Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism economy has been seriously affected. China has implemented a direct traveling management mechanism and recovered from the pandemic faster than the rest of the world. However, the COVID-19 situation is complicated and uncontrollable because of the available unclear information including difficult medical terminologies. This study attempts to find the determinants of the travel intention of China’s tourists in the post-COVID-19 epidemic. Along with information overload and perception risk, an expanded research model of the Theory (...) of Planned Behavior was employed to propose the theoretical framework of this study. A survey was conducted among 518 tourists who spend their holiday in Hainan, which is a popular tourist destination in China. The empirical results show that information overload positively and significantly impacted perceived risk. Furthermore, perceived risk negatively affects the intention to travel. Perceived risk also negatively affected the attitude toward traveling. However, response self-efficacy did not have a significant effect on the intention to travel. Finally, based on the analysis results, this study proposes relevant research contributions and practical recommendations with management implications for the travel industries. (shrink)

AimResting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to analyze changes in functional connectivity within various brain networks and functional network connectivity among various brain regions in patients with high myopia.Methodsrs-fMRI was used to scan 82 patients with HM and 59 healthy control volunteers matched for age, sex, and education level. Fourteen resting state networks were extracted, of which 11 were positive. Then, the FCs and FNCs of RSNs in HM patients were examined by independent component analysis.ResultsCompared with the HC (...) group, FC in visual network 1, dorsal attention network, auditory network 2, visual network 3, and sensorimotor network significantly increased in the HM group. FC in default mode network 1 significantly decreased. Furthermore, some brain regions in default mode network 2, default mode network 3, auditory network 1, executive control network, and significance network increased while others decreased. FNC analysis also showed that the network connection between the default mode network and cerebellar network was enhanced in the HM group.ConclusionCompared with HCs, HM patients showed neural activity dysfunction within and between specific brain networks, particularly in the DMN and CER. Thus, HM patients may have deficits in visual, cognitive, and motor balance functions. (shrink)

ObjectiveThis study explores the relationship between physical exercise and school adaptation of junior middle school students and constructs a chain intermediary model through the intermediary role of psychological resilience and sports learning motivation.MethodsUsing the stratified cluster sampling method, 930 junior middle school students in Anhui Province were measured in group psychology by using the physical exercise rating scale, adolescent psychological resilience scale, physical learning motivation scale and school adaptation scale. The statistical software SPSS 23.0 and process plug-in were used for (...) statistical processing, and the common method deviation test was carried out by Harman single-factor control method. Finally, the bootstrap sampling test method and process plug-in were used to test the significance of intermediary effect.Results The direct prediction effect of physical exercise on school adaptation is remarkable ; psychological resilience and sports learning motivation are the intermediary variables of the relationship between physical exercise and school adaptation; psychological resilience and sports learning motivation play a chain mediation role in the relationship between physical exercise and school adaptation. The intermediary effect is composed of three indirect effects: physical exercise → psychological resilience → school adaptation, physical exercise → physical learning motivation → school adaptation, physical exercise → psychological resilience → physical learning motivation → school adaptation.ConclusionsPhysical exercise can directly improve the school adaptation of junior middle school students, which can also affect junior middle school students’ school adaptation indirectly through psychological resilience or sports learning motivation, and it can influence school adaptation through the chain mediation of psychological resilience and sports learning motivation. (shrink)

本书是文化哲学著述,对人类历史发展中的许多文化(精神)现象作了个性化的阐释,如人类开始为何要将自然神化,为何既需要上帝又需要尼采,为何后来又否定了神等问题。.

