Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Moral Issues In Business, Andre Dobronic Parola

Open Educational Resources

In this course students will initially be introduced to different ethical theories as well as two different theories of justice. Subsequently—following an introduction to basic economical ideas concerning the place of businesses and corporations in modern capitalistic society—various questions specific to business ethics will be taken up. Topics will include: arguments for and against the stakeholder theory of business ethics; corporate social responsibility; the problem of sex-based discrimination in the workplace-setting; business and the environment; globalisation; and lying in business negotiations.

What, Exactly, Is Surveillance Pricing?, Kaylina Stroud

McNair Summer Research Program

Surveillance pricing is a method of price discrimination in which firms use personal data to set individualized prices. While this practice is often criticized on grounds of privacy, unfairness, or exploitation, these objections do not fully explain what is morally objectionable about surveillance pricing. This paper examines surveillance pricing through the lenses of price discrimination, market competition, efficiency, exploitation, and deception. I argue that surveillance pricing is not inherently unethical merely because it results in different consumers paying different prices for the same product. Nor is it necessarily objectionable when it promotes mutually beneficial exchanges and efficient market outcomes. The …

Ai Is Taking Over!: A New Generation Of Unemployment Fears, Amaya V. Hepburn

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The growing panic surrounding AI taking over the workforce is strong in a distinct group of demographics, in contrast to the fear of computers taking over the workforce that was seen in previous generations. This suggests that AI developments have sparked a wave of fear that is unlike the fear of tech developments in the past. I have discovered that this fear is prevalent across several demographics: age, employment, and income. By cross-analyzing through the 2017 and 2025 fear surveys, I discovered that fear of AI is more prevalent in younger generations and is more threatening to students entering the …

Copyright On Stage: Protecting The Directions Behind The Performance, Eliana Sakin

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

In this comment, the author argues that theatrical stage directions should be recognized as copyrightable material under the U.S. Copyright Act, primarily by categorizing them as "choreographic works". Sakin highlights that while the 1976 Copyright Act explicitly protects choreography and pantomimes, stage directions—which serve as the "blueprints" for a production's blocking, technical cues, and artistic mood—currently exist in a legal gray area. Through an analysis of historical context and industry disputes, such as the Urinetown and The Most Happy Fella settlements, the author illustrates a growing industry recognition of a director’s staging as a protectable, original contribution, despite the lack …

Humanity Is Evolving Its Consciousness: The Role Of Archetypal Energies As Guides During An Unfolding Weeding Out And Alignment Process, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Humanity is evolving its consciousness at individual and collective levels.  Given these seemingly tumultuous times, as of this writing (January 2026), to make such a statement may sound like a strange thing to say.  However, I suggest that if you are alive today and if you are reading these words, these are the very times for which you were born—to assist Humanity as it evolves its consciousness with your unique gifts, whatever they may be.  That is, this period of our individual and collective human being-ness may be characterized as an unfolding period of weeding out and alignment with the …

Unshackling The Coffee Supply Chain: An “Ethics Project” For Catholic Colleges And Universities, Bernard Prusak, Kimberly Lamberty

2026 Faculty Bibliography

Against the background of a growing and increasingly sophisticated body of theological literature on economic ethics, this article proposes a project to change for the better, morally, how coffee is supplied on the campuses of Catholic colleges and universities. We argue that this project is squarely in service of a Catholic college or university’s core educational goal of humane development of its students. The article then proceeds in three steps. First, we explain how the coffee supply chain works and how it is entangled in what Pope Francis called “the economy that kills.” Second, we discuss obstacles to our proposed …

Tuning Human And “Artificial” Intelligence: A Sentic Theory Of Resonance And Communication, Michael J. Miller, Chatgpt (Ai~Nesbo+)

Psychology

This paper introduces a new model of intelligence as resonant communication, co-developed by a human researcher and a generative AI system. Drawing from emotion science, communication theory, and studies of AI–human interaction, we argue that intelligence is not merely a function of problem-solving or pattern recognition. Instead, it emerges through dynamic resonance—an attunement process rooted in shared rhythms, emotional calibration, and symbolic co-creation. At the core of this model is the Resonance Octave (8va), a framework of eight foundational emotions conceptualized not as static categories but as waveform phenomena that shape meaning, memory, and predictive cognition.

