Health and Wellness Policy Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Cavico, Frank J.; Mujtaba, Bahaudin G.

2013-01-01

This perspective is an ethical brief overview and examination of “wellness” policies in the modern workplace using practical examples and a general application of utilitarianism. Many employers are implementing policies that provide incentives to employees who lead a “healthy” lifestyle. The authors address how these policies could adversely affect “non-healthy” employees. There are a wide variety of ethical issues that impact wellness policies and practices in the workplace. The authors conclude that wellness programs can be ethical, while also providing a general reflective analysis of healthcare challenges in order to reflect on the externalities associated with such policies in the workplace. PMID:24596847

A Proposal for a UK Ethics Council for Animal Policy: The Case for Putting Ethics Back into Policy Making.

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McCulloch, Steven P; Reiss, Michael J

2018-06-07

Substantial controversy is a consistent feature of UK animal health and welfare policy. BSE, foot and mouth disease, bovine TB and badger culling, large indoor dairies, and wild animals in circuses are examples. Such policy issues are inherently normative; they include a substantial moral dimension. This paper reviews UK animal welfare advisory bodies such as the Animal Health and Welfare Board of England, the Farm Animal Welfare Council and the Animals in Science Committee. These bodies play a key advisory role, but do not have adequate expertise in ethics to inform the moral dimension of policy. We propose an "Ethics Council for Animal Policy" to inform the UK government on policy that significantly impacts sentient species. We review existing Councils (e.g., the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and The Netherlands Council on Animal Affairs) and examine some widely used ethical frameworks (e.g., Banner's principles and the ethical matrix). The Ethics Council for Animal Policy should be independent from government and members should have substantial expertise in ethics and related disciplines. A pluralistic six-stage ethical framework is proposed: (i) Problematisation of the policy issue, (ii) utilitarian analysis, (iii) animal rights analysis, (iv) virtue-based analysis, (v) animal welfare ethic analysis, and (vi) integrated ethical analysis. The paper concludes that an Ethics Council for Animal Policy is necessary for just and democratic policy making in all societies that use sentient nonhuman species.

A Proposal for a UK Ethics Council for Animal Policy: The Case for Putting Ethics Back into Policy Making

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Steven P. McCulloch

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Substantial controversy is a consistent feature of UK animal health and welfare policy. BSE,~foot and mouth disease, bovine TB and badger culling, large indoor dairies, and wild animals in circuses are examples. Such policy issues are inherently normative; they include a substantial moral dimension. This paper reviews UK animal welfare advisory bodies such as the Animal Health and Welfare Board of England, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee and the Animals in Science Committee. These bodies play a key advisory role, but do not have adequate expertise in ethics to inform the moral dimension of policy. We propose an “Ethics Council for Animal Policy” to inform the UK government on policy that significantly impacts sentient species. We review existing Councils (e.g., the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and The Netherlands Council on Animal Affairs and examine some widely used ethical frameworks (e.g., Banner’s principles and the ethical matrix. The Ethics Council for Animal Policy should be independent from government and members should have substantial expertise in ethics and related disciplines. A pluralistic six-stage ethical framework is proposed: (i Problematisation of the policy issue, (ii utilitarian analysis, (iii animal rights analysis, (iv virtue-based analysis, (v animal welfare ethic analysis, and (vi integrated ethical analysis. The~paper concludes that an Ethics Council for Animal Policy is necessary for just and democratic policy making in all societies that use sentient nonhuman species.

Social Work and the Uniform Accident and Sickness Policy Provision Law: A Pilot Project

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Cochran, Gerald; Davis, King

2012-01-01

The Uniform Accident and Sickness Policy Provision Law (UPPL) is a statute existing in 26 states that permits health insurance companies to deny payment for claims made by individuals who have sustained injuries as a result of drug or alcohol use. This law presents a series of complicated clinical and ethical dilemmas for social workers and other…

Ethical Wills – a Continental Law Perspective

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Frederik Swennen

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Ethical wills are testaments, or planning instruments mortis causa alike, that contain provisions regarding the deceased’s (non-economic values rather than his (economic valuables. The authors define and analyse the substance and form of ethical wills from a comparative Continental law perspective, drawing on Belgian, Dutch, French and German law. The focus primarily is on charges or conditions in restraint or constraint of (non- denominational or family choices by testamentary beneficiaries; and in this context it is contended that both the doctrine of public policy (“ordre public” and the horizontal application of the ECHR extensively restrict testamentary freedom. Nevertheless, the analogous application of estate planning techniques increasingly allows benevolent testators to plan their ethical legacy. Los testamentos éticos son testamentos, similares a instrumentos de planificación mortis causa, que contienen disposiciones relativas a los valores (no económicos del difunto, en lugar de sus objetos de valor (económico. Los autores definen y analizan el contenido y la forma de los testamentos éticos desde una perspectiva comparativa de derecho continental, basada en la legislación belga, holandesa, francesa y alemana. Se centra principalmente en los cargos o las condiciones de restricción o limitación de las opciones (aconfesionales o familiares de los herederos; y en este contexto se afirma que tanto la doctrina de política pública ("ordre public" como la aplicación horizontal del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos, restringen ampliamente la libertad testamentaria. Sin embargo, la aplicación análoga de técnicas de planificación y gestión patrimonial y sucesoria, permite cada vez más a los testadores de últimas voluntades planificar su legado ético.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Food policy an ethics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coff, Christian Eyde; Kemp, Peter

2014-01-01

This entry gives an overview of food policy and major ethical principles that in the last decades have been proposed and advocated for in debates on food policy. Food policies touch upon a vast area of interrelated policies (like health, transport, environment, poverty, animal welfare etc.) which...

[Ethics and laws related to human subject research].

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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.

Business and Law Respondents: What Is Ethical Behavior?

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Stevens, George E.

1993-01-01

In a survey of 97 business managers, 141 business students, 46 attorneys, and 98 law students, all groups were consistent in rating their own and peers' ethical beliefs; they perceived peers to have lower ethical values and were aware of competitive market pressures. The idea that new workplace entrants represent a new wave of ethical values was…

A Critique of the Notions of Law and Ethics as Regulatory Systems ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The next discovery made by this paper is that the authentic ideas of lawand ethicsmeet at the venue of natural law.Hence, law+ethic =Natural Law. It is strongly recommended that the natural law theory of legality and morality be upheld in all jurisdictions as the applicable directive theory and practice of law and ethics ...

Fiscal ethics, policies, and theories

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Andrés Blanco

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The connections between ethics, policies and economic theories regarding fiscal matters need a more thorough analysis than the one carried out so far. On one hand, even though there are some ethical proposals on taxation, in general such proposals have not been grounded on explanatory theories of the economy. On the other hand, schools of thought about economy usually fail to ethically justify their political proposals. However, such distinctions cannot be sustained rationally: any ethical proposal concerning fiscal matters involves an explanation of economy, and conversely any proposal related to fiscal policies does not only involve a theory but also an ethical understanding. This article will review such connections, and general conclusions will be applied to two specific cases: first, Rawls’s proposal concerning taxation will be reviewed, having previously studied its descriptive assumptions, and then the lack of an ethical connection between the post Keynesian theory on the monetary circuit and its fiscal proposal will be examined. Finally, a possible “taxation compliance ethic” of tax-payers will be likewise analysed.

Does environmental ethics found on natural law. Naturrechtliche Begruendung der Umweltethik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Irrgang, B.

1991-08-09

The author discusses various basic concepts of natural law; naturalistic and metaphysical fallacies, natural law and theory on human action developed by St. Thomas Aquinas. The author concludes by advocating an ethics for result assessment based on moral principles, and, in the case of environmental ethics in particular on justice (equal treatment, appropriateness, respect for those at a disadvantage and fairness between the gneerations). The same criterions should apply to matters concerning the ethics of energy generation, genetic engineering and economic and environmental ethics. (orig./HSCH).

24 CFR 4.34 - Review of Inspector General's report by the Ethics Law Division.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... report by the Ethics Law Division. 4.34 Section 4.34 Housing and Urban Development Office of the... Funding Decisions § 4.34 Review of Inspector General's report by the Ethics Law Division. After receipt of the Inspector General's report, the Ethics Law Division shall review the facts and circumstances of...

Codes of professional responsibility for lawyers: ethics or law?

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Lawry, R P

1984-01-01

The American Bar Association has three times in this century produced a code of ethics for lawyers. The movement has clearly been from a general, hortatory format to one of a statement of principles of law. In the ABA's latest effort, the problems of client confidentiality loom as the most serious and most difficult to solve. The question of ethics versus law weighs heavily in this context, and the ABA's latest resolutions of the confidentiality problems are found to be unsatisfactory.

Prevalence and content of written ethics policies on euthanasia in Catholic healthcare institutions in Belgium (Flanders).

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Gastmans, Chris; Lemiengre, Joke; van der Wal, Gerrit; Schotsmans, Paul; Dierckx de Casterlé, Bernadette

2006-04-01

Euthanasia is performed worldwide, regardless of the existence of laws governing it. Belgium became the second country in the world to enact a law on euthanasia in 2002. Healthcare institutions bear responsibility for guaranteeing the quality of care for patients at the end of life, and for ensuring support for caregivers involved. Therefore, institutional ethics policies on end-of-life decision-making, especially on euthanasia, may be useful. A cross-sectional mail survey of general directors of Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium was used to describe the prevalence and content of written ethics policies for competent terminally ill, incompetent terminally ill, and non-terminally ill patients. Of the 298 targeted institutions, 81% of hospitals and 62% of nursing homes returned complete questionnaires. Of these, 79% of hospitals and 30% of nursing homes had a written ethics policy on euthanasia. Of hospitals 83% and of nursing homes 85% permitted euthanasia for competent terminally ill patients only in exceptional cases in accordance with legal due care criteria and provisions outlined by the palliative filter procedure. Euthanasia for incompetent terminally ill patients was prohibited by 27% of the hospitals and by 60% of the nursing homes. For non-terminally ill patients, these figures were 43 and 64%, respectively. Catholic healthcare institutions in Belgium (Flanders) made great efforts to develop written ethics policies on euthanasia. Only a small group of institutions completely prohibited euthanasia. Most of the institutions considered euthanasia to be an option if all possible alternatives (e.g., palliative filter procedure, which contains more rigorous criteria than those in the Belgian Euthanasia Act), have been thoroughly investigated.

The law, policy, and ethics of employers' use of financial incentives to improve health.

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Madison, Kristin M; Volpp, Kevin G; Halpern, Scott D

2011-01-01

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) turns to a nontraditional mechanism to improve public health: employer-provided financial incentives for healthy behaviors. Critics raise questions about incentive programs' effectiveness, employer involvement, and potential discrimination. We support incentive program development despite these concerns. The ACA sets the stage for a broad-based research and implementation agenda through which we can learn to structure incentive programs to not only promote public health but also address prevalent concerns. © 2011 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

ACCOUNTING BETWEEN LAW, ETHICS AND MORALITY

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Anca-Simona N. HROMEI

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the fact that nowadays, society and business, show high expectations regarding the accounting discipline, and therefore professionals in this area should expand their horizons to meet all requirements. First of all, accounting assumed a certain responsibility to the public interest, by its fundamental purpose, namely to provide financial-accounting information, information that will form the basis of decision making. Second of all, for the successful fulfilment of the public responsibilities, accountants must rely on elements of doctrine, ethics, or ethics and morality. The study wants to show the importance of the accounting discipline, which has begun to increasingly focus on the creation of a moral or ethical basis, putting these issues on the same level with respecting the law. The boundary between what is legal but not ethical or moral is very small, and there were many business cases where unethical behaviour led to business failure.

Internet Research Ethics and the Policy Gap for Ethical Practice in Online Research Settings

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Warrell, Jacqueline G.; Jacobsen, Michele

2014-01-01

A growing number of education and social science researchers design and conduct online research. In this review, the Internet Research Ethics (IRE) policy gap in Canada is identified along with the range of stakeholders and groups that either have a role or have attempted to play a role in forming better ethics policy. Ethical issues that current…

Clinicians and their cameras: policy, ethics and practice in an Australian tertiary hospital.

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Burns, Kara; Belton, Suzanne

2013-09-01

Medical photography illustrates what people would prefer to keep private, is practiced when people are vulnerable, and has the power to freeze a moment in time. Given it is a sensitive area of health, lawful and ethical practice is paramount. This paper recognises and seeks to clarify the possibility of widespread clinician-taken medical photography in a tertiary hospital in northern Australia, examining the legal and ethical implications of this practice. A framework of Northern Territory law, state Department of Health policy and human rights theory were used to argue the thesis. Clinicians from 13 purposively chosen wards were asked to participate in an anonymous survey and confidential in-depth interviews. Questions were generated from the literature and local knowledge on the topics of 'occurrence', 'image use', 'quality of consent', 'cameras and technology', 'confidentiality', 'data storage and security', 'hospital policy and law' and 'cultural issues'. One hundred and seventy surveys and eights interviews were analysed using descriptive statistics and theme and content analysis, then triangulated for similarity, difference and unique responses. Forty-eight percent of clinicians surveyed take medical photographs, with the majority using hospital-owned cameras. However, one-fifth of clinicians reported photographing with personal mobile phones. Non-compliance with written consent requirements articulated in policy was endemic, with most clinicians surveyed obtaining only verbal consent. Labeling, storage, copyright and cultural issues were generally misunderstood, with a significant number of clinicians risking the security of patient information by storing images on personal devices. If this tertiary hospital does not develop a clinical photography action plan to address staff lack of knowledge, and noncompliance with policy and mobile phone use, patients' data is at risk of being distributed into the public domain where unauthorised publication may cause

Nonaltruistic kidney donations in contemporary Jewish law and ethics.

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Grazi, Richard V; Wolowelsky, Joel B

2003-01-27

In 2000, the Consensus Statement on the Live Organ Donor reported that "direct financial compensation for an organ from a living donor remains controversial and illegal in the United States" and took note of the position of the Transplantation Society that "Organs and tissue should be given without commercial consideration or commercial profit." Christian authorities insist that organ donors must not accrue economic advantage, and "selling" organs deprives the donation of its ethical quality. The writings of major contemporary authorities of Jewish law and ethics whose halakhic positions on bioethical issues are regularly considered by Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform ethicists were reviewed. Their positions on this issue were contrasted with those of various contemporary secular and religious authorities. These Jewish authorities reject the notion that generosity and charity, rather than monetary gain and greed, must serve as the exclusive basis for donation of functioning organs. Although nonaltruistic sale of kidneys may be theoretically ethical, ultimately its ethical status in Jewish ethics and law is inextricably connected to solving a series of pragmatic programs, such as creating a system that ensures that potential vendors and donors are properly informed and not exploited. Lacking such arrangements, ethical nonaltruistic kidney donations remain but a theoretical possibility.

The ethical plausibility of the 'Right To Try' laws.

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Carrieri, D; Peccatori, F A; Boniolo, G

2018-02-01

'Right To Try' (RTT) laws originated in the USA to allow terminally ill patients to request access to early stage experimental medical products directly from the producer, removing the oversight and approval of the Food and Drug Administration. These laws have received significant media attention and almost equally unanimous criticism by the bioethics, clinical and scientific communities. They touch indeed on complex issues such as the conflict between individual and public interest, and the public understanding of medical research and its regulation. The increased awareness around RTT laws means that healthcare providers directly involved in the management of patients with life-threatening conditions such as cancer, infective, or neurologic conditions will deal more frequently with patients' requests of access to experimental medical products. This paper aims to assess the ethical plausibility of the RTT laws, and to suggest some possible ethical tools and considerations to address the main issues they touch. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Public Perceptions of Journalists' Ethical Motivations.

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Voakes, Paul S.

1997-01-01

Finds starkly different conceptions of journalistic ethics, with members of the public believing the journalists' ethics are guided primarily by occupational norms and competitive pressures, whereas journalists themselves cited organizational policies, the relevant law, and their individual reasoning as primary influences on their ethical decision…

EUTHANASIA - A STUDY OF LAW, POLICY AND ETHICS

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Zachariah

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Physician assisted suicide (PAS and Euthanasia as it is now known, is essentially the doctrine that when, owing to disease, senility or the like, a person’s life has permanently ceased to be either agreeable or useful , the sufferer should be painlessly killed either by himself or by another. The intentional termination of patient’s life in such a situation by an act or omission of medical care is called euthanasia or mercy killing. This is the most active area of research in contemporary bio ethics. The present article is aimed to have a global overview regarding legalization of euthanasia and the current Indian scenari o, legally and ethically regarding this issue

Philosophy of organ donation: Review of ethical facets.

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Dalal, Aparna R

2015-06-24

Transplantation ethics is a philosophy that incorporates systematizing, defending and advocating concepts of right and wrong conduct related to organ donation. As the demand for organs increases, it is essential to ensure that new and innovative laws, policies and strategies of increasing organ supply are bioethical and are founded on the principles of altruism and utilitarianism. In the field of organ transplantation, role of altruism and medical ethics values are significant to the welfare of the society. This article reviews several fundamental ethical principles, prevailing organ donation consent laws, incentives and policies related to the field of transplantation. The Ethical and Policy Considerations in Organ Donation after Circulatory Determination of Death outline criteria for death and organ retrieval. Presumed consent laws prevalent mostly in European countries maintain that the default choice of an individual would be to donate organs unless opted otherwise. Explicit consent laws require organ donation to be proactively affirmed with state registries. The Declaration of Istanbul outlines principles against organ trafficking and transplant tourism. World Health Organization's Guiding Principles on Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation aim at ensuring transparency in organ procurement and allocation. The ethics of financial incentives and non-financial incentives such as incorporation of non-medical criteria in organ priority allocation have also been reviewed in detail.

Law, science and technology. The nuclear option, ethics and law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

Technological innovations in the field of nuclear energy, as well as the diversity of applications using ionizing radiations contribute to the necessity of implementation of legislation and laws. This conference will give some ideas on political, ethical and legal aspects as far as nuclear energy development is concerned. Separate abstract were prepared for all the papers in this volume. (TEC)

Law and medical ethics in organ transplantation surgery

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Woodcock, Tom; Wheeler, Robert

2010-01-01

This article in the series describes how UK law and medical ethics have evolved to accommodate developments in organ transplantation surgery. August committees have formulated definitions of the point of death of the person which are compatible with the lawful procurement of functioning vital organs from cadavers. Some of the complexities of dead donor rules are examined. Live donors are a major source of kidneys and the laws that protect them are considered. Financial inducements and other incentives to donate erode the noble concept of altruism, but should they be unlawful? PMID:20501013

Opening the black box of ethics policy work: evaluating a covert practice.

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Frolic, Andrea; Drolet, Katherine; Bryanton, Kim; Caron, Carole; Cupido, Cynthia; Flaherty, Barb; Fung, Sylvia; McCall, Lori

2012-01-01

Hospital ethics committees (HECs) and ethicists generally describe themselves as engaged in four domains of practice: case consultation, research, education, and policy work. Despite the increasing attention to quality indicators, practice standards, and evaluation methods for the other domains, comparatively little is known or published about the policy work of HECs or ethicists. This article attempts to open the "black box" of this health care ethics practice by providing two detailed case examples of ethics policy reviews. We also describe the development and application of an evaluation strategy to assess the quality of ethics policy review work, and to enable continuous improvement of ethics policy review processes. Given the potential for policy work to impact entire patient populations and organizational systems, it is imperative that HECs and ethicists develop clearer roles, responsibilities, procedural standards, and evaluation methods to ensure the delivery of consistent, relevant, and high-quality ethics policy reviews.

Sport, Society, and Anti-Doping Policy: An Ethical Overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Bloodworth, Andrew J; McNamee, Mike

2017-01-01

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the philosophical and ethical underpinnings of anti-doping policy. The nature of sport and its gratuitous logic is explored. The doping rules in sport, such as the Prohibited List, are ways of drawing a line to facilitate a certain sort of competition. Sports can be understood as a means of testing the natural physical abilities of the athlete, combined with the hard work they put into improving their performance. A test promoted by the anti-doping laws. Permitting certain forms of performance enhancement would threaten the special nature of such a test. Doping can be seen as a threat to the integrity of sport, not just because of the rule breaking doping currently entails. The chapter explores the ethical issues that arise with such forms of enhancement, such as fairness, harms to health, and indeed a refusal to accept human limitations. Finally, the criteria upon which a substance or method may be prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is addressed. The 3-part criteria, concerning (1) enhancement, (2) health, and (3) the spirit of sport are described, and literature that takes a critical line is addressed. Particular reference is made to the public health agenda explicit within anti-doping policy. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Contemporary intellectual property law and policy

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MacQueen, Hector; Laurie, Graeme; Brown, Abbe

2011-01-01

Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy offers a unique perspective on intellectual property law, unrivalled amongst IP textbooks available today. Beyond providing an up-to-date account of intellectual property law, the text examines the complex policies that inform and guide modern IP law at the domestic (including Scottish), European and international levels, giving the reader a true insight into the discipline and the shape of things to come. The focus is on contemporary challenges to intellectual property law and policy and the reader is encouraged to engage critically both with the text and the subject matter. Carefully developed to ensure that the complexities of the subject are addressed in a clear and approachable manner, the extensive use of practical examples, exercises and visual aids throughout the text enliven the subject and stimulate the reader.

Contemporary intellectual property law and policy

CERN Document Server

Waelde, Charlotte; Kheria, Smita; Cornwell, Jane

2016-01-01

Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy offers a unique perspective on intellectual property law. It goes beyond an up-to-date account of the law and examines the complex policies that inform and guide modern intellectual property law at the domestic (including Scottish), European and international levels, giving the reader a true insight into the discipline and the shape of things to come. The focus is on contemporary challenges to intellectual property law and policy and the reader is encouraged to engage critically both with the text and the subject matter. Carefully developed to ensure that the complexities of the subject are addressed in a clear and approachable manner, the extensive use of practical examples, exercises and visual aids throughout the text enliven the subject and stimulate the reader.

Biomedical engineering and society: policy and ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Flexman, J A; Lazareck, L

2007-01-01

Biomedical engineering impacts health care and contributes to fundamental knowledge in medicine and biology. Policy, such as through regulation and research funding, has the potential to dramatically affect biomedical engineering research and commercialization. New developments, in turn, may affect society in new ways. The intersection of biomedical engineering and society and related policy issues must be discussed between scientists and engineers, policy-makers and the public. As a student, there are many ways to become engaged in the issues surrounding science and technology policy. At the University of Washington in Seattle, the Forum on Science Ethics and Policy (FOSEP, www.fosep.org) was started by graduate students and post-doctoral fellows interested in improving the dialogue between scientists, policymakers and the public and has received support from upper-level administration. This is just one example of how students can start thinking about science policy and ethics early in their careers.

ESHRE Task Force on Ethics and Law 10: surrogacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Shenfield, F; Pennings, G; Cohen, J; Devroey, P; de Wert, G; Tarlatzis, B

2005-10-01

This 10th statement of the Task Force on Ethics and Law considers ethical questions specific to varied surrogacy arrangements. Surrogacy is especially complex as the interests of the intended parents, the surrogate, and the future child may differ. It is concluded that surrogacy is an acceptable method of assisted reproductive technology of the last resort for specific medical indications, for which only reimbursement of reasonable expenses is allowed.

Human cloning laws, human dignity and the poverty of the policy making dialogue.

Science.gov (United States)

Caulfield, Timothy

2003-07-29

The regulation of human cloning continues to be a significant national and international policy issue. Despite years of intense academic and public debate, there is little clarity as to the philosophical foundations for many of the emerging policy choices. The notion of "human dignity" is commonly used to justify cloning laws. The basis for this justification is that reproductive human cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. The author critiques one of the most commonly used ethical justifications for cloning laws - the idea that reproductive cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. He points out that there is, in fact, little consensus on point and that the counter arguments are rarely reflected in formal policy. Rarely do domestic or international instruments provide an operational definition of human dignity and there is rarely an explanation of how, exactly, dignity is infringed in the context reproductive cloning. It is the author's position that the lack of thoughtful analysis of the role of human dignity hurts the broader public debate about reproductive cloning, trivializes the value of human dignity as a normative principle and makes it nearly impossible to critique the actual justifications behind many of the proposed policies.

Law, ethics and pandemic preparedness: the importance of cross-jurisdictional and cross-cultural perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Belinda; Carney, Terry

2010-04-01

To explore social equity, health planning, regulatory and ethical dilemmas in responding to a pandemic influenza (H5N1) outbreak, and the adequacy of protocols and standards such as the International Health Regulations (2005). This paper analyses the role of legal and ethical considerations for pandemic preparedness, including an exploration of the relevance of cross-jurisdictional and cross-cultural perspectives in assessing the validity of goals for harmonisation of laws and policies both within and between nations. Australian and international experience is reviewed in various areas, including distribution of vaccines during a pandemic, the distribution of authority between national and local levels of government, and global and regional equity issues for poorer countries. This paper finds that questions such as those of distributional justice (resource allocation) and regulatory frameworks raise important issues about the cultural and ethical acceptability of planning measures. Serious doubt is cast on a 'one size fits all' approach to international planning for managing a pandemic. It is concluded that a more nuanced approach than that contained in international guidelines may be required if an effective response is to be constructed internationally. The paper commends the wisdom of reliance on 'soft law', international guidance that leaves plenty of room for each nation to construct its response in conformity with its own cultural and value requirements. © 2010 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2010 Public Health Association of Australia.

Rethinking ethical issues in global business environment | Mirwoba ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In the wake of globalization and liberalization policy, business ethics ... a push for diversity that has resulted into corporate business cultures that are ... The impediment of global business ethics is the phenomenon that, unlike established laws ...

Nursing's Code of Ethics, Social Ethics, and Social Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, Marsha D

2016-09-01

Modern American nursing arose during the Civil War and subsequently adopted the Nightingale educational model in the 1870s. By 1889, the journal Trained Nurse and Hospital Review had been established. It published a six-part series on ethics in nursing. With the establishment of the American Nurses Association in 1893, the articles of incorporation gave the organization its first charge: "to establish and maintain a code of ethics." While the rich and enduring tradition of nursing's ethics has been concerned about individual patients and their relational nexus, nursing ethics has from the beginning been a social ethics, intimately concerned both for the shape of society and for social change. This concern has been for health, conceived broadly and not focused specifically on disease and its treatment, but including the social causes of disease. Nightingale herself was an ardent social reformer, instituting a wide range of types of army sanitation reform, sanitation reform in India, and hospital and nursing reform. Despite her gender, her wealth and privilege granted her access to men in power who furthered her policy and reform agenda. From the start, then, modern nursing was imbued with a social reformist bias. © 2016 The Hastings Center.

Ethics policies and ethics work in cross-national genetic research and data sharing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoeyer, Klaus; Tupasela, Aaro; Rasmussen, Malene B.

2017-01-01

of scientific work. This paper takes its point of departure in the practices of a Danish laboratory with great experience in international collaboration regarding genetic research. We focus on a simple query, what makes genetic material and health data flow, and which hopes and concerns travel along with them......In recent years, cross-national collaboration in medical research has gained increased policy attention. Policies are developed to enhance data sharing, ensure open-access, and harmonize international standards and ethics rules in order to promote access to existing resources and increase...... scientific output. In tandem with this promotion of data sharing, numerous ethics policies are developed to control data flows and protect privacy and confidentiality. Both sets of policy making, however, pay limited attention to the moral decisions and social ties enacted in the everyday routines...

Human cloning laws, human dignity and the poverty of the policy making dialogue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caulfield Timothy

2003-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The regulation of human cloning continues to be a significant national and international policy issue. Despite years of intense academic and public debate, there is little clarity as to the philosophical foundations for many of the emerging policy choices. The notion of "human dignity" is commonly used to justify cloning laws. The basis for this justification is that reproductive human cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. Discussion The author critiques one of the most commonly used ethical justifications for cloning laws – the idea that reproductive cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. He points out that there is, in fact, little consensus on point and that the counter arguments are rarely reflected in formal policy. Rarely do domestic or international instruments provide an operational definition of human dignity and there is rarely an explanation of how, exactly, dignity is infringed in the context reproductive cloning. Summary It is the author's position that the lack of thoughtful analysis of the role of human dignity hurts the broader public debate about reproductive cloning, trivializes the value of human dignity as a normative principle and makes it nearly impossible to critique the actual justifications behind many of the proposed policies.

Human cloning laws, human dignity and the poverty of the policy making dialogue

Science.gov (United States)

Caulfield, Timothy

2003-01-01

Background The regulation of human cloning continues to be a significant national and international policy issue. Despite years of intense academic and public debate, there is little clarity as to the philosophical foundations for many of the emerging policy choices. The notion of "human dignity" is commonly used to justify cloning laws. The basis for this justification is that reproductive human cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. Discussion The author critiques one of the most commonly used ethical justifications for cloning laws – the idea that reproductive cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. He points out that there is, in fact, little consensus on point and that the counter arguments are rarely reflected in formal policy. Rarely do domestic or international instruments provide an operational definition of human dignity and there is rarely an explanation of how, exactly, dignity is infringed in the context reproductive cloning. Summary It is the author's position that the lack of thoughtful analysis of the role of human dignity hurts the broader public debate about reproductive cloning, trivializes the value of human dignity as a normative principle and makes it nearly impossible to critique the actual justifications behind many of the proposed policies. PMID:12887735

Consent, Refusal, and Waivers in Patient-Centered Dysphagia Care: Using Law, Ethics, and Evidence to Guide Clinical Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Horner, Jennifer; Modayil, Maria; Chapman, Laura Roche; Dinh, An

2016-11-01

When patients refuse medical or rehabilitation procedures, waivers of liability have been used to bar future lawsuits. The purpose of this tutorial is to review the myriad issues surrounding consent, refusal, and waivers. The larger goal is to invigorate clinical practice by providing clinicians with knowledge of ethics and law. This tutorial is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The authors use a hypothetical case of a "noncompliant" individual under the care of an interdisciplinary neurorehabilitation team to illuminate the ethical and legal features of the patient-practitioner relationship; the elements of clinical decision-making capacity; the duty of disclosure and the right of informed consent or informed refusal; and the relationship among noncompliance, defensive practices, and iatrogenic harm. We explore the legal question of whether waivers of liability in the medical context are enforceable or unenforceable as a matter of public policy. Speech-language pathologists, among other health care providers, have fiduciary and other ethical and legal obligations to patients. Because waivers try to shift liability for substandard care from health care providers to patients, courts usually find waivers of liability in the medical context unenforceable as a matter of public policy.

Minimum Age of Sale for Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes: Ethical Acceptability of US "Tobacco 21 Laws".

Science.gov (United States)

Morain, Stephanie Rubino; Malek, Janet

2017-09-01

Several US jurisdictions have recently passed laws that raise the minimum age of sale for tobacco products and electronic cigarettes to 21 years (Tobacco 21 laws). Although these laws have been demonstrated to be an effective means to reduce youth smoking initiation, their passage and potential expansion have provoked controversy. Critics have objected to these laws, claiming that they unduly intrude on individual freedom and that they irrationally and paternalistically restrict the freedom of those aged 18 to 20 years, who were previously able to legally purchase tobacco products. We have examined the ethical acceptability of Tobacco 21 laws. First, we have described ethical support for such a restriction grounded in its public health benefit. We have then offered arguments that raise doubts about the soundness of critics' objections to these regulations and described an additional ethical justification arising from concern about preventing harm to others. On the basis of this analysis, we conclude that Tobacco 21 laws are ethically justifiable.

AGU's Updated Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy

Science.gov (United States)

McPhaden, M. J.

2017-12-01

AGU'S mission is to promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. This mission can only be accomplished if all those engaged in the scientific enterprise uphold the highest standards of scientific integrity and professional ethics. AGU's Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy provides a set of principles and guidelines for AGU members, staff, volunteers, contractors, and non-members participating in AGU sponsored programs and activities. The policy has recently been updated to include a new code of conduct that broadens the definition of scientific misconduct to include discrimination, harassment, and bullying. This presentation provides the context for what motivated the updated policy, an outline of the policy itself, and a discussion of how it is being communicated and applied.

Viewpoint – The Next Nexus? Environmental Ethics, Water Policies, and Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Groenfeldt

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Water policies are based on ethical assumptions, and efforts to promote more sustainable policies need to address those underlying values. The history of water policies from 'command-and-control' to more ecological approaches reveals an ethical evolution, but adaptation to climate change will require further ethical shifts. The case of the Santa Fe river in New Mexico (USA illustrates how values that go unrecognised interfere with sustainable management. Exploring the underlying value dynamics is an essential step in the policy reform process and takes on added urgency in the face of climate change and the need to formulate adaptive water strategies. Bringing the topic of values and ethics into the water policy discourse can help clarify management goals and promote more sustainable practices.

Ethics policy review: a case study in quality improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Frolic, Andrea Nadine; Drolet, Katherine

2013-02-01

Policy work is often cited as one of the primary functions of Hospital Ethics Committees (HECs), along with consultation and education. Hospital policies can have far reaching effects on a wide array of stakeholders including, care providers, patients, families, the culture of the organisation and the community at large. In comparison with the wealth of information available about the emerging practice of ethics consultation, relatively little attention has been paid to the policy work of HECs. In this paper, we hope to advance the development of best practices in HEC policy work by describing the quality improvement process that we undertook at Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In the first section of the paper we describe the context of our HEC policy work, and the shortcomings of our historical review process. In subsequent sections, we detail the quality improvement project we undertook in 2010, the results of the project and the specific tools we developed to enhance the quality of HEC policy work. Our goal in sharing this organisational case study is to prompt other HECs to publish qualitative descriptions of their policy work, in order to generate a body of knowledge that can inform the development of best practices for ethics policy review.

43 CFR 422.3 - Reclamation law enforcement policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Reclamation law enforcement policy. 422.3 Section 422.3 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY AT BUREAU OF RECLAMATION PROJECTS § 422.3 Reclamation law enforcement policy. The law enforcement...

PRIVATE MILITARY AND SECURITY COMPANIES: ETHICS ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

hennie

The section on ethics covers the question “ What is mercenaries?, whether private contractors can be ethical, regulating private militaries, bringing just war theory into step with shifts in warfare proper, and efforts to point out the social responsibilities that now seem to accrue. The authors covering policies and law primarily ...

Ethical aspect price decision making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grubor Aleksandar

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Price decision making in a marketing program framework creatings is a complicated and delicated part of marketing management, especially to keep in sight culminating of mass external factors. In a market economies price policy as a marketing mix instrument rarely is regulated by the law, which opening the ethical aspect questions of price decision making process. The ethics in the price decision making means consideration of the inner law of the individual (marketing managers and/or consumers, whose irreverence does not entail any juridical sanctions, rather its application is sanctioned by the self - awareness. The acception and stability of the ethical aspect price decision making are determined by the characteristic of selected marketing environment.

Presidential Immigration Policies: Endangering Health and Well-being?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ó Cathaoir, Katharina Eva; O Gostin, Lawrence

2017-01-01

President Trump has issued executive orders transforming US immigration policy, potentially harming patient health and well-being. Are the president’s orders lawful and ethical, and what are the effects on the health system?......President Trump has issued executive orders transforming US immigration policy, potentially harming patient health and well-being. Are the president’s orders lawful and ethical, and what are the effects on the health system?...

Fertility reduction policies and poverty in Third World countries: ethical issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, D J

1985-01-01

This article begins with a discussion of the motivation for fertility reduction and related population policies. Next, it identifies the two major approaches to evaluating these policies in the population ethics literature: the individualistic approach and the international approach. Each approach is then characterized according to the kinds of policies evaluated, the ethical principles that are most prominent, and the major conclusions drawn. Major empirical gaps in the population ethics literature are identified, and pertinent social science issues concerning the effectiveness of family planning programs, the socioeconomic determinants of fertility, and the interpersonal or community determinants of fertility are discussed. Finally, these issues are linked with the United Nations World Population Plan of Action to identify ethical questions that warrant detailed scrutiny.

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.

When Ethics and Policy Collide

Science.gov (United States)

Hightower, Bynum Blake; Klinker, JoAnn Franklin

2012-01-01

This case study explores an ethical dilemma faced by a new junior high school principal. It is appropriate for use in all preparation course work, including the internship. Studies show that novice principal decision making differs from that of experienced principals in moral dilemmas, including following policy versus best interests of the…

A Possible Ethical Imperative Based on the Entropy Law

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehrdad Massoudi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Lindsay in an article titled, “Entropy consumption and values in physical science,” (Am. Sci. 1959, 47, 678–696 proposed a Thermodynamic Imperative similar to Kant’s Ethical Categorical Imperative. In this paper, after describing the concept of ethical imperative as elaborated by Kant, we provide a brief discussion of the role of science and its relationship to the classical thermodynamics and the physical implications of the first and the second laws of thermodynamics. We finally attempt to extend and supplement Lindsay’s Thermodynamic Imperative (TI, by another Imperative suggesting simplicity, conservation, and harmony.

Reneging: A Topic to Promote Engaging Discussions about Law and Ethics in a Business Law or Legal Environment Course

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Tonia Hap

2009-01-01

This article is intended for business law and legal environment instructors who want to help students understand how they might react when presented with an ethical conflict, no matter how big or how small. The article discusses not only the compelling ethical issues that may arise in reneging cases, but also legal issues. The article provides…

Ethics Instruction for Future Geoscientists: Essential for Contributions to Good Public Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Leinen, M.; Mogk, D. W.

2016-12-01

Geoscientists work in a world of uncertainty in the complex, dynamic, and chaotic Earth system that is fraught with opportunities to become involved in ethical dilemmas. To be effective contributors to the public discourse on Earth science policy, geoscientists must conduct their work according to the highest personal and professional ethical standards. The geosciences as a discipline relies on the fidelity of geoscience data and their interpretations, geoscience concepts and methodologies must be conveyed to policy makers in ways that allow them to make informed decisions, corporations require a workforce that conducts their affairs according to the highest standards, and the general public expects the highest standards of conduct of geoscientists as they underwrite much of the research supported through tax dollars and the applications of this research impacts personal and societal lives. Geoscientists must have the foundations to identify ethical dilemmas in the first instance, and to have the ethical decision-making skills to either prevent, mitigate or otherwise address ethical issues that arise in professional practice. Awareness of ethical issues arises in many dimensions: Ethics and self (engaging self-monitoring and self-regulating behaviors); Ethics and profession (working according to professional standards); Ethics and society (communicating effectively to policy makers and the general public about the underlying science that informs public policy); and, Ethics and Earth (recognizing the unique responsibilities of geoscientists in the stewardship of Earth). To meet these ethical challenges, training of future geoscientists must be done a) at the introductory level as all students should be aware of ethical implications of geoscience concepts as they impact societal issues; undergraduate geoscience majors need to be explicitly trained in the standards and norms of the geoscience community of practice; graduate students need to be fully prepared to deal

Public Support for Weight-Related Antidiscrimination Laws and Policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hilbert, Anja; Hübner, Claudia; Schmutzer, Gabriele; Danielsdottir, Sigrun; Brähler, Elmar; Puhl, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Weight-related discrimination is prevalent and associated with health impairments for those who are targeted, which underscores the need of antidiscrimination legislation. This study is the first to examine public support of weight-related antidiscrimination laws or policies in Germany, compared to the US and Iceland. In a representative German population sample (N = 2,513), public support for general and employment-specific weight-related antidiscrimination policies, weight-based victimization, and weight bias internalization were measured through established self-report questionnaires. Half of the German population sample agreed with antidiscrimination policies. General antidiscrimination laws received lower support than employment-specific laws. Support for policies considering obesity a physical disability was greatest in Germany, whereas support for employment-specific antidiscrimination laws was lower in Germany than in the US and Iceland. Total support for weight-related antidiscrimination policies was significantly predicted by lower age, female gender, obese weight status, residence in West Germany, church membership, and readiness to vote in elections. German support for weight-related antidiscrimination policies is moderate. Increasing awareness about weight-related discrimination and laws prohibiting this behavior may help to promote policy acceptance. © 2017 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

When patients are harmed, but are not wronged: ethics, law, and history.

