Important Ethical Principles Research Articles

Old Testament hospitality as reciprocity, Adam Smith and business ethics

This article aims to underscore the progression of Old Testament hospitality as reciprocity for moral guidance and, specifically, business ethics in contemporary society. The study follows a comparative analysis of Old Testament hospitality and reciprocity in the work of Adam Smith that emphasises the role of mutual relations and voluntary exchange. It will be argued that reciprocity associated with hospitality in the Old Testament is an important principle that further developed in classic economics and provides ethical principles for contemporary large-scale, multi-cultural and multi-faith societies, although different from the small-scale societies of the Old Testament world. The interface of mutual relations and voluntary exchange in Old Testament hospitality and reciprocity in Smith unveils important ethical principles for contemporary business ethics regarding responsibility and accountability.Contribution: The comparative analysis of Old Testament hospitality and reciprocity in Adam Smith’s work provides ethical principles based on mutual relations and voluntary exchange for contemporary, multi-cultural and multi-faith society, specifically in business ethics.

Design of Animal Experiments in Pharmacological Research

Pharmacology, also known as pharmaceutical science, has made significant progress, especially in the 20th century, and has played a fundamental role in the development of today's modern drugs. Pharmacology uses in vitro, in vivo, and clinical research stages in drug development. Experimental animals are of great importance in in vivo research. The majority of the drugs used today were developed thanks to animal research. Research in which experimental animals will be used should be planned carefully, and a minimum number of animals should be used since the subject is a living being. In addition, one of the most important ethical principles is to avoid procedures that may cause unnecessary torture and pain to animals during experiments. The purpose of pharmacological research is to develop drugs for the treatment or diagnosis of diseases. For this reason, it is aimed at determining the effects of the substance you are researching in the presence of disease. Immediate use of a substance whose effects were previously unknown on humans may lead to various adverse events and even death. After many events in the past, drug development stages have been determined by accepted international rules. According to these rules, the effect of the substance being investigated must be investigated in experimental animals that have been used as disease models before humans. Many disease models have been developed for this purpose. Drugs developed in these disease models created in experimental animals are now successfully used in the treatment of humans.

Povjerljivost u superviziji iz perspektive supervizora

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper was to define which ethical dilemmas related to confidentiality, as an important ethical principle, occur ammong supervisors, how they act in these situations and what guides them. In the research that was conducted by an anonymous web questionnaire participatd licensed supervisors as well as supervisors that still participate in education. In this article there are presented results of the findings related to three research questions: which ethical dilemmas regarding adherence to confidentiality agreements occur in supervision; what guides supervisors in resolving ethical dilemmas related to confidentiality and how in practice.they resolve their ethical dilemmas related to confidentiality. Data analysis shows that ethical dilemmas related to compliance with confidentiality agreements relate to the categories: composition of supervision groups, expectations of supervisors, responsibilities of supervisors towards the employer/ organisatio that oredered supervision, dual roles of supervisors, supervisors attitude toward confidentiality and responsibilities of supervisors towards confidentiality. When solving ethical dilemmas, supervisors are guided by principles: related to the confidentiality agreement, concern for the welfare of the supervisee and client, professional values, methods and way of working. Related to the issue of practical resolving of ethical dilemmas related to confidentiality, the following categories were distinguished: practical use of confidentiality agreements and transparency. From the findings, it can be concluded that it is extremely important to develop the supervisor’s competencies in order to be able to bring an ethical distinction, but also to teach the supervisee how to behave ethically in their practical work. The above mentioned can be provided by systematic support in the form of meta-supervisions, intervision, consultations, written instructions and codes. Key words: supervision; ethical dilemmas; confidentiality; competences; confidentiality agreements.

Obstacles to Screening Today.

To introduce a discussion of glaucoma screening. Glaucoma screening faces challenges, including not satisfying important ethical principles for medical screening. Approaches that would better provide care for glaucoma patients include eliminating the loss of follow-up and identifying glaucoma among family members of known glaucoma patients.

Ethical principles shaping values-based cybersecurity decision-making

The human factor in information systems is a large vulnerability when implementing cybersecurity, and many approaches, including technical and policy driven solutions, seek to mitigate this vulnerability. Decisions to apply technical or policy solutions must consider how an individual's values and moral stance influence their responses to these implementations. Our research aims to evaluate how individuals prioritise different ethical principles when making cybersecurity sensitive decisions and how much perceived choice they have when doing so. Further, we sought to use participants’ responses to cybersecurity scenarios to create profiles that describe their values and individual factors including personality. Participants (n = 193) in our study responded to five different ethically sensitive cybersecurity scenarios in random order, selecting their action in that scenario and rating and ranking of the ethical principles (i.e., Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, Justice, Autonomy, Explicability) behind that action. Using participants’ demographics, personality, values, and cyber hygiene practices, we created profiles using machine learning to predict participants’ choices and the principle of most importance to them across scenarios. Further, we found that, generalising, for our participants Autonomy was the most important ethical principle in our scenarios, followed by Justice. Our study also suggests that participants felt they had some agency in their decision making and they were able to weigh up different ethical principles.

