Rachel A Ankeny
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 99387 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Rachel A Ankeny |
| PRENOMES | Rachel A |
| SOBRENOME | Ankeny |
| ASSINATURA | ANKENY R A |
| AFILIAÇÕES | The University of Adelaide |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1547-6031 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 46 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 171 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 46 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2000 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 7 |
Exploring Patient Organization Involvement in Stem Cell Research
This article examines the role of patient organizations as mediators between patients and researchers in stem cell research in Australia. We conducted semi-structured interviews with stem cell researchers and patient organization representatives as part of a broader project to deepen public understanding and foster more robust scientific practices in stem cell-based research and therapies. We used Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action as our …
How Has ‘Opening Up’ Science Changed Scientific Practices?
Discussions of ‘open science’ often focus on what it means to be ‘open,’ including practices of sharing data, outputs, and publications, among other practices. However, it is important to use explorations of changing practices in this domain to explore what we understand science to be. The papers in this special issue provide rich fodder for such an investigation, allowing us to consider evolving understandings of what science is, who practices i…
Can AI developers avoid bias in public health applications
Developments in the field of engineering biology and artificial intelligence have made it increasingly possible to deliver personalised treatments which are tailored to the individual and can help prevent illnesses before they occur. While such advancements have important implications for public health, the use of AI-enabled personalised treatments comes with potential downsides, not least of which is the potential for bias which may cause harm t…
In some ways it's our best quality and in others it's our downfall
‘Resilience’ has become a buzzword in various sectors in Australia and beyond. Its widespread use in policy discussions reflects its perceived importance in relation to addressing challenges such as mental health and drought management. This research highlights the overuse of the term ‘resilience’ and the pressures that its use places on individual farmers, using findings from thematic analysis of focus groups and surveys conducted with women inv…
Epistemic preparedness
Preparedness strategies for emergent infectious diseases have focused on microbial surveillance, medical stockpiling and healthcare infrastructure resilience. But what does it mean to be epistemically or cognitively prepared for the next disease outbreak? Taking stock of lessons for data practices and statistical modelling in the wake of COVID-19, we propose a reconceptualising of preparedness in global health, focusing on ecological and sociolog…
The Drivers of Community Expectations Surrounding Punishment for Animal Welfare Offences
Commoning contingent resources
Contemporary scientific research depends on sharing resources. Norms, cultures and infrastructures enable, incentivize or require sharing in particular ways. Commons are one type of infrastructure, and their key characteristics include the provision and governance of resources. Understanding how resources become part of a commons is critical for implementing arrangements that effectively facilitate scientific research. This article uses commons t…
The Chicken for the Egg
Investigating research practices
Qualitative research provides rigorous methods not only for investigating behavioral or social issues, but can also be used for exploring epistemic issues related to science and its practices. There is growing scholarly awareness that important aspects of science can be best understood through qualitative analyses and cannot be captured using more traditional textual sources such as publications or archival documents or via more quantitative or f…
What’s in my mince? Reader responses to news coverage about novel plant-based protein foods
Plant-based protein products have recently become more prominent on Australian supermarket shelves. However, despite rapidly increasing interest in meat-free or reduced-meat diets, limited research has explored responses toward these foods. Our research analyses Facebook comments (n = 1384) in response to two ABC News articles that covered the Australian launch of Naturli's "Minced" product in 2018. Our qualitative analysis generated seven main t…
Emergent Design and Unanticipated Ideas in Asynchronous Online Focus Groups
This article explores methodological advantages and limitations of using asynchronous online focus groups (AOFGs) as an approach to investigating community attitudes and values relating to biotechnology in food production. We describe our experiences using AOFGs during the COVID-19 pandemic as a form of emergent design. We highlight the methodological advantages and limitations of such research approaches, particularly to explore unanticipated id…
Of course we care!“
Studies A, B, and C merger
Joshua Specht on how beef was democratised
If you think Americans eat beef simply because they like the taste, this book is for you. Joshua Specht’s wide-ranging narrative provides the broader historical context for how beef became what it
Book Forum
How to choose your research organism
Despite August Krogh's famous admonition that a 'convenient' organism exists for every biological problem, we argue that appeals to 'convenience' are not sufficient to capture reasoning about organism choice. Instead, we offer a detailed analysis based on empirical data and philosophical arguments for a working set of twenty criteria that interact with each other in the highly contextualized judgements that biologists make about organism choice. …
Extreme’ organisms and the problem of generalization
Many biologists appeal to the so-called Krogh principle when justifying their choice of experimental organisms. The principle states that "for a large number of problems there will be some animal of choice, or a few such animals, on which it can be most conveniently studied". Despite its popularity, the principle is often critiqued for implying unwarranted generalizations from optimal models. We argue that the Krogh principle should be interprete…
