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A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Administration and Law in filfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Commerce in the Department of Accounting at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2011. / “We are conscious of the reality that corruption in many forms has deeply infected the fibre of our society. Precisely because we face the challenge of dealing with systematic corruption, we need a dispassionate and systematic approach to this question.” Nelson Mandela, at the opening of Parliament (February 17, 1995) It would appear that the integrity of leading organizations, and the ethical behavior of leaders in the workplace, can have a positive impact on the organization as a whole. Many such leaders are moulded and developed in our institutions of higher education. Is there then an onus on these institutions to attempt to instill such ethical values into tomorrow’s leaders? Business ethics courses have in recent years become prevalent world wide, and more recently here in South Africa. The question that begs asking however is: Does teaching an ethics course to students have an effect on their moral judgment, competence and attitudes toward corporate ethics? Many believe that integrity, and hence ethical behaviour, is not something that can be acquired as an adult, but is dependent on your upbringing, social status and perhaps religion. These aspects of life may form a foundation for thinking, but as we are constantly growing and developing, especially in the formative years, they too can be developed. Based on the undisputed need for ethical leaders the following hypothisis was developed. Higher education institutions using a well-designed Ethics instruction programme can positively influence the undergraduate student’s moral judgment competence and attitude toward corporate ethics. A literary review was conducted including both local and international studies. Based on this a survey instrument was prepared, tested and distributed. Solomon’s four group design was chosen as the most appropriate method of research. Although this research showed no statistical or practical improvement in students’ attitude toward business ethics I believe the teaching thereof at least provides the student with an awareness of the situations she/he may encounter on entering the business world. It also provides methods for resolution of conflict both internal and external to which the student may later refer. In this study there were not found to be any significant demographics affecting students’ attitudes, however the sample did have demographic limitations. As significant resources are allocated to the teaching of ethics it would be prudent to conduct further research into the effectiveness of teaching business ethics. The purpose of further research would not be to justify no longer teaching ethics, but to develop a standard of best practice in this regard. We can not change the world overnight and we possibly can not even change the views of an entire group, but if we can just create one ethical leader we have made a difference to the world.

This dissertation provides a theoretical analysis and examination of the role of imagination in the formation of an environmental ethos. The majority of ethical theories in environmental thought largely neglect the role that imagination plays in both the relationships that humans form with their environment, and the subsequent role that imagination plays in constituting the way that those relationships are understood ethically. To explore the role of imagination in constituting and subsequently projecting such an ethical way of being, this dissertation selectively analyzes the history of imagination in philosophy, cognitive science, and environmental thought. In addition, this dissertation also explores the role that images play in forming collective responses to environmental disasters, and the further role that imagination plays in overcoming the moral motivation gap.

Software engineers need to anticipate unintended consequences, including negative impacts on society, individuals, and the environment. Even developers with the best of intentions can walk into ethical traps. This article includes four suggestions for software engineers during system development to help recognize these traps: (1) Look for humans values in technical decisions. (2) Identify stakeholdersgroups and individuals likely to be affected by the system. (3) Examine how the system will affect the stakeholders' rights and obligations. (4) Review relevant professional standards.

Purpose: This short viewpoint is a response to a lead paper on professional ethics in the information age. This paper aims to draw upon the authors’ experience of professional bodies such as the ACM over many years. Points of agreement and disagreement are highlighted with the aim of promoting wider debate. Design/methodology/approach: An analysis of the lead paper is undertaken using a binary agree/disagree approach. This highlights the conflicting views which can then be considered in more detail. Findings: Four major agreements and four major disagreements are identified. There is an emphasis on “acultural” professionalism to promote moral behavior rather than amoral behavior. Originality/value: This is an original viewpoint which draws from the authors’ practical experience and expertise.

Submitted in fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Bioethics and Health Law, Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, University of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg, November 2014 / Vulnerability, an abstract concept in health research, has concrete effects both on those who are labelled vulnerable and those who are not. It has been used increasingly as an exclusion criterion in research but has been the least examined from an ethical perspective despite being linked in most research ethics guidelines and codes, both international and local, to questions of justice and informed consent. Neither has there been an agreed upon standard for identifying and responding to vulnerability. The guidelines, despite categorizing vulnerable research participants into groups and subpopulations, do not offer a robust and comprehensive definition of vulnerability. The study aimed to analyse the notion of vulnerability in health research with a view to constructing an operational definition of the concept which would assist researchers and RECs to identify and understand vulnerabilities and strategize on maximizing protections for the participants without obstructing essential research. Using normative, metaethical and historical methods of bioethical inquiry, this research has shown that the categorization of people into vulnerable groups is not justified as it could result in obstructing research, and paternalistically excluding participants from necessary research, or inadequately protecting participants enrolled in research. The study has resulted in an appropriate operational definition of vulnerability and a Vulnerability Assessment Scale being developed to assist Research Ethics Committees and researchers identify participants with vulnerabilities and develop focused safeguards for their protections. The concept of vulnerability in health research is no longer nebulous and vague and its definition is therefore no longer an unanswered question.

Social determinants of health have become a bit of a buzzword in today’s discussion of healthcare inequities. Social determinants of health are broadly defined as conditions in the places where people live, learn, work and play that affect a wide range of health and quality-of-life risks and outcomes. These factors almost always include education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, economic stability and social and community context. All of these factors play a role in how individuals and communities maintain their health. Social determinants of health plays into the black experience within healthcare, which is a factor in the increase in black maternal morbidity and mortality. An important note to highlight in the increase in black maternal morbidity and mortality is the growing public knowledge of the racial history within Obstetrics and Gynecology. We have these disparities and more and more Americans are learning about this health disparity, yet there are not many articles that highlight the ways to save black women from being just another statistic. I propose that if we focus on improving the public intellectualism of our country through social media, we are then all fighting for the survival of black women throughout pregnancy and post-partum. / Urban Bioethics

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AI-enabled information systems (AI-enabled IS) offer enhanced utility and efficiency due to their knowledge-based endowments, enabling human agents to assign and receive tasks from AI-enabled IS. As a result, this leads to improved decision-making, ability to manage laborious jobs, and a decrease in human errors. Despite the performance-based endowments and efficiencies, there are significant ethical concerns regarding the use of and delegation to AI-enabled IS, which have been extensively addressed in the literature on the dark side of artificial intelligence (AI). Notable concerns include bias and discrimination, fairness, transparency, privacy, accountability, and autonomy. However, the Information Systems (IS) literature does not have a delegation framework that incorporates ethics in the delegation mechanism. This work seeks to integrate a mixed deontological-teleological ethical system into the delegation mechanism to (and from) AI-enabled IS. To that end, I present a testable model to ethically appraise various AI-enabled IS as well as ethically evaluate delegation to (and from) AI-enabled IS in various settings and situations.

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