When the United States and the late Soviet Union were fighting for hegemony, one of the indicators of their power was the development of space industry. Today there is an increase of competitors; at the same time, the American supremacy has increased and goals had suffered change, since stepping on ..

La Femvertising ha aparecido con fuerza en los últimos años como una estrategia de comunicación persuasiva que intenta eliminar los estereotipos de género al tiempo que trabaja por el empoderamiento de las consumidoras. Sin embargo, el carácter esencialmente comercial de la publicidad plantea dudas sobre sus verdaderos fines. Si bien deberían tender al cambio social, siempre emerge la sospecha ante la posible instrumentalización del feminismo en función de objetivos comerciales. El presente artículo pretende contribuir a paliar la escasez (...) de bibliografía especializada sobre Femvertising, por lo que comienza por ofrecer antecedentes de este tipo de publicidad, plantea luego los nudos teóricos que deben abordarse desde la filosofía feminista y, finalmente, construye una metodología para analizar o diseñar publicidad que genere feminismo (Advertising Profem o Publicidad Profem), enfoque más adecuado para los intereses de género que la definición como publicidad feminista.‘Femvertising’ has gained relevance in the last few years as a strategy of persuasive communication that tries to eliminate gender stereotypes while promoting the empowerment of female consumers. However, the essentially commercial quality of advertising raises doubts about its actual aims. Although ‘femvertising’ is supposed to tend towards social change, there is always some suspicion about its instrumentalization of feminism for commercial purposes. This paper tries to fill a gap within the specialized bibliography on ‘femvertising’. In order to do so, it revises its origins, it explores its main theoretical keys from the point of view of feminist philosophy and, finally, it elaborates a method to analyze or design a type of ‘advertising that generates feminism’, which we have dubbed ‘profem advertising’, taking an approach that seems to be more useful for gender-based interests than the more problematic definition of ‘feminist advertising’. (shrink)

Resumen: El presente trabajo se centra en los presupuestos hermenéuticos de los que parte la teoría comunicacional del derecho de Gregorio Robles, como doctrina que muestra una vía de superación de la dicotomía entre filosofía analítica y hermenéutica con la finalidad de hacer más claro el lenguaje de los juristas. Para ello, se analizan cuatro de las obras del autor, desde un punto de vista descriptivo y crítico, que presentan una mayor impronta hermenéutica como son Introducción a la Teoría del (...) Derecho, El Derecho como texto, Teoría del Derecho y Comunicación, lenguaje y derecho, para abordar el contexto en el que se mueve, sus influencias, la plausibilidad de la propia teoría dentro del marco analítico-hermenéutico, y el análisis descriptivo y crítico del manejo de determinados conceptos del debate hermenéutico en la teoría comunicacional del derecho. Abstract: The present paper focuses on the hermeneutical assumptions of Gregorio Robles’s communicational theory of law, as doctrine that shows a way of overcoming the dichotomy between analytical philosophy and hermeneutics in order to clarify the language of jurists. For that purpose, it analyzes four of the author’s works from a descriptive and critical point of view that present a greater hermeneutical influence such as Introduction to Legal Theory, Law as Text, Legal Theory and Communication, Language and Law, to tackle the context of the author, his influences, the plausibility of the theory itself within the analytical and hermeneutical framework, and the descriptive and critical analysis of the use of certain concepts of the hermeneutical debate in the communicational theory of law. (shrink)

Abstract This paper reports the results obtained in an aid project designed to improve transport in the municipal area of Jocotán (Guatemala). The rural road network of an area occupied by indigenous people was analysed and a road chosen for repair using the labour-intensive method–something never done before in this area. The manpower required for the project was provided by the population that would benefit from the project; the involvement of outside contractors and businesses was avoided. All payment for labour (...) went into the pockets of the local people. The small earth movements made and the use of local materials guaranteed the project’s environmental sustainability, while the on-site training of the local community prepared its members for the continued maintenance of the road, thus investing the project with social sustainability. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-24 DOI 10.1007/s11948-011-9290-2 Authors Rodrigo Ares, BIPREE Research Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain José-María Fuentes, BIPREE Research Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Eutiquio Gallego, BIPREE Research Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Francisco Ayuga, BIPREE Research Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Ana-Isabel García, BIPREE Research Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Journal Science and Engineering Ethics Online ISSN 1471-5546 Print ISSN 1353-3452. (shrink)

This article presents an analysis of the uses of the media in secondary schools in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In instructional practices appear dominant imaginaries in training: use the media as neutral source of transmission and use of the same as persuasion. Invisibliza is the indissoluble relationship between the act of communicating and the act of transforming reality.

PurposeThe deployment and strategic use of e‐business, from basic e‐mail utilization to total enterprise integration, involves the commitment of financial and technical resources. The resources have to be financed. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the views of trade promotion organizations, donors, export associations and banks on e‐business financing in Ghana's non‐traditional export sector, with the view to making policy contributions to the e‐business financing phenomenon in a developing economy context.Design/methodology/approachThe research design is qualitative since (...) this is an exploratory study and deep preliminary insights were sought about a hitherto under‐researched information systems topic from a developing country perspective. Officials from the trade promotion; export association, donor and financial communities were interviewed to generate insights to help understand the phenomenon under investigation.FindingsSome banks find it difficult financing e‐business in NTE firms because it is considered a new area with relatively higher risks and uncertainties. Banks would rather grant small loans to a few select small and medium enterprise exporters in an attempt to limit their default risk. The trade promotion organization is helping with up‐skilling for the improvement in e‐competencies in Ghana's NTE sector. The export product association in collaboration with the donor interviewed is in the throes of designing e‐business interventions in Ghana's NTE sector after recently completing an e‐readiness survey in the same sector.Originality/valueThis paper presents a modest contribution to the export firm‐electronic business literature from a resource‐centered perspective, in a DE context. Studies on e‐business financing in DEs are virtually non‐existent and the policy prescriptions could apply with minor modifications to other related contexts in respect of e‐business financing. (shrink)

Successful entrepreneurs of a large retail chain for clothing—the Lojas Renner, decided to address gender, as well as job and income generation issues, in a challenging experience that involved several stakeholders in the new markets where they established their business. In 2007 they launched the ‘Mais Eu’ social campaign aligned with the business, aiming to increase women’s professional qualifications, job and income generation. The key concern relied upon the content of the communication, in order to promote a (...) deep adaptation to regional tastes and habits, respecting the different lifestyles. The institutional advertising campaign focused on the concept of woman and her relationship with important symbols such as family, considering different phases of her life-cycle and different women’s styles. This approach nationalized the concept and the importance of women from all Brazilian regions, enabling identification and awareness. The objectives of this paper are: to present the campaign, as it could serve as a model to be replicated by other companies, in emergent or developing countries; and to analyze the campaign using the theoretical framework of the Ethics of Care. (shrink)

