Recent research has relied on trolley-type sacrificial moral dilemmas to study utilitarian versus nonutili- tarian modes of moral decision-making. This research has generated important insights into people’s attitudes toward instrumental harm—that is, the sacrifice of an individual to save a greater number. But this approach also has serious limitations. Most notably, it ignores the positive, altruistic core of utilitarianism, which is characterized by impartial concern for the well-being of everyone, whether near or far. Here, we develop, refine, and validate a (...) new scale—the Oxford Utilitarianism Scale—to dissociate individual differences in the ‘negative’ (permissive attitude toward instrumental harm) and ‘positive’ (impartial concern for the greater good) dimensions of utilitarian thinking as manifested in the general population. We show that these are two independent dimensions of proto-utilitarian tendencies in the lay population, each exhibiting a distinct psychological profile. Empathic concern, identification with the whole of humanity, and concern for future generations were positively associated with impartial beneficence but negatively associated with instrumental harm; and although instrumental harm was associated with subclinical psychopathy, impartial beneficence was associated with higher religiosity. Importantly, although these two dimensions were independent in the lay population, they were closely associated in a sample of moral philosophers. Acknowledging this dissociation between the instrumental harm and impartial beneficence components of utilitarian thinking in ordinary people can clarify existing debates about the nature of moral psychology and its relation to moral philosophy as well as generate fruitful avenues for further research. (shrink)

We ask why pharmacological cognitive enhancement (PCE) is generally deemed morally unacceptable by lay people. Our approach to this question has two core elements. First, we employ an interdisciplinary perspective, using philosophical rationales as base for generating psychological models. Second, by testing these models we investigate how different normative judgments on PCE are related to each other. Based on an analysis of the relevant philosophical literature, we derive two psychological models that can potentially explain the judgment that PCE is unacceptable: (...) the “Unfairness-Undeservingness Model” and the “Hollowness-Undeservingness Model.” The Unfairness-Undeservingness Model holds that people judge PCE to be unacceptable because they take it to produce unfairness and to undermine the degree to which PCE-users deserve reward. The Hollowness-Undeservingness Model assumes that people judge PCE to be unacceptable because they find achievements realized while using PCE hollow and undeserved. We empirically test both models against each other using a regression-based approach. When trying to predict judgments regarding the unacceptability of PCE using judgments regarding unfairness, hollowness, and undeservingness, we found that unfairness judgments were the only significant predictor of the perceived unacceptability of PCE, explaining about 36% of variance. As neither hollowness nor undeservingness had explanatory power above and beyond unfairness, the Unfairness-Undeservingness Model proved superior to the Hollowness-Undeservingness Model. This finding also has implications for the Unfairness-Undeservingness Model itself: either a more parsimonious single-factor “Fairness Model” should replace the Unfairness-Undeservingness-Model or fairness fully mediates the relationship between undeservingness and unacceptability. Both explanations imply that participants deemed PCE unacceptable because they judged it to be unfair. We conclude that concerns about unfairness play a crucial role in the subjective unacceptability of PCE and discuss the implications of our approach for the further investigation of the psychology of PCE. (shrink)

This chapter sets the scene for the subsequent philosophical discussions by surveying a number of biological interventions that have been used, or might in the future be used, for the purposes of crime prevention. These interventions are pharmaceutical interventions intended to suppress libido, treat substance abuse or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or modulate serotonin activity; nutritional interventions; and electrical and magnetic brain stimulation. Where applicable, we briefly comment on the historical use of these interventions, and in each case we discuss (...) the evidence that they are effective, or might become so with further refinement. The chapter concludes with a comment on some potentially significant differences between the varieties of intervention that we canvass. (shrink)

