Difficult Relationship Research Articles

Neurorights in the Constitution: from neurotechnology to ethics and politics.

Neuroimaging technologies such as brain-computer interfaces and neurofeedback have evolved rapidly as new tools for cognitive neuroscience and as potential clinical interventions. However, along with these developments, concern has grown based on the fear of the potential misuse of neurotechnology. In October 2021, Chile became the first country to include neurorights in its Constitution. The present article is divided into two parts. In the first section, we describe the path followed by neurorights that led to its inclusion in the Chilean Constitution, and the neurotechnologies usually involved in neurorights discussions. In the second part, we discuss two potential problems of neurorights. We begin by pointing out some epistemological concerns regarding neurorights, mainly referring to the ambiguity of the concepts used in neurolegislations, the difficult relationship between neuroscience and politics and the weak reasons for urgency in legislating. We then describe the dangers of overprotective laws in medical research, based on the detrimental effect of recent legislation in Chile and the potential risk posed by neurorights to the benefits of neuroscience development. This article aims to engage with the scientific community interested in neurotechnology and neurorights in an interdisciplinary reflection of the potential consequences of neurorights.This article is part of the theme issue 'Neurofeedback: new territories and neurocognitive mechanisms of endogenous neuromodulation'.

World champions in training: germany’s difficult relationship with its military special operations forces

Povzetek Primeri skrajno desničarskega ekstremizma v nemškem poveljstvu specialnih sil kopenske vojske (Kommando Spezialkräfte Heer, KSK) se že več let uvrščajo na naslovnice mednarodnih medijev. Ogorčenje nemške javnosti in zahteva po spremembah sta ponudila priložnost za prestrukturiranje ne le KSK, temveč vseh nemških vojaških sil za specialno delovanje (GERSOF). Pričujoči prispevek zagovarja, da je celovita prenova potrebna zaradi številnih izzivov, s katerimi se spoprijemajo GERSOF, vendar je bil zagon izgubljen zaradi odnosov med nemško vlado in ključnimi deležniki, vključno z mediji. Prispevek na podlagi teorije akterjev in omrežij raziskuje te zapletene odnose in ponazarja, zakaj je vlada zapravila priložnosti za okrepitev GERSOF kot elementa nacionalne varnosti in za ponovno potrditev zavezanosti zaveznikom.

The Chinese version of Defensive Medicine Scale (DMS): reliability and validity test among physicians

BackgroundPhysicians are inclined to resort to defensive medicine (DM) for self-protection due to the increasing potential risk of medical litigation. DM is globally prevalent and has become an impediment to the development of healthcare. However, there is a lack of validated tools specifically designed to assess DM in China. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Defensive Medicine Scale (DMS) among clinicians to provide a practicable tool for relevant research.MethodsThe present research consists of two phases. In Phase 1, DMS was administered to survey 327 physicians, and the collected data were obtained for item analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Phase 2 applied DMS to survey 323 physicians, from which the data was used for confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability and cross-cohort consistency tests. Moreover, the participants of Phase 2 were required to complete Workplace Well-Being Scale (WWBS), Career Commitment Scale (CCS), Occupational Disidentification Scale (ODS), Intent to Leave Scale (ILS), and Difficult Doctor-Patient Relationship Questionnaire (DDPRQ-10) to test the convergent validity of DMS.ResultsThe Chinese version of DMS consists of 10 items divided into 2 dimensions, Positive Defensive Medicine (PDM) and Negative Defensive Medicine (NDM). The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the two-factor model fitted well (χ2/df = 2.540, RMSEA = 0.069, CFI = 0.981, IFI = 0.981, TLI = 0.971, PNFI = 0.646, PCFI = 0.654, SRMR = 0.044). Furthermore, the total score and the score of each dimension for DMS had a significant negative correlation with WWBS and CCS scores, and a significant positive correlation with ODS, ILS, and DDPRQ-10 scores. The Cronbach’s α coefficients for the total DMS and PDM and NDM dimensions were 0.917, 0.935, and 0.842, respectively; the split-half reliability coefficients were 0.922, 0.947, and 0.839, respectively. In addition, DMS showed cross-gender invariance.ConclusionThe Chinese version of DMS has been demonstrated to be an effective tool to assess defensive medicine among Chinese physicians with good psychometric properties.

