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The Relative Lenience or Strictness of the Sunni Schools of Law
No full textʿAbd al-Wahhāb b. Aḥmad al‑Shaʿrānī (d. Cairo, 973/1565), al-Mīzān, is a survey of agreements and disagreements among the Sunni schools of law. For each question, it locates the rules of the different schools on a spectrum from lenient to strict, suggesting that a believer may choose whichever suits his situation, such as his capacity for self-control. The Ḥanafī school has a reputation for relative lenience, which al-Shaʿrānī’s survey tends to confirm
The Multiplicity of Mosque Architecture in China
No full textThis pedagogy file examines the diversity of mosque architecture in China as an entry point for considering the intersections of Islam, regional traditions, and transregional exchange. Chinese mosques demonstrate a wide range of architectural strategies through which Muslim communities have articulated religious practice and cultural identity. Focusing on three case studies—the Ashab Mosque in Quanzhou, the Great Mosque of Xi’an, and the Amin Mosque in Turfan—the file highlights how architectural forms reflected the particular circumstances of diasporic merchant communities on the coast, imperially supported Hui congregations in central China, and Uyghur patronage along the frontiers of Central Asia. These examples illustrate both the circulation of forms through maritime and overland networks and the translation of global Islamic idioms into local building traditions and epistemologies. By engaging with these sites, students are encouraged to recognize that mosque architecture in China resists reductive classification and reflects processes of adaptation, continuity, and negotiation. Framed within broader histories of global architecture, the file provides resources for classroom discussion on center–periphery models and the transregional dynamics of religious built environments
Immortality and Rebirth in Jade: A White Jade Cicada from the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 AD) at the Royal Ontario Museum
No full textThis paper examines a white jade cicada from the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE) in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, exploring its material, symbolic, and ritual significance within early Chinese funerary culture. The cicada is an insect associated with periodic molting, and it has become a metaphor for rebirth and immortality. During the Han Dynasty, cicadas were carved in jade or other stones and placed on the tongues of the deceased, signifying the preservation of the soul and the wish of rebirth.
Methodologically, the paper integrates archaeological contextual analysis with textual analysis of Han Dynasty classics, such as the Book of Rites (Liji) and Huainanzi. It places the jade cicada within both Daoist beliefs and Confucian frameworks of filial piety. A comparative analysis of this artifact alongside twenty-one cicadas in the ROM collection, dating from the Shang to Qing dynasties, allows for a broader understanding of the material choices and craftsmanship of this specific jade cicada. By comparing jade cicadas with examples made of glass or stone, the paper highlights how material quality and carving techniques reinforced social hierarchies in funerary practice and how the deceased's social status was associated with the materiality.
The paper further investigates the role of jade’s materiality, including its durability, beauty, and philosophical implications, and explores its function as an elite funerary object. Through the close examination of the materiality of white Hetian jade, which was imported via the Silk Road, the paper finally explores the cultural exchange in the Han.
Ultimately, the jade cicada served dual functions: for the deceased, it showed their wishes of immortality and rebirth; for the living, it expressed their filial piety to their family members through the use of precious materials. Through the perspective of material culture, this single artifact thus reflects a broader social and cultural background in Han Dynasty China
Cover Art
No full textAbridged Artist Statement:
Lungta (wind horse) is a mythical Tibetan creature symbolizing the “inner air” (tib. rlung) that travels through the “subtle channels” (tib. rtsa) of the body’s psycho-physical systems; and it is also the practice of releasing prayer papers into the wind, trusting their movement to disperse aspiration and dispel obstruction. This work presents a figure wearing the “chungbala chyukti” attire of the Rang (or Byasi Sauka) Tibetan community living three valleys stretching between India’s Puithoragarh district and Nepal’s Sudurpashchim province. The Northern end of the three valleys lies at the center of the Kalapani territorial dispute and has been an unsolved consequence of the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, which attempted to divide the land by locating the “true” source of the Kali River, resulting in Rang community divided under two administrations. I do not claim to represent them; rather, their circumstances open up a broader question: when powers assign bodies to cartographic positions, what forms of movement and meaning remain impossible to contain
Caution when Crowdsourcing: Prolific as a Superior Platform Compared with MTurk
No full textMany researchers host surveys on online crowdsourcing platforms, such as Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and Prolific. Online platforms promise a convenient way to meet sample size needs while drawing on diverse pools that might not otherwise participate in science. Yet, the quality of data obtained from these platforms is often questionable, so the collection must be closely monitored and reviewed. This study aimed to independently determine which crowdsourcing pool best serves researchers who plan to recruit for online surveys. To achieve this aim, we analyzed data from a recently completed study that drew participants from both MTurk and Prolific. We screened the collected data for both cost and quality, focusing on measures of attention, duration, and internal consistency. We found that only 9.89% of MTurk participants (N = 354) and 43.34% of Prolific participants (N = 345) produced high-quality data; Prolific also proved to be the more affordable option. Researchers considering these platforms for recruitment may weigh the evidence to make decisions when developing their own recruitment strategies. Finally, we highlight best practices for social scientists conducting online research, including additional survey and screening techniques
Physical therapist student and clinical instructor perceptions of the Clinical Performance Instrument 3.0 (CPI 3.0): an exploratory descriptive study
Get PDFPurpose: The Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) has been adopted by US academic physical therapist (PT) programs as a key measure of clinical education performance. In May 2023, the APTA released an updated version, the CPI 3.0, which included significant changes. The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of students (SPTs) and clinical instructors (CIs) who were the initial users of the CPI 3.0.
