Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social ethics'
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Cronin, John Daniel. "From ethical investment to investment ethics: Towards a normative theory of investment ethics." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2004. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/15979/1/John_Cronin_Thesis.pdf.
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This study explores the contemporary practice of Ethical and Socially Responsible Investment and concludes that it is based on an ad hoc construct of empirically derived principles, driven mainly by the commercial self-interest of large financial institutions and fund managers. It explores the relationship between investment and morality, to posit a background theory of investment ethics. The study then proposes
a move away from the narrow focus of ethical investment to a broader concern for investment ethics. The study introduces the discipline of investment ethics and examines the criteria that form the basis of morality in investment decisions. The resultant theory is intended to be of practical significance in the business and
investment domains and to assist potential investors to evaluate investment opportunities in the context of a consistent set of substantive normative ethical principles.
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Cronin, John Daniel. "From ethical investment to investment ethics: Towards a normative theory of investment ethics." Queensland University of Technology, 2004. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15979/.
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This study explores the contemporary practice of Ethical and Socially Responsible Investment and concludes that it is based on an ad hoc construct of empirically derived principles, driven mainly by the commercial self-interest of large financial institutions and fund managers. It explores the relationship between investment and morality, to posit a background theory of investment ethics. The study then proposes a move away from the narrow focus of ethical investment to a broader concern for investment ethics. The study introduces the discipline of investment ethics and examines the criteria that form the basis of morality in investment decisions. The resultant theory is intended to be of practical significance in the business and investment domains and to assist potential investors to evaluate investment opportunities in the context of a consistent set of substantive normative ethical principles.
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Doerksen, Paul Giesbrecht. "The church is an ethic, ecclesiology and social ethics in the theological ethics of Stanley Hauerwas." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0026/MQ52032.pdf.
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Zaharov, Igor', and Natal'ya Oleinik. "Social responsibility and business ethics." Thesis, Видавництво СумДУ, 2007. http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/8353.
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Corporate social responsibility is the commitment of businesses to behave ethically and to contribute to sustainable economic development by working with all relevant stakeholders to improve their lives in ways that are good for business, the sustainable development agenda, and society at large.
When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/8353
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Nagel, Saskia K. "Ethics and the neurosciences ethical and social consequences of neuroscientific progress." Paderborn Mentis, 2008. http://d-nb.info/1001079248/04.
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Torres, Christopher. "What is Ethics without Justice? Reframing Environmental Ethics for Social Justice." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/20705.
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The field of environmental ethics has been in discussion and debate the past 40 years over how to best expand the circle of moral consideration away from a privileged human perspective to encompass the rest of the non-human world in order to change minds and social practices to address environmental degradation and destruction. One of the main methods is devoted to arguing for the intrinsic value of non-human lives and places as the means to do this.
I argue that this method of environmental ethics because it, at best, is a lazy framework for moral deliberation that ignores the entangled sociopolitical and environmental complexity of a situation by reducing the answer to a single set of predetermined values and interests which (re)produces and reinforces social and environmental injustice. An environmental pragmatist approach geared towards addressing environmental injustice is a better way of addressing both environmental degradation and social inequalities.
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Cahill, Christopher L. "Engineering ethics and Catholic social teaching." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1995. http://www.tren.com.
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Bandinelli, Carolina. "Social entrepreneurship : sociality, ethics, and politics." Thesis, Goldsmiths College (University of London), 2017. http://research.gold.ac.uk/20533/.
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Social entrepreneurship is a growing cultural phenomenon that involves a variety of actors – politicians, academics, business men and women, private citizens - across a range of interconnected fields – e.g. social work, sustainable development, the sharing economy and technological innovation. Notwithstanding its heterogeneous manifestations, social entrepreneurship is characterised by the attempt to re-embed social and ethical dimensions within the individualised conduct of the entrepreneur of the self. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate how this process is thought of and negotiated on a subjective level by young social entrepreneurs in London and Milan. Based on an understanding of social entrepreneurs as individuals who perceive work as a means for self-expression, I contextualise this enquiry within the field of cultural studies on the changing nature of labour in neoliberal societies. This thesis draws on an 18-month period of multi-sited and reflexive fieldwork that involved recorded interviews, participant observation and action research. Combining thick ethnographic descriptions and theoretical analysis, I focus on social entrepreneurs’ understanding of sociality, ethics, and politics, in so far as they are intertwined with the discourses and practices of entrepreneurship. My argument develops in three stages: to begin with, I show that social entrepreneurs engage in opportunistic and compulsory sociality; then, I dwell on social entrepreneurs’ individualised form of ethics; finally, I contend that social entrepreneurs enact and embody a post-political subjectivity. This subjectivity is defined by discourses and actions whose scope and significance are restrained within the bounds of individuals’ experience and influence. What remains inevitably excluded from this conception of politics is the possibility to of formulating a structural analysis of social issues. In this respect, my research may be regarded as a study on how the neoliberal subject par excellence – the entrepreneur of the self – attempts to retrieve and reclaim her political and ethical agency, and what the implications and limits of this endeavour are.
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Chung, Kwang Duk. "Christian social reform in view of Reinhold Niebuhr's social ethics." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1994. http://www.tren.com.
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LAM, Mo. "Ethical climate, the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility, and earnings management." Digital Commons @ Lingnan University, 2012. https://commons.ln.edu.hk/acct_etd/14.
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The practice of earnings management not only adversely affects the long-term economic prospects of a particular business enterprise by eroding public confidence in the company, but also may severely undermine the reputation of Hong Kong as an international financial and trading centre. Given the devastating effects of such practices resulting from corporate scandals such as Enron and WorldCom, earnings management has received unprecedented attention in the past decade. The incommensurability between the far-reaching effects of ethical issues relating to earnings management and the paucity of prior research on the subject in Hong Kong triggers my interest to study this topic.
The study examines the influence of organizational ethical climate and the perceived importance of corporate ethics and social responsibility on practicing accountants’ ethical decisions regarding accounting and operating earnings management. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the hypotheses. Based on 206 survey responses from practicing accountants, the models for both accounting and operating earnings management provide general support for the hypotheses. The results indicate that participants’ perceptions of the ethical climate in their organization influence their attitudes toward the perceived importance of corporate ethics and social responsibility, which in turn influence ethical decisions (judgments and intentions) regarding earnings management.
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Esler, Marian Therese, and res cand@acu edu au. "‘What Should I do?’: a study of social work ethics, supervision and the ethical development of social workers." Australian Catholic University. School of Social Work, 2007. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp152.29052008.
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This thesis explores the ethical development of social workers and the role of supervision in that development. It begins with an examination of the social work context for the study, including the early history of social work and the ways in which it was influenced by the major social and cultural movements of the late 20th century, concluding with a discussion of both the threats posed and the possibilities emerging for social work in the 21st century. It then considers the ethical context for the study. It investigates the ethical theories and traditions that have contributed to the development of social work ethics and the role of professional ethics (including codes of ethics). It then proposes that a pluralist approach to social work ethics is the most appropriate way forward. This is followed by an examination of ethical development and the importance of reflection. Various models of ethical decision-making are compared and an inclusive, reflective model is found to be the most appropriate for social work in terms of both particular dilemmas faced and the overall development of workers as ethical decision-makers. The focus of the thesis then moves to supervision, exploring its history, its central place in social work and some of the problems that can arise for both supervisors and the social workers they supervise. It is argued that the reflection required to develop as ethical decision-makers is most logically located within the relationship and processes of supervision and that supervisors have an important role in guiding that reflection and development. The next part of the thesis describes the qualitative and action research strategies employed and examines the results emerging from the data. Participants in the focus groups were social workers who supervise other social workers, and they each met for two sessions, six months apart. Between the two sessions, they were asked to trial in supervision a framework for reflection on practice. The data emerging from the groups reflected the theoretical development begun in the early chapters, including the importance of reflection and the role of supervision in assisting the ethical development of workers, particularly in terms of deconstructing dilemmas and being able to articulate the reasons for decisions made. The thesis concludes that no one ethical theory is sufficient to support the ethical decision-making required for the practice of social work. Rather, a pluralist approach that allows a dilemma to be considered from a number of theoretical perspectives is more appropriate. Alongside this, an inclusive, reflective model of ethical decision-making reflects that pluralist approach and supports the ethical development of the individual worker. Supervision is vital in guiding the reflection required to make justifiable ethical decisions and to develop as ethical decision-makers.
