The canonical view of a 3‐domain (3D) tree of life was recently challenged by the discovery of Asgardarchaeota encoding eukaryote signature proteins (ESPs), which were treated as missing links of a 2‐domain (2D) tree. Here we revisit the debate. We discuss methodological limitations of building trees with alignment‐dependent approaches, which often fail to satisfactorily address the problem of ‘‘gaps.’’ In addition, most phylogenies are reconstructed unrooted, neglecting the power of direct rooting methods. Alignment‐free methodologies lift most difficulties but require employing (...) realistic evolutionary models. We argue that the discoveries of Asgards and ESPs, by themselves, do not rule out the 3D tree, which is strongly supported by comparative and evolutionary genomic analyses and vast genomic and biochemical superkingdom distinctions. Given uncertainties of retrodiction and interpretation difficulties, we conclude that the 3D view has not been falsified but instead has been strengthened by genomic analyses. In turn, the objections to the 2D model have not been lifted. The debate remains open. Also see the video abstract here:https://youtu.be/-6TBN0bubI8. (shrink)

Fuzzy sets and fuzzy logics are used to model events with imprecise, incomplete, and uncertain information. Researchers have developed numerous methods and techniques to cope with fuzziness or uncertainty. This research intends to introduce the novel concepts of complex neutrosophic relations and its types based on the idea of complex neutrosophic sets. In addition, these concepts are supported by suitable examples. A CNR discusses the quality of a relationship using the degree of membership, the degree of abstinence, and the degree (...) of nonmembership. Each of these degrees is a complex number from the unit circle in a complex plane. The real part of complex-valued degrees represents the amplitude term, while the imaginary part represents the phase term. This property empowers CNRs to model multidimensional variables. Moreover, some interesting properties and useful results have also been proved. Furthermore, the practicality of the proposed concepts is verified by an application, which discusses the use of the proposed concepts in statistical decision-making. Additionally, a comparative analysis between the novel concepts of CNRs and the existing methods is carried out. (shrink)

BackgroundThis study aimed to determine what, how, and under what circumstances individual-focused interventions improve well-being and decrease burnout for critical care healthcare professionals.MethodThis realist approach, expert opinion interview, was guided by the Realist And Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards II guidelines. Semi-structured interviews with critical care experts were conducted to ascertain current and nuanced information on a set of pre-defined individual interventions summarized from a previous umbrella review. The data were appraised, and relationships between context, mechanisms, and outcomes were extracted, (...) which created theory prepositions that refined the initial program theory.ResultsA total of 21 critical care experts were individually interviewed. By understanding the complex interplay between organizational and personal factors that influenced intervention uptake, it was possible to decipher the most likely implementable intervention for critical care healthcare professionals. The expert recommendation suggested that interventions should be evidence-based, accessible, inclusive, and collaborative, and promote knowledge and skill development. Unique mechanisms were also required to achieve the positive effects of the intervention due to the presence of contextual factors within critical care settings. Mechanisms identified in this study included the facilitation of self-awareness, self-regulation, autonomy, collaboration, acceptance, and inclusion.ConclusionThis validation of a theoretical understanding of intervention that addressed well-being and burnout in critical care healthcare professionals by expert opinion demonstrated essential mechanisms and contextual factors to consider when designing and implementing interventions. Future research would benefit by piloting individual interventions and integrating these new theoretical findings to understand better their effectiveness for future translation into the “real-world” setting. (shrink)

"LiteraCity is a literary and cultural mapping project of Kuala Lumpur. This book contains essays, interviews and photo essays that shed light of contemporary perspectives and discussions that go beyond existing discourse in regards to urban literature specifically in Kuala Lumpur"--.