Science.gov (United States)

Klaas, Paul B; Berge, Keith H; Klaas, Kelsey M; Klaas, James P; Larson, Annalise Noelle

2014-09-01

Iatrogenic injury-injury caused unintentionally by medical treatment-breaks the oldest and most famous rule of medical ethics: primum non nocere, or above all, do no harm. Medical malpractice law, however, focuses on whether an injury was caused by negligence, not on whether an injury was iatrogenic. Iatrogenic injury inflicted without negligence is a common pattern in medical malpractice lawsuits; it is likely the pattern of Jacobs v Cross (Minnesota, 1872), in which Dr W. W. Mayo testified as an expert witness. As a matter of law, the doctor defendants should win all those lawsuits, for iatrogenic injury inflicted without negligence is not a legal wrong in the United States and has not been considered a legal wrong for hundreds of years. However, the medical ethics applicable to doctors' duties to report incompetence in colleagues, including those who inflict excessive iatrogenic injury, have developed dramatically over time. In 1872, the ethical codes in the United States exhorted doctors not to criticize another doctor, even if incompetent. Today, doctors in the United States are ethically required to report an incompetent colleague. Copyright © 2014 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health, alcohol and EU law: understanding the impact of European single market law on alcohol policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumberg, Ben; Anderson, Peter

2008-08-01

Many professionals in the alcohol field see the role of the the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as negative for health. This review examines ECJ and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) case law in the context of two broader debates: firstly the extension of European Union (EU) law into alcohol policy (the 'juridification' of alcohol policy), and secondly the extent to which alcohol policy is an example of the dominance of 'negative integration' (the removal of trade-distorting policy) over 'positive integration' (the creation of European alcohol policies). A comprehensive review of all ECJ/EFTA Court cases on alcohol, with interpretation aided by a secondary review on alcohol and EU law and the broader health and trade field. From looking at taxation, minimum pricing, advertising and monopoly policies, the extension of the scope of the these courts over alcohol policy is unquestionable. However, the ECJ and EFTA Court have been prepared to prioritize health over trade concerns when considering alcohol policies, providing certain conditions have been met. While a partial juridification of alcohol policy has led to the negative integration of alcohol policies, this effect is not as strong as sometimes thought; EU law is more health friendly than it is perceived to be, and its impact on levels of alcohol-related harm appears low. Nevertheless, lessons emerge for policymakers concerned about the legality of alcohol policies under EU law. More generally, those concerned with alcohol and health should pay close attention to developments in EU law given their importance for public health policy on alcohol.

Uncommon Commonalities: Cosmopolitan Ethics as a Framework for Music Education Policy Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Richerme, Lauren Kapalka

2016-01-01

Contemporary American education policy rhetoric is problematic because its authors' assertions, particularly those about the goals of education, frequently conflict with their implied moral and/or ethical commitments. This philosophical policy analysis uses Appiah's cosmopolitan principles to examine the ethical implications of current education…

Relations between Hume’s philosophy and Natural Law Ethics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Arancibia C.

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The philosophy of D. Hume has been commonly related to positivism and moral subjectivism. Though his explicit influence is undeniable in these schools of thought, it does not prevent the effective existence of relations of harmony between theories traditionally opposed to the humean philosophy. In this work I will present the convergences between the philosophy of Hume and the natural law ethics, particularly the developed by the New Natural Law Theory. I will argue the link from the following points: (a the relevance of the common life, (b the experience and (c the role of philosophy in the human behavior.

Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The): About ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The): About this journal. Journal Home > Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The): About this journal. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

The Role of Ethics and Morality in EU Law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Janne Rothmar; Rowlandson, Malene

2008-01-01

The aim of this article is to reflect on the role of ethics and morality in EU law. Two specific biolegal fields of study constitute the primary object in this regard; funding of research into human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and the patentability hereof. The reason why the choice has fallen upon...... these aspects in particular is that they are both pivotal to the pursuit and realisation of the therapeutic and commercial prospects ascribed to hESC research. Whilst the said prospects are enormous the Member States' different outlook upon the permissibility of engaging in such activities is, however, equally...... and morality in EU law are to be seen....

Tobacco endgame strategies: challenges in ethics and law.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Bryan P; Gostin, Lawrence O

2013-05-01

There are complex legal and ethical tradeoffs involved in using intensified regulation to bring smoking prevalence to near-zero levels. The authors explore these tradeoffs through a lens of health justice, paying particular attention to the potential impact on vulnerable populations. The ethical tradeoffs explored include the charge that heavy regulation is paternalistic; the potentially regressive impact of heavily taxing a product consumed disproportionately by the poor; the simple loss of enjoyment to heavily addicted smokers; the health risks posed by, for example, regulating nicotine content in cigarettes--where doing so leads to increased consumption. Turning to legalistic concerns, the authors explore whether endgame strategies constitute a form of 'regulatory taking'; whether endgame strategies can be squared with global trade/investment laws; whether free speech rights are infringed by aggressive restrictions on the advertisement and marketing of cigarettes.

Tobacco endgame strategies: challenges in ethics and law

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Bryan P; Gostin, Lawrence O

2013-01-01

There are complex legal and ethical tradeoffs involved in using intensified regulation to bring smoking prevalence to near-zero levels. The authors explore these tradeoffs through a lens of health justice, paying particular attention to the potential impact on vulnerable populations. The ethical tradeoffs explored include the charge that heavy regulation is paternalistic; the potentially regressive impact of heavily taxing a product consumed disproportionately by the poor; the simple loss of enjoyment to heavily addicted smokers; the health risks posed by, for example, regulating nicotine content in cigarettes—where doing so leads to increased consumption. Turning to legalistic concerns, the authors explore whether endgame strategies constitute a form of ‘regulatory taking’; whether endgame strategies can be squared with global trade/investment laws; whether free speech rights are infringed by aggressive restrictions on the advertisement and marketing of cigarettes. PMID:23591513

Nursing Students' Use of Electronic and Social Media: Law, Ethics, and E-Professionalism.

Science.gov (United States)

Westrick, Susan J

2016-01-01

This article discusses the promotion of professionalism in nursing students with regard to the use of electronic and social media. Misuse of social media can lead to disciplinary actions and program dismissal for students and to legal actions and lawsuits for nursing programs. Programs are concemed about breaches of patient confidentiality and release of private or inappropriate information that jeopardizes clinical placements and relationships. The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics and National Council of State Boards of Nursing social media guidelines provide a foundation for promoting e-professionalism in students. Recent law cases involving students who were dismissed from nursing programs due to social media misuse are analyzed. Schools need policies that clearly establish expectations and the consequences of misuse of social media platforms. Lessons learned from the legal cases presented provide further guidance for both nursing students and nursing programs.

The Ethical Justification of the Thesis that Separates Law from Morality Through John Austin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galvão Rabelo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The british legal philosopher John Austin stands at the threshold of the evolution of the legal positivist tradition. His work, which dates back to the first half of the 19th century, was especially important to establish the basic elements of this school of legal understanding. Among his contributions to the legal positivist doctrine, lies the creation of the thesis that separates morality from law. Under an ethical context, however, John Austin was an ardent utilitarian who defended the use of the principle of utility as the only rational criteria for the unveiling of superior moral standards (divine laws. Considering both dimensions of his understanding, it has long been wondered if his utilitarian ethics have influenced, somehow, his legal theory, especially in regards to the separation thesis. Said thesis, which is in the center of the legal positivist tradition, has been interpreted in different ways in contemporary legal debate. A particular branch, called ethical positivism, opened new perspectives to the study of this tradition, defending the legal positivism theory as a morally satisfactory theoretical model for the contemporary legal systems. Hence, using the main premise of ethical positivism (which states that there are moral reasons to defend the separation thesis as an interprative and methodological tool, this paper plans on revisiting the link between John Austins legal and ethical convictions, in order to comprehend what were the moral reasons which led him to defend the separation of what law is and what it should be.

Sustainability Policy and the Law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karsten, Jens; Reisch, Lucia

2008-01-01

Growing awareness of environmental and social concern and the pressing issue of climate change have forcefully re-established sustainability policy as a part of consumer policy. The need for change in consumer behaviour and for more responsible lifestyles on the demand-side of the economy is chal...... of sustainability policy in European politics. Beyond this descriptive purpose the paper thereby purports to frame the debate on sustainability policy and the law on the eve of a new political cycle of the European Union.......Growing awareness of environmental and social concern and the pressing issue of climate change have forcefully re-established sustainability policy as a part of consumer policy. The need for change in consumer behaviour and for more responsible lifestyles on the demand-side of the economy...

A Critique of the Notions of Law and Ethics as Regulatory Systems ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

While ethics as a system of moral values recommends what ought to be done or avoided, ...... principles of informed consent and professional communication which provide conditions for a .... Mass Media and Public Morality. Tale Law Journal.

Ebola Virus Disease: Ethics and Emergency Medical Response Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Jecker, Nancy S; Dudzinski, Denise M; Diekema, Douglas S; Tonelli, Mark

2015-09-01

Caring for patients affected with Ebola virus disease (EVD) while simultaneously preventing EVD transmission represents a central ethical challenge of the EVD epidemic. To address this challenge, we propose a model policy for resuscitation and emergent procedure policy of patients with EVD and set forth ethical principles that lend support to this policy. The policy and principles we propose bear relevance beyond the EVD epidemic, offering guidance for the care of patients with other highly contagious, virulent, and lethal diseases. The policy establishes (1) a limited code status for patients with confirmed or suspected EVD. Limited code status means that a code blue will not be called for patients with confirmed or suspected EVD at any stage of the disease; however, properly protected providers (those already in full protective equipment) may initiate resuscitative efforts if, in their clinical assessment, these efforts are likely to benefit the patient. The policy also requires that (2) resuscitation not be attempted for patients with advanced EVD, as resuscitation would be medically futile; (3) providers caring for or having contact with patients with confirmed or suspected EVD be properly protected and trained; (4) the treating team identify and treat in advance likely causes of cardiac and respiratory arrest to minimize the need for emergency response; (5) patients with EVD and their proxies be involved in care discussions; and (6) care team and provider discretion guide the care of patients with EVD. We discuss ethical issues involving medical futility and the duty to avoid harm and propose a utilitarian-based principle of triage to address resource scarcity in the emergency setting.

Cosmopolitanism and foreign policy for health: ethics for and beyond the state.

Science.gov (United States)

Lencucha, Raphael

2013-07-08

Foreign policy holds great potential to improve the health of a global citizenship. Our contemporary political order is, in part, characterized by sovereign states acting either in opposition or cooperation with other sovereign states. This order is also characterized by transnational efforts to address transnational issues such as those featured so prominently in the area of global health, such as the spread of infectious disease, health worker migration and the movement of health-harming products. These two features of the current order understandably create tension for truly global initiatives. National security has become the dominant ethical frame underlying the health-based foreign policy of many states, despite the transnational nature of many contemporary health challenges. This ethical approach engages global health as a means to achieving national security objectives. Implicit in this ethical frame is the version of humanity that dichotomizes between "us" and "them". What has been left out of this discourse, for the most part, is the role that foreign policy can play in extending the responsibility of states to protect and promote health of the other, for the sake of the other. The principal purpose of this paper is to review arguments for a cosmopolitan ethics of health-based foreign policy. I will argue that health-based foreign policy that is motivated by security interests is lacking both morally and practically to further global health goals. In other words, a cosmopolitan ethic is not only intrinsically superior as a moral ideal, but also has potential to contribute to utilitarian ends. This paper draws on the cosmopolitanism literature to build robust support for foreign policies that contribute to sustainable systems of global health governance.

Energy policy, ethics, and a return to civility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pickering, G.W.

1985-01-01

For the past decade or so government, business and the general public have been concerned with framing a coherent set of energy policies that will meet our present responsibilities and secure an adequate and diversified energy future of a nation. Thinking about these policies and the possible sources of energy supply that we might be able to rely on has involved, in addition to the customary technical and commercial considerations, certain ethical issues as well. In this context the author discusses, 1) energy policy, price deregulation and distributive justice, 2) energy policy, social policy and basic goods, 3) the energy-environment-safety debate and 4) nuclear waste management

Food and beverage policies and public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnik, David B

2015-06-01

Government food and beverage policies can play an important role in promoting public health. Few people would question this assumption. Difficult questions can arise, however, when policymakers, public health officials, citizens, and businesses deliberate about food and beverage policies, because competing values may be at stake, such as public health, individual autonomy, personal responsibility, economic prosperity, and fairness. An ethically justified policy strikes a reasonable among competing values by meeting the following criteria: (1) the policy serves important social goal(s); (2) the policy is likely to be effective at achieving those goal(s); (3) less burdensome options are not likely to be effective at achieving the goals; (4) the policy is fair.

Abortion Law and Policy Around the World

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Abstract The aim of this paper is to provide a panoramic view of laws and policies on abortion around the world, giving a range of country-based examples. It shows that the plethora of convoluted laws and restrictions surrounding abortion do not make any legal or public health sense. What makes abortion safe is simple and irrefutable—when it is available on the woman’s request and is universally affordable and accessible. From this perspective, few existing laws are fit for purpose. However, the road to law reform is long and difficult. In order to achieve the right to safe abortion, advocates will need to study the political, health system, legal, juridical, and socio-cultural realities surrounding existing law and policy in their countries, and decide what kind of law they want (if any). The biggest challenge is to determine what is possible to achieve, build a critical mass of support, and work together with legal experts, parliamentarians, health professionals, and women themselves to change the law—so that everyone with an unwanted pregnancy who seeks an abortion can have it, as early as possible and as late as necessary. PMID:28630538

Library Records: A Review of Confidentiality Laws and Policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Million, Angela C.; Fisher, Kim N.

1986-01-01

Cites the importance of having a state law, knowing what it says, and having a library policy statement regarding the confidentiality of patron records. Discussion covers writing and implementing a policy, the role of automation, existing laws, library records defined, exceptions to confidentiality, and legal liability. Thirty-seven references are…

Introduction to the Special Issue on Climate Ethics: Uncertainty, Values and Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Roeser, Sabine

2017-10-01

Climate change is a pressing phenomenon with huge potential ethical, legal and social policy implications. Climate change gives rise to intricate moral and policy issues as it involves contested science, uncertainty and risk. In order to come to scientifically and morally justified, as well as feasible, policies, targeting climate change requires an interdisciplinary approach. This special issue will identify the main challenges that climate change poses from social, economic, methodological and ethical perspectives by focusing on the complex interrelations between uncertainty, values and policy in this context. This special issue brings together scholars from economics, social sciences and philosophy in order to address these challenges.

In the name of human rights: the problematics of EU ethical foreign policy in Africa and elsewhere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This doctoral research project explores avenues to research ethically defined foreign policy differently, i.e. in ways that more systematically account for its counterproductive elements. Building on the specific case of the European Union’s foreign policy in sub-Saharan Africa, embodied by the 2000 Cotonou Agreement and the 2007 Joint Africa-EU Strategy, through four papers and one books review, the study firstly develops the Ethical Intervener Europe analytical framework to account for the embedded problematics in the EU’s ethical foreign policy. Secondly, through an eclectic theoretical approach, the study seeks to theoretically pin-point some alternatives to think about ethical foreign policy and finally, looks to concretize it through its application on the case of relative autonomous peace- and state-building in Somaliland. This research report briefly introduces the different findings and addresses the need for further research in view of a decolonial approach to the study of ethical foreign policy in a context of structural inequality. Key words: ethical foreign policy, (humanitarian interventions, EU, sub-Saharan Africa, Somaliland, decoloniality, democratization, state-building

Public Policy Exceptions in European Private Law : A New Research Project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Colombi Ciacchi, Aurelia

2014-01-01

Public policy exceptions arguably exist in all fields of private and commerciallaw, not only in private international law but also in substantive law. In substantive private law, the term 'public policy exception' could be used to indicate general illegality rules that make an act of private

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.

An Ethical Foreign Policy? Globalism as a Threat to the US National Interest

OpenAIRE

Wassim Daghrir

2015-01-01

An ethical foreign policy can have no objectives other than those that are of service to its own people. An unethical foreign policy, however, may pursue objectives that enhance the nation as a power, seeking dominance for its own sake, for the honor, glory and wealth of the state or a minority within the state, or spreading its ideology out of missionary fervor. The mainstream wisdom in the United States is that the US foreign policy agendas are virtuous and ethical, since they are oriented ...

The ethics of intellectual property rights in an era of globalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Aakash Kaushik; Warsh, Jonathan; Kesselheim, Aaron S

2013-01-01

Since the 1980s, developed countries, led by the United States and the countries of the European Union, have sought to incorporate intellectual property rights provisions into global trade agreements. These countries successfully negotiated the World Trade Organization's 1994 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which required developing countries to adopt intellectual property provisions comparable to developed countries. In this manuscript, we review the policy controversy surrounding TRIPS and examine the two main ethical arguments articulated in its support--a theory of natural rights and a utilitarian argument. We contend that these theories provide insufficient bases for an intellectual property rights regime that compromises access to essential medicines in the developing world. While the policy community has engaged in active debate around the policy effects of TRIPS, scholars have not thoroughly considered the full ethical underpinnings of those policy arguments. We believe that a more robust understanding of the ethical implications of the agreement should inform policy discussions in the future. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Planning laws and policies influencing the use of land in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study investigates planning laws and policies influencing land use in metropolitan Lagos. Analysis of the laws and policies were presented based on the responses on 755 questionnaires administered on occupiers and users of all categories of land uses in 43 zones into which metropolitan Lagos was divided. The

Philosophy of organ donation: Review of ethical facets

OpenAIRE

Dalal, Aparna R

2015-01-01

Transplantation ethics is a philosophy that incorporates systematizing, defending and advocating concepts of right and wrong conduct related to organ donation. As the demand for organs increases, it is essential to ensure that new and innovative laws, policies and strategies of increasing organ supply are bioethical and are founded on the principles of altruism and utilitarianism. In the field of organ transplantation, role of altruism and medical ethics values are significant to the welfare ...

[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.

Demographic profile of states with human cloning laws: morality policy meets political economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Stabile, Bonnie

2007-03-01

This analysis seeks to identify factors that may shape the policy stance - whether restrictive or permissive - that each state in the United States with a human cloning law in place takes toward human therapeutic cloning. The investigation also considers if cloning policy is more the product of morality politics or political economy. Results show that among states with human cloning policies in place, those with a greater biotechnological capacity, more permissive abortion laws, fewer Evangelical Protestants, and higher political liberalism rankings are more likely to have permissive cloning laws. A higher Roman Catholic population is strongly associated with permissive cloning laws, rather than restrictive cloning laws as originally supposed. Factors with morality policy and economic bases were both found to be associated with cloning policy outcomes. Results suggest that morality policies, though distinct in some ways, do share determinants with public policies based on political economy.

7 CFR 1486.511 - What is the general policy regarding ethical conduct?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What is the general policy regarding ethical conduct...) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS EMERGING... ethical conduct? (a) The Recipient shall maintain written standards of conduct governing the performance...

Law, Ethics, and Conversations between Physicians and Patients about Firearms in the Home.

Science.gov (United States)

McCourt, Alexander D; Vernick, Jon S

2018-01-01

Firearms in the home pose a risk to household members, including homicide, suicide, and unintentional deaths. Medical societies urge clinicians to counsel patients about those risks as part of sound medical practice. Depending on the circumstances, clinicians might recommend safe firearm storage, temporary removal of the firearm from the home, or other measures. Certain state firearm laws, however, might present legal and ethical challenges for physicians who counsel patients about guns in the home. Specifically, we discuss state background check laws for gun transfers, safe gun storage laws, and laws forbidding physicians from engaging in certain firearm-related conversations with their patients. Medical professionals should be aware of these and other state gun laws but should offer anticipatory guidance when clinically appropriate. © 2018 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

[Occupational medicine: practice and ethical requirements of the new law on health and safety in the workplace (legislative decree 81/2008)].

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, Giuliano; Mora, Erika

2009-01-01

Decisions in occupational health may involve ethical conflicts arising from conflicts between stakeholders' interests. Codes of ethics can provide a practical guide to solve dilemmas. The new law on health and safety in the workplace in Italy (decree 81/2008) states that occupational health practice must comply with the code of ethics of the International Commission on Occupational Health. The universally acknowledged ethical principles of beneficience/nonmaleficience, autonomy and justice, which are the basis of the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union, inspired this code. Although the code is not a systematic textbook of occupational health ethics and does not cover all possible aspects arising from the practice, making decisions based on it will assure their effectiveness and compliance with ethical principles, besides the formal respect of the law.

A Proposal for a Policy on the Ethical Care and Use of Cadavers and Their Tissues

Science.gov (United States)

Champney, Thomas H.

2011-01-01

Recent events have occurred that indicate the need for policies on the ethical care and use of cadavers and their tissues in the United States. At present, there are policies that address the procurement, handling and disposition of cadavers, but there are no national or society sponsored policies that clearly state the ethically appropriate use…

The Implementation of the Sharia Law in Medical Practice: A Balance between Medical Ethics and Patients Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Dargahi, Hossein

2011-01-01

As medical ethics indisputably needs to consider patients' religious beliefs and spiritual ideas, one can suggest that hospitals are responsible for not only patients' rights and dignity, but also for her/his religious concerns and expectations. The current study is designed shed some light on the patients' view of the implementation of religious law in Iranian hospitals, specifically, the right of patients to be visited and delivered health services by professionals from the same sex. This protocol is proposed by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a response to the increasing demand for implementation of the religious law by Iranian patients. This research is a cross-sectional study which was conducted at four teaching general hospitals in Tehran, Iran. The data was collected by the means of a questionnaire distributed to 120 women who were admitted to different wards of the hospitals. These women were asked to express their opinion of the implementation the Same Sex Health Care Delivery (SSHCD) system in Iranian hospitals. All analyses were performed with the use of SPSS software, version 16.0. The results indicate that half of the hospitalized women believed that being visited by a physician from the same gender is necessary who advocated the implementation of SSHCD in a clinical setting; and most of their husbands preferred their wives to be visited exclusively by female physicians. This study highlights the view of the Iranian patients towards the issue and urges the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran to accelerate the implementation of this law. SSHCD is what the majority of Iranian patients prefer, and, considering patients' rights and the medical ethics, it should be implemented by Iranian policy makers.

Ethics in research.

Science.gov (United States)

Bevan, Joan C

2007-04-01

This review will examine research ethics in the context of globalization of clinical trials and recent rapid developments in bioscience. It will focus on international ethical guidelines and the functions of research ethics review boards in research governance. Consent issues in genetic research, which must comply with privacy laws by protecting confidentiality and privacy of personal health data, will be discussed. There has been a rapid expansion of genomic and proteonomic research and biotechnology in the last decade. International ethical guidelines have been updated and the bioscience industry has developed ethics policies. At the same time, problems in academic anesthesia in the US and UK have been identified, leading to recommendations to train physician-scientists in anesthesia to stimulate research activity in the future. Anesthesiologists are joining interdisciplinary research teams and the concept of evidence-based translational research is emerging. Anesthesiologists are moving towards participation in interdisciplinary research teams. They are well placed to speed the translation of research discovery into clinical practice and provide evidence-based perioperative care. This review provides the ethical framework that anesthesiologists will need to meet the challenges of this changing pattern of practice.

Retrospective research: What are the ethical and legal requirements?

Science.gov (United States)

Junod, V; Elger, B

2010-07-25

Retrospective research is conducted on already available data and/or biologic material. Whether such research requires that patients specifically consent to the use of "their" data continues to stir controversy. From a legal and ethical point of view, it depends on several factors. The main criteria to be considered are whether the data or the sample is anonymous, whether the researcher is the one who collected it and whether the patient was told of the possible research use. In Switzerland, several laws delineate the procedure to be followed. The definition of "anonymous" is open to some interpretation. In addition, it is debatable whether consent waivers that are legally admissible for data extend to research involving human biological samples. In a few years, a new Swiss federal law on human research could clarify the regulatory landscape. Meanwhile, hospital-internal guidelines may impose stricter conditions than required by federal or cantonal law. Conversely, Swiss and European ethical texts may suggest greater flexibility and call for a looser interpretation of existing laws. The present article provides an overview of the issues for physicians, scientists, ethics committee members and policy makers involved in retrospective research in Switzerland. It aims at provoking more open discussions of the regulatory problems and possible future legal and ethical solutions.

Legal Ethics, Rules of Conduct and the Moral Compass – Considerations from a Law Student's Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoffel Hendrik van Zyl IV

2016-05-01

Full Text Available When young law graduates enter the legal profession they will undoubtedly be exposed to difficult situations that will demand of them to make difficult decisions, often having to balance conflicting systems of belief and ideas on what ethical behaviour entails. Legal ethics training in law faculties the world over often neglects teaching aspects of morality to focus on reviews of rules of professional legal conduct. This article argues that if legal education is to adequately prepare law graduates for legal practice, it must offer more than reviews of these codes of conduct. To properly assist law students in avoiding pitfalls which may lead to disciplinary action, they must be taught to appropriately use their moral compasses. This narrative aims to show that the metaphorical moral compass, with the cardinal virtues as possible main points, may serve as the crucial and underlying guide in the avoidance of the pitfalls which may result in a person being struck from the roll, but more than that, that it may aid in the pursuit of personal dreams or goals. The article contributes to the literature on legal ethics by foregrounding the virtues that pertain to sound conduct in a lawyer, as opposed to the rules and codes, in the hope that this may help legal practitioners to decide on what is right and what is wrong.

Ethical challenges facing veterinary professionals in Ireland: results from Policy Delphi with vignette methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Magalhães-Sant'Ana, M.; More, S. J.; Morton, D. B.; Hanlon, A.

2016-01-01

Ethics is key to the integrity of the veterinary profession. Despite its importance, there is a lack of applied research on the range of ethical challenges faced by veterinarians. A three round Policy Delphi with vignette methodology was used to record the diversity of views on ethical challenges faced by veterinary professionals in Ireland. Forty experts, comprising veterinary practitioners, inspectors and nurses, accepted to participate. In round 1, twenty vignettes describing a variety of ethically challenging veterinary scenarios were ranked in terms of ethical acceptability, reputational risk and perceived standards of practice. Round 2 aimed at characterising challenges where future policy development or professional guidance was deemed to be needed. In round 3, possible solutions to key challenges were explored. Results suggest that current rules and regulations are insufficient to ensure best veterinary practices and that a collective approach is needed to harness workable solutions for the identified ethical challenges. Challenges pertaining mostly to the food chain seem to require enforcement measures whereas softer measures that promote professional discretion were preferred to address challenges dealing with veterinary clinical services. These findings can support veterinary representative bodies, advisory committees and regulatory authorities in their decision making, policy and regulation. PMID:27613779

The concept of 'vulnerability' in research ethics: an in-depth analysis of policies and guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Bracken-Roche, Dearbhail; Bell, Emily; Macdonald, Mary Ellen; Racine, Eric

2017-02-07

The concept of vulnerability has held a central place in research ethics guidance since its introduction in the United States Belmont Report in 1979. It signals mindfulness for researchers and research ethics boards to the possibility that some participants may be at higher risk of harm or wrong. Despite its important intended purpose and widespread use, there is considerable disagreement in the scholarly literature about the meaning and delineation of vulnerability, stemming from a perceived lack of guidance within research ethics standards. The aim of this study was to assess the concept of vulnerability as it is employed in major national and international research ethics policies and guidelines. We conducted an in-depth analysis of 11 (five national and six international) research ethics policies and guidelines, exploring their discussions of the definition, application, normative justification and implications of vulnerability. Few policies and guidelines explicitly defined vulnerability, instead relying on implicit assumptions and the delineation of vulnerable groups and sources of vulnerability. On the whole, we found considerable richness in the content on vulnerability across policies, but note that this relies heavily on the structure imposed on the data through our analysis. Our results underscore a need for policymakers to revisit the guidance on vulnerability in research ethics, and we propose that a process of stakeholder engagement would well-support this effort.

Ethical and legal analyses of policy prohibiting tobacco smoking in enclosed public spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Oriola, Taiwo A

2009-01-01

A spate of legislations prohibiting cigarette smoking in enclosed public spaces, mainly on grounds of public health protection, recently swept across cities around the world. This is in tandem with a raft of increasingly restrictive national laws that emerged on the back of the ratification of the WHO Framework for Tobacco Control by more than one 168 countries in 2005. The central debate on the increasingly restrictive tobacco laws revolves on the extent to which public health interests justification should ground political intervention in a private right as basic as tobacco smoking, which interestingly is often lumped in the food and beverage category. The pertinent legal and ethical questions therefore are the following: Is or should there be a general unrestricted right to tobacco smoking? If there were such a right, should public health or ethical considerations trump private right to smoke in enclosed public spaces? And if public health interests were so paramount, should they go farther and ground tobacco smoking proscription in all private and public spheres? Using ethical principles and rights-based arguments, the paper critically examines the legal and ethical ramifications of public health justification for tobacco smoking proscription in enclosed public spaces.

Economics, ethics, and climate policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howarth, R.B.; Monahan, P.A.

1992-11-01

Are the costs of greenhouse gas emissions abatement justified by the perceived benefits of sustained climate stability Do people of the present generation have a moral right to impose climate risks on their descendants in generations to come This report examines these questions in light of the emergent facts of climate science and their socioeconomic implications. We consider alternative normative criteria for social decision-making with particular emphasis on cost-benefit analysis and the principle of sustainable development. While each framework yields important insights, we argue that the gross uncertainties associated with climate change and the distribution of impacts between present and future generations constrain the usefulness of cost-benefit criteria in evaluating climate policy. If one accepts the ethical proposition that it is morally wrong to impose catastrophic risks on unborn generations when reducing those risks would not noticeably diminish the quality of life of existing persons, a case can be made for concerted policy action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Economics, ethics, and climate policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howarth, R.B.; Monahan, P.A.

1992-11-01

Are the costs of greenhouse gas emissions abatement justified by the perceived benefits of sustained climate stability? Do people of the present generation have a moral right to impose climate risks on their descendants in generations to come? This report examines these questions in light of the emergent facts of climate science and their socioeconomic implications. We consider alternative normative criteria for social decision-making with particular emphasis on cost-benefit analysis and the principle of sustainable development. While each framework yields important insights, we argue that the gross uncertainties associated with climate change and the distribution of impacts between present and future generations constrain the usefulness of cost-benefit criteria in evaluating climate policy. If one accepts the ethical proposition that it is morally wrong to impose catastrophic risks on unborn generations when reducing those risks would not noticeably diminish the quality of life of existing persons, a case can be made for concerted policy action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Doctors, apologies, and the law: an analysis and critique of apology laws.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Marlynn

2007-01-01

This Article analyzes and critiques apology laws, their potential use, and effectiveness, both legally and ethically, in light of the strong professional norms that shape physicians' reaction to medical errors. Physicians are largely reluctant to disclose medical errors to patients, patients' families, and even other physicians. Some states have passed so-called apology laws in order to encourage physicians to disclose medical errors to patients. Apology laws allow defendants to exclude statements of sympathy made after accidents from evidence in a liability lawsuit. This Article examines potential barriers to physicians' disclosure of medical mistakes and demonstrates how the underlying problem may actually be rooted in professional norms-norms that will remain outside the scope of law's influence. The Article also considers other legal and policy changes that could help to encourage disclosure.

EU Energy Law and Policy Issues. Volume 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Delvaux, B.; Hunt, M.; Talus, K. (eds.)

2011-12-15

This third volume of EU Energy Law and Policy Issues presents an overview of some of the most recent developments taking place in the EU energy sector at a time when the Third Energy Package is likely to be or has been implemented in the EU Member States. In this respect, the reader will find a number of contributions which offer detailed and critical views on some of the main issues tackled by the Third Energy Package. Aside from this, the relationship between sector specific regulation and the rules of general competition law is examined in the second section of the book. This part also contains particular contributions on access regimes in gas and electricity markets as well as an innovating analysis on the methods for allocating allowances under the EU Emissions trading scheme and the interaction of such methods with EU state aid rules. Just like the previous volumes of the book, section III offers a deep insight into the external aspects of EU energy policy. Accordingly, the role of the Lisbon Treaty in promoting EU energy policy in the international arena is scrutinized in addition to the most recent evolutions on the topical issue of the Energy Charter Treaty. This section is completed with a daring contribution about the need to adopt a comprehensive theory of legal harmonization between the EU and third partners, which is presented using the specific case of the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue. Last but not least, some fundamental issues regarding the environmental aspects of EU Energy policy undergo an in-depth study in the final section of the book. Not only is the legal regime of energy efficiency in energy-related products examined, but also the issue of carbon constraining policies under WTO law. Finally, the electricity's industry viewpoint on the 2020 targets rounds off this third volume of EU Energy Law and Policy Issues with judicious comments.

EU Energy Law and Policy Issues. Volume 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delvaux, B.; Hunt, M.; Talus, K.

2011-12-01

This third volume of EU Energy Law and Policy Issues presents an overview of some of the most recent developments taking place in the EU energy sector at a time when the Third Energy Package is likely to be or has been implemented in the EU Member States. In this respect, the reader will find a number of contributions which offer detailed and critical views on some of the main issues tackled by the Third Energy Package. Aside from this, the relationship between sector specific regulation and the rules of general competition law is examined in the second section of the book. This part also contains particular contributions on access regimes in gas and electricity markets as well as an innovating analysis on the methods for allocating allowances under the EU Emissions trading scheme and the interaction of such methods with EU state aid rules. Just like the previous volumes of the book, section III offers a deep insight into the external aspects of EU energy policy. Accordingly, the role of the Lisbon Treaty in promoting EU energy policy in the international arena is scrutinized in addition to the most recent evolutions on the topical issue of the Energy Charter Treaty. This section is completed with a daring contribution about the need to adopt a comprehensive theory of legal harmonization between the EU and third partners, which is presented using the specific case of the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue. Last but not least, some fundamental issues regarding the environmental aspects of EU Energy policy undergo an in-depth study in the final section of the book. Not only is the legal regime of energy efficiency in energy-related products examined, but also the issue of carbon constraining policies under WTO law. Finally, the electricity's industry viewpoint on the 2020 targets rounds off this third volume of EU Energy Law and Policy Issues with judicious comments.

An Ethical Foreign Policy? Globalism as a Threat to the US National Interest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wassim Daghrir

2015-07-01

Full Text Available An ethical foreign policy can have no objectives other than those that are of service to its own people. An unethical foreign policy, however, may pursue objectives that enhance the nation as a power, seeking dominance for its own sake, for the honor, glory and wealth of the state or a minority within the state, or spreading its ideology out of missionary fervor. The mainstream wisdom in the United States is that the US foreign policy agendas are virtuous and ethical, since they are oriented mainly towards the protection and enhancement of the American ‘National Interest’. Nevertheless, the orthodox perception among many foreign observers is that the American foreign policy is by no means ethical, since it is oriented exclusively towards the promotion of the Americans’ interests at the expense of the rest of the world. My thesis is that the US foreign policy is unethical and anti-democratic mainly because it is causing a lot of harm to the American taxpayers’ interests. I esteem that the American people are the real permanent victims of their country’s globalist stance. This article is based on an argumentative criticism of the mainstream American perception of U.S. foreign policy as well as a criticism of the foreign observers’ perception of American foreign policy. In a nutshell, this article tries to highlight the unethical nature of the American foreign policy with a focus on the complex justifications for such an undemocratic globalist agenda.

German law on circumcision and its debate: how an ethical and legal issue turned political.

Science.gov (United States)

Aurenque, Diana; Wiesing, Urban

2015-03-01

The article aims to illuminate the recent debate in Germany about the legitimacy of circumcision for religious reasons. The aim is both to evaluate the new German law allowing religious circumcision, and to outline the resulting conflict between the surrounding ethical and legal issues. We first elucidate the diversity of legal and medical views on religious circumcision in Germany. Next we examine to what extent invasive and irreversible physical interventions on infant boys unable to given their consent should be carried out for non-medical reasons. To this end, the potential benefits and harms of circumcision for non-medical reasons are compared. We argue that circumcision does not provide any benefits for the 'child as a child' and poses only risks to boys. We then set out to clarify and analyse political (rather than ethical) justifications of the new circumcision law. We demonstrate through this analysis how the circumcision debate in Germany has been transformed from a legal and ethical problem into a political issue, due at least in part to Germany's unique historical context. Although such a particular political sensibility is entirely comprehensible, it raises particular problems when it comes to framing and responding to medical ethical issues - as in the case of religious circumcision. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Policy offers protection from harassment

Science.gov (United States)

McNutt, Marcia

We face a number of legal and ethical issues in our work as scientists and as AGU members. To uphold the highest ethical standards in our professional activities, the Council has adopted policies on free access to published material, ethics in publishing, and misconduct in science. But what about guidelines to govern the personal behavior that constitutes harassment, sexual or otherwise?For years the AGU headquarters staff has had a policy that offers protection from harassment and rules for dealing with it, but the membership went without one until 1994. That year the Council adopted a policy that extends to the membership as well as to the staff and the vendors they encounter at meetings. The law only requires a policy to prevent harassment in the workplace, but the Council felt that a harassment policy was particularly important for members because the subtle behavior that can constitute harassment is most likely to occur at events that combine work and social interaction, such as the meetings, conferences, and training seminars that AGU members attend.

Embryo politics: ethics and policy in Atlantic democracies

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Banchoff, Thomas F

2011-01-01

... States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France have grappled with these questions so far. In setting out an argument about the intersection of politics, ethics, and policy, I focus on national bioethics committees, elected leaders, and their efforts to reconcile the moral status of the embryo and the imperative of biomedical progress in practice. In order to st...

