scholarly journals Genetic Modification and the Public Good

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (S1) ◽  
pp. S68-S79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Potrykus
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Golden Rice ◽  
The Public ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
The Poor ◽  
European Culture

Genetic engineering (GMO-technology) offers great opportunities to contribute to the public good by improving public health, e.g. by improving the micro-nutrient status of poor populations, cost effectively and – therefore – sustainably. The prime example for such a project from the public domain for public good is ‘Golden Rice’ (www.goldenrice.org). There are exclusive public funds involved (from altruistic organizations), no dependence from industry except for in-kind support and help in acquiring free licenses for humanitarian use. There is no financial reward for anyone involved. The only beneficiaries are the poor in developing countries. Theoretically, when considering the arguments of the anti-GMO lobby, this is an ideal application of GMO-technology. However, Golden Rice is considered a Trojan Horse, which must be prevented under all circumstances. The consequence: millions of avoidable blind and dead children. The author considers those who are responsible for this avoidable suffering of many innocent children (and mothers at childbirth) a crime to humanity. There are those who commit this deliberately and those who are participating passively, such as numerous ‘humanitarian organizations’ and ‘decision makers’ in politics and elsewhere. There is a wealth of scientific information and broad consensus that GMO-technology is at least as safe as any other technology involved in any context with our food or our environment. What we experience here is an example of ‘unreason’ and a perfect example in the context of The March of Unreason. Our ‘enlightenment’ and science-based successful European culture is on the verge of being replaced by unreason-based failure and lack of culture.

scholarly journals Teaching Science in Today’s Society: The Case of Particle Physics for Primary Schools

Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
Cristina Lazzeroni ◽  
Sandra Malvezzi ◽  
Andrea Quadri
Keyword(s):  
Particle Physics ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ongoing Project

The rapid changes in science and technology witnessed in recent decades have significantly contributed to the arousal of the awareness by decision-makers and the public as a whole of the need to strengthen the connection between outreach activities of universities and research institutes and the activities of educational institutions, with a central role played by schools. While the relevance of the problem is nowadays unquestioned, no unique and fully satisfactory solution has been identified. In the present paper we would like to contribute to the discussion on the subject by reporting on an ongoing project aimed to teach Particle Physics in primary schools. We will start from the past and currently planned activities in this project in order to establish a broader framework to describe the conditions for the fruitful interplay between researchers and teachers. We will also emphasize some aspects related to the dissemination of outreach materials by research institutions, in order to promote the access and distribution of scientific information in a way suited to the different age of the target students.

Theoretical and trustees’ perspectives on the establishment of an Islamic social (Waqf) bank

Humanomics ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Tahir Sabit Haji Mohammad
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Given ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
International Social ◽  
Specific Country

Purpose – This paper aims to present an alternative to current banking systems. The purpose of the paper is the optimisation of the concept of cash waqf and its management in the framework of a waqf bank and its viability. Design/methodology/approach – The study is doctrinal and empirical. Several assumptions concerning the structure and operation of the bank are made, surveyed and descriptively analysed. Findings – The concept of cash waqf could be used for the operation of a waqf bank. There was a tendency among the given group of practitioners towards a corporate international social bank, capitalised by the waqf and non-waqf assets, sought after from the public and private sectors, as well as the Muslims and non-Muslims. Research limitations/implications – Assumptions are basic. Empirical findings are based on the perspective of waqf trustees. Other stakeholders’ perspectives need further research. Practical implications – The study is expected to persuade for, and assist in the establishment of a waqf bank. Social implications – This paper could contribute to the effectiveness of waqf institutions in their delivery of public good to the poor and society. These implications are not restricted to a specific country. Charities and the poor of any society may benefit from this study if the idea of total social banking is upheld. Originality/value – This study is the first to address the structure and operation of a waqf bank empirically.

