Search Results (293)

Contemporary artificial intelligence excels at pattern recognition but lacks genuine understanding, temporal awareness, and ethical reasoning. Critics argue that AI systems manipulate statistical correlations without grasping concepts, time, or moral implications. This article presents Phase 2, a component of the emerging infrastructure called Sophimatics, a computational framework that translates philosophical categories into working algorithms through the integration of complex time. Our approach operationalizes Aristotelian substance theory, Augustinian temporal consciousness, Husserlian intentionality, and Hegelian dialectics within a unified temporal–semantic architecture. The system represents time as both chronological and experiential, allowing navigation between memory and imagination while maintaining conceptual coherence. Validation through a Data Protection Policy use case demonstrates significant improvements: confidence in decisions increased from 6.50 to 9.40 on a decimal scale, temporal awareness from 2.00 to 9.50, and regulatory compliance from 6.00 to 9.00 compared to traditional approaches. The framework successfully links philosophical authenticity with computational practicality, offering greater ethical consistency and contextual adaptability for AI systems that require temporal reasoning and ethical foundations. Full article

Ecuador is experiencing an unprecedented escalation of violence, organized crime and public insecurity, prompting the Ministry of Education to introduce a curricular reform through Ministerial Agreement MINEDUC-MINEDUC-2024-00060-A. This reform incorporates five new subjects—Civic Education, Ethics and Integrity, Education for Sustainable Development, Socioemotional Education, Financial Education, and Education for Road Safety and Sustainable Mobility—into the national curriculum, with the explicit aim of fostering civic responsibility, ethical behavior and social cohesion. This study examines the societal and political context of the reform and analyzes its representation in the Ecuadorian press during 2024 using qualitative content analysis of publicly accessible national news articles, including reports, chronicles, interviews and press releases. The analysis focuses on the framing of the reform’s messages, the information provided and the actors featured in the coverage. Findings reveal that media narratives strongly reflect governmental discourse, portraying Civic, Ethic and Integrity Education as a moral vitamin to counteract the erosion of values and as a strategy to reinforce national identity through civic rituals. The study concludes that the reform exemplifies the integration of educational policy with sociopolitical objectives, positioning schools as central actors in long-term efforts to address societal violence and promote ethical citizenship. Full article

Cultural heritage is increasingly mobilized as a tool of international engagement, yet the diplomatic uses of heritage remain conceptually underdeveloped and analytically fragmented. This paper introduces the Heritage Diplomacy Spectrum, a multidimensional framework that maps how states and affiliated actors use heritage—both tangible and intangible—to pursue strategic, symbolic, and normative goals in cross-border contexts. Drawing on critical heritage studies, international relations, and memory politics, this study identifies six analytical dimensions (e.g., proactive vs. reactive, cultural vs. historical, strategic vs. moral) and develops seven ideal types of heritage diplomacy, ranging from soft power projection to post-dependency and corrective diplomacy. These ideal types, constructed in the Weberian tradition, serve as heuristic tools to illuminate the varied motivations and diplomatic postures underlying heritage-based engagement. A central matrix is presented to illustrate how each type aligns with different strategic logics and affective registers. This study argues that heritage diplomacy constitutes a distinct modality of heritage governance—one that transcends soft power narratives and encompasses conflict, reconciliation, symbolic redress, and identity assertion. The framework contributes both to theory-building and policy analysis, offering a diagnostic lens through which the ethical, political, and communicative dimensions of heritage diplomacy can be more systematically understood. Full article

This study explores the role of ethical leadership in fostering employee green behaviors (EGBs) within higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UAE. While environmental initiatives are increasingly being integrated into university operations, there has been limited empirical research examining how leadership styles influence pro-environmental behaviors among academic staff. Using a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, our study surveyed 105 HEI employees and conducted in-depth interviews with 6 of the participants. The quantitative findings reveal a moderate but significant positive correlation between ethical leadership (EL) and EGB (ρ = 0.314, p < 0.001). The reliability scores for both EL (α = 0.888) and EGB (α = 0.754) confirmed the internal consistency of the measurement items used. The qualitative insights support the theoretical foundation drawn from Social Learning, Value–Belief–Norm, and Environmental Stewardship Theories. Employees reported modeling their green behaviors on observable leadership actions aligning with their shared moral values. A key distinction emerged between authentic and performative green behaviors, with employees responding more positively to leaders who modeled consistency and sincerity. This study concludes that ethical leadership significantly influences the environmental culture in HEIs by embedding sustainability into daily practices and institutional values. This research addresses a regional and theoretical gap, contextualizing ethical leadership in the Middle Eastern academic setting and offering practical implications for leadership development, policy alignment, and sustainable cultural transformation. Full article

