The text is the editor’s introduction to the articles of this scientific journal Philosophy. Sociology, thematically divided into four sections: Philosophy of Technology and Ethics of Technology, Social Philosophy and Philosophy of Communication, Philosophy of Art and Art Communication, Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy. This article also aims to problematise the concepts of culture and technology and present one of the conceptual approaches when considering cultural and value differences in the conditions of technological globalisation. From the author’s perspective, although technology (...) provides tools for effective human activity and technological progress influences different societies and their interactions, technological solutions alone cannot eliminate or neutralise the cultural, mentality, moral, or simply value differences of different societies. (shrink)

To investigate cultural lifestyle preferences in different cultural contexts, a forced-choice questionnaire was constructed, based on Thurstone's Law of Comparative Judgement, an almost forgotten statistical method of 1927, which is a useful tool for assessing groups. This study's questionnaire items targeted job and living conditions in the spectrum from traditional to globalised lifestyles. Subjects were indigenous representatives at the UNO in Geneva, and students in Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa and Germany. The preferences ascertained reflect attitudes on a scale ranging (...) from very traditional to very globalised lifestyles. Although being an uncommon assessment tool, Thurstone's Comparative Judgement indicates to yield highly valid outcomes, as the results of the African university students, though from three different countries, resembled each other, but were complementary to the results of the indigenous representatives, which, in turn, mirrored the Berlin controls' profiles, according to expectations. Findings are discussed in light of the Symbolic Self-Completion Theory. (shrink)

In our today‘s global age one of the central challenges facing Africa is that of coming to terms positively with her cultural diversity. Furthermore Africa is confronted with the challenge of global cultural diversity that has been characteristic of our global age. One of the questions raised here is how can the intrinsic African cultural diversity be made comprehensible not only to non-Africans but also to Africans themselves? Talking of under-standing makes the issue a hermeneutical one. Hence the following questions, (...) how can this hermeneutical challenge be mastered? What tools are required in order to accomplish this mission? Any efforts towards accomplishing this task must have to put many dimensions into consideration. These include, among other things, the historical, regional, political, economic, etc. Such efforts would imply not only Africa being occupied with herself culturally, she on the other side needs to become relevantly conscious of the implications of these cultural dynamisms, understand it with reference to herself and the rest of the global community and finally interpret this phenomenon from an African perspective. These are the issues being addressed in this paper. (shrink)

How can people from diverse and different cultural backgrounds balance and reconcile their autonomous cultural identity with the universal dictates of the global age? My approach to this question is from an East Asian perspective, in particular by addressing the issue of 'Confucian cultural identity' under four broad topics: (1) the truth and falsehood of the discourse on 'Asian Values' and 'Confucian-style Capitalism'; (2) the spread of modern science and the tragic consequences of 'Instrumental Reason'; (3) criticism of instrumental reason (...) and its encounter with Confucian virtue ethics; and (4) a reassessment of the 'Anthropocosmic Moral Metaphysics' of (Neo-) Confucianism. In conclusion, on the impending demand to cope with the crisis of our cultural identity in the age of globalisation, our project to strive for the viability of Confucian humanism in the age of globalisation, I think, should mean no other than the invocation of care-ethics that takes care of our alienated neighbours on the one hand and a thrust of an eco-friendly world view to the anthropocentric hegemony over nature, which has been appreciated by 'modern' men since the Enlightenment, on the other hand. (shrink)

This paper examines two claims about the ontology of globalisation. First, it interrogates the claim that the contemporary phenomenon of globalisation is underpinned by the theoretical construct of economic and information-epistemic determinism, which has been developmentally significant in the North. The paper contends that this claim is likely to propagate some values that ought not to undergird the end-state vision of the prospective global village if the PGV is to be essentially conjunctive rather than essentially disjunctive. Second, the paper contends (...) that if a cohesive and egalitarian PGV is truly the end-point of the philosophy of globalisation, then the African socio-cultural values of a relational understanding of the self and universal brotherhood ought to be globally recognised and emphasised by the North as fundamental to the realisation of the vision of the PGV. The paper seeks to illustrate that if properly applied to the globalising process, these cultural values are ontologically conjunctive in the sense that they have the potential to promote the building of a cohesive and egalitarian global village, since they tend to encourage acceptance and co-operation among the different peoples of the world. Keywords Africa, culture, determinism, globalisation, philosophy. (shrink)