Lady Muriel Paget’s Mission to Daugavpils (Part I)

In February 1920, Lady Muriel Paget established a children’s hospital in Daugavpils. It was the start of a relief Mission which operated until the autumn of 1922, taking the form eventually of infant welfare clinics and feeding kitchens. From the start of 1921, this Mission was broadened to include Riga and, ultimately, Tallinn and Kaunas; but the core of the operation remained Daugavpils. This article explores the centrality of Daugavpils to the work of the Mission, the evolution of Lady Muriel’s ambitions, and the often fraught relationship with her chief funder, the Save the Children Fund (SCF).The article is published in two parts. Part I discusses the origins of the Mission in Lady Muriel’s concern to gain access to northern Russia, and the debate about the nature of the Mission – whether to concentrate on a single hospital or to broaden the reach of the Mission through a network of welfare clinics and feeding kitchens, issues finally resolved by Lady Muriel’s own dramatic visit to Daugavpils in October 1920. Part Two considers the evolution of the Mission in 1921–22, once the support of the SCF had been obtained for an endeavour focused on the Baltic states rather than Daugavpils alone. It focuses on the difficult relationship between the Mission and its chief supporter, the SCF, and differing understandings of the nature of relief work. The SCF cut funding for the Mission on the grounds that the situation in the Baltic states was no longer an emergency. However, it did agree to some additional funding after the Daugavpils flood of April 1922.

Liberalism’s Difficult Relationship with the Welfare State

This paper makes two related points. First, as liberals have started to realize that the welfare state is unable to deliver on egalitarian theories of justice, they have increasingly tried to dissociate their theories from the welfare state. Second, dissociating from the welfare state type of thinking is difficult for some liberal egalitarian theories such as John Rawls's theory of justice as his theory shares some of the same underlying thinking as found in the welfare state. For example, Rawls's understanding of universal citizenship and the difference principle resembles some of the aspects of the welfare state on how social equality and citizenship are tied to productivity and society as a venture of mutual cooperation. Consequently, liberals are caught in a difficult relationship where they can only partially move beyond the welfare state. Because of this affinity liberals should move beyond a Rawlsian framework, as Rawls's theory is difficult to completely dissociate from the welfare state.

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and the Aesthetics of Serial Narration in The Sopranos (1999–2007)

Abstract Against the backdrop of the difficult therapeutic relationship between Tony Soprano and Jennifer Melfi and its embeddedness in the series’ dramaturgy, this article explores what psychoanalysis accomplishes for the US TV series The Sopranos (1999–2007), in particular for its perspectives on serial narratives and their reception. It analyses how select tenets of psychoanalysis (in particular, the psychoanalytic setting, countertransference, and its interminability) self-reflexively interrogate the aesthetics of serial narration and the ethical underpinnings of the audience’s attachment to the series.

«Возродившийся в наши дни современник Моисея»: Оскар Гольдберг и каббалистическая метафизика

The biography and views of Oscar Goldberg (1885–1952), a Jewish-German philosopher, psychologist and religious thinker, have in recent years attracted increasing attention from specialists in the history of philosophy, religious and cultural studies. The interpre­tation of metaphysical problems, the nature of myth and ritual, and the concepts of the sa­cred and profane that he proposed had a significant influence on a number of thinkers and writers of the first half of the twentieth century. The article discusses one of the most important sources of Goldberg’s views – the Jewish esoteric tradition (Kabbalah), with which he had a difficult relationship, while simultaneously criticizing its concepts and adapting some of them for his own system. It was in dialogue with the ideas of Kabbalah that Goldberg developed an original approach to the interpretation of the biblical text – the idea of the existence of a universal pre-biological force that manifests itself in both world and human history.

