Ethics as Lived Practice. Anticipatory Capacity and Ethical Decision-Making in Forensic Genetics

Greater scrutiny and demands for innovation and increased productivity place pressures on scientists. Forensic genetics is advancing at a rapid pace but can only do so responsibly, usefully, and acceptably within ethical and legal boundaries. We argue that such boundaries require that forensic scientists embrace ‘ethics as lived practice’. As a starting point, we critically discuss ‘thin’ ethics in forensic genetics, which lead to a myopic focus on procedures, and to seeing ‘privacy’ as the sole ethical concern and technology as a mere tool. To overcome ‘thin’ ethics in forensic genetics, we instead propose understanding ethics as an intrinsic part of the lived practice of a scientist. Therefore, we explore, within the context of three case studies of emerging forensic genetics technologies, ethical aspects of decision-making in forensic genetics research and in technology use. We discuss the creation, curation, and use of databases, and the need to engage with societal and policing contexts of forensic practice. We argue that open communication is a vital ethical aspect. Adoption of ‘ethics as lived practice’ supports the development of anticipatory capacity—empowering scientists to understand, and act within ethical and legal boundaries, incorporating the operational and societal impacts of their daily decisions, and making visible ethical decision making in scientific practice.

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Ethical decision making and forensic practice

The British Journal of Forensic Practice ◽

10.1108/14636641211223648 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 81-91 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mary Barnao ◽

Peter Robertson ◽

Tony Ward

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Forensic Practice

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ETHICS OF TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY (TOP) IN MYASTHENIA GRAVIS: A CASE REPORT

The International Journal of Person Centered Medicine ◽

10.5750/ijpcm.v6i2.516 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 119-125

Author(s):

Sivalingam Nalliah ◽

Sim Miao Ling ◽

Chandramani Thuraisingham

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Myasthenia Gravis ◽

Patient Autonomy ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Termination Of Pregnancy ◽

Case Based Reasoning ◽

Normal Delivery ◽

Starting Point ◽

Case Based

Introduction: Myasthenia gravis (MG), an autoimmune disorder characterised by muscle weakness caused by impairment of the acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction as a result of autoantibodies acting against the ACh receptors, is twice as common in women, occurring in the second and third decades. Successful pregnancy outcomes are possible with patient compliance to medication and care by a multidisciplinary team.Objective: The article demonstrates the ethical dilemma doctors face when dealing with termination of pregnancy in myasthenia gravis in pregnancy.Discussion: During pregnancy, MG exacerbates in one third of patients during the first trimester, and tends to improve during the second and third trimesters, with most women achieving normal delivery. The authors put up a case where decision for termination of pregnancy (TOP) could have been avoided through application of an ethical decision making framework. The patient could have decided otherwise if a clear alternative line of management had been offered. Fully informed consent is essential preserving was not given and patient autonomy in such complex decisions. The emotive effects on the patient that biomedical imaging like showing a normal and active foetus through ultrasonography also needs to be considered.Analysis: A possible ethical framework using some of the principles of ethical decision-making, under the headings of i). Clear justification according to the norms and values of the individual, law and society for the intervention ii). Patient autonomy iii). Incongruence between parents in the abortion decision iv). The foetus as a person v). Directive counselling vi). Principle-based ethics, and, vii). Case-based ethics and case-based reasoning could be applied when confronted with the issue of termination of pregnancy in MG. While principle-based ethics is a useful starting point, care-based ethics also has a place in decisions on TOP.

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Ethical Decision Making with Information Systems Students

International Journal of Cyber Ethics in Education ◽

10.4018/ijcee.2011040104 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 41-53

Author(s):

Samer Alhawari ◽

Amine Nehari Talet

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Information Technology ◽

Information Systems ◽

Technology Use ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Digital Piracy ◽

Ethical Awareness

Information Technology (IT) is a new tool in education that continually changes and offers new opportunities for teaching and learning. In general, the effects of IT are complex and depend upon people’s decisions about development and use. This study investigates the ethical issues in education in terms of Information Systems students’ attitudes at Saudi universities towards digital piracy. The differences in the ethical decision-making process, ethical awareness, and intention to perform questionable acts is examined. The authors tested for differences in attitudes toward eighteen different questionable actions by using three different factors (gender, age, and university level). The measures of awareness capture the extent to which respondents felt that a particular action was unethical according to each of several ethical criteria. This work explored information technology ethics in several ways. The work analyzed whether information technology use is viewed by individuals as an ethical topic and demographic differences were explored. Significant differences were found in many cases between demographic groups based on ethical issues. These findings can be used to target and address ethical issues and enforcement in information systems curriculum.

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An Examination of Factors Associated with Students’ Ethical Decision Making in Post-Secondary Online Learning

10.28945/3081 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Michelle M. Ramim

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Technology Use ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Code Of Conduct ◽

Academic Experience ◽

Unethical Conduct ◽

Post Secondary ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

E Learning

Technological advances and the increasing popularity of the Internet have enabled post-secondary institutions to implement e-learning technologies as a teaching environment. Students’ enrollment in e-learning courses has proliferated over the past decade. However, ethical issues with students’ conduct in e-learning courses have been raised by several scholars and were noted as a major concern. Moreover, scholars argue that students’ unethical conduct has intensified due to technology use. Ethical decision making has been associated with individuals’ conduct. Ethical decision making is grounded upon decision making theory. Various studies have linked numerous factors such as familiarity with the organization’s code of conduct, academic experience, and expertise with the use of technology with ethical decision making. Research indicates that familiarity with the organization’s code of conduct is instrumental in aiding individuals to make ethical decisions. Moreover, research suggests that academic experience and students’ expertise with the use of technology appear to contribute to students’ ethical decision making in post-secondary educational institutions.

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Caring and Justice: A Study of two Approaches to Health Care Ethics

Nursing Ethics ◽

10.1177/096973309600300304 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 212-223 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Maurice Rickard ◽

Helga Kuhse ◽

Peter Singer

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Decision Making ◽

Empirical Study ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Care Ethics ◽

Health Care Ethics ◽

Moral Thinking ◽

Starting Point ◽

Ethical Thinking

This article presents an empirical study of approaches to ethical decision-making among nurses and doctors. It takes as its starting point the distinction between the perspectives of care and of justice in ethical thinking, and the view that nurses' thinking will be aligned with the former and doctors' with the latter. It goes on to argue that the differences in these approaches are best understood in terms of the distinction between partialist and impartialist modes of moral thinking. The study seeks to determine the distribution of these modes of thinking between nurses and doctors, and finds that there are no signif icant differences between them. A 'two-level' philosophical view of the nature of moral thinking is appealed to in order to explain the study findings.

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