ObjectivesThe emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic worsened Lebanon’s economic situation and generated worries about living conditions. This study aimed to explain personal economic worries patterns among Lebanese young adults while accounting for demographics and mental health characteristics.MethodsA total sample of 988 Lebanese responses were collected, using an online survey. The analysis was conducted using regression-based methods.ResultsMen exhibited higher economic worries than women. Lower levels of economic worries among people with higher wages were more pronounced. Lebanese retirees experience the highest economic (...) worries compared to other employment status groups. Individuals with higher life satisfaction are less concerned about the economy. Mental wellbeing factors were positively associated with personal economic worries.ConclusionThe current study presents a seminal insight into the differences in economic worries caused by COVID-19 pandemic among individuals in a developing country context. (shrink)

In the 1940s, Georges Canguilhem has established the concept of biological normativity on the level of the organism in his key work on “ The Normal and the Pathological ”. We would like to present a contemporary analysis of Canguilhem’s work, set it in context with more recent results from the field of complexity and immunology, and evaluate the problematic whether normativity is a genuine capacity of the organism. Based on Canguilhem’s conditions of the definition of biological normativity, we show (...) that the immune system as one of the complex systems of the living equally shares the capacity to be normative. We will then conclude that normativity can also be conceptually independently displayed on the level of complex systems of the living. (shrink)

This comprehensive historical exploration investigates the intricate relationship between religion and the evolution of civil laws. Throughout human history, the interplay between religious beliefs and legal systems has profoundly shaped societies and governance structures. From ancient civilizations to the modern era, religious authorities and teachings have acted as catalysts in shaping civil laws, often with the goal of promoting social justice. This article embarks on a journey through time, unraveling the multifaceted connections between religion and the development of legal frameworks. (...) In numerous societies, religious doctrines formed the cornerstone of civil laws and regulations. The majority of civilizations witnessed priests assuming pivotal roles as lawmakers, effectively coupling civil laws and religious practices. By examining various historical civilizations, this study illustrates how religious norms and practices were intertwined with legal codes, revealing instances where religious teachings played a crucial role in promoting adherence to laws. The transition to modern times witnessed the emergence of alternative means for law enforcement, yet religion’s role persisted as an internal driving force for fostering law-abiding behavior. Drawing from examples such as the Code of Hammurabi, Islamic legal traditions, and the Roman Twelve Tables, this article showcases historical instances where religious values contributed to legal principles centered around equity, justice, and morality. Additionally, the study explores how religion’s influence shifted over time, from early religious leaders acting as legislators to the establishment of more secular legal systems. (shrink)

Résumé Frantz Fanon s’est concentré principalement sur la violence comme moyen de résistance et de libération anticoloniale, mais aussi sur l’humanisme et les possibilités de sa réalisation. Il s’agit pour lui de dépasser la conception manichéenne de l’Europe, mais aussi de la Négritude à propos de l’homme et d’inventer comme il dit « l’homme total ». Le silence a régné assez longtemps sur la réception des œuvres de Fanon après sa mort, à l’exception de sa réhabilitation vingt ans après aux (...) Antilles lors d’une commémoration. Depuis sa disparition, on est passé de la simple critique du colonialisme à partir du champ économique et politique vers le champ culturel plus complexe et l’essai d’une compréhension plus approfondie de notions telles que celles de « nation », « identité », « imaginaire » ou « hybridité ». De plus, à cette évolution a participé aussi bien le discours foucaldien à propos des pouvoirs que les études abordées par Gilles Deleuze et Jacques Derrida sur la connaissance et le sujet. Ces thèmes ont influencé énormément les auteurs américains des Études postcoloniales dans leurs approches critiques du fait colonial et des phénomènes socioculturels qui en résultent. Ce fut surtout le cas pour Edward Said ainsi que pour d’autres penseurs tels Achille Mbembe, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi K. Bhabha et bien d’autres. Mais ce sont avant tout Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon et Albert Memmi qui furent les théoriciens pionniers de ce mouvement. Ils ont en effet vécu la situation coloniale de manière directe et l’ont problématisée conceptuellement de sorte qu’ils ont dévoilé les différents aspects d’oppression et d’exclusion du colonialisme et donné ainsi une voix aux colonisés, subalternes et marginalisés. Cet article va tenter tout d’abord de rappeler la part critique de Frantz Fanon à l’égard de l’humanisme classique européen, mais aussi à celui de la Négritude. Par la suite il essaie de présenter sa conception d’un humanisme radical qui prend en considération l’homme, dire même l’humanité dans toute sa totalité, et à la fin il aborde les répercussions de la pensée fanonienne sur l’évolution politique actuelle ainsi que sur les Études postcoloniales. (shrink)