Judicial Ethics in Judicial Communication: the Experience of the French Republic

When administering justice, judges are guided by certain ethical principles. These principles also apply to judicial communication (the interaction of the court with participants in legal proceedings.The author considers foreign experience in regulating the ethical aspects of judicial communication on the example of the French Republic. Relevant provisions are contained in the Compendium of Ethical Obligations of Magistrates.The embodiment in judicial communication of such important ethical principles of magistrates’ behavior as independence, impartiality, honesty and decency, dignity, respect and attention to others, correctness and restraint is analyzed.In addition, attention is paid to the ethical issues of judicial communication before the court session, during the court session, during the meeting of judges and when making a decision.

Ethical principles of the scientific researcher: state of the art and updates

The ethical principles of the scientific researcher are fundamental to ensuring the integrity, transparency, and reliability of scientific research results. The current state of the art in ethics in scientific research involves a set of guidelines aimed at ensuring that research is conducted fairly, transparently, and with respect for human and animal rights. Among the most important ethical principles for the scientific researcher are respect for the autonomy and privacy of research participants, ensuring benefits and minimizing risks for participants, honesty in disclosing results, social and environmental responsibility, and respect for animal rights. In recent years, the ethical debate surrounding scientific research has intensified due to technological advances that present new ethical challenges, such as genetic manipulation, artificial intelligence, and data privacy. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought important ethical issues to light, such as conducting research quickly in the midst of a public health emergency. We envision three other fundamental pillars related to the moment following the completion of scientific research, namely the definition of authorship of the scientific article, the choice of the scientific journal to which the article will be submitted for publication, and finally, the authors need to disseminate their results to society. Faced with these challenges, it is necessary for researchers to always be attentive to the ethical principles that govern scientific research and to be able to apply them consciously and responsibly in their research.

How Has the Code of Ethics Weathered COVID-19?

Countries, communities, institutions, families, and individuals all live by a code of ethical standards. Social work takes pride in conducting itself according to a set of written ethical principles and standards that are derived from the core values of the profession. Depending on the state, the Code of Ethics, or parts thereof, may have the force of law. To ensure that the Code remains relevant it must have an inherent character that is neither too rigid nor too flexible, and it must be interpreted in such a way as to reflect the constantly changing dynamics and pressures of the social work profession and society. The COVID-19 pandemic has surely tested the mettle of the Code, as practitioners began to provide telehealth services, with or without weighing important practice provisions, core values, ethical principles and standards, and critical areas of knowledge. The article seeks to examine existing interpretations of the Code and the influence they have on social work practice during the pandemic. Most importantly, the article aims to broaden practitioners’ awareness and judgement regarding ethical and legal duties in social work practice. Keywords: Code of Ethics, COVID-19, social work practice, ethical decision-making processes

Ethical Principles in the Analysis of Prostate Cancer Diagnostics

Recent developments in prostate cancer diagnostics call for appropriate tools to frame the ethical assessment of diagnostic practice. The first aim is to identify ethically important features and ethical principles of key importance for prostate cancer diagnostics. Next, we need to argue which ethical theory justifies these principles and can therefore be used for ethical assessment in the field. The standard medical procedure for prostate cancer diagnostics offered by the Danish health care system is used as an example.

The Basics of Decision-Making Capacity: The Top-10 Principles for the Clinical Practice

The Basics of Decision-Making Capacity: The Top-10 Principles for the Clinical Practice Abstract. Decision-making capacity (decisional competence) as the ability to act rationally is a prerequisite for self-determination and is presumed in adults. In case of justified doubts, a cursory exam and, if necessary, an in-depth evaluation should be carried out. In this article, the concept of decision-making capacity is presented for the clinical practice based on the ten most important legal, ethical, and clinical principles. The criteria for assessing decision-making capacity, the relativity of decision-making capacity in terms of time and subject matter, and a possibly fluctuating decision-making capacity are highlighted. It becomes clear that decision-making incapacity is an attribution based on ethical-normative considerations. It should be noted that the decision of a person with decision-making capacity doesn't necessarily have to be reasonable. Finally, the assessment tool U-Doc is presented to support evaluation.

