Aim: The aim of this comprehensive thesis is to explore different perceptions of public health nursing practice. The intention being to contribute to developing the service, theoretically and practically, in throe with current and future public health needs. Methods: The thesis comprises five studies. Public health nurses, young people, parents and decision makers are interviewed and share their perceptions of public health nursing practice (studies I, II, III and IV). Consultations at local child health clinics, clinics for young people and at school health services are observed (study III). A cross sectional study amongst a sample of doctors, public health nurses, midwives and child protection workers is carried out (study V). The first four studies have an explorative, descriptive design. Study V, with its focus on interprofessional collaboration, is based on the results of studies I, II, and IV. Findings: Study I, a case study, provides a backdrop for the remaining four studies. It focuses on changes the nurses have faced during the period 1984-2005. The results point to issues of visibility and that respect is more important for the nurses than authority or status. Study II is a philosophical study based on interviews with public health nurses. It gives an introduction to the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and develops a novel theoretical and practical understanding of aspects of responsibility in public health nursing. Study III shows the importance of relationships with service users in public health nursing practice; and that not only pleasantness but also honesty and openness are important. This study has contributed to further developing models of public health nursing interventions. Decision makers in study IV point to the challenges public health nurses face regarding collaboration, visibility and boundaries. Study V is a cross sectional questionnaire study that focuses on interprofessional collaboration. The results show that size of municipality can influence frequency of meeting points and views on issues relating to collaboration; and that mental health services are those most missed in collaborative relationships. The findings warrant further research and should be of interest when organising municipal health- and social services in Norway. Conclusions: The thesis concludes that service users and decision makers are satisfied with public health nursing services, but that public health nurses face challenges related to collaboration, to boundaries for knowledge and involvement, and in making their health promotive function visible / Denne doktorgradsavhandling: Perceptions of public health nursing practice - on borders and boundaries, visibility and voice, fokuserer på ulike oppfatninger av helsesøsters praksis. Helsesøstre, ungdom, foreldre, samt lokale politikere og administratorer er intervjuet om deres syn på helsesøstertjenesten. Konsultasjoner på helsestasjon for barn, ungdom og i skolehelsetjenesten er observert. Et utvalg av samarbeidspartnere har svart på et spørreskjema om samarbeidsforhold. Avhandlingen består av fem studier. De første fire studier har eksplorativ, deskriptiv design. Studie V er en tverrsnittsstudie som bygger på resultatene fra studiene I,II, og IV. Avhandlingen har til hensikt å løfte frem områder som respondentene mener fortjener oppmerksomhet og som kan ha praktiske og teoretiske implikasjoner for utvikling av tjenesten. Studie I, en case studie danner et bakteppe for de andre studiene. Den fokuserer på endringer i helsesøstertjenesten i perioden 1984-2005. Resultatene fra denne studien peker på helsesøstrenes opplevelse av usynlighet og at respekt er mer viktig for helsesøstrene i studien enn autoritet og status. Studie II er en filosofisk studie basert på intervjuer med helsesøstre. Den gir en introduksjon til Levinas’ filosofi og utvikler en dypere forståelse for teoretiske og praktiske aspekter av etisk ansvar i helsesøsters praksis. Studie III peker på betydningen av relasjoner i helsesøsters praksis. Det var viktig at konsultasjonene var hyggelige for helsesøstrene og brukerne, men ærlighet og åpenhet var også vesentlig for gode relasjoner. Beslutningstakere i studie IV peker på utfordringer helsesøstre har når det gjelder samarbeid, usynlighet, samt grenser for deres kunnskap og involvering. Studie V er en spørreskjemaundersøkelse som fokuserer på samarbeid. Resultatene viser at kommunestørrelse har betydning for hyppighet av møtepunkter og syn på samarbeid og at psykiske helsetjenester er savnet mest i samarbeidsrelasjoner. Disse funn burde være av interesse i fremtidig organisering av helse- og sosialtjenester. Avhandlingen konkluderer med at foreldre, ungdom og beslutningstakere er fornøyde med helsesøstertjenesten, men at helsesøstre står overfor viktige utfordringer i samarbeidsrelasjoner, i forhold til grenser for involvering og i å synliggjøre deres helsefremmende funksjon

Diss. Univ. Greifswald, 2007 (leicht überarb.). / Bibliographie: S. 263-284.

