Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms generally come on slowly over time. Early in the disease, the most obvious are shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty with walking. Doctors do not know what causes it and finds difficulty in early diagnosing the presence of Parkinson’s disease. An artificial neural network system with back propagation algorithm is presented in this paper for helping doctors in identifying (...) PD. Previous research with regards to predict the presence of the PD has shown accuracy rates up to 93% [1]; however, accuracy of prediction for small classes is reduced. The proposed design of the neural network system causes a significant increase of robustness. It is also has shown that networks recognition rates reached 100%. (shrink)

Leadership studies on corporate ethical behavior and practices have grown considerably, contributing significant knowledge on ethical leadership challenges that are organizational and industry focused. However, complex socio-ecological systems are placing pressure on organizational culture and old patterns of leadership behavior that play a role in organizational justice. In this study, we argue that scholars of business ethics must consider the role of organizational justice and use person-organization fit (P–O fit). To address this, our study investigates the mediating effect of organizational (...) justice on the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ ethical behavior. We also examine the moderating role of P–O fit on the relationship between organizational justice and employee’s ethical behavior. The study survey focused on 295 employees belonging to organizations in Iraq. We show that ethical leadership positively influences employees’ ethical behavior, and this relationship is shaped by organizational justice. The findings reflect the positive impact of organizational justice on ethical behavior, and this relationship is more pronounced in employees with high rather than low P–O fit. This study clarifies the importance of employee’s P–O fit and its impact on organizational processes for creating a positive impact on ethical behavior in the workplace. We also share practical implications of the study and recommend systemic research that explores this area. (shrink)

Computational intelligence techniques are being investigated as an extension of the traditional fault diagnosis methods. This article presents, for the first time, a scheme for fault detection and isolation via artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic. It deals with the sensor fault of a three-link selective compliance assembly robot arm robot. A second scheme is proposed for fault detection and accommodation via analytical redundancy, and it deals with the sensor fault of a three-link SCARA robot. These proposed FDI approaches are (...) implemented on Matlab/simulink software and tested under several types of faults. The results show the importance of this process. Then, the sensor faults are detected and isolated successfully. Also, the actuator faults are detected and a fault tolerance strategy is used for reconfigurable control using a sliding-mode observer. (shrink)

We study in a constructive manner some problems of topology related to the set Irr of irrational reals. The constructive approach requires a strong notion of an irrational number; constructively, a real number is irrational if it is clearly different from any rational number. We show that the set Irr is one-to-one with the set Dfc of infinite developments in continued fraction . We define two extensions of Irr, one, called Dfc1, is the set of dfc of rationals and irrationals (...) preserving for each rational one dfc, the other, called Dfc2, is the set of dfc of rationals and irrationals preserving for each rational its two dfc. We introduce six natural distances over Irr wich we denote by dfc0, dfc1, dfc2, d, dmir and dcut. We show that only the four distances dfco, dfc1, d and dmir among the six make Irr a complete metric space. The last distances define in Irr the same topology in a constructive sens. We study further the set Dfc1 in which we show that the irrationals constitute a closed subset. Finally, we make a particular study of the completion Dfc2 of Dfc for the two equivalent metrics dfc2 and dcut. (shrink)

Autophagy functions in both selective and non‐selective ways to maintain cellular homeostasis. Endoplasmic reticulum autophagy (ER‐phagy) is a subclass of autophagy responsible for the degradation of the endoplasmic reticulum through selective encapsulation into autophagosomes. ER‐phagy occurs both under physiological conditions and in response to stress cues, and plays a crucial role in maintaining the homeostatic control of the organelle. Although specific receptors that target parts of the ER membrane, as well as, internal proteins for lysosomal degradation have been identified, the (...) molecular regulation of ER‐phagy has been elusive. Recent work has uncovered novel regulators of ER‐phagy that involve post‐translational modifications of ER‐resident proteins and functional cross‐talk with other cellular processes. Herein, we discuss how morphology affects the function of the peripheral ER, and how ER‐phagy modulates the turnover of this organelle. We also address how ER‐phagy is regulated at the molecular level, considering implications relevant to human diseases. (shrink)

