Although it is reasonable and valuable to seek explanations for decisions made by artificial intelligence (AI), it is simply not possible with black-box AI algorithms. However, these algorithms can produce highly beneficial and efficient outputs that could be extremely useful to patients, treating teams, hospitals, and funding bodies. This poses a dilemma: is black-box AI justifiable to use in healthcare? This article analyses the normative reasons that can defend and justify the use of black-box AI in healthcare; this analysis includes, (...) but does not give lexical priority to, explainability. This is pertinent given the current prohibitions of black-box AI in healthcare, such as in Australia. This article defines justifiability as decisions based on robust reasons and thus identifies reasons that can justify the use of black-box AI in healthcare. These include the algorithms’ explainability and accuracy, the seriousness of the decision's consequences, any relevant bias, the context of the decision, and the level of human intervention. We argue that whilst each of these separate considerations is important, only accuracy and reliability are necessary, and to be sufficient, it is likely that some further reasons arising from the nature and context of the decision will be required. (shrink)

Black-box AI cannot provide causal explanations for the decisions it makes, but medical AI has shown great promise as an accurate and reliable technology that both improves the quality of patient care and provides better access to healthcare for more patients. There is an ethical argument that to meet the informational requirements of patient autonomy, medical decision-making ought to be explainable to the patient. As such, there have been claims that black-box AI ought to be only minimally used in healthcare. (...) This paper seeks to argue that black-box AI within the clinical context does not necessarily undermine patient autonomy, as defined in standard or relational accounts. Rather, patient autonomy is affected primarily by how AI tools are used. (shrink)

Genetic enhancement technologies are rapidly evolving, but discussions about their use for human enhancement are largely abstract and removed from the socioeconomic environments in which they would be administered. While some scholars engage in discussions about the fairness of distributing genetic enhancements, I argue that the oppressive social structures in which genetic enhancements will be administered categorically undermine our capacities to autonomously value and pursue such technologies. I will draw on long-standing feminist debates around the oppressive and empowering uses of (...) cosmetic enhancements by women to argue that the oppressive nature of patriarchal beauty norms creates a social environment in which women are generally not free to autonomously evaluate their desires for and values of cosmetic enhancements. I then address the concern that declaring such a proposition is itself an unethical restriction on women’s autonomy and that cosmetic enhancements are generally, or presumptively, empowering. I conclude that, like cosmetic enhancements, genetic enhancements are morally harmful insofar as they are not categorically autonomously valued by people. (shrink)

Antisthenes was famous in antiquity for his studies of Homer's poems, his affiliation with Gorgias and the sophistic movement, his pure Attic writing style, and his inspiration of Diogenes of Sinope, who founded the Cynic philosophical movement. Antisthenes stands at two of the greatest turning points in ancient intellectual history: from pre-Socraticism to Socraticism, and from classical Athens to the Hellenistic period. Antisthenes' works form the path to a better understanding of the intellectual culture of Athens that shaped Plato and (...) laid the foundations for Hellenistic philosophy and literature. Antisthenes of Athens keeps in mind the goals and polemics framing each philosophical and textual discussion. The volume considers the ancient traditions about Antisthenes' rejection of Plato's “Theory of Forms,” his assertion of the paradox, “It is impossible to gainsay,” and his denial that definition of essence is possible, as well as the plausible intentions of Antisthenes. In cases where these questions are not easily settled, and where modern interpretation has varied, Susan H. Prince identifies the roots of the disagreements. The goal and meaning of Antisthenes' other famous ancient paradox, “I would rather go mad than have pleasure,” is illuminated by comparison with other evidence showing that pleasure does have a place in his ideology. Evidence for his relationship to Diogenes of Sinope, and for his receptions by the Cynics, Stoics, Skeptics, Christians, and Neo-Pagans is examined for both its historical value and its distorting tendencies. (shrink)

In 2025, an Australian couple asked to have their remaining embryos moved to another clinic, only to discover that the child they had birthed 2 years earlier had not come from their own embryos, but an embryo belonging to a different couple. These situations can lead to disputes about who is recognised as ‘the parents’ in the biological or social sense, as well as who has moral or legal claims to parental rights and responsibilities. In terms of specific legal disputes (...) over custody or guardianship, the matter will generally be resolved in the best interests of the child. However, one of the considerations relevant to this child’s best interests is the question of biological relatedness, even if only due to the social weight it is often granted. This paper will argue that the current presumption in favour of genetics as determinative of biological relatedness is rebuttable in favour of the gestational relationship. Furthermore, there are other reasons to give weight to the moral, legal, or social claims of the gestational progenitors, such as bonds with the infant that have already been developed. However, such mix-ups will happen again and, in light of genomic technologies, may be discovered in vivo or immediately after birth, in which the courts may be ill-suited to determining the best interests. As such, legislative approaches to resolving parenthood in such cases must be proactively developed. (shrink)

