bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determinants of shipbuilding industry competitive factors and institutional model analysis
Authors: Bachtiar Aziz Ikhsan , Marimin Marimin , Adrianto Luky , Bura Romie Oktovianus
Published: January 2021

The development of the shipbuilding industry is expected to meet the needs of the Indonesian Navy and the commercial vessels, and to support Indonesia's marine policy. The purpose of this study is to see the Shipbuilding industry Competitiveness, the influence of Technology Transfer to the Shipbuilding industry Competitiveness, and the influence of the industrial clusters on the Shipbuilding industry Competitiveness, as well as to analyze the institutional model of the Shipbuilding industry Competitiveness. This study uses the descriptive analysis, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for the model causality testing, and the Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM) for the institutional model of the competitiveness of the Shipbuilding Industry. This study uses the primary data, namely a survey of defense industry players, the national industry, the defense equipment users, the government institutions, the research institutes, and the universities that are determined purposively. ISM data are obtained from questionnaires and Forum Group Discussion (FGD) with 13 speakers representing academia, industry, and government. The results of the analysis of SEM state that the indicators on the industrial clusters, the competitiveness, and the technology transfer have a significant and real contribution to these variables. This research also shows that the industrial clusters and the technology transfer have a direct and significant effect on the competitiveness and the industrial clusters directly and significantly affect the technology transfer. However, the industrial clusters also have an indirect effect on competitiveness through the technology transfer to the shipbuilding industry. The results of the analysis of ISM conclude that the stakeholders involved have the greatest driving force, namely the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, while the important factor affected by the stakeholders in strengthening the competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry is the Indonesian Navy Headquarters.
Integrated ISM-Fuzzy MICMAC approach based factor analysis on the implementation of safety program in construction industry
Authors: Ibrahim Saber , Mabrouk Nejah Ben
Published: January 2021

The challenge of improving construction safety performance is observed in many countries. Safety is considered by practitioners and researchers as an important topic in construction industry sites. Despite the findings of implementing safety programs, it is revealed that accidents and injuries are not perfectly reduced in construction projects. In the literature, authors tried to establish several frameworks and proposed methods to reach this objective by identifying the key factors affecting safety performance. The aim of this study is to present critical factors used in the implementation of safety programs and to explore their relationships using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). Then, via ISM technique, the overall structure among factors was revealed. By using the Fuzzy MICMAC analysis, the factors were classified into four groups based on their driving power and dependence power. The results showed that “Safety Training” and “Management Commitment” have the most important impact on safety programs, but also it is very important to study the interactions among factors at different stages. This analysis offers key resources for practitioners and decision makers by analyzing the relationships between factors and its driving or dependence strength. These results shed lights on the effective development of measures to facilitate the implementation of safety programs in the construction sector.
The implementation of BORDA and PROMETHEE for decision making of Naval base selection
Authors: Ahmadi Ahmadi , Herdiawan Didit
Published: January 2021

The objective of this research is to determine the location for the dock and office of naval bases in Padang city of Indonesia. Following this objective, the Regional Government of Padang Mentawai Islands District provides 3 (three) alternative places namely in Semabuk Bay, Siuban Bay, and Semebai Bay for the location of dock and office of Naval Base. For the selection of Mentawai base, the method uses BORDA and PROMETHEE, since the methods can consider alternative evaluation based on factors that are both qualitative and quantitative. Based on the research of BORDA method calculation on 16 naval base selection criteria, it is found that criterion of Sailing Flow maintains the highest weight value that is equal to 10.9% and the lowest criterion weighted value belongs to criterion Political Condition for about 2%. For the results of ranking against the alternative using the Promethee method, the study obtains Semebai Bay as the best location to serve for the location of the base of the Mentawai Naval Base.
Ions motion optimization algorithm for multiobjective optimization problems
Authors: Buch Hitarth , Trivedi Indrajit
Published: January 2021

This paper offers a novel multiobjective approach – Multiobjective Ions Motion Optimization (MOIMO) algorithm stimulated by the movements of ions in nature. The main inspiration behind this approach is the force of attraction and repulsion between anions and cations. A storage and leader selection strategy is combined with the single objective Ions Motion Optimization (IMO) approach to estimate the Pareto optimum front for multiobjective optimization. The proposed method is applied to 18 different benchmark test functions to confirm its efficiency in finding optimal solutions. The outcomes are compared with three novel and well-accepted techniques in the literature using five performance parameters quantitatively and obtained Pareto fronts qualitatively. The comparison proves that MOIMO can approximate Pareto optimal solutions with good convergence and coverage with minimum computational time.
Japanese practice for estimating the expected maximum earthquake force at a nuclear power plant site
Authors: Omote Syun'itiro , Ohsaki Yorihiko , Kakimi Toshihiro , Matsuda Tokihoko
Published: January 2021

