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Earth’s Ethics Podcast

Soundcloud link: Earth’s Ethics

@alianasblogposts @sundrysanvidge

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I really liked your poem! I thought it was very creative and fits the character well.  I was also impressed at how you managed to make the words rhyme.  It was interesting to see how you incorporated themes for the course like ethical dilemmas into your poem. Nice work!

Dr. Spencer Reid

In the television show, Criminal Minds, Dr. Spencer Reid plays a Supervisory Special Agent with the BAU. Dr. Reid is a socially awkward, genius. He is able to remember key historical facts and details that help his team analyze symbolic clues. For example, in “Aftermath”, Reid seems to be the only team member who notices Elle’s odd behavior, and confronts her; he gets her to open up to him but it does not stop her from spiraling out of control. Dr. Reid’s life and career is far from normal. From his action packed career to his mentally ill mother, Reid has very eventful days. This is a poem written from Dr. Reid’s perspective:

My name is Dr. Spencer Reid,

I do good deeds for those in need.

I am very intelligent, have three Ph.D.’s,

you probably didn’t know that about me.

But my life is quite unusual,

The crime senses I see are very visual.

I analyze the crime scene and people’s mind,

Sometimes the unsub has DNA and clues that they leave behind.

I enjoy reading all types of books,

They help me catch the crooks.

As you can tell my career is far from normal,

My personal life is even more abnormal.

I can be awkward at times,

I have trouble fitting in with the society norms oftentimes.

My mother is schizophrenic,

I am worried because I was told it is genetic.

I want to help her get better,

There are many medications that I have to get her.

The medication doesn’t seem to help her at all,

Thinking of her condition makes me sad and want to bawl.

All in all my life may not be perfect,

But I would never trade it.

A Supervisory Special Agent has many ethical rules that they must follow. Ethical dilemmas is an issue in the professional field that we have discussed. Dr. Reid and his team have been in numerous ethical dilemmas throughout the seasons. It is important to deal with ethical dilemmas in a professional way.  

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I really like your use of persuasive writing for this letter.  You presented the facts very professionally and convincingly.  I am also a big fan of David Attenborough, so I enjoyed how you used him to present an important issue in the environmental industry.

Letter to the president from Broadcaster/Naturalist Sir David Attenborough

I choose to write my post for this discussion on Broadcaster/Naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Attenborough is mostly well known for his narration of the Life collection, and is nationally beloved by many environmentalists and animal lovers. I wanted to engage with themes central to this course by writing a persuasive letter to the President of the United States from Attenborough’s point of view to convince him to rejoin the Paris agreement. 

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Dr. Dolittle - Veterinarian

Sent: July 17, 2001 To: potterj@gmail.com Subject: Logging Negotiations

Dear Mr. Potter,

I am writing this email to discuss your plans to cut down the forest. I know you and I have had our differences, but I really need you to hear me out. This forest is important for many different species of animals. If you cut it down, they will not have a place to live. As you know, one of these species is the endangered Pacific Western bear.  Now, if you read the Endangered Species Act, you would know that it is illegal to destroy the habitat of an endangered species.  Not only is it illegal, but it is also unethical.  Once that species is gone, we cannot bring it back, so it is important that we protect it. Currently, I am working on getting two of the resident bears to breed in order to help save their species. If you just give me the time, I can guarantee you I will get it done.   There are plenty of other ways to make money for your logging companies. In fact, my hospitals and I are willing to pay you if you agree to leave the forest completely alone. If you still want to cut down the forest, then we can negotiate how much land you can take. Hopefully you will understand that these animals have feelings too and we can come to an agreement. You can contact me at (781) 946-2948 or reply to this email at jdolittle@gmail.com.

John Dolittle, Veterinarian Dolittle Animal Hospital jdolittle@gmail.com (781) 946-2948

The character I chose is Dr. John Dolittle, a man who works as both a human doctor and a veterinarian.  He also has the ability to talk to animals. I chose him because I plan on becoming a veterinarian in the future and he values saving forests from being cut down. I am engaging with the course themes by writing a persuasive email to the owner of two logging companies.  Persuasive writing was one of the topics in our textbook and we also went over writing emails in class.

