"I know what a Muslim really is": how political context predisposes the perceived need for an objective Muslim identity

This article explores the process by which Western Muslim young adults develop the need to experience an ‘objective’ religious identity. We interviewed 20 Western Muslim young adults born in Montreal, Berlin, and Copenhagen within the age range of 18–25, exploring their religious identity development. The interviews were semi-structured and open-ended. Thematic content analysis was used to explore patterns in their narratives. The participants disliked the perceived ethnocentric Muslim identity of their parents, which they sought to ‘purify’ for themselves from ‘cultural contamination’. There were two important elements underlying the process of religious identity objectification: experience of anti-Muslim political discourse and exposure to religious diversity in the aftermath of deterritorialisation

The impact of the dimensions of green supply chain management practices on corporate performance

Global warming, carbon emissions and the depletion of natural resources have heralded significant changes in the way organizations produce and deliver products and services. Within this context the greening of supply chains has gained the attention of practitioners in many countries. In some countries, for example, carbon taxation has been introduced as a mandatory requirement. However, the implementation of green supply chain management practices and the impact of these practices on corporate performance are still in a nascent stage. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) faces many challenges including increased energy consumption, the depletion of natural resources and the generation of significant waste and Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Indeed, the UAE’s total GHG emissions increased by 100 million tCO2e between 2007 and 2012 (MoEW, 2015). In addition electricity consumption, which depends mainly on fossil fuel for its generation, has increased at a rate of 8% annually during the same period. Business organizations, through their operational activities, are responsible for a large proportion of these environmental challenges. For example, GHG emissions from the manufacturing sector in the UAE accounted for 16.7% of total GHG emissions in 2012. It was also found that 53.3% of the plastic bags produced annually in the UAE were non-biodegradable (MoEW, 2015). These issues indicate the need to investigate green supply chain implementation across UAE organizations in order to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of implementing green supply chain management practices on corporate performance. Consequently, the aim of this research was to explore green supply chain management (GSCM) practices and their relationship to corporate performance (CP). The major research objective was to answer the question: What is the impact of implementing green supply chain management practices on corporate performance? The research specifically examines the impact of implementing a set of green supply chain management practices; including ecodesign, green purchasing, environmental cooperation and reverse logistics, on different dimensions of corporate performance. This includes environmental, operational, economic and social outcomes. The methodology used in this research is mainly deductive in nature, however, following a survey employed to collect quantitative data from ISO 14001 certified and none certified manufacturing firms in the UAE, a qualitative phase was introduced to enhance the quantitative results. Thus, a sequential mixed methods approach was introduced by following the quantitative phase with a qualitative research phase that involved collecting interview data from a selected sample of those firms that responded to the quantitative survey. This phase was designed to gain a deeper understanding of why the quantitative study found that some green practices failed to have an impact on some of the corporate performance dimensions. While the research presents mixed outcomes, some green supply chain practices were found to have no impact on any performance dimensions such as eco-design, while other practices had an impact on a single dimension, for example, environmental cooperation which was found to have a positive impact on operational performance but not on any other performance dimensions. Similarly reverse logistics was found to only impact the social performance of the firm, while green purchasing was found to be a key green supply chain practice because it can improve both operational and economic performance. This study adds to the body of knowledge by identifying barriers to the implementation of a number of green supply chain practices. For example; this study identifies barriers to implementation of a number of green supply chain practices while highlighting the value of a mixed methods approach in green supply chain research. It contributes to business practice by presenting a stakeholder understanding of the relationship between the implementation of different green supply chain practices and corporate performance, including the level of adoption that may identify the most appropriate GSCM practices needed to reach the optimum performance level. A series of recommendations are also provided for firms interested in improving their footprint and their environmental performance while implementing green supply chain practices

A study of non-profit leaders\u27 risk-taking propensity and managerial leadership styles

Risks are an inherent part of life and in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in particular. Nonprofit organizations struggle to respond to changes imposed by external and internal environmental influences. These influences revolve around the myriad social, cultural, political, environmental, and economic changes and their attendant challenges. The NPOs now face yet another challenge, which is a significant managerial leadership deficit. The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine whether nonprofit leaders’ risk-taking propensity (RTP) is associated with their managerial leadership styles (MLS). Furthermore, the study will examine if age, gender, level of education, size of an organization, and number of employees have any effect on a leader’s style and his or her propensity for risk-taking. The study utilized a quantitative correlational research design. This was appropriate, as the purpose of this study was to measure the correlation between two variables. Of the 82 NPOs invited to participate, 125 leaders responded positively to the request. The 73 valid survey responses received were complete. This represents a 58.4% valid response rate for this study. Findings indicated that nonprofit leaders who participated in this correlational study considered themselves to utilize transformation leadership style, and the most common risk domain is the ethical domain. Also, a positive significant relationship between leader’s risk-taking propensity and his or her transformation leadership style