This paper argues that the Zhuangzi’s famous dream passages are not merely literary devices or skeptical tools, but the foundation of a coherent philosophical project dismantling the pragmatic, utilitarian worldview. This knowledge-application (zhi-yong 知—用) system, which reduces all value to function, rests on the unexamined assumption that our awakeness possesses a monopoly on reality. Zhuangzi attacks this foundation directly through philosophy of dream. By grounding the dream’s transformative power in the metaphysics of qi 氣 and establishing an existential parity between (...) dreaming and waking, he reveals our waking certainty to be a ‘Great Dream’ built on the biases of chengxin 成心. The iconic butterfly dream thus becomes an experiential gateway to new realms of co-existence and no-self. This framework ultimately resolves the apparent contradiction of the ‘dreamless True Person’, who represents not a rejection of the dream, but the successful culmination of its deconstructive power. (shrink)

BackgroundSubjective cognitive decline, non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and amnestic mild cognitive impairment are regarded to be at high risk of converting to Alzheimer’s disease. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations can reflect functional deterioration while diffusion tensor imaging is capable of detecting white matter integrity. Our study aimed to investigate the structural and functional alterations to further reveal convergence and divergence among SCD, naMCI, and aMCI and how these contribute to cognitive deterioration.MethodsWe analyzed ALFF under slow-4 and slow-5 bands and white matter (...) fiber integrity among normal controls, SCD, naMCI, and aMCI groups. Correlation analyses were further utilized among paired DTI alteration, ALFF deterioration, and cognitive decline.ResultsFor ALFF calculation, ascended ALFF values were detected in the lingual gyrus and superior frontal gyrus within SCD and naMCI patients, respectively. Descended ALFF values were presented mainly in the LING, SFG, middle frontal gyrus, and precuneus in aMCI patients compared to CN, SCD, and naMCI groups. For DTI analyses, white matter alterations were detected within the uncinate fasciculus in aMCI patients and within the superior longitudinal fasciculus in naMCI patients. SCD patients presented alterations in both fasciculi. Correlation analyses revealed that the majority of these structural and functional alterations were associated with complicated cognitive decline. Besides, UF alterations were correlated with ALFF deterioration in the SFG within aMCI patients.ConclusionsSCD shares structurally and functionally deteriorative characteristics with aMCI and naMCI, and tends to convert to either of them. Furthermore, abnormalities in white matter fibers may be the structural basis of abnormal brain activation in preclinical AD stages. Combined together, it suggests that structural and functional integration may characterize the preclinical AD progression. (shrink)

本书从本体论和神学背景出发,将谢林哲学与现当代西方哲学联系起来。对“谢林哲学的转向”、“潜能学说”、“神话哲学”、“自由学说”等作了研究。.

哲學巨擘傅佩榮，獻給愛智者最真摯的禮物 總結懸命半生的重磅著作，橫跨2600年、120位哲學家 ➢哲學就是愛智慧，陪你思考人生問題，掌握人生方向； ➢哲學就是人生經濟學，用最少時間，達成最大效果。 哲學有益人生。傅佩榮教授於「得到」知識平臺開設熱門課程： 「傅佩榮的西方哲學課」，超過四萬訂戶。 本著作為此課程整理修訂而成，完整梳理西方哲學史2600年的120位代表人物， 一套三冊，分為： ．上：古代＋中世紀—介紹古希臘與中世紀哲學 ．中：近代—介紹近代哲學 ．下：現代—介紹現代哲學 本冊為【上：古代＋中世紀】 本著作是哲普作品，也是西方哲學簡史，清楚表述哲學家在愛智過程中所領悟的心得， 與對現代人生的啟發，綜合哲學家用生命驗證的成果，展示西方的核心理念， 讓我們在品味西方哲學時，還能建立起自己的宇宙觀、人生觀、價值觀。 ||上：古代＋中世紀|| 如何讓神從神壇走向廚房？擁有魔戒，你會做什麼？ 悲劇可以淨化心靈嗎？享樂主義的快樂清單說什麼？ 若我受騙，則我存在？有多少力量，就有多少愛？ 古希臘哲學留給後世無限寶貴財富，探討宇宙及萬物的來源； 接續的中世紀哲學由基督宗教主導，綿延1300年， 卻被稱為「黑暗時代」，哲學成為神學的女僕。 但不能忽略基督宗教維持社會穩定、保存文化命脈、塑造西方心靈、 助人面對人生奧祕，是開啟近代哲學的關鍵時期！ ◤哲學讓人生更香甜，改變你對生命的想像！ ．未經反省檢查的人生，是不值得活的。──蘇格拉底 ．對自我有強烈的執著，是一切罪惡的最常見來源。──柏拉圖 ．從事哲學思考，就是學習如何死亡。──西塞羅 ．不要滿不在乎的過日子，好像你可以活一千年似的。──奧雷流士 ．不要從你自身離去，因為真理棲息於人的內心世界。──奧古斯丁 ．人的良心，就是為他引航的最佳嚮導。──司各特 ||書籍特色|| ☆每節結束附上「學習心得」、「問題思考」、「補充說明」， 便於讀者複習重點、換位思考哲學家的觀點進而迸出心靈火花、補充說明關鍵概念。 ☆書中加入作者長年研究儒家與道家的心得，有助讀者在對照比較中， 既可欣賞西方哲學，又能覺悟中國哲學的特色與價值。 ☆書末附有索引，詳列詞條在各冊的頁碼，方便讀者對照查找。.

