“Practical wisdom: where moral virtue, skill and knowledge unite”

Why I can help you

I have committed the past 30 years to understanding and working with ethics. In that time I have held academic and teaching posts, consulted in ethics and presented many workshops, symposia and lectures. Below is some of what I have done.

Academic

PhD in Philosophy; monograph on Aristotle’s metaphysics and moral philosophy; three school textbooks on Philosophy and Ethics; and many refereed academic papers on professional ethics and teaching ethics.

My snapshot of how ethical approaches and reflective practice work with communication to help build an ethical culture.

Founding Director, the Curtin Centre for Applied Ethics and Philosophy (2004-2016). Professor and Chair, Human Research Ethics Committee (2008-2014) Curtin University. Professor in the School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work at Curtin.

Teaching

I am a teacher. I have taught philosophical thinking and ethics at all education levels from pre-primary to postgraduate.

For seven years I taught philosophy and ethics to students in junior, middle and senior school as my full-time job. I believe I was the first in Australia to do so. Despite more than a decade previously teaching at university, it was in primary school classes that I really learned to teach.

Select semester-length university undergraduate and postgraduate professional ethics programs written and taught: Mental Health; Interprofessional Ethics in Health; Ethics for Health Professionals; Exercise Science; Public Administration; and Journalism.

I pioneered Philosophy in Schools in WA and wrote the Western Australian Certificate of Education curriculum in Philosophy and Ethics.

I have developed intellectual property for teaching ethics during more than three decades.

Professional

Founding member of the Acute Clinical Ethics Service for children and newborns (first at PMH and now at PCH) and through the past 15 years as an active member have collaborated in addressing highly-challenging issues in clinical ethics.

Member of the WA Board of the Medical Board of Australia (2012-2018). Developed a sound understanding of the health practitioner national law, made decisions on medico-legal matters, and developed a profound respect for the dedication of doctors and the pressures they are under.

Member of the Australian College of Educators WA state executive (2002-2008); President-elect 2006-2007).

Member federal executive, Australasian Association of Professional and Applied Ethics (2006-2007).

Member Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia (2015-2017).

Ministerial appointment to the Reproductive Technology Council of WA (current).

Adjunct Professor, John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University (2017- )

Journalism

Journalist and metropolitan newspaper editor 1978-1987

Journalism academic 1987-1998

Selected consultancies

2017

Philosopher in Residence, Hillbrook School, Brisbane

2016

Workshops for ethics in strategic planning. Housing Authority, Western Australia

Write and deliver curriculum in ethics for Wollaston Centre, Anglican Church, Western Australia

Demonstration workshops and critical analysis of philosophy programs. Clarendon Road State High School, Brisbane and three Brisbane primary schools.

2014

Prepare and deliver Ethics workshops to Members of the Western Australian Parliament: June, July, August.

2010-11

Alzheimer’s Australia (WA). Organization values workshops.

Constable Care Child Safety Foundation. Organization values workshops.

2008

Department of Premier and Cabinet (WA). Public Sector Management Program. Facilitate executive leadership workshops in Ethics and Organisational Responsibility and in Media and Public Relations. [Part of tender through John Curtin Institute of Public Policy].

Department of Premier and Cabinet (WA). Public Sector Management Program. Facilitate half-day workshops in Ethics and Media for the Public Sector Management program. [Part of tender through John Curtin Institute of Public Policy].

2006-7

Success for Boys consultant: in-school professional development and research advice as part of the national Success for Boys project.

Department of Premier and Cabinet (WA). Facilitate executive leadership workshops in Ethics and Organisational Responsibility and in Media and Public Relations. [Part of tender through John Curtin Institute of Public Policy].

Department of Premier and Cabinet (WA). Facilitate half-day workshops in Ethics and Media for the Public Sector Management program. [Part of tender through John Curtin Institute of Public Policy].

Department of Premier and Cabinet (WA). Full-day courses for the Executive Leadership Program in Ethics and in Media and Public Relations. [Part of tender through John Curtin Institute of Public Policy].

2005

Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner, Western Australia: Ethics in the public service.

New South Wales Department of Education (Macarthur region). Series of talks and discussions on critical thinking and philosophy programs for schools.

New South Wales Department of Education (Narellan Vale public school). Implementation of whole-school Philosophy program.

Western Australian Education Department (Mount Lawley Primary School). Implementation of whole-school Philosophy program.

Western Australian Department of Education and Training. Implementation of Philosophy for gifted and talented children. PEAC group, Fremantle-Peel District.

2004

Coordinate and write an on-line learning module in Ethics for PhD students at Australian Technology Network universities.

Writer, post-compulsory course of study in Philosophy and Ethics (Curriculum Council of Western Australia)

Ballarat and Clarendon College, Ballarat. Setting up a thinking curriculum in years 7-10

Selected publications

Books

Millett, S. and Tapper, A. (2015). Philosophy and Ethics: A Resource for Year 12 ATAR. Cottesloe (Aust): Impact Publishing. Revised and reprinted 2018.

Millett, S. and Tapper, A. (2015). Philosophy and Ethics: A Resource for Year 11 General. Cottesloe (Aust): Impact Publishing. Revised and reprinted 2018.

Millett, S. and Tapper, A. (2015). Philosophy and Ethics: A Resource for Year 11 ATAR and Year 12 General. Cottesloe (Aust): Impact Publishing. Revised and reprinted 2018.

Millett, S. (2011). Aristotle’s Powers and Responsibility for Nature. Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Oxford, Wien: Peter Lang. Berner Reihe Philosophischer Studien. Bd. 44. ISBN 978-3-0343-0679-9 pb.

