Rationale, aims and objectives Given the increasing prevalence of cataract and demand for cataract extraction surgery, patients must often wait to undergo this procedure. We validated a previously developed priority scoring system in terms of clinical variables, pre-intervention health status, appropriateness of surgery and gain in visual acuity (VA) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).Methods Explicit prioritization criteria for cataract extraction created by a variation of the Research and Development (RAND) and University of California Los Angeles appropriateness methodology were retrospectively (...) applied to a prospective cohort of 5257 patients on waiting lists to undergo cataract by phacoemulsification at 17 hospitals in Spain. Demographic data, clinical data and data related to surgical technique were collected by trained ophthalmologists. Patients were evaluated by their ophthalmologist before the intervention and 6 weeks afterward. They also completed, by mail, the Visual Function Index (VF-14) before the intervention and 3 months afterward.Results High-priority patients experienced greater improvement in VA and HRQoL than those classified as intermediate or low-priority (P < 0.0001), even after adjusting by VA and the VF-14 score at baseline. The time to intervention was the same for high-priority patients as it was for intermediate and low-priority patients.Conclusions The priority score we developed identified patients most likely to experience the greatest improvements from cataract extraction. Use of this tool could provide a fairer and more rational way to prioritize patients for cataract extraction. (shrink)

Transhumanism is a challenging movement that invites us to rethink what defines humanity, including what we value and regret the most about our existence. Vulnerability is a key concept that require thorough philosophical scrutiny concerning transhumanist proposals. Vulnerability can refer to a universal condition of human life or, rather, to the specific exposure to certain harms due to particular situations. Even if we are all vulnerable in the first sense, there are also different sources and levels of vulnerability depending on (...) concrete social circumstances. Recently, Michael Hauskeller argued about a fundamental incompatibility between transhumanism and vulnerability. He understands vulnerability as an existential category, linked to woundability and mortality. This idea is akin to ontological vulnerability, but it does not notice some important features of social vulnerability. On the other side, transhumanism is a complex and non-homogeneous movement. Here we distinguish between a strong and a weak version of transhumanism. We will propose that the salience of vulnerability is only diminished in the radical one, while a moderate version can reconcile vulnerability with human enhancement. Thus, vulnerability, a concept that has recently gained much importance as an anthropological category in contemporary ethics, is not necessarily at odds with any transhumanist project. (shrink)

In this article, I propose an ethical analysis of assistive domestic robots for older users. In doing so, I illustrate my inquiry with the example of ROB-IN assistive robot. ROB-IN is a Spanish project which is devoted to developing a robot that will perform in the private home of nondependent, aged users. It is aimed to help people in their daily activities and contribute to appropriate health monitoring. One of their potentially most useful features is related to data gathering and (...) sharing. For the inquiry on the ethical underpinnings of this case, I develop a framework for domestic assistive robots for competent older adults drawn on the ethics of care. I assess that this type of robots could be ethically appraised attending to their impact on the well-being and autonomy of users. I approach autonomy from a relational perspective, and I delve into the relationship between autonomy and well-being through the concept of paternalism. I argue that this type of assistive robots should never act paternalistically. Given ROB-IN great implications regarding privacy, I subsequently explore the ways in which the privacy of users should be respected in their interaction with assistive robots, focusing on the relation with autonomy and well-being. Lastly, I highlight the need for avoiding ageism. This investigation focuses on aged users, but it is suggested that the situation of caregivers should be also the object of further investigations. (shrink)

This study investigates the effects on organization’s financial performances of, first, the extent to which the organizations are involved in controversial business activities, and second, their level of social performance. These companies can be considered non-socially responsible given the harmful nature of the activities they are involved in. Managers of these companies may still have incentives to pursue socially responsible actions if they believe that engaging on those actions will help them to achieve legitimacy and improve investors’ perception about them. (...) We develop a comprehensive methodology to investigate these corporate social performance (CSP)-related effects in a complex but specific setting. To this end, we analyze a sample of 202 US firms for the period 2005–2008 using a novel method in this area: partial least squares. Our results indicate that, contrary to the general findings in prior literature, companies involved in controversial business activities which engage in CSP do not directly reduce the negative perception that stakeholders have about them. Instead, we found evidence of a positive mediation effect of CSP on financial market-based performance through innovation. (shrink)