This book tells the story of how the Platonic vision of Michael Polanyi – the Hungarian-British chemist and philosopher – bridges the gap between speculative metaphysics and scientific practice, thus making sense of the broad swathe of human experience in a phenomenologically satisfying fashion. The central proposal is that Polanyi is a Platonist due to his affirmation of the ontological status of abstract objects, with particular focus placed on the question of uninstantiated universals. The book engages contemporary, speculative realists from (...) both continental and analytic traditions as it introduces Polanyi’s influential epistemology and unpacks the fascinating metaphysics implied thereby. It then proceeds to develop Polanyi’s rather unsystematic metaphysics into a coherent, post-critical Platonism which incorporates his well-known theory of tacit knowledge, thus achieving something akin to the ancient Neoplatonic synthesis of Plato and Aristotle in our contemporary, scientific context. (shrink)

Ethical consumerism has been dramatically increasing in recent decades, but in service sector, fewer research has been conducted especially in the fast-food industry. In this paper, we determined empirically the consumer perceived ethicality effects on repurchase intentions as well as on word of mouth through brand image partial mediation and customer expertise moderation in fast-food sector. The data were collected from 307 consumers of the fast-food restaurants through self-administered questionnaires. Common method variance and social desirability bias were measured before testing (...) hypotheses, and the data were investigated by SPSS and AMOS 21st version. The empirical results demonstrated that consumer perceived ethicality effects on repurchase intentions directly and through brand image partial mediation indirectly. Moreover, the direct and positive effects of repurchase intentions on word of mouth were experienced. This study generalized the results of previous studies of consumer perceived ethicality conducted in western culture in Pakistani fast-food sector. This study also proposed that firms should tackle ethical concerns at corporate and operational strategy levels to improve consumers’ behavioral intentions. (shrink)

Résumé Juste avant sa mort précoce il y a près de vingt ans, Edward Saïd nous a légué en signe de testament l’un de ses derniers ouvrages Humanisme et démocratie dans lequel il a étalé sa vision du monde futur et montré l’impact que doit avoir l’humanisme sur la conception démocratique de la praxis politique. Son projet consiste en effet à réhabiliter l’humanisme pris déjà pour cible par le courant structuraliste antihumaniste au milieu du vingtième siècle et à le réintégrer (...) dans le processus démocratique de l’action politique et sociale. Il s’agit en effet, comme il l’exprime, « d’une méditation approfondie sur les possibilités concrètes de l’humanisme comme pratique durable et non comme propriété, sur ce qu’une activité humaniste implique, plutôt qu’une énumération des qualités souhaitables chez un humaniste ». Tout en se référant aux événements politiques des dernières décennies et à ses expériences propres dans ce domaine, particulièrement son engagement pour la cause palestinienne, Edward Saïd considère que l’humanisme présente une base solide pour bâtir une société et une culture séculaires ouvertes au monde dominé actuellement par l’impérialisme et la mondialisation. Ce qui lui importe au fond le plus, « c’est l’humanisme en tant que praxis utile aux intellectuels qui veulent comprendre ce qu’ils font, à quoi rime leur engagement en tant que chercheurs, et qui veulent également relier ces principes au monde dans lequel ils vivent comme citoyens ». Ce n’est pas en vérité une recette toute prête à résoudre les crises ou les problèmes politiques actuels mais, à la lueur de la synthèse théorique et pratique qu’il opère dans cette œuvre, Saïd nous permet aujourd’hui de relire et comprendre les événements des révolutions arabes et d’en tirer les conséquences critiques, car son projet offre la possibilité de se pencher de manière critique sur le rôle public que doit jouer l’intellectuel dans la consolidation du processus démocratique. Il indique également comment on peut participer à l’élaboration d’une culture humaniste de coexistence et de partage à la place d’une culture d’exclusion, de terreur et de guerre telle qu’on est en train de vivre actuellement dans plusieurs pays du monde. Notre feuille de travail tend à rappeler le trajet qu’a suivi Edward Saïd dans son cursus théorique et pratique depuis la parution de son écrit l’Orientalisme tout en passant par Culture et impérialisme jusqu’à Humanisme et Démocratie, et de mettre en exergue les idées fortes de cette œuvre et leurs répercussions sur les études post-orientalistes et postcoloniales. (shrink)

