Incomplete information is a commonly cited barrier to the adoption of new innovations. We present a decision-making experiment, conducted with farmers in the field, that explores the extent to which information which reduces ambiguity may be provided as a public good. In the experiment, participants make a series of decisions between a risky gamble and an ambiguous gamble. An initial private decision is followed by second choice in which participants know that their chosen gambles and outcomes will be publicly but (...) anonymously revealed. Selection of the ambiguous option in this decision thus provide public good information which can be used to update beliefs about the ambiguous gamble. After the public revelation, participants make one final choice between the two options which we use to assess learning. We also test communication as a mechanism to increase provision of the public good. We find evidence that people with preference to avoid ambiguity contribute to public good information while risk averse people free ride. Communication does not affect the overall public good provision, either in a positive or negative direction. Finally, we find that people draw appropriate inference from the information that the public good provides. We relate our findings to the issue of new technology adoption in agriculture which is of particular importance for our participants. (shrink)

Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, EarlyView.

It applies this framework and the new language of theory building to organizational ecology. "There is nothing like this book in the field today.

This paper scrutinises the limits of a posteriori induction in acquiring modal knowledge. I focus on my similarity-based account (Roca-Royes [2017]); an inductive, non-rationalist epistemology of modality about concrete entities. Despite the explanatory merits of the account in relation to a vast range of modal claims, this inductive epistemology has been found incapable of yielding knowledge of a certain, other range of modal claims. Here, two notions of knowability are distinguished which reveal some of these limitations to be not only (...) accidental to the method but also virtuous. Additionally, the scrutiny suggests a recipe for increasingly pushing back, as modal enquirers, some of these limits. Limits will irremediably remain. But, as modal epistemologists, it is to explain what lies beyond these irremediable limits (not within) that we should look somewhere else. (shrink)

We offer a formal treatment of the semantics of both complete and incomplete mistrustful or distrustful information transmissions. The semantics of such relations is analysed in view of rules that define the behaviour of a receiving agent. We justify this approach in view of human agent communications and secure system design. We further specify some properties of such relations.

A ideia de uma crise do rádio consolidou-se no imaginário coletivo nas últimas décadas, a despeito de não haver ancoragem na realidade. Se muitas rádios tradicionais AM e FM saem do ar, vendidas a igrejas eletrônicas ou novos grupos empresariais, multiplica-se a oferta de conteúdos no contexto de um rádio expandido, que transborda para novas plataformas e é consumido nos mais diversos dispositivos. O rádio vai bem, obrigado, embora algumas emissoras de rádio em ondas hertzianas estejam mal das pernas, lamentando-se (...) da concorrência com serviços on-line e da erosão dos habituais índices de audiência, antes medidos em centenas de milhares de ouvintes por minuto. (shrink)

Entrevista com o professor Mauro Rêgo Sá Costa para o dossiê Rádio nas Bordas.

This paper is an exploration of the prospects of rationalist, concept-based epistemologies of modality as far as essentialist and de re modal claims are concerned. I grant certain explanatory power to such epistemologies but, primarily, I identify their limitations. I first explore them in view of the (possible) existence of general as well as of singular modally loaded concepts and find their explanatory scope severely limited. Inspired by the abstractionist's concept-and-entitlement based hybrid model, the paper then explores a similarly hybrid (...) strategy. The outcome of this exploration is that, regardless of its explanatory scope, it would be a misnomer to describe such hybrid view as concept-based. The result generalizes. (shrink)

El Profesor Guía en la universidad cubana y en particular en la educación médica superior desempeña un rol fundamental en el proceso de formación integral del futuro profesional. Para lograr este propósito debe cumplir con sus direcciones de trabajo y funciones, las cuales se abordan en este artículo. Se incorporan nuevas categorías como es la definición de la labor educativa de los profesores guías de la carrera de Medicina, la redefinición de Profesor Guía y se proponen nuevas funciones que debe (...) asumir este docente. The guide professor in Cuban universities and particularly in the Medical High Education plays an essential role in the comprehensive education process of the future professional. To accomplish this purpose, the professor should fulfill his work directions and perform his duties, which are included in the following article. New categories are incorporated like for instance, the definition of educative work of the guide professor of the Medicine school and the redefinition of guide professor. Moreover, new duties to be accomplished by the guide professor are proposed. (shrink)

