Commitment to business ethics in UK organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to determine the commitment to business ethics in UK corporations. This study reports on the responses of those organizations that participated in the survey and possessed a code of ethics.Design/methodology/approach – An unsolicited questionnaire was sent to the top 500 private sector organizations by market capitalization in the UK. A total of 92 companies responded, of which 56 possessed a code of ethics.Findings – The empirical findings indicate that the processes involved in developing business ethics commitment have begun to be recognized and acted upon at an organizational level. The supporting measures of business ethics commitment appear to be under-utilized by many of these UK organizations. This suggests that many organizations have not so far developed a strong organizational commitment to embedding their codes of ethics into organizational practices.Research limitations/implications – While the responses provided a rich picture of organizational actions, further research exploring internal culture and attitudes would add to an understanding of organizational commitment.Practical implications – It is found that in order to influence practice, it is not enough to have the artefacts of an ethical culture, such as codes, without ensuring that all employees are assisted in understanding what is required of them.Originality/value – Despite a history of business ethics research, there are a limited number of studies seeking to understand UK companies\u27 commitment to ethical codes. The paper provides guidance on steps that organizations can take to develop a higher level of commitment

Water literacy and citizenship: education for sustainable domestic water use in the East Midlands

In Britain, projected population rise and climate change threaten future water availability. UK water companies run education programmes to encourage more efficient usage, but these tend to focus on primary schools and adults, missing the opportunity to engage secondary school pupils as the next generation of homeowners and bill payers. Educational interventions also traditionally follow the theory of rational choice, envisaging learners as able to change their attitudes and behaviours in accordance with newly acquired information. Sociological research on social practices and ordinary consumption, however, sees water as playing an inconspicuous role in daily domestic activities. Technological infrastructure and prevalent social norms mould behaviour and limit the ability of water users to alter their consumption. This interdisciplinary thesis attempts to break the impasse between works from educational and sociological perspectives, using the theoretical lens of water citizenship. A review of current water education provision in the East Midlands region was undertaken, and a school-based study involving questionnaires, focus groups and exploratory lessons around water. The young people involved in the study tended to show ambivalence towards water conservation, despite general pro-environmental motivations. While some teenagers perceived they were ‘doing their bit’ for the environment, this tended to be limited to accepting and invoking ‘water saving tips’, and many teenagers eschewed water conservation altogether. These findings indicate that innovative educational programmes are needed to raise the standard of water literacy in the UK. This thesis argues firstly for making water use more ‘visible’ in daily activities, by deconstructing the routines and habits that use water, and by recognising the influences that social norms exert on water use. Secondly, it argues that educational initiatives for water literacy could develop young people’s sense of citizenship and responsibility towards water resources by connecting personal actions to impacts at local, national and global scales

Investigating the complexities of mentoring teachers through an inquiry of mentors’ perspectives

Mentoring has the potential to benefit preservice, new teachers, and experienced teachers, but it is a complex process with few agreements about what might make it most effective. Furthermore, due to teacher demographics affecting the availability of veteran teachers, mentors are consequently drawn from various career points, and some of them have few years of teaching experience. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the complexities of mentoring, particularly of the role that age, experience, and situational factors might play in their work. To pursue this study, I used these research questions: What are the goals and approaches of these six mentors in mentoring new teachers? How do these six mentors carry out that approach? How are mentors’ perspectives impacted by situational factors within a formal program such as working conditions and expectations? I examined mentors’ perspectives about their experiences to give insight as to how to develop the overall support structure of formal mentoring for new teachers. Through in‐depth qualitative research interviews and document analysis, I investigated mentors’ perspectives on their particular set of experiences within a formal mentoring program. Through inductive analysis, my study yielded information about whether and how mentors at different career points identify and understand their mentoring. Even though I anticipated experience would impact the goals and approaches of mentors, my first key finding was that these mentors with varying amounts of teaching experience shared similar goals and approaches. The second key finding was that situational and programmatic factors supported collaboration among the mentors and supported the development of common goals and a common approach. The third key finding was that the structure of the VA program helped to foster collective responsibility for the new teachers amongst the mentor team, and this may have reinforced the mentors’ similar goals and approaches. Given these findings that years of teaching experience may not always be a critical factor in mentors’ approaches, this study shows the potential importance of shared experience and socialization within a mentor team, and scaffolding within a mentoring program

