Unit 1

Value education
Value education is the process by which people give moral values to others. It can be an activity
that can take place in any organisation during which people are assisted by others, who may be
older, in a condition experienced to make explicit our in order to assess the effectiveness of these
values and associated behaviour for their own and others' long term well-being, and to reflect on
and acquire other values and behaviour which they recognize as being more effective for long
term well-being of self and others.
Relevance to present day
Today the education system, not only in India but in all countries, has taken the wrong turn. No
single person is responsible for this situation. Parents have failed to bring up their children
properly. The nation’s leaders do not set them a good example. Even teachers have failed in
their responsibilities. The student of today is concerned with acquiring wealth, strength and
position, but not good qualities. Education is meant to enable one to acquire what are good
qualities. Education is not intended merely to stuff the brain with information. It has to
transform the heart and make it pure. This sacred truth has been forgotten. When we have
exemplary parents, exemplary leaders and ideal teachers, students will be ideal students, who are
selfless, pure-hearted and innocent by nature, are being dragged into politics, their minds are
getting fill with bitterness and hatred and their hearts are getting polluted.

Most of the people think that, progress has been not done due to lack of proper education system,
due to corruption among personnel, absence of treatment of education because policy makers,
educationists, teachers uninterested and avoid ness in their job, leaders are not good, Parents
have lack of knowledge of education and students have no patriotic feelings and no capacity to
discriminate between right and wrong.

 Indian knowledge on management principles which integrate body, mind, society, nation
are clearly given in Bhismoupadesam, Viburoupadesam, Bhagawat Gita. All these are
the art of the management syllabi in renowned Universities of the development world.
 Our treatises and smritis are also over-bright value based sources of known social
structure. Mother –father –son, husband – wife, teacher – student, king – subjects
relationships are radiant gifts our ancestors had handed down to us.
 Sanskrit the mother of all languages is the cornerstone to many Indian and foreign
languages.
 Vastusastra has flown overseas to the table of patenting; there are innumerable books on
Statecraft, being with Chanakya’s Arthasastra and Dharma Saastras. Indian Arthasastras
has become part of the studies in civil service in many countries including Pakistan.

After these great proudest, how the society of our country becomes evil? In this sense I want to
point out a statement of the naturalist Rousseau, he said that-

“God makes all things good. Man meddles with them and they become evil.”
 It means human being become good or bad through the society. Society can make human being
as it want. But our present society is suffering with corruption in all the field due to our
education system, because absence of VALUE BASED EDUCATION. Only one field has an
important role to reduce all types of corruptions from the society is education. In this sense
Value Based Education has an important role to make a new education system which will be
based on the value. Because the element of Value Based
Education can be found not only in the subject matter but in the learning styles which are
employed, the scheduling of the classroom, extracurricular activities, and parental involvement.
The value based education therefore organized so as to secure the fullest possible development of
body, mind and heart; and a fruitful canalization of the life energy in pursuit that contribute to
the growth of internal and external personality.

The present paper attempts to deal with the following points;

- What is Value Based Education?
- Why is Value Based Education needed?
- How to implement Value Based Education?

What is Value Based Education?

Education opens our mind, but value based education (VBE) gives us purity of heart too;
education extends our relationship with the world, but value based education link us with our
own family members too; education makes our living better, but value based education makes
our life better too; education teaches us to complete with others, but value based education
encourages us to be complete too; educational makes us a good professional, but value based
education makes us whole human too; education may bring limitations but value based education
is for liberation. After all right education means – “SA Vidya Ya Vimuktye”. It means that
knowledge is what helps us to attain liberation.

Why is Value Based Education Needed?

In the discussion of this point first of all I want to ask some questions to you;
- The quantity of education has considerably increased, but the quality has decreased.
Why?
- The number of educated people has reached at a high level, but murder, hatred, and
selfishness have spread out like wildfire everywhere. Why?
- Many institutions are opened, but only few civilized people are produced. Why?
- Degrees are available for all, but the dignity has gone down. Why?
- Trained people are produced from many institutions, but sincere people are very few.
Why?
- Many books are written; much research is done; many professional achievements are
attained, but humanity is threatened. Why?

From the following questions only one solution is there, and that is the education should be
based on value. Therefore, we needed VALUE BASED EDUACTION.
How to implement Value Based Education?
Talking about Value Based Education is quite an easy job, but implementing it is a daunting task,
which needs the strongest determination. First of all we should all fully agree that without value
based education we can not have a safe society, a develop country and a harmonious family
environment. Therefore, we need to find out some practical ways to apply value based education,
e.g., starting with junior classes, developing strong commitment of all academic institutions,
encouraging parents for their
persistent support, producing more trained and dedicated teachers, establishing supportive
administrative teams and the like. A well organized library equipped with relevant reference
books and audio-visual cassettes of course helps as an additional and supportive means and
resource to inculcate the value based education in the children.

We also need trained, committed and spiritually motivated teachers for value based education.
The pedagogical methods for implementing value based education may be stories, poems,
prayers, songs, mantras and bhajans. Similarly special camps can be organized. Although it is
quite challenging to apply value based education at present in India, a few school and colleges
have been working on the promotion and implementation of VBE formally or informally.

And lastly in the conclusion I want to say only one line, that, there is a famous saying-
“BETTER LESS THAN NEVER”, it means we must start now.

Introspection
Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology,
the process of introspection relies exclusively on observation of one's mental state, while in
a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's soul. Introspection is closely related
to human self-reflection and is contrasted with external observation.
Introspection generally provides a privileged access to our own mental states, not mediated by
other sources of knowledge, so that individual experience of the mind is unique. Introspection
can determine any number of mental states including: sensory, bodily, cognitive, emotional and
so forth.
Introspection has been a subject of philosophical discussion for thousands of years. The
philosopher Plato asked, "…why should we not calmly and patiently review our own thoughts,
and thoroughly examine and see what these appearances in us really are?" While introspection is
applicable to many facets of philosophical thought it is perhaps best known for its role
in epistemology, in this context introspection is often compared
with perception, reason, memory, and testimony as a source of knowledge.
Self-esteem
Self-esteem reflects an individual's overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her own
worth. It is the decision made by an individual as an attitude towards the self. Self-esteem
encompasses beliefs about oneself, (for example, "I am competent", "I am worthy"), as well
as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007)
defined it by saying "The self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, is the positive
or negative evaluations of the self, as in how we feel about it."
Self-esteem is attractive as a social psychological construct because researchers have
conceptualized it as an influential predictor of certain outcomes, such as academic
achievement, happiness, satisfaction in marriage and relationships, and criminal behaviour. Self-
esteem can apply specifically to a particular dimension (for example, "I believe I am a good
writer and feel happy about that") or a global extent (for example, "I believe I am a bad person,
and feel bad about myself in general"). Psychologists usually regard self-esteem as an enduring
personality characteristic ("trait" self-esteem), though normal, short-term variations ("state" self-
esteem) also exist. Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include many things: self-
worth, self-regard, self-respect, and self-integrity.
American psychologist Abraham Maslow included self-esteem in his hierarchy of human needs.
Sociometer theory maintains that self-esteem evolved to check one's level of status and
acceptance in ones' social group.
According to Terror Management Theory, self-esteem serves a protective function and reduces
anxiety about life and death.

Family values
THE FAMILY, ITS ROLES, COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE

The World Population Plan of Action affirms that "the family is the basic unit of society and
should be protected by appropriate legislation and policy”. In all parts of the world, families
perform important socio-economic and cultural functions. In spite of the many changes that
have altered their roles and functions, families continue to provide the natural framework for the
emotional, financial and material support essential to the growth and development of their
members, particularly infants and children, and for the care of other dependants, including the
elderly, disabled and infirm. The family in all its forms is the cornerstone of the world
community. As primary agents of socialization, families remain a vital means of preserving and
transmitting cultural values. educate, train, motivate and support their individual members,
thereby investing in their future growth and acting as a vital resource for development. Families
are also important agents of sustainable development at all levels of society and their
contribution in this area is
decisive for its success.
The specific functions of families include-
establishing emotional, economic and social bonds between spouses; providing a framework for
procreation and sexual relations between spouses; protecting family members; giving a name and
status to family members, especially to children; and providing basic care, socialization and
education of children. Families also play a crucial role in meeting the health requirements of all
their members; there is a need to support families in this vital role.

Family Structures

The following types of families exist today, with some families naturally falling into multiple
categories. For example, a single parent family who lives in a larger, extended family. While
these types of families are distinct in definition, in practice the lines are less clear.
Nuclear Family
The nuclear family is the traditional type of family structure. This family type consists of two
parents and children. The nuclear family was long held in esteem by society as being the ideal in
which to raise children. Children in nuclear families receive strength and stability from the two-
parent structure and generally have more opportunities due to the financial ease of two adults.
According to U.S. Census data, almost 70 percent of children live in a nuclear family unit.

Single Parent Family

The single parent family consists of one parent raising one or more children on his own. Often, a
single parent family is a mother with her children, although there are single fathers as well. The
single parent family is the biggest change society has seen in terms of the changes in family
structures. One in four children is born to a single mother. Single parent families are generally
close and find ways to work together to solve problems, such as dividing up household chores.
When only one parent is at home, it may be a struggle to find childcare, as there is only one
parent working. This limits income and opportunities in many cases, although many single
parent families have help from relatives and friends.

Extended Family
The extended family structure consists of two or more adults who are related, either by blood or
marriage, living in the same home. This family includes many relatives living together and
working toward common goals, such as raising the children and keeping up with the household
duties. Many extended families include cousins, aunts or uncles and grandparents living together.
This type of family structure may form due to financial difficulties or because older relatives are
unable to care for themselves alone. Extended families are becoming increasingly common all
over the world.

Childless Family
While most people think of family as including children, there are couples who either cannot or
choose not to have children. The childless family is sometimes the "forgotten family," as it does
not meet the traditional standards set by society. Childless families consist of a husband and wife
living and working together. Many childless families take on the responsibility of pet ownership
or have extensive contact with their nieces and nephews as a substitute for having their own
children.

Stepfamily
Over half of all marriages end in divorce, and many of these individuals choose to get remarried.
This creates the stepfamily which involves two separate families merging into one new unit. It
consists of a new husband and wife and their children from previous marriages or relationships.
Stepfamilies are about as common as the nuclear family, although they tend to have
more problems, such as adjustment periods and discipline issues. Stepfamilies need to learn to
work together and also work with their exes to ensure these family units run smoothly.

Grandparent Family
Many grandparents today are raising their grandchildren for a variety of reasons. One in fourteen
children is raised by his grandparents, and the parents are not present in the child's life. This
could be due to parents' death, addiction, abandonment or being unfit parents. Many
 grandparents need to go back to work or find additional sources of income to help raise their
grandchildren.

Neutralization of Anger
Anger is the worst enemy of mankind. Anger is one of the six temperaments arising out of
inordinate or unchecked desires. Anger strains the relationship between body and lifeforce,
between lifeforce and mind and between individuals and society. The people in family life are
losing their happiness and creating pains and miseries for themselves and others because of
anger. Anger raises the bloodpressure, contributes to heart palpitation, trembling of hands,
burning of eyes, ulcers in the stomach and so on.
Controlling or suppressing anger after it has arisen is of no use whatsoever, for the harm to
health has already occurred. The force of suppressed anger will generate vengeance, depression
and grief. So the best method is to neutralize Anger by or filled up when the mind is fixed on
duty and effort is made perseverently with systematic planning.
Everyone has some problems at any given time, and these may come and go. One should
not get baffled with the problems, Problems are part of life. Pause and consider what happened
with the problems that had already come into your life and how they were settled. Similarly the
problems confronting you at present would also be solved in time.
Instead of worrying over a problem, be courageous and find out what best you can do to
solve the problem. If a solution does not occur to you at the moment, leave it to Nature and wait
for some time. The appropriate solution will come of its own in proper time. Here you have to
understand a fact of Nature. A problem would appear daunting only in the beginning; the
solution is inbuilt and would become available without fail. We have to find out a formula for
this; and if only one follows it systematically, it would be easy to get success in solving all the
problems and in relieving the mind of the burden. In the manner you have learnt to deal with
thoughts and desires, get paper and pen and list out all the problems you have. Then analyze
them and place each problem in any one of the categories given below:
(1) Problems to be faced or endured because they cannot be solved or changed by any means;
(2) Problems which should be ignored because they are insignificant and no difficulty would arise
when we neglect them;
(3) Problems which should be shelved for the present because they will have to be solved by Nature
or by the society, at the proper time.
(4) Problems to be taken up for immediate disposal without delay.
These are the four categories under which we have
to classify the problems according to their merits.
For example, a child in the family is afflicted with poliomyelitis and a limb is impaired. Is
there any use worrying over this problem? Will not the worrying and grieving weaken you and
weaken the child too? You should do all you can to aid the child and equip for its future. This
problem would fall in category (1) " to be endured. "
Next, one of your elder relatives is constantly proffering unsolicited advice, or a neighbor is
itching to provoke you through sarcastic comments. A quarrel with the critic will only be a waste
of energy. Place this, problem in category (2) "to be ignored" and keep your poise. The bother
will abate in a very short time if you accord this treatment to it.
You are all ready for a trip abroad but there is delay in getting a visa on account of some
change in the policy of the Government. Is there any point in fuming and fretting and kicking
against the pricks? Accept the delay, for this problem is in category (3) "to be shelved ."
 You are willing to get married but a suitable partner is not in sight. A solution to the
problem depends on social and environmental conditions. While not slackening your efforts, you
have to develop patience and wait for the proper time. The society and Nature will have to solve
the problem. This problem, again, belongs to category (3).
You are afflicted with abdominal pain all of a sudden and you rush to a hospital. They
diagnose the ailment as Appendicitis. Surgery is the only way and postponing it may result in
danger. What next? Agree to the surgical operation forthwith. In a partnership firm or even
among brothers and sisters in a jointfamily, dissension could arise necessitating division or
partition of property. Sentiment should then be kept aside and legal steps taken for the
separation, as any further delay would only mean increased bitterness and allround misery. Such
problems fall in category (4) "to be taken up for immediate disposal.
In this manner, when you analyze all the problems your mind will come to the state of
settlement and peace. Your work is only to act on the decision you have made.
We should also remind ourselves frequently of the reality of life so that we may not
generate unnecessary problems. We came into the world at a point of time and we have to leave
it one day. We brought nothing material when we arrived on the planet and we would not be able
to take anything on our departure. Circumstances and opportunities are giving everyone some
duties according to their personality and responsibility. Just think what best you can do with
every incident and occurrence. Limit your mind to your duty. Whatever happens beyond your
effort is to be taken as the Divine Will. That is the Law of Nature which is the greatest force that
was existing before our birth and would be existing even after our disappearance. Where is the
worry? Leave worry itself to do the worrying! While we are alive we have certain
responsibilities in regard to our own self and the society. These should be understood well and
performed dutifully and successfully, to the satisfaction of self and others. The mind will then
become lighter and peaceful. Clarity and ability of the mind will also develop enabling you to
solve the problems easily and also to refrain from creating new problems in life.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A FAMILY
Parents: it is the primary duty of the parents to work in order to support the family for their basic
needs.
Father: is the head of the family, he provides for the family.
Mother: manages the household chores and looks after the welfare of each family member.
Children: helps parents in doing various household chores or any duties you are capable of doing
and loving.
Brother:helps the father in fixings things.
Sisters: helps the mother in doing household chores.

Women in India: Role and Status of Women in India

Introduction: Traditionally, an Indian woman had four fold status-role sequences. These
were her role as a daughter, wife, housewife (homemaker), and mother.The woman, whose status
and role traditionally was well defined and almost fixed in the society, is now experiencing far-
reaching changes.
The woman in modern times is entering into certain new fields that were unknown to the
woman’s sphere of role-sets. They are activating participating in social, economic, and political
activities.

The women of the present generation have generally received higher education than the women
of their preceding generation. There have been far reaching consequences in the economic status
of their families.

Women’s Role in Society: The modern women are inclined towards the social issues, and trying
hard to improve the social status of women at large.

Increased awareness and education has inspired women to come out of the four walls of the
home. Many woman actively supported and participated in the nationalist movement and secured
eminent positions and offices in administration and public life in free India. Traditionally Indian
women exist because of the family and for the family.

Just like their man counterpart, women are also fond of attending social functions and value her
social life quite a lot. Previously, men-folk used to discourage women from leaving their
households for attending social functions. Now the spread of education, especially that of
women, and with that the changing social attitudes of educated women have changed the order.

The modern woman has started caring for her health, figure, cultural needs and interests,
academic pursuits, social intercourse, religious activities recreational needs, etc.

Woman as a wife: Woman as a wife enjoyed ideally a status almost equally to that of her
husband and performed both social as well as biological functions.

Even today, the Indian girls are still brought up on models portraying selflessness, self-denial,
and sacrifice.

The desire for mutual affection and love is beginning to appear in their conception of their
relationship with their husbands.

The husband-wife relationship has become more equalitarian in character and much more
companionable. More freedom of choice in marriage is thus an accompaniment to the change in
form of the family.

Women’s role in politics: Education of women has not only helped them to become aware of
the political problems, but they are gradually becoming active participants in the political life.
Some are enrolling themselves as members of political parties, attending party meetings,
conventions, and carrying out political programs. Some women are attaining influential political
stature of their own and have become instrumental in shaping the public opinion for the
betterment of women’s conditions in society.

Participation of Women in Socio-economic activities: The woman in modern times is entering

into certain new fields that were unknown to the woman’s sphere of role-sets. These are the
woman’s participation in economic, political, and social life.

The modern woman keenly desires to enter into a work career because of the pressing economic
needs of the family. In middle class families, much emphasis is given to the maintenance of high
standard of living. To fulfill the economic needs of the family and to achieve higher standard of
living the woman participates in economic activities.

Marriage: Most women, even the educated, regard marriage as a matter of parental choice.
Many young girls of the middle and upper classes are educated with a view to marriage rather
than to careers. Again, many girls enter into careers apparently not because they want them, but
because there is nothing else to be done until their parents find them husbands.

Women equality is not universal: Women’s equality in terms of education, employment, and
power is still an individual rather than a universal achievement. The majority of our women are
still content to accept an inferior status. This is by and large due to the fact that, although legally
women have equal rights with men, there are not enough jobs for women and working women
are not adequately protected from exploitation.

Unaware of their legal status: Women are generally not aware of the provisions related to the
improvement of their own position. Even if they know about some of the provisions related to
their rights of succession, marriage, or family, they do not desire to invoke them. Traditional
dominance of the authority of the male parents, husband, and other elder members of the family
often restricts the enjoyment of their legal rights by the women. The materialization of these
problems still depends largely upon the attitudinal changes in society.

Rural women: Gandhiji’s vision that women must play an equal and important role in national
development. However, the movement for raising the socio-economic status of women had
involved generally the middle-class educated women in major urban centers while the great mass
of rural women are yet to enjoy the rights and privileges as enshrined in the Constitution.

Role of Women Welfare Organizations: Among the national level, the important organizations
are Young Women Christian Association, All India Women’s Conference, National Council of
Women, Inner Wheel (Women’s section of the Rotary International). In many cities, local
organizations exist such as Mahila Mandal, Mahila Samiti, and Recreation Clubs, etc.

