Divided into five parts, the book provides general background information on Biruni's time, his world, and his life. It includes the full names of the 183 books written by Biruni. The titles of these books are given in Arabic, Persian, transliteration of the Arabic title, and English, and they are all annotated and if available the number of folios is given for each one. A list of available references in English on Biruni, including articles, bibliographies, books, internet sites, a dissertation, (...) and even a film. A list of Persian reference sources is also included. (shrink)

AI systems are expected to impact the ways we communicate, learn, and interact with technology. However, there are still major concerns about their commonsense reasoning, and personalization. This article computationally explains causal (vs. statistical) inference, at different levels of abstraction, and provides three examples of how we can use do-operator, a mathematical operator for intervention, to address some of these concerns. The first example is from an educational module that I developed and implemented for undergraduate engineering students, as part of (...) an educational research project with the US National Science Foundation. For the first time, to the best of my knowledge, 117 students could successfully use do-operator in a cybersecurity investment decision, according to Bloom’s learning taxonomy. Gender did not make a significant difference in the students’ performance, according to the Mann–Whitney U test. The second example explains using do-operator in assessing the effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems, ITS, in receiving higher grades. The third example sheds light on combining online learning and offline learning, in reinforcement learning, to find the optimal policy that maximizes reward. To shed light on future research on explainability and personalization, I offer two recommendations: 1- Learn like System 2, the conscious learner (based on Bengio’s proposal for deep learning 2.0), and 2- Preference, a process, not an object (based on preference analysis of 25,646 registrants, entities and individuals purchasing domain names). In conclusion, this article contributes to achieving the goal of human–AI: Machines that think that learn and that create. (shrink)

A model called the “semiotic ladder,” which consists of “consecutive semiotic squares,” is proposed in this paper, through which the meanings of the deep structure of a narrative can be depicted as fluid and dynamic. It shows the stages of producing meanings in the narrative, from beginning to end. To see this, several narratives in the epic and mythological genres are analyzed in order to discover their abstract and deep structural meanings, and to prove the dynamic nature of meaning in (...) the semiotic ladder. According to the analysis, the process of the semiotic ladder depicts the displacement and fluidity of narrative meanings using consecutive semiotic squares, and this pattern can be applied to and implemented in all narratives. Also, the semiotic ladder allows us to clearly observe the pattern of movement of the narrative subject schema in the path of accomplishing the object. (shrink)

The current study strives to examine the determinants of employee innovative work behavior and job performance. Therefore, an integrated research model is developed with the help of paternalistic leadership style and job embeddedness theory to investigate employee behavior toward innovative work behavior. The research model is extended with the moderating effect of environmental dynamism between the relationship of innovative work behavior and employee job performance. Data were collected from 411 employees working in small medium enterprises. For inferential analysis, the structural (...) equation modeling technique is used. Results of the structural equation modeling revealed that altogether paternalistic leadership style and factors underpinning job embeddedness theory have explained 52.1% of the variance in employee innovate work behavior. The findings of this research suggest that managers and policy makers should focus on benevolent leadership, moral leadership, and on-the-job embeddedness to boost employee job performance and innovative work behavior. (shrink)

Karl Philipp Moritz (1756-1793) ist bekannt als Autor des Anton Reiser und als Ästhetiker der Klassik. Heute vergessen hingegen ist der Arbeitsbereich, der ihm neben seiner Beschäftigung mit dem Schönen der wichtigste war: seine Auseinandersetzung mit der Sprache. Das vorliegende Buch zeigt Moritz als originellen Grammatiker und Sprachphilosophen vor dem Hintergrund der europäischen Geistesgeschichte. Und es beleuchtet, wie sich in den Sprachreflexionen diejenigen Denkfiguren entwickeln, die er später seiner Ästhetik zu Grunde legt: So wird das Theorem des "in sich selbst (...) vollendeten Schönen" auf die Erklärung der Verba neutra zurückgeführt, die Figur des "Gesichtspunktes] auf die Erkenntnisse über die Taubstummensprache und das zentrale Theorem der "bildenden Nachahmung des Schönen" auf die Sprachursprungshypothese. Das Buch ergänzt damit die Disziplingeschichte der Linguistik um einen eigenwilligen Sprachforscher und erfüllt, indem es Moritz' Sprachschriften in den Kontext des Gesamtwerkes stellt, eine seit 20 Jahren erhobene Forderung der Moritzforschung. "Die Sprache und das Schöne" zeigt Moritz in einem neuen Licht. (shrink)

