Through a qualitative analysis of the use of intestinal parasites for treating immune system disorders, this research illustrates how contingency emerges in the context of the human relationship to hookworms. The affect of the human–nonhuman relationship is an important part of understanding the direction of evolutionary medicine today, and has implications for the politics of biological health innovations. The shift from the bad parasite to a parasite that at least sometimes heals, discursively and materially, has opened new spaces for patients to change the way they relate to medical knowledge, medical professionals, and pharmaceutical companies. Hookworms are banned by the FDA, which sets the scene for lively, but sometimes rebellious, hybridity between host and parasite. Underground and do-it-yourself hookworm therapy cultures have sprung up in around the site of the gut. I argue that not only is material hookworm affect as important as human discourses in negotiating the rapidly advancing field of biome reconstruction, but it also plays a role in how that biome reconstruction takes place, conventionally or otherwise.

Background: To achieve control of a vaccine preventable communicable disease, it is of importance to establish high enough coverage to reach the threshold for herd immunity.  Preventive public health interventions, such as vaccination programmes, create dilemmas between societal versus individual benefits of the programme. Vaccine providers handle this dilemma when motivating hesitant parents and vaccine providers´ own perceptions of vaccine benefits will possibly influence the parental decision. The motivating strategies need to support parental autonomy, the best interest of the child and societal benefits. By using the bioethical principles autonomy, beneficence and justice, strategies can be analyzed regarding what agents are most benefitted by the strategy. Purpose: To gain insight in how vaccine providers balance between individual, societal, parental and internal values when promoting vaccine towards vaccine hesitant parents. Method:  Explorative qualitative interview study. Results: The respondents´ strategies are more or less influencing and adjusted according to the underlying reason the parents have for hesitation. An underlying strategy is to use means of social interaction to build trustful relationships. Respondents perceived reasons to vaccinate are ranging from individual to societal and are reflected in the strategies and the respondents aim to aid parents to a well informed decision. Some strategies are more persuasive than others and in rare occasions infringe on parental autonomy in a less plausible manner. Conclusions: The findings from this study reflect that the public health dilemma is indeed present in the clinical context when motivating vaccine hesitant parents. Respondents do their utmost to aid the parents to a well informed decision, regardless if the child will be vaccinated or not, or whatever reason parents have for hesitance. Since vaccination  is a voluntary action that is required from many to reach herd immunity, vaccine providers need to consider the ethics surrounding motivating hesitant parents to reach best possible outcome regardless if  this is benefitting the child, society or parental autonomy / Bakgrund: För att kunna kontrollera vaccinerbara smittsamma sjukdomar är det av högsta vikt att etablera hög vaccintäckning och uppnå nivån för flockimmunitet. Preventiva folkhälsointerventioner, såsom vaccinationsprogram, skapar dilemman mellan samhällelig och individnytta. Yrkespersoner som erbjuder vaccin måste hantera detta dilemma när de motiverar föräldrar som är tveksamma till att vaccinera sina barn. Yrkespersonernas uppfattningar om nyttan med vacciner och motivationsstrategierna kan tänkas påverka föräldrarnas beslut. Strategierna behöver stödja såväl föräldrarnas autonomi, barnets rätt och samhällets bästa. Genom användande av de bioetiska principerna autonomi, godhet och rättvisa kan strategierna analyseras utifrån vilka agenter som gagnas mest. Syfte: Att få inblick i hur yrkespersoners balanserar mellan individuella, samhälleliga, föräldrarelaterade och interna värden när de promotar vaccin till föräldrar som är tveksamma till vaccin. Metod: Explorativ kvalitativ intervjustudie. Resultat: Respondenternas strategier anpassas efter föräldrarnas bakomliggande skäl till att inte vaccinera sina barn och är mer eller mindre influerande. En underliggande strategi är att använda social interaktion för att bygga förtroende hos föräldrarna. Respondenterna uppfattade nyttan med vacciner som både individuell och samhällelig och speglades i strategierna. Respondenterna siktade på att föräldrarnas beslut ska vara välgrundat. Några strategier är mer övertalande än andra och i sällsynta fall inkräktande på föräldrarnas autonomi på ett mindre lämpligt sätt. Slutsats: Fynden speglar att folkhälsodilemmat mellan individ och samhälle är närvarande i den kliniska situationen när tveksamma föräldrar ska motiveras till att vaccinera sina barn. Respondenterna gör sitt yttersta för att guida föräldrarna till ett välgrundat beslut, oavsett om barnet blir vaccinerat eller inte, oavsett vilket skäl föräldrarna har till tveksamheten. Eftersom att vaccination är en frivillig handling som krävs av många för att uppnå flockimmunitet så behöver yrkespersoner ta hänsyn till etiken kring när föräldrar motiveras till att vaccinera sina barn. Detta för att uppnå bästa möjliga resultat oavsett om det gagnar barnet, samhället eller föräldrarnas autonomi.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of specifically constructed case studies and a student Decision-Making Model facilitated learning genetic concepts of high school biology students. The study also sought to determine if there were a relationship between: (a) teachers' knowledge of genetics (b) student attitude towards the use of the case studies and student Decision-Making Model and student genetic concept attainment.The population of this study consisted of 54 high school biology teachers and 2,330 high school biology students. The teachers selected for this study attended one of eight Project "Genethics" workshops conducted in the summer of 1993, and funded by either the National Science Foundation, Greenwall Foundation, or Chicago Public Schools. These two week workshops were conducted by mentor teachers trained by the staff of Human Genetics and Bioethics Educational Laboratory (HGABEL).The data gathered through HGABEL's (a) teacher post-test, (b) student pre/post-tests, and researcher designed teacher portfolios (including a student survey) were analyzed using Pearson productmoment correlation coefficient (r and an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with an a = .05. There was found no significant difference between the control group (those classrooms who did not use the case studies and student Decision-Making Model) and the experimental group (those classrooms who did use the case studies and student Decision-Making) on the genetic concept attainment as measured by the HGABEL student post-test.The use of case studies and the student Decision-Making Model allowed students who used them to perform essentially the same on the student post-test as the those students who did not use them even though both groups spent identical instructional time teaching genetics (control 1,568.5 minutes, experimental 1578.5 minutes). The students in the experimental group were also given the benefit of practicing and possibly gaining skills in bioethical decision-making without the loss of concept learning.. / Department of Biology

