ON THE ISSUE OF THE BYLINA PLOTS’ FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION

The classification of epic plots proposed by the Pudoga bylina narrator F.A. Konashkov still remains largely undefined in scholarly literature, though its analysis is important for historical functional appreciation of the Russian epic folklore. According to A.M. Linevskii, F.A. Konashkov selected his bylinas taking into account the gender-and-age, family, professional, and social status of his listeners (i.e., there are bylinas for young people, married couples, the military, the Heads, the merchants, etc.) and that principle, however plain in some aspects, implies a special understanding by the bylina narrator of his repertoire. Since it is inconceivable that the bylinas being intended for one class of listeners turned out to be – in terms of their language or composition – difficult for another, it seems only logical to conclude that the division in question is based on a certain extra-aesthetic principle. As shown by a comparative axiological analysis of each bylina group, all epic songs here are united by a similar didactic moral intent, an affirmation of comparable spiritual values and, consequently, a denial of categories and notions opposed to them. Therefore, F.A. Konashkov’s classification indicates those spiritual therapeutic tasks that could challenge Russian bylina narrators in a situation of the oral text’s “natural” existence – and, accordingly, can be applied to the whole corpus of national epic folklore.

Staging Desdemona in African time: A conversation with Peter Sellars

For the past 40 years, Peter Sellars has been one of the most innovative, eclectic and prolific directors in Western theatre. A deeply cultivated and politically committed practitioner whose vision and craft span a multitude of widely divergent theatrical traditions, genres and styles, Sellars has established his international reputation as a polymath in the performing arts. With more than 100 productions to his name, including community-based, transnational and transcontinental work, Sellars is known worldwide for his contemporary interpretations of canonical plays and operas that combine radical imagery, technical virtuosity, structural rigour, intellectual depth, social critique and moral intent. In this interview, he shares details about his collaboration with African American writer Toni Morrison and Malian musician Rokia Traoré in the creation of Desdemona (2012), a cross-cultural adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello, talking about theatre as ritual, directorial choices, acting as channelling and intertextuality.

Article 50 and Beyond

Written in early 2017, in the aftermath of the United Kingdom's vote in June 2016 to leave the European Union and the election, in November of that year, of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, this brief article argues for an activist scholarly ethic. The author calls himself and the qualitative inquiry community to (re)commit to urgent political and moral intent.

Anti-money laundering and moral intensity in suspicious activity reporting

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the influence Jones’ Moral Intensity Model (1991) has on the decision-making process of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance officers charged with reporting suspicious money laundering transactions in Jersey.Design/methodology/approachTen interviews were conducted to elicit participants’ views on the six dimensions of moral intensity and their influence on the compliance officers’ decision to submit a suspicious activity report (SAR) of potential money laundering.FindingsThe findings indicate that the officers’ moral intensity to submit a SAR seems to be heavily influenced by issue-specific contextual factors. Contexts (legal and legislative mandates) seem to have more of an effect on the moral intent and actions of the officers rather than directly affecting the decision to submit a report of a suspicious money laundering transaction.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper lays the groundwork for further work in this area and calls on researchers to develop instruments that can enhance the measurements of the dimensions of moral intensity.Practical implicationsThe setting (AML in the financial sector) is both timely and extremely interesting to keep studying, particularly in Jersey because of its dubious sensitive particularities.Originality/valueThe study is the first to examine Jersey AML sector through the lens of moral intensity. In this sense, the paper poses interesting questions, namely, to explore the dynamic complexities experienced by compliance officers in Jersey to detect and report suspicious money laundering activities and the decision-making criteria of actually submitting a SAR.

«Por voloir castoier li coarz et li van»: lettura dell’Entrée d’Espagne

The anonymous Padovano, author of the Entrée d’Espagne, writes to admonish and educate the knights and the rulers of his time: his explicit aim is to «castoier li coarz et li van». Therefore, it is not surprising that the story of the chanson is provided with a moral intent. The knights of the Entrée often disobey Charlemagne’s orders because of their pride and wrath. Also Roland, the best Christian knight, is affected by these vices, as the episode of the conquest of Nobles shows. His adventure in the Orient can be read as a penitential route, at the end of which he learns the high value of humility. Given the moral goal of the text, the author proposes to date the Entrée in the early decades of the fourteenth century (between 1312 and 1328), when the Paduan commune and the Trevisan March were upset by civil wars, determined by the violence and the vicious ambitions of the local nobility.

Paths of Glory and the Tyranny of the Greater Good

In Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) the individual's moral intent is distorted, compromised, and eventually co-opted by the overriding utilitarian ethic of ensuring the survival of the system – the ultimate ‘greater good’ – at all costs. The individual may challenge the system in a noble quest for justice, like Dax. He may hypocritically seek professional advancement from striving to serve it, like Mireau. Or he may cynically manipulate it for political purposes, like Broulard. In each case, the consequences are ultimately the same – the individual is forced to align his particular moral vision, however noble or ignoble, with the imperative of the greater good. The individual may resist or affirm the system and achieve some level of moral consistency and purity, but only momentarily and with limited success. In the end, whatever the value or relevance of the individual conscience to a particular situation, it is overridden by the demands of the greater good.

Moral decision making: searching for the highest expected moral value

This article offers a new way to conceptualize decision making in regard to ethical dilemmas and complex social issues. The framework provided here identifies steps essential to achieving the highest expected moral value. This process is complex but practical. The purpose is to help academics, students and practitioners in escaping from a simple black and white logic. The framework proposed here attempts to help analysts objectively assess the positives and the negatives associated with a given course of action in order to achieve the best possible outcome. All dilemmas have multiple solutions but too often we reach simple conclusions without addressing consequences. Clearly good moral intent can produce serious harm. Sometimes one may have to choose between the two; good moral intent versus good moral consequences