Asabiyya: Re-Interpreting Value Change in Globalized Societies

This article reflects the renewed interest of economics and the social science discipline in value systems and religion. The World Values Survey provided a data framework of global value change, whose quantitative results led Barro (2004) to analyze the connections between some dimensions of recent sociological religious value research with economic growth. The present essay starts from this methodological position, and links value systems with economic performance in a much wider and macrosociological framework. We further develop the well-known Inglehart and Welzel (2003) map of global values, and develop the idea of Asabiyya (social cohesion), as a counter-model to both Barro and Inglehart and Welzel approaches. A frequently asked question is whether modernization without spiritual values in a globalized world economy and world society possible in the long run? Starting from principal component analysis, it is shown that rather two factors are decisive in understanding global value change: a continuum of traditional versus secular, and a continuum cheating versus active society. Asabiyya in the 21st Century, as a way out from the modernization trap of societies, characterized by large-scale social anomaly, is a high secularism combined with a high active society score, thus avoiding the modernization trap. We show that economic growth in the current world crisis is far more connected with these dimensions. We conclude that not a society based on fear is needed in the first place, but an active society of volunteer social work

Adaptation of the Basic Empathy Scale among a Portuguese sample of incarcerated juvenile offenders

The main aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) and of its adapted short version among a forensic sample of incarcerated male juvenile offenders (N = 221). The Portuguese validations of the BES and its adapted short version demonstrated good psychometric properties, namely in terms of the two-factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity that generally justifies its use among this population. Statistically significant associations were found with callous– unemotional traits and social anxiety. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of the BES and its adapted short version with juvenile offenders.This research was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with co-financing of the European Social Fund – POPH/FSE [grant number SFRH/BPD/86666/2012]

Direct determination of trace elements in powdered samples by in-cell isotope dilution femtosecond laser ablation ICPMS

A method has been developed for the direct and simultaneous multielement determination of Cu, Zn, Sn, and Pb in soil and sediment samples using femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (fs-LA-ICPMS) in combination with isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). The in-cell isotope dilution fs-LA-ICPMS method proposed in this work was based on the quasi-simultaneous ablation of the natural abundance sample and the isotopically enriched solid spike, which was performed using a high repetition rate laser and a fast scanning beam device in a combined manner. Both the sample preparation procedure and the total analysis time have been drastically reduced, in comparison with previous approaches, since a unique multielement isotopically enriched solid spike was employed to analyze different powdered samples. Numerous experimental parameters were carefully selected (e.g., carrier gas flow rate, inlet diameter of the ablation cell, sample translation speed, scanner speed, etc.) in order to ensure the complete mixing between the sample and the solid spike aerosols. The proposed in-cell fs-LA-ICP-IDMS method was tested for the analysis of two soil (CRM 142R, GBW-07405) and two sediment (PACS-2, IAEA-405) reference materials, and the analysis of Cu, Zn, Sn, and Pb yielded good agreement of usually not more than 10% deviation from the certified values and precisions of less than 15% relative standard deviation. Furthermore, the concentrations were in agreement not only with the certified values but also with those obtained by ICP-IDMS after the microwave-assisted digestion of the solid samples, demonstrating therefore that in-cell fs-LA-ICP-IDMS opens the possibility for accurate and precise determinations of trace elements in powdered samples reducing the total sample preparation time to less than 5 min. Additionally, scanning electron microscope measurements showed that the aerosol generated by in-cell fs-LA-ICP-IDMS predominantly consisted of linear agglomerates of small particles (in the order of few tens of nanometers) and a few large spherical particles with diameters below 225 nm

The relation between depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Results from a large, naturalistic follow-up study

