Does Pyrrhonism Have Practical or Epistemic Value?

My purpose in this paper is to examine whether Pyrrhonian skepticism, as this stance is described in Sextus Empiricus’s extant works, has practical or epistemic value. More precisely, I would like to consider whether the Pyrrhonist’s suspension of judgment (ἐποχή) and undisturbedness (ἀταραξία) can be deemed to be of practical or epistemic value. By ‘practical’ value I mean both moral value and prudential value. Moral value refers to moral rightness and wrongness; prudential value to the value of well-being, personal or social. Hence, when I ask whether the Pyrrhonist’s suspension and undisturbedness have practical value, I mean whether they make us behave in a manner that is morally right or wrong, and whether they allow us to attain those goals that would make it possible to live well. As for ‘epistemic’ value, it refers basically to the values of attaining truth and avoiding error. Hence, when I ask whether the Pyrrhonist’s suspension has epistemic value, I mean whether it allows us to attain truth and avoid error. My main focus will be the practical value of both suspension and undisturbedness because this is the value on which ancient philosophy scholars critical of Pyrrhonism have laid emphasis. The reason for examining the epistemic value of suspension is that doing so will enable a fuller assessment of the significance of Pyrrhonism as a kind of philosophy, which is my primary concern

The Integration of phoenician communities in the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman Empire from a postcolonial perspective

The goal of this paper is to research on the analysis of the process of integration experienced by the Phoenician-Punic communities of the Iberian Peninsula in the Roman world, from the end of the Second Punic War (206 BCE) until Flavian times (mid-1st Century CE). The main goal is to explain the process of identity construction among these communities and the changes that led to their gradual transformation into Roman ciuitates. This thesis tries to overcome the traditional one-way approaches applied the “Romanization” process in the Ulterior-Baetica province. In this regard, we reinterpret the so-called “Punic cultural resistances” as identitarian reworkings within the Roman world.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

A Phoenician Way to be Roman

This paper offers a synthesis on my dissertation, titled The Phoenician communities of the Iberian Peninsula and their integration in the Roman world: an identity perspective. The period under discussion extends from the end of the Second Punic War in 206 BCE to the Flavian era in the last quarter of the century CE. About all, this work focuses on the cultural and ethnic dimensions of the process of integration.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Phoenician communities in the Roman world: the case of Hispania

This poster aims to report the conclusions of our PhD thesis, titled The Phoenician communities of the Iberian Peninsula and their integration in the Roman world: an identity perspective. The period under discussion extends from the end of the Second Punic War in 206 BCE to the Flavian era (mid-first century CE). Above all, our dissertation focuses on the cultural and ethnic dimensions of the process of integration of communities of Phoenician origin and tradition in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula into the structures of Roman Empire. The theoretical framework which we take as our starting point rests on two pillars: - Social Constructivism. - Postcolonial Theories.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Fault management and service provisioning process model of next generation access networks

Network operators are nowadays upgrading their access networks to cope with the increasing number of users and the increasing bandwidth required by services. However, cost plays a crucial factor. In order to decide which next generation access network will be implemented, an accurate cost evaluation should be performed. This evaluation requires a total cost of ownership model including a detailed model of the most costly operational processes: fault management and customer provisioning. These models help identifying the most costly sub-processes, where network providers should improve their cost efficiency. This paper presents detailed models for these operational processes and gives an approach to use them for estimating future operational costs

An evaluation of best compromise search in graphs

This work evaluates two different approaches for multicriteria graph search problems using compromise preferences. This approach focuses search on a single solution that represents a balanced tradeoff between objectives, rather than on the whole set of Pareto optimal solutions. We review the main concepts underlying compromise preferences, and two main approaches proposed for their solution in heuristic graph problems: naive Pareto search (NAMOA ), and a k-shortest-path approach (kA ). The performance of both approaches is evaluated on sets of standard bicriterion road map problems. The experiments reveal that the k-shortest-path approach looses effectiveness in favor of naive Pareto search as graph size increases. The reasons for this behavior are analyzed and discussedPartially funded by P07-TIC-03018, Cons. Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa (Junta Andalucía), and Univ. Málaga, Campus Excel. Int. Andalucía Tec

