Not a Defence of Organ Markets

Selgelid and Koplin’s article ‘Kidney Sales and the Burden of Proof’ (K&S 2019) presents a series of detailed and persuasive arguments, intended to demolish my own arguments against the prohibition of organ selling. And perhaps they might succeed, if the case described by the authors were anything like the one I actually make. However, notwithstanding the extensive quotations and the detailed explanations of the way I supposedly argue, this account of my position comprehensively mistakes both the conclusions I reach and the arguments I give for them. I know that there are around many misconceptions about my views on this subject, but I have always hoped they could not survive a reading of what I had actually written. I have just—after a gap of many years—looked again at the two most recent of the texts Koplin and Selgelid refer to, and it goes without saying that I can see various things I could now do better; but I do still find these misinterpretations hard to understand. And since anyone with nothing to go on but this article would reasonably conclude that the original texts were not worth reading, I am grateful to the editors for the opportunity to try to set the record straight. I presume not many readers would be interested in a detailed comparative commentary on the texts, showing where this account gets my intentions wrong. I shall try instead to explain how what I do mean—and what I think I say—diverges from what is said here, and then go on to a brief outline of what my arguments and conclusions really are. I hope this may also give some sense of why, for all the opposition I have encountered since I was first drawn into this debate, I persist in thinking that the work I have been doing is important not only for this topic but for analysis in practical ethics more generally

Learning Dimensions: Lessons from Field Studies

In this paper, we describe work to investigate the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. Background research informed the design of four fieldwork studies involving a range of age groups to explore how programming tasks could best be framed to motivate learners. Our empirical findings from these four studies, described here, contributed to the design of a set of programming "Learning Dimensions" (LDs). The LDs provide educators with insights to support key design decisions for the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. This paper describes the background to the identification of these LDs and how they could address the design and delivery of highly engaging programming learning tasks. A web application has been authored to support educators in the application of the LDs to their lesson design

Learning Experiences in Programming: The Motivating Effect of a Physical Interface

A study of undergraduate students learning to program compared the use of a physical interface with use of a screen-based equivalent interface to obtain insights into what made for an engaging learning experience. Emotions characterized by the HUMAINE scheme were analysed, identifying the links between the emotions experienced during programming and their origin. By capturing the emotional experiences of learners immediately after a programming experience, evidence was collected of the very positive emotions experienced by learners developing a program using a physical interface (Arduino) in comparison with a similar program developed using a screen-based equivalent interface

Fostering Graduate Education Students’ Reflexivity through the Arts

In this inquiry, I turned to the arts to foster Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) students’ recognition of the importance and benefits of reflecting about their work as they tutored grades K-5 children in a semester-long service-learning writing course. As a researcher I took on the role of a ‘bricoleur’. \u27Bricolage\u27 is an approach to qualitative inquiry in which researchers employ alternative methodologies to illuminate connections (Kress, 2013). The arts fostered the MAT students\u27 reflections

Transformations in Teacher Candidates’ Development as Literacy Teachers in a Summer Literacy Camp: A Sociocultural Perspective

In this inquiry I applied an innovative sociocultural framework to explore transformations in preservice teachers’ development as literacy teachers as they worked with children at-risk in a summer literacy camp. The camp incorporated a community of practice model in which teams of master’s and doctoral students mentored small groups of preservice teachers. In this study I explored preservice teachers ’ learning following Rogoff’s (1995,1997) notions of the personal, interpersonal, and community planes of analysis. I also employed a postmodernist crystallization imagery to capture multiple perspectives on the preservice teachers’ growth as literacy teachers. The study assigns importance to the contextual dimensions in which learning takes place, and emphasizes learning is nourished by interactions with others

Empowering Higher Education Students to Take Charge of Their Writing: Another Dimension of Literacy

In this commentary, I offer tips, advice, strategies, and information to assist instructors and students who engage in academic writing

Exploring Education Students’ Reflexivity through the Arts and Sharing My “Bricolage” Dilemmas

As part of course requirements, 16 education students in a master’s cohort tutored groups of elementary children (the same groups throughout the semester) in an after - school writing program that emphasized an ethos of care. The education students had never taught children and consequently had difficulties reflecting about their lessons through weekly e - mail communication. As the course instructor I had a hunch innovative artistic processes might unleash and heighten the education students’ abilities as reflective practitioners . Therefore, I asked them to explore their pedagogy through the arts. Concurrently, I engaged in arts - based educational research (ABER) to ascertain in what ways arts constructions might prompt the education students’ motivation and abilities to thoughtfully consider their work. Using constant comparative methods and a “bricolage” approach, I discovered arts - based techniques, particularly poetry, fostered and illuminated their introspections. The education students also had distinct preferences among the three modes of reflective inquiry I requested they employ (e - mail communication, self - portraits with dialogue, and poetry). As suggested by respected ABER scholars, I monitored and documented my dilemmas throughout the inquiry process in an attempt to achieve verisimilitude and to inform new arts - based researchers. I share these dilemmas and oversights, and discuss puzzling, unanswered questions in this paper

Every Word is True : Stories of our Experiences in a Qualitative Research Course

There is a sparse body of literature about students\u27 and instructors\u27 experiences in graduate qualitative courses. In this study, 11 doctoral students and one instructor employed a narrative framework to uncover our perceived truths about our experiences as we interacted, studied, pondered, and journeyed through a qualitative research methods course. Data were my chronologically ordered notes documenting my thinking and perceptions about my students and me and the doctoral students\u27 chronologically ordered e-mail stories to their peers and to me. The inquiry illuminated the doctoral students\u27 growth as researchers and highlighted the power of shared stories. Our narratives captured our lives, and illuminated our joys, worries, intentions, and beliefs

Post Modern Image-Based Research: An Innovative Data Collection Method for Illuminating Preservice Teachers’ Developing Perceptions in Field-Based Courses

As part of course requirements twenty -eight preservice teachers in a field- based content reading course create d a series of se lf-portraits that illustrated their concerns and perceptions about teaching content reading. They accompanied their drawings with dialogue. Analysis of the portraits indicates that arts-based techniques have the potential to provide insights about preservice teachers’ perceived realities and understandings that narrative data alone might not reveal. The preservice teachers experienced high levels of stress as they prepared to teach their first lesson and their anxieties continued pas t mid-semester. By the end of the course the majority developed confidence in their teaching abilities and they were able to list a wide-range of content reading strategies however, they overlooked the visual and communicative arts

Metaphysics for the Marriage Debate

The debate concerning what marriage is and what marriage ought to be is confused by conflicting ideas of natural law. John Stuart Mill sees law as a means by which to improve a universe with no natural moral order, whereas James Fitzjames Stephen views law as a means to correct that which is morally against nature. This article focuses on understanding a morally neutral working of nature, which requires looking past something\u27s moral desirability, and devising what form social arrangements, like marriage, should take. Once the ideas of natural law, together with moral goodness, are abandoned, and ideas discussing the scientific differences between the sexes are explored, traditional marriage becomes less justifiable, thus leaving few reasons to exclude same-sex marriage and other alternative arrangements. The author concludes that considering new social arrangements is a large step involving a complex set of incentives and disincentives, such as childrearing, sexual justice, and demographics, which focus on achieving better cumulative effects for individuals