L’homme contemporain présente une méfiance à l’égard de la parole. Il lui est difficile de trouver en elle, un outil pour établir un dialogue et se lancer vers la rencontre de l’Autre. Dans notre travail, nous abordons cette question sous l’angle d’une double triade qui articule d’un côté, Dieu - Monde - Homme et de l’autre, Création - Révelation - Rédemption. Cette double articulation est exposée dans la Nouvelle Pensée de Franz Rosenzweig, dans le Principe Dialogique de Martin Buber et dans l’appel du visage d’Emmanuel Levinas. Chacun, à sa façon, donne les implications de la parole et du dialogue dans la construction de l’altérité. En elle, la séparation des rôles, voire la pronominalité, est une condition indispensable. C’est en l’assumant que nous pourrons prendre en main un engagement éthique que soit libre de tout calcul ou de commerce de réciprocité. / Modern man has a distrust of speech. It is difficult to find in it, a tool for dialogue to engage oneself to meet the Other. In our work, we address this issue in terms of a double - triad that articulates on the one hand : God - World - Man and and on the other hand, Creation - Revelation - Redemption. This double articulation is exposed in the New Thought of Franz Rosenzweig, in the Principle Dialogic by Martin Buber and the face - to - face of Emmanuel Levinas. Each one, in his own way, gives the implications of speech and dialogue in the construction of "otherness". In it, the separation of roles, even primarily, is a prerequisite. It is by assuming that we can take over an ethical commitment that is free of any calculation or trade reciprocity.

[pt] O rosto do migrante nos fala, eloquentemente, a respeito da incrível desigualdade existente na sociedade humana e seus respectivos desdobramentos. Por outro lado, a maneira como notamos, percebemos e acolhemos esse rosto também fala, eloquentemente, a respeito de nós mesmos: o com que lidamos com a demanda, fragilidade e vulnerabilidade do órfão, da viúva e do forasteiro; daquele que está nu e faminto. Em outras palavras, pessoas pobres e desassistidas, caminhantes, migrantes, imigrantes, refugiados, expatriados, apátridas, requerentes de asilo, todos deslocadas à força. O exuberante e crescente fluxo migratório contemporâneo é formado por pessoas refugiadas da bestialidade das guerras e de governos despóticos, oriundas de territórios em conflito em busca de paz e segurança e, pelos assim chamados, imigrantes econômicos, que se refugiam em busca de melhores perspectivas de vida. Enquanto a disparidade de renda entre países pobres e ricos se mantiver como abissal e o processo de crescimento global se mantiver absolutamente desigual, o detonador migratório continuará fomentando os efeitos danosos do desequilíbrio da migração internacional com proporções épicas. Como consequência, a chegada de uma massa de imigrantes sem teto, privados de direitos humanos e não amparados adequadamente pela lei local, agudiza ainda mais os movimentos de caráter xenofóbico, racistas e nacionalistas. As incessantes ondas de novos imigrantes são percebidas com mal estar e temor provocando animosidade e hostilidade em relação à boa parte das comunidades e países que os recebem. O século XXI, marcado pelas novas eras da informação, da comunicação e da tecnologia; marcado pelos efeitos assimétricos de uma globalização perversa que promove o acesso não equitativo aos meios produtivos e financeiros; marcado pela formação e expansão de novos governos totalitários e pela configuração de uma nova ordem geopolítica multipolar; marcado pela persistência da pobreza e a perpetuação de desigualdades estruturais elementares, exarceba um fenômeno antigo, mas que se manifesta agora em proporções alarmantes: a crise dos refugiados e dos imigrantes pobres. Por tal razão utilizamos a perspectiva da filosofia de base ética do filósofo Emmanuel Lévinas. Suas categorias como rosto humano, visitação do rosto, rosto como revelação, rosto do estrangeiro, da viúva e do órfão como transcendência, cultura como rosto de outrem, perspectiva inter-humana, alteridade e próximo nos ajudam a lançar luz sobre a situação dos refugiados e imigrantes pobres da atualidade. De igual forma, também nos pareceu fundamental utilizar a perspectiva adotada por Papa Francisco durante todo o seu magistério. Desde o início de seu pontificado o Sumo Pontífice chamou a atenção para os novos desafios relativos ao drama dos refugiados e imigrantes da atualidade. Nos alertou de que a humanidade está em crise e que precisamos dar uma resposta efetiva às atuais mazelas humanas através de uma postura solidária e rejeitando as traiçoeiras tentações da separação e do individualismo. O Pontífice insiste na necessidade de se favorecer uma cultura do encontro que nos permita, de fato, cuidar e proteger o que Deus criou com dignidade, responsabilidade e amor fraterno. / [en] The migrant s face speaks eloquently about the incredible inequality that exists in human society and of its consequences. On the other hand, the way we notice, perceive and welcome this face also speaks eloquently about ourselves: the way we deal with the needs, the fragility and the vulnerability of the orphan, the widow and the outsider, of him who is naked and hungry. In other words, poor and underserved people, vagabonds, migrants, immigrants, refugees, expatriates, stateless persons, asylum seekers, all forcibly displaced. The already massive and still growing contemporary migratory flow consists of people who seek refuge from the bestiality of wars and despotic governments, coming from conflicted territories in search of peace and security, as well as by the so-called economic immigrants, who search for better lives. As long as the income disparity between rich and poor countries remains abysmal and the process of global growth stays absolutely uneven, the migration trigger will continue to fuel the harmful effects of imbalanced international migration in epic proportions. As consequence, the arrival of a mass of homeless immigrants, deprived of human rights and not adequately supported by local law, further exacerbates xenophobic, racist and nationalist movements. The incessant waves of new immigrants are thus perceived with unease and fear, provoking animosity and hostility towards a considerable part of the communities and countries that receive them. The 21st century, marked by new eras of information, communication and technology, marked by the asymmetric effects of a perverse globalization that promotes inequitable access to productive and financial means, marked by the formation and expansion of new totalitarian governments and the configuration of a new multipolar geopolitical order, marked by the persistence of poverty and the perpetuation of elementary structural inequalities exacerbates an old phenomenon, but which is now manifesting itself in alarming proportions: the crisis of refugees and poor immigrants. For this reason we use the perspective of the philosophy of ethical foundation of the philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas. Its categories as human face, visitation of the face, face as revelation, face of the foreigner, the widow and the orphan as transcendence, culture as the face of another, inter-human perspective, otherness and proximity help us shed light on the situation of refugees and poor immigrants today. Likewise, it also seemed fundamental to us to use the perspective adopted by Pope Francis throughout his teachings. Since the beginning of his pontificate, the Supreme Pontiff has drawn attention to the new challenges related to the drama of the refugees and immigrants of today. He warned us that humanity is experiencing a crisis and that we need to give an effective response to current human ills through a solidary posture and by rejecting the treacherous temptations of separation and individualism. The Pontiff insists on the need to promote a culture of the encounter that allows us, in fact, to care for and to protect what God created with dignity, responsibility and fraternal love.

