The Medical Vestment and Surgical Instruments of Saint Cosmas and Damian on Sinai Icons From the Seventh to the Eighteenth Century

The iconography of the doctor saints Cosmas and Damian and the artistic representations of their miracles are important sources for the history of medicine. Within the sphere of physician-saints, Cosmas and Damian have the greatest number of iconographic depictions in Byzantine and Post-Byzantine art. In most of their representations, they wear long robes as a sort of professional mantles and carry surgical instruments and boxes indicating their status as doctors. The progress of Byzantine surgery could be attested by these objects, some of them mentioned in collections of miracle stories and documented in medical sources.     

Management of multiple sclerosis: the role of coping self-efficacy and self-esteem

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) engage in various coping behaviours in order to manage their disease. The aim of this study is to find out if the self-esteem of patients is associated with coping strategies – problem-focused (e.g. making a plan of action when confronted with a problem); emotion focused (e.g. get emotional support from community); and focused on stopping unpleasant emotions and thoughts (e.g. keeping oneself from feeling sad), and if it can enhance or hinder coping efforts in the disease management. We collected data from 155 consecutive MS patients who completed the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSE) and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSE). Explained variance for problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and coping focused on stopping unpleasant emotions and thoughts was 33, 24, and 31%, respectively. Self-esteem seems to be associated with coping strategies indicating that feelings of self-worth are linked with the ability to handle difficult life situations and can be helpful in chronic disease management.     

Delineating the construct network of the Personnel Reaction Blank: associations with externalizing tendencies and normal personality

Integrity testing has long been utilized in personnel selection to screen for tendencies toward counterproductive workplace behaviors. The construct of externalizing from the psychopathology literature represents a coherent spectrum marked by disinhibitory traits and behaviors. The present study drew on a sample of male and female undergraduates to examine the construct network of the Personnel Reaction Blank (PRB; H. G. Gough, R. D. Arvey, & P. Bradley, 2004), a measure of integrity, in relation to externalizing as well as normal-range personality constructs assessed by the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; A. Tellegen & N. G. Waller, 2008). Results revealed moderate to strong associations between several PRB scales and externalizing, which were largely accounted for by MPQ traits subsumed by Negative Emotionality and Constraint. After accounting for MPQ traits in the prediction of externalizing, a modest predictive increment was achieved when adding the PRB scales, particularly biographical indicators from the Prosocial Background subscale. The findings highlight externalizing as a focal criterion for scale development in the integrity testing literature and help delineate the construct network of the PRB within the domains of personality and psychopathology.     

Teaching suffering: The testimonial-commentary method

Attempts to define professionalism and humanism suggest that qualities such as compliance to values, patient access, doctor-patient relationship, demeanor, professional management, personal awareness, and motivation are prominent thematic components. In this communication, we present a method for instruction in the values of humanism that may help to overcome the "curricular inertia that plagues medical education." Our approach is structured around a technique of testimonial-commentary as a novel approach to teaching humanism that does not rely upon the traditional role-modeling format. To develop effective medical school curricula for teaching humanism, we cannot rely upon the textbooks of normal and abnormal human anatomy and physiology. We must delve into the "unscientific" realms of human identity ranging from sensuality to brutality: self-preservation to sacrifice. Underneath it all, we must acknowledge that there are the ties that bind us together as people. The Seminar on Human Suffering challenges medical school educators to work with the community at large to insure that physicians will be able to serve those that seek their counsel.     

“Tell Me Who Your Enemies Are”: Government Reports About the “Cult” Phenomenon in Israel

Between 1982 and 2011, four Israeli governmental reports addressing ostensible dangers from “cults” (new religious movements, or NRMs) were issued. The 1980s reports use a collectivist discourse, in which the state sees itself as defending the collective's borders from external threats and representing various sectors while seeking consensual values. The 1990s report marks an interim stage in which the state tries to balance individual liberties with sectoral interests. The 2011 report focuses solely on harm to individuals and is the harshest of the four. The reports reflect milestones in three processes of change that have taken place in Israeli society: from a collectivist‐hegemonic ethos to a multisectoral one; from a focus upon society to a focus on the individual; and from nationalistic values to universalistic ones. At every point in time, NRMs represented a different perceived threat to Israeli society. We explain how multisectoralism brings about both tolerance toward new religious phenomena and fierce anti‐cultic activity.     

Personal conceptions of intelligence, self-esteem, and school achievement in Italian and Portuguese students

Educational research places emphasis on the fact that different cultures have different self-construals. These construals can influence cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes in individuals. Great importance is attached to individuals' implicit conceptions of the nature of their intelligence (incremental or entity) and self-esteem. In general, both representation of intelligence and self-esteem seem to play an important role in scholastic performance in terms of both a predispostion to learning and the results actually achieved. The aim of this research is to determine the relationship between variables such as school, and socioeconomic level and gender in Italian and Portuguese students. A questionnaire was administered to 1,540 high school and university students assessing socioeconomic level and school performance, the Personal Conceptions of Intelligence Test (Faira & Fontaine, 1997), and the Self-Esteem Test (Rosenberg, 1965). In general, results show that Portuguese subjects are more incremental than Italians. Moreover, significant differences have to be determined regarding motivational factors linked to school and socioeconomic level and gender.The research highlights the importance of macro-contextual factors in the social, economic, and political organizations that influence how people develop their motivational beliefs.     

Relational ties of love – A psychosocial proposal for ethics of compassionate care in health and public services

Market-based freedom of choice and user autonomy occupies a prominent position on the policy-maker agendas in many countries, increasingly more so than equity of access or equality of opportunity. The essay discusses how the introduction of market logic and consumerism in public health care services relies on, and taps into, unconscious dynamics and fantasies of invincibility while ignoring precariousness of life and our infinite potential to experience vulnerability. This creates toxicity in organisations and corrupts the moral institutional fabric. Drawing on psychosocial approaches inspired by various strands of psychoanalysis, and the theory of affective attachments to social norms offered by Judith Butler, I propose an ethics of relationality and compassionate care for the unknown ‘other’, as a way of counteracting these developments.