Thesis (doctoral)--Humboldt-Universität Berlin, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [xiii]-lxix).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Rostock, 2005/2006. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. [327]-344).

abstract: Disability is a label accompanied by a multitude of misconceptions and stereotypes. During various periods in Germany, attitudes towards disability have ranged from disgust and fear, to acceptance and inclusion. Being disabled in Germany once meant certain isolation; at the hands of the Nazi regime, it was met with almost certain premature death. Since those darker days of Germany's history, the country has become one that now affords its disabled citizens with the same rights as the non-disabled population and seeks to create a barrier-free environment. This study examines these perceptions of disability in Germany from the 1920s through the first decade of the 21st century. In order to accomplish this goal, cinema is used to provide insights into contemporaneous ideas about disability. By drawing upon analyses of six films that span the course of nearly 80 years, careful examination of disability portrayals reveal philosophical shifts in how the German people interpret disability. When analyzing these films, aspects of physical and mental disability are brought to the surface and discussed in terms of their sociopolitical and philosophical implications. To provide a social and cultural framework that gives significance to the changes in these cinematic roles, a historical survey of the German disability rights movement is folded into the discussion. The films explored in this study serve as culturally important visual aids that illustrate positive changes for the disabled living in Germany. Although not directly influencing cinematic portrayals of disability, the German disability rights movement that arose in the postwar period shaped ideas about disability and allowed disabled Germans to be accepted and included in society. With these rights now available disabled Germans are able to lead a self-determined life and portray themselves as equals. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. German 2010

abstract: Over recent decades, euthanasia has been a topic of increasing debate. With legalization of euthanasia in the states of Oregon and Washington and attempted reform in several other U.S. states and nations worldwide, it has become increasingly important to understand the roles and values of helping professionals who might be working with clients considering this option. The current study targeted 85 undergraduate students, 54 doctoral students in counseling psychology, and 53 doctoral-level professionals in psychology to assess both their personal values regarding euthanasia and their willingness to allow a client the autonomy to make a decision about euthanasia. Several factors were analyzed in regards to their relation to client autonomy and attitudes toward euthanasia, including age of client and sex of client. These variables were manipulated in vignettes to create four scenarios: a 24 year old male, 24 year old female, 80 year old male, 80 year old female. Other factors included level of education of the participant, spirituality and strength of religiosity of the participant, and personal experiences with deaths of friends or family members. Results indicated that more education was associated with greater support for euthanasia and that stronger religiosity and spirituality were related to less support for euthanasia. This study also found that participants did not exhibit differential levels of support based solely on the age or the sex of the client depicted in the vignette. Results further indicated that for doctoral students and professionals the loss of a loved one, regardless of cause of death, did not have a significant effect on their attitudes toward euthanasia. It is important for training programs to be aware of these findings in order to monitor trainees in terms of personal biases in the therapy relationship. With objectivity a high priority while working with clients, it is necessary to be aware of outside factors potentially influencing one's work with clients surrounding this value-laden issue. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Counseling Psychology 2011

The most commonly used method of euthanasia of laboratory rodents is exposure to carbon dioxide (CO₂), but recent studies have shown that rodents find this gas aversive. The aim of my thesis was to evaluate rat aversion to inhalant agents that could be used as humane alternatives to CO₂. The first study used approach-avoidance testing to examine rat responses to argon-induced hypoxia when argon was introduced at flow rates of 40-239% of the test cage volume per min. Rats never remained in the test cage long enough to lose consciousness when tested with argon. They consumed fewer reward items, stopped eating sooner, and left the test cage more quickly than when tested with air. Rats stopped eating and left the test cage when the oxygen (O₂) concentration had dropped to about 7.7 and 6.8%, respectively, but these O₂ concentrations are too high to cause unconsciousness. Although humans exposed to hypoxia report only subtle symptoms that include cognitive impairments and light headedness, rats are burrowing rodents and could therefore be more sensitive to these effects. I conclude that argon is not a humane alternative to CO₂. The second study used approach-avoidance testing to evaluate rat responses to different concentrations of the inhalant anaesthetics halothane and isoflurane introduced with vaporizers or from soaked cotton balls. On the first day of exposure to anaesthetics, most rats remained in the test cage until they were ataxic and showing difficulty returning to the home cage. On subsequent days of testing most rats left the test cage within seconds, but if given the option, all promptly returned and stayed until they were ataxic, indicating that the learned aversion is transient. Rats were likely sedated by the time they chose to leave, suggesting that forced exposure from the onset of aversion until loss of consciousness is less of a welfare concern than forced exposure to non-sedating agents. I suggest that the use of inhalant anaesthetics for inducing unconsciousness prior to euthanasia is a more humane method than the commonly used CO₂. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

In recent years the right to die has emerged from the fringes as a global movement - locally tailored - advocating for patient access to medically assisted-death. Although proposed and actualized models of assisted-death vary in method and level of accessibility, a majority of right to die advocates are motivated by a belief that suffering can at times be “unnecessary”. Based on an overview of the anthropology of suffering and fieldwork in Quebec, Ontario, and Belgium, my research focuses on right to die advocates’ conceptualization of suffering in relation to assisted-death and on how their understanding suffering shapes their views on when assisteddeath should be permitted. I argue that those supporting assisted-death are brought in a form of solidarity through the belief that at times suffering is meaningless and devoid of deeper significance.

