Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance wi ....Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance with Australia's commitment to fostering a multicultural, pluralistic, democratic society. This project will produce practical recommendations for refining public consultation in healthcare policy-making through an examination of three relevant contentious case studies in Australia with comparison to Canada.Read moreRead less
Consent in the void: moral, legal and community values in decisions about human biological donations. This project will improve consent procedures for embryo and organ donation. This will increase the autonomy of those consenting, the quality of consent that is given, and increase public trust in the processes of embryo and organ donation. The legal and moral status of the wishes of the newly dead or embryo donors and will be clarified thereby increasing the quality of consent processes for all ....Consent in the void: moral, legal and community values in decisions about human biological donations. This project will improve consent procedures for embryo and organ donation. This will increase the autonomy of those consenting, the quality of consent that is given, and increase public trust in the processes of embryo and organ donation. The legal and moral status of the wishes of the newly dead or embryo donors and will be clarified thereby increasing the quality of consent processes for all involved. By including community values in addition to the legal and moral issues, this project will make well-founded recommendations for the development of laws, policies and guidelines in relation to decisions about frozen embryos and the newly dead.Read moreRead less
Support or sales? Medical device representatives in Australian hospitals. Medical device representatives provide crucial support to clinicians using complex medical equipment. However, their obligation to maximise sales conflicts with their support role. Increasing uptake of devices potentially impacts patient safety and healthcare costs, making it important to understand the involvement and influence of device representatives. The proposed research will investigate the ethical and legal impacts ....Support or sales? Medical device representatives in Australian hospitals. Medical device representatives provide crucial support to clinicians using complex medical equipment. However, their obligation to maximise sales conflicts with their support role. Increasing uptake of devices potentially impacts patient safety and healthcare costs, making it important to understand the involvement and influence of device representatives. The proposed research will investigate the ethical and legal impacts of device representatives in Australian hospitals, leading to new knowledge and innovative ethical and legal analyses of their activities. Benefits include a policy framework, new standards for managing device representatives’ interactions, and clarity about ethical and legal obligations of clinicians and institutions.Read moreRead less
What shall we have for tea? Toward a new discourse of food ethics in contemporary Australia. We are increasingly encouraged to make 'ethical' food choices but lack information about these issues: this project explores Australians' understandings of food ethics. Outcomes include a framework for more thoughtful discussions about food ethics and a series of recommendations for fostering public participation in food policy-making.
Egalitarian Responses to Climate Change. The project will offer significant insights into the effects of climate change and adaptation policy on the disadvantaged at a time when there is significant policy change in this area. The project will develop a philosophical framework for assessing whether current and proposed carbon trading schemes are just. In addition, the project will also consider the important political issue of whether democratic participation in the formation of climate policy i ....Egalitarian Responses to Climate Change. The project will offer significant insights into the effects of climate change and adaptation policy on the disadvantaged at a time when there is significant policy change in this area. The project will develop a philosophical framework for assessing whether current and proposed carbon trading schemes are just. In addition, the project will also consider the important political issue of whether democratic participation in the formation of climate policy is required and in what ways. Read moreRead less
The Morality of Cooperation and Concern. The ethical issues of the greatest ongoing importance to the Australian community concern the conflicts between the interests of individuals and those of society. This project tackles those issues at a fundamental level. Its practical applications are of pressing importance to policy and public debate. It offers guidance to the many Australians whose work involves reflection on ethical principles - such as ethics committee members. It will contribute to t ....The Morality of Cooperation and Concern. The ethical issues of the greatest ongoing importance to the Australian community concern the conflicts between the interests of individuals and those of society. This project tackles those issues at a fundamental level. Its practical applications are of pressing importance to policy and public debate. It offers guidance to the many Australians whose work involves reflection on ethical principles - such as ethics committee members. It will contribute to the international profile of Australian moral philosophy, while broadening the knowledge base of the discipline in this country. And it will add to Australia's reputation as a country that takes ethics seriously.Read moreRead less
Structured Moral Pluralism. The Australian intellectual scene is characterized by intensely lively ethical debate, and a very high international reputation for the quality of its moral philosophy. This project will add significantly to the breadth of theoretical ethics in this country, by developing in detail an approach that has not previously been strongly represented. It offers a new approach to thinking about the foundations of ethics and reasoning from those foundations. Its practical appli ....Structured Moral Pluralism. The Australian intellectual scene is characterized by intensely lively ethical debate, and a very high international reputation for the quality of its moral philosophy. This project will add significantly to the breadth of theoretical ethics in this country, by developing in detail an approach that has not previously been strongly represented. It offers a new approach to thinking about the foundations of ethics and reasoning from those foundations. Its practical applications are of pressing importance to policy and public debate. It also offers guidance to the many Australians whose work involves applying ethical principles, such as ethics committee members. Read moreRead less
Building and Ethics: Understanding A Corpus of Contemproary Australian Award-Winning Houses as Responses to Ecological, Social and Built Contexts. The project aims to construct an understanding from an ethical framework of the interrelationships between attitudes, perceptions, rhetorical statements about and actual behaviours of a small corpus of contemporary award-winning Australian houses. The project is significant as it will create a conceptual advance in understanding the ways in which note ....Building and Ethics: Understanding A Corpus of Contemproary Australian Award-Winning Houses as Responses to Ecological, Social and Built Contexts. The project aims to construct an understanding from an ethical framework of the interrelationships between attitudes, perceptions, rhetorical statements about and actual behaviours of a small corpus of contemporary award-winning Australian houses. The project is significant as it will create a conceptual advance in understanding the ways in which noted Australian houses respond in a cohesive ethical manner to ecological, social and built contexts. The expected outcomes include documentation of an (ethical) methodology for a cohesive analysis of buildings to assist the building design and construction industry to make informed decisions in housing design and construction in the Australian context(s).Read moreRead less
The Morality of Assistance. Other people's needs and interests give us reasons to help them - reasons that ground moral requirements. But how extensive are those requirements? How should our actions to assist other people be motivated? And what obligations does the receipt of assistance create? These questions are of foundational importance to moral philosophy, and underlie a range of practical issues of public policy, professional practice and moral education. In this project, the standard trea ....The Morality of Assistance. Other people's needs and interests give us reasons to help them - reasons that ground moral requirements. But how extensive are those requirements? How should our actions to assist other people be motivated? And what obligations does the receipt of assistance create? These questions are of foundational importance to moral philosophy, and underlie a range of practical issues of public policy, professional practice and moral education. In this project, the standard treatment of these questions is rejected. It shows how recent innovative work in theoretical ethics can be used to answer some of the most important questions of applied ethics.Read moreRead less
Who is Law For? An Analysis of the Nature of the Legal Being. The project will provide the first contemporary comprehensive scholarly treatise on "the legal person" as this legal concept applies to natural beings and objects: from rational humans, to human foetuses to animals to trees. It will have a direct bearing on legal decision-making in some of the most sensitive and controversial areas of law and therefore will have a highly practical legal application. For example, the project critically ....Who is Law For? An Analysis of the Nature of the Legal Being. The project will provide the first contemporary comprehensive scholarly treatise on "the legal person" as this legal concept applies to natural beings and objects: from rational humans, to human foetuses to animals to trees. It will have a direct bearing on legal decision-making in some of the most sensitive and controversial areas of law and therefore will have a highly practical legal application. For example, the project critically evaluates the legal status of the embryo and so will be of immediate interest to national and international law reformers considering the legality of the new reproductive technologies, cloning and embryonic stem cell research.Read moreRead less