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Giannou, D. "The meaning of ethics and ethical dilemmas in social work practice : a qualitative study of Greek social workers." Thesis, Brunel University, 2009. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/4197.
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Social work struggles between the dichotomy of “individual” and “society” as it is characterized as enhancing both individual well-being and social justice. As these are not always easily balanced and social work has limited autonomy, social workers must develop their capacity for making moral judgments and defend these within their various roles and responsibilities. Studies which explore the role of ethics in social work practice enhance the potential for maintaining a common identity. This exploration permits a deeper understanding of social work ethics and reinforces a common framework inclusive of purpose and standards for the profession. These studies also capture the contextual factors impacting on the moral agency of social workers, and thus substantiate the role for social work in a world with structured oppression. The purpose of this study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of social work ethics in the practice context of public hospitals in Greece. Using a case study design, data was gathered to explore and understand the role of social work ethics in daily practice and the formation of what is perceived as “good” practice. The analysis followed Yin‟s (1993) descriptive strategy. Data collection included fifteen in-depth interviews with hospital social workers, a group interview with social work academics, and a thematic analysis of the social work journal of the Hellenic Association of Social Workers (HASW). The meaning of ethical dilemmas and problems appeared to be constructed by personally held values, a lack of attention in social work education and the HASW on social work ethics, a professional emphasis on individualism rather than collectivism, and insufficient social protection in Greece. Importantly, these factors led to a fairly consistent response to ethical problems. “Having a clear conscience”, character traits such as bravery and imaginativeness, as well as the use of psychotherapy emerged as characteristics of “good” social work practice. These findings are of value to those who try to restore the values and ethics as central in social work. Values and ethics as key elements of social work expertise can lead social workers to a more competent and effective practice in terms of their ethical engagements.
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Esler, Marian Therese. "'What should I do?': A study of social work ethics, supervision and the ethical development of social workers." Thesis, Australian Catholic University, 2007. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/download/01847b657efb0652f03b72aed027abe9c1c96c98b1d818a9add3cb5c40aaeaeb/966895/64860_downloaded_stream_85.pdf.
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This thesis explores the ethical development of social workers and the role of supervision in that development. It begins with an examination of the social work context for the study, including the early history of social work and the ways in which it was influenced by the major social and cultural movements of the late 20th century, concluding with a discussion of both the threats posed and the possibilities emerging for social work in the 21st century.
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Rogers, Catherine S. "Ethics and the secondary school social studies teacher." Diss., Virginia Tech, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/40454.
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The purposes of this study were to examine how teachers responded to ethical issues in the workplace and to prepare materials for use in teacher training and staff development programs.
To determine teacher responses to certain ethical situations, twenty open-ended scenarios describing ethical situations were developed. Twenty social studies teachers from school divisions with 25,000 students or more and twenty social studies teachers from school divisions with 3,500 students or less were selected and on-site interviews were conducted with each teacher responding to four randomly selected scenarios. Responses were transcribed, analyzed, and distilled. The twenty scenarios and the teachers' responses were then used as a basis for the development of materials for teacher preparation programs for one college and staff development programs for one school division.
All but two scenarios reflected a difference between what teachers perceived to be the action most taken by teachers and the action perceived to be the most ethical. Responses by teachers to ethical situations revealed that potential and practicing teachers would benefit by the study of professional ethics in their professional preparation program.Ed. D.
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Magiste, Edward John. "Effective Ethics Education for Graduate Social Work Students." Cleveland State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1450175285.
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Woermann, Minka. "A complex ethics : critical complexity, deconstruction, and implications for business ethics." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5293.
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Thesis (DPhil (Philosophy))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study commences with a critical, philosophical exploration of the ethical theories that constitute the normative basis of the dominant business ethics paradigm. It is argued that the universal and communitarian notions of the good upon which this paradigm is based, are inadequate in helping us deal with the complexities that define the modern day business environment. It is suggested that a sophisticated and affirmative account of postmodernism is a better suited alternative, as this paradigm is geared towards assisting us in finding workable solutions to our problems in the absence of universal truths or homogenous operating environments. Although postmodernism serves as a useful starting point for challenging the normative basis of business ethics, this study moves beyond this broad paradigm in providing an analysis of both complexity theory (specifically critical complexity theory), and Jacques Derrida’s deconstructive philosophy. The paradigm of critical complexity presents us with a useful framework for understanding, and thinking through the implications that complex phenomena hold for us, for our practices, and for our understanding of our responsibilities. Deconstruction (which serves as a philosophical example of a complex position) contributes to, and supplements this paradigm. Specifically, deconstruction draws attention to the processual nature of ethical decision-making and action, as well as to the ethical and political implications that arise from our limited knowledge of complex phenomena. Once critical complexity theory and deconstruction are adequately defined, a close reading of a critical text on the relevance of Derrida for understanding business ethics is presented. In undertaking the close reading, a number of criticisms against deconstruction are addressed, and an argument is made for why a more complex understanding of ethics is preferable to universal or communitarian notions of the good – and, therefore, preferable as a normative basis for business ethics. After making the case for a complex ethics, a general circumscription of a complex ethics is provided. This circumscription is premised on an understanding of ethics as a critical, provisional, transgressive, and imaginative enterprise. The specific implications that such a notion of ethics hold for teaching business ethics, and for understanding prominent business ethics themes (such as corporate social responsibility, responsible leadership, and sustainable development) are also elaborated upon. In conclusion, it is argued that taking cognisance of the insights and implications that arise from this study will help to support the future viability of business ethics. This is because a complex understanding of ethics can promote the development of robust and flexible strategies, which are needed for dealing with the realities of the modern business environment.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie begin met ‘n kritiese, filosofiese ondersoek na die etiese teorieë wat die normatiewe basis van die dominante sake-etiek paradigma vorm. Daar word aangevoer dat die universele en kommunitaristiese idees van die goeie, waarop hierdie paradigma berus, onvoldoende is om ons in staat te stel om die kompleksiteite wat die hedendaagse sakeomgewing definieer sinvol te hanteer. Die voorstel word gemaak dat ’n gesofistikeerde en positiewe beskrywing van postmodernisme ’n meer gepaste alternatief is, omdat hierdie paradigma gerig is op werkbare oplossings vir ons probleme in die afwesigheid van universele waarhede of homogene werksomgewings. Alhoewel postmodernisme as ’n nuttige vertrekpunt dien om die normatiewe basis van sake-etiek te bevraagteken, beweeg hierdie studie verby die breë paradigma deur ’n analise van beide kompleksiteitsteorie (meer spesifiek kritiese kompleksiteitsteorie), en Jacques Derrida se dekonstruktiewe filosofie aan te bied. Die paradigma van kritiese kompleksiteitsteorie verskaf aan ons ‘n nuttige raamwerk om komplekse verskynsels te verstaan, en ook om deur die gevolge wat kompleksiteit vir ons praktyke en ons begrip van ons verantwoordelikhede te bedink. Dekonstruksie (wat dien as ’n filosofiese voorbeeld van ’n komplekse posisie) dra by tot, en vul hierdie paradigma aan. Meer spesifiek fokus dekonstruksie ons aandag op die prosessuele aard van etiese besluitneming en optrede, sowel as die etiese en politieke implikasies wat uit ons beperkte kennis van komplekse verskynsels voortspruit. Nadat kritiese kompleksiteitsteorie en dekonstruksie deeglik omskryf is, word ‘n kritiese teks oor die moontlike bydrae wat Derrida tot ons begrip van sake-etiek kan lewer noukeurig ontleed. Deur die loop van die ontleding word ’n aantal punte van kritiek teen dekonstruksie aangespreek, en ’n saak word uitgemaak dat ’n meer komplekse begrip van etiek verkieslik is bo universele en kommunitaristiese idees van die goeie – en dus meer geskik is as ’n normatiewe basis vir sakeetiek. ’n Algemene omskrywing van ’n komplekse etiek word ook verskaf om verdere steun te bied vir die verkieslikheid van so ’n opvatting van die etiek. Hierdie omskrywing is op die begrip van die etiek as ’n kritiese, provisionele, oorskryende, en verbeeldingsryke onderneming gebaseer. Die bepaalde implikasies wat hierdie idee vir onderrig in sake-etiek en ’n kennis van prominente sake-etiek temas (soos korporatiewe sosiale verantwoordelikheid, verantwoordelike leierskap, en volhoubare ontwikkeling) inhou, word aangespreek. In die gevolgtrekkig word daar geargumenteer dat kennisname van die insigte en implikasies wat uit hierdie studie voortspruit die toekomstige lewensvatbaarheid van sake-etiek kan bevorder. Dit is omdat ‘n komplekse begrip van die etiek die ontwikkeling van robuuste en buigsame strategieë, wat nodig is vir die hantering van die realiteite van die moderne sakeomgewing, kan aanspoor.
