Timothy Helton
In a Mirror Dimly: Anthropology and Restoring a Sense of Presence to an Empty World
...he other hand, those who believe religions depict webs of relationships participate in the construction of worlds supportive of whole human beings capable of more than just physical life; and they offer a hopeful corrective to modernity’s tendency to reduce its world to objects of analysis and manipulation. I support my thesis with the criticisms of anthropological conceptions and methods made by contemporary thinkers. Next, taking the work of E. B. Tylo...
Reviewed by David Svolba, Fitchburg State University, USA email: dsvolba@fitchburgstate.edu
Science, Religion and Culture
...an freely choose what to believe and how to live,” and affording each other this space is one important way in which we show respect for each other as persons (15-19). So the book’s title should not be taken as expression of skepticism on Leiter’s part concerning the case for religious tolerance. Leiter affirms the strength of that case in the book’s opening chapter....
Reviewed by Elly Vintiadis (www.ellyvintiadis.com)
...nts of the journey of ex-believers from a life of faith to a life of atheism or agnosticism. It brings together the so-called ‘deconversion’ stories of 16 people of different gender, race, age, and religion. If, like me, you have never heard of the term “deconversion” before, it is the atheist equivalent to the religious finding of faith – it is a conversion from belief to agnosticism or atheism....
Justin P. McBrayer
...e afterlife to those who believe in God verses those who do not. A renewed wager can avoid this difficulty by relying solely on well-documented differences between those who believe in God verses those who do not. Social scientists have put together an impressive set of data that shows that theists do better in terms of happiness, health, longevity, interpersonal relationships, and charitable giving. Hence, most people have ...
Justin P. McBrayer
...e afterlife to those who believe in God verses those who do not. A renewed wager can avoid this difficulty by relying solely on well-documented differences between those who believe in God verses those who do not. Social scientists have put together an impressive set of data that shows that theists do better in terms of happiness, health, longevity, inter- personal relationships, and charitable giving. Hence, most people hav...
Michael R. Molnar
...h of Jesus as Christians believe. Details of the ce- lestial event given in the New Testament Bible are vague leaving much room for widely varying ideas. As the Star involves Christian faith, there are valid suspicions that some explanations may have taken liberties to support religious beliefs. That idea is central to one of the more recent publications on this subject. Aaron Adair promotes his book, “The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View,” with...
John Martin Fischer
... in particular, I do not believe that causal determinism is incompatible with the kind of freedom that grounds robust, desert-based moral responsibility, I find that (surprisingly) our views don’t really differ that much from each other. It might seem that our views are miles apart; but upon reflection, it turns out that they are very close, and with the intelligent and patient help of Pereboom, one can see the great appeal of his approach to a whole ra...
Yashab Tur
Science, Religion and Culture, Vol. 2, Iss. 2
... earth which, to the lay believer, seemed outright un-Godly. Marwa Elshakry, now an Associate Professor of History at Columbia University, explores the encounter of the Arab world with these and many other Western technologies and ideas in her wide-ranging Reading Darwin in Arabic through a panoramic lens, which then zooms in to focus on specific individuals. Thus we meet Free Masons, missionaries, colonial agents, officials of the fledging Ottoman Empire, Ara...
Luke Galen
...or indifferent religious believers, not socially engaged nonbelievers. Therefore, defining individuals who are not committed or engaged in socially supportive groups solely in terms of their lack of religious belief virtually guarantees that atheists and agnostics will appear inferior on a variety of outcome variables. However, nonbelief and secular worldviews can also be practiced in social groups such as atheist, humanist,...
Joseph Langston1*, Joseph Hammer2, Ryan T. Cragun3
...ibuted to research on nonbelievers, their communities, and the atheist movement in general by dividing nonbelievers (N=1,939) into four groups based on degree of formal affiliation and assessing attitudes, perceptions, and preferences in three areas. First, we examined the preferences of nonbelieving group members (“secular affiliates”), former members, and nonbelieving non-members (“secular nonaffiliates&...