Writers have debated whether germline genome‐editing is person‐affecting or identity‐affecting. The difference is thought to be ethically relevant to whether we should choose genome‐editing or choose preimplantation genetic diagnosis and embryo selection, when seeking to prevent or produce bad conditions (e.g., cystic fibrosis, or deafness) in the individuals who will grow from the embryo edited or selected. We consider the very recent views of three prominent bioethicists and philosophers who have grappled with this issue. We claim that both sides are (...) right, but that the sense in which genome‐editing is person‐affecting is less important, morally, when the aim is to have healthy children. Since this is the predominant objective of engaging in embryo selection and genome‐editing, and since there are certain risks, at least for now, with genome‐editing, it remains better, morally, to engage in embryo selection than genome‐editing. (shrink)

In their paper, Chapman and colleagues (2025) argue how key regulations and “data-centric” research practices neglect to address potential group harms. They utilize the case of genomic research on...

The concept of a communal type of privacy shared by interconnected social groups has wide applications in the healthcare field, specifically in genetic testing and genetic data privacy (Pyrrho, Cam...

The need for greater privacy protections in the United States has never been greater. In their work, “Ethical Responsibilities for Companies That Process Personal Data”, McCoy et al. (2023) correct...

This design study, conducted with 41 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory college psychology class, describes a practical method for professors and learners to use action science and Gordon Pask’s cybernetics to co-design curricula fit for the Information Age by jointly bringing past experiences, acting, and reflecting as they use AI and other cutting-edge technologies in class, and in their everyday lives. Two cycles of experience, action, and reflection are described. Pask’s cybernetics is used to visualize blueprints of human-computer interaction. (...) Narrative inquiries and network statistics form representable data that draw out insights on implementing new technology-assisted educational activities in real-time and refining them by overcoming social and structural bottlenecks. In Classroom 1, students initially encouraged adding an AI component to storyboarding assignments and shared it helped overcome apprehensions with drawing/artmaking. However, AI sometimes failed to create consistent narratives and add legible texts/captions to images (structural bottlenecks). Classroom 2’s curriculum incorporates feedback from Classroom 1, providing specific instructions to prompt characters consistently in storyboards, and manually add captions. Modifications led to greater efficiency in storyboarding for 19 students next Spring. These learners investigated how to increase interactivity of class discussions in which students often refrained from responding to each other (social bottleneck) using AI chatbots. Network analysis revealed transitivity and eigen centrality were higher in AI group chats. Qualitative reflections highlighted student co-agency in facilitating AI-mediated conversations. Students’ insights fueled future adaptations in the discussion activity, including explicit instructions to review class slides and develop consensus, and a post-chat debrief to allow students to discuss perspectives with other groups. (shrink)

In this study, the design philosophies behind, along with motivational and academic outcomes of an immersive VR-assisted online special education curriculum are described. Difficulties associated with allocating special education resources in US public school settings form a rationale for the creation of the program. The possibility for a portable immersive learning approach to activate students’ individual and collaborative problem-solving abilities and grant students greater freedom and control in learning is considered. As a foundation to understand the power of immersive learning, (...) Gordon Pask’s Cybernetic Theater, and his broader ideas on responsive technology assemblages applied to the performing arts and architecture developed in collaboration with figures such as Joan Littlewood and Cedric Price are drawn from. The CadetNet special education curriculum, which relies on a design framework rooted in Pask’s work, utilizes an assemblage of videoconferencing, headset VR simulations, and academic games in varied sequences to give students ways to engage in content acquisition, collaboration, and expression through multimedia avenues. Teachers modulate instructional delivery and their use of this technology assemblage in real-time to meet the participants’ needs. Results from a three-week summer enrichment program conducted with six students diagnosed with neurodevelopmental learning differences (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Specific Learning Disability and their comorbidities) are shared. Narrative inquiries of transcripts from mathematics and language arts lessons indicate how Pask’s design framework was applied to implement the curriculum, and that student activity ensuing during the program echoed both the hopes and concerns associated with Pask and his colleague, Joan Littlewood’s broader design philosophies. Student surveys and standardized test scores reveal a maintenance of pre-experimental academic prowess, and adaptive changes in their self-determined motivational profiles, which have been shown to be a strong correlate of student interest in extant literature. Results showcase how sociocognitive effects of CadetNet resonated with Pask’s proposed outcome of heightened audience interest central to the Cybernetic Theater. (shrink)

