Kaynardağ, Arslan, 1923-; intellectual; criticism and interpretation; Turkey; modern philosophy; 20th century.

En Turquie la philosophie des Lumieres est congue comme un courant de pensee qui rayonne et eclaircit le processus de la creation de la Turquie moderne. Cette philosophie a contribue par ailleurs au developpement de la Turquie dans la voie de modernisation. Tous ceux qui ont lutte pour F independance du pays, notamment Mustafa Kemal Atatürk etaient profondement influences de la philosophie des Lumieres, Le fondateur de la Republique Turque et ses amis avaient tres bien saisie la grande importance d'adopter (...) les principes de cette philosophie pour mener ä bien les reformes republicaines. En Turquie, la plupart des specialistes de la philosophie ont fait des recherches approfondies en la matiere et ils ont mis F accent sur les rapports qui existent entre les problemes sociaux et la philosophie des Lumieres. Par consequent, il n'est point errone de parier de l'existence d'une tradition des Lumieres en Turquie. (shrink)

The article examines how the epistemologies of Islam and modern science are reconciled in the writings of the contemporary Turkish Sunni Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen (b. 1938), one of the once most influential yet vastly controversial religious leaders in contemporary Turkey. Through a close reading of his texts on science, the article analyzes how Gülen defines the scientific practice as an ethical act of reading the universe with heart and mind, and as a path in which one can fully grasp (...) the magnificence of God. Framing with references to Sufism, Gülen also explains science as a domain where Islamic ethics can be practiced. The article shows that Gülen’s project of Islamization of science is not limited to the domain of knowledge, but rather comprises a comprehensive cultural transformation led by a new epistemic approach to contest the secular hegemony in the country. Therefore, Gülen’s politics of Islam at large should be understood as a project of transforming the episteme, or the hegemonic regime of knowledge, in society, from secular to Islamic. However, the article also notes, somehow paradoxically, in his harmonization of the Sufi notions with secular science, Gülen cannot escape from being captured by the very epistemology of the modern science. (shrink)

Im Archäologischen Museum in Izmir sind 227 Gefäße inventarisiert, die einen der größten Bestände von Unterwasserfunden byzantinischer Keramik in der Türkei bilden. Aus dieser Sammlung stellt Lale Doğer in dem vorliegenden Band, einem Ausschnitt ihrer Doktorarbeit, 123 dieser Vasen vor. Die Keramiken des Museums Izmir wurden zwischen 1967 und 1974 im Kunsthandel gekauft bzw. als illegales Gut beschlagnahmt. 166 Gefäßen wurden aus anderen türkischen Museen nach Izmir überwiesen (Vorwort S. 1-2) und stammen wohl ebenso aus ungeklärten Fundzusammenhängen. Eine genauere Fundortangabe (...) besitzt daher keines der Stücke. Die Autorin verbindet die Exponate in ihrem Schlusswort (S. 74) mit einem unmittelbar vor der türkischen Küste gesunkenen Boot oder aber auch dem bekannten Schiffswrack bei der wenig vor der türkischen Küste gelegenen griechischen Insel Kastellorizo (neu auch bei: D. Papanikola-Bakirtzi (Hrsg.), Byzantine Glazed Ceramics. The Art of Sgraffito, Athen 1999). Die größte Gruppe bildet die von Megaw definierte Ägäische Ware (A. H. S. Megaw in: G. Robertson u. G. Henderson (Hrsg.), Studies in Memory of David Talbot Rice, Edinburgh 1975, 34-45) mit 114 Stücken. Andere Vasen gehören zur Engobebemalten Ware („Slip Painted Ware”) oder zu mit Farboxyden bemalten Warengruppen (S. 2). In der vorliegenden Abhandlung behandelt Doğer ausschließlich die Ägäische Ware. (shrink)

Nach der ersten Publikation der Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen von Amorium (M. GILL u. a., Amorium Reports, Finds I: The Glass (1987-1997). BAR Int. Series, 1070), Oxford 2002) liegt nun der zweite Band vor, der neben Forschungsberichten (Teil A) auch technische Untersuchungen (Teil B) verschiedener Bearbeiter umfaßt.

