Western Liberal Democracy: The Struggle of Muslims for Freedom,Equality and Dignity

The increasingly multicultural fabric of Western liberal democracies has given rise to the issue of the presence of Muslim minorities in the West, as rising hatred and hostility toward Islam and Muslims in the West undermine the three guiding principles of freedom, equality and dignity that underpin the foundation of liberal democracy, human rights and multiculturalism. Today, Muslims in the West struggle for freedom, equality and dignity to ensure their ethnocultural survival and full and equal participation within the mainstream society. Therefore, it would be quite correct to say that the endurance of liberal democracy, human rights and multiculturalism built on the Western civilization depends on the eradication of Western Islamophobia.     

A counterexample to Beder's conjectures about Hadamard matrices

In this note we provide a counterexample which resolves conjectures about Hadamard matrices made in this journal. Beder [1998. Conjectures about Hadamard matrices. Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference 72, 7–14] conjectured that if H$\mathit{H}$ is a maximal m×n$m\times n$ row-Hadamard matrix then m is a multiple of 4; and that if n   is a power of 2 then every row-Hadamard matrix can be extended to a Hadamard matrix. Using binary integer programming we obtain a maximal 13×32$13\times 32$ row-Hadamard matrix, which disproves both conjectures. Additionally for n being a multiple of 4 up to 64, we tabulate values of m   for which we have found a maximal row-Hadamard matrix. Based on the tabulated results we conjecture that a m×n$m\times n$ row-Hadamard matrix with m?n-7$m?n-7$ can be extended to a Hadamard matrix.     

Visceral adiposity index is associated with premature ejaculation inversely: a cross-sectional study

Objective: Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a novel indicator for the assessment of visceral obesity. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between VAI and premature ejaculation (PE).

Materials and method: A total of 300 men were included in the study. Hundred and fifty men with PE and 150 men without PE (control). All men were evaluated for PE by premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT). VAI levels were calculated using body mass index (BMI), high density lipoprotein and triglyceride (TG) levels.

Results: Mean age of the study groups was 34.3?±?5.2 (30–60) years and the mean age of the controls were 35.9?±?5.3 (30–60) years. The men with PE had lower BMI, TG levels, waist circumference (WC) and higher high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. Mean VAI level was 4.13?±?0.7 in study group and 5.72?±?1.6 in control group, respectively. VAI levels were statistically higher in men without PE (p?Discussion: Our cross-sectional study demonstrated a negative correlation between VAI and PE. VAI is superior index for the evaluation and calculation the relationship between obesity and PE.     

The value of a name: Estimating the economic impact of public land designation

Public land designations have been shown to have significant impact on their contextual regional economies. This paper reviews the existing literature on how public lands impact the proximate regional economies in which they are situated. Based on this collected wisdom the paper synthesizes past lessons into a comprehensive impact methodology. This methodology distinguishes quality effects in terms of visitors’ willingness to pay for sites of higher quality and quantity effects in terms of additional visitation to such sites to give a more comprehensive methodology for characterizing visitation and economic impact of protected area designation. We focus on National Monuments and National Parks, given that these two types of public lands have the broadest popular exposure and feature the most reliable data. A case study is then presented for a hypothetical protected area in Ferry County, Washington, USA, applying this new methodology to assess the likely economic effects of different types of protected areas.     

A new test for the extreme value distribution

In this paper a test statistic which is a modification of the W statistic for testing the goodness of fit for the two paremeter extreme value (smallest element) distribution is proposed. The test statistic Is obtained as the ratio of two linear estimates of the scale parameter. It Is shown that the suggested statistic is computationally simple and has good power properties. Percentage points of the statistic are obtained by performing Monte Carlo experiments. An example is given to illustrate the test procedure.     

Optimal Pricing Strategies for Capacity Leasing Based on Time and Volume Usage in Telecommunication Networks

In this study, we examined optimal pricing strategies for “pay‐per‐time,” “pay‐per‐volume,” and “pay‐per‐both‐time‐and‐volume” based leasing of data networks in a monopoly environment. Conventionally, network capacity distribution includes short‐/long‐term bandwidth and/or usage time leasing. When customers choose connection‐time–based pricing, their rational behavior is to fully utilize the bandwidth capacity within a fixed time period, which may cause the network to burst (or overload). Conversely, when customers choose volume‐based strategies their rational behavior is to send only the minimum bytes necessary (even for time‐fixed tasks for real time applications), causing the quality of the task to decrease, which in turn creates an opportunity cost for the provider. Choosing a pay‐per time and volume hybridized pricing scheme allows customers to take advantage of both pricing strategies while lessening the disadvantages of each, because consumers generally have both time‐ and size‐fixed tasks such as batch data transactions. One of the key contributions of this study is to show that pay‐per both time and volume pricing is a viable and often preferable alternative to the offerings based on only time or volume, and that judicious use of such a pricing policy is profitable to the network provider.     

Bringing social worlds together: computers as catalysts for new interactions in health care organizations.

In this case study, computer systems are explored as catalysts for new interactions between departments in health care organizations. Hypotheses investigated changes in the extent to which members of different departments (1) exchange information and (2) understand each other's work following implementation of an integrated medical information system. Analyses showed that communication-based forms of involvement in implementation (communicating with systems personnel and trainers, communicating about new ways to use the system, and receiving support from supervisors for doing so) were overwhelmingly more important than either general participation or computer use in predicting increases in interdepartmental interaction. Changes in tasks and roles also led to new, informal, face-to-face contacts to support computer system use, as well as greater administrative control over the organization as a whole. In addition, results of interviews and observations over the two-year study period illustrate the importance of work group identification in predicting changes accompanying computerization.     

Increased visceral adiposity index associated with sexual dysfunction in men

Objective: Visceral adipose index (VAI) is a novel parameter for the evaluation of visceral obesity. As we know that obesity is a risk factor for erectile dysfunction (ED). So, in this study, we compared the VAI levels between the men with ED and without ED.

Materials and method: A total of 177 men were included in the study. Ninety-five men with ED and 82 men without ED (control). All men were evaluated for ED by Index of Erectile Function-5 items (IIEF-5). VAI levels were calculated using body mass index, high density lipoprotein and tryglyceride levels.

Results: Mean age was 53.5 (38–69) in men who have ED and 53.1 (34–69) in control. The men with ED had higher body mass index (BMI), triglyceride (TG) levels, higher waist circumference (WC) and lower high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. Mean VAI level was 5.18?±?2.50 in study group and 3.47?±?1.76 in control goup, respectively. VAI levels were statistically higher in men with ED (p?Discussion: The simplicity of WC and BMI measurement and TG and HDL assessment, make VAI an easily applicable index for the evaluation of visceral fat dysfunction. VAI can be useful index for the evaluation and calculation of erectile dysfunction risk.