To understand the variations in the financial characteristics, we examine the dynamical behaviors by considering the chaotic financial model with external force. First, the dynamical characteristics are analyzed by introducing the external driven force in the price index with commodity demand. We discover that the presence of an external force causes the alternate occurrence of oscillatory and steady states as a function of time. Interestingly, we find the existence of bifurcation delay during the transition from oscillatory to steady state or (...) vice versa. Bifurcation delay is a phenomenon in which the bifurcation does not occur at the actual bifurcation point but rather at a later time, which is referred to as bifurcation delay. To confirm the delay in bifurcation, we estimate the actual bifurcation point and compare it to the observed bifurcation transition. Furthermore, to understand the variations in the bifurcation delay, we estimate the delay time between each consecutive cycle and find random fluctuations in the BD. Following that, the BD is virtualized via a transformed phase portrait. In addition, we show decreasing the value of average BD while increasing the frequency of external forcing. Second, the presence of BD is explored by incorporating external forces into the investment demand with unit investment cost. We discover the existence of a similar phenomenon with a constant bifurcation delay. (shrink)

By means of the averaging method of the first order, we introduce the maximum number of limit cycles which can be bifurcated from the periodic orbits of a Hamiltonian system. Besides, the perturbation has been used for a particular class of the polynomial differential systems.

Fractional calculus is nowadays an efficient tool in modelling many interesting nonlinear phenomena. This study investigates, in a novel way, the Ulam–Hyers and Ulam–Hyers–Rassias stability of differential equations with general conformable derivative. In our analysis, we employ some version of Banach fixed-point theory. In this way, we generalize several earlier interesting results. Two examples are given at the end to illustrate our results.

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

Cet essai relate le cheminement, à travers la Bible, d'une pensée libre, en opposition à la "rétention honteuse, chez les musulmans, pour aller à la découverte de la Torah et des Evangiles" (Youssef Seddik), et à leur "indifférence pour ce qui relève de la connaissance du monde juif, de son passé ou de sa pensée" (Victor Malka). En relevant, à travers l'épopée du peuple "inventeur du dieu unique", les codes qui fondent la morale juive, l'auteur a eu le sentiment de (...) découvrir en YHWH un "Grand Ordonnateur de feuilles de route". Une route rigoureusement balisée, avec ses bornes et ses "haies" de protection - qu'en hébreu on appelle des syagim. Ainsi, après quatre années passées à glaner sur les "terres" du judaïsme biblique, telle Ruth glanant sur les terres de Booz, après avoir étudié plus de cent textes juifs, anciens et contemporains, l'auteur interroge ici le rapport du Juif à son prochain (parent, voisin, étranger, allié ou ennemi). Une découverte. (shrink)

