Technology Advancement Ethics issue in Malaysia

The development of technology is getting better and more advance as time passes which often leads to a complex ethical, illegal and societal issues. Thus, there were many ethic centers developed in order to examine the implication of the moral principles into various field that raise throughout the development of the technology such as the business ethics, engineering ethics, computer ethics and medical ethics.

The unethical way of using the facilities of ICT may or may not lead to crime or illegal action which is called cyber crime and in which is also increasing in our modern days. This is why computer security is defined to protect the CIA (confidentiality, Integrity and accessibility) principles of the users.

In Malaysia, technology is booming and can be said as the latest addiction to the Malaysian society, especially the internet. Hence, the increased amount of this interest tends to lead to ethical issue in various ways. For examples of the ethical issues are:

1) Unemployment - Technology advancement has lead to many unemployment around the globe as because technology is proven to be more cost effective and more productivity as machine do not need food or sleep. Job such as check in counter are slow replaced by check in kiosk and job such as those locals selling food on the streets are also reduce by food vending machine in Japan. Thus, from this Malaysian will also slowly adapt and advance to the technology change and who knows in the future what would people do when all those jobs are replaced by machine.

2) Computer Crime -More and more people are hacking into computers and programmes. A lot more crimes are being committed over and because of the Internet also. For example people can hack into bank accounts and steal money, or manipulate systems to cause destruction. A man in Australia hacked into a sewerage system and released millions of litres of raw waste into rivers and parks and sooner or later Malaysian will also learn from the expert and hack billions worth of goods/information in Malaysia. Other than hacking, there are also many people who use the internet for the purpose of meeting and kidnapping people using the social media or other online dating website. Many would argue that this can be prevented through proper education for the children  However, there are many out there who are still unaware of the risk involve when meeting people through online. Thus, leading those people to meet their online friend which may or may not lead to a kidnapping/rape case. 

3) Privacy loss - All web communications are subject to "eavesdropping". Browsers record your activities in history files. Cookies deposited by web sites collect information about you and your browsing. EG many online e-commerce sites use cookies to track buying habits. When these cookies are collected into a database, they may reveal identities of individuals and some companies even sell these databases. In addition, as we had a debate in class about human resource manager using Facebook to evaluate their candidates on whether their suitable for the job is also part of privacy loss. 

4) Freedom of speech - People have to respect Copyright laws, and many of these laws are being violated, resulting in other laws being enforced banning people from downloading things like music off the Internet. We had a debate last week about the prohibition of downloading music. It is good for musicians who don't want their music stolen, but bad for musicians who are wanting their music to be downloaded so they can become popular. There are also people who warp what other people say, or criticise it. This isn't fair because the Internet is open to anyone to say whatever they want.

5) Security -  it is becoming increasingly easy to hack into people's computers and websites. This needs to be stopped because hacking into someones computer is the equivalent to breaking into someones house - it shouldn't happen.

In conclusion, all those above can never be completely solved but it can be reduce by the online computer forensic FBI and with proper education on the ethical behaviour of using the internet is thought to the individual. 

Ethic in animals

Animal abuse has been increasing which bring high alarms to set law for animal cruelty. There are many cases happening daily that animal are being torture and filmed for the world to see. For example, last week on facebook there was this lady squashing a rabbit with her 6 inch hill and many other unethical behaviors. This was an eyesore for me to even watch and looking at the comment of the video, there were many people cursing her and vulgar words were use very often and according to BBC news, rabbit is one of the top abused animals. The animal charity said a survey found that 70% of rescued rabbits had been kept hutched 24 hours a day. Almost 40% had had no food, and half had been living in filthy conditions, it told the BBC. It found that people bought rabbits but then quickly lost interest. On average the abandoned pets it came across had been dumped after just three months. Besides that, there are also a lot of dog abuse in china (http://www.chicagonow.com/joeys-corner/2013/02/animal-abuse-in-china/),boiling fish while their still alive and killing of shark which is about to extinct. 

