Abstract Background Successful outpatient management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) significantly lowers the morbidity and mortality of patients. However, 29.5% of children under five years of age default from outpatient management of SAM in the Tooro subregion in southwestern Uganda, and little is known about the associated factors. This study assessed the determinants of default from the outpatient management of SAM among caregivers of children aged 6–59 months. It explored their experiences and perceptions of SAM and its management at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital in the Tooro subregion, Uganda. Methods A mixed methods study was conducted among caregivers of children who received outpatient management between January 2018 and August 2022. Cases were selected purposively, whereas controls were randomly selected. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and exported to STATA 14 for analysis. Logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of default from the outpatient management of SAM. Fourteen caregivers and five health workers were purposively selected and interviewed, with informed consent. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using Atlas. Ti 9 software. Ethical approval was sought from the Makerere School of Public Health Research & Ethics Committee (Protocol ID: 087). Results A total of 88 cases and 111 controls were recruited. Several factors, including being Protestant (AOR = 2.60; 95% CI: 1.12–5.90), being Orthodox/Seventh-day Adventist (AOR = 3.65; 95% CI: 1.47–9.10), high transport costs (AOR = 3.30; 95% CI: 1.59–6.80), lacking perceived susceptibility to other illnesses (AOR = 3.90; 95% CI: 1.84–8.30), lacking health education (AOR = 3.97; 95% CI: 1.1–14.30) and lacking self-efficacy (AOR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.16–0.66), were significantly associated with default from the outpatient management of SAM. Most caregivers reported being afraid of the possible consequences of default and agreed that SAM management was beneficial. However, their confidence in adhering to management was undermined by several factors, including transport costs, distance to the health facility, and discrimination. Conclusion Being Protestant, Orthodox/Seventh-day Adventist, high transport costs, lack of perceived susceptibility to other illnesses, lack of health education, and lack of self-efficacy were essential determinants of default from outpatient management of SAM. To reduce the default rate, stakeholders must strengthen peripheral sites and community health workers to bring SAM management services closer to the community. Additionally, a closer examination of the role of religious beliefs in default from the outpatient management of SAM is needed.
Nutrition. Foods and food supply, Food processing and manufacture
Most African countries today are at the verge of collapse as a result of corruption and failed leadership, occasioned by imperial conquest of Africa by the West. This led to the steady but gradual erosion of African cultural values and bred self-centred elites who saw nothing good in their African roots. This paper takes a literary journey into Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Petals of Blood and Wizard of the Crow to examine how he has continued to criticise African landers and the elites and how he has educated and aroused the consciousness of the peasants and workers of Kenya and Africa in general to rise up and protest neo-colonial leaders. Adopting the library-based research and content analysis of the two primary texts, this paper employs literary Marxism as interpretative ideology to examine Ngugi's stance on neo-colonialism, corruption and protest in his literary ouvres as the only way to check both individual and community excesses of the African elites in modern times. The findings of this paper show that Ngugi is not just re-telling history, neither is he an unbeliever but he uses his literature as a tool for raising national consciousness of the masses that their present socio-political and economic conditions lie with their corrupt leaders. He advocates for mass action of the workers and peasants of Kenya and Africa to hold their leaders accountable.
In Flemish official (state) schools, students can opt for Religious Education (RE) in one of the six recognized religions or in non-denominational ethics. Islamic RE is also part of the offer. Recently, new curricula and teaching methods have been developed for this school subject. In this contribution, these curricula and teaching methods will be analyzed. In addition, attention will be given to the new plans of the Flemish Government to reorganize RE in official schools. In these schools, the default position is to separate students during RE classes on the basis of their religion/worldview and to teach them into one particular tradition. This model is to a limited extent supplemented by common lessons ‘interreligious dialogue’, wherein students learn, among other things, about different religions/worldviews. This model could also be reversed: common classes about various (non-)religious traditions as the default position and separate education in one's own tradition as an additional option. Such a model can be found, among other places, in public schools in the Netherlands. I will argue why this model could also be inspiring for Flanders, both for Muslims and for non-Muslims.