The most important term in Wang Yang-ming’s 王陽明 (1472-1528) philosophy, “liang-zhi 良知,” has been interpreted in various different ways. However, these different interpretations have failed to provide a satisfactory understanding of Wang Yang-ming’s philosophy. To give a reasonable interpretation of Wang Yang-ming’s idea of liang-zhi that coheres with his philosophy, we have to move beyond the approach of mentalism, no matter whether it be of a transcendental or nontranscendental type. In this paper, I elaborate the deep structure of liang-zhi and (...) demonstrate that liang-zhi cannot simply be described as non-empirical, more importantly, I show that it cannot be identified as any kind of knowledge or knowing capacity, enlightenment or enlightening capacity, intellectual intuition or mystical feeling. Liang-zhi is not an epistemic concept in any sense. To treat liangzhi as some kind of knowing faculty or mental capacity is to stray from Wang Yangming’s main philosophical train of thought. -/- The major purpose of this paper is to give a new and coherent interpretation of liang-zhi which is consistent with the doctrines of “xing-ji-qi 性即氣,” “xin-wai-wuwu/ shi 心外無物／事” (no things/events outside the mind), “xin-wai-wu-li 心外無理” (no orders/principles outside the mind) and “zhi-xing-he-yi 知行合一”1 (the unity of enlightenment and action/act). In this paper, I use the concepts of “realization” and “supervenience” to explain the relationship between xing and qi, on the one hand, and the relationship between zhi and xing, on the other. Based on this preliminary study, I conclude that Wang Yang-ming viewed all the things/events in the organic universe as being endowed with a (emergent) power or (functional) property of cosmic vitality or universal spirituality, i.e., the (functional) property of sheng-sheng 生生 (the cycling order of natural production). This universal power or property by itself is invisible, without trace, and does not have an independent ontological status. However, the actual function of the power or property can be found in phenomena because certain responsive mental events made by human beings can be recognized as the realization of this power or property. In turn, certain related physical events initiated by human beings can be understood as the bases on which the mental events are supervenient. Based on these two distinct relationships: realization and supervenience, we can elaborate a framework of three layers consisting of the layer of cosmic spirituality, the layer of the mental, and the layer of the physical. This framework of three layers is moreover situated in two domains: the internal domain of the human body and the external domain of human action. Based on this framework of three layers and two domains, I elaborate a theory concerning “heaven’s production” (tian-cheng 天成), or “accomplishment and assistance in the universal process of production and reproduction,” concluding that it can be understood as an important component of Wang Yang-ming’s philosophy. (shrink)

