title: A similarity reduction of the Grad-Shafranov equation

authors: Litvinenko, Yuri E.

subjects: mathematics

abstract: A direct method for finding similarity reductions of partial differential equations is applied to a specific case of the Grad–Shafranov equation. As an illustration of the method, the frequently used Solov’ev equilibrium is derived. The method is employed to obtain a new family of exact analytical solutions, which contain both the classical and nonclassical group-invariant solutions of the Grad–Shafranov equation and thus greatly extends the range of the available analytical solutions. All the group-invariant solutions based on the classical Lie symmetries are shown to be particular cases in the new family of solutions.

text: A similarity reduction of the Grad-Shafranov equation A direct method for finding similarity reductions of partial differential equations is applied to a specific case of the Grad–Shafranov equation. As an illustration of the method, the frequently used Solov’ev equilibrium is derived. The method is employed to obtain a new family of exact analytical solutions, which contain both the classical and nonclassical group-invariant solutions of the Grad–Shafranov equation and thus greatly extends the range of the available analytical solutions. All the group-invariant solutions based on the classical Lie symmetries are shown to be particular cases in the new family of solutions.

year: 2010

title: Ethical relationships between science and society: Understanding the social responsibility of scientists

authors: Small, Bruce Harris

subjects: Ethics

abstract: The wider social responsibility of scientists has received theoretical discussion but little previous empirical research. To elucidate the construct, this thesis investigated scientists’ attitudes, values and beliefs about social responsibility, with a focus on Promethean gene technologies. The thesis articulates a framework for the construct domain and develops and validates a set of new measures related to scientific social responsibility. Five technology fuelled, social and ecological, existential threats to Earth are identified, establishing the need for an increased ethic of social responsibility for the scientific endeavour and scientists in an age of Promethean technologies. The power of developing gene technologies and their social and moral implications are examined, followed by a discussion of relevant normative, meta-ethical and applied ethics theories. Next, Kohlberg’s (1969) cognitive moral development theory, Rest’s (1979) theory of moral behaviour, and Schwartz’s (1992) theory of personal value orientation are discussed as a psychological context for scientific social responsibility. The few empirical studies addressing the issue are reviewed. Original empirical contributions are presented in two studies. Study 1 is an explorative, qualitative research project using face-to-face, in-depth, unstructured interviews to investigate a purposive sample of scientists’ (N = 22) beliefs about the social role of science, and scientists, in research and technology development. The participants all worked in the field of genetic engineering, or studied its social or ecological impacts. From a data-driven, manifest, thematic analysis, three themes emerged, each with several sub-themes: doing public good (sub-themes: benefit/harm, knowledge, technologies, and foresight); engagement (sub-themes: informing society, becoming informed, and integrity) and; compliance (sub-themes: scientific norms, business norms, laws and regulations, societal mores, and personal values). A theoretically-driven, latent, thematic analysis, examined the normative and meta-ethical reasoning underlying participants’ manifest positions. Evidence was found for normative ethical reasoning (i.e., deontological, teleological and virtue ethics) and a range of meta-ethical approaches (i.e., ethical relativism, conventionalism, objectivism, moral absolutism, subjectivism, emotivism, and cultural relativism). From Study 1 items were proposed for two measures of social responsibility based on the first two stages of Rest’s model of moral behaviour. Study 2, a quantitative survey of scientists from six New Zealand Crown Research Institutes (N = 733, 40.9% female), used a nomological network of 39 hypothesised directional relationships (correlations) to help infer construct validity to five new instruments related to social responsibility: moral awareness, moral judgement regarding personal behaviour, technological optimism, attitude to the commercialisation of science, and attitude to the democratisation of science. Five existing instruments also comprised the nomological network: the four Schwartz higher-order value dimensions and a concurrent criterion, general attitude to genetic engineering. Exploratory factor analysis was used to select items for single factor instruments and confirmatory factor analysis to purify the instruments’ dimensionality, followed by reliability analyses. Four new instruments demonstrated good psychometric properties. Twenty-seven of 39 hypothesised correlations were significant in the right direction (at the Bonferroni adjusted p < .001 level), providing initial support for the new instruments’ construct validities and study results regarding participants’ attitudes, beliefs and values towards conducting socially responsible Promethean science.

