Using intelligent software agents in the world of e-commerce may give rise to many difficulties especially with regard to the validity of agent-based contracts and the attribution of liability for the actions of such agents. This paper thus critically examines the main approaches that have been advanced to deal with software agents, and proposes the gradual approach as a way of overcoming the difficulties of such agents by adopting different standards of responsibility depending whether the action is done autonomously by (...) an unattended software, or whether it is done automatically by an attended software. Throughout this paper, it is argued that the introduction of “one size” regulation without sufficient consideration of the nature of software agents or the environments in which they communicate might lead to a divorce between the legal theory and technological practice. It is also concluded that it is incorrect to deal with software agents as if they were either legal persons or nothing without in any way accounting for the fact that there are various kinds of such agents endowed with different levels of autonomy, mobility, intelligence, and sophistication. However, this paper is not intended to provide the final answer to all problematic questions posed by the emergence of intelligent software agents, but is designed to provide some kind of temporary relief until such agents reach a more reliable and autonomous level whereby law begins to regard them, rather than their users, as the source of the relevant action. (shrink)

The question of liability in the case of using intelligent agents is far from simple, and cannot sufficiently be answered by deeming the human user as being automatically responsible for all actions and mistakes of his agent. Therefore, this paper is specifically concerned with the significant difficulties which might arise in this regard especially if the technology behind software agents evolves, or is commonly used on a larger scale. Furthermore, this paper contemplates whether or not it is possible to share (...) the responsibility with these agents and what are the main objections surrounding the assumption of considering such agents as responsible entities. This paper, however, is not intended to provide the final answer to all questions and challenges in this regard, but to identify the main components, and provide some perspectives on how to deal with such issue. (shrink)

The emergence of intelligent software agents that operate autonomously with little or no human intervention has generated many doctrinal questions at a conceptual level and has challenged the traditional rules of contract especially those relating to the intention as an essential requirement of any contract conclusion. In this paper, we will try to explore some of these challenges, and shed light on the conflict between the traditional contract theory and the transactional practice in the case of using intelligent software agents. (...) We will try further to examine how intelligent software agents differ from other software applications, and consider then how such differences are legally relevant. This paper, however, is not intended to provide the final answer to all questions and challenges in this regard, but to identify the main components, and provide perspectives on how to deal with such issue. (shrink)

This study examined scientific tolerance as a human way to life in the context of Sunnah, a much debatable topic among critics and scholars. The study also highlighted prophetic visions in the application of scientific tolerance. Using a normative descriptive approach in this qualitative research, the data was collected from library archives and Islamic data sources. This approach enabled to raise questions about the nature of scientific tolerance in the light of Sunnah, prophetic mechanisms used to establish the scientific tolerance, (...) and its advantages. The findings revealed that scientific tolerance was integrated to the prophetic visions and the Sunnah, aiming at peace, tranquility, and stability for the entire mankind. The study found out how the Sunnah of the Prophet laid the foundation of scientific tolerance, and how it was carried forward by the Companions and mujtahids through their discussions, dialogues, and debates. It was also observed that the scientific tolerance reached its peak in the era of Arab and Islamic civilization, through the translation movement that began in the Umayyad era and reached its culmination, and gained heights through scientific discoveries, innovations, and civilizational achievements. In the Abbasid era, the subsequent transfer and translation of these languages into Latin and other European languages, further enhanced the depth of scientific tolerance in the contemporary renaissance and modern civilization. (shrink)

Throughout history, a believer did not need logical proof to believe in Almighty God. This is because the spiritual proof was always enough to admit the existence of Almighty God and to submit to Him. Finding Almighty God is not a mathematical equation that needs to be proven. Rather, it is a spiritual feeling due to a call from inside a human being. The relationship between Almighty God and humans is spiritual rather logical.However, with the advances in science and technology, (...) this spiritual relationship decreases. Nowadays, modern man is looking for logic and scientific answers to many questions relating to Almighty God and religions. In fact, nonbelievers or atheists are not the only ones looking for answers to these types of questions; believers also want to increase their faith and remove doubts from their hearts. The main objective of this book is to provide logical answers to questions relating to belief in Almighty God, creations and Islam as the last heavenly religion. These questions are grouped under several topics, namely: 1) Almighty God, 2) the creation, 3) the soul, 4) the hereafter, 5) the destiny and freedom in choices, 6) the holy Quran and 7) the Islam.0The main feature of this book is that the author provides logic flowcharts with each presented question relating to the different topics. Each logic flowchart has three phases: a start, a process and an end.0Prof. Dr. Magd Abdel Wahab is a full-time Professor of Applied Mechanics in the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Ghent University, Belgium.Beside his interest in engineering, Prof. Wahab has a strong interest in research in Islamic religion. During the last 15 years, he has served as an Associate Imam, and has delivered Friday ceremony speeches and Islamic talks in several mosques in the UK and Belgium. This book, Logic and Islam, summarises his experiences and provides logical answers to questions related to Almighty God, creations and Islam. (shrink)

