Background   The patient's rights to self-determine their own health care is described in Swedish legislation and guidelines. However, due to infancy, unconsciousness, severe brain damage or certain diseases, some patients might be unable to make such decisions. Ethically difficult situations do occur, not infrequently associated with culture. Since the patient is vulnerable, there is a risk that the patient in the treatment and care can not be bothered to maintain right to autonomy and that the nurse violates patient integrity. Aim                 The aim of this study was to illustrate the nurse's dilemma when the patient refuses vital caring efforts. Method           A literature review of eight scientific articles with a qualitative approach was performed. Results           The results revealed the following domains to describe the nurse's dilemma when the patient refuses vital care interventions: patients’ reasons for treatment refusal, the nurse's understanding of the patient's refusal of care and contradictory legislation Conclusion     More knowledge and discussion of the patient's decision-making competence is needed for both the nursing profession and those who make decisions on legislation.

The best-interests principle is a widely used ethical, legal and social basis for policy and decision-making involving children [italics added] (Kopelman, 1997). In response to modern ethical leadership, a growing number of academics have examined the relationship between the best interest principle and decision making (Cranston, 2006; Tirri, 1999, 2001, 2002). Shapiro and Stefkovich (2001) and Stefkovich (2006) responded to this interest with two educational ethical decision making models where best interests are central. The models incorporated foundational works like Starratts (1994) multidimensional ethical framework and Walkers (1998) jurisprudential and ethical perspectives. Additionally, Stefkovich (2004, 2006) sought to include jurisprudential constructs such as rights, responsibilities and respect . However, despite the academic attention for best interests, only a small number of empirical studies have been conducted (Frick, 2006; Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2001; Stefkovich, 2006). The purpose of this research was to examine the best interest(s) principle through an investigation of theory, practice and professional praxis and thus to identify the common use and understanding of the best interests principle in Canadian in-school administrative practice. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used in this study. Research methodology consisted of self-report, structured questionnaires including both closed attitudinal and open ended questions and a semi-structured focus group interview. A best interests questionnaire was embedded in a larger study entitled Moral Agency and Trust Brokering: Challenges of the Principal and distributed to a stratified sample of Canadian in-school administrators. The data was subjected to both descriptive statistical and thematic analysis.<p> The findings revealed a compelling image of the best interests principle in educational administrative practice. Analyses of the data revealed two categories of thought: (a) broad conceptualizations and general perspectives toward defining best interests and (b) general methodological considerations or approaches to applying best interests principle. The best interests of the student(s) was broadly conceptualized and defined as three major categories of thought: best interests as core good, best interests as good pedagogy, and best interests as holistic.<p> Additionally, three methodological considerations were identified as contributing toward the application of the principle: stakeholders influence, contextual considerations and relational aspects. Respondents preferred to define best interests in caring and collective terms. Analysis revealed simultaneously narrow and broad interpretations of interests. Implications for theory supported a modified professional ethic and best interests model that balances the ethical paradigms of care, critique, justice and community with the jurisprudential constructs of responsibility, respect and rights. Two central dichotomies emerged within interpretations of the best interests principle in the ethical and jurisprudential literature forming a matrix of best interests: individual v. collective and subjective v. objective. This study placed the respondents centered on the continuum between individual and communal and subjective and objective.<p> The findings of this study indicated that continued best practices in ethical decision making pedagogy would serve to augment the findings of this study. Likewise, continued research in the area of multiple ethical paradigms, ethical leadership and ethical decision making among in-school administrators would serve to extend the findings of this study.

