Intervention Of Authorities Research Articles

A revisit to the prohibition of interest-bearing loans, impact of the verses’ clarity and religious authorities’ interventions: a comparison between the three Abrahamic religions

Purpose This research aims to examine how the clarity of interest-condemning verses in religious texts, coupled with the influence of religious authorities, has shaped the discourse on prohibiting interest-bearing loans across Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Design/methodology/approach This research is conceptual in nature, employing historical analysis to explore the evolution of interest-bearing loans prohibitions across the three Abrahamic religions. Furthermore, the article conducts a comparative analysis that explores religious interpretations within Jewish, Christian and Islamic jurisprudential literature seeking to mitigate usury restrictions. To fulfill the research objective, the article investigates the underpinning foundation of usury prohibitions in the three Abrahamic religions. This investigation involves a thorough analysis of the ban on usury, as documented in the primary religious texts of each religion: the Torah and Talmud for Judaism, the Old and New Testaments for Christianity and the Qur’an and Sunnah for Islam. Additionally, the study explores various interpretations of these scriptures, considering perspectives from both official religious institutions and individual informal theologians. Findings Through an examination of the verses condemning usury in the sacred texts of the three religions, as well as the historical interpretations of interest prohibition passages and the intervention of religious authorities, the author argues that both variables might have contributed inconsistently to the discourse on usury prohibition; nonetheless, they mostly ended with prohibition regression. Research limitations/implications The research is confined to the primary legislation sources of the Abrahamic religions: Torah and Talmud in Judaism, Old and New Testaments in Christianity, and Qur’an and Sunnah in Islam, investigating how theologians’ interpretations evolved in response to public pressure to relax the ban on usury. This research expands the finance literature by exploring two crucial variables that might have potentially influenced the theoretical underpinnings of religiously oriented finance and banking systems. By examining the impact of the verses’ clarity and religious authorities’ interventions, the study sheds light on how these factors may have shaped the fundamental principles of religious-based finance within the three Abrahamic religions, particularly when addressing interest-bearing loans. Practical implications The findings of this research may provide valuable insights for practitioners of religious-based finance and banking systems, with particular relevance to Islamic finance, which stands as the most surviving religious-based banking system to date. These insights could contribute to the effective implementation of practices that truly reflect authentic religious principles within financial institutions that claim religious roots within their operations. Originality/value This research advances the development of a comprehensive theory of religious finance, with a particular focus on Islamic finance. It also investigates the historical background that has led to problematic finance practices in most contemporary Islamic financial institutions.

Exploring production centred redistribution to addressing rising inequality

ABSTRACT Policy interventions to address widening inequality have focused on fiscal-based redistributive measures as governments remain less inclined directly to intervene in shaping outcomes within the production system itself. However, low and stagnating tax rates and contractions in social spending have reduced the quantum of resources available to address inequality, curtailing the effectiveness of such policies. Clearly, the pursuit of purely redistributive and other fiscal policies have been insufficient in addressing growing within country wealth and income inequality. Much less work has focused on how social disparities are reproduced through the production, financial and geospatial organisation of the economy and therefore how appropriate policy may be designed to achieve more equitable outcomes. It is therefore crucial to understand how the structure of markets and political institutions produce particular distributional outcomes before the intervention of fiscal authorities.

How does competition policy need to change in a world of artificial intelligence?

Abstract This paper investigates how the advent of artificial intelligence is likely to change competition policy. As economists we tend to view artificial intelligence as a technology that lowers the costs of prediction. In general, we know that lowering costs can affect market structure, though typically in the direction of facilitating competition. In general, the article argues that the traditional tools and frameworks we use in competition policy are robust to the advent of artificial intelligence as a technology that might need competition authority intervention. However, there are serious questions about how easy it will be for competition policy-makers to use their traditional tools to identify bad intent by firms in a world where business decision-making is driven by algorithm.

