We report on the first stage of a project on the representations of gender in the coverage of the Arab Spring by Western media. We focus on designing comparable corpora to examine Arab women’s depiction in English and German news during the uprisings. The English corpus is composed of reports published by _The Guardian and The New York Times_. The German corpus consists of articles collected from _Der Spiegel, Die Welt_, _Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,_ and _Süddeutsche Zeitung_. The datasets (...) were processed through Sketch Engine to identify the terms collocating with _women_ in the English corpus and _Frau_ in the German one. Then, the themes reflected by these expressions in the two corpora were compared. The results show that both news media feature two types of topical frames linked to Arab women; one is associated with the uprisings while the other is related to their recurrent stereotypes in Western news discourse. Yet, there are discrepancies between their focus on related issues to each type. Other differences between the two sets of news outlets include intensity of reporting on Arab women and stressing their nationalities. These findings suggest that although Arab women’s negative stereotypes continued to feature in western news discourse during the Arab Spring, new positive images emerged and contributed to changing their depictions in global media. (shrink)

The study aims through a deductively descriptive method to focuson the influence of Arabic on the Malaysian culture. The most importantmilestones of Arabic in the Malaysian context and the most stand out Malaysiapublic and private institutions which made the most contributions in spreadingArabic in the Malay culture. The study begins with the arrival of Islam andArabic in the Archipelago as a precursor to uncover the depth of the influenceof Arabic in the minds and culture of the Malays. The influence of (...) Arabic onthe following aspects will also be discussed: the writing script of the Malay,the educational system in schools and universities, the mass media in additionto the public. (shrink)

Religion is among the determinants of human beliefs and values in various societies, shaping people’s behaviours in a range of life aspects, including the workplace. In view of the influence of religion in Malaysia, this issue becomes highly significant. With regard to the profound impact of religion on creating individual and collective behaviours, the present study aims to investigate the effects of religious behaviours (RBs) on organisational commitment (OC) among Malaysian healthcare workers (HCWs) in 2022, by a survey method implemented (...) using standardised questionnaires for data collection. The statistical population comprised of 2500 HCWs from 10 hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Georgetown and Malacca, Malaysia, selected by the simple random sampling among the Muslim staff. The data analysis was further fulfilled using the AMOS software package for structural equation modelling (SEM). In general, the study results demonstrated a significant and positive relationship between RBs and OC among Malaysian HCWs (p-value = 0.84, t-statistic = 6.50).Contribution: As demonstrated by the study results, it is possible to inspire OC among employees through strengthening RBs and take advantages of the results. Thus, RBs shown by employees can definitely bring positive results to organisations; therefore, OC in Malaysian HCWs improves. (shrink)

Islamic ethics; Muslims; conduct of life; religious life; Islam.

Averroës, 1126-1198; views on Sufism; philosophy and islam; comparati.

Philosophers; political activity; biography.

Ibn al-ʻArabī, 1165-1240; views on freedom; Sufism; Islamic philosophy.

This paper aims at investigating comparatively the ethical orientation of information technology professionals in the Middle East and the United States. It tests for attitudes toward and awareness of ethically-related issues, namely intellectual property, privacy and other general ethical IT aspects. In addition, through a comparison between the two regions, this paper intends to examine whether differences in IT professional demographics and characteristics, including gender and academic level, have any impact on attitudes to business ethics. A ttest is used to (...) establish significant differences between the targeted samples, while an ANOVA F-test is conducted to determine significant differences among the sample countries on a group basis. The results show a general awareness of ethical issues concerning information technology, and no significant differences are found between the two samples. However, different ethical attitudes are reported among respondents in terms of their reactions to the targeted IT ethical aspects. On an individual sample basis, the results about gender support the claim that male and female respondents are different, while mixed results are revealed for the influence of academic level on attitudes towards IT ethics. For intellectual property, the results are significant regarding ethical attitude differences between Middle-Eastern professionals and their counterparts in the US, while no significance differences are reported in terms of privacy. (shrink)

Background: The prevalence of diabetes is rising worldwide, especially in poorer nations. It is anticipated to emerge as the sixth main cause of mortality globally by 2030. The factors linked to self-awareness in diabetes patients are still debated.Aim: To identify factors associated with self-awareness among diabetic patients attending Al-Zaher primary health care center (PHCC), Makkah Almukaramah City, Saudi Arabia 2024Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a randomized sample of diabetes patients visiting Al-Zaher Primary Health Care Center in Makkah AlMukarramah (...) city. The used questionnaire included demographic information and data on the patient's beliefs and attitudes toward diabetes mellitus (DM). The statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS. A P-value below 0.05 was deemed significant.Results: The study included 523 patients with T2DM in different genders, age categories from 20 to 70 years and education levels. The majority of respondents were married (79.3%). 53.5% of respondents were fully informed of their health conditions, however 52% were not confident in managing their diabetes. 60% of patients stated that regular diabetic follow-up every one to two months would assist in maintaining their health. 50.7% of respondents said there is a significant likelihood of getting diabetic issues in the future. While 50.9% of respondents felt that diabetes may be remedied with medicine, 47% of them thought that those with diabetes would have a shorter lifespan compared to those without the condition. 48% of patients selected meals optimal for their health, whereas 51.6% engaged in exercise at least three times weekly to enhance blood glucose regulation. Nonetheless, 51.1% of them sometimes missed doses of diabetic medicine. The average total score of patients' self-awareness about diabetes mellitus was 6.8±3.9, with a median of 8 (range 1-13).Conclusion: The study found inadequate self- awareness among diabetic patients. Male gender, younger age and high education level are the significant factors associated with high self-awareness toward DM. The study highlights the need for educational programs to improve self-awareness and empower patients, especially females, older individuals, and those with lower education levels, in Saudi Arabia. (shrink)

This article discusses the national identity of the Yemenite Jews as portrayed in Majdi Saleh’s novel The Journey of Buried Secrets. The novel, in addition to being a journey to the ancient past of Yemen, is a journey to the secret life of the Yemenite Jews as well. It is an exploration of their customs, traditions, worries, passions and identity. The writer has been able to dive deep into the depths of Yemeni society, both Muslim and Jewish, depicting the (...) beauty of Yemen architecture, ancient inscriptions and living styles of bygone days. Saleh’s novel presents a new perspective of the Yemenite Jew, one who identifies himself with Yemen and feels proud of this attachment to the land of his birth. The article argues that Yemenite Jews have been emotionally and cognitively attached to their motherland and perceived themselves as being Yemenites belonging to the country where they were born and grew up. It asserts that such a sense of belonging is the outcome of religious tolerance and coexistence of the larger Muslim community. (shrink)