Compassion, as an indicator for quality care, is highly valued by patients and healthcare professionals. Compassionate care is considered a moral dimension of nursing practice and an essential component of high quality care. This study aimed to answer these questions: What are the facilitators and barriers of providing compassionate nursing care in the clinical setting? Which strategies do nurses use to provide compassionate care? What is the specific model of compassionate care for the nursing context? A grounded theory approach was (...) used in this study. A total of 21 nurses working in diverse clinical settings participated in the study. Purposive and theoretical sampling was used to select the participants. Data were collected by in-depth face to face interviews and analyzed by the constant comparative method. Ethical approval was gained from the Ethical Review Board of Tabriz University of Medical sciences. The analysis resulted in the development of three main themes: contextual factors affecting compassionate care, the compassionate care actions, and the consequences of compassionate care. The main dimensions of compassionate care are demonstrated in a Compassionate Nursing Care Model. Nurses’ ability on providing compassionate care is influenced by individual and organizational factors that may facilitate or inhibit this type of care. Leadership and nurse managers should remove the barriers which diminish the nurses’ ability to provide compassionate care and support them to engage in compassionate care programs. Identifying and recruiting compassionate nurses, developing their compassionate capacity, and providing role models of compassion could improve the flourishing of person-centered and compassionate care in clinical settings. The Compassionate Nursing Care Model provides a model to guide nursing care and research. (shrink)

Background: Dengue Disease is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus, symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. This may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash. Dengue serology is applied in different settings, such as for surveillance, in health care facilities in endemic areas and in travel clinics in non-endemic areas. The applicability and quality of serological tests in dengue endemic regions has to be judged against a (...) background of potential cross reactivity with other flavi-viruses, difficulties in distinguishing primary from secondary infections and technological problems related to the fact that most dengue endemic regions are relatively poor of resources .Objectives: to help doctors and patients in diagnosing Dengue Disease and give them the information of how to prevent Dengue Disease and to be able to understand the signs and symptoms of Dengue Disease. Methods: We collected all relevant material for Dengue Disease. Then we designed and implemented a knowledge based system for diagnosing Dengue Disease using SL5 Object Language. Results: The knowledge based system was evaluated by a group of Patients and specialized doctors and they found it very friendly and easy to use. (shrink)

This paper is based on review of the publications of the Islamic Movement and interviews with its leadership and activists. It argues that the Movement’s resistance to the 1948, 1967 and diasporic dismemberment of Palestine has constituted a critical challenge to Israeli policies, and contributed to reframing the internal Israeli political discourse. That is what led to its being banned by the state. The Islamic Movement was established in the 1970s. It remains, despite its split in 1996 into Northern and (...) Southern branches, a key player in Palestinian minority affairs at the political level, and at the social level through service provision to the marginalized Arab communities, especially in East Jerusalem. In 2015, the Israeli cabinet declared the Northern branch illegal and withdrew its status as a recognized organization. The findings of this paper show that this measure is directly linked to the Movement’s effectiveness in resisting the dispossession of the Palestinians, in advocating their right of return and other human rights, in providing leadership in the struggle over East Jerusalem, and in the organization and delivery of humanitarian services. (shrink)

In this paper, we present a deterministic time discrete mathematical model based on multiregional periodic matrices to describe the dynamics of Sardina pilchardus in the Central Atlantic area of the Moroccan coast. This model deals with two stages (immature and mature) and three spatial zones where sardines are supposed to migrate from one zone to another. The population dynamics is described by an autonomous recurrence equation N(t + 1) = A.N(t), where A is a positive matrix whose entries are estimated (...) using data collected during biannual acoustic surveys carried out from 2001 to 2003 onboard the Norwegian research vessel “Dr Fridtjof Nansen”. The dominant eigenvalue λ of A that gives the long-term growth rate of fish population is smaller than one. This agrees with the stock decrease observed in the data collected. We show that λ is highly sensitive to the recruitment rate and much less sensitive to the reproduction rate. These results can clearly be used to define an efficient scenario in order to fight for instance against a stock decrease. (shrink)

