scholarly journals Editorial

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. i-vi
Author(s):  
Katherine Bullock

One of the paradoxes facing conservative Muslims in North America is that whiletheir apologetic literature stresses “Islam as justice” – that justice is the paradigmaticQur’anic virtue after piety – in the eyes of the general public the progressiveMuslims have claimed the mantle of justice. This is a shame, since conservative ortraditionalMuslims are held to be generally unjust, whereas, as followers of Islam’straditional teachings, they ought to be at the forefront of the struggle for social andeconomic justice. There are two dimensions to this perception: one is externallygenerated and constitutes a very real threat to NorthAmerica’sMuslims; the secondone is internally generated and constitutes a significant barrier to Islam’s positivereception by NorthAmerican society.It is not an original statement to note that Islam’s general public image is bad.Many scholars, among them Edward Said, Karim Karim, and Jack Shaheen, havedemonstrated time and again how the western legacy of Orientalism moved out ofthe academy and into the secular media with the rise of the film and print mediaindustries. Such post-9/11 experts as Mahmoud Hamdani have noted the refining ofthis image into a “good Muslim”/“bad Muslim” dichotomy. The secular or “moderate”Muslims receive the accolade of the “good Muslims,” while traditional andconservativeMuslims are the “badMuslims.” Efforts by Daniel Pipes and other neoconservativewriters to ensure that the general public and policy makers do not distinguishbetween moderate conservatives and those who endorse violence to achievetheir goals have, unfortunately, been very successful.The Clarion Fund’s mass mailing of the DVD “Radical Obsession” to 28 millionhouseholds in September 2008 clarifies the enormous power behind such neoconservativegoals. “Radical Obsession,” which purports to be only about jihadism,manages through its imagery to connect allMuslims to violence.An excellently executedpiece of propaganda, it will likely have the desired goal: creating fear in thegeneral public’s mind about conservative Muslims. (Secular and progressiveMuslims will also suffer in the long run, as the general public will not be able to distinguishbetween a secular and a non-secular Muslim, which is why the supportvoiced by some of these Muslims vis-à-vis the DVD is disappointing, to say the least.) ...

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-107
Author(s):  
Gitana Dudzevičiūtė ◽  
Agnė Šimelytė ◽  
Vidmantė Giedraitytė

This paper has examined a long - run causal nexus between export and economic growth in six regions of the world. For this purpose, the authors have applied the Granger causality test. Using annual data for the period of 1971 – 2018, the authors have tested the direction of the causality between the variables. The research has found unidirectional causality running from export to economic growth in Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Moreover, the research has noticed the absence of the Granger causality in Africa and Latin America & the Caribbean. The findings could be useful in implementing regional policy. In Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania policy makers should aware of the importance of trade and focus on implementing export-oriented policies to stimulate economic growth and achieve sustainable development.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohani Mohd ◽  
Badrul Hisham Kamaruddin ◽  
Khulida Kirana Yahya ◽  
Elias Sanidas

The purpose of the present study is twofold: first, to investigate the true values of Muslim owner managers; second, to examine the impact of these values on entrepreneurial orientations of Muslim small-scale entrepreneurs. 850 Muslim owner managers were selected randomly using the sampling frame provided by MajlisAmanah Rakyat Malaysia (MARA). 162 completed questionnaires were collected and analyzed. For this paper only two dimensions of entrepreneurial orientations were analyzed: proactive orientation and innovative orientation. Interestingly, the findings revealed that Muslim businessmen/women are honest, loyal, disciplined and hard working. Loyalty and honesty are positively related to proactive orientation, while discipline and hard-work are positively related to innovative orientation. The findings provide implications for existing relevant theories, policy makers, practitioners and learning institutions. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 335-344
Author(s):  
Muhammad Waqas Khalid ◽  
Ashar Sultan Kayani ◽  
Jamal Mohammed Alotaibi ◽  
Muhammad Muddassir ◽  
Bader Alhafi Alotaibi ◽  
...  