The Longevity Economy represents a seismic paradigm shift in how humanity approaches aging, health, and our very notion of “life”. Whereas traditional healthcare focuses on treating conditions once they appear, this emerging model envisions lifelong Amplified Intelligence, continuous neuroplasticity, and an exponential synergy between our biological neural networks and advanced digital systems. Grounded in Affectoneuroimmunology (ANI) and Informational Medicine, the Longevity Economy is driven by the principle that all aspects of biology, medicine, and social dynamics are ultimately reducible to signals, (...) data streams that can be measured, modeled, and amplified. Drawing on real-time biomarkers, AI algorithms, and personalized molecular and behavioral strategies, this paradigm aims not only to extend lifespan but also to expand healthspan—the period during which individuals enjoy peak physical, cognitive, and emotional vitality. I contend that the ultimate ‘longevity drug’ will not be a single molecule but rather an adaptive algorithm, with future clinics increasingly relying on perpetually learning AI systems alongside, or even in place of, traditional human doctors. As data and life sciences converge, the traditional boundaries between the digital and physical realms will dissolve, unveiling a profound and exponential pathway for human progress. (shrink)

The Turing Machine presents itself as the very landmark and initial design of digital automata present in all modern general-purpose digital computers and whose design on computable numbers implies deeply ontological as well as epistemological foundations for today’s computers. These lines of work attempt to briefly analyze the fundamental epistemological problem that rose in the late 19th and early 20th century whereby “machine cognition” emerges. The epistemological roots addressed in the TM and notably in its “Halting Problem” uncovers the tension (...) between determinism and uncertainty, regarded here as the primal and inherent features of machine cognition. Resumen La Máquina de Turing se presenta como el hito y el diseño inicial de un autómata digital presente en todas las computadoras digitales modernas de propósito general y cuyo diseño en números computables establece bases profundamente ontológicas y epistemológicas para las computadoras de hoy. Estas líneas de trabajo intentan analizar brevemente el problema epistemológico fundamental que surgió a finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX mediante el cual emerge la “cognición de la máquina”. Las raíces epistemológicas que se abordan en la TM y, en particular, en su “Problema de detención” ponen al descubierto la tensión entre el determinismo y la incertidumbre, consideradas aquí, como las características primordiales e inherentes de la cognición de la máquina. (shrink)

Theory of Mind (ToM) is one of the most relevant concepts in the field of social cognition, particularly in the case of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Literature showing that individuals with ASD display deficits in ToM is extensive and robust. However, some related issues deserve more research: the heterogeneous profile of ToM abilities in children with ASD and the association between different levels of ToM development and social, pragmatic, and adaptive behaviors in everyday life. The first objective of this study (...) was to identify profiles of children with ASD without intellectual disability (ID), based on explicit and applied ToM knowledge, and compare these profiles with a group of children with typical development (TD). A second objective was to determine differences in symptom severity, adaptive/social behavior, and pragmatic abilities between the profiles identified. Fifty-two children with a clinical diagnosis of ASD without ID and 37 children with TD performed neuropsychological ToM tasks and two vocabulary and memory tests. In addition, all of their mothers completed different questionnaires about applied ToM abilities, severity of ASD symptoms, adaptive/social skills, and pragmatic competence. Two subgroups were identified in the cluster analysis carried out with explicit and applied ToM indicators. The “Lower ToM abilities” profile obtained significantly lower scores than the “Higher ToM abilities” profile on all the ToM measures. Furthermore, the analysis of covariance, controlling for vocabulary and working memory (ANCOVAs), showed statistically significant differences in applied ToM abilities between the two groups of children with ASD without ID and the group with TD. However, only the group with “Higher ToM abilities” achieved similar performance to the TD group on the verbal task of explicit ToM knowledge. Finally, the “Lower ToM abilities” cluster obtained significantly higher scores on autism symptoms (social and communication domains) and lower scores on adaptive behavior and pragmatic skills than the cluster with “Higher ToM abilities”. Taken together, these findings have implications for understanding the heterogeneity in ToM skills in children with ASD without ID, and their differential impact on social, communicative, and adaptive behaviors. (shrink)

Transparency is a quality of corporate social responsibility communication that enhances the relationship between the investors and the company. The objective of this paper is to analyze if the transparency of the sustainability reports is affected by the relationship of companies in different industries with their stakeholders. If this were the case, it would indicate that the pressure of significant stakeholders determines the required level of transparency of the reports. We find that the pressure of some groups of stakeholders improves (...) the quality of transparency of the reports. We extend previous research by studying the effect of stakeholder group pressure on transparency when reporting sustainability. Our results show that transparency is affected by ownership, along with size and global region. (shrink)

