bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anthropogenic changes to seawater buffer capacity combined with natural reef metabolism induce extreme future coral reef CO2 conditions
Authors: Shaw Emily C. , McNeil Ben I. , Tilbrook Bronte , Matear Richard , Bates Michael L.
Published: January 2013

Ocean acidification, via an anthropogenic increase in seawater carbon dioxide (CO2), is potentially a major threat to coral reefs and other marine ecosystems. However, our understanding of how natural short‐term diurnal CO2 variability in coral reefs influences longer term anthropogenic ocean acidification remains unclear. Here, we combine observed natural carbonate chemistry variability with future carbonate chemistry predictions for a coral reef flat in the Great Barrier Reef based on the RCP8.5 CO2 emissions scenario. Rather than observing a linear increase in reef flat partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in concert with rising atmospheric concentrations, the inclusion of in situ diurnal variability results in a highly nonlinear threefold amplification of the pCO2 signal by the end of the century. This significant nonlinear amplification of diurnal pCO2 variability occurs as a result of combining natural diurnal biological CO2 metabolism with long‐term decreases in seawater buffer capacity, which occurs via increasing anthropogenic CO2 absorption by the ocean. Under the same benthic community composition, the amplification in the variability in pCO2 is likely to lead to exposure to mean maximum daily pCO2 levels of ca. 2100 μatm, with corrosive conditions with respect to aragonite by end‐century at our study site. Minimum pCO2 levels will become lower relative to the mean offshore value (ca. threefold increase in the difference between offshore and minimum reef flat pCO2) by end‐century, leading to a further increase in the pCO2 range that organisms are exposed to. The biological consequences of short‐term exposure to these extreme CO2 conditions, coupled with elevated long‐term mean CO2 conditions are currently unknown and future laboratory experiments will need to incorporate natural variability to test this. The amplification of pCO2 that we describe here is not unique to our study location, but will occur in all shallow coastal environments where high biological productivity drives large natural variability in carbonate chemistry.
Primary Intimal (Spindle Cell) Sarcoma of the Heart: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Ibrahim A. , Luk A. , Singhal P. , Wan Bo , Zavodni A. , Cusimano R. J. , Butany J.
Published: January 2013

Intimal (spindle cell) sarcomas of the left atrium are extremely rare primary cardiac tumours with three cases reported (Li et al. (2013), Cho et al. (2006), and Modi et al. (2009)). We present a 69-year-old man who first came to medical attention after experiencing abdominal discomfort. He had a 30 lb weight loss apparently due to dieting. He denied any other constitutional symptoms. His symptoms persisted despite a course of antibiotics for presumed diverticulitis. Laboratory values were within normal limits, though the haemoglobin was 131 g/L (normal: 140–180). Subsequent abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan revealed an abdominal wall mass and intracardiac lesion; the cardiac mass was further characterized by transesophageal echo (TEE), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and dedicated cardiac CT. TEE revealed a mass attached to the posterolateral wall of the left atrium above the mitral annulus, and the cardiac CT and MRI confirmed the TEE findings. The patient underwent extensive surgical resection and repair of the left side of the heart. Postoperatively, he developed acute renal failure requiring dialysis and reintubation for volume overload. He became acutely hypotensive, developed multiorgan failure, and succumbed to his illness. Histopathologic examination of the left atrial mass showed an intimal sarcoma.
Effect of Annealing Temperature on CuInSe2/ZnS Thin-Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Using Electron Beam Evaporation
Authors: Abdullah H. , Habibi S.
Published: January 2013

CuInSe2(CIS) thin films are successfully prepared by electron beam evaporation. Pure Cu, In, and Se powders were mixed and ground in a grinder and made into a pellet. The pallets were deposited via electron beam evaporation on FTO substrates and were varied by varying the annealing temperatures, at room temperature, 250°C, 300°C, and 350°C. Samples were analysed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) for crystallinity and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) for grain size and thickness. I-V measurements were used to measure the efficiency of the CuInSe2/ZnS solar cells. XRD results show that the crystallinity of the films improved as the temperature was increased. The temperature dependence of crystallinity indicates polycrystalline behaviour in the CuInSe2films with (1 1 1), (2 2 0)/(2 0 4), and (3 1 2)/(1 1 6) planes at 27°, 45°, and 53°, respectively. FESEM images show the homogeneity of the CuInSe2formed. I-V measurements indicated that higher annealing temperatures increase the efficiency of CuInSe2solar cells from approximately 0.99% for the as-deposited films to 1.12% for the annealed films. Hence, we can conclude that the overall cell performance is strongly dependent on the annealing temperature.
The WRKY transcription factor family in Brachypodium distachyon
Authors: Tripathi Prateek , Rabara Roel C , Langum Tanner J , Boken Ashley K , Rushton Deena L , Boomsma Darius D , Rinerson Charles I , Rabara Jennifer , Reese R Neil , Chen Xianfeng , Rohila Jai S , Rushton Paul J
Published: January 2013

Background

A complete assembled genome sequence of wheat is not yet available. Therefore, model plant systems for wheat are very valuable. Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) is such a system. The WRKY family of transcription factors is one of the most important families of plant transcriptional regulators with members regulating important agronomic traits. Studies of WRKY transcription factors in Brachypodium and wheat therefore promise to lead to new strategies for wheat improvement.

