Using payment to recruit research subjects is a common practice, but it raises ethical concerns that coercion or undue inducement could potentially compromise participants’ informed consent. This is the first national study to explore the attitudes of IRB members and other human subjects protection professionals concerning whether payment of research participants constitutes coercion or undue influence, and if so, why. The majority of respondents expressed concern that payment of any amount might influence a participant’s decisions or behaviors regarding research (...) participation. Respondents expressed greater acceptance of payment as reimbursement or compensation than as an incentive to participate in research, and most agreed that subjects are coerced if the offer of payment makes them participate when they otherwise would not or when the offer of payment causes them to feel that they have no reasonable alternative but to participate . Views about undue influence were similar. We conclude that human subjects protection professionals hold expansive and inconsistent views about coercion and undue influence that may interfere with the recruitment of research participants and impede valuable research. (shrink)

For decades, worries about undue inducement have Pervaded clinical research, and are especially common when research is accompanied by payment or conducted in developing countries. Few ethical judgments carry as much moral opprobrium or are thought to undermine the ethical soundness of a clinical trial as thoroughly as undue inducement. Indeed, the admonition to prevent undue inducement is one of the few explicit instructions in the Common Rules requirements for informed consent.Despite their long history and pervasiveness, charges (...) of undue inducement in clinical research are almost always mistaken. Indeed, I will advance an even more radical claim: Aresearch trial that otherwise fulfills the fundamental ethical requirements for human subjects research inherently cannot create the possibility of undue inducement because substantial risk of serious harm isprecluded. Charges of undue inducement tend to express displaced and mislabeled ethical concerns about other aspects of human subjects research. Consequently, claims of undue inducement should rarely be made, and when they are advanced should be treated with skepticism, placing a heavy burden of proofon those advancing such charges. (shrink)

(2001). The Fiction of 'Undue Inducement': Why Researchers Should Be Allowed to Pay Participants Any Amount of Money for Any Reasonable Research Project. The American Journal of Bioethics: Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 1g-3g.

When political philosopher Hannah Arendt introduced the concept of ‘banality of evil’ she did so in reference to the actions of Germans who appropriated the doctrines of National Socialism “thoughtlessly” and without obvious intentions to do evil. But, Arendt’s description of this phenomenon entails that such banality can be found even in a democracy such as the USA. The relation of law and morality must therefore be unambiguous to defend the rule of law against the rule of men. However, a (...) legal philosophy other than positivism is essential to safeguard the Republic against the overreach of executive power. And, where the psychopathology of Donald Trump is at the core of America’s electoral discontent in 2020, as mental health professionals have argued, there is all the more reason to take Arendt’s counsel especially seriously today. It is in this context that it is argued here that the American public must beware Trump’s inducement of America’s banality of evil. (shrink)

Our present day experience is becoming increasingly intercultural. In encountering different cultures, we notice mostly the differences in language. The question here comes into focus: How we can give an account of the intercultural experience of language? This paper will inquire as to where we must pay attention in order to deal properly with language in the intercultural experience on the basis of Husserl’s texts. For that purpose, it is necessary to focus on the concept of motivation. Husserl considers motivation (...) as the demand to complement our experiences at each moment. I will call this demand “inducement” and try to make clear the relationship between language and inducement. (shrink)

Some worry that offering too much money to participate in medical research can seduce people into participating against their better judgment. These overly attractive offers that impair judgment are often referred to as ‘undue inducements’. The current approach to prevent undue inducement is to limit the size of such offers. The hope is that smaller offers will not be attractive enough to impair judgment. Even if this is true, I argue that we should reject this solution. In Section 1, (...) I go over the problem of undue inducement, and our current approach to preventing it, in more detail. In Section 2, I argue that, like money, therapeutic benefits of medical research may also unduly induce. In Section 3, I argue that the current approach to preventing undue inducement is absurd in the case of therapeutic inducements. In Section 4, I argue that our current approach is analogously problematic in the case of monetary inducements. (shrink)

