Certification of banana plantations is widely used as a device for protecting and improving socio-economic conditions of wageworkers, including their incomes, working conditions and—increasingly—voice [related to labour relations and workplace representation]. However, to date, evidence about the effectiveness of certification in these domains is scarce. We collected detailed field data on economic benefits for improving household income, social benefits for labour practices, and the voice of wageworkers focusing on identity and identification issues amongst wageworkers at Fairtrade certified banana plantations and (...) comparable, non-certified plantations in the Dominican Republic. We used different types of regression models to identify significant relationships. Econometrical analysis of survey results complemented by field observations and outcomes from in-depth stakeholder interviews indicate that the impact of Fairtrade certification on wageworkers’ economic benefits is rather limited. However, the impact on the voice of wageworkers, is more evident. On Fairtrade certified plantations workers are more satisfied with the course of life and better represented. Thus while the additional value of Fairtrade certification on primary wages seems limited, Fairtrade has relevant positive effects on the labour force, particularly by delivering in-kind benefits, offering a sense of job-security, improving voice and enabling private savings. Benefits of certification, but also other interventions with a similar purpose, might therefore not be discerned in terms of economic benefits such as wages or basic labour conditions that are under direct control of national law, but they should be identified in terms of social benefits and improved norms of conduct for wageworker engagement. (shrink)

This collection of articles provides an overview of current generative theorizing and empirical work on the nature, origin and scope of parameters of linguistic variation. Often taking diverging views, the papers in the volume address some or all of the main debated topics in parametric syntax.

The awareness of educators in the health sciences with respect to promoting ethical conduct when instructing dental students is reflected in the undergraduate curriculum. This study is intended to discover the different ways these subjects are taught. A manual review of the literature published in databases indexed in SciELO during the years from 1999 to 2014 was done to that end, under the heading health sciences, humanities, applied social sciences, specifically literature that can be accessed in full, free of charge (...) and anonymously. Also reviewed was the literature in two specialized journals in the area of health education; namely, the Journal of Dental Education and the Journal of Medical Education, with the same titles, during the same period, and through the PubMed search engine, via Medline. The results show 43 articles of thematic relevance. The conclusion is that education in bioethics, as part of the undergraduate curriculum at dental schools, is increasing and differs according to the educational and cultural environment where it is imparted. Case-based learning and problem-based learning are mentioned as being the most efficient methods of instruction. Training dentists to be well-rounded professionals requires these subjects to be taught by interdisciplinary teams that are sufficiently prepared to do so. (shrink)

There is convergence among researchers of the ‘Big Five’ personality traits taxonomy, that the dimension of conscientiousness best explains differences in work performance. This research is a literature review on the interrelationship between certain traits of the conscientiousness dimension and human virtues, or character traits. It also analyzes whether or not it is rational to argue that the continuous improvement culture enhances the exercise of these character traits. The personal effort to develop one's conscientiousness enriches one's character or way of (...) being, and this development is a consequence of character moulding through an intellectual and willful effort enabling one not only to develop personal habits but also to improve task performance. Continuous improvement culture, on the one hand, should provide a work environment where employees can practice virtues, including those contained in conscientiousness. On the other hand, the requirement is that continuous improvement culture should be developed in an environment that respects the freedom and purpose of the individual. (shrink)

School climate is a multidimensional construct of the quality of a student’s academic environment, often subsuming dimensions such as safety, instructional practices, social relationships, school facilities, and school connectedness. Positive school climate has beneficial effects on a wide range of adjustment variables in youth, including academic achievement, mental health, school attendance and graduation, and school-based behavior. Studies regarding school climate assessment have burgeoned in recent years but remain marked by limited sample sizes, narrow developmental levels, restricted items, unclear psychometric strength (...) across multiple demographic groups, and lack of integration with key student education contextual factors such as academic mindset and social emotional learning. The present study evaluated a comprehensive measure of aspects of school climate, academic mindset, and social emotional learning in a sample of 105,379 diverse students (Mage = 13.47 years; SD = 2.47). The 9-factor structure of the School Climate and Academic Mindset Inventory was supported via confirmatory factor analysis. A trimmed model displayed adequate goodness-of-fit for males and females, younger age groups, and European American, biracial/multiracial, Hispanic, Native American, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students. The trimmed model was slightly less strong for older age groups as well as for African American and Asian American students. The scale may be useful for assessing school climate interventions, longitudinal climate patterns, and school-based algorithms of future performance, though additional validation of the scale remains necessary. (shrink)

