In her article, Wasikhongo Tesfagiorgis examined the scientific and cultural discourse of Black feminist art. The author has outlined the cornerstones on which this discourse should be based. According to her, this includes focusing on the artist’s identity and contrasting one’s vision with existing Euro-patriarchal, Afro-patriarchal, and Euro-feministic approaches. This paper aims to summarize and analyze the article “In search of a Discourse and critique/s that center the art of black women artists” by Wasikhongo Tesfagiorgis.
According to the article, Black feminist art should have its unique voice in science and critical discourse since bare presence in such dialogue creates the opportunity for further inquiries and presents distinguished points of view. The author particularly emphasizes that Black feminist cultural and art critics must take full responsibility for the decision to be heard. Further, the researcher calls for the analysis of art in the context of the author’s personality, including gender, class, sexuality, marriage status, age, and their social, political, and cultural reality. She says, “We must be historically specific and aware of the differently oriented social interests within the same sign community” (Tesfagiorgis, 1993, p. 220). The author asserts that there is no need to discuss a ‘Black female’ identity; she also notes that there is no evidence that all women with African roots deeply understand each other for this reason alone.
Then, it is said that Black feminist art discourse should differ from the traditional Euro-centrist approach, rooted in the understanding of art by the Florentines of the Renaissance. The author notes that the Florentines perceived the artist as a genius, inspired by a higher principle and creating masterpieces. However, this scope should not be applied to analyze Black feminist art. The researcher also prescribes to abandon the interpretation of the concept of ‘canon’ as a ‘European canon’ and give full-fledged interpretations of canonical works of art.
Moreover, Black feminist art discourse should include ventricular art as a massive layer of information related to the history, traditions, and origins of African Americans and Africans that live on the North American continent. The scientist paid particular attention to the archeological recovery since she believes that Black feminist art discourse needs to create a “vast body of data for study, interpretation, and evaluation” in this field (Tesfagiorgis, 1993, p. 224). Besides, historical artifacts and stories about the people who owned them should be analyzed in the context of class, gender, and sexuality, as well as race and aesthetics.
The researcher defines seven main criteria for a quality Black feminist art discourse, which include the ideas presented above. She also provides a detailed analysis of the pieces of Lewis and Powers, who had a very different backgrounds. Lewis became known for creating a marble statue of an African woman, Hagar, and this work has intense symbolism. Lewis was inspired by biblical motives that resonate with later historical events, as Hagar was the Egyptian maid of Hebrew Sarah, wife of Abraham.
Further, the author presents an analysis of a craft quilt by Powers, who linked African-American quilting traditions to African textile traditions. The quilt consists of rectangular and square pieces of fabric, each depicting astrological or biblical subjects, and “reveals a dynamically controlled horizontal composition with a limited color scheme, dominated by warm tonalities” (Tesfagiorgis, 1993, p. 229). Thus, the scientist provides an illustrative example of a critical analysis of works of art in the context of Black feminist art discourse.
Thus, the summary of the article “In search of a Discourse and critique/s that center the art of black women artists” by Wasikhongo Tesfagiorgis was presented. The paper presents original and practical ideas on which principles the Black feminist art discourse should be based. These postulates prescribe focusing on artists’ personality and social background and liberation from the dogmas, interpretations, and rules of Euro- and Afro-patriarchal and Euro-feminist discourses.
References
Tesfagiorgis, F. H. W. (1993). In search of a Discourse and critique/s that center the art of black women artists. Theorizing Black feminisms: The visionary pragmatism of Black women, 217-237.
Medical Law, Ethics And Professional Practice
Introduction
Medical law, ethics, and professional practice are essential in the field of health and medicine as it manages, legislates, and control ethical behaviors in professional medical practice. “Medical law, ethics, and professional practice also enable patients, their families, the society and the doctor to have proper regard to health problems helping them arrive at important decisions” (Weed, 2002).
In the case of a 68-year-old man admitted for surgery, we find that he became more vulnerable due to the unavailability of medical treatment and the sporadic nature of bleeding in his first residence. We can also say that he was responsible for his vulnerability as he did not realize how serious the situation would become and in the event seek medical attention early at whatever cost. More vulnerability was brought about by the medical practitioner and the specialist when they were unable to diagnose colorectal cancer through proper examination. These are some of the ethical issues in this case. Another ethical issue brought out in this particular case is beneficence, since the practitioner’s actions were not tuned towards the well-being of the patient. A non- maleficent issue is also noticed because the first two practitioners tried to propose treatments they thought could benefit the patient when they did not know the exact medical problem.
