Showing papers on "Nursing ethics published in 1998"

Information ethics: On the philosophical foundation ofcomputer ethics

Abstract: The essential difficulty about Computer Ethics‘ (CE) philosophical status is a methodological problem: standard ethical theories cannot easily be adapted to deal with CE-problems, which appear to strain their conceptual resources, and CE requires a conceptual foundation as an ethical theory. Information Ethics (IE), the philosophical foundational counterpart of CE, can be seen as a particular case of ’’environmental‘‘ ethics or ethics of the infosphere. What is good for an information entity and the infosphere in general? This is the ethical question asked by IE. The answer is provided by a minimalist theory of deseerts: IE argues that there is something more elementary and fundamental than life and pain, namely being, understood as information, and entropy, and that any information entity is to be recognised as the centre of a minimal moral claim, which deserves recognition and should help to regulate the implementation of any information process involving it. IE can provide a valuable perspective from which to approach, with insight and adequate discernment, not only moral problems in CE, but also the whole range of conceptual and moral phenomena that form the ethical discourse.

Modeling IT ethics: a study in situational ethics

Abstract: Misuse of computer information systems has caused significant losses to business and society, even though computing has benefited both businesses and professionals. To this end, several measures have been suggested that both prevent and deter losses. One deterrent measure is to identify individual and situational characteristics of people who act ethically/ unethically. This study identifies specific charIlzak Benbasat was the accepting senior editor for this paper. acteristics that are associated with and may influence the ethical behavior intention of information systems employees when faced with ethical dilemmas. The results of the study show that individual and situational characteristics do influence ethical behavior intention.

Can corporate codes of ethics influence behavior

Abstract: There is increasing public interest in understanding the nature of corporate ethics due to the knowledge that unethical decisions and activities frequently undermine the performance and abilities of many organizations. Of the current literature found on the topic of ways organizations can influence ethical behavior, a majority is found on the issue of corporate codes of ethics. Most discussions on codes of ethics evaluate the contents of the codes and offer opinions on their wording, content, and/or value. Unfortunately, very little research has been devoted towards discovering whether they are effective in promoting ethical decision-making behavior. Thus, due to the lack of empirical research on this particular topic, this paper attempts to further address this issue. Data was obtained through the use of a fifteen-item questionnaire, in which seven of the items were scenarios on the topic of ethical behavior, and the remaining eight questions were concerned with demographic information. The survey was administered to 150 business students at a large university. The results indicated that corporate codes of ethics are not influential in determining a person's ethical decision-making behavior.

Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide

Abstract: Preface. 1. What Do I Do Now? 2. Ethics in Real Life. 3. Ethics and Critical Thinking. 4. Trust, Power, and Caring. 5. Therapy in the Digital World: Ethical Challenges of the New Technologies. 6. Competence and the Human Therapist. 7. Creating Strategies for Self-Care. 8. Creating a Professional Will. 9. Codes and Complaints in Context: Historical, Empirical, and Actuarial Foundations. 10. Responding to Ethics, Licensing, or Malpractice Complaints. 11. Steps in Ethical Decision Making. 12. Different Conclusions: Example from the Interrogation Controversy. 13. Beginnings and Endings, Absence and Access. 14. Informed Consent and Informed Refusal. 15. Assessment, Testing, and Diagnosis. 16. Sexual Relationships with Clients. 17. Nonsexual Multiple Relationships and Other Boundary Issues. 18. Culture, Context, and Individual Differences. 19. Confidentiality. 20. Recognizing, Assessing, and Responding to Suicidal Risk. 21. Supervision. APPENDICES. A. American Psychological Association: Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (Amended, 2010). B. Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, Third Edition. C. Ethics Codes & Practice Guidelines for Assessment, Therapy, Counseling, & Forensic Practice. REFERENCES. ABOUT THE AUTHORS. Author Index. Subject Index.

Ethics Management: Auditing and Developing the Ethical Content of Organizations

Abstract: Introduction: 1. Confidence as Key. 2. The ABC of Business Ethics. 3. Three Research Questions. 4. Structure of the Study. Part I: Defining the Ethical Content. 1. The Corporate Mission. 2. Ethics Management. 3. The Ethical Company. Part II: Auditing the Ethical Content. 4. The Ethical Qualities Model. 5. The Ethics Audit in Practice. Part III: Developing the Ethical Content. 6. The Ethics Process. 7. The Ethics Mix. 8. Summary and Conclusions. References. Appendices. 1: Agenda for Follow-Up Research. 2: The Ethics Thermometer. 3: Ethics Profiles of Four Organizations. Index.

