We show in this paper that the AGM postulates are too weak to ensure the rational preservation of conditional beliefs during belief revision, thus permitting improper responses to sequences of observations. We remedy this weakness by proposing four additional postulates, which are sound relative to a qualitative version of probabilistic conditioning. Contrary to the AGM framework, the proposed postulates characterize belief revision as a process which may depend on elements of an epistemic state that are not necessarily captured by a (...) belief set. We also show that a simple modification to the AGM framework can allow belief revision to be a function of epistemic states. We establish a model-based representation theorem which characterizes the proposed postulates and constrains, in turn, the way in which entrenchment orderings may be transformed under iterated belief revision. (shrink)

Recent work has shown that the input-output behavior of some common machine learning classifiers can be captured in symbolic form, allowing one to reason about the behavior of these classifiers using symbolic techniques. This includes explaining decisions, measuring robustness, and proving formal properties of machine learning classifiers by reasoning about the corresponding symbolic classifiers. In this work, we present a theory for unveiling the _reasons_ behind the decisions made by Boolean classifiers and study some of its theoretical and practical implications. (...) At the core of our theory is the notion of a _complete reason,_ which can be viewed as a necessary and sufficient condition for why a decision was made. We show how the complete reason can be used for computing notions such as sufficient reasons (also known as PI-explanations and abductive explanations), how it can be used for determining decision and classifier bias and how it can be used for evaluating counterfactual statements such as “a decision will stick even if...because....” We present a linear-time algorithm for computing the complete reasoning behind a decision, assuming the classifier is represented by a Boolean circuit of appropriate form. We then show how the computed complete reason can be used to answer many queries about a decision in linear or polynomial time. We finally conclude with a case study that illustrates the various notions and techniques we introduced. (shrink)

Refusing consent to organ donation remains unacceptably high, and improving consent rates from family or next-of-kin is an important step to procuring more organs for solid organ transplantation in countries where this approval is sought. We have thus far failed to translate fully our limited understanding of why families refuse permission into successful strategies targeting consent in the setting of deceased organ donation, primarily because our interventions fail to target underlying cognitive obstacles. Novel interventions to overcome these hurdles, incorporating an (...) understanding of cognitive psychology and behavioral change therapy, may be beneficial. One potential intervention is to use the concept of nudge theory, where decision-making is influenced by encouraging positive reinforcement and indirect suggestion. Purposefully nudging families to given consent for organ donation by understanding, and then overcoming, their inherent cognitive biases is novel but also controversial. This article explores the roles of relatives in decisions about organ donation, how nudge theory translates to organ donation and discusses the arguments for and against its application. (shrink)

This article draws attention to the limited amount of scholarship on what constitutes fairness and equity in resource allocation to health research by individual funders. It identifies three key decisions of ethical significance about resource allocation that research funders make regularly and calls for prioritizing scholarship on those topics – namely, how health resources should be fairly apportioned amongst public health and health care delivery versus health research, how health research resources should be fairly allocated between health problems experienced domestically (...) versus other health problems typically experienced by disadvantaged populations outside the funder's country, and how domestic and non-domestic health research funding should be further apportioned to different areas, e.g. types of research and recipients. These three topics should be priorities for bioethics research because their outcomes have a substantial bearing on the achievement of health justice. The proposed agenda aims to move discussion on the ethics of health research funding beyond its current focus on the mismatch between worldwide basic and clinical research investment and the global burden of disease. Individual funders’ decision-making on whether and to what extent to allocate resources to non-domestic health research, health systems research, research on the social determinants of health, capacity development, and recipients in certain countries should also be the focus of ethical scrutiny. (shrink)

While heredity is predominantly controlled by what deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences are passed from parents to their offspring, a small but growing number of traits have been shown to be regulated in part by the non‐genetic inheritance of information. Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance is defined as heritable information passed from parents to their offspring without changing the DNA sequence. Work of the past seven decades has transitioned what was previously viewed as rare phenomenology, into well‐established paradigms by which numerous traits can (...) be modulated. For the most part, studies in model organisms have correlated transgenerational epigenetic inheritance phenotypes with changes in epigenetic modifications. The next steps for this field will entail transitioning from correlative studies to causal ones. Here, we delineate the major molecules that have been implicated in transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in both mammalian and non‐mammalian models, speculate on additional molecules that could be involved, and highlight some of the tools which might help transition this field from correlation to causation. (shrink)

