Moral philosophy and public policy: the case of NRTs

In this paper, I will express some reservations about the usefulness of moral philosophy for the analysis of public policy issues.... My question is whether taking morality seriously requires taking moral philosophy seriously. This paper focuses on one particular public policy context -- namely, government commissions into new reproductive technologies, such as Britain's Warnock Committee, Australia's Waller and Michael Committees, Canada's Baird Commission, and many others.... Moral philosophers are sometimes asked to participate in these commissions, either as Commissioners, staff, or expert advisers. How can moral philosophers contribute to the analysis of public policy recommendations on NRTs? A survey of the literature suggests that there are two main views on this question, one of which is ambitious, the other more modest. The ambitious view says that moral philosophers should attempt to persuade Commissioners to adopt the right comprehensive moral theory (e.g. adopt a deontological theory, rather than utilitarianism or contractarianism), and then apply this theory to particular policy questions. The more modest view shies away from promoting a particular moral theory, given that the relative merits of different moral theories are a subject of dispute even amongst moral philosophers. Instead, it says that moral philosophers should attempt to ensure that the Commission's arguments are clear and consistent. On this view, philosophers should focus on identifying conceptual confusions or logical inconsistencies within the Commission's arguments without seeking to influence its choice of the underlying theory.     

Review article: Race/ethnic studies: The New Zealand case

Terrence Loomis, PACIFIC MIGRANT LABOUR, CLASS AND RACISM IN NEW ZEALAND, Aldershot: Avebury, 1990, xx + 235 pp., £29.50

Richard Mulgan, MAORI, PAKEHA AND DEMOCRACY, Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1989, viii + 159 pp., £12.95

David Pearson, A DREAM DEFERRED: THE ORIGINS OF ETHNIC CONFLICT IN NEW ZEALAND, Wellington: Allen & Unwin, 1990, ix + 301 pp., NZ $29.95

Paul Spoonley, RACISM AND ETHNICITY, Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1988, xiv + 138 pp., NZ $16.95.     

Making endangered species safe: the case of the kokako of North Island, New Zealand

The theory of population regulation predicts that threatened species are safest at high population numbers, partly because density-dependent compensatory mechanisms counteract unpredictable disturbances. We illustrate this principle using data from the endemic kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) populations in the North Island, New Zealand. First we calculate the fledging rate per female (production) necessary to stabilise the population and thereby the residual numbers of nest predators, namely ship rats and possums, which have to be achieved to reach this production. Both predator species must be reduced to low densities to exceed this threshold production. At these low predator densities kokako numbers increase rapidly, and we predict that the population will at some stage experience density-dependent negative feedback producing a declining rate of increase. We review evidence for such feedback at Mapara. More research is required to verify and understand these density-dependent causes of loss at high density, particularly the role of territoriality and intra-specific and inter-specific competition, and to generalise across species. In addition to the increased resilience of a threatened species when at high numbers, the degree of predator removal can be relaxed. Consequently, the cost of management will also decline.     

Genomics in the public domain: strategy and policy

The public domain has been conspicuous in media accounts of public and private sector initiatives to complete the sequence of the human genome. The issue of whether the human genome will be freely available to the public or privately held as a proprietary resource has captured the attention of the scientific, trade and popular press, the financial markets, and even heads of state. Although some media commentary has framed the issue as a conflict between ethics and greed, strategic considerations go a long way towards explaining the timing and quality of information disclosures on both sides of the public-private divide.     

The ethics of public policy RCTs: The principle of policy equipoise

In this article, I ask whether a principle analogous to the principle of clinical equipoise should govern the design and conduct of RCTs evaluating the effectiveness of policy interventions. I answer this question affirmatively, and introduce and defend the principle of policy equipoise. According to this principle, all arms of a policy RCT must be, at minimum, in a state of equipoise with the best proven policy that is also morally and practically attainable and sustainable. For all arms of a policy RCT, policy experts must either (1) reasonably disagree about whether the trial arms are more effective than this policy, or (2) know that they are.     

The rights of children: public policy statement

Children, who are vulnerable at the start of existence, are a concern shared by nations and cultures. The importance of children's conditions has led 192 out of 194 countries to ratify the UN General Assembly's Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United States has not yet ratified the convention, despite having exercised influence on the drafting of its provisions. Given the global importance of nurturing and protecting children, the Society for Medical Anthropology strongly and emphatically supports that the convention be ratified, and that the U.S. government submit the convention for approval by the U.S. Senate.     

Habitat heterogeneity drives the geographical distribution of beta diversity: the case of New Zealand stream invertebrates

To define whether the beta diversity of stream invertebrate communities in New Zealand exhibits geographical variation unexplained by variation in gamma diversity and, if so, what mechanisms (productivity, habitat heterogeneity, dispersal limitation, disturbance) best explain the observed broad‐scale beta diversity patterns. We sampled 120 streams across eight regions (stream catchments), spanning a north–south gradient of 12° of latitude, and calculated beta diversity (with both species richness and abundance data) for each region. We explored through a null model if beta diversity deviates from the expectation of stochastic assembly processes and whether the magnitude of the deviation varies geographically. We then performed multimodel inference analysis on the key environmental drivers of beta diversity, using Akaike's information criterion and model and predictor weights to select the best model(s) explaining beta diversity. Beta diversity was, unexpectedly, highest in the South Island. The null model analysis revealed that beta diversity was greater than expected by chance in all eight regions, but the magnitude of beta deviation was higher in the South Island, suggesting differences in environmental filtering and/or dispersal limitation between North and South Island. Habitat heterogeneity was the predominant driver of beta diversity of stream macroinvertebrates, with productivity having a secondary, and negative, contribution. This is one of the first studies accounting for stochastic effects while examining the ecological drivers of beta diversity. Our results suggest that local environmental heterogeneity may be the strongest determinant of beta diversity of stream invertebrates, more so than regional‐ or landscape‐scale variables.     

