bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
IS RELIABILISM A FORM OF CONSEQUENTIALISM?
Authors: Dunn Jeffrey , Ahlstrom-Vij Kristoffer
Published: February 2022

Reliabilism—the view that a belief is justified iff it is produced by a reliable process—is often characterized as a form of consequentialism. Recently, critics of reliabilism have suggested that since it is a form of consequentialism, reliabilism condones a variety of problematic trade-offs involving cases where someone forms an epistemically deficient belief now that will lead her to more epistemic value later. In the present paper, we argue that the relevant argument against reliabilism fails because it equivocates. While there is a sense in which reliabilism is a kind of consequentialism, it is not of a kind on which we should expect problematic trade-offs.
A DEFENSE OF SCALAR UTILITARIANISM
Authors: Tobia Kevin Patrick
Published: February 2022

Scalar Utilitarianism eschews foundational notions of rightness and wrongness in favor of evaluative comparisons of outcomes. I defend Scalar Utilitarianism from two critiques, the first against an argument for the thesis that Utilitarianism’s commitments are fundamentally evaluative (or Scalar), and the second that Scalar Utilitarianism does not issue demands or sufficiently guide action. These defenses suggest a variety of more plausible Scalar Utilitarian interpretations, and I argue for a version that best represents a moral theory founded on evaluative notions, and offers better answers to demandingness concerns than does the ordinary Scalar Utilitarian response. If Utilitarians seek reasonable development and explanation of their basic commitments, they may wish to reconsider Scalar Utilitarianism.
EPISTEMIC VALUE: THE INSUFFICIENCY OF TRUTH
Authors: Gaultier Benoit
Published: February 2022

We are naturally inclined to judge that it is better to know that p than to merely truly believe that p. How to account for this intuition? In this paper, I examine Williamson, Goldman and Olsson, and Pritchard’s answers, and agree with Pritchard that it cannot be consistently claimed that (a) knowledge is epistemically superior to mere true belief, and that (b) truth is the only finally valuable epistemic good. Contrary to Pritchard, I argue that the latter claim is deeply mistaken. I do so by showing that mere true beliefs have no epistemic value at all. I sketch the consequences of this point concerning the epistemic value of knowledge, and answer some objections to the thesis that mere true beliefs do not possess epistemic value.
NORMS, CONSTITUTIVE AND SOCIAL, AND ASSERTION
Authors: Fricker Elizabeth
Published: February 2022

I define a social norm as a regularity in behavior whose persistence is causally explained by the existence of sanctioning attitudes of participants toward violations—without these sanctions, individuals have motive to violate the norm. I show how a universal precept "When in circumstances S, do action F" can be sustained by the conditional preference of each to conform, given that others do, of a convention, and also reinforced by the sanctions of a norm. I observe that a precept with moral force can be reinforced by a social norm. I then consider constitutive norms and show by means of an example, competitive figure skating, how a type of activity or practice G can have a constitutive norm NG. An ongoing activity in a community is engagement in that practice only if NG is reinforced as a social norm by participants. I apply this to the case of assertion: the speech act type Assertion has a constitutive norm NA, and a practice of making speech acts in a community is one of making assertions only if it is controlled by NA enforced by the sanctions of a social norm.
PROMISES AND THE BACKWARD REACH OF UPTAKE
Authors: Liberto Hallie
Published: February 2022

I present a set of cases that pose problems for existing theories of promissory uptake. These cases involve (i) a delayed receipt and/or acceptance of a promise, though the obligation arises before the receipt or acceptance has taken place; (ii) a delay or absence of agency on the part of the promisee—making it impossible to satisfy the various suggested uptake criteria, though promissory obligation is nonetheless generated; and (iii) the promise is made to someone, de dicto—that is, the person who will be the promisee has not yet been filled in at the time when the obligation begins. I identify clues within each theory of promising to determine the temporal and agency-related boundaries on promissory obligation. I then introduce the backward reach of uptake.
THE TRANSMISSION VIEW OF TESTIMONY AND THE PROBLEM OF CONFLICTING JUSTIFICATION
Authors: Leonard Nick
Published: February 2022

According to the Transmission View of Testimony (TVT): TVT: If a speaker testifies to a hearer that p, and if the hearer is justified in believing that p on the basis of that speaker’s testimony, then the hearer’s belief is justified by whatever justification the speaker has for believing that p. The aim of this paper is to develop and defend a novel objection to the TVT.
RESEMBLANCE, EXEMPLIFICATION, AND ONTOLOGY
Authors: Valore Paolo
Published: February 2022