To what degree has biology influenced and shaped the development of moral systems? One way to determine the extent to which human moral systems might be the product of natural selection is to explore behaviour in other species that is analogous and perhaps homologous to our own. Many non-human primates, for example, have similar methods to humans for resolving, managing, and preventing conflicts of interests within their groups. Such methods, which include reciprocity and food sharing, reconciliation, consolation, conflict intervention, and (...) mediation, are the very building blocks of moral systems in that they are based on and facilitate cohesion among individuals and reflect a concerted effort by community members to find shared solutions to social conflict. Furthermore, these methods of resource distribution and conflict resolution often require or make use of capacities for empathy, sympathy, and sometimes even community concern. Non-human primates in societies in which such mechanisms are present may not be exactly moral beings, but they do show signs of a sense of social regularity that—just like the norms and rules underlying human moral conduct—promotes a mutually satisfactory modus vivendi. (shrink)

What makes political freedom valuable to us? Two well-known arguments are that freedom contributes to our desire satisfaction and to our personal responsibility. Here, Boudewijn de Bruin argues that freedom is valuable when it is accompanied by knowledge. He offers an original and systematic account of the relationship between freedom and knowledge and defends two original normative ideals of known freedom and acknowledged freedom. -/- By combining psychological perspectives on choice and philosophical views on the value of knowledge, he shows (...) how known freedom is crucial to satisfy our desires and assume responsibility. Known freedom is compromised when salespeople deploy consumer-obfuscation, or when news outlets use contextual framing techniques to steer the way their audiences process information. Conversely, carefully developed consumer protection and information disclosure regulation can foster known freedom. Acknowledged freedom, from ethical and economic perspectives, offers protection and makes our freedoms more stable. It embodies an ideal of mutual recognition that underlies informed consent and the ethics of communication, and can also contribute to a flourishing corporate culture. -/- This book integrates and extends cutting-edge research from philosophy, economics, psychology, and law to reorient debates on privacy, neuromarketing, sustainable finance, corporate culture, consumer protection, media violence, and freedom of speech. -/- An original account of the relation between freedom and knowledge, integrating cutting-edge research from philosophy, economics, psychology, and law; defends the ideals of known and acknowledged freedom; offers new perspectives on debates surrounding privacy, corporate culture, consumer protection, freedom of speech, and more -/- Introduction: Why Freedom is Not Enough 1:From Choice Overload to Discrimination: Arguments for Freedom 2:From Brainwashing to Neuromarketing: Freedom of Belief 3:From the Value of Knowledge to Skills and Stereotypes: The Individual Ideal of Known Freedom 4:From Common Knowledge to the Ethics of Communication: The Social Ideal of Acknowledged Freedom 5:Sustainable Finance and Responsible Investors 6:Ethics Management and Informed Stakeholders 7:Freedom of Speech and Consumer Autonomy 8:Liberal Privacy and Legal Protection Conclusion: How Freedom Can Be Sufficient . (shrink)

Resumen: Este artículo responde a la pregunta sobre el carácter de la literatura antropológica chilena en su posición híbrida entre ciencia y literatura, para ello maneja las categorías del antropólogo y literato originario de Martinica Édouard Glissant, en lo relativo a su concepción de “Todo Mundo” como posibilidad de comprensión transcultural, utilizándose conceptos como los de archipiélago, rizoma, opacidad, caos y criollización. Con ello logramos asumir a la literatura antropológica chilena como una forma textual que responde a definiciones propias de (...) literatura y poesía, y que se define básicamente como un instrumento de comunicación intercultural, con un origen en las ciencias sociales.: This article answers the question about the character of the Chilean anthropological literature in its hybrid position between science and literature, for it uses the categories of the anthropologist and literary native of the Martinique Édouard Glissant, with regard to his conception of "All World" as a possibility of transcultural understanding, using concepts such as archipelago, rhizome, opacity, chaos and creolization. With this we managed to assume the Chilean anthropological literature as a textual form that responds to own definitions of literature and poetry and that is basically defined as an instrument of intercultural communication, with an origin in the social sciences. (shrink)