Nuclear power plants built in seismic zones should be designed and constructed in such a way that they produce no radiation hazard in the event of a severe earthquake. In order to find a reasonable solution to this problem the first step that needs to be taken is to make an estimation of the maximum earthquake force to be expected at the site. This paper gives the basic Japanese views on this problem. Levels of the strongest design earthquake S1 and extreme design earthquake S2 are explained and methods for deriving S1 and S2 earthquakes from active faults are also described.
Code provisions for confining steel in potential plastic hinge regions of columns in seismic design
Authors: Park R. , Priestley M. J. N.
Published: January 2021

A summary is given of the provisions for both circular and rectangular confining steel in potential plastic hinge zones of columns, as specified in the seismic codes of various countries. In particular, a comparison is made between New Zealand and overseas recommendations. The background to the confining steel provisions recommended in the draft SANZ Concrete Design Code is outlined.
Indoor Localization Based on Optimized KNN
Authors: Zhu Xuanyu
Published: January 2021

In recent years, with the continuous development of the economic situation, the price of low-end smart phones continues to reduce, the coverage of wireless local area network (WLAN) continues to improve, and individual users pay more and more attention to the real-time information around them, so indoor positioning technology has become a research hotspot. Among them, the indoor positioning based on the location fingerprint method quickly becomes the “Navigator” of indoor positioning direction by virtue of the simplicity of layout, the cost reduction of hardware facilities and the accuracy of positioning effect. However, the traditional indoor positioning methods usually rely on WiFi signal and KNN algorithm. When the KNN algorithm is implemented, there will be a lot of calculation and heavy workload to establish the location fingerprint database offline, and the efficiency and accuracy of online matching positioning points are low. This paper proposes an OKNN algorithm based on the improved KNN algorithm. By improving the efficiency of matching algorithm, the algorithm indirectly improves the positioning accuracy and optimizes the indoor positioning effect.
Ototoxicity among multidrug-resistant TB patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Wrohan I. , Redwood L. , Ho J. , Velen K. , Fox G. J.
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND: The use of injectable antibiotics to treat multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is associated with substantial morbidity due to long-term hearing loss. This systematic review evaluates the incidence of ototoxicity among patients treated for MDR-TB, and the evidence for
routine audiometric monitoring to mitigate its severity.METHODS: Studies of ototoxicity among patients with MDR-TB were identified from six databases: PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, SCOPUS and the Cochrane Library. Meta-analyses were performed to determine the overall
incidence of hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo. The incidence of hearing loss was further stratified by country income status and the injectable agent used during treatment.RESULTS: Among 64 studies from 25 countries including 12 793 patients, 28.3% (95%CI 23.4–33.1)
of patients treated with injectables reported hearing loss. Tinnitus and vertigo were experienced by respectively 14.5% (95%CI 10.3–18.7) and 8.1% (95%CI 4.7–11.6) of patients. The incidence of hearing loss was highest among patients treated with amikacin (33.4%, 95%CI 18.2–48.6),
and lowest among those treated with capreomycin (2.0%, 95%CI 0–5.5). We found that audiometry was widely used as a method of evaluating hearing loss, and was feasible in a wide range of settings.CONCLUSION: Injectable antibiotics contribute to significant morbidity in patients
with MDR-TB. In settings where they are used, routine audiometric monitoring is recommended to prevent irreversible damage.
Adipokines and the risk of active TB: a nested case-control study
Authors: Soh A. Z. , Tan C. T. Y. , Mok E. , Chee C. B. E. , Yuan J-M. , Larbi A. , Koh W-P.
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND: Adipokines are emerging mediators of immune response, and may affect susceptibility to active TB.OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations between adipokines and the risk of active TB.METHODS: In a case-control study nested within a prospective