Estimation of effective vaccination rate: pertussis in New Zealand as a case study

In some cases vaccination is unreliable. For example vaccination against pertussis has comparatively high level of primary and secondary failures. To evaluate efficiency of vaccination we introduce the idea of effective vaccination rate and suggest an approach to estimate it. We consider pertussis in New Zealand as a case study. The results indicate that the level of immunity failure for pertussis is considerably higher than was anticipated.     

Estimating the organic carbon stabilisation capacity and saturation deficit of soils: a New Zealand case study

The capacity of a soil to sequester organic carbon can, in theory, be estimated as the difference between the existing soil organic C (SOC) concentration and the SOC saturation value. The C saturation concept assumes that each soil has a maximum SOC storage capacity, which is primarily determined by the characteristics of the fine mineral fraction (i.e. <20 µm clay + fine silt fraction). Previous studies have focussed on the mass of fine fractions as a predictor of soil C stabilisation capacity. Our objective was to compare single- and multi-variable statistical approaches for estimating the upper limit of C stabilisation based on measureable properties of the fine mineral fraction [e.g. fine fraction mass and surface area (SA), aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), pH] using data from New Zealand’s National Soils Database. Total SOC ranged from 0.65 to 138 mg C g^?1, median values being 44.4 mg C g^?1 at 0–15 cm depth and 20.5 mg C g^?1 at 15–30 cm depth. Results showed that SA of mineral particles was more closely correlated with the SOC content of the fine fraction than was the mass proportion of the fine fraction, indicating that it provided a much better basis for estimating SOC stabilisation capacity. The maximum C loading rate (mg C m^?2) for both Allophanic and non-Allophanic soils was best described by a log/log relationship between specific SA and the SOC content of the fine fraction. A multi-variate regression that included extractable Al and soil pH along with SA provided the “best fit” model for predicting SOC stabilisation. The potential to store additional SOC (i.e. saturation deficit) was estimated from this multivariate equation as the difference between the median and 90th percentile SOC content of each soil. There was strong evidence from the predicted saturation deficit values and their associated 95 % confidence limits that nearly all soils had a saturation deficit >0. The median saturation deficit for both Allophanic and non-Allophanic soils was 12 mg C g^?1 at 0–15 cm depth and 15 mg C g^?1 at 15–30 cm depths. Improving predictions of the saturation deficit of soils may be important to developing and deploying effective SOC sequestration strategies.     

Potential effects of climate change on biological control systems: case studies from New Zealand

Biological control systems are integral to New Zealand’s success as a nation reliant on exporting quality agricultural, forestry and horticultural products. The likely impacts of climate change projections to 2090 on one weed and four invertebrate management systems in differing production sectors were investigated, and it was concluded that most natural enemies will track the changing distributions of their hosts. The key climate change challenges identified were: disparities in natural enemy capability to change distribution, lack of frosts leading to emergence of new pests and additional pest generations, non-target impacts from range and temperature changes, increased disruptions caused by extreme weather events, disruption of host-natural enemy synchrony, and insufficient genetic diversity to allow evolutionary adaptation. Five classical biological control systems based on the introduced species Longitarsus jacobaeae, Cotesia kazak, Aphelinus mali, Microctonus aethiopoides and Microctonus hyperodae are discussed in more detail.     

Debating ethics and public policy: the Nuffield Council on Bioethics

Concerns about bioethical issues raised by scientific developments in genetics are a common feature of both public and policy debates in the UK. This article sets out how one such body, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, contributes to public and policy debates, and provides information about similar bodies in the UK and around the world.     

Cultivating participatory policy processes for genetic resources policy: lessons from the Genetic Resources Policy Initiative (GRPI) project

The purpose of the paper is to draw lessons and document experiences from the Genetic Resources Policy Initiative (GRPI) project, a project which has been underway in six countries and two sub-regions during the last 5 years. Its focus has been to experiment an approach to participatory policy processes, coined by the project, called the multi-stakeholder, multi-disciplinary and multi-sector or in short the 3M. This approach, which was demand-driven due to the nature of the policy problems being examined, aims to create a platform to address competing interests inherent in genetic resources issues from multiple perspectives. It is meant to enable different stakeholders to balance issues they diverge and/or converge upon in genetic resources management, thereby harmonizing trade-offs, objectives and strategies. Experiences from the project in applying the 3M in Egypt, Nepal, Vietnam Peru and Zambia highlight several lessons in participatory policy processes. The experiences show that the success or otherwise of participatory policy making processes is dependent on various factors that have to do with stakeholder capacities, process orientation, shared understanding versus vested interests and institutional functions. They highlight that the most effective approach to stakeholder engagement in policy processes is to construct them around an actively engaged ‘process leader’ that possesses, or has the potential to champion the process by mobilising the required cognitive knowledge and institutional engagement. They further suggest that since genetic resources policy issues are cross-cutting, they will demand a more holistic approach with a clear identification of impact pathways through which policy changes can be expected to influence the outcome variables. Since policy making processes are perpetual, the question of sustaining project ideas and recommendations beyond the life of a project has to be part of the planning exercise in any participatory genetic resources policy research and formulation.