Scientific Ethics in Lebanon

Citation:

Azakir, Bilal, et al. “Knowledge and Attitudes of Physicians toward Research Ethics and Scientific Misconduct in Lebanon.” BMC Medical Ethics, vol. 21, no. 1, May 2020, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-020-00475-5. 

Summary:

For this final week, I decided to cover a scholarly journal article on scientific misconduct in Lebanon. A questionnaire was sent out to 331 physicians across Lebanon regarding ethics guidelines. The results from the study demonstrated that a majority of these physicians were aware of the ethical principles regarding human subjects; however, the average score on the knowledge questions was 46%. Only a quarter was aware of the Lebanese National Consultative Committee on Ethics. It was found that knowledge of the ethics principles was directly correlated with a positive outlook to research ethics and also the amount of research experience the physician had. The most profound result is that a third of these physicians reported that they had seen scientific misconduct in their careers. 

Critical Evaluation:

The intention of this article was to inform ethics committees of the lack of adherence to scientific conduct in underprivileged countries such as Lebanon. Ethics is being shown here in that there are some countries where ethics isn’t taken seriously. Since there is a lot of things politically going on in Lebanon, there is less of a responsibility on physicians to adhere to scientific conduct. This would go against the religious framework of maintaining integrity. This idea of God always watching everyone is clearly demonstrated in Islam, the religion of a portion of the physicians in Lebanon. On an objective level, this article is very reliable. This is because there are no generalizations, the study is easy to follow with little bias, and the sources used are easily accessible. One of the main indicators that this article is reliable is the fact that the title is not trying to attract a lot of attention; in fact, the title doesn’t include any controversial results from the study. Nonetheless, there were some limitations as the sample was very small and a cross-sectional study method was used. 

Humza Yousaf: A Look at the Influence of Tik Toks

Citation:

Sky News. “Sky News on TikTok.” TikTok, 27 Mar. 2023, http://www.tiktok.com/@skynews/video/7215219509538344197. 

Summary:

For this week, I came across a TikTok by Sky News covering the controversy behind Humza Yousaf, the first Muslim to lead a major UK party. In this clip, they covered his worst campaigning moment which was when he missed the final historic vote on equal marriage in the Scottish Parliament in 2014. The news source claims that he deliberately set up a meeting to skip the vote because he was feeling pressure from religious groups. The reporter stated that Humza denied this accusation though. Then, they cover his campaign and the fact that independence is his number one priority. Lastly, the source talks about how the public sees him as the weakest and incompetent candidate. 

Critical Evaluation:

The intention of this was to inform the UK public about Humza Yousaf as a candidate (included in the description of the clip). However, everything in the video that was mentioned was negative as they talked about his worst moment in office. In fact, I went to find videos for the other candidates and it seems as though they only utilized this perspective of evaluating a candidate for Humza. Religion is being represented in that his religion, Islam, allows for him to have some controversial opinions in the public’s eye. For example, the report says he avoided the same sex marriage vote on purpose. On an objective level, this source is not reliable. They accused him of such a controversy and proved it by providing a clip from an interview with an individual who had a suspicion. Also, a lot of generalizations were used in this clip. Specifically, the reporter says that the general public sees him as weak and incompetent in the polls; it is unknown what polls the reporter is referring to. The one unique thing about this media outlet is that there is a comment section. The comments recognize that this clip sees Humza Yousaf as the “bad guy.”  

Deion Sanders: Religious Controversy in Colorado

Citation:

Gaydos, Ryan. “Deion Sanders at the Center of Religion Controversy Months before Colorado Starts 2023 Season.” Fox News, 1 Mar. 2023, http://www.foxnews.com/sports/deion-sanders-center-religion-controversy-months-colorado-starts-2023-season.

Summary:

For this week, I chose to read a Fox article on the recent controversy behind Deion Sanders, Coach of Colorado. The article began talking about his time at Jackson State and how he expressed a strong belief in God in his coaching. The controversy is that he said that God had led him to coach the high school team but he still left to coach Colorado. Fox presents two sides to this: asking Colorado to stop him from forcing his religious beliefs or warning the university that doing the latter would prevent him from expressing his rights. Another controversy arose that he was forcing his players to pray. In fact, a letter from the Freedom from Religion Foundation was sent to Colorado asking him to stop. Then, the First Liberty Institute came to Sanders’ defense as a recent Supreme Court Case that public school employees may engage in religious expressions. 

