Recent studies show that racism still exists in the American medical profession, the fact of which legitimizes the historically long-legacy of mistrust towards medical profession and health authorities among African Americans. Thus, it was suspected that the participation of black patients in end-of-life care has always been significantly low stemmed primarily from their mistrust of the medical profession. On the other hand, much research finds that there are other reasons than the mistrust which makes African Americans feel reluctant to the (...) end-of-life care, such as cultural-religious difference and genuine misunderstanding of the services. If so, two crucial questions are raised. One is how pervasive or significant the mistrust is, compared to the other factors, when they opt out of the end-of-life care. The other is if there is a remedy or solution to the seemingly broken relationship. While no studies available answer these questions, we have conducted an experiment to explore them. The research was performed at two Philadelphia hospitals of Mercy Health System, and the result shows that Black patients’ mistrust is not too great to overcome and that education can remove the epistemic obstacles as well as overcome the mistrust. (shrink)

This paper applies moral foundations theory in the context of consumer ethics. The purpose of the study is to examine whether moral foundations theory can be utilised as a theoretical framework to explain consumers’ beliefs regarding both ethical and unethical consumption. The relationships among various moral foundations and different dimensions of consumer ethics are examined with a sample of 450 US consumers. The results demonstrate that, among the various moral foundations, only the sanctity/degradation foundation is negatively related to beliefs regarding (...) all forms of unethical consumer actions as well as ‘no harm, no foul’ actions. On the contrary, the care/harm, fairness/cheating and authority/subversion foundations are related to positive beliefs regarding ‘doing good’ actions. This indicates that moral motivations for supporting pro-social actions as a consumer are not necessarily the same as moral motivations for condemning unethical actions. The findings also demonstrate that the loyalty/betrayal foundation is positively related to beliefs regarding unethical consumer actions and negatively related to perceptions of pro-social consumer actions. This demonstrates that in-group loyalty leads to supporting unethical actions. Furthermore, the results show that various moral foundations mediate the relationships of idealism with consumers’ ethical beliefs. Hence, various moral foundations can explain the effects of personal variables on consumer ethics. (shrink)

Although there has been considerable theoretical support outlining a positive relationship between religiosity and voluntary simplicity, there is limited empirical evidence validating this relationship. This study examines the relationships among religious orientations :432–443, 1967) and voluntary simplicity in a sample of Australian consumers. The results demonstrate that intrinsic religiosity is positively related to voluntary simplicity; however, there is no relationship between extrinsic religiosity and voluntary simplicity. Furthermore, this research investigates the processes through which intrinsic religiosity affects voluntary simplicity. The relationship (...) between intrinsic religiosity and voluntary simplicity is sequentially mediated by communal/personal well-being and environmental well-being. The findings not only identify a prosocial role of intrinsic religiosity in motivating voluntary simplicity, but also indicate that secular pursuits that enhance communal/personal well-being and environmental well-being may also motivate voluntary simplicity. (shrink)

This paper applies moral foundations theory in the context of consumer ethics. The purpose of the study is to examine whether moral foundations theory can be utilised as a theoretical framework to explain consumers’ beliefs regarding both ethical and unethical consumption. The relationships among various moral foundations and different dimensions of consumer ethics are examined with a sample of 450 US consumers. The results demonstrate that, among the various moral foundations, only the sanctity/degradation foundation is negatively related to beliefs regarding (...) all forms of unethical consumer actions as well as ‘no harm, no foul’ actions. On the contrary, the care/harm, fairness/cheating and authority/subversion foundations are related to positive beliefs regarding ‘doing good’ actions. This indicates that moral motivations for supporting pro-social actions as a consumer are not necessarily the same as moral motivations for condemning unethical actions. The findings also demonstrate that the loyalty/betrayal foundation is positively related to beliefs regarding unethical consumer actions and negatively related to perceptions of pro-social consumer actions. This demonstrates that in-group loyalty leads to supporting unethical actions. Furthermore, the results show that various moral foundations mediate the relationships of idealism with consumers’ ethical beliefs. Hence, various moral foundations can explain the effects of personal variables on consumer ethics. (shrink)

