Matter Of Life Research Articles

Black Rage, White Gaze: How Can Black Lives, Historically Reified, Have ‘Room to Breathe’ in Contemporary Psychoanalysis?

AbstractThe 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests were a stark reminder of the reality of problematic ‘race’ relations. This paper, originally conceived in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder with his final words ‘I can't breathe!’, examines the psychoanalysis of anti‐black racism as a contemporary problem to address. This raises important epistemological questions about the forms of knowledge that get produced given the complex relationship between psychoanalysis and coloniality. Frantz Fanon unpacked the impact of racial violence and the white gaze as one of alienation, nonbeing and Black Rage in White Skin, Black Masks. This paper makes use of Fanon's 1952 thesis and clinical vignettes from analysts of colour in relation to ‘race’ as well as secondary literature on psychoanalysis and postcoloniality inviting the reader to appreciate Black Rage as a legitimate and constructive affect. I submit two ‘anchors’ for psychoanalysis to consider in theory and in practice for the birth of a physical and psychic ‘room to breathe’, a place for the black individual to exist with more psychological sovereignty: (1) an extension of Melanie Klein's depressive position and (2) an extension of the concept of mourning, as crucial intrapsychic processes for black lives to matter. The argument advanced is that, due to the extraordinary historical, social and political circumstance placed on black people as a racially oppressed group, the trauma of racism is one of alienation to a zone of nonbeing, a ‘space’ which, incidentally, offers radical hope in the form of Black Rage. Psychoanalysis is adequately positioned to acknowledge Black Rage as a powerful affect and civic tool, and this may be thought about through intrapsychic processes originating in classical psychoanalytic theory as well as Kleinian object relations, principally the concepts of mourning and depressive awareness, which considered together liberate aspects of therapeutic work.

With Fear, Favor, and Flawed Analysis: Decision-Making in U.S. Immigration Courts

Immigration judges (IJs), housed within the Executive Office for Immigration Review within the Department of Justice (DOJ), make decisions in asylum and withholding claims, which are life or death matters. And although their title is “judge,” IJs are DOJ attorneys who lack independence and are particularly susceptible to political pressures. Federal court judges and scholars alike have criticized the quality and fairness of IJ decision-making, and many studies have been carried out to better understand the factors that impact it. The prior studies have relied principally on quantitative data because IJ decisions are not publicly available or searchable in any existing database. The authors of this study had unprecedented access to more than five hundred IJ decisions, allowing for both a quantitative and qualitative analysis. Our findings were consistent with other studies in noting that IJ experience and gender made a difference in case outcomes, with male IJs and IJs with enforcement backgrounds denying protection at higher rates. We were able to identify other significant trends as well, including that the most common reasons why IJs denied protection to credible asylum seekers were their findings that they failed to meet the extremely stringent requirements of two elements of the refugee definition—elements which arguably are overly restrictive and inconsistent with international norms. We also observed patterns of incompetence and bias among these decisions. This Article recommends several policy reforms to address the shortcomings we identify, among them: (1) the creation of Article I immigration courts, (2) improvement of IJ competence through more stringent hiring standards and continuing education, (3) increased diversity of IJs based on employment experience, (4) reduced deference to the Board of Immigration Appeals in reviewing cases, and (5) allocating additional resources to immigration adjudication.

Terminal Liminality, Life Imprisonment and the Paroled Body

Abstract Based on an in-depth analysis of parole board hearings in Israel concerning life sentence prisoners who are old or severely ill, we argue that, rather than opening a window onto new beginnings, parole hearings place applicants in a state of terminal liminality that marks a transition from life into death. We uncover how terminal liminality entails constructing a broken paroled body before the parole board, where matters of life and death are performed, detailed, and contextualized. We further lay out a taxonomy to discuss applicants’ negotiation of terminal liminality through fatalism, resilience, resistance and hope, uncovering how they navigate penal and biological ‘clocks’. The performance of the broken paroled body at the back-end of the criminal justice system is revelatory of the punitiveness of the penal system towards the ageing prison population.

Political Polarization, Ingroup Bias, and Helping Behavior: Do We Help Others Who Are “on the Other Political Team?”

