Ethical Sourcing Research Articles

Essential Moral Sources of Ethical Standards in Child and Youth Care Work

It is proposed that an ethical framework for child and youth care practice should take into account the differences between descriptive ethical inquiry on the one hand and normative and analytical ethical inquiry on the other. This will help us avoid the error of deriving our ethical principles from our practices, when in fact what we need is a moral criterion originating outside our practice that is not based on efficiency. Mattingly (1995) suggests this in recommending that we “Develop an ethical vision.” This ethical vision should take into account the domains of morality proposed by Taylor (1989), including respect for human life, issues of what makes a rich, meaningful life, and ideas about dignity. Doing so may provide a moral foundation not just for a code of ethics, but a moral framework for evaluating the entire range of our practice with children and youth.

The Potentiality of Human Umbilical Cord Isolated Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells for Cardiomyocyte Generation.

BackgroundThe new therapeutic strategy of managing cardiac diseases is based on cell therapy; it highly suggests the use of multipotent mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). MSCs widely used in researches are known to be isolated from bone marrow. However, this research seeks to use a human umbilical cord (HUC) as an alternative source of MSCs. Since HUC Wharton’s jelly (WJ)-isolated MSCs originate as fetal tissue they are highly preferable for their potential advantages over other adult tissues.MethodsThe researchers used enzymatic digestion to establish a primary HUC-WJ-isolated MSC line. Then, flow cytometry was used to characterize MSCs and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) markers’ expression. In addition, the cardiac differentiation capacity of HUC-WJ-isolated MSCs in vitro was investigated by two protocols. Protocol-1 necessitates the dependence on merely 5-azacytidine (5-Aza), whereas in protocol-2, 5-Aza was supported by basic fibroblast growth factor (BFGF). The comparative study between the two protocols was applied by inspecting the ultrastructure of differentiated cells, measuring RT-PCR mRNA cardiac markers and the quantitative detection of cardiac proteins.ResultsHUC-WJ isolated MSCs were expressed by CD90+ve, CD105+ve, CD106+ve, CD45−ve, and CD146−ve. Remarkable TNNT1, NKX2.5, and Desmin mRNA expression and higher quantitative LDH and cTnI were detected by applying protocol-2. This same protocol-2 induced cardiac morphological features that were revealed by identifying cardiomyocyte-like cells and typical sarcomeres.ConclusionHUC-WJ is proved to be an ethical and effective source of MSCs induced cardiac differentiation, whereas BFGF supports 5-Aza in MSCs-cardiomyocytes differentiation.

Certifying Biodiversity: The Union for Ethical BioTrade and the Search for Ethical Sourcing

Abstract This article is concerned with the potential for private action to improve sourcing practices to promote biodiversity. More specifically this article examines the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) and its verification and certification of ‘sourcing with respect’: that is, sourcing ingredients from biodiversity in a way that is respectful to both the local environment and people. While key international biodiversity treaties and instruments—such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Nagoya Protocol—encourage public actors to work with private actors to develop methods for the sustainable use of biological resources, our examination of UEBT shows that there are concerns over the standards, implementation and enforcement of private initiatives. In conclusion, we suggest two key ways in which transnational or public/private initiatives can be strengthened. First, via more proactively promoting public/private cooperation, including about how certification is used to reduce inconsistency and consumer overload or confusion. Secondly, by placing greater emphasis on mechanisms that place pressure on supply chain actors to source in ways that promote biodiversity.

Beliefs and Actions Towards an Environmental Ethical Life: The Christianity-Environment Nexus Reflected in a Cross-National Analysis

The present study seeks to introduce the European Christian community to the debate on environmental degradation while displaying its important role and theological perspectives in the resolution of the environmental crisis. The fundamental question authors have asked here is if Christianity supports pro-environmental attitudes compared to other religions, in a context where religion, in general, represents the ethical foundation of our civilization and, thus, an important behavior guide. The discussion becomes all the more interesting as many voices have identified the Christian theological tradition as ecologically bankrupt, while others as a source for environmental ethics. In seeking to refute or to confirm the Lynne White’s thesis, firstly, we aimed to rediscover the biblical ecological consciousness and the theology of care. Secondly, following the literature evidence on relevant differences between countries and the influence that religion has on approaching environmental issues, we considered the religion-environmental correlation within a particular country context. For this, data from the European Values Study survey were used, by including 20 European countries. One novelty of this contribution is to highlight the influence of the legacy of the former political regime on pro-environmental attitude and religious practices. The study testifies that the search for a common language for environmental stewardship is a difficult task and fundamental to how we behave. Despite this, within this frame of discussion, we argue that Christianity, as a major social actor, co-exists with and can enhance the interest in and respect for nature.