cohort of middle-aged and older adults in Singapore, 280 incident active TB cases who donated blood for research before diagnosis were matched with 280 controls. Serum levels of adiponectin, resistin, leptin and ghrelin were measured. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to compute
the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between adipokines and the risk of active TB.RESULTS: Higher levels of leptin and resistin were associated with reduced risk of TB in a dose-dependent manner. Compared to those in the lowest quartile
of leptin levels, those in the highest quartile had an OR of 0.46 (95%CI 0.26–0.82; P for trend = 0.009). Similarly, compared to those in the lowest quartile of resistin levels, those in the highest quartile had an OR of 0.46 (95%CI 0.24–0.90; P for trend = 0.03).
Adiponectin and ghrelin levels were not associated with TB risk.CONCLUSION: Increased serum levels of leptin and resistin may be associated with reduced susceptibility to active TB infection.
Effect of malnutrition on the pharmacokinetics of anti-TB drugs in Ghanaian children
Authors: Seneadza N. A. H. , Antwi S. , Yang H. , Enimil A. , Dompreh A. , Wiesner L. , Peloquin C. A. , Lartey M. , Lauzardo M. , Kwara A.
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND: Anti-TB drugs dosing based on weight alone may contribute to suboptimal drug concentrations and poor treatment outcomes in malnourished children. We examined the effect of malnutrition on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of first-line anti-TB drugs in children.METHODS:
Drug concentrations were measured in Ghanaian children during the intensive phase of TB treatment. Weight-for-age (WFA), height-for-age (HFA), weight-for-height (WFH) and body mass index-for-age (BFA) were calculated and children with Z-scores < -2 SD (standard deviations)
were considered as having malnutrition. PK differences of anti-TB drugs were compared by nutritional status.RESULTS: Of 100 participants, 24/48 (50.0%) of those younger than 5 years had wasting, 58/86 (67.4%) were underweight, and 56/99 (56.6%) had stunting; 22/51 (43.1%) children
aged ≥5 years had low BFA. Children with stunting were more likely than controls to have lower mean peak concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC0–8h) of rifampin (RIF) and pyrazinamide (PZA), as well as a higher frequency of Cmax below the
normal range. Wasting and underweight were associated with lower mean ethambutol (EMB) Cmax and AUC0–8h.CONCLUSIONS: The current WHO-recommended dosages were associated with lower plasma exposure of RIF, PZA and EMB in children with stunting, wasting
and underweight. Anti-TB drugs dosing models for children may need to include height.
First molecular-based anti-TB drug resistance survey in Eritrea
Authors: Mesfin A. B. , Araia Z. Z. , Beyene H. N. , Mebrahtu A. H. , Suud N. N. , Berhane Y. M. , Hailu D. T. , Kassahun A. Z. , Auguet O. T. , Dean A. S. , Cabibbe A. M. , Cirillo D. M.
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND: In the absence of reliable data on drug-resistant TB in Eritrea, a national survey was conducted in 2018 using molecular-based methods, bypassing the need for culture.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in all 77 TB microscopy centres in the
country. All 629 newly registered sputum smear-positive pulmonary TB patients were enrolled over 12 months. Sputum samples were tested using the Xpert® MTB/RIF assay and targeted next-generation sequencing (Deeplex Myc-TB) to identify resistance and explore the phylogenetics
of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains.RESULTS: Drug resistance profiles were obtained for 555 patients (502 new, 53 previously treated). The prevalence of rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) was respectively 2.0% and 7.6% among new and previously treated cases. All RR-TB
isolates that were susceptible to isoniazid displayed a phylogenetic marker conferring capreomycin resistance, confirming circulation of a previously described resistant TB sub-lineage in the Horn of Africa. Only one case of fluoroquinolone resistance was detected.CONCLUSION: The
prevalence of rifampicin resistance among TB patients is encouragingly low. The scarcity of fluoroquinolone resistance bodes well for the success of the recommended all-oral treatment regimen. Surveillance based on molecular approaches enables a reliable estimation of the burden of resistance
and can be used to guide appropriate treatment and care.
Measuring TB drug levels in the hair in adults and children to monitor drug exposure and outcomes
Authors: Mave V. , Kadam D. , Gaikwad S. , Kinikar A. , Aguilar D. , Chavan A. , Paradkar M. , Yogendra S. V. B. , Bharadwaj R. , Kagal A. , Suryavanshi N. , Golub J. , Kulkarni V. , Dooley K. E. , Gupta A. , Bacchetti P. , Gerona R. , Gupte N. , Gandhi M.
Published: January 2021