Results

We have identified and manually curated the WRKY transcription factor family from Brachypodium using a pipeline designed to identify all potential WRKY genes. 86 WRKY transcription factors were found, a total higher than all other current databases. We therefore propose that our numbering system (BdWRKY1-BdWRKY86) becomes the standard nomenclature. In the JGI v1.0 assembly of Brachypodium with the MIPS/JGI v1.0 annotation, nine of the transcription factors have no gene model and eleven gene models are probably incorrectly predicted. In total, twenty WRKY transcription factors (23.3%) do not appear to have accurate gene models. To facilitate use of our data, we have produced The Database of Brachypodium distachyon WRKY Transcription Factors. Each WRKY transcription factor has a gene page that includes predicted protein domains from MEME analyses. These conserved protein domains reflect possible input and output domains in signaling. The database also contains a BLAST search function where a large dataset of WRKY transcription factors, published genes, and an extensive set of wheat ESTs can be searched. We also produced a phylogram containing the WRKY transcription factor families from Brachypodium, rice, Arabidopsis, soybean, and Physcomitrella patens, together with published WRKY transcription factors from wheat. This phylogenetic tree provides evidence for orthologues, co-orthologues, and paralogues of Brachypodium WRKY transcription factors.

Conclusions

The description of the WRKY transcription factor family in Brachypodium that we report here provides a framework for functional genomics studies in an important model system. Our database is a resource for both Brachypodium and wheat studies and ultimately projects aimed at improving wheat through manipulation of WRKY transcription factors.
Are Consumers Myopic? Evidence from New and Used Car Purchases
Authors: Busse Meghan R , Knittel Christopher R , Zettelmeyer Florian
Published: January 2013

We investigate whether car buyers are myopic about future fuel costs. We estimate the effect of gasoline prices on short-run equilibrium prices of cars of different fuel economies. We then compare the implied changes in willingness-to-pay to the associated changes in expected future gasoline costs for cars of different fuel economies in order to calculate implicit discount rates. Using different assumptions about annual mileage, survival rates, and demand elasticities, we calculate a range of implicit discount rates similar to the range of interest rates paid by car buyers who borrow. We interpret this as showing little evidence of consumer myopia. (JEL D12, H25, L11, L62, L71, L81)
Dictating the Risk: Experimental Evidence on Giving in Risky Environments
Authors: Brock J. Michelle , Lange Andreas , Ozbay Erkut Y
Published: January 2013

We study if and how social preferences extend to risky environments. We provide experimental evidence from different versions of dictator games with risky outcomes and establish that preferences that are exclusively based on ex post or on ex ante comparisons cannot generate the observed behavioral patterns. The more money decision-makers transfer in the standard dictator game, the more likely they are to equalize payoff chances under risk. Risk to the recipient does, however, generally decrease the transferred amount. Ultimately, a utility function with a combination of ex post and ex ante fairness concerns may best describe behavior. (JEL C72, D63, D64, D81)
Preferences for Truthfulness: Heterogeneity among and within Individuals
Authors: Gibson Rajna , Tanner Carmen , Wagner Alexander F
Published: January 2013

We conduct an experiment assessing the extent to which people trade off the economic costs of truthfulness against the intrinsic costs of lying. The results allow us to reject a type-based model. People's preferences for truthfulness do not identify them as only either “economic types” (who care only about consequences) or “ethical types” (who care only about process). Instead, we find that preferences for truthfulness are heterogeneous among individuals. Moreover, when examining possible sources of intrinsic costs of lying and their interplay with economic costs of truthfulness, we find that preferences for truthfulness are also heterogeneous within individuals.
Fairness and Redistribution: Reply
Authors: Alesina Alberto , Angeletos George-Marios , Cozzi Guido
Published: January 2013

This paper responds to the comment of Di Tella and Dubra (2013). We first clarify that the model of Alesina and Angeletos (2005) admits two distinct types of multiplicity: one that is at the core of their contribution, and a separate one that is at work in Di Tella and Dubra's example. We then proceed to show how Alesina and Angeletos's results are robust to alternative specifications of the voting mechanism.
Formação de coordenadores pedagógicos em alimentação escolar: um relato de experiência
Authors: Santos Ligia Amparo da Silva , Carvalho Danilo Melo de Morais , Reis Amélia Borba Costa , Ramos Lilian Barbosa , Freitas Maria do Carmo Soares de
Published: January 2013

