The specific aims of this research study were to examine the differential effect of three different music interventions, namely the interactive music playing therapy, interaction music singing therapy, and receptive music therapy studying the varying latency periods in the response time it took 3-year-old children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to elicit the target word vocally; and assess the index of happiness of children with ASD after the implementation of the three music interventions, which can, in turn, be used to (...) influence their overall quality of life through this specific intervention. This study used a combined single-subject research design consisting of delayed multiple baseline across the participants and a multielement design to compare the effects of each music intervention technique targeting the child’s verbal response during playback of a practiced song. Findings demonstrated “singing” to be associated with the lowest latency compared to the other two interventions across participants. Additionally, happiness levels varied from neutral to happy, signifying an overall positive experience during participation in the music applied behavior analysis intervention. (shrink)

The current global refugee crisis revealed that refugee children, youth, and adults are uniquely vulnerable to traumatic events. Yet, there are only a few studies available that report robust systematic data on art therapy interventions with mental health in recent refugee populations. The purpose of the study is to synthesize and evaluate the available research evidence on the use of art therapy in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder levels in refugees, and the quality of empirical evidence for each of the reviewed (...) studies. The authors adopted the Council for Exceptional Children evidence-based practice standards and quality indicators to evaluate the methodological soundness of the reviewed studies and the evidence-based classification of art therapy as a treatment intervention. We systematically searched electronic databases of pertinent review articles for the period from 2010 to 2020 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Systematic searches identified 70 research articles but yielded eight eligible journals as per the inclusion criteria. Results indicated that, though considered a promising treatment approach, art therapy is presently classified as an intervention that falls under the category of practice with insufficient evidence. The findings suggest the need for further methodologically sound experimental studies to strengthen the evidence behind art therapy as an intervention to reduce PTSD symptoms in refugees around the world. (shrink)

Neutrosophy, the study of neutralities, is a new branch of Philosophy that has applications in many different fields of science. Inspired by the idea of Neutrosophy, Smarandache introduced NeutroAlgebraicStructures (or NeutroAlgebras) by allowing the partiality and indeterminacy to be included in the structures’ operations and/or axioms.

Aims To examine the understanding of the ethical dilemmas associated with Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI) among Jordanian medical students, physicians in training, and senior practitioners. Methods We implemented a literature-validated questionnaire to examine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the target population during the period between April and August 2023. Themes of ethical debate included privacy breaches, consent, ownership, augmented biases, epistemology, and accountability. Participants’ responses were showcased using descriptive statistics and compared between groups using t-test or ANOVA. (...) Results We included 466 participants. The greater majority of respondents were interns and residents (50.2%), followed by medical students (38.0%). Most participants were affiliated with university institutions (62.4%). In terms of privacy, participants acknowledged that Big Data and AI were susceptible to privacy breaches (39.3%); however, 59.0% found such breaches justifiable under certain conditions. For ethical debacles involving informed consent, 41.6% and 44.6% were aware that obtaining informed consent posed an ethical limitation in Big Data and AI applications and denounced the concept of “broad consent”, respectively. In terms of ownership, 49.6% acknowledged that data cannot be owned yet accepted that institutions could hold a quasi-control of such data (59.0%). Less than 50% of participants were aware of Big Data and AI’s abilities to augment or create new biases in healthcare. Furthermore, participants agreed that researchers, institutions, and legislative bodies were responsible for ensuring the ethical implementation of Big Data and AI. Finally, while demonstrating limited experience with using such technology, participants generally had positive views of the role of Big Data and AI in complementing healthcare. Conclusion Jordanian medical students, physicians in training and senior practitioners have limited awareness of the ethical risks associated with Big Data and AI. Institutions are responsible for raising awareness, especially with the upsurge of such technology. (shrink)

In this interview with curator Cécile Bourne Farrell, artist Jananne Al-Ani discusses her aerial films Shadow Sites I (2010) and Shadow Sites II (2011) and the representation of landscape, from the Middle East to the American south-west, in relation to Kitty Hauser’s book Shadow Sites: Photography, Archaeology, & the British Landscape 1927–1955 (2007) a study on the emergence of aerial archaeology and the role of the sun’s movement in materializing latent histories embedded in the landscape. A French translation of the (...) interview first appeared in issue 59 of the journal Multitudes. (shrink)

