WorldWideScience

Sample records for human ethical sense

  1. [Applying Ethics, Placating Ethics, or Applying ourselves to Ethics? A Critical View of Environmental Ethics as Applied Ethics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serani Merlo, Alejandro

    2016-01-01

    There is actually a pervasive tendency to consider environmental ethics and bioethics as specific cases pertaining to a supposed kind of ″applied ethics″. Application can be understood in two different meanings: a concrete sense, as in technical applications, and a psychological meaning, as when we mentally apply ourselves to a task. Ethics has been always thought as a practical knowledge, in a ″praxical″ sense and not in a ″poietic″ one. Ethics has to do with ″ends″ not with ″means″; in this sense ethics is ″useless″. Since ethics has to do with the ultimate meaning of things, ethical choices give meaning to all practical activities. In that sense ethics instead of being useless must be considered as ″over-useful″ (Maritain). Nowadays politics tend to instrumentalize ethics in order to political objectives. The consequence has been the reconceptualization of specific ethics as applied ethics. Environmental ethics and bioethics are then submitted to politics following the logic of technical applications. Environmental ethics and bioethics considered as applied ethics are at risk to becoming not only useless, but also meaningless.

  2. Ethical implications of location and accelerometer measurement in health research studies with mobile sensing devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuller, Daniel; Shareck, Martine; Stanley, Kevin

    2017-10-01

    Quantification of individual behaviours using mobile sensing devices, including physical activity and spatial location, is a rapidly growing field in both academic research and the corporate world. In this case study, we summarize the literature examining the ethical aspects of mobile sensing and argue that a robust discussion about the ethical implications of mobile sensing for research purposes has not occurred sufficiently in the literature. Based on our literature summary and guided by basic ethical principles set out in Canadian, US, and International Ethics documents we propose four areas where further discussion should occur: consent, privacy and confidentiality, mitigating risk, and consideration of vulnerable populations. We argue that ongoing consent is crucial for participants to be aware of the precision and volume of data that is collected with mobile sensing devices. Related to privacy we discuss that participants may not agree that anonymized data is sufficient for privacy and confidentiality when mobile sensing data are collected. There has been some discussion about mitigating risk in the literature. We highlight that the researchers' obligations toward mitigating risks that are not directly related to the study purpose are unclear and require considerable discussion. Finally, using mobile sensing devices to study vulnerable populations requires careful consideration, particularly with respect to balancing research needs with participant burden. Based on our discussion, we identify a broad set of unanswered questions about the ethics of mobile sensing that should be addressed by the research community. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. [Scientific ethics of human cloning].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valenzuela, Carlos Y

    2005-01-01

    True cloning is fission, budding or other types of asexual reproduction. In humans it occurs in monozygote twinning. This type of cloning is ethically and religiously good. Human cloning can be performed by twinning (TWClo) or nuclear transfer (NTClo). Both methods need a zygote or a nuclear transferred cell, obtained in vitro (IVTec). They are under the IVTec ethics. IVTecs use humans (zygotes, embryos) as drugs or things; increase the risk of malformations; increase development and size of abnormalities and may cause long-term changes. Cloning for preserving extinct (or almost extinct) animals or humans when sexual reproduction is not possible is ethically valid. The previous selection of a phenotype in human cloning violates some ethical principles. NTClo for reproductive or therapeutic purposes is dangerous since it increases the risk for nucleotide or chromosome mutations, de-programming or re-programming errors, aging or malignancy of the embryo cells thus obtained.

  4. Overview on business ethics and human resources management ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prof. Ph.D. Cãtãlina Bonciu

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available In the contemporary business world ethics represents one of the most exciting challenges,precisely because there is still no universally valid modality for solving a problem of this kind. Adopting anethic personal behavior does not always ensure winning in the problems regarding the actual business, norin the organizational behavior itself. The personal values, either native or gained by an individual throughouthis socializing do not represent a support or advantage in the attitude towards the economic life. What is it that actually concerns the managers:to succeed in their activity or to have an ethic activity? A successful business is necessarily an ethic one, or one lacking ethics? In particular, should the human resources manager choose the human factor of solid moral and ethic grounds, or the one exclusively focused on money quantifiable performance?

  5. Ethical awareness of people involved in electric power enterprise. A sense of mission as a bridge to the next generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Kiyoshi

    2017-01-01

    This paper discussed the situation regarding the insight into future possibilities owned by pioneers of electric power enterprises, characteristics of the technology supporting electric power enterprises, and initiative for environmental ethics owned by power entrepreneurs. Furthermore, in the sense of ethics of the people who support the operation sites, as an insight to look at technology and human beings, this paper introduced the sense of mission, sense of responsibility, and sense of ethics toward power business of the people who engaged in the following events. (1) From the sense of mission, they created a restoration support system at the time of disaster prior to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident (1F accident) and quickly took countermeasures in face of 1F accident. (2) Tohoku Electric Power's thermal power plant was restored in a short period of time from the damage of the tsunami. (3) Hokkaido Electric Power Co. restored power transmission network in a short period of time, when a large blackout due to atmospheric depression occurred. Regarding nuclear power generation, the Japanese government and electric power companies have consistently promoted it from the viewpoint of peaceful use of nuclear power. As the social environment changes, people need to look at the reality of nuclear power generation. People in a position to oppose to nuclear power generation persist that (1) there is no cause of promoting nuclear power generation after 1F accident, and (2) feasibility of high level radioactive waste disposal sites is questionable. Recognizing that there may be errors on the grounds of promotion, promoting people are required to exchange dialogues with people with different positions. As fundamental issues concerning electric power technology and ethics, this paper summarized the author's opinions on (1) restructuring of technical ideology, (2) establishment of public-interest-first principle, and (3) ethics of science and technology. (A.O.)

  6. Common-sense ethics in administrative decision making. Part I, Preparatory steps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, P A; Brown, T

    1991-10-01

    This is Part 1 of two articles demonstrating the relevance of business ethics to nurse administrators as they confront value-laden issues such as the advantages and disadvantages of 10-12-hour scheduling patterns, understaffing, emerging registered nurse partnerships, and other administrative problems. Common-sense ethics can serve as the basis of just administrative decisions. The authors present a model of preparatory attitudes and behaviors. The steps that they propose do not guarantee success, but if implemented, they may facilitate the nurse administrator's management of diverse ethical issues.

  7. Chimeras: an ethical consideration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. J.G. Zandman

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Scientists have started with experimentation that raises difficult ethical questions. It comprises taking material from the human blueprint (DNA and inserting this in various test animals. The purpose of such research is noble, namely the alleviation of hu- man suffering. Yet the ethical ramifications of blending the hu- man and animal genome are significant, especially for Chris- tians. The creation of all living entities after their kind and the image-bearing dignity attributed to man both come under se- vere ethical stress for those who presuppose divine order in God’s ecology.  For non-Christians the philosophical dilemma ought not to exist in the ethical sense if applied at the purest level. If the human is merely a kind of animal, along with and ontologically not diffe- rent from other animals, there is little logical reason to object to chimeric research apart from a concern about what such re- search and application might do to the order of life pragmati- cally. However, many non-Christian do object. Man is made in God’s image and the concept of human dignity and a universal sense of right and wrong still binds Christians and non-Chris- tians when considering ethics in the field of chimeric research. As the mixing of human stem cells with embryonic animals takes place, certain non-Christian authors protest that human dignity is being diminished and the animal essence is being vio- lated.

  8. The main elements of Erich Fromm's humane ethic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Redžić Saduša

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Erich Fromm contributed to social science mostly by his detailed theory of social character. Besides, he was interested in ethics. Even more - considering Fromm, human nature is strictly connected with ethics. He asks if there is foundation to establish some universal, absolute ethic? What is authority, and is there a connection between authority and ethics, and humanity and ethics? Is character of any relevance to ethics? Is human good or bad? What is the connection between human nature and social value? Fromm defines terms clearly, and this paper is brief introduction to those terms and to answers that Fromm gave to upper questions.

  9. [Outsourcing of nursing human resources from ethical to management: a survey in a Lazio Region Hospital].

    Science.gov (United States)

    d'Amore, Maurizia; Peroni, Antonia

    2008-01-01

    In 2006, 279 nurses of a Lazio Region Hospital were assessed to verify whether certain Human Resources decisions, such as outsourcing, can negatively influence their working motivation and sense of belonging to a health organization and whether any dissatisfaction can be attributed to poor ethical information within the health service. The research method had a descriptive basis and for data collection a questionnaire with 35 questions was issued. Results showed that nurses felt strongly involved in the study and interesting aspects for management of human resources emerged, depicting an organization lacking in motivation : this confirmed one of the aspects of the study : poor levels of motivation and sense of belonging can be correlated to insufficient ethical information in local health organizations. The main working needs that emerged among the nurses of this hospital regarded economical retribution (90%), security and success (88%) , belonging (86%) and self-satisfaction (77%): the need for power was relatively low (40%). The strong points of the study were : the strong involvement of nurses, the value of the information gathered regarding working motivation, sense of belong to a nursing organization , working needs , ethical information in health environments, organization according to targets. The limits of the study were: limited number of nurses in outsourcing at the time of the study (12%), impossibility of comparing the results with data prior to the outsourcing choices made by the hospital in question.

  10. Public health nursing, ethics and human rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, Luba L; Oden, Tami L

    2013-05-01

    Public health nursing has a code of ethics that guides practice. This includes the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health, and the Scope and Standards of Public Health Nursing. Human rights and Rights-based care in public health nursing practice are relatively new. They reflect human rights principles as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied to public health practice. As our health care system is restructured and there are new advances in technology and genetics, a focus on providing care that is ethical and respects human rights is needed. Public health nurses can be in the forefront of providing care that reflects an ethical base and a rights-based approach to practice with populations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. COMMUNICATION, ETHICS AND ANTHROPOETHICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Martins da Silva

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to dream of – in the sense ofestablishing – the utopian perspective of a scenario that remains utopian but which nonetheless provides the first indications that we may be entering a new paradigm, that of communication-ethics, that is to say, the ethical dimension of communication, which in this case is not restricted to technological advancements but concerns communication with ethics and as ethics, to conclude that without ethics, there is no communication and by extension, no genuine mankind nor genuine humanity. Communication and ethics therefore appear inseparable; one cannot exist without the other. The audacity of this ethical visionary lies in managing to perceive more than just technological marvels, but also to appreciate the paradigm of anthropoethics entering the realm of the concrete, that is to say, ethics for mankind and for humanity, as conceived of by Apel, Habermas and Morin.

  12. Introduction to "PIQ"'s Special Ethics Section.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatcher, Tim

    2003-01-01

    Introduces "Performance Improvement Quarterly's" special section on ethics. The focus of this special section is to explore ethics and the field of human performance improvement in a broad sense by encouraging an examination of ethical concepts and responsibilities in the profession. This special section includes three critical views of…

  13. Communication, ethics and anthropoethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Martins da Silva

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to dream of – in the sense of establishing – the utopian perspective of a scenario that remains utopian but which nonetheless provides the first indications that we may be entering a new paradigm, that of communication-ethics, that is to say, the ethical dimension of communication, which in this case is not restricted to technological advancements but concerns communication with ethics and as ethics, to conclude that without ethics, there is no communication and by extension, no genuine mankind nor genuine humanity. Communication and ethics therefore appear inseparable; one cannot exist without the other. The audacity of this ethical visionary lies in managing to perceive more than just technological marvels, but also to appreciate the paradigm of anthropoethics entering the realm of the concrete, that is to say, ethics for mankind and for humanity, as conceived of by Apel, Habermas and Morin.

  14. [Ethics, medical ethics, and occupational medicine: is their dialogue possible?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzzi, Elisa

    2016-01-20

    Today's medicine faces some critical moral challenges, yet the medical class suffers from an increasingly evident malaise: a growing dissatisfaction with an ethical demand often perceived as a cumbersome burden of rules and prohibitions, which risk to erode the fiduciary relations with patients. Such a negative appraisal is partly due to a narrow interpretation of the meaning of ethics, a misconception whose roots are in the positivistic stance that permeates our culture, and in its almost exclusively technological bent. This radical orientation of our culture shows itself in the vanishing of the idea of an intrinsic ethical dimension of medicine and consequent eclipse of traditional medical ethics, currently all but assimilated by bioethics. Maintaining a clear distinction between medical ethics and bioethics is a fundamental condition for guaranteeing an original ethical reflection in medicine, thereby fostering a constructive dialogue between philosophical and medical ethics. In this sense, occupational medicine holds a very propitious position, at the cross-roads to some of the most important dimensions in human life and society: health, work, environment. In a milieu which is too often inclined to efface the living human being and the deepest needs of humanity, the moral commitment of medical profession to the care of the integral reality of the embodied human person is one of the most important ethical challenges facing occupational medicine and a most valuable contribution to the current ethical debate.

  15. Human research ethics committees in technical universities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koepsell, David; Brinkman, Willem-Paul; Pont, Sylvia

    2014-07-01

    Human research ethics has developed in both theory and practice mostly from experiences in medical research. Human participants, however, are used in a much broader range of research than ethics committees oversee, including both basic and applied research at technical universities. Although mandated in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, non-medical research involving humans need not receive ethics review in much of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Our survey of the top 50 technical universities in the world shows that, where not specifically mandated by law, most technical universities do not employ ethics committees to review human studies. As the domains of basic and applied sciences expand, ethics committees are increasingly needed to guide and oversee all such research regardless of legal requirements. We offer as examples, from our experience as an ethics committee in a major European technical university, ways in which such a committee provides needed services and can help ensure more ethical studies involving humans outside the standard medical context. We provide some arguments for creating such committees, and in our supplemental article, we provide specific examples of cases and concerns that may confront technical, engineering, and design research, as well as outline the general framework we have used in creating our committee. © The Author(s) 2014.

  16. Chimeras: an ethical consideration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.J.G. Zandman

    2011-07-01

      For non-Christians the philosophical dilemma ought not to exist in the ethical sense if applied at the purest level. If the human is merely a kind of animal, along with and ontologically not diffe- rent from other animals, there is little logical reason to object to chimeric research apart from a concern about what such re- search and application might do to the order of life pragmati- cally. However, many non-Christian do object. Man is made in God’s image and the concept of human dignity and a universal sense of right and wrong still binds Christians and non-Chris- tians when considering ethics in the field of chimeric research. As the mixing of human stem cells with embryonic animals takes place, certain non-Christian authors protest that human dignity is being diminished and the animal essence is being vio- lated.

  17. The ethics of patenting human embryonic stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Audrey R

    2009-09-01

    Just as human embryonic stem cell research has generated controversy about the uses of human embryos for research and therapeutic applications, human embryonic stem cell patents raise fundamental ethical issues. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted foundational patents, including a composition of matter (or product) patent to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the University of Wisconsin-Madison's intellectual property office. In contrast, the European Patent Office rejected the same WARF patent application for ethical reasons. This article assesses the appropriateness of these patents placing the discussion in the context of the deontological and consequentialist ethical issues related to human embryonic stem cell patenting. It advocates for a patent system that explicitly takes ethical factors into account and explores options for new types of intellectual property arrangements consistent with ethical concerns.

  18. Basing Science Ethics on Respect for Human Dignity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aközer, Mehmet; Aközer, Emel

    2016-12-01

    A "no ethics" principle has long been prevalent in science and has demotivated deliberation on scientific ethics. This paper argues the following: (1) An understanding of a scientific "ethos" based on actual "value preferences" and "value repugnances" prevalent in the scientific community permits and demands critical accounts of the "no ethics" principle in science. (2) The roots of this principle may be traced to a repugnance of human dignity, which was instilled at a historical breaking point in the interrelation between science and ethics. This breaking point involved granting science the exclusive mandate to pass judgment on the life worth living. (3) By contrast, respect for human dignity, in its Kantian definition as "the absolute inner worth of being human," should be adopted as the basis to ground science ethics. (4) The pathway from this foundation to the articulation of an ethical duty specific to scientific practice, i.e., respect for objective truth, is charted by Karl Popper's discussion of the ethical principles that form the basis of science. This also permits an integrated account of the "external" and "internal" ethical problems in science. (5) Principles of the respect for human dignity and the respect for objective truth are also safeguards of epistemic integrity. Plain defiance of human dignity by genetic determinism has compromised integrity of claims to knowledge in behavioral genetics and other behavioral sciences. Disregard of the ethical principles that form the basis of science threatens epistemic integrity.

  19. Human Research Ethics Committees in Technical Universities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koepsell, D.R.; Brinkman, W.P.; Pont, S.C.

    2014-01-01

    Human research ethics has developed in both theory and practice mostly from experiences in medical research. Human participants, however, are used in a much broader range of research than ethics committees oversee, including both basic and applied research at technical universities. Although

  20. Ethical and regulatory challenges of research using pervasive sensing and other emerging technologies: IRB perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nebeker, Camille; Harlow, John; Espinoza Giacinto, Rebeca; Orozco-Linares, Rubi; Bloss, Cinnamon S; Weibel, Nadir

    2017-01-01

    Vast quantities of personal health information and private identifiable information are being created through mobile apps, wearable sensors, and social networks. While new strategies and tools for obtaining health data have expanded researchers' abilities to design and test personalized and adaptive health interventions, the deployment of pervasive sensing and computational techniques to gather research data is raising ethical challenges for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) charged with protecting research participants. To explore experiences with, and perceptions about, technology-enabled research, and identify solutions for promoting responsible conduct of this research we conducted focus groups with human research protection program and IRB affiliates. Our findings outline the need for increased collaboration across stakeholders in terms of: (1) shared and dynamic resources that improve awareness of technologies and decrease potential threats to participant privacy and data confidentiality, and (2) development of appropriate and dynamic standards through collaboration with stakeholders in the research ethics community.

  1. Ethics of human testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salter, D C

    1990-08-01

    What should one do, and why? Anyone asking such questions--and everyone does so hundreds of time each day--is concerned with ethics. Product development and testing raise many ethical questions. Particularly since the rise of 'green consumerism', these are of increasing concern to people outside the cosmetics industry, and so should be of interest to those inside it. The major problem seems to be that of reaching agreement on moral and ethical issues. Overcoming this problem involves investigating what is meant by 'ethics', and how decisions depend not on facts but on 'facts-as-perceived'. These in turn depend on many factors, with one's philosophy being the most fundamental. The range of philosophical options is reviewed and it is proposed that wider discussion is the only just way to achieve agreement. Yet some things are not negotiable. There are certain key moral concepts in terms of which discussion must take place for it to be relevant. In ethics of human testing, 'respect for others', that is, avoiding exploitation, is the principal one. Some synthesis of the key moral concepts like that of Immanuel Kant is therefore recommended as the soundest and most widely acceptable basis for the necessary discussion. Defining the responsible use of human subjects covers a range of issues, moral, historical, legal and professional. For example, there may be ethical difficulties in deliberate damage induction as in SPF and irritancy testing. But above all, to avoid exploitation, there is a moral and also a legal requirement that subjects are truly volunteers. This is the basis of the concept of 'informed consent', required but not generally explained in current professional codes of practice. It is unjustified to exploit those who may be under duress, such as 'in-house volunteers' and those with low incomes. Hence in conclusion, criteria for obtaining valid informed consent are briefly reviewed. By considering issues such as these, we can help ensure that cosmetic

  2. Ethics creep or governance creep? Challenges for Australian Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorman, Susanna M

    2011-09-01

    Australian Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) have to contend with ever-increasing workloads and responsibilities which go well beyond questions of mere ethics. In this article, I shall examine how the roles of HRECs have changed, and show how this is reflected in the iterations of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (NS). In particular I suggest that the focus of the National Statement has shifted to concentrate on matters of research governance at the expense of research ethics, compounded by its linkage to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2007) in its most recent iteration. I shall explore some of the challenges this poses for HRECs and institutions and the risks it poses to ensuring that Australian researchers receive clear ethical guidance and review.

  3. Ethical fundamentals in human subjects research : On equipoise and human dignity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Graaf - Verhave, R.

    2010-01-01

    In her PhD thesis Rieke van der Graaf has studied how we can ethically justify human subjects research. In particular she has studied two ethical fundamentals that play a key role in the justification process, that of equipoise and human dignity. Equipoise is often taken to mean that

  4. Human rights, politics, and reviews of research ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beyrer, Chris; Kass, Nancy E

    2002-07-20

    Although the human rights movement and the sphere of research ethics have overlapping principles and goals, there has been little attempt to incorporate external political and human rights contexts into research ethics codes or ethics reviews. Every element of a research ethics review--the balance of risks and benefits, the assurance of rights for individual participants, and the fair selection of research populations--can be affected by the political and human rights background in which a study is done. Research that at first seems to be low in risk may become high in risk if implemented in a country where the government might breach the confidentiality of study results or where results might be used to deport a refugee group. Researchers should determine whether research could or should be done by consulting human rights organisations and, when possible, a trusted colleague, to learn the background political context and human rights conditions of the settings in which they propose to do research.

  5. Ethical approach to digital skills. Sense and use in virtual educational spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan GARCÍA-GUTIÉRREZ

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In the context of technology and cyberspace, should we do everything we can do? The answer given to this question is not ethical, is political: safety. The safety and security are overshadowing the ethical question about the meaning of technology. Cyberspace imposes a "new logic" and new forms of "ownership". When it comes to the Internet in relation to children not always adopt logic of accountability to the cyberspace, Internet showing a space not only ethical and technical. We talk about safe Internet, Internet healthy, and Internet Fit for Children... why not talk over Internet ethics? With this work we approach digital skills as those skills that help us to position ourselves and guide us in cyberspace. Something that is not possible without also ethical skills. So, in this article we will try to build and propose a model for analyzing the virtual learning spaces (and cyberspace in general based on the categories of "use" and "sense" as different levels of ownership that indicate the types of competences needed to access cyberspace.  

  6. [Ethics and laws related to human subject research].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Hui-Ju; Lee, Ya-Ling; Chang, Su-Fen

    2011-10-01

    Advances in medical technology rely on human subject research to test the effects on real patients of unproven new drugs, equipment and techniques. Illegal human subject research happens occasionally and has led to subject injury and medical disputes. Familiarity with the laws and established ethics related to human subject research can minimize both injury and disputes. History is a mirror that permits reflection today on past experience. Discussing the Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki and Belmont Report, this article describes the laws, ethics, history and news related to human subject research as well as the current definition and characteristics of human subject research. Increasing numbers of nurses serve as research nurses and participate in human subject research. The authors hope this article can increase research nurse knowledge regarding laws and ethics in order to protect human research subjects adequately.

  7. Nuclear power and ethics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwery, H.

    1998-01-01

    The author can see no sense in demanding an ethical regime to be applied exclusively to nuclear power but rather calls for an approach that discusses nuclear power as one constituent of the complex energy issue in a way spanning all dimensions involved, as e.g. the technological, economic, cultural, humanitarian, and humanistic aspects. An ethical approach does not question scientific research, or science or technology, but examines their relation to man and the future of humanity, so that an ethical approach will first of all demand that society will bring forward conscientious experts as reliable partners in the process of discussing the ethical implications of progress and development in a higly industrialised civilisation. (orig./CB) [de

  8. The Ethics of Human Spaceflight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zoloth, Laurie

    2005-01-01

    This chapter intends to lay out some essential ethics questions that might frame the next step of space exploration. In this, I undertake two sorts of tasks. The first is to respond to the core ethic question: Is it ethical to travel in space? The second, assuming for the moment that I can convince you that the first premise can be justified, is to comment on what ethical challenges will face us there. It is appropriate to have a philosopher comment on this at the fortieth anniversary celebration, since it was also in 1962 that the National Academy of Science first convened a panel of philosophers to comment on space travel. They asked at that time whether it was indeed a worthwhile pursuit to travel in space and what might be expected of such an effort. What is at stake in any such boundary crossing is how the changing of essential human perimeters changes our own moral status. Will such boundary crossing worsen our human condition, or will it enhance it? In this way, the geopolitical quest is then linked to the quest for ontology, Pisarro hunting for the fountain of youth, for gold, and for territory. What follows are a series of ethical claims that link the problem of discovery in the larger world and the attendant ethical dilemmas of our explorations, as well as how this exploration alters our concepts of life on Earth. In this, the role of the ethicist is to function as both a skeptic and a stranger, aware of the optimism of science and the pessimism of philosophy.

  9. Ethical issues regarding human cloning: a nursing perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinç, Leyla

    2003-05-01

    Advances in cloning technology and successful cloning experiments in animals raised concerns about the possibility of human cloning in recent years. Despite many objections, this is not only a possibility but also a reality. Human cloning is a scientific revolution. However, it also introduces the potential for physical and psychosocial harm to human beings. From this point of view, it raises profound ethical, social and health related concerns. Human cloning would have an impact on the practice of nursing because it could result in the creation of new physiological and psychosocial conditions that would require nursing care. The nursing profession must therefore evaluate the ethics of human cloning, in particular the potential role of nurses. This article reviews the ethical considerations of reproductive human cloning, discusses the main reasons for concern, and reflects a nursing perspective regarding this issue.

  10. Brain Science of Ethics: Present Status and the Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aoki, Ryuta; Funane, Tsukasa; Koizumi, Hideaki

    2010-01-01

    Recent advances in technologies for neuroscientific research enable us to investigate the neurobiological substrates of the human ethical sense. This article introduces several findings in "the brain science of ethics" obtained through "brain-observation" and "brain-manipulation" approaches. Studies over the past decade have revealed that several…

  11. Science, human nature, and a new paradigm for ethics education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lampe, Marc

    2012-09-01

    For centuries, religion and philosophy have been the primary basis for efforts to guide humans to be more ethical. However, training in ethics and religion and imparting positive values and morality tests such as those emanating from the categorical imperative and the Golden Rule have not been enough to protect humankind from its bad behaviors. To improve ethics education educators must better understand aspects of human nature such as those that lead to "self-deception" and "personal bias." Through rationalizations, faulty reasoning and hidden bias, individuals trick themselves into believing there is little wrong with their own unethical behavior. The application of science to human nature offers the possibility of improving ethics education through better self-knowledge. The author recommends a new paradigm for ethics education in contemporary modern society. This includes the creation of a new field called "applied evolutionary neuro-ethics" which integrates science and social sciences to improve ethics education. The paradigm can merge traditional thinking about ethics from religious and philosophical perspectives with new ideas from applied evolutionary neuro-ethics.

  12. Ethical issues of perinatal human gene therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, J C; Richter, G

    1996-01-01

    This paper examines some key ethical issues raised by trials of human gene therapy in the perinatal period--i.e., in infants, young children, and the human fetus. It describes five resources in ethics for researchers' considerations prior to such trials: (1) the history of ethical debate about gene therapy, (2) a literature on the relevance of major ethical principles for clinical research, (3) a body of widely accepted norms and practices, (4) knowledge of paradigm cases, and (5) researchers' own professional integrity. The paper also examines ethical concerns that must be met prior to any trial: benefits to and safety of subjects, informed assent of children and informed parental permission, informed consent of pregnant women in fetal gene therapy, protection of privacy, and concerns about fairness in the selection of subjects. The paper criticizes the position that cases of fetal gene therapy should be restricted only to those where the pregnant woman has explicitly refused abortion. Additional topics include concerns about genetic enhancement and germ-line gene therapy.

  13. "Goodbye Dolly?" The ethics of human cloning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, J

    1997-01-01

    The ethical implications of human clones have been much alluded to, but have seldom been examined with any rigour. This paper examines the possible uses and abuses of human cloning and draws out the principal ethical dimensions, both of what might be done and its meaning. The paper examines some of the major public and official responses to cloning by authorities such as President Clinton, the World Health Organisation, the European parliament, UNESCO, and others and reveals their inadequacies as foundations for a coherent public policy on human cloning. The paper ends by defending a conception of reproductive rights of "procreative autonomy" which shows human cloning to be not inconsistent with human rights and dignity. PMID:9451604

  14. Psihologie, morală, politică: avatarurile umanismului (Psychology, ethic, politics: the avatars of humanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandru MAMINA

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The article treats the impact of psychological researches upon the humanistic ethic came out from Lumières, and subsequently on the liberal thought influenced by that. Hence it first presents the crisis which psychoanalysis induced to the traditional image of human being as rational an capable of free will. It also shows the way that humanistic view was transformed and so recovered in a more democratic sense by the analytical psychology and mainly the cultural psychoanalysis.

  15. Human Dignity in Contemporary Ethics

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this strictly academic book, David. Kirchhoffer processes the complex issues surrounding the concept of human dignity through a clearly defined ethical method. At the outset, he questions whether it is possible to use human dignity as a normative criterion, when empirical research has shown there is no evidence that an ...

  16. The ethics of human reproductive cloning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strong, Carson

    2005-03-01

    This article addresses the question of whether human reproductive cloning could be ethically justifiable in at least some cases involving infertile couples who would choose cloning as a way to have a genetically related child. At present, the risk of congenital anomalies constitutes a compelling argument against human reproductive cloning. The article explores whether reproductive cloning could be ethically justifiable if, at some future time, cloning becomes possible without an elevated risk of anomalies. It is argued that freedom to use cloning is a form of procreative freedom and, as such, deserves respect. All of the objections that have been raised against human reproductive cloning fall under three main categories: those that appeal to the interests of the child, those based on consequences for society, and those arising from teleological views. Objections that appeal to the child's interests are, in turn, of two main kinds: consequentialist and deontological. All of these types of objections are examined, and it is found that each involves serious problems that prevent it from being a reasonable objection in the context of the infertility cases considered. It is concluded that human reproductive cloning would be ethically justifiable in at least some cases involving infertile couples, provided that it could be performed without an elevated risk of anomalies.

  17. A Theoretical Framework for Human and Veterinary Medical Ethics Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magalhães-Sant'Ana, Manuel

    2016-01-01

    In their practice, physicians and veterinarians need to resort to an array of ethical competences. As a teaching topic, however, there is no accepted gold standard for human medical ethics, and veterinary medical ethics is not yet well established. This paper provides a reflection on the underlying aims of human and veterinary medical ethics…

  18. Ethics in Publishing: Complexity Science and Human Factors Offer Insights to Develop a Just Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saurin, Tarcisio Abreu

    2016-12-01

    While ethics in publishing has been increasingly debated, there seems to be a lack of a theoretical framework for making sense of existing rules of behavior as well as for designing, managing and enforcing such rules. This letter argues that systems-oriented disciplines, such as complexity science and human factors, offer insights into new ways of dealing with ethics in publishing. Some examples of insights are presented. Also, a call is made for empirical studies that unveil the context and details of both retracted papers and the process of writing and publishing academic papers. This is expected to shed light on the complexity of the publication system as well as to support the development of a just culture, in which all participants are accountable.

  19. AN AGENDA OF MORALITY FOR BUSINESS ETHICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANCA PUP

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper work is to conclude a short confirmation for business ethics. A redundant argument for business ethics, should, in our opinion start from the philosophical field. A major problem with business ethics is the foreclosing of philosophy, society and politics from its debate area. Before understanding the common sense for business ethics, we have to know how to act in a moral way. It is important to understand the identity of the human being, its signification and goals. Therefore the first part of this research enclose to philosophy, pointing out three aspects concerted to morality. We consider that only after a proper analyze of the human being, we can argue for business ethics and its implication in different area. Otherwise “business” becomes a problem for “ethics” and “ethics” become a problem for “business”.

  20. [Neuroethics: Ethical Endowments of Human Brain].

    Science.gov (United States)

    López Moratalla, Natalia

    2015-01-01

    The neurobiological processes underlying moral judgement have been the focus of Neuroethics. Neurosciences demonstrate which cerebral areas are active and inactive whilst people decide how to act when facing a moral dilemma; in this way we know the correlation between determined cerebral areas and our human acts. We can explain how the ″ethical endowments″ of each person, common to all human beings, is ″embedded″ in the dynamic of cerebral flows. Of central interest is whether emotions play a causal role in moral judgement, and, in parallel, how emotion related areas of the brain contribute to moral judgement. The outcome of man's natural inclinations is on one hand linked to instinctive systems of animal survival and to basic emotions, and on the other, to the life of each individual human uninhibited by automatism of the biological laws, because he is governed by the laws of freedom. The capacity to formulate an ethical judgement is an innate asset of the human mind.

  1. [The ethics of principles and ethics of responsibility].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cembrani, Fabio

    2016-01-01

    In his brief comment, the author speculates if ethics in health-care relationship it still has a practical sense.The essay points out the difference between principles ethics and ethics of responsibility, supporting the latter and try to highlight its constitutive dimensions.

  2. How to challenge a culturalization of human existence? Promoting interculturalism and ethical thinking in education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frédérique Brossard Børhaug

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available What if culture appears to be a universal solution – and problem – to all human encounters in the multicultural school? When teachers explain the problems encountered by minority pupils simply by reference to their cultural (religious backgrounds, one faces the danger of culturalization where the other’s difference is explained only by his/her ethnicity. Culturalization is highly problematic because it emphasizes stereotyped inter-group differences and by doing so erases intra-group and inter-individual differences. The article argues that culture is fundamental in human existence, but it should not be an ambiguous dimension if the school seeks to help the learner get a stronger capacity of voice and aspiration. In order to challenge culturalization of human existence, it is crucial for education to promote the paradigm of interculturalism. Such a paradigm requires educators to acknowledge multiple forms of identity belongings for the individual and to resist the interpretation of culture as common sense. Education becomes intercultural and provides liberating categorizations for the individual when it acknowledges the true value of chosen cultural affiliations and individual aspirations. Nonetheless, promoting interculturalism might not be sufficient. Facing the potential danger of culturalization, we also need to foster ethics in education, in order to deconstruct the categories of cultural identity and belonging. Drawing on the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas (1905-1995 the article argues that loving the other implies the act of loving the other person as a brother and as a stranger. Responsibility understood as an ethical responsibility opens up the community’s traditional structures and promotes a politics of ethical difference. Justice, thus, is not only about how well rights and duties are enforced, but also a matter of the other’s right to be other. Difference as a category is in other words not cultural but refers to the

  3. Thinking About Education in Human Rights from an Ethical and Controversial Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abraham Magendzo

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper delves into the relationship between the education in human rights and ethics from a controversial perspective. It is a direction that seeks to help people become active and participatory citizens in a pluralistic democracy. Three fundamental ethical principles are analyzed, and they allow teaching human rights through controversy: Human rights: a global ethics of human rights; human rights: an ethical minimum; human rights and moral pluralism. This article proposes to relate human rights education with the critical-dialogical pedagogy. In this perspective are identified four critical inquiry tools that serve to develop different dimensions for a critical understanding in the social sphere: the approach of the problem, the reflexive skepticism, the multiperspectivity, and systemic thinking.

  4. Ethics review of health research on human participants in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Wyk, Christa

    2010-06-01

    In terms of South African legislation, all health research on human participants must be submitted to an accredited research ethics committee for independent ethics review. Health research covers a broad spectrum of research, including clinical trials. This article sets out the ethical-legal framework for the functioning and composition of such committees. It also deals with the newly created National Health Research Ethics Council, which registers and audits health research ethics committees. Special attention is given to the conduct of clinical trials. In conclusion, it is submitted that the National Health Act, the Draft Regulations Relating to Research on Human Subjects, and two sets of ethical guidelines adopted by the Department of Health provide a much needed and coherent ethical-legal framework for research in South Africa.

  5. Justice in human research ethics. A conceptual and practical guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pieper, Ian; Thomson, Colin J H

    2013-03-01

    One of the core values to be applied by a body reviewing the ethics of human research is justice. The inclusion of justice as a requirement in the ethical review of human research is relatively recent and its utility had been largely unexamined until debates arose about the conduct of international biomedical research in the late 1990s. The subsequent amendment of authoritative documents in ways that appeared to shift the meaning of conceptions of justice generated a great deal of controversy. Another difficulty has been that both the theory and the substance of justice that are applied by researchers or reviewers can be frequently seen to be subjective. Both the concept of justice--hether distributive or commutative--and what counts as a just distribution or exchange--are given different weight and meanings by different people. In this paper, the origins and more recent debates about the requirement to consider justice as a criterion in the ethical review of human research are traced, relevant conceptions of justice are distinguished, and the manner in which they can be applied meaningfully in the ethical review of all human research is identified. We also explain the way that these concepts are articulated in, and the intent and function of, specific paragraphs of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007). The National Statement identifies a number of issues that should be considered when a human research ethics committee is reviewing the justice aspects of an application. We provide guidance to researchers as to how they can show that there is a fair distribution of burdens and benefits in the participant experience and the research outcomes. We also provide practical guidance to researches on how to think through issues of justice so that they can demonstrate that the design of their research projects meets this ethical requirement.

  6. Human Participants in Engineering Research: Notes from a Fledgling Ethics Committee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koepsell, David; Brinkman, Willem-Paul; Pont, Sylvia

    2015-08-01

    For the past half-century, issues relating to the ethical conduct of human research have focused largely on the domain of medical, and more recently social-psychological research. The modern regime of applied ethics, emerging as it has from the Nuremberg trials and certain other historical antecedents, applies the key principles of: autonomy, respect for persons, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice to human beings who enter trials of experimental drugs and devices (Martensen in J Hist Med Allied Sci 56(2):168-175, 2001). Institutions such as Institutional Review Boards (in the U.S.) and Ethics Committees (in Europe and elsewhere) oversee most governmentally-funded medical research around the world, in more than a hundred nations that are signers of the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association 2008). Increasingly, research outside of medicine has been recognized to pose potential risks to human subjects of experiments. Ethics committees now operate in the US, Canada, the U.K. and Australia to oversee all governmental-funded research, and in other jurisdictions, the range of research covered by such committees is expanding. Social science, anthropology, and other fields are falling under more clear directives to conduct a formal ethical review for basic research involving human participants (Federman et al. in Responsible research: a systems approach to protecting research participants. National Academies Press, Washington, 2003, p. 36). The legal and institutional response for protecting human subjects in the course of developing non-medical technologies, engineering, and design is currently vague, but some universities are establishing ethics committees to oversee their human subjects research even where the experiments involved are non-medical and not technically covered by the Declaration of Helsinki. In The Netherlands, as in most of Europe, Asia, Latin America, or Africa, no laws mandate an ethical review of non-medical research. Yet, nearly 2

  7. A Selected Review of the Underpinnings of Ethics for Human Performance Technology Professionals--Part One: Key Ethical Theories and Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Peter J.

    1993-01-01

    Provides a review of the key ethical theories and relevant empirical research relating to the practice of human performance technology. Topics addressed include ethics, morals, business ethics, ethics officers, empiricism versus normative ethical theory, consequentialism, utilitarianism, nonconsequentialism, Kohlberg model of cognitive moral…

  8. In Search of Ecological Ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catarina Jahnel de Oliveira

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In the scope of social science, studies dealing with environmental issues have gained prominence in recent years. Given the intense and profound changes the capitalist system has brought to society, culmina ng in the current environmental crisis, science and philosophy have sought ways to overcome the contradic s found in our current ethical model. In this sense, the objetive of this paper is, from a review of the related literature, to present ecological ethics as an alternative that points the way to the formula of strategies aimed at sustainability, since this ethical discourse, broaching issues such as anthropocentrism and moral competence, leads to a redefinition of the relationship between humans and their environment

  9. The principle of justification as a humanization of common sense. An approach to the ethics of medical indications with ionizing radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arranz y Carrillo de Albornoz, L.

    2016-01-01

    The great difficulty for the prescriber to select a correct diagnostic imaging strategy is the large number of available scanners (there are over 800). The choice should be based on an aphorism of great tradition in medicine: First Do No Harm. Unfortunately many of the scans requested are not justified. According to the SERAM, up to 30% of the tests requested do not provide relevant information and many could be avoided and therefore patients were unnecessarily exposed to radiation. There is, therefore, an ethical responsibility the prescribing physician and the specialist physician of performing the examination or treatment, as well as by all the involved staff. Given the international consensus about the evidence of the effects of ionizing radiation, the ICRP summarized the scientific basis of this consensus with ethical and social sense and proposed the Radiation Protection System whose first principle is the justification. This system is based, apart from the well established scientific evidence and experience, on universally shared ethical values. It is necessary that the physicians could base their decision making on a procedure with ionizing radiation by having good formation, good experience, the best scientific knowledge and, above all, taking account the patient, respecting him, listening him and seeking their good. [es

  10. Some Ethical Concerns About Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yue Liang

    2016-10-01

    Human induced pluripotent stem cells can be obtained from somatic cells, and their derivation does not require destruction of embryos, thus avoiding ethical problems arising from the destruction of human embryos. This type of stem cell may provide an important tool for stem cell therapy, but it also results in some ethical concerns. It is likely that abnormal reprogramming occurs in the induction of human induced pluripotent stem cells, and that the stem cells generate tumors in the process of stem cell therapy. Human induced pluripotent stem cells should not be used to clone human beings, to produce human germ cells, nor to make human embryos. Informed consent should be obtained from patients in stem cell therapy.

  11. [Discussion forum on medical ethics. A1. Basic forms in ethics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Löw, R

    1990-05-01

    Medical ethics should not be subsumed under the classical types of ethical reasoning (e.g. Aristotle, Kant) nor the modern ethical versions of utilitarianism, deontology or ethics of discourse. All of them may contribute to medical ethics; but these should be goaled by general ethics in the meaning of how to lead a senseful life in its whole.

  12. References to Human Rights in Codes of Ethics for Psychologists: Critical Issues and Recommendations. Part 1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Жанель Готье

    2018-12-01

    Full Text Available There are codes of ethics in psychology that explicitly refer to human rights. There are also psychologists interested in the protection and promotion of human rights who are calling for the explicit inclusion of references to human rights in all psychology ethics codes. Yet, references to human rights in ethics documents have rarely been the focus of attention in psychological ethics. This article represents the first part of a two-part article series focusing on critical issues associated with the inclusion of references to human rights in the ethical codes of psychologists, and recommendations about how psychological ethics and the human rights movement can work together in serving humanity. The first part of the article series examines issues pertaining to the interpretation of references to human rights in codes of ethics for psychologists, and the justifications for including these references in psychological ethics codes. The second part of the article series examines how the Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists can be used to extend or supplement codes of ethics in psychology, how ethical principles and human rights differ and complement each other, and how psychological ethics and the human rights movement can work together in serving humanity and improving the welfare of both persons and peoples.

  13. Human Genome Editing and Ethical Considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishan, Kewal; Kanchan, Tanuj; Singh, Bahadur

    2016-04-01

    Editing human germline genes may act as boon in some genetic and other disorders. Recent editing of the genome of the human embryo with the CRISPR/Cas9 editing tool generated a debate amongst top scientists of the world for the ethical considerations regarding its effect on the future generations. It needs to be seen as to what transformation human gene editing brings to humankind in the times to come.

  14. Human research ethics committees: examining their roles and practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guillemin, Marilys; Gillam, Lynn; Rosenthal, Doreen; Bolitho, Annie

    2012-07-01

    Considerable time and resources are invested in the ethics review process. We present qualitative data on how human research ethics committee members and health researchers perceive the role and function of the committee. The findings are based on interviews with 34 Australian ethics committee members and 54 health researchers. Although all participants agreed that the primary role of the ethics committee was to protect participants, there was disagreement regarding the additional roles undertaken by committees. Of particular concern were the perceptions from some ethics committee members and researchers that ethics committees were working to protect the institution's interests, as well as being overprotective toward research participants. This has the potential to lead to poor relations and mistrust between ethics committees and researchers.

  15. [Self-reflection, interpersonal behavior and psychoanalytic ethics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bürgy, M

    1997-05-01

    In the middle ages, ethical practice included a metaphysical theory of value. In comparison with that, self-reflection and interpersonality should be described as principles of more individual ethics and proceeding from philosophy to psychoanalysis in modern times. Drawing a borderline between human philosophy and metaphysies, Kant defined his so-called categorial imperative as a basic phenomenon of human reciprocity. Ethical relationship to another person, however, requires realization of one's own self, i.e. self-reflection. Hegel's subsequent association of intersubjectivity and selfreflection supplied the basis for Sarte's constitution of consciousness: Existence as existing for the good of the fellow-being. Self-reflection, basing on the sight of one's own self by the other person, leads to Sartre's concept of existential psychoanalysis and to his understanding of ethics. His concept illustrates the decline of significance of philosophy for the analysis of human relationship. Habermas describes self-reflection and interpersonality as fundamental principles of the psychoanalytic therapy and its ethical demands. With the historical concept of the super-ego, Freud established therapeutical one-sidedness and abstinence from ethics; however, as therapeutical interrelationship continued to intensity, ethics of depth psychology also began to develop. This ethical demand was not expressly formulated within the context of psychoanalysis, with the exception of jung and his epigones. Nevertheless, psychoanalytic interaction implies the development of self-reflection, which definitely represents a step forward in the sense of "ethical enlightenment" represented by Kant.

  16. Ethics and human rights issues experienced by nurses in leadership roles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redman, Barbara A; Fry, Sara T

    2003-01-01

    The aims of this study were to identify (1) the ethics and human rights issues experienced by nurses in leadership roles (NLs); (2) how frequently these issue occurred in the NLs'practices; and (3) how disturbed the NLs were by the issues. Dillman's Total Design Method (1978) for mailed surveys guided the study design. Data analysis was performed on 470 questionnaires from New England RNs in nursing leadership roles. The most frequently experienced ethics and human rights issues during the previous 12 months were (1) protecting patient right and human dignity; (2) respecting or not respecting informed consent to treatment; (3) use or nonuse of physical or chemical restraints; (4) providing care with possible risks to the RN's health; (5) following or not following advance directives; and (6) staffing patterns that limit patient access to nursing care. The most disturbing ethics and human rights issues experienced by the NLs were staffing patterns that limited patient access to nursing care, prolonging the dying process with inappropriate measures, working with unethical, incompetent, or impaired colleagues, implementing managed care policies that threaten quality of care, not considering quality of the patient's life, and caring for patients and families who are uninformed or misinformed about treatment, prognosis, or medical alternatives. Nearly 39% of the NLs reported experiencing ethics and human rights issues one to four times a week or more, and more than 90% handled their most recent ethics issue by discussing it with nursing peers. Study findings have implications for ethics education and resource support for nurses in leadership roles, and for further research on how NLs handle ethics and human rights issues in the workplace.

  17. Development of a medical humanities and ethics certificate program in Texas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erwin, Cheryl J

    2014-12-01

    Education in the medical humanities and ethics is an integral part of the formation of future physicians. This article reports on an innovative approach to incorporating the medical humanities and ethics into the four-year curriculum in a Certificate Program spanning all four years of the medical school experience. The faculty of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston conceived and implemented this program to teach medical students a range of scholarly topics in the medical humanities and to engage the full human experience into the process of becoming a physician. This study follows six years of experience, and we report student experiences and learning in their own words.

  18. Ethical issues in neuroscience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuchs, Thomas

    2006-11-01

    The study gives an overview of ethical questions raised by the progress of neuroscience in identifying and intervening in neural correlates of the mind. Ethical problems resulting from brain research have induced the emergence of a new discipline termed neuroethics. Critical questions concern issues, such as prediction of disease, psychopharmacological enhancement of attention, memory or mood, and technologies such as psychosurgery, deep-brain stimulation or brain implants. Such techniques are capable of affecting the individual's sense of privacy, autonomy and identity. Moreover, reductionist interpretations of neuroscientific results challenge notions of free will, responsibility, personhood and the self which are essential for western culture and society. They may also gradually change psychiatric concepts of mental health and illness. These tendencies call for thorough, philosophically informed analyses of research findings and critical evaluation of their underlying conceptions of humans. Advances in neuroscience raise ethical, social and legal issues in relation to the human person and the brain. Potential benefits of applying neuroimaging, psychopharmacology and neurotechnology to mentally ill and healthy persons have to be carefully weighed against their potential harm. Questions concerning underlying concepts of humans should be actively dealt with by interdisciplinary and public debate.

  19. Ethical considerations with regard to the sanctity of human life

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    believe that it is ethical to perform abortion or euthanasia, whatever the circumstances. The problem inherent in discussing these core beliefs is that almost all debate is based on the premise that the sanctity of human life is paramount, and that to kill a human being, whether by abortion or euthanasia, is ethically wrong.

  20. Ethical issues in neonatal research involving human subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischman, Alan R

    2016-06-01

    Research involving critically ill neonates creates many ethical challenges. Neonatal clinical research has always been hard to perform, is very expensive, and may generate some unique ethical concerns. This article describes some examples of historical and modern controversies in neonatal research, discusses the justification for research involving such vulnerable and fragile patients, clarifies current federal regulations that govern research involving neonates, and suggests ways that clinical investigators can develop and implement ethically grounded human subjects research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Ethical tissue: a not-for-profit model for human tissue supply.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Kevin; Martin, Sandie

    2011-02-01

    Following legislative changes in 2004 and the establishment of the Human Tissue Authority, access to human tissues for biomedical research became a more onerous and tightly regulated process. Ethical Tissue was established to meet the growing demand for human tissues, using a process that provided ease of access by researchers whilst maintaining the highest ethical and regulatory standards. The establishment of a licensed research tissue bank entailed several key criteria covering ethical, legal, financial and logistical issues being met. A wide range of stakeholders, including the HTA, University of Bradford, flagged LREC, hospital trusts and clinical groups were also integral to the process.

  2. Transforming educational accountability in medical ethics and humanities education toward professionalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doukas, David J; Kirch, Darrell G; Brigham, Timothy P; Barzansky, Barbara M; Wear, Stephen; Carrese, Joseph A; Fins, Joseph J; Lederer, Susan E

    2015-06-01

    Effectively developing professionalism requires a programmatic view on how medical ethics and humanities should be incorporated into an educational continuum that begins in premedical studies, stretches across medical school and residency, and is sustained throughout one's practice. The Project to Rebalance and Integrate Medical Education National Conference on Medical Ethics and Humanities in Medical Education (May 2012) invited representatives from the three major medical education and accreditation organizations to engage with an expert panel of nationally known medical educators in ethics, history, literature, and the visual arts. This article, based on the views of these representatives and their respondents, offers a future-tense account of how professionalism can be incorporated into medical education.The themes that are emphasized herein include the need to respond to four issues. The first theme highlights how ethics and humanities can provide a response to the dissonance that occurs in current health care delivery. The second theme focuses on how to facilitate preprofessional readiness for applicants through reform of the medical school admission process. The third theme emphasizes the importance of integrating ethics and humanities into the medical school administrative structure. The fourth theme underscores how outcomes-based assessment should reflect developmental milestones for professional attributes and conduct. The participants emphasized that ethics and humanities-based knowledge, skills, and conduct that promote professionalism should be taught with accountability, flexibility, and the premise that all these traits are essential to the formation of a modern professional physician.

  3. A code of ethics for evidence-based research with ancient human remains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreissl Lonfat, Bettina M; Kaufmann, Ina Maria; Rühli, Frank

    2015-06-01

    As clinical research constantly advances and the concept of evolution becomes a strong and influential part of basic medical research, the absence of a discourse that deals with the use of ancient human remains in evidence-based research is becoming unbearable. While topics such as exhibition and excavation of human remains are established ethical fields of discourse, when faced with instrumentalization of ancient human remains for research (i.e., ancient DNA extractions for disease marker analyses) the answers from traditional ethics or even more practical fields of bio-ethics or more specific biomedical ethics are rare to non-existent. The Centre for Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich solved their needs for discursive action through the writing of a self-given code of ethics which was written in dialogue with the researchers at the Institute and was published online in Sept. 2011: http://evolutionäremedizin.ch/coe/. The philosophico-ethical basis for this a code of conduct and ethics and the methods are published in this article. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. The ethics of human genetic intervention: a postmodern perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyer, A R

    1997-03-01

    Gene therapy for a particular disease like Parkinson's involves ethical principles worked out for other diseases. The major ethical issues for gene therapy (and the corresponding ethical principles) are safety (nonmalfeasance), efficacy (beneficence), informed consent (autonomy), and allocation of resources (justice). Yet genetic engineering (germ-line interventions or interventions to enhance human potentialities) raises emotions and fears that might cause resistance to gene therapies. Looking at these technologies in a postmodern perspective helps one to appreciate the issues at stake in social and cultural change with a new technology such as gene therapy. While "modern" technology and ethics have focused on the autonomy of the individual, we are beginning to see a lessening of such emphasis on individualism and autonomy and more emphasis on the health of the population. Such a social change could cause technologies about which society may currently be cautious (such as human genetic interventions) to become more acceptable or even expected.

  5. 40 CFR 26.1303 - Submission of information pertaining to ethical conduct of completed human research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... ethical conduct of completed human research. 26.1303 Section 26.1303 Protection of Environment... on the Ethical Conduct of Completed Human Research § 26.1303 Submission of information pertaining to ethical conduct of completed human research. Any person who submits to EPA data derived from human...

  6. Ethics in action: Approving and improving medical research with human subjects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jong, J.P.

