MyMedR

Unethical Admissions: Academic Integrity in Question

Ansah RH, Aikhuele DO, Yao L

Sci Eng Ethics, 2017 08;23(4):1237-1239.

PMID: 27896603 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-016-9815-9

The increasing unethical practices of graduates' admissions have heightened concerns about the integrity of the academy. This article informs this important subject that affects the students, admission systems, and the entire scientific community, thus, representing an approach against scholarly black market activities including falsified documents and unethical practices by consultants and students' recruitment agencies.

Matched MeSH terms: Universities/ethics*

Fake Graduates

Sorooshian S

Sci Eng Ethics, 2017 06;23(3):941-942.

PMID: 27357573 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-016-9784-z

There is growing concern regarding the erosion of industries' trust in the reliability and validity of university graduates. Fake graduates are described in this letter. This article endeavors to warn of a new version of the scholarly black market, in which theses and dissertations are sold to students seeking to graduate under false pretenses.

Matched MeSH terms: Universities/ethics*

Viva Delay

Yahaghi H, Sorooshian S, Yahaghi J

Sci Eng Ethics, 2017 06;23(3):945-946.

PMID: 27351770 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-016-9795-9

The time delay between submission of a thesis and Viva Voce is intolerable for students. This letter tries to draw the readers' attention to the effect of choosing the right examiner, in order to reduce the Viva Voce delay.

Matched MeSH terms: Universities/ethics*

Scholarly Black Market

Sorooshian S

Sci Eng Ethics, 2017 04;23(2):623-624.

PMID: 27325415 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-016-9765-2

Fake and unethical publishers' activities are known by most of the readers of Science and Engineering Ethics. This letter tries to draw the readers' attention to the hidden side of some of these publishers' business. Here the black market of scholarly articles, which negatively affects the validity and reliability of research in higher education, as well as science and engineering, will be introduced.

Matched MeSH terms: Engineering/ethics*; Publishing/ethics*; Science/ethics*; Professional Misconduct/ethics*

Plagiarism in publications using the unpublished raw data of archived research

Yahaghi J, Beddu SB, Muda ZC

Sci Eng Ethics, 2017 04;23(2):635-636.

PMID: 27432400 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-016-9807-9

It is obligatory to educate student researchers before they start their work by teaching them about the various types of plagiarism and how to avoid them. It is also vital that research supervisors take into account the sources of data that are explored in their students' manuscripts. This article tries to draw the reader's attention to the importance of avoiding all types of plagiarism in their research.

Matched MeSH terms: Publications/ethics; Research Personnel/ethics; Ethics, Research

Ethical Concerns When Minors Act as Standardized Patients

Khoo EJ, Schremmer RD, Diekema DS, Lantos JD

Pediatrics, 2017 Mar;139(3).

PMID: 28174202 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2016-2795

When minors are asked to assist medical educators by acting as standardized patients (SPs), there is a potential for the minors to be exploited. Minors deserve protection from exploitation. Such protection has been written into regulations governing medical research and into child labor laws. But there are no similar guidelines for minors' work in medical education. This article addresses the question of whether there should be rules. Should minors be required to give their informed consent or assent? Are there certain practices that could cause harm for the children who become SPs? We present a controversial case and ask a number of experts to consider the ethical issues that arise when minors are asked to act as SPs in medical education.

Matched MeSH terms: Education, Medical, Undergraduate/ethics*

Fulltext Social media: the bane of practitioners?

Bhaskaran D

BJOG, 2017 Feb;124(3):525.

PMID: 28120546 DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.14295

Matched MeSH terms: Social Media/ethics*

Fulltext The Malaysian Code of Responsible Conduct in Research

Citation:
The Malaysian Code of Responsible Conduct in Research. Cyberjaya: Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT); 2017

Matched MeSH terms: Ethics, Research

Fulltext Malaysian Phase I Clinical Trial Guidelines

Citation:
Malaysian Phase I Clinical Trial Guidelines. Petaling Jaya: Clinical Research Malaysia; 2017

Matched MeSH terms: Ethics, Research

Fulltext Association between elder abuse and poor sleep: A cross-sectional study among rural older Malaysians

Yunus RM, Wazid SW, Hairi NN, Choo WY, Hairi FM, Sooryanarayana R, et al.

PLoS One, 2017;12(7):e0180222.

