Biometrics readers are deployed in many public sites and are used for user identification and verification. Nowadays, most biometrics readers can be connected to local area networks, and consequently, they are potential targets for network attacks. This article investigates the robustness of several fingerprint and iris readers against common denial of service attacks. This investigation has been conducted using a set of laboratory experiments and DoS attack generator tools. The experiments show clearly that the tested biometric readers are very vulnerable (...) to common DoS attacks, and their recognition performances deteriorate significantly once they are under DoS attacks. Finally, the article lists some security consideration that should be taken into consideration when designing secure biometrics readers. (shrink)

BackgroundConsenting for retrospective medical records-based research (MR) and leftover tissue-based research (TR) continues to be controversial. Our objective was to survey Saudis attending outpatient clinics at a tertiary care hospital on their personal preference and perceptions of norm and current practice in relation to consenting for MR and TR.MethodsWe surveyed 528 Saudis attending clinics at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia to explore their preferences and perceptions of norm and current practice. The respondents selected one of 7 options from (...) each of 6 questionnaires.ResultsRespondents' mean (SD) age was 33 (11) years, 42% were males, 56% were patients, 84% had ≥ secondary school education, and 10% had previously volunteered for research. Respectively, 40% and 49% perceived that the norm is to conduct MR and TR without consent and 38% and 37% with general or proposal-specific consent; the rest objected to such research. There was significant difference in the distribution of choices according to health status (patients vs. companions) for MR (adjusted Kruskal-Wallis test P = 0.03) but not to age group, gender, education level, or previous participation in research (unadjusted P = 0.02 - 0.59). The distributions of perceptions of current practice and norm were similar (unadjusted Marginal Homogeneity test P = 0.44 for MR and P = 0.89 for TR), whereas the distributions of preferences and perceptions of norm were different (adjusted P = 0.09 for MR and P = 0.02 for TR). The distributions of perceptions of norm, preferences, and perceptions of current practice for MR were significantly different from those of TR (adjusted P < 0.009 for all).ConclusionsWe conclude that: 1) there is a considerable diversity among Saudi views regarding consenting for retrospective research which may be related to health status, 2) the distribution of perceptions of norm was similar to the distribution of perceptions of current practice but different from that of preferences, and 3) MR and TR are perceived differently in regard to consenting. (shrink)

Although informed consent is an integral part of clinical practice, its current doctrine remains mostly a matter of law and mainstream ethics rather than empirical research. There are scarce empirical data on patients’ perceived purpose of informed consent, which may include administrative routine/courtesy gesture, simple honest permission, informed permission, patient-clinician shared decision-making, and enabling patient’s self decision-making. Different purposes require different processes.

The current doctrine of informed consent for clinical care has been developed in cultures characterized by low-context communication and monitoring-style coping. There are scarce empirical data on patients' norm perception of information disclosure in other cultures.

In recent years there has been an increase in research conducted in the Middle East, with a corresponding increase in the challenges faced by members of the Research Ethics Committees. This study compares the structures of Omani and Jordanian RECs and investigates the perceptions of the challenges affecting the work of the REC members in Oman and Jordan. A convenience sample of 34 Omani and 66 Jordanian participants from 21 universities was recruited in this cross-sectional study. Almost 70% disagreed that (...) the members of RECs are unqualified, providing comments without justification; half believed that members have limited experience in research, and almost three-quarters that they have different opinions regarding some ethical issues. No significant differences were found between Omani and Jordanian REC members regarding their perception of the challenges, except for the perception that reviewing proposals is a time-consuming task and that multi-REC centres are less available. The regression model showed that there were significantly more male members of Jordanian RECs, and that Jordanian members were less likely to receive formal training. In conclusion, the current structure of RECs and the challenges faced by members need to be re-evaluated by decision makers to improve the overall quality of research activities, and to ensure that current REC members’ practices adhere to international standards. (shrink)

This study examines the influence of the COVID-19 crisis on academic expectations among international students from north-western China. According to past studies, academic expectations are multifaceted, making it critical to test the methods employed to assess this fundamental trait. The outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in various significant changes in education, which have shifted from traditional to online or mixed formats. As a result, examining international students' academic expectations along with their interactions with adopted technologies is a topic that addresses (...) the current situation and issues. A mixed approach, comprising two different instruments, was followed to achieve this primary objective. While a survey with a questionnaire was undertaken with 551 international students, divided into two groups, ten students were interviewed during and after the lockdowns. The findings revealed that COVID-19 had a significant impact on the academic expectations of students as well as many elements such as training for employment, personal and social development, international student mobility, motivation, social pressure, and social interaction with the help of supporting technologies. In terms of gender, men outperformed women in motivation, social interaction, training for employment, and personal and social development factors. Similarly, as per the grade variable, the same higher trend was seen in postgraduates. Based on these findings, a set of recommendations was put forward. In the future, technology will be helpful in China's educational sector, such as online group collaboration, open education, managing student retention, and supervising teachers' recruitment. (shrink)

Disclosure of near miss medical error (ME) and who should disclose ME to patients continue to be controversial. Further, available recommendations on disclosure of ME have emerged largely in Western culture; their suitability to Islamic/Arabic culture is not known.