According to the quantificational (neo-)Quinean model in meta-ontology, the question of ontology boils down to the question of whether a sortal property is exemplified. I address some complications that arise when we try to build a philosophical reconstruction of the link between individuals and kinds displayed in the exemplification relation from the point of view of conceptualism about kinds and having in mind this stand in ontology. I distinguish two notions of resemblance, objectto-object and object-to-kind, and show the problems with both of them. Finally, I argue for a better awareness of the implicit "bias" involved in the very notion of "resemblance," without indulging in Quine’s veto toward this notion.
THREE CONCEPTIONS OF THE LOGICAL FORM OF EXEMPLIFICATION
Authors: Buonomo Valerio
Published: February 2022

My aim in this paper is to discuss the logical form of exemplification. In order to achieve this goal, I analyze three views on the logical form of exemplification, namely, Gustav Bergmann’s logical realism, Wilfrid Sellars’s meta-linguistic expressivism, and Javier Cumpa’s logical eliminativism. I start by examining the account advanced by Bergmann in his 1960 essay "Ineffability, Ontology, and Method," according to which the logical form of exemplification is represented by the juxtaposition of logical signs in a sentence. Then I consider two alternatives to Bergmann’s realism, namely, Sellars’s meta-linguistic expressivism, according to which exemplification is a quasi-semantical relation that is accounted for at a meta-linguistic level; and Cumpa’s molecular theory of exemplification—which I will call logical eliminativism—according to which exemplification is an eliminable constituent of facts. I conclude that neither the account advanced by Sellars nor the one provided by Cumpa is preferable to Bergmann’s account of the logical form of exemplification, while offering a defense of the latter.
NO EPISTEMIC NORM FOR ACTION
Authors: Simion Mona
Published: February 2022

One central debate in recent literature on epistemic normativity concerns the epistemic norm for action. This paper argues that this debate is afflicted by a category mistake: strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an epistemic norm for action. To this effect, I introduce a distinction between epistemic norms and norms with epistemic content; I argue that while it is plausible that norms of the latter type will govern action in general, epistemic norms will only govern actions characteristically associated with delivering epistemic goods.
MAKING A CONTRIBUTION AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Authors: McDonnell Neil
Published: February 2022

There are at least two different concepts that philosophers might target when analyzing causation: a pre-selective notion and a selective notion. This paper argues that these two distinct conceptions have been conflated to date, citing the puzzles of overdetermination, extensionality, and transitivity as evidence. The primary aim of the paper is to help reset the methodological scene concerning analyses of causation.
ARISTOTELIAN NATURALISM VS. MUTANTS, ALIENS, AND THE GREAT RED DRAGON
Authors: Woodcock Scott
Published: February 2022

In this paper I present a new objection to the Aristotelian Naturalism (AN) defended by Philippa Foot. I describe this objection as a membership objection because it reveals the fact that AN invites counterexamples when pressed to identify the individuals bound by its normative claims. I present three examples of agents for whom the norms generated by AN are not obviously authoritative: mutants, aliens, and the Great Red Dragon. Those who continue to advocate for Foot’s view can give compelling replies to the first two of these examples, but their replies drive the view into an unwelcome result when it faces the last example. I conclude that the concept of being human, on which AN crucially depends, is not as straightforward as Foot’s advocates presume.
ETIOLOGICAL CHALLENGES TO RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
Authors: De Cruz Helen
Published: February 2022

There is a common assumption that evolutionary explanations of religion undermine religious beliefs. Do etiological accounts similarly affect the rationality of religious practices? To answer this question, this paper looks at two influential evolutionary accounts of ritual, the hazard-precaution model and costly signaling theory. It examines whether Cuneo’s account of ritual knowledge as knowing to engage God can be maintained in the light of these evolutionary accounts. While the evolutionary accounts under consideration are not metaphysically incompatible with the idea that religious rituals engage God, they cast doubt on whether many, if not all, rituals can do this successfully.
THE INVALIDITY OF THE ARGUMENT FROM ILLUSION
Authors: French Craig , Walters Lee
Published: February 2022

The argument from illusion attempts to establish the bold claim that we are never perceptually aware of ordinary material objects. The argument has rightly received a great deal of critical scrutiny. But here we develop a criticism that, to our knowledge, has not hitherto been explored. We consider the canonical form of the argument as it is captured in contemporary expositions. There are two stages to our criticism. First, we show that the argument is invalid. Second, we identify premises that can be used to make the argument valid. But we argue that the obvious fixes are problematic. If our arguments are successful, we show that the argument from illusion is even more difficult to defend than is commonly acknowledged.
THE NORMATIVITY OF DOXASTIC CORRECTNESS
Authors: Ho Tsung-Hsing
Published: February 2022

It is widely maintained that doxastic norms that govern how people should believe can be explained by the truism that belief is governed by the correctness norm: believing p is correct if and only if p.This approach fails because it confuses two kinds of correctness norm: (1) It is correct for S to believe p if and only p; and (2) believing p is correct qua belief if and only if p. Only can (2) be said to be a truism about belief, but it cannot ground doxastic norms.
MORAL STEADFASTNESS AND META-ETHICS
Authors: Fritz James , McPherson Tristram
Published: February 2022

