The field of climatic geography focuses on the study of the Earth's surrounding atmosphere, particularly the lower (surface) part close to the Earth's surface. This field examines the interactions within the atmosphere resulting from the solar radiation that reaches the Earth and the subsequent distribution of atmospheric pressure. Consequently, certain surface pressure systems, both high and low, emerge and vary in their temporal and spatial impacts on the climate of the Arabian Peninsula. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a comprehensive (...) and detailed study to understand the causes, development, movement, geographical distribution, and monthly and seasonal recurrence of these pressure systems. For this purpose, a minor climatic cycle spanning eleven years (2007/2008 to 2021/2022) was selected. The study relied on analysing weather maps at the 1000 millibar pressure level to analyse the recurrence of the Siberian high-pressure system over the study area, using observations at both 00:00 and 12:00 during the study period. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Introduction to the Special Theme Religious Experience and PsychopathologyMohammed Abouelleil Rashed, MD, PhDIn the first verse of the seventeenth sura of the Qur’an, Al-Isra’,1 we learn about Prophet Mohammed’s night-time journey to Al-Quds (Jerusalem):Glory to Him who made His servant travel by night from the sacred place of worship [in Mecca] to the furthest place of worship [in Al-Quds], whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him (...) some of Our signs.The year was 621 AD. The Prophet was transported by a fabled creature known as Al-Buraq—a name that derives from the Arabic word for lightning—that was able to cover the distance of a month-long journey in a matter of hours. Accompanied by the Angel Jibreel, the second part of the journey, Al-Mi’raj,2 involved an ascension to the Heavens. Along the way, the Prophet met several past Messengers until, now all alone, he received communications from Allah and, according to some accounts, encountered the Divine manifestation.When he returned to Mecca the following morning and recounted his miraculous journey, he met with a familiar range of responses. Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, who was to become the first Caliph following the Prophet’s death, immediately believed him and never doubted the veracity of his account. Members of the Quraish tribe, a polytheistic tribe then dominant in the Arabian Peninsula and hostile to the Prophet, denounced his account outright, mocking him for its apparent impossibility or accusing him of madness. Others agreed that the Prophet had undergone the experiences he described but reasoned that this was a spiritual journey and not a physical one of literal bodily transportation. Later Christian critics went further by reducing the experience to the manifestations of epilepsy and insanity, or by questioning its Divine origin and attributing it to spirits and satanic entities.It really did matter how the Prophet’s experiences were understood and received: the stakes could not be higher. Here was the Prophet in the 11th year of a mission that called for a renewal of the message of monotheism. If true, this journey to the three holy sites of Islam (Mecca, Medina, Al-Quds) and to the Heavens was further evidence of his Prophethood and one of his miracles. His [End Page 195] critics and his followers had their own answer to the question on everyone’s mind: did the Prophet really undergo these experiences, whether in a spiritual or physical sense, or was it an expression of a pathological disturbance?________The year is 1997 AD. Mike Jackson and Bill Fulford publish a paper entitled Spiritual Experience & Psychopathology. The paper engages the exact question that troubled the Prophet’s critics and allies 1,376 years earlier. The question is now framed as a distinction between spiritual and pathological varieties of psychotic phenomena. And even though the stakes do not rise to the level of Prophethood—we have banished Prophets a long time ago—they are high enough:Spiritual experiences, whether welcome or unwelcome, and whether or not they are psychotic in form, have nothing (directly) to do with medicine.... It would be quite wrong, then, to “treat” spiritual psychotic experiences with neuroleptic drugs, just as it is quite wrong to “treat” political dissidents as though they were ill.(Jackson & Fulford, 1997, p. 42)Jackson and Fulford were not the first to invoke the distinction as a problem to be examined. In modern times, this is usually traced to William James’ Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), where he drew attention to the overlap between religious experiences and psychosis. James, like Jackon and Fulford a century later, noted the phenomenological similarities among these two ‘types’ of experience: voices, visions, an ineffable sense of significance to otherwise mundane events, and the loss of agency to external forces and powers.The 1997 paper stimulated much debate, responses, and rebuttals. In the process, at least four approaches for drawing the distinction have emerged: by appealing to the outcome of the experience; by appealing to theological criteria; by examining the organization of the experience; and by paying attention to the process of meaning-making in its cultural context. On the... (shrink)

This article provides an empirical study on rethinking teaching culture and its impact on learning language in second language (L2) teaching classroom. The study sample consists of twenty students majoring in English as participants, randomly selected from fourth year students, Department of English and Translation, AlQalam University, Yemen. The participants’ task was to choose the best translation for twenty English proverbs each. The translation test was constructed on Google.Sheets. The findings indicate that students’ performance has developed considerably through teaching them (...) the culture of the proverbs involved. This was supported by a follow-up survey questionnaire, whose results consolidated the study findings that culture should be taught vis-à-vis language in L2 classroom. (shrink)

