The Buyide wezir Abū I-Faḍl Ibn al-‘Amīd became famous as a poet and expert in epistolary literature, but also as a scholar and scientist. His letters, published here together with translation, commentary and complete glossary, inform us on questions of meteorology, physics, mechanics and psychology.

The book under study is "Kitāb al-Uṣūl" and its commentary "Sharḥ al-Uṣūl" written by Ibn Ḥallād al-Basrī, one of Abū Ḥāshim al-Jubbāʾī's leading students. This work is the result of the Mu'tazilite Manuscripts Project conducted by Sabine Schmidtke and D. E. Sklare, and has been published in an edited edition by Camilla Adang, Wilferd Madelung, and Sabine Schmidtke. The study, entitled "-A Critical Edition of the Ziyādāt Sharḥ al-uṣūl by the Zaydī Imām al-Nāṭiq bi-l-ḥaqq Abū Ṭālib Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥusayn b. (...) Hārūn al-Buṭḥānī " begins with quotations from Ibn Ḥallād's Kitāb al-uṣūl or its incomplete commentary, Sharḥ al-uṣūl. This is followed by various quotations written in addition to Ibn Ḥallād's incomplete commentary, which are mostly from Kādī ʿAbd al-Jabbār's Sharḥ. Then the commentary of the Zaydī Imam Nāṭīq-Bilḥāq is added, and finally, the text is completed by the commentary of his student and annotator, Abū al-Ḳāsīm Aḥmad b. Mahdī al-Ḥasan. Although the text does not directly define the usūl al-hamsa, the reader can recognize this progression. Beginning with tawhid, the text moves on to justice, followed by va'd-va'id, and finally concludes with topics such as predestination, sustenance, accident, and fate. (shrink)

The Prophet, whom Allah sent the whole universe and humanity as mercy, produced not only many judicial rules and practices regarding the relations of a person with Allah and other people in Islam but also uttered sentences about the explanation of holy book, Qur’an, and about how this book can be put into practice. The issue whether and how much these sentences of the prophet (hadith) and acts of the prophet (Sunnah) are binding have been discussed by both hadith methodologists (...) and fiqh methodologists; accordingly, a great many studies were produced. In hadith methodology, the discussions about Sunnah of the Prophet had their reflections in the studies of fiqh methodology; and especially Hanafi jurists propounded considerations about this issue. Hussein b. Ali al-Saymerî (d. 436/1045) one of these jurists, is the student of Muhammad b. Mûsa al-Khwârizmî (d. 403/1012), who is the student of Abû Bakr al-Jassâs (d. 370/980), who is an authority in Hanafi methodology. al-Saymerî, who adopted the method of al-Jassâs in fiqh methodology, systematically categorized several fundamental issues which were discussed and were related to fiqh methodology during his time; and he defended the views of Hanafi scholars about these issues primarily against Shâfiʿîs and several fiqh and kalam schools. While presenting the views and evidences of Hanafis, al-Saymerî initially applied for the views of founder imams of Hanafi sect such as Abû Hanîfa, Abû Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybânî; following these scholars, he greatly benefited from Hanafi scholars from Iraq region, such as Abu’l-Hasan al-Karkhî (d. 340/952) and his student, Abu Bakr al-Râzî al-Jassâs. When the relevant parts of his study is analysed, it is seen that the effect of al-Jassâs is especially noticeable. In this article, we will study the binding issue of the Sunnah of the Prophet within the context of al-Saymerî’s study, which has extant and is called Mesâilu’l-hilâf fi usûli’l-fiqh. We consider that the different attitude of al-Saymerî about the Sunnah of the Prophet from the other methodologists and hadith scholars and the underlying reasons of these differences are worth to be investigated and emphasized. (shrink)

