The main purpose of this article is to bring Ragin’s recent methodological contributions, which build on ideas borrowed from fuzzy logic, to the attention of management scholars. To demonstrate the possible use of the techniques developed by Ragin in management research, three specific examples for their likely applications are presented: the replications of Porter’s diamond framework for Turkey, Greece and Canada. The article concludes that Ragin’s systematic techniques prove helpful in making explicit the process of comparing qualitative evidence derived from (...) case study research, and thus they deserve greater attention in the management literature. (shrink)

As research on ethical consumers and consumption practices has continued to grow, a complimentary body of work concerned less with ethical consumption but more with ethics in consumption has emerged. Problematizing the divide between ethical and non-ethical consumption, this stream of research focuses on the domain of everyday and explores the moral struggles individuals face while engaging in ordinary consumption practices. However, the attention on the ordinary runs the risk of obscuring the contribution of the ‘extraordinary’ or the transcendental to (...) the ethical concerns embedded in the mundane flow of the everyday. This study addresses this blind spot and explores the ways in which religion is implicated in everyday consumption ethics. In doing so, I go beyond a view of religion as an individual trait and emphasize its role as a major institutional structure of the contemporary political economy. The empirical context of the study is the controversy over the so-called halal nail polish. The debate over the products’ appropriateness for Muslim women provides a fertile setting to explore how an ordinary object becomes an ethical problem amid changing relations between religion and market. In order to trace and analyse the linkages between daily practices and institutional dynamics I draw from the moral economy framework and discuss the multiple and conflicting moral repertoires that shape the ethical evaluations of the object. The study offers several contributions to the existing theorizations of everyday consumption ethics and moral economies of consumption. It also highlights the potential of interdisciplinary approaches in providing a holistic understanding of the ethical and moral dimensions of consumption. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence and robotics is pervasive in daily life and set to expand to new levels potentially replacing human decision-making and action. Self-driving cars, home and healthcare robots, and autonomous weapons are some examples. A distinction appears to be emerging between potentially benevolent civilian uses of the technology (eg unmanned aerial vehicles delivering medicines), and potentially malevolent military uses (eg lethal autonomous weapons killing human com- batants). Machine-mediated human interaction challenges the philosophical basis of human existence and ethical conduct. Aside (...) from technical challenges of ensuring ethical conduct in artificial intelligence and robotics, there are moral questions about the desirability of replacing human functions and the human mind with such technology. How will artificial intelligence and robotics engage in moral reasoning in order to act ethically? Is there a need for a new set of moral rules? What happens to human interaction when it is mediated by technology? Should such technology be used to end human life? Who bears responsibility for wrongdoing or harmful conduct by artificial intelligence and robotics? -/- Whilst Kant may be familiar to international lawyers for setting restraints on the use of force and rules for perpetual peace, his foundational work on ethics provides an inclusive moral philosophy for assessing ethical conduct of individuals and states and, thus, is relevant to discussions on the use and development of artificial intelligence and robotics. His philosophy is inclusive because it incorporates justifications for morals and legitimate responses to immoral conduct, and applies to all human agents irrespective of whether they are wrongdoers, unlawful combatants, or unjust enemies. Humans are at the centre of rational thinking, action, and norm-creation so that the rationale for restraints on methods and means of warfare, for example, is based on preserving human dignity as well as ensuring conditions for perpetual peace among states. Unlike utilitarian arguments which favour use of autonomous weapons on the basis of cost-benefit reasoning or the potential to save lives, Kantian ethics establish non-consequentialist and deontological rules which are good in themselves to follow and not dependent on expediency or achieving a greater public good. -/- Kantian ethics make two distinct contributions to the debate. First, they provide a human-centric ethical framework whereby human exist- ence and capacity are at the centre of a norm-creating moral philosophy guiding our understanding of moral conduct. Second, the ultimate aim of Kantian ethics is practical philosophy that is relevant and applicable to achieving moral conduct. -/- I will seek to address the moral questions outlined above by exploring how core elements of Kantian ethics relate to use of artificial intelli- gence and robotics in the civilian and military spheres. Section 2 sets out and examines core elements of Kantian ethics: the categorical imperative; autonomy of the will; rational beings and rational thinking capacity; and human dignity and humanity as an end in itself. Sections 3-7 consider how these core elements apply to artificial intelligence and robotics with discussion of fully autonomous and human-machine rule-generating approaches; types of moral reasoning; the difference be- tween ‘human will’ and ‘machine will’; and respecting human dignity. (shrink)