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I completely agree that this is an issue.  News companies don’t report on trees falling on people’s houses or disrupting power lines nearly enough as they should.  Since it is underreported, people will plant a tree in their backyard without thinking through the risks of it’s placement.  I find reading this post funny because a tree fell on a power line by my house a week ago and left us without power for three hours.  Things like this should definitely be reported more often.

Improper Planning in Landscaping

In the landscaping business one of the most underreported issues is plant growth and the issues of its environment. I’m sure everyone has seen the way trees are weirdly cut and shaped to grow around powerlines when they were planted directly underneath them. That is but one example of how landscaping often doesn’t fully consider the future growth and affects that the plant will have on how it will grow from where its planted. Most think of the aesthetic look in the moment and good it will be in the future but not what else might get in the way or be damaged.

Another example of the detrimental effects poor planning can cause it when people plant a small tree next to a home for future shade but don’t consider how the trees might up root the dirt, sidewalk, or plumping and wires in the ground as it matures to full growth. These problems can cost people up to thousands of dollars to fix and repair the issue that improper placement of a plant can cause. To remediate the source of this issue landscapers should look towards how they design the areas they are planting in and deeply consider what the plats needs are and how big it will get and what it the area of the plant may get in the way or interfere with roots, branches or in the event it falls over. There should be careful planning where everything is taken into account to prevent accidents from occurring.

This problem is manageable but often ignored because of the way people have been doing things for so long. Continuing to place large tree saplings under power lines which will eventually get in the way and need constant maintenance. Thinking for the future and creating better plans instead of leaving things the way they are considering no alternative is the future that needs to happen.

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It’s scary how news companies are not reporting that there is still not clean water, but it’s not uncommon.  People tend to care about a big event like the Flint water crisis for a few weeks and then forget about it.  It reminds me of the effects of the hurricane on Puerto Rico.  Many people are still without the resources necessary for them to survive, but we have stopped talking about it.  Therefore, Puerto Ricans are still suffering because we are no longer helping them.

The Flint Water Crisis

In 2014, a state of emergency was issued for Flint, Michigan because of the high levels of lead in their drinking water. The high levels of lead in the drinking water was a result of improperly treated pipes for the backup water source, which is the Flint River. After the water source in Flint, Michigan was changed to the Flint River, city officials realized that the water was severely contaminated with lead from the aging pipes. Lead contamination is an important issue because high levels of lead can be toxic for the body. Lead-contaminated water can produce health risks such as anemia, cardiovascular effects, and reduced kidney function. Over 10,000 children have experienced elevated blood- lead levels. The contaminated water has also affected pregnant women and their babies. Four years later, Flint’s water has met the federal guidelines, but there are still lead pipelines that flow through the city. In addition, there are issues of the water containing high levels of bacteria because the city cannot maintain chlorine levels. Recently, the state of Michigan decided to stop providing Flint with free bottled water, since the water meets federal guidelines. Although the water meets federal guidelines, the citizens of Flint do not trust the water. City officials project the pipes to be fixed no sooner than 2020. If this is true then Flint, Michigan will not have a clean water source for 6 years or more.

Originally, new stations were reporting on the Flint River crisis. However, reporters have not reported that after 4 years Flint is still without a clean water source and will no longer be providing free bottled water. Consuming high levels of lead-contaminated water is a big health concern for public health scholars. Although the Flint water crisis has not been reported on as much in the recent years, public health scholars and city officials are working to improve the water source for Flint, Michigan.

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Invasive Iguana Reports

An issue in the wildlife field that has been misreported is the euthanizing of invasive iguanas in Florida.  There are high numbers of non-native green iguanas in the state of Florida that are destroying our native vegetation.  As a result, wildlife biologists are going out to trap and euthanize these large lizards. The best way to euthanize an iguana is with a captive bolt gun, however, not everyone has one on hand.  Therefore, the next best way to euthanize them is through blunt force trauma, which involves striking them in the head with a hard object.  If done correctly, the force will instantly kill the iguana.  This method has been approved by the American Veterinary Association and well as Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.  Biologists have been using this method to remove invasive iguanas for years so it shouldn’t be an issue.

