Ethical Breaches Research Articles

Beyond Moral Reasoning Scores: Life Story Interviews and the Interpersonal Nature of Advertising

The current study is the first to report N2 Defining Issues Test (DIT) moral reasoning scores and life-story interviews of advertising executives perceived as ethical leaders. Combining N2 scores with in-depth moral justifications provides a detailed view of morality to better understand what normatively appropriate behavior is, both in and outside of advertising, and how it develops. Scores reflect the preference to apply universal moral principles, especially when depicting strategic communication scenarios, yet there is less preference for universal moral reasoning when personal interest justifications are also considered. Life stories provide evidence of introspection and growth in response to adversity and ethical breaches; situational moral reasoning reflective of the human-centric, empathetic, and interpersonal nature of advertising; and a desire to do social good representative of empathy in action.

Forced Organ Harvesting

Forced Organ Harvesting

The state of ethical decision‐making research in accounting: A retrospective assessment from 1987 to 2022

AbstractThis study employs the bibliometric analysis approach to examine research on ethical decision‐making (EDM) of accountants from 1987 to 2022. The study specifically examines the developments in EDM research and evaluates the intellectual structure of the research field. Employing citation, co‐authorship, co‐occurrence and bibliographic coupling analyses, bibliometric data on 908 publications from the Scopus database was analysed. The results indicate that there has been a significant increase in the rate of publication on EDM of accountants following the spate of ethical breaches in the early 2000s. Further, we find that a large proportion of EDM in accounting research originates from developed countries like USA, Australia and UK. Our cluster analysis suggests that two main research streams have evolved over the period. Prior to 2012, researchers in this field mainly focused on individual level issues, particularly, on the determinants of the EDM process of individuals. Research, post 2012, however, has focused on firm‐level EDM issues including organisational ethics, culture, and corporate governance. The study further discusses the themes in detail andproposes a future research agenda.

Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start—and Why They Won’t Go Away

Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start—and Why They Won’t Go Away

Ethical Dilemmas and Privacy Issues in Emerging Technologies: A Review.

Industry 5.0 is projected to be an exemplary improvement in digital transformation allowing for mass customization and production efficiencies using emerging technologies such as universal machines, autonomous and self-driving robots, self-healing networks, cloud data analytics, etc., to supersede the limitations of Industry 4.0. To successfully pave the way for acceptance of these technologies, we must be bound and adhere to ethical and regulatory standards. Presently, with ethical standards still under development, and each region following a different set of standards and policies, the complexity of being compliant increases. Having vague and inconsistent ethical guidelines leaves potential gray areas leading to privacy, ethical, and data breaches that must be resolved. This paper examines the ethical dimensions and dilemmas associated with emerging technologies and provides potential methods to mitigate their legal/regulatory issues.

The Paradox of the Dark Side of Leadership Creativity: Analyzing Creative Pursuits, Ethical Decision-Making, and Organizational Downfalls through the Cases of Charles Ponzi, Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, Arthur Andersen, Bernie Madoff, and Bernhard Ebbers

This journal focuses on the leadership behaviors, creative strategies, and unethical decisions of individuals such as Charles Ponzi, Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, Arthur Andersen, Bernie Madoff, and Bernhard Ebbers. The study aims to understand how leadership creativity can be misused or unethically applied and its implications for organizations. The research design involves a secondary data desk review, analyzing case studies of these individuals to identify patterns and examine the misuse of creativity and subsequent ethical breaches. By exploring the transformation of initially ingenious ideas into detrimental outcomes, the study sheds light on the concept of the “dark side of creativity” and discovers patterns in leadership decisionmaking and characteristics that contributed to the downfall of the leaders and the organization. The research concludes that ethical decision-making is essential to harnessing the positive potential of creativity. It underscores the importance of ethical leadership, transparency, and stakeholder trust for long-term organizational sustainability. By prioritizing ethics and balancing creative pursuits with ethical considerations, leaders can enhance their effectiveness and promote organizational success. This study contributes to our understanding of the relationship between creativity, ethics, and leadership effectiveness. It emphasizes the significance of responsible decision-making and ethical behavior in utilizing creativity for positive organizational outcomes. The findings have implications for organizational practices, highlighting the importance of ethical leadership, transparent governance, and responsible decision-making processes in fostering long-term success and maintaining stakeholder trust.

