The relationship between Islam with a democratic political systemhas been questionable at best and incompatible at worst. While countlessresearch has been done on this issue for decades especially with the rise ofIslamist apologists in the years following the invasion of Iraq in 2003, thispaper proposes that it is time we understand the role of Islam through the lensesof democrat Muslims. Democrat Muslims are those who seek to preserve andpromote the five major qualities in human life with values that surpass simplyprotecting (...) the people’s political, social and economic life. By comparingRashid al-Ghannouchi and Anwar Ibrahim, this paper traces their evolution tocome to a similar conclusion that is applicable to most Muslim societies. Usingthe dissonant politics theory, this paper suggests that local developments weretaken into high consideration when these two figures decided to conceptualizewhat is known today as Democrat Muslims. (shrink)

The 14th general election in Malaysia held on May 9, 2018 is anhistoric event that altered the political landscape of the nation. For the firsttime over sixty years this election has caused to change the government fromBarisan Nasional coalition to another coalition named PakatanHarapan, formed in 2015. This article has analysed theelection results and the probable factors that might have contributed to thehistoric change. It argued that since 1999 the ruling Malay elites have becomepermanently divided challenging the dominance of United (...) Malay NationalOrganisation in politics and the prospect for a viable alternativebecame consolidated with the rise of Parti KeAdilan Rakyat offeringan avenue for a new generation politics. The return of Mahathir Mohamad topolitics and a strategic coalition mainly between his party and PKR, party ofthe jailed leader Anwar Ibrahim, made an alternative to BN/UMNO a realitythrough winning the election. (shrink)

Orthodox economics operates within a hypothesized world of perfect competition in which perfect consumers and firms act to bring about supposedly optimal outcomes. The discrepancies between this model and the reality it claims to address are then attributed to particular imperfections in reality itself. Most heterodox economists seize on this fact and insist that the world is characterized by imperfect competition. But this only ties them to the notion of perfect competition, which remains as their point of departure and base (...) of comparison. There is no imperfection without perfection. In Capitalism, Anwar Shaikh takes a different approach. He demonstrates that most of the central propositions of economic analysis can be derived without any reference to standard devices such as hyperrationality, optimization, perfect competition, perfect information, representative agents, or so-called rational expectations. This perspective allows him to look afresh at virtually all the elements of economic analysis: the laws of demand and supply, the determination of wage and profit rates, technological change, relative prices, interest rates, bond and equity prices, exchange rates, terms and balance of trade, growth, unemployment, inflation, and long booms culminating in recurrent general crises. In every case, Shaikh's innovative theory is applied to modern empirical patterns and contrasted with neoclassical, Keynesian, and Post-Keynesian approaches to the same issues. Shaikh's object of analysis is the economics of capitalism, and he explores the subject in this expansive light. This is how the classical economists, as well as Keynes and Kalecki, approached the issue. Anyone interested in capitalism and economics in general can gain a wealth of knowledge from this ground-breaking text. (shrink)

In this paper an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model, for predicting the category of a tumor was developed and tested. Taking patients’ tests, a number of information gained that influence the classification of the tumor. Such information as age, sex, histologic-type, degree-of-diffe, status of bone, bone-marrow, lung, pleura, peritoneum, liver, brain, skin, neck, supraclavicular, axillar, mediastinum, and abdominal. They were used as input variables for the ANN model. A model based on the Multilayer Perceptron Topology was established and trained using (...) data set which its title is “primary tumor” and was obtained from the University Medical Centre, Institute of Oncology, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia Test data evaluation shows that the ANN model is able to correctly predict the tumor category with 76.67 % accuracy. (shrink)

