Academic literature on the topic 'Moral and ethical aspects of Economic policy'

In the beginning of economic history, economics as a social science was closely related to ethics and had a moral dimension. The works of Aristotle and Adam Smith show that the science of economics has evolved taking into consideration the ethical stand. However, during the twentieth century, ethics was not considered in the economic analysis, but this situation transformed and ethics became a part of economics. Removing ethics from economics also removes social responsibility and critical awareness. This research analyzes the ethical aspects of regional economy. Regional economy has an ethical dimension because its main goal is to reduce the disparities between regions. There is carried out a brief reference to the relationship between ethics and economy. In the following article there are analysed ethical aspects of regional policy.

Despite the main attention being given within the economic activity to the issues of efficiency and competitiveness, one shouldn’t oversee the ethical aspects of business and economic policy. Quite important are also the matters of truth and false in economic research. Several phenomena and processes - subsidies, dumping, weapons trading, fiscal system and policy - do have also their moral dimension, not just the economic one. Hence, the issues of ethics should be considered and discussed in a wider context. From this perspective there is still a lot to be done, especially in the countries with weak market institutions and relatively lower quality of market culture, including post-socialist countries in transition to market system.

Modern society faces large-scale challenges associated with the digitalization of economic and social processes, especially at its new stage – the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The point is that the use of AI entails great ethical risks, since creates an opportunity for non-observance of human rights to privacy. In Finland, a country that has been pursuing an innovation policy closely linked to socio-economic policies that responds to social challenges for several decades, this problem is widely discussed and strives to minimize and even eliminate the above risks in decisions on research and development (R&D) policy. Therefore, R&D in the field of AI technologies is carried out in Finland at the intersection of computer, mathematical and humanitarian sciences, since one of the most important issues of its application is the question of how moral and ethical its results will be. In this regard, the analysis and understanding of Finland’s experience in this area is important and necessary. Finland has traditionally in recent decades prioritized the humanitarian component in the formation of innovation policy. The technological component was viewed through the prism of social problems that should be resolved in the course of economic development, the main driver of which is innovation processes. This approach is determined by the country’s social development model. The openness of public administration, the high role of the country’s citizens in making the most important strategic decisions, the social responsibility of business, taking into account the opinion of the expert community leads to a balanced promotion of technologies in the economy. Of course, opportunities for innovative development “with a human face” from time to time run into economic constraints – which was clearly manifested, for example, during a pandemic. Nevertheless, when it comes to digitalization and the use of AI, the Finnish state and society continue to strive to ensure the presumption of morality and ethics in the implementation of these technologies. The country is conducting humanitarian and sociological research in this area, as well as developing mechanisms for managing the ethics and morality of AI. The country strives to become a leader not only in AI technologies, but also in developing the principles of preserving the humanitarian and moral values that Finland shares with Europe.

AbstractThis study presents a sociological analysis of the Holy Books of two world religions (the Bible and the Quran) since, according to prognoses and risk analyses, a political, economic, cultural, and religious confrontation between the world religions will be unavoidable. Special economic and political aspects also contribute to the up-to-datedness of the topic in the democratic world; in fact: the economic crisis at the beginning of the 21st century, the difficulties of managing the crisis with traditional micro- and macroeconomic tools as well as the Europe-wide issue of migration processes. These challenges have directed our attention to alternative economic solutions and policy options, including theories on ethical basis. Modern academic discourse has recently started to direct research at leadership skills as acknowledged forms of talent. The priority of moral talent is never disputed in the Bible and the Quran, more so by certain leaders holding political or economic positions.

The article dwells upon some social and moral consequences of the German-Romanian occupation in the Ukrainian SSR in 1941–1944. The source base are transcripts of conversations conducted by the staff of the Commission on the History of the Great Patriotic War of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union with residents of Donbass, Odessa, Melitopol, etc. at the end of 1943 – the first half of 1944. These were people of different ages, professions, social groups who had survived the occupation or had come to these areas immediately after their liberation. The policy of the German and Romanian invaders and their behavior, among other things, had negatively affected the state of legal culture, crime, labor and family relations, and the moral state of society. For example, the phenomenon of bribery had grown dramatically. For some people it was a means of enrichment, while for some others it was a way to survive the inhumane conditions of the occupation. Speculation had acquired a huge scale and had sometimes been a way to survive in the conditions of the socio-economic policy pursued by the invaders. Prostitution, legalized by the occupiers, and the moral corruption and sexual promiscuity imposed by them became a negative moment. These and many other negative aspects required from the Soviet government and from the people additional efforts to overcome the socio-ethical consequences of the occupation.

The article aims to define the sectoral legal tools that can be incorporated into the legislations of the countries of the world for the development of gender policies in social and labor relations. The research methodology included methods of general and special scientific character, which aim to ensure the unity of approaches. Attention has been paid to the justification of subjective differentiation of working conditions in the acts of the International Labor Organization. Legal conditions for the introduction of gender equality in legal systems were proposed in order to ensure the social and economic development of society. It is concluded that international standards of social and labor relations make it possible to implement gender equality policy in various variable models. Finally, among the special sectoral tools for solving gender problems, it is worth applying: subjective and social differentiation of working conditions; gender-neutral legislation; local acts as a method of raising the level of moral and ethical standards in professional groups, and; gender quotas and gender parity with differentiation in various spheres of economic activity.

