The article discusses the novel 2025. An-Nida al-Akhir [2025. The Last Call] written by a young Egyptian journalist and writer born in 1982 - Mustafa al-Husayni. The novel was published in early 2011, between the fall of Zayn al-Abidin Ibn Ali in Tunisia and of Husni Mubarak in Egypt. It describes a revolution against the regime of Jamal al-Mubarak, son of Husni, spurred by a group of young Egyptians. The story takes place in 2025 and anticipates the development of the (...) political situation in Egypt and the Middle East between 2011 and 2025 in a utopian/dystopian manner. Alongside Utopia by Ahmad Khalid Tawfik and the poetry of Usama al-Abnubi and Abd ar-Rahman al-Abnudi, al-Husayni’s book is considered to be a forecast of the Arab Spring in Egypt. (shrink)

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) underpin a holistic approach to promote global sustainability, sparking the emergence of the “twin transition” concept, which combines environmentally friendly practices and digitalization for a greener future. Taking note of the SDGs, the primary objective of this research is to explore the twin transition within the context of high-tech industries. This study aims to bridge existing knowledge gaps by exploring the indirect impact of information effects and the moderating role of artificial intelligence (AI) (...) infrastructure flexibility in the relationship between platform leadership and green sustainable practices. Grounded in the framework of the diffusion of innovation paradigm, our findings are based on a three-wave time-lagged field survey conducted among 437 high-tech SMEs in China. The study's findings uncover a positive relation between platform leadership and green sustainable practices, with information effects, specifically responsiveness and usability, acting as mediating factors. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that AI infrastructure flexibility acts as a moderator in the relationship between platform leadership and information effects, influencing the indirect effect of platform leadership on green sustainable practices through information effects. This research not only contributes to our understanding of the twin transition in high-tech SMEs but also sheds light on the critical role of platform leadership, information effects, and AI infrastructure flexibility in driving green sustainable practices. These findings have significant implications for managers, policymakers, and scholars focused on sustainability and innovation in the high-tech sector. (shrink)

Although critical discourse analysis (CDA) sets out to investigate both oppressive and progressive discourses, the vast bulk of published studies seem to prioritize the former. This paper is a response to scholarly calls to engage with (non)oppressive discourses by integrating positive impulses in critical discourse analysis, and thus contribute to the growth of positive discourse analysis (PDA), a complement to CDA, which attends to the emancipatory mechanisms of resistance. Using a combination of theoretical tools, this paper takes a case study (...) approach to explore the potentials of ‘complexification’ [Macgilchrist, F. (2007). Positive discourse analysis: Contesting dominant discourses by reframing the issues. Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis Across Disciplines, 1(1), 74–94], a counter-discursive strategy for propelling marginal discourses into the dominant official school discourse. Specifically, the paper discusses three layers of complexification found in a selected Moroccan EFL textbook which has been developed, approved and distributed by the Moroccan Ministry of Education, and has been required to be used in every school, public or private. The analysis highlights the role this textbook plays in promoting emancipatory and progressive discourses about Amazigh social actors, and hence, signals a new shift in analytic focus by illuminating a concrete application of PDA in education curricula. (shrink)

Dans une perspective psychanalytique familiale, l’article s’attache à montrer comment l’utilisation du dessin spontané de l’enfant en consultation familiale permet de saisir les articulations entre les espaces psychiques – subjectif et intersubjectif –, soutient le processus créatif et favorise l’élaboration du traumatisme psychique. Il précise les fondements théoriques et les règles techniques à respecter dans le maniement des médiateurs spontanés dont ce type de dessin fait partie, aux côtés du récit de rêve et du jeu, en consultation familiale. Une situation (...) clinique d’une famille dont le père a vécu une trajectoire d’exil traumatique décrit comment cette façon d’aborder les dessins de ses enfants suscite le sien propre, ainsi qu’un récit de rêve et un jeu de mime. L’ensemble de la démarche soutient la narrativité familiale portant sur la trajectoire d’exil et ses traumas. (shrink)

This book is at once unique, strikingly bold and far-ranging. It is unique in being the only Indian approach to academic scholarship that has seriously attempted to undertake the swarajist programme of considering modern Western civilization in its entirety from an independent, decolonized Indian perspective.

