New Horizons of Islamic Studies Through Socio-Cultural Hermeneutics

Pemikiran dan sejarah Islam adalah dua dimensi pokok Islam teologis yang telah mendorong munculnya berbagai kekuatan, sikap keagamaan dan ideologis. Akhirnya, Islam mengandung beberapa makna: Islam sebagai teks (naskah) dan teologi/kalam; Islam sebagai pemikiran kemanusiaan, Islam sebagai sejarah, dan Islam sebagai suatu "lembaga". Dengan berbagai pengertian Islam di dalam benak para pengamat sosial keagamaan tersebut, lalu orang sah menyebut atau mengangkat isu bahwa Islam memang "problematik". Dari sinilah bermula muncul pentingnya metode dan pendekatan dalam studi atau kajian keislaman. Metode ini berbeda dengan yang sudah dikembangkan tahun 70-an, karena metode ini lebih menekankan corak pendekatan (approach) berikut kerangka teori yang digunakan. UIN/IAIN/STAIN (Universitas Islam Negeri/Institut Agama Islam Negeri/Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri) adalah lembaga akademik yang paling bertanggungjawab di tanah air untuk menjelaskan kepada masyarakat luas dengan menggunakan metode dan pendekatan rnutakhir yang dapat dipertanggungjawabkan. Mengingat perkembangan Islam di tanah air dalam hubungannya dengan dunia internasional serta pertemuan dan pertautan keilmuan Islamic Studies dengan ilmu-ilmu lain yang tergambar dalam peta horizon keilmuan Islamic Studies kontemporer, maka fungsi pendidikan pada level Strata satu dan lebih-lebih Pascasarjana Studi Keislaman adalah sangat penting dan strategis

RELIGION, SCIENCE AND CULTURE An Integrated, Interconnected Paradigm of Science

Discussing the paradigm of dialogue and integration in the Islamic science of religion is important since the practice of religious education still applies the paradigm of conflict and independence. These paradigms have a great influence on the formation of socio-religious and cultural ways of thinking. The relationship between Islamic religiousc and natural, social, as well as cultural sciences, needs patterns of integrated, interconnected relations and dialogues. Islamic Studies requires a multidisciplinary approach, that is, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. Scientific linearity, in which science is narrowly defined and mono-disciplinary, will lead to an understanding of religion and religious interpretations that has no contact with and relevance to the context in which it is studied. New types of religious thought that encourage independent discussion and dialogue on the subjective, objective and intersubjective aspects of science and religion will create the emergence of a new type of religiosity in the multicultural era. All of this requires more effort to undertake a serious reconstruction of scientific methodologies and the methodologies of scientific studies of religion [ABSTRAK] [Penerapan paradigma dialog dan integrasi dalam ilmu-ilmu keislaman masih penting untuk didiskusikan mengingat praktik pendidikan agama masih menerapkan paradigm konflik dan independen. Paradigma-paradigma ini memiliki pengaruh yang besar dalam pembentukan cara pandang keagamaan baik sosial maupun kultural. Hubungan antara ilmu-ilmu keislaman di satu sisi dengan ilmu-ilmu alam, sosial, dan budaya di sisi lain, memerlukan pola hubungan dan dialog yang terintegrasi-interkoneksi. Studi Islam mensyaratkan pendekatan multi disiplin, baik interdisipliner maupun transdisipliner. Linearitas keilmuan yang membatasi bidang ilmu secara sempit dan monodisiplin akan menggiring pemahaman agama dan tafsir keagamaan yang tidak terkait dan tidak relevan dengan konteks pengkajian. Model baru pemikiran keagamaan yang mendorong dialog dan diskusi yang independen mengenai aspek-aspek subjektif, objektif, dan intersubjektif ilmu dan agama akan menciptakan munculnya model baru keberagamaan di era multicultural. Semua ini memerlukan lebih banyak upaya serius dalam merekonstruksi metodologi keilmuan dan metode-metode studi agama.] Keywords: paradigm of science, religious science, multidisciplinary approach, science integration

Dimensi Epistemologis-Metodologis Pendidikan Islam

Epistemologi adalah satu cabang pokok bahasan dalam wilayah filsafat yang memperbicangkan seluk-beluk "pengetahuan"

Strategi Dakwah Dan Tajdid Muhammadiyah Memasuki Abad Kedua

Bagaimana menatap 100 tahun ke depan? Apakah Muhammadiyah akan mengulang sejarah kesuksesan 100 tahun silam? Jangan-jangan hadis Nabi yang sudah menjadi adagium dan sering disebut dan dikutip oleh para tokoh dan da'i-da'iyah Muhammadiyah bahwa “'ala kulli ra'si kulli mi'ah sanah mujaddidun” (Setiap melintasi seratus tahun usia jaman, akan datang seorang pembaharu) akan juga harus berlaku bagi Muhammadiyah? Atau tidak berlaku? Jika diandaikan berlaku dalam Muhammadiyah lalu seperti apa coraknya? Bagaimana mengantisipasinya? Apa implikasinya dalam konteks pendidkan Kemuhammadiyahan dan Keislaman di sekolah dan perguruan tinggi Muhammadiyah? Jika diandaikan tidak ada, apakah jaman dan situasi dunia memang tidak berkembang dan berubah lewat hukum dinamika sejarahnya sendiri? Tulisan singkat ini mau berandai-andai—jika saja memang ada Perubahan dinamika sejarah dunia—lalu bagaimana Strategi Dakwah dan Tajdid Muhammadiyah menghadapinya dalam menapaki usianya yang seratus tahun kedua

