Search

This paper provides an innovative approach to visual analysis in the Middle East. It addresses a fundamental problem in the fields of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Securitization Theory (ST): they largely ignore the visual. This project develops a methodology for visual analysis. Its utility is demonstrated through an examination of a Saudi propaganda video, entitled "Saudi Strike Force Video." When observing the Saudi‐Iranian rivalry on social media, there is a prevalence of visceral visual propaganda. Thus, the need for the construction of a systematic model for its analysis is important in addressing this conceptual gap. CDA and ST are aligned on an essential belief that discourse is a power‐laden process, and that to affect change, scholars must attempt to understand its production, articulation, and impact. Yet, both of these approaches tend to focus on the written and spoken word, negating the importance of the visual. This paper contends that the visual is equally power‐laden, having a profound effect as a tool of propaganda [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of oil price shocks on industrial production in three oil-exporting countries, namely Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia using annual data for the period 1970–2005. First, the Gregory and Hansen cointegration technique, allowing for the presence of potential structural breaks in data, is applied to empirically examine the long-run co-movement between oil price and output. Second, we test whether different measures of oil price shocks, including non-linear or asymmetric ones, Granger-cause output. The results indicate a strong causality from oil price shocks to output growth for Iran and Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the oil prices–output relationship in these two countries appears more significant when asymmetric specifications are used to model the relationship between variables. In the case of Indonesia, however, none of the oil proxies have any significant effect on output both in the short and long run. The results confirm the relatively successful experience of countries such as Indonesia in the diversification of the real sector to minimise the harmful effects of oil booms and busts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently obtained ceramic compositional data from the late Iron Age sites of Tepe Yahya in Iran and Sharm in the United Arab Emirates is presented in this paper. Analysis of this data suggests that a distinctive ceramic, Burnished Maroon Slipped Ware (BMSW), was produced somewhere in southern Iran and exported across the Gulf to eastern Arabia. That this trade was not limited to any defined historical period, such as that represented by the Achaemenid Empire, is suggested by a series of new AMS C14 dates from Tepe Yahya. The paper concludes with speculative comments on the possible elite nature of BMSW in societies on either side of the Straits of Hormuz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Stem cell research is very promising. The use of human embryos has been confronted with objections based on ethical and religious positions. The recent production of reprogrammed adult (induced pluripotent) cells does not - in the opinion of scientists - reduce the need to continue human embryonic stem cell research. So the debate continues. Islam always encouraged scientific research, particularly research directed toward finding cures for human disease. Based on the expectation of potential benefits, Islamic teachings permit and support human embryonic stem cell research. The majority of Muslim scholars also support therapeutic cloning. This permissibility is conditional on the use of supernumerary early pre-embryos which are obtained during infertility treatment in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics. The early pre-embryos are considered in Islamic jurisprudence as worthy of respect but do not have the full sanctity offered to the embryo after implantation in the uterus and especially after ensoulment. In this paper the Islamic positions regarding human embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning are reviewed in some detail, whereas positions in other religious traditions are mentioned only briefly. The status of human embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning in different countries, including the USA and especially in Muslim countries, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the effects of state religion on tourism development in Muslim countries with particular reference to Iran and Saudi Arabia. Aspects of the relationship between Islam and tourism are investigated overall and issues of tourism policies, management and marketing and community involvement within the context of the two cases are discussed. The distinctive circumstances prevailing in Iran and Saudi Arabia are suggested, but more general insights are also presented into the interactions between and management of tourism and Islam. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the causality issue between energy consumption and economic growth for three typical oil-exporting countries: Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. We use two different test methods to test for causality, namely, the error correction model and Toda-Yamamoto (1995) procedure. The results based on both approaches consistently show a unidirectional long-run causality from economic growth to energy consumption for Iran and Kuwait and unidirectional strong causality from energy consumption to economic growth for Saudi Arabia. So, the results support the neutrality hypothesis of energy consumption with respect to economic growth for Iran and Kuwait and vice versa for Saudi Arabia. The findings have practical policy implications for decision makers in the area of macroeconomic planning, as energy conservation is a feasible policy with no damaging repercussions on economic growth for Iran and Kuwait. However, increased GDP requires enormous energy consumption in Saudi Arabia. So, it seems misleading to recommend the same policy for different oil-exporting countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Please cite this paper as: Moattari et al. (2012) Influenza viral infections among the Iranian Hajj pilgrims returning to Shiraz, Fars province, Iran. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 6(601), e77-e79 Background Annually over two million Muslims from across the world converge on Mecca to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Overcrowding at the Hajj facilitates spread of communicable diseases, especially respiratory infections. The aim of this study was to determine the attack rate of seasonal and pandemic influenza among returning Iranian pilgrims after the 2009 Hajj. Methods Clinical data and throat swabs were collected at Shiraz airport from symptomatic Iranian pilgrims of Fars province who were returning from the Hajj between 15 and 21 December 2009. The specimens were tested at the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Influenza Research Center for influenza viruses by cell culture and real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTrtPCR) according to standard protocol. Findings Out of 3000 pilgrims from Fars province who attended the Hajj 2009, 275 symptomatic pilgrims were recruited into this study. Pilgrims had fever, cough, muscle ache and sore throat in various combinations. Twenty-five (9·1%) pilgrims had influenza by virus culture and these were as follows: influenza B ( n = 17), influenza A H3N2 ( n = 8) and pandemic H1N1 ( n = 5), whereas 33 (12%) had influenza by RTrtPCR: influenza B ( n = 20), influenza A H3N2 ( n = 8) and pandemic H1N1 ( n = 5). Interpretation Both seasonal and pandemic influenza infections occurred among the Iranian Hajj pilgrims; seasonal viruses were more common than the pandemic viruses even though all pilgrims were vaccinated against seasonal influenza. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-standing incompatible oil policies of Iran and Saudi Arabia within OPEC have always resulted in a level of economic tension, but Iran now views Saudi's actions as coercive economic measures to complement the "maximum pressure" and other similar campaigns by the United States. Iran has gradually abandoned its traditional view of Saudi as a political rival only, and has instead viewing it as a hostile state which aims at securitizing Iran and posing a direct military threat to the country. The upheaval came when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel joined forces to coordinate their anti-Iran policy, lobbying the US to pull out from the Iran's nuclear deal known as the Jonit Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), Iran's most prominent political project to normalize relations with the West. Since the World War II, rivalry has been the major state of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. [Extracted from the article]