Research into cognitive biases that impair human judgment has mostly been applied to the area of economic decision-making. Ethical decision-making has been comparatively neglected. Since ethical decisions often involve very high individual as well as collective stakes, analyzing how cognitive biases affect them can be expected to yield important results. In this theoretical article, we consider the ethical debate about cognitive enhancement and suggest a number of cognitive biases that are likely to affect moral intuitions and judgments about CE: status (...) quo bias, loss aversion, risk aversion, omission bias, scope insensitivity, nature bias, and optimistic bias. We find that there are more well-documented biases that are likely to cause irrational aversion to CE than biases in the opposite direction. This suggests that common attitudes about CE are predominantly negatively biased. Within this new perspective, we hope that subsequent research will be able to elaborate this hypothesis and develop effective de-biasing techniques that can help increase the rationality of the public CE debate and thus improve our ethical decision-making. (shrink)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health disaster driven largely by antibiotic use in human health care. Doctors considering whether to prescribe antibiotics face an ethical conflict between upholding individual patient health and advancing public health aims. Existing literature mainly examines whether patients awaiting consultations desire or expect to receive antibiotic prescriptions, but does not report views of the wider public regarding conditions under which doctors should prescribe antibiotics. It also does not explore the ethical significance of public views (...) or their sensitivity to awareness of AMR risks or the standpoint (self-interested or impartial) taken by participants. Methods: An online survey was conducted with a sample of the U.S. public (n = 158). Participants were asked to indicate what relative priority should be given to individual patients and society-at-large from various standpoints and in various contexts, including antibiotic prescription. Results: Of the participants, 50.3% thought that doctors should generally prioritize individual patients over society, whereas 32.0% prioritized society over individual patients. When asked in the context of AMR, 39.2% prioritized individuals whereas 45.5% prioritized society. Participants were significantly less willing to prioritize society over individuals when they themselves were the patient, both in general (p = .001) and in relation to AMR specifically (p = .006). Conclusions: Participants’ attitudes were more oriented to society and sensitive to collective responsibility when informed about the social costs of antibiotic use and when considered from a third-person rather than first-person perspective. That is, as participants came closer to taking the perspective of an informed and impartial “ideal observer,” their support for prioritizing society increased. Our findings suggest that, insofar as antibiotic policies and practices should be informed by attitudes that are impartial and well-informed, there is significant support for prioritizing society. (shrink)

Identifying, classifying, and analyzing arguments in legal discourse has been a prominent area of research since the inception of the argument mining field. However, there has been a major discrepancy between the way natural language processing (NLP) researchers model and annotate arguments in court decisions and the way legal experts understand and analyze legal argumentation. While computational approaches typically simplify arguments into generic premises and claims, arguments in legal research usually exhibit a rich typology that is important for gaining insights (...) into the particular case and applications of law in general. We address this problem and make several substantial contributions to move the field forward. First, we design a new annotation scheme for legal arguments in proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that is deeply rooted in the theory and practice of legal argumentation research. Second, we compile and annotate a large corpus of 373 court decisions (2.3M tokens and 15k annotated argument spans). Finally, we train an argument mining model that outperforms state-of-the-art models in the legal NLP domain and provide a thorough expert-based evaluation. All datasets and source codes are available under open lincenses at https://github.com/trusthlt/mining-legal-arguments. (shrink)

In an empirical study, we compared how lay people judge motivation enhancement as opposed to cognitive enhancement. We found alienation is not seen as a danger associated with either form of enhancement. Cognitive enhancement is seen as more morally wrong than motivation enhancement, and users of cognitive enhancement tend to be judged as less deserving of praise and success than users of motivation enhancement. These more negative judgments of cognitive enhancement may be driven by differences in perceived fairness rather than (...) differences in effort exerted by the user, although lay people generally see effort as necessary to deservingness of praise and success. (shrink)