The production of genetically modified crops is growing around the world, and with it possible opportunities to combat food insecurity and hunger, as well as solutions to current problems facing conventional agriculture. In this regard the use of GMOs in food and agricultural applications has increased greatly over the past decade. However, the development of GM crops has been a matter of considerable interest and worldwide public controversy. This, in addition to skepticism, has stifled the use of this practice on (...) a large scale in many areas, including Iran. It stands to reason that a greater understanding of this practice could be formed after a review of the existing expert opinions surrounding GM crops. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the predictors that influence agricultural experts’ attitudes toward the development of and policies related to GM crops. Using a descriptive correlational research method, questionnaire data was collected from 65 experts from the Agricultural Organization in the Gotvand district in Southwest Iran. Results indicated that agricultural experts were aware of the environmental benefits and possible risks associated with GM crops. The majority of participants agreed that GM crops could improve food security and accelerate rural development, and were proponents of labeling practices for GM crops. Finally, there was a positive correlation between the perception of benefits and attitudes towards GM crops. (shrink)

Given the predominance of multilingualism in many countries there is great need for a new, interdisciplinary approach to the problem. Sociolinguistics—or the sociology of language—provides such an approach and can help to shed new light on a phenomenon which is often discussed in terms that tend to create more problems than they solve. In order to demonstrate how sociolinguistic theory and practice can contribute to the study of multilingualism this paper will attempt to outline briefly some of the basic premises (...) of sociolinguistic theory which appear relevant to the understanding of the phenomenon of multilingualism and also to define multilingualism as a social behaviour in response to a contact situation. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the influence of cultural familiarity on getting the most out of an e-negotiation for merger or acquisition based on subjective and objective negotiation behaviors. We examined if cultural awareness could increase the rate of negotiation self-efficacy, shorten the length of negotiation and optimize deal closure results. To do so, firstly we investigate the concept of e-negotiation and its development in the last two decades. Then a series of systematic reviews is performed on the parameters influencing the (...) success in offline and online merger or acquisition negotiations. We also considered the main traits of Western and Middle Eastern Arab cultures on negotiations. The results show that many of the requirements of successful collaboration, or negotiations, with Arab managers can currently happen only through face-to-face meetings. (shrink)

As future citizens, students must make decisions requiring an understanding of the interaction of science and technology and its interface with society. STS education has been strongly identified with meeting this goal, but putting theory into practice has so far been difficult. This article asks, “What are the challenges influencing science teachers to implement STS education in the science classroom?” The author investigated using a mixed method research technique incorporating multiple sources of qualitative and quantitative data (questionnaire, interviews, field notes, (...) and classroom observations). Constraints a fecting teachers' practices in teaching science through STS education were identified and can be categorized into impersonal, interpersonal, and personal constraints. Findings indicated interactions within and between external and internal constraints. Suggestions are made for implementing change in various aspects of science teacher education. (shrink)

We analyze von Weizsäcker’s view regarding the concept of information in physics. In his view, information arises from the reduction of properties of a physical object to their logical descriptive propositions. The smallest element of a lattice of propositions is an atom of information which is considered as the essence of every physical identity including position space. von Weizsäcker calls this element, “ur”. Moreover, Biological evolution is described in terms of enhancement of the variety of forms. Form could be also (...) reduced to descriptive logical propositions, thus to atoms of information. Therefore, information is the fundamental basis in von Weizsäcker’s plan for unifying all branches of Physics including Chemistry and Biology. Yet, there are inadequacies in his lines of reasoning, critically assessed in this paper. (shrink)

The use of transcranial Electrical Stimulation in the modulation of cognitive brain functions to improve neuropsychiatric conditions has extensively increased over the decades. tES techniques have also raised new challenges associated with study design, stimulation protocol, functional specificity, and dose-response relationship. In this paper, we addressed challenges through the emerging methodology to investigate the dose-response relationship of High Definition-transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, identifying the role of negative valence in tinnitus perception. In light of the neurofunctional testable framework and tES application, (...) hypotheses were formulated to measure clinical and surrogate endpoints. We posited that conscious pairing adequately pleasant stimuli with tinnitus perception results in correction of the loudness misperception and would be reinforced by concurrent active HD-tDCS on the left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex. The dose-response relationship between HD-tDCS specificity and the loudness perception is also modeled. We conducted a double-blind, randomized crossover pilot study with six recruited tinnitus patients. Accrued data was utilized to design a well-controlled adaptive seamless Bayesian dose-response study. The sample size and optimum interims were anticipated for adaptive decision-making about efficacy, safety, and single session dose parameters. Furthermore, preliminary pilot study results were sufficient to show a significant difference within the longitudinally detected self-report tinnitus loudness between before and under positive emotion induction. This study demonstrated a research methodology used to improve emotion regulation in tinnitus patients. In the projected method, positive emotion induction is essential for promoting functional targeting under HD-tDCS anatomical specificity to indicate the efficacy and facilitate the dose-finding process. The continuous updating of prior knowledge about efficacy and dose during the exploratory stage adapts the anticipated dose-response model. Consequently, the effective dose range to make superiority neuromodulation in correcting loudness misperception of tinnitus will be redefined. Highly effective dose adapts the study to a standard randomized trial and transforms it into the confirmatory stage in which active HD-tDCS protocol is compared with a sham trial. Establishing the HD-tDCS intervention protocols relying on this novel method provides reliable evidence for regulatory agencies to approve or reject the efficacy and safety. Furthermore, this paper supports a technical report for designing multimodality data-driven complementary investigations in emotion regulation, including EEG-driven neuro markers, Stroop-driven attention biases, and neuroimaging-driven brain network dynamics. (shrink)

