Within, without: dialogical perspectives on feminism and Islam.

This paper offers an ontological and literary review of Muslim women’s religious practices across the Muslim ummah, in considering the development of an epistemology of faith and feminism within the Islamic schema. Global examples of faith-based practice are reviewed, where issues of dominant and minority cultures and values refer to how Muslim faith practices are enacted within the local context. The authors use a dyadic, auto-ethnographic methodology to explore their own personal, political and spiritual positioning as feminists from a Muslim, immigrant and secular British background. The significance of women’s spiritual and feminist dimensions in the context of faith, nationhood and embodiment of ideological positions are analysed. Additionally, religious, cultural and the geo-political implications of feminism and Islam are considered regarding identity, culture and tradition, and religious resurgence, together with forms of feminist resistance to religious doctrine. Finally, the search by women for spiritual authority and authenticity is discussed. Keywords: Islam, Muslim, feminist, faith, auto-ethnographi

Patient Satisfaction and Marketing Effectiveness in Private Hospitals in the Kingdom of Bahrain

The goal of patient satisfaction is not a simple business metric that will slightly improve sales, several studies found that satisfied patients actually respond better and show greater compliance with their treatment. In addition, the increasing number of private healthcare facilities in the kingdom of Bahrain means that the market is becoming more competitive and patients have more choices if they feel unsatisfied with their healthcare provider. This studies whether patient satisfaction is an aggregate function of marketing effectiveness, personnel quality, the clinical care process and hospital infrastructure. Measuring these different aspects can help establish areas of improvement and increase the overall effectiveness of the healthcare system. 283 patients from different private hospitals have participated in this study by responding to the developed questionnaire. Means, standard deviations, and f-values were used to review the results. In light of the hypothesis formulated, it was found that marketing effectiveness, the clinical care process and hospital infrastructure have statistically significant impact on patient satisfaction and the null hypothesis is rejected. Keywords: Hospital Service, Healthcare, Service Marketing, Patient Satisfaction, Personnel quality, Clinical care process, Hospital Infrastructure DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/72-05 Publication date:October 31st 202

Shooting War

"Shooting War" is a 20-minute documentary that portrays the Iraq war through three photographs captured from the point-of-view of photographer Franco Pagetti, as he explores the impact the conflict has had on a country, a region and the world. It's an exploration of the role of photography, the importance of the images spread across various media platforms and how these inform the public about a conflict as it unfolds. The film is interview-based and told through the perspective of one person, the photographer, Franco Pagetti, who tells story of the Iraq War through his lens

Authorship patterns in international business literature: applicability of Lotka's Law

The paper studies the applicability of Lotka’s law for international business literature. The data included eleven thousand two hundred two (11202) references appended to research articles published in Journal of World Business during 2012-2014. It was found that Lotka’s distribution is applicable to international business literature which was further conformed by using Chi-square and K-S statistics tests

Construction and Initial Structure of Sexual Dysfunctions Tendencies Measure

Disclosure of sexual dysfunctions is difficult due to shame and social stigma. The instruments to measure sexual dysfunctions so far were quite backdated and lengthy. Moreover, there was no specific instrument available that could evaluate all the sexual dysfunctions on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ criteria in a single scale; separate for men and women. The objective to develop the scale was to provide the non-clinical population with a short and straight-forward measure in English which could help them in deciding about seeking professional help. The constructed scale comprised of 7 items for males and 7 for females and employed 6-points Likert scale for responses. The study involved 79 men and 105 women (N=184; Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sample Adequacy=0.682 for males and 0.618 for females). The inclusion criteria were the practical involvement of the participants in sexual practices and ability to respond to a questionnaire in English. Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted to measure the reliability and validity of the scale. While employing Principal Component Analysis for extraction and Oblimin with Kaiser Normalization as Rotation, Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted on 7 items for males and 7 items for females separately. Sampling adequacy was found good and the adequacy of correlations between items and was found highly significant. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability was satisfactory. 4 factors were extracted for males with 78.65% variance explained. 3 factors were extracted for females with 66.57% variance explained. The communalities for all the 14 items ranged between 0.554 to 0.937. The study established that Sexual Dysfunctions Tendencies Measure is a valid and reliable tool to measure sexual dysfunctions with the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Development of analytical methods for the detection of various food allergens

