feel free to distribute were you see fit. Thanks Gregor
Dr. Gregor Wolbring
Assistant Professor
University of Calgary
webpage: http://www.bioethicsanddisability.org/
Ableism Ethics and Governance blog: http://ableism.wordpress.com/about-2/
biweekly column The Choice is Yours: http://www.innovationwatch.com/commentary_choiceisyours.htm
Nano Bio Info Cogno Synbio Blog:http://wolbring.wordpress.com/
What Sorts of People blog: http://whatsortsofpeople.wordpress.com/
*
*
*Call for papers*
*On the impact of nanoscale science and technology on disability,*
*community and rehabilitation.*
For a special issue of the /International Journal on Disability,
Community & Rehabilitation/ (IJDCR) (http://www.ijdcr.ca/copyright.shtml)
*Guest Editor*: Gregor Wolbring, Community Rehabilitation and
Disability Studies Program, Dept of Community Health Sciences,
University of Calgary. <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
*Invitation*
Nanoscale science and technology, while still in its infancy, describes
a rapidly growing sphere of enquiry, with many and varied implications
for the disability field. To establish a 'benchmark' of the current
state of knowledge and conceptual understanding, the Editors of IJDCR
decided a special issue should be devoted to the topic. Background
information and potential topics are presented below.
We invite potential contributors, regardless of fields of study
(discipline), to submit 250-word Abstracts that articulate the
conceptual arguments and knowledge base to be covered in a critical
analysis on some aspect of the impact of nanoscale science and
technology on disability, community and/or rehabilitation. *Please
submit abstracts to the Guest Editor via e-mail by 30 October, 2008. *
From selected abstracts, we will request full articles of 3000-5000
words (excluding figures and tables) of original research and
scholarship on a range of topics. Note that an invitation to submit an
article does not guarantee its publication. Every submitted article will
be subject to blind peer review and recommendations arising.
*Background*
Nanotechnology in all its meanings allows for, among other things, the
manipulation of materials on an atomic or molecular scale and enables a
new paradigm of science and technology that sees different technologies
converging at the nanoscale namely:
1. nanoscience and nanotechnology,
2. biotechnology and biomedicine, including genetic engineering,
3. information technology, including advanced computing and
communications,
4. cognitive science (neuro-engineering),
5. synthetic biology;
hence, the designation "NBICS" (nano-bio-info-cogno-synbio).
Many lists of anticipated nanoproducts exist (Institute of
Nanotechnology 2005;Kostoff et al. 2006). Applications for NBICS
products are envisioned in areas such as the environment, energy, water,
weapons and other military applications, globalization, agriculture, and
health (e.g., more efficient diagnostics and genetic testing, cognitive
enhancement; life extension and enhancing human performance in general)
(M.Roco 2003). Many believe that advances in NBICS hold the key for
extreme life extension to the level of immortality and the achievement
of morphological (Anders Sandberg 2001) and genomic freedom(Wolbring
2003). NBICS-medicine is envisioned by some to have the answer to
global problems of disease and ill medical and social health. Others
argue for the pursuit of 'morphological freedom' (Anders Sandberg
2001)--allowing the human body to move beyond typical functioning of the
species. Disabled people are often highlighted as the beneficiaries of
NBICS-medicine products. NBICS applications and the selling of NBICS
health products focuses mostly on offering disabled people medical
solutions (prevention or cure/normative adaptation) and might move
towards transhumanist solutions (augmentation, enhancement of the human
body) but rarely offers social solutions (adaptation of the environment,
acceptance, societal cures of equal rights and respect). Many NBICS
applications/products for disabled people are envisioned and are under
development(Wolbring 2005).
We chose this topic for an issue of /IJDCR/ because of how the
discourses around these new and emerging nanoscale science and
technologies are emerging and their potential impact on people with
disabilities, the communities linked to them and/or practitioners as
well as others. Consumers and researchers linked to the disability
discourse are involved will shape the positive or negative consequences
for everyone involved.
Nanotechnology and NBICS have an impact on disabled people in at least
four main ways.
*Impact of NBICS on disabled people **(Wolbring 2006)***
NBICS may develop tools to _adapt_ the environment in which disabled
people live and to give disabled people tools that would allow them to
deal with environmental challenges. This side of S&T would make the life
of disabled people more liveable without changing the identity and
biological reality of the disabled person
NBICS may develop tools that would _diagnose_ the part of disabled
people's biological reality seen by others as deficient, defect,
impaired and 'disabled' thus allowing for preventative measures
NBICS may develop tools that would _eliminate_ that portion of disabled
people's biological reality seen by others as deficient, defect,
impaired and 'disabled'.
NBICS may be a target for - and an influence upon - the discourses,
concepts, trends and areas of action that impact disabled persons.
* *
*Discourses:*
* The discourse around the term human security
* The religious discourse
* The politics of biodiversity
* The politics of inequity
* The politics of the ethics discourse.
