Perceptions Of Ethical Issues Research Articles

Citizens’ perceptions of ethical issues in covid-19 containment measures: A comparative quantitative study

Citizens’ perceptions of ethical issues in covid-19 containment measures: A comparative quantitative study

Hospitality Ethics: Perspectives from Hotel Practitioners and Intern Students

ABSTRACT Ethical concerns in the hospitality industry have become challenging and critical. This study investigated perceptions of ethical issues in practitioners and students to identify gaps in the perceptions. A self-administered questionnaire and 1,009 surveys were completed for data analysis. The findings of this study indicated that participants generally agreed on ethical issues. Ethical issues under “personal behavior” and “customer equity” must be emphasized repeatedly. Gaps in perceptions of ethical issues between practitioners and students were found. Agreement on ethical items under the “manager leadership” factor was lower in practitioners, whereas ethical items under “personal behavior” and “customer equity” were lower in students. Implications for the academia would be emphasizing ethical issues such as ways to handle bribes or tips and providing timely and correct information to customers. For industrial practitioners, focusing on workload allocation and verbal communication is suggested.

Recruiting Reporters’ Perceptions of Ethical Issues

In the Internet era, a substantial online media industry dedicated to covering the recruitment of high school athletes to college sports programs has developed in the United States. The current study explored the perceptions of football recruiting reporters with respect to their ethical responsibilities and the issues they face in their jobs. In doing so, the study builds on the work of Yanity and Edmondson, who explored the perceptions of journalists from other fields about ethical dilemmas they perceived as relevant in the budding high school football recruiting media industry. Through analysis of interviews with 15 people who have worked as reporters for major recruiting websites such as Rivals.com or 247Sports.com , we contend that several key ethical issues must be addressed by online college football and basketball recruiting outlets to protect athletes and to promote responsible journalism. These issues include (a) incessant contact of high school athletes by media members; (b) lack of institutional oversight by parent companies over school-specific sites; (c) ambiguous methodology behind player evaluation; (d) conflicts of interest inherent in recruiting media outlets hosting evaluation camps; and (e) lack of institutional protection from unethical pressures by members of college athletic departments.

Ethical perceptions towards real-world use of companion robots with older people and people with dementia: survey opinions among younger adults

BackgroundUse of companion robots may reduce older people’s depression, loneliness and agitation. This benefit has to be contrasted against possible ethical concerns raised by philosophers in the field around issues such as deceit, infantilisation, reduced human contact and accountability. Research directly assessing prevalence of such concerns among relevant stakeholders, however, remains limited, even though their views clearly have relevance in the debate. For example, any discrepancies between ethicists and stakeholders might in itself be a relevant ethical consideration while concerns perceived by stakeholders might identify immediate barriers to successful implementation.MethodsWe surveyed 67 younger adults after they had live interactions with companion robot pets while attending an exhibition on intimacy, including the context of intimacy for older people. We asked about their perceptions of ethical issues. Participants generally had older family members, some with dementia.ResultsMost participants (40/67, 60%) reported having no ethical concerns towards companion robot use when surveyed with an open question. Twenty (30%) had some concern, the most common being reduced human contact (10%), followed by deception (6%). However, when choosing from a list, the issue perceived as most concerning was equality of access to devices based on socioeconomic factors (m = 4.72 on a scale 1–7), exceeding more commonly hypothesized issues such as infantilising (m = 3.45), and deception (m = 3.44). The lowest-scoring issues were potential for injury or harm (m = 2.38) and privacy concerns (m = 2.17). Over half (39/67 (58%)) would have bought a device for an older relative. Cost was a common reason for choosing not to purchase a device.ConclusionsAlthough a relatively small study, we demonstrated discrepancies between ethical concerns raised in the philosophical literature and those likely to make the decision to buy a companion robot. Such discrepancies, between philosophers and ‘end-users’ in care of older people, and in methods of ascertainment, are worthy of further empirical research and discussion. Our participants were more concerned about economic issues and equality of access, an important consideration for those involved with care of older people. On the other hand the concerns proposed by ethicists seem unlikely to be a barrier to use of companion robots.

Cyberbullies, Trolls, and Stalkers: Students’ Perceptions of Ethical Issues in Social Media

ABSTRACTLittle research has been done to examine users’ perceptions of ethical issues related to communication on social media. This exploratory, descriptive study examines undergraduate students’ perceptions of ethical issues in how they and their peers use social media and the consequences the ethical issues have on themselves and others. An online survey was distributed to students at a regional university (N = 201). Results show that most students have observed violations of ethical norms; they believe that the most common ethical issues are inappropriate pictures, privacy concerns, and people harassing others.