Is uncertainty, often brought about by loss, collapse, interruption, or disturbance in life, an entirely negative state that must be resolved as soon and as fully as possible by resettlement? Or, can we view uncertainty and loss as affective states that might open up new possibilities for friendships, solidarities, collectivities, and hope? As a response to Carla J. Maier’s ‘The Table and the Dancer’ this essay attends to affective and emotional registers of migration. It attempts to rethink the senses of (...) loss, uprootedness, and uncertainty as possible sources for affinities and hope, with a particular focus on the new migration from Turkey. (shrink)

In Plato's dialogue of the Republic, politics is a concept questioned in the context of one of the most ancient problems of philosophy, that is, the relationship between theory and practice, and formulated as a paradox. Plato finds a solution to the paradox by establishing the city-state proximate to his theory and to put forward three conditions. The last of those conditions, as Plato calls it the greatest wave of paradox in his own terms, that the rulers must be philosopher-kings, (...) contains many clues about Plato's conception of politics. The aim of this study is to examine the implications of the philosopher-king condition in Plato's political philosophy. To this end, first, it is demonstrated that the political meaning of the philosopher's exit from the cave on the way to becoming ruler is apolitical. Secondly, it will be shown how the political activity of the philosopher, contrary to the nature of politics and in a way that excludes others, is reduced to both ascetic and cognitive activity. (shrink)

The ability to convert human somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is allowing the production of custom‐tailored cells for drug discovery and for the study of disease phenotypes at the cellular and molecular level. IPSCs have been derived from patients suffering from a large variety of disorders with different severities. In many cases, disease related phenotypes have been observed in iPSCs or their lineage‐specific progeny. Several proof of concept studies have demonstrated that these phenotypes can be reversed in (...) vitro using approved drugs. However, several challenges must be overcome to take full advantage of this technology. Here, we highlight recent advances in the field and discuss the main challenges associated with this technology as it applies to disease modelling. (shrink)

Since the 1970s and more rigorously since the 1990s, many countries have regulated data protection and privacy laws in order to ensure the safety and privacy of personal data. First, a comparison is made of different acts regarding genetic information that are in force in the EU, the USA, and China. In Turkey, changes were adopted only recently following intense debates. This study aims to explore the experts’ opinions on the regulations of the health information systems, data security, privacy, and (...) confidentiality in Turkey, with a particular focus on genetic data, which is more sensitive than other health data as it is a permanent identifier that is inherited to next of kin and shared with other family members. Two focus groups with 18 experts and stakeholders were conducted, discussing topics such as central data collection, legalized data sharing, and the management of genetic information in health information systems. The article concludes that the new Turkish personal data protection law is problematic as the frame of collectible data is wide-ranging, and the exceptions are extensive. Specific laws or articles dedicated to genetic data that also overlook the dimension of discrimination based on genetic differences in Turkey should be taken into consideration. In broader terms, it is intended to put up for discussion that in addition to ethical aspects, economic aspects and legal aspects of health should be included in the discussion to be carried out within the framework of socio-political analyses with culture-specific approaches and cross-culture boundaries simultaneously. (shrink)

This article demonstrates a priori cosmopolitan values of restraint and harm limitation exist to establish a cosmopolitan “no-harm” duty in warfare, predating utilitarianism and permeating modern international humanitarian law. In doing so, the author exposes the atemporal and ahistorical nature of utilitarianism which introduces chaos and brutality into the international legal system. Part 2 conceptualises the duty as derived from the “no-harm” principle under international environmental law. Part 3 frames the discussion within legal pluralism and cosmopolitan ethics, arguing that divergent (...) legal jurisdictions without an international authority necessitates a “public international sphere” to mediate differences leading to strong value-commitment norm-creation. One such norm is the “no-harm” duty in warfare. Part 4 traces the duty to the Stoics, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, African traditional culture, Hinduism, and Confucianism. Parts 5 and 6 explain how the duty manifests in principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law. (shrink)