In this paper, I dwell on a particular distinction introduced by Ilhan Inan—the distinction between ostensible and inostensible use of our language. The distinction applies to singular terms, such as proper names and definite descriptions, or to general terms like concepts and to the ways in which we refer to objects in the world by using such terms. Inan introduces the distinction primarily as an epistemic one but in his earlier writings (1997: 49) he leaves some room for it to (...) have some semantic significance i.e., the view that in certain intensional de re contexts whether a term occurring in a sentence is ostensible or inostensible may have a bearing on the semantic content of the sentence. However, in his later writings e.g., The Philosophy of Curiosity, he appears to abandon his earlier thoughts regarding the semantic significance of his distinction. He says: “the ostensible/inostensible distinction is basically an epistemic one.... It is an epistemic distinction that has no semantic significance” (2012: 65). I argue that there are indeed such intensional contexts in which the distinction has some semantic significance, i.e., whether a term is ostensible or inostensible has in fact a bearing on what proposition is expressed by the sentence in which the term occurs. (shrink)

Purpose of the StudyThe significance of creativity and performance in the workplace has been illustrated on various occasions. This study aims to find out if there is a link between transformative leadership, organizational innovation, psychological issues such as hindrance and challenge stressors, and employee creativity and employee performance. There is still a lack of awareness of the factors that influence employee performance in small and medium businesses in Pakistan. Pakistan’s SMEs have struggled to survive in their early years, with an (...) initial failure rate of 90 percent to 95 percent.MethodologyThe relationship between hindrance and challenge stressors, organizational innovation, transformational leadership, employee creativity, and their effect on overall employee performance is established through employing Structural Equation Modeling. In this study, constructs were developed from existing theories, hypotheses were generated, data were collected from 424 SME employees, and SEM analysis was conducted to prove the suggested hypothesis. The employees of SMEs are the research study’s unit of analysis.FindingsThe findings of this study demonstrated that challenge stressors, transformational leadership, and employee creativity all had positive and significant effects on employee performance.Originality/ValueThis is one of the first studies to study and extends existing understanding of psychological research in this manner and following correlations in a developing country, Pakistan: the links between transformational leadership and employees’ perception of creativity and performance along with organizational innovation and work stressors. Based on theoretical considerations, a model is proposed, and hypotheses are established and explored. The findings of this study can help businesses increase employee performance by informing employee performance improvement methods. Business executives might learn more about how to engage and motivate employees to improve their performance. (shrink)

Öz Çalışmanın konusu irfanî geleneğin on beşinci yüzyıldaki önemli temsilcilerinden ve aynı zamanda İbnü’l-Arabî’nin takipçilerinden biri olan İbn Türke’nin varlık mertebelerine dair görüşleridir. Konu, İbn Türke’nin varlık ve varlığın mertebeleri ile ilgili düşüncelerinden hareketle hazırlanmıştır. Birincil kaynakların esas alındığı bu çalışmada, İbn Türke ve Ekberî geleneğin önemli temsilcilerinin eserlerine müracaat edilmiştir. Çalışmanın amacı, felsefe ve kelâmın yanı sıra tasavvuf felsefesinin en önemli konularından biri olan varlık düşüncesi ve varlık mertebelerini İbn Türke’nin görüşleri çerçevesinde ele alarak âlemdeki varoluşun hakikatinin ne olduğu, (...) insanoğlunun özünün nereden geldiği gibi temel sorulara cevap olabilecek özgün bir çalışma ortaya koymaktır. Bu çalışmayla; varlığın bir ve tek hakikat olduğu, Hak’tan feyz ederek görünür âlemde ortaya çıkan her şeyin O’nun isim ve sıfatlarının tecellisi olduğu, her ne kadar Hak’tan ayrıymış gibi görünse de aslında Hakk’a doğru sonsuz bir dönüş içerisinde olduğu, dolayısıyla tek varlıktan kaynaklı çok sayıda varlığın esasen yokluğa mahkûm olduğu ve asıl varlığın Allah olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır. (shrink)

This essay juxtaposes the death of the moral god in Christian Europe (Nietzsche) with the demise of al-millah or the theologico-political community in Islam. This comparative engagement allows for a local (Arab Muslim) and universal rethinking of, inter alia, faith, freedom, and transcendence beyond terrorism and methodological atheism.

