This paper compares the findings of content analyses of the corporate codes of ethics of Canada's largest corporations in 1992 and 2003. For both years, a modified version of a technique used in several other studies was used to determine and categorize the contents of the codes. It was found, inter alia, that, in 2003, as in 1992, more of the codes were concerned with conduct against the firm than with conduct on behalf of the firm. Among the changes from (...) 1992 to 2003 were a significant increase in the frequency of mention of environmental affairs, legal responsibility as the basis of codes and enforcement/compliance procedures. (shrink)

Business ethics has been described as a prime academic growth industry. This paper reports the findings of a survey aimed at establishing the status of ethics in the curricula of Canadian Schools of Management and Administrative Studies. It was found that twenty-three of the forty-two responding schools offer courses in business ethics and that they offer a total of twenty-five ethics courses, twenty of which are offered as electives. Forty-two percent of the schools not offering a course in business ethics (...) plan to offer such a course by 1989. This means that by 1989 seventy-four percent of the responding schools should have a business ethics component in their curricula. (shrink)

Background: Although numerous studies on job satisfaction among nurses have been conducted, there is a lack of research considering the ethical perspectives of leadership and organizational climate in job satisfaction. Objective: The purpose of this study was to clarify the impact of the ethical climate and ethical leadership as perceived by nurses on job satisfaction in South Korea. Research design: A descriptive and correlational study was conducted with a convenience sample of 263 nurses from four general hospitals in South Korea. (...) Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Institute Review Board of Hallym University before data collection. Results: Job satisfaction was positively correlated with ethical climate and ethical leadership. The ethical climate in relationship with hospitals and people orientation leadership were influential factors in the level of job satisfaction among nurses. Discussion: Organizations in the nursing environment should pay attention to improving the ethical climate with acceptable ethical norms in the workplace and nurse leaders should respect, support and genuinely care about their nurses in ethical concerns. (shrink)

This study uses a specific method to analyze the contents of the codes of ethics of the largest corporations in Australia, Canada and Sweden and compares the findings of similar content analyses in 2002 and 2006. It tracks changes in code contents across the three nations over the 2002–2006 period. There were statistically significant changes in the codes of the three countries from 2002 to 2006: the Australian and Canadian codes becoming more prescriptive, intensifying the differences between these and the (...) Swedish codes. The contents of these codes and the nature of the changes they have undergone over time are culturally driven: Australia's and Canada's reflecting their similar cultural profiles and Sweden's reflecting its differences from these countries on organizationally relevant cultural dimensions. The study reveals that corporate codes of ethics are living documents as reflected by the significant longitudinal changes in the frequencies of mention of several of the 60 items underpinning the content analysis of the codes of ethics. Consequently, and in light of their growing prevalence and importance as instruments of corporate governance, they should not be treated as static but as dynamic documents that are subject to various environmental factors. The clear implication of the findings of this study is that for corporate codes of ethics ‘one size does not fit all’ and that these instruments must be carefully monitored and revised to reflect changing conditions. (shrink)

Neuroeconomics has the potential to fundamentally change the way economics is done. This article identifies the ways in which this will occur, pitfalls of this approach, and areas where progress has already been made. The value of neuroeconomics studies for social policy lies in the quality, replicability, and relevance of the research produced. While most economists will not contribute to the neuroeconomics literature, we contend that most economists should be reading these studies.

The end of the cold war has elevated environmental issues to the highest level of concern for humanity while creating a world order dominated by the United States of America and other Western nations. This new power structure may likely lead to increased business activity in many parts of the world, as nations formerly preoccupied with the cold war turn their attention to economic development. This paper examines the linkages among ethics, economic development and protection and restoration of the environment (...) in The New World Order. (shrink)

The annual production of hazardous wastes which was less than 10 million metric tonnes in the 1940s is now in excess of 320 million metric tonnes. These wastes are, in the main, by-products of industrial processes that have contributed significantly to the economic development of many countries which, in turn, has led to lifestyles that also generate hazardous wastes. The phenomenal increase in the generation of hazardous wastes coupled with various barriers to local disposal has led to the thriving international (...) trade in these environmentally hazardous substances. This paper examines the nature of the international trade in hazardous wastes and the ethical issues associated with such business activity. (shrink)

