Professional Ethical Issues Research Articles

Professional Ethics for Civil and Structural Engineers under the German Law Governing the Profession of Engineers

AbstractSooner or later in their everyday work life, engineers will deal with issues of professional ethics. In the United States, codes of professional ethics are well developed and can be easily followed to avoid problematic situations. Similar codes of professional conduct have been developed in other countries, such as Germany, in the areas of medicine, civil and structural engineering, and architecture over the past few decades. Whether acting as planners, consultants, or specialized experts, civil and structural engineers are obligated to obey the rules of proven professional conduct and modern professional ethics. Their professional practice requires the observation of secured technical knowledge and the obligation for ongoing professional development. This paper provides an overview about professional ethics in general, professional law as it pertains to German engineers, and the relevant aspects of professional ethics in Germany, which will be of interest to engineers practicing there. Furthermor...

Research on the professional ethics issues of CPA in China

Since the 1990s, auditing collusion cases have occured frequently, reducing the integrity degree of CPA. Of all reasons, we should pay attention to professional ethics issues most. Because of professional ethics issues, the public have lost confidence in the industry of CPA. The industry of CPA is faced with serious crisis. In the circumstance, this paper researched professional ethics issues of CPA. Firstly, it explained the connotation of professional ethics, emphasized the importance. Secondly, through real cases, this paper analyzed the present situation of professional ethics of CPA, explained the lack of professional ethics. Finally, for solving the problem, this paper proposed the countermeasures to enhance the standards of professional ethics of CPA from the external and internal practice environment.

PRESSING PROBLEMS IN THE REGULATION OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS ISSUES OF PUBLIC SERVANTS

Legal regulation of professional ethics issues of a public servant is elucidated. Legislation on professional ethics is a part of anti-corruption legislation and should promote the establishment of professional public service. The author makes propositions as to the improvement of domestic legislation, taking into consideration positive experience of foreign countries in this domain.

Impacto de la Declaración Universal de Principios Éticos Para Psicólogas y Psicólogos

After considering some key professional ethics issues in psychology, this paper analyzes the collective development of the Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists in 2008, and its further effects on professional and training settings. Its goal is to serve as a guide for reviewing ethics codes in psychology or for the development of new codes, considering 4 general principles and their associated ethical values. Based on those principles, each country or region will be able to develop its own professional ethical standards, in a socially, historically, and culturally situated way. The similarity between the principles pointed out in this declaration and those included in the main South American psychology ethics codes is also considered. Finally, the first 2 experiences in the application of this document’s guidelines are presented, one within a professional setting and a more novel one developed for training in psychology.

Ethical and Professional Issues Training for Students and Staff of Laboratory Medicine

Background : Medical Laboratory plays a critical role in maintaining and promoting health. Increasing wide applications of laboratory medicine in clinical practice have highlighted specific topics in the areas of social, professional and ethical issues in the laboratory. Despite the important role of clinical lab in health system, ethical issues have been rarely discussed for clinical labs. Considering the need to provide efficient training program for students, this study was designed and conducted to assess the views of laboratory science educators about offering a professional ethical course in laboratory science curriculum. Methods: The study population was 28 laboratory science educators at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. A questionnaire was designed to assess instructors' views about the importance, quantity, quality, and the need to provide a professional ethical course for medical laboratory students. Results: The majority of respondents (82.15%) evaluated the importance of offering an ethical course for laboratory medicine to be at a very high level. Most educators (75%) believed that good clinical laboratory practice is extremely related to moral issues. Many lecturers (85.7%) completely agreed with the addition of professional ethical course for laboratory science students. Respondents (89.3%), also, believed that the educating professional ethical issues to medical lab students will enhance service quality and performance of the future laboratories. In addition, most professors suggested offering two credit points to cover such issues for the students (85.7%). Conclusion: We recommend offering a separate course in laboratory science curriculum to cover the clinical ethical issues, such as modality of taking samples, interaction with patients, the way of giving information about genetic tests, viral and malignancies, the way of storing data and access to medical records, the diagnosis of infertility, prenatal diagnosis, legal issues in poisonings, and the way of interacting with the doctor and medical private issues.

