What is the Point of Global Ethics?

Jotting down some ideas

         Prof. Sean Cordell, philosopher at the Open University, refers to ethics in terms of making “the world better,” about finding ways to “save the world” (The Open University, 2020a). Based on these two assumptions by Cordell, we do not want to find ourselves immersed in dreary years seeing how humanity is destroying the world, its own civilization, or simply mistreating other humans just because. When one is in trouble, we do not want to be with Elle-women and men who are hollow and only smile as if they were empathetic toward others. The ethical being is prompted to get into action.

         What is then Global Ethics end game? Based on Prof. Jon Pike, also a philosopher at the Open University, the end game here is to discover “what’s wrong with the world and what should we do about it” (The Open University, 2020a). This sounds easier said than done, especially when there are Elle-people around us; however, we need to start at least with ourselves trying to make sense of the people’s worldview to make our own decisions based on our ethical foundations, as simple as deciding to get a plastic bag at the local supermarket instead of taking our own reusable bags. With simple acts we can start making important changes to make the world a better place.

         If we imagine Global Ethics as a casket, we are then to find -in it- three central distinctions not to feel smothered by the smoke coming from the world’s indifference to global issues. If you should like to see the content of our ethical casket, based on Prof. Pike, three elements are to be found: [1] “empirical stuff,” [2] “theory and construction of models about how the world works,” and [3] “normative stuff” (The Open University, 2020a). These distinctions are necessary to understand the point of Global Ethics and its end game.

What should we do then about issues concerning Global Ethics? Ethicists should so like to see everyone taking a stance regarding global problems all humans should be interested in. As a result of not knowing what governmental institutions and figures ought to do about issues, we at least can think through the arguments in favor or against something to come up with our very own opinions. As Prof. Pike has put it (The Open University, 2020b), “we kind of owe it to ourselves on the level of moral and intellectual integrity.” And it is at this point that we can also think what stakeholders do and should do about a given issue.

Global Ethics is something that does not belong to the netherworld. We are not mere pawns in a divine ethical drama; we can make moral decisions that can positively impact global issues that concern all humans. We cannot simply say that the gods to relieve themselves of toil created men to take advantage of one another; the righteous man would always be beset by prolonged series of global ethical decisions that cannot simply be postponed to make the world a better place for all. Global ethics is “the sphere of justice in the world and what you as an individual might do about it” says Prof. Sean Cordell (The Open University, 2020b). Global ethics is not a whimsical rule of God or any supernatural power we may believe in; it is, as simply stated by Prof. Cordell, “political and it’s personal.”

References

The Open University. (2020a). Who does global ethics - in theory? Retrieved October 27, 2020, from FuturLearn.Com: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/global-ethics/3/steps/905598

The Open University. (2020b). Who does global ethics - in practice? Retrieved October 28, 2020, from FutureLearn.Com: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/global-ethics/3/steps/905599

What is the Point of Global Ethics by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

Strengthening the Social Media Strategist

Going beyond the community management

         Do you ever wonder how social media data contribute to brand campaigns in your organization? If you do so, you probably question yourself about how data is supposed to be read, about what is worth around the tons of data a social media channel can produce, and how these data can sit alongside the community management of your company. The fact is that data analytics is not like rummaging your wardrobe to get dressed -in a hurry- to go to work; it is like spotting a tiny, wily insect in the brushwood if you are not equipped with the right tools.

         What produces data in a social media community channel? Based on Joe Cothrel from Lithium (The University of Sydney, 2020), “really any feature that you allow a user to use in an online community creates data.” That is, data’s lair in the community media outlet contains information produced by any feature that can be scattered and just accumulated somewhere. As the eagle, it is necessary that the social media strategists pounce down upon the pieces of input to start making sense of them. But going beyond the conceit of a creator of a successful online community, favorable outcomes are only attained when data is correctly read and interpreted; it is not just a lucky strike.

         What type of data can be dug up from an online community profile? For Cothrel there are two types of data that can obtained (The University of Sydney, 2020): Qualitative and quantitative data. Walking into the qualitative side of data is like entering a vestry for the first time; you barely know what you can expect to find in a place like this. You can be appalled at the sight of data and communities’ qualitative insights. This qualitative data stored as part of the history of an online community is connected to what happens in it around people’s reactions towards content that is being posted, e.g., by a community manager. And all this input appears “in the form of words or opinions or topics that people are talking about” says Cothrel (The University of Sydney, 2020). Finding the commonalities among these words, opinions, or topics is the challenge of the data analyst and the social media strategist.