The problem is, that news companies have been titling their articles as something along the lines of “scientists are bashing iguanas’ heads in Florida.” USA Today even titled their article “Bashing iguana heads: Florida Researchers smash reptiles for project.”  These titles are completely false and make the situation far worse than it seems.  Wildlife biologists are not bashing the iguanas’ heads in, they are hitting them in the head only once and the lizards shouldn’t feel any pain as they will be killed instantly.  They are also not doing this for a project, they are doing this because green iguanas are an invasive species and are causing harm to our ecosystems.  These articles have triggered attacks on wildlife biologists and other scientists by animal welfare/rights groups.  The attacks have made it harder for those in the wildlife field to do research on animals, and has put the University of Florida under fire because fifteen of the researchers work in UF.  People read the titles instead of reading the whole article and believe that this is a very inhumane way to treat animals. In reality, blunt force trauma is the one of the most humane and common ways to euthanize a lizard, and should not be unnecessarily controversial.

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I always laugh at “organic” and “non-GMO” labels on food products because they really mean nothing.  Even though this product is certified organic by the USDA, it doesn’t mean it’s better for you.  In addition, genetically modified foods have no real effect on a person’s health.  These labels are simply a marketing tactic to raise the prices of their products.

Memez

For newly fitness guru’s or athletes who are not very knowledgable in the world of nutrition and fitness, it it very easy to believe and follow many of the advertisements from major companies telling you what’s healthy. In hopes of losing weight, many newly accustomed fitness people look for ideas and information in places that are not very scholarly. Today, instagram fitness models are followed by thousands and are paid a lot of money to advertise products not backed up by science. Ranging from waist trainers to hunger suppressing lollipops, many of these products are not very helpful towards attaining any suspected goals. Yet, sadly due to the lack of a drive to research scientifically-backed information or tips many customers are unaware that these “magical” products don’t actually help. I created this meme in order to symbolize the mockery of “organic” and “non-GMO” protein powder since many of these companies will slap on these empty titles that don’t really mean much in order to catch the attention of customers who have been drilled with the fact that organic is better. This is also a mockery of the customers have little knowledge of the industry and believe things like gluten free, organic and vegan are much better for you and will automatically make you lose weight. More experienced fitness people understand just because something says low fat or a diet says you should cut out carbs, doesn’t necessarily means it true or you should follow it. In order to know what’s right from you, visiting a nutritionist, a professional training or even a doctor could put you on the right path to achieving you goal.

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Medicine advertisements always make me laugh for this reason.  The commercials are always so upbeat and colorful to convince people to buy their product.  However, there always seems to be more side effects than benefits, which makes the medicine seem not worth buying.  Yet there will still be people who look at these commercials and decide to buy that medicine even with the risks.  It makes me question why pharmaceutical companies even put out medicines that have the potential to kill you.

Are our medications worth it?

I chose to make a meme of the “not sure” guy to represent how people may not be educated about the prescriptions that their doctors prescribe them. In today’s society, whenever we get sick, feel anxiety, can not perform sexually, or have basically any medical issues at all we go to the doctors. Sometimes the doctor will give advice like drink more water or reduce your stress, but other times they will write you a prescription to help fix the problem. Although many times these prescriptions are helpful, this is not always the case.

Regardless of whether a medicine helps a person or not, there are always side effects that come along with them. For example, many common side effects of medications are headache, drowsiness, and irritation. These are side effects common with many medications but are worth the risk to most people because they help us with whatever illness we are taking them for. However, there are other side effects less common like heart attack, stroke, suicidal thoughts, and even death. These side effects are less acceptable to people since they are more serious, but people still decide to take medications that have these risks.

These risks are always made aware to the patient taking them, but I do not believe that they always fully understand what they are agreeing to. I believe that most patients listen to their doctor or the television commercial ramble on about side effects and they say okay when they finally stop talking. I think that this should change in our society because it is dangerous.

