Despite the size and thanks to the rich brown coal reserves, the Czech Republic is one of the leading energy producers in Europe, and the 7th biggest exporter of electricity in the world. However, following the climate change mitigation, the novel energy policy that enhances the reduction of coal mining is about to be implemented. A preliminary material flow analysis of the Czech energy sector was carried out. The data obtained confirmed that this government act would result in a dramatic (...) reduction of revenues from electricity sales. Conversely, increased costs would be necessary in order to modernize nuclear power plants and promote the production of renewable energy. In addition, the economic analysis revealed that the act might be prejudicial to economic relations in Central and Western-European countries as some of them are significantly dependent on the electricity imported from the Czech Republic. Disputes between engineers and politicians were highlighted. The aforementioned interrelations were subsequently analyzed and a conclusion was made stating that global interests should have the highest moral priority. (shrink)

This paper discusses the D-N model of scientific explanation. It is suggested that explanation is a part of assertive discourse where certain principles must be observed. Then use is made of the relation between the informative content and logical content of a sentence (as shown, for instance, by Popper) to draw some of the conditions necessary for a sound model. It is claimed that the conditions of the model proposed in the present paper exhaust the insights of the papers in (...) the literature, solve the difficulties encountered by other authors, but have some damaging consequences on the D-N model of scientific explanation. (shrink)

El tango es la música más evocativa del área del Río de la Plata. Mucho se ha dicho y escrito sobre este género que conquistó multitudes en varios contextos históricos y en diferentes lugares del mundo, pero existe un problema de visibilidad. En sus inicios y posterior desarrollo hay un aporte que se ha silenciado, el de la africanía, en línea con el blanqueo y el discurso histórico en Argentina que ha convertido al colectivo africano y afrodescendiente en el “primer (...) desaparecido”, un discurso que se repite hasta el hartazgo desde el sentido común y con el que resulta complicado lidiar. Si la música es una importante generadora de identidades, es necesario no perder de vista la participación y la impronta afro en el género arquetípico que define la argentinidad, y es característico de la región rioplatense, puesto que hace a la definición de un marco multicultural en donde la huella africana, entre otras, define el ser argentino y, en general, su impronta es fuerte en el área del Río de la Plata. Según estimaciones y pruebas pilotos, se estiman dos millones de afrodescendientes en Argentina y el último Censo indicó casi 150.000 auto-reconocidos/as a sí mismos/as, por primera vez en la historia nacional. Palabras clave: tango, identidad, música, Argentina, afrodescendencia. (shrink)

For the communication between people to remain effective and lively and for the expressive power to be permanent, the qualities of the words are as important as the quantity of words in a language. From this perspective, Arabic has many linguistic features like other developed languages. Parsing, deriviations, blending, synonymy, contrast, arabization, antithetical polysemy, commutation, ellipsis, polysemy, etc. Language features are intensely found in Arabic. As it is known, polysemy is one of the important issues of the Arabic language that (...) has been taken into consideration since the compilation period. Although there are scholars among Arabic linguists who deny the existence of polysemous words, the vast majority have accepted the issue of polysemy. Among polysemous words, some words indicate several different meanings, as well as words that express many different meanings. In this respect, words that indicate a lot of meanings in the group of polysemous words have attracted the attention of poets. Poets wrote long odes using such words to demonstrate their mastery of the science of the dictionary and to prove their competence in the art of poetry. There are even poets who write different odes in terms of theme, using the same word. One of these poets is Ibn al-Munāṣıf from Cordoba, who lived between 1168 and 1223. The poet, better known as the jurist, wrote his famous ode using the common word "acuz". By ending each couplet with the word ʾujūz, the poet brought together the different meanings of the word ʾujūz in the ode in question. In this study, the issue of polysemy, which is considered an important feature of the Arabic language, will be briefly discussed. In addition, the Qasida of ʾUjūz will be translated and analyzed. (shrink)

We propose that food-related uncertainty is but one of multiple cues that predicts harsh conditions and may activate “incentive hope.” An evolutionarily adaptive response to these would have been to shift to a behavioral-metabolic phenotype geared toward facing hardship. In modernity, this phenotype may lead to pathologies such as obesity and hoarding. Our perspective suggests a novel therapeutic approach.

Judges and juries often make factual decisions even if the facts are disputed and there is no clear-cut evidence available. Despite this common state of uncertainty, verdicts are thought of as having clear winners and losers––either the plaintiff wins and receives a full remedy, or the defendant wins and the plaintiff gets nothing. In private disputes, factfinders base their binary factual determinations on the preponderance of the evidence. There are, however, several doctrines that allow for partial remedy, discounted by the (...) probability that the facts support the plaintiff’s case, given the available evidence (proportional liability). This Article offers a general theory for proportional liability in private law. It identifies three types of factual uncertainty—mutual uncertainty, unilateral uncertainty, and institutional uncertainty—and shows that legal economists should support proportional liability when the state of uncertainty is shared by the parties and the court (mutual uncertainty), and they should adopt an all-or-nothing rule whenever the information is observable but unverifiable (institutional uncertainty). In cases where one party holds private information (unilateral uncertainty), proportional liability is sometimes, but not always, superior to an all-or-nothing rule. (shrink)