Neutralising the meat paradox
Not just about “the science”
Previous studies investigating attitudes to genetically modified (GM) foods suggest a correlation between negative attitudes and low levels of science education, both of which are associated with women. In a qualitative focus group study of Australian women with diverse levels of education, we found attitudes to GM foods were part of a complex process of making “good” food decisions, which included other factors such as locally produced, fresh/na…
Food and the challenge to identity for post-war refugee women in Australia
In many societies, feeding one’s family in traditional and culturally appropriate ways is an essential part of being a mother and a wife. For migrants, food can play an important role in the maintenance of tradition, culture, and identity. This paper uses archival evidence, media coverage, memoirs, and oral histories to explore how policies associated with food in migrant hostels impacted on, and interfered with, the central role of food in the c…
Bringing Data Out of the Shadows
Happy Chickens Lay Tastier Eggs
Recent public interest in so-called “ethical” food production, and in particular the welfare of intensively housed farm animals, has been linked to an increase in sales of free-range eggs in several countries including Australia. Animal activist groups around the world have campaigned for the abolition of caged-egg production, retailers and large food companies are now sourcing less of these products, and governments in various locales have place…
Inviting Everyone to the Table
It is well-recognized that the general public is not typically involved in food policy debates, with participation often limited to elite participants with special interests. This paper investigates potential strategies for more effective and legitimate food policy utilizing systemic approaches to deliberative democracy. Two main strands are explored: first, it is argued that food is a key domain that could benefit from the move to systematic app…
“If We're Happy to Eat It, Why Wouldn't We Be Happy to Give It to Our Children?” Articulating the Complexities Underlying Women's Ethical Views on Genetically Modified Food
Women are typically seen as gatekeepers in the acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods because they perform the majority of food related activities in the home. At the same time, it has been reported that they are more opposed to GM foods than men are. We conducted a qualitative study to explore women's attitudes to and values associated with GM foods and situated those attitudes and values in the context of everyday food choices. In this p…
Obtaining consumer perspectives using a citizens’ jury
Consumers in this study engaged with the topical issue of CoOL and provided their opinions. Overall, consumers do not think that the current CoOL system in Australia enables consumers to make informed choices. Recommendations for changes, including increasing the size of the label and the label's font, and standardising its position, were made
What’s so special about model organisms
Repertoires
We propose a framework to describe, analyze, and explain the conditions under which scientific communities organize themselves to do research, particularly within large-scale, multidisciplinary projects. The framework centers on the notion of a research repertoire, which encompasses well-aligned assemblages of the skills, behaviors, and material, social, and epistemic components that a group may use to practice certain kinds of science, and whose…
Neutralising the meat paradox
Re-thinking organisms
Model Organisms as Models
Through an examination of the actual research strategies and assumptions underlying the Human Genome Project (HGP), it is argued that the epistemic basis of the initial model organism programs is not best understood as reasoning via causal analog models (CAMs). In order to answer a series of questions about what is being modeled and what claims about the models are warranted, a descriptive epistemological method is employed that uses historical t…
Fashioning Descriptive Models in Biology
The biological sciences have become increasingly reliant on so-called ‘model organisms’. I argue that in this domain, the concept of a descriptive model is essential for understanding scientific practice. Using a case study, I show how such a model was formulated in a preexplanatory context for subsequent use as a prototype from which explanations ultimately may be generated both within the immediate domain of the original model and in additional…
Happy Chickens Lay Tastier Eggs
Recent public interest in so-called “ethical” food production, and in particular the welfare of intensively housed farm animals, has been linked to an increase in sales of free-range eggs in several countries including Australia. Animal activist groups around the world have campaigned for the abolition of caged-egg production, retailers and large food companies are now sourcing less of these products, and governments in various locales have place…
How to choose your research organism
Despite August Krogh's famous admonition that a 'convenient' organism exists for every biological problem, we argue that appeals to 'convenience' are not sufficient to capture reasoning about organism choice. Instead, we offer a detailed analysis based on empirical data and philosophical arguments for a working set of twenty criteria that interact with each other in the highly contextualized judgements that biologists make about organism choice. …
Of course we care!“
Not appropriate dinner table conversation? Talking to children about meat production
Making Organisms Model Human Behavior
ArgumentWe examine the criteria used to validate the use of nonhuman organisms in North-American alcohol addiction research from the 1950s to the present day. We argue that this field, where the similarities between behaviors in humans and non-humans are particularly difficult to assess, has addressed questions of model validity by transforming the situatedness of non-human organisms into an experimental tool. We demonstrate that model validity d…
Extreme’ organisms and the problem of generalization
