A Distinction Without A Moral Difference? An Essay On The Difference Between Palliative Sedation And Physician-Assisted Death

Professionals engaged in palliative care have a responsibility to treat their patients by aggressively managing pain and certain kinds of suffering within legal and professional ethical boundaries. Many medical professionals and ethicists, rightly or wrongly, have considered the practices of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, which can be categorized as instances of physician-assisted death (PAD), to be beyond the scope of ethically appropriate health care. Many of these same individuals who oppose PAD, and the professional organizations they sometimes represent, often embrace, at the same time, the practice of palliative/terminal sedation at the end of life. Palliative sedation is thought to be an advance in palliative care that has alleviated the need for PAD when managing otherwise intractable pain in dying patients. However, there is some question as to whether this procedure is sufficiently distinct, ethically speaking, from instances of various forms of PAD and that it actually constitutes a compromise. It may be argued that if there is no legitimate moral distinction between the two sets of practices, then instances of PAD should be legal and morally legitimate end-of-life treatment options for patients along with palliative sedation. If this view is correct, then those who support the use of sedation in end-of-life palliative care should have no problem with the practice of PAD. If they were to think or act otherwise would be ethically and professionally inconsistent. The primary question of this dissertation is to determine whether or not medical professionals and others invested in this area are ethically consistent if they reject PAD while embracing the practice of palliative/terminal sedation. So this project is to be considered a work in applied analytic bioethics. I argue that there are both conceptual and empirical reasons for maintaining that there are morally relevant differences between PAD and palliative/terminal sedation for those who have some reasons to think the former is ethically problematic. Therefore, those who are morally and professionally opposed to PAD for certain reasons are not necessarily being inconsistent in their support of palliative/terminal sedation as a legitimate treatment at the end-of-life when the latter is carefully defined, understood, and practiced

ДЕЦЕНТРАЛІЗОВАНА СИСТЕМА ІДЕНТИФІКАЦІЇ ТА СЕРТИФІКАЦІЇ

This article describes an approach to identification and certification in a decentralized environment. The protocol defines the way to integrate blockchain technology and web-of-trust concepts to create a decentralized public key infrastructure with easy user ID management. The essence of the scheme is to differentiate the entire infrastructure into 2 levels: the level of certification authorities (service providers) that jointly keep track of events related to user certificates; and the level of end users, systems and applications. During creating, updating, and revoking certificates, higher-level members reach a consensus on the confirmation of transactions associated with them, which ensures a higher level of validity of the certificates and synchronization of their status between certification centers. In turn, lower-level members do not need to perform complex verification procedures for a corresponding certificate: unlike the classic X.509 architecture and web-of-trust approach, the maximum number of checks in a chain can be two. An important feature of such a system is its ability to refuse certification centers: in the case of failure and / or compromise of the keys of one certification center, other network members continue to work seamlessly with others, and blockchain technology may make it impossible to add a certificate to a center whose keys have been compromised, because all the events in the system are connected by cryptographic methods. In particular, such a system can be used on the Internet of Things. Each individual sensor must communicate properly with other components of the system as a whole. In order to enable the secure interaction of these components, they must exchange encrypted messages to verify their integrity and authenticity, the provisioning scheme of which is in the described scheme.Ця стаття описує підхід до ідентифікації та сертифікації у децентралізованому середовищі. Протокол визначає шлях інтеграції блокчейн-технології та концепції web-of-trust для створення децентралізованої інфраструктури відкритих ключів зі зручним керуванням ідентифікаторами користувачів. Сутність схеми полягає у розмежуванні усієї інфраструктури на 2 рівня: рівень центрів сертифікації (постачальників послуг), які сумісно ведуть історію подій, що пов’язані з сертифікатами користувачів; та рівень кінцевих користувачів, систем та додатків. При створенні, оновленні та відкликанні сертифікатів, учасники вищого рівня досягають консенсусу відносно підтвердження пов’язаних з цим транзакцій, що забезпечує більш високий рівень валідності сертифікатів та синхронізацію їх стану між центрами сертифікації. У свою чергу учасникам нижчого рівня не потрібно виконувати складні процедури верифікації окремого сертифікату: на відміну від класичної Х.509 архітектури та web-of-trust підходу, максимальна кількість перевірок у ланцюжці може дорівнювати - двом. Важливою особливістю в такій системі є її здатність до відмови центрів сертифікації: у випадку відмови та/чи компрометації ключів одного центру сертифікації, інші учасники мережі продовжують безперебійно працювати з іншими, а технологія блокчейн може забезпечити неможливість додавання сертифікату центром, ключі якого були скомпрометовані, так як всі події в системі зв'язані за допомогою криптографічних методів. Зокрема, така система може використовуватися у Інтерні Речей (Internet of Things). Кожен індивідуальний сенсор повинен правильно комунікувати з іншими компонентами системи в цілому. Для надання безпечної взаємодії цих компонентів, вони повинні обмінюватися зашифрованими повідомленнями з можливістю перевірки їх цілісності та автентичності, схема надання котрих знаходиться в описаній схемі