The pleasure imperative? Reflecting on sexual pleasure’s inclusion in sex education and sexual health

This article offers an empirically grounded contribution to scholarship exploring the ways in which pleasure is ‘put to work’ in sex and sexuality education. Such research has cautioned against framing pleasure as a normative requirement of sexual activity and hence reproducing a ‘pleasure imperative’. This paper draws on interviews with sexual health and education practitioners who engaged with Pleasure Project resources and training between 2007 and 2016. Findings suggest that practitioners tend to understand pleasure within critical frameworks that allow them to avoid normalising and (re)enforcing a pleasure imperative. Accounts also show negotiations with, and strategic deployments of, values surrounding sexual pleasure in society and culture. While some accounts suggest that a pleasure imperative does run the risk of being reproduced by practitioners, notably this is when discussing more ‘contentious’ sexual practices. Interviews also demonstrate that practitioners attempting to implement a pleasure agenda are faced with a range of challenges. While some positive, holistic, and inclusive practice has been afforded by a pleasure approach, we argue that the importance of a critical framework needs to be (re)emphasised. The paper concludes by highlighting areas for further empirical research

Communicating the ethos of corporate codes of ethics in the UK and the USA

Business ethics has been a consideration for corporations in the USA since at least the early 1960s, whilst in the UK this interest in business ethics appears to be just over 20 years old. In a survey of the top 500 companies operating in the private sector in the UK and the USA, it would appear that corporations operating in the UK have embraced the ethos of codes of ethics differently to their USA counterparts and that this difference may well be in line with their different adoption rates over the last 50 years of the need for business ethics in organizations. The USA seems to lead the UK in most areas, except when it comes to ethical audits and incorporating the ethics code into the strategic planning process. Could this omission in respect to strategic planning be the Achilles Heel of US business?<br /

Water literacy and citizenship: education for sustainable domestic water use in the East Midlands

In Britain, projected population rise and climate change threaten future water availability. UK water companies run education programmes to encourage more efficient usage, but these tend to focus on primary schools and adults, missing the opportunity to engage secondary school pupils as the next generation of homeowners and bill payers. Educational interventions also traditionally follow the theory of rational choice, envisaging learners as able to change their attitudes and behaviours in accordance with newly acquired information. Sociological research on social practices and ordinary consumption, however, sees water as playing an inconspicuous role in daily domestic activities. Technological infrastructure and prevalent social norms mould behaviour and limit the ability of water users to alter their consumption. This interdisciplinary thesis attempts to break the impasse between works from educational and sociological perspectives, using the theoretical lens of water citizenship. A review of current water education provision in the East Midlands region was undertaken, and a school-based study involving questionnaires, focus groups and exploratory lessons around water. The young people involved in the study tended to show ambivalence towards water conservation, despite general pro-environmental motivations. While some teenagers perceived they were ‘doing their bit’ for the environment, this tended to be limited to accepting and invoking ‘water saving tips’, and many teenagers eschewed water conservation altogether. These findings indicate that innovative educational programmes are needed to raise the standard of water literacy in the UK. This thesis argues firstly for making water use more ‘visible’ in daily activities, by deconstructing the routines and habits that use water, and by recognising the influences that social norms exert on water use. Secondly, it argues that educational initiatives for water literacy could develop young people’s sense of citizenship and responsibility towards water resources by connecting personal actions to impacts at local, national and global scales

A cross-sectional study of the individual, social, and built environmental correlates of pedometer-based physical activity among elementary school children

