This article examines the risk and return profiles of stock indices composed of companies meeting environmental, social and governance screening criteria [such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices ] and conventional composite indices of eight Asian countries from 2002 to 2014. The results indicate that there are no significant differences in the returns or risk-adjusted returns between the ESG indices and the composite indices within countries. The results do reveal that the market volatility of the ESG indices is higher than (...) the market volatility of the conventional indices. Market betas of DJSI and ESG equity indices are significantly lower than betas of the composite equity indices. The overall results indicate that the performance of ESG equity indices of many Asian countries is similar to the performance of conventional indices, suggesting that investors can pursue socially responsible investing objectives without a material difference in portfolio performance from conventional investing. (shrink)

Migrant workers in dormitories are an attractive source of clinical trial participants. However, they are a vulnerable population that has been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidelines on recruiting vulnerable populations for clinical trials have long been established, but ethical considerations for migrant workers have been neglected. This article aims to highlight and explain what researchers recruiting migrant workers must be cognizant of, and offers recommendations to address potential concerns. The considerations raised in this article include: three types of (...) illiteracy, power dynamics, the risks associated with communal living and potential benefits to the migrant workers as well as researchers. No data are available. This article does not include original data. (shrink)

This book aims to show how a meta-theory of critical realism can be applied to research about pedagogy in the changing landscape of higher education in England. It introduces some of the key ideas of critical realism, and its potential to clarify complex issues that arise in research. This book draws on a critical realist study of structure/agency interactions in three contrasting higher education institutions. Seven case studies of lecturers, over the three universities, are considered to explore the interplay of (...) global, national and institutional structures and processes in their everyday working lives and the extent of their agency in these settings. Conceptual approaches to pedagogy are developed through an application of critical realism to the nature of knowledge, human agency and structure-agency interactions against the changing landscape in higher education at global, national and institutional levels. The book offers a way out of the current malaise in educational research which appears to be stuck between empiricist reductionism and hermeneutic interpretive positions. Highlighting the importance of ontological analyses, this book explores a realist approach to learning, pedagogy and knowledge in English higher education and will be of interest to students, scholars and practitioners working in education, critical realism and philosophy more generally. (shrink)

The study examines if women politicians of Pakistan in the media are portrayed as effective decision-makers who demonstrate their leadership abilities and dynamism in advocating women issues. It aims to study whether media was used as an organized effort to use political women to bring social and economic improvement in the status of women by examining the Pakistani media on the issues of women during Pakistan’s 2013 general elections. It explores the assumption put forward by the ‘critical mass theory’, that (...) if women form the critical mass in the political power structure, they have a major effect on becoming a voice in the media for women issues. It is a content analysis of articles, editorials and features of four major dailies and talk shows of three major television channels during the Pakistan’s election year 2013. Findings show that women issues were just not sidelined but also women politicians were marginalized in the media to talk on women issues. The discourses on women by ‘empowered’ women were almost non-existent in the media. (shrink)

ABSTRACTFaced with the marketization of Higher Education in England, pedagogy is under pressure in ways that often undermine lecturers’ deeply held values. For instance, this pressure results in the reduction of significant aspects of teaching to narrow metrics and requires universities to operate within intrusive structures that subordinate their pedagogical aims to profit-orientated objectives. In this paper, I analyse the way that people can preserve their agency in this pedagogical context. I guide my analysis with a framework that combines critical (...) realism with Aristotelian virtue ethics and MacIntyre’s ideas of qualities within human practices. I suggest the kinds of qualities that might assist faculty to preserve and advance rich pedagogical projects in the current circumstances. Finally, I use a critical realist morphogenetic approach to argue that people may be able to resist losing their way when faced with ubiquitous performativity regimes. (shrink)

Language holds great importance within clinical encounters, particularly when healthcare professionals are dealing with life-threatening diseases, such as cancer. This study is an attempt to explore the perceptions of women under treatment for breast cancer in Karachi, Pakistan, with respect to language employed by healthcare professionals for the disclosure of disease, and the impact that language used has on patients. Using exploratory qualitative methods consisting of 24 in-depth interviews with patients and one interview with a healthcare professional, this study reveals (...) various nuances of language at play. We find that in Pakistani society, there is reluctance to use the word “cancer” during the disclosure of disease by healthcare professionals, family members and patients alike due to fear of imminent death and to retain hope in patients. Instead, colloquial language, such as “rasoli [mass]” and “this illness” is used to refer to the disease. The disease is disclosed with a deliberate attempt to avoid the use of the word “cancer”, and often done in a series of steps rather than the diagnosis being spelt out bluntly, with the former practice generally preferred than the latter. Despite this manner of disclosure, patients remain aware that they are suffering from a disease. This has important implications for clinicians in Pakistan, where there are no standardized practices for breaking bad news, and where clinicians have to tailor their communication styles according to the type of patient, thus the onus rests on physicians to impart information in an empathetic manner to patients suffering from serious diseases. (shrink)

