The goal of this project is to argue for ethics as a necessary component of the institutional health. The authors offer an epidemiology of ethics for a large, metropolitan, very-high-research-activity university in the U.S. Where epidemiology of a pandemic looks at quantifiable data on infection and exposure rates, control, and broad implications for public health, an epidemiology of ethics looks to parallel data on those same themes. Their hypothesis is that knowing more about how undergraduates are exposed to ethics will (...) help us understand to what extent they are infected with interest in ethics literacy, and potentially what immunity they develop against unethical and unprofessional conduct. These data also tell a story about the ethical health of institutions: to what extent its members are empowered to cultivate a culture of ethics and inoculated against ethical missteps. The authors argue that pro-ethics inoculation at research institutions is shaped by issues of complexity, connotation, and collaboration. These issues make assessment of where ethics is taught all the more difficult. The methodology used in this project can readily be taken up by other institutions, with much to be learned from inter-institutional comparisons about the distribution of ethics across the curriculum and within the disciplines. (shrink)

During spring of 2020, environmental ethics students at a medium sized metropolitan university in the Southeastern United States were asked to read and comment on classic essays from Robert Heilbroner and Garrett Hardin, essays regarding our responsibilities towards future generations. In general, students seemed to hold more with Heilbroner’s stance, which left room for compassion, while condemning Hardin’s harshness. Students were then asked to provide written responses stating whether they would personally sacrifice their eventual retirement in order to stop COVID-19 (...) and the reasons for their views. Responses were analyzed and categorized to detect inconsistencies between students’ described views and their willingness to personally sacrifice for the sake of others. Almost 72% of respondents asserted that they would be willing to intervene to stop the novel coronavirus by sacrificing their retirement. A fair number of respondents that stated they would sacrifice said that they would do so because they would benefit personally from the avoidance of guilt and/or from the opportunity to feel good about themselves, suggesting that even seemingly selfless behaviors are sometimes driven by egoistic motivations. Forty percent of all respondents held inconsistent views. Most notably, a number of students condemned Hardin for his lack of compassion, yet were not willing to act compassionately themselves. (shrink)

The objective of this research is to assess the impact of ethics on research productivity within laboratories of public universities. To achieve this objective, neural networks’ method is used to highlight impacting and impacted variable modalities. Findings show ethical variables having the greatest impact on research productivity are ethics supporting document and transparency, while the variables most impacted by ethics are publications and scientific projects. Finally, the originality of this work lies in the reconciliation of two dimensions that appear to (...) be irreconcilable a priori, namely, ethics which has a social connotation and productivity which has an economic connotation. It also resides in employing neural networks’ method, with is rarely used in social sciences. (shrink)

Ethics teachers are regularly confronted with disturbing cases brought in by medical students in class. These classes are considered confidential, so that everyone can speak freely about their experiences. But what should ethics teachers do when they hear about a situation they consider to be outright alarming, for example where patients/students’ safety is at stake or where systematic power abuse seems to be at hand? Should they remain neutral or should they step in and intervene? In the Netherlands, as in (...) many other countries, there are no clear guidelines for ethics teachers on how to respond. To get more insight into what teachers themselves think a proper response would be, we interviewed 18 Dutch medical ethics teachers. We found that Dutch ethics teachers will address the issue in class, but that they are overall reluctant to intervene; take action outside the scope of class. This reluctance is partly rooted in the conviction that ethicists should stay neutral and facilitate reflection, instead of telling students or physicians what to do. At the same time, this neutral position seems a difficult place to leave for those teachers who would want to or feel they need to. This has to do with various organizational and institutional constraints tied up with their position. The study invites medical ethics teachers to reflect on these constraints together and think about how to proceed from there. This study seeks to contribute to research on cultural change in medicine and medical students’ experiences of moral distress. (shrink)