This article introduces animal dignification as an ethical-philosophical lens to expand the interpretation of animal behavior in behavioral ecology. While the adaptationist framework has provided key insights into evolutionary function, it often neglects affective, cognitive, and relational dimensions of animal life. Drawing from evolutionary biology, ethology, and animal ethics, we propose a complementary perspective that views animals as sentient subjects with intrinsic value. Through conceptual analysis and illustrative case studies, we demonstrate how a dignification-centered approach enhances scientific inquiry and promotes (...) ethical reflexivity, aligning behavioral research with a broader sense of moral responsibility toward nonhuman lives. (shrink)

This article analyses the determinants associated with the use of the Integrated Report (IR) as a corporate reporting model for sustainability information. IRs provide information regarding the use and interdependence of different company resources. The previous literature has identified determinants behind the presentation of IRs at the country level (legal system, investor protection, economic development, cultural characteristics) as well as at the company level (size, industry, verification of the sustainability report). Our work contributes to the literature by using a novel (...) statistical approach that addresses the likelihood of the non‐independence of data: companies in the same country are more similar to one another than are companies from different countries. Our results confirm significant inter‐country variance, which may be partially explained by the existence of specific regulations and the individualism vs. collectivism dimension. Although we confirm the effect of company‐level determinants, our results do not support the role of specific variables tested as determinants. (shrink)

Confessions are central to criminal investigations. Although an increasing amount of attention is being drawn to the phenomenon of false confessions the majority of research focuses on psychological factors of false confessions. This study instead uses narrative analysis to examine the language of true and false confession narratives, with a focus on how evaluative devices convey degrees of guilt and blame. Justifications and deflection of blame were found to characterize true confessions, while false confessions did not place a primacy on (...) these elements. Furthermore, the actual events of the crime were highly evaluated in true confessions, while false confessions left these events unevaluated. Although generalizability of these findings should be treated with caution, meaningful differences between true and false confessions occur at the level of discourse which may assist investigators in uncovering motives, key events, and the confessor’s state of mind, and may help guide interrogators’ questioning patterns. (shrink)

The current COVID-19 pandemic has had obvious, well-documented devastating effects on people's physical health. In this research, we investigate its potential effects on people's mental health. Many people have experienced social isolation, as countries attempt to stem the spread of the disease through confinement and other forms of social distancing. Intuitively, such social isolation may increase feelings of loneliness, and people may take logical steps to reduce their feelings of social isolation and loneliness. One route is through the use of (...) social networking apps and messaging and VoIP apps. In this research, we investigate the effects of pandemic-induced social isolation on social networking and messaging apps, and potential related effects on loneliness. We surveyed young adults who are part of the Centennial cohort from three different countries and obtained their screen time usage data over a 4-week period starting from mid-March 2020. This sampling procedure allowed us to obtain data from respondents who were experiencing different degrees of mandated social isolation, which enabled us to determine whether social network and messaging app usage increased as a function of social isolation, and to test potential effects on levels of loneliness. Results showed that only social network usage increased in the initial stage of confinement as a function of lockdown initiation. Additionally, social network app usage was associated with increased feelings of loneliness, and this relation was mediated by fear of missing out. In contrast, messaging app usage was associated with decreased feelings of loneliness, and was unrelated to FOMO. These results suggest that technology may be useful for mitigating the impact of loneliness during social isolation but that it is necessary to promote usage of messaging and VoIP apps, rather than social networking apps, because they are directly associated with decreases in loneliness without increasing FOMO. (shrink)

Rice crop diversity hasdecreased dramatically in the recent past.Understanding the causes that underlie theevident genetic erosion is critical for thefood security of subsistence rice farmers andbiodiversity. Our study shows that farmers inthe northeastern Philippines had a markedreduction in rice diversity from 1996 to 1998.The ultimate causes were a drought resultingfrom the El Niño phenomenon in 1997 andflooding due to two successive typhoons in1998. The proximate causes, however, includedlocal water control factors, limitations in thehousehold and village-level seedinfrastructure, farm location in relation (...) tothe goods and services necessary to obtainseeds, policies and programs of the Departmentof Agriculture, and the characteristics of therice varieties themselves. The implications ofour study are that genetic erosion is notalways the result of purposeful acts by farmersnor is it necessarily gradual. Improvingon-farm seed technology will stabilize the seedproduction, distribution, and use system andthereby enhance household food security.Ultimately, rice diversity will be improvedonly if diversity is a safe and viable optionfor farmers. Therefore, public policy thatsupports farmers who maintain a diverse set ofcultivars is critical for any on-farmconservation strategy. (shrink)