Ethical requirements of the prosumer-citizen facing companies Resumen: Los procesos de recesión económica y los cambios políticos que se están desarrollando en las sociedades occidentales, plantean una disyuntiva sobre el papel social de las empresas y su modo de relacionarse con el público. Se ha producido el despertar de consumidores/as conscientes de su poder, tanto como creadores/as de contenidos a través de los espacios digitales, como de vigilantes activos de las acciones de empresas y gobiernos. Ante esta realidad, las organizaciones (...) no pueden actuar sin atender al entorno, deben reconocer su responsabilidad social y responder a las demandas de sus stakeholders a través de una gestión empresarial ética y comunicativa. En el presente artículo se reflexiona en torno a una propuesta de ética empresarial de corte discursivo capaz de responder a las exigencias sociales y promover una comunicación transparente que incorpore los intereses de los grupos afectados por la actividad empresarial.: The economic crisis and the political changes that are taking place in Western societies set out a dilemma about the social role of companies and their social interactions. Nowadays, consumers have become aware of their power, both as creators of content through digital tools, as active guards of the actions of companies and governments. In front of this, organizations cannot act without pay attention to their environment; companies must recognize their social responsibility and respond to the stakeholders demands through an ethical and communicative management. We’ll explain a business ethics based on a discursive model, because it can be useful to attend social demands, to promote transparent communication, and to incorporate the interests of those affected by business activity. Palabras clave: ética empresarial, ética discursiva, prosumidor/a, monitorización, confianza. Keywords: business ethics, discourse ethics, prosumer, monitoring, trust. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Business Managers in Ancient Rome: A Social and Economic Study of Institores, 200 B.C.–A.D. 250Nicholas K. RauhJean-Jacques Aubert. Business Managers in Ancient Rome: A Social and Economic Study of Institores, 200 B.C.–A.D. 250. Leiden, New York, and Köln: E. J. Brill, 1994. xvi + 520 pp. Cloth, Gld. 220, $125.75 (US). (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition, Volume XXI.)Aubert’s declared purpose in this study is to (...) examine the world of Roman business managers (institores)—their social background and status, their role as managers within business enterprises, and their ensuing relations with workers, entrepreneurs, suppliers, and customers. He pursues these themes through five chapters. Chapter 1, “Business Agents and Business Managers,” explores developments in the use and meaning of the term institor through the legal, literary, papyrological, and epigraphical source materials of Republican and Imperial Rome. Chapter 2, “Indirect Agency in Roman Law,” examines the evolution of the Roman laws of indirect agency (particularly the actiones adiecticiae qualitatis) from their inception through the classical jurists to show how Roman law was adjusted to accommodate the needs of the business community. Chapter 3, “Managers of Agricultural Estates,” traces the roots of the Roman system of indirect agency to the management of agricultural estates and to the exploitation of natural resources such as clay, quarries, and manufacturing activities on the Roman farmstead. Chapter 4, “Production and Distribution of Clay Artifacts,” examines the manager’s role in the organization of various types of workshops producing clay artifacts—bricks and tiles, amphoras, terra sigillata, and terracotta lamps—and the subsequent marketing of this production. Chapter 5, “Direct Management and Public Administration: Four Case Studies,” investigates how the vilicus-based system of management became adapted to four areas of [End Page 501] the economy and administration of the Roman empire—imperial tax collection (vectigalia), recreational facilities (including baths, libraries, theaters, amphitheaters, and circuses), the imperial communications system (roads, post, and transport services), and the imperial mint. This cursory outline of A.’s intentions serves to demonstrate the breadth and importance of the task he assumes. In my opinion he handles this with a tremendous degree of authority and even-handedness.A.’s overarching theses are 1) that indirect agency emerged through the increasing absentee management of Roman farm operations and the delegation of Roman estate management to the agent known as the vilicus, 2) that regardless of the type of industry, most managerial operations exploited the practical efficiency and accountability of this vilicus-based system, and 3) that overall developments in Roman business management progressed from a more restrictive reliance on agents directly subservient to the entrepreneur (generally young slaves or family members under the direct potestas of the proprietor) to a more liberal reliance on managers enjoying looser personal connections—freedmen, servi alieni, and freeborn nonrelatives whose services were ensured by the terms of consensual contracts. One of the main points of the first chapter, for example, is the limited quantity of information there is available for institores and the generally derogatory tone it bears. We learn later on that institores were, in fact, relatively few in number and ill-liked precisely because they were so independent (175), and that far more business managers are recorded as vilici precisely because entrepreneurs could more firmly control them.A. argues that due to its extreme formalism rooted in the archaic period, Roman law lacked the concept of direct agency, and that the praetor responded to the needs of businesspeople by creating a legal system based on existing structures of Roman society (slavery and family) with advantages similar to those direct agency could otherwise have offered. With respect to the vilicus-based managerial system this was achieved through the legal fiction of the peculium, “the juristic existence of fictitious assets pertaining de facto to the dependent, but belonging de iure to the principal” (65). Terms of employment and guarantees of liability were inherently trickier for nondependent business agents and evolved during the second and first centuries b.c. through increased reliance on formulary procedure, and particularly through the development of consensual agreements. In this regard A. stresses the importance of the emergence of the... (shrink)

Arguing that the grounding of philosophical ethics is more complex than De George's reference to reason and human experience reflects, and that religious ethics is less doctrinaire and less given to indoctrination than De George suggests, Camenisch maintains that De George has portrayed an artifically wide gap between the two fields. Rejecting De George's typology of religious ethics as unhelpful, Camenisch suggests that the crucial distinction between philosophical and religious/theological ethics is the community or lived nature of the latter. The (...) implications of this dimension of religious ethics for business ethics is briefly explored in relation to the use of cases, the role of the lives of moral exemplars, corporate responsibility, and obligations to future generations, to indicate not that religious ethics generates answers different from those of philosophy, but that it provides a different perspective on some central moral matters. (shrink)

Oriented in communicative functional linguistics, the following paper recaptures Haberma´s concept of communicative action and tries to insert it in the communicational model. It describes and explains the importance of the pragmatic component, since it commonly focused on language in use, and in th..

RESUMENLa idea de la filosofía sostenida por Heidegger en sus primeros cursos puede ser caracterizada por las notas que Karl Jaspers utiliza para describir a los profetas de la comunicación indirecta. El objetivo de este artículo es mostrar la influencia de la labor metodológica de Søren Kierkegaard en el joven Heidegger.PALABRAS CLAVEHEIDEGGER, KIERKEGAARD, COMUNICACIÓN INDIRECTA,INDICACIÓN FORMAL, ÉTICA DEL MÉTODOABSTRACTThe idea of philosophy held by Heidegger in his early courses can be characterized by the features that Karl Jaspers uses (...) to describe the prophets of indirect communication. The aim of this article is to show the influence of Søren Kierkegaard’s methodological work on the young Heidegger.KEY WORDSHEIDEGGER, KIERKEGAARD, INDIRECT COMMUNICATION,FORMAL INDICATION, ETHICS OF METHOD. (shrink)

Se presentan los resultados de una investigación cualitativa hermenéutica sobre la lingüística cognitiva y la lingüística aplicada, relacionadas con otras ciencias en un contexto específico de la comunidad científica especializada. Desde una visión integral y holística de las ciencias biomédicas y humanas, asimismo, se estudian los lenguajes técnico-científicos de la ciencia y de la tecnología para facilitar la interrelación cognitiva entre las diferentes disciplinas. Este estudio permite crear capacidades para evaluar el acervo léxico en contexto, útil para la transmisión y (...) la transformación del conocimiento en un lenguaje propio acorde a la exigencia del método científico. El objetivo consistió en indagar sobre la relación de la unidad léxica con su nexo cognitivo a una unidad terminológica de uso cotidiano en la información y en la comunicación académica de la práctica médico-legal forense. Los resultados establecen diferencia y precisan cierta comprensión de la significación de unidades léxicas ambiguas de mayor relevancia y frecuencia, utilizadas en este ámbito del conocimiento, en cuatro categorías de análisis; según las características propias de la disciplina en dialogo con otras ciencias en contexto. Se evidencia la importancia de educar durante el proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje significativo de la disciplina en contexto, desde la metalingüística del objeto de estudio dimensionado y relacionado con otros objetos de estudio, que permita el proceso cognitivo del lenguaje técnico-científico transdisciplinar, la apropiación social y la circulación del conocimiento aplicado a las prácticas médico legales integrales en relación entre la Psicofarmacología, la Psiquiatría, la Antropología y la Psicología, con las ciencias biomédicas y humanas. In this work results of a qualitive hermeneutic research about a cognitive and applied linguistic related to other sciences in an specific context of a given scientific community were presented, a technical and scientific language regarding science and technology was pointed out from an integral vision in order to facilitate cognitive relationship among different disciplines. This study also allows to create capacities in order to assess vocabulary in context, useful for the transmission and transformation of knowledge according to a scientific method. The objective was directed to know about the relationship between the lexical unit and its meaning in a given communicative context and in the academic communication of a medical - legal forensic practice. The importance of educate during the teaching learning process is also mentioned in this research and the main objective is to develop an assertive medical practice among Psychopharmacology, psychiatric, anthropology and psychology with biomedical and human sciences. (shrink)

