Enhancement, Authenticity, and Social Acceptance in the Age of Individualism

Public attitudes concerning cognitive enhancements are significant for a number of reasons. They tell us about how socially acceptable these emerging technologies are considered to be, but they also provide a window into the ethical reasons that are likely to get traction in the ongoing debates about them. We thus see Conrad et al’s project of empirically investigating the effect of metaphors and context in shaping attitudes about cognitive enhancements as both interesting and important. We sketch what we suspect is a central theme that runs through these public attitudes, but that Conrad el al’s paper elides. We were disappointed that they did not more directly explore the efficacy of frames and metaphors associated with the values of authenticity and self-expression. This seems like a missed opportunity. Based on the premise that individualistic values enjoy centrality in Western and especially North American culture (e.g. Taylor 1989), we hypothesize that metaphors and frames informed by those values will be especially effective in shaping public attitudes. That is, when various kinds of novel enhancement are described as allowing people to more fully express themselves, or as helping people overcome obstacles to being authentic and true to their inner sense of themselves, those enhancements will be considered justified, and their use more likely to be viewed as socially acceptable by the public. We support our contention by drawing on work by Elliott (2004, 2011, c.f. Kadlac 2018), and discuss how this study, and others modeled on it, might shed light on our hypothesis

IS/IT in developing and emerging economies

Copyright @ AMCIS 2007In spite of the rapid growth many developing and emerging economies are experiencing, with much of this growth supported by information technology (IT), published research dealing with IT in developing economies is still very limited. The objective of this paper is to direct attention to this apparent gap and provide an overview of the issues related to information systems (IS) and IT specifically in developing and emerging economies. Business and social conditions specific to developing and emerging economies and their potential effects on IS/IT implementations are discussed. After a brief review of papers presented at previous AMCIS conferences, some research areas that seem particularly in need of more attention are identified

Sarcoidosis in Johannesburg, South Africa: A retrospective study

Background. Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous condition of uncertain aetiology that most frequently affects the lungs. Because of clinical and radiological similarities with tuberculosis, particularly in high-prevalence regions, sarcoidosis is frequently misdiagnosed as TB. Objective. To review the clinical features of sarcoidosis patients in an SApopulation, adding clinical information to the relatively few studies that have been conducted in SA patients with sarcoidosis. Methods. This was a retrospective study of 102 sarcoidosis patients conducted between 2002 and 2006 at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Results. Of 102 sarcoidosis patients, there were 69 (67.6%) females and 33 (32.4%) males. The majority (85.3%) were non-smokers. The mean age of the group was 44.6 years. One-third of patients had chronic comorbid diseases. Almost 17% had been treated initially for TB, prior to being diagnosed as having sarcoidosis. Two patients developed active TB while receiving corticosteroid treatment for sarcoidosis. The salient clinical manifestations were dry cough (the most common presenting symptom in 82.4%), dyspnoea in 53.9%, cutaneous lesions other than erythema nodosum in 33.3%, and on lung examination crackles were noted in 37.3% of patients. Raised angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) levels were found in 56.8% of patients. The majority (48%) of patients had stage II chest radiographic changes. Cutaneous (28.4%), mediastinal lymph node (25.5%) and transbronchial lung (25.5%) biopsies were the most frequent sites confirming granulomatous inflammation. Overall, 21.2% of patients had obstructive airway disease. Systemic corticosteroids were indicated in 87.3% of patients and the relapse rate was 60.7%. Conclusion. Sarcoidosis is often initially misdiagnosed as TB in SA. The most common biopsy sites for histological confirmation were the skin and mediastinal lymphnodes, and transbronchial lung biopsies were also frequently taken. Stage II chest radiographic changes were most common. Overall, systemic corticosteroids were administered in 87.3% of cases and the relapse rate was 60.7%