We address in this paper the problem of counting the models of a propositional theory under incremental changes to its literals. Specifcally, we show that if a propositional theory Δ is in a special form that we call smooth, deterministic, decomposable negation normal form, then for any consistent set of literals S, we can simultaneously count the models of Δ ∪ S and the models of every theory Δ ∪ T where T results from adding, removing or flipping a literal (...) in S. We present two results relating to the time and space complexity of compiling propositional theories into sd-DNNF. First, we show that if a conjunctive normal form has a bounded treewidth, then it can be compiled into an sd-DNNF in time and space which are linear in its size. Second, we show that sd-DNNF is a strictly more space efficient representation than Free Binary Decision Diagrams. Finally, we discuss some applications of the counting results to truth maintenance systems, belief revision, and model-based diagnosis. (shrink)

Given that health systems research involves different aims, approaches, and methodologies as compared to more traditional clinical trials, the ethical issues present in HSR may be unique or particularly nuanced. This article outlines eight pertinent ethical issues that are particularly salient in HSR and argues that the ethical review process should be better tailored to ensure more efficient and appropriate oversight of HSR with adequate human protections, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The eight ethical areas we discuss include the (...) nature of intervention, types of research subjects, units of intervention and observation, informed consent, controls and comparisons, risk assessment, inclusion of vulnerable groups, and benefits of research. HSR involving human participants is necessary to ensure health systems strengthening and quality of care and to guide public policy intelligently. Health systems researchers must carefully define their intent and goals and openly clarify the values that may influence the premises and design of protocols. As new types of population-level research activities become more commonplace, it is critical that institutional review board and research ethics committee review processes evolve to evaluate these research protocols in ways that address the nuanced features of these studies. (shrink)

This book introduces readers to the legal epistemology that is advocated within Twelver Shi'ite usul al-fiqh (legal theory). It critically surveys the epistemological underpinnings upheld by post-19th century Uṣūlīclerics that impel them to mainly deduce and interpret Sharia using scripture and literalist hermeneutical methods. An evaluation of these underpinnings uncovers the important juxtaposition that exists between the seminarian discourses of usul al-fiqh and philosophy. The book hypothesises that usul al-fiqh has both space and historical precedence to accept alternative epistemological theories (...) that may enable orthodox Shi'ite clerics to display greater dynamism in deducing and interpreting Sharia. (shrink)

Given that health systems research involves different aims, approaches, and methodologies as compared to more traditional clinical trials, the ethical issues present in HSR may be unique or particularly nuanced. This article outlines eight pertinent ethical issues that are particularly salient in HSR and argues that the ethical review process should be better tailored to ensure more efficient and appropriate oversight of HSR with adequate human protections, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The eight ethical areas we discuss include the (...) nature of intervention, types of research subjects, units of intervention and observation, informed consent, controls and comparisons, risk assessment, inclusion of vulnerable groups, and benefits of research. HSR involving human participants is necessary to ensure health systems strengthening and quality of care and to guide public policy intelligently. Health systems researchers must carefully define their intent and goals and openly clarify the values that may influence the premises and design of protocols. As new types of population-level research activities become more commonplace, it is critical that institutional review board and research ethics committee review processes evolve to evaluate these research protocols in ways that address the nuanced features of these studies. (shrink)