ABSTRACTAccording to Arti Dhand, it can be argued that all Indian ethics have been primarily virtue ethics. Many have indeed jumped on the virtue bandwagon, providing prima facie interpretations of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist canons in virtue terms. Others have expressed firm skepticism, claiming that virtues are not proven to be grounded in the nature of things and that, ultimately, the appeal to virtue might just well be a mere façon de parler. In this paper, we aim to advance the discussion of Indian virtue ethics. Our intent is not to provide a catch‐all interpretation of the different Indian schools. Our goal is, more modestly, to offer a theory of virtues in Indian philosophies, as a framework for theorists and interpreters who see these diverse traditions as amenable to systematic virtue analysis. Our theory grounds virtues in the reality of genuine moral dispositions and in a system of beliefs where morality is understood as transformative in nature.
AbstractChastity is one of the moral concepts that, although it is discussed in the Greek philosophical ethics as one of the four virtues, it has a special place in the system of values of religious ethics. The Qur'an pays special attention to the issue of chastity and its role in personal and social health, and it has been specifically addressed in some surahs, including Surah Noor. By examining the place of chastity in Surah Noor, it can be seen that God has mentioned individual and social chastity and the means of obtaining it in connected and related verses.Types of chastity cover different aspects of human life and men and women are called to observe chastity and self-restraint both in their looks and in their speech. Also, the strategies to spread this moral virtue in the society can be used from the verses of Surah Noor.After stating the types of chastity in Surah Noor about chastity, the present research has analyzed them in a descriptive-analytical way and by using library data and interpretation method, especially the interpretation opinions of Ayatollah Javadi Amoli. From the conducted investigations, it is concluded that according to Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli, chastity is a sensual state that prevents lust from overpowering a person and is also used in instinctive and financial matters. and practical solutions in learning and spreading chastity; Trying to refine the self is to hide the sexual relations of spouses, to promote the culture of marriage and to have the ability to control sensual desires.
The article reflects on the possible reasons for the silence about Stanisław Lem’s Jewish background. This was not an isolated matter in Poland. Thus, the article treats Lem’s example as a case study of the troubled identity of Polish Jews after the Second World War in Poland. First, the article considers the situation of a Jewish writer in the face of the – predominantly Catholic – society’s anti-Semitism, then the article analyzes the concept of allosemitism introduced by Artur Sandauer, and finally, the article considers Stanisław Lem’s statements about himself. The author concludes with the question of whether Lem can be called a prophet of extra-religious sources of ethics and freedom.
Sitti Fatimah Tarimana, Rahmi, Muhammad Arash bin Mahmusin
Isbat nikah (isbat of marriage) is needed by some people who do not have a marriage book, because with the approval of the Judge's decision, the party applying for isbat can register their marriage book. This study aims to reveal the judge's consideration in deciding the isbat nikah case of marriage of minors at the Bulukumba Religious Court. This empirical research was conducted at the Bulukumba Religious Court. The research approach is juridical-normative by observing the decision. Data collection techniques in this study are interviews, observation and documentation. The results of the study indicate that the Judge's consideration in deciding the Isbat Nikah Case for Marriage of Minors remains based on Law Number 1 of 1974 on the amendment of Law Number 16 of 2019. Whatever the reason for the litigant in applying for Isbat Nikah when violating the existing law, the judge has the right to decide the case accordingly. The causes of child marriage in Bulukumba Regency are caused by a number of factors, including economy, education and socio-culture. Socio-cultural factors are more often used as a reason by perpetrators of early marriage, with following in the footsteps of parents as the most frequently mentioned factor. An understanding of the changes in the age of marriage rules in Indonesia must be socialised so that there are no violations of the marriage law.
Historically, women have remained subjects of subordination by their male counterparts despite their critical social role. While they have continuously been entangled in the web of patriarchy, some of them, however, have been able to use their agency to re-assert themselves and influence how the world should positively think about women. This article interrogated the innovative ways in which the woman of Shunem and the Zvishavane women of faith of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ), have been at the forefront, proactively exercising their agency to confront the death-dealing and life-diminishing forces confronting them. Countering their portrayal as persons who simply did what was expected of them as women, this article recognised and celebrated their indispensable contributions towards the welfare of their communities. Grounded on narrative analysis, this article engaged the woman of Shunem’s narrative and re-read it from her vantage point. Using a hermeneutic of identification, the narrative was put side by side with that of the RCZ women of faith. The overarching framework underpinning the study was that of the feminist liberating-seeking framework. In the pursuit of this framework, cultural and religious powers that influence the exploitation of women are acknowledged and effort is made to transform the society from the oppressive system of patriarchy so as to liberate women in particular. A re-reading of the woman of Shunem’s narrative showed that she was a woman of great character. Despite the couple being childless, she never allowed community expectations to put pressure on her as she expressed contentment with her situation. Her greatness also is reflected through her hospitality, self-abnegation and determination. While what she did, is to some extent comparable to what RCZ women have done and still do today, she admittedly was a step ahead. As such, her tenacity can be used as a leverage to influence the majority of women still caught up in the web of patriarchy in this contemporary world. The long-standing perception of women as capable only of doing what is expected of them, needs to be challenged and biblical passages reinterpreted to ensure the liberation of everyone, especially women due to their vulnerability.