Zusammenfassung Die rasanten Entwicklungen im Bereich der Künstlichen Intelligenz und Robotik stellen nicht nur die Ethik, sondern auch das Recht vor neue Herausforderungen, gerade im Bereich der Medizin und Pflege. Grundsätzlich hat der Einsatz von KI dabei das Potenzial, sowohl die Heilbehandlungen als auch den adäquaten Umgang im Rahmen der Pflege zu erleichtern, wenn nicht sogar zu verbessern. Verwaltungsaufgaben, die Überwachung von Vitalfunktionen und deren Parameter sowie die Untersuchung von Gewebeproben etwa könnten autonom ablaufen. In Diagnostik und Therapie können Systeme (...) die behandelnde Ärztin unterstützen. Intelligente Betten ermöglichen eine Frühmobilisierung der Patient:innen bei gleichzeitig geringerem Personalaufwand. Gleichwohl birgt der Einsatz der Systeme rechtliche Herausforderungen. So besteht das Risiko einer Verletzung der beteiligten Personen. Im Gegensatz zu herkömmlichen Technologien „leidet“ KI unter der „Black-Box-Problematik“: Die von den Systemen generierten Ergebnisse sind nicht mehr vollständig vorhersehbar und nachvollziehbar. Der Einsatz birgt unbekannte und unkalkulierbare Risiken, was sich insbesondere auf die zivilrechtliche Haftung und strafrechtliche Verantwortung auswirkt. Wem die Entscheidungen der Systeme normativ zuzurechnen sind, ist eine Kernfrage des juristischen Diskurses. Die aus praktikabilitätsgründen naheliegende Wahl, dem letztentscheidenden Menschen das Verhalten eines KI-Systems zuzurechnen, überzeugt nicht in allen Fällen, sondern degradiert ihn häufig zum symbolischen Haftungsknecht und legt ihm einseitig die Risiken der Technologien auf. Weiterhin ergeben sich im Bereich der Medizin und Pflege Fragen hinsichtlich der Zulassung von KI-Systemen, da die Maschinen während der Nutzung weiterlernen und so ihren strukturellen Aufbau kontinuierlich verändern. Es ist daher angebracht, sich frühzeitig mit dem Konfliktpotential aus ethischer und rechtlicher Sicht auseinander zu setzen, um einer potenziellen gesellschaftlichen Angst vor derartigen Systemen vorzubeugen und einen praxisgerechten Handlungsrahmen zu schaffen. (shrink)

This article analyses the nature of mental imagery in metaphoric thought as envisaged by the contemporary theory of metaphor in Cognitive Linguistics (Lakoff, Cambridge University Press, 1993). Our study of metaphor in the field of marine biology draws on two crucial aspects of mental imagery, namely dynamicity and pervasiveness. Image metaphors and behaviour-based metaphors have generally been regarded as two different types of resemblance metaphor. In our view, the dynamicity of certain mental images highlights inherent similarities between these two types (...) of metaphor, and makes the differences between them more apparent than real. For this reason, we propose a more refined description of resemblance metaphors in terms of the static or dynamic nature of the mental images underlying them. Our study also underlines the fact that mental images permeate all classes of metaphor, and that the pervasiveness and dynamicity of mental images affords insights into both resemblance metaphors and non-resemblance metaphors. (shrink)

Many parents are hesitant about, or face motivational barriers to, vaccinating their children. In this paper, we propose a type of vaccination policy that could be implemented either in addition to coercive vaccination or as an alternative to it in order to increase paediatric vaccination uptake in a non-coercive way. We propose the use of vaccination nudges that exploit the very same decision biases that often undermine vaccination uptake. In particular, we propose a policy under which children would be vaccinated (...) at school or day-care by default, without requiring parental authorization, but with parents retaining the right to opt their children out of vaccination. We show that such a policy is likely to be effective, at least in cases in which non-vaccination is due to practical obstacles, rather than to strong beliefs about vaccines, ethically acceptable and less controversial than some alternatives because it is not coercive and affects individual autonomy only in a morally unproblematic way, and likely to receive support from the UK public, on the basis of original empirical research we have conducted on the lay public. (shrink)

This paper explains conceptual modeling within the framework of Frame-Based Terminology (Faber, 2012; 2015; 2022), as applied to EcoLexicon (ecolexicon.ugr.es), a specialized knowledge base on the environment (León-Araúz, Reimerink &, Faber, 2019; Faber & León-Araúz, 2021). It describes how a frame-based terminological resource is currently being restructured and reengineered as an initial step towards its formalization and subsequent transformation into an ontology. It also explains how the information in EcoLexicon can be integrated in environmental ontologies such as ENVO (Buttigieg, Morrison, (...) Smith, Mungall & Lewis, 2013; Buttigieg, Pafilis, Lewis, Schildhauer, Walls & Mungall, 2016), particularly at the bottom tiers of the Ontology Learning Layer Cake (Cimiano, 2006; Cimiano, Maedche, Staab & Volker, 2009). The assumption is that frames, as a conceptual modeling tool, and information extracted from corpora can be used to represent the conceptual structure of a specialized domain. (shrink)

ONE Wholes and Parts: Introductory Survey COMMON WISDOM ABOUT THE WORLD GUIDES us WELL in daily living, but getting along practically is not enough; ...

