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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190311T124500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190311T134500
DTSTAMP:20260428T201736
CREATED:20190410T084334Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210829T135240Z
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SUMMARY:A Local East African Newspaper v. the State and Market Forces
DESCRIPTION:Phoebe Musandu\, professor of History at GU-Q and a scholar of African history\, was invited to discuss her research on Kenyan newspapers in the colonial and post-colonial periods during a CIRS Focused Discussion\, titled “Serve . . . as Best as We Can:” A Local East African Newspaper v. the State and Market Forces\,” on March 11\, 2019. Musandu began by providing some historical background\, explaining that Kenya had been a protectorate as well as a colony of the British from 1895 to 1963. The country was subject to drastic structural reforms from the 1960s\, with the press\, in general\, and newspapers specifically\, playing an important role in shaping the narrative of the day. \n\nIn her research\, Musandu examines the extent to which mass media are vehicles for public opinion. In order to study “not just the information\, but who produces the information\, how they disseminate it\, and the power inherent in the ability to disseminate information and influence people\,” she focused on the first African-owned newspaper in post-colonial Kenya\, the Nairobi Times\, which was established by Hilary Ng’weno in the 1970s. At the time\, two pro-government\, foreign-owned newspapers dominated the market\, the East African Standard and The Nation. \n\nMusandu argued that the odds were against the Nairobi Times from the beginning. This was largely due to a restrictive political environment and to the meager capital base of its owner\, Ng’weno. In the colonial era\, she explained\, Africans had started and successfully managed newspapers\, but the market had changed in the post-colonial era\, such that a significant amount of capital investment was necessary to establish a newspaper. Musandu argued that “this was another challenge Africans faced in the transition to independence\, and in the early years of independence—international banks did not want to give loans to Africans.”  \n\nHowever\, despite these structural setbacks\, Ng’weno was able to obtain loans from the Industrial Development Bank and from the National Bank of Kenya\, which was a parastatal—a business partially controlled by the state. This put Ng’weno in the delicate position of having to report on the government\, even as it was the newspaper’s primary funder\, Musandu said. Repayment of these loans required that the Nairobi Times generate significant income from advertising\, which put it at a great disadvantage to its established competitors.  \n\nMusandu contextualized the environment of news reporting in Kenya in its transition to independence. One of the oldest newspapers was the East African Standard\, founded by influential British settlers and sold to Lonrho—formerly the mining company London Rhodesia—in 1967. The CEO of Lonrho\, Roland Rowland\, had a great sphere of influence in the UK and in Kenya\, which included members of the Parliament\, and President Jomo Kenyatta and his family. Rowland strategically invested in business opportunities through Lonrho\, and every investment he made\, and his interactions with the president and his family members\, were covered extensively in the Standard. This served to increase Rowland’s visibility and power.  \n\n“The newspapers for them\, I argue\, were not about public opinion\, they were not an end—they were a means to an end. The end being the protection and consolidation of economic interests outside of the newspaper itself.” \n\nThe other major daily\, the Daily Nation\, was primarily owned by the Aga Khan—the spiritual leader of the Ismaili branch of Shiite Islam. At a turbulent time when racial minorities\, including many Asians\, were migrating from Kenya due to political and economic uncertainty in the years immediately before and after independence\, the Aga Khan urged Ismailis to remain and make the country their permanent home. He led the way by investing his personal/Ismaili funds in profitable ventures to improve investor confidence in the country and in a bid to contribute to the stabilization of the economy. Musandu said\, “He used this newspaper to essentially communicate to the state the necessity of preserving a political and economic environment that was favorable to everyone—the majority and the minority.” \n\nThe East African Standard and the Daily Nation both allied themselves with the state\, Musandu said. “They were very afraid of contradicting the government\, and I think this was done precisely because they were using their publications to defend their investments.” This behavior revealed a continued trend of newspaper owners engaging centers of power in the interests of capital that dates back to the British colonial era\, she said. “The newspapers for them\, I argue\, were not about public opinion\, they were not an end—they were a means to an end. The end being the protection and consolidation of economic interests outside of the newspaper itself\,” Musandu contended.  \n\nFurthermore\, opposing the government narrative had drastic repercussions\, according to Musandu. She gave an example of a highly regarded newspaper editor who was fired after publishing an article that was critical of government detention of university professors and students. Subsequently\, the newspaper ran a public apology to the government on the front page. Musandu found numerous documents in the archives that showed how the government would summon the editors and owners of different publications in order to interrogate them when they stepped out of line. \n\nThe title of Musandu’s talk\, “Serve as Best as We Can\,” comes from the first edition of the Nairobi Times\, in which Ng’weno outlined his goals for the publication. Musandu argued that he used those words because he understood the political environment in which he was operating\, noting that Ng’weno was intent on taking on the established newspapers. “He wanted to raise the level of political discourse in the country\, and wanted it to be fiercely independent\,” she said. In conclusion\, Musandu argued the prevailing political environment\, in which the dissemination of news was secondary to vested interests in other sectors of the economy\, meant that Ng’weno’s experiment with a free press was short lived\, and he was forced to shut down his newspaper due to bankruptcy. The government bought the newspaper from him and re-branded it as the Kenya Times.  \n\n  \n\nArticle by Khansa Maria\, CURA Publications Fellow \n\nPhoebe Musandu is a scholar of African history. She has research interests in African historical methodology\, mass media and has published papers in women and gender history. Her last major research project resulted in a manuscript she is preparing for publication that examines the establishment and operations of various secular newspapers in East Africa between 1899 and 1990. As a consequence of working on this project\, she has also developed an interest in the history of other forms of mass media as well as African commercial history which she intends to cultivate in the long-term. She is the author of Pressing Interests: The Agenda and Influence of a Colonial East African Newspaper Sector (McGill 2018). \n\n 
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/local-east-african-newspaper-v-state-and-market-forces/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Race & Society
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190313T090000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190313T140000
DTSTAMP:20260428T201736
CREATED:20190714T102903Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T092304Z
UID:10001396-1552467600-1552485600@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Healthcare Access for Single Male Laborers (SML) in Qatar: Research Roundtable II
DESCRIPTION:As part of the partnership between CIRS\, and Qatar-based institutions to investigate the current state of healthcare provision to single male labors (SML)\, a second working group for this project was held on March 13\, 2019. Scholars\, practitioners\, stakeholders\, and government entities participated in the working group with the aim to examine SML’s access to healthcare in Qatar\, and formulate policy recommendations for improvements of the state of migrants’ health. \n\nThe one-day working group served as a follow-up to the April 2018 preliminary brainstorming session. The discussion was divided into four broad themes: overview findings from the first working group\, government services to SML\, challenges and industry-led interventions; and the healthcare perspective. Experts presented their research and insights to provide a better understanding of migrant workers’ health conditions and healthcare delivery within Qatar. 
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/healthcare-access-single-male-laborers-sml-qatar-research-roundtable-ii/
CATEGORIES:Focused Discussions,Race & Society,Regional Studies
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190314T123000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190314T133000
DTSTAMP:20260428T201736
CREATED:20190402T073134Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T092248Z
UID:10001389-1552566600-1552570200@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:CURA Seminar: Science and Scientific Production in the Middle East