PurposeThis study is justified by the economic importance of information on greenhouse gases, as well as the interest in the question of governance structure after the adoption of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. The problem is also explained by the lack of research that has investigated the relationship between the best governance structure that contributes to achieving sustainability goals, including climate actions (SDG13) and clean energy adoption (SDG7) as part of the 2030 Agenda.Design/methodology/approachThe level of disclosure is measured on (...) the basis of the carbon disclosure score calculated by the carbon disclosure project (CDP). The study sample consists of 387 US companies that voluntarily participated in the CDP survey from 2011 to 2018. The authors use panel data analysis based on multiple regression models.FindingsThe results confirm the influential role of board size, director independence, the presence of women on the board and the presence of an environmental committee on carbon disclosure. In terms of carbon disclosure, the results suggest that a better governance structure is likely to reduce carbon emissions and improve carbon performance practices. Similarly, the analyses show a different representation of the role of corporate governance in high-carbon sectors compared to low-carbon sectors.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has some limitations. First, the sample is only interested in US companies that responded to the CDP questionnaire during the period 2011–2018. Thus, the results cannot be generalized to countries with different governance structures. Second, the data from this study on carbon disclosure, specifically focuses on CDP reporting to determine the carbon disclosure score. In this sense, the findings on information disclosed do not necessarily address disclosures through other media, such as a company’s website or a press release.Originality/valueSustainability and commitment to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are more likely to exist in companies that have good governance and, in particular, a better board. The research is inspired by the SDGs. The study aims to examine the relationship between carbon disclosure and corporate governance in the context of SDGs. Indeed, this research work contributes to achieving sustainability goals, including climate actions (SDG13) and clean energy adoption (SDG7). (shrink)

This paper critically analyses how Islamization of Knowledge (IOK), Radical Reform (RR), and Maqasid Methodology (MM), three distinct Islamic intellectual projects, attempted to develop discourses of Islamic epistemology in facing contemporary developments of natural and social sciences. Mainly, the paper focuses on similarities, differences, and potential contributions of all three projects respectively. Initially, this paper observes that IOK, RR, and MM have solid agreements among themselves in defining the core crisis of the modern Islamic intellectual tradition, as well as in (...) highlighting the importance of inclusion of Islamic primary sources and its normative guidance in the process of reorienting modern knowledge. Equally, each of those projects presents itself as a new reflection of Islamic primary texts considering current intellectual challenges. Nevertheless, this paper further finds that all three projects have deep disagreements among themselves in terms of defining the scope of epistemic authority of revelation, reason, and spirituality and thereby offer three different visions of Islamic epistemic schema in facing modern knowledge. Finally, this paper reflects how these differences could potentially impact visions of an alternative education system from an Islamic worldview. (shrink)

Pathways to Contemporary Islam: New Trends in Critical Engagement highlights that the current tensions in Islam and the Muslim world are the result of historical dynamics as opposed to an alleged incompatibility between religious tradition and modernity. The emphasis on pathways indicates that critical engagement and contestation have always been intrinsic to the history of Islam. The aim of the book is to elaborate the contemporary pathways and analyse the trends that contest the Islamic intellectual tradition, the relationship between religion (...) and politics, and the individual and collective practice of religion. The collection of essays analyses the current efforts of critical re-engagement with the Islamic intellectual tradition and underlines the historical diversity of Islamic orthodoxies that led to the establishment of various pathways in the practice and role of religion in Muslim societies. (shrink)

The tolerance which the Islamic tradition showed—not in theory alone but in practice as well—toward the infidels, the “protected” (dhimmi) Jews and Christians, is well known. In several places in the Koran, Mohammed proclaimed the inalienable right of these two “Peoples of Scripture” to worship the common God of Abraham in their very imperfect fashion. The passages in question ordinarily mentioned Christians and fetus, and the imprecations which in another context (in the “Sura of the Cow,” for example) (...) the Prophet hurled against the Jews of Medina who would not recognize him, in no way altered the cardinal principle developed later by the commentators in the hadith (“tradition”). The two categories of dhimmi were placed under the same legal and political control. In conformity with the “pact” of Caliph Omar (the second successor to Mohammed) the dhimmis had to recognize Moslem supremacy, lavish many signs of subordination and respect upon the true believers, behave as loyal subjects, and above all, pay tribute. By this means the free exercise of their cult under the protection of Islam was assured. (shrink)

