Terms Of Equality Research Articles

Revisiting Zakat with a distribution of weighted Shapley value

PurposeThis paper aims to extend the Shapley value (SV) into a discussion of Zakat, a Pillar of Islam. Lloyd Shapley was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2012. This study shows that their relationship is significant for all nations, that of levelling up. An important but neglected paper by Datta (1939) showed insights provided by the Power Law, or as it is sometimes called, the Pareto distribution, into the role of Zakat in raising the income of all above the subsistence level. The Pareto distribution describes the prevailing tendency. The SV illustrates the interdependence perspective of Zakat with the Pareto distribution, wealth, income and poverty. Payoffs apply equally to both givers and receivers. For this study’s purposes, payoffs are considered as transferable utilities. They are formed by individuals who willingly cooperate in society rather than atomistic individuals who act independently. Zakat represents the recognition that society needs to be cooperative rather than individualistic; people cooperate in groups or societies to create value. SV implications and axioms are evaluated with an illustration.Design/methodology/approachThis study extends Datta’s approach by introducing distribution weights into the SV. The authors set out the concept of weighted Shapley values that retain the elements of randomness and marginal contribution to a coalition contained in pure/true SVs and weights that follow a ley-Pareto distribution. This paper is a viewpoint work that relies primarily on the author’s qualitative interpretation.FindingsThe findings indicate that individual members of a coalition make multiple contributions that are often unrewarded. The contribution of one member of a coalition is dependent upon the contribution of others. The measure of contributions is payoffs, which have both monetary and non-monetary aspects; transferable payoffs or utilities are usually assumed. Furthermore, the significant agents in society or an organisation are stakeholders rather than the usual categories: managers, staff, shareholders, etc.Practical implicationsContextualising these concepts within the Islamic values and principles that guide Zakat administration is crucial to ensure that the distribution of Zakat funds is fair, equitable and meets the needs of all eligible recipients. By applying these concepts appropriately, Zakat administrators can ensure that the Zakat system functions effectively and fulfils its religious obligation.Originality/valueThe novelty of this paper is that it blends the SV and the idea behind Zakat by introducing the idea of alternatives of Shapley weights. The link between the institution of Zakat and SV in terms of equality, poverty elimination and wealth distribution should be at the top of the research agenda.

The Impact of Recent Economic Crises on Income Inequality and the Risk of Poverty in Greece

We consider the impact of the two recent economic crises, one that resulted from the great recession of 2007–2009 and one following the COVID-19 pandemic, on income inequality and the risk of poverty in Greece. To this end, we also investigate the key macroeconomic variables affecting the Greek income distribution. We find that alternative measures of inequality and relative poverty have deteriorated during the years of crises, implying that the country’s response to economic shocks has been particularly harmful for its more disadvantaged citizens. Regarding the variables affecting the income distribution, we show that income inequality and the risk of poverty increase with growth, implying that the benefits of growth, and burdens of recession, are distributed unequally among members of the Greek society. Moreover, inequality appears to increase with unemployment and decrease with the share of wages and salaries in total income. This finding highlights the importance of labour market regulations and workers’ welfare for attaining equality. Finally, we provide evidence that, during pre-election periods, income inequality is reduced, meaning that the political budget cycles, which are characteristic of the Greek economy, generate gains in terms of equality, but these gains are short-lived and mainly benefit the middle bracket of the income distribution.

Colombian politicians and Twitter usage: on the path to gender parity

ABSTRACT This article aims to determine whether there are gender-based differences in using Twitter. For this purpose, 518,156 tweets from 280 Colombian Congress members were analysed. The study compares the number of tweets, audience, influence and efficacy of their messages on Twitter. Despite Colombia being below average in terms of political equality, research shows that a gender balance exists between Colombian male and female politicians on this social media channel. Members of the Colombian Congress use Twitter similarly, regardless of their gender: they are comparably influential in terms of volume, amplification, audience and efficacy of their messages. In fact, no significant gender differences exist regarding audience figures or amplification. However, the data show remarkable disparities regarding political party affiliation and ideological beliefs rather than gender.

