This thesis examines the acculturation process of women immigrant to Czech cultural environment. Acculturation can be defined as adaptation to cultural environment other than the individual was born in. Just like the other phases of international migration, this process is gendered, i.e. influenced by roles, norms and patterns of behavior assigned to women and men by society. Experts have shown that women experience acculturation differently than men. Due to their reproductive role they are considered to be carriers and protectors of immigrant groups' cultural identity and are expected to transmit cultural values to the future generations. The acculturation process' assessment was based on theory of stress and coping. For qualitative research, two groups of immigrant women, from Ukraine and Arab countries, were selected. The main objective of this work was to determine whether the respondents from these countries were experiencing acculturative stress during their adaptation to new cultural environments, how they coped with this stress and also what influenced their acculturation in Czech environment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the respondents and were evaluated using qualitative content analysis. Keywords: acculturation, culture, gender, Ukrainian women, women from Arab countries

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The main objective of this thesis is to examine the extent of and the potential for Arab economic integration. It adds to the growing literature on the issue of economic integration by throwing the spotlight on several issues hitherto little considered in the existing literature. The thesis especially blends various aspects of economic integration with models of spatial competition, economic geography, regionalisation and globalisation to explain the problems of and prospects for economic integration for the Arab countries. It is important to realise that economic integration has become an important aim for almost all countries in the world; in particular, less developed countries, which need more economic efforts to be able to deal with the current international milieu and the gale of globalisation. The Arab countries have engaged in a number of initiatives to advance economic integration, however despite this the degree of economic integration among them is still relatively insignificant. The thesis also attempts to offer theoretical models to explain the obstacles preventing economic integration in the Arab world. This thesis is, to the best of the author’s knowledge and belief, the first rigorous study of the extent of and the potential for Arab economic integration through three vital economic perspectives: trade, investment and labour flows. In the first perspective, this study investigates the nature of intra-Arab trade and which particular countries/sub-group of countries may potentially become an integrated regional production system, or hub. This investigation is done within the scope of gravity models, which assume that intra-trade is a function of the GDPs of the involved countries and the distance between them. The thesis extends the literature by introducing spatial models and models of new economic geography to explain how economic integration evolves in the current international milieu concomitantly driven by globalisation and regionalisation. In the second perspective, this study investigates intra-Arab FDI and capital mobility. The postulated model assumes that intra-Arab FDI is a function of a number of economic variables, such as GDP, GDP per capita, inflation and purchasing power parity. The thesis offers a comprehensive theoretical model to explain how successful economic integration can be carried out by FDI flows. In the third perspective, the study investigates intra-Arab labour flows. The proposed model utilises remittances as an indicator of labour flows. It assumes that remittances are a function of some economic variables, such as GDP per capita, the real price of oil, and the oil production of Saudi Arabia, which represents the main Arab host country of Arab labour flows. The proposed theoretical model offers insights into the dynamics of labour flows and oil price movements. The econometric study in the thesis applies panel data for the period 1985-2005, and employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) fixed effects regression. The most important empirical finding of the study is that Arab economic integration has been significantly affected by intra-trade, intra-FDI and intra-labour flows among sub-unions of Arab countries. / Doctor or Philosophy (PhD)