Should egg donors be paid? A negative answer might be offered on the ground that payment for egg donation is coercive. But is this viewpoint tenable? Is the offer of payment for egg donation really coercive? Even if not coercive, might payment for egg donation nonetheless be seen as exploitative? And if so why? The central argument of this paper focuses on the question whether the offer of payment for egg donation is an exploitative inducement and therefore an undue (...) inducement. Another question raised in this paper is whether, given that it is commodifying, payment for egg donation constitutes a failure to recognize the giftedness and true value of human life. (shrink)

There is an alleged tension between undue inducement and exploitation in research trials. This paper considers claims that increasing the benefits to research subjects enrolled in international, externally-sponsored clinical trials should be avoided on the grounds that it may result in the undue inducement of research subjects. This article contributes to the debate about exploitation versus undue inducement by introducing an analysis of the available empirical research into research participants' motivations and the influence of payments on research (...) subjects' behaviour and risk assessment. Admittedly, the available research in this field is limited, but the research that has been conducted suggests that financial rewards do not distort research subjects' behaviour or blind them to the risks involved with research. Therefore, I conclude that research sponsors should prioritise the prevention of exploitation in international research by providing greater benefits to research participants. (edited). (shrink)

The main question explored by the book is: How can cross-border access to human genetic resources, such as blood or DNA samples, be governed in such a way as to achieve equity for vulnerable populations in developing countries? The book situates the field of genomic and genetic research within global health and research frameworks, describing the concerns that have been raised about the potential unfairness in exchanges during recent decades. Access to and sharing in the benefits of human biological resources (...) are aspects not regulated by any international legal framework such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, which applies only to the exchange of plants, animals and microorganisms, as well as to associated traditional knowledge. Examples of genetic research perceived as exploitative are provided in order to illustrate the legal vacuum concerning the global governance of human genetic resources. The main conclusions drawn from the legal and ethical analysis are: - Benefit sharing is crucial in order to avoid the exploitation of developing countries in human genetic research. - With functioning research ethics committees, undue inducement is less of a concern in genetic research than in other areas of medical research (e.g. clinical trials). - Concerns remain over research involving indigenous populations; accordingly, recommendations are provided. In drawing these conclusions, the book addresses in detail a highly pressing topic in global bioethics and international law. In this regard, it combines bioethical arguments with jurisprudence, in particular with reference to the law of equity and the legal concepts of duress (coercion), unconscionable dealing, and undue inducement. (shrink)

A combination of social forces has thrown marriage into question in westernised societies at the end of the millennium. This uncertainty creates space for new ways of thinking about marriage. In this context, we examine the idea of marriage as friendship. We trace its genealogy in the work of Mary Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor and then subject it to critical scrutiny using some of Michel de Montaigne’s ideas. We ask how applic- able the ideal of higher friendship (...) is to marriage and what might be gained and lost by a synthesis of marriage and friendship. Grounding the discussion in historical sources is valuable because the topic is so little explored in the contemporary philosophical literature. This approach also allows any enduring value in these historical texts to be elicited. (shrink)

A combination of social forces has thrown marriage into question in westernised societies at the end of the millennium. This uncertainty creates space for new ways of thinking about marriage. In this context, we examine the idea of marriage as friendship. We trace its genealogy in the work of Mary Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor and then subject it to critical scrutiny using some of Michel de Montaigne’s ideas. We ask how applicable the ideal of higher friendship is (...) to marriage and what might be gained and lost by a synthesis of marriage and friendship. Grounding the discussion in historical sources is valuable because the topic is so little explored in the contemporary philosophical literature. This approach also allows any enduring value in these historical texts to be elicited. (shrink)

1. The opinions expressed are the author's own. They do not reflect any position or policy of the National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services, or any of the authors affiliated organizations.

