Experience with a group of mechanical engineering seniors at the University of Colorado led to an informal experiment with engineering students in India. An attempt was made to qualitatively gauge the students’ ability to appreciate a worldview different from the standard engineering worldview—that of a mechanical universe. Qualitative differences between organic and mechanical systems were used as a point of discussion. Both groups were found to exhibit distinct thought and behavior patterns which provide important clues for sensitizing engineers to environmental (...) issues in future educational initiatives. Cross-cultural and global dimensions of these initiatives are discussed. (shrink)

Second/foreign language teaching has been found as one of the most emotional professions worldwide. To generate optimal academic outcomes and run an effective education, teachers and students’ emotions and feelings must be positively cared for. Given the significance of emotions in L2 education, many studies have followed positive psychology and examined various positive constructs. Nevertheless, love, as a PP variable, has been ignored in education due to its cultural/religious sensitivities. Trying to dispel the myths, recently, a new trend called a (...) “loving pedagogy” has started to find itself a place in second language acquisition research and practice. Yet, proposing a model of its application and an agenda for its research has been overlooked by scholars in this domain. Motivated by this lacuna, this research article provided the conceptualization, definitions, research bases, practical models, and implications of a loving pedagogy for SLA practitioners and future researchers. (shrink)

A recent initiative at Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, India, has resulted in setting up a program called Centre for Environment Studies and Socioresponsive Engineering which seeks to involve undergraduate students in studying and solving environmental problems in and around the city of Hyderabad, India. Two pilot projects have been undertaken — one focusing on design and construction of an eco-friendly house, The Natural House, and another directed at improving environmental and general living conditions in a slum (...) area. The paper describes our attempts and experience of motivating our students to take interest in such projects. In an interesting development we invited a member of a student-faculty team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) that is doing a project in Nepal on safe drinking water. We report in our paper how the presentation by the guest from M.I.T. served as a catalyst for generating interest among civil and mechanical engineering students in our own projects. The paper includes contributions from one of our students and the M.I.T. staff member, reporting on their experiences related to the slum development project. (shrink)

Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, Volume 31, Issue 2, Page 453-473, April 2022.

This article focuses on the interrelationship of law and life in human rights. It does this in order to theorize the normative status of contemporary biopower. To do this, the case law of Article 2 on the right to life of the European Convention on Human Rights is analysed. It argues that the juridical interpretation and application of the right to life produces a differentiated governmental management of life. It is established that: 1) Article 2 orients governmental techniques to lives (...) in order to ensure that both deprivation and protection of lives is lawful; 2) A proper application of Article 2 grounds itself on a proper discrimination of lives which causes Article 2 to be applied universally but not uniformly to all juridical subjects; 3) The jurisprudence of Article 2 is theoretically appreciable only in a ‘politics of life’. Finally, the article ends with a plea to analyse other fundamental human rights in the context of ‘biopolitical governmentality’. (shrink)

The Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet are a rich source of learning about human psychology and the personality types, patterns and traits. This study attempted to understand whether personality types and patterns can be understood through Islamic knowledge. For this purpose, the study examined the personality traits as laid down in the Qur’an and later disseminated though the hadiths. A qualitative research design was adopted for this study, combining philosophical and phenomenological approaches, where the former captured the (...) religious essence of the personality types, patterns and traits, and the latter revealed their significance from the Islamic perspective. The primary data was collected from religious scriptures, hadiths, and the Qur’anic verses, while the secondary data sources included books, articles and critical commentaries on the hadiths and religious scriptures. The data was analyzed through a theoretical and analytical framework, using classification methods, and focusing on both methodological as well as descriptive aspects of personality types, patterns and traits in the light of the Holy Qur’an. The findings revealed the in-depth presence of advice and wisdom about personality traits in the Holy Qur’an. The study reiterated that the human race is only capable of knowing the true existence of God Almighty owing to its intrinsic human characteristics, and being an integrated entity of mind, body, and soul. The implications of the study leis in its re-establishing the concept of faith through intellectual and practical applications. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to highlight an interdependence between procedural and agential norms that undermines their neat separation when appraising argumentation. Drawing on the munāẓara tradition, we carve a space for sequencing in argumentation scholarship. Focusing on the antagonist’s sequencing of critical moves, we identify each sequence’s corresponding values of argumentation: coalescence, reliability, and efficacy. These values arise through the mediation of virtues and simultaneously underpin procedural as well as agential norms. Consequently, an ambiguity between procedure and agent (...) becomes apparent. This ambiguity hints at the potential for a virtue theory of argumentation that draws on procedural norms. (shrink)

