Paul Appelbaum and colleagues propose four models of informed consent to research that deploys whole genome sequencing and may generate incidental findings. They base their analysis on empirical data that suggests that research participants want to be offered incidental findings and on a normative consensus that researchers incur a duty to offer them. Their models will contribute to the heated policy debate about return of incidental findings. But in my view, they do not ask the foundational question, In the context (...) of genome sequencing, how much work can consent be asked to do? (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to examine the various guidelines presented in the literature for instituting an ethics curriculum and to empirically study their effectiveness. Three questions are addressed concerning the trainability of ethics material and the proper integration and implementation of an ethics curriculum. An empirical study then tested the effect of ethics training on moral awareness and reasoning. The sample consisted of two business classes, one exposed to additional ethics curriculum (experimental), and one not exposed (control). For (...) the experimental group, ethics exercises and discussion relevant to each topic were completed. Findings suggested gender differences such that, relative to other groups, women in the experimental group showed significantly improved moral awareness and decision-making processes. An explanation of the underlying cognitive processes is presented to explain the gender effect. (shrink)

Children deserve optimal medical care. Although prescription drugs play a prominent and essential role in pediatric health care delivery, health care providers often must make prescribing decisions for their young patients based on imperfect or absent safety and efficacy data for pediatric populations. Until relatively recently, the Food and Drug Administration made surprisingly little effort to improve the quality or quantity of clinical research data for this patient group. Despite recent agency efforts to improve the situation, only one-third of drugs (...) prescribed to children currently have been studied for safety and efficacy in pediatric populations. Moreover, recent agency initiatives to encourage pediatric drug research have generated mixed results and unintended consequences. The complex of issues surrounding the testing and prescribing of prescription drugs used for children will require that pharmaceutical companies, the FDA, and health care providers examine current practices, acknowledge their shortcomings, and consider cooperative, creative solutions. (shrink)

Creativity and civil courage are major dimensions of an intellectual's authority and contribute towards the enrichment of democracy. This book develops a sociological account of civil courage and creative behaviour in order to enhance our understanding of the nature of intellectuals' involvement in society. Barbara A. Misztal employs both theoretical-analytic and empirical components to develop a typology of intellectuals who have shown civil courage and examines the biographies of twelve Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including Elie Wiesel, Andrei Sakharov and (...) Linus C. Pauling, to illustrate acts of courage which have embodied the values of civil society. She advances our understanding of the nature of intellectuals' public involvement and their contribution to social well-being. In the current climate of fear and insecurity, as governments are forced to deal with issues of increasing complexity, this is a pioneering sociological book with a highly original approach. (shrink)

This study documents and characterizes a phenomenon in naturally‐occurring conversation which I have termed interactional reconstruction. Interactional reconstruction involves retroactive reinterpretation of an earlier utterance (or set of utterances) on the basis of a more recent utterance (or set of utterances). This work is meant to serve two functions: first, to enrich our theories of human communication; and second, to explore directions and implications for theories of meaning and discourse modeling within cognitive science.

Prologue: love of children lost and found for teacher educators -- The seed of play -- The seed of hope -- The seed of imaginative voice -- The seed of change -- The seed of unmasking -- The seed of inner awareness -- The seed of freedom -- The seed of love.

What is the political meaning of justice combined with aletheia, that is, the truth understood as revealing, disclosing, and unconcealment? On the basis of an immanent analysis of certain excerpts from Plato’s work we could find the answer. First of all, in Plato the question of justice is not a technical issue, a question of good or bad ruling over the polis, a good or bad law. It concerns matters of much greater significance: existential issues. That is why justice is (...) more important than wealth, both to a man and to a political community. Only through other people, in a political community, is man capable of acquiring an identity, a unity between what he is by nature and what he becomes through education, during the process of adapting to a community to which he belongs. If we succeed in creating such a structure of a political community in which people recognize their proper place and can identify with it, then they will be able to identify with the whole political community. Only a political community thus united can be true, that is, just. Internal unity, which is an expression of justice, is the source of a political community’s power, it is the basis for coexistence and cooperation. When there is no justice, bonds among people die out. Through injustice they become above all incapable of cooperating. (shrink)

