The research purpose of the study is to investigate and identify correlates of ethical behaviour and attitudes of individuals currently working or pursuing a business‐related graduate degree in Cyprus. Analysis of the quantitative questionnaire revealed that the majority of the respondents had a concept of ‘ethical behaviour’, consider ethics important, and hold attitudes that are conducive to ethical behaviour in business. In addition, findings revealed significant differences in three correlates: age, gender and position. Finally, reflecting the findings, the authors suggest (...) specific actions that aim to improve ethical decision making in the Cyprus business environment. (shrink)

Accountants are neither devoid of ethical dilemmas nor are they immune from financial scandals. In order to improve the credibility of the profession, it is important to study the personal values that qualified and trainee accountants consider important. Using Maccoby's instrument, which measures ‘head’ and ‘heart’ values, qualified accountants (chartered and certified) and trainee accountants were surveyed for the first time in a European Union member country (Cyprus) to ascertain their character ethical traits/personal values. Accountants were found to value ‘head’ (...) more than ‘heart’ traits and there were no gender differences. For male respondents, age and years of professional experience were significant correlates of the importance attributed to head traits, while having religious beliefs was associated with valuing heart traits more. Finally, the implications for accounting education and the professional bodies are considered. (shrink)

The purpose of this research was to investigate, for the first time, tertiary education students’ ethical judgements in the Republic of Cyprus academic environment. The authors developed and administered a quantitative questionnaire to a sample of 1,000 individuals currently pursuing accredited degrees at two tertiary institutions. Statistical analysis revealed four factors, named violation of school regulations, selfishness, cheating, and computer ethics that describe students’ ethical judgements in the academic environment. The results indicate that students exhibit the lowest tolerance with ethical (...) issues relevant with selfishness and highest with issues relevant with computer ethics. In addition, a number of differences were revealed when the authors investigated the relationship between the four retained factors and variables such as gender, year of study, type of academic discipline, and religion. Finally, reflecting on the research findings, a number of practical recommendations are made mainly to educational institutions that wish to redefine their policies and procedures regarding ethics within their academic environment. (shrink)

The compliance officers' (CO) profession has been evolving over the last few decades. The expectations placed upon the individuals holding such a position vary across jurisdictions, but they are all expected to ensure employees and management of the business entity comply with the law. Given the limited research on CO in Europe, and the increasing public interest in this profession, the current authors have carried out a survey in Cyprus in an effort to map out and contextualize the CO' profession. (...) The findings illustrate CO's academic and professional qualifications, their awareness of their legal liability, the level of knowledge and job performance of their duties as prescribed by law, as well as gaps in the performance of duties as expected by management, boards, and regulators. The policy implications derived from the study suggest coherence and synergies to be found through common exam and postgraduate qualification in the field of financial compliance. (shrink)

Quelle conception de la science proposer aujourd'hui? Les grandes doctrines du XXe siècle se sont heurtées successivement à des difficultés, que ce soit le positivisme du Cercle de Vienne ou le rationalisme critique de Popper. Même la perspective historique inspirée par Bachelard et par Kuhn a donné lieu à des versions disparates. Pourtant, toutes ces tentatives partent d'un même constat : l'échec de la vision classique de la science et la nécessité d'un nouveau discours. On peut en retracer l'histoire. Face (...) à la pluralité des hypothèses possibles au sujet de l'espace, du temps et de la matière, Poincaré pose l'existence de conventions, ou mieux de libres décisions, au cœur de la science. Ainsi, dès la fin du XIXe siècle, il coupe court aux projets traditionnels de fondation : ni le synthétique a priori de Kant, ni les faits généraux de Comte ne sauraient expliquer la nature de l'activité scientifique. C'est la naissance d'un mouvement d'idées, le conventionnalisme, quia eu un impact décisif sur la philosophie viennoise et, à travers elle, sur la philosophie mondiale. Voilà un fil conducteur pour évaluer un siècle de débats. Que signifie donc libre décision en matière scientifique? On affirme la dimension historique irréductible de notre savoir ; on reconnaît la créativité et la responsabilité inhérentes à la science en tant qu'aventure humaine. (shrink)

