In spite of accruing concerted scholarly and managerial interest since the 1950s in corporate social responsibility (CSR), its implementation is still a growing topic as most of it remains academically unexplored. As CSR continues to establish a stronger foothold in organizational strategies, understanding its implementation is needed for both academia and industry. In an attempt to respond to this need, we carry out a systematic review of 122 empirical studies on CSR implementation to provide a status quo of the literature (...) and inform future scholars. We develop a research agenda in the form of an integrated framework of CSR implementation that pronounces its multi-dimensional and multi-level nature and provides a snapshot of the current literature status of CSR implementation. Future research avenues relating to multi-level studies, theoretically supported research models, developing economy settings, and more are recommended. Practitioners can also benefit through utilizing the holistic framework to attain a bird’s eye view and proactively formulate and implement CSR strategies that can be facilitated by collaborations with CSR scholars and experts. (shrink)

Background: The castor bean is a large grassy or semi-wooden shrub or small tree. Any part of the castor plant parts can suffering from a disease that weakens the ability to grow and eliminates its production. Therefore, in this paper will identify the pests and diseases present in castor culture and detect the symptoms in each disease. Also images is showing the symptom form in this disease. Objectives: The main objective of this expert system is to obtain appropriate diagnosis of (...) the disease. Methods: In this paper, the expert system is designed for the ability of agricultural engineers to detect and diagnose disease of castor like as: seeding blight, alternaria blight, cercospora leaf spot, powdery mildew and wilt. This system presents the disease symptoms, survival and spread, favorable conditions and image for each disease. Clips and Delphi expert system languages are used for designing and implementing the proposed expert system. Results: The expert system in the diagnosis of castor diseases was assessed by farmers and agricultural engineers and they were satisfied and accepted with its quality of performance. Conclusions: The expert system is easy for farmers and people have experience in the plant of castor to detect and diagnosis the symptoms that may face this plant from several disease. (shrink)

In this narrative, Fatima examines the interplay of critical consciousness, relational dynamics, and patriarchy within social-geographical spaces. Drawing on personal experiences, the chapter explores how patriarchal norms, internalized and perpetuated within intimate relationships and community networks, shape gendered expectations and limit agency from childhood through adulthood. While acknowledging the harms inflicted by these norms, it highlights the dual role of these spaces in fostering both oppression and connection. The essay looks at why simplistic solutions like geographic escape ignore the (...) interdependence and cultural norms intrinsic to relational spaces. Instead, it advocates for a nuanced understanding of the challenges and complexities of addressing patriarchy within these contexts. Ultimately, Fatima emphasizes that the feminist struggle lies not in abandoning these spaces but in fostering critical consciousness and collective efforts to undo patriarchal systems while paying attention to the nuances of social-geographical spaces. (shrink)

Sería fácil afirmar que el objetivo de este texto es humanizar a los pájaros, concluir lecciones sobre los humanos a partir de su relación con ellos o utilizarlos como excusa para hablar de nosotros, pero Habitar como pájaro no hace nada de eso. De hecho, logra algo más minucioso, complejo y profundo: recoger sonidos y añadir opuestos. Así, el contrapunto como técnica melódica para conjugar voces es fundamental para entender el rigor y el detalle del libro, no sólo porque es (...) en sí mismo su estructura (las partes son acordes y cada capítulo tiene su acompañamiento, su siguiente sonido), sino también porque es un texto articulado a partir del discanto entre biólogos y ornitólogos, quienes han entendido (o intentado entender) a los pájaros a lo largo de la historia. Dado que el contrapunto es es- tructura y técnica, se lee un compromiso total con el cantar y el decir común. (shrink)