The book is reclaiming economics as a moral science. It argues that ethics is a relevant and inseparable aspect of all levels of economic activity, from individual and organizational to societal and global. Taking ethical considerations into account is needed in explaining and predicting the behavior of economic agents as well as in evaluating and designing economic policies and mechanisms. The unique feature of the book is that it not only analyzes ethics and economics on an abstract level, but puts (...) behavioral, institutional and systemic issues together for a robust and human view of economic functioning. It sees economic "facts" as interwoven with human intentionality and ethical content, a domain where utility calculations and moral considerations co-determine the behavior of economic agents and the outcomes of their activities. The book employs the personalist approach that sees human persons - endowed with free will and conscience - as the basic agents of economic life and defines human flourishing as the final end of economic activities. The book demonstrates that economics can gain a lot in meaning and also in analytical power by reuniting itself with ethics. (shrink)

Se diseñó una estrategia educativa antitabáquica en la Residencia Estudiantil de Ciencias Médicas en Camagüey que fue valorada por criterio de especialistas y actualmente se encuentra en fase de implementación. En el artículo se evalúa su impacto. La misma se caracteriza por ser sistémica, dinámica, flexible, factible, participativa y dinamizadora de la esfera afectiva. Se ha empleado en la impartición de posgrado, capacitaciones a profesores guías e instructoras educativas; ha contribuido a incrementar los conocimientos en el orden teórico, metodológico, educativo (...) y salubrista en relación con la educación antitabáquica en estudiantes, profesores e instructoras educativas y ha favorecido el fomento de estilos de vida saludables. An anti-smoking educational strategy in Medical Sciences Dormitory in Camaguey was designed and assessed based on specialists' criteria and it is currently under the implementation phase. Its impact is assessed in the article. It is characterized by being systemic, dynamic, feasible, participative and emotional sphere stimulating. It has been used in the teaching of postgraduate courses and in guiding teachers and educational instructors' training; it has contributed to increasing students, professors and educational instructors' theoretical, methodological, and educational and health knowledge regarding anti-smoking education, therefore favoring healthy lifestyles promotion. (shrink)

Con objetivo de comparar la autoeficacia y el desempeño en estadística de universitarios, previo y posterior a un curso de estadística tradicional y uno bajo la metodología de solución de problemas, se llevó a cabo un estudio cuasiexperimental de dos grupos intactos de 84 y 115 estudiantes de psicología, respectivamente, aplicando un test de fuentes de autoeficacia en estadística como pre y postest, un examen de matemáticas previo al curso y un examen de estadística luego del curso. Los resultados mostraron (...) diferencia significativa en el desempeño en estadística posterior al curso, siendo el grupo experimental el que tuvo mejores resultados. (shrink)

The organizational culture of an educational institution is key in influencing students' adoption of new teaching practices. It is felt that creating a positive and supportive culture goes a long way in encouraging people to embrace and practice the new education methods. This information can be useful for identifying how certain cultural elements affect students' engagement and, thus, facilitating the establishment of more appropriate and suitable environments in institutions that contribute to better educational outcomes. This study’s focus is on exploring (...) the nexus between organizational culture and the impact that it possesses on the students' interactions with innovations in learning methods, with several considerations. Informed consent was obtained from 1411 students in 5 colleges, including questions that sought demographic information including gender, age, and study year. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was analyzed to test reliability, mean scores, and correlations. The findings show that the research used methods like reliability analysis, descriptive analysis, Pearson correlations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), post hoc assessment, and Chi-Square tests. These suggest positive correlations between main organizational culture variables and differences between institutions. The findings suggest that a positive organizational culture enhances student engagement with innovative learning techniques. The study concludes that fostering a supportive and innovation-driven organizational culture is essential for improving student participation and effectiveness in educational practices. (shrink)

Dr. Laszlo’s hypothesis (2009) is in my opinion appealing on many levels. He proposes that phenomena of apparent transpersonal communication between human beings are due to the intermediary of information-carrying holograms in the reactive quantum vacuum produced by human brain activity. He also suggests that valid information regarding the world in general is available through the same mechanism, on the grounds that all material objects “excite the ground state of the [zero point] fi eld” and produce further such holograms. (...) On this hypothesis we are literally immersed in a sea of information, with the capacity for accessing that information as well as producing more of it by our own thought processes. (shrink)

