Hospital administrators play an essential role in the implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Programs, which is instrumental in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. The foundation and sustenance of such programs has been made possible through leadership; this is through interdisciplinary collaboration that is done with policy formulation and stewardship inclusion into the institutional systems. Indeed, it is immense strength where ID physicians and clinical pharmacists with special training proactively involve themselves in the program. Beyond that, the accreditation standards that incorporate ASPs (...) really enhance compliance and institutional commitment. Obstacles to movement include an absence of resources, unwilling prescriber, and other competing health conditions for priority. To achieve such success, the hospital administrators must ensure adequate staffing, proper utilization of advanced technologies, and instillation of accountability through focused education and participation. Besides the reduction of resistance, ASPs contribute to such improvements in patient outcomes, efficient consumption of resources, and significant reductions in costs. As this narrative review indicates, leadership at the hospital level plays an important role in augmenting antibiotic stewardship. Addressing major barriers, along with strategic implementation, means that administrators may play an important role in further maximizing effectiveness while truly adding to the world-wide effort against antimicrobial resistance. (shrink)

The current study aimed at identifying the awareness level of artificial intelligence applications' risks among faculty members and its relation to the attitude towards digital culture at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University. The descriptive survey method was used. A questionnaire was designed to measure the awareness of the artificial intelligence applications' risks, and a scale for measuring the attitude towards digital culture. They were administered to a sample of [463] faculty members at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University. The study concluded (...) that there is an average awareness of the artificial intelligence applications' risks and the attitude towards digital culture among faculty members. A significant relationship was found out between awareness of the artificial intelligence applications' risks as a whole and the attitude towards digital culture. The results indicated that there are no differences in the awareness level of the artificial intelligence risks due to the variables of: gender, use duration of digital applications, and colleges. There are no differences in the variable of the attitude towards digital culture with its various dimensions: cognitive, psychomotor, and affective and its total score. The current study recommended designing a professional development plan for faculty members on the negative effects and risks of artificial intelligence, and launching an Arab platform based on artificial intelligence applications. (shrink)

This study presented the policy of functional integration of the product planning team as a strategy for the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Palestine. The study population consists of all the workers in companies operating in the field of medicine in Palestine, which are (5) companies producing in the West Bank only for pharmaceuticals used by these companies, which are (296) employees, and was used a simple random sample to choose the sample and size (87) employees of the study (...) population, and to achieve the objectives of the study (87) questionnaires were distributed. The descriptive analytical method was used, and SPSS was used to answer and discuss the study's questions. The results showed that there is a significant relationship between the effectiveness of the policy of product development and the competitiveness of pharmaceutical companies in Palestine (West Bank), where the policy of product development efficiency accounts for 56.6% of the total change in the competitiveness of companies. The product quality component was most influential at all levels of product development effectiveness policy, followed by product identification, product cost reduction, packaging and product deletion. The weakest areas of strategic direction in pharmaceutical companies in Palestine (West Bank) are 67%. The weakest aspects of job integration are: non-regular meetings of representatives of different positions to participate in any project related to product development, to achieve spatial convergence of members of the product planning policy team in offices, laboratories and workplaces. (shrink)

The curriculum design, faculty characteristics, and experience of implementing masters' level international research ethics training programs supported by the Fogarty International Center was investigated. Multiple pedagogical approaches were employed to adapt to the learning needs of the trainees. While no generally agreed set of core competencies exists for advanced research ethics training, more than 75% of the curricula examined included international issues in research ethics, responsible conduct of research, human rights, philosophical foundations of research ethics, and research regulation and ethical (...) review process. Common skills taught included critical thinking, research methodology and statistics, writing, and presentation proficiency. Curricula also addressed the cultural, social, and religious context of the trainees related to research ethics. Programs surveyed noted trainee interest in Western concepts of research ethics and the value of the transnational exchange of ideas. Similar faculty expertise profiles existed in all programs. Approximately 40% of faculty were female. Collaboration between faculty from low- and middleincome countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs) occurred in most programs and at least 50% of HIC faculty had previous LMIC experience. This paper is part of a collection of papers analyzing the Fogarty International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development program. (shrink)