Since 2011, Saudi foreign policy has shifted from its traditional position of self‐restraint and reliance on soft power to an assertive and adventurous one that prioritizes expanding security alliances and use of force. Particularly, after the advent of King Salman to power, the Kingdom experienced various turning points in its foreign policymaking such as its pursuit of increased military engagement in the post‐Arab Spring countries, its normalization of relations with Israel and adopting a new armament program. This unusual shift in the Saudi foreign policymaking inevitably raises the question: "What led Riyadh to adopt policies that completely broke away from its traditional position?." A closer look at the recent developments unfolding in the region since the Arab uprisings reveals that the Saudi foreign policy decisions are primarily guided by its perceived threat from Iran. Against this backdrop, this article first investigates why Saudi Arabia views Iran as the biggest threat to its survival. Second, it analyzes the new Saudi foreign policy orientation and its implications in light of balance of threat theory. Finally, the article looks into how the change in the US administration and the end of unconditional US support to Saudi Arabia influenced the Kingdom's discourse and tone vis a vis Iran. The article mainly proposes that Saudi Arabia's increasing threat perception from Iran sheds light on the Kingdom's reasoning and motivation behind its more proactive and assertive policies while the Kingdom's discourse and policymaking is heavily restricted by the ambivalence in the US posture in the Middle East and particularly its stance toward Riyadh's policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present contribution first describes the aggravated Middle Eastern power competition in the 21st century, thereby emphasizing two aspects: the concentration of participants in the regional power game to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Iran, including shifts in regional power distribution; and the recent trend of entanglement of the Israeli–Iranian conflict with that between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Second, it contributes to an explanation of these developments by discussing the explanatory power of approaches based on three paradigms: primordialism, rationalism, and social constructivism. It is shown that a rationalist school of thought – structural realism – does not perform perfectly but nonetheless does rather well in explaining the aggravated power competition in the Middle East and the entanglement of the rivalries of each of the two American allies with Iran. At the same time, it is shown that the best way of bridging some of the explanatory gaps of structural realism in the case of Middle Eastern power politics is to epistemologically embed insights from rationalist schools of thought in a setting of a positivist version of social constructivism. On this fundament, the article explores a Copenhagen School‐inspired approach of securitization to better comprehend recent developments of aggravated Middle Eastern power conflicts. The military engagement of all protagonists of the regional power game in Syria is most problematic. If actors, particularly Israel and Hezbollah, fail to keep their current struggles inside Syria, if, in other words, another Israeli–Lebanese war broke out, in the current situation of high regional tensions, such a war could spill over the whole of the Levant and even beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the repercussions if Iran were to discontinue its compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It is mentioned that Iran's withdrawal from the JCPOA would result in deterioration of the regional security, probability of conventional war and the nuclearisation of Saudi Arabia. The article adds effects of the continuing threat of nuclear proliferation and Israel and Egypt may increase their nuclear power.

