This paper provides an analysis of the educational use of the Internet and of digital technologies that is neither pessimistic nor optimistic, that is neither critical nor post-critical. Turning to Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s comments on studying and its relationship to the technology of the blank writing tablet, the authors argue that digital devises are a radical transformation in our relationship to the technologies of reading and writing. Traditionally, the scholar was able to experience his or her potentiality to communicate (...) through writing via the blankness of the writing tablet. Yet, according to Agamben, such blankness has become inaccessible in the digital age, where the screen is always full of content. Here the authors argue that Agamben is correct in his diagnosis, yet his own theory of communicability offers up a way to redeem the educational use of digital devices. It is precisely the overflowing saturation of communications on the Internet which produces a new kind of blankness. It is this blankness which should thus become the focus of a studious form of media literacy—one that is not critical or post-critical so much as pre-critical. (shrink)

The proliferation of digital devices in educational settings has contributed to the decentralization of knowledge from teachers and established textbooks to fluid online personalized resources, and...

While compulsory licensing is described in the TRIPS agreement as flexibility to protect public health by improving access to medicines in developing countries, a recent literature contends adversely that CL may harm public health. Therefore, this article intends to evaluate the usefulness of CL in the South through the prism of obligations and goals entrusted to patent holders and in light of experiences in Thailand and Brazil regarding access to antiretroviral drugs. In this way, it shows that the obligations assigned (...) to patent holders were better served by the recipients of CL and brought significant health and industrial benefits in the two high middle-income countries. In particular, CL allowed the scaling-up of free and universal access to antiretroviral drugs by assuring the financial sustainability of these public health programs endangered by monopolistic practices from patent holders. (shrink)

Ontologies are the prime way of organizing data in the Semantic Web. Often, it is necessary to combine several, independently developed ontologies to obtain a complete representation of a domain of interest. The complementarity of existing ontologies can be leveraged by merging them. Existing approaches for ontology merging mostly implement a binary merge. However, with the growing number and size of relevant ontologies across domains, scalability becomes a central challenge. A multi-ontology merging technique offers a potential solution to this problem. (...) We present Co Merger, a scalable multiple ontologies merging method. It takes as input a set of source ontologies and existing mappings across them and generates a merged ontology. For efficient processing, rather than successively merging complete ontologies pairwise, we group related concepts across ontologies into partitions and merge first within and then across those partitions. In both steps, user-specified subsets of generic merge requirements (GMRs) are taken into account and used to optimize outputs. The experimental results on well-known datasets confirm the feasibility of our approach and demonstrate its superiority over binary strategies. A prototypical implementation is freely accessible through a live web portal. (shrink)

O presente trabalho se propõe a refletir acerca do sofrimento emergido em meio à grave crise sanitária instalada pela pandemia do novo coronavírus (SARS-COV-2), considerando as mudanças nas dinâmicas de vida da população como a adoção de medidas de distanciamento social, quarentena, uso de máscaras, dentre outras contingências que transformaram o cotidiano e o ritmo das existências contemporâneas. O crescente número de casos e mortes, as modificações nas rotinas de casa, trabalho e relações sociais vêm repercutindo na saúde mental das (...) pessoas e desencadeando vários sofrimentos, expressos nas queixas que chegam diariamente aos serviços de acolhimento psicológico.Considerando, assim, a experiência de escuta clínica das pessoas em sofrimento neste período, com o objetivo de refletir sobre os modos de vida e sofrimento que se desvelam em meio ao contexto pandêmico, recorremos ao pensamento do filósofo alemão Martin Heidegger para pensar o tédio e a técnica moderna como os sentidos e afetos que caracterizam e afinam as existências contemporâneas; bem como as suas repercussões nas experiências de sofrimento que se revelam em meio aos novos modos de existência assumidos durante a pandemia de covid-19. (shrink)

The works of Knight (1921) and Keynes (1921, 1936) seek to clarify confusion about uncertainty. According to these authors, a precise analysis of uncertainty is required, in order to obtain a clear significance of the concept and understand the consequences for the decision process. Consequently, Knight and Keynes study the content of the decision process in uncertainty and converge towards similar views on the mobilization of confidence. Their works thus go beyond a simple examination of uncertainty, by also throwing light (...) on the role and function of confidence in economic analysis. These works demonstrate that confidence is the prerequisite for individual action under uncertainty. (shrink)

Love’s Subtle Magic: An Indian Islamic Literary Tradition, 1379–1545. By Aditya Behl, edited by Wendy Doniger. New York: Oxford Universoty Press, 2012. Pp. xii + 403. $74.