This book is the culmination of over twenty years of work toward a pedagogical theory that promotes experiential learning of model-laden theory and inquiry in science.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate on how good traditional house design is able to give residential satisfaction levels and could contribute towards habitability in Shibam, Yemen. House design in this study is a subject dealing with efficient space-function design of the house layout which shows cultural aspects of the community. Houses in Shibam typify the traditional architecture which reflects to the structure of family, and social and cultural realms. The houses comprises mid and high-rise mud brick house (...) types, considered as one of the earliest high-rise house type built in the world. Today, the city of Shibam with mid and high-rises mud brick house types is recognized as one of the heritage sites under UNESCO’s World Heritage Lists. The literature study is conducted to understand the definitions of the title, which is important to identify the measurable factors for the research analysis. The study finds that diwan, dining area, bedrooms, bathrooms, corridor and storage, courtyard and balcony, and the composition of the rooms’ layout are important measurable checklist’s factors under category of space planning and function. There are two types of the research analyses which are qualitative and quantitative analysis. The qualitative analysis is a study by the researcher based on the researcher’s observation on the house design during the site visit while the quantitative analysis is from the respondents’ answers (300 respondents) on their satisfaction level from the research questionnaires. With high average scores of 94% in qualitative and 90% in quantitative analysis on satisfactory level, it shows that both results of qualitative and quantitative analysis support the research assumption. In that light, within the ambit of this study, the house design in Shibam can and does serve as a reference. (shrink)

The research is focused on the behavioral pattern of achievement-oriented leadership and its relationship with achievement motivation and the application of organization culture on cooperative (KUD & Kopontren) in ecosystem level (mountainous, upland, & coastal areas) in West Java. The results of the research show that the behavioral patterns of leadership of the chairman and manager (KUD & Kopontren) are not yet achievement-oriented on all ecosystem levels in West Java the achievement motivation of cooperative personnel is relatively low and the (...) application of cooperative organization culture is generally limited. There is positive correlation among the three research variables and the behavioral patterns of achievement leadership is significantly different in two kinds of cooperative (KUD & Kopontren), albeit having no significant difference on achievement motivation and the application of cooperative organization culture variables. In addition, there is extreme correlation in the three variables of the research on the coastal areas compared with the mountainous and upland areas especially those near the town. Hence, in West Java the results of research concludes that cooperative (KUD & Kopontren) has not yet been done profesionally, not achievement-oriented with weak initiative and low civilization. Accordingly, it is required to have a change of cooperative leadership pattern being oriented in achievement and application of cooperative organization culture based on moral and Moslem religion. (shrink)

The menace of conflicts and natural disasters in different states of the world had spiralled into a global phenomenon of Internally Displaced Persons. These are groups of humans who had helplessly drifted away from their natural and ancestral home due to conflicts and disasters but had not crossed international boundaries into another country. They merely take solace by the protection offered by the spirit and letters of relevant international laws which have domesticated by member states. This paper seeks to answer (...) the question regarding the extent to which the IDPs have become a menace in Nigeria. The paper reveals that many governments’ actions are the primary and the root cause of the IDPs while others are recipient of the domino effect. The paper relies on a panel data elicited from thirteen out of the thirty six states in Nigeria. The paper reveals the need for urgent measures by government to douse the upsurge in the number of IDPs. The political settlement analysis was used to proffer a better way of culminating the crises. Recommendations are directed to the individuals, civil societies and the government at all levels. (shrink)

A leading scholar of humanitarian intervention, Brown (2002) refers to British internal politics to satisfy the influential church and other non-conformist libertarian community leaders, and above all ?undermining Britain's competitors, such as Spain and Portugal, who were still reliant on slave labour to power their economies, as the principal motivation for calls to end the slave trade than any genuine humanitarian concerns of racial equality or global justice?. Drawing on an empirical exploration, this article seeks to draw a parallel between (...) this politics of humanitarian intervention which characterised the abolition movement, albeit rarely recognised in the academic literature, and the British intervention to end the almost 11 year civil war in Sierra Leone. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications of this politics of humanitarian intervention in the reconstruction of post-conflict Sierra Leone. (shrink)