The basic biological situation -- Credulity, and the skeptical tradition -- The early period -- Construction of the inner realm -- Brain, mind, religion -- Infantile amnesia -- Prayer and faith -- Angelic encounters -- Are we 'wired for God'?.

Psychological literature indicates that actions performed with the assistance of cognition‐enhancing biomedical technologies are often deemed to be less praiseworthy than similar actions performed without such assistance. This study examines (i) whether this result extends to the bioenhancement of moral capacities, and (ii) if so, what explains the effect of moral bioenhancement on perceived praiseworthiness. The findings indicate that actions facilitated by morally bioenhanced individuals are considered less deserving of praise than similar actions facilitated by ‘traditional’ moral enhancement—for example, moral (...) self‐education. This diminished praise does not seem to be driven by an aversion to (moral) bioenhancement per se. Instead, it appears to be primarily attributable to a perceived lack of effort exerted by bioenhanced individuals in the course of their moral enhancement. Our findings advance the philosophical discourse on the foundations of praise in the context of moral bioenhancement by elucidating the empirical basis underlying some assumptions commonly employed to argue for or against the permissibility of moral bioenhancement. (shrink)

Prospective memory (PM) enables people to remember to complete important tasks in the future. Failing to do so can result in consequences of varying severity. Here, we investigated how PM error-consequence severity impacts the neural processing of relevant cues for triggering PM and the ramification of that processing on the associated prospective task performance. Participants role-played a cafeteria worker serving lunches to fictitious students and had to remember to deliver an alternative lunch to students (as PM cues) who would otherwise (...) experience a moderate or severe aversive reaction. Scalp-recorded, event-related potential (ERP) measures showed that the early-latency frontal positivity, reflecting the perception-based neural responses to previously learned stimuli, did not differ between the severe versus moderate PM cues. In contrast, the longer-latency parietal positivity, thought to reflect full PM cue recognition and post retrieval processes, was elicited earlier by the severe than the moderate PM cues. This faster instantiation of the parietal positivity to the severe-consequence PM cues was then followed by faster and more accurate behavioral responses. These findings indicate how the relative importance of a PM can be neurally instantiated in the form of enhanced and faster PM cue recognition and processing and culminate into better PM. (shrink)

The concept of positional information is applied to a large amount of data obtained previously in experiments on developing and regenerating amphibian limbs. Only the proximo-distal axis of the limb is considered. It is shown that the concept provides a simple, unitary hypothesis which satisfactorily accounts for the experimental data, and may moreover suggest meaningful new approaches. It is suggested that the boundaries of the bipolar limb system lie in the girdle skeleton and at the distal end of the limb, (...) respectively, and that it is the apical epidermis of the growing or regenerating limb which defines the distal boundary conditions. A relatively stable gradient of positional information is assumed to be set up in the mesoderm . It is further shown that the differentiated limb retains its positional information and upon amputation imparts it to the base of the blastema. To explain an apparent discrepancy between the developing and the regenerating limb, it is proposed that dedifferentiation of mesodermal limb tissues upon amputation entails a change of positional value in the mesenchyme. Consequently, the amputation level does not once and for all specify the positional value at the proximal end of a mass of blastemal mesenchyme, particularly when the mesenchyme is transplanted in such a way that its linear size decreases or increases. (shrink)

Therapeutic strategies capable of inducing and enhancing prosthesis embodiment are a key point for better adaptation to and acceptance of prosthetic limbs. In this study, we developed a training protocol using an EMG-based human-machine interface that was applied in the preprosthetic rehabilitation phase of people with amputation. This is a case series with the objective of evaluating the induction and enhancement of the embodiment of a virtual prosthesis. Six men and a woman with unilateral transfemoral traumatic amputation without previous use (...) of prostheses participated in the study. Participants performed a training protocol with the EMG-based HMI, composed of six sessions held twice a week, each lasting 30 mins. This system consisted of myoelectric control of the movements of a virtual prosthesis immersed in a 3D virtual environment. Additionally, vibrotactile stimuli were provided on the participant’s back corresponding to the movements performed. Embodiment was investigated from the following set of measurements: skin conductance response, crossmodal congruency effect, ability to control the virtual prosthesis, and reports before and after the training. The increase in the skin conductance response in conditions where the virtual prosthesis was threatened, recalibration of the peripersonal space perception identified by the crossmodal congruency effect, ability to control the virtual prosthesis, and participant reports consistently showed the induction and enhancement of virtual prosthesis embodiment. Therefore, this protocol using EMG-based HMI was shown to be a viable option to achieve and enhance the embodiment of a virtual prosthetic limb. (shrink)

