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Vectors of Novelty: Co-Composing Selves in the Terminal Present
No full textThis multimedia essay is part of an ongoing collaborative project that examines the porous boundaries and theoretical connections that link conceptions of self, temporality, and composition. Drawing on our respective fields of practice in sound art and social anthropology, we engage with Henri Bergson’s person as a “vector of novelty on the edge of the present” and subsequent critiques that urge a de-naturalizing (and de-narrativizing) of the self. The work presented here comprises excerpts from collaborative writing, a 4-minute video, text-image fragments, and a compilation of audio voice notes, all in response to Erin Manning’s open-ended question, “How can we compose collectively, working both with past and emergent techniques, without holding fast to the security of habits, material or conceptual?” (Manning 2019, 367). Our approach to (co)composition attends to the co-emergence of experience and connection. We explore composition as mutual processes of emergence and exploration that take shape within and respond to specific spatiotemporal relationships and media. Rather than seeing collaboration as a process of intentionally narrating oneself to collaborators, research communities, and others (both known and unknown), the methods and approaches emerging through this project are designed as ways of unsettling any notion of fixity in these relationships. In this sense, this research is developed as a series of methodological and dialogical experiments in living with these questions and is offered as a contribution to critical debates on issues of research process, coherence, and integrity. Throughout, we invoke the “terminal present” as a term for a contemporary condition of temporal complexity, precarity, and stasis that doubles as a name for subjectivities produced in and through such conditions.
Notes on Contributors
Iain Findlay-Walsh (he/him) is a sound artist, music producer, researcher and teacher exploring sound-based and autoethnographic methods for the study of personal listening. He releases sound art and music under the name 'Klaysstarr Nets' (Entr'acte, Pan y Rosas), with related writing on sound, media and perceptual experience appearing in various peer-reviewed journals and books, including the Journal of Sonic Studies, and Organised Sound. By day, he teaches experimental music and sound art at the University of Glasgow where he co-directs the Immersive Experiences Lab on digital media reception. By night, he plays bass guitar and contributes sound design as a member of the doomgaze band, Cwfen.
Tristan Partridge is a lecturer in Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and co-founder of the Center for Restorative Environmental Work. Tristan is a social anthropologist whose research addresses the dynamics of collaboration working with social movements and communities in struggle in Ecuador, India, and the USA. Tristan’s ethnographic work also draws on aural anthropology and visual methods: he has written text scores for The Center For Deep Listening and his fieldwork photography has been exhibited internationally. His books include Burning Diagrams in Anthropology: An Inverse Museum (punctum 2024) and Mingas+Solidarity (Pazmaen 2024)
Rights Deferred, Sustainable Futures Denied: Indigenous/Adivasi Lessons for Interrogating Tensions in Rights Education
Get PDFHuman rights have been framed as integral to development. Yet, despite decades of development programming, human rights violations prevail. This article examines Adivasi/Indigenous Peoples’ encounters with development in Attappady, India, especially in relation to their identity and expertise as casteist-colonial India’s Indigenous Peoples. Comparing Adivasi interlocutors’ counter-colonial narratives with a thematic analysis of UNESCO’s recent recommendations on human rights education reveal how interlocutors are noting the disconnect between policy promises of the right to dignity and everyday assaults on Adivasi personhood. Meanwhile, development programs that prioritize profits over ecological balance continue to jeopardize their right to sustainable futures. These findings emphasize the relevance of redirecting gaze in rights education, from the perceived deficits of Global South actors towards those who benefit from sustaining unjust global hierarchies, while legitimizing the rights violations that arise from them. As the often-overlooked experts of relational living in a world rendered precarious by an inherently unsustainable development paradigm, this article’s interlocutors emphasize the significance of centering Indigenous/Adivasi expertise in imagining systemic shifts in rights education
AI Human Rights Literacy
