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21 – 30 of over 22000Argued is the need for: (1) a clearer interpretation of procedural ethics guidelines; (2) the identification and development of ethical field case study models which can be…
Abstract
Purpose
Argued is the need for: (1) a clearer interpretation of procedural ethics guidelines; (2) the identification and development of ethical field case study models which can be incorporated into university ethics teaching; (3) an understanding of the vulnerabilities of researchers and participants as reflected in the researchers' positionality and reflexivity and (4) ethnographic monitoring as a participant-friendly and participatory ethics methodology.
Design/methodology/approach
This article, drawn from the author's four-decade trajectory of collective ethnographic research, addresses the ethical challenges and dilemmas encountered by researchers when conducting ethnographic research, particularly with vulnerable migrant women and youth.
Findings
The author addresses dilemmas in field research resulting from different interpretations of ethics and emphasizes the need for researchers to be critically aware of their own vulnerabilities and those of migrants to avoid unethical practices in validating the context(s), language(s), culture and political landscape of their study.
Research limitations/implications
The author presents case studies from the US and the Netherlands, underlining her positionality and reflexivity and revisits Dell Hymes' ethnographic monitoring approach as a participant-friendly, bottom-up methodology which enables researchers to co-construct knowledge with participants and leads to participatory ethics.
Practical implications
She presents case studies from the US and the Netherlands underlining her positionality and reflexivity and revisits Dell Hymes’ ethnographic monitoring approach as a participant-friendly, bottom up methodology which enables researchers to co-construct knowledge with participants and engage in participatory ethics.
Social implications
Finally, she proposes guidelines for the ethical conduct of research with migrant populations that contribute to the broader methodological debates currently taking place in qualitative migration research.
Originality/value
Expected from this reading is the legacy that as a qualitative migration researcher one can after 4 decades of research leave behind as caveats and considerations in working with vulnerable migrants and the ethical dilemmas and challenges that need to be overcome.
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Social media provides researchers with easy access to rich, real-time data that offers insight into both public opinion and the role of social media in public life. However, to…
Abstract
Social media provides researchers with easy access to rich, real-time data that offers insight into both public opinion and the role of social media in public life. However, to date, good practice in analyzing social media has been led by what is technically possible and commercially viable. This chapter seeks to reverse that trend and is the result of a year-long study ‘Wisdom of the Crowd’ by Ipsos MORI, Demos, the University of Sussex and CASM Consulting to examine the ethical landscape surrounding aggregated social media research. Based on a review of the legal and market research regulatory landscape in the UK and a program of primary research with experts, members of the public and social media users, this chapter provides a series of constructive and practical recommendations on how to improve ethical standards in this field. Drawing on the context of public ethics, the recommendations provide advice to researchers, regulators, and social media organizations on how they can help to restore trust in social media research and better safeguard social media users.
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The humanitarian principle of impartiality requires that assistance be based on need alone. In order to ascertain needs, and later to assess whether assistance has been effective…
Abstract
The humanitarian principle of impartiality requires that assistance be based on need alone. In order to ascertain needs, and later to assess whether assistance has been effective in meeting those needs, we need to gather evidence. In humanitarian crises this is generally done through assessments, monitoring and evaluation, and it generally involves seeking information from those we seek to assist. In the fast-paced environment of humanitarian crises, the question of whether the collection of this information is ethical is frequently overlooked. For research participants, the consequences can be extremely severe.
This chapter examines the ethics of research, primarily in the form of assessments, monitoring and evaluation, in humanitarian crises. The chapter first considers the question of what constitutes research in humanitarian crises, and why it is needed. It then examines the general principles of ethical research (respect, beneficence, research merit and integrity, and justice), and highlights three key considerations that require particular attention in humanitarian crises: the justificatory threshold, the vulnerability of research participants, and safety and security. The chapter also examines key components of the research process that are particularly important (and frequently overlooked) in humanitarian crises, including the privacy and confidentiality of research participants, informed consent and feedback to research participants. It concludes with the suggestion that basic instruction in the principles of ethical research should be included in the orientation and training provided to humanitarian practitioners, including to emergency response teams who are commonly involved in carrying out assessments in the early stages of a humanitarian response.
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Erica Falkenström, Jon Ohlsson and Anna T Höglund
The purpose of this paper was to explore what kind of ethical competence healthcare managers need in handling conflicts of interest (COI). The aim is also to highlight essential…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to explore what kind of ethical competence healthcare managers need in handling conflicts of interest (COI). The aim is also to highlight essential learning processes to develop healthcare managers’ ethical competence.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study was performed. Semi-structured interviews with ten Swedish healthcare managers from different care providers were carried out twice and analysed through step-wise categorisation.