PMID: 28686603 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180222

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between elder abuse and poor sleep using a Malay validated version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
DESIGN: This study was divided into two phases. Phase I tested the construct validity and reliability of the Malay version of PSQI. Phase II was a population-based, cross-sectional study with a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Home-based interviews were conducted by trained personnel using a structured questionnaire, to determine exposure and outcome.
SETTING: Kuala Pilah, a district in Negeri Sembilan which is one of the fourteen states in Malaysia.
PARTICIPANTS: 1648 community-dwelling older Malaysians.
RESULTS: The Malay version of PSQI had significant test re-test reliability with intra-class correlation coefficients of 0.62. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that one factor PSQI scale with three components (subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, and sleep disturbances) was most suitable. Cronbach's Alpha was 0.60 and composite reliability was 0.63. PSQI scores were highest among neglect (4.11), followed by physical (4.10), psychological (3.96) and financial abuse (3.60). There was a dose-response relationship between clustering of abuse and PSQI scores; 3.41, 3.50 and 3.84 for "no abuse", "1 type of abuse" and "2 types or more". Generalized linear models revealed six variables as significant determinants of sleep quality-abuse, co-morbidities, self-rated health, income, social support and gait speed. Among abuse subtypes, only neglect was significantly associated with poor sleep.
CONCLUSION: The Malay PSQI was valid and reliable. Abuse was significantly associated with poor sleep. As sleep is essential for health and is a good predictor for mortality among older adults, management of abuse victims should entail sleep assessment. Interventions or treatment modalities which focus on improving sleep quality among abuse victims should be designed.

Matched MeSH terms: Elder Abuse/ethics

Malaysian researchers talk about the influence of culture on research misconduct in higher learning institutions

Olesen AP, Amin L, Mahadi Z

Account Res, 2017;24(8):469-482.

PMID: 29087734 DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2017.1399358

Based on a previous survey by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) in the USA, a considerable number of foreign research scientists have been found guilty of research misconduct. However, it remains unclear as to whether or not cultural factors really contribute to research misconduct. This study is based on a series of interviews with Malaysian researchers from the local universities regarding their own professional experiences involving working with researchers or research students from different countries or of different nationalities. Most of the researchers interviewed agreed that cultures do shape individual character, which influences the way that such individuals conduct research, their decision-making, and their style of academic writing. Our findings also showed that working culture within the institution also influences research practices, as well as faculty mentorship of the younger generation of researchers. Given the fact such misconduct might be due to a lack of understanding of research or working cultures or practices within the institution, the impact on the scientific community and on society could be destructive. Therefore, it is suggested that the institution has an important role to play in orienting foreign researchers through training, mentoring, and discussion with regard to the "does" and "don'ts" related to research, and to provide them with an awareness of the importance of ethics when it comes to conducting research.

Matched MeSH terms: Research Personnel/ethics*; Scientific Misconduct/ethics*

Fulltext Social and communicative functions of informed consent forms in East Asia and beyond

Yoshizawa G, Sasongko TH, Ho CH, Kato K

Front Genet, 2017;8:99.

PMID: 28775738 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00099

The recent research and technology development in medical genomics has raised new issues that are profoundly different from those encountered in traditional clinical research for which informed consent was developed. Global initiatives for international collaboration and public participation in genomics research now face an increasing demand for new forms of informed consent which reflect local contexts. This article analyzes informed consent forms (ICFs) for genomic research formulated by four selected research programs and institutes in East Asia - the Medical Genome Science Program in Japan, Universiti Sains Malaysia Human Research Ethics Committee in Malaysia, and the Taiwan Biobank and the Taipei Medical University- Joint Institutional Review Board in Taiwan. The comparative text analysis highlights East Asian contexts as distinct from other regions by identifying communicative and social functions of consent forms. The communicative functions include re-contact options and offering interactive support for research participants, and setting opportunities for family or community engagement in the consent process. This implies that informed consent cannot be validated solely with the completion of a consent form at the initial stage of the research, and informed consent templates can facilitate interactions between researchers and participants through (even before and after) the research process. The social functions consist of informing participants of possible social risks that include genetic discrimination, sample and data sharing, and highlighting the role of ethics committees. Although international ethics harmonization and the subsequent coordination of consent forms may be necessary to maintain the quality and consistency of consent process for data-intensive international research, it is also worth paying more attention to the local values and different settings that exist where research participants are situated for research in medical genomics. More than simply tools to gain consent from research participants, ICFs function rather as a device of social communication between research communities and civic communities in liaison with intermediary agents like ethics committees, genetic counselors, and public biobanks and databases.