One of the difficulties facing the philosopher of science today is the divide between historical epistemology and analytic philosophy of science. For over half a century these two traditions have followed independent and divergent paths. Historical epistemology, which originated in France in the early twentieth century, has recently been reformulated by a number of scholars such as Lorraine Daston, Ian Hacking, and Hans-Jörg Rheinberger. Elaborating novel historical methods, they seek to provide answers to major questions in the field. In the (...) light of this situation, my article examines the cultural barrier that explains the uneasy relationship between the two traditions. This barrier hinges on a number of factors—institutional, political and social—that are bound up with the philosophical issues in question. By resorting both to historical study and logical analysis, the new historical epistemology incites us to move beyond a rather sterile antagonism. (shrink)

On associe généralement l’expression de philosophie scientifique au positivisme logique, lequel se signale par son recours à la logique mathématique dans l’analyse des problèmes philosophiques. Or il apparaît à plus proche examen que cette expression est employée dès 1848 par Ernest Renan. La tentative d’élaborer une philosophie scientifique fait l’objet d’un long débat. Au tournant du xxe siècle, Abel Rey reprend cette question. Or, son livre, La Théorie de la physique chez les physiciens contemporains, exercera une influence forte sur le (...) Cercle de Vienne. Le positivisme absolu que propose Rey présente à la fois des analogies frappantes et des différences notables avec le positivisme logique. Si on y trouve le même souci de clarté et de précision, la logique n’est pas au centre de la démarche philosophique. Les diverses sciences, des mathématiques à la psychologie, sont mises à contribution. Il n’y a pas de hiérarchie, mais un encyclopédisme visant à inclure toutes les données fournies par la recherche scientifique. À travers l’étude comparée de la conception d’Abel Rey et de celle du Cercle de Vienne, il s’agit ici d’interroger la possibilité d’une philosophie scientifique. (shrink)

Following the standard view, scientific theories are formal systems, which receive empirical content by way of certain correspondence rules. The task of philosophy of science is then to make explicit the structure of such systems. In contrast to this view, one can point to the French tradition in philosophy of science. What characterizes this tradition is recourse to historical study, which has evolved from an attempt to bridge the fields of philosophy of science and history of science by a closer (...) integration of conceptual and historical methods. My aim in this paper is to explore the emergence of historical epistemology in France and its later revival at an international level. Attention is directed at the presuppositions and motivations underlying such an approach. (shrink)

This unique book provides a self-contained conceptual and technical introduction to the theory of differential sheaves. This serves both the newcomer and the experienced researcher in undertaking a background-independent, natural and relational approach to "physical geometry". In this manner, this book is situated at the crossroads between the foundations of mathematical analysis with a view toward differential geometry and the foundations of theoretical physics with a view toward quantum mechanics and quantum gravity. The unifying thread is provided by the theory (...) of adjoint functors in category theory and the elucidation of the concepts of sheaf theory and homological algebra in relation to the description and analysis of dynamically constituted physical geometric spectrums. (shrink)

L’emploi par Poincaré de la notion de convention au sujet des hypothèses géométriques signale un déplacement par rapport aux problématiques traditionnelles. La découverte des géométries non euclidiennes montre qu’il n’y a pas de cadre spatial unique ; plusieurs systèmes sont possibles. On affirme ainsi l’existence d’un aspect essentiel de la connaissance qui ne dérive pas des faits et ne relève ni de l’inné ni de l’intuition. L’introduction de la notion de convention, dont il s’agit de prendre la mesure, ouvre la (...) voie à une prise en compte des facteurs décisionnels en science. Nous nous proposons, dans cet article, d’analyser l’argumentation de Poincaré en reconstruisant sa position face aux doctrines de Kant et de Mill.By understanding geometrical hypotheses as conventions, Poincaré significantly alters the traditional philosophical discussion of space. The discovery of non-Euclidean geometries proves that there is not a single spatial framework ; several systems are possible. Thus, there is an essential feature of knowledge that derives neither from empirical facts nor from intuition or innate understanding. The introduction of the notion of convention, whose significance is at issue here, provides a way of understanding the element of free choice in science. This article aims at analyzing Poincaré’s reasoning, by contrasting his viewpoint with that of Kant and Mill. (shrink)

This article intends to bring the philosophies of the first and second Wittgenstein closer together, concentrating on the concept of “use”. If this concept is considered the centre of philosophy of second Wittgenstein, this article shows it as already implicit in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, as the last responsible element in the sense of the propositions. As a general conclusion to the article, we learn that the point of view or the method used by the second Wittgenstein does not represent a (...) great swerve from the Tractatus philosophy, for this change had already happened within it (without the positivist interpreters taking notice). (shrink)

Formal logic may be an inappropriate framework for understanding perception. The responses of neurons at various levels of the sensory hierarchy may be better described in terms of probability than logic. Analysis and modeling of the multisensory responses of neurons in the midbrain provide a case study.

