Patient Suffering and the Anointing of the Sick

Anthologized in On Moral Medicine: Theological Perspectives in Medical Ethics, 2nd edition. Edited by Stephen E. Lammers and Allen Verhey. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998, 356-364. And in On Moral Medicine: Theological Perspectives in Medical Ethics, 3rd edition. Edited by M. Therese Lysaught, Joseph Kotva, Stephen E. Lammers, and Allen Verhey. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012, 468-474

Letters and Scientific Communities

We enter the debate about the possibility of collaboration and of rich exchanges among physically distant individuals by offering a literacy perspective on communication to show how the dimensions of writing enable the development of scientific communities. We illustrate this perspective with an analysis of the correspondences of one philosopher and one scientist – Descartes and Emilie du Chatelet, as well as with a description of one of the most prominent communities of scientists and philosophers in Europe, the Republic of Letters. Our findings show that writing is essential for the expression and exchange of ideas, abstractions, complex thoughts, demonstrations, arguments – in sum, for the entire scientific enterprise. We discuss the implications of the literacy perspective and of our findings for the current understanding of online intellectual communities.Orality and Literacy; Scientific Communities; Online Communities; Letters; Organizational Communication

Sexual Content in Music\u27s Relationship With Consumers\u27 Body Image, Sexualization and Objectification

The current study examined the relationship between sexual content in popular pop, rap, and R&B music videos and female consumers’ body image, self-objectification, the objectification of other women, and self-esteem. The current study had two main hypotheses: (1) exposure to sexual content in music videos would be negatively correlated with women’s body image, self-objectification, and the objectification of other women and (2) Women’s body image and self-objectification would mediate the relationship between exposure to sexual content in music videos and self-esteem. Participants included 308 female college students who answered questions related to the study aims online. Exposure to sexual content in music videos was estimated by the use of self-report viewing habits and content analysis using the frequency method of popular songs performed by artists highly rated by participants. Results indicated that there was a negative association between exposure to sexual content in R&B music videos and participants’ objectification of other women as well as exposure to sexual content in rap music videos was associated with negative body image. Results also indicated that exposure to sexual content in rap music videos was related to increased self-objectification, which, in turn was related to decreased self-esteem among participants. Negative body image was also found to be related to decreased self-esteem among participants

Mediation Among Childhood Sexual Abuse, Self-Objectification, and Risk Recognition

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA), self-objectification, and risk recognition in a sample of freshman, college women. Self-objectification was expected to interfere with the ability to readily identify risk (risk appraisal) and respond effectively (risk response), particularly for survivors of CSA. Participants were 335 freshman women ages 18 to 25, with 47.8% reporting a history of CSA. Participants completed an online survey that assessed demographics, abuse history, and indicators of self-objectification (body surveillance, body shame, and appearance anxiety). Participants also completed a task to assess risk recognition which included reading a sexually risky scenario ending in sexual assault. A series of correlations, t-tests, and mediation analyses were performed to examine the relationship between these variables. Self-objectification was found to significantly mediate the relationship between CSA and risk recognition, with specific aspects of self-objectification being related to specific aspects of risk recognition

Beyond Orality and Literacy: Letters and Organizational Communication

We draw on communication theories to study organizational communication from a literacy perspective. We suggest that the current debate over the capability of new media to foster the sharing and development of ideas and allow the expression of emotions, which presupposes face-to-face communication as the ideal form of communication, disappears once we switch the focus from the medium to the modality – written versus oral communication. An analysis of personal and organizational letters illustrates the role played by written communication throughout human history, in exchanging ideas and supporting emotionalOrality and Literacy; Online Interactions; Communicative Practices; Letters; Organizational Communication

Social representations of marketplace immorality:The case of the Kenyan illicit alcohol market