PurposeThis study argues that in order to address the problems associated with the modern market economy at their core, such as persistent poverty, growing inequality and environmental degradation, it is imperative to re-assess the well-being and moral philosophy underpinning economic thinking. The author attempts to offer a preliminary way forward with reference to the Islamic intellectual tradition.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs content analysis of classical and contemporary Islamic texts on human well-being and economic ethics to derive a conceptual well-being model. The paper is structured in four sections: section one provides an overview of relevant secondary literature on moral economic approaches; section two outlines the main well-being frameworks; section three discusses the concept of human well-being in Islam informed by the Islamic worldview of tawḥīd, the Islamic philosophy of saʿādah, and the higher objectives of Islamic Law (maqās.id al-Sharīʿah); and finally, section four discusses policy implications and next steps forward.FindingsA conceptual model of human well-being from an Islamic perspective is developed by integrating philosophical insights of happiness (saʿādah) with an objective list of five essential goods: religion (Dīn), self (Nafs), intellect ('Aql), progeny (Nasl) and wealth (Māl) that correspond to spiritual, physical and psychological, intellectual, familial and social, and material well-being, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is needed to translate this conceptual model into a composite well-being index to inform policy and practice.Practical implicationsThis model can be used to review the performance of the Islamic finance sector, not solely in terms of growth and profitability, but in terms of realising human necessities, needs and refinements. It can also provide the basis for the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) countries to jointly develop a well-being index to guide national and regional co-operation. More generally, this study highlights the need for research in Islamic economics to be more firmly rooted within Islamic ontology and epistemology, while simultaneously engaging in productive dialogue with other moral schools of economic thought to offer practical solutions to contemporary challenges.Originality/valueThis study offers three aspects of originality. First, by outlining well-being frameworks, it highlights key differences between the utilitarian understanding of well-being underpinning modern economic theory and virtue-based understandings, such as the Aristotelian, Christian and Islamic approaches. Second, it provides a well-being model from an Islamic perspective by integrating the Islamic worldview of tawḥīd, the Islamic philosophy of saʿādah, and the higher objectives of Islamic Law (maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah). Third, it proposes an ethical framework for informing economic policy and practice.

I think that utilitarianism is a good moral theory, and definitely better than its rivals, deontology and teleology. For practical purposes in multicultural contexts, at least, I think that no one should overlook a theory that is able to take into account a variety of ethical views and accommodate the ever-changing facts of the material world. But utilitarianism has a bad reputation in bioethics. It is often seen as the inhumane theory that allows the sacrifice of minorities, the killing of the innocent, and simplistic calculations on the value of life. Hardly anyone cares to remember that most formulations of the theory do not allow these actions. The economic doctrine sometimes labeled as utilitarianism could be guilty as charged, but ethics and economy are not interchangeable words. Also as a theory that can actually propose answers to no-win situations, utilitarianism has been an easy target for criticism.

AbstractThe world awaits a SARS-CoV-2 virus (i.e., COVID-19 disease) vaccine to keep the populace healthy, fully reopen their economies, and return their social and healthcare systems to “normal.” Vaccine safety and efficacy requires meticulous testing and oversight; this paper describes how despite grandiose public statements, the current vaccine development, testing, and production methods may prove to be ethically dubious, medically dangerous, and socially volatile. The basic moral concern is the potential danger to the health of human test subjects and, eventually, many vaccine recipients. This is further complicated by economic and political pressures to reduce government oversight on rushed vaccine testing and production, nationalistic distribution goals, and failure to plan for the widespread immunization needed to produce global herd immunity. As this paper asserts, the public must be better informed to assess promises about the novel vaccines being produced and to tolerate delays and uncertainty.

Industrialisation, urbanisation and economic development have produced unprecedented (if unevenly distributed) improvements in human health. They have also produced unprecedented exploitation of Earth’s life support systems, moving the planet into a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene—one defined by human influence on natural systems. The health sector has been complicit in this influence. Bioethics, too, must acknowledge its role—the environmental threats that will shape human health in this century represent a ‘perfect moral storm’ challenging the ethical theories of the last. The US conservationist Aldo Leopold saw this gathering storm more clearly than many, and in his Land Ethic describes the beginnings of a route to safe passage. Its starting point is a reinterpretation of the ethical relationship between humanity and the ‘land community’, the ecosystems we live within and depend upon; moving us from ‘conqueror’ to ‘plain member and citizen’ of that community. The justice of the Land Ethic questions many presuppositions implicit to discussions of the topic in biomedical ethics. By valuing the community in itself—in a way irreducible to the welfare of its members—it steps away from the individualism axiomatic in contemporary bioethics. Viewing ourselves as citizens of the land community also extends the moral horizons of healthcare from a solely human focus. Taking into account the ‘stability’ of the community requires intergenerational justice. The resulting vision of justice in healthcare—one that takes climate and environmental justice seriously—could offer health workers an ethic fit for the future.

This thesis is made of two parts. Part I (Chapter 1 to 3) focuses on the ethical aspects of the current challenges in microfinance. Chapter 1 addresses the question of the place and importance of credit in development policies, through the debate on the right to credit. Chapter 2 and 3 then question the fairness of the interest rates charged by the microfinance institutions. Chapter 2 analyzes whether the fairness criteria depend on more basic principles of justice, such as Rawls’ principles described in A Theory of Justice (Rawsl, 1976). Chapter 3 then reviews some of the implicit and explicit definitions of fair interest rates and proposes an original methodology, with David Gauthiers’ contractuarian theory. It determines what a fair interest rate would be when lending to the poor.

Based on the results of the two first chapters, Part II (Chapter 4 to 6) focuses on the role of donors in microfinance. Chapters 4 and 5 use two original databases, of 67 and 100 MFIs respectively to study the impact of subsidies on the MFIs’ management, through their rating evaluation (Chapter 4) and MFIs’ performance and management decisions (Chapter 5). Chapter 4 will analyze the relationship between the quality of management, as rated by a specialized agency, and the amount of subsidies. Chapter 5 will study pricing policy, the clientele and the potential moral hazard of subsidized institutions. Concluding this analysis, Chapter 6 gives some guidelines on the use of donor subsidies, especially in their interaction with the new private commercial actors, such as investment funds.