Professionally the practitioners violated some professional medical principles. Some of these principles included lack of competency, disclosure, inter-professional communication, and negligence (Pullman, 2005). Lack of professional standards of conduct and unaccountability was also evident. The two practitioners were required to effectively diagnose the ailment and propose proper medication, but this was not the case.
In the case synopsis, the legal aspects include the lack of inter-professionalism, lack of professional information sharing, negligence, and lack of legally acceptable secure outcomes. Therefore this paper is going to discuss the aspects of ethical, legal, and professional practice considerations based on a case synopsis of a 67-year-old man with colorectal cancer waiting for surgery. The paper will then conclude by analyzing the whole issue of ethical, legal, and professional practice.
Medical law
In professional health practice, medical law refers to a branch of law that deals with the prerogatives and accountability of medical practitioners and the privileges of the patient. “The main branch of medical law is the law on confidentiality, negligence, and torts about medical treatment in the field of health, medical practice, and treatment” (McKeon, 2002).
In this case, the duty of care was not adequately executed leading to late diagnosis of the patient’s ailment. The patient’s doctor violated the medical board legislative act which states that a medical practitioner must ensure that, he/she saves a patient from harm by making certain healthcare or medication is administered in a professional, secure, and competent manner. Again this synopsis was an example of a breach of healthcare case with an instance of high negligence which is against the medical practitioner’s negligence law. Medical negligence law as explained by Mathews (2005) can occur in many different contexts and in this case synopsis they include; failure in diagnosing the patient’s condition, the delay caused by the two practitioners in making the correct diagnosis, and failure to carry out professional skills with competence. Other legal concerns in this synopsis are, “failure and delay in the provision of the appropriate treatment, failure to refer the patient to a competent specialist and the failure to carry out and report correctly on the test results” (Mathews, 2005).
In this case therefore the patient had the right to take legal measures against the practitioners and was entitled to compensation for negligence and unprofessional practice. On the other hand “the law recognizes that medical practitioners are forced to make difficult decisions under extreme pressures in situations where it is not always possible to make the correct decision. However, negligent medical treatment goes beyond being a simple reasonable mistake/error” (Mathews, 2005). When establishing a claim especially for negligence, it is essential to show that the treatment administered was below standards that are convincingly expected from a medical practitioner in a given circumstance. As a result, this case indeed displays professional negligence and unprofessional medical practice.
Medical ethics
“Because of their special knowledge and expertise, doctors have an ethical responsibility of improving and maintaining the health of their patients (Edwards 2002). This patient because of his vulnerable state put his trust in the practitioners in hope of a proper cure.
In this case, therefore, the code of ethics was not correctly executed taking into account the vulnerable condition the patient was left in. When referring to an article by the Australian Medical Association (2010) the medical general practitioner and the private surgeon did not carry out their ethical medical practice to the best of their ability. This is evidenced by their inability to successfully carry out the diagnosis of the patient’s illness.
Beneficence being one of the core values in medical ethics was also not executed in this synopsis case. In this case, the two medical practitioners did not act ethically to promote the patient well being. Additionally, all the actions they took did not serve the intended purposes that are in the interest of the patient.
Autonomy, in this case, was not valued as no actions were enhancing the patient’s autonomy. The practitioners and patients here were unable to make healthy decisions towards the wellbeing of the patient and professional practice. Consequently, this ethical principle was not practiced.
Non-malfeasance is another issue of concern brought out in this particular case. The practitioners did not execute this ethical issue properly as their professional practice did not place the patient out of danger. They violated this ethical principle because instead of their actions helping the patient they made him more vulnerable.
Since the patient was to some extend vulnerably, he put his trust in the practitioners for effective treatment. This was because they are the ones with the expertise in tackling such problems. In this example, though the practitioners were not in a position to help the patient and instead caused more vulnerability. Therefore the two practitioners did not act according to ethical principles.
Professional practice
“Professional public health practice helps the society by preventing disease and promoting health” (Beauchamp, 2001). The medical characteristic of professional practice in medical health is an essential constituent of the clinical activities of each medical practitioner. These characteristics comprise but are not restricted to “patient education, negligence, competency, the scope of practice and ethics” (Archer, 2003). In this synopsis case, these characteristics were flawed.
