Introduction: Special Issue on Finance

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Boatright ◽  
Jeffrey Peterson

This special issue of Business Ethics Quarterly on ethics in finance was planned before the high profile scandals at Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Tyco, and Arthur Andersen, among other firms. Although these unfortunate events make this special issue especially timely, the subject matter of finance ethics has long been in need of scholarly attention. It is ironic that business ethics as an academic field owes its existence in part to the insider trading and junk bond scandals of the 1980s, and yet business ethics scholars have devoted comparatively little attention to financial topics. Now that another wave of ethical failures in finance is upon us, it is appropriate to present this collection of the best work on finance ethics.From a theoretical point of view, finance is a unique field for ethical exploration. The central activity of finance is financial contracting, in which parties make agreements with regard to the assets that they control. An individual who rents a home, leases a car, buys an insurance policy, invests in a mutual fund, or saves for retirement is entering into a contract with someone who promises something in return. In making these contracts, individuals are assumed by finance theorists to be entirely self-interested and opportunistic, which is to say that they will renege on their promises if they can do so safely. The response of rational contractors, therefore, is to build in safeguards to ensure compliance with the agreements made.

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pascal Daloz

AbstractThis article introduces the special issue on “The Distinction of Social and Political Elites.” It aims to provide some analytical reflections about the usefulness and limits of classical models of interpretation when confronted with empirical realities in very different societies. Although the separation between the societal and the political spheres is not always very clear, it is argued that the differentiation between the two corresponding types of elite is often significant from a theoretical point of view. Indeed, the symbolic superiority of political elites is frequently raised in rather specific terms because of the nature of their role as representatives.


Computers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Vaccaro ◽  
Giuseppe Sansonetti ◽  
Alessandro Micarelli

In recent years, Automated Machine Learning (AutoML) has become increasingly important in Computer Science due to the valuable potential it offers. This is testified by the high number of works published in the academic field and the significant efforts made in the industrial sector. However, some problems still need to be resolved. In this paper, we review some Machine Learning (ML) models and methods proposed in the literature to analyze their strengths and weaknesses. Then, we propose their use—alone or in combination with other approaches—to provide possible valid AutoML solutions. We analyze those solutions from a theoretical point of view and evaluate them empirically on three Atari games from the Arcade Learning Environment. Our goal is to identify what, we believe, could be some promising ways to create truly effective AutoML frameworks, therefore able to replace the human expert as much as possible, thereby making easier the process of applying ML approaches to typical problems of specific domains. We hope that the findings of our study will provide useful insights for future research work in AutoML.


2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Boatright

Abstract:In addressing the theme of this special issue of Business Ethics Quarterly on business ethics in the new millennium, I want to focus not on business ethics as an academic field of study but rather on ethics in business. By ethics in business I mean the standards for ethical conduct that are generally recognized in business and the ways in which these standards are established. Ethics in business in this sense is, at least in part, what the field of business ethics studies.


2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-437
Author(s):  
Gilles Barthe ◽  
Peter Dybjer ◽  
Peter Thiemann

Modern programming languages rely on advanced type systems that detect errors at compile-time. While the benefits of type systems have long been recognized, there are some areas where the standard systems in programming languages are not expressive enough. Language designers usually trade expressiveness for decidability of the type system. Some interesting programs will always be rejected (despite their semantical soundness) or be assigned uninformative types.There are several remedies to this situation. Dependent type systems, which allow the formation of types that explicitly depend on other types or values, are one of the most promising approaches. These systems are well-investigated from a theoretical point of view by logicians and type theorists. For example, dependent types are used in proof assistants to implement various logics and there are sophisticated proof editors for developing programs in a dependently typed language.To the present day, the impact of these developments on practical programming has been small, partially because of the level of sophistication of these systems and of their type checkers. Only recently, there have been efforts to integrate dependent systems into intermediate languages in compilers and programming languages. Additional uses have been identified in high-profile applications such as mobile code security, where terms of a dependently typed lambda calculus to encode safety proofs.A special issue of the Journal of Functional Programming will be devoted to the interplay between dependent type theory and programming practice. We welcome technical contributions in the field, as well as position papers that:[bull ] make researchers in programming languages aware of new developments and research directions on the theory side;[bull ] point out to theorists practical uses of advanced type systems and urge them to address theoretical problems arising in emerging applications.Authors who are concerned about the appropriateness of a topic are welcome to contact the guest editors. Manuscripts should be unpublished works and not submitted elsewhere. Revised and enhanced versions of papers published in conference proceedings that have not appeared in archival journals are eligible for submission. All submissions will be reviewed according to the usual standards of scholarship and originality.Submissions should be sent to Gilles Barthe ([email protected]), with a copy to Nasreen Ahmad ([email protected]). Submitted articles should be sent in postscript format, preferably gzipped and uuencoded. In addition, please send, as plain text, title, abstract and contact information.The submission deadline is December 1st, 2001.


