Search results for "BALANCE"
showing 10 items of 1379 documents
Are Spanish SMEs good places to work?
2012
PurposeThis paper aims to perform a descriptive analysis of the current degree of development and application of work‐life balance policies in Spanish SMEs, examining the differences that arise due to ownership structure (family owned business versus non‐family owned business) and presenting an in‐depth analysis of the variables that influence managers' attitudes towards work‐life balance policies.Design/methodology/approachStructured interviews with SME managers were performed.FindingsThe presence of those polices is small, although the situation differs depending on the type of policy. Differences in ownership structure do not imply significantly different behavior with regard to the intr…
Gender and Work-Life Balance: a Contest Analysis on Nursey Schools in Palermo
2018
This paper reflects on the gender inequalities and their influence in the access to labor market and, on the other one, to reproductive process. Maternity and work often arise as choices excluding one another due for the inadequacy of care services. The essay reviews some laws of the last years for encourage the work-life balance and analyzes the presence of the services for children in Palermo. The “case study” of the municipality of Palermo shows a general lack of services and a progressive reduction of public nurseries and kindergarten, despite the economic investments of the last decades at institutional level. It points out how many obstacles persist that discourage female participatio…
The Impact of Family and Work-Life Balance Policies on the Performance of Spanish Listed Companies
2014
Work-life balance has become a topic of great relevance in today's business world. In this work we present both a theoretical review on the state of art in this issue and an analysis testing the validity of the positive impact of work-life balance policies in firm performance. For the empirical analyses of these policies on performance we evaluated a sample composed of firms listed in IBEX-35. Findings provide support for the idea that introducing work-life balance practices benefits the company with respect to talent retention and higher employee engagement, as well as achieving a positive impact on productivity, costs and business results.
Constrained consistency enforcement in AHP
2020
Abstract Decision-making in the presence of intangible elements must be based on a robust, but subtle, balance between expert know-how and judgment consistency when eliciting that know-how. This balance is frequently achieved as a trade-off reached after a feedback process softens the tension frequently found between one force steadily pulling towards (full) consistency, and another force driven by expert feeling and opinion. The linearization method, developed by the authors in the framework of the analytic hierarchy process, is a pull-towards-consistency mechanism that shows the path from an inconsistent body of judgment elicited from an expert towards consistency, by suggesting optimal c…
Intervention and peace*
2018
Abstract Intervention often does not lead to peace, but rather to prolonged conflict. Indeed, we document that it is an important source of prolonged conflicts. We introduce a theoretical model of the balance of power to explain why this should be the case and to analyse how peace can be achieved: either a hot peace between hostile neighbours or the peace of the strong dominating the weak. Non-intervention generally leads to peace after defeat of the weak. Hot peace can be achieved with sufficiently strong outside intervention. The latter is thus optimal if the goal of policy is to prevent the strong from dominating the weak.
Conditions of a Philosophical Discussion
2020
As its method, philosophy uses argumentative discussion. Philosophy does not often appeal directly to observations or experiences, although they have a place in argumentation as well. Because philosophy is discursive, it delves in the realms of language and the use of language. Defining concepts is a central theme. The rules and argumentation principles of rational discussion are another cornerstone of philosophy. I defend two things that are seen to be conflicting: philosophical relativity and common core rationality. Both are necessary in order to balance each other out. I argue that a certain intuitive and common conception of truth and reality is necessary in order to conduct philosophi…
Taxonomic categorisation of motivic patterns
2009
The issue of pattern description in computational models for motivic analysis is closely related to the cognitive debate on categorisation, in which are traditionally opposed “well-defined” and “ill-defined” categorisations. The ill-defined conceptualisation has been considered as a suitable framework for the formalisation of musical categorisation as it takes into account motivic variations. It seems that computational models rely rather on well-defined categorisation, due to its better controllability. The computational model we previously presented (Lartillot & Toiviainen, 2007) strikes a balance by developing a new flexible framework allowing the taking into account of unrestricted…
Presumption of Innocence and Deterrence
2018
This paper deals with the presumption of innocence and the law enforcer's incentives to exert investigative effort. Our main result is that, even if the presumption of guilt maximizes deterrence for a given effort by the law enforcer, divergent objectives between the law enforcer (who maximizes the probability of a conviction weighted by the magnitude of the sanction and the type of the citizen) and the public decision-maker (who minimizes social costs) may lead the latter to prefer the presumption of innocence. Indeed, the presumption of innocence may induce the law enforcer to increase investigative efforts thereby improving deterrence. As a consequence, if the law enforcer's effort is re…
The Other J.M.: John Maurice Clark and the Keynesian Revolution
2009
This paper suggests that Clark's views regarding the Keynesian Revolution illuminate some of the limitations of the Keynesian orthodoxy that developed after the war, bringing more institutional detail and a greater preoccupation with dynamic analysis. Clark developed the multiplier in dynamic terms and coupled it with the accelerator to provide the framework for business cycle theory. His analysis was not formalized and emphasized time lags and non-linearities, similar to Harrod. In addition, Clark was concerned with the inflationary consequences of Keynesian policies and he was dissatisfied with those mechanical interpretations of the income flow analysis, which came to be known as hydraul…
Balance as Symbol and Object of Art
2014
The symbolic use of the balance is reviewed, covering mythology and religion, icons and arts, its use in astronomy and astrology as well as in literature and music. In Old Egypt many paintings show men’s height balances symbolically used for soul weighing. In Greece the fate balance was known. In the Roman Empire the symbolic use changed to justice fairness, and legitimacy of coins and this holds until modern time. In the Bible and the Koran fair weighing in trade are demanded. In the Book of Revelation the balance is symbol for misery. Michael archangel became guide of the deceased to the last judgement and weighed the poor sinner against his good deeds. In the witch balance the mass of th…