Sociology

Introduction

One of the main conditions of modern society’s successful development is its dependence on the moral principles and canons which are worked out and accepted by society to regulate the character of relations within it. Moral principles belong to the field of ethics which influences all the aspects of people’s life. Thus, people are oriented to following the moral norms which are developed to control the elements of their personal life and interpersonal relations, and there are also moral codes and canons which can be successfully used for realizing business activities and business relations.

These principles are in the field of business ethics. Moreover, each profession has its code of ethics according to which the relations within the definite industry or company are realized. The codes of ethics for different professions as the aspects of the people’s lives must depend on the traditional approaches to moral norms and principles which were argued by such philosophers as Aristotle, Kant, and Bentham.

Thus, the canons, rules of practice, and professional obligations for engineers are based on the elements of the ethics developed by these philosophers in the context of the person’s voluntary nature to perform this or that action, with dependence on his or her moral duty for this action, or on discussing this action according to its right or wrong consequences.

The Code of Ethics

It is stated in the preamble to the code of ethics for engineers that “the services provided by engineers require honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity, and must be dedicated to the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare” (“NSPE Code of Ethics”). Thus, the activity of engineers as professionals is oriented to those moral concepts which are also accentuated as influential ones in the persons’ everyday life.

Furthermore, these concepts are also associated with the group of moral virtues such as truthfulness, forgiveness, and integrity which were determined by Aristotle. Shrader-Frechette indicates with references to Aristotle that “one can deliberate only about what is within one’s power to do” (Shrader-Frechette 187). That is why engineers should focus on their specific responsibilities by paying attention to their code of ethics which regulates the moral aspect of the relations between the employers, employees, partners, and clients.

The code of ethics for engineers is based on a range of the fundamental canons about which the rules of practice and professional obligations are stated. Thus, engineers should “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public” (“NSPE Code of Ethics”).

That is why engineers should orient to the necessities of the public, and one of the engineers’ professional obligations is based on this principle, and it is formulated in such a way that “engineers shall at all times strive to serve the public interest” (“NSPE Code of Ethics”). In this case, Bentham’s ideas about the benefits of the actions are met, and Kant’s categories of the universal law and the moral duty are realized according to which a person uses his or her will and control the actions to address the interests of the society (Birks; Velasquez).

These notions are addressed in the context of engineers’ rules of practice in which the main accents are made on justice, legitimacy, and truthfulness. The mentioned principles are also associated with the canon according to which engineers should “issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner” (“NSPE Code of Ethics”). Thus, objectivity and truthfulness as the representations of Aristotle’s moral virtues become the main aspects of the positive atmosphere of professional communication. Engineers as any person should determine the priorities of their actions. Following the principles of ethics, these priorities should be directed to the moral good which was accentuated by the philosophers.

One of the rules of practice for engineers states that they “shall perform services only in the areas of their competence” (“NSPE Code of Ethics”). Why is this rule so significant with references to the ethical canons? A person should be always responsible for his or her actions. The person’s actions should be supported by the sincere desire of realizing the good action and motivation to do it about the highest good to which it is aimed. Thus, Aristotle indicates that many goods depend not only on the virtues and the balance between the extremes but also on the human voluntary nature and the person’s intention to reach happiness in life (Curzer).

That is why the person’s moral character which develops about the basics of the definite virtues and in combination with orientating to the goals’ completion forms the fundament of the individual’s decision-making process and further actions. Aristotle explains the personal intention to reach happiness as a complex process that can be satisfying only when an individual realizes the definite successful actions for achieving this goal (Curzer).

These actions should be critically thought over and effectively presented. Thus, today people can say that these actions should be proficient or competent. Moreover, according to Aristotle, the phenomenon of overacting is also as negative as the person’s lack of experience or skills. From this point, it is important to concentrate on Aristotle’s principle of the ‘golden mean’ as the balance between two extremes which can be successfully used with references to any field of the people’s activity.

If Aristotle accentuates the human voluntary nature, Bentham develops this notion and indicates that people in their actions should orient to the benefits which could satisfy a great number of persons. According to Bentham, people’s actions are regulated by two main factors or concepts which are the ideas of pain and pleasure. It is an individual’s task to make the choice which depends on the objective vision of the actions’ good or bad results which are presented as pleasure or pain. People can refer to the predictability of the consequences and choose between wrong or right actions with paying attention to minimizing or maximizing their effects (Birks).

That is why these actions should be not only good but also competent, and the issue of competence is also discussed as the rule of practice for engineers which is based on the principles of their truthfulness. It is formulated as “engineers may express publicly technical opinions that are founded upon knowledge of the facts and competence in the subject matter” (“NSPE Code of Ethics”). Engineers should be skillful and experienced to be sure that the results or consequences of their professional activity are positive, and according to Bentham, they provide benefits or ‘pleasures’.

Moreover, the person’s actions should be so good that they could be perceived as addressed to the universal laws and that is why, according to Kant, they should form the categorical imperative. The ethics performed by Kant is known as deontological ethics. That is why its main concepts are the ideas of duties, laws, and rules (Velasquez). Kant disagrees with Bentham about the point that the human choice is influenced by the objective vision of the situation.

Kant is inclined to refer to the personal choice of this or that action which is based only on the subjective understanding of the concept of moral duty. However, this action should become a categorical imperative. The notion of the categorical imperative depends on the idea of maxims or major moral rules and duties which people should follow in their everyday life. This conception can be also used with references to the profession of engineers.

All their professional actions should be so morally right that this type of behavior could be followed by other people. According to Kant, it means that these actions could be perceived as the universal laws of morality. Thus, not to make harm to those people who are involved in the process, engineers should be competent in their actions and be responsible for their performance in the field of morality. It is stated in the code of ethics that “engineers shall avoid deceptive acts” (“NSPE Code of Ethics”). This formulation can be explained as the realization of Kant’s principle in practice.

Engineers’ professional obligations also include such a point according to which engineers should “adhere to the principles of sustainable development to protect the environment for future generations” (“NSPE Code of Ethics”). The problem of technological sustainability is closely connected with the possible technological risks which can be the result of the industry’s activity. Shrader-Frechette argues the fringe between the advantages of those technologies which are risky and the moral obligation of those persons who are involved in their production (Shrader-Frechette).

If the person’s moral task is to orient to the benefits for the people, is it possible to realize the hazardous technologies which can be harmful to the public and nature? According to the ideas of Utilitarianism, these technologies have both the right and wrong consequences for various people and different aspects of life (Birks). However, according to Kant’s principles, such a situation is morally wrong because it is not universally good (Velasquez).

To present the universally good actions, a person should not be influenced by any other opinions or visions of this or that issue. From this point, Aristotle emphasizes the necessity of personal self-control and liberality as one of the influential virtues (Curzer). To be satisfied and happy without the inclination to experience the impact of other people’s ideas on morality, an individual should be independent and should not concentrate on his or her financial state and as a result, betray the moral principles. However, one of the main risks for the person is the orientation to pleasure which is accentuated as an important concept by Aristotle and Bentham.

People can also strive to reach pleasure with references to immoral or wrong actions. That is why it is mentioned in the list of the engineers’ professional obligations that they “shall not be influenced in their professional duties by conflicting interests” (“NSPE Code of Ethics”). This obligation is associated with the problem of a person’s moral choice. Despite the fact, the majority of people are inclined to admit the necessity of the following life according to the moral virtues proclaimed by Aristotle and according to the principles stated by Kant and Bentham, a person always tries to find the most beneficial approach for his or her realization, and this approach can be based on any bad factors which can lead to the negative consequences.

Conclusion

Thus, the origins of the person’s morality and the person’s code of ethics are in his voluntary nature which forms motivation and in his will and duty. To follow the universal moral laws or live according to the moral virtues are not an easy task, but according to the philosophers, it is a single way to a happy life full of pleasures that is in harmony with the laws of nature. That is why people develop the codes of ethics about which it is possible to regulate the aspects of life in society and also use these principles in the organization of their professional activity.

