In the Middle East real estate industry, 46% of projects fail in terms of strategic dimensions. Based on the dynamic capabilities approach and contingency approach, the purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to identify the successful strategies project leaders used to improve the alignment of projects with business strategy. Data were collected from 7 Skype semistructured interviews with real estate construction project leaders from 3 real estate organizations ranked among the top 10 in the Middle East. Public organizational documents were used for methodological triangulation. A thematic coding approach was adopted following a nonlinear sequential process that involved four stages: (a) reading and preparing the collected data, (b) coding, (c) abstracting the codes into conceptual categories, and (d) identifying the themes' relationships and patterns and creating a thematic map. The 4 themes identified were the (a) flow of strategy, (b) governance of projects during the development phase, (c) governance of projects during the delivery phase, and (d) measurement of project performance and strategic success. The results confirmed the idiosyncratic nature of the selected contexts and the need to increase some dynamic capabilities' dimensions. The contribution of this study to positive social change includes improved community lifestyle and environmental quality.

This dissertation examines a cycle of Hollywood films that spans over a decade, and which engages with and privileges a historical and geopolitical framework to address America's encounters and confrontations with the Middle East. At one level, these films map the 9/11 terrorist attacks onto various sites and histories that signify a contentious relationship between the Middle East and the United States (including Islamic fundamentalism, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Arab-Israeli conflict, or the struggle over oil). In doing so they incorporate and absorb elements from other media (the Internet, television, journalism) to augment and authorize film's signifying capacities. At another level, and in tension with this dispersal, these post-9/11 films regulate and manage these histories through the generic and narrative mechanisms of the action, conspiracy or combat film. If these films privilege a discourse of investigation and expertise that postulates scientific neutrality, and even a technologized view of the Middle East, they alternately mobilize trauma and victimization discourse to delineate, prioritize and redeem the American male body. In addition, the construction of the Middle East in post-9/11 Hollywood cinema in terms of space (vis-à-vis the emphasis on cartography, geography, and surveillance technologies) and time (real time, instantaneity, pastness), plays a central role in the strategies and practices that have contributed to the production of knowledge about the region since 9/11. Focusing primarily on post-9/11 American intelligence and military narratives, this study explores what is at stake in the cinematic struggle to accommodate, but ultimately, recast history in light of U.S.-Middle East relations.

The main goal of the present study was to develop an Arabic adaptation of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, Form Y, Spielberger, 1983). In addition, cultural and linguistic influences on the experience and expression of anxiety were assessed. The American STAI and fifty initial Arabic items were administered to 286 university students at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. The American STAI was also administered to 336 university students at the University of South Florida. Item and factor analyses were conducted on responses of the calibration sample to obtain the final set of Arabic items, which was validated using the responses of the validation sample. In conducting item selection and validation of the Arabic STAI, internal consistency coefficients for subscales, corrected item-total correlations, alpha coefficients if-item-deleted, item-factor loadings, and theoretical meaningfulness were all used as criteria for selection of the best 10 Arabic items to be included in each subscale of the STAI: S-Anxiety Absent, S-Anxiety Present, T-Anxiety Absent, T-Anxiety present. The two-factor solution for the Arabic STAI yielded a simple solution with two distinct factors: Anxiety Present and Anxiety Absent for each of S-Anxiety and T-Anxiety, lending more support to the theoretical distinction of state and trait anxiety. Lebanese students reported significantly higher anxiety levels than their American peers on S-Anxiety Present, T-Anxiety Absent, and T-Anxiety Present, S-Anxiety and T-Anxiety of the American STAI. For S-Anxiety Absent, scores for the Lebanese sample were lower than American students but did not reach significance levels. S-Anxiety Absent and T-Anxiety Absent subscales assessed lower levels of anxiety rather than the higher levels of anxiety assessed by S-Anxiety Present and T-Anxiety Present. Females tend to experience and express higher levels of mild and severe anxiety symptoms as compared to males in both samples. Factor analyses of the American STAI for the American and Lebanese samples revealed similar two and three- factor solutions. For each of the State and trait subscales, three factors emerged: Anxiety Absent, Worry, and Emotionality factors, denoting the importance of cognitions and feelings in the experience and expression of anxiety.

