Female Olympians’ voices: Female sports categories and International Olympic Committee Transgender guidelines

The fair inclusion of female athletes at elite and Olympic levels is secured in most sports by way of female categories because of the extensively documented biological and performance-related differences between the sexes. International policy for transgender inclusion is framed by the definitive International Olympic Committee transgender guidelines in which the International Olympic Committee confirms the ‘overriding sporting objective is and remains the guarantee of fair competition’ and transwomen can be excluded from female categories if, in the interests of fairness, this is necessary and proportionate. Feminist theorists argue justice requires that women have equal moral standing in the sociocultural–political structures of society including sport. As such their voices should carry equal democratic weight. However, female elite and Olympic athletes are rarely heard in the sociocultural–political discourses of academic literature or policy formulation for transgender inclusion in female categories by the International Olympic Committee and governing bodies of sport. This empirical study investigated the views and presents the ‘voices’ of 19 female Olympians. The main findings include (1) these athletes thought both female and transgender athletes should be fairly included in elite sport, (2) unanimous agreement there is not enough scientific evidence to show no competitive advantage for transwomen, (3) unanimous agreement that the International Olympic Committee should revisit the rules and scientific evidence for transgender inclusion in female categories, and (4) the majority of athletes felt that they could not ask questions or discuss this issue without being accused of transphobia.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Croatian economy

This article titled “The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Croatian economy” deals with exceedingly current events triggered by the pandemic, which have reflected on the national and global economy. Based on the currently available data and the survey of 358 respondents (from both the private entrepreneurship sector and public administration), the effect of COVID-19 on the Croatian economy is observed through declining employment, the required recovery years, and declining GDP. The differences and similarities between this and the great global economic crisis of 2008/2009 as well as the opinion of entrepreneurs on which crisis has had more significant consequences for the economy were examined. A linear regression model predicts the declining employment in the recovery years. The entrepreneurs agree that the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is far more destructive and devastating to the economy, primarily because there is no end in sight even though the vaccine has been found. The unanimous agreement of the entrepreneurs is that, without further measures aimed at preserving the economy put in place by the Government, it will not be possible to suppress a further decline in employment and GDP, which will lead to a prolongation of the necessary recovery time for the Croatian economy. This research is the basis for further research on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Croatian economy.

Application of Ijma’ in Modern Islamic Finance Rulings: Does Ijma’ Really Exist? A Literature Review

Despite different views among scholars about the position of Ijma’ as a source of Shari’ah and about the possibility of Ijma’ to take place in its classical form in the contemporary times, the authenticity of it is proved by the Qur’an and Sunnah and the authority of Ijma’ is unanimously agreed. Hence the aim of the paper is to find out whether Ijma’ takes place in the contemporary Islamic Finance Fiqhi rulings or not. Based on document analysis that is the resolutions of different Shari’ah bodies like OIC Fiqh Academy, AAOIFI, SC of Malaysia, Kuwait Finance House, Dhallah of Baraka, Dubai Islamic Bank, Al-Rajhi Bank as well as different books and articles on Ijma’, this paper tries to get clear ideas about the classical and contemporary view of Ijma’ and also tries to find out unanimous agreement of Mujtahids on Islamic Finance rulings. Findings reveal that as per its classical definition Ijma’ does not take place in the contemporary Islamic finance, as no claim is found in favor of it. However, few rulings related to Islamic Finance are agreed by all Mujtahids of different Fiqh academy/ organizations and Shari’ah scholars which are the results of collective Ijtihad of Mujtahids of the current world and are binding in nature, so can be said are the results of Ijma’ of contemporary scholars.

Proof that P ≠ NP

The question does P = NP has confounded mathematicians and computer scientists alike for over 50 years and although there is an almost unanimous agreement that it in fact does not, there still is no absolute proof. In this paper, I attempt to prove to that P does not equal NP.

The Barriers and Challenges of Corporate Governance in Jordanian Companies: An Evaluation of the Reality of Corporate Governance in Jordan

This paper aimed to identify and analyze the obstacles and challenges facing the implementation of corporate governance in Jordanian companies by using collecting data from books, periodicals, previous research and interviews to access answers to questions of research. The qualitative research method and interviews have been conducted to obtain different answers to the research questions. The paper compared the data collected from articles and interviews in order to examine the extent of compliance of Jordanian legislation and companies with the principles of corporate governance. The paper concluded that there is a unanimous agreement that corporate governance is a critical factor in corporate success. However, there are restrictions and barriers that hinder the progress of good practices of corporate governance. Furthermore, there is no general implementation of the concept in its entirety, this may be because the rules of corporate governance are indicative and non-binding as they aim to raise the level of management in companies and protect the rights of shareholders. Therefore, it is necessary to recommend here to adopt this issue in future research by studying how to overcome these barriers, which may positively affect companies.

Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside

A widespread misconception in much of psychology is that (a) as vertebrate animals evolved, “newer” brain structures were added over existing “older” brain structures, and (b) these newer, more complex structures endowed animals with newer and more complex psychological functions, behavioral flexibility, and language. This belief, although widely shared in introductory psychology textbooks, has long been discredited among neurobiologists and stands in contrast to the clear and unanimous agreement on these issues among those studying nervous-system evolution. We bring psychologists up to date on this issue by describing the more accurate model of neural evolution, and we provide examples of how this inaccurate view may have impeded progress in psychology. We urge psychologists to abandon this mistaken view of human brains.

9. Flexibility of benefit

According to the so-called ‘rule in Saunders v. Vautier’, the beneficiaries of an expressly created private trust may terminate the trust if they are in unanimous agreement and are all competent adults, and are, between them, absolutely entitled to the trust property. This chapter examines the issue of ‘flexibility of benefit’, the extent to which beneficiaries may be able to take benefits under a trust despite limitations on their beneficial ownership, as well as the extent to which limitations on their beneficial ownership may be varied or entirely removed. It shows that under the Trustee Act 1925, trustees have a discretionary power—known as ‘the power of maintenance’—to apply income for the benefit of infant beneficiaries and a similar discretionary power, termed ‘the power of advancement’, to apply capital for the benefit of a beneficiary (infant or adult) out of his/her anticipated entitlement to the trust fund.

Your Brain Is Not an Onion with a Tiny Reptile Inside

A widespread misconception in much of psychology holds that (1) as vertebrate animals evolved, "newer" brain structures were added over existing "older" brain structures and (2) these newer, more complex structures endowed animals with newer and more complex psychological functions, behavioral flexibility, and language. This belief, though widely shared in our introductory textbooks, has long been discredited among neurobiologists and stands in contrast to the clear and unanimous agreement on these issues among those studying nervous system evolution. We bring psychologists up to date on this issue by describing the more accurate model of neural evolution, and we provide examples of how this inaccurate view may have impeded progress in psychology. We urge psychologists to abandon this mistaken view of human brains.

Information support of economic security risk management of an enterprise

Enterprises are an important component of the economic development of the state as they provide not only employment, but also the GDP of the country. In the recent years, the economic situation has become more complicated, which determines the negative social and economic results of the development of enterprises in the real sector of the economy. This has caused numerous studies in the field of economic security of enterprises. However, most of the researchers have not yet come to a unanimous agreement on these issues, including the conceptual apparatus and the content of the economic security of the enterprise. The issues related to threats to economic security receive more attention, unlike risk management. The authors emphasize that the risks of economic processes should become a prerequisite for economic security. Identification of risks and their further neutralization can lead enterprises on the way of safe development. Yet proper risk management requires appropriate information support. The authors have allocated four key components of information support for an enterprise: accountancy, analysis, control, and audit. Each of them is described providing the input, intermediate, and output information that corresponds to the system approach of researching the economic phenomena. It has allowed characterizing risks of economic safety of an enterprise in the context of components for information support. The results show the relationship between the risks of economic security and threats to an enterprise. The authors specify directions of the further researches within the limits of considered questions.

Torture

This chapter focuses on the legal status of torture, assessing the implications of an international ban on torture that coexists with a nontrivial level of torture in practice. This is not simply a case of torture law being violated. There is wide, perhaps unanimous, agreement that torture is prohibited by international law, and the legitimacy of the ban is rarely contested. The rule is established most directly by the Geneva Conventions and 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment (CAT), but it is also widely held that torture is outlawed under jus cogens norms intrinsic in the international system. Despite this, many governments engage in practices that seem clearly prohibited by laws against torture. Much of this behavior comes with detailed defense of its legality. Thus, the politics of torture generally address questions of what constitutes torture, not concerns over the ban itself. This is precisely how the Bush administration used anti-torture law: to demonstrate that its actions were not subject to the rules. Officials sought a zone of legally protected irresponsibility. They used international law against torture as tools to legalize torture.