Historians and their duties

We need to specify what ethical responsibility historians, as historians, owe, and to whom. We should distinguish between natural duties and (non-natural) obligations, and recognize that historians' ethical responsibility is of the latter kind. We can discover this responsibility by using the concept of “accountability”. Historical knowledge is central. Historians' central ethical responsibility is that they ought to tell the objective truth. This is not a duty shared with everybody, for the right to truth varies with the audience. Being a historian is essentially a matter of searching for historical knowledge as part of an obligation voluntarily undertaken to give truth to those who have a right to it. On a democratic understanding, people need and are entitled to an objective understanding of the historical processes in which they live. Factual knowledge and judgments of value are both required, whatever philosophical view we might have of the possibility of a principled distinction between them. Historians owe historical truth not only to the living but to the dead. Historians should judge when that is called for, but they should not distort historical facts. The rejection of postmodernism's moralism does not free historians from moral duties. Historians and moral philosophers alike are able to make dispassionate moral judgments, but those who feel untrained should be educated in moral understanding. We must ensure the moral and social responsibility of historical knowledge. As philosophers of history, we need a rational reconstruction of moral judgments in history to help with this.

El razonamiento moral como elemento constitutivo de la competencia ética: dilemas reales e hipotéticos en profesores de educación secundaria en México

El objetivo del presente texto es la indagación del razonamiento moral en los profesores de secundaria como un elemento de la competencia ética. Se realizó con dilemas morales hipotéticos (analizados y probados previamente para su validación y cuya fiabilidad se obtuvo a través del alfa de Cronbach) y con dilemas reales. Se aplicó a 264 profesores, miembros de la comunidad académica de la Escuela Normal Superior de Michoacán, México. Se analizó a través del programa estadístico Aquad 6. Entre los descubrimientos se encuentra una presencia mayoritaria de conflictos entre las normas éticas interpersonales con las normas de conformidad social y con las normas institucionales particulares. También que la justicia y la protección contra daños a los alumnos son valores presentes en los dilemas reales y una prevalencia en el razonamiento convencional de los profesores

'In the Service of the Honourable East India Company': Politics and Identity in Dean Mahomet's Travels (1794)

The successful career of Dean Mahomet (1759-1851) as a migrant from India to Ireland (and later, England) has led to scholarly and popular interest in his work. His Travels through several parts of India in the Service of the Honourable East India Company (1794) published by subscription in Cork is reputedly the first English book by an Indian, and has been seen to counterbalance the many accounts of India by western travellers, and to assert, in autobiographical form, his identity as an Indian in 1790s Ireland. My paper analyses this text in relation to moral and economic criticisms of the East India Company in the eighteenth century, and in particular to legislation of 1793 which defined the role of the Company in Ireland’s trade with the east. These aspects of colonial politics involving Ireland and India as subject nations of Britain are shown to shape Mahomet’s discursive strategies and the complex identity produced in his text.

The Impact of Ethical Orientation and Gender on Final Year Undergraduate Auditing Students’ Ethical Judgments

This study considers the possibility of auditing students’ ethical judgment being affected by two factors, namely ethical orientation and gender. While tests revealed that more idealistic students judged some unethical situations more strictly than less idealistic students, overall no significant relationship was found between ethical orientation and ethical judgment. The study also reported no significant relationship between gender and ethical judgment. Furthermore, males were as likely as females to be classified as high idealists. Overall, the findings from the current study inform auditing educators that discriminating among students on the basis of ethical orientation and gender may not assist in stimulating students’ discussion and resolution of ethical dilemmas.

The Governance of Sexual Offending Across Europe: Penal Policies, Political Economies and the Institutionalization of Risk

This article examines why England and Wales have comparatively one of the most stringent systems for the governance of sexual offending within Western Europe. While England and Wales, like the USA, have adopted broadly exclusionary, managerialist penal policies based around incapacitation and targeted surveillance, many other Western European countries have opted for more inclusionary therapeutic interventions. Divergences in state approaches to sex offender risk, particularly in relation to notification and vetting schemes, are initially examined with reference to the respective theoretical frameworks of ‘policy transfer’ and differing political economies. Chiefly, however, differences in penal policies are attributed to the social and political construction of risk and its control. There may be multiple expressions of risk relating to expert, lay, moral or emotive aspects. It is argued, however, that it is the particular convergence and alignment of these dimensions on the part of the various stakeholders in the UK – government, media, public and professional – that leads to risk becoming institutionalized in the form of punitive regulatory policies for managing the dangerous.