Methods: Retrospective study utilizing an investigator-created electronic survey meant to measure the constructs of technology, scoring, and stakeholder burden compared to the previous version. The survey was sent out to five cohorts of students and their CIs who used the CPI 3.0 for a full-time clinical experience during the inaugural release. IRB approval was obtained.
Results: Students (n = 63) and CIs (n = 47) reported that the CPI 3.0 platform was easy to access (95.2% SPT; 76.6% CI) and navigate (93.5% SPT; 72.3% CI). However, submission problems were experienced. More than 90% of students and CIs agreed that the CPI 3.0 was able to capture an accurate reflection of student performance. In addition, 91.1% of CIs reported that the tool would enable them to capture student performance difficulties that would put them at risk of not passing. Those that used the previous version of the CPI agreed that the CPI 3.0 was less time consuming (64.3% SPT; 76.3% CI) and burdensome (60.5% SPT; 68.4% CI).
Conclusion: Students and CIs perceived the CPI 3.0 favorably in terms of ability to capture performance, time to complete, and overall burden
Text Message Openings in Mandarin in the Digital Age
Get PDFThis study explores the opening sequences of Mandarin text messages on WeChat, focusing on the role of the phrase zaima, meaning are you there? in English, in digital communication. While conversation openings have been widely studied in face-to-face and telephonic interactions, research on text message openings, especially in non-English languages, remains limited despite a growing dependence on digital text-based interactions through short messaging services (SMS). Using a conversation analytic (CA) framework, this study analyzes 50 instances of openings initiated with zaima from a dataset of 255 WeChat conversations, identifying two sequential environments: a unilateral conversation opening where the zaima producer moves directly to the main topic of conversation without waiting for a reply, and a bilateral conversation opening, where the zaima producer pauses for the recipient’s acknowledgement before continuing. The findings contribute to understanding how Mandarin speakers adapt conventional structures in digital openings to manage the affordances of online interactions. 
Overreporting and Investigation in the New York City Child Welfare System: A Child’s Perspective
Get PDFChild welfare agencies are tasked with protecting children, and in so doing, with investigating allegations of abuse and neglect. If done properly, such investigations can promote child safety. But the data suggests that New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (“ACS”) subjects far more children and families to intrusive investigations than is necessary. Nearly 100,000 children in New York City are investigated by the ACS each year, and ACS only seeks entry or body-search warrants in 0.4% of investigations. Moreover, the vast majority of these investigations are executed in homes where ACS ultimately decides that it is unlikely any abuse or neglect occurred. Such investigations come at a high cost to children: they are aggressive, traumatic, and coercive.
This piece argues that ACS’ investigative apparatus not only harms more children than it protects, but the tactics it employs violate the state and federal constitutional rights of children and their families. Using ACS’ own statistics, this piece demonstrates that New York unnecessarily investigates far too many, primarily Black and brown families; examines the harmful, and often unlawful reporting and investigation process in New York City; and enumerates reforms critical to protect both the safety and privacy rights of New York City’s children and families