Background: Truth-telling toward terminally ill patients is a challenging ethical issue in healthcare practice. However, there are no existing ethical guidelines or frameworks provided for Chinese nurses in relation to decision-making on truth-telling of terminal illness and the role of nurses thus is not explicit when encountering this issue. Objectives: The intention of this paper is to provide ethical guidelines or strategies with regards to decision-making on truth-telling of terminal illness for Chinese nurses. Methods: This paper initially present a case (...) scenario and then critically discuss the ethical issue in association with ethical principles and philosophical theories. Instead of focusing on attitudes toward truth disclosure, it aims to provide strategies regarding this issue for nurses. It highlights and discusses some of the relevant ethical assumptions around the perceived role of nurses in healthcare settings by focusing on nursing ethical virtues, nursing codes of ethics, and philosophical perspectives. And Confucian culture is discussed to explicate that deontology does not consider family-oriented care in China. Conclusion: Treating each family individually to explore the family’s beliefs and values on this issue is essential in healthcare practice and nurses should tailor their own approach to individual needs regarding truth-telling in different situations. Moreover, the Chinese Code of Ethics should be modified to be more specific and applicable. Finally, a narrative ethics approach should be applied and teamwork between nurses, physicians and families should be established to support cancer patients and to ensure their autonomy and hope. Ethical considerations: This paper was approved by the Ethics Committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. The authors have obtained consent to use the case study and it has been anonymised to preserve the patient's confidentiality. (shrink)

As teams of people increasingly incorporate robot members, it is essential to consider how a robot's actions may influence the team's social dynamics and interactions. In this work, we investigated the effects of verbal support from a robot on human team members' interactions related to psychological safety and inclusion. We conducted a between-subjects experiment where the robot team member either gave verbal support or did not give verbal support to the human team members of a human-robot team comprised of 2 (...) human ingroup members, 1 human outgroup member, and 1 robot. We found that targeted support from the robot had a positive effect on outgroup members, who increased their verbal participation after receiving targeted support from the robot. When comparing groups that did and did not have verbal support from the robot, we found that outgroup members received fewer verbal backchannels from ingroup members if their group had robot verbal support. These results suggest that verbal support from a robot may have some direct benefits to outgroup members but may also reduce the obligation ingroup members feel to support the verbal contributions of outgroup members. (shrink)

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the decision regret scale. Methods: The data of 704 patients who completed the DRSc were used for the analyses. We evaluated the construct, convergent/discriminant, and known-group validity; internal consistency and test–retest reliability; and the item invariance of the DRSc. A receiver operating characteristic curve was employed to confirm the optimal cutoff point of the scale. Results: A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a one-factor (...) model fits the data. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability [intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.71] of the DRSc were acceptable. The DRSc demonstrated unidimensionality and invariance for use across the sexes. It was confirmed that an optimal cutoff point of 25 could discriminate between patients with high and low decisional regret during clinical practice. Conclusion: The DRSc is a parsimonious instrument that can be used to measure the uncertainty inherent in medical decisions. It can be employed to provide knowledge, offer support, and elicit patient preferences in an attempt to promote shared decision-making. (shrink)

