• Evidence suggests that the incidence of research misconduct is not in decline despite efforts to improve awareness, education and governance mechanisms. Two responses to this problem are favoured: first, the promotion of an agent-centred ethics approach to enhance researchers’ personal responsibility and accountability, and second, a change in research culture to relieve perceived pressures to engage in misconduct. This article discusses the challenges for both responses and explains how normati…Read more
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    Achieving equity in international research is one of the pressing concerns of the twenty-first century. In this era of progressive globalization, there are many opportunities for the deliberate or accidental export of unethical research practices from high-income regions to low- and middle-income countries and emerging economies. The export of unethical practices, termed “ethics dumping,” may occur through all forms of research and can affect individuals, communities, countries, animals, and the…Read more
  •  13
    Traditional and Complementary Medicine: Analysing Ethical Challenges
    Dissertation, University of Central Lancashire. 2016.
    The use of traditional and complementary medicines (T&CMs) is both ubiquitous in low and middle income countries and highly contested in some sections of high income countries. Whilst T&CMs are promoted as an accessible and affordable health care system by high level health policy makers (for example, the Director General of the World Health Organization), their use is simultaneously indicted as a waste of resources, non-scientific, and unethical. The aim of this thesis is to provide a calm, con…Read more
  •  4
    Clarifying our policy on requiring ethics approval in submitted manuscripts
    with Edward Dove
    Research Ethics 19 (2): 103-106. 2023.
  •  4
    Research Ethics, Volume 18, Issue 4, Page 263-264, October 2022.
  •  7
    Can an ethics code help to achieve equity in international research collaborations? Implementing the global code of conduct for research in resource-poor settings in India and Pakistan
    with Catherine Elizabeth Lightbody, Ifikar Qayum, Heather Ohly, Marena Ceballos Rasgado, Caroline Watkins, and Nicola M. Lowe
    Research Ethics 18 (4): 281-303. 2022.
    The Global Code of Conduct for Research in Resource-Poor Settings (GCC) aims to stop the export of unethical research practices from higher to lower income settings. Launched in 2018, the GCC was immediately adopted by European Commission funding streams for application in research that is situated in lower and lower-middle income countries. Other institutions soon followed suit. This article reports on the application of the GCC in two of the first UK-funded projects to implement this new code,…Read more
  •  17
    Bedside teaching during the COVID‐19 pandemic
    with Madelena Stauss, Hetty Breed, Paladugu Madhavi, Bachar Zelhof, and Alexander Woywodt
    The impact of the SARS‐CoV‐2 (COVID‐19) pandemic on medical education is well described. Here, we describe an aspect that has received little attention so far, namely the ethical implications of continued bedside teaching. As a team of clinical educators supported by one of our students and an ethicist, we describe this unexpected challenge and how we navigated it in an already existing sea of COVID‐induced issues and uncertainty.
  •  24
    Ethics dumping is a global phenomenon involving the ‘off-shoring’of research. Research that would be prohibited, severely restrictedor regarded as highly patronizing in high-income regions is instead conducted inresource-poor settings. Twenty-eight case studies of ethics dumping were examined through inductive thematic analysis to reveal predisposing factors from the perspective of researchers from high-income regions. Six categories were agreed and further illuminated: Patronizing conduct, unfa…Read more
  •  12
    Research Ethics, Ahead of Print.
  •  13
    The Use of Non-human Primates in Research
    with David Morton
    In Doris Schroeder, Julie Cook, François Hirsch, Solveig Fenet & Vasantha Muthuswamy (eds.), Ethics Dumping: Case Studies From North-South Research Collaborations, Springer. pp. 81-90. 2018.