From the early ninth century until about eight centuries later, the Middle East witnessed a series of both simple and systematic astronomical observations for the purpose of testing contemporary astronomical tables and deriving the fundamental solar, lunar, and planetary parameters. Of them, the extensive observations of lunar eclipses available before 1000 AD for testing the ephemeredes computed from the astronomical tables are in a relatively sharp contrast to the twelve lunar observations that are pertained to the four extant accounts of (...) the measurements of the basic parameters of Ptolemaic lunar model. The last of them are Taqī al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Ma‘rūf’s trio of lunar eclipses observed from Istanbul, Cairo, and Thessalonica in 1576–1577 and documented in chapter 2 of book 5 of his famous work, Sidrat muntaha al-afkar fī malakūt al-falak al-dawwār. In this article, we provide a detailed analysis of the accuracy of his solar and lunar observations. (shrink)

Bu çalışma, İslâm Eğitimi perspektifinden küresel vatandaşlık kavramıyla ilgili ilkeler ve uygulama alanlarını açıklığa kavuşturmayı hedeflemektedir. Ayrıca Kur’ân ayetleri ve hadislerde küresel vatandaşlığa yönelik değerleri destekleyen normları ve öğrenim çıktılarını belirlemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Burada küresel vatandaşlık kavramı, bilişsel, duygusal ve davranışsal hedef alanları çerçevesinde din eğitimi derslerindeki örnek uygulama ve uygun konularla birlikte ele alınmıştır. Kur’ân ayetleri ve hadisler doğrultusundaki İslâm inanç ve ahlak ilkeleri, insanların gerek kendi toplumları içinde ve gerekse diğer toplumlar ile olumlu ilişkiler kurmasını teşvik etmektedir. Bu teşvikler (...) hem yerel hem de evrensel özellikler taşımaktadır. Bu yönde karşılaşılan örnek olaylar aynı zamanda İslâm inancının ve ahlak değerlerinin evrenselliğini yaşanmış olaylarla da örtüşecek biçimde yansıtmaktadır. Bu ilkeler aynı zamanda İslâm'ın inanç, ahlak ve hukukla ilgili özel konularının bir bütünlük çerçevesinde ele alınmasını sağlamaktadır. Küresel vatandaşlık konuları öncelikle eğitim felsefesinin genel ve özel amaçları doğrultusunda müfredat çerçevesinde hedef kitleye evrensel bir değer olarak kazandırılmalıdır. Bu konu okullarda eğitsel ve kültürel faaliyetler ile de desteklenmelidir.Özet: Küresel vatandaşlık kavramı bütün dünyada giderek yaygınlık kazanan önemli kavramlar arasında yer almaktadır. İnsanların ortak kimliğinin yanı sıra özellikle göçmen ve mülteci hakları konusu eğitim alanında ön plana çıkmaktadır. Son yıllarda ise uluslararası sorunların çoğalmasıyla birlikte bu konu güncelliğini arttırarak önemini sürdürmektedir. Günümüz toplumlarında karşılıklı hoşgörünün korunması için yapılan çeşitli boyutlardaki farklı çalışmalara ek olarak bu konunun örgün eğitim müfredatlarına dahil edilmesi de gündemdedir.Din eğitimi, küresel vatandaşlık konularını kapsayan başlıca dersler arasında yer almaktadır. Bu nedenle küresel vatandaşlık kavramının din eğitimi açısından temellendirilmesinin yanı sıra din eğitimi müfredatında bilişsel ve davranışsal eğitim metotlarını vurgulamak zorunlu hale gelmiştir. Dolayısıyla bu çalışma, İslâmi eğitim perspektifinden küresel yaşama dönük eğitimin genel bir tasarımını oluşturmayı hedeflemektedir. Ayrıca dini kaynaklarda küresel vatandaşlığa yönelik değerleri destekleyen normları ve öğrenim çıktılarını belirlemeyi amaçlamaktadır.İslâm eğitimi, dini farklılıklara saygı duymayı desteklemektedir. Ancak bu, diğer dinlerin inançlarının onaylandığı anlamına gelmemektedir. Burada, inanç özgürlüğü kapsamına başka dinlerin öğrenilmesi girmemektedir. Bu nedenle, kişinin inancına vurgu ve diğer dinler hakkında takınılan tutum ile farklı din mensuplarına saygı arasında herhangi bir çelişki bulunmamaktadır. Bu durum, Müslümanlar arasındaki mezhep farklılıklarına yönelik takınılacak tutumun nasıl olması gerektiğini de gözler önüne sermektedir. İslâm dünyasında eğitim politikaları çerçevesinde, uluslararası bilgiye erişimi sağlayan ve aynı zamanda özel hayatın korunmasını, kültürel işbirliğini ve birlikte yaşama değerlerini gözeten standartlarda bir müfredat hazırlanabilir. Özellikle İslâm dünyasını, küreselleşmeyle birlikte çeşitli kültürel sorunlarla karşılaştığından dolayı küresel vatandaşlık konusunda