We study some representations of real numbers. We compare these representations, on the one hand from the viewpoint of recursive functionals, and of complexity on the other hand.The impossibility of obtaining some functions as recursive functionals is, in general, easy. This impossibility may often be explicited in terms of complexity: - existence of a sequence of low complexity whose image is not a recursive sequence, - existence of objects of low complexity but whose images have arbitrarily high time- complexity .Moreover, (...) some representations of real numbers that are equivalent from the viewpoint of recursive functionals, are very distinct from the viewpoint of complexity.We make a particular study of representations via continued fractions . We precise exactly what part of information available in the x's dfc is equivalent to the information available in its Dedekinds cut. We show that the sum of two reals whose dfcs are polynomial-time computable may be a real whose dfc has time complexity arbitrarily high.This work confirms that the unique representation of real numbers suitable for the ordinary calculus is via explicit Cauchy sequences of rationals.RésuméNous étudions différentes manières de présenter les nombres réels. Nous comparons ces présentations du point de vue des fonctionnelles récursives d'une part, et de celui des classes de complexité d'autre part.L'impossibilité d'obtenir certaines fonctions sous forme de fonctionnelles récursives est en général facile à établir. Cette impossiblité peut souvent être explicitée en termes de complexité: - il existe une suite de faible complexité dont l'image est une suite non récursive, - il existe des objets de faible complexité mais dont les images sont des objets de complexité arbitrairement grande .En outre, certaines présentations des réels équivalentes du point de vue des fonctionnelles récursives se distinguent nettement du point de vue de la complexité.Nous faisons une étude particulière concernant les développements en fraction continue . Nous précisions exactement quelle est la partie de l'information disponible dans le dfc d'un réel x qui équivaut à l'information disponible dans sa coupure de Dedekind. Nous montrons également que la somme de deux réels dont le dfc est calculable en temps polynomial peut être un réel dont le dfc est de complexité arbitrairement grande.Ce travail confirme que seule une présentation des réels via des suites de rationnels explicitement de Cauchy est adaptée aux calculs avec les réels. (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)

Academic institutions aim at achieving the highest standards of education and learning. Consequently, they prohibit academic corruption such as cheating or plagiarism. This article examines how international accreditation and quality assurance standards embody academic integrity as a main factor in deciding whether an academic institution should be accredited, and what ranking should an academic institution acquire in a competitive contest for educational excellence. Academic integrity is broadly defined to include, in addition to cheating and plagiarism, compliance with standards of human (...) rights, labor rights, corporate social responsibility, ant-corruption measures, environmental protection, social media usage, protection of underage students, anti-radicalization and extremism, avoidance of conflict of interest, faculty professionalism, students codes of conduct and human experimentation. Academic institutions should adopt policies that are designed to address these diverse standards and accommodate diversity and enhance access to education for all without discrimination. Academic institutions should also strictly require the highest standards in teaching and research. This article will discuss the different policies, laws, rules and regulations adopted by Qatar University as a model for incorporating academic integrity, which may be of interest to the international higher education community. This article will ask two main questions; are accrediting institutions asking the right questions to find out whether an academic institution strictly adheres to a policy of academic integrity, and whether policies adopted by academic institutions, Qatar University as a model, are adequate to address various violations of academic integrity. (shrink)

Recently, due to the rapid progress of computer technology, researchers develop an effective computer program to enhance the achievement of the student in learning process, which is Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS). Science is important because it influences most aspects of everyday life, including food, energy, medicine, leisure activities and more. So learning science subject at school is very useful, but the students face some problem in learning it. So we designed an ITS system to help them understand this subject easily (...) and smoothly by analyzing it and explaining it in a systematic way. In this paper, we describe the design of an Intelligent Tutoring System for teaching science for grade seven to help students know the 7 characteristics for living things smoothly. The system provides all topics of living things and generates some questions for each topic and the students should answer these questions correctly to move to the next level. In the result of an evaluation of the ITS, students like the system and they said that it is very useful for them and for their studies. (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)

In 2022, the Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE) and the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) submitted a proposal to host the 17th edition of the World Congress of Bioethics. After announcing that the CILE‐WISH proposal was the winning bid, concerns were raised by bioethicists based in Europe and the USA. To address these concerns, the International Association of Bioethics (IAB) developed a dedicated FAQ section, in coordination with the host institutions, for the first time in IAB (...) history. One‐to‐one communication ensued and individual responses were shared with these colleagues. As a continuation of this conversation, we (CILE Acting Director, WISH Research Fellow and Head of Content, and WISH CEO) address the concerns raised in the Letter‐to‐the‐Editor of Bioethics by Graaf et al. As we support the call to revisit some contentious issues within the global community of bioethicists, we maintain that this should be based on meticulously discussed, informed, consistent and equitable criteria. We also argue that mutual learning from diverse cultures and moral traditions is the optimal way for our scholarly community to be truly global and to eschew the flaws ensuing from ethnocentric discourses. (shrink)