因為現代醫藥之發達與進步，我們身體的痛已大多有了消解之道；但思想、心理與性靈的病卻是越來越讓我們感到憂傷，越來越教我們心生恐懼，也越來越侵犯到我們原本一心盼望單單純純地「活在此時此刻」這極其謙卑的權利 與心願。 顯然，現代科技仍然效力有限，而無端的生命苦難更是難以預期與估量。我們還是得時時回頭看看自己這一身，回頭想想自己這一生，並同時回頭思量自己這一顆心到底蘊藏著什麼寶貝，或許，這樣的自力救濟與自力更生纔是生 活的王道。 且讓我們一起來細細品味兩千多年前這一位東方的「生命療癒先行者」――莊子到底是怎麼看待他自己這一身、這一生、這一世以及時時刻刻跳動在「此時此刻」的這一顆心，而其中又有何特殊光景值得莊子大書特書，這也許是 人類千年不變的生命共業。 原本，我們一出生就無法自外於大自然，而「自然」原來就在我們完完整整的這一身，它的符碼（甚至是密碼）就藏在我們人人心底，就靠我們自己來記憶，來存取，來開啟我們與生俱來的自我療癒的能力，而莊子如是言，如是 行，如是思量，如是觀想，如是腳踏實地，如是心無旁鶩，如是存活於此時此刻──而他已然為我們落下這八個無比精采的篇章： ◆逍遙之遊──莊子一心渴望真自由，而他到底是如何滿足這心底深沉的渴望？又是如何從地面起身躍向那無邊無界的天空？ ◆齊物之論──莊子彷彿心無是非，口無虛言，而只是靜觀萬物，平等看待這世上的一切，他是如何能夠保有這份真真切切的「自知之明」？如何在夢醒之際清清楚楚地守著這僅有的清明之心？ ◆養生之主──莊子先是如同一般人，一心只盼望健健康康，無疾也無病，但他還深刻地警覺生命最大的痛──死亡隨時隨處在窺伺著我們，我們又能如何真正地跳出這幾乎無所不在的死亡的幽谷？ ◆人間之世──莊子深知世上難免無妄之災，更難防故意之敵，但我們還是得盡量避禍，盡力解厄，同時盡心地處理好所有與我們相連相繫的人際關係；不過，當不順心不如意之事迎面而來之際，我們又當如何舉重若輕地一肩承 擔？莊子顯然有他自己的法子。 ◆真人之身──莊子不是教主，也不想開宗立派，他只是始終關心本來無價無償的生命到底該怎麼被我們認真地看待，而那「無用之用」的奧妙又有誰能真正了解？ ◆渾沌之死──就莊子看來，「渾沌」本無生亦無死；而如果說我們總是自己在「找死」，並不是死亡找上我們，這雖然看似重話，卻可能有警醒人心的作用。原來，莊子的「生命之壺」暗藏玄機，而縱然生死之謎究竟無解，但 我們又何妨放下心來，自由自在地在這世上走上一回。 ◆自然之道──莊子當然不懂現代科技，但他已經知道運用機械的後遺症。設想時下所謂的「科技新貴」能夠放下「釣魚上鉤」的念頭，靜靜地佇立水岸，觀賞那魚兒水中游，大概就將別有一番生活情趣與生命體悟。 ◆幸福之夢──莊子應該和任何人一樣，都想幸幸福福過一生，但我們到底該怎麼尋找終生的伴侶（甚至是「絕配」）？日子又該怎麼過得舒適？而和自己又能如何做一輩子的至親好友？這些問題的解答，可能就是打開那幸福之 門的鑰匙吧！ 作者：葉海煙 輔仁大學哲學博士，美國哈佛大學訪問學人、東吳大學哲學系教授兼系主任、長榮大學哲學與宗教學系教授兼系主任、台灣哲學學會會長、錢穆故居執行長、台南市哲學學會會長。現任南神神學院神學研究所專任哲學教授、國立 成功大學兼任哲學教授。專長道家哲學，當代新儒學，當代倫理學比較研究，台灣文化研究。著有《莊子的生命哲學》、《老莊哲學新論》、《道德、理性與人文的向度》、《中國哲學的倫理觀》、《人文與哲學的對話》、《傳 統倫理的現代挑戰》、《莊子的處世智慧》、《老子診療室》、《臺灣學入門》、《道家倫理學：理論與實踐》、《哲學與人生》、《哲學在哪裡》等近二十種著作。.

Ren nao huo dong di ben zhi (Yi ge shou gong yi ren di miao shu)--Lun luo ji shu jian--Yi ge she hui zhu yi zhe zai ren shi lun ling yu zhong di man you--Zhe xue di cheng guo.

