Egyptian presidents\u27 speeches in times of crisis: Comparative analysis

The political speech is a bridge between politicians and the public, with most politicians seek to gain the public’s support and persuade them with their policies. In the modern era, the political speech becomes a crucial tool of Presidents’ communication with the public, particularly during domestic or international strife. Previous literature highlighted the political speeches of foreign Presidents in the U.S., Indonesia, and UK, with few studies analyzed the Arab political speeches. This study fills the gap by presenting a critique of the speeches given by three Egyptian Presidents during periods of crisis. Crisis in that context refer to events of profound significance and disruption (Hicks, 2005, p1). The current study analyzes the following speeches: Hosni Mubarak\u27s 25th Revolution, (2011) Mohamed Morsi\u27s One Year Accountability (2013), and Abdel Fattah El Sisi\u27s Sinai attacks (2015). The three speeches were downloaded from YouTube, and then transcribed into Arabic texts. Two approaches of critical discourse analysis (CDA) are used, along with positioning theory, to reveal discourse strategies in the three presidential speeches. The two approaches of CDA are: Fairclough approach (1989) and Discourse- Historical approach (Resigl & Wodak, 2009). The Findings show that the three Egyptian Presidents use similar discourse strategies during the times of crises despite the differences in the socio-political contexts. Inclusiveness, conspiracy rhetoric and the involvement of foreign elements, memorizing Presidents’ achievements, and emotional approach were among the most common strategies used by the three Egyptian Presidents in the selected speeches

Stakeholder needs and information use in cryospheric hazard planning and response: case studies from Alaska

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2020The global cryosphere is experiencing rapid change, which potentially impacts the severity and magnitude of various cryospheric hazards. Alaska is home to a number of different communities that experience cryospheric hazards. These types of hazards can have potentially devastating impacts on surrounding biodiversity, communities, and infrastructure. However, there is a gap in understanding regarding what are stakeholder information needs for different cryospheric hazards, as well as what are the resources stakeholders use to meet these needs. This dissertation investigated stakeholder use of various information products and resources in three cryospheric hazard-prone communities in Alaska, which experience glacial lake outburst flood events (Juneau and the Kenai Peninsula) or anomalous high-speed sea ice motion events (Utqiaġvik). In addition, a clear need exists to understand how further cryosphere change affects cryospheric hazards. Therefore, I tested whether a structured decision-making methodology can be pertinent in a cryospheric hazard context, which has previously never been done before. Specifically, I tested whether structured decision-making can be employed by decision-makers to better understand the planning needs necessary to adequately prepare for future, but uncertain glacial surges from Bering Glacier, Alaska. I found that identifying distinct stakeholder needs as well as stakeholder use of currently available information products and resources was particularly beneficial for information providers to understand how and why their products and resources are or are not used. This opened up opportunities for existing products to be enhanced or for new products to be developed. However, one of the main findings from the case study research is that there is no single information product that meets all stakeholder needs. Different stakeholders have different information needs, which need to be addressed in different ways. The structured decision-making approach tested in this dissertation was also found to be useful and applicable in a cryospheric hazard context. It can therefore be utilized as a methodological framework by decision-makers to integrate varying stakeholder needs in such a context. The findings from this research provide a unique contribution to the literature by displaying how social science and decision analysis research can support the development of information tools and resources that are both useful and relevant to those affected by cryospheric hazards.Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, Arctic Domain Awareness Center, UArctic north2north scholarshi

Three essays on young married women in Egypt

This thesis empirically studies three aspects of marriage pertaining to young women in Egypt using a young people specific Survey of Young People in Egypt 2009. The first essay investigates the determinants of the marriage valuation of young women in Egypt through the value of the jewellery received on marriage. The empirical analysis focuses on the role of circumcision, kinship marriages and the competitiveness in the marriage market in determining the marriage valuation of young women. A Cox proportional hazard model as well as a Heckman-two step model is used to correct for selection into marriage using circumcision as the identifier variable. The analysis allows the computation of the returns to investments in female’s human capital in the marriage market and the comparison with the similar returns in the labour market. The overall results show the role of circumcision in the marriage prospects of women rather than the marriage valuation. Kinship marriages, although popular in the Arab region show no impact on the marriage valuation of young women. Marriage market competitiveness, however, significantly determines young women’s marriage valuation. The comparison between the returns to female’s investments in education in both the marriage market and the labour market show the high degree of substitutability between the two market. The second essay investigates the determinants of young wives’ happiness in marriage. The analysis investigates the role of institutions (religiosity and social trust), the time use of the wife, living with in-laws as well as inter-marital discussions using an ordered probit model. The results suggest the significance of the demographic and the economic variables in determining young wives’ marital happiness. However, the mutual relationship with the husband and the inter-marital discussions appear to play a more significant role in determining the marital happiness of young wives. Finally, the third essay adds the labour market outcomes of the husband to the ordered probit model of the wives’ marital happiness. The analysis investigates the role of the husband’s labour market outcomes, the time use of the husband and the social network of the husband on the wife’s marital happiness. a heterogeneous impact of husband’s annual earnings (in the rural areas) and the time the husband allocates to joint leisur

A discipline without a name?:Contrasting three fields dealing with hazards and disaster