Therefore, I chose to make this meme because I wanted to make an image describing how people risk their lives every day by taking medications that may harm them. Additionally, I wanted to show what people should be doing when considering taking a medication. Patients should be wondering if the drug they take is worth the risk they are taking with the side effects.

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There is major problem in the meats industry with misleading advertising.  We expect food labels to be truthful and help us make the best decisions when buying meat products.  However, companies will often add extra labels such as “hormone free” and “antibiotic free” on their products in order to raise prices. We as consumers perceive hormone and antibiotic free products to be better for us as we don’t want extra hormones/drugs to alter our body chemistry. Many consumers are willing to pay extra money for higher quality food, so the prices for hormone and antibiotic free meat products are higher than meat products without those labels.  In reality, these labels are either false (in the case of hormone free products) or true for all meat products (in the case of antibiotic free products).  

All living animals produce hormones in their body such as estrogen and testosterone, including humans.  Therefore, there is no such thing as a “hormone free” animal product.  If meat advertising companies wanted to be truthful, they could label their product as “no added hormones.” We perceive products with added hormones to be bad for us due to a lot of animal rights and health groups.  For example, people think that added estrogen will increase feminine characteristics in men.  However, the amount of hormones added to meat animals is so small that it has no effect on our health. Soy actually contains far more estrogen than meat products, and neither food will lead to higher femininity.  

As for “antibiotic free” products, all meat products are free of antibiotics. Farmers and meat industries are required to have a withdrawal period after giving antibiotics to their animals before sending them to slaughter.  This time between administering antibiotics and slaughter allows the drugs to leave the animals system so they are no longer part of the meat. Therefore, the labels “hormone free” and “antibiotic free” mean nothing other than a advertising tactic used to raise meat prices.

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As a CALS student, I do know about IFAS but I am not familiar with their facebook page.  It is important for CALS students to know about news in the agricultural field especially if they are looking for a related profession.  I like how they post about scholarships and opportunities, making the information more accessible for students.

UF IFAS Solutions

The social media platform I decided to observe was the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Facebook page (@UFIFASNews). The purpose of UF/IFAS is develop knowledge in agricultural, human and natural resources so that knowledge is available to enhance the quality of human life.  I chose this because without the ability of the development of agricultural there would be no human life.

The UF/IFAS Facebook page constantly posts daily about important news that relates to their purpose of enhancing knowledge in agricultural. Such as scholarships available, articles about new diseases, and opportunities available for students such as summer camps in IFAS Extensions. The Facebook page is a great tool to keep students in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences up to date with news that pertains to them. It also posts articles that students might find interesting about new studies like Gene editing to improve crops and new species of fruit flies. These articles will give students motivation to learn more about these topics and further their education in enhancing quality of human life.

The UF/IFAS Facebook page is easily accessible by the push of the like button. Once you are a follower of the page you will be able to navigate through their home page because of how good they balanced the weight of the page. In the middle of the page they have all their posts, on the right they have contact information, and on the left they have tabs to other social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and gallery of photos and videos. The contrast of the page makes everything so easy to use because they break up sections by grouping and keep the layout consistent.

Inconclusion the UF/IFAS Facebook page is a great social media tool to keep students updated on upcoming events, opportunities, and news. They displayed all five principle of design on their home page which makes it very easy to navigate and find information.

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I follow the CALS twitter account and I agree with everything you say.  The hashtags are definitely helpful for me, especially the UFAnsci hashtag.  The pictures are also very helpful since there is such a small character limit.  It’s also nice to see how often they post, keeping students up to date with activities going on within the college.

Platform: Twitter 

Handle: @UFCALS 

The twitter account run by the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences department has nearly 4,500 followers and 6,500 tweets. It serves as a platform to update students, professors, alumni and all those interested on current events related to the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences as well as other main school events. 

Posts are made on a day-to-day basis, both text and graphics. Since the text per post is limited to 140 characters per tweet, all posts are concise and straightforward. Posts that are indicated to show more information often have either an informational graphic or video attached with news, facts, congratulatory remarks, and more. 