Code of medical ethics : current opinions with annotations

Abstract: The definitive authority on medical professionalism. For more than 155 years, the AMA Code of Medical Ethics has been considered the most comprehensive ethics guide for physicians, covering a wide range of issues related to the patient-physician relationship, such as confidentiality and end-of-life care. It also addresses social policy issues that affect medical practice matters as well as medical records, fees and charges, professional rights, and more. This edition features more than 185 ethical opinions of the AMA's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs. Includes clarification of opinions on gifts to physicians from industry and sales of goods from physician's offices. Among the 12 new opinions in this edition are those on privacy, genomic research, electronic mail, errors, health-related Web sites, and cloning. This authoritative resource for medical ethics includes the revised copy of the Principles of Medical Ethics. With the legal system showing a growing willingness to look to the Principles and Opinions as a basis for health care law, this edition also offers detailed annotations of case law and journal articles to speed and assist research.

Rethinking Feminist Ethics: Care, Trust and Empathy

Abstract: The issue of whether there are distinctively female ethics is one of the most pressing concerns in contemporary debates over gender, politics and ethics. Rethinking Feminist Ethics is one of the frist books to examine critically arguments for female ethics and propose challenging new alternative.

The ethics of care: a feminist virtue ethics of care for healthcare practitioners.

Abstract: In this paper I seek to distinguish a feminist virtue ethics of care from (1) justice ethics, (2) narrative ethics, (3) care ethics and (4) virtue ethics. I also connect this contemporary discussion of what makes a virtue ethics of care feminist to eighteenth and nineteenth century debates about male, female, and human virtue. In conclude that by focusing on issues related to gender--primarily those related to the systems, structures, and ideologies that create and sustain patterns of male domination and female subordination--we can begin to appreciate that true care and bona-fide virtue can flourish only in societies that treat all persons with equal respect and consideration.

Lessons Learned from Ethics in the Classroom: Exploring Student Growth in Flexibility, Complexity and Comprehension

Abstract: This study shows the link between teaching ethics in a college setting and the evolution of student thinking about ethical dilemmas. At the beginning of the semester, students have a rigid "black and white" conception of ethics. By the end of the semester, they are thinking more flexibly about the responsibilities of leaders in corporate ethical dilemmas, and they are able to appreciate complex situations that influence ethical behavior. The study shows that education in ethics produces more "enlightened" consumers of ethics information who are able to make sound determinations about responsibility in ethical dilemmas.

Professional Ethics in Social Work— What Future?

Abstract: SUMMARY This paper examines the ethical implications of recent changes in social work, particularly in relation to the conception of social workers as professionals guided by a code of ethics. These changes include the fragmentation of the occupation, the increasing proceduralization of the work and the growing focus on consumer rights and user participation. Some people have argued that codes of ethics are becoming increasingly irrelevant in this climate, in that they assume a unified occupational group and are based upon professionals' definition of values without consultation with service users. On the other hand, it has also been maintained that it is ever more important to retain and strengthen codes of ethics in order to maintain professional identity and to defend the work of the profession from outside attack. This paper explores the relevance of a code of professional ethics for social work, focusing particularly on the British Association of Social Workers' code, in the context of the changing organization and practice of the work. It considers two alternative approaches: the 'new consumerism' which focuses on the worker's technical skills (rather than professional ethics) and consumer rights (as opposed to professional obligations); and a 'new radicalism' which stresses the worker's own personal or political commitment and individual moral responsibility (as opposed to an externally imposed code of professional ethics). It is concluded that the changes in social work do threaten the notion of a single set of professional ethics articulated in a code, and that, in some types of work, this model is less appropriate. However, there is still mileage in retaining and developing a code of ethics, not as an imposed set of rules developed by the professional association, but as part of a dynamic and evolving ethical tradition in social work and as a stimulus for debate and reflection on changing and contradictory values.

Interpersonal relations in nursing: a philosophical-ethical analysis of the work of Hildegard E. Peplau

Abstract: Nursing typically has been viewed as a moral practice, for instance by new developments in the ethics of care. Nevertheless, many philosophical-ethical presuppositions of nursing theories remain to be clarified. This paper presents a philosophical-ethical analysis of the work of Hildegard E. Peplau. Analysis of the philosophical-ethical background of Peplau's works illuminates a view on nursing practice that is relevant today. Three main components are analysed more deeply, i.e. the professionalization of nursing, the philosophical underpinnings of Peplau's view on nursing science, and the nurse-patient relationship as the central event in nursing.