In this paper, the concept of political culture is considered in reference to the notions of G.A. Almond, S. Verba and J. Rawls. It is defined as a specific educational project, which is linked to the idea of a fair, democratic and constitutional system. The author also points to potential contemporary obstacles to implementation of this project. Deepening inequalities arising from personal culture are the first threat to liberal civic education. The second threat is associated with the development of new (...) media and the related changes in the public sphere, including various forms of political and civic activity. (shrink)

What is the philosophy of politics in contemporary times and how can the need for its presence be justified? The philosophy of politics is no longer needed by politicians themselves, primarily because it cannot be applied to an electoral campaign and will thus not ensure them an electoral victory. Public opinion probably feels no such a need either, bearing in mind that what it expects is more along the lines of new episodes of a political serial rather than a holistic (...) philosophical interpretation of political reality. Public opinion might begin to feel such a need if it were to prove possible to restore, partly at least, its civic awareness, which is to say, the awareness that emerges on becoming conscious of the necessity for political freedom, for there is no politics without citizens; there is, at most, social policy and its clientele. Without a community of the free and equal, which may consist of citizens alone, there will be no philosophy itself, including that of politics. Philosophy should not treat politics as a certain, particular field or a distinct area of study, It has to learn to recognise in it the basis of this particular form of being, a community of ‘good life’ which is also its own fount. (shrink)

In line with the concept of politics developed by ancient Greeks, the political sphere is identified with transparency and overtness. However, it has always been hiding secret actions, conspiracies and collusions. The emergence of the modern model of the state, along with the rationalisation of its structures, enabled the secret equivalents of authority to transform into organisations, i.e. institutions alternative to official organisations, established by law and having specific powers. Rather than talking about actual organisations, the author discusses the process (...) whereby these secret, underground structures turn into organisations that influence the sphere of overt politics. She tries to show that this is a specific kind of game between what is explicit and public and what is concealed and secret. This game is constantly present in political activities, although we seldom realise it. (shrink)

Children deserve optimal medical care. Although prescription drugs play a prominent and essential role in pediatric health care delivery, health care providers often must make prescribing decisions for their young patients based on imperfect or absent safety and efficacy data for pediatric populations. The safe and effective use of prescription drugs in children depends on a thorough understanding of the physiologic differences between children and adults. Currently, only one-third of drugs prescribed to children have been studied for safety and efficacy (...) in pediatric populations. Until relatively recently, the Food and Drug Administration made surprisingly little effort to improve the quality or quantity of clinical research data for this patient group. Recent agency efforts to encourage pediatric drug research have generated mixed results and created unintended consequences. The development, prescribing, and safety evaluation of prescription drugs for children will require that the FDA and health care providers examine current practices, acknowledge their shortcomings, and consider creative solutions to the challenges associated with gathering additional data through pediatric drug research. (shrink)

The placing of the concept citizen in the context of globalisation makes it possible to approach it using the category of cosmopolitism and the related dispute between the advocates of pluralism and those of hegemony. In the debates on cosmopolitism, the transition from the classic concept of ‘citizen’ to that of ‘citizen of the world’, or cosmopolite, is generally regarded as something obvious, just as is its territorial extension. The concept of the citizen thus becomes transcendental and virtual. Usually its (...) Greek roots are pointed to, as cosmo-polites is derived from the word cosmos, an ordered world, the universe and polites, a citizen. The historians of concepts are, however, right to point out that in its original form, that is, among the cynics and the stoics, the word cosmopolites was understood in a philosophical and moral rather than in a political sense. It was a deliberate rejection of polis as a specific place and a specific political order, in favour of a universal space and natural law. Humans, as inhabitants of the universe, are subject only to the authority of the world-penetrating logos, the principles and laws with which they were able to become acquainted by applying their own rationality; this very capability was an obligation to observe those principles and laws and to comply with them. Because of its very nature, the concept of a cosmopolite is thus apolitical, or, in other word, not uncitizen-like. (shrink)