This study was designed to determine the relationship between participation in National Science Foundation (NSF) Pre-College Teacher Development (PTDS) Projects on Human Genetics and Bioethical Decision-Making held at Ball State University and classroom implementation of the Desired Biology Program described by Project Synthesis. NSF-PTDS Projects at Ball State University and Project Synthesis both focused on goals which emphasize human biology, biosocial concerns, and an understanding of the role that attitudes, values, and human needs exert in making decisions.The researcher employed an ex post facto criterion group design. Two groups of life science teachers, matched by gender, teaching experience, and location, were selected for study. The criterion group participated in NSF-PTDS Projects; the control group lacked NSF-PTDS Project experience. A questionnaire was constructed to collect data for testing eight null hypotheses. Questionnaires mailed to both criterion and control groups were designed to indicate the extent to which teachers implemented multifaceted instructional techniques, and goals directed toward human concerns, biosocial problems, and bioethical decision-making. The difference in percentage test was used to analyze categorical response items and three-way analysis of variance tested scaled response items.Teachers in both groups indicated they stressed the use of biological concepts to interpret human concerns. Groups differed in the amount of time allocated to human topics during the study of genetics. Although both groups of teachers devoted similar amounts of time to studying genetics, teachers in the criterion group tended to delete non-human topics and incorporate human topics to exemplify genetic principles.Both groups appeared to recognize the importance of addressing biosocial problems and issues resulting from recent advances in genetics, and instructed students in ways to use biological knowledge to help make decisions. However, teachers in the criterion group integrated significantly more bioethics into their biology and life science programs.Subjects in criterion and control groups primarily instructed students via lecture/discussion. Teachers in the criterion group made significantly greater use of outside speakers, films, videotapes, and television programs dealing with human genetics and bioethics.

The purpose of this thesis is to query the legitimacy of offering preimplantation genetic diagnostic (PGD) testing against Down's syndrome on the basis of United Kingdom (UK) law and policies. I will argue that extending PGD testing for Down’s syndrome as a permissible use of this technology does not (straightforwardly) adhere with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) Code of Practice's stated factors which are to be considered when assessing the appropriateness of PGD applications. Indeed, due consideration of the evidence given in the relevant literature about the capacities and quality of life possible for persons living with Down's syndrome would seriously call into question the validity of a positive judgment recommending PGD as a treatment service for Down's syndrome according to the current UK regulatory instruments. I end the thesis by considering why the HFEA's relatively recent decision to limit client access according to an exclusive list of "serious" and therefore "in principle" test-worthy genetic conditions—understood as legitimate applications for PGD—stands to entrench prejudice, stigma, social bias, and unfair discrimination against the disadvantaged social group of persons living with Down's syndrome.

