The interpenetration of Plato’s mythos and logos reveals an analogical, serious playfulness of the human soul from the depths of aporia to the heights of the beyond. We humans are caught in-between with all the dynamis to rise and to fall.

The Material Image contends that the historic Christian faith can be understood as fully at home with the naturalistic implications of contemporary science. Donald H. Wacome explores the materialist account of the human mind and freedom, evolutionary explanations of morality and religion, belief in miracles, and the resurrection of the body.

First published in 1973 Professor Akenson’s book traces the series of religious and political controversies which have battered the state schools of Northern Ireland. After the government’s admirably intentioned, but muddled, attempt to create a non-sectarian school system in the early 1920s, the educational system was progressively manipulated by sectarianism. The way in which the author describes how children are schooled reveals a great deal about the attitudes and values of the parental generation and also helps to explain the actions (...) of later generations. (shrink)

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are the frequent target of nongovern-mental organizations (NGOs) in their advocacy efforts. In this article, the author examines NGO advocacy as it occurs in the NGO network and, using insights from the political science literature in conjunction with the resourcebased view of the firm, posits that NGO intranetwork conflict will result in a skewing of corporate social responsibility practices by the multinational corporation toward the MNC's developed country stakeholders. This skewing is a product of the asymmetric accountability (...) of NGOs (upwardly accountable to donors, downwardly accountable to recipients). Developing country government and MNC strategies in the face of such skewing are discussed. (shrink)

The Myth of Post-Racial America provides a history of race and racism in the United States.

Learning about the history of cultural conflict helps teachers reduce it in classrooms. This book shows our common origins and reviews sources of conflict in the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, and the Middle East. It reveals how prejudice and stereotypes about racial and religious minorities create problems in our schools.

This paper examines the motivation theory of Rowley and Moldoveanu (2003) on shareholder activism in the context of shareholder resolution networks. Shareholder resolution filings occur both within subnetworks as well as across subnetworks, indicating these motivations are mixed. I extend the motivational issue by also examining the response of the corporation to such activism. That resolutions might migrate from identity to interest motivated groups is examined as an element of future research.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global private governance system overseeing the sustainability and biodiversity of the world forestry system through certification of forests and forestry processes and products, and is perceived as the strongest of the various certification schemes available (Domask, Globalization and NGOs: Transforming Business, Government, and Society , 2003 ; Gulbrandsen, Global Environmental Politics , 2004 ). It has seen more success in developed than developing countries in terms of amount of forest certified and number of (...) chain-of-custody certificates issued, raising questions as to its ability to promote biodiversity Gulbrandsen, Global Environmental Politics , 2004 ). A number of challenges have risen to the pragmatic and moral legitimacy of the FSC as a global governance system: alternative certification schemes, output and market access, cost of certification, plantations, and illegal logging. I examine each of these challenges as they pertain to the dimensions of pragmatic and moral legitimacy of the FSC. I conclude with a discussion of theoretical implications for global governance systems using ecolabel schemes, as well as a discussion of practical implications for the FSC in particular. (shrink)

This research applies the notion of sustainability (Barney, 1991; Braa, Monteiro, & Sahay, 2004) to the mechanisms used by socially responsible investment(SRI) firms with respect to their stakeholders (investors and target firms). A contrast is developed between US and UK SRI firms. It is noted that screens, while maintaining a strong investor base, are less sustainable from the perspective of the firms targeted by SRI funds, whereas advocacy has stronger elements of sustainability with respect to the relations with corporations.