TIME ALLOTMENT FOR SHARING IDEAS AND CONERNS

 According to Curry and Bromfield (1994), Circle Time has the following advantages as an
activity:

Raises self-esteem
Improves listening skills
Facilitates working together co-operatively
Increases insight and awareness
Teaches social skills
Builds confidence
Promotes effective communication
Enhances friendships
Provides conflict resolution strategies
Encourages problem solving solutions
Offers understanding
Makes children more sensitive to one another
Explores feelings
Is fun!
CARING FOR ELDERLY AND NEEDY

1. Accept that things have changed. When a parent starts in any way depending upon their child,
a world has turned upside down. Be prepared for that radically new paradigm. Old roles may not
apply; old methodologies may not apply; old emotionsmay not apply. Be prepared to work from
— and write — a whole new script.
2. Take it slowly. Taking care of an elderly parent is generally a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t rush
it. You and they both are in uncharted territory. Let the process reveal itself to you; to the degree
that you can, let whatever happens unfold organically. As much as you lead what’s happening,
follow it.
3. Expect nothing emotionally. At the end phase of their life, your parent might open up to you
emotionally and spiritually; they might express for you the love that, for whatever reason, they
haven’t before. But they also might not do that; your parent might even more tenaciously cling to
their crazy. If as you care for your aging parent you bond with them in a new and deeper way, of
course that’s fantastic. But going into caring for them expecting or even hoping for that to
happen is to wade into dangerous waters. Better to have no expectations and be surprised, than to
have your hopes dashed.
4. Expect their anger. When you start taking care of your parent, they lose the one thing they’ve
always had in relationship to you: authority. That’s not going to be easy for them to give up.
Expect them, in one way or another, to lash out about that loss.
5. Give them their autonomy. Insofar as you can, offer your parent options instead of orders. It’s
important for them to continue to feel as if they, and not you, are running their lives. Let them
decide everything they can about their own care and situation.
6. Ask their advice. A great way to show your parent love and respect — and, especially, to affirm
for them that they are still of true value to you — is to sincerely ask them for advice about
something going on in your life.
7. Separate their emotional dysfunction from their cognitive dysfunction. Insofar as you can,
through your conversations and interactions with your parent, learn to distinguish between their
emotional and cognitive dysfunction. The patterns of your parent’s emotional dysfunctions will
probably be familiar to you; those, you’ll know how to deal with. But their cognitive
dysfunctioning will probably be new to you. Track it; react to it gingerly; discuss it with your
parent’s health care providers. Mostly, just be aware that it’s new, and so demands a new kind of
response.
8. Love your health care providers. During this phase of your life, you don’t havebetter friends
than those helping you care for your parent. Cleaning person, social worker, physical therapist,
nurse, doctor, caring neighbor — treat well each and every person who plays any role
whatsoever in caring for your parent. When they think of your parent, you want everyone
involved in their care to have good, positive thoughts; you want them to want to care well for
your mom or dad. Steady kindness, and little gifts here and there, can go a long way toward
ensuring that’s how they feel.
9. Depend upon your spouse. You may find that your parent is more comfortable relating to your
spouse than to you. Though that can certainly hurt your feelings, don’t let it. It’s simply because
your parent doesn’t share with your spouse all the baggage they do with you; mainly, they’ve
never been the dominate force in your spouse’s life. Your spouse and your parent are peers to a
degree that you and your parent can never be. Let that work for you. Depend upon your spouse to
be as instrumental in the care of your parent as he or she wants to be.
10. Protect your buttons. No one in this world knows your emotional buttons like your mom or dad
does. Surround those buttons with titanium cases and lock them away where your parent couldn’t
find them with a Rorschach test. Unless he or she is an extraordinarily loving and mature person,
your parent is bound to at least once try to push your buttons, if only to establish their erstwhile
dominance over you. Don’t let them do it. You might owe them your care, but you don’t owe
them your emotional well-being. With your parent, let “No buttons for you!” be your motto.
11. Prepare for sibling insanity. Donot expect that your siblings will take care of them. Do your
duty. no amount of money on earth is worth your dignity.
12. Take care of yourself . It’s so easy to surrender to the care of your aging parent more of your
life than you should. But you serve well neither yourself nor them if you fail to take walks; to
stretch out; to eat right; to make sure you spend quality time away from them. Make taking time
to rejuvenate yourself as critical a part of your care routine for your parent as you do cooking
their meals or making sure they take their meds. Your life still needs to be about you.
13. Talk to a friend. If you have a friend with whom you can regularly meet and talk, or even chat
with on the phone, do it. During this time the input and love of a friend is invaluable to you.
Sharing what you’re going through with someone not immediately involved with it can be like a
life preserver when you’re bobbing in the ocean. As soon as you get involved with tending to
your parent, call your best friend, and tell them that you’re going to be depending upon them to
do what friends do best: care, and listen.
14. Have fun. One of the things we most need in life is the one thing we most readily jettison once
we begin caring for an elderly parent: fun. Fun! Have some! Have lots! Rent a Marx Brothers
movie. Wear a goofy hat. Make your parent wear a goofy hat — when they’re sleeping, maybe.
Whatever it takes. But remember: A day without fun is like a day where you almost go to jail for
pushing your old mom or dad down a stairwell. Whenever, wherever and however you can, truly
enjoy.
15. Pray or meditate. Life doesn’t offer a lot more emotionally salient or complex than caring for
an aging parent. Accordingly, then, open yourself up to God, whatever that might mean to you.
Be sure to with some regularly get down on your knees, or sit comfortably in a quiet place; close
your eyes; breathe deeply and slowly; and wait to come over you the peace that surpasses
understanding. What you’re undergoing with your parent right now is bigger than you, your
parent, or anyone else involved. Do not fail to avail yourself of the great and mighty source from
whose perspective it has all, already, been resolved..

THREATS OF FAMILY LIFE

Why are families in such disarray? What is different in our culture that makes the quality of our
home life such a struggle? Why are marriages failing? Why do teens struggle so much? Here are
nine ideas that may lie close to the heart of the problem.

1. The challenge of materialism. We live in a culture that confuses wants and needs. Our
material well-being provides an abundance of things that inherently don’t satisfy the soul. With
our comfortable lifestyles and materialistic carrots in front of us, we don’t experience enough
compassion for the problems of others nor do we avail ourselves of the opportunities for service
to others.

Children grow up with a sense of entitlement for material comforts and experiences that are self-
serving and narcissistic. Parents give them too much and they don’t connect readily with the
world of work and responsibility. With our abundance, the seeds are sown for disappointment
and perceived deprivation when in fact the opposite is true.

2. Not enough love in marriage. Marriage is about meeting needs, putting the marital partner
first, thoughtfulness and consideration. Many of our marriages lack basic respect, compassion,
acceptance, apologies, forgiveness, generosity and love. Instead we get marital partners who
expect marriage to meet "their" needs, show little inclination to sacrifice for the other and put
other things ahead of their relationship. Couples settle for a mediocre or poor marriage when all
that it takes is a willingness to give rather than expect.

3. The electronic media is a powerful, new source of influence. The media has emerged as a
penetrating and pervasive source of influence displacing the home, schools, peers and religious
institutions in the lives of youth. Besides subtracting valuable time from primary relationships
and productive activities such as spontaneous play and reading, it also portrays poor role models,
demonstrates poor conflict resolution skills and communicates course values with violence and
permissive sexual relationships. A pop culture is indiscriminately invited into our homes with its
emphasis on entertainment, cynical humor, and immediate gratification.

4. Competing priorities for time, attention and resources. The plethora of choices we have
with our careers, hobbies, entertainment, children’s activities, technology, and bringing work
home demands more and more of our time and energy. Families are divided and going in
different directions. Parents are exhausted. We are too busy to be together. Our complaint is that
there isn’t enough time. The problem is the choices we make with our time.
5. Not enough parenting. It takes time, commitment and dedication to be a parent. It takes time
to discipline, to serve, to monitor, to teach morals, values and religious instruction, to read to
children and to laugh and play with them. It takes time to prepare and gather children together
for a family meal.

It takes a willingness to put children ahead of our own needs and to live the example we are
trying to teach. Parental absence during infancy and early childhood disrupts the attachment
bond upon which future relationships are built.

7. Lack of emotional and self regulation. More and more young adults are coming of age with
poorer control over their moods, temper and ability to delay gratification. The emotional arousal
and lack of self-control they experience interferes with their ability to be reliable and trustworthy
partners in relationships.

Their lack of emotional control makes them self-centered. The result is poorer listening skills,
less tact and respect in conflict resolution, an unwillingness to compromise, and an inner
neediness that leads to demands and possessiveness. They lack the ability to empathize and give
to others.

8. Weakened community and extended family support. Families and children have fewer and
fewer community supports to sustain them. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are far away.
Our institutions, communities and businesses become larger and more impersonal. Families need
the support of a caring community and friends to share each others’ burdens.

Old neighborhood ties are replaced by "virtual" communities with less face-to face contacts and
real involvement with others. Without developing their own support system, families are more
isolated and alone in their struggles.

9. Life without meaning. Without a belief in God and a spiritual orientation to life, people
struggle with knowing right and wrong, how to live, who they are and what is important. They
are also "wishy-washy" with their children and don’t teach strong values in order to make good
choices in a permissive, materialistic and hedonistic culture.

Our society is on a slippery slope where is it easy to be distracted from the principles of integrity,
honor, honesty, obeying the law, respecting the rights of others and governing oneself. People
with religious faith live happier and more fulfilling lives because of their adherence to time-
honored and God-inspired rules for living

ADJUSTABILITY

1. the quality of being adjustable.

2. the ability, especially of a child, to adjust to new surroundings;adaptability:

HUMAN VALUES
Basic human values refer to those values which are at the core of being human. The values which
are considered basic inherent values in humans include truth, honesty, loyalty, love, peace, etc.
because they bring out the fundamental goodness of human beings and society at large. Further,
since these values are unifying in nature and cut across individual’s social, cultural, religious and
sectarian interests; they are also considered universal, timeless and eternal applying to all human
beings.

UNIT 2
Views of charakha on moral responsibilities of a medical practitioner
In the words of Charaka, the earliest Indian medical writer who lived centuries before the
Christian era, sickness prevents a person from pursuing his values of life which include
satisfying the normal desires and having the usual pleasures of life, acquiring wealth and
securing financial comfort, leading a life of virtue and social usefulness. This triad c normal
human life. The person who is sick is unable to lead a normal life, pursuing this triad, and to this
extent he threatens the so which he lives and of which he is a part Values of life are fulfilled only
by a healthy person. The physician who restores the health of the person will indeed gift him
with the values of life. Four are the gifts praised in the society: providing defense for the weak
and helpless, feeding the hungry, teaching those who want to learn, and treating the sick; and the
best among them is providing health to the sick. The Smriti texts are found to regard the
physician in an exceptional light; the usual disabilities and restrictions of caste, status and so on,
do not apply to the physician, because what he does no one else in the society can do [6]
Mithkshara, the commentator of the famous law-giver Manu said that the physician was always
pure and among the elite said that a physician is superior to a Brahmin, because if the Brahmin is
twice born, once from the mother and second time when threading ceremony is done, the
physician is thrice born, when he completes his medical education Charaka, however classified
physicians into two categories: the right ones and the wrong ones. from ancient Indian teachers
International Archives of Integrated Medicine, Vol. 2, Issue 2, February, 2015. , IAIM, All
Rights Reserved. envisage the technological advance of more recent times or the population
explosion, does not take away the merit of the approach, which concerns itself with the essential
values of the In the words of Charaka, the earliest Indian medical writer who lived centuries
before the Christian era, sickness prevents a person from pursuing his values of life which
include satisfying the normal desires and having the acquiring wealth and securing financial
comfort, leading a life of virtue This triad characterizes The person who is sick is unable to lead
a normal life, pursuing this triad, and to this extent he threatens the society in which he lives and
of which he is a part [3]. lled only by a healthy The physician who restores the health of the
person will indeed gift him with the values Four are the gifts praised in the society: for the weak
and helpless, feeding the hungry, teaching those who want to learn, and treating the sick; and the
best among them is providing health to the sick. The Smriti texts are found to regard the
physician in an sual disabilities and restrictions of caste, status and so on, do not apply to the
physician, because what he does no [6]. Mithkshara, the commentator of the famous giver Manu
said that the physician was among the elite [6]. Charaka said that a physician is superior to a
Brahmin, because if the Brahmin is twice born, once from the mother and second time when
threading ceremony is done, the physician is thrice born, when he completes his medical
education [3]. Charaka, however classified physicians into two right ones and the wrong ones.
The former remove the diseases and assure life, while the later produces illness and remove the
life itself [3]. There were quacks and fakes even in the ancient times. They have been termed
‘prathi-rupakas’ or ku-vaidyas. Even the law of the land laid a heavy hand on them. law-giver,
enjoins that the fake physician must be severely punished [7]. Yajnyavalkya lay down that a
quack is to be fi According to Charaka, the physician should be a benefactor in as much as he
facilitates people to attend to the three main objectives of life, viz. virtuous living, wealth and
security, and pleasures of life, for all the three depend on health. The physician in this sense is
looked up on as a ‘donor’, for his gifts bodily health and wellbeing. Yogarathnakara, a medieval
work on medicinal preparations, said that the physician is most virtuous on this account and
worthy of all honor. As we all know monetary considerations play increasingly important and e
modern society. A large number of young and brilliant aspirants take medical practice only for
the rich rewards that it entails. has become so complicated a one does not distinguish the
competent and the honest doctor from the commercial minded doctor who merely puts on airs.
Ethics in this context gets terribly out of gear. The old and honored concepts of service,
propriety, efficiency, integrity, honesty, commitment and sincerity do not seem to be applicable
to the modern times. The code of conduct, even when one has a notion of it, seems
impracticable. economics, and not ethics, that seem to rule the roost. Ideals to be pursued
Mahabharata, the great Indian epic, told us that we must cultivate the physician who is wise,
ISSN: 2394-0026 (P) ISSN: 2394-0034 (O) Page 163 The former remove the diseases and assure
life, while the later produces illness and remove the There were quacks and fakes even They
have been termed vaidyas. Even the law of land laid a heavy hand on them. Manu, the giver,
enjoins that the fake physician must . Yajnyavalkya-smiriti lay down that a quack is to be fined
heavily [8]. According to Charaka, the physician should be a benefactor in as much as he
facilitates people to attend to the three main objectives of life, viz. virtuous living, wealth and
security, and pleasures of life, for all the three depend on The physician in this sense is looked up
on as a ‘donor’, for his gifts bodily health and wellbeing. Yogarathnakara, a medieval work on
medicinal preparations, said that the physician is account and worthy of all all know monetary
considerations play increasingly important and enormous role in

Aim of medical education

Outlining the objective subserved by medical education, Caraka stated, ‘This science is to be
studied with a view to benefiting all creatures… with the object of attaining virtue, wealth and
pleasure…’
‘Now whatever endeavour a practitioner of this science makes towards the relief of the ailments
affecting those who walk in the path of righteousness or those who propagate righteousness, or
of such persons as his mother, father, brothers, relations and seniors or in whatever measure he
meditates on, expounds or prac-tices the spiritual truths enshrined in this science of life; all that
constitutes the higher virtue of his life.’
Another early master, Kasyapa declared, ‘Medicine should be studied.. . for the sake of the
knowledge of truth, of acquiring spiritual merit for himself and of exteilding help to humanity…’
Dhanwantari, the legendary god of medicine defined the purpose of the medical sciences as
‘release from suffering to those who are in the grip of disease and maintenance of well-being as
regards those who arc right-healthy. Medical science is eternal, sacred and bestowed of heaven,
fame, longevity and subsistence.’
Caraka and Susruta
Susruta, contemporary with Caraka, did at Varanasi for surgery what Caraka did for medicine.
He compiled the Samhita named after him. Both these works, as available to us, represent not
only the teachings of these masters but also additions and commentaries by followers.
Caraka Samhita and Susruta Samhita were written. around 2700 BC.
Qualifications required in a student of medicine:
Admission to studies:
As much importance was attached to moral fitness as to physical and intellectual fitness. Caraka:
Knowledge like a sword or water requires a clean repository. ‘weapons, learning and water are
wholly dependent for their merits and demerits on their holder.’
The oath of initiation
‘The teacher should instruct the disciple in the presence of the sacred fire, Brahmanas and
physicians:
‘Thou shalt speak only the truth,. be free from envy… There shall be nothing that thou oughtest
not to do at my behest except hating the king or causing another’s death or committing an act of
unrighteousness or acts leading to calamity,
‘Thou shalt behave and act without arrogance and with undistracted mind, humility and constant
reflection . . . thou shalt pray for the welfare of all creatures…,’
‘Day and night however thou mayest he engaged, thou shalt endeavour for the relief of patients
with all thy heart and soul. Thou shalt not desert or injure thy patient even for the sake of thy
life… ‘
‘Thou shalt not commit adultery even in thought. Ever so, thou shalt not covet others’
possessions… Thou shouldst speak words that are gentle, pure and righteous, pleasing, worthy,
true, wholesome and moderate. Thy behaviour must be in consideration of rime and place arid
heedful of past experience. Thou shalt act always with a view to the acquisition of knowledge
and the fulness of equipment… ‘
‘When entering the patient’s house thou shalt be accompanied by a man known to the patient
and who has his permission to enter. Thou shalt be well clad and bent of head, self-possessed
and conduct thyself after repeated consideration… Having entered, thy speech, mind, intellect
 and senses shall be entirely devoted to no other thought than that of being helpful to the patient
and of things concerning him only.’
‘The peculiar customs of the patient’s household shall not be made public. Even knowing that the
patient’s span of life has come to its close, it shall not be mentioned by thee there, where if so
done, it would cause shock to the patient or to others.’
‘Though possessed of knowledge, one should not boast…’
Susruta Samhita
‘Thou shalt renounce all evil desires, anger, greed,passion, pride, egotism, envy, harshness,
meanness,untruth, indolence and other qualities that bring infamy upon oneself.’
‘Thou shalt clip thy nails and hair close, observe cleanliness . . . and dedicate thyself to the
observance of truth, celibacy and the salutation of elders… ‘
‘The preceptor, the poor, the friendly, the travellers, the lowly, the good and the destitute – those
thou shalt treat when they come to thee like thy own kith and kin and relieve their ailments…’
Kasyapa Samhita
‘O gentle one, you should be agreeable in disposition and righteous. You should control your
senses and be ready to study… Share the suffering of others… and be resolute. You should be
away from greed, anger,infatuation, envy, derision, enmity…’
Hastyayurveda
‘O son! You should never turn deceitful, wicked,greedy, envious, hard hearted and unfair. You
should always be free from lethargy and sin and should have the character of venerable persons
and compassion for the family.’
Qualities required in the student for admission to medical studies (From Caraka,
Susruta, Vagbhata, Kasyapa)
 tranquil disposition
 nobility
 reason and memory
 whole of body
 collected of mind
 passion for study
 undistracted of mind
 clean habits
 patience
 free from greed
 free from arrogance
 possessed of determination
 gentlemanliness
 intelligent
 large mindedness
 unimpaired in senses
 endurance
 free from egotism
 affectionate
 free from envy
 truthful
 free from procrastination
 free from bluster
 stability and purity of mind
 indifference to pain and pleasure
 not given to showy appearance
 not given to addictions
 a predilection for philosophy
 inclination for medical science
 character, purity, conduct, affection, skill and compliance
 wishing the welfare of all creatures
 spirit, humility, strength, vitality and knowledge
 tranquil of mind, speech and behaviour
Qualities of the teacher:
 high exceptional abilities both moral and intellectual
 an undenying source of knowledge and inspiration to his pupils
 required to know the whole science, allied sciences and arts thoroughly and exhaustively
 able to supplement texts by his own comments drawn systematically from his own experience
and logic
 possess the necessary powers of expression and exposition and clarity
 an undistracted mind
 make teaching his sole task in life. and devote all his energies to it
 unbounded affection for his disciples
 devote personal and individual care over every pupil and be his source of inspiration and
guidance through life
 the teacher cannot withhold from his pupils any aspect or recondite doctrine regarding the
science he undertook to teach.
Ethics in practice
‘Having finished his studies… he should go about… with undeluded mind and with his eyes
looking straight before him. He must be genial and take the initiative in a conversation. He must
never resort to the patient’s house uninvited.’
‘Having entered.. . he should not turn his gaze to anything but the patient…He should not
broadcast the secrets or the shortcomings of the patient’s household. ‘He should not withhold
from the patient the untoward prognostic signs that he may have perceived. He should
continually offer consolation to the patient.’
‘He should not administer the medicine in the wrong order nor should he delegate the
responsibility to another… He must be versed in the knowledge of characteristics of constitution,
drugs, disease and age… He should be given to speech that is bold, unambiguous, prompt, vivid,
charming, gentle, persuasive, comprehensive, non-contradictory and righteous… If he is
attacked in debate by another physician he must be able to take his stand against him. The
opponent should be persuaded by gentle words…’
Fees, presents and remuneration to medical men
‘This science of life is permanent and yielding merit… Those who, for the sake of a living, make
merchandise of medicine bargain for a dust-heap, letting go a heap of gold… Practice of
medicine is never fruitless, it sometimes gives money, sometimes religious merit, sometimes
renown or sometimes the opportunity for study…’
Dealings with women
‘His attitude to women should be particularly aloof and detached. When he enters a patient’s
house he should keep his head bent and not be curious about things and persons about him. If he
has to enter to treat a woman, he should never go unaccompanied and he should never laugh nor
smile nor exchange irrelevant words with her. No gifts offered by her in the absence of her
husband should be accepted. Even if he discovers her attachment to him and her amorous
overtures, he should not respond. Neither should he divulge them to others.’
The Kasyapa Samhita is emphatic on the subject. ‘In the household of the patient he should
never engage himself in joke with women, even with female servants. He should not utter their
names without prefixing terms of reverence.. . He should not try to have any transaction with or
great attachment to them. He should accept nothing from the woman without the knowledge of
her husband. He should never enter without informing beforehand. He should neither talk nor sit
with a woman in privacy. He should never look at her when she is uncovered nor laugh at her…’
Hippocratic Oath
The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by physicians. It is one of the most widely
known of Greek medical texts. In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear, by a
number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards. The Oath is the earliest expression
of medical ethics in the Western world, establishing several principles of medical ethics which
remain of paramount significance today. These include the principles of medical
confidentiality and non-maleficence. Although the ancient text is only of historic and symbolic
value, swearing a modified form of the Oath remains a rite of passage for medical graduates in
many countries.
Hippocrates is often called the father of medicine in Western culture
Text of oath
1.Earliest surviving copy
I swear by Apollo the Healer, by Asclepius, by Hygieia, by Panacea, and by all the gods and
goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will carry out, according to my ability and
judgment, this oath and this indenture.
To hold my teacher in this art equal to my own parents; to make him partner in my livelihood;
when he is in need of money to share mine with him; to consider his family as my own brothers,
and to teach them this art, if they want to learn it, without fee or indenture; to impart precept, oral
instruction, and all other instruction to my own sons, the sons of my teacher, and to indentured
pupils who have taken the physician’s oath, but to nobody else.
I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view
to injury and wrong-doing. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so,
nor will I suggest such a course. Similarly I will not give to a woman a pessary to cause abortion.
But I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art. I will not use the knife, not even, verily,
on sufferers from stone, but I will give place to such as are craftsmen therein.
Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional
wrong-doing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of man or woman, bond or free. And
whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession, as well as outside my profession in
my intercourse with men, if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never divulge,
holding such things to be holy secrets.
Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all men for
my life and for my art; but if I break it and forswear myself, may the opposite befall me.[3] -
Translation by James Loeb.
2."First do no harm"
It is often said that the phrase "First do no harm" (Latin: Primum non nocere) is a part of the
Hippocratic oath. The phrase as such does not appear in the oath, although the oath does
contain Latin: ... noxamvero et maleficium propulsabo (Also ... I will utterly reject harm and
mischief).[4] The phrase "primum non nocere" is believed to date from the 17th century (see
detailed discussion in the article on the phrase).
Another equivalent phrase is found in Epidemics, Book I, of the Hippocratic school: "Practice
two things in your dealings with disease: either help or do not harm the patient".[5] The exact
phrase is believed to have originated with the 19th-century surgeon Thomas Inman.[6]
Euthanasia
Euthanasia (from Greek: εὐθανασία; "good death": εὖ, eu; "well" or "good" –
θάνατος, thanatos; "death") is the practice of intentionally ending a life to
relieve pain and suffering.