So Much Depends Upon a Red Stripe

ABSTRACT The paper explores the impact of Palmer’s spontaneous gesture of a red stripe that completed his abstract painting—emotionally and aesthetically—in response to a difficult analytic relationship. The red stripe arises from his search for greater openness, emotional freedom, and creative responses to the flow of communication with his patient. The analyst’s ethical intentions are inward to be open and available to the influx of the patient’s emotional world, and outward, found in actions and gestures with the patient striving for honesty, transparency, a willingness to take risks and accept accidents in a search for emotion truth and authentically being present. The analyst inhabits, gathers, and concentrates feeling that provides a medium for feelings to live, take shape, and be recognized by an analytic function called “the aesthetic” that then fosters “aesthetic experiences”—intense passages of shared living that are transformative.

Russia in the Council of Europe: A Difficult Relationship

Abstract This short introduction presents some background facts and policy dilemmas concerning the admission, membership, and expulsion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe, with a special emphasis on the European Convention on Human Rights. It then introduces the six articles that compose this special issue of Russian Politics. Finally, it summarizes the process by which these articles came to be gathered together – a two-day workshop funded by PluriCourts and organized by Geir Flikke and Jeffrey Kahn.

Bioethics-CSR Divide

Bioethics-CSR Divide

Od zapominania do (u)pamięt(ni)ania? Wrocławskie elity o niemieckim dziedzictwie stolicy Dolnego Śląska

The status of German heritage in Wrocław is rather specific, and has been changing over the past seven decades under the influence of not only state and local politics, but also the biographical experiences of successive generations of residents. Calling German heritage troublesome is a frequently used rhetorical figure as well as — or perhaps primarily as — an epithet describing a social fact. This article aims to provide answers concerning the troublesome nature of German heritage for contemporary Wrocław elites. The empirical material comprises unstructured interviews conducted in 2011 and 2022, on the basis of which the relationship between the German heritage and persons occupying specific privileged positions in the social structure of the capital of Lower Silesia was determined. As the study proceeded, three types of approach to this relationship emerged. The first considers the relationship with German heritage unproblematic — either due to it being made “ours,” or because of it being treated superficially. The second approach recognizes the troublesome nature of this relationship, resulting from the tensions between local and national memory policy, including the state’s historical policy offering an antagonistic vision of Polish-German relations. The third type points to the relationship being troublesome due to the attitude to German heritage during the communist era; the memory of this difficult relationship with the heritage back then, and contemporary efforts to restore memory of Wrocław’s pre-1945 history. The approaches thus identified are present in the stories, regardless of the time — they can be found both when the city’s multicultural identity and local memory were intensively discussed a decade ago, and today, when the city is addressing new urban challenges.

"You can't really have a relationship with them because they just ask you questions": understanding adolescent dropout - an empirical single case study.

High dropout rates are common in youth psychotherapy, including psychoanalytic psychotherapy, yet the reasons behind this trend remain obscure. A critical focus to enhance adolescent engagement could be the therapeutic alliance, particularly in resolving alliance ruptures. This study sought to clarify the complex relationships between the therapeutic alliance, encompassing alliance ruptures and resolutions, and dropout within the context of poor outcome. It investigated a single case of an adolescent with depression who dropped-out of Short-Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, without showing clinical improvement. Data was garnered from diverse sources, including questionnaires, interviews, and session recordings, and analyzed through a mixed-method longitudinal framework. This encompassed views from the adolescent, therapist, parents, and external evaluators. The study identifies several factors impacting the decision to drop out, including initial profound distrust toward the therapist, a complex and difficult therapeutic relationship characterized by unresolved alliance ruptures, and sporadic attendance. External factors including minimal parental engagement with therapy were also seen as detrimental to the adolescent's involvement and progress. The research underscores the challenges in engaging adolescents, especially when there may be distrust of professionals, and in the absence of parental involvement with treatment.

