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.     

Political Stability After the Arab Spring

The task to reshape governments in the countries confronted with the Arab Spring prompts the question whether there are necessary conditions to realize a stable society that simultaneously seeks to eliminate the elements that have led to the uprisings. Acknowledging some constitutional rights seems indispensable in such a process. I argue that such a state of affairs is indeed the case, at least now that the “old” justifications to differentiate between people do not suffice anymore. That is not to say that the countries involved will have identical laws in each respect, but merely that a common basis has to be realized, manifested in political and legal equality, so this given does not derogate from the fact that each country's specific legislation needs to be shaped in the light of its own history. Such a basis has no “moral” character, but is a necessary condition to prevent sedition.     

阿拉伯互联网体验诗中的文化思辨

诗歌具有文以载道的社会功能。当今阿拉伯诗坛出现了以互联网体验为内涵的诗歌作品,这与正在世界范围内不断深入的全球化进程有着千丝万缕的联系。面对阿拉伯世界正在遭受的文化入侵,阿拉伯学者深感不安,他们用警惕的眼光审视着这股以西方为主导的全球化浪潮。     

Experience of female public relations practitioners in Bahrain

The research addressed the gap in the literature about the experience of public relations practitioners in the non-Western society of Bahrain. The research aims to contribute to public relations scholarship by using a qualitative approach to study the experience of Bahraini women working in public relations. It used open interviews with Bahraini PR practitioners who offered rich insights on their “experiences” as women working in PR in Bahrain. The interviewees talked about various types of challenges when working in public relations such as cultural marginalization, relationship with colleagues, social domination, and marginalization of PR function. The research suggests combined liberal and radical feminist strategies to improve the role of Bahraini women in public relations. It recommends social and organizational reforms, in addition to empowering women to utilize their personality traits, communication behaviors and management styles.     

Processes of conservation and change in Arab society in Israel: Implications for the health and welfare of the Arab population

Azaiza F. Processes of conservation and change in Arab society in Israel: Implications for the health and welfare of the Arab population This article reports on a study that examined how modernisation processes affect the Arab citizens of Israel on various levels and how the processes are reconciled with traditional ideals. Modernisation affects formal and informal support systems, affects family lifestyles, has resulted in changes in the treatment of elderly people and has seen modern ideas of health and wellness incorporated with traditional values and ideals. For the Arab citizens of Israel, the conflict of tradition versus modernisation is evident throughout society. Studying the processes of both modernisation and preservation and their implications allows us to better understand and address the needs of the Arab population in Israel. Based on the research presented in this review, processes of modernisation and conservation are conceptualised as a continuum along four dimensions: perceptions of self, sources of social support, health roles and gender roles. The implications of these changes are explored as they relate to various phenomena.     

The fever that hit Arab satellite television: audience perceptions of Turkish TV series

Turkish television drama series were locally produced products until the early 2000s. Since then, about 70 different titles have been broadcast to audiences in 40 countries, especially in the Middle East, where they comprise approximately 60% of the share in foreign programme broadcasts. This article explores the factors that led to such an attraction by considering the debates around the impact of transnational media products on Arab cultural identity. The authors conducted focus groups and interviews with audiences in Palestine and Egypt and with the producers/distributors of these TV series in Turkey. The data presented here comprise the results of one of the first field-based studies on the reception of Turkish media products in the region. Foremost, the Arab audience response to these Turkish TV series highlights the differences in conceptualisations of ‘modernity’ in the Arab World. Moreover, the data suggest that audiences do not necessarily consider transnational media products as culprits that corrupt cultural identity.     

Globalizations Forum on Middle East Protests: Commentary

The ‘Arab spring’ is part of a growing set of challenges to US hegemony and the capitalist world-system. The global economy is fueling the grievances that motivate protests while also providing tools that aid the spread of global protest movements. The global financial and other crises threaten the legitimacy of the entire system, opening up opportunities for challenges by popular groups even in the most authoritarian contexts. As the US and its Western allies confront more limited budgets, and as slower growth undermines stability in countries whose quiescence has been key to ensuring the flows of resources necessary for the operation of the global capitalist economy, we are destined to see more popular challenges to existing authorities. These challenges should be seen not simply as national challenges, but rather as part of a larger struggle for the transformation of the world-system.

La ‘primavera árabe’ es parte de una serie de retos que va en aumento contra la hegemonía de E.E.U.U. y el sistema mundial capitalista. La economía global está avivando los agravios que motivan las protestas mientras que también proveen herramientas que ayudan a difundir los movimientos de protesta globales. Las crisis financieras y otras globales amenazan la legitimidad del sistema entero, abriendo oportunidades para retos por grupos populares, incluso en los contextos más autoritarios. Así como en E.E.U.U. y sus aliados de occidente afrontan mayores presupuestos limitados, y el crecimiento más lento debilita la estabilidad en los países cuyo estado de quietud ha sido la clave para asegurar los flujos de recursos necesarios para el funcionamiento de la economía capitalista global, estamos destinados a ver más desafíos populares a las autoridades existentes. Estos retos no deben ser vistos simplemente como desafíos nacionales, pero como parte de una lucha mayor para la transformación del sistema mundial.

“阿拉伯之春”是对美国霸权和资本主义世界体系一系列日益增长的挑战的一部分。全球经济助长了这种激发抵抗的不满情绪,同时为全球抵抗运动的传播提供了工具。全球金融及其他危机威胁着整个体系的合法性,开启了在最为威权环境下普通大众发起挑战的机会。随着美国及其西方盟友面临更多的预算限制,亦随着渐缓的经济增长破坏着一些国家的稳定——这些国家的沉寂是确保全球资本主义经济运作所需要的资源流动的关键,我们注定会更多地看到大众对现存政权的挑战。这些挑战不应仅被视为国家内部的,而应视为更大的为世界体系转型而斗争的一部分。     

Help-seeking among Muslim Arab Divorcees in Israel

The study investigated the help-seeking of Muslim Arab divorceesliving in Israel. Analysis of responses to Veroff et al.’sPatterns of Helpseeking Scale shows low rates of help-seekingby divorcees of both genders, yet higher rates among the femalethan among the male divorcees. They also show that the propensityto seek help increased with the experience of more stressfulevents around the divorce. The help-seeking patterns of themen and women were found to be quite similar. Both were moreinclined to seek emotional help and advice than instrumentalhelp. Both were more likely to seek help from informal thanformal sources. Both were more likely to seek help from theirfamily of origin than from any other source. Relatively fewdivorcees of either gender sought help from either their extendedfamily or from community or religious figures. The few who soughtformal help were more likely to turn to social workers thanpsychologists. These findings point to the continuing centralityof the family in the support system of Muslim Arabs in Israel,to the decline in the relevance of the community and religiousfigures who were once an integral part of the Arab support network,and to the fact that professional help has not yet filled inthe gaps left in the traditional support system.