The right of freedom of religion is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Malaysian Constitution. The provision over the right to freedom of religion is seen as one of the most crucial provisions ever stated in the Federal Constitution. Article 11 has never been amended. Indeed, provision in Article 3 reiterates the right of individuals, especially the non-Muslims to profess and practise their religion freely, without any fear and interference. The special status of the religion of Islam enshrined (...) in Article 3 does not mean that non-Muslims have no right in matter of freedom of religion. However, the Federal Constitution seems to restrict the right to freedom of religion, in the sense that freedom of religion in Malaysia is not absolute. There have been several restrictions imposed not only within the constitutional framework but also other general legislations. Among provisions that furnished such restrictions can be seen in Articles 11, 11 and 10 of the Federal Constitution. Moreover, the Parliament had also passed several legislations allowing such restrictions. This can be seen, among others, the Internal Security Act of 1960, the Societies Act of 1966, the Police Act of 1967, the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984, the Town and Country Planning Act of 1976 and the Penal Code. As such, Muslims and non-Muslims alike must adhere to certain religious constraints for the sake of public order, public health and morality.While freedom of religion is guaranteed for individuals in the Malaysian Constitution, some states in Malaysia have penalised Muslims who renounced the Islamic faith. Although there is no death penalty for apostasy in Malaysia, apostates are subject to punishments like fine, imprisonment and to a certain extent whipping. In certain states, apostates are detained at the rehabilitation centre for up to 36 months. These have brought concern to human rights activists because such punishments and detention may seem contrary to the right to freedom of religion enshrined under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution and Article 5 that guarantees individual liberty. This article attempts to investigate whether restrictions over the right of freedom of religion particularly when Muslims renounce the Islamic faith is constitutionally valid. It also intends to highlight the conflict in the laws surrounding the punishment for apostasy in various states in Malaysia. (shrink)

The key problems and challenges connected with the Covid-19 pandemic in the field of education in sub-Saharan Africa are described in this paper. The study is based on the information collected from teachers and parents during the lockdown. The main problems connected with the organization of distance learning, such as the availability and accessibility of electricity and stable communications, were described. The main questions connected with the support of e-learning such as unequal access to distance education platforms and tools and (...) readiness of teachers of public and private schools were described. Key social and demographic challenges and threats to sustainable e-learning, such as critical overload of teachers, child mobilization for domestic tasks, age, ethnic and gender-based harassment and violence were analyzed. It was found that the main risks are the rapid and uncontrolled commercialization of education and the decline of public schools, which leads to a decrease in the quality of education and increasing inequality. It was concluded that pandemic-induced risks in education are non-linear and heterogeneously spatially, temporally, and socially distributed. The successful strategy of these risks reduction aimed at sustainable education should be based on transition plans, which must include not only the development of sustainable education but also the fighting against inequality. (shrink)

This work intends to apprehend and emphasize the contribution of image-processing techniques and computer vision in the treatment of clay-based material known in Meknes region. One of the various characteristics used to describe clay in a qualitative manner is porosity, as it is considered one of the properties that with “kill or cure” effectiveness. For this purpose, we use scanning electron microscopy images, as they are considered the most powerful tool for characterising the quality of the microscopic pore structure of (...) porous materials. We present various existing methods of segmentation, as we are interested only in pore regions. The results show good matching between physical estimation and Voronoi diagram-based porosity estimation. (shrink)

The current research aims at improving the skills of producing digital stories using the tools of generative artificial intelligence Chat GPT and Google Bard, which are necessary for female student teachers’ specialization: Kindergarten. The current research has used the descriptive approach and the experimental approach with a quasi-experimental design through a design based on one group and comparing the differences between the pre and post-evaluation. The study sample was randomly selected from female students teachers specializing in kindergarten, and their number (...) reached (25) students. A list of producing digital stories standards was prepared and controlled, and a graded performance rating scale was prepared to evaluate the skills of producing digital stories among female student teachers specializing in kindergarten. The results indicate the effectiveness of using the generative AI tools in improving digital stories production skills according to the criteria that were built in the current research. (shrink)

In view of the vital role played by the testimony or witness in detecting and combating corruption crimes, the Saudi Arabia issued a new law for the protection of whistleblowers, witnesses, experts and victims, by Royal Decree No. (M/148) dated 8/8/1445 AH, and since there is a potential threat to those who dare to reporting or witnessing the commission of these crimes, the low dealt with the types and forms of protection provided to them, and this research tries to answer (...) a key question, which is: What types of protections does the Saudi low guarantee to witnesses in corruption cases? This is done by using the descriptive, analytical research methodology, by characterizing and extrapolating the types of protection, and analyzing the texts of the low to identify the types and forms of protection contained therein. The study reached several results, the most important of which are: the interest of the Saudi regulator in protecting witnesses in this type of cases to provide the necessary guarantees for the protection of human rights, as it enacted a set of security, judicial, functional and social guarantees to protect the witness, and organized a number of new measures, including concealing the witness's identity and personal data, not attending him during the trial, and sufficiency, for example, with recordings without the possibility of discussing him. (shrink)