Call the following claim Asymmetry: rationality often requires (or permits) a more steadfast response to pure moral disagreement than it does to otherwise analogous non-moral disagreement. This paper briefly motivates Asymmetry and explores its implications for meta-ethics. Some philosophers have thought that anti-realists are better-placed than realists to explain Asymmetry because, if anti-realism is true, disagreement cannot provide evidence against the reliability of one’s thinking about objective moral facts. This paper argues that this simple diagnosis fails to support otherwise plausible anti-realisms. It closes by discussing an alternative explanation for Asymmetry, which appeals to the moral importance of steadfastness.
PATERNALISM, DISAGREEMENTS, AND THE MORAL DIFFERENCE
Authors: Groll Daniel
Published: February 2022

Cases of paternalism usually involve disagreement between the paternalist and the paternalized subject. But not all the disagreements that give rise to paternalism are of the same kind and, as a result, not all instances of paternalism are morally on a par. There is, in other words, a moral difference between different kinds of paternalism, which can be explained in terms of the nature of the disagreements that give rise to the paternalism in the first place. This paper offers a novel account of how to characterize the nature of these disagreements such that we can explain this moral difference.
DISAGREEMENT AND THE DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP
Authors: Pallikkathayil Japa
Published: February 2022

Political liberalism holds that some kinds of disagreement give rise to a duty of restraint. On this view, citizens ought to limit the considerations they invoke in political advocacy to those that meet a certain kind of publicity requirement. Many of the arguments for political liberalism’s duty of restraint contain a grain of truth. But properly understood, these arguments instead support the duty of responsiveness, which directs citizens to respond to disagreement in a very different way than the duty of restraint recommends.
HOW TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE OF PEER DISAGREEMENT
Authors: Palmira Michele
Published: February 2022

While it seems hard to deny the epistemic significance of a disagreement with our acknowledged epistemic peers, there are certain disagreements, such as philosophical disagreements, which appear to be permissibly sustainable. These two claims, each independently plausible, are jointly puzzling. This paper argues for a solution to this puzzle. The main tenets of the solution are two. First, the peers ought to engage in a deliberative activity of discovering more about their epistemic position vis-à-vis the issue at stake. Secondly, the peers are permitted to do so while entertaining a sui generis doxastic attitude of hypothesis.
MORAL DISAGREEMENT AND INEXCUSABLE IRRATIONALITY
Authors: Wedgwood Ralph
Published: February 2022

This essay explores the following position: Ultimate moral principles are a priori truths; hence, it is irrational to assign a non-zero credence to any proposition that is incompatible with these ultimate moral principles (since such propositions are a priori false); and this sort of irrationality, if it could have been avoided, is in a sense inexcusable. So—at least if moral relativism is false—in any disagreement about ultimate moral principles, at least one party to the disagreement is inexcusably irrational. This position may seem extreme, but it is argued that it is more plausible than it first appears.
EPISTEMOLOGICAL DISJUNCTIVISM AND THE INTERNALIST CHALLENGE
Authors: Shaw Kegan
Published: February 2022

The paper highlights how a popular version of epistemological disjunctivism (Pritchard 2012, 2016) labors under a kind of ‘internalist challenge’—a challenge that seems to have gone largely unacknowledged by disjunctivists. This is the challenge to vindicate the supposed ‘internalist insight’ that disjunctivists claim their view does well to protect (Littlejohn forthcoming 2015). The paper argues that if we advance disjunctivism within a context that recognizes a distinction between merely functional and judgmental belief (Sosa 2015), we get a view that easily overcomes the internalist challenge.
THE COSMOLOGY OF ANAXIMENES
Authors: Kočandrle Radim
Published: February 2022

A number of aspects of the cosmology of Anaximenes of Miletus have not yet been convincingly explained, but we can assume that a starting point was the notion of a universe stretching only between a flat earth and heaven. This gave the cosmology its “meteorological” character: heavenly bodies were viewed as ignited evaporations of moisture. They were thought of as moving only above the earth’s surface, and their rising and setting were explained as an optical illusion. Similar approaches appear not only in the Greek epic tradition but even in the writings of Xenophanes. It can therefore be assumed that Anaximenes’s conception is representative of contemporary Ionian explanations of cosmological events.
THE ROLE OF ESSENTIALLY ORDERED CAUSAL SERIES IN AVICENNA’S PROOF FOR THE NECESSARY EXISTENT IN THEMETAPHYSICS OF THE SALVATION
Authors: Byrne Celia
Published: February 2022