bilgilendirilmeye ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Bu çerçevede, yabancılaşmaya karşı öze dönüş, az gelişmişlik karşısında kalkınma ve adalet ile çatışmalar karşısında işbirliği bu yöndeki faaliyetlerin doğal sonuçları olarak okunmalıdır. Küresel vatandaşlık kavramı çeşitli araştırmalarda çok yönlü bir biçimde ele alınıp incelenmiş bir konudur. Bütün bu araştırmalardaki temel konular şöyle sıralanabilir: Dünya barışı, toplumlar arası işbirliği ve dayanışma, bireylerin ahlaki sorumlulukları, insan hakları ve hak ihlalleri, çok kültürlülük, çevre sorunları, evrensel düşünce ve bilginin dolaşımı. Bu makalede yukarıda adı geçen kavram ve konular İslâm kaynakları açısından değerlendirilip eğitim müfredatlarına ilişkin öneriler sunulacaktır. İslâm, küresel vatandaşlığın ilkelerini, barış, işbirliği, ahlaki sorumluluk, insan hakları, kültürel çoğulculuk, çevreyi koruma, düşünce ve bilginin evrenselliği konularını desteklemektedir. Tarihte İslâm medeniyetinin farklı coğrafyalarda sunmuş bulunduğu zengin tecrübe bu ilkelere dönük önemli bir ilham kaynağı olarak göz önünde bulundurulmalıdır. Bu ilkeler, eğitim müfredatlarına dahil edilip çok zengin öğrenim çıktıları kazandırılabilir.Kur’ân ayetleri ve hadisler doğrultusundaki İslâm inanç ve ahlak ilkeleri, insanların gerek kendi toplumları içinde ve gerekse diğer toplumlar ile olumlu ilişkiler kurmasını teşvik etmektedir. Bu teşvikler hem yerel hem de evrensel özellikler taşımaktadır. Bu yönde karşılaşılan örnek olaylar aynı zamanda İslâm inancının ve ahlak değerlerinin evrenselliğini yaşanmış olaylarla da örtüşecek biçimde çok iyi yansıtmaktadır. Toplumlar arasındaki bu evrensel değerlerin uygulamasında yerel farklılıklar bulunmaktadır. Bu farklılıklar etnik, ideolojik ve siyasi sebeplerden kaynaklanabilmektedir. Buna rağmen İslâmi değerler Müslüman toplumların ortak noktaları belirlemeye devam etmektedir. Başka ülkelere çeşitli sebeplerle göç etmiş Müslümanlarda da aynı durum geçerliliğini korumaktadır. Eğitim, ulusal ve evrensel değerleri kazandırmada en etkili araç olma özelliğini taşımaktadır. Bu konuyla ilgili değerleri kazandırmada İslâm eğitimi derslerinin önemi ortaya çıkmaktadır. Aynı zamanda vatandaşlık bilgisi, din kültürü ve ahlak bilgisi derslerinin müfredatı da bu konuya katkı sağlamaktadır. Küreselleşme ve bilgi toplumu çağının şartları gereği, Müslüman toplumlar diğer toplumlarla olan ilişkilerinin sınırlarını belirlemeleri gerekmektedir. Yerellikten evrenselliğe geçişte karşılaşılan uyum zorlukları buna örnek olarak gösterilebilir. Coğrafi sınırların etkisinin giderek azalmasıyla birlikte artık vatandaşlık kavramı küresel hale gelmiş bulunmaktadır. İslâmın küresel vatandaşlığa bakış iki temel esasa dayanmaktadır. Bunlardan birincisi ortaklık ilkesi olup o da İslâm kültürünün diğer kültürlerle ilişkilerini geliştirmeye teşvik etmektedir. İkinci ise çok yönlülük taşıyan bütünsellik ilkesidir. Bu ilke benzerlikler ve farklılıklar arasında bir denge kurulmasına hizmet etmektedir. Bu ilkeler aynı zamanda İslâmın inanç, ahlak ve hukukla ilgili özel konularının bir bütünlük çerçevesinde ele alınmasını sağlamaktadır. Küresel vatandaşlığın getirdiklerinin yerel değerleri olumsuz yönde etkilememesi için gerekli önlemler alınmalıdır. Bunun için eğitim politikaları açısından bu konuların İslâm eğitimi dersleri müfredatı içinde yer alması ön görülmektedir. Bu müfredat toplum içindeki farklılıkları bir zenginlik olarak görüp kuşakları aynı potada eritmeyi sağlamalıdır. Aynı zamanda toplumlar arasındaki ilişkileri olumlu yönde geliştirmelidir.Küresel vatandaşlık konuları öncelikle eğitim felsefesinin genel ve özel amaçları doğrultusunda müfredat çerçevesinde hedef kitleye evrensel bir değer olarak kazandırılmalıdır. Bu konu aynı zamanda eğitsel ve kültürel faaliyetleri ile de desteklenmelidir. Bu konuda başarı sağlanabilmesi için eğitim planlayıcıları ve uygulayıcıları ortak hareket etmelidirler. Bu makalede küresel vatandaşlık kavramı, bilişsel, duygusal ve davranışsal hedef alanları çerçevesinde İslâm eğitimi derslerinde uygulaması bulunan örnek uygulama ve uygun konularla birlikte ele alınmıştır. Sonuç olarak küresel vatandaşlık değerlerine katkısı beklenen derslerin içerik analizlerinin gözden geçirilmesi ve öğrenim çıktılarının etkin biçimde izlenmesi önerilmektedir. (shrink)

