Olivette Burton | University of Pennsylvania (original) (raw)
Uploads
Papers by Olivette Burton
Proceedings of the 2013 International Academic Workshop on Social Science (IAW-SC-13), 2013
The American Journal of Bioethics, 2007
Race and religion are integral parts of bioethics. Harm and oppression, with the aim of social an... more Race and religion are integral parts of bioethics. Harm and oppression, with the aim of social and political control, have been wrought in the name of religion against Blacks and people of color as embodied in the Ten Commandments, the Inquisition, and in the history of the Holy Crusades. Missionaries came armed with Judeo/Christian beliefs went to nations of people of color who had their own belief systems and forced change and caused untold harms because the indigenous belief systems were incompatible with their own. The indigenous people were denounced as ungodly, pagan, uncivilized, and savage. Hence, laws were enacted because of their perceived need to structure a sense of morality and to create and build a culture for these indigenous people of color. To date bioethics continues to be informed by a Western worldview that is Judeo/Christian in belief and orientation. However, missing from bioethical discourse in America is the historical influence of the Black Church as a cultural repository, which continues to influence the culture of Africans and Blacks. Cultural aspects of peoples of color are still largely ignored today. In attempting to deal with issues of race while steering clear of the religious and cultural impact of the Black Church, bioethics finds itself in the middle of a distressing situation: it simply cannot figure out what to do with race
Social work can help to restore a balance towards humanity. We are and always have been critical ... more Social work can help to restore a balance towards humanity. We are and always have been critical thinking innovators with a comprehensive grasp of issues, a thorough knowledge of human situations and environments. We also possess the ability to craft policy that is meaningful while at the same time realize a moral obligation towards ourselves and to the populations we serve.
Are you willing to change? The recent events of protest in America and subsequently around the wo... more Are you willing to change? The recent events of protest in America and subsequently around the world tell us something that folks channeling justice have long known for some time now. What is that? That institutional practices and policies in all areas are desperately in need of an overhaul… a cleansing… fresh perspectives and more understanding to change the overwhelmingly negative way business is conducted with vulnerable persons today.
The National Research Act and Belmont Commission (1974) came about in direct response to unethica... more The National Research Act and Belmont Commission (1974) came about in direct response to unethical experimentation on Black Americans by medical science and researchers involved in Tuskegee. The report that was produced by the Commission, the Belmont Report, is a significant part of Black history and can and should be taught, in schools of social work, education, journalism and even high schools as such instead of in the context and purview of medical missteps and scientific impropriety-as it customarily is presented. The Belmont Report provides an excellent example of effective government at work as it gives valuable insight into the considerations that lead to pragmatic ideas that are simple yet dynamic and that do not lose their shape or focus regardless of the changing environments and needs of research. It provides a lesson in civics and shows how social consciousness and activism
This blog piece is part of a larger work and developing lecture series involving observations and... more This blog piece is part of a larger work and developing lecture series involving observations and conduct by researchers involved in human subject research. It is imperative to state that most researchers involved in conducting research, adhere to the standards set forth for ethically conducting themselves in all their endeavors. However, money, ambition, peer pressure, pressure to publish, secure employment and prestige are all reasons why well intentioned researchers are tempted and succumb to committing research distortions and lies. At this juncture, disclosure accomplishes something but not too much. What does that really mean?
Last Sunday my friend collapsed on a soccer field and was rushed to the hospital. In an instant, ... more Last Sunday my friend collapsed on a soccer field and was rushed to the hospital. In an instant, a lifelong athlete with a fantastic physique and a beautiful spirit was gone, betrayed by a heart that malfunctioned and abruptly failed.
You remind those of us who strive to be responsible, conscious, and active that your blood is min... more You remind those of us who strive to be responsible, conscious, and active that your blood is mingled with the blood of so many others, and can (if allowed) provide a lesson worth learning. It can teach us to become a more tolerant and civil society. Your tragedy is not simply a matter of being unable to walk in your own neighborhood; unmolested, but is also a wake-up call to stand up for the injustices in other areas, including healthcare, the environment, education, social welfare and housing. Your death now moves my activism and makes my advocacy for improving the challenging human condition scream out loud and sets my activist spirit on fire.
Education and Sports Education, Apr 2013
Since the 19th century, urban lawns have gradually taken center stage to become one of the main s... more Since the 19th century, urban lawns have gradually taken center stage to become one of the main sources of greening in many cities around the world. The current published research on planting technology, maintenance techniques, the impact of lawn maintenance, preferences for manicured lawns and the biodiversity protection for historical lawns as topics, has developed and increased over time. However, what has been less researched is the relationship and interplay between the perceptions of urban residents and their use of urban lawns. More specifically, our research focused on the question of how residents view, socialize and utilize city lawns accessible to them. To provide some insight into this area of urban lawn use, our research study was conducted in Lund, Sweden a city that uses lawns as their main form of greening. To accomplish the study's objectives the city's lawns were grouped into the following categories:(1) park lawns, (2) residential neighborhood lawns, (3) lawns around public buildings, (4) lawns surrounding residential buildings, (5) lawns along greenways and (6) lawns along roads. By means of distributed open-ended questionnaires the researchers discovered two important findings.