Classification of euthanasia
Euthanasia may be classified into three types, according to whether a person gives informed
consent: voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary.[23][24]
There is a debate within the medical and bioethics literature about whether or not the non-
voluntary (and by extension, involuntary) killing of patients can be regarded as euthanasia,
irrespective of intent or the patient's circumstances. In the definitions offered by Beauchamp and
Davidson and, later, by Wreen, consent on the part of the patient was not considered as one of
their criteria, although it may have been required to justify euthanasia.[11][25] However, others see
consent as essential.
Voluntary euthanasia
See also: Right to die
Voluntary euthanasia is conducted with the consent of the patient. Active voluntary euthanasia is
legal in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Passive voluntary euthanasia is legal
throughout the US per Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health. When the patient
brings about his or her own death with the assistance of a physician, the term assisted suicide is
often used instead. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland and the U.S. states of California,
Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont.
Non-voluntary euthanasia
Non-voluntary euthanasia is conducted when the consent of the patient is unavailable. Examples
include child euthanasia, which is illegal worldwide but decriminalised under certain specific
circumstances in the Netherlands under the Groningen Protocol.
Involuntary euthanasia
Involuntary euthanasia is conducted against the will of the patient.
Passive and active euthanasia
Voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary types can be further divided into passive or active
variants.[26] Passive euthanasia entails the withholding treatment necessary for the continuance of
life.[3] Active euthanasia entails the use of lethal substances or forces (such as administering
a lethal injection), and is the more controversial. While some authors consider these terms to be
misleading and unhelpful, they are nonetheless commonly used. In some cases, such as the
administration of increasingly necessary, but toxic doses of painkillers, there is a debate whether
or not to regard the practice as active or passive.[3]
 In a historic decision, the Supreme Court on Friday declared passive euthanasiaand
the right of persons, including the terminally ill, to give advance directives to refuse
medical treatment permissible.

A Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, in three concurring
opinions, upheld that the fundamental right to life and dignity includes right to refuse
treatment and die with dignity.

The fundamental right to a "meaningful existence" includes a person's choice to die

without suffering, it held.

HUMAN CLONING
Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy (or clone) of a human. The term is
generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of
human cells and tissue. It does not refer to the natural conception and delivery of identical twins.
The possibility of human cloning has raised controversies. These ethical concerns have prompted
several nations to pass laws regarding human cloning and its legality.
Two commonly discussed types of theoretical human cloning are: therapeutic
cloning and reproductive cloning. Therapeutic cloning would involve cloning cells from a
human for use in medicine and transplants, and is an active area of research, but is not in medical
practice anywhere in the world, as of April 2017. Two common methods of therapeutic cloning
that are being researched are somatic-cell nuclear transfer and, more recently, pluripotent stem
cell induction. Reproductive cloning would involve making an entire cloned human, instead of
just specific cells or tissues.

Methods[edit]
Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)[edit]
Main article: Somatic cell nuclear transfer
Diagram of SCNT Process
In somatic cell nuclear transfer ("SCNT"), the nucleus of a somatic cell is taken from a donor
and transplanted into a host egg cell, which had its own genetic material removed previously,
making it an enucleated egg. After the donor somatic cell genetic material is transferred into the
host oocyte with a micropipette, the somatic cell genetic material is fused with the egg using an
electric current. Once the two cells have fused, the new cell can be permitted to grow in
a surrogate or artificially.[18] This is the process that was used to successfully clone Dolly the
sheep (see section on History in this article).[3]
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)[edit]

Overview of iPS cells

Main article: Induced pluripotent stem cell
Creating induced pluripotent stem cells ("iPSCs") is a long and inefficient
process. Pluripotency refers to a stem cell that has the potential to differentiateinto any of the
three germ layers: endoderm (interior stomach lining, gastrointestinal tract, the
lungs), mesoderm (muscle, bone, blood, urogenital), or ectoderm (epidermal tissues and nervous
tissue).[19] A specific set of genes, often called "reprogramming factors", are introduced into a
specific adult cell type. These factors send signals in the mature cell that cause the cell to become
a pluripotent stem cell. This process is highly studied and new techniques are being discovered
frequently on how to better this induction process.
Depending on the method used, reprogramming of adult cells into iPSCs for implantation could
have severe limitations in humans. If a virus is used as a reprogramming factor for the cell,
cancer-causing genes called oncogenes may be activated. These cells would appear as rapidly
dividing cancer cells that do not respond to the body's natural cell signaling process. However, in
2008 scientists discovered a technique that could remove the presence of these oncogenes after
pluripotency induction, thereby increasing the potential use of iPSC in humans.[20]
 Comparing SCNT to reprogramming[edit]
Both the processes of SCNT and iPSCs have benefits and deficiencies. Historically,
reprogramming methods were better studied than SCNT derived embryonic stem cells
(ESCs).[9] However, more recent studies have put more emphasis on developing new procedures
for SCNT-ESCs. The major advantage of SCNT over iPSCs at this time is the speed with which
cells can be produced. iPSCs derivation takes several months while SCNT would take a much
shorter time, which could be important for medical applications. New studies are working to
improve the process of iPSC in terms of both speed and efficiency with the discovery of new
reprogramming factors in oocytes.[citation needed]Another advantage SCNT could have over iPSCs is
its potential to treat mitochondrial disease, as it utilizes a donor oocyte.[9] No other advantages are
known at this time in using stem cells derived from one method over stem cells derived from the
other.[21]
Ethical Issues regarding Human Reproductive Cloning •Technical and medical safety
•Undermining the concept of reproduction and family • Ambiguous relations of a cloned child
with the progenitor •Confusing personal identity and harming the psychological development of
a clone •Concerns about eugenics •Contrary to Human Dignity • Promoting trends towards
designer babies and human enhancement
Animal experimentation

A difficult issue
Animal experiments are widely used to develop new medicines and to test the safety of other
products.

Many of these experiments cause pain to the animals involved or reduce their quality of life in
other ways.

If it is morally wrong to cause animals to suffer then experimenting on animals produces serious
moral problems.

Animal experimenters are very aware of this ethical problem and acknowledge that experiments
should be made as humane as possible.

They also agree that it's wrong to use animals if alternative testing methods would produce
equally valid results.

Two positions on animal experiments

 In favour of animal experiments:

 Experimenting on animals is acceptable if (and only if):
 suffering is minimised in all experiments
 human benefits are gained which could not be obtained by using other methods
 Against animal experiments:
 Experimenting on animals is always unacceptable because:
 it causes suffering to animals
 the benefits to human beings are not proven
 any benefits to human beings that animal testing does provide could be produced in other
ways
Harm versus benefit
The case for animal experiments is that they will produce such great benefits for humanity that it
is morally acceptable to harm a few animals.

The equivalent case against is that the level of suffering and the number of animals involved are
both so high that the benefits to humanity don't provide moral justification.

The three Rs
The three Rs are a set of principles that scientists are encouraged to follow in order to reduce the
impact of research on animals.

The three Rs are: Reduction, Refinement, Replacement.

 Reduction:
 Reducing the number of animals used in experiments by:
 Improving experimental techniques
 Improving techniques of data analysis
 Sharing information with other researchers
 Refinement:
 Refining the experiment or the way the animals are cared for so as to reduce their suffering by:
 Using less invasive techniques
 Better medical care
 Better living conditions
 Replacement:
 Replacing experiments on animals with alternative techniques such as:
 Experimenting on cell cultures instead of whole animals
 Using computer models
 Studying human volunteers
 Using epidemiological studies
Top
 Drug safety

Animal experiments and drug safety

Scientists say that banning animal experiments would mean either

 an end to testing new drugs or

 using human beings for all safety tests

Are animal experiments useful?

Are animal experiments useful?

Animal experiments only benefit human beings if their results are valid and can be applied to
human beings.

Not all scientists are convinced that these tests are valid and useful.

The moral status of the experimenters

Animal rights extremists often portray those who experiment on animals as being so cruel as to
have forfeited any own moral standing.

But the argument is about whether the experiments are morally right or wrong. The general
moral character of the experimenter is irrelevant.

Animal experiments and animal rights

The issue of animal experiments is straightforward if we accept that animals have rights: if an
experiment violates the rights of an animal, then it is morally wrong, because it is wrong to
violate rights.

The possible benefits to humanity of performing the experiment are completely irrelevant to the
morality of the case, because rights should never be violated (except in obvious cases like self-
defence).

And as one philosopher has written, if this means that there are some things that humanity will
never be able to learn, so be it.

This bleak result of deciding the morality of experimenting on animals on the basis of rights is
probably why people always justify animal experiments on consequentialist grounds; by showing
that the benefits to humanity justify the suffering of the animals involved.

Justifying animal experiments

 Those in favour of animal experiments say that the good done to human beings outweighs the
harm done to animals.

This is a consequentialist argument, because it looks at the consequences of the actions under
consideration.

It can't be used to defend all forms of experimentation since there are some forms of suffering
that are probably impossible to justify even if the benefits are exceptionally valuable to
humanity.

Animal experiments and ethical arithmetic

The consequentialist justification of animal experimentation can be demonstrated by comparing
the moral consequences of doing or not doing an experiment.

This process can't be used in a mathematical way to help people decide ethical questions in
practice, but it does demonstrate the issues very clearly.

The basic arithmetic

If performing an experiment would cause more harm than not performing it, then it is ethically
wrong to perform that experiment.

The harm that will result from not doing the experiment is the result of multiplying three things
together:

 the moral value of a human being

 the number of human beings who would have benefited
 the value of the benefit that each human being won't get
The harm that the experiment will cause is the result of multiplying together:

 the moral value of an experimental animal

 the number of animals suffering in the experiment
 the negative value of the harm done to each animal
But it isn't that simple because:

 it's virtually impossible to assign a moral value to a being

 it's virtually impossible to assign a value to the harm done to each individual
 the harm that will be done by the experiment is known beforehand, but the benefit is unknown
 the harm done by the experiment is caused by an action, while the harm resulting from not
doing it is caused by an omission
 Certain versus potential harm
In the theoretical sum above, the harm the experiment will do to animals is weighed against the
harm done to humans by not doing the experiment.

But these are two conceptually different things.

 The harm that will be done to the animals is certain to happen if the experiment is carried out
 The harm done to human beings by not doing the experiment is unknown because no-one
knows how likely the experiment is to succeed or what benefits it might produce if it did
succeed
So the equation is completely useless as a way of deciding whether it is ethically acceptable to
perform an experiment, because until the experiment is carried out, no-one can know the value of
the benefit that it produces.

And there's another factor missing from the equation, which is discussed in the next section.

Ethical issues in genetic engineering

Genetic engineering, or genetic modification, uses a variety of tools and techniques from
biotechnology and bioengineering to modify an organism’s genetic makeup. Transgenics refers
to those specific genetic engineering processes that remove genetic material from one species of
plant or animal and add it to a different species. Due to the high similarity in genetic sequences
for proteins among species, transgenic organisms are able to effectively assimilate and express
these trans-genes.
The process of creating a transgene begins by isolating the gene of interest from a donor
organism or selecting for purchase any of the thousands of known genes from massive online
genomic databases. Once the gene is obtained, it is usually altered so it can function more
effectively or be expressed more readily in the host organism. That gene is then combined with
other genetic elements and introduced into a second organism (the host), at which point it’s
known as a transgene. A transgenic organism is further defined as one that contains a transgene
introduced by technological methods rather than through selective breeding. Hybrids are
transgenic organisms created when reproductive cells from two species combine to form a single
embryo (e.g., a mule is the offspring of a horse and a donkey); on the other hand, chimeras are
created by artificially combining genetic material from two organisms into a single species.

Genetic engineering and transgenic combinations represent a significant aspect of current

biotechnology research. Other examples include:

Xenotransplantation may offer a potential solution to organ/tissue shortages for human

recipients.
 Xenotransplantation, or the transplantation of living tissues or organs from one species to
another, is often seen as a potential way to alleviate the shortage of human hearts and kidneys.
 Pigs have a similar physiology and organ size, making porcine (pig) organs ideal candidates for
transplantation into human recipients. Researchers are also exploring the use of cell
transplantation therapy for patients with spinal cord injury or Parkinson’s disease.

 Genetic manipulation of stem cells now includes the growth of tissues on a scaffolding, or a 3-
D printer, which then can be used as a temporary skin substitute for healing wounds or burns.
Tissue engineering is becoming a viable alternative in procedures that involve replacement of
cartilage, heart valves, cerebrospinal shunts, and other organs.10

 Commercial companies are deriving therapeutic proteins, such as monoclonal antibodies, from
the milk of transgenic cows, goats, rabbits, and mice, and using them to administer drugs in
treatment protocols for rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and other autoimmune disorders.11,12

Ethical Issues

Transgenic biotechnology presents an exciting range of possibilities, from feeding the hungry to
preventing and treating diseases; however, these promises are not without potential peril. Some
of the issues that need to be considered are the following:

Social Concerns

 If the blending of animal and human DNA results, intentionally or not, in chimeric entities
possessing degrees of intelligence or sentience never before seen in nonhuman animals, should
these entities be given rights and special protections?

 What, if any, social and legal controls or reviews should be placed on such research?

 What unintended personal, social, and cultural consequences could result?

 Who will have access to these technologies and how will scarce resources—such as medical
advances and novel treatments—be allocated?

Extrinsic Concerns

 What, if any, health risks are associated with transgenics and genetically modified foods?13

 Are there long-term effects on the environment when transgenic or genetically modified
organized are released in the field?
 Should research be limited and, if so, how should the limits be decided? How should the limits
be enforced nationally and internationally?

Intrinsic Concerns

 Are there fundamental issues with creating new species?

 Are species boundaries “hard” or should they be viewed as a continuum? What, if any,
consequences are there of blurring species boundaries?

 Are chimeras and transgenics more likely to suffer than “traditional” organisms?

 Will transgenic interventions in humans create physical or behavioral traits that may or may not
be readily distinguished from what is usually perceived to be “human”?

 What, if any, research in genetic engineering should be considered morally impermissible and
banned (e.g., research undertaken for purely offensive military purposes)?14

 Will these interventions redefine what it means to be “normal”?

Many plants and animals form hybrids in nature. Should these hybrids be considered separate

species?
ETHICAL ISSUES IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
The progress of science in the 20th and 21st centuries exploded, creating technologies that
reshaped society and extended lives. The pace of change was so great that it took society years to
start asking questions about the ethics or morality of new developments. Now, humanity is at a
major crossroads, where further investment in biotechnologies could change the way humans
live and reproduce. However, the advancements may come at too steep a price.
In 2016, biotechnology engineers and researchers must address five core concerns that are the
foundations of bioethics.
Use of Genetics
The Human Genome Project generated billions of dollars in funding in the 20th century, with the
goal of creating a single depository of DNA base pairs and possible human genomes. On April
14, 2003, the project reached completion, and the genetic engineering field grew quickly.
Uncovering the human genome was a tremendous step forward for science, but the discovery
created a series of new concerns.
Researchers have been able to use the information from the Human Genome Project to develop
the new science of pharmacogentics, the study of how an individual’s genes affect his or her
body’s ability to metabolize or react to a drug. The study of pharmacogentics aims to eliminate
adverse drug events (ADE) and side effects by tailoring drugs specific to a patient’s genome.
While the new personalized medications can eliminate side effects, the use of genetic
information to create medicine contributes to the rising cost of drugs, and shifts attention away
from designing affordable drugs available for mass production.
The creation of designer babies is another critical bioethical issue for geneticists. Designer babies
are children enhanced through gene manipulation to meet certain mental, physical, and emotional
demands of parents. The technology does not yet exist to manipulate the entire genome of a
fetus, but research continues along this path.
Stem Cells
Stem cells are the core of much biotechnical research. Because the stem cell lines can grow into
any human tissue, they are invaluable for research into medicines and medical treatments,
without putting people at risk. Eventually, scientists believe that stem cells may be used to grow
new organs and reverse paralysis.
Almost all stem cells are the result of embryos fertilized in vitro and placed in frozen storage.
Couples choose to use the embryos for implantation, though only a fraction of the embryos are
ever implanted. As the cost of storage grows, couples must decide to destroy the embryo or
donate them.
The use of stem cells, especially in the United States, is one of the most controversial issues in
biotechnology. Supporters argue the embryos used to generate stem cell lines were going to be
destroyed, and using them for research has the capacity to save untold numbers of lives.
Opponents believe creating new lines from embryonic stem cells is akin to abortion, and the
destruction of any embryo for research purposes is an ethical violation. Both sides have come to
a partial agreement on the use of adult stem cells over embryonic cells, but the adult cells offer
far fewer options and less promising research.
Human Testing
As medical and biotechnology grow, so do the pressures for companies to bring new products to
the market. The FDA’s new drug pipeline is clogged with thousands of drugs making their way
toward approval, though only about 12 percent will ever see mass production. The approval
process can take up to 10 years, and the financial stress of seeking FDA approval is too much for
many companies.
One of the biggest problems with the FDA approval process is the amount of time that drugs
must spend in human clinical trials. Estimates show that a new drug can spend as long as seven
years in human trials. Even when the drug completes the trial, it may not receive FDA approval.
Pharmaceutical companies are calling on the FDA to speed up the clinical trial portion of the
approval process, greatly reducing the time spent in the drug pipeline and increasing the profits
to be made. Reducing the approval time is a double-edged sword. Medications that work will
begin helping patients much sooner, but rushing through the process removes safeguards put in
place to keep the public safe.
GMO Food
A growing global population, concerns about diminished drinking water reserves, and a need to
keep food affordable all prompted biotechnology engineers to expand the availability of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the food supply. The GMOs are cheaper to produce
and heartier than unmodified food, allowing farmers to meet global food needs and maintain
profits.
The backlash against GMOs has been strong, and grows every day. Opponents of GMOs claim
the organisms actually put the entire food supply at risk through the homogenization of plant life
and the death of biodiversity. They also argue that insects and plant-destroying bacteria or
diseases will continue to evolve with the GMOs, resulting in superpests and superdiseases that
are untreatable by modern methods. Finally, doctors argue that GMOs include antibiotics that
make their way into the human body. Overconsumption of antibiotics is harmful, because those
drugs lose their ability to fight off disease.
Costs
Developments in new drugs, instruments that improve the quality of life, and extend life
expectancy to new highs are all lofty goals, but they come at a significant price. The cost of
health care in the United States continues to grow, largely because of innovative medical
treatments and drug options. Every year more families go bankrupt trying to pay for treatments
made available through biotechnology, and there seems to be little sign of lower prices in the
future.
The newest designer drugs will cost patients tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of
dollars a year. Biotechnology engineers and companies must find a way to address cost issues
and make new advancements more affordable for the average consumer; otherwise,
biotechnology will create a two-tiered society: those who can afford the medical treatments
needed to live, and those who cannot.
Legal Implications of these Issues
Ethical concerns of biotechnology engineering have a broad impact, influencing a number of
differing careers and industries. For example, moving forward it will be essential for
entrepreneurs and biotechnology companies understand the ethical and legal implications within
this field so that they make well-educated decisions while still remaining innovative. The health
and pharmaceutical industries are also influenced by these concerns, particularly in regards to
GMO foods and human testing. Individuals and companies within these industries will greatly
benefit from understanding the potential legal implications of their decisions as one wrong
decision could result in a series of expensive lawsuits.
Ethics in biotechnology will always be a hot-button issue, and one the industry must take the
time to discuss. Failure to do so may result in the defunding of critical projects and social
backlash against important research.