Using the history classroom as a context for ethics and moral education is a long, but also contested, tradition. Recently, more emphasis has been put on how to incorporate ethics education, with this paper exploring the spaces of ethics and moral education in the history classroom. It is argued here that insights from moral philosophy and theories of historical consciousness, but – importantly – also moral psychology and the study of moral emotions, are needed to realise the potential of history (...) teaching and learning to support ethics education. Following this line, three spaces of ethics education in the history classroom are identified in this paper, including: reasoning about the moral quality of historical actors’ conduct; the use of historical empathy ; and reflection of the past’s moral meaning to the present and the future. As an example of how to implement this, a set of stimulus activities is presented that is designed for the classroom and a qualitative analysis of students’ responses that explicate expressions of students’ moral reasoning, perspective-taking, and historical consciousness. (shrink)

The history of ethics often presupposes rationalist thinking on moral issues. An alternative to rationalism has been proposed by the social intuitionist model. This model suggests the bulk of our moral decisions are ‘gut reactions’ or intuitions. Unlike the rationalists, which support reasons and deliberation to draw moral conclusions, intuitionists argue such reasoning is used to support preconceived ethical decisions. This paper provides the first investigation to determine if intuitionism has any validity within business ethics. Using data from the Defining (...) Issues Test and individual journal entries, results indicate discussion-based pedagogy improved the moral reasoning of participants but had very little influence over their beliefs. In short, the social intuitionist model is supported by this study. Most importantly, ethics education that focuses on peer-to-peer discussion can change how students’ reason about moral problems and should be heavily incorporated into classrooms. (shrink)

The ethical aspect of the online learning is a major priority that has to be addressed by all stakeholders in the educational field. This study sheds the light on establishing a code of ethics for the online learning based on a Palestinian vision. A content analysis was used for related literature in order to drive themes and major topics, then a qualitative approach was used to collect data to test the themes from the field. The study population consisted of 21 (...) educators who have previous experience in online learning and 4 key university specialists with pedagogical experience. Interviews and focused group meetings were conducted with participants. The findings revealed that most of educators’ attitudes toward establishing a code for ethics in online learning mode are positive. The study also revealed that all educational stakeholders play a vital role in the success of online learning and particularly in practicing positive ethics. (shrink)

Nursing students face various ethical issues, which may cause stress, that require coping strategies. This study investigated the thoughts and feelings underlying the coping behaviors adopted by nursing students when addressing ethical issues. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from September to October 2011 with 11 students enrolled at University A who had completed basic nursing and specialty practicums and consented to participate in the study. Data were analyzed using qualitative methods. The participant narratives about ethical issues encountered during clinical practicums were (...) organized into four themes and 20 scenarios. The ethical issues concerned the attitudes and conduct of nurses, doctors, physical therapists, and other medical professionals. Seven coping behaviors were identified. The results revealed that nursing students waver between valuing their relationships with nurses and their relationships with patients when they encounter an ethical issue. When their relationships with nurses were emphasized, their ethical values were restructured. These findings suggest the need to address the affective domain early on in lectures and in-class practice, and to create an environment in which students taking practicums can easily express their feelings and internal value system changes. (shrink)

Medical ethics is a practical key element in the medical curriculum. Movies can be used as an effective and innovative way to involve students in discussions and reflections on ethical issues. This study aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of medical movies as a tool in medical ethics education. During the last teaching session of the medical ethics courses, the movie “Extreme Measures” was shown to the medical students. The present study is a descriptive-analytical study of 302 students’ manuscripts. The quantitative (...) content analysis of the students’ manuscripts was carried out using a checklist that contained 11 titles and 75 subtitles. Each student’s checklist was compared to the student’s final exam score. The most recognized issue was justice, and the least recognized one was confidentiality and privacy. Nonmaleficence, respecting autonomy and informed consent, honor and integrity, end of life, duty and responsibility, conflict of interest, beneficence, relationship with colleagues and altruism were located in-between. There was a relationship between students’ final exam scores and their manuscripts’ scores. According to our findings, relevant movies with standard categorization can be used as a useful method for medical ethics education and assessment. (shrink)