In this essay, I examine Richard Miller’s exposition of political solidarity as one of the key contributions of his multifaceted argument in Friends and Other Strangers to the study of religion, ethics, and culture. Miller’s focus on culture broadens the landscape of ethical analysis in ways that illuminate how culture and cultural productions mediate and construct norms and virtues, and the complex relations between self and society. I challenge Miller’s inclination, however, to focus scholarly attention more on habituated forms of (...) civic identity and communal solidarity rather than on disruptive potentialities and critical practices. I suggest that an engagement with social movement theory and the sociology of emotions, with their focus on semiotic analysis and social change processes and mechanisms, can greatly enrich Miller’s account of religion and ethical solidarity. (shrink)

Çalışma Hıristiyanlığın Protestanlık mezhebinden doğan, özellikle Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nde kümelendiği gözlemlenen, İsrail’i ve Yahudileri orantısızca desteklemesiyle bilinen ve aynı zamanda İslam’a ve Müslümanlara karşı düşmanca yaklaşımları haiz “Hıristiyan siyonistlerini” ele almaktadır. Hareketin mahiyeti, doğuşu, teolojisi, faaliyetleri ve kendisinde mündemiç olan antisemitizm ile anti-İslamizm olguları incelenmektedir. Bulgulara göre, Hıristiyan siyonizmi çeşitli açılardan bakıldığında bir anomali teşkil etmektedir. Bunlardan en önemlisi, Yahudilerin ve Hıristiyanların yüzyıllarca birbirlerine en üst seviyede düşmanlık etmiş olan iki topluluk oluşudur. Hıristiyan siyonistler dünya tarihini Mesih’in zuhuruyla birlikte kurulacak (...) olan bin yıllık küresel krallık öncesindeki yedi bölüm olarak ele alan, sınırları büyük ölçüde İngiliz-İrlandalı teolog John Nelson Darby tarafından çizilen ve “premillennial dispensationalism (premilenyal dispensasyonalizm)” olarak bilinen teolojinin öngördüğü kıyamet senaryosuna inanmaktadır. Bu senaryo hareketin varlık sebebini, amaçlarını, dostlarını ve düşmanlarını belirlemektedir. Dost-düşmanlar olarak Yahudilerin buradaki rolü bazı çelişkiler ve ihtilaflar barındırırken, düşmanlar olarak Müslümanların rolü açıkça olumsuz bir görünüm arz etmektedir. Bunun sonucu olarak Hıristiyan siyonistler Müslümanları şeytanlaştırma eğilimine girmektedir. Her ne kadar dindaşları tarafından ahlak, siyaset ve özellikle teoloji eksenlerinde ağır eleştirilere tabi tutulsalar da Hıristiyan siyonistler emperyalist güçlerle olan uzun ittifaklarının da bir meyvesi olarak dünya politikasında kayda değer bir güce sahiptir. Hıristiyan siyonizminin mahiyeti ve dahi antisemitizm ve anti-İslamizm ile irtibatı konusunda Türkçe yazılmış eserlerin azlığına binaen çalışma literatürdeki bu boşluğu kapatma amacı taşımaktadır. Özet: İçinde bulunduğumuz dönemde anti-İslamizm kavramı ele alınırken kendisine özellikle Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nin (ABD) teopolitik dekorunda yer bulan “Hıristiyan siyonizmi” adlı grubun etkisine işaret edilmektedir. Bu grup literatür tarafından İsrail’i Yahudilerin vatanı olarak destekleyen Hıristiyanlar olarak tanımlanmaktadır. İsrail için Birleşen Hıristiyanlar (CUFI) gibi organizasyonlar aracılığıyla İsrail’in desteklenmesi noktasında etkin faaliyetler yürütmektedirler. Orta Doğu’da barışın tesis edilmesini inandıkları kıyamet senaryosunun önünde bir engel olarak gördükleri için kategorik olarak reddetmektedirler. Özellikle 19. yüzyılda başlayıp, 11 Eylül olayları ile birlikte ciddi bir ivme yakalayan ABD’deki anti-İslami hareketlerin büyük bir kısmı Hıristiyan siyonizmi ile ilişkilendirilen şahıslar tarafından başlatılıp desteklenmektedir. ABD’de yaklaşık 20 ila 30 milyon arasında Hıristiyan’ın bu ideolojiyi benimsediği tahmin edilmektedir. ABD dışında İngiltere, İskandinavya, Avustralya, Güney Afrika ve hatta Güney Kore ve Honduras gibi coğrafyalarda da taraftar bulmuşlardır. Birçok açıdan bakıldığında Hıristiyan siyonizmi bir anomali teşkil etmektedir. Bunun özünde Yahudilerin ve Hıristiyanların birbirlerine olan düşmanlıkları yatmaktadır. Yahudiler dini kaynaklarında Hıristiyanlığın en kutsal şahsiyetlerine ağır hakaretler ederken, Hıristiyanlar Yahudileri Tanrı katilleri olarak görmektedir. Ancak Hıristiyan siyonistlerin çoğunluğu İsrail konusunda adeta kraldan daha kralcı davranmaktadır. Hıristiyan siyonizminin teolojik zeminini incelemek isteyen bir araştırmacı eskatoloji (kıyamet bilimi), Armageddon savaşı, istiğrak, püritenler, premilenyalistler, dispensasyonalistler, fundamentalistler, restorasyonistler, evanjelistler, John Nelson Darby ve Cyrus I. Scofield gibi bazı kavram ve aktörlerle karşılaşacaktır. İrlandalı-İngiliz bir teolog olan Darby birçokları tarafından Hıristiyan siyonizminin kurucusu olarak