The transition towards sustainable and just food systems is ongoing, illustrated by an increasing number of initiatives that try to address unsustainable practices and social injustices. Insights are needed into what a just transition entails in order to critically engage with plural and potentially conflicting justice conceptualisations. Researchers play an active role in food system transitions, but it is unclear which conceptualisations and principles of justice they enact when writing about food system initiatives. To fill this gap this paper investigates: (...) Which conceptualisations of justice emerge from the literature related to food system initiatives and which principles of justice do authors use? We developed an initial framework for which we drew on political philosophy literature. We then undertook an extensive review of the food system transitions literature using this framework and were able to identify a range of recognition, distributive, and procedural justice conceptualisations and associated principles of justice. Recognised as subjects of justice were those with a particular role in the food system, people who are marginalised, Indigenous communities, those with experiences of negative consequences of the food system, future generations, and nonhumans. The identified conceptualisations and the developed framework can be used by those involved in food system initiatives to reflect on how they conceptualise justice. We challenge them to be more explicit about who they do and do not recognise as subjects of justice and which principles of justice they use. Such clarity is needed to reflexively enact a just transition towards sustainable and just food systems. (shrink)

This article proposes a method for the semi-automatic extraction of resemblance metaphor terms from a manually annotated corpus of marine biology texts in English and Spanish. The corpus was first searched for target domain terms as well as for lexical markers indicative of metaphors. The combination of these search strategies for metaphor extraction resulted in a set of English-Spanish term pairs. After analysing and comparing these metaphor candidates, a quantitative analysis provided comparative statistical data regarding marine biology metaphor. Finally, the (...) metaphorical nature of marine biology terms was verified in three ways. The first verification strategy entailed an adapted version of the Metaphor Identification Procedure (CitationPragglejaz Group, 2007). The second involved the analysis of contextual data extracted from the corpus, and the third involved the analysis of visual images from an online marine biology database and from the Google search engine. (shrink)

Alfred North Whitehead’s interpreters usually pay less attention to his later monographs and essays. Process and Reality is taken to be the definitive center of the Whiteheadian universe and the later works, thereby, appear to many only as applications or elaborations of themes already introduced earlier. Yet, is it also possible that the dominance of this perspective has obscured or even distorted further creative developments of Whitehead’s thought? This volume offers a sort of Copernican revolution in Whitehead interpretation, methodologically and (...) conceptually inviting its contributors to observe Whitehead’s work from the perspective of his later works. The aim of this preferencing is meant not to invalidate earlier approaches to Whitehead’s thought nor is the inference that the later works are more authoritative. Yet, just as the first space-based images of our planet forever changed humanity’s understanding of its place in the universe, shifting the alleged center of, or even decentering of the view on, Whitehead’s “philosophy of organism” to the later works, we might discover previously obscured ideas or new vistas of thought relevant not only to our current philosophical landscape, but also to the pressing issues of our fragile and endangered world. This volume invites its contributors and readers to consider whether one thereby also moves beyond metaphysics? (shrink)

Von philologischer Nüchternheit und humanistischem Engagement... Der Band dokumentiert exemplarisch die Verbindung von Altertumswissenschaft und moderner Kulturwissenschaft auf hohem philologischem und kritisch reflektierendem Niveau.

