This paper investigates the effect of enacted ethical and instrumental values on corporate governance effectiveness. It further considers whether and how compliance with formal corporate governance codes influences the effect of these organizational values on governance effectiveness. Empirical evidence based on a sample of firms listed in the Athens Stock Exchange shows that strong ethical values are the key element for effective corporate governance, while instrumental values play a significant role only in the presence of compliance. Compliance, although not sufficient (...) by itself, serves as a complementary mechanism strengthening the effects of ethical values and creating the conditions by which instrumental values can act in favor of corporate governance. The results highlight that governance benefits can emanate from maintaining high ethical standards as well as from synergies between compliance and a focus on organizational values. Overall, our findings provide important implications for managers regarding how to utilize behavioral along with structural governance mechanisms to enhance corporate governance. The findings add to the behavioral perspective of corporate governance bringing aspects of the social fabric into the corporate governance puzzle. (shrink)

The central place of Plato’s Timaeus in Plotinus’ Enneads has long been acknowledged. However, the importance of Timaeus 90 a for Plotinus’ psychology and theory of Intellect has not until now been properly recognized. This paper argues that, in Plato’s Timaeus 90 a, Plotinus sees his own distinction between the Hypostasis Intellect and human intellect, that is, our higher soul, which Plato in the Timaeus calls a daimon and which Plotinus takes to remain in the intelligible realm, interpreting it along (...) the same lines as “our allotted guardian spirit” (Ennead III.4). The way Timaeus 90 a is combined with passages drawn from other Platonic dialogues as well as with Peripatetic doctrine provides the framework for a case study on how Plotinus handles and interprets Platonic material. (shrink)

Artificial Intelligence is making rapid and remarkable progress in the development of more sophisticated and powerful systems. However, the acknowledgement of several problems with modern machine learning approaches has prompted a shift in AI benchmarking away from task-oriented testing towards ability-oriented testing, in which AI systems are tested on their capacity to solve certain kinds of novel problems. The Animal-AI Environment is one such benchmark which aims to apply the ability-oriented testing used in comparative psychology to AI systems. Here, we (...) present the first direct human-AI comparison in the Animal-AI Environment, using children aged 6–10. We found that children of all ages were significantly better than a sample of 30 AIs across most of the tests we examined, as well as performing significantly better than the two top-scoring AIs, “ironbar” and “Trrrrr,” from the Animal-AI Olympics Competition 2019. While children and AIs performed similarly on basic navigational tasks, AIs performed significantly worse in more complex cognitive tests, including detour tasks, spatial elimination tasks, and object permanence tasks, indicating that AIs lack several cognitive abilities that children aged 6–10 possess. Both children and AIs performed poorly on tool-use tasks, suggesting that these tests are challenging for both biological and non-biological machines. (shrink)

In light of the potential long-term societal and economic benefits of novel nano-enabled products, there is an evident need for research and development to focus on closing the gap in nano-materials safety. Concurrent reflection on the impact of decision-making tools, which may lack the capability to assist sophisticated judgements around the risks and benefits of the introduction of novel products, is essential. This paper addresses the potential for extant decision support tools to default to a precautionary principle position in the (...) face of uncertainty. A more utilitarian-based approach could be facilitated by adding simple methods to formulate realistic hypotheses, which would assist non-specialists to make more nuanced decisions in terms of managing the risks of introducing new NMs. A decision support analytical framework is applied to identify the potential risks and benefits of novel nano-enabled products such as textiles with in-built enhanced antimicrobial activity for the prevention of nosocomial infections produced by spray or sonochemical coating possesses. While the results demonstrate valuable societal and environmental benefits compared to conventional products, due to uncertainty regarding the possible hazard to humans, sizable risks were identified in some cases due to the precautionary principle. (shrink)

Deux figurines en terre cuite découvertes à Thasos, l’une votive, l’autre funéraire, nous conduisent, par leur ambiguïté, à se demander si les artisans ont donné une forme plastique au placenta humain alors même que les organes internes du corps ne sont presque jamais représentés. L’observation anatomique de l’« organe » comparée aux sources littéraires, médicales, épigraphiques et archéologiques offre des arguments valables pour appuyer l’hypothèse qu’il n’en a existé que des figurations indirectes, opérées à travers des métaphores imagées, selon le (...) mode connu en anthropologie de l’image grecque. Les figurines en mettant le placenta humain sur la même échelle que les fruits, les céréales, les gâteaux et l’enfant, tous pensés comme relevant d’un processus de cuisson correspondant à la vie civilisée, nous permettent de saisir des éléments essentiels autour desquels la cité se structure et font de cet organe un symbole de la fécondité. Aussi, le placenta devient-il fruit offert à Déméter, gâteau associé à la naissance pour Artémis ou signe des rites de passage de la jeune fille destinée à procréer des enfants légitimes.Two terracotta figurines found in Thasos, one from a votive, the other from a funerary context, invite us, by their ambiguity, to question whether craftsmen did represent the human placenta in a time when internal organs are almost never depicted. The anatomical observation of this bodily part, compared with literary, medical and epigraphic sources, supports the idea that indirect, metaphorical representations did exist and conform to the anthropological logic of Greek imagery. The figurines place the placenta at the same level as fruits, cereals, cakes and the child, all seen as the result of a cooking process corresponding to civilized culture. Thus, the placenta becomes a fruit offered to Demeter, and a cake associated with childbirth, when offered to Artemis; it is also the sign of the rites of passage for girls who will give birth to legitimate offspring. (shrink)

