The dual-use dilemma arises in the context of research in the biological and other sciences as a consequence of the fact that one and the same piece of scientific research sometimes has the potential to be used for bad as well as good purposes. It is an ethical dilemma since it is about promoting good in the context of the potential for also causing harm, e.g., the promotion of health in the co...

INTRODUCTION This paper aims to raise awareness regarding ethical issues in the context of humanitarian action, and to offer a framework for systematically and effectively addressing such issues. METHODS Several cases highlight ethical issues that humanitarian aid workers are confronted with at different levels over the course of their deployments. The first case discusses a situation at a ma...

CONTEXT For medical education researchers, a key concern may be the practicalities of gaining ethical approval where this is a national or local requirement. However, in qualitative studies, where the dynamics of human interaction pervade, ethical considerations are an ongoing process which continues long after approval has been granted. Responding to ethical dilemmas arising 'in the moment' re...

Many business organizations seem to be doing everything but making ethical organizational decisions these days. In stark contrast, social enterprises are organizations that operate as businesses but are altruistic, humanitarian, and seek the goal of creating social value in effective, efficient and ethical ways. This paper applies principles of social enterprises to develop a multi-perspective ...

background: research in reproductive health (rh) has been located in the core of women’s health research. providing accurate information through conducting scientific and controlled research is essential, but increased number of research in the world especially in developing countries in rh area in order to introduce advanced technologies has been resulted in much unethical, illegal and abusive...

Internet users' behaviors are dependent on their ethical dimensions. But ethics are quite relative concepts and they have dimensionality over culture, situation, and personal interests. Due to the various ethical dimensions, conflicts arise at an individual level, collective level, and societal level. In this paper, such ethical dimensions in the information society are discussed in the context...

Evaluating the practice of ethical review by Research Ethics Committees (REC) could help protect the interests of human participants and promote scientific progress. To facilitate such evaluations, we conducted an ethnographic study of how an REC reviews research proposals during its meetings. We observed 13 meetings of a Dutch REC and studied REC documents. We coded this material inductively a...

Ethics committees are the most important practical instrument of clinical ethics in Belgium and fulfil three tasks: the ethical review of experimental protocols, advising on the ethical aspects of healthcare practice, and ethics consultation. In this article the authors examine the current situation of ethics committees in Belgium from the perspective of clinical ethics. Firstly, the most impor...

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