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  List of selected publications Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dietrich Werner

  Werner, Dietrich (2023)
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  @Edinburgh2010 : online ecumenism in an age of participation

  Hollander, Aaron T. (2010)

  Originally published as a document under study theme #3 at Edinburgh 2010, and once posted at http://www.edinburgh2010.org/en/study-themes/3-mission-andpostmodernities. Unfortunately, the document is no longer available on the website. The document describes the Edinburgh 2010 communications strategy as well as the reception of Edinburgh 2010's online elements. It includes an appendix that provides a brief analysis of these communications from the perspective of "Mission & Postmodernities" (Theme 3).
• Elderly expectation toward their family, society, and government: A cross-sectional observational study

  Lasker, Shamima Parvin; Hossain, Arif; Chowdhury, Shafquat Haider; Mithila, Turna (2023-05-09)

  The elderly face very challenging situations due to their mental and physical conditions. Like the other country in the world, Bangladesh Government has enacted laws to protect the elderly rights. However, the law does not seem to represent what the elderly actually needs. Therefore, 385 elderly people, aged between 60 and 90 years were surveyed to understand their expectations from family, society, and government. There were 57.1% men and 42.9% women. Most of the elderly (80%) were educated. Just over half (53.5%) had ordinary mental and physical health, while a quarter (31.4%) had good status. More than half (53%) of the participants required 2000–5000 BDTK (Bangladeshi Taka) equivalent to $20-50 to cover monthly treatment expenditures. The majority (67.3%) felt government Old Age Allowance should be increased to BDT 5,000 ($50). Of 13.8% of individuals experienced harsh discourse from family because of the cost of therapy. However, 16.9% of people choose not to respond to this question. More than half (57.4%) of the respondents’ thought caregivers were insufficient. One-third felt that legislation should be changed to take care of parents (33.5%) and One-third felt that children should take care of more (33.5%). Some (3.6%) thought that children should act as they did in their childhood respectively. Almost half (44.2%) of respondents did not know that the elderly should receive a separate senior citizen card for preferential treatment, yet 51.9% thought this. Some (44.7%) felt the elderly should get priority in any queue and discounts in Bus/Uber/Rickshaw. Results also showed that expectation is more than the service provided. Further, a one-stop elderly care clinic is required to provide integrated care and support for the quality of life of the elderly.
• Senior Citizen’s Understanding Regarding the Quality of Life and Policy of Bangladesh

  Lasker, Shamima; Mithila, Turna Tribenee; Hossain, Arif; Amin, Md Ruhul (2023)

  Older people are encouraged to participate more in the economic, social, and governmental sectors as part of progressive aging policies worldwide. Very little is known about applying engagement techniques or carrying out strategies in Bangladesh that are important for involving seniors in social engagement. Therefore, this qualitative research was conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh, among 385 people aged sixty or above to assess their understanding of the quality of life and the gap in government policy. Results showed that between 60 and 65 were more mobile, creative, engaged in productive activity, and had significantly higher decision-making power (p<0.000). Aging greatly enhances dependency (p<0.000). Lower-educated people were significantly dependent on their families (p<0.000). Moreover, elderly income and the cost of treatment were significantly correlated to abuse (p<0.001). Furthermore, 10% of participants reported negative relationships with family members (p<0.031). However, most (61.6%) were unaware of the 2013 Parent's Care Act. Though most participants (73.2%) knew of the government-funded Old Age Allowance, 92.5% received no non governmental assistance. The research concluded that education and economic condition have a long-term relationship with reducing dependency. In recommendation, Government can increase the retirement age from 59 to 65 years which may increase self of security, respect, and self-esteem and reduce harassment. Parent's Care Act 2013 should implement. Government should include Community Health and Social Service centers for the quality of life of the elderly.
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  The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and ABS-CBN through the Prisms of Hermann and Chomsky's Propaganda Model

  Mansueto, Menelito; Ochave, Jeresa May C. (Social Ethics Society, Inc., 2018-12-01)