Este artigo descreve a experiência de formação de coordenadores pedagógicos em Alimentação Escolar desenvolvida pelo Centro Colaborador em Alimentação e Nutrição do Escolar da Universidade Federal da Bahia. Utilizou-se da observação participante e análise de dados documentados em: filmagens, resumos de discussão grupal, avaliações processuais e finais e diários de campo. As experiências de formação foram em 2011, em dois municípios da Bahia e na capital de Sergipe, com 118 coordenadores pedagógicos de 79 municípios dos dois estados. Constatou-se que os objetivos da formação de sensibilizar e orientar os coordenadores para a transversalização do tema alimentação e nutrição no currículo escolar foram alcançados. A proposta educativa foi avaliada pelos participantes como "dinâmica", "produtiva" e "interativa", promovendo trocas de experiências. Embora considerem um tema relevante, os coordenadores pedagógicos não têm formação suficiente nos conhecimentos de alimentação e nutrição para subsidiar as suas práticas pedagógicas. Considera-se que a formação apresente limitações quanto a seu desdobramento no campo de trabalho, pois a sensibilização alcançada pode ser fragilizada na volta dos atores ao seu ambiente laboral por falta de uma formação permanente.
Selecting Optimal Fracture Fluids, Breaker System, and Proppant Type for Successful Hydraulic Fracturing and Enhanced Gas Production – Case Studies
Authors: Rahim Zillur , Al-Anazi Hamoud , Al-Kanaan Adnan
Published: January 2013

Hydraulic fracturing is required to commercially produce low to moderate permeability gas reservoirs. The selection of fracturing fluids, additives, and proppant types are major components when designing and implementing a hydraulic fracturing treatment. A viscous, unbroken fracture fluid that remains after the treatment compounds the effects of fracture face skin and causes severe deterioration to proppant conductivity. With the advancement of technology, many novel fracture fluid systems are available in the industry with reduced polymer concentration to preserve reservoir and proppant integrity. The advantages of these fluids include less formation damage, low cost, and reduced treatment pressure. Subsequent to the fracture operation, an aggressive breaker treatment is often necessary to effectively clean up the fracture and restore proppant conductivity. Proppant conductivity plays a tremendous role in the post-fracture production enhancement and any damage left from the fluids can impair well potential considerably. Similarly, correct choice of proppant based on the rock strength, reservoir fluid properties, expected production rate, pressure, and temperature is important. Proppant type and scheduling determine the ultimate propped fracture geometry that controls the gas flow from the reservoir to the wellbore.

Application of new technologies in combination with better job design to obtain improved results in the deep sandstone reservoirs of Saudi Arabia is ongoing. In the process of optimization, fluids along with its gel type, polymer concentration, and additives have been modified and changed to provide better results. Similarly proppant size, types, and schedule have been optimized. Different types of aqueous-based fracturing fluids used with various polymer loadings as well as the use of hybrid systems and viscoelastic fluids (VES) used in deep and high temperature reservoirs are currently in use. Several case studies provided in this paper demonstrate how the critical fracturing parameters have progressed with time, been customized, and made to fit the reservoir conditions to make a noticeable impact on well productivity and recovery.
Understanding Ceramic Proppants: Are They All Created Equal?
Authors: Saldungaray Pedro , Palisch Terry
Published: January 2013

Introduced in the 1970's, ceramic proppants have provided the industry with higher conductivity alternatives to naturally occurring frac sand, and are used to increase well productivity in a wide range of reservoir conditions. Initially dominated by a handful of ceramic proppant manufacturers, the increased recognition of the need for highly conductive fractures has led to a tremendous growth in the industry, with nearly 100 ceramic proppant plants in operation today [Kim 2012]. The oil and gas industry used more than 65 billion pounds of proppant in 2011, and the rapid growth of the ceramic industry often could not keep pace with the surging global demand. This explosive growth has led to significant variations in ceramic proppant quality and sustained conductivity, which affects production benefits.

Although the industry has historically considered ceramic proppants to be interchangeable, they represent a wide range of different materials whose properties are highly dependent upon their composition and manufacturing technology. This paper will examine the performance of different types of ceramic, including lightweight, intermediate density and high density proppants, and some of the new materials that don't necessarily fit neatly into these categories. It will also describe the major manufacturing techniques used in the industry, and illustrate the differences that key steps in the industrial process have in the quality and conductivity of the final product. Microphotographs and laboratory testing will be supplemented with modeling forecasts to show the productivity expected from specific ceramic proppants at realistic conditions. Finally, field studies will be presented which corroborate the predictions that proppant quality significantly affects well productivity and proppants within the same generic categorization do not provide identical productivity.