Nietzsche’s Übermensch as a Metaphor for Education

Rather than appealing to universal truth or morality based on the power of reason, Nietzsche’s impassioned plea for resuscitating the embodied self as a source of ethics provides a new perspective on educational philosophy. Within the concept of Will to Power, he offers the notion of the Übermensch as a model for overcoming the social limitations of Christian morality and the dictates of fashion. In a formative state, ‘untimely men’ (and here, read ‘Nietzsche’) stand outside the homogenising influence of the State. Nietzsche’s Übermensch, involving a continuous process of ‘overcoming’ and ‘becoming’, is suggested as an alternative to the autonomous liberal subject as an educational ideal. It provides a perspective that contrasts with the egalitarian and collectivist notions that underpin social democracy and social justice as guiding ideals for educational endeavour. This paper questions the liberal hope that education is automatically the path to freedom and autonomy, arguing that education can be valued as a means of developing a reflective or critical view on our social predicament. Übermensch, perhaps the closest Nietzsche comes to an educational ideal, represents agonistic engagement with our social predicament and an overcoming of instrumental views about education. This paper investigates Nietzsche’s figure of the Übermensch and examines some functional aspects of that same figure that help to explain the notion of education relevant to this paper.

Muslim auditors’ ethics

The article discusses Islamic ethics and the impact it has on the professional ethics of Muslim auditors. Based on studies of the available literature on the subject and the Qur’an, the paper identifies the source of Muslim ethics and indicates that its perspective is slightly different from the perspectives known in the West. It also identifies the ethical principles which should be followed by a Muslim auditor. The analysis of the sources indicates that Islamic ethics and the understanding of certain principles and rules in Mus-lim countries differ (for cultural and religious reasons) from the perspective commonly adopted in other countries, hence the belief that it is necessary to create their own code of ethics for professionals, such as auditors. Attempting to assess how cultural norms affect professional ethics, based on a selected example of professional audit practitioners in Muslim countries, the article may be a prelude to further research in this direction, not necessarily in relation to the Islamic cultural circle.

Spınoza's Understandıng of 'Conatus' And Evolutıonary Ethıcs: Two Approaches for Search of The Source of Morality

Spınoza's Understandıng of 'Conatus' And Evolutıonary Ethıcs: Two Approaches for Search of The Source of Morality

JUAL BELI AIR SUMBER DALAM PERSPEKTIF ETIKA BISNIS ISLAM DI DESA CANDIWATES KECAMATAN PRIGEN KABUPATEN PASURUAN

Islam is a source of values ​​and ethics in all aspects of overall human life, including business discourse. One of the unique teachings of Islam is to teach its adherents to carry out economic practices based on Islamic norms and ethics. In this association of life every person has an interest in other people therefore rights and obligations arise. This interaction has many benefits, especially for the fulfillment of basic living needs such as eating, drinking and so forth. Especially in the case of drinking humans need water as a basic need. Water is a resource that is needed by all people in the world and becomes something that is very vital, even for the entire life of living things on this earth. As is the case of trading water in Candiwates Village, Prigen District, Pasuruan Regency. The method used in this research is a qualitative method using case studies. This research uses the method of collecting observation, interview and documentation data. The results of this study conclude that the application of Islamic business ethics in Candiwates Village, Prigen District, Pasuruan Regency is in accordance with the concept of Islamic business ethics which includes unity, justice, responsibility, free will and honesty. But they pay less attention to the implementation of social and environmental responsibility.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES OF Z. N. AKAVOV IN THE COURSE OF EVOLUTION AND INNOVATION

The article examines the scientific activity of the famous Dagestan literary critic Zabit Nasyrovich Akavov in the course of evolution and innovation of his work. The most significant works of the scientist, in particular monographs «Moral sources», «They were the first», «Dialogue of times», «The spiritual impulse of identity of the Eurasian literary tradition», etc., marked by the originality of the author’s scientific thinking, make a significant contribution to defining the role and place of the works of national authors in the Dagestan art process. To a greater extent, the article con-siders the monograph «Spiritual impulse of the identity of the Eurasian literary tradition» by Z. N. Akavov, written in co-authorship with R. Z. Akavov, which makes an application for the interpretation of «Eurasianism» as a literary cat-egory, confirmed by examples of literary texts of national literature.