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Benistant, Julien. "Three Essays in behavioral Ethics on Honesty and Fairness." Thesis, Lyon, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019LYSE2085.
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Cette thèse contient trois essais en éthique comportementale. En utilisant des outils d’économie expérimentale et de neurophysiologie, notre travail dévoile certains déterminants sociaux et contextuels qui influencent les décisions liées à l’honnêteté ou à l’équité.Le premier chapitre examine comment les incitations compétitives influencent l’impact de l’identité sociale et de la nature du mensonge sur les comportements (mal)honnêtes. Nos résultats montrent qu’en compétition, l’identité de groupe ne joue aucun rôle, même lorsque les expérimentateurs ne peuvent observer directement le comportement des tricheurs. Cependant, les participants sont moins malhonnêtes lorsque leurs mensonges affectent directement leur adversaire que lorsqu’ils ne les affectent qu’indirectement, mais seulement lorsque l’expérimentateur ne peut pas observer directement leurs mensonges.Le deuxième chapitre examine l’effet d’être informé continuellement des performances, potentiellement malhonnête, d’une autre personne sur la malhonnêteté des individus, tant dans un contexte compétitif que non compétitif. Nos résultats montrent que, seulement en compétition, la malhonnêteté des participants n’est pas affecté par le type d’information qu’ils recoivent (continues ou finales). Cela est principalement dû au fait que, lorsqu’ils ne sont pas informés continuellment, les participants masculins surestiment la malhonnêteté de leur adversaire. Ainsi, lorsqu’ils sont informés du comportement réel de leur adversaire, ils adaptent leur comportement et trichent moins que lorsqu’ils ne sont pas informés.Enfin, le troisième chapitre examine si le fait de subir une perte ou un gain dans une tâche influe sur une décision ultérieure de partage. Conformément à nos prédictions théoriques, nous constatons que le fait de perdre de l’argent, par rapport à un point de référence, réduit la générosité des gens, tandis que l’expérience d’un gain augmente ultérieurement la générosité des individus. Contrairement à ce que l’on pourrait croire, le niveau d’excitation émotionnelle ressenti lorsque les personnes sont informées du montant reçu n’explique pas leur décision de partageThis thesis contains three essays in behavioral ethics. By using tools from experimental economics and neurophysiology our work unveils some social and contextual determinants that affect decisions related to either honesty or fairness.The first chapter investigates how competitive incentives influence the impact of both group identity and the nature of the lie on (dis)honest behavior. Our results show that under competition, group identity plays no role, even when experimenters cannot directly observe the behavior of cheaters. However, participants are less dishonest when their lies directly affect their opponent than when they affect them only indirectly but only when there is no possible scrutiny from the experimenter.The second chapter examines the effect of being continuously informed about another participant’s performance on individuals’ dishonesty in both competitive and non-competitive settings. Our results show that, only non-competitive settings, participants are more likely to be dishonest when we give them continuous information or not. The lack of effect of social information in competitive settings is mainly due to the fact that, when they are not informed, male participants overestimate their opponent’s dishonesty. Thus, when informed of their opponent’s actual behavior, they adapt their behavior and cheat less than when uninformed.Finally, the third chapter studies whether experiencing a loss or a gain in a task affects a subsequent sharing decision. Consistent with our theoretical predictions, we find that losing money compared to a reference point, reduces people’s generosity while experiencing a gain increases individuals’ subsequent generosity. Unlike expected, the level of emotional arousal when individuals are informed about whether they gained or lost money does not explain their subsequent sharing decision
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Gusha, Ishanesu S. "Ndebele and Shona Ethnic Cohesion : a Dialogue with Paul's Ethics of Reconciliation." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/64229.
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The tension between the Ndebele and Shona people dates back to the precolonial era and this has been one of the major threats to Zimbabwe’s peace. Ethnic tensions have resulted in the loss of thousands of lives since the country’s independence, especially during the Entumbane clashes and Gukurahundi massacres. The government has in several ways, tried to bring social cohesion between the two with limited success. Four examples are: the initiatives done through the 1980 reconciliation pronouncement by Prime Minster Robert Mugabe, 1987 Unity Accord between PF ZAPU and ZANU PF, the Government of National Unity, and the Commission on National Healing and Reconciliation of 2008. The failure may be attributed to amnesia and the unwillingness to repent from past evils by the perpetrators. Seemingly, the major problem may be attributed to the fact that interested parties often played the mediatory role; and one cannot objectively be both player and referee. In addition, over the years, the church through her ecumenical bodies has tried to build bridges between the two but the efforts were also fruitless due to the unwillingness by the government to take recommendations from the church and civic organisations.
The thesis proposes Pauline ethics regarding reconciliation in the Corinthian correspondence as inspiration for social cohesion between the Ndebele and Shona tribes. As hermeneutical tools, Paul’s key symbols such as Christ, the Cross of Christ, Ambassador, New Creation, and Baptism shall be deployed as epistemological lenses in promoting identity tags that go beyond ethnicity. I propose that, for these symbols to be effective, the following recommendations should be taken seriously; setting up of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), refraining from using ethnic offensive language, introduction of Ndebele and Shona languages in primary and secondary schools in the provinces dominated by these two ethnic groups, substituting ethnic provincial names with neutral ones, substituting ethnic registration system of people with a neutral one, and the devolution of power.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.
Biblical and Religious Studies
PhD
Unrestricted
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Boskic, Natasha. "Ethics in immersive gameworlds : personal growth and social change." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/37739.
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This research was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of ethical issues confronting Alternative Reality Game (ARG) players who, when faced in a gameworld with actual life problems, must collectively reach solutions which are expressed through narratives and critical literacy. The aim of this research was to draw on the experience of game players engaging in the ARG, “Urgent Evoke,” in order to respond to the following research questions: 1) What kinds of moral functioning are evident in human play in immersive gameworlds; 2) How can players and educators who use these spaces grow as individuals in their ethical sensibilities?
The method of analysis for this study was virtual ethnography, including pre- and postgame surveys and interviews and the analysis of artifacts created during the game. The four-component model of moral functioning (Narvaez & Lapsley, 2005) was used as a framework for analysis with the following main categories: judgment, sensitivity, motivation, and action. However, because Narvaez and Lapsley’s division in skills and sub-skills appeared too inflexible for broad understanding of the behaviours under review, additional coding was applied.
Study results suggest that ARGs motivate players to contribute to the game, and that through such contribution participants may arrive at understandings that encourage them to make changes in their behaviours outside of the gameworld. In the four component areas, the ARG offered fertile space for growth and learning through discussion, negotiation, and reflection. The study suggests that ARGs can be used successfully to encourage sensitivity to questions of ethics.
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Cordell, Sean. "Virtue ethics in the contemporary social and political realm." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2010. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/14539/.
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This thesis concerns the problem of applying the ideas developed in contemporary virtue ethics to political philosophy. The core of the problem, explained in the opening chapters, is that assessment of right action offered by virtue ethics - in terms of what 'the virtuous person' characteristically does or would do - is focused on individual persons, rather than political principles of government. Accordingly, interpretations of traditional Aristotelianism have struggled to accommodate the putative value of modern value pluralism and manifold conceptions of the 'good life', whilst liberal theories that employ virtue concepts fail to offer a political philosophy that is distinctly virtue ethical. Rather than trying to fit individualistic virtue ethics to political theory in these ways, subsequent chapters start from the viewpoint of individuals and look outward to their social and political environment, arguing that an adequately socio-political virtue ethics requires, and suits, an ethics of social roles. Various virtue ethical approaches to roles, however, fail in different ways to determine what it means to act virtuously in such a role. Inresponse, it is argued that virtue ethics needs a normative account of what specific role-determining institutions should be like. The possibilities for the Aristotelian ergon - function or 'characteristic activity' - serving as a normative criterion for a good institution of its kind are discussed and modified, leading to a positive account of institutional ergon that links the primary function of an institution with the specific and distinct human good or goods that it serves. The promissory conclusion to the thesis is that contemporary virtue ethics can, in this way, offer a distinct and enlightening approach to social and political philosophy, whilst also strengthening itself as an ethical theory.