Ethics and Politics of Induced Abortion and the Sanctity of Human Life

This research work argues that induced abortion as a means of birth control is morally unacceptable. Although, the question of abortion is being considered as a means of birth control but this position not only has generated much controversy from antiquity to the postmodern era, it has also politicized many democratic societies. Proponents of induced abortion couch it in terms of gender equality and human right of women to choose or what to do in matters that their body. This too has presented us with political and ethical quandary. The problematic as conceptualized in the title is embedded in moral questions implied in these questions, among others, regarding the morality of induced abortion and the politicization of the ethical question. What makes one’s choice right or wrong? Is it one’s choice that makes an act right? Isn’t it first, that an act is judged right according to certain ethical norms that makes the action morally justified? Thus, some ethicists and pro-abortion advocates argue first, that the fetus is mere potency in the act of becoming human, and can be terminated at no moral consequence; secondly, that a woman has the right terminate the fetus as means of birth control. The researchers adopted the qualitative research design and used the expository, critical and analytic methods in the study to bring to the fore the crux of the matter. Major ethical theories are explored, critical questions raised and moral implications of exponents’ views exposed. The researchers came up with the conclusion that though human life is inviolable, even that of the unborn child. However, applying the Catholic Church’s moral teaching on the principle of double effect, the work avers that there could be extenuating circumstances, when induced abortion can be indirectly willed, such as in the case of treatment of a cancerous uterus, ectopic pregnancy, etc. Contrarily, it is the position of the researchers that politicizing abortion on the ground of the wellbeing of the couple, the human right of the pregnant woman to choose, for political capitals, or for eugenics reasons is intrinsically evil and thus acceptable. Politicizing induced abortion as a means of birth control has far reaching implications on ethics and the dignity of life. The paper strongly recommends that concerted efforts be put in place for educating married couples on the ethical implications of human sexuality. In this direction those in government should synergize with the Catholic Church’s magisterium on this issue and enact laws that protect the rights of the unborn child.

CURRENT STATE OF GENDER EQUALITY ASSURANCE IN UKRAINE: THE REGULATION-AND-LEGAL ASPECT

The article is devoted to analyzing the state of gender equality assurance in Ukraine. On the basis of studying the positive European and world experience, the expediency in assuring practical formation of state policies on gender equality principles is proved. Also, efficiency of collective management style concerning support of social institutions’ stability is substantiated. The theoretical and methodological foundations of the research disclose the legal regulation of state gender policies in Ukraine, which is made through regulating-and-legal acts of two levels: the supranational, and the national. The goal of the article is to analyze the current state of gender equality in Ukraine and to offer ways to improve and develop the national level of the legal base of the state to regulate its gender policies. In the research, the legislation of Ukraine is viewed in terms of gender equality, as well as regulating and legal documents that fixate the state government’s position concerning the assurance of gender rights. The outcomes of studying the Gender Gap Index with the related ranking of the countries of the world by the equality of men and women index both in Ukraine and abroad are provided. Proposals are offered as to recognition of the need and urgency of forming a legislation which would foster the fixation and promotion of the gender equality principle by way of improvement and development of the national level of the legal base of a state.

Education in the BRICS countries and the likely impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

One of the key features of the contemporary world is the project of massive global education expansion, driven by high expectations related to the role of education as the most powerful instrument available to humanity to meet the challenges of the contemporary era. However, three quarters of a century after the beginning of this global education expansion project, it is still far from proper completion, facing immense challenges in terms of quality, inclusiveness and equality. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated and accentuated the deficiencies of this project. The present position paper claims that the experience of the BRICS education systems during the COVID-19 pandemic presents a valuable lesson for the rest of the world. The BRICS countries were able to provide equitable quality education for all, and also ensure that education contributed to their economic development and economic development of the Global South at large. This paper argues that the pandemic presents an opportunity and a compelling need to restructure education globally, developing education models suitable for the Global South. The constellation of BRICS countries, as the vanguard of the Global South, has a crucial role to play.

