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Wim Betz
Willem (Wim) Betz (22 February 1943 – 8 June 2019) was a Flemish physician and professor emeritus at the Belgian university Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where he was head of the center for training in general medical practice until November 2007. Betz was a leading skeptic in Flanders and participant in the ''EU COST B4 Project'' (a European initiative for comprehensive research on complementary and alternative medicine). He was a founding member, president and vice-president of the Belgian skeptic organisation SKEPP. Biography After twenty years as a general practitioner, he turned full-time to the teaching of general medical practice as well as conducting scientific research. He took courses in several types of alternative medicine (homeopathy, neural therapy, manual therapy) and practiced them successfully. However, he started to question the explanations given for the successes that were being claimed by alternative treatments and began to investigate the existing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wim Betz Tuin
Wim is a masculine given name or a shortened form of Willem and other names and may refer to: * Wim Anderiesen (1903–1944), Dutch footballer * Wim Aantjes (1923–2015), Dutch politician * Wim Arras (born 1964), Belgian cyclist * Wim Blockmans (born 1945), Professor of Medieval History at Leiden University * Wim Boost (1918–2005), Dutch cartoonist * Wim Boissevain (born 1927), Australian painter * Wim Cohen (1923–2000), Dutch mathematician * Wim Cool (born 1943), Dutch politician * Wim Crouwel (1928–2019), Dutch graphic designer and typographer * Wim Crusio (born 1954), Dutch behavioral neurogeneticist * Wim De Coninck (born 1959), retired Belgian footballer * Wim De Decker (born 1982), Belgian football player * Wim De Vocht (born 1982), Belgian professional road bicycle racer * Wim Deetman (born 1945), Dutch politician and statesman * Wim Delvoye (born 1965), Belgian conceptual artist * Wim Duisenberg (1935–2005), Dutch banker and politician * Wim Ebbinkhuijsen (born 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near-death Experience
A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, the experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence of a light. When negative, such experiences may include sensations of anguish, distress, a void, devastation, and vast emptiness. People often report seeing hellish places and things like their own rendition of "the devil." Explanations for NDEs vary from scientific to religious. Neuroscience research hypothesizes that an NDE is a subjective phenomenon resulting from "disturbed bodily multisensory integration" that occurs during life-threatening events. Some transcendental and religious beliefs about an afterlife include descriptions similar to NDEs. In the U.S., an estimated 9 million people have repo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgian Skeptics
Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German * Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language formerly spoken in Gallia Belgica * Belgian Dutch or Flemish, a variant of Dutch *Belgian French, a variant of French * Belgian horse (other), various breeds of horse * Belgian waffle, in culinary contexts * SS ''Belgian'', a cargo ship in service with F Leyland & Co Ltd from 1919 to 1934 *''The Belgian ''The Belgian'' is a 1917 American silent film directed by Sidney Olcott and produced by Sidney Olcott Players with Valentine Grant and Walker Whiteside in the leading roles. It is not known whether the film currently survives. Plot As descr ...'', a 1917 American silent film See also * * Belgica (other) * Belgic (other) {{Disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flemish Physicians
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; it is spoken by Flemings, the dominant ethnic group of the region. Outside of Flanders, it is also spoken to some extent in French Flanders and the Dutch Zeelandic Flanders. Terminology The term ''Flemish'' itself has become ambiguous. Nowadays, it is used in at least five ways, depending on the context. These include: # An indication of Dutch written and spoken in Flanders including the Dutch standard language as well as the non-standardized dialects, including intermediate forms between vernacular dialects and the standard. Some linguists avoid the term ''Flemish'' in this context and prefer the designation ''Belgian-Dutch'' or ''South-Dutch'' # A synonym for the so-called intermediate language in Flanders region, the # An indica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vereniging Tegen De Kwakzalverij
The Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij or VtdK (English: ''Association Against Quackery'' or ''Society Against Quackery'') is a Dutch organisation that investigates the claims of alternative medicine and opposes quackery. Beginnings The organisation was founded in 1881 and is the oldest skeptical organisation in the world. It has published its magazine ''Nederlands Tijdschrift tegen de Kwakzalverij'' (NTtdK, "Dutch Magazine against Quackery") ever since. In its early years, the ''Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij'' played a part in the professionalisation of medicine. Its efforts in the public debate helped to make the Netherlands one of the first countries with governmental drug regulation. Growth Initially, quackery mainly consisted of the unauthorized practice of medicine and the peddling of "secret remedies". By the 1950s, its focus shifted to magnetizers. Since the 1980s, it has fought against so-called alternative medicine. Primary targets are Chinese acupuncture, homeopathy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amardeo Sarma