DESCRIPTION:On March 14\, 2019\, the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) held its second CURA Seminar for the 2018-2019 academic year. Coinciding with the second working group meeting on “Science and Scientific Production in the Middle East\,” CURA fellows participated in the seminar discussing two submitted articles as part of the research initiative. Islam Hassan\, CIRS Research Analyst\, started the seminar welcoming the attendees and providing a brief overview of the research initiative then giving the floor to the CURA fellows to summarize and critique their assigned articles. Irakli Gobejishvili (class of 2022) and Khushboo Shah (class of 2022) served as presenters of the two articles\, and Shaza Afifi (class of 2022)\, Khansa Maria (class of 2021)\, Riham Mansour (class of 2019)\, Abdul Rehmaan Qayyum (class of 2021)\, and Chaïmaa Benkermi (class of 2021) served as discussants. \n \n \nGobejishvili presented Tariq Dana’s paper titled: “A Cruel Innovation: Israeli Military and Security Production.” The paper studies the military-industrial complex in Israel as a field of technological advancement\, a source of revenue\, and as a “security apparatus.” The paper problematizes Israel’s arms trade with world regimes accused of committing atrocities\, as the author claims. \n \n \nShah presented Abdelkader Djeflat’s paper titled: “Science\, Technology and Socio-Economic Inequalities: What Inclusive Model for Arab Countries?” Throughout the different sections\, the paper answers the questions: how have social inequalities hampered access to science and technology? How does the elitist access to science and technology work in the region? To what extent has the elitist access been obstructive to the advancement of science and technology? And how could we build a more inclusive and sustainable science\, technology\, and innovation (STI) system? \n \n \nSubsequent to the paper presentations\, the discussants kicked off the group discussion with their critique on the papers’ arguments and structure\, and possible improvements. Two CURA research fellows\, Ameena Almeer (class of 2020) and Irene Promodh (class of 2021)\, served as ambassadors to the Science and Scientific Production in the Middle East working group\, and shared the comments and critique brought up at the CURA seminar. \n \n \n\nFor the participants’ biographies\, please click here\n\n \nArticle by Mohammed Al-Jaberi\, CURA Publications Fellow
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/cura-seminar-science-and-scientific-production-middle-east/
CATEGORIES:American Studies,Race & Society,Regional Studies,Student Engagement
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190317T090000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190317T170000
DTSTAMP:20260428T201736
CREATED:20190714T112732Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240314T092134Z
UID:10001398-1552813200-1552842000@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:Science and Scientific Production in the Middle East Working Group II
DESCRIPTION:On March 17 2019\, the Center for International and Regional Studies held the second working group under its research initiative on “Science and Scientific Production in the Middle East.” This was a one day meeting where the convened scholars presented and critiqued papers that tackled a wide array of issues\, among which: access to science and technology in the Middle East; Islam and bioethics; consumerism and scientific innovation; the sanction regime in Iran; the inheritance debate in Tunisia; and the military-industrial complex in Israel. \n\nAbdelkader Djeflat started the working group discussion with his paper\, co-authored with Labo Clersé\, on “Science\, Technology and Socio-Economic Inequalities: What Inclusive Model for Arab Countries?” In his paper\, the authors argues that minerals\, such as oil and gas\, have generated enormous wealth in Middle Eastern countries\, particularly the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. However\, inequality prevails and large portions of the populations in the Middle East live in poverty. While most of the scholarship on the rising economic inequality in the region focuses on income distribution\, political regimes\, and social fragmentation\, there is a gap as far as inequality of access to science and technology is concerned. The paper fills this gap by tackling three main questions: first\, how have social inequalities hampered access to science and technology? Second\, how does the elitist access to science and technology work in the region? And to what extent has it been obstructive to the advancement of science and technology? And third\, what would be the impact of a more inclusive and sustainable science\, technology\, and innovation system? \n\nHatem M’henni focused the discussion on “Economic Policies\, Consumerism\, and Scientific Innovation in the Middle East.” In his paper\, M’henni clarifies the theoretical underpinning of the relationship between consumerism and innovation\, and examines this relationship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Based on his study\, M’henni introduces five main arguments. First\, he states that innovation in the MENA region is still linear in nature. Second\, the Middle Eastern companies continue to treat the consumer as a customer. Third\, successful innovation experiences are\, for the most part\, the result of individual initiative rather than state policies. Fourth\, economic and social needs are the main drivers of innovation. Finally\, as the average level of education in the region is improving significantly\, consumerism will inevitably contribute to innovation in the MENA region. \n\nAyman Shabana shifted the discussion to “Reproductive Genetic Counseling and the Burden of