Professional Ethics, Engineering and Energetic Issues

Engineering is an interdisciplinary area, where interaction of technical and socio-economic dimensions continuously occurs in the professional practice. The ethical aspects of the relationships between engineers and society have been particularly emphasized in the recent years. In fact, the main engineering societies set up their own codes of ethics and many engineering departments worldwide introduced engineering ethics in their curricula. After introducing the concept of professional ethics an

Shooting back and ‘looking for life’ in the USA and Haiti: seeing the ethics of visual research methods through a development lens

Relying on a critical pedagogy framework and youth participatory action research (YPAR) and visual sociology methods, the authors of this article – teachers, teacher educators, and community activists – have worked with photo elicitation methods and young adults in the USA and Haiti to document youths' impressions of the purposes of, supports for, and impediments to school. Participants have shot more than 12,000 images and written about 1800 of these, which the authors have analysed to discover approximately 30 findings related to school leadership, literacy instruction, and secondary curricula and pedagogies. These methods have raised a number of professional, personal, and research ethics issues, particularly as the project has shifted to include international participants. The nature of authorship and the risks involved with young people sharing their ‘difficult stories’ are just two considerations that have consistently arisen. Recently, the authors have recognized connections between visual methods, YPAR methods, international development, and the ethical issues considered by these fields. The authors suggest that visual research projects in the US and international contexts – where the social contract of schooling is at best damaged – might be understood as ‘development’ activities. The authors illustrate how such methods might be informed by a development perspective and the ‘agreements’ that development ethicists consider.

The Scientist’s Pledge

Medical students transition to their profession with the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath. However, no analogous oath has been widely adopted for students graduating with doctorates of philosophy (PhDs) in the various sciences. Oaths taken upon entering a profession reflect a need to recognize the power and responsibility bestowed upon a graduate. It is then surprising that most scientists have escaped the privilege and duty of an oath. Scientists face tremendous ethical challenges, such as the development of human embryonic stem cells or tools of biological wars, to mention but a handful. An oath for scientists should include many of the same issues of professional identity and ethics that were addressed by Hippocrates, 1 but should also pose additional matters pertinent to the sciences. Sir Joseph Rotblat 2 proposed ethical codes in science, highlighting the need for scientific oaths. Davis et al 3 offered a broad oath focusing on pride, integrity, and pursuit of knowledge. We believe that a scientist’s oath should reflect the professional activities inherent to being a scientist, be a pledge to responsible conduct, and embody commitments to help humanity and society at large. An effective oath should be inspiring without being confining. Such an oath should also emphasize the value and impact of PhD graduates on society. With this in mind, we have proposed and implemented at our medical school the following oath: Oath of the Scientist By accepting my Doctor of Philosophy degree, I earnestly assert that I will apply my scientific skills and principles to benefit society; I will continue to practice and support a scientific process that is based on logic, intellectual rigor, personal integrity, and an uncompromising respect for truth; I will treat my colleagues’ work with respect and objectivity; I will convey these scientific principles in my chosen profession, in Mentoring, and in public debate; I will seek to increase public understanding of the principles of science and its humanitarian goals. These things I do promise. The Hippocratic Oath has been modified to reflect the evolution of medicine in society, and we expect that the above oath will also evolve over time. 1 We believe this oath provides a good foundation for the current generation of scientists, and will help to inspire graduates to reach for their highest ideals as they continue in their careers.

Ethics: the physician–pharma dyad in India

The study examines the attitudes among physicians regarding acceptance of gifts, sponsorships, and drug samples in response to marketing efforts of pharmaceutical companies in India. The research also attempts to study physicians’ perceptions of the Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines on the code of conduct for pharmaceutical marketing practices and the influence of these guidelines on physicians’ actions. A structured questionnaire was developed for collecting primary data regarding exposure of physicians to promotional tools and physicians’ attitudes and practices with regard to various professional ethical issues. One thousand physicians from private and government hospitals located in a metropolitan area were approached personally or through email for getting the questionnaire filled. A total of 189 completed and usable questionnaires could be obtained which is a response rate of approximately 20 %. Respondents in the study indicate being offered samples, sponsorship, and gifts by pharmaceutical companies with a frequency of at least once a month. Thus, many pharmaceutical firms are not following the code of conduct issued by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India. Further, though almost all physicians report being aware of the guidelines issued by the MCI, yet as many as 69 % of the sample admitted to be accepting gifts and sponsorships offered by the pharmaceutical firms. Educational programs were found to be influencing physician prescription behavior to a greater extent when compared with gifts. Frequency of offers made for gifts and sponsorships were found to be dependent upon physicians’ practice (number of prescriptions written) and the type of hospital they are associated with (private or government). The study focuses on sensitive yet critical ethical issues related to the promotional practices of pharmaceutical firms in India and physicians’ responses with regard to these promotional practices in the context of the guidelines of the Medical Council of India and the Department of Pharmaceuticals.

