Moral Seduction Theory suggests that auditors are morally compromised by the perceived consequences of their opinions. The root of the auditing problem appears to result in an unintentional bias rather than in dishonesty. Although important accounting reforms have been taken to deal with auditors' trustworthiness, their lack of independence has not been adequately addressed. The new regulation (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) is a consequence of an incorrect understanding of the main true source of auditor's biases. We have developed a cognitive approach by (...) connecting the Throughput Model (TM) to the Moral Seduction Theory. This approach allows a better understanding of how conflicts of interest lead auditors to avoid the issuance of warning signals to stakeholders. We have tested our model by conducting a hypothetical scenario with eighty experienced auditors from international accounting firms. Our results confirm auditors' unintentional reluctance to issue qualified audit opinions alerting investors due to their fear of precipitating clients' final bankruptcy. The main implication is that, more than a regulation, effort should be made in monitoring those conflicts of interest to reduce unintentional bias. (shrink)

Background: The high level of satisfaction of users of a health service is largely due to the fact that they receive excellent care from healthcare professionals. Compassionate care is an essential component of excellent care. But what do nurses understand compassion to be? Research objectives: To analyse the concept of compassion from the perspective of nurses in the Andalusian Public Health System, Spain. Research design: This is a qualitative study following the grounded theory model. Four focus groups and 25 in-depth (...) interviews were conducted. Participants and research context: A total of 68 nursing professionals working in the Andalusian Public Health System (Spain) participated. Theoretical sampling was used, with participants being recruited using the snowball technique. Ethical considerations: This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Centro-Almería Health District (CEICA 27/9/17). Findings: From the analysis of the data, four themes emerged that helped to understand the concept of compassion according to nurses: ‘Negative perception of the term compassion’, ‘Compassion and empathy as synonyms’, ‘Beyond empathy’, and ‘Effects of having a compassionate attitude’. Discussion: Nurses perceive the concept of compassion differently to each other and even contradictorily. This concept is imbued with cultural elements, which adds confusion to understanding it, and is even perceived as something negative similar to pity. Conclusion: Nurses confuse the concepts of empathy and compassion as if they were synonymous. Before considering training in compassion for healthcare professionals, it is essential to clarify the concept of compassion through educational interventions. (shrink)

What can we learn from the open and attentive perception of children and poets? How does this perception contribute to a methodology that reaches the intricate entanglement of worldly phenomena in its entire otherness? In this essay, we aim to answer these questions, taking into account the phenomeno-logical grounds which lead us to achieve a singular state of perception and, therefore, a more crystal clear knowledge of the beings and things in the lived world. We seek to explore other forms (...) of rationality and aesthetic sensibility, by considering poetic language and a phenomenological understanding of the environment. We argue for a modality of thought that encompasses the foundations of Goethe, Husserl, Bateson, Ingold, Leiris and Krishnamurti to collapse the dichotomy between person and environment. (shrink)

In this paper I reconstruct Leibniz's argument for the Identity of Indiscernibles in his *Primary Truths*. I criticise the alternative interpretation put forward by Cover and O'Leary-Hawthorne and defend my own interpretation, both on philosophical and hermeneutical grounds.

Each state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit prosecutes billing fraud cases against individual healthcare providers who fraudulently bill Medicaid for services provided. Once an individual is convicted of billing fraud, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services may exclude the individual from billing any federal government healthcare program, including Medicaid. Excluded individuals are added to a public list of exclusions, which restricts their ability to practice professionally. Prompted by criminology research into the impact of policing (...) resources, we test whether these government enforcement initiatives against fraud serve as a deterrent to would-be fraudulent billers. We document that key enforcement proxies, the staffing level and budget of an MFCU, are positively associated with the yearly number of exclusions added at the state level. Our results are consistent with the exclusion list not being a deterrent but provide support for MFCUs’ fraud detection efforts. This paper provides industry-specific fraud insights for auditors and other individuals involved in public policy, specifically Medicaid, and introduces a novel dataset to the accounting fraud research literature. (shrink)

Se somete a discusión la utilidad heurística de incorporar la perspectiva de política de las culturas juveniles para analizar los vínculos entre juventud, política y cultura en la contemporaneidad. Si los enfoques tradicionales enfatizaron en el carácter cultural de la política, y enfatizaron en los..

