This paper tests a model of corporate social responsiveness capabilities in an industry setting. It seeks to understand whether corporate social responsiveness can be a source of competitive advantage for a given company in an industry where participants face similar constraints and issues.

Insights from First Amendment considerations and from developmental psychology are utilized in suggesting that whatever value codes of ethics may hold for the mass media, they represent serious difficulties in inculcating substantial ethical values in individual journalists and in the profession as a whole. Evidence from developmental psychology suggests that codes are probably of some limited value to the neophyte working in the media. Codes also help assure non?journalists that the industry really is concerned about ethics. However, codes probably should (...) be relegated to a framed wall hanging for any journalists who have advanced beyond their internships. Confusion reigns because codes are often founded on moralistic rather than moral?philosophical bases, and there is a blurring between general precepts and specific practices covered in codes. As individual professionals mature intellectually and ethically, they should transcend socially?approved conventions codified by ?regulators,?; and begin to become social catalysts in their own rights, according to this essay. (shrink)

ABSTRACT Four decades ago, Gerald Kramer showed that economic conditions affect electoral outcomes. Some researchers took this to mean that voters were self-interested, voting their “pocketbooks,” while others, such as Leif Lewin, took it to mean that voters were sociotropic, motivated by the public interest—and therefore altruistic. It is important, however, to avoid conflating sociotropic voters with altruistic ones. Voters might be voting in favor of politicians or parties that they think will further the public interest as an indirect route (...) to furthering their own interests, as members of the public. More research, perhaps conducted using novel methodologies, is needed in order to settle the extent to which voters are motivated by self-interest or by the public interest. (shrink)

Health care systems, irrespective of how they are financed, present the paradox that to some observers they appear as a major component of social benefits, while to other observers they seem both excessively costly and limited in their effectiveness. These differing perceptions may be explained in part by the diversity of the determinants of health and disease, only some of which are amenable to those preventive or therapeutic measures encompassed in a health care system--the majority of determinants being genetic, societal, (...) or else uninfluenced by those interventions at present available within a health service. The share of national resources which should be devoted to health care, and the method of raising resources, are primarily matters for political decision; but a national system has advantages both of economy and of comprehensiveness. But when it comes to allocation of resources within the established health budget, the knowledge and skills of health professionals are essential to informed decision-making. The possibilities depend critically on the 'state of the art' at a given time, as is illustrated by the radical changes over time in what could be done for patients with renal failure; and health professionals are likely to be most aware of current options, and of how to choose between them. More speculatively, they are also less likely to confuse the attitudes appropriate to providing a service with those required to run a business. (shrink)

There are many ways of combining three letters out of an alphabet of 26; yet still there are overlaps which can confuse meaning. So the first duty of anyone using an acronym is to say what it denotes. Here, POM is “problem-oriented medicine”, EBM is “evidence-based medicine”, and CPD is “continuous professional development”. These designations, familiar as they are to clinicians, define what is meant by these terms, but fall well short of describing them for the general reader, something which (...) must now be done.Problem-oriented medicine, described and advocated by Lawrence Weed,1 is an approach which elicits and categorises the patient's problems, both those described by him or her and those discovered on physical examination or in the course of investigation. The list of problems, with the action proposed for each, forms the basis of the clinical record. This approach has the great merit of focusing on what is actually troubling the patient, and it includes the important task of listening to what he says. All approaches to difficult matters have their limitations; those of POM include the inarticulacy of some patients, the impatience of some doctors, the accumulation of problems as age advances, and the inelasticity of time.Evidence-based medicine has …. (shrink)

Dr Adrian Rogers delivers a three-pronged assault on the concepts of 'situational ethics'; the eleemosynary principles underlying the National Health Service, and the permissiveness of modern society. I hold strong, and largely opposite, views on each of these matters, which are outlined in this paper.

Arguments are advanced, on a pragmatic basis, for preferring a 'situational' approach to medical ethical problems, rather than an approach based on any one of the dogmatic formulations on offer. The consequences of such a preference are exemplified in relation to confidentiality; and in relation to the ethical dilemmas which surround the beginning and the end of terrestrial human life.

