In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in organizational trends to hire irregular workers. This inclination, in a time of great flux and uncertainty, exacerbates human resource issues faced by firms. We argue that corporate social responsibility can be an important antecedent to improve the workplace attitudes of irregular workers and as a result reduce the negative impact on organizations of the increased use of an irregular workforce. Hence, we explore the relationship between perceived CSR and unfairness perception (...) and social relations of subcontracted workers with regular workers. We further attempt to explain these relationships through the mediating effects of psychological contract violation and organizational identity, respectively. Our analysis supports a negative effect of composite and external CSR on unfairness perception and positive effect on social relations. Additionally, our results support partial mediating roles of psychological contract violation and organizational identity. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are also discussed. (shrink)

This paper addresses the central moral issues regarding the burka ban in a liberal society: the freedoms of religion and expression, women's liberty, gender equality, state neutrality and public safety. The paper argues that the ban is unjustifiable in a liberal society for the following reasons: (1) liberal institutions increase the likelihood of voluntary decisions, (2) a legal measure that promotes a controversial conception of liberty is an undue interference with liberty, (3) the ban overrides women’s judgment regarding their own (...) interest rather than gives effect to it, (4) the principle of moral equality fails to support forced unveiling, and (5) the ban is discriminatory because it imposes a harsh burden on women by preventing religious observance. (shrink)

Comparing expression patterns of orthologous genes between insects and vertebrates, we have recently proposed that the ventral nerve cord in insects may correspond to the dorsal nerve cord in vertebrates. Here we show that the early development of the insect and vertebrate brain anlagen is indeed very similar. Insect and vertebrate brains express similar sets of genes in comparable areas with similar functions in the adult. In addition, early axogenesis establishes surprisingly similar patterns of axonal connectivity in both groups. We (...) therefore propose that insect and vertebrate brains are built according to a common ground plan, and that specific areas of the insect and vertebrate brains be considered as homologous, meaning that these areas already existed, with their specific functions, in their common ancestor. (shrink)

In the quest to build truly sustainable corporations and supply chains, we propose the moral responsibility theory of corporate sustainability and the moral responsibility theory of sustainable supply chain. Built from morality literature in philosophy, the view of corporations as moral agents in law, and analyses of corporate hypocrisy and its role in an organization’s and its members’ behaviors, our theories show how a truly sustainable corporation and its external supply chain could emerge. At the core, we believe that without (...) a sense of moral responsibility businesses throughout the supply chain will not be truly sustainable. In today’s highly globalized and fragmented business environments, corporations do businesses with external supply chain partners, and without the truly sustainable supply chain partners, they may not be able to achieve sustainability goals. Moreover, for such a supply chain to be truly sustainable, each member of the supply chain must also be truly sustainable. For each member of the supply chain to be truly sustainable, the individuals who work in a corporation must be truly sustainable as well. That is, a truly sustainable supply chain cannot be established without its member corporations’ and employees’ commitment to and successes in sustainability. This paper shows how business moral responsibility and corporate sustainability are closely intertwined. How these theories could be applied in the corporate and supply chain settings are discussed, and future research opportunities are presented. (shrink)

If we are to constrain our place in the world, two principles are often appealed to in science. According to the Copernican Principle, we do not occupy a privileged position within the Universe. The Cosmological Principle, on the other hand, says that our observations would roughly be the same, if we were located at any other place in the Universe. In our paper we analyze these principles from a logical and philosophical point of view. We show how they are related, (...) how they can be supported and what use is made of them. Our main results are: 1. There is a logical gap between both principles insofar as the Cosmological Principle is significantly stronger than the Copernican Principle. 2. A step that is often taken for establishing the Cosmological Principle on the base of the Copernican Principle and observations is not incontestable as it stands, but can be supplemented with a different argument. 3. The Cosmological Principle might be crucial for cosmology to the extent it is not supported by empirical evidence. (shrink)

The writers of the Huainanzi 淮南子 show that emotions are based on resonance. In this ancient Chinese text, emotional expressions are considered natural phenomena; however, at the same time, they are sometimes evaluated negatively. It states that sometimes, not only emotions stemming from desires but also emotional expressions in daily lives must be controlled. This is due to the following prescriptions stemming from the art of rulership: (1) a ruler must clearly and distinctly recognize a situation. Emotional expressions lose the (...) Quintessential Spirit (jingshen 精神), which mediates the recognition of the situation; and (2) the intention must not be revealed to the ruler’s vassals. The concept of heart (xin 心) in the Huainanzi, on the foundation called the “theory of cultivation” of Daoism, is influenced by the art of rulership from Legalism. (shrink)