This project investigates the ethical frameworks in place for Pakistani television news journalists reporting cases of domestic violence. It also examines the provision and structure of training for Pakistani media professionals to support accurate and balanced reporting of such violence. The research comprised in-depth semi-structured interviews with a small group of television journalists. The findings reveal that there was no formalized code of ethics guiding how journalists represent incidents of this crime, its victims, or perpetrators. Moreover, it was revealed that (...) due to a paucity of formal professional development opportunities, journalists negotiate the challenges of reporting domestic violence on-the-job, resulting in instances of irresponsible reporting practices. (shrink)

This article examines ḥikma as it was practiced by Ṣadr al-Dīn Shīrāzī, or Mullā Ṣadrā (d. 1640), in explaining the connection between the divine names and the attributes of God. This is done via a translation of the fourth part of his al-Maẓāhir al-ilāhiyya fī asrār al-ʿulūm al-kamāliyya [The loci of divine manifestations in the secrets of the knowledge of perfection]. Ḥikma, philosophy, as it is defined here, is the combination of rational demonstrations and spiritual unveiling. Shīrāzī’s philosophy is a (...) synthesis of Ibn ʿArabī’s school of metaphysical unveiling, the Ishrāqī school led by Suhrawardī, and the rational school of the Peripatetics. The text is translated here for the first time, and includes annotations. (shrink)

This inquiry examines the question how the category of ‘religion’ generates a complex form of power oriented to the government of subjects. It does this through a critical reading of the right to freedom of religion, offered from the perspective of governmentality. It is argued that the right to freedom of religion enables the rational goals of government to relate to religiosity in such a manner that those subject to them are made at once freer and more governable ‘in this (...) world’. (shrink)

In this paper, I offer an expansionist view of the Frickerian central case of testimonial injustice, citing examples from the South Asian context. To defend this expansionist position, I provide an argument in three parts. First, I argue that credibility deficit and credibility excess are entangled with each other in such a way that often, one produces the other. Secondly, I contend that we should not say that systematic testimonial injustice is a consequence of credibility deficit only because of the (...) entanglement between them. I also contend that for being the central case of testimonial injustice, identity prejudice should not be necessarily negative; it can be positive as well. Propounding a twofold condition of the status of a knower, the last part claims that testimonial injustice occurs when one of the two conditions remains unmet. (shrink)

This study examines whether mortality of two adjacent siblings in families is age-specific and is modified by the MCH78, 198590 in the treatment (MCH–FP) and comparison areas. Logistic regression was used to estimate the net effects of survival status of elder siblings on mortality of younger siblings in the neonatal, postneonatal and toddler periods, controlling for birth order, previous birth interval, maternal age, education and religion, household possession of valuable items and sex of the child.

This paper aims to offer a new perspective on understanding human perfection through Ibn Sīnā’s philosophical framework which is seen as being able to correct the mistakes of western philosophers. It is known that Sigmund Freud and Thomas Hobbes understood human existence physically. As a result, the soul which is seen as the substance of human existence is seen as materialistic which can be measured materially to achieve perfection in reality. The implication is that human perfection is also seen as (...) partially. Partial perfection does not explain the value, dignity and happiness of humans universally, so the views of Sigmund Freud and Thomas Hobbes do not lead humans to holistic perfection, as human nature wants absolutes. In order to overcome the paradigm of Sigmund Freud and Thomas Hobbes, this paper explores human perfection according to Ibn Sīnā’s philosophy of the soul through one of his magnumopuses, entitled Mabda wa al-Ma’ad. By using a descriptive-philosophical method, the conclusion is that Ibn Sīnā examines the existence of the soul through a transcendental approach. According to Ibn Sīnā, the existence of the soul cannot be perceived through the senses. Conversely, the existence of the soul can be known through human awareness of correct knowledge, called ma’rifatal-Ḥaq to systematize various human behavior, called ma’rifat al-khair. Human understanding of ma’rifat al-Ḥaq and ma’rifat al-khair will guide him towards holistic perfection, both paradigmatically and behaviorally. (shrink)