Religion has returned as a political and cultural factor. After the political ideologies, whose secular and worldly promises of salvation had influenced the history of the 20th century in such a radical manner, had been invalidated, the reappearance of religion on a global level cannot be overlooked: as a focal power as to how to conduct one’s life, as a guarantor of cultural identity, and as religious-political creativity. We cannot understand the current state of the world, its crises, conflicts and (...) wars, but also the selfperception and self-awareness of non-European cultures and peoples anymore, if we do not also realise that religion as a “power of life” has returned. In addition to sketching this process, this essay raises the question: what are the cultural and political challenges which especially the secular societies of the West are to face? (shrink)

In the progress of globalisation, the human being is exposed to effects of cultural dominance. For the individual, this exposure can be the stronger, the more autonomous his or her culture of origin used to be before the confrontation. Global consent with regard to behaviour patterns and cogni¬tive styles leads to the obliteration of traditional knowledge and behaviour upon which identity has been defined. The loss of identity in favour of belonging to the global society brings about a number (...) of problems, which can be demonstrated in functional models. These models, in turn, may sup¬port the planning of interventional strategies and rescue work. (shrink)

OECD figures reveal a sharply increasing flow of foreign workers into European countries. Ethnic diversification has become a generalized matter of fact. At the same time, rapidly developing technology and ‘intellectual globalization’ processes—the world wide web—have also become a reality. This complex cluster of changes has an impact on the perceptions of the self and of the other. Multilayered belongings and paradoxical meanings enter into interethnic relations in sometimes most surprising and unpredictable ways from outside of the boundaries of local (...) communities. But the developments also create new and very positive opportunities for education/schooling and social cohesion. The paper critically examines this changing context and also Europe’s educational responses to the new challenges: the European Socrates programme, the initiatives in the field of intercultural citizenship education and the issue of combating deprivation. (shrink)

In this paper, I discuss globalisation as an empirical reality that is in a complex relation to its corresponding discourse and in a critical distance from the cosmopolitan ideal. I argue that failure to grasp the distinctions between globalisation, globalism, and cosmopolitanism derives from mistaken identifications of the Is with the Ought and leads to naïve and ethnocentric glorifications of the potentialities of globalisation. Conversely, drawing the appropriate distinctions helps us articulate a more critical approach to contemporary cultural phenomena, and (...) reconsider the current place and potential role of education within the context of global affairs. From this perspective, the antagonistic impulses cultivated by globalisation and some globalist discourse are singled out and targeted via a radicalization of educational orientations. The final suggestion of the article concerns the vision of a more cosmopolitically sensitive education. (shrink)

The reality of globalisation is that it has knitted the world into a single time and place and has introduced the dominant force of consumerism. In adopting this framework, it has frayed the moral fabric of theological education and has short changed students who are configured as consumers to please rather than characters to build. While the demographic centre of faith has shifted southward, its ways of thinking and engaging culture have not yet caught up with that shift. Global (...) interconnectedness and the globalisation of knowledge together with homogenisation forces have shaped African theological education to the extent that it has absorbed the almost irreversible traits of the West. This paper highlights how transnational cultural forms have profoundly impacted the production of theological education and will attempt a response to the homogenising forces by the focus of African identity. (shrink)