This paper will serve as an excellent resource to completion and fracture design engineers as they navigate their way to choosing the optimal proppant for specific well parameters and economic conditions. It will be clear that proppants should not be considered an interchangeable commodity, and that well performance will be dependent on the quality and characteristics of the specific proppants selected.
Existence of nonoscillatory solutions of higher order neutral differential equations with distributed deviating arguments
Authors: Candan T. , Dahiya R.
Published: January 2013

In this work, we consider the existence of nonoscillatory solutions of variable coefficient higher order linear neutral differential equations with distributed deviating arguments. We use the Banach contraction principle to obtain new sufficient conditions, which are weaker than those known, for the existence of nonoscillatory solutions.
The Influence of Monitoring Interval on Data Measurement: An Analysis of Step Counts of University Students
Authors: Sigmundová Dagmar , Vašíčková Jana , Stelzer Jiří , Řepka Emil
Published: January 2013

The pedometer is a widely used research tool for measuring the level and extent of physical activity (PA) within population subgroups. The sample used in this study was drawn from a population of university students to examine the influence of the monitoring interval and alternate starting days on step-count activity patterns. The study was part of a national project during 2008–2010. Eligible subjects (641) were selected from a sample of 906 university students. The students wore pedometers continuously for 7 days excluding time for sleep and personal hygiene. Steps per day were logged on record sheets by each student. Data gathering spanned an entire week, and the results were sorted by alternate starting days, by activity for an entire week, by activity for only the weekdays of the one-week monitoring interval and for the two-day weekend. The statistical analysis included ANOVA, intra-class correlation (ICC) analysis, and regression analysis. The ICC analysis suggested that monitoring starting on Monday (ICC = 0.71; 95%CI (0.61–0.79)), Tuesday (ICC = 0.67; 95%CI (0.59–0.75)) or Thursday (ICC = 0.68; 95%CI (0.55–0.79)) improved reliability. The results of regression analysis also indicated that any starting day except Sunday is satisfactory as long as a minimum of four days of monitoring are used.
Maintenance of Genomic Stability in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells: Relevance in Aging and Disease
Authors: Giachino Claudia , Orlando Luca , Turinetto Valentina
Published: January 2013

Recent studies have shown that mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) rely on a distinctive genome caretaking network. In this review, we will discuss how mESCs functionally respond to DNA damage and describe several modifications in mESC DNA damage response, which accommodate dynamic cycling and preservation of genetic information. Subsequently, we will discuss how the transition from mESCs to adult stem/progenitor cells can be involved in the decline of tissue integrity and function in the elderly.
Overridingness, Moral
Authors: Gert Joshua
Published: January 2013

Morality is one normative domain among many. That is, not only can we assess actions as morally right or wrong, or as morally good or bad, but we can also assess them as legal or illegal, prudent or imprudent, or as prohibited or required by the rules of etiquette. It is quite obvious that these assessments need not always favor and disfavor precisely the same actions. For example, it might be morally required in some cases to perform an action that is prohibited by law, or – some might suggest – it might be imprudent to do something morally good. The thesis of moral overridingness is the thesis that moral verdicts are always in some sense supreme whenever they come into conflict with the verdicts of a distinct normative domain. This general thesis can be understood in a number of ways. To begin with, we need to offer an interpretation of the claim that one verdict overrides another. One might interpret this claim as entailing that, in conflicts of verdicts, it is
irrational
to go against the moral verdict (
see
Rationality). Or, one might interpret it as the claim that the totality of practical reasons, taken together, always uniquely favors acting in line with a moral verdict, even though it may not always be irrational to act in ways that are not uniquely favored in this way (
see
Reasons; Satisficing). In making the overridingness thesis clear, one also needs to specify
which
verdicts are relevant. Very often, the thesis is understood as restricted to claims about conflicts of
requirements
. This is an important restriction, since morality can yield the verdict that an action would be morally
good
without being morally
required
. For example, in many views, we are not morally required to volunteer our free time doing charitable activity. In such views, morality favors such action, but does not require it (
see
Supererogation). On a common interpretation of the overridingness thesis, the fact that morality favors such action does not imply that there would be anything problematic in deciding against such a morally good action, and performing some other action instead: say, an action that would do a better job of promoting one's own interests.
Sustainability
Authors: Attfield Robin
Published: January 2013

The concept of sustainability, like the related concept of sustainable development, has come to be used in multiple ways. This results from the endorsement of sustainable development, in face of global environmental problems and problems of poverty and underdevelopment, by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in the “Brundtland Report” (WCED 1987) and its subsequent adoption by more than 180 countries at the Rio Summit in 1992. Governments, corporations, their advisors and think‐tanks then had strong incentives to reinterpret or redefine this policy to which all were by now committed; hence the multiple and divergent uses of “sustainability.” Yet addressing the original problems remains more crucial than ever.
Corporal Punishment
Authors: Benatar David
Published: January 2013

Although philosophers have written a great deal about whether punishment can ever be justified (seePunishment), that discussion is rightly bracketed when asking whether particular forms of punishment can be justified. This is not because the latter question is theoretically independent of the former question. Obviously, if punishment cannot be justified then neither can corporal punishment. Similarly, if punishment can sometimes be justified, it would help to know how it is justified if we are then to determine whether corporal punishment is acceptable. However, as a practical matter, if we were to await the resolution of the more foundational question before asking whether specific forms of punishment can be justified, we would never consider the acceptability of specific forms of punishment.
Criminal Justice Ethics
Authors: Reiman Jeffrey
Published: January 2013

