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I suggest that the search for Adam Smith’s theodicy is likely to be in vain. The paper begins with a brief history of approaches to evil, emphasizing the context in which they arose, and the questions authors were addressing. Approaches most relevant to Adam Smith include those of Augustine and Calvin, and the early modern theodicies of Leibniz, Samuel Clarke and William King, as well as the attacks on them by Bayle and Voltaire. Scottish Enlightenment writers were not terribly interested in theodicy, though Hutcheson and Kames did devote space to their versions of problems of evil. David Hume’s Dialogues on Natural Religion are often taken to be classic statement of the problem of theodicy and argument against religious belief, but his concern was to demolish rationalistic theodicies rather than religious belief or practice. The paper then turns to Smith’s writings, considering similarities and differences to these approaches to evil. Smith emphasizes the wisdom and beneficence of God, and that evils we observe are part of a larger providential plan. He makes no attempt to justify the God in the face of evil, and in this respect Smith shares more with Augustine and Calvin than he does with the early modern theodicists. Smith’s approach to evil is simple and ameliorative. Smith’s approach contrasts with early nineteenth century English political economists, from Malthus onwards, for whom theodicy was important. Whatever view we take of the theodicists project of justifying an all-powerful and good God in the face of evil may, we still struggle to make sense of economic suffering and evil.

Mental ill health is on the rise amongst undergraduate students and has been investigated using both positivist/quantitative and exploratory/qualitative research methods. However, the lived experiences of mature students who have mental ill health have not been directly investigated. A limited research literature suggests that challenges particular to mature undergraduate students can cause mental ill health or exacerbate existing needs. Further research exploring the lived experiences of mature undergraduate students with mental ill health is thus warranted.

A qualitative approach was adopted to explore lived experiences of mental ill health for mature students in higher education. The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) explores the experience of higher education mature students who self-identify as having mental ill health. Five participants were interviewed about their personal stories and perceptions.

The study found that participants interpreted the experience of mental ill health as very difficult with no redeeming features reported. A lack of control over mental ill health experiences was contrasted with attempts to control mental ill health, whether successful or not, in order to progress with their learning. Participants conceptualised being mature undergraduate students as a last chance succeed in life, education or a career. This increased stress that interacted with their mental ill health symptoms.

IPA calls for a small, homogenised participant sample. This limits generalisation of the research findings. Recruitment criteria welcomed participants who self-identified as experiencing mental ill health, leading to potential bias in reported lived experiences.

The research findings highlight the value of considering the lived experience of students experiencing mental ill health whilst studying. Whilst general approaches to support can be successful, this research demonstrates how higher educational professionals must orient towards an ideographic perspective when considering how to provide individualised, inclusive support for students experiencing mental ill health. A discussion on how this can be actualised is provided.

The research provides impetus to the perspective that students have unique lived experiences of mental ill health, and that this is particularly so for mature undergraduate students. A key social implication of this is that, whilst positive based, one-size fits most, interventions for students experiencing mental ill health are useful, higher education educators must also be cognizant of unique, dynamic experiences each student will have. As such, there is a need to move towards a relational, dialogic approach when considering and designing tailored support.

Mature undergraduate students who experience mental ill health are at risk of not reaching their potential. Yet despite this, exploration of mature undergraduate student's experiences of mental ill health is nascent in the academic literature. Research considering their unique perspectives as an avenue to develop joint compassionate understandings and interactions between students and educators are additionally scant. The current study begins to address this dearth of exploration and commentary. It provides an idiosyncratic, novel inquiry into this important issue.