Background: Children who participate in regular physical activity obtain health benefits. Preliminary pedometerbased cut-points representing sufficient levels of physical activity among youth have been established; however limited evidence regarding correlates of achieving these cut-points exists. The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of pedometer-based cut-points among elementary school-aged children.Method: A cross-section of children in grades 5-7 (10-12 years of age) were randomly selected from the most (n = 13) and least (n = 12) &lsquo;walkable&rsquo; public elementary schools (Perth, Western Australia), stratified by socioeconomic status. Children (n = 1480; response rate = 56.6%) and parents (n = 1332; response rate = 88.8%) completed a survey, and steps were collected from children using pedometers. Pedometer data were categorized to reflect the sex-specific pedometer-based cut-points of &ge;15000 steps/day for boys and &ge;12000 steps/day for girls. Associations between socio-demographic characteristics, sedentary and active leisure-time behavior, independent mobility, active transportation and built environmental variables - collected from the child and parent surveys - and meeting pedometer-based cut-points were estimated (odds ratios: OR) using generalized estimating equations.Results: Overall 927 children participated in all components of the study and provided complete data. On average, children took 11407 &plusmn; 3136 steps/day (boys: 12270 &plusmn; 3350 vs. girls: 10681 &plusmn; 2745 steps/day; p &lt; 0.001) and 25.9% (boys: 19.1 vs. girls: 31.6%; p &lt; 0.001) achieved the pedometer-based cut-points. After adjusting for all other variables and school clustering, meeting the pedometer-based cut-points was negatively associated (p &lt; 0.05) with being male (OR = 0.42), parent self-reported number of different destinations in the neighborhood (OR 0.93), and a friend&rsquo;s (OR 0.62) or relative&rsquo;s (OR 0.44, boys only) house being at least a 10-minute walk from home. Achieving the pedometer-based cut-points was positively associated with participating in screen-time &lt; 2 hours/day (OR 1.88), not being driven to school (OR 1.48), attending a school located in a high SES neighborhood (OR 1.33), the average number of steps among children within the respondent&rsquo;s grade (for each 500 step/day increase: OR 1.29), and living further than a 10-minute walk from a relative&rsquo;s house (OR 1.69, girls only).Conclusions: Comprehensive multi-level interventions that reduce screen-time, encourage active travel to/from school and foster a physically active classroom culture might encourage more physical activity among children.<br /

Special Low Protein Foods in the UK: An Examination of Their Macronutrient Composition in Comparison to Regular Foods

Special low protein foods (SLPFs) are essential in a low phenylalanine diet for treating phenylketonuria (PKU). With little known about their nutritional composition, all SLPFs on UK prescription were studied (n = 146) and compared to equivalent protein-containing foods (n = 190). SLPF nutritional analysis was obtained from suppliers/manufacturers. Comparable information about regular protein-containing foods was obtained from online UK supermarkets. Similar foods were grouped together, with mean nutritional values calculated for each subgroup (n = 40) and percentage differences determined between SLPFs and regular food subgroups. All SLPF subgroups contained 43−100% less protein than regular foods. Sixty-three percent (n = 25/40) of SLPF subgroups contained less total fat with palm oil (25%, n = 36/146) and hydrogenated vegetable oil (23%, n = 33/146) key fat sources. Sixty-eight percent (n = 27/40) of SLPF subgroups contained more carbohydrate, with 72% (n = 105/146) containing added sugar. Key SLPF starch sources were maize/corn (72%; n = 105/146). Seventy-seven percent (n = 113/146) of SLPFs versus 18% (n = 34/190) of regular foods contained added fibre, predominantly hydrocolloids. Nine percent of SLPFs contained phenylalanine >25 mg/100 g and sources of phenylalanine/protein in their ingredient lists. Stricter nutritional composition regulations for SLPFs are required, identifying maximum upper limits for macronutrients and phenylalanine, and fat and carbohydrate sources that are associated with healthy outcomes