My project is founded on an inter-genre, comparative approach between Chaucers <i>Franklins Tale</i> from the Canterbury collection, and Jean Froissarts <i>Chroniques</i>, the innovative and epic account of French history in the thirteenth century. I have adopted a method of thematic comparison between the two in an effort to illuminate parallels of example and authorial intent in the works of these almost exactly contemporaneous authors. My thesis therefore becomes a selective examination of the ethical functions of their literature.<p>Twentieth century scholarship focusing on the similarities between Geoffrey Chaucer and Jean Froissart has left little doubt that the two shared numerous sources and analogues in selections of their poetry, were at least aware of each other personally, and were born into similar social backgrounds. What remains to be done, and what has received little critical attention in the decades since serious work began on the similarities between them, is a study of the ideological values that Chaucer and Froissart shared specifically evidenced in their writing. The ideas they wanted to promote, the contemporary moral and social debates they engaged in, are equally as fascinating as the similarities in their love poetry. I intend to go beyond the biographical and source study that has dominated discussion on Chaucer and Froissart and embark on a project of tracing thematic parallels in two of their works, specifically focusing on the issue that I find most obvious between them: the desire to create and record literary discussions of ethical behaviour.

Research regarding the experience of the psychotherapist in the therapeutic interaction is uncommon in scientific literature and rarer still in the literature of the U.S. When Freud recognized the therapist’s emotional experience in response to the client, he termed it countertransference and identified it as counterproductive to the analytic process. Later it was recognized as containing potentially useful information about the client. Despite a shift in academic concern away from the clinician’s experience, outcome studies have demonstrated the importance of the therapeutic relationship. If the therapist’s experience can help or hinder the relationship and, therefore, the process of therapy, it must continue to be explored. Some researchers have suggested that the field may be disproportionately populated by individuals who had excessive emotional demands placed on them as children (Miller, 1979/1990). Jurkovic (1997) proposed that, along with strengths endowed by this childhood responsibility, parentified therapists may find themselves more vulnerable to a sense of duty that they must help clients. Similarly, these therapists might feel compelled by their empathic concern to go above and beyond. The experience of a therapist in such a situation might be to “feel in too deep with a client” – the phenomenon of concern for this study. Ten practicing, doctoral level psychologists were asked to describe a specific experience in which they felt in too deep with a client. Selection analysis and situational descriptions were reviewed with each participant. Four core themes emerged. They revealed the participants’ experience of feeling in too deep as involving a variety of distressful thoughts and feelings. A specific cluster of feeling insecure, confused, or not in control was universal. The other three core themes were challenge in connection, altering personal style of therapy, and balancing the wants and needs of the different people in the therapy relationship. The unique experiences of participants relative to the core themes are discussed. Recent research on therapist-identified difficult situations provides a context for understanding these themes. Feeling in too deep is considered as a response to an ethical challenge.

This research examines and describes the ways psychotherapists address ethical dilemmas through a hermeneutic analysis of how they responded to a portrayal of a therapy session represented in a television series. Interview transcripts were analyzed and assessed for both how therapists navigate difficult ethical terrain, and upon what, thematically, they tend to direct their thought and concern. Moreover, particular consideration is given to the role of imagination in the development of ethical meaning, intention, and understanding in the clinical context, which intersects with a critique of the American Psychological Association's ethics code and its underlying philosophical assumptions. Such theoretical underpinnings suggest a view of therapists as rational agents capable of applying ethical rules and codes to resolve dilemmas in a logical, formulaic manner, a view which is questioned for its failure to account for the empathetic, vitalizing, and hermeneutic value of imaginative thought, rehearsal, and reflection in practice. Finally, implications for therapy, pedagogy, and interpersonal understanding are explored. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Clinical Psychology / PhD; / Dissertation;

My project is founded on an inter-genre, comparative approach between Chaucers <i>Franklins Tale</i> from the Canterbury collection, and Jean Froissarts <i>Chroniques</i>, the innovative and epic account of French history in the thirteenth century. I have adopted a method of thematic comparison between the two in an effort to illuminate parallels of example and authorial intent in the works of these almost exactly contemporaneous authors. My thesis therefore becomes a selective examination of the ethical functions of their literature.<p>Twentieth century scholarship focusing on the similarities between Geoffrey Chaucer and Jean Froissart has left little doubt that the two shared numerous sources and analogues in selections of their poetry, were at least aware of each other personally, and were born into similar social backgrounds. What remains to be done, and what has received little critical attention in the decades since serious work began on the similarities between them, is a study of the ideological values that Chaucer and Froissart shared specifically evidenced in their writing. The ideas they wanted to promote, the contemporary moral and social debates they engaged in, are equally as fascinating as the similarities in their love poetry. I intend to go beyond the biographical and source study that has dominated discussion on Chaucer and Froissart and embark on a project of tracing thematic parallels in two of their works, specifically focusing on the issue that I find most obvious between them: the desire to create and record literary discussions of ethical behaviour.