The pursuit of gender equality and inclusive societies—key goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda—depends in part on public alignment with feminist movements. This study examines associations between ideological beliefs, gender identity salience, and identification across multiple social categories and support for feminism in Spain. Drawing on a nationally representative sample (N = 3928) from the 2024 CIS survey, we assess whether individuals who view gender as their most salient identity report higher support for feminism, and whether progressive ideological orientations—such as left–right political positioning, environmental values, and lower moral conservatism—as well as broader single-axis identifications across social domains, are linked to feminist alignment. Results from descriptive and regression analyses indicate that support for feminism is strongly associated with ideological and environmental values, while gender identity salience shows no independent association once these beliefs are taken into account. Analyses conducted separately for women and men suggest different patterns: among women, feminist support aligns with progressive values and broader identifications; among men, greater gender salience coexists with some marginalized identifications but is not positively linked to feminist alignment. These findings highlight that value-oriented and multi-identity approaches are more effective in fostering feminist engagement than appeals based solely on gender salience. The study outlines implications for inclusive policy, civic education, and cross-sector strategies to advance SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). Full article

Cultural and religious diversity has become a defining feature of societies worldwide. Although religious music serves as a powerful medium for fostering intercultural understanding, it remains underexamined in educational research. This systematic review analyzes studies published between 2016 and 2025, identified through comprehensive searches of SCOPUS, Web of Science, and ERIC databases. Eleven peer-reviewed studies meeting thematic criteria were selected for in-depth analysis. Findings revealed persistent challenges in religious music education, including policy ambiguity, teacher identity constraints, and limited resources. The review identifies a shift from traditional knowledge transmission to experiential pedagogies, leading to outcomes such as emotional resonance, intercultural understanding, moral self-regulation, and student agency. It also highlights structural gaps in longitudinal research and a significant underrepresentation of religious music traditions from Eastern Europe and other non-Anglophone regions. A practice–outcome heatmap developed in this study uncovered unexplored links, particularly regarding student agency. Future research should investigate these underexplored pedagogical–outcome pathways and address current geographic and cultural imbalances by incorporating regional traditions—such as Eastern European choral and sacred music—into global academic discourse. Full article

The increase in global demand for mineral resources with the energy transition is likely to intensify the consequences of mining, such as deforestation; biodiversity loss; soil, water, and air contamination; violations of civil, political, and labour rights; loss of livelihoods; and harm to health. It is a paradox that the quest for sustainability and transition away from fossil fuels are leading to another set of unsustainable practices. The paper analyses how one major faith actor, the Catholic Church, is dealing with this paradox and is translating its theological and moral commitment to integral ecology into practice in the context of mining. Based on a series of consultations with cross-continental actors, the paper aims to offer a typology of responses in order to inform the work of other actors in sustainable development and the transition to renewable energy. The paper examines five types of intertwined responses: (1) the accompaniment of mining-affected populations, which is the starting point of all responses; (2) the mediation of experience through theological and organisational resources and international policy frameworks; (3) the documentation of what is happening or likely to happen; (4) education and formation to address the structural causes of social and ecological degradation at a multi-scalar level; and (5) advocacy for policy and institutional change, including alternative modes of socio-economic development. The paper concludes by discussing some shortcomings in these responses, as well as avenues for broad-based coalitions for sustainability in the context of the mining requirements of the energy transition. Full article

Mozambican traditional healing is a longstanding, community-embedded practice grounded in local knowledge systems and biodiversity. Despite its resilience, it has been persistently marginalized—from colonial impositions to enduring legal ambiguities—while Western medicine, rooted in Hippocratic, Galenic, and Cartesian paradigms, has become the normative model. This article explores the ethical, legal, and consequentialist dimensions of emancipating traditional healing, analyzing four policy options: prohibition, indifference, protection, and encouragement. Emancipation is presented not as subordination to biomedical standards but as a process of epistemic justice, affirming cultural sovereignty and community agency. Core values such as justice, equity, and respect for plural worldviews underpin the discussion. Traditional healers are often spiritually mandated and serve over 80% of the population, particularly in underserved areas, yet remain institutionally undervalued. Promoting respectful dialogue among stakeholders is crucial to avoid reductive adaptations and foster inclusive, sustainable health systems. Recognizing traditional healing as a legitimate and complementary system not only strengthens Mozambique’s National Health System (SNS) but also contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to health, inclusion, and cultural rights. This article argues that empowering traditional healing is both a moral imperative and a strategic investment in planetary health and human flourishing. Full article