The COVID-19 outbreak wreaked havoc on the hospitality business, resulting in significant layoffs, salary cuts, and unpaid leaves globally. This study uses the sensemaking theory to investigate how COVID-19 induced unfavorable human resource practices affect the link between perceived corporate social responsibility and employee identification and commitment. We tested this model using the data collected from 392 hospitality sector employees in Pakistan. The results reveal that “cut in salaries” and “work from home” positively moderate CSR’s impact on employees’ identification and (...) commitment. On the other hand, employee layoff and leave without pay do not impact the positive relationship between CSR and employees’ attitudes. Furthermore, the study finds that CSR during this pandemic has a significant positive impact on employees’ attitudes. However, this relationship becomes insignificant for employees who reported unfavorable HR practices in their organizations. The finding further reveals that CSR’s impact during COVID-19 on employees’ attitudes is moderated by the different levels of CSR importance in employees’ minds. This evidence is significant since HR practices implemented during this crisis need to be identified and framed to understand the effects of CSR on employee commitment and identification. CSR involvement in the pandemic can help managers keep their employees committed to organizations; only if this charity begins from their internal stakeholders first. (shrink)

Investors' confidence in the financial market is boosted by good corporate governance (CG). Good governance builds trust and improves an organization's financial performance (FP). However, organizations with bad management lose the trust of their stakeholders because they do not perform well financially. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the influence of CG 89; on FP through mediating the role of humble leadership (HL) and monetary incentive (MI) as a moderator between CG and HL. Data were collected from (...) 300 respondents who were working in various cement manufacturing organizations located in different cities of Pakistan. The analysis was performed using SPSS software version 25 and AMOS version 22 software to work out the study sample size. The result revealed that the framework of CG has a positive impact in terms of FP. Furthermore, HL positively and significantly mediates on CG, and FP is inextricably linked. However, MI acts as a moderator between CG and HL, but despite strengthening, it weakens the impact of CG' on HL. This study contributes toward the literature, specifically toward the expectancy theory literature. Finally, some theoretical and practical implications at the organizational level are offered, describing how CG influences FP within the organization, and research limitations and future directions are presented. (shrink)

This study explores corporate financing behavior regarding the company and country-level factors and risks associated with policy-related regulations. The study considers all three categories of risk: geopolitical risk, economic policy uncertainty, and political risk. In addition to this, we investigated how the links between diverse types of financing activities and the policy-related risks associated with them change depending on the type of financing strategy utilized. The study examined quarterly data from 2016Q1 to 2020Q3. EViews 12 is used for data analysis. (...) Findings show financial restrictions, as well as inequities within the sector, have an impact on corporate investment while policy-related risks might impact a company’s financing selections. Compared to equity financing, debt financing is more susceptible to policy-related risk. According to the available information, features at the company and nation levels also impact corporate finance choices. Finally, firms that have little financial resources are more susceptible to the adverse effects of policy-related risk than industrial companies are. Managers, as well as governments, should utilize these insights to design economic strategies that are more successful in the future. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of personality traits on academic performance. Furthermore, this study also aims at exploring the effects of virtual experience and emotional intelligence between personality traits and academic performance of the students. The findings imply that personality traits are the strong predictors of better academic performance. However, several personality traits do not have a positive impact on the academic performance. The study further suggests that students who have emotional abilities and virtual experience (...) are more likely to perform well in their academics. The population of this research consists of students in various colleges and universities in developing regions. Thus, the sample consists of bachelor's and master's students. Existing scales are adopted with minor changes to make it more suitable and understandable within the study context. A total of 319 questionnaires were distributed. Among these 365 questionnaires, 234 questionnaires were received and further used for the purpose of data analysis. This shows an encouraging response from the targeted sample. Education and productivity of the students are influenced by their personality as well as their emotional intelligence abilities. The findings imply that being extrovert is a strong predictor of student achievement and should be prioritized in intervention strategies. This personality feature is responsible for performance in addition to virtual learning experience. Despite its low overall relative value, agreeableness is a significant driver of student achievement. Along with ability and aptitude assessments, personality evaluations might be utilized as a secondary screening tool to identify adolescents at risk of underperformance and academic performance failure. Therefore, learning emotional skills would be beneficial to cope the modern challenges of the competitive educational environment. Virtual experience and being emotionally sound can help students to learn quickly and to be more adaptive into the new world of digitalization. The conclusions of the current study have significant consequences for educators and policymakers. They must accept that boosting emotional intelligence levels through teaching or training is a significant objective of contemporary education. The emotional intelligence abilities of the students related to culture may be shown in a variety of ways, from expectations toward students to interpersonal interactions with students, and from teaching techniques to evaluation methods. (shrink)