“Never enough, never perfect”: Participatory activist practice in the museum

Abstract Recent outbursts of activist interventions in museums have put a spotlight on the difficult relationship of cultural spaces with activism as they aspire to be forums, sites for civil, social, and cultural participation (Black, 2005; Byrne, 2018; Janes & Sandell, 2019; Pegno, 2021). On the one hand, museums want to be engaged and relevant, taking part in social dialogue as “agents of change” (Mouffe, 2016; Sandell, 2003). On the other, they often have complex relationships with the activists themselves, especially in the framework of participatory practices (Coffee, 2008; Lorente, 2015). This article focuses on the process of co-creation of an exhibition about the social history of AIDS at the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean (the Mucem) in Marseille, France, and explores how this participatory project involving activists can help us better understand the challenges of museum activism. The core question this article addresses is: how did activists experience the co-creation participatory process, and what can the museum learn from it to inform their practice of museum activism?

Художественное осмысление мужских и женских образов в пьесе В. И. Мишаниной «Босиком по облакам»

The aim of the paper is to provide a scientific understanding of the specifics of recreating male and female images in V. I. Mishanina’s play “Barefoot through the Clouds”. The study is novel in that it is the first to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the author’s strategy of artistic modeling of male and female images in terms of their plot role, interference, symbolic connections and key themes. As a result of the study, it was found that male and female images in the play differ in an abundance of feelings and experiences, have complex motivation and internal conflicts that determine their behavior in line with the plot; the female characters such as Lyuba, Natasha, Tanya and Inessa play an important role in the narration and comprehension of the personal identity of the male characters, especially the protagonist Pavel; scenes and dialogues in the play provide insight into the essence of the difficult relationship between the characters, while the symbolism associated with the images enhances the semantic depth of the work.

Female Kemcolian Graduates in Foreign Lands: Challenges and Solutions

You are a Female Kemcolian graduate. Deep in your heart, you know you are amazing, have made this far and in the words of Professor Mumtaz Hassan, one of the “best of the best” to “make it to KE” When you graduated, you saw endless possibilities in front of you that life could offer and rightfully so! For you sky is the only limit and as a Kemcolian woman, you can definitely break all the barriers, no matter what stage of life you are in. However, at some point, life hits you. Maybe it is a parent passing away, a difficult relationship or a child’s disability. Or perhaps it is just “uncertainty” where being a female is the only “demerit” you think you have . So how to “not lose your worth” in those times when you feel that everyone around you, all your classmates and even the ones junior to you, are way ahead and you are the only one left behind?

ОБЗОР И АНАЛИЗ РОССИЙСКО-КИТАЙСКИХ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ ОТНОШЕНИЙ В СОВРЕМЕННЫХ УСЛОВИЯХ

Russian-Chinese relations at the present stage continue to develop actively despite the difficult foreign policy conditions. The Russian Federation is under unprecedented sanctions from most countries of the Western Bloc, and China has a difficult relationship with the United States on a number of critical issues. The foreign policy pressure on China due to the close and largely allied cooperation with Russia after February 2022 has not broken the partnership. This article examines the main trade and economic relations between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China in the last few years, and especially since the outbreak of the armed conflict in Ukraine. Both countries are at a critical historical stage not only for themselves, but also for the vast majority of emerging economies. The dominance of the United States is declining and the world is becoming multipolar. In this turbulent time, it is extremely important to maintain and develop partnership and mutually beneficial relationships, which countries are doing.