In this paper, I discuss globalisation as an empirical reality that is in a complex relation to its corresponding discourse and in a critical distance from the cosmopolitan ideal. I argue that failure to grasp the distinctions between globalisation, globalism, and cosmopolitanism derives from mistaken identifications of the Is with the Ought and leads to naïve and ethnocentric glorifications of the potentialities of globalisation. Conversely, drawing the appropriate distinctions helps us articulate a more critical approach to contemporary cultural phenomena, and (...) reconsider the current place and potential role of education within the context of global affairs. From this perspective, the antagonistic impulses cultivated by globalisation and some globalist discourse are singled out and targeted via a radicalization of educational orientations. The final suggestion of the article concerns the vision of a more cosmopolitically sensitive education. (shrink)

A key consequence of globalisation is the integrative approach to reality whereby emphasis is placed on interdependence. Religion being an expression of human culture is equally affected by this cultural revolution. The main objective of this paper is to examine how religious affiliation, among Christians, influences attitudes towards the application of psychological sciences to the assuagement of human suffering. The sociological theory of structural functionalism was deployed to explain attitudinal appraisal. Ethnographic methodology, through quantitative analysis of administered questionnaire, was (...) also used. The study reveals that religious tenets largely shape attitudinal appraisal and redefine the borders of globalisation’s metanarratives. (shrink)

Increasing awareness of the importance of the biodiversity of the whole global biosphere has led to further awareness that the problems which arise in connection with preservation and exploitation of our planet’s biodiversity are best tackled from a global perspective. The ‘Biodiversity Convention’ and the ‘Human Genome Project’ are some of the concrete attempts at such globalisation. But, while these efforts are certainly very good at the intentional level and on paper, there is, at the practical level of implementation, the (...) danger that globalisation may simply translate into westernisation, given the Western world’s dominance and will to dominate the rest of the globe. How is ‘global bioethics’ to be possible in a world inhabited by different cultural groups whose material situation, powers, ideas, experiences and attitudes differ rather markedly and who are not, in any case, equally represented in globalisation efforts and fora? One index of the pertinence of this question is that talk about biodiversity, biotechnology, biotrade etc. is being increasingly matched by talk about biopiracy, biorade, biocolonialism etc. In this paper, I attempt to explore and develop these very general concerns. (shrink)

The pace of globalisation has quickened considerably in the last ten to fifteen years. The process has yielded benefits but also resulted in conflicts. The benefits would be enhanced if the conflicts could be resolved. One source of conflicts is the desire to maintain cultural identity. Can Confucianism contribute to the working out of a universal global justice that can help resolve conflicts, particularly conflicts of cultural identities? Can it be part of the globalisation process without sacrificing its cultural identity? (...) I argue that it can on both counts and thus it is neither a villain blocking the progress of universal justice, a necessary condition for conflict-free globalisation, nor a helpless victim of that progress. (shrink)

The aim of this book is to reflect on the complex practice of responsibility within the context of a globalised world and contemporary means of action. Levinas' exploration of the ethical serves as point of entry and is shown to be seeking inter-cultural political relevance through engagement with the issues of postcoloniality and humanism. Yet, Levinas fails to realise the ethical implications of the inevitable instrumental mediation between ethical meaning and political practice. With recourse to Weber, Apel and Ricoeur, (...) Ernst Wolff proposes a theory of strategic co-responsibility for the uncertain global context of practice. (shrink)

The U.S.-led global LGBT human rights campaign, formalised on International Human Rights Day 2011, sutures human rights policing with a politics of protection. Centred on a singular LGBT victim of violence, the campaign’s multiple projects legitimate military and financial intervention under the auspices of human rights. This article examines the regulatory production of globalised LGBT rights through the nexus of international LGBT human rights/hate crime laws, U.S. asylum law, and equal protection treatment of sexual orientation. I argue that the (...) juridical and ideological frameworks that guide state action in each of these areas converge in the construction of an immutable LGBT identity that is the object of racialised, culturally othered violence. This rendering of sexual difference through the flattening of culture elides structural violence and advances human rights imperialism. (shrink)