According to the Legal Defend Fund, animal cruelty presents a five-time risk of violent crime against humans, 75% of all violent offenders have prior records of cruelty to animals, 25% of all “aggressive inmates” have committed five or more acts of animal cruelty as children. In families investigated for child abuse, 60% revealed pet abuse. Childhood cruelty to animals is an important predictor of later antisocial and aggressive acts and that children showing these behaviors without intervention, are at risk for enduring disorders in conduct and mental health. In three surveys in women’s shelters in Wisconsin and Utah an average of 74% of pet-owning women reported that a pet had been threatened, injured, or killed by their abuser. The 1995 Utah survey also found that children witnessed animal abuse in over 60% of the cases, and 32% of women reported that one or more of their children hurt or killed a pet.

Another statistic provided by BBC new was that the RSPCA's cruelty figures for 2006 revealed an 8% increase in rescues and collections from the previous year, an 11% increase in the number of complaints investigated but an 8% reduction in convictions. Dogs remained the most at risk, although there was a reduction in the overall number of offences against do

gs (-15.6%) and cats (-9.5%). Offences against horses and ponies, bucking the downward trend, had increased by 33%.

Now because of all this unethical behavior laws have been set up to minimize this situation and there are also many company trying to help protect all this animal such as ASPCA Fight animal Cruelty and save the wild life events. Using what I have learned in class the utilitarian theory, all animals are equal in the sense that they all have senses. Which means that they feel pain and suffering just like human do. Thus, since they can feel pain just like a person does, they should be treated equally. Laws are set but it is not enough to prevent all this cruelty in animal unless everyone has the perception of animal killing is like human killing one another.

As mention above, there are many organizations helping out in preventing animal abuse. We as the local citizen of our country can help out by reporting to those companies about all the case and also should educate those who are not aware of this. Examples of when we should report are when pets are left outside without adequate shelter, food or water, pet or a horse that appears ill or injured, a pet with a badly matted coat, an animal (including wildlife) that has been intentionally harmed. This would help those companies to protect those animals by issuing summonses and take a case to court. Their investigators are state-commissioned peace officers who are relentless pursuers of justice on behalf of abused or neglected animals. Example of this type of company is the “Dumb Friend League”.

So therefore in conclusion, we all should play a part in protecting animals as it is a part of law and also as part of being an ethical person.

Ethics in Abortion

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced. Nowadays, abortion is getting more and more common. Approximately 19.5 million people have gone through abortion this year and it is gradually increasing every second as we speak. According to WHO, every year in the world an estimated 40-50 million women faced with an unplanned pregnancy decide to have an abortion. This corresponds to approximately 125,000 abortions per day.

To some, abortion may be ethical using the deontological theory of ethic as they think about the consequences. Referring to this teen blog http://teenabortionissues.com/, many teenagers has unplanned pregnancy and due to that, they decided that is best to get an abortion because 1) they cannot cope with being a mother, 2) that their not married and relationship is way unstable, 3) they do not have the financial capability to support that child.

Therefore the question now is abortion ethically right if done at the right cost?

To most, abortion is a serious Ethical Issue. Debates about abortion focus on politics and the law: should abortion be outlawed and treated like the murder of a human person, or remain a legal choice available to all women? Behind the debates are more fundamental ethical questions which are not always given the specific attention they deserve. Some believe that the law should not legislate morality, but all good law is based upon moral values. Below are a few most commonly ask question about abortion.

Questions

1) Is the Fetus a Person with Rights?

In my own opinion, fetus is a person with no rights although the law says all people has rights. However, in this case a fetus is still just an egg which does not have the ability to think for their own rights. Thus, the fetus rights will most likely depends on the owner/ the mother.

2) Does the Woman have Ethical Obligations to the Fetus?

If a woman consented to sex and/or did not properly use contraception, then she will know that there is a chance for her to be pregnant. Being pregnant means having a new life growing inside. Whether the fetus is a person or not, and whether the state takes a position on abortion or not, it’s arguable that a woman has some sort of ethical obligation to the fetus. Perhaps this obligation is not strong enough to eliminate abortion as an option, but it may be enough to limit when abortion can be ethically chosen.

3) Is it Ethical to Force a Woman to Carry a Pregnancy to Term?

Following the law, it forces women to carry that child in their body until birth but would it be ethical? Not permitting women a choice over being pregnant and reproducing is not compatible with justice in a free, democratic state. Even if the fetus is a person and abortion unethical, it should not be prevented through unethical means.

4) Does the Woman have Ethical Obligations to the Father?