1. Protecting Human Subjects in Clinical Trials

This issue has generated considerable debate since 1999, when 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger died
while participating in a gene therapy trial at the University of Pennsylvania. The institution was
widely criticized for failing to disclose crucial information on informed consent documents,
relaxing criteria for accepting volunteers, and enrolling volunteers who were ineligible. The
episode prompted a great deal of soul-searching among researchers and regulators, and many
universities began implementing new standards as a result of the harsh spotlight that was cast on
the clinical trial world.
In a 2002 article in Epidemiology Review, Jeremy Sugarman, MD, MPH, a professor of bioethics
and medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, wrote, “It is critical to ensure that
research is conducted responsibly throughout the entire study cycle, from the way participants
are selected to the way data are entered, analyzed, and reported. Attention to each aspect of
research conduct is necessary to the success of the scientific enterprise and to the protection of
study participants and others from unnecessary harm.”
Conundrum: At what point does cost sharing backfire? A 20 percent coinsurance on a $20,000
therapy may work actuarially but could foster patient nonadherence.
The issue, of course, is complicated, because patients — especially suffering patients — are
willing to try something new, even when physicians acknowledge that a complete side-effect
profile isn’t known, according to Eric Wickstrom, PhD, a professor of biochemistry and
molecular pharmacology at Jefferson Medical College. This headlong rush by ailing volunteers,
he says, necessitates rigorous protection by review committees, even before patients see an
informed consent form. This is especially true, he says, for some vaccines and gene therapy.
“Gene therapy hasn’t really worked yet, and it necessitates a great deal of care,” explains
Wickstrom.
The Gelsinger episode, though, raised another sticking point — financial conflicts of interest. In
this case, the lead researcher, James Wilson, MD, failed to disclose in the consent form that he
had founded a company that stood to profit from the research.
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD,2 who heads the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania,
stressed in a recent interview with BIOTECHNOLOGY HEALTHCARE that researchers must ensure
that clinical trials are not distorted by incongruous arrangements. In addition, he says, volunteers
should not be recruited in a manner that would suggest that they are being paid bribes, as
opposed to reimbursement for legitimate expenses.
Go to:

2. Affordability
The rising cost of healthcare — and the cost of medications in particular — is a political hot
potato and will remain so. No matter what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration might say or
attempt, a large swath of the public, their federal representatives, and their governors do not
seem to believe the pharmaceutical industry’s argument that research and development are
funded by today’s prices and that price controls could retard R&D.
The ethical concerns are likely to get still more heated when the value of expensive biotech
treatments for chronic illnesses is debated. After all, a needed pill for cholesterol might cost $3
daily, which amounts to nearly $1,100 per year. Compare that to a biologic that carries a
$20,000-per-year price tag — or something even more costly.

The cost of defending the United States against bioterrorism raises a host of issues, says David
Krause, MD, of Vicuron Pharmaceuticals. “If we fund this, what are we not funding?” he asks.
“And can we ever predict all the possible terror threats?”
“Affordability is, arguably, an issue across the board,” says Jeff Kimmell, RPh, vice president of
healthcare services and chief pharmacy officer at drugstore.com, in Bellevue, Wash. “In the
United States, we say we want the best [treatments]. But it’s also an ethical dilemma. At what
point will people say ‘Enough is enough?’”
This may place payers and purchasers, who are already struggling with the question of how
much cost sharing is appropriate, on the defensive. Insurers and employers juggle actuarial
concerns with the risks of patient nonadherence and its potential for poor clinical outcomes when
coverage decisions are made. The ethical questions do not fit neatly into this decision-making
process but, rather, transcend it.
What happens when some patients can’t afford the out-of-pocket share of a given treatment?
What if an insurer declines to add a biologic to its formulary because of its acquisition cost?
What happens when a patient on an expensive chronic therapy maxes out his lifetime insurance
benefit? Such instances may not be the norm, but their possibility disturbs some experts who see
a pivotal clash between patients and profits.
“It’s certainly an economic issue if biologics are priced so high that some patients are priced out
of the market,” says Sean Nicholson, PhD, assistant professor of policy analysis and
management at Cornell University. “Perhaps an insurer may not cover a particular therapy. If
there’s nothing else the patient could take to save his or her life, or to improve quality of life,
that’s a dilemma.”
Go to:

3. Privacy
Talk about a Pandora’s box. Protecting patient privacy is a growing concern, thanks to
technology that is making it possible to decode the human genome. But as scientists become
adept at deciphering a person’s genetic composition, it is increasingly likely that compromising
information about a person’s future health is going to become available.
This creates enormous problems. For instance, it may become possible to know that a 5-year-old
is going to develop serious heart disease later in life, but does a prospective employer have the
right to know that? How will this knowledge affect the individual’s ability to obtain a job,
insurance, or a mortgage? Should such information be available to insurers and others? This is a
thorny problem destined to become only thornier.
“Take a genetic test that comes back positive, and the biologic treatment of the patient costs $1
million,” says F. Randy Vogenberg, RPh, PhD, senior vice president and national practice
council leader at Aon Consulting, in Providence, R.I. “What does an insurer do with that
knowledge? It can’t tell the employer, but it does have a fiduciary responsibility as the health
plan to remain within stated benefit coverage premiums and costs.
“It’s going to be very tricky for health plans to deal with this. And it won’t just be on a case-by-
case basis, but it will come up during plan renewals and bidding.”
Sound far-fetched? Not really, says Vogenberg. “Generally speaking, everybody so far has stuck
their heads in the sand. HIPAA offers some protection, but as diagnostics expand, this issue will
bubble to the surface. And probably, litigation will determine some boundaries.”
To nip the problem in the bud, some attempts are being made to put rules in place now. An
American College of Physicians working group published one such effort in the Annals of
Internal Medicine in July; an article titled “Ethics in Practice: Managed Care and the Changing
Health Care Environment” spelled out a statement of ethical principles for health plans,
purchasers, and physicians. One section opined that “All parties have an ethical obligation to
protect the confidentiality of patient health care information. In general, identifiable patient
information should not be shared without the patient’s consent — except where the health and
safety of individual persons or the public may be threatened, or as required by law.”
Conundrum: What does an insurer do with the knowledge that a person is predisposed to a
condition that costs $1 million to treat? It can’t tell the employer, but it has a fiduciary
responsibility to remain within stated benefit coverage premiums and costs.
Even this statement, however, leaves open the question about the extent to which an individual’s
rights may be eclipsed by societal needs. This is especially true in the wake of the Patriot Act. In
reflecting public fears about terrorism, the federal law is causing a raging debate over an
individual’s right to privacy and the safety concerns of a society at large. With legal challenges
pending, it is easy to see how even the ethics statement for managed care may cause difficulties.
Go to:

4. Stem Cell Research

This one shouldn’t be a surprise. Stem cell research is anathema to the religious right and worked
its way into the recent presidential election.
To circumvent the funding roadblocks in Washington, D.C., some states — such as New Jersey
and California — are looking past ethical objections and taking serious steps to foster
establishment of stem cell research centers. In California, birthplace of the biotech revolution
and a state hard hit by the dot-com collapse, voters sized up the potential economic value of stem
cell research and overwhelmingly passed Proposition 71, which guarantees $3 billion in state
funding over the next decade.
It is somewhat ironic that a scientific area of research based on trials and data could be
reconfigured into an emotional issue. The debate, of course, pits people who believe the research
may one day find cures for diseases against others who say it violates human life.
On one side, the American Society of Clinical Oncology issued this policy statement in 1999:
“Whether privately or publicly funded, researchers should be mindful of the ethical issues that
may be raised when research involves embryos, fetal tissue, cloning, or other controversial
questions. Nevertheless, medical research often requires a balancing of perceived risks against
potential benefits. The tremendous potential of stem cell research for the treatment of diseases ...
means that the balance of benefits and risks is now clearly in favor of going forward with the
research, even if it involves ethically sensitive areas.”
On the other hand, the founding statement of Do No Harm – The Coalition of Americans for
Research Ethics argues: “Stem cell research promises great good and is a worthy scientific
priority as long as we pursue it ethically. Obtaining stem cells from people without seriously
harming people in the process can be ethical. However, obtaining stem cells from human
embryos cannot be ethical because it necessarily involves destroying those embryos.”
For now, say experts, the debate is largely hypothetical for insurers.
“Although it is still early in the process, it is likely that the managed care industry will continue
to monitor this ethically sensitive area, particularly as the potential benefits and costs begin to
outweigh the risks,” says Mitchell P. DeKoven, manager of reimbursement services at
PharmAnalysis Group, MED-TAP’s Center for Pricing & Reimbursement, in Arlington, Va.
Go to:

5. Defending the United States Against Bioterrorism

Security is hugely important, and public fears over terrorism are unlikely to diminish. In
response, the federal government wants Project Bioshield to spur the development of treatments,
including preventive medications and vaccines, that would be available in sufficient quantities to
protect the largest possible number of people.
The congressional impetus is obvious, according to Chuck Ludlam, general counsel on the staff
of Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. In a recent speech, Ludlam said that
economic losses caused by a successful bioterror attack in a densely populated area could be
massive.
But Project Bioshield also raises ethical problems, experts say. For starters, the investment will
be large and probably will grow over time. At a time when deficits are growing, generous
funding for bioterrorism research suggests that funding for other public health priorities — such
as diseases that are becoming more prevalent — may suffer.
“If we fund this, what are we not funding? And how do you divide the pie?” asks David Krause,
MD, senior vice president of clinical research and medical affairs at Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, in
King of Prussia, Pa. “And that’s just part of the problem. We don’t know if anybody will ever
die from bioterrorism. We don’t know what the threat is. Can we ever predict all the possible
terror threats and provide protection against them?”
Krause isn’t alone in observing that there is an unpredictable number of portals for bioterrorists
to wreak havoc on the United States. The Infectious Diseases Society of America wants the
scope of Project Bioshield extended to include all areas of infectious disease research and
development, especially for antibiotics to treat existing drug-resistant infections.
“There is an inextricably linked, synergistic relationship between research and development
efforts needed to protect against both naturally occurring infections and bioterrorism agents,”
said John Bartlett, chief of the division of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine and chair of an IDSA task force, in testimony given recently before the U.S. Senate
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On the positive side, bioterrorism research may yield the same sort of consumer-product payoff
NASA research did — in this case, Ludlam noted, possibly indirectly helping to find medicines
to treat infections with HIV and viruses that cause hepatitis, Lyme disease, polio, West Nile, and
the common cold. The effort also could lead to medicines for bacteria, such as those causing
tuberculosis, pneumonia, salmonellosis, malaria, sepsis, or sexually transmitted diseases.
A subsidiary ethical issue to bioterrorism research, says Krause, is clinical testing. Human
subjects couldn’t be used in smallpox trials, for instance, so surrogate markers are required. This
can make it difficult to determine the effectiveness of an antiterrorism agent.
PROBLEM OF ABORTION

Sterility
Long-term damage can occur from the immediate complications. One such example, identified
by Dr. David Reardon, post-abortion expert, is sterility. “Researchers have reported that three to
five percent of aborted women are left inadvertently sterile as a result of the operation’s latent
morbidity.3 The risk of sterility is even greater for women who are infected with a venereal
disease at the time of the abortion. 4
Premature Births
After induced abortions, premature future births are more likely. Why? During an abortion
procedure, the cervix is artificially opened before it is ready to deliver the baby, and often the
cervical muscle is torn. The cervical muscle must be stretched to allow the surgeon to enter the
uterus to complete the abortion. If the cervical opening and muscle are torn, depending upon the
extent of the tear and damage to the cervix, the muscle becomes weakened. Babies as they
develop rest head down, preparing for birth. If the muscle is damaged, it may open prematurely
to allow the baby to be born before he/she is fully developed. 5,6
Mental Problems
In a study of post-abortion patients only eight weeks after their abortion, researchers found that
44% of patients complained of nervous disorders, 36% had experienced sleep disturbances, 31%
had regrets about their decisions, and 11 % had been prescribed psychotropic medicine by their
family doctor. 7
Research further shows that women who have had abortions are significantly more likely than
others to subsequently require admission to a psychiatric hospital. At especially high risk are
teenagers, separated or divorced women, and women with a history of more than one abortion. 8
Guilt
Guilt is what an individual feels when she has violated her own moral code. For the woman who
has come to believe, at some point either before or after the abortion, that she consented to the
killing of her unborn child, the burden of guilt is relentless. There is little consolation to offer the
woman who has transgressed one of nature's strongest instincts: the protection a mother extends
to her young. In fact, many post-abortive women believe that any unhappy events that have
occurred since the abortion were inevitable because they "deserve it." 9
Anxiety
Anxiety is defined as an unpleasant emotional and physical state of apprehension that may take
the form of tension (inability to relax, irritability, etc), physical responses (dizziness. pounding
heart, upset stomach, headaches, etc.), worry about the future, difficulty concentrating and
disturbed sleep. The conflict between a woman's moral standards and her decision to abort
generates much of this anxiety. Very often, she will not relate her anxiety to a post-abortion
syndrome abortion, and yet she will unconsciously begin to avoid anything having to do with
babies. She may make excuses for not attending a baby shower, skip the baby aisle at the grocery
store and so forth. 10
Temporary Feelings of ReliefTemporary feelings of relief are frequently followed by a
period phychiatristsidentify as emotional "paralysis" or post-abortion "numbness." 11 Like shell-
shocked soldiers, these aborted women are unable to express or even feel their own emotions.
Their focus is primarily on having survived the ordeal, and they are at least temporarily out of
touch with their feelings.
In a study of teenage abortion patients, half suffered a worsening of psychosocial functioning
within 7 months after the abortion. The immediate impact appeared to be greatest on the patients
who were under 17 years of age, and for those with previous psychosocial problems. Symptoms
included: self-reproach, depression, social regression, withdrawal, obsession with need to
become pregnant again, and hasty marriages. 12

Grief
No matter when the abortion occurred – a few days or many years ago, the women who
underwent the procedure never forget the abortion experience, and grieve for their unborn
children. The grief of losing a child never ends, but for those who chose to abort, the grief,
combined with guilt, make the experience very difficult to forget or forgive. Most women report
that when the anniversary date of the abortion comes, they remember it as if it were yesterday.

In addition, grief over an abortion is not limited to just the woman who had the abortion. Grief
extends to the aborted baby’s father, siblings of the aborted child, grandparents, aunts, uncles,
and extended family.
And the impact of that grief can even extend to partners – husbands, fiancées, boyfriends and
future partners unless the abortion experience and the associated grief are resolved. “Nearly half
of women in one study said abortion had “significantly altered” their relationship with their
partner. 13 Breakups are common,even among couples with previously stable relationships.14
Alcohol Abuse
Abortion is significantly linked with a two-fold increased risk of alcohol abuse among
women.15 Abortion followed by alcohol abuse is linked to violent behavior, divorce or separation,
auto accidents and job loss.16.
 UNIT 3

What is Business Ethics?

The concept has come to mean various things to various people, but generally it's coming to
know what it right or wrong in the workplace and doing what's right -- this is in regard to effects
of products/services and in relationships with stakeholders. Wallace and Pekel explain that
attention to business ethics is critical during times of fundamental change -- times much like
those faced now by businesses, both nonprofit or for-profit. In times of fundamental change,
values that were previously taken for granted are now strongly questioned. Many of these values
are no longer followed. Consequently, there is no clear moral compass to guide leaders through
complex dilemmas about what is right or wrong. Attention to ethics in the workplace sensitizes
leaders and staff to how they should act. Perhaps most important, attention to ethics in the
workplaces helps ensure that when leaders and managers are struggling in times of crises and
confusion, they retain a strong moral compass. However, attention to business ethics provides
numerous other benefits, as well (these benefits are listed later in this document).

Note that many people react that business ethics, with its continuing attention to "doing the right
thing," only asserts the obvious ("be good," "don't lie," etc.), and so these people don't take
business ethics seriously. For many of us, these principles of the obvious can go right out the
door during times of stress. Consequently, business ethics can be strong preventative medicine.

ETHICAL THEORIES
Ethical Theory 1: Egoism
Famous Proponents: Ayn Rand, Adam Smith
What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it satisfies one’s desires, or meets
one’s needs
Basic Principle: Self-interest of person doing, considering, or affected by the action
One should chose the action which most realizes or conduces to one’s own self-interest
Important Variation: should the person look simply to self-interest, or to enlightened or rational
self-interest?
Conception of Rational Self-Interest is basic component of capitalist economy and business
models
Ethical Theory 2: Utilitarianism
Famous Proponents: Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill
What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it produces the greatest amount of
pleasure (or lack of pain) for the greatest number of people
Basic Principle: “Greatest Happiness Principle”
Maximizing positive outcomes for the largest number of people, negative outcomes for lowest
number of people
One should chose the action which will lead to the greatest happiness (i.e. pleasure, lack of pain)
overall
One’s own pleasure and pain only count as much as any other person’s affected
Important Variation: Quantitative Utilitarianism vs. Qualitative Utilitarianism
Ethical Theory 3: Deontology
Famous Proponents: Immanuel Kant, W.D. Ross
What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it conforms to some (rational) duty
Basic Principle: Fulfilling duties towards self or other persons
One should chose the action which best conforms to one’s recognized duties
Important Variation: are these duties discovered and understood primarily by using reason
(Kantian Deontology), or by healthy common sense (Rossian Intuitionist Deontology)
Deontology: Kant and Ross ; Kant’s version: Reason reveals our duty , Categorical Imperative
Can the action be universalized? Does the action treat people as ends, not just means?
Ross’s Version: Common sense intuition reveals our prima facie duties, Duty of non-injury has
priority, Other duties: fidelity, reparation, gratitude, beneficence, justice, self-improvement
Ethical Theory 4: Care Ethics
Famous Proponents: Carol Gilligan, Virginia Held, Michael Slote (developed as feminist
response to other ethics –those reflective of experience of men, not women)
What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it involves caring for another, and
supports relationship with other people
Basic Principle: action which is caring towards those who are vulnerable or need support
One should chose the action which supports or nurtures other people, particularly those who are
most vulnerable (e.g. children, workers)
Ethical Theory 5: Virtue ethics
Famous Proponents: Aristotle, Confucius
What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it actually embodies or promotes
traits culturally acknowledged as good or bad (e.g. courage, justice)
These in turn lead to greater or lesser realization of potential for fully human lives (“flourishing”
Basic Principle: actions reflective or productive of good or bad character, embodied in developed
and lasting traits or habits
Important Variation(s): different traditions and theorists develop different lists of virtues and
vices
IMMORAL AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES AND THEIR SOLUTIONS
The distinction between immorality and illegality is the distinction between that which applies to
the private sphere of a man’s mind and that which governs the behavior of men in a social
setting. However, because man is an indivisible entity possessing both mind and body,
the specific nature of his thoughts can certainly inform the nature of his actions. In other words, a
man can have immoral thoughts and act upon them, which would make his actions also immoral;
nevertheless, his immoral actions may not necessarily be illegal or criminal acts.

Inappropriate Computer Use

Employees may use company computers to engage in unethical behavior. For example, an
employee who is not permitted to use the Internet for personal reasons commits an unethical act
by shopping online while at work. Random Internet surfing takes away from the time she spends
on work-related activities. Employees sometimes use company email to spread inappropriate
websites or videos to co-workers, some of which could be deemed offensive by the recipients.
Time Misuse

Unethical behavior can include "stealing" time from the company, as the company is
compensating employees and receiving no productivity in return. In addition to time spent on
aimless Internet surfing, time misuse can consist of extending breaks beyond the allotted time,
congregating around the water cooler or engaging in lengthy gossip sessions during working
time, falsifying time sheets, coming into work late or leaving early and running personal errands
while traveling on company business.
Sexual Harassmen and Bullying

An employee could commit unethical behavior by sexually harassing co-workers. This could
involve making lewd comments, touching inappropriately or making unwanted sexual advances.
Bullying typically involves attempting to intimidate a co-worker by making demeaning
comments about him, spreading gossip or even making verbal or physical threats. In general, a
bully attempts to make the workplace as uncomfortable as possible for a co-worker. In some
cases, ongoing bullying can escalate into violence in the workplace.
Illegal Acts
Some unethical acts can also be illegal. For example, an employee who has access to a
company's financial records, such as a bookkeeper or accountant, could use her access and
expertise to embezzle company funds. An employee having access to personnel files, such as a
human resources representative, could commit identity theft and use employees' Social Security
numbers to raid bank accounts or fraudulently obtain credit cards. In cases such as the 2001
Enron scandal, top company executives used questionable accounting practices to manipulate the
company's stock price for their own financial gain.
SOLUTIONS:
Unethical behaviors can plague a workplace, whether an executive steals money from the
company or an associate falsifies documents. Unethical behaviors can damage a company's
credibility, causing the business to lose customers and ultimately shut down. However, business
owners and their management teams can work with employees to prevent unethical behaviors.