görülmektedir. Hareket için hayati önem teşkil eden ikinci isim ise Cyrus Ingerson Scofield’dir. Scofield Reference Bible ’ı yayınlayarak Hıristiyan siyonizminin milyonlar tarafından benimsenmesine yol açmıştır. Hıristiyan siyonistler “premilenyal dispensasyonel teolojinin” gerçek olduğuna ve gerçekleşeceğine inanmaktadır. Buna göre dünya tarihi yedi çağdan oluşan doğrusal bir olgudur. İnsanlığın halihazırda altıncı çağda olduğuna, yedinci çağın ise çok yakında olduğuna inanmaktadırlar. Bu teolojinin öngördüğü kıyamet senaryosu Antichrist ’ın gelişi, Sahte Peygamber ve Şeytan ile birlikte cehennem teslisini kurması, Müslümanların da onlarla müttefik olarak hareket edip İsrail’e saldırmaları (Armageddon savaşı), Hz. İsa’nın gökten tekrar inerek İsrail’i kurtarması ve barışı tesis edeceği Milenyum Krallığı’nı kurması gibi öğeleri içermektedir. Siyonist olmayan Hıristiyan teologlar Hıristiyan siyonizminin teolojisini defaatle eleştiriye tabi tutmuştur. Yahudilerin seçilmiş ırk olarak görülmesi, Yeni Ahit’in bu ideolojiye destek vermemesi, “Armageddon savaşının” büyük mezheplerde karşılığının olmayışı ve hareketin Yahudi karakteri taşıması gibi sebepler yüzünden bazı Hıristiyan teologlar Hıristiyan siyonizmini heretik ilan etmiştir. Hıristiyan siyonizminin teolojisinin eleştirildiği bir diğer husus ise onun emperyal teoloji olarak yerine getirdiği işlev ile ilgilidir. Birçok düşünür Hıristiyan siyonizmi, Yahudi-Hıristiyan Batı anlatısı ve emperyalizm arasında sağlam bağlar olduğunu iddia etmektedir. Hıristiyan siyonizmi anomalisine bir açıklama getirmek isteyen şahıslar Hıristiyan siyonizmi içerisinde yer alan antisemitizme işaret etmektedir. Buna göre Hıristiyan siyonistler, Yahudilerin ve Yahudi devletinin kurulmasının gerçekleşmesinde hayati bir rol oynadığı kıyamet senaryolarını yürürlüğe koymak adına İsrail’i her şartta desteklerken, bu senaryo Yahudilerin kendisini Mesih gibi gösteren Antichrist tarafından yönetilmesini ve Yahudilerin çoğunluğunun Mesih’in gelişinden sonra ölmesini içermektedir. Aynı zamanda neredeyse daima İsrail yanlısı açıklamalar yapan bazı Hıristiyan siyonistlerin zaman zaman doğrudan antisemitik söylemlere başvurduğu gözlemlenebilmektedir. Bu sebeple Hıristiyan siyonistler ve Yahudiler arasındaki teopolitik ittifakın bir noktada bozulacak pragmatik bir ittifak olduğu iddia edilmektedir. Anti-İslamizm noktasındaki bulgulara göre Hıristiyan siyonistlerin %70’i Araplara karşı ya kayıtsız ya da düşmanca hisler beslemektedir. 11 Eylül’den sonraki dönemde İslam’ın şeytanlaştırılması operasyonu büyük ölçüde Robertson, Graham, Lindsey, Vines ve Falwell gibi Hıristiyan siyonistler tarafından gerçekleştirilmiştir. Yine İsrail’in 1948 yılında kuruluşu, Filistinliler için doğurduğu sonuçlara rağmen Hıristiyan siyonistlerin çoğu için bir kıyamet alametinin gerçekleşmesi anlamına gelmektedir. Hıristiyan siyonistlerin inandıkları kıyamet senaryosunda Müslümanlar ancak düşman saflarında savaşan Gog ve Magog olarak anlam bulabilmektedir. Onlar Şeytan, Antichrist ve Sahte Peygamber ’den oluşan cehennem teslisinin müttefikleridir. Filistinliler, Araplar ve Müslümanlar senaryonun gerçekleşmesi önünde doğrudan engel teşkil etmektedir. Bu hususlar birlikte değerlendirildiğinde halihazırda Hıristiyan siyonistlerin İslam’a ve Müslümanlara neden bu kadar olumsuz yaklaştıkları hususu açıklık kazanmaktadır. Görüldüğü üzere karşı karşıya olunan, gerçek dünyadaki gerçek olaylar ve aktörler hakkında rasyonalizasyona ve değişime kapalı olan, son derece tehlike arz eden dini inançlardır. Hıristiyan siyonizmi üç dinin etkileşime girdiği, üç dinin de bağlılarını ilgilendiren bir fenomendir. Teolojik analiz hareketin Hıristiyanlık dininin kutsal metinlerini İsrail lehine yorumladığını, ancak siyonist olmayan Hıristiyan teologlarca desteklenmediğini göstermektedir. Emperyalist ajandalar dahilinde ABD ve İngiltere gibi devletlerce de destek bulan bu hareketin kıyamet senaryosuna göre Müslümanlar Şeytan’ın müttefikleri olarak kötülüğün tarafındadır. Hz. İsa’nın yeryüzüne dönüşüyle yenilecekler ve yok edileceklerdir. Milyarlarca dolarlık bütçeleriyle, sayıları on binlerle ifade edilen propagandist vaizleriyle, Kuran-ı Kerim yakmak ve Hz. Muhammed’e terörist demek gibi eylemleriyle, Yahudileri İsrail’i Filistinlilerden temizlemeye teşvik etmeleriyle, bu uğurda onlara ciddi bir finansal ve manevi destek sağlamalarıyla ve Batı devletlerini İsrail’in düşman olarak algıladığı Müslüman komşularıyla savaşmaya teşvik eden lobicilik faaliyetleriyle Hıristiyan siyonistler halihazırda İslam’ın yüzleştiği en ciddi meydan okumalardan birisini teşkil etmektedir. Bu hareketin zararlı sonuçlarıyla mücadele etmek için atılması gereken en önemli adım araştırmaları derinleştirerek kitleleri doğru şekilde bilgilendirmek olacaktır. (shrink)