Recent societal changes, including a global pandemic, have exacerbated experiences of and attention to burnout related to work and parenting. In the present study, we investigated how several social forces can act as demands and resources to impact work-related and parental burnout. We tested two primary hypotheses in a sample of women who responded to an online survey. We found that social comparisons, social media use, negative emotions when comparing oneself to others on social media, and a high do it (...) all discrepancy were correlated with higher reports of work-related and parental burnout. Alternatively, positive emotions when comparing oneself to others and social support were related to lower reports of work-related and parental burnout. The influence of social media use on burnout was mediated by the emotions experienced when comparing oneself to others on social media. Tests of moderation indicated that social comparisons had stronger relationships with burnout for those with higher expectations that they should be able to do it all verses can do it all. Tests of social support as a moderator of the relationships between social demands and burnout were largely non-significant. Based on these findings, we make practical suggestions for interventions to increase positive emotions experienced from social media use, and to mediate the do it all discrepancy by redefining expectations around “doing it all.”. (shrink)

Out of many years of work with children and youth, Algernon D. Black, a Leader of the American Ethical Culture Movement, and Head of the Ethics Department of the Ethical Culture Schools, has written this simple and lucid book to help young  ...

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cities and states adopted social distancing, social isolation, or quarantine measurements to slow the transmission of the disease. Negative mental health outcomes including depression and anxiety have been associated with social distancing or social isolation. The purpose of the present study was to examine changes in psychological health and physical activity over an 8 week period under social distancing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Ninety individuals participated in this study. Qualifying participants answered questions using an (...) online survey regarding their loneliness, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, mood state, and physical activity over four time points each lasting two weeks.Results: Symptoms of depression and state anxiety were increased in the population when compared to nationwide statistics from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Time point 2, ~1 month into social isolation, showed the most significant effects on mental health. During this time point, 100% of the participants showed symptoms of depression. There were no significant changes in physical activity over the 8 weeks. Loneliness, depressive symptoms, fatigue, and mood state were negatively associated with participation in physical activity. Vigor and state anxiety were associated with participation in physical activity.Conclusion: Social isolation and social distancing practices have had a negative effect on depression, anxiety, and mood over time. It appeared that depressive symptoms and total mood disturbance was elevated during time point two. Depressive symptoms were much higher than average compared to previous epidemiological data. Physical activity amount did not change over time but was associated with poor mental health. (shrink)

BackgroundIn the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM) cohort, participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, heart, and abdomen, that generated incidental findings (IFs). The approach to managing these unexpected results remain a complex issue. Our objectives were to describe the CAHHM policy for the management of IFs, to understand the impact of disclosing IFs to healthy research participants, and to reflect on the ethical obligations of researchers in future MRI studies.MethodsBetween 2013 and 2019, 8252 participants (...) (mean age 58 ± 9 years, 54% women) were recruited with a follow-up questionnaire administered to 909 participants (40% response rate) at 1-year. The CAHHM policy followed a restricted approach, whereby routine feedback on IFs was not provided. Only IFs of severe structural abnormalities were reported.ResultsSevere structural abnormalities occurred in 8.3% (95% confidence interval 7.7–8.9%) of participants, with the highest proportions found in the brain (4.2%) and abdomen (3.1%). The majority of participants (97%) informed of an IF reported no change in quality of life, with 3% of participants reporting that the knowledge of an IF negatively impacted their quality of life. Furthermore, 50% reported increased stress in learning about an IF, and in 95%, the discovery of an IF did not adversely impact his/her life insurance policy. Most participants (90%) would enrol in the study again and perceived the MRI scan to be beneficial, regardless of whether they were informed of IFs. While the implications of a restricted approach to IF management was perceived to be mostly positive, a degree of diagnostic misconception was present amongst participants, indicating the importance of a more thorough consent process to support participant autonomy.ConclusionThe management of IFs from research MRI scans remain a challenging issue, as participants may experience stress and a reduced quality of life when IFs are disclosed. The restricted approach to IF management in CAHHM demonstrated a fair fulfillment of the overarching ethical principles of respect for autonomy, concern for wellbeing, and justice. The approach outlined in the CAHHM policy may serve as a framework for future research studies.Clinical trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/nct02220582. (shrink)