INTRODUCTION: Testing for anti-TB drugs in small hair samples may serve as a non-invasive tool to measure cumulative drug exposure and/or adherence, as these determine treatment success. We aimed to assess how well hair assays of TB drugs predict TB treatment outcomes.METHODS:
A small thatch of hair, ~30 strands, was cut from the occipital region in adults and children from a prospective TB cohort in India. Isoniazid (INH), acetyl-INH and pyrazinamide (PZA) were extracted from the hair samples and quantified using liquid-chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
The relationship between drug concentrations in hair and time to unfavourable outcomes was assessed using Cox-proportional hazards regression models.RESULTS: A two-fold increase in hair acetyl-INH concentrations in the 264 participants in our cohort with hair assays for TB drugs
indicated a lower hazard of unfavourable TB treatment outcomes (aHR 0.67, 95%CI 0.44–1.02) and TB treatment failure (aHR 0.65, 95%CI 0.42–1.01). Higher summed concentrations (a summed measure of INH and acetyl-INH) indicated a lower hazard of treatment failure (aHR 0.69, 95%CI
0.45–1.05)CONCLUSION: Hair levels of INH and its metabolite may predict TB treatment outcomes, indicating the potential utility of this measure to assess and optimise TB treatment outcomes.
John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan
Authors: Meagher Michael E. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Most Americans in the 1920s and 1930s were unaware of the crimes committed in the Soviet Union. Even today, the full extent of the carnage is unknown. This essay explores the ways in which Presidents Kennedy and Reagan dealt with the contrast between the open societies of the West and the severely damage civil societies of the Soviet bloc through the rhetorical presidency. Key speeches throughout the two administrations stressed the use of presidential rhetoric as a way of challenging the communist regimes of Eastern Europe and the USSR. For both Presidents, the key rhetorical moment came in West Berlin, in 1963 and 1987, respectively. Using comparable language Kennedy and Reagan spoke of the hope offered by West Berlin to those suffering under communist rule. The highlight came when Reagan challenged the Soviet leaders to tear down the Wall separating the city. Ironically, the victory over Soviet bloc communism has not led to the elimination of communist regimes, notably China. That chapter in the struggle against communism remains yet to be written.
The Cuban Civic Movement
Authors: Gutierrez-Boronat Orlando ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

During the 1990s, the dissident movement in Cuba has grown in effectiveness, popular participation, and intemational support. While facing a first-generation totalitarian regime, with a sophisticated repressive apparatus, the civic movement in the Island has persevered and grown in spite of constant persecution, offering hope for political, social, and economic change from within Cuba itself. This essay seeks to provide a brief overview of the civic movement in Cuba covering its social origins and growth, theoretical repercussions of its existence, major leaders and initiatives, its relationship with the Cuban exile community, its ideological history and development, intemational support, and its current status in light of recent events affecting political conditions in the Island. Born initially out of dissident cells within Cuba's revolutionary movement and the Communist Party, the dissident movement in Cuba has transformed itself into a microcosm of a re-emerging civil society through which Cuban citizens are reclaiming their sovereignity and constructing the blueprint for a new Republic. The Varela Project is of particular significance for the development of the civic movement in Cuba.
Toward an Open Society
Authors: Gruenwald Oskar ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

From the Adriatic to the Baltic, from the Elbe to the Urals and beyond, totalitarianism has collapsed. Yet the 1989 bloodless revolution in Eastem Europe caught most observers by surprise. This essay explores the signal socio-cultural forces which contributed to the sea-change. Throughout Eastem Europe, grassroots movements emerged in the 1970s and 1980s demanding greater participation in social, economic, cultural, and political life. Thus, the rise of a new civic culture and civil society preceded and fostered the momentous changes in Eastem Europe, This essay offers a model of transition from authoritarian systems to political democracy, highlighted by "The Menshevik Divide," and places East European nations and the USSR on a cognitive map which indicates the relative strength of civic values and autonomous action just before the revolution (1988), Curiously, this model also shows why the transition remains incomplete, since authoritarian values and political processes keep many post-communist systems in a twilight zone between democracy and dictatorship. Hence, the quest for universal human rights, democracy, pluralism, tolerance, and an open society is still a futuristic project in much of Eastem Europe and the Soviet successor states, suspended between democracy and "virtual communism."
Dissent and Civil Society in Poland
Authors: Sowa Kazimierz Z. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

This essay explores social forces which contributed to regaining independence by the Polish people and sovereignty by the Polish state after 45 years of Soviet domination There were four major factors or forces of historical change: workers' resistance (big-industry working class); intellectual opposition (dissidents); grass-roots movement (families, households and their microeconmuc activity); and the Catholic Church (in the late phase of the Polish People's Republic). The preliminary thesis is that Poland succeeded in transcending communism and Soviet domination as quickly as it did thanks to its civil society traditions. In particular, universities and their intellectual influence on the young generations of Poles helped nurture the political opposition Equally, the grass-roots movement of Polish family households undermined the unrealistic, strange system of national (planned) economy, which otherwise could have lasted much longer in Poland, as it did in all of Eastem Europe. The conclusion follows that the historically formed cultural capital of the Polish people was the decisive factor in the nation's liberation from totalitarian rule.
Aleksandras Shtromas
Authors: Donskis Leonidas ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Aleksandras Shtromas (1931-1999), a British-American scholar, became an eminent figure in his native Lithuania, yet Westem social scientists have yet to discover this human rights activist, Soviet dissident, and political thinker. Shtromas had no doubts about the inexorable collapse of the Soviet Union, resting his analysis on the assumption that communism was unable to provide any viable social and moral order. The vast majority of the Soviet intelligentsia had become skilled at the ideological cat-and-mouse games, wrestling wth Soviet Newspeak and censorship, and employing an Aesopian language in order to survive and remain as decent as possible in a world of brainwashing and lies. A gifted prophet of post-communism, Shtromas was the only political scientist in the world who took the disintegration of the Soviet Union as early as the late 1970s as an ongoing process. This essay links Shtromas' legacy to the great East European dissenters.
Dissent and Civil Society in the Balkans
Authors: Fotev Georgy ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

