Priorities

Foot argues that there are certain things that all human beings - perhaps all rational agents - need.  This gives a sense in which certain values and disvalues can be called 'objective'.  I suggest that, with certain relatively minor adjustments, her argument can be made cogent but that it cannot be used to show that there are objective answers to questions about what one should do when values conflict.  If Foot's own virtue ethics, utilitarianism, Kantian ethics or any other first-order moral system were to be established as objectively valid, this would require some completely different form of argumentation. 


Almost sixty years ago Philippa Foot published an article that began: To many people it seems that the most notable advance in moral philosophy during the past fifty years or so has been the refutation of naturalism; and they are a little shocked that at this late date such an issue should be reopened. It is easy to understand their attitude: given certain apparently unquestionable assumptions, it would be about as sensible to try to reintroduce naturalism as to try to square the circle. Those who see it like this have satisfied themselves that they know in advance that any naturalistic theory must have a catch in it somewhere, and are put out at having to waste more time exposing an old fallacy. This paper is an attempt to persuade them to look critically at the premises on which their arguments are based. 1 The paper in question was one of a number written by Foot around the time that were highly successful in reopening the issue of naturalism in ethics. Nowadays no one can just take it for granted that naturalism has been refuted, that there is a sharp distinction (or indeed any clear distinction) between fact and value or that it is impossible to derive an 'ought' from an 'is'. This is not to say that the naturalists have been completely victorious, of course; only that naturalism is today a live option. I shall argue that Foot's paper contains an important insight and an equally important mistake; and that the insight and the mistake are linked. I believe that the thinking behind it has influenced the subsequent course of moral philosophy to a quite remarkable extent and that this has been in some ways beneficial and in some ways harmful – not surprisingly, if I am right in seeing it as containing both truth and error. I do not want to exaggerate the influence of this one paper 2 but I do not know of any other that so neatly encapsulates the coupled insight and mistake. The anti-naturalism that Foot is attacking she characterises as follows: It would not be an exaggeration to say that the whole of moral philosophy, as it is now widely taught, rests on a contrast between statements of fact and evaluations, which runs something like this: The truth or falsity of statements of fact is shewn by means of evidence; and what counts as evidence is laid down in the meaning of the expressions occurring in the statement of fact … It follows that no two people can make the same statement and count completely different things as evidence; in the end one at least of them could be convicted of linguistic ignorance. It also follows that if a man is given good evidence for a factual conclusion he cannot just refuse to accept the conclusion on the ground that in his scheme of things this evidence is not evidence at all. 3 But, on the view she is criticising, [w]ith evaluations, however, it is different. An evaluation is not connected logically with the factual statements on which it is based. One man may say that a thing is good because of some fact about it, and another may refuse to take that fact as any evidence, for nothing is laid down in the meaning of 'good' which connects it with one piece of 'evidence' rather than another. It follows that a moral eccentric could argue to moral conclusions from quite idiosyncratic premises; he could say, for instance, that a man was a good man because he clasped and unclasped his hands and never turned NNE after