Academic dishonesty of students is a problem that threatens the integrity of educational institutions. Understanding the sources of academic dishonesty has become an urgent need, which compels higher educational institutions to evaluate and redesign approaches to address this problem. To develop new and important insights about this this form of student misconduct, this paper takes an integrative social cognitive perspective. It explores students’ attitudes toward various forms of academic dishonesty. The central research question concerns the impact of individual differences in (...) moral disengagement and Machiavellianism on academic dishonesty tendencies. The study is based on a sample of 195 students at a public university in northeastern United States. Analysis was conducted by partial least squares equation modeling (SmartPLS-SEM). The analysis disclosed that, in sum, moral disengagement was strongly associated with academic dishonesty attitudes of fabricating information and both moral disengagement and Machiavellianism were associated with obtaining unfair academic dishonesty advantages. Data supported nearly all aspects of a structural model of academic dishonesty tendencies, with the exception of an association between Machiavellianism and receiving or abetting academic dishonesty, as well as an association between moral disengagement and ignoring prevalent practices that were in the predicted direction but were not significant. These findings provide a general understanding of the process by which academic dishonesty is determined. Study implications for ameliorating the impact of academic dishonesty are as follows: students should be engaged in an atmosphere full of communal morality, dissuasive of justificatory rationalizations and social arrangements that negate students’ use of moral disengagement. (shrink)

Ethical debates around genetic enhancement tend to include an argument that the technology will eventually be fairly accessible once available. That we can fairly distribute genetic enhancement has become a moral defence of genetic enhancement. Two distribution solutions are argued for, the first being equal distribution. Equality of access is generally believed to be the fairest and most just method of distribution. Second, equitable distribution: providing genetic enhancements to reduce social inequalities. In this paper, I make two claims. I first (...) argue that the very assumption that genetic enhancements can be distributed fairly is problematic when considering our understanding of gene–environment interactions, for example, epigenetics. I then argue that arguments that genetic enhancements are permissible because the intended benefits can be distributed fairly as intended are misinformed. My first claim rests on the assertion that genetic enhancements do not enhance traits in a vacuum; genes are dependent on conducive environments for expression. If society cannot guarantee fair environments, then any benefit conferred from being genetically enhanced will be undermined. Thus, any argument that the distribution of genetic enhancements will be fair and that the technology is therefore morally permissible, is mistaken. (shrink)

Background Inadequate knowledge among health care providers (HCPs) and parents of affected children limits the understanding and utility of secondary genetic findings (SFs) in under-represented populations in genomics research. SFs arise from deep DNA sequencing done for research or diagnostic purposes and may burden patients and their families despite their potential health importance. This study aims to evaluate the perspective of both groups regarding SFs and their choices in the return of results from genetic testing in the context of orofacial (...) clefts.Methods Using an online survey, we evaluated the experiences of 252 HCPs and 197 parents across participating cleft clinics in Ghana and Nigeria toward the return of SFs across several domains.Results Only 1.6% of the HCPs felt they had an expert understanding of when and how to incorporate genomic medicine into practice, while 50.0% agreed that all SFs should be returned to patients. About 95.4% of parents were willing to receive all the information from genetic testing (including SFs), while the majority cited physicians as their primary information source (64%).Conclusions Overall, parents and providers were aware that genetic testing could help in the clinical management of diseases. However, they cited a lack of knowledge about genomic medicine, uncertain clinical utility, and lack of available learning resources as barriers. The knowledge gained from this study will assist with developing guidelines and policies to guide providers on the return of SFs in sub-Saharan Africa and across the continent. (shrink)

ABSTRACT: Since the invention of hormonal contraceptives, there has been disagreement between users and providers about the existence of side effects and their implications for care. The lack of consideration for cisgender women, and other people who may become pregnant, has often been explained by sexist bias in the philosophy of medicine. My goal is to contribute additional elements to this discussion. I will argue that there are structurally embedded assumptions about the responsibilities and goals of medicine that open the (...) door to this sexism in the first place. While we tend to accept that contraception is part of medicine for pragmatic reasons, we do not exhibit the same form of pragmatism when it comes to dealing with side effects. This is an unjustified double standard that fails to recognize the goals of contraception and the fact that it relies on medical expertise to achieve them. (shrink)

Owners of businesses represent an interesting case in the study of the intersection of personal and corporate philanthropic values. Because individuals who own businesses have the means and the ability to act on philanthropic motivations through the medium of their businesses, it is interesting to explore the extent to which their corporate contributions to nonprofits are philanthropic in nature or instrumentally motivated, as in the instance of cause related marketing. The trade-offs between cause related marketing and corporate support of nonprofits (...) are complex. Although larger firms are increasing their investments in cause related marketing, the extent of and motivations for adoption of cause related marketing among privately held businesses is less well understood. This study of 478 businesses which are supporters of arts organizations shows that privately held businesses of medium size (300 to 500 employees) are participating in cause related marketing to a significant degree. The adoption rate of cause related marketing is about 40%, and the primary benefits sought are company image enhancement and product marketing support. Adoption of cause related marketing among privately held and smaller enterprises will grow as CEOs exhibit satisfaction with the results of their program, intend to engage in positive word of mouth about it, and plan to allocate more resources to it. (shrink)