Any company functions as a group of people who are in constant relations, and to guarantee the development of the company with a minimum of negative and conflict situations, it is necessary to work out the code of ethics according to which the interactions are regulated and controlled. Moreover, many professions have their specific features which should be also reflected in the code. That is why the code of ethics for engineers which depends on the main moral principles is significant for the profession’s development.

Works Cited

Birks, Thomas Rawson. Modern Utilitarianism; Or, the Systems of Paley, Bentham, and Mill Examined and Compared. USA: Nabu Press, 2010. Print.

Curzer, Howard. Aristotle and the virtues. USA: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.

NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers 2006. Web.

Shrader-Frechette, Kristin. “Technology and Ethics”. Philosophy of technology. Eds. Robert Scharff and Val Dusek. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. 187-190. Print.

Velasquez, Manuel. “Moral Reasoning”. The Blackwell Guide to Business Ethics. Ed. Norman E. Bowie. USA: Blackwell, 2002. 102-116. Print.

Nowadays, equality is one of the significant issues in different spheres, and labour is not an exception. It is generally accepted that all employees should be paid on equal terms, but the actual situation is far from being perfect (Grant, 2016, para. 26). The gendered division of labour is an ideal example of this contradiction: in comparison with male workers, female professionals’ income is lower in the vast majority of cases.

In order to improve the situation and bridge the gap between men’s and women’s wages, one should concentrate on the reasons that led to this imbalance. In this paper, the historical background is described, and several factors that made an impact on the division of labour are identified. Later on, the ideological factors are examined, and their relation to the past and the present is traced. Finally, the modern situation in the field of the Canadian labour is considered.

Historical Factors

The reasons for the inequality of women in the today’s labour include several historical factors, such as wars, rapid economic development and the increased consumption of products, the trade-union movement, and the women’s movement. It is important to state that the history of Canada is closely connected with the processes all over the globe, and the role of the international influence is essential.

First of all, before the World War I, women were normally employed as teachers, servants, housekeepers, launderers, and so on; in other words, only “female” occupations were represented. However, the war changed the distribution of the workforce in Canada. Because men served at the front, women had to perform men’s duties and work for lower wages as much as men did (Pupo, Glenday, & Duffy, 2011, p. 163). The same scenario is relevant to the Second World War. One can state that women’s lower wages became the precedent, and this model was translated to the further development of labour.

The next factor is the substantial economic growth. In the 1950s, Canada was characterized by the high speed of the development. New products and services appeared quickly, and the urgent task was to involve more employees in order to produce the goods or services and satisfy the customers’ needs (Krahn, Hughes, & Lowe, 2014, p. 10). As a result, new workplaces were created, and women were offered new opportunities. In spite of the fact that the number of working women grew and the list of the available jobs became longer, female employees’ wages remained low. In that period, the pay gap was large, and the traditional approach was still present.

One of the reasons for women’s involvement in labour was the necessity to earn more money. It may be explained by the growing needs and desires of people. If a family wanted to afford more high-quality goods and services, both partners had to work (Krahn et al., 2014, p. 89). Apart from that, education began to play an essential role, and parents, naturally, wanted to provide their children with the best education. Schools became another area of expenditure, and both parents needed to work in order to earn enough money.

Another important historical factor concerns the political events and trade-unions. This movement became significant since the rights of workers and justice were the focus of attention. When the trade-union movement was on the rise, female workers were involved in labour, but men tended to consider their work unskilled. At the same time, they needed to protect the rights of all workers including women, and it was a kind of dilemma (Pupo et al., 2011, p. 49).

It may be said that cooperation within trade-unions became an effective instrument, but women did not rely only on this type of political actions. Apart from that, they started the women’s movement. There was a wide range of ideas, for instance, the demands to recognise women’s social, economic, legal, and political positions in society (Krahn et al., 2014, p. 91). Thus, work issues were also addressed.

Female employees wanted to achieve greater equality in wages and working conditions and draw attention to discrimination, impossibility to be hired for certain jobs, family-oriented policies, proper day care facilities for children, protection from sexual harassment, and so on (Krahn et al., p. 92). Overall, the women’s movement made a considerable impact on the history in the context of the gender division of labour.

Ideological Factors

Another group of factors that have an effect on the gendered division of labour in Canada refers to the ideological issues. The historical factors identify the background and influence the present-day situation to some extent. On the other hand, the ideas that a particular society welcomes and promotes help understand the perspectives of the development and future opportunities and threats. The ideas describing the gender inequality in labour are diverse.

The family wage ideology is one of the basic ideologies that affected the society and continue to do it at the moment. The main idea is connected with labour segregation, and the unequal pay for doing the same type and amount of work is justified. This ideology provides the explanation why women were culturally devalued as employees, and their low wages were not viewed as a big problem: male workers’ wages were more significant for their families in the past (Krahn et al., 2014, p. 172). Even nowadays, this distribution of forces is sometimes understood as the standard.

Another system of ideas and beliefs that also makes a great impact is the ideology of household work. According to Krahn et al. (2014), this type of activities is considered to be “the largest and the most serious omission” because it was not seen as work (p. 59). In fact, performing these duties, a woman was thought to be doing what is natural and imperative. It means that the traditional division of powers “man-breadwinner” and “woman-housekeeper” is the only possible model of life, and a woman is expected to do all housework willingly because it must be a labour of love.

The management ideology is the third set of cultural beliefs that can influence people’s perception of labour and gender issues. It focuses on detailed job descriptions, planned workflows, time, and motion (Krahn et al., 2014, p. 238). Although it is not directly associated with gender issues, the traditional approach, and personal opinions may make an impact on the choice of either female or male employees and the way of interaction. For instance, women might be considered to be more suitable for the teaching career than men.

Finally, the blaming-the-victim ideology may form the attitude towards the gendered division of labour. The essence of this ideology is that it is a person who does not want to make an effort and change the unsatisfying situation. It is assumed that workers are “careless, accident-prone, or susceptible to illness” (Krahn, 2014, p. 87). In other words, employees usually have low regard for their workers, and their opinion may consist of stereotypes. If this ideology is close to the employer’s belief, female workers may suffer from this attitude and fail to be successful.

The Present-Day Situation

The gendered division of labour in Canada is characterised by the influence of the historical and ideological factors. Besides, to understand why a person earns a certain wage, it is logical to take into account their education and hours of work. However, the present-day tendencies do not always correspond to the situation. Nowadays, the importance of labour equality and the labour segregation become the issues of the greatest concern, and it gives ground to hope for the future improvement.

One of the peculiarities of the labour in Canada and its job market is the predominance of the educated women. The recent data demonstrate that women’s educational attainment has surpassed that of men (Grant, 2016, para. 1). At the same time, it is emphasised that the level of imbalance is high: a female employee earns about 73.5 cents for every dollar her male peer makes (Grant, 2016, para. 1). There are no objective reasons for these phenomena, and the only explanation is that gender is the criterion.

The second characteristic that may help calculate one’s wage is the scope of work: it is believed that women make less money because they prefer part-time or flexible hours. Still, this fact is explained by the hours on unpaid household and care work: women spend twice as much time as men (Grant, 2016, para. 14). It does not account for lower wages of women who work full-time. Thus, one can say that gender issues play the critical role in terms of wages.

The modern tendencies demonstrate that the situation is not favourable. Labour segregation is present: women concentrate in the health care and education sectors, and female workers “are more likely to live below the poverty line, work part time, and hold minimum-wage jobs” (Grant, 2016, para. 21). At the same time, there are some facts that bring hope. For instance, the Canadian society has started supporting the idea of gender equality in labour. Besides, the problems of female migrants and aboriginal women are discussed. It is probable to state that the ideologies and approaches of the past still linger, but the modern frameworks are becoming more popular.