Create a Code of Conduct

A written code of conduct provides employees and managers with an overview of the type of
conduct and behaviors the company expects. It outlines what behaviors are unacceptable and
what measures are taken if an employee violates the code of conduct.
Lead By Example

Employees look to business owners and managers for direction on how they should conduct
themselves. As a business owner, make ethics-based decisions and monitor the individuals you
put into leadership roles at your company for the same values.
Reinforce Consequences

Business owners must hold their employees accountable when they act unethically. Start by
informing new employees of the rules during their orientation sessions. If an employee acts
unethically, refer to the code of conduct and take the necessary measures to warn or terminate.
Show Employees Appreciation

Loyal employees feel that a company values the hard work they put into accomplishing tasks on
a daily basis. A loyal employee is less likely to act unethically. Show appreciation to the
employees for work well done on a regular basis to encourage loyalty.
Welcome an Ethics Speaker

Schedule an ethics trainer to visit your work site to discuss ethical behavior and explain why it is
important in organizations, regardless of the size or industry. Ethics trainers use role-playing,
motivational speaking, videos and handouts to illustrate the importance of ethics in the
workplace.
Create Checks and Balances

Rather than putting related responsibilities in the hands of one employee, create a system of
checks and balances to minimize the opportunities for unethical behavior. For example, a sales
associate rings up customer purchases, while an accountant balances the books to ensure that all
payables are received and documented.
Hire for Values

When business owners hire employees, many seek to bring on individuals who have the
education and experience that prove they are skilled workers, capable of handling the tasks at
hand. Employers who want to prevent unethical behavior also look at candidates' values to
ensure they mesh with the company's culture.
ETHICAL ABUSES
Particular corporate ethical/legal abuses include:
1. creative accounting- Creative accounting is a euphemism referring to accounting practices
that may follow the letter of the rules of standard accounting practices, but deviate from the spirit
of those rules. They are characterized by excessive complication and the use of novel ways of
characterizing income, assets, or liabilities and the intent to influence readers towards the
interpretations desired by the authors.
2. earnings management,
3. misleading financial analysis,
4. insider trading - Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or
other securities (such as bonds or stock options) by individuals with access to nonpublic
information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider
information is illegal. This is because it is seen as unfair to other investors who do not have
access to the information, as the investor with insider information could potentially make larger
profits than a typical investor could make.
5. securities fraud - Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a
deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase
or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of
securities laws.[1] Offers of risky investment opportunities to unsophisticated investors who are
unable to evaluate risk adequately and cannot afford loss of capital is a central problem.[2][3]
bribery/kickbacks and
6. facilitation payments.- A facilitating payment is a certain type of payment to foreign officials
that is not considered to be bribery according to legislations of some states as well as in the
international anti-bribery conventions
CAUSES OF UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR
UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR- lacking moral principles, unwilling to adhere to proper rules of
conduct
Common reasons of unethical behaviour:
Pressure can drive people to do things they wont normally do
Some people make unethical choices because they are not sure about what really is the right
thing to do
Self-interest, personal gain, ambition and downright greed are at the bottom of a lot of unethical
activity in business
Misguided loyalty
Never learned or do not care about ethical values
ROOT CAUSES OF UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR
Psychological traps
1. primary traps – obiedience to authority
2.personality traps- need for closure
3.defensive trap- false consensus effect
Ethics in the Workplace
The application of moral principles, standards of behavior, or set of values regarding proper
conduct in the workplace as individuals and in a group setting • Ethics allow you to distinguish
the difference between right and wrong
Good Workplace Ethics • Staying productive • Be accountable for your actions • Take initiative •
Think critically to be able to solve problems • Blowing the whistle • Be punctual • Stay positive •
Stay professional • Take pride in your work • Immediately attempting to correct an issue
 Set the example
 UNIT 4
Environmental health
The definition of environmental health varies from organization to organization, although the
basic premise remains the same. Below are definitions from various federal and nonfederal
organizations/agencies.
Environmental health addresses all the physical, chemical, and biological factors external to a
person, and all the related factors impacting behaviors. It encompasses the assessment and
control of those environmental factors that can potentially affect health. It is targeted towards
preventing disease and creating health-supportive environments. This definition excludes
behavior not related to environment, as well as behavior related to the social and cultural
environment, and genetics. – World Health Organization
Environmental health and protection refers to protection against environmental factors that may
adversely impact human health or the ecological balances essential to long-term human health
and environmental quality, whether in the natural or man-made environment. – National
Environmental Health Association
Environmental Health is the field of science that studies how the environment influences human
health and disease. “Environment,” in this context, means things in the natural environment like
air, water and soil, and also all the physical, chemical, biological and social features of our
surroundings.
The man-made, or “built,” environment includes physical structures where people live and work
such as homes, offices, schools, farms and factories, as well as community systems such as roads
and transportation systems, land use practices and waste management. Consequences of human
alteration to the natural environment, such as air pollution, are also parts of the man-made
environment.
The social environment encompasses lifestyle factors like diet and exercise, socioeconomic
status, and other societal influences that may affect health. – National Institute of
Environmental Health Science
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Environmental ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which considers extending the
traditional boundaries of ethics from solely including humans to including the non-human world.
It exerts influence on a large range of disciplines including environmental law, environmental
sociology, ecotheology, ecological economics, ecology and environmental geography.
There are many ethical decisions that human beings make with respect to the environment. For
example:

 Should humans continue to clear cut forests for the sake of human consumption?
 Why should humans continue to propagate its species, and life itself? [1]
 Should humans continue to make gasoline-powered vehicles?
 What environmental obligations do humans need to keep for future generations?[2][3]
 Is it right for humans to knowingly cause the extinction of a species for the convenience of
humanity?
 How should humans best use and conserve the space environment to secure and expand
life?[4]
 What role can Planetary Boundaries play in reshaping the human-earth relationship?[5]
ETHICAL THEORIES
According to Marshall, three general ethical approaches have emerged over the last 40 years:
Libertarian Extension, the Ecologic Extension and Conservation Ethics.[10]
 Libertarian extension[edit]
 Marshall’s Libertarian extension echoes a civil liberty approach (i.e. a commitment to
extend equal rights to all members of a community). In environmentalism, though, the
community is generally thought to consist of non-humans as well as humans.
 Andrew Brennan was an advocate of ecologic humanism (eco-humanism), the argument
that all ontological entities, animate and in-animate, can be given ethical worth purely on
the basis that they exist. The work of Arne Næss and his collaborator Sessions also falls
under the libertarian extension, although they preferred the term "deep ecology". Deep
ecology is the argument for the intrinsic value or inherent worth of the environment – the
view that it is valuable in itself. Their argument, incidentally, falls under both the
libertarian extension and the ecologic extension.
 Peter Singer's work can be categorized under Marshall's 'libertarian extension'. He
reasoned that the "expanding circle of moral worth" should be redrawn to include the
rights of non-human animals, and to not do so would be guilty of speciesism. Singer
found it difficult to accept the argument from intrinsic worth of a-biotic or "non-sentient"
(non-conscious) entities, and concluded in his first edition of "Practical Ethics" that they
should not be included in the expanding circle of moral worth.[11] This approach is
essentially then, bio-centric. However, in a later edition of "Practical Ethics" after the
work of Næss and Sessions, Singer admits that, although unconvinced by deep ecology,
the argument from intrinsic value of non-sentient entities is plausible, but at best
problematic. Singer advocated a humanist ethics.
  Ecologic extension[edit]
 Alan Marshall's category of ecologic extension places emphasis not on human rights but
on the recognition of the fundamental interdependence of all biological (and some
abiological) entities and their essential diversity. Whereas Libertarian Extension can be
thought of as flowing from a political reflection of the natural world, ecologic extension
is best thought of as a scientific reflection of the natural world. Ecological Extension is
roughly the same classification of Smith's eco-holism, and it argues for the intrinsic value
inherent in collective ecological entities like ecosystems or the global environment as a
whole entity. Holmes Rolston, among others, has taken this approach.
 This category might include James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis; the theory that the planet
earth alters its geo-physiological structure over time in order to ensure the continuation of
an equilibrium of evolving organic and inorganic matter. The planet is characterized as a
unified, holistic entity with ethical worth of which the human race is of no particular
significance in the long run.
 Conservation ethics[edit]
 Marshall's category of 'conservation ethics' is an extension of use-value into the non-
human biological world. It focuses only on the worth of the environment in terms of its
utility or usefulness to humans. It contrasts the intrinsic value ideas of 'deep ecology',
hence is often referred to as 'shallow ecology', and generally argues for the preservation
of the environment on the basis that it has extrinsic value – instrumental to the welfare of
human beings. Conservation is therefore a means to an end and purely concerned with
mankind and inter-generational considerations. It could be argued that it is this ethic that
formed the underlying arguments proposed by Governments at the Kyoto summit in 1997
and three agreements reached in Rio in 1992.[citation needed]

 Humanist theories[edit]
 Following the bio-centric and eco-holist theory distinctions, Michael Smith further
classifies Humanist theories as those that require a set of criteria for moral status and
ethical worth, such as sentience.[citation needed] This applies to the work of Peter Singer who
advocated a hierarchy of value similar to the one devised by Aristotle which relies on the
ability to reason. This was Singer's solution to the problem that arises when attempting to
determine the interests of a non-sentient entity such as a garden weed.
 Singer also advocated the preservation of "world heritage sites," unspoilt parts of the
world that acquire a "scarcity value" as they diminish over time. Their preservation is a
bequest for future generations as they have been inherited from human's ancestors and
should be passed down to future generations so they can have the opportunity to decide
whether to enjoy unspoilt countryside or an entirely urban landscape. A good example of
a world heritage site would be the tropical rainforest, a very specialist ecosystem that has
taken centuries to evolve. Clearing the rainforest for farmland often fails due to soil
conditions, and once disturbed, can take thousands of years to regenerate.
 Applied theology
The Christian world view sees the universe as created by God, and humankind accountable to
God for the use of the resources entrusted to humankind. Ultimate values are seen in the light of
being valuable to God. This applies both in breadth of scope - caring for people (Matthew 25)
and environmental issues, e.g. environmental health.
ECOLOGICAL CRISIS
An ecological crisis occurs when changes to the environment of
a species or population destabilizes its continued survival. A few possible causes include:

 Degradation of an abiotic ecological factor (for example, increase of temperature, less

significant rainfalls)
 Increased pressures from predation
 Rise in the number of individuals (overpopulation)[1]

Abiotic factors[edit]
Climate change is starting to have major impacts on ecosystems. With global temperature rising,
there is a decrease in snow-fall, and sea levels are rising. Ecosystems will change or evolve to
cope with the increase in temperature. Consequently, many species are being driven out of their
habitats.
Polar bears are being threatened. They need ice for hunting seals, their primary prey. However,
the ice caps are melting, making their hunting periods shorter each year. As a result, the polar
bears are not developing enough fat for the winter; therefore, they are not able to reproduce at a
healthy rate.
Fresh water and wetland ecosystems are dealing with extreme effects of the increase of
temperature. The climate change could be devastating to salmon and trout and to other aquatic
life. The increase in temperature will disrupt the current life patterns of the salmon and trout. The
cold-water fish will eventually leave their natural geographical range to live in cooler waters by
migrating to higher elevations.
While many species have been able to adapt to the new conditions by moving their range further
towards the poles, other species are not as fortunate. The option to move is not available for
polar bears and for some aquatic life.

Biodiversity extinction[edit]
Due to increase in ecological crisis,vast numbers of species are being annihilated. Every year
between 17,000 and 100,000 species vanish from the planet. The speed in which species are
becoming extinct is much faster than in the past. The last mass extinction was caused by a
meteor collision 66 million years ago.
The loss of new species in an ecosystem will eventually affect all living creatures. In the U.S.
and Canada, there was a dramatic reduction of shark population along the U.S. east coast. Since
then, there has been an increase in population of rays and skates, which in turn has decimated the
population of shellfish.[2] The loss of shellfish has reduced the water quality and the size of sea
grass beds. Biodiversity is being lost at a fast rate. The more species there are in an ecosystem,
the more resilient it is to evolution.
Seven million square kilometers of tropical forest have vanished in the last 50 years. About two
million square kilometers were used for crops, while the remaining five million square
kilometers is poor quality land. Turning these unproductive lands back into native forest
could capture an estimated five billion metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere every year for
10 to 20 or more years. Reforestation will have enormous benefits on biodiversity.

Overpopulation (species)[edit]
In the wilderness, the problem of animal overpopulation is solved by predators. Predators tend to
look for signs of weakness in their prey, and therefore usually first eat the old or sick animals.
This has the side effects of ensuring a strong stock among the survivors and controlling the
population.
In the absence of predators, animal species are bound by the resources they can find in their
environment, but this does not necessarily control overpopulation. In fact, an abundant supply of
resources can produce a population boomthat ends up with more individuals than the
environment can support. In this case, starvation, thirst, and sometimes violent competition for
scarce resources may effect a sharp reduction in population, and in a very short lapse, a
population crash. Lemmings, as well as other less popular species of rodents, are known to have
such cycles of rapid population growth and subsequent decrease.
In an ideal setting, when animal populations grow, so do the number of predators that feed on
that particular animal. Animals that have birth defects or weak genes (such as the runt of the
litter) also die off, unable to compete over food with stronger, healthier animals.
In reality, an animal that is not native to an environment may have advantages over the native
ones, such being unsuitable for the local predators. If left uncontrolled, such an animal can
quickly overpopulate and ultimately destroy its environment.
Examples of animal overpopulation caused by introduction of a foreign species abound.

 In the Argentine Patagonia, for example, European species such as the trout and
the deer were introduced into the local streams and forests, respectively, and quickly became
a plague, competing with and sometimes driving away the local species of fish
and ruminants.
 In Australia, when rabbits were introduced (unwillingly) by European immigrants, they bred
out of control and ate the plants that other native animals needed to survive. Farmers hunted
the rabbits to reduce their population and prevent the damage the rabbits did to the crops.
They also brought cats to guard against rabbits and rats. These cats created another problem,
since they became predators of local species.

Population

Population is viewed by many as the driver of global environmental change. We will examine
this topic in depth in future lectures (link to next four lectures). Human population has grown
enormously over the past few hundred years (see figure). Even if the rate of growth is constant,
the number of people added over each year or time interval increases as the population becomes
larger. This is a characteristic of exponential growth (link to next lecture). Only by slowing the
rate of population growth, until eventually the growth rate is zero, can population be stabilized.
Population growth rate, often expressed as per capita (per individual) or per cent (per 100
individuals), is an important variable influencing population growth. In the 1960's, an average
world growth rate of 2.1% per year, perhaps the highest the world average has ever reached,
caused great alarm. Today that rate is 1.5% and falling.

Table 1: World population as of selected dates (approximate)

10,000 BP 5 million

1650 500 million

1850 1 billion

1950 2.5 billion

2000 6 billion

2050 8-12 billion (est)

An examination of global patterns in population serves as a useful reminder that global averages,
as important as they are, tell only a fraction of the story. Consider the world pattern in population
density (see figure) and population growth rate (see figure). Regional and local patterns are
extremely important.

Human population has many direct and indirect effects on other variables. Two that are very
directly connected are urbanization and disease.

The world's population is quickly becoming urbanized as people migrate from rural to urban
areas, in search of a better life and better future for their children. In 1950, < 30% of the world's
population lived in cities, by 2025 that figure is expected to exceed 60%. This figure shows the
~20 cities whose populations will exceed 10 million by the year 2000. Commonly the rate of
migration into cities far exceeds the development of infrastructure, such as supply of potable
water and removal of sewage; and uncontrolled growth causes massive congestion, air pollution
and other problems. Such is the pull of perceived opportunity, however, that urban growth
continues unchecked. At present, North America, Europe and Latin America are about 70%
urban. Both Asia and Africa are expected to be about 54% urban by 2025.

Disease spreads more readily under crowded conditions, where sanitation is lacking or
overwhelmed by urban growth, and where individual health faces additional challenges from an
inadequate food supply, air pollution,etc. Infectious and parasitic diseases account for about 1/3
of the world's annual deaths. They are responsible for only about 1% of the deaths in developed
countries, but > 40% of the deaths in developing countries. Some of the most important are old
enemies – diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis, malaria , cholera . Others are emerging or re-
emerging, and show a clear association with population growth and environmental change.
Examples include the new flu strain that led to the wholesale slaughter of all of the poultry of
Hong Kong in December 1997, the Ebola virus outbreak in Zaire in 1995, the hantavirus, and
cholera, among others. AIDS, which likely originated in primates and crossed over into humans,
is thought to have accelerated its spread via the movement of infected people from rural to urban
areas.

Water Resources

Since antiquity, irrigation, drainage, and impoundment have been the three types of water control
having a major impact on landscapes and water flows. Since the dawn of irrigated agriculture at
least 5000 years ago, controlling water to grow crops has been the primary motivation for human
alteration of freshwater supplies. Today, principal demands for fresh water are for irrigation,
household and municipal water use, and industrial uses. Most supplies come from surface runoff,
although mining of "fossil water" from underground aquifers is an important source in some
areas. The pattern of water withdrawal over the past 300 years shows the dramatic increases in
this century (see figure).

Consumptive water use refers to water that is not returned to streams after use. For the most part,
this is water that enters the atmospheric pool of water via evaporation (from reservoirs in arid
areas) and from plant transpiration (especially from "thirsty" crops such as cotton and alfalfa).
Irrigated agriculture is responsible for most consumptive water use, and decreases surface run-
off. An extreme example is the Colorado River, which has most of its water diverted to irrigated
agriculture, so that in a normal year, no water at all reaches the river’s mouth.

A great deal of water use is non-consumptive, which means that the water is returned to surface
runoff. Usually that water is contaminated however, whether used for agriculture, domestic
consumption, or industry.

Some believe that fresh water will be a critical limiting resource for many regions in the near
future. By the middle of the next century, it is estimated that 18% of the world's population could
live in countries with water shortages.

Harvestable fish, an important source of protein for humans, and aquatic biodiversity, are also
threatened. Fish make up 16% of animal protein consumed by humans, and some 950 million
people depend on fish as their primary source of protein. As of 1993, the FAO estimated in 1993
that >2/3rds of the world's fish stocks were being fished at or beyond their level of maximum
productivity. Catch per unit effort, which grew during most of this century, has been declining
for the past 1-2 decades.

 It has only recently been recognized how seriously marine biodiversity is at risk. It was
thought that the vastness of the oceans might not prevent over-fishing, but at least would
prevent outright extinction. Now we are less sure. Coastal ecosystems are one of the
richest locations of marine biodiversity. Some 34% of world's coasts are at high potential
risk of degradation, 17% are at moderate risk. Economic uses of marine resources include
 fish for human consumption, animal feed, fertilizer, clothing, jewelry, additives in foods,
cosmetics and household products

Land

Transformation of the landscape is one of the most obvious manifestation of global

environmental change. From 1700 to 1985, world forests are estimated to have declined by 19%
and grasslands by 8%, while agriculture has shown a 466% increase relativeto 1700 levels. These
transformations are broadly similar throughout the world, although the timing of the change, and
the distribution of land uses in 1700, are very different between, say, China and Latin America
(see figure). As we shall see, transformation of the land, largely into intensely cultivated
agriculture but also into marginal lands, waste lands, and urban areas, can be viewed as a major
driver of other global environmental changes, including loss of species and degradation of
ecosystems. Population growth and need for greater food production are obvious drivers of
landscape change.

Agricultural Productivity

Population growth means that more food is needed simply to maintain the current food supply
per person. Because few areas of unused arable land exist, the best land has long been cultivated.
In addition, arable land is lost every year to urban growth. As a result the amount of land
available per person is declining. The area of grainland per person shrank from 0.23 ha to 0.12 ha
between 1950 and 1995. Thus, only increasing yields can meet the needs of a growing
population.

Due to improved agricultural technology, including the Green Revolution, agricultural yields
have increased markedly in recent decades. Between 1961 and 1991, yields of maize, rice, and
wheat doubled in developing countries. Over the past four decades, world grain production has
increased roughly threefold, and so has even increased slightly on a per capita basis. Area
harvested has declined but fertilizer use has risen sharply, resulting in dramatic gains in yield per
hectare (see figure). Extending this "green revolution" into the future, and to present-day Africa,
are challenges to be met.

Again, a regional analysis points to differing rates and differing predicaments. Remarkably, over
the past several decades Asia's food production has been able to keep pace with population
growth, whereas Africa has fallen behind. Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia are most likely to
have food shortage problems. The number of undernourished people in sub-Saharan Africa could
rise to 300 million (from approximately 175 million now) by the year 2010.

Terrestrial Biodiversity

The transformation of wildlands to farmlands has set in motion a series of forces that are
exacting an enormous toll on the earth’s biological diversity. Deforestation and habitat loss,
pesticides and fertilizers, soil erosion – these are some principal environmental consequences of
land transformation. Today, rates of extinction today are in line with the rates during the mass
extinctions of the fossil record. It is estimated that 3/4th of the world’s bird species are declining,
and 1/4th of the 4,600 species of mammals are threatened with extinction. Projections into the 21st
century suggest that 66% of plant species and 69% of Amazon birds will be lost. The best guess
is that extinction rates over the past few centuries should reach 25% by the year 2000.

These calculations are affected by whether one chooses to focus on well-known groups, such as
terrestrial vertebrates, or chooses to extrapolate to the unknown number of species, which greatly
exceeds the known number. Extinction of terrestrial vertebrates, largely by over-hunting, was
one of the trends initiated earliest among those we examined in our quartiles of change figure.
Extinction of global biodiversity, with its very large component of unknown insects, microbes,
and other groups, is a recent and rapidly accelerating consequence of global habitat destruction
(see figure).

Energy Use

Carbon emission, due mainly to combustion of fuels and thus an indicator of industrialization,
reached its first quartile just before 1800 (see figure), and continues to expand at an alarming
rate. The developed nations are the most industrial nations, and account for most fossil fuel use
(see figure). Over the last 150 years, our major energy sources have changed from wood and
water to coal to oil and gas (see figure). These are all non-renewable resources, and will likely be
depleted within a few hundred years.

