Responsibilities in elderly care: Mr Powell's narrative of duty and relations

In Western countries a considerable number of older people move to a residential home when their health declines. Institutionalization often results in increased dependence, inactivity and loss of identity or self-worth (dignity). This raises the moral question as to how older, institutionalized people can remain autonomous as far as continuing to live in line with their own values is concerned. Following Walker's meta-ethical framework on the assignment of responsibilities, we suggest that instead of directing all older people towards more autonomy in terms of independence, professional caregivers should listen to the life narrative of older people and attempt to find out how their personal identity, relations and values in life can be continued in the new setting. If mutual normative expectations between caregivers and older people are not carefully negotiated, it creates tension. This tension is illustrated by the narrative of Mr Powell, a retired successful public servant now living in a residential home. The narrative describes his current life, his need for help, his independent frame of mind, and his encounters with institutional and professional policies. Mr Powell sees himself as a man who has always cared for himself and others, and who still feels that he has to fulfil certain duties in life. Mr Powell's story shows that he is not always understood well by caregivers who respond from a one-sided view of autonomy as independence. This leads to misunderstanding and an underestimation of his need to be noticed and involved in the residential community.     

Is Life Law-Like?

Genes are generally assumed to be primary biological causes of biological phenotypes and their evolution. In just over a century, a research agenda that has built on Mendel's experiments and on Darwin's theory of natural selection as a law of nature has had unprecedented scientific success in isolating and characterizing many aspects of genetic causation. We revel in these successes, and yet the story is not quite so simple. The complex cooperative nature of genetic architecture and its evolution include teasingly tractable components, but much remains elusive. The proliferation of data generated in our "omics" age raises the question of whether we even have (or need) a unified theory or "law" of life, or even clear standards of inference by which to answer the question. If not, this not only has implications for the widely promulgated belief that we will soon be able to predict phenotypes like disease risk from genes, but also speaks to the limitations in the underlying science itself. Much of life seems to be characterized by ad hoc, ephemeral, contextual probabilism without proper underlying distributions. To the extent that this is true, causal effects are not asymptotically predictable, and new ways of understanding life may be required.     

RETRACING JOSEPH HOOKER'S ROUTES IN THE SIKKIM HIMALAYA

Joseph Hooker was one of the most widely travelled botanists of the Victorian period, having explored regions as far afield as Antarctica, Morocco and North America, though it is for his pioneering exploration of the Sikkim Himalaya that he is perhaps best remembered. Seamus O'Brien led four expeditions to this remote corner of the eastern Himalaya, and the results of these trips will appear in a new biography due to be published by Kew in 2018. He summarises that story here.     

Boris Balinsky: transition from embryology to developmental biology

This is the story of a textbook that students of developmental biology have used for 45 years. "An Introduction to Embryology" was released soon after a role for genes in the control of development became finally recognized but not yet well documented. Thus this book manifested the transition from embryology to developmental biology. The story of its author, Boris Balinsky, who against all odds survived to write this book, is remarkable on its own. He started his scientific career in the USSR, but due to 20th century social and political upheavals, ended it in South Africa. This article will shed light on the life of Boris Balinsky, a scientist and writer and will explore the origins of his book.     

Friedrich Miescher and the discovery of DNA

Over the past 60 years, DNA has risen from being an obscure molecule with presumed accessory or structural functions inside the nucleus to the icon of modern bioscience. The story of DNA often seems to begin in 1944 with Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty showing that DNA is the hereditary material. Within 10 years of their experiments, Watson and Crick deciphered its structure and yet another decade on the genetic code was cracked. However, the DNA story has already begun in 1869, with the young Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher. Having just completed his education as a physician, Miescher moved to Tübingen to work in the laboratory of biochemist Hoppe-Seyler, his aim being to elucidate the building blocks of life. Choosing leucocytes as his source material, he first investigated the proteins in these cells. However, during these experiments, he noticed a substance with unexpected properties that did not match those of proteins. Miescher had obtained the first crude purification of DNA. He further examined the properties and composition of this enigmatic substance and showed that it fundamentally differed from proteins. Due to its occurrence in the cells' nuclei, he termed the novel substance "nuclein"--a term still preserved in today's name deoxyribonucleic acid.     