This paper is a literature review of Al-Farābi's thoughts on the urgency of the value of moderation in the discourse of sustainable development in Indonesia which is studied through his magnumopus entitled "Madīnah Al-Fāḍilah". By using a descriptive-analytical approach, it is concluded that the value of moderation is the main basis for understanding the role and existence of individuals to actualize a variety of sustainable development through the implementation of the 4 pillars of moderation in Al-Farābi's view, namely unity, deliberation, (...) mutual cooperation, and character. The four pillars of moderation in Al-Farābi's view seek to build the closeness of each individual in social life, in order to discuss solving various problems that hinder the factors of sustainable development. The implementation of the 4 pillars of moderation in Al-Farābi's view can be realized through the existence of a leader as an existence that influences the paradigm and behavior of people in a region. That is, leaders are here to unite people of various groups to realize their role and position in order to optimize the value of moderation as the basis for sustainable development in reality. The final result of this paper is to understand the application of Al-Farābi's value of moderation in welcoming sustainable development in Indonesia. (shrink)

Today the issue of ethics and most importantly moral values are being seen as merely based upon opinions and emotions. This has led towards a relativisation of moral values and thus towards the erosion of values amongst societies. This paper would analyze and suggest ways of preserving values for the structuring of developmental ideas for thinkers in developing countries. Coming from an Islamic standpoint the ideas of virtues have to be rooted within the transcendent or the Absolute. Such defense of (...) virtues are definitely beyond the grasp of usual western philosophy as the philosophy that is propagated by Islam is not a mere intellectual exercise but a transformative exercise which connects the profane to the sacred, the outer to the inner and the physical world to the spiritual world. The loci or the focus point is the human being thus developing the idea of being human via the inculcation of and preservation of virtues is of utmost importance. The virtues most important in Islam such as justice, moderation or temperance have been discussed by various muslim philosophers. These virtues are rooted in the Absolute and through His presence in the various levels of existences are they known. For Using ideas from malay cosmology and soteriology based upon the writings of Malay scholars, this paper would highlight ways to preserve and ensure Malay society does not fall under the threat of relativism of moral values. (shrink)

Purpose of the StudyThe significance of creativity and performance in the workplace has been illustrated on various occasions. This study aims to find out if there is a link between transformative leadership, organizational innovation, psychological issues such as hindrance and challenge stressors, and employee creativity and employee performance. There is still a lack of awareness of the factors that influence employee performance in small and medium businesses in Pakistan. Pakistan’s SMEs have struggled to survive in their early years, with an (...) initial failure rate of 90 percent to 95 percent.MethodologyThe relationship between hindrance and challenge stressors, organizational innovation, transformational leadership, employee creativity, and their effect on overall employee performance is established through employing Structural Equation Modeling. In this study, constructs were developed from existing theories, hypotheses were generated, data were collected from 424 SME employees, and SEM analysis was conducted to prove the suggested hypothesis. The employees of SMEs are the research study’s unit of analysis.FindingsThe findings of this study demonstrated that challenge stressors, transformational leadership, and employee creativity all had positive and significant effects on employee performance.Originality/ValueThis is one of the first studies to study and extends existing understanding of psychological research in this manner and following correlations in a developing country, Pakistan: the links between transformational leadership and employees’ perception of creativity and performance along with organizational innovation and work stressors. Based on theoretical considerations, a model is proposed, and hypotheses are established and explored. The findings of this study can help businesses increase employee performance by informing employee performance improvement methods. Business executives might learn more about how to engage and motivate employees to improve their performance. (shrink)

This article focuses on the interrelationship of law and life in human rights. It does this in order to theorize the normative status of contemporary biopower. To do this, the case law of Article 2 on the right to life of the European Convention on Human Rights is analysed. It argues that the juridical interpretation and application of the right to life produces a differentiated governmental management of life. It is established that: 1) Article 2 orients governmental techniques to lives (...) in order to ensure that both deprivation and protection of lives is lawful; 2) A proper application of Article 2 grounds itself on a proper discrimination of lives which causes Article 2 to be applied universally but not uniformly to all juridical subjects; 3) The jurisprudence of Article 2 is theoretically appreciable only in a ‘politics of life’. Finally, the article ends with a plea to analyse other fundamental human rights in the context of ‘biopolitical governmentality’. (shrink)

Despite the ever-changing field of artificial intelligence (AI) and its preponderance of pre-print articles, Cohen offers a timely, nuanced, and self-aware overview of ChatGPT and the world of Larg...

