Conflict Management Styles: The Role of Ethnic Identity and Self-Construal among Young Male Arabs and Americans

This cross-cultural study compared young male Arabs’ and young male Americans’ perceptions of their ethnic identity, self-construal, and conflict management styles. Findings indicated that Arabs had stronger ethnic identity than Americans. Arabs were both more independent and interdependent than American participants. Conflict style comparisons demonstrated that Americans chose the emotional expression, dominating, and neglect styles more than Arabs, and Arabs chose the integrating, third-party help, and avoiding styles more than Americans. Participants did not differ in their preference of the compromising and obliging conflict management styles. In terms of the relationships among ethnic identity, self-construal, and conflict styles, little difference was found between the two cultural groups. The integrating, compromising, avoiding, and neglect conflict management styles were predicted by both independent and interdependent self construal for both cultural groups. The obliging and third-party conflict styles were positively predicted by interdependent self-construal. The dominating style was predicted by independent self-construal and ethnic identity. The only conflict style that was predicted differently among Arab and American participants was the emotional expression style. Among American participants, interdependent self-construal and ethnic identity predicted emotional expression style. For Arabs, independent self-construal predicted the emotional expression style.     

Muslim Rulers Visiting the Imperial City: Building Alliances and Personal Networks between Constantinople and the Eastern Borderlands (Fourth/Tenth–Fifth/Eleventh Century)

This essay explores one of the main tools of Byzantine diplomatic techniques: inviting foreign rulers to Constantinople and establishing bonds of alliance through the bestowal of titles and stipends, with respect to the empire's Muslim neighbours in the fourth/tenth and fifth/eleventh centuries. In particular, it will be explained how and under what circumstances the traditional lines of communication between Constantinople and the caliphal court of Baghdad were gradually transformed into a multilayered network of personal contacts between the emperor and a number of Muslim frontier lords, who partly took on the role of representatives and dignitaries of the Byzantine Empire. Furthermore, I will try to examine the development of these newly established networks with respect to the emirates of Aleppo and Edessa, the Jarrā?id clan in Syria and the Marwānid dynasty in the Upper Euphrates and Lake Van region.     

Caliphal Imperialism and Ḥijāzī elites in the second/eighth Century

ABSTRACT

This article contributes to the debate over the effectiveness with which late Umayyad and early ?Abbāsid caliphs negotiated their respective rights and duties with provincial elites during the second/eighth century. The focus is on the relationships that evolved between the caliphs and those elite families residing in the ?ijāz whose ancestors had helped to establish the Muslim community and the early caliphal empire in the mid-first/seventh century. The article's analysis centres on a series of four revolts in the ?ijāz over the second/eighth century and examines developments in the enthusiasm with which local elites either supported or opposed those revolts. This discussion demonstrates that, aside from a brief period during the first decades of ?Abbāsid rule, Umayyad and ?Abbāsid caliphs during the second/eighth century were actually quite successful at inspiring loyalty among the local elites of the ?ijāz.     

A Pretty Paella: The Alfonsine Cantigas de Santa Maria and their Connexions with Other Repertories

The collection of Cantigas de Santa Maria compiled by Alfonso X (el Sabio) (r. 1221–1284) is a gold mine of musical information; unfortunately, however, much fool's gold has also been found amongst its pages. The CSM have been argued to provide evidence that their music derives from plainchant (thus justifying “churchy” performances) yet also to manifest so many “Arab” traits as to support a “Turkish Delight” style of performance. True, there are occasional substantive links between one or other of these repertories, but these are infrequent and specific rather than numerous and general. A closer, judicious, scrutiny of the Cantigas reveals that they are neither the product of an ecclesiastical nor of an “Arab” kitchen, as it were, but a repertory (and iconography) whose careful examination yields up several surprising secrets, especially when reading between its lines. The CSM are neither fish nor fowl, and the collection contains few, if any, recipes for Lamb Ziryāb or for the Lenten fast. On the contrary, its dishes are, in common with Paella, suorum generis, belonging to a musical cuisine of their own, whose sum is indeed greater than the parts of their manifold influences.     

