The compliance-based approach and the integrity approach have been the mainstream responses to corporate scandals. This paper proposes that, despite each approach comprising necessary elements, neither offers a comprehensive solution. Compliance and integrity, far from being mutually exclusive, reinforce each other. Working together, in a correct relationship, they build a harmonized system that yields positive synergies and which also advocates prudence. It enables the generation of a culture of compliance that tends to minimize the technical and ethical errors in decision (...) making. In order to explore an applied harmonized approach, we analyze the audit committee, a specific and broadly accepted regulatory instrument. Formed by non-executive members, regulation requires these members to be dedicated, qualified, and independent as a guarantee of efficiency. We show how the compound of those elements produces positive effects in a context of solid governance. We conclude that it is the strong relationship between efficiency and prudence, in the creation of a culture of compliance, which enables the minimization of errors. (shrink)

This paper defends Musical Stage Theory as a novel account of the ontology of musical works. Its main claim is that a musical work is a performance. The significance of this argument is twofold. First, it demonstrates the availability of an alternative, and ontologically tenable, view to well-established positions in the current debate on musical metaphysics. Second, it shows how the revisionary approach of Musical Stage Theory actually provides a better account of the ontological status of musical works.

1. In the last decade, technological systems based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) architectures entered our lives at an increasingly fast pace. Virtual assistants facilitate our daily tasks, recom...

The phenomenon of interactive human kinds, namely kinds of people that undergo change in reaction to being studied or theorised about, matters not only for the reliability of scientific claims, but also for its wider, sometimes harmful effects at the group or societal level, such as contributing to negative stigmas or reinforcing existing inequalities. This paper focuses on the latter aspect of interactivity and argues that scientists studying interactive human kinds are responsible for foreseeing harmful effects of their research and (...) for devising ways of mitigating them. (shrink)

Hempel never met Ramsey, but he knew his work. In his 1958 The Theoretician’s Dilemma: a study in the logic of theory construction, Hempel introduces the term Ramsey sentence, referring to Ramsey’s attempt in Theories to get rid of theoretical terms in formal accounts of scientific theories. In this paper, I draw the attention to another connection between Ramsey’s and Hempel’s works. Hempel’s Deductive-Nomological (DN) account of scientific explanation resembles very closely Ramsey’s account of a certain type of conditional sentences. (...) In the first part of the paper, by introducing a fictional story, I highlight the similarities and differences between the two. In the last part of the paper, I claim that the most relevant difference between Ramsey and Hempel can be used to offer original solutions to Hempel’s Raven Paradox. Two possibilities are presented, arguing that the second, which requires a reconsideration of the formalisation of laws, is the most promising. (shrink)

Recent advances in neuroscience have paved the way to innovative applications that cognitively augment and enhance humans in a variety of contexts. This paper aims at providing a snapshot of the current state of the art and a motivated forecast of the most likely developments in the next two decades. Firstly, we survey the main neuroscience technologies for both observing and influencing brain activity, which are necessary ingredients for human cognitive augmentation. We also compare and contrast such technologies, as their (...) individual characteristics (e.g., spatio-temporal resolution, invasiveness, portability, energy requirements and cost) influence their current and future role in human cognitive augmentation. Secondly, we chart the state of the art on neurotechnologies for human cognitive augmentation, keeping an eye both on the applications that already exist and those that are emerging or are likely to emerge in the next two decades. Particularly, we consider applications in the areas of communication, cognitive enhancement, memory, attention monitoring/enhancement, situation awareness and complex problem solving, and we look at what fraction of the population might benefit from such technologies and at the demands they impose in terms of user training. Thirdly, we briefly review the ethical issues associated with current neuroscience technologies. These are important because they may differentially influence both present and future research on (and adoption of) neurotechnologies for human cognitive augmentation: an inferior technology with no significant ethical issues may thrive while a superior technology causing widespread ethical concerns may end up being outlawed. Finally, based on the lessons learned in our analysis, using past trends and considering other related forecasts, we attempt to forecast the most likely future developments of neuroscience technology for human cognitive augmentation and provide informed recommendations for promising future research and exploitation avenues. (shrink)