Deizm başından beri kendini ana akım dinî kabullere karşı heterodoks dinî bir kimlik olarak konumlandırmış, felsefe ve teolojinin temel düşünce üretim alanları olan Tanrı tasavvurları, Allah-âlem ilişkisi, din-bilim ilişkisi, kötülük meselesinden kaynaklı ahlakî tartışmalarda geleneksel kabullere aykırı görüşler ileri sürmüştür. Bu yönüyle deizm, dinin kendi içinden bir eleştirisidir. İngiltere’de deizmin babası olarak isimlendirilen E. Herbert of Cherbury’nin deizmin beş ilkesi bu eleştirinin en başat örneğidir. Ona göre; 1. Yüce bir Tanrı vardır, 2. Bu yüce Varlığa ibadet edilmelidir, 3. Erdem ibadetin (...) yarattığı bir değer olduğu için din ve ahlak arasında doğrudan bir ilişki vardır, 4. İnsanlar zayıf yaratıldıkları için tövbe ihtiyacındadırlar; bu da Tanrı’yla iletişime açıklık demektir, 5. Ölümden sonraki hayatta ceza ve mükâfat vardır. Deizmin iddiaları zaman içinde değişikliğe uğramıştır. Bu değişimi, farklı deizm iddialarını tasnif eden ve eleştiren Samuel Clarke’ta görmek mümkündür. Bununla birlikte, deistler şu konularda ortak fikre sahiptirler: imanın kurtarıcılığına karşı bilginin kurtarıcılığı esastır; kurumsal dinî yapılar reddedilmelidir; akıl ve insan doğası yüceltilmelidir; ahlak akılla temellendirilebilir; (vahyin imkânını kabul eden deistlere göre) vahyin doğrusu ile aklın doğrusu uyum içinde olmalıdır. Türkiye’de deistler dini reddetmekten daha çok onun akılla uyumunu talep etmekte, hurafelerden arındırılmasını ve radikal söylemlerden temizlenmesini istemektedirler. Kurumsal dinî otorilerin yerine, insanın aklına ve doğasına yaslanan doğruları önermektedirler. Bu doktrin temeline ek olarak Türkiye’de deizm ilginç veriler ve sonuçlar üretmektedir. Türkiye’de muhafazakâr bir yönetim iş başındayken deizmin artış kaydetmesi çok çarpıcıdır. Kamusal alanda dinin daha fazla görünür olmasına rağmen, deizmin ve sekülerleşmenin artması, din-siyaset ilişkisinin çok sıkı kurulduğu ülkelerde dine yabancılaşma gibi bir sonucun ortaya çıktığı tezini bir kez daha doğrulamış görünmektedir. Bu çalışma deizmin farklı iddialarını dikkate alarak ve Türkiye’de lise öğrencileri arasında yapılan araştırmalara dayanarak şu sonuçları okuyucuyla paylaşmaktadır: Mezhep farklılığının tetiklediği şiddet, radikal söylemler, buyurgan din dili, mitolojik anlatımlar genç zihinleri geleneksel olarak tevarüs ettikleri birikimi yeniden değerlendirmeye itmektedir. Kendilerini dinin dışında konumlandırmak istemeyen bu zihinler, yeni bir dini kimliği tercih etmektedirler. Bu kimlik bugün artık heterodoks bir kimlik olarak kendini göstermektedir. Bu aynı zamanda sekülerleşmiş bir ortodoksinin ortaya çıktığının da açık göstergesidir. (shrink)

I suggest that virtue ethics can learn from Foucault’s critical observations on biopolitics and governmentality, which identify how a good cannot be disassociated from power and freedom. I chart a way through which virtue ethics internalizes this critical point. I argue that this helps address concerns that both virtue ethics and the critical scholarship inspired by Foucault otherwise ignore. I apply virtue ethics to the contexts of refugee arrival, asylum procedure, and immigrant integration in Western Europe; I then see how (...) Foucault’s critical thought provides a counterpoint to virtue ethics; I finally analyze how incorporating that critique allows virtue ethics to make sense of both the context and the stakes involved. (shrink)