The code name "Balkanization" has many aspects, but in all cases it is quite negative. Belated modernization in the region--the transition from traditional to modem society--has been subject to a constellation of contradictory factors externally dependent on the Great Powers' clashing geopolitical interests. Following World War II, this region, except for Greece and Turkey, became part of the Soviet Empire and the communist project. Totalitarian states are in radical opposition to civil society, and this incompatibility is evident even in the comparatively mild case of Tito's Yugoslavia. The implosion of communist totalitarianism represents a unique precondition for post-communist development, especially for the Balkans. One of the main tasks is the building and consolidation of civil societies, which involves surmounting various degrees of ethnic autism, suspicion, and hostility between neighboring countries. Paradoxically, former Yugoslavia of all countries went from implosion of the totalitarian system to an explosion of typical Balkanization. However, this does not apply to other Balkans countries and the reguion as a whole. The opening of Balkan societies to one another, and especially to Europe and the democratic world, is closely linked with the constmction of open societies, a process that is perhaps irreversible.
Appointment With Destiny
Authors: Mihajlov Mihajlo ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Apart from Mukovan Djilas, Mihajlo Mihajlov is considered as the most famous dissident in the Balkans--a former prisoner-of-conscience in Tito's Yugoslavia. This brief but comprehensive, autobiographical retrospective recounts some major hilights in Mihajlov's odyssey ushered in by his intellectual travelogue, Moscow Sunmer 1964, first published in full in The New Leader. Mihajlov became an embarrassment not only to Josip Broz Tito and the Soviet leaders, but also to those in die West who landed Tito's "independent path to socialism." Yet others correctly perceived Mihajlov's quest for freedom of thought, speech, press, association, religious, philosophical and political persuasion as a classic benchmark of basic human rights and freedoms characterizing open, pluralistic, democratic polities. Indeed, the Westem press contributed to the pressure of world public opinion, which helped free Mihajlov, and, as he claims, even kept him alive. In a region divided by inter-ethnic conflict and civil war, Mihajlov's struggle for the rule of law and human dignity epitomizes hopes for a better future.
Classicide - Genocide in Communist China
Authors: Wu Harry ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

The term "genocide" was first coined in the 1940s to describe the horrors of Nazi rule in occupied Europe. In Nazi Germany, the machine of oppression was the concentration camp; in the Soviet Union, the Gulag. In China, it is the Laogai, which means "reform through labor." In fact, Laogai is a brutal and inhumane system that enslaves millions of people throughout China. The govemment in conununist China divides people by class, politics, and religuious beliefs. Such divisions are based not on race, but individual economic status. If a person owns land, capital or property, he or she belongs to the landlord or capitalist classes. Both are considered "exploiting" classes, and their members, including their family, are subject to extermination, since they belong to "counter-revolutionary" classes. During the Cultural Revolution, many people were massacred for die sake of the "Red Revolution." Since 1949, when the Communist Party came to power, it sought to destroy all religjon in China, particularly Christian faiths. The Roman Catholic faith is still illegal in China today. It is common knowledge that people in China are not allowed to practice the religion of their choice Meanwhile, Laogai, or prison camps, throughout China, imprison countless people who belong to the "wrong" religion or hold "wrong* political ideas. The Chinese govemment uses the Laogai to control and eliminate those people. Yet, despite the prevalence of the Laogai and its multitude of victims, the world seems unwilling to acknowledge this widespread plague.
Religion and Dissent in Vietnam
Authors: Denney Stephen ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Religions have served various dissident movements in Vietnam. The two indigenous sects--Hoa Hao and Cao Dai--were founded in the early twentieth century and became forces for the anti-colonial, and later anti-communist, movements in Vietnam Catholics and Buddhists played major roles in South Viemam's political scene, while they were both suppressed in the North. Protestant Christians constitute only a small portion of the overall population, but have become linked to nationalist movements among the ethnic minorities of the Highlands. Viemam's communist regime has pursued a heavy-handed policy of anti-religious repression in North Vietnam since 1954, and continued this policy after reunification of the two Viemams in 1975. Capitalist-style economic reforms began in 1986, allowing for more openness in the society, and emboldening religious leaders and other dissidents. However, the regime still cracks down on religious groups and leaders perceived as a political threat to the Communist Party's monopoly of power. With the decline of Marxist-Leninist ideology in society, religions may become alternative repositories of moral values for Vietnam.
The Teleological Imperative
Authors: Gruenwald Oskar ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

