Gary Allen

Documents like the podcast we recently posted to the AHRECS resource library on Ubuntu ethics (as well as this earlier paper), raise an interesting question.

Would we include such an excellent resource if we are fixated only on ensuring our institution complies with the national requirements in our country (such as the National Statement in Australia)?

It is useful for researchers to know about and be able to apply Ubuntu ethics, not only if they plan to conduct a research project in Africa, but as also a useful frame for approaching ethical questions.

Does an active and respectful consideration of Ubuntu ethics and its relation to a vibrant place and people, prompt us to consider the traditions, beliefs, and cultural protocols of potential participant pools we hope to work with?

The strength and the inherent weakness in ethical guidance documents such as the National Statement is that they encourage us to think that they are the only useful frame for approaching ethical challenges, topics or issues.  This is absolutely not the case, and we need researchers to be flexible and innovative to apply other guidance material to their work.

Perhaps to genuinely prompt excellent ethical reflection, we need to go beyond compliance and share reading material that encourages reflection.

Staying in familiar territory, Australian researchers being aware of this material will help them address 4.8.2 of the National Statement.