The Covid-19 pandemic necessitated a shift to online teaching of bioethics, a field that relies on discourse and interactive teaching methods. This paper aims to highlight the challenges faced and lessons learned while describing the experience of having to shift to teaching bioethics online to students enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma in Biomedical Ethics (PGD) and Master of Bioethics programs at the Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture (CBEC) in Pakistan. Opinions of students, mainly compromising mid-career healthcare related professionals, were (...) obtained through a survey (n = 13) and an in-depth group discussion via Zoom. Observations from core faculty (n = 7) were recorded through conducting a content analysis of monthly faculty meetings, enhanced by faculty narratives published in the Centre’s bi-annual newsletter. Faculty and students alike expressed unease with the online mode since it minimized chances of interaction with peers and faculty thus negatively affecting learning process. Juggling work responsibilities while taking synchronous online classes proved to be difficult for students particularly for clinicians, with unique issues for women. Faculty faced increased workload due to the necessity for development of innovative teaching methods and new assessment tools in order to maintain the standard of the academic programs. Despite the problems surrounding the online mode, students and faculty also acquired new skills during this period. Overall, there was a clear preference for on-campus learning, however against the backdrop of a pandemic, online mode was considered as the only viable option. (shrink)

_To develop reading skills of students, teachers have been advised to provide metacognitive reading strategy instruction by researchers. However, previous research has provided limited understanding of how teachers could foster metacognition of reading strategies in a ‘real’ classroom setting. Moreover, previous research pre-supposed an a priori list of teaching practices in the lessons and did not take into account the needs of the students and the context during metacognitive reading strategy instruction. Studies facilitating metacognitive reading strategy instruction in an ESL (...) setting are also rare. This paper reports on an action research that provides a detailed data-led understanding of how metacognition of reading strategies could be promoted in an ecologically valid university level ESL classroom setting. The study participants of this study were eight undergraduate university students. Data for the study was collected through learner diaries, interviews, think aloud protocols, note-taking, researcher journal and end of class feedback in two action research cycles over an academic year. The findings revealed that providing explicit instruction and opportunities for collaborative discussion about strategy use as well as promoting students’ interest in reading helped raise students’ awareness, use and regulation of reading strategies. Implications of the study are discussed. _. (shrink)

Leadership which lacks ethical conduct can be dangerous, destructive, and even toxic. Ethical leadership, though well discussed in the literature, has been tested empirically as a construct in very few studies. An empirical investigation of ethical leadership in Singapore's construction industry is reported. It is found that ethical leadership is positively and significantly associated with transformational leadership, transformational culture of organization, contingent reward dimension of transactional leadership, leader effectiveness, employee willingness to put in extra effort, and employee satisfaction with the (...) leader. However, it is also found that ethical leadership bears no correlations with transactional leadership. Also, it is negatively correlated with laissez-faire leadership and transactional culture of the organization. The findings also reveal that ethical leadership plays a mediating role in the relationship between employee outcomes and organizational culture. Practical implications of these findings are discussed. Directions for future research are also suggested. (shrink)

This study examined how social media marketing activities influence consumers’ engagement behaviour in developing countries. Based on the stimulus-organism-response theory, we examined the effect of SMMA on consumers’ engagement intention and further investigated the moderating effect of social media sales intensity. The study employed a time-lagged design with two waves to confirm the hypothesised framework. The study findings showed that SMMA positively influence consumers’ engagement intention and engagement behaviour. In addition, social media sales intensity strengthens the link between engagement intention (...) and engagement behaviour. This study adds to the literature on social media and discusses its practical implications. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of supervisor support on the relationship between the need to be unique and the innovative behavior. People not only strive to belong to a group but also want to be unique from others and feel exceptional. Individuals’ innovative behavior is one of the things that makes them feel different from other people. Because developing a new idea, supporting this idea, putting this idea into practice, and the positive achievements of (...) this idea distinguish people who exhibit innovative behavior from others. It depends on the behavior of supervisors whether people who break away from typical practices and procedures to feel unique and special continue to act in innovative ways. In this context, it is vitally essential for supervisors to support people who display innovative behavior. The research was conducted on employees working in the education sector in Mersin. We employed the confirmatory factor analysis to examine the fitness of the model and moderation was tested. As hypothesized, the need to be unique had a significant and positive effect on innovative behavior. This finding is consistent with existing literature and thus advance knowledge on need to be unique and innovative behavior, particular in education sector. Nonetheless, it has been determined that supervisor support doesn’t have a moderator role on the relationship between the need to be unique and innovative behavior. Although there are some researches in the literature on consumer experiences about the need to be unique and innovative behavior, but literature on education section is sparse and still long way to go to evaluate its’ reflections on the workplace. (shrink)

Most studies have shown that reading is an important source of incidental vocabulary learning, and repeated reading may have a positive effect on learning gains. However, the study of incidental vocabulary learning through listening is still limited, and the immediate and long-term effects on different vocabulary knowledge dimensions are unclear. Furthermore, no empirical studies have been conducted to investigate the association between learning gains and preexisting vocabulary knowledge in listening. This article examines the effects of listening to English songs on (...) unintentional vocabulary learning and vocabulary retention through three different vocabulary knowledge dimensions: word recognition, meaning association, and grammar identification. A total of 114 Chinese college students participated in the study, and they were given vocabulary evaluations at different times based on three separate components of vocabulary knowledge. The effects of repeated listening and learners’ prior vocabulary knowledge were also investigated. According to the findings, listening to songs can improve vocabulary knowledge, particularly in the area of word recognition, which can be retained 4 weeks later. Furthermore, the effect of listening three times was superior than listening one or five times, which provides teachers and learners with guidance for teaching or learning vocabulary more effectively. Finally, for low, intermediate, and high-level learners, there was an immediate and positive effect on the dimensions of word recognition and meaning connection after listening, and this knowledge is likely to be preserved 4 weeks later. (shrink)