Contribution: This research contributed to the scope of In die Skriflig in that it brought on board the experiences of women in the RCZ against the background of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8–37. In a scientific way, the research argued for the recognition of these often-forgotten heroes.
Practical Theology, Practical religion. The Christian life
Quakers express their faith by refraining from war, often actively opposing it. In modern Quakerism, this is known as the ‘Peace Testimony’. This commonly has a negative and positive construal: it is seen as a testimony against war, and as a testimony to the possibility and goodness of peaceful lives. This paper offers an account of how these aspects of the Peace Testimony are unified in and grounded on a corporate experience of being led by God into a way of life that renders war unthinkable. My goal is to make sense of Friends’ activism in light of their religious experience and to introduce some ideas from Quaker practical theology to philosophers and theologians more generally. I begin by considering the role of what Rachel Muers calls ‘negative testimony’ in Quaker peace work, arguing that we risk misunderstanding this work if we do not see the unity of the Peace Testimony’s negativity and Friends’ positive peace-making endeavors. I then turn to the Testimony’s ground, which I claim can be nothing other than an experience of direct revelation. I conclude by arguing that prominent objections to pacifism, such as Elizabeth Anscombe’s, hold little weight against the Peace Testimony.
Every 1st night of Shawwal (Eid al-fithr of Muslims) in Perbaungan District, Serdang Bedagai Regency, North Sumatra, there have been a takbir parade with decorative cars and DJ music. Therefore, the author is interested in examining this problem from the perspective of Muhammadiyah and Al-Washliyah figures in Perbaungan District. This article is field research methods by conducting interviews to some religious figures in Perbaungan district. This article found that the event organizers forbid the use of DJ music in the regulation. Apart from that, the opinion of the Perbaungan District Muhammadiyah figures tends to prohibit this act due to the mixing of takbir with DJ music. this is inversely proportional to the figure of Al-Washliyah Perbaungan who still has the opportunity to allow it because there is no firmly argument (qoth'i) which prohibits music and as long as it is not negligent the listener. This article finds that the opinion of Al-Washliyah figures is more relevant and easily accepted by the public. This is because the banning of a tradition requires a lot of time. In Islamic law, the principle of tadarruj is known, which means the prohibition or order of something must be done in stages.
The process of interpersonal communication in learning has not received serious attention from Islamic religious teachers. Teachers are only busy with administrative activities. In contrast to SMA al-Izzah Batu, to improve the quality of learning in this global era, several academic and non-academic programs were opened. Based on this phenomenon, this research was conducted. This study uses a qualitative approach by using the form of a case study (case study). The results of this study are as follows: First, the ethics of interpersonal communication has been applied well by teachers and students at SMA al-Izzah when conducting interpersonal communication. Second, the relationship developed in the PAI learning process at al-Izzah High School related to interpersonal communication is the father-child relationship and the spiritual bathiniyah relationship which in the theory of interpersonal relationship analysis is included in the role model category. Third, the interpersonal communication process carried out by PAI teachers at al-Izzah High School is dialogical and moderate.
Teenagers’ behavior problems such as free sex, abortion, pornography, and drug abuse have increased in developing countries. The purposes of this research were to formulate the views of experts, education practitioners, and teenagers about the importance of teaching sex education (SE) in schools and to formulate the prototype of sex education, material, media, and learning strategies. This research was a descriptive research. The data was obtained through interviews to reveal experts’ views. The sources of data in this research were teachers, principals, psychologists, scholars, reproductive experts, and sociologists. The data were analyzed using content analysis. A questionnaire was used to find out the students' opinions. The population of this study was the senior high school students in Surabaya, Indonesia. The samples taken were 171 students. The data taken from the questionnaire were analyzed descriptively. The percentage was obtained from the number of respondents who chose ”Agree” and then divided by the number of ”Disagree” of each statement. The results of this research reveal that sex education is expected to provide an understanding of sexuality, the formation of responsible self-attitudes, society, and religion in overcoming sexual turmoil, as well as the skills to avoid promiscuity. Sex education should be given within an ethical and religious framework. Sex education materials include social ethics, the effects of promiscuity, abortion and its effects, and marriage. The media used were films, multimedia, and other media within the framework of Islamic ethics. This research concludes that sex education is important to students, especially high school students.
