The Epistemological Bases of the Slow Switching Argument

One of the main arguments intended to show that content externalism undermines the privileged access thesis is the ‘slow switching argument’, originally proposed by Boghossian (1989). In this argument, it is supposed that a subject is unknowingly switched back and forth between Earth and Twin Earth: then it is claimed that, given externalism, when the subject is on Earth thinking that water is wet, he cannot know the content of his thought a priori, for he cannot, by mere reflection, rule out the relevant alternative hypothesis that he is on Twin Earth thinking that twater is wet. One of the controversies surrounding this argument stems from the fact that it is not clear which epistemological principle underlies it. Here, I examine two suggestions made in the literature as to what that underlying principle might be. I argue that neither of these suggested principles is plausible, and thus that the slow switching argument never gets off the ground.     

Coming to Terms with Modernity: Iranian intellectuals and the emerging public sphere

Almost two decades after the Islamic revolution of 1979, the quest of Iranians for a distinct religious identity produced a new socio-political movement, which incorporated a pluralistic rhetoric in the name of reform. Since the presidential elections of May 1997, an intensifying fascination has emerged with exposing the internal diversities of the Islamic nation via a language of critique. The June 2001 elections confirmed the popular desire for reform. This reform movement has given voice to the needs and desires of so-far peripheral groups (youth, women, intellectuals, artists and ethnic minorities, etc.), who tend to appropriate Islam in order to come into public life as active protagonists. Recent discursive developments in Iran demonstrate the real possibility of the public expression of dissent within the constraints of Islamic politics. This paper is meant to offer an overview of how new intellectual interpretations of Islamic tradition in Iran since 1997 are contributing to cultural, social and political critique, within a public sphere defined by Islam.     

Quest for divinity: a critical examination of the thought of Mahmud Muhammad Taha

Quest for Divinity makes an intriguing contribution to explain the debatable thought of Mahmud Muhammad Taha. The author analyzes competently different complexities, inter-relatedness, and comprehensiveness of the thinker's doctrine, which articulates the unique accomplishment of his individuality. The author's fluent style, comparative research, and serious attempt to scrutinize the Jumhuri thought and reform project based on academic sources, in addition to personal acquaintance with the movement, provide an opportunity to both scholars and students of religious studies to understand closely major similarities, differences, and spiritual linkages that tie up the Jumhuris with both Sufi spiritualities and orthodox Muslim faith. Still, there is essential need to comprehend the thinker's stands and ideas in their pure originality and totality, as a full package of his doctrinal commitments, rather than tearing them apart by a piece-meal approach, with due consideration to the significant analysis the author offers.     

Effectiveness of Acceptance–Commitment Therapy on Craving Beliefs in Patients on Methadone Maintenance Therapy: A Pilot Study

The present study is designed to evaluate the efficacy of acceptance–commitment therapy (ACT) on craving beliefs in opioid dependent patients on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Twenty-eight opioid dependent participants, aged 18–50 years, who were on MMT based on Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education published protocol, were evaluated in Mashhad during 2011–2012. The treatment group comprised fourteen participants, who received eight sessions of individual ACT alongside MMT while fourteen participants of the control group received just MMT. The effectiveness of the intervention was assessed by the craving beliefs questionnaire (CBQ), the action and acceptance questionnaire (AAQ-I) and the mean dosage of methadone the participants consumed in the last 3 days. Assessment was performed three times; the first was before the initiation of ACT (as pretest), the second was 2 weeks after ACT was terminated (as posttest), and the third one was 12 weeks after the termination of ACT (as follow-up). The extracted data were analyzed by two way ANOVA and ANCOVA using SPSS-20. While there was no significant difference in the mean methadone dosage between the treatment and the control group at pretest (p = 0.067), patients in the treatment group had a significantly lower methadone dosage at posttest (p < 0.001) and follow-up (p < 0.001) compared to the control group. There was a significant reduction in the CBQ scores between treatment and control groups at posttest (p = 0.047) and follow-up (p = 0.014). There was also a significant difference in AAQ-I score between treatment and control at posttest (p < 0.001) and follow-up (p < 0.001). It seems that short-term individual ACT is associated with a significant decline in craving beliefs in substance-dependent patients, which lasts for at least 12 weeks after the termination of ACT.     

