本土社会工作实务的伦理困境与伦理抉择——基于上海青少年社会工作实践的质性研究

社会工作在实践过程中面临的最大困境是人与文化互动过程所形成的多元可能,这种多元可能往往使实务工作者在提供专业服务过程中遭遇价值抉择的两难。本研究运用质性研究的方法,以上海青少年社会工作者的实践为研究对象,着力探讨当下本土社会工作伦理实践中的困境及抉择。研究发现,本土社会工作常见的伦理困境包括:保密与否、案主自决、利益冲突、专业界限、公平分配、价值冲突、同事关系。而社工在进行伦理抉择时,遵循三大基本原则:案主生命优先原则,法律规定、机构规范优于个人价值,人际关系取向。此外,研究以"人在情境中"的概念为框架基础,提出个体因素(即社工个体对伦理抉择的影响)、问题因素(即伦理困境本身对伦理抉择的影响)、情境因素(即外部环境对伦理抉择的影响)这个三维分析架构来系统分析社会工作伦理抉择中的影响因素及其过程。最后,研究建议要建构本土的社会工作伦理体系,即建构本土导向的社会工作伦理原则、建立操作取向的社会工作伦理机制。     

The systematic application of ethical codes in the counseling of persons who are considering euthanasia

As health psychology develops, psychologists and counseling professionals are becoming progressively more involved with patients who have chronic terminal illnesses such as AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer. Consequently, they will be consulted increasingly by patients, caregivers, and lawyers in cases where euthanasia is being considered. There are numerous ethical dilemmas that could arise when counseling persons who are contemplating euthanasia. Professionals must consider carefully issues such as informed consent, bodily autonomy, respect for a person's dignity, patient welfare, as well as responsibility to society. The national psychological, social work, and medical associations of North America have each adopted a code of ethics. These codes may be used by counseling professionals to assist in the resolution of ethical dilemmas that may arise as a result of working with persons considering euthanasia. This paper discusses the relevance of these codes to the counseling of terminally ill patients.     

Foxes who want to be hedgehogs: Is ethical pluralism possible in psychology's replication crisis?

In this article, we draw attention to public-private dilemmas among psychologists that make sense of the debates around the replication crisis, citation practices and networking practices. We argue that the values of justice and caring map onto the public sphere and private sphere respectively and create the horns of a dilemma for academics. While bureaucratic justice is a publicly revered value of modernity in psychological research that underpins ethics, validity, reliability and equality of opportunity, ‘caring’ is a more subtle value of traditionalism that runs in parallel and is detected only by our psychological practices. In particular, we argue that it is detected by practices such as disputes between the replicated and their replicators in replication studies (understood as a dramatic counter reality) as to who is more ‘careless’ with procedure; citation (including the self-care of self-citation) as thanksgiving and incantation of powerful others in enchantment rituals, and the system of professional indebtedness that accrues in ‘kinship’ networks – where kinship is understood broadly as adoption into a research group and its network. The clashes between these values can lead to a sense of hypocrisy and irony in academic life, as incommensurate values split between private and public expression. From this position, we delve into Isaiah Berlin's work on incommensurate values to suggest that ethical pluralism, involving more public recognition of the equal but different ethical demands of these values can help overcome these everyday dilemmas in the public sphere.     

Caregivers' use of spirituality in ethical decision-making

This qualitative study examined ethical dilemmas faced by female caregivers of frail elders as well as the dominant role of caregivers' spirituality in addressing these dilemmas. Dilemmas are difficult decisions that involve conflicting values, e.g., freedom versus safety. In-depth interviews were conducted with thirteen ethnically diverse caregivers recruited from a home health agency and its parent hospital. Purposive sampling was used to obtain variation among research participants. Focus group interviews of home health staff, key informant caregivers, and interviewees provided guidance for the research design, reflection on findings and development of implications. In order to deal with ethical dilemmas, all caregivers used spirituality as (1) a philosophy of life, e.g., "This is what you do when you're family," (2) an aid to decision-making, e.g., through the use of prayer; and/or, (3) a way to transcend dilemmas, e.g., "no choice is hard." Implications include the importance of caregiver-driven assessment, professional self-reflection, and sustained formal services for caregivers.     