Energy use imperfectly mirrors per capita gross domestic product (see figure). Note that Japan
produces less CO2 relative to its GDP (but Japan imports energy supplies, making efficiency
very important, and imports finished materials such as steel, so some energy-consuming
processes are done elsewhere). China produces a lot of CO2 relative to its GDP, but China is
industrializing rapidly, and has huge supplies of dirty coal.

Developed countries account for 2/3rds of the world’s energy consumption. Most of the energy
used in developed countries (37%) is for industrial purposes, while 35% goes to heating and
lighting buildings. The remaining 28% is used for transportation, mostly highway vehicles. One
U.S. citizen uses 280X more energy in a year than 1 Ethiopian person. Further dramatic changes
in energy consumption will surely occur because:

 Developing countries will industrialize, accelerating energy use.

 World attention to controlling CO2 emissions likely will grow.
 Non-renewable energy resources will become more costly, and eventually be exhausted.
 Renewable energy sources (solar, geothermal, wind) and seemingly inexhaustible energy
sources (nuclear energy) will continue to gain a share of the market.

Increases in efficiency and transitions to other energy sources appear to be very safe predictions
for the future.
The Atmosphere (CO2, ozone layer, pollution)

Changes to the global atmosphere have captured world attention like virtually no other facet of
global environmental change. The atmosphere truly links us all and affects us all. Atmospheric
change illustrates how the cumulative effects of human activities can have very serious
consequences for many people, and how individual actions are inadequate to deal with these
changes. Few are unaware of the risks of climate change due to rising atmospheric CO2 (link to
fall lecture), the risks of exposure to ultraviolet (UVB) radiation brought about by aerosol
coolants devastating the ozone layer (link to fall lecture), or of the direct human health risks of
living in our most congested urban areas.

Growing energy use results in cumulative CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, which as we now
know with confidence, have brought about a steady rise in atmospheric CO2 from its pre-
industrial value of 280 ppm, to its present-day value of 360 ppm. An atmospheric concentration
double the pre-industrial value – ca. 560 ppm – now seems certain by mid- to late 21st Century.
We expect significant warming, as well as more difficult to forecast changes in precipitation,
with complex effects on virtually every aspect of our lives. There will be winners and losers, and
we have only a dim understanding now of the full range of consequences.

Summary

We live in an exciting time – the world and its environment are experiencing a period of
dramatic and rapid change rarely matched in human history. There is no question that we need to
view many of these changes with alarm, and assess how best to prevent, manage, or cope. In the
final several weeks of this course we will turn our attention to solutions, and we hope to motivate
you to continue to be an active and informed participant in the on-going drama of a changing
planet earth.

Climate change

Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change
lasts for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years). Climate change may refer
to a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of weather within the context
of longer-term average conditions. Climate change is caused by factors such as bioticprocesses,
variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain
human activities have been identified as primary causes of ongoing climate change, often
referred to as global warming.

Causes
See also: Attribution of recent climate change
On the broadest scale, the rate at which energy is received from the Sun and the rate at which it
is lost to space determine the equilibrium temperature and climate of Earth. This energy is
distributed around the globe by winds, ocean currents, and other mechanisms to affect the
climates of different regions.
Factors that can shape climate are called climate forcings or "forcing mechanisms".[7] These
include processes such as variations in solar radiation, variations in the Earth's orbit, variations in
the albedo or reflectivity of the continents, atmosphere, and oceans, mountain-
building and continental drift and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. There are a variety
of climate change feedbacks that can either amplify or diminish the initial forcing. Some parts of
the climate system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond more slowly in reaction to climate
forcings, while others respond more quickly. There are also key threshold factors which when
exceeded can produce rapid change.
Forcing mechanisms can be either "internal" or "external". Internal forcing mechanisms are
natural processes within the climate system itself (e.g., the thermohaline circulation). External
forcing mechanisms can be either natural (e.g., changes in solar output, the earth's orbit, volcano
eruptions) or anthropogenic (e.g. increased emissions of greenhouse gases and dust).
Whether the initial forcing mechanism is internal or external, the response of the climate system
might be fast (e.g., a sudden cooling due to airborne volcanic ash reflecting sunlight), slow
(e.g. thermal expansion of warming ocean water), or a combination (e.g., sudden loss
of albedo in the Arctic Ocean as sea ice melts, followed by more gradual thermal expansion of
the water). Therefore, the climate system can respond abruptly, but the full response to forcing
mechanisms might not be fully developed for centuries or even longer.
Internal forcing mechanisms
Scientists generally define the five components of earth's climate system to
include atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere (restricted to the surface soils, rocks,
and sediments), and biosphere.[8] Natural changes in the climate system ("internal forcings")
result in internal "climate variability".[9] Examples include the type and distribution of species,
and changes in ocean-atmosphere circulations.
The ocean and atmosphere can work together to spontaneously generate internal climate
variability that can persist for years to decades at a time.[10][11] Examples of this type of variability
include the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the Pacific decadal oscillation, and the Atlantic
Multidecadal Oscillation. These variations can affect global average surface temperature by
redistributing heat between the deep ocean and the atmopshere[12][13] and/or by altering the
cloud/water vapor/sea ice distribution which can affect the total energy budget of the earth.[14][15]
The oceanic aspects of these circulations can generate variability on centennial timescales due to
the ocean having hundreds of times more mass than in the atmosphere, and thus very
high thermal inertia. For example, alterations to ocean processes such as thermohaline circulation
play a key role in redistributing heat in the world's oceans. Due to the long timescales of this
circulation, ocean temperature at depth is still adjusting to effects of the Little Ice Age[16] which
occurred between the 1600 and 1800s.
A schematic of modern thermohaline circulation. Tens of millions of years ago, continental-plate
movement formed a land-free gap around Antarctica, allowing the formation of the ACC, which
keeps warm waters away from Antarctica.
Life
Life affects climate through its role in the carbon and water cycles and through such mechanisms
as albedo, evapotranspiration, cloud formation, and weathering.[17][18][19] Examples of how life may
have affected past climate include:

 glaciation 2.3 billion years ago triggered by the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis, which
depleted the atmosphere of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and introduced free
oxygen.[20][21]
 another glaciation 300 million years ago ushered in by long-term burial of decomposition-
resistant detritus of vascular land-plants (creating a carbon sink and forming coal)[22][23]
 termination of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum 55 million years ago by flourishing
marine phytoplankton[24][25]
 reversal of global warming 49 million years ago by 800,000 years of arctic azolla
blooms[26][27]
 global cooling over the past 40 million years driven by the expansion of grass-
grazer ecosystems[28][29]
External forcing mechanisms
Orbital variations
Slight variations in Earth's motion lead to changes in the seasonal distribution of sunlight
reaching the Earth's surface and how it is distributed across the globe. There is very little change
to the area-averaged annually averaged sunshine; but there can be strong changes in the
geographical and seasonal distribution. The three types of kinematic change are variations in
Earth's eccentricity, changes in the tilt angle of Earth's axis of rotation, and precession of Earth's
axis. Combined together, these produce Milankovitch cycles which have an impact on climate
and are notable for their correlation to glacial and interglacial periods,[30] their correlation with
the advance and retreat of the Sahara,[30] and for their appearance in the stratigraphic record.[31][32]
The IPCC notes that Milankovitch cycles drove the ice age cycles, CO2 followed temperature
change "with a lag of some hundreds of years", and that as a feedback amplified temperature
change.[33] The depths of the ocean have a lag time in changing temperature (thermal inertia on
such scale). Upon seawater temperature change, the solubility of CO2 in the oceans changed, as
well as other factors impacting air-sea CO2 exchange.[34]
Variations in solar activity during the last several centuries based on observations
of sunspots and berylliumisotopes. The period of extraordinarily few sunspots in the late 17th
century was the Maunder minimum.
The Sun is the predominant source of energy input to the Earth. Other sources
include geothermal energy from the Earth's core, tidal energy from the Moon and heat from the
decay of radioactive compounds. Both long- and short-term variations in solar intensity are
known to affect global climate.
Three to four billion years ago, the Sun emitted only 75% as much power as it does today.[35] If
the atmospheric composition had been the same as today, liquid water should not have existed on
Earth. However, there is evidence for the presence of water on the early Earth, in
the Hadean[36][37] and Archean[38][36] eons, leading to what is known as the faint young Sun
paradox.[39]Hypothesized solutions to this paradox include a vastly different atmosphere, with
much higher concentrations of greenhouse gases than currently exist.[40] Over the following
approximately 4 billion years, the energy output of the Sun increased and atmospheric
composition changed. The Great Oxygenation Event – oxygenation of the atmosphere around 2.4
billion years ago – was the most notable alteration. Over the next five billion years from the
present, the Sun's ultimate death as it becomes a red giant and then a white dwarf will have large
effects on climate, with the red giant phase possibly ending any life on Earth that survives until
that time.[41]
Solar activity events recorded in radiocarbon. Values since 1950 not shown.
Solar output varies on shorter time scales, including the 11-year solar cycle[42] and longer-
term modulations.[43] Solar intensity variations, possibly as a result of the Wolf, Spörer, and
the Maunder Minima, are considered to have been influential in triggering the Little Ice
Age.[44] This event extended from 1550 to 1850 A.D. and was marked by relative cooling and
greater glacier extent than the centuries before and afterward.[45][46] Solar variation may also have
impacted some of the warming observed from 1900 to 1950. The cyclical nature of the Sun's
energy output is not yet fully understood; it differs from the very slow change that is happening
within the Sun as it ages and evolves.
Some studies point toward solar radiation increases from cyclical sunspot activity affecting
global warming, and climate may be influenced by the sum of all effects (solar variation,
anthropogenic radiative forcings, etc.).[47][48]
A 2010 study[49] suggests "that the effects of solar variability on temperature throughout the
atmosphere may be contrary to current expectations."
In an Aug 2011 Press Release,[50] CERN announced the publication in the Nature journal the
initial results from its CLOUD experiment. The results indicate that ionisation from cosmic rays
significantly enhances aerosol formation in the presence of sulfuric acid and water, but in the
lower atmosphere where ammonia is also required, this is insufficient to account for aerosol
formation and additional trace vapours must be involved. The next step is to find more about
these trace vapours, including whether they are of natural or human origin.
Volcanism
In atmospheric temperature from 1979 to 2010, determined by MSUNASA satellites, effects
appear from aerosols released by major volcanic eruptions (El Chichón and Pinatubo). El Niño is
a separate event, from ocean variability.
The eruptions considered to be large enough to affect the Earth's climate on a scale of more than
1 year are the ones that inject over 100,000 tons of SO2 into the stratosphere.[51] This is due to the
optical properties of SO2 and sulfate aerosols, which strongly absorb or scatter solar radiation,
creating a global layer of sulfuric acid haze.[52] On average, such eruptions occur several times
per century, and cause cooling (by partially blocking the transmission of solar radiation to the
Earth's surface) for a period of a few years.
The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th
century, affected the climate substantially, subsequently global temperatures decreased by about
0.5 °C (0.9 °F) for up to three years.[53][54] Thus, the cooling over large parts of the Earth reduced
surface temperatures in 1991–93, the equivalent to a reduction in net radiation of 4 watts per
square meter.[55] The Mount Tambora eruption in 1815 caused the Year Without a
Summer.[56] Much larger eruptions, known as large igneous provinces, occur only a few times
every fifty – one hundred million years – through flood basalt, and caused in Earth past global
warming and mass extinctions.[57]
Small eruptions, with injections of less than 0.1 Mt of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, impact
the atmosphere only subtly, as temperature changes are comparable with natural variability.
However, because smaller eruptions occur at a much higher frequency, they too have a
significant impact on Earth's atmosphere.[51][58]
Seismic monitoring maps current and future trends in volcanic activities, and tries to develop
early warning systems. In climate modelling the aim is to study the physical mechanisms and
feedbacks of volcanic forcing.[59]
Volcanoes are also part of the extended carbon cycle. Over very long (geological) time periods,
they release carbon dioxide from the Earth's crust and mantle, counteracting the uptake by
sedimentary rocks and other geological carbon dioxide sinks. The US Geological
Survey estimates are that volcanic emissions are at a much lower level than the effects of current
human activities, which generate 100–300 times the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by
volcanoes.[60] A review of published studies indicates that annual volcanic emissions of carbon
dioxide, including amounts released from mid-ocean ridges, volcanic arcs, and hot spot
volcanoes, are only the equivalent of 3 to 5 days of human-caused output. The annual amount put
out by human activities may be greater than the amount released by supererruptions, the most
recent of which was the Toba eruption in Indonesia 74,000 years ago.[61]
Although volcanoes are technically part of the lithosphere, which itself is part of the climate
system, the IPCC explicitly defines volcanism as an external forcing agent.[62]
Plate tectonics
Over the course of millions of years, the motion of tectonic plates reconfigures global land and
ocean areas and generates topography. This can affect both global and local patterns of climate
and atmosphere-ocean circulation.[63]
The position of the continents determines the geometry of the oceans and therefore influences
patterns of ocean circulation. The locations of the seas are important in controlling the transfer of
heat and moisture across the globe, and therefore, in determining global climate. A recent
example of tectonic control on ocean circulation is the formation of the Isthmus of Panama about
5 million years ago, which shut off direct mixing between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This
strongly affected the ocean dynamics of what is now the Gulf Stream and may have led to
Northern Hemisphere ice cover.[64][65] During the Carboniferous period, about 300 to 360 million
years ago, plate tectonics may have triggered large-scale storage of carbon and
increased glaciation.[66]Geologic evidence points to a "megamonsoonal" circulation pattern during
the time of the supercontinent Pangaea, and climate modeling suggests that the existence of the
supercontinent was conducive to the establishment of monsoons.[67]
The size of continents is also important. Because of the stabilizing effect of the oceans on
temperature, yearly temperature variations are generally lower in coastal areas than they are
inland. A larger supercontinent will therefore have more area in which climate is strongly
seasonal than will several smaller continents or islands.
Human influences
Increase in atmospheric CO2 levels
In the context of climate variation, anthropogenic factors are human activities which affect the
climate. The scientific consensus on climate change is "that climate is changing and that these
changes are in large part caused by human activities,"[68] and it "is largely irreversible."[69]
"Science has made enormous inroads in understanding climate change and its causes, and is
beginning to help develop a strong understanding of current and potential impacts that will affect
people today and in coming decades. This understanding is crucial because it allows decision
makers to place climate change in the context of other large challenges facing the nation and the
world. There are still some uncertainties, and there always will be in understanding a complex
system like Earth's climate. Nevertheless, there is a strong, credible body of evidence, based on
multiple lines of research, documenting that climate is changing and that these changes are in
large part caused by human activities. While much remains to be learned, the core phenomenon,
scientific questions, and hypotheses have been examined thoroughly and have stood firm in the
face of serious scientific debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations."
— United States National Research Council, Advancing the Science of Climate Change
Of most concern in these anthropogenic factors is the increase in CO2 levels. This is due to
emissions from fossil fuel combustion, followed by aerosols (particulate matter in the
atmosphere), and the CO2 released by cement manufacture.[70] Other factors, including land
use, ozone depletion, animal husbandry (ruminant animals such as cattle produce methane,[71] as
do termites), and deforestation, are also of concern in the roles they play – both separately and in
conjunction with other factors – in affecting climate, microclimate, and measures of climate
variables.[72]
Other mechanisms
The Earth receives an influx of ionized particles known as cosmic rays from a variety of external
sources, including the Sun. A hypothesis holds that an increase in the cosmic ray flux would
increase the ionization in the atmosphere, leading to greater cloud cover. This, in turn, would
tend to cool the surface. The non-solar cosmic ray flux may vary as a result of a nearby
supernova event, the solar system passing through a dense interstellar cloud, or the oscillatory
movement of the Sun's position with respect to the galactic plane. The latter can increase the flux
of high-energy cosmic rays coming from the Virgo cluster.[73]
Evidence exists that the Chicxulub impact some 66 million years ago had severely affected the
Earth's climate. Large quantities of sulfate aerosols were kicked up into the atmosphere,
decreasing global temperatures by up to 26 °C and producing sub-freezing temperatures for a
period of 3−16 years. The recovery time for this event took more than 30 years.[74]

Physical evidence

Global temperature anomalies for 2015 compared to the 1951–1980 baseline. 2015 was
the warmest year in the NASA/NOAA temperature record, which starts in 1880. It has since
been superseded by 2016 (NASA/NOAA; 20 January 2016).[75]
Comparisons between Asian Monsoonsfrom 200 AD to 2000 AD (staying in the background on
other plots), Northern Hemisphere temperature, Alpine glacier extent (vertically inverted as
marked), and human history as noted by the U.S. NSF.