Knowledge of our own memory processes, whether driven by prior experiences or beliefs, is crucial in perceiving and interacting with our environment. This knowledge and awareness is metamemory, whi...

Calvino’s reflection on _quickness_ brings the reader through a zig-zag journey without a predefined destination, crossing the history of literature in order to think about writing and the relationship between physical speed and speed of mind. To discuss _quickness_ as a virtue, Calvino refers to the potentiality of human reasoning and typifies different styles of thought. Elaborating on _quickness_ as a quality and a virtue in the contemporary societal and more particularly educational context which is conceptualized as “accelerated time” (Rosa (...) _Social Acceleration: A New Theory of Modernity_, 2013) and “network time” (Hassan _Time & Society_ 12:226–241, 2003) might at first glance seem somewhat irrelevant. However, the pressing relevance of this virtue lies precisely in the digitized direction which school education is faced with. The shift towards digital school education bears the implication of decoupling the space and time of education from the here and now of the classroom. This, on the flip side means allowing global events as well as personal happenings of the teacher and students to enter the classroom, leading the lesson time to become a poly-synchronous time. That is against this contemporary background of digital education that this article attempts to relate to Calvino’s understanding of quickness. The article embarks on characterizing four aspects of Calvino’s reading of quickness and problematizes their manifestation in the current digital school education climate and finally, it seeks to open some concrete horizons for re-introducing quickness as a virtue for education in the digital age. (shrink)

IntroductionMaking appropriate plans for the provision of hospice care is considered a perceived need in the Iranian health system. The current study aimed to develop a model for establishing hospice care delivery system for the adult patients with cancer.Materials and MethodsThis study is part of a larger study that has been done in four phases. This Health System Policy Research utilized a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach. At the first phase, a qualitative study was conducted which explained the care needs and the (...) requirements for establishing this system from the stakeholders’ perspective. The second phase aimed to examine the current situation of hospice care delivery in Iran and identify and determine the similarities and differences among them in the selected countries. At the third phase, the main areas of the model and the related indicators were extracted and prioritized by consulting with experts. Then the model was formulated. At the fourth phase, the proposed model was validated and finalized in terms of importance, scientific acceptability, and feasibility.ResultsBased on the developed model the first and the most important step in establishing the hospice care delivery system is laying the groundwork in the health system which requires focusing on policymaking. It is necessary to establish hospice centers and implement public awareness raising programs, train, and supply expert manpower, strengthen family physician and referral process, formulate clinical guidelines, encourage the private sector and NGOs.) to invest, develop end-of-life and hospice care service packages, and create quality care indicators. The proposed model had moderate feasibility.ConclusionThis model was developed based on the current Iranian healthcare structure and the needs of terminally ill cancer patients. It can be used as a model tailored to the current state of the health system and community in Iran. It is suggested to use this model as a pilot at the regional level. (shrink)

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The demonstration that dendritic cell (DC)‐derived exosomes can be exploited for targeted RNAi delivery to the brain after systemic injection provides the first proof‐of‐concept for the potential of these naturally occurring vesicles as vehicles of drug delivery. As well as being amenable to existing in vivo targeting strategies already in use for viruses and liposomes, this novel approach offers the added advantages of in vivo safety and low immunogenicity. Fulfilment of the potential of exosome delivery methods warrants a better understanding (...) of their biology, as well as the development of novel production, characterisation, targeting and cargo‐loading nanotechnologies. Ultimately, exosome‐mediated drug delivery promises to overcome important challenges in the field of therapeutics, such as delivery of drugs across otherwise impermeable biological barriers, such as the blood brain barrier, and using patient‐derived tissue as a source of individualised and biocompatible therapeutic drug delivery vehicles. (shrink)