ObjectivePeer victimization is a substantial early life stressor linked to psychiatric symptoms and poor academic performance. However, the sex-specific cognitive or behavioral outcomes of bullying have not been well-described in preadolescent children.MethodsUsing the baseline dataset of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study 2.0.1 data repository, we evaluated associations between parent-reported bullying victimization, suicidality, and non-suicidal self-injury, as well as internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems, cognition, and academic performance.ResultsOf the 11,015 9-10-year-old children included in the analyses, 15.3% experienced bullying victimization, as (...) reported by the primary caregiver. Of these, boys were more likely to be bullied than girls. Children who were bullied were more likely to display NSSI or passive suicidality and active suicidality. Bullied children also had lower cognitive scores, greater behavioral problems, and poorer grades. Across all participants, boys had poorer grades and greater behavioral problems than girls; however, bullied boys had greater behavioral problems than girls in several areas. Compared to their non-bullied peers, bullied children with greater non-suicidal self-injury or suicidality also had greater behavioral problems and poorer grades.ConclusionThese findings highlight the sex-specific effects of bullying, and the negative associations of bullying victimization with cognitive performance, behavioral problems, and academic performance. Future longitudinal studies will identify the natural history and neural correlates of these deficits during adolescence. (shrink)

A survey-based research study was conducted to analyze sustainability practices of large U.S. corporations in their domestic and international operations. Large U.S. corporations were slow to address global environmental challenges, but a majority of them now demonstrate a clear understanding of their responsibilities. Most large U.S. corporations are proactively involved in sustainability and environmentally friendly measures, and their involvement at home is more intense than abroad. Analyses revealed that U.S. corporations engage in eight activities related to sustainability: investing in energy-efficient (...) methods, generating electricity from solar power, generating electricity from wind power, using biofuels, trading carbon credits, supporting environmental organizations, generating electricity from biomass, and generating electricity from hydropower. Of these, only generating electricity from biomass and hydropower were not significantly different with respect to U.S. corporations’ foreign and domestic implementation. This paper represents the first attempt to determine whether and how U.S. corporations’ efforts to promote sustainability differ with respect to their operational locus. (shrink)

This paper extends and enriches the current research on CSR, CEO compensation contracts and characteristics of the board of directors by examining an underexplored question related to the potential impact of independent board members on the share of CSR criteria in executive compensation. It also considers a potential moderating effect of gender diversity in this relationship. Empirical analyses of a sample French firms listed on the SBF120 index between 2014 and 2021 show that independent directors have no impact on the (...) inclusion of CSR criteria in the annual bonus of senior executives. They also reveal that gender diversity can strengthen the role of independent directors in indexing executive compensation to CSR criteria. The findings can be useful for corporate boards and policymakers seeking to boost the adoption of CSR criteria in executive compensation contracts. They provide empirical support for the Zimmermann law (2011) and urge the policymakers to boost the appointment of female directors on boards. (shrink)

Background Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is a treatment modality that involves the introduction of stool from a healthy pre-screened donor into the gastrointestinal tract of a patient. It exerts its therapeutic effects by remodeling the gut microbiota and treating microbial dysbiosis-imbalance. FMT is not regulated in Jordan, and regulatory effort for FMT therapy in Jordan, an Islamic conservative country, might be faced with unique cultural, social, religious, and ethical challenges. We aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of ethical and (...) social issues of FMT use among Jordanian healthcare professionals. Methods An observational, cross-sectional study design was used to assess knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of ethical and social issues of FMT among 300 Jordanian healthcare professionals. Results A large proportion (39 %) thought that the safety and efficacy of this technique are limited and 29.3 % thought there is no evidence to support its use. Almost all (95 %) responded that they would only perform it in certain cases, if ethically justified, and 48.3 % would use it due to treatment failure of other approaches. When reporting about reasons for not using it, 40 % reported that they would not perform it due to concerns about medical litigation, fear of infections (38 %), and lack of knowledge of long safety and efficacy (31.3 %). Interestingly, all practitioners said they would perform this procedure through the lower rather than upper gastrointestinal tract modality and the majority will protect the patient’s confidentiality via double-blinding (43.3 %). For a subset of participants (n = 100), the cultural constraints that might affect the choice of performing FMT were mainly due to donor’s religion, followed by dietary intake, and alcohol consumption. Conclusions Our healthcare practitioners are generally reluctant to use the FMT modality due to religious and ethical reasons but would consider it if there was a failure of other treatment and after taking into consideration many legislative, social, ethical and practice-based challenges including safety, efficacy and absence of guidelines. (shrink)

To determine the knowledge and ethical perception regarding organ donation amongst medical students in Karachi- Pakistan.