Get PDFThe treatment of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of education has so far been typically characterized by (a) information about how AI can assist educators in carrying out their work, and (b) concerns about the misuse of AI by learners, for example, concerning plagiarism. The links between AI and ethics within the field of education are much more complex. Beyond the concerns about the organization of teaching and learning with the rise of AI—and the associated rights to privacy and safety—there are legitimate needs for instructors and learners to understand how AI affects their daily lives. What are the wider ethical considerations for using AI, particularly from the perspective of human rights norms? This paper critically analyzes some of the human rights at stake regarding the use of AI and its implications for the organization and content of formal education (K-12 and higher education). The human rights perspective on AI’s dynamic and changing field—AI human rights literacy—is critical to convey to instructors and learners as they navigate these new technological developments. This paper overviews human rights relevant to everyday encounters with AI in education. It proposes an AI Human Rights curriculum to help both learners and educators become critically aware of these human rights implications
Martin Buber’s Essence of Hasidism in The Legend of the Baal-Shem and Tales of the Hasidim
Get PDFThe existentialist philosopher Martin Buber focuses much of his scholarly attention on revealing the spiritual core of Hasidism. While the historian Gershom Scholem criticizes Buber’s methods for their lack of historical grounding, Buber argues throughout his work that the folktales of Hasidism represent its spiritual core, despite never explicitly identifying what this spiritual essence actually is. In vaguely searching for this essence, Buber published and reinterpreted a collection of Hasidic folktales in his volume The Legend of the Baal Shem in 1907. Later, however, he backtracked, claiming to have reinterpreted these legends in a way that was unfaithful to the essence of Hasidism. In 1947, Buber published Tales of Hasidism in which he retold a number of stories he originally compiled in The Legend of the Baal Shem. Buber’s literary style differs between the two works, which raises the questions: How exactly does Buber’s interpretive style differ across the collection of stories? How does Buber reinterpret the stories differently in the two collections? And, ultimately: What is Buber’s idea of the essence of Hasidism? Using the introduction of the two collections, as well as the short stories in each collection that relate to the early life of the Baal Shem Tov, I will attempt to answer these questions, ultimately concluding that Buber’s conception of the essence of Hasidism is the sanctification of the Here and Now, the present-day world of real people
The Siren Song of Deferral Through the Income Tax Withholding Forms
No full textThis Article points out the legal and ethical exposure American workers’ and retirees’ preparation of tax withholding forms presents when they seek to take advantage of a tax payment deferral technique the forms so readily offer. It details three withholding settings and how each presents potential legal risk for the worker or retiree. Two of the settings exploit a frequently touted safe harbor that allows withholding to occur very late in the year to eliminate penalties that normally apply for not having paid the taxes earlier in the year. This safe harbor presents a multi-billion-dollar time-value-of-money loss to the government. Besides legal risk for Americans who inaccurately complete the forms, this Article argues that the tax ethics and nascent tax-related Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) literature has not yet judged the behavior of those who delay a tax payment (even when done in full legal compliance), as opposed to those who engage in tax avoidance or evasion. It also argues that the government’s approach to withholding and its inconsistent and confusing forms are tantamount to the government becoming complicit in Americans’ deficient submissions. In some cases, the government is laying a perjury trap, especially for Americans in financial straits looking to their withholding form as a lifeline. The 2022 increase in the information that retirees must provide on their forms, now matching the details employees have always provided, expands prosecutorial reach to retirees. This Article offers numerous recommendations to improve the withholding process and forms to reduce the temptation to engage in the criticized behavior
The Overlooked Dimension of Privacy: How Facility Design Compromises Confidentiality
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Abstract
Patient privacy is a cornerstone of ethical healthcare, yet current protections, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), fail to address privacy breaches stemming from the physical and structural design of healthcare facilities. Elements such as unit names, clinic signage, and waiting room layouts can inadvertently expose sensitive information about patients, particularly those seeking care for stigmatized conditions. These structural breaches can lead to discrimination, social isolation, and avoidance of care, undermining both patient well-being and public health. Although The Joint Commission establishes standards for confidentiality, its policies do not explicitly address these design-based risks. This paper explores the ethical and psychological implications of structural privacy breaches. It argues for practical reforms, including neutral unit naming, facility redesign, expanded telehealth options, staff education, and community awareness campaigns, to better align healthcare environments with ethical standards of respect, autonomy, and confidentiality.
