Gabriel Andrade

• Ajman University

This study investigated associations of exposure to Fernando Botero's artwork with fatphobia. Using two 2 × 2 designs, participants were exposed to Botero's work and paintings with nudity. Implicit bias was measured using an Implicit Association Test, while explicit bias was assessed with the Fatphobia scale. Results showed that exposure to Botero'...

Seasonal influenza is still a challenge in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). There is consensus that the most effective way to address this problem is through yearly vaccination campaigns. Despite governmental efforts to make the influenza vaccine available, there remains some hesitancy among the population. Previous research has focused on the consp...

Background The ultimate aim of medical education is to produce successful practitioners, which is a goal that educators, students and stakeholders support. These groups consider success to comprise optimum patient care with consequently positive career progression. Accordingly, identification of the common educational features of such high-achievin...

Background The ultimate aim of medical education is to produce successful practitioners, which is a goal that educators, students and stakeholders support. These groups consider success to comprise optimum patient care with consequently positive career progression. Accordingly, identification of the common educational features of such high-achievin...

Introduction Seasonal influenza remains a challenge in the United Arab Emirates, and vaccination is an important preventive measure. However, fear of needles may be an obstacle in vaccination efforts. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine, in a non-clinical sample obtained from the UAE, how much of an impact fear of needles has on t...

While some countries are moving toward legalization, euthanasia is still criticized on various fronts. Most importantly, it is considered a violation of the medical ethics principle of non-maleficence, because it actively seeks a patient’s death. But, medical ethicists should consider an ethical alternative to euthanasia. In this article, we defend...

Although not a prime public health concern, seasonal influenza remains a challenge in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This problem is augmented by the fact that the percentage of the population intending to take the yearly seasonal influenza vaccine is relatively low. The purpose of this study is to assess if vaccine knowledge and just-world belief...

Background Educators and medical students share the same objective of achieving success in medical practice. Both groups consider doctors’ successes to include optimum patient care outcomes and positive career progressions. Accordingly, identifying common educational features of such high-achieving doctors facilitates the generation of excellence a...

Background Britain attracts doctors from all over the world to work in the National Health Service. Elucidating the educational backgrounds of award-winning doctors working in the country is potentially an important medical education issue and a merit award audit. Using the British clinical merit award schemes as outcome measures, we identify medic...

Aims Hand hygiene (HH) is an essential practice to evade the transmission of germs and minimize community-acquired infections. This study assesses the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of HH and other health and safety measures before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. in university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods A...

Xenotransplantation has great potential as an alternative to alleviate the shortage of organs for donation. However, given that the animal most suited for xenotransplantation is the pig, there are concerns that people in Muslim countries may be more hesitant to morally approve of these procedures. In this study, the moral approval of xenotransplant...

Xenotransplantation has great potential as an alternative to alleviate the shortage of organs for donation. However, given that the animal most suited for xenotransplantation is the pig, there are concerns that people in Muslim countries may be more hesitant to morally approve of these procedures. In this study, the moral approval of xenotransplan-...

Perceived ethnic discrimination is known to be associated with anxiety and depression, and in turn, anxiety and depression are known to be associated with nightmare frequency and distress. This elicits a question: is perceived ethnic discrimination associated with nightmare frequency and distress? In this study, 179 female university students from...

Despite progress, discrimination in public health remains a problem. A significant aspect of this problem relates to how medical resources are allocated. The paradigm of quality-adjusted-life-year (QALY) dictates that medical resources should be allocated on the basis of units measured as length of life and quality of life that are expected after t...

Background Previous work has been done on assessing how much psychology students believe myths, as compared to the general population. This study focuses on the mental health myths discussed in the book 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology. Objective This study seeks to investigate if Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae (MBBS, Bachelor...

Background Smartphone addiction is a common phenomenon worldwide and within the UAE. It is related to many factors, including gender and ethnicity, and can lead to mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression. This study investigates these factors concerning smartphone addiction among young adults in the UAE. Methods 421 participants an...

In 1989, Thomas Donaldson requested the California courts to allow physicians to hasten his death. Donaldson had been diagnosed with brain cancer, and he desired to die in order to cryonically preserve his brain, so as to stop its further deterioration. This case elicits an important question: is this a case of euthanasia? In this article, we exami...

Background Britain attracts doctors from all over the world to work in the National Health Service. Elucidating the educational backgrounds of award-winning doctors working in the country is potentially an important medical education issue and merit award audit. Using the British clinical merit award schemes as outcome measures, we identify medical...

Aims To inform the discussion regarding the origins of Laboratory Medical Consultant clinical merit award holders (LMC) whether the awards came from the Clinical Excellence Awards (CEA) or Distinction Awards (DA) schemes. Methods Setting - CEA is a scheme to financially reward senior doctors in England and Wales who are assessed to be working over...

For the past 10 years, Venezuela has undergone a severe electric crisis. However, not all regions have been equally affected. The city of Maracaibo has endured more blackouts than other cities, and they have now become routine. This article sought to study the impact of electric shortages on the mental health of Maracaibo's inhabitants. Using a sam...

Incest taboos are universal, but it is questionable whether consensual incest should continue to be illegal. The most common argument in favor of the illegalization of consensual incest appeals to genetic risks and the harm to potential offspring. In this article, we examine whether public health concern is a sufficient reason to illegalize consens...

Background Mental health issues are still stigmatized in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), possibly due to cultural reasons. This implies that some mental health conditions (most notably depression and anxiety) are not properly treated, due to resistance to seek help. It is therefore important to assess attitudes towards mental health in the UAE and...

