Ethics

A Picture is Worth A Wrong Million Words

Submitted by Carte Blanche on April 23, 2017 - 5:32pm

In our increasingly digital age, photography has become popular and the role of photojournalists has grown in the media, however, “the special problems of violence and truth telling in wartime and issues of how to handle graphic images across media platforms receive virtually no attention” (Keith 2009). The English Oxford Dictionary defines photojournalism to be “the practice of communicating news by photographs...” (English Oxford Dictionary).

You are the Monster, the "No Russian" controversy of 2009

Submitted by Error on April 20, 2017 - 11:51pm

           At the time of its release in 2009, Infinity Ward’s new Call of Duty game, “Modern Warfare 2”, was critically acclaimed and viewed as one of the best video games to have ever been released in its genre. The game was praised for its entertaining multiplayer and its story driven campaign[1], but it was faced with massive controversy at launch. Why?

A Pluripotent Problem: The Ethics of Stem Cell Research

Submitted by A Hand Wagon on February 10, 2017 - 2:09pm

            In recent years, stem cell research has been a cause for debate among scientists, doctors, and philosophers about the implications of the fundamental methodology encompassing said research. Most stem cell research is performed by destroying a human embryo that is several days old, harvesting the cells from the blastocyst for testing and experiments (Stem Cell Basics III).

Organ Transplantation: Health Authorities' Battle against Illness and Grief

Submitted by Dragoneye on February 10, 2017 - 2:08pm

              In Canada, health institutions are not obliged by the law to grant the family of the deceased the right to veto the donor’s consent to organ donation (qtd. in Zafar). Yet, many health authorities choose to respect the bereaved relatives’ wishes of preserving the deceased’s body in spite of the latter’s clear consent. It is essential that medical professionals use virtue ethics in order to do the surgical removal of organs and balance the deceased’ interests, the family’s concerns and the patients’ needs.

Society's Need for Characters of Colour

Submitted by decemberlynn on November 25, 2015 - 1:20am

Society's Need for Characters of Colour

Many Duties are Stronger Than One

Submitted by LaNavarra on September 15, 2015 - 1:44pm

Many Duties Are Stronger Than One

 

M[us]lims: How the Media Feeds [Us] Opinions

Submitted by Hanafian on April 1, 2015 - 11:51pm

In a perfect world, the media would be unbiased and would simply inform people of certain events and issues, instead of feeding them opinions. In the real world, this does not hold true. Because of the media’s powerful influence and presence, almost anything that they display is taken to heart, and strongly affects a population’s thoughts and beliefs. The media needs to act responsibly when informing the population, as to not cause damage or distress to a significant sample of the population at large.

Ethical Issues Regarding the Availability of Harmful Models for 3D Printing on Online Media

Submitted by rudmill on April 1, 2015 - 4:22pm

A 3D printer is a device that uses additive manufacturing, typically through a process of depositing heated polymer layer by layer in order to build 3D objects from a digital model file. In recent years, the development and proliferation of hobbyist and consumer grade additive manufacturing or 3D printing machines has opened up a whole world of possibilities. There are numerous off the shelf consumer grade 3D printers available as well as dozens of free do-it-yourself designs published online on websites such as reprap.org.

Food for Thought: Misrepresentation of GMOs in Social Media

Submitted by platonicorchestra on April 1, 2015 - 9:43am

       Since about twenty years ago, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are a part of our everyday world. With the goal of producing seed variants that are more resistant to pesticides as well as being capable of warding off insects, scientists were able to create a “superior” amalgam of organisms by merging the DNA of various species and make large-scale farming a more efficient method. Today, the world produces more food than it actually needs. However, this relatively new science presents many unknowns, and scientists and the public alike are not all yet ready to accept its safety.

The Media Sensationalizing Stories for Profit

Submitted by notoriousirm on March 31, 2015 - 9:31pm

The American media is dominated by many different news outlets that shape the perceptions and opinions of a broad section of the population. One of the most popular in this market is CNN, which is a 24-hour news channel that is considered to be one of the most popular in North America. Many people automatically turn to CNN whenever they want to watch to the news because they have known it for years. When it started broadcasting, it was the very first television station to focus only on news broadcasting, which revolutionized the news delivery.