How (Not) to Argue for the Rule of Rescue. Claims of Individuals versus Group Solidarity

The rule of rescue holds that special weight should be given to protecting the lives of assignable individuals in need, implying that less weight is given to considerations of cost-effectiveness. This is sometimes invoked as an argument for funding or reimbursing life-saving treatment in public healthcare even if the costs of such treatment are extreme. At first sight one might assume that an individualist approach to ethics—such as Scanlon’s contractualism—would offer a promising route to justification of the rule of rescue. In this chapter I argue that contractualism cannot endorse the rule of rescue, whereas a collectivist approach that appeals to group solidarity would offer support for rescue cases. The argument, however, has its limitations, and though solidarity is of central concern in shaping public healthcare, there are good reasons for not endorsing the rule of rescue as a moral basis for allocating scarce resources in clinical care

Formateurs ou « grands frères » ?:Les tuteurs des programmes d’ouverture sociale des Grandes Écoles et des classes préparatoires

Espaces centraux pour la reproduction des élites scolaires et sociales françaises, les Grandes Écoles et les Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles (CPGE) cherchent à s’imposer depuis le début des années 2000 comme des lieux d’expérimentation de nouvelles pratiques de lutte contre les inégalités. Elles ont pour cela lancé des politiques innovantes visant à favoriser l’intégration dans des formations d’élite des jeunes de milieu défavorisé qui s’appuient sur le travail d’étudiants-tuteurs. Cet article étudie deux de ces politiques en traitant d’abord de la place du tutorat dans les dispositifs et des caractéristiques et motivations des tuteurs avant de se pencher plus longuement sur les définitions théoriques et pratiques de leurs rôles. Il met l’accent sur les apports et les limites de l’action pédagogique et socialisatrice des étudiants qui s’impliquent dans ces politiques et conclut en indiquant que ces derniers jouent un rôle original dans la reproduction du modèle de formation des élites en France.The Grandes Écoles and preparatory classes to Grandes Écoles as central places for the reproduction of French academic and social elites have sought since the early 2000s to experiment new practices to fight inequalities. They have launched innovative policies aimed to foster the inclusion of disadvantaged students in elite courses based on the participation of tutoring students. This paper explores two of these policies. It first addresses the place of tutors and their motivations in ad hoc policies, and then focuses on the theoretical and practical definitions of their roles. It emphasises the contributions and limits of the pedagogical and socialising action of the students involved in these policies. It finally suggests that these students play a new role in the reproduction of the model of elite courses in France.Al ser ámbitos centrales para la reproducción de élites escolares y sociales francesas, las Grandes Escuelas y las Clases Preparatorias a las Escuelas Superiores (CPGE) intentan imponerse desde el principio de los años 2000 como lugares de experimento de nuevas prácticas de lucha contra las desigualdades. Para esto han iniciado políticas innovadoras con vistas a favorecer la integración en las formaciones de élite de los jóvenes de un medio social desfavorecido que se apoyan en el trabajo de estudiantes tutores. Este artículo estudia dos de estas políticas al tratar primero de la importancia de la tutoría en los dispositivos y las características y motivaciones de los tutores antes de examinar más detenidamente las definiciones teóricas y prácticas de sus papeles respectivos. Pone énfasis en las contribuciones y los límites de la acción pedagógica y socializadora de los estudiantes que se implican en estas políticas y concluye indicando que estos últimos tienen un papel original en la reproducción del modelo de formación de las élites en Francia.Als zentraler Raum der Reproduktion schulischer und sozialer Eliten in Frankreich versuchen die „Grandes Écoles“ und die Vorbereitungsklassen für die Zulassung zu den „Grandes Ecoles“ („Classes préparatoires“ oder CPGE) sich seit dem Beginn der Jahrtausendwende als Experimentierstätte neuer Praktiken im Kampf gegen die Ungleichheiten zu profilieren. Zu diesem Zweck haben sie eine innovative Politik in Gang gebracht, die darauf zielt, die Eingliederung von Jugendlichen aus sozial schwachen Milieus in die Eliteausbildung zu begünstigen und die sich auf die Arbeit von studentischen Tutoren stützt. Dieser Artikel untersucht zwei Varianten dieser Politik, indem er zunächst den Stellenwert des Tutorats in der jeweiligen Vorrichtung sowie die Profile und die Motivationen der Tutoren behandelt, bevor er ausführlicher auf die theoretischen und praktischen Definitionen ihrer Rolle eingeht. Er legt den Schwerpunkt auf den Beitrag und die Grenzen des pädagogischen und sozialisierenden Handelns der Studenten, die sich in dieser Politik einsetzen, und schließt mit dem Hinweis, dass jene Studenten eine grundlegende Rolle in der Reproduktion des Modells der Elitenausbildung in Frankreich spielen

