Women and training: an empirical investigation in the Arab Middle East

Few studies have explored the professional training experiences of Arab women within the contexts of learning organisational cultures and relevant human resource development (HRD) practices. Capitalising on in-depth, face-to-face interviews, this study explores the experiences of women managers in Lebanon with professional training and organisational learning. The findings demonstrate the paucity of professional training and learning opportunities for women and illustrate how organisational discrimination and gender-biased cultures and tension influence women’s learning. To overcome these barriers and alleviate organisational tension, the Lebanese women managers capitalise on their agency and individual capacities to improve their training experiences and increase their access to learning opportunities. By virtue of individual agency and through their agentic process, the careerists shape their training and overall learning by being adaptive and developing structures of action that enable them to advance their learning. The results have important implications for HR managers and HRD scholars. They also extend our understanding of the importance, or lack thereof, of the learning culture within an organisation.     

Administration, Globalization, and the Arab States

Globalization involves risks and opportunities for the Arab world. Realistic knowledge of these possibilities is essential for adaptation of governance and reform of public administration to deal more effectively with the unfolding processes of globalization. To be participants rather than mere subjects, the Arab states have to recognize opportunities and limit potential negative consequences. Success requires good governance and professional public management. Public administration in the Arab world has to transform traditional methods of command and control and nepotism into a more collaborative management that relies on institutional capabilities and practicing managerial values of accountability, performance evaluation, transparency, and ethics.

中东地区的宗教文化遗产及其保护

由于地理位置独特和多民族汇聚,珍贵而独有的古老宗教文化遗迹在中东地区比比皆是。中东宗教文化遗产有其特殊的表现方式、外在审美价值、精神内涵和历史意义。但该地区的宗教文化遗产具有易受攻击性、掠夺性和价值不可取代性等特点。战争、人为因素、自然环境等多方面原因使这些遗产遭到了严重的破坏,并正面临着新的威胁。对中东地区宗教文化遗产的保护应从强化保护意识、建立专门教育机制、加强国际合作与对话、利用高科技手段等诸多方面入手。     

Finding identity without discrimination: the plight of Arab American adolescents

This study investigated the relationship between self-reported discrimination and ethnic identity among 61 Arab American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years. Participants completed the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) to obtain an assessment of their ethnic identities. Additionally, the lead author developed a questionnaire asking participants to self-report if either they or another Arab student they knew had been ‘treated badly or differently because of their ethnicity’. Consistent with the rejection-identification model, respondents who had reported experiencing discrimination, knowing of others who had experienced discrimination, or both had higher ethnic identity scores than those who had not, although the only significant difference was found between the group that experienced both types of discrimination and the non-discrimination group. Implications of these results are discussed as well as directions for future research.     

Corporation-bashing in documentary film: A case study of news media coverage organizational response

This case study compares/contrasts news coverage of two crisis communication responses – corrective action and defiance/attacking-the-accuser – by examining print news coverage of McDonald's Corporation and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in conjunction with documentaries Super Size Me (2004) and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005). Discussed are crisis communication dynamics associated with this new brand of documentary filmmaking and journalism's role in the debates.     

中阿关系的演变与发展

中阿关系的演变与发展同国际环境和双方国内政治的变化密切相关,早期的中阿关系深受意识形态差异的制约;实施改革开放政策后,中阿之间在加强政治联系的同时,更加注重包括经贸、工程与劳务承包、经济技术合作和文化交流等内容的全方位交往,中阿关系进入一个崭新的发展阶段。     

Women,Political Participation,and the Arab Spring: Political Awareness and Participation in Democratizing Tunisia

This research examines the constraints to female political participation in democratizing Tunisia. Analyzing data from the Voter Registration & Voter Confidence Assessment in Tunisia Survey conducted by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in March 2011 shows stark differences between men and women in their levels of political awareness, which causes a barrier to female political participation. Substantiated by a battery of tests, this gap is primarily structured by differences in university-level education and income levels. Contributing factors to explain the gap are differences in the degree of female public presence in urban settings, as opposed to rural areas, and a lack of access to information about politics. Policy recommendations to reduce this gap are creating educational funds for women and increasing the accessibility of political information outside of the capital.     

刘智《天方性理》的主旨及影响

《天方性理》探讨的核心问题是人的心性问题，即人如何通过心性之功修而复归真主的问题。《天方性理》自刊行不久，便从学者群传至普通穆斯林大众，从穆斯林社会传至主流社会。《天方性理》之所以能在全国获得普遍认同，在于其理论的精深性、动态性、通俗性，也在于其体现了明清以来中国伊斯兰教学术的最高成就。     

Journalism–PR relations revisited: The good news,the bad news,and insights into tomorrow's news

Extensive research over the past 100 years has shown that the interrelationship between journalism and PR is tensioned and paradoxical, with negative perceptions of PR among journalists and trivialization and demonization of PR as ‘spin’ contrasted by claims of ‘symbiosis’ and evidence that 40–75% of media content is significantly influenced by PR. However, studies have been predominantly quantitative and most predate the recent ‘crisis in journalism’ and rapid growth of new media formats. This article reports in-depth interviews with senior editors, journalists and PR practitioners in three countries that provide new insights into journalism–PR relations today and identify trajectories for future research, education and practice.     

Informal Caregivers of Institutionalized Dementia Residents

When older adults are placed in nursing homes, care- giving responsibility continues, despite long held beliefs to the con- trary. Although the American family is in transition, bonds of care- giving and of filial responsibility are strong and persist into old age. Knowledge about characteristics of caregivers who have actually placed their relative in a nursing home is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine whether demographic and facility-related char- acteristics as well as knowledge about dementia and participation in support groups and workshops are signif~cant predictors of burden in caregivers of institutionalized dementia residents. Sixty-seven per- cent of caregivers of residents in a dementia unit in a nursing home participated in the study. Overall, the regression explained 68% of the variance in burden and was highly simcant statistically. In- formation gained from this study will assist social workers in mak- ing referrals to nursing homes or in direct practice with cognitively impaired nursing home residents and their families.