Testing the talented child: Direct-to-consumer genetic talent tests in China

One controversial area of direct-to-consumer genetic testing in China is “genetic talent testing” for children. In this study, I show that while experts criticize genetic talent testing as unscientific, the persistence of genetic talent testing is not merely a product of parents’ scientific illiteracy. Instead, genetic talent testing reflects parents’ pragmatic use of technology in response to the parenting pressures in contemporary China. Parents see the results of genetic talent testing as offering an advantage for their children when combined with the intensive parenting strategy of precision education. Drawing on the sociology of testing, I argue how genetic talent testing in China is a product of broader concerns about population quality and can potentially reshape how parents imagine quality children through the theory of multiple intelligences. My study of this “off label” use of direct-to-consumer genetic testing also suggests that scientists need to broaden their imagination of potential misuses of their technologies.

The neurological risks of playing association football

Summary Aims: The present study aims to provide a narrative review of the literature surrounding concussion and head injury in football and its clarity in evaluating the risk of long-term neurological disease. Findings: Epidemiological studies have shown correlations between participation in professional football and increased incidence of neurodegenerative disease and there have been reports of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of former players in autopsy. These findings have been assumed by some to be the result of repetitive brain injury from head injuries and/or from heading the ball over a player's career. Data linking increased heading exposure with dementia is conflicting, and studies are limited by the reliance on retrospection and undocumented reports of concussion. It remains unclear whether CTE is unique to sportsmen or a variant of dementia pathology endemic in the population. Conclusions: Although logically appealing, there is no current evidence that heading is the cause of neurodegeneration amongst footballers and risks should be balanced by the protective mental and physical benefits of the sport. Physicians have an important role in providing balanced views in this emotive and controversial area.

9. Constitutional rights and principles

This chapter addresses the doctrine of common law constitutional rights. This is a controversial area where judges uphold the rule of law to restrict not only government power, but occasionally the meaning of statutes in order to protect the fundamental rights and values that permeate the UK constitution. This can create tensions between parliamentary sovereignty, separation of powers, and rule of law. There is no definitive list of common law constitutional rights and values and they are unwritten, but they are essentially the rights and values protected by the rule of law that have evolved as rules of ‘fair play’ and justice. They include justice; legality; fundamental rights such as liberty, freedom of expression, and equality; accountable government; and democracy.

When Copyright is Wrong

While copyright legally protects the ownership of created works, fair dealing with copyrighted content has become a problematic topic with the rise of user-generated content. User-generated content can be easily produced with modern technology and shared on the internet. This has resulted in websites having complicated processes for dealing with copyrighted content and many have introduced automated copyright detection systems to limit their liabilities of copyright infringement. Since automated copyright detection systems have been introduced, they have fundamentally changed the way copyright infringement is managed online. However, a problem arises with automated copyright detection systems as they are incapable of detecting fair dealing. Fair dealing is a provision under New Zealand’s Copyright Act 1994 that allows the use of copyrighted content in certain cases. Consequently, this has turned into a controversial area between content creators and copyright holders as most user-generated content usually contains copyrighted content. Copyright laws also favour mass media companies as they control significant copyright properties, and this plays a key role in the economy. For this reason, copyright genuinely tends to focus on the rights of copyright holders and not so much for users of copyrighted content. Furthermore, New Zealand's Copyright Act 1994 has not been updated since 2011 and has become unsuitable for modern forms of creation on the internet. This research portfolio investigates the problematic issues concerning New Zealand’s Copyright Act 1994 with its application to user-generated content and YouTube’s automated copyright detection system called ‘Content ID’. To express research findings, this research portfolio contains a user-generated documentary and several other proposed methods of bypassing Content ID.

When Copyright is Wrong

While copyright legally protects the ownership of created works, fair dealing with copyrighted content has become a problematic topic with the rise of user-generated content. User-generated content can be easily produced with modern technology and shared on the internet. This has resulted in websites having complicated processes for dealing with copyrighted content and many have introduced automated copyright detection systems to limit their liabilities of copyright infringement. Since automated copyright detection systems have been introduced, they have fundamentally changed the way copyright infringement is managed online. However, a problem arises with automated copyright detection systems as they are incapable of detecting fair dealing. Fair dealing is a provision under New Zealand’s Copyright Act 1994 that allows the use of copyrighted content in certain cases. Consequently, this has turned into a controversial area between content creators and copyright holders as most user-generated content usually contains copyrighted content. Copyright laws also favour mass media companies as they control significant copyright properties, and this plays a key role in the economy. For this reason, copyright genuinely tends to focus on the rights of copyright holders and not so much for users of copyrighted content. Furthermore, New Zealand's Copyright Act 1994 has not been updated since 2011 and has become unsuitable for modern forms of creation on the internet. This research portfolio investigates the problematic issues concerning New Zealand’s Copyright Act 1994 with its application to user-generated content and YouTube’s automated copyright detection system called ‘Content ID’. To express research findings, this research portfolio contains a user-generated documentary and several other proposed methods of bypassing Content ID.