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Lewis, Jovan Scott. "Sufferer's market : sufferation and economic ethics in Jamaica." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2014. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3497/.
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In Jamaica the economic environment is characterized by abiding foreign dependence, stagnant growth, and deficient development. This thesis, based on fifteen months of fieldwork in Montego Bay is concerned with the everyday understanding and management of Jamaica's adverse economy. This is explored through an ethnographic analysis of economic practice among five groups variously involved in Montego Bay's tourist sector. These groups include Sindhi merchants, local craft vendors, an artisan cooperative, a Rastafarian tour village, and local lottery scammers. Their dynamic case studies illustrate a diverse set of responses to the constricted political, economic, and social structures of the Jamaican economy, depicted as one of comprehensive and inescapable precariousness, or as a state of sufferation. This thesis examines these groups' everyday strategies and ethics of survival in sufferation, which include articulations of market failure, production, commercial skill, cultural property, and capital seizure. From these strategies emerges an understanding of how notions of history, citizenship, race, and cooperation structure the formation of economic practice, and bear upon constructions of the market.
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Kwak, Hochul. "Rights of Concrete Others: Ethics of Concrete Others, Social Individuality, and Social Multiculturalism." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/63.
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A globalizing world is replete with the vulnerable, who are experiencing economic poverty, medical maltreatment, political persecution, and/or cultural misrecognition. The vulnerable are under systematic oppression and domination. Although the wealth of humankind increases continuously, many are excluded from any benefit of this increased wealth. While human beings have achieved significant progress in medical technology, uncountable numbers of people are exposed to a shortage of appropriate medical care. Despite continued expansion of democracy around the globe, the powerless majority and minorities are experiencing ignorance of their differences, culturally and/or politically. This dissertation searches for a viable human rights scheme that will effectively address the systematic oppression and domination of the vulnerable. By addressing oppression and domination of the vulnerable, I focus on overcoming several dichotomies: a dichotomy between transcendence and immanence within human beings, a dichotomy between equality and difference among human beings, and a dichotomy between individual differences and group differences. Those dichotomies have been detrimental to addressing systematic oppression and domination of the vulnerable.
With relation to the dichotomy between transcendence and immanence within human beings, I frame the vulnerable as concrete others who have both transcendental dimensions and immanent dimensions. In terms of the dichotomy between equality and difference, my proposal is equality that substantially promotes difference, that is, capability equality and least-gap equality. With regard to the dichotomy between individual difference and group difference, my proposal is multiculturalism based on social individuality. These proposals for overcoming aforementioned dichotomies converge on social multiculturalism. I have argued that equality between groups and equality within groups can best address oppression and domination of concrete others. Specifically, reconfigured basic income guarantee, which includes basic income, public education, public healthcare, and linguistic diversity, is a concrete form of equality within groups that is conducive to promoting equality between groups. Therefore, I think that social multiculturalism based on the reconfigured basic income guarantee is a new, viable version of addressing oppression and domination of the vulnerable.
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Reedy, Brian M. T. "The faith that does prudence: Contemporary Catholic social ethics and the appropriation of the ethics of Aquinas." Thesis, Boston College, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:105011.
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Walter, Kate Elizabeth. "Public relations ethics and social networking sites ethics of public relations agencies that use MySpace and Facebook /." [Gainesville, Fla.] : University of Florida, 2009. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0024740.
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Asquith, Merrylyn. "Ideals, myths and realities a postmodern analysis of moral-ethical decision-making and professional ethics in social work practice." full text, 2002. http://www.dhs.sa.gov.au/dhs-library/documents/ideals,-myths-and-realities.pdf.
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Shu, Lisa. "Essays on Ethics: Antecedents and Consequences." Thesis, Harvard University, 2012. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:10466.
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Does memory conspire with morality? Essay 1 details evidence from four experiments demonstrating that dishonest behavior impairs memory for moral rules. After engaging in cheating behavior, individuals dispel conscience from consciousness through pushing aside memories of burdensome moral rules. Across four experiments, cheaters demonstrated moral forgetting relative to control and honest participants. Moral forgetting appeared to result from suppressed access to morality in general after cheating. While forgetting moral rules may help individuals exonerate themselves from their previous unethical actions, it may potentially send them on a downward spiral toward ever more deviant future behavior. How can this slippery slope be forestalled? Essay 2 tests one intervention to curb cheating behavior: requiring a signature before facing an opportunity to cheat. Evidence from three experiments suggest that simply asking for a signature at the start of a task as opposed to at the end promoted honest reporting, through making morality salient right before it mattered most. While this simple intervention in the form of a signature request effectively increased honesty on a subsequent task, how does one promote ethical behaviors over the longer term? Because moral dilemmas often require self-control, morality may function as a muscle—it may actually draw on the same reserves of self-regulation as physical strength. Essay 3 explores the relationship between morality and physical strength through demonstrating that mere contemplation of a moral choice leads to increased muscular strength. Together, these essays cover one way by which individuals manage their morality after cheating (through the forgetting of moral rules) and one intervention that could curb cheating before it is committed (through introducing a signature request before the temptation to cheat). The final essay investigates the relationship between moral decision-making and physical strength, offering preliminary evidence that modeling morality as a muscle may be more than mere metaphor.
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Fallis, Don. "Epistemic Value Theory and Information Ethics." Springer, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/105254.
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Three of the major issues in information ethics—intellectual property, speech regulation, and privacy—concern the morality of restricting people’s access to certain information. Consequently, policies in these areas have a significant impact on the amount and types of knowledge that people acquire. As a result, epistemic considerations are critical to the ethics of information policy decisions (cf. Mill 1978 [1859]). The fact that information ethics is a part of the philosophy of information highlights this important connection with epistemology. In this paper, I illustrate how a value-theoretic approach to epistemology can help to clarify these major issues in information ethics. However, I also identify several open questions about epistemic values that need to be answered before we will be able to evaluate the epistemic consequences of many information policies.
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Thorne, Linda 1956. "The influence of social interaction on auditors' moral reasoning /." Thesis, McGill University, 1997. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=34471.
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Although auditors engage in considerable social interaction (Gibbins & Mason, 1988; Solomon, 1987), little is known about how social interaction influences an auditor's moral reasoning process. In order to address this gap, this study used an experiment to examine the effect of social influence on 288 auditors' moral reasoning on realistic moral dilemmas. The results of this study indicate that social interaction influences the moral reasoning of auditors. Auditors' level of prescriptive reasoning appears to increase after engaging in discussion of a realistic moral dilemma, particularly for those which discuss dilemmas with others at high levels of moral development, while auditors' level of deliberative reasoning appears to decrease after engaging in discussion of a realistic moral dilemma. At a practical level, these findings suggest that auditors should be encouraged to prescriptively discuss moral dilemmas with others of high levels of moral development as this tends to result in the use of more principled moral reasoning. In contrast, auditors should avoid deliberative discussion of moral dilemmas, as this tends to result in the use of less principled moral reasoning than would be used in the absence of discussion.
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Sjöberg, Emma, and Nilsson Amanada Johansson. ""Får jag ta med mig brukaren hem på julafton?" : En kvalitativ studie om vart gränsen går mellan att vara professionell och privat inom personlig assistans." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för socialt arbete (SA), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-86290.
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The purpose of this study is to illustrate where the boundary between being professional and being private in the line of work as a personal assistant lie, this study will focus on the perspective of the unit manager. This to clarify the ethical approach in the assistance matters for the unit manager. To answer the study's purpose and questions, six individual semi-structured interviews have been held with unit managers responsible for personal assistance in municipal activities. During the interviews, the unit managers shared their own experiences about the subject of the study. The empirical material has been analyzed with the help of normative ethics theories of duty and sense ethics. The result of the study shows that unit managers find it difficult to take a stand as where the boundary between being professional and being private in personal assistance lies. There are many different factors to take into consideration when discussion where the boundary lies for each individual. Having good municipal guidelines regarding the work of the assistance is something the unit managers see as a good tool for taking a position on questions about the work of the assistants. The empirical material also highlights that there is a lot of ethical dilemmas in the matter of personal assistance, and how the unit managers handle these.
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Saunders, M. "Should We Make A Social Contract With Animals?" Thesis, University of Canterbury. Social and Political Sciences, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/8103.