Almost sixty years ago Philippa Foot published an article that began: To many people it seems that the most notable advance in moral philosophy during the past fifty years or so has been the refutation of naturalism; and they are a little shocked that at this late date such an issue should be reopened. It is easy to understand their attitude: given certain apparently unquestionable assumptions, it would be about as sensible to try to reintroduce naturalism as to try to square the circle. Those who see it like this have satisfied themselves that they know in advance that any naturalistic theory must have a catch in it somewhere, and are put out at having to waste more time exposing an old fallacy. This paper is an attempt to persuade them to look critically at the premises on which their arguments are based. 1 The paper in question was one of a number written by Foot around the time that were highly successful in reopening the issue of naturalism in ethics. Nowadays no one can just take it for granted that naturalism has been refuted, that there is a sharp distinction (or indeed any clear distinction) between fact and value or that it is impossible to derive an 'ought' from an 'is'. This is not to say that the naturalists have been completely victorious, of course; only that naturalism is today a live option. I shall argue that Foot's paper contains an important insight and an equally important mistake; and that the insight and the mistake are linked. I believe that the thinking behind it has influenced the subsequent course of moral philosophy to a quite remarkable extent and that this has been in some ways beneficial and in some ways harmful – not surprisingly, if I am right in seeing it as containing both truth and error. I do not want to exaggerate the influence of this one paper 2 but I do not know of any other that so neatly encapsulates the coupled insight and mistake. The anti-naturalism that Foot is attacking she characterises as follows: It would not be an exaggeration to say that the whole of moral philosophy, as it is now widely taught, rests on a contrast between statements of fact and evaluations, which runs something like this: The truth or falsity of statements of fact is shewn by means of evidence; and what counts as evidence is laid down in the meaning of the expressions occurring in the statement of fact … It follows that no two people can make the same statement and count completely different things as evidence; in the end one at least of them could be convicted of linguistic ignorance. It also follows that if a man is given good evidence for a factual conclusion he cannot just refuse to accept the conclusion on the ground that in his scheme of things this evidence is not evidence at all. 3 But, on the view she is criticising, [w]ith evaluations, however, it is different. An evaluation is not connected logically with the factual statements on which it is based. One man may say that a thing is good because of some fact about it, and another may refuse to take that fact as any evidence, for nothing is laid down in the meaning of 'good' which connects it with one piece of 'evidence' rather than another. It follows that a moral eccentric could argue to moral conclusions from quite idiosyncratic premises; he could say, for instance, that a man was a good man because he clasped and unclasped his hands and never turned NNE after

Medium-term and long-term priorities in ecological studies.
Ostroumov S.A., Dodson S.I., Hamilton D., Peterson S.A., Wetzel R.G.
Riv. Biol. 2003, 96(2):327-332.

List of research priorities for ecology and environmental science of 21st century. Executive summary that was developed by an international team of ecologists. A contribution to creating a basis for grant proposals, for evaluation of new results, for writing new reviews.

PMID: 14595906 [PubMed] [Priorities in ecology and environmental sciences]: http://www.scribd.com/doc/57124875/; http://www.scribd.com/doc/52655707/
**

Published:

Ostroumov S.A., Dodson S., Hamilton D., Peterson S., WetzelR.G. Medium-term and long-term priorities in ecological studies // Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum. 2003 (May). 96: 327-332.
.
Abstracts in Eng. and Italian (p. 332). Bibliogr. 20.
ref.www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14595906; PMID: 14595906 [PubMed - indexed forMEDLINE]
http://scipeople.com/uploads/materials/4389/3RivistaBio96Priorities2.rtf

Research priorities in ecology and environmental sciences for the future are formulated.The priorities for both fundamental and applied ecology are proposed. The list of priorities includes 50 items. The priorities are relevant to terrestrial, aquatic, and generalecology. The list of priorities is helpful when grant proposals are being prepared,evaluated, and selected for funding.

KEY WORDS: priorities, fundamentals, ecology, environmental sciences, biosphericsciences, life and biomedical sciences, geosciences, ecosystems, biosphere, organisms,levels of life systems, man-made impacts, anthropogenic effects, terrestrial and aquatic,research topics
**
Full text free [Rivista di Biologia]:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/52655707/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/57124875/
Also, the full text is here:
http://5bio5.blogspot.com/2012/08/priorities-in-ecological-studies-topics.html
indexed, Web of Science, PubMed;
PMID: 14595906 [PubMed]
The reference in a traditional format:
S.A. Ostroumov, S.I. Dodson, D. Hamilton, S.A. Peterson, and R.G. Wetzel. Medium-term and long-term priorities in ecological studies. - Rivista di biologia, 96(2):327–332, 2003.
**

MEDIUM-TERM AND LONG-TERM PRIORITIES IN ECOLOGICALSTUDIES


1
, S. Dodson
2
, D. Hamilton
3
, S. Peterson
4
, R. G. Wetzel
5

1
current address: Laboratory of Physico-Chemistry of Biomembranes, Faculty of Biology,Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russian Federation;
2
Zoology-Birge Hall, University of Wisconsin, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706,USA;
3
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105,Hamilton, New Zealand;
4
US EPA, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, WesternEcology Division, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA;
5
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health,University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Abstract:
Research priorities in ecology and environmental sciences for the future are formulated. The priorities for both fundamental and applied ecology are proposed. Thelist of priorities includes about 50 items. The priorities are relevant to terrestrial,aquatic, and general ecology. The list of priorities is helpful when grant proposals arebeing prepared, evaluated, and selected for funding.Keywords: ecology, environmental sciences, priorities, fundamental problems, topics forgrants, scientific policy