The account also makes use of hashtags such as #UFAnsci for Animal Science related tweets, #UFABE for UF Agricultural and Biological Engineering, #UFAEEO for UF Field Ecology of Aquatic Organisms and a variety of others. These hashtags allow the reader to navigate easier through their platform as it allows them to narrow down the tweets if they are looking for specific information.

UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences’ twitter account also comments back and retweets tweets from other platforms such as other UF Clubs or organizations that relay or contain relatable and important information. All posts appear in chronological order of when the account holder; in this case UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; posts, quotes or retweets a tweet.

In summary, this site does an impressive job of keeping students, professors and those other interested, updated on current events and relaying both important information and interesting facts. With the use of hashtags and concise text, a student could find it easy to navigate through the substantial amount of information that the account holds. It serves as a perfect platform for students to use, as students are usually “on-the-go” and this site can be easily viewed through a mobile application on almost any smart phone or tablet. One does not even have to have a twitter account to access this information, it is just quick access information and quite simple to use.

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Western-Style Horse Riding

Photo courtesy of O’Brien Photo farm

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “horse,” from the Germanic term hors, refers to a “solid-hoofed equid, having a flowing mane and tail, whose voice is a neigh.”  Horses are used for a variety of purposes, including pleasure riding, showing, racing, and farm work.  There are many different disciplines of riding, most of which fall under two main styles: English and Western.  However, this description will focus only on explaining western pleasure horse riding.  The four most important features to understand about western riding are equipment, posture, cues, and jumping.

Equipment

The main difference between Western riding and English riding is the tack that is used.  Unlike an English saddle, a Western saddle will be much larger in size and will include a horn.  Other parts of the saddle will be named differently depending on the saddle.  For example, the piece goes over the stirrup straps is called a “saddle flap” on an English saddle and a “fender” on a Western saddle.  The saddle pad also differs between English and Western riding.  A Western saddle pad will extend further past the edges of the saddle and will typically be thicker than an English saddle.  When saddling the horse, the saddle pad should be placed about 4-6 inches past the withers and should lay evenly on both sides.  The saddle should then be placed over the center of the pad.  There will either be one or two cinches used to keep the saddle in place.  The front cinch should be done first and should be tightened so that you can just be able to fit your fingers underneath.  The back cinch should be done a lot looser so that it will hang down about a hand’s width from the horse’s belly.  The bridles are mostly similar between Western and English styles in that they both have a crown piece, cheekpieces, throatlatch, bit, and reins.  The main differences are that Western bridles will typically not include a nose band, but will add a curb strap that goes under the chin.

Photo courtesy of Horse Journals

Posture

One of the most important parts about horse riding is your “seat,” or your posture when you sit on a horse.  The first part of the body you should think about is the legs.  Most of your body’s weight should be put into your legs to help the horse receive your cues more clearly and to allow you to ride more balanced.  This is done by relaxing your ankles and pushing your heels down. Think of your legs as heavy sandbags draped around the sides of the horse. The position of the legs is important for balance and helps your ankles absorb the movement of the horse.  You should be able to draw a straight line from your ear, through your shoulder, your hip, and to your heel.  They should not be too far forward or too far back.  Instead of thinking about being on a horse as sitting on the horse, which causes our legs to move too far forward, you should think of it as straddling a horse.  Your arms should be relaxed and low, close to the horse’s neck.  Your back should be straight while still remaining relaxed.

Photo courtesy of The Showing Register

Cues

To begin riding, you need to know how to get the horse to move where you want to go.  Moving a horse will require a combination of verbal, rein, and leg cues.  To move forward, squeeze your legs against the sides of the horse and make a clicking sound with your mouth.  If the horse does not begin to move with just a squeeze, lightly tap your legs against the horse. Increase the strength of the kicks if the horse continues to stand still.  To turn, lightly pull on the rein that will be on the inside of the turn and apply pressure on the side of the horse with the leg that is on the outside of the turn.  For example, if you want to turn right, you should pull on the right rein and apply pressure with your left leg.  The horse will want to move away from your leg and relieve the pressure of the reins by turning right.  To stop, pull evenly on both reins and give a low “whoa” sound.  If you pull too hard on the reins, the horse will not listen to your cues.