Lebensmittelallergien sind laut der Weltgesundheitsbehörde (WHO) das viertwichtigste Gesundheitsproblem in der Bevölkerung. Da für Lebensmittelallergiker eine strikte Vermeidung der Aufnahme der Allergene die einzige Chance ist, allergische Reaktionen zu verhindern, benötigt man empfindliche und zuverlässige Analysenmethoden, welche die Detektion von Allergenen in Lebensmitteln ermöglichen. In der vorliegenden Doktorarbeit wurden drei Analysenmethoden zum Nachweis von allergenen Lebensmitteln entwickelt: ein indirekter kompetitiver Enzymimmunoassay (ELISA) und ein Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) Immunsensor zur Bestimmung von Sesam und eine real-time PCR Methode zum Nachweis von Mohn in Lebensmitteln. Der ELISA zeigte keine Kreuzreaktivität mit 12 von 13 getesteten Lebensmitteln bzw. Lebensmittelinhaltsstoffen, nur für Schokolade wurde eine Kreuzreaktivität von 0,7% ermittelt. Die Wiederfindung für Sesamprotein in Lebensmitteln lag zwischen 85 und 126%, nur in Mehrkornknäckebrot wurde eine höhere (117-160%) und in Vollkornbrot eine niedrigere Wiederfindung (70-85%) erhalten. In Knäckebrot, Crackers und Knabbergebäck betrug die Nachweisgrenze (LOD) 5 µg Sesamprotein / g Lebensmittel, in frischem Brot und Semmeln 11 µg Sesamprotein /g Lebensmittel. Von vierzehn Lebensmitteln bzw. Lebensmittelzutaten zeigte keine(s) eine Kreuzreaktivität im Immunsensor. Die Nachweisgrenze des Sensors betrug 35 µg Sesamprotein / g Lebensmittel Vollkornbrot. Der Sensor zeigte eine hohe Interday- und Batch-zu-Batch Reproduzierbarkeit. Durch Regeneration der Antikörper nach der Dissoziation des Antigen-Antikörper-Komplexes konnte der Sensor mindestens zehn bis zwölf mal verwendet werden. Die real-time PCR Methode war spezifisch für Mohn und zeigt keine Kreuzreaktivität mit 28 Lebensmitteln bzw. Lebensmittelzutaten. Die Amplifikationseffizienz der Methode betrug 79.9% in Knäckebrot und 96.2% in Grissini. Die drei im Rahmen der Dissertation entwickelten Analysenmethoden sind geeignet, um Spuren von Allergenen in komplexen und stark verarbeiteten Lebensmitteln nachzuweisen.Food allergy is considered the fourth most important public health problem by the WHO. Since strict avoidance of the allergenic food is the only therapy for allergic patients it is important to develop sensitive analytical methods for the detection of allergens in food. In the present thesis, three analytical methods were developed: an indirect competitive enzyme linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a quartz crystal microbalance immuno sensor for the detection of traces of sesame as well as a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the detection of poppy in food. The ELISA did not show any cross reactivity with twelve of thirteen food ingredients tested (including several nuts and seeds), for chocolate a low cross reactivity of 0.7% was observed. Recovery of sesame protein in food samples ranged from 85%-126%, with the exception of multi grain crisp toast, yielding higher recoveries (117%-160%), and whole grain bread, yielding lower recoveries (70%-85%). For crisp bread, cracker and snacks the limit of detection (LOD) was 5 µg sesame protein/g food, in fresh breads and rolls the LOD was 11 µg sesame protein/g food. The immuno sensor did not show any cross reactivity with fourteen food ingredients tested. The LOD was found to be 35 µg of sesame protein per gram food in whole grain bread. The sensor showed a high interday repeatability and high batch to batch reproducibility and could be reused at least ten to twelve times after regenerating the antibodies. The real-time PCR method was specific for poppy and did not show any cross reactivity with the twenty eight food ingredients tested. The amplification efficiency of the method was found to be 79.9% in crisp toast and 96.2% in grissini. All three methods developed are applicable to detect traces of allergens in complex and highly processed foods

An Investigation of the Effects of Categorization and Discrimination Training on Auditory Perceptual Space

