Restaurant management and food waste reduction: factors affecting attitudes and intentions in restaurants of Spain

Purpose Although the challenge of food waste (FW) in the foodservice sector is significant, restaurant managers do not always engage in its reduction. The psychological reasons for this disengagement remain insufficiently understood. This study aims to explore the antecedents of behavioural intention of restaurateurs (not) to reduce FW. The influence of three factors is tested, namely, market orientation; environmental apathy alongside selected neutralization techniques, namely, appeal to higher loyalties; denial of injury and denial of responsibility. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the method of a large-scale managerial survey (n = 292) administered in the commercial foodservice sector of Spain. The data are analysed via structural equation modelling with partial least squares. Findings The study finds that market orientation affects managerial intention to reduce FW but not their attitude, while environmental apathy influences managerial attitudes but not their behavioural intention. The study confirms the negative effect of such neutralizers as the appeal to higher loyalties and the denial of injury on suppressing managerial intention to reduce FW. Contrary to initial anticipations, another established neutralizer, the denial of responsibility, exerts no significant effect. Practical implications The study elaborates on the interventions necessitated to neutralize the effect of the neutralizers on managerial (un)willingness to reduce FW in the commercial foodservice sector. Originality/value This is the first known attempt to understand the drivers of managerial engagement in FW reduction in the commercial foodservice sector through the prism of environmental apathy, market orientation and neutralization theory.

Why and how science students in the United States think their peers cheat more frequently online: perspectives during the COVID-19 pandemic

Academic integrity establishes a code of ethics that transfers over into the job force and is a critical characteristic in scientists in the twenty-first century. A student’s perception of cheating is influenced by both internal and external factors that develop and change through time. For students, the COVID-19 pandemic shrank their academic and social environments onto a computer screen. We surveyed science students in the United States at the end of their first COVID-interrupted semester to understand how and why they believed their peers were cheating more online during a pandemic. Almost 81% of students indicated that they believed cheating occurred more frequently online than in-person. When explaining why they believed this, students touched on proctoring, cheating influences, and extenuating circumstances due to COVID-19. When describing how they believed cheating occurred more frequently online, students touched on methods for cheating and surreptitious behavior. The student reasonings were associated with four theories (game theory, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, neutralization theory, and planned behavior theory) that have been used to examine academic dishonesty. Our results can aid institutions in efforts to quell student concerns about their peers cheating during emergencies. Interestingly, most student beliefs were mapped to planned behavior theory while only a few students were mapped to neutralization theory, suggesting it was a novel modality of assessment rather than a pandemic that shaped student perceptions.

Supporting the President in a #NotMyPresident Context: Experiences of College-Aged Trump Supporters at a Southern University

In light of sexual misconduct allegations involving the former president of the United States, this study analyzes the reasons some university students provide for their continued support of Donald Trump. Relying on ten semi-structured qualitative interviews with college students who align with the president, this paper identifies three interrelated stages making up a model of support. First, students identify their conservative worldviews as helping to explain their initial support of Trump. Second, given the numerous accusations leveled against the president in the media, students readily use neutralization tactics to counter these narratives and rationalize their continued support. Finally, they feel vilified at their university and elsewhere for supporting Trump, and they find it necessary to conceal their opinions. Such experiences do not contribute to them questioning their beliefs. On the contrary, they lead to more entrenched and rigid support of the president. By identifying this three-stage process and applying neutralization theory to better understand it, this paper contributes to the existing sociological literature on the persistence of conservatism in the United States today.

The Neutralization Theory of Hatred

We argue herein that, while often conceptualized as an extreme form of anger, hatred is a human emotion distinct from anger, with unique triggers, conceptual orientations, and terminating conditions. An examination of the social conditions of our species’ evolutionary history reveals that hatred evolved to address its own distinct adaptive problem: individuals whose existence was -- on balance -- costly to the hater. Because a well-designed system for solving this problem would have been tailored toward neutralizing those costs, we call this hypothesis ‘the neutralization theory of hatred.’ This theory places the features of hatred within a functional framework. Specifically, we argue that hatred is triggered by cues that an individual’s existence causes fitness decrements for the hater. Cognitively, hatred orients the mind so as to view costs heaped onto the hated person as benefits to the hater -- thus motivating spiteful behavior -- and can be characterized as maintaining a negative intrinsic welfare tradeoff parameter toward the hated person. Behaviorally, hatred can motivate either avoidance or a predatory style cost infliction strategy that is designed to weaken, incapacitate, or terminate the target. Hatred can be a dangerous emotion, and we believe a more thorough understanding of its evolved function is crucial for developing strategies that help mitigate its costs to society at large.

