The Role of Convictions and Trust for Public Protest Potential in the Case of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS)

For the public to accept new technologies, trust and convictions play an important role. In the present research, we used structural equation modeling to examine an extensive causal model of the role of convictions and trust for the public's protest potential against carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) among a large sample of the general population (N = 769). Trust, convictions, perceived benefits, and risks were included in the model. Our model fitted the data well. Convictions regarding emission reduction, decentralization of energy production, and tampering with natural structures in the deep subsurface influenced the perception of benefits and risks. Trust, in contrast, was barely influential. Perceived benefits were more prominent for public protest potential than perceived risks. However, perceived benefits did not dominate perceived risks as much as earlier studies found for acceptance. We argue that trust can become fully effective as a determinant of perceived risks and benefits only when the public perceives the distinct positioning of the stakeholders involved. Until then, laypeople are likely to draw on their own convictions and intuitive mental concepts for making decisions about accepting a new technology or protesting it.     

The Interaction of Economic Rewards and Moral Convictions in Predicting Attitudes toward Resource Use

When people are morally convicted regarding a specific issue, these convictions exert a powerful influence on their attitudes and behavior. In the current research we examined whether there are boundary conditions to the influence of this effect. Specifically, whether in the context of salient economic rewards, moral convictions may become weaker predictors of attitudes regarding resource use. Focusing on the issue of mining we gathered large-scale samples across three different continents (Australia, Chile, and China). We found that moral convictions against mining were related to a reduced acceptance of mining in each country, while perceived economic rewards from mining increased acceptance. These two motivations interacted, however, such that when perceived economic benefit from mining was high, the influence of moral conviction was weaker. The results highlight the importance of understanding the roles of both moral conviction and financial gain in motivating attitudes towards resource use.     

Dignity,conscience and religious pluralism in healthcare: An argument for a presumption in favour of respect for religious belief

Religious pluralism in healthcare means that conflicts regarding appropriate treatment can occur because of convictions of patients and healthcare workers alike. This contribution argues for a presumption in favour of respect for religious belief on the basis that such convictions are judgements of conscience, and respect for conscience is core to what it means to respect human dignity. The human person is a subject in relation to all that is. Human dignity refers to the worth of human persons as members of the species with capacities of reason and free choice that enable the realisation of dignity as self-worth through morally good behaviour. Conscience is both a feature of inherent dignity and necessary for acquiring dignity as self-worth. Conscience enables a person to identify objective values and disvalues for human flourishing, the rational capacity to reason about the relative importance of these values and the right way to achieve them and the judgement of the good end and the right means. Human persons are bound to follow their conscience because this is their subjective relationship to objective truth. Religious convictions are decisions of conscience because they are subjective judgements about objective truth. The presumption of respect for religious belief is limited by the normative dimension of human dignity such that a person's beliefs may be overridden if they objectively violate inherent dignity or morally legitimate acquired dignity.     

Multiple Forensic Interviews During Investigations of Child Sexual Abuse: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

In suspected child sexual abuse some professionals recommend multiple child interviews to increase the likelihood of disclosure or more details to improve decision-making and increase convictions. We modeled the yield of a policy of routinely conducting multiple child interviews and increased convictions. Our decision tree reflected the path of a case through the health care, welfare, and legal systems and estimated the increased probability of conviction with additional interviews. We populated our decision analysis model using literature-based estimates. We simulated the experiences of 1,000 cases at 250 sets of plausible parameter values representing different hypothetical communities. Multiple interviews increase by 6.1% the likelihood that an offender will be convicted in the average community. We estimate that one additional conviction will follow if 17 additional children are multiple interviewed. Implications for the children, costs of care, protection of other children, and the risk of false prosecution are discussed.     

