Rachel Ankeny

Developing a Reflexive, Anticipatory, and Deliberative Approach to Unanticipated Discoveries: Ethical Lessons from iBlastoids.

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 10-2022

DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2021.1974976

Abstract: In this paper, we explore the recent creation of "iBlastoids," which are 3-D structures that resemble early human embryos prior to implantation which formed via self-organization of reprogrammed adult skin cells. We explore some of the ethical, philosophical, social, and regulatory issues related to this research, with focus particularly on what it means to "anticipate" research outcomes when using novel methods or when serendipitous discoveries are made. We defend the need for reflexive, anticipatory, and deliberative ethical and conceptual work by researchers working in emerging and contentious research domains, in collaboration with interdisciplinary scholars, as well as regulators, funders, and publics.

What are they thinking? Consumer attitudes to meat production in Australia

Publisher: CSIRO Publishing

Date: 2017

DOI: 10.1071/AN17361

Abstract: Meat production has come under increasing scrutiny from consumers and citizens who feel that certain practices are unethical and negatively affect farm-animal welfare. Animal welfare can be viewed as both a scientific and social concept, and purchasing products with animal welfare claims can be considered an act of ‘ethical consumption’. The present paper reviews research that examines consumer attitudes to animal welfare and highlights tensions between consumer and citizen attitudes and behaviours, and assumptions that are made within these studies. We present our own research into motivations to purchase free-range eggs as an ex le of research that attempts to unpack these assumptions, in particular, that such purchases are made out of concern for animal welfare. We present a further ex le of our own research that attempts to identify how attitudes to meat production are socially constructed. We conclude with recommended strategies to engage the broader community in discussions about animal production, so as to improve industry–community communication about farm-animal welfare in meat-production industries.

Testing the Correlates of Consciousness in Brain Organoids: How Do We Know and What Do We Do?

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 29-12-2020

DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2020.1845869

EchidnaCSI: Engaging the public in research and conservation of the short-beaked echidna

Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Date: 24-01-2022

DOI: 10.1073/PNAS.2108826119

Abstract: Echidnas are iconic egg-laying mammals threated by environmental changes. However, their cryptic lifestyle and Australia-wide distribution renders a citizen science approach the only feasible way to obtain continent-scale information. With EchidnaCSI (Conservation Science Initiative), we used a citizen science approach to learn more about echidnas, which is remarkably powerful and continually provides data and material for molecular and ecological research. Here, we describe and discuss the establishment and performance of EchidnaCSI, which has produced high-quality echidna-sighting data and fecal material. In addition, a survey of participants provides insight into the motivation and engagement outcomes in citizen science and conservation. EchidnaCSI demonstrates the enormous potential of citizen science to advance the data and knowledge base to enable echidna conservation outcomes.

Application of co-design in residential aged care: a scoping review protocol

Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)

Date: 14-03-2023

DOI: 10.11124/JBIES-22-00346

Abstract: The objective of this review is to identify the extent and nature of the existing literature on co-design with residents residing in aged care facilities. Involving older people in their own care is a key challenge facing the aged care sector. Co-design is an approach that focuses on involving end users in the design of services. Mapping the evidence on co-design in residential aged care will identify the nature and extent of how older people living in residential care have been engaged in the design and delivery of their care. This scoping review will include peer-reviewed primary studies systematic and scoping reviews and gray literature, including abstracts and reports of governments and non-governmental organizations. Older people residing in aged care homes, including those from culturally and linguistically erse backgrounds and/or living with dementia, who are involved in the co-design, co-creation, participation, involvement, and engagement in their care will be considered for inclusion. This review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The databases to be searched will include AgeLine, Cochrane, CINAHL, Embase, Emcare, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ProQuest, Scopus, Informit Health Collection, and Web of Science. Gray literature searches will include, GreyMatters, BASE, Google Advanced, and World Wide Science. The search will be limited to articles published after December 31, 1999, and to those written in English or with an English-language abstract or summary. Screening and data extraction will occur independently in duplicate. The review outcomes will be presented in tabular format and supported by a narrative summary. Open Science Framework osf.io/6ukty

Evaluating the use of citizens' juries in food policy: A case study of food regulation