Modern acupuncture is usually presented as a technical medical procedure: channels, points, qi flow, diagnosis, needle manipulation. Yet classical and later Chinese medical sources preserve a stranger and more spiritually charged picture. In these texts, healing is not always performed through needles alone, but through a combination of intention, visualisation, sacred speech, incantation, ritual authority, and the expulsion of pathogenic or demonic influences. This article examines that older ritual layer by drawing on passages from the Huangdi Neijing, especially the Su (...) Wen and Ling Shu, and on later Ming dynasty sources, principally Yang Jizhou’s Zhenjiu Dacheng. Together these texts suggest that acupuncture was born within a wider field in which the boundary between medicine, shamanism, Taoist ritual, and spiritual exorcism was porous. Rather than treating this as a primitive stage superseded by rational medicine, we may understand it as evidence of a more integrated therapeutic worldview, one in which body, voice, spirit, and cosmos were held as inseparable. When we think of acupuncture today, we picture a clinical room, sterile needles, anatomical charts, and a practitioner trained in diagnosis, channel theory, and point selection. The atmosphere is calm, quasi-medical, minimalist. The practitioner may speak softly, but we do not imagine him chanting incantations over inserted needles, invoking ancient sages, or commanding illness to leave the body. Yet classical and later Chinese medical literature preserves precisely such a world. In that world, needles were not merely instruments of mechanical stimulation. They were ritual tools, inserted into a living field of qi, intention, spirit, and cosmic resonance. They were sometimes accompanied by spoken or sung formulas. The practitioner sometimes visualised divine figures. Disease was sometimes addressed almost as an intruder, a malign presence, a spirit, an influence that had to be expelled. This older layer of acupuncture is rarely discussed in modern clinical practice. It tends to be quietly omitted because it does not fit the image of acupuncture as a respectable, evidence-based, regulation-friendly therapy. But historically, Chinese medicine was never purely technical. It stood at the intersection of cosmology, ritual, body practice, moral cultivation, and spiritual power. To recover this dimension is not to romanticise it, nor to advocate uncritical revival of every ancient practice. It is to insist that the history of acupuncture is more complex than modern textbooks suggest. Behind the modern needle lies an older world of sacred speech. (shrink)

Xue xi he yan jiu Zhongguo zhe xue, yi ban lai shuo, Feng xian sheng shi ke chao er bu ke yue de. Yi si shi, hou ren wan quan ke neng er qie ye ying dang sheng guo Feng xian sheng, dan shi que bu neng rao guo Feng xian sheng. Rao guo Feng xian sheng, bu dan bi ran yao duo fei li qi, er qie rong yi zou wan lu er nan yu shen ru tang ao. Feng (...) Youlan zuo wei wo guo jin dai zhe xue de yi dai ju bo, zai mou zhong yi yi shang, ying xiang liao zheng ge jin dai Zhongguo zhe xue de ge ju. Er dui yu Feng Youlan zhe xue ji qi xue shu sheng ya de yan jiu, ye sui zhe dang dai guo xue yan jiu de xing qi, shou dao yue lai yue duo de guan zhu. Minguo shi qi de Zhongguo xue shu jie, ying gai shuo shi hui ju le yi da pi kua shi dai de xue shu jing ying, te bie shi zai chuan tong xue shu ling yu, kan cheng yi chang si xiang de sheng yan.ben shu zuo zhe zai hao ru yan hai de Minguo wen xian zhong, jing xin zheng li chu dang shi xue jie dui Feng Youlan zhe xue de hui ying he dui hua, qi zhong bao kuo zhu ru Chen Yinke, Jin Yuelin, Hu Shi, Zhang Dainian, Cai Shangsi deng yi da pi xue jie tai dou de wen zhang, zi liao xing fei chang qiang, bu jin fan ying le zhu wei xue zhe ge ren de du dao jian jie, geng cong yi ge ce mian fan ying le Minguo shi qi Feng Youlan zhe xue yan jiu de sheng kuang, dui dang xia yan jiu Feng Youlan zhe xue si xiang ju you zhong yao de can kao jia zhi. (shrink)

The existing literature provides conflicting results on the association between firm performance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. This paper empirically examines the effect of firm performance on CSR disclosure in terms of disclosure frequency and quality among Chinese listed firms and the possible mediating effect of corporate ownership on the relationship between firm performance and CSR disclosure. Our findings show that better-performing firms are more likely than worse-performing ones to disclose CSR information and to produce higher quality CSR reports. (...) In addition, the link between firm performance and CSR disclosure is found to be weaker among state-owned enterprises compared with non-state-owned ones. (shrink)