Although reasoning has been characterized as the essence of our being, it is often prone to cognitive biases. Decades of research in the reasoning and decision making fields have shown that when fa...

Caring for a child in a pediatric intensive care unit is emotionally and physically challenging and often leads to conflict. Skilled mediators may not always be available to aid in conflict resolution. Careproviders at all levels of training are responsible for managing difficult conversations with families and can often prevent escalation of conflict. Bioethics mediators have acknowledged the important contribution of mediation training in improving clinicians’ skills in conflict management. Familiarizing careproviders with basic mediation techniques is an important step towards (...) preventing escalation of conflict. While training in effective communication is crucial, a sense of fairness and justice that may only come with the introduction of a skilled, neutral third party is equally important. For intense conflict, we advocate for early recognition, comfort, and preparedness through training of clinicians in de-escalation and optimal communication, along with the use of more formally trained third-party mediators, as required. (shrink)

Editio princeps de l'inscription d'un épistomion en or trouvé dans un cimetière romain à Sfakaki près de Réthymnon. Le nouveau texte est étudié en corrélation avec les onze lamelles en or inscrites qui constituent un sous-groupe des lamelles orphico-dionysiaques ; la brièveté de leurs inscriptions s'explique sans doute par le souci de préserver le secret. Dans la série des lamelles orphico-dionysiaques, c'est seulement le second texte — l'autre provient aussi de Crète — dans lequel sont invoqués à la fois Pluton (...) et Persephone. La présence de Pluton ne résulte pas du mélange de croyances orphiques avec celles de quelque culte local similaire. Elle appartient, au contraire, à la tradition orphico-dionysiaque, comme le suggèrent les scènes d'un cratère apulien aujourd'hui à Tolède, et évoque peut-être une étape ultérieure du voyage initiatique dans l'au-delà. La provenance de cet épistomion, mais aussi des sept autres lamelles inscrites, montre qu'à la fin de l'époque hellénistique et pendant l'époque romaine on pratiquait dans la région d'Éleftherna, au Nord de l'Ida, un culte fondé sur des croyances orphico-dionysiaques. (shrink)

Simulating emotional experience, emotional empathy is the fundamental ingredient of interpersonal communication. In the speaker-listener scenario, the speaker is always a child, the listener is a human or a toy robot. Two groups of neurotypical children aged 6 years on average composed the population: one Japanese ( n = 20) and one French ( n = 20). Revealing potential similarities in communicative exchanges in both groups when in contact with a human or a toy robot, the results might signify that (...) emotional empathy requires the implication of an automatic identification. In this sense, emotional empathy might be considered a broad idiosyncrasy, a kind of synchronisation, offering the mind a peculiar form of communication. Our findings seem to be consistent with the assumption that children’s brains would be constructed to simulate the feelings of others in order to ensure interpersonal synchronisation. (shrink)

Ce livre est le premier des deux ouvragespubliés en hommage à l’historien-helléniste Pierre Brulé. Il réunit les actes d’une rencontre organisée en 2008 à Cork, en Irlande, à l’occasion des vingt ans de la Fille d’Athènes. Qu’il s’agisse du parcours de la fille qui devient femme et mère, du statut de l’héroïne ou des différentes figures prises par une divinité, toutes les formes d’expression du religieux, privées ou publiques, sont prises en considération. La qualité du livre réside dans la r...

The Pythagorean theory of the Harmony of the Spheres has been influential in the history of philosophy and science. While much ink has been spilt over its scientific implications, its mythological formulation has not yet received serious scholarly attention. This groundbreaking book fills that gap by offering a sustained study of the theory s mythological rendition in Plato s Republic and in Iamblichus On the Pythagorean Way of Life. ".

