Evaluation Research (Research Methods of Sociology) - Assignment Example

The governmental program of America was directed on eradication of syphilis. It was found out that 35 percent of the Macon County men had syphilis. With a course of time black men were used as subjects for the experiments and the long effects of syphilis were identified on the basis of their reactions and perceptions. These men were getting placebos though they were sure that they received a positive medical treatment. It was found out in 1972 that the results of these experiments were unethical and wrong.

In the article Sludge Testing as Lead Poisoning Fix by Heilprin and Vineys, ethical issues are also discussed. The scientists underlined that they used federal grants spread fertilizer developed from human and industrial wastes on black neighborhoods yards. There was an attempt, which could determine whether children could have lead poisoning or not from harmful ingredients. It is incredible, but poor families from Baltimore were granted food coupons and free lawns in case they allowed researchers to make their experiments on their yards.

There was a lacking of medical control and privacy concerns were omitted. Similarities in the studies On the example of considered experiments, it is evident that there are specific similarities between them. Thus, for example, participants of the experiments were chosen from poor black families; participants of the experiments were not aware of the real experiment events; issues of privacy and ethics were violated; medical concerns of the experiments were often neglected; researchers were much considered about the final objectives of their studies and did not take into account interests of the participants.

A resonance video is rather impressive, because it is an interesting fact that the scientific community was aware of peculiarities of this study. The findings of this study were institutionalized and they reflect the way ethical issues of the researches and studies are highlighted. Such issues as permission, dishonesty, compulsion, physical harm to subjects, and psychological harm are covered in this film. Inequality of medical treatment and civil rights abuse are evident and important issues for discussion.

Social status of research subjects can be an ambiguous issue too. Moreover, in the modern context violation of civil rights are often correlated with criminal justice. The symbols of the governmental authority are often undermined. Therefore, the issues covered in the video are of high importance in the modern context, when the rights of the citizens, who have an underestimated social status, are often violated. In the study on lead, there was another research conducted the Agriculture Department and Environmental Protection Agency in another poor black neighborhood.

It was identified that sludge put children to a lower risk than lead. Their minds and bodies were able to cope with these hazardous elements. There was a need to identify whether children, if they ate lead, could survive or not. Governmental attempts to conduct this type of experiment can be clarified in the following way: “The idea that sludge -- the leftover semisolid wastes filtered from water pollution at 16,500 treatment plants -- can be turned into something harmless, even if swallowed, has been a tenet of federal policy for three decades” (Brandt).

Whether sludge could be beneficial for human health or not was another important