Listserv for the International Society
for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology
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In this email:
1. Target Article Announcement - American Journal of Bioethics
2. SPHS Call for Papers
---Message 1 of 2: Target Article Announcement - American Journal of
Bioethics----
This is the official announcement of two new Target Articles that
have been accepted for publication in a forthcoming issue of the
American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB), an interdisciplinary journal
fostering scholarly dialogue through Open Peer Commentary on current,
controversial issues in bioethics and the history and philosophy of
medicine:
(1) WHAT MAKES PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIALS UNETHICAL? (see abstract below)
by Franklin G. Miller, PhD, The National Institutes of Health and
Howard Brody, MD, PHD, Michigan State University
LINK TO ARTICLE:
http://ajob-editorial.mit.edu//groups/ajob%5feditors/pinup/posting.tcl?posting_id=1042
and
(2) CYNTHIA'S DILEMMA: CONSENTING TO HEROIN PRESCRIPTION (see abstract below)
by Louis C. Charland, PhD, University of Western Ontario
LINK TO ARTICLE:
http://ajob-editorial.mit.edu//groups/ajob%5feditors/pinup/posting.tcl?posting_id=1043
Open Peer Commentaries are now invited on both these Target Articles.
Open Peer Commentary articles are typically between 500-1500 words
and contain no more than 10 references. A guide to writing an Open
Peer Commentary is available at http://ajob-editorial.mit.edu/faq.adp.
In order to ensure a balanced set of Commentary articles that cover a
wide range of scholarship, we ask that you please reply to this
message by December 2, 2001 with a short summary of your proposed
Open Peer Commentary (no more than two or three sentences), stating
the topic and scope of your envisioned commentary. We ask that you
do not prepare a full commentary yet. Once we have evaluated your
proposal and the expertise you would bring to bear on aspects of the
Target Article, we will contact you to let you know whether or not we
were able to include you on the final list of Target Article
commentators. You will then write your Open Peer Commentary before
December 20, 2001. A set of no more than 15 Open Peer Commentaries
will be published with each Target Article in the print and/or online
editions of AJOB, and will be indexed in MEDLINE, LEXIS, CINAHL,
PUBMED and on the Internet.
Open Peer Commentators fall into one of the following categories: 1)
members of the AJOB Editorial Board; 2) those nominated as Open Peer
Commentators by a member of the AJOB Editorial Board; 3) those who
have published in a previous issue of AJOB. If you would like to be
nominated to serve as an Open Peer Commentator, or would like to
nominate a commentator please reply to this message with your
suggestions and/or questions before December 2, 2001.
To help you decide whether or not you will be an appropriate
commentator for the forthcoming Target Article, you may both consult
the abstracts below, and access the complete article as a PDF file by
going to the URL above. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat and are
unable to read PDF files, you may download free Adobe Acrobat Reader
software for any computer platform, at http://www.adobe.com. AJOB
and MIT Press also assist Open Peer Commentators with disabilities by
providing the Target Article in other formats on request. The
American Journal of Bioethics subscriber web site
(http://bioethics.net) is also formatted for accessibility by those
who require browser or other accommodations.
We ask that you not reproduce or cite the Target Articles or Open
Peer Commentaries on the editorial web site, as they have not yet
been edited for publication. Please cite only published materials
from The American Journal of Bioethics (as indexed at the Journal's
website, http://bioethics.net).
_____________________________
ABSTRACTS:
WHAT MAKES PLACEBO CONTROL TRIALS UNETHICAL? by Miller & Brody
The leading ethical position on placebo-controlled clinical trials is
that whenever proven effective treatment exists for a given
condition, it is unethical to test a new treatment for that condition
against placebo. Invoking the principle of clinical equipoise,
opponents of placebo-controlled trials in the face of proven
effective treatment argue that they (1) violate the therapeutic
obligation of physicians to offer optimal medical and (2) lack both
scientific and clinical merit. We contend that both of these
arguments are mistaken. Clinical equipoise provides erroneous
ethical guidance in the case of placebo-controlled trials because it
ignores the ethically-relevant distinction between clinical trials
and treatment in the context of clinical medicine and the
methodological limitations of active-controlled trials. Placebo
controls are ethically justifiable when they are supported by sound
methodological considerations and their use does not expose research
participants to excessive risks of harm.