Background: Breastfeeding is recognized as the optimal approach to provide essential nutrients and promote the health of infants. Aim: This study aims to assess the nurses’ knowledge in the obstetric unit regarding breastfeeding practices in KFGH. Methods: A descriptive research approach, utilizing a questionnaire to evaluate nurses’ knowledge of breastfeeding best practices was used in this study among nurses who are working at KFGH. Results: Of the total 64 nurses, and majority (39.5%) of them are aged from 26 to 30 (...) years. Most of them (98.4%) were female and 45.3% worked in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department, also, the majority (73.4%) held a Bachelor of Nursing degree. The results showed the attitude among nurses toward the breastfeeding management level was moderate with a mean score of 1.72 while the practice among nurses toward the breastfeeding management level was high with a mean score of 2.66, also, the knowledge among nurses toward the breastfeeding management level was high with mean score 2.36. The results showed there was a significant difference in the attitude level according to nationality (P-value = 0.007), but there was no significant difference according to the other demographic characteristics (age, marital status, department, education, experience, position, Course in obstetrics and Gynecology, and self-experience about breastfeeding). Conclusion: This study's findings gave insights into the current knowledge level of nurses in the obstetric unit regarding breastfeeding practices in KFGH and may contribute to the development of targeted interventions and educational programs to improve breastfeeding support and promotion in the hospital setting. (shrink)

Comparing the practice of nurse practitioners to medical practice began almost 50 years ago and continues to this day. This comparison is curious since the founders of this movement did not indicate that these advanced practice nurses were to be interchangeable with physicians. Nevertheless, substantial literature indicates that nurse practitioners perform equally or better when measured against physician practice standards. This paper compares the ontology and epistemology of both professions and concludes that the philosophical foundations are so different that comparisons (...) are illogical. (shrink)

Deaf-mute people have much potential to contribute to society. However, communication between deaf-mutes and non-deaf-mutes is a problem that isolates deaf-mutes from society and prevents them from interacting with others. In this study, an information technology intervention, intelligent gloves (IG), a prototype of a two-way communication glove, was developed to facilitate communication between deaf-mutes and non-deaf-mutes. IG consists of a pair of gloves, flex sensors, an Arduino nano, a screen with a built-in microphone, a speaker, and an SD card module. (...) To facilitate communication from the deaf-mutes to the non-deaf-mutes, the flex sensors sense the hand gestures and connected wires, and then transmit the hand movement signals to the Arduino nano where they are translated into words and sentences. The output is displayed on a small screen attached to the gloves, and it is also issued as voice from the speakers attached to the gloves. For communication from the non-deaf-mutes to the deaf-mute, the built-in microphone in the screen senses the voice, which is then transmitted to the Arduino nano to translate it to sentences and sign language, which are displayed on the screen using a 3D avatar. A unit testing of IG has shown that it performed as expected without errors. In addition, IG was tested on ten participants, and it has been shown to be both usable and accepted by the target users. (shrink)

Jainism is essentially a spiritual philosophy having a strong focus on the ultimate purification of the soul (ātmā). A human being usually when fails to understand things, when sorrows attack, etc., then he attributes to memorize the deva (celestial being) to seek help. Man can be guided both correctly and incorrectly by the deva and can establish a new system in a society that can be both in a positive form and a negative form. Thus, this involvement of deva in (...) human life brings change in his culture, behavior, spirituality, etc. There is a lot of misunderstanding about deva. In Jain literature, it is mentioned as the difference between Arhat (Supreme Divine) and deva (celestial being), which will help the man to move in the right direction. In various positive and negative ways, a human is affected by deva, in the past and the present. (shrink)