Criminal justice ethics is a subdiscipline of ethics that explores the nature, justification, and practice of criminal justice. It investigates the role of the criminal law within society (seeCriminal Law), the moral limits on what behaviors can be appropriately criminalized, the proper governmental response to criminal activities, and the unique ethical issues facing agents of the criminal justice system: legislators, police, prosecutors, judges, prison wardens and guards, parole and probation officers. These issues are tied together by the fact that they all involve the use of coercion, and thus raise profound questions about individual liberty and social authority (seeAuthority).
Civilian Immunity
Authors: Primoratz Igor
Published: January 2013

The idea that warfare ought to be subject to restraint is probably as old as war itself. The restraints morality and law place on war fall under two heads: those concerning resort to war (jus ad bellum) and those concerning the ways war is fought (jus in bello). One of the rules comprisingjus in bello– on most accounts, its centerpiece – is that of discrimination (or, in legal parlance, distinction). It enjoins us to discriminate between legitimate and illegitimate targets in war and to restrict our attacks to the former. That means, roughly, that our acts of war may be directed only at enemy soldiers or combatants and military facilities, and that we must not attack civilians or noncombatants. Civilians (noncombatants) enjoy immunity against deliberately inflicted harm to life, limb, or property.
War Crimes
Authors: May Larry
Published: January 2013

War crimes are a species of international crimes (seeInternational Criminal Justice) committed during armed conflict. The other major international crimes are crimes against humanity (seeCrimes Against Humanity), genocide (seeGenocide), and the crime of aggression (Statute of the International Criminal Court: Art. 5). While the term “war crime” is sometimes popularly used to cover all international crimes committed during war (seeWar), it is properly restricted in international law to violations of the principle requiring that soldiers act humanely. Soldiers are supposed to act with mercy (seeMercy) and compassion, even as these same soldiers are allowed to kill enemy soldiers. The apparent paradox of this remark illustrates the conceptual problems of normatively grounding the idea of war crimes, and of international prosecutions for such crimes.
Bergson, Henri
Authors: Ansell‐Pearson Keith
Published: January 2013

Henri Bergson's (1859–1941) most sustained contribution to ethics is to be found in his final main book,The Two Sources of Morality and Religion(TSMR), which was published in 1932. Prior to the appearance of this work his commentators could only speculate on the “ethical implications” of his philosophy, linking his critique of scientific and psychological determinism and championing of unforeseeable novelty in the world – as espoused in his three previous main books,Time and Free Will(1889),Matter and Memory(1896), andCreative Evolution(1907) – with the concerns of ethics, especially questions of freedom (for one such attempt, see the study by Sait 1914). As one commentator notes, for several years Bergson had expressed doubts whether he would publish a book on ethics or morals simply because he doubted whether he could attain conclusions as demonstrable as those of his other texts. Philosophy proceeds by a definite method and can legitimately claim as much objectivity as the positive sciences, though of a different kind (Lacey 1989: 197). Bergson was, therefore, in search of an approach to ethics that would satisfy the ambition he had set for philosophy: that of achieving precision (Bergson 1965: 11). In what follows I will outline the contribution to ethics Bergson makes in the opening chapter of the TSMR and focus on illuminating the two sources morality has in his account. At the end of the opening chapter of the book Bergson states that all morality is in essence “biological,” though he does say we need to give the word “biology” the wide meaning it should have. Bergson is often construed, along with Nietzsche, as an irrationalist and a philosopher of life (seeNietzsche, Friedrich). However, what Bergson criticizes is the idea of self‐sufficient reason and so he is better seen as being anti‐intellectualist rather than advocating irrationalism (William James [1909] said it was Bergson who liberated him from intellectualism;seeJames, William). This has two main aspects: first, a rejection of the view that we can be moved by ideas or intelligence alone; and, second, criticism of Kant's conception of an ethics of duty (seeKant, Immanuel).
Euthyphro Dilemma
Authors: Miller Christian
Published: January 2013

The Euthyphro dilemma is named after a particular exchange between Socrates and Euthyphro in Plato's dialogueEuthyphro. In a famous passage, Socrates asks, “Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?” (Plato 1981: 10a), and proceeds to advance arguments which clearly favor the first of these two options (seePlato). The primary interest in the Euthyphro dilemma over the years, however, has concerned the relationship between God and morality in the monotheistic religious tradition, where God is taken to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, having created the universe initially and still actively involved in it today. But as we will see at the end of this essay, there has also been a recent surge of interest in a version of the dilemma which applies to so‐called response‐dependent accounts of normative properties in metaethics.
Psychopathy
Authors: Maibom Heidi L.
Published: January 2013