Individual Moralities and Institutional Ethics: Implications for theCanadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists

Since the creation of the Canadian Psychological Association's Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists in 1986, there has been serious debate about the rank ordering of the ethical principles contained therein, despite a general consensus that the code itself represents a great leap forward in conceptualizing issues in professional ethics, and making its content available to its constituents in the most useful form possible. However, new research regarding the psychology of morality has painted a much more diverse landscape of human moral functioning than is reflected in the current rank ordering of principles within the code. This paper will examine “the new synthesis in moral psychology” and apply its findings to the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists. Three primary arguments are advanced. First, Canadian psychologists as a profession are more liberally oriented than the Canadian society they seek to serve, and their code of ethics reflects this bias. Second, as the Code of Ethics reflects a social contract with Canadian society generally, Canadian psychologists have a duty to acknowledge moral biases and to understand the ways in which systems of morality differ in peoples of different cultures and political orientations. Finally, in order to address these concerns, it is argued that the rank ordering of ethical principles in future revisions of the Code be dropped in favour of a format that includes raising awareness about the ways in which moralities differ across groups, cultures, and individual political orientations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Training in Pediatric Psychology--Current Perspectives and Future Opportunities: Introduction to the Special Section

The most personally and professionally gratifying of my activities in the field of pediatric psychology has involved training of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral fellows (Drotar, 2003). I continue to be impressed by the intellectual curiosity, values, and compassion, and raw talent that are demonstrated by the remarkable cadre of graduate and fellowship level trainees who are attracted to pediatric psychology. The future of our field will be theirs. To ensure their and our future, we need to be the best possible stewards of the extraordinary promise of these careers in the making by creating the most optimal training opportunities, experiences, and career paths for our future practitioners, teachers, and researchers. This special issue on training in pediatric psychology was conceived to address this continuing need. Training in pediatric psychology has evolved in important ways since the founding of our field (LaGreca, Stone, Drotar, & Maddux, 1988; Roberts et al., 1998; Spirito et al., 2003). The Society of Pediatric Psychology Task Force Report (2003): Recommendations for the Training of Pediatric Psychologists considered issues related to breadth and depth of training, scope of practice, training paths, primary care, interdisciplinary training, and mentors (Spirito et al., 2003). Topic areas identified as most important for obtaining knowledge and expertise in pediatric psychology included life span development, developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology, child, adolescent, and family assessment, intervention strategies, research methods and systems, evaluation, professional ethical and legal issues, diversity, roles of multiple disciplines in service delivery, prevention, family support, and health promotion, social issues affecting children, adolescents, and families, consultant and liaison roles, and disease process and medical management. This report was an important milestone in the development of training in our field as it expanded on the prior survey results and recommendations for pediatric psychology (LaGreca et al., 1988) and clinical child psychology. Since the Task Force report (Spirito et al., 2003), training programs that focus on pediatric psychology or offer pediatric training as part of another program at graduate, internship, and postdoctoral levels have expanded significantly. However, training programs in pediatric psychology face a number of significant challenges: Recruiting graduate students and facilitating development of their core competencies in both specialized training and an increasing breadth of content areas, training students to meet the challenges of research careers, and promoting the development of mentors in our field. The manuscripts in this special section respond to these challenges of pediatric psychology training.

Wyjść poza tekst – projekt tłumaczeniowy jako narzędzie samooceny i autorefl eksji w dydaktyce przekładu specjalistycznego

Th e article addresses the issue of translation quality assessment (TQA), focusing on quality and assessment in the LSP-translation classroom. In the Polish context, text oriented approaches to assessment and teaching methods tend to dominate both in translator training research and the translation classroom. Th e article presents a team translation project as a fl exible, real-life oriented tool for training translators as language service providers and an alternative to text-bound exercises and evaluation models. Based on a case study, which was a translation of a feasibility study concerned with waste management, the article discusses the project stages (preparation, implementation and monitoring, consolidation), students’ roles (translator, coordinator, reviser), assessment methods as well as advantages and disadvantages of the project as a teaching method. Th e assessment of the project was twofold, consisting of the instructor’s correction of the fi nal translation product and of students’ selfevaluation reports, in which both the translation as a product and process was considered. Th e project work proved an eff ective tool, teaching comprehensively various competences, including team work, time management, project management and terminology mining. Of relevance were also issues of professional ethics and conduct such as responsibility for one’s own work and meeting deadlines. In the initial stage of translator training, as was the case here, the preparatory stage requires adequate time and clarifi cation as students tended to overlook some less explicit requirements of the translation brief. Th e project’s shortcomings in a didactic setting include its relatively long duration and, in the case of individualized students’ tasks, an increased workload for the instructor. Translation projects as teaching methods meet the demand for market-oriented training as specifi ed in EMT documents and relate to professional standards set in the EN 15038:2006 standard.