In the early years of the twentieth century, the Ottoman Empire began to crumble due to external wars and internal rebellions dating from about 1908. Due to European influence at the end of the First World War, the Ottoman Empire lost much of its territory in 1919, including Palestine and Syria, comprised of modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Iraq. The European powers incited rebellion among the Middle Eastern peoples to the end of aiding their cause in the portions of the war fought in the Middle East. In return, they promised the Arabs independent nations; in the Treaty of Versailles, the regions were indeed freed from Ottoman rule. The European Allies, however, considered it their responsibility to guide these fledgling independent states; aided by the conclusions of the secretive Sykes-Picot Agreement, as well as preexisting assumptions of the inadequacies of the newly-formed nations to effectively self-rule, the League of Nations decided to create a mandatory system, dividing the regions between Britain and France. Syria and Lebanon fell under French control, and despite the outward appearance of good intentions on the part of the French and British, they were quite imperious in their role as mandatory powers. The Europeans, under the guidance of Sir Mark Sykes of Britain and Georges Picot of France, carved the region into nations that did little to reflect the ethnic and cultural divisions of the region. Dissenters from the Arab world were quickly dealt with, as in the case of Faysal, who argued for the unity and independence of Syria and Lebanon; he eventually lost and was forced to leave Syria, but became the first king of Iraq under British mandate. Popular opinion in Europe tended towards the idea of Arab nations being less civilized, and many nations were more concerned with the status of Germany than with developing an unprejudiced policy towards the Arab nations. Thus those in control of the mandate quickly fell back on old assumptions and past experiences with the region. In this way, inequalities developed that would prove to have a profound impact on regional politics.

Cette thèse s'intéresse aux films américains réalisés en réponse à l'implication de l'armée nationale au Moyen-Orient depuis le début des années 2000. Elle cherchera à prouver que ces films sont intrinsèquement différents de ceux réalisés aux États-Unis en réponse à des conflits antérieurs.L'étude historique du cinéma de guerre américain montre qu'il a traversé un processus qui l'a conduit à partir d'un cinéma qui considère les guerres américaines comme des guerres obligatoires vers un cinéma qui considère les guerres américaines comme des guerres de choix, provoquées par une addiction : l'addiction de la société américaine et surtout des hommes américains au combat. Contrairement aux films sur la guerre du Vietnam, les nouveaux films ne pointent pas un doigt accusateur vers un élément particulier, tel qu'un mandat spécifique d'un certain président, mais vers toute la structure de la société américaine et surtout vers sa tête, le père américainAinsi, le cinéma sur la guerre en Irak est beaucoup plus percutant dans ses messages sur le lien entre la société américaine et son militarisme, davantage encore que le précédent cinéma de guerre, qui avait déjà été très critique de l'armée et la société américaines. / This thesis examines American films which were made in response to US military involvement in the Middle East, since the beginning of the 2000s. It will seek to prove that these films are different than those made in the United States in response to previous conflicts. The historical study of American war cinema shows that it has undergone a process of evolution - from a cinema which views American wars as those of necessity, to a cinema which views American wars as wars of choice. Lately, it has gone even further than that – birthing films which present American wars as events caused by the American society, in order to fulfill the needs of the people who head it - fighting-addicted American men. This process can be said to have expanded the subjects dealt with by the American war cinema.Thus, the cinema about the Iraq War is much more poignant than representations of past wars, in its messages about the connection between American society and its militarism. It manages to surpass all previous war cinema, which in itself had been the most critical towards American army and society.

以、阿問題是一長久、複雜的歷史問題。自四十年代至七十年代，衝突的持續除了造成中東地區內各國傷亡以及軍事、經濟上的損失外，更一度幾乎引發美、蘇之間的緊張與對立。此一時期，美國歷任總統均企圖解決以、阿衝突，締造以、阿和平；但是因為美國對以色列戰略關係的考量，並由於以、阿問題牽涉的範圍與層面過於複雜，締造以、阿全面和平的目標遂在種種限制的情形下予以縮減，因此達成了以、埃和平。以、埃和約的締結雖然防止了中東地 區再度爆發大戰的可能性，但是八十年代雷根政府任內，美國因為在黎巴嫩失敗的挫折，逐漸對以、阿衝突的議題傾向疏離的態度。此時，此一議題以不復是美國政策中的優先考慮，以、阿和平進程也進入遲滯階段，形成一種不戰、 不和(no war, no peace)的狀態。和平的遲滯直至八十年代末期才出現轉機。一九八七年年底佔 領區巴勒斯坦人暴動事件(Intifada; Palestinian Uprising)的爆發使久 遭忽視的以、阿 議題再度獲得世人關注，並創造了必須解決以，阿問題的迫切性；布希政府的政策走向，以及九十年代初期波斯灣戰爭以後的形勢，均提供以、阿雙方解決衝突的契機；因此在美國的主導下，衝突相關各國於一九九一年年底於馬德里參加中東和會，展開雙邊的直接談判。由於以、阿雙方的不信任並非一夕可以破解，因此和會的進展並不順利。歷經數年的折衝與妥協，以、約和平與以、 巴和平已有長足的進展；以、敘之間的談判也見有突破，以、阿和平進程發展至今已到達關鍵性的階段（一九九六年以色列與巴人自治當局將針對佔領區的歸屬與最終地位展開談判）； 然而以哈瑪斯(Hamas)組織為主的激進派系為阻撓和平進程，對以色列發動一連串恐怖暴力事件，特別是一九九六年二月底至三月間密集的自殺式攻擊，除引起以色列人民對和平進程產生不滿與質疑外，此種情勢也已對以色列總理裴瑞斯欲角逐下一任總理的目標構成嚴重的挑戰。裴瑞斯能否順利當選實攸關中東和平的進程；若由主張安全至上、拒絕讓地 謀和、反對巴人建國的納坦雅胡(Benjamin Netanyahu)當選，和平進程恐 將增添不利之變數。 就本論文結構而言，分為六章十八節，茲摘述如下： 第一章：緒論。概述研究動機、目的、方法、架構、與限制。 第二章：以、阿衝突的源起。針對錫安主義(Zionism)的興起、英國在第二次世界大戰前之政策、以色列建國、到蘇伊士運河危機等事件，作背景的陳述與解釋。 第三章：美國的中東政策：1967-1988年。以美國歷任總統（自詹森時期到雷根時期）對中東和平的政策與努力為主，描述其態度與作法、成就與限制。 第四章：中東和會形成背景之探討。以三個因素解釋中東和會的成因： （一）國際環境的轉變與布希時期的政策。 （二）波斯灣戰爭的影響及衝突相關各國態度的轉變。 （三）佔領區巴人暴動事件的影響。 第五章：中東和會的經過與發展。探討中東和會前十輪談判的經過、以、巴奧斯陸祕密談判與以、巴自治協議實行的現況。 重心置於以、巴談判的進展，也附帶介紹以色列與約旦、敘利亞之間的和平進展。 第六章：結論。就論文作一總結，並提出研究心得。