E-commerce has led to a significant increase in internet purchases. The marketing sector is very competitive these days, and marketers have a difficult task: understanding the behavior of their customers. Strategic marketing planning relies heavily on consumer behavior since the consumer acts as the user, buyer, and payer in that process. Consumers’ behavior changes in response to shifts in the factors that influence it. The purpose of this research is to show how Internet usage influence on consumer impulsive buying behavior (...) of agriculture products through moderating role personality traits and emotional intelligence in China organic market. The data gathered in three months from January to March 2022, due to COVID-19 pandemic data was gathered through an online survey questionnaire sent by Chinese social media platforms including WeChat and an email address. The PLS-SEM technique and the SmartPLS software version 3.2.8 were used for data analyses. The result revealed that internet usage positively and significantly influences consumer impulsive buying behavior. Also, both moderator personality trait and emotional intelligence positively and significantly moderate the relationship between internet usage and consumer impulsive buying behavior. Lastly, theoretical and practical implications, and future directions were discussed. (shrink)

Unmanned aerial vehicles, particularly quadcopters, have several medical, agriculture, surveillance, and security applications. However, the use of this innovative technology for civilian applications is still very limited in low-income countries due to the high cost, whereas low-cost controllers available in the market are often tuned using the hit and trial approach and are limited for specific applications. This paper addresses this issue and presents a novel proof of concept low-cost quadcopter UAV design approach using a systematic Model-Based Design method for (...) mathematical modeling, simulation, real-time testing, and prototyping. The quadcopter dynamic model is developed, and controllers are designed using Proportional Integral, and Derivative, Pole Placement, and Linear Quadratic Regulator control strategies. The stability of the controllers is also checked using Lyapunov stability analysis. For verification and validation of the design, Software-in-the-Loop, Processor-in-the-Loop, Hardware-in-the-loop testing, and Rapid Control Prototyping have been performed. The V&V methods of the MBD approach showed practically valid results with a stable flight of the quadcopter prototype. The proposed low-cost POC quadcopter design approach can be easily modified to have enhanced features, and quadcopters with different design parameters can be assembled using this approach for a diverse range of applications. (shrink)

Lors d’un entretien paru dans la revue Communications (n° 37, 1983), Philippe Ariès mettait l’accent sur la difficulté qu’il y avait à écrire une histoire de la vieillesse sous ses deux aspects : celle de ses représentations, et surtout celle de ses rôles réels dans la société. Quelques historiens s’y sont toutefois risqués, tel Jean-Pierre Bois (Les vieux de Montaigne aux premières retraites, Fayard, 1989), qui préface l’ouvrage d’Elise Feller en insistant sur la nouvelle mise en perspective...

The meeting of film and history sits at a position where it becomes hard to distinguish their interdependent dynamics. Accordingly, how do film and history connect, work with or work against each other? What is the significance of film for constructing histories of the people whose past, identity and culture were denied for long years? Where does this bring or drive film towards becoming a medium through which precarious politics on diverse people are revealed, documented and archived? Leaning on these, (...) in this article, I will interrogate the position of transnational Kurdish cinema produced in Turkey for transforming the precarious political realms into a creative force that exposes different Kurdish histories, memories and temporalities. To do this I will make use of the interviews I conducted with Kurdish filmmakers in Turkey between 2010 and 2016, including Hüseyin Karabey, Mizgin Müjde Arslan, and Zeynel Doğan, and their films which reveal the tensions they inherit from their ancestors. (shrink)