Violent conflicts in emerging democracies or societies in transition threaten the stability of state governance institutions, which brings about insecurity of lives, property and deepens the vicious cycle of poverty and criminality in Africa. The first responsibility of any government is to provide security of lives and property. At no time since Nigeria’s civil war has the country witnessed the resurgence of violence and insecurity that claims hundreds of lives weekly. It is a sectarian insurgence of multiple dimensions. This article (...) makes the case that Boko Haram is not just a religious phenomenon but a reflection of a so- cio-political, economic and ethnic problem caused by bad governance. As a result, Boko Haram has witnessed a cross-border influence and impact which has expanded its frontiers beyondNigeriato neighboring countries in the West African region. The theoretical framework employed in this article posits that Boko Haram has its roots fundamentally in poverty caused by bad governance in the Northern Moslem bend, in Nigeria and the West African Region where corruption, human rights violations, marginalization of cultural, political and religious groups have created the situation whereby weak state structures have abysmally failed to deliver on the development promises made during elections. So the emergence of Nigeria’s Boko Haram violence, as a result of the street poverty and the rise of unemployed street beggars, popularly known as Almajiris, and their use for electoral and party violence, was encouraged by the neglect and abandonment of the masses by the governors and other elected leaders. The expansion and consolidation of the Boko Haram insurgence to other parts of the country and neighboring West African nations was made possible by the already existing failed state institutions, bad governance and corruption and the existing band of small criminal sectarian groups that depend upon their survival on aids from Al Quaeda, drug gangs and sea piracy. The religious dimension is a marginal factor fueled by fundamental socio-economic and political variables which have been thrown up in the first place by bad governance and leadership in Nigeria. (shrink)

What does Husserlian phenomenology have to offer feminist theory? More specifically, can we find resources within Husserl’s account of the living body ( Leib ) for the critical feminist project of rethinking embodiment beyond the dichotomies not only of mind/body but also of subject/object and activity/passivity? This essay begins by explicating the reasons for feminist hesitation with respect to Husserlian phenomenology. I then explore the resources that Husserl’s phenomenology of touch and his account of sensings hold for feminist theory. My (...) reading of Husserl proceeds by means of a comparison between his description of touch in Ideas II and Merleau-Ponty’s early appropriation of this account in the Phenomenology of Perception, as well as through an unlikely rapprochement between Husserl and Irigaray on the question of touch. Moreover, by revisiting the limitations in Husserl’s approach to the body—limitations of which any feminist appropriation must remain cognizant—I attempt to take Husserl’s phenomenology of touch beyond its initial methodologically solipsistic frame and to ask whether and how it can contribute to thinking gendered and racialized bodies. The phenomenology of touch, I argue, can allow us to understand the interplay between subjective, felt embodiment and social-historical context. In opening up Husserl’s account of touch to other dimensions—intersubjective and affective—sociality is revealed as residing within, and structuring of, touch. Such touch can allow us to think embodiment anew. (shrink)

In Islam, the acquisition of knowledge is a form of worship. But human achievement must be exercised in conformity with God's will. Warnings against feelings of superiority often are coupled with the command to remain within the confines of God's laws and limits. Because of the fear of arrogance and disregard of the balance created by God, any new knowledge or discovery must be applied with careful consideration to maintaining balance in the creation. Knowledge must be applied to ascertain equity (...) and justice for all of humanity. Research in Islam must be linked to the broad ethical base set forth in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Whether embryonic stem cell research or cloning is ethically acceptable in Islam depends on the benefits derived from such applications. What is most important for the scholars is to adhere to the concepts of compassion, mercy, and benefit to everyone. (shrink)

Genetic research presents ethical challenges to the achievement of valid informed consent, especially in developing countries with areas of low literacy. During the last several years, a number of genetic research proposals involving Omani nationals were submitted to the Department of Research and Studies, Ministry of Health, Oman.The objective of this paper is to report on the results of an internal quality assurance initiative to determine the extent of the information being provided in genetic research informed consent forms. In order (...) to achieve this, we developed checklists to assess the inclusion of basic elements of informed consent as well as elements related to the collection and future storage of biological samples. Three of the authors independently evaluated and reached consensus on seven informed consent forms that were available for review.Of the seven consent forms, four had less than half of the basic elements of informed consent. None contained any information regarding whether genetic information relevant to health would be disclosed, whether participants may share in commercial products, the extent of confidentiality protections, and the inclusion of additional consent forms for future storage and use of tissue samples. Information regarding genetic risks and withdrawal of samples were rarely mentioned (1/7), whereas limits on future use of samples were mentioned in 3 of 7 consent forms.Ultimately, consent forms are not likely to address key issues regarding genetic research that have been recommended by research ethics guidelines. We recommend enhanced educational efforts to increase awareness, on the part of researchers, of information that should be included in consent forms. (shrink)

This paper examines the history of glass colouring. It reviews Kitāb al-Durra al-maknūna of Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, which deals with the subject. The manuscript of this practical treatise was discovered recently. Part one of the paper deals with Jābir as a philosopher and chemist. The art of lustre-painting on glass originated in Syria during the Umayyad Caliphate in the eighth century and was soon practised in the neighbouring area. The paper reviews Arabic literature that deals with the colouring of glass (...) until the 13th century, and with pre-Islamic and Latin books of recipes that deal with glass colouring. Recipes for cast coloured glass are very few and scant in non-Arabic literature, and lustre-painting on glass was not mentioned in any treatise outside Arabic, even in the works of Theophilus and Neri. The colouring of glass gemstones by colour diffusion is not mentioned also. The paper compares the recipes of Kitāb al-Durra with the results of modern analysis of existing Islamic stained glass objects. There is a close correspondence, and the main indispensable ingredients in both cases are silver and copper compounds. Part one ends with an account of lāzaward as cobalt oxide in glass colouring. Part two of the paper gives a representative selection of recipes from Kitāb al-Durra for the three methods of glass colouring. (shrink)

