China’s historical mixed-ownership reform (the Reform) has prioritized enhancing the efficiency and financial performance of its large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) through introduction of partial private-sector equity ownership. However, the presence of a significant gap between China’s private enterprises’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and those of its SOEs suggests potential for Reform-related ownership changes to negatively impact economy-wide CSR performance. We therefore examine the Reform’s impact on private acquirer firms’ CSR practices. We use a proprietary data set of firms listed (...) on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, covering the 2011–2015 period. Our findings identify that private firms can enhance their economic and political status through acquiring equity in state-controlled or SOEs and, following this, improve their CSR practices. Our findings have policy implications in the context of the world’s largest emerging market and, more generally, for SOE ownership reform in emerging and transition economies. (shrink)

This research studies the optimal consumption, investment, and life insurance choices for a wage earner with habit formation, inflation risk, and mortality risk. The wage earner has access to a risk-free asset, an index bond, and a stock in a financial market. The index bond hedges inflation risk, while life insurance hedges mortality risk. The aim of the wage earner is to maximize the expected utility of consumption, bequest, and terminal wealth, where the utility of consumption comes from the part (...) of the consumption that exceeds a minimum consumption requirement given by the habit level. By using the dynamic programming method, we provide and prove a verification theorem and obtain closed-form expressions for the value function, the optimal life insurance premium rate, and the optimal investment and consumption strategies. Numerical results reveal that habit formation and mortality force change play important roles in the financial behaviors of the wage earner. Especially, the impacts of the expected inflation rate and consumption habit on the optimal strategies are mutual restraint; increasing mortality force raises the demand for life insurance; and the effects of other parameters are also affected by consumption habit and mortality force change. (shrink)

The article introduces the results of a semantic analysis of Uku Masing’s early poetry. The metres analyzed are syllabic-accentual trochaic tetrameter, trochaic pentameter, iambic pentameter and dactylic, logaoedic and polymetric hexameters. In each text the textual communicative perspective as well as motifs and tropes of each verse line were examined. The semantic differences and colourings of the metres are most evident in the way of expression, in the viewpoint.

The article introduces the results of a semantic analysis of Uku Masing’s (1909–1985) early poetry (1926–1943). The metres analyzed are syllabic-accentual trochaic tetrameter, trochaic pentameter, iambic pentameter and dactylic, logaoedic and polymetric hexameters. In each text the textual communicative perspective as well as motifs and tropes of each verse line were examined. The semantic differences and colourings of the metres are most evident in the way of expression, in the viewpoint.

In this article, an attempt was made to identify the level of community social participation according to age, gender and the structural characteristics of the personal support networks in a population displaced by floods in the Colombian Caribbean. The research was based in a non-experimental methodology with an associative-relational strategy. An intentional non-probabilistic sample of 151 people affected by the winter wave in the south of the Department of Atlántico (Colombia) was selected. In total, the study included 42 males (27.8 (...) %) and 109 females (72.2 %) participants, with an average age of 37.48 (±14, Range 18 - 80) and average relocation time of 21.79 months (± 8.22, Range 5-36). The Arizona Social Support Interview Schedule (ASSIS) and Community Empowerment instruments were responded to with an instrument adapted from the leadership competence factor. The results show lower rates of intermediation in the older population, and the relationship between social participation and gender shows equally cohesive social support networks in men and women. This evidence is discussed to promote psychosocial interventions aimed to increase community engagement and empowerment of people that have experienced non-voluntary mobility processes. (shrink)

A number of studies show that when doctors become ill, there is often ambiguity in the division of roles and responsibilities in the medical encounter. Yet little is known about how the dilemma of the sick doctor has changed over time. This article explores the experience of illness among physicians by applying an historical, narratological approach to three doctor’s narratives about personal cases of cardiac disease: Max Pinner’s from the 1940s, Robert Seaver’s from the 1980s, and John Mulligan’s from 2015. (...) Drawing on Erving Goffman’s principles of social interaction, I argue that part of the challenge in the analysed narratives is because when doctors seek medical attention for themselves, the ensuing medical ‘drama’ suffers. I compare the three narratives to argue that the experience of becoming a patient while simultaneously remaining a doctor is a challenge that has changed over time. In Pinner’s narrative, the patient identity is both undesirable and inaccessible; in Seaver’s, role ambivalence between doctor and patient is the most salient feature; for Mulligan, his personal rather than professional experience of illness is the overarching theme of the narrative. Finally, I suggest that an awareness of how the medical drama often changes when doctors are patients might prove beneficial both for the doctor-patients and providers of medical care. (shrink)