    2013-01-01

    In this thesis, Jean Philippe de Jong presents a new understanding of ethical oversight on medical research with human subjects and proposes that two philosophies for ethical oversight exist: '(dis)approving' and 'improving'. Systems for ethical oversight on medical research have been in place for

  7. The Economics and Ethics of Human Induced Climate Change

    OpenAIRE

    Spash, Clive L.; Gattringer, Clemens

    2016-01-01

    Human induced climate change poses a series of ethical challenges to the current political economy, although it has often be regarded by economists as only an ethical issue for those concerned about future generations. The central debate in economics has then concerned the rate at which future costs and benefits should be discounted. Indeed the full range of ethical aspects of climate change are rarely even discussed. Despite recent high profile and lengthy academic papers on t...

  8. The challenge of promoting professionalism through medical ethics and humanities education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doukas, David J; McCullough, Laurence B; Wear, Stephen; Lehmann, Lisa S; Nixon, Lois LaCivita; Carrese, Joseph A; Shapiro, Johanna F; Green, Michael J; Kirch, Darrell G

    2013-11-01

    Given recent emphasis on professionalism training in medical schools by accrediting organizations, medical ethics and humanities educators need to develop a comprehensive understanding of this emphasis. To achieve this, the Project to Rebalance and Integrate Medical Education (PRIME) II Workshop (May 2011) enlisted representatives of the three major accreditation organizations to join with a national expert panel of medical educators in ethics, history, literature, and the visual arts. PRIME II faculty engaged in a dialogue on the future of professionalism in medical education. The authors present three overarching themes that resulted from the PRIME II discussions: transformation, question everything, and unity of vision and purpose.The first theme highlights that education toward professionalism requires transformational change, whereby medical ethics and humanities educators would make explicit the centrality of professionalism to the formation of physicians. The second theme emphasizes that the flourishing of professionalism must be based on first addressing the dysfunctional aspects of the current system of health care delivery and financing that undermine the goals of medical education. The third theme focuses on how ethics and humanities educators must have unity of vision and purpose in order to collaborate and identify how their disciplines advance professionalism. These themes should help shape discussions of the future of medical ethics and humanities teaching.The authors argue that improvement of the ethics and humanities-based knowledge, skills, and conduct that fosters professionalism should enhance patient care and be evaluated for its distinctive contributions to educational processes aimed at producing this outcome.

  9. Portraying Urban Functional Zones by Coupling Remote Sensing Imagery and Human Sensing Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Tu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Portraying urban functional zones provides useful insights into understanding complex urban systems and establishing rational urban planning. Although several studies have confirmed the efficacy of remote sensing imagery in urban studies, coupling remote sensing and new human sensing data like mobile phone positioning data to identify urban functional zones has still not been investigated. In this study, a new framework integrating remote sensing imagery and mobile phone positioning data was developed to analyze urban functional zones with landscape and human activity metrics. Landscapes metrics were calculated based on land cover from remote sensing images. Human activities were extracted from massive mobile phone positioning data. By integrating them, urban functional zones (urban center, sub-center, suburbs, urban buffer, transit region and ecological area were identified by a hierarchical clustering. Finally, gradient analysis in three typical transects was conducted to investigate the pattern of landscapes and human activities. Taking Shenzhen, China, as an example, the conducted experiment shows that the pattern of landscapes and human activities in the urban functional zones in Shenzhen does not totally conform to the classical urban theories. It demonstrates that the fusion of remote sensing imagery and human sensing data can characterize the complex urban spatial structure in Shenzhen well. Urban functional zones have the potential to act as bridges between the urban structure, human activity and urban planning policy, providing scientific support for rational urban planning and sustainable urban development policymaking.

  10. Public health ethics and more-than-human solidarity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rock, Melanie J; Degeling, Chris

    2015-03-01

    This article contributes to the literature on One Health and public health ethics by expanding the principle of solidarity. We conceptualise solidarity to encompass not only practices intended to assist other people, but also practices intended to assist non-human others, including animals, plants, or places. To illustrate how manifestations of humanist and more-than-human solidarity may selectively complement one another, or collide, recent responses to Hendra virus in Australia and Rabies virus in Canada serve as case examples. Given that caring relationships are foundational to health promotion, people's efforts to care for non-human others are highly relevant to public health, even when these efforts conflict with edicts issued in the name of public health. In its most optimistic explication, One Health aims to attain optimal health for humans, non-human animals and their shared environments. As a field, public health ethics needs to move beyond an exclusive preoccupation with humans, so as to account for moral complexity arising from people's diverse connections with places, plants, and non-human animals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Ethical Issues in the Use of Humans for Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashaw, W. L.

    The APA Ethical Principles, the University of Georgia policy, standard research texts, and research literature on specific methodologies, all in relation to ethical issues in human research, are discussed. The 10 APA principles state, in essence, that the investigator is responsible for what happens, that confidentiality and the protection of the…

  12. Ethical perception of human gene in transgenic banana | Amin ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Transgenic banana has been developed to prevent hepatitis B through vaccination. Its production seems to be an ideal alternative for cheaper vaccines. The objective of this paper is to assess the ethical perception of transgenic banana which involved the transfer of human albumin gene, and to compare their ethical ...

  13. Development and oversight of ethical health promotion quality assurance and evaluation activities involving human participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sainsbury, Peter

    2015-12-01

    This paper considers the role of ethics and ethics review processes in the development of health promotion quality assurance and evaluation activities involving human participants. The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and associated documents provide the framework for the ethical conduct and independent review of research (including quality assurance and evaluation) involving humans in Australia. Identifying the level of risk to which participants may be exposed by participation in quality assurance and evaluation activities is essential for health promotion workers undertaking such activities. Organisations can establish processes other than review by a Human Research Ethics Committee for negligible and low risk research activities. Health promotion quality assurance and evaluation activities often involve negligible and low risk to participants. Seven triggers that indicate the need for ethics review of quality assurance and evaluation activities and a procedural checklist for developing ethical quality assurance and evaluation activities are provided. Health promotion workers should be familiar with the NHMRC's National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. When ethical considerations underpin the planning and conduct of all quality assurance and evaluation from the very beginning, the activity is the better for it, independent 'ethics approval' can mostly be secured without much trouble and workers' frustration levels are reduced. So what? Health promotion quality assurance and evaluation activities must be ethically justified. Health promotion workers should be familiar with the NHMRC's National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and should use it when developing health promotion quality assurance and evaluation activities.

  14. [Scientific ethics and the use of human material or data].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valenzuela, Carlos Y

    2012-03-01

    A scientific article censured by superposing obstacles to its reading remembers the censure of Galileo made by the Inquisition. The censure followed the failure to obtain the informed consent (IC) to disclose results of old samples. At present, the use of collected data or samples for a new research needs a new IC, in most ethical protocols. The Helsinki Code allows the research ethics committees the authorization for the use of that information. This norm is founded rather in commercial, legal or protective arguments than in ethical bases. This article criticizes this norm from the Scientific Ethics viewpoint because: i) the ownership of the genome and environment that originate a person is not of such person but of the human society and Homo sapiens species, ii) a person is not the unique owner of that information; laboratories, institutions, health services and research teams add constituents to it, iii) several violations to this norm occurring in medical, labor, legal and social practice show it as biased against science, iv) if this stored information and its use are beneficial for humankind (its proper owner) it is ethically obligatory to use it. It is proposed to create an anonymous World Bank for Human Information with open access and universal transparency. This universal collection of data handled under universal accepted ethical norms should prevent exclusive private use of public information, non-publication of negative results, illicit and unethical use of human data.

  15. Using experimental game theory to transit human values to ethical AI

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Yijia; Wan, Yan; Wang, Zhijian

    2017-01-01

    Knowing the reflection of game theory and ethics, we develop a mathematical representation to bridge the gap between the concepts in moral philosophy (e.g., Kantian and Utilitarian) and AI ethics industry technology standard (e.g., IEEE P7000 standard series for Ethical AI). As an application, we demonstrate how human value can be obtained from the experimental game theory (e.g., trust game experiment) so as to build an ethical AI. Moreover, an approach to test the ethics (rightness or wrongn...

  16. Organizational Ethics Development and the Human Resource Professional.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrick, Joseph A.

    1992-01-01

    Surveys literature on organizational moral development and describes research methodology employed, summarizes research findings, and examines career implications for human resource professionals. Contends that institutionalizing an ethics program can impact favorably on both the organization and the career of the implementing human resource…

  17. Dolphin natures, human virtues: MacIntyre and ethical naturalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glackin, Shane Nicholas

    2008-09-01

    Can biological facts explain human morality? Aristotelian 'virtue' ethics has traditionally assumed so. In recent years Alasdair MacIntyre has reintroduced a form of Aristotle's 'metaphysical biology' into his ethics. He argues that the ethological study of dependence and rationality in other species--dolphins in particular--sheds light on how those same traits in the typical lives of humans give rise to the moral virtues. However, some goal-oriented dolphin behaviour appears both dependent and rational in the precise manner which impresses MacIntyre, yet anything but ethically 'virtuous'. More damningly, dolphin ethologists consistently refuse to evaluate such behaviour in the manner MacIntyre claims is appropriate to moral judgement. In light of this, I argue that virtues--insofar as they name a biological or ethological category--do not name a morally significant one.

  18. Machine Ethics: Creating an Ethical Intelligent Agent

    OpenAIRE

    Anderson, Michael; Anderson, Susan Leigh

    2007-01-01

    The newly emerging field of machine ethics (Anderson and Anderson 2006) is concerned with adding an ethical dimension to machines. Unlike computer ethics -- which has traditionally focused on ethical issues surrounding humans' use of machines -- machine ethics is concerned with ensuring that the behavior of machines toward human users, and perhaps other machines as well, is ethically acceptable. In this article we discuss the importance of machine ethics, the need for machines that represent ...

  19. Tiny tweaks, big changes: An alternative strategy to empower ethical culture of human research in anesthesia (A Taiwan Acta Anesthesiologica Taiwanica-Ethics Review Task Force Report).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luk, Hsiang-Ning; Ennever, John F; Day, Yuan-Ji; Wong, Chih-Shung; Sun, Wei-Zen

    2015-03-01

    For this guidance article, the Ethics Review Task Force (ERTF) of the Journal reviewed and discussed the ethics issues related to publication of human research in the field of anesthesia. ERTF first introduced international ethics principles and minimal requirements of reporting of ethics practices, followed by discussing the universal problems of publication ethics. ERTF then compared the accountability and methodology of several medical journals in assuring authors' ethics compliance. Using the Taiwan Institutional Review Board system as an example, ERTF expressed the importance of institutional review board registration and accreditation to assure human participant protection. ERTF presented four major human research misconducts in the field of anesthesia in recent years. ERTF finally proposed a flow-chart to guide journal peer reviewers and editors in ethics review during the editorial process in publishing. Examples of template languages applied in the Ethics statement section in the manuscript are expected to strengthen the ethics compliance of the authors and to set an ethical culture for all the stakeholders involved in human research. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  20. Level of Ethics, Ethical Frustration and Accountant Discretionary Practices

    OpenAIRE

    Tamminen, Rauno; Leskinen, Markku

    1996-01-01

    In this paper it is shown with the help of a small sample that accounting is ethically loaded; that there exists ethical frustration caused by situational factors related to accounting; and that most probably the situational pressures may also change the level of ethics in the Kohlbergian sense; and that in studying accounting-related ethical problems empirically, the paper-and pencil tests and interviewing may give biased results. The accountant's model of the world is supplemented with ...

  1. Chekhov’s Ethical Heritage in the Contemporary American Medical Humanities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenyia M. Butenina

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses Chekhovian ethical discourse in American fiction and non-fiction that forms part of an emerging literary canon of medical humanities in the USA. Besides Chekhov’s “medical” stories, special attention is given to his book Sakhalin Island seen as an object of “moral cartography.” The analysis of contemporary medical humanities in the USA shows that Chekhov’s ethical heritage has entered this field at several levels. One is teaching “medical” stories and Sakhalin Island as part of the future doctors’ ethical education. The other is expanding the literary-medical context by including these texts in comparative studies and anthologies. Finally, there is the overall level of developing the method of literary “diagnostic” bearing on Chekhov’s ethical heritage that is important for the study of both fiction and non-fiction authored by doctors-writers.

  2. The treatment of sex offenders: evidence, ethics, and human rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birgden, Astrid; Cucolo, Heather

    2011-09-01

    Public policy is necessarily a political process with the law and order issue high on the political agenda. Consequently, working with sex offenders is fraught with legal and ethical minefields, including the mandate that community protection automatically outweighs offender rights. In addressing community protection, contemporary sex offender treatment is based on management rather than rehabilitation. We argue that treatment-as-management violates offender rights because it is ineffective and unethical. The suggested alternative is to deliver treatment-as-rehabilitation underpinned by international human rights law and universal professional ethics. An effective and ethical community-offender balance is more likely when sex offenders are treated with respect and dignity that, as human beings, they have a right to claim.

  3. e-Government Ethics : a Synergy of Computer Ethics, Information Ethics, and Cyber Ethics

    OpenAIRE

    Arief Ramadhan; Dana Indra Sensuse; Aniati Murni Arymurthy

    2011-01-01

    Ethics has become an important part in the interaction among humans being. This paper specifically discusses applied ethics as one type of ethics. There are three applied ethics that will be reviewed in this paper, i.e. computer ethics, information ethics, and cyber ethics. There are two aspects of the three applied ethics that were reviewed, i.e. their definition and the issues associated with them. The reviewing results of the three applied ethics are then used for defining e-Government eth...

  4. TOXICOLOGICAL RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMANS: ETHICAL AND REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS

    Science.gov (United States)

    This paper discusses the need for the Society of Toxicology (SOT) to develop a policy for ethical research in humans, and a review for publication of these studies. Observations on human beings have been the foundation upon which toxicologic knowledge has been built since the in...

  5. Human Subjects Protection: A Source for Ethical Service-Learning Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wendler, Rachael

    2012-01-01

    Human subjects research ethics were developed to ensure responsible conduct when university researchers learn by interacting with community members. As service-learning students also learn by interacting with community members, a similar set of principles may strengthen the ethical practice of service-learning. This article identifies ethical…

  6. Ethical principles for the use of human cellular biotechnologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wolpe, Paul Root; Rommelfanger, Karen S.; Borenstein, Jason

    2017-01-01

    Recent developments in bioengineering promise the possibility of new diagnostic and treatment strategies, novel industrial processes, and innovative approaches to thorny problems in fields such as nutrition, agriculture, and biomanufacturing. As modern genetics has matured and developed technolog......-producing countries of the world, offers a set of ethical principles to contribute to the ethical conversation about human cellular biotechnological research moving forward....

  7. Ethical Implications of Thomas Reid's Philosophy of Rhetoric.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skopec, Eric Wm.

    Eighteenth century Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid's emphasis on first principles of knowledge is fundamental to his ethics of rhetoric. Reid found the reduction of mental activities to material phenomena by Hobbes and others to be particularly odious and destructive of common sense. Turning to the analysis of human nature, he developed a radical…

  8. Special Feature: Ethical Standards of Human Service Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Human Service Education: A Journal of the National Organization for Human Service Education, 1996

    1996-01-01

    Describes a code of ethics that reflects the unique history of the human service profession. Provides a definition for human services and gives guidelines in meeting responsibility to clients, to the community and society, and to colleagues. Also provides statements guiding responsibility to the profession, to employers, and to self. (RJM)

  9. Still Human: A Call for Increased Focus on Ethical Standards in Cadaver Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bach, Michelle C

    2016-12-01

    Research on human cadavers is an important mechanism of scientific progress and comprises a large industry in the United States. However, despite its importance and influence, there is little ethical or regulatory oversight of cadaver-based research. This lack of transparency raises important ethical questions. Thus, this paper serves as a call for ethicists and regulators to pay increased attention to cadaver research. I argue that cadaver research ought to be considered a subset of human subjects research and held accountable to higher ethical standards. After describing current practices, I argue that oversight of cadaver research as a form of human subjects research is appropriate because cadaver research is similar to other types of human research, participants in cadaver research incur risks of harm, and a current lack of oversight has allowed the cadaver industry to entice research participation through ethically questionable practices. This paper urges greater dialogue among human subjects research ethicists and regulators about what constitutes appropriate protections for participants in cadaver research.

  10. The ethics of assisted reproduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatzinikolaou, Nikolaos

    2010-05-01

    Issues concerning the beginning of life and medical intervention in the onset of human existence are very delicate in their nature; they involve multi-dimensional knowledge, they are difficult to comprehend and sensitive to handle. When pure scientific elements are combined with profound emotions, when the genius of technological discoveries touches upon human dignity and sanctity, when passion for the technological achievement intervenes in basic human rights, then the sense of inadequacy and ignorance becomes intense and critical. Silence seems more sought-after than words, and willingness to learn more prudent than the desire to speak. Fear of the inconceivable consequences and even more so the inability to assess them, experiments with the unknown, the likelihood that basic historical, ethical and social values may change forever, but mainly the replacement of God in His wondrous work of creation--the onset of human life--places the ethics of reproductive technologies on the frontline of contemporary bioethics. This opinion paper does not deal with dangers, insults, fears, threats, "speed limits" or ethical controversies, but rather with the very mystery of life. Although there are no generally accepted replies to the various questions being posed, some thoughts and reservations, which can shed some light upon complicated dilemmas are presented. Firstly, the content of reproductive technologies, the problem of infertility today, the methods of fertility treatment, and of prenatal and pre-implantation testing are described, and then the social impact of IVF, complicated cases, deontological dilemmas and some ethical concerns are discussed. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Differences in Moral Judgment on Animal and Human Ethics Issues between University Students in Animal-Related, Human Medical and Arts Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verrinder, Joy M; Ostini, Remo; Phillips, Clive J C

    2016-01-01

    Moral judgment in relation to animal ethics issues has rarely been investigated. Among the research that has been conducted, studies of veterinary students have shown greater use of reasoning based on universal principles for animal than human ethics issues. This study aimed to identify if this was unique to students of veterinary and other animal-related professions. The moral reasoning of first year students of veterinary medicine, veterinary technology, and production animal science was compared with that of students in non-animal related disciplines of human medicine and arts. All students (n = 531) completed a moral reasoning test, the VetDIT, with animal and human scenarios. When compared with reasoning on human ethics issues, the combined group of students evaluating animal ethics issues showed higher levels of Universal Principles reasoning, lower levels of Personal Interest reasoning and similar levels of Maintaining Norms reasoning. Arts students showed more personal interest reasoning than students in most animal-related programs on both animal and human ethics issues, and less norms-based reasoning on animal ethics issues. Medical students showed more norms-based reasoning on animal ethics issues than all of the animal-related groups. There were no differences in principled reasoning on animal ethics issues between program groups. This has implications for animal-related professions and education programs showing that students' preference for principled reasoning on animal ethics issues is not unique to animal-related disciplines, and highlighting the need to develop student (and professional) capacity to apply principled reasoning to address ethics issues in animal industries to reduce the risk of moral distress.

  12. Differences in Moral Judgment on Animal and Human Ethics Issues between University Students in Animal-Related, Human Medical and Arts Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verrinder, Joy M.; Ostini, Remo; Phillips, Clive J. C.

    2016-01-01

    Moral judgment in relation to animal ethics issues has rarely been investigated. Among the research that has been conducted, studies of veterinary students have shown greater use of reasoning based on universal principles for animal than human ethics issues. This study aimed to identify if this was unique to students of veterinary and other animal-related professions. The moral reasoning of first year students of veterinary medicine, veterinary technology, and production animal science was compared with that of students in non-animal related disciplines of human medicine and arts. All students (n = 531) completed a moral reasoning test, the VetDIT, with animal and human scenarios. When compared with reasoning on human ethics issues, the combined group of students evaluating animal ethics issues showed higher levels of Universal Principles reasoning, lower levels of Personal Interest reasoning and similar levels of Maintaining Norms reasoning. Arts students showed more personal interest reasoning than students in most animal-related programs on both animal and human ethics issues, and less norms-based reasoning on animal ethics issues. Medical students showed more norms-based reasoning on animal ethics issues than all of the animal-related groups. There were no differences in principled reasoning on animal ethics issues between program groups. This has implications for animal-related professions and education programs showing that students’ preference for principled reasoning on animal ethics issues is not unique to animal-related disciplines, and highlighting the need to develop student (and professional) capacity to apply principled reasoning to address ethics issues in animal industries to reduce the risk of moral distress. PMID:26934582

  13. Committees for Ethics in Research involving human subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hossne, William Saad; Vieira, Sonia; De Freitas, Corina Bontempo Duca

    2008-01-01

    In Brazil since October 1996 there have been guidelines for research involving human subjects. Now human subjects know when their treatment is part of research. Deceit is no longer tolerated. But is not enough to say we offer an explanation to the potential subject and we offer a choice before he or she is confronted with an informed consent form. As in all professional activity, scientific investigation needs social controls. In Brazil, the ultimate responsibility of an investigation lies on the investigator, but in every institution where research is carried out there is a Committee for Ethics in Research. All Committees are subordinated to the National Commission of Ethics in Research, which is submitted to the Brazilian Institute of Health. During 2005 around 17,000 protocols involving 700,000 human subjects were revised by 475 Committees distributed all over the country. Approximately 7,000 people are now working in these Committees.

  14. Moral Intuition and the Professional Military Ethic

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-14

    civilization. Emotion is primary in human culture and it‟s in influence is unquestionable – it absolutely dominates the human sense of morality . The...person that are made with respect to a set of virtues [and behaviors] held to be obligatory by members of a culture or sub- culture . Moral reasoning...formula for postmodern relativism . When it comes to morality and ethics, the “how to” decision-making process is never as important as what our Soldier

  15. Ethical reflection and psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vyskocilová, Jana; Prasko, Jan

    2013-01-01

    Theories of ethics and ethical reflection may be applied to both theory and practice in psychotherapy. There is a natural affinity between ethics and psychotherapy. Psychotherapy practice is concerned with human problems, dilemmas and emotions related to both one's own and other people's values. Ethics is also concerned with dilemmas in human thinking and with how these dilemmas reflect other individuals' values. Philosophical reflection itself is not a sufficient basis for the ethics of psychotherapy but it may aid in exploring attitudes related to psychotherapy, psychiatry and health care. PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched for articles containing the keywords "psychotherapy", "ethics", "therapeutic relationship" and "supervision". The search was conducted by repeating the terms in various combinations without language or time restrictions. Also included were data from monographs cited in reviews. The resulting text is a review with conclusions concerning ethical aspects of psychotherapy. The ability to behave altruistically, sense for justice and reciprocity and mutual help are likely to be genetically determined as dispositions to be later developed by upbringing or to be formed or deformed by upbringing. Early experiences lead to formation of ethical attitudes which are internalized and then applied to both one's own and other people's behavior. Altruistic behavior has a strong impact on an individual's health and its acceptance may positively influence the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying numerous diseases. Ethical theory and reflection, however, may be applied to both theory and practice of psychotherapy in a conscious, targeted and thoughtful manner. In everyday practice, psychotherapists and organizations must necessarily deal with conscious conflicts between therapeutic possibilities, clients' wishes, their own as well as clients' ideas and the real world. Understanding one's own motives in therapy is one of the aims of a

  16. Revision of Business Ethics

    OpenAIRE

    Tomas Sigmund

    2011-01-01

    Business ethics is a controversial topic. In my article I would like to explore where the limits of business ethics are and to what extent it can become part of the economic world. I would like to explore the question what the relationship between ethics and business is and whether what business ethicists consider ethics is real ethics in the fundamental sense of the world. The concept of business ethics will be discussed compared to general ethical theories and consequences drawn. I would li...

  17. Human subject research: reporting ethics approval and informed consent in 3 chiropractic journals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, Dana J

    2011-11-01

    To date, there have been no reports of ethics board approval or informed consent within the chiropractic literature or within chiropractic research. The purpose of this study was to assess the reporting of ethics approval and informed consent in articles published during the 2008 volume year of 3 chiropractic research journals included in PubMed. A quantitative assessment of the articles published in each journal for the 2008 volume year was performed. Information collected included if the article involved human subject research, if it reported ethics board approval, and if informed consent was given to subjects. Data were collected as descriptive statistics (frequency counts and percentages). In aggregate, 50 articles of a total of 143 published involved human subject research (35%). 44 reported ethics board approval (88%), and 28 reported that informed consent had been obtained (56%). Forty-five percent of articles published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics involved human subject research (39/87), of which 95% reported ethics board approval (37/39) and 64% reported informed consent (25/39); 12.5% of articles from the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association involved human subject research (5/40), of which 80% reported ethics board approval (4/5) and 40% reported informed consent (2/5); and 37.5% of articles published in Chiropractic and Osteopathy involved human subject research (6/16), of which 50% reported ethics board approval (3/6) and 17% reported informed consent (1/6). Overall, most articles reported ethics approval, and more than half reported consent. This was harmonious with research on this topic from other disciplines. This situation indicates a need for continued quality improvement and for better instruction and dissemination of information on these issues to researchers, to manuscript reviewers, to journal editors, and to the readers. Copyright © 2011 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Mosby

  18. The contribution of deontological Christian ethics to the contemporary human rights discourse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. Vorster

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the possible role of a Christian deonto- logical ethics in the contemporary human rights debate. It concludes that a Christian deontological ethics in the Reformed tradition can be positively engaged in the human rights debate when Biblical theological topics are transposed into moral directives applicable to the current human rights concerns, such as religious extremism, femicide, ideologies of intolerance and ecocide. As an example of the applicability of a Christian deon- tological ethics from a reformed perspective, the following Bibli- cal topics are investigated: human dignity on the basis of the “imago dei”, creation and creational integrity, the kingdom of God and forgiveness. Furthermore, the article proposes that other concepts can be added to this list such as the Biblical idea of life, eschatology, covenant and holiness.

  19. Ethical implications of implantable radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Kenneth R; Jaeger, Jan

    2008-08-01

    This article reviews the use of implantable radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags in humans, focusing on the VeriChip (VeriChip Corporation, Delray Beach, FL) and the associated VeriMed patient identification system. In addition, various nonmedical applications for implanted RFID tags in humans have been proposed. The technology offers important health and nonhealth benefits, but raises ethical concerns, including privacy and the potential for coercive implantation of RFID tags in individuals. A national discussion is needed to identify the limits of acceptable use of implantable RFID tags in humans before their use becomes widespread and it becomes too late to prevent misuse of this useful but ethically problematic technology.

  20. Perspective: Medical education in medical ethics and humanities as the foundation for developing medical professionalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doukas, David J; McCullough, Laurence B; Wear, Stephen

    2012-03-01

    Medical education accreditation organizations require medical ethics and humanities education to develop professionalism in medical learners, yet there has never been a comprehensive critical appraisal of medical education in ethics and humanities. The Project to Rebalance and Integrate Medical Education (PRIME) I Workshop, convened in May 2010, undertook the first critical appraisal of the definitions, goals, and objectives of medical ethics and humanities teaching. The authors describe assembling a national expert panel of educators representing the disciplines of ethics, history, literature, and the visual arts. This panel was tasked with describing the major pedagogical goals of art, ethics, history, and literature in medical education, how these disciplines should be integrated with one another in medical education, and how they could be best integrated into undergraduate and graduate medical education. The authors present the recommendations resulting from the PRIME I discussion, centered on three main themes. The major goal of medical education in ethics and humanities is to promote humanistic skills and professional conduct in physicians. Patient-centered skills enable learners to become medical professionals, whereas critical thinking skills assist learners to critically appraise the concept and implementation of medical professionalism. Implementation of a comprehensive medical ethics and humanities curriculum in medical school and residency requires clear direction and academic support and should be based on clear goals and objectives that can be reliably assessed. The PRIME expert panel concurred that medical ethics and humanities education is essential for professional development in medicine.

  1. Ethical issues of transplanting organs from transgenic animals into human beings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behnam Manesh, Shima; Omani Samani, Reza; Behnam Manesh, Shayan

    2014-01-01

    One of the most important applications of transgenic animals for medical purposes is to transplant their organs into human's body, an issue which has caused a lot of ethical and scientific discussions. we can divide the ethical arguments to two comprehensive groups; the first group which is known as deontological critiques (related to the action itself regardless of any results pointing the human or animal) and the second group, called the consequentialist critiques (which are directly pointing the consequences of the action). The latter arguments also can be divided to two subgroups. In the first one which named anthropocentrism, just humankind has inherent value in the moral society, and it studies the problem just from a human-based point of view while in second named, biocentrism all the living organism have this value and it deals specially with the problem from the animal-based viewpoint. In this descriptive-analytic study, ethical issues were retrieved from books, papers, international guidelines, thesis, declarations and instructions, and even some weekly journals using keywords related to transgenic animals, organ, and transplantation. According to the precautionary principle with the strong legal and ethical background, due to lack of accepted scientific certainties about the safety of the procedure, in this phase, transplanting animal's organs into human beings have the potential harm and danger for both human and animals, and application of this procedure is unethical until the safety to human will be proven.

  2. Reporting of ethical protection in recent oral and maxillofacial surgery research involving human subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitak-Arnnop, P; Sader, R; Hervé, C; Dhanuthai, K; Bertrand, J-Ch; Hemprich, A

    2009-07-01

    This retrospective observational study investigated the frequency of reporting ethical approval and informed consent in recently published oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) research involving human subjects. All research involving human subjects published in the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery during January to June 2005-2007 were analysed for disclosure of ethical approval by a local ethical committee and obtaining informed consent from the subjects. 534 articles were identified; ethical approval was documented in 118 (22%) and individual patient consent in 135 (25%). 355 reports (67%) did not include a statement on ethical approval or informed consent and only 74 reports (14%) disclosed statements of both. Ethical documentation in retrospective and observational studies was scant; 12% of randomised controlled trials and 38% of non-random trials did not report both of ethical protections. Most recent OMS publications involving humans failed to mention ethical review or subjects' consent. Authors must adhere to the international research ethics guidelines and journal instructions, while editors should play a gatekeeper role to protect research participants, uphold scientific integrity and maintain public trust in the experimental process and OMS profession.

  3. The contribution of deontological Christian ethics to the contemporary human rights discourse

    OpenAIRE

    J. M. Vorster

    2009-01-01

    This article examines the possible role of a Christian deontological ethics in the contemporary human rights debate. It concludes that a Christian deontological ethics in the Reformed tradition can be positively engaged in the human rights debate when Biblical theological topics are transposed into moral directives applicable to the current human rights concerns, such as religious extremism, femicide, ideologies of intolerance and ecocide. As an example of the applicability of a Christian deo...

  4. The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics: a reflection on the ethics of respect and human dignity with nurse as expert.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milton, Constance L

    2003-10-01

    The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses calls for the nurse to practice with compassion and respect for every individual. What are the ethics and challenges of practicing professional nursing with expertise and educating a new generation of nurses while incorporating the interpretive statements into practice? This column differentiates the traditional biomedical views on human dignity and respect while exploring the embedded ethics of respect and self-determination and what it truly means to be an expert of nursing from the theoretical perspective of the human becoming school of thought.

  5. Ethics and morala as a significant part of resource of human management

    OpenAIRE

    ŠKODOVÁ, Hana

    2008-01-01

    The objective of this bachelor´s work was to specify decisive differences between ethics and morality in today´s market environment on the level of business sphere, to occupy with ethical probléme and to find out if ethics is reallly an important part of the human resource management nowadays.

  6. Narrative ethics for narrative care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Clive

    2015-08-01

    Narrative permeates health care--from patients' stories taken as medical histories to the development of health policy. The narrative approach to health care has involved the move from narratives in health care as objects of study to the lens through which health care is studied and, more recently, to narrative as a form of care. In this paper, I argue that narrative care requires a move in the field of ethics--from a position where narratives are used to inform ethical decision making to one in which narrative is the form and process of ethical decision making. In other words, I argue for a narrative ethics for narrative care. The argument is relatively straightforward. If, as I argue, humans are narrative beings who make sense of themselves, others, and the world in and through narrative, we need to see our actions as both narratively based and narratively contextual and thus understanding the nature, form, and content of the narratives of which we are a part, and the process of narrativity, provides an intersubjective basis for ethical action. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Communication, ethics and anthropoethics

    OpenAIRE

    Luiz Martins da Silva

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to dream of – in the sense ofestablishing – the utopian perspective of a scenario that remains utopian but which nonetheless provides the first indications that we may be entering a new paradigm, that of communication-ethics, that is to say, the ethical dimension of communication, which in this case is not restricted to technological advancements but concerns communication with ethics and as ethics, to conclude that without ethics, there is no commun...

  8. The Relationship between the Physical Environment of Schools and Teacher Morale, Sense of Belonging, and Work Ethic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiley, Ben D.

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the physical environment of school buildings and the effects it has on teacher morale, sense of belonging, and work ethic. Within this mixed-method study, four New York State schools were given the researcher developed School Environment Survey, and multiple school stakeholders were interviewed to determine the extent of these…

  9. Reflections on Ethics and Humanity in Pediatric Neurology: the Value of Recognizing Ethical Issues in Common Clinical Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronen, Gabriel M; Rosenbaum, Peter L

    2017-05-01

    Our goals in this reflection are to (i) identify the ethical dimensions inherent in any clinical encounter and (ii) bring to the forefront of our pediatric neurology practice the myriad of opportunities to explore and learn from these ethical questions. We highlight specifically Beauchamp and Childress's principles of biomedical ethics. We use the terms ethics in common clinical practice and an ethical lens to remind people of the ubiquity of ethical situations and the usefulness of using existing ethical principles to analyze and resolve difficult situations in clinical practice. We start with a few common situations with which many of us tend to struggle. We describe what we understand as ethics and how and why developments in technology, novel potential interventions, policies, and societal perspectives challenge us to think about and debate ethical issues. Individual patients are not a singular population; each patient has their own unique life situations, culture, goals, and expectations that need to be considered with a good dose of humanity and humility. We believe that using an ethical lens-by which we mean making an explicit effort to identify and consider these issues openly-will help us to achieve this goal in practice, education, and research.

  10. Ethical Issues of Transplanting Organs from Transgenic Animals into Human Beings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behnam Manesh, Shima; Omani Samani, Reza; Behnam Manesh, Shayan

    2014-01-01

    One of the most important applications of transgenic animals for medical purposes is to transplant their organs into human’s body, an issue which has caused a lot of ethical and scientific discussions. we can divide the ethical arguments to two comprehensive groups; the first group which is known as deontological critiques (related to the action itself regardless of any results pointing the human or animal) and the second group, called the consequentialist critiques (which are directly pointing the consequences of the action). The latter arguments also can be divided to two subgroups. In the first one which named anthropocentrism, just humankind has inherent value in the moral society, and it studies the problem just from a human-based point of view while in second named, biocentrism all the living organism have this value and it deals specially with the problem from the animal-based viewpoint. In this descriptive-analytic study, ethical issues were retrieved from books, papers, international guidelines, thesis, declarations and instructions, and even some weekly journals using keywords related to transgenic animals, organ, and transplantation. According to the precautionary principle with the strong legal and ethical background, due to lack of accepted scientific certainties about the safety of the procedure, in this phase, transplanting animal’s organs into human beings have the potential harm and danger for both human and animals, and application of this procedure is unethical until the safety to human will be proven. PMID:25383334

  11. [Ethics, inequality, poverty and human rights in psychiatry].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez De Nucci, Armando M

    2007-01-01

    This article aims to show the existence of important failures in the field of Human Rights and equal possibilities in health. Human rights are analyzed an developed in the field of public and social health in our country. Ethics is the main field proposed to reach solutions in the context on EPEP (Etica para la erradicación de la pobreza).

  12. Human reproduction: possibilities and ethical borders.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pr RenĂŠ Frydman

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Reproductive medicine is a new important field in all the countries. The possibilities are tremendous, therefore we have to decide if limits are necessary or should we consider that everything that have been initiated (as clone, gene transfer... can be apply in humans. That will be the challenge of a global ethical approach in each country with their culture, morality, guidelines or laws.

  13. [The beginning of human life: ethical and legal perspectives in the context of biotechnological progress].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barretto, Vicente de Paulo; Lauxen, Elis Cristina Uhry

    2017-07-13

    Questions concerning the beginning of human life have pervaded society since antiquity. In the post-modern world, scientific and technological advances have fueled discussions on the issue, such that debates previously concentrated on abortion now also focus on biotechnological interventions. The article addresses the latter, reflecting on the extent to which human dignity can be considered a (hermeneutic) reference in establishing ethical and legal parameters for biotechnological advances in the definition of the beginning of human life. The study's method was critical hermeneutic ethics, with ethics at the center of the process of understanding and interpretation, observing the contours of facticity. No consensus was found on the beginning of human life, so it is essential to engage in dialogue with the new reality resulting from biotechnological advances in the process of defining ethical and legal principles for protecting the embryo and human nature, with human dignity as the reference.

  14. Creative expressive encounters in health ethics education: teaching ethics as relational engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milligan, Eleanor; Woodley, Emma

    2009-01-01

    The growing expectation that health practitioners should be ethically attuned and responsive to the broader humanistic and moral dimensions of their practice has seen a rise in medical ethics courses in universities. Many of these courses incorporate creative expressive encounters--such as the exploration and interpretation of poetry, art, music, and literature--as a powerful vehicle for increasing understanding of the illness experience and to support a relational approach to ethics in health care practices. First-year paramedic students were invited to produce their own creative composition in response to a short vignette describing the plight of a fictional "patient-other." Our aim was twofold: first, to engage their "sympathetic imaginations" to capture a sense of illness as being not only a fracturing of bodily wellness but also, for many, a fracturing of holistic well-being, and second, to encourage an ethics of relational engagement-rather than an ethics based on the detached, intellectual mastery of moral principles and theories-within their paramedical practice. After some initial apprehension, students embraced this task, producing works of great insight and sensitivity to the embedded and embodied nature of "being." Their work demonstrated deep ethical understanding of the multiple subjective and intersubjective layers of the illness experience, displaying a heightened understanding of ethics in practice as a relational engagement. Educationally, we found this to be an extremely powerful and successful pedagogical tool, with our students noting emotional and intellectual transformations that challenged and sensitised them to the deeper human dimensions of their practice.

  15. Ethics, Ethical Human Research and Human Research Ethics Committees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindorff, Margaret

    2010-01-01

    Non-medical research involves the same issues of justice, beneficence, and respect for persons that apply to non-medical research. It also may involve risk of harm to participants, and conflicts of interest for researchers. It is therefore not possible to argue that such research should be exempt from ethical review. This paper argues that…

  16. Teaching medical students to discern ethical problems in human clinical research studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Laura Weiss; Warner, Teddy D; Green Hammond, Katherine A; Brody, Janet L; Kaminsky, Alexis; Roberts, Brian B

    2005-10-01

    Investigators and institutional review boards are entrusted with ensuring the conduct of ethically sound human studies. Assessing ethical aspects of research protocols is a key skill in fulfilling this duty, yet no empirically validated method exists for preparing professionals to attain this skill. The authors performed a randomized controlled educational intervention, comparing a criteria-based learning method, a clinical-research- and experience-based learning method, and a control group. All 300 medical students enrolled at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in 2001 were invited to participate. After a single half-hour educational session, a written posttest of ability to detect ethical problems in hypothetical protocol vignettes was administered. The authors analyzed responses to ten protocol vignettes that had been evaluated independently by experts. For each vignette, a global assessment of the perceived significance of ethical problems and the identification of specific ethical problems were evaluated. Eighty-three medical students (27%) volunteered: 50 (60%) were women and 55 (66%) were first- and second-year students. On global assessments, the criteria-focused group perceived ethical problems as more significant than did the other two groups (p evaluation skills. This work supports the potential value of empirically derived methods for preparing professionals to discern ethical aspects of human studies.

  17. The influence of human resource management on improvement of business ethics

    OpenAIRE

    Radenko Maric; Jelena Vemic- Djurkovic

    2010-01-01

    In this paper the importance of practice of human resource management as of a significant driver of business ethics in companies has been considered. The basic premise of the paper is the fact that the company’s main source of unethical behaviour is situated in its people’s activities which further implies that many measures aimed to apply and improve business ethics belong to the domain of human resource management. Based on research results on a sample of 36 enterprises, the paper attempts...

  18. Ethics in actor networks, or: what Latour could learn from Darwin and Dewey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waelbers, Katinka; Dorstewitz, Philipp

    2014-03-01

    In contemporary Science, Technology and Society (STS) studies, Bruno Latour's Actor Network Theory (ANT) is often used to study how social change arises from interaction between people and technologies. Though Latour's approach is rich in the sense of enabling scholars to appreciate the complexity of many relevant technological, environmental, and social factors in their studies, the approach is poor from an ethical point of view: the doings of things and people are couched in one and the same behaviorist (third person) vocabulary without giving due recognition to the ethical relevance of human intelligence, sympathy and reflection in making responsible choices. This article argues that two other naturalist projects, the non-teleological virtue ethics of Charles Darwin and the pragmatist instrumentalism of John Dewey can enrich ANT-based STS studies, both, in a descriptive and in a normative sense.

  19. Environment and ethics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfeifer, H.

    1980-01-01

    There can be hardly any doubt that the attitude so far prevailing in the industrial countries has not given enough credit to the importance of solidarity with the world's poor nations, future generations and extra-human ways of living. Today, environmental policy appears also as an ethical problem under this aspect. Those prevailing values have not been established within one day and shall not let themselves be changed overnight. They have a long history which must be dealt with before determining the present position and giving it a critical assessment. The article aims at broadening views and getting hold of the historical context. Furthermore, it is the author's main concern to make a bigger circle of readers aware of the change of attitudes now being in progress. This will be a contribution to the revival and deepening of the discussion on long-term aspects of environmental protection which, last not least, will have to be taken into consideration within the cultural sector. In the long term, successful environmental policy will have to rely on the improvements of intensive educational and cultural work on the basis of ethical ideals in the Christian sense. Further progress must be increasingly oriented towards ethical values. It must not only be measured by the growth of material prosperity. The standards for ethical orientation require some reflections on what may be adequate and helpful for mankind. Therefore a kind of 'ethics of progress' should be developed which can draw a comprehensive picture of mankind including the mental and ethical aspects of personality. (orig./HP) [de

  20. Revision of Business Ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomas Sigmund

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Business ethics is a controversial topic. In my article I would like to explore where the limits of business ethics are and to what extent it can become part of the economic world. I would like to explore the question what the relationship between ethics and business is and whether what business ethicists consider ethics is real ethics in the fundamental sense of the world. The concept of business ethics will be discussed compared to general ethical theories and consequences drawn. I would like to show the contradictions inherent to the connection of business and ethics are no coincidence. At the end a possible relationship between ethics and business sphere will be suggested.

  1. Physician Encounters with Human Trafficking: Legal Consequences and Ethical Considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todres, Jonathan

    2017-01-01

    There is growing recognition and evidence that health care professionals regularly encounter-though they may not identify-victims of human trafficking in a variety of health care settings. Identifying and responding appropriately to trafficking victims or survivors requires not only training in trauma-informed care but also consideration of the legal and ethical issues that arise when serving this vulnerable population. This essay examines three areas of law that are relevant to this case scenario: criminal law, with a focus on conspiracy; service provider regulations, with a focus on mandatory reporting laws; and human rights law. In addition to imposing a legal mandate, the law can inform ethical considerations about how health care professionals should respond to human trafficking. © 2017 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

  2. Future global ethics: environmental change, embedded ethics, evolving human identity.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D.R. Gasper (Des)

    2014-01-01

    markdownabstract__Abstract__ Work on global ethics looks at ethical connections on a global scale. It should link closely to environmental ethics, recognizing that we live in unified social-ecological systems, and to development ethics, attending systematically to the lives and interests of

  3. The value of respect in human research ethics: a conceptual analysis and a practical guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pieper, I J; Thomson, C J H

    2014-01-01

    In order to continue to maintain public trust and confidence in human research, participants must be treated with respect. Researchers and Human Research Ethics Committee members need to be aware that modern considerations of this value include: the need for a valid consenting process, the protection of participants who have their capacity for consent compromised; the promotion of dignity for participants; and the effects that human research may have on cultures and communities. This paper explains the prominence of respect as a value when considering the ethics of human research and provides practical advice for both researchers and Human Research Ethics Committee members in developing respectful research practices.

  4. Metaphysical and ethical perspectives on creating animal-human chimeras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eberl, Jason T; Ballard, Rebecca A

    2009-10-01

    This paper addresses several questions related to the nature, production, and use of animal-human (a-h) chimeras. At the heart of the issue is whether certain types of a-h chimeras should be brought into existence, and, if they are, how we should treat such creatures. In our current research environment, we recognize a dichotomy between research involving nonhuman animal subjects and research involving human subjects, and the classification of a research protocol into one of these categories will trigger different ethical standards as to the moral permissibility of the research in question. Are a-h chimeras entitled to the more restrictive and protective ethical standards applied to human research subjects? We elucidate an Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysical framework in which to argue how such chimeras ought to be defined ontologically. We then examine when the creation of, and experimentation upon, certain types of a-h chimeras may be morally permissible.

  5. Ethics of Information Technologies in Knowledge Society

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rendtorff, Jacob Dahl

    2016-01-01

    , information science, and knowledge society in order to define responsibility and accountability. Although relations of causalities may be blurred and complex because of the auto-poetic development of computers and information systems we may still have to face the fact that human beings are fundamentally......How should we define the ethics of information technology? It is not a new field of study in the sense that it requires an entirely new ethical thinking. Rather, it is a field where we can try to use our traditional philosophical notions and apply them to this field of computer technology...... responsible behind the responsibilities of the computers. So we can say that the concept of reliability and accountability is related to human responsibility in the field of Internet technology. Indeed, issues of hacking, viruses and intervention in computers also pose the problems of responsibility...

  6. Business ethics education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isaias Rivera

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper makes the review of the literature dedicated to relevant social issues that have been addressed by business practices and the business ethics literature, especially during the past century. The review of practical literature is undertaken from the perspective of the practitioner and demonstrates that the business ethics literature has been lax in the sense that it mostly addresses specific managerial problems and personal ethics within the business environment.

  7. An Approach to Teaching Ethics Courses in Human Services and Counseling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corey, Gerald; Corey, Schneider Marianne; Callanan, Patrick

    2005-01-01

    This article presents multiple facets of a team approach to teaching and facilitating an ethics course for undergraduate human services students and a graduate ethics course for students majoring in counseling. Starting with general points, this article describes a specific, week-to-week approach to a 1-semester course, concluding with sample…

  8. Three Pervasive Presuppositions about Human Life and Ethics Strongly Warrant Analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Miller, Lantz E.

    2017-01-01

    Common philosophical discussions concerning the ethics of human interaction with the biosphere and universe have been significantly informed by certain presuppositions: (1) nature is conquerable; (2) human cultural and social (contrasted with moral) progress is somewhat like a thing, beyond human

  9. Revisiting eco-ethics and econ-ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Otto Kinne

    2002-11-01

    Full Text Available Modern humanity can survive only if traditional ethics are extended to include eco-ethics and econ-ethics. Success or failure in developing and implementing these new ethical constructs will affect the fate of our species Homo sapiens and that of millions of other forms of life. In the long run failure to accept and apply eco-ethics and econ-ethics would reduce the capacities of Planet Earth to support life.

  10. Evaluation in health promotion: thoughts from inside a human research ethics committee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Judy; Flack, Felicity

    2015-12-01

    Health promotion research, quality improvement and evaluation are all activities that raise ethical issues. In this paper, the Chair and a member of human resear ch ethics committees provide an insiders' point of view on how to demonstrate ethical conduct in health promotion research and quality improvement. Several common issues raised by health promotion research and evaluation are discussed including researcher integrity, conflicts of interest, use of information, consent and privacy.

  11. Robotic Nudges: The Ethics of Engineering a More Socially Just Human Being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borenstein, Jason; Arkin, Ron

    2016-02-01

    Robots are becoming an increasingly pervasive feature of our personal lives. As a result, there is growing importance placed on examining what constitutes appropriate behavior when they interact with human beings. In this paper, we discuss whether companion robots should be permitted to "nudge" their human users in the direction of being "more ethical". More specifically, we use Rawlsian principles of justice to illustrate how robots might nurture "socially just" tendencies in their human counterparts. Designing technological artifacts in such a way to influence human behavior is already well-established but merely because the practice is commonplace does not necessarily resolve the ethical issues associated with its implementation.

  12. The ethics of human volunteer studies involving experimental exposure to pesticides: unanswered dilemmas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    London Leslie

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The controversy about the use of data from human volunteer studies involving experimental exposure to pesticides as part of regulatory risk assessment has been widely discussed, but the complex and interrelated scientific and ethical issues remain largely unresolved. This discussion paper, generated by authors who comprised a workgroup of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Rural Health, reviews the use of human experimental studies in regulatory risk assessment for pesticides with a view to advancing the debate as to when, if ever, such studies might be ethically justifiable. The discussion is based on three elements: (a a review of discussion papers on the topic of human testing of pesticides and the positions adopted by regulatory agencies in developed countries; (b an analysis of published and unpublished studies involving human testing with pesticides, both in the peer-reviewed literature and in the JMPR database; and (c application of an ethical analysis to the problem. The paper identifies areas of agreement which include general principles that may provide a starting point on which to base criteria for judgements as to the ethical acceptability of such studies. However, the paper also highlights ongoing unresolved differences of opinion inherent in ethical analysis of contentious issues, which we propose should form a starting point for further debate and the development of guidelines to achieve better resolution of this matter.

  13. The ethics of human volunteer studies involving experimental exposure to pesticides: unanswered dilemmas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    London, Leslie; Coggon, David; Moretto, Angelo; Westerholm, Peter; Wilks, Martin F; Colosio, Claudio

    2010-08-18

    The controversy about the use of data from human volunteer studies involving experimental exposure to pesticides as part of regulatory risk assessment has been widely discussed, but the complex and interrelated scientific and ethical issues remain largely unresolved. This discussion paper, generated by authors who comprised a workgroup of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Rural Health, reviews the use of human experimental studies in regulatory risk assessment for pesticides with a view to advancing the debate as to when, if ever, such studies might be ethically justifiable. The discussion is based on three elements: (a) a review of discussion papers on the topic of human testing of pesticides and the positions adopted by regulatory agencies in developed countries; (b) an analysis of published and unpublished studies involving human testing with pesticides, both in the peer-reviewed literature and in the JMPR database; and (c) application of an ethical analysis to the problem. The paper identifies areas of agreement which include general principles that may provide a starting point on which to base criteria for judgements as to the ethical acceptability of such studies. However, the paper also highlights ongoing unresolved differences of opinion inherent in ethical analysis of contentious issues, which we propose should form a starting point for further debate and the development of guidelines to achieve better resolution of this matter.

  14. The ethics of human volunteer studies involving experimental exposure to pesticides: unanswered dilemmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    The controversy about the use of data from human volunteer studies involving experimental exposure to pesticides as part of regulatory risk assessment has been widely discussed, but the complex and interrelated scientific and ethical issues remain largely unresolved. This discussion paper, generated by authors who comprised a workgroup of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Rural Health, reviews the use of human experimental studies in regulatory risk assessment for pesticides with a view to advancing the debate as to when, if ever, such studies might be ethically justifiable. The discussion is based on three elements: (a) a review of discussion papers on the topic of human testing of pesticides and the positions adopted by regulatory agencies in developed countries; (b) an analysis of published and unpublished studies involving human testing with pesticides, both in the peer-reviewed literature and in the JMPR database; and (c) application of an ethical analysis to the problem. The paper identifies areas of agreement which include general principles that may provide a starting point on which to base criteria for judgements as to the ethical acceptability of such studies. However, the paper also highlights ongoing unresolved differences of opinion inherent in ethical analysis of contentious issues, which we propose should form a starting point for further debate and the development of guidelines to achieve better resolution of this matter. PMID:20718963

  15. Cell-based interventions for neurologic conditions: ethical challenges for early human trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathews, D J H; Sugarman, J; Bok, H; Blass, D M; Coyle, J T; Duggan, P; Finkel, J; Greely, H T; Hillis, A; Hoke, A; Johnson, R; Johnston, M; Kahn, J; Kerr, D; Kurtzberg, J; Liao, S M; McDonald, J W; McKhann, G; Nelson, K B; Rao, M; Regenberg, A; Siegel, A W; Smith, K; Solter, D; Song, H; Vescovi, A; Young, W; Gearhart, J D; Faden, R

    2008-07-22

    Attempts to translate basic stem cell research into treatments for neurologic diseases and injury are well under way. With a clinical trial for one such treatment approved and in progress in the United States, and additional proposals under review, we must begin to address the ethical issues raised by such early forays into human clinical trials for cell-based interventions for neurologic conditions. An interdisciplinary working group composed of experts in neuroscience, cell biology, bioethics, law, and transplantation, along with leading disease researchers, was convened twice over 2 years to identify and deliberate on the scientific and ethical issues raised by the transition from preclinical to clinical research of cell-based interventions for neurologic conditions. While the relevant ethical issues are in many respects standard challenges of human subjects research, they are heightened in complexity by the novelty of the science, the focus on the CNS, and the political climate in which the science is proceeding. Distinctive challenges confronting US scientists, administrators, institutional review boards, stem cell research oversight committees, and others who will need to make decisions about work involving stem cells and their derivatives and evaluate the ethics of early human trials include evaluating the risks, safety, and benefits of these trials, determining and evaluating cell line provenance, and determining inclusion criteria, informed consent, and the ethics of conducting early human trials in the public spotlight. Further study and deliberation by stakeholders is required to move toward professional and institutional policies and practices governing this research.

