Applying ethical theories to the Iranian health system governance: a critical empirical assessment

The policies of health systems are inspired by ethical priorities. A critical review of policies can reveal the ethical theories/justice schools behind them. This study aimed to identify the ethical theory(ies) underpinning the Iranian health system governance over the past 50 years. This was a qualitative study conducted in two stages during 2019. First, we identified and constructed the key concepts and distinctive notions of prominent ethical theories/justice schools. Then, we spotted and selected 24 strategic laws and policy documents in the Iranian health system governance during the past 50 years and analyzed their content to surmise their underlying ethical theory. The results showed that the dominant theory affecting the policies of the Iranian health system governance over the past 50 years was egalitarian liberalism and then objective utilitarianism and relativist communitarianism. Retrospective empirical application of ethical theories to health system governance is methodologically doable, and this application reveals the mood or priorities of the politics. Also, highlighting the underpinning ethical theories of health system governance as well as the gap between ambitions versus realization are insightful and may prospectively empower and strengthen egalitarianism

A Century of Dialogue around Durkheim as a Founding Father of the Social Sciences

In 2012 social scientists, philosophers and religious scientists celebrated the centennial of the publication of one of the most seminal books in the modern study of religion, Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse, by the then leading French sociologist Emile Durkheim’s (1858–1917); in 2017, we commemorated that author’s untimely death at age 59, broken by World War I in which he lost his only son and many of his beloved students. Educated, first as a Rabinnical student then as a modern philosopher, Durkheim earned his place among French thinkers primarily as a “founding father” of the social sciences. Having recently (on the basis of a life-long preoccupation) devoted a book-length study to Durkheim’s religion theory, I intend in this essay to highlight major aspects of Durkheim as an exponent of French thought. I shall first briefly situate Durkheim in his time and age, with special emphasis on his political views and his ethnic identity as a secularised Jew. Then I turn to Durkheim’s relation with the discipline in which he was originally trained, philosophy. I shall pay attention to the complex relationship between Durkheim and Kant and further highlight his dualism, epistemology, and views on primitive classification, as well as his puzzling realism, the place of emergence in his thought, and his moralist tendencies. I shall finally articulate Durkheim’s transition to sociology and how he gave over the torch of emerging sociology to his main students, having thus created an adequate context in which to discuss Durkheim’s final masterpiece (Les formes) and the still dominant theory of religion it expounds.

The Paradox of Conspiracy Theory: The Positive Impact of Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories on Preventive Actions and Vaccination Intentions during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aims to analyze the direct and indirect impact of beliefs in conspiracy theories on COVID-19-related preventive actions and vaccination intentions. The dominant theory in the literature is that beliefs in conspiracy theories have negative consequences. In particular, strong beliefs in conspiracy theories lower people’s intentions to engage in preventive actions and get vaccinated. Previous studies indicated that this dominant theory applies in Korea as well. However, we find that this dominant theory does not apply in Korea. Based on an analysis of survey data, we find that beliefs in conspiracy theories have positive impact on preventive actions and vaccination intentions. In addition, beliefs in conspiracy theories play indirect roles in these two responses to COVID-19. Specifically, when perceived benefits and trust in the government or science enhance preventive actions or increase vaccination intentions, strong beliefs in conspiracy theories promote this effect. This positive role of conspiracy theories is paradoxical because they are generally viewed as negative.

Current Concepts on Genetic Aspects of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), neurodegenerative motor neuron disorder is characterized as multisystem disease with important contribution of genetic factors. The etiopahogenesis of ALS is not fully elucidate, but the dominant theory at present relates to RNA processing, as well as protein aggregation and miss-folding, oxidative stress, glutamate excitotoxicity, inflammation and epigenetic dysregulation. Additionally, as mitochondria plays a leading role in cellular homeostasis maintenance, a rising amount of evidence indicates mitochondrial dysfunction as a substantial contributor to disease onset and progression. The aim of this review is to summarize most relevant findings that link genetic factors in ALS pathogenesis with different mechanisms with mitochondrial involvement (respiratory chain, OXPHOS control, calcium buffering, axonal transport, inflammation, mitophagy, etc.). We highlight the importance of a widening perspective for better understanding overlapping pathophysiological pathways in ALS and neurodegeneration in general. Finally, current and potentially novel therapies, especially gene specific therapies, targeting mitochondrial dysfunction are discussed briefly.

Brazilian craft breweries and internationalization in the born global perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze how the internationalization process of Brazilian microbreweries takes place, especially in factors of propensity to internationalization, competition and survival in the national and international market.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted qualitative approach research, using a multiple case study strategy, analyzing seven Brazilian craft breweries. The authors developed this study through documentary research, semi-structured interviews and nonparticipant observation.FindingsThe research findings made it possible to characterize the internationalization process motivated by the background and international experience of entrepreneurs that adopted different strategies for expansion in the international market. The authors noticed that the networks developed in production partnerships, festivals and international missions represent an increase in the ease of internationalization and helps to reduce the risk perception.Research limitations/implicationsThe contributions refer to the conjecture that the born global's evolution related to the high competitiveness of the market is influenced by the international background of the founders and by the influence of the international network, overcoming institutional and market challenges in emerging countries, assuming risks associated with rapid and early entry into the international arena.Practical implicationsThe paper is potentially useful for managerial practice and policymakers by providing insights into the characteristics of entrepreneurs and companies considering their propensity to internationalize, presenting how entrepreneurs and managers can seek resources and develop their skills and capacities to manage such companies and processes of internationalization.Originality/valueThe research is presented as a complementary study to the limited number of studies examining born globals from emerging markets, also challenging the arguments of the dominant theory regarding gradual and nonlinear internationalization.