BackgroundBetween the need for transparency in healthcare, widely promoted by patient’s safety campaigns, and the fear of negative consequences and malpractice threats, physicians face challenging decisions on whether or not disclosing medical errors to patients and families is a valid option.We aim to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of physicians in our center regarding medical error disclosure.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire study. The questionnaire was piloted and no major modifications were made.A day-long training workshop consisting of didactic (...) lectures, short and long case scenarios with role playing and feedback from the instructors, were conducted. Physicians who attended these training workshops were invited to complete the questionnaire at the end of the training, and physicians who did not attend any training were sent a copy of the questionnaire to their offices to complete. To assure anonymity and transparency of responses, we did not query names or departments.Descriptive statistics were used to present demographics and KAP. The differences between response\s of physicians who received the training and those who did not were analyzed with t-test and descriptive statistics. The 0.05 level of significance was used as a cutoff measure for statistical significance.ResultsEighty-eight physicians completed the questionnaire (55 attended training (62.50%), and 33 did not (37.50%)). Sixty Five percent of physicians were males and the mean number of years of experience was 16.5 years. Eighty-Seven percent (n = 73) of physicians were more likely to report major harm, compared to minor harm or no harm. Physicians who attended the workshop were more knowledgeable of articles of Jordan’s Law on Medical and Health Liability (66.7% vs 45.5%,p-value = 0.017) and the Law was more likely to affect their decision on error disclosure (61.8% vs 36.4%,p-value = 0.024).ConclusionFormal training workshops on disclosing medical errors have the power to positively influence physicians’ KAP toward disclosing medical errors to patients and possibly promoting a culture of transparency in the health care system. (shrink)

With regard to the issue of the differences of the sexes, our study focuses on traditional games in Kabylie, taken and defined as part of the field of motor praxiology. A discipline inspired by the work of Pierre Parlebas. We will attempt through a field survey, to identify and interpret the meaning and distribution of the traditional games played by the women of Kabylie. From this perspective, the analysis of the internal logics of the practices are related to the system (...) of interactions between players and their environment. This reveals valuable information on the structures underlying traditional games, and their ethno-motor characteristics as well as the world of ethnology of this vast mountainous region of Kabylie. By analyzing 92 traditional games played in the region of Kabylie allowed us to highlight on the one hand the cultural specificity, and on the other the richness of the socio-cultural aspects of this region. By examining how a game constitutes a cultural identity element of a geographical space, we explain the meaning of sport culture and identity of the Kabylie, by focusing particularly on the place of women and the indicators that reveal the relationships between men and women and distinguish the distribution of female and male roles. This also allows an understanding of the nature of traditional sports and their differentiation in terms of socialization between boys and girls. (shrink)

The question of whether females tend to act more ethically or risk-averse compared to males is an interesting ethical puzzle. Using a large sample of US firms over the 1992–2014 period, we investigate the effect that the gender of a chief executive officer has on earnings management using classification shifting. We find that the pre-Sarbanes–Oxley Act period was characterized by high levels of classification shifting by both female and male CEOs, but the magnitude of such practices is, surprisingly, significantly higher (...) in firms with female CEOs than in those with male CEOs. By contrast, our results suggest that following the passage of the punitive SOX Act, classification shifting by female CEOs declined significantly, whilst it remained pervasive in firms with male CEOs. This suggests that the observable differences in financial reporting behavior between male and female CEOs seem to be because female CEOs are more risk-averse, but not necessarily more ethically sensitive than their male counterparts are. The central tenets of our findings remain unchanged after several additional checks, including controlling for alternative earnings management techniques, corporate governance mechanisms, CEO and chief financial officer characteristics and propensity score-matching. (shrink)