Eşʿarîliğin son aşamasını temsil eden Îcî’nin argümanları, ekoldeki geleneksel ve felsefî yaklaşımları yansıtmaktadır. Bu makale Îcî’nin Muʿtezile’nin ahlâkî realizmine karşı kullandığı temel argümanlarını sunmaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı Îcî’nin argümanlarını değiştirmeden sağlam bir şekilde sunmak, açıklamak, itirazları tartışmak ve sonunda güçlü ve zayıf yönlerini değerlendirmektir. Makalenin amacı Muʿtezile’nin argümanlarını açıklamak değildir; yine de Îcî’nin argümanlarını daha net anlamak için bazı açıklamalar yapmaktadır. Makalenin ilk kısmında Eşʿarîler ile Muʿtezile’nin ahlâk anlayışları arasında belirgin bir çizgi çizmektedir. Tartışma noktasını belirtip kelâmî argümanlar için zemin hazırlamaktadır. (...) Îcî’nin argümanları üç kısma ayrılmıştır. Birinci kısımda Îcî’nin Muʿtezile’nin ahlâkî temellerine şüphe düşürmek için insanın seçme özgürlüğünü ortadan kaldırmak için polemik argümanını sunmaktayız. Argümana karşı eleştirileri tartıştıktan sonra Îcî’nin insanın gücü ve seçme özgürlüğü konusundaki gerçek görüşünü ortaya koyuyoruz. İkinci kısım, intrinsik değerler görüşüne karşı üç argüman ihtiva etmektedir. İlk iki argüman Îcî tarafından benimsenmiş, üçüncüsü ise genel bir şekilde diğer Eşʿarîlere atfetmiştir. Bu iki argüman yalanı ve doğruyu söylemenin intrinsik etik değerleriyle ilgilenmektedir, üçüncüsü ise Eşʿarîlerin meşhur: “Bir araz başka bir araz üzerinde konamaz” deyişine dayanmaktadır. Makalenin son kısmı, Îcî’nin Muʿtezile'nin ahlâkî vecihler teorisine karşı argümanını tartışmaya ayrılmıştır. Îcî’nin argümanını tartışmadan önce teori ve taraftarları hakkında yeterli bir açıklama yapılmıştır. Ayrıca Îcî’nin ve Muʿtezile’nin ilâhî ahlâk anlayışına dair kısa bir giriş, argümanın içinde tartışılmaktadır. Adalet ve hikmet gibi bazı ilahî nitelikler Eşʿarî ve Muʿtezile’nin bakış açılarından ele alınmaktadır. Sonuç olarak makale, Îcî’nin Muʿtezile’nin ahlâkî realizmine karşı argümanlarını açık ve net bir şekilde ortaya koymakta, itirazları sunup değerlendirmekte ve argümanların güçlü ve zayıf yönlerini göstermektedir. Son olarak, Eşʿarîlerin Muʿtezile’ye karşı ahlâkî argümanlarını daha etkili bir şekilde anlamak için bir çözüm önermektedir. (shrink)

During each school semester, students face an onslaught of material to be learned. Students work hard to achieve initial mastery of the material, but when they move on, the newly learned facts, concepts, and skills degrade in memory. Although both students and educators appreciate that review can help stabilize learning, time constraints result in a trade-off between acquiring new knowledge and preserving old knowledge. To use time efficiently, when should review take place? Experimental studies have shown benefits to long-term retention (...) with spaced study, but little practical advice is available to students and educators about the optimal spacing of study. The dearth of advice is due to the challenge of conducting experimental studies of learning in educational settings, especially where material is introduced in blocks over the time frame of a semester. In this study, we turn to two established models of memory—ACT-R and MCM—to conduct simulation studies exploring the impact of study schedule on long-term retention. Based on the premise of a fixed time each week to review, converging evidence from the two models suggests that an optimal review schedule obtains significant benefits over haphazard (suboptimal) review schedules. Furthermore, we identify two scheduling heuristics that obtain near optimal review performance: (a) review the material from μ-weeks back, and (b) review material whose predicted memory strength is closest to a particular threshold. The former has implications for classroom instruction and the latter for the design of digital tutors. (shrink)