Die zunehmende Bedeutung inter-und transdisziplinärer Forschungsfelder wirft die Frage nach entsprechenden methodischen und wissenschaftstheoretischen Grundlagen auf. Die Auseinandersetzung mit dieser Frage führt hier zur Entwicklung eines interdisziplinären Forschungsablaufes mit zwei methodischen Kernbereichen, die Systemintegration und Innovationsgenese. Eine wissenschaftstheoretische Betrachtung zeigt auf, dass sich die interdisziplinäre Forschung selbst als eigenständige Disziplin begreifen lässt, und ihr Synthesepotential nicht als zentrales Unterscheidungsmerkmal zu anderen Disziplinen angesehen werden kann. Vielmehr ist die hier entwickelte Methodologie zunächst analytisch und im Wesentlichen auf die Erschließung des Forschungspotentials (...) im Spannungsfeld der Einzel Wissenschaften ausgerichtet. Es entsteht somit eine erkenntnisleitende interdisziplinäre Methodologie, die sich auf komplexe bzw. kooperationsintensive Forschungsinhalte, sowohl im akademischen Bereich als auch auf Fragestellungen aus Industrie und Gesellschaft, anwenden lässt. The increasing significance of inter-and transdisciplinary research raises the demand for principles with respect to methodology and philosophy of science. The discussion of this question leads to the development of an interdisciplinary research process with two methodic core areas: system integration and inducement of innovation. It will be shown that interdisciplinary research can be understood as a discipline of its own, while its potential of synthesis cannot be declared as a central distinctive feature relative to other disciplines. In fact the developed methodology is firstly aligned analytically, with a focus on the research potential from the area of tension between individual disciplines. This results in an interdisciplinary methodology, generating epistemological progress, which can be applied to complex and cooperation intensive research in academia as well as industry and society. (shrink)

In recent years, a debate has emerged on whether bodily sensations are typically accompanied by a sense of body ownership, namely a distinctive experience of one's body or body part as one's own. Realists about the sense of body ownership heavily rely on evidence from experimentally-induced bodily illusions (e.g., the rubber hand illusion) and pathological disownership syndromes (e.g. somatoparaphrenia). In this chapter, I will introduce novel evidence regarding body disownership syndromes induced by psychoactive drugs rather than pathological conditions, and discuss (...) its relevance to the debate on the sense of body ownership. (shrink)

Sometimes subjects have sufficient internal and external resources to retrieve information stored in memory, in particular information that carries socially charged content. Yet, they fail to do so: they forget it. These cases pose an explanatory challenge to common explanations of forgetting in cognitive science. In this paper, I take this challenge and develop a new explanation of these cases. According to this explanation, these cases are best explained as cases of norm-induced forgetting: cases in which forgetting is caused by (...) social norms in a relevant sense. These cases draw attention to the normative aspects of the mechanisms of forgetting. This is an important but neglected aspect of cases of everyday forgetting, in particular of those characterized by a social dimension. By investigating some ways in which the psychology of social norms is causally relevant in the mechanisms of retrieval failure, I begin to fill this gap. (shrink)

The complex regulatory framework governing the U.S. health care system can be an obstacle to programming that address health-related social needs. In particular, health care fraud and abuse law is a pernicious barrier as health care organizations may minimize or forego programming altogether out of real and perceived concern for compliance. And because health care organizations have varying resources to navigate and resolve compliance concerns, as well as different levels of risk tolerance, fears related to the legal landscape may further (...) entrench inequities in access to meaningful programs that improve health outcomes. This article uses food and nutrition programming as a case study to explore the complexities presented by this area of law and to highlight pathways forward. (shrink)

What relationship between investigators and subjects of clinical research would best meet the needs and wants of both – and of society, which has an interest not only in clinical research being done but also in its being done well? This series of articles argues that investigators and subjects should work together in a partnership based in shared aims. Other relationships are possible, however, and here I examine two.

Opposition to inducement payments for research subjects is an international orthodoxy amongst writers of ethics committee guidelines. We offer an argument in favour of these payments. We also critically evaluate the best arguments we can find or devise against such payments, and except in one very limited range of circumstances, we find these unconvincing.