David F. Bradley*, Julie J. Exline, Alex Uzdavines
...gn: justify;">People who believe in the existence of a god or gods often hold an image of a god with relational characteristics (e.g., loving, cruel, and/or distant). Can nonbelievers form an image of a hypothetical god? What characteristics do their hypothetical gods have? We conducted an Internet-based survey of adult nonbelievers in the U.S. (N = 458). Most (86%; N = 393) were able to...
Maurice A. Finocchiaro
...nt to leave to religious believers. This approach also characterizes the work of other Berkeley para-clericals, such as Ronald Numbers on the controversy over creationism and evolutionism; they stress such attitudes as impartiality, judiciousness, and even-handedness....
Neil Levy
... Many researchers believe that the singularity – roughly, explosive growth in machine intelligence, resulting in the appearance of AIs that are vastly superior to us cognitively – will or might occur in the relatively near future. Understandably, many are worried by this prospect. In this paper, I argue that we have less to fear from the singularity than many people think. Depending on how we define ‘singularity’, it is either le...
Neil Levy
... Many researchers believe that the singularity – roughly, explosive growth in machine intelligence, resulting in the appearance of AIs that are vastly superior to us cognitively – will or might occur in the relatively near future. Understandably, many are worried by this prospect. In this paper, I argue that we have less to fear from the singularity than many people think. Depending on how we define ‘singularity’, it is either le...
Habibun Nabi1, Saher Islam2, Amna Arshad Bajwa2, Imran Rashid1,*, Haroon Akbar1, Wasim Shehzad2, Kamran Ashraf1, Nisar Ahmad1 and Aneela Durrani3
...pulation of the world is believed to be infected with T. gondii. Cats serve as final host of Toxoplasma gondii and are the main source of contamination of soil and water. Fecal samples from cats at Pet center of UVAS (Lahore, Pakistan) were screened for coccidian parasites through microscopy examination. DNA was extracted from positive fecal samples for coccidian parasites and a T. gondii PCR was performed. Five sets of primers were...
Muhammad Jamal Nasir*, Anwar Saeed Khan and Said Alam
...ever climate change they believe has occurred. Farmers have indigenous knowledge of the climate of the area to predict and forecast the changing weather and climate. Knowing such traditional knowledge provides an opportunity to understand how the farmers are adapting to new type of weather. The study was carried out in Balambat Tehsil District Dir Lower. They study is primarily based on questionnaire survey and focus group discussion. A total of fifteen villag...
Lowell Gustafson
... want to know why people believe what they do; and (3) it is a mark of hubris or pride that a religious person (or even a scientist) would claim total knowledge about ultimate reality. Ted Peters adds to a discussion that is taking place along our current pilgrimage, but he would be the first to say that is not the final word about ultimate reality.
... 
Nadeem Akmal, Hassnain Shah*, Muhammad Azam Niazi** and Waqar Akhtar*
...uck crosses. The farmers believed that the price difference was not only due to the higher weight but a better look and better structure of the Beetal goat. Farming community showed keen interest in using this intervention on a regular basis....
Imtiaz Hussain*, Hassnain Shah, M. Azeem Khan, Waqar Akhtar**, Abdul Majid*** and M. Yaqub Mujahid*
Corresponding author:izhussain@yahoo.com
PRODUCTIVITY IN RICE-WHEAT CROP ROTATION OF PUNJAB: AN APPLICATION OF TYPICAL FARM METHODOLOGY
...f this crop rotation and believed that this riceberseem rotation control weeds in the next wheat crop along with yield -1 -1 improvement of both rice (upto 5.4 md acre ) and wheat (4.4 md acre ). However there is need to assess the economic impact and evaluation of berseem in rice-wheat cropping system and evaluation of different wheat planting techniques in relation with residue management. These techniques may include farmer practice (partial burning, land p...
Usman Shakoor*, Abdul Saboor*, Irfan Baig*, Anila Afzal** and Abdul Rahman***
CLIMATE VARIABILITY IMPACTS ON RICE CROP PRODUCTION IN PAKISTAN
...ade. Climate changes are believed to have declining effects towards crop production in Pakistan. This study carries an empirical investigation of the effects of climate change on rice crop of Pakistan by employing Vector Auto Regression (VAR) model. Annual seasonal data of the climatic variables from 1980 to 2013 has been used. Results confirmed that rising mean maximum temperature would lead to reduction in rice production while increase in mean minimum tempe...