The role of agricultural cooperatives in economics and social development in Iraq

The study reported herein is based on an investigation of the available literature in both Arabic and English on the role of agriculture cooperatives in economic and social development in Iraq. The study reveals that agriculture cooperative movement is multi-purpose and is supported, encouraged and directed by the national government. Throughout its development, the agriculture cooperative movement faced numerous problems of both social and economical nature. But after 1968, the government devoted much effort in an attempt to eliminate or lessen the burden of these problems. In all its plans, government policy aimed to assist cooperatives in overcoming the problems. This support was based on two main objectives: 1. To increase agricultural production. 2. To bring about social and economic changes for rural areas in which the majority of citizens earning low incomes reside. The performance of agricultural cooperatives has not solved all prob-lems, but the performance in the last several years has progressively improved. Thus, for cooperatives to reach the goal set by the government reevaluation, expansion of the present cooperative programs is urgently needed. The basic thrust of this thesis is to outline applied research procedures including data needs, to use in attaining the general economic goals of cooperatives engaged in marketing activities

Estimation of return stock rate by using wavelet and kernel smoothers

This article aim to estimate the Return Stock Rate of the private banking sector, with two banks, by adopting a Partial Linear Model based on the Arbitrage Pricing Model (APT) theory, using Wavelet and Kernel Smoothers. The results have proved that the wavelet method is the best. Also, the results of the market portfolio impact and inflation rate have proved an adversely effectiveness on the rate of return, and direct impact of the money supply

Freezing of fresh Barhi dates for quality preservation during frozen storage

AbstractFresh harvested dates are perishable and there is a need for extending their shelf life while preserving their fresh like quality characteristics. This study evaluates three different freezing methods, namely cryogenic freezing (CF) using liquid nitrogen; individual quick freezing (IQF) and conventional slow freezing (CSF) in preserving the quality and stability of dates during frozen storage. Fresh dates were frozen utilizing the three methods. The produced frozen dates were frozen stored for nine months. The color values, textural parameters, and nutrition qualities were measured for fresh dates before freezing and for the frozen dates every three months during the frozen storage. The frozen dates’ color values were affected by the freezing method and the frozen storage period. There are substantial differences in the quality of the frozen fruits in favor of cryogenic freezing followed by individual quick freezing compared to the conventional slow freezing. The results revealed large disparity among the times of freezing of the three methods. The freezing time accounted to 10min for CF, and around 80min for IQF, and 1800min for CSF method

RESTRAINED SHRINKAGE BEHAVIOUR OF CONCRETE WITH RECYCLED MATERIALS

The construction industry is responsible for some of the most serious sustainability and environmental issues the world is currently facing. Recycled materials such as recycled aggregate (RA) -generated from processed construction waste- and recycled tyre steel fibres (RTSF) -extracted from post-consumer tyres- in new constructions can potentially conserve natural aggregates (NA), eliminate unnecessary consumption of limited landfill areas and reduce energy consumption. However, the variability in the characteristics of recycled materilas, and the low density, high water absorption and porosity of RA, can lead to poor quality concrete and shrinkage cracks, particularly under restrained conditions. This study aims to examine the use of recycled materials such as RA and RTSF in the production of structural concrete and in particular to contribute towards understanding the shrinkage behaviour of NA concrete (NAC) and RA concrete (RAC) under restrained conditions. An extensive experimental study to characterise the properties of both NA and RA and identify the effect of various key parameters on the performance of RAC is undertaken. Approaches to improve the properties of RA and RAC are explored. A new restraining frame for restrained shrinkage test and a procedure to quantify the post-shrinkage mechanical properties (compressive and flexural strength and flexural elastic modulus) of concrete are developed and assessed. The mechanical performance of concrete mixes incorporating RA and RTSF, as well as mixes with NA and industrial steel fibres (ISF), is examined under free and restrained conditions. It is shown that the compressive strength of RAC can be predicted using a predictive model that takes into account: particle density, LA value, water absorption and RA content. Surface treatment of RA using reactive and non-reactive microfillers, as well as the utilization of RTSF, helped improve the compressive strength of RAC by up to 30%. For unrestrained specimens, it is shown that there is a significant difference in shrinkage strains with depth, resulting in significant shrinkage curvatures. Under restrained conditions, stress history, which depends on the rate of development of stiffness and shrinkage, plays a key role in governing the failure of concrete. Shrinkage induced cracks can reduce the compressive strength, flexural strength and flexural elastic modulus of plain concrete by up to 14%, 24% and 29%, respectively. The addition of RTSF and surface treatment of RA resulted in better flexural performance of RAC compared to that of NAC without fibres and comparable to that of NAC with fibres. It is shown that whilst ISF do not affect shrinkage strains, RTSF increase initial shrinkage strains due to higher air content. Despite that, it is concluded that RTSF control well shrinkage induced microcracking, enhance tensile relaxation and promote auto-healing of microcracks, leading to an overall better flexural performance even when using RAC

