Darwin's lost theory and its implications for the 21st century

This paper reports the reconstruction of the long ignored “second half” or human level completion for Darwin's theory of evolution. Pursuing the striking contradictions between what has been attributed to Darwin by his neo‐Darwinian and sociobiological heirs and what he actually said, in ignored sections of The Descent of Man and Darwin's long unpublished notebooks it uncovers a three‐level theory of the moral agent that foreshadows the emergence of 20th century social science and the late 20th century rise of the fields of systems science and humanistic psychology. Implications for a joint venture of natural science and social science in the completion of the humanistic and action‐oriented theory of evolution called for by the species‐threatening challenges of the 21st century are considered.     

Stem-Cell Spin: Covering the Hwang Affair in Science and Nature

In 2006 the South Korean cloning expert Woo Suk Hwang was found guilty of fraud and scientific misconduct. The scandal reached far beyond Hwang's own laboratory, encompassing national pride, geopolitics and global discussions of stem-cell research. But the Hwang affair was also a case of fierce competition between two of the world's leading scientific journals. Individually, Science and Nature used the Hwang affair and their unique positions to air specific and conflicting agendas resulting in completely different narratives as the scandal unfolded. In Science, where Hwang's fraudulent papers were published, the readers learned about a caring and concerned South Korean research director. Science was true to this narrative over a two-year period until finally, around Christmas 2005, there was no longer any doubt about Hwang's misbehaviour. In Nature, on the other hand, Hwang was, from the very beginning, treated with suspicion and framed as a cynical director of a cloning factory. Media studies of science and technology tend to focus almost exclusively on how this framing process works in the mass media and ignore that this process is already well under way in scientific journals that then feed into mass media news stories. Thus the news coverage of the Hwang affair in Science and Nature demonstrates that these two leading scientific journals frame their news stories in important ways that reflect (and are reproduced by) mass media reporting.     

The Performance of Environmental Science in Research Teams

Scientists' practices rely not only on the discursive production of science but also on routine interactions whereby scientists manage their teams and their publics. The metaphor of the theatre helps explain how researchers perform impressions to different audiences. This metaphor can also help analyse how scientists and researchers cooperate in performance teams in order to manage credibility impressions. How are research teams constructed and maintained? How do team members respond to the challenges of coordinating the team and elaborating a common vision given their differences in aims and understandings? From 2005 to 2007 a scientific team worked together in the city of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to develop land remediation measures for coal waste disposal sites. The team was organised around a common front developed through ongoing negotiation and bargaining. Scientists employed different strategies to maintain the team through the development of the project, such as reciprocity, unanimity and bargaining. To accommodate individual views, the common front emphasised the presentation of results and the process of research over its specific content and impact.     

Modelling the History of Ideas

We propose a new method for the history of ideas that has none of the shortcomings so often ascribed to this approach. We call this method the model approach to the history of ideas. We argue that any adequately developed and implementable method to trace (dis)continuities in the history of human thought, or concept drift, will require that historians use explicit interpretive conceptual frameworks. We call these frameworks models. We argue that models enhance the comprehensibility of historical texts, and provide historians of ideas with a method that, unlike existing approaches, is susceptible neither to common holistic criticisms nor to Skinner's objections that the history of ideas yields arbitrary and biased reconstructions. To illustrate our proposal, we discuss the so-called Classical Model of Science and draw upon work in computer science and cognitive psychology.     

A Meta-Analysis of Ethics Instruction Effectiveness in the Sciences

Scholars have proposed a number of courses and programs intended to improve the ethical behavior of scientists in an attempt to maintain the integrity of the scientific enterprise. In the present study, we conducted a quantitative meta-analysis based on 26 previous ethics program evaluation efforts, and the results showed that the overall effectiveness of ethics instruction was modest. The effects of ethics instruction, however, were related to a number of instructional program factors, such as course content and delivery methods, in addition to factors of the evaluation study itself, such as the field of investigator and criterion measure utilized. An examination of the characteristics contributing to the relative effectiveness of instructional programs revealed that more successful programs were conducted as seminars separate from the standard curricula rather than being embedded in existing courses. Furthermore, more successful programs were case based and interactive, and they allowed participants to learn and practice the application of real-world ethical decision-making skills. The implications of these findings for future course development and evaluation are discussed.     