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The thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part, Mark Rowlands’ Neo-Rawlsianism is outlined and discussed as an application of social contract theory to animal ethics. It is shown that we can make a social contract with animals, and that there is nothing ridiculous about the idea. It is even shown that animals should (in principle) participate in negotiating a social contract (if we make one). Rowlands’ argument for vegetarianism is outlined as an example of how his Neo-Rawlsianism is applied. This argument relies to some extent on the claim that animals are harmed by a painless death, and an attempt is made to support this claim. But it is ultimately argued that Rowlands’ Neo-Rawlsianism falls foul of a reductio ad absurdum that puts it out of contention, thus implying that we should not make a social contract with animals.
In the second part of the thesis, Tzachi Zamir’s approach to animal ethics is outlined and discussed as a minimalist approach. Zamir proposes a Speciesist-Liberationism. This is explained, and it is shown how it avoids the reductio ad absurdum Neo-Rawlsianism falls foul of. Zamir’s argument for vegetarianism is outlined as an example of how his Minimalism is applied. Various weaknesses are observed in Zamir’s argument, and a more minimal Minimalism is suggested as providing the best argument for vegetarianism and animal liberation, at least until a better substantive moral argument is found.
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Pullen, Sansfacon Annie Marie. "Statutory social work, the voluntary sector and social action settings : a comparison of ethics." Thesis, De Montfort University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/4912.
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For decades, ethical issues have been seen as a problem throughout the social work profession, not just in the UK but also internationally. In the English context, the Care Standards Act 2000, which led to the establishment of the General Social Care Council, aimed to protect service users, employers and social workers/social care practitioners through the publication of codes of practice. As Strom-Gottfried and 0'Aprix (2006) have noted, however, the plethora of codes of ethics and codes of conduct have failed to address explicitly the issues faced by those regulated by them. Consequently, the actual situation in England remains the same: practitioners work in difficult situations that frequently result in ethical dilemmas, yet the guidance fails to address the actual complexity of the situations in which practitioners find themselves. The aim of this research was to investigate the expenences of practitioners In England working for statutory social services in comparison with those of practitioners from social action organisations and who work for the voluntary sector, in relation to their conduct, ethics and professional values. The methodological framework was based on Grounded Theory. The data were collected VIa focus groups, semi-structured interviews, semi-structured questionnaires and vignette-based interviews. Constant comparisons were made between sectors during the data analysis. The research was validated by intertriangulation and by communicative validation. The concept of power remained the sole category of the Grounded Theory process once the research had reached saturation. The key conclusion was that, by adopting a Foucaultian perspective, the "organisational context of work" is an expression of the power relationships that influence the ethical decision-making of social workers and social care practitioners. The concept of virtue ethics was introduced in the discussion of the data to counteract the effect of power felt by social workers and social care practitioners. The research concluded by proposing ways of incorporating the findings into the teaching of social work at the higher educational level and among qualified practitioners, emphasising the concept of practical reasoning (MacIntyre 1999) at the collective level.
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Blomquist, Helle. "Lawyers' ethics : the social construction of lawyers' professionalism : Danish practicing lawyers and some pre-conditions for their ethics /." Copenhagen : DJØF publ, 2000. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37756390n.
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Jalandoni, Monica. "Filipino Fortitude: Towards a Contextual yet Critical Social Virtue Ethics." Thesis, Boston College, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:104928.
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Thesis advisor: James F. KeenanThe dissertation will contribute not only to an appreciation and critical evaluation of fortitude in the Philippine context, but has a wider significance for the practice of virtue ethics. The thesis is that (a) virtue must be analyzed contextually, in specific social contexts, as well as (b) in dependence upon the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition of the virtues, that (c) social virtue as well as individual virtue exists, and that (d) this social, contextual, Aristotelian-Thomistic approach to virtue provides a basis for a social-ethical critical evaluation and prescription for particular societies. If virtue ethics is to generate sound social normative claims, its argument needs to be based not merely upon the classical tradition, but also on a socially, historically and culturally aware analysis of the way virtues are fleshed out in context. This dissertation will argue that the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition still has much to teach us about courage or fortitude, and in dialogue with contemporary social science still provides legitimate moral insights into fortitude today. Second, it will argue that virtue takes on a particular color or texture in specific social contexts, and will argue this in relation to the Filipino context: Philippine fortitude is Thomistic, with unique attributes of resilience and joy. Third, it will argue that it is necessary to engage in a social-ethical critique of social virtue, arguing that there are deficiencies in Philippine fortitude in that it lacks a crucial link with justice. This critical evaluation will lead to the elaboration of an ethical and social imperative for the Filipino people to develop good anger to fuel a less passive, more assertive fortitude that is ordered to justice
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Theology
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Alaieri, Fahad. "Ethics in Social Autonomous Robots: Decision-Making, Transparency, and Trust." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/37941.
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Autonomous decision-making machines – ranging from autonomous vehicles to chatbots – are already able to make decisions that have ethical consequences. If these machines are eventually deployed on a large scale, members of society will have to be able to trust the decisions that are made by these machines. For these machines to be trustworthy, their decisions must be overseen by socially accepted ethical principles; moreover, these principles and their role in machine decision-making must be transparent and explainable: it must be possible to explain why machine decisions are made and such explanations require that the mechanisms involved for making them are transparent. Furthermore, manufacturing companies have a corporate social responsibility to design such robots in ways that make them not only safe but also trustworthy. Members of society will not trust a robot that works in mysterious, ambiguous, or inexplicable ways, particularly if this robot is required to make decisions based on ethical principles.
The current literature on embedding ethics in robots is sparse. This thesis aims to partially fill this gap in order to help different stakeholders (including policy makers, the robot industry, robots designers, and the general public) to understand the many dimensions of machine- executable ethics. To this end, I provide a framework for understanding the relationships among different stakeholders who legislate, create, deploy, and use robots and their reasons for requiring transparency and explanations. This framework aims to provide an account of the relationships between the transparency of the decision-making process in ethical robots, explanations for their behaviour, and the individual and social trust that results.
This thesis also presents a model that decomposes the stages of ethical decision-making into their elementary components with a view to enabling stakeholders to allocate the responsibility for such choices. In addition, I propose a model for transparency which demonstrates the importance of and relationships between disclosure, transparency, and explanation which are needed for societies to accept and trust robots.
One of the important stakeholders of robotics is the general public and, in addition to providing an analytical framework with which to conceptualize ethical decision-making, this thesis also performs an analysis of opinions drawn from hundreds of written comments posted on public forums concerning the behaviour of socially autonomous robots. This analysis provides insights into the layperson’s responses to machines that make decisions and offers support for policy recommendations that should be considered by regulators in the future.
This thesis contributes to the area of ethics and governance of artificial intelligence.
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Nyiribakwe, Laurien. "Faith-healing ministry in Africa: a Catholic bio-social ethics." Thesis, Boston College, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108462.
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Thesis advisor: Lisa Sowle CahillThesis advisor: Margaret Eletta Guider
Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2019
Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry
Discipline: Sacred Theology
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Harrison-Marchand, Christopher. "Ethics : The business case - corporate social responsibility meets electronics manufacturing." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Normandie, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018NORMR143.
