The Function of Bachelardian Epistemology in the Post-colonial Project of Mohammed ‘Abed al-Jabri

This paper explores the function of historical epistemology in the thought of Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962) and Mohammed ‘Abed al-Jabri (1935–2010). Attributing thought with a particular function challenges our tendency to explain the development of thought in other socio-historical contexts in terms of mere conceptual influence. Available English-language literature on al-Jabri commonly references Bachelard’s concept of epistemological rupture as a source of inspiration. Though the reference is astute, this term remains poorly understood and has long been overshadowed by Thomas Kuhn’s notion of ‘paradigm shift’. The broader function of Bachelard’s thought as a renegotiation of time, place, subject, and reason in the natural sciences has been largely neglected in historiographies of the philosophy of science outside of France. This paper emphasizes the level of insight and ingenuity with which al-Jabri employs the function of Bachelard’s epistemology by re-interpreting it within the framework of his own socio-historical context. Far from reducing al-Jabri’s thought to a mere programmatic reproduction of French thought, I suggest that al-Jabri was among the most astute interpreters of this long-misunderstood theorist

Software copyright infringements: an exploratory study of the effects of individual and peer beliefs

Based on the reasoned action and the differential association theories, a model is derived to explore the effects of individual and peer beliefs on software copyright infringements in Saudi Arabia. This study presents empirical evidence about this developing country on the impact of beliefs on behavior regarding ethical issues that can arise as a result of ethical dilemmas, in a culture that is different from those existing in developed countries. Within this juxtaposition, emphasizing intellectual property right issues in Saudi Arabia provides the tension from which this study strives to stimulate interest in ethical issues where no previous empirical investigations have been found. The scenario method has been adopted to collect data from 278 respondents. The results show that individual and peer beliefs have significant effects on ethical intention to observe or infringe software copyright and, hence, on software piracy. The findings and their implications are discussed.software piracy beliefs copyright infringement scenario Saudi Arabia

Susceptibility to chlorhexidine in multidrug resistant clinical isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis from bloodstream infections

The emergence of Staphylococcus isolates with reduced susceptibility to chlorhexidine is being increasingly reported.We present an update to a previous report showing the continuing efficacy of chlorhexidinebased infection control measures against Staphylococcus aureus over 6 years. In this study, qacA/B genes were screened in Staphylococcus isolates collected over another 6 years in the same intensive care unit in Scotland where chlorhexidine baths form an essential component of long-term control of nosocomial infections. Consistent with our previous study, we report minimal presence of qacA/B in S. aureus strains from screening samples and bacteraemia patients but the new finding of a high proportion of qacA/B carriage in Staphylococcus epidermidis associated with reduced susceptibility to chlorhexidine. S. epidermidis isolates positive for qacA/B were clonally diverse, although 65% of isolates belonged to the multidrug-resistant (MDR) clone ST2. These findings raise concerns in relation to the selection of MDR strains by chlorhexidine and are important in the context of recent evidence emphasising the benefits of targeting bloodstream infections associated with coagulase-negative staphylococci

Accounting information system and transparency: A theoretical framework

This article contributes to the growing literature on transparency by developing a theoretical framework to analyse the relation between the AIS integration level and the transparency level in the Italian public sector. Based on the literature review regarding transparency and IIS, a research model is proposed. The AIS integration level is measured through three dimensions: part integration, full system integration and full information integration. The transparency level is assessed by the following dimensions: formal transparency, quality transparency and full transparency. The framework shows how different AIS integration levels match with various transparency characteristics. Higher levels of AIS integration enable an increase in the characteristics of transparency and guarantee its effectiveness and interactivity. In contrast, lower levels of AIS integration determine a sufficient and minimum degree of transparency that is evaluated only through the existence or the nonexistence of the information on the public organisation website