Ethics

This week, we will consider how deontology applies to immigration.Please familiarize yourself with the basic immigration laws in the United States. What are the duties of someone wanting to come into this country? What are the duties of the United States regarding illegal immigration? Should these laws be changed based upon the categorical imperative? Why/why not?Your approach to this symposium discussion can be a bit more open-ended than the main discussion, remembering that our main goal is to work together to identify the main ethical questions and considerations, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the reasons for different positions one might hold, and come to a better understanding of deontological theory.

Read/review the following resources for this activity:Textbook: Chapter 13 (Rachels, S., & Rachels, J. (2019). The elements of moral philosophy (9th ed.). Mcgraw-Hill Education) (attached)LessonIntroductionIn this session, you have been considering moral-ethical dilemmas you yourself faced or that you know of that you either resolved or failed to resolve, but hopefully learned from. You may never have given much thought to ethical theory nor what ethical premises/paradigms you have unconsciously held.You will be focusing on this case for this assignment:Jane Doe is a nursing student at University X. Jane is in week eight of a course entitled: “Introduction to Ethics”.For the week one discussion, Jane copied work done by her friend John Doe in the same class two months ago (with a different professor). John told Jane it was okay to use his work as John’s professor never checked any work in the class using Turnitin.com. John claimed to have earned an A on the work also.In week two, Jane went to StudentPapering.com and paid ten dollars for a week two essay done by a student (not John Doe) who took the same course four months ago. StudentPapering promises that all its archived work is of excellent quality and cannot be detected as copied. Jane then uploaded an exact copy of the work for the week two assignment.In week three, Jane paid a worker at PaperingStudent.com ten dollars to write for Jane a brand new essay after Jane shared with the worker the essay assignment instructions.In week four, Jane relied on her knowledge of Esperanto. She felt pressed for time and found an article by a professor from Esperanto on the week four topic. She translated Esperanto into English using Moogle Translate, and the translated text served as her week four paper.In week five, Jane was running late again. Jane purposely uploaded a blank paper hoping that she would later claim it was an innocent mistake and not be assessed a late penalty. In a previous course on History, she had done the same (with an earlier paper from the History class rather than simply a blank) and had not seen any late penalty assessed.In week six, Jane took work she did in a nursing course from a year ago and submitted that for her discussion posting in her current class. She simply copied and pasted the work she had labored intensively on a year ago (even though University X forbids this practice as ‘self-plagiarism’). Jane was confident her Nursing instructor never checked that work using Turnitin.com or another method.In week seven, Jane copied and pasted work found on website.com for the paper. Jane did not use any quotation marks or other documentation to show the text was not by Jane.Since Jane’s Ethics professor did not check papers and posting for any issues by using Turnitin.com or another method, the professor graded all of Jane’s work unaware of Jane’s actions throughout the weeks of the class. Jane feels her actions are morally justified both because her economic situation requires her to work too much to devote time to school (although other students are well-off enough to have such time) and her religion forbids cheating, but Jane ignores her religion’s teachings.InstructionsNow that you have had an opportunity to explore ethics formally, create a reflective assessment of your learning experience and the collaborations you engaged in throughout this session. You will submit both of the following:A written reflectionAn oral presentation using a PowerPoint narrated slide show.For the written reflection, address Jane Doe’s and respond to the following:Articulate again your moral theory from week eight discussion (You can revise it if you wish). What two ethical theories best apply to it? Why those two?Apply to Jane Doe’s case your personal moral philosophy as developed in week eight discussion and now. Use it to determine if what Jane Doe did was ethical or unethical per your own moral philosophy.Consider if some of these examples are more grave instances of ethical transgressions than others. Explain.Propose a course of social action and a solution by using the ethics of egoism, utilitarianism, the “veil of ignorance” method, deontological principles, and/or a theory of justice to deal with students like  Jane. Consider social values such as those concerning ways of life while appraising the interests of diverse populations (for instance, those of differing religions and economic status).For the oral presentation, briefly summarize your feelings about taking a course in Ethics and explore your process of transformation in this course.Discuss your experiences of the course, your beginnings, and where you are now. Consider your interaction in discussions.Should health care workers be required to take a course in Ethics? Why or why notWriting Requirements (APA format)Length: 3-4 pages (not including title page or references page)1-inch marginsDouble spaced12-point Times New Roman fontTitle pageReferences page (minimum of 2 scholarly sources)Presentation RequirementsLength: 2-3 minutes