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L'objectif de cette recherche est d'analyser pourquoi et comment les institutions qui composent le secteur de l'industrie électronique ont structurellement intégré une politique de responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE). Ensuite, d'examiner le rôle et les effets de cette évolution sur la mondialisation par le biais des chaînes d'approvisionnement internationales du secteur. Dans une première étape, via la théorie culturelle, et dans le contexte de la société du risque et de la modernité récente, la RSE se révèle une réponse institutionnelle défensive face aux risques de réputation et aux atteintes probables à la légitimité. Ensuite, la théorie culturelle nous permet d'analyser la RSE dans le secteur choisi en tant que processus socio-dynamique exerçant une pression sur les entreprises pour élargir leur culture organisationnelle tout en les orientant plus vers des valeurs égalitaires. Plusieurs effets sectoriels de ce processus sont analysés : le rôle de l'activité RSE dans les pratiques concurrentielles à travers l'isomorphisme, la façon dont les systèmes de classement éthique améliorent l'homogénéité de l'activité RSE, et l'impact de la réactivité des consommateurs en matière de RSE. Après avoir exploré l'intégration de la RSE dans une organisation, puis ses effets sur l'environnement sectoriel, on se focalise sur l'impact que la RSE peut avoir sur la mondialisation et le développement. Ainsi, le troisième volet de cette étude s’intéresse à l'impact que la RSE peut avoir en pénétrant les chaînes d'approvisionnement les plus intensément liées aux abus éthiques. Cela invite à réévaluer les processus de mondialisation, et leurs effets sur le développement. Grâce aux travaux d'Amartya Sen, Jean Tirole et d'autres, l'impact de la RSE sur les chaînes d'approvisionnement en électronique est évalué de manière critique en montrant comment une intervention structurelle dans les sociétés en développement pourrait être envisagée. Le travail de terrain pour cette enquête empirique a consisté en des visites d'usines en Chine et des entretiens avec la direction et les employés ; aussi, en des entretiens avec des cadres de multinationales, des contrôleurs et consultants en RSE et des militants d'associations syndicales internationales. Ce travail est complété par la participation à plusieurs réunions des parties prenantes du secteur et par l'analyse de documents produits par ces parties ; aussi, par de rapports, et des diverses formes de couverture médiatique, y compris de documentairesThe aim of this research is to analyze how and why corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy has become structurally integrated in the institutions which comprise the electronics manufacturing sector, and to examine its role and effects upon globalization through its international supply chains. Firstly, through the analytical tools of cultural theory and against the background of risk society in late modernity, CSR is investigated and revealed as a defensive institutional response to reputational risk and legitimacy. Secondly, cultural theory allows us to analyze CSR in the sector as a socio-dynamic process resulting in the pressure on companies to broaden their organizational culture by increasing their affinity for egalitarian values. Several sectorial effects of this are analyzed: the role that CSR activity has in competitive practices through isomorphism, how ethical ranking systems enhance the homogeneity of CSR activity, and the impact of consumers’ CSR responsiveness. After considering the integration of CSR in a corporate institution, then its effects upon the sectorial environment, I consider the impact that CSR can have on globalization and development. Thus, the third dimension of this work is CSR’s initiation of impact along supply chains where most unethical abuses occur. This invites a re-evaluation of the processes of globalization and their effects upon development. Through the work of Amartya Sen, Jean Tirole and others, the impact of CSR in electronics supply chains is critically evaluated indicating how structural intervention in developing societies could be envisaged. The fieldwork for this empirical investigation consisted of visits to industrial plants in China and interviews with management and workers; interviews with executives of multinational corporations, CSR auditors and consultants, and activists of international trade union associations; participation in several sector-wide stakeholder meetings; and the analyses of industry documents, reports, diverse forms of media coverage, and documentaries
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Harrison-Marchand, Christopher. "Ethics : The business case - corporate social responsibility meets electronics manufacturing." Thesis, Normandie, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018NORMR143.
Full textAbstract:
L'objectif de cette recherche est d'analyser pourquoi et comment les institutions qui composent le secteur de l'industrie électronique ont structurellement intégré une politique de responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE). Ensuite, d'examiner le rôle et les effets de cette évolution sur la mondialisation par le biais des chaînes d'approvisionnement internationales du secteur. Dans une première étape, via la théorie culturelle, et dans le contexte de la société du risque et de la modernité récente, la RSE se révèle une réponse institutionnelle défensive face aux risques de réputation et aux atteintes probables à la légitimité. Ensuite, la théorie culturelle nous permet d'analyser la RSE dans le secteur choisi en tant que processus socio-dynamique exerçant une pression sur les entreprises pour élargir leur culture organisationnelle tout en les orientant plus vers des valeurs égalitaires. Plusieurs effets sectoriels de ce processus sont analysés : le rôle de l'activité RSE dans les pratiques concurrentielles à travers l'isomorphisme, la façon dont les systèmes de classement éthique améliorent l'homogénéité de l'activité RSE, et l'impact de la réactivité des consommateurs en matière de RSE. Après avoir exploré l'intégration de la RSE dans une organisation, puis ses effets sur l'environnement sectoriel, on se focalise sur l'impact que la RSE peut avoir sur la mondialisation et le développement. Ainsi, le troisième volet de cette étude s’intéresse à l'impact que la RSE peut avoir en pénétrant les chaînes d'approvisionnement les plus intensément liées aux abus éthiques. Cela invite à réévaluer les processus de mondialisation, et leurs effets sur le développement. Grâce aux travaux d'Amartya Sen, Jean Tirole et d'autres, l'impact de la RSE sur les chaînes d'approvisionnement en électronique est évalué de manière critique en montrant comment une intervention structurelle dans les sociétés en développement pourrait être envisagée. Le travail de terrain pour cette enquête empirique a consisté en des visites d'usines en Chine et des entretiens avec la direction et les employés ; aussi, en des entretiens avec des cadres de multinationales, des contrôleurs et consultants en RSE et des militants d'associations syndicales internationales. Ce travail est complété par la participation à plusieurs réunions des parties prenantes du secteur et par l'analyse de documents produits par ces parties ; aussi, par de rapports, et des diverses formes de couverture médiatique, y compris de documentairesThe aim of this research is to analyze how and why corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy has become structurally integrated in the institutions which comprise the electronics manufacturing sector, and to examine its role and effects upon globalization through its international supply chains. Firstly, through the analytical tools of cultural theory and against the background of risk society in late modernity, CSR is investigated and revealed as a defensive institutional response to reputational risk and legitimacy. Secondly, cultural theory allows us to analyze CSR in the sector as a socio-dynamic process resulting in the pressure on companies to broaden their organizational culture by increasing their affinity for egalitarian values. Several sectorial effects of this are analyzed: the role that CSR activity has in competitive practices through isomorphism, how ethical ranking systems enhance the homogeneity of CSR activity, and the impact of consumers’ CSR responsiveness. After considering the integration of CSR in a corporate institution, then its effects upon the sectorial environment, I consider the impact that CSR can have on globalization and development. Thus, the third dimension of this work is CSR’s initiation of impact along supply chains where most unethical abuses occur. This invites a re-evaluation of the processes of globalization and their effects upon development. Through the work of Amartya Sen, Jean Tirole and others, the impact of CSR in electronics supply chains is critically evaluated indicating how structural intervention in developing societies could be envisaged. The fieldwork for this empirical investigation consisted of visits to industrial plants in China and interviews with management and workers; interviews with executives of multinational corporations, CSR auditors and consultants, and activists of international trade union associations; participation in several sector-wide stakeholder meetings; and the analyses of industry documents, reports, diverse forms of media coverage, and documentaries
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Hunt, Matthew 1973. "Ethics beyond borders : how Canadian health professionals experience ethics in humanitarian assistance and development work." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=98729.
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Canadian health professionals are involved in humanitarian assistance and development work in many regions of the world. They participate in primary health care, immunization campaigns, feeding programs, rehabilitation and hospital-based care. In the course of their work clinicians are frequently exposed to complex ethical issues. This thesis examines how health workers experience ethics in the course of humanitarian assistance and development work. A qualitative study was conducted to consider this question. Five core themes emerged from the data including experiencing a tension between respecting local customs and imposing values, knowing how to respond when basic care is impossible, addressing differing understandings of health and illness, questions of identity for health workers, and issues of trust and distrust. Recommendations are made for standards and organizational strategies that could help aid agencies better support and equip their staff as they respond to ethical issues.
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Clarke, Marion Sarah. "Foucauldian ethics in contemporary social and political thought : struggles against subjection and the submission of ethical subjectivity." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.496921.
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Firstly, this thesis provides an exposition of Foucault's Critical History of Modern Western Subjectivization and Ethical Subjectivity, which works towards the elaboration of a New Philosophical Ethos, and which highlights the contemporary significance of The Politics of Ourselves. We will seek to use this work to bring out one of the issues that Foucault identified as posing important questions for politics today, centring on the prominent theme of individual choice and responsibility without universal guidance, and the lack of analytic consideration given to associated ethical implications. It is these ethical implications that this thesis seeks to analyse further. Rather than simply contribute to the industry of commentary that has thrived upon Foucault's work, this project aims to make relations appear both within his body of work, and also with other critics and theorists influenced by Foucault and engaged with the ethical and political problems he has helped to open up to us in the present.
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Timperley, Stephen. "Corporate Social Responsibility Indexes: Measure for Measure." The University of Waikato, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2372.