This paper offers preliminary notes on Buddhism in modern Muslim exegesis with an emphasis on Tafsir al-Qasimi by Muhammad Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi (1866–1914) and al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qurʾan by Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaʾi (1892-1981). The research adopts a qualitative design using content analysis to collect the data. In this paper two main questions regarding both exegetes will be explored. The first question concerns the sources of both scholars for their information about Buddhism by including the discussion in their exegesis. The second (...) question concerns the methodology they used to discuss Buddhism in the Qurʾan since this has not been done by any classical exegetes nor among the most modern exegetes. Studies have found that the approach of the two exegetes is different from both the classical and modern exegetes because their work also contains resources from the fields of comparative religion and the history of religion to make their work relevant in the current context and reliable to be referred to by any parties. The author concludes that both al-Qasimi and Tabatabaʾi used analysis (taḥlil) in discussing verses related to the position of the Buddha. (shrink)

Predication is a central theme in Arabic logic that has undergone significant semantic transformation throughout history. This article explores the evolution of predication's scope and meaning across four successive stages. Rather than pinpointing specific historical moments—given that these transitions lack clearly defined beginnings or endings—the focus is on key propositions that enrich our understanding of predication, drawing on the classifications of thinkers such as Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī (d. 950), Athīr al-Dīn al-Abharī (d. 1262-65), Mullā Ṣadrā (d. 1635), and Muhammad Ḥusayn (...) Ṭabātabāʾī (d. 1981). The transition from the first to the second stage is characterized by the acceptance of natural propositions (ṭabīʿīya), while subsequent stages involve essential primary (dhātī awwalī) and stronger/weaker (ḥaqīqa-raqīqa) propositions. This progression illustrates a shift from expressing the properties of external objects to articulating the properties of concepts, ultimately culminating in the expression of identity between concepts and external entities. The four stages can be summarized as follows: (1) First-order predication; (2) Second-order predication; (3) Second-order identity; (4) First-order identity. (shrink)

Predication is a central theme in Arabic logic that has undergone significant semantic transformation throughout history. This article explores the evolution of predication's scope and meaning across four successive stages. Rather than pinpointing specific historical moments—given that these transitions lack clearly defined beginnings or endings—the focus is on key propositions that enrich our understanding of predication, drawing on the classifications of thinkers such as Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī (d. 950), Athīr al-Dīn al-Abharī (d. 1262-65), Mullā Ṣadrā (d. 1635), and Muhammad Ḥusayn (...) Ṭabātabāʾī (d. 1981). The transition from the first to the second stage is characterized by the acceptance of natural propositions (ṭabīʿīya), while subsequent stages involve essential primary (dhātī awwalī) and stronger/weaker (ḥaqīqa-raqīqa) propositions. This progression illustrates a shift from expressing the properties of external objects to articulating the properties of concepts, ultimately culminating in the expression of identity between concepts and external entities. The four stages can be summarized as follows: (1) First-order predication; (2) Second-order predication; (3) Second-order identity; (4) First-order identity. (shrink)

Providing an in-depth and extensive analysis of the concept of power as articulated by Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah (1935-2010), this case study analyses the systemic conceptualization of power and his argumentation of sacralizing Islamised power. The volume also offers a quick overview of how the concept was understood and articulated by other Shiʻite jurists such as Ayatollah Khomeini. Examining Fadlallah's oeuvre, in particular his seminal book Islam and the Logic of Power [al-Islam wa-mantiq al-quwwa], this book focuses on the narrative itself, (...) which played a central role in the radical transformation that occurred in the Shiite concept of empowerment and its recognition as a necessity. The analysis of Fadlallah's conceptualization and argumentation illustrates the mechanism of sacralizing righteous power as well as the means of gaining it. Fadlallah reinterpreted Shiʻism as a project of empowerment to initiate and sustain an "impulse of power" amongst the Lebanese Shiʻites in the most critical moment of modern Lebanese history. Dealing with the concept of power in Shiʻite political thought from a theoretical perspective, the study has an innovative approach that offers an insight into how the transformative narrative is constructed and what makes it convincing. Shedding light on the content and logical structure of Fadlallah's argumentation, this volume will be of interest to scholars and students researching contemporary politics, Islam and the Middle East. (shrink)

