Dilemmas in International Social Work Education in the United Arab Emirates: Islam,Localization and Social Need

This paper discusses emerging dilemmas in social work education and practice in the United Arab Emirates. Here social work education is primarily based on Westernized curricula; however localized cultural sensitivities require that some mainstream issues, particularly in relation to issues of abuse, are not engaged with. Nevertheless research findings show that social problems such as these are clearly present in UAE society. Therefore it is argued that what is required is an accountable, effective social work education that retains cultural congruity whilst empowering practitioners with the knowledge needed to engage with contemporary social problems. Finally, to contextualize the dichotomy between local culture and the wider community of Islam in relation to social work, some comparisons are drawn with other Muslim nations, specifically Malaysia.     

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.

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.     

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。     

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.     

中国在阿联酋的投资机会与风险分析

为促进中国对阿联酋投资、共建“一带一路”和推进中阿友好关系的持续加强，详细分析中国与阿联酋在投资领域的发展现状，从中阿两国产业合作的角度，发掘中阿未来可能存在的投资合作机会，并探析中国企业在阿联酋投资中存在的政治风险、经济风险和安全风险。研究认为，中国企业在阿联酋的能源产业、通讯产业、服装纺织产业、汽车产业、建材产业等领域存在较大投资机会，应该紧跟阿联酋国家发展战略，增加对非油气产业的投资合作，积极进行品牌营销，提升企业市场竞争力，同时注重团结协作。在投资风险方面，阿联酋政权稳固，社会稳定，政治风险较低；但在经济风险方面，阿联酋经济外向特征明显，对外依赖性强，易受外来风险影响；且阿联酋国内安全风险较低，面临巨大的地区安全压力和恐怖主义威胁，这些风险需要中国企业重视。     

The Representation of Arab America in Betty Shamieh’s Roar and The Black Eyed

Abstract

This article gives an analysis of Betty Shamieh’s Roar and The Black Eyed. In these plays, Shamieh presents Arab Americans as victims of Orientalism. She puts Arab Americans within the context of immigrants’ sagas in the United States in an attempt to give their experience validity and identification within larger ethnic experiences. Conversely, Arabs in the two plays are presented as victimizers and politically blamed. This confusion over the representation of the cultural and the political results mainly from Shamieh’s reluctance to offend the wide/white readership market, which is more interested in reading and watching the western stereotype of the Arab. Shamieh’s failure to stage a coherent positive picture of Arab America confirms that Arab Americans are still looking for artistic freedom and that literary censorship is still limiting their productions.