Background Home care nurses are central in providing holistic and compassionate care to patients in home-based palliative care. Ethical caring competency is essential for home care to sustain nurses’ integrity in the face of moral adversity. Interprofessional collaboration is vital for ensuring ethical decision-making and providing patient-centered care in home-based palliative care settings. Aim This study explored the predictive roles of interprofessional collaboration and moral resilience on ethical caring competency among home care nurses in home-based palliative care. Methods A cross-sectional (...) survey of 400 nurses was conducted from October to December 2023, utilizing standardized scales to measure interprofessional collaboration, moral resilience, and ethical caring competency. A convenience sample of 400 home care nurses was also included in this study. Correlation and linear regression analysis were used to clarify the associative and predictive findings. Ethical Considerations Ethical approval from the ethics committee, institutional permission, and informed consent from the participants were obtained for data collection. Results Correlation analysis showed significant positive correlations between the ethical caring competency, interprofessional collaboration, and moral resilience constructs, with coefficients ranging from 0.482 to 0.967. Linear regression revealed that management of collaborative systems and total moral resilience significantly predict ethical caring competency, explaining 14.6% and 36.6% of its variance, respectively. Other variables, such as the effects of collaboration and communication, did not significantly influence ethical caring competency. Conclusion The study highlights the significant impact of interprofessional collaboration, particularly the management of collaborative systems and moral resilience, on enhancing ethical caring competency among nurses. Implications Enhancing interprofessional collaboration and moral resilience through targeted strategies in nursing practice and education can significantly improve ethical caring competencies. These efforts are essential for delivering high-quality, patient-centered care and for fostering a healthcare environment that respects the ethical principles guiding nursing practice. (shrink)

In light of the development of the means of corruption crimes and the diversity of their methods including the use of modern technology in these crimes, and based on the growing idea of everyone's responsibility to address this crime and their right to do so, considering that the cooperation between members of society and the relevant state institutions is one of the most important ways to confront and address this crime, and since there is a potential threat to those who (...) address reporting or witnessing the commission of these crimes, the Saudi Arabia has issued a new law for the protection of whistleblowers, witnesses, experts and victims, issued by Royal Decree No. (M/148) dated 8/8/1445 AH, which clarifies the mechanism for protecting whistleblowers, witnesses, experts and victims, and how they are subjected to the protection program, their responsibilities, and the forms of protection provided to them. In view of the vital role played by the witness in detecting and combating corruption crimes, and the emergence of a new law in the Kingdom that sets statutory rules for the protection of witnesses, this research aimed to answer a key question, what are the mechanisms for regulating the acceptance of witnesses in corruption cases within the protection program in the Saudi law and what are its obligations? This will be done using the descriptive and analytical research methodology, by studying the legal regulation of the admission of the witness to the witness protection program, and his obligations. The study reached several results, the most important of which are: the development of the Saudi regulation in corruption cases and the application of the necessary guarantees to ensure the protection of human rights, and highlighting the methods of its inclusion within the witness protection program in corruption cases and the limits of the witness's obligations, in the event when requesting for protection is approved. (shrink)

The method of evaluation of technical and economic indicators for the development of gas condensate field tested in the branch system of enterprises of PJSC "Ukrgazvydobuvannya" is considered, which is supplemented and simplified for obtaining approximate estimates in the case of annual natural or artificial changes in the gas condensate factor and thermobaric states of the extracted fluid during the operational period of the late stage. Targeted changes in the algorithms of calculations of basic technical and economic indicators, especially for (...) partially exhausted deposits, which have become permanent in operation with compressed compressor stations and fixed pressure on the wells, are used, dry gas is used for returning to the formation or dehumidification of the hinterland. The main factors of influence on the final results of the technical and economic evaluation are determined. Improvement of the technique of an approximate estimation of technical and economic indicators of the development of the gas condensate deposit facility for the possibility of adaptation of calculations at the late stage, which usually involves the operation of the SCS, the use of PPE technologies, the drying of the faces by high-pressure gas, and artificial adjustment of the working pressures of wells. The changes in the results of technical and economical calculations are taken into account when taking into account the parameters of the DKS, PPD, thermobaric intensification for the possibility of use in production and in the educational process. (shrink)

This book offers the first comprehensive introduction to one of the most significant Arab thinkers of the late 20th century and the early 21st century: the Moroccan philosopher and social theorist Mohammed Abed al-Jabri. With his intellectual and political engagement, al-Jabri has influenced the development of a modern reading of the Islamic tradition in the broad Arab-Islamic world and has been, in recent years, subject to an increasing interest among Muslims and non-Muslim scholars, social activists and lay men. The (...) contributors to this volume read al-Jabri with reference to prominent past Arab-Muslim scholars, such as Ibn Rushd, al-Ghazali, al-Shatibi, and Ibn Khaldun, as well as contemporary Arab philosophers, like Hassan Hanafi, Abdellah Laroui, George Tarabishi, Taha Abderrahmane; they engage with various aspects of his intellectual project, and trace his influence in non-Arab-Islamic lands, like Indonesia, as well. His analysis of Arab thought since the 1970s as a harbinger analysis of the ongoing “Arab Spring uprising” remains relevant for today's political challenges in the region. (shrink)

