Housing projects assigned in architecture design studio are considered as an exercise having several pedagogical objectives which constitute a suitable ground of maturation for students after completing their first and second year design studio. The aim of the research is to make an overview of the way housing design projects are conducted in the third year architectural design studio at the Middle East Technical University Department of Architecture, focusing on the last five years in particular. But in the first place, the background of housing assignments is reviewed in order to understand how teaching methods and problem definitions have evolved in the past. The objectives and the learning outcomes expected from these studio exercises, the approaches and tendencies that determine the way the project exercises are examined and lastly the teaching methods, strategies and tools are studied depending on the written and visual documents related to the studio works and interviews with the studio critics.

The thesis explores the relationship, or assumed relationship between nomadic tribalism and the stateless group in Kuwait. While exploring this issue, the thesis also examines state formation and tribalism throughout the history of Kuwait. By exploring what the author calls, &quot / Pan-Tribalism,&quot / the thesis also explores assumed cross-border linkages, and perceptions of loyalty, or disloyalty among various groups in Kuwait. The thesis includes research on the history of Kuwait because it reveals early tribal dynamics. The thesis uncovers the roots of certain historical issues and power structures that exist today - as all of this is related to citizenship and statelessness. The thesis takes a close look at the impact of oil on state-formation both due to the mass influx of immigrants that oil wealth caused, as well as the welfare/distributive state policy that emerged afterwards. Both of these issues directly affected citizenship. Additionally, it thus explores internal oil politics rather an international oil politics

This thesis aims to analyze the property issue in the Cyprus conflict from 1974 up to 2012 based on historical and legal factors. First of all, the historical background of the Cyprus conflict will be evaluated with its different dimensions. After the EU and UN&rsquo / s involvement, the conflict internationalized and regarding the geostrategic importance of the island with the security concerns in the Middle East region the core of today&rsquo / s conflict became the property issue. In this respect, especially both the Turkish and Greek Cypriots proposals about property issue will be detailed one by one. Following that, based on these proposals the Turkish and Greek Cypriots cases to the ECHR about property issue will be analyzed. In the light of these the overall solutions to the Cyprus conflict will be evaluated.

Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Most international corporations have to adopt to the requirements of globalisation by working in international joint ventures or international projects outside their well known home markets. The successful management of projects is an essential element aiming to cope with the complex challenges caused by cultural factors and other influences on the management of projects. Especially the Middle East as a cultural region has experienced a dynamic growth during the last decades, as many of the countries rich in oil and gas have heavily invested into their local infrastructure. Besides other factors, the impact of national culture on project management may lead to negative influences like project delays and project failure, or positive influences such as an increased communication. Based on the Hofstede dimensional framework this thesis is designed to investigate which cultural factors and other factors influence the PMBoK (PMI Body of Knowledge) knowledge areas while delivering projects in the Middle East. This empirical study is using a qualitative research approach in a multiple-case study design analysing six projects. The results clearly show that some characteristics of the Middle Eastern cultural context strongly determine the applicability of the PMBoK knowledge areas. Especially the interrelation of individualism (IDV) and power distance (PDI) reveals some new perspectives for project work in this region. The two case studies illustrate a strong increase in power distance if the project manager and the team member do not originate from the same cultural background. Additionally differences in time perception and the characteristics of the dimension long term orientation (LTO) result in fundamental differences for the application of the PMBoK processes. The findings help to develop a theoretical framework highlighting specific influences for PMBoK knowledge areas. The results of this thesis may form a basis for future researchers aiming to develop improved models for project management in the Middle East or other cultural regions. Finally, the theoretical franework developed herein is designed to help project practitioners to gain a better understanding of the specific challenges while working on the Arabian peninsula.

The Middle East saw much social change in recent tumultuous decades. On one hand, some communities embraced Westernness as part of the inevitable path to development and modernization. On the other hand, there were communities that resisted global trends that were mostly dominated by the West. The latter deemed these trends as a threat to native cultures, religious groups, and local traditions. This made the Arab world a ground for constant redefinition of the meaning of identity. Of the countries in the region undergoing a turbulent debate over what constitutes national identity, Lebanon serves as a good example. Ever since its independence, Lebanon was a nation-state with no sense of nationality to unite its people. As some communities saw themselves more francophone than Arab, others felt a close connection to a pan-Arab nation. Arguably, the Lebanese people found themselves amidst a tension between the two poles. Defining one’s identity required a negotiation between the two extremes. Not only did this negotiation demand a thorough investigation of one’s beliefs, social network, and history, but it also necessitated a diligent ‘performance’ of identity. An individual represented her identity by habits and expressions that she associated with that particular identity. The study at hand is an exploration of the relationship between identity and consumption in the Lebanese society. This project applies a unique approach in that it considers the producers’ agency in the construction of identity. Taking television advertising as a site for inquiry, the study explores how commercial advertisers utilize the tension between the local and the non-local to promote the consumption of the advertised products. Through exploring the values that educate advertising producers’ choices in creating text and meaning, this study applies theories of globalization, postcolonial studies, and consumer behavior through which advertisers manifest an ambivalence of identity. Therefore, by taking Lebanon as an example and focusing on advertising, this study contributes to the debates of globalization and the Arab world by invoking questions of producers’ agency in producing identity references through attitudes, behaviors, and social status associated with the featured products. / text