Doctorat en sciences de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Thesis (MEd (Education Policy Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die beleid van Norme en Standaarde vereis dat sekere kompetensies bereik word. Met ander woorde, die opvoeder as leermediator word bemagtig deur die Norme en Standaarde om sekere kompetensies te bereik. Onder Norme en Standaarde kyk hierdie studie na die verskillende ratio‟s wat op onderwys betrekking het. Hierdie ratio‟s vorm „n sameloop wat Inklusiewe Onderrig tot so „n mate strem, dat die gewenste kompetensies nie bereik kan word nie. Hoewel Inklusiewe Onderrig nie die enigste faktor is wat Norme en Standaarde bepaal nie, is dit wel „n belangrike een, en hierdie studie fokus dus daarop. Saam met Norme en Standaarde is daar ook sosio-ekonomiese faktore wat Inklusiewe Onderrig strem, en dit word ondersoek. In die lig van die probleme ten opsigte van die leerder:opvoeder-ratio, die leerder:m²-ratio, die woonpersele:skoolperseel-ratio, norme- en standaarde-toekenning, ongelykhede (ekonomiese, ouderdoms- en emosionele en fisiese ontwikkeling), enkelouerskap en fetale alkoholsindroom (FAS), word daar in die verhandeling gekyk na die haalbaarheid van die realisering van die drie kompetensies naamlik die praktiese, fondasionele en refleksiewe kompetensies. Die studie bevind dat die bereiking van kompetensies haalbaar is, mits daar aan die ratio‟s en die sosio-ekonomiese omstandighede gewerk word. Na aanleiding van my navorsing kan die meeste opvoeders verslag doen van hul werksaamhede, maar dit is egter nie die positiewe, progressiewe verslag wat van ‟n leermediator verwag word nie. Norme en standaarde is na my mening nog haalbaar omdat daar bewys is dat leerders, ondanks die negatiewe effek van die ratio‟s, asook die ontoereikende voorsiening (geld, menslike hulpbronne en voorrade) en die ekonomiese en ouderdomsverskille en FAS, tog die potensiaal toon om te leer. Die probleem is egter dat te veel leerders onderpresteer, uit die onderwys- en opvoedingstelsel verdwyn en nie deel raak van die ekonomiese hoofstroom nie. Deur dus aandag te gee aan die stremminge wat ek nagevors het, kan verseker word dat Inklusiewe Onderwys tot sy reg kom, kompetensies bereik word en die opvoeder ‟n suksesvolle leermediasie fasiliteer. SLEUTELWOORDE: Opvoeder, leermediator, Norme en Standaarde, Inklusiewe Onderwys, konseptuele
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Norms and Standards for Educators policy states that certain competencies must be achieved. To this end the policy empowers the educator as learning mediator. With reference to the Norms and Standards, this study explores the different ratios applicable to education. These ratios form a combination which hamper Inclusive Education to the extent that the competencies cannot be achieved. Although Inclusive Education is not the only aspect which affects Norms and Standards, it is a very important one, and this study thus explores Inclusive Education. Together with Norms and Standards, there are also socio-economic factors that hamper Inclusive Education, which this study also explores. In the light of the problems with the learner:educator ratio, the learner:m² ratio, the residential erven:school erf ratio, the allocation of norms and standards, unequal economic circumstances, unequal development phases (emotional, physical and age), single parenthood and fetal alcohol syndrome, this thesis explores the feasibility of the realisation of the three competencies namely the practical, foundational and reflexive competencies. This study finds that, providing that attention is paid to the ratios and socio-economic factors, the achievement of competencies are feasible. My research shows that, while most of the educators can report on their activities, it is not the positive and progressive report which one expects from a learning mediator. Norms and Standards, in my view, is feasible since there is evidence to suggest that learners, despite the negative effect of the ratios and inadequate resources (finances, human resources and supplies), economic and age differences, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), still displays the potential to learn. The problem, however, is that too many learners underperform, and then leave the school and education system. They then fail to become part of the main economic system. I conclude that, by giving attention to the hindrances I researched, it can be ensured that Inclusive Education reaches its full potential, that competencies are achieved, and that educators facilitate a successful learning mediation process. vi KEY WORDS: Educator, learning mediator, Norms and Standards, Inclusive Education, conceptual analysis, ratios, urbanisation, norms- and standards allocation, migratory labour, single parentwood, migratory labour, urbanisation, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since 1994 South Africa has undergone numerous social and political transformations. Transformation in this country has different meanings for different people, depending on the individuals perspective. The process of transformation has been slow for some, particularly those people who are eager to break away from a past, which has denied them basic individual rights. For others transformation has been too fast and thus a threat to their status quo. In view of this, transformation must be embraced by all through the realisation and admission that the apartheid era was inherently unfair to sections of the population and change must therefore be regarded as the levelling of the playing field. This study focuses on the generation of inequality, the uprooting of this evil and the implementation of equity. In addition, this study particularly focuses on how equity can be implemented in the workplace, why it is important to do so and what are the possible barriers to successful implementation. I will consider some of the theories that may be useful in initiating change. Finally, I will discuss the merits of the Employment Equity Act as legislation to enforce equity in the workplace.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vanaf 1994, het Suid Afrika verskillende sosiale en politieke veranderings ondergaan. Hierdie veraderings het verskillende betekenis vir verskillende mense, afhangend van die individuele se insig. Die proses van veranderings was te stadig vir sommige persone, veral diegene wie angstig was om weg te breek van die verlede, wat hulle ontneem het van hulle basiese individuele regte. Vir andere was die veraderings veels te vinning en was meer 'n bedreiging vir hulle onveranderlike hoë belangrike posisies. Met hierdie faktor insig, moet veranderings omhels word deur almal se opregte beseffing en erkenning dat die apartheid jare se alleen regte vir die een groep baie onregverdig was teenoor die ander groepe, dus moet veranderings aanvaar word as gelykmaking van alle onreelmatinghede. Hierdie studie is die fokus gerig op die jare van vasgevangheid in onregverdigheid en dat hierdie ongeregtigheid kan ontwortel word met die aanbeveling of vervangs van geregtigheid. Die fokus lê veral klem op hoe om gelyke regte by die werksplekke toe te pas.