We present algebraic semantics for the classical logic of proofs based on Boolean algebras. We also extend the language of the logic of proofs in order to have a Boolean structure on proof terms and equality predicate on terms. Moreover, the completeness theorem and certain generalizations of Stone’s representation theorem are obtained for all proposed algebras.

First introduced in 2015, Contributor Role Ontologies and Taxonomies (CROTs) are the most recent innovation developed to address ethical issues of scholarly authorship. By providing a standard list of roles to specify individual contributions to publications, CROTs enhance transparency and consistency about the reporting of conducted tasks, and accordingly, improve the attribution of credit and responsibilities. Although various parties such as academic journals and universities are increasingly adopting CROTs, thus far no study has evaluated them from an ethical perspective. To (...) fill this gap, this study develops an assessment instrument and subsequently analyses three major CROTs including CRediT, CRO and TaDiRAH, and provides recommendations for improving them from an ethical perspective. This study uses a bottom-up approach comprised of two literature reviews, combined with a review of non-conventional sources (i.e., forums, meeting notes, digital repositories) to collate concerns about authorship and use of CROTs, and generate candidate assessment criteria. Then with a top-down approach and using David Resnik’s 12 principles of research ethics, developed candidate assessment criteria are further analysed, and an assessment instrument consisting of 25 justified criteria is compiled. This instrument is used to identify the ethical strengths and weaknesses of CRediT, CRO and TaDiRAH. Finally, using current best practices and available technology in publication processes, recommendations are provided for further development and improvement of CROTs. Results show that CRediT satisfies more criteria than other CROTs. In relation to the attribution of credit and usability, CRediT provides unique options. However, unlike TaDiRAH that is translated into languages other than English, and CRO that has revised its roles, CRediT is only available in English and has not been updated yet. Improving CROTs benefits almost all parties involved in the development, production, or use of academic publications such as researchers, journal editors, librarians, hiring and promotion committees and funders. (shrink)

This book endeavors to navigate the intricate interplay between ethical considerations, advanced methodologies, and practical applications within geospatial analysis.

For more than a decade, Iran has been referring to a fatwa issued by its Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, proscribing nuclear weapons. The fatwa, however, not only failed to influence the process that led to the resolution of Iran’s nuclear crisis, but also has been met with a good deal of skepticism. The most commonly held suspicions about the credibility of the fatwa can be summed up in five central questions: Has the nuclear fatwa actually been issued? Does the fatwa (...) apply to all the aspects of nuclear weapons including their production, possession and use? What is the juridical status of the fatwa? Was the nuclear fatwa issued only to deceive other nations? Is the fatwa really irreversible? This article tries to answer these questions by providing a chronological review of the fatwa and analyzing all the relevant statements by Khamenei. The analysis is conducted against the background of Islamic principles, Shi’a jurisprudence and the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The article concludes that the fatwa is a credible religious decree and could indeed contribute to the cause of nuclear disarmament. (shrink)

This article examines the behavior of religious moderation in Indonesia, concerning local wisdom, social, cultural, and spiritual traditions. A phenomenological approach utilizing Parsons' structural functionalism theory identifies two generic concepts of structural functionalism: the system, function, and culture. These concepts facilitate interactions between actors and personalities, as well as unifying social systems. Culture can and does act as a component of other systemother systemss. The central argument in this article is that the concept of religious moderation, as observed in Palembang (...) and other regions of southern Sumatra, including Lampung, Indonesia, is not a novel phenomenon in religious studies. It can be traced back to Robert Bellah's work on civil religion. Bellah's conceptualization makes it clear that several factors contribute to the formation of religious moderation. These include traditions based on local wisdom, religious symbols, and state commitments. (shrink)

Sufism : various dimensions -- Spiritual traditions in India -- Rabindranath Tagore and spiritualism -- Music, poetry, and spiritual traditions -- Educational perspectives -- Epitomes of Indian culture.