Sports Participation and Beliefs about Male Dominance: A Cross-National Analysis of Sexist Gender Ideologies

To fill the gap in empirical research on the relationship between sexist gender ideologies and sports participation, I examined how sports participation affects the endorsement of sexist gender ideologies by men and women and how country-level gender inequalities moderate this relationship. For the analysis, I used cross-national survey data from the World Values Survey and the European Values Study, including observations collected between 2005 and 2016 on 57,817 men and 61,080 women from 74 countries that vary in terms of gender equality, religiosity, modernization, and economic development. My findings show that when controlling for sociodemographic factors and between-country differences in sexist gender ideologies, men who are sports club members endorse sexist gender ideologies to a significantly greater degree than men who are not sports club members. This finding is independent of the prevalence of gender inequalities in a country. Furthermore, in very gender-inegalitarian countries, women who are active sports club members tend to hold less sexist gender ideologies than women who are not sports club members or are not active members, while they do not differ substantially in the endorsement of sexist gender ideologies in relatively egalitarian countries.

Automation technologies and the risk of substitution of women: Can gender equality in the institutional context reduce the risk?

This study investigates how the institutional context in terms of gender equality (in general and in the education and work components) affects the risk of substitution faced by European women, i.e., their risk of being replaced by automation technologies. To this aim, the risk of substitution is estimated by applying the task-based approach and by considering which skills cannot be automated (i.e., perception and manipulation, creative intelligence, and social intelligence). Then, the influence of the institutional context on the risk of substitution is evaluated. European women face a slightly lower risk of substitution than men (0.5755 versus 0.5816). In institutional contexts where gender equality is high, women and men face a higher risk of substitution, but the gender gap in this risk increases in favour of women, who face a significantly lower risk than men. Since automation reduces the general gap women face in society and gender equality in the institutional context contributes to reducing this gap, European policies should promote gender equality in the institutional context to foster a narrower gender gap following the adoption of automation technologies.

Evolution of Money from Stones to Digital Blocks: Transformation of Value

This study examines the evolutionary route of money and discusses its transformation with increasing digitalization. Although economic thought has focused on different topics and employed different analyses throughout history, concepts such as value and justice have always been part of the discussion. Approaches regarding the functions of money have also changed with digitalization and new possibilities have emerged regarding its impact on social structure. As central banks are also joining this journey, which started with bitcoin using blockchain technology, it is of great importance that the practices to be implemented eliminate concerns raised in the past and are functional in terms of equality and justice. This paper discusses the current framework, along with important themes in economic history and the development of decentralized technologies that aim to alter functions of money. The opportunities and potential risks are identified and possible scenarios for the future are discussed in conclusion.

The Communıcatıon of Turkısh Femınısts wıth Socıety ın the Years of Transıtıon from the Ottoman Empıre to the Republıc of Turkey

Women, who had an important power and respected status in state administration in pre-Islamic Turkish states, were later excluded from social life in Ottoman society. Especially after the Tanzimat Edict, the daughters of elite families began to take a prominent role in the defense of women's rights. Women's associations and feminist newspapers established in the Ottoman Empire, brought the women's movement and women's demands to the agenda of social life. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey significant efforts were made to ensure that women could receive the same education as men and participate in the social life on an equal basis with men. With the adoption of the Turkish Civil Code in 1926, significant progress was made in terms of equality between women and men in the family and social life. In 1934, Turkish women became legally equal to men in politics, even before many European countries.

Gender Equality and Authoritarian Regimes: New Directions for Research

There are competing global trends in terms of gender equality. International concern with gender inequality is significant. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000), and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (2015), among other instruments, pushed countries to increase women’s access to decision-making and basic rights such as education, paid labor, and health care. Yet more recently, there has been a “backlash” against progress in gender equality (Berry, Bouka, and Kamuru 2021; Chenoweth and Marks 2022; Piscopo and Walsh 2020; Roggeband and Krizsán 2018).

Analysis of Archetypes to Determine Time Use and Workload Profiles of Spanish University Professors

Allocation of time use is important to develop appropriate policies, especially in terms of gender equality. Individual well-being depends on many factors, including how time is spent. Therefore, knowing and analysing the time use and workload of academic staff is relevant for academic policy making. We analyse the responses of 703 Spanish academic staff regarding different activities of paid work and household work (unpaid). We use an innovative machine learning technique in this field, archetype analysis, which we introduce step by step while exploring our data. We identify five profiles, and we examine gender inequalities. The findings indicate that there is a higher prevalence of women in the profiles with a greater workload in household activities and teaching-related activities, but the prevalence is the same in the profile with a greater workload in research activities.

Prenatal care and human rights: Addressing the gap between medical and legal frameworks and the experience of women in Brazil.

