In the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, the phrase “Flattening the curve” has become a rallying cry, popularized by government leaders and journalist in the news and on the social media. FTC is a succinct way of communicating an important public health message that physical distancing, mask-wearing and other public health measures will decrease the peak number of cases and prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed. However, while the message of FTC is right in the sense that limiting transmission will (...) reduce the peak number of cases, some visualizations used to illustrate its effect are incorrect from an infectious disease modelling point of view. The misconceptions are misinterpretations of flattened curves, the effect of FTC on the duration of the pandemic, the dynamics of the curve to be flattened, and the overestimation of the importance of FTC. (shrink)

Philosophical practice is as varied as the methods and subject matter of philosophy itself, and thus may include approaches that involve analysis of the narrative self employing the methods and materials of philosophy. Empirical research suggests that the coherence of the constellation of the narratives constituting the narrative self is associated with an increased sense of purpose, meaning, and authenticity. In this paper, a practitioner (Daude) and a client (Peters) present the use of a philosophical parable, the Three Metamorphoses of (...) the Spirit,” from Nietzsche's Also Sprach Zarathustra, as a means of effecting greater narrative self-coherence through interpretation and revision. Our aim is to provide a glimpse, from both perspectives, not only into the philosophical methodology of narrative self-analysis but also into particular moments in the genealogy of transformation revealed by this approach. (shrink)

The paper describes supportive actions for users of NC machine tools. From the technical point of view, this comprises new input/output media for interaction with the machine as well as new software tools for help systems. From the organisational point of view, concepts for group work are to be supported and a methology for participation of users in the development process is suggested. A software tool for job order planning is presented which combines organisational and technical aspects. One of the (...) aims of the research reported here, is to explore options of systems which keep the human expert in the loop of shopfloor production. (shrink)

Charles S. Peirce n’est pas connu ni reconnu comme un philosophe social. Pourtant une lecture attentive des textes pragmaticistes montre que les considérations de théorie sociale et politique ne sont pas absentes de la pensée du philosophe américain. L’article met en avant certains développements relatifs à la critique de l’individu, à la notion de communauté et aux institutions, et tente de surmonter les difficultés philologiques pour fournir une interprétation cohérente.

This essay introduces a special issue on the history of kāmaśāstra in medieval India. It briefly reviews the secondary scholarship on the subject from the publication of the first translations of the genre at the end of the nineteenth century. It highlights the relatively unexplored history of later kāmaśāstra, and stresses the need for contexualized and detailed studies of the many kāmaśāstra treatises produced in the second millennium CE. The introduction, and the essays that follow, also argue for an expanded (...) interpretive framework for the genre, moving beyond ‘sex’ and ‘sexuality,’ to a more widely defined notion of a ‘kāma world’, in which sensual pleasure is understood as being deeply enmeshed with aesthetic, ethical and cosmopolitan cultures. (shrink)

This essay focuses on a neglected and important text, the Nāgarasarvasva of Padmaśrī, as an index to the changing contours of kāmaśāstra in the early second millennium (1000-1500) CE. Focusing on a number of themes which linked Padmaśrī’s work with contemporary treatises, the essay argues that kāmaśāstra incorporated several new conceptions of the body and related para-technologies as well as elements of material and aesthetic culture which had become prominent in the cosmopolitan, courtly milieu. Rather than seeing this development as (...) an attenuation of the earlier science as constituted by Vātsyāyana’s Kāmasūtra, it is possible to see that kāmaśāstra actually developed closer relations with fields of knowledge that had long developed alongside it. (shrink)

Rethinking Early Medieval India: A Reader. Edited by Upinder Singh. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2011. Pp. xiv + 354. Rs. 1240.

The main objective of the present paper is to introduce some features of fake/bogus conferences and some viable approaches to differentiate them from the real ones. These fake/bogus conferences introduce themselves as international conferences, which are multidisciplinary and indexed in major scientific digital libraries. Furthermore, most of the fake/bogus conference holders offer publishing the accepted papers in ISI journals and use other techniques in their advertisement e-mails.

