[Truncated abstract] Polymorphic Alu insertions (POALINs) are known to contribute to the variation and genetic diversity of the human genome. In this report specific POALINs of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) were studied. Previous population studies on the MHC POALINs have focused on individuals of African, European and Asian descent. In this study, we expand the research by studying a new and previously uncharacterised population, focusing on the Bedouin from the Middle East. Specifically we report on the individual insertion frequencies of four POALINs within the MHC class I region of this population. POALINs are members of a young Alu subfamily that have only recently been inserted into the human genome. POALINs are either present or absent at particular sites. Individuals that share the inserted (or deleted) polymorphism inherited the insertion (or deletion) from a common ancestor, making Alu alleles identical by decent. In population genetics a comparison of the resulting products from each population can then be done by comparing the lengths of the PCR products in a series of unrelated individuals and may also detect polymorphisms with regard to the presence or absence of the Alu repeats. As a direct result of their abundance and sequence identity, they promote genetic recombination events that are responsible for large-scale deletions, duplication and translocations. The deletions occur mostly in the A-T rich regions and have found to be unlikely to have been created independently of the insertions of the Alu elements (Callinan et al, 2005) The easy genotyping of the POALINs has proven to be very valuable as lineage markers for the study of human population genetics, pedigree and forensics as well as genomic diversity and evolution. POALINs have been used in a range of applications, primarily focusing on anthropological analysis of human populations. As a result of its ease of use and its utility as a marker in human evolutions studies, combining the POALINs along with other markers used in forensics could lead to improved identity testing in forensic science. More specifically, in combination with more traditional markers, race specific genotypes and haplotypes could be used for profiling crime scene samples. ... This is supported by previously reported molecular data using various types of genetic markers. In a study using six separate Alu genes, Antunez-de-Mayolo et al were able to generate a phylogenetic tree, in which the biogeographical groups followed a pattern. The biogeographical groups started with African populations that were found to relate closely to the hypothetical ancestral African population. The African populations were then followed in order by Southwest Asian populations, European populations which include Middle Eastern groups (Antunez-de-Mayolo et al, 2002). This study shows the similarities and differences between the frequencies of the Middle Eastern Bedouin and the rest of the compared populations. Though no clear results were determined, the information from the POALINs along with information provided from other genetic markers can lead to further research on the Bedouin population and the improvement of the forensic population database in order to accurately test individual ethnic background of samples to be analysed.

This dissertation presents an intervention-based study that aimed to enable teachers to improve teaching and learning in one school in Ramallah, Palestine. The non-positional approach to teacher leadership was adopted as a means to mobilise all teachers in the drive towards bottom-up, participatory school change processes that increase teacher self-efficacy and collaboration, build professional capacity and social capital, and promote sustainability. The Teachers Leading the Way programme provided a contextually tailored strategy, and set of instruments and tools that through reflective exercises and dialogic activities aimed to support teachers to innovate practice, and impact organisational structures and professional culture. This is significant in the Palestine setting for facilitating the building of locally based and sourced knowledge to inform an authentic Palestinian vision and agenda for policy-making and education reconstruction, with implications for countries of the Middle East and North Africa region. In the process, a grassroots change movement is intended to shift historical and continued reliance on foreign intervention and international assistance, and lay the foundation for democratisation and social transformation. The intervention was investigated using a critical action-based, participatory methodology that emphasised context and researcher reflexivity in one school and amongst a cohort of 12 participants. Data were collected using a range of research-designed and programme-based methods and instruments, analysed deductively and inductively, and narrated critically to maintain coherence, and convey experiential and temporal dimensions. The study outcomes indicate that teachers in Palestine are capable of leading school improvement, and impacting school structures and professional culture for system-wide change, when the proper support is provided. Non-positional teacher leadership is the vehicle and can be developed through Teachers Leading the Way. At the individual level, this is enabled through a transformation in teachers’ perspective towards a self-empowered, agential mindset that leads to action on ways to improve practice. The transition process underscores the role of effective facilitation as an enabling condition for developing non-positional teacher leadership in Palestine and similar settings.

The content of the thesis is an analysis of the impact of the revolutions in the countries of North Africa during the year 2011 on the immigration and asylum policy of the European Union. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the response of the European Union and its member states to the migration situation. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first one describes the situation and migration during revolutions in the North Africa, the second chapter deals with the migration into the European Union. The third chapter analyzes the reaction of chosen member states and the institutions of the European Union. The last chapter finally evaluates the situation and identifies the opportunities and threats for the immigration and asylum policy of the European Union that emerged from the previous analysis.

(in English): This master's thesis is focusing on the issue of military ranks in the armed forces of contemporary Arab states. In the thesis, the terms for military ranks of all branches of the armed forces (ground force, navy, air force) of Arab armies are being discussed. At the same time, the proposed thesis is dealing with the historical and political context of development of military ranks in the region; therefore, there is a focus on early developments of military ranks in the Middle Ages, reform efforts in the Ottoman military of Sultan Mahmut II., and the creation of Egyptian army during the rule of Muḥammad ʿAlīʼs dynasty. In the thesis itself, military traditions of European colonial powers together with the political developments in the second half of the 20th century are also taken into consideration while discussing the ranks and terminology. The rank system of the Armed Forces of the Egyptian Arab Republic serves as a reference for other states throughout the thesis. The thesis is based on analysis of scholarly literature and relevant legislation of Arab countries.

