Ethics in the Wild

Jennie and Terry speak with former Anchorage Municipal Attorney and former Anchorage Municipal Manager Bill Falsey. They discuss how the adversarial nature of legal practice relates to ethics, and how having an organization as a client is different when that client is a government. Jennie is a bit under the weather, but Ted will fix that in post. Links and resources: Alaska Rules of Professional C...

It's getting difficult (or impossible) to avoid interacting with computing and algorithms these days.  How computing and algorithms affect (and will continue to affect) our lives is much in the news, especially as relates to social media and artificial intelligence (AI).  Today, Jennie and Terry speak with Kenrick Mock, Dean of the UAA College of Engineering and computer scientist.  We discuss wha...

Jennie and Terry speak with Sean Parnell, former Lt. Governor of Alaska, former Governor of Alaska, current Chancellor of UAA, and former practicing attorney in Alaska. We discuss ethics in the legal profession, including some characteristics unique to Alaska (such as working in a young state without a lot of settled legal precedent). We then discuss the ethics that executives have to follow, incl...

Jennie and Terry pick the brain of Alaska State House District 16 Representative Ivy Sponholz.  We discuss what it really means when legislators say that they work for their constituents, and the role of lobbying in governance.  Ivy points out the importance of a professional legislative staff and professional wages for legislators as a means for building and maintaining expertise.  The group also...

Jennie and Terry speak with Julia O'Malley, a local journalist in Anchorage, Alaska. We learn that journalism is, in her opinion, more a craft than a profession, with an important cultural role to play and therefore extensive considerations for ethics. We discuss the drastic changes that journalism currently faces, and one of the biggest problems with resources drying up at the local level (turns...

Jennie and Terry speak with Joe Sarcone, Assistant Professor and Director of Environmental Public Health at Alaska Pacific University. We learn about the professional credentials created for professionals in this area by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), and the degree requirements (they involve a LOT of science). What really stands out about this conversation, though, is Dr. S...

Terry and Jennie talk to David Brock, Professional Land Surveyor (PLS), and Term Assistant Professor of Geomatics at UAA (also Jennie's husband).  We learn that for land surveyors, determining locations on the earth is only part of the job – the legal implications of who has a right to occupy and use the land are as important.  David presents a case study that began as a boundary dispute between n...

Terry and Jennie speak with Graham Dane, Adjunct Professor of Art at UAA and full-time professional painter.  We start with whether the fine arts are a profession and go from there.  We discuss how artists are trained, and power dynamics in the fine arts.  How do the dizzying sums that individual art pieces can sell for affect the art world?  What is the difference between an homage and a forgery?...

Abraham Flexner circa 1910, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Flexner   Donna Aguiniga returns to discuss Abraham Flexner's infamous-to-social-workers speech at the National Conference of Charities and Correction (Baltimore, 1915) titled "Is Social Work a Profession?"  Spoiler alert: in his opinion, no.  Jennie, Terry, and Donna discuss the history of professionalization, how the experience of...

Terry and Jennie talk with Mark Carr, Regional Director of Ethics for Providence Hospital.  We discuss how ethics committees work in hospitals, and just what the Joint Commission is.  Mark talks about what we learned, and what changes we had to make, during the pandemic.  Mark and Terry are both experts in the area of medical ethics, so be prepared for a fascinating (and quite wonky) discussion ab...

Terry and Jennie interview Donna Aguiniga, Associate Professor of Social Work at UAA.  We discuss the 19 th century origins of social work, the myth of the noble poor, and how what has historically been a female-dominated profession experienced the path to professionalization differently.  Returning to modern times, we discuss the ethics of working with populations who may be vulnerable or even po...

  Terry and Jennie speak with Al Grant, CTC Interim Associate Dean of Technical Programs and Associate Professor of Occupational Safety and Health.  We learn about how occupational health and safety has evolved from being primarily about compliance to being more about creating a of safety, and how safety professionals think about acceptable risk.  Al talks about the importance of personal passion...

  Terry and Jennie kick things off by interviewing Jayna Combs, Senior Development Officer in the UAA College of Engineering.  We learn about the ethics of development, the importance of donor intent, and how the profession is more about building and maintaining relationships than simply raising money.   Links and resources Jayna's credential is the Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE): https:/...