History in this age needs to record and analyze the events in the light of modern concept of contemporary world. When the historians narrate the brutal condition of Indo-Pak history, they never forget the work and services of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi to transform the society according to the current values. For his services, he is hailed as Mujaddid Alf-I-Thani. The Muslim society had degenerated when Mujaddid Alf-I-Thani appeared on the horizon. A number of Hindu customs and practices had become the (...) part of their creed. The commandments of Shariat and Sunnah were being floated. Moreover, the Mughal emperor Akbar had adopted controversial policies detrimental to the very existence of Muslim society. Mujaddid Alf -Thani made strenuous and constant efforts to turn the tide. When Mujadded-Alf-Thani started his social reform movement, he found that the Muslim society was embracing un-Islamic practices such as widespread belief in Karamat had developed under the influence of Hindu thinking. Moreover, the Islamic teachings had been vitiated by adopting customs and practices of other religions such as inter marriages between Hindus and Muslims and ban on cow slaughter etc. Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi never entered into any political conflict directly. He endeavored to restore pure doctrine to Islamic thought and to compel the Muslims to follow Shariat and Sunnah in letter and spirit. He was a social reformer, great Alim, Sufi and Mujaddid. He initiated a process of social change, inspired by Islamic Ideal, in an age, which was becoming secular. This research paper is an attempt to mention the role of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi for saving the society from un-Islamic values and customs in the sub-continent and its impact on society. By utilizing the historical method, this paper aims at analyzing the effect of social reforms of Shaykh Ahmed Sirhindi on Muslim society. (shrink)

BackgroundThe research shows a growing trend in using an electronic platform to supplement or replace traditional paper-based informed consent processes. Instead of the traditionally written informed consent document, electronic informed consent may be used to assess the research subject’s comprehension of the information presented. By doing so, respect for persons as one of the research ethical principles can be upheld. Furthermore, these electronic methods may reduce potential airborne infection exposures, particularly during the pandemic, thereby adhering to the beneficence and nonmaleficence (...) principle. This scoping review aims to identify the ethics related criteria that have been included in electronic informed consent processes and to synthesize and map these criteria to research ethics principles, in order to identify the gaps, if any, in current electronic informed consent processes.MethodsThe search was performed based on internet search and three main databases: PubMed, SCOPUS and EBSCO. PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews : Checklist and Explanation guideline was used to report this work.ResultsOf 34 studies that met the inclusion criteria, 242 essential original constructs were collated, and 7 concepts were derived. Digital content showed the highest percentage of collated original constructs followed by accessibility, comprehension engagement, autonomy, confidentiality, language, and parental consent. Twenty-five new items were synthesized for eConsent criteria which may provide guidance for ethical review of research involving eConsent.ConclusionThe current study adds significant value to the corpus of knowledge in research ethics by providing ethical criteria on electronic informed consent based on evidence-based data. The new synthesized items in the criteria can be readily used as an initial guide by the IRB/rec members during a review process on electronic informed consent and useful to the future preparation of a checklist. (shrink)

There has been a lot of discussion and debate on the issue of Islamization of Contemporary Knowledge among Muslim intellectuals. Two Muslim thinkers, namely al-Attas and al-Fārūqī were foremost in the attempt to conceptualise the problem of the Muslim Ummah and the issue of Islamization of knowledge as an epistemological and socio-political solution. This article aims to examine, compare and analyse the ideas of both scholars with respect to the various interpretations of the concept of Islamization of knowledge their definition (...) of the concept, their philosophical framework, and their methodology for achieving the goals of Islamization. It aims at understanding the similarities and differences and the strengths and weaknesses of their conceptions, philosophical framework and methodology. This paper also explores the possibility of reconciliation between their ideas in the hope of further advancing the cause of Islamization of knowledge. (shrink)

ABSTRACT In recent years there has been intense debate regarding the level of medical care provided to ‘standard care’ control groups in clinical trials in developing countries, particularly when the research sponsors come from wealthier countries. The debate revolves around the issue of how to define a standard of medical care in a country in which many people are not receiving the best methods of medical care available in other settings. In this paper, we argue that additional dimensions of the (...) standard of care have been hitherto neglected, namely, the structure and efficiency of the national health system. The health system affects locally available medical care in two important ways: first, the system may be structured to provide different levels of care at different sites with referral mechanisms to direct patients to the appropriate level of care. Second, inefficiencies in this system may influence what care is available in a particular locale. As a result of these two factors locally available care cannot be equated with a national ‘standard’. A reasonable approach is to define the national standard of care as the level of care that ought to be delivered under conditions of appropriate and efficient referral in a national system. This standard is the minimum level of care that ought to be provided to a control group. There may be additional moral arguments for higher levels of care in some circumstances. This health system analysis may be helpful to researchers and ethics committees in designing and reviewing research involving standard care control groups in developing country research. (shrink)

Despite the fact that in order to become a liveable space for humankind the world owes many things to the scientific point of view, to fill that space with meaning so that it can be our home, is only possible due to the aesthetic relation which man establishes with life. The meaning which is required so that man could make sense of this space can only be brought into this world through the fictional strength of language. Existence which in itself (...) alone is meaningless, indifferent and neutral can only become a stage where humanity dares to appear, thanks to the attributes that it gains through the act of making sense. By overlooking that point the theoretical approach which is symbolized by the Enlightenment destroys according to Nietzsche the basics of the relation between man and life. Today the scientific and technological Perspective which have become the forces of our culture and civilization have already withdrawn themselves from the question of the meaning of life to the point of ignoring its importance. On the other side, due to its natural mechanism, the advantage which the artistic approach possesses comes from the capacity to transform the reality through fiction. Hence, art is maybe one of the most important accomplishments which contributes to the creation of meaning so that man won't perish against this essential indifference of existence. (shrink)

To optimize the weak robustness of traditional face recognition algorithms, the classification accuracy rate is not high, the operation speed is slower, so a face recognition algorithm based on local binary pattern and stacked autoencoder is proposed. The advantage of LBP texture structure feature of the face image as the initial feature of sparse autoencoder learning, use the unified mode LBP operator to extract the histogram of the blocked face image, connect to form the LBP features of the entire image. (...) It is used as input of the stacked AE, feature extraction is done, realize the recognition and classification of face images. Experimental results show that the recognition rate of the algorithm LBP-SAE on the Yale database has achieved 99.05%, and it further shows that the algorithm has a higher recognition rate than the classic face recognition algorithm; it has strong robustness to light changes. Experimental results on the Olivetti Research Laboratory library shows that the developed method is more robust to light changes and has better recognition effects compared to traditional face recognition algorithms and standard stack AEs. (shrink)

Several protective cellular mechanisms protect against the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the concomitant oxidative stress. Therefore, any reduction in glucose or fatty acid flux into cells leading to a decrease in the production of reducing equivalents would also lead to a decreased ROS production and protect cells against oxidative stress. In the presence of insulin, FOXO proteins are localized from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and degraded. An increase in cellular glucose uptake will lead to increased production (...) of ROS. This in turn activates the stress‐responsive Jun‐N‐terminal kinase (JNK), which promotes nuclear translocation of FOXO proteins, upregulating some important target genes including stress resistance. Consequently, insulin resistance should result in decreased cellular ROS production. For this reason, insulin resistance could be a physiological mechanism activated at the cellular level in response to conditions stimulating ROS production and leading to the prevention of oxidative stress, and extension of life. Concerning the whole organism, however, IR is a maladaptive process in the long term causing a diabetic state. BioEssays 29:811–818, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Özgür istemeyi bir illüzyona dönüştüren deterministik öğelere sahip olan bir ideoloji içerisinde insan varoluşunun anlamsız ve saçma bir nitelik arz edeceğini düşünen Dostoyevski, Yeraltından Notlar’da kurguladığı yeraltı adamı karakteri aracılığıyla, doğa yasalarını temel alan ve Çernişevski gibi materyalist düşünürler tarafından savunulan toplumsal mühendislik fikrinin hiçbir şekilde uygulamaya konulmayacağını göstermek ister. Bunu gerçekleştirmek için dolaylı bir yol izleyen ve yeraltı adamı aracılığıyla determinist bir ideolojinin penceresinden dünyaya bakan bir karakter yaratan Dostoyevski, bu karakterin bakışından hareketle tüm insani edimlerin zorunlu bir nedensellik (...) tarafından belirlendiğini idrak eden bilincin verdiği irrasyonel, çelişkili ve bir anlamda saçma tepkileri gün yüzüne çıkarır. Karşıt olduğu öğretinin perspektifinden bir anlatı ortaya koyan Dostoyevski böylece materyalist bir determinizm ileri süren ideolojiyi adeta içeriden çürütmeye çalışır. Bu makalenin amacı Dostoyevski’nin Yeraltından Notlar’ını takip ederek, istemelerini, arzularını ve seçimlerini özgürce hayata geçiremeyeceğinin bilincine varan yeraltı adamının düştüğü çelişkili varoluşu irdelemek ve böylece determinist öğretilerin kabul edilmesi güç olan pratik sonuçlarını anlaşılır kılmaktır. (shrink)

This research drew on the authors’ long experience in the implementation of the “_Hikmah_ Pedagogy” which is based on the Philosophy for Children’s teaching method. Specifically, the study examined the influence of the pedagogy on the participants’ perceptions of and feelings about their thinking and reasoning skills. The sample comprised 188 Malaysian and international students from an international secondary school in Malaysia. This consisted of students in four Grade levels, ranging from Grades 7 to 10. An instrument named “_Hikmah_ Feedback (...) Survey - HFS” was employed for data collection. The findings were supportive of the positive influence of the pedagogy on students’ abilities to think and reason better after experiencing the programme. Furthermore, the participants demonstrated a considerable improvement in their cognitive and social-communicative skills, as evidenced in the scores obtained for the post-programme’s test. This affirms the fact that the _ḥikmah_ pedagogy is highly recommended in Malaysia’s march towards its Vision 2020 developmental goals. Implications of the study were discussed and suggestions were proposed to educators and stakeholders in secondary school education. (shrink)

This paper discusses the pragmatic world view and philosophy of education. It argues that it is possible to integrate certain elements of pragmatic education which are actually Islam’s pragmatism into Muslim education as a tool for the development of the Muslim community. The Islamic world view would not object topragmatic aims of education for understanding and helping the child to think, for preparation for life in society, and education as a scientific and experimental enterprise. It argues that these pragmatic aims (...) which are urgently needed in Muslim education today, are coherent with the Islamic world view but has beenneglected. Hence, they should be revived and integrated to complement the traditional aims of Islamic education and to enhance the development of the Muslims for the present century. (shrink)

After almost fifty years of operation, government through a number of announcements declared that FELDA (Federal Land Development) schemes need to be revitalized so that it could play its role more effectively as a vehicle that would accelerate the country’s economic growth. Having raised this point, the major aim of this study is to examine the major socio-economic issues and the current socio-economic status of FELDA settlers.Information was gathered through face-to-face interview with the Mata Air FELDA settlers and the Rimba (...) Mas FELDA settlers in Perlis. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and percentages were employed to describe the socio-economic problems and issues studied. The findings of the study indicate the implication of the ageing phenomenon of the FELDA settlers in Perlis to some extent affect the settlers’ ability to work effectively on their plantation. It is also found that the second generation issue has become the most significant factor contributing to the productivity and income increment of the FELDA settlers in Perlis as compared to other selected socio-economic variables. The result also suggested that, the ageing phenomenon, second generation issue and entrepreneurship problem must be seriously taken into consideration in order to accelerate the FELDA’s growth specifically and the country’s growth generally. (shrink)

Ways of Being Free: Introduction -- War Is Everything's Father: History and Death as Causes of Existential Angst -- Introduction: Causes of Existential Angst -- Change and Changelessness in Midnight's Children -- The Road of Existential Struggle in The Famished Road -- History and the "Nervous Condition" in The English Patient -- Death as a Drive to Meaningful Existence in Midnight's Children -- Becoming Dead-to-the-World in The English Patient -- Ideological Re-appropriation through Death in The Famished Road -- Authenticity -- (...) Authenticity: Introduction -- From Self-Sufficiency to Inoperative Community in The English Patient -- Revolution Revisited in The Famished Road -- From Communalism to the Comic Absurd in Midnight's Children. (shrink)

Over the years, there are various research on cultural development seen from socio-historical perspective. The uniqueness of Islam in Malay region as it is diverse and open to outside influences is important to be look at; as it differs greatly from "the Islam" that have been practiced in the Middle East. Based on the discussions, the ulemas or Muslim clerics of this region and the Malays themselves have already practiced the supra-madhhab model as proposed by many contemporary scholars. Using Shia (...) influences in the Malay culture, this paper attempt to show how sectarianism within Islam was never entertained by the Muslims in this region. In fact, Shi'ism was so embedded in Malay culture. Although being dominated by Sunnism, most of the Shia doctrines and pillars were widely accepted and embraced. The axiology of Shi'ism in Malay culture reflected in many religious texts, classical literature and cultural events. However, as sectarianism rising in this region, the Shia influence and its axiology slowly eroded and were victimized by unnecessary foreign interventions. (shrink)

The philosophy of religion and theology are related to the culture in which they have developed. These disciplines provide a source of values and vision to the cultures of which they are part, while at the same time they are delimited and defined by their cultures. This book compares the ideas of two contemporary philosophers, John Hick and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, on the issues of religion, religions, the concept of the ultimate reality, and the notion of sacred knowledge. On a (...) broader level, it compares two world-views: the one formed by Western Christian culture, which is religious in intention but secular in essence; the other Islamic, formed through the assimilation of traditional wisdom, which is turned against the norms of secular culture and is thus religious both in intention and essence. (shrink)

203 surveys were considered complete and were included in the analysis. Written consent was not used by nearly 40% of the researchers.

There is a growing demand for information and computational technology for surgeons help with surgical planning as well as prosthetics design. The two-dimensional images are registered to the three-dimensional (3D) model for high efficiency. To reconstruct the 3D model of knee joint including bone structure and main soft tissue structure, the evaluation and analysis of sports injury and rehabilitation treatment are detailed in this study. Mimics 10.0 was used to reconstruct the bone structure, ligament, and meniscus according to the pulse (...) diffusion-weighted imaging sequence (PDWI) and stir sequences of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Excluding congenital malformations and diseases of the skeletal muscle system, MRI scanning was performed on bilateral knee joints. Proton weighted sequence (PDWI sequence) and stir pulse sequence were selected for MRI. The models were imported into Geomagic Studio 11 software for refinement and modification, and 3D registration of bone structure and main soft tissue structure was performed to construct a digital model of knee joint bone structure and accessory cartilage and ligament structure. The 3D knee joint model including bone, meniscus, and collateral ligament was established. Reconstruction and image registration based on mimics and Geomagic Studio can build a 3D model of knee joint with satisfactory morphology, which can meet the requirements of teaching, motion simulation, and biomechanical analysis. (shrink)

Purpose Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, this study aims to explore the factors influencing educators’ acceptance and utilization of chat generative pretrained transformer (ChatGPT) in the context of higher educational institutions. This study additionally examines the moderating influence of trust on the association between intention and adoption of ChatGPT. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was disseminated to 1,214 educators following the purposive sampling method. The hypothesized relationships between the extended UTAUT model constructs and (...) ChatGPT adoption were examined using structural equation modeling. Findings The results of this study indicate positive impact of ChatGPT adoption and its use behavior (UB) among educators. Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, facilitating conditions and habit have a positive impact on behavior intention to use this tool among educators in higher education institutions, However, the educators intend to use ChatGPT in a personal capacity and are negatively influenced by the social groups. Moreover, behavior intention to adopt ChatGPT has a larger effect on the UB due to the higher involvement of trust. Practical implications This research adds to the literature on technology adoption by emphasizing the significance of trust in the adoption of emerging technologies, such as big language models. This study’s findings have implications for ChatGPT technology developers, legislators and academics considering the implementation of ChatGPT for teaching and research. Originality/value This research investigates ChatGPT adoption among higher education educators using the UTAUT model. It emphasizes the role of trust in adoption, highlights key adoption factors and reveals a paradox: educators are personally inclined to use ChatGPT but hesitant due to negative social influence. This study's novelty lies in its focus on trust and its implications for developers, legislators and educators, offering valuable insights for integrating ChatGPT in education. (shrink)

The early period Ismaili jurist Al-Qādî al-Nu'mān appears as an important figure in the formation of Ismaili jurisprudence. There is very little information about Kadı Nu'mân's family, childhood, education and intellectual environment. His full name is Abû Hanîfah Nu'man b. Muhammad b. Mansûr al-Qādî at-Tamîmî Al Qayrawānî. He was born around 290/903 (late 3rd (9th) century) into an educated family in Qayravan in North Africa. There are different opinions about the sect he belonged to when he was growing up. On (...) the other hand, it is difficult to say for certain whether Nu’mān received education in the Ismaili sect due to the understanding of taqiyya in the madhhab. However, it is understood from the basic jurisprudence texts Nu’mān wrote that he most likely did not receive a Sunni education. Historians refer to him as 'Qadi Nu’mān or Abu Hanifah al-Shi'i' in order not to confuse him with the imam of the Hanafi school. Qādî Nu’mān served at different levels of the Fatimid State. Around 313/925, he entered the service of the first Fatimid caliph, Mahdi (r. 909-934 CE/297-322 AH), as a copyist and secretary. During the reigns of the third caliph Mansur and the fourth Fatimid caliph Mu’izz (d. 365/975), Qādî Nu’mān first served as a judge in Tripoli and then in Mansouriya, the Fatimid capital. After the Fatimids conquered Egypt and the center of government was moved to Cairo, Qādî Nu’mān was appointed by the fourth caliph Mu’izz as the head of the appellate courts (maẓālim). Qadi Numans career was at the peak in the period of Caliph Muiz. Qādî Nu’mān worked as a judge in the Fatimid State for about twenty-six years and continued this duty until his death in 363 (973). After the fall of the Fatimid caliphate, there haven’t been any other Fatimid or Ismaili jurists. Qādî Nu’mān is considered by contemporary Ismaili writers as a figure who systematically transformed Ismaili fiqh into an independent sect of fiqh. It can be said that Ismaili fiqh was developed through his works in the Fatimid period. His works continued as the main references in the fiqh studies and after the Fatimid period. With the death of Qādî Nu’mān, the period of ijtihad in Ismaili fiqh and its the establishment phase of Ismaili fiqh came to an end; The sect, in which esoteric interpretations were at the forefront, emerged as a distinctive school of fiqh by discarding ambiguity. Qādî Nu’mān was a very productive writer. He wrote important works related to the field of furu al-fiqh and usûl al-fiqh. Among his works, Ikhtilāf uṣūl al-madhāhib is undoubtedly one of the most important works in the early history of fiqh methodology. The work in question, which was originally written with the aim of rejecting the Sunni fiqh method, discusses the approaches of the Sunni schools of fiqh on ikhtilāf, taqlid, ijma, nazar, qiyas, istihsan, ijtihad and ra’y in a polemical manner. It reveals the differences of the Ismaili method from the Sunni method in terms of the sources on which the fiqh is based, the authority to make ijtihad and the theory of interpretation of the texts. Qādî Nu’mān examined the relationship between reason and revelation in general and the role of religious authority in comprehending and interpreting the texts while criticizing Sunni methods. Ikhtilāf uṣūl al-madhāhib has the characteristics of the works of development period as a form. It is possible to observe the question-answer and dialectic form which can be seen in the works of the development period throughout the work in question. Qādî Nu’mān endeavoured to persuade his opponents with a dialectical and argumentative style. Again, he replied to the Sunnis, who were his interlocutors, with their own proofs. In addition to these, Ikhtilāf uṣūl al-madhāhib has a unique feature in the matter of content. Because it is not very familiar to any Sunni handbook of usûl al-fiqh. It does not mention the hâss, âmm, ijma, qiyas, amir, nahy, alfaz bets, etc. The text is very similar to the Ahbari movement of the Jafari sect for it rejects all forms of ijtihad. It was written at a time when fiqh was not yet stable. Ikhtilāf uṣūl al-madhāhib gives us crucial information about the development of different usûl and fiqh sources in the middle of the fourth century. However, what is interesting here is that the information he gives about Ismaili method and fiqh is very little compared to the one about Sunni method and fiqh. Much of it centered on Sunni thought and its rejection. However, his ultimate goal was to defend the Ismaili doctrine. (shrink)

With developed country governments and high resource institutions engaging in research in low- and middle-income countries, we argue that these entities have a moral obligation to help build and strengthen research infrastructure and capacity so local scientists and institutions can adequately conduct studies to understand and resolve the health burdens in low and middle income countries. We explore the moral justifications and motivations behind engaging in research capacity strengthening in the health sector in LMIC at multiple levels. In highlighting these (...) issues, this paper aims to initiate a global discourse around why capacity development in LMIC has a moral basis at the individual, institutional and system levels. (shrink)