The world has seen several financial and economic crises in the past few years. Psychological, ethical and philosophical levels of causal analysis have been discussed, and in this context, an interest in classical thinkers has emerged. The work of Aristotle has influenced writers from Marx and Menger to Amartya Sen. This book introduces us to Aristotle's thought on 'the economic' and on its influences on economists. First, it focuses on Aristotle´s ideas, situating Aristotle in his historical context, describing his positions (...) on the economic and analysing what kind of reality the economic is, its relation with ethics and with politics. Then, it determines what kind of science is concerned with the economic. Later, it analyses related topics and shows the influence of Aristotle's ideas on contemporary economists. It concludes by highlighting the Aristotelian contributions to today's economy. This scholarly volume offers important new insights into the Aristotelian approach to the economy itself, as well as to the idea of economics as a science, bringing Aristotle's views to bear on the modern economy. (shrink)

This book develops a philosophical analysis of economic reality and economic science from an Aristotelian point of view. It is the result of many years of thinking and philosophical study about these topics. It differs from other philosophy of economics books as it also deals with economic reality (not only the science) and approaches its subject from an Aristotelian perspective. It differs from other Aristotelian studies about economics as it covers the whole of philosophy of the economy. This book argues (...) why Aristotle's thinking guarantees an appropriate interdisciplinary synthesis. (shrink)

The ‘value-free ideal’ has been called into question for several reasons. It does not include “epistemic values”—viewed as characteristic of ‘good science’—and rejects the so-called ‘contextual’, ‘non-cognitive’ or ‘non-epistemic’ values—all of them personal, moral, or political values. This paper analyzes a possible complementary argument about the dubitable validity of the value-free ideal, specifically focusing on social sciences, with a two-fold strategy. First, it will consider that values are natural facts in a broad or ‘liberal naturalist’ sense and, thus, a legitimate (...) part of those sciences. Second, the paper will not reject the value-free ideal; rather, it will construe this ideal in a special way, not casting values aside in sciences, but bringing them to the table and rationally discussing them. Today’s predominant naturalistic view has tended to ‘naturalize’ values by looking for physicalist explanations for them—a move resisted by defenders of normativism in social sciences. At the same time, a contending ‘liberal naturalist’ stream has emerged, claiming that not all natural entities can be explained by the methods and concepts of physical sciences, and favors a non-materialist naturalism which includes mind, consciousness, meaning and value as fundamental parts of nature that cannot be reduced to matter. Hence, it may be posited that non-epistemic values could be ‘naturally’ included in the field of human sciences. (shrink)

This paper is an attempt to illuminate today’s economic science with the light of Aristotle’s philosophy of economics. The author first describes Aristotle’s thoughts about the economy. Then, he distinguishes and discusses three Aristotelian principles: (a) economics should be a classical practical or moral science, (b) economics should not look for an unlimited wealth, but for the wealth necessary for the good life, and (c) economics should be aimed at the common good.

Is Currency Warfare defined as, the use of monetary or military force directed against an enemy’s monetary power as part of a military campaign, a just way to fight a war? This article explores the...

This article begins by pointing out the difficulties involved by the insertion of freedom in economics: It poses epistemological problems that are not satisfactorily solved by the standard theories. The article suggests that the Aristotelian epistemological frame of practical rationality may be an apt position from which one can deal with freedom in economics. Aristotle's concepts of society and economics are first introduced. The role of virtues in achieving economic coordination is exposed. Then the corresponding concept of practical science is (...) described, showing its main characteristics and how they fit in with traditional political economy. The concept of value neutrality receives special attention in the article: A reinterpretation of the meaning of it is proposed. The article concludes that Aristotle's broad concepts of practical reason and science leave room for a more comprehensive notion of economics. (shrink)