The third century of the hegira represents an extremely important period in terms of the formation process of Islamic sciences and the acquirement of the identity of a systematic school of fiqh madhhabs. In terms of the Zaydiyya madhhab, this century has an identity that affects the next period in terms of both political and scientific studies. Because in this period, the scholars of the madhhab like Kāsim al-Rassî (d. 246/860), Ahmad b. Isā (d. 247/861) and Yahyā b. al-Husayn (d. (...) 298/911), who were in a leading position both in politics and in sciences such as kalām, hadith and fiqh, emerged. Kāsim al-Rassî, who was accepted as the star of the Ahl al-Bayt by Zaydî sources in the first period, was presented as the Plato of Muslims by orientalists in modern studies. The main reason why today's studies on him are mostly about the history of sects and theology, most of Rassî's works are about kalām. However, Kāsim al-Rassî is an important name in the science of fiqh and İslamic legal theory as well as in the science of kalām. According to Abī Tālib Nātik bi’l-Hakk (d. 424/1033), one of the important jurists of the Zaydiyya madhhab, Rassî was a scholar who came to the fore with his ability in fiqh issues; in order to see his ijtihād method, his skill in furû al-fiqh, his mastery in using hadiths and knowing the disagreements of scholars, ‘‘Masā’il al-Dja’far b. Muhammad and Abd Allah b. Hasan” should be consulted. Rassi's epistles named Kitab al-Nāsikh wa’l-Mansūkh, Kitab al-tahāra, Kitab al-salāt al-yevm ve al-Laylā and Kitab al-menāsik are important studies on fiqh that have survived to the present day. In addition, Mueyyed-Billah (d. 411/1021) compiled Kāsim al-Rassî’s and Yahya b. al-Husayn's views on fiqh in his work named al-Tecrîd. Kāsim al-Rassî's views on fiqh are also determinative in later fiqh books such as Tahrîr, al-Cāmi' al-Kāfi, al-Intisār and al-Azhar. In time, the emergence of a jurisprudence sect named Kāsimiyya in Zaydiyya, referring to his name, is also important in terms of revealing his position. Although Rassî's views on fiqh have been referred to a number of studies in our country, no independent study has been found that deals with his views on fiqh. However, considering both of his works on fiqh that have survived to the present day and the early works in which his views are compiled, it is obvious that Kāsim al-Rassî's views on fiqh deserve an independent works. The aim of this study is to reveal Ressî's position within the madhhabs and his perspective on fiqh in general. In this context, in the study, the period in which Ressî lived, his life and works were briefly mentioned, and then the basic views of the fiqh, especially in the field of worship, were discussed in outline. (shrink)

This study investigated the perspective of Javanese Islamic philosophy on the Apak 'Beringin' rock fossil and its impact on the level of spirituality and community behavior, using a qualitative descriptive method with a phenomenological approach. Data analysis techniques were carried out using observation, interviews, and literature studies focusing on textual and contextual interpretations of the 'Beringin' Apak Fossil Rock. The main data sources came from the book of philosophy otak-athik gathuk (Javanese Islamic philosophical thought) by Damardjati Supadjar and the book (...) of commentary as-Sulami by Imam Abu Abd. Muhammad bin Husayn as-Sulami. The findings revealed that in Javanese Islamic philosophy, the symbolization of the universe depicted in the form of fossilized rocks aimed to train the soul in understanding the origin and purpose of everything in the universe or known as 'sangkan paraning damadi'. This is a manifestation of the Javanese Muslim community's way of knowing God or what is known as divine awareness ‘ilahiyah’. In the rock fossils that have been found, there are words Allah and Muhammad considered by the Javanese as a natural permit that is only obtained by people who reach certain maqam. The conclusion is that based on the elaboration of the meaning of the natural text which is symbolized in the form of the 'Beringin' Fossil rock, it is a reflection of oneself to always be close to Allah SWT. (shrink)