Access to quality and affordable healthcare is central to the fulfilment of women's reproductive and sexual health needs and rights. For this reason, the World Health Organization declared access to appropriate healthcare services during pregnancy and childbirth a fundamental women's right. Prenatal care is a recognized human right to women's health in Brazil, as declared by the 1988 Constitution and many Brazilian policies. However, implementing the rights to health in Brazil presents a fundamental performance gap between legal rights and their delivery concerning reproductive health. Through extensive fieldwork including focus groups, interviews with women and participate observation in two municipalities in northeastern Brazil, this article addresses these issues and explores women's lived experience of access to and their fulfilment of the right to health regarding prenatal healthcare. We offer and account of the experience of women regarding what they identified as barriers that trample their right to health, that is: a) limited personnel and medical equipment as a perception of neglect; b) timely delivery of services: time matters for perception and experience of rights; c) misinformation as a barrier to the exercise of health rights; and d) socioeconomic barriers. These barriers particularly affect the right of women in rural communities, with lower socioeconomic levels and education, as well as brown and black women, from an intersectionality perspective, who are already at greater health risk and inadequate prenatal care. As such, we argue there is a performance gap between what the normative and legal frameworks encourage the health system to do and what the system actually provides in terms of access, equality, respect and continuity of treatment amongst certain groups in society whose right to health are denied while their health risks increase.

Ideas for improving diversity and inclusion in acoustics

Diversity within the acoustic profession in the UK is gradually widening in general, but there is still a significant need for improvement in terms of inclusion, diversity and equality. In order to address this need the UK Institute of Acoustics (IOA) has recently established a working group to examine the current situation within the Institute and within the wider profession in the UK. This paper will provide a summary of the current membership demographics of the IOA to provide a benchmark for improvement. Examples of successful initiatives from other national acoustical societies will be provided and ideas for improving the numbers and experience of underrepresented people in the IOA will be discussed.

Post-Colonial Indian Woman: Journey from Subjugation to Emancipation

In terms of emancipation, gender equality, female individuality and identity have become prominent themes in Indian feminist writings in the recent decades. The literary canon is dominated by men in most post-colonial countries. Patriarchal intellectuals did not pay serious attention to early feminist writings and ridiculed their radical ideas regarding women's freedom. It has become a natural social evil that a woman should not think about her freedom in India. This paper explores journey from subjugation to emancipation of Indian woman. Before independence of India, the Indian woman is not given higher education, not given social and political rights, not given economic security and she has to be dumb to ask anything for her existence. Unlike men, Indian feminist writers have been able to shine their subtle talents in the literary world. Indian feminist writers gave a new spirit to the Indian woman with the inspiring works of radical female protagonists in their novels. These works gave Indian woman new ideas, socio-political rights and economic freedom and she gained great confidence to stand with a man to show her influence in all walks of life.

Beda Czcigodny o klasztorach mieszanych na Wyspach Brytyjskich (Historia Ecclesiastica, III–IV w.)

The system of double monasteries, or monasteries for both men and women, is as old as that of Christian monasticism itself. The double monastery in its simplest form was that organization said to have been founded in the fourth century by St. Pachomius, an Egyptian monk. This settlement soon became a proper nunnery under the control of the superior of the monks, who delegated elderly men to care for its discipline. Through the ages, double monasteries comprising communities of both men and women dwelling in contiguous establishments, united under the rule of one superior, and using one church in common for their liturgical offices. It’s cannot be stated with any certainty when the system found its way into the West. At the opening of the sixth century, double monasteries existed in Gaul. St. Caesarius of Arles persuaded his sister Caesaria to join him at Arles, to preside over the women who had gathered there to live in monastery under his guidance. Later the system of double monasteries in Gaul was widely propagated by St. Columbanus and his followers. The double monasteries seem always to have flourished wherever the fervor of the Irish missionaries penetrated. In a short time, British Isles were became covered with similar dual establishments, of which Whitby, Coldingham, Ely, Sheppey, Minster, Wimborne, Barking and Kildare are prominent examples. Abbesses ruled these houses.Bede Venerabilis in his work Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, gives much information about double monasteries and the most famous abbesses. Princesses, royal widows, sometimes reigning queens, began to found monasteries, where they lived on terms of equality with the daughters of ceorls and peasants. Bede writes that from the beginning of Christianity in England, the women, and particularly these royal women, were as active and persevering in furthering the Faith, as their men. Hild from Whitby, Aethelthryth (Etheldreda) from Ely, Aethelburh (Ethelburga) from Barking are the most luminous examples of powerful abbesses. A system of double monasteries was always an object of solicitude and strict legislation at the hands of ecclesiastical authority. Many synodal and conciliar decrees recognized its dangers, and ordered the strictest surveillance of all communications passing between monks and nuns. The Norman invasions of the eight and ninth centuries destroyed the double monasteries of British Isles and, when they were restored, it was for one sex only, instead of for a dual community.