Why do revolutions happen? What role do structures, institutions, and actors play in precipitating (or preventing) them? Finally, What might compel social mobilization against a regime in the face of potentially insurmountable odds? These questions are all fundamentally about state-society (strategic) interactions, and elite and societal preference formation over time. The self-immolation of Muhammad Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid on December 17, 2010, served as a focal point upon which over twenty years of corrupt, coercive authoritarian rule were focused into a single, unified challenge to the Ben Ali regime. The regime's brutality was publicized via social media activism and satellite television, precipitating mass mobilization across Tunisia and, eventually, throughout the region and beyond. In light of the rapid and unforeseen nature of these events, scholars writing about the causes of the Arab Spring have focused their critiques on scholarship that they felt overemphasized the role of institutions and elite-level actors over 'under the radar' changes within society. This paper essentially agrees with this point of view, but is not content to simply 'throw out' institutionalism. As Timur Kuran (1991) argued in the wake of the unforeseen collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, one cannot understand revolution without understanding the 'true' preferences of social actors. In this way, the inevitability of revolutionary surprises seems a given so long as analysts continue to look from the top-down. Yet, this paper contends that institutions do still matter. They matter because different institutional arrangements incentivize and constrain regime strategies, which, in turn, inform the strategic calculations and preference orderings within society. These two societal variables are determined - in part - by the degree of regime flexibility, and they affect whether, how, and where social actors choose to vent their dissent. This paper proposes a model for the development of contentious social mobilization under authoritarianism. In order to do so, two models - one game-theoretic, and the other rooted in the contentious politics subfield of political sociology - are synthesized toward elucidating how altered societal preferences affect strategic interactions between the regime and society over time and during acute contentious episodes. The synthesized model is then illustrated through narrative case studies of two North African states that experienced divergent outcomes in the wake of the Arab Spring: Tunisia and Morocco. The limited spaces and institutions for the expression of dissent in Tunisia gradually changed societal preferences over time. In 2010, Tunisians' preferences shifted from various socioeconomic demands and other issue-specific grievances toward a galvanized demand for the fall of the regime. In Morocco, on the other hand, social actors, by and large, continued to prefer limited reforms to a complete upheaval of the political system. This paper contends that this divergence in preferences and therefore outcomes was in part determined by the variation in the two regimes' respective strategic mixes of concessions and/or coercion. To the extent that such strategies and institutions were more flexible - i.e. were more permissive of (limited) political contention and contestation - social movements were less likely to become emboldened against the regime.

No description available.

Following the Aramco arbitration in 1963, Saudi Arabia’s approach to international arbitration resulted in a reputation for being an arbitration unfriendly country. This was addressed to some extent by the Arbitration Law of 1983. However, arbitration under the 1983 law remained dependent on the approval of the national courts. With too much scope for judicial intervention, the legal framework undermined the final and binding nature of the award, constrained party autonomy and created inefficient delays. In 2012, a new Law of Arbitration was passed to replace the 1983 law with a legal framework intending to meet the needs of international commercial parties. The question addressed by this thesis is whether the Arbitration Law of 2012 (SAL 2012) succeeds in creating a legal framework that is consistent with the three core principles that provide the foundations for modern international commercial arbitration. These core principles of party autonomy, procedural justice and cost-effectiveness were used as normative tools for assessing the provisions of the SAL 2012, which were based on the UNCITRAL Model Law. Relying on those principles, the SAL 2012 was subjected to a comparative legal analysis, using the Model Law and the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 as comparators. Although hampered by a lack of available case law involving the SAL 2012, the analysis concluded that the SAL 2012 is a very significant development, providing a legal framework that facilitates arbitration, encourages a pro-arbitration culture and achieves a balance between the three core principles that should meet the needs of international commercial parties. Despite this, the law could be further reformed to make Saudi Arabia even more attractive as a location for arbitration. While acknowledging that future reform should be guided by empirical research on arbitration in Saudi Arabia, proposals were made for the further development of a pro-arbitration legal framework.

This study is concerned with the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards under the relevant regimes in the GCC states, both local law and international conventions. The easy enforceability of arbitral awards is considered one of the main factors in the success of international commercial arbitration. Thus this thesis not only attempts a comprehensive analysis of the requirements of and procedures for recognition and enforcement of foreign awards in the GCC States, but also evaluates whether the GCC’s laws and practices comply with best international practice standards, especially as embodied in the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The thesis comprises of seven chapters. The first chapter examines the legal framework of the GCC States, and provides a brief history of the rules governing arbitration and the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Chapter two looks at general principles regarding recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Chapter three covers jurisdictional elements in the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in the GCC States. Chapter four examines the procedural steps demanded by each state for the enforcement of an award, looking particularly at the impact of relevant international conventions on these issues. Chapter five deals with the evidence which must be tendered and the conditions that must be satisfied in order to obtain the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the GCC States. Chapter six examines the grounds on which a respondent may apply to dismiss an application for recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award. Chapter seven then deals with the grounds on which a foreign arbitral award must be refused enforcement. The concluding chapter summarises the problems thrown up by the study, and suggests a common way forward for the legal systems of the states of the Arabian Gulf in dealing with these issues.