RESUMO Este artigo procura mostrar como a linguagem e o estilo empregados por Dostoiévski já em seu romance de estreia, Gente pobre, contribuíram para a grande inovação realizada por ele na forma literária. Ao tomar como objeto de representação a realidade prática de camadas inferiores da sociedade e adotar em sua obra uma linguagem também considerada de nível inferior, própria à maneira de se expressar dessas camadas sociais, Dostoiévski não só transcende todas as regras literárias estabelecidas como também as já (...) transgredidas até então, porque ele leva a sério não só a realidade cotidiana como a linguagem, o nível de estilo próprio a elas. Com isso ele se aproxima da representação séria e elevada da realidade cotidiana sem mudar as regras de estilo, como fizeram os franceses. O que ele muda é o ponto de vista, o foco narrativo, de um modo que não encontra precedente nem mesmo na literatura Ocidental. ABSTRACT This article seeks to show how the language and style employed by Dostoevsky since his debut novel, Poor Folk, contributed to the great innovation that he introduced into literary form. By adopting the practical reality of the lower strata of society as his object of representation and, accordingly, a low-style language, Dostoevsky transcended all established literary rules, as well as others that were already being transgressed. He took seriously both the reality of everyday life and its language, the style level proper to it. In so doing, he approached the serious and elevated representation of everyday reality without changing the rules of style, as the French did. What he changed is the point of view, the narrative focus, and he did so in a way that had no precedent even in Western literature. (shrink)

One distinguishing feature of vertebrate oocyte meiosis is its discontinuity; oocytes are released from their prophase I arrest, usually by hormonal stimulation, only to again halt at metaphase II, where they await fertilization. The product of the c‐mos proto‐oncogene, Mos, is a key regulator of this maturation process. Mos is a serine‐threonine kinase that activates and/or stabilizes maturation‐promoting factor (MPF), the master cell cycle switch, through a pathway that involves the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. Oocytes arrested at prophase I (...) lack detectable levels of Mos, which must be synthesized from a pool of maternal mRNAs for proper maturation. While Mos is necessary throughout maturation in Xenopus, it seems to be required only for meiosis II in the mouse. The translational activation of c‐mos mRNA at specific times during meiosis requires cytoplasmic polyadenylation. Cis‐ and trans‐acting factors for polyadenylation are, therefore, essential elements of maturation. (shrink)

The precise nature of microaggression purposely obscures the exploration of the intentionality of perpetrator and the quantification of the harm committed. The act fits neatly into a system that privileges some and validates their reality to themselves and to us. This paper explores microaggression and recommends strategies for avoiding its harms.

My aim in this paper is to carve out a political understanding of the Muslim identity. The Muslim identity is shaped within a religious mold. Inseparable from this religious understanding is a political one that is valuable in its own right in order to secure any sustainable possibility of participating politically as Muslims within a democratic liberal democracy, such as the United States. Here I explore not the historical or theological formation of the Muslim identity, rather a metaphysical understanding of (...) it, in order to mobilize politically while avoiding the traps of essentialism. I begin with a brief overview of the early understandings of the term “identity politics” in the United States. Moving beyond interest-based movements I explore María Lugones' particular understanding of the self as multiplicitous. I then offer examples of the Muslim identity within the context of a social movement and individualist claims, in order to draw out the political aspects of the Muslim identity. In the final section I argue that the theological criteria that define “who counts as a Muslim” is a crucial aspect of how many Muslims may understand their identity as Muslims. However, I claim that in order to avoid the traps of marginalization of Muslim minorities, one must understand oneself as a multiplicitous political agent and that, furthermore, such an understanding is not at odds with Islam or one's own understanding of their identity as Muslim. (shrink)

This study is based on the natural resource based view, which examines the impact of holistic marketing orientation on business performance by defining the role of enablers and mediators. The drivers, including corporate social responsibility and environmental culture influence, are tested by analyzing the role of sustainable competitive advantage as a mediator. The analysis is based on 298 samples collected from top and middle-level managers working in the pharmaceutical industry. Structural equation modeling was undertaken using Smart PLS 3.2.8. The research (...) outcomes reveal that corporate social responsibility and environmental culture have a substantial impact on green marketing orientation. The results show that GMO has a significant direct and indirect impact on business performance while a full mediation of sustainable competitive advantage exists between the green marketing orientation and business performance. The outcomes will facilitate managers in green marketing strategy and decision making in the long-term, with 3-fold benefits in addition to strengthening their competitiveness. (shrink)