Educational assessment policy and practice - a matter of ethics

Long-standing concerns within the field of educational assessment consider the impact of assessment policy and practice as matters of equity, inequality and social justice.Yet educational assessment policy and practice continues to have powerful social consequences for key users such as children and young people.This paper re-positions these consequences as a matter of ethics.It uses the work of Messick to frame how ethical matters extend beyond test instruments into the realm of uses and impact. A case study of the 11+ school transfer system in Northern Ireland is presented to illustrate ethical dilemmas emerging as a consequence of actions and decisions of using assessment systems for particular purposes.In looking forward to how we might attend to ethical matters in assessment policy and practice, a consideration of a children’s rights approach is outlined that may provide a moral and legal framework for action.

Climate Change, national politics and grassroots action: an introduction

Climate change continues to dominate academic work within green/environmental politics. Indeed, there appears to be almost an inverse relationship between the lack of political leadership on tackling climate change and the growth in ever more sophisticated academic analyses of this complex and multifaceted problem. There is an increasing disjunction between the growth in our knowledge and understanding of the ethical, political, economic, sociological, cultural, and psychological aspects of climate change and the lack of political achievement in putting in place clear and binding targets, an agreed decarbonisation roadmap, and associated regulatory and policy instruments with enforcement. This gap might be taken as evidence that we do not need more reports on climate change. To quote that most unlikely of green politicians, Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governor of California: ‘The debate is over. We know the science. We see the threat. And we know that the time for action is now’ (California Energy Commission 2007, p. 1). This special issue focuses on a variety of ways in which climate change is conceptualised in normative political and ethical theory, and addressed in policy and regulations.

How Critical Care Nurses' Role and Education Affect Organ Donation

Organ and tissue dysfunction and failure cause high mortality rates around the world. Tissue and organs transplantation is an established, cost-effective, life-saving treatment for patients with organ failure. However, there is a large gap between the need for and the supply of donor organs. Acute and critical care nurses have a central role in the organ donation process, from identifying and assessing potential donors and supporting their families to involvement in logistics. Nurses with an in-depth knowledge of donation understand its clinical and technical aspects as well as the moral and legal considerations. Nurses have a major role to play in tackling organ and tissue shortages. Such a role cannot be adequately performed if nurses are not fully educated about donation and transplant. Such education could be incorporated into mandatory training and completed by all nurses.

Philosophy and Political Engagement: Reflection in the Public Sphere

Do philosophers have a responsibility to their society that is distinct from their responsibility to it as citizens? This edited volume explores both what type of contribution philosophy can make and what type of reasoning is appropriate when addressing public matters now. These questions are posed by leading international scholars working in the fields of moral and political philosophy. Each contribution also investigates the central issue of how to combine critical, rational analysis with a commitment to politically relevant public engagement. The contributions to this volume analyse issues raised in practical ethics, including abortion, embryology, and assisted suicide. They consider the role of ethical commitment in the philosophical analysis of contemporary political issues, and engage with matters of public policy such as poverty, the arts, meaningful work, as well as the evidence base for policy. They also examine the normative legitimacy of power, including the use of violence.

Recreational shore fishing in southern Portugal: biological and socio-economic aspects and perspectives for management