text: Ethical relationships between science and society: Understanding the social responsibility of scientists The wider social responsibility of scientists has received theoretical discussion but little previous empirical research. To elucidate the construct, this thesis investigated scientists’ attitudes, values and beliefs about social responsibility, with a focus on Promethean gene technologies. The thesis articulates a framework for the construct domain and develops and validates a set of new measures related to scientific social responsibility. Five technology fuelled, social and ecological, existential threats to Earth are identified, establishing the need for an increased ethic of social responsibility for the scientific endeavour and scientists in an age of Promethean technologies. The power of developing gene technologies and their social and moral implications are examined, followed by a discussion of relevant normative, meta-ethical and applied ethics theories. Next, Kohlberg’s (1969) cognitive moral development theory, Rest’s (1979) theory of moral behaviour, and Schwartz’s (1992) theory of personal value orientation are discussed as a psychological context for scientific social responsibility. The few empirical studies addressing the issue are reviewed. Original empirical contributions are presented in two studies. Study 1 is an explorative, qualitative research project using face-to-face, in-depth, unstructured interviews to investigate a purposive sample of scientists’ (N = 22) beliefs about the social role of science, and scientists, in research and technology development. The participants all worked in the field of genetic engineering, or studied its social or ecological impacts. From a data-driven, manifest, thematic analysis, three themes emerged, each with several sub-themes: doing public good (sub-themes: benefit/harm, knowledge, technologies, and foresight); engagement (sub-themes: informing society, becoming informed, and integrity) and; compliance (sub-themes: scientific norms, business norms, laws and regulations, societal mores, and personal values). A theoretically-driven, latent, thematic analysis, examined the normative and meta-ethical reasoning underlying participants’ manifest positions. Evidence was found for normative ethical reasoning (i.e., deontological, teleological and virtue ethics) and a range of meta-ethical approaches (i.e., ethical relativism, conventionalism, objectivism, moral absolutism, subjectivism, emotivism, and cultural relativism). From Study 1 items were proposed for two measures of social responsibility based on the first two stages of Rest’s model of moral behaviour. Study 2, a quantitative survey of scientists from six New Zealand Crown Research Institutes (N = 733, 40.9% female), used a nomological network of 39 hypothesised directional relationships (correlations) to help infer construct validity to five new instruments related to social responsibility: moral awareness, moral judgement regarding personal behaviour, technological optimism, attitude to the commercialisation of science, and attitude to the democratisation of science. Five existing instruments also comprised the nomological network: the four Schwartz higher-order value dimensions and a concurrent criterion, general attitude to genetic engineering. Exploratory factor analysis was used to select items for single factor instruments and confirmatory factor analysis to purify the instruments’ dimensionality, followed by reliability analyses. Four new instruments demonstrated good psychometric properties. Twenty-seven of 39 hypothesised correlations were significant in the right direction (at the Bonferroni adjusted p < .001 level), providing initial support for the new instruments’ construct validities and study results regarding participants’ attitudes, beliefs and values towards conducting socially responsible Promethean science.

year: 2011

title: Iwi, institutes, societies & community led initiatives

authors: Whaanga, Hēmi

abstract: With the rapid evolution, innovation and incredible growth of ICT, the avenues to exchange, access, manage, create, disseminate, display and research Indigenous data and Mātauranga Māori have increased at astounding rates. This generation, often referred to as ‘digital natives', ‘homo zappiëns’, ‘Net generation’, ‘millennials’, ‘i-generation’ (see, for example Akçayır, Dündar, & Akçayır, 2016; Kirschner & De Bruyckere, 2017; Prensky, 2001; Yong & Gates, 2014), have been raised, immersed and exposed to a myriad of digital technologies, video games, computers, digital music players and cellular phones during their brief lifetimes. Technologies have dramatically transformed how each generation access, communicate, share knowledge, distribute and view information. Social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, Tumblr and social networking apps such as Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, QQ Chat, QZone, Viber, LINE, and Snapchat, with billons of active users per month, are as familiar to this generation as was the radio, television and landline telephones to the Baby Boomers who grew up with pre-cellphone mobile technology.

text: Iwi, institutes, societies & community led initiatives With the rapid evolution, innovation and incredible growth of ICT, the avenues to exchange, access, manage, create, disseminate, display and research Indigenous data and Mātauranga Māori have increased at astounding rates. This generation, often referred to as ‘digital natives', ‘homo zappiëns’, ‘Net generation’, ‘millennials’, ‘i-generation’ (see, for example Akçayır, Dündar, & Akçayır, 2016; Kirschner & De Bruyckere, 2017; Prensky, 2001; Yong & Gates, 2014), have been raised, immersed and exposed to a myriad of digital technologies, video games, computers, digital music players and cellular phones during their brief lifetimes. Technologies have dramatically transformed how each generation access, communicate, share knowledge, distribute and view information. Social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, Tumblr and social networking apps such as Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, QQ Chat, QZone, Viber, LINE, and Snapchat, with billons of active users per month, are as familiar to this generation as was the radio, television and landline telephones to the Baby Boomers who grew up with pre-cellphone mobile technology.

year: 2017