Avicenna’s proof for the existence of God (the Necessary Existent) in the Metaphysics of the Salvation relies on the claim that every possible existent shares a common cause. I argue that Avicenna has good reason to hold this claim given that he thinks that (1) every essentially ordered causal series originates in a first, common cause and that (2) every possible existent belongs to an essentially ordered series. Showing Avicenna’s commitment to 1 and 2 allows me to respond to Herbert Davidson’s and Richard Swinburne’s claim that Avicenna’s proof for the Necessary Existent is incomplete and fallacious.
WISDOM, PIETY, AND SUPERHUMAN VIRTUE
Authors: Frank Daniel
Published: February 2022

This article moves between Aristotle, Maimonides, and the Stoics. Aristotle’s moral taxonomy, outlined in NE 7.1, appears problematic, given his view that, in the sphere of moral virtue, the intermediate (temperance, courage) is the extreme, and there is no excess of temperance or courage. This is hard to square with the moral agent whom he describes as possessed of “hyperbolic” (hyperbole, excessive) virtue. As Aristotle has very little to say about the latter, I turn to Maimonides and the Stoics for clarification and enlightenment.
CLARKE’S REJECTION OF SUPERADDED GRAVITY IN THE CLARKE–COLLINS CORRESPONDENCE
Authors: Wolf Lukas
Published: February 2022

In the past, experts have disagreed about whether Samuel Clarke accepted the idea that gravity is a power superadded to matter by God. Most scholars now agree that Clarke did not support superaddition. But the argumentation employed by Clarke to reject superaddition has not been studied before in detail. In this paper, I explicate Clarke’s argumentation by relating it to an important discussion about the possibility of superadded gravity in the Clarke–Collins correspondence. I examine Clarke’s responses to Collins and draw on his other works to reconstruct Clarke’s reasons for rejecting superadded gravity.
HEGEL, NORMS, AND ONTOLOGY
Authors: Saunders Joe
Published: February 2022

This paper lays out two recent accounts of Hegel’s practical philosophy in order to present a challenge. According to Robert Stern and Mark Alznauer, Hegel attempts to ground our ethical practices in ontological norms. I argue that we cannot ground our ethical practices in this way. However, I also contend that Stern’s and Alznauer’s conception of reality as both conceptual and normative can still play a useful role in practical philosophy, namely, to help defuse a sceptical worry about a threat to ethics.
THE MANY PROBLEMS OF MULTIPLE REALIZATION
Authors: Aizawa Kenneth
Published: February 2022

This paper has two principal goals. The first is to set out a bit of conceptual cartography, mapping out a number of distinct conceptual issues that are frequently conflated in the vast literature on multiple realization. The second is to review very briefly how work by Carl Gillett and myself attempts to address a few of the many problems of multiple realization. One of these is explaining what Jerry Fodor apparently took to be mysterious, namely, how multiple realization of properties is possible.
THEORIES OF MULTIPLE REALIZATION
Authors: Shapiro Lawrence
Published: February 2022

Philosophers look to the realization relation as a way to make sense of the possibility that special science kinds are physical, yet not reducible to kinds in physics. A realized property fails to reduce because it can be realized in multiple ways, thus blocking its identification with lower-level properties. One prominent analysis of realization, subset realization, distinguishes multiple realizers on the basis their “left-over powers,” that is, those that don’t contribute to the individuative powers of the realizer. However, I argue, the subset analysis of realization fails to mark an important distinction between different ways that a property might be realized, and also makes questions about the reducibility of kinds—presumably an empirical issue—tractable from the armchair. I offer as an alternative mechanistic multiple realization, which avoids both these problems.
WHY CARE ABOUT NON-NATURAL REASONS?
Authors: Chappell Richard Yetter
Published: February 2022

Are non-natural properties worth caring about? I consider two (related) objections to metaethical non-naturalism. According to the intelligibility objection, it would be positively unintelligible to care about non-natural properties that float free from the causal fabric of the cosmos. According to the ethical idlers objection, there is no compelling motivation to posit non-natural normative properties because the natural properties suffice to provide us with reasons. In both cases, I argue, the objection stems from misunderstanding the role that non-natural properties play in the non-naturalist’s understanding of normativity. The role of non-natural properties is not to be responded to, but to “mark” which natural properties it is correct for us to respond to in certain ways.
EMPOWERING RATIONALITY
Authors: Andreou Chrisoula
Published: February 2022

This paper defends a version of the view that, sometimes, rational choice between two options can be grounded on a good reason whose justifying force does not depend on how the two options compare. The route via which this view is arrived at does not presuppose the existence of incomparable options, and so allows for common ground with skeptics about incomparability. Still, it requires that challenging cases be acknowledged and addressed, rather than abstracted from or assumed away. Ultimately, the reasoning provided suggests that rationality can handle quite a lot of messiness, which is important, since rationality wouldn’t be all that helpful if, whenever messiness threatened, we had to rush to its rescue rather than look to it for guidance.
CRITICAL INJUSTICE
Authors: Hazlett Allan
Published: February 2022

