RELIGION, SCIENCE AND CULTURE An Integrated, Interconnected Paradigm of Science

Discussing the paradigm of dialogue and integration in the Islamic science of religion is important since the practice of religious education still applies the paradigm of conflict and independence. These paradigms have a great influence on the formation of socio-religious and cultural ways of thinking. The relationship between Islamic religiousc and natural, social, as well as cultural sciences, needs patterns of integrated, interconnected relations and dialogues. Islamic Studies requires a multidisciplinary approach, that is, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. Scientific linearity, in which science is narrowly defined and mono-disciplinary, will lead to an understanding of religion and religious interpretations that has no contact with and relevance to the context in which it is studied. New types of religious thought that encourage independent discussion and dialogue on the subjective, objective and intersubjective aspects of science and religion will create the emergence of a new type of religiosity in the multicultural era. All of this requires more effort to undertake a serious reconstruction of scientific methodologies and the methodologies of scientific studies of religion [ABSTRAK] [Penerapan paradigma dialog dan integrasi dalam ilmu-ilmu keislaman masih penting untuk didiskusikan mengingat praktik pendidikan agama masih menerapkan paradigm konflik dan independen. Paradigma-paradigma ini memiliki pengaruh yang besar dalam pembentukan cara pandang keagamaan baik sosial maupun kultural. Hubungan antara ilmu-ilmu keislaman di satu sisi dengan ilmu-ilmu alam, sosial, dan budaya di sisi lain, memerlukan pola hubungan dan dialog yang terintegrasi-interkoneksi. Studi Islam mensyaratkan pendekatan multi disiplin, baik interdisipliner maupun transdisipliner. Linearitas keilmuan yang membatasi bidang ilmu secara sempit dan monodisiplin akan menggiring pemahaman agama dan tafsir keagamaan yang tidak terkait dan tidak relevan dengan konteks pengkajian. Model baru pemikiran keagamaan yang mendorong dialog dan diskusi yang independen mengenai aspek-aspek subjektif, objektif, dan intersubjektif ilmu dan agama akan menciptakan munculnya model baru keberagamaan di era multicultural. Semua ini memerlukan lebih banyak upaya serius dalam merekonstruksi metodologi keilmuan dan metode-metode studi agama.] Keywords: paradigm of science, religious science, multidisciplinary approach, science integration

Dimensi Epistemologis-Metodologis Pendidikan Islam

Epistemologi adalah satu cabang pokok bahasan dalam wilayah filsafat yang memperbicangkan seluk-beluk "pengetahuan"

A Cost Analysis of Paddy Transportation and Distribution Systems in the Muda Agricultural Development Authority Granary Area

This study attempts to develop an efficient paddy transportation and distribution systems in the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) granary area. This paddy production area is selected because it is one the largest paddy production area and it has the largest number of paddy post production participants. In order to achieve the research objectives, three analyses were undertaken; namely the descriptive analysis, modeling and estimation of transportation related cost functions using econometric models and linear programming model analysis. Cross sectional data which were obtained from survey were used to describe the characteristics of the respondents and were used to compute related costs and estimation of trucking cost, queuing cost and road charges. Survey on 741 transportation participants who were mainly lorry drivers and operators was carried out to obtain the relevant data. Data on paddy production for season 1 and 2 were obtained from MADA and data on rice mills' drying capacity were provided by BERNAS and the Ministry of Agriculture (now, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries). The study revealed that the majority of vehicles used to transport paddy from farms to procurement centres were between 1 to 3 tonne loading capacity. The mean load was 3.2 tonnes and the mean distance from farm to mill was 5.8 kilometers. Data analyses were conducted by three vehicles classes and they were categorized in terms of loading capacity; i. less than 1 tonne, ii. 1 to 2 tonnes, and iii. 2 to 3 tonnes. This analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between cost and vehicle size. The computed trucking cost gave the expected results, that was, trucking costs per tonne of paddy for vehicle with the sizes of less than 1 tonne, 1 to 2 tonne and 2 to 3 tonnes were RM7.75, RM6.56 and RM5.84 respectively. Survey data were then used to estimate paddy transportation costs, specifically trucking cost, queuing cost and road charges. Linear, quadratic, cubic and logarithmic functional forms were used to estimate these costs. The logarithmic function exhibited the best estimates for trucking cost and linear functional form was chosen for road charge model. Logarithmic form for trucking cost function was chosen for analysis due to its relative higher R square value and high Fstatistics as compared to other forms estimated. Linear programming based transportation model analysis was used to determine the optimal transportation cost and quantity of paddy distributed to procurement centres. The solutions revealed that 10 mills were idle in both seasons, 11 mills were idle in one of the seasons, 10 mills were allocated less than the required amount of paddy in one of the seasons, and 1 mill received paddy less than the demand in both seasons. The results illustrate the unbalanced situation between paddy production and number of rice mills in the granary. The results also implied improper planning in terms of setting up rice mills. The difference between the optimal transportation cost and the actual transportation cost indicate some level of cost efficiency of the existing system. Comparison between transportation cost and road charges provides a measurement for transportation service pricing efficiency. The model’s solutions also indicated that there was a slight difference in the average actual trucking cost and the average optimal trucking cost but a considerable difference existed between average trucking cost and average transportation service price. The small difference in the average optimal and average actual trucking cost indicated that a level of cost efficiency had been achieved. However, a considerable gap between the average cost and the average road charge denote that the farmers had been highly charged for transportation services

Robust On-line Matrix Completion on Graphs

We study online robust matrix completion on graphs. At each iteration a vector with some entries missing is revealed and our goal is to reconstruct it by identifying the underlying low-dimensional subspace from which the vectors are drawn. We assume there is an underlying graph structure to the data, that is, the components of each vector correspond to nodes of a certain (known) graph, and their values are related accordingly. We give algorithms that exploit the graph to reconstruct the incomplete data, even in the presence of outlier noise. The theoretical properties of the algorithms are studied and numerical experiments using both synthetic and real world datasets verify the improved performance of the proposed technique compared to other state of the art algorithms

Demand analysis of food in Malaysia: A study of Malay ethnic

The objective of this study is to provide an insight into demand patterns of the Malay consumers for specific food categories in Malaysia. By utilizing Household Expenditure Survey 2004/2005, a system of equations of Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System (LA/AIDS) model for 12 aggregated food products is estimated using a two-step estimation procedure. A Working-leser form of Engel function is also estimated to derive income elasticities from the estimated expenditure elasticities. This study shows that Malay consumers appear to have different food consumption patterns as compared to the general Malaysian diets. Malay consumers tend to increase their consumption of rice more than higher-value (meat and fish) and functional (vegetables and fruits) foods. Malay consumers are found to be very sensitive to the own-price of most of the food products, especially rice (-2.0241).Food, Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System, Engel function