Numerous authors indicate that the influence of academic education extends beyond the growth of specialized knowledge gained by the graduates. Scholars are trying to identify and examine the potential impact of higher learning on students’ attitudes and choices. One of the dimensions considered by the researchers is the effect of university training on students’ moral choices. Our paper attempts to identify differences between the students’ declared moral choices and their majors (fields of studies). Working with a sample of university students (...) of Economics and Sociology (N = 181), and using three variants of the Trolley Problem, the subjects’ responses are used to identify the similarities and differences between their choices. The participants were asked to respond to three hypothetical situations regarding a runaway trolley. Their decision in the first scenario could save a person’s life or let her be run over by the trolley. In the second scenario, their decision could either let one person die and save five lives or save one life and let five people be killed. These two scenarios required pulling a lever to switch the trolley from one track to another. The third scenario requires pushing an obese person in front of the runaway trolley to stop it from killing five persons. As expected, we found a significant difference between the two groups (the economists and the sociologists) in the case of our third scenario, however, we found no evidence supporting the indoctrination hypothesis. We conclude that the existing differences between the choices made by the future economists and sociologists may support the preselection hypothesis. (shrink)

In a communication network with a source node, a multicast tree is defined as a tree rooted at the source node and all its leaves being recipients of the multicast originating at the source. The tree or bandwidth cost is normally measured by its utilization of tree links along with the quality of service measures such as delay constraint and end-to-end delay. However, if nodes are allowed to join or leave the multicast group at any time during the lifetime of (...) the multicast connection, then the problem is known as dynamic multicast routing problem. In this article, we combine a greedy approach with static multicast routing using Tabu Search to find a low-cost dynamic multicast tree with desirable QoS parameters. The proposed algorithm is then compared with several static multicast routing algorithms. The simulation results show that, on a large number of events, i.e., where nodes are leaving or joining, the proposed algorithm is able to find multicast trees of lower cost and more desirable QoS properties. (shrink)

The single most influential and widely accepted objection against any form of dualism, the belief that human beings are both body and soul, is the objection that dualism violates conservation laws in physics. The conservation laws objection against dualism posits that body and soul interaction is at best mysterious, and at worst impossible. While this objection has been both influential from the time of its initial formulation until present, this paper occupies itself with arguing that this objection is a fleeting (...) one, and has successful answers from both scientific and philosophical perspectives. It is to this end that I provide three groups of responses to the conservation laws objection. First, I outline responses which take the ‘laws of nature’ as the proper entry point into the discussion. Secondly, I provide an analysis of those who argue that contemporary quantum physical data requires that the objection itself involves scientifically unjustified premises. Finally, I layout a philosophically oriented answer which argues that the objection is linguistically problematic since its demands on the dualist are categorically fallacious. From these groups of answers, I conclude that while the conservation laws objection has been arguably the most widely accepted objection against dualism, the objection is without philosophical justification. (shrink)

The unsettling fear of COVID-19 infections has caused a new trend in consumer behavior in the food and beverage industry. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has shifted consumers’ preferences from eat-in to online delivery. This research aims to measure the impact of consumers’ motivation to protect themselves from contracting COVID-19, which explains why people switch from eat-in to online food delivery. We adopted the theory of protection motivation to explain consumer switching behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study investigated the (...) mediating effect of switching intention on the relationship between vulnerability, altruistic fear, anticipated regret, and switching behavior. Simultaneously, we examined the role of brand awareness as a moderator of behavioral choices of consumers switching from eat-in to online delivery. We collected data from 681 eatery consumers in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, using scenario-based survey questionnaires. Then, the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. This new generation analysis was conducted using the analysis of moment structure and the statistical package for social science. The results indicated that consumer vulnerability, altruistic fear, and anticipated regret of COVID-19 increased consumers’ propensity to shift from eat-in to online food delivery. Allegedly, consumer behavioral control and intention of switching toward online delivery were pointedly affected by switching behavior. The results indicated that consumer vulnerability, altruistic fear, and anticipated regret of COVID-19 increased the shifting of restaurant dine-in patterns and made the intention to switch to online delivery. Consumers’ alleged behavioral control and their intention of switching toward online delivery were pointedly affected by switching behavior. We also found that brand awareness moderately affects switching behavior toward restaurant settings. The present research contributes to developing the consumer behavior model of switching from eat-in to online delivery. This study also provides eatery customers and the business community with a safer and healthier proposition of shifting to online food delivery during the pandemic. (shrink)

