Independent Advice Research Articles

Thoughts on the Politicization of Science through Commercialization

M. Norton Wise Thoughts on the Politicization of Science through Commercialization POLITICIZATION THE CURRENT POLITICIZATION OF SCIENCE— BY W H I C H I MEAN THE attem pt politically to control the content of knowledge and not just the direction of research—is arguably unprecedented in history, aside from a few famous and anom alous examples like the Galileo and Lysenko affairs.1Although complaints have been developing for years, the first major public protest against the abuse of science by the current administration in the United States was the statem ent published by the Union of Concerned Scientists in February 2004, “Scientific Integrity in Policymaking: An Investigation into the Bush Administration’s Misuse of Science.” It charged the administration with “a well-established pattern of suppression and distortion of scientific findings by high-ranking Bush adm inistration political appointees across num erous federal agencies” and w ith “a wide-ranging effort to manipulate the government’s scien­ tific advisory system to prevent the appearance of advice that m ight run counter to the adm inistration’s political agenda.”2Its signatories grew to include thousands of scientists and many former government officials, with 48 Nobel laureates, 62 National Medal of Science recipients, and 135 members of the National Academy of Sciences (Mooney, 2005: 225). This consensus is as unprecedented as the scope of the abuses it protests. social research Vol 73 : No 4 : W inter 2006 1253 Chris Mooney, in The Republican War on Science, provides a well docum ented account of the origins of the recent political m anipula­ tion of science, which goes back to the 1970s but flourished after the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 know n as the “Gingrich Revolution,” w ith its assault on federal regulation. The signal event was the dism antling of the Office of Technology Assessment, which had functioned for 24 years as Congress’s source of independent advice on issues of science and technology. The tactics of the Gingrich assault were borrowed from the long experience of the tobacco industry in defusing claims of the harm ful effects of sm oking—simply to fund their own research, which ended up casting doubt on the certainty of the claims even w hen it did not contradict them. The effectiveness of the technique is shown by a 1998 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on review articles of research done on second­ hand smoke, which showed that a “not harm ful” conclusion was 88.4 times higher if authors had industry affiliation (Mooney, 2005:10). Increasingly im portant in the new version of this alternative research technique have been think tanks with sponsorship from indus­ tries seeking to block regulation: the American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, Pacific Legal Foundation, George C. M arshall Institute, Annapolis Center for Science-Based Policy, and others. But perhaps m ost intriguing in Mooney’s analysis is his account of the adoption by opponents of regulation of a systematic rhetorical strat­ egy. Research results that opposed or m inim ized the need for regula­ tion, typically industrially funded, would be labeled “sound science” while pro-regulation research, typically carried on at universities and governm ent laboratories, would be labeled “junk science” in the inter­ est of m anufacturing scientific doubt (Mooney, 2005: 65-76). The genius in this move is that the term “sound science” has been picked up in reporting by the m ainstream m edia, often w ithout recognizing its loaded m eaning or that it is inscribed in such conservative organiza­ tions as the Advancement o f Sound Science Coalition. A countermove on the part of the Union of Concerned Scientists to recapture rhetorical control has apparently not been so effective. Its Sound Science Initiative 1254 social research is an “email-based vehicle for scientists to respond to and influence fastbreaking media and policy developments on environm ental issues.”3 Examples of the overt attem pts to control the content of science during the current adm inistration could be taken from virtually any area of political significance: global warm ing, endangered species, ozone depletion, chemical pollution, or oil drilling, w ithout even enter­ ing the fraught areas of abortion, stem cells...

Nurse telephone triage in out-of-hours GP practice: determinants of independent advice and return consultation