Este artículo se propone reconstruir histórica y metodológicamente la disputatio scholastica y acercarse a la manera como era ejercitado este tipo de juego dialéctico en los colegios jesuitas de la América Hispánica. Examinando fuentes manuscritas e impresas, se enumeran y discuten las reglas que los participantes de los certámenes filosóficos de la escolástica barroca obedecían. La estructura lógica y dialéctica de la disputatio es examinada a la luz del método de discusión abstraído y sistematizado por Aristóteles en los Tópicos. Se (...) destaca el lugar privilegiado de la capacidad de distinguir sentidos como instrumento de la dialéctica en la disputatio scholastica. (shrink)

On August Business Roundtable, the Business Roundtable redefined the purpose and social responsibility of the corporation. Yet, this statement must be followed by substantial changes in the business models of corporations for it to avoid becoming empty rhetoric. We believe that the figure of the independent director may be one of the catalysts needed for this change of paradigm for corporations. In spite of the positive correlation between Corporate Social Responsibility and board independence, the development of the independence of boards (...) during the last decade has not lead to the expected CSR results. Academics and regulators point to a weak definition and the non-standardized measurement of both independence and board independence as one possible explanation, and agree that a broader definition is needed. This paper aims to contribute to this debate. We develop a second-generation definition of independence based on a positive approximation to the concept by integrating an Aristotelian perspective of virtue ethics with the best practices of corporate governance. Thus, we define independence as a virtue guided by practical wisdom, that implies autonomy and autarky and which enables a person to act with integrity, fairness and truthfulness. In the context of corporate governance, independence is associated with an honest disposition to serve. Our proposal has political implications for supervisors that make decisions relating to the suitability of board members. (shrink)

Due manoscritti, l'Ambrosianus Y 89 sup. ed il Vindobonensis Theol. Graecus 244, entrambi ben noti agli studiosi della letteratura greca volgare delle origini per le importanti testimonianze letterarie in essi conservate, tramandano anche un interessante poemetto in decapentasillabi rimati, databile nel XV sec., i cui protagonisti sono una ragazza ed un ragazzo. L'ipotesi che il componimento sia da considerarsi cretese e che, come aveva avanzato POLITIS, possa essere attribuibile a Marinos Falieros, pur ritenuta dalla curatrice suggestiva (p. 27), non è (...) comunque accolta in questa edizione. Del resto mancano i dati per una conferma, pertanto è stato saggio mantenere una posizione prudente. Il testo in questione, che rientra nel genere del contrasto amoroso diffuso nella letteratura medievale d'Occidente, presenta numerosi spunti di riflessione critica e costituisce una preziosa testimonianza storico-letteraria. Siamo dunque profondamente grati a Maria CARACAUSI per averne allestito con pazienza e con competenza filologica la nuova edizione critica. (shrink)

La nozione di bios è una nozione-chiave della ricerca foucaultiana. Negli studi sul mondo antico, il bios appare come sostanza etica per l’esercizio, il governo e la trasformazione di sé. E’ utile indagare analogie e discontinuità tra la nozione di bios che troviamo negli ultimi corsi al Collège de France e il bios nell’accezione di “forza creatrice” comune e plurale della vita che troviamo nella precedente ricerca foucaultiana. La nozione di “modo di vita” consente di esplorare le ambivalenze che innervano (...) tale questione. Nella sua declinazione singolare-plurale, il motivo del bios solleva inoltre una riflessione sulla dimensione dell’essere in comune: l’orizzonte comune della vita comune – bios – è ricreato dalla condivisione di stili di esistenza – bioi – che tagliano in diagonale il piano delle relazioni istituzionalizzate. (shrink)