Even though the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) does not explicitly address the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, the case law of the European Human Rights Court (ECtHR) confirms that their rights can be successfully defended under this mechanism. In parallel, in its evolving jurisprudence on asylum the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) refers to the Strasbourg case law, where there is a certain interrelationship between these two jurisdictions, in particular (...) given the recent ECtHR pronouncement on “EU Dublin transfers”. The article aims at evaluating protection available for asylum seekers and refugees under the ECHR, while comparing it with protection of asylum relevant fundamental rights under the EU legal order and the most recent jurisprudence of the CJEU in asylum cases. The authors also analyze which of the two systems is more favourable and what are their limitations. Thus, the article offers to students and practitioners a detailed analysis of ECtHR and CJEU jurisprudence in asylum cases through a comparative perspective, as well as the key problematic aspects arising in both jurisdictions and their junction. The jurisprudence of the ECtHR reveals that despite the most developed protection from expulsion under Article 3 of the ECHR, it does not sufficiently secure status for the concerned persons. Effective remedy requirements under the ECHR allow for filling the gaps of national asylum procedures, while recognition of vulnerability and special status of asylum seekers by the ECtHR assist in addressing still commonly prevailing detention problems of asylum seekers in Europe. In the context of family protection, the recognition of positive obligations by states to reunite the refugee families is still rudimentary, thus, clearly Article 3 protection in expulsion cases takes over Article 8. At the same time, the jurisprudence of the CJEU in asylum cases is still inconsistent, as the court sometimes takes decisions without including human rights into its’ analysis (Kadzoev, Arslan, K.), while in other cases refers to the Charter (MA and others), verifies if its’ own decision is in line with the ECtHR jurisprudence (Elgafaji) or shapes secondary legislation in line with Strasbourg arguments and findings (N.S.). Quite likely, the ECtHR practice will have an important influence on the developments of subsidiary protection in the EU, at least in the context of Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR, and serve as an important reference for interpretation of various concepts under the EU Qualification and Procedures Directives. The comparative analysis of pros and cons of the two mechanisms demonstrates that the main advantage of the ECtHR is individual justice possibility, which is not yet accessible under CJEU preliminary judgement procedure and its input in developing asylum law concepts, such as non-state agents of persecution, internal protection or even subsidiary protection regime under EU asylum law. Thanks to the ECtHR, the realistic possibility to question the application of certain EU norms has emerged (Dublin Regulation). While the ECtHR does not have such a specific competence over asylum issues as the CJEU and is clearly a slow and seriously overburdened mechanism, the pilot judgement procedure seems to be increasingly capable of providing guidelines to the states concerning systematic problems in their asylum procedures. Thus, both jurisdictions in their own ways contribute to strengthening asylum seekers’ protection while forming a common oasis for these individuals in Europe. (shrink)

