Chants for Peace

Why are consumers willing to spend more money on ethical products?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 18:15:00 +0000

What motivates consumers to make ethical choices such as buying clothing not made in a sweat shop, spending more money on fair-trade coffee, and bringing their own bags when they go shopping? According to a new study, ethical consumption is motivated by a need for consumers to turn their emotions about unethical practices into action.

The primary motivators appear to be contempt, concern, and celebration.

Contempt for the greed of big corporations
Concern for the victims of unethical behavior
Celebration from the joy of making ethical choices.

The Courage to Speak Up

noreply@blogger.com (test) — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 06:16:00 +0000

"... I was learning another important fact: a large part of my ethical
education was going to happen behind the closed doors of a call room."

This reflection on the teaching of ethics in medical education suggests that educators must need to intentionally create a safe environment for the discussion of ethics. Too often, the discussion of ethics takes place with other students or residents.... not the attending... behind the closed doors of a call room.

On Cultivating the Courage to Speak Up: The Critical Role of Attendings in the Moral Development of Physicians in Training

Researchers Caught Manipulating Facebook Users for "Science"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 14:47:00 +0000

Facebook, in collaboration with Cornell university, conducted research on Facebook users without their consent in an attempt to manipulate emotions through an emotional contagion.

This violation is of high concern ethically, because ever since the horrific experiments in Nazi Germany in the mid 1900's and Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments in the U.S. South around the same time, there has been an iron-clad code of not performing research on human subjects without their full knowledge and consent. In the opinion of some academics, Facebook in conjunction with Cornell researchers violated this code of ethics.

A recent opinion article from Johns Hopkins University discusses the issues, stating that new technology and social media platforms have made it essential to update accepted research principles and ethics.

Watch this issue closely. Are we looking at early attempts of massive governmental control in the style of Orwell's 1984? Are governments willing to surreptitiously manipulate emotions to disrupt peace versus war via Facebook in order to achieve greater power? Is Facebook a willing partner?

Teaching Morality to Robots

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:52:00 +0000

Robots are performing more and more complex tasks in society. They are becoming so advanced, that a recent chatbox machine has purportedly passed the Turing test.

With this advancement in machine performance and learning, the dominant question becomes, are we going to be able to teach machines judgment and morality? But can we really teach robots how to be good?

Read More

Personal narratives of social trauma in peace-building.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 22:31:00 +0000

This article explores the uses of personal narratives of massive social trauma in conflict, most specifically as they relate to the Palestinian-Israeli context. It is asserted that there are types of narratives, fixated on persecution, hatred, and fear, that can obstruct peace, and different types that encourage peace and reconciliation.

A theoretical categorization of 4 types of personal narratives of massive social trauma is proposed:

1. vengeance

2. victim-hood

3. confusion

4. embracing the other

It is concluded that a more nuanced understanding of types of personal narratives is needed when engaged in peace-building endeavors in an ongoing conflict.

Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2014 Sep;84(5):475-486

Hooking phishers of men and women

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 20:43:00 +0000

Phishing is a fraudulent attempt seeking to acquire money, confidential information or other gain such as usernames, passwords or credit card details from people by masquerading as a trustworthy entity such as a bank, service provider, social network, email systems or institutions. In order to improve security and reduce the risk that any of us is caught out by a phishing attack there is a need to carry out research so that countermeasures can be designed. Unfortunately, in carrying out such research it is possible for the scientists taking part to come unstuck by laws that are in place to protect users from the very attacks they wish to study.Read More

Finding Middle Ground

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 20:20:00 +0000

Parents might take a lesson from Goldilocks and find a balanced approach to guide their teens in making moral, safe online decisions, according to researchers. In a study on parenting strategies and online adolescent safety, the researchers found evidence that suggests that parents should try to establish a middle ground between keeping their teens completely away from the internet not monitoring their online activities at all.Read More

Untreated pain a scandal of global proportions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 14:27:00 +0000

A new global study reveals a pandemic of intolerable pain affecting billions, caused by over-regulation of pain medicines. Read More

Technology one step ahead of war laws

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 21:58:00 +0000

Today's emerging military technologies -- including unmanned aerial vehicles, directed-energy weapons, lethal autonomous robots, and cyber weapons like Stuxnet -- raise the prospect of upheavals in military practices so fundamental that they challenge long-established laws of war. Weapons that make their own decisions about targeting and killing humans, for example, have ethical and legal implications obvious and frightening enough to have entered popular culture (for example, in the Terminator films). Read More

Some families would consider terminal sedation for brain injured relatives in permanent vegetative state

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 20:06:00 +0000

The families of some very severely brain injured patients believe that once all treatment options are exhausted, allowing their relatives to die with the help of terminal sedation would be a humane and compassionate option, research has revealed. Read More

Prisoners believe they are just as law abiding as non-prisoners

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:26:00 +0000

The belief that we consider ourselves better than our peers holds true to convicted criminals as well. Research has shown that prisoners believe themselves to have more pro-social characteristics - such as kindness, morality, self-control, and generosity - than non-prisoners. The research also showed that prisoners did not rate themselves as more law abiding than non-prisoners, but they did rate themselves as equal. Read More

Geography plays major role in access to pediatric kidney transplantation in U.S.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:25:00 +0000

There is substantial geographic variation in deceased donor kidney waiting times for children across the United States, with median waiting time ranging from as little as two weeks to as long as three years. Local supply and demand of high quality organs had a significant impact on waiting times for children in need of kidneys. Read More

COMMENT: many nations have an "opt out" policy for organ donation, where it is assumed that people want to donate organs unless they object in writing. In the U.S., the policy is "opt in" where it is assumed that people do not want to donate organs, unless they specifically state they want to be an organ donor. Adopting an "opt out" policy almost certainly would increase availability of donor organs.