Financial Services Authority Intervention as an Effort to Protect Bondholders in Corporations Declared Bankrupt by Commercial Court

This article discusses the fulfillment of rights for corporate bondholders declared bankrupt by the Commercial Court. No regulation can provide a comprehensive and integrated benchmark to ensure the protection of the rights of bondholder creditors, making this article important to discuss. This research aims to analyze the status of corporate bondholders declared bankrupt by the Commercial Court as creditors in the liquidation process, evaluate the forms of legal protection applied during the process, and assess the future application of the law in providing certainty of protection for bondholders. This research used normative legal research with statutory, historical, and futuristic approaches. The discussion results are carried out using an analysis perspective emphasizing deductive conclusions. Although corporate bondholders declared bankrupt by the Commercial Court have rights as creditors in the bankruptcy process, the legal protection is still ineffective. A regulatory gap results in uncertainty when implementing protection for bondholders. Revision of the Bankruptcy Law by including regulations regarding bondholders' creditors will provide certainty for the protection of creditors' rights, which can be derived in the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Regulation by enforcing supervision in the bankruptcy process in order to protect the interests of bondholders and ensure the stability of the economic development.

Reforestation for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change in North-Eastern Highlands of Tanzania: Beyond Carbon Sequestration

Reforestation has been emphasized as an authoritative intervention for climate change mitigation because of its carbon storage potential. Reforestation can also play other frequently overlooked, but important, roles in helping society and ecosystems adapt to climate variability and change. For example, reforestation can amend climate-associated impacts of altered hydrological cycles in watersheds, protect coastal areas from increased storms, and provide habitat to reduce the probability of extinction of species under a changing climate. Consequently, reforestation should be managed with both adaptation and mitigation objectives in mind, so as to maximize synergies among these diverse roles, and to avoid trade-offs in which the achievement of one goal is detrimental to another. Management of increased forest cover must also incorporate measures for reducing the direct and indirect impacts of changing climate on reforestation itself. Here, the focus is on ‘climate-smart reforestation’, defined as reforesting for climate change mitigation and adaptation, while ensuring that the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on reforestation are anticipated and minimized.

Collective residential neighbourhoods in Algeria: between reality and planning. A case study of the 800 Housing Units neighbourhood in Batna City

The housing problem, or housing crisis, affecting most Algerian cities has compelled political and executive authorities at all levels (central, regional, and local) to adopt numerous housing policies aimed at reducing the significant gap between the two sides of the housing equation (high demand – low supply). Additionally, the challenge of providing housing units to realize all planned housing projects troubles local officials. Therefore, there has been a trend towards prioritizing collective housing projects to rationalize property consumption and enhance the real estate portfolio of local communities. Batna city has had its share of these collective housing programs, and our research paper focused on its deteriorating reality due to numerous changes affecting both the built and unbuilt environment. This has led to a decline in the quality of life in these neighbourhoods, prompting the intervention of relevant authorities to launch ‘urban improvement’ projects to rectify the imbalances recorded in the urban aspect of most collective residential neighbourhoods, including the 800 Housing Units neighbourhood (800-Unit Neighbourhood) as a good example. The process has been initiated to stop the aforementioned area from a deteriorating and elevate it from poor condition to a better, if not ideal, situation. In conclusion, we recommend that urban laws be activated to halt any illegal alterations or modifications, and above all, that design aspect of collective housing units during the planning phase be considered to align with residents’ preferences before the latter occupy them and make changes, thereby avoiding visual pollution with urban concepts.

Exploring the Effects of the Information Asymmetry on the Card-Debt Crisis

The article aimed to explore the effects of the information asymmetry on the card-debt crisis in Taiwan’s credit card market. The card-debt crisis of the credit cards broke out in Taiwan in 2005. To improve this situation, the financial authorities were forced to intervene in the market. The article employed the documents analysis and collected the related literature and statistical data to construct the information asymmetry model and the proposed hypotheses of the adverse selections and the moral hazards. The results concluded that the card-debt crisis did stem from the information asymmetry, and was alleviated by the intervention of the financial authorities.

Police arrest-related death: about four cases and review of the literature.

Unexpected deaths may occur in individuals during a police arrest. These individuals usually have had both physical and emotional exertion, associated or not with agitation and restraint by police. Further investigations in these cases often show an impregnation with drugs. Autopsy findings may raise medico-legal problems in these cases.We report four cases of deaths during police arrest in which multiple factors contributed to the death. In the first two cases, there was a combination of emotional and physical stress due to police pursuit and, the presence of mechanical asphyxia. We noticed the presence of cannabis and amphetamine; however, we couldn't relate the death to a drug intoxication. In the third case, the deceased lost consciousness when he was arrested by the police with no link to the intervention of law enforcement authorities. Death in this case was due to sepsis complicating endocarditis. The fourth case reports a rare cause of asphyxia that can occur in a police arrest related to a drug package. Death was due to upper airway obstruction in this case.The forensic pathologist should take into consideration every factor when explaining these deaths. Thorough autopsy and investigations are critical to understand the cause and circumstances of death.