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 19-06-2013

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-596

Abstract: Deliberative engagement techniques and citizens’ juries are touted as means of incorporating the public into policy decision-making, managing community expectations and increasing commitment to public health policy. This paper reports a study to examine the feasibility of citizens’ juries as a means of collecting data to inform public health policy related to food regulation through evaluation of the conduct of a citizens’ jury. A citizens’ jury was conducted with a representative s le of 17 South Australians to explore their willingness to consider the proposition that food and drink advertising and/or sponsorship should be banned at children’s sporting events. The results showed that, in relation to the central proposition and evaluation data from the jury, opinion on the proposition remained comparatively stable. Most jurors indicated that they thought that food and drink sponsorship and/or advertising at children’s sporting events would have little or no effect on altering children’s diet and eating habits, with the proportion increasing during the jury process. Jurors were given evaluation sheets about the content of the jury and the process of the citizens’ jury to complete at the end of the session. The evaluation of the citizens’ jury process revealed positive perceptions. The majority of jurors agreed that their knowledge of the issues of food and drink sponsorship in children’s sport had increased as a result of participation in the citizens’ jury. The majority also viewed the decision-making process as fair and felt that their views were listened to. One important response in the evaluation was that all jurors indicated that, if given the opportunity, they would participate in another citizens’ jury. The findings suggest that the citizens’ jury increased participant knowledge of the issue and facilitated reflective discussion of the proposition. Citizens’ juries are an effective means of gaining insight into public views of policy and the circumstances under which the public will consider food regulation however a number of issues need to be considered to ensure the successful conduct of a citizens’ jury.

Establishing the role of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis with human leucocyte antigen typing: what place do ''saviour siblings'' have in paediatric transplantation?

Publisher: BMJ

Date: 06-08-2009

DOI: 10.1136/ADC.2008.138529

Abstract: Not all children in need of a haematopoietic stem cell transplant have a suitable relative or unrelated donor available. Recently, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for human leucocyte antigen (HLA) tissue typing has been used to selectively transfer an IVF embryo in order to produce a child who may provide umbilical cord blood for transplantation to an ill sibling. Such children are sometimes called "saviour siblings". To examine the published clinical and epidemiological evidence relevant to the use of this technology, with the aim of clarifying those situations where IVF and PGD for HLA typing should be discussed with parents of an ill child. A critical analysis of published literature on comparative studies of umbilical cord blood versus other sources of stem cells for transplantation comparative studies of matched unrelated donor versus matched related donor transplantation and the likelihood of finding an unrelated stem cell donor. IVF and PGD for HLA typing is only applicable when transplantation is non-urgent and parents are of reproductive age. Discussions regarding this technology may be appropriate where no suitable related or unrelated donor is available for a child requiring a transplant, or where no suitable related donor is available and transplantation is only likely to be entertained with a matched sibling donor. Discussion may also be considered in the management of any child lacking a matched related donor who requires a non-urgent transplant or may require a transplant in the future.

Happy Chickens Lay Tastier Eggs: Motivations for Buying Free-range Eggs in Australia

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 03-04-2017

DOI: 10.1080/08927936.2017.1310986

Not appropriate dinner table conversation? Talking to children about meat production

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 05-2016

DOI: 10.1016/J.APPET.2016.01.029

Abstract: Although Australians on average consume large quantities of meat, their attitudes to farm animal welfare are poorly understood. We know little about how farm animal production is discussed in Australian households or how children learn about the origins of meat. This study consisted of an online survey completed by 225 primary carers throughout Australia recruited through social media. Findings include that conversations about the origin of meat were generally stimulated by meal preparation within the home rather than visits to agricultural shows or similar activities. Parents preferred to initiate conversations with children about meat production before they were 5 years of age. Urban parents were more likely than rural parents to reveal that they were conflicted about eating meat and would be more empathetic to children who chose to stop eating meat. Rural parents were more likely than urban parents to feel that children should eat what they are given and that talking about meat is not a major issue. Both groups felt that it was important that children should know where their food comes from. The findings of this study suggest that parental attitudes to meat production and consumption influence conversations about meat origins with children.