It is well-established that the experience of nature produces an array of positive benefits to mental well-being. Much less is known about the specific attributes of green space which produce these effects. In the absence of translational research that links theory with application, it is challenging to design urban green space for its greatest restorative potential. This translational research provides a method for identifying which specific physical attributes of an environmental setting are most likely to influence preference and restoration responses. (...) Attribute identification was based on a triangulation process invoking environmental psychology and aesthetics theories, principles of design founded in mathematics and aesthetics, and empirical research on the role of specific physical attributes of the environment in preference or restoration responses. From this integration emerged a list of physical attributes defining aspects of spatial structure and environmental content found to be most relevant to the perceptions involved with preference and restoration. The physical attribute list offers a starting point for deciphering which scene stimuli dominate or collaborate in preference and restoration responses. To support this, functional definitions and metrics—efficient methods for attribute quantification are presented. Use of these research products and the process for defining place-based metrics can provide (a) greater control in the selection and interpretation of the scenes/images used in tests of preference and restoration and (b) an expanded evidence base for well-being designers of the built environment. (shrink)

BackgroundHow do the police officers perceive health risk, psychological distress, and work stress during the COVID-19 outbreak in China? This study explores the health risk perception, work stress, and psychological distress of police officers who worked at the front line to implement lockdown measures.Materials and MethodsWe conducted a large-scale field survey with police officers sample in the northwestern part of China from February 29 to March 7, 2020. Independent-sample T-test and ANOVA were used to analyze whether there are differences in (...) health risk perception, work stress, and psychological distress between different groups. The regression analysis was employed to figure out the factors that influence police officers’ psychological distress.ResultsResults showed a gender difference in perceiving work stress among police officers. Also, police officers with chronic disease perceived higher health risks, more psychological distress, and higher work stress. Additionally, police officers above 45 years old significantly perceived higher health risks than young officers did. It also revealed that working hours contribute to police officers’ health risk perception, psychological distress, and work stress. Finally, our results highlight that age, working hours, chronic disease, health risk perception, and work stress significantly contribute to police officers’ psychological distress.ConclusionOur research verifies that there is a gender difference in perceiving work stress among police officers. Police officers with ongoing medical issues and above 45 years old suffer more during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Our research suggests that the government should pay more attention to their physical health and mental health. The heavy workload containing the COVID-19 extends police officers’ working hours, causing higher health risks, work stress, and psychological distress. This study contributes to the psychological distress literature and provides a way forward to other countries struggling to contain the COVID-19. (shrink)