We investigate electromagnetically induced transparency and Autler–Townes splitting in a superconducting quantum circuit with a four-level V-type energy spectrum constructed by two coupled superconducting charge qubits. We show that it is possible for this four-level superconducting system to exhibit multiple dips in the absorption spectrum of a probe field, with at most three dips resulting from a combination of two ATS subsystems, which indicates the breakdown of the traditional correspondence between a \\) -level system and \ dips. It is also (...) shown that the switching from EIT to ATS can be realized in a three-level ladder-type subsystem. (shrink)

Philosophical and empirical research on bodily awareness has mostly focused so far on bodily disorders – such as anorexia nervosa, somatoparaphrenia, or xenomelia (body integrity dysphoria) – and bodily illusions induced in an experimental setting – such as the rubber hand illusion, or the thermal grid illusion. Studying these conditions can be illuminating to investigate a broad range of issues about the nature, function, and etiology of bodily experience. However, a number of psychoactive compounds can also induce a remarkably wide (...) variety of bodily effects that have received little attention despite their relevance to these issues. Some of these effects are similar to those associated with bodily disorders or experimental bodily illusions, while others appear to be unique. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of these lesser known bodily effects of psychoactive compounds, and outline some ways in which they can bear on recent debates regarding bodily awareness and bodily ownership. (shrink)

1. The opinions expressed are the author's own. They do not reflect any position or policy of the National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services, or any of the authors affiliated organizations.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare is reshaping clinical practice, offering both opportunities for enhanced decision-making and risks of skill degradation among medical professionals. This growing impact calls for a comprehensive evaluation of its effects on medical expertise. This study presents a mixed-method literature review, combining systematic analysis with narrative synthesis to examine AI-induced deskilling and upskilling inhibition-the erosion of medical expertise and the reduction of opportunities for skill acquisition due to AI-driven decision support systems. Anchoring the discussion (...) in the core medical competencies outlined by the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK-Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES-MRCPUK), the systematic review identifies key vulnerabilities in physical examination, differential diagnosis, clinical judgment, and physician-patient communication. The narrative review explores broader themes related to Human–AI Interaction and the Impact of AI on Human Skills in Organizations. In response to concerns about the Second Singularity-a scenario in which decision-making autonomy is increasingly ceded to AI, weakening human oversight-this review advocates for a research agenda that prioritizes longitudinal studies, real-time monitoring of AI’s impact, and the development of frameworks to mitigate skill erosion, ensuring the preservation of professional autonomy and the safeguarding of the irreplaceable elements of human judgment in medicine and beyond. (shrink)

We can illustrate the phenomenon of model-induced escape by examining the phenomenon of spam filters. Spam filter A is, we can assume, very effective at blocking spam. Indeed it is so effective that it motivates the authors of spam to invent new types of spam that will beat the filters of spam filter A. -/- An example of this phenomenon in the realm of philosophy is illustrated in the work of Nyíri on Wittgenstein's political beliefs. Nyíri writes a paper demonstrating (...) convincingly that there are strong signals of a conservative strain of thought in the writings of Wittgenstein. This has initially a tiny effect; but then a more significant effect sets in as the authors of Wittgenstein secondary literature, consciously or unconsciously, draw attention to features of Wittgenstein which cast the conservatism thesis in a negative light. This is an example of what I call model-induced escape: the Nyíri model of Wittgenstein initiates a process which undermines the Nyíri model of Wittgenstein. -/- Wittgenstein, as obiectum philosophiae, is reduced to a constantly mutating set of interpretations of a certain body of work. -/- Perhaps this is what makes philosophy so problematic when viewed from the perspective of results, or in other words of signs of progress commonly accepted across the discipline. There are just too many ways of inducing escape from any given putative discovery; too many dimensions along which an interpretative or definitional arms race can be triggered. (shrink)

Computational models have shown how polarisation can rise among deliberating agents as they approximate epistemic rationality. This paper provides further support for the thesis that polarisation can rise under condition of epistemic rationality, but it does not depend on limitations that extant models rely on, such as memory restrictions or biased evaluation of other agents’ testimony. Instead, deliberation is modelled through agents’ purposeful introduction of arguments and their rational reactions to introductions of others. This process induces polarisation dynamics on its (...) own. A second result is that the effect size of polarisation dynamics correlates with particular types of argumentative behaviour. Polarisation effects can be soothed when agents take into account the opinions of others as premises, and they are amplified as agents fortify their own beliefs. These results underpin the relevance of argumentation as a factor in social-epistemic processes and indicate that rising issue polarisation is not a reliable indicator of epistemic shortcomings. (shrink)