The main objective of this thesis is to examine the extent of and the potential for Arab economic integration. It adds to the growing literature on the issue of economic integration by throwing the spotlight on several issues hitherto little considered in the existing literature. The thesis especially blends various aspects of economic integration with models of spatial competition, economic geography, regionalisation and globalisation to explain the problems of and prospects for economic integration for the Arab countries. It is important to realise that economic integration has become an important aim for almost all countries in the world; in particular, less developed countries, which need more economic efforts to be able to deal with the current international milieu and the gale of globalisation. The Arab countries have engaged in a number of initiatives to advance economic integration, however despite this the degree of economic integration among them is still relatively insignificant. The thesis also attempts to offer theoretical models to explain the obstacles preventing economic integration in the Arab world. This thesis is, to the best of the author’s knowledge and belief, the first rigorous study of the extent of and the potential for Arab economic integration through three vital economic perspectives: trade, investment and labour flows. In the first perspective, this study investigates the nature of intra-Arab trade and which particular countries/sub-group of countries may potentially become an integrated regional production system, or hub. This investigation is done within the scope of gravity models, which assume that intra-trade is a function of the GDPs of the involved countries and the distance between them. The thesis extends the literature by introducing spatial models and models of new economic geography to explain how economic integration evolves in the current international milieu concomitantly driven by globalisation and regionalisation. In the second perspective, this study investigates intra-Arab FDI and capital mobility. The postulated model assumes that intra-Arab FDI is a function of a number of economic variables, such as GDP, GDP per capita, inflation and purchasing power parity. The thesis offers a comprehensive theoretical model to explain how successful economic integration can be carried out by FDI flows. In the third perspective, the study investigates intra-Arab labour flows. The proposed model utilises remittances as an indicator of labour flows. It assumes that remittances are a function of some economic variables, such as GDP per capita, the real price of oil, and the oil production of Saudi Arabia, which represents the main Arab host country of Arab labour flows. The proposed theoretical model offers insights into the dynamics of labour flows and oil price movements. The econometric study in the thesis applies panel data for the period 1985-2005, and employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) fixed effects regression. The most important empirical finding of the study is that Arab economic integration has been significantly affected by intra-trade, intra-FDI and intra-labour flows among sub-unions of Arab countries. / Doctor or Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis is a small contribution to the growing amount of information that has been gathered about Arab nationalism. Its purpose is more specific than most studies of Arab nationalism have been in that it seeks to deal only with four figures who were Christian rather than Muslim and who happened to be Arabs of the fertile Crescent. Apart from placing these writers in a new perspective, this thesis has little that is very original to offer. But, it is hoped that the fairly careful and detailed analysis of some of the writings, offered in English for the first time, will be of some future use to others. [...]

Al-Jazeera asserted itself in the global media scene shortly after the attacks of September 11th, 2001 in the United States. The station's regional prominence had already been entrenched in the new Arab media environment before it was overshadowed by the station's newfound global fame. Subsequently, al-Jazeera was considered an Arab media ambassador and the "voice of the Arab world." This dissertation provides an analysis of al-Jazeera's programming in Arabic that is lacking in the burgeoning English language academic literature. The dissertation furthermore highlights the way treatment of global current affairs informs a sense of Arab identification on a regional level. Moreover, it argues that, apart from competitive broadcast journalists, al-Jazeera offers an oppositional discourse of identification that does not necessarily challenge the hegemony of Western media discourses. By employing an oppositional stance expressed in typical anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist terms, it constructs an overarching notion of "Arabness" that is predominately discursive. / The dissertation analyzes three live talk shows: al-Ittijah al-Mu'akis (The Opposite Direction), Bila Hudoud (Without Boundaries), and Li-Nisa' Faqat (For Women Only). These talk shows are ideal sites for examining this oppositional discourse because they constitute important forums in which perceptions of identity are cultivated in the discussion of current affairs. In my analysis, each episode is treated as a media "text" that contributes to the formation of a discourse of "Arabness." The objective of the analysis is to identify the recurrent discursive patterns and strategies in providing the basis for this discursive category of identification across Arab state borders. In constructing an oppositional discourse, the United States and Israel are employed as necessary rhetorical references; Islam is infused into "Arabness" as a homogenizing constituent in identity formation; and finally, a culturally-threatened "Arabness" converges upon a context in which the world is marked by globalization. The dissertation concludes by indicating that al-Jazeera offers merely a representation of "Arabness" that, despite its power to influence, remains one way of perceiving Arab identity.