From Ethical Exceptionalism to Ethical Exceptions: The Rule and exception Model and the Changing Meaning of Ethics In German Bioregulation

Germany is an interesting case with respect to the governance of reprogenetics. It has a strong profile in the technosciences and high aims regarding the global bioeconomy, yet her regulation of human genetics, reproductive medicine and embryo research has for a long time been rather restrictive. German biopolitical exceptionalism has often been explained by reference to Catholicism and the legacy of the Nazi past. The Germans, so goes the common story, have learnt the lessons of history and translated them into unconditional respect for human dignity, which in turn translates into unconditional protection of human life, including the human embryo, and the firm repudiation of any eugenic distinction between ‘life worth to live’ and ‘life not worth to live’. This, however, is not the whole story. Alongside deontological strictness we find another strand of governing body politics and reprogenetics in Germany, the rule‐and‐exception model, running from the mid‐1970s abortion law via the 2002 Stem Cell Act to the 2011 regulation of pre‐implantation genetic diagnosis. In contrast to the former, that strongly draws on Kant and his concept of human dignity, the latter bears resemblances to Carl Schmitt's concept of state of exception. The article will show that the rule‐and‐exception model builds the exception into the rule and transforms the meaning and mandate of ethics, namely from safeguarding ethical standards to deciding about the exception. Given that the exception has now tended to become the rule, the question is whether the lessons of history will govern German reprogenetics for much longer.     

Paul Ehrlich--in search of the magic bullet

In 2004, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Paul Ehrlich, considered the founder of immunology. His life and work can be divided into three creative periods: first, he developed histological staining, then he accomplished his ground-breaking work on immunology, and eventually invented chemotherapy. Paul Ehrlich can be perceived as a man whose success was not the consequence of a will to power, but of his substantial interest in science.     

Names and naming: Instances from the ORU-IGBO

Conclusion People have many names. But, changing one's name is no small thing. It can signify a major step in life or an embarrassing story, as in the last case.A person has a complex individual identity. His collective identity is clear from the moment he is conceived. He is one with a body of people, his kinsmen, who share one common ancestor and through him access to land and resources. The continuation of this group and its name is perpetuated through paternal descent.Kingroup membership ensures a person's place in life, his right to exist, eat, live and enjoy. But, who is he, apart from being a kinsman? Which kinsman is he? How are people going to interact with him? His individual identity will become clear through time. He is a re-incarnation of ancestor x. The circumstances of his birth were such. He behaves like this. He has these personal traits. This has happened to him. He has achieved that. There is no permanent role attached to an individual. He is neither bound to class nor caste. He is dynamic and changes constantly. His life is one of achievement, constant striving and upward mobility till death — when it all begins again. His name signals his state of being in time and existence.Sabine Jell-Bahlsen is an anthropologist and filmmaker.     

In search of the missing subject: narrative identity and posthumous wronging

With the advanced methods of analysing old biological material, it is pressing to discuss what should be allowed to be done with human remains, particularly for well documented historical individuals. We argue that Queen Christina of Sweden, who challenged the traditional gender roles, has an interest in maintaining her privacy when there are continued attempts to reveal her ‘true’ gender. In the long-running philosophical debate on posthumous wronging, the fundamental question is: Who is wronged? Our aim is to find this ‘missing subject’ using narrative theory.Narrative identity emphasises the fact that no person is alone in knowing or telling their life story. People’s lives are entangled and parts of the life story of a deceased person can remain in the living realm. Since the narrative identity of a person does not necessarily end upon their death, and this narrative continues to relate directly to the person who once existed, it is the narrative subject that can continue to be posthumously wronged. Queen Christina can no longer maintain her own identity, but we maintain it by our research into her life. We propose three duties relevant for posthumous wronging: the duty of truthfulness, the duty of recognition and the duty to respect privacy.     

Parapoxvirus causes a deleterious disease in red squirrels associated with UK population declines

The disease implications of novel pathogens need to be considered when investigating the ecological impact of species translocations on native fauna. Traditional explanations based on competition or predation may often not be the whole story. Evidence suggests that an emerging infectious disease, caused by a parapoxvirus, may be a significant component of the impact that the introduced grey squirrel has had on UK red squirrel populations. Here we validate the potential role of parapoxvirus by proving that the virus is highly pathogenic in the red squirrel while having no detectable effect on grey squirrel health.     