Ben shu yi xing wei wu jia zhi er yuan lun wei yan jiu zhu xian, an zhao " ke guan gou cheng yao jian, pai chu ke guan wei fa de shi you, zhu guan gou cheng yao jian, pai chu zhu guan ze ren de shi you " si jie ceng fan zui lun ti xi de jia gou, cong ke guan yao jian, zhu guan yao jian, xiu zheng xing tai san ge wei du, lin xuan fan (...) zui lun ling yu de ruo gan zheng yi wen ti yi ci zhan kai tao lun. ben shu jian chi yi wen ti wei dao xiang, wei rao si fa shi jian ti chu de nan ti, shu li xue shuo de mai luo, kao cha li fa de tuo dang xing, dui ge zhong li lun he guan dian tiao fen lü xi, zhi li yu li lun, li fa yu si fa de liang xing hu dong he xie diao fa zhan, ti chu de fang an zai yi ding cheng du shang hui da le li lun he shi jian zhong de yi wen. (shrink)

The gist of this paper is to closely examine the actual demands of the students under the education of philosophy, and execute such a philosophy education as to meet the demands, so that any plan of securing the proper status of philosophy education in the university society might be made. While it says that the philosophy education should be newly programmed, such a new programming cannot be talked about without considering the new trends or framework in the university education on (...) the whole, which is called the “convergence education.” In case the convergence education is highlighted more intensively, the significance of the philosophy education becomes prominent more and more, and this is very encouraging thereto. (shrink)

21世紀人類新科學、新文明的基礎——思維科學理論體系的建立 1687年英國科學家牛頓發表的《自然哲學的數學原理》一書，是近代自然科學完全確立的標誌，從而引領人類的科學邁入宏觀科學的時代，為現代文明奠定了理論和思想上的基礎；1905年德國科學家愛因斯坦發表的《相 對論》，更使得人類的科學邁入微觀科學的時代，讓人們對周圍世界有了一個更加深入和全面的了解。 雖然上述二者都有力地推動了人類科學和文明的巨大進步，卻都未能跳脫出現代科學的物質觀對人們思維上的限制，不能應用於高度複雜的人體和生命科學，更不能解決當前擺在人們面前諸於癌症、愛滋病、各種慢性病、遺傳病 、傳染病等形形色色的問題。 毫無疑問，21世紀將是人體和生命科學的世紀。然而，在人體和生命科學領域，尚未出現像牛頓的《自然哲學的數學原理》和愛因斯坦的《相對論》那樣具有劃時代意義，且與生命科學高度複雜的基本特點互相呼應的全新理論 體系；這就導致人體和生命科學在21世紀的發展將缺乏理論上的立足點，人體和生命科學新的大發展正在呼喚全新理論的出現。 2012年，《生命科學的哲學原理》一書的完成和發表，正是適應這一時代的需要而建立起來的全新科學理論體系，採用了與牛頓和愛因斯坦完全不同，更加高級、全新的思維方式，並突破了現代科學的物質觀對人們思維上的 限制，從而引領人類的科學從當前具體的物質科學邁入抽象的思維科學的新時代，進而有效地解決人體和生命科學領域中各種高度複雜的問題，整個人類的文明也將因此而再次發生翻天覆地的偉大轉變，為新的歷史時期之人類社 會的和平、穩定與快速發展提供理論和思想上的依據。.

This article has the purpose of examining the commentation that Sung-ho Yi Ik and Da-san Jung Yak-yong developed of Sa-chil Debate (사칠논쟁) Which was a philosophical debate in Chosun Dynasty. Sa-chil Debate began from Toe-gye Yi Whang and Ko-bong Gi Dae-sung and soon as a result of Yul-gok Yi Yi and Woo-gae Sung Hon repeating the debate, It appeared as a kind of philosophical theme. After that, Yul-gok and Toe-gye's students formed a kind of school. They also made the debate (...) extended and the theory more sophisticated by criticizing a counterpart's argument on base of ideologizing their teacher's theory. About 200 years after Toe-gye died, Sung-ho Yi Ik was born and after about 250 years, Da-san Jung Yak-yong was born. Both they experienced a western naturalscience and a catholic theory as Silhak Scholars (실학자). Therefore their this kind of interpretation about Sung-li Debate must be offering a deeply interesting investigation to us. In conclusion, Sung-ho advocated Toe-gye's theory at all, adding more explanation to it and Da-san evaluated all of Toe-gye's and Yul-gok's theory to be right because their theories have a unique logicality of making a sense. Sung-ho stood on a Shilhak view point gave up a organic cosmology ofSung-li theory which has a continuity to cosmology and moral theory, arguing Sa-chil-Li bal-Yil-lo Theory (四七理發一路說) by understanding Sa-chil Debate based on only moral perspective. Even though Da-san also said Yang-si Theory (兩是論) that both their theories are all right, he argued that Toe-gye's theory is much more important in the aspect of moral practice owing to his religious opinion by a catholic affect. By the way, Sung-ho supplemented and explained Toe-gye's theory, but he had not a sufficient logic and was not objective because of his leaning into advocating Toe-gye's theory much further. Da-san had an advantage of evaluating both Toe-gye's and Yul-gok's theory to be all right, but came to argue an insufficient philosophy on account of its simplicity. (shrink)