Ethical dilemmas in social research: no easy solutions

Correspondence to Bernard Gallagher, Research Fellow, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Manchester, Dover St., Mancester M13 9PL. Summary Ethical dilemmas have been encountered in many areas of socialresearch and have at times been the subject of much controversy.Despite this, the problem of how to tackle ethical dilemmashas received little attention in the literature. As a result,researchers faced with these dilemmas have little knowledgeto draw upon, and groups associated with research, such as participatingagencies and ethics committees, may not fully appreciate allthe issues involved in dealing with ethical dilemmas. Theseissues are not only philosophical in nature but relate alsoto the methodological and practical implications of followingone, rather than another, ethical principle. The researchersencountered a number of ethical dilemmas in their research inchild protection. By discussing different approaches to solvingethical dilemmas, they intend to show that this is a complexproblem and one which, along with ethics in general, requiresgreater attention in the literature.     

EPA's 2006 Human-Subjects Rule for Pesticide Experiments

Arguing that the 2006 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) human-subjects rule allows use of unethical third-party research (on pregnant women and children) in setting pesticide regulations, this article first (a) provides a brief history of U.S. pesticide regulation, particularly regarding childhood safety. Next it (b) outlines ethical and scientific loopholes in the 2006 EPA rule; (c) shows how the Human Subjects Review Board, mandated by the 2006 rule, has been implemented in flawed ways; and (d) illustrates that one source of problems with the rule may be influence by those with conflicts of interest.     

EPA's 2006 human-subjects rule for pesticide experiments

Arguing that the 2006 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) human-subjects rule allows use of unethical third-party research (on pregnant women and children) in setting pesticide regulations, this article first (a) provides a brief history of U.S. pesticide regulation, particularly regarding childhood safety. Next it (b) outlines ethical and scientific loopholes in the 2006 EPA rule; (c) shows how the Human Subjects Review Board, mandated by the 2006 rule, has been implemented in flawed ways; and (d) illustrates that one source of problems with the rule may be influence by those with conflicts of interest.     

The Ethical Challenges of Socially Responsible Science

Social responsibility is an essential part of the responsible conduct of research that presents difficult ethical questions for scientists. Recognizing one’s social responsibilities as a scientist is an important first step toward exercising social responsibility, but it is only the beginning, since scientists may confront difficult value questions when deciding how to act responsibly. Ethical dilemmas related to socially responsible science fall into at least three basic categories: 1) dilemmas related to problem selection, 2) dilemmas related to publication and data sharing, and 3) dilemmas related to engaging society. In responding to these dilemmas, scientists must decide how to balance their social responsibilities against other professional commitments and how to avoid compromising their objectivity. In this article, we will examine the philosophical and ethical basis of social responsibility in science, discuss some of the ethical dilemmas related to exercising social responsibility, and make five recommendations to help scientists deal with these issues.     

An International Study of Research Misconduct Policies

Research misconduct is an international concern. Misconduct policies can play a crucial role in preventing and policing research misconduct, and many institutions have developed their own policies. While institutional policies play a key role in preventing and policing misconduct, national policies are also important to ensure consistent promulgation and enforcement of ethical standards. The purpose of this study was to obtain more information about research misconduct policies across the globe. We found that twenty-two of the top forty research and development funding countries (55%) had a national misconduct policy. Four countries (18.2%) are in the process of developing a policy, and four (18.2%) have a national research ethics code but no misconduct policy. All twenty-two countries (100%) with national policies included fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism in the definition of misconduct, but beyond that there was considerable diversity. Unethical authorship was mentioned in 54.6% of the misconduct definitions, followed by unethical publication practices (36.4%), conflict of interest mismanagement (36.4%), unethical peer review (31.8%), misconduct related to misconduct investigations (27.3%), poor record keeping (27.3%), other deception (27.3%), serious deviations (22.7%), violating confidentiality (22.7%), and human or animal research violations (22.7%). Having a national policy was positively associated with research and development funding ranking and intensiveness. To promote integrity in international research collaborations, countries should seek to harmonize and clarify misconduct definitions and develop procedures for adjudicating conflicts when harmonization does not occur.     