Ethical-Pandemic Discourse: Searching a Normative Language

Discussions of the seemingly never-ending COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic are mainly emotional. Although “truth of the heart” contained in them is existentially accurate and convincing, it is not sufficient for public and productive discourse focused on countering the pandemic. The pandemic situation is an emergency requiring extraordinary measures. As experience shows, in emergency, the authorities’ actions are often lead to unjustified restriction and even direct violation of civil liberties and rights. The discussion of the problems associated with the pandemic needs an adequate normative language. Meanwhile, the fight against the epidemics of viral diseases of recent decades prompted UNESCO and WHO in awareness of the danger of pandemics, to initiate developing normative documents that formulated principles defining the ethical priorities of the authorities' policy in the field of health and public safety. The article specifies the main documents accepted by these organizations, as well as some others related to the issues under discussion and presents the most important ethical principles of activities aimed at preserving people's health. It shows how normative ethics “works” in practice — what is its structure and what ensures the imperative effectiveness of primary moral values, how they are translated into operational attitudes of political and professional activity. Besides guidelines for decision makers and political coordinators, ethical documents are important for they provide the society with criteria for assessment of public authorities and other social agents in their efforts to counter the pandemic. They propose a normative language, using which the society, including media workers, can claim the authorities, referring to universal and approved by the international expert community ethical principles.

Healthcare professionals and patient information: a fresh look from the new italian law on consent.

This article discusses the importance of providing patients with adequate information and creating the care relationship, particularly focusing on the role of healthcare professionals in this activity. It examines the main legislative references on this topic at a European level and the new law, No. 219/2017, in Italy on informed consent that serves as a starting point for recalling important legal and ethical principles regarding the information to be provided to patients in the therapeutic relationship.

Patient privacy and autonomy: a comparative analysis of cases of ethical dilemmas in China and the United States

BackgroundRespect for patients’ autonomy is usually considered to be an important ethical principle in Western countries; privacy is one of the implications of such respect. Healthcare professionals frequently encounter ethical dilemmas during their practice. The past few decades have seen an increased use of courts to resolve intractable ethical dilemmas across both the developed and the developing world. However, Chinese and American bioethics differ largely due to the influence of Chinese Confucianism and Western religions, respectively, and there is a dearth of comparative studies that explore cases of ethical dilemmas between China and the United States.MethodsThis paper discusses four typical cases with significant social impact. First, it compares two cases concerning patient privacy: the “Shihezi University Hospital Case”, in which a patient was used as a clinical teaching object without her permission, and the “New York-Presbyterian Hospital Case”, in which the hospital allowed the filming of a patient’s treatment without his consent. Second, it compares two cases regarding patient autonomy and potentially life-saving medical procedures: the “Case of Ms. L”, concerning a cohabitant’s refusal to sign a consent form for a pregnant woman’s caesarean, and the “Case of Mrs. V”, concerning a hospital’s insistence upon a blood transfusion for a dissenting patient. This paper introduces the supporting and opposing views for each case and discusses their social impact. It then compares and analyses the differences between China and the United States from cultural and legislative perspectives.ConclusionsEthical dilemmas have often occurred in China due to the late development of bioethics. However, the presence of bioethics earlier in the US than in China has not spared the US of ethical dilemmas. This paper highlights lessons and inspiration from the cases for healthcare professionals and introduces readers to the role and weight of privacy and autonomy in China and in the US from the perspectives of different cultures, religions and laws.

The relationship between body privacy and anxiety in women having gynecological examination

Protection of privacy during gynecological examination is one of the important ethical principles and invasion of body privacy can cause anxiety. This study was conducted in order to determine the relationship between the level of importance women attach to privacy and the level of anxiety. This descriptive-correlational study consisted of 349 women who applied to the obstetrics outpatient clinic of a university hospital to have gynecological examination. Data were collected using Body Privacy Scale for Gynecology and Obstetrics and State Anxiety Inventory. Before the gynecological examination, the high importance women attach to privacy in rights and all of them experienced anxiety. A positive relationship was found between the importance women attach to privacy and their anxiety levels. It was determined that the importance women attach to body privacy in these areas explained 16.3% of the total variance at the level of anxiety. IMPACT STATEMENT What is already known on this subject? Gynecological examination is one of the basic examination methods in the protection of women’s health. Protection of body privacy during gynecological examination is one of the most important ethical principles. Failure to exercise due care to ensure body privacy during gynecological examination causes anxiety in women. What do the results of this study add? In our study, it was found that women having gynecological examination place a high degree of emphasis on body privacy. It was determined that all women experienced anxiety before gynecological examination. It was determined that the importance women attach to body privacy was an important determinant in the increasing level of anxiety. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Not giving importance to body privacy, increases the level of anxiety before gynecological examination.