We study the effects of density dependent migrations on the stability of a predator-prey model in a patchy environment which is composed with two sites connected by migration. The two patches are different. On the first patch, preys can find resource but can be captured by predators. The second patch is a refuge for the prey and thus predators do not have access to this patch. We assume a repulsive effect of predator on prey on the resource patch. Therefore, when (...) the predator density is large on that patch, preys are more likely to leave it to return to the refuge. We consider two models. In the first model, preys leave the refuge to go to the resource patch at constant migration rates. In the second model, preys are assumed to be in competition for the resource and leave the refuge to the resource patch according to the prey density. We assume two different time scales, a fast time scale for migration and a slow time scale for population growth, mortality and predation. We take advantage of the two time scales to apply aggregation of variables methods and to obtain a reduced model governing the total prey and predator densities. In the case of the first model, we show that the repulsive effect of predator on prey has a stabilizing effect on the predator-prey community. In the case of the second model, we show that there exists a window for the prey proportion on the resource patch to ensure stability. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Gainsborough’s WitAmal Asfour and Paul WilliamsonBeginning with their earliest recipients, readers of Gainsborough’s letters have been struck by the vivacity with which he handles the language. William Jackson of Exeter, one of Gainsborough’s closest correspondents, compares his writing style with Sterne’s: “He detested reading; but was so like Sterne in his Letters, that, if it were not for an originality that could be copied from no one, it might (...) be supposed that he had formed his style upon a close imitation of that author.”1 The aptness of Jackson’s comparison should be understood in the broader context of his own summary of contemporary ideas about wit contained in his essay “On Wit.”2 Jackson writes after Locke’s theory of knowledge and Hume’s philosophy of sentiment had transformed an older understanding of wit as a primary creative power.3 Gainsborough’s letters show his affinity with aspects of eighteenth-century wit and reveal his awareness of the [End Page 479] long-running argument about wit and judgment. This is also evident in his paintings. There is an aspect of Gainsborough’s portraiture which may, in an eighteenth-century sense, be termed witty, and developments in Gainsborough’s portrait style register a shift that can be clarified with reference to the main development in ideas about wit that runs from Locke to Hume.Commentators from Addison to Jackson regarded Locke’s separation of wit and judgment and his deprecation of wit as the starting point for the eighteenth-century debate:Men who have a great deal of Wit, and prompt Memories, have not always the clearest Judgement, or deepest Reason. For Wit lying most in the assemblage of Ideas, and putting those together with quickness and variety, wherein can be found any resemblance or congruity, thereby to make up pleasant Pictures, and agreeable Visions in the Fancy: Judgement, on the contrary, lies quite on the other side, in separating carefully, one from the other, Ideas, wherein can be found the least difference, thereby to avoid being misled by Similitude, and by affinity to take one thing for another. This is a way of proceeding quite contrary to Metaphor and Allusion, wherein, for the most part, lies that entertainment and pleasantry of Wit, which strikes so lively on the Fancy, and therefore so acceptable to all People; because its Beauty appears at first sight, and there is required no labour of thought, to examine what Truth or Reason there is in it. The Mind without looking any farther, rests satisfied with the agreeableness of the Picture, and the gayety of the Fancy:4Wit creates pleasing conjunctions, while judgment consists in the careful discriminations that assist reason. According to Locke, wit is a mere ornamental adjunct to the more fundamental action of judgment. Locke’s definition is inimical to the arts in general and to literature in particular. In making wit responsible for figurative language, for example, Locke disparages poetry’s inability to approach the most important truths:we must allow, that all the Art of Rhetorick, besides Order and Clearness, all the artificial and figurative applications of Words Eloquence hath invented, are for nothing else but to insinuate wrong Ideas, move the Passions, and thereby mislead the Judgment; and so indeed are perfect cheat.5 [End Page 480]Citing Locke in The Spectator, Addison quietly expunges his disparagement of wit, rescuing its products from Locke’s stern disapproval by introducing the distinction between true and false wit: “true Wit consists in the Resemblance of Ideas, and false Wit in the Resemblance of Words.”6 True wit is true because it works with ideas; false wit, by contrast, plays with the mere forms in which ideas are clothed:Anagrams, Chronograms, Lipograms, and Acrosticks... Ecchos and Doggerel Rhymes... Punns and Quibbles... Nay some carry the Notion of Wit so far, as to ascribe it even to external Mimickry; and to look upon a Man as an ingenious Person, that can resemble the Tone, Posture, or Face of another.7Addison places special emphasis on the element of surprise. Wit lies in surprising juxtapositions: “every Resemblance of Ideas is not that which we call Wit, unless... (shrink)

The objective of this study is to outline the principal forces that have served as catalysts to the politicization of the Shi'ite community in Lebanon, and to uncover the causes of Hizbu'llah's emergence. Though the chief determinants of Shi'ite politicization have been the same social, economic, and political circumstances that have propelled Third World radical and populist movements to action, Hizbu'llah's emergence was not the inevitable byproduct of these conditions. Yet despite the fact that the elements spurring Shi'ite communal mobilization (...) are clearly distinct from those for Shi'ite religious activism, their study is necessary for tracing the roots of Hizbu'llah insofar as the of the community's mobilization along religious lines was anchored in the decades of political participation that preceded it. As such, Hizbu'llah's genesis can be attributed to a unique composite of both indirect factors (such as modernization and political marginalization) and direct ones (such as foreign intervention and external assistance).Social mobilization and economic development are two aspects of modernization that are conducive to political mobilization. In line with this premiss of social-movement theory, the political mobilization of the Lebanese Shi'ite community was in large part the product of the discrepancy in pace between the Western-inspired model of economic development pursued by the Lebanese state and the social mobilization it engendered. The ensuing radicalization of the Shi'ites was exacerbated by the low level of political institutionalization characterizing the Lebanese political system, with particular reference to the Maronites' hegemony over it.Though these catalysts were essential for the political awakening of the community, Hizbu'llah's birth was directly attributable to the Israeli invasion of 1982 and the Iranian revolutionary paradigm. Moreover, the movement's military capability and organizational development owed itself to the political, financial, and logistical support provided by Iran with Syria's approval. (shrink)