Paraphilias and Predators: The Ethical Application of Psychiatric Diagnoses in Partisan Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment Proceedings

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the civil commitment of sex offenders with paraphilia disorders in Kansas v. Hendricks and Kansas v. Crane. These proceedings have essentially created a cottage industry and generated two partisan advocacy expert camps (defense and prosecution). Both camps are challenged with the burdens of diagnosing paraphilias when considering the nebulous descriptive language within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). This article will discuss shortcomings of the DSM as well as potential inherent clinician bias relevant to proferring diagnoses in SVP evaluations. The author will include a brief case study addressing diagnostic dilemmas within a framework that considers professional ethical issues, recognizing one' s forensic ideology and forensic identification with the retaining legal counsel, while attempting to minimize bias. The author will recommend that experts consider the functional abilities and behavioral symptoms of the sex offender as they relate to patterns of sex offending, there nature to sexual deviance, and there relationship to future sexual recidivism in addition to the diagnostic requirements and subsequent forensic limitations of the DSM-IV-TR.

Bringing professional responsibility back in

Research on how higher education institutions work with professional formation indicates that insufficient attention is currently paid to issues of professional responsibility and ethics. In the light of such findings, there is increasing concern about issues related to learning professional responsibility. This article concentrates on different meanings given to professional responsibility. Drawing on the idea of ‘social trustee professionalism’ and the recent rhetoric and practices of new public management, the concept of professional responsibility is deconstructed and discussed in light of the types of logic and implications generated by the use of the concepts of professional ‘responsibility’ and ‘accountability’. The analysis indicates that mechanisms of accountability seem to be ‘triumphing’ over responsibility in today’s governance systems. It is argued that we need to ‘bring professional responsibility back in’, to ensure that moral and societal responsibilities become the driving force for professionals while accounting systems support the overall purpose of professional work.

How professional ethics impact construction quality: Perception and evidence in a fast developing economy

There is a perception that majority of quality-related issues are caused by human factors. The issue of professional ethics plays an important role in quality-related problems in a construction project. This paper highlights the current level of professional ethics standard in the construction industry and how ethics influences the quality of construction projects. A questionnaire survey was conducted in the construction industry in Malaysia, a fast developing economy. Results indicate that various forms of unethical conducts have significant impact on construction quality. This study concludes that professional ethics is a pre-requisite to attaining sustained and acceptable quality in construction and suggests several approaches to enhance professionalism among construction professionals to improve quality in construction. Key words: Professional ethics, quality-related problem, unethical conducts, fast developing economy, construction quality.

Remote monitoring of patients with cardiac devices

Remote monitoring offers a safe, practical and cost effective alternative to hospital follow up visits for patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices. New options are also available for patients with pacemakers and implantable loop recorders using remote monitoring. It is an area in health behaviour that is emerging for patients with chronic disease.The ability to monitor patient status (heart rhythm, fluid overload) may expedite patient management. This may provide improvements in health-care pathways and clinical outcomes, especially in heart failure. Professional policy and ethical issues will need to be reviewed in order for this to be implemented, challenging the traditional health care systems. The follow up appointment is changing.

A psycho-cultural history of psychotherapy in Africa

This paper is an attempt to construct a psycho-cultural history of psychological therapies in Africa. It explores the origin, vision and direction, clinical and preventive goals and approaches, the philosophy and history, and issues of professional development and ethics, types of practitioners, and practice settings for psychotherapy in sub-Saharan Africa, from the pre-colonial period to the present. The central argument of the paper is that Psychotherapy in Africa should address not only the intrapsychic or interpersonal world of the clients but also phenomena that in traditional Western psychotherapy are not considered essential, namely, the socio-cultural context. Overall, the principal objective is to share with our Western and Eastern partners the meaning and scope and the orientation and trends in Psychotherapy in Africa in the last 60 years; offering, in the same breadth, an X-ray of the major issues and problems that confront our practice and the efforts we make to come to terms with these challenges. The expected outcome is the possibility and promise of successfully delineating, defining and establishing the field of Psychotherapy in Africa as a legitimate area of specialization for creative research and writings in the scientific study and clinical practice of modern psychology in Africa. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Daniel A. Vallero, P. Aarne Vesilind, Socially Responsible Engineering: Justice in Risk Management