How do we know that what has happened to us is a microaggression? I claim in this chapter that our understanding about how we perceive microaggression is grounded in the cultivation and critical reflection about experiences of people who occupy marginalized social locations. My aim is to explore the nature of epistemic harms of microaggression in order to highlight how they diminish the microaggressed’s ability to generate and participate in making knowledge claims. I differentiate between the primary (direct) harm of (...) microaggressive acts, and the secondary epistemic harms that occur in the aftermath of the microaggression, particularly when the microaggressed attempts to convey their experience to others. I conclude with an analysis of the two secondary harms in hopes that it helps us explore a possible avenue of resistance to the epistemic harms of microaggression. (shrink)

The selling environment is becoming more and more competitive and organizations are trying to gain edge over the other companies. Producing quality goods is not enough. In such a scenario, organizations are trying to make improvements in their salesforce which can be made by making them more ethical. Therefore, it becomes important for the organization to know the factors affecting salesforce ethical behavior. This paper makes an attempt in this regard and explores the organizational antecedents of salesforce ethical behavior. The (...) findings of the review reveal that there are various organizational factors which have an impact on salesforce ethical behavior such as compensation plan, quota, top management, code of ethics, salesforce control system, ethical climate, and ethics training. Based on the findings, the implications and directions for future research are stated. (shrink)

Turiel and colleagues divided norms into two kinds: Moral norms and conventional norms. Moral norms are universal, concerned with welfare, justice, fairness, equality and/or rights, and rule/authority independent. Conventional norms are local, rule/authority dependent, and concerned with maintaining social coordination, preserving tradition, and avoiding punishment. This account has been challenged, and the existence of a crisp distinction remains debatable. In this paper, I defend a version of the moral/conventional distinction on the basis that people generally judge norms concerned with welfare (...) violations as moral, and that they distinguish between the morality of the action and that of the agent. I argue that we can make sense of the mixed data because people differ in how they perceive harm. Harm perception, rather than “objective” harm, is the relevant variable in knowing how people judge norms. To illustrate this, I explore why people perceive norms differently and how the moral/conventional distinction is reflected not only between cultures, but within them too. This should prompt us to reimagine the moral/conventional distinction to account for this diversity in perceptions. Doing away with the distinction risks misrepresenting both inter- and intra-cultural diversity in perceptions of harm. (shrink)

This paper argues that one of the most valuable insights that Muslim-Americans ought to bring into the political arena is our affective response to the government of the United States' internal and foreign policies regarding Muslims. I posit the concept of empathy as one such response that ought to inform our foreign policy in a manner inclusive of Muslim-Americans. The scope of our epistemic privilege encompasses the affective response that crosses borders of the nation-state in virtue of our propinquity to (...) the narratives of Muslims globally. Such an affective response is crucial to our selves remaining multiplicitous and whole. Furthermore, I argue that we ought to access and assess those aspects of our identity that make us subject to suspicions of disloyalty, because it is precisely those aspects that can inform our social and political discourse in a more morally adequate and responsive way. (shrink)

This study has proposed to apply change leadership as a vehicle forward for sustaining the growth of the tourism industry to eradicate poverty through the Pakistani tourism industry. Applying a mixed method approach, this article has attempted to uncover the role a change leader can play to help achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals of poverty reduction. In this study, one of the authors interviewed stakeholders of the tourism industry to find out the major drivers of the industry and (...) identify the leadership style that may prove to be effective in the said industry. In the next phase of the study, a survey method approach was used where different tourism companies and hotel chains were included for analysis. The study aimed to check employee’s perception of change leadership and its impact on their resilience and ultimately the sustainable organization performance of companies’ operationalizing in the sector with moderating impact of sustainable tourism attitude in times of a crisis. In total, 430 full-time workers in the tourism industry were contacted for a self-administered survey achieving a response rate of 83%. The findings of the study confirmed that in the presence of a change leader, the process of adaptation to sudden changing situations amidst financial crises, pandemic, and climatic change, becomes bearable and employees can cope with the work situations without pushing them to quit the industry. The study has a significant contribution toward a rapidly growing and focused industry, which can play a major role in the economy of any country leading toward job creation and poverty reduction. (shrink)