Big Food’s Ambivalence: Seeking Profit and Responsibility for Health

In this article, we critically reflect on the responsibilities that the food industry has for public health. Although food companies are often significant contributors to public health problems (e.g., obesity, type 2 diabetes), the mere possibility of corporate responsibility for public health seems to be excluded in the academic public health discourse.We argue that the behavior of several food companies reflects a split corporate personality, as they contribute to public health problems and simultaneously engage in activities to prevent them.By understanding responsibility for population health as a shared responsibility, we reassess the moral role of the food industry from a forward-looking perspective on responsibility and ask what food companies can and should do to promote health

Stakeholder Dialogue as Agonistic Deliberation: Exploring the Role of Conflict and Self-Interest in Business-NGO Interaction

Many companies engage in dialogue with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) about societal issues. The question is what a regulative ideal for such dialogues should be. In the literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR), the Habermasian notion of communicative action is often presented as a regulative ideal for stakeholder dialogue, implying that actors should aim at consensus and set strategic considerations aside. In this article, we argue that in many cases, communicative action is not a suitable regulative ideal for dialogue between companies and NGOs. We contend that there is often an adversarial element in the relation between companies and NGOs, and that an orientation towards consensus can be in tension with this adversarial relation. We develop an alternative approach to stakeholder dialogue called 'agonistic deliberation.' In this approach, conflict and strategic considerations play a legitimate and, up to a certain point, desirable role.</p

Food Vendor Beware! On Ordinary Morality and Unhealthy Marketing

Food and beverage firms are frequently criticised for their impact on the spread of non-communicable diseases like obesity and diabetes type 2. In this article we explore under what conditions the sales and marketing of unhealthy food and beverage products is irresponsible. Starting from the notion of ordinary morality we argue that firms have a duty to respect people’s autonomy and adhere to the principle of non-maleficence in both market and non-market environments. We show how these considerations are relevant when thinking about immoral behaviour in the food and beverage industry, and identify under what conditions sales and marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to adults and children is wrong. Based on this analysis we argue that firms should take into account: whether consumers are able to identify manipulative marketing, the degree of manipulation, as well as the negative impact a product has on health. We hold that for the food industry to act responsible it should re-evaluate the marketing of unhealthy products to adults and refrain from marketing to children. We conclude this study by making several recommendations on how the food industry should interact with consumers and highlight what changes need to be made in corporate practice

Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies raised against recombinant human granzymes A and B and showing cross reactions with the natural proteins

The human serine proteases granzymes A and B are expressed in cytotoplasmic granules of activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Recombinant granzyme A and granzyme B proteins were produced in bacteria, purified and then used to raise specific mouse monoclonal antibodies. Seven monoclonal antibodies (mAb) were raised against granzyme A, which all recognized the same or overlapping epitopes. They reacted specifically in an immunoblot of interleukin-2 (IL-2) stimulated PBMNC with a disulfide-linked homodimer of 43 kDa consisting of 28 kDa subunits. Seven mAb against granzyme B were obtained, which could be divided into two groups, each recognizing a different epitope. On an immunoblot, all mAb reacted with a monomer of 33 kDa protein. By immunohistochemistry, these mAb could be used to detect granzymes A and B expression in activated CTL and NK cells. The availability of these mAb may facilitate studies on the role of human cytotoxic cells in various immune reactions and may contribute to a better understanding of the role of granzmes A and B in the cytotoxic response in vivo

Do conceptualisations of health differ across social strata? A concept mapping study among lay people.

The legitimacy of policies that aim at tackling socioeconomic inequalities in health can be challenged if they do not reflect the conceptualisations of health that are valued in all strata. Therefore, this study analyses how different socioeconomic groups formulate their own answers regarding: what does health mean to you