Publication date: 25 October 2017 Source: Author: Iman Khaki, Hamid Erfanian Khanzadeh, Azam Babaki Rad This study aimed to investigate the relationship between talent management and the innovative behavior of employees based on the mediating role of organizational learning. This study is a descriptive study, according to the data collection and analysis methods and, it is a survey, according to the implementation. It was conducted during 2015 to 2016 in Mashhad, Iran. Participants were 147 staffs employed in the information (...) technology organization of Mashhad municipality. Data were collected using three valid and reliable questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19. According to the main hypothesis of the study, there is a significant relationship between talent management and the innovative behavior of employees, and organizational learning mediates the relationship between talent management and the innovative behavior of employees. Also, according to the minor hypothesis, there is a significant relationship between the components of talent management and innovative behavior and the components of organizational learning can mediate the relationship between talent management and innovative behavior. Organizational learning capability has a significant relationship with innovation and innovative behavior and the organizational learning is a way in which educational and training opportunities for employees can be linked to innovative goals. (shrink)

This volume looks at how accumulation in postcolonial capitalism blurs the boundaries of space, institutions, forms, financial regimes, labour processes, and economic segments on one hand, and creates zones and corridors on the other. It draws our attention to the peculiar but structurally necessary coexistence of both primitive and virtual modes of accumulation in the postcolony. From these two major inquiries it develops a new understanding of postcolonial capitalism. The case studies from India and Sri Lanka discuss the production of (...) urban spaces of capital extraction, institutionalization of postcolonial finance capital, gendering of work forms, establishment of new forms of labour, formation of and changes in caste and racial identities and networks, and securitization-and thereby confirm that no study of contemporary capitalism is complete without thoroughly addressing the postcolonial condition. By challenging the established dualities between citizenship-based civil society and welfare-based political society, exploring critically the question of colonial and postcolonial difference, and foregrounding the material processes of accumulation against the culturalism of postcolonial studies, this volume redefines postcolonial studies in South Asia and beyond. It is invaluable reading for students and scholars of South Asian studies, sociology, cultural and critical anthropology, critical and praxis studies, and political science. (shrink)

. Night driving is one of the major factors which affects traffic safety. Although detecting oncoming vehicles at night time is a challenging task, it may improve traffic safety. If the oncoming vehicle is recognised in good time, this will motivate drivers to keep their eyes on the road. The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to detect vehicles at night based on the employment of a single onboard camera. This system is based on detecting vehicle headlights (...) by recognising their shapes via an SVM classifier which was trained for this purpose. A pairing algorithm was designed to pair vehicle headlights to ensure that the two headlights belong to the same vehicle. A multi-object tracking algorithm was invoked to track the vehicle throughout the time the vehicle is in the scene. The system was trained with 503 single objects and tested using 144 587 single objects which were extracted from 1410 frames collected from 15 videos and 27 moving vehicles. It was found that the accuracy of recognition was 97.9% and the vehicle recognition rate was 96.3% which indicates clearly the high robustness attained by this system. (shrink)

Islamic banking is based on moral foundations that make it distinct from conventional banking. Some argue that because of its foundation in Islam, Islamic banking may represent a more morally appealing alternative. Yet, evidence shows that this is not the case. Indeed, the current practice of Islamic banking has not been able to achieve its goals which are based on Islam's moral values: to enhance justice, equitability, and social well-being. This essay examines the extent to which Islamic banking is ethical (...) and concludes that the practice of the industry does not seem to be de facto ethical from the Islamic perspective of ethical values. It only consists in trading the same instruments of conventional banks without genuinely enforcing Islam's ethical vision. The practice of Islamic banking misrepresents Islam and does not contribute to solving social problems. The interaction between maqasid al-shari᾽a and qiyās provides a supplementary tool for interpreting the failure of the prior in terms of the practical misuse of the latter by Islamic banks. This essay provides an interpretive approach to the current debate about why Islamic banking has failed and suggests ways to move cautiously in the future. (shrink)

Prior research suggests that the presence of high-quality auditors constrains accrual-based earnings management, but it inadvertently leads to higher real activities manipulation. We investigate whether such trade-off exists between accrual-based and real earnings management activities in the presence of female or male auditors. We use a sample of UK firms for the period 2009 to 2016 and find that firms audited by female auditors do not resort to a higher-level real activities manipulation when their ability to engage in accruals management (...) is constrained. Overall, our results suggest that the benefits of hiring female auditors are overwhelmingly higher than the costs they might bring to the client firms. (shrink)