社会工作伦理困境及其解决方式

社会工作专业的本质是一种道德实践,其对意识形态的介入及专业实践中所涉的道德价值判断和伦理抉择使之不同于一般的专业。社会工作在专业化的进程中包涵着诸多的伦理议题,概括之为：社会工作的道德特质、伦理困境、伦理抉择等。这些构成了社会工作复杂的价值与伦理议胚中的核心议题。对这些问题的探讨有助于进一步澄清社会工作的专业本质,并提升社会工作的专业化水平。     

Reporting bad results: The ethical responsibility of presenting abused women's parenting practices in a negative light

The purpose of this paper is to present and analyse the ethical dilemmas involved in presenting research findings that describe abused women's parenting practices in a negative light. The study was based on data collected by in‐depth interviews for the purpose of examining the turning point among 20 Israeli abused women who refused to live with violence and took active steps to stop it while staying with the perpetrator. Overall the analysis indicated successful survival stories but the women's parenting practices became questionable. This raised dilemmas as to how to present such findings and what are the ethical implications related to interventions with abused women.     

Promoting Compassionate Concern in Social Work: Reflections on Ethics, Biology and Love

This paper challenges proceduralized, rule-bound approachesto ethics and considers how social workers and teams can developan attitude of compassionate concern and become more effectivein dealing with ethical problems in their day-to-day practice.It introduces the work of Humberto Maturana, a widely respectedtheorist, whose work has received little attention in socialwork. The paper argues that Maturana’s biology of cognitionprovides an approach to ethics that takes into account the spontaneousnature of everyday work in which social workers undertake theirethical actions. It stresses the importance of emotions, particularlylove, and considers the way in which ethical action is shapedby culture. It emphasizes the importance of engaging in reflectionon professional practices and team, professional and organizationalculture in order for social workers to improve their awarenessof ethical dilemmas and promote ethical practice. For thoseteaching ethics, this paper suggests an alternative to the rationalconsideration of moral dilemmas and proposes approaches to trainingthat can help social workers become more attuned and responsiveto ethical conflicts.     

When RIP means research in progress--the use of brain dead subjects in medical research

Recent research reported in a number of medical journals highlights some of the problems associated with performing experiments with human subjects who have been declared dead using the brain death criteria of death. These reports provide interesting illustrations of some of the real dilemmas involved in the regulation of human subjects experimentation. In particular, the traditional method of balancing risks and benefits in determining the ethical acceptability of research on human subjects is thrown into question. It is suggested that there should be a moratorium on the use of brain-dead subjects in research until some of the issues can be clarified and appropriate guidelines for the conduct of this research can be prepared.     

Self-Plagiarism and Textual Recycling: Legitimate Forms of Research Misconduct

The concept of self-plagiarism frequently elicits skepticism and generates confusion in the research ethics literature, and the ethical status of what is often called “textual recycling” is particularly controversial. I argue that, in general, self-plagiarism is unethical because it is deceptive and dishonest. I then distinguish several forms of it and argue against various common rationalizations for textual recycling. I conclude with a discussion of two instances of textual recycling, distinguishing them in terms of their ethical seriousness but concluding that both are ethically problematic.     