Loot Boxes, i.e., virtual items embedded within video games with numerous features reminiscent of gambling, are increasingly widespread among adolescents. LB use is associated with problem gambling in youth, but few studies have been conducted on the association between LB use and gambling behavior considering adolescents. Thus, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not clear. As LB use is a significant and positive risk factor for video gaming severity, and video gaming is associated with problem gambling, we hypothesized that LB (...) use would be related to gambling frequency and problem gambling through the intermediary role of video gaming frequency and problem video gaming. We tested our hypothesis before COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown and during COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown, in Italy. Study 1 was conducted with 1,078 high school students before COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown, and Study 2 was conducted with 1,204 high school students during COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown. A path analysis was carried out to analyze the significance of indirect effects from LB use to gambling behavior and problem gambling through video gaming and problem video gaming. In both the studies, results showed that LB use exerted significant and positive direct effects on video gaming frequency, problem video gaming, and gambling frequency. Moreover, LB use had indirect significant and positive effects on problem gambling through video gaming frequency, problem video gaming, and gambling frequency. Findings attest that LB use can be related to problem gambling through a greater involvement in videogames. Thus, a specific subtype of young gamblers can develop Gambling Disorder symptoms from the use of LBs and through an intense use of video games. Practical implications for prevention and treatment are discussed. (shrink)

In this essay, the author wants to put in evidence the figure of the monster into the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. First of all, it is shown how the Grotesque’s category is utilized by Hugo to describe his characters. In this part, it’s clear the link between Victor Hugo’s Aesthetics and Karl Rosenkranz’s idea of Ugly. Then, it is underlined how the Ugly is one of the main themes of this book. This paper wants to show how the (...) monster is more present here than in other works by the French author. (shrink)

The literature’s interest has been focused on the study of well-being or depression. However, there has been little research that investigates the relationship between well-being and hopelessness (HPL) and the underlying contextual and dispositional variables. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between some contextual (need-supportive interpersonal behavior and need-thwarting interpersonal behavior) and dispositional variables (dispositional optimism, positive/negative affectivity, explanatory style), academic achievement, general well-being, and school HPL in adolescent students. The results showed that general (...) well-being was positively predicted by need-supportive interpersonal behavior, dispositional optimism, positive affectivity, and adaptive explanatory style (attribution to commitment in the school context), while it was negatively predicted by negative affectivity. Meanwhile, school HPL was positively predicted by need-thwarting interpersonal behavior, negative affectivity, dysfunctional explanatory style (attribution to luck in the school context), while it was negatively predicted by attribution to commitment in the school context and academic achievement. These results provide useful data for the implementation of well-being promotion and school HPL prevention. The implications are discussed as follows. (shrink)

Despite the recent upsurge of interest in the investigation of creativity, the question of how to measure creativity is arguably underdiscussed. The aim of this paper is to address this gap, proposing a multidimensional account of creativity which identifies problem-solving, evaluation, and naivety as measurable features that are common among creative processes. The benefits that result from the adoption of this model are twofold: integrating discussions on creativity in various domains and offering the tools to assess creativity across systems of (...) different kinds. By situating creativity within this framework, I aim to contribute to a non-anthropocentric, more comprehensive understanding of the notion, and to debates on natural and artificial creativity. (shrink)

It has recently been argued that successful evidence-based policy should rely on two kinds of evidence: statistical and mechanistic. The former is held to be evidence that a policy brings about the desired outcome, and the latter concerns how it does so. Although agreeing with the spirit of this proposal, we argue that the underlying conception of mechanistic evidence as evidence that is different in kind from correlational, difference-making or statistical evidence, does not correctly capture the role that information about (...) mechanisms should play in evidence-based policy. We offer an alternative account of mechanistic evidence as information concerning the causal pathway connecting the policy intervention to its outcome. Not only can this be analyzed as evidence of difference-making, it is also to be found at any level and is obtainable by a broad range of methods, both experimental and observational. Using behavioral policy as an illustration, we draw the implications of this revised understanding of mechanistic evidence for debates concerning policy extrapolation, evidence hierarchies, and evidence integration. (shrink)

