A common assumption in the selection of nonhuman animal subjects for research and the approval of research is that, if the risks of a procedure are too great for humans, and if there is a so-called scientific necessity, then it is permissible to use nonhuman animal subjects. I reject the common assumption as neglecting the central ethical issue of the permissibility of using nonhuman animal subjects and as being inconsistent with the principle of justice used in human subjects research ethics. (...) This principle requires that certain classes of individuals not be subjected to a disproportionate share of the burdens or risks of research. I argue for an extension of this principle to nonhuman animal research and show that a prima facie violation of the principle occurs because nonhuman animals bear an overwhelmingly disproportionate share of the risks of research without sufficient justification or reciprocal benefit. (shrink)

Kwŏnil chʻŏn. Kibon wŏlli pʻyŏn -- kwŏni chi. Chŭksa ihwa pʻyŏn -- kwŏnsam in. Pulcha haengdŭng pʻyŏn.

This paper examines age patterns of first marriage and motherhood and covariates of early marriage, delayed consummation of marriage and early motherhood in Nepal using data from the 2000 Nepal Adolescent and Young Adult Survey (NAYA). Both unmarried and married male and female youths (age 14s education, region of residence and ethnicity. The main covariates of delayed consummation of marriage are age at first marriage, region of residence and ethnicity. The study highlights the need to focus on less educated female (...) youths in the Terai region in order to reduce the reproductive and child health risks associated with early marriage and early childbearing. (shrink)

The aim of this study is to examine the current profile of bioethics education in the nursing curriculum as perceived by nursing students and faculty in Korea. A convenience sampling method was used for recruiting 1223 undergraduate nursing students and 140 nursing faculty in Korea. Experience of Bioethics Education, Quality of Bioethics Education, and Demand for Bioethics Education Scales were developed. The Experience of Bioethics Education Scale showed that the nursing curriculum in Korea does not provide adequate bioethics education. The (...) Quality of Bioethics Education Scale revealed that the topics of human nature and human rights were relatively well taught compared to other topics. The Demand for Bioethics Education Scale determined that the majority of the participants believed that bioethics education should be a major requirement in the nursing curriculum. The findings of this study suggest that bioethics should be systemically incorporated into nursing courses, clinical practice during the program, and during continuing education. (shrink)

The role of nursing faculty members in charge of ethics education is important. Although all nursing students receive the same bioethics education, their experiences differ, related to ethical qualification, which depends on the personal socialization process. This Korean study aimed to provide nursing faculty members with the basic data to help them develop as bioethics experts and provide nursing students with knowledge to improve their ethical decision-making abilities. We used a survey design to assess recognition of bioethical issues and ethical (...) qualification in nursing students and faculty members. A total of 1225 undergraduate students and 140 faculty members participated in this study. The results revealed that nursing students and nursing faculty members generally understood the seriousness of various bioethical issues and both considered the most serious issue to concern abortion. Ethical behavior can be improved by education, and accordingly, nursing ethics should be a mandatory subject, rather than an elective one. (shrink)

The function of the brain is intricately woven into the fabric of time. Functions such as (i) storing and accessing past memories, (ii) dealing with immediate sensorimotor needs in the present, and (iii) projecting into the future for goal-directed behavior are good examples of how key brain processes are integrated into time. Moreover, it can even seem that the brain generates time (in the psychological sense, not in the physical sense) since, without the brain, a living organism cannot have the (...) notion of past nor future. When combined with an evolutionary perspective, this seemingly straightforward idea that the brain enables the conceptualization of past and future can lead to deeper insights into the principles of brain function, including that of consciousness. In this paper, we systematically investigate, through simulated evolution of artificial neural networks, conditions for the emergence of past and future in simple neural architectures, and discuss the implications of our findings for consciousness and mind uploading. (shrink)

Academic internships are increasingly common in other disciplines, but have not been discussed or implemented widely in the discipline of philosophy. This article fills this gap by discussing the potential benefits of philosophy internships and addressing two important questions: whether there is something different about philosophy—possibly its abstractness, versatility, or what I refer to as “pluripotency”—that renders the benefits of internships out of reach for many philosophy students, and whether philosophy faculty should be responsible for developing and implementing philosophy internships. (...) In this article, I argue that there is nothing about the discipline itself that prevents philosophy majors from experiencing the benefits of academic internships and that, among the different possible internship coordinators, philosophy faculty bear primary responsibility for developing academic internships in philosophy and assisting philosophy students as they transition from college to professional career. (shrink)

Academic internships are increasingly common in other disciplines, but have not been discussed or implemented widely in the discipline of philosophy. This article fills this gap by discussing the potential benefits of philosophy internships and addressing two important questions: whether there is something different about philosophy—possibly its abstractness, versatility, or what I refer to as “pluripotency”—that renders the benefits of internships out of reach for many philosophy students, and whether philosophy faculty should be responsible for developing and implementing philosophy internships. (...) In this article, I argue that there is nothing about the discipline itself that prevents philosophy majors from experiencing the benefits of academic internships and that, among the different possible internship coordinators, philosophy faculty bear primary responsibility for developing academic internships in philosophy and assisting philosophy students as they transition from college to professional career. (shrink)

The target article does not provide insight into how the proposed neural blackboard architecture can be mapped to known neural structures in the brain. There are theories suggesting that the thalamus may be a good candidate. However, the experimental evidence suggests that the cortex may be involved (if in fact the blackboard is implemented in the brain). Issues arising from such a mapping will be discussed.

Ethics training is becoming increasingly common in pre-professional contexts to address ethical misconduct in business, medicine, science, and other disciplines. These courses are often taught by philosophers. The question is whether such ethics training, which involves philosophical reflection, is effective in cultivating ethical behavior. This paper takes a closer look at the goals of teaching ethics and how our current methods are ineffective in achieving the affective and active goals of teaching ethics. This paper then suggests how experiential learning and, (...) specifically, service learning may be one way forward in achieving these goals. While some pre-professional programs have implemented service learning, the ethics courses offered by philosophers also may be improved by giving students more opportunities to engage their communities through service learning. (shrink)

Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most federally funded public benefits programs with few exceptions such as emergency medical assistance and nutrition assistance for women and children. This paper defends the view that a liberal society should provide greater access to undocumented immigrants to public benefits programs and responds to an important economic objection that a state should be able to prioritize the needs of its own members who contribute to these programs. This paper specifically addresses empirical and moral versions of (...) this objection. It also distinguishes between two kinds of public benefits. Certain public benefits, such as social security, may reflect an agreed-upon distribution of public goods, to which people are entitled based on their membership or contribution. Other public benefits, such as nutrition assistance, are set aside primarily to help people based on their need. In the latter case, it is not membership or contribution, but need or which need is greater, that supplies justification for the distribution of these benefits even when resources are limited. (shrink)

This case study investigates how people ‘listen’ and act as ‘listeners’ in instant messages. Little research has been done on listenership and listeners in text-based digital discourse; to address this gap, I analyze a group instant message conversation among five Korean young women via KakaoTalk, a free instant messaging application. Demonstrating previous studies on listenership and listeners in spoken discourse and defining ‘listenership’ as the act of giving feedback on prior messages, I identify and explicate four ways of showing listenership (...) in instant message interaction: minimal responses, machine gun listenership, laughing and sticker reaction. My analysis illuminates how verbal and non-verbal forms of listenership are adapted to typed-based online contexts as well as how listenership contributes to the construction of talk in typed-based digital environments. (shrink)