This essay proposes that the human quest for meaning, self-realization, and self-transcendence via the moral "ought" as the proper end, purpose, or goal for man constitutes the teleological imperative. This pan-human quest for universal touchstones for values and truths should thus be the focus of both moral education and cultural renewal. Central to this quest is a re-conceptualization of virtue ethics as radically transcending the social construction of reality. Virtue may he fully understood only within the larger parameters of natural right or natural law, which posit an underlying moral order in Creation, independently of and preceding, human perception and cognition. The right ordering of the human soul or self reflects the larger cosmological order of the universe, and its fulfillment in the Golden Rule or the Tao, the Judeo-Christian traditions expressed in the Decalogue, and the New Testament's call for charity.
The Illusion of Freedom Separated From Moral Virtue
Authors: Dennehy Raymond L. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

This essay proposes that liberal democracy cannot survive unless a monistic virtue ethics permeates its culture, A monistic philosophical conception of virtue ethics has its roots in natural law theory and, for that reason, offers a rationally defensible basis for a unified moral vision in a pluralistic society. Such a monistic virtue ethics--insofar as it is a virtue ethics--forms individual character so that a person not only knows how to act, but desires to act that way and, moreover, possesses the integration of character to be able to act that way. This is a crucial consideration, for immoral choices create a bad character that inclines the individual to increasingly worse choices, A nation whose members lack moral virtue cannot sustain its commitment to freedom and equality for all.
Self-Esteem and Spiritual Vision
Authors: Gow James S. , Grow Kathleen M. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

To fully engage virtue ethics, this essay examines movements in moral education which have led North America's youth simultaneously to the edge of illiteracy of mind and spirit. The self-esteem movement encompasses values clarification, political correctness, and New Age aspects, A mathematical analogy provides a reference point for the necessity of moving from emphasis on theorem-like ideals toward incorporating a sense of moral and spiritual vision. Both cognitively and affectively, this is based in lived relational experience. The inherent opportunities of mystery and choice are key properties in addressing self-centeredness as distinguished from moral and spiritual vision. Humanists and religious believers differ in their recognition of a transcendent God. The essay concludes that to self-select one's own criteria for self-giving may, ironically, render the authentic practice of virtue ethics categorically impossible.
The Virtue of Liberal Arts
Authors: Davis Jeffry C. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Despite a decline of liberal arts values and institutions of higher education, the demand for a liberal arts approach to study remains strong at many church-related colleges and universities that affirm a Biblical worldview and strive to promote interdisciplinary integratim. This essay proposes that Christian schools with a liberal arts heritage need to reaffirm liberal arts values and pedagogy. Prompted by perennial questions of the human condition--"Who am I?" and "How should I live?"--students should be challenged to form responses consistent with ethical inquiry. Christian liberal arts teachers need an informed historical understanding of the "liberal arts." The cultivation of virtue is a core component of the classical artes liberates ideal, which entails shaping persons into moral citizens able to contribute to the common good. Quintilian, the first publicly paid teacher in Western civilization, promoted virtue through curricular aims and methods, and the early Church adapted them for catechization. Proponents of Christian higher education may thus draw on Quintilian's educational ideas to inspire teaching that truly builds character and civic responsibility, consistent with the liberal arts ideal.
Virtue Ethics, Lawyers and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
Authors: Dare Tim ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Atticus Finch, the lawyer-hero of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, played by Gregory Peck in the classic 1962 film version, has been adopted as an exemplar by advocates of a virtue ethics approach to legal ethics. When Atticus condones a departure from the rules of law in order to spare Boo Radley a trial, these theorists argue, he displays practical wisdom, or phronesis, and shows that the good lawyer gives priority to judgement and character over rules and principles. Yet Atticus can be understood in a quite different way as a tragic figure who, when faced with the possibility of a tragedy in Boo's case, abandons the commitment to law which earlier was a central part of his character. From this perspective, Atticus' lesson for legal ethics is not about the priority of judgement and character, but instead about the value of the rules and principles he abandons.
Integrity and Shame
Authors: van Hooft Stan ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

In a recent study, Damian Cox, Marguerite La Coze and Michael P. Levine argue for a complex conception of integrity. But they leave two questions unanswered The first is whether integrity is of greater importance to the agent's own sense of themselves or whether it is a virtue that is of social significance. The bulk of the literature on this virtue stresses its existential import. However, considerable weight should be given to its social significance. It should be linked to the essentially social reaction of shame, as opposed to the existential and personal reaction of guilt. The second question is whether the virtue of integrity has been analysed in such general terms that no specific meaning can be given to the virtue. Being a person of integrity might just collapse into being a virtuous person. This essay offers a distinctive account of integrity by asking what it is to act firom the virtue in particular contexts that require public trust.
Cognitive Linguistics, Biblical Truth and Ethical Conduct
Authors: McElhanon Kenneth A. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