Background: A growing literature has raised—skeptically—the question of whether cutting-edge scientific research can identify and address broader ethical and policy considerations in real time. In genomics, the question is: Can ELSI contribute to genomics in real time, or will it be relegated to its historical role of after-the-fact outsider critique? We address this question against the background of a genomic screening project where we participated as embedded, real-time ELSI researchers and observers, from its initial design through its conclusion.Methods: As part (...) of the ELSI study design, the project included an ongoing reflexive ethnography in which the authors studied the process of its design and implementation. The authors were true participant observers, serving as members of various task-oriented groups while recording meetings and other events for ongoing qualitative analysis. We also conducted and analyzed interviews of multiple participants at the conclusion of the project.Results: Our real-time ELSI initiative had a mixed record of successes and challenges. If we define success as ELSI researchers having had an opportunity to participate fully in the project and to make the ELSI perspective heard, then our assessment is largely positive. If, however, we define successes as instances where real-time ELSI contributions changed the direction of the genomic or public health aspects of the GeneScreen project or, after careful deliberation, confirmed the appropriateness of the status quo, then we can identify only a few examples. While we had a seat at the table, we were, for the most part, tolerated guests.Conclusions: We conclude that there are significant barriers to real-time ELSI influence. The difficulty does not reside in any intended exclusion of an ELSI perspective, but in factors endemic to genomic research, including knowledge disparities, epistemological biases, and the pressures of time and money. (shrink)

Self-regulation, which subsumes variables like emotional and behavioral regulation is usually measured using self-report and qualitative techniques, but biomarkers like heart rate variability (HRV) are also indicative of self-regulation. This study understood whether using a mindfulness-based virtual reality (VR) technology, aloeVR, produced adaptive effects on the HRV and self-reported emotional regulation of neurodivergent middle schoolers diagnosed with ASD, ADHD, specific learning disability, other health impairments and their comorbidities. We expand upon extant research in special education, clinical and mental health settings (...) showing how VR environments can provide safe spaces to reduce stress, anxiety, and improve social skills for neurodivergent children. We investigated whether using aloeVR could produce short-term adaptive changes in students’ physiological states (HRV) that co-occurred with trends in self-reported application of emotion regulation strategies. Linear mixed modelling of HRV metrics and emotion regulation surveys from 12 participants who underwent four weeks of traditional counseling check-ins, and four weeks of aloeVR-assisted check-ins revealed that: (1) post-session HRV increased after the commencement of aloeVR sessions, (2) while there was no consistent upward trend in external emotion regulation, survey scores were higher on average during aloeVR-assisted check-ins, (3) there were no improvements in internal emotion regulation survey scores. Results suggest that cognitive self-reports may lag behind physiological well-being markers, and behavioral self-reports. Outcomes also illustrate that aloeVR, by itself, may only produce short-term physiological changes immediately post-exposure. The technology must be paired with explicit socioemotional instruction to produce pronounced consistent changes in how students apply socioemotional skills in everyday life. (shrink)

It can be assumed that value judgements, which are needed to judge what is ‘good’ or ‘better’ and what is ‘bad’ or ‘worse’, are involved in every decision-making process. The theoretical understanding and analysis of value judgements is, therefore, important in the context of bioethics, for example, to be able to ethically assess real decision-making processes in biomedical practice and make recommendations for improvements. However, real decision-making processes and the value judgements inherent in them must first be investigated empirically (‘empirical (...) bioethics’). For this to succeed, what exactly a ‘value judgement’ is and of what components it might consist must initially be theoretically clarified. A corresponding conceptual model can then support or even enable empirical data collection and analysis and, above all, subsequent ethical analysis and evaluation. This paper, therefore, presents a value judgement model with its theoretical derivation. It also illustrates its application in an interview study of decision-making between animal experimentation and alternative methods in the context of biomedical research. Though the model itself can be theoretically deepened and extended, the application of the model works in general and helps to uncover what value judgements can enter into decision-making. However, the empirical methods, for example, qualitative interviews, can also be better oriented towards eliciting value judgements (as understood according to the model). Further applications of the model to other topics or by means of other empirical methods are conceivable. (shrink)