Examining implicit beliefs in a replication attempt of a time-reversed priming task

Background: Psi research is a controversial area of science that examines telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis (mind over matter). Central to the debate over the existence of psi is of whether independent investigators can replicate reportedly successful psi experiments. One important variable involves the beliefs of experimenters and participants. A preregistered experiment is presented that sought to replicate and extend previously published parapsychology experiments suggestive of precognition by examining implicit beliefs. Methods: On each trial of the standard (non-psi) priming task, a pleasant or unpleasant word (the "prime") is briefly shown on computer screen, followed immediately by a pleasant or unpleasant picture. Trials on which the image and the priming word have different valences are termed “Incongruent”; trials on which the picture and the priming word share a common valence are termed “Congruent”. Participants in such experiments typically respond more slowly on Incongruent trials than on Congruent trials. In this "time-reversed" psi version of the experiment, the presumed cause-effect sequence is reversed so that the prime is not flashed until after the participant has already recorded his or her judgment. The experimental hypothesis remains the same: response times will be longer on trials with Incongruent prime/picture pairs than on trials with Congruent prime/picture pairs. Additionally, the study assesses expectations of success on the psi task of 32 experimenters—each testing 12 participants—using self-report questionnaires and the Implicit Association Task (IAT). Results: A significant correlation was found between the Implicit Association Test (IAT) effect and the participants’ reported beliefs in psi, with the effect in the direction opposite to the hypothesized correlation. Conclusions: This study offers an innovative approach to the role of beliefs in psi in a precognition study and speaks to the challenges of replication in controversial science.

The Pulmonary Embolism Response Team: Why and How?

Treatment of patients with intermediate and high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) is a controversial area. Many therapeutic options exist, and deciding on appropriate treatment can be difficult. In addition, multiple specialties are often involved in the care of PE patients. To better organize the response to serious PE patients, several hospitals and academic centers throughout the world have created pulmonary embolism response teams (PERTs). The goal of a PERT is to have a single multidisciplinary team of experts in thromboembolic disease, who can respond rapidly to patients with acute PE, and offer consultation and implementation of the full spectrum of therapeutic options. PERT teams were modeled after rapid response teams and are meant to generate a prompt, patient-specific plan for patients with PE without having to consult multiple individual specialists. Data are emerging demonstrating the value of PERTs in reducing hospital length of stay and, possibly, patient outcomes.

Examining implicit beliefs in a replication attempt of a time-reversed priming task

Background: Psi research is a controversial area of science that examines telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis (mind over matter). Central to the debate over the existence of psi is of whether independent investigators can replicate reportedly successful psi experiments. One important variable involves the beliefs of experimenters and participants. A preregistered experiment is presented that sought to replicate and extend previously published parapsychology experiments suggestive of precognition by examining implicit beliefs. Methods: On each trial of the standard (non-psi) priming task, a pleasant or unpleasant word (the "prime") is briefly shown on computer screen, followed immediately by a pleasant or unpleasant picture. Trials on which the image and the priming word have different valences are termed “Incongruent”; trials on which the picture and the priming word share a common valence are termed “Congruent”. Participants in such experiments typically respond more slowly on Incongruent trials than on Congruent trials. In this "time-reversed" psi version of the experiment, the presumed cause-effect sequence is reversed so that the prime is not flashed until after the participant has already recorded his or her judgment. The experimental hypothesis remains the same: response times will be longer on trials with Incongruent prime/picture pairs than on trials with Congruent prime/picture pairs. Additionally, the study assesses expectations of success on the psi task of 32 experimenters—each testing 12 participants—using self-report questionnaires and the Implicit Association Task (IAT). Results: A significant correlation was found between the Implicit Association Test (IAT) effect and the participants’ reported beliefs in psi, with the effect in the direction opposite to the hypothesized correlation. Conclusions: This study offers an innovative approach to the role of beliefs in psi in a precognition study and speaks to the challenges of replication in controversial science.

Gain-of-Function and Pathogenic Viruses

Gain of function research is a little known and controversial area of study in virology. Though there is some disagreement in the exact definition of gain of function, the process involves modifying animal viruses to infect human cells for the purposes of advancing the understanding of the way viruses mutate. This article examines the controversy, with particular consideration of the COVID-19 lab leak hypothesis, exploring the danger of creating such modified viruses.

Taxing Gambling Machines to Enhance Tourism

Gambling machines are a key component of global gambling tourism. The taxation of these machines is a highly controversial area of policy debate involving tensions between industry profitability, economic growth and government revenue. We present the background and context to the debate around the optimal taxation of gambling machines, and reach conclusions and recommendations based on the recent and extended literature as to the best way to tax gambling machines in order to enhance tourism. These recommendations provide guidance for jurisdictions in which gambling tourism is a significant actual or potential source of public revenue.