Practical Affairs Research Articles

Isocrates’ Political Science

Abstract This article argues that despite Aristotle’s criticism of him, Isocrates does not actually hold the belief that political science, or universal knowledge of practical affairs, is impossible. When he appears to express this view, he is using hyperbole to distinguish himself from his adversaries. In reality, while he certainly underscores the significance of particular cases and doxa, he also claims to possess insights into universal principles concerning politics. He does so on the ground of philosophical arguments characterized by their consistency, sophistication, and substantive nature. These arguments are robust enough to be structured into a coherent system of principles akin to a political science in the Aristotelian sense of the term – although Isocrates himself never elaborated this science in a clear and systematic manner. The objective of this article is twofold: first, to defend this unconventional interpretation of Isocrates’ political speeches, and second, to offer a systematic analysis of the implicit political science within them.

An Analysis of the Relationship between River Engineering and Water Conservancy Construction and State Capacity in the early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1644 - A.D. 1820)

The study in this paper focuses on the relationship between the financial situation related to river engineering and water conservancy and state capacity in the early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty. There have been some controversies in the study of state capacity in the Qing Dynasty. Taking the governance of the Yongding River in the Kangxi Dynasty and the governance of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Seawalls in the Yongzheng and Qianlong Dynasties as examples, this paper argues that in the river engineering and water conservancy construction in the early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty, the expenditures were not only supported by the part of the total amount of regular fiscal income, but by the positive extra revenue other than regular fiscal income. This fact suggests that the state’s capacity in the early and middle periods of the Qing Dynasty was recognizable in handling practical affairs and might not be as weak as it appeared.

Joseph Agassi and the Various Guises of Magic

Joseph Agassi’s last book, The Philosophy of Practical Affairs, offers a comprehensive look at key philosophical topics and doctrines with a common focus on the role of rationality, the evolution of rationality and the relationship between rationality and akin phenomena. A key topic he addresses is the relationship between rationality and magic. This dichotomy reverberates on a number of areas of applied philosophy, including philosophical practice and philosophically informed psychotherapy. Agassi’s views on magic offer a fundamentally rationalist view of the phenomenon of magic, however they open up significant inroads into nuanced insights of how magic can be seen as a cognitively significant complement to rationality in the strict sense.

Quantifying Schedule Delay Risk in Construction Projects: A Data-Driven Approach with BIM and Probabilistic Reliability Analysis

Progress management is an important scheme of construction management. In practical affairs, many unknown factors may lead to potential project delays and make the schedule risky. To address this issue, this paper proposes a data-driven construction progress evaluation method that employs a probabilistic reliability analysis with BIM to effectively quantify the risk of schedule delay. By identifying critical tasks and probable failure conditions in uncertain environments, this method enables project managers to take proactive measures to keep their projects on schedule. Through our case study, we have demonstrated that the proposed method is highly effective in dynamically evaluating the project progress with both accuracy and efficiency. Besides, this system offers a more efficient way for managers to gather information, evaluate progress, and identify critical tasks, and provides project managers with a data-driven understanding of the risks and uncertainties related to project schedules, enabling them to take proactive measures to minimize the potential delays and ensure successful project delivery.

Collaboration between pharmacists in community pharmacy and ambulatory clinic settings: Current state and future directions

AbstractPharmacists in the community and ambulatory settings are primed for collaboration that can optimize care. Now is the time to capitalize on the momentum and positive disruption of the COVID‐19 pandemic that propelled pharmacists and their organizations to respond with agility to deliver care in new ways, pivot to develop new partnerships, and leverage technology. The growth of collaborative practice agreements within ambulatory care settings, the enhancement of clinically integrated networks, and the growth in professional organization support create an environment ripe for implementation of pharmacist‐to‐pharmacist collaborations. The American College of Clinical Pharmacy 2022 Clinical Practice Affairs B Committee sought out literature, as well as prepublication contemporary examples, demonstrating models of intraprofessional collaboration among pharmacists in community and ambulatory settings. The committee formulated six key recommendations to optimize pharmacist collaborations in the community and ambulatory settings and formed a framework for practical implementation strategies at the levels of individual pharmacists, organizations, and educational institutions and for legislative advocacy.