Ben shu shi cai yuan pei xian sheng guan yu gong min dao de xiu yang fang mian de dai biao zuo, Zhu yao shou lu ta zui wei zhong yao de dao de si xiang dai biao zuo pinzhong xue xiu shen jiao ke shu hehua gong xue xiao jiang yi, Bing shou lu cai yuan pei qi ta you guan dao de xiu yang de ling san wen zhang, Chong fen ti xian le cai yuan pei xian (...) sheng dui yu xian dai zhong guo ren ying ju you de dao de su yang de zong ti gou xiang. (shrink)

Ben shu tong guo dui Kang Youwei zhi "qun" yu"du" guan nian de kao cha, lai ba wo Kang Youwei dui ge ren, guo jia nai zhi tian xia zhi xu de shen ke si kao. Zhu yao nei rong you: yi, Jin dai"qun-du" guan nian de chu xian ji qi zou xiang, er, Kang Youwei "qun-du" guan nian chan sheng de si xiang bei jing, san, "Du ren" yu Kang Youwei dui xian dai xing ge ti sheng cun zhi (...) ling hui, si, "Qun" yu guo jia wei xin, wu, "qun-du" guan lian yu chong tu: min quan yu guo jia guan nian zhi jian de zhang li, liu, Shi jie fan wei zhi "du" yu "qun" : guo jia yu "da tong"deng. (shrink)

Ben shu dui dao jia xing er shang xue de gai nian he yan jiu fang fa zuo le tan suo, bao kuo 'dao',' de', 'you wu zhi bian', 'zi ran', 'wu wei', 'tian ming','ren', 'hua'deng zhong yao shu yu yi ji dui sheng si de guan huai. Mu lu ru xia: shang bian yi dao jia yu xing er shang xue er dao jia xing er shang xue de dan sheng ji tui yan san dao jia dui ben ti (...) yu yu yan guan xi de ling wu si dao jia xing er shang xue fang fa wu 'dao' de li cheng liu'you wu zhi bian'qi shi' de 'ba'zi ran', 'wu wei fan shi he li xiang jiu'tian ming 'yu' ren 'shi' hua' guan nian ji qi li shi tuo zhan shi yi. (shrink)

Ben shu gong you ba jiang zu cheng, fen bie shi sheng ren bi ke xue er zhi, Wang Yangming de xin xue ti xi, shi gong yu bing xue, wen xue si xiang yu shi wen chuang zuo, jiao yu si xiang yu shi jian, Yangming hou xue, Yangming xue zai jin xian dai de ying xiang, Yangming wen hua yu Guizhou lü you. Mei ge lun ti lun shu ji zhong, shen du shi zhong, xu shu xing yu (...) yan tong su liu chang, gu shi xing qiang, hen shi he da zhong du zhe yue du. wei qi fa du zhe si kao, zeng qiang yue du xiao guo, zai mei yi jiang zhi hou shi liang she zhi le yi xie ming ci jie shi, jian da tao lun ti. ling pei he xiang guan wen zi, she zhi le yi xie tu pian, bei ke he Yangming shu fa zuo pin deng, ju you ji jia de guan shang xing. (shrink)

Handling exceptions in a knowledge-based system is an important issue in many application domains, such as medical domain. Recently, there is an increasing interest in nonmonotonic extension of description logics to handle exceptions in ontologies. In this paper, we propose three preferential semantics for plausible subsumption to deal with exceptions in description logic-based knowledge bases. Our preferential semantics are defined in the framework of possibility theory, which is an uncertainty theory devoted to handling incomplete information. We consider the properties of (...) these semantics and their relationships. We also discuss the relationship between two of our preferential semantics and two existing preferential semantics. We extend a description logic-based knowledge base by adding preferential subsumptions. Entailment of plausible subsumptions relative to an extended knowledge base is defined. Properties of the preferential subsumption relations relative to an extended description logic-based knowledge base are discussed. Finally, we show that our semantics for plausible subsumption can be reduced to standard semantics of an expressive description logic. Thus, the problem of plausible subsumption checking under our semantics can be reduced to the problem of subsumption checking under the classical semantics. (shrink)