Retailers' Views of Tobacco Policy and Law Enforcement

Science.gov (United States)

Reinert, Bonita; Carver, Vivien; Range, Lillian M.; Pike, Chris

2009-01-01

Aims: Tobacco retailers are in a unique position to implement policies that can influence sales and ultimately tobacco use, so the present survey explored retailers' tobacco policies, involvement and problems with law enforcement, and pessimism about whether youth will obtain tobacco products. Methods: 144 randomly selected tobacco retailers…

Making longevity in an aging society: linking Medicare policy and the new ethical field.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, Sharon R

2010-01-01

Life-extending interventions for older persons are changing medical knowledge and societal expectations about longevity. Today's consciousness about growing older is partly shaped by a new form of ethics, constituted by and enabled through the routines and institutions that comprise ordinary clinical care. Unlike bioethics, whose emphasis is on clinical decision-making in individual situations, this new form of ethics is exceptionally diffuse and can be characterized as an ethical field. It is located in and shaped by health-care policies, standard technologies, and clinical evidence, and it emerges in what patients and families come to need and want. Three developments illustrate this ethical field at work: the changing nature of disease, especially the ascent of risk awareness and risk-based strategies for life extension; the role of technology in reshaping the ends of medicine; and the role of Medicare policy in creating need and ethical necessity. Medicare's expanding criteria for payment coverage of liver transplantation and implantable cardiac devices illustrate the pervasive logic of this new form of ethics. The powerful connection between the technological imperative and its ethical necessity is rarely mentioned in Medicare reform debates.

Are the American Psychological Association’s Detainee Interrogation Policies Ethical and Effective?

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, Kenneth S.

2011-01-01

After 9–11, the United States began interrogating detainees at settings such as Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and Guantanamo. The American Psychological Association (APA) supported psychologists’ involvement in interrogations, adopted formal policies, and made an array of public assurances. This article’s purpose is to highlight key APA decisions, policies, procedures, documents, and public statements in urgent need of rethinking and to suggest questions that may be useful in a serious assessment, such as, “However well intended, were APA’s interrogation policies ethically sound?”; “Were they valid, realistic, and able to achieve their purpose?”; “Were other approaches available that would address interrogation issues more directly, comprehensively, and actively, that were more ethically and scientifically based, and that would have had a greater likelihood of success?”; and “Should APA continue to endorse its post-9–11 detainee interrogation policies?” PMID:22096660

Computer ethics and cyber laws to mental health professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Raveesh, B N; Pande, Sanjay

2004-04-01

The explosive growth of computer and communications technology raises new legal and ethical challenges that reflect tensions between individual rights and societal needs. For instance, should cracking into a computer system be viewed as a petty prank, as trespassing, as theft, or as espionage? Should placing copyrighted material onto a public file server be treated as freedom of expression or as theft? Should ordinary communications be encrypted using codes that make it impossible for law-enforcement agencies to perform wiretaps? As we develop shared understandings and norms of behaviour, we are setting standards that will govern the information society for decades to come.

The study of knowledge, attitude and practice of medical law and ethics among doctors in a tertiary care hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tahira, Q.U.A.; Lodhi, S.; Haider, S.T.; Abaidullah, S.

2013-01-01

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding medical law and ethics among doctors of a medical unit in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Lahore. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Methodology: A three part self - administered structured questionnaire designed to test the knowledge and practices regarding medical law and ethics was distributed among doctors in a medical unit in Mayo Hospital, Lahore during September - October, 2012. Results: The 52 respondent doctors included in the study comprised of 20 (38.5%) house officers, 22 (42.3%) postgraduate residents and 10 (19.2%) consultants. In keeping with the Pakistan Medical and Den-tal Council code of ethics, the correct responses of house officers, postgraduate residents and consultants regarding knowledge of medical law and ethics were respectively 50%, 27.3% and 10% for patient's autonomy, 40%, 36.4% and 10% for adhering to patient's wishes, 10%, 63.6% and 50% for breaching confidentiality, 35%, 36.4% and 0% for informed consent, 10%, 22.7% and 10% for doing best regardless of patient's opinion, 5%, 31.8% and 10% for informing patient's relatives, 15%, 4.5% and 0% for treating violent patients. The practical application part of the questionnaire was a general reflection of the knowledge and attitudes. Conclusion: Most of the doctors were poorly acquainted with PMDC code of ethics. (author)

Business ethics in ethics committees?

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, P

1990-01-01

The "Ethics committees" column in this issue of the Hastings Center Report features an introduction by Cynthia B. Cohen and four brief commentaries on the roles hospital ethics committees may play in the making of institutional and public health care policy in the 1990s. The pros and cons of a broader, more public role for ethics committees in reconciling the business and patient care aspects of health care delivery are debated by Cohen in "Ethics committees as corporate and public policy advocates," and by Philip Boyle in this article. Boyle is an associate for ethical studies at The Hastings Center.

Payment of research participants: current practice and policies of Irish research ethics committees.

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, Eric; King, Romaine; Mohan, Helen M; Gavin, Blanaid; McNicholas, Fiona

2013-09-01

Payment of research participants helps to increase recruitment for research studies, but can pose ethical dilemmas. Research ethics committees (RECs) have a centrally important role in guiding this practice, but standardisation of the ethical approval process in Ireland is lacking. Our aim was to examine REC policies, experiences and concerns with respect to the payment of participants in research projects in Ireland. Postal survey of all RECs in Ireland. Response rate was 62.5% (n=50). 80% of RECs reported not to have any established policy on the payment of research subjects while 20% had refused ethics approval to studies because the investigators proposed to pay research participants. The most commonly cited concerns were the potential for inducement and undermining of voluntary consent. There is considerable variability among RECs on the payment of research participants and a lack of clear consensus guidelines on the subject. The development of standardised guidelines on the payment of research subjects may enhance recruitment of research participants.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Climate Ethics : Uncertainty, Values and Policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roeser, S.

2017-01-01

Climate change is a pressing phenomenon with huge potential ethical, legal and social policy implications. Climate change gives rise to intricate moral and policy issues as it involves contested science, uncertainty and risk. In order to come to scientifically and morally justified, as well as

Economics, ethics and climate policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howarth, R.B.; Monahan, P.A.

1993-01-01

Are the costs of greenhouse gas emissions abatement justified by the perceived benefits of sustained climate stability? Do people of the present generation have a moral right to impose climate risks on their descendants in generations to come? This report examines these questions in light of the emergent facts of climate science and their socioeconomic implications. We consider alternative normative criteria for social decision-making with particular emphasis on cost-benefit analysis and the principle of sustainable development. While each framework yields important insights, we argue that the gross uncertainties associated with climate change and the distribution of impacts between present and future generations constrain the usefulness of cost-benefit criteria in evaluating climate policy. If one accepts the ethical proposition that it is morally wrong to impose catastrophic risks on unborn generations when reducing those risks would not noticeably diminish the quality of life of existing persons, a case can be made for concerted policy action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (118 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.)

Navigating School Safety Law and Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Vaillancourt, Kelly; Rossen, Eric

2012-01-01

Initiatives designed to improve school safety and conditions for learning have become central to education reform efforts at the local, state, and national levels. These efforts often target the reduction and prevention of bullying, discrimination, and harassment in schools. While most states currently have some form of law or policy designed to…

Exposure ethics: does HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis raise ethical problems for the health care provider and policy maker?

Science.gov (United States)

Venter, Francois; Allais, Lucy; Richter, Marlise

2014-07-01

The last few years have seen dramatic progress in the development of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). These developments have been met by ethical concerns. HIV interventions are often thought to be ethically difficult. In a context which includes disagreements over human rights, controversies over testing policies, and questions about sexual morality and individual responsibility, PrEP has been seen as an ethically complex intervention. We argue that this is mistaken, and that in fact, PrEP does not raise new ethical concerns. Some of the questions posed by PrEP are not specific to HIV prophylaxis, but simply standard public health considerations about resource allocation and striking a balance between individual benefit and public good. We consider sexual disinhibition in the context of private prescriptions, and conclude that only unjustified AIDS-exceptionalism or inappropriate moralism about sex supports thinking that PrEP raises new ethical problems. This negative conclusion is significant in a context where supposed ethical concerns about PrEP have been raised, and in the context of HIV exceptionalism. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Resolving Ethical Dilemmas in Suicide Prevention: The Case of Telephone Helpline Rescue Policies

Science.gov (United States)

Mishara, Brian L.; Weisstub, David N.

2010-01-01

The ethical basis of suicide prevention is illustrated by contrasting helpline emergency rescue policies of the Samaritans and the AAS and the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. We contrast moralist, relativist, and libertarian ethical premises and question whether suicide can be rational. Samaritans respect a caller's right to…

The National Breastfeeding Policy in Nigeria: the working mother and the law.

Science.gov (United States)

Worugji, I N E; Etuk, S J

2005-08-01

In this article, we examine the National Breastfeeding Policy in Nigeria, the extent to which the law guarantees and protects the maternity rights of the working mother, and the interplay between the law and the National Breastfeeding Policy. Our aim is to make people aware of this interplay to lead to some positive efforts to sanitize the workplace and shield women from some of the practices against them in employment relations in Nigeria as well as encourage exclusive breastfeeding by employed mothers.We conclude that the provisions of the law in this regard are not in accord with the contemporary international standards for the protection of pregnancy and maternity. It does not guarantee and protect the freedom of the nursing mother to exclusively breastfeed the child for at least the 6 months as propagated by Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and the National Breastfeeding Policy. Moreover, there is no enabling law to back up the National Policy Initiative as it affects employer and employee relations. We, therefore, suggest a legal framework for effective implementation of the National Breastfeeding Policy for women in dependent labour relations. It is hoped that such laws will not only limit some of the practices against women in employment but also will encourage and promote exclusive breastfeeding behaviour by employed mothers.

Development and communication of written ethics policies on euthanasia in Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium (Flanders).

Science.gov (United States)

Gastmans, Chris; Lemiengre, Joke; de Casterlé, Bernadette Dierckx

2006-10-01

To describe whether and how Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium (Flanders) have developed written ethics policies on euthanasia and communicated these policies to their employees, patients, and patient's relatives. A cross-sectional mail survey of general directors of Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Belgium (Flanders). Of the 298 targeted institutions, 81% of hospitals and 62% of nursing homes returned complete questionnaires. A high percentage of Catholic hospitals (79%) and a moderate percentage of nursing homes (30%) had written ethics policies on euthanasia. Both caregivers and healthcare administrators were involved in the development and approval of these policies. Physicians and nurses were best informed about the policies. More than half of the nursing homes (57%) took the initiative to inform both residents and relatives about the policies, while only one hospital did so. The high prevalence of written ethics policies on euthanasia in Flemish Catholic hospitals may reflect the concern of healthcare administrators to maintain the quality of care for patients requesting euthanasia. However, the true contribution of these policies to quality end-of-life care and to supporting caregivers remains unknown and needs further research. Legislation and centrally developed guidelines might influence healthcare institutions to develop ethics policies.

A software platform to analyse the ethical issues of electronic patient privacy policy: the S3P example.

Science.gov (United States)

Mizani, M A; Baykal, N

2007-12-01

Paper-based privacy policies fail to resolve the new changes posed by electronic healthcare. Protecting patient privacy through electronic systems has become a serious concern and is the subject of several recent studies. The shift towards an electronic privacy policy introduces new ethical challenges that cannot be solved merely by technical measures. Structured Patient Privacy Policy (S3P) is a software tool assuming an automated electronic privacy policy in an electronic healthcare setting. It is designed to simulate different access levels and rights of various professionals involved in healthcare in order to assess the emerging ethical problems. The authors discuss ethical issues concerning electronic patient privacy policies that have become apparent during the development and application of S3P.

Linking biomedical engineering ethics case study approach and policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dibrell, William; Dobie, Elizabeth Ann

2007-01-01

In this paper we link bioengineering case study methods to the development of policy. The case study approach to ethics is an excellent way to show the complex nature of practical/moral reasoning. This approach can, however, lead to a kind of overwhelming complexity. The individual nature of each case makes it difficult to identify the most important information and difficult to see what moral considerations are most relevant. In order to make the overwhelming complexity less debilitating, we present a framework for moral decision making derived from suggestions made by W.D. Ross and Virginia Held. Ross articulates the multiple sources of morality and Held deepens the discussion by reminding us of the foundational importance of care and sympathy to our moral natures. We show how to use the notion of prima facie duty and discuss moral conflict. In doing this, we show how the framework, applied to cases, can be of assistance in helping us develop policies and codes of ethics with sufficient plasticity to be useful in the complex world of the bioengineer.

Do organizational and clinical ethics in a hospital setting need different venues?

Science.gov (United States)

Førde, Reidun; Hansen, Thor Willy Ruud

2014-06-01

The structure of ethics work in a hospital is complex. Professional ethics, research ethics and clinical ethics committees (CECs) are important parts of this structure, in addition to laws and national and institutional codes of ethics. In Norway all hospital trusts have a CEC, most of these discuss cases by means of a method which seeks to include relevant guidelines and laws into the discussion. In recent years many committees have received more cases which have concerned questions of principle. According to Ellen Fox and co-authors the traditional CEC model suffers from a number of weaknesses. Therefore, in their organization a separate body deals with organizational matters. In this paper, we discuss what is gained and what is lost by creating two separate bodies doing ethics consultation. We do this through an analysis of detailed minutes of CEC discussions in one CEC during a 6-year period. 30 % of all referrals concerned matters of principle. Some of these discussions originated in a dilemma related to a particular patient. Most of the discussions had some consequences within the hospital organization, for clinical practice, for adjustment of guidelines, or may have influenced national policy. We conclude that a multiprofessional CEC with law and ethics competency and patient representation may be well suited also for discussion of general ethical principles. A CEC is a forum which can help bridge the gap between clinicians and management by increasing understanding for each others' perspectives.

Should policy ethics come in two colours: green or white?

Science.gov (United States)

Oswald, Malcolm

2013-05-01

When writing about policy, do you think in green or white? If not, I recommend that you do. I suggest that writers and journal editors should explicitly label every policy ethics paper either 'green' or 'white'. A green paper is an unconstrained exploration of a policy question. The controversial 'After-birth abortion' paper is an example. Had it been labelled as 'green', readers could have understood what Giubilini and Minerva explained later: that it was a discussion of philosophical ideas, and not a policy proposal advocating infanticide. A serious policy proposal should be labelled by writer(s) and editor(s) as 'white'. Its purpose should be to influence policy. In order to influence policy, I suggest three essential, and two desirable, characteristics of any white paper. Most importantly, a white paper should be set in the context in which the policy is to be made and applied.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Climate Ethics: Uncertainty, Values and Policy

OpenAIRE

Roeser, S.

2017-01-01

Climate change is a pressing phenomenon with huge potential ethical, legal and social policy implications. Climate change gives rise to intricate moral and policy issues as it involves contested science, uncertainty and risk. In order to come to scientifically and morally justified, as well as feasible, policies, targeting climate change requires an interdisciplinary approach. This special issue will identify the main challenges that climate change poses from social, economic, methodological ...

Influence of Course in Medical Ethics and Law on Career Plans of Medical Students

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Shi-Yann; Lin, Lih-Hwa; Kao, Chung-Han; Chan, Tzu-Min

2015-01-01

Background: The significant increase in medical disputes and lawsuits in recent years in Taiwan has severely affected behavior and ecology in medical practice. For this reason, we designed integrated courses on ethics and law and conducted a questionnaire-based career plan study to understand whether these issues influence their specialty…

Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... law and policy ranging from the economic, social and environmental dimensions. ... international development scholars and experts from Italy, United Kingdom, ... Contractual agreements in Ghana's oil and gas industry: In whose interest?

Nigeria's energy policy: Inferences, analysis and legal ethics toward RE development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ajayi, Oluseyi O.; Ajayi, Oluwatoyin O.

2013-01-01

The study critically assessed the various policy issues of sustainable energy development in Nigeria. The basic focus was to discuss and analyze some of the laws of the federation as it relates to the development of Renewable Energy in Nigeria. It surveyed the nation's energy policy statement and the vision 20:2020 of the federal government. The Renewable Energy Master Plan developed by the joint efforts of the Energy Commission of Nigeria and United Nations Development Programs were also appraised. The level of development and the index of renewable energy production as stated by the policy statement, the vision 20:2020 and the Renewable Energy Master Plan were highlighted. The study found some policy challenges which include weak government motivation, lack of economic incentives, multiple taxations, non-existent favorable customs and excise duty act to promote renewable energy technologies. Further to this, some legal reforms which may aid the promotion of renewable energy development in Nigeria and also make robust the nation's energy policy were proposed. Some of the laws that require amendment to promote renewable energy include the land use act, environmental impact assessment decree and the investment laws of the federation of Nigeria. - Highlights: • The study exposed the energy policy issues of Nigeria. • The various policy documents and the energy statement of vision 20:2020 were surveyed. • Various challenges impinging growth or renewable energy were highlighted. • Some suggestions for policy reformation were proposed

Ethical issues in the transformation of health policy in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Pillay, Y G

1992-07-01

There have, of late, been repeated calls for the transformation of the South African health care system. While there are political and economic consequences involved, there are also bio-ethical sequelae. This paper attempts to explore some of the bio-ethical dilemmas that confront both the 'consumers' and the architects of a new health policy (including the State; professional health groupings, e.g. the Medical Association of South Africa; and the so-called progressive health organisations, e.g. the National Medical and Dental Association and the South African Health Workers' Congress). While the literature has focused on libertarian and utilitarian ethical theories, communitarian perspectives are not often mentioned. This paper attempts to redress this perceived deficit.

Balancing economic freedom against social policy principles: EC competition law and national health systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mossialos, Elias; Lear, Julia

2012-07-01

EU Health policy exemplifies the philosophical tension between EC economic freedoms and social policy. EC competition law, like other internal market rules, could restrict national health policy options despite the subsidiarity principle. In particular, European health system reforms that incorporate elements of market competition may trigger the application of competition rules if non-economic gains in consumer welfare are not adequately accounted for. This article defines the policy and legal parameters of the debate between competition law and health policy. Using a sample of cases it analyses how the ECJ, national courts, and National Competition Authorities have applied competition laws to the health services sector in different circumstances and in different ways. It concludes by considering the implications of the convergence of recent trends in competition law enforcement and health system market reforms. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

5 CFR 2601.103 - Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... GOVERNMENT ETHICS STATUTORY GIFT ACCEPTANCE AUTHORITY General Provisions § 2601.103 Policy. (a) Scope. The... solicitation or acceptance of a gift does not compromise the integrity of OGE, its programs or employees. (b... barred by law or regulation. Gifts may also be used for official travel by employees to events or...

Health Policy, Ethics, and the Kansas Legislative Health Academy

Science.gov (United States)

Maree, Gina; Schrandt, Suzanne; Soderquist, Chris; Steffensmeier, Tim; St. Peter, Robert

2015-01-01

We describe a unique program, the Kansas Legislative Health Academy, that brings together state legislators from across the political spectrum to build their capacity in advancing policies that can improve the health of Kansans. To that end, the academy helps legislators develop new skills to deliberate the ethics of health policy, use systems thinking to understand the long- and short-term effects of policy action and inaction, and engage in acts of civic leadership. The academy also seeks to foster an environment of respectful open dialogue and to build new cross-chamber and cross-party relationships. Among the most important outcomes cited by program participants is the value of sustained, personal interaction and problem solving with individuals holding differing political views. PMID:25607945

Health policy, ethics, and the Kansas Legislative Health Academy.

Science.gov (United States)

Blacksher, Erika; Maree, Gina; Schrandt, Suzanne; Soderquist, Chris; Steffensmeier, Tim; St Peter, Robert

2015-03-01

We describe a unique program, the Kansas Legislative Health Academy, that brings together state legislators from across the political spectrum to build their capacity in advancing policies that can improve the health of Kansans. To that end, the academy helps legislators develop new skills to deliberate the ethics of health policy, use systems thinking to understand the long- and short-term effects of policy action and inaction, and engage in acts of civic leadership. The academy also seeks to foster an environment of respectful open dialogue and to build new cross-chamber and cross-party relationships. Among the most important outcomes cited by program participants is the value of sustained, personal interaction and problem solving with individuals holding differing political views.

HIV vaccine research--South Africa's ethical-legal framework and its ability to promote the welfare of trial participants.

Science.gov (United States)

Strode, Ann; Slack, Catherine; Mushariwa, Muriel

2005-08-01

An effective ethical-legal framework for the conduct of research is critical. We describe five essential components of such a system, review the extent to which these components have been realised in South Africa, present brief implications for the ethical conduct of clinical trials of HIV vaccines in South Africa and make recommendations. The components of an effective ethical-legal system that we propose are the existence of scientific ethical and policy-making structures that regulate research; research ethics committees (RECs) that ethically review research; national ethical guidelines and standards; laws protecting research participants; and mechanisms to enforce and monitor legal rights and ethical standards. We conclude that the ethical-legal framework has, for the most part, the necessary institutions, and certain necessary guidelines but does not have many of the laws needed to protect and promote the rights of persons participating in research, including HIV vaccine trials. Recommendations made include advocacy measures to finalise and implement legislation, development of regulations, analysis and comparison of ethical guidelines, and the development of measures to monitor ethical-legal rights at trial sites.

Croatian employee’s behavior and attitudes with respect to ethical norms for business practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Dabić

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Ethical norms for business practices differ by intensity and variety across countries so managers from multinational corporations (MNCs entering transitional economies must be able to staff subsidiaries understanding this dilemma. The aim of this article is to get a better understanding of workers’ behavior and attitudes with respect to business ethics in Croatia. We explored four ethics issues: (1 attitude to ethical issues in general, (2 information manipulation, (3 environmental issues and (4 law issues. The question we pose is: can workers be placed into meaningful groups by consideration of the variation in a number of economic, demographic and behavioral/attitudinal traits? Improved knowledge of ethical behavior of different groups of workers should be useful to managers and policy makers who want to encourage ethical behavior among those segments of population where it is currently rare. Results could be useful both to policy makers at the government level, and to the managers who might be worried that a low sensitivity to ethical issues could influence their firms’ performance.

Future Public Policy and Ethical Issues Facing the Agricultural and Microbial Genomics Sectors of the Biotechnology Industry: A Roundtable Discussion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diane E. Hoffmann

2003-09-12

On September 12, 2003, the University of Maryland School of Law's Intellectual Property and Law & Health Care Programs jointly sponsored and convened a roundtable discussion on the future public policy and ethical issues that will likely face the agricultural and microbial genomics sectors of the biotechnology industry. As this industry has developed over the last two decades, societal concerns have moved from what were often local issues, e.g., the safety of laboratories where scientists conducted recombinant DNA research on transgenic microbes, animals and crops, to more global issues. These newer issues include intellectual property, international trade, risks of genetically engineered foods and microbes, bioterrorism, and marketing and labeling of new products sold worldwide. The fast paced nature of the biotechnology industry and its new developments often mean that legislators, regulators and society, in general, must play ''catch up'' in their efforts to understand the issues, the risks, and even the benefits, that may result from the industry's new ways of conducting research, new products, and novel methods of product marketing and distribution. The goal of the roundtable was to develop a short list of the most significant public policy and ethical issues that will emerge as a result of advances in these sectors of the biotechnology industry over the next five to six years. More concretely, by ''most significant'' the conveners meant the types of issues that would come to the attention of members of Congress or state legislators during this time frame and for which they would be better prepared if they had well researched and timely background information. A concomitant goal was to provide a set of focused issues for academic debate and scholarship so that policy makers, industry leaders and regulators would have the intellectual resources they need to better understand the issues and concerns at stake. The

Gene-Editing: Interpretation of Current Law and Legal Policy

OpenAIRE

Kim, Na-Kyoung

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT With the development of the third-generation gene scissors, CRISPR-Cas9, concerns are being raised about ethical and social repercussions of the new gene-editing technology. In this situation, this article explores the legislation and interpretation of the positive laws in South Korea. The BioAct does not specify and regulate 'gene editing' itself. However, assuming that genetic editing is used in the process of research and treatment, we can look to the specific details of the regul...

Assessing the Effectiveness of Competition Law Enforcement Policy in Relation to Cartels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priit Mändmaa

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Despite the high fines for cartel infringements it is claimed that the current competition law enforcement lacks deterrent effect for the avoidance of cartel infringements and is procedurally fragile. This article analyses the current competition law enforcement policy in relation to cartels. More specifically, the article assesses the effectiveness of the policy in deterring the formation of cartels and pursuing the goals of competition law by analysing the theory of deterrence, case law, procedural norms, imposed fines and academic literature. The main conclusions are that wrong targets are aimed at under the deterrence principle, the proceedings are of a criminal law nature and require a separation of powers, and that the current level of fines does not pose a threat on the economy and continually fail to deter price-fixing.

Whitehead Policy Symposium. The Human Genome Project: Science, law, and social change in the 21st century

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nichols, E.K.

2000-02-17

Advances in the biomedical sciences, especially in human genomics, will dramatically influence law, medicine, public health, and many other sectors of our society in the decades ahead. The public already senses the revolutionary nature of genomic knowledge. In the US and Europe, we have seen widespread discussions about genetic discrimination in health insurance; privacy issues raised by the proliferation of DNA data banks; the challenge of interpreting new DNA diagnostic tests; changing definitions of what it means to be healthy; and the science and ethics of cloning animals and human beings. The primary goal of the Whitehead/ASLME Policy Symposium was to provide a bridge between the research community and professionals, who were just beginning to grasp the potential impact of new genetic technologies on their fields. The ''Human Genome Project: Science, Law, and Social Change in the 21st Century'' initially was designed as a forum for 300-500 physicians, lawyers, consumers, ethicists, and scientists to explore the impact of new genetic technologies and prepare for the challenges ahead.

Gender Instruments, Laws, Policies and Guidelines: A Tool for Human Resource Managers in Kenya

OpenAIRE

Catherine Kathure Kaimenyi; Anne Ngeretha

2014-01-01

The need for effective workplace policies and procedures has never been more important in today’s changing workplace. This is driven by changes to legislation, regulation and codes. Organizations policies must be in line with the national laws, procedures and policies, and since nations subscribe to various international laws and guidelines, these should accordingly be integrated in organization policies. Through a review of existing literature, this study examines important legislations that...

Senate works: law project on the energy policy (first reading)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

This synthesis of the Senate works on the law project on the energy policy, comments each article of the law text. It concerns: the energy demand control, the renewable energies, the equilibrium and the quality of the transport and distribution networks of electric power, taxation and financial incentives. (A.L.B.)

Living Wills in Italy: Ethical and Comparative Law Approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Veshi, Denard; Neitzke, Gerald

2015-03-01

In this article, advance directives will be analysed through ethical and comparative law approaches. Their importance, the two different types of advance directives and the so-called three steps hierarchy, will be discussed. Living wills will be treated in detail, considering the criticism they have attracted, as well as their known benefits. A thorough examination of the latest version of Arts. 3 and 4 of Italian Bill No. 2350, as approved by the Italian Senate in March 2009 and then amended by the Chamber of Deputies in July 2011, is included. This bill grants advance directives advisory force, limits their application in time and does not allow the validity of oral declarations. This political decision limits autonomy. Furthermore, there are doubts about the constitutionality of this bill, especially with respect to Arts. 2, 13 and 32 of the Italian Constitution, related to the right of self-determination. Further, this article will include a comparative approach of the legal aspects, with particular attention to the French and German models. To conclude, some ethical principles that the Italian legislator must take into consideration are indicated. In addition, some possible modifications of this Bill are suggested based on the experience of other European legislation.

Ethics, Law and Professional Issues Gallagher Ann and Hodge Sue Ethics, Law and Professional Issues 192pp £20.99 Palgrave Macmillan 9780230279940 0230279945 [Formula: see text].

Science.gov (United States)

2014-10-01

THE EDITORS provide a sound introduction to ethics, law and professional issues in health care. Scenarios before each chapter help the reader to digest and comprehend the information. My only criticism is that it is not directly relevant to nursing alone. Although there is some benefit in being aware of how other practitioners may be affected by these issues, another book aimed at nurses would be more appropriate. Later chapters about responding to unprofessional practice and promoting professional healthcare practice may be of more interest to nursing students and recently qualified healthcare professionals.

The 2006 French Law - A Contribution to a European Policy? - Conference papers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, Claude; Linkohr, Rolf; Dupraz, Bernard; Gonnot, Francois-Michel; Sido, Bruno; Vassaux, Alain; Golan, Paul; Leclere, Robert; Rycroft, Jeremy; Seppaelae, Timo

2006-01-01

On 28 June, the French 2006 law on the sustainable management of radioactive waste and materials was promulgated, after 15 years of research required by the Bataille law. What are the progresses stemming from this law? The next steps? What do the various French stakeholders, elected officials, trade unions and firms think about it? How is it perceived out of our borders? Can it be a contribution to a European policy? What are the progresses in the other Member States and what lessons can we draw from those? The management of radioactive waste is a question that goes far beyond the national framework of each country, and that must be treated as a priority, whatever the future energy policy. Since 2003, the 'Entretiens europeens' have engaged a dialogue between stakeholders of various socio-professional backgrounds from several countries and with the European Commission, in order to compare the selected options of management and to emphasize the best experiments, which could inspire an innovating European policy in the world. This fourth edition is intended to provide an updated State-of-play of the reflexions on these issues. These proceedings are organized as follows: 1 - Opening Address; 2 - first Round Table: The 2006 Law, What do French Stakeholders Think of it?; 3 - second Round table: The 2006 law, Information for national and Community policies; 4 - Debate between the participants and the audience

Analogical Arguments in Ethics and Law: A Defence of Deductivism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fábio Perin Shecaira

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The paper provides a qualified defence of Bruce Waller’s deductivist schema for a priori analogical arguments in ethics and law. One crucial qualification is that the schema represents analogical arguments as complexes composed of one deductive inference (hence “deductivism” but also of one non-deductive subargument. Another important qualification is that the schema is informed by normative assumptions regarding the conditions that an analogical argument must satisfy in order for it to count as an optimal instance of its kind. Waller’s schema (in qualified form is defended from criticisms formulated by Trudy Govier, Marcello Guarini and Lilian Bermejo-Luque.

Transgender health and well-being: Gains and opportunities in policy and law.

Science.gov (United States)

Scout, Nfn

2016-01-01

This article discusses gains and opportunities in policy and law in the United States related to transgender health and well-being. Topics include (1) how the bathroom myth has been used every time a trans nondiscrimination bill is considered, (2) transgender nondiscrimination laws and policies, (3) the expansion of gender discrimination, (4) strategies for promoting mental health and well-being among trans people, (5) policy developments supporting the mental health and well-being of trans people, and (6) opportunities for action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethical dilemmas and nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Helm, A

1984-08-01

Professional responsibilities, tradition, and personal conscience along with legal, philosophical, and religious convictions dictate nursing interventions. Inevitably, these factors embrace life-sustaining therapies; however, in view of complications, prognosis, pain and suffering, and their own views of quality of life, some patients express wishes inconsistent with life-sustaining measures. In other situations, the health care provider as well as the patient may view heroic efforts as more debilitating than resortative. Resolving the conflict while preserving the patient's best interests requires a confrontation with the status of "do-not resuscitate" policies within th e nurse's institution, informed consent, refusal, and competency as the necessary underpinnings for the development of an ethical and legal posture within the profession, with which to approach significant decisions regarding life-sustaining therapies. Literally every hour of every day nurses are immediately and directly involved with resolving ethical dilemmas based upon judgements and interpretations of oral or written orders, patient and family wishes, professional training, and an infinite number of other factors. When clear policies or orders are lacking, the nurse is left with the burden of making a life or death decision. It is imperative that professional nurses assess the administrative, legal, and ethical ramifications of their actions in terms of ethical codes of practice, patients' rights, institutional and personal liability, civil and criminal laws, and private conscience. An understanding of these issues, passive and active euthansia, state and national trends, and uniform legislation can assist in resolutions of the no-code dilemma. Nursing as a profession must strive to develop sound and consistent guidelines and rationale for the scope of practice in ethical dilemmas.

The ethics of interrogation and the American Psychological Association: A critique of policy and process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davis Martha

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract The Psychological Ethics and National Security (PENS task force was assembled by the American Psychological Association (APA to guide policy on the role of psychologists in interrogations at foreign detention centers for the purpose of U.S. national security. The task force met briefly in 2005, and its report was quickly accepted by the APA Board of Directors and deemed consistent with the APA Ethics Code by the APA Ethics Committee. This rapid acceptance was unusual for a number of reasons but primarily because of the APA's long-standing tradition of taking great care in developing ethical policies that protected anyone who might be impacted by the work of psychologists. Many psychological and non-governmental organizations (NGOs, as well as reputable journalists, believed the risk of harm associated with psychologist participation in interrogations at these detention centers was not adequately addressed by the report. The present critique analyzes the assumptions of the PENS report and its interpretations of the APA Ethics Code. We demonstrate that it presents only one (and not particularly representative side of a complex set of ethical issues. We conclude with a discussion of more appropriate psychological contributions to national security and world peace that better respect and preserve human rights.

The ethics of interrogation and the American Psychological Association: a critique of policy and process.

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Brad; Soldz, Stephen; Davis, Martha

2008-01-29

The Psychological Ethics and National Security (PENS) task force was assembled by the American Psychological Association (APA) to guide policy on the role of psychologists in interrogations at foreign detention centers for the purpose of U.S. national security. The task force met briefly in 2005, and its report was quickly accepted by the APA Board of Directors and deemed consistent with the APA Ethics Code by the APA Ethics Committee. This rapid acceptance was unusual for a number of reasons but primarily because of the APA's long-standing tradition of taking great care in developing ethical policies that protected anyone who might be impacted by the work of psychologists. Many psychological and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as reputable journalists, believed the risk of harm associated with psychologist participation in interrogations at these detention centers was not adequately addressed by the report. The present critique analyzes the assumptions of the PENS report and its interpretations of the APA Ethics Code. We demonstrate that it presents only one (and not particularly representative) side of a complex set of ethical issues. We conclude with a discussion of more appropriate psychological contributions to national security and world peace that better respect and preserve human rights.

WHO'S IN CHARGE? THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEDICAL LAW, MEDICAL ETHICS, AND MEDICAL MORALITY?

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Charles; Miola, José

2015-01-01

Medical law inevitably involves decision-making, but the types of decisions that need to be made vary in nature, from those that are purely technical to others that contain an inherent ethical content. In this paper we identify the different types of decisions that need to be made, and explore whether the law, the medical profession, or the individual doctor is best placed to make them. We also argue that the law has failed in its duty to create a coherent foundation from which such decision-making might properly be regulated, and this has resulted in a haphazard legal framework that contains no consistency. We continue by examining various medico-legal topics in relation to these issues before ending by considering the risk of demoralisation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Ethics and marketing research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salai Suzana

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The ethics is the inner law of the individual. Its application is controlled and sacked by the self-awareness and the surrounding (by ethical codecs. The self-awareness is the inner law produced by everyday life, and is therefore changeable and adaptable to the outer reality. The ethics is a common field of marketing research, within the processes of ethical dilemmas and the marketing research process itself (identified target segments: the public the consumer, the subject ordering marketing research and marketing researchers.

South African law and policy regulating learner absenteeism

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Packard Bell

Department of Psychology of Education, College of Education, University of ... Keywords: ecosystemic theory; learner absenteeism; management approach; South African law and policy ..... learners, but can also be cultural and systemic ..... tesis. Pretoria, Suid-Afrika: Universiteit van Suid-. Afrika. Beskikbaar te .... Phd thesis.

Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We welcome submissions that focus on any aspect of sustainable development law and policy ranging from the economic, social and environmental dimensions. Consequently, papers that explore broad themes of sustainable development such as agriculture, banking, e-commerce, environment, natural resources, public ...

Health risk reduction programs in employer-sponsored health plans: Part II-law and ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothstein, Mark A; Harrell, Heather L

2009-08-01

We sought to examine the legal and ethical implications of workplace health risk reduction programs (HRRPs) using health risk assessments, individually focused risk reduction, and financial incentives to promote compliance. We conducted a literature review, analyzed relevant statutes and regulations, and considered the effects of these programs on employee health privacy. A variety of laws regulate HRRPs, and there is little evidence that employer-sponsored HRRPs violate these provisions; infringement on individual health privacy is more difficult to assess. Although current laws permit a wide range of employer health promotion activities, HRRPs also may entail largely unquantifiable costs to employee privacy and related interests.

Health Risk Reduction Programs in Employer-Sponsored Health Plans: Part II—Law and Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Rothstein, Mark A.; Harrell, Heather L.

2011-01-01

Objective We sought to examine the legal and ethical implications of workplace health risk reduction programs (HRRPs) using health risk assessments, individually focused risk reduction, and financial incentives to promote compliance. Methods We conducted a literature review, analyzed relevant statutes and regulations, and considered the effects of these programs on employee health privacy. Results A variety of laws regulate HRRPs, and there is little evidence that employer-sponsored HRRPs violate these provisions; infringement on individual health privacy is more difficult to assess. Conclusion Although current laws permit a wide range of employer health promotion activities, HRRPs also may entail largely unquantifiable costs to employee privacy and related interests. PMID:19625971

Managing Law Enforcement Presence in the Emergency Department: Highlighting the Need for New Policy Recommendations.

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Tahouni, Morsal R; Liscord, Emory; Mowafi, Hani

2015-10-01

The Emergency Department (ED) is the portal of entry to the health care system for a large percentage of patients. This is especially true for victims and perpetrators of interpersonal violence. Frequently, law enforcement personnel (LEP) accompany patients to the ED or seek access to patients during their ED stay or subsequent hospitalization. The time-sensitive nature of both emergency care and criminal investigation motivates both health care personnel and LEP, and can lead to potential conflicts of interest regarding access to patients in the ED. We hope to examine the relationship among patients, providers, and LEP in the ED, and the potential impact these interactions have on patient care. This article presents a review of the relevant literature and policy consideration as well as provides guidance on the development of such policies for EDs. Hospitals, EDs, and trauma resuscitation rooms are highly regulated environments, but LEP largely fall outside the ethical and institutional guidelines of health care institutions. Many potential areas of conflict exist when LEP are present in the ED that can have detrimental effects on patient care, provider liability, and LEP efficacy. Patients' perceptions of collaboration between ED personnel and LEP can compromise emergency patient care. There is a need for hospital policies to govern interactions among patients, emergency health care providers, and LEP in the ED. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Medical Ethics Today. The BMA's Handbook of Ethics and Law

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ethics is and leads into a framework of good ethical practice in healthcare. This section also briefly explains the theories and principles pertinent to the practice of healthcare and assists ... patient re la tionship, types of relationships in modern medicine, ... be applied in any country and the legal guidance is particularly.

The legal aspects of expedited partner therapy practice: do state laws and policies really matter?

