Article 1
What is the ethical Issue?
This article was published by Alan W. Dowd in the December 2011 issue of The American Legion Magazine. The article relates to the growing interest among various countries such as the US, Russia, Canada, Sweden and the Nordic countries in the Arctic region. For all these countries the driving factor is the energy reserves in terms of oil and gas found in the Arctic region. Other factors which make it attractive for countries to wish to control the Arctic region include security and shipping economics because the Northwest Passage in the Arctic can cut the shipping distance from Europe to Asia by 4000 nautical miles (Dowd, 19). The ethical issue that arises from this article is the conflict between exploiting energy reserves in the Arctic region and the effect on global climate.
Thoughts and Feelings after reading the Article
The article is an eye opener on what governments are willing to do in order to gain Arctic energy reserves. The Arctic region is a sensitive ecological area that should be protected from future generations. Governments that are laying a stake in the Arctic region creates an impression of greed since there is technology such as solar and wind which with proper development can replace fossil fuels. The demand for oil is growing but exploiting Arctic oil and gas reserves will increase the rate of global warming, melting of polar icecaps and rise in sea level. Coastal cities and island nations are in danger of being submerged under the rising sea level. The security concern for countries such as the US are real since Russia is constructing army bases in its northern frontier and training specialized army groups to engage in Arctic warfare. The rooming Arctic conflict creates a feeling of Cold War all over again and a total neglect of environmental concerns.
Research on the Topic
The growing interest in Arctic resources results from its vast resources and strategic location in close proximity to North America, Europe and Asia (Gautier et al., 1176). Wilde at al., asserts that the international strategies countries are adopting with regards to the Arctic Resources has changed from a pristine ecosystem than need protection from man to that of a resource rich and virgin land that needs exploitation (15). This opinion is concurred by Hacquebord who analyzed the geopolitical consequence of any one country controlling the Arctic region (127). Because of its strategic location, a country with control over the Arctic region would have first strike advantage in armed conflict over a large portion of the world. Currently the Arctic region is not militarized but due to the large oil and gas reserves, interested countries will militarize the region to protect their interests (Hacqubord, 127).
Final Opinion
Based on the research on the topic, the Arctic region is attractive due to its vast natural resources and its strategic location. The natural resources in the Arctic region offer one more reason for countries to send their armies to the region to protect their oil and gas installations. In addition many countries would wish to exploit the Northwest Passage for trade and transportation. The Arctic region ought to be protected from all these because of its global importance. No single country should exploit the resources there. Instead different countries should focus on renewable energy and not on Arctic oil reserves.
Article 2
What is the ethical issue?
This article is titled “Retirement at Risk” by Barry Rand. From the article various factors such as unemployment, decreased home values, low savings, higher health costs, decaying pensions and longer life expectancies have led to fewer people accumulating enough retirement benefits to maintain their economic status after retiring. A significant number of middle income workers turn into low income retirees due to inadequate social security. The ethical issue that comes out from the article is the reliance on the chained CPI plans which were designed 75 years ago during very different economic times. The ethical challenge is that this plans tend to cut the benefits of those who can least afford. The problem is especially significant for disabled veterans and women because they generally have longer life expectancies and lower average earnings compared to men.
Thoughts and Feelings after reading the Article
Social security should provide cushion to those who need it most and not take away from them. The government adoption of the CPI and Chained CPI (C-CPI) formulas in calculating retirement benefits saves the government money at the expense of the people who need it more. For instance the C-CPI formula would save the government over $17 billion from 23 million veterans in a ten year period. From reading this article I got the general feeling of a government that is not in touch with its citizen’s needs and is not taking enough actions to cushion its citizens from economic down turns. The government focuses on cutting retirement benefits to reduce a federal deficit instead of focusing on giving the citizens a comfortable retirement.
Research on the Topic
Retirement benefits should be able to maintain a retiree lifestyle for the years after retirement. Because of various factors, the average American is accumulating less in retirement benefits than ten years ago. Employers have a duty to ensure that their workers have pension plans but the rising cost of healthcare cost has reduced the available money to save for retirement (Richadson, 2012). Despite this, the government has adopted formulas which cut retirement benefits over time to use in calculating how much money a retiree gets. Cocco and Fransisco assert that living longer has turned to be a nightmare for many due to reduced retirement savings (516). There is lack in financial innovation to devise new formulas which do not punish people for living longer.
Final Opinion
The government is failing in its duty to provide protection for its senior citizens through social security. Instead, the government has adopted CPI formulas which cut retirement benefits for people who need it more such as disabled veterans and women in order to reduce federal deficits in the budget. The evaluated research especially Cocco and Fransisco acknowledge that people are living longer and there is need for financial innovations to account for longevity when calculating retirement benefits. Failing to protect the citizens from factors such as unemployment and rising health care costs which are beyond the citizen’s control is unethical on the governments’ side as it means exposing citizens to undue duress.