American Journal of Bioethics, 2007
Race and religion are integral parts of bioethics. Harm and oppression, with the aim of social an... more Race and religion are integral parts of bioethics. Harm and oppression, with the aim of social and political control, have been wrought in the name of religion against Blacks and people of color as embodied in the Ten Commandments, the Inquisition, and in the history of the Holy Crusades. Missionaries came armed with Judeo/Christian beliefs went to nations of people of color who had their own belief systems and forced change and caused untold harms because the indigenous belief systems were incompatible with their own. The indigenous people were denounced as ungodly, pagan, uncivilized, and savage. Hence, laws were enacted because of their perceived need to structure a sense of morality and to create and build a culture for these indigenous people of color. To date bioethics continues to be informed by a Western worldview that is Judeo/Christian in belief and orientation. However, missing from bioethical discourse in America is the historical influence of the Black Church as a cultural repository, which continues to influence the culture of Africans and Blacks. Cultural aspects of peoples of color are still largely ignored today. In attempting to deal with issues of race while steering clear of the religious and cultural impact of the Black Church, bioethics finds itself in the middle of a distressing situation: it simply cannot figure out what to do with race.
Books by Olivette Burton
Recent technological progresses have made technological modifications of human beings a real poss... more Recent technological progresses have made technological modifications of human beings a real possibility. Many normal traits may be artificially enhanced. Sooner or latter, individuals will have the possibility to exchange their healthy limbs and organs for better artificial ones and transplantations of human brains into artificial carriers are already under study. Therefore, socio-ethical issues related to human enhancement have started to be seriously considered by scholars around the world. While such a technological revolution concerns the society as a whole, debates addressing the socio-ethical issues related to human enhancement have mainly been restricted to academics. Lay people are largely unaware of the discussions. The objective of this book is to inform lay people of the already existing and potential future possibilities to enhance humans through emerging technologies as well as the socio-ethical issues that are already raised by such technological modifications. This book constitutes a first step to encourage democratic and interdisciplinary involvement and discussion about some of the socio-ethical issues related to the technological modifications of human beings. Enjoy your journey through the augmented world ! http://future-human.life
Drafts by Olivette Burton
Proceedings of the 2013 International Academic Workshop on Social Science (IAW-SC-13), 2013
The American Journal of Bioethics, 2007
Race and religion are integral parts of bioethics. Harm and oppression, with the aim of social an... more Race and religion are integral parts of bioethics. Harm and oppression, with the aim of social and political control, have been wrought in the name of religion against Blacks and people of color as embodied in the Ten Commandments, the Inquisition, and in the history of the Holy Crusades. Missionaries came armed with Judeo/Christian beliefs went to nations of people of color who had their own belief systems and forced change and caused untold harms because the indigenous belief systems were incompatible with their own. The indigenous people were denounced as ungodly, pagan, uncivilized, and savage. Hence, laws were enacted because of their perceived need to structure a sense of morality and to create and build a culture for these indigenous people of color. To date bioethics continues to be informed by a Western worldview that is Judeo/Christian in belief and orientation. However, missing from bioethical discourse in America is the historical influence of the Black Church as a cultural repository, which continues to influence the culture of Africans and Blacks. Cultural aspects of peoples of color are still largely ignored today. In attempting to deal with issues of race while steering clear of the religious and cultural impact of the Black Church, bioethics finds itself in the middle of a distressing situation: it simply cannot figure out what to do with race
Social work can help to restore a balance towards humanity. We are and always have been critical ... more Social work can help to restore a balance towards humanity. We are and always have been critical thinking innovators with a comprehensive grasp of issues, a thorough knowledge of human situations and environments. We also possess the ability to craft policy that is meaningful while at the same time realize a moral obligation towards ourselves and to the populations we serve.
Are you willing to change? The recent events of protest in America and subsequently around the wo... more Are you willing to change? The recent events of protest in America and subsequently around the world tell us something that folks channeling justice have long known for some time now. What is that? That institutional practices and policies in all areas are desperately in need of an overhaul… a cleansing… fresh perspectives and more understanding to change the overwhelmingly negative way business is conducted with vulnerable persons today.