Building on Bedrock: William Steel Creighton and the Reformation of Ant Systematics, 1925–1970

Ideas about the natural world are intertwined with the personalities, practices, and the workplaces of scientists. The relationships between these categories are explored in the life of the taxonomist William Steel Creighton. Creighton studied taxonomy under William Morton Wheeler at Harvard University. He took the rules he learned from Wheeler out of the museum and into the field. In testing the rules against a new situation, Creighton found them wanting. He sought a new set of taxonomic principles, one he eventually found in Ernst Mayr's Systematics and the Origin of Species. Mayr's ideas tied together a number of themes running through Creighton's life: the need for a revised taxonomy, the emphasis on fieldwork, and the search for a new power center for ant taxonomy after Wheeler died. Creighton's adoption of Mayr's ideas as part of his professional identity also had very real implications for his career path: field studies required long and intensive studies, and Creighton would always be a slow worker. His method of taxonomy contrasted sharply not only with Wheeler's but also with two of his younger colleagues, William L. Brown and E. O. Wilson, who took over Wheeler's spot at Harvard in 1950. The disputes between these men over ant taxonomy involved, in addition to questions of technical interest, questions about where and how best to do taxonomy and who could speak withthe most authority. Creighton's story reveals how these questions are interrelated. The story also reveals the importance of Mayr's book for changes occurring in taxonomy in the middle of the twentieth century. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

PREDICTIVE TESTING AND EXISTENTIAL ABSURDITY: RESONANCES BETWEEN EXPERIENCES AROUND GENETIC DIAGNOSIS AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF ALBERT CAMUS

Predictive genetic testing may confront those affected with difficult life situations that they have not experienced before. These life situations may be interpreted as ‘absurd’. In this paper we present a case study of a predictive test situation, showing the perspective of a woman going through the process of deciding for or against taking the test, and struggling with feelings of alienation. To interpret her experiences, we refer to the concept of absurdity, developed by the French Philosopher Albert Camus. Camus' writings on absurdity appear to resonate with patients' stories when they talk about their body and experiences of illness. In this paper we draw on Camus' philosophical essay ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’ (1942), and compare the absurd experiences of Sisyphus with the interviewee's story. This comparison opens up a field of ethical reflection. We demonstrate that Camus' concept of absurdity offers a new and promising approach to understanding the fragility of patients' situations, especially in the field of predictive testing. We show that people affected might find new meaning through narratives that help them to reconstruct the absurd without totally overcoming it. In conclusion, we will draw out some normative consequences of our narrative approach.     

Diving down: ritual healing in the tale of The Blind Man and the Loon

Some stories enjoy a very widespread distribution in the North. Anthropologists and folklorists have long collected and analyzed these stories, and scrutinized their regional variants. Craig Mishler taps into this longstanding scholarly tradition as he looks at the widespread story of “The Blind Man and the Loon.” However, he goes beyond analyzing the form of this tale to explore what gives it healing properties. He wants to know why this story has become part of virtually every Native storyteller’s repertoire throughout the Arctic and Subarctic. One answer is that the main character and events of the story evoke the undeserved suffering that shapes the human condition everywhere. Much of the story’s power stems from its depiction of a ritual for healing the handicapped, thereby becoming a medicinal oral text. Additional power comes from the wide range of local and regional forms that adapt it to local sensibilities.     

A different kind of quarterback

I am not big on celebrations, nor do I accept many invitations to receive awards. There is much work to be done, and the reward is in the doing. I learned this lesson early from my parents, Martha and Robert Guyden. However, I am humbled that anyone would even mention my name in association with E. E. Just. I, like he, was born into a segregated America, and somehow we both found biology. I think Just's life story instigates a discussion on diversity in science, as well it should. However, after reading Tyrone Hayes' (2010 E. E. Just Award recipient) essay from last year, "Diversifying the Biological Sciences: Past Efforts and Future Challenges" (Hayes, 2010), I have little to add on the subject. His words gave voice to my thoughts. That being said, I would like to use these pages to describe my journey into the "Cell" and the people who "hoed the row ahead of me."     

"New beginnings": a case study in gay men's changing perceptions of quality of life during the course of HIV infection

This article reports results of an ethnographic study that sought to understand how a cohort of gay men living with HIV infection evaluated and worked to preserve or improve the quality of their lives. Themes of life story narratives are identified, each with an associated stylistic self-orientation to living with HIV infection. Changes in thematic content of a selected participant's life story narratives are discussed, demonstrating how events of his daily life are integrated into the narratives. Resultant concurrent shifting of themes and stylistic orientations is linked to his perception of improved quality of life.     