Kameron Carter’s reading of Black life as matter, as the imaginary, and as an innovation of possibilities enmeshes Black theology, Black womanist/feminist thought, Black Diaspora and Black American Studies, Philosophy, and Queer of Color Critique to reveal how the project of the western world erases Black physical and intellectual legacy. A project that is anti-black, anti-other, anti-difference that erases the legacy of the physical and intellectual aspects of Black contributions to the western world. His book is an invitation to think (...) through what Black ontology would look like outside of white western constructions of religion and social scripts. Carter’s radical shift from being beyond the long durée of enslavement, colonization, segregation, and its afterlives scripts an (anti)blackening because of the western project of erasure works to undo such a project. The book is working against the social ontology of being a fragmented object that is plasticized, fetishized, and dissolved into a state of non-being. It is a project that disrupts and decolonizes previously constructed (anti)blackening architecture by creating a blueprint that asks for Black matter as an incomplete project because it must include imagination and innovation. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there is a relationship between a person's degree of religiousness and corporate social responsibility orientation. A total of 411 managers and 506 students from seven universities were surveyed. The statistical analysis showed that religiousness does influence students' orientation toward the economic, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities of business. It does not, however, have a significant impact upon the managers' attitudes. When the "low religiousness" students and managers were compared, differences were found with (...) respect to the economic, ethical, and philanthropic components of corporate social responsibility. Similar results were obtained when the "high religiousness" students and managers were compared. The implications of these findings are discussed. (shrink)

Motivated by the social and environmental challenges resulting from the COVID‐19 pandemic, this research examines the influence of the “big five” personality traits; extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism on sustainable social responsibility with a mediating role of bricolage. We collected empirical evidence from 245 family‐owned SMEs. The results indicate that the personality traits do not directly influence sustainable social responsibility, although the traits (except extroversion) influence bricolage. Moreover, we found that open, conscious, and agreeable personalities indirectly contribute to sustainable (...) social responsibility, with bricolage as a mediator. Our findings encourage enterprises to focus on those personality traits during crises (especially COVID‐19) that empower people to effectively manage existing resources (e.g., bricolage) and protect their stakeholders. Family‐owned SMEs need to assign resource utilization tasks to family members having personalities of openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism because these kinds of people have high capacities for bricolage. (shrink)

Greek philosophy; Syriac schools; Ancient Near East; history.

In a fiercely competitive business landscape, the optimization of supply chain management (SCM) strategies and the integration of robust corporate digital competencies stand as pivotal determinants for sustained success across various industries, including the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. The study investigates the dynamic interplay between SCM strategies, corporate digital competencies, and operational performance. Through a hypothesis testing research design, the examination sought to determine the influence of these variables. The study revealed strong support for the hypothesis that SCM strategies (...) significantly impact corporate digital competencies and, in turn, operational performance. The results indicated a direct positive relationship between SCM strategies and operational performance while corporate digital competencies indirectly influenced operational performance through their mediation between SCM strategies and operational effectiveness. The findings underscored the integral role of corporate digital competencies in enhancing the efficacy of SCM strategies, amplifying operational performance, and driving customer-centric value. These implications stress the imperative for businesses to strategically align their SCM processes with digital competencies to effectively navigate market complexities and ensure long-term competitiveness. (shrink)