The Submarine Case. A study on Danish journalistic ethics regards media representation of crime and criminalityThe Submarine Case. A study on Danish journalistic ethics regards media representation of crime and criminality

"The Danish media landscape, renowned for its commitment to ethical journalism, faces challenges when covering sensational crimes, often leading to breaches of established ethical codes. This research paper investigates the dynamics of sensationalism in crime reporting within Denmark, focusing on the ethical codes that are most susceptible to violations. Using the ‘Submarine Case’ as a case study, the paper explores how media coverage of sensational crimes can lead to ethical code breaches, with a specific emphasis on codes related to court reporting, family circumstances, and public interest. Keywords: Sensational Crime, Media Ethics, Danish Press Council"

Creating Conspiracy Beliefs: How Our Thoughts Are Shaped

Creating Conspiracy Beliefs: How Our Thoughts Are Shaped

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Explaining the gap between online violent extremism and offline inaction among far right groups: a study of Action Zealandia from 2019 to 2021

We, the Editor[s] and Publisher of Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, have retracted the following article: Chris Wilson and James Halpin, Explaining the gap between online violent extremism and offline inaction among far right groups: a study of Action Zealandia from 2019 to 2021, Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 1-19, 10.1080/19434472.2022.2116075 We, the Editors and Publisher of the journal Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, have retracted the following article: Chris Wilson & James Halpin (2022) Explaining the gap between online violent extremism and offline inaction among far right groups: a study of Action Zealandia from 2019 to 2021, Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, DOI: 10.1080/19434472.2022.2116075 Since publication, the corresponding author contacted us and informed that the whole study did not have ethical approval from the University of Auckland Human Ethics Committee as stated in the article. The authors apologise for this oversight. As this represents a breach of publishing ethics, we are retracting the article from the journal. The authors do not agree with the retraction. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as ‘Retracted’. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.

Planners in Publicly Traded Firms

Problem, research strategy, and findings Despite recent interest in the experiences of planners working in the private sector, much research does not distinguish between different organizational contexts. A key change in the consultancy market is the rise of global, publicly traded firms that provide planning services. This research draws on interviews with planners working in publicly traded firms to understand the opportunities and constraints from this model of practice. Though some planners noted opportunities in publicly traded firms, participants identified more constraints or limitations related to this model of practice. Scaling up of firm size offered benefits, such as opportunities for collaboration, but these were limited by organizational structures that promoted competition and cost-cutting strategies. Financial pressures and market demands can affect professional practice, such as through increased time spent on financial reporting and capacity issues from frequent turnover in staff. As a small, low-value component of traded firms, planners experienced issues with reduced resources, difficulties with staffing, and a lack of understanding the role of planning. A limitation of the research is that relying on self-reported data may not fully reflect ethical or professional breaches. Takeaway for practice Increased collaboration across disciplines and geographies may improve project outcomes, though planners’ concerns about lack of capacity and oversight point to concerns for the clients of consultants, as well as professional associations. There is a need for commissioning agencies, particularly in the public sector, to pay close attention to issues of procurement and develop strategies to evaluate project work. In firms where planning is a small business line and subordinate to more profitable services, there may be emerging ethical and practice issues that have not received sufficient attention in professional codes.

Ethical Issues in the US 1956 National Academy of Sciences BEAR I Genetics Panel Report to the Public.

This paper presents newly discovered evidence from the personal correspondence of four US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation (BEAR) Genetics Panelists that their 1956 report to the public was written by a third party and was neither reviewed nor approved by the Panel prior to its publication and release to the public. The letters revealed that the 1956 Report contained serious errors and did not represent the views of the Panel. The failure of the US NAS to notify the public that the Report had not been reviewed and approved by the Panel represents a serious breach of ethics. Further ethical issues relate to the failure of the NAS to (1) correct the errors in the Report within an appropriately timely manner and (2) reveal the lack of approval by the Panel even after the Report's release. In light of these discoveries and the profound historical-and continuing-significance of the 1956 Report to all conventional cancer-related risk assessment processes, we opine that this ethical improbity must be acknowledged and that this document must be retracted by the NAS.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Preparation of carrierized cellulase Cellulase@MIL-88B(Fe) and its enzymatic properties