Daniel A. Vallero, P. Aarne Vesilind, Socially Responsible Engineering: Justice in Risk Management

A Defense of Innovation: The Editor's Response to david [ sic ] McCraw's Review

A Defense of Innovation:The Editor's Response to david [sic] McCraw's Review Zong-qi Cai In How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology, my coauthors and I offer a new kind of comprehensive textbook for studying classical Chinese poetry. Our anthology differs from most of its predecessors in three important ways. It provides 1. a display of the Chinese text for each poem; 2. phoneticization of each poem in tone-marked pinyin; and 3. an interpretative commentary by a specialist in the relevant genre and period. Each of these innovative features has been harshly criticized by David McCraw in his review. For each point, I shall summarize his criticism and then offer a defense of our endeavors. Issues of Professional Ethics Before my defense, I must first deal with two issues of professional ethics: willful misrepresentation and the use of highly inappropriate language and tone in the review. Sloppiness is an issue addressed in great detail by my coauthors (see their responses above). A wide range of errors by the reviewer has been identified. He faults the authors for doing what they did not do and, conversely, not doing what they actually did. He cites ideas or arguments that have never been made by the identified scholars. He reverses an author's surname and middle name and refers to her by her middle name. He changes the spelling of the names of several renowned scholars in the field. The list goes on. Some of my coauthors who have [End Page 50] not made public their responses have also pointed out many errors of the same or other kinds in the review. It is ironic that the reviewer who shows little tolerance for others' errors and, in his own words, plays the game of "substituting reviewer as editor" (p. 28) has committed so many errors himself. Regrettably, the fact the reviewer cannot get (or does not bother to get) facts, quotes, and even names right undermines his trustworthiness as a critic. However, sloppiness is a minor fault compared to willful misrepresentation. Some of McCraw's errors are too egregious to be taken merely as evidence of sloppiness. In these cases, McCraw appears guilty of willful misrepresentation. Consider his criticism of my commentary on "The Zhongnan Mountain" by Wang Wei: Cai assures us that merge 合 refers to a Sanskrit word for "composite," while dispel/turn empty 無 refers to "negation of both sides" 無二. While as reader's association it remains just possible, this Buddhist over-reading wrongly limits students' understandings and inhibits precisely the evocative nature of Tang poetry and the full readers' co-participation Cai has previously recommended. Now he would have us respond: "Oh, they're just Buddhist technical terms," neither a likely nor a desirable effect (p. 30). One has to wonder what would motivate a reviewer to omit (and, in effect, deny the existence of) my detailed discussion of the poet's perceptual processes and illusions, painterly approach to poetry, his surreptitious use of Buddhist terms, and his ultimate evocation of a Buddhist vision of the world (Guided Anthology, pp. 177-179). Do those pages not do exactly what he is trying to fault me for not doing—demonstrating the "evocative nature of Tang poetry" and inviting the "readers' coparticipation?" With sleight of hand, he reduces my commentary to a gloss of two Buddhist terms in order to allege that the commentator "would have us respond: 'Oh, they're just Buddhist technical terms.'" On a larger scale, McCraw is willing to change/misrepresent the subject if it allows him to score on the authors of this anthology: "Throughout, Cai simply assumes, uncritically, that we have a corpus of 'orally performed' Han yuefu (e.g., p. 28); now he claims their hedonism finds a source in the views of 'Warring States' thinker Yang Zhu, as quoted in Liezi." McCraw has willfully changed the subject of chapter 5 from "nineteen old poems" (generally considered a corpus of literati compositions) to Han yuefu (a corpus with oral and folk origins). This manipulation allows him to ridicule the author for attempting to trace oral and folk compositions to the written text of an ancient philosopher. To bolster his accusation, McCraw...

Professional Ethical Issues and the Development of Professional Ethical Standards in Counseling and Clinical Psychology in China

This article aims to summarize the current ethical issues in the field of clinical and counseling psychology and the process of developing professional ethical standards in China. First, through a review of the history of counseling and psychotherapy in China, general background information is provided. Important ethical issues are then discussed based on the results from several empirical studies. Finally, the process of developing the new edition of the Chinese Psychological Society Code of Ethics for Clinical and Counseling Psychology, the main contents as well as the considerations taken into account in the development of this code are presented.