How biotechnology companies respond to bioethical issues

10.5912/jcb22 ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Makina Kato ◽  
Darryl Macer
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Ethics Committees ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Bioethical Issues ◽  
Biotechnology Companies ◽  
The Media ◽  
Set Up

This paper presents the main findings of a research project that investigated how biotechnology companies in different countries address bioethical issues. The study comprised a questionnaire survey and a series of interviews with international organisations and academics in Japan, Europe and North America. While the research clearly indicated that a number of companies expected to have to address bioethical issues in the future, the results also demonstrated that there was a hesitance to admit that bioethical issues had caused problems in the past. The findings also established that companies responded to bioethical issues in different ways and some of the larger organisations were found to set up ethics committees and educate their employees more effectively on bioethical issues. The respondents were also concerned by the biased or distorted view provided by the media and felt it was important that objective information on this area was provided to the public.

Risks to the Public

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Peter G. Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Computer Systems ◽  
Strong Sense ◽  
Risk Awareness ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Media ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Security And Reliability

Mini-editorial (PGN) 2020 was a crazy year, with all kinds of risks on display. As usual, many of the lessons noted in past issues of SEN and RISKS have been largely ignored, and failures continue to mirror events from the past that have long been discussed here. Issues such as safety, security, and reliability always seem to need more foresight than they receive. Y2K con- tinues to hit somewhere each New Year's Day, when short- term remediations that demanded periodic upgrading have been forgotten. (I suppose old COBOL code will still ex- ist in year 2100, when there may be ambiguities relating to dates that could be 21xx or 20xx (although 19xx is unlikely), and the narrow windowing xes will fail even more dramati- cally.) Election integrity continues to be a real concern, where we are caught in the crosshairs between computer systems and networks that are not meaningfully trustworthy or au- ditable, and the nontechnological risks are still pervasive from unbalanced redistricting, creative dysinformation, poli- tics, Citzens United, and foreign interference. We need non- partisan scrutiny and defense against would-be subverters to overcome potential attacks and inadvertent mistakes. In pres- ence of potential risks in every part of the process, a strong sense of risk-awareness is required by voters, election officials, and the media (both proactively and remedially, as needed).

The acceptance of spelling variants as symbols of Croatian spelling changes (1994–2013)

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-148
Author(s):  
Tomislav Stojanov
Keyword(s):  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Year ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
The Public ◽  
Study Programme ◽  
Spelling Variant ◽  
The Media ◽  
Technical Study ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This paper discusses the impact of several spelling changes in Croatian on the level of the literacy of native speakers. Since 1986, there have been five official recommendations for usage that pertain to five different orthographic manuals. This research focuses on three spelling points with considerable identity-related repercussions among the public and the media, which are sometimes named the spelling symbols of Croatian. A questionnaire-survey comprised of 36 tests was completed among 1063 students on a technical study programme each year for eight consecutive academic years. Eight generations of first-year undergraduates, who do not study language in an educational setting, have accepted the new spellings, contingent on a frequency principle. The more frequent a spelling variant occurs, the less the chance that the new spelling variant is accepted, and vice versa. Given the lack of established and enduring spelling norms, combined with ideological oppositions between the old and new spelling forms, students have been guided mainly by their capacity to write the most common form.

Lenore A. Grenoble & Lindsay J. Whaley (eds.), Endangered languages: Current issues and future prospects. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Pp. xvii, 361. Hb $69.95, pb $27.95.