Is it appropriate to blame people unequally if the only difference between them was a matter of luck? Suppose Alice would drive recklessly if she could, Belen drove recklessly but didn’t harm anyone, and Cleo drove recklessly and killed a child. Luck-advocates emphasize that in real life we do blame such agents very unequally. Luck-skeptics counter that people aren’t responsible for factors beyond their control, or beyond their quality of will. I’ll defend a somewhat reconciliatory view. I’ll concede to (...) the skeptics that these agents are equally culpable. Nonetheless, I’ll suggest with the luck-advocates that it’s fitting to blame them unequally. That’s because their culpability is unequally significant for us: Cleo’s culpability concerns us more than Belen’s, and Belen’s more than Alice’s—just like the fault of a close aggressor concerns us more than that of an aggressor far off in place and time. And it’s fitting for us to respond with more blame to faults that concern us more. Indeed, blaming people simply in proportion to their culpability manifests a form of fetishism, or problematic mere-matter-of-principle concern. So while many skeptical tenets may hold, in substance the luck-advocates are right. (shrink)

In the first half of the 2000s, one project to restore the former Danube floodplain was carried out in Belene, a marginal town on the Bulgarian Danube. The aim of this article is to record the practices that were already in place before the interventions on the Danube, as part of a heterogeneous local knowledge that had an alternative vision to the scientific knowledge of experts involved in the restoration project. The data comes from qualitative interviews with locals and experts (...) implicated in this project, as well as ethnographic observations from the fieldwork I carried out in 2013–2014, 2020 and 2022. The conclusion is that without attempting to replace the scientific knowledge, the locals aim to impose, through their local knowledge, a sort of slow ecology that eases the pace of the restoration of the former Danube floodplains. (shrink)

Existe un creciente consenso en el mundo académico respecto a que el paradigma que ha inspirado el surgimiento del mundo moderno enfrenta una profunda crisis. Muestra de ello son la imposibilidad hasta ahora de dar cuenta de problemas endémicos de la humanidad que la modernidad ofreció resolver: guerra y violencia (fraternidad); pobreza e inequidad social (igualdad); y opresión (libertad). Más aún, los progresivos estragos sociales y ambientales de la sociedad mercado-céntrica señalan la nece..

La perspectiva teórica del Capital, del siglo XIX, aparece alejada del capital social del siglo XXI. Ambas, con la misma raíz, sin embargo, pareciera que no se tocan, ni teórica ni prácticamente. Quizás, sería pertinente escudriñar esta relación.Desde la década de los noventa, el tema del “capital social” ha sido visto por muchos estudiosos de la realidad social contemporánea como una propuesta promisoria, transversal y hegemónica. Tanto desde la economía, las ciencias morales, la ciencia y..

El desarrollo humano y la justicia, así como las maneras de su realización, han acompañado conflictivamente la historia de la civilización humana. Sin embargo el tema alcanza una especial significación desde la Segunda Guerra, gracias al crecimiento económico y la desigualdad inéditas. Algunos de los más destacados científicos de las ciencias sociales y humanas enfrentaron el desafío desde sus disciplinas a comienzos del siglo XX. Importantes fueron los planteamientos desde la educación y l..

Después de varios años e investigaciones sobre la educación y el nuevo paradigma científico hemos llegado a comprender que los gérmenes caóticos de la educación y la desescolarización están presentes en el día a día escolar, aunque ocultos, si no negados, por la cultura escolar. Debemos sacarlos a la luz y comprender su potencialidad e influencia educativa transformadora. Por muchos años buscábamos que la desescolarización de la escuela no implicara su eliminación, tal como lo propuso Illich..