Implementing “Two Peoples, One Future”: Conceptualizing Mutual Self-Determination in Israel-Palestine

The prevalent conception of the Israel-Palestinian “peace process” has long outlived any expectation for its success, and has provided cover for Israel’s de facto capacity to dictate terms. That framework fetishizes the two-state solution, mistaking the means (partition) for the end (mutual self-determination), while conceptually fragmenting the Palestinian political community so as to deprive it of its equal standing. Practical, moral, and legal considerations require nothing less than a re-imagining of the project of Jewish self-determination in Israel/ Palestine to accommodate the realization of Palestinian national rights on terms of equality. At the same time, it is errant and counterproductive for critics to treat the essence of that project – distinguishable both from the false universalism that marked the Labor Zionist era and from the unadorned ethno-nationalism that marks the contemporary practice of the Israeli state – as reducible to a colonialism fit to be vanquished. A consociational approach to the conflicting national aspirations promises a more productive engagement with the practical requisites of a mutual self-determination consistent with international legal standards.

Social Equality and Online Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought significant transformations in various social processes aspects of Indonesia. Prior to the pandemic, face-to-face interactions in physical spaces were the norm in most social processes. With the onset of Covid-19, a shift towards virtual platforms has become prevalent. This research focuses on the transformation of the learning process in Indonesia from classrooms to online learning environments. The virtual learning process from home requires access to essential facilities and supportive guidance from teachers or mentors. The concern addressed in this paper is the emergence of social polarization in terms of equality, justice, and inclusion. While some community groups have access to the necessary resources and can participate in online learning, others face barriers and are unable to do so. To analyze, researchers adopt a conceptual framework emphasizing social equality, justice, and inclusion, all of which underscore the importance of providing equal opportunities for all citizens to exercise their educational rights. The research approach is qualitative, involving a review of scholarly literature on equality, justice, and inclusion. This study concludes that not all students have access to the internet, electricity, and devices. This has an impact on the occurrence of inequality in the educational process.

How Southern is Tunisia? Gender Equality in Tunisian Constitutionalism

Tunisia can be considered as a recent example for gendered constitutionalism in the Global South. In 2014, the country adopted a new constitution in the context of the so-called Arab Spring and enshrined far-reaching women's rights in it. With the enactment of the newest Constitution in august 2022, Tunisia is in a process of rupture with the previous constitutional order. In terms of gender equality, the Constitution of 2022 largely takes over the provisions from the previous constitution of 2014. However, the concrete political context is likely to be less favourable to gender equality. The Tunisian constitutional experience has the potential to widen the global gendered constitutional conversation while not disregarding seemingly typical southern aspects. One southern aspect is certainly that the Tunisian experience of gendered constitutionalism has so far received too little attention. The historical perspective shows that the so-called women's question recurs again and again as a strategy for identity, power and state-building. The struggle for gender equality is specific, a struggle à la tunisienne, so to speak, but it is embedded in the overarching historical (colonial) and regional context. This applies, for example, to the role of Islam in the legal and constitutional order - as a possible restriction of gender equality, but also as an expression of religious freedom or as an identarian aspect. These aspects might be rather southern. Nevertheless, religious arguments and patriarchal nationalisms are possible limitations to gender equality globally. The Tunisian case shows that female participation in constitutional processes and a gendered constitutional history are important factors for gender equality. The adopted constitutional arrangements can promote gender equality. However - and this is not a Global South specificity - the decisive factor is their implementation; social, economic and democratic factors are of paramount importance. The new Tunisian constitution of 2022 illustrates this impressively.

Defining the rule of law in terms of liberty and equality

Defining the rule of law in terms of liberty and equality