Devant l’attention croissante portée au soin des personnes mourantes dans le réseau de la santé et devant la persistance du déni face à la mort, l’objectif général de cette thèse consiste à développer une philosophie du soin palliatif La méthode employée repose sur deux approches. La première vise à explorer le sujet à travers la littérature de la discipline infirmière qui contient un ensemble important de connaissances sur le soin de Y être humain. La seconde, qui représente le corps de cette thèse, s’appuie sur la pensée « existentielle ». Elle consiste en une théorisation du soin palliatif sur la base de concepts comme la mort, la personne et le soin. Ici, la nécessité de concevoir la personne non seulement en tant qu’être-pour-la-vie, mais aussi en tant qu’être-vers-la-mort est développée. Par la suite, sur la base des attributs et des composantes de tout être humain, la philosophie du soin palliatif est exposée en prenant essentiellement appui sur la pensée d’Emmanuel Lévinas. Ce philosophe soutient notamment qu’en raison du visage humain, « s’occuper de l’autre » (qui, selon l’étymologie, vient du terme « soigner », XIIe s.) constitue une responsabilité d’ordre moral incontournable, fondatrice de l’être : notre humanité exige d’être responsable de l’autre, de « s’occuper de » lui. Ensuite, Lévinas nous permet de préciser l’ontologie du soin palliatif en dégageant ses trois dimensions. La première dimension fait appel à la relation à l’autre. En effet, s’occuper de l’autre exige d’entrer en relation avec l’autre, une relation qui se dit de proximité et asymétrique. La seconde dimension est celle du sentiment d ’affection. Dans le cadre de toute relation soignante, il s’agit d’un sentiment qui doit se manifester sous le signe de la bonté et de la compassion. Enfin, la troisième dimension du soin, selon Lévinas, évoque la nécessité de « faire quelque chose » pour autrui, c’est-à-dire d'intervenir là où il convient de le faire. Dans le cas du soin de la personne mourante, il s’agit particulièrement de veiller au soulagement de ses souffrances.