La coupe 13521 du musée national de Copenhague présente un certain nombre de traits iconographiques exceptionnels qui en font une variante unique dans la série des représentations de guerriers jouant au pente grammai. Ces variantes, par rapport à l’iconographie d’Achille et Ajax en train de jouer, ont fait l’objet d’interprétations diverses et contradictoires. On se propose de reprendre ce dossier pour en préciser le détail et mettre à l’épreuve les diverses lectures proposées. La part divinatoire d’un tel exercice ne doit (...) pas être dissimulée, et l’on cherchera, chemin faisant, à mettre au point quelques règles du jeu concernant l’herméneutique de l’image. (shrink)

This book presents a two-pronged analysis of Africa’s predicament by looking at the duality of ethics and identity. Its subject is the influence of history in the making of modern African identity, nationalism, peace-building and questions of ethics and justice.

İslam hukuk doktrininde bir fiilin veya sözün hükmünü belirleme noktasında kasıt esas alınır. Kasıt; hukuki işlemlerden elde edilmek istenen neticedir. Bununla birlikte mükellefin söz veya fiillerinin kasıt sonucu meydana gelmesi halinde söz ve fiillerine hüküm bağlanır. Bu takdirde bir akdin esasını onunla elde edilmek istenen hukuki neticeye yöneltilmiş olan tarafların kastı teşkil eder. İslam dini mükelleflerden bir davranışı ortaya koyduğu zaman bunun bilinçli olarak yapılmasını ve o işe kalben yönelmesini istemiştir. Dini emir ve yasakların tamamı bir maksadı gerçekleştirmek için vazedilmiştir. (...) Şari’in emir ve yasaklardaki maksadı da ya kulların maslahatını temin etmek yada onlardan bir mefsedeti gidermektir. Mükelleften istenen de bu maksat doğrultusunda hareket etmesi ve Şari’in maksadından başka bir şeyi kastetmemesidir. Hukuki tasarrufların geçerli olması noktasında bütün mezheplerin kasta önem verdikleri görülmektedir. (shrink)

"Philosophe polémiste, souvent apostrophé par ses commentateurs, Zénon d'Elée fait l'objet depuis l'antiquité d'un " procès de parole " sans précédent dans l'histoire des idées : Cruel Zénon, Palamède d'Elée, Amphotéroglôsse... Invectives, louanges et blâmes prolifèrent autour de Zénon d'Elée, dessinant en creux la réception d'une pensée atypique, toujours fortement investie. C'est le récit de ce traitement singulier que, de surnom en surnom, ce livre entreprend de retracer.".

The article discusses the Kenyan post-2007 elections political crisis within the framework of 'libertarian communitarianism' that integrates individualistic self-interest with traditional collectivist solidarity in the era of globalization in Africa. The author argues that behind the Kenyan post-election anarchy can be analyzed as a type of 'prisoner's dilemma' framework in which self-interested rationality is placed in a collectivist social contract setting. In Kenya, this has allowed political manipulation of ethnicity as well as bad governance, both of which have prevented the (...) building of a strong, impartial state. In Kenya, socio-economic disparities and historical injustices due to corruption, nepotism, cronyism and other forms of favoritism have maintained ethnic and other internal tensions, which exploded into open conflict after the disputed December 2007 elections. The author shows how the 'libertarian communitarist' politico-economic context lacks shared values and precludes forward-looking solutions for social justice that promote public good and national unity. Instead, a nation remains divided with its people set up in competitive positions, because there is public trust neither in partisan and self-interested governments nor in inefficient state structures with often (ethnically and/or regionally) biased (re)distribution of resources and unequal service delivery. The greed of the political elites and grievances of the ordinary citizenry maintain distrust across the nation and focus on past injustices rather than finding a shared agenda for future unity. The author suggests that in order to build up public trust, to strengthen the state structures and to gain national unity, it is necessary to focus on shared values and a forward-looking concept of justice, acceptable to all. (shrink)