Yanxiao Meng1, Guihua Wang1, Dongmei Xiong1,*, Haixia Liu1, Xiaolin Liu1, Lixin Wang1 and Jianlu Zhang2
... Mountains, while others believed no division of the subspecies. Thus, 169 specimens of Brachymystax spp. were collected from three locations (Heihe River, Amur and Ussuri River) to identify the taxonomic status in terms of morphological variation among these species or subspecies. Results of geometric morphometric analysis indicated significantly morphological variation in body shape among three morphotypes based on 18 landmarks. Principal component an...
Jehangir Khan1,*, Rasheedullah1, Bakht Tarin Khan2, Ayaz Ahmad3, Muhammad Salman4 and Khalid Khan5
...up>th Pakistani is believed to be suffering from viral hepatitis. It is the first study documenting the epidemiology of HCV in District Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). Blood samples from 900 individuals of various age groups were collected (August to November 2013) from patients at clinics, houses and pharmacies belonging to three Tehsils (Puran, Alpuri and Besham) of district Shangla. The Immuno-chromatographic (ICT) and enzyme linked Immunosorbant A...
Liumeng Zheng1, Yanmei Wang1, Jiagui Zhu2, Ke Wang2, Dejing Cai2, Yuanzhao Qin3, Yuming Guo3, Hongxing Niu1,* and Yanzhen Bu1,*
...ds in the future, and we believe that more ibises will disperse outside the reserve as the population expands. The distribution of crested ibises in the Dongzhai Reserve area was mainly affected by altitude, followed by distance to forest, and distance to roads. Notably, our study confirmed that the crested ibis has adapted and regained the habit of living at low elevations in the Dongzhai Reserve. Although most suitable habitat was found inside the nature res...
Shuai Shang1,2, Honghai Zhang2,*, Xiaoyang Wu2, Qinguo Wei2, Jun Chen1, Huanxin Zhang1, Huaming Zhong2 and Xuexi Tang1,*
...tes, the bitter sense is believed to help animals identify poisonous compounds. Bitter taste receptors coded by bitter taste receptor (Tas2r) genes has been identified in many species, but the evolution and repertoire of Tas2r genes in raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) was still unknown. As a true omnivorous mammal, the Tas2r genes may play a critical role in food selection of raccoon dogs. Thus, we explored the evolution of
Riaz Aziz Minhas1,*, Muhammad Nasim Khan1, Muhammad Siddique Awan1, Basharat Ahmad1, Syda Shaista Bibi1, Mohsin Hanif1 and Afsar Mian2
...nd Kashmir (AJK). It was believed that different fragmented populations of these monkeys might have experienced a genetic isolation or inbreeding. We assessed the level of genetic diversity and genetic isolation of different langur populations using Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) genetic markers. We collected 86 different samples (feces 64, hair 13, blood 5, tissues 4) from 5 geographic langur populations of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)...
Waqas Ali, Arshad Javid, Ali Hussain, Syed Mohsin Bukhari
Public attitude towards amphibian and reptiles in district Kasur, Punjab, Pakistan
... of bad omen, 73%
believed that herpetiles are used in traditional medicine and 3% considered that
they are also used as food. Different superstitions are also linked with amphibians
and reptiles and this mindset lead to unnecessary killing of species. Among all the
herpetiles, snakes are most disliked taxa and killed by the locales. Conservation
education and awareness campaigns are recommended to avoid unnecessary
ki...
believed that herpetiles are used in traditional medicine and 3% considered that
they are also used as food. Different superstitions are also linked with amphibians
and reptiles and this mindset lead to unnecessary killing of species. Among all the
herpetiles, snakes are most disliked taxa and killed by the locales. Conservation
education and awareness campaigns are recommended to avoid unnecessary
ki...