Hoy día resulta imposible hablar de pobreza y de desigualdad sin hablar de globalización. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es mostrar que no existe ningún determinismo, que el hambre, la pobreza, el subdesarrollo y las desigualdades que aún se mantienen en el planeta en medio de la abundancia y el desarrollo, no es algo inevitable, sino que es producido por unas políticas concretas que van dirigidas, intencionadamente, a unos grupos frente a otros.

Dix penseurs, parmi lesquels Boutroux, Poincare, Duhem et Brunschvicg, tentent de nouer un dialogue entre philosophie et science. Les multiples decouvertes, des geometries non euclidiennes aux atomes, ont bouleverse les conceptions traditionnelles. Ils passent au crible la demarche scientifique et debattent de la valeur des theories. Se cristallise alors un nouveau discours qu'on appellera desormais epistemologie. Il ne s'agit ni d'un positivisme rigoureux ni d'un scientisme reducteur: l'epistemologie francaise qui s'inscrit au tournant des XIXe et XXe siecles ne rejette pas (...) la metaphysique. Au contraire, elle accorde a la philosophie toute sa dimension sans renier la science. Apres un siecle de tentatives de depassement, d'elimination de la pensee speculative, successivement dementies, ces grands textes nous rappellent qu'une autre voie est possible: saisir l'unite des choses et leur signification pour l'homme. (shrink)

Viewing rhetoric as a product of pagan culture, the Apologists take a negative stance toward it. For Justin the art of persuasion may be useful in all areas ofpublic life but it is useless when it comes to the metaphysical truth of Christianity. The strength to teach or interpret Christianity, Justin posits, comes from God, not rhetoric. For his part, Tatian dismisses forensic rhetoric on the grounds that it often subverts Christian ethics by defending injustice, sycophancy and money-making, in effect (...) promoting that which is not virtuous. As for Theophilus, he places greater value on the substance and meaning of Christian purposes and less on the orator’s virtuosity and linguistic means of expression. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Minerva Rava An Torva?Anastasios G. Nikolaidis1. Ovid Ars 2.659: Si paeta est, Veneri similis, si torva, Minervaetorva Merkel: flava R in marg. cum plerisque codd.: rava Heinsius: parva R cum aliquot dett.: fulva F.2. Priapea 36.4: Minerva torvo lumine est, Venus paetotorvo scripsi: flavo libri edd. vett.: flava et post hoc verbum commate interpunxit De Rooy (probant Vollmer, Clairmont, Parker): ravo Haupt: glauco Antonius.IMost codices for line 2.659 (...) of Ovid's Ars amatoria give flava in place of torva, but this reading does not suit the context (Ovid is suggesting ways of moderating the flaws of one's puella), which requires a word with a negative connotation.1 Among the proposed emendations, Heinsius' rava has been adopted by almost all editors of the Ars, but the elusive meaning of this adjective, in conjunction with its very limited use by the Latin poets and some other considerations that I explore below, allow us to look at this emendation afresh. In fact, apart from its appearance in the two lines under discussion, ravus seems to have been employed only on two other occasions, and only by Horace; and in one of them it is not the only codices reading (see note 11 below).2As a color term, ravus suggests a grey-yellowish or grey-bluish tinge, which corresponds to the implications of the Greek.3 The Greek word, however, was more extensively employed (see the respective [End Page 81] entries in LSJ and OLD) and more varied in meaning. With reference to eyes, for example, charopos appears to denote either the color of the iris (mostly in prose) or the flash, the glow of the gaze (nearly always in poetry; see note 5), which in turn may be due either to exuberant joy4 or-albeit not as frequently-to unrestrained fury.5 It appears, however, that in reference to human eyes charopos is a more or less complimentary term,6 whereas in reference to the eyes of animals, it carries rather negative overtones, whether it describes the color of the eyes or thegleam in them.7 We can thus account for the last explanation of charopos in Hesychius' Lexicon (). It seems that the connotation of the fierce glare, the awe-inspiring gaze, passed, at least to a small extent (see references in LSJ), from animals to humans, so that in a Lucian passage the goddess Athena is disparagingly depicted as charope (Dial. deor. 23.1: ).8 [End Page 82]It would follow, then, that rava, as applied to Minerva in the Ars amatoria passage, cannot refer to the color connotations of charopos (for these are positive)9 but only to the notion of a fierce glare, as is indeed appropriate to the warlike Athena.10 It may not be accidental, after all, that just before the first appearance of Athena in Homer (A 206), it is the glaring eyes of the goddess, not their color, that we encounter: (A 200; cf. Eustathius's commentary).11 On the other hand, one could argue that the eye color that the Greeks liked (charopon) was one that the Romans disliked (in which case rava would be appropriate), but the only evidence for this comes from the two passages we are discussing here.12 [End Page 83]In my view, the shortcoming in the puella that Ovid wants moderated is her grim, sullen countenance, her glaring look, not the color of her eyes. This is somewhat corroborated by the paeta of the first hemistich (again a kind of look, not color)13 and the comparison with Athena, who, as a war goddess, would have looked fierce. Yet, the adjective rava is not only used nowhere else by Ovid in any context;14 it is never attributed to Athena/Minerva/Pallas throughout Latin poetry.15 Even in Lucretius 4.1161, where the context is almost identical with that of Ars amatoria 2.659, Athena is only indirectly described as caesia (which translates see Aul. Gell. 2.26.19 and cf. André 1949, 178f.), a quality that is actually never attributed to Minerva by Latin poets (see Carter 1902, 113).16 By contrast, the adjective torvus... (shrink)