Abstract.In Islam, the acquisition of knowledge is a form of worship. But human achievement must be exercised in conformity with God's will. Warnings against feelings of superiority often are coupled with the command to remain within the confines of God's laws and limits. Because of the fear of arrogance and disregard of the balance created by God, any new knowledge or discovery must be applied with careful consideration to maintaining balance in the creation. Knowledge must be applied to ascertain equity (...) and justice for all of humanity. Research in Islam must be linked to the broad ethical base set forth in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Whether embryonic stem cell research or cloning is ethically acceptable in Islam depends on the benefits derived from such applications. What is most important for the scholars is to adhere to the concepts of compassion, mercy, and benefit to everyone. (shrink)

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons behind unethical behaviour in the Australian Information and Communications Technology workplace. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a qualitative research methodology. A total of 43 ICT professionals were interviewed during the month of February 2014 in six Australian capital cities. All interviews were conducted face-to-face and followed a semi-structured interviewing format utilising open-end questions and further probing questions. The purposive sample represented ICT professionals from large and small organisations, government (...) and private sector, different geographic locations, ages, genders, types of jobs and employment experience. Data analysis was completed with the help of QSR NVivo 10, a software package for managing qualitative data. Findings – Of the 25 reasons identified for unethical behaviour in ICT workplaces, 30 per cent of participants agreed on five major ones: pressure, bad management, greed, lack of respect towards ICT and communication issues. Practical implications – By focussing on the reasons behind unethical behaviour in the Australian ICT workplace, this article helps those identifying strategies for dealing with unprofessional behaviour to take into account the root causes of unprofessional behaviour. Originality/value – There is hardly any literature on reasons for unethical behaviour in the ICT workplaces. This article seeks to address this imbalance in the literature. Also, integrity systems in ICT are a new focus in collective, organisational ethics. Identification of and resolving unethical ICT workplace practice is an innovative contribution to the literature. (shrink)

The NGO Forum, held in Houairou, China, in the fall of 1995, was a defining moment in the global dialogue among women on issues relating to Islam. Prior to that event, discussions of Islamic shari'ah law (law based on religious foundations), in particular, and Islam, in general, had been escalating both in the West and in Muslim countries. In the regional conferences held in preparation for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, held concurrently with the NGO Forum, the (...) intellectual fault‐lines surrounding these issues became pronounced between two radically different schools of thought. The first school of thought argued that shari'ah law was outmoded and should be discarded in favor of a modern Western secular model. The second school of thought denied any problems under existing shari'ah laws. Each group felt very strongly about its point of view. The battle was joined in Houairou. (shrink)

In this paper, I explore some of the temporal structures of racialized experience – what I call racialized time. I draw on the Martiniquan philosopher and psychiatrist Frantz Fanon, in particular his book ‘Black Skin, White Masks,’ in order to ask how racism can be understood as a social pathology which, when internalized or ‘epidermalized,’ may result in aberrations of affect, embodiment and agency that are temporally lived. In this regard, I analyze the racialized experience of coming ‘too late’ to (...) a world predetermined in advance and the distorted relation to possibility – the limitation of playfulness and imaginative variability – that defines this sense of lateness. I argue that the racialization of the past plays a structuring role in such experience. Racialization is not limited to the present, but also colonizes and reconfigures the past, splitting it into a duality of times: one open and civilizational, the other closed, anachronistic and racialized. To understand this colonial construction of the past, I draw on the work of Latin American thinker Aníbal Quijano. (shrink)

This research aims to investigate the thematic system of Arabic texts, especially Arabic Sufi texts related to al-Hikam aphorisms. Thematic structure is defined as the set of options relating to ‘information structure’, the linguistic representation of extralinguistic experience and how a Sufi constructs an information structure in al-Hikam aphorisms. In this case, the extralinguistic experience is focused on the Arabic Sufi communities. The first problem of this research, about thematic system in al-Hikam aphorism related to Arabic Sufi communities and Islamic (...) identities, is elaborated comprehensively. The elaboration process can be classified into a number of thematic systems such as unmarked topical, marked topical, interpersonal and textual. The thematic analysis becomes the base foundation to elaborate the construction of Arabic Sufi communities and Islamic identities. A thematic model shows how language users in Arabic Sufi communities encode language from their mental picture of reality. By capturing the al-Hikam aphorism through the thematic system, it can be concluded that communication is pivotal in making Islamic Sufi identities.Contribution: Contextually, this research contributes to the study of cross-language and cross-culture. Language as a reflection of a certain culture can be seen both in terms of the product and the translation process. (shrink)