The studies presented here apply the concept of entitativity in order to understand how belonging to a particular geographical area – neighborhood - can determine the way others organize information and form impressions about area’s residents. In order to achieve this objective, three studies were carried out. The first study aims to verify if a neighborhood varies in terms of perceived entitativity, and identify the physical and social characteristics of the neighborhoods that are more strongly associated with the perception of (...) entitativity. The Study 2 and 3 used an experimental paradigm to explore how people’s perceptions of neighborhoods’ entitativity influenced their impressions of residents. To activate stereotypes, Study 2 used the name of real neighborhoods, and Study 3 employed only a set of pictures of unknown neighborhoods. The results show that the neighborhoods vary significantly with the regard to the perception of entitativity, and a set of physical attributes of place were strongly related with entitativity. The results showed that, independent of stimuli, the neighborhoods perceived as highly entitative, the supposed residents were subject to more extreme and quicker trait judgments, supported by greater confidence on the part of perceivers. Study 3 also reported that in highly entitative neighborhoods, the perceivers transferred more traits from the group to individual members. These results provide strong evidence that physical structure of neighborhoods imply different entitatity judgments that influences the way in which residents are perceived. (shrink)

O psicanalista húngaro Sándor Ferenczi elaborou uma teoria sobre a transição do princípio do prazer ao princípio de realidade, que permite complementar e aprofundar as hipóteses freudianas sobre esses princípios. De acordo com a sua teoria, esse processo envolve uma série de estágios, ao longo dos quais, gradualmente, a diferenciação entre o eu e o mundo externo é estabelecida e o sentimento de onipotência é abandonado. Freud e Ferenczi, contudo, não focaram a questão da maneira como o desenvolvimento da linguagem (...) verbal acompanha esse processo de transição entre os dois princípios, questão essa abordada pela psicanalista russa Sabina Spielrein. Esta autora complementa as teorias de Freud e Ferenczi, ao abordar o fenômeno em questão a partir de uma perspectiva diferente, ou seja, daquela do desenvolvimento da linguagem. Apesar da originalidade e da importância da contribuição de suas teorias para a compreensão do funcionamento mental, Ferenczi e, sobretudo, Spielrein são autores ainda pouco estudados, que merecem maior atenção e reconhecimento, o que justifica o resgate de suas teorias. Nesse artigo, abordamos algumas das hipóteses dos dois autores que permitem uma melhor compreensão do processo de diferenciação entre o eu e o mundo externo e de transição do princípio de prazer ao princípio de realidade. Nos baseamos na análise do texto de Ferenczi O Desenvolvimento do Sentido de Realidade e seus Estágios, de 1913, e nos textos de Spielrein O surgimento e o desenvolvimento da fala articulada e A origem das palavras infantis papai e mamãe, publicados, respectivamente, em 1920 e 1922. (shrink)

This paper presents the state of corporate social responsibility in Pakistan since it has been driven in the country by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the UN Global Compact, and trade liberalization under the WTO. This study is based on responses obtained from 51 Pakistani companies and 20 MNCs. It was found that MNCs were found to be more socially responsible to customers, to suppliers in terms of their purchasing procedures, to the environment, to their employees, to the (...) community by contributing more to the community’s education and health, and in their greater commitment to ethics. Pakistani companies need to improve their performance on CSR to gain competitive advantage. (shrink)

En 1985, mientras Val Plumwood navegaba sola en su canoa en el Parque Nacional Kakadu (Australia), un cocodrilo gigante de agua salada la atrapó, la ahogó y dio tres giros de la muerte con su cuerpo. Después de sobrevivir a este encuentro, Val empezó a escribir sobre la vida y la muerte en términos ecológicos y la existencia humana pensada como presa y comida para la naturaleza.