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2011; 18:1358-1370 © 2011 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract The maturation of emergency medicine (EM) as a specialty has coincided with dramatic increases in emergency department (ED) visit rates, both in the United States and around the world. ED crowding has become a public health problem where periodic supply and demand mismatches in ED and hospital resources cause long waiting times and delays in critical treatments. ED crowding has been associated with several negative clinical outcomes, including higher complication rates and mortality. This article describes emergency care systems and the extent of crowding across 15 countries outside of the United States: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Italy, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Catalonia (Spain), Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The authors are local emergency care leaders with knowledge of emergency care in their particular countries. Where available, data are provided about visit patterns in each country; however, for many of these countries, no national data are available on ED visits rates or crowding. For most of the countries included, there is both objective evidence of increases in ED visit rates and ED crowding and also subjective assessments of trends toward higher crowding in the ED. ED crowding appears to be worsening in many countries despite the presence of universal health coverage. Scandinavian countries with robust systems to manage acute care outside the ED do not report crowding is a major problem. The main cause for crowding identified by many authors is the boarding of admitted patients, similar to the United States. Many hospitals in these countries have implemented operational interventions to mitigate crowding in the ED, and some countries have imposed strict limits on ED length of stay (LOS), while others have no clear plan to mitigate crowding. An understanding of the causes and potential solutions implemented in these countries can provide a lens into how to mitigate ED crowding in the United States through health policy interventions and hospital operational changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the environmental issues on climate change and environmental security, and stability in the Persian Gulf Region including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. It states that the nations in the Persian Gulf region largely depend on the international petroleum energy markets for continued economic growth. It adds that the carbon emissions in the world petroleum markets are being challenged towards mitigation to address the global climatic changes which would depend on the response and adaptation efforts of the Gulf nations.

Presents a set of projections for the Middle East by 2025 and their implications for U.S. policy. Growth in demand for oil and gas; Impact of the U.S. occupation in Iraq on the country's ethnic and sectarian divisions; Role of the U.S. in the efforts of Iran to acquire nuclear weapons; Challenges facing the political system in Saudi Arabia.

Examines rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran as of 2003. Origin of the competition between the countries; Tensions under the shah from the 1950s to 1970s; Threat posed by the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979 to Saudi Arabia; Efforts to begin the process of rapprochement.