Most research studying the corporate social performance –corporate financial performance link has utilized developed country samples. Also, this literature has generally focused on a wide variety of industries, ignoring the fact that certain sectors – such as controversial industries – have graver social and environmental issues. Hence, a gap exists in this tradition when it comes to emerging markets and controversial industries. This paper attempts to fill this void by providing preliminary evidence and insight on the matter. Based on an (...) exploration in six Latin American countries and five controversial industries, we find a negative bidirectional association between CSP and CFP. These results tend to contradict the mainstream conclusion of a positive bidirectional link, suggesting that institutional and market-level forces play a major role in shaping this relationship. (shrink)

Even though the link between perceived corporate social responsibility fit and corporate reputation has received much attention from scholars, this tradition has ignored that the underpinnings of this association vary depending on the particular characteristics of each industry under study. To delve into this matter, we investigate in the increasingly relevant context of controversial industries how PCSR-fit could enhance corporate reputation and which are the mediating mechanisms of this association. Our academic contribution is twofold. First, we find that controversial sectors (...) indeed can increase corporate reputation through CSR activities. However, we find that to achieve this goal, the nature of PCSR-fit should be different than what extant literature indicates, because companies in these settings should directly focus on avoiding or reducing their inherent controversial harm or impact. Second, we evidence that “CSR initiatives' legitimacy” and “situational skepticism” mediate the PCSR-fit and corporate reputation relationship in CIs. Therefore, we further unravel the underpinnings of this association to advance what we know on the matter and aid practitioners in this particular context. (shrink)

Business Ethics: A European Review, EarlyView.

Papers on nanotechnology in the Scientific Electronic Library Online database were studied bibliometrically. The terms ‘nanotechnology’, ‘nanoparticle’, ‘graphene’, ‘fullerene’, ‘nanotube’ and ‘quantum dot’ were used for the search in their singular and plural forms in three languages, and a total of 1205 papers were selected for the study to assess the frequency rates of the study variables. The results of the study are presented in this article focusing on gender differences.

Self-harm is a potentially lethal symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD) that often improves with dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). While DBT is effective for reducing self-harm in many patients with BPD, a small but significant number of patients either does not improve in treatment or ends treatment prematurely. Accordingly, it is crucial to identify factors that may prospectively predict which patients are most likely to benefit from and remain in treatment. In the present preliminary study, twenty-nine actively self-harming patients with (...) BPD completed brain-imaging procedures probing activation of the prefrontal cortex during impulse control prior to beginning DBT and after seven months of treatment. Patients that reduced their frequency of self-harm the most over treatment displayed lower levels of neural activation in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex prior to beginning treatment, and they showed the greatest increases in activity within this region after seven months of treatment. Prior to starting DBT, treatment non-completers demonstrated greater activation than treatment-completers in the medial prefrontal cortex and right inferior frontal gyrus. Reductions in self-harm over the treatment period were associated with increases in activity in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex even after accounting for improvements in depression, mania, and BPD symptom severity. These findings suggest that pre-treatment patterns of activation in the prefrontal cortex underlying impulse control may be prospectively associated with improvements in self-harm and treatment attrition for patients with BPD treated with DBT. (shrink)

We would like to thank the authors of the commentaries for their critical appraisal of our feature article, Who is afraid of black box algorithms?1 Their comments, suggestions and concerns are various, and we are glad that our article contributes to the academic debate about the ethical and epistemic conditions for medical Explanatory AI. We would like to bring to attention a few issues that are common worries across reviewers. Most prominently are the merits of computational reliabilism —in particular, when (...) promoted as an alternative to transparency—and CR as necessary but not sufficient for delivering trust. We finalise our response by addressing concerns about the place and role of artificial intelligence in medical decision-making and the physician’s responsibilities. We understand the concerns and reservations that some of the reviewers express regarding the epistemic merits of CR. We believe that, in part, this is due to a practice too deeply rooted in transparency. But on …. (shrink)