Rewards, recognition, and advancement for clinical pharmacists

AbstractClinical pharmacy has continually evolved, with significant expansion in clinical pharmacists' qualifications and roles. However, this growth has not necessarily correlated with improved job satisfaction among clinical pharmacists. A survey of practicing clinical pharmacists performed by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Clinical Practice Affairs Committee A identified low satisfaction with the time allocated for clinical activities, quality improvement, research and scholarship, and teaching and mentorship. There was also low satisfaction with the recognition provided, despite a high desire for recognition and strong agreement that recognition affects job satisfaction. Rewards for workplace successes and advancement pathways are also not commonly provided. This white paper provides an update to the previous ACCP publications from 1995 and 2010 on the current state of rewards, recognition, and advancement for clinical pharmacists. Suggestions for the pharmacy profession and administrators on how to improve job satisfaction and retention and reduce burnout were developed by the committee and are provided as best practice recommendations.

Hermeneutika kao metodološki pristup istraživanju u pedagogiji

Pedagogical research is based on specific views on the nature of truth and reality, which means that every research has its methodological orientation that determines the research approach and procedure. As the investigation of the methodological approaches provides an insight into the world of pedagogical research, it indirectly provides an insight into the current state of affairs in pedagogical theory and practice. Hermeneutical approach to research is one of the methodological approaches in pedagogy that has been unfairly neglected. The aim of this paper is to point to the significance, outreach, and the possibility of applaying this method in pedagogical research. Starting from the nature of pedagogical phenomena, the paper analyzes the basic assumtions of hermeneutics from the perspective of its implementation in researching pedagogical issues. The author emphasizes the importance of a deeper insight into specific phenomena, events, and processes, as well as the need for this approach and the possibilities of applying hermeneutical circle not only in pedagogical research, but also in pedagogical practice. The importance of analyzing this approach is also reflected in the fact that qualitative research, more or less explicitly, is mostly based on the foundations of this approach.

John Dewey, Eastern Philosophy, and the American Avant-Garde: Art and Education in Becoming

Abstract This article begins with a brief comparative analysis of John Dewey’s pragmatic naturalism and several prominent themes from Zen and Confucianism often associated with Dewey. These conceptual themes are then used to examine the combined influence of Dewey and Eastern philosophy on two leading 20th Century American avant-garde artists, John Cage and Allan Kaprow. It is then argued that the work of these artists suggests avenues for cultural enrichment and personal growth and renewal through the arts that reject the dualistic and reductionist premises of Western liberal individualism and its excesses; the disembodied and detached subject of Descartes; the invariant “true” or essential self of Plato; de-situated and compartmentalized views of human experience; and the supposition that the arts are superfluous adornments to the more practical affairs of daily living, all of which tend to disrupt democratic forms of life but remain commonplace in prevailing sociocultural norms and institutional practices (including formal schooling) in the U.S.

Analysis of the legal consequences of fetal civil rights

With the increasing heat of fetal rights protection, the supporting measures of fetal civil rights protection in China have been gradually improved.But from the perspective of civil law, the legal consequences of the fetus is not in place, and the experience of related affairs in practice is also missing. This paper will analyze and discuss the legal consequences of stillbirth after donation or inheritance.

Analysis of the legal consequences of fetal civil rights

With the increasing heat of fetal rights protection, the supporting measures of fetal civil rights protection in China have been gradually improved.But from the perspective of civil law, the legal consequences of the fetus is not in place, and the experience of related affairs in practice is also missing. This paper will analyze and discuss the legal consequences of stillbirth after donation or inheritance.

