Global Bioethics最新文献

{"title":"Does the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition impose biotechnology on smallholder farmers in Africa?","authors":"S. Vercillo, Vincent Z. Kuuire, F. Armah, I. Luginaah","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2014.1002294","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2014.1002294","url":null,"abstract":"Almost one in three people who live in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are hungry, higher than anywhere else. This magnitude of food insecurity coupled with slow progress in regional integration, disease and epidemics, poor access to markets, gender disparities, lack of land tenure rights, and governance and institutional shortcomings on the continent have been used to justify a narrative for the inclusion of biotechnology in smallholder agriculture in SSA. The fact, however, suggests that even in the face of these challenges, smallholder farmers in SSA still produce 70% of the food on the continent. We critically examine the introduction of biotechnology in smallholder farming within the context of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and public–private partnerships in SSA. We explicitly address the bioethical concerns and implications for technology adoption goals in line with a neoliberal economic model that is encouraging smallholder farmers to adopt biotechnology as a way to secure more food for communities. This paper is not meant to pose a simplistic pro or anti stance on genetically modified (GM) crops or biotechnology, but rather to situate the debate about GM technology within issues of power, control in the global food agriculture systems, and point to the bioethical concerns that affect the lives of smallholder farmers and their families on a daily basis.","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"1 - 13"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2014.1002294","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59806914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Islam and palliative care","authors":"K. Choong","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2015.1008752","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2015.1008752","url":null,"abstract":"Palliative care is experiencing an upsurge in interest and importance. This is driven, paradoxically, by modern medicine's increased ability to provide effective pain relief on the one hand and an acknowledgement of its limitation in delivering a cure for certain diseases on the other. With many Muslims suffering from such incurable diseases worldwide, they too are now faced with the decision of whether to avail themselves of pain relief offered within the framework of scientific medicine. However, while the general ethos of palliative care which is to promote the quality of life of those facing life-limiting illnesses is consistent with Islamic values, this paper explores whether the same can be submitted for modern methods of pain control. The investigation will be steered by two overriding questions. First, if pain and suffering could, as highlighted in the primary sources of Islamic Law, lead to the expiation of sins, can pain relief be taken? Second, is it religiously permissible to choose pain treatment options that could bring about iatrogenic addiction, the hastening of death and the impairment or obliteration of consciousness?","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"26 1","pages":"28 - 42"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2015.1008752","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59807238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sperm donors as assisters of reproduction in single women","authors":"E. Ignovska","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2014.957951","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2014.957951","url":null,"abstract":"The political as opposed to the natural constitution of ancient families for some authors is associated with the fiction of patriarchy (Pateman, C. (1988). The Sexual Contract. Cambridge: Polity Press, p. 19). This had meaning as a form of political power, which when introduced referred only to the sexual domination of the rule of husbands and fathers in the smallest unit of society. Only afterwards did the fiction of patriarchy take on the broader meaning of a dominating class, and thus a universal feature of human society. Accordingly, the representatives of this view consider the father's role in a family to be strictly conventional (i.e. imposed by force) and the family, therefore, is seen only as an artificial institution that negotiates the roles of its members, just as society does. Under these terms, the patriarchal family is not based on biological or natural ties, but on “legal fiction” (Pateman referred to the term “legal fiction” which was used by Sir Henry Maine in Maine, H. J. S. (1917). Ancient Law. London: J. M. Dent and Sons, p. 76. Available online as part of the Gutenberg Ebooks, Chapter II: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22910/22910-h/22910-h.htm). While the mother's biological participation has always been certain, since she is the one who physically gives birth to the child, paternity has had to be discovered or invented, becoming only a human creation. This fiction, however, served the political purpose of keeping the family together. Thus, the “fiction of adoption” and the “reality of kinship” were considered equal as long as the family's formation was maintained. By comparison, ancient families were not that different from contemporary families founded on adoptions or sperm donations. Again, the role of the father here is negotiated – the “legal fiction” of the husband/partner when sperm is donated to a couple and his absence when sperm is donated to single women. Regardless of genetics, the absence of a social and legal father in a child's life can also occur in single-mother families where the parents conceived via coitus. Nevertheless, lacking both a genetic and a social father can only be ascribed to single women – parents by choice. Is fatherhood that unimportant?","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"25 1","pages":"226 - 238"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2014.957951","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59807135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Making sense of the future: visions and transition pathways of laypeople and professionals from six EU countries","authors":"Eleni