Situated at the intersection of social history and psychology, this study examines how early Christian communities in Bithynia-Pontus navigated the persecution narrated in Pliny the Younger’s Epistle X 96. Through systematic textual analysis of Latin and Greek sources—triangulated with comparative evidence from Tacitus and corroborating archaeological data—and interpreted through Conservation-of-Resources and Social Identity theoretical frameworks, we reconstruct the repertoire of collective coping strategies mobilised under Roman repression. Our findings show that ritualised dawn assemblies, mutual economic assistance, and a theologically grounded expectation of post-mortem vindication converted external coercion into internal cohesion; these practices neutralised informer threat, sustained group morale, and ultimately expanded Christian networks across Asia Minor. Moreover, Pliny’s ad hoc judicial improvisations reveal the governor’s own bounded rationality, underscoring the reciprocal nature of stress between the persecutor and persecuted. By mapping the dynamic interaction between imperial policy and subaltern agency, the article clarifies why limited, locally triggered violence consolidated rather than extinguished the nascent movement. The analysis contributes a theoretically informed, evidence-based account of religious-minority resilience, enriching both early Christian historiography and broader debates on group survival under systemic duress. Full article

Governments worldwide are mandating e-invoicing and real-time VAT reporting, yet many cash-intensive service SMEs continue to under-report VAT, eroding fiscal revenues. This study investigates whether financial technology (FinTech) adoption can reduce this under-reporting among tourism SMEs in Greece—an economy with high seasonal spending and a persistent shadow economy. This is the first micro-level empirical study to examine how FinTech tools affect VAT compliance in this sector, offering novel insights into how technology interacts with behavioral factors to influence fiscal behavior. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model, deterrence theory, and behavioral tax compliance frameworks, we surveyed 214 hotels, guesthouses, and tour operators across Greece’s main tourism regions. A structured questionnaire measured five constructs: FinTech adoption, VAT compliance behavior, tax morale, perceived audit probability, and financial performance. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling and bootstrapped moderation–mediation analysis, we find that FinTech adoption significantly improves declared VAT, with compliance fully mediating its impact on financial outcomes. The effect is especially strong among businesses led by owners with high tax morale or strong perceptions of audit risk. These findings suggest that FinTech tools function both as efficiency enablers and behavioral nudges. The results support targeted policy actions such as subsidies for e-invoicing, tax compliance training, and transparent audit communication. By integrating technological and psychological dimensions, the study contributes new evidence to the digital fiscal governance literature and offers a practical framework for narrowing the VAT gap in tourism-driven economies. Full article

(1) Background: This article aims to understand the forms and elements through which the inhabitants of the city of Medellin have configured their subjectivity in the context of the application of neoliberal policies in the last two decades. In this way, we can approach the frameworks of understanding that constitute a fundamental part of the individuation processes in which the incorporation of their subjectivities is evidenced in neoliberal contexts that, in the historical process, have been converging with authoritarian, antidemocratic and neoconservative elements. (2) Method: A qualitative approach with a hermeneutic-interpretative paradigm was used. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 41 inhabitants of Medellín who were politically identified with right-wing or center-right positions. Data analysis included thematic coding to identify patterns of thought and points of view. (3) Results: Participants associate success with individual effort and see state intervention as an obstacle to development. They reject redistributive policies, arguing that they generate dependency. In addition, they justify authoritarian models of government in the name of security and progress, from a moral superiority, which is related to a negative and stigmatizing perception of progressive sectors and a negative view of the social rule of law and public policies with social sense. (4) Conclusions: The naturalization of merit as a guiding principle, the perception of themselves as morally superior based on religious values that grant a subjective place of certainty and goodness; the criminalization of expressions of political leftism, mobilizations and redistributive reforms and support for policies that establish authoritarianism and perpetuate exclusion and structural inequalities, closes roads to a participatory democracy that enables social and economic transformations. Full article

