The impact of political developments on personal status law reforms in Egypt

Personal status law reforms do not only manage relationships within the household, but they are also important political tools that the state has used to serve its interests. However, most of the covered studies on law and gender in Egypt deal with the state as if it is a clear term and a homogenous entity, which is not the matter as several theoretical studies on state show. Therefore, the main research question of this thesis grows out of this conceptual problematic, and it focuses on determining the main state actors that shaped personal status law reforms in Egypt, and the root causes behind their motivation to enact them. The thesis concludes that the elite, mainly lawyers, judges, the president, and the ruling party were the main actors in shaping and issuing these reforms. More importantly, this thesis argues that Egypt represents an interesting case as law is nested within politics. Personal status law reforms were essential tools in serving different political interests such as fighting colonization (during British colonialism), maintaining political stability within the society (Nasser era), adopting democratic reforms (Sadat period), and improving the image of the state internationally (Mubarak regime)

Constitution-making in transition: a comparative study of the 2012 Egyptian and 2014 Tunisian constitutions

This master\u27s project examines constitution-making in transition by analyzing both the 2012 Egyptian and the 2014 Tunisian constitutions as case studies. The processes of the two constitutions took place in quite similar post-uprising contexts in which Islamists were the majority and yet resulted in different outcomes. The project aims to identify and analyze the variables that influenced constitution-making processes in both countries and hence the outcomes as indicated in the analysis of a selected number of civil and political rights in both constitutions. The project answers three questions: Why did Islamists in Egypt gain a qualified majority at the constituent assembly, while Ennahda Islamists in Tunisia gained only a simple majority? How did these majorities impact the constitution-making process in each country, and how did the process shape the constitutional outcome? The conceptual framework of the project sets a number of factors (independent variables) that were at stake during transition and influenced the constitution-making process (intermediate variable), which, in turn, shaped the outcome (dependent variable). The project concludes that the selected articles of civil and political rights in the Tunisian constitution come closer to the international norms of the ICCPR as an attempt at reaching a compromise with the vision of the non-Islamist groups, whereas the articles in the 2012 Egyptian constitution drifted from the ICCPR, and the vision/agenda of the Islamist majority was predominant in the constitutional text. The project presents conclusions and lessons learned that could provide directions for future research on constitution-making

Virtual Reality as New Part of The Methodology for Designing Future Cities

Architecture is the art of transforming imagination into reality. This starts from drawing engineering plans to 3D drawings to executing the building and turning it into reality. With the advent of modern technology, it has become easy to bridge the gap between fantasy and reality (idea and building). Since the architect\u27s profession is the art of persuading clients. So, the emergence of virtual reality technology will create confidence for the architect. And a great transfer in the way engineers work. Where virtual reality has become a new and powerful way of expression. It allows us to explore cities before they are built. And provide virtual models that appear close to real reality and evaluate building design processes before implementing them.Which leads to providing a realistic environment and an accurate vision of future cities. Virtual reality technology helps avoid any wrong decisions before the implementation of cities begins. Thus, the result will be greater control in the future and a better visualization of future cities, especially smart cities that depend on information and communication technology to increase the quality of life. The research paper aims at how to apply virtual reality technology as part of the methodology for designing future cities, especially smart cities. And measuring the ability of virtual reality to reduce the sensory perception gap.between the design idea and the reality after implementation. And raising the design and creative skills of the new cities

The Impact of storytelling to enhance thinking skills of primary school students:‎ A contextual study of Saudi Arabia

The current research aims to identify the impact of the use of the educational story in the development of some thinking skills among primary school students in the northern region. The research sample consists of primary school students in the northern region of Saudi Arabia. The semi-experimental approach was used to assess the impact of story narration skill as an effective tool on experimental and control groups. A random sample of sixty students were divided into two groups; one experimental group of 30 students who were exposed to the instructional story method, and the control group  of other 30 students didn’t follow any intervention as such and followed the regular method.  The SPSS program for the purpose of answering the research questions and verifying the hypotheses. The results showed that there were differences between the control and experiential groups in the telemetry in all fields of thinking skills (fluency, originality, flexibility, and narrative flow). The differences were in favor of the experimental group members

Innovation for All: Unleashing the Power of Assistive Technology in Special Education in Arabic-Speaking Countries