Fundamentalism was and still is a major threat to global peace and security. The modern world has shown itself to be vulnerable to this persistent threat. The emergence and growth of many fundamentalist cults in the last century, from fascism and communism to various types of religious fundamentalism, is sufficient proof of this point. This paper presents a philosophical investigation of fundamentalism and its specific relation to skepticism, and highlights the ineffectiveness of skeptical philosophies to prevent fundamentalism in human society. (...) Finally, it identifies a theoretical problem in modern thought which is at least partly responsible for the practical vulnerability of the modern world to fundamentalism, and discusses the possibility and necessity of a solution to fix that problem. (shrink)

This paper is going to re-read Imam Mohammad al-Ghazali’s moral ideas in order to find the responses to the questions of moral psychology. Al-Ghazali, following the Greek and Islamic philosophers, relates each virtue or vice to a particular faculty in man’s soul. Moreover, following the Asharites, he considers the basis of moral good and badness to be religious. Furthermore, having mentioned al-Ghazali and Hume’s opinions as well as their similarities, this writing explains why al-Ghazali’s view on the moral motivation (...) has not encountered Hume’s objections. And finally, it presents the differences between al-Ghazali and the Greek philosophers’ views on virtues and vices as well as evaluates al-Ghazali’s psychological opinions in ethics. (shrink)

Purpose Along with the various beneficial uses of artificial intelligence, there are various unsavory concomitants including the inscrutability of AI tools, the fragility of AI models under adversarial settings, the vulnerability of AI models to bias throughout their pipeline, the high planetary cost of running large AI models and the emergence of exploitative surveillance capitalism-based economic logic built on AI technology. This study aims to document these harms of AI technology and study how these technologies and their developers and users (...) can be made more accountable. Design/methodology/approach Due to the nature of the problem, a holistic, multi-pronged approach is required to understand and counter these potential harms. This paper identifies the rationale for urgently focusing on human-centered AI and provide an outlook of promising directions including technical proposals. Findings AI has the potential to benefit the entire society, but there remains an increased risk for vulnerable segments of society. This paper provides a general survey of the various approaches proposed in the literature to make AI technology more accountable. This paper reports that the development of ethical accountable AI design requires the confluence and collaboration of many fields and that lack of diversity is a problem plaguing the state of the art in AI. Originality/value This paper provides a timely synthesis of the various technosocial proposals in the literature spanning technical areas such as interpretable and explainable AI; algorithmic auditability; as well as policy-making challenges and efforts that can operationalize ethical AI and help in making AI accountable. This paper also identifies and shares promising future directions of research. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the critical success factors and investigate the benefits that might be gained once implementing Electronic Customer Relationship Management at HEI from employee perspective. The study conducted at Al Quds Open University in Palestine and data collected from (300) employee through a questionnaire which consist of four variables. A number of statistical tools were intended for hypotheses testing and data analysis, including Spearman correlation coefficient for Validity, reliability correlation using Cronbach’s alpha, and Frequency (...) and Descriptive analysis. The overall findings of the current study show that all the features were important for staff and it was critical success factors, at the same time, websites were providing all the features discussed by the theory whereas staff showed their willingness to use those features if provided. It is also discovered that implementing Electronic Customer Relationship Management can cause staff retention, were provided efficiently and needed to be improved. Research limitations: The survey findings were based on QOU employee in Palestine, UAE and KSA branches not included in the study. (shrink)

The aim of the research is to identify the relationship between the performance criteria and the achievement of the objectives of supervision which is represented in the performance of the job at the Islamic University in Gaza Strip. To achieve the objectives of the research, the researchers used the descriptive analytical approach to collect information. The questionnaire consisted of (22) paragraphs distributed to three categories of employees of the Islamic University (senior management, faculty members, their assistants and members of the (...) administrative board). A random sample of 314 employees was selected, 276 responses were retrieved with a return rate of 88.1%. The SPSS program was used to enter, process, and analyze the data. The results of the study showed a positive relationship between the performance criteria and the achievement of the control objectives represented by the job performance in the Islamic University from the point of view of the members (senior management, faculty and their assistants and the administrative board). The researchers also recommended a number of recommendations, including the provision of an appropriate level of control system components today through the continuous updating and development of performance standards and the need to provide the necessary physical and financial resources to continue the development and achievement within the university. Expand the development of technology in the various activities of the university through the construction of a complete and integrated system to support the control systems in the university to suit its size. The researchers also recommended the follow-up, review of the performance standards and work to modify them in line with the mission of the university and the goals that the university seeks to reach. (shrink)