Contextual determinants of HR professionals’ self-perceptions of unethical HRM practices

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine human resources (HR) professionals’ self-perceptions of ethically questionable human resource management (HRM) practices (i.e. disregard for the individual, favoring those in power and discrimination). The research sought specifically to determine how these perceptions are influenced by their organizations’ ethical infrastructure and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 134 HR professionals using an anonymous structured questionnaire.FindingsThe scope of organizations’ ethics programs and the degree of importance given to developing an ethical infrastructure were found to predict the level of acceptance of unethical HRM practices related to discrimination. These practices are also less acceptable to professionals from organizations that are perceived as more socially responsible regarding their employees.Research limitations/implicationsAdditional studies with larger samples are needed to determine more clearly not only the influence of contextual determinants, but also the practical consequences of high levels of acceptance of unethical practices in HRM.Practical implicationsOrganizations can decrease their HR professionals’ acceptance of ethically questionable HRM practices by developing and emphasizing a strong ethical infrastructure and CSR practices, especially those affecting employees.Originality/valueHR professionals’ perceptions of ethical issues have rarely been analyzed using empirically tested methods. By surveying HR professionals, this study contributes to a fuller understanding of their perceptions regarding the ethics of their own practices. The results show that contextual determinants play an important role in predicting the level of acceptance of unethical HRM practices, especially those leading to discrimination.

Perceptions of Ethical Issues in Hospitality and Tourism Research

ABSTRACTIn hospitality and tourism research, little is known about faculty members’ and graduate students’ perceptions of ethics. This study examined those perceptions to investigate how these groups have witnessed unethical behavior and their perceptions of ethics in research. Results showed that assigning authorship appears as an ethical issue for both faculty and graduate students, whereas plagiarism, as may be expected, was reported in work conducted by graduate students more than in work conducted by faculty members. Based on the findings of the study, implications and recommendations regarding ethical issues in hospitality and tourism research are provided.

Perception of ethical issues by students of health professions

In recent years in education in health professions in Slovakia big changes have taken place. New insights regarding approximation to the European education system and contextual understanding of health professionals and patients encourage need of change in approaches. The transition from deep-rooted paternalism to individual responsibility of the patients created a gap which was needed to fulfil in education. In our research we analyzed using ANOVA statistics with p<0.01 a non-standardized questionnaire looking what impact had study of ethical issues on their approach to marginalization, labelling, empathy and holistic approach. Significant difference between both groups of students (125 students at the beginning of the study and 119 students at the end of the study) has been shown related to the study of professional ethics on one side and approach to marginalization, labelling, empathy and holistic approach at other side.

Measuring consumer perception of ethical issues in advertising: evidence from Nigerian advertising audience

This research used logit model to empirically test Nigerian consuming public views on parameters related to ethics in advertisements in the Nigerian media in relation to the respondents' personal characteristics. These parameters include age level, education, religion, extravagancy (wastefulness) and deception (lies) featuring in advertising messages. Thus, the paper tries to find out the attitude of Nigerian consumers towards controversial advertising. Data for the study was collected using questionnaires distributed to respondents who are presumed familiar with advertising messages being convened through mediums such as TV, Radio, print media, social media and the net. The study finds respondents' educational level and religiosity to play an important role in determining how he/she perceives ethical issues (advertising offences) in advertising. With both variables having positive effects on consumers' ethical orientation, while wastefulness as promoted by advertising messages is detested by more ethically oriented consumers.

Measuring consumer perception of ethical issues in advertising: evidence from Nigerian advertising audience

Measuring consumer perception of ethical issues in advertising: evidence from Nigerian advertising audience

Exploring practitioners’ perception of ethical issues in planning: The Peruvian case

Despite the ethics of planning in the Global South is an issue of crucial importance due to the challenging circumstances in which the discipline is practiced in the region, this discussion is still at this initial stage. This article contributes to expanding on the matter through an approach to identify the influence on practitioners’ perception of ethical issues of the planning purposes and values embedded within five frames of reference of practice (i.e. professional training, professionalization bodies, institutional settings, planning systems and policy frameworks). Using the case of professional architects working as planners for municipalities in Arequipa (Peru), the article starts with an exploratory comparison between the purposes and values put forward by professional training in planning and architecture and then contrast these with the planning purposes and values purveyed by professionalization bodies, institutional settings, planning systems, and policy frameworks. These results support the analysis of practitioners’ perception of ethical issues. This shows that the understanding of planning purposes and values of Peruvian architects acting as planners and the views of the country’s architecture professionalization body contributes to strengthening the regulatory, technical, and apolitical orientation of the Peruvian planning system. With the adoption of neoliberal urban policies and within the ethically inconsistent municipal institutional setting, architects’ operationalization of their understanding of planning purposes and values leads to a procedural perception of ethical issues, which is based on the belief that these center on conflicts of personal principles. Their belated realization that ethical issues also concern conflict of interests adds to their questioning of the idea of planning, making the discipline’s practice in the country even more challenging.