We revisit the generalized finite horizon dynamic oligopoly model of capital accumulation in a differential game setting and use the Oniki’s variational method to investigate the comparative dynamics of a symmetric Open-loop Nash Equilibria (OLNE) of the game with respect to several variables. We are able to trace the entire path of the comparative dynamics of these variables over the time horizon and we are thus able to determine the dynamics of the effects of changes in the parameters of the (...) game on its OLNE. We demonstrate that our results give sharper envelope predictions than results in the existing literature. For example, we show that the initial value of a firm’s own costate variable underestimates the shadow value of its initial capital stock. (shrink)

Supporters of eliminative connectionism have argued for a pattern association-based explanation of language learning and language processing. They deny that explicit rules and symbolic representations play any role in language processing and cognition in general. Their argument is based to a large extent on two artificial neural network (ANN) models that are claimed to be able to learn the past tenses of English verbs (Rumelhart & McClelland, 1986, Parallel distributed processing, Vol. 2, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; MacWhinney & Leinbach, 1991, (...) Cognition, 40, 121-157). In this article we critically review Rumelhart and McClelland's as well as MacWhinney and Leinbach's ANN models and conclude that they do not succeed in the assigned task of learning the past tenses of English verbs. In order to answer their challenge to the symbolic processing approach, we present our symbolic pattern associator (SPA)-a general-purpose pattern associator that can learn to associate arbitrary discrete patterns. We carried out several experiments with the SPA using the same set of verbs that was used in MacWhinney and Leinbach's simulation with more realistic training and testing procedures. The SPA outperformed the connectionist models by a wide margin in the accuracy of learning, and successful inductive generalizations to unseen verbs. Our SPA has very natural and psychologically realistic explanations to many psychological effects such as U-shaped learning curve, and is much closer to human subjects in predicting past tense of the pseudo-verbs. In contrast to ANNs, whose internal representations are entirely opaque, the SPA can represent the acquired knowledge in the form of production rules that allow for further higher-level processing and integration, resulting in linguistically realistic associative templates for irregular verbs and production rules for regular verbs. In the light of these findings, we conclude that eliminative connectionists' vision of cognition as simple pattern association and pattern recognition without symbolic representation is inadequate. Pattern association as such does not imply rule-less or cue-based models of language acquisition or of human learning in general. (shrink)

Plum Shadows and Plank Bridge: Two Memoirs about Courtesans. Translated and edited by Wai-yee Li. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020. Pp. 328. $60, $20.

Prior research indicates that managers’ dark personality traits increase their tendency to engage in disruptive and unethical organizational behaviors including accounting earnings management. Other research suggests that the prevalence of dark personalities in management may represent an accidental byproduct of selecting managers with accompanying desirable attributes that fit the stereotype of a “strong leader.” Our paper posits that organizations may hire some managers who have dark personality traits because their willingness to push ethical boundaries aligns with organizational objectives, particularly in (...) the accounting context where ethical considerations are especially important. Using several validation studies and experiments, we find that experienced executives and recruiting professionals favor hiring a candidate with dark personality traits into an accounting management position over an otherwise better-qualified candidate when the hiring organization faces pressure to manage earnings. Our results help to illuminate why individuals with dark personality traits may effectively compete for high-level accounting positions. (shrink)

