Scientific Conventions, Ethics and Legal Institutions

This article examines the use of epidemiology to evaluate Risks posed by toxic substances. Using illustrations drawn from an elaborate example, it argues that scientists applying usual conventions in doing statistical studies tend to ignore important normative issues

The Normative Nature of Risk Assessment: Features and Possibilities

Dr. Cranor argues that appreciating risk assessment to be permeated with normative presuppositions, in contrast with being primarily objective, opens up unforeseen possibilities for risk management

Scientific Ignorance and Reliable Patterns of Evidence in Toxic Tort Causation: Is There a Need for Liability Reform?

As a first step to preserving the central aims of tort law, courts will need to recognize the wide variety of respectable, reliable patterns of evidence on which scientists themselves rely for drawing inferences about the toxicity of substances. Courts may also need to take further steps to address the woeful ignorance about the chemical universe. This may necessitate changes in the liability rules

Scientific Ignorance and Reliable Patterns of Evidence in Toxic Tort Causation: Is There a Need for Liability Reform?

As a first step to preserving the central aims of tort law, courts will need to recognize the wide variety of respectable, reliable patterns of evidence on which scientists themselves rely for drawing inferences about the toxicity of substances. Courts may also need to take further steps to address the woeful ignorance about the chemical universe. This may necessitate changes in the liability rules

Science Courts, Evidentiary Procedures and Mixed Science-Policy Decisions

This paper analyzes the potential for science courts to address the social need to regulate human carcinogens and concludes that, on balance, it is not high. From this vantage point, Professor Cranor suggests desiderata for application in other areas where science courts might be used

Philographica : that which is written or described of love

Intimate relationships pose a paradox: they are inherently dangerous on multiple levels and yet essential for our social well-being. A collection of artist's books was constructed with the purpose of illustrating this contradiction. The books were manufactured using a variety of non-traditional materials and contain an encrypted narrative. The project draws on imagery from western fairy tales, medieval illuminated manuscripts, antique playing cards, and other historical sources as a mode of visual storytelling. Text in the form of mirror-writing was added to further encode the story and force a degree of self-scrutiny on the viewer. The process of reading the books to uncover their content becomes an active metaphor for intimacy. The collection was publicly displayed in a small academic library for two weeks, during which time students and other visitors could be observed interacting with or ignoring the books. A few individuals offered unsolicited feedback that indicated the experience of reading the books was affectively positive for them. The library setting appears to have been very effective at reaching a diverse audience. Collaborating with libraries as exhibition spaces shows exciting potential for future projects

Disposition toward privacy and information disclosure in the context of emerging health technologies.

ObjectiveWe sought to present a model of privacy disposition and its development based on qualitative research on privacy considerations in the context of emerging health technologies.Materials and methodsWe spoke to 108 participants across 44 interviews and 9 focus groups to understand the range of ways in which individuals value (or do not value) control over their health information. Transcripts of interviews and focus groups were systematically coded and analyzed in ATLAS.ti for privacy considerations expressed by respondents.ResultsThree key findings from the qualitative data suggest a model of privacy disposition. First, participants described privacy related behavior as both contextual and habitual. Second, there are motivations for and deterrents to sharing personal information that do not fit into the analytical categories of risks and benefits. Third, philosophies of privacy, often described as attitudes toward privacy, should be classified as a subtype of motivation or deterrent.DiscussionThis qualitative analysis suggests a simple but potentially powerful conceptual model of privacy disposition, or what makes a person more or less private. Components of privacy disposition are identifiable and measurable through self-report and therefore amenable to operationalization and further quantitative inquiry.ConclusionsWe propose this model as the basis for a psychometric instrument that can be used to identify types of privacy dispositions, with potential applications in research, clinical practice, system design, and policy