Arctic temperature anomalies over a 100-year period as estimated by NASA. Typical high
monthly variance can be seen, while longer-term averages highlight trends.
Evidence for climatic change is taken from a variety of sources that can be used to reconstruct
past climates. Reasonably complete global records of surface temperature are available
beginning from the mid-late 19th century. For earlier periods, most of the evidence is
indirect—climatic changes are inferred from changes in proxies, indicators that reflect climate,
such as vegetation, ice cores,[76] dendrochronology, sea level change, and glacial geology.
Temperature measurements and proxies
The instrumental temperature record from surface stations was supplemented by radiosonde
balloons, extensive atmospheric monitoring by the mid-20th century, and, from the 1970s on,
with global satellite data as well. Taking the record as a whole, most of the 20th century had
been unprecedentedly warm, while the 19th and 17th centuries were quite cool.[77] The 18O/16O
ratio in calcite and ice core samples used to deduce ocean temperature in the distant past is an
example of a temperature proxy method, as are other climate metrics noted in subsequent
categories.
Historical and archaeological evidence
Main article: Historical impacts of climate change
Climate change in the recent past may be detected by corresponding changes in settlement and
agricultural patterns.[78] Archaeological evidence, oral history and historical documents can offer
insights into past changes in the climate. Climate change effects have been linked to the
rise [79] and also the collapse of various civilizations.[78]
Decline in thickness of glaciers worldwide over the past half-century
Glaciers
Glaciers are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change.[80] Their size is
determined by a mass balance between snow input and melt output. As temperatures warm,
glaciers retreat unless snow precipitation increases to make up for the additional melt; the
converse is also true.
Glaciers grow and shrink due both to natural variability and external forcings. Variability in
temperature, precipitation, and englacial and subglacial hydrology can strongly determine the
evolution of a glacier in a particular season. Therefore, one must average over a decadal or
longer time-scale and/or over many individual glaciers to smooth out the local short-term
variability and obtain a glacier history that is related to climate.
A world glacier inventory has been compiled since the 1970s, initially based mainly on aerial
photographs and maps but now relying more on satellites. This compilation tracks more than
100,000 glaciers covering a total area of approximately 240,000 km2, and preliminary estimates
indicate that the remaining ice cover is around 445,000 km2. The World Glacier Monitoring
Service collects data annually on glacier retreat and glacier mass balance. From this data,
glaciers worldwide have been found to be shrinking significantly, with strong glacier retreats in
the 1940s, stable or growing conditions during the 1920s and 1970s, and again retreating from
the mid-1980s to the present.[81][82]
The most significant climate processes since the middle to late Pliocene (approximately 3 million
years ago) are the glacial and interglacial cycles. The present interglacial period (the Holocene)
has lasted about 11,700 years.[83] Shaped by orbital variations, responses such as the rise and fall
of continental ice sheets and significant sea-level changes helped create the climate. Other
changes, including Heinrich events, Dansgaard–Oeschger events and the Younger Dryas,
however, illustrate how glacial variations may also influence climate without the orbital forcing.
Glaciers leave behind moraines that contain a wealth of material—including organic matter,
quartz, and potassium that may be dated—recording the periods in which a glacier advanced and
retreated. Similarly, by tephrochronological techniques, the lack of glacier cover can be
identified by the presence of soil or volcanic tephra horizons whose date of deposit may also be
ascertained.
Data from NASA's Grace satellites show that the land ice sheets in both Antarctica (upper chart)
and Greenland (lower) have been losing mass since 2002. Both ice sheets have seen an
acceleration of ice mass loss since 2009.[84]
Arctic sea ice loss
The decline in Arctic sea ice, both in extent and thickness, over the last several decades is further
evidence for rapid climate change.[85] Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats on the ocean surface. It
covers millions of square kilometers in the polar regions, varying with the seasons. In the Arctic,
some sea ice remains year after year, whereas almost all Southern Ocean or Antarctic sea ice
melts away and reforms annually. Satellite observations show that Arctic sea ice is now
declining at a rate of 13.2 percent per decade, relative to the 1981 to 2010 average.[86] The 2007
Arctic summer sea ice retreat was unprecedented. Decades of shrinking and thinning in a warm
climate has put the Arctic sea ice in a precarious position, it is now vulnerable to atmospheric
anomalies.[87] "Both extent and volume anomaly fluctuate little from January to July and then
decrease steeply in August and September".[87] This decrease is because of lessened ice
production as a result of the unusually high SAT. During the Arctic summer, a slower rate of sea
ice production is the same as a faster rate of sea ice melting.
This video summarizes how climate change, associated with increased carbon dioxide levels, has
affected plant growth.
Vegetation
A change in the type, distribution and coverage of vegetation may occur given a change in the
climate. Some changes in climate may result in increased precipitation and warmth, resulting in
improved plant growth and the subsequent sequestration of airborne CO2. A gradual increase in
warmth in a region will lead to earlier flowering and fruiting times, driving a change in the
timing of life cycles of dependent organisms. Conversely, cold will cause plant bio-cycles to
lag.[88] Larger, faster or more radical changes, however, may result in vegetation stress, rapid
plant loss and desertification in certain circumstances.[89][90] An example of this occurred during
the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse (CRC), an extinction event 300 million years ago. At this
time vast rainforests covered the equatorial region of Europe and America. Climate change
devastated these tropical rainforests, abruptly fragmenting the habitat into isolated 'islands' and
causing the extinction of many plant and animal species.[89]
Forest genetic resources
Even though this is a field with many uncertainties, it is expected that over the next 50 years
climate changes will have an effect on the diversity of forest genetic resources and thereby on the
distribution of forest tree species and the composition of forests. Diversity of forest genetic
resources enables the potential for a species (or a population) to adapt to climatic changes and
related future challenges such as temperature changes, drought, pests, diseases and forest fire.
However, species are not naturally capable to adapt in the pace of which the climate is changing
and the increasing temperatures will most likely facilitate the spread of pests and diseases,
creating an additional threat to forest trees and their populations.[91] To inhibit these problems
human interventions, such as transfer of forest reproductive material, may be needed.[92]
Pollen analysis
Palynology is the study of contemporary and fossil palynomorphs, including pollen. Palynology
is used to infer the geographical distribution of plant species, which vary under different climate
conditions. Different groups of plants have pollen with distinctive shapes and surface textures,
and since the outer surface of pollen is composed of a very resilient material, they resist decay.
Changes in the type of pollen found in different layers of sediment in lakes, bogs, or river deltas
indicate changes in plant communities. These changes are often a sign of a changing
climate.[93][94] As an example, palynological studies have been used to track changing vegetation
patterns throughout the Quaternary glaciations[95] and especially since the last glacial
maximum.[96]
Cloud cover and precipitation
Past precipitation can be estimated in the modern era with the global network of precipitation
gauges. Surface coverage over oceans and remote areas is relatively sparse, but, reducing
reliance on interpolation, satellite clouds and precipitation data has been available since the
1970s.[98] Quantification of climatological variation of precipitation in prior centuries and epochs
is less complete but approximated using proxies such as marine sediments, ice cores, cave
stalagmites, and tree rings.[99] In July 2016 scientists published evidence of increased cloud cover
over polar regions,[100] as predicted by climate models.[101]
Climatological temperatures substantially affect cloud cover and precipitation. For instance,
during the Last Glacial Maximum of 18,000 years ago, thermal-driven evaporation from the
oceans onto continental landmasses was low, causing large areas of extreme desert,
including polar deserts (cold but with low rates of cloud cover and precipitation).[97] In contrast,
the world's climate was cloudier and wetter than today near the start of the warm Atlantic
Period of 8000 years ago.[97]
Estimated global land precipitation increased by approximately 2% over the course of the 20th
century, though the calculated trend varies if different time endpoints are chosen, complicated
by ENSO and other oscillations, including greater global land cloud cover precipitation in the
1950s and 1970s than the later 1980s and 1990s despite the positive trend over the century
overall.[98][102][103] Similar slight overall increase in global river runoff and in average soil moisture
has been perceived.[102]
Dendroclimatology
Dendroclimatology is the analysis of tree ring growth patterns to determine past climate
variations.[104] Wide and thick rings indicate a fertile, well-watered growing period, while thin,
narrow rings indicate a period of lower rainfall and less-than-ideal growing conditions.
Ice cores
The Antarctic temperature changes during the last several glacial and interglacial cycles of the
present ice age, according to δ18O ratios.
Analysis of ice in a core drilled from an ice sheet such as the Antarctic ice sheet, can be used to
show a link between temperature and global sea level variations. The air trapped in bubbles in
the ice can also reveal the CO2 variations of the atmosphere from the distant past, well before
modern environmental influences. The study of these ice cores has been a significant indicator of
the changes in CO2 over many millennia, and continues to provide valuable information about
the differences between ancient and modern atmospheric conditions.
Animals
Remains of beetles are common in freshwater and land sediments. Different species of beetles
tend to be found under different climatic conditions. Given the extensive lineage of beetles
whose genetic makeup has not altered significantly over the millennia, knowledge of the present
climatic range of the different species, and the age of the sediments in which remains are found,
past climatic conditions may be inferred.[105] The studies of the impact in vertebrates are few
mainly from developing countries, where there are the fewest studies; between 1970 and 2012,
vertebrates declined by 58 percent, with freshwater, marine, and terrestrial populations declining
by 81, 36, and 35 percent, respectively.[106]
Similarly, the historical abundance of various fish species has been found to have a substantial
relationship with observed climatic conditions.[107] Changes in the primary
productivity of autotrophsin the oceans can affect marine food webs.[108]
Sea level change
The estimated change in sea level caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
Global sea level change for much of the last century has generally been estimated using tide
gauge measurements collated over long periods of time to give a long-term average. More
recently, altimeter measurements — in combination with accurately
determined satellite orbits — have provided an improved measurement of global sea level
change.[109] To measure sea levels prior to instrumental measurements, scientists have dated coral
reefs that grow near the surface of the ocean, coastal sediments, marine
terraces, ooids in limestones, and nearshore archaeological remains. The predominant dating
methods used are uranium series and radiocarbon, with cosmogenic radionuclides being
sometimes used to date terraces that have experienced relative sea level fall. In the
early Pliocene, global temperatures were 1–2˚C warmer than the present temperature, yet sea
level was 15–25 meters higher than today
 UNIT 5
Trafficking for organ trade
Trafficking in organs is a form of human trafficking. It can take different forms. In some cases,
the victim is compelled into giving up an organ. In other cases, the victim agrees to sell an organ
in exchange of money/goods, but is not paid (or paid less). Finally, the victim may have the
organ removed without the victim's knowledge (usually when the victim is treated for another
medical problem/illness – real or orchestrated problem/illness). Migrant workers, homeless
persons, and illiterate persons are particularly vulnerable to this form of exploitation. Trafficking
of organs is an organized crime, involving several offenders:[92]

 the recruiter
 the transporter
 the medical staff
 the middlemen/contractors
 the buyers
Trafficking for organ trade often seeks kidneys. Trafficking in organs is a lucrative trade because
in many countries the waiting lists for patients who need transplants are very long

Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery,
or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others.[1][2] This may encompass providing
a spouse in the context of forced marriage,[3][4][5] or the extraction of organs or
tissues,[6][7] including for surrogacy and ova removal.[8] Human trafficking can occur within a
country or trans-nationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the
violation of the victim's rights of movement through coercion and because of their
commercial exploitation. Human trafficking is the trade in people, especially women and
children, and does not necessarily involve the movement of the person from one place to another.
Bonded labor, or debt bondage, is probably the least known form of labor trafficking today, and
yet is the most widely used method of enslaving people. Victims become "bonded" when their
labor, the labor which they themselves hired and the tangible goods they have bought are
demanded as a means of repayment for a loan or service whose terms and conditions have not
been defined, or where the value of the victims' services is not applied toward the liquidation of
the debt. Generally, the value of their work is greater than the original sum of money
"borrowed".[19]
Forced labor is a situation in which victims are forced to work against their own will under the
threat of violence or some other form of punishment; their freedom is restricted and a degree of
ownership is exerted. Men are at risk of being trafficked for unskilled work, which globally
generates 31 billion USD according to the International Labour Organization.[20]Forms of forced
labor can include domestic servitude, agricultural labor, sweatshop factory labor, janitorial, food
service and other service industry labor, and begging.[19] Some of the products that can be
produced by forced labor are: clothing, cocoa, bricks, coffee, cotton, and gold.[21]
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the single largest global provider of
services to victims of trafficking, reports receiving an increasing number of cases in which
victims were subjected to forced labor. A 2012 study observes that "… 2010 was particularly
notable as the first year in which IOM assisted more victims of labor trafficking than those who
had been trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation."[22]
Child labour is a form of work that may be hazardous to the physical, mental, spiritual, moral,
or social development of children and can interfere with their education. According to the
International Labour Organization, the global number of children involved in child labor has
fallen during the past decade – it has declined by one third, from 246 million in 2000 to 168
million children in 2012.[23] Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest incidence of child
labour, while the largest numbers of child-workers are found in Asia and the Pacific.[23]
United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking
Current international treaties (general)

 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, entered into force in 1957

 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and
Children
 Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air
 Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
 ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930
 ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957
 ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973
 ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999
India Anti Human Trafficking Portal[edit]
In India, the trafficking in persons for commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, forced
marriages and domestic servitude is considered an organized crime. The Government of India
applies the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, active from 3 February 2013, as well as
Section 370 and 370A IPC, which defines human trafficking and "provides stringent punishment
for human trafficking; trafficking of children for exploitation in any form including physical
exploitation; or any form of sexual exploitation, slavery, servitude or the forced removal of
organs." Additionally, a Regional Task Force implements the SAARC Convention on the
prevention of Trafficking in Women and Children.[54]
Shri R.P.N. Singh, India's Minister of State for Home Affairs, launched a government web
portal, the Anti Human Trafficking Portal, on 20 February 2014. The official statement explained
that the objective of the on-line resource is for the "sharing of information across all
stakeholders, States/UTs[Union Territories] and civil society organizations for effective
implementation of Anti Human Trafficking measures."[54] The key aims of the portal are:

 Aid in the tracking of cases with inter-state ramifications.

 Provide comprehensive information on legislation, statistics, court judgements, United
Nations Conventions, details of trafficked people and traffickers and rescue success stories.
 Provide connection to "Trackchild", the National Portal on Missing Children that is
operational in many states.[54]
Also on 20 February, the Indian government announced the implementation of a Comprehensive
Scheme that involves the establishment of Integrated Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in
335 vulnerable police districts throughout India, as well as capacity building that includes
training for police, prosecutors and judiciary. As of the announcement, 225 Integrated AHTUs
had been made operational, while 100 more AHTUs were proposed for the forthcoming financial
year.[54]
The Anti-trafficking Policy Index[edit]
The '3P Anti-trafficking Policy Index' measures the effectiveness of government policies to fight
human trafficking based on an evaluation of policy requirements prescribed by the United
Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and
Children (2000).[55]
The policy level is evaluated using a five-point scale, where a score of five indicates the best
policy practice, while score 1 is the worst. This scale is used to analyze the main three anti-
trafficking policy areas: (i) prosecuting (criminalizing) traffickers, (ii) protecting victims, and
(iii) preventing the crime of human trafficking.
Vulnerable groups[edit]
Trafficking in Persons Report released in June 2016 states that "refugees and migrants; lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals; religious minorities; people with
disabilities; and those who are stateless" are the most at-risk for human trafficking. Governments
best protect victims from being exploited when the needs of vulnerable populations are
understood
Types

3.1Trafficking of children

3.2Sex trafficking

3.3Forced marriage

3.4Labour trafficking

3.5Trafficking for organ trade

Human rights
Human rights are moral principles or norms[1] that describe certain standards of human
behaviour, and are regularly protected as legal rights in municipal and international law.[2] They
are commonly understood as inalienable[3] fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently
entitled simply because she or he is a human being",[4] and which are "inherent in all human
beings"[5] regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other
status.[3] They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal,[1] and
they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone.
Human rights violations occur when actions by state (or non-state) actors abuse, ignore, or
deny basic human rights (including civil, political, cultural, social, and economic rights).
Furthermore, violations of human rights can occur when any state or non-state actor breaches
any part of the UDHR treaty or other international human rights or humanitarian law.[80]In regard
to human rights violations of United Nations laws, Article 39 of the United Nations
Charter designates the UN Security Council (or an appointed authority) as the only tribunal that
may determine UN human rights violations.
Human rights abuses are monitored by United Nations committees, national institutions and
governments and by many independent non-governmental organisations, such as Amnesty
International, International Federation of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, World
Organisation Against Torture, Freedom House, International Freedom of Expression
Exchange and Anti-Slavery International. These organisations collect evidence and
documentation of alleged human rights abuses and apply pressure to enforce human rights laws.
Wars of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, are breaches
of International humanitarian law and represent the most serious of human rights violations.
In efforts to eliminate violations of human rights, building awareness and protesting inhumane
treatment has often led to calls for action and sometimes improved conditions. The UN Security
Council has interceded with peace keeping forces, and other states and treaties (NATO) have
intervened in situations to protect human rights.
Substantive rights

7.1Right to life

7.2Freedom from torture

7.3Freedom from slavery

7.4Right to a fair trial

7.5Freedom of speech

7.6Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

7.7Freedom of movement

7.8Rights debates

7.8.1Right to keep and bear arms

7.8.2Future generations

7.8.3Sexual orientation and gender identity

7.8.4Trade

7.8.5Water and sanitation

7.8.6Sexual and reproductive rights

7.8.7World Health Organisation

7.8.8Information and communication technologies

7.8.9Right to non-refoulement ( right not to be returned to a place of persecution) vs. right

to asylum

Media ethics
Media ethics is the subdivision of applied ethics dealing with the specific ethical principles and
standards of media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the arts, print media and the
internet. The field covers many varied and highly controversial topics, ranging from war
journalism to Benetton ad campaigns.
Media ethics: Issues of moral principles and values as applied to the conduct, roles, and *content
of the mass media, in particular journalism ethics and standards and marketing ethics; also the
field of study concerned with this topic. In relation to news coverage it includes issues such
as impartiality, objectivity, balance, bias, privacy, and the public interest. More generally, it also
includes stereotyping, taste and decency, obscenity, freedom of speech, advertising practices
such as product placement, and legal issues such as defamation. On an institutional level it
includes debates over media ownership and control, commercialization, accountability, the
relation of the media to the political system, issues arising from regulation (e.g. censorship)
and deregulation.
Ethics of journalism
The ethics of journalism is one of the most well-defined branches of media ethics, primarily
because it is frequently taught in schools of journalism. Journalistic ethics tend to dominate
media ethics, sometimes almost to the exclusion of other areas.[1] Topics covered by journalism
ethics include:

 News manipulation. News can manipulate and be manipulated. Governments and

corporations may attempt to manipulate news media; governments, for example,
by censorship, and corporations by share ownership. The methods of manipulation are subtle
and many. Manipulation may be voluntary or involuntary. Those being manipulated may not
be aware of this. See: news propaganda.
 Truth. Truth may conflict with many other values.
 Public interest. Revelation of military secrets and other sensitive government information
may be contrary to the public interest, even if it is true. However, public interest is not a
term which is easy to define.
 Privacy. Salacious details of the lives of public figures is a central content element in
many media. Publication is not necessarily justified simply because the information is
true. Privacy is also a right, and one which conflicts with free speech. See: paparazzi.
 Fantasy. Fantasy is an element of entertainment, which is a legitimate goal of media
content. Journalism may mix fantasy and truth, with resulting ethical dilemmas.
See: National Enquirer, Jayson Blair scandal, Adnan Hajj photographs controversy.
 Taste. Photo journalists who cover war and disasters confront situations which may
shock the sensitivities of their audiences. For example, human remains are rarely
screened. The ethical issue is how far should one risk shocking an audience's sensitivities
in order to correctly and fully report the truth. See photojournalism.
 Conflict with the law. Journalistic ethics may conflict with the law over issues such as the
protection of confidential news sources. There is also the question of the extent to which it is
ethically acceptable to break the law in order to obtain news. For example, undercover
reporters may be engaging in deception, trespass and similar torts and crimes.
See undercover journalism, investigative journalism.
Ethics of entertainment media[edit]
Issues in the ethics of entertainment media include:

 The depiction of violence and sex, and the presence of strong language. Ethical guidelines
and legislation in this area are common and many media (e.g. film, computer games) are
subject to ratings systems and supervision by agencies. An extensive guide to international
systems of enforcement can be found under motion picture rating system.
 Product placement. An increasingly common marketing tactic is the placement of products in
entertainment media. The producers of such media may be paid high sums to display
branded products. The practice is controversial and largely unregulated. Detailed
article: product placement.
 Stereotypes. Both advertising and entertainment media make heavy use of stereotypes.
Stereotypes may negatively affect people's perceptions of themselves or promote socially
undesirable behavior. The stereotypical portrayals of men, affluence and ethnic groups are
examples of major areas of debate.
 Taste and taboos. Entertainment media often questions of our values for artistic and
entertainment purposes. Normative ethics is often about moral values, and what kinds should
be enforced and protected. In media ethics, these two sides come into conflict. In the name of
art, media may deliberately attempt to break with existing norms and shock the audience.
That poses ethical problems when the norms abandoned are closely associated with certain
relevant moral values or obligations. The extent to which this is acceptable is always a
hotbed of ethical controversy. See: Turner Prize, obscenity, freedom of speech, aesthetics.
Media and democracy[edit]
In democratic countries, a special relationship exists between media and government. Although
the freedom of the media may be constitutionally enshrined and have precise legal definition and
enforcement, the exercise of that freedom by individual journalists is a matter of personal choice
and ethics. Modern democratic government subsists in representation of millions by hundreds.
For the representatives to be accountable, and for the process of government to be transparent,
effective communication paths must exist to their constituents. Today these paths consist
primarily of the mass media, to the extent that if press freedom disappeared, so would most
political accountability. In this area, media ethics merges with issues of civil rights and politics.
Issues include:

 Subversion of media independence by financial interests.[2]

 Government monitoring of media for intelligence gathering against its own people. See, for
example, NSA call database.
See: freedom of information, media transparency Right to Information. L Mera
Media integrity[edit]
Media integrity refers to the ability of a media outlet to serve the public interest and democratic
process, making it resilient to institutional corruption within the media system,[3] economy of
influence, conflicting dependence and political clientelism. Media integrity encompasses
following qualities of a media outlet:

 independence from private or political interests

 transparency about own financial interests
 commitment to journalism ethics and standards
 responsiveness to citizens
The concept was devised particularly for the media systems in the region of South East
Europe,[4] within the project South East European Media Observatory, gathering organisations
which are part of the South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM).
Contexts of media ethics[edit]
Media ethics and the laws[edit]
Media ethics and media economics[edit]
Media economics where things such as -- deregulation of media, concentration of media
ownership, FCC regulations in the U.S, media trade unions and labor issues, and other such
worldwide regulating bodies, citizen media (low power FM, community radio) -- have ethical
implications......
Media ethics and public officials[edit]
The media has manipulated the way public officials conduct themselves through the
advancement of technology. Constant television coverage displays the legislative proceedings;
exposing faster than ever before, unjust rulings throughout the government process. Truth telling
is crucial in media ethics as any opposition of truth telling is considered deception. Anything
shown by the media whether print or video is considered to be original. When a statement is
written in an article or a video is shown of a public official, it is the original “truthful” words of
the individual official themselves.
Intercultural dimensions of media ethics[edit]
If values differ interculturally, the issue arises of the extent to which behaviour should be
modified in the light of the values of specific cultures. Two examples of controversy from the
field of media ethics:

 Google's self-censorship in China.

 The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy in Denmark, and subsequently
worldwide.
Feminist ethics

Feminist Ethics

Feminist Ethics is an attempt to revise, reformulate, or rethink those aspects of traditional

western ethics that depreciate or devalue women's moral experience. Among others, feminist
philosopher Alison Jaggar faults traditional western ethics for failing women in five related
ways. First, it shows little concern for women's as opposed to men's interests and rights. Second,
it dismisses as morally uninteresting the problems that arise in the so-called private world, the
realm in which women cook, clean, and care for the young, the old, and the sick. Third, it
suggests that, on the average, women are not as morally developed as men. Fourth, it 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. Fifth, and finally, it
favors culturally masculine ways of moral reasoning that emphasize rules, universality, and
impartiality over culturally feminine ways of moral reasoning that emphasize relationships,
particularity, and partiality (Jaggar, "Feminist Ethics," 1992).

Feminist approaches to ethics are distinctive because they are "political" in the sense
that fully feminist ethicists are committed, first and foremost, to the elimination of women's
subordination — and that of other oppressed persons — in all of its manifestations." A feminist
approach to ethics asks questions about power — that is, about domination and subordination —
even before it asks questions about good and evil, care and justice, or maternal and paternal
thinking.

Focused as they are on questions about power, those developing fully feminist approaches to
ethics offer action guides aimed at subverting rather than reinforcing the present systematic
subordination of women. Liberal, Marxist, radical, socialist, multicultural, global, and ecological
feminists have each offered a different set of explanations and solutions for this state of affairs.
So too have existentialist, psychoanalytic, cultural, and postmodern feminists. Proponents of
these varied schools of feminist thought maintain that the destruction of all systems, structures,
institutions, and practices that create or maintain invidious power differentials between men and
women is the necessary prerequisite for the creation of gender equality.

Liberal feminists charge that the main cause of female subordination is a set of informal rules
and formal laws that block women's entrance and/or success in the public world. Excluded from
places such as the academy, the forum, the marketplace, and the operating room, women cannot
reach their potential. Women cannot become men's full equals until society grants women the
same educational opportunities and political rights it grants men.

Marxist feminists disagree with liberal feminists. They argue that it is impossible for any
oppressed person, especially a female one, to prosper personally and professionally in a class
society. The only effective way to end women's subordination to men is to replace the capitalist
system with a socialist system in which both women and men are paid fair wages for their work.
Women must be men's economic as well as educational and political equals before they can be as
powerful as men.

