Steven Mintz

Honesty and Ethics Ratings of Professions Are in Decline

Americans Do Not Trust Established Institutions According to Gallup and Pew Gallup published its 2023 results of a survey of honesty/ethics in the professions last year. The results speak volumes about which professions are trusted by most Americans. The most ethical profession is nurses with a 78% positive rating—high or very high in ethics. While this […]

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Trump is Accelerating the Removal of Agency Heads: Should We Be Concerned?

Trump Removes Top Government Ethics Official By now you have likely heard that President Trump removed the head of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) from his post in one of many executive orders issued since he took office just three weeks ago. The agency’s director, David Huitema, was confirmed to the post by the

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Changes in Ownership Structure for CPA Firms Raises Conflict of Interest Questions

Is it Time to Break Up Professional Services Firms, aka CPA Firms? I can remember years ago when I was studying accounting that the form of ownership of CPA firms was a partnership with all partners being licensed CPAs. Over the years, the forms of ownership have broadened, in part to limit the liability of

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What Role Should Microaggressions Play in Discussions About Discrimination?

Examining Microaggressions as a Form of DEI A psychological concept that has become a part of the discussion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is microaggressions. The term gained widespread appeal only twelve years ago, but by 2015 it had been crowned the word of the year by the Global Language Monitor. It is now rife on

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Lack of Impulse Control is the Root Cause of Mass Shootings

Analyzing the Causes and Possible Solutions to Gun Violence in Our Schools Add impulse control to the list of reasons mass shootings occur, especially at our schools. The shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin by a 15-year-old female student that left three dead, including the shooter from a self-inflicted wound, and six

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Using ChatGPT in Higher Education: A Cautionary Tale

Ethical Issues and Risks to Consider ChatGPT is a game changer. It seems that virtually everyone is talking about ChatGPT. ChatGPT is an example of an artificial intelligence system in the form of a language model that can produce humanlike text. It allows users to ask questions and receive immediate responses. It is perfect for

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Is There a “Best” Way to Teach Ethics?

Being Intentional in Teaching Ethics Aristotle has said: “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” This means a lot to me as I strive to inculcate ethical values in my students. Can we teach students to be ethical? This is something I’ve thought about a lot during my 30+ years

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The Lost Art of Civility Revisited

Can We Save Society from Rampant Incivility? By age sixteen, George Washington had copied out by hand, 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior In Company and Conversation.  They are based on a set of rules composed by French Jesuits in 1595.  The first rule is: “Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of

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What Have We Learned from Whistleblowing Cases?

Things to Think About Before Deciding Whether to Blow the Whistle Have you ever wondered when, how, and why whistleblowing first began? I did during the time that I researched whistleblowing cases for a paper that I wrote. I believe you will find the following interesting and instructive. Background The first reported case of whistleblowing

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