In this paper I respond to and elaborate on some of the ideas put forth on my book The Philosophy of Curiosity (2012) as well as its follow-up “Curiosity and Ignorance” (2016) by Nenad Miščević, Erhan Demircioğlu, Mirela Fuš, Safi ye Yiğit, Danilo Šuster, Irem Günhan Altıparmak, and Aran Arslan.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Critical Forum Introduction:Cultural Encounters and Textual Speculations in the MediterraneanBurcu Kayışcı Akkoyun, Emrah Atasoy, and Merve TaburThis issue's Critical Forum takes its point of departure from two paradigm shifts. The first one has already occurred in utopian studies, as attested by the increasingly evident interest in non-Western conceptions of utopianism and representations of speculative fiction. Scholars of utopian studies such as Lyman Tower Sargent and Jacqueline Dutton have been (...) writing on utopias from other cultural traditions. The 2013 special issue of Utopian Studies (vol. 24, no. 1), which was introduced by Sargent and Dutton, included articles that reflected Iranian, Chinese, and Korean narratives and perspectives. During the first decade of the twenty-first century, monographs1 and journal special issues2 began examining literary and visual cultures of the Global South and transcultural expressions of the utopian imagination alongside a surge of speculative fiction from the Global South. A rising number of symposiums, anthologies, and critical works on Afrofuturism and Latinx and Arabic speculative fiction also contributed to today's widening discussions.3 This special section in Utopian Studies advocates shifting from Western-centric approaches to more nuanced modes of interpretation with a specific focus [End Page 127] on the Mediterranean, which has itself been a contested discursive site in Mediterranean studies, demanding the formation of new critical paradigms.According to Peregrine Horden and Nicholas Purcell, "It hardly needs stating that the Mediterranean, as an area seldom clearly defined but often subconsciously reduced to Italy and Greece, has been the perceived center of European civilization since the Renaissance, and in many respects since classical antiquity."4 Our set of articles challenges such reductionist views by exploring speculative configurations in the Mediterranean through literary representations of cultural encounters, social conflicts, and environmental crises. Offering analyses of various narratives that present dystopian articulations of the past and figurations of the present along with utopian aspirations for the future, the five contributions in this special section aim to expand the predominantly Eurocentric/Anglophone understanding of the Mediterranean by bringing together scholars and texts from diverse countries: Türkiye, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. They demonstrate the cultural interactions between different traditions, conventions, styles, and narratives, all within the broad domain of "speculative" visioning. As Franco Cassano points out, the Mediterranean "becomes the root that we need to rediscover today," but one that is "constitutionally plural. … The Mediterranean that emerges is not a monolithic identity, but a multiverse that trains the mind to grasp the complexities of the world: hybridity, crossroads, and identities that do not love purity and cleanliness, but have been mixed for a long time."5 Cassano's emphasis on plurality as much as rootedness is relevant to the scope and purposes of our contributions as well.The articles here refrain from creating new hierarchies by simply inverting the East-West dichotomy, or by consolidating the center-margin debate within the context of the Mediterranean. While using familiar Western hermeneutical tools to understand utopian and/or dystopian narratives produced in the Mediterranean, this special section underscores historical, political, social, and literary particularities, engaging with various manifestations of power on both textual and contextual grounds. Gabriele Proglio's introduction to Decolonising the Mediterranean (2016) informs the critical orientation of our approach. Decolonizing the Mediterranean "means deconstructing the power relations at play," he writes, "viewing the Mediterranean as an excess space of signification in order to reconsider the past and present stories and subjectivities erased by Eurocentric, nationalist historical discourse."6 Such reconsiderations are essential to imagining future utopian possibilities not [End Page 128] only for fictional narratives but also for the many types of discursive practices shaping the material world.Following Proglio's lead, Ceyhun Arslan examines utopian possibilities that the Mediterranean, whether taken as a context or as a framework, generates for artists and scholars. He argues for the utopian potential of the Mediterranean's longue-durée history, underlining the importance of identifying and resisting discriminatory notions and practices of Western imperialism throughout that history. Drawing on recent approaches to Mediterranean studies, he envisions what he calls a "disciplinary utopia," wherein critics, scholars, and artists carefully attend to linguistic and historical differences in... (shrink)

Large sculpted circular door sockets are a characteristic feature of Neo-Assyrian monumental architecture and have been found in palaces, temples, and admin- istrative centers both at core imperial sites such as Khorsabad and Nimrud and at provincial capitals such as Till-Barsib, Arslan-Tash, and Ziyaret Tepe. In the case of Iran, although the Assyrians controlled significant parts of the country, especially in the eighth century Bce, research into their presence in that period has until now been very limited. Even so, (...) there is one such door socket known from Iran, namely from the excavations at Tapeh Giyan, the discovery of which helped confirm the existence of an Assyrian administrative center at the site. This in turn led Julian Reade to suggest that Giyan was the location of the capital of the Assyr- ian province of Kharkhar. We can now add to the debate new discoveries from the site of Quwakh Tapeh in Kuzaran, in the northern Mahidasht plain, where a carved door socket and fragments of other carved stones scattered across the mound attest to the existence of a building of major importance. In this study we present this socket and compare it with other relevant material in order to determine its date, establish its archaeological context, and consider the implications. (shrink)

In this paper I respond to and elaborate on some of the ideas put forth on my book The Philosophy of Curiosity (2012) as well as its follow-up “Curiosity and Ignorance” (2016) by Nenad Miščević, Erhan Demircioğlu, Mirela Fuš, Safi ye Yiğit, Danilo Šuster, Irem Günhan Altıparmak, and Aran Arslan.