Thesis (MA (Philosophy))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / A brief introduction to the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas Emmanuel Levinas’ ethics is based on the Other/other. He argues that we are in an asymmetrical relationship with our neighbour that pre-destines us with ethical responsibility even before consciousness or choice. In the face-to-face encounter an infinity and alterity about our neighbour is revealed, which is irreducible to my ontological grasp and thereby compels me to respond to him. It is also through this relation that our humanity is released as our solipsistic all-for-myself becomes a being-for-the-other. Furthermore, the I is irreplaceable, thereby making each of us ethically responsible for our neighbour to the point of responsibility for his material misery. This paper introduces this stance with the aim to underscore it. A brief discussion on the priority of ethics before ontology in the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas The incessant theme of Levinas’ writing over 25 years has been “Ethics as First Philosophy,” which is synonymous with “The Subject’s Ethical Responsibility for his Neighbour.” This paper is a short discussion of this theme of the origin of ethics. Levinas’ arguments on pre-original time, the Infinite, language and human corporeality by which he establishes a subjectivity that is not fundamentally determined by intentionality and self-sameness, but by the proximity of our neighbour, will be considered. For Levinas it is this relation to the Other that answers the question of the meaning of being and is also the first word of words. First Philosophy is accordingly to be found in the face-to-face which is a subordination of knowledge to a mode of meaning beyond totality.

Ce mémoire analysera une des thèses majeures de l’œuvre d’Emmanuel Levinas, à savoir le primat de l’éthique sur l’ontologie. L’argumentation se penchera surtout sur la description phénoménologique de l’approche de l’altérité, incarnée dans la concrétude du visage du prochain et dans laquelle se retrouve l’idée de l’infini, inspirée dans sa formulation de Descartes. Cette idée, n’étant pas qu’un simple concept mais plutôt une réalité phénoménale transcendante, amène Levinas à questionner le rôle de la conscience thématisante dans l’expérience morale, caractérisée par son immédiateté et par la présence d’un Autre. Est-ce que l’essentiel de la conscience se comprend comme liberté et savoir ? Y aurait-il un autre aspect, oublié par la rationalité que Levinas qualifie de grecque, qui serait plus propre à décrire la conscience ? L’ontologie ne repose-t-elle pas sur une conception de l’homme comme un sujet autonome et en contrôle ? Par ses fines analyses plutôt ontologiques dans Totalité et infini, et par sa prose plus déconstructrice d’Autrement qu’être, ou au-delà de l’essence, Levinas ébranle les fondations du sujet moderne tout en ramenant au centre des préoccupations philosophiques une idée que la tradition occidentale a eu tendance à évacuer, c’est-à-dire l’altérité. Et cette altérité, irréductible aux concepts immanents de la conscience d’un sujet, est ce qui justifie le primat de l’éthique, posant devant le je un tu qui appelle et demande une responsabilité absolue. Plusieurs auteurs et commentateurs seront mis à contribution, dont surtout Husserl et Heidegger, ainsi que S. Critchley, B. Bergo, J.-M. Salanskis et Jacques Roland. / This paper will analyze one of the major theses of the work of Emmanuel Levinas, his affirmation of the primacy of ethics over ontology. The argument will concentrate on the phenomenological description of the approach of Otherness, incarnated in the concreteness of the neighbour’s face, in which we could encounter the idea of infinity. This idea would not be a concept, but a transcendent phenomenal reality, leading Levinas to question the role of thematizing consciousness in the moral experience, characterised by the immediacy of the presence of an Other. Does the essential part of consciousness consist of liberty and knowledge ? Is there not another aspect, forgotten by a rationality qualified as Greek, which would be better suited to the nature of consciousness? Does ontology rely on a subject conceived as autonomous and in control of its destiny? Through his analysis in an ontological language in Totality and infinity, and through his deconstructive prose in Otherwise than Being, Levinas compromises the very core of the modern subject, bringing back to the forefront of philosophical inquiries an idea that the western tradition tended to evacuate from its discourse : Otherness. And this Otherness, irreducible to the immanent concepts of a subject’s consciousness, is what justifies the primacy of an ethic, positioning the I in front of a you that demands absolute responsibility. The contribution of several authors and commentators will be taken into account in this paper, mainly Husserl and Heidegger, but also S.Critchley, B. Bergo, J.-M. Salanskis and Jacques Roland.

In this reading a notion of the human is developed through an engagement with the work of French philosopher Emanuel Levinas. The argument is that, with the help of Levinas, it is possible for the idea of the human to be understood anew, for the notion to be ‘resaid’. This resaying of the human is performed in a critical appropriation of the philosophical tradition: Levinas’s work is shown not to be a new variation of the complacent ideology of humanism; the idea of the human is instead interpreted to be the bearer of the very movement of critique. This movement is articulated in terms of a transcendence of a discursive ‘economy of violence’. Critique does not establish a permanent position outside of violence, but is a movement that must constantly be renewed. Here Levinas is offered as a modern thinker of particular relevance for contemporary discussions surrounding the nature both of the political and of Human Rights. In addition one finds a systematic analysis of the major works of Levinas, unraveling how a notion of the human develops from within his philosophy. Levinas’s thought is placed alongside philosophical figures of his time, such as Heidegger, Sartre, Bataille, Lévi-Strauss, Althusser, Foucault and Derrida, as well as more recent political thinkers, for example, Alain Badiou, Giorgio Agamben and Jacques Rancière.

