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Today, as we hurtle towards imminent planetary destruction in the age of the Anthropocene, we believe it may be instructive to try and understand if the ancient science of spirituality can prove useful in humankind's ability to change course, even at this late hour. We argue that such a paradigm shift is critically essential for human survival and that without the inner transformation proposed by this science, it may prove impossible to build a society based on the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. This chapter draws from foundational texts and authoritative sources across multiple religious traditions, based upon which it outlines a brief sketch of the ancient science of spirituality. We begin with an account of the differentia specifica of this science, where we delve into what kind of science this is. Since it is centrally concerned with inner transformation, we briefly outline the theory of change embedded in this science and the kind of rejuvenation it enables, which makes it possible for us to clearly perceive the key elements and the structure of reality. We then spell out the impact this has on the nature of human action, continually teasing out implications for policy and practice in our time. We provide a few concrete illustrations of the same. Inter alia, we also show how many of these insights can be found even within modern scientific and philosophical traditions, thereby indicating possibilities of convergence and synthesis between ancient and modern science, following thereby the guidance of genuine spirituality.

The study aims to investigate the relationship between E-government and corruption. It also examines the moderator role of national culture through Hofstede’s dimensions on the association between E-government and corruption.

In addition to panel regression techniques, the authors use the random forest method to assess the order of importance of all significant variables in determining corruption. The sample of this study consists of 55 countries during 2008–2020 period.

The results show that E-government is negatively correlated with corruption. The authors also find that both economic and cultural variables play an important role in determining corruption. However, religion has no impact on corruption. The results can potentially assist regulators and policy-makers when trying to control corruption as they should take into consideration the cultural background of citizens when making rules and procedures that aim at reducing corruption.

The current study uses random forests model, which allows the regression of variables based on the construction of a multitude of decision trees. The main contribution of using this model compared to the other regression models used in prior studies is to extract the relative importance of each significant variable. More precisely, it evaluates the rank of importance for each significant variable that drives corruption rather than merely identifying variables that drive corruption regardless of their relative importance.

This scoping review aims to explore how “food media”, “food messages” and “food content” are referred to in scholarly writing to enhance a shared understanding and comparability.

Following the PRISMA, ScR-guidelines, four scientific databases were screened on published manuscripts in academic journals, books and doctoral theses mentioning food media, content and messages within the prevalent meaning as in human communication.

Of the 376 included manuscripts, only a small minority (n = 7) provided a conclusive definition of at least one of the three earlier-mentioned concepts; 40 others elucidated some aspects of food media, messages or content; however, they emphasized different and, sometimes even, contrasting aspects. In addition, the review explores in which disciplines the manuscripts mentioning food media, messages or content occur, which methodologies are used and what target groups and media are most common.

Based on this aggregated information, a definition of food media, messages and content is proposed, aiming to enhance the comparability of diverse academic sources. This contribution invites scholars to critically reflect on the included media and content types when comparing studies on food media, messages or content.

The paper examines the historical shifts in policing strategies towards individuals with SMI and vulnerable populations, highlighting the development of co-response models, introducing the concept of “untethered” co-response.

This paper conducts a review of literature to trace the evolution of police responses to individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and vulnerable populations. It categorizes four generations of police approaches—zero-policing, over-policing, crisis intervention and co-response—and introduces a fifth generation, the “untethered” co-response model exemplified by Project SCOPE in Philadelphia.

The review identifies historical patterns of police response to SMI individuals, emphasizing the challenges and consequences associated with over-policing. It outlines the evolution from crisis intervention teams to co-response models and introduces Project SCOPE as an innovative “untethered” co-response approach.

The research acknowledges the challenges in evaluating the effectiveness of crisis intervention teams and co-response models due to variations in implementation and limited standardized models. It emphasizes the need for more rigorous research, including randomized controlled trials, to substantiate claims about the effectiveness of these models.

The paper suggests that the “untethered” co-response model, exemplified by Project SCOPE, has the potential to positively impact criminal justice and social service outcomes for vulnerable populations. It encourages ongoing policy and evaluative research to inform evidence-based practice and mitigate collateral harms associated with policing responses.

Given the rising interactions between police and individuals with mental health issues, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper highlights the urgency for innovative, non-policing-driven responses to vulnerable persons.

The paper contributes to the literature by proposing a fifth generation of police response to vulnerable persons, the “untethered” co-response model and presenting Project SCOPE as a practical example.

The continuous evolution of e-commerce with young consumers’ growing interest in online shopping has transformed the retail landscape across the world. With the surge in online sales, counterfeits of luxury goods have also found themselves from brick-and-mortar shelves to online e-commerce sites. Against this backdrop, this study aims to understand and analyse young consumers’ online counterfeit purchase behaviour (OCPB). Additionally, it also aims at identifying the determinants that influence their purchase decisions.

Following an extensive review of the literature, the present study pursued a quantitative approach in exploring critical demographic, psychographic, behavioural and situational factors influencing OCPB. The study was conducted in India through an online survey using a structured questionnaire.

The findings indicate that young consumers’ OCPB is significantly related to influencing factors like brand consciousness, fashion involvement, face consciousness, impulsive buying tendency, acquisition centrality and utilitarian shopping values. Furthermore, moderating effects of perceived anonymity (PA) and moral disengagement (MD) on OCPB were also observed and validated.

The study examined the critical factors and their linkages while building upon a structural framework on OCPB, keeping India as a representative sample. The proposed framework will bring more clarity and further insights that will help scholars expand the research domain with more cross-cultural studies and aid brand e-marketers to strategize their action towards developing strong brand aesthetic values.

The study contributes towards the literature by introducing PA and MD vis-à-vis building a framework for studying young consumers’ OCPB.