Taouk, Youssef; Ghosn, Margaret; Steel, Anthony; Butcher, Jude The Maronite Church, situated in the See of Antioch, had its origins in Syria, soon followed by its expansion to Lebanon. The Maronite Synod (2003-2006) distinguished aspects of the Maronite Catholic Church as: firstly, an Antiochene Syriac Church, with a special liturgical heritage; secondly, a Chalcedonian Church; thirdly, a Patriarchal Church with an ascetic and a monastic aspect; fourthly, a Church in full union with the Apostolic Roman See; fifthly, a Church (...) incarnated in her Lebanese and Eastern environment, and the Countries of Expansion. (shrink)

Graphical AbstractBy now it is well known that the SARS-COV-2 virus can affect and harm various organs of the body. However, the exact mechanisms for this phenomenon are still unknown. In article 2000198 Fatemeh Aliabadi et al. hypothesize that the body's secretion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a molecule that is involved in several inflammation and immunity pathways, may lead to a cytokine storm causing a variety of side effects.

The outbreak of a new, potentially fatal virus, SARS‐COV‐2, which started in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and since developed into a pandemic has stimulated research for an effective treatment and vaccine. For this research to be successful, it is necessary to understand the pathology of the virus. So far, we know that this virus can harm different organs of the body. Although the exact mechanisms are still unknown, this phenomenon may result from the body's secretion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), (...) which is involved in several inflammation and immunity pathways. Noticeably, the expression of this molecule can lead to a cytokine storm causing a variety of side effects. In this paper, we discuss those side effects in SARS‐COV‐2 infection separately to determine whether PGE2 is, indeed, an important causative factor. Lastly, we propose a mechanism by which PGE2 production increases in response to COVID‐19 disease and suggest the possible direct relation between PGE2 levels and the severity of this disease. Also see the video abstract here: https://youtu.be/SnPFAcjxxKw. (shrink)

This study explores gratitude as a multidimensional and work-specific construct. Utilizing a sample of 625 employees from a variety of positions in a medium-sized school district in the United States, we developed and evaluated a new measure, namely the Work Gratitude Scale, which encompasses recognized conative, cognitive, affective, and social aspects of gratitude. A systematic, six-phased approach through structural equation modeling was used to explore and confirm the factorial structure, internal consistency, measurement invariance, concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity of the (...) WGS. The results supported a 10-item measure with three dimensions: “grateful appraisals”, “gratitude toward others”, and “intentional attitude of gratitude”. Thereafter, first-order, second-order, and bifactor confirmatory models were estimated and compared. Work gratitude was found to be best described by a second-order construct with three underlying first-order dimensions. Measurement invariance was supported in relation to gender. Concurrent validity was supported in relation to two existing dispositional gratitude scales, namely the Gratitude Questionnaire and the Gratitude, Resentment, and Appreciation Scale. Convergent validity was supported in relation to the Core Self-Evaluations Scale and the Psychological Capital Questionnaire. Discriminant validity was supported in relation to various demographic factors such as age, gender, occupation, and tenure. The findings support the WGS as a multidimensional measure that can be used in practice to measure overall work-related gratitude and to track the effectiveness of gratitude-related workplace interventions. (shrink)

Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs) have ushered in a transformative phase in artificial intelligence (AI). Unlike conventional AI, LLMs excel in facilitating fluid human–computer d...

This paper deals with the problematic aspect of the reconstruction of binary relations: it includes all the questions raising the possibility or impossibility to determine a structure by gathering given substructures. It is the continuation of three studies: the first made by G. Lopez [9] in 1972 about the determination of a binary relation through the types of isomorphism of its restrictions, the second made by K. B. Reid and C. Thomassen [15] in 1976 about the strongly self-complementary tournaments , (...) the third made by C. Thomassen [16] in 1989 about the cycle space of a tournament. In the second section, we use the notion of class of difference to extend a study made in [16] to binary relations. Then, in the third section, we improve the result of this last study in the case of the tournaments. After noticing that the result of [15] inferred itself naturally from the approach developed in [9], we extend, in the fourth section, the study made in [15] to binary relations. (shrink)

