Philip Brey, Clare Shelley-Egan, Rowena Rodrigues and Philip Jansen
This chapter presents the main findings of the EU-funded SATORI project on ethics assessment of research and innovation (R&I) in its first 18 months. It offers summarised…
Abstract
This chapter presents the main findings of the EU-funded SATORI project on ethics assessment of research and innovation (R&I) in its first 18 months. It offers summarised descriptions of the ways in which ethics assessment and guidance of R&I are currently practiced in different scientific fields, in different countries in Europe, the United States and China, and in different types of organisations.
The main findings include the following. Although the most extensive institutions, policies and activities exist in the medical and life sciences, there is evidence of a growing institutionalisation of ethics assessment in non-medical fields. Increasing coordination and cooperation between ethics assessors can be observed at the EU and global levels. Each of 15 types of organisations that were studied performs an important role in ethics assessment, which may not always be well established and sometimes poses significant challenges. Although significant differences exist among the countries that were studied in terms of the degree to which ethics assessment of R&I is institutionalised, all seem to be expanding their ethics assessment and guidance infrastructures.
The findings are an important means by which partners in the SATORI project will take their next steps: the identification of best practices, the development of proposals for harmonisation and shared standards, and, to the extent possible, the proposal of common principles, protocols, procedures and methodologies for the ethical assessment of research and innovation in the European Union and beyond.
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Constantin Bratianu, Alexeis Garcia-Perez, Francesca Dal Mas and Denise Bedford
Joanna Dyczkowska and Paweł Szalacha
The primary aim of this paper is to explore the practical application of the double materiality (DM) assessment process and to identify potential problems and challenges that may…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary aim of this paper is to explore the practical application of the double materiality (DM) assessment process and to identify potential problems and challenges that may arise.
Design/methodology/approach
This research entails a single case study of one of the leading Polish construction companies. Using internal documentation, the study records, analyses and assesses the DM implementation in a company that was an early adopter of this concept.
Findings
The results indicate that the DM assessment was a complex project, covering specific stages and posing various challenges, such as establishing objective criteria for selecting materiality thresholds. Other issues include the need to weight various stakeholder opinions in the process and to appropriately determine the reporting boundaries. The problem of discretionary judgements in DM assessments was also observed.
Practical implications
This study provides practical insights for practitioners involved in the DM assessment process in sustainability reporting.
Originality/value
One of the novelties of this study is that it presents an authentic implementation of the DM concept, which was designed according to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards requirements.
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Grace Trundle, Zoe Alexander and Verity Chester
It is suggested that autism assessments are not sensitive to the female autism presentation. Autistic women are often misdiagnosed or delayed in receiving their diagnosis. More…
Abstract
Purpose
It is suggested that autism assessments are not sensitive to the female autism presentation. Autistic women are often misdiagnosed or delayed in receiving their diagnosis. More guidance for assessing clinicians is required to improve the validity and effectiveness of autism diagnostic assessments of women. This study aims to explore the experiences of autistic women during their diagnostic assessments and understand what they considered important for diagnostic assessments of females.
Design/methodology/approach
A focus group with four adult autistic women was conducted, exploring their experiences and recommendations. Thematic analysis was used to identify overarching themes.
Findings
The main themes were 1) experience of the assessment; 2) gender-sensitive assessment content; and 3) clinician characteristics and skills. Participants made specific recommendations within these themes for how diagnostic assessments of females should be conducted.
Originality/value
This study differs from previous research by focusing on the experiences of autistic women specifically during diagnostic assessments and what they recommend for future assessments.