This paper aims to analyse how the discourse of CEO letters and other factors influence community involvement and Social Licence to Operate (SLO) in the mining industry. The analysis is based on qualitative information disclosed in sustainability reports and CEO letters from 32 mining firms. Content analysis was undertaken to obtain data for the study, and then a regression analysis and a multiple correspondence analysis were used to test the hypotheses defined in the study. The results indicate that the CEO (...) discourse influences how a firm expresses the importance of gaining its SLO, the philanthropic activities in which companies become involved and the destinations of the investments in the communities in which they operate. The results also show changes in the discourse between 2011 and 2015, which are, in part, explained by the difficult situation experienced by the sector during this period. The paper contributes to the Corporate Social Responsibility literature by integrating different theories from this field into the SLO framework. The analysis carried out and the results obtained are useful for both CEOs and Sustainability Managers, especially in managing their relationships with the communities where they operate or intend to operate. (shrink)

The issue of trust has increasingly attracted attention in the business ethics literature. Our aim is to contribute further to this literature by examining how the use of the carbon copy function in email communication influences felt trust. We develop the argument that the use of cc enhances transparency—representing an important characteristic of workplace ethics—and hence promotes trust. We further argue that a downside of the cc option may be that it can also be experienced as a control (...) mechanism, which may therefore negatively affect trust. The results of our first study showed that the use of cc indeed enhances perceived transparency, but at the same time also leads to the experience of increased control. Building upon this insight, the findings of five subsequent studies consistently revealed that the use of cc negatively influences felt trust. More precisely, employees felt trusted the least when the supervisor was always included in cc. This effect on felt trust also negatively influenced how trustworthy the organizational climate was perceived. We further replicated these results in two field surveys, which showed that the negative effect of cc on felt trust lowered perceptions of psychological safety and contributed to a culture of fear. Taken together, our findings suggest that when transparency in email communications is experienced as a control mechanism, its use is perceived as unethical, rather than as ethical. Implications and recommendations for future business ethics research are discussed. (shrink)

In the field of organizational communication, the notion of autopoiesis has been mostly used to explain the mechanisms that constitute organizations in autonomous systems. In this paper we argue that to better understand the autonomy and the constitutive mechanisms of organizations we need to study the narrative processes that distinguish organization as a unity. This statement is based on two premises: first, the intrinsic relation between autopoiesis and the interpretative capacity of living beings; second, the importance of the act (...) of distinction in the sensemaking process, from which we differentiate the unity from a ground. En el campo de la comunicación organizacional, el concepto de autopoiesis se ha usado principalmente para explicar los mecanismos que constituyen las organizaciones en sistemas autónomos. El presente trabajo postula que para comprender mejor la autonomía y los mecanismos constituyentes de las organizaciones debemos estudiar los procesos narrativos que distinguen a la organización como unidad. Esta afirmación se basa en dos premisas: primero el vínculo intrínseco entre autopoiesis y la capacidad interpretativa del ser vivo; segundo, la importancia en ese proceso de significación del acto de distinción, a partir del cual separamos a lo señalado como distinto de un fondo. (shrink)

This paper aims to analyse how the discourse of CEO letters and other factors influence community involvement and Social Licence to Operate (SLO) in the mining industry. The analysis is based on qualitative information disclosed in sustainability reports and CEO letters from 32 mining firms. Content analysis was undertaken to obtain data for the study, and then a regression analysis and a multiple correspondence analysis were used to test the hypotheses defined in the study. The results indicate that the CEO (...) discourse influences how a firm expresses the importance of gaining its SLO, the philanthropic activities in which companies become involved and the destinations of the investments in the communities in which they operate. The results also show changes in the discourse between 2011 and 2015, which are, in part, explained by the difficult situation experienced by the sector during this period. The paper contributes to the Corporate Social Responsibility literature by integrating different theories from this field into the SLO framework. The analysis carried out and the results obtained are useful for both CEOs and Sustainability Managers, especially in managing their relationships with the communities where they operate or intend to operate. (shrink)

Why is it so plausible that business organisations in contemporary society use values in their communication? In order to answer this question, a sociological, system theoretical approach is applied which approaches values not pre-empirically as invisible drivers for action but as observable semantics that form organisational behaviour. In terms of empirical material, it will be shown that business organisations resort to a communication of values whenever uncertainty or complexity is very high. Inevitably, value semantics are applied (...) in organisations first when the speakers are uncertain about which stakeholders to whom they have to address or when different stakeholder groups have to be addressed simultaneously ; second, when the identity of the organisation has to be described; and third, when future strategic options that cannot be expressed by quantitative terms have to be communicated. Values accordingly play a role in organisational practice when certain aspects are indeterminate. Therefore, they are a means for organisations to communicate under fuzzy circumstances. On the basis of these findings, new approaches to value management can now be formulated. (shrink)

In this article we raise a problem, and we offer two practical contributions to its solution. The problem is that academic communities interested in digital publishing do not have adequate tools to help them in choosing a publishing model that suits their needs. We believe that excessive focus on Open Access (OA) has obscured some important issues; moreover exclusive emphasis on increasing openness has contributed to an agenda and to policies that show clear practical shortcomings. We believe that academic communities (...) have different needs and priorities; therefore there cannot be a ranking of publishing models that fits all and is based on only one criterion or value. We thus believe that two things are needed. First, communities need help in working out what they want from their digital publications. Their needs and desiderata should be made explicit and their relative importance estimated. This exercise leads to the formulation and ordering of their objectives. Second, available publishing models should be assessed on the basis of these objectives, so as to choose one that satisfies them well. Accordingly we have developed a framework that assists communities in going through these two steps. The framework can be used informally, as a guide to the collection and systematic organization of the information needed to make an informed choice of publishing model. In order to do so it maps the values that should be weighed and the technical features that embed them. Building on our framework, we also offer a method to produce ordinal and cardinal scores of publishing models. When these techniques are applied the framework becomes a formal decision–making tool. Finally, the framework stresses that, while the OA movement tackles important issues in digital publishing, it cannot incorporate the whole range of values and interests that are at the core of academic publishing. Therefore the framework suggests a broader agenda that is relevant in making better policy decisions around academic publishing and OA. (shrink)

In this paper we study the inferential analysis of the use of fallacies as a source of absurd communication. Starting from a diachronic review of perpectives, criteria and classification of fallacies, we analyze the fallacious arguments used in absurd discourses which are meant to trigger humor as well as the dislocation of the communicative sense.