A Cost Analysis of Paddy Transportation and Distribution Systems in the Muda Agricultural Development Authority Granary Area

This study attempts to develop an efficient paddy transportation and distribution systems in the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) granary area. This paddy production area is selected because it is one the largest paddy production area and it has the largest number of paddy post production participants. In order to achieve the research objectives, three analyses were undertaken; namely the descriptive analysis, modeling and estimation of transportation related cost functions using econometric models and linear programming model analysis. Cross sectional data which were obtained from survey were used to describe the characteristics of the respondents and were used to compute related costs and estimation of trucking cost, queuing cost and road charges. Survey on 741 transportation participants who were mainly lorry drivers and operators was carried out to obtain the relevant data. Data on paddy production for season 1 and 2 were obtained from MADA and data on rice mills' drying capacity were provided by BERNAS and the Ministry of Agriculture (now, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries). The study revealed that the majority of vehicles used to transport paddy from farms to procurement centres were between 1 to 3 tonne loading capacity. The mean load was 3.2 tonnes and the mean distance from farm to mill was 5.8 kilometers. Data analyses were conducted by three vehicles classes and they were categorized in terms of loading capacity; i. less than 1 tonne, ii. 1 to 2 tonnes, and iii. 2 to 3 tonnes. This analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between cost and vehicle size. The computed trucking cost gave the expected results, that was, trucking costs per tonne of paddy for vehicle with the sizes of less than 1 tonne, 1 to 2 tonne and 2 to 3 tonnes were RM7.75, RM6.56 and RM5.84 respectively. Survey data were then used to estimate paddy transportation costs, specifically trucking cost, queuing cost and road charges. Linear, quadratic, cubic and logarithmic functional forms were used to estimate these costs. The logarithmic function exhibited the best estimates for trucking cost and linear functional form was chosen for road charge model. Logarithmic form for trucking cost function was chosen for analysis due to its relative higher R square value and high Fstatistics as compared to other forms estimated. Linear programming based transportation model analysis was used to determine the optimal transportation cost and quantity of paddy distributed to procurement centres. The solutions revealed that 10 mills were idle in both seasons, 11 mills were idle in one of the seasons, 10 mills were allocated less than the required amount of paddy in one of the seasons, and 1 mill received paddy less than the demand in both seasons. The results illustrate the unbalanced situation between paddy production and number of rice mills in the granary. The results also implied improper planning in terms of setting up rice mills. The difference between the optimal transportation cost and the actual transportation cost indicate some level of cost efficiency of the existing system. Comparison between transportation cost and road charges provides a measurement for transportation service pricing efficiency. The model’s solutions also indicated that there was a slight difference in the average actual trucking cost and the average optimal trucking cost but a considerable difference existed between average trucking cost and average transportation service price. The small difference in the average optimal and average actual trucking cost indicated that a level of cost efficiency had been achieved. However, a considerable gap between the average cost and the average road charge denote that the farmers had been highly charged for transportation services

Optimisation of CT protocols for cardiac imaging using three-dimensional printing technology

Objective: This thesis investigates the application of 3D-printing technology for optimising coronary CT angiography (CCTA) protocols using iterative reconstruction (IR) as a dose optimisation strategy. Methods: In phase one, a novel 3D-printed cardiac insert phantom for the Lungman phantom was developed. The attenuation values of the printed phantom were compared to CCTA patients and Catphan® 500 images. In phase two, the printed phantom was scanned at multiple dose levels, and the datasets were reconstructed using different IR strengths. The image quality characteristics were measured to determine the dose reduction potential. In phase three, the influence of IR strengths with low-tube voltage for dose optimisation studies was investigated. The printed phantom and the Catphan® 500 were scanned at different tube currents and voltages. The results were compared to the patient datasets to measure the agreement between the phantoms and patient datasets. Results: In phase one, the attenuation values were consistent between the printed phantom, patient and Catphan® 500 images. In phase two, the results showed that decreasing dose levels had significantly increased the image noise (p<0.001). The application of various IR strengths had yielded a stepwise improvement of noise image quality with a dose reduction potential of up to 40%. In phase three, the results showed a significant interaction between the effects of low-tube voltage and the IR strengths on image quality (all p<0.001) but not the attenuation values. The mean differences were small between the patient-phantom datasets. The optimised CT protocols allowed up to 57% dose reduction in CCTA protocols while maintaining the image quality. Conclusions: The 3D-printed cardiac insert phantom can be used to evaluate the effect of using IR on dose reduction and image quality. This thesis proposes and validates a new method of developing phantoms for CCTA dose optimisation studies