Pregnancy can only occur with the participation of a man who is equally as responsible for the existence of the fetus as the woman. If the woman is capable to fully support the child on her own, I feel that it does not really matter what the father decides as the women is the one taking all the physical and mental risk as a pregnant women. However, if the women is unable the support and has no one to support her, the father should have the right to decide on whether she should keep or should not keep the child.

5) Is it Ethical to Give Birth to an Unwanted Child?

If the women can manage to support the child, they should keep it. However, it’s far more common that women have abortions because they feel unable to properly care for the child. Even if it were ethical to force women to carry pregnancies to term, it would not be ethical to force the birth of children who are unwanted and cannot be cared for. Women who choose to abort when they cannot be good mothers are making the most ethical choice open to them.

Conclusion

Abortion is a difficult issue. No one approaches it lightly or makes a decision about whether to have an abortion lightly. Abortion also touches upon a significant number of important, fundamental ethical questions: the nature of personhood, the nature of rights, human relationships, personal autonomy, the extent of state authority over personal decisions, and more. All of this means that it is very important that we take abortion seriously as an ethical issue.

For some people, their approach to the ethical questions will be purely secular; for others, it will be heavily informed by religious values and doctrines. There is nothing inherently wrong or superior to either approach. What would be wrong, however, would be to imagine that religious values should be the determining factor in these debates. However important religious values may be to someone, they cannot become the basis for laws that apply to all citizens.

If people approach the debates openly and with a willingness to learn from others with different perspectives, then it might be possible for everyone to have a positive impact on others. This may allow the debate to move forward and for progress to be made. It may not be possible for broad agreements to be reached, but it may be possible for reasonable compromises to be achieved. First, though, we need to understand what the issues are.

Ethical dilemma in our daily life

Life news

Today,28th May. On my way back home from my university, while stopping at the traffic light, there was 3 kids on the road selling roses. Those kid look at me as if their forced to sell roses and also they look like their in a bad condition given their facial expression and also the clothes they was wearing. I hesitate whether to help them by buying those roses or just close an eye and let it be. As nowadays, more and more crime has been happening, we can never be sure if those kids are really selling roses to earn or to poison us with some chemical place in those rose. Therefore, as a precaution i choose to not buy from them. However, there was one customer that actually buy those roses. I notice that after the kid sold his rose, he ran to the corner of the road where is dark and filled with trees. There was this older man hiding behind those trees and collecting money from that kid. It kept me wondering are those kid being threaten or maybe if is just their dad asking them to sell roses to earn a living. 

Speaking of earning a living, as i pass by this street near my university quite often, i always notice a mother with 3 kids on the corner of a street at a very dirty area begging for money. To me it is very unethical for that mother to put their kid in such an environment exposing them to carbon monoxide produce by those car and to the public. I believe that no matter the situation there is always a better way to earn a living and it is just a matter of determination to do so. This is why to me that mother on the street is being very unethical. However, who am i to judge as i am not her i will never understand how she feel or what she thinks.

Internet 

The internet along with my other modern tech can be a huge distraction or a huge impact on my road to success. It all depend on how those modern tech is being use. Using the internet, we can broaden our knowledge and learn things in an instant. Using the internet, we can also communicate with people from all over the worlds through social media. I have this friend who meets with people she know through the net and this has become a cyber crime as there are many cases of people being rape, being kidnapped and being rob. Luckily this person is a kind and friendly person therefore nothing bad happen and a real friendship began. However, if the situation were to turn out in the other event, things would not had been as good as it is now. Now because of this, i think to myself in the future when i become a dad, should i or should i not let my son or daughter use the internet freely. As there is many other harmful things on the net that could lead to a negative situation for my son/daughter but letting them use the internet will broaden their mindset if used correctly. We can never be 100% sure that even with my restriction set, our son or daughter can be harm-free from the net. So the dilemma here is should parent let their son or daughter used the net as they like or should they not?

University

Students in general nowadays always do their assignments when it comes close to the deadline. i admit i am one of those student. In our lecture mind it may seam like we are a bad student who always do their work late or come to class late which i don`t really blame them but there is always a reason behind everything. i believe in second chances to redeem themselves and lecture should too if those students are worth that second chance. Some student might fail their course causing them to repeat the subject all over again. They fail either because  they did not do their assignment or that they did not study. This is very normal i would say it happens in all university. However, there are certain situation whereby when lecturer A teacher their class, all the students pass with flying colors and when a new lecturer B comes in and replaces lecturer A, half of the class fail. My question is that is it fair for us as students to receive this kind of treatment. While my friend did this subject last semester, it was very easy and when i take it now, it is completely the opposite. I wonder why can`t the university set a standard of teaching so that is fair for all. 

