Ethical Framework Research Articles

Lived experience of ethical challenges among undergraduate nursing students during their clinical learning.

Undergraduate nursing students may experience several ethical challenges during their clinical learning placement that can lead to moral distress and intention to leave the profession. Ethical challenges are complex phenomena and ethical frameworks may help improve their understanding and provide actionable recommendations to enhance students' readiness for practice. To explore undergraduate nursing students' ethical challenges experienced during their clinical learning and their suggestions for better ethics education; to illuminate students' experience against a foundational ethical framework. Qualitative study based on interpretative phenomenology. Semi-structured, in-person or at distance, one-to-one interviews were performed, audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. The 'Dignity-enhancing care framework' was employed to frame the study findings. Nineteen nursing graduands attending seven sites of one Northwestern Italian University were interviewed. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Torino (number 0187646/2023). All participants provided written informed consent. Students experienced several ethical challenges concerning daily practice such as pain control or the decision to restrain patients, and reported deficient professional ethics with healthcare professionals who demonstrated poor caring attitudes and teamwork. Moreover, they perceived professionals poorly committed to their role of educators and complained of poor support in the learning process. When a supportive, dialogical, and relational context lacked, students experienced negative feelings about the profession and the healthcare system and reported the intention to leave the profession. Dialogue with peers, family members or significant others, nursing educators, and clinical nurse supervisors, as well as self-learning activities and discussion-based teaching methods grounded on real scenarios helped to overcome challenging situations. While complying with normative standards, nursing education policies should encourage the adoption of dynamic teaching methods and sustain a regular, dialogical approach within and between the clinical and academic contexts to improve readiness for practice.

Decentring engineering education beyond the technical dimension: ethical skills framework

Engineering plays a key role in society today, influencing social behaviour, economic systems, (un)sustainability and future construction. Faced with this central and powerful role of engineering, it is urgent to recognise the need for professionals in this area to be culturally competent and sociopolitically committed in the collective ethical construction of the common good. Engineering course curricula generally focus on technical-scientific training – as is the case in Portugal – not on including or valuing other educational dimensions (namely, social, ethical, cultural or political responsibility). However, to promote an ethically responsible and sustainable future, it is imperative that these dimensions are included in engineers’ training, namely through ethical education that promotes a responsible professional practice that contributes to a viable common future. Intending to contribute to a culturally responsive engineering education, and to the development of the pedagogical dimension of the ethical education of engineering students, this study aims to develop a framework of the ethical skills necessary for the professional practice of engineering. The methodology used included a systematic literature review and document analysis. The developed framework allows systematising and interconnecting ethical skills, which can promote and facilitate the inclusion of ethical education in engineering courses. The framework helped to design a curricular module in engineering. It is a useful tool for professors of ethics in engineering, for those responsible for structuring engineering curriculum plans and for anyone responsible for enhancing this field of engineering education.

The Spiritual Heritage of Kazakh Nation: an Analysis of the Spiritual Leaders in Forming the National Identity

The spiritual heritage of a nation plays a crucial role in shaping its identity and values. The case of the Kazakh nation is no different, with a rich history of spiritual leaders who have significantly influenced the cultural and moral fabric of the society. Understanding the spiritual heritage of the Kazakh people is essential in comprehending their national identity and the factors that have contributed to its formation. The aim of this study is to analyze the influence of spiritual leaders in the formation of the national identity of the Kazakh nation. It seeks to investigate how these leaders have preserved and transmitted the moral principles and values that have shaped the national identity of the Kazakhs. The findings of this study reveal the profound impact of spiritual leaders, particularly within the Islamic tradition, in shaping the moral and ethical framework of the Kazakh society. The analysis demonstrates how these leaders have contributed to the preservation of cultural practices and the dissemination of religious teachings, thereby influencing the national identity of the Kazakh people.

Exploring ethical considerations in AI-driven cataloguing and classification with ChatGPT

Purpose. This study investigates the ethical dimensions surrounding the use of AI-driven cataloguing and classification systems, exemplified by ChatGPT, in library sciences. The research aims to fill a gap in the existing literature by exploring privacy, accountability, transparency, and bias issues associated with these technologies. Design/Methodology/Approach. The study employs a comprehensive literature review to analyze the current landscape of AI applications in libraries, emphasizing ethical considerations. It also assesses existing guidelines from associations like ALA and IFLA, and explores privacy concerns, biases, and the impact on job satisfaction. Findings. The study identifies gaps in current ethical frameworks and emphasizes the need for guidelines to evolve with technological advancements. Privacy concerns, biases in AI outputs, and challenges related to user trust and transparency are highlighted. The impact of AI on job satisfaction for librarians is discussed, acknowledging both opportunities and challenges. Originality/Value. This study contributes to the broader discussion on ethical AI by specifically addressing the underexplored area of AI-driven cataloguing and classification systems. It underscores the importance of aligning AI use with ethical standards, proposing strategies for mitigating biases and fostering user trust.