Choice within the Islamic Context.” In his paper\, Shabana examines the process of genetic counseling within the framework of assisted reproduction. The paper investigates the moral burden associated with the choices that modern genetic applications have made available in this area of medical practice from an Islamic perspective. Shabana suggests that the moral consequences of genetic testing have to be analyzed at two related yet distinct ethical-legal and theological levels. At the ethical-legal level these moral consequences have to be evaluated in light of important principles such as procurement of benefit and avoidance of harm. At the theological level\, however\, assessment must reach beyond mere notions of benefit and harm to include core theological concepts such as divine creation and decree. This two-way analysis may help explain and guide the process of genetic counseling within the Muslim context. \n\nSari Hanafi presented his paper\, co-authored with Azzam Tomeh\, on “Beyond Religion and Secularism: Gender Equality in the Inheritance Debate in Tunisia and the Formation of the Non-Authoritarian Reasoning.” The paper discusses the current debate about equal inheritance for both men and women in Tunisia. It challenges many clichés\, such as the religious versus the secular discourse\, and examines whether those binaries hold true in the Tunisian context. The authors argue that the mapping out of the inheritance debate has shown three different logics: jurisprudential/textual\, sociological\, and legal. The authors conclude the paper by highlighting that the discussion occurring in Tunisia over inheritance uses common language\, which allows for the reduction of authoritarian tendencies and polarization through means of dialogue. \n\nElizabeth Wanucha presented Parviz Tarikhi’s article: “Sanctions and the Scientific Community of Iran.” Tarikhi’s article sheds light on the main operatives and interlinks of sanctions and the Iranian scientific community. Although it is hard to estimate quantitatively the impacts of sanctions on the Iranian scientific community\, Tarikhi claims that sanctions\, particularly those imposed in the recent decade\, have negatively impacted the Iranian community and subsequently the scientific community. Sanctions have also contributed to the growth of the Iranian scientific community in diaspora fleeing restrictions at home. Tarikhi also claims that the sanctions regime strengthened extremism and stimulated totalitarianism in the Islamic Republic. \n\nIslam Hassan presented Tariq Da’na’s paper entitled “A Cruel Innovation: Israeli Military and Security Production.” Da’na argues that the Israeli army\, which is the main source feeding Israeli militarism\, is by virtue an instrument of organized violence. Ever since the violent birth of the State of Israel in 1948\, militarism constituted the backbone of its body politic\, national identity\, society\, economy\, culture\, foreign policy and worldview. The institutionalization of Israeli militarism is rooted in Political Zionism. With the formal initiation of the Israeli state-building in 1948\, Zionist leaders espoused a militaristic-nationalist paradigm to underlie the process of nation-building. Hence\, the Israeli military is not solely an institution concerned with external security\, defense\, and war. It was designed to play multiple social and economic functions and promote the culture of militarism. As a result\, Israeli society is a militarized one\, where citizens are actively involved in military activities\, and the military is actively involved in non-military activities. Da’na provides an overview of Israel’s military industries and technologies\, highlighting the interrelationship between Israeli military industries and technological development. He then moves on discuss the characteristics of Israel’s military and security innovation focusing on the dependency on the American system\, the development of unethical technology\, the military industry\, and the complicity in worldwide atrocities. He concludes the paper with a discussion on the testing of weapons on the Great March of Return. \n\nFor the working group agenda\, click hereFor the participants’ biographies\, click hereRead more about this research initiative\n\nParticipants and Discussants:  \n\nAmeena Almeer\, Georgetown University in QatarZahra Babar\, CIRS – Georgetown University in QatarRana Dajani\, Hashemite University\, JordanTariq Da’na\, Doha Institute of Graduate Studies\, QatarAbdelkader Djeflat\, University of Lille\, FranceMohammed Ghaly\, Hamad Bin Khalifa University\, QatarSari Hanafi\, American University of Beirut\, LebanonIslam Hassan\, CIRS – Georgetown University in QatarMehran Kamrava\, CIRS – Georgetown University in QatarHatem M’henni\, University of Manouba\, Tunisia Suzi Mirgani\, CIRS – Georgetown University in QatarIrene Ann Promodh\, Georgetown University in QatarAyman Shabana\, Georgetown University in QatarJackie Starbird\, CIRS – Georgetown University in QatarParviz Tarikhi\, Space Science and Technology Specialist\, IranElizabeth Wanucha\, CIRS – Georgetown University in Qatar\n\nArticle by Islam Hassan\, Research Analyst at CIRS
