Transcultural discussion in bioethics drawn from research experience in China: building up a theoretical and methodological framework for further research cooperation

My article discusses bioethics in transcultural context and builds on an experience of conducting research in China in partnership with Chinese scholars and institutions. Key points are about the creation of ethical committees and their prerogatives, the regulation of experimenting in human and animal, and of donating and transplanting organs. Ethical issues are approached according to an anthropological reading. Three transversal lines for further research are suggested: global/local ethical governance applied to research ethics; implications of transnationalizing and delocalizing research practices with regards to governance; theoretical positioning--conceptual pluralism versus pragmatic pluralism--following actual confrontation to transcultural variations in research ethics. Moreover, this work claims for conceptualizing and implementing an ethics in context while assessing intangible (non-relative) principles based on knowledge production and a global patrimony.     

Responding to allegations of scientific misconduct

Institutions in France are not yet well prepared to respond to allegations of scientific misconduct. Following a serious allegation in late 1997. INSERM,* the primary organization for medical and health-related research in France, began to reflect on this subject, aided by scientists and jurists. The conclusions have resulted in establishing a procedure to be followed in cases of alleged misconduct, and also in reinforcing the application of good laboratory practices within each laboratory. Guidelines for authorship practices and scientific assessment must also be considered. Even though each institution must remain responsible for responding to allegations of scientific misconduct within its doors, INSERM would like to see national, European, and international co-ordination about the methods of such response. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (eng. French National Medical Research Institute) is known as INSERM. An earlier version of this paper was presented at a symposium, Scientific Misconduct: An International Perspective, organised by The Medical University of Warsaw, 16 November, 1998.     

The Role of Workers’ Motivational Profiles in Affective and Organizational Factors

We used latent profile analyses to understand how the different forms of motivation proposed by self-determination theory combine with each other and how they relate to some organizational factors (i.e., perceived organizational support and procedural justice) and well-and ill-being indicators (i.e., work engagement, quality of working life, work satisfaction, job anxiety, and burnout). The research draws upon quantitative data collected by means of a questionnaire that was administered to 328 employees (Study 1) and 521 employees (Study 2) from various French companies. Results revealed that workers characterized by the two most autonomous motivational profiles displayed higher levels of work engagement, quality of working life, and work satisfaction, and lower levels of burnout and job anxiety than those with low levels of autonomous motivation, and introjected and external regulations (Low AU/INR/EXR profile), and those with moderate levels of autonomous motivation, moderate to high levels of introjected regulation, and moderate levels of external regulation (Mod AU/INR/EXR profile in Study 1 and Mod AU–High INR–Mod EXR profile in Study 2). Of interest is that the High AU–Low INR/EXR and High AU/INR–Low EXR profiles did not differ on well- and ill-being. In addition, perceived organizational support and procedural justice were associated with a greater probability of belonging to the High AU–Low INR/EXR and High AU/INR–Low EXR profiles, taking the Low AU/INR/EXR profile as a referent. The present research contributes towards a better understanding of the links between workers’ motivational profiles and affective and organizational factors.     

Knowledge of a second language influences auditory word recognition in the native language

Many studies in bilingual visual word recognition have demonstrated that lexical access is not language selective. However, research on bilingual word recognition in the auditory modality has been scarce, and it has yielded mixed results with regard to the degree of this language nonselectivity. In the present study, we investigated whether listening to a second language (L2) is influenced by knowledge of the native language (L1) and, more important, whether listening to the L1 is also influenced by knowledge of an L2. Additionally, we investigated whether the listener's selectivity of lexical access is influenced by the speaker's L1 (and thus his or her accent). With this aim, Dutch-English bilinguals completed an English (Experiment 1) and a Dutch (Experiment 3) auditory lexical decision task. As a control, the English auditory lexical decision task was also completed by English monolinguals (Experiment 2). Targets were pronounced by a native Dutch speaker with English as the L2 (Experiments 1A, 2A, and 3A) or by a native English speaker with Dutch as the L2 (Experiments 1B, 2B, and 3B). In all experiments, Dutch-English bilinguals recognized interlingual homophones (e.g., lief [sweet]-leaf /li:f/) significantly slower than matched control words, whereas the English monolinguals showed no effect. These results indicate that (a) lexical access in bilingual auditory word recognition is not language selective in L2, nor in L1, and (b) language-specific subphonological cues do not annul cross-lingual interactions.     

Lie,truth, lie: the role of task switching in a deception context

A cornerstone of the task switching literature is the finding that task performance is typically slower and more error-prone when the task switches than when it repeats. So far, deception research has largely ignored that such cognitive switch costs should also emerge when switching between truth telling and lying, and may affect the cognitive cost of lying as reflected in higher prefrontal brain activity and slower and less accurate responding compared to truth telling. To get a grasp on the relative size of the switch costs associated with lying and truth telling, the current study had participants perform a reaction time-based deception task, in which they alternated between lying and telling the truth to yes/no questions that were related to activities performed in the lab (Experiment 1) or neutral autobiographical facts (Experiment 2). In both experiments, the error and reaction time switch costs were found to be equally large for switching from truth telling to lying and from lying to truth telling. This symmetry in switch costs can be explained from the hypothesis that lying requires a first step of truth telling, and demonstrates that task switching does not contribute to the cognitive cost of lying when the repetition/switch ratio is balanced. Theoretical and methodological implications are considered.     

Roman digit naming: evidence for a semantic route

Earlier research with monolinguals and bilinguals showed that numbers may be named through both a semantic and a phonological route, depending on the number's language and format (Arabic or verbal), task demands, and naming language. The present study investigated the importance of the semantic route for the processing of a third representation of magnitude, namely Roman digits. Using an interference paradigm, we showed that the processing of Roman target digits is influenced by Arabic digit distractors, both in a naming task and a parity judgment task. Roman digits were processed faster if the target and distractor were of the same magnitude. If this was not the case, processing speed slowed down as the numerical distance between target and distractor increased. This strongly suggests that semantic access is mandatory when naming Roman digits. Implications are discussed for the number processing domain and for models of translation in bilinguals.     

Reproductive Decision-Making in MMR Mutation Carriers After Results Disclosure: Impact of Psychological Status in Childbearing Options

Reproductive techniques such as prenatal diagnosis (PND) or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), although debated, are legally forbidden in France in case of Lynch syndrome. The preference of mutation carriers about their reproductive options is not systematically considered in France. We aimed to prospectively assess the reproductive preferences of mismatch repair mutation carriers consulting in our institution (2003–2010, n?=?100). We also considered the short- and long-term post-disclosure psychological impact using the Impact of Events Scale-Revised questionnaire to measure the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in those patients. Complete data were obtained for 34 respondents (17 males, 17 females, median age of 33.5 years [22–59]). Seventeen respondents (57 %) preferred spontaneous natural conception versus 28 % and 35 % choosing PND and PGD, respectively. At results disclosure, respondents mainly explained their distress by fear of premature death (43 %) and transmitting mutated genes (42 %). One year later, this last fear remained predominant in 55 % of subjects. None of the main socio-demographical, psychological or medical variables (including fear of transmitting mutations) was significantly associated with the reproductive preferences. Results disclosure had a real and time-decreasing psychological impact on mutation carriers. Reproductive techniques, expected to decrease the hereditary risk, were not significantly preferred to natural conception.