2000 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-290
Author(s):  
Leanne Hinton
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Endangered Languages ◽  
Language Loss ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Media ◽  
Set Up ◽  
National Governments

Over the past decade, an increasing number of linguists have been turning their attention toward the plight of endangered languages. We are realizing that most of the small indigenous languages of the world are in great danger of disappearing over the coming century, if they have not already disappeared. Nor are linguists alone in their concern; the media have become interested in the issue, as have international organizations – like UNESCO, the European Union, and even national governments that have in the past been instruments of the demise of indigenous languages. Clearinghouses are being set up (e.g. the International Clearing House for Endangered Languages at Tokyo University), and funds such as the Endangered Languages Fund. Most active in fighting language extinction are members of the affected communities themselves, who are working on their own, or forging new kinds of partnerships with linguists, in an effort to reverse language shift. In the context of these movements, this excellent book is a welcome and crucial resource. The volume gathers together a set of valuable articles by a group including some of the best scholars in linguistics and some of the best native language teachers: Nancy Dorian, Nora and Richard Dauenhauer, Kaia'titahkhe Annette Jacobs, Colette Grinevald, Marianne Mithun, Ken Hale, Christopher Jocks, Anthony Woodbury, Carol Myers-Scotton, and Nikolai Vakhtin. It is a must-read for anyone – native, linguist, teacher, or policy maker – who is involved with issues of language loss, maintenance, or revitalization.

Music Training and Nonmusical Abilities: Introduction

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Glenn Schellenberg ◽  
Ellen Winner
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
Music Training ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Academic Benefits ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Media ◽  
New Research

the objective of this special issue of Music Perception, which includes contributions from researchers based in Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the US, is to present the best new research on associations between music training and nonmusical abilities. Scholarly interest in associations between music training and nonmusical cognitive functioning has sparked much research over the past 15–20 years. The study of how far associations between music training and cognitive abilities extend, and whether such associations are more likely for some domains of cognition than for others, has theoretical relevance for issues of transfer, modularity, and plasticity. Unlike most other areas of scientific inquiry, there is parallel interest on the part of the public, the media, and educators who want to know if nonmusical intellectual and academic benefits are a welcome by-product of sending children to music lessons. Indeed, some educators and arts advocates justify music training in schools precisely because of these presumed and desired nonmusical associations.

“Nothing but Words”? Chronicling and Storytelling in Robert Coover's The Public Burning

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-186
Author(s):  
THEOPHILUS SAVVAS
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Atomic Bomb ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Narrative Methods ◽  
The Public ◽  
Richard Nixon ◽  
The Past ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Media ◽  
American Society

Robert Coover's 1977 novel The Public Burning is a dramatic re-presentation of the last three days of the lives of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Dubbed the “atomic spies” by the media, the Rosenbergs were accused of passing on the “secret” of the atomic bomb to the Russians. The sensational trial provoked widespread attention for its seeming encapsulation of the fault lines in American society opened up by anticommunism and the emergent Cold War. Found guilty, they were the first American nationals to be executed for espionage. This paper analyses the different narrative methods that Coover employs to re-present the past. In particular I focus on Coover's juxtaposition of a third-person, seemingly omniscient, narrator with the first-person narratological voice of then Vice President Richard Nixon. I suggest that we can best understand this not simply as providing objective and subjective versions of the event, as some critics have claimed, but rather as a distinction between history as chronicle (or what I call a synchronic method of history), and history as storytelling (or diachrony). Through this The Public Burning becomes not just a satirical critique of the specific political culture of the time, I contend, but, more fundamentally, a general exploration of the difficulties of reconstituting past events into knowledge. It is here, perhaps, where the novel's continuing relevance for today lies.

“Tanked up Yobs” and “Self-Pity City”. Deconstructing the Myths of the Hillsborough Disaster

STADION ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-75
Author(s):  
Alan McDougall
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
British History ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Grassroots Activism ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Overwhelming Evidence ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Government Legislation