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Cramer, Ryan; Leichliter, Jami S; Stenger, Mark R; Loosier, Penny S; Slive, Lauren

2013-08-01

Expedited partner therapy (EPT) is a potential partner treatment strategy. Significant efforts have been devoted to policies intended to facilitate its practice. However, few studies have attempted to evaluate these policies. We used data on interviewed gonorrhea cases from 12 sites in the STD Surveillance Network in 2010 (n = 3404). Patients reported whether they had received EPT. We coded state laws relevant to EPT for gonorrhea using Westlaw legal research database and the general legal status of EPT in STD Surveillance Network sites from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site in 2010. We also coded policy statements by medical and other boards. We used χ tests to compare receipt of EPT by legal/policy variables, patient characteristics, and provider type. Variables significant at P < 0.10 in bivariate analyses were included in a logistic regression model. Overall, 9.5% of 2564 interviewed patients with gonorrhea reported receiving EPT for their partners. Receipt of EPT was significantly higher where laws and policies authorizing EPT existed. Where EPT laws for gonorrhea existed and EPT was permissible, 13.3% of patients reported receiving EPT as compared with 5.4% where there were no EPT laws and EPT was permissible, and 1.0% where there were no EPT laws and EPT was potentially allowable (P < 0.01). Expedited partner therapy was higher where professional boards had policy statements supporting EPT (P < 0.01). Receipt of EPT did not differ by most patient characteristics or provider type. Policy-related findings were similar in adjusted analyses. Expedited partner therapy laws and policies were associated with higher reports of receipt of EPT among interviewed gonorrhea cases.

Euthanasia, virtue ethics and the law.

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van Zyl, Liezl

2002-02-01

Following the recent revival of virtue ethics, a number of ethicists have discussed the moral problems surrounding euthanasia by drawing on concepts such as compassion, benevolence, death with dignity, mercy, and by inquiring whether euthanasia is compatible with human flourishing. Most of these writers assert, or simply assume, that their arguments concerning the morality of euthanasia also support their views with regard to legislation. I argue, against these writers, that legislation cannot and should not be based on our moral and religious beliefs concerning whether euthanasia allows a person to die a good death. I then outline an Aristotelian approach to the role of law and government in a good society, according to which the task of the legislator is not to ensure that people actually act virtuously, but is instead to make it possible for them to choose to live (and die) well by ensuring that they have access to the goods that are necessary for flourishing. In the second half of the paper I apply this approach to the question of whether voluntary active euthanasia should be legalised by asking (1) whether euthanasia always deprives people of the necessary conditions for flourishing, and (2) whether the option to request euthanasia is ever necessary for flourishing.

The ethics of interrogation and the American Psychological Association: A critique of policy and process

OpenAIRE

Olson, Brad; Soldz, Stephen; Davis, Martha

2008-01-01

Abstract The Psychological Ethics and National Security (PENS) task force was assembled by the American Psychological Association (APA) to guide policy on the role of psychologists in interrogations at foreign detention centers for the purpose of U.S. national security. The task force met briefly in 2005, and its report was quickly accepted by the APA Board of Directors and deemed consistent with the APA Ethics Code by the APA Ethics Committee. This rapid acceptance was unusual for a number o...

Are the American Psychological Association's Detainee Interrogation Policies Ethical and Effective?: Key Claims, Documents, and Results.

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Pope, Kenneth S

2011-01-01

After 9-11, the United States began interrogating detainees at settings such as Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and Guantanamo. The American Psychological Association (APA) supported psychologists' involvement in interrogations, adopted formal policies, and made an array of public assurances. This article's purpose is to highlight key APA decisions, policies, procedures, documents, and public statements in urgent need of rethinking and to suggest questions that may be useful in a serious assessment, such as, "However well intended, were APA's interrogation policies ethically sound?"; "Were they valid, realistic, and able to achieve their purpose?"; "Were other approaches available that would address interrogation issues more directly, comprehensively, and actively, that were more ethically and scientifically based, and that would have had a greater likelihood of success?"; and "Should APA continue to endorse its post-9-11 detainee interrogation policies?"

Journalism Ethics: There Is a Difference between Law and Ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hossom, Kathy

1998-01-01

Covers a session from the recent meetings of the Indiana High School Press Association (IHSPA). States that students discussed ethical decisions they face in their yearbooks and newspapers, such as handling death. Finds the biggest concern is "really covering the good and bad things in the school." Gives IHSPA's 10-point Code of Ethics.…

Ethical models in bioethics: theory and application in organ allocation policies.

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Petrini, C

2010-12-01

Policies for allocating organs to people awaiting a transplant constitute a major ethical challenge. First and foremost, they demand balance between the principles of beneficence and justice, but many other ethically relevant principles are also involved: autonomy, responsibility, equity, efficiency, utility, therapeutic outcome, medical urgency, and so forth. Various organ allocation models can be developed based on the hierarchical importance assigned to a given principle over the others, but none of the principles should be completely disregarded. An ethically acceptable organ allocation policy must therefore be in conformity, to a certain extent, with the requirements of all the principles. Many models for organ allocation can be derived. The utilitarian model aims to maximize benefits, which can be of various types on a social or individual level, such as the number of lives saved, prognosis, and so forth. The prioritarian model favours the neediest or those who suffer most. The egalitarian model privileges equity and justice, suggesting that all people should have an equal opportunity (casual allocation) or priority should be given to those who have been waiting longer. The personalist model focuses on each individual patient, attempting to mesh together all the various aspects affecting the person: therapeutic needs (urgency), fairness, clinical outcomes, respect for persons. In the individualistic model the main element is free choice and the system of opting-in is privileged. Contrary to the individualistic model, the communitarian model identities in the community the fundamental elements for the legitimacy of choices: therefore, the system of opting-out is privileged. This article does not aim at suggesting practical solutions. Rather, it furnishes to decision makers an overview on the possible ethical approach to this matter.

Business Ethics

OpenAIRE

Duong, Thi

2016-01-01

The goal of this paper is to present examples of business ethics issues. What is business ethics, things concerned in this field are and why it is needed and important when doing business? The concept of business ethics has connotations to provision, rules and standards in directing the behavior of actors in the business. Business ethics involves compliance with the law, the implementation of ethical responsibilities of a business, the protection of the rights of those who are related to the ...

Formulating the American Geophysical Union's Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy: Challenges and lessons learned: Chapter 8

Science.gov (United States)

Gundersen, Linda C.; Townsend, Randy

2017-01-01

Creating an ethics policy for a large, diverse geosciences organization is a challenge, especially in the midst of the current contentious dialogue in the media related to such issues as climate change, sustaining natural resources, and responding to natural hazards. In 2011, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) took on this challenge, creating an Ethics Task Force to update their ethics policies to better support their new Strategic Plan and respond to the changing scientific research environment. Dialogue with AGU members and others during the course of creating the new policy unveiled some of the following issues to be addressed. Scientific results and individual scientists are coming under intense political and public scrutiny, with the efficacy of the science being questioned. In some cases, scientists are asked to take sides and/or provide opinions on issues beyond their research, impacting their objectivity. Pressure related to competition for funding and the need to publish high quality and quantities of papers has led to recent high profile plagiarism, data fabrication, and conflict of interest cases. The complexities of a continuously advancing digital environment for conducting, reviewing, and publishing science has raised concerns over the ease of plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, inappropriate peer review, and the need for better accessibility of data and methods. Finally, students and scientists need consistent education and encouragement on the importance of ethics and integrity in scientific research. The new AGU Scientific Integrity and Ethics Policy tries to address these issues and provides an inspirational code of conduct to encourage a responsible, positive, open, and honest scientific research environment.

Rochester’s Lead Law: Evaluation of a Local Environmental Health Policy Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Ayoob, Maria; Morley, Rebecca

2011-01-01

Background: Significant progress has been made in reducing the incidence of childhood lead poisoning in the United States in the past three decades. However, the prevalence of elevated blood lead in children (≥ 10 μg/dL) remains high in some communities, particularly those with high proportions of pre-1978 housing in poor condition. Increasingly, municipalities are using local policy tools to reduce lead poisoning in high-risk areas, but little is known about the effectiveness of such policies. Objectives: In this article, we evaluated the effectiveness of a comprehensive rental housing–based lead law adopted in Rochester, New York, in 2005. Methods: This policy evaluation integrates analyses of city inspections data, a survey of landlords, landlord focus groups, and health department data on children’s blood lead levels from the first 4 years of implementation of the 2005 law. Results: Implementation has proceeded consistent with projected numbers of inspections with nearly all target units inspected in the first 4 years. Higher than expected inspection passage rates suggest that landlords have reduced lead hazards in rental housing affected by the law. Implementation of the lead law does not appear to have had a significant impact on the housing market. Conclusions: Although many uncertainties remain, our analysis suggests that the lead law has had a positive impact on children’s health. Strong enforcement, support for community-based lead programs, and ongoing intergovernmental coordination will be necessary to maintain lead-safe housing in Rochester. Lessons learned from the Rochester experience may inform future local lead poisoning prevention policies in other communities. PMID:22001644

Current Practice in Research Ethics: Global Trends and New Opportunities for African Universities. Research and Innovation Policy Series. Number 1

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Roberts, Liam

2007-01-01

Research Ethics has emerged as one of the most well-developed policy areas within the sphere of Research and Innovation Management. As such, for African institutions looking to strengthen their policy frameworks, develop increased collaborations, and increase research outputs, a thorough understanding of global trends in Ethics will be vital.…

Yesterday's war; tomorrow's technology: peer commentary on 'Ethical, legal, social and policy issues in the use of genomic technologies by the US military'.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Nicholas G; Moreno, Jonathan D

2015-02-01

A recent article by Maxwell J. Mehlman and Tracy Yeheng Li, in the Journal of Law and the Biosciences , sought to examine the ethical, legal, social, and policy issues associated with the use of genetic screening and germ-line therapies ('genomic technologies') by the US Military. In this commentary, we will elaborate several related matters: the relationship between genetic and non-genetic screening methods, the history of selection processes and force strength, and the consequences and ethics of, as Mehlman and Li suggest, engineering enhanced soldiers. We contend, first, that the strengths of genomic testing as a method of determining enrollment in the armed forces has limited appeal, given the state of current selection methods in the US armed forces. Second, that the vagaries of genetic selection, much like other forms of selection that do not bear causally or reliably on soldier performance (such as race, gender, and sexuality), pose a systematic threat to force strength by limiting the (valuable) diversity of combat units. Third, that the idea of enhancing warfighters through germ-line interventions poses serious ethical issues in terms of the control and ownership of 'enhancements' when members separate from service.

Ethics, health policy, and Zika: From emergency to global epidemic?

Science.gov (United States)

Jamrozik, Euzebiusz; Selgelid, Michael J

2018-05-01

Zika virus was recognised in 2016 as an important vector-borne cause of congenital malformations and Guillain-Barré syndrome, during a major epidemic in Latin America, centred in Northeastern Brazil. The WHO and Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), with partner agencies, initiated a coordinated global response including public health intervention and urgent scientific research, as well as ethical analysis as a vital element of policy design. In this paper, we summarise the major ethical issues raised during the Zika epidemic, highlighting the PAHO ethics guidance and the role of ethics in emergency responses, before turning to ethical issues that are yet to be resolved. Zika raises traditional bioethical issues related to reproduction, prenatal diagnosis of serious malformations and unjust disparities in health outcomes. But the epidemic has also highlighted important issues of growing interest in public health ethics, such as the international spread of infectious disease; the central importance of reproductive healthcare in preventing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality; diagnostic and reporting biases; vector control and the links between vectors, climate change, and disparities in the global burden of disease. Finally, there are controversies regarding Zika vaccine research and eventual deployment. Zika virus was a neglected disease for over 50 years before the outbreak in Brazil. As it continues to spread, public health agencies should promote gender equity and disease control efforts in Latin America, while preparing for the possibility of a global epidemic. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Cellular therapies for heart disease: unveiling the ethical and public policy challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Raval, Amish N; Kamp, Timothy J; Hogle, Linda F

2008-10-01

Cellular therapies have emerged as a potential revolutionary treatment for cardiovascular disease. Promising preclinical results have resulted in a flurry of basic research activity and spawned multiple clinical trials worldwide. However, the optimal cell type and delivery mode have not been determined for target patient populations. Nor have the mechanisms of benefit for the range of cellular interventions been clearly defined. Experiences to date have unveiled a myriad of ethical and public policy challenges which will affect the way researchers and clinicians make decisions for both basic and clinical research. Stem cells derived from embryos are at the forefront of the ethical and political debate, raising issues of which derivation methods are morally and socially permissible to pursue, as much as which are technically feasible. Adult stem cells are less controversial; however, important challenges exist in determining study design, cell processing, delivery mode, and target patient population. Pathways to successful commercialization and hence broad accessibility of cellular therapies for heart disease are only beginning to be explored. Comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and collaborative networks involving basic researchers, clinicians, regulatory officials and policymakers are required to share information, develop research, regulatory and policy standards and enable rational and ethical cell-based treatment approaches.

Formulation of Policy for Cyber Crime in Criminal Law Revision Concept of Bill Book of Criminal Law (A New Penal Code)

Science.gov (United States)

Soponyono, Eko; Deva Bernadhi, Brav

2017-04-01

Development of national legal systems is aimed to establish the public welfare and the protection of the public. Many attempts has been carried out to renew material criminal law and those efforts results in the formulation of the concept of the draft Law Book of the Law of Criminal Law in the form of concept criminal code draft. The basic ideas in drafting rules and regulation based on the values inside the idology of Pancasila are balance among various norm and rules in society. The design concept of the New Criminal Code Act is anticipatory and proactive to formulate provisions on Crime in Cyberspace and Crime on Information and Electronic Transactions. Several issues compiled in this paper are whether the policy in formulation of cyber crime is embodied in the provisions of the current legislation and what the policies formulation of cyber crime is in the concept of the bill book of law - criminal law recently?.

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.

Evoking the Moral Imagination: Using Stories to Teach Ethics and Professionalism to Nursing, Medical, and Law Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Weisberg, Mark; Duffin, Jacalyn

1995-01-01

A program that brings together students entering demanding professions (law, medicine, and nursing) to explore issues of ethics and professionalism is described. The course uses thought-provoking stories, classroom discussion, student journals, and collaborative teaching. Lessons learned from teaching the course a number of times are also…

The Development of Legal Policy and Legal Needs of Indonesian Immigration Law: Answered Partially, Forget the Rest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bilal Dewansyah

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The replacement of the immigration law, from Law No. 9 of 1992 to Law No. 6 of 2011 reflected the development of immigration legal policy. As a branch of administrative law that has dynamic character, the reform immigration laws should address the immigration legal needs in practice. This paper discusses the development of Indonesian immigration legal policy and to what extent these developments address the immigration legal needs. Based on the author analyses, it can be concluded, firstly, the development of immigration legal policy, in legal direction context, emphasized to face the impact of globalization both positive and negative effects, and other developments in the future. In legal substances aspect, the current immigration legal policy change various principles immigration laws, such as the principle of selective policies are balanced with the principle of respect for human rights, although in certain settings are not in line with human rights (as in the case of the period of temporary prohibition to leave Indonesia, that can be extended continuously. In legal form and scope context, Indonesian immigration legal policy today, is more concerned with the rules of immigration law in detail than ever before. Secondly, the development of immigration legal policy answered the immigration legal needs particularly, such as in the case of human smuggling, but forget the rest of the immigration legal needs, in terms of the handling of illegal immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees.

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.

Economics, ethics, and climate policy: framing the debate

Science.gov (United States)

Howarth, Richard B.; Monahan, Patricia A.

1996-04-01

This paper examines the economic and ethical dimensions of climate policy in light of existing knowledge of the impacts of global warming and the costs of greenhouse gas emissions abatement. We find that the criterion of economic efficiency, operationalized through cost-benefit analysis, is ill-equipped to cope with the pervasive uncertainties and issues of intergenerational fairness that characterize climate change. In contrast, the concept of sustainable development—that today's policies should ensure that future generations enjoy life opportunities undiminished relative to the present—is a normative criterion that explicitly addresses the uncertainties and distributional aspects of global environmental change. If one interprets the sustainability criterion to imply that it is morally wrong to impose catastrophic risks on unborn generations when reducing those risks would not noticeably diminish the quality of life of existing persons, a case can be made for significant steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Pandora’s Presumption: Drones and the Problematic Ethics of Techno-War

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Crosston

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Present American policy proclaims the compatibility of drone usage with the traditional Rules of Engagement and the Laws of War. Largely absent in this is an examination of how enemy combatants are being defined on both sides of drone activity: not just the targets and operators but also the relevance of drone technology proliferation. This work engages the void to reveal inconsistent and contradictory ethical standards in American drone policy, based largely on an assumed continued technical preeminence that is by no means guaranteed. The argument is not a humanitarian lament against hegemony: it is a realist argument addressing how ethical inconsistencies in defining American technological warfare compromise the ‘leadership high ground’ for the United States in a manner that carries fairly significant national security blowback potential.

Law in the laboratory a guide to the ethics of federally funded science research

CERN Document Server

Charrow, Robert P

2010-01-01

The National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation together fund more than $40 billon of research annually in the United States and around the globe. These large public expenditures come with strings, including a complex set of laws and guidelines that regulate how scientists may use NIH and NSF funds, how federally funded research may be conducted, and who may have access to or own the product of the research. Until now, researchers have had little instruction on the nature of these laws and how they work. But now, with Robert P. Charrow’s Law in the Laboratory, they have a readable and entertaining introduction to the major ethical and legal considerations pertaining to research under the aegis of federal science funding. For any academic whose position is grant funded, or for any faculty involved in securing grants, this book will be an essential reference manual. And for those who want to learn how federal legislation and regulations affect laboratory research, Charrow’s primer wil...

Women's perspectives on the ethical implications of non-invasive prenatal testing: a qualitative analysis to inform health policy decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanstone, Meredith; Cernat, Alexandra; Nisker, Jeff; Schwartz, Lisa

2018-04-16

Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) is a technology which provides information about fetal genetic characteristics (including sex) very early in pregnancy by examining fetal DNA obtained from a sample of maternal blood. NIPT is a morally complex technology that has advanced quickly to market with a strong push from industry developers, leaving many areas of uncertainty still to be resolved, and creating a strong need for health policy that reflects women's social and ethical values. We approach the need for ethical policy-making by studying the use of NIPT and emerging policy in the province of Ontario, Canada. Using an adapted version of constructivist grounded theory, we conducted interviews with 38 women who have had personal experiences with NIPT. We used an iterative process of data collection and analysis and a staged coding strategy to conduct a descriptive analysis of ethics issues identified implicitly and explicitly by women who have been affected by this technology. The findings of this paper focus on current ethical issues for women seeking NIPT, including place in the prenatal pathway, health care provider counselling about the test, industry influence on the diffusion of NIPT, consequences of availability of test results. Other issues gain relevance in the context of future policy decisions regarding NIPT, including funding of NIPT and principles that may govern the expansion of the scope of NIPT. These findings are not an exhaustive list of all the potential ethical issues related to NIPT, but rather a representation of the issues which concern women who have personal experience with this test. Women who have had personal experience with NIPT have concerns and priorities which sometimes contrast dramatically with the theoretical ethics literature. These findings suggest the importance of engaging patients in ethical deliberation about morally complex technologies, and point to the need for more deliberative patient engagement work in this area.

Biobanking human embryonic stem cell lines: policy, ethics and efficiency.

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Holm, Søren

2015-12-01

Stem cell banks curating and distributing human embryonic stem cells have been established in a number of countries and by a number of private institutions. This paper identifies and critically discusses a number of arguments that are used to justify the importance of such banks in policy discussions relating to their establishment or maintenance. It is argued (1) that 'ethical arguments' are often more important in the establishment phase and 'efficiency arguments' more important in the maintenance phase, and (2) that arguments relating to the interests of embryo and gamete donors are curiously absent from the particular stem cell banking policy discourse. This to some extent artificially isolates this discourse from the broader discussions about the flows of reproductive materials and tissues in modern society, and such isolation may lead to the interests of important actors being ignored in the policy making process.

Reflection on penal policy in nuclear matters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cisse, A.

1996-01-01

This document expresses ethical reflexions as far as nuclear energy development is concerned. The potential diversion of the peaceful use of nuclear energy results in the necessity of a criminal policy which would control the nuclear regulations. For each potential nuclear infringement, systems of laws are established either to prevent damages or to penalize them. (TEC)

Neuroscience research on the addictions: a prospectus for future ethical and policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Wayne; Carter, Lucy; Morley, Katherine I

2004-09-01

The increasing evidence that many addictive phenomena have a genetic and neurobiological basis promises improvements in societal responses to addiction that raise important ethical and social policy issues. One of the major potential benefits of such research is improved treatment of drug addiction, but in order to do the research required to realize this promise, it will be necessary to address ethical doubts raised about the capacity of addicted persons to give free and informed consent to participate in studies that involve the administration of drugs of dependence. Neuroscience research on addiction promises to transform the long running debate between moral and medical models of addiction by providing a detailed causal explanation of addiction in terms of brain processes. We must avoid causal models of addiction being misinterpreted as supporting simple-minded social policies, e.g., that we identify the minority of the community that is genetically and biologically vulnerable to addiction and hence can neglect social policy options for reducing addiction, including drug control policies. Causal accounts of addiction supplied by neuroscience and genetic research may also be seen to warrant the use of pharmacotherapies and drug vaccines under legal coercion. Neuroscientists also need to anticipate the ethical issues that may arise if the knowledge that they produce delivers interventions that enhance human cognitive and other capacities. Advances in neuroimaging that enable us to identify "addicts" or predict future risk of addiction will raise concerns about invasion of privacy, third-party use of neuroimaging data, the powers of courts to coerce defendants to undergo such tests, and consumer protection against the overinterpretation of test results. Given the strong public and media interest in the results of their research, neuroscientists and geneticists have a moral obligation, and a professional interest, to minimize popular misunderstandings of their work

Ethics of Immunization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verweij, M.F.; Quah, S.R.; Cockerham, W.C.

2017-01-01

Collective immunization can be highly effective in protecting societies against infectious diseases, but policy decisions about both the character and the content of immunization policies require ethical justification. This article offers an overview of ethical aspects that should be taken into

Ethical criteria for procuring and distributing organs for transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Childress, J F

1989-01-01

This article provides an ethical analysis and assessment of various actual and proposed policies of organ procurement and distribution in light of moral principles already embedded in U.S. institutions, laws, policies, and practices. Evaluating different methods of acquisition of human body parts--donation (express and presumed), sales, abandonment, and expropriation--the author argues for laws and policies, including required request, to maintain and facilitate express donation of organs by individuals and their families. Such laws and policies need adequate time for a determination of their effectiveness before society moves to other major alternatives, such as a market. In organ allocation and distribution, which have close moral connections with organ procurement, the author defends the judgment of the federal Task Force on Organ Transplantation that the community should have dispositional authority over donated organs, that professionals should be viewed as trustees and stewards of donated organs, and that the public should be heavily involved in the formation of policies of allocation and distribution. Concentrating on policies being developed in the United Network for Organ Sharing, the author examines the point system for cadaveric kidneys, the access of foreign nationals to organs donated in the U.S., and the multiple listings of patients seeking transplants. He concludes by identifying two major problems of equitable access to donated organs that will have to be addressed by social institutions other than UNOS: access to the waiting list for donated organs and the role of ability to pay in extrarenal transplants.

Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The) - Vol 7 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Renewable energy in Ukraine: towards national eco-management · EMAIL FREE FULL ... An evaluation of the Indonesian law and policy on small-scale fisheries ... Sustainable management of Nigeria's oil wealth: legal challenges and future ...

Contentious problems in bioscience and biotechnology: a pilot study of an approach to ethics education.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Roberta M; Borenstein, Jason; Butera, Robert J

2013-06-01

This manuscript describes a pilot study in ethics education employing a problem-based learning approach to the study of novel, complex, ethically fraught, unavoidably public, and unavoidably divisive policy problems, called "fractious problems," in bioscience and biotechnology. Diverse graduate and professional students from four US institutions and disciplines spanning science, engineering, humanities, social science, law, and medicine analyzed fractious problems employing "navigational skills" tailored to the distinctive features of these problems. The students presented their results to policymakers, stakeholders, experts, and members of the public. This approach may provide a model for educating future bioscientists and bioengineers so that they can meaningfully contribute to the social understanding and resolution of challenging policy problems generated by their work.

Analysis of the Uniform Accident And Sickness Policy Provision Law: lessons for social work practice, policy, and research.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochran, Gerald

2010-01-01

The Uniform Accident and Sickness Policy Provision Law (UPPL) is a state statute that allows insurance companies in 26 states to deny claims for accidents and injuries incurred by persons under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Serious repercussions can result for patients and health care professionals as states enforce this law. To examine differences within the laws that might facilitate amendments or reduce insurance companies' ability to deny claims, a content analysis was carried out of each state's UPPL law. Results showed no meaningful differences between each state's laws. These results indicate patients and health professionals share similar risk related to the UPPL regardless of state.

Public policy and medical tourism: ethical implications for the Egyptian health care system.

Science.gov (United States)

Haley, Bob

2011-01-01

Egypt's medical tourism industry has been experiencing tremendous growth. However, Egypt continues to lack the necessary investment in its public health system to effectively care for its population. Current policy and the emergence of medical tourism have led to unequal health care access, resulting in high a prevalence of infectious diseases and lack of resources for its most vulnerable populations. As a new Egyptian government emerges, it is important for policymakers to understand the critical issues and ethical concerns of existing health policy. This understanding may be used to propose new policy that more effectively allocates to care for Egypt's population.

Ethical codes in business practice

OpenAIRE

Kobrlová, Marie

2013-01-01

The diploma thesis discusses the issues of ethics and codes of ethics in business. The theoretical part defines basic concepts of ethics, presents its historical development and the methods and tools of business ethics. It also focuses on ethical codes and the area of law and ethics. The practical part consists of a quantitative survey, which provides views of selected business entities of business ethics and the use of codes of ethics in practice.

The Role of Accounting and Accounting Law in Establishing Public Economic Policies in the Post-crisis Period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurelian Virgil BĂLUŢĂ

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The following issues are being adressed in this paper: the relationship of accounting and accounting law with the local economy, the relationship of accounting and accounting law with macroeconomics, establishing public policies for certain categories of enterprises based on information provided by accounting and accounting law, the relationship of accounting and accounting law with macroeconomics foresight and forecast, the relationship of accounting and accounting law with the labor economy, the impact the wage regulations has on public economic policies under firm ownership change.

Ethical Risks of Environmental Policies: The Case of Ethanol in North America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. M. Jordaan

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Policy to address the environmental impacts of transportation fuel derived from conventional oil is frequently focused on the promotion of alternatives such as biofuels. While there are some biofuels that can be developed with relatively few impacts, others can result in broader, complex social concerns that should be included in the policy debate. These concerns include impacts arising from the conversion of natural landscapes and changes in food supply. To help inform policy development, this paper raises a series of questions to encourage a fuller debate and proposes a methodology to capture ethical risks related to the energy and environmental choices. This methodology should be applied to policies that encourage a transition to fuel alternatives for transportation – whether unconventional fossil fuels or corn ethanol.

Ethics of health policy and systems research: a scoping review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, Bridget; Paul, Amy; Hyder, Adnan A; Ali, Joseph

2017-07-01

Health policy and systems research (HPSR) is increasingly funded and undertaken as part of health system strengthening efforts worldwide. HPSR ethics is also a relatively new and emerging field, with numerous normative and descriptive questions that have largely not been considered. Normative questions include what ethical principles and values should guide HPSR. Descriptive questions include what ethical concerns arise when conducting HPSR. A small but growing body of scholarly work characterizes the various ethics issues inherent in HPSR. Towards informing the future development of ethics guidance for HPSR, a scoping review was undertaken to: (1) identify the range of ethics issues relevant to the conduct of HPSR-with a deliberate (though not exclusive) focus on low- and middle-income country settings and (2) describe existing guidance on key ethics issues relevant to HPSR. Using the Cochrane methods as a basis, the review identified formal and informal literature on HPSR ethics by searching the following databases: PubMed's Medline, Embase, Global Health, Scopus, WHO Global Health Regional Libraries, LILACs, OpenDOAR and Bielefeld Academic Search Engine. In total, 11 062 documents were identified from the formal (10 519) and informal (543) literature. One hundred and seven of these documents (formal 99 and informal 8) met at least one inclusion criterion and underwent thematic analysis. Ethical issues in four main categories were identified: upholding autonomy, identifying and balancing risks and benefits, justice and determination of ethical review requirements. The review indicated that the ethical values behind HPSR place an emphasis on its contributing to the reduction of health disparities. Unsurprisingly then, numerous ethical concerns relating to justice arise in HPSR. However, the majority of existing guidance focuses on obtaining or waiving informed consent and, thus, appears to be insufficient for HPSR. A list of priority ethics issues in HPSR in

[Grounding public health policies in ethics and economic efficiency. SESPAS report 2010].

Science.gov (United States)

Ramiro Avilés, Miguel A; Lobo, Félix

2010-12-01

In recent times, various voices in Spain have questioned public health policies as an assault to personal freedom. The present article aims to respond to these voices with ethical and economic arguments. The scope and characteristics of this current of opinion are described. Then, starting with John Stuart Mill, the ethical principles of non-maleficence, beneficence, personal autonomy and justice, as well as related concepts taken from economic efficiency, such as externalities, monopoly, incomplete and asymmetric information, agency relationship, public goods and adverse selection, are discussed. A short mention is made of equity in economics, the welfare state and public health systems. The justification for paternalist actions by the state, as well as limits to these actions, are briefly discussed. Respect for individual freedom does not exclude the implementation of public health actions but rather demands the adoption of such policies. If these actions comply with certain conditions, they do not limit individual freedom but rather serve to protect it. Copyright © 2010 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Blurred Lines: The Ethics and Policy of Greenhouse Gas Removal at Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily M. Cox

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The topic of Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR for climate geoengineering is becoming increasingly salient following the IPCC's 5th Assessment Report and the Paris Agreement. GGR is thought of as a separate category to mitigation techniques such as low-carbon supply or demand reduction, yet multiple social, ethical and acceptability concerns cut across categories. We propose moving beyond classifying climate strategies as a set of discrete categories (which may implicitly homogenize diverse technologies, toward a prioritization of questions of scale of both technology and decision-making in the examination of social and ethical risks. This is not just a theoretical issue: important questions for policy, governance and finance are raised, for instance over the future inclusion of GGR in carbon markets. We argue that the conclusions drawn about how best to categorize, govern and incentivize any strategy will depend on the framing used, because different framings could lead to very different policy recommendations being drawn. Because of this, a robust approach to developing, governing and financing GGR should pay attention first to urgent concerns regarding democracy, justice and acceptability.

[Neuroscience in the Courtroom: From responsibility to dangerousness, ethical issues raised by the new French law].

Science.gov (United States)

Gkotsi, G-M; Moulin, V; Gasser, J

2015-10-01

In the past few years, spectacular progress in neuroscience has led to the emergence of a new interdisciplinary field, the so-called "neurolaw" whose goal is to explore the effects of neuroscientific discoveries on legal proceedings and legal rules and standards. In the United States, a number of neuroscientific researches are designed specifically to explore legally relevant topics and a case-law has already been developed. In Europe, neuroscientific evidence is increasingly being used in criminal courtrooms, as part of psychiatric testimony, nourishing the debate about the legal implications of brain research in psychiatric-legal settings. Though largely debated, up to now the use of neuroscience in legal contexts had not specifically been regulated by any legislation. In 2011, with the new bioethics law, France has become the first country to admit by law the use of brain imaging in judicial expertise. According to the new law, brain imaging techniques can be used only for medical purposes, or scientific research, or in the context of judicial expertise. This study aims to give an overview of the current state of the neurolaw in the US and Europe, and to investigate the ethical issues raised by this new law and its potential impact on the rights and civil liberties of the offenders. An overview of the emergence and development of "neurolaw" in the United States and Europe is given. Then, the new French law is examined in the light of the relevant debates in the French parliament. Consequently, we outline the current tendencies in Neurolaw literature to focus on assessments of responsibility, rather than dangerousness. This tendency is analysed notably in relation to the legal context relevant to criminal policies in France, where recent changes in the legislation and practice of forensic psychiatry show that dangerousness assessments have become paramount in the process of judicial decision. Finally, the potential interpretations of neuroscientific data

Policy Writing as Dialogue: Drafting an Aboriginal Chapter for Canada's Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeff Reading

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Writing policy that applies to First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada has become more interactive as communities and their representative organizations press for practical recognition of an Aboriginal right of self-determination. When the policy in development is aimed at supporting “respect for human dignity” as it is in the case of ethics of research involving humans, the necessity of engaging the affected population becomes central to the undertaking.

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.

Professional Ethics for Climate Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Peacock, K.; Mann, M. E.

2014-12-01

Several authors have warned that climate scientists sometimes exhibit a tendency to "err on the side of least drama" in reporting the risks associated with fossil fuel emissions. Scientists are often reluctant to comment on the implications of their work for public policy, despite the fact that because of their expertise they may be among those best placed to make recommendations about such matters as mitigation and preparedness. Scientists often have little or no training in ethics or philosophy, and consequently they may feel that they lack clear guidelines for balancing the imperative to avoid error against the need to speak out when it may be ethically required to do so. This dilemma becomes acute in cases such as abrupt ice sheet collapse where it is easier to identify a risk than to assess its probability. We will argue that long-established codes of ethics in the learned professions such as medicine and engineering offer a model that can guide research scientists in cases like this, and we suggest that ethical training could be regularly incorporated into graduate curricula in fields such as climate science and geology. We recognize that there are disanalogies between professional and scientific ethics, the most important of which is that codes of ethics are typically written into the laws that govern licensed professions such as engineering. Presently, no one can legally compel a research scientist to be ethical, although legal precedent may evolve such that scientists are increasingly expected to communicate their knowledge of risks. We will show that the principles of professional ethics can be readily adapted to define an ethical code that could be voluntarily adopted by scientists who seek clearer guidelines in an era of rapid climate change.

The ethics of international animal law

OpenAIRE

Kivinen, Tero

2014-01-01

This thesis analyzes international animal law, understood broadly as any international legal regulation pertaining to animals. The purpose of the thesis is to explain the moral implications of this branch of international law: how the law perceives the animal and how it believes animals ought to be treated. It attempts to do so by contrasting the law with moral philosophy pertaining to the status and treatment of animals as well as the core characteristics of the branch of animal law found in...

Ethics in Management Consulting

OpenAIRE

Carlo Vallini

2007-01-01

Ethics is a relevant value in business and management consulting. The presence of recognized ethics tends to reduce the need for informative or legal-contractual precautions in the formalization of relationships, for both of the parts involved in a negotiation. Management Consulting on ethics will develop more and more. Law will consider more and more ethics in business and management consulting. The ethics of corporations influences their workers and behaviour with the customers. It is an e...

[Responsibilities of ethics committees].

Science.gov (United States)

von Bergmann, K

2000-05-01

Increasing numbers of clinical research projects are submitted to ethical committees (institutional review boards) for approval. New therapeutic developments have to be evaluated by these committees to protect patients/volunteers. Thus, the responsibility of ethical committees is increasing. The "Nürnberger Kodex" and the "Declaration of Helsinki" are the background for these evaluations. According to the German drug law the physician is obligated by law to submit the protocol to such a committee. In addition, local state physician authorities require such a procedure. Important considerations during the review process besides ethical aspects are the informed consent, which should be written in an understandable form, and the obligations of the insurance.

Policy and Ethics In Agricultural and Ecological Water Uses.

Science.gov (United States)

Appelgren, Bo

Agricultural water use accounts for about 70 percent of abstracted waters reaching 92 percent of the collective uses of all water resources when rain water is included. Agriculture is the traditional first sector and linked to a wide range of social, economic and cultural issues at local and global level that reach beyond the production of cheap food and industrial fibres. With the dominance in agricultural water uses and linkages with land use and soil conservation the sector is critical to the protection of global and local environmental values especially in sensitive dryland systems. Ethical principles related to development and nature conservation have traditionally been focused on sustainability imperatives building on precaution and preventive action or on indisputable natural systems values, but are by necessity turning more and more towards solidarity-based risk management approaches. Policy and management have in general failed to consider social dimensions with solidarity, consistency and realism for societal acceptance and practical application. As a consequence agriculture and water related land degradation is resulting in accelerated losses in land productivity and biodiversity in dryland and in humid eco- systems. Increasingly faced with the deer social consequences in the form of large man-made hydrological disasters and with pragmatic requirements driven by drastic increases in the related social cost the preferences are moving to short-term risk management approaches with civil protection objectives. Water scarcity assessment combined with crisis diagnoses and overriding statements on demographic growth, poverty and natural resources scarcity and deteriorating food security in developing countries have become common in the last decades. Such studies are increasingly questioned for purpose, ethical integrity and methodology and lack of consideration of interdependencies between society, economy and environment and of society's capacity to adapt to

Foreign clouds in the European sky: how US laws affect the privacy of Europeans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Primavera De Filippi

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This article presents a general analysis of how user autonomy in the cloud is increasingly put into jeopardy by the growing comfort and efficiency of the user-interface. Although this issue has not been, thus far, explicitly addressed by the law, it is a fundamental ethical question that should be carefully assessed to guide the future deployment of cloud computing. Different policy decisions might, in fact, significantly affect user’s fundamental rights and online freedoms by shifting the balance from one part or another of the trade-off. This article aims to explore emerging trends in cloud computing technologies and analyse them from an ethical perspective to identify the issues they might raise, and the extent to which current laws and regulations actually take these issues into account.

Practical divinity and medical ethics: lawful versus unlawful medicine in the writings of William Perkins (1558-1602).

Science.gov (United States)

Gevitz, Norman

2013-04-01

This article examines for the first time the theologically based medical ethics of the late sixteenth-century English Calvinist minister William Perkins. Although Perkins did not write a single focused book on the subject of medical ethics, he addressed a variety of moral issues in medicine in his numerous treatises on how laypeople should conduct themselves in their vocations and in all aspects of their daily lives. Perkins wrote on familiar issues such as the qualities of a good physician, the conduct of sick persons, the role of the minister in healing, and obligations in time of pestilence. His most significant contribution was his distinction between "lawful" and "unlawful" medicine, the latter category including both medical astrology and magic. Perkins's works reached a far greater audience in England and especially New England than did the treatises of contemporary secular medical ethics authors and his writings were influential in guiding the moral thinking of many pious medical practitioners and laypersons.

Medicine, law, ethics: teaching versus learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapp, Marshall; Turner, Gregory; Baker, Dennis

2012-10-01

Doctors' anxieties about the legal environment begin during medical school. The signals faculty members send to medical students contribute to this anxiety. A pilot study was conducted to examine signals sent by faculty members to students regarding the relationship of legal risk management and ethical patient care at one medical school. It was also intended to determine the agreement between the messages faculty staff believe they are transmitting and those that students think they are hearing from faculty mentors. A survey with six multiple-choice questions was sent electronically to clinical faculty staff of one medical school to elicit the signals faculty members send students regarding the relationship of legal risk management and ethical patient care. A complementary survey instrument was sent to all 240 third- and fourth-year students to elicit their perceptions of what they were being taught by their mentors about the legal environment. Responses were tabulated, analysed, and interpreted. Faculty staff and student responses to six questions regarding teaching and learning about the relationship of legal risk management and ethical patient care revealed, for four of the six questions, statistically significantly different perspectives between what faculty members thought they were teaching and what students thought they were learning. Medical schools should be teaching patient-centered medicine, reconciling an awareness of the legal environment with the provision of ethically and clinically sound patient care. To improve performance, we must address the messages faculty members send students and reduce the disparity between perceived faculty teaching and claimed student learning in this context. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

Foundations in the Law: Classic Cases in Medical Ethics

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Zucker, K. W; Allen, Tracy L; Boyle, Martin J; Burton, Amy R; Smyth, Vito S

2007-01-01

.... The converse is also true: decisions within a legal system inform, or impact, ethics -specifically medical ethics The cases discussed in this paper are at the foundation of medical ethics in the United States...

