Development of Two Measures of Climate for Scientific Organizations

The aim of this article is to describe the development of two measures of ethical climate for scientific organizations. The first measure utilizes a traditional climate measurement approach and was developed in order to understand the various ethical and creative aspects of organizational climate, or academic departmental climate in university settings, in organizations where scientific and academic research is conducted. The second measure utilizes a biodata measurement approach, a set of career event scales applicable in university and research settings. Such a measure is intended to identify those experiences unique to scientific work that may influence research climate at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Specifically, these measures will be used to predict integrity in the early part of a scientist's career based on various situational influences that occur in scientific organizations.     

Current ethical issues in synthetic biology: where should we go from here?

Synthetic biology (SynBio) is an emerging scientific field which has quickly established momentum and visibility. Although no single definition of SynBio prevails, the field broadly encompasses the application of engineering principles to biology, redesigning biological materials and using them as new substrates to create products and entities not otherwise found in nature. This article first reviews SynBio, highlighting the novel aspects of this technology. It then synthesizes ethical issues highlighted in the literature to date and makes some initial claims that research on the ethical aspects of SynBio should: avoid creating a new subtype of bioethics, concentrate on novel concepts and problems, and be situated within a context of cooperative interdisciplinary investigation.     

More on plurality and authorship in science: A reply to Tang

Understanding the “political economy” of the research environment is at the core of getting clear on the ethical aspects of authorship. Questions about who should be an author on a scientific paper are complicated by the fact that authorship is used to determine credit inside science and by outside institutions whose interests and standards often differ dramatically. Much of the research ethics community seeks to impose an elite ethical consensus on scientific fields. I argue that this approach undermines the scientific autonomy of research communities. In contrast, we should develop bottom-up strategies that empower local communities and associations.     

Ethical Virtues in Scientific Research

Most approaches to promoting integrity in research are principle-based in that they portray ethical conduct as consisting of adherence to ethical rules, duties, or responsibilities. Bruce MacFarlane has recently criticized the principle-based approach to promoting integrity in research and offered a virtue-based alternative. MacFarlane argues that principle-based approaches do not provide adequate guidance for ethical decision-making and are not very useful in moral education. In this article, I examine and critique MacFarlane's defense of the virtue-based approach. I argue that virtue-based and principle-based approaches to ethics are complementary and that they both can help promote research integrity.     

Monitoring the Monitors: Medicaid Integration of Passive Remote Monitoring Technology

Implementation of passive remote monitoring is advancing faster than our knowledge base about appropriate and ethical use. For all the media and research attention these technologies are getting, there has been very little discussion about how they are positioned to be integrated into health plans, yet their integration is key to how they will be incorporated into social work practice. As coverage of passive remote monitoring technologies expands in Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS), new policies that support informed decision-making, consenting processes, and regulations for ethical, appropriate use are urgently needed. Research translation often trails policy, but the rapid development and implementation of technologies that passively collect and transmit new information about older adults call for a more responsive approach. In this commentary, I describe passive remote monitoring technologies, their implementation in Medicaid HCBS, and ethical issues. I conclude with specific suggestions for policy and practice to start addressing these issues.     

Is failure to raise concerns about misconduct a breach of integrity? Researchers’ reflections on reporting misconduct

This article describes and discusses the views of researchers on the significance of raising concerns about scientific misconduct in their work environment and the reasons or circumstances that might deter them from doing so. In this exploratory qualitative research study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 33 researchers working in life sciences and medicine. They represent three seniority levels and five universities across Switzerland. A large majority of respondents in this research study argued that failure to raise concerns about scientific misconduct compromises research integrity. This is an encouraging result demonstrating that researchers try to adhere to high ethical standards. However, further interaction with respondents highlighted that this correct ethical assessment does not lead researchers to take the consequent action of raising concerns. The factors that discourage researchers from raising concerns need to be addressed at the level of research groups, institutions, and by setting a positive precedent which helps them to believe in the system’s ability to investigate concerns raised in a timely and professional manner. Training of researchers in research integrity related issues will have limited utility unless it is coupled with the creation of research culture where raising concerns is a standard practice of scientific and research activities.     