Given the increased interdependency caused by ongoing task differentiation and precarious formal employment, this thesis asks why the stigmatisation of unemployed citizens and the retraction of unemployment benefits have received such widespread support in Australia. I contend that the concepts of dependency and independence, as reflexive but mutually exclusive dual values, are increasingly used as a framework for welfare discourse. I argue that this framework has ethical ramifications for collective well-being in Australia since it discourages citizens from acknowledging their own social and economic vulnerability. Using a combination of critical theory and discursive analysis, this thesis analyses discourses relating to poverty, unemployment and social welfare. It tracks the contradictions of this value dualism through selected forms of policy and media discourse literature and will challenge the negative moral valence associated with dependency, offering possible alternatives in the areas of moral anthropology, welfare discourse and social provision in order to reverse the stigmatisation of unemployed citizens.

Assignment (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study was undertaken to evaluate whether a mentally competent mature human being, who is suffering an intolerable, irremediable existence resulting from an incurable agonising or devastating paralysing disease; has a moral, personal and civic right to end that life or have it ended by requesting assistance in meeting death in a humane, compassionate and dignified manner. ~ The righteousness of such assistance can only be gauged if it follows the repeated and voluntary request of someone who is presently not suffering from any psychiatric disorder, is presently mentally competent or had made such a written or verbal witnessed advance directive while mentally competent to do so. ~ This study will not deal with assistance in dying either active or passive which is performed on severely mentally and physically handicapped new-born babies with scant prospect of survival; nor with euthanasia for the relief of malignant or paralysing disease in those with life-long [anoxic, congenital, inflammatory or traumatic] mental incompetencies who have never had decision-making capacity. ~ This study will not address issues of aid-in-dying for mentally incompetent persons suffering from senile dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or permanent vegetative states due to brain pathology following anoxic, circulatory, infective, malignant or traumatic events, who have not made advance directives and who had never stated preferences concerning assisted euthanasia. The aim of this study is to outline the moral case advanced by those in favour of legalising Voluntary Assisted Euthanasia [VAE] also called Assisted Euthanasia [AE] and to develop ethically sound and practical proposals for policy and actions contributing towards the resolution of the moral dilemma faced daily by doctors when asked by mentally competent patients suffering from irremediable malignant or paralysing diseases or the agonising symptoms of end-stage Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) for assistance to end their lives. }ii> This study will cover and discuss the more important objections of those opposed to the legalising of assisted suicide for mentally-competent terminal patients who are irremediably suffering in their bodies or from dehumanising incurable endstage paralysing diseases and are near to an inevitable death. }ii> The insights of philosophers, theologians, physicians and sociologists on the subject of suicide and aid-in-dying, have been researched in the extensive literature that exists (both in print and in cyberspace) on these subjects and are presented with the study. }ii> The study tries to show that a competent adult in certain grim circumstances should have an inalienable human right, if not a constitutional one, to request assisted euthanasia or aid-in-dying or assistance in ending their lives. }ii> Such assistance must be subject to peer review, after careful assessment by a multidisciplinary team in the healing [both physical and spiritual] professions This paper will try to determine whether the actionalisation of voluntary assisted suicide or assisted euthanasia is murder or an act of compassion and empathy performed out of respect for a fellow human being's autonomy and in deference to their right to self-determination and self-realisation. ~ The relevance of this situation is that aid-in-dying is becoming one of the major, moral, religious, philosophical and bio-medical dilemmas at this time. ~ The author's position is that it is neither just nor ethical to prevent a mentallycompetent human being, who is tormented by agonising, incurable terminal physical or irremediable paralysing disease, from deciding to chose to die when he/she can no longer bear the torment and asking for professional assistance to effect this. This relief should be given not only to those who are able to make an enduring, informed contemporaneous decision, but also to those who [when they still had decision-making capacity] had previously made a considered informed advance directive about the use of ordinary and extraordinary medical methods of sustaining a life that had become merely an existence.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie is onderneem om te evalueer of 'n bevoegde, volwasse mens wat 'n onverduurbare en ongeneesbare bestaan het a.g.v. 'n ongeneesbare, folterende of vernietigende siekte, 'n morele, persoonlike of burgerlike reg het om daardie lewe te beeïndig of hulp te vra om dit te laat beeïndig, ten einde die dood op 'n menswaardige wyse tegemoet te gaan. ~ Die regverdigbaarheid van bogenoemde hulp kan slegs bepaal word as dit volg op die herhaalde en vrywillige versoeke van iemand wat nie, wanneer hy/sy dit versoek, ly aan 'n geestessiekte nie, wat bevoeg is of wat so 'n geskrewe of mondelinge versoek, met getuies, gemaak het terwyl die persoon kompetent was. ~ Die studie handel nie oor bystand-in-sterfte, aktief of passief, waar dit uitgevoer word op fisies of psigies ernstig gestremde pasgebore babas met 'n skrale kans op oorlewing nie; ook nie oor genadedood ter verligting van kwaadaardige of verlammende siekte in diegene met lewenslange [anoksiese, kongenitale, inflammatoriese of traumatiese] geestelike ongesteldhede, wat nog nooit besluitnemende kapasiteit gehad het nie. ~ Die studie ondersoek nie gevalle van bystand-met-sterfte waar inkompetente persone wat ly aan seniliteit, Alzheimer se siekte, of permanente vegetatiewe toestande a.g.v. brein patologie n.a.v. anoksiese, sirkulatoriese, infektiewe, kwaadaardige of traumatiese gebeure, nie direk gevra het vir genadedood of nooit die voorkeur vir geassisteerde genadedood uitgespreek het nie. Die doel van hierdie studie is om die morele saak van diegene ten gunste van die wettiging van Vrywillige Geassisteerde Genadedood, ook bekend as Geassisteerde Genadedood, te stel en om praktiese sowel as eties verantwoordbare voorstelle te maak vir beleid en optrede wat kan bydra tot die oplos van die morele dilemma wat dokters daagliks in die gesig staar wanneer hulle deur geestelik bevoegde pasiënte wat ly aan ongeneesbare, kwaadaardige of verlammende siektes, of die folterende simptome van die finale stadium van Verworwe Immuniteits Gebrek Sindroom [VIGS], gevra word vir bystand in die beeïndiging van hulle lewens. ~ Die studie sal die belangriker besware van diegene aanspreek wat teen die wettiging is van geassisteerde genadedood vir geestelik bevoegde terminale pasiënte wat ongeneesbaar ly of van dehumaniserende ongeneesbare finale stadium siektes en wat naby is aan 'n onafwendbare dood. ~ Die insigte van filosowe, teoloë, dokters en sosioloë oor bystand-met-sterfte en selfmoord, is nagevors in die wye literatuur beskikbaar is (beide in druk en kuberruimte) oor hierdie onderwerpe en word saam met die studie angebied. ~ Die studie probeer aantoon dat 'n bevoegde volwassene in sekere erge omstandighede 'n onvervreembare mensereg, indien nie 'n konstitusionele reg nie, behoort te hê om bystand tydens genadedood te versoek. ~ Sulke bystand moet onderworpe wees aan groepsevaluasie, na versigtige ondersoek deur 'n multi-dissiplinêre span in die gesondheidsprofessies [beide fisies en psigies]. Die studie sal probeer bepaal of die uitvoering van vrywillige geassisteerde selfmoord of geassisteerde genadedood moord is, of 'n aksie van empatie, uitgevoer uit respek vir 'n medemens se outonomie, sy/haar reg tot selfdeterminasie en self-realisasie. )lo- Die relevansie van hierdie situasie lê daarin dat bystand-met-sterfte besig is om een van die belangrikste morele, religieuse, filosofiese en biomediese dilemmas van ons tyd te word. )lo- Die outeur se posisie is dat dit nie regverdig of eties is om te verhoed dat 'n geestelik bevoegde mens, wat ly aan folterende, ongeneesbare terminale fisiese of ongeneesbare verlammende siekte, self kies om te sterf wanneer hy/sy nie meer die lyding kan verdra nie en vir professionele bystand vra om dit uit te voer. Die verligting behoort gegee te word, nie net aan diegene wat in staat is om 'n bindende en ingeligte besluit te maak nie, maar ook aan -diegene wat [toe hulle nog besluitnemende kapasitiet gehad het] vroeër 'n oorweegde, ingeligte vroegtydige versoek gemaak het aangaande die gebruik van gewone en buitengewone mediese metodes vir die verlenging van 'n lewe wat bloot 'n bestaan geword het.

