Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum Volume 2010 Issue 1

This study compares the rapid evolution of Qatar to that of the disproportionally influential small states of Switzerland, Lebanon and Singapore. Though set apart by history and circumstance, these states share a set of common traits, including a limited size, high vulnerability to external shocks, diplomatic dexterity, a salient presence in conflict mediation, high reliance on imported migrant labor, export-led growth, as well as a drive to maintain an efficient infrastructure and a skilled human capital base in highly competitive economies. As of 2009, Switzerland ranked as the world's most competitive economy, Singapore towered as Asia's number one, while Qatar topped the Middle East and North Africa.

Sources of success and vulnerability were two sides of the same coin. Openness to global trade and diplomacy allowed each state to market its skills and products beyond its size. At the same time, the paper contends that rapid global integration could lead to domestic dislocation, triggering compensatory governmental measures in response. The paper examines the respective responses of each state to the global credit crunch, spreading consumerism and geopolitical instabilities. The recent 2008 global recession acutely highlighted both the predicament of vulnerability, and the potential for superior resilience exhibited by these small states. The paper argues that while each state departed from country-specific comparative advantages (i.e. Qatar's hydrocarbon reserves, Singapore's port and high-tech industries, Switzerland's quality manufacturing and banking, Lebanon's financial services, education and tourism), the respective political leaders have espoused a similar paradigm of comprehensive social development. This study identifies the potential perils emanating from both within and without its borders, which, if averted, may allow Qatar to dispel the ‘rentier curse’ by establishing itself as a proactive leader in the fields of good governance and human development, further closing the gap with global frontrunners such as Switzerland and Singapore.

The Bioethics Research Library at Georgetown University and Georgetown's School of Foreign Service Library in Qatar are working together to establish an information resource covering Islamic thought on medical and scientific ethics. We plan to include both historical and contemporary writings in English and Arabic, as well as in other languages, when possible. Ultimately, we intend for this three-year initial project to produce not only an online database, but also to form a core collection within Qatar's Central Library and to enhance the Bioethics Research Library's collection in Washington. All of these efforts are focused on serving researchers and educators in the region and around the world.

Staff members who are working on the project are fluent in Arabic or Farsi, and are educated in Islamic Studies, librarianship, and information technology. A variety of professional and organizational contacts are being pursued in order to identify and acquire relevant scholarly material. Although some of the foreign-language cataloging has commenced, we continue to explore database software appropriate for displaying accurately Arabic and Farsi characters as well as related transliteration. English-language cataloging and indexing is well underway using existing software.

In the first year of the project, we identified 646 documents in English, Arabic and Farsi and began indexing them, using a specialized vocabulary to address new topics. “Keywords of Special Interest to Islamic Medical and Scientific Ethics (IMSE) Database Searchers” is available online. New terms have been integrated into the current “Bioethics Thesaurus,” offered in full as an online thesaurus database at http://bioethics.georgetown.edu/databases/bt/index.htmlAdditional access terms are suggested in the Keywords list to help searchers.

We invite you to explore the Islamic Medical and Scientific Ethics database at http://bioethics.georgetown.edu/collections/islamic/index.html and are eager for your feedback.

This paper is based on a research study conducted to explore the effectiveness of the students recruitment/marketing methods used to recruit students in Qatar's Education City branch campuses. The desire of the author is that university branch campuses in Qatar and elsewhere may be stimulated to revisit their marketing and student recruitment plans and activities to better reach prospective students. The paper also explores the difficulties and challenges of marketing and student recruitment these institutions encounter in an attempt to provide ways to overcome these problems and make marketing and student recruitment more effective.

Previous research on marketing and student recruitment methods in higher education as well as the marketing concept, effective marketing, relationship marketing, student enrolment behavior theory and collaboration in marketing are examined. Following the review of literature, data on marketing and student recruitment methods adopted by each branch campus were collected via a questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to marketing/admissions staff of the branch campuses and semi-structured interviews were conducted for the same population in addition to a few public affairs officers and Education City officials. Detailed information about how effective each marketing method is and the challenges associated with each was collected and analyzed. Some documents and website pages were also examined.

The responses of the questionnaire and interviews revealed that some methods, such as school visits, counselor events, information sessions and a dedicated exhibition for Education City institutions are very effective in student recruitment. On the other hand, educational exhibitions and websites were found not very effective. Student activities recently adopted by some institutions are yet to be assessed. Additionally, the research indicated that the challenges marketing and admissions staff encounter are logistical, administrative, financial, cultural and language-related. Some recommendations were offered to overcome these challenges and enhance the effectiveness of marketing and student recruitment at Education City institutions.