Iacovidou, W. Wehrmeyer","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2014.957010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2014.957010","url":null,"abstract":"In seeking to understand how young people conceptualise their future in terms of sustainability, visioning and backcasting workshops were held in six European countries, as part of the CReating Innovative Sustainability Pathways (CRISP) project. Within the visioning part of the CRISP project, over 1500 ideas and suggestions were generated, which were then condensed into three pan-European archetypical visions: One Ethical World, Local Community and i-Tech that exhibit radical alternatives for global and local futures. For the transition pathway development of these futures, backcasting workshops were held with the participation of young people and experts to develop suitable pathways towards each of the three visions with regard to three specific sectors, namely, household energy, individual mobility and food. This paper presents the novel methodology developed and applied in both sets of workshops and describes the innovative approach followed for synthesising strong, coherent transition pathways. The framework of actions of each vision's pathway towards a sustainable, low-carbon Europe is also presented to provide the basis upon which changes towards a sustainable future can be initiated both at structural and practical levels. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the pathways developed by comparing them to the UK 2050 pathways.","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"25 1","pages":"211 - 225"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2014.957010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59806588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolution, ethics and religion","authors":"P. Lachmann","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2014.941210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2014.941210","url":null,"abstract":"Arguments are advanced that ethics provide the building blocks for the cultural evolution of those forms of behaviour that distinguish different human moral communities. To perform this function ethical variants need to be maintained within communities over many generations and this is achieved by religious prescription enshrining the ethical variants. This gives religions their essential function. It also follows that ethics themselves must evolve and be subject to natural selection. Some ethical variants and their possible survival value are discussed. This survival value is clearly distinct from the reasons that the variants were introduced. Finally, the consequences for ethical evolution arising from the change of humans from an endangered to an endangering species are considered.","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"25 1","pages":"156 - 163"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2014.941210","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59806493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The genetic foundation of human nature and the legal approach. Some philosophical–legal concerns","authors":"S. Salardi","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2014.932996","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2014.932996","url":null,"abstract":"Since it has become possible to “read the book of life”, different approaches to the universe, revealed by genetic scientific advances, have come into being. On the one hand, the Human Genome Project (HGP) has opened the medical field to new treatments – or at least to the hope of new therapies – through, for instance, gene therapy. On the other hand, developments in genetics have allowed reductionism or genetic essentialism to make its way into the public and institutional perception of genetic advances. This paper will argue that the essentialist approach to genetics is inspired by the constant craving of humans to find, once and for all, those features and determinants that constitute identity: the human nature. I will argue against this trend by testing a particular field in which the concept of human nature could be the source of discrimination and inequalities, that being genetic human nature based law.","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"1 1","pages":"195 - 202"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2014.932996","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59806897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The relation between law, religion, culture and medical ethics in Nigeria","authors":"O. Odia","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2014.937949","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2014.937949","url":null,"abstract":"Nigeria consists of over 250 ethnic groups with various customs and values. There are three dominant religions: Christianity, Islam and sundry traditional religions. The religion and cultures of the various peoples control the lives and transactions of the various groups. Nigerian law is based on English common law, customary law and Islam-based Sharia law. Medical ethics came into focus in the early 1960s after independence, when the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) was set up to regulate the practice of medicine and dentistry. The law that established the Medical and Dental Council was updated in 1990, under the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, Cap 221, laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Medical ethics in Nigeria is based on the core principles of the Hippocratic oath, and the Nigerian code of medical ethics was revised in 1990 and 2004. However, the core principles remain the same. The law, religion and culture of the Nigerian people seem to be in firm accord with the code of medical ethics as it relates to abortion and euthanasia. The Nigerian penal code regards euthanasia as murder. Abortion, except done in order to save the life of the mother, remains a criminal offence. However, litigations against those who commit abortion are few and far between. This harmony between law, religion, culture and medical ethics, however, does not apply to the medical practices of organ transplantation, assisted conception and its related practices, and limb amputations. This paper discusses in detail the polemics and discordant dynamics of the emerging ethical controversies and proffers suggestions for a way forward, in order to obviate possible ethical conundrums.","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"10 2 1","pages":"164 - 