I  present  a "performance  model"  of translation  for the rnain  purpose  of  raising  awareness  of  the  complexity  of  the  production  of translation  in trainees (and hopefully, "purely  intuitive" translators as well). I intend  to rescue  the  word  "priority" as used  by  Nida,  at  the  risk  of  being regarded  as a hijacker, since I also intend to ''update" it by trying to benefit from the insights of functional models, norm theory and descriptive translation studies  (DTS).  From  this  revival  of  the  term  "priority",  within  a  didactic/ evaluative  paradigm, I then  provide  a personal  account  of  subjectivity, scope, ambition and difficulty, proposing them as evaluative criteria, which is the other prirnary aim ofthe paper. I deal with equivalence as a (variable) characteristic  of priorities, although 1 am fully aware that this is not the only possible account of equivalence, even within this paradigm. I assume that the objects  translators  work  with  and produce  are  texts  and  the  constituent elements oftexts are verbal and nonverbal signs.

BACKGROUND:
This article describes infection prevention and control professionals' (ICPs') staffing levels, patient outcomes, and costs associated with the provision of infection prevention and control services in Australian hospitals. A secondary objective was to determine the priorities for infection control units.

METHODS:
A cross-sectional study design was used. Infection control units in Australian public and private hospitals completed a Web-based anonymous survey. Data collected included details about the respondent; hospital demographics; details and services of the infection control unit; and a description of infection prevention and control-related outputs, patient outcomes, and infection control priorities.

RESULTS:
Forty-nine surveys were undertaken, accounting for 152 Australian hospitals. The mean number of ICPs was 0.66 per 100 overnight beds (95% confidence interval, 0.55-0.77). Privately funded hospitals have significantly fewer ICPs per 100 overnight beds compared with publicly funded hospitals (P < .01). Staffing costs for nursing staff in infection control units in this study totaled $16,364,392 (mean, $380,566). Infection control units managing smaller hospitals (<270 beds) identified the need for increased access to infectious diseases or microbiology support.

CONCLUSION:
This study provides valuable information to support future decisions by funders, hospital administrators, and ICPs on service delivery models for infection prevention and control. Further, it is the first to provide estimates of the resourcing and cost of staffing infection control in hospitals at a national level.

Aim Biologists increasingly recognize the roles of humans in ecosystems. Subsequently, many have argued that biodiversity conservation must be extended to environments that humans have shaped directly. Yet popular biogeographical frameworks such as biomes do not incorporate human land use, limiting their relevance to future conservation planning. 'Anthromes' map global ecological patterns created by sustained direct human interactions with ecosystems. In this paper, we set to understand how current conservation efforts are distributed across anthromes. Location Global. Methods We analysed the global distribution of IUCN protected areas and biodiversity hotspots by anthrome. We related this information to density of native plant species and density of previous ecological studies. Potential conservation opportunities in anthromes were then identified through global analysis and two case studies. Results Protected areas and biodiversity hotspots are not distributed equally across anthromes. Less populated anthromes contain a greater proportion of protected areas. The fewest hotspots are found within densely settled anthromes and wildlands, which occur at the two extremes of human population density. Opportunities for representative protection, prioritization, study and inclusion of native species were not congruent. Main conclusions Researchers and practitioners can use the anthromes framework to analyse the distribution of conservation practices at the global and regional scale. Like biomes, anthromes could also be used to set future conservation priorities. Conservation goals in areas directly shaped by humans need not be less ambitious than those in 'natural areas'.