The aim of this article is (1) to investigate the ‘neurosciences’ as an object of study for historical and genealogical approaches and (2) to characterize what we identify as a particular ‘style of thought’ that consolidated with the birth of this new thought community and that we term the ‘neuromolecular gaze’. This article argues that while there is a long history of research on the brain, the neurosciences formed in the 1960s, in a socio-historical context characterized by political change, faith (...) in scientific and technological progress, and the rise of a molecular gaze in the life sciences. They flourished in part because these epistemological and technological developments were accompanied by multiple projects of institution-building. An array of stakeholders was mobilized around the belief that breakthroughs in understanding the brain were not only crucial, they were possible by means of collaborative efforts, cross-disciplinary approaches and the use of a predominantly reductionist neuromolecular method. The first part of the article considers some of the different approaches that have been adopted to writing the history of the brain sciences. After a brief outline of our own approach, the second part of the article uses this in a preliminary exploration of the birth of the neurosciences in three contexts. We conclude by arguing that the 1960s constitute an important ‘break’ in the long path of the history of the brain sciences that needs further analysis. We believe this epistemological shift we term the ‘neuromolecular gaze’ will shape the future intellectual development and social role of the neurosciences. (shrink)

Belonging to Hebrew Wisdom literature, the Song of Songs offers a fresh look at love and relationships through its main female character, the Shulamite, which profoundly differs from traditional, religious approaches to love and sexuality. Drawing from exegetical as well as philosophical resources, Abi Doukhan follows the Shulamite's journey away from patriarchy to her own self-individuation as she discovers a wisdom that is deeply personal and feminine.

[1] Hagadah shel Pesaḥ -- [2] Pirḳe Avot -- [3] Mishle -- [4] Shir ha-shirim -- [5] Megilat Ḳohelet -- 6. Megilat Ekhah -- [7] Megilat Rut -- [8] Sefer Tehilim.

On Islamic ethics and conduct of life for Muslims.

On religious life in Islam; conduct of life for Muslims and on Islamic ethics.

The Enneagram is a powerful tool, with ancient roots and modern appeal, for detailing the human personality. It illuminates the painful truth of where we are and inspires us with the promise of where we could be. As the Enneagram has grown in popularity over the past 30 years, the insights offered have focused either on the present or the future, with little guidance on how to move from Point A to Point B. In the The Conscious Enneagram Abi Robins (...) offers a rich, insightful guide for those seeking to move from patterns to promise. Through practical, easy-to-understand coaching, storytelling, and personal inquiry, Robins explores three main ways for getting from where we are to where we could be: Practice, Lineage, and Community. These make up the three-legged stool of the inner and outer work required to radically change the way we think, feel, and move through the world. This book will show you how to cultivate each of these legs in your life in meaningful, enriching ways that are tailored to your type. (shrink)

The world’s first COVID-19 human challenge trial using the D614G strain of SARS-CoV-2 is underway in the United Kingdom. The Wellcome Trust is funding challenge stock preparation of the Beta variant (B.1.351) for a follow-up human challenge trial, and researchers at Imperial College London are considering conducting that trial. However, little has been written thus far about the ethical justifiability of human challenge trials with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. While vaccine resistance as such does not increase risks for volunteers in (...) COVID-19 challenge trials, we explore two specific characteristics of some variants that may initially be thought to make such trials unethical and conclude that SARS-CoV-2 variant challenge trials can remain ethical. (shrink)

This article explores Levinas' critique of Western epistemology as centered on justification (i.e. a strictly rational, argumentative approach), thereby ignoring the permeable, open and inter-subjective element of the quest for knowledge. In a masterful play on words, Levinas proposes rather a shift from justification to justice, from argumentation to permeability to exteriority, and sets this shift at the foundation of any genuine journey to knowledge.

