An important issue for information ethics is how much control people should have over the dissemination of information that they have created. Since intellectual property policies have an impact on our welfare primarily because they have a huge impact on our ability to acquire knowledge, there is an important role for epistemology in resolving this issue. This paper discusses the various ways in which intellectual property policies can impact knowledge acquisition both positively and negatively. In particular, it looks at how intellectual property policies can affect the amount of information that people create, the quality of that information, the accessibility of that information, the diversity of that information, and the locatability of that information.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis is about government surveillance technology in relation to the value of trust in society. The 2006 EU Data Retention Directive is used as an example of surveillance technology that invades privacy for the sake of security. I will show that trust enables cooperation and morality in society, and ask in what way the Directive relates to these values. The focus lies upon the relation of trust between government and citizens. I will argue that the Directive fails to recognize the value of trust in relation to cooperation and morality in society, because it fails to respect its citizens, and therefore has a bad influence on the climate of trust.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

<p> This thesis dissects the category of "waste," examining conventional modes of response to the people, places, and things considered waste, and challenging the patterns of both linear disposal and cyclical recycling. I argue that both ways of thinking about "waste" actually share the same problematic roots and reproduce the same problematic logics, and that both oversimplify the diverse spectrum of potentials and histories contained within "waste." </p><p> Using a methodology that links personal narrative with historical analysis, I decompose the very idea of waste to understand the constellation of factors and processes that actively produce "waste" in contrast with "value," discussing histories of recycling and disposal in tandem with histories of capitalism, colonialism, and industrialization. With recent composting work at Northern Arizona University serving as both metaphor and example throughout this thesis, I build an alternative to the existing paradigm of waste, offering a more complex, diverse, dynamic, and interconnected framework for relating to and redefining "waste." </p><p> To do this, I explore not only theoretical and conceptual strategies for revealing and amplifying the hidden diversity of alternate values, benefits, and relationships around (non)waste, but also transition theory to practice by mapping out ways to physically implement these ideas through specific projects and actions that actively shift the ways people think about and interact with "waste" on a daily basis. By mapping out the theory and action involved in re-shaping human interactions with the things considered "waste," this thesis hopes to inspire others to keep working with these ideas and to continue developing projects that transition from a state of waste to (non)waste by creating a more socially and ecologically ethical paradigm of relationships beyond "waste." </p>

<p> Supposing they exist, what work are value properties supposed to do? What difference do they make? What is the difference between a world in which they exist and a world in which they do not? </p><p> One obvious answer invokes the claim that evaluative properties make a causal difference. While this is an interesting topic, it is well-covered elsewhere by Gilbert Harman and Nicholas Sturgeon. But there are other possibilities put forth by moral realists that are independent of the question of causal explanation. In my dissertation, I examine a number of alternative possible jobs that value properties are thought to fulfill. </p><p> 1) <i>Reference and supervenience</i> - Some argue that evaluative properties serve as the <i>referents</i> of evaluative <i> predicates,</i> or as the <i>extension</i> of supervening evaluative concepts. I consider arguments from McDowell and others to the effect that our ability to correctly sort evaluative cases into the correct categories requires the mapping of these concepts onto evaluative properties. My arguments show that these considerations alone cannot support evaluative realism, as there are alternative accounts of evaluative language that do not require separate value properties. For instance, a semantics grounded in conceptual-role can adequately account for the ability to think with and use evaluative concepts but nevertheless have natural properties serve as the extension of these concepts. </p><p> 2) <i>Resemblance</i> - One might think that, as Russ Shafer-Landau and David Brink argue, the resemblance of items belonging to the same evaluative category needs to be explained given the manifest differences in their <i> non-evaluative</i> properties. Stealing candy from a baby, cheating on one's spouse, and refusing to tell the police where a perpetrator is hiding all belong to the same moral category (the category of wrong actions), but they share little in common from the view of physically manifested behavior. I offer two alternative methods for explaining evaluative categorization that do not require accepting the existence of distinctly evaluative properties, thus showing the inference that distinct value properties are necessary to explain resemblance to be unwarranted. I claim that the way we <i>think </i> about value is enough to ensure correct categorization &ndash; there need not be some further existent to explain this. </p><p> 3) <i>Qualitative Character</i> - Last, I consider the view that evaluative properties possess a distinctive and irreducible <i> qualitative character.</i> I address the purported qualitative natures that value properties are thought to possess and argue that understood in one way, we would have justification for accepting that they exist. This interpretation has it that evaluative qualities are literally perceptible &ndash; their qualitative characters are of the same general sort as the properties <i> redness</i> or <i>pain.</i> I argue, that there is no need to posit distinct value qualia, at least not if qualia are necessarily representational, since we can have the same phenomenology of value whether or not we are directly perceiving an evaluative episode &ndash; we can have the same phenomenology just by considering or imagining the relevant episode. I offer a model of value perception which captures this important point. </p><p> Though my arguments might appear to push one toward anti-realism, they are all compatible with the truth of (suitably qualified versions of) 1), 2), and 3) after all is said and done. My goal is not to undermine arguments for evaluative realism, but I do intend to show that there is no master argument for it; any argument for realism must delve into thorny and often distinct metaphysical questions. Furthermore, I emphasize the role that metaphysical preconceptions and their implications play in many debates in value theory and the need to be clear and consistent with regard to these implications. </p>

<p> We are emerging from a decade plagued with headlines of crises that tell the narrative of the cost of organizational culture. Evolving before our eyes, the world is acutely focused on the actions of individual leaders and the organizational cultures that have cultivated low-trust and high-fear environments, dysfunctional and failing organizational cultures. Drawing from research in organizational theory, moral philosophy, psychology and sociology, the study focuses on organizational cultures, the role of leadership in enabling healthy cultures. This exploratory, qualitative study utilizing the grounded theory approach addressed the question of how organizations are establishing and reinforcing acceptable ethical leadership behaviors and principles and the factors critical in the role of leadership as an enabler of ethical cultures. The research explores how these leadership behaviors are manifested, and what is the impact and potential consequences these leadership behaviors have on creating healthy organizational cultures. The framework for this exploratory study was to research the questions and assess the phenomena from multiple perspectives. A process of data triangulation was performed, including an evaluation of multiple forms of primary and secondary sources. An analysis of the convergence and disparities of the data patterns resulted in the emergence of the key factors informing the grounded theory. The study points to the importance of leaders as visible and reflective models of organizational culture, especially at the middle layer of the organization. The study points to some emergent themes and effective practices that organizations can utilize to build and frame their ethical leadership development programs and initiatives. These themes include that rules and policies alone, do not provide a sustainable framework for mitigating leadership behavior. Other themes include social learning tools as channels for reinforcement and peer support of ethical decision making practices, evaluation of multiple perspectives of a situation, framing guidance with a tone set through the middle layer of an organization, and implementing diverse activities with a cadence of frequent contact over time. Implications and recommendations for leadership development in the areas of organizational development and business ethics are outlined. Suggestions for future study include organizational reputation management, phenomena of sensationalism and global transparency.</p>

<p> This dissertation articulates a practical theology of reconciliation for, with, and by Cuban Catholic exiles through the development of a faith-based structured process of reconciliation&mdash;the Circles of Reconciliation&mdash;that addresses personal reconciliation as the basis for social reconciliation. The Circles of Reconciliation draw on sources of the Christian tradition in dialogue with the empirical sciences and Cuban culture. The Circles provide the space to advance a praxis of reconciliation among Cuban exiles. The reflection that emanates from this process is the basis for the concluding insights on a theology and an ethics of reconciliation for this community.</p>