İbâdet, bütün akıl sahibi varlıkların Allah'ın varlığını idrak edebilme ve O'na karşı şükretme duygusu olarak tanımlanır. İbadet eylemini incelemek, ibadet edenin doğasını tahlil etmeyi gerektirir. Bu tahlil bizi ibadet eylemine eşlik eden bilgi/kavrayış, niyet/yönelimsellik ve sürecin sonunda ortaya çıkan özgürlükle buluşturur. Bilgi/kavrayış, Kur'an'ın ibâdet olarak işaret ettiği ilişki formuna en derin mânâyı verir. İbadet, Tanrı'nın mutlak yaratıcı iradesini keşfetme ve ona insanî seviyede eşlik etme arzusudur. Allah’ın varlığını ve birliğini bilmeye yapılan çağrı, ibadetin bilgi ve niyet unsuruna en üst seviyede (...) yapılan daveti içerir. Bu davete icabet sırasında devreye giren semboller ve her bir eyleme ibadet sırasında yüklenen anlam, insan yaşamında yeni olgulara hayat verir. Niyet yahut yönelimsellik ise, insanların parçası oldukları doğal nedensel bağları aşma arzusunu içinde barındırır. İnsanın verili olan bu düzeni ve illiyyet bağını aşarak kendine yeni bir ufuk arama çabası ibadetin niyetle ilgili kısmında içerilir. İbadet bir tanınma talebidir. Sonlu varlığın sonluluğunu ve sınırlılığını aşma arzusunu tatmin etmeyi amaçlayan bir ‘ilişki’ eylemidir. Sonlu ile Sonsuz arasındaki bu ilişkinin bilgi zemininde inşa edilmesi, Allah ile insan arasındaki sınırın bulanıklaşmasını değil tam tersine daha belirgin hale gelmesini sağlar. İbadetteki bilme, bilen öznenin her zaman bu sınırların farkında olması demektir. Niyet, sonlu varlığın Sonsuz olanla iletişime geçerek sonluluğun getirdiği değer yitimini dindirme arzusudur. Özgürlük ise sonlu varlığın Sonsuz Olan’la iletişimi yoluyla, kendisini çepeçevre kuşatan bütün kısıtlama ve dayatmalardan azade olma isteğidir. Allah’tan başkasına tapanların bir düşüş, parçalanma ve kayboluş trajedisi yaşamalarının sebebi her zaman bir kısıtın ve dayatmanın nesnesine dönüşmüş olmasındandır. Onun için Allah ısrarla ibadetin sadece kendine yapılmasını talep ederek bu trajediyi bloke etmek istemektedir. İbadetin kabulü için nasıl ibadetten önce yerine getirilmesi gereken şartlar, ibadet sırasında takip edilmesi gereken rükünler varsa, aynı şekilde ibadetten sonra yerine getirilmesi gereken şartlar vardır. Bunlar yapılan ibadetin gerçekten ibadet niteliğine sahip olup olmadığını denetleyen ibadet sonrası kriterlerdir; bu ibadetin fenomenolojisidir: İbadet bireyi kendi iç dünyasında bir itmi’nana kavuşturmalı, kamusal alanda ise ahlakî bir özne olarak inşa etmelidir. (shrink)

Islamic Bioethics presents a wide variety of perspectives and debates on how Islamic societies deal with the ethical dilemmas raised by biomedicine and new technologies. The book is a "constructive dialogue" between contributors selected from a multidisciplinary group of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars from different Islamic countries. The 11 chapters illuminate the diversity and complexity of the issues discussed in Islamic bioethics and pave the way to a better understanding of Islamic bioethics and dialogue in the global bioethics community. The (...) chapters take both theoretical and practical approaches to the topic, and each covers an emerging issue in Islamic bioethics. This book will be useful for academics and professional institutions in both Islamic and non-Islamic countries, and will be instrumental in providing researchers, scholars, students, policymakers and medical professionals with access to the latest issues and debates related to Islamic bioethics. Contributors include: Tariq Ramadan, Abdallah Daar, Ali Albar, Mohsin Ebrahim, Baharouddin Azizan Alastair Campbel, Bagher Larijani, Carol Taylor, Gamal Serour, James Rusthoven, Ilhan Ilkilic, Ingrid Mattson, Hassan Chamsi-Pasha, Jonathan Crane, Hakan Ertin, Mehunisha Suleman. (shrink)

يتحدث هذا الكتاب عن مفهوم المقاومة بمعناه الواسع، فليست المقاومة مرهونة فقط بالعنف والرصاص والدم، ولا محصورة في خوض المعارك وممارسة القتال. فإذا كانت مقاومة المستعمر والمحتل والمغتصب هي الأبرز والأعلى صوتًا، فإن هناك جبهات أخرى تدور عليها المواجهة لا تقل أهمية عن التصدي للمستعمر، وصيانة استقلال الوطن وحريته. وأولى هذه الجبهات، مقاومة الحاكم الجائر لرده عن الظلم والطغيان، ودفعه إلى إقامة العدل الذي هو أساس الملك. وتأخذ هذه المقاومة أشكالًا متعددة عبر التاريخ، منها ما لجأ إلى أقصى درجات العنف (...) والدم كالثورتين الفرنسية والبلشيفية، ومنها ما كان مقاومة سلبية نجحت في تحقيق الغرض منها من دون أي عنف مثل حركة المقاومة التي قادها الزعيم الهندي الخالد غاندي ضد الاحتلال الإنجليزي لبلاده. والجبهة الثانية للمقاومة هي مقاومة الأفكار المتخلفة والتقاليد البالية، وهذه الجبهة هي الأكثر تأثيرًا على مدى التاريخ الإنساني؛ فعطاء المفكرين والعلماء والمبعدين لا يحدث تغييرًا فوريَّا، ولكن يكون تأثيره متتاليًا ومتراكمًا على مدى زمني طويل على حركة المجتمع نحو التقدم الأخلاقي والاجتماعي. أما الجبهة الثالثة فهي مقاومة أو مجاهدة النفس التي هي أمارة بالسوء، والحرص على ألا تفقد النفس نخوتها فتسقط في التبلد واللامبالاة، والعمل على بناء النفس الواثقة الثابتة الوفية الصابرة، مما يجعل صاحبها سويًّا وإيجابيًّا بما يمكنه من أن يؤدي دوه باقتدار على جبهات المقاومة الأخرى. (shrink)

