Boko Haram in northern Nigeria: a Maududian legacy

This paper asserts that religious conflicts and the emergence of Boko Haram in northern Nigeria are linked to the influence of theology or theological interpretation. The paper specifically argues that religious conflicts and the emergence of Boko Haram are strongly influenced by Maududian ideology or his political interpretation of Islam. The paper establishes this by showing that “Ikhwan al-Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood) of Egypt, the Jama’at-i-Islami of Pakistan, the Wahabbi views in Saudi Arabia and Islamic revolution of Iran are all indirect propagators of Maududian ideology. This fundamentalist ideological influence in northern Nigeria began with Muslim Student Society (MSS) in northern Nigerian universities and was transmitted into the northern Nigerian society at large with dire consequences. This position is supported by interviews conducted of 159 respondents in Kano, Zaria and Kaduna of Kano and Kaduna states of northern Nigeria.Keywords: Religious Conflicts, Boko Haram, Maududi, Fundamentalism, Theological indoctrination, Muslim Student Society (MSS

Religious Alternative Dispute Resolution in Israel and Other Nations With State-Sponsored Religious Courts: Crafting a More Efficient and Better Relationship Between Rabbinical Courts and Arbitration Law in Israel

This paper proposes the expansion of both private and public options regarding religious arbitration in Israel, broadening both the choice of law and the choice of forum available to Israeli citizens in cases of either commercial law or issues of status (such as divorce, marriage, and conversion). The current law in Israel prohibits citizens from adjudicating their monetary disputes in state religious courts and treats private religious courts as no different from any other arbitration tribunal, precluding these private religious courts from marriage, divorce and conversion matters. We propose that both of these restrictions be lifted, while the role of Jewish Law in the state is not changed

Religious Alternative Dispute Resolution in Israel and Other Nations With State-Sponsored Religious Courts: Crafting a More Efficient and Better Relationship Between Rabbinical Courts and Arbitration Law in Israel

This paper proposes the expansion of both private and public options regarding religious arbitration in Israel, broadening both the choice of law and the choice of forum available to Israeli citizens in cases of either commercial law or issues of status (such as divorce, marriage, and conversion). The current law in Israel prohibits citizens from adjudicating their monetary disputes in state religious courts and treats private religious courts as no different from any other arbitration tribunal, precluding these private religious courts from marriage, divorce and conversion matters. We propose that both of these restrictions be lifted, while the role of Jewish Law in the state is not changed

Small Circuits Imply Efficient Arthur-Merlin Protocols

The inner product function ? x,y ? = ?_i x_i y_i mod 2 can be easily computed by a (linear-size) AC?(?) circuit: that is, a constant depth circuit with AND, OR and parity (XOR) gates. But what if we impose the restriction that the parity gates can only be on the bottom most layer (closest to the input)? Namely, can the inner product function be computed by an AC? circuit composed with a single layer of parity gates? This seemingly simple question is an important open question at the frontier of circuit lower bound research. In this work, we focus on a minimalistic version of the above question. Namely, whether the inner product function cannot be approximated by a small DNF augmented with a single layer of parity gates. Our main result shows that the existence of such a circuit would have unexpected implications for interactive proofs, or more specifically, for interactive variants of the Data Streaming and Communication Complexity models. In particular, we show that the existence of such a small (i.e., polynomial-size) circuit yields: 1) An O(d)-message protocol in the Arthur-Merlin Data Streaming model for every n-variate, degree d polynomial (over GF(2)), using only O?(d) ?log(n) communication and space complexity. In particular, this gives an AM[2] Data Streaming protocol for a variant of the well-studied triangle counting problem, with poly-logarithmic communication and space complexities. 2) A 2-message communication complexity protocol for any sparse (or low degree) polynomial, and for any function computable by an AC?(?) circuit. Specifically, for the latter, we obtain a protocol with communication complexity that is poly-logarithmic in the size of the AC?(?) circuit