The best-interests principle is a widely used ethical, legal and social basis for policy and decision-making involving children [italics added] (Kopelman, 1997). In response to modern ethical leadership, a growing number of academics have examined the relationship between the best interest principle and decision making (Cranston, 2006; Tirri, 1999, 2001, 2002). Shapiro and Stefkovich (2001) and Stefkovich (2006) responded to this interest with two educational ethical decision making models where best interests are central. The models incorporated foundational works like Starratts (1994) multidimensional ethical framework and Walkers (1998) jurisprudential and ethical perspectives. Additionally, Stefkovich (2004, 2006) sought to include jurisprudential constructs such as rights, responsibilities and respect . However, despite the academic attention for best interests, only a small number of empirical studies have been conducted (Frick, 2006; Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2001; Stefkovich, 2006). The purpose of this research was to examine the best interest(s) principle through an investigation of theory, practice and professional praxis and thus to identify the common use and understanding of the best interests principle in Canadian in-school administrative practice. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used in this study. Research methodology consisted of self-report, structured questionnaires including both closed attitudinal and open ended questions and a semi-structured focus group interview. A best interests questionnaire was embedded in a larger study entitled Moral Agency and Trust Brokering: Challenges of the Principal and distributed to a stratified sample of Canadian in-school administrators. The data was subjected to both descriptive statistical and thematic analysis.<p> The findings revealed a compelling image of the best interests principle in educational administrative practice. Analyses of the data revealed two categories of thought: (a) broad conceptualizations and general perspectives toward defining best interests and (b) general methodological considerations or approaches to applying best interests principle. The best interests of the student(s) was broadly conceptualized and defined as three major categories of thought: best interests as core good, best interests as good pedagogy, and best interests as holistic.<p> Additionally, three methodological considerations were identified as contributing toward the application of the principle: stakeholders influence, contextual considerations and relational aspects. Respondents preferred to define best interests in caring and collective terms. Analysis revealed simultaneously narrow and broad interpretations of interests. Implications for theory supported a modified professional ethic and best interests model that balances the ethical paradigms of care, critique, justice and community with the jurisprudential constructs of responsibility, respect and rights. Two central dichotomies emerged within interpretations of the best interests principle in the ethical and jurisprudential literature forming a matrix of best interests: individual v. collective and subjective v. objective. This study placed the respondents centered on the continuum between individual and communal and subjective and objective.<p> The findings of this study indicated that continued best practices in ethical decision making pedagogy would serve to augment the findings of this study. Likewise, continued research in the area of multiple ethical paradigms, ethical leadership and ethical decision making among in-school administrators would serve to extend the findings of this study.