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This thesis investigates criteria used by research agencies that publish ratings of business organisations in respect of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and the relationship of these criteria to underlying ethical principles. Companies are rated according to CSR criteria. Observation of different rating agencies' results for the same, or similar organisations, shows a significant variation in results. Variations in rating must result either from different criteria being applied or from criteria addressing similar topics being assessed in a different way. Criteria from different rating agencies are found to be comparable. Thus if rating criteria are derived from an ethical view of the responsibilities of business organisations, then inconsistent results may be explained by variations in the ethical basis of corporate social responsibility used by agencies. Subject companies are rated under broad categories such as corporate governance, human rights and the environment. These categories contain specific criteria. My investigation compares the criteria used by major rating agencies and identifies the ethical basis, if any, that can be attributed to each criterion. The study finds that there are clearly identifiable links between a number of criteria used by each rating agency and the ethical theories selected for evaluation. Further, there is sufficient difference between the agencies to characterise each in relation to one or more of the ethical theories selected. There is inconsistency, however, within each agency's basis of principles as well as between agencies, which indicates an unsatisfactory lack of explicit relationship between the general, and reasonably consistent, definition of corporate social responsibility and application of coherent ethical principles. In practical terms around 10% of all investments in the United States, representing 2.3 trillion dollars, are invested in ethical or screened funds that rely on these and similar rating agencies results to determine CSR performance of firms. The large variation in results demonstrated in my thesis suggests that very significant financial decisions are based, at least in part, on inconsistent data. I suggest in my conclusion that if agencies were to consider, justify and clearly state the ethical basis from which their criteria derive, then investment managers and their clients could be more certain that their CSR principles were being upheld.
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Tizon, F. Albert. "Toward an evangelical social ethic based on a biblical conception of the Kingdom of God." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1987. http://www.tren.com.
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Ryg, Matthew A. "Toward Better Knowledge: A Social Epistemology of Pragmatic Nonviolence." OpenSIUC, 2015. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/1034.
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The dissertation takes as its central problem the priority and value of nonviolent and pragmatic social epistemology. Many concede the desirability of nonviolent problem solving, but quickly and unreflectively assent to violence when the imagination fails to procure viable alternatives. Moreover, the kind and quality of knowledge gained through the use of nonviolence, it is argued, is far superior to the kind and quality of knowledge gained through the use of violence. This dissertation attempts to settle the discussion of the priority and value of nonviolence as a social epistemology by arguing for, and ultimately proving with the use of rationale and empirical evidence, that pragmatic nonviolence has more social-epistemological and/or value as knowledge than the available violent alternatives. Neither modern nor post-modern violence are able to produce knowledge with quite the same staying power, lasting effects, and high quality than that which is generated through what I call "pragmatic nonviolence." Traditionally, for a variety of biased reasons, classical American pragmatism has not taken a stand for either philosophical or methodological nonviolence. This unfortunate situation will, I hope, change with the argument in this dissertation. The issue of whether or not the social-epistemological value of pragmatic nonviolence, as a philosophical movement, has the potential to steer the course of contemporary social, political, and moral pragmatism into the 21st century, has largely been settled. The discussion and analysis offered in chapter one focuses primarily on the logic of domination, violent knowing, and violent realism. Historical context is provided to situate the central problems, compare sources of knowledge, and explore the relationship between violence and knowledge. The views of Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, The United States Military Academy, Wendy Hamblet, Crispin Sartwell, Judith Bradford, and Aaron Fortune receive primary attention in chapter one. Chapter two focuses primarily on the development of a radically empirical social epistemology and theory of concept formation. I examine the roots of social epistemology and describe the problem of learning theory and concept formation through notions of habit, conduct, and struggle. The views of John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and Leonard Harris receive attention in this section of chapter two. I conclude this chapter by outlining concepts of peace and social justice as they demonstrate how social knowledge is created pragmatically. The views of Martin Luther King, Jr., Duane Cady, and Steven Lee receive attention in the latter section of chapter two. The analysis offered in chapter three centers on what I claim generates better knowledge: pragmatic nonviolence. The first section of chapter three describes the kind of normative epistemology I advocate and how pragmatic nonviolence offers qualitatively better knowledge than the alternatives. The views of C.S. Peirce, John Dewey, and Edgar Sheffield Brightman are considered in this section. The second section details the extent and value of uniting pragmatism and nonviolence, the need for a distinctly pragmatic conception of nonviolence, prophetic pragmatism, and American personalism. The views of Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cornel West, and Randall Auxier are treated in this part. The third and fourth sections of chapter three applies the theories advanced in previous sections and chapters to demonstrate how pragmatic nonviolence generates better knowledge. The views of Myles Horton and Bob Moses are considered at length.
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Riek, Christine Leviczky. "The problems with social cost-benefit analysis : economics, ethics and politics." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26112.
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This thesis examines the problems with social cost-benefit analysis in three areas -- economics, ethics and politics -- and suggests how these problems might be addressed in government project review processes. Problems in economics are empirical, methodological or theoretical dilemmas that make a social cost-benefit analysis difficult to prepare and interpret. Problems in ethics stem from the value judgments implicit in a social cost-benefit analysis that may be in conflict with the ethical beliefs of some individuals in society. Problems in politics stem from the various powers of individuals in a political process and challenge the relevancy of analysis.
A literature survey, primarily of welfare economics but also of environmental ethics and political theory, is used to determine the various problems with social cost-benefit analysis, while a case study is used to illustrate how these problems are reflected in practice. Similarly, ideas for improvement are drawn from the literature of environmental impact assessment and these ideas are illustrated by applying them to the case study. The problems are discussed according to the stage of analysis at which they occur: problem definition, specification of objectives, selection of alternatives, prediction of consequences, and evaluation of alternatives. The case study is of the social cost-benefit analysis of B.C. Hydro's proposed Site C hydroelectric development and the associated project review process of the B.C. Utilities Commission Act.
Empirical problems in economics range from: defining "wicked problems"; measuring interpersonal utility; defining and measuring consequences; obtaining adequate data; and evaluating or recognizing intangibles. Methodological problems in economics include: predicting consequences; elements of bias in evaluation techniques; the neglect of non-users in evaluation techniques for non-market resources; option values for environmental resources; and evaluating irreversible project consequences. Theoretical problems in economics stem from: narrow problem definitions and incomplete specification of alternatives which hinder achievement of optimal decisions; the theory of "second best"; the Scitovsky reversal paradox; the need for actual compensation to take place under certain situations; the use of willingness-to-pay or willingness-to-be-compensated measures of consumer surplus; the selection of a discount rate; and the effect of risk and uncertainty on evaluation.
Ethical problems in social cost-benefit analysis arise from: the existence of multiple and conflicting problem definitions and sets of alternatives; Arrow's Impossibility Theorem which precludes the specification of a social welfare function; value judgments made implicitly in the methods of inquiry in both economics and the science needed for impact prediction; the existence of non-utilitarian frameworks that conflict with the utilitarian emphasis of social cost-benefit analysis; the reductionist nature of valuing environmental resources; the judgments made about individual rights in the selection of willingness-to-pay and willingness-to-be-compensated measures; and the judgments made about future generations in the selection of a discount rate.
Political problems in social cost-benefit analysis are evident in: the hidden agendas and political goals of politicians, bureaucrats and interest groups; incentives to bias problem definition and alternative selection in order to justify a politically but not necessarily economically justified project; incentives to restrict the boundaries of analysis to provincial boundaries; and incentives to overstate benefits, understate costs and neglect qualitative project effects.
Some of the economic, ethical and political problems can be resolved by changing the way that government project review processes operate. Three broad changes are recommended: a two-tier review process which clearly separates evaluation from the preceding stages of analysis; an increased use of public and interdepartmental review in the early stages of analysis; and a flexible and experimental approach to evaluation.Business, Sauder School of
Graduate
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Faith, Karen E. "Social work ethics in practice, a study of recent M.S.W. graduates." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0003/MQ46109.pdf.
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Parker, Jenneth. "Towards an ecofeminist ethics : a critical realist and social movements approach." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.394259.
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Evans, Joëlle. "Moral frictions : ethics, creativity and social responsibility in stem cell science." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77820.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-250).