Abstract The American social and political climate has become increasingly polarized. To explore the effects of politically based ingroup biases as they relate to intended helping of others, we designed a study in which we hypothesized that people who are extreme on the political spectrum will intend to help in-group members more so than out-group members. Using an experimental manipulation, we asked participants to choose if extremely progressive (N = 212; mean age = 22.9; 69% female), extremely conservative (N = 47; mean age = 32.8; 55% male), or neither represented their political beliefs. Participants were randomized to one of two vignettes, each depicting either a pro-blue lives matter or pro-black lives matter scenario. Results showed that, controlling for both age and gender, progressives were less likely to help out-group members compared with individuals in any other condition. Dispositional variables were also measured with dark and light triad traits. Light triad traits tended to positively predict helping intentions across conditions. Implications for understanding the psychology of helping are discussed.

The Life + Death Education Framework: Proposition of a 'Universal' Framework for Implementation.

Life and death education is a distinct field of study that has potential life relevance for consideration (e.g., self-awareness and subsequent improvement of one's own health well-being). Existing research development, situating in different learning-sociocultural contexts, has provided consistent evidence that showcases the differing viewpoints of life functioning (e.g., what is the true meaning of life?) and the intricate nature of death and dying (e.g., a death ritual that closely associates with a particular cultural group). Some of the research studies undertaken indicate the effective use of 'philosophization' or the discourse of philosophical analysis, enabling individuals to philosophize, contemplate, and seek transpersonal understanding of the subject matters of life and death (e.g., can a state of 'spiritual transcendence' help to alleviate a person's fear of death?). Such discourse, interestingly, has offered some informative yields for enriching and meaningful life purposes - for example, the seeking to attain transpersonal understanding of life (e.g., what does a state of self-transcendence actually mean?) and/or transpersonal life experience may assist a senior citizen to cope with his mental health during a temporary health crisis. Our teaching and research interest of life and death education over the past decade has led us to consider one important line of inquiry for development: namely, the proposition of a 'universal' blueprint or framework of life and death education for curriculum development, teaching, and research purposes. We are cognizant of the fact that, to date, there is no clear consensus or agreement as to what one is expected (e.g., specific learning outcome) to teach students who wish to study and learn about life and death education. On this basis, the present theoretical article introduces a theoretical framework, termed as 'The Life + Death Education Framework' (e.g., for universities), to assist educators for their quality teaching and/or research inquiries of life and death education. We firmly believe that the Life + Death Education Framework can be universal and, in this case, apply to different learning-sociocultural contexts.

Intergenerational Storytelling in China: Teachings About Family, Life, and Society Amidst Cultural-Historical Change

SYNOPSIS Objective. Over the past century, nationwide political, social, and economic reforms in the People’s Republic of China have drastically changed the structure of Chinese society and family life. This study describes the content of intergenerational storytelling in mainland Chinese families. Design. 193 emerging adult grandchildren recalled in writing a memorable story shared with them by their closest grandparent. Qualitative content analysis addressed what types of memorable stories are told by Chinese grandparents to their grandchildren and the central lessons embedded within those stories. Results. Stories in four broad thematic areas were told: (1) sociohistorical context and events, (2) existential life matters, (3) family history and dynamics, and (4) career and education. Across these areas, several subthemes and lessons learned by grandchildren emerged. Conclusions. Storytelling has the potential to build a bridge between generations whose realities are seemingly ages apart.

Ain’t I a Migrant?: Global Blackness and the Future of Migration Studies

In the wake of recent interventions to better connect the subfields of international migration and race and ethnicity through a sociology of racialized immigration, we push this further by arguing for the necessity of a global Blackness perspective on global migration. Such a focus does not just reflect the role of race in the dynamics of migration, and vice versa, but more importantly shifts assumptions about this relationship. So, it is not enough to say that race matters in migration but rather that blackness and Black lives matter in how migration unfolds. Using global blackness as a starting point in our analyses of migration reveals a clearer and closer entanglement of race, racism, colonialism, and migration. We argue that global Blackness structures notions of who migrates and under what conditions, as well as our ideas regarding migrants and their descendants and use the examples of New York City, Paris, and France as paradigmatic sites for understanding this relationship.

Bioethics and the Value of Human Life.