Providing an Ethical Marketing Model for Non-Profit Universities in Iraq

The purpose of this study is to develop an ethical marketing model for non-profit universities in Iraq. A qualitative approach, specifically the strategy of grounded theory, is used. The research began with in-depth interviews with 15 nonprofit university administrators, staff, and marketing experts to develop the initial model. Then, using the grounded theory research strategy, the steps of open, central and selective coding were completed and the initial model of the research was obtained. Based on this model, the research findings were categorized into groups of causal conditions, central phenomena, contextual factors, intervening conditions, strategies and consequences of ethical marketing. The central phenomenon in this mixed study is ethical marketing, which is influenced by several causal conditions such as: increased awareness and social demand, competition in the educational market, and legal and regulatory pressures. The findings of this study contribute to the development of an ethical marketing framework suited to the unique context of non-profit universities in Iraq. The purpose of this framework is to enhance their marketing strategies and promote their social and educational missions.

Large-scale genotype prediction from RNA sequence data necessitates a new ethical and policy framework.

Large-scale genotype prediction from RNA sequence data necessitates a new ethical and policy framework.

A Lifecycle Approach for Artificial Intelligence Ethics in Energy Systems

Despite the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) ethics frameworks, the practical application of these frameworks in industrial settings remains limited. This limitation is further augmented in energy systems by the complexity of systems composition and systems operation for energy generation, distribution, and supply. The primary reason for this limitation is the gap between the conceptual notion of ethics principles and the technical performance of AI applications in energy systems. For instance, trust is featured prominently in ethics frameworks but pertains to limited relevance for the robust operation of a smart grid. In this paper, we propose a lifecycle approach for AI ethics that aims to address this gap. The proposed approach consists of four phases: design, development, operation, and evaluation. All four phases are supported by a central AI ethics repository that gathers and integrates the primary and secondary dimensions of ethical practice, including reliability, safety, and trustworthiness, from design through to evaluation. This lifecycle approach is closely aligned with the operational lifecycle of energy systems, from design and production through to use, maintenance, repair, and overhaul, followed by shutdown, recycling, and replacement. Across these lifecycle stages, an energy system engages with numerous human stakeholders, directly with designers, engineers, users, trainers, operators, and maintenance technicians, as well as indirectly with managers, owners, policymakers, and community groups. This lifecycle approach is empirically evaluated in the complex energy system of a multi-campus tertiary education institution where the alignment between ethics and technical performance, as well as the human-centric application of AI, are demonstrated.

Virtues as protective factors for adolescent mental health.

This paper explores the decline in adolescent mental health and the weakening of traditional moral frameworks, positing education in the virtues as protective of mental health due to the intrinsic link between moral/existential wellbeing and psychological health. By integrating character education into school curricula, a continuous "dosage" of moral guidance may be an optimal way to ensure a gradual and ever-clearer articulation of a life worth living and how to live well. The paper critiques popular clinical and positive psychological approaches to promoting wellbeing, which often miss the existential and moral dimensions of adolescent growth. The conclusion emphasizes the need for integrating moral education into mental health interventions to address the comprehensive existential and moral dimensions of adolescent development. This paper advocates for a proactive character developmental model that nurtures moral and existential growth, recognizing challenges with virtue and meta-virtue development as integral to personal and moral evolution, and enhancing the moral and psychological fortitude of adolescents.

Migration policies versus public health - the ethics of Covid-19 related movement restrictions for asylum seekers in reception centers in Greece in 2020.