Ethical Dilemmas and Areas of Social Work Intervention in Spain

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the types of ethical dilemmas that Spanish social workers face in their respective areas of intervention. The intervention areas that have been studied are health, children, immigrants, women, family, marginalized persons, ethnic minorities, young people, prisoners, elderly people, refugees and asylum seekers, schools and social and employment-related integration, mental health, disability and drug addictions. A quantitative methodology was chosen using a version of the questionnaire prepared by Eileen J. Ain in a sample of 700 Spanish social workers. The statistical analysis shows the correlation between the different areas of intervention in Social Work and the most significant ethical dilemmas that such professionals have to solve. The most pertinent ethical dilemmas are found in the healthcare sector (confidentiality, disclosure of personal information and patient autonomy). The article is an important contribution for Social Work at the national level that emphasizes the importance of the ethics of Social Work in social interventions. It is proposed to deepen the investigation of each of the areas of intervention for future research, as well as to carry out comparative studies between different countries.     

A new approach to assessing ethical conduct in scientific work

The intent of the current article is to describe the development of a new approach to the study of ethical conduct in scientific research settings. The approach presented in this article has two main components. The first component entails the development of a taxonomy of ethical events as they occur across a broad range of scientific disciplines. The second involves the identification of proximate criteria that will allow systematic and objective evaluation of ethical behaviors through low-fidelity performance simulations. Two proposed measures based on the new approach are intended to identify and measure variations in the scientific environment that might predispose certain individuals to make unethical decisions.     

Researching Risk in the Probation Service

This paper will draw upon research and consultancy experience across a number of projects on risk assessment and management in the Probation Service between 1993 and 1999. The projects reflect a range of sponsors and funders, from central government bodies such as the Home Office and the Scottish Office, to professional, managerial and employment bodies such as the Association of Chief Officers of Probation and the Central Council of Probation Committees, to individual Probation Service areas. The projects have required engagement with different levels of staff and different vested interests, including the professional/union bodies representing the management and officer grades respectively, in addition to central government policy makers. All the projects have had an applied policy and practice focus. The paper begins with a review of current ethical and political dilemmas in research on offender risk assessment, and then contemporary responses to ethical dilemmas are critically reviewed, followed by an outline of 'practice guidance' for researchers. The paper concludes by arguing that researchers in the social arena should be subject to the same standards of defensible decision making as their counterparts in social care practice, and that essential to such defensibility is the transparent demonstration of the 'grounds' upon which ethical decisions are made.     

社会工作伦理教育:现状与反思

社会工作实践中几乎所有的实践工作原则都涉及伦理原则,或者是建立在伦理原则的基础之上,伦理方面的内容融入到了所有阶段的社会工作教育中。目前,在中国的社会工作教育中出现了严重的重知识、重技术,轻伦理现象。伦理知识的缺乏导致社会工作实践中伦理困境的频繁出现,而伦理困境解决的草率性和不一致性,已经严重影响到社会工作的专业化与职业化。加强中国社会工作伦理议题的研究,重视本土的社会工作伦理困境的探讨、将社会工作伦理教育纳入整个社会工作课程体系是社会工作教育及实践发展的重要环节。     

Physician duties in the conduct of human subject research

In this article, I examine a skeptical argument against the possibility of ethically justifying risky human subject research (rHSR). That argument asserts that such research is unethical because it holds the possibility of wronging subjects who are harmed and whose consent to participate was less than fully voluntary. I conclude that the skeptical argument is not in the end sufficient to undermine the ethical foundation of rHSR because it fails to take account of the special positive duty researchers owe their clients and future patients. Although the skeptical argument is defeated, it exacts certain novel concessions from the pro-research position. Of particular importance are the admissions (a) that researchers presumptively owe a fiduciary duty to research subjects, (b) that because the most important risks of rHSR are unknown and unquantifiable that duty must be explicitly waived by all subjects before they participate in any protocol, and (c) that such waivers must be made by individuals who satisfy objective criteria of competence for giving fully voluntary consent. The implementation of procedures responsive to these concerns might have a dampening effect on the conduct of research. However, the article concludes with a consideration of the likely benefits to researchers and society of a more cautious ethical regime.