Rapid developments in science and technology have resulted in novel discoveries, leading to new questions particularly related to human values and ethics. Every discovery and technology has positive and negative implications and affects human lives either directly or indirectly, involving all walks of life. Bioethical discourse in Malaysia must consider the multiracial and multireligious background of Malaysia and especially the Islamic view as the majority of Malaysians are Muslims and Islam is the religion of the federation. This article discusses several (...) selected bioethical issues in Malaysia by studying the application of maṣlaḥah (the public good) and mafsadah (evil and harms) in Malaysian Islamic rulings (fatwas). This article uses the critical interpretation approach, as this is an ethical, interpretive, textual, and contextual analysis. In a situation when there is a conflict between maṣlaḥah and avoidance of mafsadah, it is preferred to attempt to address both needs. However, if maṣlaḥah and avoidance of mafsadah are mutually exclusive, the decision to choose must be made by weighing (tarjīḥ) and choosing the one which is superior. The maṣlaḥah and mafsadah concepts play vital and significant roles in bioethical discourse to realize human essential interests, namely faith, life, lineage, intellect, and property, thus achieving maqāṣid al-sharīʿah (the ultimate goal of sharia). This concept helps in guiding bioethical discussions, especially in determining the priority between achieving benefits and avoiding harms. The application of this concept will also assist Malaysian authorities in formulating appropriate rulings, especially bioethical issues related to Malaysian Muslims’ lives. (shrink)

Mitochondrial replacement technology (MRT) is an emerging and complex bioethical issue. This treatment aims to eliminate maternal inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disorders. For Muslims, its introduction affects every aspect of human life, especially the five essential interests of human beings—namely, religion, life, lineage, intellect, and property. Thus, this technology must be assessed using a comprehensive and holistic approach addressing these human essential interests. Consequently, this article analyses and assesses tri-parent baby technology from the perspective of Maqasidic bioethics—that is, Islamic bioethics (...) based on the framework of Maqasid al-Shariah. Using this analysis, this article suggests that tri-parent baby technology should not be permitted for Muslims due to the existence of third-party cell gametes which lead to lineage mixing and due to the uncertain safety of the therapy itself and because the major aim of the technology is to fulfil the affected couples interest to conceive their own genetically healthy child, not to treat and cure mtDNA disorders sufferers. (shrink)

Shyness affects and influences the performance of the learners at school and college level. There are different correlates and reasons of shyness. Zimbardo states that Shyness is a vague concept which has many interpretations and definitions. One definition which is very renowned is that “The person, male or female, who is nervous, worried, and uncomfortable in the gathering or presence of others, is called shy”. The objectives of this research study were as: to investigate the relationship of schooling system with (...) shyness to investigate the relationship of residential locality with shyness to check relationship of Socio- Economic status with shyness To rank the correlates of shyness. Overall 252 students from graduation of Indus group of Colleges from Rawalpindi and Islamabad were the population of the study and 42 students were selected through simple random sampling technique as a sample for the study. The researcher got the data with the help of personal visits to the colleges. Questionnaire for measuring shyness was used by the researcher for this research study1. Another self developed questionnaire or instrument was used to know the correlates of shyness. Chisquare test of independence was used for data analysis. The results of the study showed that shyness depended upon these correlates of shyness as residential locality Schooling system socio-economic status of the learners. Shyness depends upon above mentioned correlates. In order to remove this problem of shyness, some steps should be taken as learners or students may not be blamed or punished without any reason. Learners should be encouraged and motivated. (shrink)

The present study was conducted in Quetta district Balochistan province so as to determine the perception of the respondents about causes and consequences of child labor in Balochistan province. The sample size was 100 family units selected by using the simple random sampling. Somehow of the respondents fall in the age categories of 41 to 50 years, followed by 30% of the family units who were in the age categories of 50 and above years. More than half 52% of the (...) respondents were illiterates and the other of the respondents had primary level of education. The result is further expressed that the other 20% of the male respondents were of the view that the retail trade, cycling repairing and carpet business important child labor route respectively. While 20% of the female respondents revealed that they are cycling repairing and carpet business important child labor route respectively at Quetta district. Children are the assets of any nation without their contribution in the developmental process can be null and void, therefore it should be recommended that government must take stern action against the child labor at grass-root level to eliminate the child labor in the community or society. (shrink)

The terms ‘unity’, ‘integration’ and ‘diversity’ have multiple layers of meaning in the religious context. While religions emphasize unity and integrity, they also address the issues of diversity. When understood properly, unity does not mean uniformity and thus does not invite oppression and closure. By the same token, diversity does not mean chaos and lack of order. Both unity and diversity have a function within the larger context of things. But this context is not confined to the socio-political dimension alone. (...) A broader understanding of these terms will help us understand the religious discourses of unity, diversity and integration. It will also lead to a more critical assessment of the Enlightenment and western modernity. (shrink)

A journalist and a political philosopher of international repute, Walter Lippman was the author of more than twenty books, scores of essays, and countless newspaper editorials, articles, and columns. This book attempts to discover and state Lippmann's philosophy of international politics as it developed over the years 1913 to 1963.

