Contact: Arthur Zucker, (740) 593-4596 or zuckera@ohio.edu or Kathleen Evans-Romaine, (740) 593-9802 or evans-rk@ohio.edu
ATHENS, Ohio (March 5, 2001) -- Should doctors spare the life of a Siamese twin at the expense of the other? Should scientists clone sheep? And should a journalist writing an article about a prominent book chain accept freebie paperbacks?
These are just a few of the questions e-mailed to ethics experts at Ohio University through "Ask the E-Team," an online service established in 1998. Offered by the university's Institute for Applied and Professional Ethics, the ethics-on-call service has provided counsel on matters related to business, medicine, journalism, science and other hot topics.
"It's somewhat like a more focused Ann Landers," says Arthur Zucker, director of the institute and a member of the E-Team outreach project. "We do this not necessarily because we have the correct answers, but because there ought to be a place where you can get practical answers to questions."
The E-Team includes members of the institute's board of directors -- two philosophers, two journalists and two business experts. Though the online forum receives from two to 20 questions on these topics each month, the team also has fielded inquiries ranging from logging in the world's rain forests to banning tobacco advertising. Fortunately, the E-Team has back up.
"When we have specific questions, we have the whole faculty and staff of Ohio University to draw on," says Kathleen Evans-Romaine, assistant director of the institute.
On the E-Team's Web site , participants can choose to submit questions privately by checking a box or have their queries responded to publicly on the Ethics Forum, which allows other visitors to add their own viewpoints in a chat-style format. Members of the team strive to provide informed opinions on issues, but rather than offer a quick and easy answer, Zucker says he tries to foster critical thinking skills.
"You hope to provoke some interest," says Zucker, whose main area of expertise is medical ethics. "They may not necessarily agree with you, but you hope they start thinking about these issues perhaps in a way they haven't before."
More than one member of the E-Team may respond to a question, and it's also not uncommon for participants to seek out and report a second opinion, says Evans-Romaine, who welcomes such dialogue. What the E-Team does not accept is test questions from students, as the Web site clearly warns.
The most common query posed to the E-Team is the question of what constitutes a conflict of interest for journalists, says Evans-Romaine. One of her favorites was a news reporter who agonized over whether he should have accepted a gift banjo from a musician he interviewed -- who wouldn't let the journalist leave his home without the instrument.
"It's those details that really bring things to life," she says.
The Institute for Applied and Professional Ethics, part of the Vice President for Research planning unit, was created to promote the application of fundamental ethical techniques to decision-making. In addition to sponsoring the E-Team, the institute organizes workshops and seminars for students and professionals; supports graduate students in fields related to ethics; sponsors ethics-related undergraduate projects and travel; hosts conferences and symposia; sponsors visiting scholars and professionals; and assists other organizations promoting ethical causes.
Recent events hosted by the institute included a debate over privacy and security in the Internet age, which featured a representative from the FBI's "Carnivore" surveillance project. More information on the institute is available on the Web at www.ohiou.edu/ethics/