Objective Despite the frequent occurrence of depressive symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), little is known about the reciprocal influence between depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms during the course of the disease. The aim of the present study is to investigate the longitudinal relationship between obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms in OCD patients. Method We used the baseline and 1-year follow-up data of the Netherlands Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Association (NOCDA) study. In 276 patients with a lifetime diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder, depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms were assessed at baseline and at one-year follow-up with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Symptom (Y-BOCS) scale. Relations were investigated using a cross-lagged panel design. Results The association between the severity of depressive symptoms at baseline and obsessive-compulsive symptoms at follow-up was significant (β=0.244, p<0.001), while the association between the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms at baseline and depressive symptoms at follow-up was not (β=0.097, p=0.060). Replication of the analyses in subgroups with and without current comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) and subgroups with different sequence of onset (primary versus secondary MDD) revealed the same results. Limitations There may be other factors, which affect both depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms that were not assessed in the present study. Conclusion The present study demonstrates a relation between depressive symptoms and the course of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in OCD patients, irrespective of a current diagnosis of MDD and the sequence of onset of OCD and MDD

Seismic investigations of the O'Higgins Seamount Group and Juan Fernández Ridge: aseismic ridge emplacement and lithosphere hydration

The O'Higgins Seamount Group is a cluster of volcanic domes located 120 km west of the central Chilean Trench on the crest of the Juan Fernández Ridge. This aseismic hot spot track is subducting under South America triggering a belt of intraslab earthquake hypocenters extending about 700 km inland. The Juan Fernández Ridge marks the southern boundary of a shallow subduction segment. Subduction of oceanic basement relief has been suggested as a cause for the “flat” slab segments characterizing the Andean trench system. The Juan Fernández Ridge, however, shows only moderate crustal thickening, inadequate to cause significant buoyancy. In 2001, wide-angle seismic data were collected along two perpendicular profiles crossing the O'Higgins Group. We present tomographic images of the volcanic edifices and adjacent outer rise-trench environment, which indicate a magmatic origin of the seamounts dominated by extrusive processes. High-resolution bathymetric data yield a detailed image of a network of syngenetic structures reactivated in the outer rise setting. A pervasive fault pattern restricted to the hot spot modified lithosphere coincides with anomalous low upper mantle velocities gained from a tomographic inversion of seismic mantle phases. Reduced uppermost mantle velocities are solely found underneath the Juan Fernández Ridge and may indicate mineral alterations. Enhanced buoyancy due to crustal and upper mantle hydration may contribute an additional mechanism for shallow subduction, which prevails to the north after the southward migration of the Juan Fernández Ridge

Limitations of rupture forecasting exposed by instantaneously triggered earthquake doublet

Earthquake hazard assessments and rupture forecasts are based on the potential length of seismic rupture and whether or not slip is arrested at fault segment boundaries. Such forecasts do not generally consider that one earthquake can trigger a second large event, near-instantaneously, at distances greater than a few kilometers. Here we present a geodetic and seismological analysis of a magnitude 7.1 intra-continental earthquake that occurred in Pakistan in 1997. We find that the earthquake, rather than a single event as hitherto assumed, was in fact an earthquake doublet: initial rupture on a shallow, blind 2 reverse fault was followed just 19 seconds later by a second rupture on a separate reverse fault 50 km away. Slip on the second fault increased the total seismic moment by half, and doubled both the combined event duration and the area of maximum ground shaking. We infer that static Coulomb stresses at the initiation location of the second earthquake were probably reduced as a result of the first. Instead, we suggest that a dynamic triggering mechanism is likely, although the responsible seismic wave phase is unclear. Our results expose a flaw in earthquake rupture forecasts that disregard cascading, multiple-fault ruptures of this type

Are Socially Anxious Children Poor or Advanced Mindreaders?

Why are some children more socially anxious than others? One theory holds that socially anxious children are poor mindreaders, which hampers their social interactions; another that socially anxious children are advanced mindreaders leading to heightened self-consciousness in social situations. To test these theories simultaneously, this study (N = 105, ages 8–12) assessed children’s mindreading (accuracy in detecting mental states from the eye region), self-consciousness (indexed as physiological blushing during public performance), and social anxiety levels. Results support both theories, showing a quadratic relation between mindreading and social anxiety. Low mindreading was related to clinical levels of social anxiety. High mindreading was related to subclinical levels of social anxiety through blushing. Our findings suggest two social-cognitive pathways to heightened social anxiety