This article aims to describe the last 10 years of the collaborative scientific endeavors on polarization in particular and collective problem-solving in general by our multidisciplinary research team. We describe the team’s disciplinary composition—social psychology, political science, social philosophy/epistemology, and complex systems science— highlighting the shared and unique skill sets of our group members and how each discipline contributes to studying polarization and collective problem-solving. With an eye to the literature on team dynamics, we describe team logistics and processes that (...) we believe make our multidisciplinary team persistent and productive. We emphasize challenges and difficulties caused by disciplinary differences in terms of terminology, units/levels of analysis, methodology, and theoretical assumptions. We then explain how work disambiguating the concepts of polarization and developing an integrative theoretical and methodological framework with complex systems perspectives has helped us overcome these challenges. We summarize the major findings that our research has produced over the past decade, and describe our current research and future directions. Last, we discuss lessons we have learned, including difficulties in a “three models” project and how we addressed them, with suggestions for effective multidisciplinary team research. (shrink)

Drawing upon uses and gratifications perspectives and socioemotional selectivity theory, this study examined the differences in the use of Facebook features among younger, middle-aged, and older adults. Furthermore, it explored the association between Facebook activities and users’ perceived enjoyment for different age groups. An online survey was conducted with 647 Facebook users in the United States. An exploratory factor analysis identified four types of Facebook activities: broadcasting, directed communication, content consumption, and information regulation. The results revealed that younger users’ broadcasting, (...) content consumption, and information regulation activities substantially differed from those of older users. In addition, broadcasting and content consumption activities were more popular among younger users and more predictive of their enjoyment. Directed communication was more powerful in predicting middle-aged and older users’ enjoyment. However, younger and middle-aged users’ engagement with information regulation activities was negatively related to their enjoyment of Facebook. The study findings provide more nuanced knowledge regarding user experiences on social media platforms among specified age groups and practical insights into the improvement of social media by addressing their different needs. (shrink)

A variety of stakeholders including investors, corporate managers, customers, suppliers, employees, researchers, and government policy makers have long been interested in the relationship between the financial performance of a corporation and its commitment to business ethics. As a subject of research, the relations between business ethics and corporate valuation has yet to be thoroughly quantified and investigated. This article is an effort to amend this inadequacy by demonstrating a statistically significant association between ethical commitment and corporate valuation measures. Consistent with (...) anecdotal evidence, we have found a significant association between the ethical commitment of Korean companies and their valuation on the Korean stock market. However, the result reveals that the association between ethical commitment and financial performance is not significantly supported. (shrink)

According to our data, 38.5 % of S&P 1500 firms have at least one professor on their boards. Given the lack of research examining the roles and effects of academic faculty as members of boards of directors on corporate outcomes, this study investigates whether firms with professor–directors are more likely to exhibit higher corporate social responsibility performance ratings. Results indicate that firms with professor–directors do exhibit higher CSR performance ratings than those without. However, the influence of professor–directors on firm CSR (...) performance ratings depends on their academic background—the positive association between the presence of professor–directors and firm CSR performance ratings is significant only when their academic background is specialized. Finally, this positive association weakens when professor–directors hold an administrative position at their universities. (shrink)

As false information may spread rapidly on social media, a profound understanding of how it can be debunked is required. This study offers empirical insights into the development of rumors after they are debunked, the various user groups who are involved in the process, and their network structures. As crisis situations are highly sensitive to the spread of rumors, Twitter posts from during the 2017 G20 summit are examined. Tweets regarding five rumors that were debunked during this event were manually (...) coded into the following categories: rumor, debunking message, uncertainty about rumor, uncertainty about debunking message, and others. Our findings show that rumors which are debunked early and vehemently by official sources are the most likely to be stopped. When individuals participate in the process, they typically do so by sharing uncommented media content, as opposed to contributing user-generated content. Depending on the conditions in which a rumor arises, different network structures can be found. Since some rumors are easier for individuals to verify than others, our results have implications for the priorities of journalists and official sources. (shrink)

Business Ethics: A European Review, EarlyView.