The emergency context of the Covid-19 pandemic necessitated the use of national and international public health measures of unprecedented scale to minimize mortality and morbidity, often in conflict with other principles and rights, such as the autonomy of individuals. Concerns have been voiced that for populations facing precarity, such as migrants, a disproportionate and unfair application of restrictive measures, deficient application of protective measures, and even enforcement of restrictive migration policies under the pretext of the pandemic has occurred. Various principles have been proposed as moral foundations of public health interventions. The author used two public health ethics frameworks to examine the ethical acceptability of movement restrictions on asylum seekers residing in refugee camps in Greece from March 2020 to October 2020. Most of the principles described in the frameworks for the ethical application of movement restrictions were not adhered to. Main concerns include that, measures were prolonged despite lack of evidence about their effectiveness to reduce morbidity and mortality, while posing severe and disproportionate burdens for this population. An ethically acceptable public health response to Covid-19 is incompatible with certain living conditions of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants. The question of whether and if so the extent to which the discipline of public health inherently has the role of rectifying existing injustices and social inequalities when these can be convincingly related to health outcomes, is central to the design of public health interventions for these populations. The answer can exemplify the need to address moral and political determinants of health. It is essential for public health professionals to be aware of the moral theorizations that underpin their work, so as to ensure that their policies are aligned with those and to contribute to the debate that shapes these determinants.

Ethical framework for FACILITATE: a foundation for the return of clinical trial data to participants.

This paper discusses the importance of return of clinical trial data to patients in the context of the FACILITATE project that aims to develop a participant-centric approach for the systematic return of individual clinical trial data. It reflects on the need for an ethical framework to support the return of clinical trial data. The discussion revolves around the developing FACILITATE ethical framework, specifically focusing on the ethical principles that form the foundation of the framework and guidance on how to implement those principles into practice.

Ethical issues and proposed solutions in conducting practical assessment of medical students involving patients.

Practical assessment involving patients plays a vital role in medical education, allowing students to demonstrate their clinical competencies. However, there are significant ethical concerns associated with these assessments that require careful consideration and resolution. The primary ethical concerns include violation of patient autonomy, lack of written informed consent, power dynamics, cultural differences, potential harm to patients, breach of privacy and confidentiality, discomfort to admitted patients, financial loss to patients, impact on other patients' care, and delays in workup/procedures. To address these concerns, measures such as respecting patient autonomy, obtaining written informed consent, ensuring patient safety, exploring alternative methods, providing reimbursement, resource planning, creating a supportive environment, developing cultural competency, putting in place a feedback system, prioritising patient care, and implementing ethical oversight and monitoring are recommended. The formulation of a guideline could be a crucial starting point, and it should be integrated into a broader ethical framework that encompasses education and training, ethical oversight, ongoing monitoring, and a culture that prioritises ethical conduct.

Sentient libraries: empowering user expeditions with emotional artificial intelligence

Purpose The study aims to forecast emotional artificial intelligence’s (EAI) trajectory in libraries, provide actionable implementation recommendations and outline potential research paths. It seeks to establish ethical benchmarks, considering emotional well-being alongside informational needs. Understanding EAI in libraries becomes pivotal, envisioning libraries as empathetic, user-centric spaces. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a multifaceted approach, intertwining comprehensive literature analysis, illustrative case studies and forward-thinking assessments. It combines foundational knowledge from various academic sources, integrating real-world examples of EAI implementations in library settings. The methodology goes beyond observational analysis, scrutinizing ethical quandaries and societal impacts. It comprehensively explains EAI’s role while delineating guidelines for responsible integration and future exploration. Findings Integrating emotional intelligence (EI) enhances resource curation, fosters inclusive virtual learning environments and elevates continuous service enhancement in libraries. It allows tailored recommendations, emotionally perceptive virtual assistants and adaptive responses to diverse emotional needs, reshaping libraries into empathetic spaces. Research limitations/implications Ethical considerations pose significant challenges, especially regarding privacy, security and fair usage of EAI. Libraries must mitigate biases and ensure equitable emotional services. Adapting to diverse emotional needs within library services requires a delicate balance between empathetic approaches and upholding ethical standards. Practical implications EAI revolutionizes user experiences, offering personalized, engaging interactions while ensuring ethical, inclusive library environments. Implementing EAI requires navigating biases and ethical complexities, demanding continuous refinement and using user-focused strategies. Social implications Integrating EAI redefines the library’s role, transforming libraries into emotionally perceptive hubs catering to users’ intellectual and emotional needs. It emphasizes fairness, trust and ethical conduct in providing empathetic, inclusive services. Originality/value This research pioneers the integration of EI in libraries, offering insights into ethical frameworks, bias mitigation and user-centric approaches. It envisions libraries as empathetic, responsive spaces, enriching lives through emotional understanding and responsiveness.

