The psychological appeal of owning private land for conservation

Continued threats to global biodiversity have stimulated interest in the private purchase of land for conservation. Though not a new phenomenon, private land conservation appears to be on the rise, and its ambiguous position between philanthropy and financial investment leads to questions about the nature of landowner motives. To examine these motives, we used grounded theory techniques to analyze transcripts of narrative interviews with the owners of privately conserved areas (PCAs) and assessed what landowners had in common across a variety of cultural and policy contexts. The result was a model of PCA engagement in which landowners became personally invested in the management of PCAs and in the nature they protected. We found that PCAs can be conceptualized not merely as philanthropic endeavors or investments, but also as meaningful projects in which their owners engage. We integrated our findings with literature indicating that fundamental psychological drives for autonomy, efficacy, and social connection facilitate the engagement process, regardless of whether conservation motivation is intrinsic or extrinsic. Our findings suggest that land conservation programs might benefit from allowing landowner autonomy to the maximum extent possible, developing best practice standards against which landowners can assess their efficacy, and facilitating the development of landowner networks.

Marital Expectations in Strong African American Marriages

The current exploratory study utilized a family strengths framework to identify marital expectations in 39 strong African American heterosexual marriages. Couples reflected on their marital expectations over their 10 or more years of marriage. Three themes emerged through qualitative analysis and the participants' own words were used in the presentation of the themes. African Americans indicated that there was growth in marital expectations over time, with marital expectations often beginning with unrealistic expectations that grew into more realistic expectations as their marriages progressed. Participants also indicated that core expectations in strong African American marriages included open communication, congruent values, and positive treatment of spouse. Finally, participants explained there is an "I" in marriage as they discussed the importance of autonomy within their marital relationships. Results are discussed in association with existing research and theory.

[Autonomy, Trust and Medical Ethics in Onora O'Neill's Work]

INTRODUCTION

Autonomy has become a key concept in bioethics. Onora O'neill is perhaps the most representative author and researcher in the philosophical and bioethical fields regrding the concept of autonomy.

OBJECT

To review the concept of autonomy in Onora O'Neill's work so as to understand its relevance in current bioethics.

METHOD

The concept of bioethics is reviewed in relation to three fundamental quesions: 1) Which are the main limitations of the individualistic conception of autonomy? 2) How to understand the relations between trust and autonomy together with their implications? and 3) Which are the implications of principled autonomy for aspects such as doctor-patient relationship and informed consent. The main works by O'Neill are reviewed, specifically regarding medical bioethics.

RESULTS

O'neill's approach is original and relates Kantian autonomy to her own conceptions about trust, and both the individual and social levels of bioethics.

CONCLUSIONS

The author has developed a Kantian non indvidualistic view of autonomy. Her conceptulization of trust and the crises this concept is currently undergoing complement and strengthen the concept of principled autonomy. The implications of O'Neill's concepts go beyond theoretical discussions and in her work she uses examples and analyzes circumstances which demonstrate the applicability of her proposals. O'Neill's work contributes to dealing with the challenges posed by the socio-political context of cost-efficiency oriented health systems and of the so-called defensive medicine.

[From the Principle of Beneficence to the Principle of Autonomy. Assessment of Patients' Mental Competency in the General Hospital]

INTRODUCTION

Refusing a medical procedure is a valid way of exercising every patient's right to autonomy. From the legal point of view, autonomy is based on the right to privacy. In recent decades the legal right to self-determination has gradually expanded and today patients in full possession of their mental faculties, have the moral and legal right to make their own decisions and these decisions take precedence over physician and family. Often liaison psychiatrists are called in to assess the mental competence of patients in the general hospital.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the psychiatrist's role in evaluating these patients.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The assessment of a patient's ability to decide and self-determine is a common clinical problem in general hospitals. Evaluation of these patients requires a proper understanding of the philosophical, ethical, and legal issues that guide the appropriate treatment of these complex clinical problems.