This research investigates the factors that affect male gamers' behavioral intention to play PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, which is one of the most widely played online games of today's era. We examine the factors through the lens of the hedonic consumption model and use the gratification theory to predict behavioral intention to play PUBG. Data from 248 male PUBG gamers were analyzed using PLS-SEM analyses. The study involved an initial stage where an estimation model was analyzed to assess the constructs' reliability and (...) validity. Following this, the second stage involved assessing the theoretical model to test the relationship between the principle constructs. The study found that playful-consumption experience factors, such as escapism, emotional involvement, sensory experience, enjoyment, and arousal, significantly influenced the behavioral intentions to play PUBG. The research findings further indicate that role-projection and fantasy failed to impact consumers' intention to play PUBG. This study provides both theoretical and practical implications. It fills the literature gap by focusing on predicting the behavioral intention to play PUBG through the playful-consumption experiences of a popular online multiplayer game. Practically, this study could potentially open avenues for gaming companies to address how different playful-consumption experiences impact game users' behavioral intentions. (shrink)

Corporate social responsibility has become a very common buzz word in the field of marketing since many years. This empirical paper assesses the attitude of devout and nondevout customers towards CSR in the context of a religious society. As making clear distinction between devout and nondevout customers may have associated measurement problems in a single-religion-dominated country, this paper initiates the discussion of peculiarity between two important religiosity measures, that is, observation based and solicited. A hypothetical story board with embedded CSR (...) information in a scenario supporting a religious cause is presented to the highly and less religious subjects in text written form. The scenario is followed by questions pertaining to their religious behaviors and attitude towards the company in question. The results illustrate that highly religious customers show slightly greater preference towards CSR as compared to less religious customers and the observation-based religiosity measure has a tendency of more reliability if the researchers have deep cultural and religious know-how about a specific society. Results of this study might help international marketers about choosing a particular cause under its umbrella CSR activities particularly when entering in a highly religious society dominated by a single religion. (shrink)

Rashad Rehman, Nipa Chauhan and Rebecca Greenberg argue that beneficent paternalism should be integrated into shared decision-making in the NICU to maximize the patient’s best interests.

Rashad Rehman calls for the bioethical community to help contribute conceptual clarity to the debate about the ethics of intersex pediatric surgery.

PurposeThis study aimed to apply “multi-criteria decision approach and attitude-change theory” to examine post-COVID-19 impact on entrepreneurial mindset by investigating the link between entrepreneurs social capital and entrepreneurial success. Specifically, this study analyzed entrepreneurs' dispositional factor as an underlying mechanism to bridge trust and entrepreneurial success. Furthermore, it also analyzed entrepreneurs' situational factor as boundary condition.Design/methodology/approachWe applied time-lagged data collection from 505 industrial entrepreneurs. Survey method was used for data collection. A 7-point Likert scale was used for the respondent response. (...) Hayes developed PROCESS models 4 and 7 were used to test the hypothesis.FindingsThe direct impact of trust on three elements of the ecosystem was found significantly positive on both startup behavior and entrepreneurial success. The direct impact of startup behavior on entrepreneurial success is also significantly positive. The impact of startup behavior on indirect mediation between trust and entrepreneurial success is visibly positive. The moderated and moderated mediation impact of entrepreneurial strategy found positively significant at low and medium values. However, this study found an insignificant moderated impact at high values of entrepreneurial strategy between trust on media and startup behavior. Furthermore, this study also found insignificant moderated mediation impact at high values of entrepreneurial strategy by interacting with two elements of ecosystem through startup behavior on entrepreneurial success.Originality/valueThe authors suggested that startup behavior is an underlying mechanism through which industrial entrepreneurs trust achieved desired entrepreneurial success. The authors also suggested that the influencing role of “low level of entrepreneurial strategy” in comparison with “high level entrepreneurial strategy” is more helpful to achieve entrepreneurial success.ImplicationsThis study contributed to the literature on entrepreneurial strategy for its conditional indirect moderated impact on startup behavior and moderated mediation impact on firm entrepreneurial success. It also contributed to owners of the manufacturing industry for their startup behavior as an underlying mechanism through which trust influences entrepreneurial success. (shrink)

In our current era, a new rapidly spreading pandemic disease called coronavirus disease, caused by a virus identified as a novel coronavirus, is becoming a crucial threat for the whole world. Currently, the number of patients infected by the virus is expanding exponentially, but there is no commercially available COVID-19 medication for this pandemic. However, numerous antiviral drugs are utilized for the treatment of the COVID-19 disease. Identification of the appropriate antivirus medicine to treat the infection of COVID-19 is still (...) a complicated and uncertain decision. This study’s key objective is to develop a novel approach called _q_-rung orthopair probabilistic hesitant fuzzy rough set, which incorporates the _q_-rung orthopair fuzzy set, probabilistic hesitant fuzzy set, and rough set structures. New _q_-ROPHFR aggregation operators have been established: the _q_-ROPHFR Einstein weighted averaging operator and the _q_-ROPHFR Einstein weighted geometric operator. In this study, we explored some basic features of the developed operators. Afterward, to demonstrate the viability and feasibility of the established decision-making approach in real-world applications, a case study related to selecting drugs for COVID-19 pandemic is addressed. Furthermore, a comprehensive comparison with the _q_-rung orthopair probabilistic hesitant fuzzy rough TOPSIS technique is also presented to illustrate the benefits of the new framework. The obtained results confirm the reliability and effectiveness of the proposed approach for finding uncertainty in real-world decision-making. (shrink)