  16. Clarifying appeals to dignity in medical ethics from an historical perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Der Graaf, Rieke; Van Delden, Johannes Jm

    2009-03-01

    Over the past few decades the concept of (human) dignity has deeply pervaded medical ethics. Appeals to dignity, however, are often unclear. As a result some prefer to eliminate the concept from medical ethics, whereas others try to render it useful in this context. We think that appeals to dignity in medical ethics can be clarified by considering the concept from an historical perspective. Firstly, on the basis of historical texts we propose a framework for defining the concept in medical debates. The framework shows that dignity can occur in a relational, an unconditional, a subjective and a Kantian form. Interestingly, all forms relate to one concept since they have four features in common: dignity refers, in a restricted sense, to the 'special status of human beings'; it is based on essential human characteristics; the subject of dignity should live up to it; and it is a vulnerable concept, it can be lost or violated. We argue that being explicit about the meaning of dignity will prevent dignity from becoming a conversation-stopper in moral debate. Secondly, an historical perspective on dignity shows that it is not yet time to dispose of dignity in medical ethics. At least Kantian and relational dignity can be made useful in medical ethics.

  17. Professional virtue and professional self-awareness: a case study in engineering ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stovall, Preston

    2011-03-01

    This paper articulates an Aristotelian theory of professional virtue and provides an application of that theory to the subject of engineering ethics. The leading idea is that Aristotle's analysis of the definitive function of human beings, and of the virtues humans require to fulfill that function, can serve as a model for an analysis of the definitive function or social role of a profession and thus of the virtues professionals must exhibit to fulfill that role. Special attention is given to a virtue of professional self-awareness, an analogue to Aristotle's phronesis or practical wisdom. In the course of laying out my account I argue that the virtuous professional is the successful professional, just as the virtuous life is the happy life for Aristotle. I close by suggesting that a virtue ethics approach toward professional ethics can enrich the pedagogy of professional ethics courses and help foster a sense of pride and responsibility in young professionals.

  18. [Kairos. Decision-making in medical ethics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jousset, David

    2014-06-01

    This paper assesses the decision making patterns in medical ethics: the formalized pattern of decision science, the meditative pattern of an art of judgement and lastly the still-to-be-elaborated pattern of kairology or sense of the right time. The ethical decision is to be thought out in the conditions of medical action while resorting to the philosophical concepts that shed light on the issue. And it is precisely where medicine and philosophy of human action meet that the Greek notion of kairos, or "propitious moment", evokes the critical point where decision has to do with what is vital. Reflection shows that this kairos can be thought out outside the sacrificial pattern (deciding comes down to killing a possibility) by understanding the opportune moment as a sign of ethical action, as the condition for the formation of the subject (making a decision) and finally as a new relationship to time, including in the context of medical urgency. Thus with an approach to clinical ethics centred on the relation to the individual, the focus is less on the probabilistic knowledge of the decidable than on the meaning of the decision, and the undecidable comes to be accepted as an infinite dimension going beyond the limits of our acts, which makes the contingency and the grandeur of human responsibility.

  19. The difference of being human: Morality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayala, Francisco J.

    2010-01-01

    In The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, published in 1871, Charles Darwin wrote: “I fully … subscribe to the judgment of those writers who maintain that of all the differences between man and the lower animals the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important.” I raise the question of whether morality is biologically or culturally determined. The question of whether the moral sense is biologically determined may refer either to the capacity for ethics (i.e., the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong), or to the moral norms accepted by human beings for guiding their actions. I propose that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature, whereas moral codes are products of cultural evolution. Humans have a moral sense because their biological makeup determines the presence of three necessary conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one's own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgments; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Ethical behavior came about in evolution not because it is adaptive in itself but as a necessary consequence of man's eminent intellectual abilities, which are an attribute directly promoted by natural selection. That is, morality evolved as an exaptation, not as an adaptation. Moral codes, however, are outcomes of cultural evolution, which accounts for the diversity of cultural norms among populations and for their evolution through time. PMID:20445091

  20. [Ethics and values in professional training in health: a case study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finkler, Mirelle; Caetano, João Carlos; Ramos, Flávia Regina Souza

    2013-10-01

    The scope of this research was to analyze the ethical dimension of the training of health professionals, specifically in Dentistry. Interviews were conducted with teachers, in addition to observation of academic activities and focus groups with students of two undergraduate courses. Data analysis revealed some elements of the hidden curriculum that influences the ethical dimension of training. The results discussed here suggest different ethical concepts in the academic environment with the predominance of an implicit code of ethics, the consequences of which require attention in the management of daily ethical conflicts. Based on common sense and a lack of intentionality of the academic staff with respect to the ethical training of students, it is imperative to know the values + they cherish in order to understand their moral development and identify a bioethical benchmark upon which the pedagogical-ethical issue is grounded. By way of conclusion, it is essential to assume individual and collective teaching responsibility for the ethical dimension of training in order that the professional training also has the potential for the integrated training of the human being as a whole.

  1. The use of animal tissues alongside human tissue: Cultural and ethical considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaw, Anu; Jones, D Gareth; Zhang, Ming

    2016-01-01

    Teaching and research facilities often use cadaveric material alongside animal tissues, although there appear to be differences in the way we handle, treat, and dispose of human cadaveric material compared to animal tissue. This study sought to analyze cultural and ethical considerations and provides policy recommendations on the use of animal tissues alongside human tissue. The status of human and animal remains and the respect because of human and animal tissues were compared and analyzed from ethical, legal, and cultural perspectives. The use of animal organs and tissues is carried out within the context of understanding human anatomy and function. Consequently, the interests of human donors are to be pre-eminent in any policies that are enunciated, so that if any donors find the presence of animal remains unacceptable, the latter should not be employed. The major differences appear to lie in differences in our perceptions of their respective intrinsic and instrumental values. Animals are considered to have lesser intrinsic value and greater instrumental value than humans. These differences stem from the role played by culture and ethical considerations, and are manifested in the resulting legal frameworks. In light of this discussion, six policy recommendations are proposed, encompassing the nature of consent, respect for animal tissues as well as human remains, and appropriate separation of both sets of tissues in preparation and display. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. TRAINING IN ETHICS OF HUMAN CAPITAL TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neyda Ibañez

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the investigation was to interpret training in ethics for action business students an introduction to the economy of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the University of Carabobo, as part of professional development in business studies. The investigation was addressed within the paradigm post positivist using ethnographic and hermeneutic method, descriptive mode of scientific research and technique participant-observation. It concludes that training in ethics management must transcend the economic theories located in the teleological by financial or economic interests toward the teleological including humanism.

  3. DEVELOPING ETHICAL BEHAVIOURS AT BPK THROUGH HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuf Setiawan Syukur

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available According to the 1945 Constitution, the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BPK has an important role in fostering good governance and combating corruption in Indonesia’s public sector through its audit works. To be successful, BPK must implement and enforce ethical behaviours within the organisation. There are laws and regulations (e.g., civil servants’ code of ethics and employee discipline and systems, policies, and practices set up by authorities at BPK (e.g., BPK’s code of ethics, whistle-blowing procedure, the Honourary Council of BPK’s Code of Ethics (MKKE, and ethics training that regulate and influence behaviours of employees and members of the board. When reviewing literature, this paper attempts to understand the antecedents of ethical/unethical behaviours in organisations and look for best practices (including human resource management practices in developing ethical behaviours in organisations. It turns out that the ethical frameworks within BPK have a strong theoretical support. Despite the strong theoretical support from the literature, this study attempts to identify gaps between the best practices and ethical frameworks within BPK. In response to the gaps, this study attempts to offer recommendations so as to close the gaps and improve the ethical frameworks within BPK. In the end, this study produces seventeen recommendations. KEYWORDS code of ethics, ethical behaviours, human resource management, ethics audit, and ethical climate survey. ABSTRAK Berdasarkan Undang-undang Dasar 1945, Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan Republik Indonesia (BPK mempunyai peran penting dalam meningkatkan tata kelola pemerintahan yang baik dan memberantas korupsi di sektor publik di Indonesia melalui kegiatan pemeriksaannya. Agar sukses dalam mencapai tujuan tersebut, BPK harus menerapkan dan menegakkan perilaku etis di dalam organisasi. Ada undang-undang dan peraturan peraturan (contoh: kode etik Pegawai Negeri Sipil (PNS dan peraturan disiplin

  4. Toward an Ideal Relational Ethic: Rethinking university-community engagement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steve Garlick

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores how an ideal relational ethic based on Zygmunt Bauman’s (1995 notion of forms of togetherness is needed to underpin university-community engagement processes and practices. We focus on the notion of being-for, and suggest that it can be used as an ‘engagement bridge’ between higher education institutions, the creation of human capital and communities, and can be a means to achieve ethical outcomes to local concerns. Much of Bauman’s (1995; 2001; 2007 theoretical development has focussed on the liquidity of modernity, to give the impression that community - in the spatially, physically located and fixed sense of the term - no longer exists. This paper proposes that spatial dimensions, particularly in the context of developing relational ethics, are important. This is particularly so for paying adequate attention to context-specific values, principles and issues in communities, for developing enterprising human capital via engagement, and for addressing matters of socio-political importance such as the environment. Contemporary neo-liberal times require ethical and moral leadership from universities. This paper suggests that such leadership can be developed from focussing attention on the forms of togetherness fostered by university-community engagement.

  5. Ethical review of research on human subjects at Unilever: reflections on governance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheehan, Mark; Marti, Vernon; Roberts, Tony

    2014-07-01

    This article considers the process of ethical review of research on human subjects at a very large multinational consumer products company. The commercial context of this research throws up unique challenges and opportunities that make the ethics of the process of oversight distinct from mainstream medical research. Reflection on the justification of governance processes sheds important, contrasting light on the ethics of governance of other forms and context of research. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. The importance of ethic in the field of human tissue banking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales Pedraza, Jorge; Herson, Marisa Roma

    2012-03-01

    A tissue bank is accountable before the community in fulfilling the expectations of tissue donors, their families and recipients. The expected output from the altruistic donation is that safe and high quality human tissue grafts will be provided for the medical treatment of patients. Thus, undertakings of tissue banks have to be not only authorised and audited by national competent health care authorities, but also comply with a strong ethical code, a code of practices and ethical principles. Ethical practice in the field of tissue banking requires the setting of principles, the identification of possible deviations and the establishment of mechanisms that will detect and hinder abuses that may occur during the procurement, processing and distribution of human tissues for transplantation. The opinions and suggestions manifested by the authors in this paper may not be necessarily a reflection of those within the institutions or community they are linked to.

  7. An African Thought on the Ethics of Human Foetal Life | Ebeh ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper presents an African thought on the ethics of human foetal life and this can be discussed against the backdrop of the African concept of life, person and community. In the process, it examines the fact of humanity and personhood of the human foetus and the role of the community in the determinant of humanity and ...

  8. ETHICS IN HEALTH CARE: INDUCEMENT AND HUMAN SUBJECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MUNIR HOSSAIN TALUKDER

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Currently, most health researchers or donor organizations considerinducement as a vital part in promoting research. They propose benefits, such as post research free medical treatment, food, insurance facilities, or even cash, in order to meet sufficient number of subjects. So, inducement may influence one to participate in a research. Is it ethical to offer inducement to human subjects? What are the risks in such practice? What will happen if the donor agencies use subjects by hiding possible risks from them? When an inducement can satisfy ethical criteria? The CIOMS, FDA, and other ethical guidelines hold that inducement is unethical because it involves enough risk for voluntary informed consent. Supporting this position, a group of ethicists has argued that inducement undermines voluntariness especially when subjects are poor and vulnerable, and thus, unethical. In contrast to them, others argue that inducement contributes to discover new knowledge which can improve miserable condition of the poor. In their view, an inducement maintains all ethical criteria including subject’s autonomy, and therefore, morally permissible. The paper focuses this debate and analyzes both types ofargument. It examines whether inducement invalidate informed consent.Even if inducement may not violate the basic components of informedconsent, the paper concludes, subjects may claim a prima facie right to enjoy research outcomes.

  9. Human biomonitoring data interpretation and ethics; obstacles or surmountable challenges?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sepai Ovnair

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The use of human samples to assess environmental exposure and uptake of chemicals is more than an analytical exercise and requires consideration of the utility and interpretation of data as well as due consideration of ethical issues. These aspects are inextricably linked. In 2004 the EC expressed its commitment to the development of a harmonised approach to human biomonitoring (HBM by including an action in the EU Environment and Health Strategy to develop a Human Biomonitoring Pilot Study. This further underlined the need for interpretation strategies as well as guidance on ethical issues. A workshop held in December 2006 brought together stakeholders from academia, policy makers as well as non-governmental organisations and chemical industry associations to a two day workshop built a mutual understanding of the issues in an open and frank discussion forum. This paper describes the discussion and recommendations from the workshop. The workshop developed key recommendations for a Pan-European HBM Study: 1. A strategy for the interpretation of human biomonitoring data should be developed. 2. The pilot study should include the development of a strategy to integrate health data and environmental monitoring with human biomonitoring data at national and international levels. 3. Communication strategies should be developed when designing the study and evolve as the study continues. 4. Early communication with stakeholders is essential to achieve maximum efficacy of policy developments and facilitate subsequent monitoring. 5. Member states will have to apply individually for project approval from their National Research Ethics Committees. 6. The study population needs to have sufficient information on the way data will be gathered, interpreted and disseminated and how samples will be stored and used in the future (if biobanking before they can give informed consent. 7. The participants must be given the option of anonymity. This has an impact

  10. Ethics of animal research in human disease remediation, its institutional teaching; and alternatives to animal experimentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheluvappa, Rajkumar; Scowen, Paul; Eri, Rajaraman

    2017-08-01

    Animals have been used in research and teaching for a long time. However, clear ethical guidelines and pertinent legislation were instated only in the past few decades, even in developed countries with Judeo-Christian ethical roots. We compactly cover the basics of animal research ethics, ethical reviewing and compliance guidelines for animal experimentation across the developed world, "our" fundamentals of institutional animal research ethics teaching, and emerging alternatives to animal research. This treatise was meticulously constructed for scientists interested/involved in animal research. Herein, we discuss key animal ethics principles - Replacement/Reduction/Refinement. Despite similar undergirding principles across developed countries, ethical reviewing and compliance guidelines for animal experimentation vary. The chronology and evolution of mandatory institutional ethical reviewing of animal experimentation (in its pioneering nations) are summarised. This is followed by a concise rendition of the fundamentals of teaching animal research ethics in institutions. With the advent of newer methodologies in human cell-culturing, novel/emerging methods aim to minimise, if not avoid the usage of animals in experimentation. Relevant to this, we discuss key extant/emerging alternatives to animal use in research; including organs on chips, human-derived three-dimensional tissue models, human blood derivates, microdosing, and computer modelling of various hues. © 2017 The Authors. Pharmacology Research & Perspectives published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, British Pharmacological Society and American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

  11. Ethical and social implications of microdosing clinical trial (3). Radiological protection of human subjects in research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurihara, Chieko

    2008-01-01

    Internal irradiation of human subjects in research is discussed. Radiological protection of human subjects in medical research in a framework of radiation protection is surveyed from a viewpoint of general life-ethics and research-ethics. A workshop 'On the internal irradiation of human subjects' to summarize special and systematic knowledge was organized by Research Center for Radiation Protection, National Institute of Radiological Sciences in the beginning of 2008. Activities of this workshop are introduced. Discussion covers also (1) Research ethics and radiation protection, (2) Fundamentals and applications of risk-benefit assessment, (3) Human subjects risk assessment in ICRP recommendation, (4) Mechanism of human subjects internal irradiation assessment, and (5) Present status and future prospects in Japan. (K.Y.)

  12. Where are human subjects in Big Data research? The emerging ethics divide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacob Metcalf

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available There are growing discontinuities between the research practices of data science and established tools of research ethics regulation. Some of the core commitments of existing research ethics regulations, such as the distinction between research and practice, cannot be cleanly exported from biomedical research to data science research. Such discontinuities have led some data science practitioners and researchers to move toward rejecting ethics regulations outright. These shifts occur at the same time as a proposal for major revisions to the Common Rule—the primary regulation governing human-subjects research in the USA—is under consideration for the first time in decades. We contextualize these revisions in long-running complaints about regulation of social science research and argue data science should be understood as continuous with social sciences in this regard. The proposed regulations are more flexible and scalable to the methods of non-biomedical research, yet problematically largely exclude data science methods from human-subjects regulation, particularly uses of public datasets. The ethical frameworks for Big Data research are highly contested and in flux, and the potential harms of data science research are unpredictable. We examine several contentious cases of research harms in data science, including the 2014 Facebook emotional contagion study and the 2016 use of geographical data techniques to identify the pseudonymous artist Banksy. To address disputes about application of human-subjects research ethics in data science, critical data studies should offer a historically nuanced theory of “data subjectivity” responsive to the epistemic methods, harms and benefits of data science and commerce.

  13. Ethics, religion and humanity: Rethinking religion in 21 st century ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Thus, there is a relationship between religion, ethics and humanity. However, more often than not, religion is alleged for being a root cause of all human predicaments; that it provides viable and abundant fuel for conflict such that in every continent of the world, there are troubled spots rooted in religious conflicts. Although ...

  14. Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Ethical Views of Buddhist, Hindu and Catholic Leaders in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivaraman, Mathana Amaris Fiona; Noor, Siti Nurani Mohd

    2016-04-01

    Embryonic Stem Cell Research (ESCR) raises ethical issues. In the process of research, embryos may be destroyed and, to some, such an act entails the 'killing of human life'. Past studies have sought the views of scientists and the general public on the ethics of ESCR. This study, however, explores multi-faith ethical viewpoints, in particular, those of Buddhists, Hindus and Catholics in Malaysia, on ESCR. Responses were gathered via semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. Three main ethical quandaries emerged from the data: (1) sanctity of life, (2) do no harm, and (3) 'intention' of the research. Concerns regarding the sanctity of life are directed at particular research protocols which interfere with religious notions of human ensoulment and early consciousness. The principle of 'do no harm' which is closely related to ahimsa prohibits all acts of violence. Responses obtained indicate that respondents either discourage research that inflicts harm on living entities or allow ESCR with reservations. 'Intention' of the research seems to be an interesting and viable rationale that would permit ESCR for the Buddhists and Hindus. Research that is intended for the purpose of alleviating human suffering is seen as being ethical. This study also notes that Catholics oppose ESCR on the basis of the inviolability of human life.

  15. Development ethics through the lenses of caring, gender, and human security.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D.R. Gasper (Des); T-D. Truong (Thanh-Dam)

    2008-01-01

    textabstractThinking about ethics of development and human development must both treat development in a global perspective and yet reflect on the content of human. This paper explores some faces of globalization by using a gender perspective, in order to consider reproduction (psychological and

  16. Virtuous acts as practical medical ethics: an empirical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Miles; Gordon, Jill; Markham, Pippa; Rychetnik, Lucie; Kerridge, Ian

    2011-10-01

    To examine the nature, scope and significance of virtues in the biographies of medical practitioners and to determine what kind of virtues are at play in their ethical behaviour and reflection. A case study involving 19 medical practitioners associated with the Sydney Medical School, using semi-structured narrative interviews. Narrative data were analysed using dialectical empiricism, constant comparison and iterative reformulation of research questions. Participants represented virtuous acts as centrally important in their moral assessments of both themselves and others. Acts appeared to be contextually virtuous, rather than expressions of stable character traits, and virtue was linked to acts that served to protect or enhance fundamental values attached to ontological security and human flourishing. Virtue ethics, in this sense, was the single most important ethical system for each of the participants. Virtue ethics, construed as the appraisal of acts in contexts of risk, danger or threat to foundational values, emerged as the 'natural' ethical approach for medical practitioners in this case study. Teaching medical ethics to students and graduates alike needs to accommodate the priority attached to virtuous acts. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  17. The Ethical Dimension of Leadership: The Perception of Ethical Leadership by Employees in Hotel Business

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muharrem Tuna

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Many organizations may be faced with unethical activities. The widespread of such activities in an organisation is closely connected with the leader’s sense of decency. The ethical leader, on the other hand, is influential in the widespread of positive ethical mentality in organisations with the activities he does and the practices he puts into action in this sense. In the same vein, it is inevitable for the employees sharing the same environment during the same day to be influenced by such behaviours. This paper aims at researching whether or not the ethical side of the leaders is perceived differently by the employees in a hotel business. The study was conducted with the participation of 1003 employees in the five-star hotels operating in Turkey. Survey technique was used in the study. As a result of analysisit was found significant relationship between age, ownership and work experience in the establishment and ethical leadership.

  18. MEDICAL GENETICS AND ETHICS

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    Vladimir TRAJKOVSKI

    1999-05-01

    Full Text Available Fast development of medical genetics and it’s subdisciplines is noticed in last thirty years. Modern diagnostic methods made possible to establish human genome and its impairment. In human genetics, ethic is main principle in working. Ethic is science about biggest goodness for human or society, and its aim pro­tecting human health.Today's conditions for leaving and science development open a wide way for ethical approaches, but also for non-ethical manipulations with human even before his conception. We must keep to attitude that without law, with our behavior will must conduct our conscience. It is best to have neutral eugenetic attitude, which allows free ethical choice of each individual, in any case, for the well being of man.

  19. Collaborative international research: ethical and regulatory issues pertaining to human biological materials at a South African institutional research ethics committee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sathar, Aslam; Dhai, Amaboo; van der Linde, Stephan

    2014-12-01

    Human Biological Materials (HBMs) are an invaluable resource in biomedical research. To determine if researchers and a Research Ethics Committee (REC) at a South African institution addressed ethical issues pertaining to HBMs in collaborative research with developed countries. Ethically approved retrospective cross-sectional descriptive audit. Of the 1305 protocols audited, 151 (11.57%) fulfilled the study's inclusion criteria. Compared to other developed countries, a majority of sponsors (90) were from the USA (p = 0.0001). The principle investigators (PIs) in all 151 protocols informed the REC of their intent to store HBMs. Only 132 protocols informed research participants (P ethical and regulatory issues pertaining to HBMs. There was a lack of congruence between the ethical guidelines of developed countries and their actions which are central to the access to HBMs in collaborative research. HBMs may be leaving South Africa without EPs and MTAs during the process of international collaborative research. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. The ethics of cloning and human embryo research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saran, Madeleine

    2002-01-01

    The successful cloning experiments that led to Dolly in 1997 have raised many ethical and policy questions. This paper will focus on cloning research in human embryonic cells. The possible gains of the research will be judged against the moral issues of doing research on a person. This paper concludes that while the embryo has some moral status, its moral status is outweighed by the multitude of benefits that embryonic stem cell research will bring to humanity. Policy suggestions are given for dealing with this new and developing field of stem cell research.

  1. The Ethics and Politics of Ethics Approval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battin, Tim; Riley, Dan; Avery, Alan

    2014-01-01

    The regulatory scope of Human Research Ethics Committees can be problematic for a variety of reasons. Some scholars have argued the ethics approval process, for example, is antithetical to certain disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, while others are willing to give it qualified support. This article uses a case study to cast the…

  2. Ethical Concerns About Human Genetic Enhancement in the Malay Science Fiction Novels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isa, Noor Munirah; Hj Safian Shuri, Muhammad Fakhruddin

    2018-02-01

    Advancements in science and technology have not only brought hope to humankind to produce disease-free offspring, but also offer possibilities to genetically enhance the next generation's traits and capacities. Human genetic enhancement, however, raises complex ethical questions, such as to what extent should it be allowed? It has been a great challenge for humankind to develop robust ethical guidelines for human genetic enhancement that address both public concerns and needs. We believe that research about public concerns is necessary prior to developing such guidelines, yet the issues have not been thoroughly investigated in many countries, including Malaysia. Since the novel often functions as a medium for the public to express their concerns, this paper explores ethical concerns about human genetic enhancement expressed in four Malay science fiction novels namely Klon, Leksikon Ledang, Transgenesis Bisikan Rimba and Transgenik Sifar. Religion has a strong influence on the worldview of the Malays therefore some concerns such as playing God are obviously religious. Association of the negative image of scientists as well as the private research companies with the research on human genetic enhancement reflects the authors' concerns about the main motivations for conducting such research and the extent to which such research will benefit society.

  3. An Introduction To the View of Engineering Ethics

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    铁怀江

    2013-01-01

    China has stepped onto the crucial stage of transforming from a big engineering country to a real engineering power, and striving for building a wel-off society in an al-round way. But the fact can not be neglected that the level of engineering professionalization is still very low, and the engineers are stil not wel-reputed. This calls for the fields of engineering, engineering education and even all walks of life to deeply understand the implication of engineering as profession, to cultivate the sense of engineering professional duties and to put into practive the responsibilities of engineering profession. This dissertation puts forward the basic theory of engineering ethics, including the definition of engineering ethics,the major contents and their inner logic. Special emphasis is on the view of engineering ethics of the Chinese engineering undergraduates oriented professional ethics education. It is for the first time that the author clearly puts forward the concept“engineering ethics”and has elaborated the five categories:engineering benefits human being, engineering reputation, loyalty, co-operation, and self-government in engineering. In practice, it has been put forward in this dissertation that professional ethics safeguards self-government in engineering, of which education of engineering professional ethics is the premise, in that only when one achieves self-consciousness in ethics can they achieve self-discipline, and then self-government.

  4. Representation or reason: consulting the public on the ethics of health policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullen, Caroline

    2008-12-01

    Consulting the public about the ethical approaches underlying health policies can seem an appealing means of addressing concerns about limited public participation in development of health policy. However ambiguity surrounds questions of whether, or how consultation can really contribute to more defensible decisions about ethical aspects of policy. This paper clarifies the role and limits of public consultation on ethics, beginning by separating different senses of defensibility in decisions on ethics. Defensibility of ethical decisions could be understood either in the sense of legitimacy in virtue of reflecting the opinions of the public whose interests are affected, or in the sense of being able to withstand and respond to challenges presented in ethical debate. The question then is whether there are forms of consultation which have the potential to realise more defensible decisions in either of these senses. Problems of adequately accounting for the views of those affected by policy decisions casts doubt on the plausibility of using consultation as a means of determining the opinions of the public. Consultation can have a role by bringing new ideas and challenges to debate, although it is uncertain whether this will increase the defensibility of any decision on ethics.

  5. Cooperative Human-Centric Sensing Cooperation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mihovska, Albena

    Human-Centric Sensing (HCS) is a new concept relevant to Internet of Things (IoT). HCS connectivity, referred to as “smart connectivity” enables applications that are highly personalized and often time-critical. In a typical HCS scenario, there may be many hundreds of sensor streams connections...

  6. Hans Jonas' thought on the ethics of research on human subjects ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hans Jonas' thought on the ethics of research on human subjects and its implications for contemporary medical research in Nigeria was examined. The thinking and teachings of Hans Jonas was on the need for medical research to advance beyond the use animals for research and experimentations to research on human ...

  7. Ethics and methods for biological rhythm research on animals and human beings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portaluppi, Francesco; Smolensky, Michael H; Touitou, Yvan

    2010-10-01

    This article updates the ethical standards and methods for the conduct of high-quality animal and human biological rhythm research, which should be especially useful for new investigators of the rhythms of life. The editors of Chronobiology International adhere to and endorse the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines of the Committee On Publication Ethics (COPE), which encourages communication of such updates at regular intervals in the journal. The journal accepts papers representing original work, no part of which was previously submitted for publication elsewhere, except as brief abstracts, as well as in-depth reviews. The majority of research papers published in Chronobiology International entails animal and human investigations. The editors and readers of the journal expect authors of submitted manuscripts to have made an important contribution to the research of biological rhythms and related phenomena using ethical methods/procedures and unbiased, accurate, and honest reporting of findings. Authors of scientific papers are required to declare all potential conflicts of interest. The journal and its editors endorse compliance of investigators to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research of the National Research Council, relating to the conduct of ethical research on laboratory and other animals, and the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association, relating to the conduct of ethical research on human beings. The peer review of manuscripts by Chronobiology International thus includes judgment as to whether or not the protocols and methods conform to ethical standards. Authors are expected to show mastery of the basic methods and procedures of biological rhythm research and proper statistical assessment of data, including the appropriate application of time series data analyses, as briefly reviewed in this article. The journal editors strive to consistently achieve

  8. Universalism, particularism and the ethics of dignity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pullman, Daryl

    2001-12-01

    This paper explores the problem of universalism and particularism in contemporary ethics, and its relationship to Christian bioethics in particular. An ethic of human dignity is outlined, which, it is argued, constrains moral discourse in the broad sense--thus meeting the demands of universalism--but which is at the same time amenable to a variety of particularist interpretations--thus acknowledging the current shift toward historicism, traditionalism, and culture. The particularist interpretations that are of central concern here are those provided by historic Christianity. The eventual goal is to indicate how a Christian conception of human dignity can have universal normative relevance both as a standard against which to assess competing particularist conceptions, and as a practical guide for everyday living. A Christian conception of dignity will in turn have significant implications when addressing contemporary issues in bioethics. These are ambitious goals, and a full explication of the ideas presented will not be possible in this context. Nevertheless, there is value in getting a bird's-eye view of the landscape before one goes about scaling the mountains and exploring the valleys. The present essay is intended as a general geography of the moral terrain in which an ethic of dignity in general, and a Christian perspective on dignity in particular, can provide normative guidance.

  9. Conversing on Ethics, Morality and Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGavin, P. A.

    2013-01-01

    In philosophical use, "ethics" and "moral philosophy" are more closely synonymous--one deriving from Greek, "ethike" and the other from Latin "moralis." In typical social science paradigms, there generally prevails a consensual sense of contemporary everyday use of "ethics," except where earlier…

  10. Ethics and Dualism in Contemporary Psychology: From Avicenna and Descartes to Neuroscience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alma Jeftiċ

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available From Avicenna and Descartes a long debate on the role of mind-body dilemma has left a huge impact on ethics of psychological research. That is especially applicable on researches that include both human and non-human participants, as well as their limitations and constraints that are connected to ethical principles. However, these principles are closely related to the interpretation of mind-body dilemma, which depends on different understandings of connection between soul and senses. The purpose of this paper is to examine the major impact of well-known “mind-body” dualism on ethics in psychological researches, with special emphasis on neuropsychology and neuroscience in general, as well as major constraints related to that dillema. The thought experiment has been recognized as a precursor to Rene Descartes’ famous ‘Cogito ergo sum’, as well as his body-mind dilemma. However, Avicenna's argument is more intended to demonstrate conceptually that Aristotle’s empirical axiom “there is nothing in the mind which was not first in the senses” is mistaken, since there is at least one thing in the mind which is not contingent upon experience, and that is self-awareness. The major contribution of this paper is the inclusion of two philosophical debates on mind-body dilemma while considering ethical approaches to neuropsychological research on both human and non-human participants.

  11. An ethical criterion for geoscientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peppoloni, Silvia

    2013-04-01

    Anthropological researches have demonstrated that at some point in human history, man makes an evolutive jump in cultural sense: at first, he is able to perceive himself only as part of a community, later he becomes able to perceive himself as an individual. The analysis of the linguistic roots of the word "Ethics" discloses the traces of this evolutive transition and an original double meaning: on the one hand, "Ethics" contains a sense of belonging to the social fabric, on the other hand, it is related to the individual sphere. These two existential conditions (social and individual) unexpectedly co-exist in the word "Ethics". So, "Geo-Ethics" can be defined as the investigation and reflection on those values upon which to base appropriate behaviours and practices regarding the Geosphere (social dimension), but also as the analysis of the relationships between the geoscientist who acts and his own actions (individual dimension). Therefore, the meaning of the word "Geo-Ethics" calls upon geoscientists to face the responsibility of an ethical behaviour. What does this responsibility consist of and what motivations are necessary to push geoscientists to practice the Earth sciences in an ethical way? An ethical commitment exists if there is research of truth. In their activities, Geoscientists should be searchers and defenders of truth. If geoscientists give up this role, they completely empty of meaning their work. Ethical obligations arise from the possession of specific knowledge that has practical consequences. Geoscientists, as active and responsible part of society, have to serve society and the common good. The ethical criterion for a geoscientist should be rooted in his individual sphere, that is the source of any action even in the social sphere, and should have the intellectual honesty as main requirement. It includes: • respect for the truth that they look for and for other's ideas; • recognition of the value of others as valuable for themselves;

  12. Ethical leadership, employee well-being, and helping: the moderating role of human resource management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kalshoven, K.; Boon, C.T.

    2012-01-01

    In this multi-source study, we examined the link between ethical leadership, human resource management (HRM), employee well-being, and helping. Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory, we proposed a mediated moderation model linking ethical leadership to helping, which includes well-being as

  13. Humanity in the Digital Age: Cognitive, Social, Emotional, and Ethical Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Junko; Ananou, Simeon

    2015-01-01

    Even though technology has brought great benefits to current society, there are also indications that the manner in which people use technology has undermined their humanity in some respects. In this article the authors frame human nature in terms of four dimensions: cognition, social interaction, emotion, and ethics. We argue that while basic…

  14. Motives for Ethical Decision-Making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singletary, Michael W.; And Others

    1990-01-01

    Uses Q-analysis to study the motives that reporters and mass communication students bring to the resolution of ethical issues. Finds that most were "mainstream" ethicists, whose ethical concerns centered on credibility, their personal sense of morality, the public's need to know, and the standards of their field and their employer. (SR)

  15. The ethics of human reproductive cloning: when world views collide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Cynthia B

    2004-01-01

    Two camps in bioethics with seemingly opposing world views have staked out conflicting positions regarding the ethics of human reproductive cloning. These camps do not appear to share common concepts or ways of reasoning through which to exchange views and come to a meeting of minds about uses of this technology. Yet analysis of their respective approaches to several issues surrounding reproductive cloning, such as where the ethical limits of individual reproductive choice lie, whether the use of this technology would violate human dignity, whether it would create risks to the resulting fetuses and children that would make its use intolerable, and whether it would challenge certain core social values, reveals that they are not wholly opposed to one another. Indeed, it displays that they hold certain beliefs, values, and concerns in common. Moreover, it indicates that the different world views that they each presuppose, while flawed in certain respects, do not collide in every respect, but can be reconciled in significant ways that provide fertile ground for agreement about several issues related to human reproductive cloning.

  16. Ethical decision-making: the doctrine of sin and grace

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. P. Giles

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Ethical decision-making presupposes the possession of a free will. Central to a discussion on reformed ethics is the question of the bounds of freedom of the will. The reformed tradition, along with the wider Christian tradition, affirms that the will is not free in the Pelagian sense of being absolutely free, but is constrained by the effects of humanity’s fall from original righteousness. This ariticle considers the nature and extent to which the will is considered free, or no longer free at all. The question posed here, within the reformed theoretic ethical framework, is whether the will is so vitiated that a person is in- capable of any effective choice of action or inaction in the face of any moral dilemma, or does fallen humanity still possess some ability to make a free choice, albeit under conditions of impaired freedom of the will?

  17. Human and animal research guidelines: aligning ethical constructs with new scientific developments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferdowsian, Hope

    2011-10-01

    Both human research and animal research operate within established standards and procedures. Although the human research environment has been criticized for its sometimes inefficient and imperfect process, reported abuses of human subjects in research served as the impetus for the establishment of the Nuremberg Code, Declaration of Helsinki, and the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research and the resulting Belmont Report. No similar, comprehensive and principled effort has addressed the use of animals in research. Although published policies regarding animal research provide relevant regulatory guidance, these policies have not emerged from the process of specifying consistent and reasoned ethical principles. The lack of a fundamental effort to explore the ethical issues and principles regarding the use of animals in research has led to unclear and disparate policies. Recent studies have increased our understanding of animal cognition and emotion, suggesting that animals' potential for experiencing a wide variety of harms, such as pain and fear, is greater than has been previously appreciated. Furthermore, relationships between methods of captivity and certain laboratory procedures and the resulting adverse physical, social and psychological effects have been established. In light of this information, current protections may need to be reconsidered and modified. This paper explores the historical convergence and divergence in the creation of human and animal research guidelines, as well as opportunities to align ethical frameworks with new scientific discoveries. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  18. Human genome and open source: balancing ethics and business.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marturano, Antonio

    2011-01-01

    The Human Genome Project has been completed thanks to a massive use of computer techniques, as well as the adoption of the open-source business and research model by the scientists involved. This model won over the proprietary model and allowed a quick propagation and feedback of research results among peers. In this paper, the author will analyse some ethical and legal issues emerging by the use of such computer model in the Human Genome property rights. The author will argue that the Open Source is the best business model, as it is able to balance business and human rights perspectives.

  19. Ethical human resource management: a critical analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Khan, Muhammad

    2014-01-01

    In modern day, Human Resource Management (HRM) is seen as a mere variant of management control aiming intentionally to ‘colonize’ the identity of the individual employee which points to the contradictions between the idealised HRM theories and its practice commonly referred to as the difference between rhetoric and reality. These critical analyses suggest that HRM reflects a historical shift in the way work is defined and managed and research has to be undertaken on how morality and ethics ma...

  20. The Human - Nature Relationship i n t he Context o f Theo - Centric Environmental Ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gülşen YAYLI

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The environmental problems are one of the issues that intensively occupy the agenda of humankind. This fact mainly derives from the ambiguity of the s pan and the content of the issue. The concept of environmental problems can not be confined to th e soil, air and water pollution for the reason that it covers a scope wider than a classical pollution issues. Initially the form of the relations hip between h uman and nature has been relying on the “consumption at the level of content” which stands for a level that is enough to sustain the living. The perception of the nature used to be described with the metaphor of mother while natural environment was defined as the “mother earth”. However subsequent to natural environment definition of the Cartesian philosophy with its approach to the human nature relationship, the core metaphor to describe the natural environment has changed from the metaphor of “mother” to the “slave” which should serve by any means. The human - nature relationship within the context of ethics, both the parties an d their respective statues bear an importance. In terms of ethics of human - nature relationship, it is possible to mention three main approaches. First one is the anthropo - centric approach. Within the scope of historical process, human - nature relationship is addressed according to anthropo - centric ethics comprehension so human has remained at the center of discussion. Following the change of the perception regarding the issue of environment, new approaches have emerged that give emphasis not only on human beings but also others; on li ving and non - living beings with in the eco - system. In principle, this represents a departure from an anthropo - centric ethics to a new ethic approach which fall s into two categories, bio centric and eco - centric. The theo - centric ethics should also be included to these ethics approaches that are shaped within the sphere of positive sciences. The Abrahamic

  1. Inferring Human Mobility from Sparse Low Accuracy Mobile Sensing Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cuttone, Andrea; Jørgensen, Sune Lehmann; Larsen, Jakob Eg

    2014-01-01

    Understanding both collective and personal human mobility is a central topic in Computational Social Science. Smartphone sensing data is emerging as a promising source for studying human mobility. However, most literature focuses on high-precision GPS positioning and high-frequency sampling, which...... is not always feasible in a longitudinal study or for everyday applications because location sensing has a high battery cost. In this paper we study the feasibility of inferring human mobility from sparse, low accuracy mobile sensing data. We validate our results using participants' location diaries......, and analyze the inferred geographical networks, the time spent at different places, and the number of unique places over time. Our results suggest that low resolution data allows accurate inference of human mobility patterns....

  2. Critical Virtue Ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jochen Schmidt

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Since the publication of Anscombe’s famous paper “Modern Moral Philosophy” (1958, virtue ethics has become a matter of discussion among scholars. At least four charges have been raised against virtue ethics, one of which is the charge of promoting undue enthusiasm regarding the moral fitness of human beings. This article explores the limits of virtue ethics with regard to the frailty of human virtuousness. After giving a report of the charges raised against virtue ethics from the perspective of empirical ethics, the author presents the idea of what he would like to call critical virtue ethics as seen by three Lutheran thinkers: Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Luther himself. He will demonstrate that the empirical contestation of virtue ethics shows a remarkable resemblance to insights found in Luther, Kant and Nietzsche. And finally, the writer draws tentative conclusions about the future of critical virtue ethics.

  3. Introducing Human Rights Education in the Confucian Society of Taiwan: Its Implications for Ethical Leadership in Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Kwang-Kuo

    2001-01-01

    Discusses recent introduction of human-rights education in Taiwan. Describes essential characteristics of Confucian ethics; compares Confucianism with ethical leadership in education. Discusses relationship between findings on the use of corporal punishment in Taiwanese schools and ethical leadership. Describes worldwide use of corporal punishment…

  4. [Medical ethics in residency training].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Civaner, Murat; Sarikaya, Ozlem; Balcioğlu, Harun

    2009-04-01

    Medical ethics education in residency training is one of the hot topics of continuous medical education debates. Its importance and necessity is constantly stressed in declarations and statements on national and international level. Parallel to the major structural changes in the organization and the finance model of health care system, patient-physician relationship, identity of physicianship, social perception and status of profession are changing. Besides, scientific developments and technological advancements create possibilities that never exists before, and bring new ethical dilemmas along with. To be able to transplant human organs has created two major problems for instance; procurement of organs in sufficient numbers, and allocating them to the patients in need by using some prioritizing criteria. All those new and challenging questions force the health care workers to find authentic and justifiable solutions while keeping the basic professional values. In that sense, proper medical ethics education in undergraduate and postgraduate term that would make physician-to-be's and student-physicians acquire the core professional values and skill to notice, analyze and develop justifiable solutions to ethical problems is paramount. This article aims to express the importance of medical ethics education in residency training, and to propose major topics and educational methods to be implemented into. To this aim, first, undergraduate medical education, physician's working conditions, the exam of selection for residency training, and educational environment were revised, and then, some topics and educational methods, which are oriented to educate physicians regarding the professional values that they should have, were proposed.

  5. Nonviolent communication: a dialogical retrieval of the ethic of authenticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nosek, Marcianna

    2012-11-01

    Charles Taylor called for a retrieval of the ethic of authenticity that has been distorted in modern notions of autonomy and self-fulfillment. Via exchanges with others who matter to us, he proposed that human identities develop through the use of rich language draped in shared horizons of significance. The fostering of these dialogical ties beyond purely instrumental purposes, along with the recognition of the human dignity in all, may avert the fallen ideal of authenticity. Nonviolent communication affords the skillful dialogue with others cradled in a shared sense of significance and supports the development of a meaningful identity-one that is formed through the realization of what exists beyond the self. The purpose of this article is to argue that nonviolent communication facilitates the retrieval of the ethic of authenticity. Narratives from nursing students' journals on the use of nonviolent communication skills will be used to support the argument.

  6. The effect of ethics training on students recognizing ethical violations and developing moral sensitivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baykara, Zehra Gocmen; Demir, Sevil Guler; Yaman, Sengul

    2015-09-01

    Moral sensitivity is a life-long cognitive ability. It is expected that nurses who work in a professional purpose at "curing human beings" should have a highly developed moral sensitivity. The general opinion is that ethics education plays a significant role in this sense to enhance the moral sensitivity in terms of nurses' professional behaviors and distinguish ethical violations. This study was conducted as intervention research for the purpose of determining the effect of the ethics training on fourth-year students of the nursing department recognizing ethical violations experienced in the hospital and developing ethical sensitivity. The study was conducted with 50 students, with 25 students each in the experiment and control groups. Students in the experiment group were provided ethics training and consultancy services. The data were collected through the data collection form, which consists of questions on the socio-demographic characteristics and ethical sensitivity of the students, Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire, and the observation form on ethical principle violations/protection in the clinic environment. The data were digitized on the computer with the SPSS for Windows 13.0 program. The data were evaluated utilizing number, percentile calculation, paired samples t-test, Wilcoxon test, and the McNemar test. The total Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire pre-test score averages of students in the experiment group were determined to be 93.88 ± 13.57, and their total post-test score averages were determined to be 89.24 ± 15.90. The total pre-test score averages of students in the control group were determined to be 91.48 ± 17.59, and their total post-test score averages were determined to be 97.72 ± 19.91. In the study, it was determined that the post-training ethical sensitivity of students in the experiment group increased; however, this was statistically not significant. Furthermore, it was determined that the number of ethical principle protection

  7. [Ethics and epidemiology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barata, Rita Barradas

    2005-01-01

    Human actions take place at the confluence of circumstances that require us to discern the proper way to act. Ethics falls within the terrain of practical knowledge, of knowledge about what is contingent. It belongs to the domain of moral judgments or value judgments. The counterpart of disenchantment with our contemporary world lies in an effort to re-establish an interest in ethics. There are basically three orders of relations between public health and human rights: the quest for balance between the collective good and individual rights; methods and techniques for identifying human rights violations and assessing their negative impact; and the tie between protecting individual rights and promoting health. The relationship between ethics and epidemiology goes beyond the ethical aspects involving research on human beings to encompass political commitments, practices within health services, and the production of knowledge.

  8. Connections between Ethical Values, the Meaning of Human Life, and Human Communities, according to Vasile Goldiș

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iovan Marţian

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The author presents the views held by Vasile Goldiș – Transylvanian scholar, politician, and one of the masterminds of the Great Union of 1 December 1918 – regarding the role of universal human values in guiding individuals and human communities. Together with other Christian values, ethics guides individuals, communities, political and administrative elites, churches, and academia. This results in greater justice, community solidarity and cohesion, and a greater ability for society to shape and promote its internal moral order. Considering the diversity of moral profiles found among various nations, ethnicities and political elites, Goldiș highlights their common grounds – which facilitates a new moral order in inter-human, inter-community and international relations. The ethical testament promoted by Goldiș in his writings and throughout his life is still relevant today, and it also holds true for the next generations.

  9. Different views on ethics: how animal ethics is situated in a committee culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ideland, M

    2009-04-01

    Research that includes non-human animal experimentation is fundamentally a dilemmatic enterprise. Humans use other animals in research to improve life for their own species. Ethical principles are established to deal with this dilemma. But despite this ethical apparatus, people who in one way or another work with animal experimentation have to interpret and understand the principles from their individual points of view. In interviews with members of Swedish animal ethics committees, different views on what the term ethics really means were articulated. For one member, the difficult ethical dilemma of animal experimentation is the lack of enriched cages for mice. For another, the ethical problem lies in regulations restraining research. A third member talks about animals' right not to be used for human interests. These different views on "ethics" intersect once a month in the animal ethics committee meetings. There is no consensus on what constitutes the ethical problem that the members should be discussing. Therefore, personal views on what ethics means, and hierarchies among committee members, characterise the meetings. But committee traditions and priorities of interpretation as well are important to the decisions. The author discusses how "ethics" becomes situated and what implications this may have for committees' decisions.

  10. Tuberculosis, human rights and ethics considerations along the route of a highly vulnerable migrant from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wild, V; Jaff, D; Shah, N S; Frick, M

    2017-10-01

    Migrant health is a critical public health issue, and in many countries attention to this topic has focused on the link between migration and communicable diseases, including tuberculosis (TB). When creating public health policies to address the complex challenges posed by TB and migration, countries should focus these policies on evidence, ethics, and human rights. This paper traces a commonly used migration route from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe, identifying situations at each stage in which human rights and ethical values might be affected in relation to TB care. This illustration provides the basis for discussing TB and migration from the perspective of human rights, with a focus on the right to health. We then highlight three strands of discussion in the ethics and justice literature in an effort to develop more comprehensive ethics of migrant health. These strands include theories of global justice and global health ethics, the creation of 'firewalls' to separate enforcement of immigration law from protection of human rights, and the importance of non-stigmatization to health justice. The paper closes by reflecting briefly on how TB programs can better incorporate human rights and ethical principles and values into public health practice.

  11. Depending on Ethics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Anne-Marie Søndergaard

    2007-01-01

    According to the standard reception, Kierkegaard thinks of ethics as a possible stage in human life. In this paper, I do not want to contest this interpretation, but I will argue that it often overlooks how the concept of ethics plays another vital role in Kierkegaard's thinking, namely...... that of establishing a necessary connection between ethics and certain forms of philosophy. To avoid the unfruitful thinking of ‘the speculation', the philosopher must accept that her vantage point is given, not in pure objectivity, but in the fact that she is this particular human being; that is, the ethical...... dimension of her life. In this way, Kierkegaard claims that any philosophy concerning human existence must also include ethical considerations. This is a view also held by Ludwig Wittgenstein, but a comparison of the two philosophers shows that even if Kierkegaard finds such fruitful philosophy possible, he...

  12. Hans Jonas' thought on the ethics of research on human subjects

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr Olaleye

    use animals for research and experimentations to research on human subjects. Jonas upholds the ..... examples of ethical theory, the less said about it the better. But what is allowable .... Also, man seeks self-gratification and self- promotion.

  13. Issues and Ethical Problems of Stem Cell Therapy – Where is Hippocrates?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucie Rousková

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Stem cells and their therapeutic use present many questions associated with ethical problems in medicine. There is great effort on the part of physicians to help millions of patients while there are ethical problems with the use of new methods and technologies and all of these are affected by economic and political influences. How will the current generation deal with these problems? Medicine, in this begard, is experiencing a stormy evolution of human culture in the relationships between disease, patient and doctor. Philosophy approaches the same juncture of human culture, but seemingly from the other side. Both disciplines are facing a great problem: How to unite the content of current human morality and the desire for health? Both philosophers and physicians perceive this deficit in human culture as it does not provide immediately usable normatives, which the living generation of healthy and ill is waiting for. It may be said that medicine, as many times before, has reached a stage where it cannot rely only on the proved axiologic values from the past, ethical normatives or cultivated moral sense of its subjects. Medicine has no other alternative than to take an active part in resolution of interdisciplinary problems originating from philosophic-biologic or philosophic-medical inquiries of axiologic, ethical, and moral issues. Our paper indicates some ways of the search in forming ethical principles of the stem-cell therapy from the view of biologists and physicians. New ways are recommended in theoretical-methodological interdisciplinary research, especially, in theoretical and experimental biology, and theoretical and clinical medicine, as well as philosophy. In this paper important ethical problems are pointed out in order to find answers to some key problems connected with cell therapy and the use of stem cells.

  14. Use of Human Senses as Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshiaki Sugawara

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper is an overview of our recent findings obtained by the use of human senses as sensors, suggesting that human senses might be indispensable sensors, not only for practical uses but also for gaining a deeper understanding of humans. From this point of view, two kinds of studies, both based on semantic responses of participants, deserve emphasis. One study assessed the efficacy of the photocatalytic elimination of stains or bio-aerosols from an air environment using TiO2 as well as the photocatalytic deodorizing efficacy of a TiO2-type deodorizer; the other study evaluated the changes in perception of a given aroma while inhaling the fragrance of essential oils. In the latter study, we employed a sensory test for evaluating changes in perception of a given aroma. Sensory tests were conducted twice, when participants were undergoing the Kraepelin mental performance test (mental arithmetic or an auditory task (listening to environmental natural sounds, once before the task (pre-task and once after the task (post-task. The perception of fragrance was assessed by 13 contrasting pairs of adjectives as a function of the task assigned to participants. The obtained findings illustrate subtle nuances regarding how essential oils manifest their potency and how olfactory discrimination and responses occur in humans.