The history of Iraq in the twentieth century, and perhaps the Middle East more broadly, is punctuated by an intellectual shift that has, for the most part, escaped the attention of scholars. It might be characterized as a shift from a problem of representation introduced by the rise of left-wing politics, to a problem of experience created by its failure. This shift registers in the work of writers and artists, where the depiction of the social world gave way to an (...) exploration of states of being. The paradigm for that turn inward in modern art was set by the artist Kadhim Haidar, in a series of paintings exhibited at the National Museum of Modern Art in Baghdad, in 1965, under the title The Epic of the Martyr [Malḥamat al-shahīd]. The paintings reconstructed imagery from the mourning processions that annually commemorate the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, al-Husayn. This paper argues that the ritual imagery contains a grammar of experience, forged in the early history of Islam, that linked justice to a state of being, and that the transposition of the imagery into painting activated that grammar in the artwork. (shrink)

Ethics; Islamic philosophy; Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, Abū al-Qāsim al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad, d. 1108 or 9; criticism and interpretation.

Imāmiyya holds that the theory of imāmate must rely on scriptural evidence and designation and that the Imām, the successor to Muḥammad, is in charge of all political and religious issues. The authority of the Imām includes some religious and social duties such as executing the legal punishments, collecting almsgiving, sustaining social order and declaring holy war. The fulfillment of these duties requires actual leadership of the Imām or his deputy. With the beginning of the great occultation in 329/941, there (...) was an uncertainty among the Imāmiyya followers about who would uphold these responsibilities. In this period, Shīʿī ʿulamā began to undertake the duties of the Imām in order to overcome this uncertainty and to avoid the possible schism. In the beginning, this delegation of authority was limited to the religious sphere; but, later, its scope gradually became wider. This process of delegation of power, which covers a long process, needs to be examined in its various periods. In this study, this subject will be considered with special reference to the scholars of the fifth century of hijra (hijrī). An effort is made in this article to reveal how the issues of the Imām’s powers are discussed in the context of the problem of expanding or narrowing the authority of the scholars who played significant roles in systemization of Uṣūlī (rationalist) thought in the period after Shaykh al-Mufīd.Summary: In the issues of Imām/Caliphate which led to political division among Muslims after the Prophet Muḥammad, Imāmī Shīʿa opines that the Imāmate theory relies on scriptural evidence and designation. According to this theory, apart from scriptural evidence and designation, personal qualities such as immaculacy, knowledge, bravery, and vantage are found in Ali, Ḥasan, Ḥusayn and nine people from the lineage of Ḥusayn. The Imām as a successor to the Prophet Muḥammad is a person who has both religious and political power which includes implementation of punishments, collecting alms, ensuring justice, declaring holy war. For the Imāmī Shīʿa, there is a need for imām or his deputy who has absolute power to fulfill these duties.Imāmī Shīʿa, who held that the disappeared twelfth Imām would return back to restore justice in the world, had to confront various problems in finding solutions to some issues related to the existence of Imām himself, as well as theological issues during the period of great occultation. Particularly, the period of great occultation (329/941), in which the link with the Imām was severed completely, the Shīʿī community were uncertain on how to fulfill the responsibilities of the Imām probably due to the lack of religious sources. Shaykh al-Mufīd draws attention to the issue of khums (a one-fifth share of the spoils of war and of other specified forms of income). In this period of uncertainty, the Shiite scholars came into prominence in order to fill the gap and to prevent the social disorder. Referring to a tawqī‘ (rescript) from the Twelfth Imām, they claimed that they would take responsibility for the Twelfth Imām on his behalf. In the beginning, the delegation of the power was limited to the religious sphere. It was gradually extended to other spheres by the contribution of some scholars. It reached the largest dimension with the implementation of “wilāyat al-faqīh” theory.From that period until our times, the era when Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples lived can be considered as the beginning of this period. In the fifth century when Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples lived the delegation of power was limited to the religious sphere. In this article, how the scholars who played a role in the systematization of Uṣūlī thought dealt with the issue of the limits of the authority of Imām and how they defined the role of the Imāmī jurists (faqīh) will be examined.Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples were sometimes cautious on the issue of the delegation of the power of Imām. They, however, pointed out the role of the faqīh in the occultation period in order to overcome the uncertainty. As a matter of fact, Shaykh al-Ṭūsī and al-Qādī Ibn al-Barrāj made significant contributions to the issues of collection and distribution of khums. However, Sallār al-Daylamī’s contribution to the subject is more crucial. He considered khums as the grace of God and believed that it can be allocated by taking into account the share of the Imām. They put forward the views that explained in details the role of the faqīh in the collection and distribution of alms. Even Ibn al-Barrāj opined that in the absence of Imām and his deputy alms are to be allocated to the Faqihs on the ground that they know better how to distribute it. Therefore, in the absence of Imām and his deputy, by suggesting that faqīh must be in charge of collecting and distributing alms, they proposed a remedy in an early period.On the issue of leading the Friday prayer (ṣalāt al-jum‘a), which is one of the social duties of Imām, Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples considered the presence of the Imām or his deputy as a condition for a valid Friday prayer. In addition to this condition, Al-Ḥalabī, also added that a person who meets the necessary conditions can be also considered in leading Friday prayer. This addition by Ḥalabī was an important contribution to the solution of the problems encountered during the period of great occultation on both Friday prayer and delegation of Imām religious and political authorities to faqīh. On the other hand, Sallār, another disciple of Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, opposed the idea of the faqīh leading the Friday prayer in the absence of the Imām even when the necessary conditions are met. It can be said that this approach of Sallār led to the opinion of some Imāmis which considered Friday prayer unlawful in the absence of Imām. In the occultation period, Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples showed a cautious attitude about the implementation of the punishments. They argued that only Imām could implement the punishments. However, the major step was taken by Shaykh Ṭūsī on the issue of who implements the punishments in the occultation period. He argued that the Imām’s designated the faqihs to implement the punishments. In addition to this subject, Shiite scholars discussed the issue of whether a Shiite officer under the reigning rule in the occultation period implemented the punishments. On this issue, Sharīf al-Murtaḍā compiled a treaty untitled Mas’ala fi’l-‘amal ma‘a’al-sulṭan. For him, the main criteria are whether such person has necessary responsibilities and qualifications. Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples also continued their master’s conciliatory attitude. In the final analysis, the contribution of Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and his disciples on the issue of who will undertake the duties and responsibilities of the Imām is crucial in the systematization of the idea of transferal of the power of the Imām to faqīh including political one. In fact, Sharīf al-Murtaḍā’s advice to take part in the existing administrations has been considered a way out for the scholars who want to establish relations with the authorities in the later periods. (shrink)

