Value Inquiry: Duty and inclination in ethical theories

Editorial

Value Inquiry: Duty and inclination in ethical theories     

Value Inquiry: On concepts of good and evil in ethical theories

Editorial

Value Inquiry: On concepts of good and evil in ethical theories     

British theravada Buddhism: Otherworldly theories,and the theory of exchange

The article explores the development of the relationship between monks and lay people within the newly established context of British Theravada Buddhism. Unlike their Asian counterparts, the British laity appear not to be interested in the traditional practice of ‘making merit’. The article draws out the implications of this feature of British Buddhism for a more general understanding of reciprocity in Theravada monk/ lay relationships.     

A case study of three theories of learned helplessness: The role of test importance

The current study tests three alternative explanations (learned helplessness, cognitive interference, and egotism) for poor performance following unsolvable problems. In Experiment 1, subjects were exposed to no feedback or to failure in unsolvable problems and were further divided according to the importance of a test task (unstipulated, low, and high importance). In Experiment 2, during the training phase subjects were exposed to either no feedback, failure, or failure plus explicit hypothesis instructions. Then, subjects in each group received either low or high test-importance instructions. Results bring support to the cognitive interference explanation of performance deficits. Exposure to unsolvable problems was found to impair performance in a high importance task, but not in a low importance task. Such a deleterious effect of prior failure and high importance instructions was reversed by discouraging people from engaging in state-oriented actions. The theoretical implications of the findings were discussed.     

Creating an ethical organizational environment: The relationship between ethical leadership,ethical organizational climate,and unethical behavior

The purpose of this research is to provide a richer lens on the ethical organizational environment by examining the relationship between ethical leadership and unit-level unethical behavior through ethical organizational climate (EOC), with collective moral identity as a boundary condition. In testing our theoretical model, we first develop and validate a measure of EOC to address concerns with existing measures of ethical climate. Second, we examine the role of collective moral identity as a moderator of the relationship between EOC and unit unethical behavior. We discuss implications regarding the importance of developing a more comprehensive conceptualization of EOC.     

The obesity epidemic: medical and ethical considerations

Obesity is increasingly becoming a problem for Western societies, to the extent that politicians, scientists, patient organisations and the media now refer to it as 'the obesity epidemic'. Concerns about the damaging effect of increasing body weight on public health has led to a strong growth in the amount of scientific work on the condition, with the medical professions leading the way. This article discusses that, first of all, scientific evidence for obesity-associated mortality is at best ambiguous, and proposes that at least some of contemporary medical preoccupation with obesity has a moral origin in that it seeks to correct unwanted or immoral behaviour. It then continues to reflect on the effect of the conceptual transformation of healthy children into patients, and concludes with some reflections on the ethical implications of the obesity disease for the wellbeing of children.     

How "fun/importance" fit affects performance: relating implicit theories to instructions

People experience a regulatory fit when they employ means of goal pursuit that fit their regulatory orientation, and this fit increases motivation that can enhance performance. The present studies extend previous research on regulatory fit to the classic motivational variables of fun and importance. They also examine for the first time the effect on performance of the fit between individuals' implicit theories about a task's fun or importance and their strategic engagement of the task as fun or important as induced by task instructions. In all three studies, task performance was better when the external task instructions "fit" rather than did not fit participants' implicit theory for the task. The implications of these findings for understanding the motivational effects of fun and importance are discussed.     

The simplicity of theories: Its degree and form

Almost all commentators acknowledge that among the grounds on which scientists perform theory-choices are criteria of simplicity. In general, simplicity is regarded either as only a logico-empirical quality of a theory, diagnostic of the theory's future predictive success, or as a purely aesthetic or otherwise extra-empirical property of it. This paper attempts to demonstrate that the simplicity-criteria applied in scientific practice include both a logicoempirical and a quasi-aesthetic criterion: to conflate these in an account of scientists' theory-choice is to court confusion.     

The ethical group psychotherapist: a coda

This concluding article of a two-part special section on the ethical group psychotherapist are highlighted: (1) the importance of the cultivation of the skill and knowledge base of the group psychotherapist in terms of pertinent legal statutes and ethical guidelines; (2) the criticalness of certain personality features related to the concept of virtue; (3) a therapist's self-awareness contributes to the capacities to think and respond ethically; (4) ethical decision making is most likely to occur when the group psychotherapist attends comprehensively to all dimensions that define the setting in which a dilemma emerges; and (5) that in the service of positive ethics, attention to the ethical dimensions of group psychotherapy practice should be continuously present. In agreement with other contributions to this section, I conclude that the commitment to the ethical practice of group psychotherapy must be made not only by the individual practitioner but also by educational and training programs and professional organizations.     

Medical education: The training of ethical physicians

This paper suggests that medical education be revised to assist in diffusing potential ethical dilemmas that arise during health care provision. A revised medical education would emphasize the role of the humanities in the training of physicians, especially in light of recent critiques of the canonical scientific model in general, and more specifically in the use of that model for medical training and practice.I wish to thank Dr. Mary Ann Cutter and Melissa M. Amaro for their critical suggestions.     

员工伦理型领导原型对伦理型领导有效性的影响：员工崇敬感的中介作用

基于工作场所中具体积极情绪的理论模型和内隐领导理论, 探究了伦理型领导对员工工作绩效的影响机制, 具体是检验了崇敬感的中介作用和员工伦理型领导原型的调节作用。通过对一项问卷调查研究(193份上下级配对数据)和两个情境实验获得的实证数据进行统计分析, 结果表明: 伦理型领导能够正向影响员工的崇敬感; 崇敬感能够中介伦理型领导对组织公民行为的积极作用, 但对任务绩效的中介效应并不显著; 此外, 员工的伦理型领导原型会强化伦理型领导与员工崇敬感之间的正向关系, 即相比于拥有低伦理型领导原型的员工, 拥有高伦理型领导原型的员工更容易对伦理型领导产生崇敬感; 崇敬感能够中介伦理型领导与员工伦理型领导原型的交互作用对组织公民行为的影响。