Evaluating Gene Drive Approaches for Public Benefit

Gene drive approaches—those which bias inheritance of a genetic element in a population of sexually reproducing organisms—have the potential to provide important public benefits. The spread of selected genetic elements in wild populations of organisms may help address certain challenges, such as transmission of vector-borne human and animal diseases and biodiversity loss due to invasive animals. Adapting various naturally occurring gene drive mechanisms to these aims is a long-standing research area, and recent advances in genetics have made engineering gene drive systems significantly more technically feasible. Gene drive approaches would act through changes in natural environments, thus robust methods to evaluate potential research and use are important. Despite the fact that gene drive approaches build on existing paradigms, such as genetic modification of organisms and conventional biological control, there are material challenges to their evaluation. One challenge is the inherent complexity of ecosystems, which makes precise prediction of changes to the environment difficult. For gene drive approaches that are expected to spread spatially and/or persist temporally, responding to this difficulty with the typical stepwise increases in the scale of studies may not be straightforward after studies begin in the natural environment. A related challenge is that study or use of a gene drive approach may have implications for communities beyond the location of introduction, depending on the spatial spread and persistence of the approach and the population biology of the target organism. This poses a particular governance challenge when spread across national borders is plausible. Finally, community engagement is an important element of responsible research and governance, but effective community engagement for gene drive approaches requires addressing complexity and uncertainty and supporting representative participation in decision making. These challenges are not confronted in a void. Existing frameworks, processes, and institutions provide a basis for effective evaluation of gene drive approaches for public benefit. Although engineered gene drive approaches are relatively new, the necessities of making decisions despite uncertainty and governing actions with potential implications for shared environments are well established. There are methodologies to identify potential harms and assess risks when there is limited experience to draw upon, and these methodologies have been applied in similar contexts. There are also laws, policies, treaties, agreements, and institutions in place across many jurisdictions that support national and international decision making regarding genetically modified organisms and the potential applications of gene drive approaches, such as public health and biodiversity conservation. Community engagement is an established component of many decision-making processes, and related experience and conceptual frameworks can inform engagement by researchers. The existence of frameworks, processes, and institutions provides an important foundation for evaluating gene drive approaches, but it is not sufficient by itself. They must be rigorously applied, which requires resources for risk assessment, research, and community engagement and diligent implementation by governance institutions. The continued evolution of the frameworks, processes, and institutions is important to adapt to the growing understanding of gene drive approaches. With appropriate resources and diligence, it will be possible to responsibly evaluate and make decisions on gene drive approaches for public benefit

Are the Institutions of the Stock Market and the Market for Corporate Control Evolutionary Advances for Developing Countries?

This paper explores the question of whether the institution of the stock market is likely to be helpful to developing countries in promoting their real economy and ensuring fast industrial growth. The case for and against the stock market inevitably involves a discussion of the important related subjects of corporate finance and corporate governance. Contrary to the literature the paper arrives at a negative overall assessment of the institution of the stock market in relation to economic development. It also contributes by its policy proposals concerning the markets for corporate control, which again are in conflict with much of the conventional wisdom on the subject

An Ontological Approach to Inform HMI Designs for Minimizing Driver Distractions with ADAS

ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) are in-vehicle systems designed to enhance driving safety and efficiency as well as comfort for drivers in the driving process. Recent studies have noticed that when Human Machine Interface (HMI) is not designed properly, an ADAS can cause distraction which would affect its usage and even lead to safety issues. Current understanding of these issues is limited to the context-dependent nature of such systems. This paper reports the development of a holistic conceptualisation of how drivers interact with ADAS and how such interaction could lead to potential distraction. This is done taking an ontological approach to contextualise the potential distraction, driving tasks and user interactions centred on the use of ADAS. Example scenarios are also given to demonstrate how the developed ontology can be used to deduce rules for identifying distraction from ADAS and informing future designs

An explorative study of localisation and internationalisation of Web sites

This paper reports on an explorative study investigating study investigating the impacts of culture on web site design and usability, in terms of localisation and internationalisation. The study considers cultural differences among people in terms of race, language, and religion. Localisation/internationalisation of web sites addresses issues concerning the development of effective web sites for specific cultural groups or for a general population of users. This paper describes the methodology adopted in the project to study these issues and reports on the results of a pilot study phase

Use and useability of learning objects within the COLIS demonstrator framework (Interaction of IT systems & repositories project report)

[Executive Summary]: Murdoch University was one of several institutions and consortia funded to investigate the educational use of the Collaborative Online Learning and Information Services (COLIS) system developed in 2002 by a consortium based at Macquarie University. This project set out to investigate the use and useability of learning objects across three aspects of the COLIS system. Existing, single file learning objects were to be inserted into the IPR Systems Learning Object Exchange (LOX), transferred into the Learning Object Management System (LOMS), and made available through the WebCT Learning Management System. With the forced substitution of the Intralibrary Learning Object Repository for the IPR Systems exchange, the use of LOMS became superfluous. Similarly, the Federated search gateway did not function with the Intralibrary Learning Object Repository. Instead, Intralibrary’s own search function was used

Group-Based Mediational Leadership in an Online Project Team Context

Mediational leadership focuses on facilitating decision-making and relationship management within a group. This study examined how mediational action could be practiced collaboratively in a multi-group online project team environment to provide expert leadership on a critical task. Data included email achives, questionnaires from group members involved in coding messages for other research, and participant-observation standpoints provided by the authors. Findings showed the expert leaders group was approached for assistance both directly and by looping inquiries through the group's designated nominal leader. Both types of connectivity to the group appeared effective in providing expert recommendations. The climate of the group also indicated it functioned effectively as a site of mediational action. However, a collaborative model like mediational leadership could prove inefficient for certain CSCW groups or teams due to the amount of time involved in interaction. Group-Based Mediational Leadership in an Online Project Team Context Computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW), through the use of virtual teams and groups, has evolved to become a significant facet of organizational life (Scott, 1999). Using teams of workers dispersed over geographical locations and time horizons, yet linked together through access to communication networks, has changed the way people work in groups and redefined the nature of teamwork (Jackson, 1999; Lipnack & Stamps, 1997). While there has been a substantial amount of research on the overall effectiveness of CSCW (see Scott, 1999, for a thorough summary), relatively little is known about how process management strategies and other forms of leadership activities influence collaborative processes and performance in virtual teams and groups..