‘NOT A RELIGIOUS STATE’ A study of three Indonesian religious leaders on the relation of state and religion

This article explores the concept of a ‘secular state’ offered by three Indonesian religious leaders: a Catholic priest, Nicolaus Driyarkara (1913–1967), and two Muslim intellectuals who were also state officials, Mukti Ali (1923–2004) and Munawir Sjadzali (1925–2004). All three, who represented the immediate generation after the revolution for Indonesian independence from the Dutch (1945), defended the legitimacy of a secular state for Indonesia based on the state ideology Pancasila (Five Principles of Indonesia). In doing so, they argued that a religious state, for example an Islamic state, is incompatible with a plural nation that has diverse cultures, faiths, and ethnicities. The three also argued that the state should remain neutral about its citizens’ faith and should not be dominated by a single religion, i.e. Islam. Instead, the state is obliged to protect all religions embraced by Indonesians. This argument becomes a vital foundation in the establishment of Indonesia’s trajectory of unique ‘secularisation’. Whilst these three intellectuals opposed the idea of establishing a religious or Islamic state in Indonesia, it was not because they envisioned the decline of the role of religion in politics and the public domain but rather that they regarded religiosity in Indonesia as vital in nation building within a multi-religious society. In particular, the two Muslim leaders used religious legitimacy to sustain the New Order’s political stability, and harnessed state authority to modernise the Indonesian Islamic community

The humanistic roots of Islamic administration and leadership for education : philosophical foundations for cross-cultural and transcultural teaching

For a number of decades, a humanistic approach has been a minor but persistent one in the Western field of administrative and leadership studies, and only recently has been broadening to include other humanist traditions (Dierksmeier et al., 2011) and has yet to be fully explored in educational administration and its pedagogy and curriculum although some foundational work has been done (e.g., Samier, 2005). The focus in this chapter is on the Islamic humanist tradition as it relates to the teaching of educational administration and leadership in a Muslim context, with implications for cross-cultural and transcultural use. The second purpose of the chapter is to show the correspondences that exist between the Islamic and Western humanist traditions in terms of human values, knowledge and educational ideal, which in this chapter are argued to be close to the Western Idealist tradition and the German Bildung conception of education as well as the strong interpretive and hermeneutic foundations that originated in the Islamic tradition and which influenced the foundations of many relevant European schools of thought, particularly in the Enlightenment.The initial section of the chapter is a comparative examination of the central principles of the Islamic humanist tradition from the classical through to contemporary times with the Western humanist tradition as they relate to conceptions of the good, ethics, the construction of meaning and a set of higher order values predicated upon human dignity, integrity, empathy, well-being, and the public good (Goodman, 2003) covering a number of important scholars like Al Farabi, al Isfanhani, and Edward Said (e.g., Kraemer, 1986). In both, professions are viewed as meaningful work that allow for large measures of decision making, and are grounded in human qualities and needs including autonomy, freedom and emancipation balanced with responsibilities, obligations and duties to society. These are compared with the corresponding principles of knowledge in Western humanism which includes a strong constructivist view of reality (Makdisi, 1990). Secondly, the chapter examines the principles of good or ideal leadership and administration that humanism aims at in its preparation of officials, including those in the educational sector in both the classical Islamic tradition (Hassi, 2012) and Western approaches to humanistic administration and leadership (Czarniawska-Joerges & Guillet de Monthoux, 1994; Gagliardi & Czarniawska, 2006; Leoussi, 2000). The third section focusses on close correspondences that exist between the Islamic (Afsaruddin, 2016; al-Attas, 1980; Yasin & Jani, 2013) and Western (Aloni, 2007; Veugelers, 2011) humanist education traditions in terms of educational ideal as well as the kind of teaching practices that distinguish these traditions (Daiber, 2013; Dossett, 2014) as they apply to educational administration and leadership (Greenfield & Ribbins, 1993). The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the Islamic humanist tradition can contribute to cross-cultural and transcultural graduate teaching in international educational administration (Khan & Amann, 2013)