Conclusion

To sum it up, the gender division of labour is a pressing problem today. The historical and ideological factors form the basis of the people’s perception. From the historical point of view, the traditional model of labour force balance was influenced by wars, economic advancement, social progress, and trade-union and women’s movements. On the other hand, the ideologies that were created in the past are powerful nowadays: they make an impact on modern employers to a large extent.

The family wage ideology, the ideology of household work as a “labour of love,” the management ideology, and the blaming-the-victim ideology are still common. The latest facts, such as understanding the importance of labour equality and public discussions, indicate that the society wants changes. It is possible that the issue of the gender division of labour will be addressed in the nearest future, and all persons will have equal opportunities.

References

Grant, T. (2016). Women still earning less money than men despite gains in education: Study. The Globe and Mail. Web.

Krahn, H., Hughes, K. D., & Lowe, G. S. (2014). Work, industry, and Canadian society (7th ed.). Toronto, ON: Nelson College Indigenous.

Pupo, N., Glenday, D., & Duffy, A. (2011). The shifting landscape of work. Toronto, ON: Nelson College Indigenous.

Introduction

A community comprises of families as basic units, which are a group of people living together in organized societies. Individuals in a community have various roles that the society deems suitable for them. Most of the gendered roles are usually unwritten or informal, and thus, their definition hinges on the informal rules that leadership in the society presents. Organization in a community presents itself in the manner in which individuals undertake their roles. The roles defined by leadership explain that people in the society have defined roles and activities that they have to undertake. Over the recent past, various communities have experienced challenges relating to changes in cultures and lifestyles that pose a threat to the traditional settings of a community. The challenges of gendered roles cause conflicts in a community because of the changing lifestyles and perceptions among people. Therefore, the essay explains the occurrence of community conflict owing to gendered roles of women.

Community Conflict on Gender Roles

A Community is a social structure that has organized leadership and defined social responsibilities for people to perform. Definition of roles always focuses on gender, age, and authority. For instance, the society believes that some roles are suitable for men, women, youth, or children. The elders usually play the authoritative role in a community. According to Sudha (2000), the major role that a community deems suitable for women in the society is domestic chores, which happen within the homestead and in the house. In contrast, the roles of men are limitless because they are the sole breadwinners of families. On the other hand, male children assist their fathers in activities that they undertake, while daughters help their mothers in performing domestic chores.

Over the recent past, communities experienced challenges related to cultural changes that the new generation accords to culture. The changes in perceptions that the new generation accords to the provisions of culture owes their emergence to factors like technology, education, and economy (Brubaker & Zimmerman, 2009). The initial roles assigned to women are shifting since modern women are educated and liberal as opposed to their past counterparts, who were highly attached to cultural provisions. In addition, gendered roles, which reflect men as a dominant gender because they act as the sole breadwinners, have changed with time.

Currently, both men and women participate in fending for their families. The shift in roles and perceptions about the cultural provisions has generated conflict between conservative and civilized individuals in the community. Change oriented individuals believe that some provisions of culture are no longer applicable in the modern society, while those associated with a culture hold on to its provisions and perceive those associated with change as drifters.

Current Situation

Currently, several communities define the roles of women as domestic duties and limit their freedom to areas around the homestead and the kitchen. Some of the domestic chores associated with women include washing, cooking, and looking after children in the family. Block (2009) explains that the gender roles restrict women to the kitchen and the homestead, but give the man the freedom to leave the house and act as the sole breadwinner of the family. As a result, women perform their chores diligently without complaining since cultural provisions define these roles. A breach of these roles usually causes conflicts in the family and the community. Therefore, women do not question the practicability of their gendered responsibilities since they also hold the notion that culture is unquestionable and its provisions are indisputable

Women spent most of their time caring for the children, cooking, and cleaning, while men perform activities such as professional jobs or businesses. Invisible cultural assumptions, values, and beliefs guide the roles that a community imposes on its individuals (Brubaker & Zimmerman, 2009). Comparatively, the majority of the roles assigned to women are more demanding than those assigned to men. Therefore, in some way, the community exploits women in terms of roles that it defines for them. The misconception that culture is indisputable has made women engage in their chores without complaining. After a long day of working or engaging in businesses, men retire to their houses and relax, while women continually perform their domestic duties without retiring.

Conditions that Has Led to the Current Situation

The current state of community conflict between men and women is due to cultural beliefs and assumptions. Over time, the society has defined gender roles basing on the assumptions and norms provided by the culture. Culture has dictated the roles that men and women perform in the society and has outlined systems that address any breach of its provisions. According to Block (2009), the impact of cultural orientations is evident even in schools where boys and girls associate themselves with the roles defined by culture. Culture also provides rules and guidelines that govern the behaviors of people in a community. Cooking, cleaning house, washing household items, and caring for the welfare of individuals in the family are among the roles that culture assigns to women. Therefore, the current state and gender roles emanate from cultural beliefs, assumptions, and orientations in the community.

The implications of the roles that the community assigns to women are a reduced self-esteem and morale. The roles play a major function in demeaning women in the society since the community links the roles to weaker individuals. Therefore, the community believes that women fall under the cluster of weaker individuals and that they have no option, but they have to perform their responsibilities diligently. Inadequate education and stringent laws provided by individuals in some communities act as barriers to the liberation of women from the current exploitation.

Brubaker and Zimmerman (2009) assert that education, technology, and economic empowerment are some of the drivers that bring changes to community settings hinged on cultural norms and beliefs. As a result, women from various communities in the world suffer silently from the demanding nature of their responsibilities. The suffering that women experience in various countries, especially in developing countries, causes conflict because conservative and civilized individuals hold different values in the community.

Points of Intervention

Some of the possible points of intervention in the current conflict of gendered roles of women include education, legislation, and empowerment. Education cuts across gender and age in the community. The focus of education is to highlight the importance of equal treatment of individuals, irrespective of their genders in the community. In addition, education outlines the fact that all people in the community have similar capacities and that no one is less capable. Effective education is a very practical intervention in managing conflict that exists between men and women in the community. The conflict occurs when the negative impacts of gendered roles exceed positive impacts, and consequently lead to protests about the problems of women (Kriesberg, 2007). Education also broadens the perspective of gendered roles and thus enables people in the community to look at women from a positive point of view.

Empowerment of the community in terms of the economy and skills is essential in the process of solving the conflict linked to cultural orientations and gender roles of women. The conflicts that are prevalent in various communities in the world transpired because some individuals do not have adequate empowerment in economic, social, and political aspects. Through empowerment, individuals living in a certain community shift their opinions and perspectives concerning their culture in line with the merits and demerits that they experience.

According to Sudha (2000), empowerment enables the community to understand that men and women have equal abilities and that each person deserves respect from others. Another intervention strategy that is useful in countering the community conflict owing to gendered roles is the enactment of legislations that advocate for equal treatment of all individuals in different communities, irrespective of their age and gender. The laws must have the capacity to discipline and reprimand individuals, who breach the provisions of these legislations.

Possible Future With and Without Intervention

Effective intervention of community conflict linked to gendered roles of women results in changes of individual perceptions in a society concerning women. The intervention promotes respect and assertiveness in the society since people know that everyone in the community is worthy and important. In addition, the intervention of a conflict initiates a peaceful co-existence among all people in communities as opposed to the prevailing destructive conflicts associated with gendered roles. Notably, a destructive conflict exists when the demerits of gendered roles outweigh the merits (Brubaker & Zimmerman, 2009).