In light of the development of “CRISPR” technology, new promising advances in therapeutic and preventive approaches have become a reality. However, with it came many ethical challenges. The most recent worldwide condemnation of the first use of CRISPR to genetically modify a human embryo is the latest example of ethically questionable use of this new and emerging field. Monotheistic religions are very conservative about such changes to the human genome and can be considered an interference with God’s creation. Moreover, these (...) changes could cause perpetual changes to future generations. The Muslim scholars establish their decisions by addressing five foundations of Islamic law i.e. “maqāṣid al sharı̄`a”; the purposes of the law. These are dın̄, nafs, nasl, `aql and māl. To achieve this, the five principles should all be met before approval of an experiment like the Chinese embryo modifications; Qaṣd which is achieved in this case as it aims to protect the embryo from HIV. Yaqın̄ and Ḍarar were not satisfied as they require strong scientific certainty of the procedures, and evidence of safety. Ḍarūra by which the alternatives being compared; in this case more established and proven safe alternatives to protect the HIV transmission from the father are available, so this principle is not met. The final principle is `Urf, by which the social context of using any contemporary technology should be taken in consideration, and clearly this was not achieved. Collectively, germline changes are rejected from an Islamic perspective until the five principles are fulfilled. In the Chinese Twins gene editing case, there was clearly no justification or support for it according to the Muslim Jurisprudence laws. These laws and approaches can serve as an ethical checklist for such controversial research, especially in early stages of the research. (shrink)

The scholars agree that the Prophet did not compose even one line of poetry before revelation was given to him or thereafter. They also agree that he was prohibited from doing this as a way of closing the door to any ambiguity about the Generous Qur’an, such that no one would confuse it with poetry. Despite there being no rational or scriptural proof for the impossibility of his reciting the poetry composed by others or mentioning verses of poetry composed by (...) others, in its proper meter, the scholars differed about whether these things occurred historically. Many scholars stated that this did not occur and even blatantly said that if he wished to use a line of poetry as an example he wouldn’t complete the line. And if he did complete a line of poetry as an example, he wouldn’t say it in its proper meter. This claim spread far and wide among many of the linguists, exegetes, and historians. They cited examples of this, and they provided as proof many reports such that this became a core axiom for them. If, however, they came upon a report that indicates that the Prophet recited poetry in meter form, they sought out some type of figurative interpretation. They did all of this without having first grounded their axiom in any type of proof and without providing any evidence for the correctness of the figurative interpretations that they put forward. Due to the fact that this claim was not built upon a full and complete gathering of all of the reports related to it, nor was it based upon a proper critique according to the methodology of hadith scholars, many problems have arisen in the conceptualization of what occurred historically that are referenced in hadith literature. It is for this reason that this study pays attention to gathering all of the reports related to these incidents, so that we can reach a clear and precise historical conceptualization of this question. Beyond this, it seeks to evaluate the positions of many of the linguists, exegetes, and historians based upon the aforementioned findings and comparing their historical conceptualization with the conclusions mentioned above. Finally, it brings forth the major problems said scholars fell into based upon their not having gathered all of the hadith reports and not having analyzed them according to the methodology of hadith scholars. (shrink)

IntroductionYounger age at diagnosis is a risk factor for poor health-related quality of life in long-term breast cancer survivors. However, few studies have specifically addressed HRQOL in young adults with breast cancer, nor have early changes in HRQOL been fully characterized.MethodsEligible female patients with breast cancer were identified through our local cancer center. To establish HRQOL, patients completed the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast around diagnosis and 12 months later. Sociodemographic factors, genetic susceptibility to cancer, tumor- and treatment-related factors, and (...) comorbidities were abstracted from medical records and the local oncology registry. Mixed-effects models were used to identify changes in FACT-B scores during the first year of treatment and to determine whether any demographic/treatment-related factors modulated changes in scores.ResultsHealth-related quality of life in young patients with breast cancer was within normal limits at baseline, with a FACT-B overall well-being score of 108.5. Participants reported slight improvements over a 12-month period: FACT-B overall well-being scores increased 6.6 points, functional well-being improved 3.0 points, emotional well-being improved 1.9 points, and physical well-being improved 1.5 points, on average. Participants with anxiety/depression at baseline reported greater improvements in FACT-B overall well-being and functional well-being than participants who did not have anxiety/depression at baseline. Marital status, reconstructive surgery, and baseline clinical staging were also significantly associated with changes in aspects of HRQOL, although their impact on change was relatively minimal.ConclusionYoung women with breast cancer do not report HRQOL concerns during the first year of treatment. Improvements in HRQOL during the first year of treatment may be attributable to a sense of relief that the cancer is being treated, which, in the short run, may outweigh the negative late effects of treatment. (shrink)