The aim of the present paper was to introduce some online-based approaches to evaluate scientific journals and publishers and to differentiate them from the hijacked ones, regardless of their disciplines. With the advent of open-access journals, many hijacked journals and publishers have deceitfully assumed the mantle of authenticity in order to take advantage of researchers and students. Although these hijacked journals and publishers can be identified through checking their advertisement techniques and their websites, these ways do not always result in (...) their identification. There exist certain online-based approaches, such as using Master Journal List provided by Thomson Reuters, and Scopus database, and using the DOI of a paper, to certify the realness of a journal or publisher. It is indispensable that inexperienced students and researchers know these methods so as to identify hijacked journals and publishers with a higher level of probability. (shrink)

Breaking from prevailing conceptions of ethics and morality as matters of moral rule or principle, this volume calls attention to ethical life in South Asia—the moral dispositions at work in lived experience, and the embodied practices of ethical engagement through which such dispositions may be cultivated and shared. Taking up themes such as the transmission of tradition, ethical engagements with modernity, ethical practices of the self, and moral relations between self and others, this volume puts South Asian traditions of ethical (...) life into conversation with the Aristotelian, Christian, and liberal traditions that have been so consequential for ethical life in the West. (shrink)

This study aims to investigate the awareness and perception level of bioethical issues among pre-service science teachers at one of the Malaysian Education Institutions. A total of 67 respondents studying science major and science elective were involved. A questionnaire based survey with an alpha Cronbach of approximately 0.93 was used. Data were analysed using SPSS version 22. The results showed that the average awareness and perception level were =4.218±0.758 (very high level) and =3.991±0.923 (high level), respectively. There was a statistically (...) significant difference according to religion and course. Cloning showed the highest awareness level followed by organ donation, genetic modification, stem cells, abortion, gene therapy, gene screening and euthanasia. Overall, the findings indicated that pre-service science teachers were aware of the existence of bioethical issues. However, the authorities may implement bioethical issues more firmly in the future to increase pre-service science teachers’ awareness and perception level. (shrink)

Islam hadhari or civilizational Islam, an approach promoted by the current Malaysian government to achieve development in accordance with the principles of Islam through the mastery of knowledge and development of the individual and the nation.

The concept of knowledge and its implication to national development, with reference to Malaysia; and analysis from Islamic viewpoint.

The concept of knowledge and its implication to national development, with reference to Malaysia; and analysis from Islamic viewpoint.

The Exalted Fath: Ha-Emunah ha-Ramah Transleted by Solomon Ibn Lavi, Ha-Emunah ha-Nissaʼah Transleted by Samuel Ibn Matut, The Anonymous Commentary to HaEmunah ha-Ramah.

Este artículo pretende analizar tanto el nombramiento como el cese de los cadíes desde el punto de vista de sus cualificaciones académicas. Se centra en la práctica del cadiazgo en Egipto durante el período ‛abbāsí. Las fuentes principales son los Ajbār al-quḍāt de Wakī' y el Kitāb wulāt Miṣr de al-Kindī. Ambas obras contienen material de una gran originalidad y son bastante completas, ofreciendo detallada información sobre temas relativos tanto al nombramiento como al cese de los jueces durante los primeros (...) siglos de la historia islámica de Egipto. Se estudia la biografía de cada juez para averiguar cuáles fueron las razones que determinaron su nombramiento y su cese. Los resultados obtenidos son de interés para comprender las prácticas judiciales y su relación con las aptitudes profesionales que se consideraban necesarias en aquella época. (shrink)

Recent developments in the field of education have led to a renewed interest in the mediating role of critical thinking abilities in the relationship between language learning strategies and the intermediate English as a Foreign Language learners’ writing performance. Oxford Placement Test was run to homogenize the participants, and 100 intermediate learners out of 235 were selected. Then, two valid questionnaires of Ricketts’ Critical Thinking Disposition and Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning were administered. Having administered the questionnaires, the researchers (...) asked the participants to sit for a writing test. The data collected from the questionnaires and as well as the scores of their writing performances were analyzed through SPSS. The results showed a significant relationship between learning strategies and learners’ writing performances, the sub-sets of learning strategies and learners’ writing performances, and CTA and learners’ learning strategies. However, CTA did not play a mediating role in the relationship between intermediate EFL learners’ learning strategies and writing performance. Based on the results of the study, one might also conclude that strategies seemed to play a more important role in the performance of learners especially their writing performances. Therefore, this study had useful contributions for students, teachers, and curriculum designers. Findings of this research could assist teachers to be aware of learners’ strategies in learning writing and help their students to be responsive to using learning strategies in their learning process and create a satisfactory learning context for using learning strategies. Therefore, learners were able to become independent and feel responsibility for their own learning. Secondly, curriculum developers could take advantage of the findings to include learning strategies training into the curriculum. As a result, students were able to use strategies in their learning process more easily and finally, the results might pave the way for improving the research findings. (shrink)