BackgroundNowadays, nurses play a central role in telephone triage in Dutch out-of-hours primary care. The percentage of calls that is handled through nurse telephone advice alone (NTAA) appears to vary substantially between GP cooperatives. This study aims to explore which determinants are associated with NTAA and with subsequent return consultations to the GP.MethodsFor the ten most frequently presented problems, a two-week follow-up cohort study took place in one cooperative run by 25 GPs and 8 nurses, serving a population of 62,291 people. Random effects logistic regression analysis was used to study the determinants of NTAA and return consultation rates. The effect of NTAA on hospital referral rates was also studied as a proxy for severity of illness.ResultsThe mean NTAA rate was 27.5% – ranging from 15.5% to 39.4% for the eight nurses. It was higher during the night (RR 1.63, CI 1.48–1.76) and lower with increasing age (RR 0.96, CI 0.93–0.99, per ten years) or when the patient presented >2 problems (RR 0.65; CI 0.51–0.83). Using cough as reference category, NTAA was highest for earache (RR 1.49; CI 1.18–1.78) and lowest for chest pain (RR 0.18; CI 0.06–0.47). After correction for differences in case mix, significant variation in NTAA between nurses remained (p < 0.001). Return consultations after NTAA were higher after nightly calls (RR 1.23; CI 1.04–1.40). During first return consultations, the hospital referral rate after NTAA was 1.5% versus 3.8% for non-NTAA (difference -2.2%; CI -4.0 to -0.5).ConclusionImportant inter-nurse variability may indicate differences in perception on tasks and/or differences in skill to handle telephone calls alone. Future research should focus more on modifiable determinants of NTAA rates.

Session VII: Risk Management and Monitoring

Biosafety regulatory frameworks are intended to serve as mechanisms for ensuring the safe use of biotechnology products without imposing unacceptable risk to human health or the environment, or unintended constraints to technology transfer. In several regulatory systems GMO risk assessment has been separated from GMO risk management. As a consequence, risk assessment can be performed on a purely scientific basis, whereas risk management can take additional aspects (e.g. socio-economic or ethical) into consideration. For instance, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the keystone of European Union risk assessment regarding food and feed safety, provides independent scientific advice and clear communication on existing and emerging risks in close collaboration with national authorities and in open consultation with its stakeholders. Risk management measures are not within the remit of EFSA, and remain the responsibility of the European Commission and Member States.

TALKING ABOUT…

TALKING ABOUT…

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in Japan: History and Recent Studies on Oxidative Stress in Prion Diseases

With the respect to BSE and vCJD, compliance with the following three rules should strictly be observed: (i) Identification and destruction of all clinically affected cattle; (ii) destruction of all mammalian proteins used in feeding ruminant livestock; and (iii) destruction of all high-risk tissues for use in human consumption. Scrapie in sheep has been documented in the 18th century in the United Kingdom. Through studies of brain-to-brain transmission in the same species in 1935, Cuille et al. successfully isolated the culprit protein from the sheep brain. To transmit said protein from an animal to another, intracerebral inoculation was much more efficient than intraperitoneal or oral route in certain species; i.e. the hamster and mouse. Since discovery of the more efficacious infection route, studies and development of prion research have undergone 4 developmental phases. Phase I depicted discoveries of the pathological features of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and scrapie with typical lesions of spongiform encephalopathy, while Phase II revealed individual-to-individual (or cross-species) transmissions of CJD, kuru and scrapie in animals. Phases I and II suggested the possible participation of a slow virus in the infection process. In Phase III, Prusiner et al. proposed the 'prion' theory in 1982, followed by the milestone development of the transgenic or gene-targeted mouse in prion research in Phase IV. By strain-typing of prions, CJD has been classified as type 2 or 4 by Parchi et al. and Wadsworth as type-2 or -4 and type-1 or -2, respectively. Wadsworth type 1 is detected in the cerebellum, while Wadsworth type 2 was detected in the prefrontal cortex of 10% of sporadic CJD patients. In 1999, Puoti et al. have reported the co-existence of two types of PrP(res) in a same patient. These reports indicated that PrP(res)-typing is a quantitative rather than a qualitative process, and the relationship between the molecular type and the prion strain is rather complex. In fact, previous findings of Truchot have correlated type-1 distribution with synaptic deposits, and type-2 with arrangement of diffuse deposits in neurons. Although the normal function of PrP(C) has not been fully understood, recent studies have shown that PrP(C) plays a role in copper metabolism, signal transduction, neuroprotection and cell maturation. Further search of PrP(C)-interacting molecules and detailed studies using Prnp(-/-) mice and various type of Prnp(-/-) cell lines under various conditions are the prerequisites in elucidating PrP functions. In the pathogenesis of prion diseases, present results support the hypothesis that 'loss-of-function' of PrP(C) decreases resistance to oxidative stress, and 'gain-of-function' of PrP(Sc) increases oxidative stress. The mechanisms of (i) the 'loss-of-function' of PrP(C) in enhanced susceptibility to oxidative stress and (ii) the 'gain-of-function' of PrP(Sc) in generation of oxidative stress remain to be elucidated, although their mechanisms of action, at least in part, involve the decrease and increase in SOD activity, respectively.