Findings
Four categories of COI were revealed and two ways (passive and active) in which COI were handled. Ethical guidelines did not help the healthcare managers to handle the COI, and none of the managers made use of any sort of systematic ethical analysis. However, certain ethical competence was of great importance to identify and handle COI, consisting of contextual understanding, rational emotions, some theoretical knowledge and a suitable language. Organising work so that ethical analysis can be carried out is of great importance, and top management needs to clearly express the importance of ethical competence and allocate resources to allow adequate learning processes.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the management level and focuses on how work-integrated learning-processes can enable ethical competence. Ethical competence at the management level is essential both to comply with the constitution and legal requirements regarding healthcare, and so that managers are able to analyse COI and justify their decisions.
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J.R.C. Pimentel, J.R. Kuntz and Detelin S. Elenkov
The purpose of this paper is to offer an interdisciplinary review of the existing research on ethical behavior – informed by philosophical theories, social sciences, and applied…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer an interdisciplinary review of the existing research on ethical behavior – informed by philosophical theories, social sciences, and applied business research – and identifies the merits and limitations of the extant theories, including the applicability of prescriptive frameworks and models to business practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the review, the paper advances a descriptive model of ethical decision‐making criteria that elucidates how individual, organizational, and environmental variables interact to influence attitude formation across critical components of an ethical issue.
Findings
The model advanced expands upon other existing frameworks and provides a comprehensive and simultaneous assessment of the interplay between individual‐level variables (e.g. demographic variables, position in the organisation), the structure and climate of the organisation in which the decisions are made, and the social and political features of the business environment.
Practical implications
The proposed model can be used as a training tool and it holds several advantages over the extant alternatives, namely versatility (it is adaptable to the specific organizational context in which respondents are required to conceptualize the dilemma and generate courses of action), and scope (the model allows for the simultaneous assessment of a myriad of cross‐level variables).
Originality/value
The paper offers a comprehensive decision‐making model that can be used to examine ethical decisions in business settings, to investigate potential differences in decision‐making accuracy and ethical reasoning between groups and individuals, and to examine the impact of changing ethical climates in organizational strategy.
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We are long overdue for a conversation about ethical treatment of student researchers. Ethical treatment of research participants has been carefully defined through decades of…
Abstract
We are long overdue for a conversation about ethical treatment of student researchers. Ethical treatment of research participants has been carefully defined through decades of public conversation, and ethical practices have been institutionalized through mechanisms like mandatory ethics trainings and Institutional Review Boards. Student researchers deserve the same level of consideration. While there are many types of ethical violations of student labor in research projects, there are two that are of particular concern to social movements researchers: use of volunteer labor without clear academic or professional benefits, and failure to ensure the safety of student researchers. The first of these ethical violations is especially common in social movements research because of the emergent nature of protests: new rounds of protests begin and researchers seek to rapidly collect data on a tight timeframe, making grant funding to pay student researchers challenging. The second situation emerges when faculty researchers do not consider the ways students' race, gender identity, or other characteristics, or the nature of the protests themselves might create potential risks for students.
In this paper, I propose using the Belmont Report principles to create guidelines for ethical treatment of student researchers. While these principles were developed for the purposes of protecting research participants, the principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice help us to clarify the risks and benefits for student researchers, to find ways to maximize the benefits of student research participation, and to understand and address the inequalities that plague graduate student training.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine marketing tactics used in the clinic websites of cross-border reproductive care (CBRC) providers and analyse what ethical implications…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine marketing tactics used in the clinic websites of cross-border reproductive care (CBRC) providers and analyse what ethical implications exist when targeting the vulnerable consumer group of infertility sufferers.
Design/methodology/approach
The sampling design was to collect clinic websites from regions known to be popular destinations for CBRC, and who were marketing directly to US-based consumers through their online websites. There were three stages of data collection: organic Google search that displayed Google AdWords of clinics who advertised; organic Google search results; and searching via the WhatClinic.com database for additional private clinics with websites. The websites were then audited for their marketing tactics according to the best practice guidelines from the American Medical Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, ethics committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).
Findings
Through this analysis, it was confirmed that these clinics are attempting to establish their credibility and attract foreign consumers through their promised rates of success, years of experience and use of testimonials. In total, 32 of the 35 sites contained at least one factor considered misleading by ASRM guidelines, such as the publishing of inaccurate or non-transparent success rates, the use of sales promotions and guarantees often used in consumer products, or the use of misleading language. Out of the 24 sites that posted success rates, 17 of those rates would be considered deceptive by not clarifying the source of the numbers or by being so far from the global averages of 30 per cent.