169"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2014.937949","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59806949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Maternity and immigrant women (with a particular focus on Italy)","authors":"E. Carovigno, S. Schettini","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2014.937581","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2014.937581","url":null,"abstract":"Women and motherhood are important aspects of the immigration issue. Different behaviour related to reproduction and maternity among foreign women, when compared with that of Italian women, is a key factor that has led to a slowing down of the population decline in Italy. Difficulties connected to migration often have impacts on motherhood, in some cases posing problems and conflicts with being a mother. This can result in frequent recourse to abortion, difficulty in managing sexuality and reproductive capacity, and the decision to postpone the realization of children indefinitely – situations that may provoke deep lacerations in the fabric of women's identity. One of the main problems for immigrant women in relation to pregnancy, childbirth and childcare is a profound sense of isolation: having been uprooted from their families, friends, and their own cultural references and traditions related to motherhood, and in some cases giving birth in aseptic hospitals with doctors and nurses who do not even speak their language, either alone or in the presence of a husband or a friend from the same country. Those who work in obstetrics and gynaecology departments are well aware that the number of foreign patients has increased significantly in recent years. From a practical point of view, this means that health professionals increasingly face new and often complex situations, and are forced to rely more on common sense than protocol. In a world afflicted by political and economic crises and an unequal distribution of wealth, in order to meet the health care needs of immigrants, we need to promote an appreciation of all of the different cultures, a bioethical approach, encouraging medical staff to convey feelings of hospitality and solidarity.","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"46 1","pages":"170 - 177"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2014.937581","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59806938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Australian Engineering Construction Sector: shifting environmental values and practices","authors":"E. L. Hamilton-Foster","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2014.944764","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2014.944764","url":null,"abstract":"Whilst many studies have examined environmental attitudes and practices in the broader construction industry, few have done so specifically in the context of the Australian Engineering Construction Sector (AECS) including national infrastructure projects. This paper aims to extend the knowledge base on environmental culture in construction, specifically on non-building projects. It seeks to demonstrate how the sector is shifting in response to global environmental concern and how this is reflected in the value systems and work practices for non-building projects. The study presents a conceptual model to illustrate how organisations can achieve high standards of environmental performance supported by value systems and work practices. A representative organisation in the sector is assessed against key criteria regarding environmental values and practices. Finally, the paper identifies possibilities for further case study analysis to develop a strategic model for environmental performance in the AECS.","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"25 1","pages":"178 - 194"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2014.944764","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59806550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can we use the notion of normality in genetic selection without discriminating?","authors":"M. Garasic","doi":"10.1080/11287462.2014.943540","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2014.943540","url":null,"abstract":"With the hope of somehow contributing to the ongoing discussion on the topic, this paper is loosely based on the debate that emerged from Rob Sparrow's article “Should human beings have sex? Sexual dimorphism and human enhancement” (The American Journal of Bioethics, 10, 3–12, 2010). Building on some of his arguments, my claim is that we should not refer to gender when discussing not-yet-born agents. More broadly still, my intention is to provide a further analysis of the intersection of the concepts of gender and autonomy. I will begin by briefly highlighting Sparrow's article and critiques, with special emphasis on the poststructuralist attack. In doing so, I will consider the differences between structuralism and poststructuralism in relation to this debate. Subsequently, I will draw a parallel between Judith Butler's notion of the performativity of gender, sex and Ronald Dworkin's distinction between zoe and bios. The next move will then be to re-divert attention to the crucial role that health plays in the discussion (as instrumental to the “normal” and autonomous functioning of the body), suggesting that one of the substantial differences between human enhancers and non-enhancers is the ranking that health has in their corresponding scale of values. Setting the bar for how an organism functions “normally” will be the last step necessary to create the basis for my main claim: building on Butler's description of the singular agent in relation to others, I will suggest Jürgen Habermas and Onora O'Neill as credible and valuable expansions of a position willing to reconcile individual and relational autonomy, supporting this final claim with the words of Immanuel Kant. If we aim to use genetic engineering and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to prevent unhealthy children from being born – as I shall state we should – we can use this notion of normality in a way that will be accepted also by those who are historically critical of such a way of conceptualising a human being, only if we understand the parallel need for society to shift to a more inclusive and shared definition of autonomy.","PeriodicalId":36835,"journal":{"name":"Global Bioethics","volume":"25 1","pages":"203 - 209"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/11287462.2014.943540","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59806536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}