The purpose of this research is to identify the extent of the efficiency of the internal control environment in the Palestinian higher educational institutions in Gaza Strip from the perspective of employees in the Palestinian universities in Gaza Strip, where researchers used in the study five universities. The researchers adopted in their study the descriptive and analytical approach. The research community consists of administrative employees and academic employees with administrative duties. Senior management or the University Council was excluded. The study (...) population compromises of (392) employees. A stratified random sample was chosen and (197) questionnaires were distributed. (160) questionnaires were received back with a return rate of (81.2%).The researchers used a questionnaire to collect that which then was analyzed using (SPSS) to get the results. The research found the following results: the absence of a fundamental difference between the responses of males and females. The lack of significant difference between the responses of the respondents attributed to the variable age. The lack of significant difference between the responses of the respondents attributed to the variable of years of service. And the existence of a fundamental difference between the responses of the respondents attributed to the university variable. The existence of a fundamental difference between the responses of the respondents attributed to the Qualification variable. The existence of a fundamental difference between the responses of the respondents attributed to the administrative level variable. The research found a group of recommendations including: the need to raise awareness of censorship as the basis for the protection of employees in all administrative levels from making mistake.Updating the systems and instructions of control periodically and parallel with the scientific progress and technology.Benefit from regional and international experiences in the application of internal control standards which commensurate with the administrative system of the institution. (shrink)

Falsafat wa-ḥayāt Abī Hāshim al-Jubbāʼī wa-madrasatuh -- al-Tawallud ʻinda al-Muʻtazilah.

Despite the theoretically important role of green human resource management (HRM), relatively little research has been discovered so far about this role particularly in the Oil and Gas industry. We contribute to fill this gap by developing and testing a set of hypotheses to provide a first attempt at analyzing the antecedents and outcomes of green HRM practices in the Qatari Oil and Gas industry. Data were collected from 144 managers and analyzed using Partial least squares (PLS). The analysis shows (...) that both top management support and internal environmental orientation positively influence green HRM, which in turn has a significant positive impact on environmental performance. The results also provide evidence for the mediating effect of green HRM on the links between both top management support and internal environmental orientation, and environmental performance. Moreover, environmental performance is found to positively influence organizational performance. The implications of these results for theory and HRM practices in the Oil and Gas industry are taken into consideration. (shrink)

This paper aims to study the impact of Crowdfunding financial attributes on entrepreneurship risk taking. This study was applied on Arabic Crowdfunding platforms from all crowdfunding models. The population of the study consists of individuals, entrepreneurs, investors, employees at electronic-crowd funding Arabic platforms. According to last statics at (2018), there are (12) legit Arabic platforms working in this field. Several statistical tools were used for data analysis and hypotheses testing, including reliability Correlation using Cronbach’s alpha, “ANOVA”, Simple Linear Regression. The (...) overall findings of the current paper show that there is a significant statistical impact for financial properties on entrepreneurship and this effect around (25%). Furthermore, the current paper is unique by topic and population as it is the first study on Arabic crowdfunding platforms. (shrink)

BackgroundA different ethos with respect to the perception of medical ethics prevails in societies in transition such as those in the Arabian Peninsula, which makes it difficult to apply international principles of bioethics in medical practice. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test an instrument that measures physicians’ awareness of bioethics and medical law and their attitudes towards the practice of medical ethics. Additionally, it examined physician correlates influencing the awareness of bioethics.MethodsFollowing a rigorous review of relevant literature by (...) a panel of experts, a 13-item instrument, the Omani physicians’ bioethics and medical law awareness (OBMLA) questionnaire was developed with the aim of assessing physicians’ awareness of bioethics and medical law. The study tool’s construct validity and internal consistency reliability were examined by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach’s alpha. In a cross-sectional study, the questionnaire was distributed among a random sample of 200 physicians at a tertiary hospital in Muscat, Oman. Participant characteristics that may influence awareness of bioethics and medical law were explored.ResultsThe EFA of the OBMLA questionnaire resulted in three well-loading factors: (1) Physicians’ bioethics practice subscale (2) incentive related bioethics subscale and (3) medical law awareness subscale. Internal consistency reliability ranged between Cronbach’s α: 0.73–0.8. Of the total 200 participants, 52% reported that teaching medical ethics during medical school was inadequate. The overall mean (standard deviation, SD) of the bioethics awareness score and Omani medical law awareness were 27.6 (3.5) and 10.1 (2.1) respectively. The majority of physicians (73%) reported that they frequently encountered ethical dilemmas in their practice and 24.5% endorsed the view that unethical decisions tended to occur in their practice.ConclusionThe study provides an insight into the practice of bioethics, and the awareness of bioethics and medical law among physicians in a teaching hospital in Oman. The OBMLA questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable tool to assess a physician’s awareness of bioethics and medical law. In this preliminary study, it appears that participants have suboptimal scores on the indices which measure practice and awareness of bioethics and medical law. (shrink)

