Yetkin Yildirim

The Medina Charter: A Historical Case of Conflict Resolution

There are many examples in Islamic history of Muslims coexisting with various religious groups. The Medina Charter, which provided a basis for a city-state between the Muslims and the Jews in the medieval Muslim city of Medina, was the first written constitution in Islam and the first documented case of constitutional law. It is also a historical example of conflict resolution in Islam. This article examines the methods of conflict resolution in the Medina Charter in comparison with the modern ideas of Western conflict resolution theory—mediation, fractioning, and focusing on goals and interests as opposed to individual religion, and power-balancing. The article also addresses the issues of conflict resolution and culture, outlining the differences between basic Islamic and Western cultural assumptions that in turn shape their different approaches to conflict mediation. However, in its comparison of the two approaches, it finds generic, universal assumptions of conflict resolution that persist despite differing cultural languages. The comparison between the Medina Charter and Western conflict resolution was conducted with the intent to enlighten current efforts towards mediation between Muslim societies and other intercultural communities of the globalized world.

Effect of Test Temperature on Hamburg Wheel-Tracking Device Testing

AbstractThis study outlines statistical analyses carried out to investigate the effect of test temperature on results from Hamburg wheel-tracking device (HWTD) tests. The Hamburg test database and aggregate properties database of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) were examined and merged to provide the basis for statistical analysis. Because the most significant effect of test temperature was on the binder component of the asphalt mixture, the effect of test temperature on the binder type was also investigated. Finally, the influence of test temperatures together with the combined interaction of binder and additive addition is studied. Of the three performance-graded (PG) binders that TxDOT predominantly uses for their surface mixes, this study determined that the influence of temperature on binder performance is most pronounced in PG 64-22 (causing a huge drop in success rate between 40 and 50°C from an 81% pass rate to a 35% rate), whereas PG 76-22 was the most resistant to temperature diff...

Engineering Properties of Prime Coats Applied to a Granular Base

Prime coats have been widely used to protect sub-base layers during pavement construction. The engineering properties of a prime-coated base course play an important role in the overall stability of a pavement system. In this study, prime coats MC-30, AEP, EC-30, CSS-1H, SS-1H, and terra prime (TP) were used for testing. Strength and permeability of the specimens were measured. Crushed limestone was used as the base course. The prime coats were either sprayed on or mixed with the base course to evaluate the effect of the application method. In addition, penetration of the prime coats into reference sand was evaluated. For the conditions of this study, according to a developed ranking system, the best performing prime coats were TP and MC-30, with slightly better performance from TP. The results provided here can be used as a guideline for selecting the proper prime coat for field applications.