The Return of Lombroso? Ethical Aspects of (Visions of) Preventive Forensic Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Munthe, Christian; Radovic, Susanna

2015-11-01

The vision of legendary criminologist Cesare Lombroso to use scientific theories of individual causes of crime as a basis for screening and prevention programmes targeting individuals at risk for future criminal behaviour has resurfaced, following advances in genetics, neuroscience and psychiatric epidemiology. This article analyses this idea and maps its ethical implications from a public health ethical standpoint. Twenty-seven variants of the new Lombrosian vision of forensic screening and prevention are distinguished, and some scientific and technical limitations are noted. Some lures, biases and structural factors, making the application of the Lombrosian idea likely in spite of weak evidence are pointed out and noted as a specific type of ethical aspect. Many classic and complex ethical challenges for health screening programmes are shown to apply to the identified variants and the choice between them, albeit with peculiar and often provoking variations. These variations are shown to actualize an underlying theoretical conundrum in need of further study, pertaining to the relationship between public health ethics and the ethics and values of criminal law policy.

Articulating the history and major departure points evident in post-apartheid South African national water policy and law

Science.gov (United States)

Chikozho, C.; Danga, L.; Saruchera, D.

2017-08-01

Governance of the water sector in South Africa has reflected the political changes taking place in society. For instance, due to apartheid policies of segregation, inequality of access to water resources marks South Africa's history in a very profound way and redistribution of rights to water to redress the results of past discrimination became an explicit purpose of the post-apartheid water governance policy and legislative regime. In this paper, we articulate the history and major departure points evident in post-apartheid South African national water policy and law. This includes documenting and reflecting on most of the available information that shows how the new water policy and law were developed. Findings from the study show that the key players active in the water law review process deliberately took into account the political goals and dynamics of power asymmetry within which the law was being articulated. Therefore, the water law as it stands today and in the past must be understood within the context of the socio-economic and political landscape that has prevailed in South Africa at different historical junctures. We contend that a detailed examination and articulation of the history and major departure points evident in post-apartheid South African national water policy and law enables practitioners and scholars to better understand the main motivations behind the water sector reforms and the then prevailing thinking behind the policy and legislation eventually promulgated. The present water law must be understood in the context of these reforms and the objectives they sought to achieve.

[Animal ethics in the 19th century and Swiss animal protection law].

Science.gov (United States)

Bloch, I

2018-01-01

The development of animal ethics and animal rights from the antiquity up to modern times is described. The relationship of humans to animals was primarily based on fear and animal cult, developed by the domestication to a partnership. The philosophers of the early modern age denied the animals the reason, what was disadvantageous to the position of the animals in the society and the behavior of humans to the animals. By the end of the 19th century the animal protection concept developed with numerous postulates for legal regulations. With the Swiss animal protection law, which came into force in 1981, most of the postulates could be realised. It is shown, how animal protection has developed since that time.

Management and ethical responsibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gašović Milan

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Most authors believe that ethics is set of moral principles and values which leads a person or a group toward what is good or bad. Ethics sets the standards about what is good, and what is bad in behaving and decision making. Principles are the rules or the laws that create ethical codex.

[Health system reforms, economic constraints and ethical and legal values].

Science.gov (United States)

Caillol, Michel; Le Coz, Pierre; Aubry, Régis; Bréchat, Pierre-Henri

2010-01-01

Health system and hospital reforms have led to important and on-going legislative, structural and organizational changes. Is there any logic at work within the health system and hospitals that could call into question the principle of solidarity, the secular values of ethics that govern the texts of law and ethics? In order to respond, we compared our experiences to a review of the professional and scientific literature from 1992 to 2010. Over the course of the past eighteen years, health system organization was subjected to variations and significant tensions. These variations are witnesses to a paradigm shift: although a step towards the regionalization of the health system integrating the choice of public health priorities, consultation and participatory democracy has been implemented, nevertheless the system was then re-oriented towards the trend of returning to centralization on the basis of uniting economics, technical modernization and contracting. This change of doctrine may undermine the social mission of hospitals and the principle of solidarity. Progress, the aging population and financial constraints would force policy-makers to steer the health system towards more centralized control. Hospitals, health professionals and users may feel torn within a system that tends to simplify and minimize what is becoming increasingly complex and global. Benchmarks on values, ethics and law for the hospitals, healthcare professionals and users are questioned. These are important elements to consider when the law on the reform of hospitals, patients, health care and territories and regional health agencies is implemented.

Would Enforcing Competition Law Compromise Industry Policy Objectives?

OpenAIRE

Evenett, Simon J.

2005-01-01

One recurring concern in the debate over the efficacy of enacting competition laws in developing countries is that its enforcement may compromise important industrial policy goals. This concern has been raised in regional fora and in multilateral organizations such as the World Trade Organization, where officials have considered the pros and cons of including competition provisions in international trade agreements. However, the concern is broader and often national debates over the merits of...

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.

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

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.

Policy Entrepreneurs and the Design of Public Policy: The Case of the National Health Insurance Law in Israel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NISSIM COHEN

2012-07-01

Full Text Available How do policy entrepreneurs implement in practice the things theory suggests they should do? This article suggests various insightsinto the influence of policy entrepreneurs on the formulation of public policy. Using a broad definition of the concept of policyentrepreneur, the article identifies the main characteristics of entrepreneurial activities, describes various strategies that the policyentrepreneur may employ, and develops a model of successful and effective policy entrepreneurship. Using an analysis of the designof the Israel National Health Law of 1994 as a case study, the article emphasizes the importance of policy entrepreneurs in thepublic policy arena and provides several insights into the conditions for their activity, their motivations and main strategies.

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.

Reflections on Enhancing the Understanding of Law through Ethical Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, Murray S.

2010-01-01

There are varied approaches to incorporating the subject of ethics in the business school curriculum. The evolving process has included a debate over fundamental matters such as whether all students should be required to take a discrete course in ethics, who should be teaching ethics, and whether ethics can even be taught. The ethics subject…

The Treaty of Lisbon and European Environmental Law and Policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vedder, H.H.B.

2010-01-01

This contribution analyses the effects of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon for European environmental law and policy. The central conclusion is that, apart from the new numbering and some new names for procedures and institutions, this does not entail any major changes. The new Energy

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.

Evaluating equity critiques in food policy: the case of sugar-sweetened beverages.

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Barnhill, Anne; King, Katherine F

2013-01-01

Many anti-obesity policies face a variety of ethical objections. We consider one kind of anti-obesity policy - modifications to food assistance programs meant to improve participants' diet - and one kind of criticism of these policies, that they are inequitable. We take as our example the recent, unsuccessful effort by New York State to exclude sweetened beverages from the items eligible for purchase in New York City with Supplemental Nutrition Support Program (SNAP) assistance (i.e., food stamps). We distinguish two equity-based ethical objections that were made to the sweetened beverage exclusion, and analyze these objections in terms of the theoretical notions of distributive equality and social equality. First, the sweetened beverage exclusion is unfair or violates distributive equality because it restricts the consumer choice of SNAP participants relative to non-participants. Second, it is disrespectful or violates social equality to prohibit SNAP participants from purchasing sweetened beverages with food stamps. We conclude that neither equity-based ethical objection is decisive, and that the proposed exclusion of sugar-sweetened beverages is not a violation of either distributive or social equality. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Abortion law, policy and services in India: a critical review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirve, Siddhivinayak S

2004-11-01

Despite 30 years of liberal legislation, the majority of women in India still lack access to safe abortion care. This paper critically reviews the history of abortion law and policy in India since the 1960s and research on abortion service delivery. Amendments in 2002 and 2003 to the 1971 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, including devolution of regulation of abortion services to the district level, punitive measures to deter provision of unsafe abortions, rationalisation of physical requirements for facilities to provide early abortion, and approval of medical abortion, have all aimed to expand safe services. Proposed amendments to the MTP Act to prevent sex-selective abortions would have been unethical and violated confidentiality, and were not taken forward. Continuing problems include poor regulation of both public and private sector services, a physician-only policy that excludes mid-level providers and low registration of rural compared to urban clinics; all restrict access. Poor awareness of the law, unnecessary spousal consent requirements, contraceptive targets linked to abortion, and informal and high fees also serve as barriers. Training more providers, simplifying registration procedures, de-linking clinic and provider approval, and linking policy with up-to-date technology, research and good clinical practice are some immediate measures needed to improve women's access to safe abortion care.

Ethical issues associated with medical tourism in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Mogaka, John J. O.; Mupara, Lucia; Tsoka-Gwegweni, Joyce M

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Global disparities in medical technologies, laws, economic inequities, and social–cultural differences drive medical tourism (MT), the practice of travelling to consume healthcare that is either too delayed, unavailable, unaffordable or legally proscribed at home. Africa is simultaneously a source and destination for MT. MT however, presents a new and challenging health ethics frontier, being largely unregulated and characterized by policy contradictions, minority discrimination and conflict of interest among role-players. This article assesses the level of knowledge of MT and its associated ethical issues in Africa; it also identifies critical research gaps on the subject in the region. Exploratory design guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework was used. Key search terms and prior determined exclusion/inclusion criteria were used to identify relevant literature sources. Fifty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Distributive justice, healthcare resource allocation, experimental treatments and organ transplant were the most common ethical issues of medical tourism in Africa. The dearth of robust engagement of MT and healthcare ethics, as identified through this review, calls for more rigorous research on this subject. Although the bulk of the medical tourism industry is driven by global legal disparities based on ethical considerations, little attention has been given to this subject. PMID:28740618

Ethical issues associated with medical tourism in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Mogaka, John J O; Mupara, Lucia; Tsoka-Gwegweni, Joyce M

2017-01-01

Global disparities in medical technologies, laws, economic inequities, and social-cultural differences drive medical tourism (MT), the practice of travelling to consume healthcare that is either too delayed, unavailable, unaffordable or legally proscribed at home. Africa is simultaneously a source and destination for MT. MT however, presents a new and challenging health ethics frontier, being largely unregulated and characterized by policy contradictions, minority discrimination and conflict of interest among role-players. This article assesses the level of knowledge of MT and its associated ethical issues in Africa; it also identifies critical research gaps on the subject in the region. Exploratory design guided by Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework was used. Key search terms and prior determined exclusion/inclusion criteria were used to identify relevant literature sources. Fifty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Distributive justice, healthcare resource allocation, experimental treatments and organ transplant were the most common ethical issues of medical tourism in Africa. The dearth of robust engagement of MT and healthcare ethics, as identified through this review, calls for more rigorous research on this subject. Although the bulk of the medical tourism industry is driven by global legal disparities based on ethical considerations, little attention has been given to this subject.

Some comments of the parlamentary actions about the province of Cordoba's nuclear policy law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, H.R.; Muller, E.

1991-01-01

In this paper, the actual status of the Cordoba Province's Nuclear Policy Law in Argentine Republic is presented. The different actions made in the parlamentary treatment of the law are described in detail, with mention of the more important subjects from each political force. The contents of the law are described in detail with special emphasis on the historical development of them. (Author) [es

A review of management of infertility in Nigeria: framing the ethics of a national health policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akinloye O

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Oluyemi Akinloye1,2, Ernest J Truter21Department of Chemical Pathology, Reproductive and Molecular Endocrinology Unit, College of Health Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria; 2Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Wellness Science, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville Campus, Cape Town, South AfricaAbstract: Infertility has recently been construed to be a serious problem in sub-Saharan Africa. This problem seems to be viewed as of low priority with reference to the effective and efficient allocation of available health resources by national governments as well as by international donors sponsoring either research or service delivery in the public health sector. In this paper the problem of infertility in Nigeria is surveyed with a view to assessing the ethical dimension of proposals to manage infertility as a public sector priority in health care delivery. The population/individual and public/private distinction in the formulation of health policy has ethical implications that cannot simply be ignored and are therefore engaged in critically assessing the problem of infertility. Cost–utility analysis (such as Quality Adjusted Life-Year composite index in the management of infertility in Nigeria entails the need for caution relevant to the country's efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goals. This should remain the case whether the ethical evaluation appeals to utilitarian or contractarian (Rawlsian principles. The "worst off" category of Nigerians includes (1 underweight children less than 5 years of age, with special concern for infants (0–1 years of age and (2 the proportion of the population below a minimum level of dietary consumption. The Rawlsian ethic implies that any Federal Ministry of Health policy aimed at establishing public programs for infertility management can be considered a "fair" allocation and expenditure if, and only if, the situation for

Ethical considerations of research policy for personal genome analysis: the approach of the Genome Science Project in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Minari, Jusaku; Shirai, Tetsuya; Kato, Kazuto

2014-12-01

As evidenced by high-throughput sequencers, genomic technologies have recently undergone radical advances. These technologies enable comprehensive sequencing of personal genomes considerably more efficiently and less expensively than heretofore. These developments present a challenge to the conventional framework of biomedical ethics; under these changing circumstances, each research project has to develop a pragmatic research policy. Based on the experience with a new large-scale project-the Genome Science Project-this article presents a novel approach to conducting a specific policy for personal genome research in the Japanese context. In creating an original informed-consent form template for the project, we present a two-tiered process: making the draft of the template following an analysis of national and international policies; refining the draft template in conjunction with genome project researchers for practical application. Through practical use of the template, we have gained valuable experience in addressing challenges in the ethical review process, such as the importance of sharing details of the latest developments in genomics with members of research ethics committees. We discuss certain limitations of the conventional concept of informed consent and its governance system and suggest the potential of an alternative process using information technology.

The Value of Virginity and the Value of the Law: Accommodating Multiculturalism.

Science.gov (United States)

de Lora, Pablo

2015-01-01

Hymenoplasty is a minor surgical procedure requested by women who, for cultural or religious reasons, need to remain a virgin until marriage. In this article I assess whether the public healthcare system of a liberal state should provide it as part of a policy of multicultural accommodation. I conclude that, in order to remain loyal to certain ethical ideals linked to the rule of law, liberal states should give access to hymenoplasty only to women for whom premarital virginity is a precondition for their flourishing within their community and who say they are victims of sexual assault. Copyright 2015 The Journal of Clinical Ethics. All rights reserved.

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.

The passage of tobacco control law 174 in Lebanon: reflections on the problem, policies and politics.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakkash, R T; Torossian, L; El Hajj, T; Khalil, J; Afifi, R A

2018-06-01

Progress in tobacco control policy making has occurred worldwide through advocacy campaigns involving multiple players- civil society groups, activists, academics, media and policymakers. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)-the first ever global health treaty-outlines evidence-based tobacco control policies. Lebanon ratified the FCTC in 2005, but until 2011, tobacco control policies remained rudimentary and not evidence-based. Beginning in 2009, a concerted advocacy campaign was undertaken by a variety of stakeholders with the aim of accelerating the process of adopting a strong tobacco control policy. The campaign was successful, and Law 174 passed the Lebanese Parliament in August 2011. In this article, we analyse the policy making process that led to the adoption of Law 174 using Kingdon's model. The analysis relies on primary and secondary data sources including historical records of key governmental decisions, documentation of the activities of the concerted advocacy campaign and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders. We describe the opening of a window of opportunity as a result of the alignment of the problem, policy and politics streams. Furthermore, findings revealed that despite the challenge of persistent tobacco industry interference and established power relations between the industry, its allies and policymakers; policy entrepreneurs succeeded in supporting the alignment of the streams, and influencing the passage of the law. Kingdon's multiple stream approach was useful in explaining how tobacco control became an emerging policy issue at the front of the policy agenda in Lebanon.

Duty to Inform and Informed Consent in Diagnostic Radiology: How Ethics and Law can Better Guide Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Doudenkova, Victoria; Bélisle Pipon, Jean-Christophe

2016-03-01

Although there is consensus on the fact that ionizing radiation used in radiological examinations can affect health, the stochastic (random) nature of risk makes it difficult to anticipate and assess specific health implications for patients. The issue of radiation protection is peculiar as any dosage received in life is cumulative, the sensitivity to radiation is highly variable from one person to another, and between 20 % and 50 % of radiological examinations appear not to be necessary. In this context, one might reasonably assume that information and patient consent would play an important role in regulating radiological practice. However, there is to date no clear consensus regarding the nature and content of-or even need for-consent by patients exposed to ionizing radiation. While law and ethics support the same principles for respecting the dignity of the person (inviolability and integrity), in the context of radiology practice, they do not provide a consistent message to guide clinical decision-making. This article analyzes the issue of healthcare professionals' duty to inform and obtain patient consent for radiological examinations. Considering that both law and ethics have as one of their aims to protect vulnerable populations, it is important that they begin to give greater attention to issues raised by the use of ionizing radiation in medicine. While the situation in Canada serves as a backdrop for a reflective analysis of the problem, the conclusions are pertinent for professional practice in other jurisdictions because the principles underlying health law and jurisprudence are fairly general.

Law Policy Implementation as the Determinant of the Legal Development of Society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bakardzhiev Ya. V.

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The article focuses on the forms and mechanism of implementation of law policy, aspects of its interaction with different legal and social factors and determinants specifying its formation and enforcement.

The Perfect Storm--Genetic Engineering, Science, and Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Rollin, Bernard E.

2014-01-01

Uncertainty about ethics has been a major factor in societal rejection of biotechnology. Six factors help create a societal "perfect storm" regarding ethics and biotechnology: Social demand for ethical discussion; societal scientific illiteracy; poor social understanding of ethics; a "Gresham's Law for Ethics;" Scientific…

Medical ethics and ethical dilemmas.

Science.gov (United States)

Iyalomhe, G B S

2009-01-01

Ethical problems routinely arise in the hospital and outpatient practice settings and times of dilemma do occur such that practitioners and patients are at cross-roads where choice and decision making become difficult in terms of ethics. This paper attempts a synopsis of the basic principles of medical ethics, identifies some ethical dilemmas that doctors often encounter and discusses some strategies to address them as well as emphasizes the need for enhanced ethics education both for physicians and patients particularly in Nigeria. Literature and computer programmes (Medline and PsychoInfo databases) were searched for relevant information. The search showed that the fundamental principles suggested by ethicists to assist doctors to evaluate the ethics of a situation while making a decision include respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. Although the above principles do not give answers as to how to handle a particular situation, they serve as a guide to doctors on what principles ought to apply to actual circumstances. The principles sometimes conflict with each other leading to ethical dilemmas when applied to issues such as abortion, contraception, euthanasia, professional misconduct, confidentiality truth telling, professional relationship with relatives, religion, traditional medicine and business concerns. Resolution of dilemmas demand the best of the doctor's knowledge of relevant laws and ethics, his training and experience, his religious conviction and moral principles as well as his readiness to benefit from ethics consultation and the advice of his colleagues. Ethics education should begin from the impressionable age in homes, continued in the medical schools and after graduation to ensure that doctors develop good ethical practices and acquire the ability to effectively handle ethical dilemmas. Also, education of patients and sanction of unethical behaviour will reduce ethical dilemmas.

An Analysis of U.S. Student Drug and Alcohol Policies through the Lens of a Professional Ethic for School Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Stamm, Mark E.; Frick, William C.; Mackey, Hollie J.

2016-01-01

This study explored the moral complexity of student drug and alcohol policies that are often disciplinary, punitive, and exclusionary in nature. The Ethic of the Profession and its Model for Students' Best Interests (Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2016; Stefkovich, 2013), a professional ethical construct for educational leadership and for school…

Environmetal protection within the law relating to regional policy. Anchoring the climatic protection und the protection of biodiversity within the law relating to regional policy; Umweltschutz im Planungsrecht. Die Verankerung des Klimaschutzes und des Schutzes der biologischen Vielfalt im raumbezogenen Planungsrecht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Janssen, Gerold; Albrecht, Juliane [Leibniz-Institut fuer oekologische Raumentwicklung e.V., Dresden (Germany)

2008-03-15

The report is concerned with the anchoring of the climate protection within the law relating to regional policy. The report covers the following topics: (1) Fundamentals of planning policy: the regional planning legislation, municipal planning authority, constitutional provisos, environmental protection as constitutional principle; (2) climate protection laws: legal instruments; legal planning relevance of climate protection instruments deficiencies and protective effect; (3) biodiversity protection: laws concerning biodiversity, legal planning relevance of biodiversity protection instruments: deficiencies and protective effects.

A review of management of infertility in Nigeria: framing the ethics of a national health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Akinloye, Oluyemi; Truter, Ernest J

2011-01-01

Infertility has recently been construed to be a serious problem in sub-Saharan Africa. This problem seems to be viewed as of low priority with reference to the effective and efficient allocation of available health resources by national governments as well as by international donors sponsoring either research or service delivery in the public health sector. In this paper the problem of infertility in Nigeria is surveyed with a view to assessing the ethical dimension of proposals to manage infertility as a public sector priority in health care delivery. The population/individual and public/private distinction in the formulation of health policy has ethical implications that cannot simply be ignored and are therefore engaged in critically assessing the problem of infertility. Cost-utility analysis (such as Quality Adjusted Life-Year composite index) in the management of infertility in Nigeria entails the need for caution relevant to the country's efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goals. This should remain the case whether the ethical evaluation appeals to utilitarian or contractarian (Rawlsian) principles. The "worst off " category of Nigerians includes (1) underweight children less than 5 years of age, with special concern for infants (0-1 years of age) and (2) the proportion of the population below a minimum level of dietary consumption. The Rawlsian ethic implies that any Federal Ministry of Health policy aimed at establishing public programs for infertility management can be considered a "fair" allocation and expenditure if, and only if, the situation for these two cohorts is not thereby made worse. Nigerian health policy cannot assume this type of increased allocation of its resources to infertility care without it being hard pressed to warrant defensible moral or rational argument.

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.

The French electricity policy facing European integration and environmental law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Begue, M.C.

2004-02-01

The french electricity policy is traditionally defined by public authorities. The preference for nuclear power implies great risk and severe damage to the environment. These features of french electricity policy are however questioned by the increasing influence of european law and the (relatively) recent recognition of the environmental issues of such policy. This thesis intends to study the consequences of two 'new' tendencies that seem to be inevitable in the field of electricity policy: the decreasing role of national public authorities and the diffusion of the concept of sustainable development. The theoretical model which underlies the organization of commercial exchanges is replacing the traditional intervention of the State. regarding of this basic good. The adoption of legal rules to organize the electricity market has involved the development of many economic instruments. Those instruments aim at modifying the electricity policy in accordance with the principle of integration of environmental dimension in sectoral policies. The main object of our work is to analyse the consequences of these changes in the concept of public utility as well as in the importance given to environmental protection in the new forms of electricity policies. (author)

Champions for social change: Photovoice ethics in practice and 'false hopes' for policy and social change.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Gloria

2016-01-01

Photovoice methodology is growing in popularity in the health, education and social sciences as a research tool based on the core values of community-based participatory research. Most photovoice projects state a claim to the third goal of photovoice: to reach policy-makers or effect policy change. This paper examines the concerns of raising false hopes or unrealistic expectations amongst the participants of photovoice projects as they are positioned to be the champions for social change in their communities. The impetus for social change seems to lie in the hands of those most affected by the issue. This drive behind collective social action forms, what could be termed, a micro-social movement or comparative interest group. Looking to the potential use of social movement theory and resource mobilisation concepts, this paper poses a series of unanswered questions about the ethics of photovoice projects. The ethical concern centres on the focus of policy change as a key initiative; yet, most projects remain vague about the implementation and outcomes of this focus.

Techniques for analyzing the impacts of certain electric-utility ratemaking and regulatory-policy concepts. Regulatory laws and policies. [State by state

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1980-08-01

This report is a legal study prepared to provide a review of the substantive and procedural laws of each regulatory jurisdiction that may affect implementation of the PURPA standards, and to summarize the current state of consideration and implementation of policies and rate designs similar or identical to the PURPA standards by state regulatory agencies and nonregulated utilities. This report is divided into three sections. The first section, the Introduction, summarizes the standards promulgated by PURPA and the results of the legal study. The second section, State Regulatory Law and Procedure, summarizes for each state or other ratemaking jurisdiction: (1) general constitutional and statutory provisions affecting utility rates and conditions of service; (2) specific laws or decisions affecting policy or rate design issues covered by PURPA standards; and (3) statutes and decisions governing administrative procedures, including judicial review. A chart showing actions taken on the policy and rate design issues addressed by PURPA is also included for each jurisdiction, and citations to relevant authorities are presented for each standard. State statutes or decisions that specifically define a state standard similar or identical to a PURPA standard, or that refer to one of the three PURPA objectives, are noted. The third section, Nonregulated Electric Utilities, summarizes information available on nonregulated utilities, i.e., publicly or cooperatively owned utilities which are specifically exempted from state regulation by state law.

The Perfect Storm—Genetic Engineering, Science, and Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Rollin, Bernard E.

2014-02-01

Uncertainty about ethics has been a major factor in societal rejection of biotechnology. Six factors help create a societal "perfect storm" regarding ethics and biotechnology: Social demand for ethical discussion; societal scientific illiteracy; poor social understanding of ethics; a "Gresham's Law for Ethics;" Scientific Ideology; vested interests dominating ethical discussion. How this can be remedied is discussed.

From bench to bedside and to health policies (and back: ethics in translational research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Petrini

2014-03-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: The medical aim of translational research is to smooth the transition of discoveries made through basic research from the laboratory bench to their diagnostic or therapeutic applications for patients. These applications may be extended to current clinical practice and to health policies. AIM: The converse is also important: health policies should provide a point of departure when identifying research priorities. Translational research poses the same ethical problems as trials with human subjects - albeit in different ways. One of the more significant problems is the risk for participants in trials: it is thus necessary to ensure that the risks to which these subjects are exposed are not out of proportion to the expected benefits. DISCUSSION: Translational research does not require new ethical principles, but existing biomedical principles need to be adjusted to the specific context. The well-being of participants should always be the primary objective; these persons should never be considered as means for the advancement of knowledge or for the improvement of applications.

RUSSIA’S ‘FOREIGN AGENT’ LAW: A RESPONSE TO AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC PROMOTION POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijay Kumar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Recently passed the Russian ‘Foreign Agent’ law against foreign funding of NGOs and civil society has attracted criticism from almost every quarter. From home to abroad all party concerned (i.e., civil society organizations, NGO groups, donor countries (especiallyAmericaand European countries as well as some Russian opposition political parties are of the view that this bill has been introduced to scuttle the independent civic activities and in this way unconstitutional. However on the basis of overall analysis of ‘Foreign Agent’ law in the context of American democratic promotion policy this paper is of the view that this law simply cannot be characterized as anti-democratic, which is against the very basis of freedom and rule of law, by the anti-democratic Russian government but it should be seen as extension of same challenge which American democratic promotion policy is facing around the whole world. It is because of its illegal and unconstitutional method of regime change policy, with the help of foreign funded NGOs, and civil society which has compelled various countries includingRussiato resort this type of law. It is important to note that the promise of peace, stability and prosperity by the democratic promotion protagonists after the fall ofSoviet Unionhas not been realised till today. Instead what post-Soviet states are witnessing today is emergence of chauvinist nationalist government in respective countries which witnessed colour revolution. Whole region is now plunging into economic turmoil, ethnic nationalism, rise of religious fundamentalism and identity politics. Recent overthrow of legitimate Viktor Yanukovych government inUkraineand subsequent decision by incumbent government to exclude Russian as administrative language can be sited as example. That is why former American Republican Congressman Ron Paul is of the view that “US‘Democracy Promotion’ Destroys Democracy Overseas’’. In this context this paper

Ethical and policy issues in cluster randomized trials: rationale and design of a mixed methods research study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaudhry Shazia H

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cluster randomized trials are an increasingly important methodological tool in health research. In cluster randomized trials, intact social units or groups of individuals, such as medical practices, schools, or entire communities – rather than individual themselves – are randomly allocated to intervention or control conditions, while outcomes are then observed on individual cluster members. The substantial methodological differences between cluster randomized trials and conventional randomized trials pose serious challenges to the current conceptual framework for research ethics. The ethical implications of randomizing groups rather than individuals are not addressed in current research ethics guidelines, nor have they even been thoroughly explored. The main objectives of this research are to: (1 identify ethical issues arising in cluster trials and learn how they are currently being addressed; (2 understand how ethics reviews of cluster trials are carried out in different countries (Canada, the USA and the UK; (3 elicit the views and experiences of trial participants and cluster representatives; (4 develop well-grounded guidelines for the ethical conduct and review of cluster trials by conducting an extensive ethical analysis and organizing a consensus process; (5 disseminate the guidelines to researchers, research ethics boards (REBs, journal editors, and research funders. Methods We will use a mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative approach incorporating both empirical and conceptual work. Empirical work will include a systematic review of a random sample of published trials, a survey and in-depth interviews with trialists, a survey of REBs, and in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with trial participants and gatekeepers. The empirical work will inform the concurrent ethical analysis which will lead to a guidance document laying out principles, policy options, and rationale for proposed guidelines. An

Nuclear energy policy and atomic energy law. Issues and developmental aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt-Preuss, M.

1998-01-01

Nuclear energy policy and the atomic energy law recurrently have been a focal point of interest and an issue of political debate in Germany. However, this time the political debate is gaining a new dimension in the wake of the general elections held in September 1998 and the resulting change of government. The contribution compares aspects of the history of atomic energy research and nuclear technology with the current political situation and assesses the impacts of announced changes in government policy and legislation. (orig./CB) [de

Ethics in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Medlin, E. Lander

2010-01-01

Ethics is defined as a set of guidelines and/or rules for the conduct of individual behavior in an organization or civil society. This ethical code of conduct is intended to guide policies, practices, and decision-making for employees on behalf of the organization. This article explores the importance of ethics, the basis for making ethical…

Ethics in Health Care. Syllabus #1006.2.

Science.gov (United States)

Fullen, Jim; Coverdale, Edna

A 12-week course in health care ethics offered by Central Ohio Technical College is described. Following a list of objectives, a week by week outline charts the following topics covered in the course: ethics in health, an introduction to ethics, utilitarianism and egoism (goal-based ethical theories), divine command and social law (duty-based…

A health app developer's guide to law and policy: a multi-sector policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Lisa; Karliychuk, Tanya; Gillies, Donna; Mintzes, Barbara; Raven, Melissa; Grundy, Quinn

2017-10-02

Apps targeted at health and wellbeing sit in a rapidly growing industry associated with widespread optimism about their potential to deliver accessible and cost-effective healthcare. App developers might not be aware of all the regulatory requirements and best practice principles are emergent. Health apps are regulated in order to minimise their potential for harm due to, for example, loss of personal health privacy, financial costs, and health harms from delayed or unnecessary diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. We aimed to produce a comprehensive guide to assist app developers in producing health apps that are legally compliant and in keeping with high professional standards of user protection. We conducted a case study analysis of the Australian and related international policy environment for mental health apps to identify relevant sectors, policy actors, and policy solutions. We identified 29 policies produced by governments and non-government organisations that provide oversight of health apps. In consultation with stakeholders, we developed an interactive tool targeted at app developers, summarising key features of the policy environment and highlighting legislative, industry and professional standards around seven relevant domains: privacy, security, content, promotion and advertising, consumer finances, medical device efficacy and safety, and professional ethics. We annotated this developer guidance tool with information about: the relevance of each domain; existing legislative and non-legislative guidance; critiques of existing policy; recommendations for developers; and suggestions for other key stakeholders. We anticipate that mental health apps developed in accordance with this tool will be more likely to conform to regulatory requirements, protect consumer privacy, protect consumer finances, and deliver health benefit; and less likely to attract regulatory penalties, offend consumers and communities, mislead consumers, or deliver health harms. We

War Machines and Ethics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Thomas Galasz; Buhl, Kenneth Øhlenschlæger

2018-01-01

and save military lives. However, this opens up for discussions about ethical dilemmas about machines that autonomously are able to kill humans: What is an autonomous weapons system? What laws covers the use of fully autonomous weapons systems? Should it apply to International Humanitarian Law?...

Infectious diseases in the workplace: pointers for an ethical management policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamblin, J

1990-01-01

Infectious diseases in the workplace can present difficult dilemmas for employers, who must balance the rights of infected employees against obligations to protect other employees from infection. Anti-discrimination legislation imposes additional obligations on employers to ensure that any steps taken in response to the risk of infectious disease do not amount to unlawful discrimination against employees who may be disease carriers. This paper analyses the operation of anti-discrimination in this context and points to ways in which employers can formulate an infectious diseases policy that is both ethically and legally defensible.

Policy implications for familial searching.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Joyce; Mammo, Danny; Siegel, Marni B; Katsanis, Sara H

2011-11-01

In the United States, several states have made policy decisions regarding whether and how to use familial searching of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database in criminal investigations. Familial searching pushes DNA typing beyond merely identifying individuals to detecting genetic relatedness, an application previously reserved for missing persons identifications and custody battles. The intentional search of CODIS for partial matches to an item of evidence offers law enforcement agencies a powerful tool for developing investigative leads, apprehending criminals, revitalizing cold cases and exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals. As familial searching involves a range of logistical, social, ethical and legal considerations, states are now grappling with policy options for implementing familial searching to balance crime fighting with its potential impact on society. When developing policies for familial searching, legislators should take into account the impact of familial searching on select populations and the need to minimize personal intrusion on relatives of individuals in the DNA database. This review describes the approaches used to narrow a suspect pool from a partial match search of CODIS and summarizes the economic, ethical, logistical and political challenges of implementing familial searching. We examine particular US state policies and the policy options adopted to address these issues. The aim of this review is to provide objective background information on the controversial approach of familial searching to inform policy decisions in this area. Herein we highlight key policy options and recommendations regarding effective utilization of familial searching that minimize harm to and afford maximum protection of US citizens.

Ethical considerations in internet use of electronic protected health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Polito, Jacquelyn M

2012-03-01

Caregivers, patients, and their family members are increasingly reliant on social network websites for storing, communicating, and referencing medical information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule seeks balance by protecting the privacy of patients' health information and assuring that this information is available to those who need it to provide health care. Though federal and state governments have created laws and policies to safeguard patient privacy and confidentiality, the laws are inadequate against the rapid and innovative use of electronic health websites. As Internet use broadens access to information, health professionals must be aware that this information is not always secure. We must identify and reflect on medical ethics issues and be accountable for maintaining privacy for the patient.

Ethical issues in the development and implementation of nutrition-related public health policies and interventions: A scoping review

Science.gov (United States)

Peña-Rosas, Juan Pablo; Saxena, Abha; Zamora, Gerardo

2017-01-01

Background The limited integration of ethics in nutrition-related public health policies and interventions is one major concern for those who have the task of implementing them. Ethical challenges that are overlooked during the development of such interventions could raise serious ethical issues during their implementation and even after. As a result, these decision makers need technical support and ethical guidance for adaptation of interventions to local (cultural, social, economic, etc.) contexts. Aim The goal of this scoping review is to delineate and “map” the range of ethical issues in nutrition-related public health interventions, as well as the range of the various fields in which they may arise. Methods A scoping review of empirical research and conceptual literature was conducted following the framework of Arksey and O’Malley. Searches using PubMed with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) categories and Advanced Search Builder as well as in the Global Health Library were performed. The final sample consists of 169 publications. Results The ethics of public health prevention or treatment of obesity and non-communicable diseases is the most explicitly and frequently discussed subject. In comparison, ethical issues raised by public health interventions in the fields of undernutrition, breastfeeding, vitamin/mineral supplementation and food fortification, food security, food sustainability and food safety are addressed in a lower proportion of the sample. The results illustrate the various natures, types, and scopes of existing public health nutrition-related interventions, and the various ethical issues that may be raised by these interventions, in addition to the numerous and different contexts in which they may be implemented. Discussion The ethical issues faced in the development and implementation of nutrition-related public health interventions are varied and cannot be equated with, nor generalized about, when dealing with specific activities in this

Ethical issues in the development and implementation of nutrition-related public health policies and interventions: A scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurlimann, Thierry; Peña-Rosas, Juan Pablo; Saxena, Abha; Zamora, Gerardo; Godard, Béatrice

2017-01-01

The limited integration of ethics in nutrition-related public health policies and interventions is one major concern for those who have the task of implementing them. Ethical challenges that are overlooked during the development of such interventions could raise serious ethical issues during their implementation and even after. As a result, these decision makers need technical support and ethical guidance for adaptation of interventions to local (cultural, social, economic, etc.) contexts. The goal of this scoping review is to delineate and "map" the range of ethical issues in nutrition-related public health interventions, as well as the range of the various fields in which they may arise. A scoping review of empirical research and conceptual literature was conducted following the framework of Arksey and O'Malley. Searches using PubMed with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) categories and Advanced Search Builder as well as in the Global Health Library were performed. The final sample consists of 169 publications. The ethics of public health prevention or treatment of obesity and non-communicable diseases is the most explicitly and frequently discussed subject. In comparison, ethical issues raised by public health interventions in the fields of undernutrition, breastfeeding, vitamin/mineral supplementation and food fortification, food security, food sustainability and food safety are addressed in a lower proportion of the sample. The results illustrate the various natures, types, and scopes of existing public health nutrition-related interventions, and the various ethical issues that may be raised by these interventions, in addition to the numerous and different contexts in which they may be implemented. The ethical issues faced in the development and implementation of nutrition-related public health interventions are varied and cannot be equated with, nor generalized about, when dealing with specific activities in this field. More importantly, these ethical issues

Ethical issues in the development and implementation of nutrition-related public health policies and interventions: A scoping review.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thierry Hurlimann

Full Text Available The limited integration of ethics in nutrition-related public health policies and interventions is one major concern for those who have the task of implementing them. Ethical challenges that are overlooked during the development of such interventions could raise serious ethical issues during their implementation and even after. As a result, these decision makers need technical support and ethical guidance for adaptation of interventions to local (cultural, social, economic, etc. contexts.The goal of this scoping review is to delineate and "map" the range of ethical issues in nutrition-related public health interventions, as well as the range of the various fields in which they may arise.A scoping review of empirical research and conceptual literature was conducted following the framework of Arksey and O'Malley. Searches using PubMed with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH categories and Advanced Search Builder as well as in the Global Health Library were performed. The final sample consists of 169 publications.The ethics of public health prevention or treatment of obesity and non-communicable diseases is the most explicitly and frequently discussed subject. In comparison, ethical issues raised by public health interventions in the fields of undernutrition, breastfeeding, vitamin/mineral supplementation and food fortification, food security, food sustainability and food safety are addressed in a lower proportion of the sample. The results illustrate the various natures, types, and scopes of existing public health nutrition-related interventions, and the various ethical issues that may be raised by these interventions, in addition to the numerous and different contexts in which they may be implemented.The ethical issues faced in the development and implementation of nutrition-related public health interventions are varied and cannot be equated with, nor generalized about, when dealing with specific activities in this field. More importantly, these

The Role of Accounting and Accounting Law in Establishing Public Economic Policies in the Post-crisis Period

OpenAIRE

Aurelian Virgil BĂLUŢĂ

2012-01-01

The following issues are being adressed in this paper: the relationship of accounting and accounting law with the local economy, the relationship of accounting and accounting law with macroeconomics, establishing public policies for certain categories of enterprises based on information provided by accounting and accounting law, the relationship of accounting and accounting law with macroeconomics foresight and forecast, the relationship of accounting and accounting law with the labor economy...

