9 research outputs found
Adapting authoritarianism: institutions and co-optation in Egypt and Syria
No full textThis PhD thesis compares Egypt and Syria’s authoritarian political systems. While the tendency in social science political research treats Egypt and Syria as similarly authoritarian, this research emphasizes differences between the two systems with special reference to institutions and co-optation. Rather than reducibly understanding Egypt and Syria as sharing similar histories, institutional arrangements, or ascribing to the oft-repeated convention that “Syria is Egypt but 10 years behind,” this thesis focuses on how events and individual histories shaped each states current institutional strengthens and weaknesses. Specifically, it explains the how varying institutional politicization or de-politicization affects each state’s capabilities for co-opting elite and non-elite individuals.
Beginning with a theoretical framework that considers the limited utility of democratization and transition theoretical approaches, the work underscores the persistence and durability of authoritarianism. Chapter two details the politicized institutional divergence between Egypt and Syria that began in the 1970s. Chapter three and four examines how institutional politicization or de-politicization affects elite and non-elite individual co-optation in Egypt and Syria. Chapter five discusses the study’s general conclusions and theoretical implications.
This thesis’s argument is that Egypt and Syria co-opt elites and non-elites differently because of the varying degrees of institutional politicization in each governance system. Rather than view one country as more politically developed than the other, this work argues that Syria’s political institutions are more politicized than their Egyptian counterparts. Syria’s political arena is, thus, described as politicized-patrimonialism. Syria’s politicized-patrimonial arena produces uneven co-optation of elites and non-elites as they are diffused through competing institutions. Conversely, the Egyptian political arena remains highly personalized as weak institutions and individuals are manipulated and molded according to the president’s ruling clique. This is referred to as personalized-patrimonialism. As a consequence, Egypt’s political establishment demonstrates more flexibility in ad hoc altering and adapting its arena depending on the emergence of crises.
This study’s theoretical implications suggest that, contrary to modernization and democratization theory’s adage that institutions lead to a political development, politicized institutions within a patrimonial order actually hinder regime adaptation because consensus is harder to achieve and maintain. It is within this context that Egypt’s de-politicized institutional framework advantages its top political elite. In this reading of Egyptian and Syrian politics, Egypt’s personalized political arena is more adaptable than Syria’s. These conclusions do not indicate that political reform is a process underway in either state
Writing from the shadowlands: how cross-cultural literature negotiates the legacy of Edward Said
No full textThis thesis examines the impact of Edward Said's influential work Orientalism and its legacy in respect of contemporary reading and writing across cultures. It also questions the legitimacy of Said's retrospective stereotyping of early examples of cross-cultural representation in literature as uncompromisingly 'orientalist'.
It is well known that the release of Edward Said's Orientalism in 1978 was responsible for the rise of a range of cultural and critical theories from multiculturalism to postcolonialism. It was a study that not only polarized critics and forced scholars to re-examine orientalist archives, but persuaded creative writers to re-think their ethnographic positions when it came to the literary representations of cultures other than their own. Without detracting from the enormous impact of Said, this thesis isolates gaps and silences in Said that need correcting. Furthermore, there is an element of intransigence, an uncompromising refusal to fine-tune what is essentially a binary discourse of the West and its other in Said's work, that encourages the continued interrogation of power relations but which, because of its very boldness, paradoxically disallows the extent to which the conflict of cultures indeed produced new, hybrid social and cultural formations.
In an attempt to challenge the severity of Said's claim that 'every European, in what he could say about the Orient, was consequently a racist, an imperialist, and almost totally ethnocentric', the thesis examines a number of different discursive contexts in which such a presumption is challenged. Thus while the second chapter discusses the 'traditional' profession-based orientalism of nineteenth-century E. G. Browne, the third considers the anti-imperialism of colonial administrator Leonard Woolf. The fourth chapter provides a reflection on the difficulties of diasporic 'orientalism' through the works of Michael Ondaatje while chapter five demonstrates the effects of the dialogism used by Amitav Ghosh as a defence against 'orientalism'. The thesis concludes with an examination of contemporary writing by Andrea Levy that appositely illustrates the legacy of Said's influence.