Research on environmental health interventions: ethical problems and solutions

This article reviews a variety of ethical issues one must consider when conducting research on environmental health interventions on human subjects. The paper uses the Kennedy Krieger Institute lead abatement study as well as a hypothetical asthma study to discuss questions concerning benefits and risks, risk minimization, safety monitoring, the duty to warn, the duty to report, the use of control groups, informed consent, equitable subject selection, privacy, conflicts of interest, and community consultation. Research on environmental health interventions can make an important contribution to our understanding of human health and disease prevention, provided it is conducted in a manner that meets prevailing scientific, ethical, and legal standards for research on human subjects.     

Research on Environmental Health Interventions: Ethical Problems and Solutions

This article reviews a variety of ethical issues one must consider when conducting research on environmental health interventions on human subjects. The paper uses the Kennedy Krieger Institute lead abatement study as well as a hypothetical asthma study to discuss questions concerning benefits and risks, risk minimization, safety monitoring, the duty to warn, the duty to report, the use of control groups, informed consent, equitable subject selection, privacy, conflicts of interest, and community consultation. Research on environmental health interventions can make an important contribution to our understanding of human health and disease prevention, provided it is conducted in a manner that meets prevailing scientific, ethical, and legal standards for research on human subjects.     

新世纪大学道德教育新理念研究

推进大学德育创新是新世纪高校德育面临的重要课题。德育理念创新是大学德育创新的先导。在世界政治多极化、经济全球化、社会发展信息化、人们的价值取向多元化的背景下,新世纪大学道德教育应确立以下新的理念:德育为先,以人为本,以学生为主体;德育应具有开放性、服务性,应注重理论与实践相结合、先进性与广泛性相结合等等,以促使德育过程系统化和德育终身化。     

Science and society: some "made-in-Canada" options for improving integration

In this article, the authors describe relatively recent efforts by scientific research agencies to promote, through various funding programs, the integration of social sciences and humanities with the natural sciences. This "integrated" approach seeks to study science through a broader interdisciplinary lens in order to better anticipate, understand, and address its ethical, legal, and social implications. The authors review the origins and evolution of this trend, as well the arguments which have been formulated by both proponents and critics of integration. By using Genome Canada's "GE(3)LS" Research Program as a case study, the authors discuss the successes and continuing challenges of this model based on evaluation results available to date. The authors then go on to examine and compare three possible models for improving the future success of the GE(3)LS research program, including: 1) enhancing the current integrated research approach through incremental refinements based on concrete evidence and lessons learned; 2) promoting greater interaction and synergy across GE(3)LS research projects through a deliberate, systematic and coordinated "hub and spoke" approach; and 3) taking a broad programmatic approach to GE(3)LS research by creating a central resource of available expertise and advisory capacity.     

Human embryonic stem cell research: an argument for national research review

The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently published voluntary guidelines for human embryonic stem (hES) cell research. The NAS guidelines propose two levels of oversight. AT the local level, research institutions are to create Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight (ESCRO) committees with a mandate to assess the scientific merit and ethical acceptability of hES cell research. At the national level, a new committee is to be created, not to review specific research proposals, but rather to periodically assess, and as needed revise, the NAS guidelines. In this article, we critically assess this proposal. In particular, we review the benefits and limitations of local research review. On this basis, we argue that local review is insufficient for hES cell research and that while there are obvious pragmatic and political reasons for the NAS to favor local research review, there are more compelling reasons for the NAS to have recommended national review of hES cell research proposals.     

AIDS Policy and Public Health Models: an Australian Analysis

The development and outcomes of Australia's AIDS Policy is examined in the context of the debate between the traditional medical public health model and the community ‘peer support’ model of public health. The latter, consistent with the ‘new’ public health enshrined in the Ottawa Charter, is argued to be the basis for Australia's relative successful approach in containing HIV infection. The response of particular sections of the medical profession are critically analysed in terms of medical dominance and ethical theory.     

Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: An Argument for National Research Review

The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently published voluntary guidelines for human embryonic stem (hES) cell research. The NAS guidelines propose two levels of oversight. At the local level, research institutions are to create Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight (ESCRO) committees with a mandate to assess the scientific merit and ethical acceptability of hES cell research. At the national level, a new committee is to be created, not to review specific research proposals, but rather to periodically assess, and as needed revise, the NAS guidelines. In this article, we critically assess this proposal. In particular, we review the benefits and limitations of local research review. On this basis, we argue that local review is insufficient for hES cell research and that while there are obvious pragmatic and political reasons for the NAS to favor local research review, there are more compelling reasons for the NAS to have recommended national review of hES cell research proposals.     