In this article, we investigated a deterministic model of pneumonia-meningitis coinfection. Employing the Atangana–Baleanu fractional derivative operator in the Caputo framework, we analyze a seven-component approach based on ordinary differential equations. Furthermore, the invariant domain, disease-free as well as endemic equilibria, and the validity of the model’s potential results are all investigated. According to controller design evaluation and modelling, the modulation technique devised is effective in diminishing the proportion of incidences in various compartments. A fundamental reproducing value is generated by (...) exploiting the next generation matrix to assess the properties of the equilibrium. The system’s reliability is further evaluated. Sensitivity analysis is used to classify the impact of each component on the spread or prevention of illness. Using simulation studies, the impacts of providing therapy have been determined. Additionally, modelling the appropriate configuration demonstrated that lowering the fractional order from 1 necessitates a rapid initiation of the specified control technique at the largest intensity achievable and retaining it for the bulk of the pandemic’s duration. (shrink)

Is intersexuality a mere difference or disorder? Since the 2006 Chicago consensus statement's disorder of sexual development (DSD) nomenclature, intersex scholars have criticized and repudiated the use of “disorder” by arguing that it is medically inaccurate, yields unwarranted surgical implications, unnecessarily pathologizes intersex individuals, and that, most importantly, intersex individuals do not prefer it. They argue for linguistic alternatives such as “difference” and other similar alternatives, for example, “variation,” “divergence,” and so forth. These criticisms of “disorder” have had significant uptake (...) by scholars writing on intersexuality. While the motivation(s) for using “mere difference” is doubtless rooted in beneficence for intersex persons, medically inaccurate intersex terminology compromises optimal clinical care and should consequently be either abandoned or revised. This focus paper argues (moderately) for the thesis that some cases of intersex are disorders, and some mere differences. The upshot of my proposal is not only that it conceptually disambiguates disorder and mere difference, but by failing to generalize unique intersex individuals their care is prioritized. (shrink)

It is a relatively uncontroversial proposition that without “ethics,” an “ethics of homelessness” is impossible. What is less uncontroversial, though, is that philosophy—or at least philosophical analysis—is a necessary condition of ethical discourse. The distrust—or skepticism regarding the utility of— philosophical analysis is predicated on rendering philosophy as useless. This, though, should create a sense of cognitive dissonance, since we universally acknowledge that ethics informs how we interact with ourselves and others, while we also accept, and rightly so, the uselessness (...) of philosophy. While pop- ular parlance has it that uselessness is logically and semantically equivalent to not needed or conceptually irrelevant, this, I will argue, is mistaken. This mis- take, as I see it, is a result of the failure to recognize that liberal arts are intrinsi- cally useless—and ought to be treated as such. To mend this mistake, I will outline the liberal arts in contrast to the servile arts and explain how Aristotle, and his later defender Josef Pieper, correctly understood the distinction. I will then move onto suggest that while philosophy—as a liberal art—is useless, and rightfully so, it is a conceptually relevant, necessary condition for dealing with conceptual problems which arise in ethics—and therefore in the ethics of homelessness. To explicate and defend this thesis, I argue that Plato’s three- fold division of goods, originating in Book ii of his Republic, helps to amalgamate our reservations in accepting philosophy as useless—strictly speaking—and simultaneously useful. From this, I move on to provide various ways in which philosophy is relevant to questions of home and homelessness generally, and display how philosophers themselves have, historically, taken seriously the question of home and homelessness as serious philosophical concepts. Finally, I outline how philosophers can work on the ethics of home- lessness by taking seriously the necessary presuppositions which make work- ing on the alleviation of homelessness not merely possible, but morally obligatory. Having sketched a broad picture of how philosophy interacts with the practical problems of homelessness, I conclude that progress in the field of the ethics of homelessness—as a conceptual endeavor—will ultimately arise from overcoming our prima facie interpretation of the liberal/servile arts distinction and thereby preserve its original meaning. (shrink)

This article supplements Julio Tuleda, Enrique Burguete, and Justo Aznar's “The Vatican opinion on gender theory” (Linacre). It supplements their article by providing a stronger argument for the thesis that “intersex” does not violate binary sex in human beings. In their response to Timothy F. Murphy's criticism of “the Vatican's” (rightfully corrected as the Magisterium of the Catholic Church's) position on the sex binary, they argue subsidiarily that “intersex” does not violate the sex binary. However, their argument against Murphy as (...) stated is implausible; however, I provide a much stronger argument for their conclusion that intersex does not violate the sex binary. I intend to perform this supplementation in two stages, assuming the reader's familiarity with “The Vatican opinion on gender theory.” First, I provide a broader background than Murphy's to the challenge that “intersex” conditions violate the sex binary, showing both how Murphy's criticism is unoriginal and how “intersex” both has been, and continues to be, misunderstood. Second, I problematize Tuleda’s argument, and offer the strongest argument for the conclusion that “intersex” does not violate the sex binary on purely secular/nonreligious grounds (addressing Murphy's complaint). I conclude that the Magisterium of the Catholic Church remains correct that sex is binary. (shrink)

An interview with professor of philosophy Dr. Michael Fox of St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ontario.

