On Jainism and Jaina philosophy; collective writings.

In this article, I examine the state of knowledge construction within the South African academe. This, I do by looking at how issues of epistemology and ontology are prioritised or negated in the social construction of knowledge. Focusing on what I have called ‘the problem of perspectives’, I show how ‘epistemological narcissism’ has often limited the scope of methodological and theoretical innovativeness. I argue that by relying on a set of certain theories that scholars have known and used over the (...) years, and dismissing those that are considered ‘foreign’, the exercise of knowledge construction has become largely polemical. (shrink)

In this article, I examine the state of knowledge construction within the South African academe. This, I do by looking at how issues of epistemology and ontology are prioritised or negated in the social construction of knowledge. Focusing on what I have called ‘the problem of perspectives’, I show how ‘epistemological narcissism’ has often limited the scope of methodological and theoretical innovativeness. I argue that by relying on a set of certain theories that scholars have known and used over the (...) years, and dismissing those that are considered ‘foreign’, the exercise of knowledge construction has become largely polemical. (shrink)

In this article, I examine the state of knowledge construction within the South African academe. This, I do by looking at how issues of epistemology and ontology are prioritised or negated in the social construction of knowledge. Focusing on what I have called ‘the problem of perspectives’, I show how ‘epistemological narcissism’ has often limited the scope of methodological and theoretical innovativeness. I argue that by relying on a set of certain theories that scholars have known and used over the (...) years, and dismissing those that are considered ‘foreign’, the exercise of knowledge construction has become largely polemical. (shrink)

The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of stock market development on economic growth for nine developed European countries. In many countries, the stock market (SM), is considered. one of the crucial elements for promoting sustainable economic growth and development. By analysing data from nine developed European countries over 21 years, from 2000 to 2020, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, and Poland, this study seeks to determine the effect of the (...) stock. market. on economic growth. The years 2021 and 2022 are not included due to the lack of data, mainly as a result of the pandemic period. The dataset, extracted from the World Bank database, is used to generate results by applying different econometric models such as OLS, OLS Robust, Fixed, and the Random Effect, which turned out to be more suitable in this study. According to research, macroeconomic factors such as stock. market development (SMD), and inflation (INF), have a significant positive impact while, domestic credit to the private sector (DC), has a negative significant impact on economic growth, in respective periods and countries. Therefore, new research on this topic could help better understand the stock market’s impact on economic growth, and new conclusions might greatly benefit developed European countries. (shrink)

Contributed research papers on various aspects of Jainism, Jaina literature and philosophy.

Contributed research papers on various aspects of Jainism, Jaina literature and philosophy.

Only the pratīkas of Śrutaprakāśikā are given.

Commentary on the Bādarāyaṇa Brahmasūtra from viewpoint of Viśiṣtādvaita philosophy.

Viśiṣṭādvaita commentary on Brahmasūtra of Bādarāyaṇa, aphoristic work on Vedanta philosophy; includes text.

Analytic study of ethical conviction and beliefs with reference to the Advaitavada of Śaṅkarācārya and Śuddhādvaitavāda of Vallabhachars.

Interpretation of Tattvārthasūtra, work on Jaina doctrines and philosophy by Umāsvāti, 2nd century author.

Comparative study of the philosophy of Cārvāka and David Hume, 1711-1776.

Articles on Sikh philosophy, tradition, and history.

Comprehensive work on Yoga philosophy; includes complete Sanskrit text with Hindi verse translation of Yogasutra of Patañjali.

On Indic philosophy; with special reference of Jaina philosophy.

Transcript of papers on Jaina epistemology at a national seminar titled "Bhāratīya Cintana meṃ Syādvāda' held on 28 March 2011 organised by Deaprtment of Jaina Philosophy, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, New Delhi.

On Jaina ethics and religious life with reference to Jaina canonical literature.

Comprehensive work on Jaina philosophy and doctrines.

A great saint and a remarkable poet, Muni Kshamasagar had such self-awareness and dedication that he analyzed his own spiritual journey in its minutest detail. Born in an affluent Jain family, and growing up to become a technologist, Virendra Kumar (Muni Kshamasagar’s birth name), decided to give up all worldly pleasures and material belongings, and became a renunciate at a relatively young age of only twenty-three! He attained sainthood with the blessings of his guru at the age of twenty-five. Exceptionally (...) well read and a deep thinker, he kept a strict disciplined approach in his own life, yet always expressed extreme care and compassion toward others. His knowledge, approachability, and kindness frequently brought people close to him. His speaking style was very simple and touching, and often left the audiences spellbound. His intellect with its logical approach helped bring science and religion together to make them complementary rather than contradictory. This approach is well reflected in the present book, which is a collection of his discourses. The aim of this book is to make people realize that their own actions (karmas) are the root cause of their suffering or happiness. To attain inner peace and have a blissful present and tomorrow, they need to act correctly, and if they want to know how to do this, this book is for them. (shrink)

Two Sanskrit text with interpretation on Jaina theory of Karma and philosophy.