In a matter of mere milliseconds, conversational partners can transform their expectations about the world in a way that accords with another person's perspective. At the same time, in similar situations, the exact opposite also appears to be true. Rather than being at odds, these findings suggest that there are multiple contextual and processing constraints that may guide when and how people consider perspective. These constraints are shaped by a host of factors, including the availability of social and environmental cues, (...) and intrinsic biases and cognitive abilities. To explain how these might be integrated in a new way forward, we turn to an adaptive account of interpersonal interaction. This account draws from basic principles of dynamical systems, principles that we argue are already expressed, both implicitly and explicitly, within a broad landscape of existing research. We then showcase an initial attempt to develop a computational framework to instantiate some of these principles. This framework, consisting of what we argue to be important mechanistic insights rendered by neural network models, is based on a promising and long-standing approach that has yet to take hold in the current domain. We argue that by bridging this gap, new insights into other theoretical accounts, such as the connections between memory and common ground information, might be revealed. (shrink)

Usualmente se tem tratado a interação entre ceticismo e cristianismo apoiando-se em textos restritos ao contexto da modernidade, e, consequentemente, ao que veio a ser denominado ‘fideísmo’, que consiste em levantar dúvidas céticas acerca de toda e qualquer doutrina ou argumentação racional, com vistas a demonstrar as contradições da razão e propor como alternativa um salto para a fé. Contudo, esse trabalho pretende fomentar a investigação da influência da abordagem e da dýnamis cética pirrônica antiga — portanto, não dubitativa, mas (...) investigativa, aporética e suspensiva — sobre obras de importantes pensadores do cristianismo antigo, quais sejam: ‘ Refutação de todas as heresias ’, de Hipólito de Roma, e ‘ Preparação para o evangelho ’, de Eusébio de Cesareia. (shrink)

La teoría de los valores, la axiología, a veces suele pasar muy inadvertida en los análisis que se hacen de la obra filosófica de Mario Bunge, o autores que siguen su línea de investigación como Gustavo Esteban Romero. En este artículo voy a repasar las principales concepciones básicas en teoría de valores de los dos filósofos citados (aunque se intentará no caer en un mero análisis escolástico), centrándome en las diferencias y coincidencias con tal de lograr luego una tentativa síntesis. (...) Se expone el proceder: primeramente se tratará de explicar cada sistema por separado, destacando todas sus similitudes e implicaciones, luego se contrastarán algunas diferencias, se discutirán estas y se tratará de conformar una teoría consistente que encare la axiología con todos los aportes hechos, como rama de la filosofía científica y general. (shrink)

El artículo analiza el rol que cumple la confianza en la construcción de la realidad social, argumentando que constituye uno de sus componentes esenciales. Lo es porque hace posible el nacimiento, permanencia y reconocimiento colectivo de las instituciones, así como su iteración y organización en subsistemas.

Una imagen muy generalizada a la hora de entender el software de computador es la que lo representa como una “caja negra”: no importa realmente saber qué partes lo componen internamente, sino qué resultados se obtienen de él según ciertos valores de entrada. Al hacer esto, muchos problemas filosóficos son ocultados, negados o simplemente mal entendidos. Este artículo discute tres unidades de análisis del software de computador, esto es, las especificaciones, los algoritmos y los procesos computacionales. El objetivo central es (...) entender las prácticas cientficas e ingenieriles detrás de cada unidad de software, así como analizar su metodología, ontología y epistemología. (shrink)

Susan Stebbing's Thinking to Some Purpose is analysed along the lines of contemporary efforts in critical thinking, and some of the problematized media material of her time. It is concluded that what Stebbing recommends is difficult to achieve, but worth the effort.Export citation.