The article discusses the Kenyan post-2007 elections political crisis within the framework of ‘libertarian communitarianism’ that integrates individualistic self-interest with traditional collectivist solidarity in the era of globalization in Africa. The author argues that behind the Kenyan post-election anarchy can be analyzed as a type of ‘prisoner's dilemma’ framework in which self-interested rationality is placed in a collectivist social contract setting. In Kenya, this has allowed political manipulation of ethnicity as well as bad governance, both of which have prevented the (...) building of a strong, impartial state. In Kenya, socio-economic disparities and historical injustices due to corruption, nepotism, cronyism and other forms of favoritism have maintained ethnic and other internal tensions, which exploded into open conflict after the disputed December 2007 elections.The author shows how the ‘libertarian communitarist’ politico-economic context lacks shared values and precludes forward-looking solutions for social justice that promote public good and national unity. Instead, a nation remains divided with its people set up in competitive positions, because there is public trust neither in partisan and self-interested governments nor in inefficient state structures with often (ethnically and/or regionally) biased (re)distribution of resources and unequal service delivery. The greed of the political elites and grievances of the ordinary citizenry maintain distrust across the nation and focus on past injustices rather than finding a shared agenda for future unity.The author suggests that in order to build up public trust, to strengthen the state structures and to gain national unity, it is necessary to focus on shared values and a forward-looking concept of justice, acceptable to all. (shrink)

Yavuz [Altıntaş], Miyase. İctihadın Modern Müslüman-Çoğunluklu Ülkelerin Aile Hukuku Reformlarındaki Rolü: Fas Örneği. Doktora Tezi, SOAS Londra Üniversitesi, Hukuk ve Sosyal Bilimler Fakültesi Hukuk Anabilim Dalı, İngiltere, 2018. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı ictihadın modern dönemdeki kavramsallaştırma ve hukuki temellendirmelerini analiz ederek İslam hukukunun modern Müslüman-çoğunluklu ülkelerde uygulanmasındaki rolünü araştırmaktır. Bu araştırmada ictihadın hukuk reformlarında neden ve nasıl kullanıldığı meselesinin yanı sıra uygulama esnasında hangi motivasyonlar, teknikler, formlar ve muhakeme usullerinin benimsendiği incelenmektedir. Aynı zamanda ictihadın birincil kaynaklara, yani Kur ’an (...) ve S ünnet ’e d önülerek mi yoksa klasik İslam hukuk bilimi içerisinde var olan hukuki görüşlerden seçmek suretiyle mi yapıldığı analiz edilmektedir. Son olarak klasik İslam hukuk teorisi kuralları ve prensiplerinin ne derece itibar gördüğü ve bunların günümüzde ictihad vasıtasıyla ger çekleştirilen reformlarda ne derece takip edildiği araştırılmaktadır. Tezin ana odak noktasını modern Müslüman-çoğunluklu ülkelerde İslam hukukunun en yaygın uygulanan yönü olması sebebiyle aile hukuku teşkil etmektedir. 2004 Fas Aile Kanunu reformlarıictihada dayanılarak uygulamaya konduğundan dolayı özellikle incelenmiştir. Tezin ana argümanı ictihadkavramının klasik ana akımdaki anlayıştan tanım, kapsam ve ictihadetme yetkisi açısından farklılık gösterse de modern dönemdeki ictihadkavramsallaştırmaları ve uygulamalarının İslam hukuku içerisinde yer alması gerektiğidir. Nitekim kavramsal bir analiz yapıldığında özellikle tarihi bağlamın sosyo-politik değişikliklerinin zemin hazırladığı çeşitli ictihadanlayışlarının ve uygulamalarının İslam hukuk tarihi içerisinde var olduğu görülmektedir. Modern dönem ictihaduygulamalarına bakıldığında çoğunun genel olarak klasik İslam hukuk teorisinin detaylı kural ve prensiplerini sıkı bir şekilde takip etmediği görülmektedir. Bununla birlikte bu uygulamalar hukuki temellendirmelerden mahrum değildir ve bazıları klasik İslam hukuk bilimi içerisinde kaynağını bulabilmektedir. Dahası bu uygulamalar iptidai de olsa meşru bir teorik çerçeve sunmaktadır. (shrink)

Beliefs about fair prices for betting arrangements can obviously vary depending upon how the contingencies are described, even though each of the different descriptions is correct. This sort of variation in beliefs on the part of an agent has been Iinked by Ramsey and Skyrms with the agent’s susceptibility to a dutch book situation involving some combination of bets on which there is a mathematically-guaranteed net loss as the overall outcome. Clarifying the nature of that Iinkage is the purpose of (...) this paper. After a framework for analysis has been developed, it is shown precisely how several important conditions for having correct beliefs are interrelated. (shrink)