تافوری (همانند فورتینی) تحقیق تاریخی را (که آوانگاردها هیچ وقت زیر بار این تحقیق تاریخی به‌عنوان پیش‌شرط پروژه‌هایشان نمی‌رفتند) ابزاری به‌غایت قدرتمند برای به پرسش‌کشیدن اثرات گسترش سرمایه‌داری بر عاملیت فکری می‌پنداشت. تاریخمندکردن ذهنیت‌های فکری بدان معنی است که حوزه‌ای که باید در آن مبارزه‌ی سیاسی کرد، خودِ حوزه‌ی کار فکری است. یعنی تأمل در ویژگی‌ها و کیفیات آن، در چگونگیِ تخصصی‌شدن کار فکری، و در اینکه چگونه در هر چرخه‌ی تولیدْ سرمایه‌داری وظیفه‌ی خاصی را برای نقش اجتماعی روشنفکران و (...) اندیشمندان تعریف می‌کند. به‌ زعم تافوری چنین کاوشی می‌تواند شکلی از فهم غیرایدئولوژیک از امکان‌های موجود برای عمل (روشنفکرانه) پیش از انجام آن به‌دست دهد. (shrink)

It is an important issue for economic and finance applications to determine whether individuals exhibit a behavioral bias toward pessimism in their beliefs, in a lottery or more generally in an investment opportunities framework. In this paper, we analyze the answers of a sample of 1,540 individuals to the following question “Imagine that a coin will be flipped 10 times. Each time, if heads, you win \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$10\texttt{C}\!\!\!\rule[2.3pt]{.4em}{.3pt}\!\!\rule[3.3pt]{.4em}{.3pt}$$\end{docum ent}. How many times do you (...) think that you will win?” The average answer is surprisingly about 3.9 which is below the average 5, and we interpret this as a pessimistic bias. We find that women are more “pessimistic” than men, as are old people relative to young. We also analyze how our notion of pessimism is related to more general notions of pessimism previously introduced in psychology. (shrink)

Phenomenal Conservatism is an approach to epistemological justification that, based on "appearances" and "seemings" and in line with the theory of common sense epistemology, attempt to set up an internal and non-inferential justification, at least for some kind of beliefs. According to this view, justification and non-justification have a direct relationship with the mental state of the agent. Based on this assumption that “Things are as they seem”, phenomenal conservatism offers its central idea that if, for an agent, something seems (...) to be true -and there is no defeater for that until doubting in - that agent thereby has at least some justification for believing that. In this article, we will interpret this new approach with an empathetic attitude and, in addition to explaining its main components, we will effort to answer the most important objections of phenomenal conservatism and show that this view is a significant approach to the justification and rationality of human beliefs. (shrink)

De la pensée de Bolzano, l’objectivisme sémantique est certainement l’aspect le plus largement commenté. Mais son œuvre maîtresse, la Wissenschaftslehre, comprend aussi bien la version la plus aboutie de cet objectivisme qu’une partie proprement épistémologique, la « Théorie de la Connaissance ». Si l’épistémologie bolzanienne repose sur la désubjectivation des éléments de la connaissance, la théorie de la perception présente dans cette Wissenschaftslehre prête au sujet connaissant un rôle actif dans l’élaboration du réel perceptif.

In this paper, we present a deterministic time discrete mathematical model based on multiregional periodic matrices to describe the dynamics of Sardina pilchardus in the Central Atlantic area of the Moroccan coast. This model deals with two stages (immature and mature) and three spatial zones where sardines are supposed to migrate from one zone to another. The population dynamics is described by an autonomous recurrence equation N ( t + 1) = A . N ( t ), where A is (...) a positive matrix whose entries are estimated using data collected during biannual acoustic surveys carried out from 2001 to 2003 onboard the Norwegian research vessel “Dr Fridtjof Nansen”. The dominant eigenvalue λ of A that gives the long-term growth rate of fish population is smaller than one. This agrees with the stock decrease observed in the data collected. We show that λ is highly sensitive to the recruitment rate and much less sensitive to the reproduction rate. These results can clearly be used to define an efficient scenario in order to fight for instance against a stock decrease. (shrink)