Improving biomedical journals' ethical policies: the case of research misconduct.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosch, Xavier

2014-09-01

Scientific journals may incur scientific error if articles are tainted by research misconduct. While some journals' ethical policies, especially those on conflicts of interest, have improved over recent years, with some adopting a uniform approach, only around half of biomedical journals, principally those with higher impact factors, currently have formal misconduct policies, mainly for handling allegations. Worryingly, since a response to allegations would reasonably require an a priori definition, far fewer journals have publicly available definitions of misconduct. While some journals and editors' associations have taken significant steps to prevent and detect misconduct and respond to allegations, the content, visibility of and access to these policies varies considerably. In addition, while the lack of misconduct policies may prompt and maintain a de novo approach for journals, potentially causing stress, publication delays and even legal disputes, the lack of uniformity may be a matter of contention for research stakeholders such as editors, authors and their institutions, and publishers. Although each case may need an individual approach, I argue that posting highly visible, readily accessible, comprehensive, consistent misconduct policies could prevent the publication of fraudulent papers, increase the number of retractions of already published papers and, perhaps, reduce research misconduct. Although legally problematic, a concerted approach, with sharing of information between editors, which is clearly explained in journal websites, could also help. Ideally, journals, editors' associations, and publishers should seek consistency and homogenise misconduct policies to maintain public confidence in the integrity of biomedical research publications. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

The Ethics of Organ Donor Registration Policies: Nudges and Respect for Autonomy.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKay, Douglas; Robinson, Alexandra

2016-11-01

Governments must determine the legal procedures by which their residents are registered, or can register, as organ donors. Provided that governments recognize that people have a right to determine what happens to their organs after they die, there are four feasible options to choose from: opt-in, opt-out, mandated active choice, and voluntary active choice. We investigate the ethics of these policies' use of nudges to affect organ donor registration rates. We argue that the use of nudges in this context is morally problematic. It is disrespectful of people's autonomy to take advantage of their cognitive biases since doing so involves bypassing, not engaging, their rational capacities. We conclude that while mandated active choice policies are not problem free-they are coercive, after all-voluntary active choice, opt-in, and opt-out policies are potentially less respectful of people's autonomy since their use of nudges could significantly affect people's decision making.

Ethical, legal and practical issues of establishing an adipose stem cell bank for research.

Science.gov (United States)

West, C C; Murray, I R; González, Z N; Hindle, P; Hay, D C; Stewart, K J; Péault, B

2014-06-01

Access to human tissue is critical to medical research, however the laws and regulations surrounding gaining ethical and legal access to tissue are often poorly understood. Recently, there has been a huge increase in the interest surrounding the therapeutic application of adipose tissue, and adipose-derived stem cells. To facilitate our own research interests and possibly assist our local colleagues and collaborators, we established a Research Tissue Bank (RTB) to collect, store and distribute human adipose tissue derived cells with all the appropriate ethical approval for subsequent downstream research. Here we examine the legal, ethical and practical issues relating to the banking of adipose tissue for research in the UK, and discuss relevant international guidelines and policies. We also share our experiences of establishing an RTB including the necessary infrastructure and the submission of an application to a Research Ethics Committee (REC). Copyright © 2014 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ethics and policy: Dealing with public attitudes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheehan, M.

2008-01-01

The current trend towards ethical scrutiny and oversight is very much a social trend. Many of the results of this trend are perfectly reasonable but some go harmfully too far. In this paper, caution is advocated about public attitudes and social trends. Although there is often a degree of truth in them, there is an inevitable simplification of the issues involved. The more specific danger for the professions is to think that public attitudes and social trends simply deliver 'the ethical'. In this context a more adequate account of ethics is considered - one that is relevant for professions like radiology confronting the demands of ethical scrutiny and oversight. The paper concludes with some suggestions about how to incorporate the important aspects of public attitudes and social trends without being subservient to them. (authors)

Law-based arguments and messages to advocate for later school start time policies in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Clark J; Nolan, Dennis M; Lockley, Steven W; Pattison, Brent

2017-12-01

The increasing scientific evidence that early school start times are harmful to the health and safety of teenagers has generated much recent debate about changing school start times policies for adolescent students. Although efforts to promote and implement such changes have proliferated in the United States in recent years, they have rarely been supported by law-based arguments and messages that leverage the existing legal infrastructure regulating public education and child welfare in the United States. Furthermore, the legal bases to support or resist such changes have not been explored in detail to date. This article provides an overview of how law-based arguments and messages can be constructed and applied to advocate for later school start time policies in US public secondary schools. The legal infrastructure impacting school start time policies in the United States is briefly reviewed, including descriptions of how government regulates education, what legal obligations school officials have concerning their students' welfare, and what laws and public policies currently exist that address adolescent sleep health and safety. On the basis of this legal infrastructure, some hypothetical examples of law-based arguments and messages that could be applied to various types of advocacy activities (eg, litigation, legislative and administrative advocacy, media and public outreach) to promote later school start times are discussed. Particular consideration is given to hypothetical arguments and messages aimed at emphasizing the consistency of later school start time policies with existing child welfare law and practices, legal responsibilities of school officials and governmental authorities, and societal values and norms. Copyright © 2017 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The ethical aspects of mass communication

OpenAIRE

Наталья Ивановна Клушина

2014-01-01

This article focuses on the ethical aspects of mass communication and key trends of russian media language. The author analyses ethics and law in modern journalism, culture of speech in media discourse, intentional, structural and social aspects of mass communication. Ethics of mass communication presupposes the observance of legal and moral norms, social responsibility and respect for the audience.

Regulation of genomic and biobanking research in Africa: a content analysis of ethics guidelines, policies and procedures from 22 African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

de Vries, Jantina; Munung, Syntia Nchangwi; Matimba, Alice; McCurdy, Sheryl; Ouwe Missi Oukem-Boyer, Odile; Staunton, Ciara; Yakubu, Aminu; Tindana, Paulina

2017-02-02

The introduction of genomics and biobanking methodologies to the African research context has also introduced novel ways of doing science, based on values of sharing and reuse of data and samples. This shift raises ethical challenges that need to be considered when research is reviewed by ethics committees, relating for instance to broad consent, the feedback of individual genetic findings, and regulation of secondary sample access and use. Yet existing ethics guidelines and regulations in Africa do not successfully regulate research based on sharing, causing confusion about what is allowed, where and when. In order to understand better the ethics regulatory landscape around genomic research and biobanking, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of existing ethics guidelines, policies and other similar sources. We sourced 30 ethics regulatory documents from 22 African countries. We used software that assists with qualitative data analysis to conduct a thematic analysis of these documents. Surprisingly considering how contentious broad consent is in Africa, we found that most countries allow the use of this consent model, with its use banned in only three of the countries we investigated. In a likely response to fears about exploitation, the export of samples outside of the continent is strictly regulated, sometimes in conjunction with regulations around international collaboration. We also found that whilst an essential and critical component of ensuring ethical best practice in genomics research relates to the governance framework that accompanies sample and data sharing, this was most sparingly covered in the guidelines. There is a need for ethics guidelines in African countries to be adapted to the changing science policy landscape, which increasingly supports principles of openness, storage, sharing and secondary use. Current guidelines are not pertinent to the ethical challenges that such a new orientation raises, and therefore fail to provide accurate guidance

An Ethics of Permission: A Response to the California End of Life Option Act.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Craig

2016-01-01

An ethics of permission can be helpful in framing a response to the ethical differences surrounding the California End of Life Option Act. Law does not define morality, and reaching a moral understanding demands thorough reflection. An ethics of permission examines the ethical demands of a permissive law for both clinician and patient. Serving the good of the patient, respecting professional conscience, and following the law are three ethical elements. Although developing an ethics of permission includes these three elements, these elements do not exhaust all the moral implications involved. An ethics of permission also includes the importance of exercising professional tolerance in the honoring of clinicians who choose to participate or refuse to participate. In addition, an ethics of permission also provides insight in implementing just and fair behavior among medical professionals.

Research ethics consultation: ethical and professional practice challenges and recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, Richard R; Taylor, Holly A; Brinich, Margaret A; Boyle, Mary M; Cho, Mildred; Coors, Marilyn; Danis, Marion; Havard, Molly; Magnus, David; Wilfond, Benjamin

2015-05-01

The complexity of biomedical research has increased considerably in the last decade, as has the pace of translational research. This complexity has generated a number of novel ethical issues for clinical investigators, institutional review boards (IRBs), and other oversight committees. In response, many academic medical centers have created formal research ethics consultation (REC) services to help clinical investigators and IRBs navigate ethical issues in biomedical research. Key functions of a REC service include assisting with research design and implementation, providing a forum for deliberative exploration of ethical issues, and supplementing regulatory oversight. As increasing numbers of academic research institutions establish REC services, there is a pressing need for consensus about the primary aims and policies that should guide these activities. Establishing clear expectations about the aims and policies of REC services is important if REC programs are to achieve their full potential. Drawing on the experiences of a Clinical and Translational Science Award Research Ethics Consultation Working Group, this article describes three major ethical and professional practice challenges associated with the provision of REC: (1) managing multiple institutional roles and responsibilities, (2) managing sensitive information, and (3) communicating with consultation requestors about how these issues are managed. The paper also presents several practical strategies for addressing these challenges and enhancing the quality of REC services.

Engaging Maori in Biobanking and Genetic Research: Legal, Ethical, and Policy Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Beaton

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Publically funded biobanking initiatives and genetic research should contribute towards reducing inequalities in health by reducing the prevalence and burden of disease. It is essential that Maori and other Indigenous populations share in health gains derived from these activities. The Health Research Council of New Zealand has funded a research project (2012-2015 to identify Maori perspectives on biobanking and genetic research, and to develop cultural guidelines for ethical biobanking and genetic research involving biospecimens. This review describes relevant values and ethics embedded in Maori indigenous knowledge, and how they may be applied to culturally safe interactions between biobanks, researchers, individual participants, and communities. Key issues of ownership, privacy, and consent are also considered within the legal and policy context that guides biobanking and genetic research practices within New Zealand. Areas of concern are highlighted and recommendations of international relevance are provided. To develop a productive environment for "next-generation" biobanking and genomic research,"‘next-generation" regulatory solutions will be required.

What Social Workers Should Know About Ethics: Understanding and Resolving Ethical Dilemmas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elaine P. Congress

2000-05-01

Full Text Available Recognizing ethical issues and dilemmas that arise in professional practice is crucial for social work practitioners, educators, and students. After a discussion about the limited, although growing, literature on social work ethics, the ten main tenets form the most current NASW Code of Ethics are presented. These topics include limits to confidentiality, confidentiality and technology, confidentiality in family and group work, managed care, cultural competence, dual relationships, sexual relationships, impairment and incompetence of colleagues, application to administrators and relevance to social work educators. In addition to understanding the Code of Ethics, social workers can use the ETHIC model of decision making for resolving ethical dilemmas. This easy to use five step process includes examining personal, agency, client, and professional values, thinking about ethical standards and relevant laws, hypothesizing about consequences, identifying the most vulnerable, and consulting with supervisors and colleagues. A case example involving confidentiality, HIV/AIDS and family therapy demonstrates how social workers can use the ETHIC model.

Big Data and Dementia: Charting the Route Ahead for Research, Ethics, and Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ienca, Marcello; Vayena, Effy; Blasimme, Alessandro

2018-01-01

Emerging trends in pervasive computing and medical informatics are creating the possibility for large-scale collection, sharing, aggregation and analysis of unprecedented volumes of data, a phenomenon commonly known as big data. In this contribution, we review the existing scientific literature on big data approaches to dementia, as well as commercially available mobile-based applications in this domain. Our analysis suggests that big data approaches to dementia research and care hold promise for improving current preventive and predictive models, casting light on the etiology of the disease, enabling earlier diagnosis, optimizing resource allocation, and delivering more tailored treatments to patients with specific disease trajectories. Such promissory outlook, however, has not materialized yet, and raises a number of technical, scientific, ethical, and regulatory challenges. This paper provides an assessment of these challenges and charts the route ahead for research, ethics, and policy.

The business of ethics. Hospitals need to focus on managerial ethics as much as clinical ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, L J

1990-01-01

Business ethics begins with the recognition of the various values and "goods" involved in judgements of what to do. Four key values are individual rights, individual self-interest, the company's best interest, and the public good. Often a company has to choose which of these goals or values should be subordinated to another. Business ethics, then, must clarify priorities among these values and establish priority principles to resolve conflicts. One approach to contemporary business ethics emphasizes personal integrity, focusing on conflicts of interest; another approach stresses social responsibility, focusing on the effect of company policy on groups and individuals in society. In business, most of the attention to conflicts of interest focuses on the conflict between employee self-interest and the firm's interest. Healthcare organizations may need to focus on potential conflicts between the patient's interest and the institution's or physician's interest. Physician referrals and pharmaceutical companies' marketing practices are two areas with potential conflicts. Not-for-profit organizations have been quicker than the business world to acknowledge social responsibility. In many ways, however, the social impact of healthcare policies and decisions has not been as carefully considered as it should be. Institutionalizing deliberation about clinical ethical issues has helped to raise awareness about the ethical dimensions of medical care. It would also be useful to institutionalize attention to business ethics in healthcare.

A Research Agenda for Humanitarian Health Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, Matthew; Schwartz, Lisa; Pringle, John; Boulanger, Renaud; Nouvet, Elysée; O'Mathúna, Dónal; Arya, Neil; Bernard, Carrie; Beukeboom, Carolyn; Calain, Philippe; de Laat, Sonya; Eckenwiler, Lisa; Elit, Laurie; Fraser, Veronique; Gillespie, Leigh-Anne; Johnson, Kirsten; Meagher, Rachel; Nixon, Stephanie; Olivier, Catherine; Pakes, Barry; Redwood-Campbell, Lynda; Reis, Andreas; Renaldi, Teuku; Singh, Jerome; Smith, Maxwell; Von Schreeb, Johan

2014-01-01

This paper maps key research questions for humanitarian health ethics: the ethical dimensions of healthcare provision and public health activities during international responses to situations of humanitarian crisis. Development of this research agenda was initiated at the Humanitarian Health Ethics Forum (HHE Forum) convened in Hamilton, Canada in November 2012. The HHE Forum identified priority avenues for advancing policy and practice for ethics in humanitarian health action. The main topic areas examined were: experiences and perceptions of humanitarian health ethics; training and professional development initiatives for humanitarian health ethics; ethics support for humanitarian health workers; impact of policies and project structures on humanitarian health ethics; and theoretical frameworks and ethics lenses. Key research questions for each topic area are presented, as well as proposed strategies for advancing this research agenda. Pursuing the research agenda will help strengthen the ethical foundations of humanitarian health action. PMID:25687273

The ethical aspects of mass communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Наталья Ивановна Клушина

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on the ethical aspects of mass communication and key trends of russian media language. The author analyses ethics and law in modern journalism, culture of speech in media discourse, intentional, structural and social aspects of mass communication. Ethics of mass communication presupposes the observance of legal and moral norms, social responsibility and respect for the audience.

[Mass culling in the context of animal disease outbreaks--veterinarians caught between ethical issues and control policies].

Science.gov (United States)

Hartnack, Sonja; Doherr, Marcus G; Grimm, Herwig; Kunzmann, Peter

2009-04-01

In recent years controversial discussions arose during major animal disease outbreaks in the EU about the ethical soundness of mass culling. In contrast to numerous publications about ethical issues and laboratory animals/animal experiments, literature concerning ethical deliberations in the case of mass culling as a means of outbreak control remain scarce. Veterinarians in charge of decision about and implementation of mass culling actions find themselves in an area of conflict in between the officially required animal disease control policy and a public that is increasingly critical. Those veterinarians are faced with the challenge to defend the relevant decisions against all stakeholders and also themselves. In this context an interdisciplinary workshop was initiated in Switzerland in October 2007 with ethicians and (official) veterinarians from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. With the aim to identify ethical components of animal disease control for official veterinarians, talks and moderated group discussions took place. This article summarizes selected discussion points and conclusions.

Monitoring HIV-Related Laws and Policies: Lessons for AIDS and Global Health in Agenda 2030.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Mary Ann; Gruskin, Sofia; Buse, Kent; Erkkola, Taavi; Bendaud, Victoria; Alfvén, Tobias

2017-07-01

The National Commitments and Policy Instrument (NCPI) has been used to monitor AIDS-related laws and policies for over 10 years. What can be learnt from this process? Analyses draw on NCPI questionnaires, NCPI responses, the UNAIDS Law Database, survey data and responses to a 2014 survey on the NCPI. The NCPI provides the first and only systematic data on country self-reported national HIV laws and policies. High NCPI reporting rates and survey responses suggest the majority of countries consider the process relevant. Combined civil society and government engagement and reporting is integral to the NCPI. NCPI experience demonstrates its importance in describing the political and legal environment for the HIV response, for programmatic reviews and to stimulate dialogue among stakeholders, but there is a need for updating and in some instances to complement results with more objective quantitative data. We identify five areas that need to be updated in the next iteration of the NCPI and argue that the NCPI approach is relevant to participatory monitoring of targets in the health and other goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Teaching Environmental Ethics: Moral Considerations and Legislative Action

Science.gov (United States)

McGowan, Richard J.; Buttrick, Hilary G.

2017-01-01

As one of the first business ethics textbook states, by way of observation, "Custom, convention and the accepted courtesies of a society are not the foundation of ethics even though they provide valuable hints as to what men think… Law enshrines many of the ethical judgments of a society, but it is not coextensive with ethics" (Garrett,…

Willingness to Comply with Corporate Law: An Interdisciplinary Teaching Method in Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Robina Ramirez

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Using an innovation training project, an interdisciplinary cross-sectional teaching strategy was developed to enhance students’ willingness to comply with the law. Thirty-five business, finance and accounting teachers examined the effects of ethical education on 484 university students’ willingness to comply with corporate law. Ethical education was based on building students’ ethical decisions on three court judgments in the new Spanish Corporate Governance Code. The ethical training was carried out by developing and applying social justice counter arguments. This perspective allowed students to imagine what decisions other person could have taken if they had managed the company ethically. The results suggest that ethics education in higher education can improve the willingness to comply the law. This methodology can be applied to interdisciplinary departments teaching ethics in business, finance and accounting.

Environmental Studies and Utilitarian Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Wolff, Brian G.

2009-01-01

Environmental ethicists have focused much attention on the limits of utilitarianism and have generally defined "environmental ethics" in a manner that treats utilitarian environmental ethics as an oxymoron. This is unfortunate because utilitarian ethics can support strong environmental policies, and environmental ethicists have not yet produced a…

Teaching and assessing systems-based practice: a pilot course in health care policy, finance, and law for radiation oncology residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, James D; Parhar, Preeti; Narayana, Ashwatha

2010-09-01

Under the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcome Project, residency programs are required to provide data on educational outcomes and evidence for how this information is used to improve resident education. To teach and assess systems-based practice through a course in health care policy, finance, and law for radiation oncology residents, and to determine its efficacy. We designed a pilot course in health care policy, finance, and law related to radiation oncology. Invited experts gave lectures on policy issues important to radiation oncology and half of the participants attended the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation and Oncology (ASTRO) Advocacy Day. Participants completed pre- and postcourse tests to assess their knowledge of health policy. Six radiation oncology residents participated, with 5 (84%) completing all components. For the 5 residents completing all assessments, the mean precourse score was 64% and the mean postcourse score was 84% (P  =  .05). Improvement was noted in all 3 sections of health policy, finance, and medical law. At the end of the course, 5 of 6 residents were motivated to learn about health policy, and 4 of 6 agreed it was important for physicians to be involved in policy matters. Teaching radiation oncology residents systems-based practice through a course on health policy, finance, and law is feasible and was well received. Such a course can help teaching programs comply with the ACGME Outcome Project and would also be applicable to trainees in other specialties.

MEDICAL GENETICS AND ETHICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Resources for Governing Board on Codes of Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Community College League of California, 2009

2009-01-01

Reprinted herein is Chapter 14 of the "2007 Trustee Handbook," published by the Community College League of California. Contents include: (1) Ethics and Laws; (2) Sample Statements: Codes of Ethics and Standards for Practice; (3) Association of Community College Trustees Models; and (4) Upholding Board Ethics.

The Army Ethic-Inchoate but Sufficient

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-12

are constraints imposed by this thesis. Delimitations include the scope, jus ad bellum, cultural relativism , descriptive ethics , and implementation...politicians. Third, this thesis will not look in depth at cultural relativism and how changes in laws and society’s philosophical and ethical ...THE ARMY ETHIC –INCHOATE BUT SUFFICIENT A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College

Introduction: Institutional corruption and the pharmaceutical policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodwin, Marc A

2013-01-01

Today, the goals of pharmaceutical policy and medical practice are often undermined due to institutional corruption - that is, widespread or systemic practices, usually legal, that undermine an institution's objectives or integrity. In this symposium, 16 articles investigate the corruption of pharmaceutical policy, each taking a different look at the sources of corruption, how it occurs, and what is corrupted. We will see that the pharmaceutical industry's own purposes are often undermined. Furthermore, pharmaceutical industry funding of election campaigns and lobbying skews the legislative process that sets pharmaceutical policy. Moreover, certain practices have corrupted medical research, the production of medical knowledge, the practice of medicine, drug safety, the Food and Drug Administration's oversight of the pharmaceutical market, and the trustworthiness of patient advocacy organizations. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

The fallacy of choice in the common law and NHS policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Whiteman, Ingrid

2013-06-01

Neither the English courts nor the National Health Service (NHS) have been immune to the modern mantra of patient choice. This article examines whether beneath the rhetoric any form of real choice is endorsed either in law or in NHS policy. I explore the case law on 'consent', look at choice within the NHS and highlight the dilemmas that a mismatch of language and practice poses for clinicians. Given the variance in interpretation and lack of consistency for the individual patient I argue for a semantic change that obviates the use of 'choice', focussing instead on the options for treatment that are available and accessible, with due acknowledgement of individual patient preferences, without raising unfettered and false expectations.

Big Data and Dementia: Charting the Route Ahead for Research, Ethics, and Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcello Ienca

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Emerging trends in pervasive computing and medical informatics are creating the possibility for large-scale collection, sharing, aggregation and analysis of unprecedented volumes of data, a phenomenon commonly known as big data. In this contribution, we review the existing scientific literature on big data approaches to dementia, as well as commercially available mobile-based applications in this domain. Our analysis suggests that big data approaches to dementia research and care hold promise for improving current preventive and predictive models, casting light on the etiology of the disease, enabling earlier diagnosis, optimizing resource allocation, and delivering more tailored treatments to patients with specific disease trajectories. Such promissory outlook, however, has not materialized yet, and raises a number of technical, scientific, ethical, and regulatory challenges. This paper provides an assessment of these challenges and charts the route ahead for research, ethics, and policy.

Environmental Policy Law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Don

1985-03-01

This book tell US environmental problems and environmental conservation, theory with present situation of the problems, influence of environmental aggravation, and cause of environmental problems, environmental policy influencing environment such as the national environmental policy act in America, and the role of court and environmental policy act, jurisdiction investigation about administrative action which influence on environment, and standard of jurisdiction investigation in environmental problems and legislation of environmental rights.

Corporate social accountability: Examining the impacts of ethical purchasing policies on Canadian public institutions

OpenAIRE

Wood, James Lawrence

2006-01-01

Insufficient responsibility by corporations, where the social and environmental consequences of their practices permits abuse in the workplace, is widespread. To prevent this, Canadian universities and municipalities are developing Ethical Purchasing Policies (EPPs), but considerable uncertainty exists about how to initiate effective EPPs with corporate compliance. This project utilized an Action Research methodology to learn what questions could best be answered by experts engaged in E PP im...

Research Ethics Consultation: Ethical and Professional Practice Challenges and Recommendations

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, Richard R.; Taylor, Holly A.; Brinich, Margaret A.; Boyle, Mary M.; Cho, Mildred; Coors, Marilyn; Danis, Marion; Havard, Molly; Magnus, David; Wilfond, Benjamin

2015-01-01

The complexity of biomedical research has increased considerably in the last decade, as has the pace of translational research. This complexity has generated a number of novel ethical issues for clinical investigators, institutional review boards (IRBs), and other oversight committees. In response, many academic medical centers have created formal research ethics consultation (REC) services to help clinical investigators and IRBs navigate ethical issues in biomedical research. Key functions of a REC service include: assisting with research design and implementation, providing a forum for deliberative exploration of ethical issues, and supplementing regulatory oversight. As increasing numbers of academic research institutions establish REC services, there is a pressing need for consensus about the primary aims and policies that should guide these activities. Establishing clear expectations about the aims and policies of REC services is important if REC programs are to achieve their full potential. Drawing on the experiences of a Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) Research Ethics Consultation Working Group, this article describes three major ethical and professional practice challenges associated with the provision of REC: 1) managing multiple institutional roles and responsibilities, 2) managing sensitive information, and 3) communicating with consultation requestors about how these issues are managed. The paper also presents several practical strategies for addressing these challenges and enhancing the quality of REC services. PMID:25607942

The role of international sustainable development law principles in enabling effective renewable energy policy – a South African perspective.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle Barnard

2012-08-01

Full Text Available It is universally accepted that renewable energy is an important contributing factor towards the promotion of sustainable development. The implementation of renewable energy needs to be regulated in an effective manner which in turn necessitates the formulation of law and policy geared towards sustainable development. Recent policy developments in South Africa propose to facilitate the promotion of sustainable development through the implementation of renewable energy, among others. In terms of existing energy policy in South-Africa, the interconnectivity of renewable energy and sustainable development is evident. Most notably, the White Paper on Renewable Energy of 2003 promotes increased access to affordable renewable energy in order to contribute to sustainable development. Moreover, the 2008 first review of the National Energy Efficiency Strategy of the Republic of South-Africa of 2005 states that in order for the country’s renewable energy policy to be considered sustainable, it needs to facilitate development in the social, economic and environmental spheres. Notwithstanding, attaining the goal of sustainable development depends on whether all its effecting principles are catered for in the policy developments. Accordingly, in order to ascertain whether South-African law and policy can successfully facilitate/enable sustainable development via the implementation of renewable energy, a specific methodology is proposed. In terms of the New Delhi Declaration of 2002 there are 7 principles of international law effecting sustainable development. These principles will be used as criteria in a principled assessment of South-African renewable energy law and policy in order to establish whether the goal of promoting sustainable development would be effected through the national policy developments.

Ethical issues in radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, Lars

2000-03-01

Ethical theories are relevant to the current recommendations and standards for radiation protection. Radiation protection is not only a matter for science. It is also a problem of philosophy. In order for protection regulations to be respected, it must correspond to widely accepted ethical values among those who are affected by the regulations. The workshop covered the following issues: Problems in Present Protection Policy, ICRP Protection Policy - A Historical Perspective, Radiation Risk - What we know and what we believe, Present ICRP Recommendations, Ethical Values in the Context of ICRP Recommendations, Collective Responsibility for Invisible Harm, Environmental Protection - Ethical Issues, The Global Change of Values, and Procedural justice and Radiation Protection. Six workshop contributions and a workshop summary are presented in this report

Ethical issues in radiation protection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Persson, Lars (ed.)

2000-03-15

Ethical theories are relevant to the current recommendations and standards for radiation protection. Radiation protection is not only a matter for science. It is also a problem of philosophy. In order for protection regulations to be respected, it must correspond to widely accepted ethical values among those who are affected by the regulations. The workshop covered the following issues: Problems in Present Protection Policy, ICRP Protection Policy - A Historical Perspective, Radiation Risk - What we know and what we believe, Present ICRP Recommendations, Ethical Values in the Context of ICRP Recommendations, Collective Responsibility for Invisible Harm, Environmental Protection - Ethical Issues, The Global Change of Values, and Procedural justice and Radiation Protection. Six workshop contributions and a workshop summary are presented in this report.

Construction of Accounting Professional Ethics%会计职业道德建设

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

许虹; 张玉春

2011-01-01

会计职业道德是指在会计职业活动中的职业行为准则和规范.会计人员作为特殊从业人员,不仅要有良好的业务素质,还要有较强的原则性、政策观念和职业道德水平.除了必须将本职工作置于法律法规的约束和规范之下外,还必须具备职业道德.%Accounting ethics is defined as the professional standard of behavior and norms in accounting professional activities.Accounting staff, as the special practitioner, not only should have good business qualities, but also have strong principles, policies concepts and ethical standards.In addition,their own work must be placed under the constraints of laws and regulations and norms, but also must have professional ethics.

Ethics and the law: the law and assisted human conception.

Science.gov (United States)

Brahams, D

1990-07-01

This article aims to provide no more than a brief summary and overview of some of the principal legal questions which arise in connection with assisted human conception. There is no requirement of legal suitability for natural parenthood, though a child may be removed from parental care at birth if its welfare is considered to be at risk. Where medical or other assistance is required, however, the law and social judgments may impinge on the freedom of individuals to procreate. Commercial surrogacy has recently been criminalized, but private surrogacy arrangements without reward are not illegal--although any contract would probably be unenforceable through the courts. If medical intervention is required to achieve assisted conception, the availability of resources for NHS treatment, the physical and mental health of the prospective mother and father, and the welfare (or lack of it) of any prospective child, may be factors in deciding whether an infertility unit will offer treatment. Such practices must not operate unfairly and must not discriminate on racial grounds. If treatment is provided, and a woman becomes pregnant, the ordinary abortion laws will apply and, it is thought, will extend to the selective reduction of a multiple pregnancy--there is no claim in English law for 'wrongful birth'. AID does not constitute adultery, and the law has recently been reformed to recognize children born following AID as legitimate to their social parents. A child may be regarded as the legitimate child of a surrogate mother's marriage, but where the baby is genetically distinct from the surrogate mother, the law, and is uncertain and as yet could be conflicting claims of parenthood without legislation. The storage and disposal of human gametes and embryos may raise problems of 'ownership'.

A Study of Translation Institutional Ethics

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LuoXianfeng; ZhouJin

2017-01-01

Traditional translation ethics characterized by translators' ethics cannot provide a strong moral support to the translation practice,or guarantee the moral requirement towards translation activities in the social transformation caused by the market economy,because it does not have the power of punishment.Translation institutional ethics,however,a new form of translation ethics,integrates the translation ethic norm,translation regulations and relative laws together.As an inevitable outcome in the new era,it can escort the orderly and healthy translation activities.Its purpose is to strengthen the translators' moral consciousness,to sublimate their moral notions and to transfer from heteronomy to autonomy.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Mass Media Ethics Course.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Byung; Padgett, George

2000-01-01

Examines the effectiveness of an ethics education component in a media law and ethics course. Suggests that a short-term mass media ethics study could not develop values considered essential for ethical behavior. Argues that students developed more complexity in their reasoning not measurable by the scale. Suggests a course or module on ethics…

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.)

Trade and health: how World Trade Organization (WTO) law affects alcohol and public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Baumberg, Ben; Anderson, Peter

2008-12-01

The alcohol field is becoming more aware of the consequences of world trade law for alcohol policies. However, there is a need for greater clarity about the different effects of trade on alcohol-related harm. A comprehensive review of all literature on alcohol and world trade [including World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes on alcohol], supported by a more selective review of other relevant cases, academic reports and the grey literature on trade and health. The burden of WTO law on alcohol policies depends upon the type of policy in question. Purely protectionist policies are likely to be struck down, which may lead to increases in alcohol-related harm. Partly protectionist and partly health-motivated policies are also at risk of being struck down. However, purely health-motivated policies are likely to be defended by the WTO-and to the extent that policy makers misunderstand this, they are needlessly avoiding effective ways of reducing alcohol-related harm. WTO agreements contain genuine and substantial risks to alcohol policies, and various ways of minimizing future risks are suggested. However, the 'chilling effect' of mistakenly overestimating these constraints should be avoided. Health policy makers should decide on which policies to pursue based primarily on considerations of effectiveness, ethics and politics rather than legality. As long as any effect of these policies on trade is minimized, they are overwhelmingly likely to win any challenges at the WTO.

Convergent ethical issues in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria vaccine trials in Africa: Report from the WHO/UNAIDS African AIDS Vaccine Programme's Ethics, Law and Human Rights Collaborating Centre consultation, 10-11 February 2009, Durban, South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Essack Zaynab

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Africa continues to bear a disproportionate share of the global HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB and malaria burden. The development and distribution of safe, effective and affordable vaccines is critical to reduce these epidemics. However, conducting HIV/AIDS, TB, and/or malaria vaccine trials simultaneously in developing countries, or in populations affected by all three diseases, is likely to result in numerous ethical challenges. Methods In order to explore convergent ethical issues in HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria vaccine trials in Africa, the Ethics, Law and Human Rights Collaborating Centre of the WHO/UNAIDS African AIDS Vaccine Programme hosted a consultation on the Convergent Ethical Issues in HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Vaccine Trials in Africa in Durban, South Africa on the 10-11 February 2009. Results Key cross cutting ethical issues were prioritized during the consultation as community engagement; ancillary care obligations; care and treatment; informed consent; and resource sharing. Conclusion The consultation revealed that while there have been few attempts to find convergence on ethical issues between HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria vaccine trial fields to date, there is much common ground and scope for convergence work between stakeholders in the three fields.

Convergent ethical issues in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria vaccine trials in Africa: Report from the WHO/UNAIDS African AIDS Vaccine Programme's Ethics, Law and Human Rights Collaborating Centre consultation, 10-11 February 2009, Durban, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Mamotte, Nicole; Wassenaar, Douglas; Koen, Jennifer; Essack, Zaynab

2010-03-09

Africa continues to bear a disproportionate share of the global HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria burden. The development and distribution of safe, effective and affordable vaccines is critical to reduce these epidemics. However, conducting HIV/AIDS, TB, and/or malaria vaccine trials simultaneously in developing countries, or in populations affected by all three diseases, is likely to result in numerous ethical challenges. In order to explore convergent ethical issues in HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria vaccine trials in Africa, the Ethics, Law and Human Rights Collaborating Centre of the WHO/UNAIDS African AIDS Vaccine Programme hosted a consultation on the Convergent Ethical Issues in HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Vaccine Trials in Africa in Durban, South Africa on the 10-11 February 2009. Key cross cutting ethical issues were prioritized during the consultation as community engagement; ancillary care obligations; care and treatment; informed consent; and resource sharing. The consultation revealed that while there have been few attempts to find convergence on ethical issues between HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria vaccine trial fields to date, there is much common ground and scope for convergence work between stakeholders in the three fields.

[Family and acquaintances of illicit drug users: community perspectives on laws and public policies in Western Rio de Janeiro, Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Jaqueline da; Brands, Bruna; Adlaf, Edward; Giesbrecht, Norman; Simich, Laura; Wright, Maria da Gloria Miotto

2009-01-01

This article is part of the study 'Illicit Drug Use in Seven Latin American Countries and Canada: Critical Perspectives of Family and Familiars' (7LACC), which investigated four domains: protective and risk factors; preventive initiatives; treatment facilities; and laws and policies. The article presents a section of the results based on four items of the laws and policies domain--as perceived by the family and acquaintances of illicit drug users living in the community. Participants were recruited in urban primary health care units located in Western Rio de Janeiro (city), Brazil. This multi-method, cross-temporal study performed interviews with 100 adults (18 years of age or older), all cognitively healthy. Results and key conclusions included non-compliance with the fundamental principles of the Unique Health System Legislation / Law 8.080/90 and the erroneous implementation of laws and public policies on illicit drug.

Mandeville on Corruption and Law

OpenAIRE

Simonazzi, Mauro

2015-01-01

This essay makes a distinction between two different meanings of the word «corruption»: moral corruption and legal corruption. The thesis is that in Mandeville's thought vice can be useful, while crime is always damaging. In this perspective, law is fundamental to tell vice from crime. Three points are examined: 1) the relationships between law and human nature, law and ethics, law and society; 2) the analysis of Mandeville's theory of law, in particular its nature and development; 3) the the...

Ethics on Trial: Teacher's Guide for Secondary Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, Inc., Arlington, VA.

Students' understanding of lawyers and the legal system may be increased through the five law-related ethical issues presented in this document. Legal ethics is defined as: (1) the minimum standard of professional conduct in daily legal situations; and (2) a lawyer's broader responsibility to society. The ethical issues are presented in three…

Religious ethics, Christianity, and war

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrik Syse

2009-05-01

Full Text Available This article discusses elements within Christian ethics and anthropology that have ramifications for the ethics and laws of war. The author argues that several distinctively Christian conceptions of morality and of human beings contribute importantly to the idea of just war, namely the Christian (and more specifically Augustinian view of history, the Christian view of killing, and the Christian view of sin and grace. While other religious and philosophical traditions also offer significant contributions to a normative discussion about armed force, it remains a fact that Christian thought, historically speaking, has furnished much of the groundwork of what we today know as the ethics and laws of war, and that the experience of being a Christian in the world has important ramifications for thinking about war and the use of armed force.http://dx.doi.org/10.5324/eip.v3i1.1708

Novel Paths to Relevance: How Clinical Ethics Committees Promote Ethical Reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Magelssen, Morten; Pedersen, Reidar; Førde, Reidun

2016-09-01

How may clinical ethics committees (CECs) inspire ethical reflection among healthcare professionals? How may they deal with organizational ethics issues? In recent years, Norwegian CECs have attempted different activites that stretch or go beyond the standard trio of education, consultation, and policy work. We studied the novel activities of Norwegian CECs by examining annual reports and interviewing CEC members. Through qualitative analysis we identified nine categories of novel CEC activities, which we describe by way of examples. In light of the findings, we argue that some novel working methods may be well suited to promote ethical reflection among clinicians, and that the CEC may be a suitable venue for discussing issues of organizational ethics.

THE ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF AN ETHICS MANAGEMENT TOOL - CANADIAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION’S CODE OF ETHICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IBRIAN CĂRĂMIDARU

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The object of this study is the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA. The focus is on the structure, contents and the role of this tool. The developing, upgrading and implementing assigned to this code are compared to the standards proposed by Institute of Business Ethics (London.The fact that the CMA is an organization built upon a professional criteria places all its ethical rules in the area of professional business ethics, but being an association that postulates behavioural frames for marketers, it involves the behaviour of firms and individuals that may, or may not be members of the CMA. Using this type of code, proposed for analysis, the CMA replaces with its contents other business ethics tools (credo, policies and procedures, conduct codes etc. Actually, Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice presents both the overall strategies that the ACM uses concerning ethics management and the specific policies and procedures for controversial situations from a moral point of view.