Bioethics as a philosophical discipline deals with matters of life and death. How it deals with them, however, depends on the kind of life particular bioethicists focus on and the kind of value they assign to it. Natural-law ethicists and conservative Kantians emphasize biological human life regardless of its developmental stage. Integrative bioethicists also embrace nonhuman life if it can be protected without harming humans. Liberal and utilitarian moralists concentrate on life that is sentient and aware of itself, to the exclusion of biological existence devoid of these. Extinctionist and antinatalist philosophers believe that life's value is negative and that its misery should be alleviated and terminated by not bringing new individuals into existence. As the last-mentioned approach reverses the idea of life's positive value, it could be called oibethics.

De-risking Death-traps in Uncontrolled Industrialization: Factory Act and Industrial Health and Safety in Republican China

Abstract In Republican China, the Factory Act was first promulgated in 1929, after almost thirty years of unregulated industrialization. Little academic effort has been made to comprehend its actual implementation. Some academics have dismissed it as completely useless, while others have credited it with various enhancements in working conditions. This article focuses on workplace health and safety issues and critically evaluates the implementation of the law to scrutinize its effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) in addressing workers’ life and death matters. This article aims to reassert the Factory Act in China's modern history of industrial development. It points out that despite its inadequate enforcement, the law was significant in laying the foundation for the national institutionalization of state responsibility to systematically monitor and regulate workplace health and safety and paving the way for further safety legislation. Nevertheless, the law fell short of safeguarding workers’ rights during industrial accidents.

The zero-sum mindset.

Seeing a situation as a zero-sum game, where one party's success must come at the expense of another, stifles cooperation-even when such cooperation could greatly benefit both parties. Consequently, zero-sum beliefs can undermine progress when cooperation is needed for success. In this article, we propose that zero-sum thinking (any specific instance of zero-sum construals or beliefs) can also be understood as a broader mindset-a generalized belief about how the world works. Thus, the zero-sum mindset predisposes one toward zero-sum thinking, and its cognitive and strategic consequences, across situations and domains. In an investigation spanning six countries (Belgium, India, Italy, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and United States) on three continents, and more than 10,000 unique participants, we use cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental methods to provide foundational evidence for the zero-sum mindset. In Studies 1-5 (Concept), we show that the zero-sum mindset is distinct from existing concepts, stable over time, and predictive of disparate instances of zero-sum thinking and its strategic implications across domains and cultures. In Studies 6-7 (Cognitions), we show that zero-sum configurations of success promote hostile interpretations of others and that the zero-sum mindset predicts this bias even in objectively non-zero-sum situations. In Studies 8-9 (Consequences), we show that the zero-sum mindset predicts lower cooperation even in situations where cooperation is a matter of life or death. These findings call attention to the way lay game theories such as the zero-sum mindset bear critical implications for the cognitions and attitudes that drive social behavior and success. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Making them pay: Comparing how environmental facts matter in two accountability contexts

This article makes the case for what we call accountability contexts as a valuable heuristic to think about how facts matter in public life, drawing attention to how different discursive and institutional contexts shape the ways in which facts can count. We examine two environmental case studies: The Territory, a documentary about the struggle of the Uru-eu-wau-wau community in Brazil to protect their land from illegal invaders, and the fact-checking organization Climate Feedback’s partnership with Facebook to flag misinformation on the platform. Popular stories about accountability hinge on using facts to change the public’s mind. In contrast, we find that publicity is only part of a much more complex picture. By analyzing factors such as appeals to relevant publics, institutional rigidity, the uses of knowledge and narrative, and the role of the state, we investigate the real, messy processes that people take part in as they seek change. Accountability contexts provide a valuable heuristic for scholars of political journalism and communication as well as a practical tool for analyzing which pathways have led to success or failure in the pursuit of accountability.

Commentary: When control becomes a matter of life: a phenomenological exploration of intestinal failure patients' lived experience receiving assistance from home care nurses in home parenteral nutrition management.

Commentary: When control becomes a matter of life: a phenomenological exploration of intestinal failure patients' lived experience receiving assistance from home care nurses in home parenteral nutrition management.

When control becomes a matter of life: a phenomenological exploration of intestinal failure patients' lived experience receiving assistance from home care nurses in home parenteral nutrition management.