This study examines the relationships of empathy, moral identity and cynicism with the following dimensions of consumer ethics: the passive dimension (passively benefiting at the expense of the seller), the active/legal dimension (benefiting from questionable but legal actions), the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension (actions that do not harm anyone directly but are considered unethical by some) and the ‘doing-good’/recycling dimension (pro-social actions). A survey of six hundred Australian consumers revealed that both empathy and moral identity were related to negative (...) beliefs regarding the passive and the active/legal dimensions of consumer ethics and were related to positive beliefs regarding the ‘doing-good’/recycling dimension. Cynicism was related to positive beliefs regarding the passive dimension of consumer ethics and was related to negative beliefs regarding the ‘doing-good’/recycling dimension. The role of moral disengagement in mediating these relationships was examined. Empathy and moral identity were only indirectly negatively related to the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension of consumer ethics through moral disengagement, while cynicism was indirectly positively related to this dimension through moral disengagement. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. (shrink)

A survey was conducted to investigate the relationship of Australian consumers’ lived (experienced) spiritual well-being and materialism with the various dimensions of consumer ethics. Spiritual well-being is composed of four domains—personal, communal, transcendental and environmental well-being. All four domains were examined in relation to the various dimensions of consumers’ ethical beliefs (active/illegal dimension, passive dimension, active/legal dimension, ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension and ‘doing good’/recycling dimension). The results indicated that lived communal well-being was negatively related to perceptions of the active/illegal (...) dimension and the passive dimension and was positively related to perceptions of the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension and the ‘doing good’/recycling dimension. Lived personal well-being was negatively related to perceptions of the active/illegal dimension and was positively related to perceptions of the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension and the ‘doing good’/recycling dimension. Lived transcendental well-being was negatively related to perceptions of the passive dimension, the active/legal dimension and the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension. Lived environmental well-being was negatively related to perceptions of the active/legal dimension and the ‘no harm, no foul’ dimension. The findings also indicated that materialism was positively associated with perceptions of actively benefiting from illegal actions, passively benefiting at the expense of the seller, actively benefiting from questionable but legal actions and benefiting from ‘no harm, no foul’ actions. Public policy implications of the findings and opportunities for future research are discussed. (shrink)

Research on the antecedents of consumers’ ethical beliefs has mainly examined cognitive variables and has neglected the relationships among affective variables and consumer ethics. However, research in moral psychology indicates that moral emotions have a significant role in ethical decision-making. Thus, the ability to experience, perceive and regulate emotions should influence consumers’ ethical decision-making. These abilities, which are components of emotional intelligence, are examined as antecedents to consumers’ ethical beliefs in this study. Five hundred Australian consumers participated in this study (...) by completing an online questionnaire that included measures of emotional intelligence, consumers’ ethical beliefs and personal moral philosophies. Results demonstrate that the ability to appraise and express emotions in oneself is directly negatively related to beliefs regarding actively benefiting from illegal actions as a consumer, passively benefiting at the expense of the seller and actively benefiting from questionable but legal actions as a consumer. The ability to appraise and express emotions in oneself is directly positively related to beliefs regarding ‘doing-good’ actions. The ability to appraise and recognise emotions in others is also directly positively related to beliefs regarding ‘doing-good’ actions as well as pro-environmental buying actions. The effects of the different components of emotional intelligence on consumers’ ethical beliefs are mediated by personal moral philosophies. This study demonstrates the relationship between emotional intelligence and consumer ethics and highlights the interplay of affect and cognition in consumers’ ethical decision-making. (shrink)

Using a two-player Tullock-type contest, we show that intuitively and structurally different contests can be strategically equivalent. Strategically equivalent contests generate the same best response functions and, as a result, the same equilibrium efforts. However, strategically equivalent contests may yield different equilibrium payoffs. We propose a simple two-step procedure to identify strategically equivalent contests. Using this procedure, we identify contests that are strategically equivalent to the original Tullock contest, and provide new examples of strategically equivalent contests. Finally, we discuss possible (...) contest design applications and avenues for future theoretical and empirical research. (shrink)

Let T be an uncountable, superstable theory. In this paper we prove Theorem A. If T has finite rank, then I(|T|, T) ≥ ℵ0. Theorem B. If T is trivial, then I(|T|, T) ≥ ℵ0.

