Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

The quality of service from a hospital is the number one factor that will either turn a customer/patient away or make one for life. More and more hospitals are competing for greater shares in the market and customer-driven quality management is becoming the preferred method for improving their performance. Awali hospital is a private hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It is a small 35-bed hospital that offers private medical services to the public. The hospital was originally built to serve the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) refinery workers but later opened its doors to the public. With the introduction of private patients came higher expectations of quality and higher demands on the overall services. A number of service quality shortfalls were identified over the years but never identified quantitatively by a patient evaluation survey. An English and Arabic version of the questionnaire based on SERVQUAL (Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry, 1988) was developed and placed in Awali hospital to test these service quality shortfalls. This study intends to evaluate these areas by answering questions about the relevant areas of service provided by the hospital. It measured patient satisfaction by looking at human aspects of service (responsiveness, reliability, empathy and assurance) with only one factor of the instrument being devoted to the non-human aspect of care rendered (tangibles). The SERVQUAL instrument has five dimensions that were measured by 21 pairs of item statements. One statement from each pair reflects perceptions, the other expectations. Measurement was accomplished by subtracting expectation from perceptions resulting in a service quality score. Positive or zero scores would reflect ideal or adequate service quality offered by the hospital. A negative score would be indicative of a service experience that did not meet customer expectations. Using the SERVQUAL questionnaire provided, quantifiable reasoning to the research questions in each dimension could be obtained so that precision, objectivity and rigour replaced hunches, experience and intuition as a means of investigating problem areas. Customers were first asked to supply some additional demographic information, for example gender, number of hospital visits, nationality, patient type (Bapco worker, general practitioner referred or private) and type of visit (inpatient, outpatient or both). They werethen asked to rate the hospital service on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Agree (7) to Strongly Disagree (1). At the end of the questionnaire was space to write open comments. In total 600 paper questionnaires were distributed in the hospital, 300 English and 300 Arabic. Another 150 electronic questionnaires via emails were sent to refinery workers. Of the total 750 questionnaires distributed 162 were returned of which 156 (or 21.6%) could be statistically analysed. The empirical data results showed that the perception scores were significantly different at the p < 0.05 level from expectation scores. All the service quality differences (SQ=P-E) were negatively scored. This indicated that patients were not satisfied in all five dimensions of services offered by the hospital. Of the five dimensions responsiveness had the largest difference with assurance and reliability following with no significant differences between them. The demographic information revealed some interesting differences between the groups. Of all the demographic groups the most significant differences were between groups, “patient types” and “types of visit”, which showed differences between private patients and refinery workers and patients who used the hospital only as an outpatient and patients who used both services, outpatient and inpatient. In terms of the managerial implications, it was recommended that Awali hospital look to closing Gaps 1-4 of the SERVQUAL gap model which would result in closing the consumer gap, Gap 5. A process model for continuous measurement and improvement of service quality was recommended that looks at asking questions about how the hospital is performing. By adopting some of the recommendations identified in the research questions, Awali hospital could improve their quality of service, and as a consequence, their customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is determining the viability of economic development in the oil and natural gas sector in Bahrain since its independence in August 1971, and the changing role of the government in shaping oil policies and managing downstream operations. This inquiry emphasizes the importance of cooperation and coordination in the oil industry among the Arab Gulf States. This study concludes that Bahrain's economy is passing through and era which will have one of two possible endings: one will protect the independence of the country and promote cooperation with the other Arab Gulf States as a transitional stage toward a board regional unity; the other will lead Bahrain to become a commercial outlet for Saudi Arabia.

The primary objective of this dissertation is to determine the factors that have shaped the corporate financial reporting practices in Bahrain. Prior researchers have offered two explanations, environmental factors and cultural importation, for the emergence of financial reporting practices in developing countries. The environmental explanation suggests that a nation's financial reporting practices will be shaped by its socioeconomic structure. The cultural importation explanation states that the desire for international legitimacy creates incentives for developing nation to adopt Western financial reporting practices. Bahrain provided an excellent environment in which to examine the two explanations since its public and closed corporations have similar economic characteristics. Only public corporations are legally required to publish financial reports. I posited that public corporations would try to gain legitimacy for their published reports by adopting Western standards, while closed corporations would not have a similar incentive. I used an interpretive framework to analyze the Bahrain socioeconomic environment and to examine the general financial reporting practices of Bahraini corporations. I found that closed corporations provided data responsive to the Bahraini environment. Public corporations, however, adopted International Accounting Standards. My analysis supported prior researchers7 findings that colonialism, the need for international legitimacy, and international audit firms were important factors in gaining acceptance for Western accounting practices. The adoption of Western financial reporting practices may be dysfunctional to a developing nation like Bahrain if these practices do not provide relevant information about corporate performance. Therefore, Bahrain, as well as other developing countries, needs to proceed cautiously before adopting Western corporate reporting practices.