Higher consumption and increased import requirements for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region can be catered through neighboring trade partners if resources are optimally utilized. The purpose of this research is to analyze the connection between regional trade of SAARC countries and the food security challenges faced by the region. The study uses data from 1990–2018 for Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh to econometrically analyze the determinants of the volume of food trade. The results show that the gross domestic product of importing or exporting countries and foreign direct investment (FDI) have positive impact on regional trade. The bilateral exchange rate between trading partners has a negative impact on the trade volume. The results also showed the absence of a long-run relationship between volume of trade and food security using Johansen’s cointegration test. Our analysis suggests that policy makers should focus on the means for creating favorable environment in Pakistan and India to not only meet the increasing global demands for food but also increasing their competitiveness for high-quality and low-quality priced products in major exports markets.


2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARC LUY ◽  
PRISKA FLANDORFER ◽  
PAOLA DI GIULIO

ABSTRACTPopulation ageing occurs in all industrialised societies and is the demographic phenomenon that currently gets the highest attention from scientists, policy makers and the general public. The main aim of this paper is to broaden our understanding of its societal consequences, such as ageism and intergenerational solidarity. Our study is based on the 2008 investigation of attitudes towards population ageing and older people in seven European countries of Schoenmaeckerset al.We replicate their analysis in a specific human subpopulation in which the process of population ageing started earlier and is much more advanced than in the general societies: the members of Catholic orders. The study compares the attitudes of 148 nuns and monks from three Bavarian monasteries to those of the western German general population using descriptive and multivariate analyses in the context of the debate around population ageing in Germany. We discuss the specific characteristics of order members that might influence their attitudes and also take a brief look at their views on possible political strategies to solve the problems connected with the demographic changes. Our results confirm the findings of Schoenmaeckerset al.and reveal that worldly and monastic populations show an identical basic pattern of a positive attitude towards older people while at the same time considering population ageing a worrisome development. However, order members evaluate older people's abilities and their role in society more positively. This result gives rise to the optimistic perspective that in an aged population the younger and older generations can build a well-functioning society.


2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Jeremy Singer ◽  
Ben Pogodzinski ◽  
Sarah Winchell Lenhoff ◽  
Walter Cook

Background/Context Chronic absenteeism has received increased attention from educational leaders and policy makers, in part because of the association between attendance and important student outcomes. Student attendance is influenced by a range of student-, school-, and community-level characteristics, suggesting that a comprehensive and multilayered approach to addressing chronic absenteeism is warranted, particularly in high-poverty urban districts. Given the complexity of factors associated with chronic absenteeism, we draw from ecological systems theory to study absenteeism in Detroit, which has the highest rate of chronic absence of major cities in the country. Purpose/Research Questions We use administrative and public data to advance the ecological approach to chronic absenteeism. In particular, we ask: (1) How are student, neighborhood, and school characteristics associated with individual absenteeism? (2) How are structural and environmental conditions associated with citywide rates of absenteeism? Our study helps to fill a gap in the research on absenteeism by moving beyond a siloed focus on student, family, or school factors, instead placing them in relationship to one another and in their broader socioeconomic context. It also illustrates how researchers, policy makers, and administrators can take a theoretically informed approach to chronic absenteeism and use administrative data to conceptualize the problem and the potential routes to improving it. Research Design Using student-level administrative data on all students living and going to school in Detroit in the 2015–2016 school year, we estimate a series of multilevel logistic regressions that measure the association between student-, neighborhood-, and school-level factors and the likelihood of a Detroit student being chronically absent. We also use publicly available data to examine how macrosystemic conditions (e.g., health, crime, poverty, racial segregation, weather) are correlated with citywide rates of absenteeism in the 2015–2016 school year, and we compare Detroit with other large cities based on those conditions. Findings/Results Student-, neighborhood-, and school-level factors were significant predictors of chronic absenteeism in Detroit. Students were more likely to be chronically absent if they were economically disadvantaged, received special education services, moved schools or residences during the year, lived in neighborhoods with more crime and residential blight, and went to schools with more economically disadvantaged students and less stable student populations. Macro-level factors were also significantly correlated with citywide rates of absenteeism, highlighting Detroit's uniquely challenging context for attendance. Conclusions/Recommendations Our ecological understanding of absenteeism suggests that school-based efforts are necessary but not sufficient to substantially decrease rates of chronic absenteeism in Detroit and other high-absenteeism contexts. Policies that provide short-term relief from economic hardship and aim to reduce inequalities in the long-run must be understood as part of, rather than separate from, a policy agenda for reducing chronic absenteeism.