A growing number of research fields have been striving for recognition as an academic discipline. Rather than argue that ‘our field’ should also be recognised as such, we stop to ask two fundamental questions. Our first question concerns whether and how disciplinary concerns would benefit research fields dealing with hazards and disasters. Second, we reflect on the implications of not having a broadly accepted name referring to ‘our’ body of scholarship. We take as our point of departure a comparative assessment of three commonly used umbrella terms used to refer to the broad range of tasks that concern emergencies, hazards and disasters: DRR; homeland security; and societal security. Each of these terms have their associated scientific journals and higher education programmes, as well as policy spheres of influence. We find that greater awareness of the label issue could facilitate increased conceptual pragmatism and integration among related fields, academic programmes and practice communities. Not only would this enhance knowledge creation initiatives, but it would also facilitate the formation of a shared professional and academic identity

Higher Education and the Changing Situation of Societal Security in the Baltic Sea Region

While concepts like risk and crisis management have grown ubiquitous at all levels of government, they have also cemented their place in academia as interdisciplinary fields of study in higher education. In the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), these types of educational programmes are typically labelled under the umbrella term ‘societal security’ in English. This article provides a succinct depiction of the state of the art of societal security in higher education in this region. After a brief introduction of the concept, the article comprehensively analyses second level degree programmes (master’s equivalent) in this field. Particularly, four conceptual and thematic areas appear to constitute the core of societal security degree programmes, though in different combinations and under a variety of labels, those being risk, crisis management, safety management, and resilience. We note, however, that these concepts and their respective research objectives exhibit extensive overlaps

Deglacierization of a marginal basin and implications for outburst floods

This article was submitted to Cryospheric Sciences, a section of the journal Frontiers in Earth ScienceSuicide Basin is a partly glacierized marginal basin of Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska, that has released glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) annually since 2011. The floods cause inundation and erosion in the Mendenhall Valley, impacting homes and other infrastructure. Here, we utilize in-situ and remote sensing data to assess the recent evolution and current state of Suicide Basin. We focus on the 2018 and 2019 melt seasons, during which we collected most of our data, partly using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). To provide longer-term context, we analyze DEMs collected since 2006 and model glacier surface mass balance over the 2006–2019 period. During the 2018 and 2019 outburst flood events, Suicide Basin released ∼ 30 Å~ 106 m3 of water within approximately 4–5 days. Since lake drainage was partial in both years, these ∼ 30 Å~ 106 m3 represent only a fraction (∼ 60%) of the basin’s total storage capacity. In contrast to previous years, subglacial drainage was preceded by supraglacial outflow over the ice dam, which lasted ∼ 1 day in 2018 and 6 days in 2019. Two large calving events occurred in 2018 and 2019, with submerged ice breaking off the main glacier during lake filling, thereby increasing the basin’s storage capacity. In 2018, the floating ice in the basin was 36 m thick on average. In 2019, ice thickness was 29 m, suggesting rapid decay of the ice tongue despite increasing ice inflow from Mendenhall Glacier. The ice dam at the basin entrance thinned by more than 5 m a–1 from 2018 to 2019, which is approximately double the rate of the reference period 2006–2018. While ice-dam thinning reduces water storage capacity in the basin, that capacity is increased by declining ice volume in the basin and longitudinal lake expansion, with the latter process challenging to predict. The potential for premature drainage onset (i.e., drainage before the lake’s storage capacity is reached), intermittent drainage decelerations, and early drainage termination further complicates prediction of future GLOF events.This work was funded by the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center (AK CASC). UAVs and other surveying equipment were partly funded through the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) award EAR-1921598. EH and SH were partially supported by the NSF award OIA-1753748 and the State of Alaska. Streamflow monitoring of the Mendenhall River and real-time imagery of Suicide Basin were funded by the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Ye

The Comparative Effect of Minority Vetoes on Shared Governance in Post-Conflict Consociational Societies: Case Studies of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Lebanon

This thesis is primarily a study of the effect of consociational arrangements on shared governance in post-conflict societies. Specifically, I look into how the formality of minority vetoes in consociational parliaments affects the level of inter-ethnoreligious political party cooperation in the legislative process. My two case studies, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Lebanon, were chosen based on the presence of formal (written) or informal (implicit) minority vetoes in their consociational parliaments, respectively. I find that the formality of a minority veto does in fact play a role in differentiating the legislative processes in these two consociational governments, such that Bosnia-Herzegovina suffers more legislative inefficiency in comparison to Lebanon

COVID and International Labor Migration in the Middle East

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Prognostic evaluation of PET/CT in residual post-chemotherapy masses in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and its impact on survival

Aim of the work: To evaluate the prognostic value and accuracy of PET/CT in DLBCL patients with post-treatment CT-residual masses with concern in overall (OAS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Materials and methods: We retrospectively studied 62 patients with DLBCL who had CT documented residual masses (CRu) after completion of chemotherapy. Results: Forty-four patients with negative PET scan were free of relapse while 4 out of 18 patients with positive scan showed CR, the other 14 patients had developed relapse. PET attained a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 91%, a NPV of 100% and a PPV of 77.8% and an accuracy of 93.5%. The median OAS time was 33.59 months in patients with negative scan and 19.00 months in patients with positive scan with highly significant correlation (P value 0.0001) and the median PFS time was 29.53 months in patients with negative scan versus only 4.00 months in patients with positive scan with highly significant correlation (P value 0.0000). Conclusion: PET/CT plays helpful part in evaluation of therapy response in DLBCL patients with CT residual mass and post-chemotherapy PET could be used as an accurate and good predictor of OAS and PFS

Egypt, the EU, and Migration: an Uncomfortable Yet Unavoidable Partnership

The relationship between the European Union and Egypt on migration is as uncomfortable for Europe as it is unavoidable. The EU's goal of reducing irregular migration by working with actual and potential transit countries around Europe has provided Egypt with greater leverage over its European neighbors - a development that worries not only human rights advocates, but many actors who follow the actions of the country's authoritarian regime