Neuroethics: The Practical and the Philosophical. The benefits of the project are twofold: practically, it will enable us to better regulate, personally and socially, the new technologies that the sciences of the mind are already producing; intellectually, it will enable us to better understand human agency in the light of the new knowledge generated by the sciences of the mind, and it will help to maintain Australia's reputation as an international leader in applied ethics and in philosophy of ....Neuroethics: The Practical and the Philosophical. The benefits of the project are twofold: practically, it will enable us to better regulate, personally and socially, the new technologies that the sciences of the mind are already producing; intellectually, it will enable us to better understand human agency in the light of the new knowledge generated by the sciences of the mind, and it will help to maintain Australia's reputation as an international leader in applied ethics and in philosophy of mind and agency.Read moreRead less
A study of the Australian thoroughbred and racing industry and the construction of 'nature'. The thoroughbred breeding and racing industry contributes significantly to national export income, regional development and national identity in Australia. Studying the physical and discursive construction and use of 'nature' (including, soil, grass, water, reproduction and the necessity of the unpredictability of nature) in different phases of breeding and racing improves understandings of technology ad ....A study of the Australian thoroughbred and racing industry and the construction of 'nature'. The thoroughbred breeding and racing industry contributes significantly to national export income, regional development and national identity in Australia. Studying the physical and discursive construction and use of 'nature' (including, soil, grass, water, reproduction and the necessity of the unpredictability of nature) in different phases of breeding and racing improves understandings of technology adoption, human-animal relations, sport and nature. Research outcomes will improve our understanding of this traditionally resilient but now vulnerable industry, thereby enhancing its capacity to adapt to change and remain internationally competitive.Read moreRead less
Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Agriculture: Social and ethical issues. This project aims to investigate the social and ethical issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture. By combining social science research methods and philosophical analysis, the project aims to generate new knowledge in bioethics and applied ethics. Expected outcomes of this project include an account of the social and ethical issues farmers, rural communities, and consumers anticipat ....Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Agriculture: Social and ethical issues. This project aims to investigate the social and ethical issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture. By combining social science research methods and philosophical analysis, the project aims to generate new knowledge in bioethics and applied ethics. Expected outcomes of this project include an account of the social and ethical issues farmers, rural communities, and consumers anticipate arising from these technologies, improved understanding of these issues, and an account of how these groups would like to see these issues addressed. This should help Australia benefit from the responsible use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture.Read moreRead less
Implicit persuasion in pharmaceutical marketing: ethical implications for regulators and consumers. The rapid ageing of Australia's population has seen increasing consumption of pharmaceuticals and high rates of hospitalisation to treat adverse effects. Pharmaceutical advertising promotes medication use, yet increasing evidence suggests commercials can alter attitudes outside of awareness. Determining the extent and ethical acceptability of subconscious persuasion in drug marketing will lead to ....Implicit persuasion in pharmaceutical marketing: ethical implications for regulators and consumers. The rapid ageing of Australia's population has seen increasing consumption of pharmaceuticals and high rates of hospitalisation to treat adverse effects. Pharmaceutical advertising promotes medication use, yet increasing evidence suggests commercials can alter attitudes outside of awareness. Determining the extent and ethical acceptability of subconscious persuasion in drug marketing will lead to more appropriate regulation of advertising content and enhance the autonomy of consumer medication choice. The study outcomes will address Australia's priority research goals Ageing Well, Ageing Productively and Preventative Healthcare, and further this country's international reputation in Applied Ethics.Read moreRead less
Trust me - I'm a researcher: The role of trust in the human research enterprise. We assume a relationship of trust between researchers and their participants. But what does this mean for researchers and participants, and for the ethics committees who make judgements about the ethics of the research? This project will benefit prospective research participants by providing them with information about how to determine the trustworthiness of researchers and what is expected in a trusting research re ....Trust me - I'm a researcher: The role of trust in the human research enterprise. We assume a relationship of trust between researchers and their participants. But what does this mean for researchers and participants, and for the ethics committees who make judgements about the ethics of the research? This project will benefit prospective research participants by providing them with information about how to determine the trustworthiness of researchers and what is expected in a trusting research relationship. It will also benefit researchers in understanding how to strengthen trust in research relationships and articulating how ethics committees can make well-founded judgements about the trustworthiness of researchers. The findings will also contribute to training programs for both ethics committees and researchers. Read moreRead less