Moral Convictions and Culling Animals: A Survey in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT

In this paper the results are presented of a national survey in the Netherlands. The aim was to identify and describe the convictions about animals that people have in Dutch society and the role of these in judgments on the culling of healthy animals during an animal disease epidemic. A total of 1,999 responses was received and two groups of respondents were distinguished: A profile (50% of the respondents) and B profile (28%). The A profile respondents considered humans to be superior to animals, whereas the B profile respondents considered both to be equal. Both groups were of the opinion that animals have value, that people have a duty to care for and protect all animals, and that all animals have a right to life. These convictions were based on a number of values, such as animal life, the ability of animals to feel pain and emotions (sentience), and the importance of animal species in the ecosystem. The results of a case study suggest that convictions play a role in judgment. More A respondents agreed with the culling of healthy animals during an animal disease epidemic. More B respondents partly (dis)agreed or disagreed with this. Most respondents (A: 81%, B: 61%) agreed with culling to protect human life. The most important argument against culling was the value of animal life. The A respondents rated all arguments against culling significantly lower than did the B respondents.     

Libertarian bioethics and religion: the case of H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr

This paper is a critique of certain moral perspectives that are found in the second edition of Engelhardt's Foundation of Bioethics. These views are spelled out in explicit detail in his second edition, and follow on the heels of a profound religious conversion. Engelhardt is an eminent bioethicist with strong religious convictions that overlay much of his writing. The author wishes to question some of the conclusions that Engelhardt reaches as they touch upon moral frameworks, pluralism, and a 'secular' bioethics.     

Our changeable memories: legal and practical implications

The malleability of memory is becoming increasingly clear. Many influences can cause memories to change or even be created anew, including our imaginations and the leading questions or different recollections of others. The knowledge that we cannot rely on our memories, however compelling they might be, leads to questions about the validity of criminal convictions that are based largely on the testimony of victims or witnesses. Our scientific understanding of memory should be used to help the legal system to navigate this minefield.     

Forensic DNA Analysis of Pacific Salmonid Samples for Species and Stock Identification

Identification of salmonid tissue samples to species or population of origin has been conducted for over 20 forensic cases in British Columbia. Species identification is based on published sequence variation in exon and intron regions of coding genes. Identification of source populations or regions is carried out using microsatellite and major histocompatibility complex allele frequency data collected from populations throughout the species range and with standard genetic stock identification (GSI) methods. Regional contributions to mixture samples are estimated using maximum likelihood mixture analysis and classification of individual genotypes is carried out with Bayesian methods. DNA has been obtained successfully from salmon scale samples, fresh, frozen and canned tissue samples and bloodstains in clothing. Results from DNA analyses have been instrumental in a number of convictions. A major benefit has been cost savings resulting from the number of guilty pleas entered after disclosure to the defendant of results from genetic testing. In two cases, GSI analysis resulted in exoneration of suspects under investigation for possible illegal sales of Fraser River sockeye salmon by substantiating their claim that the fish originated from the Skeena River watershed. DNA analysis has generally corroborated the species and stock identification carried out by fishery officers, but has revealed that species identification of samples from sources such as restaurants and fish plants can be erroneous. Forensic DNA analysis has facilitated the conviction of those who purchase fish not caught under the authority of licence, thus bringing those who buy fish illegally as well as those involved in illegal harvest and sales within the scope of law enforcement.     

Basis for Physician Recommendations for Adjuvant Radioiodine Therapy in Early-Stage Thyroid Carcinoma: Principal Findings of the Canadian-American Thyroid Cancer Survey

ObjectiveTo explore physician recommendations regarding radioiodine remnant ablation (RRA) as adjuvant treatment in early-stage well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma (WDTC), their rationale for administration of RRA, and their willingness to involve patients’ opinions in decision making about the use of RRA.MethodsWe surveyed a representative sample of specialty physicians in Canada and the United States and asked survey participants whether they would recommend adjuvant RRA after thyroidectomy for a 1.6-cm papillary thyroid carcinoma (Likert scale of agreement responses from 1 to 7; strong agreement ≥ 6). Factor analysis was performed to explore the rationale for recommendations. We asked whether physicians accepted the role of patients’ preferences in decision making about administration of RRA, and backward conditional logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of strong acceptance.ResultsThe effective response rate for the survey was 56.3% (486 of 864), with 62.8% (295 of 470 respondents) strongly recommending RRA. Strong RRA recommendations were founded in opinions that RRA (1) decreases WDTC-related mortality and recurrence and (2) facilitates WDTC follow-up at low risk of adverse effects. Approximately a third of the survey respondents (152 of 474) strongly agreed with incorporation of patients’ preferences in decision making regarding the use of RRA. Physicians without firm convictions about the efficacy of RRA in decreasing disease-related outcomes and those practicing in the United States were most likely to indicate strong support for incorporating patients’ preferences in decision making about RRA.ConclusionThe recommendations of physicians regarding use of adjuvant RRA are founded in beliefs in intervention efficacy and follow-up practices. Physicians in medical practice in the United States and those without strong convictions about RRA efficacy are most likely to incorporate patients’ views in individualizing decisions about RRA therapy. (Endocr Pract. 2008;14:175-184)     