Yi-He is universal symbol of Chinese philosophy, it contains two thoughts of “Yi” and “He”. Thought of “Yi” represents idea of change in Chinese philosophy，thought of “He” represents idea of harmony in Chinese philosophy. “Philosophy of Yi-He” is dialectical synthesis of thought of “Yi” and thought of “He”, as well as the unique nature of Chinese philosophy thought. It embodies the deep structure of Chinese cultural spirit and the innovative pattern of Chinese philosophy thought. At present, “philosophy of Yi-He” conforms (...) to the topic of the age, i.e. developing in all-round and coordinating way and constructing harmonious society. It constitutes Chinese philosophy idea which reflects and criticizes modern civilization and creating viewpoint on harmonious development. “Philosophy of Yi-He” calls on harmonious world and constructs harmonious development idea in the relationship between human being and nature, human being and society, human being and themselves, human being and civilization. The viewpoint on harmonious development of Chinese philosophy aims at creating an ideal of harmonious world. (shrink)

本书从唐君毅先生提出的“中国艺术精神”开始论述,分析了中国艺术精神的多层面向进而深入分析其阐释的意义;继而,本书对徐复观先生深入的研究进行了解读和探索,一直延续到今日学界的研究和探索,并对“中国艺术精 神”在世纪之交时发生的转向给出了结论.

Supporters of eliminative connectionism have argued for a pattern association-based explanation of language learning and language processing. They deny that explicit rules and symbolic representations play any role in language processing and cognition in general. Their argument is based to a large extent on two artificial neural network (ANN) models that are claimed to be able to learn the past tenses of English verbs (Rumelhart & McClelland, 1986, Parallel distributed processing, Vol. 2, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; MacWhinney & Leinbach, 1991, (...) Cognition, 40, 121-157). In this article we critically review Rumelhart and McClelland's as well as MacWhinney and Leinbach's ANN models and conclude that they do not succeed in the assigned task of learning the past tenses of English verbs. In order to answer their challenge to the symbolic processing approach, we present our symbolic pattern associator (SPA)-a general-purpose pattern associator that can learn to associate arbitrary discrete patterns. We carried out several experiments with the SPA using the same set of verbs that was used in MacWhinney and Leinbach's simulation with more realistic training and testing procedures. The SPA outperformed the connectionist models by a wide margin in the accuracy of learning, and successful inductive generalizations to unseen verbs. Our SPA has very natural and psychologically realistic explanations to many psychological effects such as U-shaped learning curve, and is much closer to human subjects in predicting past tense of the pseudo-verbs. In contrast to ANNs, whose internal representations are entirely opaque, the SPA can represent the acquired knowledge in the form of production rules that allow for further higher-level processing and integration, resulting in linguistically realistic associative templates for irregular verbs and production rules for regular verbs. In the light of these findings, we conclude that eliminative connectionists' vision of cognition as simple pattern association and pattern recognition without symbolic representation is inadequate. Pattern association as such does not imply rule-less or cue-based models of language acquisition or of human learning in general. (shrink)