Abstract: The paper deals with “Christian Zionists”, who have born out of Protestantism, conglomerate particularly in the United States of America, provide a non-proportional support for Israel and who at the same time antagonize Islam. The movement’s quiddity, genesis, theology, activities, as well as anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic tendencies are elaborated. According to initial findings, Christian Zionism constitutes an anomaly from a number of perspectives. Most importantly, Jews and Christians symbolize two communities that have been violently antagonizing each other since centuries. (...) Defenders of Christian Zionism believe in the eschatological scenario of “premillennial dispensationalism”, a theology mainly introduced by the Anglo-Irish priest John Nelson Darby that divides world history before the establishment of the global Millennial Empire following the Second Coming into seven dispensations. This scenario determines the raison d’être, purposes, friends and foes of the movement. While the Jewish role in it as frenemies is controversial and ambivalent, Muslims’ role as enemies is unequivocally unfavorable. This situation leads to the demonization of Muslims by Christian Zionist figures. Albeit being criticized by co-religionists in a number of areas including ethics, politics and particularly theology, Christian Zionists occupy a significant position in world politics thanks to their alliance with imperial powers. The paper aims to fill the scholarly gap caused by the scarcity of Turkish literature on Christian Zionism’s quiddity, as well as its nexus with antisemitism and anti-Islamism. -/- Öz: Çalışma Hıristiyanlığın Protestanlık mezhebinden doğan, özellikle Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nde kümelendiği gözlemlenen, İsrail’i ve Yahudileri orantısızca desteklemesiyle bilinen ve aynı zamanda İslam’a ve Müslümanlara karşı düşmanca yaklaşımları haiz “Hıristiyan siyonistlerini” ele almaktadır. Hareketin mahiyeti, doğuşu, teolojisi, faaliyetleri ve kendisinde mündemiç olan antisemitizm ile anti-İslamizm olguları incelenmektedir. Bulgulara göre, Hıristiyan siyonizmi çeşitli açılardan bakıldığında bir anomali teşkil etmektedir. Bunlardan en önemlisi, Yahudilerin ve Hıristiyanların yüzyıllarca birbirlerine en üst seviyede düşmanlık etmiş olan iki topluluk oluşudur. Hıristiyan siyonistler dünya tarihini Mesih’in zuhuruyla birlikte kurulacak olan bin yıllık küresel krallık öncesindeki yedi bölüm olarak ele alan, sınırları büyük ölçüde İngiliz-İrlandalı teolog John Nelson Darby tarafından çizilen ve “premillennial dispensationalism (premilenyal dispensasyonalizm)” olarak bilinen teolojinin öngördüğü kıyamet senaryosuna inanmaktadır. Bu senaryo hareketin varlık sebebini, amaçlarını, dostlarını ve düşmanlarını belirlemektedir. Dost-düşmanlar olarak Yahudilerin buradaki rolü bazı çelişkiler ve ihtilaflar barındırırken, düşmanlar olarak Müslümanların rolü açıkça olumsuz bir görünüm arz etmektedir. Bunun sonucu olarak Hıristiyan siyonistler Müslümanları şeytanlaştırma eğilimine girmektedir. Her ne kadar dindaşları tarafından ahlak, siyaset ve özellikle teoloji eksenlerinde ağır eleştirilere tabi tutulsalar da Hıristiyan siyonistler emperyalist güçlerle olan uzun ittifaklarının da bir meyvesi olarak dünya politikasında kayda değer bir güce sahiptir. Hıristiyan siyonizminin mahiyeti ve dahi antisemitizm ve anti-İslamizm ile irtibatı konusunda Türkçe yazılmış eserlerin azlığına binaen çalışma literatürdeki bu boşluğu kapatma amacı taşımaktadır. (shrink)