This thesis examines social representations of marketplace immorality in a context of contested legitimacy. In recent years, the legislative context of illicit alcohol in Kenya has changed the status of illicit alcohol from legal to illegal, then back to legal, between June 2015 and February 2016. Using social representations theory, this study explores the dominant social representations in the Kenyan illicit alcohol market during this volatile regulatory period. The study draws on longitudinal data from digital mainstream and social media news sites, as well as interview and observation data. The study seeks to expand understanding on the extent to which social representations convey morality, and the impact of social representations on people’s perceptions and practices, thereby extending knowledge and understanding of social representations and morality. Consumer research has begun to consider issues relating to morality in the marketplace, but this is still a nascent area of research. Most studies on morality have explored only a subset of moral concerns but this study expands the conceptualization of morality in a market context responding to calls from market researchers for a broader definition of consumer morality. The study focuses on plural moral domains with several moral concerns and highlights both individual-centred and other-centred moral concerns. The study also demonstrates that social representations in the alcohol market focus on the harm from illicit consumption practices leading to selective objectification of consumer and alcohol problems and limiting remedial initiatives in the marketplace. The findings also reveal that cognitive polyphasia is a pervasive feature in the social representations of the Kenyan illicit alcohol market. Key aspects of cognitive polyphasia that define some of its functionalities and how it could be operationalised are a nascent area in the study of social representations. This study’s findings contribute to the existing knowledge on cognitive polyphasia by revealing cognitive polyphasia as a means of adapting to change, coping with change, resisting change and inducing change. The study also contributes to knowledge on the delegitimization of market practices by examining the role of cognitive polyphasia in changing practices and perceptions. The study findings also illustrate moral ambiguities in the marketplace as well as the psychological and socio-psychological processes used to navigate the moral ambiguities. The processes illustrated include social representation, moral exclusion, moral rationalization, moral decoupling and moral override. These processes provide insights into the reasoning and justifications behind why consumers would or would not act in an ethical or moral manner. The research further contributes to the literature on morality by highlighting the influence of emotions in moral judgement. These findings confirm previous empirical research in moral psychology on the role of emotion in moral judgement. The study proposes greater emphasis on emotional appeals in efforts to encourage moral consumer behaviour since emotions are revealed as key to moral judgement. The practical implications of this research are mainly in relation to the incorporation of community cultural language when talking about, or implementing illicit alcohol policy, to help make the policies a part of the local culture

Triangulating consumers' perceptions of payment systems by using social representations theory: A multi-method approach

Social systems play a pivotal role in shaping customers' views, the adoption process and subsequent product diffusion for novel products. Perceptions of Austrian consumers regarding payment systems were assessed in a cross-sectional analysis applying social representations theory. Social representations help to unravel the sources of individuals' attitudinal or perceptual similarities and differences, which often stem from inter-group differences. In short, they are useful for the investigation of ‘deeper structure’ aspects of consumer behaviour, as has been shown in previous studies. This may be seen as a further step forward for marketing research, which operates largely on social phenomena. This study addresses the shortage of non-cognitive-based research in marketing by offering a methodological approach that uses triangulation on the basis of associative answers from social groups. A four-step analytic design revealed that consumer groups transpose the abstract concept of payment systems into tangible objects and processes in a similar way; however, their social background impacted which value was attached to established as well as new means of payment. Cash is still seen as the prototypical form of payment; newer forms, such as credit cards or ATM cards, appear already in the periphery of representations, urgently needing well-concerted marketing efforts to become recognized as substitutes for cash. From a managerial view, the research employs social phenomena as a basis for segmenting natural rather than nominal groups in order to better serve consumers' needs in an increasingly connected social reality

Epistemic Exploitation

Epistemic exploitation occurs when privileged persons compel marginalized persons to educate them about the nature of their oppression. I argue that epistemic exploitation is marked by unrecognized, uncompensated, emotionally taxing, coerced epistemic labor. The coercive and exploitative aspects of the phenomenon are exemplified by the unpaid nature of the educational labor and its associated opportunity costs, the double bind that marginalized persons must navigate when faced with the demand to educate, and the need for additional labor created by the default skepticism of the privileged. I explore the connections between epistemic exploitation and the two varieties of epistemic injustice that Fricker (2007) identifies, testimonial and hermeneutical injustice. I situate epistemic exploitation within Dotson’s (2012; 2014) framework of epistemic oppression, and I address the role that epistemic exploitation plays in maintaining active ignorance and upholding dominant epistemic frameworks

Empowerment, Feminism and Self-Efficacy: Relationships with Disordered Body Image and Eating

Eating disorders are prevalent in the United States, relate to significant psychological and health problems, and primarily affect women. Sociocultural norms pertaining to an ideal of thinness for women are considered central in the development of disordered eating and disturbed body image. On the other hand, adoption of a feministic ideology, empowerment and self-efficacy are thought to have protective value with regards to body image and eating behavior. Undergraduate women (n = 184) enrolled in psychology classes completed selfreport measures of feminism, empowerment, self-efficacy, body image and eating attitudes/behavior. Inconsistent with hypotheses, there was no relationship between feminism and disordered eating. However, as hypothesized, positive perceptions of personal body image related positively with later stages of feminism. Negative body image and disordered eating were associated with lower self-efficacy, and, consistent with hypotheses, self-efficacy predicted disordered eating and body image beyond what was predicted by empowerment. Self-efficacy may serve as a protective factor for college aged women from disordered eating and negative body image, although the present study is limited by reliance on correlational rather than longitudinal data. Increased self-efficacy appears to be a promising treatment target in the context of eating and body image disorder treatment

Specifics of academic text translation strategy

In the article traditional and contemporary approaches to the concept of academic text translation strategy are analyzed. Academic text translation strategy is regarded as a special activity aimed at the identification, comprehension and transference of the typological dominant of the original academic text. Special attention is paid to objective and subjective factors that determine the use of the strategy in academic text translation