Curriculum development for professional ethics in Australian human service university programmes

Australian academics and practitioners in the human services are particularly susceptible to social, political and economic influences in respect of their relevance, viability and operations. In fact, it can be argued that the impact of these influences has placed human service practitioners and academics in a perpetual state of vulnerability. Australian universities have been challenged to make their programmes more relevant and viable to the community at large, and practitioners face increasing workloads with limited resources based on restricted fiscal allocation, and the changing relationship between government and service providers. Drawing on interview data from twenty-one (n = 21) practitioners, this article highlights their identified problems regarding the notion of professionalism in the human services with a particular focus on ethical dilemmas in human service practice. Gleaning these details will be a basis for recommending necessary professionalethics curricula content in human services programmes offered in Australian universities. Moreover, while the research data is Australian based, the authors contend that the universal theories and principles underpinning human service practice justify the significance and value of the data as an important source for international consideration in curriculum development of human service academic programmes.

Does research into sensitive areas do harm? Experiences of research participation after a child's diagnosis with Ewing's sarcoma

Objective: To investigate family members' experiences of involvement in a previous study (conducted August 1995 to June 1997) following their child's diagnosis with Ewing's sarcoma. Design: Retrospective survey, conducted between 1 November and 30 November 1997, using a postal questionnaire. Participants: Eighty-one of 97 families who had previously completed an in-depth interview as part of a national case-control study of Ewing's sarcoma. Main outcome measures: Participants' views on how participation in the previous study had affected them and what motivated them to participate. Results: Most study participants indicated that taking part in the previous study had been a positive experience. Most (n = 79 [97.5%]) believed their involvement would benefit others and were glad to have participated, despite expecting and finding some parts of the interview to be painful. Parents whose child was still alive at the time of the interview recalled participation as more painful than those whose child had died before the interview. Parents who had completed the interview less than a year before our study recalled it as being more painful than those who had completed it more than a year before. Conclusions: That people suffering bereavement are generally eager to participate in research and may indeed find it a positive experience is useful information for members of ethics review boards and other gatekeepers, who frequently need to determine whether studies into sensitive areas should be approved. Such information may also help members of the community to make an informed decision regarding participation in such research.

Board composition and corporate performance: How the Australian experience informs contrasting theories of corporate governance

In many respects, Australian boards more closely approach normative best practice guidelines for corporate governance than boards in other Western countries. Do Australian firms then demonstrate a board demographic-organisational performance link that has not been found in other economies? We examine the relationships between board demographics and corporate performance in 348 of Australia's largest publicly listed companies and describe the attributes of these firms and their boards. We find that, after controlling for firm size, board size is positively correlated with firm value. We also find a positive relationship between the proportion of inside directors and the market-based measure of firm performance. We discuss the implications of these findings and compare our findings to prevailing research in the US and the UK.

Quality perception in research laboratories from Fiocruz after QMS implementation

Quality Management System has been implemented at the René Rachou Research Center since 2003. This study investigated its importance for collaborators (Cs) in laboratories. This was a quantitative and descriptive study performed in a group of 113 collaborators. It was based on the World Health Organization handbook: Quality Practices in Basic Biomedical Research. The questionnaires evaluated the parameters using the Likert scale. Biosafety, training and ethics were considered to be the most important parameters. Supervision and quality assurance, data recording, study plan, SOPs and file storage achieved intermediate evaluation. The lower frequency of responses was obtained for result report, result verification, personnel and publishing practices. Understanding the perception of the collaborators allows the development of improvement actions aiming the construction of a training program directing strategies for disseminating quality.

Clinical research monitoring: scenarios and challenges

Clinical research is essential for the development of new drugs, diagnostic tests and new devices. Clinical monitoring is implemented to improve the quality of research and attain high ethical and scientific standards. This review discusses the role of clinical monitors, taking into account the variety of scenarios in which medical research is developed, and highlights the challenges faced by research teams to ensure that patients rights are respected and that the social role of scientific research is preserved. Specific emphasis is given to the ethical dilemmas related to the multiple roles which clinical monitors play in the research framework, mainly those involving the delicate equilibrium between the loyalty to the sponsor and to the research subjects. The essential role of clinical monitoring for research developed in poor healthcare scenarios is highlighted as an approach to get the local infrastructure strengthening needed to achieve an adequate level of good clinical practices.