Australian consumers’ awareness and acceptance of insects as food

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 19-04-2018

DOI: 10.3390/INSECTS9020044

Response to Open Peer Commentaries on “Developing a Reflexive, Anticipatory, and Deliberative Approach to Unanticipated Discoveries: Ethical Lessons from iBlastoids”

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 28-01-2022

DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2021.2013987

Reply [4]

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 14-08-2007

DOI: 10.1111/J.1445-5994.2007.01448.X

Neutralising the meat paradox: Cognitive dissonance, gender, and eating animals

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 04-2018

DOI: 10.1016/J.APPET.2018.01.005

Abstract: Meat eating is a common behaviour, despite many people claiming to like, love, and care about animals. The apparent disconnection between not wanting animals to suffer, yet killing them for food, has been termed the 'meat paradox.' In this experimental study (N = 460), participants completed pre-affect, post-affect, meat attachment, and attitude towards animals questionnaires, under two conditions: exposure to the life of an Australian meat lamb, and information about the nutritional benefits of meat. A factorial MANOVA revealed that negative affect was significantly greater when participants were exposed to the meat-animal connection however, more entrenched attitudes towards animals and attachment to meat remained unaffected. Significant gender effects were found across all variables: most notably, meat attachment differed according to gender, decreasing in women and increasing in men when exposed to the meat-animal condition. Open-ended responses were subjected to content analysis to understand participants' future meat-consumption preferences and accompanying reasoning strategies. Findings from the present study contribute to understanding how cognitive dissonance and inconsistencies are rationalised by meat consumers.

NARRATIVES OF ‘TERMINAL SEDATION’, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTENTION-FORESIGHT DISTINCTION IN PALLIATIVE CARE PRACTICE

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 04-07-2011

DOI: 10.1111/J.1467-8519.2011.01895.X

Abstract: The moral importance of the 'intention-foresight' distinction has long been a matter of philosophical controversy, particularly in the context of end-of-life care. Previous empirical research in Australia has suggested that general physicians and surgeons may use analgesic or sedative infusions with ambiguous intentions, their actions sometimes approximating 'slow euthanasia'. In this paper, we report findings from a qualitative study of 18 Australian palliative care medical specialists, using in-depth interviews to address the use of sedation at the end of life. The majority of subjects were agnostic or atheistic. In contrast to their colleagues in acute medical practice, these Australian palliative care specialists were almost unanimously committed to distinguishing their actions from euthanasia. This commitment appeared to arise principally from the need to maintain a clear professional role, and not obviously from an ideological opposition to euthanasia. While some respondents acknowledged that there are difficult cases that require considered reflection upon one's intention, and where there may be some 'mental gymnastics,' the nearly unanimous view was that it is important, even in these difficult cases, to cultivate an intention that focuses exclusively on the relief of symptoms. We present four narratives of 'terminal' sedation--cases where sedation was administered in significant doses just before death, and may well have hastened death. Considerable ambiguities of intention were evident in some instances, but the discussion around these clearly exceptional cases illustrates the importance of intention to palliative care specialists in maintaining their professional roles.

Obtaining consumer perspectives using a Citizens' Jury: Does the current Country of Origin Labelling in Australia allow for informed food choices?

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 12-2016

DOI: 10.1186/S12889-016-3900-5

Religious Perspectives on Abortion and a Secular Response

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 30-07-2010

DOI: 10.1007/S10943-009-9273-7

Abstract: This paper concerns the medical, religious, and social discourse around abortion. The primary goal of this paper is to better understand how seven of the world's major religious traditions (Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Confucian, and Hindu) address abortion 'in the clinic'. We do not aim to critique these commentaries but to draw out some of the themes that resonate through the commentaries and place these within complex social contexts. We consider the intersection of ontology and morality the construction of women's selfhood the integration of religious beliefs and practices in a secular world. We suggest that for many women, religious doctrine may be balanced with secular logic as both are important and inextricably linked determinants of decision making about the termination of pregnancy.

On Not Taking Objective Risk Assessments at Face Value

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 08-2004

DOI: 10.1080/15265160490496750

Not just about “the science”: science education and attitudes to genetically modified foods among women in Australia

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 02-01-2017

DOI: 10.1080/14636778.2017.1287561

Specific unwillingness to donate eyes: The impact of disfigurement, knowledge and procurement on corneal donation

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 03-2010

DOI: 10.1111/J.1600-6143.2009.02986.X

Abstract: Although willingness, attitudes and beliefs surrounding solid-organ donation have been extensively investigated, much less is known about corneal donation. Despite evidence that a substantial number of families who agree to multiorgan donation also specifically refuse corneal donation, it is unclear why this occurs and what can be done to increase rates of corneal donation. We conducted a survey of 371 Australian adults regarding their views on corneal donation. Although willingness to donate corneas generally reflected a person's willingness to donate all of one's organs, unwillingness to donate corneas appeared to be due to other factors. Specifically, decisions not to donate appear to be driven by a range of concerns surrounding disfigurement. The survey also provides eye banks with reassurance about the acceptability of whole globe procurement, and recognition that research into blindness is a highly valued part of corneal donation. Finally, the survey identifies that many in iduals see benefit in having their family engaged in the decision-making process, suggesting that decisions about donation are more complex than a simple appeal to the autonomy of the deceased.