Rationale, aims and objectives To compare the pharmacotherapeutic approaches to diabetic hypertension of family physicians (FPs) and general practitioners (GPs). Methods A retrospective prescription-based study was conducted in 15 out of a total of 20 health centres, involving 115 primary care physicians – 77 FPs and 38 GPs, representing 74% of the primary care physicians of Bahrain. Prescriptions were collected during May and June 2000 to comprise a study population of 1266 diabetic-hypertensive patients. Results As monotherapy, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (...) (37.9%) and β-blockers (38.3%) were the most commonly prescribed classes of antihypertensives by FPs and GPs, respectively. Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) were ranked third by both categories of physicians. For two-drug combinations, a β-blocker and an ACE inhibitor was the combination of choice for both physician categories. Patients managed by the FPs were more likely to receive a β-blocker–CCB combination (17.4 vs. 14.9%) or a diuretic–ACE inhibitor combination (16.7 vs. 11.4%) and less likely to receive a β-blocker–diuretic combination (11.8 vs. 16.7%) than those managed by the GPs. The proportion of patients receiving antihypertensive combinations was 40.6 and 38.5% for FPs and GPs, respectively. While the GPs prescribed CCB as a monotherapy to the elderly most often, the FPs choice was a β-blocker. Diuretics were less preferred by both FPs and GPs. β-Blocker–ACE inhibitor was again the most preferred combination of both FPs and GPs. FPs prescribed CCB–β-blocker combinations more often than GPs (P = 0.01), whereas CCB–ACE inhibitor combinations were less preferred (P = 0.09). A trend towards excessive use of short-acting nifedipine as monotherapy for elderly patients, both by FPs and by GPs, was noticed. Glibenclamide, alone or in combination with metformin, was the foremost antidiabetic drug prescribed by FPs and GPs. Middle-aged (45–64 years) patients seen by GPs were more likely to receive glibenclamide than those treated by FPs (P = 0.001) and less likely to receive gliclazide (P = 0.01). Combinations of a β-blocker with either glibenclamide or insulin were prescribed considerably more often by GPs.Conclusions Within the same practice setting, a substantial difference was observed between FPs and GPs in terms of preference for different classes of drugs in the management of diabetic hypertension. The compliance of both FPs and GPs was suboptimal; overall, the compliance of the FPs was closer to the recommended guidelines, however. Educational programmes should specifically address these inadequacies in order to improve the quality of health care. (shrink)

The aim of this study is to explore social media marketing activities and their impact on consumer intentions. This study also analyzes the mediating roles of social identification and satisfaction. The participants in this study were experienced users of two social media platforms Facebook and Instagram in Pakistan. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents. We used an online community to invite Facebook and Instagram users to complete the questionnaire in the designated online questionnaire system. Data were (...) collected from 353 respondents, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results show that SMMAs have a significant impact on the intentions of users. Furthermore, social identification mediates the relationship between social media activities and satisfaction, and satisfaction mediates the relationship between social media activities and the intentions of users. This will help marketers how to attract customers to develop their intentions. This is the first novel study that used SMMAs to address the user intentions with the role of social identification and satisfaction in the context of Pakistan. (shrink)

This article employs the notions of exclusivism and inclusivism to categorise the responses of prospective Islamic religion teachers towards various Islamic religious sects. Despite the prevalent criticism surrounding the perceived oversimplification and a lack of insight provided by the two typologies, we have found them to be valuable tools for elucidating the phenomena under investigation. Quantitative data were collected from 154 respondents using questionnaires containing multiple-choice questions. Data frequency, cross-tabulation and gamma values are statistical techniques employed to analyse and characterise (...) data and ascertain the nature of their associations or dependencies. This study provides evidence indicating that a significant proportion of prospective Islamic religious teachers had a worldview characterised by exclusivity. Their exclusivist stance is seen in their acknowledgment of sects that deviate from their own, such as Wahhabism, Shia, and those engaging in non-scriptural forms of worship. Some individuals agree with the designation of heretical being attributed to those who adhere to distinct religious worship customs. Moreover, these individuals perceive contentious theological assertions, such as those made by Sheikh Panji Gumilang, as warped, misguided and beyond redemption.Contribution: This study implies the need to review and reconstruct higher education curricula to prepare prospective Islamic religion teachers who are moderate, tolerant, inclusive, and uphold human rights. (shrink)

