The telling and knowing of dying: philosophical bases for hospice care in Japan.

This article describes the historical and cultural factors that led to the modern definition of hospice in the United States and Japan. It also raises questions about the import of western hospice philosophy into Japan by examining some traditional values and cultural norms of behaviour surrounding dying in that country. The ethics of disclosure and open discussion, as a prerequisite to and foundational value in western hospice care, differs in Japan. If traditional Japanese values remain strong, expectations regarding hospice care based on this western ethics may be misplaced. This report ends with a suggestion of replacing the western imported hospice philosophy with an (as yet not explicated) Japanese philosophical ethic of the good.

Dying in the USA and Japan: selected legal and ethical issues.

While Japan and the USA are culturally different, they face many of the same ethical and legal issues in the area of death and dying. Facing these issues at different times and in different ways, both countries have sought solutions that fit their own social values and traditions.

Relating EEG changes and I--thou feelings during nursing interview.

The present investigation describes correlations between subjective experiences and physiological responses of a nurse observed during a client-centered interview. Electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded during twelve interview sessions for the nurse, and also for a patient in six sessions simultaneously with the nurse. Heart rate (HR) was also measured in five different sessions for the nurse and patient separately. To investigate subjective experience, the nurse listen to the recorded dialogue of interview. She reviewed it focusing on a feeling of oneness with the patient. Alpha waves in EEGs appeared frequently during the interview and these periods were very well coincided with the time points when the nurse experienced a feeling of oneness with patient like I-thou relation described by Buber. Although alpha waves were very rarely recorded in the patient EEGs, it occasionally appeared at about the same time as that of the nurse. The nurse's HR was very stable during sessions as compared with that of the patient. The present study suggests the usefulness of physiological approaches using EEGs to investigate the deep interpersonal process occurring during nurse-patient interactions.