Automatic synonym extraction plays an important role in many natural language processing systems, such as those involving information retrieval and question answering. Recently, research has focused on extracting semantic relations from word embeddings since they capture relatedness and similarity between words. However, using word embeddings alone poses problems for synonym extraction because it cannot determine whether the relation between words is synonymy or some other semantic relation. In this paper, we present a novel solution for this problem by proposing the (...) SynoExtractor pipeline, which can be used to filter similar word embeddings to retain synonyms based on specified linguistic rules. Our experiments were conducted using KSUCCA and Gigaword embeddings and trained with CBOW and SG models. We evaluated automatically extracted synonyms by comparing them with Alma’any Arabic synonym thesauri. We also arranged for a manual evaluation by two Arabic linguists. The results of experiments we conducted show that using the SynoExtractor pipeline enhances the precision of synonym extraction compared to using the cosine similarity measure alone. SynoExtractor obtained a 0.605 mean average precision for the King Saud University Corpus of Classical Arabic with 21% improvement over the baseline and a 0.748 MAP for the Gigaword corpus with 25% improvement. SynoExtractor outperformed the Sketch Engine thesaurus for synonym extraction by 32% in terms of MAP. Our work shows promising results for synonym extraction suggesting that our method can also be used with other languages. (shrink)

This paper presents a general framework for philosophical counseling founded upon the distinction between philosophical discourse and philosophy as a lived experience. Clients enter counseling, usually, philosophically unsophisticated, but with a set of perspectives and a predicament. I outline the two general processes of philosophical counseling that address such a reported predicament.The first process---critique---involves a critical examination of the client’s philosophical perspectives, as they are related to the reported predicament. Through the use of the Socratic method, the counselor attempts to (...) examine the relation, meaning, implications, etc., of such perspectives. This, I argue, leads to a destabilization of the client, where previously unquestioned beliefs and values become doubtful. As such, a second process---creation---is needed in order to overcome the destabilization of the initial process. For this process to succeed, I argue, philosophical counseling must avoid the problem of suggestion by not relying on any first-order philosophical assumptions. (shrink)

Purpose– The aim of this study is to examine interpersonal trust in Muslim matrimonial sites from a male perspective. Specifically how users perceive interpersonal trust in MMS; what are the signs of lack of trust in MMS ; and what strategies do users adopt to handle the lack of trust in MMS.Design/methodology/approach– This empirical qualitative study used ethnographic techniques to collect data. In addition to briefly observing five MMS, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with ten participants, who were all males, (...) between the ages of 25-35, and residing in different locations, including the USA, the UK, the UAE, Australia and Bahrain. While the interviews focused on participants' experience in MMS, the analysis of these interviews focused on the issue of trust in these sites.Findings– The analysis has revealed that participants associated trust with “risk taking”, “reliance” on one's abilities, “self-confidence” and honesty with the first three being the major themes that transpired from the analysis of data. The analysis has also revealed three signs of lack of trust in MMS. Users expressed concern over a large number of members' profiles being fake; they appeared suspicious about these sites and approached them with caution and felt intimidated by the unrealistic expectations members placed on them. However, it was found users adopted several strategies to handle the lack of trust in MMS including using their communication skills to study others carefully, doing “police work” to uncover any inconsistencies in their statements, “interrogating” them using a pre-developed list of questions and involving their family members in their negotiations.Originality/value– Despite MMS immense popularity within the Islamic world, with the exception of a few articles, there are not many articles available in the academic literature on them. This article seeks to address this imbalance. (shrink)

As a futuristic emblem, smart cities represent a goal to provide all of the services required for a high-quality existence while conserving natural resources to the maximum extent possible. It turns out that the "Line City in Saudi Arabia" is the most famous and modern of these smart cities in terms of preserving 100 percent natural life, owing to the fact that they rely totally on natural energy and do not use any automobiles. The issues and challenges that have been (...) highlighted will assist in the improvement of municipal management. One of the most generally implemented projects in the field of smart cities is the technological and integrative developments of the use of sensors and data collecting in conjunction with rising difficulties aimed at enhancing human well-being and improving human livelihood. This is especially true in Saudi Arabia, where visitors can arrive quickly by just walking through the checkpoints, resulting in a journey of little more than a few minutes to reach any regular destination. It also splits the city into many different levels of the ground, enabling for the conservation of natural excess energy. (shrink)

Applying the resolution–scale relativity principle to develop a mechanics of non-differentiable dynamical paths, we find that, in one dimension, stationary motion corresponds to an Itô process driven by the solutions of a Riccati equation. We verify that the corresponding Fokker–Planck equation is solved for a probability density corresponding to the squared modulus of the solution of the Schrödinger equation for the same problem. Inspired by the treatment of the one-dimensional case, we identify a generalization to time dependent problems in any (...) number of dimensions. The Itô process is then driven by a function which is identified as establishing the link between non-differentiable dynamics and standard quantum mechanics. This is the basis for the scale relativistic interpretation of standard quantum mechanics and, in the case of applications to chaotic systems, it leads us to identify quantum-like states as characterizing the entire system rather than the motion of its individual constituents. (shrink)