Disagreeing with both Marxist and liberal feminists, radical feminists claim that the primary
causes of women's subordination to men are women's sexual and reproductive roles and
responsibilities. Radical feminists demand an end to all systems and structures that in any way
restrict women's sexual preferences and procreative choices. Unless women become truly free to
have or not have children, to love or not love men, women will remain men's subordinates.

Seeing wisdom in both radical and Marxist feminist ideas, socialist feminists attempt to weave
these separate streams of thought into a coherent whole. For example, in Women's Estate, Juliet
Mitchell argues that four structures overdetermine women's condition: production, reproduction,
sexuality, and the socialization of children. A woman's status and function in all of these
structures must change if she is to be a man's equal. Furthermore, as Mitchell adds
in Psychoanalysis and Feminism, a woman's interior world, her psyche, must also be
transformed; for unless a woman is convinced of her own value, no change in her exterior world
can totally liberate her.

Multicultural feminists generally affirm socialist feminist thought, but they believe it is
inattentive to issues of race and ethnicity. They note, for example, that U.S. "white" culture does
not praise the physical attractiveness of African American women in a way that validates the
natural arrangement of black facial features and bodies, but only insofar as they look white with
straightened hair, very light brown skin and thin figures. Thus, African-American women are
doubly oppressed. Not only are they subject to gender discrimination in its many forms, but
racial discrimination as well.

Although global feminists praise the ways in which multiculturalist feminists have amplified
socialist feminist thought, they nonetheless regard even this enriched discussion of women's
oppression as incomplete. All too often, feminists focus in a nearly exclusive manner on the
gender politics of their own nation. Thus, while U.S. feminists struggle to formulate laws to
prevent sexual harassment and date rape, thousands of women in Central America, for example,
are sexually tortured on account of their own, their fathers', their husbands', or their sons'
political beliefs. Similarly, while U.S. feminists debate the extent to which contraceptives ought
to be funded by the government or distributed in public schools, women in many Asian and
African countries have no access to contraception or family planning services from any source.

Ecofeminists agree with global feminists that it is important for women to understand how
women's interests can diverge as well as converse. When a wealthy U.S. woman seeks to adopt a
child, for example, her desire might prompt profiteering middlemen to prey on indigent Asian or
African women, desperate to give their yet-to-be-born children a life better than their own.
Ecofeminists add another concern to this analysis: In wanting to give her adopted child the best
that money can buy, an affluent woman might not realize how her spending habits negatively
affect not only less fortunate women and their families, but also many members of the greater
animal community and the environment in general.

Departing from these inclusionary ways of understanding women's

oppression, existentialist feminists stress how, in the final analysis, all selves are lonely and in
fundamental conflict. In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir writes that, from the beginning,
man has named himself the Self and woman the Other. If the Other is a threat to the Self, then
woman is a threat to man; and if men wish to remain free, they must not only economically,
politically, and sexually subordinate women to themselves, but also convince women they
deserve no better treatment. Thus, if women are to become true Selves, they must recognize
themselves as free and responsible moral agents who possess the capacity to perform excellently
in the public as well as the private world.

Like existentialist feminists, psychoanalytic and cultural feminists seek an explanation of

women's oppression in the inner recesses of women's psyche. As they see it, because children are
reared almost exclusively by women, boys and girls are psychosocialized in radically different
ways. Boys grow up wanting to separate themselves from others and from the values culturally
linked to their mothers and sisters. In contrast, girls grow up copying their mothers' behavior and
wanting to remain connected to them and others. Moreover, because of the patriarchal cues they
receive both in and outside the home, boys and girls-come to think that such "masculine" values
as justice and conscientiousness, which they associate with culture and the public world, are
more fully human than such "feminine" values as caring and kindness, which they associate with
nature and the private world.

In the estimation of many psychoanalytic and cultural feminists, the solution to this
dichotomous, women-demeaning state of affairs rests in some type of dual-parenting
arrangement. Were men to spend as much time fathering as women presently spend mothering,
and were women to play as active a role in the world of enterprise as men currently do, then
children would cease to associate authority, autonomy, and universalism with men and love,
dependence, and particularism with women. Rather, they would identify all of these ways of
being and thinking as ones that full persons incorporate in their daily lives.

Finally, as postmodern feminists see it, all attempts to provide a single explanation for women's
oppression not only will fail but should also fail. They will fail because there is no one entity,
"Woman," upon whom a label may be fixed. Women are individuals, each with a unique story to
tell about a particular self. Moreover, any single explanation for "Woman's"
oppression should fail from a feminist point of view, for it would be yet another instance of so-
call "phallogocentric" thought: that is, the kind of "male thinking" that insists on telling as
absolute truth one and only one story about reality. Women must, in the estimation of
postmortem feminists reveal their differences to each other so that they can better resist the
patriarchal tendency to center, congeal, and cement thought into a rigid "truth" that always was,
is, and forever will be.

Because feminist approaches to ethics focus on how power is used to oppress women in
particular, nonfeminist critics of them have complained that these approaches are "female-
biased." Ethics, insist these critics, cannot proceed from a specific standpoint — in this case,
from the standpoint of women — and still be regarded as an ethics. Indeed, traditional western
ethics has proceeded on the assumption that its values and rules apply to all rational persons
equally. Yet, any number of the "Great Philosophers"’ moral theories seem to be based on
the moral experience of men — usually powerful ones — as opposed to women. For example,
Aristotle's ethics reflects the values of Athenian citizens: that is, property-owning Greek males. It
does not reflect the values of Greek females or of slaves/foreigners — be they male or female.
Nevertheless, traditional western ethicists have tried to make the case that, properly interpreted,
Aristotle's ethics applies equally well to both women and men, to both non-Greeks and Greeks;
and that it would be misguided to deliberately — as opposed to nonreflectively — construct an
ethics that focuses on a specific group of people.

Related to the above controversy are similar controversies about women's history and literature
courses, for example. A person developing a feminist approach to ethics could argue, for
example, that she is simply doing what Aristotle, Mill, and Kant should have done in the first
place — namely, paying as much attention to women's moral experience as men's. In the same
way that historians have ignored the stresses, strains, and struggles of the private world of
children, church, and kitchen to focus on the economic revolutions, political upheavals, and
military conquests of the public world, traditional western ethicists have focused on men's moral
interests, issues, and values, failing to notice just how significant and interesting women's moral
issues and values are. Therefore, when a proponent of feminist ethics insists on highlighting
"women's morality," she may be doing little more than some corrective surgery — adding
women's moral experiences to a male-biased ethical tradition sorely in need of them.

However, she may be doing more than this. She may be suggesting that it is not enough for
traditional western ethics to incorporate women's interests and issues, and to recognize women as
moral agents who must be taken seriously. On the contrary, she may be urging the "Tradition" to
rethink all of the ontological and epistemological assumptions upon which it is based; and even
to consider the possibility, that far from being sources of human liberation, its principles, rules,
regulations, norms, and criteria actually serve to support patterns of domination and
subordination that "demoralize" everyone.

If its focus on women-oppressive system and structures is indeed what makes an ethics feminist,
as opposed to simply feminine or maternal, then Alison Jaggar's summary of the fourfold
function of feminist ethics cannot be improved upon in any significant way. According to Jaggar,
all fully feminist approaches to ethics seek to (1) articulate moral critiques of actions and
practices that perpetuate women's subordination; (2) prescribe morally justifiable ways of
resisting such actions and practices; (3) envision morally desirable alternatives for such actions
and practices; and (4) take women's moral experience seriously, though not uncritically (Jaggar,
"Feminist Ethics" 1992). Women should not focus on making the world a better place
for everyone in general; rather, their primary aim should be to make the world a better place
for women in particular -and perhaps also for other vulnerable people like children, the elderly,
the infirm, the disabled, minorities, etc. In Jaggar's estimation, encouraging women with
supportive thoughts, kind words, and benign actions is not enough. A feminist approach to ethics
entails women resisting and overcoming their continuing oppression under patriarchy.

Social inequality
Social inequality refers to relational processes in society that have the effect of limiting or
harming a group's social status, social class, and social circle.
Areas of social inequality include access to voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the
extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing, traveling,
transportation, vacationing and other social goods and services.
Apart from that it can also be seen in the quality of family and neighbourhood life, occupation,
job satisfaction, and access to credit.
If these economic divisions harden, they can lead to social inequality.[1] The reasons for social
inequality can vary, but are often broad and far reaching.
Social inequality can emerge through a society's understanding of appropriate gender roles, or
through the prevalence of social stereotyping.
Social inequality can also be established through discriminatory legislation.
Social inequalities exist between ethnic or religious groups, classes and countries making the
concept of social inequality a global phenomenon.
Social inequality is different from economic inequality, though the two are linked.
Social inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income as well as
between the overall quality and luxury of each person's existence within a society, while
economic inequality is caused by the unequal accumulation of wealth; social inequality exists
because the lack of wealth in certain areas prohibits these people from obtaining the same
housing, health care, etc. as the wealthy, in societies where access to these social goods depends
on wealth.
Social inequality is linked to racial inequality, gender inequality, and wealth inequality.
The way people behave socially, through racist or sexist practices and other forms of
discrimination, tends to trickle down and affect the opportunities and wealth individuals can
generate for themselves.
Thomas M.
Shapiro presents a hypothetical example of this in his book, The Hidden Cost of Being African
American, in which he tries to demonstrate the level of inequality on the "playing field for blacks
and whites."
One example he presents reports how a black family was denied a bank loan to use for housing,
while a white family was approved.
As being a homeowner is an important method in acquiring wealth, this situation created fewer
opportunities for the black family to acquire wealth, producing social inequality.

Surrogacy
In Latin “Surrogatus” means a substitute i.e. a person appointed to act in the place of another9.
As per the Black's Law Dictionary surrogacy means the process of carrying and delivering a
child for another person10. The New Encyclopedia Britannica defines surrogacy as a practice in
which a woman bears a child for a couple unable to produce children in the usual way11.
According to Warnock Report (1984) HF&E, surrogacy is the practice whereby one woman
carries a child for another with the intension that the child should be handed over after birth12.
There are two types of surrogacy practices13 prevailing in India: (i) Traditional/Natural/Partial
surrogacy; and (ii) Gestational surrogacy.
Like in other countries, in India also, the following two types of surrogacy arrangements are
being practiced14:
Altruistic surrogacy: Where the surrogate mother receives no financial rewards for her
pregnancy or the relinquishment of the child to the genetic parents except necessary medical
expenses.
Commercial surrogacy: Where the surrogate mother is paid over and above the necessary
medical expenses.
Surrogacy is the union of science, society, services and person that make it a reality. Surrogacy
leads to a win-win situation for both the infertile couple and the surrogate mother. The infertile
couple is able to fulfill their most important desire and the surrogate mother receives the suitable
reward.
To give a womb for rent means to nurture the fertilized egg of another couple in your womb and
give birth to the child with a specific intention, the intention here being either money, or service,
or because of altruistic reasons.
Bhadaraka has described the following misconceptions regarding a surrogate mother15:

 (i) She is not the genetic mother of the child whom she nurtures and gives birth to.
 (ii) She is not the wife of the father of the child to whom she gives birth.
 (iii) This is a scientific idea, a scientific process. There is no need for any physical contact.
 (iv) She is not an asocial woman.
 (v) This is not an illegal practice.
 (vi) She is not forced into this. She herself decides whether she wants to become a surrogate
mother or not.
 (vii) She has no claim or rights over the child that is born.
 (viii) “This is my child”, “this child is my inheritance” - she cannot articulate such thoughts,
because of social, scientific and legal restrictions.
 (ix) She is not a woman who sells children.
 (x) She is not responsible for the child (once the child is born).
 (xi) Surrogacy is a mutually beneficial concept of providing services.

It is necessary to mention here that the couple's insistence does not agree with what science
believes. It does not matter as to which religion the surrogate belongs, as the child is genetically
of the couple. Religion is interpreted according to the conditions, education, time and the
circumstances.
Surrogacy is a social act of highest level of service which is scientific and brims with goodwill15.
A person's opinion based on a lack of information should not harm others. Like medicine is
prescribed for treatment of a disorder, in the same way surrogacy is also a method of treatment.
Bhadaraka15 reported that the majority of the Indian society considered surrogate mother as an
amalgam of religion, culture and science with following noble services: (i) She shows a strong
inclination to society by doing something novel, (ii) She abolishes the stigma of infertility from
the society, (iii) She fulfils her duty by doing something worthwhile for the society, and (iv) She
is an example of a model woman in society.
As per the proposed draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill16 the surrogacy
and related terms are defined in the following ways: (i) Surrogacy means an arrangement in
which a woman agrees to a pregnancy, achieved through assisted reproductive technology, in
which neither of the gametes belong to her or her husband, with the intention to carry it to term
and hand over the child to the person or persons for whom she is acting as a
surrogate; (ii) Surrogate mother means a woman who agrees to have an embryo generated from
the sperm of a man who is not her husband and the oocyte of another woman, implanted in her to
carry the pregnancy to full term and deliver the child to its biological parents; and (iii) Surrogacy
agreement means a contract between the persons availing of assisted reproductive technology
and the surrogate mother.
Go to:

Issues related with surrogacy

Surrogacy, by ART, should be considered only for those infertile women for whom it would be
physically or medically impossible/ undesirable to carry a baby to the term. Surrogate mother
should sign an agreement with the commissioning couple which shall have legal bindings on
both the parties. Before signing the agreement, the written consent of her spouse shall be
required. A woman seeking or agreeing to act as a surrogate shall be medically tested for
diseases such as sexually transmitted diseases or otherwise, as may be necessary, and all other
communicable diseases which may endanger the health of the child or children, and must declare
in writing that she has not received a blood transfusion or a blood product in the last six months.
The commissioning parent(s) shall ensure that the surrogate and the child or children she delivers
are appropriately insured until the time the child is handed over to the commissioning parent(s)
or any other person as per the agreement and till the surrogate is free of all health complications
arising out of surrogacy. Surrogate mother must register as a patient in her own name in the
hospital after signing the appropriate agreement. While registering, the surrogate mother must
mention that she is a surrogate mother and should provide all the necessary information about the
commissioning parents. Surrogate mother should not use or register in the name of the
commissioning couple for whom she is acting as surrogate as this would pose legal issues,
particularly in the untoward event of maternal death17.
The birth certificate shall be in the name of the commissioning parents. The ART clinic should
also provide a certificate to the commissioning parents giving the name and address of the
surrogate mother. All the expenses of surrogate mother during the period of pregnancy and
postnatal care relating to pregnancy should be borne by the commissioning couple. The surrogate
mother would also be entitled a monitory compensation from the commissioning couple for
agreeing to act as a surrogate. The exact value of the compensation should be decided by
discussion between the commissioning couple. and the prospective surrogate mother or an
appropriate formula may be developed by the Government to calculate the minimum
compensation to be paid to the surrogate mother. A surrogate mother should never donate her
own oocyte to the commissioning couple. Surrogate mother as well as the donor shall relinquish
all parental rights related with the offsprings in writing.
IMPACT OF TV, NEWSPAPERS, MOVIES AND INTERNET
Mass media is communication—whether written, broadcast, or spoken—that reaches a large
audience. This includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers,
magazines, and so forth.

Mass media is a significant force in modern culture, particularly in America. Sociologists refer to
this as a mediated culture where media reflects and creates the culture. Communities and
individuals are bombarded constantly with messages from a multitude of sources including TV,
billboards, and magazines, to name a few. These messages promote not only products, but
moods, attitudes, and a sense of what is and is not important. Mass media makes possible the
concept of celebrity: without the ability of movies, magazines, and news media to reach across
thousands of miles, people could not become famous. In fact, only political and business leaders,
as well as the few notorious outlaws, were famous in the past. Only in recent times have actors,
singers, and other social elites become celebrities or “stars.”

The current level of media saturation has not always existed. As recently as the 1960s and 1970s,
television, for example, consisted of primarily three networks, public broadcasting, and a few
local independent stations. These channels aimed their programming primarily at two‐parent,
middle‐class families. Even so, some middle‐class households did not even own a television.
Today, one can find a television in the poorest of homes, and multiple TVs in most middle‐class
homes. Not only has availability increased, but programming is increasingly diverse with shows
aimed to please all ages, incomes, backgrounds, and attitudes. This widespread availability and
exposure makes television the primary focus of most mass‐media discussions. More recently, the
Internet has increased its role exponentially as more businesses and households “sign on.”
Although TV and the Internet have dominated the mass media, movies and
magazines—particularly those lining the aisles at grocery checkout stands—also play a powerful
role in culture, as do other forms of media.

What role does mass media play? Legislatures, media executives, local school officials, and
sociologists have all debated this controversial question. While opinions vary as to the extent and
type of influence the mass media wields, all sides agree that mass media is a permanent part of
modern culture. Three main sociological perspectives on the role of media exist: the
limited‐effects theory, the class‐dominant theory, and the culturalist theory.

Limited-effects theory

The limited‐effects theory argues that because people generally choose what to watch or read
based on what they already believe, media exerts a negligible influence. This theory originated
and was tested in the 1940s and 1950s. Studies that examined the ability of media to influence
voting found that well‐informed people relied more on personal experience, prior knowledge,
and their own reasoning. However, media “experts” more likely swayed those who were less
informed. Critics point to two problems with this perspective. First, they claim that
limited‐effects theory ignores the media's role in framing and limiting the discussion and debate
of issues. How media frames the debate and what questions members of the media ask change
the outcome of the discussion and the possible conclusions people may draw. Second, this theory
came into existence when the availability and dominance of media was far less widespread.

Class-dominant theory

The class‐dominant theory argues that the media reflects and projects the view of a minority
elite, which controls it. Those people who own and control the corporations that produce media
comprise this elite. Advocates of this view concern themselves particularly with massive
corporate mergers of media organizations, which limit competition and put big business at the
reins of media—especially news media. Their concern is that when ownership is restricted, a few
people then have the ability to manipulate what people can see or hear. For example, owners can
easily avoid or silence stories that expose unethical corporate behavior or hold corporations
responsible for their actions.

The issue of sponsorship adds to this problem. Advertising dollars fund most media. Networks
aim programming at the largest possible audience because the broader the appeal, the greater the
potential purchasing audience and the easier selling air time to advertisers becomes. Thus, news
organizations may shy away from negative stories about corporations (especially parent
corporations) that finance large advertising campaigns in their newspaper or on their stations.
Television networks receiving millions of dollars in advertising from companies like Nike and
other textile manufacturers were slow to run stories on their news shows about possible
human‐rights violations by these companies in foreign countries. Media watchers identify the
same problem at the local level where city newspapers will not give new cars poor reviews or
run stories on selling a home without an agent because the majority of their funding comes from
auto and real estate advertising. This influence also extends to programming. In the 1990s a
network cancelled a short‐run drama with clear religious sentiments, Christy,because, although
highly popular and beloved in rural America, the program did not rate well among young city
dwellers that advertisers were targeting in ads.

Critics of this theory counter these arguments by saying that local control of news media largely
lies beyond the reach of large corporate offices elsewhere, and that the quality of news depends
upon good journalists. They contend that those less powerful and not in control of media have
often received full media coverage and subsequent support. As examples they name numerous
environmental causes, the anti‐nuclear movement, the anti‐Vietnam movement, and the pro‐Gulf
War movement.

While most people argue that a corporate elite controls media, a variation on this approach
argues that a politically “liberal” elite controls media. They point to the fact that journalists,
being more highly educated than the general population, hold more liberal political views,
consider themselves “left of center,” and are more likely to register as Democrats. They further
point to examples from the media itself and the statistical reality that the media more often labels
conservative commentators or politicians as “conservative” than liberals as “liberal.”

Media language can be revealing, too. Media uses the terms “arch” or “ultra” conservative, but
rarely or never the terms “arch” or “ultra” liberal. Those who argue that a political elite controls
media also point out that the movements that have gained media attention—the environment,
anti‐nuclear, and anti‐Vietnam—generally support liberal political issues. Predominantly
conservative political issues have yet to gain prominent media attention, or have been opposed
by the media. Advocates of this view point to the Strategic Arms Initiative of the 1980s Reagan
administration. Media quickly characterized the defense program as “Star Wars,” linking it to an
expensive fantasy. The public failed to support it, and the program did not get funding or
congressional support.

Culturalist theory

The culturalist theory, developed in the 1980s and 1990s, combines the other two theories and
claims that people interact with media to create their own meanings out of the images and
messages they receive. This theory sees audiences as playing an active rather than passive role in
relation to mass media. One strand of research focuses on the audiences and how they interact
with media; the other strand of research focuses on those who produce the media, particularly the
news.
Theorists emphasize that audiences choose what to watch among a wide range of options, choose
how much to watch, and may choose the mute button or the VCR remote over the programming
selected by the network or cable station. Studies of mass media done by sociologists parallel
text‐reading and interpretation research completed by linguists (people who study language).
Both groups of researchers find that when people approach material, whether written text or
media images and messages, they interpret that material based on their own knowledge and
experience. Thus, when researchers ask different groups to explain the meaning of a particular
song or video, the groups produce widely divergent interpretations based on age, gender, race,
ethnicity, and religious background. Therefore, culturalist theorists claim that, while a few elite
in large corporations may exert significant control over what information media produces and
distributes, personal perspective plays a more powerful role in how the audience members
interpret those messages.