Critical Evaluation:

The intention of this article was to inform the public on a recent controversy regarding religious expression in public universities. Religion and ethics are being represented in that the article covers the morality with an expression of religious prayers to players. In Islam, Muslims are not supposed to force their religion on others, but the way this was reported it does not seem that Sanders was forcing his faith onto his players. There have been an infinite number of times when I was in elementary school, middle school, and high school where we would start the day with a prayer but I was still able to silently do my own prayer. On an objective level, this source is slightly reliable. I say slightly because there are some quotes that don’t have any references; there isn’t a place where I can find that Deion Sanders actually said the things he said. Christianity was covered in this article. However, only the prayer that Sanders pursued was included; the conflict between the players and the coach was not discussed. The headline, first paragraph, and tone of this article imply that Sanders is a controversial character. Nonetheless, the article seems to support Sanders as the author finishes with evidence from a recent Supreme Court Case that Sanders is able to pursue religious activities. The article does catch my attention as it connected the validity of Sanders as a football coach and his controversial prayers when realistically the two are not related. Therefore, some generalizations were made to catch the viewer’s eye. 

Influence of Globalization of Sports

Citation:

Nelson, Kate. “Watch: Can Sports Globalization Save the World?” Global Sport Matters, 25 Aug. 2021, globalsportmatters.com/watch/2021/08/25/accessibility-authenticity-accountability-globalization-sports-video/. 

Summary:

For this week, I chose to listen to a podcast by Global Sport Matters revolving around how globalization has enabled athletes to have a greater voice. Lori Okimura, a volleyball official for the 2020 Paralympic Games, was being interviewed on this podcast. She talked about how (because of globalization) athletes can now be agents of change in society. She also talked about the interconnectivity of the sport; specifically, she talked about how athletes now have to travel across the world to perform. Furthermore, new barriers have been introduced into athletics due to globalization such as travel barriers. Due to the legislation in some countries, some athletes can get stuck practicing in a country that they’re not native to. Another guest talked about soccer and how globalization has enabled for the game to be commercialized. However, the guest talks about how globalization has also ruined the sport in the sense that the traditional aspect (the “beauty” of the game has been taken away). He specifically blames the new American owners who aren’t necessarily worried about the sport itself and are buying clubs in Europe and turning them into businesses. He gives the example of the Super League and how the biggest clubs in Europe almost made a league just for themselves so that they could make more money; this was quickly shut down by the fans. Nonetheless, he demonstrated this idea that globalization has just enabled the richer soccer clubs to get richer.

Critical Evaltuation:

The intention of this podcast was to inform the general public on the impacts of globalization on modern sports. Globalization is being represented in both a positive and negative sense in this podcast. It is being represented in a positive sense in that the mental health of athletes is being brought to attention, how athletes can be agents of change in society, and how younger athletes can be more prepared for the professional side of sports. However, I feel that the negative side of globalization was demonstrated more; for example, they talked about how the traditional component to sports that everyone loves is being taken away from them, athletes have to now persevere through travel and legislation barriers in other countries to compete, and how sports are starting to become turned into a business industry instead of an entertainment industry. On an objective level, I think that this source is not reliable. This is because no sources were used throughout the podcast. The guest that talked about soccer would generalize about how all soccer fans hated the idea of the Super League with all the best teams. He also generalized about the American owners and how they all were only interested in business. Also, it is very hard to find the sources used as most of the podcast seemed to be based on personal experiences with the phenomena; specifically, it was very hard for me to distinguish between fact and opinion. Now, the headlines did catch my attention as it mentioned how sports could save the world. It was a very broad headline that didn’t necessarily have to do with the podcast. 

Ceasefire During Eid in Sudan

Citation:

WION. “Sudan: Sombre Eid for Citizens as Eid Al-Fitr Ceasefire Violated | World News | WION.” Www.youtube.com, 22 Apr. 2023, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4TiTjqlX5I.