G. K. Chesterton's fictional detectives stand in stark methodical contrast to scientific detectives such as Sherlock Holmes. While the scientific detective focuses on external reality, seeking to reconstruct the crime, Chesterton's detectives—and Father Brown in particular—are preoccupied with inner perceptions, devoting their energy to understanding other minds. While Holmes may be seen as a positivist driven by the physical sciences, Chesterton's detectives are exegetes, perceiving human beings as a unique species demanding a distinctive approach. They thus reflect Chesterton's view that (...) the modes employed to decipher physical reality are inappropriate for comprehending social reality.Chesterton's opposition... (shrink)

We extend research on the effects of local audit office characteristics on audit quality by investigating whether audit offices in highly religious U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas exhibit going concern decisions that reflect heightened professional skepticism relative to audit offices in less religious MSAs. Prior research links religiosity to risk aversion and ethical development and suggests audit practice offices in more religious MSAs are more likely to issue going concern opinions because they will assess the effects of mitigating factors in a (...) more skeptical manner. Our results indicate that audit practice offices located in highly religious MSAs are more likely to issue going concern audit opinions, consistent with a more skeptical assessment of mitigating factors. Additional tests provide direct evidence consistent with the argument that these audit offices are more risk averse in issuing going concern opinions. Our findings are relevant to auditors, audit clients, researchers, and regulators. (shrink)

Isma‘īl b. ‘Ali, who is referred to as Abū Sa‘d as-Sammān, was born in Ray, Iran, between 981 and 983 and he devoted most of his life to educational travels, especially for hadith and he returned to his city of birth towards the end of his life and died there in 1053. Isma‘īl b. ‘Ali is well-known with the name of as- Sammān, meaning butter trader, because of he was grew up in a family of butter traders. The movables and (...) real estates in his inheretence show that he belongs to a wealthy family. As-Sammān, who seems to be in the twelfth generation of Muʻtazilite tradition, approve the thoughts of Abū Hāshim al-Jubbā’ī (ö. 321/933) and Abu'l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī (ö. 436/1044) and he was accepted as the leader of the Muʻtazila in his own period. He had education from scholars such as Abū Tāhir al-Muḫallis, Ibn Abū Nasr at-Tamīmī and Abkasī (ö. 405/1014-15) in the discipline of hadith. As-Sammān, was an authoritative figure both in the fiqh of Hanafi and disagreements between thoughts of Hanafism and Shafi'ism as well as in the fiqh of Zaydism. In addition, he educated himself in the topic of Qur’anic recitation, scholars of narrators, genealogy, law of inheritence and arithmetic. Among the works of as-Sammān, who are stated as many, only one record seem to be extant until today: “Kitāb al-Muvāfaqa bayn ahl al-bayt wa's-sahāba wa mā ravāhu kullu farīqin fī haqq al-āḫar”, which was written to point out the fondness and respect between the first three caliphs and ‘Ali. Thus, it is not possible for us to have a detailed knowledge about his thoughts in kalam and fiqh. However, Ibn al-‘Adīm (ö. 660/1262) gives us some ideas about thoughts of al-Sammān through his will narrates in his “Bughyat aṭ-Ṭalab fī tārīḫi Ḥalab”. As-Sammān states that his thoughts of kalam and fiqh are formed on the school of Ahl al-‘adl wa't-tawḥīd, in particular parallel with Muʻtazila-Zaydiyya and he designed his will, which he gave about two years before his death, according to the Muʻtazilite theological paradigm. In this context, according to as-Sammān, Allah is one and eternal. Attributes of Allah such as Power, Knowledge, Life, Hearing, Sight and Wealth are by virtue of His essence. Allah does not resemble anything, nor a body or an accident. All actions of Allah are good, and He never do evil. Allah does not wish for a sin nor have any consent to sin. Allah does not test people with what they cannot afford. Allah does not oppress people nor punish anyone with no justice. Allah is faithful to his promise that he will reward people who are good and will punish people who do evil. Voluntarily actions are created by people themselves. Revelation regarding the doomsday and the hereafter are true. Also, worships performed by the living on behalf of the dead such as hajj, ‘umrah, charity, reciting the the Qur'an and visiting the graves of them are useful for the dead. Repentance which is the forgiveness of sins is the decisiveness of not to commit it again with regret. As-Sammān has been criticized because of his Muʻtazilite thoughts, but his credibility, his intellectual effort and his abilities have been appreciated even by his opponents. The combative and dynamic nature of his life was reflected in his will are analysed in this work and it is concluded that he expressed his thoughts on belief and deeds in his will as a true Mu‘tazilite manifesto. (shrink)