Psychopathy is a serious, life‐long, largely untreatable disorder characterized by abnormal emotions, impulsivity, irresponsibility, problems learning from experience, and antisocial behavior. Psychopaths experience little guilt, remorse, or empathy (Hare 2004;seeGuilt; Empathy). They have also been thought to lack the ability to love and to feel shame (Cleckley 1982). Psychopathy is of particular interest to moral philosophers because the deficits that psychopaths suffer from are primarily moral: they are manipulative, exploitative, pathological liars, utterly egocentric, etc. On a conservative measure, one‐third of the deficits characteristic of psychopathy is moral, or morally relevant. And, whereas the prevalence of psychopathy is around 1 percent in the general population, roughly 20 percent of prison inmates are psychopaths (Blair et al. 2005; Hare 1993). Psychopaths in the community, who have never been convicted of any crime, nevertheless report engaging regularly in immoral and illegal activities (Ishikawa et al. 2001). This strongly suggests that psychopaths are immoral or amoral.
Psychiatric Ethics
Authors: McMillan John
Published: January 2013

As is the case for other medical specialties, many ethical issues in psychiatry are generic problems for medicine. Issues such as research on human subjects, consent to treatment, and the basis of professional obligations are generally relevant to medicine and are discussed under other headings (seeBioethics; Consent; Research Ethics). However, there are some other ethical issues that, although common to other areas in medicine, are particularly relevant to psychiatry. The creation of new diseases in order to create a market for pharmaceuticals is a key challenge to psychiatry, but one that is also discussed under other headings (seeDisease Mongering; Psychopharmacology).
Quotidian Ethics
Authors: Benatar David
Published: January 2013

Quotidian ethics, or “everyday ethics,” as it is sometimes known, is a branch of applied ethics devoted to studying the moral questions, problems, and issues that arise in the daily lives of ordinary people. These include such questions as: Which, if any, jokes is it wrong to tell? May I gossip with my friends? Do the environmental effects and other dangers of cars make it wrong to drive? Is it wrong to keep animals as pets? If it is not wrong, how should I treat my companion animals? Is it morally permissible to live a lavish or luxurious lifestyle? When should I forgive those who have wronged me? Is jealousy ever appropriate?
Buck‐Passing Accounts
Authors: Olson Jonas
Published: January 2013

It is a common view that there is an intimate tie betweenevaluativeproperties like goodness, badness, and betterness andappropriate responsesto bearers of such properties. For instance, if an object is good there arereasonsto favor it, or as some say, a favorable response would befitting. Similarly, many people take there to be a close tie betweendeonticproperties like rightness and wrongness and appropriate responses: if an action is wrong, there are reasons to respond disfavorably, e.g., to blame agents for performing actions of that type. According tobuck‐passingaccounts (henceforth BPA), evaluative and deontic properties do not themselves provide reasons for responses. Rather, reasons to respond in various ways are provided by good‐, bad‐, better‐, right‐, and wrong‐makingproperties.
Egoism
Authors: Fumerton Richard
Published: January 2013

There are a number of important and potentially interrelated theses associated with the concept of egoistic action. In particular, it is useful to distinguish the psychological claim that everyone always does act egoistically (sometimes called psychological egoism), claims about the
morality
of acting egoistically, and claims about the
rationality
of acting egoistically. As we shall see, the nature of the connection, if any, between these views is a matter of considerable controversy. At least some philosophers will argue that if it is virtually a law of human nature that people act egoistically, then questions about whether they rationally or morally ought to act that way are moot. Claims about what one rationally ought to do might be distinct from claims about what one morally ought to do, but, again, as we shall see, there may be a serious price to be paid by the philosopher who lets morality and rationality come apart. But before we try to say more about any of these issues we must define more clearly the critical concept of acting egoistically.
Perfectionism
Authors: Kraut Richard
Published: January 2013

“Perfectionism” is a term that began to gain currency among Anglo‐American philosophers during the 1970s, due, in large part, to its use by John Rawls (1921–2002) inA Theory of Justiceto designate one of the moral and political theories to which he was opposed (seeRawls, John). Although his principal target in that work is not perfectionism but utilitarianism (seeConsequentialism; Utilitarianism), he takes both to share a single structure: each proposes a theory of what is good, and each defines moral rightness as the maximization of that good (which, in order to avoid circularity, is identified independently of rightness). Utilitarianism, as he defines it, holds that an action is right if and only if it maximizes the satisfaction of rational desires. Perfectionism similarly proposes that right actions maximize something, namely “the realization of human excellence in the various forms of culture” (1999: 22).
Generosity
Authors: Hunt Lester H.
Published: January 2013

With few exceptions, the moral philosophers of the last several centuries have written little about generosity. Those of the ancient, medieval, and Renaissance periods, however, often treated it as an important subject. Though Plato ignores it, Aristotle (1985) devotes a substantial chapter to it, as does Aquinas (1948). Indeed, in Book IV of the Nicomachean Ethics (1119
b
–1122
a
) Aristotle recognizes two different virtues that could be regarded as subspecies of generosity: eleutheria (“freedom”) and megaloprepeia (“magnanimity”). Descartes (1989) calls generosity “the key of all the virtues, and a general remedy for all the disorders of the passions” in his treatise The Passions of the Soul (Art. 161). Spinoza (2005;
see
Spinoza, Baruch) discusses it at some length in Part IV of his Ethics and treats it as intimately connected with freedom (Propositions 37 and 50–73). After that, philosophers seem to have lost interest in the idea of generosity, until Nietzsche (2006;
see
Nietzsche, Friedrich), a philosophical atavist on so many matters, sings the praises of something he calls a “gift‐giving virtue” in Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Part I, Ch. 22). Most likely, Nietzsche's gift‐giving virtue and Spinoza's generositas are best understood as a super‐virtue, a sort of generous‐mindedness, of which the trait that we ordinarily call generosity is a natural consequence.
Confucian Ethics
Authors: Shun Kwong‐loi
Published: January 2013