This article advances the claim that the Òrìṣà tradition is best conceived of as a legal tradition. Notwithstanding the fact that scholars have written extensively about the tradition from the perspectives of religion, philosophy, the arts, and many other domains of inquiry, I maintain that the extant scholarship has underrated the significance of tradition, and has almost completely overlooked the fact that the primary function of Òrìṣà is the improvement of social interaction through the governance and regulation of conduct—which makes (...) it a legal tradition. (shrink)

Our era is profoundly marked by the phenomenon of exile and it has become increasingly urgent to rethink the concept and our stance towards it. Permeated with references to the stranger, the other and exteriority, the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas signifies towards a positive understanding of exile. This article distills from Levinas' philosophy a wisdom of exile, for the first time shedding a positive light on the condition itself.

Este escrito supone una defensa y un argumento en favor de la filosofía científica. Conceptos como naturalismo y cientificismo serán contrastados a la luz de la investigación filosófica, defendiendo un cientificismo crítico que, más que sostener que la ciencia es la única fuente de conocimiento fiable, sostiene que la actividad científica es una excelente creación cultural humana para adquirir conocimiento y que la filosofía que la desprecia o ignora, no es productiva. Se defiende que el diálogo entre la ciencia y (...) la filosofía es fructífero y necesario si es que la meta es una reflexión filosófica consistente, informada y crítica. (shrink)

Compromise (Islamic law); Islamic ethics; Qurʼanic teaching.

(2013). MUSHROOMING: resistance and creativity in sigmund freud and emily dickinson. Angelaki: Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 29-44.

We analyzed the patients’ perception of prenatal diagnosis of fetal cardiac pathology, and the reasons for choosing to continue with pregnancy despite being eligible to receive a medical termination of pregnancy. We also identified the challenges, the motives interfering in decision-making, and the consequences of the decisions on pregnancy, child and mother. This descriptive, prospective and longitudinal study was conducted in France, amongst pregnant women who wished to continue their pregnancy despite an unfavorable medical advice. Socio-demographic data were collected through (...) a questionnaire. Such questionnaire covered information assessing the parents/mother’s perception of prenatal diagnosis, and medical termination of pregnancy, their interpretation of the established diagnosis and their motives for not considering pregnancy termination. 72 eligible patients were analyzed over one year: mean age 33 ± 6.89 years, 47 patients had already given birth to ≥1 healthy child. Mean gestational age at the detection of fetal cardiac pathologies was 30 ± 4.37 weeks of amenorrhea. Patients decided to keep the child after 3 ± 1.25 consultations. 56 patients made their decision with their husbands and 16 made their decision alone. Reasons for declining the medical termination were culpability and responsibility, ideologies and convictions, mistrust and hope. Newborns of 67 patients died with a mean survival duration of 38 days. Patient informed consent should be sought before any decision in neonatology, even if conflicting with the medical team’s knowledge and the pregnant mother’s benefits. Decisions to accept or decline pregnancy termination depend on the patients’ psychological character, ideologies, convictions, and mistrust in the diagnosis/prognosis, or hope in the fetus survival. (shrink)

Islam - Early works to 20th century ; Islamic ethics - Early works to 20th century.

Food Problems and Economic Problems in America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia : Struggles and Resignation What are the various dynamics of crisis, revolt, and resignation currently operating on the American and African continents, in the Middle East and in Asia. What effects do they have on the policies adopted to “get out of the crisis”? These are the issues which Greg Albo, Kako Nubukpo, Rhina Roux, Marie Noëlle Abiyaghi and Son Youg Woo address in this article. They examine (...) the consequences of neo-liberal capitalism and the succession of crises in food, oil, finance, and in the economy, before going on to explain how they emerge in their regional contexts where they take on their specific guises. (shrink)

Translated from Arabic, the novels June Rain by Jabbour Douaihy and Dear Mister Kawabata by Rachid El-Daïf constitute a written testimony that allows us to discover the cultural heritage of the Lebanese village Zgharta. The novel of Douaihy is inspired from a historical fact, the massacre of Miziara which has happened in a church. The heroic abaday myth glorified and dethroned at the same time emerges in an authentic context in Juin Rain. However, Douaihy represents a positive divine figure which (...) incarnates the revolt against violence in a holy space. This heroic world is devalorized by the exogenous westernized vision. In fact, El-Daïf denounces violence that he associates to ignorance, rejection of modernization that he links to the resistance of a divine figure in the collective conscience of the villagers. (shrink)