유통물류 환경 변화에 따른 사후송금방식 (Open Account) 수출거래특성과 신용위험 최소화 방안 연구

In recent decades, export trends have rapidly changed. As building long-term relationships with clients, the preference for payment is changing from documentary credit transactions to remittances. Accordingly, an extensive study on credit risk assessment on Open Account (from now on O/A) from the perspective of exporters is essential to reduce credit risk. The purpose of our study is to analyze the relationship between the characteristics of O/A and credit risk management performance mediated by the level of risk. In addition, the moderated mediating effect of the overseas trading period on the relationship will be analyzed. Our research model and hypothesis were designed through an in-depth interview with a person in charge of practical affairs and previous literature. The target of the survey is shippers who perform general forms of exports through forwarders or shipping companies in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Incheon. In order to secure objectivity of the questionnaire responses, simple random sampling was used with the list of members such as the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Certified Trading Company, and Korea Certified Customs Attorneys Association. The analysis results are as follows: First, the characteristics of O/A had a positive effect on the level of risk. These results are consistent with the book by Harlaar & de Leeuw (2020). Considering that O/A is a deal on credit, it should be possible to increase the level of risk awareness through pre-negotiations. Second, the level of risk had a positive effect on credit risk management performance. These results are consistent with those of Niepmann & Schmidt-Eisenlohr (2017), Lee Jung-sun, and Huh Eun-sook (2021). In other words, the greater the recognition of risk, the lower the likelihood of credit risk. Third, the characteristics of O/A had a positive effect on credit risk management performance. This finding is consistent with those in the book of Lin (2022). In O/A, the exporter’s withdrawal of payment often depends only on the importer’s credit. Therefore, using appropriate insurance for each transaction can have a significant positive effect on credit risk management performance. Fourth, in the relationship between the characteristics of O/A and the level of risk, the overseas trading period had a significant moderated mediation effect. Our findings show that the longer the overseas transaction period, the lower the level of risk recognition due to accumulated transaction experience. This study is different from the study of Han Woo-jung and Cho Hyuk-soo (2019) in that trade experience and trading period are designed as moderating variables rather than independent variables.

The existential turn in philosophy of education: In defence of liberal autonomy

Abstract In recent years, there has been a marked shift in concern among some philosophers of education from political transformation to personal transformation. In the past, critics of liberalism, both egalitarian and communitarian, promoted political, social, economic and educational reform—but always subscribed to the freedom of the individual, the sovereign subject, to seek fulfilment. Now, influenced by an existential turn in the work of Heidegger, Sartre and Levinas, which originates in Hegel's dialectic of freedom, and postmodernist notions of transgressive self-creation, proponents of personally transformative education call for a decentring of the egoistic self so that we might recreate ourselves as ethical beings whose unconditional obligations are to ‘the other’ in a shared world. However, this vision of idealised existential subjects stripped of contingent worldly attachments and selfish egocentric impulses, enjoying idealised ethical relations and what I term ‘existential freedom’, is radically undetermined. It could only be achieved if individual wills were merged into a collective will or consciousness, and personal autonomy was eliminated. Meanwhile, crucial educational and political questions concerning how the practical affairs of autonomous individuals—real people—should be managed in a liberal democracy, and how young people should be educated for responsible citizenship, are neglected (at least among those influenced by the existentialist turn), as the formative and socialising functions of education are undermined. I conclude that the existential turn towards personally transformative education leads us nowhere.

The formation of personal judgment in practical affairs: An epistemological view

In our present cultural situation, we observe a growing expansion of information together with a proliferation of opinions and interpretations. This situation has been intensified by the health emergency caused by the Covid-19 virus. Our study aims to provide the keys for the formation of personal judgment in the practical field, so that it can indirectly serve as guidance for the management of information related to the pandemic. We will attempt to illustrate, first, the specificity of practical knowledge, describing its sources and conditions, as well as the scope of practical truth, which such judgment allows us to reach. Secondly, we will point out the factors that positively and negatively influence personal judgment. On the one hand, we will indicate some external elements that hinder or prevent access to information, such as misinformation, disinformation and fake news. On the other hand, we will focus on the internal dispositions of practical judgment, particularly the intellectual and moral virtues. In this context, we will deal in greater detail with prudence as a dianoetic virtue. We will conclude by pointing out the importance of the virtues in achieving critical thinking, and the importance of critical thinking in building stable access to information.

A Demand Survey on the Priority of Agricultural College Students’ Core Competencies Required by Agriculturel Companies: A case study on G University