Hello readers! Hope everyone is fine especially in this season where we often are prone to attacks of cold or flu. The holiday season is at our threshold, and we wish everyone to be in the best of health and happiness.This issue of the BJB is very interesting with topics stretching from Non Communicable Diseases to the ethical issues related to the habitation of the planet Mars, and proves how forward looking are our readers and authors.Mohammad Rashedul Islam et al (...) discuss the application of the SARA method in a district in Bangladesh. The method is based on the principle of Service Availability and Readiness Assessment of WHO. The study in a district in Bangladesh found that about 62% of all the facilities were ready to provide general services like basic amenities with basic equipment, standard precautions for infection prevention, diagnostic capacity and essential medicines. However in case of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), only 40% of the health facilities had chronic respiratory disease and cardiovascular diseases diagnosis/management and only 32% had availability of diabetes diagnosis/management. Therefore, service availability and readiness of the health facilities to provide NCD related health services were not satisfactory. The authors emphasize that SARA which is a tool to monitor facilities to be ready for provision of services including NCD, should be used by all clinic managers.The very scientific and forward looking article titled “SCNT Method and the Application for Patent Eligibility on Cloned Animals” by Norman K. Swazo reviews US federal court decisions regarding applications for patent in the case of live-born animal clones. A decision issued from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit established an earlier decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that live-born animals cloned by the somatic cell nuclear transfer method (SCNT) like cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats are not patentable, so a scientist using the method is not eligible for a patent claim on the animals. The author feels that this decision has ethical implications related to the moral status of cloned animals. The author argues whether the end product of a SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer) application is same as an invention or only a revelation of nature at the cellular level. The author quotes Article 11 of Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights UNDHGR “Practices which are contrary to human dignity, such as reproductive cloning of human beings, shall not be permitted.” He concludes that the judicial assessments in the USA deciding on the question of patenting of animal clones provide important barriers to human reproductive cloning research, safeguarding moral and legal commitment to human dignity. The article on Ethics in Public Health Research and Clinical Research by Muhammad Waseem Khanet al discusses on the need to continue to focus on ethical values in conducting any research. Tha authors stress the importance, either in public health research or clinical research, of the need to recognize an ethical standard that respects individual’s autonomy and community’s wellbeing. This can be achieved through collective collaboration for the protection of individual’s autonomy, dignity and wellbeing. Research ethics is a fundamental criterion to be complied with throughout a research study. The very interesting article on Planetary Protection for Mars: Time for Reconsideration by Svetoslav Alexandrov looks into the ethical questions beyond mother earth but which could be affected by people from our planet. In this manuscript the author discusses the ethics of the protection of hypothetical organisms on Mars in terms of planned manned space missions and subsequent colonization. The author discusses the possible problems related to a process called terraformation where the planet is converted to make it suitable for Earth life. He argues that terraformation will change the whole condition of the planet. The author quotes Carl Sagan, of The Planetary Society: “If there is life, then I believe we should do nothing to disturb that life. Mars then, belongs to the Martians, even if they are microbes”. I think we all agree with this brilliant recommendation.The article ‘We Still Need to Improve Our Research Writing Ethics’ by Sheikh Arslan Sehgal looks into the value of maintaining professional integrity of research work. Particularly with issues like plagiarism, ethics, authorship and data fabrication. He argues that the scientific community must obey the scientific ethical norms and rules. He feels that ethical problems must be resolved for the advancement of research in countries including Pakistan. The author recommends teaching students the international, institutional and professional standards regarding research and authorship issue. Thus from the beginning researchers will know the key components of ethics in conducting research and the end product will be research work of quality and acceptability.Dear Readers, we look forward to your articles, commentaries, observations on different issues which touch our lives and will help in broadening our knowledge and understanding of Bioethics. (shrink)