A systematic review of conceptual models and methods used in research on educational leadership and management in Arab societies

This review of research analyzed topics, conceptual models and research methods employed in 62 EDLM studies from Arab societies published between 2000 and 2016. Systematic review methods were used to identify relevant studies published in nine core international EDLM journals. Quantitative analyses identified patterns within this set of Arab studies and benchmarked them against trends in the broader EDLM literature. The review characterised these Arab studies as an ‘emerging literature’, largely of recent vintage. Consistent with other literatures from developing societies, topical coverage was diffuse, disconnected and lacking in programmatic inquiry. Recommendations are offered for strengthening future EDLM research in Arab societies.     

Constructing educational quality in the Arab region: a bottom-up critique of regional educational governance

The article challenges the deficit view in which education in the Arab region is portrayed by examining the process of educational regionalisation. It takes as its case study the Arab Regional Agenda for Improving Educational Quality in order to explore the construction of an educational quality space that uses data as a governance model. Drawing on critical theory and evidence collected from 70 interviews, I argue that such approaches promote globalised versions of what quality education means remaining blind to context. I suggest that improving educational quality in the region entails creating responsive approaches grounded in political and socio-economic contexts.     

The analytic hierarchy process of the decision-making factors of African students in obtaining higher education in the United Arab Emirates

The mobility of African students beyond national territories has become common worldwide. However, the underlying reasons motivating students to leave their countries of origin in pursuit of higher education in other developing nations and why these factors are important have not been fully explored. This study attempts to explore why and how African students travel to the United Arab Emirates for higher education. A push-pull factor theory of the international student’s choice of destination is developed to identify factors influencing the choices made by these students. The analytic hierarchy process is used to examine the relative importance of these factors. The findings of this quantitative study indicate that learning environment and geographic proximity are the two most important factors for African students, while other factors have a moderate impact. The findings contribute to a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the needs and choices of existing and potential students from this continent, with a view to applying a segmentation approach to attract these students.     

A New Paradigm for Networked Resource Sharing in the United Arab Emirates Universities

Library and Information Web Access (LIWA) is the first systematic interlibrary cooperative activity among three universities under the umbrella of the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. LIWA was born in 2007 after the shift of the partner libraries to Web-based information services. Interlibrary book lending is the current achievement of Library and Information Web Access with the aim to expand resource sharing and incorporate more e-services soon. This paper aims at gaining some insights into potential success factors for further development of the library consortium in a networked environment. Some key issues, such as metadata standards, acquisitions, licensing, access security, and governance are discussed.     

沙特阿拉伯石油经济繁荣的原因浅析(1970-1982)

如果从发展经济学角度来分析,20世纪70年代沙特石油经济繁荣的成因是多方面的:70年代沙特石油民族主义的成功,实现了石油权益国有化;国家主义模式的推行,一方面合理优化了石油剩余资本,将其转化成了经济发展的资本动力,另一方面也使得沙特得以依靠石油经济的优先发展,实现了"非均衡一均衡"发展的过渡;同时,国家主义下的外贸发展也刺激了石油经济进口替代工业化的发展.几个原因的共同作用,最终促成了沙特石油经济繁荣的到来.     

从乐器看阿拉伯音乐对欧洲音乐的影响

诸多的欧洲音乐史著述是以古希腊、古罗马音乐为开端的,这反映了古罗马、古希腊音乐在欧洲音乐史中的地位,然而大多数的论述忽略了阿拉伯音乐对欧洲音乐的影响。文章着重从乐器方面论述了阿拉伯音乐对欧洲音乐的影响并进行了简要分析,从而初步说明阿拉伯音乐文化在欧洲音乐史中的重要地位。