In this article, I focus on the role of computer simulations as exploratory strategies. I begin by establishing the non-theory-driven nature of simulations. This refers to their ability to characterize phenomena without relying on a predefined conceptual framework that is provided by an implemented mathematical model. Drawing on Steinle’s notion of exploratory experimentation and Gelfert’s work on exploratory models, I present three exploratory strategies for computer simulations: (1) starting points and continuation of scientific inquiry, (2) varying the parameters, and (3) (...) scientific prototyping. (shrink)

Nuestro objetivo es examinar el tratamiento que ofreció Ludwig Wittgenstein en Sobre la certeza al problema escéptico del mundo externo, el cual consiste en la imposibilidad de conocer el mundo empírico. Reconstruiremos este problema a partir del argumento del sueño de René Descartes. Wittgenstein responde que la existencia de un mundo circundante al observador forma parte de las asunciones de los juegos del lenguaje, de modo que el problema es inadmisible. Evaluaremos el abordaje wittgensteiniano y lo entenderemos como una propuesta (...) contextualista que disuelve el problema mediante una reconsideración de sus presupuestos. La lectura contextualista que ofreceremos defiende que los estándares de atribución de verdad, significado y sentido son sensitivos a un contexto de enunciación, que en la obra wittgensteiniana toma el nombre de juego de lenguaje. (shrink)

RESUMEN Se discuten las nociones de filosofía y espiritualidad, tratadas por M. Foucault en La hermenéutica del sujeto, que relacionan el sujeto con la verdad. Si la filosofía del conócete a ti mismo trata la relación cognoscitiva del sujeto con la verdad a la que tiene derecho, entonces la espiritualidad del cuidado de sí trata de la transformación experiencial que requiere la verdad para que el sujeto acceda a ella. Este es el contexto en el que M. Foucault se refiere (...) a M. Heidegger y J. Lacan como los autores que pensaron la relación entre el sujeto y la verdad. Se discute en ambos casos la distinción entre la filosofía y la espiritualidad: en Lacan, porque la experiencia psicoanalítica aparece como vivencia espiritual del cuidado de sí; en Heidegger, porque el Dasein y la verdad como desocultamiento muestran la filosofía como actividad espiritual por excelencia. ABSTRACT The article discusses the notions of philosophy and spirituality relating the subject to truth, as dealt with by M. Foucault in The Hermeneutics of the Subject. While the philosophy of “know thyself” deals with the cognitive relation of subjects to the truth they have a right to, the spirituality of the care of the self has to do with the experiential transformation necessary for subjects to have access to truth. It is in this context that M. Foucault refers to M. Heidegger and J. Lacan as authors who thought the relation between subject and truth. In both cases, the distinction between philosophy and spirituality is discussed: in the case of Lacan, because the psychoanalytical experience appears as a spiritual experience of the care of the self, and in that of Heidegger, because Dasein and truth as unveiling reveal philosophy to be a spiritual experience par excellence. (shrink)

Considers the potential of autopoiesis theory to provide an alternate unifying framework for the study of organizations as systems and of organizational phenomena as emergent phenomena. This title includes papers that integrate open systems theory with the pioneering work of Maturana and Varela (1980, 1992) on autopoiesis in biological systems.

Abductive problems and their solutions are presented by means of justification logic. We introduce additional meta-constructions in order to generate and compare different solutions to the same abductive problem. Our approach has three advantages: (i) it makes structurally explicit the solution to an abductive problem (as it has a syntactic nature); (ii) it gives a precise meaning to the notion of evidence; (iii) it provides clear definitions and procedures for the comparison of solutions that can be adapted to different needs.

In the present text there are exposed some central aspects of the critique realized by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze to the historicism. From Friedrich Nietzsche's work, specially of his Theory of the last man exposed in Thus Spoke Zarathustra and of his text “On the Use and Abuse of History for Life”, it is possible to accuse the character mystified of the ideas of progress, evolutionism and of the thought of the Illustration in which Hegel's philosophy is inserted. Also (...) some relations are established between the circular and linear conception of the history and his political and ethical connotations.And simultaneously the relation is underlined between history and myth from allusions to Plato, Kant and the Great Statement of the Modernity. (shrink)

In this paper I question the primacy of argumentation relying solely on logic by showing how the body and mind are deeply connected and as a result how communication and argumentation are a product of this mind/body connection. In particular, I explore the physicality of argumentation through the research and writings on gestures and the embodied mind. Michael Gilbert’s theory of multi-modal argumentation provides the general approach for this elaboration.