La mondialisation favorise les échanges de toutes natures. Le domaine juridique avec ses idées, concepts et catégories trouve donc un terrain fertile pour contribuer au développement socio-économique des peuples. Aujourd’hui, la tradition civiliste et celle islamique caractérisent les droits arabes. Pour ce faire une idée juste de ces droits et nous intéresser à la période précontractuelle, il appert fondamental de déterminer le mécanisme de construction et de validité de la règle juridique en terre d’Islam selon une approche historique, objective et positive. Cette méthodologie d’étude nous a permis de proposer une nouvelle définition du droit musulman qui intègre les différentes autorités normatives permettant ainsi de corriger les nombreuses incompréhensions relevées. Ensuite, il convenait de vérifier nos résultats théoriques à l’aune des réalités actuelles pour préciser la nature juridique des ordres juridiques arabes. Cela nous a amené à réfuter la dualité des ordres juridiques arabes en faveur de l’unité et la cohérence. Enfin, nous pouvions à ce moment aborder la période précontractuelle pour démontrer et affirmer avec force la compatibilité entre la tradition et le modernisme selon une approche comparatiste entre les droits français, marocain et koweïtien, tout en proposant des pistes de réformes pour assurer le respect de la parole donnée grâce à une nouvelle classification juridique dans cette matière trop peu étudiée dans les pays arabes. In fine, notre étude semble pouvoir s’élargir à toute matière juridique créant ainsi un pont entre la réflexion contenue dans la première partie de notre thèse et l’action esquissé durant la seconde partie / Globalization promotes all kinds of exchanges. The legal field with its ideas, concepts and categories finds fertile ground to contribute to the socio-economic development of the peoples. Today, the continental and the Islamic tradition characterize Arab laws. In order to have an accurate idea of those laws and study the pre-contractual period, it is fundamental to determine the mechanism of construction and validity of the legal rule in Islamic land according to a historical, objective and positive approach. Our methodology has allowed us to propose a new definition of Islamic law that integrates the different normative authorities, thus making it possible to correct the numerous misunderstandings noted. Therefore, it was necessary to verify our theoretical results in the light of current realities in order to clarify the legal nature of the Arab legal orders. This has led us to refute the duality of Arab legal orders in favor of unity and coherence. Finally, we were able to approach the pre-contractual period in order to enhance the compatibility between tradition and modernism, using a comparative approach between French, Moroccan and Kuwaiti laws, to propose ways of reforming the pre-contractual period thanks to a new legal classification in this subject, which has been little studied in the Arab countries. In fine, our study seems to be able to be extended to all legal matters, thus creating a bridge between the theoretical thinking contained in the first part of our thesis and the action sketched during the second part.

L’arbitrage commercial international est le mode alternatif de règlement de différends le plus utilisé dans le monde. Ce qui contribue notamment à en faire l’acteur principal de la diffusion des règles anationales telles que les principes généraux du droit, les usages du commerce international, ou encore la "lex mercatoria" qui sont souvent choisies par les arbitres en tant que droit applicable au fond du litige. Ce choix s’est étendu aux nouvelles règles élaborées par des institutions internationales privées telles que les Principes d’UNIDROIT relatifs aux contrats du commerce international. Une codification doctrinale conçue comme un instrument de "soft law" et qui trouve de plus en plus application dans la pratique arbitrale. Notre étude cependant montre que peu de sentences arbitrales rendues dans des affaires dont l’une des parties est arabe ont fait référence aux Principes Unidroit. L’explication n’est pas à rechercher dans une incompatibilité entre ceux-ci et le droit des contrats des pays arabes mais dans la méconnaissance de cette codification doctrinale par les juristes arabes. À cela s’ajoute un sentiment de méfiance à l’égard d’une manifestation de la soft law. Il convient dès lors de s’interroger sur les moyens qui permettraient aux Principes Unidroit de trouver leur place dans le droit et la pratique des pays arabes. / International commercial arbitration is the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) the most used in the world. Which contributes in particular to make the main actor of the diffusion of a-national rules as the general principles of law, usages of international trade, or the lex mercatoria, often chosen by the arbitrators as the law applicable to the substantive of the dispute. This choice was extended to the new rules developed by private international institutions such as the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts. A doctrinal codification conceived as a soft law instrument, which is increasingly applied in arbitration practice. Our study shows, however, that few awards rendered in cases in which one of the parties is Arabic made a reference to UNIDROIT Principles. The explanation is not to look for in an incompatibility between them and contract law in Arab countries but in the ignorance of this doctrinal codification by Arab jurists and lawyers. Added to this, a feeling of distrust a manifestation of soft law. It is therefore necessary to consider the ways in which the UNIDROIT Principles to find their place in the law and practice of the Arab countries.