This paper deals with the mystical experiences in Virginia Woolf’s artistic creation. Woolf denies any form of modernism that cannot transcend reality. There are moments, where reality is never what it is but a vision — a perspective — whose meaning is beyond the graspable. Reality, thus, becomes un-reality — a halo, and the artist becomes a contemplator — a devotee to such visionary manifestation. Virginia Woolf does not make an exception to this rule. She is par excellence a mystic. (...) The artistic design of her novels, mainly, To the Lighthouse, is of transcendental dimension. Both, Mrs Ramsay’s and Lily Briscoe’s perceptions of life are beyond the palpable: their selves merge within a process of sublimation comparable to that of mysticism. In other words, art (mainly fiction) becomes a process of change from the factual to the transmutable. (shrink)

The aim of this contribution is to examine and unveil the Augustinian time process and self-examination in Virginia Woolf’s “To the Lighthouse.” The latter is a successful (re)presentation of the interrelation between human consciousness and time “control”. The self cannot be defined without time dimension. Woolf seems to confirm that time is more interior than exterior and is an essential part of human being: it is through it that human being is felt as a part of the world. There are (...) some powerful statements of her characters that show strange similarities to Augustine’s doctrine of time, memory and existence. This triad characterizes his works, mainly “Confessions.” Woolf’s characters are so contemplative. We find them looking outward in order to discover their inside. The internal and the external are the focus of time knowledge and self-discovery. They are dialogically interrelated and define one another. The self is an ever “IS” within the presentness of the present: the “was” (past) is only a memory (“the no-longer”) and the “will be” (future) is only the “not-yet” that has to come in order to become a present. In Augustine’s doctrine, the past and the future do not exist because they are absent in the present. Yet, their only existence is the present – the NOW. Consciousness preserves one’s past within itself. The individual meets and examines himself through consciousness. Mrs. Ramsay in “To the Lighthouse” experiments these dimensions and tries to define herself through time. (shrink)

Does translation of the literary text really need a theory? If yes which one among so many, which complicate more than simplify the matter? Which strategy do we adopt to at least communicate something of the original to a target reader, who does not know anything of the source language? The key problem is the meaning. Is it really grasped? If yes, is it of the text, or of the author, or of the reader? Meaning is not restricted to linguistic (...) parameters; it is more cognitive and essentially based on the interpreter’s own world knowledge. The text is not only a product but essentially an on-going process of meaning. Though it has precise time and space when produced, it is, nonetheless, timeless and spaceless. When we animate it, through reading, it becomes a text within the scope of a new space and a new time. That is, the meaning in the process of translation becomes anew. The text is autonomous and its autonomy makes it have its own specificity and existence. And so, the meaning in/of the text is ever-changing: there is no one meaning in/of the text, as there is no one reader of the text. (shrink)

(2003). U¨bermenschen, mestizas, nomads The onotology of becoming and the scene of transnational citizenship in anzaldu´a and nietzsche. Angelaki: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 41-57.

Welcome to Angelaki’s general issue 2018 II. Submissions for our general issues are accepted year-round. In view of an ever-rising rate of high-quality article submission, Angelaki is happy to anno...

Normativity is assessed as we evaluate and compare the environmental reporting practices of a sample of French and Canadian companies through the lens of institutional legitimacy. More specifically, we examine how French and Canadian firms changed their reporting practices in reaction to the promulgation of laws and regulations in their respective countries, i.e., the NER and Grenelle II Acts in France, and National Instrument 51-102 and CSA Staff Notice NR 51-333, issued by the Canadian Securities Administrators. The firms’ voluntary disclosures (...) according to GRI guidelines are also investigated. Substantive legitimacy theory is used to explore the level of substantive disclosures provided by Canadian and French firms. The findings reveal that the French parliamentary regime is more successful than the Canadian stock exchange regulation in triggering environmental reporting, and that the GRI combined with local regimes prompts environmental disclosures. Notwithstanding the improvements in environmental reporting under all three regimes, a very low level of substantive disclosure is noted in both countries. (shrink)