We, the Editors and Publisher of Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews have retracted the following article: Erhong Zhang, Meng Wang, Xiaoliang Pan, Xinfeng Wang & Wenju Zhang (2022) Preparation of carrierized cellulase Cellulase@MIL-88B(Fe) and its enzymatic properties, Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews, 15:3, 627-637, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17518253.2022.2124890 Following publication, the authors requested the withdrawal of this article in 2022 due to a conflict with an associated patent. Further investigations by the Publisher, in close collaboration with the Editor-in-Chief, could not confirm a conflict with an associated patent but revealed that the article has significant overlap with a chapter of an unpublished thesis titled “Construction of an adaptive immobilized cellulase system and its enzymatic hydrolysis performance” authored by Tiantian Li in June 2022. More specifically, the overlap involves most of the data in the article which was reused without the required permissions, or the knowledge of the owners of the data. Upon query, the authors have cooperated with the investigation, but could neither demonstrate that their data was obtained appropriately, nor that their study was conducted in compliance with our editorial policies. As the reuse of data from a third-party without acquiring the required permissions is a serious breach of publishing ethics, we are retracting the article from the journal. The corresponding author listed in this publication has been informed. We have been informed in our decision-making by our editorial policies and the COPE guidelines. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as ‘Retracted’.

KAMU YÖNETİMİNDE ETİK KAVRAMININ İZİNİ SÜRMEK: KAMU GÖREVLİLERİ ETİK KURULU ÜZERİNE BİR İNCELEME

Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, Kamu Görevlileri Etik Kurulu’nun, yapısı, mevzuatı ve kararları çerçevesinde, kamu yönetiminde etik kültürün gelişmesindeki yerini ve etkinliğini tartışmaktır. Çalışma üç bölümden oluşmaktadır. Birinci bölümde çalışmanın kuramsal çerçevesi “yönetişim anlayışı” çerçevesinde tartışılmıştır. Çalışmanın ikinci bölümünde Kamu Görevlileri Etik Kurulu’nun tarihsel gelişimi anlatılmıştır. Çalışmanın üçüncü bölümünde, Kamu Görevlileri Etik Kurulu’ndan alınan veriler ışığında, Türkiye’de 2017-2019 yıllarını içeren 3 yıllık dönemde hangi konularda etik davranış ihlalleri yapıldığı, Kurul’a kaç başvuru yapıldığı, başvuruların kaç tanesinin kabul edilip/edilmediği, başvuru içerikleri, etik ihlal başvurularının konulara göre dağılımı, başvurular sonucu hangi etik ilkelerin ihlal edildiği ve etik kültürün gelişmesi için yapılan faaliyetler incelenmiştir. Çalışmanın sonuç bölümünde elde edilen veriler çerçevesinde Kamu Görevlileri Etik Kurulu’nun etkinliği tartışılarak, Kurul’un daha etkin olabilmesi için çeşitli öneriler sunulmuştur.

UK professional accounting bodies (PAB): Members’ unethical behaviors and exclusion

AbstractAlthough previous studies have explored the disciplinary procedures and sanctions by PABs, the focus of these studies has often been generalized to all forms of infringements. This has prevented specific attention on the most severe ethical breaches by PAB members, that is, offences leading to exclusion. Consequently, we do not know their prevalence, the features of these behaviors or the motivating factors for their perpetration by members of the UK's PABs. Clarity on these issues is in the public interest given the centrality of the role of the accounting profession to the efficient functioning of the financial system. We used the fraud triangle theory to shed light on these issues. Our analysis is based on the entire population of 141 serious cases that led to members’ exclusion. We developed an analytical framework that focused on the nature of the infringements, their prevalence amongst the PABs, and the variety of explanations provided by the culprits. Our analysis shows that criminal convictions and breach of ethical guidance are the two major causes of exclusion. Our findings have implications for the PABs in their attempts to ensure their members’ ethical behavior and the adequacy of their disciplinary process.