In undertaking any study, the National Human Rights Commission starts from the reality of the people's daily life. This stems from the fact that the objective of the legal texts related to human rights is to provide protection and empowerment to those who represent their primary object, i.e. human beings.

In order to achieve this goal, this study includes academic aspects, national legislations and international standards, in addition to methodical field research.

This study begins with the definition of Article No. (4) of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which lays the foundation for the research methodology which was based on consultation with people with disabilities, their parents and specialists, in addition to teachers of special education and their assistants at the centers that deal with people with special needs.

Chapter I of the study includes an explanation of the concept of equal opportunities and the emergence of the idea of ‘integration’ as a fundamental right of persons with special needs in order to give them equal opportunities with their peers, therefore, the meaning of educational integration was explained, along with its conditions, benefits and its importance.

Chapter II includes an explanation of the types of disability through brief academic definitions, followed by statistics on disability in the State of Qatar. Further, the study demonstrates the causes of disability, such as genetic factors in the marriage between relatives, in addition to environmental and health impacts.

Chapter III of the study marks the beginning of the conducted field research for a number of institutions in Qatar, such as Qatar Society for People with Special Needs, the Shafallah Center and Al-Nour Institute for the Blind, and others.

Field research was based on spending a long time at the centers for people with special needs, conducting discussions and asking detailed questions. Disabilities discussed include motor disabilities such as polio to audio-visual disabilities, autism and mental retardation with various levels of intensity in addition to cerebral palsy and rare disabilities. This study has documented the services claimed to be provided by every center in interviews conducted with the managers and workers, then moved on to direct observations, extrapolation of answers, then comparing all such data to national legislations and international standards contained in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

As a result, there were a number of positive and negative remarks regarding the activities of these centers and the services they provide. The study was not restricted to methodical criticism, but has also provided each center with recommendations and videos, in order to avoid the shortcomings found. In its final part, Chapter IV, the study has concluded with a general outcome that disability represents a concept that is still under development, and the State has made already some achievements in caring for persons with special needs, comparing to the period of time when the State began to pay attention to the issue of disability. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of work to be done in this regard. The study concluded with fifteen recommendations of a practical nature, to advance the conditions of people with special needs.

This paper presents an overview of Qatari citizens’ attitudes toward expatriate and labor migrant workers in Qatar. It is based on the first ‘scientific’ survey of Qatari citizens and residents (expatriates and labor migrants) conducted by the Qatar University Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) in May/June 2010. The main objectives of this paper were threefold: first, to assess Qatari attitudes towards the presence of these expatriate and labor migrant workers in Qatar. Do Qatari citizens support or oppose the restrictions on the number of foreign workers in the country? How do they evaluate the number of expatriate and labor migrant workers present in the country? Second, to evaluate whether these attitudes translate into negative or positive attitudes toward migrant workers and their contribution to Qatar? Do Qatari citizens think that expatriate and labor migrant workers strengthen their country and help to build its economy, or do they think they weaken the country and put a strain on its resources? Finally, the paper will present and analyze Qatari citizens’ attitudes toward the sponsorship system or Kafala. Do Qatari citizens support the change of the sponsorship system to make the migrant workers more dependent on their employees, less dependent on their employees, or do they want to maintain the status quo. The paper makes use of univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses and differences will be determined using chi-squared and t-tests. The mean number of responses to certain questions will be compared across the demographic groups to highlight subgroup differences.

The State of Qatar has exerted relentless efforts towards activating the participation of Qatari women in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in general and the use of the internet in particular. Female participation and involvement in this field is considered to be one of the priorities included in the plans and projects of the Qatar's ICT Strategy. However, research endeavors which analytically address the use of the internet by Arab women in general, and Qatari women in particular, are rather scarce.

The main purpose of this research paper, representing a national survey sponsored by Qatar's SCFA, is to investigate the patterns of use and utilization of the internet by Qatari women. In its attempt to achieve this purpose, the paper explores the impact of social, marital, educational, and economic status of Qatari women on their use of the internet. It also identifies Qatari women views and attitudes towards the internet as well as the difficulties and obstacles that impede their use. Hence, it provides a clear understanding of Qatari women's utilization patterns of the internet concerning the frequency, aims, methods of use, and the impact of this use on various aspects of their daily life.