Open sesame: Analysing Public Library of Science as a site of production and distribution for open access scientific information and knowledge

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-238
Author(s):  
Scott S.D. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Biological Information ◽  
Social Production ◽  
The Public ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
A Site

This article explores the Public Library of Science as a site that produces and disseminates open access scientific information and knowledge for the public good. Through this case study, issues of property ownership, the nature and political economy of biological information, scientific expertise and accessibility of information and scientific knowledge as a public good are considered. Drawing on a cultural industries perspective, I examine the various intermediaries and institutional arrangements that continue to impact and shape the production and dissemination of this open access knowledge. I suggest that Public Library of Science embodies a new mode for the social production of scholarly knowledge and its dissemination, with important implications for how scientific knowledge and expertise are created, certified and circulated.

Aligning Expectation and Reality: A Summary of Dispersant Risk Communication Issues

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 585-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra K. Scholz ◽  
Ann Hayward Walker ◽  
Janet H. Kucklick ◽  
Robert G. Pond
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Common Framework ◽  
Solid Foundation ◽  
Good Risk

ABSTRACT The potential and perceived environmental risks associated with dispersant use have been addressed by many scientific studies costing millions of dollars and tens of thousands of research hours. Nevertheless, decision makers still have many diverse and contradictory viewpoints, which can impede their ability to evaluate and reach consensus on the actual risks associated with this countermeasure. In an attempt to resolve the problem in a different way, a new approach was formulated, based on the following hypothesis: The inability to create a solid foundation for dispersant decision support is based not only on limitations to scientific information, but also on the wide differences in the way people understand and interpret this information. In other words, a critical aspect of improved decision making for dispersants is related to good risk communication, not more natural science studies. In 1994, industry initiated a research project to test this hypothesis and define the critical risk communication factors for dispersant decision making. This paper presents a summary of the identified dispersant risk communication issues. Building upon previous papers which described the project methodology and analytical results, this paper presents the risk communication messages which need to be shared with decision makers and the public. This information promotes a technically sound, clear, and common framework for evaluating the ecological risks associated with dispersant use in marine waters.

scholarly journals AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING A PRO BONO CULTURE AMONG LEGAL PRACTITIONERS IN NIGERIA

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Ifeanyi Nnadi Henry, Esq. ◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Equal Access ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Pro Bono ◽  
Administrative Framework

Pro bono legal services are professional services rendered by lawyers or other legal experts1 to indigent and disadvantaged litigants in the society for the public good id est, in order to promote a just and equitable society. It is a subset of the principle of equal access to justice and is based on the assumption that the poor requires but cannot access justice because they lack the financial means. Using the doctrinal approach, this discourse assesses the existing legal and administrative framework for pro bono engagement by lawyers in Nigeria with a view to identifying areas of improvement. Having identified possible areas of improvement, recommendations are proffered on legislative and administrative measures towards improving the level of engagement in pro bono legal services by legal practitioners in the country.

scholarly journals Eliciting mental models to understand how different individuals affected by disaster risk understand science, and scientific uncertainty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Hudson-Doyle ◽  
Sara Harrison ◽  
Stephen Hill ◽  
Matt Williams ◽  
Douglas Paton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
The Public ◽  
Emergency Managers ◽  
Hazard Response ◽  
Emergency Decision ◽  
Time Frames

<p>Communicating the uncertainty associated with forecasts is crucial to effective crisis response management, but it is particularly challenging when time frames are too short to articulate the complexities of the information. However, not communicating uncertainties is problematic. For technical experts, interdependencies amongst event characteristics over time creates evolving uncertainties that may eclipse those associated with modelled outcomes. For the public and emergency decision-makers, the lack of uncertainty awareness may result in future alternative courses of action not being identified and assessed, reducing the efficacy of decisions and action plans. Furthermore, revealing uncertainty can both increase or decrease the credibility and trustworthiness of the communicator.  Some individuals will devalue a message when uncertainty is communicated, while others may devalue the message when they expect uncertainty and it has <em>not</em> been communicated. If we are to develop effective ways to communicate uncertainty in a crisis, research needs to understand the reasons for these differences. </p><p>Key influences include how perceptions of science, its uncertainty, and the scientific process, act as a lens through which scientific information is interpreted. This lens can warp communicated information, particularly when uncertainty is high: during a crisis, people may not take appropriate safety actions based upon scientific advice if the message contradicts or fails to accommodate, their existing perceptions of the science. Forecasts, warnings, and other communication products must address these existing perceptions if they are to be effective. These perceptions are represented in people’s mental models of how they think the world works, including their model of scientific processes, motivations, beliefs, and values, which vary across disciplines and organizations due to epistemic differences. We will report on the initial findings from a study that  a) identifies the appropriate methodology to elicit mental models of science in the public and professional populations, and b) uses this to explore how mental models of scientific uncertainty are held by the public, emergency managers, scientists, engineers, and key decision-makers involved in hazard response. Our aim is to identify the shared concepts underlying these mental models, so forecast messaging can be effectively crafted to include uncertainty in a way that aligns with  individuals’ mental models. Through this we offer strategies to enhance individual decision-making under uncertainty in ways that develop the trust that the public and decision-makers have in forecasts.</p>