  15. [Philosophy of human dignity and the ethics of psychiatry].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoecker, Ralf

    2014-07-01

    Current moral philosophy has serious problems with the concept of human dignity. Although it seems to be an almost inevitable ingredient of every day moral judgments, philosophers have difficulties to find an analysis of the concept that could support this central role. One way out of these difficulties consists in a closer look at the various areas where the concept is used so widely and naturally, in the attempt to extract inductively an adequate understanding of human dignity from these contexts. In the article, this strategy is used to glean features of human dignity from the history of psychiatry, condense them into a plausible understanding of human dignity and finally sketch some practical implications for modern psychiatric ethics. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  16. An overview on ethical considerations in stem cell research in Iran and ethical recommendations: A review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farajkhoda, Tahmineh

    2017-01-01

    Conducting research on the stem cell lines might bring some worthy good to public. Human Stem Cells (hSCs) research has provided opportunities for scientific progresses and new therapies, but some complex ethical matters should be noticed to ensure that stem cell research is carried out in an ethically appropriate manner. The aim of this review article is to discuss the importance of stem cell research, code of ethics for stem cell research in Iran and ethical recommendation. Generation of stem cells for research from human embryo or adult stem cells, saving, maintenance and using of them are the main ethical, legal and jurisprudence concerns in Iran. Concerns regarding human reproduction or human cloning, breach of human dignity, genetic manipulation and probability of tumorogenisity are observed in adult/somatic stem cells. Destruction of embryo to generate stem cell is an important matter in Iran. In this regards, obtaining stem cell from donated frozen embryos through infertility treatment that would be discarded is an acceptable solution in Iran for generation of embryo for research. Ethical, legal, and jurisprudence strategies for using adult/somatic stem cells are determination of ownership of stem cells, trade prohibition of human body, supervision on bio banks and information of Oversight Committee on Stem Cell Research. Recommendations to handle ethical issues for conducting stem cell research are well-designed studies, compliance codes of ethics in biomedical research (specifically codes of ethics on stem cell research, codes of ethics on clinical trials studies and codes of ethics on animals studies), appropriate collaboration with ethics committees and respecting of rights of participants (including both of human and animal rights) in research. In addition, there is a necessity for extending global networks of bioethics for strengthening communications within organizations at both the regional and international level, strengthening legislation systems

  17. An overview on ethical considerations in stem cell research in Iran and ethical recommendations: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farajkhoda, Tahmineh

    2017-02-01

    Conducting research on the stem cell lines might bring some worthy good to public. Human Stem Cells (hSCs) research has provided opportunities for scientific progresses and new therapies, but some complex ethical matters should be noticed to ensure that stem cell research is carried out in an ethically appropriate manner. The aim of this review article is to discuss the importance of stem cell research, code of ethics for stem cell research in Iran and ethical recommendation. Generation of stem cells for research from human embryo or adult stem cells, saving, maintenance and using of them are the main ethical, legal and jurisprudence concerns in Iran. Concerns regarding human reproduction or human cloning, breach of human dignity, genetic manipulation and probability of tumorogenisity are observed in adult/somatic stem cells. Destruction of embryo to generate stem cell is an important matter in Iran. In this regards, obtaining stem cell from donated frozen embryos through infertility treatment that would be discarded is an acceptable solution in Iran for generation of embryo for research. Ethical, legal, and jurisprudence strategies for using adult/somatic stem cells are determination of ownership of stem cells, trade prohibition of human body, supervision on bio banks and information of Oversight Committee on Stem Cell Research. Recommendations to handle ethical issues for conducting stem cell research are well-designed studies, compliance codes of ethics in biomedical research (specifically codes of ethics on stem cell research, codes of ethics on clinical trials studies and codes of ethics on animals studies), appropriate collaboration with ethics committees and respecting of rights of participants (including both of human and animal rights) in research. In addition, there is a necessity for extending global networks of bioethics for strengthening communications within organizations at both the regional and international level, strengthening legislation systems

  18. Some Basics about Ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Peter J.

    1994-01-01

    Discussion of ethics focuses on the role of human performance technology professionals in helping corporate ethicists. Highlights include definitions of ethics, morals, values, and business ethics; ethics in academia and in business; and application of the knowledge of ethics to decision-making. (Contains 18 references.) (LRW)

  19. 探求产业伦理%Industry Ethic

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    姚站军

    2012-01-01

    从层级内涵出发界定,产业伦理分为狭义和广义两种视角,展现逻辑,时空等多种关系维度;科技时代产业文明呼唤产业伦理建构。产业伦理建构的普适范畴主要有质量及安全伦理、信誉及信用伦理。从创新到创值,是新时代产业伦理特色。产业政策伦理理论及案例是产业伦理探求中的重要方面。%Industry ethic has broad sense or narrow sense from the hierarchical connotation and has many kinds of relations dimension, such as logic, space and time, etc. The era of science and technology calls for industry ethic. The main structure on industry ethic includes ethic of safe- ty and quality, and ethic of credit and reputation. From innovation to value creation, is the characteristic of the industry ethics in new age. And the theory and case on ethic of industrial policy are important aspects of industry ethic.

  20. Machine medical ethics

    CERN Document Server

    Pontier, Matthijs

    2015-01-01

    The essays in this book, written by researchers from both humanities and sciences, describe various theoretical and experimental approaches to adding medical ethics to a machine in medical settings. Medical machines are in close proximity with human beings, and getting closer: with patients who are in vulnerable states of health, who have disabilities of various kinds, with the very young or very old, and with medical professionals. In such contexts, machines are undertaking important medical tasks that require emotional sensitivity, knowledge of medical codes, human dignity, and privacy. As machine technology advances, ethical concerns become more urgent: should medical machines be programmed to follow a code of medical ethics? What theory or theories should constrain medical machine conduct? What design features are required? Should machines share responsibility with humans for the ethical consequences of medical actions? How ought clinical relationships involving machines to be modeled? Is a capacity for e...

  1. Christian ethic of love and Hindu ethic of dharma: comparative analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Pavenkov Oleg Vladimirovich

    2014-01-01

    This article is devoted to comparative analysis of two ethic systems: Hindu ethic of dharma and Christian ethic of love. If Christian ethic is the ethic of love, love is in the center of Christian moral values, then Hindu ethic is an example of ethic of law. The moral behavior of gods and humans is determined by Karma and cycle of samsara, which is impossible in Christianity. However forgiveness, self-restraint, non-stealing, purity are common moral obligations for Christians and Hindus.

  2. Relationships between organizational and individual support, nurses' ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poikkeus, Tarja; Suhonen, Riitta; Katajisto, Jouko; Leino-Kilpi, Helena

    2018-03-12

    Organizations and nurse leaders do not always effectively support nurses' ethical competence. More information is needed about nurses' perceptions of this support and relevant factors to improve it. The aim of the study was to examine relationships between nurses' perceived organizational and individual support, ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted. Questionnaires were distributed to nurses (n = 298) working in specialized, primary, or private health care in Finland. Descriptive statistics, multifactor analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis were used to test the relationships. The nurses reported low organizational and individual support for their ethical competence, whereas perceptions of their ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction were moderate. There were statistically significant positive correlations between both perceived individual and organizational support, and ethical competence, nurses' work satisfaction, and nurses' ethical safety. Organizational and individual support for nurses' ethical competence should be strengthened, at least in Finland, by providing more ethics education and addressing ethical problems in multiprofessional discussions. Findings confirm that organizational level support for ethical competence improves nurses' work satisfaction. They also show that individual level support improves nurses' sense of ethical safety, and both organizational and individual support strengthen nurses' ethical competence. These findings should assist nurse leaders to implement effective support practices to strengthen nurses' ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction.

  3. Fluoridation: a violation of medical ethics and human rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, Douglas W; Carton, Robert J

    2003-01-01

    Silicofluorides, widely used in water fluoridation, are unlicensed medicinal substances, administered to large populations without informed consent or supervision by a qualified medical practitioner. Fluoridation fails the test of reliability and specificity, and, lacking toxicity testing of silicofluorides, constitutes unlawful medical research. It is banned in most of Europe; European Union human rights legislation makes it illegal. Silicofluorides have never been submitted to the U.S. FDA for approval as medicines. The ethical validity of fluoridation policy does not stand up to scrutiny relative to the Nuremberg Code and other codes of medical ethics, including the Council of Europe's Biomedical Convention of 1999. The police power of the State has been used in the United States to override health concerns, with the support of the courts, which have given deference to health authorities.

  4. True or False, Process or Procedure: Parrhesia and a Consideration of Humanism, Subjectivity, and Ethics within Educational Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roof, David; Polush, Elena

    2016-01-01

    This paper seeks to examine ethics, humanism, and the concept of "parrhesia" ("pa???s?a") in the context of educational research. More specifically, it surveys Foucault's lectures on ethics to explore a framework for educational research that disrupts subjectivity and traditional forms of humanism while retaining a relational…

  5. The ethical justification for the use of non-human primates in research: the Weatherall report revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnason, Gardar

    2017-10-14

    The Weatherall report on the use of non-human primates in research was published in 2006. Its main conclusion was that there is a strong scientific case for the use of non-human primates in some cases, but the report stressed the importance of evaluating each case in the light of the availability of alternatives. In addition to arguing for the scientific necessity of using non-human primates in research, the report also provided an ethical justification. As could be expected, the report was harshly criticised by animal rights groups, but in the academic literature, only two critical replies appeared. In what follows, I will describe the ethical justification for non-human primate research as it is laid out in the Weatherall report and then consider the criticism in the academic literature. I conclude that the report's ethical justification for the use of non-human primates in research, in particular in basic neuroscientific research, has not been convincingly challenged by its critics. Since the criticism of the report is limited and represents only a small part of the academic discussion about the use of non-human primates in research, and a still smaller part of the ethical discussion about animal research, it is important that the discussion continue both at the academic and social level. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  6. Concerning ethical risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boeckle, F.

    1991-01-01

    After a fundamental consideration of the concept of responsibility and 'long-term responsibility' for late sequelae, the problems of an ehtical assessment of risks were illustrated: The concept of risk itself poses three problems - predicting the probability of occurrence, assessing the damage = subjective classification of the degree of damage, determining whether the advantages outweigh the risks. It is not possible to weigh the advantages and risks against each other without assessing the goals and the priorities which have been set. Here ethics is called for, because it concerns itself with the reasonableness of evaluative decisions. Its task is to enable us to become aware of and comprehend our system of values in all of its complexity in reference to real life. Ethics can only fulfill its task if it helps us to adopt an integral perspective, i.e. if it centers on the human being. 'One must assess all technical and economic innovations in terms of whether they are beneficial to the development of mankind on a long-term basis. They are only to be legitimized insofar as they prove themselves to be a means of liberating mankind and contributing to his sense of dignity and identity, as a means of bringing human beings together and encouraging them to care for one another, and as a means of protecting the natural basis of our existence. (orig./HSCH) [de

  7. Christian ethic of love and Hindu ethic of dharma: comparative analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavenkov Oleg Vladimirovich

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This article is devoted to comparative analysis of two ethic systems: Hindu ethic of dharma and Christian ethic of love. If Christian ethic is the ethic of love, love is in the center of Christian moral values, then Hindu ethic is an example of ethic of law. The moral behavior of gods and humans is determined by Karma and cycle of samsara, which is impossible in Christianity. However forgiveness, self-restraint, non-stealing, purity are common moral obligations for Christians and Hindus.

  8. Can artificial parthenogenesis sidestep ethical pitfalls in human therapeutic cloning? An historical perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fangerau, H

    2005-01-01

    The aim of regenerative medicine is to reconstruct tissue that has been lost or pathologically altered. Therapeutic cloning seems to offer a method of achieving this aim; however, the ethical debate surrounding human therapeutic cloning is highly controversial. Artificial parthenogenesis—obtaining embryos from unfertilised eggs—seems to offer a way to sidestep these ethical pitfalls. Jacques Loeb (1859–1924), the founding father of artificial parthogenesis, faced negative public opinion when he published his research in 1899. His research, the public's response to his findings, and his ethical foundations serve as an historical argument both for the communication of science and compromise in biological research. PMID:16319240

  9. Ethics and psychological research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søndergaard, Dorte Marie

    Human subjects and social relations are crucial in research psychologists’ ethical considerations. Lists of ethical criteria - including how to anonymize data, avoid causing harm, handle asymmetries – are pivotal. A situated ethics inspired by new materialism and poststructuralism would, however......, elaborate these focuses to include social orders, discursive power, and more comprehensive material-discursive apparatuses. I will draw on concepts developed by Barad, Foucault and Butler to discuss how ethics can be understood as an intra-acting, emergent element of the research apparatus. Barad’s notion...... the researchers’ moral narcissism in relation to the enactment of social-subjective phenomena in research; on the other hand, it leaves researchers with a broader spectrum of phenomena to include in their ethical considerations. This invites new questions: Which perspectives of human and non-human existence...

  10. The Ethics of Exploitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul McLaughlin

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Philosophical inquiry into exploitation has two major deficiencies to date: it assumes that exploitation is wrong by definition; and it pays too much attention to the Marxian account of exploitation. Two senses of exploitation should be distinguished: the ‘moral’ or pejorative sense and the ‘non-moral’ or ‘non-prejudicial’ sense. By demonstrating the conceptual inadequacy of exploitation as defined in the first sense, and by defining exploitation adequately in the latter sense, we seek to demonstrate the moral complexity of exploitation. We contend, moreover, that moral evaluation of exploitation is only possible once we abandon a strictly Marxian framework and attempt, in the long run, to develop an integral ethic along Godwinian lines.

  11. Human somatic cell nuclear transfer and reproductive cloning: an Ethics Committee opinion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-04-01

    This document presents arguments that conclude that it is unethical to use somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) for infertility treatment due to concerns about safety; the unknown impact of SCNT on children, families, and society; and the availability of other ethically acceptable means of assisted reproduction. This document replaces the ASRM Ethics Committee report titled, "Human somatic cell nuclear transfer and cloning," last published in Fertil Steril 2012;98:804-7. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Hepatitis B virus evasion from cGAS sensing in human hepatocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verrier, Eloi R; Yim, Seung-Ae; Heydmann, Laura; El Saghire, Houssein; Bach, Charlotte; Turon-Lagot, Vincent; Mailly, Laurent; Durand, Sarah C; Lucifora, Julie; Durantel, David; Pessaux, Patrick; Manel, Nicolas; Hirsch, Ivan; Zeisel, Mirjam B; Pochet, Nathalie; Schuster, Catherine; Baumert, Thomas F

    2018-04-20

    Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease and cancer worldwide. The mechanisms of viral genome sensing and the evasion of innate immune responses by HBV infection are still poorly understood. Recently, the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) was identified as a DNA sensor. In this study, we aimed to investigate the functional role of cGAS in sensing of HBV infection and elucidate the mechanisms of viral evasion. We performed functional studies including loss- and gain-of-function experiments combined with cGAS effector gene expression profiling in an infectious cell culture model, primary human hepatocytes and HBV-infected human liver chimeric mice. Here we show that cGAS is expressed in the human liver, primary human hepatocytes and human liver chimeric mice. While naked relaxed-circular HBV DNA is sensed in a cGAS-dependent manner in hepatoma cell lines and primary human hepatocytes, host cell recognition of viral nucleic acids is abolished during HBV infection, suggesting escape from sensing, likely during packaging of the genome into the viral capsid. While the hepatocyte cGAS pathway is functionally active, as shown by reduction of viral cccDNA levels in gain-of-function studies, HBV infection suppressed cGAS expression and function in cell culture models and humanized mice. HBV exploits multiple strategies to evade sensing and antiviral activity of cGAS and its effector pathways. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

  13. Technics and ethics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budnick, D.; Gemmel, F.

    1981-01-01

    Questions about the sense of life and the responsibility of technology are ethical questions. Young people in our neighbourhood who, compared to some time ago, see, hear and read much more of the world, deal with them increasingly. However, the permanent stream of information does not at all facilitate orientation but prevents many people from gaining some clearness about their own point of view. In asking the questions: where are we today. How can we get on. How can we start. The relation between ethics and technics is discussed under various aspects. (orig./HSCH) [de

  14. Human motion sensing and recognition a fuzzy qualitative approach

    CERN Document Server

    Liu, Honghai; Ji, Xiaofei; Chan, Chee Seng; Khoury, Mehdi

    2017-01-01

    This book introduces readers to the latest exciting advances in human motion sensing and recognition, from the theoretical development of fuzzy approaches to their applications. The topics covered include human motion recognition in 2D and 3D, hand motion analysis with contact sensors, and vision-based view-invariant motion recognition, especially from the perspective of Fuzzy Qualitative techniques. With the rapid development of technologies in microelectronics, computers, networks, and robotics over the last decade, increasing attention has been focused on human motion sensing and recognition in many emerging and active disciplines where human motions need to be automatically tracked, analyzed or understood, such as smart surveillance, intelligent human-computer interaction, robot motion learning, and interactive gaming. Current challenges mainly stem from the dynamic environment, data multi-modality, uncertain sensory information, and real-time issues. These techniques are shown to effectively address the ...

  15. Reflections on the ethics of recruiting foreign-trained human resources for health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Labonté Ronald

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Developed countries' gains in health human resources (HHR from developing countries with significantly lower ratios of health workers have raised questions about the ethics or fairness of recruitment from such countries. By attracting and/or facilitating migration for foreign-trained HHR, notably those from poorer, less well-resourced nations, recruitment practices and policies may be compromising the ability of developing countries to meet the health care needs of their own populations. Little is known, however, about actual recruitment practices. In this study we focus on Canada (a country with a long reliance on internationally trained HHR and recruiters working for Canadian health authorities. Methods We conducted interviews with health human resources recruiters employed by Canadian health authorities to describe their recruitment practices and perspectives and to determine whether and how they reflect ethical considerations. Results and discussion We describe the methods that recruiters used to recruit foreign-trained health professionals and the systemic challenges and policies that form the working context for recruiters and recruits. HHR recruiters' reflections on the global flow of health workers from poorer to richer countries mirror much of the content of global-level discourse with regard to HHR recruitment. A predominant market discourse related to shortages of HHR outweighed discussions of human rights and ethical approaches to recruitment policy and action that consider global health impacts. Conclusions We suggest that the concept of corporate social responsibility may provide a useful approach at the local organizational level for developing policies on ethical recruitment. Such local policies and subsequent practices may inform public debate on the health equity implications of the HHR flows from poorer to richer countries inherent in the global health worker labour market, which in turn could influence

  16. Reflections on the ethics of recruiting foreign-trained human resources for health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Runnels, Vivien; Labonté, Ronald; Packer, Corinne

    2011-01-20

    Developed countries' gains in health human resources (HHR) from developing countries with significantly lower ratios of health workers have raised questions about the ethics or fairness of recruitment from such countries. By attracting and/or facilitating migration for foreign-trained HHR, notably those from poorer, less well-resourced nations, recruitment practices and policies may be compromising the ability of developing countries to meet the health care needs of their own populations. Little is known, however, about actual recruitment practices. In this study we focus on Canada (a country with a long reliance on internationally trained HHR) and recruiters working for Canadian health authorities. We conducted interviews with health human resources recruiters employed by Canadian health authorities to describe their recruitment practices and perspectives and to determine whether and how they reflect ethical considerations. We describe the methods that recruiters used to recruit foreign-trained health professionals and the systemic challenges and policies that form the working context for recruiters and recruits. HHR recruiters' reflections on the global flow of health workers from poorer to richer countries mirror much of the content of global-level discourse with regard to HHR recruitment. A predominant market discourse related to shortages of HHR outweighed discussions of human rights and ethical approaches to recruitment policy and action that consider global health impacts. We suggest that the concept of corporate social responsibility may provide a useful approach at the local organizational level for developing policies on ethical recruitment. Such local policies and subsequent practices may inform public debate on the health equity implications of the HHR flows from poorer to richer countries inherent in the global health worker labour market, which in turn could influence political choices at all government and health system levels.

  17. An overview on ethical considerations in stem cell research in Iran and ethical recommendations: A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tahmineh Farajkhoda

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Conducting research on the stem cell lines might bring some worthy good to public. Human Stem Cells (hSCs research has provided opportunities for scientific progresses and new therapies, but some complex ethical matters should be noticed to ensure that stem cell research is carried out in an ethically appropriate manner. The aim of this review article is to discuss the importance of stem cell research, code of ethics for stem cell research in Iran and ethical recommendation. Generation of stem cells for research from human embryo or adult stem cells, saving, maintenance and using of them are the main ethical, legal and jurisprudence concerns in Iran. Concerns regarding human reproduction or human cloning, breach of human dignity, genetic manipulation and probability of tumorogenisity are observed in adult/somatic stem cells. Destruction of embryo to generate stem cell is an important matter in Iran. In this regards, obtaining stem cell from donated frozen embryos through infertility treatment that would be discarded is an acceptable solution in Iran for generation of embryo for research. Ethical, legal, and jurisprudence strategies for using adult/somatic stem cells are determination of ownership of stem cells, trade prohibition of human body, supervision on bio banks and information of Oversight Committee on Stem Cell Research. Recommendations to handle ethical issues for conducting stem cell research are well-designed studies, compliance codes of ethics in biomedical research (specifically codes of ethics on stem cell research, codes of ethics on clinical trials studies and codes of ethics on animals studies, appropriate collaboration with ethics committees and respecting of rights of participants (including both of human and animal rights in research. In addition, there is a necessity for extending global networks of bioethics for strengthening communications within organizations at both the regional and international level, strengthening

  18. Situated Techno-Ethics in Businesses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dupret, Katia

    2015-01-01

    The continuous inclusion of new technologies in organizations challenges business ethics and creates new problematics in work life. Managers in particular are challenged insofar as they must learn how to adapt general technological hardware to local organizational needs and work habits. Based......? Using a techno-human practice approach—which takes into account both human and non-human entities as the basis of moral judgment—the new technologically-induced ethical dilemmas faced by managers are discussed. A typology of techno-ethics is introduced, which presents situated ways of engaging...... with technologies in businesses. By employing multiple ethics connected to the use of technologies in organizations might make managers more ethically responsible in decisions concerning technologies....

  19. Heterogeneity of Human Research Ethics Committees and Research Governance Offices across Australia: An observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Smit, Elisabeth; Kearns, Lisa S; Clarke, Linda; Dick, Jonathan; Hill, Catherine L; Hewitt, Alex W

    2016-01-01

    Conducting ethically grounded research is a fundamental facet of all investigations. Nevertheless, the administrative burdens of current ethics review are substantial, and calls have been made for a reduction in research waste. To describe the heterogeneity in administration and documentation required by Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) and Research Governance Offices (RGOs) across Australia. In establishing a nationwide study to investigate the molecular aetiology of Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA), for which archived pathological specimens from around Australia are being recruited, we identified variation across separate HREC and RGO requirements. Submission paperwork and correspondence from each collaborating site and its representative office for research were reviewed. This data was interrogated to evaluate differences in current guidelines. Twenty-five pathology departments across seven Australian States collaborated in this study. All states, except Victoria, employed a single ethics review model. There was discrepancy amongst HRECs as to which application process applied to our study: seven requested completion of a "National Ethics Application Form" and three a "Low Negligible Risk" form. Noticeable differences in guidelines included whether electronic submission was sufficient. There was variability in the total number of documents submitted (range five to 22) and panel review turnaround time (range nine to 136 days). We demonstrate the challenges and illustrate the heavy workload involved in receiving widespread ethics and governance approval across Australia. We highlight the need to simplify, homogenise, and nationalise human ethics for non-clinical trial studies. Reducing unnecessary administration will enable investigators to achieve research aims more efficiently.

  20. Heterogeneity of Human Research Ethics Committees and Research Governance Offices across Australia: An observational study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisabeth De Smit

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Background Conducting ethically grounded research is a fundamental facet of all investigations. Nevertheless, the administrative burdens of current ethics review are substantial, and calls have been made for a reduction in research waste. Aims To describe the heterogeneity in administration and documentation required by Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs and Research Governance Offices (RGOs across Australia. Methods In establishing a nationwide study to investigate the molecular aetiology of Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA, for which archived pathological specimens from around Australia are being recruited, we identified variation across separate HREC and RGO requirements. Submission paperwork and correspondence from each collaborating site and its representative office for research were reviewed. This data was interrogated to evaluate differences in current guidelines. Results Twenty-five pathology departments across seven Australian States collaborated in this study. All states, except Victoria, employed a single ethics review model. There was discrepancy amongst HRECs as to which application process applied to our study: seven requested completion of a “National Ethics Application Form” and three a “Low Negligible Risk” form. Noticeable differences in guidelines included whether electronic submission was sufficient. There was variability in the total number of documents submitted (range five to 22 and panel review turnaround time (range nine to 136 days. Conclusion We demonstrate the challenges and illustrate the heavy workload involved in receiving widespread ethics and governance approval across Australia. We highlight the need to simplify, homogenise, and nationalise human ethics for non-clinical trial studies. Reducing unnecessary administration will enable investigators to achieve research aims more efficiently

  1. Ethics education in research involving human beings in undergraduate medicine curriculum in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novaes, Maria Rita Garbi; Guilhem, Dirce; Barragan, Elena; Mennin, Stewart

    2013-12-01

    The Brazilian national curriculum guidelines for undergraduate medicine courses inspired and influenced the groundwork for knowledge acquisition, skills development and the perception of ethical values in the context of professional conduct. The evaluation of ethics education in research involving human beings in undergraduate medicine curriculum in Brazil, both in courses with active learning processes and in those with traditional lecture learning methodologies. Curricula and teaching projects of 175 Brazilian medical schools were analyzed using a retrospective historical and descriptive exploratory cohort study. Thirty one medical schools were excluded from the study because of incomplete information or a refusal to participate. Active research for information from institutional sites and documents was guided by terms based on 69 DeCS/MeSH descriptors. Curriculum information was correlated with educational models of learning such as active learning methodologies, tutorial discussions with integrated curriculum into core modules, and traditional lecture learning methodologies for large classes organized by disciplines and reviewed by occurrence frequency of ethical themes and average hourly load per semester. Ninety-five medical schools used traditional learning methodologies. The ten most frequent ethical themes were: 1--ethics in research (26); 2--ethical procedures and advanced technology (46); 3--ethic-professional conduct (413). Over 80% of schools using active learning methodologies had between 50 and 100 hours of scheduled curriculum time devoted to ethical themes whereas more than 60% of traditional learning methodology schools devoted less than 50 hours in curriculum time to ethical themes. The data indicates that medical schools that employ more active learning methodologies provide more attention and time to ethical themes than schools with traditional discipline-based methodologies. Given the importance of ethical issues in contemporary medical

  2. "Choose the Future Wisely": Supporting Better Ethics through Critical Thinking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meisel, Steven I.; Fearon, David S.

    2006-01-01

    Most people learn and internalize their sense of ethical behavior many years before they assume positions of organizational responsibility. Continued training in ethics helps to develop new understanding and supports ethical behavior. It is also useful to increase the cognitive skills of executives making decisions affecting firms and…

  3. Euthanasia and common sense: a reply to Garcia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seay, Gary

    2011-06-01

    J. L. A. Garcia holds that my defense of voluntary euthanasia in an earlier paper amounts to an "assault on traditional common sense" about what medical ethics permits physicians to do, particularly insofar as I hold that a physician's duty to abstain from intentionally killing is only a defeasible duty, not an unconditional one. But I argue here that it is Garcia's views that are more at odds with common sense, and that voluntary euthanasia is in fact a humane alternative that respects patient autonomy and is consistent with the most fundamental moral duties of physicians. Among these is a duty to relieve suffering, which can sometimes outweigh the fundamental duty to conserve life.

  4. [Manipulation of the human genome: ethics and law].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goulart, Maria Carolina Vaz; Iano, Flávia Godoy; Silva, Paulo Maurício; Sales-Peres, Silvia Helena de Carvalho; Sales-Peres, Arsênio

    2010-06-01

    The molecular biology has provided the basic tool for geneticists deepening in the molecular mechanisms that influence different diseases. It should be noted the scientific and moral responsibility of the researchers, because the scientists should imagine the moral consequences of the commercial application of genetic tests, since this fact involves not only the individual and their families, but the entire population. Besides being also necessary to make a reflection on how this information from the human genome will be used, for good or bad. The objective of this review was to bring the light of knowledge, data on characteristics of the ethical application of molecular biology, linking it with the rights of human beings. After studying literature, it might be observed that the Human Genome Project has generated several possibilities, such as the identification of genes associated with diseases with synergistic properties, but sometimes modifying behavior to genetically intervene in humans, bringing benefits or social harm. The big challenge is to decide what humanity wants on this giant leap.

  5. Business Ethics: International Analysis of Codes of Ethics and Conduct

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josmar Andrade

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Codes of ethics and code of conduct formalize an ideal of expected behavior patterns to managers and employees of organizations, providing standards and orientation that states companies interactions with the community, through products /services, sales force, marketing communications, investments, and relationships with other stakeholders, influencing company reputation and overall Marketing performance. The objective of this study is to analyze the differences in codes of ethics of the largest companies based in Brazil and in Portugal, given their cultural and linguistic similarities. Findings show that the use of codes of ethics are more common in Brazil than in Portugal and that codes of ethics are substantially more extensive and cover a larger number of categories in Brazilian companies, reflecting the organizations’ mission and perception of stakeholders concerns and priorities. We conclude that ethical issues severely impact company reputation and, in a comprehensive sense, overall Marketing performance. Marketing professionals should be systematically aware of how company core values are transmitted to different audiences, including the use of code of ethics to communicate both with internal and external publics. 0 0 1 171 966 CASA DOS ANDRADES 23 14 1123 14.0 96 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE  

  6. Ethical leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keselman, David

    2012-01-01

    In today's climate and environment, the conventional relationship between caring, economic, and administrative practices no longer serves the interest of patients, clinicians, or systems. A shift toward human caring values and an ethic of authentic healing relationships is required as systems now have to value human resources and life purposes, inner meaning, and processes for providers and patients alike. The costs of unethical behavior can be even greater for followers. When we assume the benefits of leadership, we also assume ethical burdens. It is the assertion and experience of the author that the triangle of ethics and ethical behavior, followers, and patient's outcomes are closely interrelated and affect each other in a very intimate and direct way. Unethical leadership may lead to follower disappointment and distrust, leading to lack of interest and commitment, consequently negatively impacting patient outcomes and organizational effectiveness.

  7. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, MORAL, ETHICS, BIO-ETHICS AND WHAT IS IN BETWEEN.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keidar, Daniella; Yagoda, Arie

    2014-10-01

    In recent years, the study of emotions has broadened its scope and established its standing as a new scientific discipline. Humanity has become increasingly conscious of the seminal role played by the emotional components in both intrapersonal and interpersonal behavior. A deeply rooted and inherent correlation exists between emotional intelligence (E.I. - Emotional Intelligence) and positive social results: social adaptation, quality social relationships, the capacity for healthy social behaviors, caring, altruism, empathy, enlightened communication and the efficacy and personal coherence essential to moral and ethical behavior, including its manifestation in the sphere of bio-ethics. The importance of the personal relationship between the doctor and the patient is especially fundamental in the current era of immense and accelerated scientific-technological development, forcing doctors to cope with an increasingly complicated technical environment. Precisely because of this reality, it is essential that a doctor's actions and interpersonal relationship with the patient proceed from an ethical base, grounded in both professional and emotional responsibility. Emotional responsibility is one of the central elements underlying bioethical conduct and is the element that provides the guideposts for the treatment of others. The symbiotic connection between emotional intelligence and the sphere of ethics and morals is what delineates human beings. Human beings, by definition and in essence, bear responsibility for their actions. The beginning of ethics is in the human being's consciousness of choice in relation to self and to others. An individual's choices integrate emotion and cognition. That ability to integrate alongside the capacity for choice enables the human race to act in accordance with ethical and moral codes. At work, on a daily basis, a doctor is positioned opposite to the physical, emotional, cognitive and ethical entirety of the patient. Beyond the doctor

  8. TEACHING SCHOOL PAPER UNDER THE VIEWPOINT OF LAW 10639/03 and 11645/08: NOTES ETHICAL AND ETHNIC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sônia Aparecida Siquelli

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This article presents an analysis of teacher education from the school of ethical responsibility toward ethnic differences exist in Brazilian society. Categories such as alterity, nostridade and dialogue are seen as ethical condition of the formation of this ethnic consciousness. This triad lets discuss existing policies and pedagogical practices of educational professionals, from law 10639/03 and 11645/08, which brings the requirement to incorporate into the curriculum of basic education and the teaching of history and Afro-Brazilian Culture African. Points of teaching practice and school that promotes not only the creation of an ethical act in teaching that accounts for the formation of a consciousness that minimizes ethnic differences, but that gives meaning to the act of educating students as human beings need to be accepted, included in relations of equality and not just beings of rights guaranteed by law. The laws and resolutions as necessary only make sense if accompanied by an ethic that realizes the aspirations of having an egalitarian, less individualistic and more human.

  9. Ethical Considerations in Mandatory Disclosure of Data Acquired While Caring for Human Trafficking Survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Patrick L; Dash, Rachel

    2017-01-01

    Accurate data on the prevalence and psychological effects of human trafficking as well as treatment outcomes for survivors are essential for measuring the impact of interventions and generating better understanding of this phenomenon. However, such data are difficult to obtain. A legal mandate for health care professionals to report trafficking opens opportunities for advancing our work in the field of human trafficking but also poses risks to survivors seeking services. In this article, we provide an analysis of some critical ethical considerations for the development and implementation of a mandatory reporting policy and offer recommendations for the ethical implementation of such a policy. © 2017 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

  10. Ethics and policies in the face of research into extending human life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellver Capella, Vicente

    2014-01-01

    If the prediction of some scientists comes true, then we are only few years away from the appearance of the first generation of human beings who will be able to add one year to each remaining year of life expectancy. Faced with this possibility, it seems appropriate to give thought to the public policies that should be adopted. It is better to anticipate the various future scenarios than react to a reality which is a fait accompli. To date, the debate has mainly focused on the ethical question: is it good or bad for us humans to achieve immortal life? Until now, neither legal guidelines at State level nor those of international organisations which deal with bioethical issues have concerned themselves with this matter. But before discussing policies, two other matters should be addressed: first, to show how the prolongation of human life can be as much the unwanted outcome of legitimate efforts in search of healthy aging, as one of the aims of the post-humanist project; second, to present the most consistent and shared ethical reasons for rejecting the human immortality project.

  11. Applied Ethics in Nowadays Society

    OpenAIRE

    Tomita CIULEI

    2013-01-01

    This special issue is dedicated to Nowadays Applied Ethics in Society, and falls in the field of social sciences and humanities, being hosted both theoretical approaches and empirical research in various areas of applied ethics. Applied ethics analyzes of a series of morally concrete situations of social or professional practice in order to make / adopt decisions. In the field of applied ethics are integrated medical ethics, legal ethics, media ethics, professional ethics, environmental ethic...

  12. Tortury i egzekucje w etyce kata [TORTURES AND EXECUTIONS IN THE EXECUTIONER ETHICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roman Tokarczyk

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Article is devoted to executioner ethics in the sense capital punishment ethics.At first definitions and concepts are presented. Next: torture ethics, execution ethics,executioner ethics principles, evaluations of executioner and executioner placein culture.Author contemplates historical and cultural background connected with executionerprofession from mainly the three points of view: torture ethics, executionethics, executioner ethics in the light both deontological as utilitarian currents of ethics.

  13. Tortury i egzekucje w etyce kata [TORTURES AND EXECUTIONS IN THE EXECUTIONER ETHICS

    OpenAIRE

    Roman Tokarczyk

    2013-01-01

    Article is devoted to executioner ethics in the sense capital punishment ethics.At first definitions and concepts are presented. Next: torture ethics, execution ethics,executioner ethics principles, evaluations of executioner and executioner placein culture.Author contemplates historical and cultural background connected with executionerprofession from mainly the three points of view: torture ethics, executionethics, executioner ethics in the light both deontological as utilitarian currents o...

  14. A Performative Approach to Teaching Care Ethics: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamington, Maurice

    2012-01-01

    This article describes a unique experiment in reconceptualizing the teaching of ethics as an embodied, performative activity rather than a purely intellectual, scholarly study. Although the inclusion of corporeal dimensions in the teaching of ethics makes intuitive sense, because morality is all about how one acts in the world, ethics education in…

  15. Science and ethics of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome controversies in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewster, David

    2011-09-01

    The human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic in Africa has raised important ethical issues for both researchers and clinicians. The most notorious controversy has been related to the zidovudine (AZT) trials in Africa in the late 1990s, in which the control groups were given a placebo rather than an effective drug to prevent vertical transmission. This raised concerns in the sponsoring country about exploitation of subjects, injustice and an ethical double standard between donor countries and resource-poor settings. However, the real double standard is between clinical practice standards in Western versus African countries, which must be addressed as part of the increasing global inequity of wealth both between countries and also within countries. There are important limitations to ethical declarations, principles and guidelines on their own without contextual ethical reasoning. The focus on research ethics with the HIV epidemic has led to a relative neglect of ethical issues in clinical practice. Although the scientific advances in HIV/AIDS have changed the ethical issues since the 1990s, there has also been progress in the bioethics of HIV/AIDS in terms of ethical review capability by local committees as well as in exposure to ethical issues by clinicians and researchers in Africa. However, serious concerns remain about the overregulation of research by bureaucratic agencies which could discourage African research on specifically African health issues. There is also a need for African academic institutions and researchers to progressively improve their research capacity with the assistance of research funders and donor agencies. © 2011 The Author. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2011 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

  16. Biopiracy and the ethics of medical heritage: the case of India's traditional knowledge digital library'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidd, Ian James

    2012-09-01

    Medical humanities have a central role to play in combating biopiracy. Medical humanities scholars can articulate and communicate the complex structures of meaning and significance which human beings have invested in their ways of conceiving health and sickness. Such awareness of the moral significance of medical heritage is necessary to ongoing legal, political, and ethical debates regarding the status and protection of medical heritage. I use the Indian Traditional Knowledge Digital Library as a case study of the role of medical humanities in challenging biopiracy by deepening our sense of the moral value of medical heritage.

  17. Ethics approval: responsibilities of journal editors, authors and research ethics committees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bain, Luchuo Engelbert

    2017-01-01

    Meaningful progress of medicine depends on research that must ultimately involve human subjects. Obtaining ethical approval therefore, especially in medical sciences, should be a moral reflex for researchers. This unfortunately is not the case, with numerous researchers bypassing the ethics approval procedure, or simply unaware of its importance. Good research involves risks taken by research participants and uses tax payers' money in the process. These mandates the research endeavor to aim at attaining the highest degree of respect for the sacrifices made by others for science. Most researchers mistake scientific clearance or approval, for ethics approval. For a study to be ethical sound, it must be scientifically sound. This is only one of the activities carried out during protocol review. It is not uncommon for sensitive ethical concerns, especially in the social sciences to be overlooked and considered not to be accompanied by any serious risks for the research participants.The researcher has the responsibility of systematically consulting the competent ethics committee for advice and consequent approvals or ethical waivers. Journal editors and reviewers have the duty to systematically evaluate the ethical soundness of manuscripts submitted for review. Capacity building in research ethics and institutional support for Research Ethics Committees to speed up protocol review could reduce the incentive of carrying out research in human subjects without ethics approvals. It is hypocritical and idle to continue to expect optimal reviews on time and of good quality, from ethics committees functioning purely on altruistic grounds. Capacity building for researchers in research ethics, and institutional reforms and support for Research Ethics Committees appear not to have received the attention they truly deserve.

  18. Universalist ethics in extraterrestrial encounter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baum, Seth D.

    2010-02-01

    If humanity encounters an extraterrestrial civilization, or if two extraterrestrial civilizations encounter each other, then the outcome may depend not only on the civilizations' relative strength to destroy each other but also on what ethics are held by one or both civilizations. This paper explores outcomes of encounter scenarios in which one or both civilizations hold a universalist ethical framework. Several outcomes are possible in such scenarios, ranging from one civilization destroying the other to both civilizations racing to be the first to commit suicide. Thus, attention to the ethics of both humanity and extraterrestrials is warranted in human planning for such an encounter. Additionally, the possibility of such an encounter raises profound questions for contemporary human ethics, even if such an encounter never occurs.

  19. Scientists' Ethical Obligations and Social Responsibility for Nanotechnology Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corley, Elizabeth A; Kim, Youngjae; Scheufele, Dietram A

    2016-02-01

    Scientists' sense of social responsibility is particularly relevant for emerging technologies. Since a regulatory vacuum can sometimes occur in the early stages of these technologies, individual scientists' social responsibility might be one of the most significant checks on the risks and negative consequences of this scientific research. In this article, we analyze data from a 2011 mail survey of leading U.S. nanoscientists to explore their perceptions the regarding social and ethical responsibilities for their nanotechnology research. Our analyses show that leading U.S. nanoscientists express a moderate level of social responsibility about their research. Yet, they have a strong sense of ethical obligation to protect laboratory workers (in both universities and industry) from unhealthy exposure to nanomaterials. We also find that there are significant differences in scientists' sense of social and ethical responsibility depending on their demographic characteristics, job affiliation, attention to media content, risk perceptions and benefit perceptions. We conclude with some implications for future research.

  20. A Synergistic Approach to Human Rights and Public Health Ethics: Effective or a Source of Conflict?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steinmetz-Wood, Madeleine

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Concerns over the growing disparities in health and wealth between members of society incited Stephanie Nixon and Lisa Forman, in their 2008 article Exploring synergies between human rights and public health ethics: A whole greater than the sum of its parts, to propose that the principles of human rights and public health ethics should be used in combination to develop norms for health action. This commentary reflects on the benefits as well as the difficulties that could arise from taking such an approach.

  1. ETHICS AND CHANGES IN SPORT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovo Radoš

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Ethics, as a practical philosophy, is found in essential relationships and relations with other relevant practical disciplines (economics, law, politics, sport, etc.. Every human activity is ethically grounded. Therefore, human ethics, which includes sport ethics, is one of the fundamental criteria for establishing moral relations in different are as of sport life. Sport morale stems from a universally accepted ethics legal principles that aim at maintaining sport spirit based on the Olympics codex and humanity principles, among which are: consciousness and honesty, righteousness, cultural-behavior principle, openness, and the like. Changes in sport (organizational, structural, competition, etc. need to be adequately adjusted to universal, and generally accepted, values. Avoiding deontological ethics inevitably leads to increased sports immorality (referees_ fixing match results, spectators_ aggressive behavior, cheating using for bidden doping, etc.. Thus, projecting and introducing innovations in the field of sport, which, after all, are necessary and unavoidable in all areas of life, including sport, will eventually show its positive results only if the aforementioned aspects of sport ethics are taken into consideration.

  2. Parallel experience: how art and art theory can inform ethics in human research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, L

    2003-12-01

    Trends in ethical research involving humans emphasise the importance of collaboration, of involving research subjects, alongside the researchers in the construction and implementation of research. This paper will explore parallels derived from another tradition of investigation of the human: art and art theory. An artist's inquiry into the problems of human research will be described, followed by the application of arguments from art theory to research practice. Recently artist Christine Borland has provided examples in which the lack of collaboration in research has caused injustice. Borland's work reflects these ethical dilemmas and questions the procedures and assumptions involved. In most cases the value of subject anonymity is called into question because it reduces the subjects' control over themselves. The application of art theory, which has already considered these problems, helps question and explore the ways in which the subject turned object of artistic or scientific interpretation can maintain some control and dignity.

  3. Ethical acceptability of research on human-animal chimeric embryos: summary of opinions by the Japanese Expert Panel on Bioethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizuno, Hiroshi; Akutsu, Hidenori; Kato, Kazuto

    2015-01-01

    Human-animal chimeric embryos are embryos obtained by introducing human cells into a non-human animal embryo. It is envisaged that the application of human-animal chimeric embryos may make possible many useful research projects including producing three-dimensional human organs in animals and verification of the pluripotency of human ES cells or iPS cells in vivo. The use of human-animal chimeric embryos, however, raises several ethical and moral concerns. The most fundamental one is that human-animal chimeric embryos possess the potential to develop into organisms containing human-derived tissue, which may lead to infringing upon the identity of the human species, and thus impairing human dignity. The Japanese Expert Panel on Bioethics in the Cabinet Office carefully considered the scientific significance and ethical acceptability of the issue and released its "Opinions regarding the handling of research using human-animal chimeric embryos". The Panel proposed a framework of case-by-case review, and suggested that the following points must be carefully reviewed from the perspective of ethical acceptability: (a) Types of animal embryos and types of animals receiving embryo transfers, particularly in dealing with non-human primates; (b) Types of human cells and organs intended for production, particularly in dealing with human nerve or germ cells; and (c) Extent of the period required for post-transfer studies. The scientific knowledge that can be gained from transfer into an animal uterus and from the production of an individual must be clarified to avoid unnecessary generation of chimeric animals. The time is ripe for the scientific community and governments to start discussing the ethical issues for establishing a global consensus.

  4. Ethical Issues Surrounding the Use of Modern Human Remains for Research in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briers, N; Dempers, J J

    2017-02-01

    Chapter 8 of the South African National Health Act 61 of 2003 (NHA) that deals with the donation of human tissue was promulgated in 2012. The new Act is perceived to impose restrictions on low-risk research involving human remains. This study aimed to identify the issues raised by a research ethics committee (REC) when reviewing protocols where human remains are used as data source. REC minutes from 2009 to 2014 were reviewed, and issues raised by the committee were categorized. In total, 127 protocols submitted to the committee over 6 years involved human remains. Queries relating to science (22.2%) and administration (18.9%) were the most common, whereas queries relating to legal issues constituted only 10.2%. Ethical issues centered on informed consent regarding sensitive topics such as HIV, DNA, and deceased children. The change in legislation did not change the number or type of legal issues identified by the REC.

  5. Neuroethics: the pursuit of transforming medical ethics in scientific ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueroa, Gustavo

    2016-02-20

    Ethical problems resulting from brain research have given rise to a new discipline termed neuroethics, representing a new kind of knowledge capable of discovering the neural basis for universal ethics. The article (1) tries to evaluate the contributions of neuroethics to medical ethics and its suitability to outline the foundations of universal ethics, (2) critically analyses the process of founding this universal ethic. The potential benefits of applying neuroimaging, psychopharmacology and neurotechnology have to be carefully weighed against their potential harm. In view of these questions, an intensive dialogue between neuroscience and the humanities is more necessary than ever.

  6. Neuroethics: the pursuit of transforming medical ethics in scientific ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo Figueroa

    Full Text Available Ethical problems resulting from brain research have given rise to a new discipline termed neuroethics, representing a new kind of knowledge capable of discovering the neural basis for universal ethics. The article (1 tries to evaluate the contributions of neuroethics to medical ethics and its suitability to outline the foundations of universal ethics, (2 critically analyses the process of founding this universal ethic. The potential benefits of applying neuroimaging, psy-chopharmacology and neurotechnology have to be carefully weighed against their potential harm. In view of these questions, an intensive dialogue between neuroscience and the humanities is more necessary than ever.

  7. Disrupting top down frameworks for ethics:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Markham, Annette

    What constitutes ethical design of technologies, ethical use of data, and ethical research about people? In this talk, Professor Annette Markham begins with the premise that “doing the right thing” is an outcome of rhetorically powerful tangles of human and non-human elements, embedded in deep...

  8. Genetic testing and its implications: human genetics researchers grapple with ethical issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabino, Isaac

    2003-01-01

    To better understand ethical issues involved in the field of human genetics and promote debate within the scientific community, the author surveyed scientists who engage in human genetics research about the pros, cons, and ethical implications of genetic testing. This study contributes systematic data on attitudes of scientific experts. The survey finds respondents are highly supportive of voluntary testing and the right to know one's genetic heritage. The majority consider in utero testing and consequent pregnancy termination acceptable for cases involving likelihood of serious disease but disapprove for genetic reasons they consider arbitrary, leaving a gray area of distinguishing between treatment of disorders and enhancement still to be resolved. While safeguarding patient confidentiality versus protecting at-risk third parties (kin, reproductive partners) presents a dilemma, preserving privacy from misuse by institutional third parties (employers, insurers) garners strong consensus for legislation against discrimination. Finally, a call is made for greater genetic literacy.

  9. Ethics and sustainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jimenez Mejia, Jose Fernando

    2002-01-01

    It could be said that the concept of sustainability is based on ethic postulates, because it claims to bear in mind the set of necessities of future generations as a control variable for human development models and for consumption patterns. Ethics, in its own, mainly in the spinozist line of thinking, is a philosophical proposal directed to empowering the operations of expression of the beings (not only of the human being). This ethics outlines multiple developments and conceive future generations not as undifferentiated, passive and impotent collectives, but as active and joyful communities, who are sensitive to the possibilities of their own devenir

  10. The ethics weathervane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knoppers, Bartha Maria; Chadwick, Ruth

    2015-09-04

    Global collaboration in genomic research is increasingly both a scientific reality and an ethical imperative. This past decade has witnessed the emergence of six new, interconnected areas of ethical consensus and emphasis for policy in genomics: governance, security, empowerment, transparency, the right not to know, and globalization. The globalization of genomic research warrants an approach to governance policies grounded in human rights. A human rights approach activates the ethical principles underpinning genomic research. It lends force to the right of all citizens to benefit from scientific progress, and to the right of all scientists to be recognized for their contributions.

  11. The role of veterinarians in equestrian sport: a comparative review of ethical issues surrounding human and equine sports medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Madeleine L H

    2013-09-01

    Veterinarians have a key role in providing medical care for sports horses during and between competitions, but the standard client:veterinarian relationship that exists in companion and production animal medicine is distorted by the involvement of third parties in sports medicine, resulting in distinct ethical dilemmas which warrant focused academic attention. By comparing the existing literature on human sports medicine, this article reviews the ethical dilemmas which face veterinarians treating equine athletes, and the role of regulators in contributing to or resolving those dilemmas. Major ethical dilemmas occur both between and during competitions. These include conflicts of responsibility, conflicts between the need for client confidentiality and the need to share information in order to maximise animal welfare, and the need for an evidence base for treatment. Although many of the ethical problems faced in human and equine sports medicine are similar, the duty conferred upon a veterinarian by the licensing authority to ensure the welfare of animals committed to his or her care requires different obligations to those of a human sports medicine doctor. Suggested improvements to current practice which would help to address ethical dilemmas in equine sports medicine include an enhanced system for recording equine injuries, the use of professional Codes of Conduct and Codes of Ethics to establish acceptable responses to common ethical problems, and insistence that treatment of equine athletes is evidence-based (so far as possible) rather than economics-driven. Copyright © 2013 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  12. On ethical issues in radiation protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Persson, L.

    1996-01-01

    From an ethical viewpoint the author surveys existing international radiation protection recommendations and standards. After outlining previous work on the ethics of radiation protection, professional ethics, and the ethics of human radiation experiments, the author discusses ethical thinking on seven key issues related to radiation protection and ethics. (author)

  13. Ethical issues in human genome epidemiology: a case study based on the Japanese American Family Study in Seattle, Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, Melissa A

    2002-04-01

    Recent completion of the draft sequence of the human genome has been greeted with both excitement and skepticism, and the potential of this accomplishment for advancing public health has been tempered by ethical concerns about the protection of human subjects. This commentary explores ethical issues arising in human genome epidemiology by using a case study approach based on the ongoing Japanese American Family Study at the University of Washington in Seattle (1994-2003). Ethical issues encountered in designing the study, collecting the data, and reporting the study results are considered. When developing studies, investigators must consider whether to restrict the study to specific racial or ethnic groups and whether community involvement is appropriate. Once the study design is in place, further ethical issues emerge, including obtaining informed consent for DNA banking and protecting the privacy and confidentiality of family members. Finally, investigators must carefully consider whether to report genotype results to study participants and whether pedigrees illustrating the results of the study will be published. Overall, the promise of genomics for improving public health must be pursued based on the fundamental ethical principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

  14. Ethics and research in Human and Social Sciences: a case to be thought

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fausto dos Santos Amaral Filho

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper, fundamentally through the analysis and interpretation of Resolutions that have historically been regulating ethical issues that involve scientific research (CNS Resolutions N. 196/96, N. 466/2012, N. 510/2016, seeks to show the inadequacy of such Resolutions for Human and Social Sciences research. In addition, this text wants to point to the political dispute imposed by the area of biomedical sciences that apparently seems to be little concerned with ethical issues per se and seeks, first and foremost, to maintain its power.

  15. Ethical issues in child and adolescent psychiatry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, J; Stewart, A

    1987-01-01

    This paper concerns the special ethical problems in child and adolescent psychiatry which relate to the child as a developing being. Two themes are discussed--the sense of responsibility in the child, and the therapist's responsibility towards the child. As a background to understanding the former, ideas on moral and cognitive development are reviewed. The therapist's responsibility is discussed in relation to different styles of therapy and the ethical issues they raise. The article concludes with a number of suggested ethical principles. PMID:3572994

  16. A Touch Sensing Technique Using the Effects of Extremely Low Frequency Fields on the Human Body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elfekey, Hatem; Bastawrous, Hany Ayad; Okamoto, Shogo

    2016-12-02

    Touch sensing is a fundamental approach in human-to-machine interfaces, and is currently under widespread use. Many current applications use active touch sensing technologies. Passive touch sensing technologies are, however, more adequate to implement low power or energy harvesting touch sensing interfaces. This paper presents a passive touch sensing technique based on the fact that the human body is affected by the surrounding extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields, such as those of AC power lines. These external ELF fields induce electric potentials on the human body-because human tissues exhibit some conductivity at these frequencies-resulting in what is called AC hum. We therefore propose a passive touch sensing system that detects this hum noise when a human touch occurs, thus distinguishing between touch and non-touch events. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is validated by designing and implementing a flexible touch sensing keyboard.

  17. The capacity for ethical decisions: the relationship between working memory and ethical decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, April; Bagdasarov, Zhanna; Connelly, Shane

    2015-04-01

    Although various models of ethical decision making (EDM) have implicitly called upon constructs governed by working memory capacity (WMC), a study examining this relationship specifically has not been conducted. Using a sense making framework of EDM, we examined the relationship between WMC and various sensemaking processes contributing to EDM. Participants completed an online assessment comprised of a demographic survey, intelligence test, various EDM measures, and the Automated Operation Span task to determine WMC. Results indicated that WMC accounted for unique variance above and beyond ethics education, exposure to ethical issues, and intelligence in several sensemaking processes. Additionally, a marginally significant effect of WMC was also found with reference to EDM. Individual differences in WMC appear likely to play an important role in the ethical decision-making process, and future researchers may wish to consider their potential influences.