On the other hand, absence of interventions compounds the conflict and escalates it to reach a destructive level since protests and demonstrations increase in a manner that corresponds to the suffering that women experience. Therefore, without proper intervention measures, problems that women experience in terms of gendered roles cause conflict to escalate and reach a full course, where violent protestations and torrential demonstrations emerge.

Conclusion

For several years, women and men have engaged in various roles dictated by cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions. However, technology and education have introduced a conflict between conservative and civilized individuals. The conflict occurs because the demerits of the roles assigned to women outweigh their merits. As a result, there is a conflict relating to the roles associated with various genders. Some of the measures useful in intervention of the conflict include education, legislation, and empowerment of communities. These interventions have the ability to change perceptions of cultural beliefs, values, assumptions, and gendered roles.

References

Block, P. (2009). Community: The Structure of Belonging. San Francisco: CA: Barrett Koehler Publishers. Web.

Brubaker, D., & Zimmerman, R. (2009). The Little Book Of Healthy Organizations: Tools for Understanding.San Fransisco: Good Books. Web.

Kriesberg, L. (2007). Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Web.

Sudha, D. (2000). Gender Roles. London: APH Publishing. Web.

Introduction

Digital media have become a significant element of the majority of people’s lives. Hardly any individual refrains from checking updates on a variety of social platforms many times during the day. Apart from the social component, such networks also present an opportunity to obtain data, become aware of news issues, and express one’s opinions on different subjects. In recent decades, the role of social media in formulating users’ attitudes toward democracy has increased considerably.

While some argue that digital social platforms serve as a basis for expressing views freely, others are concerned about the amount of disinformation being offered to users in the disguise of news. Among the negative implications of inaccuracies published on social media, a particular threat is posed to democracy. Despite providing opportunities for communicating and sharing information, excessive use of and trust in social platforms can lead to the destruction of basic principles of democracy.

The Role of Social Networks in Users’ Awareness of and Participation in Political Processes

Nowadays, one cannot possibly imagine spending a day without being exposed to a variety of pieces of news and information coming from different sources. Media, whether social or not, has become one of the most active actors in this process. The so-called Web 2.0 platforms, such as Twitter or Facebook, offer a favorable environment for online communication that contributes to the “reinvigoration” of the public sphere in which users are involved (Ellison & Hardey, 2014, p. 21).

According to Ellison and Hardey (2014), social networks have the potential to restore individuals’ participation in local processes. Hence, residents could become not only service consumers but also democratic actors through being actively engaged in their community’s or country’s political processes. Due to the possibility to remain in constant touch with other social media users, people can share opinions or comment on others’ expressions of ideas without any time or space limits. As a result, people are free to choose and discuss specific policies, policymaking strategies, and governance modes (Ellison & Hardey, 2014). This function of social media may be treated as a positive feature.

The active role of social media in shaping people’s political interests and attitudes has been emphasized recently. Ellison and Hardey (2014) remark that Web 2.0 played a “seminal” role in political protests organized in many countries (p. 22). However, scholars note that such events could hardly be referred to as the expression of democracy. Rather, social media are viewed as a means employed by local authorities to affect their citizens’ decisions and choices.

Gerbaudo (2015) refers to such use of media as the ways of mobilizing, organizing, and recruiting individuals. Hence, apart from exploiting social platforms for connection and communication, they may be employed for innovative ways of reflecting radical political views. For anti-globalization activists, social networks have become the means of creating independent self-managed platforms.

At the same time, for popular wave defenders, social websites swerve as an extensive medium of mass mobilization (Gerbaudo, 2015). In line with Ellison and Hardey’s (2014) innovative term Web 2.0, Gerbaudo (2015) suggests the notion of populism 2.0 that labels an ideological direction viewing social media as an approach to address people. These new concepts help to understand the media’s effect on democracy.

Unlike traditional populists, the activists of the 2.0 modification exploit social media instead of mass media to reach their purpose of addressing large numbers of individuals. Since the ideas of populism have some issues in common with democracy, one might assume that the emergence of innovative technologies has allowed activating democratic endeavors. Newly arriving parties and movements use social platforms to resort to a profoundly varied mass of people with the aim of organizing them against political elites (Gerbaudo, 2015).

According to Gerbaudo (2015), typical populism characteristics, such as demanding unity, seeking democracy, and being distrustful toward intermediaries, may be combined with the core aspects of social media’s ideology, including directness and interactivity. However, despite these efforts and achievements, it is not viable to consider that sharing populist views is the same as improving democratic ones.

Whereas many researchers consider that social media have the potential to involve people in political processes, there are also scholars who defend a contrary opinion. McChesney (2015) notes that the interconnection between communication, economy, and culture is so intense that modern users’ activity is twice as great as that during Information Age. However, along with the increased access to various media types, the interest of users in political processes has not risen.

McChesney (2015) notes that citizens’ engagement in political and social issues has fallen considerably. The scholar calls the contemporary era “increasingly depoliticized,” meaning that people’s political involvement is rather low (p. 2). Being free of governmental control, media are supposed to encourage democratic political views. Paradoxically, though, they have turned to be a “significant anti-democratic force” in the USA (McChesney, 2015, p. 2). Although the researcher focuses on all media in his book, it is reasonable to apply his observations to social media, in particular.

The role of social media in people’s lives is increasing, but their involvement in democracy does not seem to be enhanced by means of social platforms. It is undoubted that such websites support the right to free speech, but users are not highly interested in participating in political processes. Social media are used to mobilize people, but practice demonstrates that such mobilization largely results in revolts and protests rather than peaceful collaboration intended to find democratic resolutions to problems. In this respect, it is necessary to analyze the ways how Internet users exploit social platforms for consuming news.

News Consumption on Social Media

The advent of new technologies has increased users’ access to data and news. Newspapers, television, and radio programs have lost their dominance as news outlets to innovative sources of information. More and more people choose the Internet as a means of learning about events at local and global levels. Among other media types, social websites are gaining growing significance. Some scholars argue that the level of users’ trust in information varies depending on the source from which they get it. For instance, Ceron (2015) mentions that people have more trust in news websites than on social media ones when browsing updates on the world’s events.

The scholar notes that the appearance of Web 2.0 has provoked the argument over the level of freedom that the Internet has as a public sphere. According to Ceron (2015), consuming news from social platforms not only provides space for e-democracy but also enables a wider distribution of information. At the same time, the level of a positive relationship between the Internet and democracy is not clear.

The major reason why news consumption from social websites may cause distrust is that much data found there is not supported by verified sources. As a result, learning news from social media is likely to increase the possibility of seeing “antipolitical, antisystem” information that can lead to the absence of trust among users (Ceron, 2015, p. 494). Users are rarely presented with objective information on social websites. Hence, their level of faith, as well as their democratic endeavors, are likely to decrease upon regular news consumption from social platforms.

At the same time, statistical data indicates that the prevailing number of people learn news from their social websites. According to Pew Research Center’s findings, in 2017, as many as 67% of Americans acknowledged that they found out at least some portion of news from social media (Gottfried & Shearer, 2017). Moreover, every fifth user reported employing such practice quite frequently. Statisticians associate such findings with the increasing number of low-educated and old people.

As Center mentions, over 55% of Americans over fifty receive their news from social media (Gottfried & Shearer, 2017). Individuals younger than fifty are even more exposed to learning news from such sources: their percentage is 78%. Almost three-fourths of nonwhite citizens consume news from social websites, as well as 69% of individuals who do not have a bachelor’s degree (Gottfried & Shearer, 2017). Meanwhile, the use of social media among those with at least some academic degree has fallen.

Users’ interest in social outlets as news sources differs depending on a social platform. Research indicates that Facebook (66%) is the most popular website in this respect, followed by YouTube (58%), Instagram (26%), and Twitter (15%) (Gottfried & Shearer, 2017). Apart from the increased use of social media for getting news, Americans also report exploiting more than one social website for this purpose.