This paper attempts to provide a comprehensive description and analysis of Al-Qaeda affiliates fighting in Syria. The implications for Middle Eastern Security, US foreign policy and Islamic extremism in the future are projected.

Over the last three decades, many women and men who were political prisoners in the Middle East have come to Canada as immigrants and refugees. In their countries of origin, they resisted oppressive social policies, ideologies, and various forms of state violence. Their journeys of forced migration/exile took them away from their country, families, and friends, but they arrived in Canada with memories of violence, resistance and survival. These former political prisoners did not want the sacrifices that they and their colleagues had made to be forgotten. They needed to find effective ways to communicate these stories. This research was conducted from a critical feminist‒anti-racist perspective, and used life history research to trace the journey of one such group of women and men. This group of former political prisoners has been meeting together, using art as a mode of expression to share their experiences, inviting others to join their resistance against state violence. Interviews were conducted with former political prisoners and their supporters and artist facilitators who were part of the art workshops, performances, and exhibits held in Toronto, Canada from January 2010 through December 2011. This dissertation examines the importance of memory projects and of remembering in acts of public testimony and the significance of providing spaces for others to bear witness to those stories. This research also contributes to the body of knowledge about the role that remembering, consciousness, and praxis play in individual and community recovery, rebuilding community, and continued resistance.

La tesi esplora i rapporti del fascismo con i culti a-cattolici e mediorientali, oltre che con alcuni fenomeni politico-spirituali dell’Estremo Oriente. Essa muove da questi interrogativi: quali erano nel fascismo i legami tra il pensiero e l’azione? Quale ruolo era riconosciuto allo “spirito”? Il regime intendeva creare una religione politica? E’ esistito un sincretismo fascista? La fonte principale della tesi è costituita dalle riviste politiche del regime, che consentono di cogliere le finalità strategiche della politica religiosa fascista. L’adozione di questa fonte ha sollevato ulteriori interrogativi: si può individuare nelle riviste una linea di pensiero univoca sulle religioni? Come contribuirono al sincretismo fascista? La tesi si articola in tre capitoli. Il primo è dedicato alla dottrina e alla mistica fascista, il secondo è relativo ai rapporti tra il fascismo e le confessioni a-cattoliche (evangelismo italiano, Chiesa ortodossa del Dodecanneso e Chiese copte eritrea ed etiopica), il terzo indaga invece i contatti con l’ebraismo e l’Islam e include una breve disamina dei rapporti tra il fascismo, il nazionalismo indiano, il gandhismo e il nazionalismo giapponese. La tesi illumina aspetti poco considerati del ventennio, che devono essere indagati per comprendere appieno l’ideologia del regime e la sua azione politica. / The thesis explores the relationship between fascism and the non-catholic and middle-eastern cults, along with some political-spiritual phenomena of the Far East. It expands from these questions: what were the links between thought and action under fascism? What role was the “spirit” given? Did the regime intend to create a political religion? Has a fascist syncretism ever existed? The main source of the thesis is comprised of the political journals, which allow to understand the final goals of fascist religious politics. Its adoption has raised further questions: is it possible to identify a univocal thought on the religions in fascist journals? How did they contribute to the fascist syncretism? The thesis branches into three chapters. The first is dedicated to the fascist doctrine and mysticism, the second is pertaining to the relationship between fascism and the non-catholic denominations (Italian evangelicalism, the Orthodox Church of the Dodecanese, and Eritrean and Ethiopian Coptic Churches), the third investigates the contacts with Hebraism and Islam and includes an examination of the links between fascism, Indian nationalism, Gandhism and Japanese nationalism. The thesis illuminates unknown aspects of fascism, which must be investigated to fully comprehend the ideology of the regime and its political action.

Teilw. zugl.: New York, University, Diss., 1986.