  18. Increasing Competence - An Ethical Duty of Civil Servants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandu FRUNZĂ

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The need to cultivate ethical competences and to exercise ethical expertise has become a general feature of the present time. Under the positive influence of the development of minimal ethics as a characteristic of post-modern society, important changes are taking place at the level of the organizational culture. The development of Ethical Codes, the increased importance of Ethical Commissions bring about the obligation of those University Departments which offer programs of specialization in public policies and public administration to propose complex programs in which ethical competences and ethical expertise are developed, as structural elements for professionalization and professional development in the public sector. In this sense, a continuous effort for implementing the features of the deontological codes and of participating in trainings for specializing in the issues of professional ethics for civil servants is required.

  19. The Ethical Problems of Reserach : An empirical study of ethics in research practice

    OpenAIRE

    Colnerud, Gunnel

    2013-01-01

    Most accounts of the ethical problems facing researchers across a broad spectrum of research fields come from ethicists, ethics committees and specialists committed to the study of ethics in human research. In contrast, this study reports on the ethical questions that researchers, themselves, report facing in their everyday practice. Fifty-five Swedish researchers contributed 109 examples of ethical dilemmas, conflicts and problems in research. They were all researchers at the post-doctoral l...

  20. [The metaphysical dimension of animal ethics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walz, Norbert

    2008-01-01

    Utilitarian ethics recognises animals as moral objects, but it does not attribute an absolute value to human or non-human individuals. Animal ethics according to Regan defines the non-human individual as an inherent value, but concedes that humans should be given precedence over animals if a situation involves a decision between life and death. Such life and death decisions relate to the fundamental structures of biological nature. To individuals these fundamental structures (the paradox of life and death) will necessarily appear absurd. The metaphysical dimension of animal ethics tries to shed light on the connections between life and death, body and mind that underly ethical discussions and searches for alternatives to the natural organisation of life.

  1. Unpasteurized Shared Human Milk Use in Pediatric Inpatients: Health and Ethical Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbas, Kimberly H; Sussman-Karten, Karen; Kamin, Daniel; Huh, Susanna Y

    2017-06-01

    Growing evidence supporting the health benefits of human milk, particularly in the preterm population, has led to rising demand for donor human milk in NICUs and pediatric hospitals. There are no previous reports describing the use of unpasteurized shared human milk (USHM) in the hospital setting, but the use of USHM solicited from community donors through social networks appears to be common. Many pediatric hospitals permit inpatients to receive breast milk that has been screened and pasteurized by a human milk banking organization and will provide pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) only to infants who are preterm or have specific medical conditions. These policies are designed to minimize potential adverse effects from improperly handled or screened donor milk and to target patients who would experience the greatest benefit in health outcomes with donor milk use. We explore the ethical and health implications of 2 cases of medically complex infants who did not meet criteria in our tertiary care hospital for the use of PDHM from a regulated human milk bank and were incidentally found to be using USHM. These cases raise questions about how best to balance the ethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and patient autonomy in the provision of PDHM, a limited resource. Health care staff should ask about USHM use to provide adequate counseling about the risks and benefits of various feeding options in the context of an infant's medical condition. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  2. [Ethical dilemmas in health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boléo-Tomé, J

    2009-01-01

    It is difficult to speak of ethic dilemmas in a society that has relativism as the oficial philosophical and political doctrine, i.e., stable values and behavior references, are denied, both in health care and in any other area of human knowledge. In the field of medical sciences it is even pretended to pass from the observational methodology to a field of manipulation and manipulability. It is the very Ethic that is presented as a dilemma. In these conditions one needs to know the lines of thought that are defended, to replace and make disappear the stable ethic references: ecletism, historicism, scientificism, pragmatism, and nihilism itself, that lead to the 'new ethic paradigm', that has created by itself a pseudo-spirituality. The truth is we are adrift in the 'Ethic of Convenience' which changes according to the majorities. In this setting the way to go is to rediscover the abandoned ethic values: only with an objective ethic, with sound references and foundations, it is possible to re-establish and perfect the patient-physician relationship, for a better social health. And this begins with the ethic problem of human life.

  3. The financialisation of business ethics

    OpenAIRE

    Beverungen, Armin; Dunne, Stephen; Hoedemaekers , Casper

    2013-01-01

    Business schools have become implicated in the widespread demonisation of the financial classes. By educating those held most responsible for the crisis – financial traders and speculators – they are said to have produced ruthlessly talented graduates who have ambition in abundance but little sense for social responsibility or ethics. This ethical lack thrives upon the trading floor within a compelling critique of the complicityof the pedagogy of the business school with the financial crisis of t...

  4. Biblical Ethics and Plotinus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pontoppidan, Maria

    2013-01-01

    This article focuses on the question of unification versus relationality in ethics. It compares two different ethical approaches from Late Antiquity, highlighting the contrast between Plotinian (Neoplatonic) ethics as striving for perfect unification of the human soul with the divinity...... - and Biblical ethics as a relational ethics, where alterity remains operative in the encounter with the deity, and where the primary ethical demand is to relate properly to fellow creatures and God as other. The latter demand is exemplified by the figure of Job, whose righteousness is interpreted as his...

  5. Environmental ethics and regional sustainable development

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHENG Du; DAI Erfu

    2012-01-01

    The scientific environmental ethics plays a key role in the recognition of the human-environment interactions.Modern environmental ethics is the philosophical re-thinking of modern human race environmental behavior.The development of environmental ethics theory,as well as its application in reality,determines the viewpoints of environmental ethics.Sustainable development implies harmony on human-environment interactions and inter-generation responsibility,with emphasis on a harmonious relationship among population,resources,environment and development,so as to lay a sustainable and healthy foundation of resources and environment for future generations.The harmonious society construction in China that is raised by the Chinese central government should be covered by environmental ethics.The connotation of open environmental ethics includes a respect for nature,care for the individual human race,and respect for the development of future generations,which means giving consideration to natural values,individual and human race benefits and welfare across generations.The role of environmental ethics in regional development consists of cognition,criticism,education,inspiration,adjusting,legislation and promoting environmental regulations.The major problems in regional development are extensive resource exploration,fast population growth,irrational industrial structure,unfair welfare distribution and the twofold effects of science and technology development.The formulation of environmental ethics that aims at regional sustainable development,can not only harmonize the relationship of population,resource,environment and economic development,but also guide behavior selection,push social and political system transformation,strengthen the legal system,and raise environmental awareness of the public.

  6. Ethics in psychiatry: a framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lolas, Fernando

    2006-10-01

    Defining bioethics as the rational use of dialogue in the formulation, justification, and application of ethical principles, with the aim ofgenerating good practices in research, clinical practice, and advocacy, this paper focuses on methods for bioethical deliberation relevantto psychiatry. Stressing that bioethics fuses the two main ethical traditions in Western thought, the deontological and the teleological, thepaper emphasizes the three conditions that any intervention, if considered in the context of bioethics, should fulfil: it should be appropriateto the problem at hand, it should be good (in the sense that it does good to those who receive it but also to those who perform it),and it should be just (in the sense that its outcomes can be generalized to the whole of society). Some implications of these notions for thepractice and teaching of psychiatry are presented.

  7. Ethical considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knoppers, B.M.

    1996-01-01

    Some ethical questions about molecular biology and human radiation studies are raised. The questions relate to the following: genetic epidemiology leading to possible stigmatization of certain groups; protection of medical information, including samples, and respect for privacy; effect of genetic characterization on standards and procedures relating to occupational exposure; exclusion of vulnerable groups from research studies. On the positive side, there is increased funding within Canada for studies of ethical, legal and social issues, and internationally ethical standards are being developed

  8. Legal and ethical standards for protecting women's human rights and the practice of conscientious objection in reproductive healthcare settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zampas, Christina

    2013-12-01

    The practice of conscientious objection by healthcare workers is growing across the globe. It is most common in reproductive healthcare settings because of the religious or moral values placed on beliefs as to when life begins. It is often invoked in the context of abortion and contraceptive services, including the provision of information related to such services. Few states adequately regulate the practice, leading to denial of access to lawful reproductive healthcare services and violations of fundamental human rights. International ethical, health, and human rights standards have recently attempted to address these challenges by harmonizing the practice of conscientious objection with women's right to sexual and reproductive health services. FIGO ethical standards have had an important role in influencing human rights development in this area. They consider regulation of the unfettered use of conscientious objection essential to the realization of sexual and reproductive rights. Under international human rights law, states have a positive obligation to act in this regard. While ethical and human rights standards regarding this issue are growing, they do not yet exhaustively cover all the situations in which women's health and human rights are in jeopardy because of the practice. The present article sets forth existing ethical and human rights standards on the issue and illustrates the need for further development and clarity on balancing these rights and interests. Copyright © 2013 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Six Challenges for Ethical Conduct in Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niemi, Petteri

    2016-08-01

    The realities of human agency and decision making pose serious challenges for research ethics. This article explores six major challenges that require more attention in the ethics education of students and scientists and in the research on ethical conduct in science. The first of them is the routinization of action, which makes the detection of ethical issues difficult. The social governance of action creates ethical problems related to power. The heuristic nature of human decision making implies the risk of ethical bias. The moral disengagement mechanisms represent a human tendency to evade personal responsibility. The greatest challenge of all might be the situational variation in people's ethical behaviour. Even minor situational factors have a surprisingly strong influence on our actions. Furthermore, finally, the nature of ethics itself also causes problems: instead of clear answers, we receive a multitude of theories and intuitions that may sometimes be contradictory. All these features of action and ethics represent significant risks for ethical conduct in science. I claim that they have to be managed within the everyday practices of science and addressed explicitly in research ethics education. I analyse them and suggest some ways in which their risks can be alleviated.

  10. Beyond equality and inequality in education: Bakhtinian dialogic ethics approach of human uniqueness to educational justice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugene Matusov

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In our essay, we challenge the hegemonic Kantian discourse of defining justice as equality (in a broader sense and injustice as inequality in education (and elsewhere. We argue that this discourse is based on the underlining assumption of replaceability and measurement of people and of educational practice itself. In contrast, we argue that people and their education are unique. Thus, it is necessary to develop an alternative notion of justice based on uniqueness and immeasurability of people and their education. We found that Bakhtin’s dialogic ethics framework is helpful for developing such an alternative approach. According to the Bakhtinian dialogic ethics, people are engaged in self-contradictory deeds, charged with ethical tensions. These ethically problematic deeds must be challenged by others and the self in critical dialogue and must demand responses by the authors of the deeds striving to achieve justice. Taking responsibility is not merely a discursive process of answering – it is not “answerability” – but rather another ethic deed of defining ethically good or bad, defining quality and values, accepting blame, standing grounds, committing to fixing negative consequences, emotional sympathy, and so on. The process of challenging people’s deeds in critical dialogue and their taking (or not taking responsibility defines (injustice of people’s deeds. We examine two cases of educational injustice based on the Bakhtinian dialogic ethics framework of uniquness. We try to show that education and its justice are essentially authorial and, thus, unique processes. Even when justice involves measurable things like money, it is still about unique people with unique educational goals, interests, and needs in unique circumstances that these measurable resources afford. We consider a case of allocation of measurable resources as a compromise between the Kantian formulistic and the Bakhtinian dialogic ethics approaches. We conclude our

  11. The Frequency of Reporting Ethical Issues in Human Subject Articles Published in Iranian Medical Journals: 2009-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Astaneh, Behrooz; Khani, Parisa

    2017-11-10

    Researchers should strictly consider the participants' rights. They are required to document such protections as an ethical approval of the study proposal, the obtaining "informed consent", the authors' "conflict of interests", and the source of "financial support" in the published articles. The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of reporting ethical issues in human subject articles published in Iranian medical journals during 2009-2013. In this cross-sectional study, we randomly reviewed 1460 human subject articles published in Iranian medical journals during 2009-2013 in two Persian and English language groups. Data collection was carried out by assessing articles, focusing on the documentation "ethics committee approval", patients' "informed consent", "financial support", "confidentiality", and "conflict of interest". Of 1460 evaluated articles, 443 (30.3%) reported "ethics committee approval", 686 (47.0%) reported "informed consent", 594 (40.7%) reported "financial support", and 341 (23.4%) reported "conflict of interest". 13% of the articles referred to patients' confidentiality in their text. There was a significant association between these ethical documentations and the year of publication. Articles published in English language journals reported "ethics committee approval", "financial support", and "conflict of interest" significantly more than Persian language journals, but the frequency of "informed consent" was similar. Ethical documentation rate in Iranian medical journals is not up to the expected standards of reputable journals which might be related to a lack of awareness and the education of the authors and the journal's editors. Precise reporting of ethical considerations in medical articles by authors are recommended. It is suggested journals and policymakers pay more attention to reporting this issue while providing standard guidelines in this regard.

  12. Research Ethics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dooly, Melinda; Moore, Emilee; Vallejo, Claudia

    2017-01-01

    Qualitative research, especially studies in educational contexts, often brings up questions of ethics because the study design involves human subjects, some of whom are under age (e.g. data collected in primary education classrooms). It is not always easy for young researchers to anticipate where ethical issues might emerge while designing their…

  13. [The 14/2006 law on human assisted reproduction techniques: scientific and ethical considerations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacadena, Juan-Ramón

    2006-01-01

    The new Spanish Law on Artificial Human Reproduction Techniques is analyzed from the scientific, ethical and legal points of view, paying special attention to the preimplantational diagnosis and the experimental utilization of gametes and preembryos. Other items are also analyzed.

  14. Compliance with National Ethics Requirements for Human-Subject Research in Non-biomedical Sciences in Brazil: A Changing Culture?

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Albuquerque Rocha, Karina; Vasconcelos, Sonia M R

    2018-02-06

    Ethics regulation for human-subject research (HSR) has been established for about 20 years in Brazil. However, compliance with this regulation is controversial for non-biomedical sciences, particularly for human and social sciences (HSS), the source of a recent debate at the National Commission for Research Ethics. We hypothesized that for these fields, formal requirements for compliance with HSR regulation in graduate programs, responsible for the greatest share of Brazilian science, would be small in number. We analyzed institutional documents (collected from June 2014 to May 2015) from 171 graduate programs at six prestigious Brazilian universities in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the states that fund most of the science conducted in Brazil. Among these programs, 149 were in HSS. The results suggest that non-compliance with standard regulation seems to be the rule in most of these programs. The data may reflect not only a resistance from scientists in these fields to comply with standard regulations for ethics in HSR but also a disciplinary tradition that seems prevalent when it comes to research ethics in HSR. However, recent encounters between Brazilian biomedical and non-biomedical scientists for debates over ethics in HSR point to a changing culture in the approach to research ethics in the country.

  15. Machine medical ethics when a human is delusive but the android has its wits about him

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoorn, J.F.; van Rysewyk, S.P.; Pontier, M.A.

    2015-01-01

    When androids take care of delusive patients, ethic-epistemic concerns crop up about an agency’s good intent and why we would follow its advice. Robots are not human but may deliver correct medical information, whereas Alzheimer patients are human but may be mistaken. If humanness is not the

  16. Ethical aspects in clinical trials in the CIS, in particular the setting up of ethical committees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubar, Olga

    2005-01-01

    The ethical aspects of clinical trials in the CIS are based on the development of systematic ethical review and ethical insight and responsibility on the part of researchers, sponsors, and government agencies and society. This is the main purpose of the Forum for Ethics Committees in the Commonwealth of Independent States (FECCIS) whose establishment and activities are focused on the integration of the CIS into the world system of biomedical research with regard to safeguarding ethical standards of human rights protection and harmonization of regulative and methodological space to safeguard protection of human rights and the dignity of biomedical research participants in the CIS.

  17. Løgstrup’s Ontological Ethics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rabjerg, Bjørn

    2017-01-01

    aim is to provide a coherent exposition of Løgstrup’s ethics. However, the result is not a normative ethics upon which we may act, but rather a descriptive diagnosis of interdependence as the basic ontological condition of human social life, where the sovereign expressions of life may enable us to act.......The article explores K. E. Løgstrup’s ontological ethics, understood as an ethics rooted in interdependence. Interdependence, the fact that human beings always hold power over each other, has two very different aspects, which I will call negative and positive, each of them in turn leading...... to different aspects of ontological ethics. By negative and positive I mean the two opposing possibilities of all human interaction that we can either destroy the other person’s life (to a greater or smaller degree) or cause the other person’s life to flourish. We can either be a blessing in the other person’s...

  18. Limits Legal Ethics of Biotechnology in XXI Century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Cabrini Morgato

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The present paper discusses the ethical and legal consequences of developments in biotechnological science, with a focus on the field of genetic engineering. We classify situations originating from developments in biotechnological science depending on their ethical and legal justification, based on Habermas’ reflections in his work “The future of human nature”, and differentiate between negative eugenics, representing ethically and legally justified situations, given their therapeutic potential of bringing benefits to human beings; and positive eugenics, describing situations, which are not justified by Ethics and Law, since they represent risks for the ethical self-understanding of the human species and are also incompatible with the imperative nature of human life protection, which is struc- tured by the Ibero-American constitutional states. We conclude that all moral judgments must follow the principle of human dignity as a major guideline, because the prevention of harmful practices against human beings requires, apart from legal and ethical rules, the responsibility to exclusively employ technologies for therapeutic purposes and to impede that the consumer society and its by-products completely artificialize the human nature.

  19. Advance Directives of Will (Living Will: Ethical and Legal Implications Based on the Principle of Dignity of Human Person

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Aparecida Alkimim

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper, with methodology of philosophical, bibliographical and documentary research intends to apply the principle of dignity of human person to the vicissitudes around the advance directives of will, to the ethical aspects disciplined by the Code of Medical Ethics, as well as to what regards the legal aspects, involving the Federal Constitution, the Civil Code, the Code of Medical Ethics and the Resolution 1995/2012 (CFM. The principle of dignity of human person along with the consequent application in the principles of bioethics is considered in a personalistic perspective. This kind of approach is indicative of the interdisciplinarity of bioethics.

  20. Physician Encounters with Human Trafficking: Legal Consequences and Ethical Considerations

    OpenAIRE

    Todres, Jonathan

    2017-01-01

    There is growing recognition and evidence that health care professionals regularly encounter - though they may not identify - victims of human trafficking in a variety of health care settings. Identifying and responding appropriately to trafficking victims or survivors requires not only training in trauma-informed care but also consideration of the legal and ethical issues that arise when serving this vulnerable population. This essay examines three areas of law that are relevant to this case...

  1. Scientific Ethics: A New Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menapace, Marcello

    2018-06-04

    Science is an activity of the human intellect and as such has ethical implications that should be reviewed and taken into account. Although science and ethics have conventionally been considered different, it is herewith proposed that they are essentially similar. The proposal set henceforth is to create a new ethics rooted in science: scientific ethics. Science has firm axiological foundations and searches for truth (as a value, axiology) and knowledge (epistemology). Hence, science cannot be value neutral. Looking at standard scientific principles, it is possible to construct a scientific ethic (that is, an ethical framework based on scientific methods and rules), which can be applied to all sciences. These intellectual standards include the search for truth (honesty and its derivatives), human dignity (and by reflection the dignity of all animals) and respect for life. Through these it is thence achievable to draft a foundation of a ethics based purely on science and applicable beyond the confines of science. A few applications of these will be presented. Scientific ethics can have vast applications in other fields even in non scientific ones.

  2. Ethics and law in research with human biological samples: a new approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrini, Carlo

    2014-01-01

    During the last century a large number of documents (regulations, ethical codes, treatises, declarations, conventions) were published on the subject of ethics and clinical trials, many of them focusing on the protection of research participants. More recently various proposals have been put forward to relax some of the constraints imposed on research by these documents and regulations. It is important to distinguish between risks deriving from direct interventions on human subjects and other types of risk. In Italy the Data Protection Authority has acted in the question of research using previously collected health data and biological samples to simplify the procedures regarding informed consent. The new approach may be of help to other researchers working outside Italy.

  3. Ethics in radiation protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corbett, R.H.

    2002-01-01

    Ethics is a branch of philosophy. Its object is the study of both moral and immoral behaviour in order to make well founded judgements and to arrive at adequate recommendations. The Collins English Dictionary provides the following definitions of the word ethic: Ethic: a moral principle or set of moral values held by an individual or group; Ethics(singular): the philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct and of the rules and principles that ought to govern it; Ethics(pleural): a social, religious or civil code of behaviour considered correct, especially that of a particular group, profession or individual; Ethics(pleural): the moral fitness of a decision, course of action, etc. Ethics has a two-fold objective: Firstly it evaluates human practices by calling upon moral standards; it may give prescriptive advice on how to act morally in a specific kind of situation. This implies analysis and evaluation. Sometimes this is known as Normative ethics. The second is to provide therapeutic advice, suggesting solutions and policies. It must be based on well-informed opinions and requires a clear understanding of the vital issues. In the medical world, we are governed by the Hippocratic Oath. Essentially this requires medical practitioners (doctors) to do good, not harm. There is great interest and even furore regarding ethics in radiation protection

  4. Pandemic influenza: human rights, ethics and duty to treat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pahlman, I; Tohmo, H; Gylling, H

    2010-01-01

    The 2009 influenza A/H1N1 pandemic seems to be only moderately severe. In the future, a pandemic influenza with high lethality, such as the Spanish influenza in 1918-1919 or even worse, may emerge. In this kind of scenario, lethality rates ranging roughly from 2% to 30% have been proposed. Legal and ethical issues should be discussed before the incident. This article aims to highlight the legal, ethical and professional aspects that might be relevant to anaesthesiologists in the case of a high-lethality infectious disease such as a severe pandemic influenza. The epidemiology, the role of anaesthesiologists and possible threats to the profession and colleagueship within medical specialties relevant to anaesthesiologists are reviewed. During historical plague epidemics, some doctors have behaved like 'deserters'. However, during the Spanish influenza, physicians remained at their jobs, although many perished. In surveys, more than half of the health-care workers have reported their willingness to work in the case of severe pandemics. Physicians have the same human rights as all citizens: they have to be effectively protected against infectious disease. However, they have a duty to treat. Fair and responsible colleagueship among the diverse medical specialties should be promoted. Until disaster threatens humanity, volunteering to work during a pandemic might be the best way to ensure that physicians and other health-care workers stay at their workplace. Broad discussion in society is needed.

  5. Humankind Takes up Environmental Ethics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huiying, Xu

    2004-01-01

    Environmental ethics examines the relationship between human beings and nature from the moral perspective. It is also a kind of ethics arising from a concern with an earth which is on the verge of losing balance. Environmental ethics originated at the end of the 1940s. Since the 1970s, great progress has been made in environmental ethics. This…

  6. On change of concepts: From teacher's occupational ethics to professional ethics

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Tan Chuan-bao

    2006-01-01

    The transition from experience-based teachers to expertise-based ones has marked a significant phase in the history of human education.The conceptive transition from the general "occupational ethics" of teachers to "professional ethics"is actually an important aspect of the transition from experience-based to expertise-based teachers.The establishment of teachers' professional ethics bears the saree historical inevitability as the movement of teachers' professionalization.Complying with this trend,we ought to promote the establishment of teachers' professional ethics specifically in view of the improvement in their living conditions and professional development.

  7. Genetic Testing and Its Implications: Human Genetics Researchers Grapple with Ethical Issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabino, Isaac

    2003-01-01

    Contributes systematic data on the attitudes of scientific experts who engage in human genetics research about the pros, cons, and ethical implications of genetic testing. Finds that they are highly supportive of voluntary testing and the right to know one's genetic heritage. Calls for greater genetic literacy. (Contains 87 references.) (Author/NB)

  8. BIOETHICS METHODS IN THE ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT LITERATURE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Rebecca; Morrissey, Clair

    2013-01-01

    While bioethics as a field has concerned itself with methodological issues since the early years, there has been no systematic examination of how ethics is incorporated into research on the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) of the Human Genome Project. Yet ELSI research may bear a particular burden of investigating and substantiating its methods given public funding, an explicitly cross-disciplinary approach, and the perceived significance of adequate responsiveness to advances in genomics. We undertook a qualitative content analysis of a sample of ELSI publications appearing between 2003-2008 with the aim of better understanding the methods, aims, and approaches to ethics that ELSI researchers employ. We found that the aims of ethics within ELSI are largely prescriptive and address multiple groups. We also found that the bioethics methods used in the ELSI literature are both diverse between publications and multiple within publications, but are usually not themselves discussed or employed as suggested by bioethics method proponents. Ethics in ELSI is also sometimes undistinguished from related inquiries (such as social, legal, or political investigations). PMID:23796275

  9. Research on ethics in two large Human Biomonitoring projects ECNIS and NewGeneris: a bottom up approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Casteleyn Ludwine

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Assessment of ethical aspects and authorization by ethics committees have become a major constraint for health research including human subjects. Ethical reference values often are extrapolated from clinical settings, where emphasis lies on decisional autonomy and protection of individual's privacy. The question rises if this set of values used in clinical research can be considered as relevant references for HBM research, which is at the basis of public health surveillance. Current and future research activities using human biomarkers are facing new challenges and expectancies on sensitive socio-ethical issues. Reflection is needed on the necessity to balance individual rights against public interest. In addition, many HBM research programs require international collaboration. Domestic legislation is not always easily applicable in international projects. Also, there seem to be considerable inconsistencies in ethical assessments of similar research activities between different countries and even within one country. All this is causing delay and putting the researcher in situations in which it is unclear how to act in accordance with necessary legal requirements. Therefore, analysis of ethical practices and their consequences for HBM research is needed. This analysis will be performed by a bottom-up approach, based on a methodology for comparative analysis of determinants in ethical reasoning, allowing taking into account different social, cultural, political and historical traditions, in view of safeguarding common EU values. Based on information collected in real life complexity, paradigm cases and virtual case scenarios will be developed and discussed with relevant stakeholders to openly discuss possible obstacles and to identify options for improvement in regulation. The material collected will allow developing an ethical framework which may constitute the basis for a more harmonized and consistent socio-ethical and legal approach

  10. Research on ethics in two large Human Biomonitoring projects ECNIS and NewGeneris: a bottom up approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumez, Birgit; Van Damme, Karel; Casteleyn, Ludwine

    2008-06-05

    Assessment of ethical aspects and authorization by ethics committees have become a major constraint for health research including human subjects. Ethical reference values often are extrapolated from clinical settings, where emphasis lies on decisional autonomy and protection of individual's privacy. The question rises if this set of values used in clinical research can be considered as relevant references for HBM research, which is at the basis of public health surveillance. Current and future research activities using human biomarkers are facing new challenges and expectancies on sensitive socio-ethical issues. Reflection is needed on the necessity to balance individual rights against public interest. In addition, many HBM research programs require international collaboration. Domestic legislation is not always easily applicable in international projects. Also, there seem to be considerable inconsistencies in ethical assessments of similar research activities between different countries and even within one country. All this is causing delay and putting the researcher in situations in which it is unclear how to act in accordance with necessary legal requirements. Therefore, analysis of ethical practices and their consequences for HBM research is needed.This analysis will be performed by a bottom-up approach, based on a methodology for comparative analysis of determinants in ethical reasoning, allowing taking into account different social, cultural, political and historical traditions, in view of safeguarding common EU values. Based on information collected in real life complexity, paradigm cases and virtual case scenarios will be developed and discussed with relevant stakeholders to openly discuss possible obstacles and to identify options for improvement in regulation. The material collected will allow developing an ethical framework which may constitute the basis for a more harmonized and consistent socio-ethical and legal approach. This will not only increase

  11. Ethical issues for librarians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisca Rasche

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available It approaches the librarian ethics comprehending the Librarianship constitution from a systemic view. In this way, with the objective to raise issues to discuss professional ethics, it places the librarian in the work world and points approaches between exertion and relation context of the professionals themselves with the human rights and alteration ethics.

  12. From Virtue Ethics to Virtuous Corporation - Putting Virtues into Business Practice

    OpenAIRE

    Ying Wang

    2013-01-01

    This paper aims to contribute to a greater understanding of the theory of virtue ethics in its application in the business arena. In contrast to other ethics approaches, virtue theory emphasises the virtues and moral characters of the individual as moral agent. As such, the theory of virtue ethics provides a useful perspective in making sense of various business ethics issues through placing an emphasis on the moral character of the individuals, and its transformational influences in driving ...

  13. Postmodern Business Ethics - Is It Possible, Is It Relevant?

    OpenAIRE

    Takala, Tuomo

    1998-01-01

    Ethics as a general philosophy and doctrine of good life and action has penetrated also the field of economic research. This application has been called business ethics. In the wide sense it concentrates on studying the practices of business life from the moral point of view. It criticizes, studies, and tries to give instructions.

  14. Archimedean Witness: The Application of Remote Sensing as an Aid to Human Rights Prosecutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, James Robin

    The 21st century has seen a significant increase in the use of remote sensing technology in the international human rights arena for the purposes of documenting crimes against humanity. The nexus between remote sensing, human rights activism, and international criminal prosecutions sits at a significant crossroads within geographic thought, calling attention to the epistemological and geopolitical implications that stem from the "view from nowhere" afforded by satellite imagery. Therefore, this thesis is divided into three sections. The first looks at the geographical questions raised by the expansion of remote sensing use in the context of international activism. The second explores the complications inherent in the presentation of remote sensing data as evidence of war crimes. Building upon the first two, the third section is a case study in alternate forms of analysis, aimed at expanding the utility of remote sensing data in international criminal prosecutions.

  15. Does post-humanism still need ethics? The normativity of an open nature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murillo, José Ignacio

    2014-01-01

    In the current era, post-humanism usually adopts two forms. One of these is related to postmodern thought and its critique of Enlightenment ideals, while the other, which is usually referred to as transhumanism, declares itself the heir to optimistic belief in the technological progress of modernity. Nevertheless, both seem like new versions of the struggle between an individualist version of liberalism and its critics. In so far as they are ethical proposals, we may hold them to account for the vagueness of their moral objectives, which only seem to advocate - each in its own way - emancipation and the removal of barriers that may impede an increase in power. This defect is not, though, independent of their rejection of the notion of nature. By contrast, classical ethics does not focus so much on power or emancipation as on the nature of human telos and of his true growth, and it is only from this standpoint that it concerns itself with the means by which this can be achieved.

  16. Ethnographic research with adolescent students: situated fieldwork ethics and ethical principles governing human research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemmings, Annette

    2009-12-01

    This paper explores ethical dilemmas in situated fieldwork ethics concerning ethnographic studies of adolescent students. While consequentialist and deontological ethics form the basis of the ethical stances shared by ethnographers and research ethics committees, the interpretation of those principles may diverge in school-based ethnography with adolescent students because of the particular role of the adult ethnographer vis-à-vis developmentally immature adolescents not held legally responsible for many of their actions. School ethnographers attempt to build trust with adolescent participants in order to learn about their hidden cultural worlds, which may involve activities that are very harmful to the youths involved. They face many difficult and sometimes unexpected choices, including whether to intervene and how to represent events and adolescents in published findings. Scenarios with examples drawn from research conducted in public high schools are used to illustrate and explicate dilemmas in formal research and latent insider/outsider roles and relations involving harmful adolescent behaviors, advocacy, and psychological trauma. Also examined are analytical procedures used to construct interpretations leading to representations of research participants in the resulting publication.

  17. Toward a Method for Exposing and Elucidating Ethical Issues with Human Cognitive Enhancement Technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Bjørn

    2017-04-01

    To develop a method for exposing and elucidating ethical issues with human cognitive enhancement (HCE). The intended use of the method is to support and facilitate open and transparent deliberation and decision making with respect to this emerging technology with great potential formative implications for individuals and society. Literature search to identify relevant approaches. Conventional content analysis of the identified papers and methods in order to assess their suitability for assessing HCE according to four selection criteria. Method development. Amendment after pilot testing on smart-glasses. Based on three existing approaches in health technology assessment a method for exposing and elucidating ethical issues in the assessment of HCE technologies was developed. Based on a pilot test for smart-glasses, the method was amended. The method consists of six steps and a guiding list of 43 questions. A method for exposing and elucidating ethical issues in the assessment of HCE was developed. The method provides the ground work for context specific ethical assessment and analysis. Widespread use, amendments, and further developments of the method are encouraged.

  18. Preface. Current Issues in Ethics

    OpenAIRE

    Holy-Luczaj Magdalena

    2017-01-01

    This interdisciplinary volume consist of papers on various problems in contemporary ethics. It presents the following issues: equalizing the level of positive liberty, the phenomenon of human cooperation, ethical questions related to artificial intelligence, extending ethical obligations toward artifacts, and soteriological threads of alienation criticism of religion.

  19. [Global Bioethics and Biocultural Ethics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozzi, Ricardo

    2016-01-01

    The biocultural ethic recovers an understanding of the vital links between the life habits of the coinhabitants (humans and other-than-human) that share a habitat. The ″3Hs″ formal framework of the biocultural ethics provides a conceptual and methodological tool to understand and to better manage complex eco-social or biocultural systems in heterogeneous regions of the planet. From the global bioethics originally proposed by V.R. Potter, the integration of theory and praxis promoted by Alfredo Pradenas in the Bioethics Society of Chile, and the conceptual framework of biocultural ethics (including traditions of philosophical thought, scientific and Amerindians), I develop a comparative analysis of: 1. an ecosystemic and intercultural concept of the human body, 2. an intercultural understanding of health with complementary Western and Native American medicinal practices, and 3. an appreciation and respect for the fundamental links among the life habits, the habitats where they take place, and the well-being and identity of the communities of cohabitants. Implicit links in the ″3Hs″ biocultural ethics are present in the archaic meanings of the term ethos. This understanding retrieves a primordial root in the genesis of Western ethics, which did not start bounded to how to inhabit or dwell, but also considered where to inhabit and with whom to co-inhabit. I propose to restore the complexity and breadth of the concept of ethics originated in Ancient Greece, to reaffirm the common roots of bioethics and environmental ethics contained in Potter's global bioethics, and to incorporate the systemic and contextual perspective of the biocultural ethic that values biological and cultural diversity (and their interrelationships), to sustain a conception of human health interconnected with the sustainability of the biosphere.

  20. Petroleum and ethics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henn, N.; Train, E.; Chagnoux, H.; Heinzle, P.; Daubresse, M.; Bret-Rouzaut, N.; Fradin, J.

    2000-01-01

    7 articles in this data sheet, they concern: political stakes and stakes of the industrial petroleum sector towards ethical questions; establishment of associations attending to human and environmental questions; examples of of ethical, environmental and safety policy in an industrialized country (ExxonMobil) and in a developing country (TotalFina); synthesis of the ethical problems that the petroleum industry encounter in industrialized and developing countries; considerations on the communication stakes in petroleum companies with the general public. (O.M.)

  1. Ethics in published brain-computer interface research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Specker Sullivan, L.; Illes, J.

    2018-02-01

    Objective. Sophisticated signal processing has opened the doors to more research with human subjects than ever before. The increase in the use of human subjects in research comes with a need for increased human subjects protections. Approach. We quantified the presence or absence of ethics language in published reports of brain-computer interface (BCI) studies that involved human subjects and qualitatively characterized ethics statements. Main results. Reports of BCI studies with human subjects that are published in neural engineering and engineering journals are anchored in the rationale of technological improvement. Ethics language is markedly absent, omitted from 31% of studies published in neural engineering journals and 59% of studies in biomedical engineering journals. Significance. As the integration of technological tools with the capacities of the mind deepens, explicit attention to ethical issues will ensure that broad human benefit is embraced and not eclipsed by technological exclusiveness.

  2. The history of ethics in research with human subjects

    OpenAIRE

    Kottow, Miguel

    2008-01-01

    This article contextualizes the emergence of the field of research ethics in historical, social, and political events over the last 60 years. It draws a distinction between professional ethics and bioethics, focusing on the historical and philosophical precedents of the latter field. It also presents the appearance of research ethics as a result of the disclosure of cases of scientific misconduct, discussing the first regulations on research ethics, the guidelines contained in the Belmont Rep...

  3. Animal ethics based on friendship

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fröding, B.; Peterson, M.B.

    2011-01-01

    This article discusses some aspects of animal ethics from an Aristotelian virtue ethics point of view. Because the notion of friendship (philia) is central to Aristotle's ethical theory, the focus of the article is whether humans and animals can be friends. It is argued that new empirical findings

  4. Everyday Ethics: Reflections on Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossman, Gretchen B.; Rallis, Sharon F.

    2010-01-01

    This introductory article frames the contributions for this issue on everyday ethics--moments that demand moral considerations and ethical choices that researchers encounter. We discuss concerns raised within the research community about the tendency to observe merely obligatory ethical procedures as outlined in Human Subjects Review regulations.…

  5. Ethical decision-making, passivity and pharmacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, R J; Bissell, P; Wingfield, J

    2008-06-01

    Increasing interest in empirical ethics has enhanced understanding of healthcare professionals' ethical problems and attendant decision-making. A four-stage decision-making model involving ethical attention, reasoning, intention and action offers further insights into how more than reasoning alone may contribute to decision-making. To explore how the four-stage model can increase understanding of decision-making in healthcare and describe the decision-making of an under-researched professional group. 23 purposively sampled UK community pharmacists were asked, in semi-structured interviews, to describe ethical problems in their work and how they were resolved. Framework analysis of transcribed interviews utilised the four decision-making stages, together with constant comparative methods and deviant-case analysis. Pharmacists were often inattentive and constructed problems in legal terms. Ethical reasoning was limited, but examples of appeals to consequences, the golden rule, religious faith and common-sense experience emerged. Ethical intention was compromised by frequent concern about legal prosecution. Ethical inaction was common, typified by pharmacists' failure to report healthcare professionals' bad practices, and ethical passivity emerged to describe these negative examples of the four decision-making stages. Pharmacists occasionally described more ethically active decision-making, but this often involved ethical uncertainty. The four decision-making stages are a useful tool in considering how healthcare professionals try to resolve ethical problems in practice. They reveal processes often ignored in normative theories, and their recognition and the emergence of ethical passivity indicates the complexity of decision-making in practice. Ethical passivity may be deleterious to patients' welfare, and concerns emerge about improving pharmacists' ethical training and promoting ethical awareness and responsibility.

  6. Euthanasia and ethical dillemas: Human dignity against sanctity of life

    OpenAIRE

    Simović, Darko Z.; Simeunović-Patić, Biljana J.

    2017-01-01

    The paper analyses ethical dilemmas and conflicting issues tied to euthanasia and the institutionalization of the right to a dignified death, viewed through a prism of arguments in favour of and against euthanasia, solutions of comparative law and the practice of the European Council and The European Court of Human Rights in this field, as well as the existing practices of physicians with respect to the implementation of various modalities of euthanasia. At the national lavel, the topic is be...

  7. [Ethics, culture and psychiatry: the ethics of Mediterranean Europe].

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Ibor, Juan-José; Crespo, Hervás

    2003-09-01

    The defence of the rights of the person, in Mediterranean ethics, is based on a synthesis of civic humanism and liberalism, derived from the spirit of Greek democracy and Enlightenment, and including the achievements of the XIX and XX centuries. It tempers liberalism with the principles of social welfare. Present bioethics, specialy in European countries, try to integrate both the mediterranean ethics of virtues and the anglosaxon ethics of principles, further adding and integrating a social element, the principle of solidarity and distributive justice (equity). Therefore, European ethics do not proclaim the autonomy of persons and the independence of the individual from society, but the interdependency of persons and nations. They advocate a greater equity and a better management of resources in health care.

  8. Ecological Ethics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oughton, Deborah

    2013-01-01

    Deborah Oughton started with a view of the work in progress by the ICRP TG 94 on ethics, from the historical context and the principles-based ethics in RP, to continue with an overview of the ethical theories and with the main area of elaboration which concerns the common values, to conclude with considerations about the implementation in different area such as biomedicine, nuclear safety and workers, ecological aspects, and environmental health and society. By reading again the ICRP and IAEA publications on the ethical aspects in the protection of environment from the effects of ionizing radiation, the presentation covers the various and different cultures within the history of environmental ethics, the perception of Nature and the theories of environmental ethics, in particular by focusing on anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism, as philosophical worldwide views, and on conservation, biodiversity, sustainability, environmental justice and human dignity, as primary principles of environmental protection. The influence of western Christianity, with a view of man dominating over every creeping thing on earth, and of the non-western ideas, the human perception of Nature has been analyzed and discussed to conclude that, in reality then, the anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism, as reflected in many cultures and religions, they all support the need to protect the environment and to recognise and preserve the diversity. Three challenges were then discussed in the presentation: the ecosystem approach and ecological economics, for example in the case of Fukushima by asking what is the economic cost of marine contamination; the ecosystem changes with attention to what harms, as in the case of the environment in the contaminated areas around Chernobyl; and the environmental consequences of remediation, which can be considered a source of controversy for environmental ethics and policy

  9. Case-based ethics instruction: the influence of contextual and individual factors in case content on ethical decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagdasarov, Zhanna; Thiel, Chase E; Johnson, James F; Connelly, Shane; Harkrider, Lauren N; Devenport, Lynn D; Mumford, Michael D

    2013-09-01

    Cases have been employed across multiple disciplines, including ethics education, as effective pedagogical tools. However, the benefit of case-based learning in the ethics domain varies across cases, suggesting that not all cases are equal in terms of pedagogical value. Indeed, case content appears to influence the extent to which cases promote learning and transfer. Consistent with this argument, the current study explored the influences of contextual and personal factors embedded in case content on ethical decision-making. Cases were manipulated to include a clear description of the social context and the goals of the characters involved. Results indicated that social context, specifically the description of an autonomy-supportive environment, facilitated execution of sense making processes and resulted in greater decision ethicality. Implications for designing optimal cases and case-based training programs are discussed.

  10. Can ethics survive the onslaught of science?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lupton, Michael

    2013-09-01

    The issue on which I will attempt to cast some light is certainly not novel. It has been ongoing for many years but the pace of scientific progress is gathering and the retreat of ethical barriers is relentless. I will illustrate my thesis by using examples of legal decisions from the realm of assisted human procreation and the posthumous conception of children from the sperm of deceased fathers e.g., the cases of Diane Blood, Parpalaix and Nikolas Coltan Evans. I will also highlight the recent case of Ashley X, a nine year old girl whose parents authorised radical medical treatment to arrest her development. I will argue that the law is being driven to roll back the ethical standards derived from our legacy of Natural Law by the imperatives of human rights e.g., the right to found a family, and the quest for patient autonomy. These are both admirable goals but fulfilling these goals comes at a cost to cherished ethical values e.g., that children are conceived by living fathers and that indulging the personal desires of every individual cannot forever be encompassed. As our legislators and courts chip away at our core network of ethical values, are they replacing them with equivalent values or do their decisions amount to a hollowing out of the core ethical values e.g., Thou shalt not kill and that human life is sacrosanct? Yet abortion is legal in many countries as is euthanasia. Paradoxically there is legislative protection for embryos by limiting experimentation on these clusters of cells. How do you construct a rational ethical framework with such blatant legal inconsistencies in the protection of human life? The sanctity of human life constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of ethical values which, in turn, support much more of the structure of ethics. Is a society that permits freezing the development of a nine year old child not a society whose ethics are so compromised that it is doomed to defend an ever diminishing mass of ethical values? Is there a

  11. Micro-patterned graphene-based sensing skins for human physiological monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Long; Loh, Kenneth J.; Chiang, Wei-Hung; Manna, Kausik

    2018-03-01

    Ultrathin, flexible, conformal, and skin-like electronic transducers are emerging as promising candidates for noninvasive and nonintrusive human health monitoring. In this work, a wearable sensing membrane is developed by patterning a graphene-based solution onto ultrathin medical tape, which can then be attached to the skin for monitoring human physiological parameters and physical activity. Here, the sensor is validated for monitoring finger bending/movements and for recognizing hand motion patterns, thereby demonstrating its future potential for evaluating athletic performance, physical therapy, and designing next-generation human-machine interfaces. Furthermore, this study also quantifies the sensor’s ability to monitor eye blinking and radial pulse in real-time, which can find broader applications for the healthcare sector. Overall, the printed graphene-based sensing skin is highly conformable, flexible, lightweight, nonintrusive, mechanically robust, and is characterized by high strain sensitivity.

  12. Ethics Committee or Community? Examining the identity of Czech Ethics Committees in the period of transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simek, Jiri; Zamykalova, Lenka; Mesanyova, Marie

    2010-09-01

    Reflecting on a three year long exploratory research of ethics committees in the Czech Republic authors discuss the current role and identity of research ethics committees. The research of Czech ethics committees focused on both self-presentation and self-understanding of ECs members, and how other stakeholders (representatives of the pharmaceutical industry) view them. The exploratory research was based on formal and informal communication with the members of the ethics committees. Members of the research team took part at six regular voluntary meetings of the ethics committees' members, organised by the Forum of Czech Ethics Committees, and at three summer schools of medical ethics. There were realised twenty-five semi-structured interviews as well as six focus group sessions and a participant observation of several regular meetings of three ethics committees. On the grounds of experience from the interviews a simple questionnaire survey was realised among the members of the ethics committees. The ethics committees comprise a community of members working voluntarily, without claims to remuneration or prestige; the unifying goal is protection of subjects of research. The principal working methods are dialogue and agreement. The members of the ethics committees thus, among other things, create an informal community, which can be to a certain extent seen as a Kantian ethical community in a weak sense. The phenomenon of ethics committees can also be described by terms of an epistemic community and a community of practice. These concepts, which are borrowed from other authors and areas, are used as a way how to think of ECs role and identity a bit differently and are meant as a contribution to the current international debate on the topic.

  13. Global Ethics Applied: Global Ethics, Economic Ethics

    OpenAIRE

    Stückelberger, Christoph

    2016-01-01

    Global Ethics Applied’ in four volumes is a reader of 88 selected articles from the author on 13 domains: Vol. 1 Global Ethics, Economic Ethics; Vol. 2 Environmental Ethics; Vol. 3 Development Ethics, Political Ethics, Dialogue and Peace Ethics, Innovation and Research Ethics, Information and Communication Ethics; Vol. 4 Bioethics and Medical Ethics, Family Ethics and Sexual Ethics, Leadership Ethics, Theological Ethics and Ecclesiology, Methods of Ethics. It concludes with the extended Bibli...

  14. Preface. Current Issues in Ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Holy-Luczaj Magdalena

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This interdisciplinary volume consist of papers on various problems in contemporary ethics. It presents the following issues: equalizing the level of positive liberty, the phenomenon of human cooperation, ethical questions related to artificial intelligence, extending ethical obligations toward artifacts, and soteriological threads of alienation criticism of religion.

  15. The ethical challenges of animal research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferdowsian, Hope R; Gluck, John P

    2015-10-01

    In 1966, Henry K. Beecher published an article entitled "Ethics and Clinical Research" in the New England Journal of Medicine, which cited examples of ethically problematic human research. His influential paper drew attention to common moral problems such as inadequate attention to informed consent, risks, and efforts to provide ethical justification. Beecher's paper provoked significant advancements in human research policies and practices. In this paper, we use an approach modeled after Beecher's 1966 paper to show that moral problems with animal research are similar to the problems Beecher described for human research. We describe cases that illustrate ethical deficiencies in the conduct of animal research, including inattention to the issue of consent or assent, incomplete surveys of the harms caused by specific protocols, inequitable burdens on research subjects in the absence of benefits to them, and insufficient efforts to provide ethical justification. We provide a set of recommendations to begin to address these deficits.

  16. From Algorithmic Black Boxes to Adaptive White Boxes: Declarative Decision-Theoretic Ethical Programs as Codes of Ethics

    OpenAIRE

    van Otterlo, Martijn

    2017-01-01

    Ethics of algorithms is an emerging topic in various disciplines such as social science, law, and philosophy, but also artificial intelligence (AI). The value alignment problem expresses the challenge of (machine) learning values that are, in some way, aligned with human requirements or values. In this paper I argue for looking at how humans have formalized and communicated values, in professional codes of ethics, and for exploring declarative decision-theoretic ethical programs (DDTEP) to fo...

  17. Organizational ethics in Catholic health care: honoring stewardship and the work environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magill, G

    2001-04-01

    Organizational ethics refers to the integration of values into decision making, policies, and behavior throughout the multi-disciplinary environment of a health care organization. Based upon Catholic social ethics, stewardship is at the heart of organizational ethics in health care in this sense: stewardship provides the hermeneutic filter that enables basic ethical principles to be realized practically, within the context of the Catholic theology of work, to concerns in health care. This general argument can shed light on the specific topic of non-executive compensation programs as an illustration of organizational ethics in health care.

  18. [The diversity of animal ethics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilmer, J B Jeangène

    2013-01-01

    Animal ethics is not a set of rules telling humans how to behave when interacting with animals, but an area for research into the moral responsibility of humans towards animals as individuals. The present article studies the subject by examining a number of dichotomies: French humanism and Anglo-Saxon animal ethics, justice vs. compassion, welfarism and abolitionism, and the divide between proponents of animal rights and those who prefer to speak of "interests".

  19. The ethics of human condition in the age of technological civilization. Back and forth with Heidegger and Jonas.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Luzia Miranda

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available The ethical dimension of the human condition in our times takes increasingly more space in current philosophical discussions. In this context, the ethical principle of responsibility has been widely discussed, particularly by authors who work on the ethical implications of modern technology. In his essay on ethics for the technological age, Hans Jonas proposes to base ethics on a principle of responsibility, taking into account that we live in the age of technological civilization. The present paper explores the origins and sources of Jonas’ principle of responsibility, focusing on the influence of his teacher Martin Heidegger on Jonas’s work. The paper analyses the intrinsic and intriguing relationship between Heidegger’s ontological concept of “care” [Sorge] and the idea or responsibility in Jonas, and it examines further the current discussion on the possibility of an ethical foundation for the techno scientific civilization. Keywords:  Philosophy of technology; Éthics and technology; Ontology; Martin Heidegger; Hans Jonas.

  20. "Politics Begins as Ethics": Levinasian Ethics and Australian Performance Concerning Refugees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burvill, Tom

    2008-01-01

    This essay begins by outlining Emmanuel Levinas's radical conception of ethics. Levinas invokes/declares an absolute and primary obligation of responsibility to the human Other, whom he figures hyperbolically as invoked by the epiphany of the encounter with "the face of the Other." This encounter with alterity founds not only ethics, but…

  1. ETHICAL ASPECTS OF APPLICATION THE GENOMIC MEDICINE IN SPORT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Biljana Vitošević

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Today's level of knowledge of molecular biology and genetics is able to change the established belief that genetic predisposition is a good natural gift. The application of gene therapy in healthy individuals in order to increase sports performance is considered as manipulation and gene doping, which is actually believed that it could be a precursor to a broader notion of human "genetic enhancement" of physical characteristics such as strength, intelligence, social behavior and general improving the quality of life by genetic make-ap. In this sense, gene doping can have a significant and long-term impact on health and society in general and requires a more detailed ethical analysis and the implementation of preventive measures. The paper discusses the manipulation of genomic medicine in sport in terms of basic ethical principles and represents academic contributions to the study of the prevention, detection and control of this type of doping. Sport can and should keep the leading position in the scale of moral values in society through ethical arguments based on the balance of equality, rights and responsibilities. We cannot prevent the evolution of the sport, but we can and must direct this evolution in a better direction.

  2. Rewind, review, reflect and fast forward: from Ethics to GeoEthics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marone, Eduardo

    2017-04-01

    Philosophy has as many definitions as philosophers but, at the end of the day, it is no more and no less than the science of thinking using the reason. It gives us tools for rationalizing, following logical paths and with a critical eye, to understand the material and immaterial substance of the universe. It has many branches, and a couple of them, Ethics and Epistemology, are central for the evolution of the human knowledge, among many others. Today, at the XXI Century, it seems that the lack of formal and adequate education on such important matters is making the act of "thinking" not so important when compared with the accumulation of "information", right or wrong, pasteurized or in disconnected pieces, with no much room/time for critical and logical analysis (Philosophy). If the tools to build the knowledge (Epistemology) are not usually familiar to the scientists and, worst, the need of taking the right actions with the generated new and existing knowledge (Ethics) is not a priority; the outputs cannot be the best ones. There have been several academic works and meetings looking into the causes of the scholarly illiteracy on Ethics and Epistemology in Earth Sciences. Among them, our sessions at EGU have endured showing important aspects that need to be tackled and, particularly, insisting in the fact that it is a continuous effort. However, we still need to go back (Rewind) to the main principles of Philosophy, Epistemology and Ethics, looking at them with care (Review), and think (Reflecting) returning to the present (Fast Forward) to make the world better for future generations. Geoethics consists of research and reflection on the values that underpin appropriate behaviours and practices, wherever human activities interact with the Earth system. Although more general ethical issues, which affect other/all sciences practices and behaviours, are included among the Geoethic concerns (as plagiarism, harassment, gender equity, etc.), the focus remains at the

  3. A role for research ethics committees in exchanges of human biospecimens through material transfer agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalmers, Donald; Nicol, Dianne; Nicolás, Pilar; Zeps, Nikolajs

    2014-09-01

    International transfers of human biological material (biospecimens) and data are increasing, and commentators are starting to raise concerns about how donor wishes are protected in such circumstances. These exchanges are generally made under contractual material transfer agreements (MTAs). This paper asks what role, if any, should research ethics committees (RECs) play in ensuring legal and ethical conduct in such exchanges. It is recommended that RECs should play a more active role in the future development of best practice MTAs involving exchange of biospecimens and data and in monitoring compliance.