Introduction
Health care is inherently intimate, where patients share the most vulnerable aspects of their lives. Ensuring privacy is essential to foster trust between patients and providers[1] and to encourage individuals to seek care without fear of judgment or discrimination. While the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), passed by Congress in 1996, requires healthcare entities to protect sensitive health information,[2] it does not address privacy breaches stemming from the structural elements of healthcare facilities. The lack of patient privacy in the hospital setting is not merely about data and cybersecurity. Many patients have a valid concern about being recognized, stigmatized, and discriminated against due to hospital designs that could be improved to protect privacy.
Structural Breaches of Privacy
Despite HIPAA protections, patients are forced to give up privacy in other ways when they receive care. For instance, a hospital’s unit name can inadvertently disclose patient health information. People admitted to the “Cardiac Unit” are likely being treated for a cardiac issue, even if their specific diagnosis remains unknown. Similarly, those seen entering a fertility clinic, oncology center, or mental health facility may face assumptions about their health or personal life. This structural exposure becomes especially problematic for conditions carrying significant social stigma, such as HIV. Patients leaving an HIV clinic are often assumed to be HIV-positive, leading to potential harassment, ostracization, or even discrimination in their communities.
Impact on Vulnerable Populations
During my shadowing experiences with the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program and Columbia’s Human Rights Clinic, I listened to stories of the severe consequences of such breaches on vulnerable populations. In some countries, patients were labeled as outcasts simply for being seen at a known HIV clinic. The stigma was so severe that many patients stopped taking their medication altogether to avoid being identified, jeopardizing their health and, in some cases, their lives. This underscores how structural breaches of privacy can have deadly repercussions, particularly for marginalized individuals.
Psychological and Social Impacts
Structural privacy breaches can have long-term implications for mental health. Patients who feel exposed or stigmatized may experience anxiety or depression or avoid seeking care in the future.[3] Adolescents, who may already be navigating identity development and social pressures, have a higher risk of negative psychological impacts. Imagine a teenager visiting a clinic with a sign advertising mental health or sexually transmitted disease services. They may face ridicule or bullying from peers, leading them to avoid seeking necessary care altogether.[4]
Design and Technology Concerns
The issue extends beyond signs and unit naming. Consider the design of hospital spaces, such as waiting rooms or shared patient wards. Patients in certain areas of a hospital or clinic might inadvertently reveal their condition simply by being seen in that location. Even electronic sign-in systems, where patients must publicly select the reason for their visit, can contribute to breaches of privacy.
The Joint Commission’s Role and Limitations
The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals and healthcare organizations, has established policies in its Comprehensive Accreditation Manual to address patient privacy as part of its focus on quality and safety under the Environment of Care section.[5] For instance, its standards require measures protecting patient confidentiality, such as minimizing unnecessary disclosure of health information in public areas. The Rights and Responsibilities of the Individual chapter emphasizes that patients have a right to personal dignity, privacy, and confidentiality in all interactions.[6] However, structural privacy breaches are not explicitly addressed in the standards. For example, while policies may limit the verbal sharing of patient information in hallways, they do not account for how unit names or facility design may inadvertently reveal sensitive information.
Balancing Specialization and Privacy
Specialized units provide undeniable benefits, such as easy access to relevant expertise and equipment, but they also leave patients with little autonomy over their privacy. Because specialized physicians and equipment are clustered in specific units instead of scattered throughout the hospital, patients must choose between being treated in a designated unit or forgoing care altogether. This lack of choice is particularly troubling in areas with limited healthcare facilities, where patients cannot seek more private alternatives. For example, a rural community might have only one clinic for sensitive services, including substance abuse, infertility, or gender-affirming care. In such cases, patients are forced to weigh their health needs against the risk of public exposure.