The Retrieval-Induced Forgetting (RIF) paradigm is used to study how the repeated retrieval practice of particular memories impairs the retrieval of related memory traces. A study is reported where this automatic form of forgetting was investigated in a group of sexual-assault victims and a control group. Using a recognition-cued RIF task, the present study examined RIF with neutral, positive, negative and trauma-specific stimuli. Response time data showed that irrespective of previous trauma exposure, a RIF effect was observed for neutral material, (...) but not for emotional material. No differences in RIF between the trauma group and the control group were found. Inconsistencies with previous literature and the implications for emotional memory are discussed. (shrink)

The computations involved in statistical learning have long been debated. Here, we build on work suggesting that a basic memory process, chunking, may account for the processing of statistical regularities into larger units. Drawing on methods from the memory literature, we developed a novel paradigm to test statistical learning by leveraging a robust phenomenon observed in serial recall tasks: that short‐term memory is fundamentally shaped by long‐term distributional learning. In the statistically induced chunking recall (SICR) task, participants are exposed to (...) an artificial language, using a standard statistical learning exposure phase. Afterward, they recall strings of syllables that either follow the statistics of the artificial language or comprise the same syllables presented in a random order. We hypothesized that if individuals had chunked the artificial language into word‐like units, then the statistically structured items would be more accurately recalled relative to the random controls. Our results demonstrate that SICR effectively captures learning in both the auditory and visual modalities, with participants displaying significantly improved recall of the statistically structured items, and even recall specific trigram chunks from the input. SICR also exhibits greater test–retest reliability in the auditory modality and sensitivity to individual differences in both modalities than the standard two‐alternative forced‐choice task. These results thereby provide key empirical support to the chunking account of statistical learning and contribute a valuable new tool to the literature. (shrink)

According to Zurek, decoherence is a process resulting from the interaction between a quantum system and its environment; this process singles out a preferred set of states, usually called “pointer basis”, that determines which observables will receive definite values. This means that decoherence leads to a sort of selection which precludes all except a small subset of the states in the Hilbert space of the system from behaving in a classical manner: environment-induced-superselection—einselection —is a consequence of the process of decoherence. (...) The aim of this paper is to present a new approach to decoherence, different from the mainstream approach of Zurek and his collaborators. We will argue that this approach offers conceptual advantages over the traditional one when problems of foundations are considered; in particular, from the new perspective, decoherence in closed quantum systems becomes possible and the preferred basis acquires a well founded definition. (shrink)

The Think/No-Think (T/NT) task was designed to test whether the deliberate avoidance of retrieving a memory (i.e., suppression) hinders the subsequent recall of that memory. Forgetting effects obtained with the T/NT-task (Suppression-Induced Forgetting) are thought to result from memory inhibition: the deactivation of the representation of the to-be-suppressed memory. Memory inhibition can be specifically inferred from decreased performance on a test using Independent Probes—cues that are unrelated to the initial study phase in the T/NT-procedure. The present contribution explores the evidence (...) for the idea that Suppression-Induced Forgetting obtained with such Independent Probes may provide a viable model for repression.A review of the literature on Suppression-Induced Forgetting with Independent Probes (SIF-IP) suggests that reliable estimates of the overall effect size are unavailable, that the extent to which the literature suffers from publication bias is unknown and that reporting bias may obstruct a clear view of the percentage of studies that find a statistically significant effect. In addition, it is difficult to study SIF-IP in autobiographical memories, due to their complexity and idiosyncrasy. All in all, it seems questionable whether suppression-induced forgetting obtained with independent probes provides a viable model of repression. (shrink)

