The Health Sector at the state of Kuwait is facing many challenges. One of which is public expectations in health are high, and thus, the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Kuwait has amplified the health expenditure by 86% since 2007. And since the medicine budget represents half of the total MOH budget, it is proposed that the development in health policy might be a suitable tool to control the inflation within the health budget. This thesis examines the opportunities and challenges of introducing an EML in Kuwait and the factors influencing its effectiveness. A mixed-methodology approach has been used to enhance and validate the data, in the form of interviews, comparative studies and questionnaires. One major limitation to the research was the lack of previous data relating to this work, and the information should be gathered in person in the form of hard copies, and later, the data was analysed using qualitative and quantitative approaches. It has been attained that, the EML might be a valuable tool if adopted and implemented appropriately, EML adjustment to country health situation is crucial for successful utilisation and fulfilling the concept objectives. Standard Treatment Guidelines are fundamental part of EM selection process, in Kuwait there were lack in the uniformity of the local STG, but fortunately, there is an eagerness to innovate, and the medicine situation might benefit from a type of organisation, overall, if the EML implemented efficiently in Kuwait, it might help in improving the general health and control the inflation in MOH budget.

This thesis aims to examine the intellectual property regimes in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states and assess the relationships between legislation, enforcement mechanisms and sharia law. The GCC states, currently Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, all have varied mechanisms in place for both the implementation and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The thesis pays close attention to the evolution of intellectual property laws and regulations in the GCC states with particular interest directed towards the development of national intellectual property laws within the GCC states from the 1970’s onwards1. Intellectual property protection in the GCC states is considered from two perspectives. The first perspective addresses the international demand for higher standards of intellectual property protection in the GCC states. The second perspective defines intellectual property within the laws of Islam and explores the relationship between Islam and intellectual property. The latter part analyses religious influence, societal and cultural norms, economic reality and the developmental stage of each GCC state. It is an important area of study as developing Muslim countries are struggling with meeting international standards and a successful integrated framework will impact not only on GCC states but other Islamic states and as a result could potentially lead to more informed negotiation in trade agreements with developed states. The research argues there are systematic flaws in the GCC states adopting intellectual property laws which are in essence a procrustean modification of foreign laws which have developed from colonial occupation or laws taken from donor countries. The GCC legal systems of the states have evolved utilising different sets of legal principles and therefore it could be argued the foreign laws that have been adopted are somewhat unsuitable for the GCC states. The research has focused on the implications of the national and international legislative regimes on the protection of intellectual property rights on the GCC states. Consideration is given to compliance, mainly how compliant the GCC is to its World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership and Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIP’s) Agreement and to what extent the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) influence the intellectual property protection regimes in the GCC. The research has examined the development of the GCC in three distinct stages; pre-TRIPS, TRIPS compliance stage and TRIPS plus. Furthermore, the thesis argues that the somewhat simplistic formula of the GCC states passing a large number of intellectual property laws to appease the EU and US does not have the significant economic impact on the GCC economy as the international agreements would suggest. Not all trade is intellectual property related and not all foreign direct investment is contingent upon intellectual property protection. However, as the GCC states are largely oil dependent, they do need to diversify their trade and as such an intellectual property protection model that accounts for international intellectual property law and the bespoke cultural and religious views amongst GCC citizens can produce tangible results for both the GCC and its trading partners. What sets the research apart from previous research is two-fold. Firstly, the research is qualitative and has scratched beneath the surface of intellectual property law in the GCC and examined in detail the Islamic law principles that have been used to justify sharia compliance, the western perspective on international intellectual property and the impact of multilateral trade agreements. Secondly, the analysis of Islamic finance and the application of successful sharia compliant models in Islamic finance to intellectual property is innovative as it acts as a springboard to creating a modified sharia compliant intellectual property protection model. Finally, the thesis will conclude by making a series of recommendations to develop an integrated approach to intellectual property rights which takes into account; the structure of the GCC states, international agreements and pressures, the international institutions, Islamic finance and both societal and religious views.

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This thesis analyses Persian Gulf states foreign policies development and a position of the region in international relations using a collective case study. At the theoretical level the thesis works on the elements of (neo) realism, (neo) liberalism and social constructivism. The analysis is focused on security context and examines both challenges to internal security (regime and government, Shia expansion, the so called Arab spring, media) and external security (the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Syrian conflict, terrorism, globalization and oil market developments). In the regional security complex of the Gulf are involved interests of the three main world powers, U.S.A., Russia and China. Regional cooperation in the GCC organization and mutual relations of the Gulf States are important, too. Based on the findings it is possible to assert that the development of the region is dynamic and depends on the oil rents.