This paper sustains that reappraising Austrian economics in the light of Aristotelian ideas is not only possible but also fruitful. First, the paper draws a sketch of the essential features of Austrian economics. Next, it argues about the necessity for a thorough analysis of the notion of freedom, and it analyzes Mises's conception. Next, the paper exposes Aristotle's social, epistemological and economic thought related to Austrian main traits. An account of how the exercise of Aristotelian virtues may be synergic with (...) economic coordination and a sketch of the consequences of the proposal on the teaching of economics are then provided. Finally, the conclusion shortly sums up the content and relevance of Aristotle's contribution. (shrink)

In recent times various books have suggested building a healthier economics on Aristotelian foundations. They often rely on Scott Meikle’s accurate study of Aristotle’s Economic Thought. For example, we can mention James Alvey’s A Short History of Ethics and Economics. The Greeks, Spencer Pack’s Aristotle, Adam Smith and Karl Marx, and Irene van Staveren’s The Values of Economics: An Aristotelian Perspective which stresses the need for inserting the values of justice, freedom and care into economics. Andrew Yuengert’s The Boundaries of (...) Technique is based on Aristotle and Aquinas conceptions of human action. Yuengert has also published Approximating Prudence: Aristotelian Practical Wisdom and Economic Models of Choice. James Halteman and Edd Noell’s book about the relevance of ethics for economics, Reckoning with Markets also deals with Aristotle’s economic thought. The proposal of a new book of Robert and Edward Skidelsky, How Much is Enough? is also highly based on Aristotle’s notion of the good life. This paper will briefly detect what are the Aristotelian concepts mostly used by these authors and the reason why they are returning to Aristotle. (shrink)

Specialists often maintain that Menger has been strongly influenced by Aristotle’s thought ideas.This paper shows that although using Aristotle’s categories and general framework there are some issues in which Menger’s conclusions differs from Aristotle’s.This hint out that Menger’s knowledge of Aristotle’s ideas was not sufficiently deep and precise so as to completely capture its very spirit.Section two lays out the differences between Menger’s conception of theoretical science applied to economics and Aristotle’s conception of economics as a practical science.Section three maintains (...) that the Mengerian claim about the methodological absurdity of empirically testing the conclusions of exact research is not genuinely Aristotelian.Section four deals with the issue of Menger’s concept of organic social institutions showing its differences visà- vis an Aristotelian position.Les spécialistes soutiennent souvent que Menger a été fortement influencé par la pensée d’Aristote.Cet article montre que, bien qu’empruntant les catégories et la structure générale d’Aristote, certaines des conclusions de Menger diffèrent de celles d’Aristote.L’article suggère que la connaissance qu’avait Menger des idées d’Aristote n’était pas suffisamment approfondie et précise pour en appréhender le sens plein.La section deux présente les différences entre la conception de la science théorique présente dans l’économique de Menger et la conception aristotélicienne de l’économie comme une science pratique.La troisième section soutient que l’argument de Menger au sujet de l’absurdité méthodologique des tests empiriques des conclusions de la recherche exacte n’est pas réellement aristotélicien. La section quatre aborde la question des institutions sociales organiques chez Menger et montre ses différences vis-à-vis de la position aristotélicienne. (shrink)

An economic crisis is an unexpected phenomenon with strong consequences for nations, institutions and people's wealth, habits, and behaviors. It departs from the ‘normal’ evolution of the affairs foreseen by economic theory. It makes the claim for new theoretical explanations. It surprises the economic agents that try to ascertain what kind of phenomenon they are facing in order to decide the appropriate actions to undertake. It calls for revisions of theory, plans and expectations. Overall, a crisis calls for an explanation (...) which clarifies its causes. (shrink)