Quarante ans après la mort de Jean-Paul Sartre et à un moment où les bouleversements liés à la mondialisation déchirent l'humanité, cet ouvrage rappelle son engagement de philosophe et d'intellectuel après la Seconde guerre mondiale. Sartre n'a eu de cesse de transformer le mode contemporain de penser notre existence individuelle et collective en plaçant la liberté au centre de l'agir humain. Son oeuvre littéraire et ses prises de position politiques contre le racisme et le colonialisme ont rappelé vigoureusement qu'il fallait (...) prendre parti pour la liberté, l'égalité et la fraternité. La relecture critique de son oeuvre permet aujourd'hui de découvrir tant l'ampleur de son engagement que son ambiguïté pour une culture fière d'être humaniste. (shrink)

Applying the resolution–scale relativity principle to develop a mechanics of non-differentiable dynamical paths, we find that, in one dimension, stationary motion corresponds to an Itô process driven by the solutions of a Riccati equation. We verify that the corresponding Fokker–Planck equation is solved for a probability density corresponding to the squared modulus of the solution of the Schrödinger equation for the same problem. Inspired by the treatment of the one-dimensional case, we identify a generalization to time dependent problems in any (...) number of dimensions. The Itô process is then driven by a function which is identified as establishing the link between non-differentiable dynamics and standard quantum mechanics. This is the basis for the scale relativistic interpretation of standard quantum mechanics and, in the case of applications to chaotic systems, it leads us to identify quantum-like states as characterizing the entire system rather than the motion of its individual constituents. (shrink)

In this paper, I critically explore Ann Sharp’s conception of personhood as it figures in the theory and practice of the community of philosophical inquiry (CPI). Through surveying Sharp’s rich and varied philosophical output, it will be shown how Sharp’s conception of personhood as a trilateral relationship (between self, other(s), and community) maps onto “the Three C’s” of critical, creative, and caring thinking that make up the practice of Philosophy for Children. After thus presenting Sharp’s conception of personhood, the paper (...) brings into view an aspect of said conception which could benefit from further development. This potential shortfall in Sharp’s thought is identified as “the problem of closure”. In highlighting the problem of closure, I will indicate how Sharp marshals the concept of faith in her conception of CPI as a spiritual community, a relationship that is coincident with personhood itself, as it stands for the bond that ties together the individual (self and other(s)) and the collective (community) dimensions of CPI. I argue that faith serves, among other things, as an agent of closure between the individual and the collective in Sharp’s thought. In considering the function of faith in CPI, I will suggest an avenue of possible resolution to the problem of closure in Leonard Nelson’s conception of “the Socratic spirit” as the embodiment of “reason’s self-confidence”. Finally, the paper looks ahead to David Kennedy’s writings on the intentionality structure that governs the relationship between the individual and the collective in CPI as a resource that promises to offer a more rigorous and systematic treatment of the problem of closure. (shrink)