The United Arab Emirates are challenged to include the national workforce into their increasingly diversified and knowledge-based economic vision. The federal Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development incubates Sougha, a non-profit company acting as market intermediary for Emirati artisans. This study aims at providing an insight into Sougha‘s potential to become a social enterprise. A pragmatic and exploratory approach is followed. An iterative process underpins the concept of social enterprise from established literature, re-visits it through a social constructivist lens as an emerging topic in the GCC region, and benchmarks Sougha against two selected social enterprise frameworks, based on data analysis from documents and interviews. Sougha demonstrates social value creation while its commercial value creation is restricted to social mission activities. Financial motives are insufficiently reflected in Sougha‘s strategic documentation; leaving doubt to whether Sougha is genuinely seeking financial sustainability, which endangers its eligibility as a social enterprise. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

There is a consensus within the United Nations (UN), as well as various governmental entities, politicians, individuals, scholars, and academic communities, on the need to reform governmental performances. However, there is no unanimity among them pertaining to a specific reforming model that is valid for all contexts worldwide. Accordingly, many performance management processes and practical techniques have been put into practice, which aim at improving governmental institutions' performance. Hence, the purpose of this research is to develop, by studying the public health services that are provided by the government, an effective model, with the aim of improving governmental performance in the context of Bahrain. With regard to originality and values, the research discerns that among the many factors affecting governmental entities' performance, there are two dominant contextual factors, i.e. the sociocultural and political forces, both of which synergise with the so-called United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Good Governance Approach. The study develops a new perspective on the Interactive Complex Intervention Model (ICIM), stemming from the Grounded Theory (GT) and Normalisation Process Theory/Model (NPT/M), as disclosed in practical terms by the outcomes of the data gathered and its analysis. In fact, although those elements influence all other factors, there are interactive correlative impacts among all factors. Despite these outcomes, the data obtained from the research cannot be generalised, as they are derived from the local context of Bahrain; certainly until now, they can allow other similar contexts in particular to implement the insights reported in this study. It is important to note that the most influencing factor enabling this research, which aims to develop the ICIM for reforming governmental entities' performance in Bahrain, is the salient points raised in Imam Ali's famous consultative letter to the Governor of Egypt, Malik Ashtar, which he wrote while he was the Caliph, as scholars regard this letter as a basic guide for the Islamic administration and the UNDP Good Governance Approach. Regarding the practical implications, the research has attempted to empirically understand the role of the aforementioned primary contributing forces, that are regarded as the critical prerequisite - the first step that allows the governments' decision makers, based on the underlying knowledge involved in the work, to forthwith provide them with several contextual practical insights towards adopting the ICIM in order to enhance and reform the government entities' performance.

Wind energy technologies are considered to be among the most promising types of renewable energy sources, which have since attracted broad considerations through recent years due to the soaring oil prices and the growing concerns over climate change and energy security. In Kuwait, rapid industrialisation, population growth and increasing water desalination are resulting in high energy demand growth, increasing the concern of oil diminishing as a main source of energy and the climate change caused by CO2 emissions from fossil fuel based energy. These demands and challenges compelled governments to embark on a diversification strategy to meet growing energy demand and support continued economic growth. Kuwait looked for alternative forms of energy by assessing potential renewable energy resources, including wind and sun. Kuwait is attempting to use and invest in renewable energy due to the fluctuating price of oil, diminishing reserves, the rapid increase in population, the high consumption of electricity and the environment protection. In this research, wind energy will be investigated as an attractive source of energy in Kuwait.

This thesis challenges two key assumptions made in the current Islamic banking literature. Firstly, this thesis challenges and empirically invalidates the assumption that all Islamic banks are indistinguishable from their conventional counterparts and are thus equally unIslamic. To do so, this thesis uses the profit and loss sharing (PLS) criteria, which is central to the philosophy of Islamic banking and is the key principle differentiating Islamic from conventional banking, in theory and practice. By investigating variation in PLS levels between Islamic banks and comparing with conventional banks with and without Islamic windows, this thesis illustrates that the Islamic banking industry does not comprise a homogeneous group of banks that are all indistinguishable from their conventional counterparts. Rather, a typology of Islamic banks exists, comprising of three distinct groups of banks, each one following a different business model. While one group can genuinely be considered indistinguishable from conventional banks, another group shows clear evidence of pursuing PLS-oriented strategies in formulating its asset portfolio, differentiating itself from the purely debt-based intermediation model adopted by conventional banks. As such, empirical evidence shows that some Islamic banks are, in practice, operating closer to the PLS principle and can thus be considered more Islamic than others. Further investigation illustrates that the institutional environment matters for the provision of ideal PLS Islamic financing instruments. Secondly, this thesis overcomes two methodological issues to compare the corporate social performance (CSP) of Islamic and conventional banks. In doing so, this thesis challenges the second identified assumption from the literature, that religion-specific category of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is particular to Islamic banking, and invalidates it on conceptual, theoretical and empirical basis. A novel CSP Index based on the evidence-based disclosure criteria, comprising of 6 dimensions and 25 social performance indicators is constructed and complemented with three Social Performance Quantitative Indicators (SPQIs) to compare the CSP of Islamic and conventional banks. From this comparison, this thesis concludes that, contrary to the industry s claims and expectations held of it, Islamic banking does not offer an ethical alternative to conventional banking. Differences in the level and composition of CSP between the two industries are more subtle and require a nuanced approach to be studied.

Modern embedded processors with dedicated address generation unit support memory accesses using indirect addressing mode with auto-increment and auto-decrement. The auto-increment/decrement mode, if properly utilized, can save address arithmetic instructions, reduce static and dynamic footprint of the program and speed up the execution as well. We propose an optimization framework for embedded processors based on the auto-increment and decrement addressing modes for address registers. Existing work on this class of optimizations focuses on using an access graph and finding the maximum weight path cover to find an optimized stack variables layout. We take this further by using coalescing, addressing mode selection and offset registers to find further opportunities for reducing the number of load-address instructions required. We also propose an algorithm for building the layout with considerations for memory accesses across basic blocks, because existing work mainly considers intra-basic-block information. We then use the available offset registers to try to further reduce the number of address arithmetic instructions after layout assignment.

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.