The epidemic of COVID-19 appears to be reshaping the world, separating before and after, present and past. Its perceived novelty raises the question of what role the past might play in the present epidemic and in responses to it. Taking the view that the past has not passed, but is present in is material and immaterial remains, and continuously emerging from these, we argue that it should not be studied as closed narration but through the array of its traces, which (...) constitute the texture of the present. To that end, and building on long-term ethnographic research on past and present epidemics in western Kenya, we assemble here some preliminary observations on the first weeks of COVID-19 in Kenya. We explore how the acute epidemic crisis currently unfolding is intertwined with layered fragments of earlier epidemic events, attending to material infrastructures, institutional practices, and ritual responses, to the presence of virally loaded bodies, pharmaceuticals, and their residues, and to the resurgence of often painful memories and emotions. People in this region have experienced a long century of epidemics and anti-epidemic measures of varying duration and intensity, from colonial and postcolonial sleeping sickness and smallpox to HIV/AIDS and more recently cancer, alongside actual or anticipated outbreaks of cholera and Ebola. This local perception of one long epidemic qualifies the notion of a radical temporal break that the COVID-19 pandemic is often associated with in European conversations. (shrink)

On June 5, 2024, the Australian Capital Territory passed a law to permit voluntary assisted dying (“VAD”). The Australian Capital Territory became the first Australian jurisdiction to permit nurse practitioners to assess eligibility for VAD. Given evidence of access barriers to VAD in Australia, including difficulty finding a doctor willing to assist, the Australian Capital Territory’s approach should prompt consideration of whether the role of nurses in VAD should be expanded in other Australian jurisdictions. Drawing on lessons from Canada, which (...) currently permits nurse practitioners to assess patient eligibility, we argue that the time has come for Australian jurisdictions to expand the role of nurses in VAD systems. This would be an important step in ensuring access to VAD for patients in practice. Attention, however, must also be paid to ensuring adequate remuneration of nurses (and doctors) if this goal of promoting access is to be achieved in practice. (shrink)

At On Generation and Corruption I.7.323b1–324a5, Aristotle claims that his new method of analysis for fundamental bodies and properties resolves a traditional apparent incompatibility between opposed principles applied by different philosophical authorities to the problem of affecting and being affected (poiein and paschein): that the like interacts with the unlike, and that the like interacts with the like. Twice in this passage, Aristotle uses a form of the term hupenantion (etymologically, ‘sub-oppositional’) in an extended discussion that includes his declaration of (...) the critical insight for solving the problem and illuminates the partial truth of each of the apparently antithetical universal principles. Because Aristotle uses the uncommon term twice in close context, and because he also explains in the context how he understands the apparent incompatibility—characterized both as a verbal opposition or enantiologia and also as a partial articulation of what should be theorized as a whole—it seems (and has seemed) plausible that this augmented form of the frequently used term enantion (‘opposite’ or ‘contrary’) carries methodological weight for indicating a kind of apparent incompatibility that can be resolved through supplementation to both of the opposed statements rather than elimination of or even favor for one or the other. Although the sense of hupenantion in On Generation and Corruption 1.7 is not continuous with the concept of the ‘subcontrary’ developed by ancient commentators on Aristotle’s Interpretations and early modern logicians, a full survey of the use of this term in Aristotle’s writings shows that Aristotle did recognize and lexically mark a special kind of opposition, one productive of intellectual progress rather than indicative of total error on one side of the debate. (shrink)

This book offers the first full-length study of philosophical dialogue during the English Enlightenment. It explains why important philosophers - Shaftesbury, Mandeville, Berkeley and Hume - and innumerable minor translators, imitators and critics wrote in and about dialogue during the eighteenth century; and why, after Hume, philosophical dialogue either falls out of use or undergoes radical transformation. Philosophical Dialogue in the British Enlightenment describes the extended, heavily coded, and often belligerent debate about the nature and proper management of dialogue; and (...) it shows how the writing of philosophical fictions relates to the rise of the novel and the emergence of philosophical aesthetics. Novelists such as Fielding, Sterne, Johnson and Austen are placed in a philosophical context, and philosophers of the empiricist tradition in the context of English literary history. (shrink)

Written by a group of leading scholars, this unique collection of essays investigates the views of both pagan and Christian philosophers on causation and the creation of the cosmos. Structured in two parts, the volume first looks at divine agency and how late antique thinkers, including the Stoics, Plotinus, Porphyry, Simplicius, Philoponus and Gregory of Nyssa, tackled questions such as: is the cosmos eternal? Did it come from nothing or from something pre-existing? How was it caused to come into existence? (...) Is it material or immaterial? The second part looks at questions concerning human agency and responsibility, including the problem of evil and the nature of will, considering thinkers such as Plotinus, Porphyry, Proclus and Augustine. Highlighting some of the most important and interesting aspects of these philosophical debates, the volume will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of philosophy, classics, theology and ancient history. (shrink)