Pensar el presente es tarea ineludible para cualquier intelectual, sin embargo, hacerlo hoy, resulta una tarea gigantesca. Antonio Elizalde, se lanza a la aventura de dar cuenta de esa realidad polimorfa y polisémica, lo hace con honestidad y algo de desenfado, en una escritura que abandona la autocomplacencia para situarse en el horizonte de la descripción descarnada de nuestra época. En medio de ese juego de espejos en que la realidad se nos muestra donde ya no está y se (...) empeña en decir lo.. (shrink)

Se escribe que el tiempo y el espacio han perdido su significado tradicional. Por eso Manuel Castells habla de nueva Era y Alain Touraine de ruptura. El Norte está cada vez más disperso y fragmentado y el Sur también. Podría decirse que ahora hay muchos Nortesy muchos Sures. Por eso hay visiones tan distin­tas del intenso e imprevisible proceso iniciado hace apenas tres décadas. Nadie sabe hacia dónde nos va a conducir el proceso de cambio en esta nueva Era de (...) la información y la comunicaci.. (shrink)

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar algunos de los documentos normativo-institucionales que regulan los valores éticos que identifican la conducta de los servidores públicos de México, Chile y Colombia, con el fin de conocer sus similitudes y diferencias, para lo cual utilizaremos el método comparado; desde luego, sin profundizar en éste con todo su rigor, dadas las características propias de este ensayo. Los tres países heredaron los valores de los padres del Contrato Social, sin embargo, estos han sido histórica, (...) política, social y culturalmente cuestionados por muchos motivos, en especial, por la enorme infuencia de la doctrina neoliberal. (shrink)

UnoTal como lo destaca Antonio Elizalde en la presentación del libro “Ampliando el Arco Iris”, escrito por varias manos, mentes y corazones, el Arco Iris ya parece una serie o una saga, para usar una palabra con más historia y más fina, acorde con la riqueza editorial de una obra que ya llega a la tercera versión. El primer libro, publicado en 1988, hubo de llamarse La Fuerza del Arco Iris, muy a tono con un Chile que en esos (...) años desplegaba una acción social que quería apurar el alba luego d.. (shrink)

El artículo apunta a demostrar que la sustentabilidad capitalista es una imposibilidad dado que en la naturaleza del capitalismo está la necesidad de crecimiento sin límites. Se diseñan algunos futuros escenarios posibles para la humanidad y se señala que el desconocimiento de las escalas, de las temporalidades y de los límites de la condición humana ha permitido construir un imaginario plagado de mitos, creencias y tendencias que nos está conduciendo hacia un verdadero suicidio colectivo.

Although issues of morals and ethics remain largely a national matter, the European Community (EC) and the Council of Europe have taken an increasing interest in identifying and harmonizing the often conflicting policies of the European countries on bioethical matters. This article examines the role these organizations are playing and identifies some of the initiatives that have been taken in specific areas.

El escenario energético de escasez a nivel mundial se empieza a reflejar fuertemente en América Latina. Chile tiene una política energética diseñada en el período dictatorial, y administrada en la democracia, que hace muy vulnerable su economía, su medio ambiente y su seguridad. En este artículo se analizan críticamente los diversos aspectos que inciden fuertemente en el actual escenario energético chileno, sobre todo en lo que respecta a la política de integración con sus vecinos latinoamericanos, desde donde se puede vislumbrar (...) también una solución sustentable a los problemas energéticos futuros. (shrink)

¿Cómo es y en qué se ha transformado actualmente la ciudad? ¿Es sólo un espacio de flujos y de inacabables mutaciones que complican la existencia humana? ¿O es la musa deseada por los innumerables pretendientes en sus posibilidades políticas y mercantiles?Por esencia, la ciudad es central y capital, “lugar del capital”, instrumento de regulación y eje del sistema de soberanía que asegure y regule el orden general. Pero la complejidad que hoy día presenta convoca a los expertos que, preocupado..

Este libro registra, sistematiza, difunde y amplía el intercambio de experiencias sobre el tiempo libre, el ocio y la recreación, en América Latina. Ha sido elaborado en Brasil en colaboración con Colombia y Chile, países donde diversas personas e instituciones actuales aúnan esfuerzos en el sentido de fomentar los diálogos, incentivar estudios, compartir conocimientos y prácticas socioculturales sobre el tiempo libre, el ocio y la recreación en el contexto latinoamericano.Presenta la realid..

El presente ensayo sostiene que aunque el concepto de desarrollo sustentable cada quien lo usa desde su particular interés y visión de mundo, a lo menos ha permitido introducir un criterio para juzgar las instituciones y las prácticas vigentes de las sociedades modernas, y puede ayudarnos a transitar hacia una nueva cosmovisión. Presenta luego el "Desarrollo a Escala Humana" y propone una sociedad sustentable o ecológica, como una utopía realizable.