Mental Money Laundering: A Motivated Violation of Fungibility

People exploit flexibility in mental accounting to relax psychological constraints on spending. Four studies demonstrate this in the context of moral behavior. The first study replicates prior findings that people donate more money to charity when they earned it through unethical versus ethical means. However, when the unethically-earned money is first “laundered”––the cash is physically exchanged for the same amount but from a different arbitrary source—people spent it as if it was earned ethically. This mental money laundering represents an extreme fungibility violation: exchanging “dirty” money for the same sum coming from a “clean” source significantly changed people’s propensity to spend it prosocially. The second study demonstrates that mental money laundering generalizes to cases in which ethically and unethically earned money is mixed. When gains from ethical and unethical sources were pooled, people spent the entire pooled sum as if it was ethically earned. The last two studies provide mixed support for the prediction that people actively seek out laundering opportunities for unethically earned money, suggesting partial sophistication about these effects. These findings provide new evidence for the ease with which people can rationalize misbehavior, and have implications for consumer choice, corporate behavior and public policy.

Salaries and Wages Management: An Instrumental Tool for Effective Development of Civil Servants’ Performance in Cross River State, Nigeria

The tremendous delayed in the payment of salaries and wages to civil servants in Cross River State is an imperative challenge crushing and knocking down the corporate as well as workers’ performance of ministries, institutions and agencies in the system. Salaries and wages structure are always established haphazardly and arbitrarily. This results in salaries and wages inequities, which are the most dangerous sources of friction, conflict and low morale in organizations. It has also created negative attitudes of workers towards their jobs and responsibilities in organizations. This study adopted survey research design. The population 1206 which consist of the various workers of the Cross River State Civil Service Commission that cut across ministries, agencies, institutions and other parastatals. Simple random sampling technique was applied through the use of Taro Yamane formula in determining the sample size of 234 respondents. Primary data was collected through the use of a structured questionnaire using 4 points Likert scale of strongly agreed (4), agreed (3), and disagreed (2), strongly disagreed (1). The data analysis technique used for the study was linear regression model, including ordinary least square and analysis of variance (ANOVA) through SPSS version 20, to test the hypotheses. The study revealed that salaries and wages management significantly influence the development of organizational performance of the Cross River State ministries, agencies and institutions. Early payments of salaries and wages have a significant influence on organizational performance in the state. The amount of salaries and wages paid also has a significant effect on workers’ involvement, loyalty and commitment of the state. Salaries and wages structure also have a significant influence on organizational job satisfaction of the state. Salaries and wages management also contributes to workers’ motivation and morale in the state. The study recommended that management as well as administrators of the various ministries and institutions should ensure that their workers are financially satisfied at when due in their payment of wages and salaries, if they are to be motivated, committed and loyal, satisfied on the job performance and productivity. This is because financially satisfied workers will be more motivated, productive, engaged and emotionally attached to the organizational jobs.

The study of Muslims’ religious motivation

The article focuses on the specifi cs of Muslims’ motivation, determined by the method of Stojković I. and Mirić J. We consider the motivation to be a psychological state directing the psychological process into a certain course and realized in activities. The study was based on an opinion-poll of 90 people from Almaty, Ufa, Kazan and Moscow. The study has proven that Muslims with high internal motivation for faith also display high social motivation for religion. Internal motivation is closely related to the concept of Islam as a source of emotional well-being, ideals and morality. Muslims’ perception of Islam highly correlates with the values of traditionalism. It appears that women preferably emphasize the role of Islam in preserving the traditions of the family and people in accordance to the same of men. Religion is partly considered by Muslims as means of fulfi lling desires, but this parameter is not the principal one. Perceiving religion as means of fulfi lling desires connects to the respondents’ understanding Islam itself as a way of maintaining traditionalism, the continuity of the family legacy and ethnic community. The results of the study make it possible to highlight the abovementioned confessionally-caused features of motivation among Muslims.