Background: The rapid pace of progress in medical research, the consequent need for the timely transfer of new knowledge into practice, and the increasing need for ethics support, is making the work of Ethics Committees (ECs) ever more complex and demanding. As a response, ECs in many countries exhibit large variation in number, mandate, organization and member competences. This cross-sectional study aims to give an overview of the different types of activities of Italian ECs and favour discussion at a European (...) level.Methods: A questionnaire was emailed to all Italian Ethics Committees contained in the national Registry of the Ministry of Health, enquiring whether the EC was conducting, or planning to conduct, 4 specific activities. A telephone interview was conducted to determine reasons for failure to respond.Results: Response rate was 53% (101 respondents out of 191). 20% of ECs restrict their responsibilities to research protocol review, 25% also offer ethical consultation to institutions, support on individual health care decisions and promotes educational initiatives, while the remaining 50% conduct a few of the examined activities to varying degrees. Large variation was observed across different types of hosting institutions and geographical locations.Conclusions: A common European model should be developed, defining EC functions, member selection modalities, necessary member competences, decision-making criteria and measures for work verification. In the absence of sound empirical evidence, it would be interesting to study the effectiveness and efficiency of the different existing models. (shrink)

Cognitive reflection is recognized as an important skill, which is necessary for making advantageous decisions. Even though gender differences in the Cognitive Reflection test appear to be robust across multiple studies, little research has examined the source of the gender gap in performance. In Study 1, we tested the invariance of the scale across genders. In Study 2, we investigated the role of math anxiety, mathematical reasoning, and gender in CRT performance. The results attested the measurement equivalence of the Cognitive (...) Reflection Test – Long, when administered to male and female students. Additionally, the results of the mediation analysis showed an indirect effect of gender on CRT-L performance through mathematical reasoning and math anxiety. The direct effect of gender was no longer statistically significant after accounting for the other variables. The current findings suggest that cognitive reflection is affected by numerical skills and related feelings. (shrink)

This article explores the state of the art in relation to the theme of living and working together in organizations and proposes a new theoretical model. A thorough examination of literature highlights that there are almost no works specifically coping with this theme, defining its theoretical perspective and specifying the choice of proposed indicators. Several, instead, are the works indirectly dealing with living and working together in organizations, mostly considered equivalent to the quality of interpersonal relationships, or developed starting from (...) the theme of diversity and conflict. In reference to the social context, an important defining effort was carried out by Renzo Carli, who defines living together [convivenza in Italian] as the symbolic component of a social relationship, generated by three components: belonging systems, strangers and rules of the game. Living together means integrating these three elements of a relationship in order to create innovative products. This article proposes a... (shrink)

Philosophers of the social sciences are increasingly convinced that macro-and micro-explanations are complementary. Whereas macro-explanations are broad, micro-explanations are deep. I distinguish between weak and strong complementarity: Strongly complementary explanations improve one another when integrated, weakly complementary explanations do not. To demonstrate the explanatory autonomy of different levels of explanation, explanatory pluralists mostly presuppose the weak form of complementarity. By scrutinizing the notions of explanatory depth and breadth, I argue that macro- and micro-accounts of the same phenomenon are more often (...) strongly complementary. This invites a revision of the pluralist position in which integration promotes explanatory progress. Key Words: explanatory pluralism • social science • explanatory depth • explanatory breadth • mechanism. (shrink)

This article examines to what extent a particular case of cross-disciplinary research in the 1930s was structured by mechanistic reasoning. For this purpose, it identifies the interfield theories that allowed biologists and chemists to use each other’s techniques and findings, and that provided the basis for the experiments performed to identify plant growth hormones and to learn more about their role in the mechanism of plant growth. In 1930, chemists and biologists in Utrecht and Pasadena began to cooperatively study plant (...) growth. I will argue that these researchers decided to join forces because they believed to rely on each other’s findings and methods to solve their research problems adequately. In the course of the cooperation, organic chemists arrived at isolating plant growth hormones by using a test method developed in plant physiology. This achievement, in turn, facilitated biologists’ investigation of the mechanism of plant growth. Researchers eventually believed to have the means to study the relation between a substance’s molecular structure and its physiological activity. The way they conceptualized the problem of identifying hormones and unraveling the mechanism of plant growth, as well as their actual research actions are compatible with the new mechanists’ account of mechanism research. The study illustrates that focusing on researchers’ mechanistic reasoning can contribute considerably to explaining the structure of cross-disciplinary research projects. (shrink)

El alma bella representa en la obra de Hegel un momento en el que la acción y la moralidad pueden entrar en un conflicto con la realidad y con el otro, provocando en el sujeto moral la inactividad y la evasión de su _selbst_ en su pura abstracción, enajenándose de toda actividad y toda crítica. Se pretende mostrar, pues, el desarrollo de esta figura hegeliana para poder asumir que toda actividad dirigida al mundo deja de pertenecer al sujeto que la (...) ejecuta y se vuelve algo para el mundo e interpretado por éste. (shrink)