_ Source: _Volume 11, Issue 1, pp 26 - 45 In his _Commentary on the Timaeus_, Porphyry of Tyre argued against the second-century Platonist Atticus’ thesis that the creation in Plato’s _Timaeus_ was a process from a point of time. This paper focuses on the summary of one of Porphyry’s arguments against this thesis exposed in Book 2 of Proclus’ _Commentary on the Timaeus_. It argues that Proclus does justice to Porphyry’s views and that the argument points to a classification (...) of powers in Porphyry’s metaphysics that has so far been neglected by scholars. (shrink)

Emotional attenuation in a second language is believed to be one of the main causes of the Moral Foreign Language effect (MFLe). However, evidence on the mediating role of emotion in the relationship between language and moral judgements is limited and mainly derives from unrealistic moral dilemmas. We conducted two studies to investigate (1) whether the MFLe is present in both unrealistic (Study 1) and realistic (Study 2) moral dilemmas, and (2) whether this effect can be attributed to reduced emotionality. (...) In Study 1, the MFLe was found in the moral judgements made by Spanish-English bilinguals. However, the same pattern was not observed in Greek Cypriot-English bilinguals’ moral judgements, and this result was attributed to the prominent role of English in Cyprus. In Study 2, the MFLe extended to realistic moral dilemmas when the outcome of the action entailed the violation of a social norm. Study 1 and Study 2 also revealed that these bilinguals experienced a wide range of emotions in their L1 and L2, which did not differ significantly across languages. Mediation analyses further indicated that the MFLe was not mediated by emotional blunting, which made us consider alternative explanations for the MFLe. (shrink)

Un relief mélien en terre cuite a été trouvé lors de la fouille d'un cimetière d'époque classique à Trézène. Mesurant 0,218 x 0,185 m, il est bien conservé et garde des traces d'engobe blanc et de polychromie. Il représente Héraklès, Déjanire et le centaure Nessos, à l'instant où la femme est sauvée du rapt dont elle était menacée, sur le bord du fleuve Euhénos en Étolie, selon une version du mythe transmise par un fragment de poème lyrique attribué avec beaucoup (...) de vraisemblance à Bacchylide. Cette œuvre en terre cuite, petite mais néanmoins ambitieuse, allie la difficile réalisation d'une composition à trois personnages conforme aux habitudes des 2e et 3e quarts du Ve siècle av. J.-C, à un rendu iconographique des figures qui renvoie à une esthétique plus ancienne : celle de la fin de l'archaïsme et de la lre moitié du Ve s. av. J.-C. (shrink)

Is power the essence of divinity, or are divine powers distinct from divine essence? Are they divine hypostases or are they divine attributes? Are powers such as omnipotence, omniscience, etc. modes of divine activity? How do they manifest? In which way can we apprehend them? Is there a multiplicity of gods whose powers fill the cosmos or is there only one God from whom all power(s) derive(s) and whose power(s) permeate(s) everything? These are questions that become central to philosophical and (...) theological debates in Late Antiquity (roughly corresponding to the period 2nd to the 6th centuries). On the one hand, the Pagan Neoplatonic thinkers of this era postulate a complex hierarchy of gods, whose powers express the unlimited power of the ineffable One. On the other hand, Christians proclaim the existence of only one God, one divine power or one 'Lord of all powers'. -/- Divided into two main sections, the first part of Divine Powers in Late Antiquity examines aspects of the notion of divine power as developed by the four major figures of Neoplatonism: Plotinus (c. 204-270), Porphyry (c. 234-305), Iamblichus (c.245-325), and Proclus (412-485). It focuses on an aspect of the notion of divine power that has been so far relatively neglected in the literature. Part two investigates the notion of divine power in early Christian authors, from the New Testament to the Alexandrian school (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius the Great) and, further, to the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa), as well as in some of these authors' sources (the Septuagint, Philo of Alexandria). The traditional view tends to overlook the fact that the Bible, particularly the New Testament, was at least as important as Platonic philosophical texts in the shaping of the early Christian thinking about the Church's doctrines. Whilst challenging the received interpretation by redressing the balance between the Bible and Greek philosophical texts, the essays in the second section of this book nevertheless argue for the philosophical value of early Christian reflections on the notion of divine power. The two groups of thinkers that each of the sections deal with (the Platonic-Pagan and the Christian one) share largely the same intellectual and cultural heritage; they are concerned with the same fundamental questions; and they often engage in more or less public philosophical and theological dialogue, directly influencing one another. (shrink)

This paper reports the framework, method and main findings of an analysis of cultural milieus in 4 European countries. The analysis is based on a questionnaire applied to a sample built through a two-step procedure of post-hoc random selection from a broader dataset based on an online survey. Responses to the questionnaire were subjected to multidimensional analysis-a combination of Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Cluster Analysis. We identified 5 symbolic universes, that correspond to basic, embodied, affect-laden, generalized worldviews. People in this (...) study see the world as either a) an ordered universe;b) a matter of interpersonal bond;c) a caring society;d) consisting of a niche of belongingness;e) a hostile place. These symbolic universes were also interpreted as semiotic capital: they reflect the capacity of a place to foster social and civic development. Moreover, the distribution of the symbolic universes, and therefore social and civic engagement, is demonstrated to be variable across the 4 countries in the analysis. Finally, we develop a retrospective reconstruction of the distribution of symbolic universes as well as the interplay between their current state and past, present and future socio-institutional scenarios. (shrink)