In America's pluralistic society, the judiciary allows the legal defense tactic known as the cultural defense, by which aliens invoke the laws of their homeland to reduce a sentence or obtain a plea bargain. This tactic rests on public acceptarxe of several related relativisms-linguistic, conceptual, moral, and ethical. This essay claims that top-down approaches, whether in philosophical natural law or theological axioms, are irujdequate to counter relativism. In addressing relativism and truth, the Biblical notion of knowing Christ and the Father is shown to be grounded in knowledge as experience. Biblical truth is shown to be lived experientially, and expressed metaphorically in Greek, as how Christians walk on the journey of faith. English translations, however, substitute English metaphors that express truth as a manipulated object. Experiential truth serves as a unitary principle that accounts for conduct in recognized Biblical case studies of ethical dilemmas, and obviates ad hoc solutions.
An Emic-Etic Model of Language and Culture
Authors: Prost Gilbert R. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

This essay explores the conceptual and linguistic roots of a universal, objective, culture-free standard for judging human behavior. Without such a conceptual framework meaningful self-criticism as well as cross-cultural evaluation of the beliefs and behaviors of people is impossible. Unlike McElhanon, SIL's co-founder Kenneth Pike held that social scientists need an "outsider's" viewpoint akin to the phonetic-phonemic model employed by linguists to analyze the sound system of a native language. Just as each phonemic system of language is constructed from a total range of sounds, it seems reasonable to conclude that every emic socio-cultural operating system known to man, of necessity, must be constructed out of a complete range of culture-free etic standards, concepts, ideals, and values. This essay demonstrates how an outsider may discover via emic analysis universal culture-free etic mental rules described in the Bible as "laws written on the heart."
The Globalization Paradox
Authors: Gruenwald Oskar ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Globalization offers a comprehensive framework for addressing prospects for the peaceful evolution of people and societies in the Third Millennium, Global markets, trade and communications, along with science and technology, now drive social, economic, and political development, modernization, and cultural change. Globalization thus holds great promise of extending economic prosperity throughout the world. Paradoxically, globalization can also deepen the divisions between rich and poor nations, contribute to the revolution of rising expectations in the Third World, and exacerbate frustrations caused by the accelerated pace of socio-economic and political development and cultural change. The contemporary resurgence of religion reflects crisis of modemity--the loss of traditional anchoring of social, cultural, and ethical mores, self- and group identification and meaning. The key to a peaceful, democratic globalization is a successful modernization strategy which seeks to reconcile and conjoin the best elements of modernity and tradition, the individual and community, freedom and order, secularism and religion, democracy and authority.
Commerce and Culture in the Global Economy
Authors: Garden William A. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Increasing globalization in the form of greater international trade and immigration has both costs and benefits. Market institutims and secure private property rights are conducive to higher economic growth, but some point out that higher growth must be weighed against alleged social instability and, perhaps, cultural degeneration. However, globalization may increase stability and cultural output. Polling data suggest that antitrade, anti-migration views pose a political challenge to economic and cultural exchange. People are skeptical of the rapidity of change coming with globalization, which leads to backlashes that slow the process. Negative effects of globaltation include increases in prostitution, for example, and perceived alienation from the global culture There are tensions between economic change arul cultural vibrancy. Nonetheless, greater international integration and accompanying economic growth increase cultural diversity.
Cultural Contradictions of Soft Power and Islam
Authors: Dondelinger Joseph M. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