Professional, Ethical, and Legal Implications for Spiritual Care in Nursing

Abstract: Purpose: To highlight nurses' professional and ethical responsibility to consistently provide spiritual care. The legal issue of nurse-client privilege in relation to spiritual care is also discussed. Spiritual care is consistent with the model of holistic care. Yet spiritual care often remains a neglected focus of current nursing practice. Conclusions: Spirituality, as an important aspect of wellness, is indispensable in nursing care. Nurses are obligated to take an active role in meeting the spiritual needs of patients.

Ethics & issues in contemporary nursing

Abstract: PART I: GUIDES FOR PRINCIPLED BEHAVIOR. 1. Social, Philosophical, and Other Historical Forces Influencing the Development of Nursing. 2. Ethical Theory. 3. Ethical Principles PART II: DEVELOPING PRINCIPLED BEHAVIOR. 4. Values Clarification. 5. Values Development. 6. Nursing Codes of Ethics, Standards, and Ideals (Old Ch 8--renamed). 7. Ethical Decision Making (Old Chapter 6). PART III: PRINCIPLED BEHAVIOR IN THE PROFESSIONAL DOMAIN. 8. Legal Issues (Old Chapter 7). 9. Professional Relationship Issues. 10. Practice Issues Related to Technology. 11. Practice Issues Related to Patient Self-Determination. 12. Scholarship Issues. PART IV: GLOBAL ISSUES THAT IMPINGE ON NURSING PRACTICE. 13. Global Consciousness in the 21st Century. 14. Health Policy Issues. 15. Economic Issues. 16. Social Issues. 17. Gender Issues. 18. Transcultural and Spiritual Issues. PART V: THE POWER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. 19. Empowerment for Nurses. 20. Enabling Patient Empowerment.

Are Academics Committed to Accounting Ethics Education

Abstract: This paper reviews the current commitment of accounting academics to teaching accounting ethics. In the course of the review it assesses the recent initiative of the American Accounting Association; namely, Ethics in the Accounting Curriculum: Cases and Readings, 1994. This collection of cases has not been widely adopted despite an identified lack of case materials available to those teaching accounting ethics. The question becomes whether the lack of adoption suggests that accounting academics are not particularly interested in incorporating ethical issues in the classroom or whether there are difficulties with the quality of the collection. The paper continues by examining the current state of research in accounting ethics and again asks what this tells us about commitment to teaching accounting ethics. While the conclusions of this examination are far from definitive, there are signs that all is not well with the accounting ethics discipline.

Ethics Sensitivity and Awareness Within Organizations in Kuwait: An Empirical Exploration of Epoused Theory and Theory-in-Use

Abstract: This paper highlights the potential harms in the current state of business ethics education and presents an alternative new model of business ethics education. Such potential harms in business ethics education is due largely to restricted cognitive level of reasoning, a limited level of ethical conduct which remains only responsive and adaptive, and the estrangement between strategic thinking and ethical thinking. As a remedy for business ethics education, denatured by these potential harms, a new dynamic model of business ethics education is proposed. The new model is composed of a basic foundation for business ethics education and three practical components of business ethics education. The basic foundation comprises of ethical reasoning, moral sentiments, and ethical praxis. Three practical components of business ethics education are, respectively, to intensify moral imagination, to develop ethical wisdom and courage, and to enhance meta-strategic competences. The ultimate purpose of these practical components is to help moral subjects to conduct ethical leadership, to actualize integrity between individuals and organization, and to fulfill the social responsibility of business firms. This new model is expected to attract attention to the effective business ethics education both in college and in industry, and to be used as a benchmark for new curriculum designs and development of teaching methods. Finally, some teaching methodologies and pedagogical experiments are introduced and discussed according to this new model of business ethics educaiton.