  This paper is an attempt to localize Herman and Chomsky’s analysis of the commercial media and use this concept to fit in the Philippine media climate. Through the propaganda model, they introduced the five interrelated media filters which made possible the “manufacture of consent.” By consent, Herman and Chomsky meant that the mass communication media can be a powerful tool to manufacture ideology and to influence a wider public to believe in a capitalistic propaganda. Thus, they call their theory the “propaganda model” referring to the capitalist media structure and its underlying political function. Herman and Chomsky’s analysis has been centered upon the US media, however, they also believed that the model is also true in other parts of the world as the media conglomeration is also found all around the globe. In the Philippines, media conglomeration is not an alien concept especially in the presence of a giant media outlet, such as, ABS-CBN. In this essay, the authors claim that the propaganda model is also observed even in the less obvious corporate media in the country, disguised as an independent media entity but like a chameleon, it camouflages into an invisible creature leaving predators without any clue. Hence, the reason to analyze and scrutinize a highly reputable news organization in the country, namely, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) in relation to their portrayal of the Duterte presidency.
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  Critical Discourses on Technology in the Era of the Anthropocene

  Mansueto, Menelito (Social Ethics Society, Inc., 2023-05-22)

  This paper attempts to unravel and explore the stark contradiction between the quest for technological advancement and the struggle for human welfare and well-being. In the frame of Hegel’s master and slave dialectic, the author tries to present the notions of humanity and technology as thesis and antitheses by which the dawning synthesis of technological sensitivity to nature and an ecologically friendly human innovation and emancipation can be made possible. The paper draws heavily from the concepts introduced by notable philosophers, such as, Bernard Stiegler, Donna Haraway, N. Katherine Hayes, Andrew Feenberg, Douglas Kellner, Herbert Marcuse, George Lukacs, Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel, Karl Marx, Martin Heidegger, Karl Popper, Aldo Leopold, and Enrique Dussel. Out from the brilliant concepts of these thinkers, altogether their ideas had served as the building blocks in tracing the origin, nature, history, development, and the future of both the humankind and technology, and its impact to the natural ecology. The author attempts to work out a coherent synthesis of these prevailing thinkers. Their ideas aimed to lead, support, enhance, or give way to the possibility of the notion of an ecologically, environmentally, nature and human-friendly technology.
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  Enrique Dussel’s Philosophy of Liberation : Philosophical Reflections at the time of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic

  Mansueto, Menelito (Social Ethics Society, Inc., 2020-07-01)

  In this brief philosophical exposé, I will narrate the events as well as my personal and eco-spiritual reflections pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic which began in Wuhan, China sometime in November 2019. The virus has spread sporadically across countries and continents wreaking havoc medically, politically, and individually as it claimed more than three hundred thousand lives and had virally infected more than four million of the global population. This phenomenon has led us to confront inevitable eschatological questions: Is this a sign of the end times? Will this efface the vulnerable human race? Will this disrupt the global economy as capitalism had collapsed worldwide? Do these events signal a new political era, perhaps the dawn of socialism and communism as countries worldwide are led to confront its own deficiencies and inadequacies? Which social and political systems and worldviews are efficient particularly in this age of globalization? What are our chances for human survival? These apocalyptic questions have led me to my reflections on Enrique Dussel’s philosophy of liberation, particularly on his concept of Christian ethics and the moral theology of liberation. In so doing, the paper incorporates a holistic outlook on the pandemic viewing it in a global scale, and considers an all-inclusive interpretation on the pandemic.
• Navigating challenges and opportunities : an exploratory case study of the Eparchy of Gorakhpur, Northern India

  James, Sibichen Kakkaniyil (2023)

  The Eparchy of Gorakhpur, Northern India, is one of the relatively youngest eparchies of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. This case study explores the challenges and opportunities it faces and shapes its contours. This single case study uses a qualitative approach, drawing on email interviews with the local ordinary and clergy and synodal consultations and analyzing its annual report and other relevant documents. The findings reveal that the Eparchy’s current situation is filled with many challenges and opportunities, but they have found a way to succeed. These include a shortage of candidates for the priesthood, declining religious participation among the youth, and a lack of educational and economic opportunities. Moreover, it is located in a predominantly Hindu region, posing a challenge to evangelization efforts. However, the study also helped surface and identify opportunities for growth and reform in the Eparchy, such as a stable interest in Catholicism among local people, the presence of committed clergy and laypeople, and the support of a wider Syro-Malabar Church. This study concludes with lessons to address the challenges and maximize opportunities. These include improving the training and formation of clergy and laypeople, seeking assistance and human, financial, and technical resources from the Syro-Malabar Church, and exploring innovative ways of evangelization, such as using social media and online platforms.
• Bioethics, medicine and society : a philosophical inquiry