Anhand charakteristischer Beispiele aus der Biologie (Biochemie, Evolution), dem Wetter, Klimageschehen, komplexen Netzwerken und der Kosmologie („Urknall“) wird die Dynamik und Nicht-Linearität von Nicht-Gleichgewichts-Systemen näher beleuchtet. Es wird klar, dass höhere Organisationsebenen der Materie ihre eigenen, im Vergleich zu niedrigeren Ebenen neue Gesetze entwickeln. Emergenz von Eigenschaften und Gesetzen ist ein wichtiger Aspekt. Das nicht-lineare Verhalten dieser NGG-Systeme ist die Ursache für das Auftreten des Zufalls und die Entstehung von Komplexität. Komplexität und Zufall sind nicht voneinander zu trennen. Abschließend erklärt (...) uns das Phänomen der Dekohärenz, warum die Quanten (Elementarteilchen) mit ihrer Unbestimmtheit den Zufall in der makroskopischen Welt nicht bewirken können. Im Einklang damit steht die neue Theorie von J. Oppenheim, nach der die Gravitation nicht quantisiert, aber eng mit dem Zufall verknüpft ist. (shrink)

‘Individualized medicine’ is an emerging paradigm in clinical life science research. We conducted a socio-empirical interview study in a leading German clinical research group, aiming at implementing ‘individualized medicine’ of colorectal cancer. The goal was to investigate moral and social issues related to physician–patient interaction and clinical care, and to identify the points raised, supported and rejected by the physicians and researchers. Up to now there has been only limited insight into how experts dedicated to individualized medicine view its problems. (...) Interviews with researchers and clinicians ( n= 19) were based on a prestructured questionnaire. The content analysis revealed a broad spectrum of opinions. Major findings were (a) disappointments with the limits of the current therapy regimen and clinical practice; (b) problematic impacts on physician–patient relationship; and (c) an informed consent procedure which is mainly based on paternalistic assumptions. According to our analysis, major problems will be uncertainties related to the biomarker's sensitivity and specificity, and the identification of ‘non-responders’. However, the findings also indicate that experts expect evidence-based medicine to replace decisions based on gut feeling or hierarchical structures. (shrink)

Voluntary disclosures of sustainability information have recently received considerable attention by investors, regulators, and public companies in improving reliability and integrity of corporate reporting. We examine the association between the quantity and quality of sustainability disclosures and earnings quality in the context of corporate ethical value and culture. We posit that sustainability disclosures of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance reports are linked to earnings quality, because of the importance of both earnings quality and ESG sustainability disclosures to investors and (...) trustworthiness of corporate reporting. We collect our sample of 35,110 firm-year observations between 1999 and 2015. Using both difference-in-difference tests and OLS regression, we find that sustainability disclosure quantity is positively associated with innate earnings quality and negatively correlated with discretionary earnings quality in mitigating managerial earnings manipulation and unethical opportunistic reporting behavior. Further tests illustrate that sustainability disclosure quality can strengthen the positive relation between innate earnings quality and sustainability disclosure quantity and mitigate the negative relation between discretionary earnings quality and sustainability disclosure quantity. Finally, additional tests suggest that the relation between earnings quality and sustainability disclosure quantity is moderated by corporate structure and prior-year sustainability performance. Our results provide policy, practical, and research implications as ESG sustainability reporting is being integrated into corporate culture and business models. (shrink)

Applies Badiou's philosophy to well-known films such as Hiroshima Mon Amour, Vertigo and The Matrix Alex Ling employs the philosophy of Alain Badiou to answer the question central to all serious film scholarship: 'can cinema be thought?' Treating this question on three levels, the author first asks if we can really think what cinema is, at an ontological level. Secondly, he investigates whether cinema can actually think for itself; that is, whether or not it is truly 'artistic'. Finally, he (...) explores in what ways we can rethink the consequences of the fact that cinema thinks. In answering these questions, the author uses well-known films ranging to illustrate Badiou's philosophy and to consider the ways in which his work can be extended, critiqued and reframed with respect to the medium of cinema. (shrink)