Values and Regulations of Journalism as Viewed by Crimean Media Workers

Crimean journalists’ professional community has been working in a specific context during the recent six years. The journalists have had to adapt to the new political, legal and socio-cultural realia. Besides, they have had to work under the international sanctions imposed on the Crimea. Due to the increased attention of Russian society to the region, the community of Crimean journalists has successfully assimilated into Russian media landscape. However, its problems and characteristics, particularly, their vision of professional values and legal regulations, still remain unstudied. The purpose of the article is to study Crimean media workers’ perception of social functions of journalism, its ethical norms and legal regulations, and freedom as a basic category and value. The study required conducting a survey that involved 95 journalists from 56 editorial offices in 20 locations in the Crimea. The respondents demonstrate a clear understanding of values and regulations of their profession and view informing the public about the events in the Crimean region as the key journalists’ role. They are convinced, in this relation, that the most important ethical principle is their audience’s right for true information. The respondents also consider Russian legal regulations a key pre-requisite for their professional freedom – free search for and distribution of information. The author infers that Crimean journalists have enough freedom to perform their professional functions.

Artificial intelligence for clinical decision support in neurology.

Artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting methodological shifts in our era. It holds the potential to transform healthcare as we know it, to a system where humans and machines work together to provide better treatment for our patients. It is now clear that cutting edge artificial intelligence models in conjunction with high-quality clinical data will lead to improved prognostic and diagnostic models in neurological disease, facilitating expert-level clinical decision tools across healthcare settings. Despite the clinical promise of artificial intelligence, machine and deep-learning algorithms are not a one-size-fits-all solution for all types of clinical data and questions. In this article, we provide an overview of the core concepts of artificial intelligence, particularly contemporary deep-learning methods, to give clinician and neuroscience researchers an appreciation of how artificial intelligence can be harnessed to support clinical decisions. We clarify and emphasize the data quality and the human expertise needed to build robust clinical artificial intelligence models in neurology. As artificial intelligence is a rapidly evolving field, we take the opportunity to iterate important ethical principles to guide the field of medicine is it moves into an artificial intelligence enhanced future.

Recent insights into decision-making and their implications for informed consent

Research from behavioural sciences shows that people reach decisions in a much less rational and well-considered way than was often assumed. The doctrine of informed consent, which is an important...

Balancing shared decision-making with ethical principles in optimising medicines

The key aims of non-medical prescribing include improving patient care and increasing patient choice in accessing medicines. The guiding principles of medicines optimisation, which involve understanding the patient experience, the evidenced-based choice of medicines, and making medicines use as safe as possible, are key to achieving the aims. In optimising medicines, practitioners aim to respect patient autonomy, seek to do good (beneficence), and avoid causing harm (non-maleficence). These are important ethical principles that underpin prescribing decisions. Balancing the principles of medicines optimisation with ethical principles can be a complex skill. In this article, a case study from clinical practice is used to explore the challenge of balancing the autonomy and decision-making preferences of a carer, with upholding the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence, in prescribing for a child with asthma.

This Is the Year to Listen to Yourself.

This Is the Year to Listen to Yourself.

Surveying opinions of 149 registrants to the Research Registry: Awareness of and attitudes towards research registration

BackgroundResearch registration is an important ethical principle in the Declaration of Helsinki, however, progress to increase registration has been slow. Understanding the attitudes of users towards registries may provide insights into increase research registration. In this survey-based study, we sought to gain insight from users of a single global research registry, the Research Registry® (www.researchregistry.com). MethodsA Google Forms survey was created and emailed to all users of the Research Registry® (n = 1432). Multiple choice and free-text answers were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis respectively. ResultsFrom 925 contactable registrations, 149 (16.1%) completed the survey. The most commonly registered study type was retrospective cohort (32.2%). 23 registrations (15.4%) were made during the planning or conception of the study, whereas 67 (45.0%) registered at the time of journal submission, or during the peer review process. Of those that declared whether they had performed unregistered research or not, 51 (45.5%) participants had previously performed unregistered research. Registrants were most commonly made aware of the Research Registry® through submission to the International Journal of Surgery (IJS) family of journals (n = 57, 47.5%). Survey participants identified the most important features of registration to be its convenience, including the ease, time and cost of registration. Thematic analysis revealed the most common motive for registration to be as a mandatory requirement of journal submission, and that registration can be improved by simplification of the registration process. ConclusionRegistries must focus on engaging their network of users to ensure that research registration is a dynamic process. They need to adopt a user-centered and agile approach to their development, with a strong focus on “customer service”. Moreover, by working in partnership with journals, it is possible to improve compliance with registration.