Effects of group status on responses to sustainable land use campaigns

A number of survey studies were conducted with landholders throughout Queensland to assess the effectiveness and perceived influence of campaigns promotng sustainable land use. While previous studies have addressed the role of group membership in persuasive communications, the current line of research extends this by focusing on the intergroup context, namely, the perceptions of group status. Across a range of samples it was found that landholders' perceptions of lower status in relation to urban people were associated with increased support for ingroup messages and decreased support for outgroup messages. These results are broadly consistent with research that suggests that threats to group identity (such as an infiuence attempt by a higher status group) will be responded to in a negative way and highlights the importance of considering relations between groups when attempting to change attiutudes.

Oppressive Eating Habits

Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre is a Professor of Social Ethics at Illif School of Theology. His lecture is on the interplay between American eating habits and its contribution to oppressive structures throughout Latin America.

Caim, Gaspard, Melchior, Balthazar e demais c��mplices : jornada ��s avessas rumo �� inef��vel transcend��ncia

Tendo como ponto de partida a leitura intertextual das obras Caim, de Jos�� Saramago, e Gaspard, Melchior et Balthazar, de Michel Tournier, encaradas �� luz da Teoria da Carnavaliza����o do fil��sofo russo Mikhail Bakhtin, procura-se estabelecer afinidades e antinomias pass��veis de constarem na tem��tica da revisita����o subversiva de mitos b��blicos. Assim sendo, pretende-se concluir, nomeadamente, acerca da relev��ncia do di��logo efetuado pelos autores em torno da verdade oficial e sua reinterpreta����o, ainda que insolente; da validade da viagem de inicia����o, enquanto lenitivo, ���via-sacra��� e demanda de absoluta Plenitude, empreendida pelos her��is e pelos anti-her��is; do grotesco na representa����o carnavalesca do corpo e da vida terrena; da presen��a de um discurso narrativo fazendo uso de uma linguagem subversiva, onde grotesco, ironia e/ou par��dia s��o percet��veis; dos valores morais e ��tica social a preservar versus cr��tica ac��rrima ao poder institu��do; da queda do Homem e do confronto com Deus e suas imperdo��veis limita����es ���humanas���; da presen��a do bin��mio entidade divina/entidade mefistof��lica e o modo como as v��rias vozes narrativas surgem articuladas. Concomitantemente, pretende-se comprovar que os textos de Jos�� Saramago e Michel Tournier, embora mergulhando no desmascaramento, ���profana����o��� e aparente niilismo do Texto B��blico, na dessacraliza����o de um cosmos oficial e na ado����o do riso e impertin��ncia enquanto catarse, longe de provocarem a aniquila����o do mito, antes concorrem para uma releitura prof��cua, pois repleta de pluralidade de significados, onde o Transcendente, por oposi����o �� desilus��o prodigalizada pela vida terrena, �� objeto de revitaliza����o; pretendendo autores, narradores e leitores, postos em di��logo polif��nico, a n��o reitera����o de modos perniciosos de ���estar��� e ���ser���, mas um olhar l��cido e puro sobre o futuro da Humanidade.

Some suggestions for moral betterment

The University presents this bulletin for the benefit of the citizens of South Carolina, arguing that suggestions for moral betterment are always timely. The bulletin is intended to help citizens improve their social and moral conditions.

Learning Sustainability with EPS@ISEP ��� Development of an Insectarium

8th International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education (PAEE)

Education for social responsibility: Ethics and imagination for engaging students and teachers in educational reform

In this chapter we make assumptions about the primary role of education for the life of its beneficiaries and for society. Undoubtedly, formal education plays an important role in enhancing the likelihood for participation in future social life, including enjoyment and employment, by the student as well as the development of the well being of society in general. Similarly, education is often seen as a main means for intergenerational transmission of knowledge and culture. However, as Dewey (1916) argues, in liberal societies, education has the capacity of enhancing democratic participation in society that goes beyond passive participation by its members. One can argue that the achievement of the ideals of democracy demands a free and strong education system. In other words, while education can function as an instrument to integrate students into the present society, it also has the potential to become an instrument for its transformation by means of which citizens can develop an understanding of how their society functions and a sense of agency towards its transformation. Arguably, this is what Freire (1985) meant when he talked about the role of education to ���read and write��� the world. A stream of progressive educators (e.g., Apple (2004), Freire, (1985), Giroux (2001) and McLaren (2002)) taught us that the reading of the world that is capable of leading into writing the world is a critical reading; i.e., a reading that poses ���Why��� questions and imagines ���What else can be��� (Carr & Kemmis, 1987).

Ethics and social networking sites : a disclosive analysis of Facebook

Purpose ��� This paper aims to provide insights into the moral values embodied by a popular social networking site (SNS), Facebook. Design/methodology/approach ��� This study is based upon qualitative fieldwork, involving participant observation, conducted over a two-year period. The authors adopt the position that technology as well as humans has a moral character in order to disclose ethical concerns that are not transparent to users of the site. Findings ��� Much research on the ethics of information systems has focused on the way that people deploy particular technologies, and the consequences arising, with a view to making policy recommendations and ethical interventions. By focusing on technology as a moral actor with reach across and beyond the internet, the authors reveal the complex and diffuse nature of ethical responsibility and the consequent implications for governance of SNS. Research limitations/implications ��� The authors situate their research in a body of work known as disclosive ethics, and argue for an ongoing process of evaluating SNS to reveal their moral importance. Along with that of other authors in the genre, this work is largely descriptive, but the paper engages with prior research by Brey and Introna to highlight the scope for theory development. Practical implications ��� Governance measures that require the developers of social networking sites to revise their designs fail to address the diffuse nature of ethical responsibility in this case. Such technologies need to be opened up to scrutiny on a regular basis to increase public awareness of the issues and thereby disclose concerns to a wider audience. The authors suggest that there is value in studying the development and use of these technologies in their infancy, or if established, in the experiences of novice users. Furthermore, flash points in technological trajectories can prove useful sites of investigation. Originality/value ��� Existing research on social networking sites either fails to address ethical concerns head on or adopts a tool view of the technologies so that the focus is on the ethical behaviour of users. The authors focus upon the agency, and hence the moral character, of technology to show both the possibilities for, and limitations of, ethical interventions in such cases.

Teaching and assessing ethics and social responsibility in undergraduate science : a position paper

Institutional graduate capabilities and discipline threshold learning outcomes require science students to demonstrate ethical conduct and social responsibility. However, neither the teaching nor the assessment of these concepts is straightforward. Australian chemistry academics participated in a workshop in 2013 to discuss and develop teaching and assessment in these areas and this paper reports on the outcomes of that workshop. Controversial issues discussed included: How broad is the mandate of the teacher, how should the boundaries between personal values and ethics be drawn, and how can ethics be assessed without moral judgement? In this position paper, I argue for a deep engagement with ethics and social justice, achieved through case studies and assessed against criteria that require discussion and debate. Strategies to effectively assess science students��� understanding of ethics and social responsibility are detailed.