Participatory Based Transactions in Sharī‘ah (Islamic Commercial Law) and Their Role in the Development of Rural Local Agricultural Sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Local farming is, indeed, the most important sector of agriculture through which farmers grow food. However, owing to their weak financial conditions, they are not able to get maximum benefits from their labours for most of the times. The case of Pakistani farmers, particularly in rural areas of KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), is not different in this connection. They frequently resort to formal and informal sources of financing to accomplish their basic agricultural requirements: both crops and non-crops inclusive. However, all these sources advance financing facility on interest basis. Being typical Muslims, such agricultural credit is, therefore, avoided by these farmers and, as a result, they always endure on their financial grounds. In such situations, some substitute arrangements are recommended to reciprocate with their problems. This alternative is offered by Sharī‘ah through various commercial transactions – among which participatory based transaction i.e. Mushārakah is the most suitable and important one. In the present work, various models are proposed on the basis of such transaction to fulfill various agricultural requirements of farmers, living in rural areas of KP.  In addition, such models are structured in the light of basic theory, available in the classical literature of Islamic law, in order to make them more Sharī‘ah based rather Sharī‘ah compliant. The proposed models are then, at the second stage, tested at ground level to strengthen further their viability for all stake holders. Findings show that all agricultural requirements, particularly heavy machinery and transport, can be realized through such models provided if they are applied in their true spirit. Moreover, content analysis and focused group technique of qualitative research have been used, as a research methodology, for the investigation of the issue in the present work.

Ethical Decision-Making in the Digital Age: the Case of Graphic Images in Kenyan Print and Online Newspapers

This study examined how the online environment has influenced ethical decision-making in Kenyan print and online newspapers with regard to graphic images. A review of the literature showed scant academic attention has been paid to the role ethics play in the selection of images for publication despite acknowledgement of the increasing power and cultural diversity of audiences. The theoretical framework of the study was based on Gatekeeping Theory and Spiral of Silence Theory. Through indepth interviews with senior editors and a review of internal and external guidelines and policies, the research revealed that audience demands for ethical decisions from editors are transmitted mainly through the corporate hierarchy. However, media houses have developed few effective internal systems to guide newsroom decision-making, relying mostly on vague prescriptions buried in editorial policies and ethics codes, which in practice are rarely consulted by newsroom decision makers. Further, the systems developed for the cycle of print production, including scheduled editorial meetings and the use of photo editors to filter images, have proven to be inadequate for the fast-paced world of online news production. The research also revealed that when confronted with graphic images, editors’ resort to their own intuition and experience as well as consultations with colleagues rather than on methodical ethical reasoning. This creates geographical and cultural blind spots which, when coupled with the internet’s expansion, diversification and empowerment of audiences, as well as the lagging development of a media ethics for the digital age, can have potentially serious adverse consequences for editors and the media enterprises themselves. Recommendations from the study include training of editors in the use of methods such as the Potter Box model of reasoning in day-to-day decision-making as well as the development of practical procedures for fast sourcing and selection of images for online publication especially as relates to breaking news. The study also contributes to the literature on Network Gatekeeping Theory, suggesting the need to take into account the hierarchical nature of networks, and demonstrates how the Spiral of Silence Theory can also account for the effect of online audiences on newsroom decision-making. Finally, the study emphasizes the role of ethical decision-making in image selections and recommends that news values research takes more cognizance of ethical considerations.