This article analyses existing biases – whether due to misinterpretation, culture or politics – in the application of women’s rights under Islamic Shari’a law. The paper argues that though in its inception, one purpose of Islamic law may have aimed at elevating the status of women in pre-Islamic Arabia, biases in interpreting such teachings have failed to free women from discrimination and have even added “divinity” to their persistent subjugation. By examining two case studies – Saudi Arabia and Egypt – (...) the article shows that interpretative biases that differ in application from one country to the other further subject women to the selective application of rights. Dictated by norms, culture and tradition rather than a unified Islamic law, the paper shows how culture and politics have contributed to such biases under the pre-text of Islamic dictate. As such, it proposes a re-examination of “personal status” laws across the region in light of international human rights norms. (shrink)

There are different meanings of the word “God” that have been used by philosophers throughout the history of philosophy, such as theism, pantheism, panentheism, deism, and etc. The subject of this paper is the concept of “God” in Plato’s philosophy. Considering Plato’s different treatises that have the most theological material, it can be said that he has not meant a single concept of this word. In The Republic, given the characteristics that have been attributed to God, like simplicity, transcendental, it (...) seems that his conception of God is close to theism. In Phaedo, since Plato does not give any role to the gods, it seems that we are encountered a Plato without God. In Timaeus, we encounter two candidates, Demiurge and the world’s soul. Some philosophers consider Demiurge as a myth and the world’s soul as Plato’s God. According to this view, Plato can be regarded as the source of inspiration for the Pannanteists. In contrast, some other believe that the world’s soul here is a myth and Demiurge is Plato’s God. This viewpoint is closer to ​​theism. In the Laws, since Plato mentions some attributes to God, such as three absolutes, the origin of moral obligation, and etc. His conception here is very close to theism. On the other hand, the “first self-moved Mover” presents a panentheistic conception of God. His various treatises also provide evidence in favor of the unknown God of the Negative Theology. Thus, there are various conceptions of God in Plato’s philosophy. (shrink)

Contrary to what has been stated in most accounts that Hume intends to make arguments against the existence of God, he aims to attack the claim that religious propositions can be argued; not completely reject these propositions. He considers these propositions epistemologically outside of human knowledge but ontologically accepts the existence of God. With such a view, we can dismiss atheistic-agnostic interpretations and relate him to a kind of mysticism. The key to deciding whether or not Hume is a mystic (...) is to determine what criteria we have to consider someone a mystic. Two very influential components here are (1)the belief in the existence of God; (2) the belief that the existence of God is far from our usual reasoning (antirational or irrational).And the second component is enough to call someone like Wittgenstein a fideist. We claim that there is clear evidence of these components in Hume’s works; therefore, what reason do we have to remove Hume from the circle of fideism and mysticism? In this study, after an introduction to the concept and types of fideism, we show that Hume, based on his works, surpasses skepticism and manifests a special kind of fideism.While there is an emphasis on the mystery of the proposition that God exists, he combines Christian faith, in aform that is inseparable from illogical and mysterious propositions such as the incarnation of God. Thus, Hume can be called a Christian mystic. (shrink)

Business performance is traditionally viewed from the one-dimensional financial angle. This paper develops a new approach that links performance to the ethical vision of Islam based on maqasid al-shari’ah . The approach involves a Pentagon-shaped performance scheme structure via five pillars, namely wealth, posterity, intellect, faith, and human self. Such a scheme ensures that any firm or organization can ethically contribute to the promotion of human welfare, prevent corruption, and enhance social and economic stability and not merely maximize its own (...) performance in terms of its financial return. A quantitative measure of ethical performance is developed. It surprisingly shows that a firm or organization following only the financial aspect at the expense of the others performs poorly. This paper discusses further the practical instances of the quantitative measurement of the ethical aspects of the system taken at an aggregate level. (shrink)

Despite the increasingly diversified discourses in international commercial arbitration, this device of socio-legal regulation remains a relatively under-theorized subject. In particular, far too little attention has been paid to analyzing international commercial arbitration through critical approaches such as Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). TWAIL is broadly understood as a methodological reorientation in international law by highlighting the historical links between the foundations of this field of law and the history of capitalism and imperialism as well as the colonial (...) and Eurocentric legacies in the structure and operation of the current international legal regime. With this in mind, two fronts in international commercial arbitration invite a reexamination through a TWAIL perspective and by drawing on the concept of hegemony. One front is the transnational account of arbitration, and the other one is the epistemic community of arbitration. By examining these two notions through a narrative of hegemony of Western legal traditions, we posit that any effective attempt at redefining or reforming arbitral governance structure towards sustaining diversity requires a deeper understanding of historical and current world power structures and creating a vision for the prospect of dehegemonization. (shrink)