Social world of organ transplantation, trafficking, and policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Yousaf, Farhan Navid; Purkayastha, Bandana

2016-05-01

Although success of organ transplants reflects advances in medical procedures, the success has generated debates about the ethical standards and policies that govern transplants, especially the acquisition of organs for transplants. We focus on laws, policies, and organ trafficking to highlight the interdisciplinary perspectives that can shape our understanding of transplantation as a social phenomenon. We discuss international policies and country-specific legislation from Pakistan to point to gaps and their implications for protecting vulnerable people who are exploited for organ removal. International collaboration and the legal framework need to be strengthened to fight the menace globally and to deal with the cases of organ trafficking within the legal ambit of human trafficking so that the rights of victims are upheld by states, justice systems, and ultimately medical establishments and practitioners.

Ethics and reproduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Macnaughton, M

1990-04-01

In Western culture, the ethical principles of respect for persons can be further divided into 2 categories - a) autonomy and b) protection of the vulnerable; beneficence; and justice. The principles of ethics can be directed towards 2 levels: microethics - concerned with the individual and macroethics - concerned with the greater community. In the case of obstetrical procedures such as in vitro fertilization, prenatal diagnosis, and fetal sex selection, the principles of microethics and macroethics conflict. The exact number and/or kind of babies may benefit the parents by they may not benefit a society that is expected to accommodate these new members. This aspect can also be addressed when dealing with abortion. Support for and against has led to a questioning and reexamining of present abortion laws; the aim is to either restrict abortion or reduce the abortion time limit from 28 to 24 weeks. Policies of the United States have an effect on other policies, worldwide. Abortions are needed as a form of birth control in developing countries; 500,000 women/year die from birthing complications and 100,000 die from complications of illegal abortions. There has also been some questioning of in vitro fertilization. Why fertilize a certain number of eggs which may never be allowed to grow and mature? There has also been some questioning of whether or not an embryo in vitro fertilization is a person or not. Deciding the status of the embryo has opened up research possibilities in the United State and the United Kingdom. Discussion on in vitro fertilization has opened up discussion on surrogacy. There seems to be more support for surrogacy in the United States than in the United Kingdom - where there is a restrictive ban on commercial surrogacy.

Ethical and Legal Responsibilities of Counselors.

Science.gov (United States)

Glennen, Robert E.

In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, each profession is reviewing its ethical practices. This paper assists in this renewal by citing the code of ethical standards of APGA; reviewing the laws of the State of Nevada regarding privileged communications; and covering the legal aspects which relate to counseling situations. (Author)

Ethical factors influencing decisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldhaus, S.

1993-01-01

Ethics are determined by weighing risks against benefits, pros against cons, but also by evasion. Whenever decisions are taken, the side effects and risks to be accepted must be weighed. In law, this is called the principle of commensurability implying that ethical compromises are made. Too much emphasis on ethical principles leads to an evasion of realistic action. In consensus discussions it is often seen that the positions adopted by science and technology are incommensurable with those of philosophy, psychology, and theology. Any decision requires that the risk be evaluated in a spirit of responsibility. (orig.) [de

Ethics and experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Addison, Courtney Page

. However, social scientists have yet to devote much attention to this ethically contentious and medically complex field. This project aimed to identify and explore social and ethical factors shaping gene therapy practice in clinical settings. It is based on six months of participant observation in a London...... children’s hospital (the UKCH), thirty-two interviews with key actors in the gene therapy field, and scientific and policy document analysis. One of the main interests of this research is with the politics of ethics. The thesis shows that ‘ethical boundary work’ was central to establishing the credibility...... of gene therapy, and the authority of its practitioners. The politics of ethics can also be discerned in practice: the UK research ethics system structures scientific work but cannot account for the various, complex, and on-going ethical dilemmas that patients and practitioners face when undertaking gene...

The making of nursing practice law in Lebanon: a policy analysis case study.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Jardali, Fadi; Hammoud, Rawan; Younan, Lina; Nuwayhid, Helen Samaha; Abdallah, Nadine; Alameddine, Mohammad; Bou-Karroum, Lama; Salman, Lana

2014-09-05

Evidence-informed decisions can strengthen health systems, improve health, and reduce health inequities. Despite the Beijing, Montreux, and Bamako calls for action, literature shows that research evidence is underemployed in policymaking, especially in the East Mediterranean region (EMR). Selecting the draft nursing practice law as a case study, this policy analysis exercise aims at generating in-depth insights on the public policymaking process, identifying the factors that influence policymaking and assessing to what extent evidence is used in this process. This study utilized a qualitative research design using a case study approach and was conducted in two phases: data collection and analysis, and validation. In the first phase, data was collected through key informant interviews that covered 17 stakeholders. In the second phase, a panel discussion was organized to validate the findings, identify any gaps, and gain insights and feedback of the panelists. Thematic analysis was conducted and guided by the Walt & Gilson's "Policy Triangle Framework" as themes were categorized into content, actors, process, and context. Findings shed light on the complex nature of health policymaking and the unstructured approach of decision making. This study uncovered the barriers that hindered the progress of the draft nursing law and the main barriers against the use of evidence in policymaking. Findings also uncovered the risk involved in the use of international recommendations without the involvement of stakeholders and without accounting for contextual factors and implementation barriers. Findings were interpreted within the context of the Lebanese political environment and the power play between stakeholders, taking into account equity considerations. This policy analysis exercise presents findings that are helpful for policymakers and all other stakeholders and can feed into revising the draft nursing law to reach an effective alternative that is feasible in Lebanon. Our

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...

Nanotechnology and the Law

Science.gov (United States)

Desmoulin-Canselier, Sonia; Lacour, Stéphanie

Law and nanotechnology form a vast subject. The aim here will be to examine them from the societal standpoint of nanoethics, if necessary without due reference to the work that has been undertaken. For while law differs from ethics, as we shall attempt to explain throughout this reflection, it must also be studied in its relationship with social realities.

International energy conservation: comparative law and policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-02-01

Ernest C. Baynard III, in the Foreword to the conference, told of the purpose of the conference - to compare and discuss the policies and laws that highly industrialized nations have used and considered to meet the challenge of energy conservation. The following countries participated in the conference: U.K.; Australia; Federal Republic of Germany; Japan; France; Canada; Sweden; Italy; the Netherlands; and the U.S. The IEA and the Commission of the European Communities also participated. The conference format consisted of ministerial addresses to the conference, interspersed with panel discussions focusing on energy conservation in transportation, industry, agriculture, and utilities; residential, commercial, and industrial buildings; and emergency situations. There was also a panel discussion on the role of government in energy conservation and energy information collection. The panels were composed of participating countries' representatives. (MCW)

The bioethics and law paradox: an argument to maintain separateness with a hint of togetherness.

Science.gov (United States)

Werren, Julia

2007-10-01

This article analyses how bioethics and law interact and work together. The first half of the article provides definitions of both ethics and bioethics. The article then considers a number of different bioethical standpoints to demonstrate the variance of views in relation to bioethics. In addition, the first half of the article focuses on the different regulatory possibilities in regard to bioethical contexts. This demonstrates that law is of central importance to bioethics. This part also shows that even though law and ethics are often used simultaneously to achieve bioethical goals, law and ethics cannot be used interchangeably. Thus, even though it is somewhat inevitable that law will be used in the pursuit of the goals of bioethics, bioethics and bioethical principle should not be merely a vehicle for law-makers to utilise. The second half of the article focuses on the issues of autonomy and consent to demonstrate how law and ethics have developed in one of the foundation areas of bioethics.

Law No. 353, 3 June 1987.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-01-01

This document summarizes Denmark's 1987 Law establishing an Ethical Council regulating health care services and biomedical research on human subjects. The work of the Council will be based on the assumption that human life begins at fertilization. The Council will recommend laws to protect fertilized human ova, living embryos, and fetuses. The Council will also make recommendations about: 1) the right to perform gene therapy on human gametes or fertilized human ova, embryos, and fetuses; 2) the right to use new diagnostic techniques to detect congenital defeats or diseases in fertilized human ova, embryos, and fetuses; and 3) the establishment of rules on deep freezing of human gametes and fertilized human ova. In addition, the Council will advise the scientific ethical committees on general ethical matters concerning experiments on human volunteers; advise health authorities on general ethical questions associated with new treatments, diagnostic techniques, and medical technology; and advise public authorities on matters relating to registration, release, and use of information on hereditary diseases. The Law prohibits experiments enabling the production of genetically identical human beings, those enabling the production of human beings by the fusion of genetically different embryos or parts of embryos prior to implantation, and those seeking to produce hybrids of human beings and other species.

THE MAN CATEGORY IN PUBLIC POLICIES AND BRAZILIAN LAWS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha Alflen Banin

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the view of man as a gender category in public policies and national laws, especially those focused on violence against women. With this objective, it contextualizes the studies of feminisms and masculinities as theories and epistemology that guide the analysis of 17 official Brazilian documents selected for this study. This analysis seeks to clarify how the gendered man has been understood in various documents over the years. It discusses how the formulation of laws can provide a new accountability approach beyond the punishment of these men. It also investigates the regulation of some of the existing groups of men who have used violence against women in the country. It finalizes claiming the importance of these reflections for the debate on gender and masculinities in pursuit of a more effective system of prevention and eradication of violence against women. It discusses and argues in favor of both changing the way this category is addressed in official documents, and formalizing spaces for reflection for men who have used violence against women.

Improving anti-bullying laws and policies to protect youth from weight-based victimization: parental support for action.

Science.gov (United States)

Puhl, R M; Suh, Y; Li, X

2017-04-01

Weight-based bullying is a prevalent problem among youth with overweight and obesity, but remains neglected in existing policy-level strategies to address youth bullying. Parental support is an influential catalyst motivating political will for policy decisions affecting youth, but has received limited research attention. To assess levels of, and predictors of, parental support for school-based policies and state/federal legal measures to address weight-based bullying in 2014 and 2015. Identical online questionnaires were completed by two independent national samples of parents in 2014 and 2015 (N = 1804). Parental support for all policy actions was high (at least 81%) and significantly increased from 2014 to 2015 for legal measures that would a) require state anti-bullying laws to add protections against weight-based bullying, and b) enact a federal anti-bullying law that includes weight-based bullying. These findings can inform policy discourse about remedies for youth bullying, and suggest that parental support for improved legal protections against weight-based bullying is present, consistent, and strong. © 2016 World Obesity Federation.

Making "ethical safe space" in the translation of contested knowledge: the role of community debate in defining end-of-life decision ethics.

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Kaufert, Joseph; Schwartz, Karen; Wiebe, Rhonda; Derksen, Jim; Lutfiyya, Zana M; Richert, Dean

2013-04-01

The objectives of this article are, first, to document a unique process of research knowledge translation (KT), which the authors describe as the creation of "ethical safe space," and, second, to document the narratives of forum participants and describe their interaction in a dialogue about vulnerability, the authority of physicians, and the perspective of people with disabilities on the policy. Narrative data from qualitative interviews with individual key informants and focus groups were used to identify speakers with specific expertise on policy, disability perspectives, and bioethical issues, who were invited to participate in the Forum on Ethical Safe Space. The planning workgroup adopted a model for enabling representative participation in the public forum designed to reduce the impact of physical, sensory, financial, language, and professional status barriers. Using the transcripts and keynote speakers' printed texts, primary themes and patterns of interaction were identified reflecting the alternative perspectives. Through the development of a workshop on ethical, legal, and disability-related implications of professional policy guidelines developed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, we provided a qualitative analysis of the discourse involving experts and disability community members supporting alternative positions on the impact of the policy statement, and discuss ethical, legal, and disability rights issues identified in the public debate. Contested policy and ethical frameworks for making decisions about withdrawing and withholding life supporting treatment may influence both the perspectives of palliative care providers and patients referred to palliative care facilities. An innovative model for KT using a public forum that enabled stakeholders with conflicting perspectives to engage with ethical and professional policy issues asserting the physician's authority in contested decisions involving withdrawing or withholding life

THE PARADOX OF POSITIVISTIC VIEW AND PROGRESSIVE LAW OF CRIMINAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IN INDONESIA

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Krismiyarsi Krismiyarsi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The paradox of positivistic view and progressive law in the criminal law enforcement happened because there is a difference among the law enforcement officer’s view and perception.  Our law education from the beginning until now still teaches the students the positivistic view so that after the students becoming law officers in running the law they still use positive law or positivistic view. The positivistic view is often far from the substantive justice and close to the formal justice. In order to functioning the progressive law in law enforcement especially the penal code constraint of positivistic view which rooted inside of the law enforcer’s mind, therefore it is need paradigm change by fixing the law system, law education, ethics and morality of law officers , and increasing religious consciousness.Keywords: paradox, law positivism, progressive law, criminal law enforcement

Psychologists abandon the Nuremberg ethic: concerns for detainee interrogations.

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Pope, Kenneth S; Gutheil, Thomas G

2009-01-01

In the aftermath of 9-11, the American Psychological Association, one of the largest U.S. health professions, changed its ethics code so that it now runs counter to the Nuremberg Ethic. This historic post-9-11 change allows psychologists to set aside their ethical responsibilities whenever they are in irreconcilable conflict with military orders, governmental regulations, national and local laws, and other forms of governing legal authority. This article discusses the history, wording, rationale, and implications of the ethical standard that U.S. psychologists adopted 7 years ago, particularly in light of concerns over health care professionals' involvement in detainee interrogations and the controversy over psychologists' prominent involvement in settings like the Guantánamo Bay Detainment Camp and the Abu Ghraib prison. It discusses possible approaches to the complex dilemmas arising when ethical responsibilities conflict with laws, regulations, or other governing legal authority.

Nigerian Building Professionals’ Ethical Ideology and Perceived Ethical Judgement

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John Oko Ameh

2010-10-01

Full Text Available In recent years, Nigeria is often cited in the international media in connection with corruption and other unethical practices. The professionals in the Nigerian building industry are not immune from the national trend in ethical erosion. Moral philosophy or ethical ideology has been used to explain individuals’ reasoning about moral issues and consequent behaviour. This study examines building industry professionals’ ethical ideologies with a view to understanding their ethical behaviour in professional practice.  In carrying out this investigation, building professionals in clients’ organisations, contracting and consultancy organisations within the industry were asked to respond to the Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ designed by Forsyth in order to determine their idealism and relativism level. Subsequently, they were classified into one of four groups, representing different ethical ideologies. The result indicates that the dominant ethical ideology of building industry professionals is situationism. The study predicts that the attitude of building industry professionals in practice, given the current socio-political and economic situation of Nigeria would possibly be unethical because of the extreme influence situational factors have on their behaviour. This finding is a bold step and necessary benchmark for resolving ethical issues within the industry and should be of interest to policy makers. It is also useful for intra professional ethical comparison.

The Attorney-Client Relationship as a Business Law-Legal Environment Topic

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Levin, Murray S.

2004-01-01

Business school law courses should promote understanding of legal processes affecting business, help students learn to recognize legal issues and manage legal risks, increase ethical sensitivity, and help students to develop critical thinking skills. To this end, business law and legal environment textbooks tend to focus on ethical and legal…

Law across nations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

of participants keen to work together to promote research and policy development in such a lively forum." - Professor Steve Saxby PhD, Cert Ed., MBCS Professor of IT Law and Public Policy, Solicitor, Deputy Head of School (Research), Faculty of Business and Law, University of Southampton, Editor...... not only the original themes of Legal, Security and Privacy Issues in IT Law and International Law and Trade but more recently two new conferences on International Public and Private Law. The papers in this volume then represent the contributions to all these fields and reflect the strong desire......-in-Chief, The Computer Law & Security Review - The International Journal of Technology Law and Practice (Elsevier), www.elsevier.com/locate/clsr, Editor, The Encyclopedia of Information Technology Law (Sweet & Maxwell), Director ILAWS - Institute for Law and the Web - School of Law, Southampton University, www...

Gene-Editing: Interpretation of Current Law and Legal Policy.

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Kim, Na-Kyoung

2017-09-01

With the development of the third-generation gene scissors, CRISPR-Cas9, concerns are being raised about ethical and social repercussions of the new gene-editing technology. In this situation, this article explores the legislation and interpretation of the positive laws in South Korea. The BioAct does not specify and regulate 'gene editing' itself. However, assuming that genetic editing is used in the process of research and treatment, we can look to the specific details of the regulations for research on humans as well as gene therapy research in order to see how genetic editing is regulated under the BioAct. BioAct differentiates the regulation between (born) humans and embryos etc. and the regulation differ entirely in the manner and scope. Moreover, due to the fact that gene therapy products are regarded as drugs, they fall under different regulations. The Korean Pharmacopoeia Act put stringent sanctions on clinical trials for gene therapy products and the official Notification "Approval and Examination Regulations for Biological Products, etc." by Food and Drug Safety Administration may be applied to gene editing for gene therapy purposes.

Developments in Water Pollution Law and Policy in China: Effective Enough to Cope with Water Pollution Conflict?

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Qun Du

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Water pollution is one of the most serious environmental issues facing China. In 2005, an exceptionally serious water pollution accident in the Songhua River — caused by an unintended and sudden chemicals explosion — heralded an official recognition of a water pollution crisis in China. Although there have been new initiatives in national law and policy concerning water pollution that attempt to respond to issues of: social conflict caused by water pollution; government accountability; liability of polluting entities; and citizens’ rights in cases of water pollution, the challenges for the rule of environmental law in effectively reducing water pollution accidents and resolving water pollution conflict still exist. There is an urgent need to strengthen compliance and enforcement. This paper discusses the issues of water pollution conflict and the possible resolutions offered through law and policy.

The History of Ethics (and Natural Law by Terence Irwin

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Rafael Ramis Barceló

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This Review-Article tries to explain and contextualize the magnificent The Development of Ethics by Terence Irwin. It is a historiographical achievement in History of Ethics and this paper tries to present it to Spanish scholars. It is also a discussion of the main points of this work

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

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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.

Ethics: A Selected Bibliography

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-01

Today. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. 338pp. (BT304.2 .C69 2004) Coyle, Sean. From Positivism to Idealism: A Study of the Moral Dimensions of... Legality . Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007. 187pp. (K331 .C59 2007) Delsol, Chantal. Unjust Justice: Against the Tyranny of International Law. Translated...ProQuest) Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Law Center. Quarterly. (Wilson OmniFile) Hastings Center

Upstream health law.

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Sage, William M; McIlhattan, Kelley

2014-01-01

For the first time, entrepreneurs are aggressively developing new technologies and business models designed to improve individual and population health, not just to deliver specialized medical care. Consumers of these goods and services are not yet "patients"; they are simply people. As this sector of the health care industry expands, it is likely to require new forms of legal governance, which we term "upstream health law." © 2014 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Casuistry as common law morality.

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Paulo, Norbert

2015-12-01

This article elaborates on the relation between ethical casuistry and common law reasoning. Despite the frequent talk of casuistry as common law morality, remarks on this issue largely remain at the purely metaphorical level. The article outlines and scrutinizes Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin's version of casuistry and its basic elements. Drawing lessons for casuistry from common law reasoning, it is argued that one generally has to be faithful to ethical paradigms. There are, however, limitations for the binding force of paradigms. The most important limitations--the possibilities of overruling and distinguishing paradigm norms--are similar in common law and in casuistry, or so it is argued. These limitations explain why casuistry is not necessarily overly conservative and conventional, which is one line of criticism to which casuists can now better respond. Another line of criticism has it that the very reasoning from case to case is extremely unclear in casuistry. I suggest a certain model of analogical reasoning to address this critique. All my suggestions to understand and to enhance casuistry make use of common law reasoning whilst remaining faithful to Jonsen and Toulmin's main ideas and commitments. Further developed along these lines, casuistry can appropriately be called "common law morality."

Dispensing with conscience: a legal and ethical assessment.

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Wernow, Jerome R; Grant, Donald G

2008-11-01

For over 30 years, pharmacists have exercised the right to dispense medications in accordance with moral convictions based upon a Judeo-Christian ethic. What many of these practitioners see as an apparent shift away from this time-honored ethic has resulted in a challenge to this right. To review and analyze pharmacy practice standards, legal proceedings, and ethical principles behind conflicts of conscientious objection in dispensing drugs used for emergency contraception. We first searched the terms conscience and clause and Plan B and contraception and abortion using Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Networks (2006-September 26, 2008). Second, we used Medscape to search professional pharmacy and other medical journals, restricting our terms to conscience, Plan B, contraceptives, and abortifacients. Finally, we employed Loislaw, an online legal archiving service, and did a global search on the phrase conscience clause to determine the status of the legal discussion. To date, conflicts in conscientious objection have arisen when a pharmacist believes that dispensing an oral contraceptive violates his or her moral understanding for the promotion of human life. Up to this time, cases in pharmacy have involved only practitioners from orthodox Christian faith communities, primarily devout Roman Catholics. A pharmacist's right to refuse the dispensing of abortifacients for birth control according to moral conscience over against a woman's right to reproductive birth control has created a conflict that has yet to be reconciled by licensing agents, professional standards, or courts of law. Our analysis of prominent conflicts suggests that the underlying worldviews between factions make compromise improbable. Risks and liabilities are dependent upon compliance with evolving state laws, specific disclosure of a pharmacist's moral objections, and professionalism in the handling of volatile situations. Objecting pharmacists and their employers should have clear policies and

The potential conflict between policy and ethics in caring for undocumented immigrants at academic health centers.

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Cacari Stone, Lisa; Steimel, Leah; Vasquez-Guzman, Estela; Kaufman, Arthur

2014-04-01

Academic health centers (AHCs) are at the forefront of delivering care to the diverse medically underserved and uninsured populations in the United States, as well as training the majority of the health care workforce, who are professionally obligated to serve all patients regardless of race or immigration status. Despite AHCs' central leadership role in these endeavors, few consolidated efforts have emerged to resolve potential conflicts between national, state, and local policies that exclude certain classifications of immigrants from receiving federal public assistance and health professionals' social missions and ethical oath to serve humanity. For instance, whereas the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides a pathway to insurance coverage for more than 30 million Americans, undocumented immigrants and legally documented immigrants residing in the United States for less than five years are ineligible for Medicaid and excluded from purchasing any type of coverage through state exchanges. To inform this debate, the authors describe their experience at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) and discuss how the UNMH has responded to this challenge and overcome barriers. They offer three recommendations for aligning AHCs' social missions and professional ethics with organizational policies: (1) that AHCs determine eligibility for financial assistance based on residency rather than citizenship, (2) that models of medical education and health professions training provide students with service-learning opportunities and applied community experience, and (3) that frontline staff and health care professionals receive standardized training on eligibility policies to minimize discrimination towards immigrant patients.

Resituating the ethical gaze: government morality and the local worlds of impoverished Indigenous women

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Caroline L. Tait

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Background. Over generations, government policies have impacted upon the lives of Indigenous peoples of Canada in unique and often devastating ways. In this context, Indigenous women who struggle with poverty, mental illness, trauma and substance abuse are among the most vulnerable, as are Indigenous children involved in child welfare systems. Objective. By examining the life history of Wanda, a First Nations woman, this article examines the intergenerational role that government policies play in the lives of impoverished Indigenous women and their families. Questions of moral governance and responsibility and the need for ethical policies are raised. Design. The life narrative presented in this article is part of a larger qualitative research programme that has collected over 100 life histories of Indigenous women with addictions and who have involvement with the child welfare system, as children or adults. Wanda’s life story exemplifies the impact of government policies that is characteristic of vulnerable Indigenous women and draws attention to the lack of ethical standards in government policymaking in child welfare, public health and mental health/addictions. Results. The path to recovery for Canadian Indigenous women in need of treatment for co-occurring mental disorders and substance addiction is too frequently characterized by an inadequate and ever shifting continuum of care. For those who feel intimidated, suspicious or have simply given up on seeking supports, a profound invisibility or forgetting of their struggle exists in areas of government policy and programming provision. Living outside the scope of mental health and addiction priorities, they become visible to the human service sector only if they become pregnant, their parenting draws the attention of child and family services (CFS, they need emergency health care, or are in trouble with the law. The intergenerational cycle of substance abuse, mental illness and poverty is

Resituating the ethical gaze: government morality and the local worlds of impoverished Indigenous women.

Science.gov (United States)

Tait, Caroline L

2013-01-01

Over generations, government policies have impacted upon the lives of Indigenous peoples of Canada in unique and often devastating ways. In this context, Indigenous women who struggle with poverty, mental illness, trauma and substance abuse are among the most vulnerable, as are Indigenous children involved in child welfare systems. By examining the life history of Wanda, a First Nations woman, this article examines the intergenerational role that government policies play in the lives of impoverished Indigenous women and their families. Questions of moral governance and responsibility and the need for ethical policies are raised. The life narrative presented in this article is part of a larger qualitative research programme that has collected over 100 life histories of Indigenous women with addictions and who have involvement with the child welfare system, as children or adults. Wanda's life story exemplifies the impact of government policies that is characteristic of vulnerable Indigenous women and draws attention to the lack of ethical standards in government policymaking in child welfare, public health and mental health/addictions. The path to recovery for Canadian Indigenous women in need of treatment for co-occurring mental disorders and substance addiction is too frequently characterized by an inadequate and ever shifting continuum of care. For those who feel intimidated, suspicious or have simply given up on seeking supports, a profound invisibility or forgetting of their struggle exists in areas of government policy and programming provision. Living outside the scope of mental health and addiction priorities, they become visible to the human service sector only if they become pregnant, their parenting draws the attention of child and family services (CFS), they need emergency health care, or are in trouble with the law. The intergenerational cycle of substance abuse, mental illness and poverty is commonly associated with child welfare involvement

Ethical models underpinning responses to threats to public health: a comparison of approaches to communicable disease control in Europe.

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Gainotti, Sabina; Moran, Nicola; Petrini, Carlo; Shickle, Darren

2008-11-01

Increases in international travel and migratory flows have enabled infectious diseases to emerge and spread more rapidly than ever before. Hence, it is increasingly easy for local infectious diseases to become global infectious diseases (GIDs). National governments must be able to react quickly and effectively to GIDs, whether naturally occurring or intentionally instigated by bioterrorism. According to the World Health Organisation, global partnerships are necessary to gather the most up-to-date information and to mobilize resources to tackle GIDs when necessary. Communicable disease control also depends upon national public health laws and policies. The containment of an infectious disease typically involves detection, notification, quarantine and isolation of actual or suspected cases; the protection and monitoring of those not infected; and possibly even treatment. Some measures are clearly contentious and raise conflicts between individual and societal interests. In Europe national policies against infectious diseases are very heterogeneous. Some countries have a more communitarian approach to public health ethics, in which the interests of individual and society are more closely intertwined and interdependent, while others take a more liberal approach and give priority to individual freedoms in communicable disease control. This paper provides an overview of the different policies around communicable disease control that exist across a select number of countries across Europe. It then proposes ethical arguments to be considered in the making of public health laws, mostly concerning their effectiveness for public health protection.

Ethical modernization: research misconduct and research ethics reforms in Korea following the Hwang affair.

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Kim, Jongyoung; Park, Kibeom

2013-06-01

The Hwang affair, a dramatic and far reaching instance of scientific fraud, shocked the world. This collective national failure prompted various organizations in Korea, including universities, regulatory agencies, and research associations, to engage in self-criticism and research ethics reforms. This paper aims, first, to document and review research misconduct perpetrated by Hwang and members of his research team, with particular attention to the agencies that failed to regulate and then supervise Hwang's research. The paper then examines the research ethics reforms introduced in the wake of this international scandal. After reviewing American and European research governance structures and policies, policy makers developed a mixed model mindful of its Korean context. The third part of the paper examines how research ethics reform is proactive (a response to shocking scientific misconduct and ensuing external criticism from the press and society) as well as reactive (identification of and adherence to national or international ethics standards). The last part deals with Korean society's response to the Hwang affair, which had the effect of a moral atomic bomb and has led to broad ethical reform in Korean society. We conceptualize this change as ethical modernization, through which the Korean public corrects the failures of a growth-oriented economic model for social progress, and attempts to create a more trustworthy and ethical society.

Ethical analysis to improve decision-making on health technologies.

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Saarni, Samuli I; Hofmann, Bjørn; Lampe, Kristian; Lühmann, Dagmar; Mäkelä, Marjukka; Velasco-Garrido, Marcial; Autti-Rämö, Ilona

2008-08-01

Health technology assessment (HTA) is the multidisciplinary study of the implications of the development, diffusion and use of health technologies. It supports health-policy decisions by providing a joint knowledge base for decision-makers. To increase its policy relevance, HTA tries to extend beyond effectiveness and costs to also considering the social, organizational and ethical implications of technologies. However, a commonly accepted method for analysing the ethical aspects of health technologies is lacking. This paper describes a model for ethical analysis of health technology that is easy and flexible to use in different organizational settings and cultures. The model is part of the EUnetHTA project, which focuses on the transferability of HTAs between countries. The EUnetHTA ethics model is based on the insight that the whole HTA process is value laden. It is not sufficient to only analyse the ethical consequences of a technology, but also the ethical issues of the whole HTA process must be considered. Selection of assessment topics, methods and outcomes is essentially a value-laden decision. Health technologies may challenge moral or cultural values and beliefs, and their implementation may also have significant impact on people other than the patient. These are essential considerations for health policy. The ethics model is structured around key ethical questions rather than philosophical theories, to be applicable to different cultures and usable by non-philosophers. Integrating ethical considerations into HTA can improve the relevance of technology assessments for health care and health policy in both developed and developing countries.

Discipline Based Instruction in Business Law

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Custin, Richard E.; Demas, John C.; Lampe, Marc; Custin, Colette L.

2013-01-01

Undergraduate business law courses typically utilize traditional textbooks organized by topic. Individual chapters, address the usual topics including contracts, torts, the court system and ethics. An innovative approach to facilitating a business law course involves segregating sections of the course into common business disciplines. Rather than…

[Conscientious objection for health professionals in ethics and deontology].

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Martínez León, Mercedes; Rabadán Jiménez, José

2010-01-01

The main objective of this paper is to highlight the numerous conflicts enters the consciousness and the laws are becoming more frequent health professionals in daily clinical practice. Clarify and define concepts such as ″conscientious objection for health professionals, to avoid confusion with other terms. This is work that aims to address the objection of conscience, not from the law but from the ethics and deontology, reviewing existing regulations both internationally and nationally. In addition to complete the studio, in a last part we discuss the state of the ″conscientious objection″ tars the recent passage of the organic law 2 / 2010, 3 march, sexual and reproductive health and the interruption of pregnancy. As a final conclusion we can say that ″conscientious objection″ is recognized in international declarations and even in the european constitution. in spain, the code of ethics and medical ethics, is one of the places where the objection of conscience of health professionals has great development for years, states that the doctor can refrain from the practice of certain professional acts such as abortion, in vitro fertilization or sterilization, if they are in contradiction with its ethical and scientific beliefs. Also recently, the general assembly of october 24, 2009, the central committee of ethics has made a declaration on ″conscientious objection″, insisting on its recognition. Finally, the organic law 2 / 2010, 3 march, sexual and reproductive health and the interruption of pregnancy, seems to be recognized ″the right to exercise conscientious objection″ of health professionals directly involved in the voluntary termination of pregnancy, after much discussion, but it is still early to assess the implementation of this right because, until july 5, 2010, will come into force this law, what will the future that we clarify the development of this important right for health professionals.

Candor and the Politics of Law Teaching

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Paul Campos

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Over the past 25 years, the price of legal education has skyrocketed, while the labor market for new attorneys has contracted sharply relative to law school graduation rates.  This article addresses the ethical obligations law teachers owe their students as a consequence of the crisis of the contemporary American law school.

Introduction to computer ethics

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Ćorić Dragana M.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Ethics is becoming one of the most often used but also misinter­preted words. It is often taken as an additional, corrective parameter to the policies and strategies that has to be adopted in the area of political works, environment, business, and medicine. Computer ethics thus makes the latest ethical discipline in the scientific sky. But its roots, as it was the case with environmental ethics, ranging decades; only the speech and the use of the same, as well as discussions on the postulates of computer ethics, are the results of rapid IT development in the last decade or two. In this paper, according to the title, will be shown introduction to computer ethics-its basis, the most important representatives, as well as the most important succession.

Networks of power in digital copyright law and policy political salience, expertise and the legislative process

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Farrand, Benjamin

2014-01-01

In this book, Benjamin Farrand employs an interdisciplinary approach that combines legal analysis with political theory to explore the development of copyright law in the EU. Farrand utilises Foucault's concept of Networks of Power and Culpepper's Quiet Politics to assess the adoption and enforcement of copyright law in the EU, including the role of industry representative, cross-border licensing, and judicial approaches to territorial restrictions. Focusing in particular on legislative initiatives concerning copyright, digital music and the internet, Networks of Power in Digital Copyright Law and Policy: Political Salience, Expertise and the Legislative Process demonstrates the connection between copyright law and complex network relationships. This book presents an original socio-political theoretical framework for assessing developments in copyright law that will interest researchers and post-graduate students of law and politics, as well as those more particularly concerned with political theory, EU and c...

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

[Population, ethics and equity].

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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)

Ethics and public integrity in space exploration

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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

Mapping and sequencing the human genome: Science, ethics, and public policy. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McInerney, J.D.

1993-03-31

Development of Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy followed the standard process of curriculum development at the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), the process is described. The production of this module was a collaborative effort between BSCS and the American Medical Association (AMA). Appendix A contains a copy of the module. Copies of reports sent to the Department of Energy (DOE) during the development process are contained in Appendix B; all reports should be on file at DOE. Appendix B also contains copies of status reports submitted to the BSCS Board of Directors.

Sex Offenders Seeking Treatment for Sexual Dysfunction--Ethics, Medicine, and the Law.

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Phillips, Elizabeth A; Rajender, Archana; Douglas, Thomas; Brandon, Ashley F; Munarriz, Ricardo

2015-07-01

The treatment of sexual dysfunction in patients with prior sexual offenses poses ethical and legal dilemmas. Sex offenders are not obligated by law to disclose this history to medical professionals. Over 20% of sex offenders experience sexual dysfunction; however, the number of sex offenders seeking evaluation for sexual dysfunction is unknown. The aims of this study were to determine the incidence and characteristics of sex offenders seeking treatment in our clinic; and to review data regarding sex offender recidivism and ethics pertaining to the issue as it relates to treating physicians. Sex offenders were identified via three methods: new patient screening in a dedicated sexual medicine clinic, chart review of those on intracavernosal injection (ICI) therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED), and review of patient's status-post placement of penile prosthesis. Charts were cross-referenced with the U.S. Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website. Patient characteristics and details of offenses were collected. The main outcome measures used were a self-reported sexual offense and national registry data. Eighteen male sex offenders were identified: 13 via new patient screening; 3 by review of ICI patients; 1 by review of penile prosthesis data; and 1 prior to penile prosthesis placement. All were primarily referred for ED. Of those with known offenses, 64% were level 3 offenders (most likely to re-offend). The same number had committed crimes against children. All those with complete data had multiple counts of misconduct (average 3.6). Ninety-four percent (17/18) had publicly funded health care. Twelve (67%) were previously treated for sexual dysfunction. Registered sex offenders are seeking and receiving treatment for sexual dysfunction. It is unknown whether treatment of sexual dysfunction increases the risk of recidivism of sexual offenses. Physicians currently face a difficult choice in deciding whether to treat sexual dysfunction in sex

Implications of organizational ethics to healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Ells, Carolyn; MacDonald, Chris

2002-01-01

Organizational ethics is an emerging field concerned with the study and practice of the ethical behaviour of organizations. For effective application to healthcare settings, we argue that organizational ethics requires attention to organizations' special characteristics combined with tools borrowed from the fields of business ethics and bioethics. We identify and discuss several implications of this burgeoning field to healthcare organizations, showing how organizational ethics can facilitate policy making, accountability, self-evaluation, and patient and business perspectives. In our conclusion, we suggest an action plan for healthcare organizations to help them respond appropriately to their ethical responsibilities.

Biobanks for non-clinical purposes and the new law on forensic biobanks: does the Italian context protect the rights of minors?

Science.gov (United States)

Tozzo, Pamela; Pegoraro, Renzo; Caenazzo, Luciana

2010-12-01

Biobanks are an important resource for medical research. Genetic research on biological material from minors can yield valuable information that can improve our understanding of genetic-environmental interactions and the genesis and development of early onset genetic disorders. The major ethical concerns relating to biobanks concern consent, privacy, confidentiality, commercialisation, and the right to know or not to know. However, research on paediatric data raises specific governance and ethical questions with regard to consent and privacy. We have considered the Italian normative context focusing on what is mentioned in each document on the ethical and legal requirements that guarantee the rights of minors. We found out that there is no systematic reflection on the ethical and policy issues arising from the participation of minors in biobank research. Moreover, we have focused on the same aspects for the new Italian Law on the National Forensic Biobank.

The role of ethical banks in health care policy and financing in Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvador-Carulla, Luis; Solans, Josep; Duaigues, Mónica; Balot, Jordi; García-Gutierrez, Juan Carlos

2009-01-01

Ethical, social, or civic banks, constitute a secondary source of financing, which is particularly relevant in Southern and Central Europe. However there is no information on the scientific literature on this source of health care financing. We review the characteristics of saving banks in Spain and illustrate the contribution of one institution "Obra Social Caixa Catalunya" (OS-CC) to the health care financing in Spain. Savings bank health care funding was equivalent to 3 percent of the public health expenditure for 2008. The programs developed by OS-CC illustrate the complex role of savings banks in health financing, provision, training, and policy, particularly in the fields of integrated care and innovation. Financing is a basic tool for health policy. However, the role of social banking in the development of integrated care networks has been largely disregarded, in spite of its significant contribution to complementary health and social care in Southern and Central Europe. Decision makers both at the public health agencies and at the social welfare departments of savings banks should become aware of the policy implications and impact of savings bank activities in the long-term care system.

Occupational and Cost Risk : Critical Analysis of Monetization Policy Risk Approach to the Spanish Law Standards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Antônio César Villatore

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The problem that surrounds the issue of occupational risk is a phenomenon that plagues every society, because the work is a central element and gives force to the economy. In this sense, the exposure of workers to harmful activities that may cause damage to your health and physical and mental integrity, based on the monetization policy of risk adopted by the Brazilian legal system, can import costs to the workers, employers, the state and society. Thus, the present study seeks, from the labor law analysis and the use of concepts of Economic Analysis of Law, attest that the social costs caused by worker exposure to risk is, fallaciously shown, in a short-term smaller than that of prevention, but in the long run can import the burden on all parties of the employment relationship as well as the State and society, being necessary to use economic and legal measures for changing the monetization of risk policy, as in alien systems, as the Spanish Law analyzed.

Research Involving Health Providers and Managers: Ethical Issues Faced by Researchers Conducting Diverse Health Policy and Systems Research in Kenya.

