Staff
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Professional Background:
Stephen holds a B.A. (Hons) from Macquarie University, Sydney and a Ph.D. from Monash University, Melbourne. Prior to his commencement at ADFA in January 2006 he worked for seven years for Charles Sturt University, as a Lecturer in Ethics in the School of Policing Studies and as a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (a position he still holds). He has served as Associate Editor of the international peer-reviewed journal Criminal Justice Ethics, and Guest Editor of special issues of Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics, Professional Ethics, and Business and Professional Ethics Journal, as well as the editor of conference proceedings for the Australian Association of Professional and Applied Ethics. He currently serves as the Convenor of the ADFA Human Research Ethics Advisory Panel.
Courses Taught
Current Courses
ZGEN2240 – Introduction to Military Ethics
ZHSS2600 – Practical Ethics for the 21st Century
ZHSS8404 – Legal and Moral Problems of International Violence
Past Courses
ZHSS1401 – Politics 1A
ZHSS2410 – Modern Political Ideologies
Research Interests / Projects
Military Ethics, Police Ethics, Medical Ethics, and the practical application of human rights.
Consulting / Professional Activities
Stephen has worked on research projects for both Foods Standards Australia and the Victorian Police, and as a special consultant on a recent project to provide the ADF with a framework to deal with issues in military health ethics. He has provided advice on Codes of Conduct to the Police Forces of New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, and on policies to ensure the ethical conduct of research involving humans for the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
Publications
Authored Books
- The Ethics of Artificial Uteruses: Implications for Reproduction and Abortion. (London: Ashgate, 2004) 180 pp + viii.
Papers in Peer-Reviewed Journals
- “When Conflicts of Interest are an Unavoidable Problem” Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics 8(2006)12-22.
- “E-mail, Terrorism, and the Right to Privacy” Ethics and Information Technology 8(2006)17-27.
- “Conflict of Interest and Police: An Unavoidable Problem” Criminal Justice Ethics 24(2005)3-11.
- “When Police Ought to Say “NO!” to Gratuities” Criminal Justice Ethics 23(2004)33-44.
- “Gratuities, Gifts, and Professionalism: A Reply to Kania” Criminal Justice Ethics 23(2004)63-65.
- “Should Liberals Oppose Human Reproductive Cloning?” Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics 6(2004)71-81.
- “The Place of Positive Punishment” Criminal Justice Ethics 22(2003)50-53.
- “Abortion and the Artificial Uterus”, Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics 4(2002)9-18.
- “Fine-Tuning and Probability: Does the Universe Require Explanation?” Sophia 40(2001)7-15.
- “Thought Experiments and Personal Identity” Philosophical Studies 98(2000)53-69.
- "The Rise and Rise of Applied Ethics in Australia" Business and Professional Ethics Journal 18(2000)3-6.
- "A Surrogate for Surrogacy? - The Artificial Uterus" Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics 1(1999)49-60.
- “Would You Like a Coffee? Slippery Slopes, Gratuities and Corruption in Police Work” Journal of Professional Ethics 6(1998)107-122.
Authored Book Chapters
- “Homo Sapiens, Robots and Persons” (with R. Hanley) in S. Shapshay (ed.) Bioethics Through Film (Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008 (forthcoming)).
- “Conflict of Interest and Police: An Unavoidable Problem” in J. Ruiz (ed.) The Handbook of Police Administration (Oxford, UK: Taylor and Francis, 2007).
- “A Defence of Cosmetic Surgery” in D. Benatar (ed.) Cutting to the Core: The Ethics of Contested Surgeries (New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006).
- “Ethical Issues Raised by Non-Punitive Drug Policies” in S. Einstein & J Kleinig (eds), Ethical Challenges for Intervening in Drug Use: Policy Research and Treatment Issues (Huntsville TX: OICJ Press, 2006).
- “Universal Human Rights and Employee Privacy: Questioning Employer Monitoring of Computer Usage” in J. Weckert (ed.), Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace: Controversies and Solutions, (Hershey PA: Idea Group, 2005).
- "The Unexplored Ethics of Criminal Psychological Profiling" (with R. Kocsis) in G. M. Godwin (ed), Criminal Psychology and Forensic Technology: A Collaborative Approach to Effective Profiling, (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2001).
Papers in Peer-Reviewed Conference Proceedings
- “When Conflicts of Interest are an Unavoidable Problem” Papers from the 12th Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics (2005).
- “Law, Email, and the Right to Privacy” Papers from the 11th Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics (2004).
- “The Internet and Privacy: When Can Universal Human Rights Be Violated?” Proceedings of the 3rd World Congress of the International Society of Business, Economics and Ethics (2004).
- “Surrogacy and the Artificial Uterus” What is this thing called Bioethics? Proceedings of the Sixth National Conference of the Australian Bioethics Association (1998) pp.67-74.
Papers in Professional Journals and Newspapers (Non Peer-Reviewed)
- “Moral Issues Must Be Fielded Before Cricketers go to Zimbabwe” Sydney Morning Herald (April 23, 2004) p. 11.
- "The Ethics of Psychological Profiling" (with R. Kocsis) Res Publica 9(2000)16-20.
- "Would You Like A Coffee? Slippery Slopes, Gratuities & Corruption in Police Work" Policing Issues and Practice Journal 8(2000)23-28.
Areas of Potential Postgraduate Supervision
- All Areas of military ethics, including just war theory, peacekeeping, ethical issues in military medicine, treatment of prisoners of war, ethical issues in counter-terrorism etc.
- Medical ethics, especially with regard to reproductive technology, and ethical decisions at the end of life.
- Police Ethics, especially ethical issues regarding the use of force, corruption and anti-corruption.
- Ethical issues in leadership.