As of 2017, 26% of citizens looked through at least two or three social networks for news, compared to 18% in 2016 (Gottfried & Shearer, 2017). Therefore, while Ceron (2015) argues that people do not have trust in social media’s news issues, statistical data from Pew Research Center testify a high level of using social sites for news consumption. With this information available, it is crucial to consider the opinions on the effect of social media’s various functions on democracy.

Social Media as a Threat to Democracy

The most recent online magazine articles express deep concern over the detrimental effect of social media on democracy. Beauchamp (2019) gives an account of how Brazil’s new president was cheered by his supporters in January this year. Instead of shouting his name, the crowd repeatedly cried “Facebook!” and “WhatsApp!” By doing so, people demonstrated that the person they wanted to see as a president was selected largely due to the help of social platforms (Beauchamp, 2019). This occasion is not unique or rare in modern politics, opponents using social media as the means of upsetting each other’s reputation and boosting potential voters’ trust through various methods.

Social websites have become tools for manipulating citizens’ opinions, which a priori means a low level of democracy. Furthermore, powerful authoritarian foreign states are reported to have a great influence on the USA’s social platforms. As a result, they destabilize the USA’s democracy and deprecate protesters (Beauchamp, 2019). The 2016 US election is believed to have been an example of ill exploitation of social platforms to sabotage citizens’ trust in the independent media.

Hence, Beauchamp (2019) believes that while social websites can promote the development of democratic movements occasionally, by and large, they work for the benefit of authoritarian parties. As a result, it is considered that social media undermine democratic processes.

The role of destructive foreign powers is usually discussed in relation to Russia and China. Naughton (2018) notes that only two years after the election in the USA capable of discerning the character and level of Russia’s intrusion in America’s democratic processes by means of social websites. This information makes it evident that not only domestic interference but also obstacles created by other countries can have negative implications on the development of democracy. Much of the information offered on social media is false, and few users care to check its authenticity. Users receive more and more untrustworthy data, and gradually, they lose the possibility, to tell the truth from falsehood.

Conclusion

Among other breakthroughs in technology, the emergence of social media has altered people’s lives immensely. Modern Internet users can communicate with their friends round-the-clock, discuss vital issues, or exchange opinions on various topics. While all of these opportunities seem to increase democracy, it can hardly be said so. Numerous techniques are employed both at national and international levels to deceive citizens and make them consume false information. Although the level of data sharing is increased with the help of social media, they are not likely to be useful sources of promoting democracy. Hence, it is necessary to carefully evaluate the data coming from such sources and avoid becoming provoked by authoritarian actors.

References

Beauchamp, Z. (2019). Social media is rotting democracy from within. Vox. Web.

Ceron, A. (2015). Internet, news, and political trust: The difference between social media and online media outlets. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 20(5), 487-503. Web.

Ellison, N., & Hardey, M. (2014). Social media and local government: Citizenship, consumption, and democracy. Local Government Studies, 40(1), 21-40. Web.

Gerbaudo, P. (2015). Populism 2.0: Social media activism, the generic Internet user and interactive direct democracy. Social media, politics and the state: Protests, revolutions, riots, crime and policing in the age of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, (pp. 67-87), New York, NY: Routledge.

Gottfried, J., & Shearer, E. (2017). News use across social media platforms 2017. Pew Research Center. Web.

McChesney, R. W. (2015). Rich media, poor democracy: Communication politics in dubious times. New York, NY: The New Press.

Naughton, J. (2018). Social media is an existential threat to our idea of democracy. The Guardian. Web.

Persily, N. (2017). Can democracy survive the Internet? Journal of Democracy, 28(2), 63-76. Web.

Introduction

Feminist ethics is a new concept aimed at redefining and redesigning conventional and traditional experiences associated with women’s moral experiences from medieval times. Feminist ethics is therefore development and a new concept developed to remedy the inadequacies created by traditional western ethics which have consistently overlooked female contributions to society. Such sentiments are supported by Alison Jaggar, a feminist philosopher (cited in Christine 2), who faults traditional western ethical ideals because of several reasons.

First, she identifies that traditional western ideals sought to emphasize more on male rights and interests at the expense of female rights. Secondly, she notes that traditional western ideals are characteristic of emphasizing morally uninteresting realms of women roles that occur in the private world (such as the traditional roles of cooking, cleaning, taking care of the household, assisting the sick, and such roles).

Thirdly, she faults the traditional western ethical philosophy because it perceives women as people who are not as morally developed as men, and fourth, Christine explains that she identifies that traditional western philosophy “overvalues culturally masculine traits like independence, autonomy, separation, mind, reason, culture, transcendence, war, and death, and undervalues culturally feminine traits like interdependence, community, connection, body, emotion, nature, immanence, peace, and life” (3). Lastly, Alison Jaggar notes that traditional western philosophy is sympathetic to culturally masculine ways of moral reasoning as opposed to the feminist ways which lack prejudice and favor (Christine 3).

These perceptions withstanding, this study acknowledges the role feminist ethics has had in reformulating traditional western ethics and comprehensively, it acknowledges that feminist ethics are distinctive and uniquely incoherent with conventional western philosophy relating to gender. However, there have been many debates advanced by critics regarding feminist ethics which purport that the concept is centered on overturning existing political structures and centered on the concept of power and subordination at the expense of ethical concerns relating to mothering, morality, care, and justice (Christine 2).

About this debate, this study identifies that this argument is flawed and instead proposes that feminist ethics is more committed to motherhood and care as opposed to political changes (in terms of doing away with the subordination women have experienced in the past).

Ideas Concepts and Terms to be Discussed

• Radical feminism: Radical feminism observes that the causes for gender oppression should not be solely blamed on the political structure of the society but also the structures of the patriarchal society.
• Liberal feminism: Liberal feminism works from the context that women need to be accorded the same opportunities men have so that they are as prosperous as men.
• Marxist feminism: The concept of Marxist feminism notes that women’s oppression should not be traced to the opposite sex but rather to the capitalistic nature of the society which makes women subordinates to men.

Supporting Claims

Radical feminism

Mothering and care are depicted as the underlying issues that characterize female oppression which has been evidenced for many years (Christine 3). The feminist ethics concept revolves around matters of care and feminine virtues (more especially nurturing and compassion) as opposed to issues to do with power and subordination (in comparison to male counterparts). More importantly, even though many critics of feminist ethics tend to perpetuate the view that feminist ethics inclines more towards power and subordination, Christine (3) notes that feminist ethics is particular to experiences that are uniquely female such as pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing. These issues have nothing to do with power or subordination.

Much of the current “political vs. care” debate that surrounds feminist ethics can be analyzed from philosophical research studies done by Gilligan, a philosophical researcher. The same can also be said of Kohlberg’s research on feminist philosophy which can be summarized in the words of Tronto that “individuals develop morally as their cognitive abilities to understand the nature of moral relations deepen, and that this process of moral development proceeds through the set, hierarchically arranged stages that correspond to different levels of moral reasoning” (5).

Kohlberg was trying to portray the view that boys had a stronger and more mature moral development as compared to girls when analyzed within a given age group. However, Gilligan was particularly disturbed by these assertions and decided to do his independent studies on the same which concluded that girls had a uniquely different oral view when compared to boys because their moral voice expressed ethics of care while the boy’s moral voice expressed ethics of justice. The ethics of care can be compared to relationships and justice while the ethics of justice can be compared to rights and rules. All these features can be better equated to processes as opposed to principles because they symbolize an ongoing element as opposed to a static one (Christine 6).

Gilligan’s assertion exposed a different field of philosophical research about feminist ethics that had not been previously researched before. Many researchers have also identified the research studies to be intrinsically positive but comprehensively, it is assumed that his point of view gives a new perception to the role historical oppression may have played in care ethics (Christine 6). Tronto explains this concept by stating that “whatever psychological dimensions there might be to explain women’s moral differences, there may also be a social cause: women’s different moral expression may be a function of their subordinate or tentative social position” (6).