The Iraqi constitution of 2005 grants freedom of religious thought, belief and practice for all religions. This study was also based on the premise that the constitutional rights are not adhered to in Iraq, even by government officials, which could be due to the absence of suitable legislations subsequent to the framing of the constitutional provisions. An analytical and descriptive research design was adopted for this study. Data was collected from primary and secondary sources through documentation research and evaluation of (...) historical sources. The primary data comprised Articles of the Iraqi constitution, and a few national and international legal instruments related to religious freedom. Secondary data included empirical research studies, books, articles and other published sources. This study therefore took the form of an empirical legal research as it involved the issues of constitutional reforms in the field of religious freedom. A comparative approach was adopted in analyzing the documents about religion and politics related to both the Arab region and the West. The focus was on the measures that should be adopted to advance the dialogues of religious freedom and maintain religious neutrality in all government policies. The study found out that there were apparent contradictions between the constitutional provisions and the State Laws. Similarly, the Iraqi civil and penal codes remain silent regarding legal remedies for the violation of constitutional provisions. (shrink)

The evolution of Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) is the result of the amount of research in the field of education and artificial intelligence in recent years. English is the third most common languages in the world and also is the internationally dominant in the telecommunications, science and trade, aviation, entertainment, radio and diplomatic language as most of the areas of work now taught in English. Therefore, the demand for learning English has increased. In this paper, we describe the design of (...) an Intelligent Tutoring System for teaching English language grammar to help students learn English grammar easily and smoothly. The system provides all topics of English grammar and generates a series of questions automatically for each topic for the students to solve. The system adapts with all the individual differences of students and begins gradually with students from easier to harder level. The intelligent tutoring system was given to a group of students of all age groups to try it and to see the impact of the system on students. The results showed a good satisfaction of the students toward the system. (shrink)

Small projects are among the most important projects that bring economic benefit to societies, especially developing societies, because of their effective role in training young people, investing in their energies, and urging them to establish their own small production units, which contributes to eliminating the phenomenon of the unemployment problem. The current research aims to design works of art using Asiri art motifs by recycling scraps of fabric, ready-made clothes, and furnishings using a patchwork method. This has led to an (...) interest in teaching industrial designers how to draw inspiration from Asiri art motifs and the different types that this art includes, whether geometric or floral, as a source of innovative and sustainable design in the field of artistic works using leftover factory fabrics. This is done through designs characterized by aesthetic and artistic values. Therefore, we made several designs suitable for use in artwork, inspired by the decorations of Asiri art in an abstract style, using the experimental descriptive approach. The research was based on three main axes: the axis of patchwork art techniques and the axis of sustainable development of the artwork. Focusing on Saudi traditional artistic decorations and combining them to develop small projects. The results of the research showed the possibility of utilizing leftover fabrics using the patchwork method to achieve sustainable development of artistic works derived from the decorations of Saudi Asiri art, benefiting from them in the field of small projects and employing them in innovative plastic compositions. Which combines simplicity and modernity, both in terms of design and performance. (shrink)

A Critique of Localized Realism Abstract In an attempt to avert Laudan’s pessimistic induction, Worrall and Psillos introduce a narrower version of scientific realism. According to this version, which can be referred to as “localized realism”, realists need not accept every component in a successful theory. They are supposed only to accept those components that led to the theory’s empirical success. Consequently, realists can avoid believing in dubious entities like the caloric and ether. This paper examines and critiques localized realism. (...) It also scrutinizes Psillos’s historical study of the caloric theory of heat, which is intended to support localized realism. (shrink)

Mohammed Arkoun is one of the Muslim world's foremost thinkers. His efforts to liberate Islamic history from dogmatic constructs have led him to a radical review of traditional history. Drawing on a combination of pertinent disciplines ? history, sociology, psychology and anthropology ? his approach subjects every system of belief and non-belief, every tradition of exegesis, theology and jurisprudence to a critique aimed at liberating reason from the grip of dogmatic postulates. By treating Islam as a religion as well (...) as a time-honoured tradition of thought, Arkoun's work aims at overcoming the limitations of descriptive, narrative and chronological modes in history by recommending that the entire development of Islamic thought ? from Quranic to present-day fundamentalist discourses ? be subjected to a critical analysis guided by these categories. The expected outcome of such a strategy is an emancipated political reason working hand in hand with a truly creative imagination for a radical re-construction of mind and society in the contemporary Muslim world. (shrink)