In clinical practice, evidence suggests that teaching ethics using normative ethical theory has little influence on the ethical actions of providers in practice. Thus, new training methods are needed that improve clinician response to ethical problems. A sensemaking approach to ethics training has demonstrated promise as an evidence-based pedagogical method to improve ethical reasoning and response. Project ECHO is theoretically linked to improved sensemaking. This study examines the effectiveness of ECHO and training in use of sensemaking approaches to ethical response (...) by clinicians. A quasi-experimental design study using univariate linear regression was used to examine the effect of the three types of ethics training on ethical response self-efficacy scores, while controlling for participant characteristics of years in practice, discipline and sex. We found evidence that training in sensemaking through participation in ECHO promotes improved ethical response self-efficacy of clinicians. However, results also suggest that a traditional ECHO format that does not explicitly introduce sensemaking strategies into the training does not result in the same learning outcomes as measured through an ethical response self-efficacy survey. This study found important preliminary results to support use of sensemaking approaches in clinical ethics training. (shrink)

A Publisher correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40889-020-00118-8.

This article describes the development and teaching of a course on global engineering ethics in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. It outlines course objectives, methods, and contents, and instructor experience and plans for future development. This is done with the goal of helping educators to plan standalone courses and/or integrated modules on global engineering and technology ethics, which address challenges arising from the increasingly cross-cultural and international environments of contemporary technology and engineering practice. These efforts are motivated by the global (...) environments of engineering, as well as recent research in empirical moral psychology. Although this course was developed and taught in China, as a course on global engineering ethics taught to students from throughout the world, its approach could be beneficial elsewhere. (shrink)

The importance of Morality Education is globally recognized. Effectiveness of such programs necessitates that due consideration be given to sociocultural factors, which consist of enablers and potential barriers. Several research work have been conducted in this specific domain, highlighting its importance in numerous aspects of adolescents’ lives. This calls to the need to integrate ME in lives of school-aged adolescents from a multicultural background and socioeconomically deprived regions. This small-scale intervention’s aim was to investigate the perspectives concerning ME, taking into (...) close consideration the sociocultural factors, constituting of enablers and potential barriers. The study makes use of a qualitative approach to research conducted in Mauritius, a developing country with a significantly multicultural population and where ME is rarely and properly addressed to students, despite changes in behaviors and mindset of the country’s adolescents. The sample was selected through purposive sampling and the study consisted of semi-structured interviews conducted, with study participants, comprising of teachers, students and parents. Students came from diverse backgrounds and socioeconomically deprived areas. The interview transcripts revealed that enabling factors were perceived as the role of external factors, integrating family members, meeting special needs, societal contribution, personal development, enrichment of knowledge and values and responsibility and consciousness. The potential barriers were perceived as resistance from teachers and students and technological advances. Generation gap was found as both an enabling factor and a potential barrier. The findings have implications for the design and implementation of school-based ME within a multicultural context, paving the way for related larger scales studies. (shrink)

Plagiarism is a pervasive challenge throughout academia perpetuated by the advent of technology, lack of ethical education, and the ambiguity in its definition. Plagiarism in the United States’ higher education settings has gained more attention over the years as international student population has increased. Considering how higher education institutions are growing as international spaces due to globalization, it is crucial to closely examine ethical issues concerning the diverse and multicultural student population. A prevailing view of plagiarism asserts that international students’ (...) plagiarized texts are influenced by their ethical judgment and cultural backgrounds. This invites the question of whether ethical decision-making processes and cross-cultural perspectives are taken into consideration when instructors encounter instances of plagiarism committed by international or multicultural students. This paper intends to expand on the concept of culture in regard to the ethical dilemmas of plagiarism. Extending the discussions of cross-cultural influences surrounding plagiarism and ethical judgments in higher education, we position ourselves as viewing culture through the expanded lenses of macro- and micro-level cultural practices. In response to the internationalization of higher education, we advocate for changes in higher education curricula and instruction towards more cultural responsiveness and inclusivity. Instead of questioning or criminalizing ethics based on cultural background, especially in the cases of plagiarism committed by international students, we suggest approaching culture using the expanded perspectives of macro- and micro-cultural practices. The paper also provides recommendations for higher education instructors when tackling ethical dilemmas while preventing and managing situations of plagiarism. (shrink)

