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In 2008 the Philosophy Department decided to organise its impact strategy around the research activities of the Essex Autonomy Project (EAP). EAP research has been conducted in two distinct strands with different research outputs and impacts. This case study summarises the impact of our work concerning the legal concept of best interests decision-making. Through EAP public policy roundtables, EAP technical reports, and through work with public organisations and public officials, EAP research has informed professional and public discussion of the law of best interests, has had impact in the development of public policy guidelines for implementing legal requirements, and has played a role in the review and reform of existing regulatory frameworks.
For over a decade, Professor Julian Savulescu has produced a body of work on the enhancement of human beings and its ethical implications, including work on the ethics of genetic selection and on the ethics of using technology to enhance human capacities. This work has had an influence on public policy, in particular by influencing government bodies in Norway, the United States, and Australia, and on business and industry. It has also been used in teaching material for secondary school pupils by the Wellcome Collection. Furthermore, through the many prestigious public lectures that Professor Savulescu has given and the seminars that he has led, through the television and radio interviews that he has given, and through the extensive discussion of his ideas in the press and online, he has both contributed to the public awareness of and stimulated lively debate around such issues as what distinguishes the use of doping in sport from seemingly acceptable forms of enhancement, and what if anything is wrong with designer babies.
Between 2010 and 2012, Professor Luciano Floridi transferred knowledge about epistemological issues in the philosophy of information to Sogeti, an international information technology consultancy; and, via Sogeti, to technology and business leaders in Europe and beyond, influencing their planning for and adaptation to technological change. In the realm of public policy, Floridi developed guidelines and protocols surrounding ethical problems concerning digital and online information. He chaired a European Commission group whose `manifesto' forms part of the EU's Digital Futures initiative; influenced thinking around IP and international trade agreements; and contributed to a UNESCO action plan on ensuring equitable access to information.
Professor Caney's research addresses a fundamental concern that climate policies should be guided not just by economic considerations but also by ethical considerations. His research on human rights and intergenerational justice identifies ethical principles to guide climate change policy that have influenced major actors in the climate change field ranging from international organisations to governments and NGOs. His work has (i) shaped the acceptance of ethical concerns as a critical consideration of climate change policy, (ii) influenced policy initiatives, and (iii) impacted on the wider public debate.
Research in Southampton Law School's Health Ethics and Law (HEAL) network has made a significant contribution to improving the way in which ethical issues in health are addressed in the UK and further afield. HEAL members' specialist research has informed several Department of Health policy documents and policy makers, as well as the strategies of organisations governing bioethics. Their recommendations have influenced professional guidelines for clinicians and lawyers, defining and underpinning good practice so as to protect and benefit service users. Increased understanding of ethical issues in health among the wider public has been promoted through high-profile media coverage.
A decade of social science research on emerging technologies carried out and/or directed by Oxford researchers at InSIS (Institute for Science, Innovation and Society) provided the basis for the Oxford Principles for the Governance of Geoengineering Research. These Principles were endorsed by the House of Commons Science and Technology (S&T) Committee in 2010 and were subsequently accepted by the UK Government in its official response to the Committee's report - meaning that appropriate governance arrangements are now a necessary precondition for responsible research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of geoengineering. The Principles have also been "generally endorsed" by the international geoengineering research community in its efforts to ensure responsible conduct in the controversial emerging area of environmental technology.
More than a decade's research at the University of Leeds has focused on a cohesive set of issues bearing directly and indirectly on ethics in the workplace: reasons for action, moral psychology, good judgement, character and integrity. The impact of this work covers: consultancy on organisational ethics; development and delivery of CPD for engineers; use of web-based and online materials to engage professionals in ethical reasoning; applied research and engagement with practitioners on integrity at work; a submission to the Leveson enquiry; and an ethics template for the National Nuclear Laboratory. Its significance and reach in embedding ethics in professional life is demonstrated by the range of these activities and the size of the organisations involved.
This case study focuses on impact that has occurred because of the research of faculty member Lucy Allais in the areas of disease and sexual health. Impact includes:
In the last decade, the traditional view of military ethics among practitioners and scholars has been challenged by revisionist approaches to Just War Theory. David Rodin's work has played a significant part in the development of the revisionist school and in its subsequent impacts on Western militaries. His research on individual responsibility in war, the limitations of traditional justifications of war, and jus terminatio (the ethical norms applicable to the termination of war) has - as part of the revisionist school - opened up new approaches to military ethics and the way militaries understand their rights and responsibilities and those of others in war. Rodin's research has had significant impact in re-shaping training on ethics for military personnel and senior civil servants in the US, UK and beyond, and is informing changes in the doctrine and practice of Western militaries.
Public debate on the philosophical issues surrounding the nature of health and technological alteration of the human body has been informed and influenced by means of public events, media interviews and freely available online resources. These have informed both the general public and stakeholder groups, building on insights from research at UWE Bristol. Meacham has written for a general audience on the use of pharmaceutical enhancement in sports and education, influencing attitudes toward `doping' in these two spheres. Public debates (on eugenics and smart drugs) have impacted individual practice toward disabled people and attitudes of stakeholders toward the use of `smart drugs'. Meacham's interventions in the international press have been used as a model of effective communication by major trade unions.