Article 3
What is the Ethical Issue?
This article by Benjamin Wallace is title “Scare Tactics” and gives the story of Shaileshkumar Jain and Daniel Sundin who were convicted for creating scareware. Scareware is software meant to scare people. Jain and Sundin joined hands to create Innovative Marketing Inc (IMI) which specialized in selling security software such as antivirus and registry cleaners. A major ethical issue that arises from the article is use of scare tactics to coarse people to give money. The software that the two sold were not actual security software but were meant to scare customers into buying them to feel safe. IMI used sophisticated tactics to track attract computer users. Adverts such as reports that your computer has been infected with a virus or contains pornographic materials including child pornography which is a crime scared customers into buying IMI security products. When the threat of computer virus reduced IMI turned to scaring customers through the risk of losing a job or marriage.
Thoughts and Feelings after reading the Article
Fear can motivate people to do many things. Jain and Sundin were experts in social engineering and used fear to scare people into buying dubious software. The first feeling that comes to mind from the article is the opportunistic nature of Jain and Sundin. When the Blaster worm was releases, it sent fear throughout the world and Microsoft was receiving up to 10,000 calls a day from customer on how to keep their system running. The two used this feeling of fear to market dubious software packaged as an antivirus. From this they created a large company with head offices in Ukraine and customer care centers in different regions of the world. Further, the company used fake hard drive scans which detected pornographic materials and scared people into buying registry cleaners to remove the same. The two culprits are selfish because of resulting to unethical methods to promote dubious software.
Research on the Topic
Computer fraud is not limited to hackers who steal credit card information. Some criminals use other tactics including scareware and browser high jacking. A significant modern day computer security threat is social engineering. This is because unlike hackers who obtain information using brute force tactics, criminal social engineers entice people to give up the information (Workman, 321). In addition to gaining information, criminal social engineers can use their tactics to sell face software as Jain and Sundin did. Stone-Gross et al., report that fake antivurus has a large market and is a major product in IT related underground economies (56). The major motivation behind fake software is money. Moore, Richard and Ross evaluated the economics of online crime and assert that an online criminal can steal more in a day than armed bank robbers in a week (17). With this in mind it is important to treat online crime as a serious form of crime through stiff penalties for convicted persons.
Final Opinion
Article 4
What is the Ethical Issue?
The article by Matthieu Aikins is titled “Mental Combat” and was published in the March 2013 issue of Popular science magazine. The article gives the development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in military personnel after deployment in combat zones. Researchers have long known that mental disorders such as suicide can kill more people in battle than enemy fire. The ethical issue that comes out in this article is how to prevent PTSD in troops and to alleviate the mental health of veterans. As the writer asserts, the challenge of being good in war is that it means you are bad at peace. Conducting warfare without psychiatric casualties is the ethical challenge posed by this easy.
Thoughts and Feelings after reading the Article
The article represents PTSD as a serious effect of war that is often overlooked. This creates a feeling of lack of a holistic approach to troops and veterans care. Although the US has the best equipped army, conflicts such as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars lead to high casualties due to combat stress and many troops suffer from PSTD after deployment. There is a feeling of hope since the military barracks have recognized importance of mental health and are implementing relaxation training and areas for troops to rejuvenate.
Research on the Topic
War is a common phenomenon and the psychological trauma suffered by deployed troops has turned out to be the most effective killer compared to enemy fire. War represents prolonged exposure to stress and van Wingen et al. assert that this has the effect of increasing activity of the amygdala and this brain change persists for long periods after deployment (117). This is the major cause of PSTD. In addition, Andereasen site head injuries and multiple deployment as other risk factors for PSTD. Troops receive physical training to build their bodies capacity to handle sustained physical demands of combat. There is need for troops to be given enough training and tools to enhance their capacity to handle stress. The training instructors should include psychiatric training to troops before deployment to enhance their stress coping mechanism (Orr, 39). In addition to training, Adler et al. cites battle mind debriefing as an effective way of preventing PSTD in troops returning from war (72).
Final Opinion
In the wars the US has participated in recent history, majority of casualties result from mental disorders such as suicide and not from enemy fire. There is a need for holistic approach to military training to incorporate both physical and mental training. In the coming days, there is hope for troops and veterans as mental health is now considered mainstream and troops receive training on relaxation techniques which help combat stress. The military is hiring and posting more psychiatrists to combat areas to help troops cope with combat stress. In addition, pharmacological interventions to promote good mental health are being developed. This will help soldiers to cope with traumatizing memories and aid in their integration into communities and families after deployment.
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