Many biologists appeal to the so-called Krogh principle when justifying their choice of experimental organisms. The principle states that "for a large number of problems there will be some animal of choice, or a few such animals, on which it can be most conveniently studied". Despite its popularity, the principle is often critiqued for implying unwarranted generalizations from optimal models. We argue that the Krogh principle should be interprete…
The Overlooked Role of Cases in Causal Attribution in Medicine
Although cases are central to the epistemic practices utilized within clinical medicine, they appear to be limited in their ability to provide evidence about causal relations because they provide detailed accounts of particular patients without explicit filtering of those attributes most likely to be relevant for explaining the phenomena observed. This paper uses a series of recent case reports to explore the role of cases in causal attribution i…
Understanding Ethnic Residential Cluster Formation
Throughout Australia’s history, successive governments have lamented the clustering of non-English-speaking migrants in ‘ethnic enclaves’ or ‘ghettos’. From the early Chinatowns of the 1800s till today, urban concentrations of ethnic groups have raised concerns and fears in local populations and authorities alike, despite decades of international research which suggests that ethnic residential clusters actually aid long-term assimilation and adju…
Emergent Design and Unanticipated Ideas in Asynchronous Online Focus Groups
This article explores methodological advantages and limitations of using asynchronous online focus groups (AOFGs) as an approach to investigating community attitudes and values relating to biotechnology in food production. We describe our experiences using AOFGs during the COVID-19 pandemic as a form of emergent design. We highlight the methodological advantages and limitations of such research approaches, particularly to explore unanticipated id…
Food and the challenge to identity for post-war refugee women in Australia
In many societies, feeding one’s family in traditional and culturally appropriate ways is an essential part of being a mother and a wife. For migrants, food can play an important role in the maintenance of tradition, culture, and identity. This paper uses archival evidence, media coverage, memoirs, and oral histories to explore how policies associated with food in migrant hostels impacted on, and interfered with, the central role of food in the c…
Unsettling Narratives
In 1988, Jock Collins boldly suggested that Australia’s earlier migrant arrivals, the subject of prejudice themselves, often become the perpetrators of prejudice. Indeed, as we collect oral histories from post-war migrants, we are regularly confronted with angry statements such as “asylum seekers are just let in and given everything”. What lies at the heart of this phenomenon? Clearly, prejudice and stereotyping exists in all societies but seems …
Detecting Themes and Variations
This article unpacks a particular use of ‘cases’ within developmental biology, namely as a means of describing the typical or canonical patterns of phenomena. The article explores how certain cases have come to be established within the field and argues that although they were initially selected for reasons of convenience or ease of experimental manipulation, these cases come to serve as key reference points within the field because of the episte…
Clarity, charity and criticism, wit, wisdom and worldliness
Fashioning Descriptive Models in Biology
The biological sciences have become increasingly reliant on so-called ‘model organisms’. I argue that in this domain, the concept of a descriptive model is essential for understanding scientific practice. Using a case study, I show how such a model was formulated in a preexplanatory context for subsequent use as a prototype from which explanations ultimately may be generated both within the immediate domain of the original model and in additional…
Send in the clones
Model Organisms as Models
Through an examination of the actual research strategies and assumptions underlying the Human Genome Project (HGP), it is argued that the epistemic basis of the initial model organism programs is not best understood as reasoning via causal analog models (CAMs). In order to answer a series of questions about what is being modeled and what claims about the models are warranted, a descriptive epistemological method is employed that uses historical t…
Back to Basics for Bioethics
Religious perspectives on withdrawal of treatment from patients with multiple organ failure
Religious or spiritual values often influence health care decision-making by patients and their families, particularly in times of crisis. Though religious values might seem to be irrelevant where continuing treatment is judged to be "futile", such clinical assessments should instead serve to open a dialogue about values and beliefs. The six major religious traditions in Australia have some similar values and principles about death and provision …
Designs for Life
Reviewed by: Designs for Life: Molecular Biology after World War II Rachel A. Ankeny Soraya de Chadarevian . Designs for Life: Molecular Biology after World War II. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2002. xix + 423 pp. Ill. $55.00 (0-521-57078-6). This book focuses on a key institution, the Laboratory for Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, England, as a lens through which to explore the emergence of molecular biology. The narrative …
Wormy Logic
In the past few decades, so-called model organisms have become a cornerstone of research in the biomedical sciences. For the scientists, the model organism is both a practice ground for developing laboratory techniques, and a source of insights into common or even universal biological mechanisms. This paper examines the conceptualization of model organisms as models, and presents a formal account of how they are used to generate knowledge through…
Hearing community voices
This paper investigates the recent public policy processes in Australia with regard to embryo research, including the work of the legislative review committee, parliamentary debates, and the production of the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines for embryo research. We examine various mechanisms used during each of these policymaking stages to engage various publics, and the procedures for balancing conflicting values, which we…