  4. [Ethical aspects of human embryonic stem cell use and commercial umbilical cord blood stem cell banking. Ethical reflections on the occasion of the regulation of the European Council and Parliament on advanced therapy medicinal products].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virt, G

    2010-01-01

    The regulation of the European Council and Parliament on advanced therapy medicinal products also includes therapies with human embryonic stem cells. The use of these stem cells is controversially and heavily discussed. Contrary to the use of adult stem cells, medical and ethical problems concerning the use of human embryonic stem cells persists, because this use is based on the destruction of human life at the very beginning. The regulation foresees, therefore, subsidiarity within the European Member States. Although there are no ethical problems in principle with the use of stem cells from the umbilical cord blood, there are social ethical doubts with the banking of these stem cells for autologous use without any currently foreseeable medical advantage by commercial blood banks. Also in this case subsidiarity is valid.

  5. Ethics, science and technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Domingues

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The article aims at thinking the relation between ethics, science and technology, emphasising the problem of their re-linking, after the split into judgements of fact and judgements of value, which happened in the beginning of modern times. Once the warlike Aristocracy's ethics and the saint man's moral are examined, one tries to outline the way by taking as a reference the ethics of responsibility, whose prototype is the wise man's moral, which disappeared in the course of modern times, due to the fragmentation of knowing and the advent of the specialist. At the end of the study, the relation between ethics and metaphysics is discussed, aiming at adjusting the anthropological question to the cosmological perspective, as well as at providing the bases of a new humanism, objectifying the humanising of technique and the generation of a new man, literate at science, technology and the humanities.

  6. Beyond Ethical Frameworks: Using Moral Experimentation in the Engineering Ethics Classroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walling, Olivia

    2015-12-01

    Although undergraduate engineering ethics courses often include the development of moral sensitivity as a learning objective and the use of active learning techniques, teaching centers on the transmission of cognitive knowledge. This article describes a complementary assignment asking students to perform an ethics "experiment" on themselves that has a potential to enhance affective learning and moral imagination. The article argues that the focus on cognitive learning may not promote, and may even impair, our efforts to foster moral sensitivity. In contrast, the active learning assignments and exercises, like the ethics "experiment" discussed, offer great potential to expand the scope of instruction in engineering ethics to include ethical behavior as well as knowledge. Engineering ethics education needs to extend beyond the narrow range of human action associated with the technical work of the engineer and explore ways to draw on broader lifeworld experiences to enrich professional practice and identity.

  7. The pot calling the kettle black: distancing response to ethical dissonance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkan, Rachel; Ayal, Shahar; Gino, Francesca; Ariely, Dan

    2012-11-01

    Six studies demonstrate the "pot calling the kettle black" phenomenon whereby people are guilty of the very fault they identify in others. Recalling an undeniable ethical failure, people experience ethical dissonance between their moral values and their behavioral misconduct. Our findings indicate that to reduce ethical dissonance, individuals use a double-distancing mechanism. Using an overcompensating ethical code, they judge others more harshly and present themselves as more virtuous and ethical (Studies 1, 2, 3). We show this mechanism is exclusive for ethical dissonance and is not triggered by salience of ethicality (Study 4), general sense of personal failure, or ethically neutral cognitive dissonance (Study 5). Finally, it is characterized by some boundary conditions (Study 6). We discuss the theoretical contribution of this work to research on moral regulation and ethical behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. From virtue ethics to rights ethics: Did the Reformation pave the way for secular ethics?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nico Vorster

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available In chapter four of his book, The unintended Reformation, Brad Gregory argues that ethical thinking since the 1500’s experienced a major shift in emphasis from the teleological concept of a ‘substantive morality of the good’ to liberalism’s ‘formal morality of rights’. He attributes it to the religious upheavals and ‘sociopolitical disruptions’ during the Reformation era. This article probes three elements of Gregory’s argument. Firstly, the article offers a critical assessment of Gregory’s depiction of the Reformation’s stance towards reason. It pays particular attention to the Reformation’s understanding of the effects of sin on the human being’s image of God, reason and the possibility for a shared social ethics. Secondly, this study scrutinises Gregory’s argument that the Reformation created an individualist notion of selfhood in contrast to the Roman Catholic communal notion of selfhood and thereby paved the way for modernism. Lastly, the discussion probes into Gregory’s claim that the Reformation’s ethical paradigm diverged radically from the Latin Christendom paradigm and that this contributed to the subjectivisation of ethics, by replacing a virtue ethics with a rights ethics.

  9. Vivienne Westwood and the Ethics of Consuming Fashion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clarke, Jean; Holt, Robin

    2016-01-01

    Little attention has been given to the ethics of fashion consumption despite the often trenchant critique of the fashion industry for intensifying cycles of production, consumption, and disposal and encouraging in consumers a superficial sense of identity and the good life through apparel....... In this article, we suggest that although relationships with clothes are not often explicitly stated as “being ethical,” the capacity to be ethical can pervade the buying and wearing of clothes. We focus on the fashion designer, environmental campaigner, and critic of consumption Vivienne Westwood and those who...... consume her clothing. Using a single case study approach (combining interview data, participant observation, internal and external documents, and literature), we examine the ethical potential of consuming fashion. We show how ethics in consumption is a critical engagement with how products such as clothes...

  10. Societal and ethical issues in human biomonitoring – a view from science studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bauer Susanne

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Human biomonitoring (HBM has rapidly gained importance. In some epidemiological studies, the measurement and use of biomarkers of exposure, susceptibility and disease have replaced traditional environmental indicators. While in HBM, ethical issues have mostly been addressed in terms of informed consent and confidentiality, this paper maps out a larger array of societal issues from an epistemological perspective, i.e. bringing into focus the conditions of how and what is known in environmental health science. Methods In order to analyse the effects of HBM and the shift towards biomarker research in the assessment of environmental pollution in a broader societal context, selected analytical frameworks of science studies are introduced. To develop the epistemological perspective, concepts from "biomedical platform sociology" and the notion of "epistemic cultures" and "thought styles" are applied to the research infrastructures of HBM. Further, concepts of "biocitizenship" and "civic epistemologies" are drawn upon as analytical tools to discuss the visions and promises of HBM as well as related ethical problematisations. Results In human biomonitoring, two different epistemological cultures meet; these are environmental science with for instance pollution surveys and toxicological assessments on the one hand, and analytical epidemiology investigating the association between exposure and disease in probabilistic risk estimation on the other hand. The surveillance of exposure and dose via biomarkers as envisioned in HBM is shifting the site of exposure monitoring to the human body. Establishing an HBM platform faces not only the need to consider individual decision autonomy as an ethics issue, but also larger epistemological and societal questions, such as the mode of evidence demanded in science, policy and regulation. Conclusion The shift of exposure monitoring towards the biosurveillance of human populations involves fundamental

  11. Ethical review from the inside: repertoires of evaluation in Research Ethics Committee meetings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jong, Jean Philippe; van Zwieten, Myra C. B.; Willems, Dick L.

    2012-01-01

    Evaluating the practice of ethical review by Research Ethics Committees (REC) could help protect the interests of human participants and promote scientific progress. To facilitate such evaluations, we conducted an ethnographic study of how an REC reviews research proposals during its meetings. We

  12. Bioethics as a stage in development of humanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. N. Ketova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This article uncovers humanistic substance of bioethics - a discipline which originated in 1960's. Bioethics has an interdisciplinary character and presents itself as a reflection on problematic situations, which can appear as a result of biomedical progress. Bioethics in a wider sense can be viewed as ethics of life, which highlights its ecological substance. This article analyses the problem of consequences of radical human transformation and also the article shows significance of leading principle of «personal autonomy of the patient». In the article functions and goals of ethical committees, existing in various countries, are highlighted. In conclusion, the article highlights specifics of bioethics as a syncretic discipline, which assists development of humanism and responds to modern civilization's challenges.

  13. [Is an act of human love the in vitro fertilization? A proposal ethical analysis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    García Sánchez, Emilio

    2014-01-01

    Since 1978, when the first test tube baby, Louis Brown, was born, thousands of children have been born every year through in vitro fertilization. Many families keep attending fertility clinics in order to receive some treatment for their infertility problems and have a child. Children born in this way are worthy human beings. Their parents love them and devote themselves to their children admirably, showing real parental love. However, does this loving kindness justify, from an ethical point of view, any way of desiring and having a son or daughter? Is it really an act of human love to long for a child and satisfy this desire using artificial methods? Is it equally human and worthy to wish them choosing in vitro fertilization than to wish them through an intimate and loving relationship, in which the child emerges as a result of interpersonal donation? I answer these questions by analyzing the ethics proposal formulated by Rhonheimer and Carrasco de Paula. In short, only the intimate and loving sexual union between a man and a woman -as long as it is unconditional love- may be the dignity cause of the existence of a human being. And such union and unconditional requirement are absent in vitro fertilization.

  14. HUMANIZATION OF THE NURSING ASSISTANCE IN THE SURGICAL UNIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eliana Bedin

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: This study consisted in a bibliographic review, which goal was a survey of the main national literature that approaches the humanization in the surgical unit, identifying and demonstrating the needs and the importance of the nursing staff daily activities. The search was made selecting the key words and the period between 1985 and 2002, where 31 articles were selected. Analyzing them we discussed about the theme, classifying it in four stages that made sense to the humanization for the nursing assistance in the surgical unit, describing aspects of the nursing graduation releasing for humanization, making ethics considerations to the assistance and demonstrating the needs of the humanized care in the presence of the technological development. We concluded that the humanization of the nursing assistance in the surgical units is a challenge, however, the humanized care is possible and essential to the nursing practice, mainly in a technological environment like the surgical unit. KEYWORDS: Operating Room Nursing; Assistance; Ethics.

  15. Ethical problems in radiation protection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shrader-Frechette, K.; Persson, Lars

    2001-05-01

    In this report the authors survey existing international radiation-protection recommendations and standards of the ICRP, the IAEA, and the ILO. After outlining previous work on the ethics of radiation protection, professional ethics, and the ethics of human radiation experiments, the authors review ethical thinking on seven key issues related to radiation protection and ethics. They formulate each of these seven issues in terms of alternative ethical stances: (1) equity versus efficiency, (2) health versus economics, (3) individual rights versus societal benefits, (4) due process versus necessary sacrifice, (5) uniform versus double standards, (6) stake holder consent versus management decisions, and (7) environmental stewardship versus anthropocentric standards.

  16. Ethical problems in radiation protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shrader-Frechette, K.; Persson, Lars

    2001-05-01

    In this report the authors survey existing international radiation-protection recommendations and standards of the ICRP, the IAEA, and the ILO. After outlining previous work on the ethics of radiation protection, professional ethics, and the ethics of human radiation experiments, the authors review ethical thinking on seven key issues related to radiation protection and ethics. They formulate each of these seven issues in terms of alternative ethical stances: (1) equity versus efficiency, (2) health versus economics, (3) individual rights versus societal benefits, (4) due process versus necessary sacrifice, (5) uniform versus double standards, (6) stake holder consent versus management decisions, and (7) environmental stewardship versus anthropocentric standards

  17. [How to Understand "Clinical Ethics" and "Research Ethics" in Clinical Settings--Incorporation of IRB, REC, and CEC in Hospital Organizations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ita, Koichiro

    2016-02-01

    As the traditional definition of "medical ethics" has recently changed markedly with advances in medical knowledge and technology, medical doctors and researchers in Japan are required to understand and apply both research and clinical ethics. Quite frequently, ethical problems in clinical settings cannot be addressed by the simple application of good will, hard work, and perseverance by medical personnel. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) have jointly published "Ethical Guidelines for Clinical Studies;" however, clear guidelines (legal, ministerial, or governmental) outlining the expectations regarding clinical ethics do not exist. All medical personnel face deep ethical dilemmas. In these instances, if the fulfillment of 'ethics' relies solely on the capacity of personnel to apply their own individual moral efforts, the result will be burn-out among these workers who have a strong sense of responsibility. In order to avoid this, a system which comprises multiple physicians, nurses, and other personnel must be established, allowing collaboration when an appropriate response is required. A major factor supporting this approach is the offering of Clinical Ethics Consultations.

  18. The ethics of killing human/great-ape chimeras for their organs: a reply to Shaw et al.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palacios-González, César

    2016-06-01

    The aim of this paper is to critically examine David Shaw, Wybo Dondorp, and Guido de Wert's arguments in favour of the procurement of human organs from human/nonhuman-primate chimeras, specifically from great-ape/human chimeras. My main claim is that their arguments fail and are in need of substantial revision. To prove this I first introduce the topic, and then reconstruct Shaw et al.'s position and arguments. Next, I show that Shaw et al.: (1) failed to properly apply the subsidiarity and proportionality principles; (2) neglected species overlapping cases in their ethical assessment; (3) ignored the ethics literature on borderline persons; and (4) misunderstood McMahan's two-tiered moral theory. These mistakes render an important part of their conclusions either false or problematic to the point that they would no longer endorse them. Finally I will briefly mention a possible multipolar solution to the human organ shortage problem that would reduce the need for chimeras' organs.

  19. A Two-Stage Reconstruction Processor for Human Detection in Compressive Sensing CMOS Radar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsao, Kuei-Chi; Lee, Ling; Chu, Ta-Shun; Huang, Yuan-Hao

    2018-04-05

    Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) radar has recently gained much research attraction because small and low-power CMOS devices are very suitable for deploying sensing nodes in a low-power wireless sensing system. This study focuses on the signal processing of a wireless CMOS impulse radar system that can detect humans and objects in the home-care internet-of-things sensing system. The challenges of low-power CMOS radar systems are the weakness of human signals and the high computational complexity of the target detection algorithm. The compressive sensing-based detection algorithm can relax the computational costs by avoiding the utilization of matched filters and reducing the analog-to-digital converter bandwidth requirement. The orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) is one of the popular signal reconstruction algorithms for compressive sensing radar; however, the complexity is still very high because the high resolution of human respiration leads to high-dimension signal reconstruction. Thus, this paper proposes a two-stage reconstruction algorithm for compressive sensing radar. The proposed algorithm not only has lower complexity than the OMP algorithm by 75% but also achieves better positioning performance than the OMP algorithm especially in noisy environments. This study also designed and implemented the algorithm by using Vertex-7 FPGA chip (Xilinx, San Jose, CA, USA). The proposed reconstruction processor can support the 256 × 13 real-time radar image display with a throughput of 28.2 frames per second.

  20. A Two-Stage Reconstruction Processor for Human Detection in Compressive Sensing CMOS Radar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuei-Chi Tsao

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS radar has recently gained much research attraction because small and low-power CMOS devices are very suitable for deploying sensing nodes in a low-power wireless sensing system. This study focuses on the signal processing of a wireless CMOS impulse radar system that can detect humans and objects in the home-care internet-of-things sensing system. The challenges of low-power CMOS radar systems are the weakness of human signals and the high computational complexity of the target detection algorithm. The compressive sensing-based detection algorithm can relax the computational costs by avoiding the utilization of matched filters and reducing the analog-to-digital converter bandwidth requirement. The orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP is one of the popular signal reconstruction algorithms for compressive sensing radar; however, the complexity is still very high because the high resolution of human respiration leads to high-dimension signal reconstruction. Thus, this paper proposes a two-stage reconstruction algorithm for compressive sensing radar. The proposed algorithm not only has lower complexity than the OMP algorithm by 75% but also achieves better positioning performance than the OMP algorithm especially in noisy environments. This study also designed and implemented the algorithm by using Vertex-7 FPGA chip (Xilinx, San Jose, CA, USA. The proposed reconstruction processor can support the 256 × 13 real-time radar image display with a throughput of 28.2 frames per second.

  1. Furthering the sceptical case against virtue ethics in nursing ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holland, Stephen

    2012-10-01

    In a recent article in this journal I presented a sceptical argument about the current prominence of virtue ethics in nursing ethics. Daniel Putman has responded with a defence of the relevance of virtue in nursing. The present article continues this discussion by clarifying, defending, and expanding the sceptical argument. I start by emphasizing some features of the sceptical case, including assumptions about the nature of sceptical arguments, and about the character of both virtue ethics and nursing ethics. Then I respond to objections of Putman's such as that, according to virtue ethics, virtue is relevant to the whole of a human life, including one's behaviour in a professional context; and that eudaimonia should be central in explaining and motivating a nurse's decision to enter the profession. Having argued that these objections are not compelling, I go on to discuss an interesting recent attempt to reassert the role of virtue ethics in the ethics of professions, including nursing. This centres on whether role-specific obligations - e.g. the obligations that arise for a moral agent qua lawyer or mother - can be accommodated in a virtue ethics approach. Sean Cordell has argued that the difficulty of accommodating role-specific obligations results in an 'institution-shaped gap' in virtue ethics. He suggests a way of meeting this difficulty that appeals to the ergon of institutions. I endorse the negative point that role-specific obligations elude virtue ethics, but argue that the appeal to the ergon of institutions is unsuccessful. The upshot is further support for scepticism about the virtue ethics approach to nursing ethics. I end by gesturing to some of the advantages of a sceptical view of virtue ethics in nursing ethics. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  2. Human genome education model project. Ethical, legal, and social implications of the human genome project: Education of interdisciplinary professionals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weiss, J.O. [Alliance of Genetic Support Groups, Chevy Chase, MD (United States); Lapham, E.V. [Georgetown Univ., Washington, DC (United States). Child Development Center

    1996-12-31

    This meeting was held June 10, 1996 at Georgetown University. The purpose of this meeting was to provide a multidisciplinary forum for exchange of state-of-the-art information on the human genome education model. Topics of discussion include the following: psychosocial issues; ethical issues for professionals; legislative issues and update; and education issues.

  3. Sense of presence and anxiety during virtual social interactions between a human and virtual humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morina, Nexhmedin; Brinkman, Willem-Paul; Hartanto, Dwi; Emmelkamp, Paul M G

    2014-01-01

    Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has been shown to be effective in treatment of anxiety disorders. Yet, there is lack of research on the extent to which interaction between the individual and virtual humans can be successfully implanted to increase levels of anxiety for therapeutic purposes. This proof-of-concept pilot study aimed at examining levels of the sense of presence and anxiety during exposure to virtual environments involving social interaction with virtual humans and using different virtual reality displays. A non-clinical sample of 38 participants was randomly assigned to either a head-mounted display (HMD) with motion tracker and sterescopic view condition or a one-screen projection-based virtual reality display condition. Participants in both conditions engaged in free speech dialogues with virtual humans controlled by research assistants. It was hypothesized that exposure to virtual social interactions will elicit moderate levels of sense of presence and anxiety in both groups. Further it was expected that participants in the HMD condition will report higher scores of sense of presence and anxiety than participants in the one-screen projection-based display condition. Results revealed that in both conditions virtual social interactions were associated with moderate levels of sense of presence and anxiety. Additionally, participants in the HMD condition reported significantly higher levels of presence than those in the one-screen projection-based display condition (p = .001). However, contrary to the expectations neither the average level of anxiety nor the highest level of anxiety during exposure to social virtual environments differed between the groups (p = .97 and p = .75, respectively). The findings suggest that virtual social interactions can be successfully applied in VRET to enhance sense of presence and anxiety. Furthermore, our results indicate that one-screen projection-based displays can successfully activate levels of anxiety in

  4. Sense of presence and anxiety during virtual social interactions between a human and virtual humans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nexhmedin Morina

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET has been shown to be effective in treatment of anxiety disorders. Yet, there is lack of research on the extent to which interaction between the individual and virtual humans can be successfully implanted to increase levels of anxiety for therapeutic purposes. This proof-of-concept pilot study aimed at examining levels of the sense of presence and anxiety during exposure to virtual environments involving social interaction with virtual humans and using different virtual reality displays. A non-clinical sample of 38 participants was randomly assigned to either a head-mounted display (HMD with motion tracker and sterescopic view condition or a one-screen projection-based virtual reality display condition. Participants in both conditions engaged in free speech dialogues with virtual humans controlled by research assistants. It was hypothesized that exposure to virtual social interactions will elicit moderate levels of sense of presence and anxiety in both groups. Further it was expected that participants in the HMD condition will report higher scores of sense of presence and anxiety than participants in the one-screen projection-based display condition. Results revealed that in both conditions virtual social interactions were associated with moderate levels of sense of presence and anxiety. Additionally, participants in the HMD condition reported significantly higher levels of presence than those in the one-screen projection-based display condition (p = .001. However, contrary to the expectations neither the average level of anxiety nor the highest level of anxiety during exposure to social virtual environments differed between the groups (p = .97 and p = .75, respectively. The findings suggest that virtual social interactions can be successfully applied in VRET to enhance sense of presence and anxiety. Furthermore, our results indicate that one-screen projection-based displays can successfully activate levels

  5. Bioethics and conflicting ethical criteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, Michael

    2002-01-01

    Some of the major problematic issues in contemporary ethical discourse are highlighted in the field of bioethics. The need to incorporate new understandings and foundational shifts in essential criteria because of technological advances in the areas of medicine and human sciences increasingly challenges traditional and accepted notions of ethics. As the possibilities of technical progress increase, more and more pressure is put on traditional understandings of the human person, identity, and value. In the face of ethical relativism and emotivism, which are already widespread in social and political discourse, the immediacy of bioethics as a response to technology and its impact on human lives reinforces the need for ethics to become interdisciplinary, while attempting to provide some coherence to both the questions and the responses that contemporary life generates. In this paper, the author intends to sketch the outlines of some of these problems, and suggest one approach which might allow a certain methodical intelligibility to emerge which takes into account shifts in consciousness and the dependence on historically grounded perspective.

  6. How to depolarise the ethical debate over human embryonic stem cell research (and other ethical debates too!)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Espinoza, N.; Peterson, M.B.

    2012-01-01

    The contention of this paper is that the current ethical debate over embryonic stem cell research is polarised to an extent that is not warranted by the underlying ethical conflict. It is argued that the ethical debate can be rendered more nuanced, and less polarised, by introducing non-binary

  7. Ethical issues in paleopathological and anthropological research experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Licata, Marta; Monza, Francesca

    2017-10-23

    In recent years, archaeologists and anthropologists involved in the study of human remains have had to take into consideration ethical issues, which have come to the fore. The aim of this study is to illustrate the ethical and religious issues involved in relation to the positions of researchers. Ethical issues involve the different study phases of human remains: archaeological excavation, anthropological analysis and, finally, museum display. Osteoarchaeological remains may find a place in museums. However, in recent years, even the display of human remains museum has had to face new important ethical issue involving previously ignored or neglected aspect. The adoption of Native American Grave Protection Act in 1990 in the United States and the Human Tissue Act in 2004 in England, has created new scenarios relating to the storage of human remains in museum. All this caused a series of changes in the study of human remains, but many issues remain open to debate.

  8. [Achlak and professional ethics of the therapeutic professions].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masić, I

    1997-01-01

    Man's mind is improved only by learning unknown things from scientists and from books, and mankind is exalted through self-developing of its nature. This is essence of Risael achlak (learning about behaviour), that modern humanism consisting of rational science and ethical perspective of Qur'an and its directions (important in the respect of limitation of man's behaviour towards religion and religious ethics in general) is based on. Ethical dimension of Qur'an is a consisting part of Qur'an's metaphysical and anthropological dimension. Basically, in its purpose, ethics appears as practical theology. In Its announcing of the God, Qur'an does not make division of spiritual and ethical; mind and will. Ethics just implements The Message at the field of the world of human acts. Thus, the relations between society and a single human being, as well as the relations among all people, are determined. Through developing its attitudes, ethics has concretized elements, tenets and values of human's real life. Qur'anic ethics is a programme of ethical revolution of mankind and society (whose the most exalted goal is confirmation of personality). That personality has got a task to, according to Qur'an, people have to change the world through enhancing it. These general tenets and attitudes produce specific direction and attitudes in certain fields, including tenets and attitudes in the field of medical ethics. These tenets had been defined in pre-islamic period. Even today, the tenets from Hypocrate's Wote are quoted and implemented. But, Arabian physicians have implemented a modified version of the Wote, that has been based upon Qur'anic tenets. The text and tenets of that Wote was described in this paper.

  9. Overall Assessment of Human Research and Ethics Committees in the United Arab Emirates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdulrahman, Mahera; Nair, Satish Chandrasekhar

    2017-04-01

    Growing demand for human health research in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has prompted the need to develop a robust research ethics oversight. Examination of the structure, function, and practices of the human research ethics committees (HRECs), followed by evaluation of standards for measuring research output, was conducted. Results indicate that among the HRECs, 90% followed International Council for Harmonization-Good Clinical Practice guidelines, 66.6% have been in operation for more than 5 years, 95% reviewed proposals within 8 weeks, and 56% reviewed for scientific merit apart from ethics. However, systems to recognize accomplishments of researchers, funding transparency, and adverse event reporting were deployed in less than 30% of all HRECs. Research was incorporated into the vision and mission statements of many (65%) organizations. Research publications, collaborations, and recognitions were used to measure research output and report key performance indicators. In spite, resources to generate research output such as dedicated budget (20%), support staff (20%), and continuous training and mentoring program for medical residents (15%) and HREC members (25%) were somehow lacking. HREC structure and operations in the UAE are similar to other regions of the world. Systems to conduct research and report outcomes are defined in the UAE. Regulatory legislation and allocation of resources to support the clinical research enterprise will not only help to meet growing demand for clinical trials but also transform the quality of patient care in the UAE. It is anticipated that the results of this study will benefit investigators, regulators, pharmaceutical sponsors, and the policy makers in the region.

  10. Building research capacity with members of underserved American Indian/Alaskan Native communities: training in research ethics and the protection of human subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jetter, Karen M; Yarborough, Mark; Cassady, Diana L; Styne, Dennis M

    2015-05-01

    To develop a research ethics training course for American Indian/Alaskan Native health clinic staff and community researchers who would be conducting human subjects research. Community-based participatory research methods were used in facilitated discussions of research ethics centered around topics included in the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative research ethics course. The community-based participatory research approach allowed all partners to jointly develop a research ethics training program that was relevant for American Indian/Alaskan Native communities. All community and clinic partners were able to pass the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative course they were required to pass so that they could be certified to conduct research with human subjects on federally funded projects. In addition, the training sessions provided a foundation for increased community oversight of research. By using a collaborative process to engage community partners in research ethics discussions, rather than either an asynchronous online or a lecture/presentation format, resulted in significant mutual learning about research ethics and community concerns about research. This approach requires university researchers to invest time in learning about the communities in which they will be working prior to the training. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

  11. Brief report : ethical problems in research practice

    OpenAIRE

    Colnerud, Gunnel

    2013-01-01

    Most accounts of the ethical problems facing researchers across a broad spectrum of research fields come from ethicists, ethics committees, and specialists committed to the study of ethics in human research. In contrast, this study reports on the ethical questions that researchers, themselves, report facing in their everyday practice. Fifty-five Swedish researchers contributed 109 examples of ethical dilemmas, conflicts, and problems in research. They were all researchers at the postdoctoral ...

  12. Medicine--the art of humaneness: on ethics of traditional Chinese medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, R Z

    1988-08-01

    This essay discusses the ethics of traditional Chinese medicine. After a brief remark on the history of traditional Chinese medical ethics, the author outlines the Confucian ethics which formed the cultural context in which traditional Chinese medicine was evolving and constituted the core of its ethics. Then he argued that how Chinese physicians applied the principles of Confucian ethics in medicine and prescribed the attitude a physician should take to himself, to patients and to his colleagues. In the last part of the essay he discusses the characteristics of traditional Chinese medical ethics.

  13. An examinination of globalization from an ethical point of view | Ovia ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper is concerned with an x-ray of globalization and the ethical implication of its activities. Ethics is the academic study of morality, while morality is rational man's notion of right and wrong actions in society. In this sense it is concerned with man's concept of values that guide his life. Globalization is man's attempt to ...

  14. Ethical competence: A concept analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulju, Kati; Stolt, Minna; Suhonen, Riitta; Leino-Kilpi, Helena

    2016-06-01

    Exploring the concept of ethical competence in the context of healthcare is essential as it pertains to better quality of care. The concept still lacks a comprehensive definition covering the aspects of ethical expertise, ethical knowledge and action of a health professional. This article aims to report an analysis of the concept of ethical competence. A modified strategy suggested by Walker and Avant was used to analyse the concept. As a result, the concept of ethical competence can be defined in terms of character strength, ethical awareness, moral judgement skills and willingness to do good. Virtuous professional, experience of a professional, human communication, ethical knowledge and supporting surroundings in the organisation can be seen as prerequisites for ethical competence. Ethical competence results in the best possible solutions for the patient, reduced moral distress at work and development and democratisation of society. The results of the analysis establish a basis for an instrument to evaluate health professionals' ethical competence. It will guide educators, as well as managers in healthcare, to support the development of ethical conduct in healthcare. © The Author(s) 2015.

  15. Nursing ethics in a developing country

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annatjie Botes

    1999-09-01

    Full Text Available Nursing is a true profession, distinguished by its philosophy of care, its full-time commitment to human well being, its particular blend of knowledge and skills and its valuable service to the community (Curtin & Flaherty, 1982:92. Ethics is vital to nursing. Being a professional implies ethical behaviour and knowledge of what it means to be ethical (Pera & Van Tonder, 1996:v. Ethics is the foundation of committed service to humankind. When nurses practice in an ethical manner they should adhere to ethical principles like autonomy, beneficence, justice, veracity, fidelity, confidentiality and privacy.

  16. Ethical decision making

    OpenAIRE

    Zsolnai, László

    2011-01-01

    The self-centeredness of modern organizations leads to environmental destruction and human deprivation. The principle of responsibility developed by Hans Jonas requires caring for the beings affected by our decisions and actions. Ethical decision-making creates a synthesis of reverence for ethical norms, rationality in goal achievement, and respect for the stakeholders. The maximin rule selects the "least worst alternative" in the multidimensional decision space of deontologica...

  17. “My whole life is ethics!” Ordinary ethics and gene therapy clinical trials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Addison, Courtney; Lassen, Jesper

    2017-01-01

    acquire some control in difficult medical situations, and practitioners can attune their care to their patients’ needs. The human provenance of gene therapy practice, and the irreducible sociality of ethics, means that understanding the ethics of this medical field also requires understanding the everyday...

  18. [Population, ethics and equity].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berlinguer, G

    1997-01-01

    "Demography is, explicitly and not, imbued with an [ethical] content.... As demography involves both public policies and individual choices, the [ethical] slant should be [examined]. Thus, what we have on the one hand is an [ethical] state, which dictates its citizens' personal behaviour and, on the other, a state based on liberty, backed up by three shared values: human rights, pluralism and equality. This article looks at how today these may be reinterpreted when making decisions regarding the population." (EXCERPT)

  19. Civilizational and ethical aspects of environmental safety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marković Danilo Ž.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available These considerations of civilizational and ethical aspects of environmental safety start by a reference to the conceptual determination of this safety, and its foundation on a conception of the Planet Earth as a political and geological space, originating in the development of life forms. In this sense, the author understands the structures of the Earth's ecosystem, its unity, and the disruption of this unity with consequences for its survival and the survival of the human civilization itself. In the context of this approach, the author points to the need to preserve the environmental safety from the standpoint of equality and justice, stressing that justice is a legal category, especially when it is associated with the laws of nature, laws which are also associated with man as a natural being.

  20. Common sense in moral philosophy of the age of Enlightenment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. V. Sokurenko

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The Age of Enlightenment had a special meaning for the history of moral philosophy, because in this period the morality becomes a special subject of philosophic interest, philosophic concept of morality is formed. The problem of rational grounding of morality becomes a central one. The important role in this problem solving was the idea of common sense – one of the fundamental ideas of Scottish and French Enlightenment. In the Scottish philosophy concept of «common sense» was developed by representatives of ethical sentimentalism (A. Shaftesbury, F. Hutcheson and by the founder of the rationalist understanding of morality Th. Reid. In France, the idea of common sense was widely developed in the works of Enlightenment philosophers. Scottish enlighteners understood common sense as a kind of inherent, intuitive principle, put by God into human being. This paper analyzes the significance of the concept «common sense» and its features of interpretations by Scottish philosophers. The quintessence of philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment was practical philosophy of I. Kant, in formation of which the idea of common sense played the key role. German classic clearly defined field of application of common sense. He considered an appeal to common sense in matters of science and philosophy unacceptable, but claimed that it was common sense people must rely in everyday practice. Such an understanding of this idea has allowed Kant to justify main concept of his moral philosophy ­ concept of the autonomous subject.

  1. The Anthropocene, Ethics, and the Nature of Nature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trachtenberg, Z.

    2012-12-01

    For Earth scientists the Anthropocene has a strict meaning, tied to evidence that human activities have produced pervasive impacts on the Earth. But it is also significant for scholars outside the Earth sciences. Social scientists study the ways human societies transform the landscape to make it more suited to human habitation; the Anthropocene idea has already served to reveal conceptual linkages among physical and social science research programs. And the Anthropocene has important implications for normative theorists who enquire into the basis of ethical standards that, ideally, guide human activities within the environment. An influential view has held the condition of the Earth's systems in the absence of human interference as such a standard. This view emphasizes the preservation of environmental systems in (or restoration to) their "natural" condition—either because that condition is the most advantageous for human beings, or because those systems have an intrinsic moral value human beings ought to respect. However, Anthropocene research destabilizes the concept of nature. For the "natural" is typically opposed to the artificial, i.e. to the results of human action, and although nature obviously provides the context for human activity, that context is taken to be exogenously given. For virtually all of Earth's history, its systems were "natural" in this sense. However, since the appearance of life on Earth, organisms engaging in what is called niche construction have fundamentally transformed those systems up to the planetary scale. There is no reason to regard human niche construction (e.g. agriculture) as different in kind—though of course anthropogenic impacts are greater than the impacts of other species. It follows that the Anthropocene demands that we move away from an outlook based on a strict opposition between a "natural" condition and the human activities which change it, towards one that conceives of the natural not as a condition, but as a

  2. The ethics of gene therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Sarah; Harris, John

    2006-10-01

    Recent developments have progressed in areas of science that pertain to gene therapy and its ethical implications. This review discusses the current state of therapeutic gene technologies, including stem cell therapies and genetic modification, and identifies ethical issues of concern in relation to the science of gene therapy and its application, including the ethics of embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning, the risks associated with gene therapy, and the ethics of clinical research in developing new therapeutic technologies. Additionally, ethical issues relating to genetic modification itself are considered: the significance of the human genome, the distinction between therapy and enhancement, and concerns regarding gene therapy as a eugenic practice.

  3. [Disability, inability and vulnerability: on ableism or the pre-eminence of ableist and biomedical approaches of the Human Subjects Ethics Committee of UFSC].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mello, Anahi Guedes de

    2016-10-01

    Anthropology has increasingly questioned the hegemony of biomedical knowledge in ethical review processes of social research projects prevailing in Brazil, which was governed until 2012 by the Human Research Ethics Committee of each institution under the auspices of the National Research Ethics Commission (CONEP). This was mandated through Resolution No. 196/1996 prevailing in 2012 when this field research was conducted. The scope of this study is to recount and reflect upon the barriers to obtaining approval in 2012 for my master's research project from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (CEP/UFSC) in Florianopolis. In this ethnographic experience, in the light of Crip theory, I observed how the "disability," "vulnerability" and "inability" categories are articulated to reveal the ableism and the primacy of the biomedical model in the case of an ethics review at UFSC regarding the participation and legal capacity of persons with disabilities as subjects of research.

  4. Nursing ethical values and definitions: A literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahriari, Mohsen; Mohammadi, Eesa; Abbaszadeh, Abbas; Bahrami, Masoud

    2013-01-01

    Ethical values offer a framework for behavior assessment, and nursing values influence nurses' goals, strategies, and actions. A literature review was adopted in order to determine and define ethical values for nurses. This literature review was conducted based on the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines. The key words used to search relevant sources were nursing, ethics, ethical values, and nursing values. The search of articles in English was carried out in Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, and Proquest databases. The search of articles in Persian was conducted in databases of Magiran, SID, and Irandoc publications. After assessing and analyzing the obtained data, 17 articles which had a distinct definition of ethical values were chosen and subjected to a thorough study. The search yielded 10 nursing ethical values: Human dignity, privacy, justice, autonomy in decision making, precision and accuracy in caring, commitment, human relationship, sympathy, honesty, and individual and professional competency. This study showed that common ethical values are generally shared within the global community. However, in several areas, influences of social, cultural, and economical status and religious beliefs on values result in a different definition of these values. This study revealed that based on humanistic nature of nursing, common values in nursing protect human dignity and respect to the patients. Recognizing and definition of ethical values can help to improve nursing practice and develop codes of ethics.

  5. Human rights from the Nuremberg Doctors Trial to the Geneva Declaration. Persons and institutions in medical ethics and history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frewer, Andreas

    2010-08-01

    The "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" and the "Geneva Declaration" by the World Medical Association, both in 1948, were preceded by the foundation of the United Nations in New York (1945), the World Medical Association in London (1946) and the World Health Organization in Geneva (1948). After the end of World War II the community of nations strove to achieve and sustain their primary goals of peace and security, as well as their basic premise, namely the health of human beings. All these associations were well aware of the crimes by medicine, in particular by the accused Nazi physicians at the Nuremberg Doctors Trial (1946/47, sentence: August 1947). During the first conference of the World Medical Association (September 1947) issues of medical ethics played a major role: and a new document was drafted concerning the values of the medical profession. After the catastrophe of the War and the criminal activities of scientists, the late 1940s saw increased scrutiny paid to fundamental questions of human rights and medical ethics, which are still highly relevant for today's medicine and morality. The article focuses on the development of medical ethics and human rights reflected in the statement of important persons, codes and institutions in the field.

  6. How to depolarise the ethical debate over human embryonic stem cell research (and other ethical debates too!).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinoza, Nicolas; Peterson, Martin

    2012-08-01

    The contention of this paper is that the current ethical debate over embryonic stem cell research is polarised to an extent that is not warranted by the underlying ethical conflict. It is argued that the ethical debate can be rendered more nuanced, and less polarised, by introducing non-binary notions of moral rightness and wrongness. According to the view proposed, embryonic stem cell research--and possibly other controversial activities too--can be considered 'a little bit right and a little bit wrong'. If this idea were to become widely accepted, the ethical debate would, for conceptual reasons, become less polarised.

  7. Ecology and Ethics: Some Relationships for Nature Conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abedi-Sarvestani, Ahmad; Shahvali, Mansoor

    These days, the reality of environmental crises creates grave doubts about the future of the natural environment. Many believe that if present human behavior toward the natural environment continues, there will be no hope for a sustainable life. Therefore, it is vital that human behavior toward nature be modified and corrected. Although, ethic is traditionally concerned about relations between individuals, but it is getting more attention for modifying human behavior in order to correct human-nature interaction and establish a well-intentioned one. In this respect, we need science of ecology and ethics together. Ecology helps us to understand natural ecosystems and respective regulations and laws, whereas ethics teach us how to define right and wrong behaviors toward the natural environment. This research discusses some possible relationships that might exist between ecology and ethics toward nature conservation.

  8. Reporting ethics committee approval in public administration research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Sara R; Gray, Phillip W

    2014-03-01

    While public administration research is thriving because of increased attention to social scientific rigor, lingering problems of methods and ethics remain. This article investigates the reporting of ethics approval within public administration publications. Beginning with an overview of ethics requirements regarding research with human participants, I turn to an examination of human participants protections for public administration research. Next, I present the findings of my analysis of articles published in the top five public administration journals over the period from 2000 to 2012, noting the incidences of ethics approval reporting as well as funding reporting. In explicating the importance of ethics reporting for public administration research, as it relates to replication, reputation, and vulnerable populations, I conclude with recommendations for increasing ethics approval reporting in public administration research.

  9. Ethical issues in research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artal, Raul; Rubenfeld, Sheldon

    2017-08-01

    Biomedical research is currently guided by ethical standards that have evolved over many centuries. Historical and political events, social and legal considerations, and continuous medical and technological advances have led to the prevailing research ethics and practice. Currently, patients and research subjects have complete autonomy while under medical care or when volunteering as research subjects. Enrolling volunteers in human subjects research includes a detailed and meaningful informed consent process that follows the cardinal principles of ethics: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. These principles were gradually adopted after World War II, primarily in response to the unethical behavior of German physicians and scientists during the Third Reich. This review emphasizes the importance of historical milestones and the essential role that ethics has in contemporary medical research. Research protocols should achieve maximum benefits for the society, have clinical and scientific value, be subject to independent review, respect human dignity, and follow the principles of informed consent, and most importantly, subjects should have complete autonomy. However, current principles and regulations cannot cover every conceivable situation, particularly in view of the new advances in science and technology. New and evolving medical technology, genetic research, therapeutic interventions, and innovations challenge society to maintain the highest moral and ethical principles. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Justice and medical ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillon, R

    1985-07-20

    Justice, in the sense of fair adjudication between conflicting claims, is held to be relevant to a wide range of issues in medical ethics. Several differing concepts of justice are briefly described, including Aristotle's formal principle of justice, libertarian theories, utilitarian theories, Marxist theories, the theory of John Rawls, and the view--held, for example, by W.D. Ross--that justice is essentially a matter of reward for individual merit.

  11. Ethics is for human subjects too: participant perspectives on responsibility in health research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Susan M; McDonald, Michael

    2013-12-01

    Despite the significant literature as well as energy devoted to ethical review of research involving human subjects, little attention has been given to understanding the experiences of those who volunteer as human subjects. Why and how do they decide to participate in research? Is research participation viewed as a form of social responsibility or as a way of obtaining individual benefits? What if anything do research subjects feel they are owed for participation? And what do they feel that they owe the researcher? Drawing on in-depth individual interviews conducted in 2006 and 2007 with 41 subjects who participated in a variety of types of health research in Canada, this paper focuses on subject perspectives on responsibility in research. Highlighting the range of ways that subjects describe their involvement in research and commitments to being a 'good' subject, we present a typology of narratives that sheds new light on the diverse meanings of research participation. These narratives are not mutually exclusive or prescriptive but are presented as ideal types typifying a set of circumstances and values. As such, they collectively illuminate a range of motivations expressed by human subjects as well as potential sources of vulnerability. The typology adds a new dimension to the literature in this area and has significant implications for researchers seeking more human-subject centred approaches to research recruitment and retention, as well as research ethics boards trying to better anticipate the perspectives of prospective participants. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Ethical Implications of Technological Advances on Business Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herschel, Richard T.; Andrews, Patricia Hayes

    1997-01-01

    Explores ethical issues heightened by use of technology, and examines a means for managing these ethical concerns. Argues that ethical problems are not inherent in technological advances, but rather it is how human beings choose to use these new tools that may lead to ethical dilemmas in business contexts. (SR)

  13. Information Ethics for Librarians and Librarianship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murgai, Sarla

    This paper focuses on ethics for librarians and library science in the age of electronic information. First outlined is the "public relations nightmare" that the Internet is creating for the administrators and the library staff. It is suggested that libraries pick a common sense approach that involves the library staff and community and…

  14. Teaching ethics: when respect for autonomy and cultural sensitivity collide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minkoff, Howard

    2014-04-01

    Respect for autonomy is a key ethical principle. However, in some cultures other moral domains such as community (emphasizing the importance of family roles) and sanctity (emphasizing the sacred and the spiritual side of human nature) hold equal value. Thus, an American physician may sometimes perceive a conflict between the desire to practice ethically and the wish to be sensitive to the mores of other cultures. For example, a woman may appear to be making what the physician thinks is a bad clinical choice because her spouse is speaking on her behalf. That physician may find it difficult to reconcile the sense that the patient had not exercised freely her autonomy with the desire to be culturally sensitive. In this article, the means by which a physician can reconcile respect for other cultures with respect for autonomy is explored. The question of whether physicians must always defer to patients' requests solely because they are couched in the language of cultural sensitivity is also addressed. Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. PERSPECTIVES OF ETHICAL CONSUMPTION DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Yevtushevska

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Universal principles of ethical consumption are lightened. Five main principles are definite, in particular: principle of caring treatment to environment, principle of human rights keeping, principle of human treatment to animals, principle of domestic producers support, principle of ethical treatment to other buyers. Main reasons of undeveloped consumer culture in Ukraine are analyzed, namely historical peculiarities of consumption, poor information, ineffective legislation, undeveloped ecological culture, poor experience of total boycott of goods and services. Perspectives of ethical consumption development under domestic conditions are opened.

  16. Public health measures to control tuberculosis in low-income countries: ethics and human rights considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraemer, J D; Cabrera, O A; Singh, J A; Depp, T B; Gostin, L O

    2011-06-01

    In low-income countries, tuberculosis (TB) control measures should be guided by ethical concerns and human rights obligations. Control programs should consider the principles of necessity, reasonableness and effectiveness of means, proportionality, distributive justice, and transparency. Certain measures-detention, infection control, and treatment to prevent transmission-raise particular concerns. While isolation is appropriate under certain circumstances, quarantine is never an acceptable control measure for TB, and any detention must be limited by necessity and conducted humanely. States have a duty to implement hospital infection control to the extent of their available resources and to provide treatment to health care workers (HCWs) infected on the job. HCWs, in turn, have an obligation to provide care unless conditions are unreasonably and unforeseeably unsafe. Finally, states have an obligation to provide adequate access to treatment, as a means of preventing transmission, as broadly as possible and in a non-discriminatory fashion. Along with treatment, states should provide support to increase treatment adherence and retention with respect for patient privacy and autonomy. Compulsory treatment is almost never acceptable. Governments should take care to respect human rights and ethical obligations as they execute TB control programs.

  17. Remote Sensing in Human Health: A 10-Year Bibliometric Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Viana

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available A mixed methods bibliometric analysis was performed to ascertain the characteristic of scientific literature published in a 10-year period (2007–2016 regarding the application of remote sensing data in human health. A search was performed on the Scopus database, followed by manual revision using synthesis studies’ techniques, requiring the authors to sort through more than 8000 medical concepts to create the query, and to manually select relevant papers from over 2000 documents. From the initial 2752 papers identified, 520 articles were selected for analysis, showing that the United States ranked first, with a total of 250 (48.1% of the total documents, followed by France and the United Kingdom, with 67 (12.9% of the total and 54 (10.4% of the total documents, respectively. When considering authorship, the top three authors were Vounatsou P (22 articles, Utzinger J (19 articles, and Vignolles C (13 articles. Regarding disease-specific keywords, malaria, dengue, and schistosomiasis were the most frequent keywords, occurring 142, 34, and 24 times, respectively. For some infectious diseases and other highly pathogenic or emerging infectious diseases, remote sensing has become a very powerful instrument. Also, several studies relate different environmental factors retrieved by remote sensing data with other diseases, such as asthma exacerbations. Health-related remote sensing publications are increasing and this paper highlights the importance of these related technologies toward better information and, ideally, better provision of healthcare. On the other hand, this paper provides an overall picture of the state of the research regarding the application of remote sensing data in human health and identifies the most active stakeholders e.g., authors and institutions in the field, informing possible new collaboration research groups.

  18. Ethical and legal dilemmas in infertility treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragojević-Dikić Svetlana

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the main characteristics of the new millennium is the affirmation of human rights in all aspects of human existence, with the intention of turning declarative statements into reality. Development of up-to-date assisted reproductive technologies (ART and their application in infertility treatment have raised numerous ethical, legal, religious, social and other questions. In vitro fertilization, donation of gametes, embryos and pre-embryos, cryopreservation of gametes, embryos, ovarian and testicular tissues, embryo transfer, genetic reproductive techniques, cloning and other sophisticated methods used in infertility treatment require cooperation between the medical and legal professions. Ethical aspects of human reproduction and assisted fertilization are based on full respect of the life of an individual even before conception, from pre-embryo stage, via embryo stage and fetus stage to a newborn infant. Regarding investigative and clinical projects, this standpoint implies the legalization of all ART procedures, unencumbered exchange of information and consensus about their application, and adherence to the basic ethical principles of autonomy benefit, justice and common welfare. Ethical postulates provide unequivocal directions in the creation of new life and resolve all possible ethical dilemmas, protecting the rights of doctors and participant in relevant procedures alike and reasserting the crucial principle - respect of human dignity.

  19. Ethical dilemma and resolution:a case scenario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, Joseph K

    2007-01-01

    This article illustrates an ethical dilemma that I faced while treating an 86-year-old woman at her home. The ethical dilemma was caused due to several factors such as the expectations of the client (client/consumer rights), organisational expectations (employer, governmental and payer-source regulations) and my own personal values (one's moral philosophies, perceived social responsibilities, sense of professional duty) and how they all interact with each other. The case is a classic example of a seemingly simple yet frequent dilemma encountered by occupational and physical therapists in the United States serving clients who are covered by Medicare (the government's health insurance) for home health. The article is aimed at highlighting the various ethical principles involved in clinical decision-making, and it suggests methods for resolution of ethical dilemmas. Although the article is based against the backdrop of the US health care system, students and health care practitioners globally can relate to it.

  20. Managerial Ethics: The Ethics in the Enterprise Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Bondarik

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available The present article has for objective to present the ethics meanings, its application and importance in the enterprise organizations. Century XX was marked by deep transformations in the most diverse fields of the activity human being, also perceived in its finish a concern with the enterprise ethical behavior. Was transferred to charge it of the companies a bigger concern with the quality of its products and the way that these organizations treated its diverse public, the intern and the external one. The ethical behavior in an organization does not have to be to result only of a requirement of the market, but of spontaneous behavior. The importance that the organizations possess in the present time made with that many scholars called our time of Managerial Age, therefore its paradigm is the company, who influences the society.

  1. Ethics and research in critical care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silverman, Henry J; Lemaire, Francois

    2006-11-01

    The past few years have witnessed several controversies regarding the ethics of conducting research involving critically ill patients, and such research is ethically challenging. Research ethics is a changing field, one that is influenced by empirical data, contemporary events, and new ideas regarding aspects of clinical trial design and protection of human subjects. We describe recent thoughts regarding several aspects of research ethics in the critical care context. The ability of the research community to conduct research ethically and to maintain public trust would benefit from heightened awareness to the principles and requirements that govern such research.

  2. [Thinking ethics education].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Combes, Stéphanie

    2015-12-01

    Ethics emerges in the interstices of deontology, in difficult situations generating internal conflicts for the caregiver, sources of anxiety and questioning. Ethics education has always played a major in nursing programs by initiating a reflection on human values. Faced with current uncertainties in the context of care, it is now based on the appropriation of a reflexive approach to the meaning of action. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  3. The invasion of reality (or of negotiation): The psychoanalytic ethic and extinction anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nociforo, Nicola

    2017-10-01

    Extinction anxiety is the expression used to describe a pervasive and ever more realistic sense of futurelessness. A group emotion characterized by terror of the extinction of the human race, the family, or professional or shared cultural group, it grips the individual with a sense of desperation and impotence through the internal groups present in the mind of every individual. The contribution presented here aims to demonstrate how extinction anxiety has also infected psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic institutions, thereby seriously weakening the ethics of psychoanalysis. The term ethics here should not be confused with morals, but is intended as the happiness that is derived from the capacity to be responsible for one's self and one's own professional identity. The contagion of extinction anxiety has, in fact, accentuated the crisis of psychoanalysts and their faith in psychoanalysis. The author relates a particularly tormented clinical experience in order to show how only the relationship with psychoanalysis and its capacity to interpret the manifestations of the unconscious, enables the recognition of the effects of what he defines as a true invasion of reality, thus restoring to thought the power to establish a deep, transformative, and fecund relationship between internal and external reality. Copyright © 2016 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

  4. Ethics and mental illness research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Laura Weiss

    2002-09-01

    There are many tasks ahead in the area of ethics and mental illness research. We face unknown challenges in psychiatric genetics projects, studies of psychopharmacological interventions in children, controversial scientific designs (e.g., symptom challenge, medication-free interval), and cross-disciplinary research incorporating goals and methods of health services, epidemiology, and social and behavioral science endeavors. Boundaries between innovative clinical practices and research-related experimentation will become increasingly difficult to distinguish, as will the roles between clinicians, clinical researchers, and basic scientists. Moreover, the institutions and systems in which research occurs are being rapidly and radically revised, raising new questions about oversight responsibilities and standards. Our ability to identify and respond to the ethical questions arising in this uncharted territory will depend on our willingness to self-reflect, to integrate the observations and insights of the past century, to think with great clarity, and to anticipate novel ethical problems that keep company with scientific advancements. It will also depend on data. Empirical study of ethical dimensions of human research is essential to anchor and attune the intuitions and theoretical constructs that we develop. Science and ethics have changed over the past 100 years, as they will over the next century. It is ironic that the ethical acceptability of psychiatric research is so much in question at this time, when it holds so much promise for advancing our understanding of mental illness and its treatment. The tension between the duty to protect vulnerable individuals and the duty to perform human science will continue to grow, as long as ethics and science are seen as separable, opposing forces with different aims championed by different heroes. The profession of psychiatry is poised to move toward a new, more coherent research ethics paradigm in which scientific and

  5. Some Ethical-Moral Concerns in Administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enns, Frederick

    1981-01-01

    Presents and analyzes moral-ethical issues that arise in administration and concludes that past descriptive, objective, and scientific approaches to administration have failed to take full account of the moral-ethical dimension of human existence. (Author/WD)

  6. Ethical issues in astrobiology: a Christian perspective (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randolph, R. O.