MANAGING INTENTIONS: THE END-OF-LIFE ADMINISTRATION OF ANALGESICS AND SEDATIVES, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SLOW EUTHANASIA

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 09-2008

DOI: 10.1111/J.1467-8519.2008.00661.X

Abstract: There has been much debate regarding the 'double-effect' of sedatives and analgesics administered at the end-of-life, and the possibility that health professionals using these drugs are performing 'slow euthanasia.' On the one hand analgesics and sedatives can do much to relieve suffering in the terminally ill. On the other hand, they can hasten death. According to a standard view, the administration of analgesics and sedatives amounts to euthanasia when the drugs are given with an intention to hasten death. In this paper we report a small qualitative study based on interviews with 8 Australian general physicians regarding their understanding of intention in the context of questions about voluntary euthanasia, assisted suicide and particularly the use of analgesic and sedative infusions (including the possibility of voluntary or non-voluntary 'slow euthanasia'). We found a striking ambiguity and uncertainty regarding intentions amongst doctors interviewed. Some were explicit in describing a 'grey' area between palliation and euthanasia, or a continuum between the two. Not one of the respondents was consistent in distinguishing between a foreseen death and an intended death. A major theme was that 'slow euthanasia' may be more psychologically acceptable to doctors than active voluntary euthanasia by bolus injection, partly because the former would usually only result in a small loss of 'time' for patients already very close to death, but also because of the desirable ambiguities surrounding causation and intention when an infusion of analgesics and sedatives is used. The empirical and philosophical implications of these findings are discussed.

Direct-to-consumer advertising under the radar: The need for realistic drugs policy in Australia

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 27-03-2007

DOI: 10.1111/J.1445-5994.2006.01298.X

Abstract: Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines (DTCA-PM) is currently banned in Australia. DTCA-PM is thought to increase health-care costs by increasing demand for drugs that are both expensive and potentially harmful. However, DTCA-PM is occurring in Australia despite the current prohibition. We argue that successful regulation of the practice has been undermined as a result of changes brought about by the ongoing communications revolution, the increasing centrality of patient choice in medical decision-making and the impossibility of drawing and maintaining a sharp distinction between information and advertising. The prohibition is further threatened by recent international trade agreements. These factors make DTCA-PM inevitable and legislative and professional bodies need to acknowledge this to create a more effective health-care policy.

Consent in crisis: The need to reconceptualize consent to tissue banking research

Publisher: Wiley

Date: 02-2006

DOI: 10.1111/J.1445-5994.2006.01020.X

Abstract: The issues surrounding consent to tissue banking research in Australia are complex and have created a forum of intense debate, thus providing a window of opportunity to critically appraise and challenge standard models of consent for research in general and for tissue banking research in particular. The usual practical difficulties associated with meeting the criteria for valid consent to research (including adequate information provision and voluntariness) are lified in the case of tissue banking research. A number of models, based on widely accepted ethical principles, have been proposed to improve the process of obtaining consent to tissue banking research, all of which assume that the consent of in idual tissue donors is needed to meet the criteria for valid consent. Feminist and communitarian theories use many of the same criteria for valid consent but interpret these criteria differently and de-emphasize the importance of in idual autonomy as the central criterion for valid consent. An enriched model of consent incorporating feminist and communitarian ideas could satisfy the currently accepted criteria for valid consent while also furthering a broader range of community values.

Hearing community voices: public engagement in Australian human embryo research policy, 2005–2007

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 09-2008

DOI: 10.1080/14636770802326901

Values of Australian Meat Consumers Related to Sheep and Beef Cattle Welfare: What Makes a Good Life and a Good Death?