The relationship between spiritual wellbeing and ethical orientations in decision making is examined through a survey of executives in organizations listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The four domains of spiritual well-being, personal, communal, environmental and transcendental (Fisher, Spiritual health: its nature and place in the school curriculum, PhD thesis, University of Melbourne, 1998; Gomez and Fisher, Pers Individ Differ 35:1975–1991, 2003) are examined in relation to idealism and relativism (Forsyth, J Pers Soc Psychol 39(1): 175–184, 1980). Results reveal that (...) spiritual well-being, in particular the communal domain of spiritual well-being, is correlated with and predictive of idealism. However, the relationship between spiritual well-being and relativism is weak. Implications of the study are discussed in terms of developing managerial programs that enhance communal well-being which should lead to greater idealism in decision making. Limitations of the study and future research opportunities are outlined. (shrink)

In this paper we establish the following theorems. THEOREM A. Let T be a complete first-order theory which is uncountable. Then: (i) I(|T|, T) ≥ ℵ 0 . (ii) If T is not unidimensional, then for any λ ≥ |T|, I (λ, T) ≥ ℵ 0 . THEOREM B. Let T be superstable, not totally transcendental and nonmultidimensional. Let θ(x) be a formula of least R ∞ rank which does not have Morley rank, and let p be any stationary completion (...) of θ which also fails to have Morley rank. Then p is regular and locally modular. (shrink)

We investigate experimentally the relationship between risk and incentives in a principal–agent setting. In contrast to the existing empirical literature that describes such relationship as ‘tenuous’ or inconclusive, we find a clear negative relationship—supporting the prediction of the standard theoretical model. Specifically, we find that principals reduce the size of the offered piece rates with an increase in risk and instead provide positive fixed wages. Furthermore, we find no relationship between the variance in the performance and the effort choice of (...) the agent, and a strong positive relationship between the effort choice of the agents and the offered piece rates as well as fixed wage, suggesting positive reciprocity. Finally, we find evidence of social projection by the principals regarding the agents’ degree of risk aversion. (shrink)

This paper investigates the process through which firms and non-profit organizations reconcile divergent worldviews in the development of firm–NPO partnerships. Drawing on data from two long-lived firm–NPO partnerships, this study suggests that the dynamics of reconciliation in situations of institutional complexity can be better understood by examining how firms and NPOs manage the interplay of both market and social logics in an inter-organizational context. We have found that during the initial stages of collaboration, partners manage differences by engaging in joint (...) pilot projects and by demonstrating management’s commitment to the partnerships. Subsequently, after firms and NPOs sign a formal partnership agreement, they seek to maintain a sustainable mode of interaction by adopting three distinct mechanisms for managing tensions arising from the partnership: negotiating activity scope, monitoring and learning, and modifying organizational practices. Our research findings contribute to the literature on cross-sector partnership and institutional complexity by highlighting the means by which organizations reduce tensions associated with divergent institutional logics and maintain successful partnerships. (shrink)

Despite the widespread agreement that the ontology of the marketing discipline is exchange, marketing ethics researchers have largely adopted a monadic viewpoint of ethical decision making. In this research, an interactionist approach is adopted in order to introduce a dyadic perspective of un/ethical decision making. The dyadic model includes each channel member's individual, situational and decision process factors linked by relationalism, an emerging paradigm in marketing channels. Relationalism is represented as a discriminating variable between perceived ethical dilemma and decision behaviour. (...) Finally, a number of theoretical propositions are presented and future research directions are discussed. (shrink)

Aniruddha Chowdhury offers an illuminating account of the post-deconstructive conception of subjectivity and history in the tradition of Continental thought, and Postcolonial theory.