    2009-12-01

    With its focus on the origin, extent, and future of life, Astrobiology raises exciting, multidisciplinary questions for science. At the same time, Astrobiology raises important questions for the humanities. For instance, the prospect of discovering extraterrestrial life - either intelligent or unintelligent - raises questions about humans’ place in the universe and our relationship with nature on planet Earth. Fundamentally, such questions are rooted in our understanding of what it means to be human. From a Christian perspective, the foundational claim about human nature is that all persons bear the "imago dei", the image of God. This concept forms the basis for how humans relate to one another (dignity) and how humans relate to nature (stewardship). For many Christians the "imago dei" also suggests that humans are at the center of the universe. The discovery of extraterrestrial life would be another scientific development - similar to evolution - that essentially de-centers humanity. For some Christian perspectives this de-centering may be problematic, but I will argue that the discovery of extraterrestrial life would actually offer a much needed theological corrective for contemporary Christians’ understanding of the "imago dei". I will make this argument by examining two clusters of ethical issues confronting Astrobiology: 1. What ethical obligations would human explorers owe to extraterrestrial life? Are there ethical obligations to protect extraterrestrial ecosystems from harm or exploitation by human explorers? Do our ethical considerations change, if the extraterrestrial life is a “second genesis;” in other words a form of life completely different and independent from the carbon-based life that we know on Earth? 2. Do we have an ethical obligation to promote life as much as we can? If human explorers discover extraterrestrial life and through examination determine that it is struggling to survive, do we have an ethical obligation to assist that

  7. Strengthening ethical political leadership for sustainable peace and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Strengthening ethical political leadership: Uganda as a case study meaningful .... needed are short and long-term strategies for inculcating ethical leadership .... Ethics comprises principles and concepts that guide humans between right ... Virtues of kindness, generosity, hospitality, honesty, compassion, forgiveness, and.

  8. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.

    Science.gov (United States)

    American Psychologist, 2002

    2002-01-01

    Describes the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, focusing on introduction and applicability; preamble; general principles; and ethical standards (resolving ethical issues, competence, human relations, privacy and confidentiality, advertising and other public statements, record keeping and…

  9. Copying and Coping Conceptualizations of Language: Counseling and the Ethic of Appreciation for Human Differences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, James T.

    2008-01-01

    The author takes the position that the foundational value of the counseling profession is an ethic of appreciation for human differences. The professional tool that is used to actualize this value is language. In this regard, the philosophical distinction between copying and coping conceptualizations of language is overviewed. The author argues…

  10. Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

    OpenAIRE

    Enrico Cavalieri

    2007-01-01

    The ethics we find in companies contains the same elements as the ethics in the socio-economic context in which they operate. The aspirations and ethical levels of companies operating in certain countries differ substantially from those of companies operating in other areas, where the defence of the environment, social welfare, human rights, cooperation, assistance are expected and offered to a lower degree, or are not requested or protected at all. The new globalised, networked economy, base...

  11. Toward machines that behave ethically better than humans do

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pontier, M.A.; Hoorn, J.F.; Miyake, N.; Peebles, B.; Cooper, R.P.

    2012-01-01

    With the increasing dependence on autonomous operating agents and robots the need for ethical machine behavior rises. This paper presents a moral reasoner that combines connectionism, utilitarianism and ethical theory about moral duties. The moral decision-making matches the analysis of expert

  12. Climate Change: Ethics and Collective Responsibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peacock, K.; Brown, M. B.; Mann, M. E.; Lewandowsky, S.

    2014-12-01

    Climate change poses grave risks for societies and people all around the earth. Though details of the risks remain uncertain, they include accelerating sea level rise and ocean acidification, regional drought, floods and heat waves, crop failures and more: dangerous changes are already occurring, while GHG emissions continue to grow, ice melts, water expands, temperature rises, and weather patterns shift. Our roles as individuals and nations in producing the emissions of GHGs responsible for this episode of climate change, and the actions that could be taken to mitigate it, raise difficult ethical questions. When we are responsible for putting others in danger, we have a duty to mitigate that danger. But our sense of responsibility is diluted here: each individual act contributes only minutely to the overall risks, and the links between individual acts and the harms they produce are complex, indirect and involve many other agents. In these circumstances, our sense of personal responsibility is diminished and uncoordinated, individual responses to the risks become ineffective. We propose a view of the ethics of climate change that begins with the tragedy of the commons: Free use of a shared, indispensable resource can lead to catastrophe as the resource is overrun, and the destruction of the commons arises from choices that are individuallyrational, if each person's choice is made independently of others'. Finally, individuals often fail to make ethical choices when the links between individual actions and their negative outcomes are obscure, when individual choices are made separately and privately, and when special interests stand to gain from actions that are generally harmful. Philosophical work in ethics has emphasized the role of ethics in enabling cooperation between individuals and coordinating group responses to problems, while recent work on social rules has modeled them as generalized forbiddings, taught and enforced by 'blocking' behaviours which

  13. Contextual Sensing: Integrating Contextual Information with Human and Technical Geo-Sensor Information for Smart Cities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagl, Günther; Resch, Bernd; Blaschke, Thomas

    2015-07-14

    In this article we critically discuss the challenge of integrating contextual information, in particular spatiotemporal contextual information, with human and technical sensor information, which we approach from a geospatial perspective. We start by highlighting the significance of context in general and spatiotemporal context in particular and introduce a smart city model of interactions between humans, the environment, and technology, with context at the common interface. We then focus on both the intentional and the unintentional sensing capabilities of today's technologies and discuss current technological trends that we consider have the ability to enrich human and technical geo-sensor information with contextual detail. The different types of sensors used to collect contextual information are analyzed and sorted into three groups on the basis of names considering frequently used related terms, and characteristic contextual parameters. These three groups, namely technical in situ sensors, technical remote sensors, and human sensors are analyzed and linked to three dimensions involved in sensing (data generation, geographic phenomena, and type of sensing). In contrast to other scientific publications, we found a large number of technologies and applications using in situ and mobile technical sensors within the context of smart cities, and surprisingly limited use of remote sensing approaches. In this article we further provide a critical discussion of possible impacts and influences of both technical and human sensing approaches on society, pointing out that a larger number of sensors, increased fusion of information, and the use of standardized data formats and interfaces will not necessarily result in any improvement in the quality of life of the citizens of a smart city. This article seeks to improve our understanding of technical and human geo-sensing capabilities, and to demonstrate that the use of such sensors can facilitate the integration of different

  14. Contextual Sensing: Integrating Contextual Information with Human and Technical Geo-Sensor Information for Smart Cities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagl, Günther; Resch, Bernd; Blaschke, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    In this article we critically discuss the challenge of integrating contextual information, in particular spatiotemporal contextual information, with human and technical sensor information, which we approach from a geospatial perspective. We start by highlighting the significance of context in general and spatiotemporal context in particular and introduce a smart city model of interactions between humans, the environment, and technology, with context at the common interface. We then focus on both the intentional and the unintentional sensing capabilities of today’s technologies and discuss current technological trends that we consider have the ability to enrich human and technical geo-sensor information with contextual detail. The different types of sensors used to collect contextual information are analyzed and sorted into three groups on the basis of names considering frequently used related terms, and characteristic contextual parameters. These three groups, namely technical in situ sensors, technical remote sensors, and human sensors are analyzed and linked to three dimensions involved in sensing (data generation, geographic phenomena, and type of sensing). In contrast to other scientific publications, we found a large number of technologies and applications using in situ and mobile technical sensors within the context of smart cities, and surprisingly limited use of remote sensing approaches. In this article we further provide a critical discussion of possible impacts and influences of both technical and human sensing approaches on society, pointing out that a larger number of sensors, increased fusion of information, and the use of standardized data formats and interfaces will not necessarily result in any improvement in the quality of life of the citizens of a smart city. This article seeks to improve our understanding of technical and human geo-sensing capabilities, and to demonstrate that the use of such sensors can facilitate the integration of different

  15. A comparative analysis of biomedical research ethics regulation systems in Europe and Latin America with regard to the protection of human subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamas, Eugenia; Ferrer, Marcela; Molina, Alberto; Salinas, Rodrigo; Hevia, Adriana; Bota, Alexandre; Feinholz, Dafna; Fuchs, Michael; Schramm, Roland; Tealdi, Juan-Carlos; Zorrilla, Sergio

    2010-12-01

    The European project European and Latin American Systems of Ethics Regulation of Biomedical Research Project (EULABOR) has carried out the first comparative analysis of ethics regulation systems for biomedical research in seven countries in Europe and Latin America, evaluating their roles in the protection of human subjects. We developed a conceptual and methodological framework defining 'ethics regulation system for biomedical research' as a set of actors, institutions, codes and laws involved in overseeing the ethics of biomedical research on humans. This framework allowed us to develop comprehensive national reports by conducting semi-structured interviews to key informants. These reports were summarised and analysed in a comparative analysis. The study showed that the regulatory framework for clinical research in these countries differ in scope. It showed that despite the different political contexts, actors involved and motivations for creating the regulation, in most of the studied countries it was the government who took the lead in setting up the system. The study also showed that Europe and Latin America are similar regarding national bodies and research ethics committees, but the Brazilian system has strong and noteworthy specificities.

  16. Ultimate justification: Wittgenstein and medical ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, J

    1995-02-01

    Decisions must be justified. In medical ethics various grounds are given to justify decisions, but ultimate justification seems illusory and little considered. The philosopher Wittgenstein discusses the problem of ultimate justification in the context of general philosophy. His comments, nevertheless, are pertinent to ethics. From a discussion of Wittgensteinian notions, such as 'bedrock', the idea that 'ultimate' justification is grounded in human nature as such is derived. This discussion is relevant to medical ethics in at least five ways: it shows generally what type of certainty there is in practical ethics; it seems to imply some objective foundation to our ethical judgements; it squares with our experience of making ethical decisions; it shows something of the nature of moral arguments; and, finally, it has implications for teaching medicine and ethics.

  17. Application of Ethics, Justice and Fair Treatment in Human ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper observed that ethics and fair treatment play important roles in managing employees at work. The paper also noticed that moral awareness, the managers themselves, moral engagement, morality, unmet goals, and rewards all influence ethical behaviour. The paper further recommended that employees. fair ...

  18. From Virtue Ethics to Virtuous Corporation - Putting Virtues into Business Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Wang

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to contribute to a greater understanding of the theory of virtue ethics in its application in the business arena. In contrast to other ethics approaches, virtue theory emphasises the virtues and moral characters of the individual as moral agent. As such, the theory of virtue ethics provides a useful perspective in making sense of various business ethics issues through placing an emphasis on the moral character of the individuals, and its transformational influences in driving ethical business conduct. Drawing from van Marrewijk's (2003 theory of agency and communion in understanding the corporate sustainability value systems, as well as Moore's (2002, 2005 & 2008 conceptualisation of Alasdair MacIntyre's philosophical approach to ethics, the paper presents a theoretical framework that seeks to explain how individuals, as moral agents, can serve to promote virtuous business conduct and help foster a moral and ethical climate in the organisation as well as society at large.

  19. Under the shelter of ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lichterman, Boleslav L

    2005-01-01

    Problems of ethics committees in post-communist Russia are briefly discussed. The first ethics committees were established in 1980s upon the initiative of international pharmaceutical companies involved in clinical trials. Generally, such committees exist at hospitals conducting these trials and at research institutions dealing with human experimentation. They are bureaucratic structures heavily dependent on hospital or institution administration. Publication of research results in international periodicals is the main reason for their existence. An officially recognized National Ethics Committee is non-existent although there are several competing ethics committees at a national level (at the Ministry of Health, Academy of Sciences, Academy of Medical Sciences, Russian Medical association etc.). There is no federal legislation on the structure and status of ethics committees.

  20. Ethical principles and theories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, R C

    1993-01-01

    Ethical theory about what is right and good in human conduct lies behind the issues practitioners face and the codes they turn to for guidance; it also provides guidance for actions, practices, and policies. Principles of obligation, such as egoism, utilitarianism, and deontology, offer general answers to the question, "Which acts/practices are morally right?" A re-emerging alternative to using such principles to assess individual conduct is to center normative theory on personal virtues. For structuring society's institutions, principles of social justice offer alternative answers to the question, "How should social benefits and burdens be distributed?" But human concerns about right and good call for more than just theoretical responses. Some critics (eg, the postmodernists and the feminists) charge that normative ethical theorizing is a misguided enterprise. However, that charge should be taken as a caution and not as a refutation of normative ethical theorizing.

  1. A Problem With Aristotle’s Ethical Essentialism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tibor R. Machan

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Aristotelian ethics is still very promising, mainly because of its meta-ethical naturalism. As in medicine, what’s good versus bad is based on knowledge of the nature of something. With the addition of a strong doctrine of voluntary action, the morally good life is one within which one pursues one’s human flourishing (by means of practicing the virtues. An obstacle is Aristotle’s essentialism whereby he stresses what is distinctive about human beings, not what is a matter of their nature, as the standard of right versus wrong conduct. If this is amended in Aristotle what emerges is what some have called a genuine naturalist, biocentric ethical eudaimonism. Here I sketch the case for this amended Aristotelian ethical view.

  2. Development of Ethical Expertise: A question of courage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Delmar, Charlotte

    2004-01-01

    This article originates in my doctoral dissertation, Trust and Power: A Moral Challenge, published by Munksgaard, Copenhagen, in 1999. The dissertation, an exploratory study, contributes to a practical understanding of a philosophy of care and ethics. This article builds on the previous research......, develops theory, and stands as a philosophical and theoretical contribution. With practical understanding of an ethic of care and its limitations, I have worked to develop some aspects of Patricia Benner's formulations of how to act skillfully and ethically in nursing practice. Using a phenomenological....../ hermeneutic approach, I focus on the development of moral competence and, in this context, on specific personal qualifications such as significance of experience, situational understanding, sensing the concrete, and the need for courage....

  3. The importance of an ethics curriculum in surgical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keune, Jason D; Kodner, Ira J

    2014-07-01

    The nature of surgical work provides fertile ground in which ethical problems can grow. The concept of what it means to be a "good surgeon" includes the ability to reason and deliberate about how the surgeon's unique technical capabilities integrate with larger society. Ethics education at the resident level is important for several reasons. It can ensure that care is delivered in a socially and ethically responsible manner through global and emergent effects on institutions and traditions. It will prepare residents for leadership positions. It can allow residents to confront issues, such as the scientific underdetermination of surgical practice, the application of new technologies to trusting patients that have been developed by for-profit companies, and a surgical environment that is becoming increasingly institutionalized. Resident ethics education provides the opportunity for a model of collective deliberation to be developed that can be used to make sense of ethical problems as they arise.

  4. Ethics in Research on Learning: Dialectics of Praxis and Praxeology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SungWon Hwang

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Qualitative social research designed to develop ways of understanding and explaining lived experience of human beings is a reflexive human endeavor. It is reflexive in that as researchers attempt to better understand their participants, they also come to better understand themselves. Consequently, research ethics itself becomes an ethical project, for it pertains to participant and researcher at the same time: Both are subjects, knower and known. Particularly in case of research on learning, reflexivity arises from the fact that the research itself constitutes learning about learning. How is ethics in research on learning reflexive of, in its praxis and praxeology, ongoing events and changes of the human learning? In this study, from our experience of conducting a project designed to inquire into "learning in unfamiliar environments," we develop pertinent ethical issues through a dialectical process—not unlike that used by G.W.F. HEGEL in Phenomenology of Spirit—grounded in our lived experience and developed in three theoretical claims concerning a praxeology of ethics. First, ethics is an ongoing historical event; second, ethics is based on the communicative praxis of material bodies; and third, ethics involves the creation of new communicative configurations. We conclude that ethics is grounded in a fundamental answerability of human beings for their actions, which requires communicative action that itself is a dialectical process in opening up possibilities for acting in an answerable manner. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0501198

  5. Ethical foundations of environmental radiological protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oughton, D H

    2016-06-01

    Assessing the potential ecological impact of ionising radiation raises a number of ethical questions. These include fundamental questions such as what exactly constitutes harming the environment, and how the environment should be valued, as well as links to political protection principles such as sustainability and biodiversity. Starting from developments within ecological risk assessment, this paper summarises some of the ethical issues concerning the protection of the environment from radiation. Chapter 2 gives a brief overview of different philosophical and cultural world views on valuing the environment in a context of radiation risk. Chapter 3 addresses some recent challenges to proposed environmental protection frameworks, including practical applications following the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, and some scientific developments such as the ecosystem approach. Finally, Chapter 4 offers some recommendations on how ethical evaluation can help produce a more robust and transparent approach to the protection of the environment. In conclusion, there is a need for a holistic evaluation of the environmental impacts of ionising radiation that not only considers the direct consequences on the health of humans and non-human species, but also the more complex social, ethical, and economic consequences of both human and non-human exposures. © The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics.

  6. The ethics of information

    CERN Document Server

    Floridi, Luciano

    2013-01-01

    Luciano Floridi develops an original ethical framework for dealing with the new challenges posed by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). ICTs have profoundly changed many aspects of life, including the nature of entertainment, work, communication, education, health care, industrial production and business, social relations, and conflicts. They have had a radical and widespread impact on our moral lives and on contemporary ethical debates. Privacy, ownership, freedom of speech, responsibility, technological determinism, the digital divide, and pornography online are only some of the pressing issues that characterise the ethical discourse in the information society. They are the subject of Information Ethics (IE), the new philosophical area of research that investigates the ethical impact of ICTs on human life and society. Since the seventies, IE has been a standard topic in many curricula. In recent years, there has been a flourishing of new university courses, international conferences, workshop...

  7. User Location Identification for Cooperative Human-Centric Sensing (HCS) Scenario

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mihovska, Albena Dimitrova

    Human-Centric Sensing (HCS) is a newly emerged concept in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the active and assisted living (AAL) scenario. HCS connectivity, also referred to as “smart connectivity” enables applications that are highly personalized and often time...

  8. Natural Law and Discursive Ethics. Natural law in Thomas Aquinas as a grammar of moral discourse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Fernando Barzotto

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The present article is an attempt to make the Thomist ethics of the natural law intelligible to a supporter of Apel and Harbermas’s discourse ethics. In order to do so, it presents Aquinas’s theory of natural law as the moral discourse’s grammar. This ‘translation’ of Thomist ethics into contemporary terminology aims at establishing a dialogue with those who uphold discourse ethics by advancing the thesis that, Thomist ethics is superior to discourse ethics in performing the function of controlling the sense of propositions that belong to the moral discourse.

  9. Research ethics I: Responsible conduct of research (RCR)--historical and contemporary issues pertaining to human and animal experimentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horner, Jennifer; Minifie, Fred D

    2011-02-01

    In this series of articles--Research Ethics I, Research Ethics II, and Research Ethics III--the authors provide a comprehensive review of the 9 core domains for the responsible conduct of research (RCR) as articulated by the Office of Research Integrity. In Research Ethics I, they present a historical overview of the evolution of RCR in the United States then examine the evolution of human and animal experimentation from the birth of scientific medicine through World War II to the present day. They relied on authoritative documents, both historical and contemporary, insightful commentary, and empirical research in order to identify current issues and controversies of potential interest to both faculty and students. The authors have written this article from a historical perspective because they think all readers interested in RCR should appreciate how the history of science and all the good--and harm--it has produced can inform how researchers practice responsible research in the 21st century and beyond.

  10. Chapter 3. Aristotelian Virtue Ethics

    OpenAIRE

    Dimmock, Mark; Fisher, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    To seek virtue for the sake of reward is to dig for iron with a spade of gold. 1. Aristotelian Virtue Ethics Introduction Aristotle (384–322 BC) was a scholar in disciplines such as ethics, metaphysics, biology and botany, amongst others. It is fitting, therefore, that his moral philosophy is based around assessing the broad characters of human beings rather than assessing singular acts in isolation. Indeed, this is what separates Aristotelian Virtue Ethics from both Utilitarianism and Kantia...

  11. Confucianism Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Usman Usman

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available This article tries to explore the fundamental values of Confucianism ethics and its influence to the emergence of Capitalism. By using Weber's thesis on the relationship between Protestant ethics and the spirit of capitalism, this paper concludes that the three important values of Confucianism Ethics (ren: benevolence, humaneness, li: rightness, righteousness, and fittingness, and yi: rules of proper conduct, ritual, and rites are proposing people on how to become good human beings. If the Confucian follows these ethics properly, he/she will get the successful life. Although it is not guaranteed but the Confucianism ethics are still relevant to be practiced in contemporary situation. Some research findings recently showed that Confucianism ethics have really influence people to fulfill the "calling" (Weber's term and it has also power to increase the spirit of capitalism. The rise of Japan, China, and the four little dragons (including South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore is related to the development of Confucianism, and it directly brings down Weber's view point, which taught that Confucianism did not have the spirit of capitalism.

  12. Ethics and public integrity in space exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenstone, Adam F.

    2018-02-01

    This paper discusses the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) work to support ethics and public integrity in human space exploration. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) to protect an organization's reputation has become widespread in the private sector. Government ethics law and practice is integral to a government entity's ERM by managing public sector reputational risk. This activity has also increased on the international plane, as seen by the growth of ethics offices in UN organizations and public international financial institutions. Included in this area are assessments to ensure that public office is not used for private gain, and that external entities are not given inappropriate preferential treatment. NASA has applied rules supporting these precepts to its crew since NASA's inception. The increased focus on public sector ethics principles for human activity in space is important because of the international character of contemporary space exploration. This was anticipated by the 1998 Intergovernmental Agreement for the International Space Station (ISS), which requires a Code of Conduct for the Space Station Crew. Negotiations among the ISS Partners established agreed-upon ethics principles, now codified for the United States in regulations at 14 C.F.R. § 1214.403. Understanding these ethics precepts in an international context requires cross-cultural dialogue. Given NASA's long spaceflight experience, a valuable part of this dialogue is understanding NASA's implementation of these requirements. Accordingly, this paper will explain how NASA addresses these and related issues, including for human spaceflight and crew, as well as the development of U.S. Government ethics law which NASA follows as a U.S. federal agency. Interpreting how the U.S. experience relates constructively to international application involves parsing out which dimensions relate to government ethics requirements that the international partners have integrated into the

  13. Sense of presence and anxiety during virtual social interactions between a human and virtual humans

    OpenAIRE

    Morina, Nexhmedin; Brinkman, Willem-Paul; Hartanto, Dwi; Emmelkamp, Paul M.G.

    2014-01-01

    Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has been shown to be effective in treatment of anxiety disorders. Yet, there is lack of research on the extent to which interaction between the individual and virtual humans can be successfully implanted to increase levels of anxiety for therapeutic purposes. This proof-of-concept pilot study aimed at examining levels of the sense of presence and anxiety during exposure to virtual environments involving social interaction with virtual humans and using d...

  14. Ethical and Human Rights Foundations of Health Policy: Lessons from Comprehensive Reform in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frenk, Julio; Gómez-Dantés, Octavio

    2015-12-10

    This paper discusses the use of an explicit ethical and human rights framework to guide a reform intended to provide universal and comprehensive social protection in health for all Mexicans, independently of their socio-economic status or labor market condition. This reform was designed, implemented, and evaluated by making use of what Michael Reich has identified as the three pillars of public policy: technical, political, and ethical. The use of evidence and political strategies in the design and negotiation of the Mexican health reform is briefly discussed in the first part of this paper. The second part examines the ethical component of the reform, including the guiding concept and values, as well as the specific entitlements that gave operational meaning to the right to health care that was enshrined in Mexico's 1983 Constitution. The impact of this rights-based health reform, measured through an external evaluation, is discussed in the final section. The main message of this paper is that a clear ethical framework, combined with technical excellence and political skill, can deliver major policy results. Copyright © 2015 Frenk and Gómez-Dantés. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

  15. Human and remote sensing data to investigate the frontiers of urbanization in the south of Mexico City

    OpenAIRE

    Rodriguez Lopez, Juan Miguel; Heider, Katharina; Scheffran, J?rgen

    2016-01-01

    The data presented here were originally collected for the article “Frontiers of Urbanization: Identifying and Explaining Urbanization Hot Spots in the South of Mexico City Using Human and Remote Sensing” (Rodriguez et al. 2017) [4]. They were divided into three databases (remote sensing, human sensing, and census information), using a multi-method approach with the goal of analyzing the impact of urbanization on protected areas in southern Mexico City. The remote sensing database was prepared...

  16. The science of ethics: Deception, the resilient self, and the APA code of ethics, 1966-1973.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stark, Laura

    2010-01-01

    This paper has two aims. The first is to shed light on a remarkable archival source, namely survey responses from thousands of American psychologists during the 1960s in which they described their contemporary research practices and discussed whether the practices were "ethical." The second aim is to examine the process through which the American Psychological Association (APA) used these survey responses to create principles on how psychologists should treat human subjects. The paper focuses on debates over whether "deception" research was acceptable. It documents how members of the committee that wrote the principles refereed what was, in fact, a disagreement between two contemporary research orientations. The paper argues that the ethics committee ultimately built the model of "the resilient self" into the APA's 1973 ethics code. At the broadest level, the paper explores how prevailing understandings of human nature are written into seemingly universal and timeless codes of ethics. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. The views of HR practitioners on ethical issues within organisations: A South African perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Wordsworth

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This article reports on the results of a survey conducted among human resource practitioners in South Africa regarding their involvement in and experience of business ethics and unethical behaviour in their organisations. The results of the study concur with the theoretical perception that human resource managers have an important role to play in the institutionalisation of good ethical behaviour in the organisation, with the majority of respondents reporting that the human resource department is a primary resource for ethical initiatives and that human resource professionals are involved in the formulation of ethics policies. The article provides some insights in terms of the role of the human resource managers in the management of ethics. In so doing, an attempt is made to address the question of whether human resource managers should be the drivers of ethics initiatives in the organisation.

  18. Which will Trump: human rights and professional ethics, or torture redux?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marks, Jonathan H

    2017-03-01

    Recent political developments in the United States raise concerns about the potential return of aggressive interrogation strategies, particularly in the event of another large-scale terror attack on the U.S. mainland. This essay reviews various legal, ethical and policy responses to revelations of torture during the Bush administration. It asks whether they improve the prospect that, in future, human rights will trump torture, not vice versa. The essay argues that physicians could help prevent further abuses - especially given their access, social status and expertise - but that insufficient steps have been taken to empower them to do so.

  19. Multicultural Ethics in Nursing Education: A Potential Threat to Responsible Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kikuchi, June F.

    1996-01-01

    Responsible nursing practice cannot be realized under multicultural, relativist ethics. An alternate ethical basis for practice that is grounded in moderate realism is transcultural ethics, which argues that natural human needs, inherent in common human nature, can be determined empirically and what constitutes a good can be derived therefrom.…

  20. IS ETHICAL HACKING ETHICAL?

    OpenAIRE

    MUHAMMAD NUMAN ALI KHAN; DANISH JAMIL,

    2011-01-01

    This paper explores the ethics behind ethical hacking and whether there are problems that lie with this new field of work. Since ethical hacking has been a controversial subject over the past few years, the question remains of the true intentions of ethical hackers. The paper also looks at ways in which future research could be looked intoto help keep ethical hacking, ethical.

  1. Integrating Public Health and Deliberative Public Bioethics: Lessons from the Human Genome Project Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meagher, Karen M; Lee, Lisa M

    2016-01-01

    Public health policy works best when grounded in firm public health standards of evidence and widely shared social values. In this article, we argue for incorporating a specific method of ethical deliberation--deliberative public bioethics--into public health. We describe how deliberative public bioethics is a method of engagement that can be helpful in public health. Although medical, research, and public health ethics can be considered some of what bioethics addresses, deliberative public bioethics offers both a how and where. Using the Human Genome Project Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications program as an example of effective incorporation of deliberative processes to integrate ethics into public health policy, we examine how deliberative public bioethics can integrate both public health and bioethics perspectives into three areas of public health practice: research, education, and health policy. We then offer recommendations for future collaborations that integrate deliberative methods into public health policy and practice.

  2. Goal-Oriented Ethics: Framing the Goal-Setting Concretely

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathew Illathuparampil

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Joseph Selling, professor emeritus from KU Leuven, Belgium, recently made a significant contribution towards ethical methodology. It is in fact a continuation of the in-house conversations that have been in vogue about methods in moral reasoning since Vatican II in the discipline called theological ethics. What is specific about Selling’s attempt is that he re-orients or reframes the evaluation of the moral event to consider human intentionality or motivation before considering human behavior or human acts. He convincingly establishes his method by a meticulous reading of Thomas Aquinas. This paper is a response to the goal-oriented ethics that he has posited. As illustrated below, this paper evaluates the goal-oriented approach as solid and sufficient. While fully endorsing this approach, this paper argues that the process of ethical goal-setting is to be framed concretely. In a concrete historical context, so that a goal-oriented approach fully serves its purpose, this paper proposes that it is to be reinforced by four supportive pillars, which are in fact assumed by Selling in his work. They are openness to human sciences, conversation among various narratives, positing a theological frame for ethical reasoning, and recourse to non-discursive reasoning.

  3. [Experience of a research Ethics Committee and the challenges of the new Chilean legislation on research in human beings].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oyarzún G, Manuel; Pinto C, María Eugenia; Raineri B, Gina G; Amigo, Hugo; Cifuentes O, Lucía; González, María Julieta; Horwitz, Nina; Marshall F, Claudia; Orellana V, Gricel

    2014-07-01

    The welfare of research participants must be guaranteed by international ethical standards. This article communicates the procedures of the Research Ethics Committee of the School of Medicine, University of Chile (CEISH). The new Chilean legislation on research in human beings is also discussed. Law 20.120: "On scientific research in human beings, its genome and forbidding human cloning" establishes the ethical principles that must be accomplished in every research involving human beings. Article 28 of the Law 20.584 "Regulation of the rights and duties of health care users", forbids the participation of handicapped people who cannot express their will in scientific research. Article 13 states that people not related directly with patient care cannot have access to his clinical records (with the exception of people with notarial authorization by the patient). CEISH proposes that, in case of people with intellectual deficiency, the decision to approve a scientific research should be analyzed on an individual basis. If the person is capable of expressing his or her will or has stated his or her consent beforehand, the research can be authorized. If the person cannot express his or her will, the scientific research cannot take place. In prospective studies, a consent from the patient and an authorization of the health authority should be required to access clinical records. In retrospective studies, consent should be obtained from the patient when personal information is going to be used. If the information is nameless, the consent can be disregarded.

  4. Capturing a Sense of Place.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, Cheryl K.

    1995-01-01

    Outdoor educators can help students, program participants, and colleagues find a special place in nature that enables them to cherish nature's gifts, its healing power, and its ability to bring inner peace. Becoming emotionally connected with nature promotes development of an environmental ethic and a sense of stewardship for the land. (LP)

  5. Ethical limitations in patenting biotechnological inventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugagnani, V

    1999-01-01

    In order to connect ethical considerations with practical limits to patentability, the moral judgement should possibly move from the exploitation of the invention to the nature and/or objectives of Research and Development (R&D) projects which have produced it: in other words, it appears quite reasonable and logical that Society is not rewarding unethical R&D activities by granting intellectual property rights. As far as biotechnology R&D is concerned, ethical guidance can be derived from the 1996 Council of EuropeOs OConvention for the protection of human rights and dignity of the human being with regard to the application of biology and medicineO, whose Chapter V - Scientific research - provides guidelines on: i. protection of persons undergoing research (e.g. informed consent); ii. protection of persons not able to consent to research; iii. research on embryos in vitro. As far as the specific point of patenting biotechnology inventions is concerned, the four exclusions prescribed by Directive 98/44/EC (i.e. human cloning, human germ-line gene therapy, use of human embryos for commercial purposes, unjustified animal suffering for medical purposes) are all we have in Europe in terms of ethical guidance to patentability. In Italy, in particular, we certainly need far more comprehensive legislation, expressing SocietyOs demand to provide ethical control of modern biotechnology. However it is quite difficult to claim that ethical concerns are being raised by currently awarded biotechnology patents related to living organisms and material thereof; they largely deal with the results of genomic R&D, purposely and usefully oriented toward improving health-care and agri-food processes, products and services. ONo patents on lifeOO can be an appealing slogan of militants against modern biotechnology, but it is far too much of an over-simplified abstraction to become the Eleventh Commandment our Society.

  6. Ethical Factors of Social Capital Increasing in Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nureev Rustem, M.

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Authors’ definition of social capital as an institutional and ethical category, determined by the structure of moral and ethical features of economic agents is considered. It is shown that the level of social capital directly depends on the prevalence of such features of economic agents as honesty, fairness, responsibility, humanity, patriotism. Despite the fact that the level of social capital is currently evaluated through qualitative (personal, expert methods, it is possible to identify its impact on specific economic indicators. For the analysis based on the elements of social capital and other indicators of socio-economic development the authors used Russian official statistics, international organizations data and sociological surveys results. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of correlation and regression analysis and mathematical methods in Economics in general, the authors set the task not to construct a multifactor model of economic and non-economic indicators interrelation, but to confirm their close ties according to the purpose to substantiate the necessity of the government social and economic policy improvement by taking into account the influence of institutional and ethical factors that have long been investigated outside the pure economic science. Key factors of social capital increasing include honesty, trust, fairness, but their level in Russia remains extremely low due to cultural and historical peculiarities of national development, that can be proven by economic crimes and the shadow economy statistics. Great attention is also paid to social responsibility and patriotism, which are of particular importance in the current geopolitical environment and can be combined in the sense of national economic responsibility.

  7. Ethics and data protection in human biomarker studies in environmental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casteleyn, Ludwine; Dumez, Birgit; Van Damme, Karel; Anwar, Wagida A

    2013-08-01

    Human biomarker studies in environmental health are essential tools to study the relationship between health and environment. They should ultimately contribute to a better understanding of environmentally induced adverse health effects and to appropriate preventive actions. To ensure the protection of the rights and dignity of study participants a complex legal and ethical framework is applied, consisting of several international directives, conventions, and guidelines, whether or not translated in domestic laws. Main characteristics of ethics and data protection in studies using biomarkers in the field of environmental health are summarized and current discussions on related questions and bottlenecks highlighted. In the current regulatory context, dominated by the protection of the individual study participant, difficulties are reported due to the different interpretation and implementation of the regulations of concern within and across borders. Advancement of consistency and compatibility is recommended and efforts are ongoing. An increasing demand for secondary use of data and samples poses additional challenges in finding a right balance between the individual rights of the study participants on the one hand and the common interest of, and potential benefit for the public or community at large on the other. Ethics committees could play a key role in assessing problems originating from the sometimes competing needs at individual and societal level. Building trust in science amongst (potential) study participants and within the community allows the inclusion of arguments from the societal perspective. This requires increased attention for respectful communication efforts. Striving for public participation in decision making processes may promote policy relevant research and the related translation of study results into action. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  8. Is professional ethics a luxury we can do without?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Chiva

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available In today’s society where the recovery and education of values is being reclaimed, professional ethics is gaining an essential importance, and the education of future professionals is becoming one of the key questions. First of all, this project analyses the content of ethics based on Spanish universities where the Human Nutrition and Dietetics Undergraduate Degree is taught, as well as the content of ethics of dual undergraduate programmes. In second place, the results of an online survey have been analysed. This survey, carried out between 1 and 11 September 2014, included a question on professional ethics and, finally, the Spanish Code of Ethics for Dieticians and Nutritionists was used as an example to solve doubts that were raised regarding our profession related to the patronage of the industry. To conclude, it would be recommendable for the ethics/bioethics subject to be given in the fourth year of the undergraduate degree and for universities where there is a dual undergraduate programme to include content from both human nutrition and dietetics. We should promote the creation of our own ethical culture specifically for human nutrition and dietetics that starts at the university education stage and continues in training throughout the whole professional life.

  9. Ethical Justification of Moral Norms in Scientific Research: Scientists' External Responsibilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehmet AKÖZER

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Scientists' moral responsibilities have become a focus for the scientific community over the postwar decades. International and regional networks of leading academic bodies have responded to a widely perceived increase in scientific fraud and the ensued loss of public trust in science during the 1980s, and initiated a discussion with a view to codifying good practice in research. While scientists' “external” responsibilities towards society and the humankind have been variously addressed, codes drafted since then mainly dwell on problems of misconduct concerning scientists' “internal” responsibilities towards science and to the scientific community. They also reflect an ethical pluralism, which declines justifying moral standards in research with reference to universal ethical principles. However, the need for such justification has been first recognized decades ago, during the Doctor's Trial in Nuremberg, where the shortcomings of the established ethos of science and the inadequacy of the Hippocratic ethics in safeguarding human rights in research had become flagrant, with the resultant Nuremberg Code of 1947 introducing a human rights perspective into Hippocratic ethics. This paper argues for the necessity of an integral ethical justification of scientists' both external and inner responsibilities, as put down or assumed by internationally acclaimed codes of conduct. Such necessity is validated by the evidence that a historical current to monopolize ethical thinking in the name of science and nullify philosophical ethics lies at the root of an anti–morality that relativized human worth and virtually legitimized human rights violations in scientific practice. Kantian ethics based on humans' absolute inner worth, and Popperian epistemology rooted in respect for truth and for humans as rational beings, pledge an ethical justification of moral norms in science so as to reinforce the latter against intrusions of anti–morality. The paper

  10. Undergraduate research involving human subjects should not be granted ethical approval unless it is likely to be of publishable quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Cathal T; McDonald, Lisa J; McCormack, Niamh P

    2014-06-01

    Small-scale research projects involving human subjects have been identified as being effective in developing critical appraisal skills in undergraduate students. In deciding whether to grant ethical approval to such projects, university research ethics committees must weigh the benefits of the research against the risk of harm or discomfort to the participants. As the learning objectives associated with student research can be met without the need for human subjects, the benefit associated with training new healthcare professionals cannot, in itself, justify such risks. The outputs of research must be shared with the wider scientific community if it is to influence future practice. Our survey of 19 UK universities indicates that undergraduate dissertations associated with the disciplines of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy are not routinely retained in their library catalogues, thus closing a major avenue to the dissemination of their findings. If such research is unlikely to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at a conference, or otherwise made available to other researchers, then the risks of harm, discomfort or inconvenience to participants are unlikely to be offset by societal benefits. Ethics committees should be satisfied that undergraduate research will be funnelled into further research that is likely to inform clinical practice before granting ethical approval.

  11. Citizenship, human rights, and dementia: Towards a new embodied relational ethic of sexuality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kontos, Pia; Grigorovich, Alisa; Kontos, Alexis P; Miller, Karen-Lee

    2016-05-01

    Sexual citizenship and sexual rights scholarship have made important contributions to broadening citizenship and more fully accommodating rights related to sexuality. However, this scholarship has concentrated primarily on the sexuality and intimacy-related needs of younger people and those who are not cognitively impaired. Consequently, it has inadvertently served to marginalize persons living with dementia who reside in long-term residential care settings. We argue that supporting sexual rights for persons with dementia requires a particular human rights ontology for citizenship-one that recognizes that corporeality is a fundamental source of self-expression, interdependence, and reciprocal engagement. This is an ontology that underpins our model of relational citizenship and that grounds our articulation of an ethic of embodied relational sexuality. In our view, this ethic offers important direction for the development of policy, legislation, and clinical guidelines to support sexual rights for persons with dementia in long-term residential care. © The Author(s) 2016.

  12. Data Ethics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasselbalch, Gry; Tranberg, Pernille

    Respect for privacy and the right to control one’s own data are becoming key parameters to gain a competitive edge in today’s business world. Companies, organisations and authorities which view data ethics as a social responsibility, giving it the same importance as environmental awareness...... and respect for human rights, are tomorrow’s winners. Digital trust is paramount to digital growth and prosperity. This book combines broad trend analyses with case studies to examine companies which use data ethics to varying degrees. The authors make the case that citizens and consumers are no longer just...... concerned about a lack of control over their data, but they also have begun to act. In addition, they describe alternative business models, advances in technology and a new European data protection regulation, all of which combine to foster a growing market for data-ethical products and services...

  13. Values, Professional Ethics and Educational Administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanage, Sherman M.

    1995-01-01

    Presents a view of ethics and morality as they may relate to the field of professional education. Defines ethics (identifiable values of individuals) and morals (identifiable values of social and culture-specific groups) as distinguishable but not separate and mutually exclusive normative theories of human conduct. (MLF)

  14. Emotions, narratives, and ethical mindfulness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guillemin, Marilys; Gillam, Lynn

    2015-06-01

    Clinical care is laden with emotions, from the perspectives of both clinicians and patients. It is important that emotions are addressed in health professions curricula to ensure that clinicians are humane healers as well as technical experts. Emotions have a valuable and generative role in health professional ethics education.The authors have previously described a narrative ethics pedagogy, the aim of which is to develop ethical mindfulness. Ethical mindfulness is a state of being that acknowledges everyday ethics and ethically important moments as significant in clinical care, with the aim of enabling ethical clinical practice. Using a sample narrative, the authors extend this concept to examine five features of ethical mindfulness as they relate to emotions: (1) being sensitized to emotions in everyday practice, (2) acknowledging and understanding the ways in which emotions are significant in practice, (3) being able to articulate the emotions at play during ethically important moments, (4) being reflexive and acknowledging both the generative aspects and the limitations of emotions, and (5) being courageous.The process of writing and engaging with narratives can lead to ethical mindfulness, including the capacity to understand and work with emotions. Strategies for productively incorporating emotions in narrative ethics teaching are described. This can be a challenging domain within medical education for both educators and health care students and thus needs to be addressed sensitively and responsibly. The potential benefit of educating health professionals in a way which addresses emotionality in an ethical framework makes the challenges worthwhile.

  15. The educational aspects of ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Probucka Dorota

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of my article is to show the importance of normative ethics for the education of young people in three areas: individual, social and natural. In the first case, ethics answers the question how we should treat ourselves. Thus, it teaches responsibility for oneself, for one’s life and individual development. In the second case, ethics answers the question how we should treat other people in order to minimize the risk of harming them. Thus, it teaches responsibility to other members of society. In the third case, normative ethics reminds us of moral obligations towards non-human beings, stressing that suffering has an interspecies character, and doesn’t pertain only to representatives of Homo sapiens.

  16. Ethical Aspects of Human Resource Activities Serving Local and Regional Communities

    OpenAIRE

    Morariu Alunica

    2010-01-01

    The correct approach to ethics in public service should be multi-dimensional, since there is no difference to addressing the broader context of ethics in public office (members of Parliament, Government, other officials). The paper examines issues which are relevant for the basic principles and key administrative and legal instruments of ethics management.

  17. The Necessity of Considering Folk Ethics in Moral Philosophy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jalal Peykani

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary ethics and moral philosophy need a kind of revision due to their negligence in human moral capacities, ordinary life, and humans’ expectations of ethics. The assumptions and presuppositions of ethics result in their current unsatisfactory status. In this paper, we first explore and criticize those presuppositions. Then, instead of introducing ideal presuppositions of ethics, we introduce folk ethics and its components in order to show that contemporary ethics and moral philosophy should always begin with folk ethics. The most important advantage of folk ethics is its realistic foundation, which in turn will produce better results.

  18. Two concepts of empirical ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Malcolm

    2009-05-01

    The turn to empirical ethics answers two calls. The first is for a richer account of morality than that afforded by bioethical principlism, which is cast as excessively abstract and thin on the facts. The second is for the facts in question to be those of human experience and not some other, unworldly realm. Empirical ethics therefore promises a richer naturalistic ethics, but in fulfilling the second call it often fails to heed the metaethical requirements related to the first. Empirical ethics risks losing the normative edge which necessarily characterizes the ethical, by failing to account for the nature and the logic of moral norms. I sketch a naturalistic theory, teleological expressivism (TE), which negotiates the naturalistic fallacy by providing a more satisfactory means of taking into account facts and research data with ethical implications. The examples of informed consent and the euthanasia debate are used to illustrate the superiority of this approach, and the problems consequent on including the facts in the wrong kind of way.

  19. The discursive production of professionals about humanizing health: singularity, rights and ethics1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Rose Mary Costa Rosa Andrade; de Oliveira, Denize Cristina; Pereira, Eliane Ramos

    2015-01-01

    Objective: to describe the discursive production of professionals about the humanization of health. Method: qualitative study of descriptive approach, inspired by the social representation theory, with 24 professionals in the healthcare field, working in a university hospital with the established humanization policy. The selection of participants was conducted according to criteria of adequacy and diversity for an intentional sample. Data collection was conducted by semi-structured interviews. Results: through content analysis, three categories emerged, around which the analyses were conducted: "humanizing health as an act of accepting the other as unique", "humanizing health as a matter of right" and "humanizing health as an ethical issue". The discursive production of professionals is based on a perspective which is based on the humanist prospect with socio-historical bias. Conclusion: healthcare professionals must know the National Humanization Policy in order to provide quality care, promoting the meeting, welcoming and recognition of oneself, others and their profession in the political and socio-historical scenario of their country as a citizen, not only of rights, but also of obligations. PMID:26487145

  20. Ethical Conduct of Employees in Tourist Organizations in Novi Sad (Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Jovičić

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available The conduct of employees in tourism, but also all the other factors that participate indirectly in the tourism industry of Novi Sad contributes greatly to creating the image of Novi Sad in the domestic and international market. In that sense, ethical conduct and respect of the code of ethics is the basis of acquiring a good image of Novi Sad and improving the tourist product of Novi Sad. Business ethics includes principles and rules of conduct based on general and business culture and the principles and rules that dominate in interpersonal communication. The complex of factors, which interact, influence ethical behavior of those who are directly and indirectly employed in tourism industry. Those are characteristics that each individual have, which he/she brings into the organization, and also the culture of the organization. The subject of this paper is to explore forms of unethical behavior in organizations that are directly or indirectly involved in the tourism industry, with which tourists and local population meet in Novi Sad. The aim of this work is to come to conclusions analyzing, which will help us to see the current situation and take measures that will improve the tourist product of Novi Sad. The study concluded that organizations that participate in the creation of tourist product of Novi Sad mostly do not have an ethical code of conduct, and those that have it, do not apply it to the necessary extent. In that sense it is necessary to motivate employees and to properly implement a code of ethics through ethical training, which is usually present in organizations only in normative, without the employees knowing the content of this code, as well as its importance for the organization and reflecting on the wider social level.

  1. The origin of ethics and social order in a society without state power.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, K

    1999-06-01

    How ethics and social order in a society without state power had originated and developed is one of enigmas which human beings have tried to solve for a long time. Several theories on the origin of social order have been proposed since the "Social Contract" theory of Thomas Hobbes. According to Hobbes, as a society without state power is in a condition called war, a social contract among men is the origin of social order in a society where every man is against every man. Rousseau says that when human beings reach the stage in which they live in a permanent neighborhood, a property system is introduced. Then, too much ambition and avarice of man who has possessions compel him to propose the formation of a political institution, providing social order which enables him to keep his possessions. According to Nietzsche, the principle of equilibrium, that is, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth is an important concept for the oldest theory of low and morality as well as the basis of justice. The sense of superiority and nobility which a strong man brave enough to take revenge feels is the origin of the antithesis "good" and "bad". Girard says that the sacred violence wielded by the community to sacrifice a surrogate victim brings about social order in a society without state power. All the aforementioned theories seem to have failed to find out that a society without state power has its own ethics that had spontaneously developed on the pagan culture. Previously, I indicated that a society without state power or a society where state power cannot function well, such as the tribal society in northern Albania, has ethics which is based on the ancient concepts of "Guest-god", "food (commensality)" and "blood". In the present paper, I propose a new theory on the origin of ethics and social order, using the model of ethics of the Kanun.

  2. This "Ethical Trap" Is for Roboticists, Not Robots: On the Issue of Artificial Agent Ethical Decision-Making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Keith W; Wolf, Marty J; Grodzinsky, Frances

    2017-04-01

    In this paper we address the question of when a researcher is justified in describing his or her artificial agent as demonstrating ethical decision-making. The paper is motivated by the amount of research being done that attempts to imbue artificial agents with expertise in ethical decision-making. It seems clear that computing systems make decisions, in that they make choices between different options; and there is scholarship in philosophy that addresses the distinction between ethical decision-making and general decision-making. Essentially, the qualitative difference between ethical decisions and general decisions is that ethical decisions must be part of the process of developing ethical expertise within an agent. We use this distinction in examining publicity surrounding a particular experiment in which a simulated robot attempted to safeguard simulated humans from falling into a hole. We conclude that any suggestions that this simulated robot was making ethical decisions were misleading.

  3. [Conflicts between nursing ethics and health care legislation in Spain].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gea-Sánchez, Montserrat; Terés-Vidal, Lourdes; Briones-Vozmediano, Erica; Molina, Fidel; Gastaldo, Denise; Otero-García, Laura

    2016-01-01

    To identify the ethical conflicts that may arise between the nursing codes of ethics and the Royal Decree-law 16/2012 modifying Spanish health regulations. We conducted a review and critical analysis of the discourse of five nursing codes of ethics from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe and International, and of the discourse of the Spanish legislation in force in 2013. Language structures referring to five different concepts of the theoretical framework of care were identified in the texts: equity, human rights, right to healthcare, access to care, and continuity of care. Codes of ethics define the function of nursing according to equity, acknowledgement of human rights, right to healthcare, access to care and continuity of care, while legal discourse hinges on the concept of beneficiary or being insured. The divergence between the code of ethics and the legal discourse may produce ethical conflicts that negatively affect nursing practice. The application of RDL 16/2012 promotes a framework of action that prevents nursing professionals from providing care to uninsured collectives, which violates human rights and the principles of care ethics. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  4. Dialogical ethics and reflections on unfinalizability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frølunde, Lisbeth

    2013-01-01

    In this chapter I explore questions of research ethics from the perspective of dialogue theory through an analysis of a study I carried out in 2009-2010. The analysis focuses on dissenting voices among research participants. Voices, in a Bakhtinian sense, include the situated interplay of differe......In this chapter I explore questions of research ethics from the perspective of dialogue theory through an analysis of a study I carried out in 2009-2010. The analysis focuses on dissenting voices among research participants. Voices, in a Bakhtinian sense, include the situated interplay...... submitted machinima films – that is, animated films produced in virtual spaces such as Second Life or online games such as World of Warcraft – and distributed via the Internet. The aim of my study was to gain insight into three areas of digital audiovisual media production, namely, the sorts of authorship...... practices emerging online, the semiosis (meaning-making) of these new kinds of texts (such as machinima films), and the communication and collaboration in online spaces (such as online communities where filmmakers create and share these new kinds of digital audiovisual texts). The production of machinima...

  5. Metaphysics and medical ethics: a reply.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillett, G

    1994-01-01

    The total longitudinal form view of human beings is a metaphysical view which aims to locate our moral judgements about human embryos in a broader set of attitudes and characterisations. On this basis it has explanatory power and a real function in that it grounds our ethical discussion of embryos in other discourses. Contra Leavitt, this grounding suggests a broader criterion of relevance for metaphysical discussion than asking 'what comes out of' such a discussion for a particular ethical dilemma. PMID:8035442

  6. Ethics of professional relations to functionally handicapped users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mateja Griljc

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available The basic purpose of 1ibrarianship code is to form and build librarian personality who can make possible the same opportunity to acquiring knowledge for all users, irrespective of their different demands or special needs.When we discuss the importance of building librarian personality the demanding work with users we confront the problem of ethical treatment very often. Ethics advises only general rules which are rarely simple and they are frequently opposite to each other.The process of reacting between the librarian and the user - as with general information needs as with special functional needs - is also dependent on librarian's professional relation which is formed on important elements such as professional qualification,experiences, creativeness and ethics.We are also interested in question where is the border between ethical and non - ethical action in key situations when the 1ibrarian meets functionally handicapped user. Opportunities for non - ethical reaction of professional workers are much more possible if the library's premises and the furniture don't offer suitable conditions for adaptable communication with the handicapped.But on the other side the 1ibrarian has just because of the bad arhitectural conditions better occasion to introduce himself as one of the best ethically formed personalies compared with other professions. With adaptable communication, creative work and with professional relation in offering help to disabled people, the librarian can contribute to more quality service and even more - he/she becomes an example to other professions - also in ethical sense.

  7. Ethics in environmental politics and sustainable use of the planet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Cairns Jr.

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Environmental politics, especially regarding sustainable use of the planet, must be based on a shared set of ethical values. Although there is a fundamental conflict between ecological doctrine and human cultures, naturalistic assemblages of plants and animals can co-exist with human society in a mutualistic relationship. Numerous environmental practices of human society have ethical implications and are serious obstacles to the quest for sustainability. Continuing them will probably result in crossing one or more important ecological thresholds, which may result in new ecological conditions less favorable to human society than those that presently exist. Some of the probable conditions (e.g., global climate change could be characterized as paradigm-shifting catastrophes. Motivational ethics may triumph initially, but consequential ethics may eventually emerge in environmental politics, which would then produce some interesting conditions in a sustainability context. Since humans have only one planet on which to experiment, speculation about possible future scenarios seems prudent, as does precautionary action to avoid undesirable outcomes.