Many aspects relating to the conduct of mediation are left to mediator choice, but mediators often lack adequate guidance on how their discretion ought to be exercised. In this book, Omer Shapira identifies the ethical norms that govern mediators' conduct. Adopting a professional ethics perspective on the basis of role-morality and applying it to a core definition of mediators' role, Shapira argues that all mediators are placed in ethical relationships with mediation parties, the mediation profession, the public, and their employers (...) or principals that produce ethical obligations. (shrink)

We study a first-price auction preceded by a negotiation stage with complete information, during which bidders may form a bidding ring. We prove that in the absence of externalities, the grand cartel forms in equilibrium, allowing ring members to gain the auctioned object for a minimal price. However, identity-dependent externalities may lead to the formation of small rings, as often observed in practice. Potential ring members may condition their participation on high transfer payments as a compensation for their expected externalities (...) if the ring forms. The cartel may therefore profitably exclude these bidders, although risking tougher competition in the auction. We also analyze ring efficiency in the presence of externalities, showing that a ring may prefer sending an inefficient member to the auction, if the efficient member exerts threatening externalities on bidders outside the ring, which in turn leads to a higher winning price. (shrink)

The rapid evolution that has taken place since the state reform of 1980 has made the need felt that some options of this state reform must be adjusted. In spite of this need, the core question is whether or not one should, in the first place, adapt the structures of the national government so it can carry out its national tasks. The clear establishment of communities and regions, the structuring of the political parties on the basis of these entities, the (...) socio-economic substratum that is based on the duality, of the country, are indexes that show that the regions have numerous policy supporting structures while they are virtually absent on the national level. The political decision making on the national level is very restricted in this perspective. The state reform of 1980 has established three levels of equal standing between which the division is total. However, the probem immediately arises of a common parliament and a socio-economic substratum on which a national parliament and a national government should be able to rest if the Belgian state is to survive with its substructures. The solution here is twofold : either the substructures wilt have to create organs of the central state or the organs of the central state wilt have to be assembled on the basis of a national political election free of the substructures. (shrink)

Based on extensive archival work, this essay assesses the contribution of a Palestinian liberation theology to a comprehensive view of peacebuilding that involves not only liberation from oppressive occupation but also a holistic vision and strategy for attaining just societal structures. Emerging out of the victim's viewpoint, a PLT is consistent with a multiperspectival approach to justice. It articulates a call for a holistic transformation of the interrelations between Jews and Palestinians, envisioning a just peace that must entail a re-framing (...) of geopolitical structures as well as ideological discourses that vindicate systemic and symbolic violence against the Palestinians. However, the author shows that a PLT is asymmetrical: while it challenges the theopolitical affinities between Christian and Jewish Zionists and the structural injustices and social mechanisms they endorse, it refrains from contesting the symbolic boundaries of a Palestinian national identity. This bears important implications for the broader debate concerning the role of religion in peacebuilding. The author argues that the limits of a PLT as a peacebuilding framework relate to its conceptual reliance on an unreconstructed secularist interpretation of a future Palestinian state and on its elective affinity with a supersessionist and theological orientation that, by definition, hermeneutically de-Zionizes the Bible and its interpretations. (shrink)

This study aims to reveal high school students’ perceptions of COVID-19 and schools in the pandemic process through metaphors. In the study, phenomenology research design based on the qualitative research method was used. The study was carried out with the participation of 134 students at all grade levels from high school. The data were analyzed by content analysis. The metaphors were categorized according to their similarities, and their frequency values were calculated. Seventy-six metaphors and eight categories about COVID-19 were reached, (...) and “flu,” “prison,” and “snake” are the metaphors that have the highest frequency values. They explained the metaphors by making associations with the disease, fast-spreading and damaging things. In the COVID-19 process, 78 metaphors and eight categories were found out for the school. Based on the metaphors created by the students, suggestions were made depending on the research results. It was determined that students had negative perceptions about the COVID-19 pandemic and the school in this process, and it was suggested that this could be eliminated again with educational activities. (shrink)

Shaul Magid's Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical (2021) has the potential to urge American and Israeli Jews to “own” Meir Kahane and hold him up as a mirror reflecting the toxic and tragic dimensions of modern Jewish history. Such a look in the mirror can only happen once Jews see Palestinian suffering as central to the building of the state of Israel and also how they are complicit and implicated in such suffering.