Let T and T1 be tournaments with n elements, E a basis for T, E′ a basis for T′, and k ≥ 3 an integer. The dual of T is the tournament T” of basis E defined by T = T for all x, y ε E. A hemimorphism from T onto T′ is an isomorphism from T onto T” or onto T. A k-hemimorphism from T onto T′ is a bijection f from E to E′ such that for any (...) subset X of E of order k the restrictions T/X and T1/f are hemimorphic. The set of hemimorphisms of T onto itself has group structure, this group is called the group of hemimorphisms of T. In this work, we study the restrictions to n – 2 elements of a tournament with n elements. In particular, we prove: Let k ≥ 3 be an integer, T a tournament with n elements, where n ≥ k + 5. Then the following statements are equivalent: All restrictions of T to subsets with n – 2 elements are k-hemimorphic. All restrictions of T to subsets with n – 2 elements are 3-hemimorphic. All restrictions of T to subsets with n – 2 elements are hemimorphic. All restrictions of T to subsets with n – 2 elements are isomorphic, Either T is a strict total order, or the group of hemimorphisms of T is 2-homogeneous. (shrink)

The article studies the impact of Fintech on entrepreneurship in Arabic region by using Crowdfunding platforms as the field of study. The article focuses on Arabic Crowdfunding platforms. The population of (12) platforms consist of: individuals, entrepreneurs, investors, employees at Crowdfunding platforms. Descriptive and quantitative approach used in this article, and a questionnaire used as a tool to collect primary data. The results indicate an impact for Fintech on entrepreneurship in general and obvious obstacles to use it widely in Arabic (...) region cause of legislations or e-payments. The article recommended more awareness for innovative products and services such as Fintech, Crowdfunding and adopting the culture of e-business models. Also the article promoting the process of developing regulations that organize e-business models, especially Fintech and Crowdfunding, the use of modern communication technology to serve the development of society, more interest to innovation and creativity as a key factor for entrepreneurial success. (shrink)

What happens when a patient-interfacing conversational artificial intelligence system (CAI)—AI that combines natural language understanding, processing, and machine-learning models to autonomously...

Resumo Uma das reivindicações centrais dos movimentos políticos islâmicos é cumprir ou impor a sharī'a . Mas a visão que esses movimentos têm destoa da maneira como os sistemas jurídicos muçulmanos funcionaram historicamente. A própria definição de sharī'a , sua relação com o poder político, e sua aplicação num processo que leva a uma decisão jurídica, foram simplificados durante o processo de codificação dos séculos XIX e XX, e os movimentos islamistas são herdeiros dessa concepção "ocidentalizada" de sharī'a. Frequentemente traduzido (...) com "lei religiosa" ou "direito islâmico" o termo sharī'a não corresponde ao conceito ocidental de "lei" nem tampouco engloba todo o campo do direito dos povos muçulmanos. Paralelamente à sharī'a , também há o qānūn (o direito do soberano), e as regras derivadas do costume ( 'urf , adalat ). O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a formação da dualidade entre sharī'a e qānūn no direito muçulmano até a codificação da sharī'a no século XX e a dissolução dessa dualidade nas ideologias islamistas contemporâneas. Palavras-chave: sharī'a; islamismo; direito muçulmano. One of the main claims of contemporary Islamic political movements is to implement the sharia. But the view of the sharia held by those movements diverges from the Muslim judicial systems as they actually functioned throughout history. The very definition of sharia, its relation with the political power, and its implementation in specific cases, were simplified during the process of codification that took place between the 19 th and 20 th centuries, and contemporary Islamic movements inherited this "westernized" conception of sharia. Though often translated as "Islamic law", the term does not correspond exactly to the Western concept of "law", and neither does it comprise the whole field of law among Muslim peoples. Parallel to the sharia, there is also the qānūn (the law of the ruler), and the rules derived from costume ( 'urf, adalat ). This article intends to analyze the formation of the duality between sharia and qānūn in Islamic law until the codification of the sharia in the 20 th century, and the dissolution of this duality in contemporary Islamist ideologies. Keywords: sharia; Islamism; Islamic law. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the concept of sunna, and its great theoretical and historical complexity. The term “sunna” seems nowadays to be a label for the whole set of behaviors adopted by believers, from simple details of dress or diet to the most elaborate of ritual and cultural attitudes. The daily lifestyle of the prophet is invoked so as to imitate the way he washed, how he lay down to sleep, or “sat at table”, not to mention his ritual gestures (...) during prayer, what he preferred to eat after breaking fasts, his slightest movements over the nights and days of pilgrimage. The author intends to show on the contrary, through an unprecedented study, that the Islamic society of a very large city, that of 10th century Baghdad, was for a considerable period of time completely disengaged from such obsessive scrupulousness of religious observance. It gives large evidence of this phenomenon, and tries to outline the historical reasons how the sunna eventually evolved into a rule defining the coercive power of the Islamic faith. (shrink)