À travers le présent entretien, Salah Stétié, écrivain au carrefour d’au moins deux traditions culturelles, envisage son rapport singulier à la question de l’entre-deux. Il évoque en particulier le lien très étroit qui l’unit aux civilisations de la Méditerranée ; la question de l’intervalle l’amène à parler du sens de son écriture poétique, de son rapport à la langue et à la traduction. Plus surprenant sans doute est le contexte premier qu’il donne à son exploration poétique, selon une inspiration (...) très orientale : une physique spirituelle de l’énergie — de la danse de l’énergie, au centre de laquelle le poète se tient, à « la source des vertiges ». C’est une entité quasi impersonnelle et insituable qui écrit, à la croisée des dimensions mentales, spirituelles et verbales — et d’un inconscient qui serait beaucoup plus large que le personnel. Cependant, pour Salah Stétié, le poète, loin de ne résider nulle part, développe une « citoyenneté surplombante » qui lui permet de circuler dans toute l’étendue du réel, de l’embrasser dans son ensemble et d’en témoigner sans exclusive. Through this interview, Salah Stétié, writer in the crossroads of at least two cultural traditions, envisages his singular relationship in the question of the in-between. He evokes in particular the very narrow link which unites him with the civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea ; the question of the interval leads him to speak about the sense of its poetic writing, about its relationship in the language and in the translation. More surprising doubtless is the first context which he gives to his poetic exploration, according to a very oriental inspiration: a spiritual physics of the energy—of the dance of the energy, in the center of which the poet stands, near to “the spring of the dizzinesses”. It is a quasi-impersonal and insituable entity who writes, between the mental, spiritual and verbal dimensions—and of an unconsciousness which would be much wider than the personal one. However, for Salah Stétié, the poet, far from livig in Utopia, develops an “overhanging citizenship” who allows him to travel in all the areas of the reality, to embrace them and to testify of them without any exclusive. (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)

This paper deals with the study of the existence of weak positive solutions for sublinear Kirchhoff elliptic systems with zero Dirichlet boundary condition in bounded domainΩ⊂ℝNby using the subsuper solutions method.

The ethical climate in Turkey is beset by ethical problems. Bribery, environmental pollution, tax frauds, deceptive advertising, production of unsafe products, and the ethical violations that involved politicians and business professionals are just a few examples. The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the ethical beliefs of American and Turkish consumers using the Ethical Position Questionnaire (EPQ) of Forsyth (1980), the Machiavellianism scale, and the Consumer Ethical Practices of Muncy and Vitell questionnaire (MVQ). A sample of 376 (...) subjects that consists of American consumers (n = 188) and Turkish consumers (n = 199) was used to compare the ethical beliefs and practices of the two samples. The MANOVA results for the two nationality groups found that five out of six criterion variables differed between the two groups. The implications of this study are intended to assist marketers to develop strategies that suit a particular market and lessen their risk of entry. (shrink)

As a conceptual approach in art practice, the female body has represented both a cultural barrier and a source of inspiration throughout art history. The adoption of the female body as an art theme is prevalent across many different artistic movements, using varying conceptual approaches. Women struggle against paradigms of inferiority to this day, though their individual cultural identity varies according to their society’s beliefs and customs – for example, many contemporary Middle Eastern cultures and customs are based on a (...) patriarchal past, when men wielded power over women. Women all over the world experience subjugation to varying degrees in the fields of employment, education, sexuality and reproductive choice. The female body in Middle Eastern societies is a red line that artists are not allowed to cross. Though many Middle Eastern civilizations have dealt freely with the female body, as can be seen in the paintings and sculptures of ancient Egypt, many social and religious factors made the female body taboo in most Middle Eastern cultures. However, on close scrutiny of modern art history in Middle Eastern and Islamic countries, we can identify outstandingly courageous female artists who succeeded in breaking the rules. They chose to express themselves through their own own form of art as an expression of freedom. They chose to use their own bodies as an art medium, which made them pioneers in their countries, and many female artists followed their example. Media art has flourished in Arab countries since the 1990s, especially in Egypt. Many of these female artists distinguished themselves as pioneers, aligning themselves with new art forms and challenging the prevailing stereotypical notion of the female artist at that time. This new mode of female self-expression and identity has developed over time and remains an ongoing process in the twenty-first century. This article considers how Middle Eastern female media artists have struggled to transform stereotypes of women by using their own bodies as an artistic element, and how they have expressed the concept of freedom through their self-body image. (shrink)