In this paper, I offer an expansionist view of the Frickerian central case of testimonial injustice, citing examples from the South Asian context. To defend this expansionist position, I provide an argument in three parts. First, I argue that credibility deficit and credibility excess are entangled with each other in such a way that often, one produces the other. Secondly, I contend that we should not say that systematic testimonial injustice is a consequence of credibility deficit only because of the (...) entanglement between them. I also contend that for being the central case of testimonial injustice, identity prejudice should not be necessarily negative; it can be positive as well. Propounding a twofold condition of the status of a knower, the last part claims that testimonial injustice occurs when one of the two conditions remains unmet. (shrink)

The distinction between normative and objective knowledge and how social scientist imagine that their research is solely built on objectivity is currently being challenged especially in the political science field. If we take culture as an example and more specifically the question of identity and identity politics in the Middle East, we will find that the current modus operandi in political science research is distancing itself from objective knowledge because of the increased focus in the field on quantification. Whether one (...) analyzes the work of Telhami on Identity in the Middle East, or Lynch’s “The Arab Uprisings Explained”, one will find that they all reflect on the academic conundrum that the field is facing. (shrink)

L'auteur a suivi scrupuleusement les textes de René Thom pour remarquer que cet auteur n'accepte pas les modèles cognitifs, qui sont, à juste titre, le prolongement de la logique formelle moderne (qu'il refuse) et un domaine propice à la quantification qui n'a pas droit de cité dans le modélisme tel qu'il le conçoit. En effet, Thom se désintéresse de l'analyse dite compartimentale, malgré quelques signes de ressemblance avec celle-ci. Sa pensée modélisatrice est manifestement différente de celle de Legay qui le (...) prend pourtant pour guide. L'exemple recommandé du "modélisme physique" se trouve couramment chez Bohr qui a pensé le modèle de l'atome. Il s'agit de cette manière de modéliser qui, tout en s'attachant à l'abstraction, notamment mathématique - puisqu'un modèle est toujours une idée - pense le réel comme il se doit. (shrink)

Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī, The Life and Times of Abū Tammām. Edited and translated by Beatrice Gruendler. Library of Arabic Literature. New York: New York University Press, 2015. Pp. xxx + 421. $40.

Generalizing and unifying the known theorems for difference and differential fields, it is shown that for every finite free algebra scheme.

Name der Zeitschrift: Das Mittelalter Jahrgang: 20 Heft: 1 Seiten: 47-61.

Abdel-Hakim Ourghi's Reform of Islam is an open indictment of prevailing conservative Islam which insists on the absolute subjugation of the body and mind of all Muslims. The author seeks a humanist understanding of Islam and aims to interpret Islam in today's terms. He argues against the historical alienation and transfiguration that still shape the collective consciousness of Muslims in the 21st Century. Using critical analysis and logic, the author aims to reveal the true core of Islam. His 40 (...) Theses include: The freedom of the individual to interpret the Qur'an No scholars as mediators between God and man Islam does not claim to possess the absolute truth Only a reformed and open Islam is a religion of peace The Qur'an as the basis of a contemporary humanist ethics. (shrink)

Remember Who You Are is a practical handbook of spiritual teachings based on 28 core verses from the Quran. Each verse is translated into simple English and accompanied by a teaching / reflection / commentary / examples that show you how to apply that verse in your daily life. These core verses represent the essential ideas of a universal spirituality. Muslims, Christians, Jews, and all seekers of knowledge can use them to go deeper into their own practice.

ABSTRACT Ethical leaders can influence followers’ ethical behaviors by establishing an ethical climate. However, followers’ responses to an ethical climate may also differ according to the amount of attention they devote to moral questions. This study analyzes whether moral attentiveness augments the positive effect of an ethical climate on employees’ ethical behaviors, as well as the indirect effect of ethical leadership on employee ethical behavior through an ethical climate. Data from 270 employees in the Malaysian manufacturing industry indicate that the (...) positive impact of an ethical climate on ethical behavior is greater among employees who exhibit high rather than low moral attentiveness; this moderating role also applies to the relationship between ethical leadership and employee ethical behavior through the ethical climate. This study thus sheds new light on the notable role of moral attentiveness in ensuring that ethical leadership and ethical climate enhance ethical behavior in the workplace. (shrink)