Shaming is defended by some as a necessary measure of social control. But shaming is unjust to the extent that it is disproportionate, and largely counterproductive. While much progress has been made, people with disabilities are still frequently at the receiving end of shaming. This is manifest in disregard for accommodation requests, condescendin...

Projects of radical life extension have been discussed amongst scientists for years. Some bioethicists express reservations about this endeavor. A common objection appeals to demography: if the human lifespan is dramatically expanded, humanity would face an overpopulation problem. In this essay, the authors reply to this objection. They posit that...

The religion of Maria Lionza in Venezuela includes many healing and possession rituals, where alcohol consumption is frequent. This has contributed to the perception that this religion is uniquely associated with alcoholism and criminality. Those perceptions may be negative stereotypes that are rooted in race and class biases. This study tests the...

Background: The United Arab Emirates has set the goal to reduce traffic-related deaths to 3 per 100 000 people by 2021. To do this, authorities must assess the factors related to risky driving behaviour. Aims: To verify if there are any correlations between driving behaviour and certain variables, including years of driving experience, daily hou...

As with most Latin American nations, Venezuela has traditionally embraced the exceptionalist myth that it is a racial democracy. That does not mean racism is absent in that country. A combination of paternalist attitudes and pernicious stereotypes towards Afro-Venezuelans permeates throughout pop culture products. This article explores the attitude...

Participation trophies in youth sports have become controversial in the so-called “culture wars” of recent years in Western countries. Conservative professional athletes and media pundits deride participation trophies, as they perceive them as akin to equality of outcome and Communist ideology. However, this is a mischaracterization of participatio...

Venezuela is one of the Latin American nations that has traditionally participated in the myth of racial democracy. According to this myth, inasmuch as Venezuela is a racially mixed country, racism is largely absent. That has made virtually invisible the plight of Afro-Venezuelans, who continue to suffer discrimination. In the present study, 402 Af...

The United Arab Emirates has been very successful in its vaccination campaign for the COVID-19 injection, and vaccine hesitancy is not currently a major concern. Nevertheless, the motivations of residents in the UAE to receive the COVID-19 vaccine are varied. In this study with 426 vaccinated participants, 55% expressed health motivations to receiv...

Although the religion of Maria Lionza is practiced throughout Venezuela, it is not in the mainstream of Venezuelan culture. As a result, traditionally this religious manifestation has been perceived negatively by the dominant religious establishment, as well as by intellectual and political elites. One particular concern in this dominant narrative...

Background Although homosexuality ceased to be considered a mental disorder in 1973, some psychiatrists and mental health practitioners still offer so-called conversion therapy, i.e., a series of techniques that attempt to change a person's sexual orientation. Given the current geopolitical situation worldwide, some countries have begun to attempt...

As it has historically been the case with many pandemics, the Covid-19 experience will induce many philosophers to reconsider the value of medical practice. This should be a good opportunity to critically scrutinize the way medical research and medical interventions are carried out. For much of its history, medicine has been very inefficient. But,...

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has made it difficult to satisfactorily manage the COVID-19 pandemic in that nation. A vaccination program has begun, but its pace has been slow, as compared to vaccination in other countries. One considerable obstacle faced by vaccination efforts in Venezuela is vaccine hesitancy. Differences across rel...

Due to complex social, political and economic causes, Venezuela has encountered difficulties managing the Covid-19 pandemic. Although a vaccination program has started, it is still comparatively slow and largely inefficient. One particular challenge has been vaccine hesitancy. Venezuelan policymakers have traditionally not rendered much attention t...

Objective: To assess if seven demographic variables (age, gender, religion, ethnicity, income, educational level, and political views) are predictive of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy Material and methods: 327 participants completed a survey asking questions regarding each of the variables. Results: Age, gender and political views have no statistically...

The management of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic will require huge worldwide vaccination efforts. In this endeavour, healthcare workers face the twofold challenge of reaching remote areas, and persuading people to take the vaccine shots. As it happens, this is nothing new in the history of medicine. Health workers can take inspiration from F...

This article is a libertarian critique of incest laws. On the basis of the libertarian “harm principle”, one must ask what exactly is the harm that incest brings forth. Traditionally, anthropologists have tried to rationalize the incest taboo in various theories, and lawmakers have used these principles as grounds for the criminalization of incest....

The Gaita zuliana is a folk musical genre from Zulia State, in Western Venezuela. Its origins reflect an amalgam of Spanish, Indigenous and African elements, serving as a metaphor for Venezuela’s own racial image. By the 1960s, gaita was becoming increasingly standardised, and moved from improvisations in the barrios (poor neighbourhoods) to the re...

Bullfighting has a strong historical tradition in Spain, but now it is beginning to be challenged by various sectors in society. The debate about the ethics of bullfighting is by no means new. But, perhaps because of its continuous decline in popularity, and as a result of emerging political circumstances in Spain (particularly in Catalonia), some...

The Church of Satan has used animal tropes recurrently. This article analyzes some of the most important animal representations that Anton LaVey came up with, both for esthetic and ideological purposes. Seizing on the long traditions of Satanism, LaVey embraced goat imagery to a significant degree. He also chose this particular animal for its assoc...

Michael Billig's idea of “banal nationalism” is a useful concept to approach a frequently neglected aspect of Venezuelan political disputes in the past 20 years. In Billig's formulation, banal nationalism is the constant reaffirmation of a nation's identity, through the display of national symbols. After Hugo Chavez rose to power, there were change...