On 15 April 1989, Liverpool FC played Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi-final at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield in northern England. Catastrophic errors by the police and other organisations led to the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters, crushed against the perimeter fences on the Leppings Lane terrace. Though the horrific facts of the disaster were quickly and widely known, they were lost beneath another narrative, promoted by the police, numerous politicians, and large sections of the media. This narrative blamed the disaster on “tanked up yobs”: drunk and aggressive Liverpool supporters, who turned up late and forced their way into the ground. Over the subsequent years and decades, as Hillsborough campaigners vainly sought justice for the disaster’s victims in a series of trials and inquests, the destructive allegation remained in the public realm. It was reinforced by establishment dismissal of Liverpool as a “self-pity city”, home to a community incapable of accepting official verdicts or of leaving the past in the past. This essay uncovers the history of the myths of the Hillsborough disaster. It first shows how these myths were established - how false narratives, with powerful backers, shifted responsibility for the disaster from the police to supporters, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. It then examines how these myths were embedded in public discourse - how Liverpool was demonised as an aggressively sentimental city where people refused to admit to “killing their own”. It finally analyses how these myths were overturned through research, media mobilisation, and grassroots activism, a process that culminated in the 2016 inquest verdict, which ruled that the 96 Hillsborough victims were unlawfully killed. In doing so, the essay shows how Hillsborough became a key event in modern British history, influencing everything from stadium design to government legislation.

scholarly journals Reducing Violence against Health Professionals

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Indranil Chakravorty
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Frontline Staff ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Public ◽  
Annual Survey ◽  
The Media ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Manchester City

There is a rising trend of violence against healthcare professionals across the world, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries report between 43-75% of professionals experiencing at least one incident in any annual survey. The most recent incident of doctors and healthcare staff in a Manchester City General Practice raised alarms. As the healthcare infrastructure and services are severely stretched following the disruption of 2020, there are more reasons for disquiet and frustration from the public. The media and political portrayal of primary care physicians as not caring enough to provide face-to-face appointments in the UK is believed to increase the public angst. There are protests from professional organisations but this is not heard by the public. In any violence prevention strategy, a multi-system approach is critical. While tackling misinformation is essential, so is the tackling the root causes, the waiting lists and a balanced information to the public. Political and organisational leaders need to be visible and vocal in explaining why the healthcare infrastructure is beyond breaking point. This will justify the additional resources needed and reduce the frustrations of the public, in need of care. There is also a vital need to help new doctors and nurses as well as all frontline staff in violence dissipation techniques, self-preservation. The Voluntary community organisations including those that support professional groups have a vital role to play. The NHS People Plan has recommended that VSCEs should join robust and reliable partnerships with Integrated Care Organisations in developing strategies and interventions. There is more work to be done. This article is a call for action and invites all VSCEs interested in the reduction of violence against staff to join with employing organisations to set up collaborative working groups with specific actions to implement. This is essential to reduce harm and reduce the demoralisation of an already burnt-out healthcare workforce.

scholarly journals Does the COVID-19 Vaccine Still Work That “Most of the Confirmed Cases Had Been Vaccinated”? A Content Analysis of Vaccine Effectiveness Discussion on Sina Weibo during the Outbreak of COVID-19 in Nanjing

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
Hao Gao ◽  
Qingting Zhao ◽  
Chuanlin Ning ◽  
Difan Guo ◽  
Jing Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Sina Weibo ◽  
The Public ◽  
External Sources ◽  
The Media ◽  
Set Up

In July 2021, breakthrough cases were reported in the outbreak of COVID-19 in Nanjing, sparking concern and discussion about the vaccine’s effectiveness and becoming a trending topic on Sina Weibo. In order to explore public attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine and their emotional orientations, we collected 1542 posts under the trending topic through data mining. We set up four categories of attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines, and used a big data analysis tool to code and manually checked the coding results to complete the content analysis. The results showed that 45.14% of the Weibo posts (n = 1542) supported the COVID-19 vaccine, 12.97% were neutral, and 7.26% were doubtful, which indicated that the public did not question the vaccine’s effectiveness due to the breakthrough cases in Nanjing. There were 66.47% posts that reflected significant negative emotions. Among these, 50.44% of posts with negative emotions were directed towards the media, 25.07% towards the posting users, and 11.51% towards the public, which indicated that the negative emotions were not directed towards the COVID-19 vaccine. External sources outside the vaccine might cause vaccine hesitancy. Public opinions expressed in online media reflect the public’s cognition and attitude towards vaccines and their core needs in terms of information. Therefore, online public opinion monitoring could be an essential way to understand the opinions and attitudes towards public health issues.