Gilligan’s perspectives give a very interesting insight into feminist ethics in the sense that she identifies that feminist ethics essentially appeals to women’s’ unique experiences, but in the same light, the unique experiences can be traced to the oppression women face in society. A positive relationship can be hereby deduced because the underlying assumption in this relationship is observed whereby, though feminist ethics is based on mothering, care, and nurturing, Gilligan exposes a relationship whereby the above concepts either add or subtract to the oppression women face (or have faced) in the society.

The same opinion is also held by radical feminists who observe that the causes for women’s oppression should not solely be blamed on the political structure of the society but also the structures of the patriarchal society (Christine 6). Proponents of the radical feminist concept also note that political structures which limit the chances of women prospering in the same manner as men are essentially flawed and irreparable.

Because of this fact, they propose that the entire political system should be eliminated. This point of view, therefore, leaves the patriarchal society as the only repairable institution and this is where radical feminist concurs with the fact that feminist ethics are centered on changing the social perceptions of women in the domestic environment. This essentially touches on the virtues of motherhood and care. In other words, motherhood and care are the basic limitations to women’s’ chances of succeeding. Tong affirms that “Women’s reproductive roles and responsibilities, as well as the institution of compulsory heterosexuality, are the fundamental causes of women’s subordination and men’s domination” (8).

Liberal Feminism

Liberal feminism works from the context that women need to be accorded the same opportunities men have so that they are as prosperous as men (Christine 7). However, in accomplishing this objective, there is a strong view among proponents of the liberal feminism concept that there needs to be a clear-cut difference between public and private life. Public life essentially refers to the ability of women to prosper in various fields such as medicine, science, law, and the likes (because it essentially refers to personal and human achievement).

This refers to the realm of political actions where many researchers have identified that gender oppression takes place. On the other hand, private life refers to the realm of mothering and caring which has often be synonymously equated to the traditional western ethical philosophy of women which defines the root of subordination.

From this understanding, liberal theorists have consistently acknowledged that women have a more social significance to the political world of men; meaning that their contribution is most appreciated by the fact that they best uphold social life, as opposed to political life.

Mothering and caring activities constitute the basic pinnacle of this social world (Christine 7). Since the above fact has been identified as constituting a great part of the western traditional feminine experience, feminist ethics was introduced to fight this ideology. The feminist ethic was therefore developed from the standpoint that women should not be subordinated to the roles of nurturing, mothering, and care because this is a false ideology that seeks to limit their chances or opportunities of competing with their male counterparts in the political world.

Liberal feminists, therefore, point out the view that there is no such distinction between a man and a woman because they are both human beings and that is the only existing definition according to them. However, liberal feminists have been forced to acknowledge the physical differences between the genders but they have stuck to their point of view; purporting that physical differences between men and women do not in any way constitute a platform to differentiate male and female rights (Christine 8).

Nonetheless, comprehensively we can learn that feminist ethics is primarily based on unique women experiences (which are mothering, care, and nurturing) as opposed to the political cause identified by critics of the feminist ethics concept. Relatively, when compared to the liberal feminist approach, Christine affirms that:

“Avoiding claims about specifically male and female natures enables liberal feminists to argue that men and women are entitled to the same opportunities in both the public and private spheres. In the liberal feminist view, when all are afforded equal opportunities, all women may freely choose to ‘mother’ or not to ‘mother’” (9).

Marxist Feminism

The concept of Marxist feminism notes that women’s oppression should not be traced to the opposite sex but rather the capitalistic nature of the society which makes women subordinates to men (Christine 9). To remedy this situation, the Marxist feminism concept proposes that a communist concept will work to the advantage of women because it will give them equal opportunities that capitalist systems deny them. However, in support of the fact that feminist ethics is based on mothering and care, the Marxist feminism concept identifies that female oppression not only occurs in public life but also in private life.

To reiterate the Marxist feminism concept, Callahan affirms that “the inegalitarian system of classes leads to exploitation and imperialism–the domination at home (including the household) and abroad of the have-nots by the haves” (75). Women’s’ oppression can therefore be defined by the oppression that goes on in the household and not necessarily in public life (as advocated by proponents of the fact that feminist ethics is primarily based on political motivations). The exploitation of women at home is particularly contingent on the limitations that the capitalistic world imposes on women throughout most societies.

However, it is important to note that the Marxist feminism concept has been criticized by the fact that not all women hail from the same economic class, although in the same sense, it is also important to note that the Marxist feminism concept acknowledges that for women to be liberated and enjoy the same opportunities as men, domestic exploitation and oppression needs to stop first (at the household level) before any significant political changes can be felt to their advantage (Christine 9).

This fact is based on the belief by proponents of the Marxist feminism concept that gender oppression starts at the household level, and the discrimination that is evident at the political platform is just but a mere reflection of what happens in the domestic environment. To affirm this point of view, proponents of the Marxist feminism concept point out the fact that women have been clustered together to constitute a single economic class that essentially works to produce goods and services that are only of value to the domestic environment (Christine 9). In affirming this argument, Jaggar notes that:

“In unpacking this notion of transformation, it is also important to note that Marxist theory itself would not find anything intrinsically degrading about childbearing, child-rearing, cooking, but instead Marxist theory criticizes how these tasks are organized under capitalism. In this sense, the Marxist feminist theory could be said to be “about” mothering and caring (19).

Counter Arguments

Principles as opposed to feelings

Critics of the feminist ethics concept note that feminist ethics is reliant on the philosophy of principles of care as opposed to feelings of care because in the real sense, principles are deemed more reliable than feelings attributed to care (Christine 10).

For instance, in helping the needy, feminist ethics tends to rely more on assisting the poor than empathizing with their state or situation (Christine 10). This scenario can also be equated to the American Southern grasp on slavery where many people hailing from that geographical area felt positively about slavery as a practice. However, since they harbored this sentiment, it did not mean that they were essentially ethically correct

Oppression

Many critics of the feminist approach have often observed that feminist ethics perceive ethical issues from a predetermined point of view (which is the feminist way) (Christine 10). More importantly, they note that the feminist ethics concept assumes that women are in an oppressed position when compared to their male counterparts. In this regard, these critics base their contempt with the feminist ethics concept on the fact that feminist perspectives base their standing on the structures that have contributed to this position and therefore focus their energies on overturning this state of affairs.

This contributes to their strong viewpoint that feminist theories stand on a political viewpoint as affirmed by Callahan that “A feminist perspective has three features: “a recognition that women as a group have been and are oppressed; an account of the source or sources of that oppression; and suggestions for how the oppression of women can be overcome” (78).

Historical Basis

Oppression, subordination, mothering, and care which are all observed in feminist ethics can be best understood through the historical context of feminism. The historical context of feminism in which perspectives about feminism and feminist ethics are developed can be all equated to the traditional political theory standpoint. This means that the tradition of western political thought is essentially characteristic of the historical view of feminism.

From this understanding, many proponents of the fact that feminist ethics is developed from a political viewpoint, such as Shanley and Pateman (12), argue that since feminist ethics are based on overturning traditional western concepts of feminism; they are based on changing the political paradigm as well. This argument gives feminist ethics a political nature.

Response to the Counter Arguments

The opinions expressed by critics of the feminist ethics approach tend to portray the view that feminist perspectives do not acknowledge the unique experiences of women as a unique gender and in the same sense; they are not cognizant of the ethics of care which has been traditionally associated with feminism. This concept is flawed because as noted above, feminist perspectives are also cognizant of the ethics of care.