It is known that when Boabdil, the last of the Abencerrages, left Granada definitively, driven out by the reconquest, he gave a final look at his admirable city and, at that precise moment, sighed deeply. That sigh—el suspiro del Moro—has come down to us through history and after us will no doubt touch and disturb the sensibility of our descendants until the end of time. However, is it really a matter of Boabdil‘s sigh only, or is it the one, coming (...) from Adam, of those who have lost Paradise? Here, Boabdil seems to be one relay among others of that lament issuing from the depths of the species and rising, as regret and never-ceasing nostalgia, to the easily-agitated surface of our ocean of domesticity. Since that first garden, we have been the unloved children of this regret and this nostalgia. The angel with the fiery sword changes nothing: he does not have our memory that, alone, makes us every day a little less original and, in doing so, expels us, making us a little more defenseless than we were when we came out of the void. To remember is obviously to lose oneself, and we are at every moment in this vertiginous situation. As Heidegger said, to remember is to contemplate oblivion. (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)

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly creeping into the work sphere, thereby gradually questioning and/or disturbing the long-established moral concepts and norms communities have been using to define what makes work good. Each community, and Muslims make no exception in this regard, has to revisit their moral world to provide well-thought frameworks that can engage with the challenging ethical questions raised by the new phenomenon of AI-mediated work. For a systematic analysis of the broad topic of AI-mediated work ethics from (...) an Islamic perspective, this article focuses on presenting an accessible overview of the “moral world” of work in the Islamic tradition. Three main components of this moral world were selected due to their relevance to the AI context, namely (1) Work is inherently good for humans, (2) Practising a religiously permitted profession and (c) Maintaining good relations with involved stakeholders. Each of these three components is addressed in a distinct section, followed by a sub-section highlighting the relevance of the respective component to the particular context of AI-mediated work. The article argues that there are no unsurmountable barriers in the Islamic tradition against the adoption of AI technologies in work sphere. However, important precautions should be considered to ensure that embracing AI will not be at the cost of work-related moral values. The article also highlights how important lessons can be learnt from the positive historical experience of automata that thrived in the Islamic civilization. (shrink)

The study aims to identify the reality of management of electronic documents and electronic archiving retirement in the Palestinian Pension Agency -analytical study, as well as to recognize the reality of the current document management system in the Palestinian Pension Agency. The study found the following results: that the reality of the current system for the management of documents in the agency is weak and suffers from many jams. Employee in the agency understand the importance and benefits of the management (...) of electronic documents system, where the application of electronic document management system provide important features and benefits most of which reduce the loss of documents between departments, illustrates the flow path, the speed, accuracy, transparency, and reduce the proportion of damage and destruction of files. Furthermore, the electronic documents system cost will be less than the cost of the current system and it will reduce the tasks assigned for the staff. The existence of a clear adoption of the agency for the policies and procedures established for the application of electronic documents management system. There are weak plans for training and developing of staff in the agency to raise their efficiency. The study found a set of recommendations, including: increased interest and awareness of the need to implement policies, mechanisms, and procedures to ensure the success of electronic document management system through benefiting from the experiences of other organizations and the private sector. The agency need to increase and develop its services for retirees in order to encourage the private sector, universities, and institutions to join the agency, and open the way for all segments of society in Gaza and West Bank and enhance its competitiveness between international social security institutions. The need to focus its attention on developing and publishing appropriate clear plans and specific goals about management of electronic documents and the agency should be committed to apply them. The need to focus on the establishment of a public management of archiving in the structure dealing with all technical operations and having competent and qualified employees in the field of electronic document management. The need to focus on the Palestinian National Archives and the follow-up with the international standards by the International Council Archives (ICA). (shrink)

