SCAFFOLDING OF ETHICAL DECISION MAKING

Ethical guidelines for safeguarding the Human subject were published in 1979 to provide the idealistic groundwork for existing laws prevailing research for human subjects. The guidance and rule in this regards had already been set forth by “Nuremberg Code” and “Helsinki Declaration” but the Belmont Report has done a yeoman service in developing the three basic fundamental ethical rules which are: respect for person, beneficence and justice. Indeed there are many other principles applied in ethical decision making during research but these rules are providing inclusive scaffolding for ethical decision making in research concerning human subjects.

Download Full-text

Hindrances to achieve professional confidence: The nurse’s participation in ethical decision-making

Nursing Ethics ◽

10.1177/0969733017720827 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 715-727 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anne Storaker ◽

Dagfinn Nåden ◽

Berit Sæteren

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Data Storage ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Research Question ◽

Daily Practice ◽

Clinical Work ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Science Data ◽

Written Information

Background: Research suggests that nurses generally do not participate in ethical decision-making in accordance with ethical guidelines for nurses. In addition to completing their training, nurses need to reflect on and use ethically grounded arguments and defined ethical values such as patient’s dignity in their clinical work. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to gain a deeper understanding of how nurses deal with ethical decision-making in daily practice. The chosen research question is “How do nurses participate in ethical decision-making for the patient?” Design and method: We use Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics as well as Kvale and Brinkmann’s three levels of understanding in interpreting the data material. Nine registered nurses were interviewed. Ethical considerations: The Ombudsman of Norwegian Social Science Data and the head of the hospital approved the investigation. The participants received both oral and written information about the study and they gave their consent. We informed the participants that the participation was voluntary and that they were free to withdraw at any point in the course of the study. The requirement of anonymity and proper data storage was in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki (1964). The participants were assured that privacy, and confidentiality would be duly protected. Results: Four key themes emerged: (1) confusion in relation to professional and operational expectations of role, (2) ideal somnolence, (3) inadequate argumentation skills, and (4) compound pressure. Conclusion: Ethical ideals appear to be latent in the mindset of the participants; however, the main finding of this investigation is that nurses need to activate the ideals and apply them into practice. Furthermore, management needs to initiate professional reasoning and interdisciplinary discussions leading to common goals for patients.

Download Full-text

Ethics and Evaluative Consultations with Children in Small to Mid-Sized Australian Non-Government Organisations

Evaluation Journal of Australasia ◽

10.1177/1035719x1701700102 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 4-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Leanne Kelly

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Program Improvement ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Ethical Considerations ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Children’S Voices

The value of listening to children's voices is well acknowledged. The vast body of literature surrounding this topic discusses children's voices in pedagogy, theory, methodology, and through empirical research. While some of this literature has focused on ethical considerations surrounding evaluative consultations with children in applied practice settings, there is a shortage of literature specifically relevant to small and medium-sized nongovernment organisations (NGOs). These organisations typically conduct consultations on a smaller scale and with fewer resources than their larger counterparts. This paper refers to Australian ethical guidelines using a practice example from a mid-sized NGO to examine ethics in child consultation from a practice-based program improvement perspective. The paper examines whether consultations with children always require formal ethics approval and discusses terminology and considerations surrounding ethical decision making processes.

Download Full-text

Ethical Decision-Making in Biomedical Engineering Research

Encyclopedia of Healthcare Information Systems ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-889-5.ch068 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 534-540

Author(s):

Monique Frize ◽

Irena Zamboni

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Biomedical Engineering ◽

Engineering Students ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Moral Dilemmas ◽

Clinical Engineering ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Application Process ◽

