Piercing the Veil: Ethical Issues in Ethnographic Research

It is not unusual for researchers in ethnography (and sometimes Institutional Review Boards) to assume that research of “public” behavior is morally unproblematic. I examine an historical case of ethnographic research and the sustained moral outrage to the research expressed by the subjects of that research. I suggest that the moral outrage was legitimate and articulate some of the ethical issues underlying that outrage. I argue that morally problematic Ethnographic research of public behavior can derive from research practice that includes a tendency to collapse the distinction between harm and moral wrong, a failure to take account of recent work on ethical issues in privacy; failure to appreciate the deception involved in ethnographers’ failure to reveal their role as researchers to subjects and finally a failure to appropriately weigh the moral significance of issues of invasion of privacy and inflicted insight in both the research process and subsequent publication of research.

Scientific Self-Regulation—So Good, How Can it Fail?

To be a functional alternative to government regulation, self-regulation of science must be credible to both scientists and the public, accountable, ethical, and effective. According to some, serious problems continue in research ethics in the United States despite a rich history of proposed self-regulatory standards and oversight devices. Successful efforts at self-regulation in stem cell research contrast with unsuccessful efforts in research ethics, particularly conflicts of interest. Part of the cause for a lack of success in self-regulation is fragmented, disconnected oversight, and failure to embody genuine scientific and public consensus. To be accountable, credible and effective, self-regulation must be inclusive and multidisciplinary, publicly engaged, sufficiently disinterested, operationally integrated with institutional goals, and must implement a genuine consensus among scientists and the public. The mechanisms of self-regulation must be sufficiently broad in their oversight, and interconnected with other institutional forces and actors, that they do not create fragmented solutions.

Must an Educated Being Be a Human Being?

This paper argues that an educated being logically does not have to be a human. Philosophers analyzing the concept of education have reached a consensual notion of the matter; but in applying that idea, they have barely discussed whether or not human beings are the only entities that may be educated. Using their notion as the core of a heuristic conception of education, this paper attempts to show that in some contexts it might make sense to predicate education of certain non-human entities. In addition, the paper examines the place of beliefs, reflective intelligence, practical thinking, and feelings in education. It concludes by discussing its implications for educational theory and practice and for the connections between the educated being and personhood and the right to education.

自觉作“研究型”的临床医学家——幽门螺杆菌研究获奖的启迪

沃伦和马歇尔关于发现幽门螺杆菌的出色研究,为临床医师们提供了一个值得学习、借鉴的宝贵案例。他们经历平凡,研究执着;打破教条,挑战权威;面对抵制,甘耐寂寞;争取支持,善于合作……体现了从事临床医学研究所必须具备的学术品质。临床医师们应该以他们为榜样,自觉作“研究型”的临床医学家。     

Conducting clinical research in Polish conditions

This paper comments on Polish legal guarantees for diseased persons with reference to the hazards that accompany experimental treatment. While acknowledging that participation in a clinical research program provides patients with additional opportunities for advanced treatment, the paper also points out that systems for monitoring patients participating in experimental treatment require improvement. This paper was presented at the 6th International Bioethics Conference on the subject of ‘The Responsible Conduct of Basic and Clinical Research’, held in Warsaw, Poland, 3–4 June 2005.     

试论特殊儿童心理学研究的特点与方法

本文在参考国外有关资料及结合自己研究的基础上,提出了特殊儿童心理学研究的一些基本特点,介绍了适合特殊儿童心理学研究的一些方法。同时,对研究中常用的质的研究与单一被试实验研究的方法论问题进行了讨论。     

威廉斯综合症及其研究现状

威廉斯综合症是一种上世纪 60年代才被人类认识的疾病。该病症有特殊的生理、行为和认知异常 ,脑发育伴随着结构和临床异常。本文对国外40年的研究成果进行了总结 ,初步介绍了威廉斯综合症的症状表现、认知特征、行为特征及诊断治疗方面的研究现状 ,最后对该领域的研究提出了展望。     

Innovative Retention Methods in Longitudinal Research: A Case Study of the Developmental Trends Study

Minimizing participant attrition is vital to the success of longitudinal research. The Developmental Trends Study (DTS), a longitudinal study of the development of disruptive behavior disorders, has achieved a low attrition rate throughout the study. The development of early retention strategies, managing contact and scheduling history through the use of electronic databases, interviewer persistence, and the emergence of new electronic search methods have contributed to the success of our study. A literature review of retention methodology and practical solutions to maintain participant cooperation is described. A case study of the DTS is presented to inform researchers in longitudinal research on new methods used to maintain high retention rates.     

Medical Decision-Making: An Argument for Narrative and Metaphor

This study examines the processes ofdecision-making used by intensive care(critical care) specialists. Ninety-ninespecialists completed a questionnaire involvingthree clinical cases, using a novel methodologyinvestigating the role of uncertainty andtemporal-related factors, and exploring a rangeof ethical issues. Validation and triangulationof the results was done via a comparison studywith a medically lay, but highly informed groupof 37 law students. For both study groups,constructing reasons for a decision was largelyan interpretative and imaginative exercise thatwent beyond the data (as presented), commonlyresulting in different reasons supporting thesame conclusions and similar reasons supportingopposite conclusions. The skills of ethicalimagination and interpretation were related toan individual's prior lived experience,construed in the broadest sense. Application ofthese skills of ethical imagination andinterpretation always occurred, to some degree,in a state of uncertainty and almost alwaysinvolved temporal relationships.Using these results, a theory of ethicaldecision-making is proffered. Three levels ortypes of reasoning processes may be present.Type I decision-making involves the applicationof rules, usually in a deductive fashion. TypeII decision-making is characterised by aprocess where a plurality of reasons arebalanced, weighed and sifted with each other.Type III decision-making is intimately linkedwith respondents lived experiences and `crafts'the content of type I and II reasoningprocesses, via the application of ethicalimagination and interpretation. Relationshipsbetween these three types of reasoningprocesses, and with narrative ethics, are alsodiscussed.