Religious Perspectives on Abortion and a Secular Response
Re-thinking organisms
What’s so special about model organisms
Food and Ethical Consumption
Traditional stories about food consumption would indicate that over the course of history, choosing what to eat and drink has been a relative simple endeavor for most people, who often did not give much thought to their choices or the values underlying them. Today, our choices about what foodstuffs to consume are more than just a simple attempt to fill an empty stomach. This article examines contemporary food ethics, ethical food consumerism, and…
Detecting Themes and Variations
This article unpacks a particular use of ‘cases’ within developmental biology, namely as a means of describing the typical or canonical patterns of phenomena. The article explores how certain cases have come to be established within the field and argues that although they were initially selected for reasons of convenience or ease of experimental manipulation, these cases come to serve as key reference points within the field because of the episte…
Evaluating the use of citizens’ juries in food policy
The findings suggest that the citizens' jury increased participant knowledge of the issue and facilitated reflective discussion of the proposition. Citizens' juries are an effective means of gaining insight into public views of policy and the circumstances under which the public will consider food regulation; however a number of issues need to be considered to ensure the successful conduct of a citizens' jury
The Overlooked Role of Cases in Causal Attribution in Medicine
Although cases are central to the epistemic practices utilized within clinical medicine, they appear to be limited in their ability to provide evidence about causal relations because they provide detailed accounts of particular patients without explicit filtering of those attributes most likely to be relevant for explaining the phenomena observed. This paper uses a series of recent case reports to explore the role of cases in causal attribution i…
Making Organisms Model Human Behavior
ArgumentWe examine the criteria used to validate the use of nonhuman organisms in North-American alcohol addiction research from the 1950s to the present day. We argue that this field, where the similarities between behaviors in humans and non-humans are particularly difficult to assess, has addressed questions of model validity by transforming the situatedness of non-human organisms into an experimental tool. We demonstrate that model validity d…
Inviting Everyone to the Table
It is well-recognized that the general public is not typically involved in food policy debates, with participation often limited to elite participants with special interests. This paper investigates potential strategies for more effective and legitimate food policy utilizing systemic approaches to deliberative democracy. Two main strands are explored: first, it is argued that food is a key domain that could benefit from the move to systematic app…
“If We're Happy to Eat It, Why Wouldn't We Be Happy to Give It to Our Children?” Articulating the Complexities Underlying Women's Ethical Views on Genetically Modified Food
Women are typically seen as gatekeepers in the acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods because they perform the majority of food related activities in the home. At the same time, it has been reported that they are more opposed to GM foods than men are. We conducted a qualitative study to explore women's attitudes to and values associated with GM foods and situated those attitudes and values in the context of everyday food choices. In this p…
Obtaining consumer perspectives using a citizens’ jury
Consumers in this study engaged with the topical issue of CoOL and provided their opinions. Overall, consumers do not think that the current CoOL system in Australia enables consumers to make informed choices. Recommendations for changes, including increasing the size of the label and the label's font, and standardising its position, were made
Unsettling Narratives
In 1988, Jock Collins boldly suggested that Australia’s earlier migrant arrivals, the subject of prejudice themselves, often become the perpetrators of prejudice. Indeed, as we collect oral histories from post-war migrants, we are regularly confronted with angry statements such as “asylum seekers are just let in and given everything”. What lies at the heart of this phenomenon? Clearly, prejudice and stereotyping exists in all societies but seems …
Not appropriate dinner table conversation? Talking to children about meat production
Repertoires
We propose a framework to describe, analyze, and explain the conditions under which scientific communities organize themselves to do research, particularly within large-scale, multidisciplinary projects. The framework centers on the notion of a research repertoire, which encompasses well-aligned assemblages of the skills, behaviors, and material, social, and epistemic components that a group may use to practice certain kinds of science, and whose…
Understanding Ethnic Residential Cluster Formation
Throughout Australia’s history, successive governments have lamented the clustering of non-English-speaking migrants in ‘ethnic enclaves’ or ‘ghettos’. From the early Chinatowns of the 1800s till today, urban concentrations of ethnic groups have raised concerns and fears in local populations and authorities alike, despite decades of international research which suggests that ethnic residential clusters actually aid long-term assimilation and adju…
Not just about “the science”
Previous studies investigating attitudes to genetically modified (GM) foods suggest a correlation between negative attitudes and low levels of science education, both of which are associated with women. In a qualitative focus group study of Australian women with diverse levels of education, we found attitudes to GM foods were part of a complex process of making “good” food decisions, which included other factors such as locally produced, fresh/na…
Sociology (23 obras) · Political science (19 obras) · Computer Science (17 obras) · Philosophy (16 obras) · Biology (15 obras) · Epistemology (15 obras) · Psychology (13 obras) · Law (10 obras) · Social science (10 obras) · Philosophy and History of Science (8 obras)