This article explores verbal and visual language use in Zimbabwean contraceptive promotional brochures distributed from the early to mid-1980s. Drawing on recent work in critical discourse analysis of text and visual design, the article uses multimodal discourse analysis and draws from Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar’s transitivity analysis to analyze family planning pamphlets, focusing on the discursive construction of women as contraceptive users. The article argues that the salience of the language of risk and vulnerability, which is textually and visually deployed (...) throughout the pamphlets, discursively constructs risk as a feature of unequal power relations. The article further argues that underlying the overarching discourse on risk are multiple ‘silences’ that discursively construct an ideological difference consisting of oppositional binaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’ in terms of power relations. The differentiation of social groups reflects ‘hidden’ social inequalities in the text and visual images. (shrink)

La comunicación y el sector turístico han caminado juntos desde la aparición del turismo, han confluido en la web y se han reinventado en los medios sociales y en las recientes plataformas y aplicaciones. Los destinos turísticos siempre han necesitado algún tipo de comunicación para darse a conocer. Hay muchas fuentes de información turística que oscilan entre lo formal y lo informal, lo institucional y lo comercial… transmitidas en diversos medios. El objetivo de este trabajo es reflexionar (...) sobre la importancia de las fuentes de información en el turismo interno, tomando como ejemplo el destino Serra da Estrela, Portugal. (shrink)

Introducción: El maltrato infantil se define como el abuso y la desatención de que son objeto los menores de 18 años; incluye el maltrato físico o psicológico, abuso sexual, desatención, negligencia y explotación comercial o de otro tipo que puedan causar un daño a la salud, al desarrollo o la dignidad del niño, y poner en peligro su supervivencia, en el contexto de una relación de responsabilidad, confianza o poder. Método: Se realizó un estudio prospectivo, con enfoque cuali-cuantitativo, (...) modalidad de campo, descriptivo, analítico y longitudinal en la escuela Manuela Espejo del cantón Ambato, provincia Tungurahua, Ecuador, durante el periodo 2013-2015 con el objetivo de determinar la incidencia de maltrato infantil y brindarle la atención o tratamiento adecuado. Resultados: El 7,67 % de los niños eran maltratados, predominó el sexo masculino con un 74 %, fundamentalmente en el medio familiar con un 52,17 % en la modalidad de maltrato psicológico en un 62,16 %. Conclusiones: La violencia infantil, continúa siendo un problema a nivel internacional. La asistencia continua a las víctimas del maltrato y a sus familias puede ayudar a reducirlo y a paliar sus consecuencias. Introduction: Child abuse is defined as mistreatment and neglect of children who are under 18. It includes physical or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial exploitation or any other kind of exploitation that may cause damage to children´s health, physical development or dignity, and may endanger their survival in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power. Method: A prospective, descriptive, analytical, longitudinal study was conducted using qualitative and quantitative approaches at Manuela Espejo School in Canton Ambato, Tungurahua province, Ecuador, during the period of 2013-2015 in order to determine the incidence of child abuse and provide adequate care or treatment. Results: 7.67% of children were abused; of those, males predominated at 74%. The abuse took place mainly in the family environment in the form of psychological maltreatment. Conclusions: Child abuse remains a problem internationally. Continuous assistance to victims of abuse and their families can help reduce and mitigate its consequences. (shrink)

Cloud computing is rapidly gaining traction in business. It offers businesses online services on demand (such as Gmail, iCloud and Salesforce) and allows them to cut costs on hardware and IT support. This is the first paper in business ethics dealing with this new technology. It analyzes the informational duties of hosting companies that own and operate cloud computing datacenters (e.g., Amazon). It considers the cloud services providers leasing ‘space in the cloud’ from hosting companies (e.g, Dropbox, Salesforce). (...) And it examines the business and private ‘clouders’ using these services. The first part of the paper argues that hosting companies, services providers and clouders have mutual informational (epistemic) obligations to provide and seek information about relevant issues such as consumer privacy, reliability of services, data mining and data ownership. The concept of interlucency is developed as an epistemic virtue governing ethically effective communication. The second part considers potential forms of government restrictions on or proscriptions against the development and use of cloud computing technology. Referring to the concept of technology neutrality, it argues that interference with hosting companies and cloud services providers is hardly ever necessary or justified. It is argued, too, however, that businesses using cloud services (banks, law firms, hospitals etc. storing client data in the cloud, e.g.) will have to follow rather more stringent regulations. (shrink)

Two recent films by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, David Mamet, can provide opportunities for observing student reactions to ethically troublesome situations and for discussing business-communication ethics in the classroom. The key question addressed in this article is whether business-communication courses, for example, those in public relations, can encourage students to make the "metaphoric leap" and apply Mamet's messages to class readings and discussions on ethical problems or challenges. Through showing two films in their entirety and conducting focus (...) groups among upper-level undergraduates, the authors find that there is instructional value in using Mamet's films to discuss ethics in business-related settings. (shrink)

Information and communication technology has certain advantages that can contribute positively in business ethics education programmes. It is necessary, however, to identify first the factors critical for acquiring ethical competence and later to proceed to the construction and use of such tools, in order to ensure that these tools are indeed adapted to the process and the goals of business ethics education. Based on psychological theory and research, it is argued that one such crucial factor is the (...) psychological construct of ethical autonomy. The strengths and weaknesses of information and communication technology tools are discussed in accordance with this, and some suggestions are given on fruitful ways to incorporate these tools in business ethics education. (shrink)