BackgroundApproval of the research proposal by an ethical review committee from both sponsoring and host countries is a generally agreed requirement in externally sponsored research.However, capacity for ethics review is not universal. Aim of this study was to identify opinions and views of the members serving in ethical review and ethics committees in Sri Lanka on informed consent, essential components in the information leaflet and the consent form.MethodsWe obtained ethical approval from UK and Sri Lanka. A series of consensus generation (...) meetings on the protocol were conducted. A task oriented interview guide was developed. The interview was based on open-ended questionnaire. Then the participants were given a WHO checklist on informed consent and requested to rate the items on a three point scale ranging from extremely important to not important.ResultsTwenty-nine members from ethics committees participated. Majority of participants (23), believed a copy of the information leaflet and consent form, should accompany research proposal. Opinions about the items that should be included in the information leaflets varied. Participants identified 18 criteria as requirements in the information leaflet and 19 for the consent form.The majority, 20 (69%), believed that all research need ethical approval but identified limited human resource, time and inadequate capacity as constraints. Fifteen (52%) believed that written consent is not required for all research. Verbal consent emerged as an alternative to written consent. The majority of participants rated all components of the WHO checklist as important.ConclusionThe number of themes generated for the consent form (N = 18) is as many as for the information leaflet (N = 19) and had several overlaps. This suggests that the consent form should be itemized to reflect the contents covered in the information leaflet. The participants' opinion on components of the information leaflets and consent forms proved to be similar with WHO checklist on informed consent. (shrink)

BackgroundInternational guidelines on research have focused on protecting research participants. Ethical Research Committee (ERC) approval and informed consent are the cornerstones. Externally sponsored research requires approval through ethical review in both the host and the sponsoring country. This study aimed to determine to what extent ERC approval and informed consent procedures are documented in locally and internationally published human subject research carried out in Sri Lanka.MethodsWe obtained ERC approval in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. Theses from 1985 to 2005 (...) available at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) library affiliated to the University of Colombo were scrutinised using checklists agreed in consultation with senior research collaborators. A Medline search was carried out with MeSH major and minor heading 'Sri Lanka' as the search term for international publications originating in Sri Lanka during 1999 to 2004. All research publications from CMJ during 1999 to 2005 were also scrutinized.ResultsOf 291 theses, 34% documented ERC approvals and 61% documented obtaining consent. From the international journal survey, 250 publications originated from Sri Lanka of which only 79 full text original research publications could be accessed electronically. Of these 38% documented ERC approval and 39% documented obtaining consent. In the Ceylon Medical Journal 36% documented ERC approval and 37% documented obtaining consent.ConclusionOnly one third of the publications scrutinized recorded ERC approval and procurement of informed consent. However, there is a positive trend in documenting these ethical requirements in local postgraduate research and in the local medical journal. (shrink)

Bowman-Smart et al. (2023) argue for a framework to examine the ethical issues associated with genetic screening for non-medical traits in the context of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT). Such s...

Background Increasingly, researchers are leveraging social science survey data and genomic samples from millions of biobank participants to develop polygenic indices (PGIs) for social and behavioral traits.Methods This article utilizes horizon scanning methodology to track academic and lay literature regarding PGIs.Results We identified and coded 441 academic and 123 lay literature items, tracking the traits, sources of genetic and health data, and how each item discussed the harms, benefits, and limitations of sociogenomic PGIs.Conclusion This in-depth review highlights variation in the (...) portrayal of PGI research across academic and lay literature. Beyond simply elucidating what is being studied, and in which populations, this research shows how results are communicated, which messages are shown to academic and/or public audiences, and potential disconnects between how sociogenomic researchers and the lay literature describe the values and implications of the research. (shrink)

This pilot study investigated whether mindfulness focused virtual reality simulations provided from within the aloeVR software program improved vagal tone and self-reported emotional regulation among middle schoolers with neurodevelopmentally based learning differences (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disability, other health impairments and their comorbidities). Extant literature shows that heart rate variability (HRV) is correlated with improved stress coping and emotional control in self-thought and social interactions. We measured 12 middle school participants’ HRV and self-reported socioemotional (...) regulation at regular counseling check-ins during socioemotional learning, and after exposure to aloeVR simulations supporting check-ins. Results showed upward trends in HRV post-VR exposure, but no corresponding patterns in self-reported socioemotional regulation. Ideas for future research include pairing aloeVR with explicit socioemotional learning instruction to facilitate improved HRV and adaptive improvements in self-thought and social interaction. (shrink)