Compounding Vulnerability: Pregnancy and Schizophrenia

The predominant ethical framework for addressing reproductive decisions in the maternal–fetal relationship is respect for the woman's autonomy. However, when a pregnant schizophrenic woman lacks such autonomy, healthcare providers try to both protect her and respect her preferences. By delineating etic (objective) and emic (subjective) perspectives on vulnerability, I argue that options which balance both perspectives are preferable and that acting on etic perspectives to the exclusion of emic considerations is rarely justified. In negotiating perspectives, we balance the etic commitment to protect the vulnerable patient and her fetus from harm with the emic concern to empower a decisionally incapacitated woman. Equilibrium is best achieved by nurturing interdependent relationships that empower and protect the vulnerable woman. The analysis points to the need for better social support for mentally ill patients.     

Enhancing Adherence to a Problem-Solving Model for Middle-School Pre-Referral Teams

Abstract

Performance feedback and checklists were used to improve the degree to which middle-school teams adhered to elements of systematic problem solving as described in the Instructional Consultation literature (Bartels & Mortenson, 2002; Rosenfield, 1987). Direct observations of problem-solving meetings were conducted to determine levels of adherence to a problem-solving methodology. Performance feedback was provided to each participating school psychologist after a period of no feedback and was followed by the provision of a checklist of problem-solving steps to all team members. Visual analysis of the data indicated variable improvements in systematic problem solving following presentation of feedback and checklists. Feedback and prompts, while necessary, may not be sufficient to ensure adequate adherence to problem solving.     

叙事医学的“对话”图式

叙事医学绝非本在医学之外却于当代被人为强加的异物,它的凸显是医学的自我完善。作为照顾人身体的一门艺术,医学在本质上蕴含着叙事医学和科学医学共同生发的潜质,实际样态则服从于特定历史阶段人们的认识能力和水平。通过揭示在医学真理中科学真理与处境真理的结构性关系以说明叙事医学和科学医学之间的关系实为一个经常性的医学景象。当下叙事医学成为“显学”具有必然性,它是对科学医学“独语”现象的反动,促使将二者关系重构为一种富有活性的“对话”关系,科学医学在拒斥寻求优越性之诱惑中与叙事医学相互融通,医生在这个历程中亲身实践,也收获鲜活、细腻的叙事体验。     

研究者伦理培训与多角度调查分析对培训优化的思考

通过对新入职的医务人员（医生、护士、药师）进行科研伦理培训和问卷调查研究,分析临床研究实践中暴露的科研伦理问题,并根据培训后考试结果,了解参加临床试验的研究者在进行培训后对伦理审查认知的提升度。同时,分析设置的培训课程所存在的问题,认为常规模式化的培训并不能满足临床研究者的需求。根据培训所应侧重的内容及方式,对培训内容、培训频率、培训人员角色、培训方式、培训师资、培训管理进行优化,使参加临床试验研究者的伦理认知态度得到显著提升,为落实临床研究者伦理素养的培训的培育需求,提供参考。

     

医学资本的诱惑:SCI问题并非SCI问题

如何看待SCI论文热及其对我国科研工作的影响, 已成为我国医学与教育界普遍关注的问题。SCI论文是我国科研与国际接轨的重要环节, 是科研创新的一种正向动力, 然而, 将SCI指标绝对化、标准化的导向, 则是使SCI问题化的根源所在。实际上, SCI问题的关键已不在SCI本身, 其背后则是深深的伦理问题。因此, 不能仅以SCI论文数量评价科学水平, 而应该建立更科学的评价标准体系, 同时要更多关注我国科学研究的发展方向, 在当今资本利益的驱动下, 遵从伦理道德应是科学家回归人性的最终底线。