The world can be divided between atheism and theism, a division that also fuels its social conflicts, moral outlook, and social evolution. If not for the question of why God did not create everything in peace, harmony, and reconciliation, we might not have seen this division. Atheism thrives and lives on the consideration of a merciful God allowing suffering, hardship, and punishment while theism on the belief in divine tests practiced through higher values. However, the arguments for theism and atheism (...) are still ongoing while affecting humanity at large. Even though theism is not as strong globally as it was at some time in the past, it still has a considerable influence in many major areas of the world. Islamic theism is a major influence driving the politics and addressing social conflicts in the Middle East and many other parts of the world. This discussion analyses both Islamic theism and atheism comparatively arguing for Islamic theism and against atheism. As atheism has no authoritative sources like Islamic theism has in the Quran and Hadith the atheistic perspectives are largely dependent upon its leading proponents and history. The discussion finds atheism is great for those who have wealth, resources, and influence while theism is best suited to make positive changes for humanity as a whole. Atheism is then a luxury while theism is a necessity. The reader is strongly urged to consider the footnotes for greater understanding. (shrink)

The detection of a human’s intended behavior is one of the most important skills that a social robot should have in order to become acceptable as a part of human society, because humans are used to understand the actions of other humans in a goal-directed manner and they will expect the social robot to behave similarly. A breakthrough in this area can advance several research branches related to social intelligence such as learning by imitation and mutual adaptation. To achieve this (...) goal the robot needs to integrate all possible evidence of intention and neglect the unintended behavior, and a complete solution should use low-level signal processing and high-level reasoning. This work explores the low-level signal processing part of the solution by proposing an interactive adaptive perception scheme that uses four important features of human behavior to amplify the signals originating from intended behavior with respect to signals originating from unintended behavior and other noise sources such as instrumental noise. This work follows the vision that intelligence is not only a function of a centralized sophisticated artificial brain, but can be presented in different forms in the entire robot including its perception and motion systems (the mind is not contained in the brain, but distributed in every cell in the body). A simple example of using the proposed scheme was implemented and the results of two experiments with it are also presented. (shrink)

The objective of the present work is to develop a theory of meaning based on the method of transcendental phenomenology. The key idea of the project is to explain the constitution of the meaning by means of the analyses of the intentionality. We have investigated different intentional acts which are functioning in the expression and in constructing the meanings. In this regard we have studied, first, the act of the primordial expression, in which a content of an intuition is raised (...) to the realm of the ideal, and then the acts of the categorial synthesis, in which further meanings are constituted in the absence of their proper intuition. -/- We have investigated the effects of the phenomenological theory of meaning to the conception of pure logic. Dialogical semantics is shown to be an adequate framework, from the phenomenological point of view, to interpret logical reasoning and to explain the meaning of the logical constants as well. -/- We have also discussed the meanings of some logical connectives, and their formalizations, using our phenomenologico-dialogical method. In particular, the meaning explanations of negation(s), strict implication and necessity are given in a way which is not model theoretic nor proof theoretic, but based on the transcendental intentionality as manifested in the course of the dialogue. (shrink)

This book explores the ethical and governance concerns of stem cell technology, taking a comparative approach between countries of differing socio-economic status. The book provides a typology of different stem cell types and discusses key ethical issues surrounding the use of human stem cells in research. Topics covered include the moral status of human embryos, various religious perspectives, and the challenges posed by unproven stem cell interventions. The book also examines the existing governance frameworks in the UK, Singapore, and Malaysia, (...) identifying the laws, guidelines, and advisory bodies established to address the identified ethical issues. Applicable lessons on establishing robust regulatory frameworks, fostering public trust, and ensuring responsible research practices are outlined. By providing a comparative analysis of the interplay between ethics, governance, and the socio-economic contexts of these three commonwealth countries, this book will interest health law, research ethics and bioethics scholars. (shrink)