Besides that, examination tips. Last semester i had a friend and he told me that he was cheated by the lecturer. He said that the lecturer gave him the false tips. Is it ethical for that lecturer to do so? I feel that if they lecturer don`t want to give tips just don`t give rather than giving false tips causing the student to hate the lecturer. When it comes to exam, i would say both lecturer and student must do their part fairly by guiding students to the right path the right way.

I had a friend doing her last semester and there was one subject which was not offer for her at her last semester and she needed that subject to graduate. So the university asked her to stay back one more semester and pay a full semester fee just because of that one subject. Luckily she is smart and independent. She boiled and she went and meet the management and file a complaint. At first the management did not want to take any action so she made a hazard at the lobby. When she did that the management quickly took action and settle her issue. She was still pissed as the management would not take action at the first place and only took action when she made herself and the university look like a fool in front of people. Thus, my question is what if she was not daring enough to do what she do and had to pay a full semester fee just because of that one subject? can we say that the management is lazy to solve our problem and trying to leech all our money up? is up to you to be the judge.

Ethics

In my understanding, Ethics whether we like it or we dislike it, we all have to learn to be ethical. People who have ethics and without ethics are the same as people who are civilised and uncivilised. Being an ethical person is very subjective as what might be ethical in Florida might not be in Malaysia. For example, nude beach in Florida is acceptable and ethical to that country but in Malaysia, being nude on any beach would create lots of unwanted attention as it is not acceptable by the country thereby being not ethical. 

Yesterday 16th of May in the monorail, some ladies was being unethical as she was sitting on the reserved seats for those less fortune. Knowing full well that there was an old lady in front, she closed her eye and slept. Luckily the other lady gets up and let her seat in. In my own opinion, if i were to seat on those seats, i would give it up to anyone who seems like they need it. Although i am not sure if i should be even sitting on those seats in the first place. I know if I don seat there, many others would seat on it as if it was a normal seat. Thus, the ethical dilemma here is that is it alright to seat at those seats or should people seat and give the seat to those fortuned people when in sight? 

Besides that, last week I and my friends were to go on a trip and we decided to meet at a specific location at 5pm. I was there on the dot however my friends were all late about an hour plus. In Malaysia, it is very common to be late but is it ethical to make your friend wait when you have already promise to meet at a certain time? Should i get mad and cancel the plan? In other country such as Hong Kong, if they say meet at 5 they all will be there on time being late cannot be an excuse for them. Most of the time, they would say because is jam but is just their excuse for leaving late. Thus, in Malaysia it is almost like a culture for people to be late so my question is that is it ethical to be late with a valid excuse such as jam?

 Recently, while i was in Starbucks, a random lady came to me and asks if she could use my laptop for a moment as she would like to use her Maybank online. In my mind i was feeling awkward, immediately as i was doing my Ethics assignment, i started thinking about ethics (Should i let her use or shouldn't i?). The question running in my mind was is it ethically right to let her use my laptop or is it ethically right for her to randomly ask someone to borrow her their laptop for her own personal stuff. All this happen in my mind in a flash and i replied sure. In my opinion, i felt that she was very open and ethically it was alright to let her use my laptop. Moments later, she started asking question and sharing stories about herself to reduce the awkwardness between me and her. She only asked general questions which i feels that shows that she is an ethical person as she don just rush and start invading my personal matters.  In addition to that, towards the end of our conversation, she wanted to smoke and asked me whether i am alright with that (basic manners), this also shows ethics. 

However, all that may just be might opinion. The dilemma here is that, is my opinion of ethics the same with others? Everyone has different upbringing by their family. Thus, everyone has different perspective of what ethics really is. Although there are some common situations of ethics for everyone such as throwing away your rubbish in a proper rubbish bin.

In conclusion, it is important to learn what ethics is all about not because we learn ethics to be 100% ethical all the time but to be able to differentiate what is ethically right and what is ethically wrong.