Virtue ethics, CSR and corporate citizenship

The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management values the dignity of the individual; human rights; and equal opportunity. Its Code of Ethics declares a professional’s duty to broader society. The code advocates education to reinforce this ethical outlook. This paper contributes a specific approach towards the practitioner’s ethical understanding. It enlists the critique of Alasdair MacIntyre who strongly criticises much conventional ethical theory. MacIntyre’s teleological approach is joined with a notion of a hierarchy of narratives of ethical expectations in an argument which counsels that public relations must always operate at the highest level of these narratives.

Public relations, activism, and social change: speaking up

Why are some voices louder in public debates than others? And why can’t all voices be equally heard? This book draws significant new meaning to the inter-relationships of public relations and social change through a number of activist case studies, and rebuilds knowledge around alternative communicative practices that are ethical, sustainable, and effective. Demetrious offers a powerful critical description of the dominant model of public relations used in the twentieth century, showing that ‘PR’ was arrogant, unethical and politically offensive in ways that have severely weakened democratic process and its public standing and professional credibility. The book argues that change within the field of public relations is imminent and urgent—for us all. As the effects of climate change intensify, and are magnified by high carbon dioxide emitting industries, vigorous public debate is vital in the exploration of new ideas and action and if alternative futures are to be imagined. In these conditions, articulate and persistent publics will appear in the form of grassroots activists, asking contentious questions about risks and tabling them for public discussion in bold, inventive, and effective ways. Yet the entrenched power relations in and through public relations in contemporary industrialized society provide no certainty these voices will be heard. Following this path, Demetrious theorises an alternative set of social relations to those used in the twentieth century: public communication. Constructed from communicative practices of grassroots activists and synthesis of diverse theoretical positions, public communication is a principled approach that avoids the deep contradictions and flawed coherences of essentialist public relations and instead represents an important ethical reorientation in the communicative fields. Lastly, she brings original new perspectives to understand current and emergent developments in activism and public relations brought about through the proliferation of Internet and digital cultures.

Food fortification : the evidence, ethics and politics of adding nutrients to food

This research book presents a critical analysis of mandatory food fortification as a technology for protecting and promoting public health. Increasing numbers of foods fortified with novel amounts and combinations of nutrients are being introduced into the food supplies of countries around the world to raise populations’ nutrient intakes. Three topical food fortification case studies representing the different public health rationales for adding nutrients to food were assessed for their public health benefits, risks and ethical considerations: Universal salt iodisation (USI) to help prevent iodine deficiency disorders; mandatory flour fortification with folic acid (MFFFA) to help prevent neural tube defects; and mandatory milk fortification with vitamin D (MMFVD) to help prevent vitamin D deficiency. These assessments found that whereas USI performs strongly as a public health intervention, MFFFA and MMFVD are associated with more risks and less ethical justification than an alternative policy option. Food fortification can be a blunt policy response to complex policy problems. The findings highlight that the primary predictor of a mandatory food fortification policy’s benefits, risks and ethics is its ability to address the underlying cause of the policy problem. The analysis of the policy-making processes for each case study found that certain powerful actors use their influence to determine what counts as evidence in policy processes to privilege food fortification activities over alternative policy options. Policy-making frequently was notable for the low prominence it afforded ethical considerations and its lack of public engagement. Priority activities to help strengthen policy processes and outcomes are suggested.

Animal rights and media ethics in Australia: advocacy journalism?

This paper considers the role of animal rights-based Australian law in journalism studies and its connection to instruction of graduate students at a large university based in Victoria. Its case study examples illustrate and develop some of the discussions in journalism studies worldwide of the balance between ethical practice balanced against legal considerations, and whether advocacy and journalism can function together for the benefit of the public interest.

Nurses' experiences of ethical preparedness for public health emergencies and healthcare disasters: a systematic review of qualitative evidence

Little is known about nurses' direct experiences of ethical preparedness for dealing with catastrophic public health emergencies and healthcare disasters or the ethical quandaries that may arise during such events. A systematic literature review was undertaken to explore and synthesize qualitative research literature reporting nurses' direct experiences of being prepared for and managing the ethical challenges posed by catastrophic public health emergencies and healthcare disasters. Twenty-six research studies were retrieved for detailed examination and assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological validity prior to inclusion in the review. Of these, 12 studies published between 1973 and 2011 were deemed to meet the inclusion criteria and were critically appraised. The review confirmed there is a significant gap in the literature on nurses' experiences of ethical preparedness for managing public health emergencies and healthcare disasters, and the ethical quandaries they encounter during such events. This finding highlights the need for ethical considerations in emergency planning, preparedness, and response by nurses to be given more focused attention in the interests of better informing the ethical basis of emergency disaster management.

