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Assignment ethics



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amother
Lime


 

Post Mon, Jun 27 2016, 8:36 pm
In nutrition class this week we are supposed to keep a food diary and write a report.

My diet is objectively abysmal.

No I cannot eat healthy just for this week and spare me the lectures please... there are reasons that I would rather not go into.

Would you make up the information?
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Maya




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 27 2016, 8:38 pm
No I would not.

Is the assignment to eat healthy and write about it after, or just to record whatever your regular diet is and then report on that? If it's the latter, what's the problem?
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sequoia




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 27 2016, 8:38 pm
No. I remember doing this assignment in 11th grade bio; it was quite illuminating. Just write down the facts and don't worry. The teacher isn't judging you.
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amother
Lime


 

Post Mon, Jun 27 2016, 8:42 pm
Maya wrote:
No I would not.

Is the assignment to eat healthy and write about it after, or just to record whatever your regular diet is and then report on that? If it's the latter, what's the problem?


It's the latter. I guess I'm embarrassed by how bad it is and wondering about the ethics of turning this into a creative writing assignment rather than realistic report.

I'm not plagiarizing... how unethical is it really?
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Maya




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 27 2016, 8:45 pm
amother wrote:
It's the latter. I guess I'm embarrassed by how bad it is and wondering about the ethics of turning this into a creative writing assignment rather than realistic report.

I'm not plagiarizing... how unethical is it really?

You would be lying about your diet. How unethical is lying to you?
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amother
Lime


 

Post Mon, Jun 27 2016, 8:49 pm
Maya wrote:
You would be lying about your diet. How unethical is lying to you?


Very.

Sigh.

You are both right. I knew I would hate this class.
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Maya




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 27 2016, 8:52 pm
amother wrote:
Very.

Sigh.

You are both right. I knew I would hate this class.

Maybe it's a good opportunity to do as sequoia mentioned, to analyze and reevaluate your eating habits, and think about making changes towards a healthier diet.
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 5:15 am
Unless someone is holding a gun to your head or you have some medical condition that requires you to eat large quantities of sugary snacks, you might find that just knowing you have to write everything down helps you control your food intake.

I say be honest.
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myname1




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 5:56 am
While eating healthfully is always good advice, I'm questioning why in the world it is this teacher's business at all to know what you ate for a week. I'm assuming this is some college class, and not some nutrition program you need to be in for some reason for your own health. If I am correct in this assumption, I'm not so sure making it up or fudging it a bit would be so problematic. Someone spoke recently about "midvar sheker tirchak," and he mentioned that if it's not someone's business and you can't answer by saying "I'd rather not say," then you can lie. (Examples given were "Are you pregnant?" and "Are you going to the mikvah?")
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chaos




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 6:47 am
I'm with Myname1 here. While there is value to you in doing the assignment properly because you personally will benefit from an honest look at your daily habits, since this appears to be an academic class and not a health program assigned by your doctor, I question why your teacher needs to know the specifics of your diet. I wouldn't have an ethical problem with fudging the specifics because I don't feel this information is the teacher's business. That said, there is a definite benefit to doing this exercise for yourself, so consider also keeping an honest one just for yourself.
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Rachel Shira




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 6:53 am
I'm with chaos and myname, personally (assuming it's just an academic exercise).
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amother
Mistyrose


 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 7:04 am
I do think it's irrational to worry what the professor is going to think. She's not going to read it in front of the class and make you walk the walk of shame with your chips and chocolate.
That said, what's the purpose of this course? Are you taking it as an elective or are you studying to become a nutritionist? If the latter, I think it would be problematic to fudge it, because you really do need to fulfill the assignment for its intended purpose, and besides, if you're planning on counseling people about diet, well, you SHOULD start making changes to your own diet. I sure wouldn't want to see a nutritionist who can't eat right! If it's just an elective class, do what you want. You don't have an ethical obligation to randomly expose your diet if you're insecure about it and it's not like it'll be published as nonfiction.
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amother
Lime


 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 7:50 am
It's not that I eat too much junk, I just eat very little. I am on meds that have the side effect of appetite supression. I don't meet the minimums for any of the RDAs. I could stand to lose some weight so it's not dangerous for me, I just don't think I owe her such personal information.
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 8:07 am
In that case I don't think its so wrong to fudge it. Maybe just increase the quantities of whatever you are eating.
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Dandelion1




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 8:32 am
Do you seriously believe it is "unethical" to fudge the data on a personal assignment that affects no one but yourself?

Let's save the ethics lectures for situations that are real. Write what makes you comfortable, and base your analysis on that.
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BasMelech120




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 10:36 am
I think this is more about the learning experience than the ethics. After all, you could create healthy meals for the assignment and make it appear all fine and dandy, but you will have cheated yourself out of the full learning experience. The teacher/instructor/professor obviously chose this type of assignment for a reason, and in an academic institution, he/she probably wants you to learn about the depth of eating habits, feelings it may bring up, and other factors about food patterns. By being honest and noting down your diet as it is, you will be giving yourself the chance to reflect on the pattern not only on an academic level but on a personal level too. So I do encourage you to participate all the way - you might end up thanking yourself for it!...

(As a sidenote, I recently started writing down the food that I ate throughout the day as a healthy eating motivational tool. This helps me because before snacking on something I know I don't really need to eat, I know that I will have to write it down at the end of the day... Keeps me in line Wink )...
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 11:54 am
If you made stuff up, the only person you would be fooling is you. You're clearly supposed to learn something from this assignment, and "how to write fiction" is not it.

If the recordkeeping changes the way you eat for the duration of the assignment--as it most likely will--that's fine. It's a well-documented fact that people who track their intake eat better than people who don't. For all you know, learning this may be the true purpose of the assignment.
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OOTforlife




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 12:15 pm
Maybe your teacher would let you record someone else's diet if you emailed that this makes you uncomfortable privacy-wise. And if you could find a friend or relative willing to be your guunea pig.
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amother
Ecru


 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 12:42 pm
What meds help with appetite supression?
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mille




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 28 2016, 1:41 pm
I had the same thing happen to me in high school in biology. I ate an entire box of girl scout cookies (mm, samoas) one day, so my caloric intake for that day was like 3400!

I was honest. What do you benefit from being dishonest? If anything, the honesty will give you something to write about, what could have been improved. I am not shaming you here - it may actually be easier to write the report!
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