JOURNAL FORMAT
 

• The journal should be in a looseleaf notebook or other bound format, neatly organized, and separated by assignment.

• The journal cover page should have the last five digits of your social security number but not your name!

• SEPT 26       RESEARCH ECONOMICS AND OPPORTUNITIES click here for instructions
• OCT 17         USE OF ORGANISMS IN RESEARCH click here for instructions
• OCT 24         ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS click here for instructions

• BONUS  QUESTION  (15 POINTS) click here for instructions

MODULE ASSIGNMENTS FOR JOURNAL 2
 

• GENETICS (MANDATORY) 90 points

(1) 5 points Summarize the 5 main points in Chapter 10 Genetic Technology and Scientific Integrity, by Macrina: in Scientific Integrity

(2) 5 points Summarize the 5 main points in Reiss and Straughan, Improving Nature, Chapter  2 Genetic  Engineering

(3) 10 points Write a one - two paragraph discussion that addresses the ethical dilemmas raised by case study 10.1 and ONE additional case study of  your own choice.  For case study analysis, include the following:
 

state the ethical dilemma(s)
who is affected?
what concerns are raised?
what are the conflicts of interest? effort? conscience?
what are the options?
what are possible consequences of the options?
What is YOUR recommendation?

(4) 10 points Access, print out and read the following URLs. They contain BRIEF articles about Genetic Discrimination.  Write one - two paragraphs that states your position regarding  the availability of information from genetic testing to insurance providers and employers

•  http://www.napbc.org/napbc/recommen.htm
•  http://www.codoh.com/newsdesk/2000/000607r2.html
•  http://www.senate.gov/~daschle/pressroom/releases/00/06/2000628911.html
•  http://www.aclu.org/news/2000/n062600a.html
•  http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/aaas-gd020800.html
•  http://www.senate.gov/~enzi/genetic.htm

(5) 20 points Write a critique of the following articles.  Your critique should be about 1 - 1.5 pages in length and should include the following:  (a) what are the key points of the article? (b) what, if any, are the main ethical issues raised by the article (c)  What insight did you gain (maybe none!) from reading the article? (d) briefly state your opinion about the literary style of the author: was well written and it easy to read? was there any aspect of the literary style you would like to incorporate in your writing?
• Lewontin    IQ, the rank ordering of the world in Sandra Harding: Racial Economy of Science:
• Kevles Ch 7 Eugenic enactments in Zuhl Library on reserve


(6) 20 points The URL http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/resource/elsi.html#issues provides perspectives about the Human Genome Project's possible impact on individuals and their families is presented here. THINK ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ELSI ISSUES AND RANK  THEM 1THROUGH 7 IN ORDER OF MOST IMPORTANT TO LEAST IMPORTANT TO YOU with 1 being the most important issue, and 7 the least important issue. Briefly explain your ranking.
 

• Fairness in the use of genetic information by insurers, employers, courts, schools, adoption agencies, and the military, among others.  Who should have access to personal genetic information, and how will it be used?
• Privacy and confidentiality of genetic information. Who owns and controls genetic information?
• Reproductive issues including adequate informed consent for complex and potentially controversial procedures, use of genetic information in reproductive decision making, and reproductive rights.   Do healthcare personnel properly counsel parents about the risks and limitations of genetic technology? How reliable and useful is fetal genetic testing?
• Uncertainties associated with gene tests for susceptibilities and complex conditions (e.g., heart disease) linked to multiple genes and gene-environment interactions. Should testing be performed when no treatment is available?   Should parents have the right to have their minor children tested for  adult-onset diseases?  Are genetic tests reliable and interpretable by the medical community?
• Conceptual and philosophical implications regarding human responsibility, free will vs genetic determinism, and concepts of health and disease.   Do people's genes make them behave in a particular way? Can people always control their behavior?   What is considered acceptable diversity?
• Safety and environmental issues concerning genetically altered foods and microbes.
• Commercialization of products including property rights (patents, copyrights, and

 trade secrets) and accessibility of data and materials.  Who owns genes and other pieces of DNA?


(7)  15 points Summarize in 1-1.5 pages, the key points of Dr. Howard's lecture.  What new information or insight was provided to you by this lecture?

(8)  5 points  Write one paragraph that provides your impressions/thoughts inspired by the video  The Lynchburg Story.
 