Book chapters

Millett, S., Scholl, R. and Tapper, A. (2019) Australian Research into The Benefits of Philosophy for Children. In Burgh, G. and Thornton, S. eds. (2019). Philosophical Inquiry with Children: The development of an inquiring society in Australia. Oxford and New York: Routledge.

Millett, S. From Newsletters to An Australasian Journal and Beyond. (2019). In Burgh, G. and Thornton, S. eds. (2019). Philosophical Inquiry with Children: The development of an inquiring society in Australia. Oxford and New York: Routledge.

Bini, M., Ellerton, P., Knight, S., Millett, S. and Tapper, A. (2019). Philosophy and The Curriculum. In Burgh, G. and Thornton, S. eds. (2019). Philosophical Inquiry with Children: The development of an inquiring society in Australia. Oxford and New York: Routledge.

Millett, S. (2015). Ethics and dementia care. In Pond, Dimity and Forman, Dawn eds. Care of the Person with Dementia: Interprofessional Practice and Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Millett, S. (2008). The study of ethics. In D. McDermid (Ed.), Ethics in ICT: an Australian perspective. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education.

Millett, S. (2008). The state, the soul, virtue and potential: Aristotle on education. In C. Tan (Ed.), Philosophical Reflections for Educators, (pp. 21–30). Singapore: Cengage Learning.

Refereed articles

Millett, S. and O’Leary, P. (2015). Revisiting consent for health information databanks. Research Ethics 11 (3), pp 151-163.

Tapper, A. and Millett, S. (2015). Revisiting the concept of a profession. Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations, Vol. 13, pp 1-18.

Millett, S., Budiselik, W., Maiorana, A. (2015) Teaching Ethics in Exercise Science. Teaching Ethics. Vol 15 (2), (Fall).

Tapper, A. and Millett, S. (2014). Is professional ethics grounded in general ethical principles? Theoretical and Applied Ethics. Vol. 3, No. 1, Summer. pp 61-80.

Millett, S. (2013). Ethics of Expert Evidence. Australian Law Journal , Vol 87 No. 9, September. pp 628-638

von Dietze, E. and Millett, S. (2013). Is the Principle of Autonomy a sound-enough basis for consent?” in Dixon, M. and von Dietze, E. (eds). Proceedings of the 2013 Australasian Ethics Network Conference, Fremantle, Australia. ISBN 978-1-74052-302-8.

Millett, S. (2013). Review of Kontos, P. Aristotle’s Moral Realism Reconsidered: Phenomenological Ethics. Review of Metaphysics, June.

Millett, S. and Tapper, A. (2013) “Philosophy and Ethics in Western Australian Secondary Schools”. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2013.771444

Jiwa M., Millett S., Meng X., Hewitt V.M. (2012). Impact of the Presence of Medical Equipment in Images on Viewers’ Perceptions of the Trustworthiness of an Individual On-Screen. J Med Internet Res 2012;14(4):e100 URL: http://www.jmir.org/2012/4/e100/ ; doi: 10.2196/jmir.1986 PMID: 22782078

Millett, S. (2011). “Self and embodiment: a bio-phenomenological approach to dementia.” Dementia. Volume 10 Issue 4 November 2011 pp. 509 - 522. doi: 10.1177/1471301211409374.

Millett, S. and Tapper, A. (2011). Benefits of Collaborative Philosophical Inquiry in Schools. Educational Philosophy and Theory. Vol. 44 No.5. pp 546-567. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00727.x

Millett, S. and Tapper, A. (2009). “Crisis, which crisis? The state of education in Western Australia”. Public Policy. Vol 4, No. 1. pp 51-70.

Millett, S. (2009). “Obligation and hope”. Australasian Medical Journal. 1, 8, 65-69. Doi 10.4066/AMJ.2009.139

Millett, S. (2008). “Where do our obligations to animals come from and how are they changing: ethics meets the law”. Proceedings of the Australian Veterinary Association Annual Conference. Perth. 2008, May.

Millett, S. (2008). “Coming in from the margins: teaching philosophy in Australian schools”. Thinking. 19, 1, Spring.

Millett, S. (2007). “Caring about being ethical in the public service”. Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics. Vol. 9. No. 2. September.

Millett, S. and Flanagan, S. (2007). “Philosophy in the talented Year 8 classroom: improving thinking (and a whole lot more) through philosophical inquiry”. TalentEd. Vol 25, No.1. ISSN 0815-8150

Millett, S. (2006). “Philosophy in upper secondary school: an example from Western Australia”. Critical and Creative Thinking. July.

Millett, S. (2006). Review of Journalism Ethics texts. Media Information Australia. August.

Millett, S. and Blake, E. (2004). “The Benefit of Arguing with Friends”. Snapshots: The Specialist Schools Trust Journal of Innovation in Education, Vol 1, Issue 3, November.

Millett, S. (2004). “We can’t teach values, can we?” Larry Smith and Dan Riley eds. Checking the Pulse. Proceedings of the ACE/ACEL joint annual conference, Perth, October. Armidale: The University of New England.

Millett, S. (2003). “Thinking Tools for Teaching Ethics Across the Curriculum”. Critical and Creative Thinking. March.

Millett, S (2002). Toward an Ethical School. Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, University of Western Michigan. Papers published by the Center Vol XIV No 4, April.

Millett, S. (2002) “Teaching ethics (and metaphysics) in an age of rapid technological convergence.” Teaching Ethics, Vol 3, No. 1, Fall.

Millett, S and Kay, G. (2001). “A Community of Inquiry Model of Values Education in a Middle School for Boys”. Unicorn Online. May.

Millett, S. (1999). “Philosophy across the Curriculum”. Critical and Creative Thinking. September.