Value Co-Creation plays a major role in engaging knowledgeable individuals in a community via innovation, problem solving, and new service/product development. This study investigates the personal factors that influence individuals’ engagement in value co-creation in Higher Education Institutions through the use of online platforms. Some higher education institutions have successfully established or used appropriate online platforms, such as online forums, web applications, and mobile applications to engage their community in ideation or crowdsourcing as a part of the value co-creation process. (...) On the other hand, some HEIs have failed to engage their community in value co-creation activities, and even if they managed to engage some individuals in value co-creation once, they failed to sustain these individuals’ engagement in value co-creation using online platforms. Using the Stimulus Organism Response framework, this study examines the relationship between relevant personal factors and other motivational factors that provide perceived benefits with value co-creation engagement. Data was collected from 308 respondents at five Malaysian research universities. The software analysis tool Smart PLS is used for data analysis and validation. The results demonstrate that personal factors and perceived benefits as a motivational factor has a significant effect on individual engagement in value co-creation. However, the significance of these findings varies from one individual to another. The implications of these findings are discussed. (shrink)

We studied the impact of teachers’ ethical leadership on students’ moral identity and academic citizenship behaviors. Data from 256 student–teacher matching dyads were collected from one of the top 5 Pakistani business schools. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to ensure factorial validity of the measures that were employed, and the hypothesized relationships were tested using structural regression models that utilized structural equation modeling in AMOS with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Based on social learning theory, the results supported the hypothesis that teachers’ (...) ethical leadership had significant direct and indirect positive effects on the students’ academic citizenship behaviors that were directed toward other students and the school. This study contributes to existing literature on ethical leadership and organizational citizenship behavior by highlighting useful implications of these organization-based constructs in an academic context. (shrink)