Although overfishing is a concern for many fish stocks, it was for a long time only associated with commercial fishing exploitation, with less or no attention being given to the recreational fisheries. Recent research has shown however that the impact of recreational fishing on particular species can be considerable, and that the recreational harvest needs to be taken into account if fisheries are to be accurately assessed and effectively managed. In Portugal, the first recreational fishing regulations were only recently implemented. However, mirroring other European countries, regulations lacked scientific support, and specific knowledge of the activity was limited to a few studies with limited coverage. This thesis aimed to characterize the biological and socioeconomic aspects of the recreational shore angling activity in southern Portugal, to investigate whether the regulations in place were adequate and effective, and to provide recommendations for improved management and conservation of the inshore fisheries resources. A combined aerial-roving survey was conducted to gather data on fishing effort, catch, fishing trips and socioeconomic aspects (including anglers’ perceptions of regulations) of the recreational angling activity. The analysis of anglers’ catches suggested that compliance with daily bag limits was high, with less than 0.5% of creels exceeding the 10 kg angler-1 day-1 bag limit. Overall, 11.5% of the retained fishes were undersized, but non-compliance with minimum size limits was found to be high for some species (e.g. seabass, 73% undersized). In terms of the impact of recreational shore angling, the total estimated catches corresponded to less than 1% of the commercial landings for the same period (shared species). However, shore angling catches for white sea bream (Diplodus sargus) were found to be considerable, corresponding to 65% of the commercial landings (39.4% of total catch). In terms of anglers’ perceptions about the recreational fishing regulations in Portugal, the present study has shown that the majority of anglers accepted the existence of some kind of SRF regulations, but in general there was a partial or total disagreement with the recreational fishing restrictions recently put in place. Most anglers perceived themselves as not being involved in the decision-making process and claimed that some restrictions lacked a meaningful rationale (e.g. prohibition of fishing from piers/jetties). Fishers’ awareness with regard to specific aspects of the restrictions (such as the rationale for minimum size limits) was found to be very limited. During the same period, catches from sport fishing competitions were examined to test for differences with the recreational activity in terms of catches, and evaluate long term trends in catch and mean size of fish. Catches of the sport fishing competitions were found to be different from those observed for recreational fishing, being dominated by different species (e.g. garfish, mullets), and suggesting different fishing strategies of the the two types of anglers. High percentages of undersized fish were observed to be captured (and retained) during the competitions (in particular seabass, with 100% undersized), probably as a result of a single allowable minimum size (AMS) of 15 cm for all species in use in competitions. Lastly, catch and release fishing experiments were carried out to assess post-release mortality of three recreationally important species: two banded sea bream Diplodus vulgaris; black sea bream Spondyliosoma cantharus; and gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata. Post-release mortalities were found to be low (0-12%). The main predictor of mortality for Sparus aurata was anatomical hooking location, with 63% of the fishes that died being deeply hooked. The results support the release of fish, either from mandatory (e.g. minimum landing sizes) or voluntary practices. In summary, this thesis has demonstrated that the impact of recreational fishing for particular species is significant and needs to be taken into account for more effective management and stock assessment purposes. It has also highlighted several management issues that should be addressed in order to promote more adequate regulations in the future and prevent noncompliance issues. A periodic monitoring of the recreational fishing activity including all fishing modes (i.e. spear fishing, boat, and shore angling) would also be beneficial to ensure a timely knowledge on the global recreational fishing activity and support future management actions.

Legal, Ethical and Professional Issues

The chapter addresses the professional, legal and ethical issues associated with medicines management and the role of the nurse. To ensure safe practice it is imperative safeguards are recognised and applied; therefore pertinent legislative frameworks, policy and professional regulation are discussed. Safeguarding patients when administering prescribed medicines means the nurse must have up-to-date knowledge and skill and a key aspect of this is to ensure consent to treatment from the service user is secured; for this reason drawing on relevant legislation, the consensual process is reviewed. Not infrequently medicine management provokes ethical and legal challenges for the health care professional; these demand reflection and careful consideration; consequently in this chapter legal and ethical parameters and professional boundaries are appraised.

Retrospective research: What are the ethical and legal requirements?

Retrospective research is conducted on already available data and/or biologic material. Whether such research requires that patients specifically consent to the use of "their" data continues to stir controversy. From a legal and ethical point of view, it depends on several factors. The main criteria to be considered are whether the data or the sample is anonymous, whether the researcher is the one who collected it and whether the patient was told of the possible research use. In Switzerland, several laws delineate the procedure to be followed. The definition of "anonymous" is open to some interpretation. In addition, it is debatable whether consent waivers that are legally admissible for data extend to research involving human biological samples. In a few years, a new Swiss federal law on human research could clarify the regulatory landscape. Meanwhile, hospital-internal guidelines may impose stricter conditions than required by federal or cantonal law. Conversely, Swiss and European ethical texts may suggest greater flexibility and call for a looser interpretation of existing laws. The present article provides an overview of the issues for physicians, scientists, ethics committee members and policy makers involved in retrospective research in Switzerland. It aims at provoking more open discussions of the regulatory problems and possible future legal and ethical solutions.

Social freezing in Switzerland and worldwide--a blessing for women today?

This is a critical review of the medical, ethical, judicial and financial aspects of the so called "social freezing", the cryopreservation of a woman's oocytes for non-medical purposes. The possibility of storing the eggs of fertile women in order to prevent age-related fertility decline is being widely promoted by fertility centres and the lay press throughout the world. Research data has shown that social freezing should ideally be performed on women around 25 years of age in order to increase their chances of a future pregnancy. In reality, it is mostly performed after the age of 35. Unfortunately, social freezing is in general not a solution for the underlying societal problems to fit in with professionally active women and having children. It only delays the existing problems. Furthermore, it creates a lot of potential new problems. A great deal more should be undertaken to offer real solutions to the underlying societal problems which are in part: pre-school education, care in the event of childhood illness, and the many weeks of school holidays, acceptance of professionally active women having children, and more job offers with a workload <100%.). Furthermore, society should be informed about the decreasing chances of pregnancy with increasing maternal (and paternal) age as well as the increasing risks of miscarriage and obstetric/neonatal complications. Detailed information for woman considering social freezing is crucial. Every doctor, proposing social freezing to his patients, should be up to date with all these details. Follow-up studies on the outcome of these children are needed.