M.A. (Philosophy) / Consider a couple planning to have children. There are many reasons one could offer these potential parents for reconsidering bringing new people into existence. One could for instance say to them that they currently lack the finances, or maturity, to adequately take care of any children they produce. If it were almost certain that this couple would pass on a terrible genetic disease to their offspring, one could see it as one’s duty to warn them against reproduction. One could even draw attention to the plight of orphans, and suggest to these (and other) potential parents that a more pressing responsibility lies not in planning to give homes to persons not yet in existence, but in attempting to give homes to those already in existence. However, when deciding whether or not to create children, rarely does one consider, over and above the preceding considerations, whether there might be some fundamental wrongness to the very act of procreation. In other words, rarely does one consider the possibility that creating people might, all things considered, never be permissible. At its extreme, “anti-natalism” implies the view that coming into existence is always a harm that outweighs any of its benefits. This position is defended by David Benatar (Benatar 1997, 2006). However, one need not believe that coming into existence is always an overall harm in order to favour an anti-natal perspective; one need only believe that it is morally problematic to inflict serious, preventable harms upon others without their consent. Such a consent-based anti-natal position can be derived from the argument put forth by Seana Shiffrin (1999). To be clear, according to either of these versions of anti-natalism, creating a new person is considered an impermissible harm. When I refer to “anti-natalism” in this dissertation, I will be referring to this negative judgement regarding procreation. Anti-natalism has a rich philosophical heritage, with its roots stretching back to antiquity. For instance, Ecclesiastes (1:1-18) of the Hebrew Bible bemoans the apparent meaninglessness and futility of existence—a state of affairs with which any number of generations of humans must cope. Not until very recently, however, has the anti-natal position been given due consideration by philosophers. Arthur Schopenhauer (1851), for instance, is perhaps best known for advocating a pessimistic philosophy that is, broadly speaking, anti-natal in its implications. The key figure in this field, however, is Benatar, who defends an unequivocally anti-natal position.

M.A. / The focus of this dissertation is based on the New Testament concept of life, within the framework of the reign of God. The message of the reality and concrescence of the reign of God in human history was articulated by Jesus Christ, both in his ministry and his consciousness as the Son of God. It was Jesus of Nazareth who declared that he was sent from above to bring about reconciliation between God and mankind. Jesus Christ in his prophetic role taught and challenged his audience to make radical decisions for God, by appropriating and aligning their everyday lives with the claims and the demands of the Kingdom of God, through repentance and by seeking God's will. Therefore, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ signifies a purposive, deliberate and redemptive intervention of God in human history. This christological event of God's intervention in human history inaugurates a new age accompanied by a newness of life. The message of the reign of God places serious ethical and moral demands upon all humanity. It affirms the fact that in Jesus Christ God has a Sovereign claim upon life itself, and that there is no area in human life which cannot be radically transformed by the salvific acts of God in the person and the work of Jesus Christ. The objective of this dissertation therefore, is to show how human life, particularly when affected by sickness and disease can be re-oriented by the "transformative purpose" of God in Jesus Christ. We therefore conclude by giving recommendations on how the Church can witness to the people suffering with the HIV-AIDS disease and how the kingdom ethics re-directs the lives of the sufferers themselves.

Private property in the United States arose out of a tradition that emphasized the individual freedom to control holdings without interference from governmental influences. A sharp distinction between society as a whole and individual rights isolated ownership of private property from a notion of the common good. This dualistic framework excludes the possibility for forms of property that do not fall completely into either category. Property ownership attitudes are central to issues that often divide environmentalists and landowners. Property rights must be put in the context to understand the divergence between landowner attitudes and provisions made when the institution of private property was created. Finally, land itself as a type of property should be considered ethically distinct from other forms of property because of the interdependencies of human and nonhuman interests that the science of ecology has revealed.

The purpose of this study was to look at the relationships between moral philosophy classification and elements of risk, which in turn effect overall decision-making processes. Specifically, two moral philosophy classification were examined: utilitarian and egoism.