The research aims to identify the organizational excellence in Palestinian universities of Gaza Strip, from the perspective of senior management. The questionnaires were distributed the top senior management in the Palestinian universities, and the study population was (344) employees in senior management in Palestinian universities. A stratified random sample were selected from of employees in the Palestinian universities consist of (182) employees at return rate of (69.2%). SPSS program for analyzing and processing the data was used. The study reached the (...) following results: the senior management agrees largely on the importance of the axis of "Leadership Excellence" and "Excellence service sectors". The senior management agrees moderately about the importance of the axis of the “Knowledge excellence". The study showed that there is a weakness in the employment of scientific research to serve the community, there is weakness in the follow-up of the universities management for the performance of their graduates in the institutions in which they work. Senior management agrees on the importance of the "Organizational Excellence" moderately. The recommendations of study includes: the need to develop principles and fair criteria for the selection of the best candidates for the university and university leaders based on specialization, competence, experience, skills, integrity and not on the basis of favoritism. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between environmental, social, and governance controversies and firm market value. We use a unique dataset of more than 4000 firms from 58 countries during 2002–2011. Primary analysis surprisingly shows that ESG controversies are associated with greater firm value. However, when interacted with the corporate social performance score, ESG controversies are found to have no direct effect on firm value while the interaction appears to be highly and significantly positive. Building on (...) this evidence, we attempt to explore the channels through which CSP may enhance market value. Conducting sample split analysis indicates that higher CSP score has an impact on market value only for high-attention firms, those firms which are larger, perform better, located in countries with greater press freedom, more searched on the Internet, more followed by analysts, and have an improved corporate social reputation. Thus, our findings provide new insights on the role of firm visibility through which firms can profit from their CSP. (shrink)

The research aims to design a proposed model of learning organizations as an entry point to achieve organizational excellence in the Palestinian universities of Gaza Strip. A random sample of workers were selected from the Palestinian universities consist of (286) employees at recovery rate of (70.3%). The study concluded with a set of results the most important of which: there is a statistically significant relationship between the components of learning organizations and achieving organizational excellence in the Palestinian universities of Gaza (...) Strip from the standpoint of the faculty members. One of the main recommendations of the study: establish the concept of learning organization in leaders and staff of the university through the establishment of specialized courses, and workshops. Turning the status of the university into a learning organization as a strategic objective and the performance of managers are measurement accordingly. Organize visits of the leaders of the university a to the top organizations in this field and to take advantage of their experience and encourage deans and heads of departments to involve their employees in the information on global trends and trends in learning organization through regular meetings. (shrink)

Workplace incivility is experienced ubiquitously by immigrants. While a growing body of literature has sought to identify the causes and the outcomes of this phenomenon, what remains largely underexplored is the role of legal status in configuring how workplace incivility manifests in the immigrant experience. To advance the extant literature, in this article we investigate the question: How does legal status inform the ways in which immigrants exercise agency in response to workplace incivility? In addressing this question, we draw on (...) the methodological resources provided by duoethnography and develop vignettes to make visible the dynamics with workplace incivility that we have individually encountered in the academic organizations in which we have been located—based in the UK and Canada. In juxtaposing the vignettes against one another, we are offered a glimpse into how legal status shapes the forms and the depth of agency available to immigrants to respond to incidents of workplace incivility. In light of our findings, we problematize the nexus between an immigrant’s agency and workplace incivility as well as consider the implications this nexus has to ongoing debates in business ethics. (shrink)

With the increase in market competition and dynamic work environment, work overload seems to have become a common issue suffered by almost every employee. Overload usually results in not only poor health conditions but also mental circumstances. These problems then become a threat to the organizations in the form of poor performance and lack of ability to reach standards. Workplace spirituality is one way to deal with stressful overload conditions. This research deals with the study of moderating affects of workplace (...) spirituality on job overload and employee’s satisfaction relationship. Having large piles of work in given targeted time results in employees becoming stressed out from their work as well as their organization. The motive of their job becomes to achieve targets and diminish the creativity within the employees. Workplace spirituality basic dimensions mentioned in this research help one achieve these targets and help employees cope with the symptoms caused by work overload. The research includes three variables, workplace spirituality, job overload, and job satisfaction. The samples of 76 respondents were asked to fill the questionnaire on all the three variables. The final results show interestingly different results then, as conceptualized according to theory. Workplace spirituality also showed to have quite an impact on job satisfaction. (shrink)