In this paper I examine unjust deficits of criticism, or what I call cases of “critical injustice.” In paradigm cases of testimonial injustice, prejudice leads one person to give insufficient credibility to another. In paradigm cases of critical injustice, prejudice leads one person to offer insufficient criticism of another. Here I articulate the concept of critical injustice and give an explanation of why it is a species of injustice. I also describe a non-prejudicial species of critical injustice and discuss a possible tension between the goal of preventing testimonial injustice and the goal of preventing critical injustice.
ARNAULD’S GOD RECONSIDERED
Authors: Stencil Eric
Published: February 2022

In this paper, I defend a novel interpretation of Antoine Arnauld’s conception of God, namely a partially hidden conception of God. I focus on divine simplicity and whether God acts for reasons. I argue that Arnauld holds the view that God, God’s action, and God’s attributes are (i) identical and (ii) conceptually distinct but that (iii) there are no conceptual priorities among them. Next, I argue that Arnauld’s view about whether God has any type of reasons is agnosticism but that there are certain types of reasons we know that God does not have, for example, practical reasons.
DIAIRESISANDKOINŌNIAINSOPHIST253D1–E3
Authors: Smith Colin C.
Published: February 2022

Here I interpret a central passage in Plato’s Sophist by focusing on understudied elements that provide insight into the fit of the dialogue’s parts and of the Sophist–Statesman diptych as a whole. I argue that the Eleatic Stranger’s account of what the dialectician “adequately views” at Sophist 253d1–e3 involves both division and the communion of ontological kinds—not just one or the other as has usually been argued. I also consider other key passages and the turn throughout the dialogue from imagistic opining toward noetic understanding.
SHOULD ARISTOTELIANS ENDORSE THE HARM PRINCIPLE?
Authors: Paddock Caroline
Published: February 2022

J. S. Mill’s harm principle rules out, among other things, the criminalization of purely self-regarding conduct. I argue that Aristotle’s ideas, especially his claims about the interpersonal nature of justice and the importance of the “common good,” provide support for this antipaternalistic principle. I consider whether Aristotelians who are also theists can defend paternalistic and moralistic laws on the grounds that private wrongdoing is an injustice against God. I conclude that they cannot. Finally, I argue that antipaternalists have good reasons to reject individualism about the common good.
SPINNING THE WHORL OF THE SPINDLE
Authors: Corrias Anna
Published: February 2022

Marsilio Ficino (1433–99) was greatly intrigued by the questions on free will raised by the myth of Er in Plato’s Republic. By focusing on his Argumentum in Platonis Respublicam, this article discusses Ficino’s interpretation of the myth in light of his view on the faculties of the soul—intellect, reason, the imagination, and the vegetative power—and of how they become subject to providence or fate. Moreover, it will situate Ficino’s discussion of the myth within his understanding of the universe as an interconnected organism in which different levels of life are perfectly attuned with one another.
A PROBLEM IN DU CHÂTELET’S METAPHYSICAL FOUNDATIONS OF PHYSICS
Authors: Slavov Matias
Published: February 2022

To provide metaphysical grounds for the physics of her time, Du Châtelet argued for the notion of an active force. This was different from the impressed force in Newton’s second law. The former force was a property of a body, whereas the latter was an external cause. I shall study this discrepancy and argue that the interactive concept of force in Newton’s third law is consistent with Du Châtelet’s standards for an intelligible physics. Consequently, the interaction entailed by the law of universal gravitation complies with Du Châtelet’s principles of human knowledge.
PETER OF PALUDE AND THE FIERY FURNACE
Authors: Toth Zita V.
Published: February 2022

According to most medieval thinkers, whenever something causally acts on another thing, God also acts with it. Durand of St.-Pourçain, an early fourteenth-century Dominican philosopher, disagrees. This paper is about a fourteenth-century objection to Durand’s view, which I will call the Fiery Furnace Objection, as formulated by Durand’s contemporary, Peter of Palude. Although Peter of Palude is not usually regarded as a particularly original thinker, this paper calls attention to one of his more interesting controversies with his fellow friar, while it also clarifies how some medieval thinkers understood the broadly speaking Aristotelian conviction that causes and effects are necessarily related.
ON SOME LEIBNIZIAN ARGUMENTS FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF SUFFICIENT REASON
Authors: Harrop Stephen
Published: February 2022

Leibniz often refers to the Principle of Sufficient Reason as something like a first principle. In some texts, however, he attempts to give positive arguments in its favor. I examine two such arguments and find them wanting. The first argument has two defects. First, it is question-begging; and, second, when the question-begging step is excised, the principle that one can derive is highly counterintuitive. The second argument is valid, but it has the defect of reaching only a nearly trivial conclusion.
REVISING GENERAL EDUCATION: ASSESSING A CRITICAL THINKING INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL IN THE BASIC COMMUNICATION COURSE
Authors: Mazer Joseph P. , Hunt Stephen K. , Kuznekoff Jeffrey H.
Published: February 2022

