Thesis (Th. D.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1981. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 406-436).

Thesis (Th. D.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1981. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 406-436).

abstract: At present, the ideological bias in the human enhancement debate holds that opponents to human enhancement are primarily techno-conservatives who, lacking any reasonable, systematic account of why we ought to be so opposed, simply resort to a sort of fear-mongering and anti-meliorism. This dissertation means to counteract said bias by offering just such an account. Offered herein is a heuristic explanation of how, given a thorough understanding of enhancement both as a technology and as an attitude, we can predict a likely future of rampant commodification and dehumanization of man, and a veritable assault on human flourishing. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Philosophy 2012

D.Phil. / This study addresses communication, organising and ethics in this time of HIV/AIDS. Special attention is given to the HIV/AIDS communication strategies of selected organisations. As a prolegomenon, the study offers a critique of current approaches which are in denial of the individual. An existential normative position is adopted for this. But the task of the prolegomenon is not complete until an alternative approach with corrective possibilities is offered. Existential concerns are prioritised to assert that communication is, above all, a mode of existence. What is advocated is not abdication of the objective in favour of the subjective. Rather what is proposed is that the human being is biographically determined. Being is meeting. A critical appreciation is shown of the structuration tradition for theorising communication and organisation from among the rational structure and the organising process traditions of organisational communication. The structuration tradition regards organisation as a manifestation of communication, or as different expressions of the same phenomenon. The tradition posits neither determinism and its twin, objectivity, nor transcendence of reality and its twin, subjectivity. This is particularly important in terms of the existential considerations of this research. The communicative interaction of individuals through which an organisation emerges, produces and reproduces (un)ethical communication and organisation. Because strategic production and reproduction of organisation is expressive of the possibility for denial of the individual, organising raises the question of ethics. A universal embodiment of ethical practices that regards ethics as subjectively experienced is sought. Study of selected South African business organisations’ HIV/AIDS communication strategies enables further insight into this enquiry. A manifesto on communication, organising and ethics in the time of HIV/AIDS is offered as a step towards elaborating a corrective approach that begins with the individual. / Prof. G. De Wet Prof. G.J. Rossouw

This thesis explores the historical roots of scientific medicine in an effort to highlight the lack of humanist intersubjectivity within the contemporary medical model. The study notes that contemporary medicine is overtly scientific and that its scientific framework is upheld and furthered by a medical model which draws legitimation from the irrefutability of what is referred to variously within this work, as its scientific "regime". It is shown that in terms of the humanist tradition people, not science, constitute the epicentre of meaningful experiential participation in the defining of human social reality. This, it is argued, implies a radically different ontology from other sociological perspectives on medicine. The thesis suggests that the contemporary medical model loses sight of the patient's ability to cognitively participate in the defining of illness, diagnosis and treatment in terms of his/her experience thereof , and argues that contemporary medicine, by advancing the idea that it alone has the correct and only answer to such problems, has led to a situation which promotes an overmedicalisation of society . The study gives an indication of the way in which this overmedicalisation has led to areas of human life becoming conceived of only in relation to medical expertise. In this respect it is noted that medicine has so successfully infiltrated the human consciousness (involving areas as diverse as childbirth, genetic engineering, transplant surgery and death), that decisions on health are invariably taken from a foundation of scientific legitimation which seems to exclude the patient as subject. It is argued that this way of making decisions reinforces the requirement for a scientific medical model which as it negates the human element insidiously amplifies its power over human life; thereby devaluing the very people it seeks to serve. The thesis suggests that in terms of a humanist reading of the Oath of Hippocrates, medical decisions can only be taken within a framework of experiential involvement which includes both medical expertise and lay understanding. It is indicated that when this happens, social reality functions in terms of a symbolic participation which fosters a commitment to equalise the conditions of human existence, and promotes a dialogical negotiatory process which is both intersubjectively and ongoingly produced.

abstract: ABSTRACT The purpose of this thesis is to identify the key determinants of changes in the public’s perception and the historical and legal context for the current laws that govern the Right to Die in America. At its essence, the Right to Die Movement can be summarized in six selected narratives that were performed, told, debated, or reported for the public throughout history. Each of these six stories was presented with the most effective communication technologies available to the narrators in their respective eras. The thesis includes an original research study assessing the impact of a social media phenomenon on the Right to Die Movement. While the Brittany Maynard Farewell video may not have been solely responsible for the surge of public support for MAID, it certainly captured the sense of autonomy and individual rights Americans believe they have in 2014 and continuing at least through 2019. This belief in autonomy and individual rights influenced the American sense of who owns their bodies and who can control their deaths after they are given terminal diagnoses. The first key narrative introduced Natural Law and the Natural Rights that proceed from this universal law. The second opened up communication about death. The next three demonstrated to Americans what legal rights they had and which were withheld by tradition and law. The last narrative captured and embodied the American sense of autonomy and individual rights that a majority of Americans now feel they possess. The laws and policies that have resulted from the Right to Die Movement both define the boundaries of autonomy and construct an evolving understanding of human freedom. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Religious Studies 2020

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Nurses may share a commonality of issues which can affect their willingness and ability to respond as post-disaster emergency care providers. Guided by expectancy, locus of control, and chaos theory, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify the barriers which affect nurses' willingness and ability to report to their unit after a disaster occurs. Briggs methodology guided this systematic review, and Fineout-Overholt's and Melnyk levels of evidence were used to evaluate the reliability of information and effectiveness of their interventions. Fifteen articles meeting the inclusion criteria (addressed nurses' willingness to report to their unit or to contact the incident command center for mobilization, published in 2005 or after, and written in English) were reviewed. Twelve were systemic reviews of descriptive and qualitative studies (Level 5), one was a cohort study (Level 4), one was a report of expert committees (Level 7), and one reported findings from a pilot study. Five articles reported personal barriers related to the nurses' home caregiver responsibilities and four articles reported personal barriers related to nurses' concern for personal and family safety. Three articles reported institutional barriers related to unsure availability of necessary safety equipment and two articles reported lack of disaster preparedness. Developing a disaster plan that includes emergency phone numbers, a prepared backpack of basic survival gear, and a plan for emergency child and elder care arrangements, as well as providing disaster training for nurses was recommended. Understanding health provider needs and willingness to respond to emergency situations contributes to positive social change by contributing to disaster risk reduction and ensuring safer and more resilient communities.

The Federal Policy for the protection of human subjects in research is built on a positivist ideology which effects Institutional Review Boards (IRB) and the research it reviews. An ideological criticism of the regulations through a positivist and postmodernist perspective reveals its initial purpose for biomedical research and its negative effects on research not discussed during its development. Such effects are a shift in focus on regulation over ethics in IRBs, extended oversight of regulations, revisions in research design and objectives, and self-regulation through the punishment of noncompliance.

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