This second volume of Michael Black's commentary on Lawrence's prose works concentrates on the extraordinary sequence of nonfiction texts written between 1913 and 1917: The "Foreword" to Sons and Lovers, Study of Thomas Hardy, Twilight in Italy, "The Crown," "The Reality of Peace." In all of them Lawrence was compulsively rewriting what he called "my philosophy." They are difficult works: highly metaphorical, in places prophetically expressionist, even surreal. This extended commentary makes sense of them, treating them as a succession (...) of experimental writings that support each other, develop non-discursive modes of writing, and are linked by shared metaphors that reveal shared preoccupations. Black's highly useful analysis is like the close reading of poetry. (shrink)

Here lyes that mighty Man of SenseWho, full of years, departed hence,To teach the other world Intelligence,This was the prodigious Man,who vanquish’ d Pope and Puritan,By the Magic of Leviathan.Had he not Controversy wanted,His deeper Thoughts had not been scanted;Therefore good Spirits him transplant:Wise as he was, he could not tellWhether he went to Heaven or Hell.Beyond the Tenth Sphere, if there be a wide place,He'll prove by his Art there's no infinite space:And all good Angels may thank him, for (...) thatHe has prov’ d they are something, tho men know not what.Hobbes's Epitaph. (shrink)

SummaryA critical outline, primarily for non‐professionals, of some leading ideas and normative implications of “Bayesian Decision Theory”.Violations of the postulated transitivity of the chooser's preference relation are not necessarily symptoms of irrationality. Indeed, the overall normative constraint of “consistency” is too restrictive a guide for many real‐life choices. Rational choice might perhaps be more usefully conceived as an informal art, rather than as the pursuit, in Bayesian style, of maximal expected utility.RésuméUne description critique, destinée avant tout aux non‐professionnels, de quelques (...) idées directrices et implications normatives de la «theorie bayésienne de la décision».Le fait que la transitivité qu'on exige de la relation de préférence du décideur soit violée ne doit pas ětre nécessairement interprétée comme un signe d'irrationnalité. En effet, la contrainte normative universelle de «consistence» est un guide trop restrictif pour maint choix de la vie réelle. Le choix rationnel pourrait ětre plus utilement conçu comme un art, et non comme une recherche à la Bayes de L'utilité maximale attendue.ZusammenfassungEs wird eine kritische Darstellung einiger Hauptgedanken und normativen Implikationen der Bayesschen Entscheidungstheorie vorgelegt, die sich vor allem an Nichtprofessionelle richtet.Verletzungen der postulierten Transitivität der Relation, die das Vorziehen des Wählers ausgedrückt, sind nicht notwendigerweise Symptome für Irrationalität. Die normative Forderung der durchgängigen Konsistenz ist in der Tat als Führer in manchen aus dem Leben gegriffenen Wahlsituationen zu restriktiv. Rationale Entscheidungen sollten vielleicht in nützlicherer Weise als eine Kunst und nicht als das Verfolgen maximaler, erwarteter Nützlichkeit im Sinne Bayes' betrachtet werden. (shrink)

I agreed to come here today to speak on some such subject as "The Libertarian as Conservative." To me this is so obvious that I am hard put to find something to say to people who still think libertarianism has something to do with liberty. A libertarian is just a Republican who takes drugs. I'd have preferred a more controversial topic like "The Myth of the Penile Orgasm." But since my attendance here is subsidized by the esteemed distributor of a (...) veritable reference library on mayhem and dirty tricks , I can't just take the conch and go rogue. I will indeed mutilate the sacred cow which is libertarianism, as ordered, but I'll administer a few hard lefts to the right in my own way. And I don't mean the easy way. I could just point to the laissez faire Trilateralism of the Libertarian Party, then leave and go look for a party. It doesn't take long to say that if you fight fire with fire, you'll get burned. (shrink)