This study examined critical thinking instruction in a required introductory communication course (N = 324). Experimental group participants received enhanced instruction using various active learning strategies, activities, and assignments. Results indicate significant improvement in their critical thinking skills. Implications for pedagogy and general education course design and assessment are discussed.
A backward difference formulation for analyzing the dynamics of capital stocks
Authors:   The Centre of Foundation Studies for Agricultural Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Abdul Sathar M. H. , Rasedee A. F. N. ,   Faculty of Economics and Muamalat, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Ramli N. A. ,   Faculty of Economics and Muamalat, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Ishak N. ,   Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Hamzah S. R. ,   Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Matarneh E. ,   Institute for Mathematical Research, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Mohd S. M. ,   Kolej Genius Insan, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Jan Md. N. ,   Kolej Genius Insan, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
Published: February 2022

The current study provides a numerical method that is derived in a backward difference formulation for ordinary differential equations. The proposed method employs a constant step size algorithm of order 12. The backward difference formulation serves as a competitive algorithm for solving ordinary differential equations. In the current study, the backward difference method is used to analyze the dynamics of capital stocks in terms of depreciation rate for the capital–labor ratio. Results provided in this study will validate the accuracy of the backward difference algorithm hence proving it as a viable alternative for analyzing economic problems in the form of ordinary differential equations.
Pursuit differential game of many pursuers and one evader in a convex hyperspace
Authors:   Department of Mathematics and Statistics and Institute for Mathematical Research, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Alias I. A. , Jaman K. ,   Department of Mathematics and Statistics and Institute for Mathematical Research, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Ibragimov G. ,   Department of Mathematics and Statistics and Institute for Mathematical Research, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Published: February 2022

A pursuit differential game of many pursuers and one evader in a nonempty closed convex compact hyperspace is studied. Pursuit is completed when at least one pursuer coincides with the evader. Control functions of players are constrained by geometric constraints. A pursuit game in a set containing a closed convex compact set is solved, and pursuit is shown to be completed in a pursuit game within a finite-dimensional cube. Parallel strategy and fictitious pursuers are used to solve the game, and a guaranteed pursuit time is obtained.
Mathematical modeling of Leptospirosis spread in Malaysia
Authors:   Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Chong J. W. , Tiong W. K. ,   Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Labadin J. ,   Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Sahak N. ,   Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Published: February 2022

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that is caused by the pathogen Leptospira, and it can spread indirectly or directly from infected animals to humans. According to the official statistics from the Malaysian Ministry of Health, leptospirosis outbreaks appeared to be in the most critical condition in the recent few years. The Susceptible--Infected--Recovered compartmental model and its extensions have been applied widely in disease modeling. This paper aims to present a compartmental model for leptospirosis spread in Malaysia. Using this approach, an epidemiological model is formulated for humans and vector populations. Our results indicate that the transmission rate from susceptible to infected vectors and the vector birth rate play a significant role in determining the number of infected humans. Besides, they have an impact on the duration of the outbreak as well. The simulation results have been compared with the actual data in 2017 and the analysis shows that the proposed model is able to predict the outbreak recorded in Malaysia.
Robust bootstrap regression testing in the presence of outliers
Authors:   Department of Statistics, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Hassan S. U. , Ali K. H. ,   Department of Statistics, University of Al-Qadisiyah
Published: February 2022

Bootstrap is one of the random sampling methods with replacement, that was proposed to address the problem of small samples whose distributions are difficult to derive. The distribution of bootstrap samples is empirical or free and due to its random sampling with replacement, the probability of choosing a specific observation may be equal to one. Unfortunately, when the original sample data contains an outlier, there is a serious problem that leads to a breakdown OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) estimator, and robust regression methods should be recommended. It is well known that the best robust regression method has a high breakdown point is not more than 0.50, so the robust regression method would break down when the percentage of outliers in the bootstrap sample exceeds 0.50. It is well known that fixed-x bootstrap is resampled the residuals which probably are having outliers. Moreover, the leverage point(s) is an outlier that occurs in X-direction, so the effects of it on fixed-x bootstrap samples would be existence. However, the decision-making about the null hypothesis of bootstrap regression coefficients could not be reliable. In this paper, we propose using weighted fixed-x bootstrap with a probability approach to guarantee the percentage of outliers in the bootstrap samples will be very low. And then weighted M-estimate should be to tackle the problem of outliers and leverage points and taking a more reliable decision about bootstrap regression coefficients hypothesis test. The performance of the suggested method has been tested with others by using real data and simulation. The results show our proposed method is more efficient and reliable than the others.
The evolution of geometric Robertson–Schrödinger uncertainty principle for spin 1 system
Authors:   Centre of Foundation Studies for Agricultural Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Umair H. , Zainuddin H. ,   Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia; Institute for Mathematical Research, University Putra Malaysia, Chan K. T. ,   Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Said Husain Sh. K. ,   Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia; Institute for Mathematical Research, University Putra Malaysia
Published: February 2022