The Nature and Method of Economic Sciences: Evidence, Causality, and Ends argues that economic phenomena can be examined from five analytical levels: namely, a statistical descriptive approach, a causal explanatory approach, a teleological explicative approach, a normative approach and, finally, the level of application. The above viewpoints are undertaken by different but related economic sciences, including statistics and economic history, positive economics, normative economics, and the 'art of political economy'. Typically, positive economics has analysed economic phenomena using the second approach, (...) causally explaining and often trying to predict the future evolution of the economy. It has not been concerned with the ends selected by the individual or society, taking them as given. However, various new economic currents have emerged during the last 40 years, and some of these do assign a fundamental role to ends within economics. This book argues that the field of positive economics should adapt to deal with the issues that arise from this. The text attempts to discern the nature of economic phenomena, introducing the different approaches and corresponding economic sciences. It goes on to analyse the epistemological characteristics of these in the subsequent chapters, as well as their disciplinary inter-relations. This book is a valuable resource for students and scholars of the social sciences, philosophy, and the philosophy of economics. It will also be of interest to those researching political economy, and the development of economic thought. (shrink)

O presente artigo tem o objetivo de explorar os limites do conceito de auto-ética, apresentado por Edgar Morin no volume 6 de sua obra O Método. Para tanto, nos apoiaremos nos conceitos fundamentais do materialismo dialético – sobretudo a partir do pensamento de Gyorgy Lukács – de modo que seja possível analisar a proposição teórica de Morin a partir dos fundamentos filosóficos que vêm balizando nossa compreensão de mundo. Em um primeiro momento, abordaremos o conteúdo conceitual de auto-ética, como apresentado (...) por Morin. Na seqüência, buscaremos compor um conceito fundamental de ética a partir do materialismo dialético, para então, passarmos a analisar a viabilidade teórica da auto-ética com base nos pressupostos éticos do materialismo dialético. (shrink)

O objetivo do presente ensaio é analisar alguns aspectos da obra de Paulo Freire para trazer à luz a base metodológica sobre a qual Freire erguia seu pensamento, e sobre a qual nos é possível apontar para um fazer pesquisa enquanto prática libertadora e emancipatória. Buscamos expor, assim, os traços característicos do Materialismo Dialético presentes na obra do autor, para então analisar a categoria Diálogo, apresentada em Pedagogia do Oprimido, como princípio orientador de todo o pesquisador que se quer libertador, (...) verdadeiramente emancipatório, compromissado com a mudança, com o vir-a-ser humano. (shrink)

Em filosofia é comum o empenho em uma busca normativa, normatividade esta que aparece nos processos perceptivos quando o sujeito entra em relação com realidades de uma ordem de magnitude diferente da sua . Não acontece de outra maneira quando se trata de filosofar sobre a técnica – com efeito, em que ordem ou nível de magnitude em relação a nós ela – a técnica – se situa? Pensamos que a primeira condição para responder a tal pergunta é formulá-la em (...) termos políticos. A tese a ser desenvolvida neste trabalho, portanto, é a de que a percepção filosófica da técnica contemporânea, de um modo geral, está permeada pelo preconceito de que a técnica é algo destrutivo e que se encontra fora de controle, demandando uma filosofia moral-normativa capaz de impor-lhe os devidos limites: no entanto, não é preciso permanecer pensando assim; através da articulação entre o conceito estético-político de partilha do sensível , e os conceitos de individuação psíquica e individuação coletiva e psicopoder , pretende-se demonstrar, não a ineficácia de uma filosofia moral-normativa, mas a necessidade anterior de uma compreensão política da questão da técnica, para que, assim, tal problema possa ser recolocado de forma mais adequada em uma constelação teórica favorável à sua resolução. Tratar-se-á aqui de explicitar a relevância de uma maior sensibilização política dos sujeitos em seu processo de individuação para o caso de haver um real interesse em garantir os meios materiais de manutenção da vida no planeta. (shrink)

Este artículo pretende indagar en la concepción de la locura desarrollada por el filósofo Immanuel Kant a lo largo de su trayectoria intelectual. Para llevar a cabo esta indagación el autor adopta una interpretación naturalizada del transcendentalismo kantiano desarrollada por Eugenio Moya Cantero en sus trabajos sobre el pensador alemán. Se pretende con ello conciliar dos planos de la investigación kantiana que han sido tradicionalmente contrapuestos: facticidad y transcendentalidad, quid facti y quid juris. Este planteamiento ofrece una razón humana situada (...) en el seno de la naturaleza y de su historia y constituida como entidad compleja, heterogénea y dinámica, concepción desde la que la locura aparece como un conflicto de la propia razón consigo misma. El artículo concluye exponiendo el concepto kantiano de sinrazón positiva como la forma más grave de locura y mostrando la influencia y utilidad que dicho concepto ha tenido en otras disciplinas científicas como la psiquiatría contemporánea. (shrink)