Near the end of his speech, Timaeus outlines a theory of bodily health and disease which has seemed to many commentators loosely unified or even inconsistent . But this section is better unified than it has appeared, and gives us at least one important insight into the workings of physical causality in the Timaeus. I argue first that the apparent disorder in Timaeus’s theory of disease is likely a deliberate effect planned by the author. Second, the taxonomy of disease in (...) the passage consists of one genus subsuming two species. Third, in Timaeus’s theory, health lies between perfect stability and a chaos of all possible motions; this indicates a conception of health as the activation of the body's powers in the right way. A power is a property directed towards bringing about some change. Fourth, the activation of these powers can change depending on the location of their possessors. This last point shows that causation among the physical items in the Timaeus involves structures as well as pushes. (shrink)

Biobanking-the storage of human biological samples, including tissue, blood, urine, and genetic data-raises many ethical, legal, and social issues, including confidentiality and privacy. Pediatric biobanking is more complicated, with difficulties arising because children lack capacity to consent and acquire this capacity upon maturity when the research is still ongoing. Yet given the limited availability of pediatric samples, the translational nature of biobanking presents a unique opportunity to share samples and produce clinically necessary information about pediatric development and diseases. Guidance on (...) navigating these legal and ethical difficulties is needed for those involved in pediatric biobanking-including researchers, participants, and families, and those involved in biobank governance. This paper seeks to map the current regulatory framework governing pediatric biobanking to determine what guidance is currently offered. Regulatory mapping of current international and national guidelines on pediatric biobanking addressing the ethical, legal, and social nuances of pediatric biobanking was undertaken. This paper finds that international guidelines around biobanking are mostly for adults, and even when pediatric-specific, documents are non-binding, inconsistent, or only limited guidance is offered on a range of important issues specific to pediatric biobanks. Conclusion: This paper shows a need for consistent, comprehensive, and clear regulation on pediatric biobanking so that research can more quickly, efficiently, and ethically be translated to useful information and treatment in pediatric care. What is Known: • Pediatric biobanking presents new opportunities to conduct valuable translational research to benefit pediatric populations. However, the storage of pediatric biological samples raises many ethical, legal and social issues-in part because child participants may be considered to lack capacity to consent but can acquire this capacity upon maturity when the research is still ongoing. Pediatric biobanks must grapple with issues of consent, confidentiality and privacy, and long-term participation regarding child participants. What is New: • Regulatory guidance on these ethical, legal, and social issues is needed for researchers, participants, and families and those involved in biobank governance. This paper identifies nationally specific and international guidance on biobanking and summarizes the guidance provided in relation to these pediatric specific issues. It finds that most guidance is non-binding and inconsistent between guidance documents and may offer only limited guidance to stakeholders. A need for consistent, comprehensive, and clear regulation on pediatric biobanking is needed at an international level to enable research. (shrink)

The relationship between cognitive enhancements (CE) and human autonomy or authenticity is generally positioned as how CE impact human autonomy or authenticity. But rarely, if ever, do we consider whether the value and pursuit of CE is an authentic one. In this paper, I will argue that the moral permissibility of cognitive gene enhancements is undone by the legitimate concern that the near universal value for such modifications is likely driven by oppressive norms for superintelligence and productivity. I argue that (...) these norms derive from the capitalist meritocracy: an economic system that structures inclusion and success based on patriarchal and racist norms of intelligence and productivity. The claim that the use of such enhancements fits within the autonomous scope of individual power is thus far weaker than it claims to be, particularly within the context of genetic modification. (shrink)

Anti-selection occurs when information asymmetry exists between insurers and applicants. When an applicant knows they are at high risk of loss, but the insurer does not, the applicant may try to use this knowledge differential to secure insurance at a lower premium that does not match risk.

Bioprediction uses biomedical data, biomarkers, and algorithmic tools to forecast future physiological states or impairments. As predictive technologies increasingly enable individuals to anticipate loss of cognitive capacity before it occurs, they raise a fundamental ethical question: how should moral responsibility be assessed when impairment becomes foreseeable in advance of its onset? We argue that biopredictive technologies can alter both the epistemic and control conditions that ground moral responsibility. In some cases, this generates obligations to respond to predictive warnings of cognitive (...) decline; in more limited circumstances, it may also ground obligations to acquire and use biopredictive technologies where these represent a proportionate and least restrictive means of risk reduction. We further argue that emerging individual responsibilities generate corresponding obligations for states. Where access to biopredictive technologies is necessary to meet morally significant expectations of risk management, fairness, and legitimacy require attention to affordability, accessibility, and institutional support. (shrink)