Summary: 

For this week, I chose to watch a broadcast by WION on the current war in Sudan and how the Eid (holiday for Muslims) ceasefire was violated. The media reported that the Sudanese army agreed to a 3-day ceasefire on Eid (a three-day occasion for Muslims). However, it was reported that the army violated the call. Fights occurred in the capital during the holiday. It was reported by the media that the citizens didn’t feel as if it was Eid. Citizens left the city to Chad as a result. It was even reported that the South Korean army evacuated its troops. The U.S. decided not to evacuate its citizens. A journalist from Sudan joined the broadcast. The two militaries in Sudan are using the grace period for Eid as a time to organize their troops. The journalist explained that after the grace period, the war will be a lot more aggressive. 

Critical Evaluation:

The intention of the broadcast was to inform the West about the ceasefire violation by the Sudanese army during Eid. Religion is being represented here in that the Muslims’ holiday was taken away from them this past weekend. This poses the question of whether or not religious events should be taken account in circumstances of war and political conflict. The broadcast seems to propose that it should be taken into account and that the “bad guys” are the Sudanese military. On an objective level, I think this broadcast is not reliable. Since I am able to understand the language the Sudanese citizens were speaking, I was able to tell that some very key points the citizens were making were being left out of the broadcast. For example, the citizens talks about how their perspective on the situation through Islam, but the broadcast did not completely translate it, leaving some key points. This brings a problem when talking about religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism where the followers don’t speak English so there is a translation barrier when covering such phenomena. One assumption or generalization they did make was that the only people at conflict were Muslims when there are others of many other faith traditions and backgrounds suffering. Lastly, the statistics and sources used were very vague. It is very unclear as to how sever the situation is. For example, the only thing the viewer is able to understand is that the ceasefire was violated (to what degree this ceasefire was violated is unknown). Specifically terms like “aggressive” and “harmful” can’t tell the viewer how bad a situation is; this is where numbers and statistics could be used to give better context. 

Supreme Court on Affirmative Action

Citation:

PBS. “PBS NewsHour | Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Affirmative Action Cases | Season 2022 | PBS.” Www.pbs.org, 31 Oct. 2022, http://www.pbs.org/video/affirmative-action-1667249047/. 

Summary:

For this week, I chose to watch a television broadcast by PBS on the Supreme Court’s evaluation of the consideration of race by colleges for admission. Prior to this case, it was reported that colleges could take into account many factors including race as long as they didn’t use quotas or give certain applicants benefits based on race. The case was about making any consideration of race unconstitutional. It was reported that the conservative justices were skeptical about what diversity meant and how long affirmative action would have to be in place. The conservative justices basically asked when it was going to end since they had set a 2028 deadline to eliminate race as a factor in admissions. Also, how this was measured was also questioned by the conservative justices. The lawyer said that it was going to depend on the benefits that will be achieved by racial diversity and that it can’t be measured quantitatively. The liberal justices were also reported on by PBS. They mentioned that the liberal justices in the case talked about how race was not the only factor; specifically, that race is never standing alone and that it is always in the context of other factors. It was also talked about how not having diverse admissions could impact industries such as medical and law. 

Critical Evaluation:

The intention of this PBS broadcast was to inform its American audience about a Supreme Court Case. Ethics in this broadcast is represented by the morality of affirmative action. As we learned in class, Kant would be in support of affirmative action as it would address inequality. This broadcast shows that a court case reveals that this perspective is questionable as the definition of diversity is unclear and whether or not considering race actually promotes equality. On an objective level, I think this broadcast is very reliable. PBS demonstrated conservative and liberal arguments. In fact, they spent the same amount of time (approximately 2:00) on each perspective. Also, the same amount of quotes was used for each perspective. PBS evidently tried its best to not leave any voices out. In fact, they had a reporter sit in the courtroom for five hours to report on the case to avoid any secondary source biases. All the sources and quotes that were used came directly from the case; no secondary sources were used. Therefore, the sources were reliable, and the broadcast made it clear which were facts and opinions by using the voices of the justices in court for fact and a reporter for opinion. There was no clickbait and there were no images or titles used just to catch my attention. This is one of the most reliable sources I have found in my media journal work. 

Controversy Behind Fifa World Cup

Citation:

Sullivan, Becky. “Why Qatar Is a Controversial Host for the World Cup.” NPR, 18 Nov. 2022, http://www.npr.org/2022/11/18/1137204271/qatar-world-cup-controversies.

