based on precedents that did not support the factual basis of Vaah v. Lister and may weaken Vaah v. Lister as a competent precedential case. It also showed that the national legal framework for the Physician-Patient relationship is weak. There is the lack of national legislation on the capture, storage and mining of health information. This presents a complicated adjudicatory framework for the enforcement of the law against the abuse of privacy and the right to patient's health information. Therefore, the law on privacy and health information should be developed to enhance trust in the healthcare delivery system of Ghana.","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133727950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Identity Game: Michel Foucault's Discourse-Mediated Identity as an Effective Tool for Achieving a Narrative-Based Ethic","authors":"Steve Urbanski","doi":"10.2174/1874761201105010003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761201105010003","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines in hermeneutic fashion the philosophy of Michel Foucault and isolates an identity matrix that can assist humans in navigating the often numerous and conflicting narratives facing us in the 21 st century and empower us to move toward a more narrative-based ethic that is beneficial to multiple stakeholders. Of particular interest is Foucault's assertion that our identities are not fixed in a traditional sense but mediated by the many rich, dialogical discourses we encounter each day. This identity scheme is suggested in much of Foucault's philosophy, particularly in Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexuality, and its application to ethics has never been more important. As highly developed countries, particularly the United States, become more egocentric, ethical decision-making too often is defined via an emotivistic framework. Foucault's thoughts on identity can enlighten us to the power each person has in determining and taking ethical action that can positively inform what this article terms a narrative-based ethic. This portion of the article is informed by philosopher Walter R. Fisher, who sees humans as \"storytellers\" who view the world based on an awareness of what Fisher terms narrative probability - or what constitutes a coherent story - and their constant habit of testing that story's narrative fidelity, whether the experience rings true with other stories they know to be true in their lives.","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"53 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130693510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Helping for Blood-Letting","authors":"D. Worasayan","doi":"10.2174/1874761201105010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761201105010001","url":null,"abstract":"During the hard period of previous two years of political confliction in Thailand, the group of people who were against Thai government represented a symbol of protest by letting their blood to pour various landmarks in Thailand. They wanted to see the prime minister and the government resigned, and the parliament dissolved. The protest leaders who created this idea asked some volunteer physicians to obtain the blood collection. This report aimed to describe and explore the ethical dilemma of blood letting procedure. Keyword: Blood-letting, ethics, protest. In the past, many people believed that blood-letting can prevent and treat all diseases by elimination of waste products from our body which was similar to woman’s menstruation [1]. The physicians in that time apparently knew about the structure and the system of our blood circulation from doing blood-letting. Regarding this belief many doctors in their treatment and barbers in their barbershops performed blood-letting to promote people’s health. Therefore, red and white striped pole was subsequently used as a symbol of barbershop until now and they have also built some machines that help to precede this operation more conveniently [2]. In addition, some people have used animal as a tool to obtain this procedure, using the leeches. Blood-letting was used worldwide as disease therapy and was also recommended in ancient standard textbook as frontline disease treatment in that time [3]. The issue of bloodletting was changed after the medical knowledge and technique has developed, the current indications of bloodletting are blood donation, blood test and treatment of some diseases such as primary hemochromatosis, polycythemia vera and porphyria cutanea tarda. Moreover, Mayan culture performs this procedure to sacrifice their gods [4] and aimed to form the unity of people in those countries, and promoted a political strength of their state. A dilemma of Thai medical procedure was established in March, 2010, the period of the rally of Thai government protester (Red Shirt). This situation seemed not to contribute the unity of nation likewise Maya culture. They shed their blood as a symbolic sacrifice to compel the current Thai prime minister to resign, to dissolve the parliament and to operate a new election. They stated that the current government was illegal and was supported by Thai army. They believe that this anti-democratic force has overlooked the majority of those who have the right to vote. The protest leader proposed that their bloodletting and pouring their blood on Government House’s doors were the significant symbols of government protest. They wished that this manner would scare *Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Medicine, Chonburi Regional Hospital, Muang, Chonburi 20000, Thailand; Tel: +6638_391101; Fax: +6638_391102; E-mail: dworasayan@yahoo.com the cabinet during they walk over the blood on the floor. Moreover, they poured the blood on the floor outside the ","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117017082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hot Topic:[Genetically Modified Plants Benefit Everybody (Guest Editor: Dr. Peter Portin)]","authors":"P. Portin","doi":"10.2174/1874761200903010091","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761200903010091","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126765482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Ethics of Information: What is Valued Most","authors":"S. Al-Fedaghi","doi":"10.2174/1874761200903010118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761200903010118","url":null,"abstract":"In response to rising public awareness of information privacy, principles addressing the privacy of information have evolved and converged around a set of basic principles such as, for example, the Code of Fair Information Practice. Legislative developments such as the 1995 European Union's enactment of the Data Privacy Directive and the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 have heightened awareness of ethical dilemmas related to this issue. Nevertheless, these and similar privacy-related efforts need to build firmer ground for the ethics of handling personal in- formation. Why distinguish personal information from other types of information? Is it possible to narrowly define per- sonal information in order to provide a workable object of study? Is there a coherent field of study of the ethics of han- dling personal information? Is personal information privacy different from other kinds of privacy? In this context, the goal of this paper is to focus the study of personal information on its relationship to privacy and ethics.","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122996349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Opposition and Acceptance of GM-food and GM-medicine","authors":"H. Siipi, V. Launis","doi":"10.2174/1874761200903030097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761200903030097","url":null,"abstract":"European citizens are quite happy to use genetically modified medicine, while they are rather critical towards genetically modified food. In this paper, we analyse philosophical and conceptual reasons for and against this asymmetry in the attitudes of Europeans. Moreover, we consider the justifiability of this difference in attitudes. We conclude that all GM-foods and all GM-medicines do not differ dramatically with respect to their intended purposes and outcomes - at least the ones associated with the saving of human lives. However, people worry far more about the possible undesirable health related, environmental, and social side-effects of GM-food than those of GM-medicine. This may be explained partly by differences in experienced trust in actors and authorities within these two industries, and partly by differences in production procedures. The asymmetry in people's views can also be explained by the different roles food and medicine play in our daily lives. Food is usually associated with values that contradict genetic modification, whereas in the case of medicine values compatible with genetic modification usually prevail. Moreover, food is more intimately related to our social life and personal life choices than medicine. Some life styles adopted by people restrict the use of GM-food, whereas life style restrictions on GM-medicine are considerably rarer. Thus, the asymmetry in people's attitudes concern- ing GM-food and GM-medicine may well be justified and rational - at least from the point of view of the deeper values and beliefs people hold.","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116962395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ethical Compatibility of GM Crops with Intrinsic and Extrinsic Values of Farmers: A Review","authors":"Irene Vanninen, H. Siipi, M. Keskitalo, M. Erkkila","doi":"10.2174/1874761200903030104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874761200903030104","url":null,"abstract":"The role of intrinsic and extrinsic ethical values as determinants of farmers' adoption decisions of genetically modified (GM) crops is reviewed based on 17 scientific papers publish between 1999 and 2006 in nine countries. In these studies, intrinsic values received less attention than extrinsic values as contributors to adoption decisions. The natural- ness/unnaturalness concept featured only in one qualitative study. Farmers in most countries were generally very knowl- edgeable about issues related to GM food safety, environmental and agronomic impacts, and animal welfare. In a study conducted in New Zealand, farmers intending to adopt GM crops agreed more with the anthropocentric value position than other conventional or organic farmers, who tended to emphasize the risks associated with GM crops. This and other farmer typologies, produced in four countries on the basis of expressed ethical attitudes toward GM crops and condensing around benefit believers, risk perceivers and fatalists, showed recognizable consistency between countries. Thus conven- tional farmers are far from being a homogeneous group in regard to their attitudes toward GM crops. Even those who were using these crops for years questioned and evaluated their decision continuously. Despite the expressed ethical con- cerns, economic and market considerations tended to figure as the most prominent determinants of intended or realized adoption/rejection decisions. The stability/changeability of farmers' ethical values in the course of the innovation- adoption process is discussed. The term ethical compatibility is suggested to be included in the list of innovation attributes as used according to the adoption perception paradigm of innovation diffusion research.","PeriodicalId":352758,"journal":{"name":"The Open Ethics Journal","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121511574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}