The research aims to identify the learning organizations and their role in achieving organizational excellence in the Palestinian universities in Gaza Strip. The researchers used descriptive analytical approach and used the questionnaire as a tool for information gathering. The questionnaires were distributed to senior management in the Palestinian universities. The study population reached (344) employees in senior management is dispersed over (3) Palestinian universities. A stratified random sample of (182) workers from the Palestinian universities was selected and the recovery rate (...) was (69.2%). Statistical analysis (SPSS) program was used for analysis and processing the data. The research found the following results: there is a fair degree of approval on "cognitive dimension", there is a high approval about the importance of "organizational dimension", there is moderately consent of the importance of "Community dimension", there is a large degree of consent about the importance of axis of the "leadership excellence", there is a large degree of consent about the importance of axis of the "service-excellence", there is a fair degree approval about the importance of the axis of "cognitive excellence", and there is a moderately consent of the importance of "Organizational Excellence". The research found a group of recommendations including: the need to develop appropriate strategies for the University, employ modern technology in information systems, in addition to provide appropriate environment that achieve learning organizations, develop technological infrastructure, adopt universities for knowledge management in the academic and administrative departments because knowledge is the core of the work of these departments, create technological incubators in universities to adopt excellence academic research projects, and protected them, support them, and market them. Establishing of centers of excellence for scientific research in the university.The need for cooperation and coordination between local, Arab and international universities for the exchange of knowledge, information, and participation programs and training courses, as it provides an opportunity to develop the capabilities and skills of personnel and expertise. (shrink)

The research aims to identify the trends of Palestinian higher educational institutions in Gaza Strip as learning organizations from the perspective of senior management in the Palestinian universities in Gaza Strip. The researchers used descriptive analytical approach and used the questionnaire as a tool for information gathering. The questionnaires were distributed to senior management in the Palestinian universities. The study population reached (344) employees in senior management is dispersed over (3) Palestinian universities. A stratified random sample of (182) employees from (...) the Palestinian universities was selected and the recovery rate was (69.2%). Statistical analysis (SPSS) program was used for analysis and processing the data. The study found the following results: There is an agreement about: the importance of the focus of "organizational structure" with an average approval, the importance of "technological infrastructure" axis with high approval, and the importance of "strategic" with an average approval. The results concluded that the study sample agree on the importance of "organizational dimension" highly. The results showed that the sample believe that the "strategic leadership" level in the universities got medium-approval. There is a fair level agreement about the axis of interest "teams / committees". There is an agreement about the importance of the "human dimension" moderately. The results showed that the sample is highly agreed about the importance of focus of the "knowledge management", and the focus of the "continuing education". They agreed weakly to somewhat about the importance of the focus of "scientific research", moderately agree about the importance of the center of "institutional culture", agree moderately on the importance of "cognitive dimension". The results showed that the sample largely agree on the importance of the focus of "strategic partnerships and alliances". They agree highly on the axis "keep up with the labor market" and on the focus of the importance of "technology incubators". The results showed that the sample moderately agree about the importance of the theme on "consulting and training", the importance of the focus of "social responsibility", and the focus of the "Community dimension". The study found a group of recommendations including: there is a need to provide suitable environment that achieve learning organizations. There is a need to develop the technological infrastructure (hardware, software, networks, databases, and human skills) because of the great advantages that they offer. The universities need to adopt knowledge management in the academic and administrative departments because knowledge is the core of the work of these departments. The establishment of technology incubators in universities to adopt outstanding university research projects, to protect, to supports, and to market them; furthermore, to develop the capabilities and skills of employees in the field of information technology. (shrink)

Breaking bad news (BBN) to parents whose newborn has a major disease is an ethical dilemma. In Saudi Arabia, BBN about newborns is performed according to the parental preferences that have been reported from non-Arabic/non-Islamic countries. Saudi mothers' preferences about BBN have not yet been studied. Therefore, we aimed to elicit the preferences of Saudi mothers about BBN concerning newborns. We selected a convenience sample of 402 Saudi mothers, aged 18-50 years, who had no previous experience with BBN. We selected (...) them via a simple number-randomization scheme from the premises of a level III Saudi hospital between October of 2009 and January of 2011. We used a hypothetical situation (BBN about trisomy 21) to elicit their preferences about BBN concerning newborns via a structured verbal questionnaire composed of 12 multiple-choice questions. We expressed their preferences as percentages (95% confidence interval), and we used the Kendall's W test (W) to assess the degree of agreement in preferences. The Saudi mothers preferred that BBN be conducted with both parents together (64% [60-69]), albeit with weak levels of agreement (W = 0.29). They showed moderate agreement in their preferences that BBN should be conducted early (79% [75-83], W = 0.48), in detail (81% [77-85], W = 0.52), in person (88% [85-91], W = 0.58), and in a quiet setting (86% [83-90], W = 0.53). With extremely weak agreement, they preferred to have a known person present for support during BBN (56% [51-61], W = 0.01), to have close bodily contact with their babies (66% [61-70], W = 0.10), and to have no another patients present (64% [59-68], W = 0.08). They showed moderate levels of agreement in their desires to detail, in advance, their preferences about process of BBN by giving a reversible, written informed consent that could be utilized for guidance, if needed (80% [76-84], W = 0.36). In our experience, Saudi mothers' preferences about BBN concerning newborns are varied, suggesting that a "one-size-fits-all" approach is inappropriate. A reversible, written informed consent detailing their preferences about BBN that would be kept in their medical records and utilized for guidance, if needed, may be the best solution, given this level of diversity. These findings merit further study. (shrink)