Shaukat Ali1,*, Sadia Batool2, Fatima Javed Butt2, Sundas Nasreen1, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir1
... of cancer treatment, we believe that probiotics based cancer treatment would be supportive to overcome the chemotherapeutic and radiological drawback sand provides an appropriate cancer treatment strategy. Anticipating various challenges, we expect that probiotics may become a potential cancer bio-theranostic in the field of medical sciences shortly. Appropriate monitoring and treatment are strongly recommended to prevent hepatocellular carcinoma complication...
Yunfang Tian, Zeqin Fu, Jiantong Feng, Yahong Guo, Yingying Ye*, Jiji Li and Baoying Guo
...th and south samples. We believed that the results could provide genetic insights for fisheries management to plan the fisheries policy of M. meretrix and protect the natural resource.
... 
Rashid Nawaz*1, Iftikhar Hussain1, Sikandar Bilal Khattak1
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IDENTIFICATION AND PRIORITIZATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE CEMENT MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN PAKISTAN USING ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS
...ndicators (KPIs) that is believed to influence the environmental
sustainability of cement production of Pakistan. Environmental sustainability decision requires a scientific approach of
identifying and prioritization of KPIs. The cement industries are confronted with challenges to implement sustainable
manufacturing processes. The data gathered through questionnaire distributed among 213 respondents representing
24 cement plants wer...
sustainability of cement production of Pakistan. Environmental sustainability decision requires a scientific approach of
identifying and prioritization of KPIs. The cement industries are confronted with challenges to implement sustainable
manufacturing processes. The data gathered through questionnaire distributed among 213 respondents representing
24 cement plants wer...
Shaukat Ali*, Shah Khusro*, Laiq Hasan**, Asif Ali Khan**
A SURVEY OF MOBILE PHONES CONTEXT-AWARENESS USING SENSING COMPUTING RESEARCH
... about the phenomena. We believe that this paper will serve as a compact platform for researchers and learners to shine their understandings and address the open issues and challenges which exist or can emerge in this novel paradigm. A number of research dimensions are also highlighted to help researchers in finding research topics.
...
Muhammad Mohsin1, Yin Hengbin2,* and Zhang Luyao3
...n world which is usually believed to be facing overexploitation risk. In this condition, it becomes necessary to estimate stock status of fishery resources particularly having commercial importance. Thus, this study is the first time attempt to know whether Spanish mackerel, a major landed fishery resource in Shandong, China, is experiencing overexploitation or not by estimating its stock status. For this purpose, long data series, 2006-2016, comprised of catc...
Shahid Hussain Abro1*, Mohammed N. Alghamdi2, Muhammad Sohail Hanif3, Hazim Moria2 andHamza Suharwardi1
...arlite so it is strongly believed that within this area the bainite structure is to be formed. This bainite is assumed to be austenite before cooling.
...
Muhammad Tahir Waseem1, Abdul Majid Khan1*, Abdul Ghaffar2, Ayesha Iqbal1 and Rana Manzoor Ahmad1,3
...e. All these species are believed to inhabit more open environment with patchy grasslands. Non-significant differences were observed between the species which explains that the dietary niche of these species was more or less similar. However, the values for carbon isotopes are highly depleted for early hipparionine species (Sivalhippus theobaldi) and less depleted for succeeding species (Sivalhippus perimensis and Cremohipparion antilopinum
Muhammad Qayash Khan1,2, Muhammad Zubair Anjum2, Muhammad Adnan3, Abbas Khan1, Hafsa Zahid1, Javed Nawab4, Sher Zaman Safi5, Muhammad Ishaq Ali Shah6, Atif Kamil7 and Abid Ali1*
...Tor, as was commonly believed of having two species (Tor putitora and Tor macrolepus), the sequencing data was not in agreement with the morphological identification and hence negated the existence of T. macrolepus. The genus Mystus was also found to be comprised of a single species: M. armatus. The COI sequence of M. armatus reported for the first time during this study will be a useful addition to the data...
Shahinshah Khan1*, Aijaz Ali Khooharo1, Zaheeruddin Mirani1 and Velo Suthar2
... majority of the farmers believed that seed of the above-mentioned crops was available with difference sources, however, affordability and quality were the major concerns. Small segment of the farmers were satisfied with quality of seed and the same were recorded as 43.9% wheat, 30% cotton, 56.1% rice, 22.8% onion, and 21.7% tomato growers. Based upon research findings, recommendations were developed for public and private sector for quality supply of seed to ...