This essay focuses on the interrelationship of regulation and private life in human rights. It argues three main points. (1) Article 8 connects the question of protection of private lives and privacies with the question of their management. Thus, Article 8 orients regulatory practices to private lives and privacies. (2) Article 8’s holders are autonomous to the extent that laws respect their private lives and privacies. They are not autonomous in a ‘pre-political’ sense, where we might expect legal rules to (...) protect an already autonomous private life or privacy. (3) Article 8 does not simply prohibit or permit acts. In certain cases, it also ‘enables’ acts. Then, this essay introduces the idea of oikopolitics. This idea allows us to capture these three points in a useful manner. By this idea, this essay means the context (a) where the interpretation of privacy reaches out to broader social practices and norms and (b) where the status of rights-holders living their private lives makes them objects of attention. (shrink)

The recent development of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has rekindled the ethical debate concerning human germline modification that has begun decades ago. This inexpensive technology shows tremendous promise in disease prevention strategies, while raising complex ethical concerns about safety and efficacy of the technology, human dignity, tampering with God’s creation, and human genetic enhancement. Germline gene editing may result in heritable changes in the human genome, therefore the question of whether it should be allowed requires deep and careful discussion from various perspectives. (...) This paper explores Islamic perspectives on the concerns raised and highlights the ethical principles in Islam that should be taken into consideration when assessing the permissibility of CRISPR/ Cas9-mediated human germline gene editing. As argued in this paper, human germline gene editing would be considered lawful for medical purpose under certain conditions. It should not be applied on humans until the safety and efficacy issues are resolved. Robust ethical guidelines and strict regulations are necessary to preserve human dignity and to prevent premature and misuse of the technology. Maqasid al-shariah’s principles of preservation of human life, lineage, and dignity and ‘preventing harm takes precedence over securing benefit’ are among the guiding principles in assessing the permissibility of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated human germline editing from an Islamic perspective. Further discussions are important to address the controversies as well as to explore the related ethical principles. (shrink)

Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) are intelligent algorithms derived on the principles inspired by human immune system. In this research work, electroencephalography (EEG) signals for four distinct motor movement of human limbs are detected and classified using Negative Selection Classification Algorithm (NSCA). For this study, a widely studied open source EEG signal database (BCI IV - Graz dataset 2a, comprising 9 subjects) has been used. Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) are extracted as selected feature from recorded EEG signals. Dimensionality reduction of (...) data is carried out by applying two hidden layered stacked auto-encoder. Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimized detectors (Artificial Lymphocytes) are trained using Negative Selection Algorithm (NSA) for detection and classification of four motor movements. The trained detectors consist of four sets of detectors, each set is trained for detection and classification of one of the four movements from the other three movements. The optimized radius of detector is small enough not to mis-detect the sample. Euclidean distance of each detector with every training dataset sample is taken and compared with optimized radius of detector as a non-self detector. Our proposed approach achieved a mean classification accuracy of 86.39% for limb movements over 9 subjects with a maximum individual subject classification accuracy of 97.5 % for subject number eight. (shrink)

I suggest that virtue ethics can learn from Foucault’s critical observations on biopolitics and governmentality, which identify how a good cannot be disassociated from power and freedom. I chart a way through which virtue ethics internalizes this critical point. I argue that this helps address concerns that both virtue ethics and the critical scholarship inspired by Foucault otherwise ignore. I apply virtue ethics to the contexts of refugee arrival, asylum procedure, and immigrant integration in Western Europe; I then see how (...) Foucault’s critical thought provides a counterpoint to virtue ethics; I finally analyze how incorporating that critique allows virtue ethics to make sense of both the context and the stakes involved. (shrink)