Il contributo intende discutere alcune questioni legate alla diversa visione del profeta dell'Islam in una prospettiva interculturale. In particolare si tentano di evidenziare le radici del problema concentrandosi sullo contesto storico in cui la questione ha preso forma. Emerge una critica alla maggior parte degli studiosi arabi che, storicamente, hanno evitato di affrontare lo studio di fonti non musulmane che potessero proporre visioni contrastanti rispetto alle credenze religiose condivise. Il contributo ha affrontato quindi il problema della traduzione di opere letterarie (...) occidentali in arabo, in particolare le opere in cui è implicata l’immagine del profeta dell'Islam: emerge una censura piuttosto diffusa che tende a omettere le parti considerate "offensive" per la sensibilità religiosa dei musulmani. La Divina Commedia di Dante Alighieri rappresenta il caso esemplare di questo atteggiamento. Obbiettivo del contributo è affrontare il concetto di diversità in modo costruttivo in modo da non nascondere i fatti attraverso la censura o la non conoscenza ma invocando un nuovo modo di confrontarsi nel contesto multiculturale.This paper discusses the frequent intercultural problems related to the different cross-cultural vision of the prophet of Islam. In particular, the paper highlights the roots of the problem; in fact, focusing on the historical background of the problem is extremely important. Moreover, the paper delivered criticism to the majority of Arab scholars who, historically, seemed to lack the willingness to study non Muslim sources that have a contradicting vision to their believes. The paper tackled the issue of the translation of western literary works into Arabic, especially those that tackles the image of the prophet of Islam, where the Arabic translation usually skip any “offensive” part related to the image of the prophet. For example, The divine comedy of Dante Alighieri. The paper tries to face the concept of diversity in constructive way, by never hiding the facts, as this can never be considered a solution, but a way to transform it into a very complex problem. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:This paper re-examines the import of Rawls’s theory of justice for private sector institutions in the face of the decline of the welfare state. The argument is based on a Rawlsian conception of justice as the establishment of a basic structure of society that guarantees a fair distribution of primary goods. We propose that the decline of the welfare state witnessed in Western countries over the past forty years prompts a reassessment of the boundaries of the basic structure in order (...) to include additional corporate institutions. A discussion centered on the primary good of self-respect, but extensible to power and prerogatives as well as income and wealth, examines how the legislator should intervene in private sector institutions to counterbalance any unfairness that results from the decline of the welfare state. (shrink)

The simple fact is every utterance has the potential to offend. The issue pursued in this paper is not whether a joke is ethically correct or ethically objectionable. Rather, the issue is, how is it possible that an utterly tasteless joke, a joke that many consider to be crude, rude, inappropriate, highly offensive and even harmful be considered to be funny? Even though I will argue that given the right context, the right audience, any joke can be considered funny, I (...) am not saying that they are acceptable, correct, or ethical. The issue here is an epistemic one and not normative. Depending upon who's telling the joke and the audience to whom it's told, ethnic and racial jokes can either prove to be delightful and delicious or dehumanizing and disgusting. However, I want to point out that good ethnic humor need not and should not be this way. (shrink)

Jeremy Rifkin argues that as we push further into the Information Age fewer and fewer workers will be needed to produce our goods and services. Rifkin predicts that the era of near workerless factories and virtual corporations looms on the horizon. As one wagcommentator put it: “The factory of the future will be staffed by only two living things, a man and a dog. The man’s job will be to feed thedog. The dog’s job will be to keep the man (...) from touching any of the machines!” In a world that is phasing out mass employment, asksRifkin, how do we find alternate ways for individuals to earn a living, find meaningful and creative outlets for expressions and establishtheir own sense of self-worth and identity? In other words, in the absence of work, how will we come to define ourselves? What will wedo with ourselves? How will we stay sane? (shrink)

This study aims to analyse the pros and cons of imposing penalties or fines in law enforcement regulations for violating health protocols in Indonesia. Some people consider that the norm of the fine sanctions in statutory provisions regulating health protocol violators is unconstitutional, but others say it is constitutional. As a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, a study of the perspective of Islamic law is essential. This article uses a normative legal research methodology using two main (...) approaches: the statutory and conceptual approaches. The results show that fines are found in the criminal law clusters and state administrative law. Penalties in state administrative law in their enforcement do not require intervention from other institutions. Still, they can be carried out directly by government officials whose authority has been determined in the laws and regulations. Meanwhile, from the Islamic perspective, the fine sanctions can be applied, in the context of hifz Al-Insan, in Maslahah Mursalah as part of the maqasid al-Syari’ah. The obligation to obey government regulations is part of a person’s obedience to God’s commands. Contribution: This study’s findings can support the government in enforcing the law to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Indonesia and other countries because, constitutionally, the law is legal. Then, the legality of fines for violators of the COVID-19 health protocol, from an Islamic perspective, does not contradict maqasid al-shari’ah. So, there should be no doubts for Muslims to obey these regulations. (shrink)