The cytokine interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), initiates both cell cycle arrest and cell death in certain cell lines. Through a novel strategy of cell transfection with episomal vectors expressing antisense cDNAs, Deiss et al.(1.2) have demonstrated that it is possible to isolate genes that are required for the initiation of cell death by the cytokine IFN‐γ. This approach, referred to as TKO, for Technical Knock Out, has identified several genes whose activity appears to be essential for the induction of apoptosis by IFN‐γ (...) in HeLa cells. Interestingly, these genes appear to mediate IFN‐γ‐induced apoptosis in HeLa cells, but their inhibition by antisense does not ameliorate the anti‐proliferative effects of IFN‐γ in these cells. The clever strategy employed by these authors holds promise for others who wish to isolate genes required for other differentiative processes in cultured cell lines. (shrink)

Der Vergleich einer modernen Rechts- und Gesellschaftstheorie anhand von Hayeks «Recht, Gesetz und Freiheit» mit einer postmodernen anhand Ladeurs «Der Staat gegen die Gesellschaft» fördert verblüffende Parallelen im Ausgangspunkt, der Argumentation und der Prognose respektive Diagnose einer institutionell bedingten postmodernen Krise von Staat und Gesellschaft zutage. Die Analyse der modernen Theorie ist zugleich eine umfassende und verständliche Einführung in von Hayeks Werk. Fundiert arbeitet die Schrift die Theorie als die in der Moderne gelegte Basis der postmodernen Gesellschaft heraus und gleicht (...) sie ab mit den Untersuchungen Ladeurs zur Postmoderne in dessen Streitschrift für die «Privatrechtsgesellschaft». Anknüpfend an den von beiden analog begründeten Weg in die Krise und die Wege zu ihrer Bewältigung zeigt die Autorin eine über diese Zeitspanne hinaus weisende kongruente liberale rechts-, staats- und gesellschaftspolitische Theorie auf. (shrink)

As a starting point for considerations the author accepts that the concept of revolution has changed historically in a similar way as the concept of democracy. Initially democracy was limited to a certain reality and political system, but over time the concept has become synonymous with common good. It can be claimed that similar changes in meaning can be observed in the concept of revolution. However, as the trouble with its use in the media shows, the universal dimension of the (...) concept of revolution does not apply to axiological and ideological layers. Therefore, it should be sought for elsewhere. The author suggests focusing on the technical side of the revolution rather than political ideas and values, as every revolution makes use of a specific technique for taking over power and establishing its own new form. (shrink)

To understand public discourse in the United States on genetic causation of behavioral disorders, we analyzed media representations of genetic research on addiction published between 1990 and 2010. We conclude first that the media simplistically represent biological bases of addiction and willpower as being mutually exclusive: behaviors are either genetically determined, or they are a choice. Second, most articles provide only cursory or no treatment of the environmental contribution. A media focus on genetics directs attention away from environmental factors. Rhetorically, (...) media neglect the complexity underlying the etiology the addiction and direct focus back toward individual causation and responsibility. (shrink)

The theme of this special issue is Post-truth. No doubt it was my exasperation with the terminological state of our collective situation that incited me in the spring of 2017 to settle upon it. What, exactly, does the hyphenated couplet mean or to what does it refer? What is its significance or sense? How is it being used, by whom, for what purpose, and with what consequences—for whom? And if, as was being asserted on nearly every side, we currently find (...) ourselves in post-truth, how might we ever get out, presuming we may one day want as much? The original contributions by Sarah Burgess, James Crosswhite, Jason David Myres, Bradford Vivian, and Eric King Watts published herein go a long way toward answering these... (shrink)

The two target articles in this issue bring into focus the struggle for governance over biomedical interventions that may offer some families more agency—the capacity to act—in the context of many...

The nuclear DNA of eukaryotes is organized into a series of loops each topologically anchored by elements of the nuclear matrix. Evidence is reviewed which indicates that the anchorage points of the loops are formed by transcriptionally active genes and that individual loops function as replicons. The data suggests a specific model for coupling of DNA replication and transcription in eukaryotes.