Local authority intervention in private renting: from compliance to hardline enforcement

AbstractDrawing on data from two empirical projects concerned with local authority enforcement of standards in the private rented sector, this article argues that there are signs of greater use of formal enforcement approaches, and that these approaches are increasingly ‘hardline’. This finding runs counter to the existing scholarship on regulatory enforcement, which emphasizes securing compliance over formal enforcement. Securing compliance is also integral to the regulatory guidance in this sphere of activity. Further, in the context of cuts to local authority funding and greater local authority demand for private rented stock to meet household needs, the shift to hardline approaches requires explanation. Drawing on Keith Hawkins’ and Peter Manning's theory of legal decision making, which emphasizes consideration of the surround, the field, and the frame, the authors explain how changes to the field, in particular, have encouraged this shift.

Caregiving Experiences of Families of Individuals with Dementia: Caregiving or Elder Abuse?

失智症所產生的困擾行為，使得照顧工作備受挑戰。本研究聚焦於照顧高齡失智症的家庭照顧者，探索失智症家庭照顧情境中衝突與暴力家庭關係的發生脈絡，揭露照顧情境中可能隱含的虐待因素，以及正式支持系統之體制面，與失智症家庭照顧者實際照顧的斷裂經驗。本研究運用深度訪談法，訪談五位照顧失智症者之家庭照顧者，探究其歷經的照顧衝突經驗，採「主題分析法」分析，歸納與整理家庭照顧者對於照顧失智老人的經驗感受與情境脈絡。研究發現如下：其一，相較於失能長者，照顧失智長者須面對不同的困擾行為與每況愈下的病狀，加速照顧量能內耗使照顧衝突不斷發生；其二，失智者與照顧者間存在著雙向暴力，相對人也可能同時是被害人；其三，照顧衝突演變為暴力行為非單一因素引發，當失智症之困擾行為照顧、家庭衝突關係及缺乏家庭支持等多重危險因素的超載，交互影響照顧情境壓力，進而形成潛在照顧暴力脈絡；其四，家庭照顧者制止困擾行為的照顧方式，與情緒失控的不當行為僅一線之隔，取決於照顧者對於照顧衝突情境之調節與因應；其五，期待被理解的家庭照顧者、看見個別照顧情境的問題與需求：家庭照顧暴力情境下公權力的介入並無助於協助家庭後續照顧失智老人，甚至可能標籤化為違逆常倫的家庭照顧者。根據上述研究發現，提出相關實務工作上的建議，並評估現階段對失智症家庭照顧的支持性服務可以進一步改進之處。The disruptive behaviors caused by dementia render caregiving particularly challenging. This study focuses on family caregivers of elderly individuals with dementia, exploring the context in which conflicts and violent family dynamics arise within caregiving situations, and uncovering potential factors of abuse that may be implicitly present in these settings. This study considers the formal support system and the disconnection between this system and the actual experiences of family caregivers of dementia patients. Comprehensive interviews were conducted with five family caregivers of individuals with dementia to investigate their experiences of conflicts in caregiving. Through thematic analysis, the caregivers’ perceptions of their experiences and the contextual dynamics of caregiving are organized and synthesized. The findings are as follows: First, compared with caring for physically disabled elders, caregiving for elderly individuals with dementia involves managing different disruptive behaviors and the progressive worsening of the condition, which accelerates caregiver burnout and may cause frequent conflicts in caregiving. Second, a bidirectional dynamic of violence exists between dementia patients and their caregivers, where the caregiver may be a victim in the relationship. Third, the escalation of conflicts in caregiving into violent behaviors is not triggered by a single factor. An observation of the convergence of dementia-related disruptive behaviors, family conflicts, and insufficient family support shows that these multiple risk factors intensify the stress within caregiving situations, creating potential contexts for abusive caregiving. Fourth, a thin boundary exists between the appropriate caregiving methods for managing disruptive behaviors and inappropriate actions caused by loss of emotional self-control. This boundary depends primarily on the caregiver’s ability to manage and respond to conflicts in caregiving situations. Fifth, family caregivers typically seek understanding and recognition for specific challenges and demands within their caregiving situations. The intervention of public authorities in cases of abusive caregiving does not necessarily support the continued care of elderly dementia patients and may stigmatize the caregiver as behaving contrary to social norms. Through these findings, this study offers practical recommendations and assesses potential improvements to the current support services available to family caregivers of persons with dementia.