Afin de répondre à cette question, nous devons clarifier ce à quoi elle fait référence. Nous devons déterminer si la « globalisation » peut être sémantiquement mise en rapport avec l’idéologie. L’idéologie signifie l’ensemble de nos attitudes personnelles, idées et points de vue fondés sur la connaissance, l’expérience et les sensations à travers lesquels nous percevons et interprétons le monde, la position que nous y occupons et la société toute entière. Dans la perspective des Lumières, l’idéologie est considérée comme une (...) sorte de préjugé qui domine la raison. Pourquoi cela est-il important dans le contexte de la globalisation ? De manière générale, la globalisation est considérée comme un processus d’interconnexion internationale permanente et de progrès dans presque tous les champs de la vie, tels que l’économie, la politique, la culture ou la communication. Ce point de vue implique l’expérience d’un changement qui touche non seulement notre environnement, notre société et ses institutions, mais aussi les États-nations et leurs citoyens. L’environnement et ses ressources sont un pré-requis à la globalisation. Le processus continu de libéralisation du marché entraîne la modification et, en définitive, la destruction des ressources. Dans cet article, nous examinerons si les mesures politiques ont la capacité d’exercer le contrôle de ce mécanisme dialectique. (shrink)

Globalisation is widely understood as a set of processes driven by technological, economic and cultural change. Few have successfully defined the changing character and role of politics in global change. Political institutions such as the nation-state have been seen as undermined by globalisation, or needing to respond to it. This book clarifies the tensions which global change has provoked in our understanding of politics. Politics and Globalisation suggests that globalisation is a process which is politically contested and even politically constituted. (...) The volume presents five key intellectual and political contests in globalisation: · the extent and political significance of globalising changes in economy and society · how and how far the relations and forms of nation-state organisation are transformed · whether the given concepts and methods of political science as a discipline can be applied to global and regional politics, and whether they require radical reformulation; · the role and significance of ethical questions in global change · whether global change is constituted by, or denies, radical political agency. (shrink)

The practical guide provides advice on assessing whether existing ethics programmes are effective and culturally appropriate and developing and disseminating organisation-wide values and standards to take account of the many cultures in which a business operates, including training which is as culturally relevant to employees worldwide.

A just and lasting peace can be established only on the basis of social justice. The road to peace through social justice is endangered by the growing socio-economic phenomenon of globalization, dominated as it is by economic perspectives which encourage opposed interests and rivalries among nations. The present article considers the possibility of the adoption of common values and policies by governments and peoples belonging to different cultural traditions, by which economic interests and relations might be subordinated to these values (...) held in common. The article recognizes the impossibility of reconciling some intellectual doctrines, but it emphasizes that agreements among nations could be arrived at which would permit them to accomplish certain practical objectives, among them, meeting the basic needs of the world's poorest people and nations. (shrink)

Over the last few years, I have attended several political meetings concerned with the refugee crisis, multiculturalism or Indigenous rights in Australia, meetings at which liberal democratic–minded ‘left-wing’ people came together to discuss, or agitate for change in, governmental policies. At these meetings, I always found it difficult to accept the slogans on their placards and in their speeches: ‘Shame Australia! Reconciliation for a united Australia’, ‘Wake up Australia! We welcome refugees!’ or ‘True Australians are tolerant! Let’s celebrate multicultural Australia!’ (...) My uncomfortable feeling came not only from the fact that I was left out because of my Japanese nationality but also because I had never seen or heard words like ‘shame Japan’, ‘wake up Japan’ or ‘true Japanese are...’ at Japanese ‘left-wing’ political gatherings. In Japan, these are words used only by right-wing nationalists. Indeed it is difficult to even imagine liberal-left intellectuals in postwar Japan calling for a ‘true Japanese’ political response, such is the extent to which the idea of ‘good nationalism’ is now regarded as an oxymoron. This is my starting point for an essay in which I want to be attentive to the different roles played by national in the Japanese and Australian political environments. (shrink)