Si të bëni një "to do list" kur jeni gjithmonë në takime.
Çdo mëngjes, ju shkruani, në krye të listës suaj të detyrave, "Puno për prezantimin!" Ndoshta edhe e nënvizoni atë një herë ose dy për theksim. Por në fund të ditës, vendosmëria juaj është kthyer në shqetësim: përsëri keni kaluar pjesën më të madhe të kohës në takime. Madje kur keni pasur pak kohë mes tyre, nuk keni përparuar në prezantimin tuaj. Kështu që, ju vazhdoni të prisni për "kohën e përsosur" për t'u ulur dhe për të përfunduar të gjithë projektin me një hap. Por takimet vazhdojnë të ndërhyjnë dhe prezantimi juaj qëndron në listën tuaj të detyrave, duke ju peshuar shumë në mendje, derisa të mos mund t'i shpëtoni më gjatë. Në një aktivitet të madh, ju punoni ditën dhe natën për ta realizuar atë. Ju e përmbushni afatin, por vuani gjatë proçesit dhe druheni herën tjetër kur ju duhet të përfundoni një detyrë tjetër të rëndësishme. Ky cikël njohjesh se cila është përparësia juaj më e rëndësishme, por të ndjeheni sikur takimet ju pengojnë ta bëni atë, mund të jetë tepër zhgënjyes. Si një trajnere e menaxhimit të kohës, unë kam parë që edhe nëse kjo mënyrë e punës ka qenë modeli juaj gjatë gjithë jetës, ju mund të zhvilloni një qasje më të qëndrueshme dhe më pak stresuese ndaj projekteve. Më poshtë janë të renditura disa këshilla se si të bëni punën e projektit edhe kur duhet të filloni dhe të ndaloni për takime.

Ostroumov S. A. Anthropogenic effects on the biota: towards a new system of principles and criteria for analysis of ecological hazards. Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum. 2003. 96: 159-170. [ISSN 0035-
6050] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12852181;
http://www.tilgher.it/(ekdo002s40etdh55stgyltvf)/index.aspx?lang=eng&tpr=4&act=abs&id=650;
In the paper, the author developed an innovative approach to assess the hazards from anthropogenic
impact on the biosphere. The author suggested to assess the man-made impacts (including effects of
pollutants and xenobiotics) on the biota according to the following four levels of disturbance in biological
and ecological systems: (1) the level of individual responses; (2) the level of aggregated responses of
groups of organisms; (3) the level of stability and integrity of the ecosystem; (4) the level of contributions
of the ecosystem to biospheric processes. On the basis of the author's experimental studies, an example is
given of how to apply the proposed approach and the system of criteria to the analysis of concrete
experimental data. To exemplify the efficiency of the proposed approach, it is shown how to use it to
analyze new data on effects of a synthetic surfactant on water filtering by bivalves. It is concluded that
the proposed approach will be helpful in better assessing environmental and ecological hazards from
anthropogenic effects on biota, including effects of man-made chemicals polluting ecosystems. The
following key issues were presented and analyzed in the paper: 1. The traditional approach to
classification of chemicals according to their environmental hazards. 2. A new approach to the analysis of
hazards of anthropogenic effects on the biota. 3. An example of applying the new approach to the analysis
of environmental and ecological hazards.
**
Citation:
The paper (Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum. 2003. 96: 159-170) was cited by international experts,
e.g., in the paper: R. Grande ; S. Di Pietro; E. Di Campli; S. Di Bartolomeo; B. Filareto; L. Cellini. Biotoxicological
assays to test water and sediment quality. Journal of Environmental Science and Health,
Part A, Volume 42, Issue 1 2007 (January), pages 33 – 38 [Affiliation of the Authors: Rossella Grande a;
Stefania Di Pietro ab; Emanuela Di Campli a; Soraya Di Bartolomeo a; Barbara Filareto b; Luigina
Cellini a; here the letters a and b stand for the following institutions:
a Department of Biomedical Sciences, University “G. d'Annunzio,”, Chieti, Italy;
b Agency for the Protection of Environment, Pescara, Italy] DOI: 10.1080/10934520601015446;
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a768424372&db=all;
--------------------------------------------------------------------- Aquatic ecosystem as a
bioreactor: water purification and some other functions. - Rivista di Biologia /
Biology Forum. 2004. vol. 97 (1). p. 67-78.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B589QnrA6gkoNGZlM2Y5MDYtODliYS00NzEzLWEzYzUtMDZiNmJlZDA4MWM2&s
ort=name&layout=list&num=50;
4Riv.Biol.97p39.ABSTRACTextended.Aquatic..Bioreactor.RTF
---------------------------------------------------------------------Ostroumov S.A., Dodson S.,
Hamilton D., Peterson S., Wetzel R.G. Medium-term and long-term priorities in
ecological studies // Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum. 2003 (May). 96: 327-332.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B589QnrA6gkoMmY2MDZkNDMtMWYxMi00YzUyLWFlNDYtOGY4YTY1MjczYTZm
&hl=en;
---------------------------------------------------------------------Some aspects of water filtering
activity of filter-feeders // Hydrobiologia. 2005. Vol. 542, No. 1. P. 275 – 286:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?
id=0B589QnrA6gkoZjE3MTAxN2YtMGUzZC00YTQyLWI3OGItNTlhNmM0OTEwMjg2&sort=name&layout=list&num=50;
---------------------------------------------------------------------On the Multifunctional Role of the
Biota in the Self-Purification of Aquatic Ecosystems // Russian Journal of Ecology,
Vol. 36, No. 6, 2005, pp. 414–420: https://docs.google.com/fileview?
id=0B589QnrA6gkoNDhmYWJiMWEtYzVhYS00MzRmLTk1ZmEtZDM5MTQzZDg3MTJj&hl=en;
------------------------------------------------------------------------annotation of the book:
Biological Effects of Surfactants:
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B589QnrA6gkoMDNjYzE1YmEtYjdmNC00NzBjLTk5ZDItMGU4OWZjZmNiYTY5&hl
=en;
---------------------------------------------------------------------Inhibition of mussel suspension
feeding by surfactants of three classes // Hydrobiologia. 2006. Vol. 556, No. 1.
Pages: 381 – 386. 3 Tables. Bibliogr. 37 refs [Coauthors: S.А.O., J. Widdows].
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B589QnrA6gkoNTc0ZmVkNDItNWExZC00MjcwLTljMzYtNjU0OWUxMDQzYjM2&s
ort=name&layout=list&num=50;
- - - - -
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45913695;
Ostroumov S.A. A new type of effect of potentially hazardous substances: uncouplers of pelagial–benthal
coupling. - Doklady Biological Sciences. 2002 (March). Vol. 383 (1-6): 127-130.
Publications by the same author. Main Results.
Публикации того же автора. Основные результаты: http://www.scribd.com/doc/59437439/;

