Global catastrophic risks (GCRs) are risks of events that could significantly harm or even destroy civilization at the global scale. GCR raises a number of profound ethical issues, with a range of ethical theories suggesting that GCR reduction should be society's top priority. This paper discusses GCR ethics in the context of dual-use bioengineering: bioengineering that can cause either benefit or harm, including increases and decreases in GCR. Advances in bioengineering offer great promise, but also introduce new perils. Key ethical questions include what phenomena hold intrinsic value and how the phenomena are valued across space and time. Another key question is how decisions about bioengineering risks should be made. The global scope of bioengineering and GCR suggests a role for international law. Bioengineering does not fall neatly within existing international regimes such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, Cartagena Protocol, and Biological Weapons Convention. An international regime with comprehensive coverage of bioengineering would help address dual-use bioengineering as it relates to GCR.

CopyrightItems in 'OpenAIR@RGU', Robert Gordon University Open Access Institutional Repository, are protected by copyright and intellectual property law. If you believe that any material held in 'OpenAIR@RGU' infringes copyright, please contact openair-help@rgu.ac.uk with details. The item will be removed from the repository while the claim is investigated. Abstract-Public spending across the United Kingdom is facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the economic downturn. Nowhere is this more keenly felt than the interface between the National Health Service (NHS) and the construction industry. Limited government investment is challenged by the ever-evolving demographics and technological changes which are driving the need for flexibility and progress throughout the NHS. In tandem with these financial and evolutionary challenges, the NHS bears a legal responsibility to reduce its Carbon Footprint significantly, in line with the requirements of the Climate Change Act. Additionally, the service is driven by the organisational and legal requirements of the wider sustainability drivers. The emphasis on construction within the NHS has focused predominantly in the area of new build within the last 10 years. This paper discusses the need to focus on the area of Refurbishment. The main aim of this paper is to present a contextual basis for an ongoing research study to develop a sustainable refurbishment model for hospitals. A comprehensive literature review has been employed as the methodology to discuss the current situation relative to organisational, financial, and sustainability factors. It is demonstrated that an understanding of the nature of refurbishment is required. Challenges specific to refurbishment, such as lack of as-built data and information on the state of the existing fabric and services, may have significant effects on the project in regard to time and cost. It is further demonstrated that the hospital facility has unique characteristics and Client expectations which do not affect a 'standard' commercial refurbishment. IDENTIFYING SUSTAINABILITY REQUIREMENTS IN THE REFURBISHMENT OF HOSPITALS: THE BUILT ESTATE, MODELS OF CARE, AND THE CHALLENGE OF ADAPTATION PLANNING

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