Bioethics and Christian Theology

The authors of this essay suggest that the field of bioethics and Christian theology have a great deal to offer to each other. The authors first argue that representatives from both fields must first make sure that they fully and correctly represent their respective position. In other words, scientists, ethicists, and theologians alike must make sure that they present their fields and not use their knowledge merely for personal gain at the stake of misguiding people. Once this is established, the authors then proceed to show the intimate relationship between Christianity and medicine that has existed throughout the ages. It is a call for a continuation of such a relationship that the authors suggest between bioethics and theology. Through an integration of bioethics and Christian theology, both scientists/physicians and theologians are able to gain greater insight into the human person—a focus in both fields.     

Concordant Spiritual Orientations as a Factor in Physician--Patient Spiritual Discussions: A Qualitative Study

Objectives: To understand the impact of physicians and patients religious/spiritual orientation on discussions of spiritual issues. Methods: We performed semi-structured interviews of 10 Missouri family physicians and 10 patients of these physicians, selecting subjects nonrandomly to represent a range of demographic factors, practice types, and chronic or terminal illness. We coded and evaluated transcribed interviews for themes. Results: Respondents expressed that similar belief systems facilitate patient–physician spiritual interactions and bring confidence to their relationships. Those holding dissimilar faiths noted limited ability to address spiritual questions directly. They cited significant barriers to spiritual interaction but considered that ecumenism, use of patient-centered care, and negotiation skills lessen these barriers. Conclusions: Our respondents view spirituality similarly to other aspects of the physician–patient relationship involving differing viewpoints. Where discordance exists, cross-cultural, patient-centered, diplomatic approaches facilitate spiritual discussions.     

Experience of colorectal cancer screening using a home-administered kit for fecal occult blood tests among a Chinese worksite population in Taiwan

This study examined the experience of fecal occult blood test (FOBT) using a home-administered kit that requires no stool handling for colorectal cancer screening among Chinese people age 40 and older. 304 participants were recruited from 10 worksites in Taiwan. Both oral and written instructions on how to use the test kit were provided. After participants completed the screening test, their experiences were documented through structured open-ended probing survey questions. Although analysis showed some challenges for Chinese participants as first time users, the overall reactions and perceived advantages towards the kit were promising. Interventions should consider the participant's stage of adaptation to new screening strategies, literacy, and environmental conditions. Since no known research has been conducted among Chinese people with a kit, experience provides valuable qualitative insights for planning intervention.     

From <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pintele Yid to Racenjude</Emphasis>: Chaim Zhitlovsky and racial conceptions of Jewishness

The Russian Jewish intellectual, Chaim Zhitlovsky (1865–1943), a leading architect of secular Jewish culture and thought, was a central figure in the progressive Jewish intelligentsia of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In an essay written in 1927, Yidn un Yiddishkayt (Jews and Jewishness), he sought to define the secular essence of what he calls Yiddishkayt. This essay is not the first in Zhitlovskys long publicistic career in which he searches for new, secular definitions of Jewish identity and culture. But this essay differs, since it is marked by Zhitlovskys use of contemporary social scientific notions of race and racial traits to conceptualize what he believes constitutes Jewishness in a non-religious context, along with his adoption of the mystical Jewish concept of the pintele yid, the theory of an innate Jewishness embodied by a Jewish spark. Zhitlovskys desire to craft a truly secular theory of Jewish identity led him ironically to accept models of Jewish identity at odds with his stated larger vision. In turning to contemporary racial theory, as well as long nurtured mystical models of Yiddishkayt, Zhitlovsky reveals the wide range of ideological discourses that led him to innovative and controversial notions of modern Jewish identity.     

Reasoning about Sensing Actions in Domains with Multi-Valued Fluents

In this paper, we discuss the weakness of current action languages for sensing actions with respect to modeling domains with multi-valued fluents. To address this problem, we propose a language with sensing actions and multi-valued fluents, called AM_K, provide a transition function based semantics for the language, and demonstrate its use through several examples from the literature. We then define the entailment relationship between action theories and queries in AM_K, denoted by ⊧AM_K, and discuss some properties about AM_K.     

Characteristics of suicide attempters and nonattempters with schizophrenia in a rural community

In this study, demographic and clinical characteristics of individuals with schizophrenia in a Chinese rural community who had attempted suicide at some time in their lives and those who had not made a suicide attempt were compared. Among individuals with schizophrenia, subjects with (n = 38) and without (n = 472) a lifetime history of suicide attempt were assessed with the Present State Examination. The results indicate that attempters had a significantly younger age, higher level of education, higher rate of lifetime depressed mood and hopelessness, and a larger number of positive symptoms than patients without suicide attempts. The logistic regression models also indicated that hopelessness, the number of positive symptoms and age were the most important predictors. Early interventions focusing on reducing hopelessness and controlling positive symptoms may help reduce the risk of suicide attempts among patients with schizophrenia.     

Index of suspicion: feeling not believing

Throughout the U.S., state laws require professionals who work with children to report cases of suspected child abuse to child protection services. Both practically and conceptually, however, significant problems arise from a lack of clarity regarding the threshold that has been set for reporting. Specifically, there is no consensus as to what constitutes reasonable suspicion, and little direction for how mandated reporters should gauge their legal and professional responsibilities when they harbor suspicion. In this paper we outline the context of the problem, discuss the nature and scope of its conceptual underpinnings, and offer recommendations for moving towards a concrete, practical solution.     

Senior capstone design and ethics: A bridge to the professional world

A senior level capstone design experience has been developed and offered with a particular emphasis on many of the professional issues raised in Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) Engineering Criterion IV. The course has sought to develop student awareness of the ethical foundation of the engineering profession, the global and societal framework within which engineers practice, and the environmental impact on engineering. The capstone design course also focused upon improving the technical communications skills of the graduating senior class with both extensive instruction in writing and multiple workshops dealing with the art of making an effective oral presentation. The effectiveness of the design course was assessed using Kirkpatrick’s model for evaluating training programs. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the “Ethics and Social Responsibility in Engineering and Technology” meeting, New Orleans, 2003.     

Auditory-oral matching behavior in newborns

Twenty-five newborn infants were tested for auditory-oral matching behavior when presented with the consonant sound /m/ and the vowel sound /a/ - a precursor behavior to vocal imitation. Auditory-oral matching behavior by the infant was operationally defined as showing the mouth movement appropriate for producing the model sound just heard (mouth opening for /a/ and mouth clutching for /m/), even when the infant produced no sound herself. With this new dependent measure, the current study is the first to show matching behavior to consonant sounds in newborns: infants showed significantly more instances of mouth opening after /a/ models than after /m/ models, and more instances of mouth clutching after /m/ models than after /a/ models. The results are discussed in the context of theories of active intermodal mapping and innate releasing mechanisms.     

Computing aspects of power for multiple regression

Rules of thumb for power in multiple regression research abound. Most such rules dictate the necessary sample size, but they are based only upon the number of predictor variables, usually ignoring other critical factors necessary to compute power accurately. Other guides to power in multiple regression typically use approximate rather than precise equations for the underlying distribution; entail complex preparatory computations; require interpolation with tabular presentation formats; run only under software such as Mathmatica or SAS that may not be immediately available to the user; or are sold to the user as parts of power computation packages. In contrast, the program we offer herein is immediately downloadable at no charge, runs under Windows, is interactive, self-explanatory, flexible to fit the user’s own regression problems, and is as accurate as single precision computation ordinarily permits.