In The Joy of Science, Jim Al-Khalili presents eight lessons that serve as a guide to thinking and living life a little more scientifically. It is a gentle entrée to the conceptual core of what science is and the spirit of how it is practiced, which will help any reader understand how to live a more rational life and benefit from doing so. The book will connect the lay public with what science fundamentally is - not knowledge per se, but (...) rather a way of thinking, which gives us the power to turn encounters with the unknown into greater insights into the true nature of reality. In an engaging, conversational tone, and writing from the perspective of a practitioner of science, Al- Khalili invites readers to engage with the world in a new way and to think as scientists are trained to do about unsolved mysteries; the nature of truth, uncertainty, and the role of doubt; the value and dangers of simplification; the challenges of complexity or too little information; the importance of evidence-based thinking; the value of guarding against bias (in oneself and others); the importance of being able to change one's mind, and more. By the end, the reader will come away with a clear sense of how the ideas at the heart of the scientific method are deeply relevant to our current times, lives, and personal decision making. Knowing how to think and live more scientifically can make our all of our lives better, and this short book gives non-specialists a welcoming introduction to this knowledge, sharing "the joy" that science can bring. (shrink)

In the first part of this text, the author attempts to demonstrate that sacral kingship might, in anthropological terms, be regarded an Elementary Form of socio-political life; not an autonomous elementary form, but one falling under the category of rulership. The reference to the anthropological notion of Elementary Forms renders virtually irrelevant the rigidity with which categorical distinctions are made between polytheistic and monotheistic kingship, as well as any civilisational divisions that might be imagined between Orient and Occident. The second (...) part of the text provides an illustration of these presuppositions, the author taking several examples from the history of monarchy – both in the Western World and in the Arab World. (shrink)

This thesis is an examination of human maturation as portrayed in Plato's Phaedrus. Adulthood is reached when a transition from an appetitive attitude into an intellectual focus has been accomplished. The practice of philosophy, considered as the "love of wisdom", represents the greatest actualization of human potential. Facilitation of this transition is realized by a process of initiation into philosophy, and Plato makes full metaphoric use of the phenomenon of religious initiation in his description of becoming a philosopher. Much of (...) the dramatic content of the dialogue can thus be explained as a reference to the cultic practice of initiation. This religious background alerts the reader to Plato's arguments that maturation into a philosophical perspective is a necessary condition to human survival, both on an individual and community-wide basis. ;Metaphysically, this problem can be understood as a result of the perspective that emphasizes the discreteness of the parts in any system. When the parts of a political community are understood as private individuals that are discrete, their obligations towards one another vanish. Similarly, if the individual is understood as a bare aggregate of parts, no unifying principle is in place to provide a sustained functioning order. In both cases, Plato explicates the divisive force within the system as the ascendancy of appetitive concerns in the determination of conduct. The solution to this problem rests in philosophy's ability to order the parts such that an organic whole is achieved. Phaedrus' role as a profaner of the cult of Eleusis opens the question of whether philosophy is capable of actually providing this unifying basis for the community, or whether it itself is open to the dissent and separation evidenced by Phaedrus' behaviour towards the cult. In response to this question, The Phaedrus establishes philosophy as a non-profanable enterprise, both because of a basic inexpressibility of the deeper insights of philosophy, and because of the unending process of initiation involved in becoming a philosopher. (shrink)

This article examines the role of Islamic ethics in the marketing field. It presents Islamic contributions to the field by referencing original sources and concepts that are often not easily available to researchers and practitioners alike. In foundational texts, Islamic ethics have their own marketing practice prescriptions, practices that are driven by a discipline which shuns any dichotomy between organizational and societal interests. The paper underscores the role of marketers in improving the well-being of individuals and the community and presents (...) a framework for analyzing the link between Islamic ethics and societal welfare vis-a-vis marketing. Several marketing issues are identified and the contributions of Islamic teachings are presented. This paper, too, identifies emerging ethical dilemmas and the necessity to tackle them in a way that strengthens the role of marketing in societal affairs and ensures morally driven conduct. (shrink)

Each party in any given conflict has a role to play in the process of reconciliation. However, these respective roles are different depending on the power differential within the conflict. The role of the gospel peacemaker is to be aware of the power differential and to call each party to do their part toward reconciliation with one another. For those who have abused their power for self-gain at the expense of others need to repent. For those who have been victimized (...) by this power abuse need to forgive. And both abuser and abused need to lament. (shrink)

How did life come into existence on Earth? Although many scientific theories and hypotheses have been drawn, we have not yet been able to provide a detailed answer to this fundamental question. What if intelligent computers would someday be in a condition to postulate their own evolution theory which would explain how they came into the world, how would this theory look like? And how would it stand in comparison to the humans’ theory? Let us suppose that a thousand years (...) from now, intelligent and self-aware computers who, for any reason whatsoever, had lost all contacts with humans, and had continued to self-develop and improve by themselves, slowly began to wonder about how they came into the world? These intelligent computers may eventually develop a coherent theory of evolution, which would seemingly explain their existence. How would their theory stand in comparison to our theory of evolution? Would it be less comprehensive or viable? Taking into consideration the inorganic nature of computers, their relative simplicity compared to the human body, and the closeness of their components to the surrounding inorganic environment, it would not be a surprise if their theory would be more plausible than that of the humans. So, what would this signify and mean to our scientific theories in general? (shrink)