 

• RESEARCH ECONOMICS AND OPPORTUNITIES (40 points)

(1) 10 points . You were part of a team that reviewed one of the following websites:
 
• Group 1  NASA or USDA http://www.nasa.gov  or  http://www.usda.gov/
• Group 2  CDC    http://www.cdc.gov/
• Group 3: NSF    http://www.nsf.gov/
• Group 4: NIH    http://www.nih.gov/
Access the web site for your team and prepare answers to FIVE of the following TEN QUESTIONS regarding your website.  You may write up and submit your class presentation as part of your responses

1.   summarize infrastructure of the agency
2.   what is the “mission” of this agency?
3.   what is the overall yearly budget?
4.   what kinds of research projects do they fund?
5.   are they funding genomics research?  defense research?
6.   do they have an ethics site? describe
7.   how much goes to Johns Hopkins?  To Harvard?  To UNM? to NMSU?
8.   what faculty at NMSU have grants from this agency?
9.   summarize the thrust of three grants that catch your attention.
10. is there an ethics component that this agency funds or is interested in? what does it include?
 

(2)  15 points  Prepare a 1.5-2.5 page essay that reviews the article from Science at the Bar, by Jasanoff pp 1-23: The intersections of science and law.  Your essay should include the following:(a) what are the key piints of the article? (b) what, if any, are the main ethical issues raised by the article (c)  What insight did you gain (maybe none!) from reading the article? (d) briefly state your opinion about the literary style of the author: was well written and it easy to read? was there any aspect of the literary style you would like to incorporate in your writing?

(3) 5 points  Visit ONE of the the following web sites:
 
• Food and Drug Administration http://www.fda.gov/
• National Security Agency  http://www.nsa.gov/
• Department of Defense   http://www.defenselink.mil/
• USDA    http://www.usda.gov/

Answer the following three questions regarding your website
 
1. what is the “mission” of this agency?.
2. what kinds of research projects do they fund?
3. summarize the thrust of TWO grants OR page links that catch your attention

(4) 10 points  You are invivted to sit on a government panel as a "citizen representing the community".  Your task is  to select and prioritize research areas for funding initiatives from the following list of ten:
 
1. Child health and development research including programs to disseminate information about child health and nutrition.
2. Genetic engineering of crop plants for productivity in areas of low water availability.
3. Development of genetic tests for all the genes in the human genome.
4. Aging research
5. Cancer research
6. Drug therapies to treat depression
7. Chemical weapons research
8. Biological weapons research
9. Reproductive technologies to overcome infertility
10.  Pain research

• How would you divide the ten research areas into the following groups?

 
GROUP A  ABSOLUTELY MUST BE FUNDED. ONLY 2 RESEARCH AREAS CAN GO HERE

GROUP B  MODERATE CHANCE FOR FUNDING.  ONLY 3 RESEARCH AREAS CAN GO HERE

GROUP C  NO CHANCE FOR FUNDING.  FIVE MUST GO HERE:

• Briefly explain the rationale for your funding choices.

• USE OF ORGANISMS IN RESEARCH (40 points)

(1) 5 points  Summarize the main points in Ch 6  Use of animals in biomedical experimentation, by Macrina: in Scientific Integrity. What are the key arguments AGAINST the use of animals in experimentation?

(2) 5 points Complete ONE case study from the following list of four:  6.1, 6.5, 6.9 6.12.  For case study analysis, include the following:
 

state the ethical dilemma(s)
who is affected?
what concerns are raised?
what are the conflicts of interest? effort? conscience?
what are the options?
what are possible consequences of the options?
What is YOUR recommendation?

(3) 5 points  What conditions must be satisfied to meet guidelines for informed consent? What aspects of informed consent may be problematic or ambiguous?

(4) 15 points  Prepare a 1.5-2.5 page essay that reviews the article from Racial Hygiene by Proctor: Ch 7  The destruction of lives not worth living (in Zuhl library on reserve) Your essay should include the following:(a) what are the key points of the article? (b) what, if any, are the main ethical issues raised by the article (c)  What insight did you gain (maybe none!) from reading the article? (d) briefly state your opinion about the literary style of the author: was well written and it easy to read? was there any aspect of the literary style you would like to incorporate in your writing?

(3) 10 points Summarize in 1-1.5 pages the key points of Dr. Bernsteins's lecture.  What new information or insight was provided to you by this lecture?
 

• ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS (40 points)


(1) 15 points Prepare a 1-1.5 page essay summarizing the main ethical issues raised by Dr. Huenneke’s lecture. What new information was provided in her presentations? Do you disagree with some her views, if so, explain. What is your opinion regarding natural resource management and plant genetic engineering after this presentation?

(2) 25 points Prepare a 1.5 -2 page essay that answers  ONE of the four questions distributed by Dr. Huenneke in class based on the following themes she addressed in her presentation.
 
• Valuation of natural ecosystems
• Ethical considerations in field work
• What is "natural" about some of our ecosystems?
• Genetically engineered organisms

 
• BONUS QUESTION (15 points)

You were assigned the article Major issue in environmental ethics  (Zuhl Library on reserve) from Environmental Ethics Ch 4  by Palmer. Based on your reading, which THREE issues raised in this article did you find were of the most concern to you regarding the environment?  In a 1-1.5 page essay, explain your reasoning.