Drawing on the sociocultural approach, this study aims to explore EFL learners’ perceptions toward collaborative writing, and the role that learners’ emotions play as a factor influencing their collaboration and achievements in face to face and Blackboard Chatbox as applied in their EFL classes. A mixed-methods research approach was used with a sample of 58 male students enrolled in writing courses at three levels at the Department of English Language and Translation, Qassim University. Three instruments were used for data collection; (...) a 45-item closed-ended questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and the learners’ overall performance. The findings shown that most learners have positive perceptions toward studying online through Blackboard, and Blackboard Chatbox. Furthermore, Blackboard Chatbox could provide necessary affordances to facilitate learners’ emotion, which could enhance their collaborative writing. However, no significant difference was observed between learners’ performance in the two models of instruction. Taken together, the results of the present study enhance current understanding of the role of learners’ emotions in collaborative writing with the use of technology. (shrink)

ObjectivesDepression and anxiety persist in cancer patients, creating an additional burden during treatment and making it more challenging in terms of management and control. Studies on the prevalence of depression and anxiety among cancer patients in the Middle East are limited and include many limitations such as their small sample sizes and restriction to a specific type of cancer in specific clinical settings. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and risk factors of depression and anxiety among cancer patients in (...) the inpatient and outpatient settings.Materials and MethodsA total of 1,011 patients formed the study sample. Patients’ psychological status was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale. The prevalence rate of depressive and anxious symptomatology was estimated by dividing the number of patients who exceeded the borderline score: 10 or more for each subscale of the HADS scale, 15 or more for the GAD-7 scale, and 15 or more in the PHQ-9 by the total number of the patients. Risk factors were identified using logistic regression.ResultsThe prevalence of depressive and anxious symptomatology among all patients was 23.4% and 19.1–19.9%, respectively. Depressive symptomatology was more prevalent across patients who were hospitalized compared with patients in the outpatient setting. Similarly, anxious symptomatology was more prevalent in the inpatient setting. In the inpatient setting, depressive symptomatology was more prevalent among patients with bladder cancer, while severe anxious symptomatology was more prevalent across patients with lung cancer. In the outpatient setting, depressive and anxious symptomatology was more prevalent among breast and prostate cancer patients, respectively. Despite that, around 42.7% and 24.8% of the patients, respectively, reported that they feel anxious and depressed, and only 15.5% of them were using medications to manage their conditions.ConclusionOur study findings demonstrated a higher prevalence of depressive and anxious symptomatology in the inpatient setting and advanced disease stages. In addition, the underutilization of antidepressant therapy was observed. There is a need to consider mental disorders as part of the treatment protocol for cancer patients. Enhanced clinical monitoring and treatment of depression and anxiety of cancer patients are required. (shrink)

Countless conceptual metaphors related to human experience have been identified and discussed in the literature. In most conceptual metaphors, a concrete, experiential sou...

Volume 34, Issue 4, October-December 2019, Page 262-264.

This research aims to investigate the impact of learning lexical chunks on the English as a Foreign Language Saudi learners’ speaking fluency. The study uses an intervention with intermediate Saudi learners comprising lexical chunks based upon the books Collocation in Use and Common Idioms in English. Findings obtained from the post-test show that the experimental groups scored significantly better when compared to their performance in the pre-test of speaking fluency. On the contrary, the difference in the performance of the control (...) group between the pre and post-tests is not significant as far as speaking fluency is concerned. The findings also show that the experimental group participants had favorable sentiments regarding explicit lexical chunk training. The research has theoretical and practical consequences in teaching and learning a foreign/second language. (shrink)