This thesis attempts to examine the Middle East reaction to the Post Cold War China growth. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union created a vacuum in the Middle East, and a new balance of power. China adjusted to the new situation, trying to enter to the vacuum created by the Soviets. This thesis examines the relations between the two most influential states in the Middle East, Israel, Iran, and China from a Middle Eastern perspective. The thesis focuses on economic relations, energy relations, and weapon relations. It will also looks for the benefits of the Middle East countries from the emergence of China and the growing influence and involvement of China in regional affairs.

<p>The world economy is in a transition period never experienced before, One of the main realising factors, boosting economy growth, is the catch up of many emerging countries. The emerging countries impose new competitive dimensions to the global economy, forcing well established multinational corporations into new competitive situations, brining both opportunities and threats.</p><p>The construction equipment industry has entered a condition of unprecedented growth. The total market demand has increased significantly and the demand development is prospected to continue for many more years. To keep up with the market demand and the sales opportunities, it is important to have machines available in the market. This impose that the logistic strategy is getting more important for companies in order to keep up with the prospected sales opportunities.</p><p>This Masters thesis is initiated by our case company, Volvo Construction Equipment International, currently suffering from an inefficient logistics strategy constraining international growth.</p><p>Based on our analysis and conclusion, Volvo Construction Equipment is recommended to move from transaction selling, spot market like international logistics strategy towards a relationship marketing based logistics strategy establishing in-depth collaborations with key account shipping suppliers. Furthermore, we recommend that Volvo CE should consider a logistics management function in order to facilitate the inter-organizational flow of logistics information.</p>

<p>This is a case study on the functioning of political parties and the aim was to explain “how” and “why” the Swedish social democratic party changed their policies in the Middle East politics. I wanted to explain this process of change by using Angelo Panebianco’s framework for the analysis of political parties. Angelo Panebianco´s hypothesis is that all parties must be viewed as organizations to understand their functions. With time they become more institutionalized and depending on their historic development they will end up as more or less institutionalized. If this change showed that the social democratic party acted as a bureaucratic and institutionalized organization, Panebianco’s organizational theory would explain the change of their Middle East politics. In my case study I have used a qualitative analysis of the content to interpret my material of measuring parties’ institutionalization level as “high” or “low” within the two different areas; organizational dilemmas and the dominant coalition. My conclusion is that the social democratic party has indications both of a “high” institutionalized organization and as a “low” institutionalized organization, still they have a relatively dominant coalition. My study demonstrates that Angelo Panebianco´s organizational theory can not fully explain “how” and “why” the Social democratic party changed their Middle East politics.</p>

<p>The aim of this paper is to examine how the size of the Egyptian state has developed during the last three decades. The questions that I will try to answer during the paper are following: Has the Egyptian state contracted the last three decades? Can I based on the result of the study draw some conclusions about if the states dominant position in the society has been reduced? The theory and the method are built on the theoretical framework of the authoritarian state. The modern authoritarian state bases its dominant role in the society on a large centralized and hierarchical bureaucracy. This composes the main theoretical assumption that the method is based on. The method is built on the operationalization of four indicators that examine the size of the state. The conclusion of the first question is that the Egyptian state can be said both has contracted and maintained status quo, and the conclusion of the second question is that the states ability to dominate the society still is big, this assumption is mostly based on the high rate of employment in the public sector witch creates the foundation of the large bureaucracy.</p>