Acknowledging separable factors underlying negative symptoms may lead to better understanding and treatment of negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia. The current study aimed to test whether the negative symptoms factor (NSF) of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) would be better represented by expressive and experiential deficit factors, rather than by a single factor model, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Two hundred and twenty individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders completed the PANSS; subsamples additionally completed the Brief Negative Symptom (...) Scale (BNSS) and the Motivation and Pleasure Scale—Self-Report (MAP-SR). CFA results indicated that the two-factor model fit the data better than the one-factor model; however, latent variables were closely correlated. The two-factor model’s fit was significantly improved by accounting for correlated residuals between N2 (emotional withdrawal) and N6 (lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation), and between N4 (passive social withdrawal) and G16 (active social avoidance), possibly reflecting common method variance. The two NSF factors exhibited differential patterns of correlation with subdomains of the BNSS and MAP-SR. These results suggest that the PANSS NSF would be better represented by a two-factor model than by a single-factor one, and support the two-factor model’s adequate criterion-related validity. Common method variance among several items may be a potential source of measurement error under a two-factor model of the PANSS NSF. (shrink)

Resumen En este trabajo se presentan algunos resultados acerca del uso del usted de una investigación sobre la selección pronominal llevada a cabo en tres municipios del departamento colombiano de Antioquia: 1) La ciudad de Medellín, que se considera zona urbana; 2) Carmen de Viboral, que se comprende como una zona semi rural y 3) Andes, que se entiende como una zona rural. Más concretamente, se muestra, por un lado, en cuál de las tres zonas se emplearía con más frecuencia (...) el usted y, por el otro, en qué zona se observa más notablemente la dependencia entre la selección del usted y la edad del interlocutor. La población estudiada está constituida por informantes de edades entre los 13 y los 34 años. La variable social para este artículo es el lugar de la vivienda de los informantes, es decir, zona urbana, semi rural o rural lo cual se ha correlacionado con la edad de los informantes. Para llevar a cabo esta investigación se aplicó un cuestionario, donde aparecen distintos tipos interaccionales, a los informantes de las zonas mencionadas, obteniéndose un total de 1.490 informantes. Tres técnicas estadísticas fueron aplicadas a estos datos: 1) tamaño de muestra óptimo para distribuciones multinomiales; 2) análisis de varianza con un solo factor ; 3) prueba de hipótesis para proporciones. La estadística muestra que, por un lado, en la gran mayoría de relaciones interpersonales, en Andes se usa más el usted que en Carmen de Viboral y, asimismo, en este último municipio se emplea más el usted que en Medellín; por otro lado, en Medellín, en comparación con Carmen de Viboral o Andes, se usa más el usted con interlocutores de mayor edad que con los de la misma o menor edad. En otras palabras, en las zonas rurales se usa mucho más el usted que en la zona urbana, independientemente de la edad de los interlocutores, como marca de costumbres más conservadoras. (shrink)

L'objet chez Duchamp n'est ni la chose ni la matière : c'est un concept artistique. L'objet duchampien fait disparaître la signification habituelle d'une chose quotidienne sous un nouveau titre. Sur la base de cette définition de l'objet duchampien, nous développons trois hypothèses : l'objet ou le mensonge pictural, ce qui n'est pas l'objet ou la chose elle-même, et l'idée de l'objet duchampien ou la chose indirecte. À travers l'esthétique et la méthode de Duchamp, nous en venons à conclure que l'objet (...) duchampien est mensonge pictural et chose indirecte. Car Duchamp profite du mensonge, au sens de Platon, qui ne se réalise que dans l'art, et il présente méthodiquement la chose quotidienne comme chose indirecte. (shrink)