Combining student independent learning and peer advice to improve the quality of undergraduate dissertations

The majority of UK undergraduates studying one of the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) disciplines undertake a dissertation as part of their studies. Recognising the importance of...

The expanding role of animal welfare within EU legislation and beyond

Abstract Animal welfare is being accorded an increasingly important role in today's civil society. Within the EU, this has been enshrined within the specific “Protocol on Protection and Welfare of Animals” annexed to the EC Treaty, obliging Member States and the EU Institutions to pay full regard to the welfare of animals when formulating and implementing Community legislation. There is a growing body of EU legislation on this issue, founded on sound scientific principles (including the role of EFSA in providing independent scientific advice), taking account of public concerns, stakeholder input and possible socio-economic implications. Recent CAP reforms also testify to animal welfare's growing stature in policy-making, with the introduction of the principle of cross-compliance regarding eligibility for direct payments and additional financial incentives for producers to achieve higher standards. Animal welfare is being increasingly perceived as an integral element of overall food quality, having important knock-on effects on animal health and food safety. On a worldwide level, the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) has embarked on an initiative to develop global animal welfare guidelines and standards mandated by 167 member countries and the issue remains on the agenda for future WTO negotiations. Consumers demand higher standards of animal protection and it is incumbent upon policy-makers and legislators to respond accordingly.

BODMAN ABOLISHES DOE ADVISORY BOARD

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S decision to disband its principal scientific advisory committee next month is the latest example of the Bush Administration's refusal to listen to outside, independent scientific advice, critics of the move told C&EN last week. Established during the Carter Administration, the 28-member independent Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) is no longer needed, says DOE spokesman Craig Stevens, and will shut down on May 20 after it completes a final report on science and math education. Stevens says two recently announced presidential initiatives will guide the department's work on energy and basic research over the next several Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman that we have a strong agenda moving forward with the American Competitiveness and Advanced Energy Initiatives put forth by the White House, Stevens says. With these two initiatives, the secretary believes our course is charted for the next couple of years. The new science and technology ...

Independent advice for dentists

Independent advice for dentists

Toxicological assessments of Gulf War veterans

Concerns about unexplained illnesses among veterans of the 1991 Gulf War appeared soon after that conflict ended. Many environmental causes have been suggested, including possible exposure to depleted uranium munitions, vaccines and other drugs used to protect troops, deliberate or accidental exposure to chemical warfare agents and pesticides and smoke from oil-well fires. To help resolve these issues, US and UK governments have sought independent expert scientific advice from prestigious, independent scientific and public health experts, including the US National Academies of Science and the UK Royal Society and Medical Research Council. Their authoritative and independent scientific and medical reviews shed light on a wide range of Gulf War environmental hazards. However, they have added little to our understanding of Gulf War veterans' illnesses, because identified health effects have been previously well characterized, primarily in the occupational health literature. This effort has not identified any new health effects or unique syndromes associated with the evaluated environmental hazards. Nor do their findings provide an explanation for significant amounts of illnesses among veterans of the 1991 Gulf War. Nevertheless, these independent and highly credible scientific reviews have proven to be an effective means for evaluating potential health effects from deployment-related environmental hazards.

Another Look at the Giving of Independent Advice to Sureties: Some Uncertainties and Evolving Concerns

It seems clear from the cases that independent advice can play a role where the lender or creditor attempts to argue that a guarantor or surety has entered into a guarantee in an act of free and independent will, and is aware of the nature and effect of such a security. The purpose of independent advice in this context is to ensure that the guarantor understands the nature and effect of the transaction and the documents to be signed. This article critically analyses the importance of the surety procuring independent advice before executing the contract of guarantee. It examines some of the evolving problems with independent advice and whether the presence of such advice can actually be used to protect a guarantee transaction from the taint of, for example, unfairness. It also considers whether current ideas of what constitutes independent advice are in general adequate to form the basis of an effective protective regime for guarantors.

