In any given society, rights are said to co-exist. When rights, however, begin to conflict, a balance must be sought. In few fields has the ability of governments to accommodate two conflicting sets of rights been so controversial as it has in the case of conscientious objection in reproductive health care. Today, states have an obligation under international law to protect the right to the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion of medical providers. They also, however, have an obligation to (...) protect right to the highest attainable standard of health and other fundamental rights of women. Considering the extent to which CO has been invoked in the context of reproductive health care, international law recognizes limits to its use. Over the years, human rights bodies have sought to develop guidelines around CO in order to ensure the protection of women’s basic rights. While some state practices have shown to be consistent with guidelines established at the international level, some countries have struggled to provide an effective balance so as to protect women’s fundamental rights. Taking the example of countries in Latin America and Europe, this article provides an overview of the different ways states have sought to regulate CO in the medical context and the various difficulties ensued. (shrink)

The act of killing self contradicts the central purpose of human evolution, that is, survival and propagation of one’s genetic material. Yet, it continues to be one of the leading causes of human death. A handful of theories in the realm of evolutionary psychology have attempted to explain human suicide. The current article analyses the major components of certain prominent viewpoints, namely, Inclusive fitness, Bargaining model, Pain-Brain model, Psychological aposematism, and few other perspectives. The article argues that relatively more weightage (...) has been given to understanding ultimate (the “why”) rather than proximate (the “how”) functionality of suicidal acts. Evolutionary theorists have consistently pointed out that to comprehensively understand a trait or behavior, one needs to delineate not only how it supports survival but also the evolution of the mechanisms underlying the trait or behavior. Existing theories on suicide have primarily focused on its fitness benefits on surviving kin instead of providing evolutionary explanations of the more complex mechanisms leading up to such self-destructive motivations. Thus, the current paper attempts to highlight this gap in theorizing while suggesting probable proximate explanations of suicide which stresses the need to diffuse attention paid to fitness consequences of the act alone. We speculate that such explorations are needed in order to build a robust and comprehensive evolutionary theory of human suicide. (shrink)

Academic performance occupies an important role in adolescent development. It reflects adolescents’ cognitive ability and also shapes their academic and career paths. Students who are satisfied with their school performance tend to show higher self-esteem, confidence, and motivation. Previous research has suggested that students’ problem behaviors, such as Internet Addiction, and academic values, including intrinsic and utility values, could predict satisfaction with academic performance. However, the influence of IA and academic values has not been thoroughly explored in Chinese contexts where (...) the pressure for academic success is heavy. This study examined the relationships between IA, academic values, and satisfaction with academic performance using two waves of data collected from secondary school students in four cities in mainland China. The matched sample included a total of 2,648 Grade 7 or 8 students. Participants completed the same questionnaire containing validated measures at both waves with a 1-year interval. In line with the hypotheses, multiple regression analyses showed that Wave 1 IA was a significant negative predictor of Wave 2 intrinsic value, utility value, and satisfaction with academic performance and their changes. Results of mediation analyses revealed that only intrinsic value, but not utility value, positively predicted satisfaction with academic performance. Structural equation modeling analyses also showed similar findings. Two observations are concluded from the present findings: IA impaired students’ intrinsic value, utility value, and perceived satisfaction with academic performance; two aspects of academic values demonstrated different influences on satisfaction with academic performance. These findings provide implications for the promotion of academic satisfaction experienced by students and the prevention of negative effects of IA. (shrink)

Heterochronic genes control the timing of developmental programs. In C. elegans, two key genes in the heterochronic pathway, lin-4 and let-7, encode small temporally expressed RNAs (stRNAs) that are not translated into protein. These stRNAs exert negative post-transcriptional regulation by binding to complementary sequences in the 3′ untranslated regions of their target genes. stRNAs are transcribed as longer precursor RNAs that are processed by the RNase Dicer/DCR-1 and members of the RDE-1/AGO1 family of proteins, which are better known for their (...) roles in RNA interference (RNAi). However, stRNA function appears unrelated to RNAi. Both sequence and temporal regulation of let-7 stRNA is conserved in other animal species suggesting that this is an evolutionarily ancient gene. Indeed, C. elegans, Drosophila and humans encode at least 86 other RNAs with similar structural features to lin-4 and let-7. We postulate that other small non-coding RNAs may function as stRNAs to control temporal identity during development in C. elegans and other organisms. BioEssays 24:119–129, 2002. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Islamic ethics. ; Christian ethics. ; Ethics, Comparative.