COVID‐19 caused an imbalance between medical resources and the number of patients in Türkiye like in many countries. There was not pandemic‐triage system, and this situation led to decision making based on experience, intuition, and judgment of allocation of scarce resources. The research explains the guiding criteria that healthcare professionals used to prioritize the distribution of scarce medical resources during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The criteria preferred by 928 healthcare professionals were evaluated when preventive measures for COVID‐19 were reduced and so (...) the number of cases increased rapidly. The results indicate that Turkish healthcare professionals largely support the utilitarian approach, which focuses on medical benefit in pandemic. The main problem was that some criteria not approved in COVID‐19 triage guidelines were considered important by healthcare professionals. These criteria, which cause discrimination by preventing the provision of fair and equal medical care to patients, are a prominent issue in the study. (shrink)

Sporadic efforts have been made to introduce computational thinking methods into K-12 education in Palestine, but these have been held back by the challenging educational environment. However, a recent in-service training initiative, funded and organized by the Ministry or Education of Palestine, constitutes a significant effort to embed computational thinking in K-12 practice. The middle school teachers who participated in the training course were invited to participate in the present study, and 38 did so. A qualitative approach involving both interviews (...) with teachers and classroom observations was used in data collection. All the teachers agreed to be observed in their classrooms, while 20 of the 38 also agreed to participate in the interviews. The findings showed that teachers of a range of topics, including social sciences and languages, employed computational thinking skills in teaching their students, but they were confronted by a number of challenges, including technical infrastructure and support, and a lack of time to prepare CT classes and space in the curriculum to deliver them. The results indicate that the most appropriate action to support teachers’ delivery of CT would be to provide peer exchanges and expert coaching in the integration of CT in the curriculum. (shrink)

The convergence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance (CG) has changed the corporate accountability mechanism. This has developed a socially responsible ‘corporate self-regulation’, a synthesis of governance and responsibility in the companies of strong economies. However, unlike in the strong economies, this convergence has not been visible in the companies of weak economies, where the civil society groups are unorganised, regulatory agencies are either ineffective or corrupt and the media and non-governmental organisations do not mirror the corporate conscience. (...) Using the case of Bangladesh, this article investigates the convergence between CSR and CG in the self-regulation of companies in a less vigilant environment. (shrink)

A gossip protocolGossip protocol is a procedure for sharing secrets in a network. The basic action in a gossip protocolGossip protocol is a telephone call wherein the caller and the callee exchange all the secrets they know. An agent who knows all secrets is an expert. The usual termination condition is that all agents are experts. Instead, we explore some protocols wherein the termination condition is that all agents know that all agents are experts. We call such agents super experts. (...) Additionally, we model that agents who already know that all agents are experts, do not make and do not answer calls. We also model that such protocols are common knowledgeCommon knowledge among the agents. We investigate conditions under which such gossip protocolsGossip protocol terminate, both in the synchronous case, where there is a global clock, and in the asynchronous case, where there is not. We show that a protocol with missed calls can terminate faster than the same protocol without missed calls. (shrink)

The Neutrosophic Precalculus and the Neutrosophic Calculus can be developed in many ways, depending on the types of indeterminacy one has and on the method used to deal with such indeterminacy. This article is innovative since the form of neutrosophic binomial factorial theorem was constructed in addition to its refrains. Two other important theorems were proven with their corollaries, and numerical examples as well. As a conjecture, we use ten (indeterminate) forms in neutrosophic calculus taking an important role in limits. (...) To serve article's aim, some important questions had been answered. (shrink)

Objective To compare assessments of the decision-making competencies of psychiatric inpatients as provided by physicians, nurses, relatives and an assessment tool.Methods This study was carried out at the psychiatry clinic of Kocaeli University Hospital from June 2007 to February 2008. The decision-making competence of the 83 patients who participated in the study was assessed by physicians, nurses, relatives and MacCAT-T.Results Of the 83 patients, the relatives of 73.8% of them, including the parents of 47.7%, were interviewed during the study. A (...) moderately good consistency between the competency assessments of the nurses versus those of the physicians, but a poor consistency between the assessments of the physicians and nurses versus those of the patients’ relatives, was determined. The differences in the competency assessment obtained with the MacCAT-T versus the evaluations of the physicians, nurses and patients’ relatives were statistically significant.Conclusions Our findings demonstrate those physicians, nurses and the patients’ relatives have difficulty in identifying patients lacking decision-making competence. Therefore, an objective competence assessment tool should be used along with the assessments of physicians and nurses, both of whom can provide clinical data, as well as those of relatives, who can offer insights into the patient's moral values and expectations. (shrink)