* The politics of law:
* The politics of raising the acceptance level for a given technology
* The politics of setting goals and priorities
* The politics of language
* The politics of self perception and identity (Body politics)
* The politics of red herrings
* The politics of interpreting International treaties
* The politics of governance
* The Politics of evaluation, measuring, analysis, and outcome tools
*Concepts:*
* Self identity security
* Ability security
* Cultural identity/diversity
* Morphological freedom and morphological judgement(Anders Sandberg
2001)
* Freedom of choice and tyranny of choice
* Duty to fix oneself
* Duty to know
* Parental responsibility
* Societal responsibility
*Trends: *
* Change in the concepts of health, disease and
'disability'/'impairment'
* The appearance of enhancement medicine and the acceptance of
beyond species-typical functioning
* Moving from curative to enhancement medicine; decrease in curative
medicine and the appearance of the transhumanist/enhancement
burden of disease
* Moving from human rights to sentient rights
* Moving from morphological freedom to morphological judgement
* The appearance of the techno poor disabled and impaired
* Moving from freedom of choice to tyranny of choice judgement
*Areas of Action:*
* Nanotechnology/NBIC for development
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and the UN Millennium Development Goals
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and global medical and social health
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and accessibility
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and law
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and water and sanitation
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and disaster management
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and weapons/war
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and ethics/philosophy
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and social science/anthropology
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and community
* Nanotechnology/NBIC and networking
All of the above discourses, concepts, trends and areas of actions
impact on disabled people[1] <#_ftn1> and others.
Potential contributors to this Special Issue might consider areas from
the above table or one of the following topics:
1. What are the potential positive and negative impacts of envisioned
nanoscale science and technology products and research and
development on:
* disabled people,
* the community around them
* practitioners, consumers and researchers linked to the
disability discourse
* community rehabilitation and the rehabilitation field in general
* inclusive education and the education of disabled people in
general
* employability of disabled people
* citizenship of disabled people
* body image of disabled people
* medical and social health policies and their impact on
disabled people
* health care for disabled people
* the elderly
* disabled people in low income countries
* laws related to disabled people such as the UN Convention on
the rights of persons with disabilities
* the concept of personhood
* concept of health and health care
* the measure of disability adjusted life years and other
measurements used to guide health care dollar allocation
* quality of life assessment
2. What are the potential positive and negative impacts of the new
social philosophy of transhumanism that is seen as being enabled
by nanoscale science and technology products and research and
development?
3. What impacts of potential nanoscale science and technology
products and research and development onto disabled people will
impact other marginalized groups?
*For more information *about the International* *Journal of Disability,
Community & Rehabilitation (IJDCR) *please go to *http://www.ijdcr.ca.
*References*
* *
Anders Sandberg. Morphological Freedom -- Why We not just Want it, but
Need it. 2001.
<http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/Texts/MorphologicalFreedom.htm
<http://www.nada.kth.se/%7Easa/Texts/MorphologicalFreedom.htm>>
Institute of Nanotechnology (2005). /Research Applications And Markets
In Nanotechnology In Europe 2005/
<http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=302091&t=t&cat_id=4
<http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=302091&t=t&cat_id=4>>
Kostoff, Ronald et al. "The seminal literature of nanotechnology
research." _Journal of Nanoparticle Research (2006): 1-21.
<_http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s11051-005-9034-9
<http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s11051-005-9034-9>_>
_
M.Roco, W. Bainbridge eds. Converging Technologies for Improving Human
Performance: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and
Cognitive Science. 2003. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
Hardbound.
<http://www.wtec.org/ConvergingTechnologies/Report/NBIC_report.pdf>
Wolbring, G. "SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND THE TRIPLE D (DISEASE,
DISABILITY, DEFECT)." Ed. William Sims Bainbridge Mihail C.Roco
National._ Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 2003.
232-43<_http://www.wtec.org/ConvergingTechnologies/_>
<_http://www.bioethicsanddisability.org/nbic.html_> _
Wolbring, G (2005). /HTA Initiative #23 The triangle of enhancement
medicine, disabled people, and the concept of health: a new challenge
for HTA, health research, and health policy/ Alberta Heritage Foundation
for Medical Research, Health Technology Assessment Unit, Edmonton,
Alberta Canada <http://www.ihe.ca/documents/hta/HTA-FR23.pdf>
Wolbring, G (2006). Scoping paper on Nanotechnology and disabled people.
Center for Nanotechnology in Society Arizona State University [On-line].
<http://cns.asu.edu/cns-library/documents/wolbring-scoping%20CD%20final%20edit.doc>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] <#_ftnref1> The term 'disabled people', as used here, reflects the
way in which environmental factors impact on the ability of individuals
with sensory, motor, cognitive or other variations to participate in
society, consistent with its usage by Disabled Peoples' International.
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