Mobile Identity, Credential, and Access Management Framework

Organizations today gather unprecedented quantities of data from their operations. This data is coming from transactions made by a person or from a connected system/application. From personal devices to industry including government, the internet has become the primary means of modern communication, further increasing the need for a method to track and secure these devices. Protecting the integrity of connected devices collecting data is critical to ensure the trustworthiness of the system. An organization must not only know the identity of the users on their networks and have the capability of tracing the actions performed by a user but they must trust the system providing them with this knowledge. This increase in the pace of usage of personal devices along with a lack of trust in the internet has driven demand for trusted digital identities. As the world becomes increasingly mobile with the number of smart phone users growing annually and the mobile web flourishing, it is critical to implement strong security on mobile devices. To manage the vast number of devices and feel confident that a machine’s identity is verifiable, companies need to deploy digital credentialing systems with a strong root of trust. As passwords are not a secure method of authentication, mobile devices and other forms of IoT require a means of two-factor authentication that meets NIST standards. Traditionally, this has been done with Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) through the use of a smart card. Blockchain technologies combined with PKI can be utilized in such a way as to provide an identity and access management solution for the internet of things (IoT). Improvements to the security of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and various implementations of blockchain make viable options for managing the identity and access of IoT devices. When PKI first began over two decades ago, it required the use of a smart card with a set of credentials known as the personal identity verification (PIV) card. The PIV card (something you have) along with a personal identification number (PIN) (something you know) were used to implement two-factor authentication. Over time the use of the PIV cards has proven challenging as mobile devices lack the integrated smart card readers found in laptop and desktop computers. Near Field Communication (NFC) capability in most smart phones and mobile devices provides a mechanism to allow a PIV card to be read by a mobile device. In addition, the existing PKI system must be updated to meet the demands of a mobile focused internet. Blockchain technology is the key to modernizing PKI. Together, blockchain-based PKI and NFC will provide an IoT solution that will allow industry, government, and individuals a foundation of trust in the world wide web that is lacking today

The Raectualization of the Pancasila Values in the Light of Perennial Philosophy

Implementasi nilai-nilai Pancasila sampai saat ini masih merupakan pekerjaan rumah bagi seluruh anak bangsa. Pancasila yang digali dari bumi Indonesia, digodok dan dirumuskan untuk menjadi dasar Negara, falsafah dan pandangan hidup bangsa dimaksudkan untuk memberi dasar pijak yang kokoh bagi berdirinya Negara sekaligus menjadi leitstar (meminjam kata-kata Bungkarno) untuk menuntun bangsa ini meraih cita-citanya. Namun di dalam perjalanannya, Pancasila menemui berbagai rintangan baik dari luar maupun dari dalam. Rintangan dari luar berupa kemoderenan dengan segala perangkat turunannya, sedangkan rintangan dari dalam datang dari anak bangsa sendiri yang belum sepenuhnya menghayati nilai-nilai Pancasila bahkan ada pihak-pihak yang ingin menggantikan Pancasila dengan ideologi lain.Kenyataan ini menggelitik semua komponen bangsa untuk berupaya ikut memikirkan dan menghadirkan konsep, strategi serta langkah-langkah kongkrit untuk membumikan Pancasila menjadi nilai yang hidup, yang menggerakkan bahkan yang dapat membawa bangsa ini menuju masa depan yang diidamkan. Upaya itu antara lain adalah mengkaji Pancasila dari berbagai perspektif dan salah satunya adalah dari perspektif filsafat perennial. Dalam persapektif filsafat perennial, Pancasila bagi bangsa Indonesi sesungguhnya, merupakan saintia sakra dan kalimatun sawa’, suatu pengetahuan suci dan prinsip dasar yang telah menjadi komitmen bersama dan telah terbukti hidup dalam kehidupan masyarakat, bahkan jauh sebelum Indonesia merdeka. Dengan demikian maka reaktualisasi Pancasila bermakna kembali mengamalkan nilai-nilai Pancasila sebagaimana telah tertanam jauh di lubuk sanubari bangsa ini dengan cara pandang yang baru, yaitu bahwa Pancasila tidak semata sebuah ideologi dalam berbangsa dan bernegara, tetapi lebih dari itu adalah sebuah keniscayaan ontologis yang terbawa dalam batin setiap manusia Indonesi