Bakgrund: Begreppet förväntningsgap kan beskrivas såsom skillnaden mellan vad revisorer förväntas leverera och vad revisorer i praktiken levererar. Förväntningsgapet ses som ett problem för revisorer eftersom ju större förväntningsgapet är, desto lägre tillförlitlighet, vinstmöjlighet och anseende tillskrivs revisorers arbete. Vikten av att minska gapet har betonats och det menas att kunskapen hos allmänheten måste öka. Trots det omfattande regelverk som revisorer har att förhålla sig till samt förekomsten av standarder med ett starkt fokus på etik, har revisorers moraliska kompass blivit ifrågasatt till följd av ett flertal företagsskandaler. Vad intressenter har för förväntningar angående hur revisorer skall få handla och förhålla sig utifrån regelverket och de yrkesetiska standarderna, har föga belysts under begreppet förväntningsgapet. Det har diskuterats huruvida förväntningsgapet verkligen är ett problem och om det ens har någon praktisk betydelse om det finns en förståelse från omgivningen om vad revisorer gör eller inte. Utifrån detta väcks frågan om det finns en annan dimension av förväntningsgapet som gör att det bristande förtroendet för branschen och den ifrågasatta moraliska kompassen är befogad. Syfte: Syftet med vår undersökning är att beskriva revisorers uppfattning om revisorers handlande och förhållningssätt samt deras uppfattning om intressenters förväntningar angående hur revisorer skall få handla och förhålla sig. Vidare är syftet att jämföra uppfattningarna med regelverk och branschetiska standarder och med hjälp av normativa etikteorier samt rollteori bidra med en djupare förståelse av förväntningsgapet. Metod: Studien utgår från en kvalitativ ansats. Det insamlade materialet samlades in via semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio stycken auktoriserade revisorer. Slutsatser: Utifrån revisorers uppfattningar visar resultatet att det föreligger ett förväntningsgap, dock inte ur alla aspekter. Det existerar ett kunskapsgap. Resultatet visar även att det förekommer ett utvecklingsgap sett till en del klienter samt från politiskt håll. Det föreligger inte något markant prestationsgap ur ett etiskt perspektiv, dock uttrycks det kritik från revisorerna mot regelverket. / Background: The concept of the expectation gap can be described as the distinction between what auditors are expected to do and what they really do. The expectation gap is seen as a problem for auditors because the greater the gap of expectations is, the lower the reliability, profitability and reputation are attributed to the work of auditors. The importance of reducing the gap has been emphasized and many believes that the knowledge of the public must increase. Despite the extensive regulations that auditors must deal with and the existence of standards with a strong focus on ethics, the auditors’ moral compass has been questioned because of numerous corporate scandals. What kind of expectations stakeholders have regarding how auditors should be able to act and behave on the basis of the regulations and professional ethical standards, has not been elucidated under the concept of the expectation gap. It has been discussed whether the expectation gap really is a problem and even if it has any practical significance if there is an understanding from the environment about what auditors do or do not do. Based on this, the question is raised if there is another dimension of the expectation gap that justifies the lack of confidence in the industry and the contested moral compass. Purpose: The purpose of our survey is to describe auditors' perceptions on auditors' actions and attitudes, as well as their perceptions of stakeholders' expectations regarding how auditors should be able to act and behave. Furthermore, the purpose is to compare these perceptions with the current regulations and the ethical standards and with the help of normative ethics theories and role theory contribute to a deeper understanding of the expectation gap. Method: The survey is based on a qualitative approach. The collected material was gathered through semi-structured interviews with nine authorized auditors. Conclusions: Based on the auditors’ opinions, empirical evidence shows that there is an expectation gap, but not in all aspects. There is a knowledge gap. The result shows that there is also an evolution gap regarding some clients as well as from a political point of view. There is not a major performance gap from an ethical perspective, however, criticism is expressed by the auditors against the regulations.

As documented in previous research, the attitude-behaviour gap (inconsistency between declared values and actual purchases) is phenomena which affects consumption in many different markets of ethical consumption. The diploma thesis analyses this phenomena, specifically in Czech Fair trade market. The attitude behaviour gap in the Czech Fair trade market was found to be in around third of the population, confirming the presence of the gap, which replicated the results of previous research in the field. From people with pro Fair trade values who do not buy Fair trade products, approximately half is not aware of Fair trade existence, indicating that lack of Fair trade awareness could be possibly hurting Fair trade sales. When analyzing respondents with pro Fair trade values who also have Fair Trade awareness, the skepticism towards ability of Fair trade movement to fulfill their declared goals and high quality perception of Fair trade products turned out to be the strongest and statistically significant predictors of whether one buys Fair trade or not. Focus on raising awareness about Fair trade existence, improving quality perception and decreasing skepticism towards Fair trade conversion is suggested for Fair trade marketers for helping to convert people with pro Fair trade values into Fair trade buyers.

Ethical behavior is an inseparable part of business life and can have a major impact on corporate culture in business companies and their communication with clients. The aim of this work was to find out how the behavior of sales representatives of pharmaceutical companies in pharmaceutical pharmacies is perceived, to describe the ethical aspects in this field, and then to propose recommendations for adjusting internal rules, values or ethical code in a selected pharmaceutical company. This task was accomplished by carrying out qualitative research to analyze and deeper describe how pharmaceutical assistants in pharmacies perceive the behavior of sales representatives of pharmaceutical companies. In order to eliminate the identified circumstances in this field, the proposed recommendation for the selected company is a thorough knowledge of ethical principles and the incorporation of techniques into the training program of the company that focus on empathy is proposed. In conclusion, adherence to ethical principles and the right corporate culture in the company can be considered crucial in the context of successful cooperation between the sales representative and the pharmacy.

Dysfunctional auditor behavior has transformed into one of the biggest challenges for audit quality. The purpose of this study is to analyze the culture to the ethical decision process in the Swedish context. The study uses a self- administered questioner with 75 junior and senior auditors employed in Mid-East Sweden including Stockholm. The study finds that ethical firm culture has an important relationship to the decision-making process. Furthermore, the study shows that the components of the decision-making model; recognition, judgment, intention and RAQA reacts differently to ethical firm culture. Finally, the study finds a relationship when the data is grouped separately as big 4 and non-big 4 auditing firms. Big 4 firms show a negative relationship between ethical firm culture and RAQA, while non-big 4 firms show a positive relationship between ethical firm culture, intention and, recognition.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis critically evaluates the progress of prenatal genetic testing, and how it, along with concurrent social pressures (such as the goal of having the ideal child) may have altered parental decision-making, autonomy, and attitudes toward children. Distinctive to this thesis is the analysis of prenatal genetic testing with a view of the eugenic history of genetics and public health initiatives in maternal health. This thesis will describe what current genetic screening pursuits may indicate with this historical understanding. I will discuss the dynamics of these subjects, and how they correspond with current social demands for perfection and the growing commodification of children. With this analysis I will attempt to shed greater light upon how our current prenatal screening technologies can modify the parent/child relationship, and what this may mean as medical science and technology advance. This thesis will be organized in a three-chapter format, providing a historical viewpoint and analysis of salient ethical issues.

No description available.