How do we know what works: ethics and evidence in surgical research. This project will make surgery safer for patients by improving our understanding of evidence in surgery. We will look at the question "what works" in surgery. The resources we develop will help practitioners and regulators to better navigate and manage the complex ethical and practical challenges in this field.
Involving children in social research: balancing the risks and benefits. There is a growing consensus that children's involvement in social research is important, but considerable uncertainty remains around children's inclusion in research on 'sensitive' issues, reflecting concerns about how to balance children's protection with their participation. Key to this are deeply embedded assumptions and beliefs about children and childhood, especially concerning notions of capacity, agency, vulnerabili ....Involving children in social research: balancing the risks and benefits. There is a growing consensus that children's involvement in social research is important, but considerable uncertainty remains around children's inclusion in research on 'sensitive' issues, reflecting concerns about how to balance children's protection with their participation. Key to this are deeply embedded assumptions and beliefs about children and childhood, especially concerning notions of capacity, agency, vulnerability, dependency and the like. This project aims to better understand and address the tensions between the protection of children and their participation in research, and to explore how ethics committees, parents, other gatekeepers and children themselves manage and navigate these tensions.Read moreRead less
Information Provision and the Valuation of Social Issues. Societies are more than the sum of the transactions in which people engage. Understanding the tradeoffs that people make between social attributes embedded within products and the functional components of those products are critical if we are to value fully the consumption of the society. In particular, to the extent that the social component of consumption is undervalued or biased because of a lack of understanding of what is being pur ....Information Provision and the Valuation of Social Issues. Societies are more than the sum of the transactions in which people engage. Understanding the tradeoffs that people make between social attributes embedded within products and the functional components of those products are critical if we are to value fully the consumption of the society. In particular, to the extent that the social component of consumption is undervalued or biased because of a lack of understanding of what is being purchased, the society will be allocating its consumption dollar in a manner that is both economically and socially inefficient.Read moreRead less
Making Ethics Work: A New Model for Business and Professional Ethics. Sound ethical practice is fundamental to long-term business success and organizational well-being. In developing a new framework for applied ethics, this project will enhance understanding of the foundations of ethics in business, organizational and professional contexts, as well as enabling improved ethical practice in those domains. As such, it will assist in strengthening Australia's social and cultural fabric, in promoting ....Making Ethics Work: A New Model for Business and Professional Ethics. Sound ethical practice is fundamental to long-term business success and organizational well-being. In developing a new framework for applied ethics, this project will enhance understanding of the foundations of ethics in business, organizational and professional contexts, as well as enabling improved ethical practice in those domains. As such, it will assist in strengthening Australia's social and cultural fabric, in promoting the conditions that facilitate innovation and creativity, in developing leadership capacities and organisational structures, and in supporting Australian business and industry through promoting greater ethical awareness and expertise.Read moreRead less
Everyday Incivilities. The study aims to provide the best available evidence on the seriousness of everyday incivilities between strangers in public places as a social problem in Australian society. This will involve gathering self-report data from socially diverse Australians for the purpose of exploring social group differences in (i) the type and prevalence of everyday incivilities experienced, and (ii) the social and psychological costs of exposure to everyday incivilities. The information ....Everyday Incivilities. The study aims to provide the best available evidence on the seriousness of everyday incivilities between strangers in public places as a social problem in Australian society. This will involve gathering self-report data from socially diverse Australians for the purpose of exploring social group differences in (i) the type and prevalence of everyday incivilities experienced, and (ii) the social and psychological costs of exposure to everyday incivilities. The information gathered will be used to identify high risk social groups and public places, and serve as a basis for developing programs for reducing everyday incivilities.Read moreRead less
Support or sales? Medical device representatives in Australian hospitals. Medical device representatives provide crucial support to clinicians using complex medical equipment. However, their obligation to maximise sales conflicts with their support role. Increasing uptake of devices potentially impacts patient safety and healthcare costs, making it important to understand the involvement and influence of device representatives. The proposed research will investigate the ethical and legal impacts ....Support or sales? Medical device representatives in Australian hospitals. Medical device representatives provide crucial support to clinicians using complex medical equipment. However, their obligation to maximise sales conflicts with their support role. Increasing uptake of devices potentially impacts patient safety and healthcare costs, making it important to understand the involvement and influence of device representatives. The proposed research will investigate the ethical and legal impacts of device representatives in Australian hospitals, leading to new knowledge and innovative ethical and legal analyses of their activities. Benefits include a policy framework, new standards for managing device representatives’ interactions, and clarity about ethical and legal obligations of clinicians and institutions.Read moreRead less
Intergenerational Justice. The project aims to overcome a major deficiency in philosophical approaches to justice by developing a comprehensive theory about our rights and responsibilities in respect to people who are differently situated in time or in their stage of life. The theory will explain a) why we have responsibilities in respect to future and past people and what these duties are; b) how people in different age groups ought to treat each other; c) what responsibilities belong to genera ....Intergenerational Justice. The project aims to overcome a major deficiency in philosophical approaches to justice by developing a comprehensive theory about our rights and responsibilities in respect to people who are differently situated in time or in their stage of life. The theory will explain a) why we have responsibilities in respect to future and past people and what these duties are; b) how people in different age groups ought to treat each other; c) what responsibilities belong to generational roles (such as ?parent? or ?child?); and d) how all of these duties fit into a more general theory of justice.Read moreRead less
The Morality of Cooperation and Concern. The ethical issues of the greatest ongoing importance to the Australian community concern the conflicts between the interests of individuals and those of society. This project tackles those issues at a fundamental level. Its practical applications are of pressing importance to policy and public debate. It offers guidance to the many Australians whose work involves reflection on ethical principles - such as ethics committee members. It will contribute to t ....The Morality of Cooperation and Concern. The ethical issues of the greatest ongoing importance to the Australian community concern the conflicts between the interests of individuals and those of society. This project tackles those issues at a fundamental level. Its practical applications are of pressing importance to policy and public debate. It offers guidance to the many Australians whose work involves reflection on ethical principles - such as ethics committee members. It will contribute to the international profile of Australian moral philosophy, while broadening the knowledge base of the discipline in this country. And it will add to Australia's reputation as a country that takes ethics seriously.Read moreRead less
Structured Moral Pluralism. The Australian intellectual scene is characterized by intensely lively ethical debate, and a very high international reputation for the quality of its moral philosophy. This project will add significantly to the breadth of theoretical ethics in this country, by developing in detail an approach that has not previously been strongly represented. It offers a new approach to thinking about the foundations of ethics and reasoning from those foundations. Its practical appli ....Structured Moral Pluralism. The Australian intellectual scene is characterized by intensely lively ethical debate, and a very high international reputation for the quality of its moral philosophy. This project will add significantly to the breadth of theoretical ethics in this country, by developing in detail an approach that has not previously been strongly represented. It offers a new approach to thinking about the foundations of ethics and reasoning from those foundations. Its practical applications are of pressing importance to policy and public debate. It also offers guidance to the many Australians whose work involves applying ethical principles, such as ethics committee members. Read moreRead less
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