However, this view does not mean that feminist ethics do not acknowledge that women have been politically oppressed through sociopolitical structures and positions, because they have. Nonetheless, it notes that this point of view is not what feminist ethics essentially stands on. This is true because if we analyze feminist ethics entirely from a “care” point of view, we would be advocating the fact that women are not (or have never been ) oppressed. This is not the case.

Conclusion

This study points out the fact that feminist ethics is essentially driven by issues to do with motherhood and care, as opposed to power and subordination, which define political motivations. Arguments based on the Marxist, radical and liberal feminist points of view acknowledge that motherhood and care are at the center of the development of feminist ethics because all forms of oppression start at the domestic level.

This argument is according to the liberalist feminists. However, the Marxist feminists note that capitalistic structures need to be eliminated to give women more opportunities in society while the radical point of view suggests that the political structures that are created by men to limit women to domestic roles are irreparable and need to be eliminated. Because of this reason, proponents of the radical feminism concept advocate for a patriarchal societal change which is an affirmation of the view that feminist ethics is concerned with motherhood and care.

This study also acknowledges the input of proponents of the fact that feminist ethics is motivated by power and subordination as the primary motivators to feminist ethics, but comprehensively, we observe that social (as opposed to political) intrigues is the main factor leading to women oppression and this is what feminist ethics essentially focuses on. This point of view is practically applicable today in the fight for gender equality in most functional areas of our society (including gender representation in political, social, and economic positions).

This analysis is also a pointer to the way we should look at various areas of philosophy, in the sense that, practical relevance is important to the comprehension of philosophical points of view. This analysis has ramifications in other areas, apart from philosophy, such as science. Therefore, considering the above intrigues to the whole feminist ethics debate, we can safely conclude that feminist ethics is more committed to motherhood and care as opposed to political changes (in terms of doing away with the subordination women have experienced in the past).

Works Cited

Callahan, Joan. “Feminism and Reproductive Technologies.” Journal of Clinical Ethics 5.1 (1994): 75-85.

Christine, James. “Feminist Ethics, Mothering, and Caring.” Kinesis 22.2 (1995): 2-16. Print.

Jaggar, Alison. Feminist Politics and Human Nature. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield, 1988.

Shanley, Lyndon, and Pateman, Carole. Feminist Interpretations and Political Theory. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1991.

Tong, Rosemarie. Feminine and Feminist Ethics. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1993.

Tronto, Joan C. Beyond Gender Difference to a Theory of Care: An Ethic of Care: Feminist and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc., 1993.

Introduction

Research articles must always meet the required scientific research standards to become reliable for further reference. The paper must be methodologically pragmatic, have a clear articulation, and must have an organized structure that contains the major points based on the topic of an investigation. Moreover, scientific research articles must have sufficient background about a topic, must show how it relates appropriately to its audience, and must have a logical flow that illustrates the main arguments. The intention of this essay is to examine a research journal article to examine whether it meets the methodological standards needed in a research article.

Summary: Main Points Discussed in the Article

Research Background or Introduction

The paper discusses the professional ethics of practice and the manner in which workers in social work perceive these ethics (Osmo & Landau, 2006). The research specifically intended to examine how social workers perceive different ethical principles articulated in different ethics theories in their daily social work practices. The researchers, Osmo and Landau (2006), sought to examine the relationship between the prevailing ethical theories, the existing ethical dilemmas, and the increase in ethical issues, the idea of ethical decision-making, and the existing problems in the perceived ethical principles.

In the introduction, the article concentrates on elaborating about the manner in which the professional values of the social workers are associated with societal values. The authors, Osmo and Landau (2006), further emphasizes unraveling the prevailing confusion between the professional values of the social workers and most importantly how the social workers perceive their personal philosophies with the hierarchies of personal and professional ethics. The background also provides rich information about the influence of the deontological theories and the technological theories on the decision-making behaviors of social workers.

To expound on the existing ethical dilemmas, the researchers, Osmo and Landau (2006), argue that social workers still lack knowledge on how to choose their ethical decisions, or even justify their prioritized decisions about ethical dilemmas and what actions make-up a sufficient ethical framework. In the background, Osmo and Landau (2006) argued that social workers have varied perceptions concerning the utilitarian theory, the deontological theory, the rights theory, the virtue theory, and the ethics of care theory. The researchers noted that different social workers have different preferences concerning the five ethical principles.

The Research Methodology

In this section, the researchers presented a methodological section that comprised an explanation of the research procedure, the data collection instruments, sample selection, and the analysis approach used in the study. The researchers explained the research procedure by revealing its sample population that comprised 62 Israeli social workers as the research respondents. The researchers, Osmo and Landau (2006) presented information on how they a rich-content questionnaire made up of 12 ethical principles following the NASW Code of Ethics of 1996 and the IASW Code of Ethics of 1994.

The above code of ethics formed a pillar for the social worker’s codes of ethics. In the methodology section, Osmo and Landau (2006) discussed how they used a structured questionnaire of 12 ethical principles as their main data instrument. In the questionnaire, some social case scenarios appeared as constructs to analyze the arguments of the social workers pertaining to ethical principles and the manner they should apply in practice from both an individual and a professional perspective. With a response rate of 50% that represented 62 respondents, Osmo and Landau (2006) described how they used content analysis to analyze data.

Research Results, Discussion, and Implications

In their results, Osmo and Landau (2006) noted that when the social workers ranked the use of ethical theories in four different contexts of social construct, their opinions and perceptions varied significantly between the five aforementioned ethical theories. In their discussion, Osmo and Landau (2006) discovered that social workers use deontological theories such as the theory of universalism, the right intention theory, and the duty theory of ethics to justify their preferences towards certain ethical principles. Concerning the implications, whereas the study suggested that ethical theories help in understanding ethical dilemmas, a small sample of 62 could not prove this ideology.

Why the article cannot be a Reliable or a Valid Source

The research may not be a reliable or valid source of information. The first problem with the research is that the background provides different forms of literature arguments that later do not match with the desired result discussions. The second issue is that the methodology is straightforward, but the constructs and components of the questionnaire seem to confuse the readers and divert them from the research aim. The results provided by the research are not in line with the supposed aim established at the beginning of the research. This approach means that the research was manipulative and full of careless triangulation of data.

Conclusion

A published research article, whether from a valid publisher or just from an unknown source, can be very unreliable and invalid for referencing. An article is only valid and reliable when; apart from following the legitimate publication protocols, it ensures that the written content is methodologically correct, and with relevant information that is sufficient to authenticate from the research background to the end.

In their article, Osmo and Landau (2006) presented an article with a mixed-up concept, an illogic flow of content, and with an unclear aim that misdirected the research.

Reference

Osmo, J., & Landau, R. (2006). The Role of Ethical Theories in Decision Making by Social Workers. Social Work Education, 25(8), 863–876.

What is your Guiding Principle for Social work practice?

The reason why I chose social work practice is that theoretical approaches provide various ways of looking at the world and organizing information. Besides, various ways of organizing information influence ways of life in different communities based on their cultural beliefs, values, morals, and environmental systems. Social work is a profession that deals with the artistic and scientific needs of human beings (Niezen, Sen & Englund, 2011). My daily professional practice and life are the two key guiding principles that I use in the process of carrying out social work (National Association of Social Workers, 2005). For instance, I desire to pursue self-determination in promoting the rights of individuals.

To achieve this role, I have always applied empathy to the people whom I serve. It is worth to mention that it is not possible to pursue justice without being empathetic with the people concerned. In most cases, there are myriads of dilemmas that are encountered. These dilemmas come in the form of challenges that require innate determination and passion when carrying out social work practice (Rodney, 2007). Besides, cultural competence and awareness are my key guiding principles as a social worker. I have developed myriads of skills and knowledge in social work. These attributes have indeed built my professional wellbeing and wellness when performing various duties. Besides, these skills have formed my guiding principles when dealing with different categories of people.