Religious pluralism and the ethics of healthcare

Democratic societies that separate church and state face major challenges in accommodating religious convictions. This applies especially to determining healthcare policies. Building on our prior work on the demands and limits of religious accommodation in democratic societies, we propose a set of ethical standards that can guide societies in meeting this challenge. In applying and defending these standards, we explore three topics: vaccine resistance, abortion, and concerns about rights to healthcare. We clarify these and other issues of religious accommodation and propose ethical standards for approaching these and other problems.     

Second-to-Fourth Digit Ratio and Impulsivity: A Comparison between Offenders and Nonoffenders

Personality characteristics, particularly impulsive tendencies, have long been conceived as the primary culprit in delinquent behavior. One crucial question to emerge from this line of work is whether impulsivity has a biological basis. To test this possibility, 44 male offenders and 46 nonoffenders completed the Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire, and had their 2D∶4D ratio measured. Offenders exhibited smaller right hand digit ratio measurements compared to non-offenders, but higher impulsivity scores. Both impulsivity and 2D∶4D ratio measurements significantly predicted criminality (offenders vs. nonoffenders). Controlling for education level, the 2D∶4D ratio measurements had remained a significant predictor of criminality, while impulsivity scores no longer predicted criminality significantly. Our data, thus, indicates that impulsivity but not 2D∶4D ratio measurements relate to educational attainment. As offenders varied in their number of previous convictions and the nature of their individual crimes, we also tested for differences in 2D∶4D ratio and impulsivity among offenders. Number of previous convictions did not correlate significantly with the 2D∶4D ratio measurements or impulsivity scores. Our study established a link between a biological marker and impulsivity among offenders (and lack thereof among non-offenders), which emphasise the importance of studying the relationship between biological markers, impulsivity and criminal behavior.     

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Violent Crime: A Cohort Study

BackgroundAlthough selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely prescribed, associations with violence are uncertain.ConclusionsThe association between SSRIs and violent crime convictions and violent crime arrests varied by age group. The increased risk we found in young people needs validation in other studies.     

Sex,gender, and difference

Empirical research has demonstrated that women’s aggressive behavior is widespread and displays regularities across societies. Until recently, however, discussions about the aggressive behavior of women and gender differences in aggressive behavior have been based largely on data from nonhuman primates, children, or laboratory experiments. Using a unique corpus of naturalistic data on aggressive human interactions both between and among men and women, I explore the complexity of our questions about sex differences in aggression and further illuminate the ways in which men and women may use aggression in human interactions. In this paper I compare the aggressive behavior of men and women in an Australian Aboriginal community. In doing so I argue for the continuing use of a “sex differences” framework for organizing our understanding of gender relations and gender hierarchy. I believe, however, that this form of analysis benefits from, if not requires, a sensitivity to the most taken-for-granted aspects of our gender ideology and a commitment to attend to evidence that challenges our convictions about men and women.     

The Dynamics of Clothing Changes,an Aspect of the Subculture after the USSR’s Collapse

Some informal youth associations ceased to exist with the collapse of the USSR, but others continue to operate to this day, although the moral convictions of members have changed and modernized. This article describes the types, features and differences of some modern Russian subcultures as well as subcultures of the Soviet era. The author explores the process of transformation of traditional ideas about the place of a young person in society, as well as gender relations and functions of an individual in the youth environment. Also analyzed is the active development of a new stage of formation and development of criminal subculture in Russia, which belongs within the parameter of a “classical” criminal subculture. Having considered youth subcultures, the author identifies styles that have become constant.     