The international human right to health states that people have claims to access goods, services, and infrastructure that protects an adequate standard of health. The current and forthcoming advances in artificial intelligence (AI), which significantly improve the quality and efficacy of medical care, could raise the current standard of healthcare owed under the right to health. In this paper, we identify three duties owed under the right to health and describe ways in which AI can uniquely or more efficiently fulfill (...) these duties, namely the duties to provide: access to good quality care that effectively improves patient health; equitable access to healthcare for all persons; and novel healthcare services that can only be achievable by medical AI. This paper will also consider some potential objections to our claim such as whether medical AI may undermine, rather than fulfil, the social determinants of health. We conclude that if medical AI can partially fulfil the right to health through increasing access and quality of healthcare, and if providing medical AI can be balanced against other obligations and rights, states will have corresponding duties to not unnecessarily restrict AI innovation through regulation and may even be required to invest in medical AI infrastructure to meet the right to health of their populations. (shrink)

The use of role-playing (“active learning”) as a teaching tool has been reported in areas as diverse as social psychology, history and analytical chemistry. Its use as a tool in the teaching of engineering ethics and professionalism is also not new, but the approach develops new perspectives when used in a college class of exceptionally wide cultural diversity. York University is a large urban university (40,000 undergraduates) that draws its enrolment primarily from the Greater Toronto Area, arguably one of the (...) most culturally diverse cities in the world, embracing the largest percentage of Canada’s immigration. Among the area’s five million inhabitants, 50% identify themselves as a visible minority born outside Canada, while over 100 languages and dialects are spoken daily. Although students admitted from this international pool have usually been exposed to western attitudes during secondary education and are rapidly assimilated into Canadian culture, responses to specific ethical issues are strongly influenced by their prior culture. Two and three-part scripts for case studies based on NSF or original scenarios were written to illustrate issues such as gifts, attitudes towards women and ethnic minorities, conflict of interest, whistle-blowing, sexual harassment, individual rights, privacy, environment, intellectual property, and others. Following the presentation, the actors lead group discussion based on previously specified questions. Once the initial shyness and reluctance of some cultures has been overcome through the building of rapport, students have written original scripts based on hypothetical or prior personal situations. The method is now being adopted in a short course format to assist the professional integration of foreign trained engineers. (shrink)

Identities ascribed to research staff in face-to-face encounters with participants have been raised as key ethical challenge in transnational health research. ‘Misattributed’ identities that do not just deviate from researchers' self-image, but obscure unequivocal aspects of researcher identity – e.g. that they are researchers – are a case of such ethical problem. Yet, the reasonable expectation of unconcealed identity can conflict with another ethical premise: confidentiality; this poses challenges to staff visiting participants at home. We explore these around a case (...) study of ‘follow-up’ staff, observed during an ethnographic study of a Kenyan HIV ‘trial community’, which included participant observation, conversations, and interviews with staff (n = 79) and participants (n = 89). We found that because of the need to maintain confidentiality and because of some suspicions towards researchers, research staff drew upon alternative identities – presenting themselves to non-participants as relatives or friends, rather than as researchers. Several staff experienced this as necessary but uncomfortable. Simultaneously, staff and participants forged close relations in line with their fictional identities, which however also posed challenges because they entailed personal responsibilities that were difficult to live up to, due to limited resources, and the trial's limited duration. Similar challenges may arise in transnational HIV treatment programmes and should be explored further in that context. (shrink)

In this paper I ask how Timaeus explains change within the trianglebased part of his cosmos. Two common views are that change among physical items is somehow caused or enabled by either the forms or the demiurge. I argue for a competing view, on which the physical items are capable of bringing about change by themselves, prior to the intervention of the demiurge, and prior to their being turned into imitations of the forms. I outline three problems for the view (...) that physical things depend on the forms for their causal powers, and show how the view I propose solves each. I then add further arguments for my view, based on (a) statements by Timaeus that seem to favor my view directly, (b) implications of Timaeus’ positions that favor the view, and (c) Timaeus’ explanatory practice in the second half of his speech. (shrink)

Between 1869 and 1879, the communal Christian group the Oneida Community undertook a pioneering eugenics experiment called “stirpiculture” in upstate New York. Stirpiculture resulted in the planned conception, birth, and communal rearing of fifty-eight children, bred from selected members of the Oneida Community. This article concerns how the Oneida Community's unique approach to religion and science provided the framework for the creation, process, and eventual dissolution of the stirpiculture experiment. The work seeks to expand current understanding of the early history (...) of eugenics in the United States by placing its practice more than two decades earlier than is generally considered. Additionally, this article situates the Community's leader John Humphrey Noyes as an early eugenics and social scientific thinker. Finally, the treatment provides a case study for the transitional period in mid to late nineteenth century America whereby scientific modes of epistemology were accommodated within or supplanted by theological worldviews. (shrink)