Museum professionalism remains an unexplored area in museum studies, particularly with regard to what is arguably the core generic question of a sui generis professional knowledge base, and its necessary and sufficient conditions. The need to examine this question becomes all the more important with the increasing expansion of the museum’s roles and functions. This paper starts by mapping out the policy and organizational context within which the roles of museums have expanded in the UK. It then situates the discussion (...) of museum professional knowledge within a cross-disciplinary matrix bearing on the question of what is professional about occupations classified—or classifiable—as professions. Against the backdrop of the current organizational context of the museum as well as theories of professional knowledge, it highlights the ways in which museum work, more specifically museography, poses a distinctive set of questions compared to other ‘professional’ fields; the paper thus homes in on the question of what it is that constitutes the uniqueness of museum professional knowledge in relation to museographic practice and the type of professional knowledge and expertise that can sustain it and enact its creative and educational potentials and affordances. (shrink)

Tri-parent baby technology is an assisted reproductive treatment which aims to minimize or eliminate maternal inheritance of mutated mitochondrial DNA. The technology became popular following the move by the United Kingdom in granting license to a group of researchers from the Newcastle Fertility Centre, Newcastle University to conduct research on the symptoms of defective mtDNA. This technology differs from other assisted reproductive technology because it involves the use of gamete components retrieved from three different individuals. Indirectly, it affects the preservation (...) of lineage which is important from an Islamic point of view. This paper aims to analyze and discuss the implications of the tri-parent technology on preservation of lineage from the perspective of Maqasid al-Shari’ah based the Islamic bioethics. The analysis shows that there are a few violations of the preservation of lineage, hence the tri-parent baby technology should not be permitted. (shrink)

This paper examines public accountants' perceptions of the relative importance of business ethics as a selection criterion for entry-level public accounting positions. Also, it seeks to determine whether gender differences do exist with respect to these perceptions. The data were collected through a survey of 335 professional accountants in four southeastern states. The results show that, among the eight selection factors that were studied, technical competence in accounting, communication skills, and interpersonal skills were the most influential, while professionalism and leadership (...) abilities were the least important. Ethics was ranked fourth by the females and sixth by the males. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant differences between the genders with respect to five of the eight factors. The females' scores were higher for ethics and interpersonal skills and lower for conceptual aptitude, strategic thinking, and leadership abilities. Implications for accounting educators and practitioners are discussed. (shrink)

During the late 1960s, the long post-war economic boom which had characterised the advanced capitalist countries began to fade away. In its wake came an equally long era of stagnation, decline, and political and economic turbulence. Unemployment, inflation, falling profitability, business failures and bankruptcies were the new order of the day, and it became commonplace to see fearful headlines about the possible collapse of the global financial system or even of accumulation itself.

This article is a discourse analysis based on a theory of figures of speech advocated by Orecchionni that analyzes implicit not only as a mark of literality but also as trope of illocutionary type not lexical, lexical, metaphorical or semantic. It considers also the explicit information of the novel through four levels of competency: linguistic, encyclopedic, logical and pragmatic rhetorical and analyzes the romantic statement according to the maxims of quantity, quality, relation or relevance and modality. This study shows, through (...) verbal interactions of « Douane de mer » that the story is the heiress of the mnemonic representation than of historical representation. It sheds light on the dual role played by implicit as a mediator in relation to historical reality or an opaque screen over the truth of the world. (shrink)