Background and objective As the agricultural industry becomes a more convergent industry, it is believed that the demand for human resources by companies will change. Therefore, a survey was conducted to investigate the human resources required by agriculture companies. Methods In the survey on 77 agriculture companies, 98.7% of respondents answered that new employees with a college degree needed additional training to adapt to practical affairs. Results The first priority of education was “community spirit” (22.1%) and the second priority was “convergence capability” (15.6%). The most important educational goal desired by agricultural companies was “cultivating human resources with community spirit and ethical judgment”, followed by “cultivating human resources with serious communication and problem-solving skills”, and “cultivating human resources with scientific thinking and unique creative imagination.” Sub-competencies that companies want agricultural colleges to strengthen were “community spirit” 4.32(SD=0.96), “desirable values” 4.30 (SD = 1.05), “sympathy” 4.28 (SD = 0.95), “convergence capability” 4.16 (SD = 0.88), “creativity” 4.11 (SD = 0.83), “civic spirit” 4.10 (SD = 0.91), and “rational/critical thinking” 3.94 (SD = 1.04). There was a significant difference in sub-competencies that require reinforcement depending on the number of full-time employees. “Creativity” was most necessary in companies with less than 3 employees (4.39), and 4~7 employees (4.33), and “aesthetics”“ in companies with less than 3 employees (3.94), and 4–7 employees (3.61) “Civic spirit” was most necessary in companies with 31 employees or more (4.33). Conclusion The most important educational goal desired by companies was “cultivating human resources with community spirit and ethical judgment”.

استنباطِ احکام میں فقہائےاحناف اوراہل ظواہرکامنہج اور عصری معنویت

Islamic Sharīʿa gives importance to intellect as well as imitation. For better comprehension of imitation, it is necessary to have perception. Intellect is helpful for imitation to interpret comprehensively. There is no dissension in imitation but for Intellect having a difference in way of thinking and intelligence quotient, there might be dissension. In Islamic Jurisprudence, there are five schools of Fiqh (Ḥanafī, Mālḳī, Shafi՚ī, Ḥanblī, and Ẓāhirī). Each one has its principles of interpretation. There is a dire need for comparison among these schools of Fiqh. In this article, it has been tried to compare the principles of interpretation between the Hanafi and Zaheri schools of Fiqh. Islamic law regulates the practical affairs of life such as virtual laws, family matters, financial matters, banking laws, judicial proceeding affairs, inheritance, and criminal laws. In this article, an introduction of both jurisprudential scholars, Imam AbŪ Ḥanīfa and Imam AbŪ Dawud Ẓāhirī including their famous students who have a great contribution, has been discussed. A valuable discussion has also been done on their principles of interpretation. These two schools of Fiqh have two different origins and places, but both follow Qu՚rān, Sunnah/Ḥadith, and Ijmā՚ as the primary sources of interpretation while other sources such as Qiyās, Istiḥsan, Shara՚ mā Qabl, Urf are quite different. Ẓāhirī scholars do not accept Qiyās and Istiḥsan as a source of interpretation, but they accept Dalīl and Istashab as a primary source of interpretation.

정신질환자의 고의

In recent times, crimes of the mentally ill have been frequently reported by the media. Punishment, cure or treatment of these mentally disordered people is becoming a big issue socially. Precedents and practical affairs so far have regarded crimes of the mentally ill as issues of mental and physical disorders with no particular objection. Therefore, criminal procedures on the mentally ill have been focused on evaluating whether or not doers had a proper capability to take the responsibility, through a psychiatric evaluation. However, a different logic can be presented when looking at the world from the perspective of a mentally disordered person, based on various symptoms that he or she has. Mentally disordered people do not look at the world the way non-mentally disordered people do. In other words, mentally disordered people have different perceptions of the outer world from those of non-mentally disordered people. Particularly, people with schizophrenia or hypermetamorphosis may not recognize the objective fact of elements of crimes. Likewise, many of people with an impulse control disorder or a dissociative disorder perform external acts, regardless of their intentions. There is room for interpretation that they do not intend to commit crimes. In conclusion, an earnest examination should be made from the stage of subjective components, rather than arguing over the capability to take the responsibility, when it comes to discussing crimes of the mentally ill. It appears precedents and practical affairs are to move on to the next step, on the premise that an act of a mentally disordered person is naturally intentional or faulty, but this is wrong. But probably, these precedents and practical affairs are unavoidable results considering the reality. When willfulness or fault of a mentally disordered person is denied, it is impossible to punish or apply public security to him or her, and this causes issues related to social protection. The result of criminal identification might not be unacceptable, when finding the mentally ill innocent and not applying any public security, including medical treatment and custody. Since the present interpretation has a limitation in filling up this blank and obeying fundamental principles of the criminal law faithfully, an additional effort for legislative improvement will be needed.