Amardeo Sarma (born 1955) is a Engineer's degree#Germany and Austria, qualified engineer for electrical engineering, electrical and telecommunications engineering, chair of the Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften (GWUP) and former chair of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations. Professionally, he works for NEC Laboratories Europe. Biography Education Sarma was born 1955 in Kassel, West Germany. He earned his bachelor's degree in technology at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and obtained the title of qualified engineer (Diplom-Ingenieur) at the Technische Universität Darmstadt. NEC As president of the TDL Executive Board and a General Manager at NEC Laboratories Europe, Sarma was present at the Trust in the Digital World and the Cyber Security & Privacy (CSP) EU Forum 2013, that addressed the issue of fighting cybercrime. Skeptical movement From his early childhood on, Sarma was very interested in science and scientific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Council Of Skeptical Organisations
The European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) is an umbrella of skeptical organisations in Europe. Goals Founded on 25 September 1994, the ECSO aims to co-ordinate activities of European organisations and individuals that aim at critically investigating pseudoscientific statements and claims regarding observations of paranormal phenomena, and to make the results of its investigations known to the broad public. It means to continue the series of European skeptical congresses that preceded its foundation and supports a biennial congress and a symposium every other year. The Charter of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations states that it strives 1) To protect the public from the promulgation of claims and therapies which have not been subjected to critical testing and thus might pose a danger to them. 2) To investigate by means of controlled tests and experiments such extraordinary claims which are on the fringe of or contradict current scientific knowledge. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Committee For Skeptical Inquiry
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the US non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims." Paul Kurtz proposed the establishment of CSICOP in 1976 as an independent non-profit organization (before merging with CFI as one of its programs in 2015), to counter what he regarded as an uncritical acceptance of, and support for, paranormal claims by both the media and society in general. Its philosophical position is one of scientific skepticism. CSI's fellows have included notable scientists, Nobel laureates, philosophers, psychologists, educators and authors. It is headquartered in Amherst, New York. History The committee was officially launched on April 30, 1976, and was co-chaired by Paul Kurtz and Marcell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elsevier
Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', the '' Current Opinion'' series, the online citation database Scopus, the SciVal tool for measuring research performance, the ClinicalKey search engine for clinicians, and the ClinicalPath evidence-based cancer care service. Elsevier's products and services also include digital tools for data management, instruction, research analytics and assessment. Elsevier is part of the RELX Group (known until 2015 as Reed Elsevier), a publicly traded company. According to RELX reports, in 2021 Elsevier published more than 600,000 articles annually in over 2,700 journals; as of 2018 its archives contained over 17 million documents and 40,000 e-books, with over one billion annual downloads. Researchers have criticized Elsevier for its high profit marg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, review articles ("seminars" and "reviews"), editorials, book reviews, correspondence, as well as news features and case reports. ''The Lancet'' has been owned by Elsevier since 1991, and its editor-in-chief since 1995 has been Richard Horton. The journal has editorial offices in London, New York City, and Beijing. History ''The Lancet'' was founded in 1823 by Thomas Wakley, an English surgeon who named it after the surgical instrument called a lancet (scalpel). Members of the Wakley family retained editorship of the journal until 1908. In 1921, ''The Lancet'' was acquired by Hodder & Stoughton. Elsevier acquired ''The Lancet'' from Hodder & Stoughton in 1991. Impact According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 202 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pim Van Lommel
Pim van Lommel (born 15 March 1943) is a Dutch author and researcher in the field of near-death studies. Education and career He studied medicine at Utrecht University, specializing in cardiology. He worked as a cardiologist at the Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, for 26 years (1977-2003).van Lommel, Pim. Getting Comfortable With Near-Death Experiences. Dutch Prospective Research on Near-Death Experiences During Cardiac Arrest. ''Missouri Medicine'', March/April 2014, 111:2, 131In 1988 he launched a prospective study of near-death experiences that spanned 10 Dutch hospitals. 344 survivors of cardiac arrest were included in the study. In 2001, his large-scaled prospective study of near-death experiences after cardiac arrest was published in the medical journal ''The Lancet''.Lommel, Pim van, Ruud van Wees, Vincent Meyers, and Ingrid Elfferich. “Near-Death Experience in Survivors of Cardiac Arrest: A Prospective Study in the Netherlands.” ''The Lancet'' 358, no. 9298 (December 15 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quackery
Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, qualification or credentials they do not possess; a charlatan or snake oil salesman". The term ''quack'' is a clipped form of the archaic term ', from nl, kwakzalver a "hawker of salve". In the Middle Ages the term ''quack'' meant "shouting". The quacksalvers sold their wares on the market shouting in a loud voice. Common elements of general quackery include questionable diagnoses using questionable diagnostic tests, as well as untested or refuted treatments, especially for serious diseases such as cancer. Quackery is often described as "health fraud" with the salient characteristic of aggressive promotion. Definition Psychiatrist and author Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch defines quackery "as the promotion of unsubstanti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