The earlier volume in this series dealt with two religions of Indian origin, namely, Buddhism and Jainism. The Indian religious scene, however, is characterized by not only religions which originated in India but also by religions which entered India from outside India and made their home here. Thus religious life in India has been enlivened throughout its history by the presence of religions of foreign origin on its soil almost from the very time they came into existence. This volume covers (...) three such religions—Zoraoastrianism, Judaism, and Islam. In the case of Zoraostianism, even its very beginnings are intertwined with India, as Zoroastrianism reformed a preexisting religion which had strong links to the Vedic heritage of India. This relationship took on a new dimension when a Zoroastrian community, fearing persecution in Persia after its Arab conquest, sought shelter in western India and ultimately went on to produce India’s pioneering nationalist in the figure of Dadabhai Naoroji ( 1825-1917), also known as the Grand Old Man of India. Jews found refuge in south India after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 C.E. and have remained a part of the Indian religious scene since then, some even returning to Israel after it was founded in 1948. Islam arrived in Kerala as soon as it was founded and one of the earliest mosques in the history of Islam is found in India. Islam differs from the previously mentioned religions inasmuch as it went on to gain political hegemony over parts of the country for considerable periods of time, which meant that its impact on the religious life of the subcontinent has been greater compared to the other religions. It has also meant that Islam has existed in a religiously plural environment in India for a longer period than elsewhere in the world so that not only has Islam left a mark on India, India has also left its mark on it. Indeed all the three religions covered in this volume share this dual feature, that they have profoundly influenced Indian religious life and have also in turn been profoundly influenced by their presence in India. (shrink)

It is difficult to make valid statements on a subject over which the most distressing commonplaces are poured out daily and which escapes, in large measure, the competence of any one man.* Since the area for all fruitful reflection is encumbered by knotty and prejudicial diagrams, the first task must be to clear an empty space in which to inscribe some concepts and some measures appropriate to the historical and sociological situation of the Islamic countries. However, the situation itself is (...) very little understood because of the very backward state of modern Islamological studies. Under these conditions, it will be understood that theoretical and practical thought cannot avoid encountering obstacles in the question of Islam's development. True scientific research consists in posing real problems well, not so much in defining more or less durable solutions. That does not mean that theory must develop in parallel with practice: the decisions of political man have such a greater import because they are inscribed in a problematic at once large and rigorous. We shall try to surmount the obstacles that hinder reflection and distort the results of the best-intentioned action, by (1) discarding the false problems and (2) posing the essential question. (shrink)

Thereby, EIDs pose huge threats to health care infrastructures everywhere due to unprepared infrastructures and poor immunity levels of population. It discusses how key role players, the hospital administrator, would play a big role in managing EID infections as well as strategies related to infection control. Such vital factors include resource allocation, implementation of policies, training, and building a culture for safety as well as working under an interdisciplinary approach. COVID-19 pandemics are best used as case studies both where successes (...) occurred and where infection prevention lacked. Findings point toward robust surveillance, real-time data analytics, and the emotional support required for the healthcare workers involved in combating EIDs. The work discusses the socio-economic implications of EIDs and the utmost need to adapt strategies at resource-poor settings. Adding their recommendations with proper training, technological adaptations, and well-defined policymaking, they can decrease the impact of EID. By including technology, teamwork, and psychological impacts, the hospital administrators can develop such healthcare systems that can take on future challenges. It is a transformational effort that proactive leadership and innovation can make to combat the global health threat. (shrink)

MOHAMMED SA, WALTERS KL, LAMARR J, EVANS‐CAMPBELL T and FRYBERG S. Nursing Inquiry 2012; 19: 116–127 [Epub ahead of print]Finding middle ground: negotiating university and tribal community interests in community‐based participatory researchCommunity‐based participatory research (CBPR) has been hailed as an alternative approach to one‐sided research endeavors that have traditionally been conducted on communities as opposed to with them. Although CBPR engenders numerous relationship strengths, through its emphasis on co‐sharing, mutual benefit, and community capacity building, it is often challenging as (...) well. In this article, we describe some of the challenges of implementing CBPR in a research project designed to prevent cardiovascular disease among an indigenous community in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and how we addressed them. Specifically, we highlight the process of collaboratively constructing a Research Protocol/Data Sharing Agreement and qualitative interview guide that addressed the concerns of both university and tribal community constituents. Establishing these two items was a process of negotiation that required: (i) balancing of individual, occupational, research, and community interests; (ii) definition of terminology (e.g., ownership of data); and (iii) extensive consideration of how to best protect research participants. Finding middle ground in CBPR requires research partners to examine and articulate their own assumptions and expectations, and nurture a relationship based on compromise to effectively meet the needs of each group. (shrink)