As climate change intensifies, scientific and policy discussions increasingly address questions of future habitability and potential population movements. In this perspective, we caution against premature or top-down characterizations of areas as uninhabitable, or portrayals of large-scale climate-induced displacement as inevitable—particularly when the perspectives and preferences of affected populations are excluded. While we recognize the importance of modelling and scenario-building to assess future risks, we argue that such efforts must be grounded in local realities and include diverse forms of knowledge. Habitability (...) is not determined by climate alone, but emerges from intersecting environmental, political, economic, and cultural dynamics—including governance, inequality, and historical injustice. Framings that do not consider this risk producing two problematic outcomes: first, by prematurely defining areas as uninhabitable, they may undermine the legitimacy of in-situ adaptation and the agency of affected communities; second, when modelling or the use of modelling results does not consider local context, it may inadvertently contribute to narratives portraying climate-induced mass displacement as inevitable, reinforcing deterministic understandings of migration and overlooking the complex drivers of mobility and immobility. To counter these risks, we propose five guiding recommendations: (1) avoid declaring hard limits to habitability without inclusive, context-specific assessments; (2) treat model-based projections as possible, not predetermined futures; (3) reject simplistic global North/South assumptions in assessing vulnerability and mobility; (4) uphold people’s right to remain, alongside the right to move; and (5) prioritize investment in in-situ adaptation that addresses structural inequalities. These principles aim to inform more reflexive and justice-oriented approaches to climate mobility and habitability research—approaches that recognize lived experiences, engage diverse knowledge systems, and help secure equitable futures for those most exposed to environmental change. (shrink)

The act of retrieving a memory has been found to suppress the recall of related memories, a phenomenon known as retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). RIF is thought to involve an inhibitory mechanism of some kind. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the hypothesis that clinical depression might be associated with an abnormality in the mechanism underlying RIF. The RIF procedure was carried out on 21 clinically depressed participants and 21 normal controls. The depressed group demonstrated significantly lower RIF (...) scores than did the control group. However, there was no difference between the overall recall scores of the depressed and normal groups, indicating that the differences were confined to RIF and were not just a reflection of a general impairment of memory. The authors concluded that the RIF effect was deficient in clinically depressed individuals. Possible causal relationships between RIF and depression are discussed. (shrink)

Previous research has shown that the content and frequency of mind-wandering episodes—the occurrence of thoughts that are both stimulus-independent and task-unrelated—are closely related to an individual’s future-related concerns. Whether this relationship is shaped by the affective changes that are usually associated with future-related concerns still remains unclear, however. In this study, we induced the anticipation of a negatively valenced event and examined whether the ensuing affective changes were related to the occurrence and content of mind-wandering during an unrelated attentional task. (...) We found that the increase in negative affect following concern induction predicted the general frequency of mind-wandering episodes. Furthermore, mind-wandering episodes specifically directed at the induced concern were related to a lower decrease in negative affect during the attentional task. These results suggest that the negative emotional impact of future-related concerns is an important factor to be taken into consideration for the subsequent occurrence of mind-wandering episodes, which might in turn be involved in the maintenance of negative affect over time. (shrink)

Understanding the evolutionary role of environmentally induced phenotypic variation (i.e., plasticity) is an important issue in developmental evolution. A major physiological response to environmental change is cellular stress, which is counteracted by generic stress reactions detoxifying the cell. A model, stress‐induced evolutionary innovation (SIEI), whereby ancestral stress reactions and their corresponding pathways can be transformed into novel structural components of body plans, such as new cell types, is described. Previous findings suggest that the cell differentiation cascade of a cell type (...) critical to pregnancy in humans, the decidual stromal cell, evolved from a cellular stress reaction. It is hypothesized that the stress reaction in these cells was elicited ancestrally via inflammation caused by embryo attachment. The present study proposes that SIEI is a distinct form of plasticity‐based evolutionary change leading to the origin of novel structures rather than adaptive transformation of pre‐existing characters. (shrink)

The ANGELIC methodology was developed to encapsulate knowledge of particular legal domains. In this paper we describe its use to build a full scale practical application intended to be used internally by Weightmans, a large firm of legal practitioners with branches throughout the UK. We describe the domain, Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), the intended task, the sources used, the stages in development and the resulting application. An assessment of the project and its potential for further development is discussed. The (...) project shows that current academic research using computational models of argument can prove useful to legal practitioners confronted by real legal tasks. (shrink)