Business ethics is a fragmented and well covered scientific field. This Master thesis study concerns two type of organizations, namely family businesses (FB’s) and venture capital firms (VCF’s), in relation to the ethical decision-making process, which is a relatively undiscovered field. The study is conducted in the way it sheds a light on the influences on a manager when taking decisions concerning ethical considerations. Important scholars such as Colby and Kohlberg (1987) and Rest et al. (1999) framed the field of moral development of individuals, and what makes managers unaware of their unethical decisions (Bazerman, 2008). However, a manager’s possibility to take decisions is also influenced by organizational factors and actors. The type of management and ownership structure, and the expectations these actors have with regard to profits, as well as situational factors such as business strategy, maturity of the company, human and financial resources and market position are shaping the environment and possibility for managers to pursue ethical behavior because they affect the decision-making process.The purpose of this study is to understand how managers in FB’s and VCF’s manage ethical considerations. The creating of the conceptual framework was used as a foundation to visualize how ethical behavior is constructed, while the focus laid on the influences and possibility to take decisions including ethical considerations and content. While performing this research, we have conducted eight semi-structured interviews with managers in three VCF’s and two FB’s in Sweden. The respondent companies and interviewees remain anonymous. We did that to increase the chance of honest and unbiased answers since we saw a risk to receive adjusted and image improving responses.The empirical findings show that the VCF’s do not pay attention to ethical considerations in the same extent as FB’s do. Discovered reasons were lack of time and know-how, financial and human resources, business maturity and the fact that they were to generate a high ROI to the venture capitalist. Such a relationship makes the managers focus on profit maximization and short term objectives rather than ethical considerations. The two FB’s did have an ethical code of conduct with the employees and was constructed in order to fulfill acceptance, integration and efficiency with this management tool. The ethical codes of conduct were created with the goal to steer behavior and ensure ethical commitment in certain areas of interest. The major finding is that situational factors either suffocate or give room for ethical considerations in companies when taking decisions.In particular, this research contributes to the field of business ethics and VCF’s in general, but also with regard to FB’s. The results of this thesis are constructed in the decision-making model which is different than the ethical decision-making model we constructed based on the theoretical research. However, reality did not allow us to recognize the fragmented patterns we interpreted from the theory. We therefore created a new top-down model which takes the need for a decision in companies into account, the actors and factors in the organization, the situational factors that influence the happenings in the organization and the outcome of the decision, which possibly contains ethical considerations and content. With the improved model we visualize the decision-making process while taking influences towards ethical decision-making into consideration and visualize organizational reality as we discovered it.Key words: business ethics, ethical considerations, ethical code of conduct, moral awareness, ethical decision-making, ethical behavior, family business, venture capital firm, profit maximization, shareholder preferences.

Abstract Nowadays, firms and corporate have came to realize that ethics is as important as innovation. As researches pointed that a great portion of business damage is done by white collar crimes (Bowman, 1984). Aside from preventing the happening of crime, firms must constantly come up with new ideas in order to provide useful products for their consumers in order to survive in a vicious and competitive market (Johne, 1999). Under the pressure of having to live up to two harsh demands, not many have dedicated to the research in explore the relation of ethics and innovation. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore if there is any direct relationship between two among many recognize competitive advantages of present day firms. The result of this research demonstrated that there is no linear relation between organizational ethical climate and innovation. However, this research point out other variables that influence organizational ethical climate and further narrow down the possibilities of variables that might of have an influence on innovation.

Based on western leading charismatic leadership model, this research demonstrates the critical position of the virtue component on a charismatic view of leadership and further formulates a moral-added charismatic leadership model adaptable to the Taiwanese business contexts. We investigate how this moral-added charismatic leadership and Chinese paternalistic leadership models fit with the actual leadership practices in Taiwanese business organizations. We go through the major western charismatic leadership and Chinese paternalistic leadership theory literature and infer that both the charismatic leadership and the virtuous leadership dimension are culture-free leadership constructs, so they can be cross-culturally merged. We obtained 314 samples from managers in Taiwanese civilian organizations, and conduct the statistical analyses by using SEM technique. The findings indicate the Western Conger and Kanungo¡¦s charismatic leadership model is adoptable in Taiwan business context, and a more effective charismatic model can be formed when the virtue leadership factor is merged with this C/K charismatic leadership model. The present study also demonstrates that both the Western originated C/K charismatic leadership and the benevolent and virtue leadership dimensions of Chinese Paternalistic leadership in same constrained model can they respectively predict follower¡¦s cognitive leadership effect. We posit that managers receive follower¡¦s positive recognition by demonstrating strategic vision and articulation, sensitivity to member¡¦s needs, virtue leadership and benevolent behaviors. The present study merges Western originated charismatic leadership with Oriental virtue leadership dimension for a cross-cultural verification, perform the consolidate study of the charismatic leadership and Chinese paternalistic leadership, identify some key issues for future study, and provide managerial implications for leadership practitioners.