The Concept of ‘Inventiveness of Machines’: How Ready is Patent Law to Afford the Creative Inventiveness of Artificial Intelligence?

Making science fiction a reality, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a transformative drive in almost every aspect of human life today. With the advancements of modern technology, AI has acquired the ability to think like humans and create inventions that are economically worthwhile. The concept of ‘inventiveness of machines’ has become a focal point in the field of intellectual property law at present. It has compelled the world to reconsider the parameters of patent law in terms of protecting AI inventors and inventions of AI. Simultaneously, the procurement of patents for inventions of AI has posed challenges not only in the legal field but also in ethical and moral aspects. As AI is gradually becoming an undeniable part of human life, every nation will have to adopt the developments of AI technology into their legal systems sooner or later. Taking the prevailing definitions of ‘inventor’ into account, this research mainly discusses whether machine inventors and human inventors be given equal protection of law or whether there should be different dimensions of protection. This paper also discusses the moral and ethical dilemma of granting legal recognition for AI inventors while examining the capability of existing legal framework including Sri Lanka in accommodating the inventiveness of machines. This research was carried out using mixed method approach. Literature review, qualitative and empirical research methodologies and comparative analysis were incorporated to strengthen the study. The paper concludes by highlighting the need of legislative intervention of competent authorities to reconsider the legal parameters to accommodate the possible challenges waiting to be imposed by inventiveness of machine in future. This paper also introduces the concept of ‘collaborative inventiveness of humans and AI’ and suggests recommendations to amend existing laws in a manner that they afford the technological advancements of modern times.

The intervention of local public authorities and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania: a subnational analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a strong territorial dimension, with a highly asymmetric impact among Romanian counties, depending on pre-existing vulnerabilities, regions' economic structure, exposure to global value chains, specialization, and overall ability to shift a large share of employees to remote working. The aim of this paper is to assess the role of Romanian local authorities during this unprecedented global medical emergency by capturing the changes of public spending at the local level between 2010 and 2021 and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify clusters of Romanian counties that shared similar characteristics in this period, using a panel data quantitative model and hierarchical cluster analysis. Our empirical analysis shows that between 2010-2021, the impact of social assistance expenditures was higher than public investment (capital spending and EU funds) on the GDP per capita at county level. Additionally, based on various macroeconomic and structural indicators (health, labour market performance, economic development, entrepreneurship, and both local public revenues and several types of expenditures), we determined seven clusters of counties. The research contributes to the discussion regarding the increase of economic resilience but also to the evidence-based public policies implementation at local level.

Barriers to routine screening for intimate partner violence during pregnancy in Nigeria

Barriers to routine screening for intimate partner violence during pregnancy in Nigeria

A Study of Teacher Intervention in Guiding Kindergarten Middle School Role Play

Games contribute to the development of children and reflect the level of development of children[ 1]. In kindergarten game activities, role play is popular among children, and it plays a significant role in the healthy development of children. During the process of participating in role-playing, young children's bodies and minds are fully developed and perfected. Middle class children are in a special transitional period, unlike small class children who do not have much understanding of roles, nor are they mature enough like large class children. Therefore, middle class children need more guidance from teachers. This paper observes and records the intervention and guidance of teachers in the role play of the middle class in Kindergarten A. Through analyzing the identity, methods, time, and attitude of teachers'intervention and guidance, it is found that there are four aspects of teachers'intervention and guidance in the role play: the teacher is mainly a director, and he or she provides authoritative intervention and guidance; the teacher's intervention is inappropriate; the teacher's attitude is not positive; and the time of teacher's intervention is unreasonable. In response to these issues, it is proposed that teachers should pay attention to games and provide guidance at the right time; Teachers should choose appropriate methods for guidance; Teachers should transform. from “directors” to “players”; Respect children's willingness to play and give full play to their freedom.

Heterogeneity in the nominal exchange rate response to oil price shocks in oil-exporting countries: a new episode of the ‘fear of floating’?

ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose that the heterogeneity in the nominal exchange rate response to oil price shocks in oil-exporting countries with flexible regimes is influenced by monetary authority interventions. Thus, we identify three structural oil price shocks, and we estimate pooled OLS regressions for a panel of 27 oil-exporting economies. The results show that economies with higher international reserve accumulation experience lower exchange rate appreciation during oil-specific demand shocks.