“Confucianism” is generally used as a translation of the Chinese expression
rujia
, or the school of
ru
, to refer to a school of thought that started with Confucius (sixth–fifth century
bce
) (
see
Confucius) and that continues to be influential in China, as well as in East and Southeast Asia. The character
ru
referred to a social group that had existed well before Confucius' time, a group that was well versed in ancient rituals and that earned its living as professional ritualists and educators. Confucius was a member of the group, but his influence was due largely to ideas he developed in response to the social and political problems of his time.
Disagreement, Moral
Authors: Tersman Folke
Published: January 2013

Prevailing norms and moral convictions differ widely from one historical period or culture to another, and there are extensive differences also within many societies. This familiar fact has provoked philosophical responses since antiquity, and it continues to play a role in many contemporary philosophical debates.
Nanotechnology, Ethics of
Authors: Weckert John
Published: January 2013

In 1986 Eric Drexler raised the issue of gray goo in his book
Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology
. Nanotechnology, he argued, would lead to the development of self‐replicating nanorobots, which if left unchecked could destroy the world. This self‐assembly would also enable desktop, or personal, factories that could produce just about anything. Bill Joy's article “Why the Future Doesn't Need Us” (2000) argued that possible developments in nanotechnology and related technologies were so dangerous that a moratorium on research was warranted. The gray goo debate has receded since then, with less emphasis being placed on self‐replicating machines. Discussion of personal factories continues, however, although not so much in the mainstream nanotechnology literature, and we will return to this later. There are still calls for moratoria on some nanotechnology research, although more because of the potential dangers of some nanoparticles than for the reasons that Joy advanced. The actual course of nanoethics, the study of the ethics of nanotechnology, has been rather mundane compared with the Drexler and Joy scenarios, and even the need for nanoethics is not generally accepted.
Non‐Cognitivism
Authors: Ridge Michael
Published: January 2013

Non‐cognitivism is perhaps better understood as a philosophical tradition than as a single unified doctrine. Moreover, the tradition is itself subtle and multifaceted, with different branches of the tradition emphasizing different ideas. My aim in this essay will be to give a newcomer to this tradition some idea about both the variety of the theories falling within the tradition (and why the differences between them matter) and a sense of what unifies these theories as constituting a coherent and philosophically important tradition.
Hunting
Authors: Evans J. Claude
Published: January 2013

When we inquire into the moral permissibility of hunting, it becomes important to distinguish between different kinds of hunting. Subsistence hunting, where the nourishment from the hunted animal's flesh is required for a healthy diet, plays a crucial role in some indigenous cultures and a minor role in most developed countries. It is thought to be permissible in almost all approaches to moral principles. Commercial hunting for markets is outlawed in the United States; it is carefully regulated in Europe; and it constitutes a serious issue in Africa (“bush meat”). Sport hunting, or hunting for its own sake, whether this is understood in terms of amusement, pleasure, recreation, traditional cultural practice, domination, or meaningful participation in natural ecosystems, is controversial. Hunting is also an instrument for managing populations of wildlife.
Weil, Simone
Authors: Bell Richard H.
Published: January 2013

Simone Weil was born in Paris on February 3, 1909, and died on August 24, 1943. Her legacy is found primarily in a number of her original political and philosophical writings. These embody her understanding of (1) justice as compassion as found in an individual's love and attention toward other human beings, (2) a sense of order in the natural world, and (3) a sense of God as shown in one's love and compassion for another (seeAttention, Moral; Moral Point of View; Responsibility). Her intellectual work and her practical engagement with evil in the world are at the center of her life and written corpus. Particular focus is given to individual harm‐doing, the rise of all forms of colonial oppression, and to the two World Wars' effects on her own beloved France. Her life and work draw the reader's attention to unethical behavior and to a general lack of moral sensibility in our twentieth‐century culture and continues to have relevant application in our twenty‐first century.
Violence
Authors: Bufacchi Vittorio
Published: January 2013

No other issue provokes moral debate as intensely as violence. From wars to suicide, torture to rape, violence is at the heart of virtually all our deepest moral concerns (seeRape; Torture; Suicide; War; Domestic Violence). Moral philosophers are primarily interested in the question: “Can violence be justified?” Yet, before this question can be tackled, a preliminary inquiry needs to be undertaken: “What is violence?”
Shaftesbury, Third Earl of
Authors: Anderson Abraham
Published: January 2013