Competing moral orders pervade markets and organizations. Previous studies of morals and markets show that organizational and occupational communities in contested areas promote one unique moral perspective in order to gain legitimacy and ensure organizational survival. In this perspective, change and innovation are only possible when distinct actors with a competing moral perspective enter a market. Yet communities do sometimes produce innovations at odds with the moral position they promote. How do they achieve this? Drawing on a 17-months ethnography of a stem cell laboratory, I explore the ways in which competing moral orders intersect in the workplace and how this collision shapes work and innovation practices. I examine two distinct moral conflicts: conflicts over safety and conflicts over bioethics. These two different types of conflicts suggest together that, far from being ethical deserts where workers conform to their organization's perspective, workplaces dealing with contested objects and technologies are spaces of intense ethical questioning and negotiation. Local moral contests are rich with creative opportunities: organizational actors innovate and shape their organizations as they seek to couple the practices and goals of their organization with their avowed personal values. This dissertation contributes to unpacking the links between morals and organizations by showing that moral legitimacy is not just a post-hoc justification of organizational products or practices but is integral to the constitution of these products and practices. This work also contributes to studies of expert work by highlighting the role of moral heterogeneity, local contests, authority over tasks, and technological innovation on the definition of social responsibility in expert communities.
by Joëlle Evans.
Ph.D.
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Magosha, Tendani Amos. "Social development versus saving nature? : a case study in environmental ethics." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/49787.
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Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research project has been purposed at shedding light and bringing clarity and practical resolution to the ethical dilemma brought about by seemingly incompatible principles and value positions associated with the two contentious issues: social development and nature conservation. In view of exposing the contentions between the two above-mentioned value positions, this project has pitted anthropocentrism against biocen trism / ecocen trism. However, as alluded to in this research, many people in developing countries, South Africa included, are victims of poverty and hunger which need redress. Unfortunately the alleviation of the same has been made possible through ruthless exploitation and maximum expansion of natural resources and in the process, the environment suffered much. However, with social development, the natural environment is often sacrificed and conversely with the protection and preservation of nature, man is then condemned to destitution. With the introduction and the case expose forming the introduction of this research project in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 is devoted to the research methodology used throughout this project. Also, given the problem statement, endeavours to search for answers to the central questions are outlined. An analysis of the case study is also made in this chapter. Chapter 3 deals with the weighing of the classical dilemmas namely: anthropocentrism versus biocentrism / ecocentrism and this further entails the notion of justice versus conservation pertaining the case in point. These classical dilemmas are put into critical perspective in Chapter 4 wherein monistic value approaches are exposed in terms of their failures. Precisely, the either-or choices following from pure theoretical principles are put into question with reference to the case under discussion. An alternative, namely the pragmatic approach, which maintains a multiplicity of values, is hereby brought into play. Chapter 5 entails a critical appraisal of the decision to be taken by the Makhado Municipality Council with regard to the development of the shopping complex or the protection of the indigenous tree sanctuary. In conclusion, recommendations and suggestions are stated within the context of the case in point. However, it is imperative to note that these recommendations and suggestions should be read in conjunction with one another, and not in isolation from one another. Furthermore, the same should not in anyway be indiscriminately used as a universal standard in any similar or related case. Further research on this ethical debate is encouraged.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie navorsingsprojek is om helderheid en 'n praktiese oplossing te kry met betrekking tot die etiese dilemma wat voortspruit uit die oeriskynlik onversoenbare beginsels en waardeposisies wat geassosieer word met twee omstrede kwessies, naamlik sosiale ontwikkeling en natuurbewaring. Met die oog daarop om die kwelpunte rondom bogenoemde twee waardeposisies aan die lig te bring, stel hierdie projek antroposentrisme teenoor biosentrisme / ekosentrisme. Baie mense in ontwikkelende lande, insluitend Suid-Afrika, IS slagoffers van armoede en hongersnood, soos aangedui word in die loop van hierdie navorsing. Hierdie situasie noodsaak regs telling. Pogings om verligting te bring in hierdie verband, lei egter tot die genadelose eksploitasie en maksimum ontwikkeling van natuurlike hulpbronne. In hierdie proses word die omgewing ernstig beskadig. Die ongelukkige toedrag van sake is dus dat sosiale ontwikkeling dikwels geskied ten koste van die omgewing, terwyl die beskerming en bewaring van die omgewing op sy beurt dikwels die mens behoeftig laat. Hoofstuk 1 van hierdie navorsingsprojek bevat 'n inleiding en beskrywing van die geval onder bespreking, terwyl Hoofstuk 2 gewy word aan die navorsingsmetodologie wat in hierdie projek gebruik word. Dit bevat ook 'n skets van die pogings om antwoorde te soek op die sentrale vrae van die probleemstelling, en 'n analise van die gevallestudie. In Hoofstuk 3 word die klassieke dilemmas wat verband hou met die betrokke probleem opgeweeg, naamlik antroposentrisme teenoor biosentrismej ekosentrisme, en die idee van geregtigheid teenoor die idee van bewaring. Bogenoemde klassieke dilemmas word in 'n kritiese lig beskou in Hoofstuk 4 deurdat die tekortkominge van monistiese waardebenaderings uitgewys word. Die 6f-6f keuses wat volg uit suiwer teoretiese beginsels word bevraagteken met verwysing na die geval onder bespreking. 'n Pleidooi word uiteindelik gelewer vir 'n alternatiewe pragmatiese benadering wat eerder 'n veelheid van waardes betrek. Hoofstuk 5 bevat 'n kritiese beoordeling van die keuse wat die Makhado Munisipaliteitsraad moet maak tussen die ontwikkeling van 'n winkelkompleks of die beskerming van 'n inheemse boomreservaat. Ter afsluiting word aanbevelings en voorstelle gemaak in verband met die kwessie onder bespreking. Dit is egter belangrik om daarop te let dat hierdie aanbevelings en voorstelle nie apart van mekaar beskou moet word nie, maar eerder saam gelees moet word. Dit is verder ook belangrik dat die aanbevelings en voorstelle wat met betrekking tot hierdie geval gemaak word nie sonder meer gebruik moet word as 'n universele standaard vir soortgelyke of verwante gevalle nie. Verdere navorsing oor hierdie etiese debat word aangemoedig.
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Reghabi, Beverly Joy, and Beverly Joy Reghabi. "Exploring the Ethics of Social Media Use in Rehabilitation Counselor Education." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/623020.
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The purpose of this study was to explore the ethics of social media use in rehabilitation counselor education programs. Program coordinators from 81 U.S. education programs accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) were solicited to complete a survey regarding the ethical dilemmas or problems they encountered with respect to social media used by graduate students, faculty, and administrative staff. Of the 81 program coordinators, 28(34.56%) completed the survey. The survey asked program coordinators to report whether their program, department, or university had a social media policy, as well as whether they had encountered any social media-related ethical dilemmas. Finally, the survey asked program coordinators about their ethical beliefs regarding the use of social media in rehabilitation counselor education. The results found that 13 (46.43%) of the program coordinators had encountered at least one ethical dilemma related to graduate students' misuse of social media in the past year. The most frequently cited dilemma was students' "befriending" of faculty members on social networking sites such as Facebook. An examination of the data revealed no association between the type of social media policy employed and the probability of reporting an ethical dilemma. Program coordinators reported that the ethical use of social media will continue to be a challenge in the future, and the results of the present study could thus be used by rehabilitation counseling educators to develop policies and practices to better promote and regulate the appropriate use of social media in rehabilitation education programs.
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Arms, Kimberly Pearman. "Ethics Training: Views of Tennessee Local Elected Officials." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2007. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2155.
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The purpose of this study was to determine if local elected officials in Tennessee perceive ethics training will affect ethical behavior, and, if so, what format they recommend for ethics training including length of time, delivery methods, and instructors' qualifications. This study provides information regarding whether ethics training is likely to be efficacious and how officials feel about the training. Specifically, this study informs officials and others who invest with both time and financial resources about the value of training, what to teach if they are going to offer ethics training, and who should teach ethics.
More than 2,000 local elected officials in Tennessee were surveyed asking their perceptions on the format, content, instructor, and length of time necessary for ethics training. In addition, survey participants were asked their personal definition of ethics and were asked to share the unethical behavior they have observed in other elected officials, if any. This study provides rich information for those responsible for designing and delivering ethics training for elected officials as well as for those making financial decisions regarding ethics training. An additional benefit of this study was as a contribution to the body of literature on the subject of ethics training. This study should be useful for those in government or training and development as they consider offering ethics training.
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Lunt, Amy Sophia. "Rethinking corporate social responsibility : an exploration of ethics, morality and social legitimacy in the mining industry." Thesis, University of Bath, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.341643.
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