Engineering Research

To be ethical and professional are terms that are synonymous with being an engineer. The work of engineers frequently affects public safety and health, and can influence business, and even politics. Professional Engineering Associations provide ethical guidelines so that engineers will know how to avoid misconduct, negligence, incompetence, and corruption, which could lead to formal complaints and discipline. Knowledge about ethical decision-making guides engineers facing complex and difficult moral dilemmas (Andrews, 2005, pp. 46). Biomedical engineers doing research and development will undoubtedly be involved in projects that impact humans and/or animals, and thus must be informed on all aspects of ethics that guide such research. They should be particularly aware of the specific guidelines of the institution where the work is to be carried-out and be familiar with the application process to obtain a certificate, allowing the research to proceed. There is clearly a need to guide biomedical engineering students and practitioners in performing a balanced analysis of difficult questions and issues, while respecting societal values that may differ greatly from their own (Frize, 1996; Frize, 2005; Saha & Saha, 1997; Wueste, 1997). There exists a number of articles discussing biomedical engineering and ethics specifically aimed at clinical engineers (Goodman, 1989; Saha & Saha, 1986). These are helpful readings for anyone involved in biomedical research or clinical engineering.

Download Full-text

Official Policies and Teachers’ Tendency to Act: Exploring the Discrepancies in Teachers’ Perceptions

Education Policy Analysis Archives ◽

10.14507/epaa.v23.1996 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

pp. 82

Author(s):

Orly Shapira – Lishchinsky ◽

Israel Zvi Gilat

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Parental Involvement ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Decision Making Process ◽

Development Programs ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Official Policy ◽

Teachers Training

The aim of the study is to investigate whether there are discrepancies between teachers’ perceptions of the ‘official policies’ and their ‘tendency to act,’ based on their ethical decision-making. A qualitative analysis of 60 Israeli teachers’ questionnaires consisting of critical ethical incidents revealed multifaceted ethical dilemmas nested in categories of ‘discrepancies between official policies and teachers’ tendency to act: ‘Harm (to people, property),’ ‘parental involvement/ interference’ and ‘academic process.’ The discrepancies noted between official policy and teachers’ tendency to act may encourage educational policy to design teachers’ training and professional development programs that include dealing with critical ethical incidents, through team-based simulations and formulating ethical guidelines based on their ethical decision-making process.

Download Full-text

School Counselors’ Experiences With Ethical Decision Making

Professional School Counseling ◽

10.1177/2156759x211018640 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 2156759X2110186

Author(s):

Glenda S. Johnson ◽

Lucy L. Purgason

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

School Counselors ◽

School Counselor ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Preparation Programs ◽

Counselor Preparation ◽

School Counselor Preparation

Using a purposeful, convenience sampling method, we explored six school counselors’ experiences of ethical decision making. We used a transcendental phenomenology research method and identified the themes of consulting, referring to ethical guidelines, documenting, contributing factors, and engaging in professional development. This article discusses implications for school counselor preparation programs and practicing school counselors.

Download Full-text

Ethical approval: none sought. How discourse analysts report ethical issues around publicly available online data

Research Ethics ◽

10.1177/1747016120988767 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 174701612098876

Author(s):

Wyke Stommel ◽

Lynn de Rijk

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Ethical Decision ◽

Ethical Decision Making ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Ethics Committees ◽

Legal Aspects ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Online Data ◽

Ethical Approval

Although ethical guidelines for doing Internet research are available, most prominently those of the Association of Internet Researchers ( www.aoir.org ), ethical decision-making for research on publicly available, naturally-occurring data remains a major challenge. As researchers might also turn to others to inform their decisions, this article reviews recent research papers on publicly available, online data. Research involving forums such as Facebook pages, Twitter, YouTube, news comments, blogs, etc. is examined to see how authors report ethical considerations and how they quote these data. We included 132 articles published in discourse analysis-oriented journals between January 2017 and February 2020. Roughly one third of the articles (85 out of 132) did not discuss ethical issues, mostly claiming the data were publicly available. Quotations nevertheless tended to be anonymized, although retrievability of posts was generally not taken into account. In those articles in which ethical concerns were reported, related decisions appeared to vary substantially. In most cases it was argued that informed consent was not required. Similarly, approval from research ethics committees was mostly regarded unnecessary. Other ethical issues like consideration of users’ expectations and intentions, freedom of choice, possible harm, sensitive topics, and vulnerable groups were rarely discussed in the articles. We argue for increased attention to ethical issues and legal aspects in discourse analytic articles involving online data beyond mentioning general concerns. Instead, we argue for more involvement of users/participants in ethical decision-making, for consideration of retrievability of posts and for a role for journal editors.

Download Full-text