scholarly journals The Persistence of Sacrifice as Self-Sacrifice and Its Contemporary Embodiment in the 9/11 Rescuers and COVID-19 Healthcare Professionals

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 323
Author(s):  
Javier Gil-Gimeno ◽  
Celso Sánchez Capdequí
Keyword(s):  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Gift Exchange ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Ritual Practice ◽  
Georg Simmel ◽  
Exchange Relationship ◽  
Axial Age ◽  
Greater Good ◽  
Insight Into

The aim of this paper is to analyze the persistence of sacrifice as self-sacrifice in contemporary societies. In order to reach this goal, firstly, we discuss how in the Axial Age (800–200 B.C.E.) an understanding of sacrifice as ritual worship or a ritual practice that involves the immolation of a victim became less prevalent and a new understanding of sacrifice emerges. This new notion of sacrifice focuses on individual relinquishment and gift exchange, that is, on a person sacrificing or relinquishing him/herself as a gift that is given in an exchange relationship for protecting a greater good (a god, a community, a person, a nation, and so on). Secondly, we analyze how this new sacrifice formula had an important impact on the understanding of sacrifice. Most notably, it led people to conceptualize sacrifice as a project or as something that persons could intentionally embrace. Thirdly, and as a result of the previous processes, we attend to the secularization of sacrifice, not in the sense of a de-sacralization of this phenomenon but in the way of sacralization of the mundane realm and mundane things, such as intentional self-sacrificial acts, in social contexts where there is religious pluralism. Insight into how the notion of sacrifice is secularized is found throughout the classic works of Marcel Mauss and Georg Simmel, and these works are discussed in section three. Fourthly, we study the sacredness of the person as a clear type of secular religiosity that develops self-sacrificial forms. Two of these self-sacrificial forms are the actions of 9/11 rescuers and COVID-19 healthcare professionals. A short analysis of both will serve us to illustrate how self-sacrifice is embodied in contemporary societies.

Care for delirium superimposed on dementia at an early stage

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Good Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Appropriate Care ◽  
Adequate Care ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Delirium Superimposed On Dementia

Delirium is a common serious complication in dementia that is associated with poor prognosis and a high burden on caregivers and healthcare professionals. Appropriate care is therefore important at an early stage for patients with delirium superimposed on dementia To gain insight into the care of six patients with delirium superimposed on dementia, 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted focused on the experiences of caregivers and professionals. The interviews revealed four themes that appeared to play a role: 1. experiences with and views on behavioral problems of these patients, 2. recognition and diagnosis of delirium in dementia, 3. views on good care and 4. organizational aspects. Knowledge gaps about delirium in dementia, as well as ethical considerations, play an important role in organizing timely and adequate care for patients with delirium superimposed on dementia.

Muriel Spark's Early Fiction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Social Critique ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Stage Play ◽  
Insight Into

This book presents a detailed critical analysis of a period of significant formal and thematic innovation in Muriel Spark’s literary career. Spanning the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, it identifies formative instances of literary experimentation in texts including The Comforters, The Driver’s Seat and The Public Image, with an emphasis on metafiction and the influence of the nouveau roman. As the first critical study to draw extensively on Spark’s vast archives of correspondence, manuscripts and research, it provides a unique insight into the social contexts and personal concerns that dictated her fiction. Offering a distinctive reappraisal of Spark’s fiction, the book challenges the rigid critical framework that has long been applied to her writing. In doing so, it interrogates how Spark’s literary innovations work to facilitate moments of subversive satire and gendered social critique. As well as presenting nuanced re-readings major works like The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, it draws unprecedented attention to lesser-discussed texts such as her only stage play, Doctors of Philosophy, and early short stories.

scholarly journals IoT-Based Applications in Healthcare Devices

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Bikash Pradhan ◽  
Saugat Bhattacharyya ◽  
Kunal Pal
Keyword(s):  
Medical Devices ◽  
Healthcare Costs ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Healthcare Industry ◽  
Healthcare Applications ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
The Internet Of Things ◽  
Insight Into

The last decade has witnessed extensive research in the field of healthcare services and their technological upgradation. To be more specific, the Internet of Things (IoT) has shown potential application in connecting various medical devices, sensors, and healthcare professionals to provide quality medical services in a remote location. This has improved patient safety, reduced healthcare costs, enhanced the accessibility of healthcare services, and increased operational efficiency in the healthcare industry. The current study gives an up-to-date summary of the potential healthcare applications of IoT- (HIoT-) based technologies. Herein, the advancement of the application of the HIoT has been reported from the perspective of enabling technologies, healthcare services, and applications in solving various healthcare issues. Moreover, potential challenges and issues in the HIoT system are also discussed. In sum, the current study provides a comprehensive source of information regarding the different fields of application of HIoT intending to help future researchers, who have the interest to work and make advancements in the field to gain insight into the topic.