Ethical perceptions of employees in small retailing firms: A case of indigenous-owned fast-food outlets in Zimbabwe

Background: Although the subject of ethical business practices has a well-established tradition in large corporations where shareholder value maximisation is largely dependent on such entities’ conduct of good business ethics, its investigation in small businesses in agile, economically depressed economies such as that of Zimbabwe has targeted business owners and managers but excluded their employees. Given the middleman role that employees of emerging indigenous-owned retail firms play in the distribution chain from manufacturers to the consumers, the ethical perceptions of these employees are critical to the leveraging of businesses’ strategic orientations. Employees are the coal face of the firm, withering intense competition from these firms’ rivals and achieving the firms’ strategic orientations (profitability, market share, business growth and survival). In order to meet stakeholder expectations simultaneously largely depends on the ethical conduct of such employees.Aim: The overall aim of this study is to contribute to ethical theory and literature by demonstrating how employees’ ethical perceptions and behaviour shape the strategic orientations of the business. To achieve this aim, the study sought to: (1) establish the typical ethical dilemmas that employees of these retail firms faced in their daily tasks, (2) assess how they responded to these ethical challenges, (3) ascertain whether demographic factors such as age, level of education, gender and their position in the organisational hierarchy influence their reaction to ethical dilemmas; and (4) determine these employees’ overall perceptions of ethical issues within their organisations.Setting: The study was conducted on employees of an indigenous-owned fast-food firm operating in two cities in Zimbabwe.Methods: A survey was conducted on 108 employees working in two cities. A structured questionnaire was developed and administered to the employees.Results: The results suggested that a majority of the respondents were ethically conscious and could make ethical choices. In addition, most respondents deemed the ethical scenarios presented to them as morally wrong, suggesting that the surveyed employees wished to engage in ethical behaviour. However, while the respondents were deemed to be ethically astute in their individual capacities, they seemed to lack an in-depth knowledge of the ethical policies of their organisation.Conclusion: The study concludes that owners and managers of small firms should provide interventions to cascade ethical policy to the lower ranks of the organisation to enhance the ethical perception amongst employees of these firms. The study implication is that an institutional top-down approach is critical to embedding ethical sensitivity into employees without which employees may continue to speculate about the business ethics of their organisation.

Perception of Ethical Issues Among the Law Enforcement and Firefighter Psychologists From Romania

Ethical psychological practice is essential for beneficiaries’ protection and welfare. This survey research addressed a specific issue, namely compliance with and beliefs about ethical principles and standards of psychologists from the Romanian national law enforcement and firefighting organizations. A total of 140 psychologists, 60.08% of target group members, rated frequency and ethical character of 139 ethically questionable behaviors. Several positive ethical elements were found as lack of almost universal behaviors and many rare behaviors (46.04%). Among the ethical problems found were counted: behaviors and beliefs related to the involvement in ethical practice promotion among psychologists and to the interaction with coordinating and homologous psychologists in the professional or ethical impasse situations. The highest quality ratings of resources for ethical practice guiding and training were made for Code of Deontology and the lowest for legal cases. Several solutions were proposed to improve ethical professional awareness and practice of target group members. The present research showed the difficulty of finding benchmarks to interpret results of an ethical research and the need to approach ethical issues not only from the quantitative view but also from qualitative and/or transcultural view.

Customers’ Perception Of Ethical Issues In Corporate Governance Of Islamic Banks In Bangladesh

The study analyzes customer perceptions regarding the ethical standards of corporate governance of the Islamic banks in Bangladesh. The customers were found to have positive perceptions regarding the board of directors’ competence, shariah board members’ expertise and top management team’s effectiveness to discharge Shariah laws. The clients very strongly agreed that their bank followed the Islamic principles. The customers responded positively regarding ethical disclosures of information by their banks. The study noted that the (Ed. note: should “the be changed to “each”?) bank had an effective and transparent mechanism to handle complaints, conflict management, and occurrences due to lack of due care. Interestingly the clients were found to rely more on newspapers, rather than each bank’s website or e-mails for price-sensitive information. The customers were found to be positive regarding the regulatory body’ position in regulating Islamic banks. The overall perception of the respondents regarding ethical corporate governance of the banks was found to be positive.

The Association Between Age and Ethics-Related Issues in Using Social Media for HIV Prevention in Peru

Little research has focused on the ethical issues around using social media for HIV prevention in low- and middle-income countries, such as Peru. This study surveyed participants from the HOPE social media HIV intervention in Peru to assess their experiences and perceptions of ethical issues in the study and the impact of age on their experiences and perceptions. This study found that, compared to younger participants, older participants were more likely to express higher levels of understanding of the consent form and trust that other participants were real. Older participants also reported being less likely to benefit from learning about their HIV status. Findings suggest that age plays a role in participants’ experiences in a social-media-based HIV intervention.