This article represents a concerted Laszlo effort. What you will find here is a collection of autobiographical reflections written by Ervin Laszlo that speaks to his involvement with the field of systems thinking and his impact on it, interspersed with comments and illustrative examples on points of special interest. As such, this essay should be read as a reflection piece?one in which a new generation of Laszlos muse on the power and inspiration of the vision that has served (...) as a platform not only for them but for many others in the systems community as well. To understand Ervin Laszlo and his contributions to the systems view of the world, one must place him in context?both ontologically and epistemologically. This narrative will do both, first presenting a chronological overview of his personal history up to the present and subsequently exploring the world of ideas and ideals that he traversed (and continues to traverse with unrelenting momentum). However, this narrative will inevitably be nonlinear, and bits and pieces of his adventure in thought are woven into his chronological development and vice-versa. (shrink)

Chapter 1 WHY SYSTEMS PHILOSOPHY? Some reasons, for synthetic philosophy generally The persistent theme of this study is the timeliness and the necessity of ...

Illustrates how the theory of evolution can be expanded into a source of social guidance.

This book discloses the spiritual dimension in business ethics and sustainability management. Spirituality is understood as a multiform search for meaning which connects people with all living beings and God or Ultimate Reality. In this sense, spirituality is a vital source in social and economic life. The volume examines the spiritual orientations to nature and business in different cultural traditions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sufism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. It studies how spirituality and ecology can contribute to transforming contemporary management theory (...) and praxis. It discusses new leadership roles and business models that emerge for sustainability in business and shows how entrepreneurship can be inspired by nature and spirituality in a meaningful way. (shrink)

Each work of Kafka's is so rich in "interrelationships" that it is virtually impossible to engage in reasoning about them without analysis of notions "pertaining to content." Here an estheticist, even one who regards the immanent approach as obligatory, faces a dilemma that, as a general rule, confronts only someone just starting a career as critic: whether, upon having analyzed a work, to leave it to the reader himself to draw the conclusions in social philosophy, or whether to construct his (...) analysis directly on the basis of historical, sociological, philosophical, esthetic, and psychological reasoning. (shrink)

In the traditional formalism of quantum mechanics, a simple direct proof of the Spin Geometry Theorem of Penrose is given; and the structure of a model of the ‘space of the quantum directions’, defined in terms of elementary SU-invariant observables of the quantum mechanical systems, is sketched.

"The Consciousness Revolution is an extrodinary discussion among three of the very finest minds of our time, spirited in its exchange, compassionate in its embrace, brilliant in its clarion call to awaken our conscience and consciousness." Ken Wilber, author of Sex, Ecology, Spirituality and One Taste.

The book aims to provide a comprehensive, new look at business ethics topics and models from a European perspective. Apart from theoretical arguments and empirical data, case studies and games are used to get closer to real life problematics of business. The book is written by leading business ethics professors of the Community of European Management Schools (CEMS). Chapters of the handbook first describe the central issue and the latest theories and practices. They then introduce new approaches and analyze real (...) world examples. Finally conclusions are provided, which include ethical warning signals, proposals for future research and suggested policy recommendations. (shrink)

This paper outlines a new conative theory of blame. I argue that the best-known conative approaches to blame (Scanlon 1998, 2008, Sher 2006a) misrepresent the cognitive and dispositional components of blame. Section 1 argues, against Scanlon and Sher, that blaming involves the judgment that an act or state is the fault of the blamed. I also propose an alternative dispositional condition on which blaming only occurs if it matters to the blamer whether the blamed gets the punishment that she deserves. (...) In Section 2, I discuss objections to judgment-based accounts of blame (that they cannot tell the difference between blaming and judging to be blameworthy, that they cannot explain why blame is often accompanied by emotion, and that they cannot make sense of irrational blame), and I argue that my proposal can handle all of them. (shrink)