Constraints on Privacy
While structural privacy is a legitimate concern, it may hinder clinic function. Clear labeling and visible clinic identity play crucial roles in patient safety, operational efficiency, and equitable access to care. Healthcare institutions rely on explicit unit names to ensure that staff and emergency responders can quickly locate patients and specialized equipment. Ambiguous unit names may protect privacy, while also increasing the risk of miscommunication and care delays. Cryptic unit names can disproportionately affect patients with language barriers, worsening access and equity. They may also unintentionally reinforce the idea that these services, such as those for HIV or mental health, are shameful and must be hidden. While structural transparency is vital for safety and access, these concerns do not negate the ethical imperative to redesign healthcare spaces in ways that protect patient privacy without compromising functional efficiency.
Navigation Does Not Require Disclosure
While clear department labeling may help reduce confusion within a hospital, this benefit does not outweigh the significant privacy harms that such labels can create. In many cases, confusion can be addressed through alternative strategies, such as improved internal maps or staff-guided navigation, without publicly revealing sensitive information about the type of care a patient is receiving. The goal of preventing confusion does not require sacrificing structural privacy. Hospitals have practical tools to maintain efficiency while protecting patient confidentiality.
Privacy Privileges for the Elite
Elite individuals and celebrities often circumvent structural privacy issues by accessing forms of care that shield them from public visibility. High-profile figures routinely rely on concierge medicine, private physicians, after-hours appointments, and home-based medical services that eliminate the need to enter publicly identifiable clinics. They may also have access to discrete entrances unavailable to the public. These arrangements highlight a stark inequity: those with wealth or status can protect their medical privacy, while typical patients must navigate public clinics and visibly labeled units that may expose sensitive health information. Structural privacy should not be viewed as a luxury benefit reserved for the elite; instead, hospitals should design spaces that protect privacy as a fundamental component of equitable and dignified health care.
Ethical Imperatives and Proposed Solutions
These challenges highlight a critical dilemma in modern healthcare: hospitals strive to achieve operational efficiency without compromising patient privacy. While cost is an important factor that may limit institutions' ability to modify existing structures, it should not be a barrier when new facilities are designed with privacy in mind from the outset. Due to the Joint Commission’s standards and the ethical imperative of privacy, healthcare institutions must adopt additional measures to address structural privacy breaches. Possible solutions include redesigning publicly displayed unit names, improving overall facility design, implementing telehealth options,[7] educating and training staff members, and instituting community awareness campaigns to address social stigma.[8] Unit names might be redesigned as non-specific or use code names to reduce assumptions about patient conditions, such as Unit 1. Improving overall facility design can include creating private entryways or discrete waiting areas for clinics, such as HIV clinics, where patients can maintain anonymity.[9] Clinics may also install frosted glass to maintain privacy while still monitoring patient flow. Telehealth can be a good option for sensitive consultations, so patients do not have to worry about being physically seen at the clinic.[10] Staff members should be trained and educated on verbal confidentiality and structural privacy concerns that align with the Joint Commission standards. Community awareness campaigns can educate the public and normalize visits to healthcare facilities by decreasing the social stigma around certain conditions.
Conclusion
Healthcare institutions must prioritize not only their patients' physical health but also their psychological well-being and autonomy. Without addressing these structural privacy breaches, patients are left vulnerable to discrimination and may avoid seeking necessary care altogether. Incorporating the requirements of The Joint Commission, HIPAA, and ethical standards into structural and procedural improvements is a crucial step toward creating a truly inclusive and respectful healthcare system where patients can receive quality care without fear of privacy violations.
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[1] AMA Code of Medical Ethics, “Privacy in Health Care,” American Medical Association, https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/privacy-health-care
[2] 42 U.S.C. § 1320d et al., 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164; Rayhan A. Tariq, Pamela B. Hackert, “Patient Confidentiality,” National Library of Medicine, published January 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519540/; Office for Civil Rights (OCR), “HIPPA for Professionals,” U.S Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/index.html; Although HIPAA is often cited as a privacy law, its original legislative priority was improving insurance portability and facilitating electronic information sharing, not establishing comprehensive patient privacy protections.