Ethnography as storytelling

In every case the storyteller is a man who has counsel for his readers. But if today “having counsel” is beginning to have an old-fashioned ring, this is because the communicability of experience is decreasing. In consequence we have no counsel either for ourselves or for others. After all, counsel is less an answer to a question than a proposal concerning the continuation of a story which is just unfolding. To seek counsel one would first have to be able to tell the story. (Quite apart from the fact that a man is receptive to counsel only to the extent that he allows his situation to speak.) Counsel woven into the fabric of real life is wisdom. The art of storytelling is reaching its end because the epic side of truth, wisdom, is dying out. This, however, is a process that has been going on for a long time. And nothing would be more fatuous than to want to see in it merely a “symptom of decay,” let alone a “modern” symptom. It is, rather, only a concomitant symptom of the secular productive forces of history, a concomitant that has quite gradually removed narrative from the realm of living speech and at the same time is making it possible to see a new beauty in what is vanishing Walter Benjamin, “The Storyteller; Reflections on the Works of Nikolai Leskov,” (1936) in Illuminations (New York; Schocken 1969) p. 86; also see “Eduard Fuchs: Collector and Historian,” (1937) in One-Way Street (London: New Left Books), pp. 351–352. .     

Community responses to violence in Holman, Northwest Territory

When we talk about narrative, we often focus on the story and the teller, but rarely on the listener. Yet often the first step in healing is finding someone who will listen to you and truly hear your story. Alice Kimiksana and others in the Canadian Arctic village of Holman, who are concerned about the community’s high suicide rate, understand this basic healing principal very well. They have worked together to create a Help Line—a confidential listening and crisis intervention program—for their community. Kimiksana talks about how in Holman, as in other northern communities, trauma led parents to teach their children not to talk about their pain, their fear, or their abusive experiences, including those that occurred in the residential schools. As a result, even years later, the pain, fear, and hurt can become unbearable, leading sometimes to alcohol and drug abuse, and sometimes to violence toward oneself or others. Educational groups, Healing Circles, and youth groups are starting to help. However, unless there are helpers who will listen when people begin to tell their stories, this first step in healing cannot take place and the cycle of intergenerational trauma will not be broken.     

Treatment limitation decisions under uncertainty: the value of subsequent euthanasia

This paper examines how decisions to limit treatment to critically ill patients under uncertainty can be made rationally. Expected utility theory offers one way of making rational decisions under uncertainty. One problem with using this approach is that we may not know the value of each option. One rational course open is to treat until further information becomes available. However, treatment can limit the range of options open. With treatment, a patient may recover such that he no longer requires life-supporting treatment. However, his life may be not worth living. If active euthanasia of %on-terminal'conditions is prohibited, the option of dying will no longer be available. Taking a rational'wait and see'course may result in being trapped within an unbearable life. On the other hand, sometimes present practice'lets nature takes its course'. Critically ill patients are allowed to die because it is believed that their lives will be not worth living. It is likely that some patients are allowed to die when there is some objective chance of worthwhile future life. This paper argues that a policy of treating critically ill patients until the nature of future options can be better evaluated, in company with an offer of subsequent euthanasia where appropriate, allows a more rational and humane approach to treatment limitation decisions under uncertainty.     

The Life and Work of Marquis Robert de Wavrin,an Early Visual Anthropologist

This article traces the life and work of Marquis Robert de Wavrin de Villers au Tertre (1888–1971), a Belgian explorer and ethnographer. While fragments of his oeuvre are familiar to scholars of South America, he is almost completely unknown in historical studies, and largely forgotten within anthropology too. Here we will explore his filmic work as well as its contribution to the history of visual anthropology. While de Wavrin’s work cannot be divorced from the discipline’s colonial and Eurocentric heritage, we show that his visual record provides notable historic insights and merits further scholarly attention.     

The guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products: just in time!

Purpose  

Authors of different sustainability journals, including authors of articles in past issues of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment have acknowledged the rising interest and the pressing need for a social and socio-economic life cycle assessment methodology and identified challenges in its development and implementation. Social life cycle assessment (LCA) allows identification of key issues, assessing, and telling the story of social conditions in the production, use, and disposal of products. In this article, the United Nations Environment Programme/The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products will be presented.