         But finding commonalities is not all; statistical analysis of data can also provide useful insights, too. Part of data digging is making sense of the things people are doing online when visiting an online community. What is it that your viewers are looking? What is it that your visitors are posting on your community wall or reposting from your community? How are your followers or first-time visitors rating your brand campaigns? All these generates statistical data that can be pulled out of the system, read, and interpreted and see how all this input can be used to continue to serve your community and make it grow as a healthy environment free of trolling vassals and shorn head trolls looking for trouble.

         Before a shudder passes through your system and you start to feel you are just wearing a loincloth, consider the following questions regarding your quantitative and qualitative data. By asking yourself similar questions like the ones bellow, suggested by Joe Cothrel, media strategists can get ready before a brand campaign is launched.

Now, using an art gallery as an example for a social media strategist, let us review the same questions and think of how they could be answered.

And one more example to examine; let us now pay attention to a language school’s campaign regarding the creation of learning infographics for its learners. How can these questions be answered?

And the examples of sets of questions for all varieties of brand campaign could go on and on.

         The cradle of data lies in the operational metrics and in the content metrics. The forefathers of social media communities probably were not aware of how these online communal spaces were meant to be used when compared to the way they are being used today. This is not about failing and simply saying that if the worst come to the worst, you still have a second chance around. This is about being sure on what data is being produced by the social media platform that has been chosen (operational metrics) and what content is going to be published for the community of users (content metrics). And when these metrics are understood, where do you want to direct your community for its own benefit and for the organization’s? How do you plan to move on to the next level of proficiency and arrive at the pinnacle of your brand campaign’s success?

Reference

The University of Sydney. (2020). How do we incorporate data analytics into user engagement strategies? Retrieved October 23, 2020, from FutureLearn.Com: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ethical-social-media/1/steps/824166

Strengthening the Social Media Strategist by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

When Does Ethics Become Global?

Delving into understanding ethics

         Global ethics can be defined as “an area of critical ethical enquiry into the nature and justification of values and norms that are global in kind and into the various issues that arise …” (Dower, 2009). This area of critical ethical enquiry extends “beyond personal relationships or local settings and across national and political borders and boundaries” (The Open University, 2020 (a)). Thus, global ethics was born in the world of globalization where companies, governments, agencies, etc. interact among themselves affecting -positively or negatively- entire nations, whole communities, ethnic groups, or simply the entire world. Ethics becomes global when its impact scale affects a great number of people.

         Based on Prof. Heather Widdows, University of Birmingham, “Global Ethics is the ethics of a globalised world” (The Open University, 2020 (b)). It can be stated that this type of moral philosophy inquiry aims at making all international stakeholders aware of fair and ethical practices, so all societies can create a more just world for everyone. It has become global because it is not circumscribed to a single national jurisdiction but many at the same time harming many individuals in various countries, communities, and so on. As it has also been stated by Prof. Widdows (The Open University, 2020 (b)), “we are facing global challenges that cannot be addressed within one nation-state, within one jurisdiction, within one belief system, within one discipline;” these challenges have to be taken care by all interested parties involved in them in search for a just world.

         Then, what are global ethical issues like? Any kind of trouble whose impact is at a global scale is subject of analysis by moral philosophy. Among this kind of ethical problems, the following can be mentioned:

The list and explanation of other global issues can go on and on. Yet any single ethical thought can have a great and lasting effect on people who are being affected because of an “immoral” conduct of a company, government, and the like.

         To sum up, global ethics is “a mixture of justice, basic rights, and fair distribution,” as it is stated by Prof. Widdows (The Open University, 2020 (b)). Due to our globalized world, there may be a series of loathly practices that must be stopped such as sweatshops in Latin American and Asian countries where multi-million dollar companies pay very low wages to employees who also find themselves working in tiny spaces with no ventilation and for very long hours. The pinnacle of success of our civilizations cannot be measured in terms of technological advances and pricy goods that are produced every year, but on how these advancements and products are made available for all social strata in a country. This sharing of resources and good will should be the forte of all societies on the planet.

References

Dower, N. (2009). Global Ethics. (R. C. Elliot, Ed.) Institutional Issues Involving Ethics and Justice, Vol. 1, 232-251.

The Open University. (2020 (a)). Global Ethics. Retrieved October 22, 2020, from FurureLearn.Com: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/global-ethics/3/steps/905594

The Open University. (2020 (b)). Global Ethics, All in it Together. Retrieved October 23, 2020, from FutureLearn.Com: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/global-ethics/3/steps/905595

Week 1b - When Does Ethics Become Global by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

Reflecting Upon Ethics: What is it?