In this article, we discuss ethical issues related to using and disclosing artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT and other systems based on large language models (LLMs), to write or edit scholarly manuscripts. Some journals, such as Science, have banned the use of LLMs because of the ethical problems they raise concerning responsible authorship. We argue that this is not a reasonable response to the moral conundrums created by the use of LLMs because bans are unenforceable and would encourage (...) undisclosed use of LLMs. Furthermore, LLMs can be useful in writing, reviewing and editing text, and promote equity in science. Others have argued that LLMs should be mentioned in the acknowledgments since they do not meet all the authorship criteria. We argue that naming LLMs as authors or mentioning them in the acknowledgments are both inappropriate forms of recognition because LLMs do not have free will and therefore cannot be held morally or legally responsible for what they do. Tools in general, and software in particular, are usually cited in-text, followed by being mentioned in the references. We provide suggestions to improve APA Style for referencing ChatGPT to specifically indicate the contributor who used LLMs (because interactions are stored on personal user accounts), the used version and model (because the same version could use different language models and generate dissimilar responses, e.g., ChatGPT May 12 Version GPT3.5 or GPT4), and the time of usage (because LLMs evolve fast and generate dissimilar responses over time). We recommend that researchers who use LLMs: (1) disclose their use in the introduction or methods section to transparently describe details such as used prompts and note which parts of the text are affected, (2) use in-text citations and references (to recognize their used applications and improve findability and indexing), and (3) record and submit their relevant interactions with LLMs as supplementary material or appendices. (shrink)

By analyzing the modern change of the national traditional sports culture, the interactive influence between the modern change of the national traditional sports culture and the reconstruction of ethnic college students’ value consciousness is discussed in this article, and the result shows that to integrate the national traditional sports culture into ethnic college students’ value consciousness of sports culture would help the inheritance and development of the national traditional sports culture.

Background: Although human dignity is an unconditional value of every human being, it can be shattered by extrinsic factors. It is necessary to discover the authentic meaning of patients’ dignity preservation from different religious perspectives to provide professional cross-cultural care in a diverse setting. Research objective: This article identifies common experiences of Iranian Muslim and Armenian Christian patients regarding dignified care at the bedside. Research design: This is a qualitative study of participants’ experiences of dignified care elicited by individual in-depth (...) semi-structured interviews. Participants and research context: A purposeful sample of 10 participants (five Iranian Muslims and five Iranian Armenians) from various private and governmental hospital settings was chosen. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the ethics committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All the participants were provided with information about the purpose and the nature of the study, the voluntary condition of their participation in this study, and the anonymous reporting of recorded interviews. Findings: The common experiences of Christian and Muslim patients regarding dignity preservation emerged as “exigency of respecting human nobility” and “providing person-centered care.” Discussion and conclusion: It is essential to recognize the humanness and individuality of each patient to preserve and promote human dignity in diverse cross-cultural settings. The findings support and expand current understanding about the objective and subjective nature of dignity preservation in cross-cultural nursing. (shrink)

Nearly four decades after a revolution, experiencing one of the longest wars in contemporary history, facing political and ideological threats by regional radicals such as ISIS and the Taliban, and having succeeded in negotiations with six world powers over her nuclear program, Iran appears as an experienced Muslim country seeking to build bridges with its Sunni neighbours as well as with the West. "Ethics of War and Peace in Iran and Shi'i Islam explores the wide spectrum of theoretical approaches and (...) practical attitudes concerning the justifications, causes and conduct of war in Iranian-Shi'i culture. By examining primary and secondary sources, and investigating longer lasting factors and questions over circumstantial ones, Mohammad Jafar Amir Mahallati seeks to understand modern Iranian responses to war and peace. His work is the first in its field to look into the ethics of war and peace in Iran and Shi'i Islam. It provides a prism through which the binary source of the Iranian national and religious identity informs Iranian responses to modernity. By doing so, the author reveals that a civilization-conscious soul in modern Iran is re-emerging. (shrink)