With the high frequency and intensity of worldwide disasters, cause-related marketing campaigns with sudden disasters are becoming increasingly popular. However, little is known about whether and how cause acuteness may influence consumer attitudes. This research aims to extend this research area through investigating the relationship between cause acuteness and consumer attitudes toward the product, as well as its underlying mechanism and boundary conditions. Based on a moral psychology perspective, we propose a theoretical model focusing on the mediating role of moral (...) elevation in influencing consumer attitudes. This model also incorporates product-cause fit and information transparency as moderators underpinning necessary conditions that are likely to lead to positive consumer attitudes. Four empirical studies were conducted to test our model. Our research results reveal that consumers have more positive attitudes toward the product associated with a sudden disaster than with an ongoing tragedy. Furthermore, the positive effect of cause acuteness on consumer attitudes is mediated by enhanced moral elevation, which occurs under the conditions of high product-cause fit and high information transparency. (shrink)

In order to use the framework of general system theory (GST) to unify the three mechanics subjects of classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and relativistic mechanics, a new general system theory (NGST) is developed based on a new ontology of ether and minds as the fundamental existences in the world. Based on this new ontology, many fundamental concepts have been detected to be ambiguously defined nowadays and particularly lack of ontological support. In our previous work, some of the fundamental concepts such (...) as universe, world, time, space, matter, ether, mind, life, field, force have been redefined. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concepts of energy, heat, work, entropy, and information in our NGST. This is an important and necessary step in the development of the NGST. (shrink)

In his featured article, Makins suggests that healthcare professionals ought to defer to patients’ higher-order attitudes towards their risk attitudes when making medical decisions under uncertainty.1 He contends that this deferential approach is consistent with widely held antipaternalistic views about medicine. While Makins offers novel, insightful and provocative perspectives, we illustrate in this commentary that the theory suffers from some weaknesses and shortcomings that limit its persuasiveness and applicability and professionals should take a cautious approach when applying it to their (...) healthcare practice. While Makins does not provide a clear and consistent definition of higher-order risk attitudes, in mathematics, higher-order attitudes should be defined by the sign and shape of the derivatives of the utility or value function beyond the second order. Prudence is defined by a positive third derivative (convex marginal utility), while temperance is defined by a negative fourth derivative (concave second derivative).2 It is worth noting that higher-order attitudes are domain-specific, context-dependent and situation-sensitive. They vary depending on the framing, wording, format or presentation of the choice problem, …. (shrink)

Python language has become the most popular computer language. Python is widely adopted in computer courses. However, Python language’s effects on the college and university students’ learning performance, motivations, computer programming self-efficacy, and maladaptive cognition have still not been widely examined. The main objective of this study is to explore the effects of learning Python on students’ programming learning. The junior students of two classes in a college are the research participants. One class was taught Java language and the other (...) class was taught Python language. The learning performance, motivations, and maladaptive cognition in the two classes were compared to evaluate the differences. The results showed that the motivations, computer programming self-efficacy, and maladaptive cognition on the learning performance were significant in the Python class. The results and findings of this study can be used in Python course arrangement and development. (shrink)

This paper argues that the Zhuangzi’s famous dream passages are not merely literary devices or skeptical tools, but the foundation of a coherent philosophical project dismantling the pragmatic, utilitarian worldview. This knowledge-application (zhi-yong 知—用) system, which reduces all value to function, rests on the unexamined assumption that our awakeness possesses a monopoly on reality. Zhuangzi attacks this foundation directly through philosophy of dream. By grounding the dream’s transformative power in the metaphysics of qi 氣 and establishing an existential parity between (...) dreaming and waking, he reveals our waking certainty to be a ‘Great Dream’ built on the biases of chengxin 成心. The iconic butterfly dream thus becomes an experiential gateway to new realms of co-existence and no-self. This framework ultimately resolves the apparent contradiction of the ‘dreamless True Person’, who represents not a rejection of the dream, but the successful culmination of its deconstructive power. (shrink)