This is an advocacy essay that documents the undignified and inhumane conditions of social inequality to which the members of "Al-Akhdam" minority group are subjected in the Republic of Yemen. By focusing on the interaction between culture and collective violence, it examines the exclusionary socio-cultural and economic practices by which Al-Akhdam are denied basic human rights. In so doing, the article locates the root cause of such practices in ethnic prejudices; the Al-Akhdam are persecuted on account of their being of (...) African-descent in a country with an Arab-majority. Finally, the article advocates the protection of the collective human rights of the Al-Akhdam minority and proposes cogent measures for restoring social justice through the implementation of specific actions, including international condemnation of their persecution; official recognition of the violence meted to them; national international recognition and promotion of their rights; cessation of Yemeni government-supported policy of Al-Akhdam forced labor; formal extension of constitutionally-guaranteed economic and social rights and the establishment of a program designed to integrate them into the mainstream of Yemeni society. This list of concrete steps represents a practical advocacy plan for fostering changes in the conditions of Al-Akhdam in Yemen through numerous venues, including the Yemeni government, the United Nations, and local and international human rights NGOs. It is hoped that this documentation will significantly elevate international awareness of, and instigate responses to, the ethno-cultural violence being perpetrated against Al-Akhdam in Yemen. (shrink)

Although managers spend over twenty percent of their time in conflict management, organization theorists have provided very few guidelines to help them do their job ethically. This paper attempts to provide some guidelines so that organizational members can use the styles of handling interpersonal conflict, such as integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding, and compromising, with their superiors, subordinates, and peers ethically and effectively. It has been argued in this paper that, in general, each style of handling interpersonal conflict is appropriate if (...) it is used to attain organization''s proper end. (shrink)

This study compares Avicenna's and Thomas Aquinas' conceptions of God, theological language, the nature of creative action and the beginning of the universe.

İyi bir yaşamın nasıl mümkün olabileceğinin erdemle açıklanması, erdemin insan yaşamındaki önemini göstermektedir. Dolayısıyla insan fenomenlerini konu alan felsefede geniş bir yer tutan erdem kavramı özellikle etik alanında önemli bir araştırma konusudur. Etiğin tarihi geçmişinde, etik sorunlara kararmayan bir ışık tutmuş olan Kant’ın etik görüşüne genel olarak bakıldığında, erdem kavramının pek ön planda olmadığı görülmektedir. Bununla birlikte, Kant’ın erdem ile ilgili söyledikleri, erdemin ahlak yasasından daha az önemli olmadığını göstermektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Kant’ın erdem temelli bir etik kurmadığı için klasik (...) bir erdem etikçisi olmadığı veya etiğinde erdemin yerini ve önemini göstererek bir erdem etikçisi olduğu tartışmasının pek de anlamlı olmadığını göstermektir. Çünkü bu tartışma, Kant etiğini bir yere taşımaz. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, Kant’ı, bir erdem etikçisi olduğu ya da olmadığı tartışmasına sokarak kategorize etmeden, Kant etiğinde erdemin yeri ve önemini ortaya koymak amacıyla, Ahlak Metafiziği adlı eserinin _Erdem Öğretisi_ bölümünde yapılan erdem tanımlamaları ve açıklamaları ile “en yüksek iyi” (_summum bonum_) kavramı ve erdem ödevleri ele alınacaktır. (shrink)

Even though Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a widely accepted concept promoted by different stakeholders, business corporations' internal strategies, known as corporate self-regulation in most of the weak economies, respond poorly to this responsibility. Major laws relating to corporate regulation and responsibilities of these economies do not possess adequate ongoing influence to insist on corporate self-regulation to create a socially responsible corporate culture. This book describes how the laws relating to CSR could contribute to the inclusion of CSR principles (...) at the core of the corporate self-regulation of these economies in general, without being intrusive in normal business practice. It formulates a meta-regulation approach to law, particularly by converging patterns of private ordering and state control in contemporary corporate law from the perspective of a weak economy. It proposes that this approach is suitable for alleviating regulators' limited access to information and expertise, inherent limitations of prescriptive rules, ensuring corporate commitment, and enhance the self-regulatory capacity of companies. This book describes various meta-regulation strategies for laws to link social values to economic incentives and disincentives, and to indirectly influence companies to incorporate CSR principles at the core of their self-regulation strategies. It investigates this phenomenon using Bangladesh as a case study. (shrink)

This article aims to draw a theoretical framework to discuss the role of religion in utopia's appeal to transcendence in Turkish literature. This aim entails interrogating the intricate relation between utopia and religion in order to demonstrate how religious discourse functions as a transcendent organizing principle in Turkish utopian vision. The employment of religious discourse in utopia often generates problematic moments in which utopia attains a transcendent position and comes closest to its sibling term, dystopia. This article seeks to identify (...) and describe this position of transcendence in Turkish utopia by resorting to Deleuzian distinction between the two types of utopia: “utopia of transcendence,” oriented toward authoritarianism, and “utopia of immanence,” oriented toward revolution. In so doing, it will engage with three early works from the Second Constitutional Period, Ruşeni Barkın's Müslümanların Gaye-i Hayâliyesi, İsmail Gaspıralı's Darürrahat Müslümanları, and Molla Davudzade's Rüyada Terakki ve Medeniyet-i İslamiyeyi Rü‘yet. (shrink)