1938 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 65-75
Author(s):  
J. Owen Stalson

Colonial America gave little thought to life insurance selling. The colonists secured protection against marine risks from private underwriters, first in London, eventually at home. It has been asserted that Philadelphia had no fire insurance until 1752; Boston none before 1795. The first corporations formed in this country for insuring lives were those of the Presbyterian Ministers Fund (1759) and a similar company organized for the benefit of Episcopal ministers (1769). Neither of these corporations offered insurance to the general public. In the last decade of the eighteenth century many insurance companies were formed in the United States. At least five were chartered to underwrite life risks, but only one, The Insurance Company of North America, appears to have accepted any. There is no basis for saying that any of these early companies tried to sell life insurance.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Radun ◽  
Jenni Radun ◽  
Mahsa Esmaeilikia ◽  
Timo Lajunen

Some researchers and many anti-helmet advocates often state that because cyclists are wearing a helmet they feel safer and take more risks. This hypothesis - risk compensation – if true, would reduce, annul or even reverse the assumed benefits of helmets in reducing head injuries. Consequently, this hypothesis is often used to oppose mandatory helmet laws. In this article, we illustrate how one of the few studies that attempted to experimentally test the hypothesis in relation to bicycle helmets arrives at a false conclusion. As a result it is often cited as evidence of risk compensation. Given the lack of experimental studies in this research area, the impact of a single study in shaping the opinions of the general public and of policy makers can be significant.


2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-119
Author(s):  
Adenuga Adekoya ◽  
◽  
Gbenro Sokunbi ◽  

A greater percentage of women in developing countries married before their 18th birthday. Early marriage serves as a threat to a child's future development. This is because it is difficult to have access to quality education and higher education, and it limits the ability to secure a good job. Also, girls involved in early marriage face acute poverty conditions. This research examined the link between early marriage and poverty in Nigeria. Annual data is sourced from 1970 to 2017. Granger causality is used to determine the nature of causality. Autoregressive Distributed Lagged Model is further used to estimate the data. The result showed that a bi-directional Granger causality exists between early marriage and poverty as well as for low-income and early marriage. In the long-run estimation, early marriage, secondary education and low-income increase poverty. Also, social welfare and access to credit facilities reduce poverty. The policy makers are therefore encouraged to improve social welfare for girls in early marriage and provide easy access to credit facilities for them to pursue higher education or entrepreneurship skills, in a bid to gradually move them out of poverty.


Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Chitimira ◽  
Vivienne A Lawack

This article analyses the role and effectiveness of selected key role-players primarily dealing with the investigation, prevention and enforcement of the market abuse prohibition in South Africa in order to increase awareness on the part of the general public, policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders. To this end, the article provides an overview analysis of selected role-players as well as their distinct functions in the investigation, prevention and combating of market-abuse practices in South Africa. This is done by discussing the roles of the Financial Services Board, the Directorate of Market Abuse and the Enforcement Committee.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Stripple ◽  
Alexandra Nikoleris ◽  
Roger Hildingsson

While many pathways to post-fossil futures have been articulated, most fail to engage people in imagining themselves as being part of those futures and involved in the transition. Following recent calls for more immersive experiences, the 2019 initiative “Carbon Ruins—An Exhibition of the Fossil Era” (Carbon Ruins) is a performance set around a historical museum from the future, which uses recognisable, culturally powerful physical objects to bridge the gap between abstract scenarios and everyday experiences. Through its physical presence and extensive media coverage, Carbon Ruins struck a chord with scientists, activists, creative professionals, policy makers, civil society organisations, and the general public. Like other imaginary worlds, Carbon Ruins is not finished. It is an open-ended process of narrating, imagining, and representing (the transition to) a post-fossil future. In this article we reflect upon Carbon Ruins as a participatory form of world-building that allows for new ways of knowing, and new ways of being, in relation to post-fossil transitions. We discern three different kinds of authorship that were taken on by participants: as originators, dwellers, and explorers. While the originator makes the future world a recognisable place, the dweller can engage active hope in place of a passive sense of urgency, and the explorer can transform resignation into commitment, with a fresh determination to leave the fossil era behind. Situating Carbon Ruins within a critical political tradition, we find post-fossil world-building to be a form of critique that destabilises accustomed ways of thinking and opens up new fields of experience that allows things to be done differently.


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