Managing for Survival explores the ways in which individuals holding management roles in secular non-government human service organisations in South Australia deal with the potential and actual conflict between their personal values, the implicit values of their agency and the tasks required of them by the demands of the economic and political environment in which their agency operates. Changes in the requirements and practices of management, due to changes in government funding and support as a result of economic reform, are the focus of the research. Particular attention is paid to the strategies adopted by managers to cope with the shifting priorities and requirements of a restructured community service industry. / thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2003.

This thesis examines the re-emergence of the design manifestos since the 1990s to articulate what these manifestos tell us about the morality of design. By doing so, I have hypothesised that these manifestos offer moral dimensions to design by espousing ethical, social and civic values. These moral dimensions invite specifically, graphic designers to look closely at their actions as design agents and to incorporate research, theory and practice as a unit of design process. In so doing, the graphic designer will work towards a user-centred outcome while showing sensitivity to their society, culture, politics, technologies and natural environments. This thesis also presents my project explorations drawn from my hypothesis of the moral dimensions of design to extract insight to the graphic design process and practice encouraged by the six manifestos. This highlights that design offers infinite possibilities within any given context to the community of users and determines that the incorporation of responsibility must be part of everyday design practice. / Master of Arts (Hons)

This thesis explores the ethical development of social workers and the role of supervision in that development. It begins with an examination of the social work context for the study, including the early history of social work and the ways in which it was influenced by the major social and cultural movements of the late 20th century, concluding with a discussion of both the threats posed and the possibilities emerging for social work in the 21st century. It then considers the ethical context for the study. It investigates the ethical theories and traditions that have contributed to the development of social work ethics and the role of professional ethics (including codes of ethics). It then proposes that a pluralist approach to social work ethics is the most appropriate way forward. This is followed by an examination of ethical development and the importance of reflection. Various models of ethical decision-making are compared and an inclusive, reflective model is found to be the most appropriate for social work in terms of both particular dilemmas faced and the overall development of workers as ethical decision-makers. The focus of the thesis then moves to supervision, exploring its history, its central place in social work and some of the problems that can arise for both supervisors and the social workers they supervise. It is argued that the reflection required to develop as ethical decision-makers is most logically located within the relationship and processes of supervision and that supervisors have an important role in guiding that reflection and development. The next part of the thesis describes the qualitative and action research strategies employed and examines the results emerging from the data. Participants in the focus groups were social workers who supervise other social workers, and they each met for two sessions, six months apart. Between the two sessions, they were asked to trial in supervision a framework for reflection on practice. The data emerging from the groups reflected the theoretical development begun in the early chapters, including the importance of reflection and the role of supervision in assisting the ethical development of workers, particularly in terms of deconstructing dilemmas and being able to articulate the reasons for decisions made. The thesis concludes that no one ethical theory is sufficient to support the ethical decision-making required for the practice of social work. Rather, a pluralist approach that allows a dilemma to be considered from a number of theoretical perspectives is more appropriate. Alongside this, an inclusive, reflective model of ethical decision-making reflects that pluralist approach and supports the ethical development of the individual worker. Supervision is vital in guiding the reflection required to make justifiable ethical decisions and to develop as ethical decision-makers.

The aim of this thesis is to propose and defend a maxim to serve as a foundation and guideline for professional ethics in nursing. The thesis is informed by philosophical ethics and by first-hand knowledge of professional nursing practice.