While the restrictive parameters of Said's work make it difficult to mount a thorough-going critique of Said, this thesis shows that, indeed, it is within the restraints of these parameters and in the very discourse that Said employs that he traps himself. This study claims that even Said is susceptible to 'orientalist' criticism in that he is as much an 'orientalist' as those at whom he directs his polemic
Erratum: Search for gravitational waves from compact binary coalescence in LIGO and Virgo data from S5 and VSR1 (Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology)
No full textThis paper was published online on 5 November 2010 with an omission in the Collaboration author list. S. Dwyer has
been added as of 12 April 2012. The Collaboration author list is incorrect in the printed version of the journal
Publisher's Note: Search for gravitational waves from binary black hole inspiral, merger, and ringdown
No full textThis paper was published online on 6 June 2011 with an omission in the Collaboration author list. S. Dwyer has been
added as of 12 April 2012. The Collaboration author list is incorrect in the printed version of the journal
Erratum: All-sky search for gravitational-wave bursts in the first joint LIGO-GEO-Virgo run (Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology (2010) 81 (102001))
No full textThis paper was published online on 5 May 2010 with an omission in the Collaboration author list. S. Dwyer has been
added as of 12 April 2012. The Collaboration author list is incorrect in the printed version of the journal
Publisher’s Note: All-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in LIGO S4 data [Phys. Rev. D 77, 022001 (2008)]
No full textThis paper was published online on 10 January 2008 with a formatting error in the forty-ninth affiliation in the author list. The affiliation should read as ‘‘University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.’’ The affiliation has been corrected as of 29 February 2008. The affiliation is incorrect in the printed version of the journal
Mythologizing the transition : a comparative study of Bahram Beyzaee and Wolfe Soyinka
No full textBahram Beyzaee, the Iranian playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, and Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian poet, playwright, and novelist have produced artistic works that transcend the limitations of time and locality to become powerful comments on human life and socio-political and cultural institutions. This research study examines the major themes and dramatic techniques of these two writers to demonstrate how, in two very different cultural settings, traditional modes and themes appear in modem art forms to renegotiate cultural identity. I argue that both writers place themselves in a post postcolonial position which rather than being concerned about 'writing back against the centre' reflects on the cultural shortcomings that leaves their people at the mercy of vicious internal and external forces. I also demonstrate how they demythologize the traditional superstitious beliefs that haunt the present, foreground the inauthenticity of the modern hybrid obsessions that distort everyday life in their countries and mythologize and glorify the positive aspects of history and contemporary life to redefine cultural identity in terms of the best their cultures can offer. The first two chapters give an account of the history of Iranian and Nigerian performance forms in the context of socio-political, cultural, literary and artistic movements and traditions. The third chapter proceeds to present a short discussion of the theatrical vision and themes of Beyzaee and Soyinka and embarks on a general comparison of the two writers. Chapter four is focused on Beyzaee and Soyinka's depiction of the intellectuals as sacrificial heroes whose death may initiate social purgation and cultural regeneration and liberation. Chapter five is less mythical and more sociopolitical. It is a reflection on the writers' portrayal of women in their works and their success or failure in transcending literary and cultural stereotypes in a world where the means of production and socio-economic facts and the cultural developments associated with them demand a rapid movement away from patriarchal values. Chapter six is devoted to the study of another major issue in the process of cultural transition, namely, redefining the position of ethnic minorities in the myth of nationhood. This last chapter is followed by a brief conclusion, discussing the results and the future possibilities of drama in the context of rapid transition
Investigations into the Characteristics of Historic Barley Varieties with Reference to Fungal Diseases and Physiology
No full textThe aim of this study was to characterise modern and historic barley varieties for agronomic and growth characteristics and to assess their resistance to Fusarium and mildew diseases.
Barley is a major agricultural crop cultivated throughout the world providing an important source of energy and protein for humans and animals. To achieve its potential, however, it must be carefully managed to avoid diseases particularly those caused by fungi which can cause serious economic losses and affect food safety and quality.
Contemporary barley varieties have been selected for yield and disease resistance. However, long term resistance to disease is increasingly difficult to achieve as microorganisms mutate and maintain their virulence. Investigating the potential of historic barley varieties as a genetic resource for future developments is one approach to obtaining novel attributes which may have been overlooked when breeding focused on yield rather than character of barley and on disease resistance.
To examine the characteristics and disease resistance of historic barley varieties a series of investigations was conducted. Initially a screening was initiated by growing thirteen historic barley varieties and two modern barley varieties in a field trial in 2009. Growth features, yield and symptoms of mildew and Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) were scored and compared. This field experiment was repeated in 2010 with six of these varieties at the John Innes Centre by deliberately exposing the plants to F. culmorum Fu 42. A further experiment was conducted at the same time by growing seven varieties in glasshouse conditions at the University of Sunderland under inoculated and uninoculated conditions.
From both growing seasons clear differences were found for the level of F. culmorum infection between the different barley cultivars with infection levels in heads ranging from 16% for Chevalier and 86.4% for Tipple barley varieties respectively. Nitrogen increased the level of FHB in all varieties possibly because
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of increased plant leaf number, tillers and humidity within the environment around the plant.
Mycotoxin analysis showed that F. culmorum infection resulted in mycotoxin contamination of all varieties. However, levels of mycotoxin were significantly lower in Chevalier barley compared to other barley varieties including the two modern varieties, Tipple and Westminster. Observations using scanning electron microscopy indicated a different pattern of fungal growth in Chevalier barley with limited fungal development on both external and internal surfaces compared to other susceptible varieties.
In general resistance against FHB disease depends on variable responses including plant physiology and morphology, antifungal compounds or resistance genes. Different flowering dates or flowering periods could be also considered reasons for different infection levels. However, in this study the duration of anthesis was not assessed and could be an important factor. Further experiments to identify the flowering times of different varieties could be considered for further research.
The lower levels of disease associated with lower levels of mycotoxins and a reduced fungal development in Chevalier barley indicated that this variety has a strong resistance against FHB disease. This may be because of its late flowering and its tall height minimising colonisation from the soil. However, Chevalier barley was found to be very susceptible to powdery mildew disease, particularly in glasshouse studies.
The potential of Chevalier barley to produce good malt was indicated when compared to modern varieties suggesting that Chevalier may be a valuable breeding stock for future developments
