‘Is it worth doing this or is it better to commit suicide?’: On ethical clearance at a university
研究揭示大学社会科学研究的伦理审查流程如何适得其反，催生消极态度和博弈行为，并提出了“荒诞化”和“荒诞统治”等新概念来描述这种组织现象。
The article examines the formal process of ‘ethical clearance’ for social science research at a large university and illuminates how it functions to undermine its stated purpose. We find that rather than promoting ethical standards, the bureaucratic process creates negative and cynical attitudes and game playing. For almost all participants, the entire procedure is counterproductive and experienced as absurd, creating a boomerang effect. The findings reveal how a specific rationalization effort leads to widespread experiences of irrationality, where detailed and strict organization merges with experiences of the bizarre. The article develops concepts capturing the experience and resulting organizational type: ‘orbizzarization’ and ‘absurdocracy’. These concepts enrich our understanding of toxic/irrational organizations, including Kafkaesque organizations.