Resolving ethical dilemmas in social work practice

Abstract: Each chapter ends with "Conclusion." Cases. Tables. Preface. Acknowledgments. I.VALUES. 1.The Nature and Function of Values. Definition. Values and Knowledge. Functions of Values. Classification of Values. Professional Values versus Client Values. 2.Values Classification. Illustrative Cases and Analysis. 3.Personal Values versus Professional Values. What to Do with Personal Values? Strategies for Conflict Resolution. II.ETHICS. 4.Ethics in Social Work. A Time Line of Social Work's Code of Ethics. Definition. Ethics and Morals. General Ethics versus Professional Ethics. A Model of Ethical Decision Making. The Tyranny of Principles. Sources of Professional Ethics. Social Work Ethics. 5.Confidentiality. Confidentiality. Privileged Communication. Informed Consent. 6.Domestic Violence. Patterns and Scope of the Problem. Public Policy Development. Professional Values. 7.Child Welfare. Child Abuse and Neglect. Adoption. 8.Welfare Reform. The Scope of Welfare. Provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work. Opportunity Act. Moral Perspectives. The Political Right on the Morality of Welfare Recipients. The Ideology and Values of the Social Work Community. Moral Dilemmas. 9.Managed Care. Characteristics and Functions of Managed Care. Ethical Dilemmas in Managed Behavioral Health Care. 10.Lay-Professional Relationships. Circumventing the Waiting List. Fund-Raising. III.AUTONOMY AND PATERNALISM. 11.Autonomy versus Paternalism. The Principle of Respect for Autonomy. Autonomy as Self-Determination. The Principle of Benefience. Paternalism. Decision-Making Capacity. Community as a Counterprinciple. Autonomy and Paternalism in Social Work Practice. 12.Refusal of Services. Illustrative Cases and Analysis. 13.Assisted Suicide. The Philosopher's Brief. Religious Perspectives. The Supreme Court Decision. Medical Practice. The Social Work Approach. 14.Spirituality, Ethics and Social Work in Long-Term Care. Determining Capacity. Refusal of Nutrition and Hydration. Spirituality and Religion. Case Study for Panel Discussion. Questions for the Panel. The Protestant Perspective. The Catholic Perspective. The Muslim Perspective. The Jewish Perspective. The Hindu Perspective. The Social Work Perspective. Epilogue: Social Work Ethics in Practice. Values in Conflict. Ethical Decision-Making. Ethics in Practice. The Ethics of Ambiguity. Ethics and Character. References. Author Index. Subject Index.

Making moral imaginations. Research ethics, pedagogy, and professional human geography

Abstract: This paper exhorts geographers to become more active in debate about ethical research practice. It also suggests that ethical theory, practical problems, and lessons learned from postmodern thought make the prospects of establishing prescriptive codes of ethics unlikely. Instead, flexible prompts for moral contemplation might be used to encourage careful thought on matters of ethics. Because the practical feasibility of moral prompts rests on the existence of moral imaginations, it is vital to consider ways in which those imaginations might be stimulated and nurtured. Professional associations and university academics have significant roles to play in this. Geographers must position themselves as effective agents in the processes by which professional research ethics are shaped rather than awaiting the potentially inappropriate outcomes of other agencies ‘ deliberations.

Sensitive Judgement: an inquiry into the foundations of nursing ethics

Abstract: This article considers the foundation of nursing as a moral practice. Its basic claim is that all nursing knowledge and action reside on a moral foundation. The clinical gaze meets vulnerability in the patient's human condition. To see a patient's wound is to see his or her hurt and discomfort; it is a concerned observation. To see the factual and pathophysiological is at the same time to see the ethical: the moral realities of suffering, pain and discomfort. A nurse's emotional sensitivities are central to understanding a patient's experiences of illness. Emotions reveal value and ascribe moral importance to certain situations; they are addressed centrally by vulnerability and the moral realities of illness. Hence, the essence of nursing knowledge and nursing performance cannot be understood merely as ontology (i.e., as being-with-the-other). Nursing is basically being-for-the-other; it is responsibility; it is ethics.

Medical ethics and law as a core subject in medical education: A core curriculum offers flexibility in how it is taught—but not that it is taught

Abstract: In Tomorrow's Doctors Britain's General Medical Council initiated a radical and needed reform of medical education. One of the less noticed, yet revolutionary, aspects of this reform is that medical ethics and law have become a core component of the curriculum. Thus all medical students, states the council, must acquire knowledge and understanding of ethical and legal issues relevant to the practice of medicine and be able “to understand and analyse ethical problems so as to enable patients, their families, society, and the doctor to have proper regard to such problems in reaching decisions.”1 Seeking to pool their expertise, most of the academics currently teaching medical ethics and law in UK medical schools—mostly cliniciansphilosophers, lawyers, and theologians—hammered out a consensus statement about what should constitute the core academic content necessary to produce “doctors who will engage in good ethically and legally informed practice.” They also agreed some minimal organisational requirements for the subject to be taught successfully. The consensus statement sees the teaching of medical ethics and law as contributing to the overall objective of medical education—“the creation of good doctors who will enhance and promote the health and medical welfare of the people they serve in ways which fairly and …