Social media advertisement is a growing phenomenon designed to reach and engage customers. However, despite their continued adoption, less remains known regarding the effectiveness of social media ads to co-create brand value. In response to this gap, this study aims to deepen the theoretical understanding of consumer value co-creation through social media advertising value. The data were collected using purposive sampling from 286 experienced social-media users, and the model was tested using partial least square -based structural equation modeling. The results (...) indicate that entertainment, aesthetic appeal, interactivity, and trendiness significantly affect the adverting value of social media ads. In turn, ad value affects consumers’ intention for value co-creation. Consequently, our findings suggest the importance of social media advertising value where marketers may enhance consumer-brand engagement by incorporating interesting content, which may encourage the customer’s interaction with the social media ads and strengthen value co-creation behavior. The results further contribute to nascent marketing literature by demonstrating that value co-creation acts as an antecedent to generating positive electronic word-of-mouth on social media platforms to drive consumers’ online brand purchase intention. (shrink)

The application of game elements of gamification in online shopping is attracting interest from researchers and practitioners. However, it remains unclear how gamification affects and improves consumer purchase intention on online shopping platforms, which still leaves a gap in our knowledge. To narrow this theoretical gap, a theoretical model has been built in this study. This model adopts cognitive evaluation theory to explain the impact of gamification elements on consumer purchase intention. Data was collected from 322 online shopping consumers who (...) used a flash game to test their purchase intention after playing games. The results show that game rewards, absorption and autonomy of gamification positively enhance sense of enjoyment, and that it helps people meet their psychological needs, which ultimately affects the online purchase intention of consumers. This study is helpful in analyzing the factors involved in the successful introduction of gamification on online shopping platforms in more detail. (shrink)

Includes an introd. of 49 p. by S. G. Abbas.

Using the assumptions of Sternberg Duplex Theory of Hate, the present study reveals the combined effects of similar competitor offer and narcissistic personality on brand equity through the underlying mechanism of brand hate. Specifically, we hypothesize that brand hate mediates the relationship between similar competitor offer and brand equity. Moreover, we propose that similar competitor offer and brand hate relationship are stronger for narcissistic individuals. By employing a multi-wave time-lagged research design, we collected data from a sample of dairy product (...) consumers in Pakistan. The findings of moderated-mediation regression analyses indicate that Brand hate mediates the relationship between similar competitor offer and brand equity; and Narcissistic personality moderates a similar competitor offer and brand hate relationship such that a high similar competitor offer led to greater brand hate when narcissism was high. Furthermore, conditional indirect effects reveal that brand hate mediates the relationship between similar competitor offer and brand equity only with individuals exhibiting narcissistic personality traits. The current study offers great insights to managers that by managing similar competitor offer, they can manage the development of brand hate, which can subsequently effect brand equity. Moreover, by profiling customers on the basis of their personalities, marketing managers can effectively invest only in customers with positive tendencies. The current study is unique in that it highlights new avenues in existing research by extending the nascent domain of brand hate in consumer–brand relationships. (shrink)

Badawī, ʻAbd al-Raḥmān; Arab philosophers; biography.

Nūr Muḥammad is one of the teachings in Sufism that studies the beginning of the creation of the universe. The Sufis discussed Nūr Muḥammad through God's tajallī (manifestation), and they believed that only Insan Kamil (Perfect Humans) possessed the perfection of His tajallī. This Sufi theory can be comprehended through the dhawqi approach. This research will deal with Nūr Muḥammad's theory of Sufism through the perspective of Tijaniyah Tarekat. The data for this study was obtained through library research utilizing a (...) documentary technique. The collected data will be analyzed using the descriptive analysis method. This study finds that the Tijaniyah Tarekat is a Sufism institution that bases its teachings and practices on the concept of Nūr Muḥammad in the form of ṣalawāt al-fātiḥ and ṣalawāt jawharah al-kamāl. This Tarekat's elucidation of Nūr Muḥammad is also built on and consistent with the explication of authoritative Sufis in Islam's intellectual and spiritual tradition. (shrink)