Les études de Michel de Certeau sur la mystique ont débouché sur une réflexion sur la pratique de l’histoire et le statut de l’historien. Cette réflexion a mené, à son tour, vers des interrogations d’ordre épistémologique sur l’articulation de la pensée et de l’action. Elle est élaborée par de Certeau et mise dans la perspective d’une approche anthropologique du quotidien. Il n’hésite pas à parler «des histoires du quotidien» , de tout ce qu’il y a d’ordinaire dans l’action humaine. Son (...) entreprise n’est pas la quête du sens, mais l’examen attentif de ce qui se fait et se défait dans les pratiques quotidiennes. Les mots employés désignent souvent des formes de résistance face au pouvoir impérieux de l’ordre social: braconnage, tactique, ruse, perruque, etc. Ces arts de faire «tacticiens» renvoient à une poétique de l’agir articulée sur les pratiques sociales. (shrink)

Spirit possession is a common phenomenon around the world in which a non-corporeal agent is involved with a human host. This manifests in a range of maladies or in displacement of the host's agency and identity. Prompted by engagement with the phenomenon in Egypt, this paper draws connections between spirit possession, and the concepts of personhood and intentionality. It employs these concepts to articulate spirit possession, while also developing the intentional stance as formulated by Daniel Dennett. It argues for an (...) understanding of spirit possession as the spirit stance: an intentional strategy that aims at predicting and explaining behaviour by ascribing to an agent beliefs and desires, but is only deployed once the mental states and activity of the subject fail specific normative distinctions. Applied to behaviours which are generally taken to signal mental disorder, the spirit stance preserves a peculiar form of intentionality where behaviour would otherwise be explained as a consequence of a malfunctioning physical mechanism. Centuries before the modern disciplines of psychoanalysis and phenomenological-psychopathology endeavoured to restore meaning to 'madness', the social institution of spirit possession had been preserving the intentionality of socially deviant behaviour. (shrink)

Islamic bioethics is in good health, this article argues. During the twentieth century, academic researchers had to deal with a number of difficulties including the scarcity of available Islamic sources. However, the twenty-first century witnessed significant breakthroughs in the field of Islamic bioethics. A growing number of normative works authored by Muslim religious scholars and studies conducted by academic researchers have been published. This nascent field also proved to be appealing for research-funding institutions in the Muslim world and also in (...) the West, such as the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). On the other hand, the article argues that contemporary Islamic bioethics is in need of addressing news issues and adopting new approaches for the sake of maintaining and improving this good health in the future. (shrink)

_The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam_ is Muhammad Iqbal's major philosophic work: a series of profound reflections on the perennial conflict among science, religion, and philosophy, culminating in new visions of the unity of human knowledge, of the human spirit, and of God. Iqbal's thought contributed significantly to the establishment of Pakistan, to the religious and political ideals of the Iranian Revolution, and to the survival of Muslim identity in parts of the former USSR. It now serves as new (...) bridge between East and West and between Islam and the other Religions of the Book. With a new Introduction by Javed Majeed, this edition of _The Reconstruction_ opens the teachings of Iqbal to the modern, Western reader. It will be essential reading for all those interested in Islamic intellectual history, the renewal of Islam in the modern world, and political theory of Islam's relationship to the West. (shrink)

. In the wake of the February 1997 announcement that Dolly the sheep had been cloned, Muslim religious scholars together with Muslim scientists held two conferences to discuss cloning from an Islamic perspective. They were organized by two influential Islamic international religioscientific institutions: the Islamic Organization of Medical Sciences and the International Islamic Fiqh Academy. Both institutions comprise a large number of prominent religious scholars and well‐known scientists who participated in the discussions at the conferences. This article gives a comprehensive (...) analysis of these conferences, the relation between science and religion as reflected in the discussions there, and the further influence of these discussions on Muslims living in the West. Modern discussions on Islamic bioethics show that formulating an Islamic perspective on these issues is not the exclusive prerogative of religious scholars. Formulating such perspectives has become a collective process in which scientists play an essential role. Such a collective approach strengthens the religious authority of Muslim scholars and makes it more influential rather than undermining it. (shrink)

This paper seeks to discover whether companies that adopt a stakeholder approach, and thereby demonstrate a wider remit of corporate responsibility, provide inferior returns to those that embrace the shareholder value approach. To classify approaches, mission statements were analysed, the final sample comprising 32 shareholder oriented companies and 48 stakeholder oriented companies. To assess performance both accounting–based and market–based measures were used. A number of moderating variables were taken into account: systematic (beta) risk, gearing (long–term debt to total long–term finance), (...) tax ratios, and firm size. ANOVA and Kruskall–Wallis tests revealed that mission orientation did not affect performance, whether in terms of stock returns or excess returns. Neither were accounting returns on equity different overall, although shareholder oriented companies experienced wider variations in this measure. A number of multiple regressions were also performed. However, the mission dummy was not found to be a significant variable. (shrink)