  Yadavendu, Vijay Kumar; Kumar, Deepak (Current Science AssociationIndian Academy of Sciences, 2009-10-25)

  This article is an attempt to see how technological innovations and social developments have led to enormous changes in health and medicine. With ethical complexities and challenges emerging in modern medicine, bioethics seeks ways in which people in societies can work together under the provision of medical care and research. The field is supposed to provide an insight into the issues of moral community, and into how society understands political authority and its appropriate exercise. As a social movement, bioethics developed in the mid-twentieth century as a critical discourse, a response to felt inhumanities in the system of health care and biomedical research. As a response to specific abuses, bioethics has remained practice-oriented; society expects bioethics to solve or at least ameliorate visible problems. Different responses to these different bioethical issues reflect differing views on the philosophy of medicine, which are influenced in turn by the cultural views of those involved.
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  Ursprung und Ziel : Wie die Evolution weitergeht

  Reichelt, Manfred (2021-04-28)

  In contrast to the common notions of the origin of all things, the big bang or a creationist concept / “Intelligenc Design”, a third possibility is discussed here, which is able to resolve the contradiction between religious ideas and the facts of natural science. Evolution, it turns out, is a teleological process that is immanent to the origin and found its temporary end in man. Now it is up to him to consciously continue the evolution. The riddles of the naturalistic theory of evolution, such as Cambrian radiation or why genders came about at all, even the question of chicken and egg, find an answer. Gegenüber den gängigen Vorstellungen vom Ursprung aller Dinge, dem Urknall oder einem kreationistischen Konzept/„Intelligenc Design“ wird hier eine dritte Möglichkeit erörtert, die den Widerspruch zwischen den religiösen Vorstellungen und den Fakten der Naturwissenschaft zu lösen vermag. Evolution, so zeigt sich, ist ein teleologischer Prozess, der dem Ursprung immanent ist und im Menschen sein vorläufiges Ende fand. Nun liegt es an ihm die Evolution bewusst weiterzuführen. Die Rätsel der naturalistischen Evolutionstheorie, wie die kambrische Radiation oder weshalb überhaupt Geschlechter entstanden, ja sogar die Frage nach Huhn und Ei, finden eine Antwort.
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  Experiences on the Use and Misuse of the Shopee Application Towards Purchasing Behavior Among Selected Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM) Senior High School Students

  Abrogar, Ma. Sheen I. (Academic Course Tutorial Online Education Inc., 2022-07-11)

  The internet has had a profound impact on people’s attitudes and behaviors all over the world. As a result of this advantage, online shopping has emerged, influencing ordinary citizens’ lives. Although online shopping has begun in the Philippines with the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are not yet accustomed to doing so regularly. The purpose of this study, in this case, is to understand the behavior of online shoppers through a self-constructed survey among selected Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM) students at a specific private school in Manila, Philippines. According to the survey, consumers shop online to save time and gain access to a wider variety of products and services. When it comes to liking and disliking factors, both men and women exhibit the same behavior; they prefer home delivery and dislike the inability to touch and feel the product the most. They get online shopping information from websites, particularly social networks, and pay cash on delivery for clothes, makeup, and accessories. The majority of shoppers are concerned about the payment system’s security, and their overall satisfaction with online shopping is mixed.
• Interreligious Spirituality of Work : Bhagavadgita and Catholic Social Teaching

  Tablan, Ferdinand (London Academic Publishing, 2018)

  This essay is an interreligious study of spirituality of work. It considers the normative/doctrinal teachings on work in Bhagavadgita and Catholic Social Teaching. It will begin by exploring a Hindu spirituality of work based on Bhagavadgita. The paper will analyze salient ideas and relevant passages in the text that tackle the religio-spiritual significance of our daily engagement in the world through paid work from a Hindu perspective. A discussion on major themes in Catholic Social Teaching that resonate with Bhagavadgita’s tenets on spirituality of work will follow. These themes will serve as analytical elements that will frame an interreligious spirituality of work from the two points of view. This study will demonstrate that, as far as spirituality of work is concerned, there is more convergence than divergence between Catholicism and Hinduism. Spirituality of work can be a unifying force, a locus for cross-cultural dialogue, and a bridge between different beliefs in the workplace.
• Ethical consideration for neurodevelopmental disorder pathway service evaluation and research