The goal of this work is to explore the role of theological bioethics in influencing the formulation of existing or proposed policies dealing with treatment decisions for seriously disabled newborns in our pluralist society. Part I of the paper attempts to determine as precisely as possible what bioethics is, particularly Judeo-Christian bioethics. After comparing the latter to the Hippocratic tradition and to secular bioethics, the distinctive characteristics and potential contribution of theological bioethics are identified. The policies then examined in Part II are: medical policies formulated by physicians, bioethical policies proposed by bioethicists and legal policies enunciated by court decisions and legal writers. In each case they are evaluated in the light of a number of specific ethical tests proposed as central to Judeo-Christian bioethics. The paper concludes that Judeo-Christian bioethics has not been particularly influential in our pluralist society. A final section proposes a model treatment policy.

Since the emergence of HIV/AIDS as a global pandemic in the 1980’s, the focus of the scientific community has been to firstly identify, then treat and ultimately find a cure for, this disease. This has proven to be challenging and far from realistically achievable by the scientific community or the communities affected by this disease. / A funding allocation from the National Institutes of Health in the United States came to a consortium in Australia seeking to develop a prime-boost preventative HIV vaccine. The consortium included members of the Australian HIV/AIDS Partnership. This partnership emerged from a particular set of historical contexts and included affected community. The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations was the affected community representative on the consortium. This thesis sets out the contextual and ethical reasons for this arrangement, and explores how this unusual partnership worked in practice, with a view to identifying its broader implications. / HIV vaccine development, and AFAO’s role in that development, is complex and multifaceted. The consortium existed within a particular social context which I explore by describing the social history of HIV in Australia. The search for an HIV vaccine is difficult and complex work requiring significant effort and I describe the challenges involved in such an enterprise. Biomedical research more generally exists in the context of international and national research documents which govern the way in which researchers may conduct human experimental trialling. I discuss these documents and highlight the underlying ethical principles. / This research involved 9 interviews with 7 key informants who were members of the consortium. The accounts were analysed following a grounded theory approach, utilising the sensitising concepts outlined in the discussion of the social history of HIV in Australia, the science of HIV vaccine development and the general and specific ethical principles. Following this methodological approach, I identify common themes in the data and discuss the results in greater detail, paying particular attention to the ways this particular social practice plays out in practice and the key ethical considerations arising from the accounts. I also explore the risks, costs and benefits to AFAO of its involvement in the consortium. The overall aim of this research is to understand how practicable, feasible and effective community involvement was in this consortium. / Finally, I come to three major conclusions. First, that the consortium is an emerging social practice, which is the intersection of three established social practices; biomedical research, the affected community and the Australian HIV/AIDS Partnership. Using Langford’s criteria for a social practice, I demonstrate the social practice of the consortium was clearly made up of members who were aware of each other’s intentions and beliefs. It was clear from the commencement of the consortium’s project that the consortium was directed at the overall purpose of developing an efficacious preventative prime-boost HIV vaccine. The unique history and tradition of the social practice of the consortium is slightly less clear but what the accounts of the informants demonstrated is that the histories and traditions of the Australian HIV/AIDS Partnership approach and biomedical research, in particular, were a significant influence on most of the consortium members. So much so, that the consortium adopted that unique history and tradition and it was this factor, perhaps above all others, that facilitated AFAO becoming a full partner in the vaccine development enterprise in the first place. Importantly, my research theoretically extends the notion of shared ways of seeing and doing within a social practice. The socialisation aspects are highlighted very strongly within the accounts. / Second, AFAO’s involvement was highly concordant with the core principles of the Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for biomedical HIV prevention trials document, and it influenced important protocols within the consortium, but there were also conflict of interest issues for AFAO to manage. Third, the different approaches for community involvement in biomedical HIV prevention trialling (the partnership approach and the Community Advisory Board approach) each has strengths and weaknesses and should be carefully considered in light of the context of the trialling to be conducted. / This thesis concludes with a series of recommendations for future biomedical HIV prevention trials.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Univ., 2003. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Flinders University, Dept of Theology. / Typescript (bound). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 357-386). Also available online.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 126-136). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.