Our study explores the relationship between psychological contract (fulfillment/violations) and voice behavior (promotive/prohibitive). The study encourages promoting the development of positive voice behavior since the promotive voice behavior of employees would help the organization to grow and improve as per industry standards especially during the upcoming hi-tech era. If the knowledge workers do not show positive voice behavior, it is difficult for organizations to compete and sustain in such an era of digitalization. A cross-sectional survey was conducted for the assessment/validation (...) of the model. Data was collected through a single self-reported questionnaire, filled out by the 89 employees of two private banks, working in 8 different branches. Further, the relationships among variables have been analyzed using structure equation modeling. Results show a strong and positive relationship between psychological contract fulfillment and promotive voice behavior whereas a negative relationship is indicated upon the violations and breach of psychological contract. Job satisfaction/dissatisfaction was also tested as mediators between these variables. Future researchers may test the same in different geographical locations and demographic conditions, whereas various personality traits may also be tested since voice behavior is an individual decision. The study represents the first of its kind on the said topic especially in the Pakistani context. (shrink)

This study discusses copious early Arab literature of "wonders and marvels". The authors of such books found their materials in the Muslim religion, in the ancient Arab heritage and in strange facts about other cultures. The study examines the themes addressed by these works, including magic, fantasy, strange customs, curiosities, humor, the absurd, mockery, nightly chats, puzzles, riddles, rebuke, satire, defamation, battles, animals, angels, demons, etc. Composers of "wonders and marvels" books chose rhyming names for their works in order to (...) attract the reader. The study found that the popularity of such books was due to the fact that certain phenomena and customs were perceived as incomprehensible by Arabs, who therefore sought transcendental or supernatural explanations, giving free rein to their imagination. Some books of this genre were apt to arouse fear in the reader and the oft-repeated stories in them were eventually believed by many and became means for realizing Arabs' desires and dreams. The study found that at first such books were perceived with scorn, as collections of superstitions and myths, and were therefore popular mainly among the lower classes. Because the genre did not attract the interest of the more educated, its scholarly study was neglected for a long time. (shrink)

This is an excerpt from the contentRecently older people have been the target of filmmakers and marketing campaigns; the concept of the “grey pound” has become a potentially significant attraction encouraging filmmakers to explore issues relating to age and ageing in mainstream films. The recent success of films such as Mamma Mia and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel have made a significant impact on the box office, and Amour securing the 2013 Palm D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, proved that (...) an older audience is eager to watch films with mature characters and about issues that are relevant and meaningful to them.Actor Dustin Hoffman chose the play, Quartet by Ronald Harwood, to make his directorial debut. Set in “Beecham House,” a residential home for retired musicians, Hoffman explores brilliantly the diversity of octogenarians. The home is under the threat of closure unless the residents raise a substantial amount of money to keep it open, and their cunning plan to do that is by organizing a charitable evening gala fea. (shrink)

Countries in the Arab Gulf are currently experiencing some of the fastest rates of growth and progress in the world. _Transforming Education in the Gulf Region _argues that education systems in these countries need to use innovative pedagogies and best practices in teaching and learning to educate all citizens so that they obtain the knowledge and skills to be productive members of society. This book will contribute to the transformation of education in the Gulf countries by suggesting best practices, research (...) outcomes and case studies from experts in the Gulf region. It has become increasingly evident in recent years that Gulf countries need to use emerging learning technologies to cater for the needs of learners and to provide maximum flexibility in learning. There is also a growing practical need to use electronic technologies, since learning materials are more widely available in electronic formats than in paper-based formats. This book focuses on the role of emerging technologies and innovative pedagogies in transforming education in six Gulf countries in the region. With contributions from experts around the world, the book argues that the time is right for Arab Gulf countries to make the transition to electronic learning and that they need to implement the outcomes of research and adopt best practices to transform and revolutionize education to prepare learners in the Gulf region for the 21st Century. The book should be of interest to academics and students in the areas of higher education, learning technologies, education policy and education reform. It should also be of interest to educators and policymakers in the Gulf region. (shrink)

