Academic debate on the strategic importance of women corporate directors is widely recognized and still open. However, most corporate boards have only one woman director or a small minority of women directors. Therefore they can still be considered as tokens. This article addresses the following question: does an increased number of women corporate boards result in a build up of critical mass that substantially contributes to firm innovation? The aim is to test if ‘at least three women’ could constitute the (...) desired critical mass by identifying different minorities of women directors (one woman, two women and at least three women). Tests are conducted on a sample of 317 Norwegian firms. The results suggest that attaining critical mass – going from one or two women (a few tokens) to at least three women (consistent minority) – makes it possible to enhance the level of firm innovation. Moreover, the results show that the relationship between the critical mass of women directors and the level of firm innovation is mediated by board strategic tasks. Implications for both theory and practice, and future research directions are discussed. (shrink)

The paper argues that the theme of cultural and racial oppression is present throughout Freire’s work. In particular, it explores Paulo Freire’s contribution to the discussion of colonialism and decolonization. To this purpose, first of all it takes into consideration some writings elaborated between the end of the 1950s and the 1970s, enhancing the dialogue with authors such as Albert Memmi, Frantz Fanon and Amílcar Cabral. Then it focuses on concepts which, although not directly linked to the analysis of colonialism, (...) can help reinvent and expand Freire’s proposal in a decolonial key. The last part is dedicated to Freire’s influence on decolonial pedagogy and intercultural critical pedagogy, developed in recent decades starting from the Latin American context. (shrink)

I medievisti ovviamente più degli antichisti - osserva G. Duby - sono strana gente simile agli antropologi, persone che evadono dal loro presente partendo per l'XI secolo invece che per Samoa o per le isole Trobriand e fuggono dal loro mondo per sprofondare nelle radici.

Virtual Reality has often been referred to as an “empathy machine.” This is mostly because it can induce empathy through embodiment experiences in outgroup membership. However, the potential of intergroup contact with an outgroup avatar in VR to increase empathy is less studied. Even though intergroup contact literature suggests that less threatening and more prosocial emotions are the key to understanding why intergroup contact is a powerful mean to decrease prejudice, few studies have investigated the effect of intergroup contact on (...) empathy in VR. In this study, we developed a between-participants design to investigate how VR can be used to create a positive intergroup contact with a member of a stigmatized outgroup and present the results of the effect of intergroup contact in VR on empathy. Sixty four participants experienced either positive contact with a black avatar or no intergroup contact, with situational empathy being measured through a self-report questionnaire up to a week before and right after the VR contact experience. The experiment showed that satisfying degrees of body ownership of participants’ own avatar and co-presence with the contacted avatar can be achieved in simple and universally accessible virtual environments such as AltspaceVR. The results indicated that while VR intergroup contact had no significant direct effect on empathy, exploratory analyses indicated that post-intervention empathic interest increased with stronger feelings of co-presence in the intergroup contact condition. (shrink)

Over the last decade, the efforts towards unraveling the complex interplay between the brain, body, and environment have set a promising line of research that utilizes neuroscience to study human performance in natural work contexts such as aviation. Thus, a new discipline called neuroergonomics is holding the promise of studying the neural mechanisms underlying human performance in pursuit of both theoretical and practical insights. In this work, we utilized a neuroergonomic approach by combining insights from ecological psychology and embodied cognition (...) to study flight expertise. Specifically, we focused on the Mirror Neuron system as a key correlate for understanding the interaction between an individual and the environment, suggesting that it can be used to index changes in the coupling of perception-action associated with skill development.In this study, we measured the EEG mu suppression as a proxy of the Mirror Neuron system in experts (pilots) and novices while performing a distance estimation task in a landing scenario. To survey the specificity of this measure, we considered central, parietal and occipital electrode pools and analyzed alpha (8-13 Hz) and beta (18-25 Hz) rhythm bands. We hypothesized that in experts vs. novices, specific neural sensorimotor brain activity would underpin the connection between perception and action in an in-flight context. Preliminary results indicate that alpha and beta suppression was area-specific irrespective of groups, present in the central electrodes placed over the motor areas. Group analysis revealed that specifically alpha mu rhythm, but not beta, was significantly more suppressed in pilots vs. novices. Complementing these findings we found a trend in which the strength of mu suppression increased with the sense of presence experienced by the pilots. Such sensorimotor activation is in line with the idea that for a pilot, a distance judgment is intimately associated with the function of landing. This reflects the ability to use optical invariants to see the world in terms of the capabilities of the aircraft (e.g., reachability and glide angle).These preliminary findings support the role of embodied simulation mechanisms in visual perception and add important insights into a practical understanding of flight expertise, suggesting sensorimotor mechanisms as potential neuro-markers. (shrink)

O PAPEL DA CRÍTICA HERMENÊUTICA DO DIREITO: SOBRE AS RELAÇÕES ENTRE FILOSOFIA, TEORIA DO DIREITO E A ATUAÇÃO DO JUDICIÁRIO.

Chow (1996) offers a reconceptualization of statistical significance that is reasoned and comprehensive. Despite a somewhat rough presentation, his arguments are compelling and deserve to be taken seriously by the scientific community. It is argued that his characterization of literal replication, types of research, effect size, and experimental control are in need of revision.