Here, there was no demonstration of professional medical practice or if there was it came later when the patient’s condition had already deteriorated. Professional medical practice according to Hoffman (2009) was not executed when the first two medical practitioners were unable to exercise professional standards supported by integrity and ability. Another unethical concern in this case supported by Hoffman is that the practitioners could not help the patient, “which means that they were somehow not up to date on relevant medical knowledge, codes of practice and legal responsibilities” (Hoffman, 2009). The professional guidance and accountability that should have been put under consideration were not executed. The reason for this may have been a lack of professional medical qualification in the first two practitioners. Professional practice should be executed by every medical practitioner as it is essential in making life-saving decisions. In this example, the professional practice was absent.
As a result of this, we can conclude that the way this patient was handled was not according to professional medical practice. In this case therefore the practitioners failed to follow guidelines of professional medical practice or any standards of care under these guidelines. The here professional practice was realized later.
Case analysis
In analyzing this case we realize that the two first practitioners did not follow the medical law, ethics, and professional practice guidelines. Although the patient did not seek medical attention for his symptoms for a relatively long time due to his remote locality and difficulty in accessing medical care, it was up to the practitioners to carry out medical care according to these three guidelines. If the proper diagnosis was done, maybe the patient’s vulnerability would have been reduced together with the costs he incurred. In the event, they would have then acted professionally and according to medical ethics.
Neither the GP nor the specialist followed the guidelines for the prevention, early detection, and management of colorectal cancer, as set out by the NHMRC (Australian National Health and Medical Research Council). This is regarded as an unprofessional medical practice. The issue of medical law came in when the practitioners were unable to act accountably leading to negligence, vulnerability, and delayed diagnosis which is against the medical law. Professionally there was a shortfall as:
All patients with symptoms of colorectal cancer (rectal bleeding, bowel or abdominal symptoms, and anemia) should have a thorough examination of the anus, rectum, and colon, including a digital rectal examination (DRE). In symptomatic patients over the age of 40, referral to a colonoscopy specialist is recommended (Leaper & Johnstons 2004)
Neither the GP nor the specialist did a DRE and given the position of the patient’s tumor, if it had been done they would have felt it. The Specialist “missed” seeing the tumor when banding the pts hemorrhoids; presumably, the photo scope was inserted beyond the position of the tumor and obscured it from view.
There was a breach of duty on care by both the GO and the specialist. The failure to properly investigate the patient’s symptoms and failure to diagnose cancer promptly meant the patient’s risks of morbidity and mortality increased. Consequently, medical law, ethics, and professional practice were not followed.
Conclusion
Therefore as shown in this paper, vulnerabilities such as this one brought about by unethical doctors and medical practitioners are supposed to be effectively eliminated by medical law, ethics, and professional practice. These guidelines also help create, “good medical practice and good doctors who enhance and promote the health and medical welfare of the people they serve in ways which fairly and justly respect their dignity, autonomy and rights” (Archer, 2003).
Public expectations of medical practice need not be dented by unethical and unprofessional practitioners. Again there is a need for teamwork between the doctor, the patient, and other stakeholders to effectively iron out these differences in professional performance. When this is done and the GMC’s professional regulation reacts appropriately to professional medical mistakes, issues such as this one can be effectively controlled.
References
Archer, B. (2003) professional medical practice. Journal of professional medical practice, 9 (13), pp. 102-111.
Australian Medical Association. (2010) Medical Ethics. Australian Social Science Press.
Beauchamp, T. (2001) Public Health Practice. New York, NY. Oxford University Press.
Edwards, M. (2002) Medical Care, and Ethics. Journal of medical ethics 6(3), pp. 41-48.
Hoffman, T. 2009. Clinical professional guidelines. Web.
Leaper, M, & Johnstons, MJ. (2004) Reasons for failure to diagnose colorectal carcinoma at colonoscopy. Endoscopy 36(2), pp.499-503.
Mathews, B. (2005) Medical negligence. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.
McKeon, L. (2002) Medical Law. Brisbane, QLD: John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd.
Pullman, D. (2005) Ethics: Reframing the role of ‘principles’ in clinical ethics education and practice. Journal of Clinical Ethics 16(3): 223-229.
Weed, D. (2002) Ethics and professional health practice. Journal of professional health practice, 7(2), pp. 54-74.