Jumping

Once you are proficient at simple riding, you can advance onto jumping.  The most important thing to know about jumping is the types of positions you will use.  The first position is called the three-point because you will have three points of contact with the horse: your seat, and both of your legs.  The three point is used before and after the jump.  The second position is called the two-point because you will have only two points of contact: your legs.  This will be used when the horse goes through the jump.  You should be able to support yourself only using the insides of your knees.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

To sum up, Western-style riding is a very fulfilling hobby, and understanding equipment, posture, cues, and jumping will allow you to become a great rider.

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UF Exotic Animal Club

Platform: Facebook

Handle: UFExoticAnimalClub

The UF Exotic Animal Club is a great way for students who love animals and wildlife to get involved on campus.  The UF Exotic Animal Club’s Facebook page makes meeting dates/times and other opportunities readily available for students.  The page also uses visuals to grab a reader’s attention and encourages people to get involved in the club.

On the left side of the Facebook page, there are links that direct students to information about the club, its members, photos, events and more.  When you click on the event tab, you can see all the meetings, social events, and service events.  The calendar makes finding event dates incredibly simple.  The club officers will also post reminders about meeting dates in case people forget.  The individual event pages give students information about event times, locations, and a synopsis about what the event is about.  The event summary is short and only gives the information the students need to know about the event so they don’t get bored.  The event pages also include a funny picture to get students interested in going to the event.

The Facebook page has many other ways that students can get involved with the club apart from the events themselves.  There are frequent polls which allow members to choose what event dates and times work best for their schedule.  This increases member participation and helps students feel like they have an impact on the club itself.  There are posts that link students to outside information that might interest them.  For example, one of the club officers made a post about Ellen Degeneres’ Wildlife Fund T-shirts and included a link to the webpage, which would help raise money for the conservation of endangered gorillas.  In addition, the club also allows some students to post their own information if they find something exciting related to exotic animals or even if they have a question about college in general.

The UF Exotic Animal Club’s Facebook page is a great platform to find out more about the club and to get involved.  

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I personally love this show and I think every episode definitely presents some sort of ethical dilemma.  For this episode, I believe that audience goes through their own ethical dilemma while watching.  We see how Daly is mistreated at the office and seems very depressed.  This game he created appears to be a coping mechanism and allows him to feel like he is loved.  We as an audience are therefore unsure of whether or not this game is ethical until we see the horrors behind it.  The ethical choice is suddenly made clear, as in other episodes of Black Mirror.  The common theme is that a lot of potential technological advances are unethical when used in certain ways.

Professional Ethics in “USS Callister”

The first episode of season four of Netflix’s Black Mirror, “USS Callister,” portrays software engineers in a workplace setting. The episode centers around issues of workplace sexism and the ethics of commercialized artificial intelligence.

“USS Callister” opens with a scene straight out of a campy, if oddly megalomaniacal, Star Trek rip-off. As these same characters are then shown in a near future office setting, the episode reveals that this Star Trek-inspired universe is instead a disturbing abuse of artificial intelligence technology. The creator of this technology is Robert Daly, an ineffective CTO at a company he co-founded. Daly uses his Star Trek horrorshow to take out his insecurities on AI versions of co-workers who he feels have mistreated him or have refused his sexual advances.

As with most episodes of Black Mirror, the central ethical dilemma involves the potential for a technology to be abused. The show’s overall message is that the artificial intelligence technology, combined with Daly’s company’s virtual reality technology, has a high potential for abuse, and that commercializing the technology would violate a company’s responsibility to the community. While the specific technology that Daly uses to torment simulations of his co-workers is not part of the virtual reality game that his company produces, Daly’s creepy AI version is built on top of the company’s product. It is arguably something that someone else could build themselves and incorporate into the game to start their own personal Star Trek hell.

The episode’s exploration of sexual harassment and sexism achieves thoughtful insight into a field often dominated by men, and explores issues of both personal and social ethics in the workplace. On Nanette’s first day at the company, another female employee named Shania warns her about the CTO’s history of sexual harassment. She also mentions the CEO’s tendency to hit on female employees, something that Nanette experienced shortly before her conversation with Shania. Both sexual harassment issues have no involvement from human resources.