Matched MeSH terms: Ethics Committees, Research

Fulltext Justice Is the Missing Link in One Health: Results of a Mixed Methods Study in an Urban City State

Lysaght T, Capps B, Bailey M, Bickford D, Coker R, Lederman Z, et al.

PLoS One, 2017;12(1):e0170967.

PMID: 28129409 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170967

BACKGROUND: One Health (OH) is an interdisciplinary collaborative approach to human and animal health that aims to break down conventional research and policy 'silos'. OH has been used to develop strategies for zoonotic Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID). However, the ethical case for OH as an alternative to more traditional public health approaches is largely absent from the discourse. To study the ethics of OH, we examined perceptions of the human health and ecological priorities for the management of zoonotic EID in the Southeast Asia country of Singapore.

METHODS: We conducted a mixed methods study using a modified Delphi technique with a panel of 32 opinion leaders and 11 semi-structured interviews with a sub-set of those experts in Singapore. Panellists rated concepts of OH and priorities for zoonotic EID preparedness planning using a series of scenarios developed through the study. Interview data were examined qualitatively using thematic analysis.

FINDINGS: We found that panellists agreed that OH is a cross-disciplinary collaboration among the veterinary, medical, and ecological sciences, as well as relevant government agencies encompassing animal, human, and environmental health. Although human health was often framed as the most important priority in zoonotic EID planning, our qualitative analysis suggested that consideration of non-human animal health and welfare was also important for an effective and ethical response. The panellists also suggested that effective pandemic planning demands regional leadership and investment from wealthier countries to better enable international cooperation.

CONCLUSION: We argue that EID planning under an OH approach would benefit greatly from an ethical ecological framework that accounts for justice in human, animal, and environmental health.

Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Health/ethics; Public Health/ethics*; Global Health/ethics*

Authorship: few myths and misconceptions

Menezes RG, Kharoshah MA, Madadin M, Marakala V, Lasrado S, Al Tamimi DM

Sci Eng Ethics, 2016 12;22(6):1843-1847.

PMID: 26670920 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-015-9742-1

This article seeks to address and dispel some of the popular myths and misconceptions surrounding authorship of a scientific publication as this is often misconstrued by beginners in academia especially those in the developing world. While ethical issues in publishing related to authorship have been increasingly discussed, not much has been written about the myths and misconceptions of who might be an author. Dispelling these myths and misconceptions would go a long way in shaping the thoughts and plans of students, junior faculty and researchers in academia especially in the developing world.

Matched MeSH terms: Publishing/ethics*

Licence to commence clinical day: the L-Plate test

Sim JH, Vadivelu J, Lee SS

Med Educ, 2016 Nov;50(11):1145.

PMID: 27762037 DOI: 10.1111/medu.13188

Matched MeSH terms: Codes of Ethics/legislation & jurisprudence*

Darurah (Necessity) and Its Application in Islamic Ethical Assessment of Medical Applications: A Review on Malaysian Fatwa

Isa NM

Sci Eng Ethics, 2016 10;22(5):1319-1332.

PMID: 26358749 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-015-9698-1

The discovery and invention of new medical applications may be considered blessings to humankind. However, some applications which might be the only remedy for certain diseases may contain ingredients or involve methods that are not in harmony with certain cultural and religious perspectives. These situations have raised important questions in medical ethics; are these applications completely prohibited according to these perspectives, and is there any room for mitigation? This paper explores the concept of darurah (necessity) and its deliberation in the formulation of fatwas on medicine issued by the National Fatwa Council of Malaysia. Darurah has explicitly been taken into consideration in the formulation of 14 out of 45 fatwas on medicine thus far, including one of the latest fatwas regarding uterine donation and transplantation. These fatwas are not only limited to the issues regarding the use of unlawful things as remedies. They include issues pertaining to organ transplantation, management of the corpse and treatment of brain dead patients. While deliberation of darurah in medicine may vary from issue to issue, darurah applies in a dire situation in which there are no lawful means to prevent harm that may be inflicted upon human life. Nevertheless, other aspects must also be taken into the deliberation. For example, consent must be obtained from the donor or his next of kin (after his death) to conduct a cadaveric organ transplantation.