BackgroundAssessing and understanding the language that women use to express physical, emotional, and social concerns of breast cancer experiences can often be overlooked, even though there is evidence that effective communication between cancer patients and health care providers improves quality of life. This study aims to assess the use of metaphors in conceptualizing breast cancer experience lived by Saudi Arabian women.Materials and MethodsThis is an interpretative phenomenological qualitative study, a purposeful sample of 18 breast cancer patients at an oncology outpatient’s (...) clinic in Saudi Arabia were invited to engage in face-to-face interviews. Data was analyzed using Metaphor Identification Procedure.ResultsFour themes were constructed: dark hidden force, battling imminent death, dreaming and awakening calls, and inner and outer transformation.ConclusionIdentifying metaphors may be beneficial toward improving communication between health care providers and breast cancer patients, who often experience difficulties expressing their needs. (shrink)

AimThis study aimed to examine the dimensionality of the BCFQOL-AR using Rasch analysis.MethodThe sample consisted of 320 families having a member with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Rasch analysis was used to validate the dimensionality of the scale. The participants were from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.ResultsThe BCFQOL-AR 25-item scale was multidimensional. Rasch analyses support the unidimensionality of the five subscales. There were no indicators of differential item function for any of the items, regardless of sex or age.ConclusionThe BCFQOL-AR is a multidimensional scale (...) that measures families with members who are satisfied with their quality of life. Therefore, obtaining a total score at the subscale level is supported and showed that each of the five subscales of the BCFQOL can be used alone. This study partially supports the practices used with other versions of the scale, by providing the statistical base, where means were used at the subscale level in different countries. (shrink)

In this paper, I attempt to read the poetic principle behind the Tammuzi movement of modern Arabic poetry through the lens of speculative poetics. While speculative-poetic accounts of modern poetry, such as those provided by Allen Grossman, blazed new paths connecting poetry to personhood in modernity, their application to the development of modern poetry outside of Europe remains limited by their self-avowed focus on European history. This paper will outline a critical corrective to speculative poetics which, I argue, can be (...) of value in extending its domain of application to Arabic projects of poetic modernity, particularly the two tendencies of "free verse" and "commitment" poetry that emerged out of the Tammuzi movement. (shrink)

In this paper, I attempt to read the poetic principle behind the Tammuzi movement of modern Arabic poetry through the lens of speculative poetics. While speculative-poetic accounts of modern poetry, such as those provided by Allen Grossman, blazed new paths connecting poetry to personhood in modernity, their application to the development of modern poetry outside of Europe remains limited by their self-avowed focus on European history. This paper will outline a critical corrective to speculative poetics which, I argue, can be (...) of value in extending its domain of application to Arabic projects of poetic modernity, particularly the two tendencies of "free verse" and "commitment" poetry that emerged out of the Tammuzi movement. (shrink)

In this paper we examine the effect of two cognitive variables, Semantic Neighborhood Density and Interpretive Diversity, in first, distinguishing between literary (poetic) and nonliterary metaphor, and second, in determining what makes for a good metaphor. Analyses of items taken from a widely used set ofmetaphor norms indicated that while literary and nonliterary metaphor did not differ in many ways, the poetic items tended to 1) contain concepts that came from a more dense semantic space, 2) contain topic and vehicles (...) that came from equally dense semantic space, 3) suggest a greater number of possible interpretations as the topic and vehicle became more semantically dissimilar, and 4) evoke more emergent interpretations (i.e., less likely to be a characteristic of the topic or vehicle when considered separately). In addition, we found one way that the two variables were related to metaphor goodness: better metaphors were those with vehicles that came from increasingly less dense semantic space. This correlation was only reliable for literary, poetic items, presumably because these items were taken from a richer semantic environment suggesting many more alternative possibilities. (shrink)