La noción de sentido común en la obra de Hannah Arendt juega un papel fundamental a la hora de explicar cómo un hombre del tipo de Adolf Eichmann podía mantener una auténtica incapacidad para pensar. No obstante, la manera como esta autora comprende aquella noción no es plenamente clara: el sentido común se halla aparentemente en un punto medio entre la actividad del pensamiento y el conocimiento científico, pues aun cuando el sentido de realidad proporcionado por el sentido común resulta (...) fundamental para ambos, éstos, dada la manera como se oponen entre sí, no se reducen a este mero sentido de realidad. Según creo, la tensión que genera este fenómeno puede ser evaluada con más claridad si se estudia la expresión ‘sentido común’ a partir de dos significados distintos –aunque complementarios– de acuerdo con su carácter pasivo y activo: el sentido común puede ser comprendido desde un punto de vista ‘sensible’ y un punto de vista ‘semántico’, respectivamente. (shrink)

James Harrington e la concezione del "commonweath" come organismo - This article aims to shed light on the link between Harrington’s political thought and his conception of Nature as an organic whole. Such a relation is reflected in the way mixed government and the representative system are designed to act as complementary institutions of a republic or commonwealth. Under mixed government, the popular balance of property - a political transposition of the fullness of natural life meaning the spread of landed (...) property among the population - is tempered by a quarter of the entire territory being concentrated in the hands of a minority of big landowners. On this basis, the minority ensures for its members exclusive access to the Senate, as an aristocratic institution. In the context of the representative system, the fact that the Senate alone can deliberate, whereas a Popular Assembly can only accept or reject decisions made by the Senate, is moderated by periodical elections of both Houses of Parliament based on popular suffrage. (shrink)

Numerous social and environmental issues are under increasing time constraints, and society is placing greater demands on organizations that foster greater social inclusion, well-being, and human flourishing. In this regard, social innovation research has gained relevance as it provides a rich context to examine how to generate and prioritize dignity-based organizing more effectively. This research aims to examine how the concepts of dignity and humanistic management can shape social innovation processes that generate better results for organizations and society. Building on (...) humanistic management and social innovation literature, a qualitative case study explores how the notions of dignity and humanistic management practices are present at every stage of the social innovation process (origin, mobilization, execution, and integration). This paper is one of the few studies exploring the relationship between humanistic management principles and social innovation processes, filling a significant gap in the literature with important praxeological implications. (shrink)

George Eliot (1819-1880) escribió sus obras en un contexto protestante que se traslada a sus novelas, en las que aparecen tanto conflictos morales como pugnas entre confesiones religiosas y personajes que encarnan distintas profesiones. La visión del catolicismo que se proyecta en las novelas es muy crítica. Sin embargo, en época franquista se publicaron en el Estado español cuatro de sus novelas traducidas al castellano: Janet’s Repentance, Adam Bede, Silas Marner: the Weaver of Raveloe y The Mill on the Floss. (...) Este estudio investiga por qué ni la censura administrativa ni los catálogos morales se ensañaron con Eliot. Para elucidar la cuestión se analizan los expedientes de censura, los catálogos morales y las modificaciones y manipulaciones del texto original en las distintas traducciones. Los expedientes de censura autorizaron la publicación de las diferentes ediciones sin tachaduras ni modificaciones y los catálogos no alertaron contra la inmoralidad de las novelas que nos ocupan. A la luz de los comentarios que aparecen tanto en los expedientes como en los catálogos, podemos afirmar que las obras de Eliot no se percibieron como una amenaza al régimen franquista ni al catolicismo, ya que estaban ambientadas en un país protestante, ajeno a la realidad española, sin traslación posible. La facilidad con la que las obras superaron este proceso se debe también a la autocensura previa llevada a cabo por los responsables de la traducción y la edición. Cuando llegaron a la censura, la mayoría de los fragmentos más críticos con el catolicismo ya habían sido expurgados. (shrink)