Ethical Judgments

         “Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits for society, fairness, or specific virtues” (Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, & Meyer, 2010). By gathering one’s thoughts after reading this definition of ethics, one can conclude that it is about how people should live righteously in search of happiness. Hence, ethics then manifests itself in our lives as moral judgments regarding all human endeavors.

         “Plausible ethical judgements are made through a process of moral reasoning and in terms of things we value” (The Open University, 2020). Feeling the lure of temptation by trying to frame the moral judgments’ lore, it can be roughly stated that people phrase their ethical assessments in terms of what they look for or what it is expected from their actions. In the end, ethics is “what people should or should not make happen, what people should and shouldn’t do, and why” (The Open University, 2020). And based on these ideas of making happen and doing, humans phrase their understanding of moral judgments.

         Not trying to upend the order of moral judgments, many of people’s ethical judgments are phrased in terms of what they look for. As it can be observed without having to brood over for a lengthy moment, that the list below specifies many of the things one looks for in life. “Ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues” (Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, & Meyer, 2010). Ethics is a fearsome way of living in a world where bloodlust is every and anywhere; yet it is what it is expected from others to collective attain society’s best interests, one’s happiness, fairness among peers, safety for oneself and people in one’s inner circle, and rights.

         As people delve deeper into understanding ethical assessments, it is necessary to take note of the feelings brimming inside oneself when talking about responsibilities, duties, rights, consequences, decency, morality, and virtue. These are not things people are exactly looking for in their lives’ ethics, but these are moral constructs linked to ethical actions that are expected from fellow people. Ethics is also “the study and development of one’s ethical standards” (Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, & Meyer, 2010), which are encased within all these types of actions in a person’s life.

 One does not have to be out of one’s wits to comprehend that humanity is ruled by ethics. This is not about thinking that the gods rule from on high, and they are the ones who instruct humans to act morally in the eyes of their fellow people. As stated by Aristotle (2016), “every craft and every investigation, and likewise every action and decision, seems to aim at some good; hence the good has been well described as that at which everything aims.” Humans are ruled by reason, and reason should be governed by morality aiming at goodness.

Week 1a - Reflecting Upon Ethics by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd

Improving Efforts to Reach a Wider Audience

Suggestions and Questions

         All types of cultural institutions do look for ways to improve their efforts to rich a wider audience with their brands or campaigns. Many just send out messages expecting that someone out there will react to them. What company directors sometime forget is what it is that they plan to forfeit to gain meaningful presence in social media. Prof. Jonathon Hutchinson (The University of Sydney, 2020), discussing this type of improvement in organizations’ efforts, mentions that “certain messages will work more efficiently with different types of audiences at particular times in the day.” However, before we can generate meaning from social media data analytics to determine the impact of a social media campaign, how can brand awareness be produced? Based on what is explained by Prof. Hutchinson, a series of questions need to be asked and put out to ensure success.

         The following infographic identifies the four different areas pointed out by Prof. Hutchinson (The University of Sydney, 2020). Some of his questions have been slightly modified to make them more generic and that can be applied to any brand that needs to be promoted in social media. This kind of inquiry included in the infographic can help organizations to discover the wondrous hoard hidden behind data that can be retrieved from social media channels.

         Right here what is presented is not a pesky questionnaire for community managers but a sample contextualization of these generic questions on a cultural institution’s new brand product to promote English language learning beyond the classroom and through social media. However, none of the questions have been answered and are just a nice collection of ideas to explore to guarantee success in institutional efforts to reach a wider audience of learners. Not paying attention to these areas specified by Prof. Hutchinson will make organizations stay stuck in their comfort cocoon and their improvement efforts will fade away in the directors’ eyes in sore dismay.

Informed Sense of Beginning

Monitoring a Campaign

Analysis and Visualization

Organic Conversations

         Organizations should not cease plying their social media channels. Companies have to hover around these four areas of media analytics to create healthier and truthful conversations with learners. Neither the institution’s directors nor their marketing staff have a belt of prowess to identify the success of a brand campaign; all efforts for improvement can be swept down by the lack of student interest. To dispel the darkness around brand failures is not linked to be insusceptible to criticism; it is connected to identify the “quernstone” that can help the organization grind the different individual who are part of its audience comprehend these people to take them into its conversations.

References

The University of Sydney. (2020). How do we generate meaning from social media data analystics? Retrieved Octubre 14, 2020, from FutureLearn.Com: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ethical-social-media/1/steps/824164

Improving Efforts to Reach a Wider Audience by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd