Political scientists have conventionally assumed that achieving democracy is a one-way ratchet. Only very recently has the question of ‘democratic backsliding’ attracted any research attention. We argue that democratic instability is best understood with tools from complexity science. The explanatory power of complexity science arises from several features of complex systems. Their relevance in the context of democracy is discussed. Several policy recommen- dations are offered to help stabilize current systems of representative democracy.

The act of exchanging one thing for another seems to involve a promise. The confidence needed to relinquish something one has on the understanding that one will receive what another has in exchange can be expressed in terms of resolve. In binding oneself, one thinks that if the other binds himself or herself to perform a given action, then he or she will do that action. In cases in which one person's action does not precede the other's, one's promise involves (...) thinking that if the other binds himself or herself, then he or she will carry out the promised action. (shrink)

This new edition of Introduction to Lattices and Order presents a radical reorganization and updating, though its primary aim is unchanged. The explosive development of theoretical computer science in recent years has, in particular, influenced the book's evolution: a fresh treatment of fixpoints testifies to this and Galois connections now feature prominently. An early presentation of concept analysis gives both a concrete foundation for the subsequent theory of complete lattices and a glimpse of a methodology for data analysis that is (...) of commercial value in social science. Classroom experience has led to numerous pedagogical improvements and many new exercises have been added. As before, exposure to elementary abstract algebra and the notation of set theory are the only prerequisites, making the book suitable for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students. It will also be a valuable resource for anyone who meets ordered structures. (shrink)

al-Juzʼ al-awwal. Ishkālīyat al-māhīyah wa-al-ḥaqīqah wa-al-wāqiʻ fī ruʼyā al-ʻālam al-falsafīyah wa-al-Qurʼānīyah --.

Ashraf H. A. Rushdy examines gratitude as a philosophical concept. In the first half of the book, he outlines its history and significance in western philosophical history, specifically in classical antiquity, the early modern era, and the Enlightenment. The second half of the book is focused on contemporary meanings of gratitude, as a sentiment, action, and disposition: how we feel grateful, act grateful, and cultivate grateful being. Rushdy argues that gratitude is a virtue that we practice in moral recognition of (...) our dependency and connectedness with our families, friends, communities, environments, and universe. (shrink)

Objective To determine the attitudes of Egyptian patients regarding their participation in research and with the collection, storage and future use of blood samples for research purposes. Design Cross-sectional survey. Study population Adult Egyptian patients (n=600) at rural and urban hospitals and clinics. Results Less than half of the study population (44.3%) felt that informed consent forms should provide research participants the option to have their blood samples stored for future research. Of these participants, 39.9% thought that consent forms should (...) include the option that future research be restricted to the illness being studied. A slight majority (66.2%) would donate their samples for future genetic research. Respondents were more favourable towards having their blood samples exported to other Arab countries (62.0%) compared with countries in Europe (41.8%, p<0.001) and to the USA (37.2%, p<0.001). Conclusions This study shows that many individuals do not favour the donation of a blood sample for future research. Of those who do approve of such future research, many favour a consent model that includes an option restricting the future research to the illness being studied. Also, many Egyptians were hesitant to have their blood samples donated for genetic research or exported out of the Arab region to the USA and European countries. Further qualitative research should be performed to determine the underlying reasons for many of our results. (shrink)

The relevance of the research is manifested in the fact that organizational culture is an important and penetrating everywhere concept with regards to influence on organizational change programmes. Literature analysis shows that there is ambiguity in the assessment of organizational culture. A certain outcome of a cultural variable may have not the same effect on all organizational processes associated with management activity.. According to Melnick, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the processes of management and management culture changes (...) hapenning in the modern world, it is appropriate to evaluate contemporary management practices that reflect the effects of historically composed life modes and stereotypes that manifest themselves in management activities. The research aim: to discuss the factors and stages forming organizational culture development. Analysis of recent research and publications. Organizational culture is analyzed in various contexts. Organizational culture models and their components have been defined by Schein, Ostroff et al., et al., the significance of organizational culture is analyzed ; McLoughlin and Miura ; Di Pietro and Di Virgilio et al. The issues of forming/changing organizational culture remain of topical significance. Researches on this topic were carried out and the summarized results were submitted in their scientific papers by Bititci et al ; Gibbons and Kaplan, Mungiu-Pupăzan ; Hogan et al et al. In the study Hogan et al a key result is how layers of organizational culture, particularly norms, artifacts, and innovative behaviors, partially mediate the effects of values that support innovation on measures of firm performance. The objectives of the research: to define the organizational culture components and importance for the results of organizational performance; to identify the main factors of business culture that influence the results of the performance; to discuss the stages of implementation of the organizational culture development management plan. Research methodology. To achieve the goal, scientific literature analysis and synthesis methods are used. (shrink)

This article deals with the question of how ethicists respond to practical moral problems emerging in health care practices. Do they remain distanced, taking on the role of an expert, or do they become engaged with nurses and other participants in practice and jointly develop contextualized insights about good care? A basic assumption of dialogical ethics entails that the definition of good care and what it means to be a good nurse is a collaborative product of ongoing dialogues among various (...) stakeholders engaged in the practice. This article discusses the value of a dialogical approach to ethics by drawing on the work of various nursing scholars. We present a case example concerning the quality of freedom restrictions for intellectually disabled people. Issues for discussion include the role and required competences of the ethicist and dealing with asymmetrical relationships between stakeholders. (shrink)