Analysis of COVID-19 news coverage by Televisión Española (TVE1)

This article analyzes the news coverage of the COVID-19 health crisis by Televisión Española (TVE1), to determine if this media reported the news with rigor and in accordance with journalism professional codes and best practice guidelines. For this purpose, content analysis was conducted on the universe of news stories (n=1,449) in the TVE1 daily newscast, starting with the first outbreak of the pandemic on the Iberian Peninsula on February 26, 2020, until the end of the first state of emergency on June 21, 2020. Our categories of analysis were: information sources, news frames, predominant topics, resources used for dramatic effects, and breaches of journalism ethics in reporting news. In general, TVE1 did not engage in sensationalized or dramatized news coverage, but instead attempted to transmit a message that was educational and instructional. Its policy was to provide information on measures adopted by authorities to help prevent the spread of the pandemic. Nevertheless, TVE’s benevolent attitude towards the government and its policies can be observed in its news reporting, revealing a lack of impartiality and editorial independence by this media. Despite the importance of specialized and expert information in times of a pandemic, eyewitness sources were those most used in reporting news, even in economic news framing. Furthermore, these latter sources were employed instead of expert ones, which were in fact the least used, and whose presence progressively declined during the analyzed period.

Key Insights Into Schizophrenia Misdiagnosis and the Use of Antipsychotics

Key Insights Into Schizophrenia Misdiagnosis and the Use of Antipsychotics

Does Sri Lanka’s Drug and Laboratory Supply Related Regulatory Mechanism Address the Current Concerns at Tertiary Level Hospital Care?

Although medicinal products and drugs may have similar characteristics as any other commodity, consumers would need specific knowledge to make decisions with regard to their usage, benefits, harms and potential risks. Poor regulatory capacity could lead to monopolies, breach of market principles, market failure, trade ethics and large scale corruption. If unregulated, money spent for procuring and providing poor quality medicinal products, which are unsafe and ineffective may go down the drain. However, institutional level Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has been given little importance in the current day practice specifically in Tertiary level hospitals. Due to lack of capacity at institutional level for evidence based decision making, tertiary level institutions may not be able to make right choices to produce desired clinical outcomes. Therefore, regulatory needs of large institutions such as tertiary level care institutions and specialized hospitals need to be addressed with special emphasis on their uniqueness and specific needs. Country’s drug and medicines regulatory mechanism is paramount in fulfilling fundamental public health objectives.

RETRACTION NOTE: Histopathological and biomedical parameters determination in the protective effect of crocin on hepatotoxicity induced by methotrexate in rats

This paper was published in the Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology in 2020 (doi: 10.15171/jhp.2020.07) (1). Based on an email received from the team of young researchers recently, we were informed that the results of this article have been published in another study (2), which is considered ethical misconduct. This issue was investigated by the editorial team of the Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology. As a result, based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, the editors decided to retract this paper. The authors were informed and advised on this serious ethical breach. This article has been retracted at the request of the corresponding author. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be watermarked on each page as ‘retracted’.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Investigation on elastic guided wave propagation in a parallel axisymmetric stressed viscoelastic cylindrical waveguide

We, the Editor & Publisher of Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, have retracted the following article: T. Jothi Saravana (2021) Investigation on elastic guided wave propagation in a parallel axisymmetric stressed viscoelastic cylindrical waveguide. DOI: 10.1080/15376494.2021.2017524 After publication, the author, T.J. Saravana, requested the retraction of this article due to his use of third-party data without the required permissions. Further investigations revealed that the article contained data from an unpublished thesis titled “Analyses on Acoustic Emission Wave Propagation in a Stay Cable using Semi-Analytical FEM” authored by Yang Yaohua in 2018, that was used without permission. As the reuse of data from a third party without acquiring the required permissions is a serious breach of publishing ethics, we are retracting the article from the journal. The author agrees to this retraction. We have received guidance from our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions, which have informed our decision-making process. To maintain the scholarly record, the retracted article will remain available online. We will ensure that it is identified as “Retracted” by adding a digital watermark on each page.

RETRACTION NOTE: Effect of curcumin on hippocampus dentate gyrus injury induced by nicotine in rats

This paper was published in the Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology in 2019 (doi: 10.15171/jhp.2019.47) (1). Based on an email received from the team of young researchers recently, we were informed that the results of this article (some figures and diagrams) have been published in several similar articles (2-5), which are considered ethical misconduct. This issue was investigated by the editorial team of the Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology. As a result, based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, the editors decided to retract this paper. The authors were informed and advised on this serious ethical breach. This article has been retracted at the request of the corresponding author. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be watermarked on each page as ‘retracted’.