Illegal Waste Dumping under a Municipal Solid Waste Charging Scheme: Application of the Neutralization Theory

Illegal waste dumping has become a threat to human health and the global environment. In Hong Kong, the government has proposed a quantity-based municipal solid waste charging scheme to reduce waste. However, individuals may still dispose of waste improperly, even if such a scheme has been implemented. In this study, the neutralization theory was adopted and an online survey with 273 respondents was conducted to examine the reasons for improper dumping intentions. A principal component analysis identified two types of neutralization: intrinsic neutralization (including denial of responsibility, denial of injury, and defense of necessity) and extrinsic neutralization (including condemnation of the condemners and appeal to higher loyalties). A regression analysis showed that intrinsic neutralization and gender were significant factors for illegal waste dumping intentions when attitude toward illegal waste dumping was controlled.

'I KNOW WHAT I DID IS WRONG, BUT…': INVESTIGATING THE FACTORS OF STUDENTS' MORAL REASONING (ABSENTEEISM)

This study wants to explore and examine the relationship between potential factors and the student's moral reasoning. Reasoning on moral decisions occurred when students should make a judgment of pursuing their academic goals. Several studies have tried to explain this from various perspectives. Every student was taken for granted to understand his ethical decisions in the academic process. However, the understanding showed that moral awareness has not correlated with the academic score (GPA) and gender variable. This research used quantitative method. The participants in this research were 521 students from 29 departments. The moral reasoning scale was measured by construct validity. Covariate analysis was used to generate a multivariable model. Based on the neutralization theory, the research found that the tendency to make justifications on immoral behaviour is higher for male students and is significantly done by the students at the GPA's level ranging from 2.01 to 2.5. The characteroriented learning process is essential to help students in developing their moral awareness. Lack of understanding of how moral decisions to be made indicates a gap in the academic process which is dominated cognitive aspect. Imposing sanctions without character training does not provide a solution to problems that appear to be a small issue in education but can have a significant detrimental impact when the student immerses and works in society.Keywords: socio-demographics, moral reasoning, education, students ‘SAYA TAHU APA YANG SAYA LAKUKAN ITU SALAH, TETAPI…’: INVESTIGASI FAKTOR-FAKTOR PENALARAN MORAL MAHASISWA (ABSENSI) Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan mengeksplorasi dan menguji hubungan antara faktor-faktor potensial dan penalaran moral siswa. Penalaran keputusan moral terjadi ketika siswa harus membuat keputusan untuk mengejar tujuan akademis mereka. Beberapa penelitian telah mencoba menjelaskan hal ini dari berbagai sudut pandang. Setiap siswa dianggap biasa untuk memahami keputusan etisnya dalam proses akademik. Namun, pemahaman tersebut menunjukkan bahwa kesadaran moral tidak berhubungan dengan variabel nilai akademik (IPK) dan jenis kelamin. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif. Partisipan dalam penelitian ini adalah 521 mahasiswa dari 29 jurusan. Skala penalaran moral diukur dengan validitas konstruk. Analisis kovariat digunakan untuk menghasilkan model multivariabel. Berdasarkan teori netralisasi, penelitian menemukan bahwa kecenderungan pembenaran atas perilaku asusila lebih tinggi pada mahasiswa laki-laki dan secara signifikan dilakukan oleh mahasiswa pada level IPK berkisar antara 2,01 sampai 2,5. Proses pembelajaran yang berorientasi pada karakter sangat penting untuk membantu mahasiswa dalam mengembangkan kesadaran moralnya. Kurangnya pemahaman tentang bagaimana keputusan moral akan diambil mengindikasikan adanya kesenjangan dalam proses akademik yang didominasi aspek kognitif. Pemberlakuan sanksi tanpa pelatihan karakter tidak memberikan solusi atas masalah yang tampaknya menjadi masalah kecil dalam pendidikan tetapi dapat memiliki dampak merugikan yang signifikan ketika mahasiswa membenamkan diri dan bekerja di masyarakat. Kata Kunci: sosio-demografi, penalaran moral, pendidikan, mahasiswa