The paper explores the logical structure of Rawlsian justice principles in order to see whether their justificatory or explanatory conditions are unproblematic. To facilitate this purpose, drawing on readers of Rawls, the author shows that the Aristotelian principle is used to explain the principles of rational choice, particularly the principle of inclusiveness. Then, on the basis of the Aristotelian principle, Rawls justifies his conclusion, via the principles of rational choice and the theory of primary goods. After figuring out the logical (...) structure of justice as fairness, the author deals with the central objective of the paper, where he exposes some problems suffered by the motivational basis of the principles of justice. The foundation on which Rawls grounds his principles of justice is problematic, and consequently, they remain as matters of contention as of today. Philosophy and Progress, Vol#71-72; No#1-2; Jan-Dec 2022 P 45-60. (shrink)

High turnover intention is a problem in the workforce today. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between experienced workplace incivility and psychological well-being on turnover intention. The subjects of this study were 46 millennial employees who had worked for at least three months. Data were collected with turnover intention scale, experienced workplace incivility scale, and psychological well-being scale. Partial Least Square PLS-SEM analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings indicate that experienced workplace incivility is positively (...) related to turnover intention, while psychological well-being is negatively related to employee turnover intention. The results show that workplace incivility affects employee turnover intention higher than psychological well-being for millennial employees. Connections and communality are characteristics of millennial employees; therefore, they consider that the environment is essential. It is essential for employers to develop a work condition that minimalizes experienced workplace incivility and improves the psychological well-being of their employees to reduce turnover intention among millennial employees. (shrink)

Anchored in stakeholder theory, the study aimed at examining the extent of voluntary human capital disclosures in annual reports of top 20 Bangladeshi and Indian listed companies. In addition to qualitative content analysis of the annual reports for the year 2010–2011, this study also conducted a series of in-depth interviews with a range of stakeholders of the companies of both the countries to understand their views on voluntary HC disclosures in corporate annual reports. It was found that the level of (...) voluntary HC disclosures was very low in case of the companies of both the countries. Moreover, it was observed that HC disclosures of companies mostly composed of positive information. From the views of stakeholders, it was evident that stakeholders unanimously recognized the necessity of credible HC disclosures in corporate annual reports. The HC disclosure index framed in this study may be useful in developing a South Asian model of corporate HC disclosures. This study contributes to the existing literature on HC disclosures where there has been a distinct lack of engagement-based research works. (shrink)

The construction projects in Pakistan have inherent problems of erroneous planning and schedule development. This dilemma has led to the failure of the majority of construction projects in Pakistan. Earlier researches have tried to curtail the increasing spectrum of inaccurate planning and schedule development. But not many research studies have shed light on the major factor of 2D CAD drawings interpretation problems, which are playing a key role in defective planning and scheduling. Moreover, the role of BIM, i.e., Building Information (...) Modeling with respect to efficient planning, has not been also discussed in detail. This study has concluded a positive impact of BIM on effective planning and scheduling in the construction industry of Pakistan. About 210 responses were obtained from experienced construction professionals of Pakistan and tested via regression analysis in order to validate this argument. It has been analyzed that 2D CAD drawings are now getting primitive and 3D technology BIM is taking its place. BIM is an efficient tool for planning and scheduling. With the start of CPEC and Multi-Billion Dollar investment on infrastructure, construction industry of Pakistan needs to uplift its existing standard in order to meet with international requirements. For this purpose, BIM has been recommended. It will not only assist in attaining flawless planning but will also increase the success rate of CPEC projects in Pakistan. (shrink)