International Trade Payment Forms
There are various methods of payment in international trade. Credit in any international trade transition is provided by the exporter, importer, bank, or a combination of these. Exporters who have sufficient cash flows can finance the entire trade cycle, starting with the production of the product by the exporter down to eventual payment made by the importer. This form of credit is referred to as export credit. Exporters may also need bank funding to supplement their cash flow in some instances. On occasions the exporter may not desire to provide the financing, the importer will have to finance the transaction itself, either internally or externally, through its financial institution. Banks can play a significant role to both exporters and importers in trade financing. Generally, the basic forms of payment applicable in international transactions include; Open account, prepayment, credit letters, drafts, consignment, and open account. These forms of payments used in international transactions differ in the way risk is divided among the buyer and the seller (Weiss, 2007, p. 114).
Forms of International Payment Forms
Payment by Open Account
Payment by account in international trade works in a way that the exporter first sends the shipments followed by bills for the goods and related costs. Importers can then make payments through ways such as; international money orders, bank transfers, Pay Pal, or credit cards. This mode of payment is cheap and does not involve any risk to the importer. However, it is riskier for the exporter if the importer fails to pay for the goods. In case of default, the exporter can forget the legal remedies. The only protection for the exporter is that of the underlying contract of sale and importers reputation or credibility (Madura, 2006, p. 565).
Open account form of payment in international business is the most commonly used method of payment in the import and export trade. The main reason is that most international trade is carried out between companies with affiliations or large companies that have mutual understanding. Small importers are not likely to be given open account terms from foreign exporters. However, some may earn their confidence with steady purchases and reliable performance (Weiss, 2007, p. 114). Exporters on the other hand are supposed to be aware of fraudulent tricks played by some importers. They may commence paying the exporter to secure the terms and then request an open account for the order. If the exporter accepts an importers order to open account, they will become progressively larger, and they will pay right in time. The exporter will then ship a large order, and the money from the importer may not arrive. Open account method may also be problematic in the sense that even honest importers can take along time to pay. In this case, exporters money will remain tied up and will weaken his cash flow (Madura, 2006, p. 565).
Prepayments
Prepayment refers to advance payment remitted by the importer to the exporter before shipment of the goods. In other words, a prepayment is when the buyer first pays for purchase and after which the seller ships the goods purchased. This method is riskier for the buyer, because of the lack of insurance in getting the goods. The seller on the other hand has a very secure position, because he will at one point have both the goods and the money. In other words, it is the best method of payment for goods in international trade (Jones, 2000, p. 45). Payments by buyers are usually made in the form of international wire transfer to the exporters’ bank account of foreign bank draft. With the progression of technology, electronic commerce has enabled firms engaged in international trade to make electronic credits and debits through an intermediary bank. This form of international payment provides the exporter with the greatest degree of protection. It is normally requested of those importers or buyers who are first timers whose credit worthiness is not known or whose countries are facing economic strains. However, most buyers are usually unwilling to bear all the risks by prepaying an order (Bertrand, 2004, p. 41).
Drafts
Drafts are also vital for making payments in international transactions. According to Madura (2006, p. 566), drafts are unconditional promises drawn by one party, usually the exporter, instructing the buyer to pay the face amount of the draft upon presentation. Drafts represent exporter’s formal requests for payment from the buyer. The importer is legally bound to pay the exporter by signing or accepting the draft. Drafts provide exporters with less protection because banks normally are not obliged to honor payments on behalf of buyers (Madura, 2006, p. 566). Most trading transactions often referred to as documentary collections, handled on draft basis are processed through banking channels. Documentary collection is a service provided by the exporter’s bank so that they can receive the payments from the buyer (Nelson, 2000, p. 87). This service is usually transacted by the seller’s bank to the buyer’s bank. The buyer’s bank then presents shipping documents to the buyer. If everything check out the buyer exchanges those for the payment (Nelson, 2000, p. 88).
This is more secure for both parties, but especially for the buyer. In other words, banks on both ends act as intermediaries in the processing of shipping forms and the collection of payment in documentary collection transactions (Nelson, 2002, p. 88). Incase a shipment is made under a sight draft; the exporter is paid once shipment has been made and the draft is presented to the buyer for payment. The buyer’s bank account will not release the shipping documents to the buyer until the buyer has paid the draft. Exporters are offered some protection, since banks release shipping documents only as per the exporter’s instructions. Shipping documents are necessary for the buyer to collect the goods. The buyer does not need to pay for the goods until the draft has been presented (Nelson, 2000, p. 88).