Dynamic Probability Analysis for Construction Schedule Using Subset Simulation

Schedule management is an essential part of construction project management. In practical management affairs, many uncertainties may lead to potential project delays and make the schedule risky. To quantify such risk, the Probabilistic Critical Path Method (PCPM) is used to compute the overdue probability. Survey shows it could help project managers understand the schedule better. However, two critical factors limited the application of PCPM: computational efficiency and timeliness. To solve these constraints, we combined subset simulation and statistical learning to build a computationally efficient and dynamic simulation system. Numerical experiment shows that this method can effectively improve the computation efficiency without losing any accuracy and outperforms the other approaches with the same assumptions. Besides, we proposed a machine learning‐based way to estimate task duration distributions in PCPM automatically. It collects real‐time progress data through user interactions and learns the best PERT‐Beta parameters based on these historical data. Our estimator provides our simulation system the ability to handle dynamic assessment without laborious human work. These improvements reduce the limitations of PCPM, making the application of PCPM in practical management affairs possible.

A study on topic models using LDA and Word2Vec in travel route recommendation: focus on convergence travel and tours reviews

At present, we live in prosperity contrary to the past times. As income increases, people enjoy wealth, but more people tend to pursue their own inner happiness: travel. People go to other places or visit foreign countries for business or journey. This study aims to identify the best tour route for foreign tourists in South Korea. Based on the review analysis results, this paper also aims to put forward techniques and methodologies required in practical affairs when developing a travel site or a travel application. On this note, it collected tourists’ reviews at the Tripadvisor official website and conducted text mining technique as well as network analysis using R and Tagxedo, which is a big data analytic tool. The analysis results displayed that there were differences in travel preference, and especially, individual travelers had difficulty traveling by public transportation and selecting travel destinations. Therefore, customized travel routes were suggested for convenient use among travelers.

Theoretical and practical aspects of professional psychological selection of candidates for training at higher education institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine

The provision of high-quality professional psychological selection of candidates for higher education with specific learning conditions to improve the professional level of specialists in the police of Ukraine has been studied. Psychological selection as a type of professional selection has been considered in the context of socio-psychological, psycho-physiological and actually psychological normative characteristics of the profession. A systematic analysis of existing approaches to the study of the problem of psychological selection in higher educational institutions of the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in science and practice. The author has carried out theoretical and methodological study of the main forms of psychological selection (scientific and methodical, organizational, personnel and logistical), each of them determines the possibility of effective functioning of selection as a system, while having its own methodological, methodical and organizational specifics. The motivational component of professional psychological selection has been studied through the prism of complexity and dynamism of the motivational sphere of personality, as well as the lack of a reliable method of its evaluation. The author has specified and studied three levels of requirements for education in higher educational institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs: 1) requirements due to educational activities in the higher educational institutions with specific learning conditions; 2) requirements due to the general features of the law enforcement system; 3) requirements due to the specifics of the future professional activity of an individual in the units of the National Police. Three main stages of psychological selection in the higher educational institutions have been considered (the first is carried out by psycho-diagnostic centers and laboratories at the military medical commission and has a pronounced psychiatric orientation, the second is carried out by the employees of the psychological support service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in regions, the third is carried out by psychologists of higher educational institutions) and “weak spots” in each of them have been identified. The problems that arise in the scientific and methodological, organizational, personnel and logistical forms of psychological selection of candidates for higher education in the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been determined and researched. The author has offered a number of successive measures to solve them.

Downlink channel estimation of FDD based massive MIMO using spatial partial-common sparsity modeling

Downlink channel estimation in FDD massive MIMO systems is a challenge in 5G wireless communication systems. Using orthogonal pilots for downlink channel estimation leads to the pilot overhead problem. To cope with this problem, spatio-temporal common sparsity feature of delay domain beside the compressive sensing algorithm has used for channel estimation. In a practical affair, the spatial common sparsity of the adjacent antennas groups is not entirely separate. In this paper, we model the FDD massive MIMO downlink frequency selective channel estimation problem by a spatial partial-common sparsity, in which it is assumed that the spatial sparsity pattern of antennas in each group has a common part and an uncommon part. For the proposed model, we design a proper pilot sequence, and finally, we propose an estimation method associated with this model to solve the problem. Our proposed method has better NMSE and BER performance than reference methods in the same pilot overhead ratio, which is shown in the simulation results.