No description available.

Bakgrund: I Sverige är dödshjälp inte lagligt men ämnet debatteras utifrån olika synsätt samt etiska aspekter. Sjukvårdspersonalens uppgift är att vårda patienter genom att lindra, trösta samt bota men om patienten inte längre vill leva samt efterfrågar dödshjälp ställs sjuksköterskan inför en utmaning. All vård skall bygga på en respekt för patientens autonomi enligt lag. Syfte: Syftet är att beskriva sjukvårdspersonalens upplevelser samt erfarenheter kring dödshjälp inom palliativ vård. Metod: En litteraturöversikt gjordes enligt Fribergs (2017) metod. De databaser författarna använde inför sökningen av vetenskapliga artiklar var följande: CINAHL Complete, PsycINFO samt PubMed . I arbetet inkluderades tio stycken kvalitativa, då författarna bedömde dessa svara på syftet. De utvalda artiklarna analyserades med hjälp av Fribergs analysmetod. Resultat: Författarna kunde identifiera tre teman genom sina valda artiklar. Sjukvårdspersonalens upplevelser samt erfarenheter av dödshjälp. Sjukvårdspersonalens teamwork. Sjukvårdspersonalens relation med patienten. Diskussion: Resultatdiskussionen delades in i tre delar, “Sjukvårdspersonalens upplevelser samt erfarenheter kring dödshjälp”, “Sjukvårdspersonalens teamwork inom dödshjälp” samt “Sjukvårdspersonalens relation med patienten”. Samt en metoddiskussion om styrkor samt svagheter om arbetets gång. / Background: In Sweden euthanasia isn't legal but the subject is still debated from different points of views and ethicals aspects. Health care professionals primary mission is to take care of patients by lindering and cure diseases. However if the patient no longer wants to live and asks for euthanasia the nurse is put in front of a challenge. All of the health care shall be built on respect for the patient's autonomy according to law. Aim: The purpose is to describe the healthcare professional’s experiences about euthanasia in palliative care. Method: A literature review was done according to Friberg's (2017) method. The databases the authors used for the search of scientific articles were as follows: CINAHL Complete, PsycINFO and PubMed. The work included ten qualitative articles, the authors assessed these to respond to the purpose of the study. The selected articles were analyzed using Friberg's method of analysis. Results: The authors was able to identify three themes through their selected articles. healthcare professional’s experience and experiences of euthanasia. Healthcare professionals teamwork. And the healthcare professionals relationship with the patients. Discussion: The discussion about the results was, divided into three parts, "Health care professional´s experience and experiences regarding euthanasia", “Health care professional´s teamwork within euthanasia” and "Health care professional´s relationship with the patient". We also did a method discussion about strengths and weaknesses of the process.

Magister Legum - LLM / Euthanasia is controversial topic that attracts conversations on grounds of fundamental human rights and freedoms. The opinions of legal scholars are inconsistent because while some view euthanasia as a gross violation of one’s human rights, others argue that it should be regarded as a fundamental human right. Extending the ‘right to die’ to children is more controversial because they are considered to be a vulnerable demographic and generally presumed to be legally incompetent to exercise their rights autonomously. The State aims to protect children by restricting their rights rather than enhancing their autonomy and including them in the discussion. To that end, children are often excluded from decision-making on the understanding that they are legally incompetent and cannot comprehend the consequences of their decisions.

The diploma thesis focuses on attitudes towards euthanasia and summarizes the influential factors for its evaluation. It is crucial to understand these predictors in the context of the ongoing public debate on its legalization. The content of the theoretical part is a brief definition of used terms, an overview of some countries with legislation allowing assisted dying and its alternatives. There is a part devoted to methodological aspects of research and consistency of attitudes. The empirical part presents a research that is focused on the impact of individual factors on the level of acceptability of euthanasia in hypothetical cases. The factors examined were mainly type of disease, type and degree of suffering, type of euthanasia, person performing euthanasia, age of the patient, prognosis of their disease, respondent's country of origin and respondent's personality characteristics. Demographic correlates were monitored and respondents answered additional questions about the cases. The results show a significant difference in evaluation between the type of euthanasia and the person involved in the process. It also depended on patient's age and life expectancy. Moral evaluation also varied significantly in comparison of the country of origin, political orientation, and respondent's religiosity....