Shipments may also be made under a time draft, where buyer’s account is instructed by the exporter to release the shipping documents against signing of the draft. The buyer promises the buyer to pay the exporter at the specified future date by signing the draft. The buyer in this transaction can obtain the goods before paying for them. Exporters provide financing and are dependent upon the buyers’ financial integrity to honor the draft at maturity (Nelson, 2000. p. 88).
Consignment
According to Kidner (2003, pp. 391-392), consignment form of international payment, goods are shipped by the exporter to the importer while still retaining the actual title to the goods. In this case, the importer has access to the goods but does not have to pay for the goods until they have been sold to the third party. The dealing is based on the exporters trust on the importer to remit payment of the goods sold at that time. This is riskier to the importer incase the importer fails to pay, no draft is involved and the goods have already been solved. The exporter will have limited recourse incase of this eventuality. Due to this high risk, consignments are used seldom except by affiliates or subsidiary companies trading with the parent company (Kidner, 2003, p. 391).
Direct payment is the opposite of advanced payment. The Seller ships his goods and then waits for the buyer to make the payment to an account making it riskier for the seller. More secure methods are documentary collection and documentary credit (Kidner, 2003, p. 391).
Documentary Credits
Madura (2006,pp. 566) defines a documentary credit as “An instrument issued by a bank on behalf of the importer promising to pay the exporter upon presentation of shipping documents in compliance with the terms agreed therein”. In this effect, the bank substitutes its credit for that of the importer. This form of international payment is a compromise between the exporter and the importer because it affords certain advantages to both parties (Madura, 2006, p. 566). The exporters are guaranteed of receiving payment from the issuing bank as long as it presents documents by the documentation credits. As an important characteristic of documentation credits, the issuing bank is obliged to honor drawings under documentation credits regardless of the buyer’s ability or willingness to pay (Jones, 2000, p. 45). On the other hand, the importer is required to make payment for the goods only when a shipment is made and the necessary documents are provided in an appropriate state. Nevertheless, the importer will still depend upon the exporter to ship the goods as described in the documents since credit documents do not guarantee that the goods bought will be those invoiced and shipped (Bertrand, 2004, p. 114).
The most equally secure method of international payment is the method of documentary credit. There the bank, on the request of the buyer, guarantees to pay the seller the agreed payment for goods shipped. The seller must hand in agreed documents in exchange for the payment. In this case the buyer and seller are secure in getting their part of the deal, because there will be evidence in the documents that were required to make the transaction and after this the seller will get his payment because it is guaranteed by the bank (Bertrand, 2004, p. 114).
Conclusion
For exporters to succeed in international markets and gain sales against international competitors, they need to give clients attractive terms of payment supported by viable payment forms. The main point of being in business is getting paid in entirety and on time. The ultimate goal of engaging in export business is to have an appropriate payment form which must be chosen very carefully to reduce risks of payment while also accommodating the needs of the importer. Both exporters and importers must consider mutually acceptable forms of payment in international trade before and after contract negotiations. Among the key payment forms from international business discussed in this paper include; open account, prepayment, credit letters, drafts, consignment, and open account (Jones, 2000, p 40). In sum, the key points required in the conduct of international trade include: the understanding of various risks which lead to unpredictability over payment timings between the exporter and importer; for exporters, any international business sale is not authentic unless a payment is made by the importer; importers cannot effect payment before receiving them from exporters, otherwise the payment without the goods might be considered a donation; exporters always have the urgency of receiving payment as soon as the goods are dispatched to the buyer; and the importers require to obtain goods as soon as possible but withhold payment as long as possible (Snyder, 2002, p. 642).
Reference
Bertrand, R. 2004. Bank Guarantees in International Trade. Ydney: Kluwer Law International.
Jones, L. & Alexander, R., 2000. New International Business. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kidner, R. 2003. Statutes and Conventions. London: RoutledgeCavendish.
Madura, J. 2006. International Financial Management. New York: Cengage Learning.
Nelson, C. 2000. Import/Export. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.
Snyder, F. 2002. Regional and Global Trade. New York: Hart Publishing
Weiss, K. 2007. Building an Import/Export Business. New York: Willey & Sons.