Religion is among the determinants of human beliefs and values in various societies, shaping people’s behaviours in a range of life aspects, including the workplace. In view of the influence of religion in Malaysia, this issue becomes highly significant. With regard to the profound impact of religion on creating individual and collective behaviours, the present study aims to investigate the effects of religious behaviours (RBs) on organisational commitment (OC) among Malaysian healthcare workers (HCWs) in 2022, by a survey method implemented (...) using standardised questionnaires for data collection. The statistical population comprised of 2500 HCWs from 10 hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Georgetown and Malacca, Malaysia, selected by the simple random sampling among the Muslim staff. The data analysis was further fulfilled using the AMOS software package for structural equation modelling (SEM). In general, the study results demonstrated a significant and positive relationship between RBs and OC among Malaysian HCWs (p-value = 0.84, t-statistic = 6.50).Contribution: As demonstrated by the study results, it is possible to inspire OC among employees through strengthening RBs and take advantages of the results. Thus, RBs shown by employees can definitely bring positive results to organisations; therefore, OC in Malaysian HCWs improves. (shrink)

Medical paternalism has long been a common medical practice. However, patient autonomy in healthcare has been recently adopted by doctors and patients alike. This study explored whether doctors and patients in a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia preferred autonomy or paternalism in shared decision‐making. A total of 118 participants (51 patients requiring total knee replacement, owing to stages 3–4 of osteoarthritis, and 67 doctors) from the Eastern province, Saudi Arabia. responded to a 17‐question category‐based questionnaire involving four scales of (...) autonomy. Descriptive statistics and chi‐square test results revealed that in this hospital, patients preferred a paternalistic approach toward their medical care along with a full disclosure of the risks related to surgical procedures. We recommend health education regarding the specific autonomy subscales (doctor knows best, patient should decide, right to non‐participation, and obligatory risk information), and the implementation of protocols that protect patients' rights and enhance personal autonomy. (shrink)

Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de 1963 ile 2012 yılları arasında din psikolojisi alanında yapılan ve hala devam eden yüksek lisans ve doktora tezlerine ilişkin analizler yer almaktadır. Bunun yanında din psikolojisinin Türkiye’de akademide yer alışına dair kısa bir tarihçe vardır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, din psikolojisi doktora tezlerine ilişkin bir bibliyografya oluşturarak, araştırmacılara ve lisansüstü öğrencilerine bir katalog sunmaktır. Ayrıca, tezlere ait verilerin analizleriyle, yapılacak yeni çalışmalara yol göstermek amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem olarak literatür taraması yapılmış, farklı kurumların katalogları taranmış ve alandaki akademisyenlerle görüşülmüştür. Elde (...) edilen bilgiler doğrultusunda tezler, yüksek lisans ve doktora tezleri olarak tasnif edilmiş ve yazar referans alınarak alfabetik sıraya göre dizilmiştir. Tez başlıklarının içerdikleri konular tespit edilmiş ve bu veriler analiz edilmiştir. (shrink)

Türkiye-Suriye ilişkilerinin son 40 yıllık seyrine baktığımızda en önemli kırılma anlardan birinin 1998 yılının Ekim ayında yaşandığını söylemek mümkündür. 1990’lı yılların ilk yarısında imzalanan güvenlik protokollerine rağmen Suriye’nin PKK faaliyetlerine desteğini sürdürmesi ve Abdullah Öcalan’ın Suriye topraklarında ikamet ediyor olması, 1998 sonbaharında iki ülkeyi savaşın eşiğine getirmiştir. Ekim 1998 Krizi'nin Adana Mutabakatı'nın imzalanması ile son bulması, iki ülke ilişkilerinde yeni bir dönemin kapılarının aralanmasına neden olmuştur. Bu çalışmada PKK faaliyetlerinin Türkiye-Suriye ilişkilerinde oynadığı inşa edici rol, Ekim 1998 Krizi üzerinden analiz (...) edilmektedir. Ekim 1998 Krizi’nin Suriye yönetiminin PKK faaliyetlerine destek vermeyeceğini resmen taahhüt ederek sonlanması, iki ülke ilişkilerinde uzlaşmazlıktan her alanda işbirliği dönemine geçişin başlangıç noktası olmuştur. Bu nedenle Ekim 1998 Krizi’ni bir kırılma noktası olarak değerlendirmek mümkündür. (shrink)