1997 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart W. Herman

To date, BEQ has published contributions mainly from philosophers and social scientists. With these essays, we hope to expand this interdisciplinary conversation. The origins of this special issue extend back to a DePaul University conference some ten years ago, when Richard T. De George asserted that there was little that philosophers could learn from religious thinkers that would be of value for the field of business ethics (De George, 1986a). The challenge nestled deep in this author, much like the proverbial irritating grain of sand in the shell of an oyster, and it continues to merit serious reflection: what can religious approaches offer to the field? Are there indeed any pearls of insight to be harvested? Is there even an academic field of what might be termed religious business ethics?


2007 ◽  
pp. 86-94
Author(s):  
A. Manakov

The article provides theoretical analysis and evaluation of the timber auctions reforms in Russia. The author shows that the mechanism of the "combined auctions", which functioned until recently, is more appropriate from the theoretical point of view (and from the point of view of the Russian practice) as compared to the officially approved format of the English auction.


2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-232
Author(s):  
Pál Dömösi ◽  
Géza Horváth

In this paper we introduce a novel block cipher based on the composition of abstract finite automata and Latin cubes. For information encryption and decryption the apparatus uses the same secret keys, which consist of key-automata based on composition of abstract finite automata such that the transition matrices of the component automata form Latin cubes. The aim of the paper is to show the essence of our algorithms not only for specialists working in compositions of abstract automata but also for all researchers interested in cryptosystems. Therefore, automata theoretical background of our results is not emphasized. The introduced cryptosystem is important also from a theoretical point of view, because it is the first fully functioning block cipher based on automata network.


2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Dollinger

Der Beitrag geht von Versuchen aus, integrative Perspektiven einer überaus heterogenen Graffitiforschung zu bestimmen. In Auseinandersetzung insbesondere mit Bruno Latours Ansatz des »Iconoclash« wird eine kulturtheoretische Referenz bestimmt, die Graffiti als Version identifiziert, d. h. als semiotisch orientierte Veränderung räumlich situierter Ordnungs- und Regulierungspraxen. Ihnen kann, wenn auch nicht zwingend, eine subversive Qualität zukommen. Durch die Ausrichtung am Konzept einer Version wird beansprucht, Forderungen einer normativ weitgehend abstinenten, nicht-essentialistischen und für komplexe Fragen der Identitäts- und Raumpolitik offenen Forschungspraxis einzulösen.<br><br>The contribution attempts to integrate multiple perspectives of current largely heterogeneous graffiti scholarship. Referring to Bruno Latour’s concept »iconoclash«, we discuss graffiti from a cultural-theoretical point of view as a »version«. It appears as a semiotically oriented modification of spatially situated practices that regulate social life. Often, but not necessarily, these practices involve subversive qualities. The concept of »version« facilitates a non-normative and non-essentialist strategy of research. This enables an explorative research practice in which the complex matters of identity and space politics that are associated with graffiti can be addressed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7894
Author(s):  
Gabriela Neagu ◽  
Muhammet Berigel ◽  
Vladislava Lendzhova

This paper examines the perspectives of rural NEETs in the information society. Our analysis focuses on the situation of three European countries—Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey—characterized by a high share of rural areas and a population of NEETs. From a methodological point of view, we use alternative research methods (secondary data analysis) with statistical methods (simple linear regression). From a theoretical point of view, we will opt for a multidimensional analysis perspective: the theory of digital divide, digital inclusion, virtual mobility, etc. Through data analysis, we expect to obtain a more complete and detailed picture of the ICT situation in rural areas (level of digital skills, level of digital inclusion) to demonstrate the importance of ICT in optimizing virtual mobility for the living conditions of the population, especially the NEET population.


Author(s):  
Beata Zagórska-Marek ◽  
Magdalena Turzańska ◽  
Klaudia Chmiel

AbstractPhyllotactic diversity and developmental transitions between phyllotactic patterns are not fully understood. The plants studied so far, such as Magnolia, Torreya or Abies, are not suitable for experimental work, and the most popular model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, does not show sufficient phyllotactic variability. It has been found that in common verbena (Verbena officinalis L.), a perennial, cosmopolitan plant, phyllotaxis differs not only between growth phases in primary transitions but also along the indeterminate inflorescence axis in a series of multiple secondary transitions. The latter are no longer associated with the change in lateral organ identity, and the sequence of phyllotactic patterns is puzzling from a theoretical point of view. Data from the experiments in silico, confronted with empirical observations, suggest that secondary transitions might be triggered by the cumulative effect of fluctuations in the continuously decreasing bract primordia size. The most important finding is that the changes in the primary vascular system, associated with phyllotactic transitions, precede those taking place at the apical meristem. This raises the question of the role of the vascular system in determining primordia initiation sites, and possibly challenges the autonomy of the apex. The results of this study highlight the complex relationships between various systems that have to coordinate their growth and differentiation in the developing plant shoot. Common verbena emerges from this research as a plant that may become a new model suitable for further studies on the causes of phyllotactic transitions.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document