This chapter asks the following question: What are the conditions, within and fostered by contemporary educational institutions, for social justice to be grounded philosophically and put into concrete action? In answer- ing this question, I argue that a defense of the liberal arts is a plausible candidate for grounding the possibility of “social justice,” understood as fulfilling an obligation to another in virtue of their intrinsically being owed that obligation. The liberal arts are not merely mechanical, special- ized disciplines; instead, (...) they embody a philosophical anthropology in which human beings are responsible, reflective and contemplative indi- viduals capable of intrinsically meaningful actions. It is to this end that I argue that Josef Pieper’s defense of the Geisteswissenschaften (liberal arts), and the philosophical anthropology which underlies it, is a plausi- ble way to ground social justice. I begin this chapter by outlining what the liberal arts are and how they have been challenged implicitly and explic- itly. I then outline a specific consequence of this explicated in Bryan Met- calfe’s dissertation Pedagogy of Mythos (2013). Having done this, I outline Pieper’s defense of the liberal arts, offer objections to his defense and respond to them. In the end, I conclude that while Pieper’s defense grounds a requisite philosophical anthropology for social justice, a contemporary defense of the liberal arts will always be needed, especially given contem- porary “sophistry.” I finish this chapter in the hope that this always- contemporary defense can be done with an aim to change, while main- taining peaceful, civil discourse. (shrink)

This chapter asks the following question: What are the conditions, within and fostered by contemporary educational institutions, for social justice to be grounded philosophically and put into concrete action? In answer- ing this question, I argue that a defense of the liberal arts is a plausible candidate for grounding the possibility of “social justice,” understood as fulfilling an obligation to another in virtue of their intrinsically being owed that obligation. The liberal arts are not merely mechanical, special- ized disciplines; instead, (...) they embody a philosophical anthropology in which human beings are responsible, reflective and contemplative indi- viduals capable of intrinsically meaningful actions. It is to this end that I argue that Josef Pieper’s defense of the Geisteswissenschaften (liberal arts), and the philosophical anthropology which underlies it, is a plausi- ble way to ground social justice. I begin this chapter by outlining what the liberal arts are and how they have been challenged implicitly and explic- itly. I then outline a specific consequence of this explicated in Bryan Met- calfe’s dissertation Pedagogy of Mythos (2013). Having done this, I outline Pieper’s defense of the liberal arts, offer objections to his defense and respond to them. In the end, I conclude that while Pieper’s defense grounds a requisite philosophical anthropology for social justice, a contemporary defense of the liberal arts will always be needed, especially given contem- porary “sophistry.” I finish this chapter in the hope that this always- contemporary defense can be done with an aim to change, while main- taining peaceful, civil discourse. (shrink)

This chapter has two aims.* First, it exegetes Aquinas’ notion of peace (pax) in his Commentary on the Gospel of St. John (14:7), which is centred around the definition, kinds and possibility of a perfected peace, as well as how love (amor) is the cause of peace. Second, rather than defending Aquinas’ position at length, I take the more humble task to defend one attractive, plausible feature of Aquinas’ position, showing how it reveals Medieval wisdom for the establishment of modern (...) peace. The position is two-fold: First, Aquinas’ position – at least how Josef Pieper (1904–97) reads him – that love is essentially the affirmation of the goodness of the existence of the other person. I read this as an empirically-supported, plausible source of peace. This thesis also reiterates Aquinas’ rejection of monadic theories of peace which hold that peace need only be outward (exterius) e.g., establishing socio-political peace by fighting for human rights, and not inward (interius) e.g., peace with oneself by cultivating the inner life (14, 7, 1962). Second, Aquinas’ position that love, and not other candidates e.g., tolerance, as the cause of peace, is an alternative, plausible position that merits critical attention. (shrink)

Mike Shur’s Netflix-aired The Good Place has been a focus of philosophical attention by both popular-culture (written by pop-philosophers) and professional philosophers. This attention is merited. The Good Place is a philosophically rich TV show. The Good Place is based in three places: The Good Place, The Medium Place and The Bad Place. Every human being ends up in one of these places after they die based on their good points (points received for doing good actions e.g., chewing with your (...) mouth closed) and bad points (points received for doing bad actions e.g., virtue-signaling). Spoiler alert: by Season 4 of The Good Place (the fourth and final season), the main characters of the show – Eleanor, Chidi, Jason and Tahani – eventually reach the real Good Place (not the fake “Good Place” they had been tortured in by the human-formed, architect demon Michael in Season 1). However, when they reach the real Good Place after much struggle with ethical dilemmas, recognition of their moral flaws and moral development, they find themselves wanting to leave: they were unsatisfied with what The Good Place had to offer and wanted to be freed from it. This paper is concerned with the following questions: What accounts for their desire to be freed from The Good Place? What kind of freedom were they trying to achieve, and how did The Good Place represent it? Reflecting on these (and similar) questions, I argue that St. Thomas (who made it into The Good Place!) gives an ingenious and plausible answer: it was not merely that The Good Place was characterized by pure hedonism (a core deficit of The Good Place, identified by its creators), but more specifically that they had a positive desire for a freedom from temporal goods/experiences which do not satisfy the longings of the human heart and a freedom for the enjoyment of perfect freedom. While The Good Place ends in much perplexity, I argue that the freedom they desired was a rudimentary articulation of the freedom that St. Thomas identifies in heaven. (shrink)