This report analyses the aplicability of the principles of consciousness developed in the ASys project to three of the most relevant cognitive architectures. This is done in relation to their aplicability to build integrated control systems and studying their support for general mechanisms of real-time consciousness. To analyse these architectures the ASys Framework is employed. This is a conceptual framework based on an extension for cognitive autonomous systems of the General Systems Theory (GST). A general qualitative evaluation criteria for cognitive (...) architectures is established based upon: a) requirements for a cognitive architecture, b) the theoretical framework based on the GST and c) core design principles for integrated cognitive conscious control systems. (shrink)

L’interpellation plébéienne est un concept visant à nommer la force politique des soulèvements populaires et des actions directes spontanées. En modifiant le concept althussérien d’ interpellation et en le combinant à celui d’ expérience plébéienne (Breaugh, 2007), il s’agit de rendre compte de l’auto-interpellation des « sans-part » (Rancière, 1990) par laquelle ils se donnent leurs propres conditions de possibilité dans des actions collectives. Le propre de ces actions est précisément de surgir en dehors des formes ritualisées de constitution de (...) l’espace public. Elles sont intraitables dans ce qu’elles refusent toute catégorisation mais également dans ce qu’elles débordent toute représentation de « vivre-ensemble » de l’ordre politique. Cette forme « sauvage » d’interpellation se manifeste dans des moments de révolte ou de « sécession », d’interruption du cours normal de la reproduction du social. La plèbe doit être saisie pour ce qu’elle est, dans le tumulte vif de sa manifestation. (shrink)

The ArgumentEmergency medicine, a new medical specialty in the United States, is an ethical practice that has developed through its interaction with the spaces in which it is situated. We discuss this claim in two steps followed by a demonstration. First we examine the historical evolution of the hospital, to provide the background for a lengthier account of the historical transformation of the emergency room. We then introduce Foucault's approach to ethics, to explain the sense in which emergency medicine is (...) an ethical practice constituted, in part, by its space of operation. The preliminaries of the application of our historico-ethical framework to emergency medicine, are presented, focusing on cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Our intention is to provide a framework for the newest clinical specialty as an ethical practice in order to understand how to individuate its emerging ethical problems. The emphasis on space throughout enables us to integrate the historical development of emergency medicine with its present concrete setting, and to establish a basis for analyzing emergency medicine that does not rely uncritically on either a preferred ethical perspective or the perspective of its practitioners. (shrink)

Ricardo Sanz, Int. J. Mach. Conscious., 06, 55 (2014). DOI: 10.1142/S1793843014400095.

A alma é, sem dúvida, um dos problemas que mais interessou a Santo Agostinho; ele a define como uma substância partícipe da razão adequada ao governo de um corpo. A alma não tem quantidade corporal, contudo, é uma coisa grande. Este estudo pretende refletir sobre os sete graus de atividade da alma, os quais o autor apresenta na sua obra De quantitate animae. São eles: a animação, a sensação, a arte, a virtude, a tranquilidade, o ingresso e a contemplação. The (...) soul is undoubtedly one of the problems that most interested St. Augustine. He defines it as a substance participating of reason, adequate for the government of a body. The soul has no corporal quantity, but is nevertheless a great thing. This study aims to reflect on the seven degrees of activity of the soul, which the author presents in his work De quantitate animae. The are: animation, sensation, art, virtue, tranquility, ingress and contemplation. (shrink)

Este trabajo describe la vida y escritos de L. Polo hasta 1996. A los 25 años descubrió su método de pensamiento: el abandono del limite mental. Vivió en Madrid, Roma, Granada y Pamplona. Amante de la verdad y de la libertad personal. Entre sus obras más profundas se encuentran las que componen su Curso de teoría del conocimiento y su Antropología trascendental.