"Soft power" proponents endorse it as the superior alternative to the exercise of "hard power." This essay argues that the projection of soft power, culturally defined, has unintended negative consequences in relations with Islam in particular and traditional societies in general. Hostile reaction in the Muslim world is rooted in opposition to cultural modemtation and Western-driven globalization, and in the specifics of Islamic religious foundational sources and subsequent interpretations. But Islam, too, projects soft power in its own globalization drive. And therein lies one of Islam's yet to be fully understood and appreciated weaknesses as extreme interpretations of Islam, and theological homogenizing tendencies in particular, clash with the cultural diversity of Muslim societies. It is a weakness that can be leveraged for policy purposes.
Root Causes of Terrorism
Authors: Khan Muhammad Mahroof , Azam Afshan ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Serious study of terrorism requires a proper understanding of why individuals turn extremism md what motivates them to join terrorist organizations. This essay analyzes socio-economic, cultural, religious, and psychological dimensions in a comprehensive framework gauging the "root causes" of terrorism The analysis is based on data collected from Pakistan-based organtations serving as allies of Al-Qaeda. The results indicate that almost all sample resporuients involved in terrorism were unmarried males exposed to fundamentalist teachings of the Qur'an. All believed that if they sacrificed themselves for the sake of their religion, they would be blessed with paradise in life after death. The essay employs relevant models in order to identify empirically the effects of education, an individual's age, household income, and rural or urban residence. The resulting evidence on the individual level suggests that both higher standards of living and education are negatively associated with participation in terrorist activities.
Muslim-Christian Dialogue in Peyami Safa's The Armchair of Mademoiselle Noraliya
Authors: Aksoy Sureyya Elif ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Peyami Safa, a twentieth-century novelist, journalist and intellectual, and one of the major personalities of conservatism in Turkey, encouraged Muslim and Christian believers to search for common ground and shared values that would yield a happy, virtuous way of life. His novel, The Armchair of Mademoiselle Noraliya, features character, Noraliya, who epitomizes the common ground between Islam and Christianity as a guide to peace of mind for individuals lost in the maze of modemity. Safa's literary construct is rooted in both religious inclination and admiration for the modem mind. Drawing on the main elements of the novel, this essay focuses on those features that reflect Safa's idea of a personal mysticism reached through religion, as well as interreligious dialogue, Safa's approach exemplifies Turkey's unique position in the Muslim world, inviting comparison arui appreciation of the nuances among the historical manifestations of Islam.
Nationalism, News Media and Tolerance in Croatia
Authors: Peck Lee Anne ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Since the end of the Balkan conflict of the 1990s, Croatia has been in the process of becoming a new society. As part of this transition, the Croatian news media are aspiring to practice a more democratic and professional journalism promoting an open forum. As Croatia looks forward to joining the European Union, nationalism remains a challenge for objective news reporting. How can the Croatian news media help toward this new society and its need for more unity? The news media play a central role in presenting the debates, remembering there is no room for biased reporting or hate speech, and that all should be treated equally regardless of nationality, race, class or gender. This essay draws on John Stuart Mill's concepts of freedom of the press, character building and tolerance, and concludes that open-minded Croatian students who study and are trained in Western-style journalism that stresses independence and freedom of expression are the country's best hope for transforming Croatian media via truthful, fair, and balanced news reporting in the future.
Child Soldiers in Africa
Authors: Yina Martin N. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Modem warfare has a devastating effect on the well-being of children, especially those described as child soldiers. These children are taken out of their safe environment, their rights are violated, and they are subjected by warlords to all forms of suffering that not befit any stage of their life. Their experiences distort their personal development and disrupt family and community life. This essay explores the impact of war on children in a globalized world with particular focus on Sierra Leone and Uganda, two countries in Africa with prolonged wars. Efforts by various organizations and agencies to rehabilitate and reintegrate these children are commendable, but more preventive measures entailing political, economic, andl cultural changes are needed that provide young people with productive opportunities. Contemporary means of communication sensitive to indigenous cultures are also needed to complement folk media and empower people to demobilize and reintegrate child soldiers as well as prevent child soldiering.
Enlightenment Science and Globalization
Authors: Dilley Stephen C. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

An important intellectual challenge posed by globalization is how Enlightenment science interacts with traditional non-Western worldviews. This essay analyzes a key facet this challenge: the union of Darwinism with traditional conservative values. Political scientist Larry Amhart proposes that Darwinism provides a biological fouruiation for conservative notions of human nature, traditional morality, family values, private property, limited govemment, and the like. A foundation for his view is an Enlightenment claim that the laws of nature arui material causes are sufficient to produce "emergent" human minds capable of the kind of free will consistent with moral responsibility. Yet Amhart's stance implies determinism of the mind and the disintegration of morality. As such, members of the global community who hold conservative values need to re-examine the parameters of Enlightenment science in light of a more traditional view, which has a richer understanding of the human mind, will, and moral responsibility.
Netflix Nations: The Geography of Digital Distribution
Authors: Mejías Guillermo
Published: January 2021

No procede ya que se trata de una reseña
Fake news, disinformation and the democratic state
Authors: Richards Julian
Published: January 2021

From the 2014 referendum in the UK on Scottish independence, a number of political leaders in the West have accused the Russian government of industrial-scale organised disinformation, designed to undermine the democratic process. A number of allegations have also suggested that the Kremlin has been providing financial and other aid to far-right groups in the West to disrupt the political process. In this analysis, the case study of the UK is taken in the period 2014-20. An examination is taken of current research on the scale and effect of organised Russian disinformation strategies; and the emerging official narrative in the UK government about how to deal with the problem. This narrative reveals a complex interplay between defending democracy, while maintaining a “hands-off” approach and ensuring that tech business is welcomed.