My broadest aim in this thesis is to explore some of the central ethical concerns of social anthropologists vis-a-vis the phenomena of development. In particular, what I want to bring out and examine is the dynamics of the 'moral experience' and 'moral force' of anthropologists in this area. I go about this by considering the historical unfolding of the anthropological conceptual and evaluative apprehension of planned social and economic change. On this basis, I also consider the nature of the critiques and contributions that social anthropology has generated. I also make an attempt to review the major conceptual moral controversies and agendas that are intrinsic to development from an anthropological perspective. Whilst the concepts and values that emanate from social anthropology are multi-faceted and many stranded, I believe that the anthropological standpoint is both distinctive and potentially counter hegemonic. I look specifically at the moral resources that can be unearthed from the emerging field of 'development ethics' which is largely articulated in terms of the maxims that are fundamental to Western moral and political traditions. I attempt to set out the terrain of the ethical deliberation of anthropologists involved in development in terms of some of the moral difficulties of Western society. I argue that Western moral reasoning, as a result of deep disagreements about the sources of value human life and society, tends to rely upon procedural, instrumental and coercive ethical frameworks. On this basis, one of my assertions is that communitarian arguments, whilst also being needed as a healthy antidote to the excesses of liberal individualism, also constitute a reflection of the aspirations of people(s), many of whom are beleaguered by the alienation, atomism and instrumentalism of modern society. The communitarian perspective also underpins a political commitment to supporting those besieged indigenous communities that struggle to defend their integrity in the face of the aggressive intrusions of the market mentality. This may involve supporting the maintenance of 'traditional' versions of moral reasoning, well being, and sociality (such as indigenous life-worlds), collective rights in the face of the fragmentary and individuating neo-liberal development policies, and to support the 'construction of new associative networks such as 'new social movements' that represent the aspirations, and embody the values, of marginalised and disempowered social groups.

This work examines the socio-economic context of the small town of Eichelborn in the Westphalia region of Germany. There, a local and 'moral' economy existed until the end of the 1960's that resisted the forces of integration into a wider self-regulatory market system for an exceptionally long time, continuing to rely primarily on simple craft production and small-scale farming for the local market. Employing mainly qualitative methods, the aim of research was to describe the economic and social structure of this place as well as to determine whether it functioned according to the principles of a pre-market society as indicated in Karl Polanyi's writings. The findings of my research show that one can, indeed, understand Eichelborn as a Polanyi-type community and as a 'moral' economy in which a strong interrelation and unity between the social and economic realms result in the reconciliation between 'personal self-interest' and 'morality'.