One interesting fact about utilitarianism is that it defines moral goodness in terms of experiences that are felt (pleasure and pain), rather than defining moral goodness in terms of some cognitive capacity (e.g, human reason) or inherent “rights.”  Human beings are not the only sentient (which means “feeling”) beings, so, if utilitarianism is right, other kinds of things–like animals, say–have the capacity to experience moral good and evil because they feel pleasure and pain.  As a result, many contemporary thinkers argue that we must factor at least some animals into our moral decisions.  That raises some interesting questions.  Discuss whether you think some animals’ capacity to feel entitles them to moral consideration, and, more precisely, what such consideration might be.  What, if anything, do we owe animals from an ethical perspective? Each discussion post should be at least 250Do not do outside research or use external sources for this assignment

Written Assignment 1In the lecture “Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do,” Harvard professor Michael Sandel discusses two types of moral reasoning: categorical and consequentialist. Categorical moral reasoning is a type of deontological moral reasoning based on rights and duties regardless of the consequences. Consequentialist moral reasoning bases morality on the consequences of an act rather than the act itself. Sandel describes what is often called the “trolley dilemma.”With the advent of self-driving vehicles we have an updated version of the trolley dilemma. The Moral Machine is a project by MIT that is using crowdsourcing to help make autonomous vehicles “moral.” Visit the Moral Machine website provided in the Study Materials for this module and view the short video. Click “Start Judging” at the bottom of the page and go through a few scenarios.Consider the trolley dilemma that is described in Sandel’s lecture. In an essay of 500 words, discuss the following:Do you find yourself siding with a consequentialist or categorical (deontological) approach to moral reasoning in this case? Why?After reviewing the Moral Machine, describe the observations you can make about yourself in how you are judging moral actions. What ethical questions are being raised for you?Which scenario do you think is most ethical of the two scenarios described below? Which type of moral reasoning (categorical or consequentialist) would support your view? Explain. Consider the legal issues like vehicular manslaughter and liability. Who is accountable? How might laws need to be reexamined to accommodate self-driving vehicles?Scenario 1The self-driving car with sudden brake failure will continue ahead and crash into a barrier. This will result in the following deaths of the passengers in the car:1 man1 woman1 boyScenario 2The self-driving car with sudden brake failure will swerve and drive through a pedestrian crossing in the other lane. This will result in the following deaths of pedestrians:1 man1 woman1 dog(Note that the affected pedestrians are abiding by the law by crossing on the green signal.)Diagram of Scenario 1 on left and diagram of Scenario 2 on right

