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Pia Matthews' book, "Other-Person-ness and the Person with Profound Disabilities," explores the concept of personhood and its ethical implications for individuals with profound disabilities. Matthews draws on philosophical insights from various thinkers, including Emmanuel Mounier and Karol Wojtyla, to examine the notions of otherness and care. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing the uniqueness and dignity of individuals with disabilities while challenging simplistic understandings and avoiding paternalism. The book offers a nuanced perspective on disability discourse and calls for a new humanism based on responsibility, love, participation, and justice. [Extracted from the article]

Garden lupin Lupinus polyphyllus is one of the most problematic invasive alien plant species in Sweden. It is particularly common in road verges where they may threaten biodiversity. We present the results from a study of the distribution of garden lupins in the road network in a 130 km2 area in south central Sweden, following a new census method intended to function as a standard for the Swedish Transport Administration. The complete road network in the area was censused (192 km), from highway to minor forest roads. Lupin stands were found in ~4 percent of major roads and ~2 percent of minor, private roads; yet most lupin stands were found in the minor roads because minor roads are more abundant. A majority of lupin stands (76%) were concentrated around houses with gardens, indicating gardens as the primary source for lupins in the area. The authors propose a strategy for lupin control depending on density: large, dense stands are contained, small stands are eradicated, only lupin free soil is used in road management and local actors are informed in order to prevent further spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many traditional pastoralist systems are greatly impacted by cumulative encroachments of other land users and by climate change. Understanding land degradation and the adaptive capacity of people who are dependent on the rangelands is an urgent priority for many areas in the world. In this research we explore how changing environmental conditions affect herding strategies on winter pastures and the role of indigenous and local traditional knowledge (ILK) in Sami reindeer husbandry. Our results indicate that traditional Sami reindeer herding strategies are still practiced, but that rapidly changing environmental circumstances are forcing herders into uncharted territories where these traditional strategies and the transmission of knowledge between generations may be of limited use. For example, rotational grazing is no longer possible as all pastures are being used, and changes in climate result in unpredictable weather patterns unknown to earlier generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I will examine how the role of hope can inform our interpretation of the classical principles of medical ethics. Defining hope as a future-oriented expectation for the good, I will look at how it can shape our understanding of justice, beneficence, respect for autonomy and non-maleficence. I will suggest that ethically engaging with these principles in medical practice requires placing value on the patient-practitioner relation as a mode of hope. Engaging the writings of Emmanuel Lévinas and Søren Kierkegaard, I will show how hope reveals itself through responsible and expectant relationship, even in the midst of suffering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I look at the phenomenological expression of creativity through language as a way of relating to the self and others. Employing the Jewish concepts of the yetzerim, or impulses, philosophically, I suggest that these instances of existential engagement further develop the ethical act of tikkun olam, or the mending of the relational world. Moving beyond theodicies of good and evil, I will develop this account of relation by drawing on Emmanuel Lévinas's and Søren Kierkegaard's philosophy of subjectivity. I argue, therefore, that language can express particular accounts of relationality that can serve to clarify the ambiguous relationship between good and evil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I will examine how the language of diagnosis can engage with existential epistemology to develop a concept ofProgressively Empowered Internalisation(PEI). This, I will argue, challenges conceptualisations of diagnosis as articulating and maintaining a static self-concept. It enables the individual to synthesise the language of a particular mental experience within the wider engagement of their own active process of self-becoming. I will suggest that this construction ofPEIaddresses the limitations of stigmatisation and static self-concepts. In seeing the language of diagnosis as a helpful tool for understanding a part of one's self-experience, it presents an alternative to the illness-based model of mental health. This conceptualisation engages with Kierkegaard's existential epistemology, as a means of using language to understand the task of becoming oneself and relating to others. Furthermore, it explores how mental health diagnosis requires communal engagement to enable the wellbeing of its members. Diagnosis is thereby seen as a process of further empowering the individual with the language to explain a particular part of their experience within the overall movement of developing an integrated self-concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research compares the production of hay in three historical European agro-ecological systems: in northern Romania, central Sweden and eastern central France. We analyse hay production in relation to the entire production system, the local natural conditions, and the variety of ways by which hay production was transformed over time. We found broad commonalities, but also discovered significant differences in each of three historical trajectories. Introduction of fodder crops, crop rotations and mechanization are important drivers of changes in all three areas, although the timing, sequence and causation vary from place to place. There are significant differences in the organization of farm labour, in the role of beef and dairy production, the role of political reforms and the climatic constraints of outdoor grazing which affected the transformation of fodder production. "is paper highlights the potential of an integrated, interdisciplinary approach for better understanding the complex interaction of people, their social and economic contexts, and their environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses key philosophical and social questions that shape the contemporary discourse on prostitution. The initial section outlines the contemporary challenges facing legislative practice on prostitution in England. This involves analysing moral and legal framework surrounding prostitution that has made the current legislative dilemma surrounding prostitution practice possible. The second part of the paper then outlines the history of the philosophy of human rights from Aquinas to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The paper concludes by analysing whether the current ontology employed by human rights theory is effective in creating a system of just relatedness between agents, made visible in concrete legislative guidance. I argue that legislation guided by a fragmented teleology and ontological anthropology enables asymmetrical patterns of relatedness that can cause genuine physical and psychological harm to individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prolonged waiting times to receive mental health services are common and may have negative consequences. This study examines the relationship between waiting time and treatment engagement among 2,054 youth referred to an evidence based treatment (EBT). Findings indicate that families are more likely to refuse services if they face longer waiting times. Families exposed to a prolonged waiting time were also more likely to drop out prematurely from Functional Family Therapy, but this relationship was not significant among youth receiving Multisystemic Therapy. Implications for EBT implementation and strategies for engaging families are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, research is focusing on strategies to make evidence-based practice more achievable in school mental health. A significant theme is training and implementation of 'common elements' or specific therapeutic skills associated with positive clinical outcomes for children and youth, as compared to 'manualized' interventions, which can be difficult to implement, especially in the school setting. As part of a larger study on quality assessment and improvement and evidence-based practice in school mental health (SMH) in three US states, this study analyzed 29 SMH clinicians' knowledge and use of common elements and the relation of knowledge and use to independent ratings of therapy quality. There was high variability in knowledge and use of the common elements and strong associations between knowledge and use and ratings of treatment quality/effectiveness. Results are discussed in relation to advancing research and clinical practice on achievable evidence-based practice in SMH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction:: Better understanding of effective parent–adolescent communication regarding tobacco use could inform smoking cessation intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this short critical analysis, the author examines the recent argument by Moen in his article 'Is Prostitution Harmful?' In highlighting why prostitution does not cause harm to either member involved in the act, Moen argues that prostitution is not an ethical concern. However, while Moen is able to clearly challenge contemporary objections to prostitution, the author of this review will suggest that Moen's argument is itself incomplete as it does not address essential key ontological issues. This critical analysis will briefly suggest why this omission weakens Moen's argument. Finally, it will conclude with examining why prostitution differs substantially from other professions through the type of harm that it causes to the moral agents involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]