Introducción: las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones se utilizan cada vez más en las universidades como medios de enseñanza. Se ha optado por el uso de los objetos de aprendizaje para lograr la reutilización, accesibilidad, durabilidad e interoperabilidad en sus recursos educativos. Objetivo: enunciar algunos de los valores humanos que se que se manifiestan en el proceso de autoformación con los objetos de aprendizaje. Método: se utilizó la observación como método científico durante el proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje con los objetos (...) de aprendizaje para la autoformación de los estudiantes. Resultados: se enunciaron algunos valores intelectuales, éticos, estéticos, físicos, morales y sociales, que se revelan en el proceso de autoformación con los objetos de aprendizaje. Conclusiones: Los valores humanos que manifiestan los estudiantes durante el proceso de autoformación con los objetos de aprendizaje sirven para establecer juicios de valor consistentes, derivados de modos de pensar y sentir que les permitan enfrentar sus decisiones vitales. Introduction: Information technology and communications are increasingly used in universities as teaching means in the teaching-learning process. The use of learning objects has been opted to achieve reusability, accessibility, durability and interoperability in its educational resources. Objective: To enunciate some human values occurring in the process of self-education with learning objects. Method: The observation as a scientific method for the teaching-learning process with learning objects for independent self-training of students was used. Results: There have been enunciated some intellectual, ethical, aesthetic, physical, moral and social values that are revealed in the process of self-training with learning objects. Conclusions: The human values that students showed during self-training with learning objects serve to establish consistent value judgments derived from modes of thinking and feeling that enable them to cope with their vital decisions. (shrink)

. Shared leadership goes hand in hand with an organizational culture; this means it is intended to innovation. In another sense for learning organizations innovation is a successful and permanent process becomes routine, rather it is a fact particularly unusual or distracting people from the central work, strategic medullar any organization, in the organizations main objective is the responsible management of communication, even as a basic instrument that empowers the leader and determines its meaning and direction.Keywords. Communications systems, organizations, (...) power.Resumen. El liderazgo compartido va de la mano con una cultura organizacional, esto significa que está dirigido a la innovación. En otro sentido para las organizaciones que aprenden la innovación es un proceso exitoso y permanente que se convierte en algo cotidiano, en lugar de que sea, un hecho poco usual o especial que distrae la atención de las personas del trabajo central, estratégico o medular de cualquier organización; es decir, para las organizaciones su objetivo principal es el manejo responsable de la comunicación incluso, como instrumento básico que empodera al líder y determina su sentido y dirección.Palabras clave. Líder, organizaciones, poder, sistemas de comunicación. (shrink)

Recently, several articles have asserted that corporate social responsibility programs have gone too far and need to be reigned in. These critics have charged that corporate social responsibility is to be regarded with skepticism and that any changes in corporate accountability should be superficial at best. I will examine a␣number of these objections; I conclude that these critiques are largely ill founded, but that their increasing frequency in popular media is a cause for concern. I argue that these purported objections (...) are better understood as one part of a long-term cycle that generally accompanies positive moral change in institutions. Using the feminist movement as a touchstone, I examine the similarities between backlash against the movement for corporate accountability as compared to backlash against feminists. I␣also suggest ways in which successful strategies adopted by feminists could be used effectively to communicate the aims of those working to increase awareness of business accountability. (shrink)

Globalization processes have resulted in greater complexity, interdependence and limited resources. Consequently, no one sector can effectively respond to today's business or wider challenges and opportunities. Non-government organizations and corporations are increasingly engaging each other in recognition that shareholder and societal value are intrinsically linked. For both sectors, these partnerships can create an enabling environment to address social issues and can generate social capital. Located in the Australian context, this paper explores the dimensions of community organization capacity building as (...) an aspect of business-community organization partnerships. An Australian case study is used to demonstrate the benefits to business, community organizations and ultimately the communities in which the corporation is embedded and which are serviced by the community organization. (shrink)

Business schools are often thought of as being accountable for the individual student’s personal development and preparation to enter the business community. While true that business schools guide knowledge development, they must also fulfill a social contract with the business community to provide ethical entry-level business professionals. Three stakeholders, students, faculty, and the business community, are involved in developing and strengthening an understanding of ethical behavior and the serious impacts associated with an ethical lapse. (...) This paper discusses the ways the business schools may enhance the student’s ethical knowledge and understanding, and proposes a roadmap that business schools may use to develop or strengthen a strong ethical culture. (shrink)

This paper discusses the application of information and communication technology (ICT) in the commercial, non-passenger maritime sector. The paper first profiles the available technologies in this subject area, which predominantly involve globally accessible satellite communications, then examines their application in two large shipping companies.The paper considers Maritime Personnel Management in the context of seafaring, regarding the crew of a ship as a node in a distributed network, and as transnational teams. Customised personnel management and knowledge management software for the (...) maritime market is available and this can be employed to improve operational efficiency. Shipping companies have traditionally been strictly hierarchical organisations, but evidence suggests that this is changing alongside the wider implementation of e-commerce in the sector.It was found that cost is a decisive factor in determining the extent to which shipping companies are prepared to invest in an information and communications technologies (ICT) infrastructure. However, new satellite technologies such as Mobile Packet Data now provide an economical method of transferring data between ship and shore. The ‘office at sea’ is a viable proposition thanks to this, once the initial investment in equipment has been made, with the ship being another node in the corporate Intranet or Wide Area Network (WAN).Extending ICT provision to allow for seafarer access to e-mails is a vital welfare provision, to alleviate isolation and assist in recruitment and retention. However, it was found not only that the seafarer’s family at home may not have access to the technology to send and receive e-mails in many parts of the world, but that ship owners had negative attitudes to the use of ICT for such purposes.The potential for Maritime e-learning was investigated, the sector being supplied by vendors offering customised maritime software solutions. Fully Internet-based e-learning is unlikely to be economically viable for some years to come, due to the cost of access using a satellite link, but creative computer-based training solutions are available, based on CD ROMs and tutor support by e-mail. Computers dedicated to training use are provided by larger shipping companies, but are by no means universal across the maritime sector.Welfare provision for seafarers is offered mainly by organisations in the voluntary sector. Such organisations have made creative use of available technologies, both on Web sites and in the ICT provision offered in Seafarers’ Centres. There has not, however, been an increase in enquiries and reports of mistreatment from seafarers as a result of being able to receive these over the Internet, mainly due to a poor level of Internet access at sea. ‘Crew Calling’ is an encouraging development as it gives seafarers their own communications link, distinct from the ship’s communications system.This study indicates that the use of maritime ICT for human welfare and training is relatively limited. Although there are many available technologies which can assist in bridging the physical gap between land and sea by ‘virtual’ means, current business pressures dictate that only the most profitable and forward-thinking companies are willing to consider fully implementing them. The authors conclude that the provisions described in this paper will eventually become the industry norm, but that virtual connections are at present far from complete. (shrink)

Cross-sector social partnerships (CSSPs) are relevant units of analysis for understanding sustainable business models (SBMs). This research examines how organizations value their motivations to participate in large sustainability-focused partnerships, how they perceive the value captured, and their structures implemented to address sustainability partnerships. Two hundred and twenty-four organizations partnering within four large sustainability CSSPs were surveyed using an augmented resource-based view (RBV) theoretical framework. Results show that partners were motivated by and captured value related to sustainability-, organizational-, and human-oriented (...) resources, and that organizations prefer more informal than formal structural elements to implement their partnerships’ sustainability strategies. Contributions to SBM and CSSP fields are revealed. SBM thinking is a provocation toward seeking integrated sustainable value creation, helping show the value of large CSSPs. Conversely, by conceiving of large, pluralistic CSSPs as “collaborative SBMs,” we extend the idea of the “business model” to the societal level, exploring how value is captured in partnership. (shrink)

Business Ethics: A European Review, EarlyView.