Rule-based conditional trust with OpenPGP.

This thesis describes a new trust model for OpenPGP encryption. This trust model uses conditional rule-based trust to establish key validity and trust. This thesis describes Trust Rules that may be used to sort and categorize keys automatically without user interaction. Trust Rules are also capable of integrating key revocation status into its calculations so it too is automated. This thesis presents that conditional trust established through Trust Rules can enforce stricter security while reducing the burden of use and automating the process of key validity, trust, and revocation

Rebellion in the ‘Near North’ The response of the Australian Government to the Indonesian Outer-Island Rebellion, 1956-1959.

This thesis focuses on the response of the Australian government to the outbreak of the Indonesian Outer-Island rebellion and the American intervention-through the CIA- to support the rebels against the Central Government in Jakarta. The Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship is considered one of Australia’s most crucial diplomatic relationships. This thesis will situate the Australian response to the rebellion within the historical context of Australia’s post-1945 engagement with Asia, the Cold War, and the process of decolonisation in Southeast Asia. Drawing on a variety of Australia and American primary sources, including diplomatic cables, government memoranda, private letters, press releases, reports, oral histories, and newspapers, the thesis will analysis how Australian politicians, diplomats and military officials dealt with a major foreign policy crisis in what Prime Minister Menzies called the “near north”

Rebellion in the ‘Near North’ The response of the Australian Government to the Indonesian Outer-Island Rebellion, 1956-1959.

This thesis focuses on the response of the Australian government to the outbreak of the Indonesian Outer-Island rebellion and the American intervention-through the CIA- to support the rebels against the Central Government in Jakarta. The Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship is considered one of Australia’s most crucial diplomatic relationships. This thesis will situate the Australian response to the rebellion within the historical context of Australia’s post-1945 engagement with Asia, the Cold War, and the process of decolonisation in Southeast Asia. Drawing on a variety of Australia and American primary sources, including diplomatic cables, government memoranda, private letters, press releases, reports, oral histories, and newspapers, the thesis will analysis how Australian politicians, diplomats and military officials dealt with a major foreign policy crisis in what Prime Minister Menzies called the “near north”

The Evolution of Design Principles Enabling Knowledge Reuse for Projects: An Action Design Research Project

Knowledge is a fuzzy phenomenon and managing it a complex endeavor. In particular, knowledge reuse possesses the possibility to increase project performance since project teams can benefit from knowledge of former projects. Therefore, knowledge reuse is an essential knowledge management (KM) process phase that needs to receive special attention. Studying KM in general requires one to consider both social and technical aspects. On the one hand, KM highly depends on individuals, their interactions with each other, organizational rules, and cultural aspects forming KM’s social perspective. On the other hand, contemporary information technologies promise to support organizations, teams, and individuals in managing what they know. Today, the KM research field is tremendous and full of social and technical insights. However, independent of which aspect of KM is studied, most researchers follow either a technology-driven approach for building innovative KM technologies or a behavioral-research approach to observe and understand complex KM phenomena. Few papers report the design of a KM system that integrates the social and technical perspective by expressing and evaluating design principles according the design science research approach. In this paper, we address this challenge and present a comprehensive action design research (ADR) project in the context of managing project knowledge reuse. Thereby, we present our KMS artifact called Just KNow and discuss the entire process from specifying its requirements to its implementation step by step. This paper helps KM researchers and practitioners make informed decisions. We support researchers in deciding whether the ADR approach is appropriate for their particular research project and provide a guideline for how to apply ADR. We support practitioners by helping them make design decisions when creating and implementing an effective KMS