On the author. Об авторе (С.А.О.):
Fulbright Award winner; more:
http://www.famous-scientists.ru/3732/;
http://www.scribd.com/doc/99555491/

Wetlands are often vital physical and social components of a country’s natural capital, as well as providers of ecosystem services to local and national communities. We performed a network analysis to prioritize Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for sustainable development in iconic wetlands and wetlandscapes around the world. The analysis was based on the information and perceptions on 45 wetlandscapes worldwide by 49 wetland researchers of the Global Wetland Ecohydrological Network (GWEN). We identified three 2030 Agenda targets of high priority across the wetlandscapes needed to achieve sustainable development: Target 6.3—“Improve water quality”; 2.4—“Sustainable food production”; and 12.2—“Sustainable management of resources”. Moreover, we found specific feedback mechanisms and synergies between SDG targets in the context of wetlands. The most consistent reinforcing interactions were the influence of Target 12.2 on 8.4—“Efficient resource consumption”; and that of Targe...

This work is a presentation given at the University Forum at the American Water Works Association&#39;s Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE) in Las Vegas, NV USA on June 13, 2018. It provides information about two studies - a survey development exercise and a larger public survey (n=503) detailing public views on sea level rise planning factors to include, funding sources, and conflict resolution methods. All of the data in this presentation are preliminary, as publications had not yet been submitted at the time of giving the presentation.

The objective of the author with this work is to present the place and role of priorities in the development plans. The main reason for the consideration of this thematic is the existing practice of deduction and formulation of the priorities in the development plans in Bulgaria on all levels. The wrong approaches and low quality of the priorities in these plans create serious difficulties at a moment when the country as a whole, all territorial and economic units in it are in pressing need for development, growth and increase of the incomes. The incorrectly set priorities strongly affect the quality of the plans and options for the realization of these plans. This is the reason for the author to present through the prism of the system approach several key directions for consideration of the priorities and thus to contribute to the change of the existing practice.