The first Ethics Bowl competition was established in the 1990s by Dr. Robert Ladenson of the Illinois Institute of Technology to help students reason through ethical challenges they will face in their personal and professional lives, and help them develop responsibilities as citizens of a democracy. Since then, the Ethics Bowl format and its pedagogical goals have been adapted to many other academic disciplines and a variety of student and professional populations. Our aim was to quantify the growth of the (...) Ethics Bowl concept by enumerating and describing extant Ethics Bowl programs, outlining both pedagogical goals and operational aspects. Using respondent-driven sampling, we identified 20 Ethics Bowl programs across the globe, reaching tens of thousands of participants annually, and an additional two programs preparing to launch in the near future. We conclude by making recommendations for pedagogical and operational dimensions of the programs. (shrink)

This paper reflects on the establishment of an Ethics Education Programme for school pupils aged between five and sixteen years who opt out of Catholic Religious Education in Malta. It needs to be seen in the light of the changing demography of Malta and the increasing secularisation of the country, as well as to the growing racism, islamophobia and rejection of the Other to be found all over Europe. We question if the Ethics Education Programme, in its commitment to ‘totalising’ (...) western ideals of rationality, autonomy, and universal values, is itself rooted in discomfort with the Other and constitutes a form of ethical violence. The work of Emmanuel Levinas on Otherness, sameness and violence is central to this paper. (shrink)

Bioethics Education in the Anglo-European context developed since 1970 and was incorporated into the undergraduate and postgraduate education, residency training, and continuous education. In the Asia-Pacific region, bioethics education is less structured and often dependent on contextual constraints. This paper provides a cross-sectional analysis, describing institutional experiences in developing bioethics curriculum at two medical schools in Malaysia and Hong Kong. The medical programmes of the two institutions are distinctive in terms curriculum framework, teaching approach, and topic selection, and common challenges (...) include implementation of bioethics courses, students’ resistance to bioethics, and limited teaching capacity, emerged as they evolve. The reported experiences revealed that there is room for improvement regarding how medical schools integrate bioethics education in regions where curriculum development remains at an early stage. At least, a bioethics education requires both top-down support from the faculty to improve teaching and educational quality, as well as from the bottom-up approach to empower students to raise awareness and concerns toward bioethics, and helps students developing reasoning through challenging issues. (shrink)

Conventional medical training offers little help to students to resolve the ethical dilemmas they face as healthcare professionals. Public awareness of the ethical behavior of medical practitioners has been growing. Aim of this study was to assess knowledge of, practice in and attitudes of healthcare ethics among medical, dental and physiotherapy postgraduate students. A cross-sectional analysis based on a questionnaire was performed at a hospital and dental institution of the medical college. The present study included 60 postgraduate students. The questionnaire (...) on health care ethics is a 44-point self-administered standardized questionnaire that poses ethical dilemmas in 5 vignettes with closed-ended questions to test awareness, attitude and experience in the area of healthcare ethics. In the first half of the questionnaire, knowledge and attitude were assessed using 5 case scenarios representing ethical dilemmas and the participants answered the questions using the 5 point likert scale. The second half assessed the practice of Ethics in research and clinical practice. The expected time to fill each questionnaire was about 10–15 min. 62 questionnaires were distributed. 60 completed questionnaires were returned. The response rate was 96%. The mean age of the postgraduates was 26.23 ± 2.33. Among the participants 28 were male and 32 female. 20 completed questionnaires from each, medical, dental and physiotherapy postgraduate students were collected. The multiple group comparison showed that the difference in the knowledge scores were statistically significant between dental and physiotherapy and between medical and physiotherapy but no significant difference between medical and dental. Study suggests that abstract knowledge cannot be converted into practical knowledge automatically. There is a major lack of knowledge of the ethics of health care among graduate students. The postgraduate curriculum must include a good mix of both theoretical concepts and practical application of multidisciplinary healthcare ethics ethical principles and guidelines. (shrink)