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)

El viaje espiritual al «espacio verde» es un recorrido por el significado simbólico del color verde, el color litúrgico y espiritual del Islam, tomando como punto de partida la obra de dos artistas iraníes contemporáneos: Suhrâb Sepehrî y Shirin Neshat. Desde las antiguas religiones del Oriente Próximo hasta el Islam, el verde es el color del firmamento espiritual, el de los vergeles del Paraíso, la tierra del más allá. El jardín verdeante que alcanza el alma difunta (dên) en el mazdeísmo, (...) el verdor de la tierra de Xvarnah en el zoroastrismo, o el ascenso del alma (gryw) al Paraíso de Luz en el maniqueísmo, son ideas que retoman los grandes poetas persas (Nizâmî, Rûmî, Hâfiz) para hablar de la resurrección y de la entrada en el mundo del alma. En el sufismo la luz verde tipifica la cumbre del crecimiento espiritual, el jardín eterno (al-Kubrà, al-Simnânî); es el «Mar Verde» que constituye el indicio del resplandor de la vida eterna (Ibn al-‘Arabî); es el color de la perfección absoluta (‘Irâqî) y de la resurrección (al-Tirmidhî), el color del prado donde brota la Fuente de la Vida eterna (Suhrawardî, Ibn al-‘Arabî, Rûmî), etc. Es, en definitiva, lo que Nizâmî llama «el precioso jardín esmeralda», Rûmî el verdadero «vergel» y Hâfiz el «jardín de la visión». (shrink)

La infamia constituye el modelo ideal de castigo actual, ya que marca el cuerpo real y simbólico de ciertos sujetos, sin ninguna mediación institucional: los individuos y los grupos sociales se arrogan el derecho a imputar, juzgar y castigar. De manera que existen instituciones formales y, además, ciertos colectivos informales que neutralizan, excluyen, matan y encierran real y simbólicamente, ejerciendo un poder para-judicial y para-penal. En palabras más precisas, hay una penalidad que no pasa necesariamente por el poder judicial ni (...) el proceso legal, sino por el tribunal social y psicológico efectuado por algunos agentes de control social informal. La realidad evidencia la absorción progresiva del proceso judicial en el juicio colectivo, sin ninguna garantía ni código distinto a la mirada, el murmullo social y el juicio instantáneo. La sociedad se transforma así en un tribunal permanente que odia, etiqueta y castiga, y cuya inmediatez, espontaneidad y anonimato reaviva la infamia de los viejos sistemas de la penalidad medieval, así como la devastadora marcación totalitaria. (shrink)

En este texto se analiza el papel de los derechos humanos en la fase actual de globalización, en cuanto herramientas de la libertad política. Su globalización, hasta ahora pervertida por una selección parcial e interesada de lo globalizable -ante todo, el sistema de libre mercado- es imprescindible para el funcionamiento democrático de la nueva organización mundial. Pero para que los derechos humanos sean útiles a tal menester, será necesario en primer lugar, reflexionar sobre los servicios que han prestado al desarrollo (...) y ahora a la globalización del capitalismo. En segundo lugar, es preciso adecuar el discurso de los derechos a las necesidades de quienes padecen los desequilibrios que origina la globalización y convertirlo realmente en un discurso emancipador. Una imprescindible contextualización de los contenidos y condiciones de ejercicio de los derechos -para lo que son imprescindibles derechos sociales y a lo que aún ayuda los Estados-nación- es el corolario de esta reflexión que finaliza con un ejemplo de contextualización del discurso de los derechos a través de los derechos de los consumidores. (shrink)

During mouse early development cell adhesion molecules are indispensable for the embryo organisation. A family of molecules probably involved in development is the transmembrane glycoprotein CD44 family, which exists in multiple isoforms. These are generated by alternative splicing of the pre‐mRNA, resulting in the enlargement of the extracellular part of the molecule. The standard form of CD44 is widely expressed in adult tissues and in embryos from day 9.5 post coitum onwards, while the numerous variant isoforms exhibit highly specialised patterns (...) of expression that are already in the egg cylinder at day 6.5 of development. In lymphohemopoiesis, specific variant isoforms also emerge at decisive differentiation stages. Although specific ligands for the variant region still await isolation, the highly organised expression of CD44 variant isoforms suggests they have a pivotal role in cellular interactions during early development, pattern formation and hemopoiesis. (shrink)