This study concentrates on adaptive event-triggered control of complex dynamical networks with unpredictable coupling delays and stochastic deception attacks. The adaptive event-triggered mechanism is used to avoid the wasting of limited bandwidth. The probability of data communicated by the network is established by statistical properties and Bernoulli stochastic variables with an uncertain occurrence probability. Stability analysis based on Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and the stability of the closed-loop system is guaranteed. Using the LMI technique, we obtain triggered parameters. To demonstrate the feasibility (...) and usefulness of the suggested methodology, two examples are shown. (shrink)

This article attempts to evaluate emotive meanings across languages and cultures expressed and elicited semiotically from viewers. It investigates the challenges of subtitling emotive feelings in the American filmHomeless to Harvard(2003) into Arabic. It adopts Paul Thibault’s (2000. The multimodal transcription of a television advertisement: Theory and practice. In Anthony Baldry (ed.),Multimodality and multimediality in the distance learning age, 311–385. Campobasso: Palladino Editore) method of multimodal transcription and Feng and O’Halloran’s (2013. The multimodal representation of emotion in film: Integrating cognitive (...) and semiotic approaches.Semiotica197(1/4). 79–100) framework of the multimodal representation of emotion to formulate strategies for subtitling emotion from English into Arabic. Additionally, Feng and O’Halloran’s (2013) framework is adapted to show how stylistic choices (e.g., cinematography, music, soundtracks, etc.) and semiotic expressions can elicit emotion from viewers. The social semiotic model is employed to investigate how emotive representation is realized through verbal and non-verbal items. The findings showed that the filmmakers had properly used stylistic choices and various semiotic techniques to elicit emotion from the viewer derived from the emotion of the film’s heroine. (shrink)

The term ra ḥ ma/mercy is one of the key terms of the Holy Qur’ ā n and it has many connotations. Two names of God, ra ḥ mān and ra ḥ ῑm and their manifestations are contained in these connotations. So the two names explicitly tackled in our paper. While ra ḥ mān is the proper name indicating the absolute being and the source of all existence, ra ḥ ῑm is much narrower. The exegetical tradition emphasizes that God is (...) ra ḥ mān, i.e. provides existence and sustenance to all creatures in this world while ra ḥ ῑm gives guidance and salvation to those who just deserve it here. Ra ḥ mān and ra ḥ ῑm are used in the Qur’ān asyndetonically, i.e. without the copula wāw ( ﻭ ): in the form of ar-ra ḥ mān ar-ra ḥ ῑm not ar-ra ḥ mān va ’r- ra ḥ ῑm, indicating that these two names signify One (God) and that they appear in His actions simultaneously and instantaneously, not consecutively. Key Terms: Ra ḥ ma/mercy; rule of mercy; principle of hope; divine assistance; heaven and hell. (shrink)