“USS Callister” challenges the audience to consider the ethical consequences of a future technology while also highlighting ethical problems faced by today’s technology companies.

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This is definitely a very interesting episode to look at when thinking about ethical dilemmas.  It would seem like common sense to immediately perform surgery on the child since he knows there is a serious problem.  After all, it is a doctor’s job to treat people and save lives.  So it is crazy how even when a life is at stake, a person can be turned away so easily by a hospital.  The parents also faced an ethical dilemma.  They know their son might die if he doesn’t get the surgery, but because of their beliefs, they don’t want him to go through surgery.  It’s sad that the parents made this choice and it’s also sad that the doctor may get in serious trouble for doing the right thing.  This makes us re-think about the concept of parental consent, and at what age are we able to make our own decisions.

Grey’s Anatomy S13 E22

Grey’s Anatomy is a television show that has been running for fifteen seasons now and every episode faces a different ethical dilemma. This show has faced everything from cyber hacking of the hospital, to deaths due to wrongdoings, to breaking laws to save a person’s life. The episode I decided to look at is the episode that Alex Karev, the pediatrics attending at Grey Sloan hospital, and Stephanie Edwards, a resident at Grey Sloan hospital, must decide whether to help a child that comes into the emergency room or let him die because of his parents wishes. The child came into the emergency room without his parents and when Dr. Karev is talking to him he begins to have a seizure. After the seizure, they were able to determine that the boy had a brain tumor and would need surgery to remove it and save his life. His parents decide that the surgery would not be performed on their child and that if God wanted him to get better then he would. This left Dr. Karev with no other choice even though he did not agree with the parent’s decision since he would need consent to perform the surgery. The next day, the boy comes back to the emergency room again deciding he wanted to take his health in his own hands. This is where Dr. Karev is faced with the ethical issue. He decides to fake the chart saying that the boy had had another seizure, so he could perform the brain surgery without parental consent since it would be considered an emergency. When the parents came to get their son, the mother was thankful, but the father was threatening to sue the hospital and Dr. Karev could be sent to jail for performing the surgery without consent. The ethical decision Dr. Karev had to make was to listen to the parents wishes because of their religion and let the boy die or perform the surgery that the boy wanted to save his life but break the law to do so. In the end, Dr. Karev decided to put the boy’s life over the ethical issues presented.

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Dr K’s Exotic Animal ER - S5E11

The episode of Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER that I have chosen to analyze is season 5 episode 11 – “Call of Doodie!”  This episode follows the care of four different exotic animals: the first is a sulcata tortoise that was attacked by a dog, the second is a green-winged macaw that was thought to have a mass in its abdomen, the third is a rabbit with an infected cheek/jaw, and the last is a small pig that needs to get neutered.  

I believe that the show does both reinforce and challenge the concepts of professional ethics.  The clients put a lot of trust into Dr. K’s animal hospital to take care of their pets.  Dr. K and the other veterinarians at the hospital do a very great job explaining everything to their clients.  They are very honest about each animal’s condition.  It does not look like they exaggerate an animal’s poor condition and they don’t sugarcoat a situation if it is bad.  In the case of the rabbit, they made sure to show the radiographs of its skull and explain that the condition of the bone was not good.  In the case of the macaw, the mass was actually a hernia and not a tumor, so the surgery was much quicker than expected.  The staff also gets very personal with their clients to make them feel like they are in good hands.  Dr. K owns a macaw herself and used its healthy gut bacteria to help treat her client’s macaw.  

However, they do challenge the concept of professional ethics as well.  Many people may not agree with how they film surgeries.  This could get the animal hospital in trouble if they do something wrong and may cost the show viewership.  In addition, some people may not like seeing their pet under the knife.  This episode showed close-up clips of the pig getting neutered, the macaw’s intestines, and the inside of the rabbit’s cheek.  These examples show how the episode “Call of Doodie” both reinforces and challenges the concepts of professional ethics.