The discourse on the integration of science and Islam is being realised through the establishment of various Islamic religious universities in Indonesia. One of the Islamic universities that accommodates this discourse is the Al-Qur’an Science University, Central Java, Indonesia (UNSIQ). This study aims to examine the basic concept of scientific integration at the UNSIQ and critically analyses the academic tradition and research development patterns based on the Lakatos research development pattern, both of which are hard-core and auxiliary hypotheses. This research (...) shows that the scientific base at the UNSIQ has been structured in an awareness that supports the establishment of a distinctive academic tradition and scientific culture in the framework of al-Qur’an-based academic knowledge. However, research as auxiliary hypotheses in building scientific paradigm is still limited in certain disciplines and needs to be improved. This needs to be a common concern in order to increase the scientific base of the Syajarah al-Qur’an into a solid scientific paradigm.Contribution: This research figured out that the scientific base at the UNSIQ has been structured in an awareness that supports the establishment of a distinctive academic tradition and scientific culture, but this scientific base needs to be supported by research plan and researches in various disciplines. Thus, those researches become the auxiliary hypotheses to build a particular scientific paradigm of this university. (shrink)

There has recently been a surge of development in augmented reality (AR) technologies that has led to an ecosystem of hardware and software for AR, including tools for artists and designers to accelerate the design of AR content and experiences without requiring complex programming. AR is viewed as a key “disruptive technology” and future display technologies (such as digital eyewear) will provide seamless continuity between reality and the digitally augmented. This article will argue that the technologization of human perception and (...) experience of reality, coupled with the development of artificial intelligence (AI)–based natural language assistants, may lead to a secular re‐enchantment of the world, in the sense outlined by Charles Taylor, where human existence is shaped through AR inhabited by advanced personal and social AI agents in the form of digital avatars and daemons, and that enchantment has been persistent throughout the formation of modernity and is being rekindled by the integration of AI in the plane of AR. (shrink)

Eşʿarîliğin son aşamasını temsil eden Îcî’nin argümanları, ekoldeki geleneksel ve felsefî yaklaşımları yansıtmaktadır. Bu makale Îcî’nin Muʿtezile’nin ahlâkî realizmine karşı kullandığı temel argümanlarını sunmaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı Îcî’nin argümanlarını değiştirmeden sağlam bir şekilde sunmak, açıklamak, itirazları tartışmak ve sonunda güçlü ve zayıf yönlerini değerlendirmektir. Makalenin amacı Muʿtezile’nin argümanlarını açıklamak değildir; yine de Îcî’nin argümanlarını daha net anlamak için bazı açıklamalar yapmaktadır. Makalenin ilk kısmında Eşʿarîler ile Muʿtezile’nin ahlâk anlayışları arasında belirgin bir çizgi çizmektedir. Tartışma noktasını belirtip kelâmî argümanlar için zemin hazırlamaktadır. (...) Îcî’nin argümanları üç kısma ayrılmıştır. Birinci kısımda Îcî’nin Muʿtezile’nin ahlâkî temellerine şüphe düşürmek için insanın seçme özgürlüğünü ortadan kaldırmak için polemik argümanını sunmaktayız. Argümana karşı eleştirileri tartıştıktan sonra Îcî’nin insanın gücü ve seçme özgürlüğü konusundaki gerçek görüşünü ortaya koyuyoruz. İkinci kısım, intrinsik değerler görüşüne karşı üç argüman ihtiva etmektedir. İlk iki argüman Îcî tarafından benimsenmiş, üçüncüsü ise genel bir şekilde diğer Eşʿarîlere atfetmiştir. Bu iki argüman yalanı ve doğruyu söylemenin intrinsik etik değerleriyle ilgilenmektedir, üçüncüsü ise Eşʿarîlerin meşhur: “Bir araz başka bir araz üzerinde konamaz” deyişine dayanmaktadır. Makalenin son kısmı, Îcî’nin Muʿtezile'nin ahlâkî vecihler teorisine karşı argümanını tartışmaya ayrılmıştır. Îcî’nin argümanını tartışmadan önce teori ve taraftarları hakkında yeterli bir açıklama yapılmıştır. Ayrıca Îcî’nin ve Muʿtezile’nin ilâhî ahlâk anlayışına dair kısa bir giriş, argümanın içinde tartışılmaktadır. Adalet ve hikmet gibi bazı ilahî nitelikler Eşʿarî ve Muʿtezile’nin bakış açılarından ele alınmaktadır. Sonuç olarak makale, Îcî’nin Muʿtezile’nin ahlâkî realizmine karşı argümanlarını açık ve net bir şekilde ortaya koymakta, itirazları sunup değerlendirmekte ve argümanların güçlü ve zayıf yönlerini göstermektedir. Son olarak, Eşʿarîlerin Muʿtezile’ye karşı ahlâkî argümanlarını daha etkili bir şekilde anlamak için bir çözüm önermektedir. (shrink)

Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Gharawi Isfahani presented an argument for the existence of God which is classified among ontological arguments. Among contemporary thinkers in Iran, this argument has attracted serious supporters and critics alike. Overall, five readings have been put forth for this argument. In the present study, these five readings have been analyzed in three main frameworks including the concept of the Necessary Being as a mental concept, the concept of Necessary Being as representing something out of itself and finally, (...) the reality of the Necessary Being or the objectivity of the Being by Itself. After presenting each reading, its compatibility with Isfahani’s argument will be analyzed. It will be shown that Isfahani’s argument should be regarded as an argument in the second framework. (shrink)

The intuition that we can think about non-existent objects seems to be in tension with philosophical concerns about the relationality of intentionality. Tim Crane’s psychologism removes this tension by proposing a psychologistic account of intentionality according to which intentionality is a purely non-relational notion. I argue that his account has counterintuitive consequences regarding our thoughts about existing objects, and as such is insufficiently plausible to convince us to reject the relationality of intentionality.

This study examines the effect of directors’ human and social capital on the level of corporate social responsibility disclosures by drawing on insights from a resource-based view. It also investigates the effect of chief executive officer power on this relationship. Data were obtained from annual reports of companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Bangladesh from 2005 to 2013. We employ outside directors’ experiences and expertise as a proxy for board capital and measure CEO power using a ‘power index’ (...) that comprises CEO duality, ownership, tenure and family CEO status. Results show that board capital is positively associated with CSR disclosure levels; however, CEO power is negatively associated with CSR disclosures and reduces the effect of board capital on CSR disclosures. Thus, we conclude that although board capital can improve CSR practices, CEO power can also inhibit these practices. (shrink)

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to renewed ambitions of developing artificial general intelligence. Alongside this has been a resurgence in the development of virtual and augmented reality (V/AR) technologies, which are viewed as “disruptive” technologies and the computing platforms of the future. V/AR effectively bring the digital world of machines, robots, and artificial agents to our senses while entailing the transposition of human activity and presence into the digital world of artificial agents and machine forms of (...) intelligence. The intersection of humans and machines in this shared space brings humans and machines into ontological continuity as informational entities in a totalizing informational environment, which subsumes both cyber and physical space in an artificially constructed virtual world. The reconstruction of mind (through AI) and world (through V/AR) thus has significant epistemological, ontological, and anthropological implications, which constitute the underlying features in the artificialization of mind and world. (shrink)