And the helix may set you free

The first application of DNA forensics evidence was carried out by Dr. Alec Jefferies in 1983, in a British court case that sought to identify the relationship between an emigrant and her son. Since then, genotyping technology (also known as DNA fingerprinting and genetic profiling) has been developed and applied to identifying individuals for a wide variety of purposes including exonerating convicts. Faulty forensic evidence is a common cause of wrongful convictions. And once convicted, access to the forensic evidence remains a clear barrier to possible exoneration. In fact, it is DNA exoneration that is driving state legislators to address some of the apparent legislative flaws that govern forensic evidence testing in the U.S.     

At the limits of the human: reading Postraciality from Palestine

ABSTRACT

Drawing from David Goldberg’s attentiveness to racism and ‘postraciality’, I read the role of racial violence and terror in the making of Palestine and the Palestinians. The paper shows how Goldberg’s book unsettles racialized convictions of postraciality, and deconstructs the uncompromising global narrative of race. Following Goldberg’s analysis, this paper challenges racialized Zionist ideologies by considering how we might understand the marking of Palestinian homes, bodies, and lives that have become sites of racialized incarceration and brutality through the process of Israeli settler colonialism. I suggest that there is a need to pay close attention to mundane, everyday modes of suffering in order to understand the postraciality of racial suffering in the context of Palestine. I explore how the equation of Palestinians with non-humans requires them either to disappear or submit to racialized exercises of power. These questions allow us to critically analyze postraciality in the context of those living at the limits of humanity.     

Dead children from problem families in NE Wiltshire.

Analysis of 147 families in NE Wiltshire known to have suffered child neglect or abuse over two generations showed than in 21 years 560 children had been born. Of these, 513 were known to have been neglected or assaulted or both; 41 out of 560 had died. Only three deaths led to criminal convictions. Detailed collated confidential information indicated that parental behaviour towards the dead children, in particular those aged from 5 weeks to 1 year, had often caused or contributed to their deaths, including some claimed to be clear-cut cases of accident or illness.     

Modelling food web complexity: The consequences of individual-based, spatially explicit behavioural ecology on trophic interactions

We present a prototype simulator that enables one to explore the influence of individual behaviour on the dynamics and structural complexity of food webs. In the simulations, individuals act according to simple, biologically plausible rules in a spatially explicit setting. We present the results of a series of simulation experiments on artificial, tri-trophic level food chains used to calibrate the simulator against real-world systems and to demonstrate the simulators promise for ecological modelling. Our primary objective was to discover the biological features leading to stability of artificial food chains over ecological time and under different conditions of trophic efficiency. This involved a qualitative analysis of food chains comprised of a plant, a herbivore and a carnivore species. We explored the consequences of allowing individual heterotrophs to make active choices about resource selection (perception and intentional behaviour) under high and low degrees of trophic efficiency. We found that individuals had to adopt realistic behavioural ecological strategies, such as active resource selection, for systems to persist, especially under conditions in which trophic efficiencies were of the magnitude observed in real systems (e.g. 10%). Our results reaffirm previous convictions that a better understanding of food web interactions in real-world systems will require approaches that blend animal behavioural ecology with population and community ecology. However, the evidence comes from a new mathematical perspective.     

Bioethics for clinicians: 11. Euthanasia and assisted suicide

Euthanasia and assisted suicide involve taking deliberate action to end or assist in ending the life of another person on compassionate grounds. There is considerable disagreement about the acceptability of these acts and about whether they are ethically distinct from decisions to forgo life-sustaining treatment. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are punishable offences under Canadian criminal law, despite increasing public pressure for a more permissive policy. Some Canadian physicians would be willing to practise euthanasia and assisted suicide if these acts were legal. In practice, physicians must differentiate between respecting competent decisions to forgo treatment, providing appropriate palliative care, and acceeding to a request for euthanasia or assisted suicide. Physicians who believe that euthanasia and assisted suicide should be legally accepted in Canada should pursue their convictions only through legal and democratic means.