[3] “Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness,” American Psychiatric Association, https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination
[4] “Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness,” American Psychiatric Association, https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination
[5] The Joint Commission, “Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals,” The Joint Commission, published 2019, https://staff.codman.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/06/JC-Accreditation-Manual-2021.pdf
[6] The Joint Commission, “Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals,” The Joint Commission, published 2019, https://staff.codman.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/06/JC-Accreditation-Manual-2021.pdf
[7] “Architecture and Privacy: Designing for Privacy in Healthcare,” HCM Architects, published March 11, 2020, https://hmcarchitects.com/news/architecture-and-privacy-designing-for-privacy-in-healthcare-2020-03-11/; “Patient privacy vs visibility: How does hospital design balance the two?,” Assa Abloy, published May 23, 2022, https://www.assaabloy.com/hk/en/stories/blogs/patient-privacy-vs-visibility-how-does-hospital-design-balance-the-two
[8] “Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness,” American Psychiatric Association, https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination; “The Impact of STDs on Mental Health: Addressing the Emotional Side of Diagnosis,” Hope Across the Globe, published April 4, 2023, https://hopeacrosstheglobe.org/the-impact-of-stds-on-mental-health/
[9] “Architecture and Privacy: Designing for Privacy in Healthcare,” HCM Architects, published March 11, 2020, https://hmcarchitects.com/news/architecture-and-privacy-designing-for-privacy-in-healthcare-2020-03-11/; “Patient privacy vs visibility: How does hospital design balance the two?,” Assa Abloy, published May 23, 2022, https://www.assaabloy.com/hk/en/stories/blogs/patient-privacy-vs-visibility-how-does-hospital-design-balance-the-two
[10] “Architecture and Privacy: Designing for Privacy in Healthcare,” HCM Architects, published March 11, 2020, https://hmcarchitects.com/news/architecture-and-privacy-designing-for-privacy-in-healthcare-2020-03-11/; “Patient privacy vs visibility: How does hospital design balance the two?,” Assa Abloy, published May 23, 2022, https://www.assaabloy.com/hk/en/stories/blogs/patient-privacy-vs-visibility-how-does-hospital-design-balance-the-tw
Ganda Land, Ganda Labor, and Ganda’s Love: Empire’s Militarized Intimacy of Trans-Pinays
No full textThis paper investigates how the U.S. military-industrial complex in the Philippines sustains racialized and gendered sexual economies of capitalism that disproportionately exploit poor transgender Filipina women (trans-Pinays). It traces the historical foundations of these dynamics from colonial agricultural dispossession and liberal economic restructuring to contemporary security agreements and military basing. Through the lens of militarized intimacy, U.S. imperialism operates not only through territorial domination but through desires that eroticize and exploit the feminized colonial subject. Trans-Pinays, situated at the margins of legality and visibility, become effective laborers within these economies: desired yet disposable, visible yet unprotected. Understanding these systems of domination is essential to exposing how those systems sustain themselves through intimate acts of dehumanization. This article examines the complex interplay of American imperialism, militarized masculinity, and the commodification of trans-Pinays’ bodies, using the 2014 murder of Jennifer Laude as a critical site of analysis. Jennifer Laude’s murder is not an isolated act of transphobic violence, but rather an imperial crime that renders visible the violence embedded in capitalism
The Pertinent Prenatal Period: A Secondary Analysis Examining the Relationship Between Prenatal Maternal Anxiety and Child Language Development at 18 Months
No full textMaternal mental health is thought to be an important factor that may shape child development as early as the prenatal period. Prenatal maternal mental health has been linked to both physiological and factors that are theorized to explain the links between mental health and child language development. Whereas some past research has examined the associations between prenatal mental health and child language development, most have examined broad measures that include both anxiety and depression. Given that there are distinct mechanisms by which these aspects of maternal mental health are hypothesized to impact development, this study aims to parse the association between anxiety and child language development specifically. This study utilized data from a longitudinal prospective study to examine the associations between prenatal anxiety and child language development at 18 months in 167 families. We conducted a series of three regression models beginning with a simple linear regression examining prenatal anxiety and language development, followed by two models, first adding demographic covariates, then including prenatal depression. We did not find associations between maternal anxiety and child language development; inadvertently raising the question of when and by which mechanisms maternal mental health may or may not impact aspects of child development, which are crucial answers to be discerned in order to determine the most effective way to support pregnant mothers and their children throughout the prenatal period