Understanding the social drivers of pro-environmental behavior in urban forests and green spaces is critical for addressing sustainability challenges. Subjective norms serve as a key pathway through which social expectations influence individuals’ behavioral intentions. Despite mixed findings in the literature regarding the impact of subjective norms on individuals’ intentions, there is a research gap about the determinants of this construct. This study was conducted to explore how social expectations shape perceived subjective norms among visitors of urban forests. A theoretical model was developed with subjective norms at its center, incorporating their predictors including social identity, media influence, interpersonal influence, and institutional trust, personal norms as a mediator, and behavioral intention as the outcome variable. Using structural equation modeling, data was collected and analyzed from a sample of visitors of urban forests in Tehran, Iran. The results revealed that subjective norms play a central mediating role in linking external social factors to behavioral intention. Social identity emerged as the strongest predictor of subjective norms, followed by media and interpersonal influence, while institutional trust had no significant effect. Subjective norms significantly influenced both personal norms and intentions, and personal norms also directly predicted intention. The model explained 50.9% of the variance in subjective norms and 39.0% in behavioral intention, highlighting its relatively high explanatory power. These findings underscore the importance of social context and internalized norms in shaping sustainable behavior. Policy and managerial implications suggest that strategies should prioritize community-based identity reinforcement, media engagement, and peer influence over top-down institutional messaging. This study contributes to environmental psychology and the behavior change literature by offering an integrated, empirically validated model. It also provides practical guidance for designing interventions that target both social and moral dimensions of environmental action. Full article

The rapid proliferation of electronic waste, driven by the short lifecycle of smartphones and planned obsolescence strategies, presents escalating global environmental challenges. To address these issues from a systems perspective, this study develops an agent-based modeling (ABM) framework that simulates consumer decisions and stakeholder interactions within the smartphone reuse and recycling ecosystem. The model incorporates key behavioral drivers—privacy concerns, moral norms, and financial incentives—to examine how social and economic factors shape consumer behavior. Four primary agent types—consumers, manufacturers, recyclers, and second-hand retailers—are modeled to capture complex feedback and market dynamics. Calibrated using empirical data from Jiangsu Province, China, the simulation reveals a dominant consumer tendency to store obsolete smartphones rather than engage in reuse or formal recycling. However, the introduction of government subsidies significantly shifts behavior, doubling participation in second-hand markets and markedly improving recycling rates. These results highlight the value of integrating behavioral insights into environmental modeling to inform circular economy strategies. By offering a flexible and behaviorally grounded simulation tool, this study supports the design of more effective policies for promoting responsible smartphone disposal and lifecycle extension. Full article

During the 1970s’ military dictatorships in Chile and Brazil, the Catholic Church took the position of moral opposition to the authoritarian regimes, while in Argentina, the Church sided with the dictatorship. In his pathbreaking book utilizing the religious economy model, Anthony Gill theorized that the Church in Chile adopted a critical stance against the regime due to competition from Protestant Churches. Subsequently, Gill’s specific arguments and the religious economy model in general have been widely applied but also critiqued by sociologists of religion. Through a deeper analysis of the three case studies of Argentina, Chile, and Brazil, we support and extend theoretical critiques of the religious economy model. We argue that that the religious economy model as applied by Gill is an insufficient predictor of church and state behavior because it lacks specificity on the amount of competition necessary to warrant taking progressive action, lacks specificity about the timing of Protestant competition, ignores the pre-existing position of the Catholic Church, treats the demand side of the religious market as inelastic, assumes the Catholic Church intentionally implemented progressive policies in response to competition, presumes the Church is a unitary actor, and disregards the impact of a perceived Marxist threat on both church and state actors. Our critique of the religious economy model points to refinements of the model and alternative approaches to understanding church and state behavior in Latin America and elsewhere. Full article

Developing multicultural leadership in youth is crucial for fostering social harmony, emphasizing cross-cultural communication, adaptability, creative problem solving, and ethical leadership, particularly in Thailand’s three southern border provinces. This study aimed to analyze the confirmatory factors and assess the validity of the measurement model for multicultural leadership among youth in Thailand’s three southern border provinces. The study sample comprised 640 participants, and the data were analyzed using second-order confirmatory factor analysis. The findings revealed that multicultural leadership among youth in the region consists of the following six key components: (1) awareness and acceptance of cultural diversity, (2) intercultural communication skills, (3) flexibility and adaptability in multicultural contexts, (4) creative problem solving in a multicultural context, (5) building intercultural collaboration networks, and (6) developing culturally relevant morality and ethics. The measurement model demonstrated a good fit with the empirical data. Considering the Chi-square value of 411.81, p-value of 0.07, the relative Chi-square (χ²/df) was 1.11, the Goodness-of-Fitness Index (GFI) was 0.96, the Adjusted Goodness-of-Fitness Index (AGFI) was 0.94, and the Root Mean Square Residuals Index (SRMR) was 0.03. These findings provide valuable insights for formulating effective policies and concrete strategies to enhance and develop multicultural leadership among youth in diverse sociocultural contexts. Full article