scholarly journals Prevalence of atopic dermatitis symptoms and its relation to respiratory allergy in preadolescent children

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-59
Author(s):  
B A Shamov ◽  
I G Safiullina ◽  
A B Beshimova
Keyword(s):  
Atopic Dermatitis ◽  
Bronchial Asthma ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
International Study ◽  
The Past ◽  
Asthma Symptoms ◽  
Preadolescent Children ◽  
Strong Relation ◽  
Asthma And Allergy ◽  
Set Up

Aim. To study the prevalence of atopic dermatitis symptoms and its relation to bronchial asthma symptoms in children of 7-8 years of age. Methods. 8880 children aged 7-8 years were examined (3000 children - in 2002, 2865 children - in 2006, 3015 children - in 2010). A questionnaire survey for atopic dermatitis symptoms was conducted as a part of international unified program «International Study of Asthma and Allergy in childhood». Results. Significant differences in prevalence of atopic dermatitis symptoms according to the questionnaire survey and as documented in medical charts were determined. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis symptoms has raised from 12.5±0.4% in 2002 to 20.4±1.5% in 2010 (р 0.001). The prevalence of atopic dermatitis symptoms early onset (younger than 2 years of age) decreased from 7.6±1.0 to 4.9±0.8% (p 0.05). The prevalence of atopic dermatitis relapses during the past calendar year increased from 3.2±0.6 to 4.8±0.8% (p 0.05). Meanwhile, the diagnosis of atopic dermatitis was set up in preadolescent children 7-8 years of age fore frequently: to 4.0±0.7% in 2002 compared to 13.8±1.3% in 2010 (p 0.001). The prevalence of atopic dermatitis and bronchial asthma combination increased from 3.4±0.4 to 7.8±1.0% (p 0.001). A strong relation between presence of atopic dermatitis symptoms and bronchial asthma symptoms was discovered (from 0.76 to 1.00, p 0.05). Conclusion. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis symptoms and bronchial asthma symptoms is still growing in preadolescent children 7-8 years of age, a relation between presence of abovementioned diseases symptoms was discovered.

scholarly journals The brain seduction: the public perception of neuroscience

2009 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. L01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donato Ramani
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Present Letter ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Brain

The increasing number of magazine covers dedicated to brain studies and the success of magazines and scientific journals entirely dedicated to brain and mind indicate a strong interest on these themes. This interest is clearly surpassing the boundaries of scientific and medical researches and applications and underlines an engagement of the general public, too. This phenomenon appears to be enhanced by the increasing number of basic researches focusing on non-health-related fMRI studies, investigating aspects of personality as emotions, will, personal values and beliefs, self-identity and behaviour. The broad coverage by the media raises some central questions related to the complexity of researches, the intrinsic limits of these technologies, the results’ interpretative boundaries, factors which are crucial to properly understand the studies’ value. In case of an incomplete communication, if those fundamental interpretative elements are not well understood, we could register a misinterpretation in the public perception of the studies that opens new compelling questions. As already observed in the past debates on science and technologies applications, in this case, too, we assist to a communicative problem that set against scientific community on one side and media, on the other. Focusing our attention, in particular, on the debate on fMRI, taken as a good model, in the present letter we will investigate the most interesting aspects of the current discussion on neuroscience and neuroscience public perception. This analysis was performed as one of the bid - brains in dialogue - activities (www.neuromedia.eu). bid is a three year project supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Program and coordinated by Sissa, the International School for Advanced Studies of Trieste, aimed at fostering dialogue between science and society on the new challenges coming from neuroscience.

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