The Faiths of Others

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Albert Howard
Keyword(s):  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Turning Points ◽  
Interreligious Dialogue ◽  
Interfaith Dialogue ◽  
Modern History ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
Critical Attention ◽  
History Of ◽  
Insight Into

In recent decades, organizations committed to interreligious or interfaith dialogue have proliferated, both in the Western and non-Western worlds. Why, how so, and what exactly is interreligious dialogue? These are the touchstone questions of this book, the first major history of interreligious dialogue in the modern age. The book narrates and analyzes several key turning points in the history of interfaith dialogue before examining, in the conclusion, the contemporary landscape. While many have theorized about and/or practiced interreligious dialogue, few have attended carefully to its past, connecting its emergence and spread with broader developments in modern history. Interreligious dialogue — grasped in light of careful, critical attention to its past — holds promise for helping people of diverse faith backgrounds to foster cooperation and knowledge of one another while contributing insight into contemporary, global religious pluralism.

The Sociological Study of Science and Religion in Context

2019 ◽  
pp. 3-24
Author(s):  
Fern Elsdon-Baker ◽  
Will Mason-Wilkes
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Science And Religion ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
Popular Discourse ◽  
Fundamental Difficulty ◽  
Insight Into

In this chapter,Elsdon-Baker and Mason-Wilkes review recent debates on science and belief, problematising the philosophicaltenor of current academic and popular discourse and highlighting the limitations of current research. The chapter begins by highlighting the fundamental difficulty with multi- or cross- disciplinary research into science, belief and society – which in part relates to the lack of social science researchers who can adequately provide open minded insight into both ‘science’ and ‘religion’. The authors contend that the nuance and complexity of how these two knowledge systems interact in diverse social contexts can be lost due to implicit disciplinary biases. Too often in academic discourse, they argue, scholars lose sight of the multi-layered and relational ways in which members of a variety of ‘publics’ relate to ‘science’. Rather than assuming that ‘publics’ negative responses to scientific research simply transect various epistemological, ontological, ethical narratives, the authors maintain that we need to situate people’s positions within a complex system of geopolitical, cultural and social contexts that lead to individuals’ positions on scientific issues acting as an identity marker across a spectrum of religious, spiritual, non-religious and atheistic publics.

Gift-giving as a Source of International Authority

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorg Kustermans
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Causal Relation ◽  
External Source ◽  
Gift Exchange ◽  
Ritual Practice ◽  
Gift Giving ◽  
International Authority ◽  
To Come ◽  
Dominant Actor

Abstract This article discusses the diplomatic practice of gift-giving in the Ancient Near East and Early Modern East Asia. In both cases, gift-exchange served to consolidate the dominant polity’s international authority. The causal relation between gift-giving and authority is typically rendered in terms of generosity inspiring gratitude, but a different mechanism connects diplomatic gift-giving and the consolidation of international authority. Diplomatic gift-giving is a ceremonial form of gift-exchange and it as a ritual practice helps maintain international authority. By means of ritualization, diplomatic gift-exchange renders international authority palatable. Ritualization enables both dominant and subordinate actors to come to terms with the ambiguity of the experience of authority. Subordinate actors are at once entranced and frightened by the authority of the dominant actor. The dominant actor feels both pride and insecurity. By defining an identity as participants in a shared ritual, by orchestrating their demeanor during ritual, and by identifying an external source of the dominant actor’s authority, diplomatic gift-giving contributes to the maintenance of international authority. The ambiguity of the experience of authority is probably irreducible. It is therefore to be expected that any case of ‘international authority’ will feature the performance of similar ritualizing practices.

