Thucydides’ assessments of Pericles and Alcibiades as a lesson in leadership ethics

The present study examines Thucydides’ assessments of Pericles (2.65) and Alcibiades (6.15) drawing on advances from Leadership Studies. Moving away from conceptions of leadership as a quality of individuals, modern leadership theory views leadership as a relational process between leaders and followers. Thucydides’ assessments of Pericles and Alcibiades examine not only their effectiveness (i.e., their success or failure in conducting the war), but more importantly, the impact of their personal ethics on their relationship with followers. For Thucydides, both leaders displayed administrative competence, but their diverse adherence to ethical principles had a grave impact on their interaction with followers and consequently on their position as leaders. The comparative study of the two passages highlights how Thucydides’ understanding of leadership as a relational process anticipates an important strand of modern leadership theory according to which both effectiveness and ethics are inextricably intertwined in the concept of good leadership.PostprintPeer reviewe

KeaA, a Dictyostelium kelch-domain protein that regulates the response to stress and development

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The protein kinase YakA is responsible for the growth arrest and induction of developmental processes that occur upon starvation of <it>Dictyostelium </it>cells. <it>yakA^-</it>cells are aggregation deficient, have a faster cell cycle and are hypersensitive to oxidative and nitrosoative stress. With the aim of isolating members of the YakA pathway, suppressors of the death induced by nitrosoative stress in the <it>yakA^-</it>cells were identified. One of the suppressor mutations occurred in <it>keaA</it>, a gene identical to DG1106 and similar to Keap1 from mice and the Kelch protein from Drosophila, among others that contain Kelch domains.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A mutation in <it>keaA </it>suppresses the hypersensitivity to oxidative and nitrosoative stresses but not the faster growth phenotype of <it>yakA^-</it>cells. The growth profile of <it>keaA </it>deficient cells indicates that this gene is necessary for growth. <it>keaA </it>deficient cells are more resistant to nitrosoative and oxidative stress and <it>keaA </it>is necessary for the production and detection of cAMP. A morphological analysis of <it>keaA </it>deficient cells during multicellular development indicated that, although the mutant is not absolutely deficient in aggregation, cells do not efficiently participate in the process. Gene expression analysis using cDNA microarrays of wild-type and <it>keaA </it>deficient cells indicated a role for KeaA in the regulation of the cell cycle and pre-starvation responses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>KeaA is required for cAMP signaling following stress. Our studies indicate a role for kelch proteins in the signaling that regulates the cell cycle and development in response to changes in the environmental conditions.</p

Vrijeme startne reakcije i rezultat trčanja u sprinterskim disciplinama na olimpijskim igrama

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the start reaction time and sprinting performance in athletes who took part in the athletics final events in the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The evaluated data originated from 67 male athletes (N=67) and 68 female athletes (N=68) who participated in the events of 100m, 200m and 110/100m hurdles. The evaluation of start reaction time (ms) and the sprinters’ performance (s) was based on the published official reports of the International Association of Athletics Federation. The ANOVA results showed a significant difference between genders in start reaction time only in the 100m (F(1.44)=11.82, p<.01) event. The Bonferroni comparisons regarding the Olympic Games revealed that both in male and female athletes the 100-m start reaction times were significantly better in Beijing 2008 in relation to those in Sydney 2000. Similarly, the start reaction times in 110/100m hurdles were significantly better in Athens 2004 in relation to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Finally, in the men’s 100-m final race in Beijing 2008, both the start reaction time and the performance were better than those of the athletes who participated in Athens 2004 and in Sydney 2000 (r=.490, df=38, p<.01). Conclusively, this study’s finding confirms that in modern athletics the start reaction time and the outstanding sprinting performance improved equally.Cilj je ovog istraživanja bio utvrditi povezanost između vremena startne reakcije i rezultata u sprintu atletičara koji su nastupili u finalima Olimpijskih igara u Sydneyu 2000. godine, Ateni 2004. godine i Pekingu 2008. godine u sprinterskim disciplinama. Analizirani su rezultati 67 natjecatelja i 68 natjecateljica koji su nastupili u disciplinama trčanja na 100m, 200m i 110/100m s preponama. Evaluacija vremena startne reakcije (ms) i rezultata u sprintu (s) bazirala se na izvješćima koje je službeno objavila Međunarodna atletska federacija (IAAF). Rezultati analize varijance su pokazali značajnu razliku između spolova u vremenu startne reakcije samo u disciplini trčanje na 100 m (F(1.44)=11,82, p<.01). Usporedba rezultata među Olimpijskim igrama, provedena Bonferronijevom metodom, otkrila je da su i muškarci i žene bili značajno bolji u disciplini trčanje na 100 m u Pekingu 2008. godine no u Sydneyu 2000. godine. Isto tako, vremena startne reakcije u disciplinama trčanje na 110/110 m s preponama bila su statistički značajno bolja u Ateni 2004. godine nego u Sydneyu 2000. godine. I naposljetku, u muškoj finalnoj utrci na 100 m u Pekingu 2008. godine i vrijeme startne reakcije i ukupan rezultat trčanja bili su bolji nego rezultati onih koji su se natjecali u Ateni 2004. i Sydneyu 2000. godine (r=.490, df=38, p<.01). Zaključno, rezultati ovog istraživanja pokazuju da su se u modernoj atletici, vrijeme startne reakcije i ukupno vrijeme trčanja jednako poboljšali

A Further Examination of the Distinction Between Dependency-Oriented and Achievement-Oriented Parental Psychological Control: Psychometric Properties of the DAPCS with French-Speaking Late Adolescents

Psychological control refers to parental behaviors that intrude on the psychological and emotional development of the child. In 2010, Soenens et al. proposed a distinction between two domain-specific expressions of psychological control, that is, Dependency-oriented Psychological Control (DPC) and Achievement-oriented Psychological Control (APC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity of the French form of the Dependency-oriented and Achievement-oriented Psychological Control Scale (DAPCS; Soenens et al. in J Pers 78(1):217-256, 2010) in a sample of late adolescents (N=291, mean age=21.65). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the hypothesized two-factor solution of the DAPCS for paternal as well as for maternal ratings. Moreover, high indices of internal consistency indicated that both subscales produced reliable scores. Further, convergent validity was confirmed by theoretically consistent associations between the DAPCS' subscales and well-established assessments of general parenting style dimensions. Finally, results evidenced gender specific patterns supporting the relevance of domain differentiation in the assessment of psychological control. Overall, the results of this study indicated that the French form of the DAPCS might be a useful instrument to assess two domain-specific types of parental psychological control among French-speaking adolescent