Board independence and innovation

Legislation introduced in the U.S. in 2002/2003 significantly changed board composition of public firms by imposing a 50% independent directors’ ratio. Research on the effect of independent directors is not consensual, implying that this exogenous shock is a unique opportunity to study their importance. This study answers the question of whether or not independent directors can effectively mitigate agency conflicts between shareholders and the management, having a positive impact on the choice of successful R&D projects. We find that an increase of board independence has a positive impact on patent counts. Hence, the results support that independent directors truly spur innovation and risk taking.

Responsible research and innovation: a global perspective

Based on the paper presented at the Doctorate Conference on Technologogy Assessment in July 2013 at the University Nova Lisboa, Caparica campus

Appreciating the power of words and imaginative organizing: A triadic model of ethics practiced in everyday conversations

This thesis provides an alternative framework to analyze power and ethics practiced in everyday conversations, which constitute processes of organizing. Drawing upon narrative frameworks, the analyses of messages posted on an online message board demonstrate people’s imaginative capacity to create relevant stories, in respect of their precise grasp of factual understandings, contextual relevance and evaluative/moral appropriateness, by appropriating others’ words. Based on the empirical analyses, the thesis indicates that studies on power and ethics in organizations can be re-oriented towards appreciating irremediable power imbalances by offering alternative ways of member’s denoting experiences of power.

Responsible research and innovation: a global perspective

Based on the paper presented at the Doctorate Conference on Technologogy Assessment in July 2013 at the University Nova Lisboa, Caparica campus

The impact of the Board of Director's composition on companies performance

The impact of the Board of Directors’ composition on companies’ performance This paper studies the impact that the board of directors’ composition has on companies’ performance in the Italian market. The research has been carried out by using a sample of 10 Italian companies, across different market sectors, over a period of 10 years (2005-2014). The characteristics of the BoD taken into consideration are the following: board size, board diversity (% of female directors), board independence and CEO duality. Results from the sample data collected concluded that these factors have a statistically significant impact on the performance of the companies that have been analysed.

Factors associated with the donation and non-donation of embryos for research: a systematic review

Background: Systematic knowledge on the factors that influence the decisions of IVF users regarding embryo donation for research is a core need for patient-centred policies and ethics in clinical practice. However, no systematic review has been provided on the motivations of patients who must decide embryo disposition. This paper fills this gap, presenting a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies, which synthesizes the current body of knowledge on the factors and reasons associated with IVF patients’ decisions to donate or not to donate embryos for research. Methods: A systematic search of studies indexed in PubMed, ISIWoK and PsycINFO, published before November 2013, was conducted. Only empirical, peer-reviewed, full-length, original studies reporting data on factors and reasons associated with the decision concerning donation or non-donation of embryos for research were included. Eligibility and data extraction were performed by two independent researchers and disagreements were resolved by discussion or a third reviewer, if required. The main quantitative findings were extracted and synthesized and qualitative data were assessed by thematic content analysis. Results: A total of 39 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. More than half of the studies (n ¼ 21) used a quantitative methodology, and the remaining were qualitative (n ¼ 15) or mixed-methods (n ¼ 3) studies. The studies were derived mainly from European countries (n ¼ 18) and the USA(n ¼ 11). The proportion of IVF users who donated embryos for research varied from 7% in a study in France to 73% in a Swiss study. Those who donate embryos for research reported feelings of reciprocity towards science and medicine, positive views of research and high levels of trust in the medical system. They described their decision as better than the destruction of embryos and as an opportunity to help others or to improve health and IVF treatments. The perception of risks, the lack of information concerning research projects and the medical system and the conceptualization of embryos in terms of personhood were the most relevant motives for not donating embryos for research. Results relating to the influence of sociodemographic characteristics and reproductive and gynaecological history were mostly inconclusive. Conclusions: Three iterative and dynamic dimensions of the IVF patients’ decision to donate or not to donate embryos for research emerged from this review: the hierarquization of the possible options regarding embryo disposition, according to the moral, social and instrumental status attributed to embryos; patients’ understanding of expectations and risks of the research on human embryos; and patients’ experiences of information exchange and levels of trust in the medical-scientific institutions.

Annual report of the National Science Board.

7th ed.

Annual report of the National Science Board.

5th ed.

Annual report of the National Science Board.

8th ed.