This paper unravels an unprecedented interplay between board gender diversity (BGD) and corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disputes among Chinese A-share-listed nonfinancial companies from 2017 to 2021. Framed within a knowledge-based and sensemaking perspective of institutional frameworks, the research not only illuminates the profound impact of internal (corporate governance ratings) and external (regional institutional development) institutional factors on this intricate relationship but also brings to light a paradigm-shifting revelation. The study employed a diverse set of empirical tests, ranging from (...) ordinary least squares regression to advanced methods such as the generalized method of moments, two-stage least squares, and propensity score matching, providing a nuanced and comprehensive analysis. The findings highlight the pivotal role of female directors in significantly mitigating ESG disputes. A mechanism analysis further uncovers that internal and external institutional quality are potent positive moderators in shaping the BGD–ESG dispute dynamic. This research has profound implications, providing valuable insights for stakeholders, policymakers, and scholars, offering a comprehensive understanding of how gender diversity fosters sustainability while unravelling the intricate tapestry of internal and external institutional dynamics that shape ESG outcomes. (shrink)

This article aims to highlight the healthcare issues raised by COVID-19 in Pakistan’s scenario. Initially, Pakistan lacked “standard operating procedures,” and the government had to ship testing kits from China and Japan. Moreover, due to violations of the lockdown and standard operating procedures (SOPs), the rapidly increasing number of cases created a burden on the healthcare system. More and more, this pandemic and its impact have grown. As vaccine development has not been successful yet, “herd immunity” can only be achieved (...) if about three quarters of the population contract the virus—requiring immuno￾compromised citizens to be sacrificed for the sake of the country. Moreover, Pakistan has limited testing capacity, so most COVID-19 tests are missing their mark even as the virus spreads. The current scenario is also raising several concerns about the capacity of the government to tackle the prevailing healthcare crisis. In this regard, healthcare professionals suggest that the government must act responsibly to ensure better security provided to healthcare professionals. Identifying suspected cases, introducing personal protective equipment, and taking administrative measures to ensure that better security is provided to healthcare professionals are the needs of the hour to improve outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Testing, tracking, and lockdowns must be focused on areas where clusters are detected. The healthcare professionals must be given utmost protection before this pan￾demic could wreak havoc in terms of fatalities. Investing in the chronically underfunded healthcare system is needed, so that Pakistan can build capacity to fight the pandemic. (shrink)

Plastic consumption is an important aspect of contemporary living, and studies that systematically examine consumers’ plastic waste recycling intentions from an ethical perspective are scarce. Considering the severity of plastic waste recycling problems globally based on the stimulus-organism-response paradigm, this study analyses how the information publicity influences consumers’ plastic waste recycling intentions from an ethical perspective in an emerging market economy. We investigate this link by focusing on the indirect effect of perceived social pressure and the moderating role of media (...) disposition (i.e., media richness and content trustworthiness). Data from a three-wave field survey of 469 household consumers from China showed that social pressure mediated the positive relationship between information publicity and ethical recycling intentions. Additionally, media richness and content trustworthiness moderate the link between information publicity and consumers’ perceptions of social pressure. These findings provide encouraging evidence for applying the SOR paradigm to explain the ethical recycling intention of consumers. The findings may assist policymakers in motivating consumers to think ethically about plastic waste recycling. (shrink)

La visite médiatisée fait partie des outils utilisés par les professionnels du champ médico-social afin de permettre des contacts entre parent(s) et enfant(s). Contrairement à l’entretien et à l’observation, elle n’a pas de cadre de référence théorique et clinique précis. Comment donc concevoir un protocole et un cadre à la visite médiatisée? Sur quelle conception de la relation d’aide pouvons-nous nous appuyer pour penser nos manières d’être et de travailler, pour penser les différents niveaux d’interactions qu’engagent les bénéficiaires des visites (...) et pour saisir les transactions affectives et imaginaires que ces derniers nouent avec les professionnels que nous sommes? C’est ce cadre spécifique de la VM que l’article interroge en s’appuyant sur l’exemple d’un dispositif mis en place pour restaurer le contact entre un père souffrant de psychose et sa petite fille, victime de violences paternelles quand elle était nourrisson. (shrink)