RésuméTard dans sa vie intellectuelle, Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī a adopté une position dualiste sur la nature de l’âme, niant que l’âme est en tout sens un corps matériel. Ce point de vue, qui, de manière générale, concorde avec celui d’Avicenne, oppose al-Rāzī à la position matérialiste des théologiens. Pour clarifier sa position, dans son dernier ouvrage, Al-maṭālib, al-Rāzī expose un argument approfondi en faveur du matérialisme des théologiens, avant de critiquer cette position. Cet article offre une reconstruction des arguments d’al-Rāzī (...) en faveur du matérialisme des théologiens, offrant une perception des arguments dans la philosophie de l’esprit pendant le Moyen Âge islamique. (shrink)

Business and society scholarship routinely treats geographic and social categories as neutral analytical descriptors. We argue that these terms are inheritances of colonial cartography and racial hierarchy whose unreflective circulation in our journals, citation practices, and editorial processes actively reproduces the inequalities the field examines. Drawing on Mignolo’s epistemic disobedience, Spivak’s epistemic violence, and Butler’s performative naming, we demonstrate that the problem is grammatical, not lexical: substituting one term for another leaves the colonial architecture intact. We propose collective epistemic responsibility (...) as a practice of delinking and offer four reorientation practices (citation justice audits, defamiliarization of Western cases, reviewer accountability prompts, and convening practices) to help the field interrogate the colonial grammars structuring its shared work. (shrink)

Contemporary Islamic management scholars have agreed that values are embedded in quality management. Their agreement is grounded on the famous prophetic tradition encouraging diligence in work, uttered more than 1400 years ago, which has been narrated authentically. However, little studies have specifically indicated its application in quality management activities. As quality management is initiated in the West, little attention has been given to Islamic perspective of the discipline. However, as the Japanese had successfully implemented quality management in their cultural value (...) perspective, many parties come to acknowledge the significance of values. In the literature, various Islamic values have been linked to quality management practice. While studies analyzing and categorizing them is limited, several values are redundant or being termed differently, though they are similar in crux. This article compiles the values and categorizes them depending on similar bases of Quranic verses or Prophetic traditions. The categorization proposes a set of Islamic values related to quality management practice, based on a simple frequency analysis matrix. Finally, this article concludes with prospects for future research. (shrink)

This work explores provision-level retrieval and neural reranking for UK primary and secondary legislation. We introduce UK-StatuteCorpus, a corpus of recent UK Acts and statutory instruments from legislation.gov.uk, together with a 100-query evaluation set of practitioner-style questions whose graded relevance judgements distinguish legally operative, supporting and contextual provisions. Using BM25 and an MPNet-based dense retriever to build candidate sets, we evaluate ten neural rerankers, including transformer cross-encoders, a late-interaction reranker, an LLM-based listwise reranker and proprietary APIs. Across both sparse and (...) dense pools, neural reranking consistently improves normalized Discounted Cumulative Gain (nDCG) and Mean Reciprocal Rank (MRR) over first-stage retrieval. We further distil a proprietary Voyage reranker into a ModernBERT-based cross-encoder, Distilled-Voyage-ModernBERT, which approaches the teacher’s effectiveness and outperforms other open rerankers on our benchmark. Results are based on 100 expert-validated queries, each linked to three graded provisions from a single UK instrument, so they characterise single-instrument, provision-level retrieval over recent UK legislation. (shrink)

​Imagination will remain a mystery—we will not be able to explain imagination—until we can break it into parts we already understand. Explaining Imagination is a guidebook for doing just that, where the parts are other ordinary mental states like beliefs, desires, judgments, and decisions. In different combinations and contexts, these states constitute cases of imagining. This reductive approach to imagination is at direct odds with the current orthodoxy, according to which imagination is a sui generis mental state or process—one with (...) its own inscrutable principles of operation. Explaining Imagination upends that view, showing how, on closer inspection, the imaginings at work in hypothetical reasoning, pretense, the enjoyment of fiction, and creativity are reducible to other familiar mental states—judgments, beliefs, desires, and decisions among them. Crisscrossing contemporary philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and aesthetics, Explaining Imagination argues that a clearer understanding of imagination is already well within reach. (shrink)

As genomic research becomes commonplace across the world, there is an increased need to coordinate practices among researchers, especially with regard to data sharing. One such way is an international code of conduct. In September 2020, an expert panel consisting of representatives from various fields convened to discuss a draft proposal formed via a synthesis of existing professional codes and other recommendations. This article presents an overview and analysis of the main issues related to international genomic research that were discussed (...) by the expert panel, and the results of the discussion and follow up responses by the experts. As a result, the article presents as an annex a proposal for an international code of conduct for data sharing in genomics that is meant to establish best practices. (shrink)