Development and Implementation of Science and Technology Ethics Education Program for Prospective Science Teachers

The purposes of this study were (1) to develop a science and technology (ST) ethics education program for prospective science teachers, (2) to examine the effect of the program on the perceptions of the participants, in terms of their ethics and education concerns, and (3) to evaluate the impact of the program design. The program utilized problem-based learning (PBL) which was performed as an iterative process during two cycles. A total of 23 and 29 prospective teachers in each cycle performed team activities. A PBL-based ST ethics education program for the science classroom setting was effective in enhancing participants’ perceptions of ethics and education in ST. These perceptions motivated prospective science teachers to develop and implement ST ethics education in their future classrooms. The change in the prospective teachers’ perceptions of ethical issues and the need for ethics education was greater when the topic was controversial.

The CSI effect at university: forensic science students’ television viewing and perceptions of ethical issues

Although the so-called ‘CSI effect’ has received attention in the literature for the influence of forensic science television on jurors’ expectations of evidence admitted into trials, less research explores the influence of such television programs on university students enrolled in forensic science degrees. This paper describes the quantitative and qualitative results of a study of forensic science students regarding the forensic-related television programs they watch, such as CSI, Bones and Dexter. We asked students to share their impressions of the accuracy, ethics, professionalism and role models in the programs. The results show that forensic science students are almost universally disparaging about the realism of these programs and have mixed impressions of how the programs portray forensic science professionalism and ethics. Most students believed that the programs gave an unrealistic representation of the profession to the public; yet students were also able to identify positive elements for recruitment and education purposes.

Scientists’ Perception of Ethical Issues in Nanomedicine: A Case Study

Research and development in nanomedicine has been accompanied by the consideration of ethical issues; however, little is known about how researchers working in this area perceive such issues. This case-study explores scientists' attitude towards and knowledge of ethical issues. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews with 22 nanomedicine practitioners and subject to content analysis. We found that scientists reflect with ambiguity on the reputed novelty of nanomedicine and what the ethical issues and risks are in their work. Respondents see no necessity for a paradigm shift in ethical considerations, but view ethical issues in nanomedicine as overlapping with those of other areas of biomedical research. Most respondents discuss ethical issues they faced in scientific work with their colleagues, but expect benefit from additional information and training on ethics. Our findings that scientists are motivated to reflect on ethical issues in their work, can contribute to the design of new strategies, including training programs, to engage scientists in ethical discussion and stimulate their responsibility as nanomedicine practitioners.

Nurses' Perceptions of Ethical Issues in the Care of Older People

The aim of this thematic literature review is to explore nurses' perceptions of ethical issues in the care of older people. Electronic databases were searched from September 1997 to September 2007 using specific key words with tight inclusion criteria, which revealed 17 primary research reports. The data analysis involved repeated reading of the findings and sorting of those findings into four themes. These themes are: sources of ethical issues for nurses; differences in perceptions between nurses and patients/relatives; nurses' personal responses to ethical issues; and the patient-nurse relationship. The findings reveal that ageism is one of the major sources of the ethical issues that arise for nurses caring for older people. Education and organizational change can combat ageist attitudes. Wider training is required in the care of older people, workplace skills, palliative care and pain management for older people. The demands of a changing global demography will necessitate further research in this field.

Professional accounting bodies' perceptions of ethical issues, causes of ethical failure and ethics education

PurposeGiven the calls for increased ethics education following recent corporate collapses, this paper aims to examine the significance of ethical issues that challenge the profession and, more specifically, professional accounting bodies.Design/methodology/approachThe study assesses the perceptions via an online survey of 66 professional accounting bodies worldwide in respect of ethical issues, potential causes of ethical failure and the need for ethics education.FindingsRespondents identified a number of important challenges including conflicts of interest, earnings management and whistle‐blowing. The findings also demonstrate strong support for participation in prescribing the nature of ethics education by members of professional accounting bodies.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study are based on feedback from 41 per cent of member bodies of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Despite a number of follow‐up reminder notices, some regions are under‐represented in the responses to the survey distributed to the (then) 160 member bodies of IFAC. Geographic isolation and language limitations contributed to the failure to gain a higher response rate.Practical implicationsThe findings demonstrate that professional bodies support ethics education at the pre‐ and post‐qualifying levels of education and a willingness to take an active role in promoting ethics education to their members.Originality/valueBy addressing member bodies' attitudes to ethics education, this paper fills a gap in prior literature that has been restricted to addressing the attitudes of academics, students and business organisations.