Warum sind so viele Ereignisse nicht vorhersehbar, glückliche Zufälle ebensowenig wie Katastrophen? Erleben wir eine neue Zeit der Polykrise? Angeblich so schlimm wie noch nie dagewesen, ist das belegbar? Aber was genau sind Krisen eigentlich? Und was haben sie mit der Komplexität der Welt zu tun? Sehr einfach und verständlich beantwortet der Autor diese und weitere Fragen im unterhaltsamen Plauderton, unterlegt mit knallharten Fakten, Daten und Berechnungen. Diese 2. und umfassend erweiterte Auflage ist im besten Sinne ein populärwissenschaftliches Buch und (...) mischt sich zugleich in aktuelle gesellschaftliche Debatten ein: Wie können wir nachhaltig mit der Klimakrise umgehen? Nachhaltig nicht als leere Phrase. Denn Nachhaltigkeit kann objektiv beurteilt werden! Aber nach welchen Kriterien? Dazu entführt uns Bernhard Weßling auf eine Entdeckungsreise zu neuesten Erkenntnissen der modernen Chemie, Quantenphysik, Biologie und Kosmologie. Auf der Grundlage anerkannter Naturgesetze konfrontiert er uns mit neuen überraschenden Gedanken: Zufall, Komplexität und Krisen sind miteinander verwandt - gemeinsame Wurzel ist die Entropie. Sie erweist sich als lebensnah verständlich und sinnvoll anwendbar. Und ganz passend leitet der Autor daraus eine bestechende Hypothese ab zu der Menschheitsfrage: Was ist die Zeit? Pressestimmen zur 1. Auflage Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau:,,Weßling räumt auf sympathische Weise mit vielen überkommenen Vorstellungen auf... spricht eine Fülle von Disziplinen an und handelt eine Vielfalt von Themen ab... streut immer wieder verständliche wissenschaftliche Überlegungen und sorgfältige Analysen ein... mutiger Versuch, das Wesen der Zeit zu erfassen..." (Prof. E. P. Fischer) BIOspektrum:,,Weßling schlägt einen weiten Bogen durch die Welt der Nichtgleichgewichtsereignisse.... keine Bange: Alles ist leicht verständlich und gut lesbar." (Prof. F. Hucho) Über den Autor Dr. Weßling ist Chemiker und Unternehmer und hat hauptberuflich überwiegend chemische Produkt- und Verfahrensentwicklung betrieben und dabei auch Basisinnovationen realisiert. Dazu betrieb er Grundlagenforschung in Kolloidchemie und -physik sowie Nicht-Gleichgewichts-Thermodynamik. Nebenberuflich ist er einer von drei geschäftsführenden Gesellschaftern eines großen Biobauernhofs. Ehrenamtlich engagiert er sich seit Jahrzehnten aktiv im Umwelt-, Natur- und Artenschutz, betrieb jahrelang national und international Verhaltensforschung an wild lebenden Kranichen und trug entscheidend zum Erfolg eines sehr komplexen Artenrettungsprojektes (Schreikraniche) in Nordamerika bei. Zufall, Komplexität, Nachhaltigkeit und Krise sind Zeit seines Lebens treue Begleiter. (shrink)

This article offers a comparative study of seven German biographies of Karl Marx (1818–1883) that were published between the two world wars. The interpretations of Marx’s theory of historical materialism presented in these biographies fall into three groups or approaches: the orthodox, the neo-Kantian, and the psychological. Some biographies place Marx the revolutionary above Marx the theorist, while others reverse this order. Similarly, some of the biographies explain the relationship between Marx’s life and thought by adopting the “experience–psychology–thought” framework. The (...) orthodox approach emphasizes the objectivity of cognition in the base–superstructure relationship. Yet both the orthodox and the neo-Kantian approach, which stresses Kant’s cognitive critique and the “is–ought” dualism, fail to grasp Marx’s subject–object dialectics, while the psychological approach undermines the theoretical significance of historical materialism. In comparing and assessing these works I argue that the biographers’ historical and scholarly horizons are dictated by their political standpoint and academic perspective and thus determine their choice of approach, which not only indicates if they will lean toward the theoretical or the revolutionary Marx, but also why they fail to adequately deal with the relationship between Marx’s life and his thought. Nevertheless, I conclude that these biographies, despite their various shortcomings, establish the basic paradigm and parameters of any biography of Marx. (shrink)