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Molyneux, Sassy; Tsofa, Benjamin; Barasa, Edwine; Nyikuri, Mary Muyoka; Waweru, Evelyn Wanjiku; Goodman, Catherine; Gilson, Lucy

2016-12-01

There is a growing interest in the ethics of Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR), and especially in areas that have particular ethical salience across HPSR. Hyder et al (2014) provide an initial framework to consider this, and call for more conceptual and empirical work. In this paper, we respond by examining the ethical issues that arose for researchers over the course of conducting three HPSR studies in Kenya in which health managers and providers were key participants. All three studies involved qualitative work including observations and individual and group interviews. Many of the ethical dilemmas researchers faced only emerged over the course of the fieldwork, or on completion, and were related to interactions and relationships between individuals operating at different levels or positions in health/research systems. The dilemmas reveal significant ethical challenges for these forms of HPSR, and show that potential 'solutions' to dilemmas often lead to new issues and complications. Our experiences support the value of research ethics frameworks, and suggest that these can be enriched by incorporating careful consideration of context embedded social relations into research planning and conduct. Many of these essential relational elements of ethical practice, and of producing quality data, are given stronger emphasis in social science research ethics than in epidemiological, clinical or biomedical research ethics, and are particularly relevant where health systems are understood as social and political constructs. We conclude with practical and research implications. © 2016 The Authors Developing World Bioethics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

12 CFR 367.16 - Ethics Counselor decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Ethics Counselor decisions. 367.16 Section 367... POLICY SUSPENSION AND EXCLUSION OF CONTRACTOR AND TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS § 367.16 Ethics Counselor... disputed material facts, the Ethics Counselor shall base the decision on the facts as found, together with...

Business ethics and economic growth: An empirical analysis for Turkish economy

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Ekrem Erdem

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose – The roots of the science of modern economics are originated from the ideas of Adam Smith who is not a pure economist but a moralist-philosopher. Basic concepts in the Wealth of Nations which is perceived as the hand book of economics depend on the arguments that Adam Smith suggests in his Theory of Moral Sentiments. In this theory, business ethics as a part of the Law of Sympathy appears as one of the factors that provide the invisible hand to operate properly. In light of this property, it is possible to assume business ethics as one of the components of the market mechanism. In this context, this study aims to analyse the link between business ethics and economic growth in the Turkish economy. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs bounced cheques and protested bonds for representing the degradation of business ethics and tries to show how this degradation affects economic growth in the Turkish economy for the period 1988-2013. Findings – Either illustrative or empirical results show that business ethics is an important determinant of economic growth in the Turkish economy and damaging it negatively effects the growth rate of the economy. Research limitations/implications – One of the most restrictive things conducting the present empirical analysis is the lack of various and longer data sets. Using different indicators in terms of business ethics with longer time span will definitely increase the reliability of the study. However, in the current form, results imply a policy that is capable of limiting the failures of business ethics may boost the Turkish economy up. Originality/value – The results tend to support the close link between business ethics and economic growth.

What research ethics should learn from genomics and society research: lessons from the ELSI Congress of 2011.

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Henderson, Gail E; Juengst, Eric T; King, Nancy M P; Kuczynski, Kristine; Michie, Marsha

2012-01-01

Research on the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of human genomics has devoted significant attention to the research ethics issues that arise from genomic science as it moves through the translational process. Given the prominence of these issues in today's debates over the state of research ethics overall, these studies are well positioned to contribute important data, contextual considerations, and policy arguments to the wider research ethics community's deliberations, and ultimately to develop a research ethics that can help guide biomedicine's future. In this essay, we illustrate this thesis through an analytic summary of the research presented at the 2011 ELSI Congress, an international meeting of genomics and society researchers. We identify three pivotal factors currently shaping genomic research, its clinical translation, and its societal implications: (1) the increasingly blurred boundary between research and treatment; (2) uncertainty--that is, the indefinite, indeterminate, and incomplete nature of much genomic information and the challenges that arise from making meaning and use of it; and (3) the role of negotiations between multiple scientific and non-scientific stakeholders in setting the priorities for and direction of biomedical research, as it is increasingly conducted "in the public square." © 2012 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Slip sliding away: Promoting ethical behaviours in soccer ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Slip sliding away: Promoting ethical behaviours in soccer. ... African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences ... after the 2010 Soccer World Cup, has led to increased demands on sport organisations, coaches and players ... While the natural law steers individuals to act morally, a performance ethic motivates many ...

Economic and ethical arguments inglobal climate policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaergaard, Niels

1998-01-01

The debate about the reduction of CO 2 -emissions, as seen for example at the UN climate conference in Kyoto, includes a mixture of economic and ethical arguments. Joint implementation using the market mechanisms is viewed as being unethical because the rich countries are able to pay others to carry out their redutions. This debate is seen as a continuation of a very old discussion about the ethics of the market. The Nordic electricity market is used as an example to demonstrate that the use of tradeable permissions has well defined positive consequences. (au) 26 refs

ETHICS AND CHANGES IN SPORT

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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.

Globalization of public health law and ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, Myongsei

2012-09-01

The Constitution of the World Health Organization (1946) states that the "enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social position." The international legal framework for this right was laid by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and reaffirmed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966) and the Declaration of Alma-Ata (1978). In recent years, the framework has been developed on 10 key elements: national and international human rights, laws, norms, and standards; resource constraints and progressive realization; obligations of immediate effect; freedoms and entitlements; available, accessible, acceptable, and good quality; respect, protect, and fulfill; non-discrimination, equality, and vulnerability; active and informed participation; international assistance and cooperation; and monitoring and accountability. Whereas public health law plays an essential role in the protection and promotion of the right to health, the emergence of SARS (2003) highlighted the urgent need to reform national public health laws and international obligations relating to public health in order to meet the new realities of a globalized world, leading to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (2003) and the revision of the WHO International Health Regulations (2005). The Asian Institute for Bioethics and Health Law, in conjunction with the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare and the WHO International Digest of Health Legislation, conducted a comparative legal analysis of national public health laws in various countries through a project entitled Domestic Profiles of Public/Population Health Legislation (2006), which underscored the importance of recognizing the political and social contexts of distinct legal cultures, including Western, Asian, Islamic, and African.

Ethics education in chiropractic colleges: a North American survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinsinger, Stuart; Soave, David

2012-07-01

The purposes of this study were to survey Council on Chiropractic Education-accredited chiropractic colleges in North America and to describe curricular details on the teaching of bioethics. A custom-designed survey was sent to chiropractic colleges. Total number of contact hours, whether the ethics was a stand-alone course or integrated elsewhere, type of instructor, and if there was a required or recommended course text were queried. Of 19 surveys sent by mail, 15 surveys were returned. The average time in ethics instruction was 18.7 hours including lecture format, small group tutorial, and self-study. Chiropractic ethics education includes 8 areas of content (boundaries, law and jurisprudence, professionalism, basic ethic tenets/principles, ethical codes of conduct, prevention of financial and of sexual abuse, and resolving an ethical dilemma). Some colleges include content taught to students under the domain of law and jurisprudence. The results of this survey indicate that there are opportunities to further develop the educational ethics program at Council on Chiropractic Education-accredited colleges. All colleges currently offer bioethics teaching. An expanded role for this content is recommended so as to offer optimal benefit for students and practitioners. Copyright © 2012 National University of Health Sciences. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Business ethics: implications for managed care contracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Stahl, D A

1997-01-01

Business ethics is a specialized study that emphasizes how moral standards apply to organizations, policies, procedures and behavior. Moral standards must be considered to understand the implications of business ethics in subacute care.

13 CFR 120.140 - What ethical requirements apply to participants?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What ethical requirements apply to... LOANS Policies Applying to All Business Loans Ethical Requirements § 120.140 What ethical requirements... “Participants”), must act ethically and exhibit good character. Ethical indiscretion of an Associate of a...

The Updated AGU Ethics Policy: Supporting Inclusive and Diverse Field and Lab Environments within the Geosciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, B. M.; McPhaden, M. J.; Gundersen, L. C.

2017-12-01

The American Geophysical Union (AGU), a scientific society of >60,000 members worldwide, has established a set of scientific integrity and professional ethics guidelines for the actions of its members, for the governance of the union in its internal activities, and for the operations and participation in its publications and scientific meetings. More recently AGU has undertaken actions to help address the issue of harassment in the sciences and other work climate issues; and, where applied more broadly as a code of standard behavior, will help address tangential issues of diversity and inclusion. This presentation will highlight the proposed policy changes and additional resources now in place, as they apply to field and lab environments. Progress to date and remaining challenges of this effort will be discussed, including AGU's work to provide additional program strength in the areas of Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion.

Policy support, norms, and secondhand smoke exposure before and after implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free law in Mexico city.

Science.gov (United States)

Thrasher, James F; Pérez-Hernández, Rosaura; Swayampakala, Kamala; Arillo-Santillán, Edna; Bottai, Matteo

2010-09-01

We assessed attitudes and beliefs about smoke-free laws, compliance, and secondhand smoke exposure before and after implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free law in Mexico City. Trends and odds of change in attitudes and beliefs were analyzed across 3 representative surveys of Mexico City inhabitants: before implementation of the policy (n=800), 4 months after implementation (n=961), and 8 months after implementation (n=761). Results indicated high and increasing support for 100% smoke-free policies, although support did not increase for smoke-free bars. Agreement that such policies improved health and reinforced rights was high before policy implementation and increased thereafter. Social unacceptability of smoking increased substantially, although 25% of nonsmokers and 50% of smokers agreed with smokers' rights to smoke in public places at the final survey wave. Secondhand smoke exposure declined generally as well as in venues covered by the law, although compliance was incomplete, especially in bars. Comprehensive smoke-free legislation in Mexico City has been relatively successful, with changes in perceptions and behavior consistent with those revealed by studies conducted in high-income countries. Normative changes may prime populations for additional tobacco control interventions.

Ethical Issues in Transnational Eye Banking.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Dominique E; Kelly, Richard; Jones, Gary L A; Machin, Heather; Pollock, Graeme A

2017-02-01

To review ethical issues that may arise in the setting of transnational eye banking activities, such as when exporting or importing corneal tissue for transplantation. A principle-based normative analysis of potential common dilemmas in transnational eye banking activities was performed. Transnational activities in eye banking, like those in other fields involving procurement and use of medical products of human origin, may present a number of ethical issues for policy makers and professionals. Key ethical concerns include the potential impact of export or import activities on self-sufficiency of corneal tissue supply within exporting and importing countries; potential disclosure requirements when obtaining consent or authorization for ocular tissue donation when donations may be exported; and difficulties inherent in assuring equity in the allocation of tissues available for export and in establishing and respecting standards of safety and quality across different jurisdictions. Further analysis of specific ethical issues in eye banking is necessary to inform development of guidelines and other governance tools that will assist policy makers and professionals to support ethical practice.

Imagined in Policy, Inscribed on Bodies: Defending an Ethic of Compassion in a Political Context

Science.gov (United States)

Mercer, Dave

2015-01-01

In response to the International Journal of Health Policy and Management (IJHPM) editorial, this commentary adds to the debate about ethical dimensions of compassionate care in UK service provision. It acknowledges the importance of the original paper, and attempts to explore some of the issues that are raised in the context of nursing practice, research and education. It is argued that each of these fields of the profession are enacted in an escalating culture of corporatism, be that National Health Service (NHS) or university campus, and global neoliberalism. Post-structuralist ideas, notably those of Foucault, are borrowed to interrogate healthcare as discursive practice and disciplinary knowledge; where an understanding of the ways in which power and language operate is prominent. Historical and contemporary evidence of institutional and ideological degradation of sections of humanity, a ‘history of the present,’ serve as reminders of the import, and fragility, of ethical codes. PMID:26673179

Genomics for public health improvement: relevant international ethical and policy issues around genome-wide association studies and biobanks.

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, T

2013-01-01

Genome-wide association studies and biobanks are at the forefront of genomics research and possess unprecedented potential to improve public health. However, for public health genomics to ultimately fulfill its potential, technological and scientific advances alone are insufficient. Scientists, ethicists, policy makers, and regulators must work closely together with research participants and communities in order to craft an equitable and just ethical framework, and a sustainable environment for effective policies. Such a framework should be a 'hybrid' form which balances equity and solidarity with entrepreneurship and scientific advances. A good balance between research and policy on one hand, and privacy, protection and trust on the other is the key for public health improvement based on advances in genomics science. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Transplant Ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Altınörs, Nur; Haberal, Mehmet

2016-11-01

The aim of this study was to review and discuss the great variety of ethical issues related to organ donation, organ procurement, transplant activities, and new ethical problems created as a result of technologic and scientific developments. An extensive literature survey was made, and expert opinions were obtained. The gap between demand and supply of organs for transplant has yielded to organ trafficking, organ tourism, and commercialism. This problem seems to be the most important issue, and naturally there are ethical dilemmas related to it. A wide number of ideas have been expressed on the subject, and different solutions have been proposed. The struggle against organ trafficking and commercialism should include legislation, efforts to increase deceased-donor donations, and international cooperation. China's policy to procure organs from prisoners sentenced to death is unethical, and the international community should exert more pressure on the Chinese government to cease this practice. Each particular ethical dilemma should be taken separately and managed.

A case study exploring the ethical and policy dimensions of allocating acute care resources to a dying patient.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooke, Mary; Hurley, Ciarán

2008-05-01

We aimed to identify policy, process and ethical issues related to allocation of National Health Service resources when patients with end-of-life illness are referred to acute care services. Sharing healthcare decisions denotes a different partnership between professionals and patients when patients are empowered to define their needs. Implementation of a transition from professional to patient decision-making appears to be dependent upon its interpretation by personnel delivering care using the local trust policy. The outcome of this is a reformation of responsibility for budget allocation, choice of acute care provider and selecting services, currently in the realm of primary care; be it the general practitioner, community practitioners, or the patient. We used a 'lens' approach to case study analysis in which the lens is constructed of a model of policy analysis and four principles of biomedical ethics. A patient's decision to decline care proposed by an Accident and Emergency department nurse and the nurse's response to that decision expose a policy that restricts the use of ambulance transport and with that, flexibility in responses to patients' decisions. End-of-life care partnership decisions require sensitivity and flexibility from all healthcare practitioners. We found that policy-based systems currently used to deliver care across the primary care - hospital care border are far from seamless and can lead to foreseeable problems. Health professionals responsible for the care of a patient at the end of life should consider the holistic outcomes of resource allocation decisions for patients. Government and health professional agenda suggest that patients should be given a greater element of control over their healthcare than has historically been the case. When patients take responsibility for their decisions, healthcare personnel should recognize that this signals a shift in the nature of the professional-patient relationship to one of partnership.

The role of ethics in data governance of large neuro-ICT projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Stahl, Bernd Carsten; Rainey, Stephen; Harris, Emma; Fothergill, B Tyr

2018-05-14

We describe current practices of ethics-related data governance in large neuro-ICT projects, identify gaps in current practice, and put forward recommendations on how to collaborate ethically in complex regulatory and normative contexts. We undertake a survey of published principles of data governance of large neuro-ICT projects. This grounds an approach to a normative analysis of current data governance approaches. Several ethical issues are well covered in the data governance policies of neuro-ICT projects, notably data protection and attribution of work. Projects use a set of similar policies to ensure users behave appropriately. However, many ethical issues are not covered at all. Implementation and enforcement of policies remain vague. The data governance policies we investigated indicate that the neuro-ICT research community is currently close-knit and that shared assumptions are reflected in infrastructural aspects. This explains why many ethical issues are not explicitly included in data governance policies at present. With neuro-ICT research growing in scale, scope, and international involvement, these shared assumptions should be made explicit and reflected in data governance.

ESHRE Task Force on Ethics and Law 21: genetic screening of gamete donors: ethical issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Dondorp, W; De Wert, G; Pennings, G; Shenfield, F; Devroey, P; Tarlatzis, B; Barri, P; Diedrich, K; Eichenlaub-Ritter, U; Tüttelmann, F; Provoost, V

2014-07-01

This Task Force document explores the ethical issues involved in the debate about the scope of genetic screening of gamete donors. Calls for expanded donor screening arise against the background of both occasional findings of serious but rare genetic conditions in donors or donor offspring that were not detected through present screening procedures and the advent of new genomic technologies promising affordable testing of donors for a wide range of conditions. Ethical principles require that all stakeholders' interests are taken into account, including those of candidate donors. The message of the profession should be that avoiding all risks is impossible and that testing should remain proportional.

Cyberspace in the Curricula: New Legal and Ethical Issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Smethers, J. Steven

1998-01-01

Finds that most journalism and mass communication programs integrate legal and ethical issues surrounding cyberspace and interactive media into existing courses, especially into ethics and communication law courses, but also into introductory survey courses, communication technology, and reporting classes. Details reasons why some programs do not…

Violence, Rule of Law, and Punitive Policies in Central America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verónica De la Torre

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This article suggests that high levels of violence and crime in the so called North Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, together with the incapacity of the state of enforcing the rule of law, are causing growing anxiety among the population and are attracting the support of the community to implement authoritarian measures to fight crime. The response of the governments of the region in the face of the rise of crime and public demand for security has been the policies of "iron fist", and the use of "populist punitiveness" as a strategy to gain the backing of an electorate deeply concerned by insecurity.

Between reason and coercion: ethically permissible influence in health care and health policy contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Blumenthal-Barby, J S

2012-12-01

In bioethics, the predominant categorization of various types of influence has been a tripartite classification of rational persuasion (meaning influence by reason and argument), coercion (meaning influence by irresistible threats-or on a few accounts, offers), and manipulation (meaning everything in between). The standard ethical analysis in bioethics has been that rational persuasion is always permissible, and coercion is almost always impermissible save a few cases such as imminent threat to self or others. However, many forms of influence fall into the broad middle terrain-and this terrain is in desperate need of conceptual refining and ethical analysis in light of recent interest in using principles from behavioral science to influence health decisions and behaviors. This paper aims to address the neglected space between rational persuasion and coercion in bioethics. First, I argue for conceptual revisions that include removing the "manipulation" label and relabeling this space "nonargumentative influence," with two subtypes: "reason-bypassing" and "reason-countering." Second, I argue that bioethicists have made the mistake of relying heavily on the conceptual categories themselves for normative work and instead should assess the ethical permissibility of a particular instance of influence by asking several key ethical questions, which I elucidate, that relate to (1) the impact of the form of influence on autonomy and (2) the relationship between the influencer and the influenced. Finally, I apply my analysis to two examples of nonargumentative influence in health care and health policy: (1) governmental agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) trying to influence the public to be healthier using nonargumentative measures such as vivid images on cigarette packages to make more salient the negative effects of smoking, and (2) a physician framing a surgery in terms of survival rates instead of mortality rates to influence her patient to consent to

Research Ethics in the Context of Transition: Gaps in Policies and Programs on the Protection of Research Participants in the Selected Countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Famenka, Andrei

2016-12-01

This paper examines the ability of countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to ensure appropriate protection of research participants in the field of increasingly globalizing biomedical research. By applying an analytical framework for identifying gaps in policies and programs for human subjects protection to four countries of CEE-Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, substantial gaps in the scope and content of relevant policies and major impediments to program performance have been revealed. In these countries, public policies on the protection of research participants lack consistency and reliable mechanisms for their implementation. Impediments to program performance most often relate to inadequacies in the national research ethics systems with regard to organizational structure, budgetary support, supervision, and training. The level of research ethics capacity varies from country to country and depends on socio-economic and political factors of post-communist transition. The breadth and depth of the problems identified suggest that the current level of protection for research participants in CEE might be inadequate to the challenges posed by the globalization of biomedical research. In CEE countries, there is a need for strengthening research ethics capacity through modification of relevant policies and improvement of program management. The differences among the countries call for further research on identifying the best approaches for filling the gaps in the policies and programs aimed at ensuring effective protection of research participants.

Examining the spatial distribution of law enforcement encounters among people who inject drugs after implementation of Mexico's drug policy reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaines, Tommi L; Beletsky, Leo; Arredondo, Jaime; Werb, Daniel; Rangel, Gudelia; Vera, Alicia; Brouwer, Kimberly

2015-04-01

In 2009, Mexico decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use in order to refocus law enforcement resources on drug dealers and traffickers. This study examines the spatial distribution of law enforcement encounters reported by people who inject drugs (PWID) in Tijuana, Mexico to identify concentrated areas of policing activity after implementation of the new drug policy. Mapping the physical location of law enforcement encounters provided by PWID (n = 461) recruited through targeted sampling, we identified hotspots of extra-judicial encounters (e.g., physical/sexual abuse, syringe confiscation, and money extortion by law enforcement) and routine authorized encounters (e.g., being arrested or stopped but not arrested) using point density maps and the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic calculated at the neighborhood-level. Approximately half of the participants encountered law enforcement more than once in a calendar year and nearly one third of these encounters did not result in arrest but involved harassment or abuse by law enforcement. Statistically significant hotspots of law enforcement encounters were identified in a limited number of neighborhoods located in areas with known drug markets. At the local-level, law enforcement activities continue to target drug users despite a national drug policy that emphasizes drug treatment diversion rather than punitive enforcement. There is a need for law enforcement training and improved monitoring of policing tactics to better align policing with public health goals.

Law, Literature and Society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ursula Miranda Bahiense de Lyra

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This research aims to highlight the importance of literature in critical thinking about the law, coupled with the search for the emergence of an autonomous political subject and as a possibility of materialization of a new right . This shall be used , bibliographic research , seeking at first discuss the historical background of the "Law and Literature Moviment " to later approach the thought of Michel Foucault , their ideas about power, the constitution subjectivity , the ethical dimension of the subject and the care of itself, the Aufklärung and its conception of this new law.

BUSINESS ETHICS AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN BANKING INDUSTRY

OpenAIRE

Amith Menezes

2016-01-01

Business ethics is defined as "the process of evaluating decisions, either before or after, with respect to the moral standards of society."Core ethical values include honesty, integrity, fairness, responsible citizenship and accountability. In short, business ethics means "choosing the good over the bad, the right over the wrong, the fair over the unfair, the truth over the lie". Observing the law is one basic professional requirement for banks. They must also pay close attention to moral co...

Health care law versus constitutional law.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Mark A

2013-04-01

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, the Supreme Court's ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is a landmark decision - both for constitutional law and for health care law and policy. Others will study its implications for constitutional limits on a range of federal powers beyond health care. This article considers to what extent the decision is also about health care law, properly conceived. Under one view, health care law is the subdiscipline that inquires how courts and government actors take account of the special features of medicine that make legal or policy issues especially problematic - rather than regarding health care delivery and finance more generically, like most any other economic or social enterprise. Viewed this way, the opinions from the Court's conservative justices are mainly about general constitutional law principles. In contrast, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dissenting opinion for the four more liberal justices is just as much about health care law as it is about constitutional law. Her opinion gives detailed attention to the unique features of health care finance and delivery in order to inform her analysis of constitutional precedents and principles. Thus, the Court's multiple opinions give a vivid depiction of the compelling contrasts between communal versus individualistic conceptions of caring for those in need, and between health care and health insurance as ordinary commodities versus ones that merit special economic, social, and legal status.

Drug use and abuse: the ethical issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Almond, B

1992-01-01

Drug abuse is both a personal and a public issue, raising questions about individual rights and the boundaries of law, as well as about national sovereignty and international control. Ethical issues that arise under these headings may be related to certain broad ethical positions. The implications of adopting utilitarian assumptions may be contrasted with basing ethics on a theory of individual rights, closely related to a theory of human nature. Neither position justifies a libertarian presumption against control, for, first, an individual decision to expose one's mind and personality to the control of drugs cannot be ethically justified and, second, there are no ethical reasons, nor any compelling arguments from social and political theory, for decriminalizing non-medical drug use.

International Investment Law and EU Law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

regional economic integration agreements, International Competition Law, International Investment Regulation, International Monetary Law, International Intellectual Property Protection and International Tax Law. In addition to the regular annual volumes, EYIEL Special Issues routinely address specific...... current topics in International Economic Law. The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty entails sweeping changes with respect to foreign investment regulation. Most prominently, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) now contains in its Article 207 an explicit competence...... for the regulation of foreign direct investment as part of the Common Commercial Policy (CCP) chapter. With this new competence, the EU will become an important actor in the field of international investment politics and law. The new empowerment in the field of international investment law prompts a multitude...

ETHICS AND ETIQUETTE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. Nekrasova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article attempts to differentiate and even contrast the two different models of moral thinking and behavior. One of them considered morality as strict and even rigorist following etiquette - rules, rituals, commandments, laws, canons. Breach of the etiquette or neglecting it is considered unethical, a manifestation of immorality, wickedness. Thus, etiquette and morality are identified. Such a conception of morality results from the ethical paradigm of Aristotle. But there is another, opposite paradigm - the ethics of Kant, in which morality is understood not as a form of behavior, but as an ontological entity. And in this (Kantian moral paradigm etiquette has only to a service value.

Methods of legitimation: how ethics committees decide which reasons count in public policy decision-making.

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Edwards, Kyle T

2014-07-01

In recent years, liberal democratic societies have struggled with the question of how best to balance expertise and democratic participation in the regulation of emerging technologies. This study aims to explain how national deliberative ethics committees handle the practical tension between scientific expertise, ethical expertise, expert patient input, and lay public input by explaining two institutions' processes for determining the legitimacy or illegitimacy of reasons in public policy decision-making: that of the United Kingdom's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the United States' American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). The articulation of these 'methods of legitimation' draws on 13 in-depth interviews with HFEA and ASRM members and staff conducted in January and February 2012 in London and over Skype, as well as observation of an HFEA deliberation. This study finds that these two institutions employ different methods in rendering certain arguments legitimate and others illegitimate: while the HFEA attempts to 'balance' competing reasons but ultimately legitimizes arguments based on health and welfare concerns, the ASRM seeks to 'filter' out arguments that challenge reproductive autonomy. The notably different structures and missions of each institution may explain these divergent approaches, as may what Sheila Jasanoff (2005) terms the distinctive 'civic epistemologies' of the US and the UK. Significantly for policy makers designing such deliberative committees, each method differs substantially from that explicitly or implicitly endorsed by the institution. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detecting, preventing, and responding to "fraudsters" in internet research: ethics and tradeoffs.

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Teitcher, Jennifer E F; Bockting, Walter O; Bauermeister, José A; Hoefer, Chris J; Miner, Michael H; Klitzman, Robert L

2015-01-01

Internet-based health research is increasing, and often offers financial incentives but fraudulent behavior by participants can result. Specifically, eligible or ineligible individuals may enter the study multiple times and receive undeserved financial compensation. We review past experiences and approaches to this problem and propose several new strategies. Researchers can detect and prevent Internet research fraud in four broad ways: (1) through the questionnaire/instrument (e.g., including certain questions in survey; and software for administering survey); (2) through participants' non-questionnaire data and seeking external validation (e.g., checking data for same email addresses, usernames, passwords, and/or fake addresses or phone numbers; (3) through computer information, (e.g., IP addresses and cookies), and 4) through study design (e.g., avoid lump sum compensation and interviewing participants). These approaches each have pros and cons, and raise ethical, legal, and logistical questions, given that ethical tensions can emerge between preserving the integrity of research vs. protecting the privacy and confidentiality of study respondents. While past discussions concerning the ethics of online research have tended to focus on the participants' ability to trust the researchers, needs now arise to examine researchers' abilities to trust the participants. This analysis has several critical implications for future practice, policy, and research. © 2015 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Conflict of interest: A tenacious ethical dilemma in public health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In addition to the ethical practice of individual health professionals, bioethical debate about conflict of interest (CoI) must include the institutional ethics of public policy-making, as failure to establish independence from powerful stakeholder influence may pervert public health goals. All involved in public policy processes are ...

48 CFR 3.1002 - Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... PRACTICES AND PERSONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct 3.1002 Policy.... (b) Contractors should have a written code of business ethics and conduct. To promote compliance with such code of business ethics and conduct, contractors should have an employee business ethics and...

Ethical analysis to improve decision-making on health technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saarni, Samuli I; Hofmann, Bjørn; Lampe, Kristian

2008-01-01

Health technology assessment (HTA) is the multidisciplinary study of the implications of the development, diffusion and use of health technologies. It supports health-policy decisions by providing a joint knowledge base for decision-makers. To increase its policy relevance, HTA tries to extend...... beyond effectiveness and costs to also considering the social, organizational and ethical implications of technologies. However, a commonly accepted method for analysing the ethical aspects of health technologies is lacking. This paper describes a model for ethical analysis of health technology...... to only analyse the ethical consequences of a technology, but also the ethical issues of the whole HTA process must be considered. Selection of assessment topics, methods and outcomes is essentially a value-laden decision. Health technologies may challenge moral or cultural values and beliefs...

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

AIonAI: a humanitarian law of artificial intelligence and robotics.

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Ashrafian, Hutan

2015-02-01

The enduring progression of artificial intelligence and cybernetics offers an ever-closer possibility of rational and sentient robots. The ethics and morals deriving from this technological prospect have been considered in the philosophy of artificial intelligence, the design of automatons with roboethics and the contemplation of machine ethics through the concept of artificial moral agents. Across these categories, the robotics laws first proposed by Isaac Asimov in the twentieth century remain well-recognised and esteemed due to their specification of preventing human harm, stipulating obedience to humans and incorporating robotic self-protection. However the overwhelming predominance in the study of this field has focussed on human-robot interactions without fully considering the ethical inevitability of future artificial intelligences communicating together and has not addressed the moral nature of robot-robot interactions. A new robotic law is proposed and termed AIonAI or artificial intelligence-on-artificial intelligence. This law tackles the overlooked area where future artificial intelligences will likely interact amongst themselves, potentially leading to exploitation. As such, they would benefit from adopting a universal law of rights to recognise inherent dignity and the inalienable rights of artificial intelligences. Such a consideration can help prevent exploitation and abuse of rational and sentient beings, but would also importantly reflect on our moral code of ethics and the humanity of our civilisation.

Ethics and epistemology of accurate prediction in clinical research.

Science.gov (United States)

Hey, Spencer Phillips

2015-07-01

All major research ethics policies assert that the ethical review of clinical trial protocols should include a systematic assessment of risks and benefits. But despite this policy, protocols do not typically contain explicit probability statements about the likely risks or benefits involved in the proposed research. In this essay, I articulate a range of ethical and epistemic advantages that explicit forecasting would offer to the health research enterprise. I then consider how some particular confidence levels may come into conflict with the principles of ethical research. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Ethical values in radiological protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oughton, D.H.

1996-01-01

Issues like consent, equity, control and responsibility are important for an ethical evaluation of radiation risks. This paper discusses the incorporation of ethical values in radiological protection policy and compares how ICRP recommendations promote their use in practice and intervention cases. The paper contends that in cases of intervention, where the overall aim is dose reduction, social and ethical factors are often alluded to when evaluating costs of an action. However, possible ethical or social benefits of intervention measures are seldom raised. On the other hand, when assessing a practice, wherein the net effect is an increase in radiation dose, one is more likely to find an appeal to ethical factors on the benefits side of the equation than with the costs. The paper concludes that all decisions concerning radiological protection should consider both positive and negative ethical aspects. (author)

Implications of the ethical-legal framework for adolescent HIV ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The ethical-legal framework in South Africa is in a period of transition, with a number of new developments changing the substantive principles and procedures for health research in the country. Some of the changing dynamics include both law reform and the review of ethical guidelines. This changing environment poses ...

BUSINESS ETHICS IMPLEMENTATION IN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OF COMPANIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BERINDE Mihai

2013-07-01

Completed in July 2010 and entering into force in 2011, the UK Bribery Act is the latest approach to corruption. This Act has been described as the toughest anti-corruption legislation in the world, blaming a behavior that is not acceptable in the global market. With the advent of this new law, many companies were forced to update their codes of ethics in order to meet the new challenges introduced by this law. In this context, our research is based on the study case of the way in which the best performing company in Romania, OMV Petrom, uses in its practice the ethical values that are compulsory at an international level.

Ethics of Tax Law Compliance: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Cummings, Richard G.; Longo, Peter J.; Rioux, Jean W.

2012-01-01

The first semester Tax I student seems to be interested in the ethical issue of why citizens should report their income and only take legitimate tax deductions when it is unlikely that anyone will ever know. This paper addresses this issue from an interdisciplinary approach of accounting, philosophy, and political science. The accounting…

Exploring the potential duty of care in clinical genomics under UK law.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Colin; Ploem, Corrette; Chico, Victoria; Ormondroyd, Elizabeth; Hall, Alison; Wallace, Susan; Fay, Michael; Goodwin, Deirdre; Bell, Jessica; Phillips, Simon; Taylor, Jenny C; Hennekam, Raoul; Kaye, Jane

2017-09-01

Genome-wide sequencing technologies are beginning to be used in projects that have both clinical diagnostic and research components. The clinical application of this technology, which generates a huge amount of information of varying diagnostic certainty, involves addressing a number of challenges to establish appropriate standards. In this article, we explore the way that UK law may respond to three of these key challenges and could establish new legal duties in relation to feedback of findings that are unrelated to the presenting condition (secondary, additional or incidental findings); duties towards genetic relatives as well as the patient and duties on the part of researchers and professionals who do not have direct contact with patients. When considering these issues, the courts will take account of European and international comparisons, developing guidance and relevant ethical, social and policy factors. The UK courts will also be strongly influenced by precedent set in case law.

Bioethics, Religion, and Public Policy: Intersections, Interactions, and Solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahn, Peter A

2016-10-01

Bioethics in America positions itself as a totalizing discipline, capable of providing guidance to any individual within the boundaries of a health or medical setting. Yet the religiously observant or those driven by spiritual values have not universally accepted decisions made by "secular" bioethics, and as a result, religious bioethical thinkers and adherents have developed frameworks and rich counter-narratives used to fend off encroachment by policies perceived as threatening. This article uses brain death in Jewish law, the case of Jahi McMath, and vaccination refusal to observe how the religious system of ethics is presently excluded from bioethics and its implications.

Nuclear power and public policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shrader-Frechette, K.S.

1980-01-01

The authors' purpose is to raise some of the social, political, and ethical issues which for so long have been ignored in making government assessments of nuclear power. In particular she asks whether current policy (governing admissible releases of radioactivity during electricity generation) is based on sound ethical premises. She argues that it is ethically reprehensible to generate long-lived nuclear wastes without knowing whether they can be safety stored. An ethical and methodological assessment of public policy is presented based on the presupposition that a core melt accident is improbable. It is then argued that the alleged cost-effectiveness of fission generated electricity is based on economical methodology which is both illogical and unethical. Finally, an outline of the sorts of policy-making procedures which ought to be followed in dealing with nuclear technology is given. (Auth.)

Ethics for medical educators: an overview and fallacies.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Arjun

2010-07-01

Ethics is the rule of right conduct or practice in a profession. The basic principles of ethics are beneficence, justice and autonomy or individual freedom. There is very minor demarcation between ethics and the law. The ethics is promulgated by the professional bodies. All are expected to guide the medical professional in their practice. Medical educators have dual ethical obligations: firstly, to the society at large which expects us to produce competent health professionals, and secondly, to the students under our care. The students observe and copy what their teacher does and his/her role modelling can be a gateway to a student's character building. Due to rapid increase in the number of medical colleges, privatization, and capitalism, ethical issue has become much more relevant and needs to discuss in detail. The present paper discusses the ethics for medical educators in detail with, basic principles, common breaches of ethics and fallacies due to wrong application of ethical principles, and the approach to ethics and methods by which we can prevent and avoid breach of ethics.

Outsourcing ethical obligations: should the revised common rule address the responsibilities of investigators and sponsors?

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Seema K

2013-01-01

The Common Rule creates a division of moral labor in research. It implies that investigators and sponsors can outsource their ethical obligations to IRBs and participants, thereby fostering a culture of compliance, rather than one of responsibility. The proposed revisions to the Common Rule are likely to exacerbate this problem. To harness the expressive power of the law, I propose the Common Rule be revised to include the ethical responsibilities of investigators and sponsors. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Medical Ethics in Nephrology: A Jewish Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allon J. Friedman

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Jewish medical ethics is arguably the oldest recorded system of bioethics still in use. It should be of interest to practicing nephrologists because of its influence on the ethical systems of Christianity, Islam, and Western secular society; because of the extensive written documentation of rabbinical response in addressing a broad range of bioethical dilemmas; and in understanding the values of patients who choose to adhere to religious Jewish law. The goal of this review is to provide a brief overview of the basic principles underlying mainstream traditional Jewish medical ethics, apply them to common clinical scenarios experienced in nephrology practice, and contrast them with that of secular medical ethics.

Publication ethics in biomedical journals from countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Broga, Mindaugas; Mijaljica, Goran; Waligora, Marcin; Keis, Aime; Marusic, Ana

2014-03-01

Publication ethics is an important aspect of both the research and publication enterprises. It is particularly important in the field of biomedical science because published data may directly affect human health. In this article, we examine publication ethics policies in biomedical journals published in Central and Eastern Europe. We were interested in possible differences between East European countries that are members of the European Union (Eastern EU) and South-East European countries (South-East Europe) that are not members of the European Union. The most common ethical issues addressed by all journals in the region were redundant publication, peer review process, and copyright or licensing details. Image manipulation, editors' conflicts of interest and registration of clinical trials were the least common ethical policies. Three aspects were significantly more common in journals published outside the EU: statements on the endorsement of international editorial standards, contributorship policy, and image manipulation. On the other hand, copyright or licensing information were more prevalent in journals published in the Eastern EU. The existence of significant differences among biomedical journals' ethical policies calls for further research and active measures to harmonize policies across journals.

The association of soda sales tax and school nutrition laws: a concordance of policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Greathouse, K Leigh; Chriqui, Jamie; Moser, Richard P; Agurs-Collins, Tanya; Perna, Frank M

2014-10-01

The current research examined the association between state disfavoured tax on soda (i.e. the difference between soda sales tax and the tax on food products generally) and a summary score representing the strength of state laws governing competitive beverages (beverages that compete with the beverages in the federally funded school lunch programme) in US schools. The Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (CLASS) summary score reflected the strength of a state's laws restricting competitive beverages sold in school stores, vending machines, school fundraisers and à la carte cafeteria items. Bridging the Gap (BTG) is a nationally recognized research initiative that provided state-level soda tax data. The main study outcome was the states' competitive beverage summary scores for elementary, middle and high school grade levels, as predicted by the states' disfavoured soda tax. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted, adjusting for year and state. Data from BTG and CLASS were used. BTG and CLASS data from all fifty states and the District of Columbia from 2003 to 2010 were used. A higher disfavoured soda sales tax was generally associated with an increased likelihood of having strong school beverage laws across grade levels, and especially when disfavoured soda sales tax was >5 %. These data suggest a concordance between states' soda taxes and laws governing beverages sold in schools. States with high disfavoured sales tax on soda had stronger competitive beverage laws, indicating that the state sales tax environment may be associated with laws governing beverage policy in schools.