This study examines the process of knowledge transfer between a pair of social enterprises, organizations that are embedded in competing social and economic logics. Drawing on a longitudinal case study of the interaction between social enterprises operating in emerging economy settings, it uncovers factors which influence the transfer of a social innovation from a dense, population-rich setting to one where beneficiaries are geographically dispersed and the costs of service delivery are correspondingly elevated. Evidence from the case study suggests that institutional (...) bricolage—the crafting of improvised solutions in resource-constrained settings—can serve as potent driving force in driving innovation transfer, and that this process of re-combining available resources may be facilitated by the extent to which the values between partner social enterprises are aligned. With such alignment, social enterprise partners may be able to increase trust, develop a smoother knowledge-transfer process, and find practical solutions which facilitate the transfer of life-enhancing social innovations to neglected rural settings. (shrink)

A countable unidimensional theory without the omitting types order property (OTOP) has prime models over pairs and is hence classifiable. We show that this is not true for uncountable unidimensional theories.

Based on my study of the Rhodes Must Fall movement, I develop a rejectionist perspective by identifying the understanding and mobilization of epistemic disobedience as the core premise of such a perspective. Embedded in this contextual perspective, epistemic disobedience refers to the decolonization of the self and a fight against colonial legacies. I argue that, rather than viewing a rejectionist perspective as a threat, it should be integrated into the moral learning of contemporary institutions and businesses. This approach is important (...) in ensuring colonial legacies and biases do not create further racism or unequal situations for marginalized groups. The implication for critical management studies is that scholars from this camp should be more sensitive to issues of black consciousness and implement an authentic pragmatic ideal to promote black culture and historiographies in universities and curricula. It also highlights a need for the field of business ethics to apply more sensitive theory of marginalized stakeholders in order to prevent any escalation of violence by multinational corporations in the name of shareholder value creation and profit-maximization. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine the deep theological faultline generated by divergent understandings of the divine attributes among two early antagonistic Muslim groups – the traditionalists (main...

In an important fragment in The Arcades Project, Walter Benjamin points to two perspectives on the present. The present is defined either as catastrophe or as triumph.1 Two perspectives, Benjamin seems to suggest, constitute two modes of temporality. Whereas for a triumphant history, the present is located in the duration of time that Benjamin famously calls “homogeneous, empty time,”2 in the movement of the same, for the historiography of the oppressed, on the other hand—and that is how Benjamin sees the (...) position of historical materialism—the present is located in a temporal disjuncture “in which time stands still and has come…. (shrink)

Tackling malnutrition is a major health priority for a developing country like Bangladesh. This study explored the differences in prevalence of having only one form, and multiple forms, of severe malnutrition among under-5 children in Bangladesh, and aimed to identify the important factors affecting these. Data were extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic Health Surveys conducted in 2007, 2011 and 2014. The outcome measures were ‘only one form’ and ‘multiple forms’ of severe malnutrition in children aged under 5 years. A Chi-squared (...) test was performed to find the association of outcome variables with selected socio-demographic factors and logistic regression models were applied to identify risk factors. A total of 19,874 children aged under 5 years were included in the analysis. The overall proportion with one form of severe child malnutrition was approximately 12%, and the proportion with multiple forms was 8%. Age, mother’s education, father’s occupation, mother currently working, watching television, source of water, solid waste used in cooking, intimate partner violence, wealth index, urban/rural place of residence and birth cohort were found to be significant factors for both having only one and having multiple forms of severe child malnutrition. Children with an uneducated mother of poor socioeconomic class had a higher risk of severe malnutrition. Children of fathers with a professional occupation were at lower risk of having multiple forms of severe malnutrition. The proportions of children aged under 5 years with one or multiple forms of severe malnutrition were shown to be high in Bangladesh. The prevention of malnutrition in the country should be seen as a significant public health issue and given top priority. (shrink)

Most laboratory experiments studying Tullock contest games find that bids significantly exceed the risk-neutral equilibrium predictions. We test the generalisability of these results by comparing a typical experimental implementation of a contest against the familiar institution of a ticket-based raffle. We find that in the raffle initial bid levels are significantly lower and bids adjust more rapidly towards expected-earnings best responses. We demonstrate the robustness of our results by replicating them across two continents at two university labs with contrasting student (...) profiles. (shrink)