The nature of ethical expertise

Abstract: Critics of clinical ethicists sometimes claim that if there were expertise in ethics, then there would have to be objective moral knowledge. They also assume that there would be only one kind of ethics expertise, and that it would be a kind of professional specialization. All three assumptions are mistaken.

Values, ethics and social work

Abstract: Getting to grips with social work values and ethics is rather like picking up a live, large and very wet fish out of running stream. Even if you are lucky enough to grab a fish, the chances are that just when you think you have caught it, the fish will vigorously slither out of your hands and jump back in the stream. Values and ethics similarly slither through our fingers for a variety of reasons: we don’t try hard enough to catch them, preferring the practical business of doing social work; the subject matter, if we really investigate it, may sometimes seem complex, hard to grapple with and possibly obscure; there is a lack of conceptual clarity about many of the terms used that form part of the lexicon of ‘social work values and ethics’; the boundaries of ‘social work values and ethics’ are imprecise and ill-defined, so the notion of what should constitute ‘social work values and ethics’ is itself part of a discussion about the nature of social work values. No doubt there are other reasons for not picking up this particular fish! Yet despite these difficulties in picking up the ‘fish’, there is something that intuitively suggests that social work is bound up with values and ethics. Is not ethics, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘the science of morals in human conduct’, and is not social work about human relationships and behaviour? This conjunction is suggestive of a duty upon social workers to understand both ethics and social work.

Medical ethics research between theory and practice.

Abstract: The main object of criticism of present-day medical ethics is the standard view of the relationship between theory and practice. Medical ethics is more than the application of moral theories and principles, and health care is more than the domain of application of moral theories. Moral theories and principles are necessarily abstract, and therefore fail to take account of the sometimes idiosyncratic reality of clinical work and the actual experiences of practitioners. Suggestions to remedy the illnesses of contemporary medical ethics focus on re-establishing the connection between the internal and external morality of medicine. This article discusses the question how to develop a theoretical perspective on medical ethical issues that connects philosophical reflection with the everyday realities of medical practice. Four steps in a comprehensive approach of medical ethics research are distinguished: (1) examine health care contexts in order to obtain a better understanding of the internal morality of these practices; this requires empirical research; (2) analyze and interpret the external morality governing health care practices; sociological study of prevalent values, norms, and attitudes concerning medical-ethical issues is required; (3) creation of new theoretical perspectives on health care practices; Jensen's theory of healthcare practices will be useful here; (4) develop a new conception of bioethics that illuminates and clarifies the complex interaction between the internal and external morality of health care practices. Hermeneutical ethics can be helpful for integrating the experiences disclosed in the empirical ethical studies, as well as utilizing the insights gained from describing the value-contexts of health care practices. For a critical and normative perspective, hermeneutical ethics has to examine and explain the moral experiences uncovered, in order to understand what they tell us.

Putting ethics into quality

Abstract: There is no doubting the global influence of the quality movement. It is therefore persuasive to note the role that ethical considerations play in various quality award schemes, and this furthers the argument towards an integrated approach. Having said this, there is scant evidence in the awards that ethical aspects have achieved high materiality. Business ethics has the potential to become a significant aspect of corporate strategy and culture. We now have the 5Es of audit : economy, efficiency, effectiveness, environment and ethics. The ethical audit has tended to be an activity carried out by pressure groups external to organizations. With an increasing emphasis on the wider corporate and social responsibilities of organizations, this external only approach is less than adequate. Organizations which take their stakeholders for granted and abuse their wider responsibilities, including the environment, may find that their continued viability is in doubt. A definition is provided of the “business ethics audit” which attempts to find a middle way between a view that businesses are entirely about creating social good, and one which considers that “the business of business is business” and that there is no wider social responsibility. The preferred approach is to internalize within companies concern for ethical matters, and the appointment of a consumer advocate with access to the board is one way to achieve that. Ethical audit is, after all, merely an extension of existing legal and regulatory requirements. This provides a justification for an involvement of the quality movement in business ethics .