  8. The moral experience of the patient with chronic pain: bridging the gap between first and third person ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Ian; Jones, Mark; Thacker, Michael; Swisher, Laura Lee

    2014-03-01

    There has been a widespread call for an ethics in the management of patients with chronic pain which is patient centered and takes into account the lived experience of the patient. It has been argued in literature that current "duty" or principlist-based models of ethics (so-called 3rd person ethics) have not adequately addressed the needs of either patients or practitioners in this area. Two strands of literature within phenomenology were reviewed: the literature of interpretative phenomenological analysis and the study of the lived experience of the person with chronic pain; and the contribution of phenomenology in neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics (1st person ethics). Patients experience chronic pain in existential and moral terms in addition to their biomedical issues, facing dilemmas in understanding their own self-identity and in attempting to recover a sense of moral worth and agency. We outline a patient-centered ethics to underpin contemporary collaborative, multimodal approaches in the management of chronic pain. We firstly describe an agency-oriented, neo-Aristotelian 1st person ethics and then outline a hermeneutic relationship with extant "duty-based," 3rd person bioethics. The utility of the ethics model we propose (the ethical reasoning bridge) lies in its capacity for developing a sense of moral agency for both practitioner and patient, resonating with the current emphasis of seeking active engagement of patients in management. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. The ethics of research using electronic mail discussion groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kralik, Debbie; Warren, Jim; Price, Kay; Koch, Tina; Pignone, Gino

    2005-12-01

    The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss the ethical considerations that have confronted and challenged the research team when researchers facilitate conversations using private electronic mail discussion lists. The use of electronic mail group conversations, as a collaborative data generation method, remains underdeveloped in nursing. Ethical challenges associated with this approach to data generation have only begun to be considered. As receipt of ethics approval for a study titled; 'Describing transition with people who live with chronic illness' we have been challenged by many ethical dilemmas, hence we believe it is timely to share the issues that have confronted the research team. These discussions are essential so we can understand the possibilities for research interaction, communication, and collaboration made possible by advanced information technologies. Our experiences in this study have increased our awareness for ongoing ethical discussions about privacy, confidentiality, consent, accountability and openness underpinning research with human participants when generating data using an electronic mail discussion group. We describe how we work at upholding these ethical principles focusing on informed consent, participant confidentiality and privacy, the participants as threats to themselves and one another, public-private confusion, employees with access, hackers and threats from the researchers. A variety of complex issues arise during cyberspace research that can make the application of traditional ethical standards troublesome. Communication in cyberspace alters the temporal, spatial and sensory components of human interaction, thereby challenging traditional ethical definitions and calling to question some basic assumptions about identity and ones right to keep aspects of it confidential. Nurse researchers are bound by human research ethics protocols; however, the nature of research by electronic mail generates moral issues as well as ethical

  10. Cultural context in medical ethics: lessons from Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Powell Tia

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This paper examines two topics in Japanese medical ethics: non-disclosure of medical information by Japanese physicians, and the history of human rights abuses by Japanese physicians during World War II. These contrasting issues show how culture shapes our view of ethically appropriate behavior in medicine. An understanding of cultural context reveals that certain practices, such as withholding diagnostic information from patients, may represent ethical behavior in that context. In contrast, nonconsensual human experimentation designed to harm the patient is inherently unethical irrespective of cultural context. Attempts to define moral consensus in bioethics, and to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable variation across different cultural contexts, remain central challenges in articulating international, culturally sensitive norms in medical ethics.

  11. Some thoughts on psychoanalysis and ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szpilka, Jaime

    2002-10-01

    The author attempts to establish a framework for understanding the contribution of psychoanalysis to ethics through examining the work of certain philosophers, especially Kant. After reviewing the development of Freudian thought and going beyond the 'psychoanalysis and/or psychiatry?' question, he asserts that the space of the psychoanalytical cure revolves around an ethical problem. Thus, the limits of analysis should be determined by the subject's capacity for developing a structure of belief in the unconscious, with the concomitant capacity to go beyond equivocation in respect of an ethical conflict that underlies all cases where psychical suffering is manifested. Indeed, only human beings are called upon to deal with an ethical paradox-equally a logical one-which could be stated thus: there is Good in Evil and Evil in Good. This ethical paradox is the consequence of human subjection to the constituent laws of the Oedipus complex, which distances the human being, in his/her dealings with Evil and with Good, from any naturalist stance. In respect of the cure, then, we must take into account that Evil does not proceed from any particular drive-based characteristic, but is rather the expression of specific subjection to an unconscious Other, towards which it directs its affects. Finally, the author proposes a principle that emerges from the preceding discussion: let us not impute to or place in the Other our own subjective splitting or pain at existing.

  12. The Human Rights Context for Ethical Requirements for Involving People with Intellectual Disability in Medical Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iacono, T.; Carling-Jenkins, R.

    2012-01-01

    Background: The history of ethical guidelines addresses protection of human rights in the face of violations. Examples of such violations in research involving people with intellectual disabilities (ID) abound. We explore this history in an effort to understand the apparently stringent criteria for the inclusion of people with ID in research, and…

  13. Landscape design strategies for post-disaster reconstructions based on traditional ethical wisdom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Shouli; Hu, Di; Gao, Suping; Lei, Ting; Chen, Qibin

    2018-03-01

    In the face of the black swan events which frequently happened globally, I take the earthquake of Ya'an, happened at 4.20 in Sichuan, as an example of my subject. The results indicate that the social responsibility of landscape architects is a post-disaster reconstruction of a material and spiritual homeland for victims and mental care for individuals, which specifically reflected in the process of rebuilding victims' sense of security. The reconstruction of a sense of security must follow certain ethics and moralities which embody the ecological wisdom. We take a typical case of Ya'an Lushan Snow Mountain Village-the earthquake distress area, we found the incidence of disease was up to 68.6% through the PTSD analysis, indicating the overall absence of a sense of security. To solve the problem and reconstruct people's mental and material homeland, the article discussed the strategies and solutions to post-disaster landscape design based on traditional ethical wisdom.

  14. Human-machine analytics for closed-loop sense-making in time-dominant cyber defense problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Matthew H.

    2017-05-01

    Many defense problems are time-dominant: attacks progress at speeds that outpace human-centric systems designed for monitoring and response. Despite this shortcoming, these well-honed and ostensibly reliable systems pervade most domains, including cyberspace. The argument that often prevails when considering the automation of defense is that while technological systems are suitable for simple, well-defined tasks, only humans possess sufficiently nuanced understanding of problems to act appropriately under complicated circumstances. While this perspective is founded in verifiable truths, it does not account for a middle ground in which human-managed technological capabilities extend well into the territory of complex reasoning, thereby automating more nuanced sense-making and dramatically increasing the speed at which it can be applied. Snort1 and platforms like it enable humans to build, refine, and deploy sense-making tools for network defense. Shortcomings of these platforms include a reliance on rule-based logic, which confounds analyst knowledge of how bad actors behave with the means by which bad behaviors can be detected, and a lack of feedback-informed automation of sensor deployment. We propose an approach in which human-specified computational models hypothesize bad behaviors independent of indicators and then allocate sensors to estimate and forecast the state of an intrusion. State estimates and forecasts inform the proactive deployment of additional sensors and detection logic, thereby closing the sense-making loop. All the while, humans are on the loop, rather than in it, permitting nuanced management of fast-acting automated measurement, detection, and inference engines. This paper motivates and conceptualizes analytics to facilitate this human-machine partnership.

  15. Medical Ethics in Contemporary Clinical Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John R. Williams

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available This review article describes and analyzes ethical issues in medical practice, particularly those issues encountered by physicians in their relationships with their patients. These relationships often involve ethical conflicts between 2 or more interests, which physicians need to recognize and resolve. The article deals with 4 topics in clinical practice in which ethical conflicts occur: physicians' duty of confidentiality in a digital environment, their responsibilities for dealing with abuses of the human rights of patients, their role in clinical research, and their relationships with commercial enterprises. The ethical policies of the World Medical Association provide the basis for determining appropriate physician conduct on these matters. The article concludes with reflections on the need for international standards of medical ethics.

  16. [The right to be born and the need to be born healthy... questions in medical ethics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binetti, P

    2004-01-01

    Science, thanks to the commitment of huge amount of human capitals, in many cases supported even by enormous fund investment, gain continuously ground reaching new position and spreading out the borders on human chances in a sphere so delicate like birth. New genetic screening tests, new contraceptive drugs using even more sophisticated features, comply with the new law on assisted insemination, put up new challenges involving all the scientific-social environments and necessitate precise answers on ethical side, but even concrete commitment on vocational training. In this case we take working examples distinguished only on perception, as the pre-implant diagnosis, the morning after pill, and certain about the recent legislation on assisted insemination, to highlight their common scientific and cultural milieu. These problems call for an unquestionable and unique response, to restore clarity about choices involving the need and ability on human being to look for and find answers about existential matter as the beginning of life. Human being value and its significance need to be relentlessly restated, just because they are endlessly debated by a synergy of the emotional point of view, even impressive, and new stand out techniques. in that sense vocational training is undeniable goal, even more, but not only, in a Faculty of Medicine. A student needs to learn to reflect on the relations between scientific forthcoming and their ethical and bioethical repercussion.

  17. [Ethics in clinical practice and in health care].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pintor, S; Mennuni, G; Fontana, M; Nocchi, S; Giarrusso, P; Serio, A; Fraioli, A

    2015-01-01

    The clinical ethics is the identification, analysis and solution of moral problems that can arise during the care of a patient. Given that when dealing with ethical issues in health care some risks will be encountered (talking about ethics in general, or as a problem overlapped with others in this area, or by delegation to legislative determinations) in the text certain important aspects of the topic are examined. First of all ethics as human quality of the relationship between people for the common good, especially in health services where there are serious problems like the life and the health. It is also necessary a "humanizing relationship" between those who work in these services in order to achieve quality and efficiency in this business. It is important a proper training of health professionals, especially doctors, so that they can identify the real needs and means of intervention. It is also important that scientific research must respect fundamental ethical assumptions. In conclusion, ethics in health care is not a simple matter of "cookbook" rules, but involves the responsibility and consciousness of individual operators.

  18. Ethical and Safety Issues of Stem Cell-Based Therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volarevic, Vladislav; Markovic, Bojana Simovic; Gazdic, Marina; Volarevic, Ana; Jovicic, Nemanja; Arsenijevic, Nebojsa; Armstrong, Lyle; Djonov, Valentin; Lako, Majlinda; Stojkovic, Miodrag

    2018-01-01

    Results obtained from completed and on-going clinical studies indicate huge therapeutic potential of stem cell-based therapy in the treatment of degenerative, autoimmune and genetic disorders. However, clinical application of stem cells raises numerous ethical and safety concerns. In this review, we provide an overview of the most important ethical issues in stem cell therapy, as a contribution to the controversial debate about their clinical usage in regenerative and transplantation medicine. We describe ethical challenges regarding human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, emphasizing that ethical dilemma involving the destruction of a human embryo is a major factor that may have limited the development of hESC-based clinical therapies. With previous derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) this problem has been overcome, however current perspectives regarding clinical translation of iPSCs still remain. Unlimited differentiation potential of iPSCs which can be used in human reproductive cloning, as a risk for generation of genetically engineered human embryos and human-animal chimeras, is major ethical issue, while undesired differentiation and malignant transformation are major safety issues. Although clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has shown beneficial effects in the therapy of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, the ability to promote tumor growth and metastasis and overestimated therapeutic potential of MSCs still provide concerns for the field of regenerative medicine. This review offers stem cell scientists, clinicians and patient's useful information and could be used as a starting point for more in-depth analysis of ethical and safety issues related to clinical application of stem cells.

  19. Genetic technologies and ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ardekani, Ali M

    2009-01-01

    In the past decade, the human genome has been completely sequenced and the knowledge from it has begun to influence the fields of biological and social sciences in fundamental ways. Identification of about 25000 genes in the human genome is expected to create great benefits in diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the coming years. However, Genetic technologies have also created many interesting and difficult ethical issues which can affect the human societies now and in the future. Application of genetic technologies in the areas of stem cells, cloning, gene therapy, genetic manipulation, gene selection, sex selection and preimplantation diagnosis has created a great potential for the human race to influence and change human life on earth as we know it today. Therefore, it is important for leaders of societies in the modern world to pay attention to the advances in genetic technologies and prepare themselves and those institutions under their command to face the challenges which these new technologies induce in the areas of ethics, law and social policies.

  20. What Role for Law, Human Rights, and Bioethics in an Age of Big Data, Consortia Science, and Consortia Ethics? The Importance of Trustworthiness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dove, Edward S; Özdemir, Vural

    2015-09-01

    The global bioeconomy is generating new paradigm-shifting practices of knowledge co-production, such as collective innovation; large-scale, data-driven global consortia science (Big Science); and consortia ethics (Big Ethics). These bioeconomic and sociotechnical practices can be forces for progressive social change, but they can also raise predicaments at the interface of law, human rights, and bioethics. In this article, we examine one such double-edged practice: the growing, multivariate exploitation of Big Data in the health sector, particularly by the private sector. Commercial exploitation of health data for knowledge-based products is a key aspect of the bioeconomy and is also a topic of concern among publics around the world. It is exacerbated in the current age of globally interconnected consortia science and consortia ethics, which is characterized by accumulating epistemic proximity, diminished academic independence, "extreme centrism", and conflicted/competing interests among innovation actors. Extreme centrism is of particular importance as a new ideology emerging from consortia science and consortia ethics; this relates to invariably taking a middle-of-the-road populist stance, even in the event of human rights breaches, so as to sustain the populist support needed for consortia building and collective innovation. What role do law, human rights, and bioethics-separate and together-have to play in addressing these predicaments and opportunities in early 21st century science and society? One answer we propose is an intertwined ethico-legal normative construct, namely trustworthiness . By considering trustworthiness as a central pillar at the intersection of law, human rights, and bioethics, we enable others to trust us, which in turns allows different actors (both nonprofit and for-profit) to operate more justly in consortia science and ethics, as well as to access and responsibly use health data for public benefit.

  1. What Role for Law, Human Rights, and Bioethics in an Age of Big Data, Consortia Science, and Consortia Ethics? The Importance of Trustworthiness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dove, Edward S.; Özdemir, Vural

    2015-01-01

    The global bioeconomy is generating new paradigm-shifting practices of knowledge co-production, such as collective innovation; large-scale, data-driven global consortia science (Big Science); and consortia ethics (Big Ethics). These bioeconomic and sociotechnical practices can be forces for progressive social change, but they can also raise predicaments at the interface of law, human rights, and bioethics. In this article, we examine one such double-edged practice: the growing, multivariate exploitation of Big Data in the health sector, particularly by the private sector. Commercial exploitation of health data for knowledge-based products is a key aspect of the bioeconomy and is also a topic of concern among publics around the world. It is exacerbated in the current age of globally interconnected consortia science and consortia ethics, which is characterized by accumulating epistemic proximity, diminished academic independence, “extreme centrism”, and conflicted/competing interests among innovation actors. Extreme centrism is of particular importance as a new ideology emerging from consortia science and consortia ethics; this relates to invariably taking a middle-of-the-road populist stance, even in the event of human rights breaches, so as to sustain the populist support needed for consortia building and collective innovation. What role do law, human rights, and bioethics—separate and together—have to play in addressing these predicaments and opportunities in early 21st century science and society? One answer we propose is an intertwined ethico-legal normative construct, namely trustworthiness. By considering trustworthiness as a central pillar at the intersection of law, human rights, and bioethics, we enable others to trust us, which in turns allows different actors (both nonprofit and for-profit) to operate more justly in consortia science and ethics, as well as to access and responsibly use health data for public benefit. PMID:26345196

  2. What Role for Law, Human Rights, and Bioethics in an Age of Big Data, Consortia Science, and Consortia Ethics? The Importance of Trustworthiness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward S. Dove

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The global bioeconomy is generating new paradigm-shifting practices of knowledge co-production, such as collective innovation; large-scale, data-driven global consortia science (Big Science; and consortia ethics (Big Ethics. These bioeconomic and sociotechnical practices can be forces for progressive social change, but they can also raise predicaments at the interface of law, human rights, and bioethics. In this article, we examine one such double-edged practice: the growing, multivariate exploitation of Big Data in the health sector, particularly by the private sector. Commercial exploitation of health data for knowledge-based products is a key aspect of the bioeconomy and is also a topic of concern among publics around the world. It is exacerbated in the current age of globally interconnected consortia science and consortia ethics, which is characterized by accumulating epistemic proximity, diminished academic independence, “extreme centrism”, and conflicted/competing interests among innovation actors. Extreme centrism is of particular importance as a new ideology emerging from consortia science and consortia ethics; this relates to invariably taking a middle-of-the-road populist stance, even in the event of human rights breaches, so as to sustain the populist support needed for consortia building and collective innovation. What role do law, human rights, and bioethics—separate and together—have to play in addressing these predicaments and opportunities in early 21st century science and society? One answer we propose is an intertwined ethico-legal normative construct, namely trustworthiness. By considering trustworthiness as a central pillar at the intersection of law, human rights, and bioethics, we enable others to trust us, which in turns allows different actors (both nonprofit and for-profit to operate more justly in consortia science and ethics, as well as to access and responsibly use health data for public benefit.

  3. The New World of Human Genetics: A dialogue between Practitioners & the General Public on Ethical, Legal & Social Implications of the Human Genome Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schofield, Amy

    2014-12-08

    The history and reasons for launching the Human Genome project and the current uses of genetic human material; Identifying and discussing the major issues stemming directly from genetic research and therapy-including genetic discrimination, medical/ person privacy, allocation of government resources and individual finances, and the effect on the way in which we perceive the value of human life; Discussing the sometimes hidden ethical, social and legislative implications of genetic research and therapy such as informed consent, screening and preservation of genetic materials, efficacy of medical procedures, the role of the government, and equal access to medical coverage.

  4. Collaborative Educational Leadership: The Emergence of Human Interactional Sense-Making Process as a Complex System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jäppinen, Aini-Kristiina

    2014-01-01

    The article aims at explicating the emergence of human interactional sense-making process within educational leadership as a complex system. The kind of leadership is understood as a holistic entity called collaborative leadership. There, sense-making emerges across interdependent domains, called attributes of collaborative leadership. The…

  5. Ethical evaluation of research proposals by ethics panels advising the European Commission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolar, Roman

    2004-06-01

    Ethical principles with regard to animal experimentation are referred to in European Union (EU) legislation and other official documents. Therefore, applications for funding of research under the EU's research programme may undergo an ethical review that is carried out by so-called ethics panels, consisting of experts chosen by the European Commission. The work of these panels differs substantially from that of other ethical committees, as they exist on the institutional, local, regional or national level. Their main purpose is not to decide whether a proposed research can be regarded legal, and therefore should be endorsed or licensed; instead, it is to help the Commission in prioritising its funding. The panels may examine other ethical aspects than those of animal experimentation or animal welfare alone, such as the use of human volunteers. This is reflected by the composition of the panels. Their decisions are normally based on consensus. Even though these decisions may refer to EU legislation, the criteria applied are not restricted to those provided by this legislation. Nevertheless, the various aspects of the Commission's ethical evaluation system (e.g. formal and practical basic conditions, information content of applications, type of decisions taken, lacking of any quality control) offers opportunities for improvement.

  6. Ethical issues in action-oriented research in Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rachmawaty, Rini

    2017-09-01

    Action-oriented research is one of the most frequent research types implemented to transform community health in Indonesia. Three researchers and 11 graduate students from a developed country in East Asia conducted a fieldwork program in a remote area in South Sulawesi Province. Although the project was completed, whether or not the international standards for human subject research were applied into that study remains unclear. This study aimed to examine ethical issues raised from that case, analyze constraints to the problems, and recommend alternatives to protect vulnerable populations from being exploited by local/international researchers. A problem-solving approach was used in this study. It began with problem identification, evaluation of the action-oriented research goal, investigation of the constraints to the problem, and recommendation of some relevant alternatives to address the central issue. Ethical Consideration: The approval for conducting the action-oriented research that being investigated in this work was only obtained from the Head of local district. Some ethical issues were found in this case. No special protection for this population, no informed consent was obtained from the participants, exposure to social and economic risks, no future benefits for the subjects, and conflict of interests. Lack of control from the local research ethics committee and lack of competence of local researchers on human subject research were considered as the constraints to the problems. Creating an independent research ethics committee, providing research ethics training to the local researchers, obtaining written/video consents from underserved populations, and meeting local health needs were recommended alternatives to solve these problems. Indonesian government bodies should reform their international collaborative system on research involving human subjects. Exploitation may not occur if all participants as well as all local and national governing bodies

  7. The Use of Ethical Frameworks for Implementing Science as a Human Endeavour in Year 10 Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yap, Siew Fong; Dawson, Vaille

    2014-01-01

    This research focuses on the use of ethical frameworks as a pedagogical model for socio-scientific education in implementing the "Science as a Human Endeavour" (SHE) strand of the Australian Curriculum: Science in a Year 10 biology class in a Christian college in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. Using a case study approach, a mixed…

  8. International Conference on Robot Ethics

    CERN Document Server

    Sequeira, Joao; Tokhi, Mohammad; Kadar, Endre; Virk, Gurvinder

    2017-01-01

    This book contains the Proceedings of the International Conference on Robot Ethics, held in Lisbon on October 23 and 24, 2015. The conference provided a multidisciplinary forum for discussing central and evolving issues concerning safety and ethics that have arisen in various contexts where robotic technologies are being applied. The papers are intended to promote the formulation of more precise safety standards and ethical frameworks for the rapidly changing field of robotic applications. The conference was held at Pavilhão do Conhecimento/Ciência Viva in Lisbon and brought together leading researchers and industry representatives, promoting a dialogue that combines different perspectives and experiences to arrive at viable solutions for ethical problems in the context of robotics. The conference topics included but were not limited to emerging ethical, safety, legal and societal problems in the following domains: • Service/Social Robots: Robots performing tasks in human environments and involving close ...

  9. Ethics in Educational Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alirio José Abreu Suarez

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This essay is a theoretical reflection about ethics in educational research. The same is done under a documentary approach with a literature review. Ethics in teaching is important because this is a reference for all undergraduate or graduate, as well as the need to consider education authorities at different levels and modalities in order to guide the actors in the educational process. At the same time, it can be expressed that the issue will serve as background for further studies and investigations that have to do with the issues raised. It also provides basic elements for teachers who want to make some related ethical codes, principles and injury caused the researcher studies. Similarly, ethics for being a discipline where are immersed fundamental human values such as honesty, solidarity, respect, tolerance among other aspects must be taken into account by researchers. Finally, it is worth noting that if you really want relevant research to provide new knowledge seeking social and educational transformation must begin with ethics as a relevant factor during all stages of a study.

  10. [Bioethics is dead. Long live medical ethics!].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrio Maestre, José María

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to show a paradigmatic crisis in academic bioethics. Since an important part of bioethicists began to relativize the ethical prohibition of killing an innocent human being, one way or another they began to ally with the death industry: the business of abortion, and then that of euthanasia. The thesis of this paper is that by crossing that Rubicon bioethics has been corrupted and has lost its connection to the ethical, political and legal discourse. One can only hope that it will revive from its ashes if it retakes the ″taboo″ of the sacredness of human life, something for which medical ethics could provide invaluable help, because it still keeps the notion that ″a doctor should not kill″, although in an excessively ″discreet″ and somehow ″ashamed″ way. However, conscientious doctors know more about ethics than most bioethicists.

  11. Smart-Glasses: Exposing and Elucidating the Ethical Issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Bjørn; Haustein, Dušan; Landeweerd, Laurens

    2017-06-01

    The objective of this study is to provide an overview over the ethical issues relevant to the assessment, implementation, and use of smart-glasses. The purpose of the overview is to facilitate deliberation, decision making, and the formation of knowledge and norms for this emerging technology. An axiological question-based method for human cognitive enhancement including an extensive literature search on smart-glasses is used to identify relevant ethical issues. The search is supplemented with relevant ethical issues identified in the literature on human cognitive enhancement (in general) and in the study of the technical aspects of smart-glasses. Identified papers were subject to traditional content analysis: 739 references were identified of which 247 were regarded as relevant for full text examinations, and 155 were included in the study. A wide variety of ethical issues with smart-glasses have been identified, such as issues related to privacy, safety, justice, change in human agency, accountability, responsibility, social interaction, power and ideology. Smart-glasses are envisioned to change individual human identity and behavior as well as social interaction. Taking these issues into account appears to be relevant when developing, deliberating, deciding on, implementing, and using smart-glasses.

  12. Real-Time Hand Position Sensing Technology Based on Human Body Electrostatics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Tang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Non-contact human-computer interactions (HCI based on hand gestures have been widely investigated. Here, we present a novel method to locate the real-time position of the hand using the electrostatics of the human body. This method has many advantages, including a delay of less than one millisecond, low cost, and does not require a camera or wearable devices. A formula is first created to sense array signals with five spherical electrodes. Next, a solving algorithm for the real-time measured hand position is introduced and solving equations for three-dimensional coordinates of hand position are obtained. A non-contact real-time hand position sensing system was established to perform verification experiments, and the principle error of the algorithm and the systematic noise were also analyzed. The results show that this novel technology can determine the dynamic parameters of hand movements with good robustness to meet the requirements of complicated HCI.

  13. TRAINING IN ETHICS OF HUMAN CAPITAL TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

    OpenAIRE

    Neyda Ibañez; Rubén Castillo

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of the investigation was to interpret training in ethics for action business students an introduction to the economy of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the University of Carabobo, as part of professional development in business studies. The investigation was addressed within the paradigm post positivist using ethnographic and hermeneutic method, descriptive mode of scientific research and technique participant-observation. It concludes that training in ethics manage...

  14. The ethics of reviving long extinct species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandler, Ronald

    2014-04-01

    There now appears to be a plausible pathway for reviving species that have been extinct for several decades, centuries, or even millennia. I conducted an ethical analysis of de-extinction of long extinct species. I assessed several possible ethical considerations in favor of pursuing de-extinction: that it is a matter of justice; that it would reestablish lost value; that it would create new value; and that society needs it as a conservation last resort. I also assessed several possible ethical arguments against pursuing de-extinction: that it is unnatural; that it could cause animal suffering; that it could be ecologically problematic or detrimental to human health; and that it is hubristic. There are reasons in favor of reviving long extinct species, and it can be ethically acceptable to do so. However, the reasons in favor of pursuing de-extinction do not have to do with its usefulness in species conservation; rather, they concern the status of revived species as scientific and technological achievements, and it would be ethically problematic to promote de-extinction as a significant conservation strategy, because it does not prevent species extinctions, does not address the causes of extinction, and could be detrimental to some species conservation efforts. Moreover, humanity does not have a responsibility or obligation to pursue de-extinction of long extinct species, and reviving them does not address any urgent problem. Therefore, legitimate ecological, political, animal welfare, legal, or human health concerns associated with a de-extinction (and reintroduction) must be thoroughly addressed for it to be ethically acceptable. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

  15. The Role of Communication and Interpersonal Skills in Clinical Ethics Consultation: The Need for a Competency in Advanced Ethics Facilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelton, Wayne; Geppert, Cynthia; Jankowski, Jane

    2016-01-01

    Clinical ethics consultants (CECs) often face some of the most difficult communication and interpersonal challenges that occur in hospitals, involving stressed stakeholders who express, with strong emotions, their preferences and concerns in situations of personal crisis and loss. In this article we will give examples of how much of the important work that ethics consultants perform in addressing clinical ethics conflicts is incompletely conceived and explained in the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities Core Competencies for Healthcare Ethics Consultation and the clinical ethics literature. The work to which we refer is best conceptualized as a specialized type of interviewing, in which the emotional barriers of patients and their families or surrogates can be identified and addressed in light of relevant ethical obligations and values within the context of ethics facilitation. Copyright 2016 The Journal of Clinical Ethics. All rights reserved.

  16. Migration: a core public health ethics issue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wild, V; Dawson, A

    2018-05-01

    In this article, we outline the link between migration, public health and ethics. Discussing relevant arguments about migration from the perspective of public health and public health ethics. Critical review of theories and frameworks, case-based analysis and systematic identification and discussion of challenges. Migration is a core issue of public health ethics and must take a case-based approach: seeking to identify the specific ethical dimensions and vulnerabilities in each particular context. Public health as a practice, built upon the core value of justice, requires the protection and promotion of migrants' well-being (even if this produces tension with immigration services). Ethical analysis should take all phases of migration into account: before, during and after transit. We argue that migration policies, at least as they relate to migrants' well-being, should be founded upon a shared humanity, respect for human rights and on the idea that effective public health cannot and should not be confined within the borders and to the citizens of any host country. We make the case for migration to be seen as a core issue of public health ethics. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Reducing barriers to ethics in neuroscience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judy Illes

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Ethics is a growing interest for neuroscientists, but rather than signifying a commitment to the protection of human subjects, care of animals, and public understanding to which the professional community is engaged in a fundamental way, interest has been consumed by administrative overhead and the mission creep of institutional ethics reviews. Faculty, trainees, and staff (N=605 whose work involves brain imaging and brain stimulation completed an online survey about ethics in their research. Using factor analysis and linear regression, we found significant effects for invasiveness of imaging technique, professional position, gender, and local presence of bioethics centers. We propose strategies for improving communication between the neuroscience community and ethics review boards, collaborations between neuroscientists and biomedical ethicists, and ethics training in graduate neuroscience programs to revitalize mutual goals and interests.

  18. Empirical Determination of Efficient Sensing Frequencies for Magnetometer-Based Continuous Human Contact Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seungho Kuk

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The high linear correlation between the smartphone magnetometer readings in close proximity can be exploited for physical human contact detection, which could be useful for such applications as infectious disease contact tracing or social behavior monitoring. Alternative approaches using other capabilities in smartphones have aspects that do not fit well with the human contact detection. Using Wi-Fi or cellular fingerprints have larger localization errors than close human contact distances. Bluetooth beacons could reveal the identity of the transmitter, threatening the privacy of the user. Also, using sensors such as GPS does not work for indoor contacts. However, the magnetometer correlation check works best in human contact distances that matter in infectious disease transmissions or social interactions. The omni-present geomagnetism makes it work both indoors and outdoors, and the measured magnetometer values do not easily reveal the identity and the location of the smartphone. One issue with the magnetometer-based contact detection, however, is the energy consumption. Since the contacts can take place anytime, the magnetometer sensing and recording should be running continuously. Therefore, how we address the energy requirement for the extended and continuous operation can decide the viability of the whole idea. However, then, we note that almost all existing magnetometer-based applications such as indoor location and navigation have used high sensing frequencies, ranging from 10 Hz to 200 Hz. At these frequencies, we measure that the time to complete battery drain in a typical smartphone is shortened by three to twelve hours. The heavy toll raises the question as to whether the magnetometer-based contact detection can avoid such high sensing rates while not losing the contact detection accuracy. In order to answer the question, we conduct a measurement-based study using independently produced magnetometer traces from three different

  19. Empirical Determination of Efficient Sensing Frequencies for Magnetometer-Based Continuous Human Contact Monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuk, Seungho; Kim, Junha; Park, Yongtae; Kim, Hyogon

    2018-04-27

    The high linear correlation between the smartphone magnetometer readings in close proximity can be exploited for physical human contact detection, which could be useful for such applications as infectious disease contact tracing or social behavior monitoring. Alternative approaches using other capabilities in smartphones have aspects that do not fit well with the human contact detection. Using Wi-Fi or cellular fingerprints have larger localization errors than close human contact distances. Bluetooth beacons could reveal the identity of the transmitter, threatening the privacy of the user. Also, using sensors such as GPS does not work for indoor contacts. However, the magnetometer correlation check works best in human contact distances that matter in infectious disease transmissions or social interactions. The omni-present geomagnetism makes it work both indoors and outdoors, and the measured magnetometer values do not easily reveal the identity and the location of the smartphone. One issue with the magnetometer-based contact detection, however, is the energy consumption. Since the contacts can take place anytime, the magnetometer sensing and recording should be running continuously. Therefore, how we address the energy requirement for the extended and continuous operation can decide the viability of the whole idea. However, then, we note that almost all existing magnetometer-based applications such as indoor location and navigation have used high sensing frequencies, ranging from 10 Hz to 200 Hz. At these frequencies, we measure that the time to complete battery drain in a typical smartphone is shortened by three to twelve hours. The heavy toll raises the question as to whether the magnetometer-based contact detection can avoid such high sensing rates while not losing the contact detection accuracy. In order to answer the question, we conduct a measurement-based study using independently produced magnetometer traces from three different countries. Specifically, we

  20. Measuring biotechnology employees' ethical attitudes towards a controversial transgenic cattle project: the ethical valance matrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Small, Bruce H; Fisher, Mark W

    2005-01-01

    What is the relationship between biotechnology employees' beliefs about the moral outcomes of a controversial transgenic research project and their attitudes of acceptance towards the project? To answer this question, employees (n=466) of a New Zealand company, AgResearch Ltd., were surveyed regarding a project to create transgenic cattle containing a synthetic copy of the human myelin basic protein gene (hMBP). Although diversity existed amongst employees' attitudes of acceptance, they were generally: in favor of the project, believed that it should be allowed to proceed to completion, and that it is acceptable to use transgenic cattle to produce medicines for humans. These three items were aggregated to form a project acceptance score. Scales were developed to measure respondents' beliefs about the moral outcomes of the project for identified stakeholders in terms of the four principles of common morality (benefit, non-harm, justice, and autonomy). These data were statistically aggregated into an Ethical Valence Matrix fo the project. The respondents' project Ethical Valence Scores correlated significantly with their project acceptance scores (r=0.64, pethical reasoning could be a central mechanism for the evaluation of the acceptability of a project. We propose that the Ethical Valence Matrix may be used as a tool to measure ethical attitudes towards controversial issues, providing a metric for comparison of perceived ethical consequences for multiple stakeholder groups and for the evaluation and comparison of the ethical consequences of competing alternative issues or projects. The tool could be used to measure both public and special interest groups' ethical attitudes and results used for the development of socially responsible policy or by science organizations as a democratizing decision aid to selection amongst projects competing for scarce research funds.

  1. Biomedical scientists' perceptions of ethical and social implications: is there a role for research ethics consultation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer B McCormick

    Full Text Available Research ethics consultation programs are being established with a goal of addressing the ethical, societal, and policy considerations associated with biomedical research. A number of these programs are modelled after clinical ethics consultation services that began to be institutionalized in the 1980s. Our objective was to determine biomedical science researchers' perceived need for and utility of research ethics consultation, through examination of their perceptions of whether they and their institutions faced ethical, social or policy issues (outside those mandated by regulation and examination of willingness to seek advice in addressing these issues. We conducted telephone interviews and focus groups in 2006 with researchers from Stanford University and a mailed survey in December 2006 to 7 research universities in the U.S.A total of 16 researchers were interviewed (75% response rate, 29 participated in focus groups, and 856 responded to the survey (50% response rate. Approximately half of researchers surveyed (51% reported that they would find a research ethics consultation service at their institution moderately, very or extremely useful, while over a third (36% reported that such a service would be useful to them personally. Respondents conducting human subjects research were more likely to find such a service very to extremely useful to them personally than respondents not conducting human subjects research (20% vs 10%; chi(2 p<0.001.Our findings indicate that biomedical researchers do encounter and anticipate encountering ethical and societal questions and concerns and a substantial proportion, especially clinical researchers, would likely use a consultation service if they were aware of it. These findings provide data to inform the development of such consultation programs in general.

  2. Ethics of orthodontic clinical research based on Helsinki declaration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eka Erwansyah

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Declaration of Helsinki code of ethics on human experimentation, states that the desin and peformance of experimental procedures involving human should be clearly formulated in an experimental protocol, Todeterminewhetheraninvestigationin accordancewiththe code of conductin a researchthen letusconsider the contentofthe declarationhelsinkiasour referencein conductingaclinicalstudyusinghuman subjects. In journals, authors are expected to report if the study was carried out in accordance with international and national ethical guidelines and inform readers if approval from ethics committee was obtained and if written informed consent was taken from the participant or legal guardian.

  3. Global health ethics: an introduction to prominent theories and relevant topics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stapleton, Greg; Schröder-Bäck, Peter; Laaser, Ulrich; Meershoek, Agnes; Popa, Daniela

    2014-01-01

    Global health ethics is a relatively new term that is used to conceptualize the process of applying moral value to health issues that are typically characterized by a global level effect or require action coordinated at a global level. It is important to acknowledge that this account of global health ethics takes a predominantly geographic approach and may infer that the subject relates primarily to macro-level health phenomena. However, global health ethics could alternatively be thought of as another branch of health ethics. It may then relate to specific topics in themselves, which might also include micro-level health phenomena. In its broadest sense, global health ethics is a normative project that is best characterized by the challenge of developing common values and universal norms for responding to global health threats. Consequently, many subjects fall within its scope. Whilst several accounts of global health ethics have been conceptualized in the literature, a concise demarcation of the paradigm is still needed. Through means of a literature review, this paper presents a two-part introduction to global health ethics. First, the framework of 'borrowed' ethics that currently form the core of global health ethics is discussed in relation to two essential ethical considerations: 1) what is the moral significance of health and 2) what is the moral significance of boundaries? Second, a selection of exemplar ethical topics is presented to illustrate the range of topics within global health ethics.

  4. Global health ethics: an introduction to prominent theories and relevant topics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stapleton, Greg; Schröder-Bäck, Peter; Laaser, Ulrich; Meershoek, Agnes; Popa, Daniela

    2014-01-01

    Global health ethics is a relatively new term that is used to conceptualize the process of applying moral value to health issues that are typically characterized by a global level effect or require action coordinated at a global level. It is important to acknowledge that this account of global health ethics takes a predominantly geographic approach and may infer that the subject relates primarily to macro-level health phenomena. However, global health ethics could alternatively be thought of as another branch of health ethics. It may then relate to specific topics in themselves, which might also include micro-level health phenomena. In its broadest sense, global health ethics is a normative project that is best characterized by the challenge of developing common values and universal norms for responding to global health threats. Consequently, many subjects fall within its scope. Whilst several accounts of global health ethics have been conceptualized in the literature, a concise demarcation of the paradigm is still needed. Through means of a literature review, this paper presents a two-part introduction to global health ethics. First, the framework of ‘borrowed’ ethics that currently form the core of global health ethics is discussed in relation to two essential ethical considerations: 1) what is the moral significance of health and 2) what is the moral significance of boundaries? Second, a selection of exemplar ethical topics is presented to illustrate the range of topics within global health ethics. PMID:24560262

  5. Development, implementation and critique of a bioethics framework for pharmaceutical sponsors of human biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Campen, Luann E; Therasse, Donald G; Klopfenstein, Mitchell; Levine, Robert J

    2015-11-01

    Pharmaceutical human biomedical research is a multi-dimensional endeavor that requires collaboration among many parties, including those who sponsor, conduct, participate in, or stand to benefit from the research. Human subjects' protections have been promulgated to ensure that the benefits of such research are accomplished with respect for and minimal risk to individual research participants, and with an overall sense of fairness. Although these protections are foundational to clinical research, most ethics guidance primarily highlights the responsibilities of investigators and ethics review boards. Currently, there is no published resource that comprehensively addresses bioethical responsibilities of industry sponsors; including their responsibilities to parties who are not research participants, but are, nevertheless key stakeholders in the endeavor. To fill this void, in 2010 Eli Lilly and Company instituted a Bioethics Framework for Human Biomedical Research. This paper describes how the framework was developed and implemented and provides a critique based on four years of experience. A companion article provides the actual document used by Eli Lilly and Company to guide ethical decisions regarding all phases of human clinical trials. While many of the concepts presented in this framework are not novel, compiling them in a manner that articulates the ethical responsibilities of a sponsor is novel. By utilizing this type of bioethics framework, we have been able to develop bioethics positions on various topics, provide research ethics consultations, and integrate bioethics into the daily operations of our human biomedical research. We hope that by sharing these companion papers we will stimulate discussion within and outside the biopharmaceutical industry for the benefit of the multiple parties involved in pharmaceutical human biomedical research.

  6. Understanding medical ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, M

    2000-03-01

    Moral thinking is embedded within cultures, and we use ethics all the time in our dealings with one another. Many functioning communities tend to share some values that reflect a particular view of the importance of human life in quantity and quality. Rights and duties form an interconnected network of obligations that protect the security of individuals and groups. In health care, the motives and virtues of practitioners are important sources of the determination to provide care for the ill within the limits of resource constraints. Ethics and the law have similarities, but also significant differences that may cause tension between the two systems. Health care is morally grounded, and provides a bulwark against the widespread fear of disease and suffering. The way in which health care is delivered depends on both national wealth and community values. Ethical problems can be seen as dilemmas, in which there are conflicting values. Modern ethical thinking in health is complicated by the need to consider the values and interests of many stakeholders--patients, health care workers, families, politicians, administrators, health bureaucrats and many others. There are ways of ethical thinking that take account of these often countervailing interests. No universally 'right' answers can be specified. The mode and the thoroughness of ethical consideration, and the careful consideration of local community values, will help to assure that we make the best possible decisions for the time and place.

  7. The importance of meta-ethics in engineering education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haws, David R

    2004-04-01

    applied to "simplified" dilemmas. Case studies, while providing a context for engineering ethics, can encourage the premature analysis of specific moral conduct rather than the development of broad moral principles--stifling our students' facility with meta-ethics. Clearly, if a moral sense is developmental, ethics instruction should lead our students from lower to higher stages of moral development.

  8. Unintended consequences of human research ethics committees: au revoir workplace studies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bamber, Greg J; Sappey, Jennifer

    2007-07-01

    To protect the welfare and rights of participants in research and to facilitate research that will be of benefit, as well as protect them against litigation, universities and research-funding agencies in Australia adopted the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans (NHMRC 1999). In many other countries there are similar statements. However, the ways in which such statements are often implemented by Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) are in conflict with an important stream of industrial sociological research. This stream seeks to deconstruct workplaces and de-layer management rhetoric to understand the realities and complexities of the social relations of production. There is a pluralist basis for much industrial sociology that challenges the unitarist view of the workplace as essentially harmonious. While views of workplaces as being conflictual and exploitative have to be tempered with an understanding of the accommodative and cooperative nature of workplace relations, there is nevertheless a general recognition of acts of resistance, as well as those of cooperation. The way in which the National Statement is typically implemented in Australia means that many HRECs require written, informed consent, which in the first instance will usually be that of management. An unintended consequence is a research focus on consensus, which is at best one-sided and at worst seriously misleading. It is unlikely that managerial consent will be granted unless there is a 'good news story' guaranteed. This article explores the ways in which HRECs may influence workplace research. The publication of the revised National Statement provides a valuable opportunity not to be missed by HRECs to implement more effective and efficient practices which would not have the unintended consequences of the earlier version. This would deserve the support of researchers in industrial sociology and other branches of the social sciences.

  9. Retrievability, ethics and democracy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jensen, M.; Westerlind, M.

    2000-01-01

    Ethics is always a social concern, an integrated part of laws and regulations. Treatment of ethics as a separate part in the decision making process is therefore always debatable. It cannot be introduced as an extraneous component to compensate for, or to improve, a morally flawed practice, and the margin for unethical practices is strongly circumscribed by regulation in the nuclear field, internationally. However, a discussion on different stakeholders and their different ethical concerns should always be welcome. One example is the implementer's views on ethics. Even if they are in complete parity with existing legal and regulatory goals, the goals may still represent the implementer's own motives and choices. Also, stakeholders may view the laws or regulations as unfair. In making the critique, the stakeholder simply formulates a separate political standpoint. Finally, an alternative discussion is to place existing regulations into an ethical perspective - adding a new dimension to the issues. Retrievability for high level waste repositories is often in focus in ethical discussions. Unfortunately, it is used in many ways and has become an unclear term. It may cover anything from planned recuperation to the property of waste being retrievable in years or tens of years, or in the distant time range of hundreds or thousands of years. The term retrievability is often proposed to cover mainly positive qualities such as the option of later changes to the repository or a new disposal concept. However, as ICRP and others have pointed out, it also implies the possibility of: i) operational exposures, ii) continuing risks of accidental releases, iii) financial provisions to cover operating costs and iv) continuing reliance on institutional control, thus imposing some burdens to future generations. In a certain sense, anything can be retrieved from any repository. There is therefore a need for a clear and operable definition of retrievability requirements, including the

  10. A Computerised Business Ethics Expert System -A new approach to improving the ethical quality of business decision-making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernie Brenner

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Where unethical business decision-making arises from failures of ethical perception, there is an important role for ethical training and decision-making tools. These may help business people to consider all relevant issues when assessing the ethical status of potential decisions. Ethical training programmes give business people a basic understanding of the principles which underlie ethical judgements and equip them with many of the necessary skills for dealing with the ethical dilemmas which they face in their jobs. Similarly, ethical decision-making tools may guide managers through the various ethical considerations which are relevant to business decision-making and help them to develop their ethical-perceptual skills. Furthermore, by establishing and reinforcing good ethical decision-making practices, training programmes and decision-making tools may also reduce the incidence of self-consciously unethical decision-making. A new approach to improving the ethical quality of business decision-making by the use of computerized business ethics expert systems is proposed. These systems have the potential to guide business people through a process of ethical evaluation while simultaneously fulfilling an educational role, thus providing many of the benefits of both training programmes and decision-making tools. While the prospect of a computer system which could simply make ethical judgements for business people is both unrealistic and undesirable, a system which leads human decision-makers through a structured assessment process has the potential for genuine benefits. Keywords: Expert Systems, Ethical Decision Making

  11. MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS

    OpenAIRE

    Sunčica Ivanović; Čedomirka Stanojević; Slađana Jajić; Ana Vila; Svetlana Nikolić

    2013-01-01

    The subject of interest in this article is the importance of knowing and connecting medical ethics and medical law for the category of health workers. The author believes that knowledge of bioethics which as a discipline deals with the study of ethical issues and health care law as a legal discipline, as well as medical activity in general, result in the awareness of health professionals of human rights, and since the performance of activities of health workers is almost always linked...

  12. Assessment of human respiration patterns via noncontact sensing using Doppler multi-radar system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Changzhan; Li, Changzhi

    2015-03-16

    Human respiratory patterns at chest and abdomen are associated with both physical and emotional states. Accurate measurement of the respiratory patterns provides an approach to assess and analyze the physical and emotional states of the subject persons. Not many research efforts have been made to wirelessly assess different respiration patterns, largely due to the inaccuracy of the conventional continuous-wave radar sensor to track the original signal pattern of slow respiratory movements. This paper presents the accurate assessment of different respiratory patterns based on noncontact Doppler radar sensing. This paper evaluates the feasibility of accurately monitoring different human respiration patterns via noncontact radar sensing. A 2.4 GHz DC coupled multi-radar system was used for accurate measurement of the complete respiration patterns without any signal distortion. Experiments were carried out in the lab environment to measure the different respiration patterns when the subject person performed natural breathing, chest breathing and diaphragmatic breathing. The experimental results showed that accurate assessment of different respiration patterns is feasible using the proposed noncontact radar sensing technique.

  13. Clarifying perspectives: Ethics case reflection sessions in childhood cancer care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartholdson, Cecilia; Lützén, Kim; Blomgren, Klas; Pergert, Pernilla

    2016-06-01

    Childhood cancer care involves many ethical concerns. Deciding on treatment levels and providing care that infringes on the child's growing autonomy are known ethical concerns that involve the whole professional team around the child's care. The purpose of this study was to explore healthcare professionals' experiences of participating in ethics case reflection sessions in childhood cancer care. Data collection by observations, individual interviews, and individual encounters. Data analysis were conducted following grounded theory methodology. Healthcare professionals working at a publicly funded children's hospital in Sweden participated in ethics case reflection sessions in which ethical issues concerning clinical cases were reflected on. The children's and their parents' integrity was preserved through measures taken to protect patient identity during ethics case reflection sessions. The study was approved by a regional ethical review board. Consolidating care by clarifying perspectives emerged. Consolidating care entails striving for common care goals and creating a shared view of care and the ethical concern in the specific case. The inter-professional perspectives on the ethical aspects of care are clarified by the participants' articulated views on the case. Different approaches for deliberating ethics are used during the sessions including raising values and making sense, leading to unifying interactions. The findings indicate that ethical concerns could be eased by implementing ethics case reflection sessions. Conflicting perspectives can be turned into unifying interactions in the healthcare professional team with the common aim to achieve good pediatric care. Ethics case reflection sessions is valuable as it permits the discussion of values in healthcare-related issues in childhood cancer care. Clarifying perspectives, on the ethical concerns, enables healthcare professionals to reflect on the most reasonable and ethically defensible care for the child

  14. Competing Environmental Ethics in Cooper's "The Pioneers"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mnassar, Sabri

    2015-01-01

    This essay examines the environmental worthiness of James Fenimore Cooper's "The Pioneers" and analyzes the various and competing environmental ethics that Cooper introduces in this novel through his descriptions of the different relationships between humans and the natural world. Among these different environmental ethics are the…

  15. Personalism for public health ethics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlo Petrini

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

  16. Personalism for public health ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrini, Carlo; Gainotti, Sabina; Requena, Pablo

    2010-01-01

    In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

  17. VIRTUE ETHICS - NEW COORDINATES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PUP ANCA

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Operating with business ethic we meet, some ethical systems, some of them developed in Antiquity, that still have a great influence upon economics development. One of these is the ethics of virtue. The aim of this paper work is to focus upon the one ethical system virtue ethics and to illustrate his influence in economical field, offering a new coordination in this direction. We understand the importance of the human character for a successful leadership and management. Recent ethical dilemmas illustrate us how a vicious character has an influence not only to the possessor of that type of character but also to the entire community where he develop his activities. For a comprehensive understanding I expose a briefly review on virtue ethics as it was developed by Plato and Aristotle, ant its new coordination and influence upon our contemporaneous economy, illustrated by some examples.

  18. Sense of place among New England organic farmers and commercial fishermen: How social context shapes identity and environmentally responsible behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Anneliese Marie

    Given the prominence of sense of place in new environmental education curricula, this study aims to strengthen the conceptual and empirical foundations of sense of place, and to determine how sense of place may be linked to environmentally responsible behavior. For this study, five commercial fishermen and five organic farmers from the New England Seacoast region participated in a series of in-depth phenomenological interviews and observations. The data was systematically coded in order to allow themes and categories to emerge. The results indicate that aspects of the existing conceptual framework of sense of place, such as place attachment, ecological knowledge, and public involvement, do in fact describe the relationship between people and place. However, the results also indicate that two conceptual elements---attention to social context and awareness of moral theory---are missing from the current conceptual framework in EE theory. These results suggest that the current framework should be expanded to emphasize the role of human and non-human communities: the development of a sense of place and the learning of environmentally responsible behavior must be situated within a social context. This study lends support to the view that for sense of place to move people to ethical action, it is crucial for them to recognize, and to participate in, a community of support and care.

  19. Research ethics in Canada: experience of a group operating a human embryo and fetal tissue bank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milos, N; Bamforth, S; Bagnall, K

    1999-04-01

    A Canadian research group is establishing a human embryo and fetal tissue bank. Its purpose is to provide researchers with frozen or fixed tissue specimens for use in protein and gene expression studies. Several legal and ethical issues have arisen, including questions about consent, use of these rare tissues, cost recovery, and profit-making. These issues are discussed here in light of the present lack of legislation in Canada. We make recommendations in these areas, and suggest that the bank's operations could legally fall under the jurisdiction of the Human Tissue Gift Act.

  20. GETTING PERSONAL: ETHICS AND IDENTITY IN GLOBAL HEALTH RESEARCH

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Christian; Mosavel, Maghboeba

    2011-01-01

    ‘Researcher identity’ affects global health research in profound and complex ways. Anthropologists in particular have led the way in portraying the multiple, and sometimes tension-generating, identities that researchers ascribe to themselves, or have ascribed to them, in their places of research. However, the central importance of researcher identity in the ethical conduct of global health research has yet to be fully appreciated. The capacity of researchers to respond effectively to the ethical tensions surrounding their identities is hampered by lack of conceptual clarity, as to the nature and scope of the issues involved. This paper strives to provide some clarification of these ethical tensions by considering researcher identity from the perspective of (1) Guillemin and Heggen’s (2009) key distinction between procedural ethics and ethics in practice, and (2) our own distinction between perceptions of identity that are either symmetrical or asymmetrical, with the potential to shift research relationships toward greater or lesser ethical harmony. Discussion of these concepts is supported with ethnographic examples from relevant literature and from our own (United States (US) Government-funded) research in South Africa. A preliminary set of recommendations is provided in an effort to equip researchers with a greater sense of organization and control over the ethics of researcher identity. The paper concludes that the complex construction of researcher identity needs to be central among the ethical concerns of global health researchers, and that the conceptual tools discussed in the paper are a useful starting point for better organizing and acting on these ethical concerns. PMID:21426482