Geometric Quantum Mechanics is a mathematical framework that shows how quantum theory may be expressed in terms of Hamiltonian phase-space dynamics. The states are points in complex projective Hilbert space, the observables are real valued functions on the space, and the Hamiltonian flow is specified by the Schrödinger equation in this framework. The quest to express the uncertainty principle in geometrical language has recently become the focus of significant research in geometric quantum mechanics. One has demonstrated that the Robertson–Schrödinger uncertainty principle, which is a stronger version of the uncertainty relation, can be defined in terms of symplectic form and Riemannian metric. On the basis of this formulation, we study the dynamical behavior of the uncertainty relation for the spin 1 system in this work. We show that under Hamiltonian flow, the Robertson–Schrödinger uncertainty principles are not invariant. This is because, unlike the symplectic area, the Riemannian metric is not invariant under Hamiltonian flow throughout the evolution process.
Solving overbooking appointment scheduling problem under patient no-show condition using heuristics procedure and genetic algorithm
Authors:   Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Chua W. Y. , Rahmin N. A. A. ,   Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Nawawi A. ,   Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Published: February 2022

The existence of an efficient appointment schedule is important in the healthcare system since it can minimize patient waiting time, resource idle time, and resource overtime and, hence, optimize the utilization and productivity of healthcare organization. In this research, the overbooking technique is implemented to compensate for patient no-show behavior. The aims of this research are to identify the maximum number of patients that can be assigned to a time slot by examining the effects of multiple assignment and to construct a near-optimal overbooking appointment schedule. Heuristics procedure and genetic algorithm are used in this research. From the results obtained, the number of patients that can be assigned to a time slot is found to be at most three. This information can reduce the conflict which may occur when the patients arrive simultaneously. The results also show that the genetic algorithm has a better performance than the heuristics procedure in solving this problem.
Effect of suction on the MHD flow in a doubly-stratified micropolar fluid over a shrinking sheet
Authors:   Fakulti Teknologi Kejuruteraan Mekanikal dan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Khashi'ie N. S. , Wahi N. ,   Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Arifin N. M. ,   Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Ghani A. A. ,   Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Hamzah K. B. ,   Fakulti Teknologi Kejuruteraan Mekanikal dan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
Published: February 2022

This paper investigates the influence of suction on the flow, heat and mass transfer characteristics over a permeable shrinking sheet immersed in a doubly stratified micropolar fluid. The model which consists of partial differential equations is converted into a set of nonlinear equations using similarity transformations and then solved using the bvp4c solver. Numerical results obtained are presented graphically for the distributions of velocity, angular velocity, temperature and concentration profiles within the boundary layer for various values of the magnetic parameter and wall mass suction parameter. It is visualized that the enhancement of suction parameter will increase the skin friction, heat transfer rate (local Nusselt number) and Sherwood number. It is also found that as the magnetic parameter increase, there is an increment in the skin friction while opposite results are obtained for the local Nusselt number and Sherwood number.
Variable order step size method for solving orbital problems with periodic solutions
Authors:   Faculty of Economics and Muamalat, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Rasedee A. F. N. , Jamaludin N. A. ,   Centre for Defence Foundation Studies, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Najib N. ,   Faculty of Economics and Muamalat, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Abdul Sathar M. H. ,   The Centre of Foundation Studies for Agricultural Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Wong T. J. ,   Department of Science and Technology, Faculty of Humanities, Management and Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Koo L. F. ,   Department of Science and Technology, Faculty of Humanities, Management and Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Published: February 2022

Existing variable order step size numerical techniques for solving a system of higher-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs) requires direct calculating the integration coefficients at each step change. In this study, a variable order step size is presented for direct solving higher-order orbital equations. The proposed algorithm calculates the integration coefficients only once at the beginning and, if necessary, once at the end. The accuracy of the numerical approximation is validated with well-known orbital differential equations. To reduce computational costs, we obtain the relationship for the predictor-corrector algorithm between integration coefficients of various orders. The efficiency of the proposed method is substantiated by the graphical representation of accuracy at the total evaluation steps.
Forgotten Ganglion: Ganglion Sublinguale
Authors: Ozyurt Birsen
Published: February 2022

This study is aimed to reming the presence of ganglion sublinguale. Currently, 4 parasympathetic ganglion have been mentioned in head and neck region. Although contemporary anatomy textbooks report the ganglion submandibulare, the ganglion sublinguale has not been described in these texts. However, the ganglion sublinguale was reported by earlier researchers. Recently, Takezawa and Kageyama showed a seperate sublingual gaanglion, related to the sublingual gland [1]. This information was supported by descriptions in 19th century anatomy textbooks. A thorough understanding of the ganglion sublinguale is very important for anatomy education and oral surgical procedures.
Case Report: Methotrexate and Etoposide as Adjuvant Therapy on Patient with Hydatidiform Moles that Have Growing Rapidly Becomes Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia
Authors: Supriyono
Published: February 2022