What do we owe to those who are homeless? This ethical question, difficult both in theory and practice, is doubly difficult in the context of a global pandemic e.g., COVID-19. The traditional answer to this question appeals - in many variations - to becoming benefactors. As benefactors, the beneficiaries - those who are homeless - are better off in virtue of the benefactors' causing a degree of hardship upon themselves via monetary donations, providing food and shelter, et cetera. However, this (...) work argues that while there is a moral responsibility to become benefactors to those who are homeless, there is another moral responsibility not exhausted by the traditional answer. Following its rudimentary articulation in G.K. Chesterton's (1874-1936) essay "The Glass Walking-Stick" (1905), we both articulate and defend the thesis that we are morally obligated to actively participate or share in the suffering of those who are homeless. [Please note the Vol/Iss information is not correct - the link to access this article is currently unavailable]. (shrink)

Many people, communities and countries are in favour of abortion as a healthcare right, arguing that women have a right to receive an abortion upon request. Some contexts place ethical constraints on this right, typically based on the age of the preborn child, the mother’s safety, or the circumstances of the mother (and her conceiving of her child) more generally. At the same time, intersex pediatric surgery (IPS) is being increasingly ethically challenged with many countries banning healthcare facilities from performing (...) IPS. At first, there appears to be no relation between these two ethical issues. However, modern biotechnology such as the assistive reproductive technology (ART), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), makes it possible to screen for intersex conditions in utero, opening the possibility of intersex-selective abortion (ISA), a sub-set or instance of sex-selective abortion (SSA). What emerges is the realization that if IPS is wrong because, as its critics have argued, it wrongfully discriminates against and harms intersex lives, then ISA is much more wrong because instead of misvaluing intersex lives, it devalues intersex lives altogether. In other words, IPS might, as some have argued, discriminate by implying that an intersex child is better off being male or female but not intersex, but ISA discriminates by implying that an intersex child is better off not existing at all. Some have recognized this connection and have vainly tried to maintain both their pro-abortion commitments and their anti-IPS commitments. This has proved at best duplicitous, and at worst conceptually impossible. While it is known that a strong stance against IPS results in an inability to morally condemn ISA, with one notable exception in moral theology, this connection has not been generally appreciated. (shrink)

Josef Pieper’s critique of Martin Heidegger’s Wahrheitsbegriff has been virtually ignored in both Pieper and Heidegger scholarship; however, Pieper’s critique of Heidegger is both lethal and affirmative. On the one hand, Pieper makes a strong case against Heidegger’s Wahrheitsbegriff in “Vom Wesen der Wahrheit” and yet on the other he affirms his thesis that “the essence of truth is freedom.” This paper attempts to mend this gap in the literature by first presenting Heidegger’s “Vom Wesen der Wahrheit,” the essay in (...) which Heidegger explicates his concept of truth. Second, I exegete the critique of Josef Pieper found in his “Heideggers Wahrheitsbegriff.” Third, I conclude the paper by contextualizing Pieper’s critique within Pieper’s Werke, and make a note of the philosophical insights derivative from Pieper’s less than simple relationship to Heidegger. (shrink)

This paper investigates the prospects of a distinctively Plotinian argument for God’s existence. Specifically, this paper assesses Plotinus’ argument for the One/Good (Enneads; V.1,V.4), a principle rooted in Plato’s Republic (509b6-9), as a philosophical motivation for an argument for God’s existence. While the appropriative task of using Plotinus’ argument for natural theological purposes is not original to this work, this project remains in its philosophical infancy. It is to this end that the Plotinian background from which the argument proceeds is (...) articulated, and thereafter contextualised in Edward Feser’s Plotinian argument. This work defends Feser against two objections he does not consider, concluding that the appropriative strategy is successful and is a significant contribution to natural theology. (shrink)

What is Augustine’s commentary on Alypius’ curiosity (curiositas) at the gladiatorial show in Confessiones 6, 8, 13 fundamentally about? Augustinian scholars have interpreted the story widely. Following recent scholarly developments, this work argues for a distinctively Thomistic reading of Alypius’ curiositas. In 1987, Joseph Torchia interpreted this passage as putting only a secondary focus on the story’s emphasis on, in his words, «conflict with God, its inner self, and others». However, this triadic conflict is found in Aquinas: in his Commentary (...) on the Gospel of John (14, 7), Aquinas argues that a conflict with God, self and others is what it means to lack peace (pax). Confessions 6, 8, 13 is read here through a Thomistic lens: the presentation of Alypius’ curiositas is fundamentally a statement about Alypius’ lack of peace. (shrink)