BackgroundSelf-report multiple choice questionnaires have been widely utilized to quantitatively measure one’s personality and psychological constructs. Despite several strengths, self-report multiple choice questionnaires have considerable limitations in nature. With the rise of machine learning and Natural language processing, researchers in the field of psychology are widely adopting NLP to assess psychological construct to predict human behaviors. However, there is a lack of connections between the work being performed in computer science and that of psychology due to small data sets and (...) unvalidated modeling practices.AimsThe current article introduces the study method and procedure of phase II which includes the interview questions for the five-factor model of personality developed in phase I. This study aims to develop the interview and open-ended questions for the FFM-based personality assessments, specifically designed with experts in the field of clinical and personality psychology, and to collect the personality-related text data using the interview questions and self-report measures on personality and psychological distress. The purpose of the study includes examining the relationship between natural language data obtained from the interview questions, measuring the FFM personality constructs, and psychological distress to demonstrate the validity of the natural language-based personality prediction.MethodsPhase I study was conducted to fifty-nine native Korean adults to acquire the personality-related text data from the interview and open-ended questions based on the FFM of personality. The interview questions were revised and finalized with the feedback from the external expert committee, consisting of personality and clinical psychologists. Based on the established interview questions, a total of 300 Korean adults will be recruited using a convenience sampling method via online survey. The text data collected from interviews will be analyzed using the natural language processing. The results of the online survey including demographic data, depression, anxiety, and personality inventories will be analyzed together in the model to predict individuals’ FFM of personality and the level of psychological distress. (shrink)

John Rawls presents a liberal conception of international justice in his book The Law of Peoples, and this liberal conception of international justice has inspired a variety of responses from various perspectives. However, it seems that most such responses come from western perspectives, and that there is hence a corresponding paucity of seriously challenging responses based on non-western traditions. This paper aims to analyze Rawls’s liberal conception of international justice in view of the concept of natural justice expressed within the (...) Book of Change in order to illuminate the limitations and problems of Rawls’s conception in practice as well as in theory. Rawls employs the idea of political liberalism to construct a liberal conception of international justice that can be applied to a society of societies. Rawls addresses the eight principles for justice among free and democratic peoples, which have been historically accepted by western peoples. He admits that these principles are incomplete. There is no theoretical order among the eight principles equivalent to the lexical order of the two principles of justice in A Theory of Justice. There are no guidelines or basic principles for resolving the problem of priority that arises when the principles are themselves in conflict with one another. This situation may generate competing conceptions of justice within the society of peoples. Rawls mentions natural justice in his explanation for the extension of liberal political principles to decent hierarchical peoples. He takes as an example of natural justice the rule of formal equality that “similar cases be treated similarly.” He does not develop any further the idea of natural justice for his theory of international justice, which could potentially span the gap between his ideal theory and non-ideal theory, or enhance the reasonableness of his international justice, especially for non-liberal peoples. The Book of Change expresses the idea of natural justice that underlies the principle of Yin-Yang, which differs fundamentally from the liberal contract paradigm. The paper will argue that the idea of natural justice should be seriously considered for justice among peoples since it can provide the bedrock for criticizing non-public reason as well as public reason. (shrink)

Deciphering how DCAFs (DDB1‐CUL4 Associated Factors) modulate a broad spectrum of cellular processes, including cell cycle progression and maintenance of genomic integrity is critical to better understand cellular homeostasis and diseases. Cells contain more than 100 DCAFs that associate with the Cullin‐Ring Ubiquitin Ligase 4 (CRL4) complex that target specific protein substrates for degradation. DCAFs are thought to act as substrate receptors that dictate the specificity of the ubiquitination machinery (“catalytic DCAFs”). However, recent studies have suggested that some DCAFs might (...) play a different role by targeting CRL4 complexes to distinct cellular compartments (“structural DCAFs”). Once localized to their correct cellular domains, these CRLs dissociate from the structural DCAFs prior to their association with other, substrate‐specific catalytic DCAFs. Thus, we propose that DCAF switches can provide a mechanistic basis for the degradation of proteins that regulate cell growth and proliferation at precise points in space and time. (shrink)