This thesis analyses the concept of hospitality in the context of migration ethics. The underlying philosophical ideas of Kant, Levinas and Derrida are outlined and critically discussed. The use of hospitality in migration ethics as mainly a concern within the political dimension of society, devalues the concept and neglects the social dimension of hospitality. I argue that migration ethics should be more concerned with integration and that it is more relevant to speak of hospitality in relation to integration rather than migration, since hospitality has to do with interpersonal interactions. In order to view hospitality in the social dimension of society, I present some cases of interpersonal hospitality practiced today. Drawing from those examples whilst using a virtue ethics approach, I consider three virtues that I deem to be prerequisites for hospitality: courage, humility and patience. Hospitality is a rich and multi-layered concept and practice. I conclude that one such layer is hospitality fostering integration. That is, hospitality functioning as social cohesion with a potential to bring different parts together as a whole.

Thema dieser Arbeit ist der Begriff der Gerechtigkeit in verschiedenen philosophischen Theorien. Dabei geht es mir nicht um allein eine Erörterung abstrakter Prinzipien, sondern um die um die Suche nach der sehr viel grundlegenderen Bedeutung eines pragmatischen jemanden mit oder durch etwas gerecht werden . Nach einem kurzen Aufriss des Problems in der Einleitung (1.) widme ich mich den historischen und gegenwärtigen Verwendungsweisen von Gerechtigkeit und gerecht (2. u. 3). Deutlich wird hier, bis hin zu den modernen Positionen, dass zur Gerechtigkeit immer auch ein Jenseits gehört, etwas, das sich nicht in Prinzipien einfangen lässt. Um diese These zu belegen, beschäftige ich mich im 4. Kapitel mit dem Prinzip der Gleichheit, vor allem mit der Reziprozität bei Habermas und Luhmann, und mit der Unparteilichkeit bei Frankfurt u.a. Dabei zeigt sich, dass ohne ein Konzept von Freiheit Gerechtigkeit nur ein abstraktes Wort bleibt, ohne jeden praktischen Sinn. Im 5. Kapitel versuche ich deswegen ein Konzept von sozialer (nicht transzendentaler oder bewusstseinsphilosophischer) Freiheit und Verantwortung zu entfalten: vor allem in Hinblick auf Merleau-Ponty, Heidegger und dem späten Wittgenstein. Deutlich wird, dass Freiheit in grundlegender Weise ein Konzept der Verpflichtung ist (und nicht etwa der Ungebundenheit). Im 6. Kapitel schließlich führe ich die Ergebnisse aus den beiden vorangegangenen Kapiteln zusammen. Dabei steht vor allem die Soziaphilosophie von Emmanuel Lévinas im Vordergrund. Ergänzt wird sie, im Anschluss an Foucault, um eine modifizierte Theorie der Macht. Abschließend (7.) fasse ich die Resultate dieser Arbeit zusammen und gebe einen Ausblick auf weiter führende Konzepte (Gnade, Billigkeit und Widerstand). / In this essay, I try to examine the concept of justice in several philosophical theories. For this I do not want to discuss abstract principles (of justice) alone, but to search for the fundamental meaning of the pragmatic to do justice to someone by doing something . After a short elevation of the problem in the introduction (1.) I examine the use of the notion justice or just in historical and present contexts (2. & 3.). This will make clear that to every concept of justice there belongs something that lies beyond: a peculiar meaning of justice that does not fit to abstract principles. To proof this thesis I discuss in Chapter 4. the principle of equality, especially the principle of reciprocity in Habermas and Luhmann, and the principle of impartiality in Frankfurt et al. The conclusion is, that without a concept of liberty justice only remains an abstract word, without any pragmatic meaning (and importance). For this reason I try to enfold in chapter 5. a concept of social (not transcendental or idealistic) freedom and responsibility: especially with regard to Merleau-Ponty, Heidegger and the late Wittgenstein. This will make clear, that basically liberty (freedom) is a concept of deep commitment. In chapter 6. I connect the results from chapter 4. and 5. Here the social philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas becomes important. She will be, following Foucault, supplemented by a modified theory of power. Finally I conclude the results of this paper and give an outlook to further concepts like mercy/grace, equitableness and resistance.