Simone de Beauvoir and the Politics of Ambiguity is the first full-length study of Beauvoir's political thinking. Best known as the author of The Second Sex, Beauvoir also wrote an array of other political and philosophical texts that together, constitute an original contribution to political theory and philosophy. Sonia Kruks here locates Beauvoir in her own intellectual and political context and demonstrates her continuing significance. Beauvoir still speaks, in a unique voice, to many pressing questions concerning politics: the values (...) and dangers of liberal humanism; how oppressed groups become complicit in their own oppression; how social identities are perpetuated; the limits to rationalism; and the place of emotions, such as the desire for revenge, in politics. In discussing such matters Kruks puts Beauvoir's ideas into conversation with those of many contemporary thinkers, including feminist and race theorists, as well as with historical figures in the liberal, Hegelian, and Marxist traditions. Beauvoir's political thinking emerges from her fundamental insights into the ambiguity of human existence. Combining phenomenological descriptions with structural analyses, she focuses on the tensions of human action as both free and constrained. To be human is to be a paradoxical being, at once capable of free choice and yet, because embodied, vulnerable to injury from others. Politics is thus a domain of complexly interwoven, multiple, human interactions that is rife with ambiguity, and where freedom and violence too often closely intertwine. Beauvoir accordingly argues that failure is a necessary part of political action. However, she also insists that, while acknowledging this, we should assume responsibility for the outcomes of what we do. (shrink)

Based on a brief overview of the history of ontology and on some philosophical problems of virtual reality, a new approach to virtuality is proposed. To characterize the representational technologies in the Internet age, I suggest that Aristotle’s dualistic ontological system be complemented with a third form of being: virtuality. In the virtual form of being actuality and potentiality are inseparably intertwined. Virtuality is potentiality considered together with its actualization. In this view, virtuality is reality with a measure, a reality (...) which has no absolute character, but which has a relative nature. This situation can remind us the emergence of probability in the 17th century: then the concept of certainty, now the concept of reality is reconsidered and relativized. Currently, in the descriptions of the world created by representational technologies, there are two coherent worldviews with different ontologies: the world is inhabited by actual and potential beings—or all the beings in the world are virtual. (shrink)

This is the first collection of essays focused on the many-faceted work of Kendall L. Walton. Walton has shaped debate about the arts for the last 50 years. He provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the arts in terms of the human capacity of make-believe that shows how different arts--visual, photographic, musical, literary, or poetic--can be explained in terms of complex structures of pretense, perception, imagining, empathy, and emotion. His ground-breaking work has been taken beyond aesthetics to address foundational issues (...) concerning linguistic and scientific representations--for example about the nature of scientific modelling or to explain how what we say is mostly quite different from the literal meanings of our words. Contributions from a diverse group of philosophers probe Walton's detailed proposals and the themes for research they open to provide an overview of important debates that have Walton's work at their core. This book will be of interest to scholars and graduate students working on aesthetics across the humanities, as well as those interested in the topic of representation and its intersection with perception, language, science, and metaphysics. (shrink)

Sonia Greger; Aesthetic Meaning, Journal of Philosophy of Education, Volume 6, Issue 2, 30 May 2006, Pages 137–163, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9752.1972.tb0.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe how parents and physicians experienced the informed consent interview and to investigate the aspects of the relationship that influenced parents’ decision during the consent process for a randomised clinical trial in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit. The secondary objective was to describe the perspectives of parents and physicians in the specific situation of prenatal informed consent.SettingSingle centre study in NICU of the Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Créteil, France, using a convenience period from February to (...) May 2016.DesignAncillary study to a randomised clinical trial: Prettineo. Records of interviews for consent. Population: parents and physicians. Mixed study including qualitative and quantitative interview data about participants’ recall and feelings about the consent process. Interviews were reviewed using thematic discourse analysis.ResultsParents’ recall and understanding of the study’s main goal and design was good. Parents and physicians had a positive experience, and trust was one of the main reasons for parents to consent. Misunderstanding was the main reason for refusal.Before birth, three situations can compromise parents’ consent: the mother already consented to participate in other studies, the absence of the father during the interview and the feeling that the baby’s birth is not an imminent possibility.ConclusionsConfronting parents and physicians’ perspectives in research can help us reach answers to sensitive issues such as content and timing of information. Each different types of study raises different ethical dilemmas for consent that might be discussed in a more individual way. (shrink)