Matched MeSH terms: Ethics, Medical*; Tissue Donors/ethics; Tissue Transplantation/ethics

Is There a Role for Publication Consultants and How Should Their Contribution be Recognized?

Kendall G, Yee A, McCollum B

Sci Eng Ethics, 2016 10;22(5):1553-1560.

PMID: 26480965

When a scientific paper, dissertation or thesis is published the author(s) have a duty to report who has contributed to the work. This recognition can take several forms such as authorship, relevant acknowledgments and by citing previous work. There is a growing industry where publication consultants will work with authors, research groups or even institutions to help get their work published, or help submit their dissertation/thesis. This help can range from proof reading, data collection, analysis (including statistics), helping with the literature review and identifying suitable journals/conferences. In this opinion article we question whether these external services are required, given that institutions should provide this support and that experienced researchers should be qualified to carry out these activities. If these services are used, we argue that their use should at least be made transparent either by the consultant being an author on the paper, or by being acknowledged on the paper, dissertation or thesis. We also argue that publication consultants should provide an annual return that details the papers, dissertations and thesis that they have consulted on.

Matched MeSH terms: Publications/ethics*

The Tzu Chi Silent Mentor Program: Application of Buddhist Ethics to Teach Student Physicians Empathy, Compassion, and Self-Sacrifice

Santibañez S, Boudreaux D, Tseng GF, Konkel K

J Relig Health, 2016 Oct;55(5):1483-94.

PMID: 26311054 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-015-0110-x

The Buddhist Tzu Chi Silent Mentor Program promotes the donation of one's body to science as a selfless act by appealing to the Buddhist ethics of compassion and self-sacrifice. Together, faculty, families, and donors help medical students to learn the technical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological aspects of medicine. Students assigned to each "Silent Mentor" visit the family to learn about the donor's life. They see photos and hear family members' stories. Afterwards, students write a brief biography of the donor which is posted on the program website, in the medical school, and on the dissection table. In this paper, we: (1) summarize the Silent Mentor Program; (2) describe findings from an assessment of medical students who recently completed a new version of the program in Malaysia; and (3) explore how healthcare settings could benefit from this innovative program.

Matched MeSH terms: Education, Medical/ethics; Ethics, Medical/education; Tissue and Organ Procurement/ethics; Tissue Donors/ethics; Mentoring/ethics*

Sci-Hub & ethical issues

Saleem F, Hasaali MA, Ul Haq N

Res Social Adm Pharm, 2016 09 14;13(1):253.

PMID: 27720437 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2016.09.001

Matched MeSH terms: Education, Pharmacy, Graduate/ethics*

Religious scholars' attitudes and views on ethical issues pertaining to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in Malaysia

Olesen A, Nor SN, Amin L

J Bioeth Inq, 2016 Sep;13(3):419-29.

PMID: 27365102 DOI: 10.1007/s11673-016-9724-2

Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) represents the first fusion of genomics and assisted reproduction and the first reproductive technology that allows prospective parents to screen and select the genetic characteristics of their potential offspring. However, for some, the idea that we can intervene in the mechanisms of human existence at such a fundamental level can be, at a minimum, worrying and, at most, repugnant. Religious doctrines particularly are likely to collide with the rapidly advancing capability for science to make such interventions. This paper focuses on opinions and arguments of selected religious scholars regarding ethical issues pertaining to PGD. In-depth interviews were conducted with religious scholars from three different religious organizations in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Findings showed that Christian scholars are very sceptical of the long-term use of PGD because of its possible effect on the value of humanity and the parent-children relationship. This differs from Islamic scholars, who view PGD as God-given knowledge in medical science to further help humans understand medical genetics. For Buddhist scholars, PGD is considered to be new medical technology that can be used to save lives, avoid suffering, and bring happiness to those who need it. Our results suggest that it is important to include the opinions and views of religious scholars when it comes to new medical technologies such as PGD, as their opinions will have a significant impact on people from various faiths, particularly in a multi-religious country like Malaysia where society places high value on marital relationships and on the traditional concepts of family.

Matched MeSH terms: Choice Behavior/ethics; Ethics*; Genetic Testing/ethics*; Prenatal Diagnosis/ethics*; Technology/ethics*; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted/ethics*

Displaying publications 81 - 100 of 235 in total