We study whether changes in analyst recommendation ratings systems encouraged by the implementation of NASD 2711 in 2002 are associated with improved objectivity and independence in analyst recommendations. Using recommendations issued during windows surrounding major investment banking events, we show that reductions in analyst optimism following the reforms concentrate in the recommendations of analysts whose employer adopted a three-tier rating system at the time of the reforms, and that this effect is generally stronger for analysts whom the underlying incentives to (...) engage in unethical behaviour is greatest. We also find evidence that adoption of the three-tier system improved the market’s perception of the objectivity of analyst recommendations issued after SEOs, and that for hold and sell-type recommendations this effect was stronger for analysts subject to the greatest potential ethical conflicts. While we find some evidence of a general post-reform increase in the profitability of recommendations issued following equity transactions, this improvement was only conditioned by changes to the rating system in our IPO sample. (shrink)

Toleration is one of many responses toward diversity and difference. With the growing diversity, the theme of toleration has often taken center stage in discussions of multiculturalism and social pluralism. Nonetheless, it has not received much attention in the social work profession. Social workers often encounter situations in which they face a choice between tolerating and not tolerating. We argue that toleration is a legitimate and relevant topic in social work discourse. To make this point, first, this paper discusses different (...) conceptions of toleration. Then, it demonstrates its relevance to social work and explores a potential benefit of including the idea of toleration in social work discourse. Social work code of ethics implicitly supports toleration, or at least respect-toleration and esteem-toleration. Incorporating toleration in social work discourse may help social workers to better cope with or reduce ethical stress and disjuncture. (shrink)

Krishnachandra's re-articulation of Kant's transcendental system challenges Kant's conceptualization of 'apperceptive self' conceived as a logical function which is as well the precondition of all our knowledge claims. In Kant's framework, though this "unity of consciousness" is projected as a principle, which undertakes a foundational role as 'apperceptive I', it is capacitated with merely a logical function. Krishnachandra disagrees with Kant's reduction of function of the "self" to a logical process. This reduction would render knowledge of the "self" to be (...) an inferential knowledge, thus making this derivation analogous to the proofs of the transcendental conditions of understanding and sensibility through the logical process of deductions. Krishnachandra's question is: whether this equation established between logical function of 'apperception' and the "self" will suffice to establish the "certitude" of knowledge claims. This is the first task Krishnachandra addresses in his work, Studies in Kant which is elucidated in the following section of this paper. Further, we will see how Krishnachandra’s exploration into the dynamics of this problem leads him to alternatively foreground the "unity", which is much sought by Kantian scholars, between the theoretical and the practical domains of Reason. (shrink)

This chapter explores Rainer Forst’s justification-centric view of nondomination toleration. This view places an idea of equal respect and a corresponding requirement of reciprocal and general justification at the core of non-domination toleration. After reconstructing this view, this chapter addresses two issues. First, even if this idea of equal respect requires the limits of non-domination toleration to be drawn in a manner that is equally justifiable to all affected people, equal justifiability should not be understood in terms of Forst’s requirement (...) of reciprocal and general acceptability. Second, for the equal justifiability of relevant constraints to ensure non-domination outcomes, discursive equality must be understood in substantive, purchase-sensitive terms. This means that a justification-centric view of non-domination toleration stands or falls with the participation value of what it regards as the standards of justification. This places reasonably contested matters of value at the heart of such views. (shrink)

This book investigates the different meanings and logics that the notion of qi/gi has acquired within the East Asian traditions in order to understand the diversity of these traditions. More specifically, this work focuses on investigating how the notion was understood by traditional Chinese and Korean philosophers.

Hinging on a metaphysical examination of the concept of newness and Paul Guyer’s notion of the temporally extended self, this article analyzes what it means that we are a temporally extended being that is fashioned in time, which is none other than a transcendental object = newness, and argues that (fashioned) bodies can be things in themselves and mere phenomena simultaneously. Kant’s doctrine of self-positing assists us in decoding how the subject obtains an embodied experience while a thing in itself, (...) as well as how both a non-empirical affection and an empirical affection are at play, casually affecting the subject. By looking into how double affection is in operation, this article aims to broaden our understanding of Kant’s theory of self-consciousness. (shrink)

The commentaries address conceptual issues ranging from our narrow focus on neuroimaging to the various definitions of intelligence. The integration of the P-FIT and data from cognitive neuroscience is particularly important and considerable consistency is found. Overall, the commentaries affirm that advances in neuroscience techniques have caused intelligence research to enter a new phase. The P-FIT is recognized as a reasonable empirical framework to test hypotheses about the relationship of brain structure and function with intelligence and reasoning.