Research limitations/implications
Marketing practitioners have a specific responsibility to recognise vulnerable market segments; therefore this initial study seeks to add to the understanding of consumer vulnerability through an intersectional view of global reproductive service consumption.
Practical implications
A global standard of marketing guidelines specific to CBRC clinics needs to be implemented across all regional/countries in order to communicate ethically, improve credibility, reputation and trust among consumer and international bodies. Counselling services need to be integrated within all assisted reproductive technology services. Service-country to home-country continued care protocols should be created for patients travelling home in order to collect data on CRBC experiences.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the CBRC literature in providing new insights into current clinic marketing trends and highlights ethical implications to industry stakeholders.
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Corporate codes of conduct originated around 1900 in the USA gaining further momentum in the 1950s in relation to anti‐trust legislation. Subsequently, the adoption of codes of…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate codes of conduct originated around 1900 in the USA gaining further momentum in the 1950s in relation to anti‐trust legislation. Subsequently, the adoption of codes of ethics has spread throughout the world and they now feature extensively in many organisations. The literature relating to codes of ethics, therefore, spans many decades and is undoubtedly comprehensive. The purpose of the paper is to provide an appropriate anthology of codes of ethics.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive, historical, anthological approach has been taken.
Findings
This paper examines the motivations for the adoption of codes of ethics, which naturally also includes international codes, their frequency of use and content. Codes are also not without critique and it is appropriate to highlight the criticisms of codes, to provide an assessment of their potential effectiveness, the issues surrounding implementation and enforcement and the relationship to organisational culture and leadership.
Research limitations/implications
As noted, the literature on codes of conduct is extensive and while effort has been made to capture the key themes the review is not necessarily exhaustive.
Originality/value
The literature is characterised by the means of institutionalising ethics in organisations and the paper concludes with a summative reflection on the key dimensions that appear to be paramount for improving the efficacy of codes of conduct.
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Ethical marketing has gained popularity in recent years due to the increasing participation in ethical consumerism. Today, consumers are more concerned with the impact of their…
Abstract
Ethical marketing has gained popularity in recent years due to the increasing participation in ethical consumerism. Today, consumers are more concerned with the impact of their purchases on society and the environment. Furthermore, the responsibility of implementing and pursuing ethical marketing falls on marketing firms and professionals.
This chapter's main case study focuses on the food industry, and mini case studies have been used to bring out the ethical misdeeds. The selection of the food industry as the choice case study is based on the fact that it is a global multi-billion industry with long-term health implications for consumers. However, some of the huge profits being reaped by the firms have been associated with unethical marketing practices which have had negative effects on the consumer. The firms that have utilised these unethical marketing practices have provided lessons that their counterparts can take a cue from as they engage in various marketing activities. This chapter has reviewed the scope of ethics in marketing, together with the various concepts and theories that are important in ethical marketing. This chapter further elaborates on the indistinctiness between ethical marketing guidelines and government regulations. Guidelines for achieving ethical marketing have been provided by the setting of ethical marketing standards and subscribing to ethical codes of conduct. Although government regulation is a good tool to ensure that marketing is conducted ethically, what may be defined as legal might not be outright ethical or moral from an individual's point of view. In summary, marketers have to strike a balance between using ethical marketing practices and making profit.
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Alejandra Rojas and Aarni Tuomi
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is leading to a job transformation within the service ecosystem in which issues related to AI governance principles may hinder the…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is leading to a job transformation within the service ecosystem in which issues related to AI governance principles may hinder the social sustainability of the sector. The relevance of AI startups in driving innovation has been recognized; thus, this paper aims to investigate whether and how AI startups may influence the sustainable social development (SSD) of the service sector.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study based on 24 in-depth interviews was conducted to qualitatively explore the perceptions of service sector facing AI policymakers, AI consultants and academics (n = 12), as well as AI startups (founders, AI developers; n = 12). An inductive coding approach was used to identify and analyze the data.
Findings
As part of a complex system, AI startups influence the SSD of the service sector in relation to other stakeholders’ contributions for the ethical deployment of AI. Four key factors influencing AI startups’ ability to contribute to the SSD of the service sector were identified: awareness of socioeconomic issues; fostering decent work; systematically applying ethics; and business model innovation.
Practical implications
This study proposes measures for service sector AI startups to promote collaborative efforts and implement managerial practices that adapt to their available resources.
Originality/value
This study develops original guidelines for startups that seek ethical development of beneficial AI in the service sector, building upon Ethics as a Service approach.
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