threatening a teacher

Abstract Background: Threatening teachers increases teacher stress and impairs emotional well-being. There are many reasons for violence against teachers. There are communication errors and conceptual differences in applying the rules that emphasizes corporal punishment rather than persuasive punishment. Also, it is related to a parent complaint that expresses Parents' belief in the education their child received in school is getting weaker. In addition to the incompetence that teachers must implement, like personal, social and professional aspects that make students offend teachers. Threatening someone considered as physical aggression. Aggression is any behavior intended to harm another person that wishes to avoid such harm High rates of aggression were reported recently in Iraq, especially after wars. Some studies have shown that students, whose friends engage in negative activities such as dropping out of school and have lower academic performance, may engage in aggressive activities toward teachers and/or other students. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of students’ aggressive act towards teachers. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Al-Sadr city in Baghdad. A total of 720 adolescent secondary schools students from both genders were included in the study. They were selected by multistage random sampling. Their age was ranged from 13-21 years. Data was collected from 1st of February 2019 to 30 of April 2019 through a self-reported questionnaire (Aggression-Problem Behavior Frequency Scale). Results: The mean age of participants was 16.2±2.04 years. Of all participants, 84.3% were assessed to be aggressive. There was a significant difference between aggressive act (threatening a teacher) and sex, school type, grade, history of absence from school and employed mother,(P=0.038, 0.009, 0.0001,p= 0.02 and p=0.018, respectively). 10% of male threatening a teacher.   Conclusion: A high prevalence of aggression among students was found. Threatening a teacher was dominant among male students, intermediate schools, 4th grade, students with history of absence from school, and not employed mother

A study of retrograde degeneration of median nerve forearm segment in carpal tunnel syndrome of variable severities

Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a disorder of the hand which results from compression of the median nerve within its fibro-osseous tunnel at the wrist. The slowing in the forearm motor conduction velocity suggests the presence of retrograde degeneration. Existing studies conflict regarding a correlation between the severities of the entrapment neuropathy in CTS and slowing of median motor nerve conduction velocity in the forearm.Aims: The objective of this work was to study retrograde degeneration (RGD) of the median nerve forearm segment in patients with CTS and its relation to variable severity of CTS in Egyptian patients.Patients and methods: Twenty-four patients with CTS were included in this study. The Forearm mixed nerve conduction is presumed to be indicative of the conduction of the median nerve over the forearm and is used widely to assess the causes of slowing forearm conduction velocity in CTS. In addition to conventional nerve conduction studies of the upper limb, forearm median mixed conduction studies were performed. Median motor forearm amplitudes and nerve conduction velocities (NCVs) as well as forearm median mixed amplitudes and NCVs were considered as parameters of RGD. Results: There were statistically significant differences as regards forearm mixed nerve action potential (MNAP) amplitude and median motor amplitude in the forearm segment but there were no statistically significant differences as regards forearm median mixed peak latency and NCV. There was no statistically significant relation between grades of severities of CTS in the studied hands and both forearm median motor NCV and forearm MNAP amplitude using Monte Carlo test (MCp = 0.323 and 0.464).Conclusions: Retrograde degeneration exists in patients with CTS. Forearm median motor NCV and median mixed conduction study are valid electrophysiologic tools for the assessment of RGD in patients with CTS. Retrograde degeneration is not related to grade of severity of CTS.KEYWORDS Carpal tunnel syndrome; Electrodiagnosis; Forearm median mixed study; Retrograde degeneratio