En visant une modélisation conceptuelle, cet écrit théorique aborde la vulnérabilité du professionnel de la protection de l’enfance à travers le prisme de son éthique. Dans une dynamique socioculturelle parfois trouble, ce professionnel fait face à la vulnérabilité des familles mais aussi à la sienne propre. Nous soutenons qu’il est fragilisé par un contexte qui altère fortement le déploiement du triptyque qui forme la base de ses actions socio-psycho-éducatives – orientation scolaire spécialisée/soins psychiques/placement. Comment alors s’estimer soi-même comme personne et (...) comme professionnel en évaluant ses actions à l’aune d’une visée éthique pour le moins contrariée par des normes porteuses de nouveaux idéaux? L’auteur conclut l’article en soulignant le risque de culpabilité que le professionnel peut endosser, à tort. Il plaide enfin pour une éthique à la fois prescriptive, armée de concepts philosophiques, et réflexive, enrichie par les rugosités du terrain, afin d’aborder de front les nouveaux antagonismes qui s’emparent du champ de la protection de l’enfance. (shrink)

In recent years, the important and fast growth in the development and demand of multimedia products is contributing to an insufficiency in the bandwidth of devices and network storage memory. Consequently, the theory of data compression becomes more significant for reducing data redundancy in order to allow more transfer and storage of data. In this context, this paper addresses the problem of lossy image compression. Indeed, this new proposed method is based on the block singular value decomposition (SVD) power method (...) that overcomes the disadvantages of MATLAB’s SVD function in order to make a lossy image compression. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has better compression performance compared with the existing compression algorithms that use MATLAB’s SVD function. In addition, the proposed approach is simple in terms of implementation and can provide different degrees of error resilience, which gives, in a short execution time, a better image compression. (shrink)

Visual masking of primes lowers prime visibility but spares processing of primes as reflected in prime–target congruence and prime–response compatibility effects. However, the question is how to appropriately measure prime visibility. Here, we tested the influence of three procedural variables on prime visibility measures: prime–target similarity, prime–response similarity, and the variability of prime–response mappings. Our results show that a low prime–target similarity is a favorable condition for a prime visibility measure because it increases the sensitivity of this measure in comparison (...) to a high prime–target similarity. (shrink)

With the ever increasing demand of higher education in the country, several measures have been adopted to fill the gap between demand and supply. Therefore, to meet the challenge number of new universities had been established in both the public and private sector during the last decade. Consequently, there is a competition between public and private sector universities for attracting the students. Claims of providing high quality education at an affordable price are being promulgated by both the sectors. The present (...) study is an attempt to compare the fee charged and on-campus facilities provided to students by public and private sector universities. To conduct the study a sample of 218 social sciences MS/MPhil level students from public and private sector universities were selected. Facility Identification Inventory was used to collect data. Analysis of the data reflected that very high fee is being charged by the private sector universities as compared to public sector. As far as the facilities are concerned the private sector is providing fewer facilities. Moreover, there existed no relationship between total fee and the facilities provided to students in the universities. (shrink)

Among the six sites regarded as the burial place of Joshua bin Nun, the one of Nabi Yusha’, located on the eastern slopes of the Upper Galilee highlands was regarded with great reverence by the "Matawila" or "Mutawalli" Shi'ites in Southern Lebanon and in the Galilee, including the inhabitants of the village Al-Nabi Yusha’. Jewish tradition tends to reject the identification of Joshua’s tomb at this site but rather identify it with a site in Samaria, and therefore this place did (...) not become part of the traditional sanctified gravesites of saintly figures found throughout the Galilee. This article is related to the date and reason for the construction of the mausoleum in its present form, and of the two domes over it, as well as to the tradition of pilgrimage to the site and the cult of the local Shi’ite inhabitants. In its second part, the article refers to the cultic changes that occurred after the establishment of the State of Israel, and to the question of the location of the tomb today in the process of creating a sacred landscape in the Galilee. The main claim of the article is that tracing the changes in the cult of this site will show the geopolitical importance of this place on the one hand, and the changing social values of the surrounding inhabitants and of the sovereign authority on the other. (shrink)