The main thesis I put forward in this article is that the democratic theory needs an anthropological perspective which defines the human in plurality and signifies the possibility of achieving a fully inclusive rational consensus. I argue that a model of democracy in terms of cosmopolitan anthropology can help us to better envision the main challenge facing universal norms and principles today. How to create democratic forms of living together? I think we can answer this question by interpreting Hannah Arendt’s (...) theory of political action on a philosophical anthropological basis. It is common knowledge that Hannah Arendt is suspicious of ethics and warns that ethics and conscience alone cannot produce the conditions for peace. In the present paper, I examine Arendt’s philosophical project together with Kant’s philosophical anthropology and try to demonstrate its importance for plurality and living together in peace. (shrink)

Emerged as a movement within the evangelical wing of Protestantism in the 20th century, Pentecostal Christianity is a mystical religious movement that seeks holiness in a purely individual experience and emphasizes spiritual unity. This movement, assumed an important role in spreading Christianity to the world is claimed to be the second largest group after Roman Catholicism with its different discourse and organization structure. Its mystical aspect, especially affects churches in the northern hemisphere as well as the southern hemisphere and the (...) movement's activities are considered a harvest of new souls collected by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this situation raises the question of what is the place of the movement within the Christian unity. For this reason, it is important to examine the participation of the movement in the issues of ecumenical unity since its emergence in the North of America.This article aims to reveal the relationship between Pentecostal Christianity and the global ecumenical movement and tends to provide a way of thinking about ecumenism encouraging Pentecostal participation in the ecumenical mission. Although Pentecostal movement defined as an ecumenical spirit has shown a negative attitude towards formal ecumenical processes in the early period, it has recently changed the way of approaching regional and international ecumenical negotiations. The aim of bilateral dialogues between Pentecostals and other historical churches seems to be on developing mutual respect and understanding rather than structural unity. The next will show whether these visible associations for now will become a realistic dialogue goal that includes structural unity in the future, or to form a spiritually invisible unity that moves freely in spirit without the need for a structural unity. (shrink)

We study the automorphism group of the algebraic closure of a substructure A of a pseudofinite field F. We show that the behavior of this group, even when A is large, depends essentially on the roots of unity in F. For almost all completions of the theory of pseudofinite fields, we show that over A, algebraic closure agrees with definable closure, as soon as A contains the relative algebraic closure of the prime field.

The model companion of the theory of fields with valuation and automorphism exists. A counterexample shows that the theory of models of ACFA equipped with valuation is not this model companion.

ObjectivesTo examine implicit and explicit attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women among heterosexual undergraduate and graduate psychology and nursing students.MethodsImplicit attitudes were measured via the Implicit Association Test and explicit attitudes via the Attitudes Toward Lesbian Women and Gay questionnaire.Main resultsAll groups held negative implicit attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. Among undergraduates, nursing students reported holding more negative explicit attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women than psychology students.ConclusionThe curricula in both nursing and psychology studies need to (...) address the medical and paramedical needs and issues of sexual minorities. (shrink)

