Exploring the interaction between technology and morality in the field of genetic susceptibility testing: A scenario study

With the rise of genomics promises and concerns have emerged about future possibilities for screening of genetic susceptibilities to common diseases in the population. In this article we start from the assumption that for a better understanding of the future ethical implications of genetic susceptibility screening we need to address the interaction between technological and moral developments in society. We introduce a techno-ethical scenario approach and show how it may help us to explore more systematically potential future interactions between technological and moral developments in the field of genetic susceptibility screening. The first step is a historical account of population screening, focussing on the ways in which emerging practices of (genetic) screening have been mediated by an evolving moral landscape in our society. Based on this history we present a techno-ethical scenario of the future, showing how technological developments may shape conditions in our society in which the introduction and use of genetic susceptibility tests more and more become a matter of private decisions, reinforcing claims to individual self-determination as a deeply rooted value in the moral landscape of our society.     

Judges' Attitudes toward the Public Accounting Profession

Abstract

This paper presents the results of two related studies. In Study One we examine US judges' attitudes toward the public accounting profession and the extent to which those attitudes have changed over three distinct periods of time: (a) early in the decade of the 1990s, (b) late in the decade of the 1990s, but before the Enron and subsequent corporate debacles, and (c) three years after the Enron debacle. We anticipate that attitudes of judges toward the public accounting profession will be relatively stable over time, but nonetheless subject to change if given a substantial stimulus. In Study Two we compare the most current judges' attitudes with those of law students, MBA students and auditors. In total, we find that judges' attitudes are significantly (1) more negative towards the profession in the most recent survey, (2) equivalent to attitudes exhibited by law students and MBA students, and (3) divergent from attitudes of practicing auditors. Conclusions and future research are also discussed.     

My Strengths Count!

This article builds on the argument that research on the link between HRM and performance benefits from investigating how HR practices are envisioned by managers (in terms of underlying philosophies), and how they are perceived by employees (in terms of psychological climates). Our study focuses on the effects of a strengths‐based HR philosophy assuming that employee performance can be maximized through leveraging individual strengths. This philosophy relates to a strengths‐based psychological climate, that is, employee perceptions of the opportunities they get to identify, develop, and use their strengths. We hypothesized that a strengths‐based psychological climate positively influences employees’ positive affect, which in turn enhances their in‐role and extra‐role performance. In our study, 442 respondents working in 39 departments of eight Dutch and Belgian organizations gave ratings on the strength‐based psychological climate of their organization, and indicated their level of work‐related positive affect, in‐role performance, and extra‐role performance. Results of multilevel hierarchical regression analyses supported our hypotheses by indicating that strengths‐based psychological climate was positively linked to in‐role and extra‐role performance, and that this link was mediated by positive affect. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Wicksell's Unaminity Rule

A bstract    This paper identifies the extent to which James Buchanan's interpretation of Knut Wicksell's unanimity rule, as spelled out in the second essay in Finanztheoretische Untersuchungen (1896), has come to dominate the public economics literature despite competing with the interpretation offered by Richard Musgrave. A brief summary of the differing interpretations is offered. Citation analysis is used to examine the frequency with which Wicksell is cited and by whom. The sociology of the economics profession and avenues for the dissemination of ideas are examined to understand the dominance of Buchanan's particular interpretation and application of the unanimity rule.     

Challenges of the maize seed industry in eastern and southern Africa: A compelling case for private–public intervention to promote growth

Following the liberalization and restructuring of the seed sector, the maize seed industry in eastern and southern Africa has witnessed a proliferation of private seed companies. Whereas the total number of registered maize seed companies in major maize producing countries increased four-fold between 1997 and 2007, the quantity of seed marketed barely doubled suggesting that the seed production and deployment environment is less than perfect.     

A Comparison of Native Culture,Non-Native Culture and New Management Ideology

Abstract Based on a case study of a Native-operated criminal justice organization, this article uses Hofstede'sfive dimensions of national cultural differences to examine the connections between cultural values and management practices. It concludes that Hofstede's dimensions can provide insights into the differences between Native and non-Native cultures and how Native organizations may draw on traditional cultural values to improve organizational effectiveness. In general, Native cultures are described as collectivist, egalitarian, adaptive, and tolerant. The argument is made that the cultural context in which Native organizations operate is in many ways more compatible with the new management ideology than is the society in which this ideology prevails. Résumé Fondée sur une étude de cas d'un organisme de justice pénale géré par les autochtones, la présente recherche examine les liens entre des valeurs culturelles et des pratiques de gestion en se référant aux cinq dimensions des différences culturelles nationales de Hofstede. Elle con-clut que ces dimensions peuvent jeter une lumière nou-velle sur les différences entre cultures autochtones et allochtones, et sur la façon dont les organismes autochtones peuvent tirer parti de leurs valeurs culturelles traditionnelles pour rehausser I'efficacité orga-nisationnelle. En général, les cultures autochtones sont perçues comme collectivistes, égalitaires, flexibles et tolérantes. Nous proposons l'idée que le contexte cul-turel dans lequel fonctionnent les organismes autochtones est à de nombreux égards plus compatible avec la nouvelle idéologic de gestion que ne Vest la société où prévaut cette idéologic.     

The Location of Manufacturing Exporters in Africa: Empirical Evidence

Abstract: The costs of accessing and using a port/export hub should be high on the list of priorities for export promotion agencies in Africa. This conclusion emanates from this paper focusing on the geographical location of manufacturing export industries in South Africa. Here manufacturing export firms tend to be spatially concentrated with about 84 per cent of total manufacturing exports produced in only 6 per cent of magisterial districts. Distance from an export hub is negatively related to the density of manufactured exports. The largest volumes of manufactured exports are generated within 100 km of an export hub. For electronics, about 98 per cent of manufacturing takes place within 100 km of an export hub. Comparison over time showed that the number of locations from which manufacturing exports occur increased by 15 per cent over 1996–2004 and that manufacturing exports increased in the band between 200 and 400 km from the nearest hub.