European railroads must reduce costs and increase revenues if they are to remain successful during the coming years. This is especially true as intermodal competition (e.g. from low cost airlines) increases, but also because of the coming intramodal competition when new companies are free to offer passenger rail service throughout the European network. Many of the strategies that railroads can use to achieve these objectives can be modeled after the low cost airline industry, which is pioneering the implementation of innovative and creative business concepts in the transportation industry. European railway companies have used two approaches to address competition: applying pricing strategies to their regular networks and organizing subsidiary companies to offer new services. It has been difficult to introduce yield management strategies on regular service due to the structure of railway networks. Deutsche Bahn (DB) tried an ambitious program called PEP in 2003. The PEP program created customer confusion and revenue losses for the railroad; it was replaced with a new approach after several months. More recently railroads have introduced yield pricing on a small number of specific trains. France and Italy have established separate affiliates to test new marketing strategies and service concepts. Both programs have been successful. This paper describes the application of low cost airline pricing strategies on European railroads. The experience has shown that successfully transferring these strategies to the railroad business has not been simple, but as intermodal and intramodal competition continues to increase European railroads must become more innovative.

Wetlands are often vital physical and social components of a country’s natural capital, as well as providers of ecosystem services to local and national communities. We performed a network analysis to prioritize Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for sustainable development in iconic wetlands and wetlandscapes around the world. The analysis was based on the information and perceptions on 45 wetlandscapes worldwide by 49 wetland researchers of the Global Wetland Ecohydrological Network (GWEN). We identified three 2030 Agenda targets of high priority across the wetlandscapes needed to achieve sustainable development: Target 6.3—“Improve water quality”; 2.4—“Sustainable food production”; and 12.2—“Sustainable management of resources”. Moreover, we found specific feedback mechanisms and synergies between SDG targets in the context of wetlands. The most consistent reinforcing interactions were the influence of Target 12.2 on 8.4—“Efficient resource consumption”; and that of Targe...

There are numerous real life examples done by many people which show that the alternatives of a decision sometimes can reverse their original rank order when new alternatives are added or old ones deleted and without bringing in new criteria. There is no mathematical theorem which proves that rank must always be preserved and there cannot be because of real life and hypothetical counter examples in decision making methods. Rank preservation came to be accepted as the standard because of techniques that could only rate alternatives one at a time treating them as independent. Thus an alternative receives a score and it will not change when other alternatives are added or deleted. All methods that only rate alternatives one at a time, thus always preserving rank, may not lead to the right decision; even if they may be right in certain areas of application. In reality, to determine how good an alternative is on an intangible criterion needs experience and knowledge about other alternatives and hence in their evaluation, the alternatives cannot be completely considered as independent of one another.

Wetlands are often vital physical and social components of a country’s natural capital, as well as providers of ecosystem services to local and national communities. We performed a network analysis to prioritize Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for sustainable development in iconic wetlands and wetlandscapes around the world. The analysis was based on the information and perceptions on 45 wetlandscapes worldwide by 49 wetland researchers of the Global Wetland Ecohydrological Network (GWEN). We identified three 2030 Agenda targets of high priority across the wetlandscapes needed to achieve sustainable development: Target 6.3—“Improve water quality”; 2.4—“Sustainable food production”; and 12.2—“Sustainable management of resources”. Moreover, we found specific feedback mechanisms and synergies between SDG targets in the context of wetlands. The most consistent reinforcing interactions were the influence of Target 12.2 on 8.4—“Efficient resource consumption”; and that of Targe...

Background, Aims and Objectives: Many healthcare systems have undergone organizational or structural changes to improve productivity and efficiency. Simultaneously, political requirements are urging both standardized pathways in cancer treatment, person-centered care and shared decision-making. These changes and requirements have created changed conditions for patient involvement.
Methods: In this article, we explore how and in which organizational framework decisions were made concerning the treatment of men with advanced prostate cancer. Moreover, we explored how health professionals and patients perceive the influence of the organizational framework on the decision-making process. Additionally, participant observations of patient consultations and the environment in an outpatient clinic, as well as qualitative interviews with patients and health professionals, were conducted.
Results and Discussion: The findings revealed that tight schedules, short consultations, and the lack of continuity in a patient’s treatment, caused poor conditions for sufficient dialogue between patients and health professionals and, thus, poor conditions for patient involvement.