Le problème de notre temps n'est pas de choisir entre globalisation et repliement identitaire : on ne peut ignorer ni la diversité des pays, ni leur interdépendance croissante face aux périls écologiques et sociaux qui les affectent tous. La langue française permet de dépasser ce faux dilemme avec la distinction qu'elle autorise entre globalisation et mondialisation. Globaliser, c'est oeuvrer au règne du Marché, de la croissance illimitée, de la flexibilisation du travail et de l'hégémonisme culturel. Mondialiser consiste à établir un (...) ordre mondial respectueux de notre écoumène, du travail humain et de la diversité des peuples et des cultures. Le présent ouvrage explore cette perspective à la lumière de l'oeuvre visionnaire de Simone Weil. Il revisite ses réflexions sur l'enracinement, la liberté et l'oppression, pour penser tour à tour notre "milieu vital" (dont la destruction s'accélère aujourd'hui), le concert des civilisations, les conditions d'un travail non servile, ainsi que les bons et mauvais usages du droit. (shrink)

Bien que la globalisation des dernières décennies se soit développée en parallèle avec les démocraties libérales dans beaucoup de pays jusqu’alors non démocratiques, il aurait été difficile de dire que les processus prédominants de la globalisation néolibérale favorisent le développement de la démocratie globale. Bien au contraire, la globalisation menace la démocratie traditionnelle libérale en créant la nécessité des mécanismes démocratiques supplémentaires. Or, la démocratie supra-étatique des régimes régionaux et globaux, de même que ses instruments et moyens non officiels, tels (...) que le marché global, la communication globale et la société civile globale ont démontré plutôt un déficit qu’un potentiel démocratique. Toutefois, le plus grand problème du rapport entre la démocratie et la globalisation réside dans les différences de cultures et de civilisations. (shrink)

Critical Discourse Analysis has excelled with its functional and ideological analysis of socio-political texts. Its capacities and achievements notwithstanding, this tradition is constituted of Western concepts, values, ways of thinking, analytic tools and topics of interest; such becomes problematic when universalised and globalised in international academic discourse. It is against this backdrop of cultural and intellectual tension that a culturally conscious and critical paradigm of discourse and communication research is emerging: Cultural Discourse Studies. It is manifested in the forms (...) of participation by searchers from the Developing World in significant proportions, development of locally grounded, globally minded research frameworks; and a growing multicultural awareness in the discipline. Inspired by Third World experiences, aspirations and scholarships on the one side and drawing on culturally critical insights in the human and social sciences on the other side, this multicultural scholarship endeavours to deconstruct ethnocentrism, construct culturally diversified modes of research and propel intercultural dialogue and debate in the discipline, all with a view to enhancing human cultural coexistence, harmony and prosperity. One exemplar of this new trend is Chinese Discourse Studies, characterised by a holistic philosophy, equilibrium and discrepancy theory, all-encompassing methodology and development-minded research agenda. (shrink)

This article looks at the mutual relations and links between globalisation and the integration of countries within the European Union. As the economic sphere is undergoing unrestrained globalisation, the position and sovereignty of nation-states is being weakened and politics is becoming harnessed to the economy. The relationship between the economy and politics is thus changing and there is a need to regulate the economy at a supranational level. The European Union has the potential to make positive use of the trend (...) towards globalisation and limit its negative impacts on the economic, social, ecological and cultural levels. This requires, however, deeper integration and further harmonisation of the countries of the European Union in the economic and political spheres. In order for the countries to come closer together, as the current situation requires, a European people (or demos) and a European public space must be created. (shrink)

Discrimination and violence against women in India often tend to be discussed, framed and explained in cultural terms alone. It is a commonplace assumption that Indian cultural norms are responsible for women's oppression in India and that India's moves to open up the economy to globalisation will usher in modernity and empower women. Another similar assumption is that gendered violence and patriarchal oppression are produced and located primarily in the (Indian traditional) family and community, and that women's entry into the (...) globalised workforce will empower and help them confront and overcome such violence and oppression. This paper attempts to challenge this false binary between ‘family/community/tradition/culture’ and ‘modern political economy’. It looks at the methods used across various sites—household/family, college/university and factory—to subject women's labour and sexuality to a regime of surveillance and gendered discipline. It also looks at the ways in which this regime is disrupted and challenged repeatedly by women's protests. (shrink)