Three areas of rights violation for women and young girls across the globe are examined with an eye toward the specificity of the violation, and possible areas of help. The work of internationalists such as Bales and Sagade is adduced, and other thinkers such as Dorkenoo are cited. It is concluded that much work needs to be done in this area and that more overtly feminist theological views, in any of the major religions, would help.

This book explores questions surrounding material memory, culture and technology, and examines the active and constitutive role that technical artefacts play in our practices of memory. Interdisciplinary in nature, the book’s argument includes themes unusual in memory studies, such as the production of technology and the concept of nature.

Sati as a trope for the general status of women within certain portions of the Hindu cultures of India is examined, with a view toward clarification of its history and current context. The work of Sangari and Vaid, Banerjee and Mala Sen is cited, and the notion that sati is a misappropriated concept is analyzed.

Some varieties that are extensions of relational algebras with two constants that play the role of projections are studied. The classes have as a subvariety the abstract fork algebra equivalent variety involving projections. They are obtained by weakening some laws valid in AFA. Some applications of the varieties in the literature and in the specification of abstract data types are exhibited. For each of the classes obtained, an answer is given to the question: 'Is the relational reduct of the class (...) representable?'. For the subvarieties formed with the models that have a representable relational reduct, a representation theorem is proved. For them the finitization problem is studied. Next the varieties presented are compared by means of the inclusion order. For each class the problem of characterizing finite models is considered. Simple models in the varieties are studied. Finally the existence of equivalent classes with a binary operation like fork is studied. (shrink)

The notion that epistemoIogy can be naturalized by advertence to areas of the sociaI sciences other than psychoIogy---by employment of sociolinguistics, for exampIe---is supported by three lines of argument. The first asks us to note that sociolinguistics provides information that wouId heIp us delineate the constraints of the process of epistemic justification as engaged in by a speaker/listener. The second asks us to take into account the socioIogy of Ianguage w ork of Erving Goffman, who has written extensiveIy on “face-saving” (...) strategies and other non-verbaI devices. The third repeats a constructed naturaIized justificatory set from previous work in epistemoIogy and asks us to envision this set with riders from Goffmanian theory. It is concluded that naturalized epistemoIogy can and shouId draw from many areas of the sociaI sciences. (shrink)

The work of Cox, Bales, Dingwaney, and others is cited in an effort to construct an argument about the special rights violations of contemporary slavery. It is contended that two forms, debt bondage and sexual slavery, are related and bear close examination.

Several lines of argument are presented to support the notion that hooved animal rescue is justified, however expensive and controversial. The work of Singer and McNamee is discussed. The article concludes that various breeds have distinct arguments in their favour when it comes to rescue.

In this paper, a number of lines of argument buttress and support the contention that Dirty Hands is a comparatively undervalued part of the Sartrean oeuvre. Using commentary from Bell and Pellauer, and employing categories relevant also to the work of Beauvoir and Camus, the paper comes to the conclusion that Hugo, as the central character of the play, is an exemplary Sartrean protagonist, and that the play is worthy of more attention than it has received. An important part of (...) the central assertion is that the play is as critical a part of the Sartrean dramatic canon as The Flies and No Exit. (shrink)

Examining the writings of Katherine Parr both from the standpoint of metaphysical issues of her time and her status as a writer of the Tudor era, it is concluded that Queen Katherine had a developed humanist ontology, and one that coincided with a great deal of the new learning of the Henrician period, whether stridently Protestant or not. Analyses from James, Dubrow, and McConica are alluded to, and a comparison is made to some of the currents at work in English (...) intellectual life at that time. (shrink)