Top 5 social media platforms for research development

Social media outlets are becoming essential for academia, not just for the promotion of research but for research development as well. Andy Miah provides an overview of his top picks for the social media newbie and argues that if used well, these platforms will allow academics to digest more content, more quickly. We must figure out how to use social media in a way that enriches academic working life, but in a way that also provides some added value

Philosophical and ethical questions concerning technology in sport : the case of genetic modification

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN053716 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Genetics, cyberspace and bioethics: why not a public engagement with ethics?

The representation of science, medicine, and technology has been an emerging agenda item for cultural and media research in the last decade. In part, its importance arises out of a concern for the public understanding of science (PUoS), which has been a priority in governmental policy discussions. This paper discusses how the utilization of cyberspatial communities can address the challenge of developing a global engagement with science and ethics, by considering the case of genetic technology and the role of experts in public debate. It critically appraises the PUoS and suggests that a way of advancing its methodological assumptions is through developing a “Public Engagemen with Ethics.” On this basis, concerns about scientific journalism are more effectively contextualized and enhance the possibility of ensuring that non-experts are aware of the importance of any scientific innovation

Bioarte: actuación transhumana y posthumana

For over a century, science fiction has gripped the attention of audiences world-wide, with some of its most successful achievements furnishing the world with utopian and dystopian narratives about the progress of science and the limits of humanity's ability to understand its own complexity and place in the world. However, it is only in the last 30 years that ideas of transhumanism and posthumanism have become part of the intellectual influences of various other art forms that engage with similar subject matter. It is even more recent that posthuman and transhuman scholars have interpreted the work of many pioneering artists and designers as manifestos for their ideas, or as rejections of the possible futures their ideas imply. This is not to say that transhumanist and posthumanist thought is absent from art works that precede this period, but that the explicit link between theories of post-/trans- humanism and such artwork has only recently been made.This article makes explicit the association of certain art forms and art works to trans- and posthumanist ideas, which have become constitutive of the political, cultural and philosophical differences and similarities that exist between these concepts. It discusses a range of art practices with a view to identifying themes within trans- and posthuman art, while also articulating some of the foundational contributions in this field. It begins by advancing a definition of bioart to capture the common ground between transhuman and posthuman art. It then considers interpretations of such works and rejection of their collective definition, by drawing attention to their socio-political and bioethical context. Finally, I consider how one may read bioart from the perspective of transhuman and posthuman thought. Throughout, some of the defining artists in the fields of transhuman and posthuman art are considered.Durante más de un siglo la ciencia ficción ha atraído la atención de toda la población mundial, habiendo obtenido uno de sus mayores éxitos en el hecho de proporcionarnos narrativas utópicas y distópicas sobre el progreso de la ciencia y los límites de la capacidad humana para entender su propia complejidad y su lugar en el mundo. Sin embargo, hace apenas 30 años que las ideas de transhumanismo y posthumanismo han pasado a formar parte de las influencias intelectuales de otras formas de arte diversas que manejan temáticas similares. Pero todavía es más reciente el hecho de que académicos del transhumanismo y del posthumanismo hayan interpretado los trabajos de muchos artistas y diseñadores pioneros como manifiestos de sus ideas o como rechazo de los posibles futuros que implican esas ideas. Esto no quiere decir que el pensamiento transhumanista y posthumanista no esté presente en trabajos artísticos anteriores a este periodo, sino que el vínculo explícito entre las teorías del trans-/post- humanismo y tales obras de arte sólo se ha establecido recientemente.Este artículo establece la asociación explícita entre ciertas formas y obras de arte y las ideas trans y post humanísticas que hay llegado a ser constitutivas tanto de las diferencias políticas, culturales y filosóficas como de las similitudes existentes entre estos conceptos. Analiza un abanico de prácticas artísticas con el fin de identificar temas dentro del arte trans y post humano, al mismo tiempo que articula algunas de las contribuciones fundamentales en este campo. Comienza adelantando una definición de bioarte para atrapar el territorio común entre el arte transhumano y el posthumano. A partir de ahí se centra en las interpretaciones de tales obras y en el rechazo de su definición colectiva, atrayendo la atención sobre su contexto sociopolítico y bioético. Finalmente, me centro en cómo podría leerse el bioarte desde la perspectiva del pensamiento transhumano y posthumano. Al mismo tiempo, se toman en consideración algunos de los artistas determinantes en los campos del arte transhumano y posthumano