In the vision of ubiquitous computing it should be possible to create situational and context-aware applications of the internet. But there is a conflict between the global claim of the system and the context-aware local application. First of all it must be clear, what context means. Is the context determined by the material local environment or by the special intention of a person’s action. What role do cultural factors with their historical implications and scales of value play? The meaning of (...) locality depends on the definition of the term context. Thus the term locality specifies an analogy to the term ‘context’. It is necessary especially to also clarify categories like “Leib” and “Lebenswelt”. Finally it is pointed out that special claims of ubiquitous computing like the idea of a global world-model are untenable. Though ubiquitous computing technologies are calm and invisible, it is important to make visible their components. The antagonism between localisation and globalisation shows the real potential of, as well as the claims of, ubiquitous computing. (shrink)

The personal and the political, the local and the global—divergent perspectives are synthesized in this visionary examination of globalization and how it affects individual lives. Personal stories of urban and rural living reveal the many varieties of experience and how Western culture has created both immense wealth and poverty. Discussions of primary production, neoclassical economics, and international trade agreements accompany writing about nature and how rural life is deeply connected to land.

Religion has returned as a political and cultural factor. After the political ideologies, whose secular and worldly promises of salvation had influenced the history of the 20th century in such a radical manner, had been invalidated, the reappearance of religion on a global level cannot be overlooked: as a focal power as to how to conduct one’s life, as a guarantor of cultural identity, and as religious-political creativity. We cannot understand the current state of the world, its crises, conflicts and (...) wars, but also the selfperception and self-awareness of non-European cultures and peoples anymore, if we do not also realise that religion as a “power of life” has returned. In addition to sketching this process, this essay raises the question: what are the cultural and political challenges which especially the secular societies of the West are to face? (shrink)

In a series of studies the assumption of a lack of colour concepts in indigenous societies, as proposed by Berlin & Kay (1969) and others, was examined. The research took place in the form of minimally invasive field encounters with indigenous subjects in South East Asia and in India, as well as in West, Central, and South Africa. Subjects were screened for colour blindness with Ishihara- and Pflüger-Trident-Test. Standardised colour tablets had to be designated in the indigenous languages; these terms (...) were later translated by native speakers of the indigenous languages into a European language. The indigenous subjects were able to name the colours presented. Indigenous vs. globalised cultural factors were reflected in the use of reference objects for naming colours. Both metonymical and non-metonymical indigenous colour names did not follow a stage pattern as Berlin & Kay (1969) and others have proposed. The high precision of indigenous colour names corresponds both to the precision of experts’ colour names in the industrial culture, and to the highly precise grammar that characterises indigenous languages. It is concluded that cognitive categorisation of visual perception takes place regardless of the cultural context, and that former misunderstandings resulted from inappropriate methodological designs. (shrink)

The implications of Globalization on education are multifaceted. However, roots of all these implications can be traced to the predominance of economic activity at the global level. The education and learning paradigm, around the world is under increasing pressure to meet the demands of the new knowledge and information-intensive global economy in a better way. This kind of pressure is challenging the traditional relationships between teachers and students and causing paradigm shifts in the process of learning. Especially, as noted by (...) KB Power (2002:i) ‘Higher education has undergone important paradigm shifts including the shift from teacher-centered to a student centered learning, and the replacement of the traditional practice of learning over a period of time by the concept of lifelong learning.’ Along with these there are major shifts in the modes of instructional technologies - from face to face oral instruction to print based instruction, and from Multimedia based videotapes and Television channels to E-learning systems. The present paper limits itself to the paradigm shifts in the concept of education with reference to learner. After a brief introduction on how education is understood in globalization the paper discusses the place of learner which is transforming according to the needs of global economy. (shrink)