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, reaction quarantine, social distancing, and economic crises have posed a greater risk to physical and psychological health. Such derogatory mental health stigma is associated with adverse outcomes in the student population. The purpose of the current study is to provide a timely evaluation of the COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse effects on students’ psychological well-being to sustain economic sustainability. A thorough review of the literature and current studies, significant emphasis of socio-demographic indicators, interpretation of physical (...) symptoms, home quarantine activities, and COVID-19 unique stressors were extracted. Data were collected through electronic surveys from 640 university students at local and foreign universities. The findings revealed substantial adverse effects resulting in varying levels of stress, symptoms of depression, and specific discomfort in the case. Among COVID-19 stressors, financial instability, unpredictability toward future/career, and media exposure have been described as common factors that cause poor psychological well-being and weaken economic sustainability. COVID-19, quarantine, self-isolation, and onerous interventions primarily weaken university students’ mental health. The emphasis on this vulnerable category, however, is substantially absent from the literature. This research addresses the urgent need to develop possible solutions and preventive measures to promote economic sustainability by ensuring students’ psychological well-being. (shrink)

This study examines the mediating role of firm reputation in the relationship between corporate digital responsibility (CDR) and financial performance in an emerging market, Ethiopia. An online cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 126 agricultural, manufacturing, and service firms. The study used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the hypothesized relationship. Our findings reveal that the impact of CDR on financial performance is indirect only as firm reputation plays a full, complementary mediation role in the (...) CDR—financial performance nexus. This implies that firms could leverage CDR as a competitive “inducing” strategy to enhance their firm reputation, which, in turn, can boost their financial prospects. Our study significantly contributes to the business ethics and digital economy literature by offering a pioneering empirical validation of the CDR phenomenon in an emerging context, thus extending the signaling and stakeholder theories to digitalization and reputation management domains. The findings offer managers fresh insight into the potential impact of a CDR strategy on firm reputation and financial performance, showing that firms can leverage CDR as a loss prevention strategy to gain a competitive advantage. Policymakers are therefore urged to promote soft-law regimes and policies on CDR to motivate companies to leverage it as a competitive tool. (shrink)

The notion of 'natural kinds' has been central to contemporary discussions of metaphysics and philosophy of science. Although explicitly articulated by nineteenth-century philosophers like Mill, Whewell and Venn, it has a much older history dating back to Plato and Aristotle. In recent years, essentialism has been the dominant account of natural kinds among philosophers, but the essentialist view has encountered resistance, especially among naturalist metaphysicians and philosophers of science. Informed by detailed examination of classification in the natural and social sciences, (...) this book argues against essentialism and for a naturalist account of natural kinds. By looking at case studies drawn from diverse scientific disciplines, from fluid mechanics to virology and polymer science to psychiatry, the author argues that natural kinds are nodes in causal networks. On the basis of this account, he maintains that there can be natural kinds in the social sciences as well as the natural sciences. (shrink)

Driven by the rural revitalisation strategy, the construction of ‘beautiful countryside’ has been actively pursued across various regions. However, rural brands still face challenges such as single development models, serious homogenisation,and insufficient market competitiveness. In response to these challenges, this study examines the fruit industry in Fengxian District, Shanghai, exploring how visual identity design can enhance brand uniqueness and market competitiveness, thereby promoting regional economic development.The study begins with an in-depth analysis of the current state of the fruit industry in (...) Fengxian District. Despite having rich agricultural resources and a superior ecological environment, Fengxian's fruit brands struggle to stand out in the highly competitive market, particularly against the brands from Chongming County and neighboring regions like Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Through literature review, field research, interviews, and questionnaires, this study comprehensively assesses the status and challenges of Fengxian's fruit brands, delving into their brand resources, environment, and cultural advantages to provide a scientific foundation for visual identity design.Based on these insights, the study proposes a visual identity design strategy for Fengxian fruit brands, aiming to create a unique and recognisable brand image by clarifying brand positioning and integrating regional culture and ecological strengths. The strategy seeks to visually convey the high quality and uniqueness of Fengxian fruits, enhancing consumer identification and loyalty to the brand. The results indicate that a well-planned visual identity design significantly enhances the market competitiveness of Fengxian fruit brands and provides a scientific basis for policy formulation, thereby promoting the sustainable development of the fruit industry in Fengxian District. This study not only offers practical strategies for enhancing Fengxian fruit brands but also serves as a reference model for rural Fruit branding nationwide, contributing to the broader goal of rural revitalisation. (shrink)