Most departments in any field of science that have a sound academic basis have discussion groups or journal clubs in which pertinent and relevant literature is frequently discussed, as a group. This paper shows how such discussions could help to fortify the post-publication peer review movement, and could thus fortify the value of traditional peer review, if their content and conclusions were made known to the wider academic community. Recently, there are some tools available for making PPPR viable, either as (...) signed or anonymous comments, or in a hybrid format. Thus, limited platforms are currently in place to accommodate and integrate PPPR as a supplement to traditional peer review, allowing for the open and public discussion of what is often publicly-funded science. This paper examines ways in which the opinions that emerge from journal clubs or discussion groups could help to fortify the integrity and reliability of science while increasing its accountability. A culture of reward for good and corrective behavior, rather than a culture that protects silence, would benefit science most. (shrink)

This paper describes an intelligent algorithm for traffic sign recognition which converges quickly, is accurate in its segmentation and adaptive in its behaviour. The proposed approach can segment images of traffic signs in different lighting and environmental conditions and in different countries. It is based on using Kohonen's Self-Organizing Maps as a clustering tool and it is developed for Intelligent Vehicle applications. The current approach does not need any prior training. Instead, a slight portion, which is about 1% of the (...) image under investigation, is used for training. This is a key issue to ensure fast convergence and high adaptability. The current approach was tested by using 442 images which were collected under different environmental conditions and from different countries. The proposed approach shows promising results; good improvement of 73% is observed in faded traffic sign images compared with 53.3% using the traditional algorithm. The adaptability of the system is evident from the segmentation of the traffic sign images from various countries where the result is 96% for the nine countries included in the test. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to identify the requirements of computerized Management Information Systems and their role in improving the quality of administrative decisions in the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The authors used the descriptive analytical method and the questionnaire method to collect the data. (247) questionnaires were distributed on the study sample and (175) questionnaires were collected back with a recovery rate of (70.8). The study showed a number of results, the most important of which (...) are: There exist a role for computerized management information system requirements in improving the quality of administrative decisions in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. This result is due to the existence of the support and attention by the senior management in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education by 65.06%, the physical requirements available for the use of computerized Management Information Systems are available by (72.19%), and the software requirements for the use of computerized Management Information Systems are available at 67.74%. The results found that the human requirements available for the use of computerized Management Information Systems are available at (68.33%). The results showed that the organizational requirements that assist in the use of information systems are available at (64.19%). There are no statistically significant differences between respondents' responses to the role of computerized management information system requirements in improving the quality of administrative decisions in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education attributable to the variables(Gender, academic qualification, age, career level), while there are statistically significant differences in the role of computerized management information system requirements in improving the quality of administrative decisions in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education due to variable years of service. The study concluded that the Ministry of Education and Higher Education is able to cope with the external environmental changes rapidly and the limited time available for the collection and analysis of information. This means that administrative information systems should be used by increasing the approval of senior management on Management Information Systems in making their decisions, and to involve the employees in making any change and keep abreast of technical developments and try to use external bodies to advise in the field of computerized information systems, and work to increase coordination between the different departments of the ministry. (shrink)

This paper tries to explore the origin of an Ifrīqiyan historical school active in the middle of the 9th century throughout the unfortunately lost work of the chronicler ʿĪsā b. Muḥammad b. Sulaymān b. Abī l-Muhājir Dīnār. This paper opens with a gathering of all the excerpts of this list work which have been copied by other writers. Apart from the study of the historical importance of those “new” fragments, we’ll try to understand the nature of this work and the (...) strategies of its composition. (shrink)

Background Research ethics guidelines are essential for conducting medical research. Recently, numerous attempts have been made to establish national clinical research documents in the countries of the Middle East. This article analyzes these documents. Methods Thirteen Arab countries in the Middle East were explored for available national codes, regulations, and guidelines concerning research ethics, and 10 documents from eight countries were found. We studied these documents, considering the ethical principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki, the Council for International Organizations (...) of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) guidelines, and the International Conference of Harmonization - Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP). Our paper comprises a complete list of protections, such as confidentiality, informed consent, ethics committees, and others. Results This study found different levels and kinds of research ethics regulations and guidelines in the countries examined. Two groups can be distinguished: the countries in the first group have one or more research ethics regulations or guidelines, while the countries in the second group have not yet established any. Most of the documents showed various degrees of deficiencies in regard to ethical protection. The majority of the documents that were examined refer to one or more international documents on biomedical research ethics. Conclusions Recently, a lot of efforts have been made in many countries in the Middle East. However, compared with international documents, most of the research ethics documents in use in this region demonstrate numerous deficiencies. As it relates to these documents, extensive differences could be observed in regard to development, structure, content, and reference to international guidelines. (shrink)