Background: Truth-telling toward terminally ill patients is a challenging ethical issue in healthcare practice. However, there are no existing ethical guidelines or frameworks provided for Chinese nurses in relation to decision-making on truth-telling of terminal illness and the role of nurses thus is not explicit when encountering this issue. Objectives: The intention of this paper is to provide ethical guidelines or strategies with regards to decision-making on truth-telling of terminal illness for Chinese nurses. Methods: This paper initially present a case (...) scenario and then critically discuss the ethical issue in association with ethical principles and philosophical theories. Instead of focusing on attitudes toward truth disclosure, it aims to provide strategies regarding this issue for nurses. It highlights and discusses some of the relevant ethical assumptions around the perceived role of nurses in healthcare settings by focusing on nursing ethical virtues, nursing codes of ethics, and philosophical perspectives. And Confucian culture is discussed to explicate that deontology does not consider family-oriented care in China. Conclusion: Treating each family individually to explore the family’s beliefs and values on this issue is essential in healthcare practice and nurses should tailor their own approach to individual needs regarding truth-telling in different situations. Moreover, the Chinese Code of Ethics should be modified to be more specific and applicable. Finally, a narrative ethics approach should be applied and teamwork between nurses, physicians and families should be established to support cancer patients and to ensure their autonomy and hope. Ethical considerations: This paper was approved by the Ethics Committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. The authors have obtained consent to use the case study and it has been anonymised to preserve the patient's confidentiality. (shrink)

Plum Shadows and Plank Bridge: Two Memoirs about Courtesans. Translated and edited by Wai-yee Li. New York: Columbia University Press, 2020. Pp. 328. $60, $20.

Prior research indicates that managers’ dark personality traits increase their tendency to engage in disruptive and unethical organizational behaviors including accounting earnings management. Other research suggests that the prevalence of dark personalities in management may represent an accidental byproduct of selecting managers with accompanying desirable attributes that fit the stereotype of a “strong leader.” Our paper posits that organizations may hire some managers who have dark personality traits because their willingness to push ethical boundaries aligns with organizational objectives, particularly in (...) the accounting context where ethical considerations are especially important. Using several validation studies and experiments, we find that experienced executives and recruiting professionals favor hiring a candidate with dark personality traits into an accounting management position over an otherwise better-qualified candidate when the hiring organization faces pressure to manage earnings. Our results help to illuminate why individuals with dark personality traits may effectively compete for high-level accounting positions. (shrink)

Anhand charakteristischer Beispiele aus der Biologie (Biochemie, Evolution), dem Wetter, Klimageschehen, komplexen Netzwerken und der Kosmologie („Urknall“) wird die Dynamik und Nicht-Linearität von Nicht-Gleichgewichts-Systemen näher beleuchtet. Es wird klar, dass höhere Organisationsebenen der Materie ihre eigenen, im Vergleich zu niedrigeren Ebenen neue Gesetze entwickeln. Emergenz von Eigenschaften und Gesetzen ist ein wichtiger Aspekt. Das nicht-lineare Verhalten dieser NGG-Systeme ist die Ursache für das Auftreten des Zufalls und die Entstehung von Komplexität. Komplexität und Zufall sind nicht voneinander zu trennen. Abschließend erklärt (...) uns das Phänomen der Dekohärenz, warum die Quanten (Elementarteilchen) mit ihrer Unbestimmtheit den Zufall in der makroskopischen Welt nicht bewirken können. Im Einklang damit steht die neue Theorie von J. Oppenheim, nach der die Gravitation nicht quantisiert, aber eng mit dem Zufall verknüpft ist. (shrink)

‘Individualized medicine’ is an emerging paradigm in clinical life science research. We conducted a socio-empirical interview study in a leading German clinical research group, aiming at implementing ‘individualized medicine’ of colorectal cancer. The goal was to investigate moral and social issues related to physician–patient interaction and clinical care, and to identify the points raised, supported and rejected by the physicians and researchers. Up to now there has been only limited insight into how experts dedicated to individualized medicine view its problems. (...) Interviews with researchers and clinicians ( n= 19) were based on a prestructured questionnaire. The content analysis revealed a broad spectrum of opinions. Major findings were (a) disappointments with the limits of the current therapy regimen and clinical practice; (b) problematic impacts on physician–patient relationship; and (c) an informed consent procedure which is mainly based on paternalistic assumptions. According to our analysis, major problems will be uncertainties related to the biomarker's sensitivity and specificity, and the identification of ‘non-responders’. However, the findings also indicate that experts expect evidence-based medicine to replace decisions based on gut feeling or hierarchical structures. (shrink)