La violencia de género contra las mujeres está relacionada con la desigualdad de género y se entiende que es la interrupción de cualquier forma de integridad de las mujeres. Puede ser del tipo físico, sexual, psicológico, patrimonial, económica o moral y puede ocurrir tanto en el entorno privado-familiar, como en el trabajo y los espacios públicos. La violencia de género tiene un impacto en la salud y la calidad de vida de las mujeres y puede generalizarse en entornos universitarios, lo (...) que también implica el desarrollo académico de las mujeres. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la evidencia sobre la prevalencia de la violencia de género en estudiantes universitarias y sus factores asociados. Esta es una revisión integral de la literatura realizada en las bases de datos LILACS, PubMed, CINAHL, ERIC y ASSIA, en la que 22 artículos cumplieron con los criterios de selección. La evidencia disponible en la literatura ha indicado diferentes formas de violencia de género en mujeres universitarias perpetradas por parejas íntimas y otros agresores. La prevalencia de la violencia de género en las estudiantes universitarias informadas en los estudios varió entre el 1,3% y el 85%, difiriendo según el tipo de violencia. La violencia está asociada a factores sociales y de comportamiento, ya que las estudiantes más jóvenes tuvieron tasas más altas de violencia, así como aquellos de raza/etnia no blanca, aquellos que se identificaron como homosexuales o bisexuales y los que tenían un historial de victimización Anterior. Las pruebas sobre el uso de alcohol y otras drogas por parte de las mujeres y la participación en hermandades sociales diferían según el tipo de violencia. Por lo tanto, se concluye que la prevalencia de la violencia de género en la población de estudiantes universitarias varía según su tipificación, en su mayoría es perpetrada por hombres cercanos a ellas y está asociada con marcadores sociales. (shrink)

Les designers et théoriciens Ezio Manzini et Virginia Tassinari répondent à la question posée par le titre du dossier, Design is the answer, but what was the question? Si, d’une part, se pose la question de l’impact social et politique du design et de sa responsabilité dans les changements sociaux, de l’autre s’impose une réflexion sur les modes d’action du design et sur les fondements de cette action. Dans cette perspective, Manzini met en avant les pratiques d’ engendrement et (...) d’ engagement comme stratégies d’action communes et communautaires, alors que Tassinari explique comment la définition du designing (plus que du design) comme une action politique nécessite une remise en question du cadre épistémologique qui la fonde. (shrink)

Psychotic-like experiences are a phenomenon that occurs in the general population experiencing delusional thoughts and hallucinations without being in a clinical condition. PLEs involve erroneous attributions of inner cognitive events to the external environment and the presence of intrusive thoughts influenced by dysfunctional beliefs; for these reasons, the role played by metacognition has been largely studied. This study investigates PLEs in a non-clinical population and discriminating factors involved in this kind of experience, among which metacognition, as well as psychopathological features, (...) seems to have a crucial role. The aim of this study was to extend the knowledge about the relationship between metacognition, psychopathology, and PLEs, orienting the focus on metacognitive functioning. The sample consisted of 207 Italian participants voluntarily recruited online, who gave consent to participate in the study. The average age of the sample was 32.69 years. Subjects affected by psychosis, neurological disease, and drug addiction were excluded from the analyses. The following scales were used to investigate PLEs: Peters et al. Delusions Inventory, Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale-Extended Revised, Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief, and Revised Hallucination Scale. To assess general psychopathological features, the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale was administrated. The Metacognition Self-Assessment Scale was chosen to evaluate metacognitive functioning. From hierarchical regression analyses, it emerged that the presence of anxiety, depression, and impulsive/addictive symptoms constitute a remarkable vulnerability factor for PLEs, in line with previous evidence regarding the relationship between general psychopathology and PLEs. Metacognition negatively predicts PLEs, and its presence does not affect the significance of psychopathological variables, suggesting that metacognitive abilities seem to play a protective role for the occurrence of PLEs among non-clinical individuals, and such ability operates as an independent predictor along with other variables. These results are explained by the role of metacognitive functions, which allow individuals to operate many mental processes such as interpreting sensorial events as real or illusory, understanding behaviors, thoughts, and drives of others, and questioning the subjective interpretation of facts. (shrink)

Understanding the spread of national public policies to increase the percentage of women on boards is often presented using different types of institutional theory logic. However, the importance of the political games influencing these decisions has not received the same attention. In this article, we look beyond the institutional setting by focusing on the role of actors. We explore processes that include who the critical actors that drive and determine these policies are, and what motivates them to push for change. (...) We employ a processual design approach using a longitudinal country-comparative case study exploring the case of Norway, England, Germany and Italy. We map the political games, both inside and outside legislative areas, including the micro-politics among various actors and groups of actors in the selected countries. Data are collected through participation observations, interviews and text analyses. The study contributes by filling important gaps in the literature by embedding the discussion about women on boards in politicking and national public policies and by introducing dynamic perspectives. Finally, by using a processual design approach, we capture the reality of the women on board debates at different points of time and in different actor and motivational contexts. The study has consequences for how policy-makers and businesses may follow up and act, based on the debates. (shrink)

In this timely collection, the authors examine Indigenous peoples' negotiations with different cosmologies in a globalized world. Dussart and Poirier outline a sophisticated theory of change that accounts for the complexity of Indigenous peoples' engagement with Christianity and other cosmologies, their own colonial experiences, as well as their ongoing relationships to place and kin. Contributors to this volume offer fine-grained ethnographic studies that highlight the complex and pragmatic ways in which Indigenous peoples enact their cosmologies and articulate their identity as (...) forms of affirmation. This collection is a major contribution to the anthropology of religion, religious studies, and Indigenous studies worldwide. Contributors: Anne-Marie Colpron, Robert R. Crépeau, Françoise Dussart, Ingrid Hall, Laurent Jérôme, Frédéric Laugrand, James MacKenzie, Caroline Nepton Hotte, Ksenia Pimenova, Sylvie Poirier, Kathryn Rountree, Antonella Tassinari, Petronella Vaarzon-Morel. (shrink)