CYNTHIA'S DILEMMA: CONSENTING TO HEROIN PRESCRIPTION by Charland
Heroin prescription involves the medical provision of heroin in the
treatment of heroin addiction. Rudimentary clinical trials on that
treatment modality have been carried out and others are currently
underway or in development. However, it is questionable whether
subjects considered for such trials are mentally competent to consent
to them. The problem has not been sufficiently appreciated in ethical
and clinical discussions on the topic. The challenges involved throw
new light on the role of value and accountability in contemporary
discussions of mental competence.
____________________________________
*** Supplementary Announcements ***
1. If you are interested in writing a book review for the paper or
online AJOB please access our list of books needing reviewers and
then contact Book Review Editor Sheldon Zink, Ph.D., with the name of
the book you would like to review and your qualifications to do so:
http://www.ajobonline.com/bookreceived.php?task=view&articleID=413
email Sheldon Zink: mailto:[log in to unmask]
2. Please NOTE that student subscriptions are $15/yr, and might thus
make an appropriate addition to your spring bioethics course text
adoption list. An online-only subscription to AJOB is an excellent
way to assign students short papers on current topics in bioethics,
and to link students to information about how to conduct research in
bioethics. Live homework help is also available for your students
between 7pm-12am EST at the Journal website.
3. The largest job list in the history of bioethics - dozens of open
positions at every level and in many settings - is now available for
free access to all (subscription not required) at the website; see
Bioethics Jobs at the left of the Journal front page.
--
Glenn McGee PhD
associate director for education
Center for Bioethics - University of Pennsylvania
3401 Market Street - Suite 320
Philadelphia 19104-3308
American Journal of Bioethics ( http://bioethics.net )
MIT Press Bioethics Series ( http://mitpress.mit.edu/bioethics-series.html )
phone (215) 573 8103
fax (267) 200-0034
-----Message 2 of 2: Call for Papers: SPHS Call for Papers------
THE SOCIETY FOR PHENOMENOLOGY AND THE HUMAN SCIENCES
in conjunction with
The Society for Phenomenology and Existential
Philosophy
SPHS Call for Papers
2002 Annual Conference
Loyola University
Chicago, Illinois
Thursday, October 10 - Saturday, October 12, 2002
SPHS encourages the application of phenomenological
methodology to specific investigations within the
human sciences. You are invited to join SPHS in its
efforts to achieve a deeper understanding of, and
engagement with, the Life-World.
Contents of Submissions
SPHS welcomes submissions on all topics within the
human and social sciences concerned with a reflective
appreciation of the nature of experience. Such
inquiries include, among others, empirical and
theoretical investigations, reflections, and
participatory workshops within social phenomenology
and human interaction, ethnomethodology and
phenomenological sociology, phenomenological
psychology, the theory and practice of education,
reflective clinical investigations, communication
theory, cultural studies, womenís studies, race
studies, and theoretical and experiential explorations
of embodiment.
Graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to
submit their work.
Forms of Submissions
Presentations may take the form of individual papers
and media presentations, panels, and workshops.
For individual papers and media presentations, please
submit completed papers of no more than 12 pages, or
abstracts of 1000-1500 words.
For panels and workshops, please submit
abstracts or proposals of 1000 words.
For all submissions, please include your mailing
address and email address. Notification of acceptance
and responses to inquiries will be by email, insofar
as possible. Also, please indicate what, if any, audio
visual or electronic equipment is desired.
Submission Deadline: March 15, 2002
Notification of Acceptance: June 1, 2002
Send all submissions and direct all inquiries to:
Philip Lewin
Program Chair, SPHS Email: [log in to unmask]
865 Shalar Court Telephone: 541-485-3541
Eugene, Oregon 97405
Additional information about the conference may be
found on the website of SPHS: www.towson.edu/sphs
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