    The use of non-human primates in biomedical research is a contentious issue that raises serious ethical and practical concerns. In the European UnionEuropean Union, where regulations on their use are very tight, the number of non-human primates used in research has been in decline over the past decade. However, this decline has been paralleled by an increase in numbers used elsewhere in the world, with less regard for some of the ethical issues. There is evidence that researchers from high-incom…Read more
  •  17
    Preventing ethics dumping: the challenges for Kenyan research ethics committees
    with Doris Schroeder, Anastasia Guantai, Kirana Bhatt, Elizabeth Bukusi, Joyce Adhiambo Odhiambo, Julie Cook, and Joshua Kimani
    Research Ethics 17 (1): 23-44. 2021.
    Ethics dumping is the practice of undertaking research in a low- or middle-income setting which would not be permitted, or would be severely restricted, in a high-income setting. Whilst Kenya operates a sophisticated research governance system, resource constraints and the relatively low number of accredited research ethics committees limit the capacity for ensuring ethical compliance. As a result, Kenya has been experiencing cases of ethics dumping. This article presents 11 challenges in the co…Read more
  •  5
    Editorial: the unexpected power of research ethics
    Research Ethics 16 (1-2): 1-3. 2020.
    Research Ethics, Ahead of Print.
  •  28
    This open access book offers insights into the development of the ground-breaking Global Code of Conduct for Research in Resource-Poor Settings (GCC) and the San Code of Research Ethics. Using a new, intuitive moral framework predicated on fairness, respect, care and honesty, both codes target ethics dumping – the export of unethical research practices from a high-income setting to a lower- or middle-income setting. The book is a rich resource of information and argument for any research stakeho…Read more
  •  22
    Ethics in corporate research and development: can responsible research and innovation approaches aid sustainability?
    with Bernd Stahl, Carolyn Ten Holter, and Alexander Brem
    Journal of Cleaner Production 239. 2019.
    An increase in the number of companies that publish corporate social responsibility (CSR) statements, and a rise in their ‘sustainability’ research, reflects a growing acceptance that broad ethical considerations are key for any type of company. However, little is known about how companies consider moral objectives for their research and development (R&D) activities, or the basis upon which these activities are chosen. This research involves qualitative investigation into Responsible Research an…Read more
  •  176
    Is homeopathy really 'morally and ethically unacceptable'? A critique of pure scientism
    with Lionel Milgrom
    Bioethics 26 (9): 501-503. 2012.
    In this short response we show that Kevin Smith's moral and ethical rejections of homeopathy1 are fallacious and rest on questionable epistemology. Further, we suggest Smith's presumption of a utilitarian stance is an example of scientism encroaching into medicine
  •  29
    Working together to make the world a healthier place: Desiderata for the pharmaceutical industry
    Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 28 (1): 153-164. 2019.
    Cross-sectorial, dynamic, and innovative partnerships are essential to resolve the challenges of humankind in the 21st century. At the same time, trust in each other’s integrity and good will is a precondition for the solution of any complex problem, and certainly for the success of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda. Experience shows that a nation’s economic and social success is at its greatest if, and when, there is cooperation and even cocreation involving a fair division of l…Read more
  •  13
    This book provides a systematic analysis of the ethical implications of traditional and complementary medicine, focusing on pragmatic solutions. The author uses a bioethical methodology called the “Ethical Matrix,” to consider the impact of T&CM use for animals and the environment as well as for humans. A systematic search of the literature reveals that most published ethical concerns are related to the safety of T&CM use for humans. However, application of the Ethical Matrix demonstrates that t…Read more
  •  40
    The use of non-human primates in research
    with David Norton
    In D. Schroeder, J. Cook, F. Hirsch, S. Fenet & V. Muthuswamy (eds.), Ethics Dumping: Case Studies from North-South Research Collaborations, Springer. 2018.
    The use of non-human primates in biomedical research is a contentious issue that raises serious ethical and practical concerns. In the European Union, where regulations on their use are very tight, the number of non-human primates used in research has been in decline over the past decade. However, this decline has been paralleled by an increase in numbers used elsewhere in the world, with less regard for some of the ethical issues (e.g. genetic manipulations). There is evidence that researchers …Read more