Beliefs about fair prices for betting arrangements can obviously vary depending upon how the contingencies are described, even though each of the different descriptions is correct. This sort of variation in beliefs on the part of an agent has been Iinked by Ramsey and Skyrms with the agent’s susceptibility to a dutch book situation involving some combination of bets on which there is a mathematically-guaranteed net loss as the overall outcome. Clarifying the nature of that Iinkage is the purpose of (...) this paper. After a framework for analysis has been developed, it is shown precisely how several important conditions for having correct beliefs are interrelated. (shrink)

In the present paper, we substantiate the theory according to which the ailments of imagination presented by Immanuel Kant, especially in his work Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View, are sources of artistic creation. It is obvious that not anyone suffering from melancholia, nostalgia, hypochondria or any other ailment of the soul, which Immanuel Kant refers to, becomes a creator of culture. Genius is required for this, but instead of diminishing the creative power of the genius, it seems to (...) be enhanced by the ailments of imagination or generally, by the ailments of the soul. The hypertrophic imagination in the case of a genius plays a major role in the process of fixation in the individual and collective memory of what Immanuel Kant names. (shrink)

Designed to facilitate economic development, the corporate form now threatens human survival. This article presents an argument that organisations are yet to be ‘fit for purpose’ and that the corporate form needs to be re-designed to reach sustainability. It suggests that organisations need to recognise their agent status amongst a much wider and highly complex array of interconnected, dynamic economic, environmental and social systems. Human Factors theory is drawn on to propose that business systems could be made sustainable through re-design. (...) They could fit their environment more appropriately by improving: Efficiency, Adaptability and Social Cohesion. Leaders of organisations would also need to take a holistic approach to alter the organisation proactively to adapt to the systems within which it is embedded. (shrink)

L'étude des disques solaires ailés des chapiteaux hatoriques chypriotes du vr et du ve s. av. J.-C, à partir des deux exemplaires récemment découverts à Amathonte, permet de distinguer un certain nombre d'emprunts aux cultures environnantes. Les modèles en seraient des ivoires phéniciens datés des vnr-vir s., ce qui constituerait un exemple de transfert de modèle entre supports et techniques différents, pour des raisons d'ordre formel autant que sémantique : l'Hathor chypriote des sculptures prend naturellement la place de l'Astarté phénicienne (...) des ivoires, et récupère sous sa forme originelle le symbole solaire qui la couronnait. L'analyse permet aussi de repérer des «idiosyncrasies» locales ou régionales parmi les ateliers phéniciens ou sous influence phénicienne, et notamment de corroborer l'existence d'un «groupe oriental» et d'un «groupe occidental». Elle permet également de conforter la chronologie proposée à partir d'autres critères que les simples disques solaires ailés. Elle permet enfin de replacer cette tradition phénicienne parmi les autres traditions à l'œuvre dans la culture matérielle chypriote de la période (égyptienne, mésopotamienne et syrienne). Sur le plan de la symbolique, c'est la signification royale de l'image qui frappe, qu'elle soit associée à Hathor ou non, et cela dans des sites aussi variés qu'Amathonte, Vouni, Salamine et l'Antique Paphos. (shrink)

The popular impression of Bohmian mechanics is that it is standard quantum mechanics with the addition of some extra gadgets---exact particle positions and a guiding equation for particle trajectories---the advantages being that the gadgets pave the way for a resolution of the measurement problem that eschews state vector reduction while restoring the determinism lost in standard quantum mechanics. In fact, the Bohmian mechanics departs in significant ways from standard quantum mechanics. By itself this is not a basis for criticism; indeed, (...) it makes Bohmian mechanics all the more interesting. But Bohmian mechanics is not, as the popular impression would have it, empirically equivalent to standard quantum mechanics in terms of probabilistic predictions for the outcomes of measurements of quantum observables. Indeed, in physically important applications to systems for which standard quantum mechanics delivers empirically well-confirmed probabilistic predictions, the sophisticated form of Bohmian mechanics designed to prove the global existence of Bohmian particle trajectories fails to deliver unequivocal predictions---of even a probabilistic variety---for the future behavior of said systems. Possible responses to this lacuna are discussed. (shrink)