BackgroundClinical trials involving children previously considered unethical are now considered essential because of the inherent physiological differences between children and adults. An integral part of research ethics is the informed consent, which for children is obtained by proxy from a consenting parent or guardian. The informed consent process is governed by international ethical codes that are interpreted in accordance with local laws and procedures raising the importance of contextualizing their implementation.FindingsIn Zimbabwe the parental informed consent document for children participating in (...) clinical research is modeled along western laws of ethics and requires that the parent or legally authorized representative provide consent on behalf of a minor. This article highlights the experiences and lessons learnt by Zimbabwean researchers in obtaining informed consent from guardians of orphaned children participating in a collaborative HIV clinical trial involving the Medical Research Council, United Kingdom and four centers, three of which are in Uganda. Researchers were faced with a situation where caregivers of orphaned children were not permitted to provide informed consent for trial participation. The situation contrasted with general clinical practice where consent for procedures on orphans is obtained from their caregivers who are not legal guardians.ConclusionThe challenges faced in obtaining informed consent for orphans in this clinical trial underscores the need for the Zimbabwe ethics committee to develop an ethical and legal framework for pediatric research that is based on international guidelines while taking into account the cultural context. The Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe has since started the process that is expected to involve critical stakeholders namely the community including children, ethicists, the legal fraternity and researchers. (shrink)

Background: Clinical trials involving children previously considered unethical are now considered a necessity because of the inherent physiological differences between children and adults. An integral part of research ethics is the informed consent, which for children is obtained by proxy from a consenting parent or guardian. The informed consent process is governed by international ethical codes that are interpreted in accordance with local laws and procedures raising the importance of contextualizing their implementation.DiscussionThe Zimbabwean parental informed consent document for children participating (...) in clinical research is modeled along western laws of ethics and requires that the parent or legally authorized representative provide consent on behalf of a minor. This article highlights the experiences and lessons learnt by Zimbabwean researchers in interpreting and obtaining informed consent for orphaned children participating in a collaborative HIV clinical trial involving the Medical Research Council, United Kingdom and four centers, three of which are in Uganda. Researchers were faced with a situation where caregivers of orphaned children were not permitted to provide informed consent for trial participation if the Zimbabwean courts had not legally appointed them. The situation contrasted with general clinical practice where legal papers where not required for providing consent for surgical procedures for example.SummaryExperiences gained from this clinical trial revealed that while there may be internationally established guidelines governing the process of obtaining informed consent for children participating in research, there may be need to be cognizant of the culture within which the research is taking place. This may call for the development of an ethico-legal framework that governs research-involving children in Zimbabwe that would facilitate their participation in clinical research, while ensuring that they are protected from exploitation. The Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe has since started developing that framework in a process that is expected to involve critical stakeholders namely the community including children, ethicists, the legal fraternity and researchers. (shrink)

This paper argues that a range of current AI systems have learned how to deceive humans. We define deception as the systematic inducement of false beliefs in the pursuit of some outcome other than the truth. We first survey empirical examples of AI deception, discussing both special-use AI systems (including Meta's CICERO) built for specific competitive situations, and general-purpose AI systems (such as large language models). Next, we detail several risks from AI deception, such as fraud, election tampering, and losing (...) control of AI systems. Finally, we outline several potential solutions to the problems posed by AI deception: first, regulatory frameworks should subject AI systems that are capable of deception to robust risk-assessment requirements; second, policymakers should implement bot-or-not laws; and finally, policymakers should prioritize the funding of relevant research, including tools to detect AI deception and to make AI systems less deceptive. Policymakers, researchers, and the broader public should work proactively to prevent AI deception from destabilizing the shared foundations of our society. (shrink)

Sanskrit text with Hindi verse translation of Aṣṭāvakragītā, work on Vedanta philosophy.

Contributed articles on the life and works of K. Satchidananda Murty,, Indic philosopher and teacher.

On significance of Yoga philosophy; contributed research papers.

Study of Sanskrit trans-creation of Vicārasāgara by Vāsudeva Brahmendra Sarasvatī of Niścaldasa, work on Advaita philosophy.