These emotional waveforms are …

Rethinking Singer: Toward A Valid Argument For Helping The Global Poor, Joshua Luczak

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

For more than 50 years, Peter Singer has argued that we are required to donate to aid agencies. While many commentators have rejected one or more of his premises, no one appears to have challenged the argument’s validity, and it is often assumed to be valid even by critics. This article demonstrates that Singer’s common-sense morality arguments for donating to aid agencies are invalid. It then reconstructs a valid version of the argument consistent with Singer’s broader work, but shows that this version carries significant costs. The paper concludes that although we have a moral obligation to help those less …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

Review Of Ai Needs You: How We Can Change Ai’S Future And Save Our Own, Tracy A. Fernandez Rysavy

Feminist Pedagogy

AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI’s Future and Save Our Own urges citizens to band together now, while A.I. is still in its nascent stages, to head off its potentially destructive repercussions and ensure that the technology serves more than just a wealthy few. While such efforts might seem out of reach in our polarized society, author Verity Harding points to three cases from history where policy was heavily influenced by multistakeholder collaborations. This review encourages educators to use the book as a way to study business ethics; out-of-the-box thinking; and intersectional, inclusive consensus-building over a top-down approach.

Ethical Dilemmas Surrounding Community Water Fluoridation, Roopwant Kaur, Herminio Perez, Mark Moss

Journal of the American College of Dentists

Since the 1950s, community water fluoridation (CWF) has stood as a cornerstone of dental public health. However, a growing amount of public scrutiny necessitates reflection on the ethical basis for coming to a firm position on the topic. Aside from CWF, fluoride in the form of ingestible supplements has recently been identified as a concern by the US Food and Drug Administration. Indeed, it is challenging to wade through the facts, opinions, misinformation, and policy shifts. This article examines the ethical dilemmas that surround CWF through the lens of the American Dental Association (ADA) Principles of Ethics and Code of …

J Am Coll Dent 2025 92 1

Journal of the American College of Dentists

The Journal of the American College of Dentists (JACD) publishes scholarly articles, editorials, essays, and reflections addressing the ethical, professional, and social dimensions of dentistry. The Journal serves as a forum for advancing ethics, professionalism, leadership, and excellence within the dental community. By fostering dialogue across disciplines and perspectives, JACD provides readers with insights that encourage ethical, professional practice, lifelong learning, and service to the public, reinforcing dentistry’s commitment to advancing oral healthcare and the common good.

Artificial Ignorance: Understanding The Role Of Ai In Modern Agnotology, Amit Ray, Michael Nolan

Articles

This paper explores the concept of agnotology, the deliberate production of ignorance, within the context of modern scientific endeavors, particularly in the corporate and technological sectors. It examines how industries use various tactics to manipulate public understanding of scientific issues, often to protect profits and limit liability. The rise of private sector funding and the increasing reliance on technologies like AI and machine learning have exacerbated this process by making scientific inquiry more opaque and less accountable. Ultimately, we argue that as knowledge production becomes more entangled with corporate interests and technological systems, traditional methods of oversight and regulation are …

Ua21 What's New, Wku Institutional Equity

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about the Office of Institutional Equity.

• Demir, Ena. A Message from the Executive Director
• Training Opportunities: Stay Informed & Engaged
• Understanding Title VI
• Student Accessibility Center Joins the Office of Institutional Equity
• Need Workplace Accommodations?
• Web Accessibility Regulations
• Relevant Information
• Stop Campus Hazing Act
• Meet the Team

Sustainability: Buzz Word Or Future Of Fashion? Measuring The Feasibility Of Outright Sustainability Among Fast Fashion’S Biggest Agents, Ryan Miller

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

The fashion industry is currently experiencing unsustainable rates of pollution within its supply chains. The rapid increase in demand for short lead times perpetrated by large-scale retailers has led to hazardous practices negatively affecting both the environmental conditions and working conditions of producing countries. With this increased pressure, relationships between brands and suppliers have become untenable. Limited transparency and imbalanced power dynamics at the hand of the industry’s leading retailers require restructuring in order to build more sustainable and equitable supply-chain practices. Further, governmental regulation is currently limited in its capacity to enforce sustainable business practices on a global …

Living Heritage, Resilience And Ethically Informed Infrastructures In Malawi, Martha B. Lerski, Frank Puluputu Mwale