Technological innovations, despite their several benefits, may have drawbacks, thus, they need a control mechanism or directional channel. Responsible innovation (RI) has gained popularity in technology-intensive countries as a way to regulate otherwise uncontrollable and radical technological innovations. However, existing RI research lacks a clear theoretical foundation and has not adequately addressed the commercial and performance aspects of innovative products and firms. The current research proposes an empirically testable model for RI by conducting a structured literature review, focusing on the (...) commercial aspect of innovative products and firms’ sustainability performance in the financial, social, and environmental dimensions. The study suggests a link between RI and the resource-based theory of the firm and proposes that RI can be seen as a distinctive competency developed through the firm’s resources and capabilities. The model would help enterprises achieve ethical and social acceptability and improve sustainability performance. Metadata examination of 98 articles yielded insights. The findings and future research directions of this study provide new insights for business strategy and policy. (shrink)

The fourth industrial revolution will be ushered in by future high technology, and as a result, the world will face new difficulties relating to people, the environment, and profitability. Accordingly, the competitive edge and long-term viability of businesses would depend on the knowledge workers who could overcome these excruciatingly difficult obstacles and have the knowledge and competency to influence the overall performance of any type of company. But managing knowledge workers falls under the purview of human resources, and only effective (...) human resources tools, plans, and procedures can ensure the success of this task. One such tool, which has the capacity and capability to change the whole scenario in an organization's favor, is the human resource information system. The purpose of this structured review is to provide insight into a field of HRM that has largely been neglected by other reviews of the literature and has only been briefly discussed by a small number of publications published in reputable, top-tier journals. A customized HRIS framework is the result of this structured literature review for managing knowledge and competence. The study presents the content analysis of 48 articles, systematically and purposefully selected for this literature review, published during the past three decades. The study has several implications for policymakers and HR practitioners. (shrink)

This article deals with optimal control applied to vaccination and treatment strategies for an SIRS epidemic model with logistic growth and delay. The delay is incorporated into the model in order to modeled the latent period or incubation period. The existence for the optimal control pair is also proved. Pontryagin’s maximum principle with delay is used to characterize these optimal controls. The optimality system is derived and then solved numerically using an algorithm based on the forward and backward difference approximation.

The article explores the emergent tension between the minority imagination and anticaste politics among India’s most significant religious minority, the Muslims. Since the late 1990s, the mobilization of lowered-caste Muslims in the form of the Pasmanda movement has increasingly challenged the hegemony of the so-called high-caste Ashraf Muslims. The nascent Pasmanda counterdiscourse has contested the critical elements of the entrenched Muslim-minority discourse: identity and the religio-cultural, security and interreligious (communal) violence, and equity and affirmative action. The monolithic image of the (...) Muslim community has been dispelled, and the Muslim-minority discourse has been characterized as a machination for preserving and reproducing the Muslim elite interests. The article maps the Pasmanda discourse and locates it as an instance within the evolving literature on the analytical limitations of the concept of minority to address the justice claims of emergent political subjectivities. The Pasmanda contestations present a sharp anomaly to the existing Muslim-minority discourse and indicate a paradigmatic shift. (shrink)

This study focused on the identification problems of two-input single-output system with moving average noises based on unsupervised learning methods applied to the input signals. The input signal to the autoregressive moving average model is proposed to be arriving from a source with continuous technical and environmental changes as two separate featured input signals. These two input signals were grouped in a number of clusters using the K-means clustering algorithm. The clustered input signals were supplied to the model in an (...) orderly fashion from cluster-1 up to cluster-K. To ensure that the output signal can be best predicted from the input signal which in turn leads to selecting good enough model for its intended use, the magnitude-squared coherence measure is applied to the input/output signals in the cases of clustered and nonclustered inputs, which indicates best correlation coefficient when measured with clustered inputs. From collected input-output signals, we deduce a K-means clustering based recursive least squares method for estimating the parameter of autoregressive moving average system. The simulation results indicate that the suggested method is effective. (shrink)