With the rise in global awareness of sustainable transition, investor groups have become continuously engaged in pressuring firms to improve their environmental performance. However, there is limited knowledge about whether firms respond to these pressures through substantive actions or symbolic gestures. Based on the ethical decision-making framework, our study examines the relationship between retail investors’ green appeals and corporate greenwashing. Our results show that retail investors’ green appeals result in significant increases in corporate greenwashing, suggesting that firms are more inclined (...) to adopt symbolic gestures in response to these investor aspirations. Meanwhile, we find that the information asymmetry and the short-term investment horizon of retail investors are two primary reasons for firms’ adoption of greenwashing in response to retail investors’ green appeals. This positive relationship is more pronounced in firms with opportunistic executives, financial constraints, weak environmental ethics, and without political connections. The consequences of greenwashing reveal that while corporate greenwashing behavior may receive positive market reactions in the short term, in the long term, regulators will recognize this behavior resulting in penalties for the firm. (shrink)

Student well-being and its relationships with academic achievement in China have not been well-investigated. This study aimed at investigating student well-being and the trade-off of the well-being and academic achievement with a sample of 1,353 Chinese high-school students from four cities in China during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic period. The six dimensions of well-being were utilised to test the relationships with three subjects including Mathematics, English, and Chinese using a quantitative analysis. In this study, the relationships between six dimensions of (...) well-being and three academic subject achievements were tested in one statistical model. Results showed that spiritual well-being was ranked the highest, followed by psychological, physical, self, and social well-being. Students gave the lowest ranking to academic well-being. The two significant paths identified were between spiritual well-being and two subjects, namely, Chinese and Mathematics. It is interesting to note that the other five dimensions of well-being were significantly associated with any subjects and English was not significantly related to any dimensions of well-being in this study. Our findings suggested that policymakers and other stakeholders should avoid an “all or nothing” mindset on practice when considering well-being as a multidimensional construct. (shrink)

Background In the context of medically futile treatment, clinical decision-making often becomes ethically and existentially fraught, especially when physicians and patients navigate the space between prolonging life and preserving its meaning. Existing shared decision-making (SDM) models often rely heavily on empirical rationality, yet overlook the ontological depth of patient experience. Methods Drawing on Heidegger’s concept of being-in-the-world and Gadamer’s fusion of horizons, we conducted an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of in-depth interviews with a terminal cervical cancer patient and three attending (...) physicians (specialists in cardiology, cardiac surgery, and gynecologic oncology). These philosophical frameworks guided both the analytic lens and the ethical interpretation of SDM practices in contexts of medical futility. Results Our findings reveal that decisions to continue aggressive treatment, even when medically futile, are not mere irrationalities. Rather, they emerge from divergent value orientations and temporal understandings between patients and physicians. A clinically “correct” decision may be ethically inadequate if it fails to integrate the patient’s lived horizon. Conclusions We propose a hermeneutic framework for SDM that supplements the evidence-based model with three core steps: attunement to the patient’s existential situation, fusion of horizons between patient and physician, and respect for irreducible differences. This approach allows for ethically grounded decisions that honor both medical expertise and the patient’s being-in-the-world. Trial registration Not applicable. (shrink)

This is an interview with Sirui Jia and her parents in Beijing with a focus on her story. She was a former Special Olympics Champion and Global Messenger. Her story details her parents’ support in her life journey and the opportunity she had to participate in Special Olympics Games in a special school and its impact on her sense of belong, success and the development of her independent living skills. The interview indicates negative attitudes towards persons with intellectual disabilities in (...) education. It suggests needs for the integration of Special Olympics programs in regular education system as a way to promote inclusion of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in education, community and society. (shrink)