Tradition,Reason, and Qur’anic Exegesis in the Modern Period: The Hermeneutics of Said Nursi

Key figures in modernist Qur’an exegesis include Sayyid Ahmad Khan (d. 1898) and Muhammad ?Abduh (d. 1905). This article presents the exegetical principles of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877–1960), a Muslim thinker and a major twentieth-century Turkish scholar who is not necessarily to be labelled a ‘modernist’, on tafsīr bi-al-ma?thūr (tradition-based exegesis) and tafsīr bi-al-ra?y (reason-based exegesis) with special reference to the views of early Muslim modernist thinkers. It particularly refers to Nursi’s work on u?ūl al-tafsīr, Mu?ākamāt (Reasonings), and his one-volume commentary, Ishārāt al-i?jāz (Signs of Inimitability), in order to understand his method of tafsīr. The purpose of the article is to place Nursi within the historical framework of Qur’an exegesis and it argues that, while there are some similarities between ?Abduh and Nursi since the latter is influenced by the former, the methodological differences are clear. While ?Abduh’s method is text-based, Nursi’s is based on kalām (Islamic theology). While ?Abduh is critical of the classical style tafsīr and linguistic discussions in tafsīr, Nursi can be considered to be a modern representative of the Ottoman exegetical school and a follower in the way of al-Zamakhsharī (d. 538?1144), Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606?1210) and al-Bay?āwī (d. 685/1286).     

Investigation of the computer experiences and attitudes of pre-service mathematics teachers: new evidence from Turkey

This study aimed to investigate the experiences of pre-service mathematics (PSM) teachers with computers and their attitudes toward them. The Computer Attitude Scale, Computer Competency Survey, and Computer Use Information Form were administered to 180 Turkish PSM teachers. Results revealed that most PSM teachers used computers at home and at Internet cafes, and that their competency was generally intermediate and upper level. The study concludes that PSM teachers' attitudes about computers differ according to their years of study, computer ownership, level of computer competency, frequency of computer use, computer experience, and whether they had attended a computer-aided instruction course. However, computer attitudes were not affected by gender.     

Sexual fetishism in a quail (Coturnix japonica) model system: test of reproductive success

In the present study, the authors explored the reproductive consequences of fetishistic behavior in a previously developed animal model of sexual fetishism (F. K?ksal et al., 2004). Male domesticated quail (Coturnix japonica) received sexual conditioning trials in which a terrycloth object (the conditioned stimulus [CS]) was paired with the opportunity to copulate with a female quail (the unconditioned stimulus). Approximately half of the male quail came to copulate with the CS object and were considered to have developed fetishistic behavior. Each of the male quail was then tested with a female quail, whose eggs were incubated to determine rates of fertilization. The CS object was present for 30 s before and during the copulation test. Fetishistic male quail were slower to achieve cloacal contact with the female quail and showed less efficient copulatory behavior. However, they fertilized a greater proportion of eggs than nonfetishistic male quail. These results are unexpected from previous studies of the relationship between reproductive success and copulatory behavior and are discussed in terms of how fetishistic behavior directed toward an inanimate object may modify male-female interactions.     

Workplace Deviance as a Possible “Maladaptive Coping” Behavior Displayed in Association with Workplace Stressors

ABSTRACT

The Threat Appraisal and Coping Theory suggests that in response to environmental stressors, individuals sometimes display “maladaptive coping” behaviors that may vent frustration immediately but worsen later psychosocial well-being. For example, employees exposed to workplace stressors may vent their frustration with workplace deviance including intentional poor performance, abuse of organizational resources, disrespect, and disruption of co-workers, but such workplace deviance may worsen their later psychological well-being. The present study examined workplace deviance as a possible “maladaptive coping” behavior displayed by 293 university employees (74.7% female; 90.4% White; mean age = 45.8 years; 43 administrators, 127 staff, 84 faculty). When three workplace stressors (high demand, low control, low support) were compared for their association with workplace deviance, only low support was significant. Furthermore, workplace deviance was significantly associated with negative psychosocial outcomes [poor self-esteem, health concerns, anger, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, poor job satisfaction, work-home conflict]. Finally, bootstrapping mediational analysis revealed that workplace deviance was a significant mediator between low support and each of the negative psychosocial outcomes. Results support the idea that workplace deviance is an example of “maladaptive coping” behavior that, when displayed in response to perceptions of low support from supervisors and co-workers, is associated with worse psychosocial outcomes for employees who display it. Stress reduction programs could educate employees that displaying workplace deviance in response to workplace stressors may harm their psychosocial well-being. Such programs could also guide employees to more “adaptive coping” behaviors in response to workplace stressors (such as seeking social support, exercise, and yoga).     