Josef Pieper (1904–1997) wrote his autobiography in three distinct volumes. Composing one volume of his complete works in his Gesammelte Werke (Felix Meiner Verlag, 1995) edited by Berthold Wald, he writes on his early (1904–1945), middle (1945–1964), and late years (1964–1985). Between Ignatius Press and St. Augustine’s Press, Pieper’s autobiographical writings have been translated into English over the last three decades. The first volume, Noch wusste es niemand: Autobiographische Aufzeichnungen 1904–1945 (Kosel-Verlag, 1979), was translated into English as No One Could (...) Have Known: An Autobiography: The Early Years 1904–1945 (Ignatius, 1987). Three decades later the second volume, Noch nicht aller Tage Abend: Autobiographische Aufzeichnungen 1945–1964 (Kosel-Verlag, 1979), was published in English as Not Yet the Twilight: An Autobiography 1945–1964 (St. Augustine’s Press, 2017). Finally, the third volume, Eine Geschichte wie ein Strahl: Autobiographische Aufzeichnungen seit 1964 (Kosel-Verlag, 1988), has been published under the title A Journey to Point Omega: Autobiography from 1964 (St. Augustine’s Press, 2020). (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019 has created an acute fear of economic crisis, and people have experienced the state of perceived job insecurity. Several measures were taken to control this deadly pandemic, but it still affected the majority of global operational activities. This study addresses the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal number 8 that relates to decent work and economic growth. This quantitative study examines the impact of fear associated with economic crisis and perceived job insecurity on mental (...) health with the moderating effect of surface and deep acting. Surface acting is displaying fake emotions, and deep acting is modifying inner feelings according to the required emotions. This study used sample data from private-sector employees and applied SmartPLS for structural model assessment. As many organizations took more challenging decisions to sustain their business operations, the study therefore analyzes the impact of the pandemic on private sector employees. The two main findings of the study are: surface acting moderates the relationships of fear of economic crisis and perceived job insecurity with mental health and declines the impact of both on mental health, while deep acting negatively moderates the relationships of fear of economic crisis and perceived job insecurity with mental health and improved mental health even in the presence of both. The study highlighted the importance of deep acting at workplaces to sustain employees’ mental and psychological stability. Organizations could introduce emotional labor strategies and strengthen the mental health of their employees against the underlying fear of economic crisis and perceived job insecurity. (shrink)

Phenomenology is linked to ancient philosophers as its roots can be traced from the Socratic era. Various other philosophers have also contributed to develop this field. As Socrates’ ‘skepticism’, Plato’s ‘idealism’, Aristotle’s ‘realism’, Locke’s ‘epistemology’, Hume’s ‘positivism’, and Kant’s ‘existentialism’ are all of the respective concepts which provided the very fundamentals of phenomenology. After these great philosophers, others have also played their significant role as milestones in this journey. In this work, researchers have reviewed the contributions of prominent phenomenologists in (...) historical order. The respective researchers have analyzed the difference and contrast between the approaches of different thinkers. On the basis of the review of selected thinkers by applying the method of relational analysis, researchers have concluded that with the passage of time phenomenology has also evolved and became more empirical as well as dialectic. (shrink)

The neutrosophic cubic hesitant fuzzy set can efficiently handle the complex information in a decision-making problem because it combines the advantages of the neutrosophic cubic set and the hesitant fuzzy set. The algebraic operations based on Dombi norms and co-norms are more flexible than the usual algebraic operations as they involve an operational parameter. First, this paper establishes Dombi algebraic operational laws, score functions, and similarity measures in neutrosophic cubic hesitant fuzzy sets. Then, we proposed Dombi exponential operational laws in (...) which the exponents are neutrosophic cubic hesitant fuzzy values and bases are positive real numbers. To use neutrosophic cubic hesitant fuzzy sets in decision-making, we are developing Dombi exponential aggregation operators in the current study. In the end, we present applications of exponential aggregation operators in multiattribute decision-making problems. (shrink)

The journey of phenomenology apparently is not so extensive, because it was the first half of the twentieth century when Edmund Husserl appeared as the founder of phenomenology. But, it has its very roots in the works of ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. This journey did not stopped here, as various phenomenologists have also been contributing in this field and establishing the linkage between phenomenology and symbolic interactionism as well as its very relation to research. Researchers in (...) the presented work have critically analyzed the contributions of prominent phenomenologists, i.e. from Hegel to Dreyfus and have applied relational analysis. The present study propounds that with the passage of time, the concept of phenomenology has been constructively evolving; in a sense that it has become more calculative. (shrink)

Philosophers have various responsibilities. Articulating these responsibilities, however, is contingent on what one means by “philosophy” and what philosophers have “expertise” in. Responsible philosophers must therefore interact with the following kinds of questions: What do philosophers have expertise in? What responsibilities do philosophers have as intellectual experts, and to whom are they responsible? What are philosophers supposed to know and be able to publicly convey? What is the role of a philosopher in contributing to local, institutional, and global responsibilities? This (...) paper concerns itself with defending and articulating one such responsibility philosophers have: the invitation to others to engage in philosophizing. Using Josef Pieper’s (1904-97) life and writings as paradigmatically embodying this invitational-approach to philosophy, this paper articulates – by means of stories from his life – how this approach to philosophizing is pedagogically effective for instructors and students of philosophy i.e., in making philosophy worthwhile, accessible and relevant. (shrink)