We propose extrapolating Conviction Narrative Theory (CNT) to clinical psychology and psychiatry. We demonstrate how CNT principles may benefit assessment, therapy, and possibly even modify public health views of neuropsychiatric disorders. Our commentary focuses on hoarding disorder as a model, elaborates on discrepancies in the scientific literature and suggests how the CNT may resolve them.

In the history of political thought a major problem has been to determine if philosophers should get involved in political affairs. From Aristotle to Antonio Gramsci, a wide variety of positions have been presented on this topic. Today academics often choose to isolate themselves in the ivory tower of the university. Although there are many exceptions to this general rule there is no consensus about how philosophers should relate to politics. We hope that this article which explores the relation of (...) Aristotle to Machiavelli can shed some light on this very relevant issue. (shrink)

In economic history value theory is simply one paradigm amongst others. It refers to an ensemble of economic ideas developed by classical political economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo. In the works of Karl Marx, however, value theory takes on a new meaning. It is charged with political significance and relates directly to class struggles in modern society. In this paper we will explore some aspects of Marx’s critique of capitalism as interpreted by Harry Cleaver, Isaak Illich Rubin, (...) Roman Rodolsky and several other scholars. (shrink)

The political, administrative and economic recovery process that took place after the Abbasid caliph al-Mu‘tadid moved the center of the state back to Baghdad in 279 (892) was short-lived. The fact that al Muktadir became caliph at an early age and political conflicts caused Baghdad to fall into the hands of the Buwayhids in 334 (945). This writing aims to evaluate the work prepared by Adan Jarso Golole as a doctoral thesis under the name Political, economic, and social life in (...) Baghdad in the process leading to the rule of Buwayhids (279-334/892-945) and published in 2021 as a book under the name of Baghdad Falling into the Hands of the Buwayhids (279-334 / 892-945). (shrink)

The problem of environment is the leading common problem of people living on Earth, the sky and soil of which have been polluted. I believe that pollution in a broad sense is the basis for all other important problems of this world. Man has polluted himself and Earth. In the former, which is called cultural pollution, man becomes alienated from other members of his own species and in the latter, which is called physical pollution, man becomes alienated from nature of (...) which he is a child. Both problems, which are based on alienation, show the deficiency in the implementation of the idea of the unity of man and nature, of the unity of mankind. The unity of humanity presupposes the consciousness of living in a common world and of the fact that man is a child of Earth. The possibility of and the necessity for such a consciousness to come into being in a physical-geographical space, which is metaphorically represented by Istanbul, in which different cultures managed to exist side by side throughout history, shows itself more clearly in the present day. Istanbul might be seen as the city which is probably most suitable for being seen as a metaphor for a world in which the idea of the unity of humanity may be realized in the future, because it is an entrance to Asia with its eastern side and to Europe with its western side and as such the point of intersection of the eastern and western cultures. It was a cosmopolitan city and still is. Having a look at the world from Istanbul as a metaphor is in a sense the same as having a look at Istanbul itself. (shrink)