Parenteral nutrition (PN) provides the body with essential nourishment through intravenous infusion. Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) has a significant impact on the lives of its users; however, very few studies explore the phenomenon of homecare nurse provided assistance for the management and administration of HPN. The phenomenological approach, Reflective Lifeworld Research, was utilised. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with five patients with intestinal failure. The analysis was performed according to the instructions of Reflective Lifeworld Research. Four constituents were identified: (1) balanced nursing experience, (2) correct handling of procedures, (3) reversed expert roles and (4) the homecare nurse as a lifeline. Control was found to be the essence of the phenomenon, multi-faceted and characterised by the participants' ambivalent feelings. The participants were ambivalent about receiving assistance from the homecare nurses. HPN is a complex treatment in which demands are placed on the homecare nurses' competencies to deliver a high quality of care. The patients live with a constant fear of complications and hospitalisations. The participants felt compelled to perform control, monitoring the homecare nurses' work, to ensure that errors did not occur. As more assistance was received from homecare nurses, the participants experienced a loss of control. However, the assistance did also give a sense of security, whereby the homecare nurse was perceived as a lifeline.From a sociological perspective, the need for control can be a result of the constant development of society, where greater demands were placed on citizens' commitment and responsibility for their own treatment, prompting a larger need for individual control.

Meeting social welfare legal needs in end-of-life care: co-creation of a system-wide research partnership.

Social welfare legal needs (matters of daily life, such as finances, housing and employment with legal rights, entitlements or protections) are prevalent towards end of life, creating significant difficulties for both patients and carers. Most people do not know where to go, although a range of services provide advice and support for addressing social welfare legal problems. Navigating this complex and fragmented system across health, social care and social welfare legal support is very challenging. Healthcare professionals are often the first contact for social welfare legal needs, although these are often overlooked and their impact on health and well-being unrecognised. Interprofessional learning can increase awareness of social welfare legal needs and build connections between service providers, offering a more holistic and cohesive multiagency response to the complex needs around end of life. The aim of the research was to co-create a robust foundation for cross-agency research investigating the impact of interprofessional learning on social welfare legal needs towards end of life in the North East England region. Convene a research partnership group across academics, multiagency service providers and members of the public with lived experience. Consider and agree key issues for successful place-based multiagency research in this area. Co-create a complexity-appropriate research proposal with interprofessional learning as an intervention. A series of research activities was implemented to convene a multiagency partnership group and consider the key issues for successful place-based multiagency research. Data were collected from two online workshops, an optional reflective workbook, and a modified Delphi technique. Initial participants were selectively recruited from our established stakeholder and patient and public involvement groups. Increasing diversity of the partnership continued throughout the project, using contacts provided by group members. Representation of services supporting underserved groups was a priority. All invited participants were recruited to the partnership, although contribution to research activities was variable. The partnership bridged knowledge gaps between services and united diverse perspectives, expertise and experience. A greater understanding of the barriers and opportunities for place-based multiagency working was generated, such as considering the importance of language in facilitating collaboration and responding to concerns around capacity. A non-hierarchical partnership was meaningful, with both personal and professional insights viewed as equally important. Facilitators to engagement with interprofessional learning were identified including the need for leadership endorsement. A non-traditional, mixed-method approach to interprofessional learning evaluation was favoured, with both qualitative and quantitative measures at three levels: patient and carer, professional learners and organisations. Important outcomes included raising awareness, connectedness and space to reflect. The partnership group expanded throughout the course of the project. While this extended diversity, variable participation hindered depth of discussion, with participants engaging at different points and with different understanding levels of the project. Supplementary materials provided some mitigation. Capacity and funding constraints limited engagement for some participants. Convening a multiagency partnership generated insights into the benefits, barriers and facilitators to research co-design and potential measures of success of interprofessional learning. Learning from this project has informed a complexity-appropriate research proposal to evaluate the impact of interprofessional learning as an intervention across different stakeholders. This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme as award number NIHR135276.