Islamic Perspectives on the Principles of Biomedical Ethics presents results from a pioneering seminar in 2013 between Muslim religious scholars, biomedical scientists, and Western bioethicists at the research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics, Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies. By examining principle-based bioethics, the contributors to this volume addressed a number of key issues related to the future of the field. Discussion is based around the role of religion in bioethical reasoning, specifically from an Islamic perspective. Also considered is a (...) presentation of the concept of universal principles for bioethics, with a response looking at the possibility (or not) of involving religion. Finally, there is in-depth analysis of how far specific disciplines within the Islamic tradition -- such as the higher objectives of Sharia (maqāṣid al-Sharī'ah) and legal maxims (qawā'id fiqhīyah) -- can enrich principle-based bioethics. (shrink)

Much empirical analysis and econometric work recognizes that there are nonlinearities, regime shifts or structural breaks, asymmetric adjustment costs, irreversibilities and lagged dependencies. Hence, empirical work has already transcended neoclassical economics. Some progress has also been made in modeling endogenously generated cyclical growth and fluctuations. All this is inconsistent with neoclassical general equilibrium. Hence there is growing evidence of Kuhnian anomalies. It therefore follows that there is a Kuhnian crisis in economics and further research in nonlinear dynamics and complexity can (...) only increase the Kuhnian anomalies. This crisis can only deepen. However, there is an ideological commitment to general equilibrium that justifies “free enterprise” with only minimal state intervention that may still sustain neoclassical economics despite the growing evidence of Kuhnian anomalies. Thus, orthodox textbook theory continues to ignore this fact and static neoclassical theory remains a dogma with no apparent reformulation to replace it. (shrink)

We give a polynomial time controlled version of a theorem of M. Hall: every real number can be written as the sum of two irrational numbers whose developments into a continued fraction contain only 1, 2, 3 or 4.

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)

In this paper, we designed and developed an intelligent tutoring system for teaching Photoshop. We designed the lessons, examples, and questions in a way to teach and evaluate student understanding of the material. Through the feedback provided by this tool, you can assess the student's understanding of the material, where there is a minimum overshoot questions stages, and if the student does not pass the level of questions he is asked to return the lesson and read it again. Eventually this (...) administration is a special teacher for the students and can continue with him until he fully understands the lesson without weariness or boredom, regardless of the level of student. (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)

We show that the U.S. anti-discriminatory laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity identities) spur innovation, which ultimately leads to higher firm performance. We use the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index of 398 U.S. firms between 2011 and 2014, and find a significantly positive relationship between CEI and firm innovation. We also find that an interacting effect of CEI and firm innovation leads to higher firm performance. We use our understanding of Rawls’ Theory (...) of Justice and stakeholder theory to show that firms with workplace diversity policies are likely to be more innovative and perform better than those without such policies. Our results are robust to endogeneity, reverse causality and simultaneity issues. Our results will trigger debate in similar markets around the globe on the economic benefits of LGBT workplace diversity policies for firms. (shrink)

In recent years there has been a number of promising technical and institutional developments regarding use of ontologies in industry. At the same time, however, most industrial ontology development work remains within the realm of academic research and is without significant uptake in commercial applications. In biomedicine, by contrast, ontologies have made significant inroads as valuable tools for achieving interoperability between data systems whose contents derive from widely heterogeneous sources. In this position paper, we present a set of principles learned (...) from the successful Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) Foundry initiative to guide the design and development of the Industrial Ontologies Foundry (IOF), which is a counterpart to the OBO Foundry initiative for the manufacturing industry. We also illustrate the potential utility of these principles by sketching the conceptual design of a framework for sustainable IOF development. (shrink)