The excavation of the Yannopoulos plot and the bathing establishments at Thasos (3rd-6th c.) This article concerns the bathing establishment excavated on the Yannopoulos property in the city of Thasos, its architectural particularities, the finds recovered, and its insertion in the urban environment. The twelve-room building, of rectangular plan, has three architectural phases. Two praefurnia, two hypocausts, and eight non-heated rooms have been distinguished. The study of this baths offers an occasion to present the totality of bathing establishments, public and (...) private, identified on the island, in the city as well as outside. During our research it has become clear that the buildings on the neighbouring Yannopoulos and Vellios plots belong to a single complex. The dating of the installations confirms the use of baths at Thasos throughout the roman and protobyzantine periods. (shrink)

New perspectives on Pierre Duhem’s The aim and structure of physical theory Content Type Journal Article DOI 10.1007/s11016-010-9467-3 Authors Anastasios Brenner, Department of Philosophy, Paul Valéry University-Montpellier III, Route De Mende, 34199 Montpellier cedex 5, France Paul Needham, Department of Philosophy, University of Stockholm, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden David J. Stump, Department of Philosophy, University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA Robert Deltete, Department of Philosophy, Seattle University, 901 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122-1090, USA Journal (...) Metascience Online ISSN 1467-9981 Print ISSN 0815-0796 Journal Volume Volume 20 Journal Issue Volume 20, Number 1. (shrink)

Recent research has brought to light numerous facts that go against received views of the development of philosophy of science. One encounters several concepts, claims, or projects much earlier than is generally acknowledged. Auguste Comte was careful to distinguish each major science with respect to method and object, speaking of mathematical philosophy, biological philosophy, sociological philosophy, and so forth. He thereby in a sense anticipated the regionalist turn: philosophical analysis should be carried out with respect to a specific body of (...) knowledge. He also adopted a general perspective, a scientific philosophy. In the light of new discoveries, later thinkers such as Pierre Duhem, Gaston Milhaud, and Abel Rey endeavored to reformulate Comte’s doctrine as a neopositivism, a logical positivism, or an absolute positivism. The aim of this article is to examine the constitutive concepts mentioned and the controversies that hinge on them, in an effort to reach a precise understanding of the aim, scope, and import of philosophy of science in the context of nineteenth-century France. (shrink)