This paper explores ethical issues raised by whole slide image-based computational pathology. After briefly giving examples drawn from some recent literature of advances in this field, we consider some ethical problems it might be thought to pose. These arise from the tension between artificial intelligence research—with its hunger for more and more data—and the default preference in data ethics and data protection law for the minimisation of personal data collection and processing; the fact that computational pathology lends itself to kinds (...) of data fusion that go against data ethics norms and some norms of biobanking; the fact that AI methods are esoteric and produce results that are sometimes unexplainable and the fact that computational pathology is particularly dependent on scanning technology manufacturers with interests of their own in profit-making from data collection. We shall suggest that most of these issues are resolvable. (shrink)

Whooping cough is a highly transmitted disease around the world. According to the World Health Organization, 0.15 million cases had reported globally in 2018. Most of the Asian and African states are infected regions. Through the study, we investigated the whole population into the four classes susceptible, exposed, infected, and vaccinated or recovered. The transmission dynamics of whooping cough disease are studied analytically and numerically. Analytical analyses are positivity, boundedness, reproduction number, equilibria, and local and global stabilities. In numerical analysis, (...) we developed an implicit numerical integration scheme consistent with the biological problem’s properties. The analysis of the implicit method for the said model is dynamically consistent, positive, and bounded. Furthermore, an implicit numerical integration scheme is suitable for studying a particular epidemic model such as the whooping cough disease. (shrink)

In today’s neo-liberalist world, Islamic financial institutions face many difficulties combining contemporary financial thinking with Islamic, faith-based principles, on which their day-to-day operations ought to be based. Hence, IFI are likely to experience shifts/changes in organizational and ethical identity due to tensions that the combination of these principles invokes. We present an in-depth case study that focuses on these shifts in a major European based IFI across a 14-year period. We conceptualize identity change as drift, highlighting the multivocal nature of (...) identity construction. The ethico-faith principles that were meant to serve as living codes of ethics guiding the IFI’s organizational culture, operational processes, and strategy formation turned out to mainly have been discursively rationalized to respond to regulatory, market and institutional imperatives. The company is aware that it needs to engage in a continuous dialogue with those who set these requirements. Its ethico-faith principles may consequently be adapted quite radically, especially in periods of turmoil and takeover, as we show across the analysed time period. The paper provides valuable insights for faith-inspired organizations to reflect on the extent to which they wish to engage in the discursive justification and legitimization of current market hegemonies, whilst they actively encourage their managers to behave ethically as well. (shrink)

This study explores the role of community initiatives in fostering peaceful coexistence within UAE society through the lens of philosophical and religious perspectives. By employing a descriptive and analytical approach, the study examines how these initiatives contribute to the promotion of tolerance, social harmony, and interreligious dialogue in a diverse society. Data were drawn from official reports, statements from the UAE Ministry of Tolerance, and prior scholarly work. The findings indicate that community initiatives in the UAE have been instrumental in (...) cultivating a culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence, transcending cultural and religious differences. These initiatives are distinguished by their inclusive nature, engaging various societal groups, and offering a range of diverse activities that promote mutual understanding and respect. The study concludes that the UAE has established a unique model for religious and cultural harmony through its community initiatives, which draws on both philosophical values and religious teachings. It recommends strengthening institutional cooperation and expanding public engagement in these initiatives to ensure their continued success. Furthermore, the integration of tolerance and peaceful coexistence into educational curricula is advised, fostering these values from an early age to instill them across generations. (shrink)

We are trying to show the importance of the event patterns and their presence in the wondrous Shuaibi story as a traditional structural form that has its place and manifestations in the literary narrative. It is also considered a suggestive and indicative product of the writer’s imagination, which uses the everyday variable and formulates it in a way different from what it is to show us an interesting miraculous story. Folk tales in general, and the book "Folk Tales" specifically, play (...) a significant role in preserving popular heritage. These tales are transmitted through a chain of narrators or from one storyteller to a group of narrators. Each narrator has their language and method of conveying the story without strict adherence to the original, aiming to reconstruct it according to the situation based on the prominent elements of the tale highlighted by that situation or element. The tale may serve purposes such as entertainment, moral teaching, wisdom, putting children to sleep, or news, or it may involve a miraculous dimension built on the extraordinary and unreal. (shrink)