This topical review digs into special education teachers' growing usage of Assistive Technology (AT) in Arabic-speaking countries to serve children with impairments. This study investigates AT's benefits, drawbacks, and possible applications in this educational setting by reviewing the available literature from six major academic databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, ERIC, Academia, and ResearchGate. The findings highlight the need for tailored and student-centered approaches to AT adoption and effective training and ongoing support for educators and students. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the potential of AT to improve academic and functional outcomes, allowing students to overcome obstacles and actively participate in their educational path. The significance of these findings for future special education research and practice is examined, laying the groundwork for further investigation of AT's influence on children with disabilities in Arabic-speaking countries. The outcomes of this review emphasize the need to implement AT in Arabic-speaking special education settings using tailored and student-centered approaches. Students with disabilities can effectively use AT solutions to enhance their learning experiences by tailoring AT solutions to specific needs. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of instructor and student training and ongoing assistance. Proper training provides instructors with the skills and information they need to properly deploy AT tools, while continual support ensures that AT remains effective in the classroom

The Political Deadlock on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

The failure of the latest talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has intensified tensions between Ethiopia and downstream states Egypt and Sudan. What could have been strictly technical negotiations have turned into a political deadlock. The GERD has become a new reality challenging the traditional dynamics in the Nile River Basin. Three key factors can explain the current deadlock. The three parties entered the negotiations with different needs and objectives. These different positions have historical roots and are part of the respective countries' traditional approaches to Nile Basin management. The GERD is situated in a geopolitical hotspot. The region is turning into a competition stage for external actors over its natural resources, such as oil, natural gas, hydropower, and precious metals. It is a region evincing a number of overlapping conflicts, with alliances forming across conflicts that are becoming hard to separate. The region also hosts external armed forces from over a dozen countries, including the United States, France, and China. This creates partisanship in terms of which country external actors support. The domestic costs of the negotiations for the three countries are high. State leaders tied their own hands in the negotiation process by adopting nationalist rhetoric to make domestic gains. The political climate is also fragile, with intra-state and border disputes leading to waning trust and increased accusations of meddling. Since the Ethiopian general elections in June, a window of opportunity has opened. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan should seize it to engage in effective negotiations, as it is the only way forward. The international community, including EU countries with interests in the region, should play an active role to avoid escalation in a fragile region. They should exhaust various foreign policy tools, using a strategy of mixing carrots and sticks

Converging Interests, Diverging Realities: Arab League-EU Cooperation

The Arab League (LAS)-European Union (EU)'s relationship is trapped in a cycle of engagement followed by distrust and failure, due to regional dynamics and a lack of resolve. Although the potential for a broad-based partnership exists, the EU's inability to act at pivotal moments, including the pressing situation in Gaza, continues to hinder meaningful collaboration between the two organisations. The LAS-EU partnership, reinforced by shared concerns over regional crises, has been further tested by the deepening Israel-Palestine conflict, emphasising the need for a united front on humanitarian issues and peace processes. The history of their interactions shows a pattern of initial progress followed by periods of stagnation in the face of crises, signalling a need for resilient diplomatic strategies that can break this cycle and foster more consistent collaboration. Previous focus on security threats that are of particular concern to the EU indicates the latter's dominant role in setting the agenda. This dominance reflects underlying issues in the LAS-EU relationship, such as unbalanced power dynamics, partnerships based more on convenience than trust, and mutual misunderstandings. Given the current critical political conditions in the region, particularly the intensifying conflict between Israel and Palestine and the indescribable humanitarian crisis in Gaza, it is crucial for both the EU and LAS to rethink their approach to collaboration. The partnership is currently fragile, threatened by potential regression or even animosity due to mistrust and misunderstanding

Functional compounds from the integument of adult red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus

AbstractThis study deals with the analysis of the integument of the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus of both sexes using the GC–MS technique. The results of the study revealed many promising compounds. These include aspidofractinine-3-methanol (kopsinyl alcohol) which was found in the acetone extract of the sternum of females, and 3-buten-2-ol (32-B) which was found in the extracts of sternum and tergum of males. This compound the aggregation pheromone was secreted by males. Additionally, compounds with methoxy groups were found. These may be responsible for insects’ resistance. This study, through separation and identification of these compounds, aims to open a new possibility for their future medical and therapeutic usage

Impedance and Photo-Electrochemical Properties of Oxide Films on Stainless Steel Formed by Different Polarization Techniques