In official and unofficial histories, and in cultural memorializations of the 1971 war for Bangladeshi independence, the treatment of women's experiences—more specifically the unresolved question of acknowledgment of and accountability to birangonas, “war heroines” —has met with stunning silence or erasure, on the one hand, or with narratives of abject victimhood, on the other. By contrast, the film Meherjaan revolves around the stories of four women during and after the war, and most centrally the relationship between a Bengali woman and (...) a Pakistani soldier. In this article, I investigate the anxieties underlying the responses to Meherjaan, particularly in association with themes of trauma—its absence or omnipresence—to nonnormative gender frames of national sexuality, and the notion of loving the Other. Drawing from feminist theories of vulnerability, ethics, and love, I want to explore these themes at two levels: the political message the film transmits, and its aesthetic choices and affects. Finally, I want to comment on the potential of this film, as feminist art, in furthering a dialogue around healing and ethical memorialization in relation to 1971 in Bangladesh. (shrink)

Using data generated through two nationally representative sample surveys, this paper explores the trends in the level of basic education of Bangladeshi children. The instrument used for the purpose was based on the Declaration of the World Conference on Education for All . The findings reveal that the level of 'basic education' increased very slowly, 26.7% in 1993 to 29.6% in 1998, less than one percentage point per year. Statistically significant improvement was observed in 'life skills knowledge' and 'writing skills', (...) but not in 'reading' or 'numeracy'. Girls progressed in 'reading', 'writing' and 'life skills', while the boys in 'writing' and 'life skills'. Over the period, the level improved for rural children but decreased for urban children. Bangladesh falls much behind the targets of the Jomtien Conference in 1990; it will have to wait until 2093 AD to reach the WCEFA goal. The country has made good progress in increasing the access to primary education, but a massive drive is necessary to improve the quality of education. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to bring out the effect of economic reforms introduced in India on the direction of virtual water trade. The study also identifies the dual role that virtual water has in an economy. It is a source of export earnings, but at the same time there is a loss of virtual water through agricultural trade. The study is novel in the sense that it not only identifies the trade-off between benefits and costs of virtual water (...) trade for India, but also tries to capture the impact of phases of globalisation on the trade-off. The cost side has serious implications on sustainability and territorial equity. In order to address the issues more coherently, we have to introduce a concept of virtual water miles. Then we argue with intuitive reasoning about the possible effects of virtual water trade on sustainability as well as on territorial equity. (shrink)

The current research investigates how religiosity can influence unethicality in a consumption context. In particular, considering the link between extrinsic religious orientations and unethicality, this research clarifies why and when extrinsic religiosity leads to unethical decisions. Across two studies, findings show that ethnocentrism is both a mediator and a moderator of the effects of extrinsic religiosity on consumers’ ethical judgments. This is because extrinsic religiosity leads to ethnocentrism, and in-group loyalty manifested through ethnocentrism increases support for unethical consumer actions, thus (...) establishing ethnocentrism as a mediator. At the same time, different levels of ethnocentrism can also influence how extrinsic religiosity leads to supporting unethical consumption via self-righteousness, thus establishing ethnocentrism as a moderator. The findings from this research have significant implications for diverse stakeholders who have an interest in religiosity and consumer behavior. (shrink)

ABSTRACTThe role that principles of global health ethics play in the formulation of global and national level policies remains poorly understood. In this article we examine the status and trajectory of India, as a prototype low-middle income country that is on track to meet some important health targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals, with a view to assessing how relevant the global goals are to achieving equitable health care and health outcomes in India. We define the principles of global (...) health ethics relevant to our discussion and then examine some critical aspects of Indian healthcare policy through this lens. We demonstrate various areas where principles of global health ethics have been overlooked in planning and resulted in serious flaws in the healthcare system. It is our position that explicit attention should be given to the principles of global health ethics while framing policy at the national as well as the global level to ensure just health care outcomes in the future. (shrink)