The main purpose of this paper is to better understand how sustainability rating agencies, through discourse, promote an “ideology of numbers” that ultimately aims to establish a regime of normalization governing social and environmental performance. Drawing on Thompson’s (Ideology and modern culture: Critical social theory in the era of mass communication, 1990 ) modes of operation of ideology, we examine the extent to which, and how, the ideology of numbers is reflected on websites and public documents published by a range (...) of sustainability rating agencies. Our analysis indicates that the ideology of numbers promotes a relatively narrow vision of corporate social and environmental responsibility. That is, it establishes some areas of visibility while leaving in the shadow certain aspects of the ways in which companies fulfill, or fail to meet, their social and environmental responsibilities. The ideology of numbers also exerts power by identifying those companies that are deemed to be worthy of inclusion, or not, in a supposedly socially responsible corporate elite. (shrink)

This paper explores the important role of critical science, and in particular of post-colonial and decolonial theories, in understanding and shaping the ongoing advances in artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is viewed as amongst the technological advances that will reshape modern societies and their relations. While the design and deployment of systems that continually adapt holds the promise of far-reaching positive change, they simultaneously pose significant risks, especially to already vulnerable peoples. Values and power are central to this discussion. Decolonial theories (...) use historical hindsight to explain patterns of power that shape our intellectual, political, economic, and social world. By embedding a decolonial critical approach within its technical practice, AI communities can develop foresight and tactics that can better align research and technology development with established ethical principles, centring vulnerable peoples who continue to bear the brunt of negative impacts of innovation and scientific progress. We highlight problematic applications that are instances of coloniality, and using a decolonial lens, submit three tactics that can form a decolonial field of artificial intelligence: creating a critical technical practice of AI, seeking reverse tutelage and reverse pedagogies, and the renewal of affective and political communities. The years ahead will usher in a wave of new scientific breakthroughs and technologies driven by AI research, making it incumbent upon AI communities to strengthen the social contract through ethical foresight and the multiplicity of intellectual perspectives available to us, ultimately supporting future technologies that enable greater well-being, with the goal of beneficence and justice for all. (shrink)

Madness is a complex and contested term. Through time and across cultures it has acquired many formulations: for some, madness is synonymous with unreason and violence, for others with creativity and subversion, elsewhere it is associated with spirits and spirituality. Among the different formulations, there is one in particular that has taken hold so deeply and systematically that it has become the default view in many communities around the world: the idea that madness is a disorder of the mind. -/- (...) Contemporary developments in mental health activism pose a radical challenge to psychiatric and societal understandings of madness. Mad Pride and mad-positive activism reject the language of mental 'illness' and 'disorder', reclaim the term 'mad', and reverse its negative connotations. Activists seek cultural change in the way madness is viewed, and demand recognition of madness as grounds for identity. But can madness constitute such grounds? Is it possible to reconcile delusions, passivity phenomena, and the discontinuity of self often seen in mental health conditions with the requirements for identity formation presupposed by the theory of recognition? How should society respond? -/- Guided by these questions, this book is the first comprehensive philosophical examination of the claims and demands of Mad activism. Locating itself in the philosophy of psychiatry, Mad studies, and activist literatures, the book develops a rich theoretical framework for understanding, justifying, and responding to Mad activism's demand for recognition. (shrink)

Con la publicación de al-�Aqida al-burhaniyya al-as,ariyya, una joya más del legado as,ari marroquí ha visto la luz. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la importancia de esa edición científica y aportar algunas reflexiones acerca de su contenido y forma.

In this essay, Mohammed Albakry discusses the notion of accommodating cultural differences in translation and the need to respect these differences without compromising or emphasizing them. First, Albakry reflects on translation as an act of interpretation in light of Terence's famous saying “nothing human can be foreign to me.” Second, he comments on the place of drama in translation and translation studies in order to contextualize his project — translating a number of critically acclaimed contemporary Egyptian plays. He then (...) reviews and critiques the binary model of foreignization/domestication, drawing on some concrete examples of the cultural challenges of translating Arabic drama for the American stage. Albakry concludes by conceptualizing an alternative translational space of dialogical encounters between the human/familiar and the foreign in translation, and by considering the relevance of the Terentian maxim to the negotiation of maintaining sameness while preserving difference. (shrink)

Death is the opposite not of life, but of power. And as such, Mohammed Bamyeh argues in this original work, death has had a great and largely unexplored impact on the thinking of governance throughout history, right down to our day. In Of Death and Dominion Bamyeh pursues the idea that a deep concern with death is, in fact, the basis of the ideological foundations of all political systems. Concentrating on four types of political systems—polis, empire, theocracy, and modern (...) mass society systems—Bamyeh shows how each follows a specific strategy designed to pit power against the equalizing specter of death. Each of these strategies—consolation, expansion, preparation, and repression—produces a certain style of political behavior, as well as particular psychic traumas. In making his argument, Bamyeh revisits a wide range of empirical and theoretical discussions in existentialist philosophy, psychoanalysis, comparative historical sociology, literary studies, and anthropology. By demonstrating how schemes of power are by definition also schemes for defying death—despite their claims to the contrary—his book encourages us to think of a new style of politics, one oriented toward life. (shrink)