Vasyl Yakovych Danylevskyi's lecture on science, university and faculty selection (1921): annotated translation

Kharkiv National Medical University has the honor to present a series of lectures by the outstanding doctor of Kharkiv region Danylevskyi V.Ya., which for 100 years have not lost their relevance and can be a guideline for modern doctors and students of medical universities. In this abstract, we will briefly outline the advice of the author of the lecture to young doctors. Without a general scientific education, even a good practicing doctor will remain a narrow empiricist with a limited mental horizon. The student must complete the entire curriculum, because he cannot yet understand the suitability of the academic subjects in his future profession. The formalistic system of educational institutions suppresses higher educational interests, logic and scientific truth. Scientific successes bring people together and promote international communication based on knowledge and art, work and peace. True, mutual understanding covers only the cultural top of the population. Therefore, the democratization of science is necessary for the universal sharing of spiritual and material benefits. That is why they fought so hard for the development of the education of their people in European countries after the wars, and that is why the general rise of the cultural and political power of Japan began with the development of public education. Our physical and mental health depends on all conditions of human existence, starting with the mental and social state. That is why in all matters of physical, mental and social life, their organization and reform, the voice of the doctor should be highly respected. To earn such respect, the doctor must have great tact, understanding of people, and most importantly, great scientific knowledge. What should someone do who has already spent 2–3 years at medical school and then became convinced of his worthlessness? Of course, leaving medicine. Keywords: medical university, medical education, history of medicine.

Neutron physics as a matter of life On the 90TH anniversary of the birth of academician V.A. Nazarenko

Neutron physics as a matter of life On the 90TH anniversary of the birth of academician V.A. Nazarenko

Keeping mitochondria in shape: a matter of life and death

Keeping mitochondria in shape: a matter of life and death

Quantitation of the physicochemical properties of myelin using Nile Red fluorescence spectroscopy.

Myelin is a vital structure that is key to rapid saltatory conduction in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Much work has been done over the decades examining the biochemical composition and morphology of myelin at the light and electron microscopic levels. Here we report a method to study myelin based on the fluorescent probe Nile Red. This lipophilic dye readily partitions into live and chemicallyfixed myelin producing bright, well-resolved images of the sheath. Using spectral confocal microscopy, a complete emission spectrum of Nile Red fluorescence can be acquired for each pixel in an image. The solvatochromic properties of Nile Red cause its emission spectrum to change depending on the polarity of its local environment. Therefore, measuring spectral shifts can report subtle changes in the physicochemical properties of myelin. We show differences in myelin polarity in central versus peripheral nervous system and in different regions of central nervous system white matter of the mouse brain, together with developmental and sex variations. This technique is also well suited for measuring subtle changes in myelin properties in live exvivo white matter specimens. We also demonstrate how light deprivation induces a myelin polarity change in adult mouse optic nerve underscoring a continuing myelin plasticity in response to axonal activity well into adulthood. The Nile Red spectroscopic method allows measurement of subtle physicochemical changes in myelin that can importantly influence its electrical properties and by extension, conduction velocities in axons.

Challenges and coping strategies for providing maternal health care services among health care professionals in rural health facilities in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia: a qualitative study

BackgroundMany factors can decrease job productivity and cause physical and psychological complications for health care professionals providing maternal care. Information on challenges and coping strategies among healthcare professionals providing maternal healthcare services in rural communities is crucial. However, there needs to be more studies, especially qualitative research, to explore challenges and coping strategies for providing maternal health care services in Ethiopia among health care professionals, particularly in the Wolaita zone.ObjectiveTo explore the challenges and coping strategies of professionals providing maternal health care in rural health facilities in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia, in 2023.MethodA phenomenological qualitative study design was applied from May 20 to June 20, 2023. The study was conducted in rural areas of the Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia. Healthcare professionals from rural areas were selected using purposive sampling, and in-depth interviews were conducted. A qualitative thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. Field notes were read, recordings were listened to, and each participant’s interview was written word for word and analyzed using ATLAS.ti 7 software.ResultFive main themes emerged from the data analysis. These themes included inadequate funding from the government, societal barriers to health and access to health care, professionals’ personal life struggles, infrastructure related challenges and health system responsiveness, and coping strategies. Reporting to responsible bodies, teaching mothers about maternal health care services, and helping poor mothers from their pockets were listed among their coping strategies.ConclusionHealthcare professionals have a crucial role in supporting women in delivering babies safely. This study revealed that they are working under challenging conditions. So, if women’s lives matter, then this situation requires a call to action.

Theatre Control Policy or Why After Goran Stefanovski and Dejan Dukovski, No One Is Known Outside the Borders of the Macedonian Theatre? (2010–2021)

To capture the dramatic situation in/of the contemporary drama theatre in Macedonia, I will try to draw certain characteristics of the state of the theatre by referring to several political and social conditions with us, that erode the spirit and matter of everyday life.