The emerging world is hopeful. The established – not so much

by ToastyKen

Hope: Globalization’s Dividend
[Via Daily Ideafeed | Big Think]

One of the most overused words in public life is “hope”, up there with “change”. Yet it matters enormously. Politicians pay close attention to right-track/wrong-track indicators. Confidence determines whether consumers spend, and so whether companies invest. The “power of positive thinking”, as Norman Vincent Peale pointed out, is enormous. … Now hope is on the move. According to the Pew Research Centre, some 87% of Chinese, 50% of Brazilians and 45% of Indians think their country is going in the right direction, whereas 31% of Britons, 30% of Americans and 26% of the French do.

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Hard to argue with this:

For most of its history America has kept its promise to give its citizens a good chance of living better than their parents. But these days, less than half of Americans think their children’s living standards will be better than theirs. Experience has made them gloomy: the income of the median worker has been more or less stagnant since the mid-1970s, and, thanks to a combination of failing schools and disappearing mid-level jobs, social mobility in America is now among the lowest in the rich world.

While this is what other parts of the world are seeing:

In the emerging world, meanwhile, they are not arguing about pensions, but building colleges. China’s university population has quadrupled in the past two decades. UNESCO notes that the proportion of scientific researchers based in the developing world increased from 30% in 2002 to 38% in 2007. World-class companies such as India’s Infosys and China’s Huawei are beating developed-country competitors.

The rise of positive thinking in the emerging world is something to be welcomed—not least because it challenges the status quo. Nandan Nilekani of Infosys says that his company’s greatest achievement lies not in producing technology but in redefining the boundaries of the possible. If people in other countries take those ideas seriously, they will make life uncomfortable for gerontocrats in China and Arabia.

The question is whether we will wallow in our dark mood or look to emulate our younger, more optimistic neighbors. AT the moment, way too many Americans seem to focus on wallowing.

But I am optimistic that the positive attitude will return soon.

Religious ethics vs. medical ethics

by Boy27wonder

Catholic church to expel hospital over abortion
[Via Butterflies and Wheels]

The Catholic church insists that a “Catholic” hospital must let a woman die rather than end her pregnancy.

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I’m not sure what the Bishop wanted done here. Were the doctors just supposed to let the woman die, killing both her and the sack of cells that are an 11 week pregnancy? Apparently, from what I have read, the Bishop felt that the hospital should have done nothing, allowing God to decide whether the mother lived or died. Then why have doctors and hospitals? (And, the Bishop’s policy ignores the 4 other chidren that would have been rendered motherless if she died.)

If the woman had died because the hospital followed the directive of a non-medical religious overseer, would it be open to a malpractice lawsuit? What other medical procedures would the Bishop eventually want to have the last word on?

As the hospital stated, it saved the life of all the lives it could save.

And the nun who was on the Ethics panel that authorized the medically needed operation was excommubnicated. As is any Catholic who has ever had an abortion, encouraged an abortion, paid for one or helped perform one. So, if the woman had been Catholic, she would no longer be welcomed by the Church. Same with any Catholic doctors who were involved in the procedure.

Now I am reminded of how dogma and dogmatic are related..

St. Joseph’s is one of the best hospitals in the state. It is one of the ten best hospitals in the nation for neurology and neurosurgery. It ranked number 37 in the nation as one of the best places to work.

And now he has stripped the hospital of its Catholic status, removed the Blessed Sacrament from the chapel and will prevent Mass from being celebrated there. It sounds like the hospital is standing firm and, while regretful of the Bishop’s actions, will continue to operate as it has for 115 years.

Interestingly, the two women involved in this action for the hospital are both nurses, not doctors. Linda Hunt, the President and CEO said:

“Consistent with our values of dignity and justice, if we are presented with a situation in which a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life, our first priority is to save both patients. If that is not possible we will always save the life we can save, and that is what we did in this case,” said Hunt. “We continue to stand by the decision, which was made in collaboration with the patient, her family, her caregivers, and our Ethics Committee. Morally, ethically, and legally we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save.”

Here are the Hospital’s facts in the case:

A woman in her 20’s with a history of moderate but well-controlled pulmonary hypertension found out she was pregnant. There was concern for her health, because pregnancy with pulmonary hypertension carries a serious risk of mortality. Because of the severity of her disease, the woman’s risk of mortality was close to 50 percent. In November 2009, the woman was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center with worsening symptoms. Tests revealed that she now had life- threatening pulmonary hypertension. The chart notes that she had been informed that her risk of mortality was close to 100% if she continued the pregnancy. The medical team contacted the Ethics Consult team for review. The consultation team talked to several physicians and nurses as well as reviewed the patient’s record. The patient and her family, her doctors, and the Ethics Consult team, agreed that the pregnancy could be terminated, and that it was appropriate since the goal was not to end the pregnancy but save the mother’s life.

I think this will be better in the long run. Medical decisions should not be dependent on the decisions of religious officials such as Catholic Bishops.

But this certainly makes me very leery of the medical decisions made in any Catholic hospital where the Bishop can come between a patient and a life-saving treatment.

iDevice releases iGrill Bluetooth kitchen thermometer

iDevice releases iGrill Bluetooth kitchen thermometer
[Via Macworld]

iDevices’s iGrill is a Bluetooth-enabled thermometer that communicates with an app on your iOS device, keeping you updated on the temperature of your food, while freeing you from the confines of your kitchen when you cook.

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What a cool device. I wonder if it works as advertised? The next step will be bluetooth ovens that communicate and permit control from the iOD device.

Further proof that a sucker is born every minute – now on Windows Phone 7

‘I Am Rich’ Returns
[Via Daring Fireball]

Remember “I Am Rich”, the $999 iPhone app that served no purpose other than as a statement that the purchaser could afford such an app? It’s back, but this time for Windows Phone 7, and the price has been cut to just $499.

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What a deal! Only $499. I wonder how long it will last there.