Virtue ethics, CSR and ‘corporate citizenship’

Purpose

The treatment of sex offenders : evidence, ethics, and human rights

Public policy is necessarily a political process with the law and order issue high on the political agenda. Consequently, working with sex offenders is fraught with legal and ethical minefields, including the mandate that community protection automatically outweighs offender rights. In addressing community protection, contemporary sex offender treatment is based on management rather than rehabilitation. We argue that treatment-as-management violates offender rights because it is ineffective and unethical. The suggested alternative is to deliver treatment-as-rehabilitation underpinned by international human rights law and universal professional ethics. An effective and ethical community–offender balance is more likely when sex offenders are treated with respect and dignity that, as human beings, they have a right to claim.

Ethics of teaching with social media

This paper goes beyond the commonly held concerns of Internet safety, such as cyberbullying. Instead, it explores the ethical dilemmas we face as teachers when using social media, in particular social networks, in the classroom. We believe old ideas of respect and culture of care for children and young people need to be reconstructed around new media. This paper draws on the authors’ experience in teaching with, and researching students’ use of, social media in the classroom. In this paper we explore the ethical issues of consent, traceability, and public/private boundaries. We tackle the complex issue of the rights around virtual identities of the students followed by a discussion on the ethics of engaging students in public performance of curriculum and their lives. Finally we discuss the ethical dilemma involved in recognising and responding to illicit activity. While we reflect on our own response to these dilemmas and propose a dialogic process as the way forward, we also return to the argument that the e ethical choices are dilemmas in which most, if not all, options are unpalatable or impracticable.

Navigating the ethics of cross-cultural health promotion research

Health promotion researchers must consider the ethics of their research, and are usually required to abide by a set of ethical requirements stipulated by governing bodies (such as the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council) and human research ethics committees (HRECs). These requirements address both deontological (rule-based) and consequence-based issues. However, at times there can be a disconnect between the requirements of deontological issues and the cultural sensitivity required when research is set in cultural contexts and settings etic to the HREC. This poses a challenge for health promotion researchers who must negotiate between meeting both the requirements of the HREC and the needs of the community with whom the research is being conducted. Drawing on two case studies, this paper discusses examples from cross-cultural health promotion research in Australian and international settings where disconnect arose and negotiation was required to appropriately meet the needs of all parties. The examples relate to issues of participant recruitment and informed consent, participants under the Australian legal age of consent, participant withdrawal when this seemingly occurs in an ad hoc rather than a formal manner and reciprocity. Although these approaches are context specific, they highlight issues for consideration to advance more culturally appropriate practice in research ethics and suggest ways a stronger anthropological lens can be applied to research ethics to overcome these challenges.

Scientific ethics

Scientific ethics is and should be part of a science education (Chemistry in Australia, February 2014 issue, page 38). The Australian Curriculum implies ethical practice as early as year 2 when collecting and recording observations, and explicitly discussing ethical considerations from as early as year 3, in which students are expected to learn that science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions, and in particular, considering how materials including solids and liquids affect the environment in different ways, and deciding what characteristics make a material a pollutant. As students progress through various year levels, this becomes more involved, for example at year 7, they learn that solutions to contemporary issues that are found using science and technology, may impact on other areas of society and may involve ethical considerations. At tertiary level, students are also expected to have an awareness of the ethical requirements that are appropriate for the discipline. Professional organisations, like the RACI, have long had a Code of Ethics (By-Law 13), and more employers are also introducing formal or informal codes: for example, the Victorian government requires that all public sector employees uphold the following values: responsiveness, integrity, impartiality, accountability, respect, leadership, and human rights.

'How can we go on caring when nobody here cares about us?' Australian public maternity units as contested care sites

BACKGROUND: Provision of personalised, continuous care focused on 'well women' is now central to midwifery identity and work ideals, but it remains difficult in hospital contexts shaped by increased demand and by neoliberal policies. Previous accounts of occupational and work-family conflicts in midwifery and nursing have pointed to the 'moral distress' associated with managing conflicting expectations in health workplaces. QUESTION: This paper examines these issues in the Australian context and considers further the ethical implications of midwives not feeling 'cared for' themselves in health care organisations. METHODS: Qualitative research in several Victorian maternity units included use of interviews and observational methods to explore staff experiences of organisational and professional change. Data were coded and analysed using NVivo. FINDINGS: Midwives reported frequent contestation as they sought to practice their ideal of themselves as caregivers in what they reported as often 'uncaring' workplaces. To interpret this data, we argue for seeing midwifery caring as embodied social practice taking place within 'organisation carescapes'. CONCLUSION: Theoretical analysis of the moral and ethical dimensions of the contemporary organisational structure of maternity care suggests that a practice-based and dialogical ethic should form the core principle of care both for women in childbirth and for their carers.