The Lost Doctrine: Suggestion Theory in Early Media Effects Research

This monograph examines the history of the “suggestion doctrine,” a theory of communicative influence that arose in social psychology at the turn of the 20th century and was applied to the study of media effects before World War II. During that period, suggestion theory was one of the foremost psychological explanations of opinion change and a dominant theory of media influence. Despite its long prominence in early social science and media studies, the doctrine has been largely ignored in contemporary histories of mass communication research. Although writers debate the origins and nature of early media effects scholarship, few of the contending parties address the role of the suggestion doctrine, and those who do offer but a passing reference. My purpose here, therefore, is to recover an important but forgotten part of the intellectual history of the field.

Alfred Wegeners theorie van continentendrift en haar rivalen : Rationele onenigheid en rationele consensus in de aardwetenschappen

Alfred Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift and its Rivals. Rational Disagreement and Rational Consensus in the Earth SciencesAlfred Wegener launched the idea of continental drift (lateral motion of continents on the earth) early in the 20th century. In the period 1915-1930 he did not succeed to convince his fellow earth scientist to leave behind their old permanentist or contractionist theories and adopt his new theory. In the second half of the 20th century ‐ between 1960 and 1975 ‐ continental drift quickly became the dominant theory in the earth sciences. In this paper I analyse both episode by means of methodological concepts developed by Larry Laudan. I argue that the disagreement in the early days as well as the quickly emerging consensus in the second period are rational.

Can Anti–β-amyloid Monoclonal Antibodies Work in Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer Disease?

The dominant theory of Alzheimer disease (AD) has been that amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation in the brain is the initial cause of the degeneration leading to cognitive and functional deficits. Autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease (ADAD), in which pathologic mutations of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) or presenilins (PSENs) genes are known to cause abnormalities of Aβ metabolism, should thus offer perhaps the best opportunity to test anti-Aβ drugs. Two long-term preventive studies (Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit Adaptive Prevention Trial [DIAN-TU-APT] and Alzheimer Preventive Initiative–ADAD) were set up to evaluate the efficacy of monoclonal anti-Aβ antibodies (solanezumab, gantenerumab, and crenezumab) in carriers of ADAD, but the results of the DIAN-TU-APT study have shown that neither solanezumab nor gantenerumab slowed cognitive decline in 144 subjects with ADAD followed for 4 years, despite one of the drugs (gantenerumab) significantly affected biomarkers relevant to their intended mechanism of action. Surprisingly, solanezumab significantly accelerated cognitive decline of both asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects. These failures further undermine the Aβ hypothesis and could support the suggestion that ADAD is triggered by accumulation of other APP metabolites, rather than Aβ.

Shape-preserving erosion controlled by the graded microarchitecture of shark tooth enameloid

The teeth of all vertebrates predominantly comprise the same materials, but their lifespans vary widely: in stark contrast to mammals, shark teeth are functional only for weeks, rather than decades, making lifelong durability largely irrelevant. However, their diets are diverse and often mechanically demanding, and as such, their teeth should maintain a functional morphology, even in the face of extremely high and potentially damaging contact stresses. Here, we reconcile the dilemma between the need for an operative tooth geometry and the unavoidable damage inherent to feeding on hard foods, demonstrating that the tooth cusps of Port Jackson sharks, hard-shelled prey specialists, possess unusual microarchitecture that controls tooth erosion in a way that maintains functional cusp shape. The graded architecture in the enameloid provokes a location-specific damage response, combining chipping of outer enameloid and smooth wear of inner enameloid to preserve an efficient shape for grasping hard prey. Our discovery provides experimental support for the dominant theory that multi-layered tooth enameloid facilitated evolutionary diversification of shark ecologies.

Reduced insulin signalling in adulthood protects soma and germline under mutation accumulation

Dominant theory maintains that organisms age due to resource allocation trade-offs between the immortal germline and the disposable soma. Strikingly, adulthood-only downregulation of insulin signalling, an evolutionarily conserved pathway regulating resource allocation between reproduction and soma, increases lifespan and offspring fitness without fecundity cost in the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. Nevertheless, theory suggests that reduced germline maintenance can be a hidden cost of lifespan extension. We ran a mutation accumulation (MA) experiment and downregulated insulin signalling in half of the 400 MA lines by silencing daf-2 gene expression using RNA interference (RNAi) across 40 generations. Adulthood-only daf-2 RNAi reduced extinction of MA lines both under UV-induced and spontaneous mutation accumulation. Fitness of the surviving UV-induced MA lines was higher under daf-2 RNAi. Our results suggest that reduced insulin signalling protects the soma and the germline and imply that suboptimal gene expression in adulthood is a major driver of organismal ageing.