The corrosion of character: Work and personality in the modern age

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-155
Author(s):  
Gregor Fitzi ◽  
Vincenzo Mele
Keyword(s):  
Current Issue ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Georg Simmel ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
Character Work ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Insight Into

The topic of this imaginary dialogue between Georg Simmel and Max Weber is the relation between work – in the sense of labour – and personality. Its aim is to show that the thinking of these ‘founding fathers’ of sociology can furnish valuable insight into the current issue of the corrosion of character in contemporary post-Fordist society. The concept of work still represents one of the major factors determining modern individuals’ ability (or inability) to formulate personal, stable identities that enable them to become fully socialized. Both Simmel and Weber make reference to a common theoretical background that views the human being as a creature with originally rational potential, who is faced with the task of becoming a personality by means of consciously chosen life behaviour: This is evident in the parallelism between Simmel’s interest in the concept of ‘style of life’ ( Der Stil des Lebens) and Weber’s research on the ‘life conduct’ ( Lebensführung) that arose in Western rationalistic culture.

scholarly journals A case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: diagnostic dilemmas of a rapidly fatal disease

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirza M. Baig ◽  
Martin Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Hip Fracture ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Surgical Instruments ◽  
Fatal Disease ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
Surgical Fixation ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Work Up ◽  
Insight Into

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rapidly progressive and ultimately fatal disorder of the central nervous system. It occurs worldwide with an incidence of 0.5-1 new case per million population per year. No specific treatment is available and management is limited to supportive care. Autopsy or biopsy provides a definitive diagnosis. Because of the transmissible nature of the disease and hesitancy of patients/family members to give consent for biopsy, numerous challenges in confirming the clinical diagnosis are faced by healthcare professionals. We report a case of 66-year-old male who was hospitalized due to hip fracture following a fall. Acute mental status changes followed the surgical fixation of hip fracture which triggered neurologic work up. This finally revealed suspicion and confirmation of CJD. Patient had progressive cognitive decline with akinetic mutism during further hospital stay and was later discharged home with hospice. Shorter thereafter he died at home. This case demonstrates the importance of keeping an open mind towards possibility of CJD when faced with esoteric neurologic presentations. Also this case provides insight into challenges in quarantine and sterilization of surgical instruments when these patients go through major surgeries.

scholarly journals Capturing the complexity of healthcare for people with Down syndrome in quality indicators - a Delphi study involving healthcare professionals and patient organisations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francine A. van den Driessen Mareeuw ◽  
Antonia M.W. Coppus ◽  
Diana M.J. Delnoij ◽  
Esther de Vries
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Quality Indicators ◽  
Delphi Study ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Measurement Instruments ◽  
Patient Organisations ◽  
Previous Round ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Background: Insight into quality of healthcare for people with Down Syndrome (DS) is limited. Quality indicators (QIs) can provide this insight. This study aims to find consensus among participants regarding QIs for healthcare for people with DS.Methods: We conducted a four-round Delphi study, in which 33 healthcare professionals involved in healthcare for people with DS and two patient organisations’ representatives in the Netherlands participated. Median and 75-percentiles were used to determine consensus among the answers on 5-point Likert-scales. In each round, participants received an overview of participants’ answers from the previous round.Results: Participants agreed (consensus was achieved) that a QI-set should provide insight into available healthcare, enable healthcare improvements, and cover a large diversity of quality domains and healthcare disciplines. However, the number of QIs in the set should be limited in order to prevent registration burden. Participants were concerned that QIs would make quality information about individual healthcare professionals publicly available, which would induce judgement of healthcare professionals and harm quality, instead of improving it. Conclusions: We unravelled the complexity of capturing healthcare for people with DS in a QI-set. Patients’ rights to relevant information have to be carefully balanced against providers’ entitlement to a safe environment in which they can learn and improve. A QI-set should be tailored to different healthcare disciplines and information systems, and measurement instruments should be suitable for collecting information from people with DS. Results from this study and two preceding studies, will form the basis for the further development of a QI-set.

scholarly journals Droping the Trowel: Three Discourses and One Creative Archaeology

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
José Antonio Mármol Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Social Contexts ◽  
Archaeological Practice ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Pottery Sherds ◽  
Artistic Works ◽  
Insight Into

Archaeology offers insight into the values of the contemporary world. From three separate discourses, which address different temporalities and sites, an overarching archaeological narrative has been established, which reflects the role of art and heritage in artistic destruction; education and archaeology as an educational and social tool; and materiality (in the present case, the Chinese pottery sherds in Al-Andalus) in the interpretations and acts of archaeologists. The visual values of archaeology and the role of the archaeological imagination to unify disparate archaeological practices will be explored here. The permeability of the spheres of archaeology and art allow us to explore both archaeological and artistic practices, as well as reflect on universal convictions and on the potentiality of archaeological practice to intervene in social contexts. With all this, archaeology acquires relevance insofar as it is a practice that is able to address the problems of the present day. In line with the so-called ‘creative archaeologies’, with their experimentation and creation of artistic works (in this case photographic), this paper aims to reflect on new ways to ‘see’ archaeology, which has never been more necessary.

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