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 15-12-2022

DOI: 10.1007/S41055-022-00114-2

Why would we believe them? Meat consumers’ reactions to online farm animal welfare activism in Australia

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 20-03-2018

DOI: 10.1080/22041451.2018.1451209

Bermuda 2.0: reflections from Santa Cruz

Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)

Date: 12-2016

DOI: 10.1093/GIGASCIENCE/GIW003

Double Meanings Will Not Save the Principle of Double Effect

Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)

Date: 15-04-2014

DOI: 10.1093/JMP/JHU011

Abstract: In an article somewhat ironically entitled "Disambiguating Clinical Intentions," Lynn Jansen promotes an idea that should be bewildering to anyone familiar with the literature on the intention/foresight distinction. According to Jansen, "intention" has two commonsense meanings, one of which is equivalent to "foresight." Consequently, questions about intention are "infected" with ambiguity-people cannot tell what they mean and do not know how to answer them. This hypothesis is unsupported by evidence, but Jansen states it as if it were accepted fact. In this reply, we make explicit the multiple misrepresentations she has employed to make her hypothesis seem plausible. We also point out the ways in which it defies common sense. In particular, Jansen applies her thesis only to recent empirical research on the intentions of doctors, totally ignoring the widespread confusion that her assertion would imply in everyday life, in law, and indeed in religious and philosophical writings concerning the intention/foresight distinction and the Principle of Double Effect.

Potential abiotic stress targets for modern genetic manipulation

Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)

Date: 15-11-2023

DOI: 10.1093/PLCELL/KOAC327

Abstract: Research into crop yield and resilience has underpinned global food security, evident in yields tripling in the past 5 decades. The challenges that global agriculture now faces are not just to feed 10+ billion people within a generation, but to do so under a harsher, more variable, and less predictable climate, and in many cases with less water, more expensive inputs, and declining soil quality. The challenges of climate change are not simply to breed for a “hotter drier climate,” but to enable resilience to floods and droughts and frosts and heat waves, possibly even within a single growing season. How well we prepare for the coming decades of climate variability will depend on our ability to modify current practices, innovate with novel breeding methods, and communicate and work with farming communities to ensure viability and profitability. Here we define how future climates will impact farming systems and growing seasons, thereby identifying the traits and practices needed and including exemplars being implemented and developed. Critically, this review will also consider societal perspectives and public engagement about emerging technologies for climate resilience, with participatory approaches presented as the best approach.

Learning Not Just From But With Citizens: The Importance of Co-Design in Health-Related Social Research.

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 24-07-2019

DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2019.1619866

“I Feel Sorry for Them”: Australian Meat Consumers’ Perceptions about Sheep and Beef Cattle Transportation

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 03-10-2018

DOI: 10.3390/ANI8100171

Abstract: Concern for livestock welfare is significantly increasing in many parts of the world. One area of concern is the transportation of livestock. Using qualitative research methods, this research explores the concerns of Australian meat consumers related to livestock transportation practices, both on land by truck and on sea by ship. Participants were predominantly concerned about animals being “crammed” into trucks and ships, and the long distances over which livestock were transported. Likely contributors to these reactions are the high visibility of truck transport in urban areas, and recent media and political attention to the live-export issue in Australia. We argue that participants’ concerns about transport are arising for a variety of reasons, including anthropomorphic tendencies, genuine concern for the welfare of farm animals, and emotional responses related to the discomfort experienced by meat consumers when they are reminded of the meat-animal connection. Given the importance of transport to the red-meat production industry, these results suggest that the sector may need to reconsider some of their practices and increase transparency and communication about the practices, which they utilise to ensure good animal welfare.

Mixing Metaphors in Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 12-2006

DOI: 10.1080/15265160600938872

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0210849

Start Date: 05-2002

End Date: 04-2003

Amount: $47,164.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0346254

Start Date: 07-2003

End Date: 06-2005

Amount: $55,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP140102477

Start Date: 2014

End Date: 12-2017

Amount: $291,669.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP160102989

Start Date: 09-2016

End Date: 12-2021

Amount: $313,686.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP120100553

Start Date: 04-2012

End Date: 12-2016

Amount: $90,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP110105062

Start Date: 2011

End Date: 12-2014

Amount: $155,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP130100419

Start Date: 03-2014

End Date: 06-2019

Amount: $287,607.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP0556068

Start Date: 2005

End Date: 03-2012

Amount: $339,658.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354803

Start Date: 09-2004

End Date: 11-2004

Amount: $10,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC210100047

Start Date: 09-2022

End Date: 08-2027

Amount: $5,000,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council