Psychometric Properties and Cut-off Scores of the Beck Depression Inventory-II in Turkish Adolescents

The current study examined the psychometric properties and cut-off scores of the Beck Depression Inventory II in Turkish adolescents. A total of 503 non-clinical and 166 clinical adolescents participated in the study. Test-retest (r = .89) and internal consistency (α = .90) reliabilities, convergent validity (r = .81) and discriminant validities (r = .39, r = .49 and r = .42) were satisfactory. Exploratory factor analyses yielded two factors. The cut-off score for mild depression in Turkish adolescents was lower than that reported previously for adults. The findings are discussed in relation to those of previous studies conducted in other countries.

Discriminative touch and emotional touch.

Somatic sensation comprises four main modalities, each relaying tactile, thermal, painful, or pruritic (itch) information to the central nervous system. These input channels can be further classified as subserving a sensory function of spatial and temporal localization, discrimination, and provision of essential information for controlling and guiding exploratory tactile behaviours, and an affective function that is widely recognized as providing the afferent neural input driving the subjective experience of pain, but not so widely recognized as also providing the subjective experience of affiliative or emotional somatic pleasure of touch. The discriminative properties of tactile sensation are mediated by a class of fast-conducting myelinated peripheral nerve fibres--A-beta fibres--whereas the rewarding, emotional properties of touch are hypothesized to be mediated by a class of unmyelinated peripheral nerve fibres--CT afferents (C tactile)--that have biophysical, electrophysiological, neurobiological, and anatomical properties that drive the temporally delayed emotional somatic system. CT afferents have not been found in the glabrous skin of the hand in spite of numerous electrophysiological explorations of this area. Hence, it seems reasonable to conclude that they are lacking in the glabrous skin. A full understanding of the behavioural and affective consequences of the differential innervation of CT afferents awaits a fuller understanding of their function.     

Football and exchange rates: empirical support for behavioral economics

Recently, economic theory has been expanded to incorporate emotions, which have been assumed to play an important role in financial decisions. The present study illustrates this by showing a connection between the sports performance of popular national football teams (Besiktas, Fenerbahce, and Galatasaray) and performance of the Turkish economy. Specifically, a significant positive association was found between the success of three major professional Turkish football teams and the exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the U.S. dollar. The effect of the football success of several Turkish football teams on the exchange rate of the Turkish lira was examined using the simultaneous multiple regression model with predictor measures of wins, losses, and ties for different combinations of teams to predict the depreciation rate of the Turkish lira between the years 1987 and 2003. Wins by Turkish football teams against foreign (non-Turkish) rivals increased with exchange rate depreciation of the Turkish lira against the U.S. dollar.     

Subjective Well-Being in an Era of Relentless Growth: The Case of Turkey Between 2004 and 2014

This paper analyses the subjective well-being levels in Turkey between 2004 and 2014 by relying on Turkish Statistical Institute’s Life Satisfaction Surveys. This is the first study ever suggesting an alternative well-being approach for Turkish population based on subjective measures. Inspired from the Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness and Cummins et al.’s (2003) Australian Unity Well-Being Index approaches, we constructed several subjective well-being indexes for the first time in Turkey. The main findings of this study are as follows: (1) Despite GDP per capita (in current $) doubles between 2004 and 2014 period, constructed indexes show slight increments or stagnate around some level. (2) We found a slight support for Frey and Stutzer’s (2002a) argument that GDP per capita is insensible after some threshold. (3) National well-being indicators are found to be more volatile than individual well-being indicators, which hints that individuals may be using their informal social networks as a shelter from the economic and politic fluctuations in the country. (4) Much of the volatility in subjective well-being indexes are caused by psychological well-being indicators. Previous results indicate that as basic requirements of a society are met after some level of per capita income, non-materialistic aspirations- like happiness, freedom or justice-started to surpass materialistic aspirations. Same is true for Turkey- this led us to conclude that the reductionist approach of delegating the solution of social and ecological problems to economic growth process may lie beneath this dismal outcome in Turkey in the last decade. Thus, we recommend policy-makers to upkeep with the reform process which would make economic and political system more transparent and competitive, which in turn, help to ameliorate the channels through which individuals fulfil their aspirations.