This study presents a quantitative re-analysis that evaluates eldercare ethics during the COVID-19 pandemic by comparing the ubuntu-inflected communal care framework, grounded in interdependence, compassion and mutual responsibility, with conventional biomedical infection-control protocols. The article contends that an ubuntu-based eldercare framework not only preserves dignity and strengthens community bonds in crises, but produces significantly greater well-being than approaches centred solely on clinical detachment. A critical examination of extant studies on eldercare and loneliness among seniors across different sociocultural contexts, such as (...) Austria and South Africa, highlights how standard infection-control measures, when implemented without communal safeguards, exacerbate elders’ social isolation and emotional distress. The analysis reveals that current eldercare systems have yet to integrate protective practices such as communal rituals, shared decision-making and intergenerational reciprocity. The article thus proposes a transformative eldercare framework grounded in ubuntu and elder humanism that embeds community “care webs” and “care ethics” to advance equity, participatory governance resilience and compassion in crisis response and everyday practice. (shrink)

Enck and Condley’s “Agent-Regret in Healthcare” (Enck and Condley 2025) explores an essential yet often overlooked emotional response faced by those in the healthcare system and highlights the impo...

The point of this paper is to reveal a dogma in the ordinary conception of sensory imagination, and to suggest another way forward. The dogma springs from two main sources: a too close comparison of mental imagery to perceptual experience, and a too strong division between mental imagery and the traditional propositional attitudes (such as belief and desire). The result is an unworkable conception of the correctness conditions of sensory imaginings—one lacking any link between the conditions under which an imagining (...) aids human action and inference and the conditions under which it is veridical. The proposed solution is, first, to posit a variety of imaginative attitudes—akin to the traditional propositional attitudes—which have different associated correctness (or satisfaction) conditions. The second part of the solution is to allow for imaginings with “hybrid” contents, in the sense that both mental images and representations with language-like constituent structure contribute to the content of imaginings. (shrink)

The current study aimed to identify the level of empowerment and examine its importance in the work environment in order to achieve quality and effective performance according to certain personal and organizational variables. We used the descriptive method appropriate to the nature of the research, and our study included 145 workers at the National Railway Transport Company (SNTF), selected randomly. After processing the data using version 22 of the SPSS statistical program, the results of the analysis were as follows: -Employees (...) of the institution under study have a high level of empowerment at work. -Empowerment significantly contributes to improving quality at work. -There are no statistically significant differences in quality attributed to the variable of seniority. The subject of empowerment is one of the modern issues addressed in the field of social sciences, as it attaches great importance to human resources and maintaining their sustainability in a sound condition, enabling them to adapt to the fluctuating developments of the environment and thus achieve continuity and survival. The term empowerment was not a coincidence, but rather a result of the great transformations and developments the world has witnessed- and continues to witness- in all fields, which has driven institutions to seek new ways. (shrink)

BackgroundPreconception Expanded Carrier Screening (ECS) is a genetic test offered to a general population or to couples who have no known risk of recessive and X-linked genetic diseases and are interested in becoming parents. A test may screen for carrier status of several autosomal recessive diseases at one go. Such a program has been piloted in the Netherlands and may become a reality in more European countries in the future. The ethical rationale for such tests is that they enhance reproductive (...) autonomy. The dominant conception of autonomy is individual-based. However, at the clinic, people deciding on preconception ECS will be counselledtogetherand are expected to make a joint decision, asa couple. The aim of the present study was to develop an understanding of autonomous decisions made by couples in the context of reproductive technologies in general and of preconception ECS in particular. Further, to shed light on what occurs in reproductive clinics and suggest concrete implications for healthcare professionals.Main textBased on the shift in emphasis from individual autonomy to relational autonomy, a notion ofcouple autonomywas suggested and some features of this concept were outlined. First, that both partners are individually autonomous and that the decision is reached through a communicative process. In this process each partner should feel free to express his or her concerns and preferences, so no one partner dominates the discussion. Further, there should be adequate time for the couple to negotiate possible differences and conclude that the decision is right for them. The final decision should be reached through consensus of both partners without coercion, manipulation or miscommunication. Through concrete examples, the suggested notion of couple autonomy was applied to diverse clinical situations.ConclusionsA notion of couple autonomy can be fruitful for healthcare professionals by structuring their attention to and support of a couple who is required to make an autonomous joint decision concerning preconception ECS. A normative implication for healthcare staff is to allow the necessary time for decision-making and to promote a dialogue that can increase the power of the weaker part in a relationship. (shrink)

Very few researchers have reported on procedures of recruiting, obtaining informed consent, and compensating participants in health research in the Arabian Gulf Region. Empirical research can inform the debate about whether to adjust these procedures for culturally diverse settings. Our objective was to delineate procedures related to recruiting, obtaining informed consent, and compensating health research participants in the extremely high-density multicultural setting of Qatar.