This article focuses on the association between the beliefs of small business owners and managers and their support for the community. Qualitative and quantitative data are utilized in an exploratory examination of two rationales for socially responsible behavior and of two kinds of support. Analyses show that the belief in strengthening the community as an important strategy for business success is positively associated with the provision of nonrisky and risky support. Risky support may threaten short-term business success. (...) However, the belief that a good public image is important for business success is negatively or not significantly associated with either risky or nonrisky support for the community. Findings uphold the position that there are significant variations in enlightened self-interest rationales that are differentially associated with business social performance among small business operators and demonstrate the usefulness of disaggregating social performance into risky and nonrisky variations. (shrink)

This article examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility and locality in the small business context. This issue is addressed by studying the interplay between small businesses and local community based on the embeddedness literature and using the concept of social proximity. On the basis of 25 thematic interviews with owner-managers a typology is constructed which illustrates the owner-managers’ perceptions of the relationship between the business and the local community. The findings emphasize the importance of reciprocity as it (...) is suggested that corporate social responsibility in relation to locality is constructed as a response to the interpretations of reciprocal community support between small business owner-managers and local community. (shrink)

Within the limited, but growing, literature on small business ethics almost no attention has been paid to the issue of social responsibility within ethnic minority businesses. Using a social capital perspective, this paper reports on an exploratory and qualitative investigation into the attitudinal and behavioural manifestations of CSR within small and medium-sized Asian owned or managed firms in the U.K., with particular reference to the distinctive factors motivating organisational responses. It offers alternative explanations of entrepreneurial behaviour and suggests areas (...) for further research. (shrink)

The frequency and severity of natural disasters and extreme weather events are increasing, taking a dramatic economic and relational toll on the communities they strike. Given the critical role that entrepreneurship plays in a community’s viability, it is necessary to understand how small business owners respond to these events and move forward over time. This study explores the long-term dynamics and trajectory of individuals within the broader business community following a natural disaster, paying particular attention to the influence (...) of social identity. Results suggest that the community identity changes over the course of recovery and rebuilding, underscoring the need for a holistic approach so that intervening agencies can achieve the sustainable economic recovery desired. (shrink)

Business organizations in their work environment, aspire to create a high level of performance and low levels of absenteeism and turnover. Organizational commitment is considered a key factor in achieving this objective, however, it can be conditioned by several factors, among which is the psychological contract. The literature has related the organizational commitment with the fulfillment of the psychological contract framing it as one of the explanatory variables. This work aims to investigate research trends on psychological contract and organizational (...) commitment. For this purpose, bibliometric techniques and the software SciMAT have been used. 220 journal articles indexed in Web of Science (WoS) were analyzed. The findings indicate that the theme chosen for this review is valid. Based on the relationship between the two concepts, as the most recurrent themes, issues such as the sense of justice and the consequences of the violation of the psychological contract, normative commitment, HR management or job insecurity are addressed. However, in the last period analyzed (2015–2018), publications related to more sensitive topics to the present time emerge, such as the employability or the impact of these two concepts in the new generations (millennial and generation-Y) or the retention of talent. On the other hand, shortcomings are detected in the research on the ideologically charged psychological contract, the analysis of the organizational context or cultural and demographic factors in relation to both theoretical constructs. The contribution of this work lies in giving visibility to scientific results, which will serve business organizations as instruments for decision making in their labor management and, for the scientific community, as knowledge of the research spaces to explore. (shrink)

Individuals with high self-concept will likely have high life satisfaction, they easily get adjusted to life, and they communicate their feeling more appropriately. However, it was not certain whether self-concept would decline or improve as individuals age, or whether self-concept would vary between genders and ethnic groups. To prove, a study was carried out to compare the self-concept of college students in an Asian context. The inquiry utilized the cross-sectional design in finding out significant differences in the self-concept of participants (...) in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity. A 22-item questionnaire was adapted and administered to 222 Bachelor of Public Administration and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration students from the satellite campus of Bukidnon State University in the Philippines. Initially, a sample was randomly drawn from the population. During the actual data collection, the researchers had difficulty getting the responses from the randomly selected individuals due to internet connection and it was done amidst a pandemic. Instead, it took all responses from those who were available, have access to the internet, and could accomplish the google forms. The data were analyzed using Mean, Standard Deviation, T-test for independent sample, ANOVA and Post Hoc test. The results revealed that college students at the locale have a high level of self-concept in self-fulfilment, emotional adjustment, and honesty. Yet, they only had a moderate level of self-concept in autonomy. Further, there were significant differences in college students’ autonomy and honesty in terms of age and gender. Furthermore, there were significant differences in their emotional adjustment and self-fulfilment as to their ethnicity. The results have implications for instruction, administration, guidance services, and future research. (shrink)

Modern information technologies, beginning with the fax and audiocassettes but now exemplified in satellite television and the Internet, have opened the public discourse of Islam to new voices and, more subtlely, to new practices. While media-savvy militants draw the attention of outside observers, a quieter drama is unfolding. Pious middle classes are extending conventional patterns of seeking out religious guidance into new channels, particularly the Internet; the continuous search for role models and reference groups is meeting increasingly modern ways of (...) providing those - namely, media and increasingly media that target specific needs of growing middle classes. These range from religious instructional material for children to be used by parents to religious advice columnists, both conventional and contemporary to sermons to selections of news. Once 'private' discourses are on public display, and this public world of Islam is decidedly intimate. Where scholars of print note an officialization of discourse that moves into that medium, and programmatic 'islamizers' of knowledge, politics, etc. generally pursue entextualization strategies, electronic communication is moving Islam into the marketplace and aligning its practices, both metaphorically in the sense that the range of public choice and alternatives expands and literally in the rise of businesses to service these demands. (shrink)