Ethics in population-based genetic research

Population-based genetic research, including genetic epidemiology, shows tremendous potential to elucidate the role of genes as causal factors in complex and common human diseases. Like all research with human subjects, full realization of these benefits requires careful attention to its ethical conduct, establishing an appropriate balance between individual protections and the advancement of scientific and medical knowledge. This article reviews the growing literature on genetics research and ethics to describe some of the fundamental ethical issues in population-based genetics research, including research design, recruitment and informed consent, and dealing with research results. Its focus is on areas where consensus is forming and where future work is needed.     

Genetic screening technology: ethical issues in access to tests by employers and health insurance committees

Whereas the introduction of new technologies previously has raised the ethical question of who ought to have access to a new procedure or device, genetic testing technology raises the new ethical question of to whom access to a new technology ought to be limited. In this article we discuss the implications of employers and private health insurance companies having access to genetic testing technology. Although there may be legitimate business interests in allowing employers and insurers to conduct genetic screening, there are other valid societal interests in regulating or limiting the use of this technology by third parties. Public policy developed in the area of new genetic technology must reflect such interests.     

Ethical and Regulatory Challenges in Psychophysiology and Neuroscience-Based Technology for Determining Behavior

In the past three decades, there has been an explosion in research to understand the mechanisms of brain function. Recent advances in psychophysiology and neuroscience, while still limited, have sparked great interest in developing technologies that could peer into the brain and be used to identify or indicate certain behaviors. The polygraph (lie detector) represents an old technology used for discerning clues to the human brain; functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) represents one of the newest efforts. The use of these technologies in intelligence and counterintelligence in the field without validation represents a major concern about its usefulness. Both research on this new technology and subsequent use on public raise ethical challenges. This article will address the overall ethical issues associated with these new technologies. The report identifies the ethical and cultural challenges in conducting research on these new tools, explores the possibility of using current U.S. regulatory requirements regarding drugs and devices as a model for regulating these new technologies, and suggests approaches for the future.     

On hope,loss, anger,and the spaces in between: Reflections on living with/in adoption and the role of the social worker

This article explores the findings of a study on the role of the social worker in adoption with a focus on ethics, concentrating on the perspectives of adopted people, birth parents, and adoptive parents. Their reflections challenge policy attempts that are framed around “new beginnings” for children. The focus on hope in such policy projects fails to understand that hope inevitably coexists with anger and loss. The concept of ethical trespass, with its recognition of the inevitability of harm, is explored in terms of its possibilities for recognizing the lived realities for multiple stakeholders. The mitigation of ethical trespass requires social work practices that are characterized by humility, honesty, and reflexivity.     

Exploring the potential contributions of mindfulness and compassion-based practices for enhancing the teaching of undergraduate ethics courses in philosophy

There are numerous ethical theories from which faculty may choose to teach in undergraduate philosophical ethics courses. Whether learning such theories results in ethical behavior change remains an open question. If one of the goals of teaching ethics is to support ethical behavior, then alternative approaches are merited. Within the past decades, there has been a growing emphasis on mindfulness and compassion-based practices in particular, as applied to psychotherapy in the field of psychology. Such findings have bearing on ways in which compassion-based practices might be fruitful in the philosophical ethics classroom. This article will identify issues with the dominant approach to teaching philosophical ethics, focusing on the need for a bridge between theory and action. It will also explore the potential benefits of utilizing mindfulness in the classroom, with a focus on compassion-based practices such as loving-kindness, to contribute to meeting this need to enhance the teaching of undergraduate philosophical ethics.     

Permanency Planning: New Name for an Old Concept

In this article the author examines the concept of permanency planning, and the development of that concept in child welfare practice in Australia and overseas. The Paper examines the philosophical and ethical dilemmas associated with the concept, given the often-competing rights of parent and child.     

From Baltimore to Bell Labs: reflections on two decades of debate about scientific misconduct

This essay proposes a new definition of scientific "misconduct," which is broader than the definition recently adopted by the U.S. government. According to the proposed definition, misconduct is a serious and intentional violation of accepted scientific practices, commonsense ethical norms, or research regulations in proposing, designing, conducting, reviewing, or reporting research. Punishable misconduct includes fabrication of data or experiments, falsification of data, plagiarism, or interference with a misconduct investigation. Misconduct does not include honest errors, differences of opinion, or ethically questionable research practices.