Hubungan Agama dan Negara Menurut Perspektif Nicolaus Driyarkara

Today the issue of the relationship between religion and the state is very relevant to the concrete situation in Indonesia. The polemic shows the difference marked by the phenomenon of pluralism on the one hand and the trap of privatization and the politicization of religion on the other. In this case, Driyarkara offers a paradigm of differentiation and an overreach of identity politics to pay attention to the relationship between religion and the state. Apart from that, he is questioning the extent to which the paradigm of differentiation and excess of identity politics is able to support the phenomenon of pluralization of modern society. Religion and the state need to be differentiated as two different works. However, the distinction between religion and state does not aim to displace religion into the private sphere, but rather embrace religion to be able to participate in public space and state life by playing a role as a source of public morality or civil religion.

David Hume versus Adam Smith: Sobre la fuente de la normatividad en el sentimentalismo moral

A pesar de las muchas semejanzas entre las teorías morales de David Hume y Adam Smith, en los últimos años muchos han comenzado a interpretar la Teoría de los sentimientos morales de Smith como una respuesta crítica a la ética de Hume. En este artículo propongo que la diferencia más importante entre estos sentimentalistas se relaciona con el origen y la naturaleza de la autoridad normativa de la moral, que a fin de cuentas determina qué se entenderá por una legítima razón moral, o qué es propiamente la moral.

“A nossa lâmpada não se apaga”: The Mnemonic Return of Angola’s Jonas Savimbi

AbstractRehabilitating the legacy of deceased leaders is a phenomenon particularly salient in Southern Africa, insofar as memories of liberation wars provoke considerable debate. After a protracted civil war, Angolans remain divided about the contributions of their historical leaders. Jonas Savimbi sits at the center of this division, a binary representation of both heroism and villainy. Martins demonstrates how Savimbi’s memory is invoked both as a moral source of hope for an alternative Angola—one imagined and disseminated by Savimbi and UNITA and appropriated by social protest—and as a technology of fear and control employed by the MPLA to assert political dominance.

Вопрос об источнике и основах морали как ключевой аспект психокоррекционной работы в пенитенциарной системе

The relevance of the article lies in the significance of the question about the source and foundations of morality in itself, and also, that every specialist who carries out psycho-correctional implicitly solves this issue working in the penitentiary system. It is shown that there are two paradigmatic answers to the question about the essence of morality: atheistic (morality is the result of an evolutionary process, or morality is a subjective agreement that makes life possible in society); theistic (moral is transcendental to the psyche). The novelty of the study lies in substantiating the theses on the significance of the problem of the essence of morality for psycho-correctional work in the penitentiary system, and that the religious concept of the origin of morality does not contradict scientifically established facts. The practical value is explained by the general direction for the humanization of the penitentiary system, in this regard, by the increased importance of penitentiary psycho-correctional work. The authors come to a conclusion that the researched issue is significant for practical ethics in general and in the prison system in particular. The theistic model of the origin of morality does not contradict any scientific facts.

Humanistic Management and Religion: a Case for the Constructivist Approach to Jewish Business Ethics

Humanistic management theory and religiously grounded business ethics are both important research avenues for the study of business management. This paper links these two domains by examining to what extent a religiously grounded business ethics can potentially contribute to the broad and burgeoning literature on humanistic management through an exploration of the case of Jewish business ethics. Specifically, this paper examines three distinct ways of doing Jewish business ethics. These three ways are labeled here as traditionalist, integrationist, and constructivist. Each of these distinct paths begins with a different conception of the fundamental relationship between Judaism and business. Traditionalists believe that the creation of wealth is a legitimate practice, but only because Judaism says so. Integrationists, by contrast, consider wealth creation as a legitimate practice on its own terms. From this perspective, wealth creation is viewed as a positive human activity, independent of its grounding in religious thought. Judaism contributes to wealth creation by setting and guarding its appropriate boundaries and limits and by serving as an external source of morality and meaning, often invoking broad aspirational Jewish values like tikkun olam (repair of the world). Finally, constructivists agree with the integrationists about the stand-alone value of wealth creation. Constructivists push even further, though, and assert that business is not only a legitimate practice, but it is a potentially meaningful one. Business is imagined as an ongoing and open-ended constructive project, one that includes a broad and complex set of human values including wealth creation, but potentially other values like covenantal leadership, kindness, everyday redemption, and other higher purposes. Here, business is no longer viewed merely as a source of material wealth for society but business is envisioned as a potentially important location and source of human meaning and fulfillment. For the constructivists, the role of Jewish business ethics is not to judge business from the outside, but it is to actively participate and contribute to an expansive dialogue with other business ethics voices, centered on the construction of new and evolved forms of business as a human enterprise.