Did you know that More’s Utopia was first translated into French in 1550, into Hungarian in 1910, into Mandarin in 1935, into Brazilian Portuguese in 1937, into Polish in 1947, and into Greek as late as 1970? Did you know that there were more translations of Utopia into French at the time of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution than at any other point in French history? That the readers of the second translation into Hungarian never got to know that (...) there was no private property on the island of Utopia? That there is a translation into Mandarin that, although it excludes most of the original paratexts, offers 191 individual illustrations and images? That the first direct translation into... (shrink)

This study examines the dynamics of interfaith communication in modern-day Europe, emphasizing the obstacles to and opportunities presented by religious heterogeneity. The religious landscape of Europe is heterogeneous, with followers of many religions living side by side. But this variety also brings difficulties, like bias, political unrest, and resentment from the past, which can obstruct attempts to foster mutual understanding and collaboration across religious communities. Interfaith communication is essential for advancing religious freedom and social cohesiveness despite these obstacles. The research (...) was based on primary data analysis to determine whether the research used smart PLS software. It generated results that included descriptive correlation and presented a smart PLS Algorithm model between them. The research study determines interfaith communication's value, its challenges, and possible routes to religious diversity. Based on case studies and previous research, it emphasizes practical interfaith efforts and makes recommendations for legislators, religious leaders, and civil society organizations. The research found that significant interreligious Dialogue in contemporary Europe relates to religious pluralism. This article supports continuing efforts to foster tolerance, understanding, and mutual respect among Europe's varied religious groups by addressing the difficulties of interfaith interactions. (shrink)

The research on the dark side of leadership is still in its infancy. We have contributed to this line of research by proposing that work alienation acts as an underlying mechanism through which aversive leadership results in reduced job performance. We further propose that psychological capital acts as an important personal resource that reduces the negative effects of aversive leadership in the form of work alienation. The proposed model gets its support from the conversation of resources theory given by Hobfoll (...) (1981) which suggests that stressful situation like an aversive leadership results in the loss of employee resources as a result of that he/she indulges in work alienation and shows poor job performance to retain back the lost resources. People with better personal resources in the form of psychological capital are better able to cope-up with the aversive leader behavior and make them able to avoid work alienation. It is a time-lagged study. The data for the current study was collected from 321 employees working in the service sector organizations, particularly universities, banks and telecom organizations, through personally administered questionnaires. The results supported the mediation and moderation hypothesis. Limitations and future research along with theoretical and practical implications are given at the end. (shrink)

The literature describes religious coping as an important predictor of mental well-being. Present study is aimed at extending this knowledge by assessing whether specific religious coping regulates specific cognitive emotional responses to improve well-being during Covid pandemic, an extreme international event with significant impacts on individuals and communities. A sample of young adults responded to self-report measures of negative and positive religious coping, positive reappraisal, self-blaming, and mental well-being. Results revealed that positive religious coping was a positive predictor of mental (...) well-being and positive reappraisal mediated this positive link. Also, gender and physical health status significantly interacted with positive reappraisal to predict mental well-being in these mediational associations. More specifically, indirect effects of positive reappraisal were positive and significant for men and for participants with better physical health compared with women and those with poor physical health. However, negative religious coping was not a significant correlate of mental well-being but a positive correlate of self-blame. Results suggest that positive religious coping facilitates positive regulation of emotions for improved mental well-being in young adults and particularly young men. (shrink)

The study assessed the role of childhood religiosity in adult religiosity and learning motivation in university participants. Participants were 338 university students (mean age = 20.42, SD = 1.53, 47% men) selected from Islamic (50%) and general universities (50%). The findings showed that participants from Islamic university compared to those from general universities scored higher on religious altruism among religiosity outcomes and on self-efficacy and active learning strategies among learning motivation outcomes. The hypothesized associations between childhood religiosity, religious altruism, religious (...) practice, and specific learning motivation outcomes were significant. Childhood religiosity predicted two learning motivation outcomes, self-efficacy and active learning strategies, and only religious altruism in the presence of religious practice mediated these associations. In addition, university status moderated these mediated associations with stronger indirect effects for participants from Islamic universities compared to those from general universities. (shrink)