This study examined the relationship between urban culture and street vending. Prior research on this topic is limited and inconclusive. Therefore, we have proposed an integrated model to test the positive effect of urban culture on street vending using multiple mediations of consumption patterns, resistance, and microfinance. We tested a sample of 425 responses that reflect the public opinion in Baghdad, Iraq. These responses were collected between September and November 2018. A partial least squares–based structural equation modeling is employed to (...) test the validity of measurement models and the significance of the entire structural model, predictive power, and mediation analysis. We found that resistance mediates the effect of urban culture on street vending; low-income consumption and resistance sequentially mediate the effect of urban culture on street vending, while resistance mediates the effect of a lack of microfinance on street vending. The direct impact of culture on street vending is not significant, and a lack of microfinance positively influences the pervasiveness of trading on streets. This study contributes to the extant literature as it proposed and tested a novel and comprehensive model to analyze the relationship between urban culture and street vending, simultaneously examining the effects of culture, consumption, resistance, and microfinance on street vending. (shrink)

This study provides evidence regarding the level of ethical cognition of business students at the entry to college as compared to a national norm. It also provides comparative evidence on the effects of group versus individual ethical cognition upon completion of a business ethics course. The Principled Score (P-score) from the Defining Issues Test (DIT) was used to measure the ethical cognition of a total sample of 301 business students (273 entering students plus 28 students in a business ethics course). (...) The results indicate that (1) business students are not significantly different from the national norms at entry to college and (2) group reasoning helps male students improve their P-scores significantly in the business ethics course at a loss of P-score (albeit not statistically significant) for female students. (shrink)

يضم كتاب "الحرية في الفكر العربي المعاصر"، الصادر عن المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات، بحوثًا منتقاة من أعمال المؤتمر السنوي الخامس للعلوم الاجتماعية والإنسانية، الذي عقده المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات بين 12 و14 آذار/مارس 2015 في الدوحة، تمحورت حول الحرية في الفكر العربي المعاصر الذي يُعدّ موضوعًا رئيسًا لقضايا الفكر العربي المعاصر منذ انطلاقة النهضة العربية وحتى اليوم، ومفهومًا مركّبًا متعددَ الأبعاد، تلتقي فيه إشكاليات متعددة يحيل بعضها إلى بعض بطريقة تفاعلية، وتمثّل مقاربته وإعادة صوغه وإنتاجه أساس طرح أسئلة (...) التقدّم والتنمية والحداثة في المجتمعات العربية المعاصرة. (shrink)

Islamic ethics; Siites; conduct of life.

يحلّل الباحث المغربي إبراهيم القادري بوتشيش في كتاب "خطاب العدالة في كتب الآداب السلطانية"، مفهوم العدالة كما تجلّى في الآداب السلطانية. ويحاول التوفيق بين الحقل الديني والحقل السياسي، ولا سيما أنّ النصوص السلطانية كانت دائمًا أداة مرجعية في أي محاولة لمواجهة المعضلات الفكرية العربية الراهنة. وهذا الكتاب الصادر عن المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات؛ مساهمة جديدة في صوغ أجوبة حديثة عن أسئلة قديمة وحديثة معًا مثل: مفهوم العدالة في الآداب السلطانية، والمرجعيات المولدة لخطاب العدالة لدى مؤلفي الآداب السلطانية، وموقع حقوق (...) الإنسان في الآداب السلطانية. (shrink)

The recent financial crises indicated the need to reinforce corporate governance mechanisms in emerging and developing market economies. Corporate governance refers to all the factors that affect firm processes. Firms must avoid debt financing instruments and adopt financing instruments that allow for “risk-sharing” rather than “risk-shifting” because all recent financial crises were, in essence, debt crises. The primary objective of this paper is to examine the principles of risk-sharing promoted by Islamic finance and study their implications for corporate governance. The (...) secondary objective of this paper is to propose a pricing model for a new risk-sharing financial instrument that was recently discussed by Zarka and Al-Suhaibani. We study the implications of this new instrument as a powerful tool for corporate governance in the case of Islamic markets. We explain the possible contribution of IPS to agency cost reduction, Sharia screening costs and ethical corporate governance. (shrink)