The entire healthcare experiences of individuals within an environment are also embodied in social work practices. Better still, policy changes at both the micro and macro levels can be duly affected or influenced by social workers. Hence, the ability to understand and appreciate policy tools at the various levels has been a source of guiding principles that have propelled my service as a social worker (Gruskin & Daniels, 2008).

Finally, there is extensive research work carried out in healthcare practice among social workers. The research studies have been profound in providing the much needed sound knowledge, analytical, and thinking skills required in social work practice. Therefore, adequate research studies are the main benchmarks (guiding principles) in social work practices (National Association of Social Workers, 2005).

What is your Overarching lens as a professional social worker? Frameworks, assessments theories, perspectives, values, belief about Change?

Social work continues to be pertinent in relieving human suffering and fighting social injustice. The case of Sierra Leone, my home country, is a clear example. The war-ravaged country today presents a problem in need of social workers. The unending civil wars and social injustice in the country cause many people to become homeless, unemployed, and inherently poor. Many die from illnesses, hunger, malnutrition, and lack of shelter. Amidst all these problems, social evils such as drug abuse and prostitution continue to plague the population, with the youth being the most affected.

My main overarching lens as a professional social worker is to be ethical and competent when delivering various roles. It is prudent to note that social work entails close and frequent interaction with the community of people with various needs (Niezen, Sen & Englund, 2011).

My framework is based on a bio-psychosocial assessment. The latter is a tool used by the social workers when documenting the stories and case studies of their clients in their communities and also to use the client’s system to help them get treatment. My bio-psycho-social Assessment framework was based on my current employment where I work for a non-profit mental health agency that bases their assessment on the person-centered perspective. It uses the traditional assessment outline, which presents the client and their issues with a reason for a referral after the client’s demographics are assessed. As indicated in their assessment approach, clients are involved throughout the assessment process with the majority of their information coming from them and their system and current environment including their family or relatives and their community. I have decided to open my adoption agency with the above principle (National Association of Social Workers, 2005).

What knowledge skills and values related to multicultural competency do you consider important in your practice?

Multicultural competency is vital in the professional life of a social worker because there are diverse cultures to interact with regularly. The following knowledge, skills, and values, are needed in social practice (Sharon, 2008). Adequate knowledge of family systems, values, traditions, history, and culture of various groups and individuals, is vital. Moreover, the effect of culture on the health status, values, attitudes, and behaviors of clients are needed. how culturally diverse clients seek help whenever in need and communication styles, speech patterns, and language roles of clients from diverse backgrounds are integral skills and knowledge. Healthcare plan policies, environmental and social settings of clients from diverse regions or backgrounds, and the type of resources needed for different diverse customers drawn from various backgrounds should be put into consideration.

In terms of skills, the ability to address various challenging situations by being receptive, empathetic, genuine, and reflective is vital. This also calls for the ability to accept cultural diversity among various cultural groups. Finally, Skills needed to comprehend stereotypes and personal values of employees are required in social work (Beth, 2004).

Social workers should be aware of the contents of the two theories and be able to apply them in their practice. The systems theory gives social workers a good perspective of the nature of their jobs. The workers need to ask themselves at what community level they should be involved in to bring a positive change. This will be answered by understanding the different levels of systems within a particular community and the relationships within those levels. This way, the social workers will be able to know which action will bring about a positive change and at what level they need to apply the action. Assessing the human behavior in a community enables people to propose solutions that address the larger issues that affect the community. A social systems perspective emphasizes ways in which different social subsystems in a community interact with each other. It helps social workers view people and their environmental systems in the context of a larger community. The knowledge of social systems in a community is essential to understanding the purpose and process of environmental systems. The knowledge is important in assessing human interactions with the system and in acquiring practical skills. Social workers involve themselves in multiple systems that are available in their environment and they must appreciate human diversity.

The social construction theory plays a crucial role in social work practices as it prepares the social workers to understand the societies in which they work from the perspective of social constrictions. The social constrictions are necessary for dividing issues that need to be addressed by the social workers into categories that are easier to handle. Workers need to ask themselves why they need to learn about people’s cultures and traditions. The answer to this question will place them in a better position of knowing how and when to apply the assumptions of this theory in various social constructions.

The above-listed values, skills, and knowledge cannot be ignored by a social worker whenever working in a culturally diverse environment. It is equally imperative to reiterate that multicultural competency may not be complete if ethical practices are not put into the account (National Association of Social Workers, 2005). However, ethics may also vary along diverse customers. Such a situation calls for the need to learn and acquire knowledge on ethical considerations when dealing with clients from mixed cultural backgrounds. Similarly, the application of ethics should be done across the board in tandem with what is generally accepted (Rodney, 2007).

How do your knowledge of oppression and the unequal distribution of social material goods in society affect your practice with children and family?

When dealing with children and family, I have come to learn that unequal distribution of social material goods and oppression often impact women and children, more than the male members of the family. For a long time now, women have been regarded as a weaker gender in most cultural backgrounds. Although they immensely contribute to the wellbeing of families, their roles are hardly reciprocated or even appreciated (Beth, 2004). As a result, they are the worst victims of oppression that emanates from family settings. In any case, oppression in the form of domestic violence against women seems to be a chronic problem that is tearing families apart. Women have been subjected to all kinds of trauma and abuse from their male partners. As part of social work, we encounter a lot of traumatic cases of domestic violence that require urgent redress. It is surprising to note that even the civilized cultures are not spared. There are myriads of divorce cases being filed in courts every single day. Children in affected families are equal victims whenever separation or divorce among parents takes place. Most of them end up as social misfits unless they are rehabilitated and incorporated back into the community (Rodney, 2007).

In terms of the unequal distribution of social materials, I have observed that the family at large is equally affected. Resource allocation is poorly done especially at the local level. Social injustice is evident in cases where some individuals have surplus resources to utilize while others live as squalors. Although some governments have stepped up efforts to ensure that social equity prevails, a lot needs to be done to alleviate the current high levels of economic disparity.

Human rights, social and economic justice

Human rights, social and economic justice are directly associated with social work practice in several ways. For instance, the equitable distribution of resources cannot be attained in the absence of social empowerment. The latter is a vital component in society since it gives individuals and especially the poor the capacity and capabilities to overcome social challenges that face daily (Rodney, 2007). Lack of social empowerment has denied some groups of individuals in society the ability to expand their assets and capabilities. Assets include savings, livestock, housing, land, and so on. The poor cannot expand their horizon of choices without some of these necessities. Social work practice is also concerned with how governance is carried out. In cases where poor governance prevails, active and fair participation in local governance, obtaining basic services, or accessing resources and economic opportunities is a real challenge (Beth, 2004).

My cultural memberships have shaped the way I interact with others personally and professionally. Personally, my ethnic identity has greatly influenced my romantic relationships and friendships during my development. As I became more aware of white privilege and aligned myself more with a racial minority identity, I became distant from a lot of my peers because most people who made fun of me in high school were white and I felt that they could not understand what I was experiencing and my feelings. They were unaware of and/or apathetic about their privileges and social advantages.

References

Beth, V. S. (2004). With all deliberate speed: Civil human rights litigation as a tool for social change. Vanderbilt Law Review, 57(6), 2303-2348.

Gruskin, S., & Daniels, N. (2008). Justice and human rights: Priority setting and fair deliberative process. American Journal of Public Health, 98(9), 1573-7.

National Association of Social Workers (2005). NASW Standards for Social Work Practice. Web.

Niezen, R., Sen, A., & Englund, H. (2011). The social study of human rights. A review essay. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 53(3), 682-691.

Rodney, D. C. (2007). Social justice and pedagogy. The American Behavioral Scientist, 51(4), 579-591.

Sharon, E. F. (2008). Prelude to compatibility between human rights and intellectual property. Chicago Journal of International Law, 9(1), 171-211.