Objective: There is a demonstrated link between the mental health and substance use comorbidities experienced by young adults, however the vast majority of psychological interventions are disorder specific. Novel psychological approaches that adequately acknowledge the psychosocial complexity and transdiagnostic needs of vulnerable young people are urgently needed. A modular skills-based program for emotion regulation and impulse control addresses this gap. The current one armed open trial was designed to evaluate the impact that 12 weeks exposure to ERIC alongside usual care (...) had on young people's ability to regulate emotions, as well as examine potential moderating mechanisms.Methods: Seventy nine young people were enrolled to the 12 week intervention period. Twenty one practitioners from youth and community health services delivered relevant ERIC modules adjunct to usual care. Linear mixed effects regression was used to examine change over time across the primary outcome of emotion dysregulation and secondary outcomes of depression, anxiety, stress, experiential avoidance and mindfulness. Moderation analyses were conducted to test whether the magnitude of change in emotion dysregulation moderated change over time in secondary outcomes.Results: Analyses revealed significant improvement in the primary outcome of emotion dysregulation with a moderate effect size, in addition to decreases in the secondary outcomes of depression, anxiety, stress and experiential avoidance. No improvements in mindfulness were reported. Moderation analyses revealed that the residualised change over time in emotion dysregulation moderated the change over time in symptoms of distress, depression, anxiety, stress, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness.Conclusion: Reductions in the severity of emotion dysregulation, depression, anxiety, stress and experiential avoidance are promising, and were evident despite the complexity of the participants and the diversity of the service setting. The improvements found in each outcome were only observed for those young people whose emotion regulation also improved, providing preliminary evidence for the role of emotion regulation as a key treatment target in this population. (shrink)

The summativists generally analyze group belief in terms of belief of the majority. The non-summativists counterargue that it is possible for a group to believe that p even if “none” of its members believes that p. In doing so, they usually appeal to hypothetical cases in which groups are “structured” groups like committees, research groups, governments, as opposed to “collective” groups like Finns, America, Catholic Church. In this paper, I raise the objection that non-summativist cases involve summativism. While most contemporary (...) objections to non-summativism tend to be rejectionists, i.e., showing that non-summativist cases involve group acceptance rather than group belief, my objection is newfangled in that it grants non-summativist cases group belief but shows that group belief in such cases is majority belief. (shrink)

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

This study aimed to identify the social responsibility of higher education institutions in supporting the entrepreneurship sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, To achieve this goal, the descriptive and analytical method was used, by designing a questionnaire and distributing it to the research sample, which consists of 200 students and workers at Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University. The study found the importance of training and qualification in developing and stimulating entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, The lack of development of (...) educational curricula is considered an obstacle to development.In light of these results, the study recommended the necessity of investing in the education and training sector, qualifying workers and students, in addition to developing educational courses by making use of the experiences of others, especially in developed countries. (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)