There are a lot of research studies that look at "fake news" from an Arabic online source, but they don't look at what makes those fake news spread. The threat grows, and at some point, it gets out of hand. That's why this paper is trying to figure out how to predict the features that make Arabic online fake news spread. It's using Naive Bayes, Logistic Regression, and Random forest of Machine Learning to do this. Online news stories that were (...) made up were used. They are found by using Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency. The best partition for testing and validating the prediction was chosen at random and used in the analysis. So, all three machine learning classifications for predicting fake news in Arabic online were done. The results of the experiment show that Random Forest Classifier outperformed the other two algorithms. It had the best TF-IDF with an accuracy of 86 percent. Naive Bayes had an accuracy rate of 84%, and Logistic Regression had an accuracy rate of 85%, so they all did well. As such, the model shows that the features in TF-IDF are the most essential point about the content of an online Arabic fake news. (shrink)

This paper is a critique of the present mode of capitalist democracy from the ethico-moral viewpoint. The crisis of values is identified as the great bane of free market-led globalization. This trend has aggravated worldwide inequality, promoted terrorism and violence, created psychological anomie and triggered eco logical disasters. Only a few business interests in the wealthier economies are gaining at the expense of humankind. The moral dimension of the government's role has been undermined by such profit-making free market gospel. The (...) author contends that more than beingjust secular, democracy is a pre-social moral force and, as such, is perceived more proximately in the religious temper of a non-industrial society than in a mass industrial society. In the latter democracy is almost a farce with the periodic ritual of public voting as its main act. The paper castigates the global economy and global media which cleverly mastermind our lives, and pleads for a change of values which will make humans self-conscious and will restore their autonomy. (shrink)

Research's basic purpose is to determine religion's role in promoting social justice. Religion focuses on providing the people with all the rights they own. The religious faith makes people work to improve their country and state religious enforcement provides basic civil rights to the members of civil societies. In any society, people with firm religious beliefs and morals provide all the necessities to the lower-class members as they provide to the higher-class members. Providing social equality is the basic teaching of (...) all religions. All religions violate any kind of gender inequality and injustice. Only equal and fair rights provided to every member of society is the duty of every social rights-providing organization and social member. The research was based on primary data analysis to determine the use of Smart PLS software, and the run result included descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, and the smart PLS Algorithm model between them. The social right-providing agencies and members of social rights institutes work side by side to ensure that people of all age groups receive an equal share of rights in society. One main benefit of having religious faith is that people refrain from doing bad actions. Religions provide people with knowledge related to hell and heaven. The teaching of religion that good deeds will bring them to heaven and bad deeds will eventually bring them to hell makes people quit bad deeds.in most societies, people indulge themselves in bad actions like gambling and robberies. Overall, the result found a significant role of religion in promoting social justice. By teaching such people about the outcomes of their bad deeds, such individuals will surely refrain from doing inappropriate activities. (shrink)

This issue of Utopian Studies, which is meant, like the previous one, to commemorate the five hundredth anniversary of the publication of Thomas More’s Utopia, is divided into three sections.The first section, “Mapping Research in Utopian Studies,” offers an overview of research carried out in the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. Although the articles gathered in this section testify to the dynamics of this field of study in these countries, they also evince that research is being carried (...) out in different formats and that in some cases it is still emerging. Such is the case with the Czech Republic, where there are no organized groups focused on research in utopian... (shrink)