The Scottish Enlightenment, which gave birth to classical liberal thought and political economy, developed out of a strong theological tradition and was marked by significant theological conflict. Most people understand the Scottish Enlightenment through the works of David Hume, Adam Smith, and their intellectual circle of Moderate clergy and literati. Though this group represents the dominant strain of thinking in the Scottish Enlightenment, one should not neglect other important contributions made by more orthodox clergy and literati. Comparing the ideas of less well-known, but leading figures of the Moderate and the orthodox literati, Hugh Blair and John Witherspoon, reveals different views on doctrines related to salvation, human nature, and God’s providence, as well as on the nature of moral judgment and education. These differences provide important context for understanding the ideas and arguments of more influential philosophers like Smith and Hume.

Adam Smith sees religion both as having a useful and a dangerous role. People create gods to explain what they do not understand and appease their desire of justice when human justice is perceived to fail. These are socially useful functions of religion. But when religion is used as a political tool and is used for state capture purposes, then it becomes a dangerous and destructive force in society.

Companies are beginning to rely more on customer participation (CP). As a result, consumers are expected to expend more resources throughout the service exchange. Through three studies, this study aims to examine the effect of CP on customers’ evaluations of these exchanges. Study 1 examines the interaction between two levels of CP (low versus high) and shopping experience type (hedonic versus utilitarian). In Study 2, the focus shifts to understanding the negative consequences of high CP. In Study 3, the authors explore how the negative effects of high CP can be mitigated.

Scenario-based experiments were implemented across three studies. This study used multivariate analysis of variance (Study 1) and PROCESS (Hayes, 2018; Studies 2 and 3) to uncover how consumers respond to CP.

Results of Study 1 indicate that the CP level negatively impacts satisfaction and positive word-of mouth (PWOM) in a utilitarian context but has no effect in a hedonic context. Study 2 finds that the negative effects of high CP on satisfaction and PWOM are mediated by fairness and frustration. Study 3 suggests that these negative results can be mitigated by offering a financial incentive.

This study’s two primary objectives address specific calls in the CP literature. First, this study examines the effects of increased CP during hedonic and utilitarian shopping experiences. Second, this study investigates mediators and moderators associated with the negative effects of increased CP, shedding light on how the consumer processes high CP service encounters.

Loneliness is widely prevalent in modern society. Despite the growth in studies, very limited studies so far have attempted to systematically review the literature. This study aims to consolidate the antecedents of loneliness by reviewing the literature.

The systematic literature review method is adopted to identify the antecedents. Full texts of each article were taken for analysis which was published from 2002 to 2022. Multiple databases were examined and total of 60 articles were included for systematic literature review.

The study presents the descriptive analysis of the articles. Also, the paper thematically presents the key antecedents of loneliness in three themes (a) Loss of love, (b) Individual cognitive and personal factors and (c) Childhood experiences and parenting practices. The study also highlights the moderating effect of demographic factors and lifestyle changes.

The current study is the first systematic literature review to present the antecedents of loneliness. The study contributes by offering an enhanced understanding of loneliness. Also, the study presents contemporary understanding of loneliness and proposes a conceptual framework. The findings are useful to academicians as well as policymakers.

This paper aims to investigate how a US firm’s political landscape affects the integration of environmental, social and governance (hereafter ESG) measures in CEO compensation contracts, thereby affecting the firm’s ESG performance and credit rating.

Based on the results of state senatorial and presidential elections and the location of a US firm’s headquarters, the authors categorize whether a firm has a political environment that is predominantly Democratic (blue) or Republican (red). The empirical analyses are based on a sample of US firms in the period 2014–2021.

The authors find that firms in blue states are more likely to link CEO compensation to ESG performance measures. Further, the results show that firms in blue states with ESG-linked compensation contracts have better ESG performance. Lastly, the authors find evidence that a firm’s ESG performance has a positive impact on its credit rating, but the impact is weakened if firms in red states link ESG performance to executive compensation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that explores how a firm’s political environment affects the use of ESG performance measures in CEO compensation contracts. Furthermore, the authors contribute to the literature by showing evidence that the political environment interacts with the impact of ESG-linked compensation incentives on the firm’s ESG performance and, thus, its credit rating.