The triterpenoid CDDO inhibits expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1, matrix metalloproteinase-13 and Bcl-3 in primary human chondrocytes

A synthetic triterpenoid, 2-cyano-3,12-dioxoolean-1,9-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO), has been reported to have anti-inflammatory properties and to decrease the interleukin-1 (IL-1)-induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and MMP-13. We have shown previously that IL-1 induces expression of the inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) family member Bcl-3, and that this contributes to MMP-1 expression. To quantify the effects of CDDO on IL-1-induced MMP-1, MMP-13 and Bcl-3 expression, we stimulated the chondrosarcoma cell line SW-1353 and human primary chondrocytes with IL-1, in the presence or absence of CDDO. Harvested RNA was subjected to quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In SW-1353 cells, 300 nM CDDO significantly decreased the induction of MMP-1 and MMP-13 by IL-1. In human primary chondrocytes, 300 nM CDDO inhibited the induction of these genes by IL-1 to an even greater extent. In both cell types, inhibition of MMP-1 required 24 hours of pretreatment with CDDO, whereas MMP-13 could be inhibited when CDDO and IL-1 were added simultaneously to culture. In human primary chondrocytes, IL-1-induced Bcl-3 expression was inhibited when cells were pretreated with CDDO. To determine whether the inhibitory effect of CDDO on MMP worked through inhibition of Bcl-3 gene expression, SW-1353 cells stably transfected with a Bcl-3 expression plasmid were treated with IL-1 and/or CDDO, and MMP gene expression was assayed. Overexpression of Bcl-3 increased MMP-1, but not MMP-13, mRNA levels. Furthermore, overexpressed Bcl-3 could sustain the CDDO-dependent inhibition of IL-1-induced MMP-1 expression. Our data demonstrate that CDDO inhibits IL-1-induced MMP-1 and MMP-13 expression in human chondrocytes. CDDO also inhibits the expression of Bcl-3, an IL-1-responsive gene that preferentially contributes to MMP-1 gene expression

Fast self-stabilizing byzantine tolerant digital clock synchronization

Consider a distributed network in which up to a third of the nodes may be Byzantine, and in which the non-faulty nodes may be subject to transient faults that alter their memory in an arbitrary fashion. Within the context of this model, we are interested in the digital clock synchronization problem; which consists of agreeing on bounded integer counters, and increasing these counters regularly. It has been postulated in the past that synchronization cannot be solved in a Byzantine tolerant and self-stabilizing manner. The first solution to this problem had an expected exponential convergence time. Later, a deterministic solution was published with linear convergence time, which is optimal for deterministic solutions. In the current paper we achieve an expected constant convergence time. We thus obtain the optimal probabilistic solution, both in terms of convergence time and in terms of resilience to Byzantine adversaries

Evaluasi Functional Suitability, Performance Efficiency, Usability, dan Portability Berdasarkan ISO 25010 pada Aplikasi VR Gamelan Slenthem

Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan tujuan untuk menjamin kualitas dari aplikasi VR Gamelan Slenthem agar menghindari error serta menjamin berjalannya seluruh fungsi yang terdapat di dalamnya dengan menggunakan standar ISO 25010 selama pengujiannya. Aplikasi ini diharapkan dapat menjadi sarana pembelajaran alat musik gamelan, khususnya slenthem. Pengujian dilakukan pada 4 karakteristik berdasarkan pada standar ISO 25010 yaitu functional suitability, performance efficiency, usability, serta portability. Berdasarkan pengujian yang telah dilakukan, aplikasi VR Gamelan Slenthem ini dapat disimpulkan memenuhi standar ISO 25010 dengan nilai karakteristik functional suitability 1 (baik), karakteristik usability 93% (sangat layak), karakteristik performance efficiency 80% (layak), dan karakteristik portability yang baik. Hasil penelitian ini diharapkan dapat menjadi rekomendasi dalam pengembangan selanjutnya demi meningkatkan kualitas aplikasi VR Gamelan Slenthem