The impact of a laryngectomy on the spouse: Who is better off?

Background: Diabetes self-care is a key element in the overall management of diabetes. However, the importance of psychosocial factors for successful disease management is under investigated. This study aimed at exploring the role of coping styles and social support in the relationship between self-care activities and glycated haemoglobin in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: One hundred adults (60% female, aged 40–70 years) with type 2 diabetes completed questionnaires assessing self-care activities, coping styles and social support. In addition, a blood test was performed to obtain glycated haemoglobin levels.

Results: Result showed significant relationships of glycated haemoglobin with self-care activities, coping styles and social support. Regression analysis indicated that social support had a moderating role on the relationship between self-care activities and glycated haemoglobin, such that, at very high levels of social support the association, between Self-Care and HbA1c disappears.

Conclusions: Findings indicate that health care providers, within the context of the Iranian social and cultural situation, should pay more attention to psychosocial factors when addressing self-care activities. Delineation of the role of coping styles and social support might be useful for identifying patients in need of particular counselling and support for improving self-care activities and HbA1c levels.     

PTSD symptoms of mothers following occurrence of a disaster affecting their children

This study investigated the PTSD symptoms of 37 mothers whose adolescent children had been directly involved in a disaster, the Jupiter sinking in 1988. This group included mothers whose children were (a) not diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and (b) were diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The measure used was the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale. Women whose children were involved in the disaster presented PTSD symptoms. 35% (n = 13) were diagnosed with PTSD 3 mo. after the disaster, and 89% (n = 3) of them were diagnosed with PTSD 6 yr. afterward. This effect was greater in the subgroup whose children had developed traumatic stress disorder following the disaster.     

Islam and Christianity between tolerance and acceptance

Basic to the understanding of Christianity and Islam as faith‐identities are their principles of ultimate power or authority. For both, ultimate power belongs to God alone, and human authority must reflect this divine power. In both a tension exists between these two powers which determined the course of their respective histories and interaction with one another. While in both religions tolerance is a fundamental principle based on the imperative of love and respect for human life and dignity, the Qur'an clearly advocates mutual acceptance and cooperation among the people of the Book: Jews, Christians and Muslims. This is evidenced in the term ahl al‐kitab, the family of the Book, which includes all the children of Abraham.     

Investigation of the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 in patients with psychiatric disorders

The aims of this study were to assess the factor structure, validity, and reliability of the Persian translation of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) and to examine different models of the TAS-20 in Iranian patients with various psychiatric disorders. Participants were 839 patients with psychiatric disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (n = 80), schizophrenia (n = 82), bipolar disorder (BD) (n = 100), alcohol dependence (n = 81), major depressive disorder (MDD) (n = 95), psychosomatic disorders (n = 92), anxiety disorders (n = 85), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (n = 90), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (n = 55), and suicide attempts (n = 79). Results indicated that the three-factor TAS-16 fit the data well, after removing four items from the externally-oriented thinking (EOT) subscale. In addition, the total score and subscales had strong internal consistency and concurrent validity. An alternative three-factor model and a four-factor model, which both allow the reverse-coded EOT items to load on a separate factor, also had an acceptable fit. The results suggest that after deleting four items from the EOT subscale, the 16-item TAS is a reliable scale among Iranian psychiatric patients. Moreover, the alternative three-factor and four-factor structures may be appropriate to apply among Iranian patients.

     

Deformation twinning-mediated pseudoelasticity in metal–graphene nanolayered membrane

In this study, we investigated the deformation behaviour of metal–graphene nanolayered composites for five face-centred cubic metals under compression using molecular dynamics simulations. It was found that by increasing the thickness of the individual metal layers, the composite strength increased, while the deformation mechanism changed from buckling to deformation twining in Cu, Au and Ag, which was absent in the monolithic form of those metals of the same orientation and size. The deformation twinning was found to be enabled by the graphene layer, which introduced pseudoelasticity and shape memory effects in the nanolayered membrane with more than 15% recoverable compressive strain.