In this dissertation, I examine Socrates' defense of justice in Plato's Republic. I contend that recognizing the problematic character of Socrates' defense of justice in the Republic is a key to understanding his teaching regarding justice. In response to the request made by Glaucon and Adeimantus at the beginning of Book Two, Socrates tries to show, in the bulk of the Republic, that justice is intrinsically good and that it is better than injustice. In doing so, he relies especially on (...) the definition of the justice of the individual that he provides at the end of Book Four, i.e., allowing each of the parts of the soul to mind its own business. But this definition is paradoxical and appears to have little link with justice as ordinarily understood. It contrasts with the more commonsensical definitions of justice offered in Book One, e.g., that justice is giving to each what is owed and telling the truth. In Book Five through Book Ten, Socrates continues his defense of justice by equating the just man and the philosopher--indeed, by making clear that the philosopher is just more or less in the sense outlined in Book Four. But Socrates implicitly points to the problematic character of the equation of the just man and the philosopher by revealing, among other things, that the philosophers must be compelled to rule in the best regime even though it would be a matter of justice for them to rule willingly. I attempt to comprehend why Socrates provides such a problematic defense of the justice of the individual in the Republic. So too, I explore Socrates' equally problematic defense of the justice of the city. In particular, I consider the possibility and goodness of Socrates' three paradoxical proposals aimed at bringing about the greatest justice attainable within a city--namely, the community of women and children, the equality of the sexes, and the philosopher-kings. (shrink)

4.5 Initiation Language in Philo's Secondary Mode of Exegesis -- 4.5.1 Excursus: Philo and Enoch Traditions -- 4.5.2 De gigantibus 50-55 -- 4.5.3 A Mixed Economy: Active and Passive Attitudes of Mind -- 4.5.4 Proximate Jewish Perspectives -- 4.6 Conclusion -- Chapter 5: Scriptural Exegesis and the Language of Divine Inspiration in the Allegorical Commentary -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.1.1 Chapter Preview -- 5.2 Approaches to Divine Inspiration in Antiquity -- 5.2.1 Perspectives on Divine Inspiration in Plato -- 5.2.2 Perspectives (...) on Divine Inspiration in Aristotle -- 5.2.3 Other First-Century, Non-Jewish Perspectives on Divine Inspiration -- 5.2.4 Ancient Jewish and Early Christian Perspectives on Divine Inspiration -- 5.3 Divine Inspiration in Philo's Writings -- 5.3.1 Divine Inspiration in Philo's Non-Allegorical Writings -- 5.3.2 Divine Inspiration in Philo's Allegorical Writings -- 5.4 Exegetical Foci in Philo's Approach to Divine Inspiration -- 5.4.1 The 'Lesser' and 'Greater' Mysteries of Moses: Sacr. 59-62 -- 5.4.2 Philo, Exodus and Divine Inspiration -- 5.5 Genesis in Philo's Language of Divine Inspiration -- 5.5.1 Platonic Perspectives on Non-Rational Divine Inspiration -- 5.5.2 Ecstasy and Prophecy as Allied Phenomena -- 5.5.3 Divine Inspiration and the 'Greater Mysteries' of Moses -- 5.5.4 The Self-Taught Nature and Ecstatic Inspiration -- 5.5.5 Homeric Portrayals of Self-Taught Inspiration -- 5.6 Conclusion -- Chapter 6: Conclusion -- 6.1 A Central Clue to Philo's Theological Epistemologies -- 6.1.1 General Summary -- 6.1.2 Areas of Overlap Between the Two Epistemologies -- 6.1.3 The Epistemological Significance of Initiation Language -- 6.1.4 The Epistemological Significance Divine Inspiration Language -- 6.2 Evaluation -- 6.3 Avenues for Further Research. (shrink)

Recent figures reported by KPMG confirm the growing prevalence of corporate codes of ethics globally. Svensson et al. (Bus Ethics 18:389–407, 2009 ) in surveys of the largest corporations in Australia, Canada, and Sweden found a similar trend. The increased prevalence of corporate codes of ethics has been accompanied by heightened research interest in various aspects of these documents, e.g., the contents and focus of the codes. However, there is a paucity of research examining the effectiveness of these documents and (...) the organizational infrastructure that accompany them. This study, based on a survey of Canada’s largest corporations, sought to empirically assess the determinants of the effectiveness of corporate codes of ethics by regressing managers’ perceptions of code effectiveness against various elements of ethics programs. It was found that, in a statistically significant model, eighteen independent variables explain 58.5% of the variance in the perceived effectiveness of corporate codes of ethics. (shrink)

This is the introduction to Moretti, Luca and Nikolaj Pedersen (eds), Non-Evidentialist Epistemology. Brill. Contributors: N. Ashton, A. Coliva, J. Kim, K. McCain, A. Meylan, L. Moretti, S. Moruzzi, J. Ohlorst, N. Pedersen, T. Piazza, L. Zanetti.