This article discusses the ethical dimension of Sloterdijk's spherology and its contribution to the current debate on globalization. It is shown that Sloterdijk already developed the core of his ethics in his earlier works. The central distinction here is the ontological difference between the intimate stay of the fetus in its mother's womb and the ominous outside of the world. From its birth onwards the infant has to develop new intimate spheres to make life bearable and to expand into the (...) world. This coming into the world depends on the quality of macrospheres that take over the immunological functions of the microspheres. Sloterdijk believes that the current debate on globalization is a late and superficial reflection of the crisis of the metaphysical globalization. This crisis means that Europeans have lost their all-embracing macrosphere of the idealized globe. As a consequence, modernity means that people and cultures have to become more self-reliant to protect themselves from a radical outside. The actual globalization of the earth can therefore be understood as an ongoing exteriorization of the animated space of the local spheres. At the same time people from different cultures and states are forced to work together on an unprecedented scale. This actual globalization does not mean however, that there is a universal moral law that obliges us to put our self-interest aside in favour of the interests of strangers. In this respect Sloterdijk stresses the importance of care for one's own spheres, be it an individual, a family or a company, as a condition of responsibility and solidarity. (shrink)

Despite the fundamental and administrative difficulties associated with cross-cultural research the rewards are significant and, given an increasing trend toward globalisation, the move away from singular location studies to more comparative research is to be encouraged. In order to facilitate this research process it is imperative, however, that considerable attention is given to the methodological issues that can beset cross-cultural research, specifically as these issues relate to the primary domain or discipline of investigation, which in this instance is research on (...) business ethics. Utilising the experience of a four country comparative study of both Asian and Western cultures in the field of business ethics, the following presents a discussion of methodological concerns under the three broad areas of operationalising culture, operationalising business ethics, and data interpretation. (shrink)

This paper argues that an African business ethic should take the promotion of cultural justice as one of its major tasks. After an explanation of globalisation as homogenizing cultural force that shapes moral identity, the notion of cultural justice as "unselfconscious living" is explained. This is then set in the context of an agenda for business ethics in Africa that would require more work on how a narrative moral identity is constructed, and how trans-cultural business environments could be created and (...) sustained. (shrink)

Over the last decade, digitalisation has been a subject of increasing attention among scholars and practitioners. The effect of culture and religion on advertisements, consumerism and marketing, is deniable. The main goal of this research is to present a comprehensive conceptual model based on cultural and religious diversity in digital marketing. This research mainly includes introduction creolisation concept and the elements (religion, music, clothes and custom) as the most important factor in digital advertisement and branding. In this regard, this (...) study examines Instagram consumer products users from five different subcultures in Iran (Lor, Kurdish, Baluch, Arab and Azeri) and considers the impact of creolisation elements on digital advertising, brand identity and brand globalisation. Data were collected by sending 1200 questionnaire via email to subcultures and then analysed using LISREL software.Contribution: The results demonstrated that Islamic religion between participants affects their brand loyalty, therefore the Islamic worth in advertising is necessary. It was suggested that creolisation elements significantly affect digital advertisement, brand identity and brand globalisation. Consequently, all hypotheses were accepted. On the other hand, the impact of brand identity and digital advertisement on the brand globalisation was also confirmed. Discussion and managerial implications concerning creolisation were explained. (shrink)

The tendencies of postsecularism in the social life of today's Ukraine are especially significant in their influence on the quasi-religious context of religious worships practiced in the country. These factors erode the modernity basis of the society, and Ukraine appears in the contradictory situation of its intention to complete the modernisation process and oppose the antiglobalistic isolationism. The neo-Protestant teachings and practices are obviouly connected with the principles of liberalism and consumerism. Neo-Oriental and new syncretic religions show that they produce (...) significant influence on spreading globalistic views in the Ukrainian society. The marginality characteristics of new religions prove the idea that their values are a challenge to the essentialistic dichotomies of the Ukrainian traditional churches. The sociocultural and political context of globalisation and postmodernism includes religious transformations axiomatically, and the impact of both on the late capitalism stage is evident in different contexts. The culture of postmodernism makes this process complicated in the countries which are still between modernity and postmodernity. The processes of 'label change' are important with the stress on the substitution of the rationalistic foundation by quasi-scientific teachings. The conclusions demonstrate that the very incompleteness of the modernity has led to the expansion of the quasi-religious techniques in the social and cultural life of Ukraine. The erosion of the modernity values results in spreading new religions, which became vivid at the end of the last century. As globalisation promotes syncretic and neo-Oriental religions, antiglobalistic movements are supported by neo-pagan techniques and practices. (shrink)