Aftereffects induced by invisible stimuli constitute a powerful tool to investigate what type of neural information processing can occur in the absence of visual awareness. This approach has been successfully used to demonstrate that awareness of oriented gratings or translating stimuli is not necessary to obtain a robust orientation-specific or motion-specific aftereffect. We exploit motion-induced blindness to investigate the related question of the influence of visual awareness on the formation of negative afterimages. Our results show that MIB does not affect (...) the persistence and intensity of afterimages. Thus, there is no significant contribution to the formation of afterimages beyond the sites mediating MIB. (shrink)

We investigate the possibility of inducing the cosmological constant from extra dimensions by embedding our four-dimensional Riemannian space-time into a five-dimensional Weyl integrable space. Following the approach of the space-time-matter theory we show that when we go down from five to four dimensions, the Weyl field may contribute both to the induced energy-tensor as well as to the cosmological constant Λ, or more generally, it may generate a time-dependent cosmological parameter Λ(t). As an application, we construct a simple cosmological model (...) in which Λ(t) has some interesting properties. (shrink)

Background Intramuscular injections are routine interventions worldwide, yet when executed incorrectly they can cause sciatic nerve injury (SNI) that leaves patients with lifelong motor-sensory disability. Although international guidelines recommend the ventrogluteal site, the dorsogluteal region remains dominant in Turkey, potentially elevating risk. This study analysed Turkish Supreme Court decisions on injection-induced SNI from public-health, ethical and legal perspectives. Methods We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional content analysis of all publicly available Supreme Court criminal and civil decisions issued between January 2006 and (...) April 2025 that contained SNI-related keywords. After deduplication and relevance screening, 92 unique cases were eligible. Two investigators independently coded each judgment; disagreements were resolved by consensus. Variables recorded were legal category, injection site, clinical indication, drug class, injector profession, defendant identity, symptom latency, electrophysiological pattern, first-instance verdict and Supreme Court outcome. Frequencies and percentages were calculated with SPSS v.29. Results Negligent bodily injury was the leading charge (50/92, 54%); 32% of files also sought monetary compensation. Gluteal injections accounted for 79% of cases, most administered for postoperative analgesia (33%) or antibiotic therapy (27%). Nurses performed 60% of injections, physicians 9%. Individual health professionals (physicians ± nurses) were defendants in 65% of lawsuits, while hospitals (alone or jointly) appeared in 23%. Symptoms emerged immediately or within 1 h in 76% of plaintiffs, and electromyography typically revealed severe axonal damage—predominantly of the peroneal division. The Supreme Court overturned 100% of firstinstance convictions and 32% of acquittals, most often citing inadequate expert evaluation (35%), contradictory reports (20%), uncertainty over negligence versus complication (18%) or missing informedconsent documentation (10%). Conclusions Injection-related sciatic nerve injuries in Turkey remain potentially preventable. The entrenched use of the dorsogluteal site, limited anatomical awareness, inadequate informed consent practices, and inconsistencies in medico-legal evaluations continue to contribute to both patient harm and an increased burden of litigation. Transitioning to the ventrogluteal technique, mandating annual refresher training, standardising consent forms, and accrediting neurophysiology expert panels could help reduce both injury incidence and courtroom burden—advancing the WHO’s “zero harm” patient safety goal. (shrink)

James A. Anderson and Charles Weijer take the wage payment model proposed by Neil Dickert and Christine Grady and extend the analogy of research participation to unskilled wage labor to include just working conditions. Although noble in its intentions, this moral extension generates unsavory outcomes. Most notably, Anderson and Weijer distinguish between two types of research subjects: occasional and professional. The latter, in this case, receives benefits beyond the moral minima in the form of “the right to meaningful work.” The (...) problem is that meaningful work can itself be a form of inducement, and consequently, may in fact increase the incidence of inducement contrary to the intentions of the wage payment model. (shrink)