This article has explored the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 -induced decline in consumer durables and mobility on nitrogen dioxide emission in Europe by providing empirical and graphical justifications based on consumer price index and gross domestic product deflator indexes. The empirical estimations show that carbon dioxide and NOx emission along with other greenhouse gases drastically decreased in the wake of COVID-19-induced lockdowns and decrease in the demand of consumer goods in Europe. This means that COVID-19 improved environment in the (...) European region. However, high cost makes COVID-19 an unstable solution to environmental woes where positive impact of COVID-19 on environment achieved in short run cannot be guaranteed in the long run. Besides environment, COVID-19 drastically curtailed economic activities and exposed them to the risk of economic crisis particularly in case of Europe. (shrink)

Complex fuzzy sets are the novel extension of Zadeh’s fuzzy sets. In this paper, we comprise the introduction to the concept of ξ -complex fuzzy sets and proofs of their various set theoretical properties. We define the notion of α, δ -cut sets of ξ -complex fuzzy sets and justify the representation of an ξ -complex fuzzy set as a union of nested intervals of these cut sets. We also apply this newly defined concept to a physical situation in which (...) one may judge the performance of the participants in a given task. In addition, we innovate the phenomena of ξ -complex fuzzy subgroups and investigate some of their fundamental algebraic attributes. Moreover, we utilize this notion to define level subgroups of these groups and prove the necessary and sufficient condition under which an ξ -complex fuzzy set is ξ -complex fuzzy subgroup. Furthermore, we extend the idea of ξ -complex fuzzy normal subgroup to define the quotient group of a group G by this particular ξ -complex fuzzy normal subgroup and establish an isomorphism between this quotient group and a quotient group of G by a specific normal subgroup G A ξ. (shrink)

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)

Cognitive Science, Volume 46, Issue 2, February 2022.

In this book we define some new notions of soft neutrosophic algebraic structures over neutrosophic algebraic structures. We define some different soft neutrosophic algebraic structures but the main motivation is two-fold. Firstly the classes of soft neutrosophic group ring and soft neutrosophic semigroup ring defined in this book is basically the generalization of two classes of rings: neutrosophic group rings and neutrosophic semigroup rings. These soft neutrosophic group rings and soft neutrosophic semigroup rings are defined over neutrosophic group rings and (...) neutrosophic semigroup rings respectively. This is basically the collection of parameterized subneutrosophic group ring and subneutrosophic semigroup ring of a neutrosophic group ring and neutrosophic semigroup ring respectively. These soft neutrosophic algebraic structures are even bigger than the corresponding classical algebraic structures. It is interesting to see that it wider the area of research for the researcher of algebraic structures. (shrink)

The study examines and theorizes the importance of strategic attribute constructs as applied to Pakistan’s banking sector by identifying their roles in enhancing organizational performance and the mediating effect of organizational commitment. The current study adopted quantitative research designs and methods to determine structural relationships between the proposed constructs. A total of 10 hypotheses were tested underpinned by the Resource-Based View of the Firm and Social Exchange theories. The strategic attributes studied were significantly and positively related to, and enhance, organizational (...) performance if the banks: focus on strategic positioning, fostering a strong organizational culture, strategize internal marketing practices, and boost organizational commitment. The findings supported the mediating role of organizational commitment between strategic attributes and organizational performance. This study contributes to existing literature and supports prior research while filling in gaps in the literature concerning developing countries. (shrink)