The present study examined the traces of neoliberal ideology in O-level English language textbooks taught in elitist private schools in Pakistan that follow the UK-based international educational system administrated by the University of Cambridge under the General Certificate of Education (GCE). Analysis in the study was informed by Fairclough's CDA writings. Moreover, Bourdieu's views on neoliberalism were also considered to shed some light on neoliberal ideology in the textbooks. Findings suggest that several neoliberal themes were evident in the textbooks under (...) scrutiny, including marketization, consumerism, branding, celebrity culture, competition, individualism, self-responsibility and self-entrepreneurship, mobility, new ‘Othering’ strategy and English as a neoliberal skill. Based on the findings, we argue that the global ELT industry that produces teaching materials, including textbooks for the periphery is a major contributor to the neoliberal world order maintained by the local (political) elite in the government(s) e.g. Pakistan in case of the present study. The textbooks prepare learners for a competitive world rather than a world based on cooperation, mutual progress, and happiness. The study thus questions such neoliberal hegemony encoded in the textbooks and argues for critical examination and selection of the materials for contexts where English is taught as a foreign language. (shrink)

This study applied an artifact-centric view to investigate the consequences of enterprise social media usage. It investigates how enterprise social media usage influences employee creativity. A moderated mediation model is developed based on social exchange theory. The empirical sample of 238 employees is used to test the proposed model. Results of the empirical analysis performed using PROCESS macro of SPSS indicate that enterprise social media usage positively impacts employee creativity via the mediating mechanisms. Furthermore, social media usage frequency negatively moderates (...) this impact of enterprise social media usage on employee creativity via leader-member exchange. Interestingly, the empirical analysis reveals that the impact of enterprise social media usage frequency strengthens the indirect effect that enterprise social media usage has on employee creativity via perceived support for innovation. (shrink)

Internet-enabled technologies have provided a way for people to communicate and collaborate with each other. The collaboration and communication made crowdsourcing an efficient and effective activity. Crowdsourcing is a modern paradigm that employs cheap labors for accomplishing different types of tasks. The task is usually posted online as an open call, and members of the crowd self-select a task to be carried out. Crowdsourcing involves initiators or crowdsourcers, the crowd, crowdsourcing task, the process, and the crowdsourcing platform where requesters offer (...) various tasks and crowd workers complete these tasks. As the crowdsourcing is carried out in the online environment, it gives rise to certain challenges. The major problem is the selection of crowd that is becoming a challenging issue with the growth in crowdsourcing popularity. Crowd selection has been significantly investigated in crowdsourcing processes. Nonetheless, it has observed that the selection is based only on a single feature of the crowd worker which was not sufficient for appropriate crowd selection. For addressing the problem of crowd selection, a novel “ant colony optimization-based crowd selection method” is presented in this paper that selects a crowd worker based on multicriteria features. By utilizing the proposed model, the efficiency and effectiveness of crowdsourcing activity will be increased. (shrink)

ObjectiveWe aimed to provide an overview of the psychological status and behavioral consequences of the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in Libya.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among the Libyan population through May and June 2020 in more than 20 cities. The survey comprised basic demographic data of the participants and anxiety symptoms measured using the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale with ≥15 as the cut-off score for clinically significant anxiety symptoms. Additionally, a survey regarding the lockdown effect was administered, which (...) consisted of several parts, to measure the lockdown status.ResultsA total of 8084 responses were recorded, of which, 5090 were women and 2994 were men. The mean age for study participants was 27.2 years. Among the participants, 1145 reached the cut-off score to detect anxiety symptoms; however, of the study variables, only five were predictors of clinically significant anxiety: age, gender, marital status, work status, being a financial supporter for the family, and being infected with COVID-19. Women had 1.19 times higher odds to exhibit anxiety symptoms than men. Increasing age was significantly associated with reduced likelihood of exhibiting anxiety symptoms, whereas being married was significantly associated with higher likelihood of anxiety symptoms, compared to not being married. Being suspended from work was associated with an increase in the likelihood of anxiety symptoms. However, we found that being infected with COVID-19 was associated with a 9.59 times higher risk of exhibiting severe anxiety symptoms. Among the study participants, 1451 reported a physical and/or verbal abuse episode from family members, 958 reported abuse outside the family, and 641 reported abuse from enforcers, during the lockdown.ConclusionOur study provided an overview of the psychological and behavioral status, among those who resided in Libya during the civil war and COVID-19 pandemic. The study demonstrates a concerningly high level of clinically significant anxiety during lockdown among the Libyan population during Libya’s lockdown period. (shrink)

Study of the religious thoughts of Muḥammad Taqī Miṣbāḥ Yazdī on Islamic ethics, God and values.