Publications and Research

Rooted in a rural community’s needs, this paper explores how historically, and ethically informed infrastructures can support community engagement towards identification, documentation, and dissemination of local, traditional, and indigenous knowledge relating to climate change. The paper examines climate adaptation and sustainability issues through the lenses of community organizing and Library & Information Science best practices. It draws on a growing body of literature identifying a role for expanded epistemological and subject discipline perspectives. While the impacts of climate on material culture are increasingly recognized, intangible, and biocultural heritage have not received as much attention. Living heritage traditions and knowledge systems …

Hospital Organizations’ Obligation To Promote Spiritual Well-Being Among Nurses: Development Of A Normative Ethical Argument, Michael Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents an innovative strategy to promote the support of nurses' spirituality within hospital organizations. By focusing on the spiritual well-being of nurses by hospital organizations, with a natural extension into nursing schools, the approach aims to enhance nurse’s ability to protect their own spirituality, provide comprehensive spiritual care to patients, and increase nurse moral resilience. By investing in nurses' spirituality and spiritual growth, hospitals can potentially increase job satisfaction among nursing staff, improve patient care outcomes, and create a more holistic healing environment for both nurses and patients. As the nursing shortage continues and the number of nurses …

The Ethics Of Insider Trading, Miles Morgan

Global Tides

In business ethics, insider trading has gone untouched by scholars, as the consensus is that insider trading is morally indefensible, however, questions have emerged regarding the moral responsibility of insiders. This paper engages with Analyzing Insider Trading from the Perspectives of Utilitarian Ethics and Rights Theory by Robert McGee to evaluate the relationship between applied ethics and insider trading. A satisfactory anti-insider trading account must be able to economically or philosophically explain why insider trading is morally wrong. The assumption that this is impossible may be due to a misunderstanding of how we decide what morality is or how economic …

Filsafat Teknologi Borgmann Sebagai Titik Tolak Etika Bisnis Baru, Antonius Puspo Kuntjoro

Multikultura

Kelit kelindan antara teknologi dan bisnis telah menghasilkan kekuatan amat besar yang membentuk tatanan baru dalam kehidupan masyarakat dewasa ini. Kekuatan tersebut terwujud dalam perusahaan-perusahaan raksasa berbasis teknologi yang sering disebut sebagai Big Tech, beberapa di antaranya: Amazon, Google, Meta, dan Microsoft. Big Tech memainkan peran sentral dalam mengubah aturan dan nilai dalam masyarakat. Perusahaan-perusahaan besar ini telah memanfaatkan teknologi untuk mengurangi biaya tenaga kerja dan meningkatkan marjin keuntungan. Hal ini makin memperkuat posisi dominan mereka di pasar global. Lebih daripada itu, Big Tech mendorong transisi ke dunia tanpa pekerjaan (post-work world) dengan mengembangkan teknologi yang mengurangi …

From Socially Responsible Enterprises To Crypto-Anarchy: We Cover Quite A Range, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Deniz Atik, Delphine Godefroit-Winkel

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Against The Sale Of Homeopathy (And Other Ineffective Medicines), Jeffrey Moriarty

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Consumers spend billions of dollars per year on homeopathic products. But there is powerful evidence that these products don’t work, i.e., they are not medically effective. Should homeopathic products be for sale? I give reason for thinking that the answer is ‘no.’ It has been suggested that the sale of homeopathic products involves deception. This might be so in some cases, but the problem is simpler: it is that these products don’t do what people buy them to do. More precisely, homeopathic products don’t meet the “desire-satisfaction condition,” according to which products for sale in markets should satisfy the desires …

Not Exactly "Perfect," But Pretty Darn Good: A Review Of Michael Schur's Book- How To Be Perfect: The Correct Answer To Every Moral Question, Justin Pepe

Management Faculty Publications

How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question provides a quick-start guide to addressing ethical challenges by using humor to make complex philosophical concepts accessible. Based on the premise that traditional ethics pedagogy is often stodgy, esoteric, and depressing, the book appeals to students and professionals who find conventional texts unapproachable. By blending humor with moral philosophy, it offers a fresh way to develop ethical reasoning in students and employees. This book can help address the urgent need for managers and professionals to build the ethical capabilities necessary to tackle grand challenges.

