Ethical Problems

Introduction

            The process of publishing journals should be taken with responsibility in order to promote integrity (Billye, 2000). The Editorial Policy Committee and the Council of Science Editors persuade that all the people who are involved in publication of journals should be responsible and practice good ethics. This has however not been the case in most publications as the people concerned do not follow this codes of ethics and it has been an issue (Billye, 2000). This has led the committee to suggest an open dialogue on practices of ethical publishing, creating awareness to those in the process of editing and promoting conversant decision making by editors. In this case, the codes of ethics have not been practiced since the article published by students in 1999 is the same one published in 2006 in the Journal of Agricultural Education. It shows that fifty percent of the paper content is the same which is not ethical. The authors of the two articles are not the same and do not match in any way which shows that this is unethical. Useful information should be provided to all the sciences to provide practical support to the editors. The paper will discuss the situation, ethical problems, professional approaches, definitive approach as well as organization and development (Billye, 2000).

Ethical problems

            One of the ethical problems in this issue is the irresponsibility of editors to authors, public, owners and the community as a whole (Clinton, 2006). It is their role to give guidelines for the preparation and submission of manuscripts which was not practiced in this issue. It is also their role to set up and put into effect the criteria of authorship and it is clear that this was not followed in this issue (Clinton, 2006). The editors in this case did not treat the authors with sincerity, justice and courtesy as they are required to do. The other ethical problem is that the editors failed to provide guidelines that are clear for authors for the practices that are acceptable for information sharing before and after the publication of the journals. The other ethical problem is that the editor did not consider publishing content that has been published by the students. The editors also failed to make the authors show that their protocol of research was approved by ethic committees of the relevant institutions. The other ethical problem is that the editors did not monitor and ensure the timeline of the process of editing (Clinton, 2006). They should also have given the authors the names of all the reviewers who are associated with the journal in order to find out if it was published before. The other ethical problem is that editors did not fulfill their responsibility to the other journals. They should carry out peer review of the manuscripts that have been submitted and meet the terms of the processes and guidelines of the organization. They should also make proposals on improved assessment and distribution of scientific material. The editors did not set up and uphold high quality content of the journal and this led to fifty percent similarity of the content in this case (Clinton, 2006).

Professional approaches

            One of the professional approaches to this problem is determining whether and how this is an ethical problem. In this case, there is a conflict of professional responsibilities and this means that the editors who failed in their professionalism should explain why it happened (GreenGard, 2006). The other approach is the identification of the key values and the principles that have been involved. In this case, the editors did not protect the content of the first publication and that is the reason why fifty percent of it was copied by the second publication. This means that the editors must reconsider and cancel the second publication and maintain the second one. The other approach is ranking the ethical principles in the professional judgment as to find out the reason why the editor allowed the publication of the same content by to different authors rather than protecting the original one. The other approach is developing an action plan that is reliable with the ethical issue. This involves discussing this issue of the editor’s unprofessionalism with the parties involved to find out what the consequences are. The other approach is implementing the plan by finding ways of using professional sills on how to look for a solution. The other approach is reflecting the results of the ethical decision making by evaluating the consequences of the process for the people involved (GreenGard, 2006).

Definitive approach

The definitive approach I would take to handle this issue is the moral approach which is having respect of the fundamental rights that are shared by all citizens. This approach is directed by valuing the basic rights of human beings. This approach indicates clearly that it is unethical to deny people their rights and in this case, the right to privacy. This is because the content of the publication by the students was not protected as the editors allowed fifty percent of it to be copied (Scott, 2006). This is not ethical and is unprofessional as the rights of the students should have been protected. It shows that the editor of the journal is unethical and is not morally right for having denied the students who published the original journal their moral rights. The original content should have a guarantee of privacy and should not be allowed to be copied. This approach works by following what is morally right and is the best in solving an issue of unprofessionalism because it will follow the principles of what is right. It protects the rights of every citizen as it suggests that all people should be treated with equality regardless of their age, gender or social status. This will ensue that this issue is solved as it will be pointed out clearly that the code of ethics was not followed. This is the most professional approach to handle this ethical problem because all professionals are provided with the code of conduct before assuming office. It should then be clear to them that it is very important to protect the privacy of others (Scott, 2006).

Organization and development

            The paper has discussed into details that the process of publishing journals should be taken with responsibility in order to promote integrity. It is required that the process be practiced by people who have good ethics. The paper has also discussed the ethical problems that are in this situation. It shows that fifty percent of the paper content is the same which is not ethical. The authors of the two articles are not the same and do not match in any way which shows that this is unethical. It has also discussed the professional and definitive approaches to the problem.                                        

Professional

It may refer to a person who earns a living from an activity that is specified professionally or may mean a member of profession. It also means the education or training standards that offer the profession members with the necessary knowledge and skills that are required to carry out an exact role within the profession. In Agricultural education, professionals need to follow strict codes of conduct as required by the organization. One of my strengths related to professionalism is listening to clients carefully in order for them to feel free when talking to me (Maddy, 2002). This also makes me understand quickly what problem the client may be going through and leads to the best decision on how to take care of them. The other strength is being kind and considerate while forming relationships with people which in turn lead to a solid relationship where ideas and opinions are shared freely.  The other strength is the ability of learning everything when proper direction is given to me and if it is in the internet where I can be able to access then it is much easier. The other strength is that I do not allow my problems like stress to come between my interactions with the clients. One of my weaknesses is poor time management as I always want the client to explain everything. The other weakness is that I do not like it when people hang over me as it makes me anxious and self conscious which leads to mistakes. The other weakness is that I am not really self-confident in the work place and always suggest alternative routes to the supervisors and coworkers (Maddy, 2002).

Ethical dilemma

I was working in an Agricultural organization that was very famous and most people were recommended there. This means that we received a lot of people every day and it meant working overtime and during the weekend. I was the supervisor and this means that I had to make sure that everybody worked overtime and no permission would be given if the reason was not valid. The management also required me to give daily updates and hold motivational meetings which were tiring. It was clear that we needed more staff but the management only brought students who were on practice and had not finished their courses.  This required me to guide them on what to do and to watch them closely. I finally drew the line on overworking the staff which came down to a meeting that I knew would cost my job. I had to stick to my ethics and told the truth that more qualified staff was needed in order to work with shifts that would not be tiring and things would be done on time. The management did not like the way I expressed this and was fired the same day. Despite that, I still feel good about that decision and I do not regret it as I ended up being hired by another better Company. If I had to do it over again, I would still insist on telling the truth.

 

 

References

Billye Foster, 2000 Ethics and Agricultural Education: Determining Needs University of Arizona

Clinton P. Rusk, Associate Professor 2006 Evaluation of a Livestock Ethics Curriculum

For High School Youth Volume 47, Number 3,

GreenGard Samuel, May 15, 2006 True lies American way

Scott Lichter Diane September, 13, 2006 CSE White paper on promoting integrity in Scientific Journal Publications

Maddy J. Deborah, 2002, Oregon State University Service, Core Competencies for the Cooperative Extension System.