Anthony Ashley Cooper, Third Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713), is commonly regarded as the founder of the “moral sense school,” whose best‐known representative is Francis Hutcheson (
see
Hutcheson, Francis). He is important in the history of ethics in part because he offers a basis for ethics which does not depend on theological dogma (Gill 2006: 77–132; Schneewind 1998: 295–309). The starting point of Shaftesbury's thought was a problem posed by Pierre Bayle in his
Various Thoughts on the Occasion of a Comet
(1682): does moral virtue depend on belief in correct religious doctrine, and does social order require the maintenance of a religious orthodoxy (Klein 1994: 52; Jaffro 1998: 180–1;
see
Religion and Politics)? Bayle had argued that neither is the case. In his “Inquiry Concerning Virtue and Merit,” first published in 1699, Shaftesbury agrees with Bayle. In defending this position he asserts that human beings are endowed with a moral sense connected with a natural sociability. The doctrine of natural sociability, which has roots in Stoic thought (
see
Stoicism), offers an interesting anticipation of modern views on ethical emotion in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology (Filonowicz 2008;
see
Evolution, ethics and).
Paradox of Deontology
Authors: Hurley Paul
Published: January 2013

Consider a case in which, if some person A1 injures, lies to, kills, or in some other way violates another person P1, she will set in motion a chain of events that will prevent two other persons, A2 and A3, from similarly violating two other persons P2 and P3. Intuitively, it is wrong in such a case for A1 to violate P1: A1 has an obligation not to violate others just as A2 and A3 do, and prevention of their violations of P2 and P3 does not justify A1 in violating her obligation to P1. Rights, for example, are commonly understood as generating such obligations not to violate even in certain cases in which such a violation can prevent more such violations from happening (
see
Rights). Many moral theories, including deontological theories (
see
Deontology), attempt to provide rationales for such intuitive moral restrictions.
Scheler, Max
Authors: Kelly Eugene
Published: January 2013

Max Ferdinand Scheler (1874–1928) was born in Munich. He made significant contributions to philosophical anthropology; to ethics, including an important critique of Kantian deontology (
see
Deontology); to epistemology, especially the sociology of knowledge; to metaphysics; and to philosophy of religion. He entered university at Jena, but transferred to Berlin to study medicine. There he came under the influence of Wilhelm Dilthey (
see
Dilthey, Wilhelm), who turned him to the study of philosophy. He returned to Jena, where he studied with Rudolf Eucken (1846–1926), a philosopher with ties to German Idealism. He received under Eucken both his doctorate in 1897 and his habilitation in 1899. He began as a lecturer in Jena after 1900 and moved to Munich as a Privatdozent in 1906. In 1902, he became familiar with the work of Edmund Husserl (
see
Husserl, Edmund) and the concept of phenomenology. After 1913, he worked with Husserl and others as an editor of the chief organ of the phenomenological movement,
Jahrbuch für Phänomenologie und philosophische Forschung
. He converted to Catholicism in 1899, and, until his denial of theism in or about 1921, he was an influential Catholic thinker.
Mercenaries and Private Military Companies
Authors: Baker and Deane‐Peter , Pattison James
Published: January 2013

The large‐scale employment of private contractors in support of the US‐led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has been hailed by some analysts as one of the most significant changes in the conduct of armed conflict in the contemporary era. It has also led to numerous accusations of mercenarism being directed against these contractors. Despite the strongly negative connotation associated with the mercenary label, surprisingly little focused analysis of the ethics of contracted force has been published.
Personal Relationships
Authors: Oakley Justin
Published: January 2013

Personal relationships, such as friendships and family relationships, vary widely in their quality, but play a crucial role in many of our lives. A human life with no such partial ties is difficult to imagine, and many believe that a life devoid of close personal relationships cannot be a life well‐lived. These were familiar ideas to Aristotle and other ancient Greek philosophers, but the impartialist basis of Kantian and Utilitarian approaches to ethics raises challenges about the place of personal relationships in an ethical life. To what extent can Kantianism and Utilitarianism allow us to engage in friendships and family relationships? Debates about these questions have also led to more abstract disputes about whether such theories are fatally flawed – if living by their dictates turns out to be incompatible with genuine friendship, or whether, conversely, friendship itself might have to be renounced by those seeking to live an ethical life. More radically, the special authority that morality and moral reasons are commonly assumed to have are sometimes questioned from a perspective that regards personal relationships as essential to a life worth living. Ethical scrutiny of partiality also extends to questions about the proper grounds of various familial obligations, such as parental obligations to children, and adult children's obligations to their elderly parents, and to questions about the content of such obligations, and even whether there are any such special duties in the first place.
Rationality
Authors: Harman Gilbert
Published: January 2013

Many questions in ethics are partly issues about rationality. There is the question whether human lives are more important than the lives of other animals and, if they are,why? One traditional answer is that human beings are rational in a way that other animals are not and that makes them more important from a moral point of view.