A Critical Study of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

The modern era has ushered the proliferation of new technologies, especially witnessed in the emergence of the nascent artificial intelligence (AI) sector. The use of AI is largely multifaceted, proving useful in various industries such as healthcare - however, it may also allow for deleterious effects to occur. The use of AI in healthcare settings can work to extend and augment the quality of patients’ lives. Notwithstanding this, health AI enshrines various perils including the lack of patient privacy, algorithm bias - particularly on marginalized and racialized communities. This is ultimately compounded by the absence of ethical framework governing the usage of AI in healthcare settings. Specifically, this article seeks to explore whether or not the use of health AI is a potential prospect or peril; considering its duality. To investigate this topic, this article will utilize an interdisciplinary approach – drawing from domains such as: sociology, socio-legal and socio-medical climates. Secondary data will be primarily sourced via peer-reviewed journal articles, textbooks, and reliable contemporary websites. This study finds that health AI remains a greater prospect - reinforcing the quality and elongates the duration of the human lifespan. It concludes with a call to action to inform the success of health AI in praxis: namely, the need to incorporate the aforementioned topics within medical pedagogy and ethical frameworks.

Ethical Implications of AI in Criminal Justice: Balancing Efficiency and Due Process

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into criminal justice systems presents a complex landscape of opportunities and challenges. This research article critically examines the ethical implications of AI applications in various facets of criminal justice, from predictive policing to sentencing algorithms. While AI promises enhanced efficiency and data-driven decision-making, it simultaneously raises significant concerns about fairness, transparency, and the preservation of due process rights. This study employs a multidisciplinary approach, combining legal analysis, ethical philosophy, and empirical research to evaluate the current state of AI in criminal justice and project future trajectories. We analyze case studies from multiple jurisdictions, highlighting both successful implementations and controversial failures of AI systems in law enforcement and judicial processes. Our findings reveal a tension between the pursuit of efficiency through AI and the fundamental principles of due process. We identify several key ethical challenges, including algorithmic bias, lack of transparency in decision-making processes, and the potential erosion of human judgment in critical legal determinations. The research also uncovers disparate impacts on marginalized communities, raising concerns about the exacerbation of existing inequalities within the justice system. To address these challenges, we propose a comprehensive ethical framework for the development and deployment of AI in criminal justice. This framework emphasizes the need for continuous human oversight, regular audits of AI systems, and the establishment of clear accountability mechanisms. We argue for a balanced approach that leverages the benefits of AI while safeguarding individual rights and maintaining the integrity of judicial processes. The article concludes by outlining policy recommendations and best practices for lawmakers, judiciary, and law enforcement agencies. These recommendations aim to foster responsible innovation in criminal justice AI, ensuring that technological advancements align with ethical standards and constitutional protections. Our research contributes to the ongoing dialogue on AI ethics in the legal domain and provides a roadmap for the ethical integration of AI in criminal justice systems worldwide.

Environmental Ethics and the Philosophy of Sustainability

Purpose: The general objective of this study was to explore environmental ethics and the philosophy of sustainability. Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to environmental ethics and the philosophy of sustainability. Preliminary empirical review revealed that integrating ethical principles into sustainability practices was essential for achieving long-term ecological balance and social justice. It found that environmental ethics provided a necessary moral framework, encouraging proactive environmental protection and fostering sustainable behaviors through education. However, the study also identified gaps in current practices, noting that many policies still prioritized short-term economic gains over ecological health. The research emphasized the importance of bridging these gaps by developing comprehensive frameworks that blend ethical principles with practical sustainability strategies, ultimately underscoring the critical role of environmental ethics in realizing the philosophy of sustainability. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Deep Ecology Theory, The Land Ethic and Social Ecology Theory may be used to anchor future studies on the philosophy of sustainability. The study highlighted the need for an integrated theoretical model combining ethical principles with sustainability practices, and suggested incorporating diverse philosophical perspectives. It emphasized embedding environmental ethics into organizational cultures and education curricula to foster sustainable practices and behaviors. The study also advocated for integrating ethical dimensions into policy frameworks and adopting the precautionary principle in environmental policymaking to safeguard against unforeseen impacts. These recommendations aimed to advance theoretical discourse, guide practical sustainability efforts, and inform robust, equitable environmental policies.