The National Research Act and Belmont Commission (1974) came about in direct response to unethica... more The National Research Act and Belmont Commission (1974) came about in direct response to unethical experimentation on Black Americans by medical science and researchers involved in Tuskegee. The report that was produced by the Commission, the Belmont Report, is a significant part of Black history and can and should be taught, in schools of social work, education, journalism and even high schools as such instead of in the context and purview of medical missteps and scientific impropriety-as it customarily is presented. The Belmont Report provides an excellent example of effective government at work as it gives valuable insight into the considerations that lead to pragmatic ideas that are simple yet dynamic and that do not lose their shape or focus regardless of the changing environments and needs of research. It provides a lesson in civics and shows how social consciousness and activism
This blog piece is part of a larger work and developing lecture series involving observations and... more This blog piece is part of a larger work and developing lecture series involving observations and conduct by researchers involved in human subject research. It is imperative to state that most researchers involved in conducting research, adhere to the standards set forth for ethically conducting themselves in all their endeavors. However, money, ambition, peer pressure, pressure to publish, secure employment and prestige are all reasons why well intentioned researchers are tempted and succumb to committing research distortions and lies. At this juncture, disclosure accomplishes something but not too much. What does that really mean?
Last Sunday my friend collapsed on a soccer field and was rushed to the hospital. In an instant, ... more Last Sunday my friend collapsed on a soccer field and was rushed to the hospital. In an instant, a lifelong athlete with a fantastic physique and a beautiful spirit was gone, betrayed by a heart that malfunctioned and abruptly failed.
You remind those of us who strive to be responsible, conscious, and active that your blood is min... more You remind those of us who strive to be responsible, conscious, and active that your blood is mingled with the blood of so many others, and can (if allowed) provide a lesson worth learning. It can teach us to become a more tolerant and civil society. Your tragedy is not simply a matter of being unable to walk in your own neighborhood; unmolested, but is also a wake-up call to stand up for the injustices in other areas, including healthcare, the environment, education, social welfare and housing. Your death now moves my activism and makes my advocacy for improving the challenging human condition scream out loud and sets my activist spirit on fire.
Education and Sports Education, Apr 2013
Since the 19th century, urban lawns have gradually taken center stage to become one of the main s... more Since the 19th century, urban lawns have gradually taken center stage to become one of the main sources of greening in many cities around the world. The current published research on planting technology, maintenance techniques, the impact of lawn maintenance, preferences for manicured lawns and the biodiversity protection for historical lawns as topics, has developed and increased over time. However, what has been less researched is the relationship and interplay between the perceptions of urban residents and their use of urban lawns. More specifically, our research focused on the question of how residents view, socialize and utilize city lawns accessible to them. To provide some insight into this area of urban lawn use, our research study was conducted in Lund, Sweden a city that uses lawns as their main form of greening. To accomplish the study's objectives the city's lawns were grouped into the following categories:(1) park lawns, (2) residential neighborhood lawns, (3) lawns around public buildings, (4) lawns surrounding residential buildings, (5) lawns along greenways and (6) lawns along roads. By means of distributed open-ended questionnaires the researchers discovered two important findings.
American Journal of Bioethics, 2007
Race and religion are integral parts of bioethics. Harm and oppression, with the aim of social an... more Race and religion are integral parts of bioethics. Harm and oppression, with the aim of social and political control, have been wrought in the name of religion against Blacks and people of color as embodied in the Ten Commandments, the Inquisition, and in the history of the Holy Crusades. Missionaries came armed with Judeo/Christian beliefs went to nations of people of color who had their own belief systems and forced change and caused untold harms because the indigenous belief systems were incompatible with their own. The indigenous people were denounced as ungodly, pagan, uncivilized, and savage. Hence, laws were enacted because of their perceived need to structure a sense of morality and to create and build a culture for these indigenous people of color. To date bioethics continues to be informed by a Western worldview that is Judeo/Christian in belief and orientation. However, missing from bioethical discourse in America is the historical influence of the Black Church as a cultural repository, which continues to influence the culture of Africans and Blacks. Cultural aspects of peoples of color are still largely ignored today. In attempting to deal with issues of race while steering clear of the religious and cultural impact of the Black Church, bioethics finds itself in the middle of a distressing situation: it simply cannot figure out what to do with race.
Recent technological progresses have made technological modifications of human beings a real poss... more Recent technological progresses have made technological modifications of human beings a real possibility. Many normal traits may be artificially enhanced. Sooner or latter, individuals will have the possibility to exchange their healthy limbs and organs for better artificial ones and transplantations of human brains into artificial carriers are already under study. Therefore, socio-ethical issues related to human enhancement have started to be seriously considered by scholars around the world. While such a technological revolution concerns the society as a whole, debates addressing the socio-ethical issues related to human enhancement have mainly been restricted to academics. Lay people are largely unaware of the discussions. The objective of this book is to inform lay people of the already existing and potential future possibilities to enhance humans through emerging technologies as well as the socio-ethical issues that are already raised by such technological modifications. This book constitutes a first step to encourage democratic and interdisciplinary involvement and discussion about some of the socio-ethical issues related to the technological modifications of human beings. Enjoy your journey through the augmented world ! http://future-human.life