The mission of the profession as a whole is “to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty” (NASW Code of Ethics). The second section of the Code gives an overview of the purpose and functions and presents a guide for addressing ethical issues. This purpose is defined as determination of values, principles, and standards that can provide guidance to social workers in practice. The Code is meant to be used by “individuals, agencies, organization, and bodies (such as licensing and regulatory boards, profession liability insurance providers, courts of law, agency boards of directors, government agencies, and other professional groups) that choose to adopt it as a frame of reference” (NASW Code of Ethics). The third section, titled “Ethical Principles,” presents the six board principles that can be drawn from the six core values of the profession. These are:Social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems. This principle is drawn from the value of service.Social workers challenge social injustice. This is drawn from the value of social justice.Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person. The related core value is dignity and worth of person.Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships. this drawn from the core value of the importance of human relationships.Social workers behave in a trustworthy manner. This principle is drawn form the value of integrity.Social workers practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise. This is drawn form the value of competence. (NASW Code of Ethics).The fourth section of the Code provides specific standards, or action guides, in six areas of professional functioning. These are also used as a basis for adjudication, both public and self-regulatory, by defining accepted standards of behavior.  The six sections are listed as social workers’:Ethical Responsibilities to ClientsEthical Responsibilities to ColleaguesEthical Responsibilities to Practice SettingsEthical Responsibilities to ProfessionalsEthical Responsibilities to the Social Work ProfessionEthical Responsibilities to the Broader SocietyCase Study:Based on the Code of Ethics and Ethical Decision Making Review this case and apply the Code of Ethics in Resolving the ethical dilemma. Summarize and propose what would be the right decisions for the social worker and/or intern in this case. Remember, your answer is based on your review of the Code of Ethics, your own interpretations and postulations, so everyone should have a different way of looking at it and no answer is concrete, right or wrong.  Minimum 400 word response.The DilemmaWhat follows is an ethical dilemma faced by a student intern who unintentionally acquires information about her client during the course of the field seminar. Read the following case and give some thought to the dimensions of the ethical dilemma and how you, as the social worker, would decide what action to take.Julia is a social work intern placed at a local Family Services Agency. Over the course of the last six months, she has worked with Carla Rodriguez to reunify her with her three children, ages 11, 4, and 3. Carla (age 28) is the mother of Tatiana (age 11), Derrick (age 4), and Angel (age 3). The children were removed to foster care when charges of neglect were substantiated. Derrick and Angel were placed in separate foster homes, and Tatiana stayed with Carla’ sister. Carla’ drug addiction limited her ability to care for her children, who were found to be living in squalid conditions. While the children were in foster care, Carla made a concerted effort to have the children returned to her care. She entered and completed a drug treatment program, and claims now to be “completely drug free.” Carla entered similar programs twice before; this is the first time she completed a program. The children were reunified with their mother two months ago. Carla has been drug free for a number of months and is meeting the minimum standards of care for her children.In the field internship seminar, social work interns were exchanging information about their cases. An intern placed in a local junior high school asked her peers for advice about the group she is running. Taking precautions to change the names and identifying details of the group members, the intern spoke about “Mary’” fears about her family being broken up again “after they just got back together.” Her mother isn’t “doin’ the bad drugs anymore, but she smokes pot with her boyfriend in the apartment.” “Mary” tells the group that her mother told her “not to say nothing to nobody” if she doesn’t want to split up the family. “Mary” doesn’t want her mother’ social worker to find out about the drug use.Julia, the intern working at the Family Services site, realizes that the client being described is the daughter of her client, Carla. Carla has adamantly denied any drug use and always appears “straight” at the time of the agency visits. Julia has no firsthand evidence to suggest that Carla is using drugs. Julia wonders what to do with this information.

What is your understanding of fair use? Discuss the relationship between copyright law and freedom of expression. Why do you think it’s hard to know if fair use will apply in a particular instance? What particular challenges does digital technology pose for copyright law? Share and discuss at least one example of digital content from the web that pushes the boundaries of fair use. (YouTube has some particularly good examples.)

Write a paper (1,500-1,750 words) in which you discuss the relationship between ethical governance, transparency, and the stability of organizations. Include the following in your paper: A research-based discussion of the characteristics of ethical governance. How is ethical governance evident in the operations of an organization? A research-based discussion of the components of organizational stability. How are they are evident in the organization? A discussion of the ethical responsibility of a business to be transparent in its operations. How much is a business ethically obligated to divulge to the public? A research-based discussion that presents the relationship between ethical governance, transparency, and organizational stability.

Carefully read Theodore Dalrymple’s a reader, She Married Him-Alas and type 750 word(min) response in which you address EACH of the following questions in your own word: 1. What is the author main argument 2. How does he supposed his main argument ( evidence, ancillary arguments, etc.) 3. How does the author respond to the theories of cosmopolitanism(discussed in Chapter 7) 4. Do you agree or disagree with Dalrymple’s analysis? Why or why not? (Feel free to include observations from your own experience or that of friends, relatives, or acquaintances.)

Within the Discussion Board area, write 200–300 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas. Use the Internet or the university library to identify a website or an article that discusses a framework for developing and implementing ethical policies and practices. Provide an evaluation of the framework, based on your knowledge from the course text and assigned chapter readings to date in the course. Compare and contrast your prospective of appropriate ethical practices and those stated in the example framework you selected. Using Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) from Bloom’s Taxonomy, respond to the prompts. Be sure to demonstrate a mastery of the course content through the use of analysis, synthesis, and the application of ideas.

ASSIGNMENT: Obtain an attendance policy from one of the following: 1. Your current place of employment 2. A friend or family member’s place of employment 3. An employer in your industry 4. An employer with whom you would like to work The requirements to include in your 150-word discussion post are as follows: 1. Provide information on the location of the attendance policy. (Is it found in the Employee Handbook, the website, etc.?) 2. Provide information on the requirements of the attendance policy. 3. Discuss what you have learned from the attendance policy. (Do you feel that it is fair? Would you make any changes to it? 4. Discuss ways you can improve your own attendance (at your job, in college, extracurricular activities, etc.) Do you have a Plan B?