While the effect of top executives' social networks on their compensations has received substantial scholarly attention, little effort has been made to integrate segmented views to offer more complete understanding of this effect. In this paper, we propose an integrative two-stage model by taking both economic and socio-political views into account. We theorise that some characteristics of top executive's outside social ties are positively related to firm performance, and those relationships are conditioned by external and internal strategic contexts, such as (...) environmental uncertainty, strategic relevance, and tie strength. We also theorise that firm performance leads to executives' compensations, but this linkage is moderated by the socio-political dynamics among executives (within-group dynamics) as well as between executives and a board of directors (between-group dynamics) inside the firm. Based on our integrative framework, this paper provides the comprehensive understanding of how executives' compensations are determined and highlights the importance of executive's social ties and their implications. (shrink)

Relating visual images to textual messages may have great potential in facilitating students’ reading comprehension. The inevitable and important presence of visuals in textbooks obliges language teachers to exploit all semiotic resources to deepen students’ understanding. However, analysis of how images interact with text in textbooks has been rare, and among the efforts it has generally been found that visuals and text often fail to achieve coherence. This study investigates whether and how text and image complement each other ideationally by (...) six sense relations and interpersonally by the Mood system in ninth-grade English as a Foreign Language textbooks to reach intersemiotic complementarity. The results revealed that ideational rather than interpersonal IC is more frequent, where many more Participants than Processes in the texts find their visual complements. Ideational IC is particularly high in Information Reports while Recounts generally mark higher percentages of interpersonal IC. To accomplish ideational IC, repetition is most frequent, followed by hyponymy and collocation. Distinct IC patterns also characterize the different editions of textbooks investigated, which may suggest their different potentials in catering to students of varying proficiencies. (shrink)

Bei der Herausbildung des modernen sozialtheoretischen Denkens haben zwei Theorieströmungen eine zentrale Rolle gespielt: der amerikanische Pragmatismus und die deutsche Tradition des Historismus. Eine Zusammenführung der beiden damals unverbundenen Strömungen, so die These des Bandes, wäre historisch höchst fruchtbar gewesen. Die Autoren zeigen, wie eine vergleichende Bezugnahme noch heute revitalisierend auf die aktuelle Sozialtheorie und die empirischen Forschungsprogramme des Sozialen wirkt.

Definition of the problem Digital health technologies have gained significant importance in recent years. These technologies include symptom checker apps which use algorithms or artificial intelligence to provide users with analyses and recommendations based on their symptom input. Despite their widespread recognition, research shows mixed results regarding the accuracy of these apps, thus, limiting their current utility. The interdisciplinary CHECK.APP project examined the ethical, legal, and social aspects associated with symptom checker apps. Arguments The resulting recommendations presented here are directed (...) towards various stakeholders, including users, physicians, developers, and public institutions. It is crucial to adopt a critical stance towards the use of symptom checker apps, promote health literacy and eHealth literacy, and ensure transparency regarding the data basis and user experiences. Moreover, there is a need for reliable and independent information sources that allow users and physicians to stay informed about current developments in the digitalization of healthcare. At the same time, developers are encouraged to follow clear guidelines on transparency, quality assurance, and accessibility. Additionally, policymakers are recommended to ensure the voluntary use of symptom checker apps and to create conditions that strengthen the health literacy of the population. Conclusion The recommendations presented here outline how symptom checker apps can be used responsibly to maximize potential benefits and minimize risks. (shrink)

Definition of the problem Digital health technologies have gained significant importance in recent years. These technologies include symptom checker apps which use algorithms or artificial intelligence to provide users with analyses and recommendations based on their symptom input. Despite their widespread recognition, research shows mixed results regarding the accuracy of these apps, thus, limiting their current utility. The interdisciplinary CHECK.APP project examined the ethical, legal, and social aspects associated with symptom checker apps. Arguments The resulting recommendations presented here are directed (...) towards various stakeholders, including users, physicians, developers, and public institutions. It is crucial to adopt a critical stance towards the use of symptom checker apps, promote health literacy and eHealth literacy, and ensure transparency regarding the data basis and user experiences. Moreover, there is a need for reliable and independent information sources that allow users and physicians to stay informed about current developments in the digitalization of healthcare. At the same time, developers are encouraged to follow clear guidelines on transparency, quality assurance, and accessibility. Additionally, policymakers are recommended to ensure the voluntary use of symptom checker apps and to create conditions that strengthen the health literacy of the population. Conclusion The recommendations presented here outline how symptom checker apps can be used responsibly to maximize potential benefits and minimize risks. (shrink)