Pain medication is one of the responses to the mercy argument that utilitarian ethicists use for justifying active euthanasia on the grounds of prevention of cruelty and appeal to beneficence. The researcher reinforces the significance of pain medication in meeting this challenge and considers it the most preferred response among various other responses. It is because of its realism and effectiveness. In exploring the mechanism and considerations related to pain medication, the researcher briefly touches the Catholic ethical position on the (...) issue, a position that cannot be ignored in the development of contemporary bioethics. The researcher particularly deliberates on the contemporary Islamic discourse on the issue; by furthering the debate in line with the Islamic legal maxims and general guidance from the primary sources of Islamic law and ethics. The resolution on the issue is sought by synthesizing the views and legal maxims (al-Qawaid al-Fiqhiyyah) on the issue, which in conclusion provide justification for pain medication by considerably regarding pain as necessity and pressing need. However, such resolution allows pain medication to the limit and proportion that removes the pain and prohibits overdosing the patient with medication that may directly cause the death. (shrink)

Recent literature on Islam and the digital covers a wide range of topics and themes; however, what is yet to be developed from an Islamic perspective is a broader philosophical framework that accounts for the nature, exigencies and affordances of contemporary digital technologies. In advance of such a framework, this article is an attempt to open the way to philosophical engagement with issues of digital ethics from an Islamic perspective. After a brief review of recent literature on Islam and the (...) digital and a significantly earlier work by Ziauddin Sardar, in which he proposed an information strategy for the Muslim world, this paper provides some background to Islamic ethics and the wide field of ethical theories in the Islamic tradition. This paper then proceeds by identifying and outlining examples of contemporary themes in Islam and the digital which conceal underlying philosophical and theological issues. Finally, this paper considers the significant scale and scope of the transformations involved in the ongoing transposition to the ‘onlife’ and highlights several areas where Islamic perspectives may be seen to converge or diverge with other strands of scholarship on digital ethics. (shrink)

This study attempts an exposition of different perceptions of obligation to medical treatment that have emerged from the Islamic theological understanding and how they contribute to diversity of options and flexibility in clinical practice. Particularly, an attempt is made to formulate an Islamic perspective on ordinary and extraordinary means of medical treatment. This distinction is of practical significance in clinical practice, and its right understanding is also important to public funded healthcare authorities, guardians of the patients, health and life insurance (...) institutions, and employers who provide health care coverage to their employees. Not only these parties, but also lawyers and justice administration functionaries such as public prosecutors and judges are in need of understanding this distinction to deal with relevant litigations. The distinction could be made regarding terminally ill patients and non-terminally ill patients separately. The essential factors that matter in making the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means of treatment are: (1) patient capacity (2) expert advice, and (3) nature of medication. Regarding terminally ill patients, medical treatment can become extraordinary because of (1) patient capacity and (2) nature of medication. In both these case the deciding condition applies: the expert advice taken from a group of physicians. In regards to non- terminally ill patients, extraordinary medical treatment includes three cases: (1) treatment that is known to be useless and futile, (2) treatment that endangers the life or cause more harm than what it removes, and (3) useful treatment, but the patient is unable to bear the cost. (shrink)

There is a distinct lack of research into the relationship between corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the banking sector. This paper fills the gap in the literature by examining the impact of corporate governance, with particular reference to the role of board of directors, on the quality of CSR disclosure in US listed banks’ annual reports after the US sub-prime mortgage crisis. Using a sample of large US commercial banks for the period 2009–2011 and controlling for audit (...) committee characteristics, board meeting frequency, and banks’ profitability, size and risk, we find evidence that board independence and board size, the two board characteristics usually associated with the protection of shareholder interests, are positively related to CSR disclosure. This indicates that, with regard to CSR disclosure, more independent boards of directors and larger boards are the internal corporate governance mechanisms which promote both shareholders’ and other stakeholders’ interests. Contrary to our expectations, CEO duality also impacts positively on CSR disclosure. From an agency-theoretical viewpoint, this suggests that powerful CEOs may promote transparency about banks’ CSR activities for their private benefits. While this could indicate that powerful CEOs are under particular pressure to appease stakeholders’ concerns that they might abuse their power by providing a high degree of CSR disclosure, it could also be a sign of managerial risk aversion or managers’ private reputational concerns. (shrink)

"A collection of essays that addresses philosophical aspects of the films of Quentin Tarantino, focusing on topics in ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, language, and cultural identity"--Provided by publisher.

Business Ethics: A European Review, EarlyView.