  Mithila, Turna Tribenee; Barry, Tolchard; Lasker, Shamima Parvin (Bangladesh Bioethics Society, 2022-11-01)

  The Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 of United States in act to prevent social exclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) and to cut back on unneeded expenditures to society. However, despite the protective legislation, the rights of adults with neurodevelopmental disorders have not yet been fully realised. There are several obstacles to overcome the neurological development related health care services, including health care usage, educational and career pathways, family and social lives, self-fulfilment, and quality of life. There are significant gaps in the transition process that affect the health care systems. Lack of transition and transfer planning, neurodevelopmental disorder health care pathway services have lack of experience, education, and expertise which result the inadequate growth of the health care quality and create communication gap in between service providers and service users. The aim of this short communication is to mention and clarify the ethical concerns of neurodevelopmental service evaluation.
• Structure and Function of Ethics Committee in Bangladesh

  Lasker, Shamima Parvin; Shakoor, M A; Hossain, Arif (Bangladesh Bioethics Society, 2022-11-05)

  A cross-sectional study was done on 50 ethics committee members from 15 different Ethics Committee (EC) over a period of 6 months from February 2018 to June 2018 to understand the structure and function of ECs in Bangladesh. Most of the ECs were male predominant (66.3%) and maximum ECs had technical members (93.33%). Only 8.3% ECs had lay person. Forty percent of the ECs did not update SOP routinely. Most of the ECs had no provision of training for its members (79.2%) and had no budget (71.8%). Maximum ECs service were voluntary (82.22%). Different ECs had different quorum to start the meeting. A little less than half of the respondents (45.76%) felt that their decision had not been noted down if disagreed against majority of vote in the ECs and did not placed in the meeting’s minutes. Maximum respondents (88.18%) did not know whether there was any law in Bangladesh to create a EC. A big percentage (89%) of ECs did not monitored by authorized body to guide and oversee the functioning of ECs. This article concluded that some ECs followed the international rules and regulation to formation and function the ECs but still a handsome number of ECs were lag behind in Bangladesh. The capacity of ECs can only be strengthened by training and various recognition/accreditation programs.
• Faith-Based Socially Responsible Enterprises: Selected Philippine Cases

  Racelis, Aliza (2017)

  Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have long played a role in international development and are increasingly involved in sustainability initiatives. Since they are motivated by a distinctive set of values, have particular modes of operation and governance, and hold a unique place within communities and the larger society, these organizations are poised to be distinctively successful and sustainable. In the case of the Philippines, the situation is unique in the sense that there are a large number of Christian business leaders and entrepreneurs who put their faith “to the plow.” Based on a review of the literature on faith-based social enterprises as well as on an in-depth descriptive analysis of three sample ventures from the Philippines, this study proposes a descriptive framework for their success and sustainability which consists primarily of two elements: a) Christian social capital and b) spiritual leadership.
• Integrating Ethics in Finance and Accounting Courses using Ethical Banks as Vignette

  Racelis, Aliza (Publishing India Group, 2015)

  The field of Business Ethics has an important role to play in identifying and establishing ethical parameters for business activities. Ethics professors have the continued challenge of being able to deliver ethics and morality teachings in the classroom. One topic in the area of business ethics and social enterprise that has begun hogging the pages of business and social responsibility research articles is the field of ethical banking. The ethical-social nature of the mission of ethical banks makes for an interesting discussion piece and scenario for a case-based teaching of business ethics. This paper presents the case of showing ethical banks as vignette in finance and ethics classes at the University of the Philippines, aimed at making students aware that it is possible for businessmen to be socially and ethically oriented and at the same time keep in mind the need for financial sustainability. The methodology involved content analysis and tests of differences based on a survey of 141 undergraduate business students. Results show overwhelming positive response to the concept of the ethical bank. 96% of the student respondents were in admiration of the ethical raison detre of ethical banks and 93% opined that it pays to be ethical. There was no difference between male and female respondents in opining that it pays to be ethical. Overall, results corroborate the mounting evidence that there is an ever greater awareness of the ethical responsibilities of business and discernment of the form that ethics can take in specific enterprises.
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  Developing a Virtue Ethics Scale : Exploratory Survey of Philippine Managers