One of the reasons for firms decentralising aspects of their operations is to enable managers to gain specialised knowledge of local conditions. For credit managers in a banking firm, this may take the form of knowledge of investment opportunities and the risk profiles of each of these opportunities. In light of principal-agent problems that arise when information is asymmetrical, the focal point of this dissertation is the development of incentive-compatible mechanisms that facilitate the free and accurate disclosure of the private information of managers on the risk profile of investments to the centre of the bank at the time investment decisions are being implemented. These mechanisms are required because managers may have strong incentives to misrepresent their private information when doing so has the potential to favourably impact on the size of their remuneration. This, in turn, has a direct impact on the ability of the centre to optimally allocate the capital of the bank and effectively price risk into bank investments. The dissertation commences by examining which internal risk measures act to align the investment decisions of managers in a bank with the risk/return goals of the centre of the bank. This requires knowledge of the bank risk preference function. It is initially assumed that managers have developed specialised knowledge of the opportunity set of available investments, and have no reason to misrepresent this information to the centre. This assumption is later removed and the implications assessed. In order to ensure incentive-compatibility between the centre and managers, a truth-revealing mechanism is employed in the capital allocation process and tied to the compensation payment function of the bank. This mechanism acts to ensure managers disclose their private information on the expected risks and returns in the investments under their control, and facilitates the efficient investment of capital within the bank. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This portfolio addresses the moral, ethical and legal issues that impact upon decisions to maintain or disclose confidential communications. The tensions and moral dilemmas that are created when a conflict between these aspects arises are considered. Risk assessment procedures that inform decisions to maintain or disclose confidential information are discussed, as are issues related to the practical implementation of planned interventions. The topic is addressed by firstly reviewing professional codes of conduct and legal requirements to maintain confidentiality. The limits of confidentiality and privileged communication are then reviewed together with legal requirements of “duty to warn” or “duty of care”. These requirements are then related to risk assessment procedures and relevant interventions. Four case studies that illustrate the practical application of assessment techniques in the decision process and planned interventions are presented. They cover such diverse topics as disclosure and suicidal intent, threat of harm to a third party, risk of transmission of the AIDS virus and “duty to warn” and maintenance of a minor’s confidential communications. The ways in which these issues were addressed and the outcome is presented. NOTE: All names and details that have the potential to identify the people whose cases are presented here have been changed to protect their anonymity.

In this work, I argue that the Alexandiran position on feticide found in Hellenistic Judaism and appropriated by patristic, medieval and reformed theologians is defensible in the 21st Century. I formulate an argument from the Alexandrian position as it appears in several representative Christian traditions. This argument contends that that: [1] killing a human being without justification violates the law of God, [2] a formed conceptus (i.e. a fetus) is a human being and [3] that in the case of feticide (at least in the majority of cases) no justification is forthcoming. In developing my case, I argue that the objections raised against the premises of this argument by contemporary philosphers are unsound. I defend the intellectual acceptability of belief in and appeals to the existence of a divine law, the notion that a formed fetus is a human being and the claim that feticide lacks any justification in the vast majority of cases. In addition, I examine and critique theologians who claim the Alexandrian position is motivated by misogyny and those who claim it appropriates a translation error found in the Septuagint. I conclude that the traditional position is defensible and that contemporary dismissals of it are unconvincing.

Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to revolutionise both the practice of medicine and our understanding of the human body. Although the usual technical and financial limitations of research apply, perhaps the greatest obstacle to the progress of this research at the present time is the ethical concerns surrounding the destruction of early human embryos. The established debate over the ethical significance of the early embryo has thus taken on renewed importance. Within biology stem cell research has begun to overturn some long held assumptions about the roles of genes and cellular interaction in development. Building on recent advances in stem cell biology I develop a concept of Form that neatly captures what it is to be individuals like us in biological terms. Form not only defines a biological individual that exists across time regardless of changes in its physical constituents but also provides the biological foundation for our higher mental properties and our identity as persons. At the heart of the embryo debate is confusion over what human individuals are and therefore when they began. Defining when we began as the ethically significant individuals that we are now is the key to the embryo debate. Our metaphysics of identity is thus crucial to understanding the moral significance of the embryo. Compared to alternative understandings of identity within the debate surrounding the embryo Form provides compelling reasons why the very early embryo, at the stage that embryonic stem cells are derived, lacks any right to life or associated ethical significance. The derivation of embryonic stem cells is thus found to be ethically permissible.