Abraham Ibn Daud critica duramente a Ibn Gabirol en su Fe Exaltada. En este artículo, tengo la intención de demostrar que el objeto genuino de esta crítica es Dominicus Gundissalinus, coautor, junto a Ibn Daud de la traducción de la Shifa’ de Avicena del árabe al latín. Además de su trabajo como traductores, Gundissalinus e Ibn Daud también escribieron obras propias. En este artículo, discuto la definición de materia prima utilizada por Avicena e Ibn Gabirol, adoptada por (...) Ibn Daud y Gundissalinus. Aporto pruebas textuales para demostrar que en la mayoría de los casos en que Ibn Daud critica a Ibn Gabirol, en realidad se está refiriendo a los casos en que Gundissalinus abandona los puntos de vista de Avicena y en su lugar adopta los puntos de vista de Ibn Gabirol. (shrink)

Cette finitions de la substance et de l'accident telles qu'elles apparaissent dans le livre d'lbn Daud intitule la Foi exaltee. Acheve en 1160, ce livre fut composcut grbreu (datant l'une et l'autre de la fin du XTVe situde je suggtique du texte arabe sur la base d'une ample comparaison entre, d'une part, des prcesseurs musulmans d'lbn Daud tels qu'Alfarabi, Avicenne et Alghazali et, d'autre part, les traductions en hre apporter plus de lumipendance d'lbn Daud par rapport aux (...) sources non-juives dans sa tentative d'etablir une synthritable signification philosophique incarnfinitions de substance et d'accident. (shrink)

Las últimas tres décadas han sido testigos de un nuevo y vívido interés en Ibn Daud. La bibliografía en la entrada dedicada a este autor en la Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy revela que muchos estudios sobre Abraham Ibn Daud, así como nuevas ediciones de sus escritos, se han publicado entre 1990 y principios de la década de 2020. El objetivo de este artículo es hacer un balance de los resultados de la nueva investigación y revisar cómo se ha (...) avanzado en nuestro conocimiento de este autor multifacético en las últimas décadas y detectar dónde hay todavía lagunas en nuestro conocimiento de su obra. Aunque voy a abordar varios aspectos de la vida de Ibn Daud, sus actividades y la recepción de sus obras, mi enfoque se va a centrar en los estudios de su trabajo filosófico. (shrink)

En su historia universal, Dorot 'Olam, escrita en cuatro breves textos interdependientes, Ibn Daud despliega una visión integral de la historia. Dorot 'Olam es el producto literario de las condiciones políticas, culturales e historiográficas del siglo XII en su ciudad de acogida, Toledo, y en la Península Ibérica en general. Fusionando las preocupaciones judías y rabínicas contemporáneas con el pensamiento filosófico islámico árabe y la historiografía cristiana, los escritos históricos de Ibn Daud fueron abrazados y leídos con entusiasmo (...) por los judíos y especialmente por los primeros cristianos modernos en Europa y América del Norte. (shrink)

Querying the Medieval. Texts and the History of Practices in South Asia. Ronald Inden, Jonathan Walters, Daud Ali. Oxford University Press, New York 2000. 235 pp. £32.50. ISBN 0-19-512430-8.

: In the poetry of Daud Kamal, water figures as an image of mercy, as in the Quran, and as a mirror that reflects divine hidden presence. The rock pool evokes the memory of Gandhara and other foundational civilizations born in love and creative ferment. Conversely, the images of drought, heat, and dust symbolize a parched spiritual order. The river, a recurring archetypal image in Kamal’s poetry, represents the fluid self that is subsumed into collective identity to become a (...) poetic distillate of history. Key words: Daud Kamal, water imagery, drought imagery, Pakistani poetry in English, Gandhara civilization, Islamic poetry. Resumen: En la poesía de Daud Kamal, el agua figura como una imagen de misericordia, como en el Corán, y como un espejo que refleja la presencia divina oculta. El estanque evoca la memoria de Gandhara y otras civilizaciones fundamentales nacidas en el amor y el fermento creativo. Por el contrario, las imágenes de sequía, calor y polvo simbolizan un orden espiritual reseco. El río, una imagen arquetípica recurrente en la poesía de Kamal, representa el yo fluido que se subsume en la identidad colectiva para convertirse en un destilado poético de la historia. Palabras clave: Daud Kamal, imágenes de agua, imágenes de sequía, poesía paquistaní en inglés, civilización de Gandhara, poesía islámica. (shrink)