  Racelis, Aliza (University of Malaya (Malaysia), Faculty of Business and Economics, 2013)

  This paper is an exploratory attempt at generating a virtue ethics scale for managers from the Philippines, using the initial listing of Shanahan and Hyman (2003). The survey questionnaire consisting of 34 virtues was administered to a sample of 141 business and finance postgraduate students who are managers in the companies in Philippines. Based on the factor analysis of the responses to the items on the virtues questionnaire, the following were the resulting virtue or trait factors: (1) Care and concern, (2) Competence, (3) Ambition, and (4) Superiority. The four resulting virtue factors compare more or less with the virtue listings generated in the literature: “Care and concern” is analogous to “empathy” and “respect”; and “competence” seems akin to “integrity”, “trust”, and “reliability” in the literature. The results corroborate evidence in the Virtue Ethics literature that proposes the virtue theory as an improved ethical paradigm for business. It is indeed possible to augment teleological and deontological ethics scales with a virtue ethics scale that can cause both the researcher and the respondents to be more aware of the virtuous qualities of business people and managers. Such classifications can aid scale validation and development, which in turn could help push the strategic role of the virtue ethics theory.
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  Examining the Global Financial Crisis from a Virtue Theory Lens

  Racelis, Aliza (De La Salle University, 2014)

  As the financial crisis of 2008-9 has continued to affect the global economy, many wonder whether the proposed solutions contribute to a more stable financial system as well as to better human behaviour. While the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) Report (2011) identified the factors essential to explaining the causes of the financial crisis as having included credit and housing bubbles, nontraditional mortgages, credit ratings and securitization, financial institutions concentrated correlated risk, leverage and liquidity risk, contagion risk, shock and panic, failure in virtue has also been very patent in the crisis, foremost of them being: excessive leverage and imprudent risk-taking, failure in fiduciary duties and in stewardship, as well as greed, lack of moderation, and fraud. The lens of virtue theory is, thus, necessary to analyze and explore the financial crisis’ origins and remedies. There exist ways of measuring such virtuousness or lack thereof among managers and finance industry participants, one of them being the creation of a virtue ethics scale. This paper presents the results of a survey of 141 Philippine managers, which sought to elicit from the respondents which of the virtues listed they considered desirable traits. The major responses were: (1) Honesty and competence, (2) Kind-heartedness, (3) Self-confidence, (4) Innovativeness, (5) Ambition, and (6) Security. The study’s results can give practitioners an idea of the virtues or character traits that employees in Philippine companies expect or find desirable in their superiors. In addition, they can inform the crisis debate from a virtue theory perspective.
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  La nécessité de l'autogestion des églises locales dans le développement du leadership de l'Eglise

  Gabriel, Eliya Namunyuka (Université Espoir d’Afrique, 2022-07-15)

  The development of church leadership depends on the empowerment of local churches self-governing. Provide such responsibility to local churches is biblical and it has its foundation through the Holy Scripture. Improve a strong Christian leadership today require to apply strategies of development based on Christ leadership. This may help us to understand deeply the task of leaders and self-governing local churches in church leadership development. To give the local churches the power of self-management contribute to the development of economy, moral, politics, social, spiritual, and cultural aspect of leaders. The church may reach that level through training and developing leadership skills for all believers and depending on the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
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  Teaching about statelessness with Neha : a guide to exploring borders, belonging, citizenship and rights with children

  Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), 2020

  This teaching guide is an interactive, memorable, and creative way to teach children about statelessness. It features twelve activities exploring borders and belonging, as well as citizenship and rights. The guide is best suited for children aged ten to fourteen, and it includes multiple difficulty levels to ensure that the difficulty level is adequate for all students aged 10-14 years old. The guide was developed to accompany ‘The Girl Who Lost Her Country’ children’s book, also available in the Globethics.net Library.

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