Consulting experts with vested interests: The power of benchmarking

A decisionmaker gets independent advice from two experts, who can be of two different types. Experts are risk-neutral and prefer certain policies irrespective of the state of nature, so to induce information-sharing the decisionmaker must reward truthful experts. I show that, in this environment, a heterogeneous committee has no informational advantage over a single expert: a decision rule that encourages one expert to be honest immediately makes honesty less attractive for the other. With a homogenous committee, the higher is the correlation between the experts’ signals, the more the decisionmaker is willing to pay to secure independent advice.

Information needs and preferences of women with adjuvant and metastatic breast cancer (BC): Results of a survey in Germany

6096 Background: An increasing number of breast cancer patients in western countries are accessing the Internet for medical information. Little is known about to why breast cancer patients access the Internet. The following study was condcuted to explore the information needs and preferences of patients with special focus on doctor-patient communication. Methods: During an eight months period of time, a questionnaire consisting of 62 questions was developed and validated in a phase-I study and was addressed both via internet (homepage) and via a print-version to breast cancer patients. Results: A total of 617 patients (pts), 552 online version and 65 by print version, were eligible. Pts who took part in the survey via the internet had a median age of 47 years; those used the print version, 53 years. 65% of the pts didn’t have distant metastases. There were no significant differences in the answers between pts with adjuvant and metastatic BC. The most relevant source of information concerning treatment was the physician (84%) followed by the internet (55%). Looking for alternative therapies beside the regular treatment was the most frequent reason for using the internet. Asking the pts what information refering their disease and therapy are of major importance to themthe responses were: do I receive the right therapy? (89%); How many patients with my disease my physician is treating? (46%); Can I participate in a trial? (46%). The most frequently mentioned recommendations to optimize the management were: more alternative therapies should be offered (54%); physicians should invest more time for explanations (51%); communication between all involved physicians should be improved (39%). 94% of all pts demand an independent advice cancer centre and 97% of all pts require more information of the impact of treatment on the everyday life. Conclusions: This study confirms an unspoilt trust of patients in their doctors and underlines the need to give patients with breast cancer all details on treatment options. (Supported by ESSEX Pharma Germany) This study underlines the need to give patients with breast cancer all details on treatment options and cancer managements. (Supported bei ESSEX Pharma Germany) No significant financial relationships to disclose.

D1. Defense Science Board Task Force, Report on U.S. Strategic Communication, Washington, September 2004 (excerpts).

The Defense Science Board (DSB) is a federal advisory committee established in 2001 to provide independent advice to the Secretary of Defense. Early in 2004, the DSB created a special task force on U.S. Strategic Communication with the ultimate aim of making recommendations geared to improving America's negative image in world opinion. The ten-member task force, comprising academics and analysts from the private sector working with a panel of government advisers, presented its 111-page final report——which concludes that U.S. strategic communication ““must be transformed““——in August 2004. Footnotes in the excerpts below have been eliminated for space considerations. The entire report can be viewed on the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Web site at www.acq.osd.mil.

Concerns raised over loss of nurse advisers.

Uncertainty surrounds how ministers will receive independent and comprehensive advice on nursing and midwifery after the imminent abolition of the Standing Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Committee (SNMAC).

Policy Councils on Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity: the UK as a case study

Summary . International experience of Policy Councils on food and nutrition has developed over recent decades but they have not received the attention that is due to them. . The 1992 International Conference on Nutrition recommended that governments create Food Policy Councils but few have been created. . There has been more experience in local and sub-national policy councils, particularly in North America. . Developing country experience of attempting to improve food policy integration stems from the 1970s. . The UK’s House of Commons’ (Parliamentary) Health Committee, in its 2004 report on obesity, reviewed current policy determinants of the rise in obesity, concluding that national food and health policy lacked coherence, integration and effectiveness. To address this vacuum, it proposed the creation of a new ‘Council of Nutrition and Physical Activity to improve co-ordination and inject independent thinking into strategy’. . The case for creating such a Council in the UK is reviewed, as are possible organisational options, functions and remit. . A Council could be created under the forthcoming Public Health Act. . The purpose of the new Council would be to provide independent advice and strategic advice as well as monitor the linkages between policies on food, nutrition and physical activity, noting their environmental implications.