In this research, I aim to present a narrative of the process of nation building in Bahrain - to further analyze it, interrogate it, and capture an aspect of its complexity. By focusing on the years following Bahrain's independence from Britain in 1971, I examine the period in which a constitution was introduced and a short-lived parliament was dissolved after two years of operation. The hypothesis underlying this thesis project is that the dominant historical account, which is provided and sponsored by the government, does not mirror the historical narratives of the various Bahraini communities. The central argument is advanced by examining the state sponsored public articulations of identity, which portray a continuum of exclusions by omitting significant historical episodes. By consulting archival material, oral narratives, and secondary sources, I aim to question the official historical narrative and show the polarized versions of history that can occur when such exclusions take place.

This study, which may be considered the first of its kind to be conducted on Bahraini newspapers, attempted to provide an insight on the inner workings of these newspapers. The knowledge from this study provides a spring board for other studies to follow and venture into ethnic backgrounds and its affect on media coverage.The main focus was on the coverage of the war in Iraq by two Bahraini newspapers (Al Ayam and Al Wasat) and the gatekeeping process. Both newspapers exhibited a gatekeeping process which was influenced by their ethnic background. Editors of both Al Ayam and Al Wasat exercised gatekeeping on the stories that they published about the war in Iraq promoting their own ethnic group (Sunni or Shiite).The findings in this study presented a new characteristic that seemed to have a direct influence on the gatekeeping process. Ethnic background has never been associated with the gatekeeping process in news coverage. Results of the content analysis undertaken in this study reflected how the ethnic backgrounds of the editors in both newspapers did influence news selection and newspreference. / Department of Journalism

When Bahrain's uprising began in February 2011, the opposition presented united front. By the time of the national dialogue a year later, however, it had fractured both along and within sectarian lines. The government’s inconsistent response to the uprising also demonstrated tensions within Bahrain’s royal family. An analysis of discourse on the national dialogue, terrorism and violence, expatriates, and the Gulf Union plan revealed that Bahrain's political factions were divided by their conceptions of Bahraini identity and citizenship. Bahrain was a young nation and questions of identity were still very much under debate. This work drew on newspaper opinion pieces, official statements published by political groups, and posters and videos they posted on social media to explain the questions of identity that developed around these political debates. I also examined how these debates continued to divide Sunni and Shi’i groups within the opposition as well as the moderate and conservative factions within the royal family. Finally, I considered how these groups used their varying conceptions of Bahraini citizenship to justify their tactics in pursuing or attempting to quash the uprising. Even as each group demanded rights for citizens, they disagreed on what citizenship meant. Similarly, denying that their opponents were “true citizens,” allowed each group to delegitimize views they disagreed with. / text

Approved for public release, distribution unlimited / The Shiite ulama have become politically active in past decades, beginning in the 1960s-70s with the articulation of the new ideology that empowered the Iranian Revolution. Though a significant portion of the ulama retained their quietist tradition, enough felt motivated by wilayet e-faqih to become a major force in the political landscape. The ulama were particularly well suited to lead a successful social movement. Shiite tradition and symbology, once released from the bonds of quietism, were perfectly suited to motivate a struggle for justice. Despite the ulama's successful leadership, they are most influential when they are part of an underground opposition movement. The three case studies demonstrate that when movements reach a certain level of success, the ulama tend to retreat back to their studies. While many significant ulama continue to pay lip service to the wilayet e-faqih, many have also admitted that it is not practical in their country's particular circumstance. This is not to say that they are not influential, but that they prefer to let others perform daily political tasks. The scowling, turbaned 'alim is not necessarily the uncontrolled voice of radicalism bent upon founding an Islamic state.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / This thesis explores the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) needs for a decision support system in the area of analyzing, establishing and maintaining the organizational structures of BDF units. It also identifies the BDF measures that must be taken to qualify a certain unit structure. Subsequently, the thesis designs and develops a specific DSS prototype that can aid BDF decision makers and planners perspectives in this area. Creating this prototype has involved three different layers to be investigated: the data, the models and the user interfaces. The data layer consists of a Microsoft Access database application that houses BDF Units, Manpower, Vehicles, Weapons, Salaries, and Jobs information. The model layer consists of two Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that contain Infantry Battalion and enhanced Armor Battalion HR optimization models. The UI layer consists of user controls, input/output forms, queries, reports, and visualization aids (i.e. charts and pivot tables). These interfaces were developed using MS Access capabilities. Consequently, the BDF-DSS is an integration of database and optimization technology using widely available desktop tools. The general benefits of this DSS are reduced costs for data gathering, computation, and data presentation, and added value resulting from investigating more alternatives, doing more sophisticated analyses of alternatives, using better methods of comparing alternatives, and making quicker and better decisions. / Bahrain Defense Force author. / Major, Bahrain Defense Force