This study seeks to examine the mechanisms by which a corporation’s use of philanthropy affects its reputation for corporate social performance (CSP), which the authors conceive of as consisting of two dimensions: CSP awareness and CSP perception. Using signal detection theory (SDT), the authors model signal amplitude (the amount contributed), dispersion (number of areas supported), and consistency (presence of a corporate foundation) on CSP awareness and perception. Overall, this study finds that characteristics of firms’ portfolio of philanthropic activities are a (...) greater predictor of CSP awareness than of CSP perception. Awareness increases with signal amplitude, dispersion, and consistency. CSP perception is driven by awareness and corporate reputation. The authors’ contention that corporate philanthropy is a complex variable is upheld, as we find that CSP signal characteristics influence CSP awareness and perception independently and asymmetrically. The authors conclude by proposing avenues for future research. (shrink)

Gaulin, McBurney, and Brakeman-Wartell (1997) found that college students reported both matrilateral and sex biases in the investment of aunts and uncles (aunts invested more than uncles). They interpreted the matrilateral bias as a consequence of paternity uncertainty. We replicated that study with Orthodox Jewish college students, selected because they come from a population we presume to have higher paternity certainty than the general population. The Orthodox sample also showed matrilateral and sex biases. Comparing the two data sets, the Orthodox (...) sample reported more investment, and slightly less matrilateral and sex biases, but the differences were not statistically significant. We did find an interaction between sex of relative and group membership, resulting from greater investment by Orthodox uncles. We interpret the results as reflecting the operation of a facultative investment mechanism whose upper limit is tuned to the maximum levels of paternity certainty found in ancestral environments. Lack of a difference in matrilateral bias between groups may result from levels of paternity certainty near to, or above, that maximum in both groups. (shrink)

Failing Grades expands the look at the causes of violence and failure in America's schools. By focusing on interpersonal relations among diverse groups of students, the book demonstrates how conflict and low academic achievement are the result of clashes over communication, fairness, class, and race. This second edition contains new case studies derived from the author's experiences with students, teachers, and administrators; has a discussion of graduation rates, the achievement gap, and inadequacies of contemporary education; and contains an appendix that (...) outlines how teachers can implement dialogues and other multicultural activities in their classes. (shrink)

Viewing workplace deviance within a victim precipitation framework, we explore how abusive supervisors target subordinates low in core self-evaluations to explain when such employees respond by engaging in workplace deviance. We theorize that employees who are lower in CSE receive more abusive supervision, which generates subsequent harmful reactions toward supervisors, peers, and the organization. This occurs primarily when employees lack sufficient cognitive resources in dealing with supervisor abuse. We test, replicate, and extend our theoretical model in three empirical studies. Results (...) demonstrate that lower employee CSE drew more abusive supervision and led low-CSE employees to exhibit workplace deviance. This abusive supervision mediation effect was stronger for employees with comparatively lower cognitive ability levels. The findings are discussed with regard to theoretical and ethical issues in confronting employee abuse. (shrink)

Like many people these days, I believe there is no general moral obligation to obey the law. I shall explain why there is no such moral obligation – and I shall clarify what I mean when I say there is no moral obligation to obey the law – as we proceed. But also like many people, I am unhappy with a position that would say there was no moral obligation to obey the law and then say no more about the (...) law's moral significance. In our thinking about law in a resonably just society, we have a strong inclination to invest law with a sort of moral halo. It does not feel right to suggest that law is a morally neutral social fact, nor to suggest that law is merely a useful social technique. In this essay, I shall try to account in part for law's moral halo. Because I share the widespread inclination to invest law with this halo, I shall not be interested in a merely historical account of how we come to see law with a halo – a pure “error theory” of law's halo, if you will. I want to justify the halo. On the other hand, the main way to justify the halo is to get clear just what law's moral significance is. It is unlikely that at the end of the process of clarification the halo will have exactly the shape or luminance that it had at the beginning. (shrink)

Modern physics, which had its beginnings in the inclined-plane experiments of Galileo, deals with the measurable aspects of the world about us. The laws and definitions of classical physics are, at least superficially, differential equations in which each variable represents the result of a particular kind of measurement. These variables are usually called physical quantites. Starting from a few general laws and definitions we can derive formally further relations between the physical quantities and their rates of change in space and (...) time. If the original definitions are self-consistent and the original laws accurate, the relations we derive from them should enable us to predict what the numerical result of a certain measurement will be whenever certain other measurements have yielded specified numerical results. (shrink)

On Indic philosophy, classical literature, and modern Indian philosophers; contributed articles, with introductions to the contributors.