Policy Councils on Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity: the UK as a case study

International experience of Policy Councils on food and nutrition has developed over recent decades but they have not received the attention that is due to them. The 1992 International Conference on Nutrition recommended that governments create Food Policy Councils but few have been created. There has been more experience in local and sub-national policy councils, particularly in North America. Developing country experience of attempting to improve food policy integration stems from the 1970s. The UK's House of Commons' (Parliamentary) Health Committee, in its 2004 report on obesity, reviewed current policy determinants of the rise in obesity, concluding that national food and health policy lacked coherence, integration and effectiveness. To address this vacuum, it proposed the creation of a new 'Council of Nutrition and Physical Activity to improve co-ordination and inject independent thinking into strategy'. The case for creating such a Council in the UK is reviewed, as are possible organisational options, functions and remit. A Council could be created under the forthcoming Public Health Act. The purpose of the new Council would be to provide independent advice and strategic advice as well as monitor the linkages between policies on food, nutrition and physical activity, noting their environmental implications.

The network of European Environment and Sustainable Development Advi- sory Councils (EEAC)

Advisory councils for environmental policy and sustainable development are a special kind of body, established by national and regional governments with the explicit task of giving independent policy advice. A variety of institutional types of councils has evolved over time, some of which have common tasks and some of which are more distinct. The network of European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils (EEAC) is an own initiative for cooperation, whose objectives are to allow member states' councils to exchange experiences and to collaborate in giving policy advice at EU level where appropriate. EEAC has developed from a rather loose set of discussions into what is now an extensive network with some degree of institutionalisation. It gives selective, joint advice on EU policy development, which can be a distinctive source of influence upon environmental policy and sustainable development.

Health impact assessment in New Zealand

New Zealand has a history of the assessment of projects for their potential impact on health in the context of the New Zealand Resource Management Act 1991. Health impact assessment (HIA) at policy level is very new, and focuses on high-level policies from outside the health sector. It has largely developed since the Public Health Advisory Committee published its guidance to policy makers in 20041, followed by intensive promotion, capacity building and support to agencies undertaking HIA. (The Public Health Advisory Committee was established under the New Zealand Health and Disability Act 2000 to provide the Minister of Health with independent public health advice.) It is ‘work in progress’ and, as such, the Committee has not yet published any results. The Committee is also collaborating with the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Quigley and Watts Ltd, with advice and support from Deakin University, to deliver HIA training and to support agencies that undertake an HIA. The Committee will review uptake in the second quarter of 2006, the reasons for agencies choosing (or not choosing) to undertake HIA and what changed as a result.

The role of the European centre for the validation of alternative methods (ECVAM) in the validation of (Q)SARs

Under the current chemicals legislation, the regulatory use of structure-activity relationships (SARs) and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs), collectively referred to as (Q)SARs, for the assessment of chemicals is limited, partly due to concerns about the extent to which (Q)SAR estimates can be relied upon. On 29 October 2003, the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal that foresees the introduction of a new regulatory system for chemicals called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals), which will impose equivalent information requirements on both new and existing chemicals. For reasons of practicality, cost-effectiveness and animal welfare, it is envisaged that (Q)SARs will play an important role in the assessment of some 30,000 existing chemicals for which further information may be required under the REACH system. It will therefore be essential that the (Q)SAR models used will produce reliable estimates. To overcome the barriers in the acceptance of (Q)SARs for regulatory purposes, it is widely acknowledged that there needs to be international agreement on the principles of (Q)SAR validation, and that the process of (Q)SAR validation should be managed by independent organisations, with a view to providing independent advice to the regulators who make decisions on the acceptability of (Q)SARs. The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), which is part of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), has a well-established role in providing independent scientific and technical advice to European policy makers. This paper describes progress made at an international level regarding the principles of validation, and explains the role of ECVAM regarding the practical validation of (Q)SARs.