Quantification of uncontrolled oil pollution of the East Jiu

In the current global context, where drinking water sources are constantly diminishing, surface water pollution has become an environmental problem that requires rapid action to conserve drinking water sources and protect aquatic biodiversity. Water pollution has many causes and can be caused by nitrates, detergents, pesticides, heavy metals, petroleum products and many other harmful substances that come from different sources. In this paper we analyzed the pollution of surface waters, respectively of the water course - Jiul de Est, with petroleum products, considering that in its immediate vicinity there are several points of sale and storage of motor fuels, but also pollution with petroleum products that come from cars that transit the roads in the vicinity of East Jiu.In order to be able to quantify the degree of oil pollution of the Eastern Jiu, water samples were taken in order to analyze them with the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer determination method. The purpose of the work is to determine whether the degree of oil pollution of the Eastern Jiu is an environmental problem that requires the intervention of the competent authorities in order to reduce the effects that this type of pollution can have.

Reforma kalendarza w Cerkwi prawosławnej w Polsce w latach 1923-1925

The decision to reform the calendar in the Orthodox Church was made by Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory VII. The new style was to be introduced on March 10, 1924. The patriarch's resolution was met with mixed feelings, opening a period of stormy synodal discussions in local Orthodox Churches. In Poland, the calendar issue turned into a political problem due to the intervention of government authorities in the internal life of the Church. The Orthodox population treated the above decision as a violation of religious freedoms. The lack of reception of the synodal act of April 12, 1924 regarding the adoption of a new style by Orthodox believers in Poland forced the Holy Synod to change its position on this matter. At the meeting of August 16, 1924, the Orthodox episcopate decided to repeal the previous resolution on the mandatory use of the new style wherever the faithful required it. The issue of the reform of the Church calendar has proven that when making such decisions, the Polish government and the Church hierarchy must take into account the position of the faithful. As a result, the Orthodox Church remained in the old style throughout the country, with the exception of the capital city of Warsaw.

"New Regionalism" and Its Implementation in Ukrainian Legislation: The Terminology and the Political Implications

This paper investigates the terminology associated with "New regionalism" and its integration into Ukrainian legislation, analyzing its political and administrative implications. "New regionalism" is a contemporary administrative-territorial reform, with a focus on the principle of subsidiarity, which minimizes central authority intervention in local affairs. While not explicitly present in its regulations, certain subsidiarity elements are part of Ukrainian law. The study explores the adoption and implementation of "New regionalism" principles and terminology within the country's legal discourse. The second aim of the study was to examine how "New regionalism" could potentially influence the political dynamics and administrative structures, particularly in the context of decentralization efforts. By employing systematic and comparative methodologies alongside principles of dialectical analysis, the study offers insights into the evolving landscape of Ukrainian political and administrative terminology alongside its structures, which might play a crucial role in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk) During NEP Years: Organization of City Government System

The article discusses the activities of various levels of government structures (city council, gubernatorial, district and regional executive and party bodies) in managing EkaterinburgSverdlovsk during the NEP years. It is established that during this period, the central government was faced with a choice between centralism or decentralization in local governance and the delineation of powers between councils and different levels of regional government. It is noted that in practice, a multilevel system of city management was formed, which had both positive and negative aspects. It is shown that on the one hand, in conditions of weak city authority and a shortage of city budget, the intervention of regional authorities in urban issues and financial injections from their side allowed for the successful resolution of acute urban economic issues. On the other hand, such a system of power significantly limited the authority of the city council, pushing it to other government structures. As a result, the author concludes that the city council was not a full-fledged, independent administrative unit, and its competence in managing the city was significantly limited. This situation is explained by the fact that the main decisions regarding the directions of city development were made by regional authorities, which did not always positively affect the effectiveness of urban management.

International Law Protection in Cyberspace Against Ransomware and Experience of Vietnam

Abstract Amongst various cyberattacks, ransomware adversely affects the business operation as the malware locks the computer or data, and menaces to keep it locked unless a ransom is transferred. In a young tech market like Vietnam, cyberattacks, including ransomware, cause serious concerns for State and non-State actors. They can take place anywhere since cyberspace has no physical border to hold them back. This raises a query about the application of international law in cyberspace, especially when the ransomware hits non-State actors. In such cases, the sovereignty principle, having a significant relation with the jurisdiction, underpins the intervention of national authorities and regulation of ransomware. Vietnam’s government has intensified their efforts to stop the cyberattacks by cooperating with other countries and establishing a legal framework based on the international law principle.