The study adopts an analytical descriptive method. A survey instrument in the form of a questionnaire was designed and administered as the main data collection tool for the purpose of this study. The validity and reliability of this instrument were determined using referees validation and pilot trial sample respectively.

The main factions of Qatari women representing the population of the study include government employees, private sector employees, public sector employees, university students, and housewives. A total of 2367 questionnaires were distributed among a stratified random sample of Qatari women in 26 of the major employers in Qatar including: ministries, universities, banks, financial organizations, and major corporations such as QTEL, HMC, and QP. The response rate was relatively high, 1618 questionnaires were returned representing a response rate of 68.3%. Both descriptive and inferential statistics techniques were employed for the purposes of data analysis.

Although Qatari females have increased their economic participation and reached remarkable educational attainment over the last decade, this success does not run parallel with balanced representation in management positions. Accordingly, this study was initiated with the aim of identifying the main organizational constraints encountered by Qatari females throughout their careers. The study revealed that although Qatari females have made good progress at medium and lower levels of management, they are still very poorly represented in senior management levels. It is also indicated that no discrimination is made against Qatari females in terms of selection and recruiting, working hours, training, and engagement in critical projects and compensation. Specifically, the study found that both gender specific and differences failed to explain the low representation of Qatari females in top managerial positions. However, it was reported that the promotion of Qatari females within organizations is still lagging behind. Gender-specific issues, such as females’ family commitments, were reported as the main constraint to their promotion from the male perspective, whilst gender-differences, such as uncertainty of real increased responsibilities and authority levels, were the main constraints to female promotion from the females’ perspective. In the absence of major organizational discrimination, this study concludes by recommending the greater inclusiveness of Qatari females in decision-making positions. The paper also suggests that greater accountability of organizations to advance females should be considered critically in order to ensure the advancement of Qatari females to the top.

This study attempts to answer a key question which is the subject matter of this research problem: what are the lessons learned from the experience of the Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab as a model for enlightened leadership and good governance in the management of a famine crisis? The question is further subdivided into the following questions:

• 1:  What is the role of leaders in crisis management?
• 2:  What are the characteristics of the role played by the Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab in managing the crisis in the Year of Famine?

To answer these questions, the study was divided into four chapters, an introduction and a conclusion. Chapter 1 - discusses the concept of crisis management, Chapter 2 - the concept of leadership, Chapter 3 - the concept of good governance while Chapter 4 addresses the management of the crisis in the Year of Famine and the model of good governance of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab, and highlights the leading role of the State of Qatar and its civil society. Three methodological approaches were used: theoretical grounding of concepts, the purposes of Islamic Sharia and a comparative approach.

The study reached a number of conclusions, the most important of which are the emphasis on the importance of the political role of leadership, and that the concept of good governance was shown in the model of the Caliph ibn al-Khattab through sacrifice and responsibility.

Qatar's future vision, named Qatar 2030, is forecasting an economy based on knowledge and creativity rather than depletable natural carbon resources. Knowledge and creativity are perhaps the most important factors in the future of a city's economy, and there is a growing interest in the concept of the “knowledge and creative city”. A knowledge and creative city is not just a regular city. It is a growing space of exchange and optimism in which each and everyone can devote themselves to personal and collective projects and aspirations in a climate of dynamism, harmony, and creativity. The main purpose of this research is to explore the ‘knowledge city’ concept in depth. It will discuss the principles of a knowledge city, and portray its distinguishing characteristics and processes. A solid argument will be constructed to illustrate that the concept of knowledge cities is rooted in the urban, cultural structure of traditional Arab cities. Therefore an attempt to foster this concept in today's Arab/Middle Eastern cities would not be possible by building isolated technological statements scattered around the city. Alternatively, the rise of the network society, global networks, linked cities and the existence of smart communities should construct the basis for shaping Arab Knowledge Cities. A focus on Doha as an emerging knowledge and creative city amid the Middle Eastern cities will be included to examine the main hypothesis of the research.

‘What are the qualities of future cities?’ becomes a crucial question and its answer creates a challenge for architects, urban designers, planners, developers, and decision makers around the world. This research will answer this question by articulating a new matrix for knowledge and creative city formation. Doha will be used as a model for such a new paradigm of knowledge-based urban design and development in the Middle East. The Middle Eastern cities are not only exceptions, but would require major social transformations to join the knowledge economy era.