Good and bad sugars: Australian adults’ perspectives on sugar in their diet

ABSTRACT This study analyses the relationship between food choices and morality by exploring how Australian adults conceptualise and negotiate their sugar intake. Fifteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with English speaking adults residing in South Australia. Participants were purposively sampled from a national survey based on their sugar consumption levels, age and gender. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants initially defined sugars as good or bad based on source, colour, texture, taste and impact of sugar on health. On being provided with evidence on amounts of sugar present in commonly consumed foods and drinks, participants redefined their perceptions to consider all sugars as bad sugars. This created moral challenges for the participants leading to two types of justifications for their own sugar consumption. One group of justifications drew on socially evaluative statements that participants used to present themselves as morally virtuous. Here sugar was considered as an essential source of energy and part of a balanced diet; limited to infrequent occasions such as celebrations, social gatherings and cultural practices; and as a cultural obligation. The second group of justifications located the source of morality within the individual and presented sugar intake as important for emotional and psychological wellbeing, and also as something that could be controlled by taking responsibility. There were no differences in discourses between low and high sugar consumers. This study provides new insights on how Australians conceptualise sugar in diet and make consumption decisions, which are important for influencing sugar consumption at a societal level.

“In the Way of the Gift”: The Postsecular Conditions of Grace in Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead

In Robinson’s Gilead, one of Ames’ greatest hopes is for his son to place himself “in the way of the gift.” What is this gift, and what does it mean to place oneself in its way? The gift, I will argue, is what Charles Taylor has described as a moral source that is mediated by interpretive frameworks, and empowers us toward ideals otherwise difficult or impossible to sustain. Gilead enacts the necessary condition of having narratives of the gift, of having been in its way, in order to mediate its reception again. But if restoration is the great potential of the gift’s reception for Ames, it also points to the condition of impossibility for Jack, who is never given such a gift, despite having always been in its way. Although there is no guarantee the gift will be given, what Gilead explores are the postsecular conditions necessary for the gift to be received.

Influence of Ethical Sourcing Practices on Performance of Teachers Service Commission of Kenya

Ethical sourcing practices are acceptable standards that professionals in the supply chain management should adopt to ensure sustainable institutional operations. There is more emphasis on ethical sourcing in Kenyans public procurement system since the enactment of the new constitution 2010. However, sourcing in the commission is marked with unethical practices. These ethical malpractices may damage the state agencies’ performance; undermine public confidence in governments’ leadership and governance. The purpose of the study was to analyze the influence of ethical sourcing practices on performance of Teachers Service Commission of Kenya. The study's objectives were to examine the influence of transparency practices on TSC performance, assess influence of integrity practices on performance of TSC and, to evaluate influence of accountability practices on performance of TSC. The study was guided by three theories namely: Deontological theories-Kantian ethics, Teleological theories-utilitarianism and Dynamic capabilities theory. The target population comprised of 1351 TSC secretariat staff from among seven TSC directorates and Supply Chain Management Services (SCMS). Stratified proportionate sampling was used to select a sample of 239 employees. A descriptive research design was adopted in the study. Data was collected using a semi - structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Presentation was in form of percentages, frequencies, and tables. Key findings of study included: A response rate of 96.2 % was realized found to be adequate and sufficient to undertake data analysis. Majority of the respondents strongly agreed that the commission had embraced ethical sourcing practices (Transparency, integrity and accountability) and had consequently improved its customer’s satisfaction levels. The study recommends adoption of ethical sourcing practices by organizations so as to optimize their operations. The researcher recommends a similar study on other organizations both private and public based on the study’s findings, shareholders, management and policy makers in the public service sector and other sectors can make informed decisions on the ethics and organization performance. To uphold research ethics, permission to collect data was sought from the University, NACOSTI as well as Teachers’ service commission. Keywords: Transparency Practices, Integrity Practices, Accountability Practices, Teachers Service Commission