Psychophysical phenomena such as categorical perception and the perceptual magnet effect indicate that our auditory perceptual spaces are warped for some stimuli. This paper investigates the effects of two different kinds of training on auditory perceptual space. It is first shown that categorization training, in which subjects learn to identify stimuli within a particular frequency range as members of the same category, can lead to a decrease in sensitivity to stimuli in that category. This phenomenon is an example of acquired similarity and apparently has not been previously demonstrated for a category-relevant dimension. Discrimination training with the same set of stimuli was shown to have the opposite effect: subjects became more sensitive to differences in the stimuli presented during training. Further experiments investigated some of the conditions that are necessary to generate the acquired similarity found in the first experiment. The results of these experiments are used to evaluate two neural network models of the perceptual magnet effect. These models, in combination with our experimental results, are used to generate an experimentally testable hypothesis concerning changes in the brain's auditory maps under different training conditions.Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National institutes of Deafness and other Communication Disorders (R29 02852); Air Force Office of Scientific Research (F49620-98-1-0108

Some additivity relationships in magnetic susceptibility measurements

(1) The magnetic mass susceptibility of a number of salts of ammonium and potassium have been measured, and also, a certain number of salts of magnesium, zinc and cadmium. Systematic relationships suggested by earlier workers for the potassium and ammonium halides, sulphates,nitrate's etc, were confirmed both in the solid states and in solution. (2) The present values of molar susceptibility of thehalides of ammonium and potassium were measured in both the solid state and in solution. The susceptibilities of salts in solution were about 1% higher than for the solid state,except in the case of certain divalent salts and the nitrates as a group. (3) Measurements on double salts of magnesium and zinc with ammonium and potassium were made. Additivity relationships in these salts in the dissolved state were found to be valid. Slight deviations were found In the crystalline state. In comparing the molar susceptibility of the double salt with its molar volume it was found that in the case of double salts containing the ammonium ion, the experimental molar volume and molar susceptibility are both larger than the calculated, and so differ from the calculated in the same direction. The relationship with the molar volumes was more complex in the case of potassium double salts. There is a fair correlation between the magnitude of the deviation for the two properties. The deviation from additivity was found to be larger in the case of certain divalent elements. (4) A series of measurements on divalent salts in solution was made at different concentrations. Some simple salts and acids were measured. In some cases the susceptibility of the salts and acids were constant in solution and showed no variations, while others showed slight change; a fall in susceptibility of the salt with increasing concentration being observed. 5) The susceptibility of solutions of salts of certain divalent elements showed a marked variation with the concentration. These changes were explained in termsof the concept of hydration number. This may include, in addition to simple hydration of the cation, more complex ion formation or the formation of ion pairs. 6) Measurements on solutions of zinc halides with equivalent proportions of univalent electrolytes showed systematic relationships.<p

Profiling intermittent tinnitus:a retrospective review

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a retrospective review of medical records of tinnitus patients at a tertiary ENT clinic in Groningen, Netherlands. Our goal was to identify factors that differentiated the intermittent subgroup from the larger continuous group with chronic tinnitus. DESIGN: Tinnitus-related factors such as hearing loss, emotional aspects, and demographics were used to advance our understanding of the subgroups. We analysed the data using descriptive statistics and binomial logistic regression, supplemented by random forests classification. STUDY SAMPLE: Patients presenting with tinnitus visiting the tinnitus clinic. We examined 1575 medical intake records obtained at a tertiary ENT hospital. RESULTS: Duration, total Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), and THI Functional subscale scores differed significantly between the two groups. Increasing age and higher THI Emotional subscale scores were associated with an increased likelihood of intermittent tinnitus. Increases in duration, depressive scores and THI Functional and Catastrophic subscale scores, decreased the likelihood of intermittent tinnitus. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study dissociate the factors affecting those with intermittent and those with continuous tinnitus and point to potentially different mechanisms underlying the two conditions

The Incidence of Burns Among Sex-Trafficking Victims in India

Sex trafficking remains a flagrant violation of human rights, creating many public health concerns. During the initiation period, these victims experience acts of violence including gang rapes, subjecting them to traumatic injuries that include burns. Furthermore, lack of access to health care, particularly surgical, keeps them from receiving treatment for these functionally debilitating contractures caused by burns. This piece provides an overview of burns among sex-trafficked victims in India and the efforts by Cents of Relief to address the associated surgical burden of disease