This study addresses the social aspect of the duty of pilgrimage through the documentation method based on sociological perspective. The aim of this paper is to determine the social gains of people through the pilgrimage. Religion is an phenomenon that people need in every aspect of their daily life. Because religion is one of the phenomenon that deeply affect the individual and society. The pilgrimage, which is one of the sociological expressions of religion, and maintains its existence in the form (...) of creed, worship and religious community, is instrumental in strengthening and consolidating the faith and feeling the feelings of brotherhood. For instance; spiritual fundamentals of integration are based on Quran by means of worships such as salaat, fasting and alms with the pilgrimage as well as the messages serving as guidance for socio-cultural integration. In accordance with this, worships, with its psychological effects, lead people to attain social aspects such as brotherhood, solidarity, protecting each other, enduring and overcoming distresses together, accomplishing societal sharing by meeting on the common ground of benefaction in the establishment and subsistence of the Islamic community. The pilgrimage, on that sense, is required to have its principal qualification once more in where the historical, social, political and economic issues of the Islamic world are discussed and solutions addressing such issues are delivered accordingly. Therefore, the pilgrimage is not expected to only affects the individuals, families, groups but also regulates the national and transnational lives of societies. (shrink)

Yakın zamana kadar dominant olan Newtoncu doğa anlayışı doğa bilimlerindeki gelişmelerle ciddi olarak eleştirilmeye başlanmıştır. Hiç kuşku yok ki bu eleştirel dönüşüm sürecinin başlangıcında Einstein ve Schrödinger fiziği vardır. Buna bağlı olarak biyolojide geçtiğimiz yüzyılın başından günümüze kadar gerçekleşen gelişmeler (evrimsel biyoloji, genetik, epigenetik, moleküler biyoloji, gelişim biyolojisi, ekoloji, fizyoloji konularıyla ilgili değişim ve gelişimler) biyolojinin temel kavramları olan fenom, genom ve çevre’deki değişimleri de içermektedir. Yeni bir doğa kavrayışını da beraberinde getiren bu süreçte biyoloji, bize canlıların çevreleriyle sınırları net (...) olmayan ve kompleks etkileşimleri üzerinden kendilerini dinamik bir halde sürekli olarak organize eden sistemler olduğunu söylemektedir. Canlıların, değişimini gözlemleyebileceğimiz kadar hızlı olan özellikleri de uzun süreler boyunca stabil halde gözlemlediğimiz özellikleri de süreçlerden oluşmaktadır. Canlılara ait tüm özellikler (fenomlar ve genomlar) kompleks bir ağ oluşturan diğer akışlarla etkileşimleri içinde akmaktadır. Bu yüzden, bir fenotipik özelliği etraflıca açıklama iddiasıyla yola çıkılıp, buna rağmen araştırmanın ve sonucundaki açıklamanın tek yönlü (sadece tek bir tür parametreyi dikkate alarak ve bir parametreye özellikle yoğun vurgu yaparak) yapılması sorunludur. Çünkü fenom, ancak bütüncül bir yaklaşımla ve fenom oluşumunun kompleksite ve dinamizm özelliklerinin farkında olarak etraflıca açıklanabilir. Bir fenotipik özelliğin etraflıca açıklanması iddiasının olmadığı durumlarda (ki standart bir biyoloji araştırması çoğunlukla bu iddiada değildir), sadece bir parametre dikkate alınabilir ve bu durum son derece anlaşılırdır. Bilim insanları her durumda (fenotipik özelliği hem etraflıca inceleme hem de tek bir parametreyle etkileşimini inceleme durumlarında) fenom oluşumunun kompleksite ve dinamizm özelliklerinin farkında olmalıdırlar ve açıklamaları da araştırma süreçleri de bu farkındalığı içermelidir. Burada araştırmacının zihnini belirleyen soru şudur: doğa bütünsel, stabil ve mekanik nedenselliğin egemen olduğu bir varlıklar alanı mıdır yoksa parçaların birbirleriyle sürekli etkileşerek yeni uyumlar ve ilişkiler geliştirdiği karmaşık ve akışkan varlıklar topluluğu mudur? Bu soruya karmaşıklık, akışkanlık, karşılıklı etkileşim ve uyum üzerinden cevap verilirse üzerine odaklanılacak olan kavram ne varlık ne fenomen, fakat süreçtir. Nitekim süreç felsefesi, biyolojideki felsefi problemler ve kavramsal incelemeler için çok kullanışlıdır. Bu durumun iki temel nedeni: 1) biyolojinin konusu olan şeylerin temel olarak süreçler olması ve 2) bilim insanlarının araştırmaları sırasında süreçler üzerinden akıl yürütmeleri ve bu yolla kavramları kullanmaları, açıklamalara, bilgiye ulaşmalarıdır. Bu çalışma, bu iki temel unsuru göz önünde bulundurarak ortaya çıkan yeni biyolojinin beraberinde getirdiği ve yeni imkanlar sunan yeni bir doğa anlayışına odaklanmıştır. Bu yeni doğa anlayışı, mekanik ve statik olmaktan ziyade kendi içinde stabil ama bütünüyle dinamik doğa anlayışıdır. (shrink)

