“I would do something if I could!”: experiences and reflections from ethics teachers on how to respond when hearing alarming cases from medical students

Background Previous studies show that teachers can feel disturbed by alarming cases brought up by students during their teaching activities. Teachers may feel uncertain about how to deal with these cases, as they might feel responsible to take action to prevent further harm. This study aims to explore how ethics teachers in medical schools would respond to a student report of unethical or unprofessional behaviour during the clinical training phase (clerkship) that is alarming and potentially harmful for patients or students themselves. Methods This study used qualitative methods with purposive sampling. We conducted in-depth interviews with 17 teachers from 10 medical schools in Indonesia. We asked if they had heard any alarming and harmful cases from students and provided two cases as examples. Results Four teachers shared their own cases, which they perceived as disturbing and alarming. The cases included power abuse, fraud and deception, violation of patient’s rights and autonomy, and sexual harassment. Regarding teachers’ responses in general, we found three main themes: (1) being assertive, (2) being careful, (3) barriers and facilitators. Most teachers were convinced of the need to take action despite numerous barriers, which they identified, leading to doubts and concerns in taking action. Our study shows that formal education in ethics might not necessarily influence how teachers respond to alarming cases, and that their responses are mainly influenced by how they perceive their role and responsibility as teachers. Conclusions Our study suggests that teachers should carefully consider the risks and consequences before taking action upon alarming cases to prevent further harm, and that support from higher authorities might be crucial, especially in the Indonesian context. Our study also shows that taking action as a group might be appropriate in certain cases, while personal approaches might be more appropriate in other cases. Most importantly, school leaders and administrators should develop effective organisational culture and support students and teachers for their ethical responsibility commitment.

Perceived adequate education in ethics: A way to tap into ethical Social Networking Sites awareness?

Teachers are role models when it comes to ethics both on- and offline. Teacher education on- and offline situations and issues that may be of ethical concernThis study first investigates perceived adequacy of ethics education. Second, it investigates how perceived usefulness of ethics education relates to how aware preservice teachers’ report to be regarding own and others’ negative SNS experiences. The rPreservice teachers who felt that ethics education had prepared them well for ethical challenges as professional teachers, ecognise and detect own experiences can psituations and issues as professional teachers

First do no harm: An exploration of researchers’ ethics of conduct in Big Data behavioral studies

Research ethics has traditionally been guided by well-established documents such as the Belmont Report and the Declaration of Helsinki. At the same time, the introduction of Big Data methods, that is having a great impact in behavioral research, is raising complex ethical issues that make protection of research participants an increasingly difficult challenge. By conducting 39 semi-structured interviews with academic scholars in both Switzerland and United States, our research aims at exploring the code of ethics and research practices of academic scholars involved in Big Data studies in the fields of psychology and sociology to understand if the principles set by the Belmont Report are still considered relevant in Big Data research. Our study shows how scholars generally find traditional principles to be a suitable guide to perform ethical data research but, at the same time, they recognized and elaborated on the challenges embedded in their practical application. In addition, due to the growing introduction of new actors in scholarly research, such as data holders and owners, it was also questioned whether responsibility to protect research participants should fall solely on investigators. In order to appropriately address ethics issues in Big Data research projects, education in ethics, exchange and dialogue between research teams and scholars from different disciplines should be enhanced. In addition, models of consultancy and shared responsibility between investigators, data owners and review boards should be implemented in order to ensure better protection of research participants.

FORMATION OF VALUES IN THE FIELD OF ACCOUNTING AND TAXATION THROUGH THE STUDY OF ETHICAL NORMS

The article substantiates the need for an ethical approach to the formation of educational programs on accounting and taxation in higher educational institutions. The obtained results of a critical analysis of the literature on the selected topic indicate the relevance of the issue in Ukraine and the world, because the state of the financial and economic system of the country directly depends on the development of moral and ethical standards of professionals in the field of accounting and taxation. The results obtained contribute to the expansion of existing knowledge in the concept of professional ethics. The study shows the relevance of introducing a course on professional ethics and raising the moral awareness of students majoring in Accounting and Taxation. It provides arguments about the need to provide professional moral education in the field of accounting and taxation at the level of compulsory disciplines, without limiting them to optional choices. A separate course on professional ethics is justified because it emphasizes the relevance of ethics, and provides systemic knowledge as components of financial or management accounting, taxation, etc. Such knowledge is significant because it helps students develop the capacity to make professional ethical decisions and strengthen their preparation for fulfilling their roles in the future. This topic is important in the context of the Ukrainian economy, which is recognized as very corrupt and permeated by unethical business practices, and mastering a course of professional ethics at the university has a positive effect on the ability of accountants to think ethically, which indicates the need for compulsory education in ethics both in professional and in high school. The article identifies the most effective components of the curriculum, as well as formulates the stages of introducing professional ethics into higher education: 1) the formation of values, 2) the ability to interpret ethical norms, 3) the implementation of norms in professional activities.

The infantilized researcher and research subject: ethics, consent and risk

Current research ethics processes, based on the mantra of privacy and institutional protection, take a paternalistic approach to research participants that leaves them open to harm. Reflecting on our own research/consultancy as a case study to illustrate the current flaws, we explore our and our subjects’ experiences within the wider political context of institutional ethical rules and the Australian NHMRC guidelines. In doing so we argue for fundamental changes to the modern research ethics processes – a system that treats participants more as research collaborators rather than victims in waiting. A complete review of ethics processes is needed to empower participants and researchers to recognize the reality of the process as co-created and negotiated. This includes changes at the top level of research administration – a shift in ethics policies and procedures as well as greater education in ethics with commensurate trust for active researchers.