Ethics review processes are frequently perceived as extending from codes and protocols rooted in biomedical disciplines. As a result, many researchers in the humanities and social sciences (HASS) find these processes to be misaligned, if not outrightly obstructive to their research. This leads some scholars to advocate against HASS participation…

The expansion of ethics review, beyond its origins in medical research, is the subject of growing critical analysis internationally, especially from social science researchers. Our study builds on this analysis by considering ethics review specifically within tertiary-based educational research. As a foundation for a larger study, we explore the…

Research ethics approval procedures and research ethics committees (RECs) are now well-established in most Western Universities. RECs base their judgements on an ethics code that has been developed by the health and biomedical sciences research community and that is widely considered to be universally valid regardless of discipline. On the other…

Graduate courses in scientific integrity typically cover responsible authorship, conflict of interest, handling of misconduct, data management, and treatment of human and animal subjects. Carefully prepared and used case studies are an appropriate teaching method. (SK)

The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed new regulations on scientific misconduct and requested ideas on what the government should do about the problem. Guidelines proposed by eight university groups and two science organizations are intended to help institutions draw up their own research-fraud procedures. (MLW)

Medical schools are recognizing that students require explicit discussion and analysis of ethical issues to assure high standards of professional practice. Recognition that the same approach is needed in biomedical research has begun to emerge. (Author/MLW)

A discussion of the relationship of politics and the welfare of research animals looks at the nineteenth-century history of the issue, current activism in Europe, recent legislative and political action in the United States, and the position of the biomedical community, and provides guidelines for political action. (MSE)

The paper reviews factors related to effects of biotechnology on the discipline of pharmacy administration including needs assessment, diffusion of technology, cost benefit analysis, marketing, cost containment, patient education and compliance, ethics, and health professions training. (DB)

Summarizes and comments on three presentations relative to the life sciences and medicine given at the October 1995 working symposium of the Project on Conflict of Interest in University-Industry Research Relationships and included in this issue. Discusses the work of medical researcher David Blumenthal, political scientist Mark Frankel, and…

Information used in a brief lecture that introduces a biomedical ethics curriculum in an obstetrics and gynecology residency is described. Major components include theories of philosophic ethics (formalist and consequentialist) and principles of biomedical ethics (honesty, contract-keeping, nonmaleficence, justice, autonomy, beneficence,…

The doctrine of informed consent has been enumerated to protect the rights of human subjects involved in biomedical research. The elements of informed consent are summarized along with the changes of emphasis that have evolved. The issue of liability and means for minimizing its impact are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Two federal agencies proposed conflict-of-interest guidelines that would require scientists supported by government money to file financial-disclosure forms and universities to review those forms and eliminate conflicts of interest. The National Institutes of Health and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration proposed the…

Three aspects of an ethical code for biomedical science teachers are discussed: the requirement for scholarly competence and the ability to communicate information effectively; the need to treat students with justice and caring; and the obligation to stimulate creativity and not to exercise undue control over students. (MLW)

Changes in biomedical research are outlined including financial competition that forces investigators to spend more time developing proposals and creates pressures to produce quickly; obsolescence of equipment, facilities, people, and knowledge; demand for interdisciplinary approaches and greater accountability; joint ventures with profit making…

A disciplined understanding of human values is seen as an essential complement to the biomedical and psychosocial components of clinical training in medical education. A biopsycho-ethical model for medical education is presented. By combining interdisciplinary seminars with clinical experience, both the rigor and relevance of value analysis are…