A hydatidiform mole is a type of placental abnormality that is associated with gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD). It can be complete or partial mole. They are typically considered benign, but they are also premalignant, with the potential to become malignant and invasive to other organs (gestational trophoblastic neoplasia/GTN). Management of the hydatiform moles is curettage therapy and suction, which aims to therapy and diagnostic. Follow-up post evacuation of moles must be tight with serum hCG and clinical examination. When there is evidence of vaginal bleeding and an increase in serum hCG, chemotherapy must be used as an adjuvant. This case report intends to persuade clinicians that adjuvant therapy with chemotherapy combination-based Methotrexate/MTX and etoposide can recover and eliminate vaginal bleeding disorders. On her first pregnancy, a woman of 27 years old develops a complete hydatiform mole. The curettage and suction procedure were then performed twice. She also receives chemotherapy in three series of single MTX and three series of MTX plus Etoposide. Following this therapy, the patient recovers, normal hCG level and has no vaginal bleeding problems.
Prevalence, Knowledge and Treatment of Systemic Arterial Hypertension in A Campaign Day
Authors: Cestario Elizabeth do Espirito Santo , Santim Anderson Aparecido , Beretta Alves Beatriz , Pereira Alcarde Beatriz , Sanches Rodrigues Beatriz , De Souza Nascimento Catarina , De Almeida Spósito Fernanda , Maciel Fernandes Lauane Carolina , Fernandes Garcia Letícia , Bonamim Fiorilli Roberta , Cardoso de Leão Vinicius , Cavallari Vinicius
Published: February 2022

Hypertension affects 1.4 billion of the world population, being considered the main cause of cardiovascular diseases and, therefore, an important cause of premature and preventable mortality worldwide. It is associated with complications such as atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and chronic kidney disease. Given this prevalence and risk, strategies were created to control the disease, such as changes in lifestyle and use of medications. However, non-adherence to treatment is a frequent concern and it is associated with adverse results and an increased number of complications. Therefore, the present study aims to present the incidence of arterial hypertension in the population of a city in the inland part of São Paulo, relating it to its risk factors, adherence to treatment and disease control. The objective is evaluating the incidence and rate of uncontrolled systemic arterial hypertension on a campaign day in a city in the inland part of São Paulo. The method is observational, cross-sectional, descriptive, population-based study, random sample of 545 individuals, 231 women and 314 men, collected in a city in the northwest of São Paulo on a campaign day. The study showed a prevalence of 46.24% for hypertensive patients, with 88.9% adherence to treatment and pressure loss of 34.23%. Among the analyzed hypertensive patients, there was a higher incidence among the elderly, obese, and people with diabetes mellitus. Regarding adherence and disease control, better results were noted among patients with complications such as AMI and thrombotic events, and less adherence among obese, alcoholics and smokers. The results of the present study are consistent with literature data, showing that even with knowledge of the disease, part of the population does not have adequate treatment, showing the need for integrated health policies for early diagnosis, distribution and treatment regulation, and actions to improve lifestyle.
Management and Outcome of Bilateral Elastofibroma Dorsi: 3 Cases Report and Review of Literature
Authors: Karti S. , Jalal A. , Chfiri A. , Diouri M.
Published: February 2022

Elastofibroma dorsi is a rare soft tissues benign tumor with very slow evolution, seen predominantly in females and elderly, It mostly occurs in the infrascapular region, and can be bilateral. The diagnosis is based on clinical presentation and imaging features but pathological study after excision is necessary for confirmation. We present the cases of 3 patients with bilateral elastofibroma dorsi to clarify the clinical features, radiological and therapeutic modalities to improve management, along with a literature review.
Parsonage Turner Syndrome Following COVID-19 Vaccine
Authors: Nawaz Sohaib Bin , Raigam Wathsala A.
Published: February 2022

Parsonage Turner Syndrome (PTS) presents with sudden onset arm pain followed by motor weakness and can be associated with surgery, infection, or vaccination. This case discusses an incidence of PTS following COVID-19 vaccination where symptoms resolved on their own progressively and extensive investigations ruled out cerebrovascular accident or vascular aetiology, and diagnosis of PTS was made. Incidence of such adverse effects is rare and awareness among clinical community can lead to recognition and prompt management of such cases.
Chronic Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Authors: Nawaz Sohaib Bin
Published: February 2022

Chronic rupture of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm is a rare presentation although AAA and its frank rupture is well known phenomenon. Chronic rupture of AAA can be misdiagnosed due to non-specific presentation and absence of haemorrhagic shock. This case report discusses the presentation scenarios as well radiologic findings which may help diagnose a Chronic Ruptured AAA (CR-AAA) and will be helpful in prompt recognition and early management of the situation.