تَتَنَاوَلُ هذه الدِّراسَةُ الوظيفة التي تؤدِّيها هيرمينوطيقا ريكور، بوصفها فَلْسَفَةً للترجمة وَفَلْسَفَةً بوصفها تَرْجَمَةً. تنطلقُ من إطلالةٍ، عامة، على نظريات ريكور في ضوء تاريخ فلسفة الترجمة، وتوضح الكيفية التي اقتفى بها خطى غادامر في فهم عملية التَّرجمة، بوصفها فنًّا للتفاوض والوساطة بين الذَّات والآخر. وتَسْتَكشف الباراديغم الهيرمينوطيقي للترجمة الذي طوره ريكور في أعماله اللاحقة من خلال مظاهر ثلاثة رئيسة: لسانية، وأنطولوجية، وأخلاقية. وتنتهي الدِّراسة بمناقشة الدَّور الحاسم الذي تَلعبه التَّرجمة في مسائلِ الضّيافة والتَّعددية والصَّفح. -/- تمثّل التَّرجمة سمةً جوهريّةً ومركزيّةً (...) في فلسفة بول ريكور، وبالرغم من أنه لم يجعلها موضوعًا صريحًا في أعماله، إلا أنَّها كانت حاضرةً، بقوةٍ، في ممارساته الفلسفية. كان ريكور وسيطًا بارعًا، وشخصًا يُتْقِنُ فن التَّحكيم والتَّفاوض بين المواقف المتضاربة (=والمتباينة). لا يُضاهى بول ريكور في دبلوماسيته التَّبادلية حين يتعلق الأمر بالأفكار الفلسفية، حيث كان يجد دائمًا نقاطًا مشتركة - وإن لم يكن دائمًا يصل دائماً إلى حلٍّ نهائيٍّ - بين وجهات النَّظر المتناقضة في ظاهرها، لكن دعنا نفكر في وساطتهِ الدَّائمة والانتقال الذي قام به بين التفكير القاريّ والأنغلوسكسوني، على المستوى العام، ثم على المستوى القاري، ووساطته بين الوجودية والهيغلية؛ بين علم الاستدلال والنّقدية النظرية؛ بين علم الظواهر والعلوم الإنسانية؛ بين التحليل النفسي الفرويدي والجدليات الهيغلية؛ بين نظرية الأدب وفلسفة الدّين؛ بين الفهم التَّاريخي (Verstehen) والتَّفسير العلميِّ (Erklären)، بين علم النفس وعلم الأعصاب، بين الأخلاق والسِّياسة، وهكذا دواليك. وينبغي النَّظر، في النهاية، إلى جهوده العَديدةِ في إقحامِ التَّرجمة في إطار الهيرمينوطيقا ذاتها، بين الهيرمينوطيقا الرومانسية (المستمدةِ من شليرماخر، وديلتاي) والهيرمينوطيقا النقدية أو الهيرمينوطيقا الراديكالية (التي طورها هابرماس وديريدا على التوالي). -/- ما يُلفت النَّظر - في هذه الوساطات النَّقدية كلِّها - أنَّ ريكور لم يتوقف، إطلاقاً، عن احترام طَرفي التبادل المتَنازعين؛ إذ يحوّل ببراعة الصِّراع إلى حِوَارٍ، من دُون التَّنَازل عن عمق الاعتقاد أو دقَّة التَّقييم. وفي اعتقادي لا يضاهي ريكور من معاصريه أحدٌ في دوره الفلسفيّ كمترجم. وفي الواقع، يمكن القول إنَّ فكر ريكور يجسّد كلًّا من الفلسفة بوصفها ترجمةً وكفلسفةٍ عن التَّرجمة. وسأركز، في ما يلي، بشكل رئيس على النقطة الأخيرة. (shrink)