The economic sector in Indonesia is the sector with the most contribution to the creation of employment opportunities and sources of income especially in rural areas that have low incomes. The problem of this study is about how much influence the productivity of mudharabah financing and increasing member business capital on the income of Mardhotillah BMT members in Tanjungsari District, Sumedang District by using quantitative research methods, the researchers concluded that the effect was quite strong.
AbstractDespite constituting one of the most pressing ethical issues of our time, most white Christian ethicists and theologians fail to engage the issue of white supremacy in their work. As one of the most influential and prolific Christian ethicists of the past half‐century, Stanley Hauerwas represents this tendency, and provides specific reasons for his silence. This essay analyzes those reasons, and argues that a commitment to Alasdair MacIntyre’s understandings of tradition and narrative frames his view on race and prevents his engagement of racism. It then highlights the ways this reflects the broader trends of silence, abstraction, and colorblindness among white Christian ethicists when it comes to the issue. Identifying these failures, the essay concludes by suggesting that Hauerwas’s first published essay in 1969, on Black Power, provides resources for theologically engaging the problems of white supremacy today.
Maria-Lorena Aguilera-Arevalo, Sergio Martinez, Francis Barchi
Background: Despite growing concerns over unprofessional conduct by physicians and medical trainees in the Guatemalan health system, little has been done to develop a practical curriculum in clinical ethics and responsible research for undergraduate medical students in Guatemala. As part of a training programme in ethics education supported by the US National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center, faculty at Universidad Francisco Marroquin (UFM) in Guatemala City aimed to incorporate active-learning ethics short-courses into an existing system of credit-bearing electives offered to students as part of their 6-year undergraduate medical education.
Methods: Two preliminary workshops led by Guatemalan faculty trainees with the assistance of US mentors from Rutgers University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Pennsylvania, were used to stimulate student interest in future ethics courses, illustrate the level of student demand, and provide an evidence base to guide the development of a formal curriculum.
Findings: The resulting ethics course includes six 2-h modules, each of which is a stand-alone unit with learning goals and objectives, assigned readings, a discussion case, and assessment. These structured case-based activities allow for flexibility in design and scheduling, do not compete with core requirements of the existing curriculum, and enable students to develop critical reasoning approaches to ethical situations they will encounter in medical practice. The courses enhance rather than challenge existing bioethics content that historically emphasised moral and religious doctrine but did little to develop practical skills. The course, which targets second and third year medical students, has thus far been offered twice, and two additional sessions are scheduled during the current academic year. To date, more than 80 students have participated in the workshops and courses. Evaluations are being used to refine pedagogical approaches and drive course content.
Interpretation: The UFM ethics elective courses offer a model for transforming medical ethics education in undergraduate medical programmes throughout Guatemala and the region.
Funding: None.
The paper discusses Rawls’ and Habermas’ theories of deliberative democracy, focusing on the question of religious reasons in political discourse. Whereas Rawls as well as Habermas defend a fully inclusivist position on the use of religious reasons in the ‘background culture’ (Rawls) or ‘informal public sphere’ (Habermas), we defend a moderately inclusivist position. Moderate inclusivism welcomes religiously inspired contributions to public debate, but it also makes normative demands on public argumentation beyond the ‘public forum’ (Rawls) or ‘formal public sphere’ (Habermas). In particular, moderate inclusivism implies what we call a ‘conversational translation proviso’ according to which citizens have a duty to supplement religious with proper political arguments if – but only if – they are asked to do so by their co-discussants. This position, we argue, is more in line with the deeper intuitions behind Rawls’ political liberalism and Habermas’ deliberative model than is the fully inclusivist alternative.
Keywords: conversational translation proviso, deliberative democracy, ethics of citizenship, Habermas, moderate inclusivism, public reason, Rawls