Study of the visual, material, and textual sources of elements shaping images of women in the Latin East provides a context for investigating how communicative strategies applied in the representation of women articulate and interact across artistic, social, historical, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. To what extent do these phenomena conform to gender norms? The case studies underlying this analysis come from present-day Lebanon as they relate to preserved twelfth- and thirteenth-century female depictions found in wall paintings from Mar Sharbel the (...) Elder in Maad, Saydet el-Rih in Enfeh, and the National Museum of Beirut. These depictions situate these women dynamically in the region’s cultural and artistic landscape, as well as in the social fabric of their time. (shrink)

The study aimed to identify the role of administrative procedures and systems in enhancing the performance of the educational institutions in the Islamic University in Gaza. To achieve the research objectives, the researchers used the analytical descriptive approach to collect information. The researchers used the questionnaire distributed to three categories of employees at the Islamic University (senior management, faculty members, their assistants and members of the administrative board). A random sample of 314 employees was selected and 276 questionnaires were retrieved (...) with a recovery rate of 88.1%. The Statistical Analysis Program (SPSS) was used to enter process and analyze data. The results of the research showed a positive role for the administrative procedures and systems in enhancing the performance of the Islamic University from the point of view of the members (senior management, teaching staff and their assistants and the administrative body), where the relative weight of all the paragraphs (73.728%). The analysis of the results revealed that the administrative procedures at the Islamic University in Gaza are used to an acceptable degree. The relative weight of all the paragraphs is 70%. This indicates a relationship between administrative procedures and regulations and the performance of the Islamic University in the Gaza Strip. The study found that there was a good degree of approval from the sample regarding the administrative procedures and their relationship to the job performance. There exist a sufficient degree of powers to the deans and department managers to carry out their tasks, with the use of plans as control tools. And that there are rules and procedures provided for decision-making in the University Council. It also has full powers to manage the university to improve the teaching and learning environment. The researchers also recommended a number of recommendations, including the need to follow up on the procedures and systems of management and update them continuously in the light of changes that may occur and to ensure the existence of a strong system of electronic information systems within the university. There is a need to provide mechanisms for obtaining information about the surrounding external environment, and effective mechanisms to provide managers with the necessary information in a timely manner. The importance of providing channels of communication that enables staff to communicate information about any violations and breaches. The study also recommended the follow-up, review, procedures and administrative systems, and work to modify them in line with the mission of the university and the objectives that the university seeks to reach. (shrink)

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

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

The study aimed to identify the relationship between correcting the deviations in the measurement of performance and achieving the objectives of control and the performance of the job at the Islamic University in the Gaza Strip. To achieve the objectives of the research, the researchers used the descriptive analytical approach to collect information. The questionnaire consisted of (20) statements distributed to three categories of employees of the Islamic University (senior management, faculty members, their assistants and members of the administrative board). (...) A random sample of 314 employees was selected and 276 responses were retrieved with a recovery rate of 88.1%. The Statistical Analysis Program (SPSS) was used to enter, process, and analyze the data. The results of the study showed a positive relationship between correcting deviations in performance measurement and achieving the control objectives represented by the functional performance in the Islamic University from the point of view of the members (senior management, faculty and their assistants, and the administrative board), where the relative weight of all the paragraphs was (74.25%). The study recommended the need to ensure that the actual performance of the planned performance is matched and decisions are taken to correct the serious deviations and take the necessary measures in terms of retraining and change in regulations, wages and bonuses and punishment of the culprit, neglect and negligence by mistake. (shrink)

The current study tries to verify the effectiveness of a training program in increasing Crowdfunding awareness. The sample was (50) students in CIS, who were purposively selected and distributed equally into a treatment and control group. The researchers designed the study tools (a training program to increase Crowdfunding awareness). The study findings revealed the existence of statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups in favor of the former. Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences between the pre and the (...) post measures of the treatment group in favor of the post measures. Furthermore the current study is unique by the virtue of its nature, scope and way of implied investigation, as it is the first study for Crowdfunding training program in Arabic world. (shrink)