Bioarte: actuación transhumana y posthumana

For over a century, science fiction has gripped the attention of audiences world-wide, with some of its most successful achievements furnishing the world with utopian and dystopian narratives about the progress of science and the limits of humanity's ability to understand its own complexity and place in the world. However, it is only in the last 30 years that ideas of transhumanism and posthumanism have become part of the intellectual influences of various other art forms that engage with similar subject matter. It is even more recent that posthuman and transhuman scholars have interpreted the work of many pioneering artists and designers as manifestos for their ideas, or as rejections of the possible futures their ideas imply. This is not to say that transhumanist and posthumanist thought is absent from art works that precede this period, but that the explicit link between theories of post-/trans- humanism and such artwork has only recently been made.This article makes explicit the association of certain art forms and art works to trans- and posthumanist ideas, which have become constitutive of the political, cultural and philosophical differences and similarities that exist between these concepts. It discusses a range of art practices with a view to identifying themes within trans- and posthuman art, while also articulating some of the foundational contributions in this field. It begins by advancing a definition of bioart to capture the common ground between transhuman and posthuman art. It then considers interpretations of such works and rejection of their collective definition, by drawing attention to their socio-political and bioethical context. Finally, I consider how one may read bioart from the perspective of transhuman and posthuman thought. Throughout, some of the defining artists in the fields of transhuman and posthuman art are considered.Durante más de un siglo la ciencia ficción ha atraído la atención de toda la población mundial, habiendo obtenido uno de sus mayores éxitos en el hecho de proporcionarnos narrativas utópicas y distópicas sobre el progreso de la ciencia y los límites de la capacidad humana para entender su propia complejidad y su lugar en el mundo. Sin embargo, hace apenas 30 años que las ideas de transhumanismo y posthumanismo han pasado a formar parte de las influencias intelectuales de otras formas de arte diversas que manejan temáticas similares. Pero todavía es más reciente el hecho de que académicos del transhumanismo y del posthumanismo hayan interpretado los trabajos de muchos artistas y diseñadores pioneros como manifiestos de sus ideas o como rechazo de los posibles futuros que implican esas ideas. Esto no quiere decir que el pensamiento transhumanista y posthumanista no esté presente en trabajos artísticos anteriores a este periodo, sino que el vínculo explícito entre las teorías del trans-/post- humanismo y tales obras de arte sólo se ha establecido recientemente.Este artículo establece la asociación explícita entre ciertas formas y obras de arte y las ideas trans y post humanísticas que hay llegado a ser constitutivas tanto de las diferencias políticas, culturales y filosóficas como de las similitudes existentes entre estos conceptos. Analiza un abanico de prácticas artísticas con el fin de identificar temas dentro del arte trans y post humano, al mismo tiempo que articula algunas de las contribuciones fundamentales en este campo. Comienza adelantando una definición de bioarte para atrapar el territorio común entre el arte transhumano y el posthumano. A partir de ahí se centra en las interpretaciones de tales obras y en el rechazo de su definición colectiva, atrayendo la atención sobre su contexto sociopolítico y bioético. Finalmente, me centro en cómo podría leerse el bioarte desde la perspectiva del pensamiento transhumano y posthumano. Al mismo tiempo, se toman en consideración algunos de los artistas determinantes en los campos del arte transhumano y posthumano

Can travel advisors influence physical activity in personal travel planning projects using the Theory of Planned Behaviour? A longitudinal study

The objective was to examine the effect of travel advisors (TAs) used in personal travel planning interventions (PTP) on physical activity (PA) in an urban, ethnically diverse residential settings. The study assessed the utility of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to predict both intention and PA associated with “TAs”. A quasi-experimental longitudinal study was conducted with two groups to examine changes in physical activity levels. The methods involved a survey targeted at residents in a PTP targeted area who spoke to a TA (intervention group) and residents who did not (control group). Participants in the intervention group (n = 147) and control group (n = 95) self-reported their PA levels and constructs of the TPB at three time points. The results show that residents who had spoken to a TA reported significantly higher levels of physical activity at each of the three time points. ANOVA”s revealed significant interaction effects for the TPB constructs. The overall conclusion was that those who had spoken to a TA reported more PA at each of the three time points. Keywords: personal travel planning; physical activity; travel advisor, theory of planned behaviour; travel adviso

Nanoethics, science communication, and a fourth model for public engagement

This paper develops a fourth model of public engagement with science, grounded in the principle of nurturing scientific agency through online participatory bioethics. It argues that social media is an effective device through which to enable such engagement, as it has the capacity to empower users and transforms audiences into co-producers of knowledge, rather than consumers of content, the value of which is recognised within the citizen science movement. Social media also fosters greater engagement with the political and legal implications of science, thus promoting the value of scientific citizenship through the acquisition of science capital. This argument is explored by considering the case of nanoscience and nanotechnology, as an exemplar for how emerging technologies may be handled by the scientific community and science policy makers, and as a technology that has defined a second era of science communication

Current anti-doping policy: a critical appraisal

BACKGROUND: Current anti-doping in competitive sports is advocated for reasons of fair-play and concern for the athlete's health. With the inception of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), anti-doping effort has been considerably intensified. Resources invested in anti-doping are rising steeply and increasingly involve public funding. Most of the effort concerns elite athletes with much less impact on amateur sports and the general public. DISCUSSION: We review this recent development of increasingly severe anti-doping control measures and find them based on questionable ethical grounds. The ethical foundation of the war on doping consists of largely unsubstantiated assumptions about fairness in sports and the concept of a "level playing field". Moreover, it relies on dubious claims about the protection of an athlete's health and the value of the essentialist view that sports achievements reflect natural capacities. In addition, costly antidoping efforts in elite competitive sports concern only a small fraction of the population. From a public health perspective this is problematic since the high prevalence of uncontrolled, medically unsupervised doping practiced in amateur sports and doping-like behaviour in the general population (substance use for performance enhancement outside sport) exposes greater numbers of people to potential harm. In addition, anti-doping has pushed doping and doping-like behaviour underground, thus fostering dangerous practices such as sharing needles for injection. Finally, we argue that the involvement of the medical profession in doping and anti-doping challenges the principles of non-maleficience and of privacy protection. As such, current anti-doping measures potentially introduce problems of greater impact than are solved, and place physicians working with athletes or in anti-doping settings in an ethically difficult position. In response, we argue on behalf of enhancement practices in sports within a framework of medical supervision. SUMMARY: Current anti-doping strategy is aimed at eradication of doping in elite sports by means of all-out repression, buttressed by a war-like ideology similar to the public discourse sustaining international efforts against illicit drugs. Rather than striving for eradication of doping in sports, which appears to be an unattainable goal, a more pragmatic approach aimed at controlled use and harm reduction may be a viable alternative to cope with doping and doping-like behaviour

Abstracts from the NIHR INVOLVE Conference 2017

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