Pharmaceutical advertising involves the advertising of medicines, medical devices, and healthcare services. A review of available international literature indicates the belief that pharmaceutical advertisements negatively affect healthcare decisions made by consumers. Very little research has been conducted to determine how consumers in South Africa (SA) are affected by pharmaceutical advertisements. This study aimed to determine how consumers in the Nelson Mandela Metropole (NMM) perceive pharmaceutical advertisements. More specific objectives included the investigation of legislation in SA employed in pharmaceutical advertisements, the interpretation and misinterpretation of the advertisements, and the identification of problematic areas in this form of advertising. South African legislation applied to pharmaceutical advertisements was investigated by means of a literature review. A qualitative research design was also used to achieve the aim and objectives. This included a focus group consisting of six randomly selected participants in the NMM. A consumer survey, consisting of a 100 consumers obtained from 10 randomly selected community pharmacies within the NMM, supported the findings of the qualitative techniques. The themes identified in the focus group were incorporated into a questionnaire used in the consumer survey. Three randomly selected pharmaceutical advertisements were also decoded to interpret the components employed in each. The results determined that pharmaceutical advertising is a marketing tool that incorporates various emotional and psychological techniques to persuade consumers. It was also evident that consumers can misinterpret pharmaceutical advertisements. Various legal and ethical problems were identified in pharmaceutical advertisements. These results showed that pharmaceutical advertisements have the possibility of negatively affecting consumers’ healthcare decisions and warrants further investigation.

'Community' has long proved an integral element in commonsense thinking about a range of social problems and experiences, and with respect to crime the general conclusion is that more community will mean less crime. This study comprises a critical exploration of the resonance of community to New Labour's youth justice policy and to the lives of young offenders. The concept of community is of particular interest, as since its election in 1997 New Labour has been committed to forge a new political ideology of the 'Third Way', wherein communitarian ideas have proved central to the government's ambitions to revive and emphasise individual's responsibilities and obligations to civil society. Thus evident in the array of civil and criminal orders, which constitute the youth justice system in England and Wales, are constructions of community as both a 'moral resource' and as a 4moral claimant'. The former assumes that communities have inherent capacities in preventing and controlling youth crime, while the latter prioritises the community's right to demand the punishment and exclusion of those young people who fail to live up to their communal responsibilities. Given that communitarian responses are but the latest manifestation of the constant search for solutions t o youth crime, consideration is initially accorded to the historical shifts and continuities in both youth justice and community safety policy and practices. It is argued that a movement towards increasingly punitive, exclusionary and defensive responses to crime and young offenders has prevailed in recent years, and it is within this context that New Labour's prioritisation of communitarian thought has occurred. Attention then turns to the specificities of the government's commitment to communitarianism,within youth justice. Not only do New Labour emphasise young people's responsibilities to the community - rather than the community's, or indeed, the state's responsibilities to the young person- but it has also demonstrated its willingness to define. legislate and sanction with respect to those responsibilities it considers essential to the membership rights of the 'law-abiding' community. As such it is contended that the government's vision of community is essentially narrow, defensive and divisive. The analysis then draws upon semi-structured qualitative interviews with a sample of young offenders and Youth Offending Team practitioners to explore the resonance of community to the lives of young offenders and to their experiences of youth justice supervision. It is argued that community is a salient feature of the lives of young offenders which often provides for inclusionary experiences. However, the government's faith in the community to act as a 'moral resource' in preventing and controlling crime does not adequately account for the complex, transitory and ambiguous nature of young offenders' experiences of communal life. Furthermore, the punitive repercussions of the government's commitment to honouring the community's role as a 'moral claimant' serve to undermine the practitioner's ability to exploit the resources the community may have to offer to with regard to encouraging and motivating young people to desist from offending. Additionally, the emphasis on intolerance is likely to promote the community's disapproval and hostility towards young offenders. It is concluded that New Labour's commitment to communitarianism, and its particular envisaging of community, conjures a powerful exclusionary potential which is unlikely to engender positive outcomes for either the young offender or the 'law abiding' community.

Abstract Animal breeding for welfare and sustainability requires improving and optimizing environmental impact, productivity, robustness and welfare. Breeding is a long-term exercise at the start of the food chain with permanent cumulative outcomes, disseminated widely. This chapter explains, with a focus on poultry, breeding programme design and how broadening breeding goals and managing trait antagonism results in balanced breeding and more robust animal populations. Breeding progress in skeleton and skin health, physiology and body composition, and behaviour are addressed. The economic impact of welfare and environmental improvements is worked out, and the ethical and societal aspects of genetic improvement are put into perspective. The consideration of feedbacks of all stakeholders, including customers and the wider society, is crucial. For each crossbreed, breeders will continue to improve overall welfare, health, productivity and environmental impact, but between the crossbreeds there will be clear differences answering specific demands of concepts and brands.