Of Difficult Mothers and Rebellious Daughters: Investigating the Electra Complex in Contemporary Nigerian Feminist Fiction

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sefi Atta and Lola Shoneyin are undoubtedly three of the most celebrated feminist novelists in the contemporary Nigerian literature. These three women-writers have one thing in common – each has written at least a novel in which she employs the usual problematic relations between a mother figure and a daughter as a means of exploring feminism – inflected issues such as identity-construction, subjecthood, and patriarchy, etc. I am making reference to Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, Atta’s Everything Good Will Come and Shoneyin’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives. These novelists thematize in various ways albeit unconsciously the Electra complex. This paper argues that it seems something of a paradox that these women – novelists in engaging in feminist critiques of patriarchy, should to some extent appear to do so through the agency of the difficult relationship between a mother-figure and a daughter even when no psychological exploration in the delineation of these characters appears to be intended in these novels. The paper aims to draw attention to each of these writers’ representation of certain aspects of the relations between the female protagonist of their respective novels, who appears to embody the novelist’s feminist values, and her parents, especially to the uneasy tensions that seem to exist between them. Keywords: Patriarchy, Feminism, The Electra Complex, The Symbolic Realm, The Unconscious

Ethical Leadership in the Age of Technological Advancements Navigating Moral Dilemmas and Building Trust

The intersection of technical breakthroughs and ethical leadership has become a pivotal point in the current corporate environment, influencing organisational dynamics and connections with stakeholders. This study article examines the difficult relationship between ethical leadership and the rapid advancement of technology, exploring how leaders effectively manage moral challenges and establish trust in an era dominated by digital innovations. In light of the transformative impact of technology on various industries and the consequent redefinition of leadership paradigms, leaders are increasingly faced with a range of ethical difficulties. These challenges arise from concerns related to data privacy, biases inherent in algorithms, and the ethical implications associated with automation. This study investigates the extension and adaptation of core values of ethical leadership, such as honesty, transparency, and empathy, in order to connect them with the requirements imposed by technology advancements. This article underscores the lasting significance of ethical principles in driving leadership behaviours by examining important leadership theories, including transformational, servant, and genuine leadership. Real-world case studies serve as concrete examples that demonstrate the real advantages of ethical leadership in cultivating trust across a wide range of stakeholders, including employees, customers, and investors. The paper additionally provides an overview of ways that leaders might employ to successfully negotiate the complex terrain of ethical considerations presented by technical breakthroughs. The aforementioned solutions comprise the implementation of ongoing ethical training, fostering transparent communication, and the incorporation of ethical considerations into decision-making processes related to technology.

Ku ustawie z 17 maja 1989 r. Ewolucja postaw władzy wobec Kościoła i idei wolności sumienia i wyznania w Polsce

Freedom of conscience and belief belongs to basic human rights. Furthermore, they stay under the influence of individual generations of human rights, European and international law, judgments of courts and constitutional tribunals. Freedom of conscience is identical to liberty of thoughts and beliefs. These rights are guaranteed by countries and are determinant of their rule of law. On the 17th of May 1989, the Sejm of the Polish People’s Republic adopted a law on guaranteeing conscience and belief freedom. The purpose of this elaboration was to present the evolution of the attitude of the socialist country authority towards the Church and the idea of the freedom of conscience. There were also selected premises that contributed to the elaboration of this act: documents of international law and political trials that had an impact on the authority’s attitude. Attention was paid to the difficult relationship between the Church and the country in the 40s and 50s and the effect of human rights development, that was implemented by international organizations, particularly by ONZ, UNESCO, and CSCE on warranty policy for conscience and belief freedom in Poland. The country-Church relationship was shown in the declining period of PPR. The process of preparing the law from 17 May 1989 was examined.

The Abolition of Democracy

Democracy seems shaky in the contemporary United States. In recent polls, an overwhelming 70 percent of Americans say that democracy is under threat, in crisis, and at risk of failing. Conventional wisdom tends to lay the blame for those findings—and the underlying fragility of democracy in America—at the feet of discrete political actors or at growing “polarization” in the electorate. But in The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis gives us reason to look deeper—at the difficult relationship, in practice, between modern democracy and enduring values. This essay shows how Lewis helps us better understand the crisis of democracy in America (including the crisis of faith in democracy in America) today.