Este artículo se propone indagar acerca de la distinción entre el Decir y lo Dicho en la obra de Emmanuel Levinas. Esta distinción sirve a Levinas para proponer una comprensión ética del lenguaje, en la que la significación y la expresión sean capaces de superar las limitaciones y determinaciones del lenguaje sistemático de la ontología, del ser y las esencias. Sobre la base de que el “lenguaje de la ontología” es impertinente para comprender, expresar o comunicar esa “experiencia ética” fundamental (...) del encuentro “cara a cara” con el Rostro del Otro: la experiencia misma de la significancia misma, Levinas propone una comprensión pre-ontológica del lenguaje. Esta comprensión pre-ontológica sería capaz de dar respuesta a las siguientes preguntas: ¿Cuál es el lenguaje, la palabra propia, de ese sujeto pasivo, de ese sujeto que es rehén del Otro , que está sujeto a él? ¿Cuál es el lenguaje del dar-se, qué palabra puede hacerse cargo de lo que es siempre in-apropiable? ¿Cómo será ese lenguaje que intenta decir lo otro del ser, ese lenguaje capaz de “traducir” la significancia que se da en la experiencia ética originaria, aquella en la que la “unicidad insustituible de una persona se expone a otra persona”? En este sentido, proponemos que el Decir es, con respecto a lo dicho, su tener-lugar, la posibilidad misma de comunicación y expresión, en la que se expone la condición pasiva del sujeto. Por otra parte, en la medida en que el Decir es la expresión de la significancia que adviene en la proximidad con el Otro, el Decir es siempre testimonial.This text proposes an inquiry regarding the distinction between the Saying and the Said in Emmanuel Levinas works. Levinas uses this distinction to propose an ethical understanding of language, where significance and expression are capable of overcoming the limitations of ontology`s systematic language, of the being, and the essences. On the basis of that “the language of ontology” is impertinent to understand, express, or communicate this “ethical experience” fundamental for the “face to face encounter” with the Face of the Other: the experience of significance itself, Levinas proposes a pre-ontologic understanding of language. This pre-ontologic understanding would be capable of answering the following questions: What is the language, the word itself of that passive subject, that subject who is a hostage of the Other who is attached to him? Which is the language of giving oneself, which word can take charge of what is always non appropriable? What kind of language will it be that tries to say the other of the being, that language able to “translate” the significance given in the original ethical experience, that where the “irreplaceable uniqueness of a person is being exposed to another person”? In this respect, we propose that the Saying is, regarding the said, its having-occurred, the possibility itself of communicating and expressing, where the passive condition of the subject is exposed. On the other hand, in the measure that the Saying is the expression of the significance which occurs in the proximity with the Other, the Saying is always testimonial. (shrink)

(English below) -/- Normalmente se piensa en la percepción y la memoria como dos capacidades independientes, creyendo que la primera solo tiene influencia sobre la segunda durante la codificación. En las entrevistas autobiográficas de historia oral y memoria histórica, los entrevistados seleccionan, adaptan y completan sus recuerdos para crear diferentes versiones de ellos. En este artículo se argumenta que lo anterior es consecuencia de la naturaleza simulativa de la memoria episódica, y del empleo por los entrevistados de información perceptiva para (...) generar y adaptar sus recuerdos a un discurso autobiográfico, buscando satisfacer un propósito comunicativo. Para ilustrar esto, se analizan tres factores contextuales que influyen sobre la construcción del recuerdo en una entrevista autobiográfica (objetivo comunicativo, idioma de comunicación e interacción emocional), mostrando que, en este tipo de recuperación, memoria y percepción contribuyen simultáneamente a construir simulaciones de eventos que se adaptan en tiempo real al contexto donde ocurre la evocación. /////////////Abstract/////////////// Perception and memory are usually thought to be two independent faculties, where the former is believed to only have an influence on the latter at encoding. In autobiographical interviews of oral history and historical memory, interviewees select, adapt, and complete their memories to create different versions. This paper argues that this process is a consequence of the simulative nature of episodic memory and the interviewees’ use of perceptual information to generate and adapt their memories to an autobiographical discourse with the goal of satisfying a communicative purpose. To illustrate this, three contextual factors that influence the construction of a memory in an autobiographical interview are analyzed, showing that, in this type of recall, memory and perception simultaneously contribute to constructing episodic simulations of events, which adapt in real-time to the context in which recall happens. (shrink)

We are surrounded by communication of many kinds whose aim is to persuade rather to convince, to manipulate rather than to reason. Advertising and much public discourse is like this. How should we react to this fact? Perhaps even more importantly: What does this fact mean about modern society? Not all persuasion is regrettable or to be disapproved. Not all persuasion is propaganda. And perhaps not even all propaganda is necessarily bad. This last point was the focus of a (...) controversy between W. E. B. Du Bois, who held that propaganda could be used for good, and Alain Locke, who held that all propaganda corrupts our thinking. My own view is that propaganda can be used for good, but Locke was perfectly right to be worried about it.Estamos rodeados de muchos tipos de comunicación, cuya finalidad es persuadir antes que convencer, manipular antes que razonar. La publicidad y gran parte del discurso público es así. ¿Cómo deberíamos reaccionar a este hecho? Quizá más importante aún: ¿qué dice este hecho acerca de la sociedad moderna? No toda persuasión es lamentable o debería desaprobarse. No toda persuasión es propaganda. E incluso quizá no toda propaganda es necesariamente mala. Este último punto centró la controversia entre W.E.B. du Bois, quien sostenía que la propaganda podría utilizarse para un buen fin, y Alain Locke, quien sostenía que toda propaganda corrompe el pensamiento. Mi propio punto de vista es que la propaganda puede utilizarse para un buen fin, pero que Locke tenía razón al preocuparse por ella. (shrink)

In his Inleidinge tot de Hollandsche Rechts-geleerdheid, Hugo Grotius wrote an accessible introductory overview of Hollandic law, in which he combined insights from the learned law (ius commune) with the particular law of Holland. The Inleidinge was read by generations of Dutch law students, and would thus become very influential in the Roman-Dutch tradition. This contribution studies how the topic of representation, especially in a business context, was treated in Grotius’s Inleidinge. On the basis of an analysis of the (...) Justinianic Corpus iuris, the medieval ius commune tradition and – especially – early modern scholarship from the Low Countries, it is argued that Grotius’s Inleidinge by and large followed the communis opinio among the learned scholars, although on one important point – namely the acquisition by a third party of a claim on the basis of a stipulatio alteri – Grotius went beyond that communis opinio and, thus, opened the way for a gradual wider legal acceptance of active direct representation. (shrink)