Murder is not a phenomenon that sits comfortably with the typical image of nurses and yet the number of cases of nurses accused and convicted of murdering patients is mounting. The nursing literature is quiet on the subject and therefore what is generally known on the topic predominantly comes from the media. An analysis of this seemingly unfathomable phenomenon is required to re-consider the problem and understand from new perspectives how and why this is happening. The aim of the study is to provide information for health professionals and organisations that will help them work together to recognise situations in which murder by nurses can occur. The research question is: How do the various discourses surrounding murder committed by nurses on patients in the course of their work shape the definition and treatment of these crimes? A discursive analysis of texts guided by a number of discourse theorists is undertaken to reveal the social construction of murder of patients by nurses. Texts related to the media and professional reporting of over 50 cases of registered nurses, enrolled and licensed nurses and assistants were retrieved from searches of Factiva, CINAHL and MEDLINE between 1980 to 2006. The software program JBI-NOTARI® (Joanna Briggs Institute, 2003b) houses the texts and facilitated analysis. Discursive constructions are reported in four findings chapters and include: the profile of murderous nurses; types of murders; contexts in which murder takes place; factors that aid detection and apprehension; legal processes that guide charges, convictions and punishment; and finally the reactions of the public, the profession, the regulators and the families. The murder of patients by nurses is construed as a combination of extraordinary nurses, extraordinary deeds in ordinary contexts. While members of the nursing profession may not be held accountable for the actions of aberrant nurses who murder there is a responsibility to understand how hospitals and units form crucibles in which murder can take place. The recommendations from this study relate to both practice and research. Practitioners are recommended to critically reflect on structures and processes. / Thesis(Ph.D.)-- School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, 2008

<p> </p><p>The number of hidden refugees in Sweden is estimated to be at least 15,000. The law, which only allows this group a very limited access to health care, can be considered to clash with the human rights and the ethical codes related to the health care professionals.</p><p>The aim of the study was to examine how the personnel in public health care may experience treating hidden refugees and which ethical conflicts that may be connected to this. The study, which is of a qualitative descriptive design, is based on eight semi-structured interviews. The interviewees were trained nurses and mid-wives in an emergency room, a maternity ward and a health care centre for asylum seekers.</p><p>The experience of treating hidden refugees amongst the informants was limited. The study proved that the knowledge of laws and guidelines regarding hidden refugees amongst the interviewed health care personnel was poor. The interviewees presumed that it would be mentally trying if the law impeded them from giving a patient the care needed.</p><p>The lack of knowledge of laws and guidelines that appeared from the interviews, may lead to an insecurity for the patient, as well as for the personnel. An increasing knowledge and accurate guidelines at the work place would improve the treatment of hidden refugees.</p> / <p> </p><p>I Sverige uppskattas att det finns minst 15000 gömda flyktingar. Lagstiftningen, som endast tillåter en begränsad vård för den gruppen, kan anses stå i konflikt med de mänskliga rättigheterna och sjukvårdspersonalens yrkesetiska koder.</p><p>Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur sjukvårdspersonal som arbetar inom landstinget kan uppleva vård av gömda flyktingar och vilka etiska konflikter som kan vara kopplade till detta. Studien, som är en intervjustudie med kvalitativ deskriptiv design, baseras på åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer. Informanterna utgjordes av sjuksköterskor och barnmorskor på akutmottagning, BB-avdelning och en vårdcentral för flyktingar.</p><p>Informanternas erfarenhet av att vårda gömda flyktingar var begränsad. Det framkom av studien att kunskapen om lagar och riktlinjer gällande vård av gömda flyktingar hos den intervjuade sjukvårdspersonalen var bristfällig. Informanterna förutsatte att det skulle vara psykiskt påfrestande om lagen hindrade dem att ge vård till en patient.</p><p>Den brist på kunskap om lagar och riktlinjer som framkom av intervjuerna, leder till en osäkerhet för både patienten och personalen. Ökad kunskap om lagar och ordentliga riktlinjer på arbetsplatsen skulle underlätta vården av gömda flyktingar.</p><p> </p>