AbstractScience in Transition, which started in 2013, is a small-scale Dutch initiative that presented a systems approach, comprised of analyses and suggested actions, based on experience in academia. It was built on writings by early science watchers and most recent theoretical developments in philosophy, history and sociology of science and STS on the practice and politics of science. This chapter will include my personal experiences as one of the four Dutch founders of Science in Transition. I will discuss the message and the various forms of reception over the past 6 years by the different actors in the field, including administrators in university, academic societies and Ministries of Higher Education, Economic Affairs and Public Health but also from leadership in the private sector. I will report on my personal experience of how these myths and ideologies play out in the daily practice of 40 years of biomedical research in policy and decision making in lab meetings, at departments, at grant review committees of funders and in the Board rooms and the rooms of Deans, Vice Chancellors and Rectors.It has in the previous chapters become clear that the ideology and ideals that we are brought up with are not valid, are not practiced despite that even in 2020 they are still somehow ‘believed’ by most scientists and even by many science watchers, journalists and used in political correct rhetoric and policy making by science’s leadership. In that way these ideologies and beliefs mostly implicitly but sometimes even explicitly determine debates regarding the internal policy of science and science policy in the public arena. These include all time classic themes like the uniqueness of science compared to any other societal activity; ethical superiority of science and scientists based on Mertonian norms; the vocational disinterested search for truth, autonomy; values and moral (political) neutrality, dominance of internal epistemic values and unpredictability regards impact. These ideas have influenced debates about the ideal and hegemony of natural science, the hierarchy of basic over applied science; theoretical over technological research and at a higher level in academic institutions and at the funders the widely held supremacy of STEM over SSH. This has directly determined the attitudes of scientists in the interaction with peers within the field, but also shaped the politics of science within science but also with policy makers and stakeholders from the public and private sector and with interactions with popular media.Science it was concluded was suboptimal because of growing problems with the quality and reproducibility of its published products due to failing quality control at several levels. Because of too little interactions with society during the phases of agenda setting and the actual process of knowledge production, its societal impact was limited which also relates to the lack of inclusiveness, multidisciplinarity and diversity in academia. Production of robust and significant results aiming at real world problems are mainly secondary to academic output relevant for an internally driven incentive and reward system steering for academic career advancement at the individual level. Similarly, at the higher organizational and national level this reward system is skewed to types of output and impact focused on positions on international ranking lists. This incentive and reward system, with flawed use of metrics, drives a hyper-competitive social system in academia which results in a widely felt lack of alignment and little shared value in the academic community. Empirical data, most of it from within science and academia, showing these problems in different academic disciplines, countries and continents are published on virtually a weekly basis since 2014. These critiques focus on the practices of scholarly publishing including Open Access and open data, the adverse effects of the incentive and reward system, in particular its flawed use of metrics. Images, ideologies and politics of science were exposed that insulate academia and science from society and its stakeholders, which distort the research agenda and subsequentially its societal and economic impact.

This chapter conceptualises the notion of overtourism by providing a systematic literature review mapping the existing research knowledge. The mapping exercise benefits from textual data from academic articles on overtourism. The study focuses on measures to counteract overtourism from a marketing perspective. Since tourism is about customers' experiences, understanding overtourism and its aspects is crucial at a time the market growth calls for measures to control this phenomenon. Using online databases and NVIVO 12 software, 66 articles were selected for bibliographic content analysis. Findings highlight the need to work the concept of overtourism in a holistic approach encompassing five dimensions: social, political & governance, marketing & customer experience, economic, and environmental. Results permitted to identify other dimensions; overtourism, symbolic, ethical-moral, cultural. Managing overtourism is challenging because whereas tourism is about customers' experiences, for policy makers overtourism encompasses strategies with collective effects.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a policy and the practices of corporate responsibility for the common good. It might take the form of donations, environmental responsibility, or socially related investments. However, CSR can also be an in-house strategy regarding all the Human Resources (HR) of the company, making them part of the “common good” by fair employment. In this manner, employment contracts can be regarded as both a CSR and Business Ethics (BE) issue. Treating your employees in a respectable way represents the most basic form of corporate responsibility and respectable ethics. The chapter brings an economic analysis illustrating that applying fair and moral HR practices, particularly favoring internal employment (insourcing) over external employment (outsourcing), is consistent with CSR and serves the primary corporate goal, increasing its value. Insourcing is thus a win-win strategy, where in addition to CSR and BE aspects it has a direct impact on the company's achievements.

This chapter reviews the historical, technological and economic factors driving IT organizational design and resulting staffing patterns within the IT organization as a backdrop to reviewing the ethical aspects of outsourcing and other technology-enabled organizational imperatives. It examines the effect of developing a business model based on core competency analysis and examines IT sourcing alternatives from the viewpoint of three groups of stakeholders: individuals, the corporation and society. The chapter demonstrates that sourcing choices an IT manager makes result in ethical dilemmas, delineates various aspects of the dilemmas and provides some simple but effective resolution principles. The author hopes that the IT manager reading the chapter will be better prepared to apply ethical decision principles when choosing how to staff their organization and be aware of the possible negative and positive results of their decision-making.

This study investigates how moral values structure the left/right identification of citizens. Specifically, this chapter reconnoitres how moral attitudes relate to the political fringes on both sides compared to economic attitudes. Using pooled data drawn from the World Value Survey (WVS) and the European Value Survey (EVS), this chapter calculates point-biseral correlation coefficients for 12 European countries at different points in time (1982-2014). The findings indicate that (1) both cultural and economic aspects determine mass political identification, (2) the significance of cultural aspects seems higher in traditional countries, (3) all influences remain largely stable over time. In addition, (4) this chapter identifies an unexpected pattern: while the economic dimension structures the political realm quite evenly, moral orientations seem to be divided into the ‘moral universalists' on the left pole and the ‘moral conservatives', who consider themselves as either moderate or rightist.

<i>Abstract</i>.—Ever since fishing was called recreational fishing, a cruelty charge has hovered around somewhere in the background. In recent times, however, it has made it to the fore substantiated by anthropomorphic reasoning and fuelled by high-visibility papers claiming that fish can feel pain and suffer. Because some segments of the public perceive the infliction of these mental states to fish as abhorrent and not outweighing the costs imposed on the individual fish by appropriate benefits to the human, recreational fishing is coming under attack on moral grounds. Other challenges have also emerged that do not center on the issue of whether fish are sentient or not. In this paper, we describe five of the most prevalent moral challenges to recreational angling, two of which—animal welfare and wilderness-centered perspectives—can offer a constructive outlook by calling upon improved treatment of individual fish (animal welfare) and generally more sustainable management (wilderness perspective). In contrast, if one subscribes to animal liberation or animal rights philosophies, the outlook for recreational fishing is generally negative: it has to stop. A final challenge is associated with the motivations of anglers. The moral argument there is that the activity is carried out largely for angler pleasure rather than as a means of securing survival. The outlook of this ethical challenge sometimes leans towards only accepting one form of recreational fishing: catching, killing, and eating. Voluntary catch-and-release fishing and practices such as tournament fishing with a strict total catch-and-release policy would then not be ethically permissible. In this paper, we highlight the origin and background of each of the five ethical challenges and explain their implications for recreational fishing.