Leaders and managers of today's multinational corporations face a plethora of problems and issues directly attributable to the fact that they are operating in an international context. With work-sites, plants and/or customers based in another country, or even several countries, representing a vast spectrum of cultural differences, international trade and offshore operations, coupled with increased globalisation in respect to political, social and economic realities, contribute to new dilemmas that these leaders must deal with. Not the least of these being a (...) Code of Ethics and ethical decision making.This paper examines the differences in culture between a group of managers from the United States and similar group from Croatia using Hofstede's theory of International Cultures. The study explores how these cultural dimensions may help in our understanding of the differences in reported whistleblowing. The authors then postulate four hypotheses regarding various aspects of whistleblowing. These Hypotheses were than tested using a survey administered to a sample of U.S.A. and Croatian managers. Finally, the paper discusses the findings and practical implications for contemporary managers in the international arena. (shrink)

Le rapport entre culture et politique est l'un des plus débattu sous l'angle des sciences sociales, opposant notamment culture légitime et culture anthropologique ; et ceci selon deux points de vue complémentaires : d'abord quant aux vicissitudes subies par les politiques culturelles des États-nations, à l'exemple de la France du fait de l'échec de l'objectif de démocratisation culturelle, ensuite quant à leur remise en cause frontale par les processus de la mondialisation libérale. C'est dans ce contexte que (...) s'inscrit la diversité culturelle substituée à l'exception culturelle, et comportant la diversité linguistique, défendue par la FrancophonieThe relation between culture and politics represents one of the most discussed topics from the social sciences perspective, particularly the opposition between high culture and popular culture. The question is viewed from two complementary standpoints: firstly, one related to difficulties faced by the cultural politics of Nation States, for example France’s difficulties because of the fact that the objective of cultural democratization has not been achieved; and secondly bringing cultural politics into question by the process of liberal globalisation. It is in this context that cultural exception is replaced by cultural diversity including linguistic diversity as defended by Francophony. (shrink)

Globalisation has given rise to a new field of debate due to the growing mobility of the workers and the consequent cultural diversity inside companies. In this sense, a complex world like ours demands a review of the professional profile which should include the so called intercultural competences as a structuring element of companies’ policy and strategic plan. Subsequently it is suggested that, as the intercultural competences affect the cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects, they actually imply a transformation of the (...) person’s identity. (shrink)

In an age of global capitalism, pandemics, far-flung biobanks, multinational drug trials and telemedicine it is impossible for bioethicists to ignore the global dimensions of their field. However, if they are to do good work on the issues that globalisation requires of them, they need theoretical resources that are up to the task. This paper identifies four distinct understandings of ‘globalised’ in the bioethics literature: a focus on global issues; an attempt to develop a universal ethical theory that can (...) transcend cultural differences; an awareness of how bioethics itself has expanded, with new centres and journals emerging in nearly every corner of the globe; a concern to avoid cultural imperialism in encounters with other societies. Each of these approaches to globalisation has some merit, as will be shown. The difficulty with them is that the standard theoretical tools on which they rely are not designed for cross-cultural ethical reflection. As a result, they leave important considerations hidden. A set of theoretical resources is proposed to deal with the moral puzzles of globalisation. Abandoning idealised moral theory, a normative framework is developed that is sensitive enough to account for differences without losing the broader context in which ethical issues arise. An empirically nourished, self-reflexive, socially inquisitive, politically critical and inclusive ethics allows bioethicists the flexibility they need to pick up on the morally relevant particulars of this situation here without losing sight of the broader cultural contexts in which it all takes place. (shrink)