Gülseren Kırbas Dogan1,*, Emin Karakurt2, Mushap Kuru3 and Hilmi Nuhoglu2
...ions. These findings are believed to contribute to the literature....
Palwasha1, Siraj-ud-Din1 and Muhammad Fahim2*
...strict Chitral (72%). We believe that along with lack of proper education, know how about the technology and its use in peach production, growing of decades old cultivars i.e., Elberta (No 6) might be responsible for this production decline. Due to poverty, practice of intercropping is common to maximize their profit (intercropping upto 100% in Dir and Shangla Districts). Peach rot and fruitflies, are prevalent in all peach growing areas. Thirteen diverse inse...
Muhammad Ali Raza1*, Aneela Zameer Durrani1, Muhammad Hassan Saleem1, Kamran Ashraf2, Muhammad Muddassir Ali3, Kumayl Hassan Akhtar4 and Nazia Rubab5
... the abuse of ABs, 91.1% believed about the occurrence of ABs in milk, meat and yogourt, and 76.8% opined that there happens misuse of ABs which is against the Animal Welfare. The OH requires an institutional paradigm shift and dire attention of all the aforementioned stakeholders i.e. legislative, administration, policy makers, corporate sector, and the OH professionals. The research can be expanded prospectively at a provincial and national level as an emerg...
Mohammed A. Almujtaba1, Turky Omar Asar2, Salma Naqvi3, Vikas Kumar4, Fahad A. Al-Abbasi1, Abdulbasit I. Al-Sieni1 and Firoz Anwar1*
...The holy Zamzam water is believed to be beneficial in curing several diseases. Studies report that its alkaline nature renders it a therapeutic potential. We aimed to determine the effect of Zamzam water in doxorubicin induced cardiac remodeling in rats. Male Wistar albino rats were divided into 4 groups (n=6) for 28 days of experimental protocol. Group-1 served as normal control (NC), group 2 as doxorubicin control (DC), group 3 as doxorubicin+ Zamzam treatme...
Semine Dalga* and Kadir Aslan
...ndings of this study are believed to be applicable in clinical veterinary practice, the blocking of terminal branches of cranial nerves between sexes, the treatment of dental injuries and possibly zooarchaeology....
Muhammad Humayun Kabir* and Md. Saiful Islam
... farmers (81.46 percent) believe private sector extension programs are less effective in boosting farmers’ farming abilities. In contrast, 59.55 % of farmers thought the same for public sectors extension. The independent sample t-test explored a significant difference between public and private extension services regarding farm and home visits, demonstration, and training programs. These services of public extension organizations were more effective than...
Yusri Sapsuha1*, Nur Sjafani1, Suryati Tjokrodiningrat2
...n of appropriate dose is believed to replace the role of AGP, which is currently prohibited from its use in broiler chicken feed.
Keywords | AGP, Broiler, Cloves, Health status, Performance
... 
Ahmad Shahzaib1*, Tabish Raza2 and Aisha Areej2
...sease. In general, it is believed that viral infections predispose patients to superinfections that have much worse consequences than the infection alone. Notably, the latest reports of high mucormycosis mortality and disease severity in India raise global concerns. Several studies have been reported that describe different levels of superinfections and disease severity in COVID-19 patients. Perhaps, there is just not enough data to distinguish between the wor...
Meryem Betmezoğlu1*, Dilek Arsoy2 and Mahmut Çerkez Ergören3
...ies genetic diversity We believe that this breed will play a key role in the reduction of scrapie cases, based on its resistance genotype H154 ratio. Larger studies are needed to gain a complete understanding with regards to the impacts of the 146D, 146S, and 154H alleles in Damascus, Cyprus Native Hair Goat and Damascus-Saanen hybrids....
Khalid Ali Khan1,2,3* and Hamed A. Ghramh1,2,4
...ntries every year. It is believed that the Pakistani beekeeping industry is entering an era full of opportunities....
El-Kenawy, A. A. and El-Tholoth, M. S.
