Menorah Review (No. 74, Winter/Spring, 2011)

A Novelist\u27s View of Nineteenth Century Judaism -- An Evolutionary, Nonzero Approach to the Abrahamic Traditions -- Author\u27s reflections -- Books in Brief: New and Notable -- Moreshet: From the Classics -- Post-Zionism... Post-Holocaust -- The Jewish Experience in 17th century Barbados -- Two Poems -- Zachor: From the Records of the Nuremberg Trials, 1945-

Ethical issues for the management and accountability of Christian charities in facing change

This thesis explores issues, ethical demands and appropriate responses relevant to those managing and accountable for change in charities founded with Christian inspiration. While Business Ethics and motivational factors within profit-orientated corporate entities have received increasing attention, ethics relating to the operations of the 'notfor-loss' voluntary sector and of ecclesiastical bodies remain relatively less investigated.The purpose of the research is to discern, then formulate, pragmatic guidance which is both theologically based and managerially useful to those responsible not only for charities but also for many other institutions. It focuses on aspects of religious endeavour where, although often perceived separately, sacred and secular are inextricably entwined. Charitable and income-generating activities of churches ought to be prime proving grounds, for wider potential application within other and diverse organisations, of ethical principles put into practiceThe methodology concentrates on observation of three case-studies, one literary/historical and two contemporary, with active participation in the latter two so that the sharpness of the dilemmas and attempts at solutions reflect in-depth experience. Correspondence is used as a significant source for understanding the factors, criteria and opinions influencing those closely involved.The literary/historical study describes the experience of St Basil and fellow bishops in Fourth century Cappadocia in defining functions and boundaries for senior clergy as churches developed into major religious and social institutions adopting many state responsibilities. To clarify both context and ramifications, concurrent and consequent legal statutes relevant to ecclesiastical management are described and discussed. Important findings are both Basil's awareness of constant tension between "Liberality" and "Fairness" and also the significant limitations of regulations, except where complementary to the essential application of personal qualities

Toward a model of Islamic individual giving behaviour: An explanatory analysis

Individual donations constitute a major resource for charitable organisations. Understanding the key motives and mechanisms that lie behind individual giving is therefore crucial for the development and sustainability of the philanthropic sector. This study seeks to identify intrinsic and extrinsic determinants that may influence individual donating behaviour. It explores the influence of Islamic faith and prescriptions on determinants influencing charity giving in the context of a Muslim country such as the State of Qatar. Supporting this endeavour it develops a draft model reflecting on the individual giving behaviour processes and generates, develops, validates and tests scale items to measure the determinants influencing individual donating behaviour. In so doing, the study seeks to respond to the need for a more culturally and theologically nuanced understanding of the motives and practice of giving behaviour from an Islamic perspective. An extensive literature review was conducted to study the determinants influencing charitable giving of individuals in the contemporary literature together with the development of a reflection on these determinants from an Islamic perspective. This research adopts mixed, quantitative and qualitative approach in exploring the determination of the antecedents influencing donating behaviour and the development of an Islamic giving behaviour scale that reflects and measures these antecedents. Expert reviews were used to assess individually and collectively the validity of the draft scale items. Focus group discussion was employed to examine the clarity of the developed scale items. An individually targeted questionnaire was used to obtain data directly from individual donors and to measure and assess the influence of antecedents on the donating behaviour of these individuals. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the construct validity by examining the relationships among variables. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm to what extent the model fits the data. Triangulation was used to support the validity. Fifteen antecedents were found to be relevant in influencing donating behaviour within the context of the State of Qatar. The study demonstrates that the determinants most influencing individual giving behaviour in the context of a Muslim country such as the State of Qatar context have a distinct nature and meaning that is drawn directly from Muslim culture. Their definitions, nature and dimensions may differ from what is explained by previous studies, particularly studies defined in the non-Islamic literature. The results achieved therefore provide a comprehensive alternative to our current understanding of the motivations and individual giving behaviours that characterise charitable giving in the context of a Muslim country such as the state of Qatar. A new draft model of individual donating behaviour that focuses on Islamic charitable giving is proposed. This draft model incorporates the ‘intention' construct as a potentially important intermediate variable impacting on Islamic giving behaviour. The presence of the new "intention" construct in the mind of the potential Islamic donor serves as a stronger directional signpost for the intention to donate, and directly influences individual's motivating factors. A variety of significant predictors have been found for individual donating behaviour, including religiosity; altruism, empathy, trustworthiness, and others. This study demonstrates that, compared to previous western constructs of individual giving, reputation, commitment, and solicitation are not statistically significant in determining individual giving behaviour. The final draft model is of a good fit and can be operationalised effectively