For the first time in print, well-known spiritual teacher A.H. Almaas presents the highest level and most profound teachings of the Diamond Approach on the true nature of reality and the path to enlightenment. For more than thirty years, A.H. Almaas has been developing and teaching the Diamond Approach, a spiritual path of self-realization and maturity based on an original synthesis of modern discoveries in the field of psychology and a new paradigm about spiritual nature. If we can say the (...) Diamond Approach has a goal it is to realize the truth at progressively deeper levels until one reaches the ultimate Truth, the Absolute, and to become integrated into that truth so that we are a living presence and embodiment of that truth. The teachings of this path have been unfolding over time, and Runaway Realization presents--for the first time in print--the highest level of teachings in the Diamond Approach in the most profound work by Almaas so far. In this book, Almaas offers a detailed look at the true nature of reality and the nature of enlightenment. He also talks about practice--what it is and what it isn't, and how practice relates to the process of realization. He looks at what it is to be a human being and what our role is in the totality of the universe. The material includes a discussion of the nature of space and time, as well as a view of more and more subtle levels of realization. (shrink)

This book addresses the problem of how to make democratically-legitimate public policy on issues of contentious bioethical debate. It focuses on ethical contests about research and their legitimate resolution, while addressing questions of political legitimacy. How should states make public policy on issues where there is ethical disagreement, not only about appropriate outcomes, but even what values are at stake? What constitutes justified, democratic policy in such conflicted domains? Case studies from Canada and Australia demonstrate that two countries sharing historical (...) and institutional characteristics can reach different policy responses. This book is of interest to policymakers, bioethicists, and philosophers, and will deepen our understanding of the interactions between large-scale socio-political forces and detailed policy problems in bioethics. (shrink)

The nature of tragedy has always been felt to be a problem, not only by the philosopher, but also, and perhaps even more, by the ordinary man. The question so often asked is: why, if there is so much suffering already in the world, do we want to go to a theatre or read a story describing more suffering? Why indeed should the spectacle of suffering ever be pleasing to us? Yet it is obvious that olarge numbers of ordinary people (...) do like reading or seeing tragedies; and that there are some tragedies which are generally judged to be the most valuable works of literary art ever produced. What then is the nature of the value which we extract from these works? That is the question to which I would like to address myself. (shrink)

In Jordan, research ethics committees exist in most health settings. However, little is known about Jordanian public views regarding the ethics of clinical research. This study aimed to evaluate Jordanian public understanding and attitudes about ethics in clinical research. A questionnaire was used to collect information that included demographics, public knowledge, and attitudes towards ethics in clinical research. It was administered via face-to-face interviews in two major cities in Jordan from 1st June to 15th August 2017. Of the 2315 respondents, (...) 2.33% were found to have poor knowledge, 22.16% had fair knowledge, and 75.51% had good knowledge of ethics in clinical research. Furthermore, 75.81% of respondents had positive attitudes towards ethics in research. However, only 45.23% reported that they trust clinical researchers in Jordan. Even though a large majority of respondents were aware of key features of research ethics, efforts are needed to address negative perceptions and knowledge deficits. (shrink)

In several experiments of survival analysis, the cause of death or failure of any subject may be characterized by more than one cause. Since the cause of failure may be dependent or independent, in this work, we discuss the competing risk lifetime model under progressive type-II censored where the removal follows a binomial distribution. We consider the Akshaya lifetime failure model under independent causes and the number of subjects removed at every failure time when the removal follows the binomial distribution (...) with known parameters. The classical and Bayesian approaches are used to account for the point and interval estimation procedures for parameters and parametric functions. The Bayes estimate is obtained by using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method under symmetric and asymmetric loss functions. We apply the Metropolis–Hasting algorithm to generate MCMC samples from the posterior density function. A simulated data set is applied to diagnose the performance of the two techniques applied here. The data represented the survival times of mice kept in a conventional germ-free environment, all of which were exposed to a fixed dose of radiation at the age of 5 to 6 weeks, which was used as a practice for the model discussed. There are 3 causes of death. In group 1, we considered thymic lymphoma to be the first cause and other causes to be the second. On the base of mice data, the survival mean time of mice of the second cause is higher than the first cause. (shrink)

Asheim, O. Om handlingsformidling.--Hellesnes, J. Hending, handling og aktør.--Apel, K.-O. Vår tids konflikter og muligheten for en etiskpolitisk grunnorientering.--Böhler, D. Å kunne handle, å kunne forstå, å kunne tale.--Nordenstam, T. Vetenskaplig kompetens.--Måseide, A. Perspektivitet, intensjonalitet, refleksjon.--Øfsti, A. Moral og erscheinungswelt hos Kant.--Haga, Å. Transcendentalfilosofi og refleksiv argumentasjon.--Skirbekk, G. Folkelege tankar om sikt og oversikt.--Johannessen, K. S. Mening, kontekst, praksis og transcendentalitet.--Kalleberg, R. Fra kritikk av positivismen til kritikk av kapitalismens politiske økonomi.--Slagstad, R. Struktur-funksjonalisme og historisk materialisme.--Wyller, E. A. Politisk oppløsning (...) og forfall ifølge Platon.--Høibraaten, H. Romantisk eller teknologisk refleksjon. (shrink)

Originally published in 1933, in partnership with the Institute of Actuaries Students' Society, this book was written to provide actuarial students with an introduction to the operations of friendly societies. The text is highly accessible, avoiding references to external sources in favour of a more interconnected account of the subject. A concise bibliography is also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of friendly societies.