Neste texto pretendo dizer alguma coisa sobre a criação, referida por Porchat como uma epopeia, e consolidação do CLE e do Programa de pós-graduação em Filosofia da UNICAMP. O Prof. Porchat chegou à UNICAMP, em 1975, e trouxe consigo um pequeno projeto, que submeteu ao então reitor da Unicamp, Prof. Zeferino Vaz. A proposta contemplava a implantação de um Centro de estudos e pesquisas nas áreas de Lógica, Epistemologia e História da Ciência bem como a criação de um programa de (...) pós-graduação em Lógica e Filosofia da Ciência. Tal projeto, além de preencher uma grande lacuna, converteria a Unicamp, na década de setenta, num local privilegiado de encontro e diálogo entre filósofos, lógicos, historiadores, sociólogos, matemáticos, físicos, psicanalistas até então dispersos nos vários centros universitários do país. O Prof. Zeferino entusiasmou-se com a ideia já na primeira reunião e meses depois uma dezena de filósofos já havia sido contratada para a implantação do CLE e também do Curso de Pós-Graduação em Lógica e Filosofia da Ciência junto ao Departamento de Filosofia. A marca que o Prof. Porchat imprimiu neste programa, neste período, e que o caracterizava era a atmosfera de debate e de discussão que se instalou ali. (shrink)

An area agency on aging is a public or private nonprofit organization designated by the state to address the needs and concerns of all older persons at the regional and local levels in the United States 2019). AAAs have a successful history of developing, coordinating, and implementing comprehensive networks of services and programs that enrich communities and the lives of older adults. AAAs were established through a provision of the Older Americans Act, which was signed into law by President Lyndon (...) B. Johnson. Specifically, AAAs were created with the 1973 reauthorization of the OAA. AAAs create the infrastructure to execute comprehensive long-term support services that ensure the independence of older adults. (shrink)

This chapter argues that the Earth King of Ba Sing Se, King Kuei, willfully maintained ignorance of the true state of his kingdom so that he could enjoy the privileges that came with his position, while remaining derelict in his duty to his people. The King maintains this ignorance at the expense of his people, both by condoning certain urban designs and by resisting knowledge that upsets his lifestyle. When the Avatar team first arrive at Ba Sing Se in “City (...) of Walls and Secrets,” Joo Dee tells them that the city has many walls and each wall serves a purpose, but people know there is more to the walls than their utility. This chapter looks at the ways that urban design promote artificial social homogeneity and prevent cross‐economic and cultural socialization. (shrink)

Restorativeness is defined as the potential of the environment to re-establish certain cognitive capacities related to human information processing. The most frequently used instrument for evaluating the restorativeness of places is the Perceived Restorativeness Scale, proposed by Hartig and colleagues (1991). Later on, shorter versions of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale were proposed. The aim of this work is to evaluate the discriminatory capacity of the original and of a shorter Spanish version of the PRS, considering urban settings previously selected for (...) having different level of restorativeness, according to expert’s criteria. The study involved 244 students and used a 3 x 2 mixed experimental design, with two independent variables: Restorativeness of a place (between-subjects), which was manipulated by showing pictures of settings selected with varying levels of restorativeness (high, medium, low), and length of the scale (within-subjects), which was manipulated by asking subjects to fill in both the original and a shorter version of the PRS. The order of presentation of the two scales was counterbalanced. Results show an appropriate reliability for both version of the scale. Items of being-away, fascination, and coherence of the shorter scale correlate more strongly with the corresponding factor of the original scale, compared to the others factors. Both scales produce similar values for the perceived restorativeness of the different places, except for places with low restorativeness. (shrink)

By expanding on Hans-George Gadamer’s critique of contemporary formalist approaches to art, wherein the artist pursues an artwork with a “disinterested” self, this paper endeavors to underline the transformative aspect of aesthetic experience. Even though it acknowledges the epistemological difference between Gadamer’s phenomenological approach and the Arab-Islamic one, particularly Ibn Sīnā’s treatment of arts and aesthetics, it nonetheless discovers some subtle similarities between the two. Consequently, it articulates artistic endeavor as an act of askesis (spiritual exercise) aimed at theosis (becoming (...) like God). (shrink)