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using a suggested mathematical word-problem training programme on Primary 4 pupils' performance in mathematical word-problems. The study had a pre-post control group design. A treatment and a no-treatment group were exposed to pre-post methods of gathering data (a mathematical word-problem achievement test and a mathematical word-problem attitude scale). The treatment group was given direct and explicit training on how to solve mathematical word-problems, while the pupils of the no-treatment group received no such training; they were taught the same material they study at school. A "t" test was used to compare the means of scores of the control group pupils and those of the experimental group in the pre-post measurements. Results of the study revealed a significant improvement in the experimental group pupils' performance in mathematical word-problems because they had attended the suggested programme. Results also revealed that experimental group subjects' attitudes towards mathematical word-problems underwent an exceptional change because they had attended the suggested programme. Their attitudes towards mathematical word-problems became more positive than before. In the light of the results of the study, some recommendations were made for improving mathematics teacher training programmes, for mathematics teaching, and for further research.

The core of the thesis investigates the role of education in the engendering of cultural change and leadership among a select group of a powerful 'first generation' of Arab women; specifically, the role of dual educational/cultural experiences, both Arab and Western. The broader aim of the study is to analyze the merging of cultural traditionalism and modernity and how dual education has enhanced the ability of women, especially Arab women, to become leaders in their professional careers, and within their respective communities, whilst still maintaining strong ties to their culture, religion and traditions, albeit to varying degrees. The writer has chosen to investigate the association between cultural identity and educational experience of elite educated Arab women, through a small sample, who have had exposure to both Western and Arab educational systems at different points in their lives. The researcher's heritage has led to a fundamental ideological interest in the coexistence of traditionalism and modernisation and whether the two can complement one another. There are now a significant number of Arab women who have had the privilege of education and exposure to the two types of systems. Yet, gender constraints and predefined gender roles still very much dictate the socio-cultural contexts in which such women have to operate. The patriarchal 'system' is omnipresent in the West as well as in the Arab world. The challenges the writer has faced even as a 'Western' Arab to reconcile tradition and intellectual and educational exposure has served as a greater impetus for this investigation. The investigation and the intent of this thesis as described above, is to test the preliminary hypothesis that, in the context of elite Arab women, their exposure to both West and Arab educational cultures is germane to their potential for influencing female professional development. How their educational experiences have influenced their own identities and their ability to adhere to the gender roles prescribed is of significant interest. What influence has such education had on these women's prospects for instituting and pioneering change in their respective societies and professions? Is the synergy of certain aspects of modernity and tradition possible? The general conclusion is that it is.

This is an inquiry into cultural constructions of "Islamic violence" in dominant Northern discourses. Mainstream Canadian journalism's participation in these discourses is analyzed within the context of its cultural and structural integration into global media networks. Media materials are scrutinized using critical discourse, dramatistic, and ritual analysis methodologies. The thesis follows Hamid Mowlana's suggestion that inquiries into international communication flows should move beyond traditional paradigms of inter-national relations (in which nation-states are the primary objects of study) to consider intra- and transnational participants as well. / Borrowing from Jacques Ellul, this study examines the importance of myth as a fundamental basis of communication. However, unlike Ellul, it also explores alternatives to the operations of dominant communication structures. Edward Said's critique of Orientalism informs the analysis of Northern portrayals of Muslim societies; but the dissertation attempts to avoid overstating the Orientalist discourses' hegemony by proposing a model of competition among dominant, oppositional and alternative discourses on "Islam." / Mainstream media's adherence to dominant technological myths and their general reticence about the structural and direct violence of elite states are examined. Distinct similarities are found between the utopic orientations and technical operations of dominant Northern and Muslim discourses, as well as in Jewish, Christian and Muslim conceptions of holy/just war. The proliferation of contemporary Northern images about "Islam" are traced historically to four primary stereotypes about Muslims. / Examinations of the supposedly objective and secularist media reportage on terrorism show differences in portrayal according to the perpetrators' religions. Analyses of the coverage of wars involving peoples of Muslim backgrounds in the Middle East, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the former USSR demonstrate the tendency of dominant journalistic scripts to attribute diverse political, economic and territorial conflicts to a monolithic "lslam" The dissertation traces how the global media narrative's transformation of Saddam Hussein from an ally of the West to a demonic despot was aided by according him "Islamic" characteristics. It also looks at the emergence of "Islam" as a post-Cold War Other. Lastly, proposals made by scholars and journalists for enhancing inter-cultural communication between Northern and Muslim societies are considered.