Mapping the paths that stem and progenitor cells take en route to differentiate and elucidating the underlying molecular controls are key goals in developmental and stem cell biology. However, with population level analyses it is difficult − if not impossible − to define the transition states and lineage trajectory branch points within complex developmental lineages. Single‐cell RNA‐sequencing analysis can discriminate heterogeneity in a population of cells and even identify rare or transient intermediates. In this review, we propose that using these (...) data, one can infer the lineage trajectories of individual stem cells and identify putative branch points. Clonal lineage tracing of stem cells allows one to define the outcome of differentiation. Integrating these single cell‐based approaches provides a robust strategy for establishing and testing models of how an individual stem cell changes through time to differentiate and self‐renew. (shrink)

Practical philosophy of Fārābī, 873-950 on ethical art and religion. The responsibility of artist; ethical merit and morality of arts.

Philosophy and science ; Islamic philosophy ; Cognitive science.

Islamic renewal; Ethics, Comparative; Islamic ethics.

In response to the severe lack of leadership assessment tools in the Chinese context, the Service Leadership Behavior Scale was developed based on the Service Leadership Model proposed by Po Chung, the co-founder of DHL International. Utilizing responses from 4,486 Hong Kong undergraduates, this paper reports the findings of a validation study on the Short-Form Service Leadership Behavior Scale (SLB-SF-65). Previous findings based on exploratory factor analysis revealed a six-factor 48-item solution (SLB-SF-48). With the removal of ten items, confirmatory factor (...) analysis showed that the final 38-item scale (SLB-SF-38) possessed excellent psychometric properties and factorial stability based on multigroup invariance analyses. The SLB-SF-38 also exhibited excellent reliability and convergent validity. Overall speaking, the present study underscored the utility of the SLB-SF-38 as an objective assessment instrument of service leadership behavior in the education, research and personnel training contexts. (shrink)

Law abidance is very important for effective leaders. Without law abidance, abuse of power and corruption would easily happen, which would eventually erode organizational health. To promote law abidance leadership in university students in Hong Kong, we developed a law abidance leadership program with 3 h of face-to-face lecture and 7 h of self-study of materials disturbed to students. To understand students’ perception of the 3-h lecture, we conducted a post-lecture evaluation study using a 26-item measure. Results showed that the (...) scale possessed good reliability and validity. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the assessment tool has three internally consistent and factorial invariant dimensions: program attributes, appreciation of law abidance, and teacher attributes. Regarding students’ perception of the program, students were generally satisfied with the lecture attributes, including design, content, lecture atmosphere, teaching quality, and benefits to students. In particular, students agreed that the lecture helped them understand the importance and value of law abidance and national security; over 95% of the students indicated that they would try their best to serve as law-abiding citizens and socially responsible leaders. Multiple regression analyses showed that program attributes, appreciation of law abidance, and teacher attributes predicted overall satisfaction with the lecture. Qualitative comments of the student echoed the quantitative findings, with most of the comments being positive in nature. The present study replicated the findings reported previously. Local and international contextual factors relevant to the interpretations of the findings are highlighted. (shrink)

Patricia Uberoi extracts an argument from Marilyn Strathern: that feminist research cannot bring about a paradigm shift in social anthropology, because any feminist framework can be easily contained. I contrast Uberoi’s interpretation of Strathern with my own, and then draw attention to two possibilities that this containment argument overlooks.

Philosophical study of changes in society with the evolution of civilization.

Saʻadia ben Joseph, 882-942; Judaism; history.

Women are more visible in economic and public life than before. This visibility has led to a change in the social perspective towards women in recent centuries. Some provisions regarding women, which are generally accepted in classical fiqh teachings, have started to be discussed again. It has also started to be seen that the existence of different perspectives has emerged within these discussions. The issue of the amount of the victim's diya, which is included in the field of Islamic (...) criminal law, is one of the issues that has been discussed on a different ground recently in this context. The view that the diya penalty of a woman is half of that of a man has been generally accepted and practiced since the early periods of Islam. However, the issue, which has come to the agenda again with the conferences and articles written recently, has formed the basis of heated disputes. Considering the importance of the legal aspect of the subject, it is aimed to deal with the issue in detail in this study. Then, the evidences of the critical view that "the diya of a woman is the same as that of a man" will be explained. Finally, the points of disagreement on the subject will be determined, and a result will be tried to be reached by considering the opinions and evidences mentioned in the general framework. (shrink)