Sustainability drivers, barriers and outcomes: Evidence from European High Performance Manufacturing Industries

Implementing sustainability practices has become a requirement to be able to operate in several markets since the legal requirements are increasing and society (as well as customers) values sustainability behaviors more. The aims of this paper are (1) to analyze the impact that drivers and barriers have on Environmental practices implemented in the high performance manufacturing industries, (2) to identify the relevant drivers and barriers for these environmental practices, and finally, (3) to study the influence that Environmental practices have on companies´ Financial Performance. To carry out our research, we shall consider a European database of companies involved in the High Performance Manufacturing project. Partial Least Squares (PLS) will be used to test our hypotheses

Assessing the overall perceived quality of the undergraduate students

Purpose - The paper is twofold aimed: (i) defining and validating a scale to assess the quality of the university experienced by students and (ii) analyzing the role of the aforementioned di- mensions and their impact on students’ satisfaction. Methodology/Approach - A survey of 2,557 undergraduate students that finished their degrees in 2013 at universities located in the region of Catalonia has been analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). An exploratory analysis suggests the final dimensions that were confirmed in a confirmatory analysis. The psychometric characteristics of the scale are provided to show reliability and validity of the constructs. An extra model (also using SEM) assesses the impact of these dimensions on overall satisfac- tion. Findings - The quality is a multifactor construct composed by: (i) “syllabus”, which refers to the quality of the learning methods and the coordination efforts through the whole study period; (ii) “skills development”, referring to the skills that students might acquire along their studies and (iii) “services and facilities” of the university. Moreover, the first and third factors act as “enablers” for the second factor one. Nevertheless, only “Syllabus” dimension affects significantly on students’ satisfaction, whereas “services and facilities” do not have a significant role, although they are necessary in order to provide a good service. Research Limitation/implication - Although the sample is large enough to draw robust re- sults, it is limited the Catalonia. The paper provides recommendations for university managers and public administration authorities in order to allocate the available resources. Originality/Value of paper - In an era of global competition, universities are trying to adapt to these new requirements by expanding they academic offer, introducing innovative teaching methods, providing teaching resources to lecturers, and updating the general services of the university among others. All these services will be considered when students evaluate their experience at the university. The paper contributes with an assessment scale for the holistic service provided by the university within the period that the student is in the university. These findings can be applied to help define attractive academic programs and provide useful insights on how the supporting facilities should be designed to allow students take advantage of their learning process at universities.Postprint (published version

Performance Measurement Systems, Competitive Priorities, and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies: Some Evidence from the Aeronautical Sector

Purpose – When acquiring advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT), the greatest caution should be taken regarding the performance measurement system to be used: the decision regarding new investments should not be conditioned by the excessive use of financial indicators to the detriment of the strategic objectives that motivated the investments. It is intended to analyze the aeronautical sector, for which the purchase of AMT is qualifying criteria, with two intentions: first, to identify the performance measurement systems that are used, and second, to test their correspondence with the objectives that motivated the investments. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of the 20 plants in the population was conducted via a postal questionnaire plus a structured interview. The unit of analysis has been maintained through the triangulation of data sources. Findings – The findings suggest that both financial and non-financial indicators are used, with the latter gaining predominance over the former on some occasions, even though there is no clear correspondence between strategy and the measurement of performance. In the light of the findings, the question of what inspires a company’s performance measurement system is still open, especially in those cases where there is no explicit strategy. With regard to practical implications, what seems to be indispensable is an improvement in the determination of the critical variables that should be used to measure performance. Research limitations/implications – Being valuable for academics and practitioners, this contribution relies, rather, on the possibility of a logical extrapolation to circumstances where the findings might apply, and researchers can judge whether the particular findings would be valid. Originality/value – Provides new evidence on the adaptation of the make-up and combination of the type of performance measures currently used by plants in the aeronautical industry, one of the sectors in which technological innovation is of the utmost importance.Publicad