One of the perplexing features of an infectious disease is the damage it causes, not only to physical health, but to mental health and to social relationships. This tension between the separation that is required for safety and the human need for contact is especially felt by institutions of higher education. Many such institutions not only educate students but seek to foster the kinds of communities which have thrived on personal interaction and shared physical space. Different institutions have responded to (...) COVID-19 and its impacts on their members differently. Given that the spring semester will begin months before COVID-19 vaccines are widely available, we offer seven recommendations and argue that for a university, college, or other similarly situated educational institution to ethically respond to the pandemic, it must follow these recommendations. These recommendations are grounded in both scientific research and ethical analysis. Proper ethical analysis, which is necessary for the implementation of good policies, cannot be accomplished without an evidence-based grounding. After describing features of the virus and the situation that faces higher education institutions, in general, we turn to a detailed discussion of transmission. We discuss interventions available to institutions, including masking, hygiene, barriers, and testing and surveillance. Our recommendations are supported by an ethical analysis reliant on four themes: expertise, planning, stewardship, and dignity. (shrink)

This study examined the impact of ethics training engagement on unethical decision-making in the workplace. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. Next, a baseline measurement of ethical ideology was collected using the Ethics Position Questionnaire and participants then engaged in ethics training based on the condition to which they were randomly assigned. They then had the option to read along or listen to a hypothetical scenario about an employee faced with the opportunity to make an unethical (...) decision, and completed the Unethical Decision Questionnaire. Results showed that participants in the passive learning condition were significantly more likely to perceive an unethical situation as ethical compared to participants in the active learning ethics training condition. Additionally, participants in the passive learning condition were significantly more likely to engage in unethical decision-making than participants in the active learning condition. The current findings contribute to the existing literature by providing evidence that active learning in ethics training programs could reduce unethical decision-making within the workplace. (shrink)

In this study, the impacts of two different “methods” for teaching ethics as part of the religious education in the Swedish upper secondary school were compared by means of a non-randomized controlled trial in two parts, involving 542 students. The question was which “method” had the greatest capacity to generate long-term ethical awareness in the students. The intervention condition consisted of students whose teachers were instructed to teach according to the Three Step Model, a teaching method influenced by research concerning (...) how moral autonomy and ethical awareness could be increased by means of instruction and training. The control condition consisted of students whose teachers were instructed to teach basically as usual but with some added guidelines. During the trial, all students were given a pre-test before the ethics section had started and a post-test 10–12 weeks after it was finished. When quantified and summarized, the results showed an advantage of the intervention condition in measure B but an advantage of the control condition in measure A ; however, the advantage of the intervention condition was clearer and stronger. Even though the intervention students did not experience a stronger development, they appeared to have learned significantly more, not least in terms of procedural knowledge in ethical problem solving. The tentative conclusion is therefore that the Three Step Model is a more effective method for increasing ethical awareness, at least if one defines ethical awareness and measures it the way it was done in this study. (shrink)

The role of research ethics consultants in biomedical research has increased to the point that they have an advisory capacity at all research institutes. For such professionals, we have established an educational system, which includes teaching materials, training methods, and nationwide educational workshops. These workshops have served to examine the developed system’s usefulness and to provide realistic training for consultant candidates. In addition, we have used the current workshop to encourage clinical research investigators to participate. Subsequently, we examined its usefulness (...) as an opportunity to provide exposure to research ethics. In October 2019, we held a 1-day pilot workshop in Tokushima, Japan, which included a basic lecture in research ethics. During the lecture, two sets of materials were used for case discussion: case 1, covering issues related to a clinical trial, and case 2, covering issues related to human biological specimens. At the end of the workshop, a 30-item self-reporting anonymous questionnaire was provided. Of the 13 total participants, 9 were clinical research investigators and related personnel, while 6 had no direct intention to act as consultants. Respondents indicated that case 2 was more difficult than case 1. However, both cases were generally accepted as educational materials; thus, satisfaction was expressed in relation to both. As the evaluations of the cases were generally positive, we will further examine the usefulness of participation in the workshop in the cultivation of research ethics in the investigator community. (shrink)