AI’s Bipolar Effect on Mitigating and Motivating Frauds

In the time of digital innovation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands at the forefront, signaling new capabilities in fraud management but also new vulnerabilities. This paper aims to dissect AI's paradoxical influence on fraud, portraying its roles in both promoting and mitigating fraudulent activities. The research seeks to bridge the gap in understanding the dual nature of AI, highlighting the need for ethical and regulatory frameworks to traverse the complications AI introduces into fraud detection and prevention. Utilising secondary data from Google News and academic databases with the keyword 'AI fraud,' this study adopts a keyword-based analysis to sift through the most relevant literature. The approach is designed to capture a comprehensive snapshot of the current discourse, underlining the bipolar impact of AI on fraud. The analysis reveals AI's significant potential in enhancing fraud detection systems through rapid data analysis and pattern recognition. However, AI technologies can be exploited to facilitate sophisticated fraud schemes. The study underscores an urgent need for evolving practices and policies that counteract AI's potential for misuse, weighing in the emerging concept of self-regulatory AI systems as a promising direction for future research. This paper contributes insights into the dualistic role of AI in fraud, adding depth to the discourse on its implications for security, ethical considerations, and regulatory challenges. It advocates for a balanced perspective on AI's capabilities.

The Relevance of Gandhi for Social Work Education and Practice

Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophies of nonviolence (Ahimsa) and truth force (Satyagraha) offer profound insights for social work education and practice. This article explores the alignment between Gandhi’s core principles and the ethical frameworks, values, and methods in social work. It examines Gandhi’s emphasis on ethical living, community engagement, empowerment, nonviolent conflict resolution, and advocacy for social justice, highlighting their relevance to contemporary social work. By integrating Gandhi’s teachings into social work education, practitioners can enhance their ability to promote social justice, serve marginalized populations, and foster community resilience. The discussion includes practical applications and case studies, demonstrating the enduring impact of Gandhi’s legacy on social work.

Integrated Surveillance of Disparities in Vaccination Coverage and Morbidity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cohort Study in Southeast Sweden.

We aimed to use the digital platform maintained by the local health service providers in Southeast Sweden for integrated monitoring of disparities in vaccination and morbidity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The monitoring was performed in the adult population of two counties (n = 657,926) between 1 February 2020 and 15 February 2022. The disparities monitored were relocated (internationally displaced), substance users, and suffering from a psychotic disorder. The outcomes monitored were COVID-19 vaccination, SARS-CoV-2 test results, and hospitalization with COVID-19. Relocated residents displayed an increased likelihood of remaining unvaccinated and a decreased likelihood of testing as well as increased risks of primary SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization compared with the general population. Suffering from a major psychiatric disease was associated with an increased risk of remaining unvaccinated and an increased risk of hospitalization but a decreased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. From the digital monitoring, we concluded that the relocated minority received insufficient protection during the pandemic, suggesting the necessity for comprehensive promotion of overall social integration. Persons with major psychiatric diseases underused vaccination, while they benefitted from proactively provided testing, implying a need for active encouragement of vaccination. Further research is warranted on legal and ethical frameworks for digital monitoring in vaccination programs.

Proposing an ethics of care: Tracing Victoria's transport planning history

AbstractThis paper examines the question what kind of ethics prevail in contemporary urban transport planning and what potential does an ethics of care hold for practice? Researchers have given ample attention to the need for better governance and coordination, and despite acknowledging the need to reduce reliance on private cars, little has been said by them about what ethics can or should guide planning to bring about such frameworks for caring. This area of research merits urgent work given our collective need to address the socio‐spatial, climate, and health impacts of car dependence. Taking as our focus transport planning in Victoria, Australia, we consider how an ethics of care could open new ways to redress how transport planning has perpetuated injustices in metropolitan Melbourne. We draw on secondary research to consider both the conditions that cultivated the current transport planning landscape and pathways for possible change that lie ahead. The research highlights opportunities to consider care as an ethical framework for transport planning that could amplify justice and equity claims in urban transport planning for Australian cities and that has salience for other cities elsewhere.

From super-wicked problems to more-than-human justice: new bioethical frameworks for antimicrobial resistance and climate emergency.

In this article, building on our multidisciplinary expertise on philosophy, anthropology, and social study of microbes, we discuss and analyze new approaches to justice that have emerged in thinking with more-than-human contexts: microbes, animals, environments and ecosystems. We situate our analysis in theory of and practical engagements with antimicrobial resistance and climate emergency that both can be considered super-wicked problems. In offering solutions to such problems, we discuss a more-than-human justice orientation, seeking to displace human exceptionalism while still engaging with human social justice issues. We offer anthropological narratives to highlight how more-than-human actors already play an important role in environmental and climate politics. These narratives further justify the need for new ethical frameworks, out of which we, for further development outside the scope of this article, suggest a queer feminist posthumanist one.