In Indonesia, scholars differ on how to deal with religious fundamentalism and intolerance. On the one hand, there are supporters of a militant approach, but on the other hand, there are those who prefer a moderate one. This article aims to analyze Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama/NU and its responses towards the puritanical Wahhabi ideology. The organization is renowned for its contest against fundamentalist Muslim groups in post-New Order Indonesia. Focusing on the local branch of NU in Jember, East (...) Java, this article argues that NU adopts an intolerant approach in dealing with Wahhabi groups and their Islamic da'wah activism. NU’s approach is double-barreled first still within its moderation framework, the second falling out. NU rejects Wahhabi's religious orthodoxy, anti-pluralist, and discriminatory attitude towards different faiths who are lumped together as “infidels.” Yet, its attitude towards Wahhabi right to establish Islamic educational institutions represents authoritarianism. This article analyzes the impact of the local NU’s dualism of weakening intolerance on the one hand and undermining pluralism on the other hand. (shrink)

The study titled "Visual Pollution of the Tigris Riverbanks in Baghdad City" consists of two main sections: the first section is dedicated to the theoretical framework, while the second section covers the practical aspect (field study). Specific areas of Baghdad were selected for this study due to the widespread presence of solid waste along the riverbanks. The importance of the study lies in the fact that visual pollution is one of the dangerous types of pollution that affects both human health (...) and the environment. The study concluded that visual pollution along the Tigris River banks results from the impact of human activities spread linearly along the river, and the lack of environmental awareness among residents has negatively affected the river environment through the disposal of household and construction waste and the discharge of untreated wastewater from sewage treatment plants. The research recommends the importance of strict monitoring of human activities near the river, imposing financial penalties on violators of environmental standards, and working on rehabilitating and developing the riverbanks to make them attractive environments for residents, turning them into tourist and recreational areas that serve the city. (shrink)

Martin and Deutscher’s causal theory of remembering holds that a memory trace serves as a necessary causal link between any genuine episode of remembering and the event it enables one to recall. In recent years, the causal theory has come under fire from researchers across philosophy and cognitive science, who argue that results from the scientific study of memory are incompatible with the kinds of memory traces that Martin and Deutscher hold essential to remembering. Of special note, these critics observe, (...) is that a single memory trace can be shaped by multiple past experiences. This appears to prevent traces from underwriting Martin and Deutscher’s distinction between remembering an event and merely forming an accurate representation of it. This paper accepts such criticisms of the standard causal theory and, through considering the phenomenon forgetting through repetition, raises several others. A substantially revised causal theory is then developed, compatible with the thesis that individual memory traces are shaped by multiple past experiences. The key strategy is to conceive of episodic remembering not as the simple retrieval and projection of a static memory trace, but as a complex quasi-inferential process that makes use of multiple forms of information and cues—“prop-like” memory traces included—in generating the experience known as episodic remembering. When remembering is understood as a multi-componential process, there are a variety of ways in which a representation of the past may be appropriately causally dependent upon a prior experience of the event remembered. (shrink)

The chapter sets out to understand the central role that the notion of “trigger” has come to occupy in the discourse of trauma in the twenty-first century, especially in social rather than medical contexts. The term “trigger” designates a sensory reminiscence of the traumatic event that has the potential to revive the event in the survivor’s memory and thus activate a set of symptoms. In the twenty-first century “trigger warnings” have become prevalent in progressive political subcultures, digital spaces, the arts, (...) and the higher education system, giving rise to what might be called “trigger culture.” The chapter locates the centrality of triggers as a new phase in the history of trauma, indicating the popularization of trauma as a central lens in contemporary culture. The origins of the notion of “trigger” are traced back to the coining of PTSD in the DSM-III (1980) when trauma came to be conceptualized through the traumatic event rather than by the pre-dispositioned mental vulnerability of individuals. We then examine the notion of “cultural trauma,” which created the conditions for trauma to become a major ingredient of group identity, and point to the contribution of feminist psychology to an understanding of trauma as far more pervasive and mundane than traditionally regarded. The chapter goes on to look at the work performed by trigger warnings in the context of contemporary identity politics. Finally, it contemplates the shift in the temporality of trauma introduced by trigger warnings, as the harm of exposure to “triggers” has become indistinguishable from the harm of the traumatic event itself. (shrink)