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Larger Questions (larger + question)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences60%
Humanities and Social Sciences40%

Selected Abstracts

THE USES OF WALTER: WALTER BENJAMIN AND THE COUNTERFACTUAL IMAGINATION

HISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 3 2010
BENJAMIN ALDES WURGAFT
ABSTRACT Many authors, both scholarly and otherwise, have asked what might have happened had Walter Benjamin survived his 1940 attempt to escape Nazi-occupied Europe. This essay examines several implicitly or explicitly "counterfactual" thought experiments regarding Benjamin's "survival," including Hannah Arendt's influential "Walter Benjamin: 1892,1940," and asks why our attachment to Benjamin's story has prompted so much counterfactual inquiry. It also explores the larger question of why few intellectual historians ask explicitly counterfactual questions in their work. While counterfactuals have proven invaluable for scholars in diplomatic, military, and economic history, those writing about the history of ideas often seem less concerned with chains of events and contingency than some of their colleagues are,or they attend to contingency in a selective fashion. Thus this essay attends to the ambivalence about the category of contingency that runs through much work in intellectual history. Returning to the case of Walter Benjamin, this essay explores his own tendency to pose "what if?" questions, and then concludes with an attempt to ask a serious counterfactual question about his story. The effort to ask this question reveals one methodological advantage of counterfactual inquiry: the effort to ask such questions often serves as an excellent guide to the prejudices and interests of the historian asking them. By engaging in counterfactual thought experiments, intellectual historians could restore an awareness of sheer contingency to the stories we tell about the major texts and debates of intellectual history. [source]

Toward the ,Rights of the Poor' Human Rights in Liberation Theology

JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS ETHICS, Issue 3 2000
Mark Engler
In this article, the author traces the response of liberation theologians to human rights initiatives through three distinct stages over the past thirty years: from an initial avoidance of the concept, to an early critique, and then to a nuanced theological appropriation. He contends that liberation theology brings a thoroughgoing concern for the poor and an innovative methodology of historicization to the discussion of human rights. In clarifying the treatment of human rights within a specific religious movement, the author also addresses larger questions about the specific role of human rights language. To this end, the article shows how liberation theologians have grappled concretely with the divisions among different ,generations' of rights, various rights discourses, and diverse options for rights advocacy. [source]

Under-reporting of compensable mesothelioma in Alberta

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 7 2009
Marilyn W. Cree PhD
Abstract Background When combined with a history of occupational asbestos exposure, mesothelioma is often presumed work-related. In Canada, workers diagnosed with mesothelioma caused by occupational asbestos exposure are often eligible for compensation under provincial workers' compensation boards. Although occupational asbestos exposure causes the majority of mesothelioma, Canadian research suggests less than half of workers actually apply for compensation. Alberta's mandatory reporting requirements may produce higher filing rates but this is currently unknown. This study evaluates Alberta's mesothelioma filing and compensation rates. Methods Demographic information on all mesothelioma patients diagnosed between 1980 and 2004 were extracted from the Alberta Cancer Board's Cancer Registry and linked to Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta claims data. Results Alberta recorded a total of 568 histologically confirmed mesothelioma cases between 1980 and 2004. Forty-two percent of cases filed a claim; 83% of filed claims were accepted for compensation. Conclusions Patient under-reporting of compensable mesothelioma is a problem and raises larger questions regarding under-reporting of other asbestos-related cancers in Alberta. Strategies should focus on increasing filing rates where appropriate. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:526,533, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Analytical approaches for transplant research, 2004

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 4p2 2005
Douglas E. Schaubel
This article provides detailed explanations of the methods frequently employed in outcomes analyses performed by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). All aspects of the analytical process are discussed, including cohort selection, post-transplant follow-up analysis, outcome definition, ascertainment of events, censoring, and adjustments. The methods employed for descriptive analyses are described, such as unadjusted mortality rates and survival probabilities, and the estimation of covariant effects through regression modeling. A section on transplant waiting time focuses on the kidney and liver waiting lists, pointing out the different considerations each list requires and the larger questions that such analyses raise. Additionally, this article describes specialized modeling strategies recently designed by the SRTR and aimed at specific organ allocation issues. The article concludes with a description of simulated allocation modeling (SAM), which has been developed by the SRTR for three organ systems: liver, thoracic organs, and kidney-pancreas. SAMs are particularly useful for comparing outcomes for proposed national allocation policies. The use of SAMs has already helped in the development and implementation of a new policy for liver candidates with high MELD scores to be offered organs regionally before the organs are offered to candidates with low MELD scores locally. [source]

Routine administration of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure: Effect on functional outcome

AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010
Heather Colquhoun
Background/aim:,Routinely using outcome measures as an integral component of practice has been encouraged for decades yet has not been widely adopted. There are many reasons to measure outcomes yet any positive effect of measurement on our programs or clients has not been substantiated. If the time-consuming nature of outcome measurement is to be encouraged, we need to begin addressing larger questions of the value of outcome measurement on care and outcomes. This cohort study evaluated the impact of routinely administering the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure on client outcomes on a geriatric rehabilitation unit. Methods:,Changes in Functional Independence MeasureÔ scores between an experimental group (n = 45) that received the routine use of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure for evaluation/planning versus a historical comparison group (n = 58) that received ,usual' care were analysed using generalised linear modeling. Results:,Both groups had significant changes in Functional Independence MeasureÔ scores over time. Results for differences between groups were inconclusive with a significantly underpowered analysis; however, results suggest that a medium to large effect of this intervention cannot be expected. Conclusions:,Results are significant for the field of routine outcome measurement, suggesting that when adding the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure to routine assessment within an inpatient rehabilitation setting, substantially improved Functional Independence MeasureÔ score outcomes should not be expected. The value of routine outcome measurement on client outcomes remains largely unexplored. Routinely, using outcome measures requires additional research to determine the specific benefits to our programs and client outcomes. [source]