Bu makalenin amacı, Türkiye örnekleminde Tanrı algısı üzerine yapılmış ampirik araştırmaların sistematik bir incelemesini sunmaktır. Tanrı algısı çok boyutlu bir yapı olarak ele alınmış ve Tanrı algısının sosyodemografik ve psikolojik süreçleri içeren diğer değişkenlerle ilişkisi tartışılmıştır. Tanrı algısı ile psikopatoloji ve manevi bakım arasındaki ilişki de gözden geçirilmiştir. İnceleme sonucunda Tanrı algısının yaşa göre her zaman anlamlı bir farklılık göstermediği ancak ilişkinin olumlu yönde seyrettiği, yaş ilerledikçe Tanrı algısının daha olumlu olduğu söylenebilir. Cinsiyet farklılığına bakıldığında kadınların erkeklere göre daha olumlu (...) bir Tanrı algısına sahip oldukları, gelir düzeyi ve eğitim düzeyi açısından ise anlamlı bir farklılığın olmadığı görülmüştür. Ayrıca Tanrı algısının okul türüne göre (dini ve seküler okullar) farklılık gösterebildiği, Tanrı algısının oluşumunda anne baba tutumlarının önemli olduğu görülmüştür. Çalışmalar baskıcı, otoriter veya ilgisiz/ ihmalkar anne baba tutumları ile büyüyen insanların Tanrı algılarının daha korku yönelimli olduğunu, demokratik anne baba tutumları ile büyüyenlerin ise daha sevgi yönelimli Tanrı algıları olduğunu göstermiştir. Öznel dindarlık ve olumlu dini başa çıkmanın Tanrı algısı ile pozitif ilişkili olabildiği sonucuna varılmıştır. Sosyodemografik değişkenlere ek olarak, sevgi yönelimli Tanrı algısının daha iyi psikolojik sağlık, daha yüksek iyi oluş, etkili ve olumlu başa çıkma, olumlu benlik saygısı, daha düşük depresyon ve daha düşük psikopatolojik belirtilerle pozitif yönde ilişkili olduğu söylenebilir. Gözden geçirilen 55 çalışma içerisinde pek çok bulguya ulaşılmış olsa da incelenen değişkenlerin çok çeşitli olduğu, ancak her değişken hakkında genel bir çıkarım yapmak için yeterli çalışma olmadığı, bu nedenle halen Türkiye örnekleminde Tanrı algısı ile ilgili çalışmaların artırılması gerektiği düşünülmektedir. Son olarak, daha fazla araştırmaya ihtiyaç duyulan alanlar tartışma bölümünde ele alınmıştır. (shrink)

There is a strong association between reliance on the promotional activities of pharmaceutical companies and a generally less appropriate use of prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies direct some of their promotion towards health workers who do not have the authority to prescribe medicines, such as nurses in certain countries. The aim of this study was to determine the impact that exposure to the marketing methods of pharmaceutical companies has on judgments made by nursing students about health worker—pharmaceutical company relationships. A cross-sectional (...) survey was carried out with 442 nursing students in Istanbul, Turkey. The exposure of students to the marketing methods of pharmaceutical companies, whether it be indirectly through observation or directly by first-hand experience, increases the probability that students will adopt rationales that underlie affirmative judgments of health worker—pharmaceutical company relationships. Based on the pervasiveness and ability of drug promotion to influence the perceptions of students, it is imperative that attempts be made to reduce its negative impact. (shrink)