Stainless steel alloys have a very active and important role in industry. Because many of These industries have to work in aggressive media; stainless steels are threatened by corrosion Which may affect their performance and cost the manufacturers millions of dollars yearly. Several treatments have been taken part to solve this problem; one is by forming a protective Oxide layer on the stainless steel (SS) surface to prevent it from corrosion. In this thesis; this way of protecting SS Surface is applied to two different types of Stainless Steel, those are AISI 316 and AISI 31 0; respectively. The oxide film was formed using a potential step programming at different thicknesses, varying the programs and bath compositions in a three- electrode electrochemical cell. The electrochemical behavior of the oxide film has been studied using several techniques: potential dynamic polarization , Tafel experiments, polarization resistance, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic techniques. Then, surface analysis was applied to the oxide film in order to investigate its elemental composition, morphology and thickness. Surface techniques used in this study were electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), scanning electron microscopy, surface reflectance FT­ IR, energy dispersive x-ray analysis and x-ray diffraction. It was found that the polarization behavior of the different types of stainless steels studied is strongly dependent on the steel structure. Also, the ability of stainless steels type 316 and type 310 to passivate in 5. 0 M sulfuric acid is realized and stabilized within a relatively wide range of potential. However, oxide film formed over stainless type 316 is relatively more stable than that formed over stainless steel type 310 surfaces under similar experimental conditions. From the EIS data, it was found that -for SS 316- the resistance of the oxide film to pore formation and charge transfer through the oxide film increased as the film thickness increased_ On the other hand, the coating capacitance and the double layer capacitance of the oxide film decreased gradually as the oxide thickness increased. It was concluded that the presence of chromate and moly date in the film-forming bath enhances the structure of the passive film due to the presence of chromium as hydroxide and molybdenum as the oxide. It has been shown that the film deposited at the stainless steel type 316 has a bilayer (hydroxide/oxide) structure_ The graphs depicted from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) gave a good idea about the Morphology of the oxide at SS surface. The important result of the SEM experiments is the identification of the systematic growth of the oxide layer that consists of oval, Pentagonal and pyramidal aggregates with a high micro roughness

P-selectin in preterm infants suffering necrotizing enterocolitis

Background: Platelet selectin (P-selectin), an adhesion molecule expressed by activated endothelial cells, mediates the early phases of leukocyte adherence to the endothelium. Expression of P-selectin has been shown to be crucial to neutrophil recruitment in many human inflammatory processes as well as in animal models of intestinal ischemia-reperfusion, intestinal transplantation, and sepsis, but its role in NEC is unknown. Objective: To study P-selectin, a possible cause of NEC, in the blood of preterm infants. Study design: Twenty-four consecutive preterms, clinically suspected or proven to have NEC, were enrolled in this pilot study. Their weight ranged from 1 to 2.3 Kg (mean ±SD: 1.7±0.5 Kg), age ranged from 2 to 21 days (mean ±SD: 12±3.5 days) and their gestational age (GA) ranged from 29 to 33 weeks (mean ±SD: 31±3 weeks). In addition, 12 age- and weight-matched apparently healthy preterm infants served as a control group. Written consents were obtained from the parents of infants included in the study. All neonates were subjected to perinatal history, clinical examination, routine investigations (CBC, plain X-ray and abdominal ultrasonography (US), arterial blood gases and serum bicarbonate, serum sodium, CRP and blood culture), and measurement of blood P-selectin by direct immunofluorescent staining. Results: Infants with NEC clinically presented with significant PROM, gastric residual, abdominal distensions, hypoperfusion, hematochezia and evidence of NEC in abdominal X-ray and/or US, compared to control infants. Significant abnormal laboratory investigations in NEC cases included high CRP, hyponatremia, bandemia, thrombocytopenia, metabolic acidosis, and blood culture-proven neonatal sepsis. Abnormal blood P-selectin (>20 units) was detected in 21 (87.5%) infants with NEC, with a mean level of 51±12.4 units that was significantly higher than that of control infants, P < 0.001. A strong significant negative correlation was observed between blood P-selectin and each of GA, body weight, platelet count, arterial blood pH and bicarbonate, while it was a significant positive correlation with each of CRP and band cell count. Conclusion: P-selectin may have a role in the pathogenesis of NEC in preterm infants and may be used as a diagnostic tool. Keywords: Prematurity -abdominal distension-hematocheziaEgypt J Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010;8(2):61-6