Caring for Asylum Seekers in Australia: Bioethics and Human Rights. Australia's policy of mandatory detention has been criticised at home and abroad. This research will bring together both empirical and reflective material about that policy by those who have seen its effects first hand, which will make an important contribution to national self-definition. The research process itself will bring together practitioners who have worked in the field, many of whom have expressed the need for recordin ....Caring for Asylum Seekers in Australia: Bioethics and Human Rights. Australia's policy of mandatory detention has been criticised at home and abroad. This research will bring together both empirical and reflective material about that policy by those who have seen its effects first hand, which will make an important contribution to national self-definition. The research process itself will bring together practitioners who have worked in the field, many of whom have expressed the need for recording their experiences, and guidelines as to how to practice in the future when human rights issues form a part of clinical practice. As such, the project will contribute to other areas of healthcare where such issues are present, such as indigenous health, mental health, and the care of other vulnerable populations. Read moreRead less
Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance wi ....Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance with Australia's commitment to fostering a multicultural, pluralistic, democratic society. This project will produce practical recommendations for refining public consultation in healthcare policy-making through an examination of three relevant contentious case studies in Australia with comparison to Canada.Read moreRead less
Hamstrung by ethics creep? Investigating human research ethics in practice. This project will benefit national ethics review processes and ethical research practice. It will provide the community, funding bodies, researchers, participants and ethics committee members with confidence in both the ethics review process and day-to-day practice of health research. As health research becomes increasingly complex, it is vital that the conceptual bases used in ethical deliberations and their relationshi ....Hamstrung by ethics creep? Investigating human research ethics in practice. This project will benefit national ethics review processes and ethical research practice. It will provide the community, funding bodies, researchers, participants and ethics committee members with confidence in both the ethics review process and day-to-day practice of health research. As health research becomes increasingly complex, it is vital that the conceptual bases used in ethical deliberations and their relationship to research practice are made explicit. By making known the ways that ethics committee members and health researchers make decisions about research ethics and how this influences the conduct of their practice, we can be assured that health research in the future is being conducted in the most effective and ethical way. Read moreRead less
Just Rules for Incentivizing Pharmaceutical Research and for Disseminating its Benefits. Intelligent reform of the rules for incentivizing pharmaceutical research and for disseminating its benefits can cost-effectively decimate the global disease burden. Australians would benefit directly, through lower drug prices, enhanced pharmaceutical research employment, and improved public health, as well as indirectly, through reduced threats from foreign diseases and better relations with the developing ....Just Rules for Incentivizing Pharmaceutical Research and for Disseminating its Benefits. Intelligent reform of the rules for incentivizing pharmaceutical research and for disseminating its benefits can cost-effectively decimate the global disease burden. Australians would benefit directly, through lower drug prices, enhanced pharmaceutical research employment, and improved public health, as well as indirectly, through reduced threats from foreign diseases and better relations with the developing countries.Read moreRead less
Consent in the void: moral, legal and community values in decisions about human biological donations. This project will improve consent procedures for embryo and organ donation. This will increase the autonomy of those consenting, the quality of consent that is given, and increase public trust in the processes of embryo and organ donation. The legal and moral status of the wishes of the newly dead or embryo donors and will be clarified thereby increasing the quality of consent processes for all ....Consent in the void: moral, legal and community values in decisions about human biological donations. This project will improve consent procedures for embryo and organ donation. This will increase the autonomy of those consenting, the quality of consent that is given, and increase public trust in the processes of embryo and organ donation. The legal and moral status of the wishes of the newly dead or embryo donors and will be clarified thereby increasing the quality of consent processes for all involved. By including community values in addition to the legal and moral issues, this project will make well-founded recommendations for the development of laws, policies and guidelines in relation to decisions about frozen embryos and the newly dead.Read moreRead less