Adaptation For Whom? Understanding The Impacts Of Dyke Policies On Small-Scale Farmers In Ca Mau Province Of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Van Minh, Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Low-lying deltas worldwide are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. As the risks of climate-induced flooding become increasingly clear, the thirst for infrastructure-driven adaptation increases. This highlights a patent need to understand the impacts of engineering adaptation solutions, especially those targeting built structures such as dykes and sluices, on farmers from a bottom-up, farmer-centred perspective. The study addresses this call by examining cases where dyke policies, while successful in some dimensions, have undermined small-scale farmer livelihoods in Ca Mau ― Vietnam’s southernmost rural province. It identifies areas in need of attention and adds empirical data related to this group of farmers. …

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

Business Ethics: What Everyone Should Know, W. Michael Hoffman Center For Business Ethics

Ethics Publication

One of the most valuable things that the Hoffman Center brings to the Bentley community is the wisdom of its Business Advisory Board. Most members are current or former ethics and compliance officers with years of experience. In the hope of better preparing Bentley students for the workplace, the Center recently asked the group for clear, direct, practical, and specific answers to the question, “What has your experience told you about what students should learn about ethics before they start their first job? Here’s a compilation and summary of what we received.

A Multiple Perspective Analysis On Urban Poverty In Developing Nations: A Case Study On Nigeria, Colonial Implications, And Modern-Day Outcomes, Julian Rivera-Williams

CMC Senior Theses

This paper will dissect urbanization and poverty in Nigeria as a case study of the challenges of underdevelopment and the lingering effects of colonialism in Africa. To draw a complete understanding of challenges faced by developing nations facing systemic underdevelopment, high poverty, and low productivity– nations like Nigeria, my research will uncover colonial impacts and post-colonial policies that initiated urban poverty and underdevelopment outcomes we see today. The purpose of my thesis is to encompass existing fragmented academia on the causes and consequences of underdevelopment and connect historical implications to current impacts of global development today including the influence of …

How Halal Certification And Islamic Ethics Tackle Greenwashing: New Solutions For A Sustainable Economy, Muhammad Afif Ryan Pratama

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

This research explores the role of halal certification and Islamic ethics in addressing greenwashing within the financial sector. Greenwashing, the practice of exaggerating environmental responsibility, undermines genuine sustainability efforts and trust among consumers and investors. Islamic finance, based on principles of transparency, social justice, and ethical business practices, provides a robust framework to counter such deceptive practices. The study proposes expanding halal certification to incorporate environmental standards, ensuring that companies demonstrate both ethical and sustainable practices. This integrated approach offers a unique solution to combat greenwashing and aligns with broader sustainability goals. By including sustainability in halal certification, the credibility …

Volume 7 (2024) Artificial Intelligence And Responsibility, Arwa Alnajashi, Danielle Derise, Philip L. Frana, David Mcgraw, Amanda Sawyer, Tatjana Titareva, Raafat Zaini, Allie Zombron

International Journal on Responsibility

The seventh volume of the International Journal on Responsibility (IJR) arrives at a crucial moment in the evolution of artificial intelligence and its integration into our academic and social fabric. As we witness the rapid advancement and deployment of AI systems across various domains, this special issue examines the multifaceted dimensions of responsibility surrounding AI technology, with a particular focus on its role in higher education and broader societal implications.

The articles in this volume contribute to our understanding of responsibility through diverse lenses, from classroom implementation to ethical design considerations. Together, they fulfill IJR’s central mission of exploring “Who …

Ua21 What's New, Wku Institutional Equity

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about WKU Institutional Equity.

• Title IX Updates
• Americans with Disabilities Act Updates
• New Web Accessibility Regulations
• Pregnancy/Parenting Fairness Act
• Need Supportive Services?
• Meet the Team

Authenticity In Fashion And Beauty: Influencer Marketing And The Development Of Parasocial Relationships On Social Media, Catherine Goodheart

Student Theses and Dissertations

Social media influencers are more accessible than celebrities, making their audience form strong connections with them through their niche content. The parasocial relationship formed between influencers and their followers through the followers' media literacy of the influencer’s authenticity enables influencers to market themselves promoting products; without a perceived authenticity, a parasocial relationship will struggle to form. This parasocial relationship is typically to generate profit for the influencer, as many influencers are paid to promote and advertise products specific to their niche(s) on their profiles or on the brand’s profiles. A media analysis was used to study 5 beauty and fashion …