Quality assurance in schools and in higher education has been a growth industry for many years, with all kinds of agencies being funded. With apparently endless growth in education at all levels, with insistent demands on more resources, the political pressures in ensuring value for money have increased. This study explores the perceptions of teachers, students and senior administrators ofquality assurance in secondary schools (ages about 15-18 in Bahrain) in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Here, there is an established system of quality assurance but there is a general feeling of unrest that all is not well in the way quality assurance has developed.The overall aim is to enhance quality assurance in Bahrain, based on sound pedagogical evidence. This study provides an overview of quality assurance in secondary schools in Bahrain with the teachers, students and senior staff. This aims to look at the way secondary education is offered in Bahrain, to explore possible ways to enhance educational provision and, where possible, to look for any evidence that Quality Assurance has improved quality.This study has aimed to gain an overall view of what is happening in secondary education in Bahrain and to identify areas which need further attention. The approach has been very much focussed on the learner.The first experiment seeks to find out how some key stakeholders see present provision in secondary education (ages 15-18) in Bahrain. The aim is to gain an overview of perceptions and to identify areas where there are issues to be addressed. This study describes two surveys which were conducted with 793 students and 793 teachers related particularly to their perceptions. 23 senior staff in the Ministry of Education and Quality Assurance Authority in Kingdom of Bahrain were also interviewed individually in order to gain more information about their perceptions of quality assurance in the Kingdom. It is very evident that the pictures painted by the students, their teachers and those in educational leadership are very different. In particular, the educational leadership standout in offering very different perspectives. It is, therefore, obvious that there is little shared agenda other than an overall wish for educational quality, but what is meant by this is not even clear. There is a clear message that the educational leadership needs to consult and listen more to teachers and students if any shared agenda is to be reached. Perhaps, the teachers have a better insight into reality while the students must take a central role in that the schools are there for their benefit. Several issues stood out from the surveys but two were followed up in this study. The first is that there is considerable disquiet about national assessment (which controls inschool assessment practices). The second is that the students want to move away form the teacher-centred lecture approach to have opportunities to work in groups and discuss.In the light findings of these findings, the examination marks for a sample of 7022students in their final year of school was gained. The data were considered descriptively as well as being analysed using Factor Analysis. It was readily apparent that there are major issues to be addressed and that was perhaps what the students were drawing attention to in the surveys. Firstly, the examination papers are far too easy, with little opportunity for students to show their abilities. Secondly, the factor analyses showed that all the subject examinations merely tested one skill, a scrutiny of papers showingthat was recall. In order to explore the potential role of group working in schools, a sample of 817 students in three age-groups in secondary school undertook a short series of short group-work problem solving exercises in one subject discipline. Student performance as well as their reactions were measured. It was found that there were some advantages in understanding arising from the use of such units but the effects were not universally beneficial for all of the units used. Student reactions tended to be positive but not overwhelmingly so.The main findings revealed that there is a major lack of consistency and sharedunderstanding between those who take the decisions in education (and thedocumentation they generate) and the realities of what goes on in schools (as reflected by teachers and learners). There is a need to focus on the learners, their experiences, their achievements and their needs as they move out into higher education or the workplace. There is a need to widen the range of skills being assessed and to develop resources to enable these skills to grow. Above all, the role of quality assurance in Bahrain has to be one that empowers the teachers rather that inspects them and criticises, often on matters over which teachers have no control.