Abraham Ibn Daud es conocido como el filósofo que en su _Ha-Emunah ha-Ramah_ (escrito originalmente en árabe ca. 1160) incorporó el aristotelismo de los _falāsifah_ musulmanes al-Farabi y Avicena al ámbito de reflexión judío. Unos 250 años después, Ḥasdai Crescas sometió este sistema a una severa crítica en su _Or Ha-Shem_ (ca. 1410). En su introducción, Crescas clasifica a Ibn Daud como un filósofo aristotélico, pero no se refiere más a él. Basándose en investigaciones previas, el artículo examina (...) la cuestión de hasta qué punto el trabajo de Ibn Daud fue relevante para Crescas. Paralelos literarios exactos que apunten a una clara influencia de Ibn Daud en Crescas con respecto a las doctrinas filosóficas son difíciles de descubrir porque las fuentes filosóficas de Ibn Daud son las mismas que las de Crescas. Además, el pensamiento de Ibn Daud muestra muchas similitudes con el de Maimónides y también con el de Gersónides, cuyas opiniones Crescas critica. La exégesis bíblica aporta más resultados: se puede demostrar que Crescas se basó en el uso de ciertos versículos bíblicos por parte de Ibn Daud. Es probable que la interpretación de Ibn Daud del Salmo 139 en relación con el problema clave del conocimiento de Dios, así como su uso de la metáfora de la luz, hayan llevado a Crescas a reflexionar sobre la relación entre filosofía y religión. (shrink)

Abraham ibn Daud’s Exalted Faith adapts to rabbinic thought and Jewish tradition the Andalusi Aristotelian model that was the framework for understanding God, man, and man’s purpose in the universe. Ibn Daud defines Jewish belief for the perplexed scholar, arguably providing a genealogy and epistemological justification for the scholarly class—based on acquisition of knowledge of the (Aristotelian) universe and culminating in achieving prophethood. The Aristotelian universe presented in the Exalted Faith offers a version of the elitism Stroumsa argues (...) if at the heart of this Jewish and Muslim scholarly class, one based in Arabic Aristotelian thought. The prevalence of Aristotelian-Farabian (Platonic) philosophy, which held as a central tenet the individual’s ability to know God by developing his intellect through speculation, seemingly offered a religious/societal model in which Jewish traditions and commandments were no longer relevant. Ibn Daud adapts this theory to reassert the necessity for Jewish traditions and to privilege Jewish scholars. to express a vision of individual and social identity for Sephardi scholars in the Diaspora. (shrink)

Our paper carries out a reading of the Abraham ibn Daud's Book of Tradition, with the purpose of showing the suggestive theological-political intuitions that this singular medieval chronicle contains. Putting the emphasis in diachronic hermeneutics, more that in an archaeology of the ideas, we want to investigate if the historical vicissitudes of the Iberic Jewish communities, their community controversies, as well as their permanent religious and identity self-reflection, can provide relevant elements to an understanding of the present.

En este artículo se ofrece una visión de conjunto de la obra de Ibn Daud con el propósito de reflejar las consecuencias, limitaciones e incongruencias de su peculiar racionalismo filosófico, afanado en la defensa de la tradición religiosa judía. Aceptando la idea de que su filosofía y su historiografía constituyen una unidad, marcada esta por un propósito apologético, analizaremos las relaciones entre la libertad individual, la praxis moral y el devenir de la historia. La indagación sobre la libertad humana (...) y el sentido de la historia es indiscernible, en la obra de Ibn Daud, el primero de los peripatéticos judíos, si no se atiende al papel que el autor confiere a la voluntad divina en la determinación de las mismas y a los límites que establece entre lo fiducial y lo racional. (shrink)