When charitable acts are 'tainted' by personal gain

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:22:00 +0000

We tend to perceive a person's charitable efforts as less moral if the do-gooder reaps a reward from the effort, according to new research. Read More

Drinking and driving: Unsafe at any level

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 19:48:00 +0000

A recent study has found that even small levels of blood alcohol, well below the legal limit of 0.08, appears to impair driving ability. Read More

How politics divide Facebook friendships

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 22:45:00 +0000

A new study suggests that politics are the great divider. People who think the majority of their friends have differing opinions than their own engage less on Facebook. For those who choose to stay logged in and politically active, the research found that most tend to stick in their own circles, ignore those on the other side and become more polarized. Read More

Smart Notices could take us beyond copyright

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 22:44:00 +0000

Dynamic Smart Notices could replace standard licencing agreements for software, online services and digital goods, according to a researchers. Read More

Money makes people right-wing, inegalitarian, UK study finds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 22:43:00 +0000

Lottery winners tend to switch towards support for a right-wing political party and to become less egalitarian, according to new research on UK data. Read More

High school students who experience 'job-shadow' opportunities in STEM environments more likely to consider a STEM career path

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:35:00 +0000

Students exposed directly to work environments in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields are more likely to decide to follow paths that will lead to such careers, according to the findings of new research. Read More

Patient consent to research not always necessary, bioethicists say

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:34:00 +0000

Under the right conditions, full informed consent is not ethically required for some types of health research, according to a commentary from leading bioethics experts. The position is a considerable break from ethics principles that have guided research ethics and regulation for decades. The commentary addresses two concepts generating debate in the healthcare and bioethics fields: the idea of learning healthcare systems, and randomized comparative effectiveness research, in which patients are randomly assigned to different, widely used treatments for their condition. Read More

Gender-quota boardrooms come at high price

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:33:00 +0000

Boardroom gender quotas seem to be a success story. According to a new PhD study however, affected companies pay a high price for the gender quota law. As the first country in the world to do so, Norway adopted a law that requires public limited companies to ensure at least 40 per cent representation of both men and women on the company board. To make sure this law is obeyed, a death sentence, i.e. liquidation, may be imposed on companies that do not comply. The boardroom gender-quota law appears to be a huge success, and it has also garnered considerable attention internationally.

Read More

Beyond partisanship: Engaging in debates about science, society

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:31:00 +0000

Scientific institutions and organizations can improve their communication and outreach with the public by addressing people's strongly held beliefs about science and its role in society, a new study demonstrates. These beliefs play a key role in shaping people's opinions, and ultimately, their support for scientific advances, it suggests.Read More

Some employers find excuses to fire pregnant employees

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 02:34:00 +0000

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 makes it illegal in the United States for a woman to be fired just because she is pregnant. But that doesn't stop it from happening, according to new research by two sociologists. What employers do to get around the law is vilify pregnant women as poor performers and tardy employees while also pointing to seemingly fair attendance policies and financial costs, their research shows. Pregnancy discrimination only compounds other gender-based employment inequalities women face in the workplace in areas such as hiring, wages and harassment, the authors argue.Read More

Age-21 drinking laws save lives, study confirms

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 20:42:00 +0000

Although some advocates want to lower the legal drinking age from 21, research continues to show that the law saves lives. Researchers found that studies done since 2006 -- when a new debate over age-21 laws flared up -- have continued to demonstrate that the mandates work. The laws, studies show, are associated with lower rates of drunk-driving crashes among young people. And it seems they also curb other hazards of heavy drinking -- including suicide, dating violence and unprotected sex.Read More

Peace and war: trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms before, during, and after military deployment in afghanistan.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 20:42:00 +0000

Psychol Sci. 2012 Dec;23(12):1557-65

In the study reported here, we examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in 746 Danish soldiers measured on five occasions before, during, and after deployment to Afghanistan. Using latent class growth analysis, we identified six trajectories of change in PTSD symptoms. Two resilient trajectories had low levels across all five times, and a new-onset trajectory started low and showed a marked increase of PTSD symptoms. Three temporary-benefit trajectories, not previously described in the literature, showed decreases in PTSD symptoms during (or immediately after) deployment, followed by increases after return from deployment. Predeployment emotional problems and predeployment traumas, especially childhood adversities, were predictors for inclusion in the nonresilient trajectories, whereas deployment-related stress was not. These findings challenge standard views of PTSD in two ways. First, they show that factors other than immediately preceding stressors are critical for PTSD development, with childhood adversities being central. Second, they demonstrate that the development of PTSD symptoms shows heterogeneity, which indicates the need for multiple measurements to understand PTSD and identify people in need of treatment.

23129059
Read More

"The kind peace of mind culture" improves patient satisfaction.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 04:30:00 +0000

Rehabil Nurs. 2012 Nov-Dec;37(6):286-91

PURPOSE: Following the theory that when patients know the nurse is coming at a predictable and frequent sequence, their anxiety is assuaged, the goal of "The Kind Peace of Mind Culture" model was to achieve the same outcome in terms of patient satisfaction and decreased call lights in an efficient and less labor intensive manner.
METHODS: In this study, a new model was developed that would increase the amount of nurse touches to the patient and using helpful scripting will increase the patient's perception of the nurse's presence on a regular basis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The sample setting was a 24-bed case mix of a Sub Acute and Acute Rehabilitation unit. Data were collected before and after implementation results that indicate the frequency of call lights decreased and patient satisfaction scores increased.
CONCLUSION: Findings for this project support the use of "The Kind Peace of Mind Culture" model to meet patient care needs in rehabilitation settings.

23212953
Read More