Khalīfa b. Khayyāt(d. 240/854-855) was an historian- muḥaddith in the ʿAbbāsid’s period. There are references in sources to his competence in history and lineage rather than Ḥadīth. Two works of him have survived. The first one is al-Ṭabaḳāt which is about study of men and the second one is al-Taʾrīkhwhich chronologically narratesthe events in the history of Islam until 232 AH. The latter is the most significant work to be applied for the historiography of ibnKhayyāt. In this article, Khalīfa b. (...) Khayyāt’s methodology in historiography is examined. In this study, the early period of Islamic histography is handled and the subject is discussed comparatively. The main characteristics of his historiography are his adoption of a chronological style that facilitates the follow-up of the book, his knowledge for the lineage of those who died in wars and the details about the wars. Also, among the charactersitics are his application of isnād to his history book as a muḥaddith, his knowledge for the previous resources via his teachers who belong to the schools of al-Madīna and ʿIrāḳ and when required, his usage of ayah, ḥadīth and poems. These issues are dealed in the artcile with examples. Besides, a study in the West about Khalīfa b. Khayyātasserts that he was a follower of Umayyad dynasty and so this affected his historiography. In this article, this assertion is tackled by analyzing the whole book and it concludes that it is not valid because of some narrations against this assertion.SummaryKhalīfa b. Khayyāt (d. 240 / 854-55), who grew up in Basra, one of the most important centers of scholarship of the time and the meeting point of scholars, and he continued his scholarly works in this city. Since his grandfather and father are engaged in the field of Ḥadīth, Khalīfa b. Khayyāt started his scholarly adventure at an early age and he took his first education in the field of Ḥadīth.Scholars, in the early periods, continued their studies in the fields of sciences related to each other. Khalīfa b. Khayyāt’s studies are also in this kind. Although there are references in sources to his accumulation of Ḥadīth, Khalīfa b. Khayyāt ’s main area of ​​expertise is history and nasab/genealogy. The fact that his works and references to him in later sources are largely related to historical events, knowledge of the nasab/genealogy, and wafayāt (death dates of Ḥadīth scholars and narrators) reveals his considerable knowledge on these issues. Khalīfa b. Khayyāt lived in the period of ʿAbbāsid caliphs al-Maʾmūn (813-833) and al-Muʿtaṣim (833-842). This period is important because of the fact that the al-Mihna incident took place and the pressure on the Ḥadīth scholars increased. Although Khalīfa b. Khayyāt is not one of the direct opponents of Muʿtazila, his participation in a debate against them provides clues about the place where he stands. The scholarly atmosphere of Basra, enabled Khalīfa b. Khayyāt to benefit from a wide range of teacher-student network. In addition to his professors from whom he benefitted in the field of Ḥadīth, he had the opportunity to obtain the knowledge and understanding of the history of that time through his teachers who are important historians of the period in his field. Two works related to Khalīfa b. Khayyāt whose reliability is confirmed by djarh wa l tadil scholars reached to our time. One of the oldest Ṭabaḳāt works in the history of Islam is al-Ṭabaḳāt; the other one is the book, al-Taʾrīkh, which provides a new method for Islamic historiography.This study deals with the principles of the method of historiography, which can be put forward through Khalīfa b. Khayyāt 's al-Taʾrīkh. al-Taʾrīkhis important in terms of being the first example of chronological writing type in Islamic historiography and has not been subject to any independent study to date. There are two ongoing M.A. thesis about Khalīfa b. Khayyāt, however, no study has been identified that directly deals with its methodology of history. On the other hand, based on some riwāyats/narrations in al-Taʾrīkh, there is a work that claims that Khalīfa b. Khayyāt had sympathy towards Umayyads. The study named “Khalīfa b. Khayyāt’s History on the Umayyad Dynasty (660-750), prepared by Carl Wurtzel as his PhD. Dissertation, examined the life of Khalīfa, partly the historiography and the religious-political narrations in the work. On the case of Muʿāwiya’s (d. 60/680) request of the allegiance to Yazīd (d. 64/683), Wurtzel compared an event that took place between the envoy of Ibn al-Zubayr (d. 73/692) and Muʿāwiya with al-Balādhurī’s (d. 279/892-93) narrative and concluded that Khalīfa was an Umayyad sympathizer. However, Khalīfa b. Khayyāt’s exclusion of an event such as al-Mihna which was against the ʿAbbāsid and changed the course of history in his book, shouldn’t be considered as a symptom of sympathy; It would be more appropriate to accept it as a feature of history writing.At the top of Khalīfa b. Khayyāt's principles of historiography, adopting chronological method comes first. Accordingly, Khalīfa b. Khayyāt, gives a brief history about the siyar of the Prophet Muhammad at the introduction of the book. Then, by beginning from the first hijri year, he gives the important events, wars and deaths by the years. Sometimes, he refers to the people assigned by the caliphs of the period by referring to the Amîrs (Administrators) of the Hajj. He gives lists of those who died on both sides of the wars. The importance of mentioning the tribes of the deceased shows his competence in the knowledge of nasab. One of the highlights of his historiography is that he sometimes does not touch upon some of the events and situations that are considered to be turning points in Islamic history; and sometimes he does not go down into detail but just gives relevant narratives. For example, he doesn’t mention any narrations about the selection of the Caliph which perhaps the most fundamental point of separation between Ahl al-Sunnah and Shīʿa in the history of Islam.Although he gave detailed information about The Battle of The Camel (36/656) and Ṣiffīn cases (37/657), it is not possible to determine his views on this subject. In addition, he never mentioned the al-Mihna incident, which deeply influenced society and the scholarly environment during the ʿAbbāsid period. Isnād is also holds an important place in the methodology of history of Khalīfa who was a muḥaddith at the same time. In many of the narrations he used the words haddathanā and ahbaranā.In our study, the siyar section of al-Taʾrīkhwas examined in order to determine the sources of the Khalīfa’s historiography and has been seen that the works of Ibn Isḥāḳ (d. 151/768) and Ibn Hishām (d. 218/833) were the main sources of this chapter. Considering Khalīfa b. Khayyāt’s emphasize to isnād and his reach to Ibn Isḥāḳ 's work through the mediation of Bekr b. Suleiman, it can be said that he was dominant in historiography on the sources before him. Khalīfa b. Khayyāt rarely refers to Qur’anic verses and hadiths when describing events. He referred to the verses in only two places and hadiths in only five places. One of them, and perhaps the most remarkable one in the book is the Ḥadīth of the Prophet Muḥammad: “I am the guardian of whom; ‘Alī is his guardian” This narration is used in the letter of Caliph Mahdī (d. 169/785) of the ʿAbbāsid to khārijī (outer) Abd al-Salām b. Hishām who rebelled. The study is based on the principles outlined above. At the end of the study it is also considered that Khalīfa b. Khayyāt ’s works should be the subject of graduate studies which should be prepared with deep readings. (shrink)