Summary:

For this week, I chose to cover a NPR article on the controversy behind choosing Qatar as the host for the 2022 Fifa World Cup (a soccer tournament). The author, Becky Sullivan, starts by talking about the celebrating of the Arab world for hosting their first World Cup. Then, she talks about criticism. She first mentions the the ethics behind holding such a tournament in 100 degree weather. Then, she talks about the possible corruption by the FIFA officials who voted for Qatar. She even talks about how the former head of FIFA called the selection of Qatar a mistake. She talks for a good portion of the article about how Qatar was too small or incapable of hosting such a large event. She also talks about how a lot of non-Qatari residents were put to work in very dangerous situations and how many actually died. She even mentioned the creation of a fund by human rights groups for the workers. Another human rights abuse she discusses is how homosexuality is treated in Qatar (prison). She quotes how a Qatari said they just wanted others to respect their culture. Lastly, she talks about the bribe allegations and provided facts on how multiple FIFA officials involved during the selection of the country have been banned for things not involved in the selection.  

Critical Evaluation:

The intention of this article is definitely to shed light on the controversy behind choosing Qatar as the host country for the World Cup. NPR is producing this for its American audience. The article didn’t specifically talk too much about religion, even though some of the controversies she mentioned have to do with the fact that Qatar is a Muslim country. Islam here is represented in a negative light as the author proposes that some of the teachings from the religion are unethical; however, she tries to avoid this by referring to the religion as a culture instead. On an objective level, I think that this article is not reliable there are not really sources for what happened in the event; there were just sources for quotes from people watching the event and allegations. There are perspectives on the controversy behind this event that are not mentioned. For example, the current FIFA president had a viral clip during the World Cup talking about how he did not have any regrets for choosing the country. Also, a lot of the players posted on Instagram and other social media demonstrating how they were treated amazingly well. I feel that any time there is an article trying to cover a controversy it should also try to cover the light to the situation. The article definitely attracts the readers’ attention to the negative though as it talks about possible death counts, prison sentences, and human rights violations (this is clearly shown in the title of the article). 

Men Still Aren’t Vacuuming

Young Men Embrace Gender Equality But Still Don’t Vacuum 

Miller, C. C. (2020, February 11). Young men embrace gender equality, but they still don’t vacuum. The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/upshot/gender-roles-housework.html 

Summary: This article is a conversation about the rise in feminism and gender equality in society as a topic of conversation and some in practice. The caveat is that men still don’t seem to turn their words into actions. 

Evaluation: I love the one-line in the article about men still not vacuuming. I think feminism is on the rise and we are seeing women in places that we haven’t in a long time. However, I do not believe men are ready to give up the thing they didn’t have to do. Women still take the brunt of so much. It’s more than it ever has been in history. Now women are expected to work and raise the kids and take care of the house and the husband. It is way too much and not meant by the feminist movement. 

B Corps and Changing From Within

B Corporations!

B Corp certification demonstrates a company’s entire social and environmental impact. B Corp Certification demonstrates a company’s entire social and environmental impact. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/certification 

Summary: This is a link to the B Corporation website regarding their mission and what they do. B Corporations are certified corporations who are working to create better working environments and doing good for the world. It is a very serious and intense legal process to get certified. Some of the requirements include providing living wages, carbon net-zero, etc. 

Evaluation: On the topic of the economy, I think corporations can get a bad reputation. (probably deservingly). However, B Corporations are something that is combining ethics into our already built capitalist economy. Kind of in the sense of donut economics, we have to work with what we have a change from within.

Moral Policy = Good Economics

Moral Policy = Good Economics

Report • By Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. (n.d.). Moral policy = good economics: Lifting up poor and working-class people-and our whole economy. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.epi.org/publication/moral-policy-good-economics/ 

Summary: This article speaks on the effects the pandemic has had on our economy and the duty we have as a society to repair it in a safe and equitable way. This article mainly focuses on the hunger families have experienced, the safety concerns for others health, and the education that has been compromised.

Evaluation: From my statistics side, I really appreciate all of the graphs in this article. They show how the lower socio-economic communities were much more affected by the pandemic than the news outlets lead us to believe. I think there is some civic duty in repairing what the pandemic has done. Especially those who are better off, they have a stronger load in the repair.