This article is concerned with the problem of the relation between the genetic information contained in the DNA and the emergence of visible structure in multicellular animals. The answer is sought in a reappraisal of the data of experimental embryology, considering molecular, cellular and organismal aspects. The presence of specific molecules only confers a tissue identity on the cells when their concentration exceeds the threshold of differentiation. When this condition is not fulfilled the activity of the genes that code for (...) the specific molecules in question only confers on them a histogenetic potency, i.e. the capacity to form the corresponding tissue in further development (or to transdifferentiate to that tissue). The progressive restriction of histogenetic potencies during development reflects the irreversible repression of more and more genes. The establishment of a given tissue identity under the influence of an inducing tissue (or a morphogenetic hormone) is only possible when the cells have acquired the competence to respond. Tissue differentiation proceeds progressively during development thanks to the cytoplasmic memory that cells retain collectively (or sometimes individually) of the items of information successively registered by their ancestors cells. The increasing complexity of visible structure emerging during development results only from the progression of tissue differentiation. This involves continual exchange of information among the cells and leads to (1) cell displacements and rearrangements, particularly during organogenesis and (2) extreme diversification of cell individualities within tissues, particularly during postembryonic growth. A mutation (just as a teratogenic factor) evokes an anomaly that is localized in both space and time because it alters a certain aspect of cell behaviour (particularly cell surface adhesiveness or mitotic activity) at the time when this is involved in the establishment of a particular structural trait. Neither the organization of the adult nor the modalities of development are encoded in the DNA. The automatic concatenation of cell interactions in the embryo and the structural amplification it entails is conditioned by the specific biochemical composition of the cytoplasm of the egg and by the heterogeneous distribution of its inclusions. (shrink)

Zusammenfassung Die Corona-Pandemie führt seit 2020 zu weitreichenden gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen, die u. a. in einer Abnahme der Sportvereinsmitglieder insgesamt sowie in einem verstärkten Einsamkeitsgefühl bestehen. Konträr zu diesen allgemeinen Entwicklungen ist in der Alterskohorte der über 60-Jährigen eine konstante Anzahl an Vereinsmitgliedern zu beobachten. Mit Hilfe von narrativen Interviews in einer Seniorengesundheitssportgruppe in Jena (n=5, Durchschnittsalter 75) und der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring galt es herauszufinden, welche Faktoren eine Teilnahme an Sportkursen während der Corona-Pandemie positiv beeinflussen. In dieser Zeit von (...) Oktober bis November 2021 mit entsprechenden pandemieeindämmenden Maßnahmen wie Kontaktbeschränkungen stellte das Stattfinden dieses Senioren-Gesundheitssportprogramms in Präsenz bereits eine Besonderheit dar. Die Interviewpartner wurden deshalb explizit nach den Faktoren für eine Teilnahme an diesem Kurs befragt. Neben bereits bekannten gesundheitlichen, partizipativen und traditionalen Aspekten sowie verfügbaren zeitlichen Ressourcen kam mit dem fehlenden Lebenssinn ein neuer Aspekt hinzu. Insgesamt wird durch die Teilnahme an diesem Senioren-Gesundheitssportprogramm eine Möglichkeit geschaffen, um die individuelle Lebensqualität positiv zu beeinflussen. Mit dem Abebben des Pandemiegeschehens ergibt sich zukünftig die Frage, inwieweit sich diese Einfluss faktoren verschieben könnten, wenn neben sportlichen ebenfalls wieder private gesellschaftliche Zusammenkünfte möglich sind. (shrink)

This book examines the process philosophies of Whitehead and others against current discussions of astrobiology, extraterrestrial life, and their engagement by theological and religious systems.

As long-term childhood cancer survivors are at risk for late effects, ongoing medical care is crucial to detect and treat physical illnesses as early as possible. However, previous research from around the world has shown that many adult survivors did not participate in long-term medical follow-up. This study aimed to provide insight into German survivors’ care situation, with a particular focus on barriers to follow-up care. We investigated a sample of adult CCS drawn from the German Childhood Cancer Registry’s oldest (...) cohort. Our analyses included data from a standardized medical examination, a self-report questionnaire, and in-depth interviews with a subsample. Half of the participants reported participating in some kind of medical follow-up. In a logistic regression analysis, attendance of medical follow-up care was associated with higher age. Reasons for non-attendance were assigned to four categories: lack of information about medical follow-up and/or its purpose, termination by the health care provider, structural barriers, and emotional-motivational aspects. The interviews contributed to a better understanding of how these reported barriers played out in the care of individual survivors. Further, they revealed that some survivors currently in medical follow-up had had periods without follow-up care in the past—which were also in many cases related to a lack of information, both on the part of health care providers and CCS themselves. The results indicated that a large proportion of long-term CCS do not receive the recommended follow-up care. Further, there is a great need for more information regarding the aims of long-term medical follow-up and available offers. This is an important prerequisite for CCS to make informed decisions. (shrink)