Researcher’s Reactions to Compelled Disclosure of Scientific Information

Demands placed on researchers by subpoenas for scientific information are not necessarily any greater than those placed on other third-party recipients of subpoenas

Experimental medical interventions in a public health emergency: an ethical review

The ethical challenges of researching in disadvantaged communities include those of informed consent, standards of care and issues pertaining to justice, including distributive justice. Research, specifically regarding epidemic infections, in underdeveloped countries is more difficult to carry out when the aforementioned challenges exist. In order to address an emergency epidemic public health challenge, all available treatment and other measures need to be implemented with urgency. If there is no known intervention for the disease causing the epidemic, the question is raised as to whether or not it is ethical to use an experimental investigational drug, which has not completed a clinical trial, in an attempt to address the crisis. In this research paper I define the circumstances of a public health emergency epidemic in order to determine when it is appropriate to consider the use of experimental interventions. The 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa and the on-going risk of Ebola recurrence is a case in point that demonstrates the formidable challenges the crisis of an epidemic present. I critically assess the existing regulatory guidelines for compassionate drug access and clinical trials in order to determine whether these regulations are appropriate within a public health emergency situation. I critically assess the major ethical and legal arguments that do and do not justify the use of experimental interventions. I lastly critically assess the major challenges regarding the use of experimental interventions within the context of autonomy and justice. I conclude that the arguments in favour of experimental interventions outweigh the arguments against them.MT201

Can I Keep My Tipi Here? A Review of the Laws Governing Indian Land and how Congress can Resolve Indian Land Trust Issues in the Face of the Supreme Court\u27s Decisions in Carrier and Patchak

This Comment will review the history pertaining to the role real property plays in Indian law policy and address the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on the ability of tribes to put land into trust. Part II describes the history of the law governing Indian land up to, and including, the Marshall Trilogy, and explains the relative concept of tribal sovereignty. Part III reviews statutes governing Indian land after the Marshall Trilogy, and details the legal history around the Indian Reorganization Act. Part IV of this Comment explores how the Supreme Court’s recent decisions have impacted the Indian land-into-trust process and explains the specific problems created by Carcieri and Patchak. Part V considers the proposed solutions to this impact, including legislative bills introduced since Carcieri, and suggests that the best solution to the uncertainty caused by Carcieri and Patchak, is for Congress to pass new legislation that reaffirms the Secretary’s authority and expressly secures the land, once placed in trust, from future litigation

Shifting Facilitator Roles: The Challenges and Experiences of Tutors within Aalborg and Maastricht PBL Settings

Problem-based learning (PBL) has become a widespread method of teaching and learning around the world since the early 1970s. While several varieties of PBL are in use in many educational institutions, two primary models have taken root: the Aalborg model originating in Aalborg University, Denmark and the Maastricht model, originating in Maastricht University in The Netherlands. The two models both guide self-directed student learning under PBL principles, but they also have distinct differences. As developing PBL facilitators ourselves, we were particularly interested in understanding the role of the facilitator as it differs across the two models. Our goal for this semester was to understand and apply PBL theory and best practices in our own educational institutions. One of our challenges, however, was that we each had different experiences and expectations for the facilitator role. Our goal, then (or our problem statement) became to better understand the tutors’ experiences of the facilitator role in both models so we could best apply this understanding appropriately in our own institutions. Previous research in this area is limited, so this paper fills a gap in our own knowledge of PBL as well as adding to the existing literature

Citizen Comprehension of Difficult Issues: Lessons from Civil Jury Trials

Lay participation in debates concerning public policies is a touchstone of a democracy. The Constitution enshrines this value not only by providing for a system of elected representatives, but also by recognizing the right to trial by jury. When a democratic society seeks to impose the rigors of the law on an individual, it must justify those standards to a panel of citizens and allow the austere expression of the law to become infused with the values of the community. Through this process, the vision of justice shared by members of the community informs the dialogue of adjudication. The increasing complexity of issues presented for adjudication causes some commentators to question the ability of civil juries to fulfill this traditional role. To reach a reasoned and principled judgment, lay representatives must comprehend technical information and apply the proper legal standard. In the past, concerns about the ability of laypersons to participate effectively arose in antitrust trials where civil juries encountered massive amounts of evidence and sophisticated economic arguments. Recently, similar concerns have arisen when civil juries consider technical evidence in toxic tort and product liability cases., Such concerns are likely to become more acute with the expansion of the right to trial by jury into statutory causes of action where juries consider complex questions of damages. Questions about the competence and bias of laypersons are also raised in nonjury contexts, such as in proposals to permit laypersons to participate more fully in regulatory proceedings that require an assessment of the risks and benefits to a community. We seek to address these concerns by reviewing the literature on jury competence with three purposes in mind. First, we hope to establish that, although the civil jury has some areas of vulnerability, its ability to render a reasoned and principled decision is far greater than typically acknowledged. Second, we wish to identify those areas in which laypersons encounter particular difficulties and suggest remedies to improve lay comprehension in these complex matters. Finally, we hope to draw upon research on the civil jury in assessing the potential for lay participation in regulatory proceedings. Thus, this Article aims to provide information about the civil jury\u27s functioning which may be used to evaluate the claims of proponents and opponents of lay participation in a wide range of complex legal proceedings