...le showed clinical signs believed to be LSD. These samples include 7 skin lesions and 16 internal organs (lymph nodes (6), lung (4), kidney (3) and liver (3)). Hyperimmune serum was prepared against reference LSDV (Ismailyia88 strain). Immunofluorescence (IF), immunoperoxidase (IP) techniques and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used in our study. Chorioallantoic membranes (CAMs) of embryonated chicken eggs (ECEs) were inoculated with Known previously isol...
El-Dougdoug, Kh.A.; Rezk , A.A.; Dawoud, Rehab A. and Sofy, A.R.
...rminal domains which are believed to control viroid pathogenicity. Finally, this constitutes the first isolation and identification of CSVd from diseased Chrysanthemum plants in Egypt...
Diky Ramdani1*, Dwi Cipto Budinuryanto1,2, Siti Darodjah Rasad1, Novi Mayasari3, Krisna Rizki Rismawan1, Muhammad Fajryanto Solihin1, Ririn Siti Rahmatillah1
...aya peel silage (PPS) is believed to improve the nutritional quality of dietary paddy straw silage (PSS) in sheep, showcasing its potential as an anthelmintic. A total of 18 naturally Strongylus-infected Priangan male lambs (initially with an average mean of 120 ± 31.8 eggs/g feces) were allocated using a completely randomized design. The objective was to compare three different as-fed doses of PPS inclusion, comprising 0% (PPS-0), 50% (PPS-50), and 75%...
Basheer Ahmad1, Anwar Ali1, Salman Ahmad1, Nowsherwan Zarif1* and Saif Ullah Khan1
... that 64% of respondents believe that the increasing usage of firewood in the area as a result of more trees means that people's consumption patterns have changed. When it came to the availability of timber, the data showed that 24% of respondents bought their wood from plantations and 32% bought it from marketplaces, farms, and other places. According to the results, more than 70% of respondents think that the BTAP provides several employment opportunities. T...
K. M. Siddiqui
...ly, there is evidence to believe that climate has
changed in some parts of the world as a result of
disappearance of forests. This paper briefly discusses
the changes in climate over major parts of Pakistan in
the past due to clearance of forests and assesses impact
of future climate changes on the remaining forests and
future of forestry on the country if present rate of
deforestation continues....
Kashif Haleem, Basheer Ahmad, Muhammad Rayyan, Nowsherwan Zarif, Saif Ullah Khan, Salman Ahmad and Anwar Ali*
...se production, while 58% believed that the prevalence of poplars in the area decreases agricultural production due to shade and water absorption, and 8% reported no impact. The findings reveal a significant annual income from selling farm trees, ranging between Rs 1 and 2,000,000. According to the data, 61.25% of respondents reported that agroforestry increases milk sales, while 38.75% stated it reduces milk sales due to competition between poplars and agricul...
Noor Nemia Hafed
...s, ferritin, Results: We believe it would be acceptable to check the vitamin B12 levels in kids clinics with unidentified neurological, respiratory, gastrointestinal, or cardiac problems. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that children with vitamin B12 deficiencies, particularly young children, had poor motor development, which is a significant issue that most children experience. As there is a strong correlation between them, it also causes anemia, poor m...
Auras Muhi Taha*, Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim, Hassanein Abduladeem, Mohammed Qais Yassen, Omaima Khalid Ahmed and Tabark Najim Abdul-Allah
... the past decade, and we believe that drought has a clear impact on this deterioration due to decreased rainfall and the use of poor-quality water for irrigation, in addition to increased concentrations of salts that continuously accumulate in the soil without leaching it....
Heba El-Sayed Mostafa1,2*, Lama Sulaiman Alahmadi1, Shiyma Abullah Alrahule1, Nada Fareed Alzughaibi1, Hala Rafat Zulali1, Yasmin Islam Magdi3, Saada Saad Alharbi1
...pected findings that 39% believed that animal research should be conducted in favor of human benefits even if it causes harm to animals. The study found that a considerable number (75.5%) of participants favored the use of animals in scientific research. There was a statistically significant increase (P ≤ 0.05) in those who accepted the use of animals as they got older. Binary multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that females and those in the me...