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/science-and-scientific-production-middle-east-working-group-ii/
CATEGORIES:Focused Discussions,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190324T124500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20190324T134500
DTSTAMP:20260428T201736
CREATED:20190417T065045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210829T135127Z
UID:10001392-1553431500-1553435100@cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu
SUMMARY:The Impact of Business and Political News on the GCC Stock Market
DESCRIPTION:Alanoud Al-Maadid\, Assistant Professor of Economics at Qatar University\, examined how politics and economics are intertwined in the relationships of the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)\, an alliance founded in 1981 that includes Saudi Arabia\, Kuwait\, the United Arab Emirates\, Qatar\, Bahrain\, and Oman. She explored these dynamics by looking at the effect of news on GCC stock market returns in a Focused Discussion\, titled “The Impact of Business and Political News on the GCC Stock Market\,” at CIRS on March 24\, 2019. \n\nAl-Maadid explained that the forces of supply and demand is a general rule in economics. However\, she said\, behavioral economics—the effects of psychological\, emotional\, cultural\, and social factors on decision making—may often go against what is implied in the standard economic model. “In behavioral economics\, people are sometimes irrational and unpredictable\, and they can make unpredictable choices\,” she said. Thus\, the field of behavioral economics has many practical applications\, and is often used by policymakers\, diplomats\, and marketers. \n\nAl-Maadid focused her presentation on the financial performance of GCC stock markets\, and the high degree of market integration between GCC countries. “GCC stock markets seem to have similar trends\,” she said\, “when oil prices go down\, stock prices go down” across the region. At the start of the GCC crisis in 2017\, in which Saudi Arabia\, the UAE\, Bahrain\, and Egypt instigated a blockade against Qatar\, most of the stock prices in the GCC went down. \n\n“When the stock market goes up\, the news does not affect the stock market so much. However\, when the stock market is down\, if there is negative news\, it affects the stock markets more.” \n\nIn her research\, Al-Maadid found that GDP in the GCC is affected by positive and negative news. She used a linear dynamic model to illustrate how returns of stock prices are affected by both business news and political news. Al-Maadid collected weekly data on GCC news from Bloomberg to create an index of negative and positive political and business news. Control variables such as oil prices\, macroeconomic announcements\, and interest rates were also utilized. \n\nIn the period surveyed (2010–2018)\, Al-Maadid found that negative political news never exceeded the twenty percent mark—meaning that news content in GCC newspapers is predominantly positive. There was\, however\, considerably more negative business news content. “Most of the news coming out of the GCC is positive\, especially political news. In business news\, there is more negative news\, but it is still less than thirty percent” of the total news content\, she said. As part of her investigations\, Al-Maadid used a tool found in financial econometrics\, the Markov switching model\, to measure the dynamics of negative news. She noted that “When the stock market goes up\, the news does not affect the stock market so much. However\, when the stock market is down\, if there is negative news\, it affects the stock markets more.” Results further revealed that political news has less impact than business news\, and the stock market does not react as much to political news. \n\nIn conclusion\, Al-Maadid highlighted the GCC’s “cross-border effect\,” arguing that “When there is news from Saudi Arabia\, Qatar\, and the UAE\, the effects are not only domestic—it affects all the other countries\,” in the GCC. This is attributed to stronger economies and more integrated stock markets. Thus\, Al-Maadid argued\, the impact of the blockade against Qatar has negatively affected all GCC countries. If the blockade is lifted\, it will have a positive cross-boundary impact for all stakeholders involved\, she asserted. \n\n  \n\nArticle by Khansa Maria\, CURA Publications Fellow \n\nAlanoud Al-Maadid is the 2018–2019 CIRS Qatar University Fellow. She received a PhD in Economics and Finance from Brunel University London in 2016 with a dissertation on “Effects of Oil Prices\, Food Prices and Macroeconomic News on GCC Stock Markets.” She is a recognized researcher in the fields of economies of time series\, the GCC stock market\, and behavioral finance\, and has taught courses on the Principles of Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy\, among others.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/impact-business-and-political-news-gcc-stock-market/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Regional Studies
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