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.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 289-304). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / viii, 304 leaves, bound 29 cm

The aim of this thesis is to examine advertising from the point of view of Christian ethics: how it works, what is wrong with it and how it might go right as a practice. It argues that much existing criticism of advertising is justified, but that its power to create desire might be turned towards serving the good of the education of desire, leading us towards, or strengthening, a love of God, and helping us relate to products and services based on this love. This is significant because learning to desire well is central to living a Christian life, and because advertising influences how many people desire today. In contrast to authors who simply criticise advertising, often as part of a general critique of consumer culture, this thesis offers a constructive and detailed examination of the practice itself, looking at how its techniques work and how they might be reformed into an 'art of advertising'. In making this argument the thesis draws primarily on Augustine, in addition to Plato, and modern critics of advertising. First, it describes desire, before examining how advertisements create desire, followed by an assessment of existing criticisms of this process. It then develops an account of the education of desire, identifying what an art of advertising should aim to achieve, before examining the techniques by which an advertisement might achieve this. The argument is intended to contribute to a project within Christian ethics of critiquing advertising, and presenting a workable ethical vision for the future of the industry.

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Academic Integrity is central to the security of higher education academic standards and qualifications. However in recent years threats to integrity and educational quality have increased throughout the world because of high rates of academic misconduct. The author of the portfolio was Principal Investigator and project leader for the EU funded project Impact of Policies for Plagiarism in Higher Education Across Europe (IPPHEAE, 2010-2013) and has continued to build on the findings from the research since the project ended. Over 5000 survey responses were collected from over 200 institutions across 27 European Union (EU) countries, through on-line questionnaires, interviews and focus groups, involving higher education students, academics, managers, researchers and people concerned with HE nationally. The portfolio draws on the authors significant contributions to the IPPHEAE research which explored the nature and efficacy of institutional policies designed to address these threats and promote ethical and scholarly academic conduct. Although some effective policies were evident, for example in UK, Sweden, Austria and Slovakia, the findings indicated that much more could be done in every country studied to improve guidance and support given to both students and teachers. Great disparities were evident across Europe in what was perceived as acceptable academic conduct, procedures to investigate allegations of student cheating and penalties applied for different offences. This initial research highlighted inherent inconsistencies, lack of transparency and unfairness in student outcomes. It is remarkable that such major policy and conceptual differences should exist despite moves to harmonise educational systems across the EU. There was a perception among survey respondents that outcomes and penalties for students found to be cheating would vary within an institution according to which lecturer found the problem. The author’s contributions to the body of knowledge include a unique insight into how well HEIs in different part of Europe appreciate current challenges to academic integrity and how their perceptions are driving national and institutional policies. Key outputs from the authors’ own research include the Academic Integrity Maturity Model (AIMM), which calculates a maturity profile for each country studies based on nine metrics, calculated from the survey data. AIMM was applied in the country-bycountry report comparing policies across the 27 EU countries. AIMM has since been repurposed as an institutional evaluation and benchmarking tool and forms the basis for the Scorecard for Academic Integrity Development (SAID). The portfolio contains five different publications that cover the main elements of the authors’ research in this specific field: a journal paper, a conference paper, a book chapter, the EU-wide comparison report and an expert witness report presented to an international forum. All the publications have been subject to peer review. Given the vast scale and scope of this research, the author has collaborated with many other researchers in the course of the underlying research and developments. Eight main co-researchers were given access to the portfolio and draft thesis and each has provided a statement about their view of the research. The author is now building on earlier research, in conjunction with the global research community. Further funding has just been provided to extend IPPHEAE to the Balkan region (Council of Europe) and to create a European Network for Academic Integrity (Erasmus+). The long-term goal is to improve the security and integrity of qualifications and systems in education and research throughout the world. Only if the future leaders of government, business, education and commerce become convinced of the need for ethical values and integrity, will we begin to see long-term positive changes to cultural values affecting wider society.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:55:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:05:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGEMENT in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / This study investigates ethical communication practice in the professional practice of Public Relations in South Africa. Using Public Relations professional bodies (PRISA and IABC) and Public Relations firms based in Cape Town, the study sought to understand how ethical communication is conceptualised and practised by public relations practitioners. Literature reveals that ethical communication in Public Relations has been shaped by two dominant views. The early, simplistic paradigm conceptualised ethical communication as dialogic and symmterical communication. It views ethical communication as counter-argument. This paradigm has been critiqued in favour of a more contemporary paradigm that regards ethical communication in terms of dialogic values such as honesty, openness, loyalty, fair-mindedness, respect, integrity and forthright communication. Using dialogic, symmetrical communication and a reflective paradigm of public relations as its theoretical framework, this study analyses how Public Relations practitioners and professional bodies conceptualise ethical communication. Results from the study reveal that ethical communication as a phenomenon is still subject to various interpretations. The study reveals that fostering ethical communication by professional bodies is often hampered by the existence of untrained Public Relations personnel. This study seeks to make a theoretical contribution towards the understanding of ethical communication amongst Public Relations and professional bodies. It shows that there is need for Public Relations professionals to develop a more holistic understanding of ethical communication in order to raise the quality of Public Relations practitioners’ ethical behaviour and increase the legitimacy and value of public relations studies to society.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:55:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:05:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Este trabalho tem como objetivo refletir sobre ações que possam contribuir na criação de mecanismos de defesa para o meio ambiente no processo de desenvolvimento de projetos de pesquisa em Instituições de Pesquisa, especificamente, o Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares IPEN. Para tanto, parte de valores éticos aplicados ao processo de desenvolvimento científico durante os períodos antigo, medieval e moderno, desvendando a cisão dos princípios éticos na natureza, bem como percorrendo o caminho da criação dos códigos de ética em pesquisa. Além disso, apresenta critérios que possibilitam preservar o meio ambiente durante a execução de projetos de pesquisa, por intermédio de diretrizes que contribuirão na elaboração de um código de ética ambiental. / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A. (Philosophy) / Imagine a hypothetical couple, Jane and John Smith. The Smiths have been together for a couple of years, and they both have good jobs with a solid income. They are both physically healthy and happy, and have a good relationship built on mutual trust. The Smiths feel ready to take, what so many call, 'the next step' - they want a child. This sounds like a commonplace scenario in any middle-class society around the world. But let me add to their considerations the one about the existence of orphans - almost 145 million of them worldwide (UNICEF 2009). A dilemma now occurs for the Smiths: Should they have their own, biological child, or should they adopt an orphan? Like most people, they would like to have their own child, but realise that there are so many children already in existence who need a home. They consider that, instead of having a biological child for no other real reason than their own desires, they can really change one (or more) child's life by adopting her. There simultaneously exists an inherent dilemma for any state: Should the state interfere in people like the Smiths' option to reproduce naturally in order to increase the adoption of orphans? There are millions of orphans who will never be adopted, and yet every year millions of babies are born. The existence of orphans is therefore a socio-economic problem for any country, especially third world countries that cannot provide the orphan with adequate care and education. In this thesis, I examine how the existence of orphans in the world should influence anybody's decision to reproduce and what the state's role should be therein. The millions of orphans in the world raise serious moral questions for those people planning to have a biological child. Difficult questions arise like, if there are so many children already in the world who are in dire need of parents, is it ethical to bring another human being into the world? What duties, if any, do prospective parents have towards orphans? Do orphans deserve moral consideration above people's yet unborn 'flesh and blood'? Additionally, questions arise about the role of the state: Can it be just for a state to interfere in people's decision to reproduce? Will it be permissible to punish people if they do not adopt? Is the existence of orphans ultimately the responsibility of the state or also of the citizens within the state?