scholarly journals Scientists on Twitter: Preaching to the choir or singing from the rooftops?

FACETS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 682-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle M. Côté ◽  
Emily S. Darling
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Exponential Increase ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms

There have been strong calls for scientists to share their discoveries with society. Some scientists have heeded these calls through social media platforms such as Twitter. Here, we ask whether Twitter allows scientists to promote their findings primarily to other scientists (“inreach”), or whether it can help them reach broader, non-scientific audiences (“outreach”). We analyzed the Twitter followers of more than 100 faculty members in ecology and evolutionary biology and found that their followers are, on average, predominantly (∼55%) other scientists. However, beyond a threshold of ∼1000 followers, the range of follower types became more diverse and included research and educational organizations, media, members of the public with no stated association with science, and a small number of decision-makers. This varied audience was, in turn, followed by more people, resulting in an exponential increase in the social media reach of tweeting academic scientists. Tweeting, therefore, has the potential to disseminate scientific information widely after initial efforts to gain followers. These results should encourage scientists to invest in building a social media presence for scientific outreach.

Distributive Justice and the Public Good

1986 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-125
Author(s):  
Charles Karelis
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Ethical Principle ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Economic Equality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Empirical Generalization ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Aggregate Utility ◽  
The Rich

Many philosophers and some economists value economic equality on the ground that transfers from the relatively rich to the relatively poor increase the utility of the poor more than they reduce the utility of the rich. These philosophers and economists are assuming the ethical principle that a pattern of economic distribution is justified by maximizing aggregate utility. They are also assuming the truth of an empirical generalization proposed in the eighteenth century by Daniel Bernoulli–that successive equal increments of income produce ever-diminishing increments in an individual's level of utility. In the first part of this essay I will argue against Bernoulli's hypothesis, and suggest an alternative view of the relation between income and utility.

Occupational Health and the Built Environment: Ethical Issues

2019 ◽  
pp. 717-727
Author(s):  
David B. Resnik
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Safety Standards ◽  
The Public ◽  
Housing Standards

The built environment includes many different types of human-made structures, such as houses, apartments, factories, shopping malls, office buildings, schools, roads, sidewalks, airports, parks, cities, dams, waste sites, sewers, electric power lines, pipelines, suburbs, and cities. This chapter provides an overview of ethical issues related to occupational health and the built environment, including property rights versus public health, distribution of health risks and environmental justice, occupational health and safety standards, and housing standards. To address these issues, decision-makers should have access to scientific information concerning the health impacts of the built and workplace environment and should be aware of the basic values at stake. Affected stakeholders, as well as the public at large, should have meaningful input into government decision-making related to these issues.

scholarly journals Urban Governance

2021 ◽  
pp. 229-241
Author(s):  
Alex D. Singleton ◽  
Seth E. Spielman
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Municipal Policy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Infrastructure ◽  
New Inequalities ◽  
Urban Data

AbstractIn this chapter, we discuss how the availability of new urban data has the potential to transform the governance of cities. Such effects are realized in several ways: by increasing transparency; creating greater scope to appropriately set and measure municipal policy outcomes; and by design of well-planned and managed digital infrastructure, better empower citizens to hold decision-makers to account. However, such potential is not without risks, and without critical reflection, the proliferation of new data and their integration into software delivering algorithmic insight or automation may reproduce or develop new inequalities. We conclude that for digital urban governance to make a future that we want, it is important that we reflect upon how and where these technologies are implemented to ensure these are optimized in favor of the public good.

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