The diverse geopolitical and economic life of society during the pandemic requires awareness of the analysis of the states’ effectiveness in implementing careful public financial policies and requires proper changes in the legal regulation of relations based on understanding of social, spiritual and legal values in the context of moral and physical health of humankind. The content and nature of legal regulation of public policy, financial crises, the development of democratic institutions, awareness of the impact of risks in balancing different interests in the formation and distribution of public finances and the nature of financial activities of the state affect the dynamics of reforms and socio-economic transformations in society that change the possibilities of mankind development and create the basis for the protection of state sovereignty.

Primitive autonomous robotic vehicles were first developed during World War I and deployed during wars throughout the 20th century. More recently, autonomous vehicles with cognition were enabled by new technologies, especially in sensors, processors, and software, along with advances in humanoid and other legged robots. The autonomous car, a transformative and disruptive technology, will lead over the coming decades to the development of ubiquitous autonomous robots with increasing levels of cognition for many different applications. These robots will fill nearly every economic sector and occupational niche. The potential impact of autonomous intelligent robots on society, by the end of the century, will lead to ethical and moral dilemmas, as well as impacting jobs across the globe. There is a need to provide alternative sources of income, or alternative employment, for unemployed humans. There is also a need to consider the consequence of the possible emergence of robot self-awareness, consciousness, and free will.

This chapter proposes a decision support system applied to public schooling, especially for reducing dropout rates for minorities. That is relevant enough to enable understanding of ethical data mining in a strategic planning context. This understanding explains the importance of adequate different aspects related with Strategic Planning. The authors focus their analysis on a specific problem related with reducing dropout rates based on decision support systems under uncertainty. To this end, surveys are performed to gather information about this problem using Data Mining techniques to profile a number of behavioral patterns and choices that describe social behaviors. Ethical Data Mining is used for reasons of culture to improve the socio economic development. In addition, the chapter describes innovative models that capture salient variables of modernization, and how these variables give raise to intervening aspects that end up shaping behavioral patterns in ethical and social aspects. Finally, the chapter remarks and extends discussions of the authors’ approach and will provide general guidelines for future work in diverse application domains, including further analysis on how those public politics organize and operate.

The article is devoted to the study of problematic aspects of the implementation of the mediation procedure in Russia. The author noted that mediation on the path of its development in the country encountered a number of obstacles of a moral, ethical, psychological, economic and legislative nature, the solution and settlement of which requires certain efforts both from the side of society and public organizations, and from the state. Using the method of analytical review of theoretical and practical developments of domestic researchers and legislative documents, the article identifies the following problems of mediation: low legal culture of the population; lack of confidence in this service; lack of awareness of society as a whole, and of citizens in particular, about mediation, its advantages as an alternative to the trial method; the position of the parties that do not want to compromise; the difficulty of choosing a mediator - as a highly professional person; mainly the social foundations for the development of mediation and insufficient state support. These problems are interrelated, therefore, their solution requires an integrated approach.

Abstract The Petroleum Working Group (PWG) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has developed the Petroleum Resource Specifications and Guidelines (PRSG) to facilitate the application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) for evaluating and classifying petroleum projects. The UNFC was developed by the Expert Group on Resource Management (EGRM) and covers all resource sectors such as minerals, petroleum, renewable energy, nuclear resources, injection projects, anthropogenic resources and groundwater. It has a unique three- dimensional structure to describe environmental, social and economic viability (E-axis), technical feasibility and maturity (F-axis) and degree of confidence in the resource estimates (G-axis). The UNFC is fully aligned to holistic and sustainable resource management called for by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda). UNFC can be used by governments for integrated energy planning, companies for developing business models and the investors in decision making. Internationally, all classification systems and their application continue to evolve to incorporate the latest technical understanding and usage and societal, government and regulatory expectations. The PRSG incorporates key elements from current global petroleum classification systems. Furthermore, it provides a forward-thinking approach to including aspects of integrity and ethics. It expands on the unique differentiator of the UNFC to integrate social and environmental issues in the project evaluation. Several case studies have been carried out (in China, Kuwait, Mexico, Russia, and Uganda) using UNFC. Specifically, PRSG assists in identifying critical social and environmental issues to support their resolution and development sustainably. These issues may be unique to the country, location and projects and mapped using a risk matrix. This may support the development of a road map to resolve potential impediments to project sanction. The release of the PRSG comes at a time of global economic volatility on a national and international level due to the ongoing impact and management of COVID-19, petroleum supply and demand uncertainty and competing national and international interests. Sustainable energy is not only required for industries but for all other social development. It is essential for private sector development, productive capacity building and expansion of trade. It has strong linkages to climate action, health, education, water, food security and woman empowerment. Moreover, enduring complex system considerations in balancing the energy trilemma of reliable supply, affordability, equity, and social and environmental responsibility remain. These overarching conditions make it even more essential to ensure projects are evaluated in a competent, ethical and transparent manner. While considering all the risks, it is also critical to reinforce the positive contribution a natural resource utilization project provides to society. Such an inquiry can focus on how the project contributes to the quality of life, environment, and the economy – the people, planet, and prosperity triad. Such an approach allows consistent, robust and sustainable investment decision making and energy policy development.