From Total Dependency to Corporatisation: The Journey of Domestic Work in the UAE

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 651-668
Author(s):  
Rima Abdul Sabban

Migrant domestic work has played complex, dynamic, and multilevel roles in the evolution of families, and the corporatisation of domestic work across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With the increasing globalisation process in the UAE, migrant domestic work has not only deepened families’ critical dependency towards domestic work, but also influenced the state’s logic to institutionalise reforms to control, govern, and corporatise domestic works sector in recent years. Using primary and secondary literature sources, this article examines the historical and contemporary evolution of migrant domestic work in the UAE and of the GCC region. It argues that the UAE’s domestic work sector has historically transformed from informally structured sector—heavily dependent on the sponsorship of local family structures—to emerging corporatised sector across the UAE labour market.  This article presents empirical and theoretical contributions because it highlights the evolving corporatised approach of the state in managing and governing domestic work and its impacts on local family structures in the UAE.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Amani Abu-Shaheen ◽  
Humariya Heena ◽  
Abdullah Nofal ◽  
Doaa A. Abdelmoety ◽  
Abdulrahman Almatary ◽  
...  

Background. Thalassemia has a burden on the healthcare systems of many countries. About 56000 conceptions result in thalassemia, globally. Objective. To assess the epidemiological profile of thalassemia in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Methods. A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine), CINAHL, and Embase. Relevant observational studies reporting the epidemiology of thalassemia among the GCC population were selected. Data on the prevalence, frequency, and complications of thalassemia were extracted. The quality of the retrieved studies was assessed according to the Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. Results. Eighteen studies (14 cross-sectional studies, two retrospective observational studies, and two retrospective analysis) with a total of 3343042 participants were included in this systematic review. Of the 18 studies, 11 studies were conducted in Saudi Arabia, two in the Kingdom of Bahrain, one in Kuwait, three in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and one in Qatar. The prevalence of thalassemia among children below five years of age ranged from 0.25% to 33%, while it was 0.9% in children above five years and from 0.035% to 43.3% among adult thalassemia patients. The most-reported risk factors were consanguineous marriage and high-risk marriage. There was a lack of data regarding mortality rates in thalassemia. Conclusions. Despite the premarital screening and genetic counseling (PMSGC) program for thalassemia, the incidence of high-risk couple marriages in GCC countries cannot be effectively diminished. This study suggested that the PMSGC program should adopt more attention for the high-risk areas, to enhance the level of consciousness about the hemoglobinopathy diseases and the consequences of consanguinity among the at-risk couple.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 3085-3090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hosam M. Zowawi ◽  
Anna L. Sartor ◽  
Hanan H. Balkhy ◽  
Timothy R. Walsh ◽  
Sameera M. Al Johani ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe molecular epidemiology and mechanisms of resistance of carbapenem-resistantEnterobacteriaceae(CRE) were determined in hospitals in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Isolates were subjected to PCR-based detection of antibiotic-resistant genes and repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) assessments of clonality. Sixty-two isolates which screened positive for potential carbapenemase production were assessed, and 45 were found to produce carbapenemase. The most common carbapenemases were of the OXA-48 (35 isolates) and NDM (16 isolates) types; 6 isolates were found to coproduce the OXA-48 and NDM types. No KPC-type, VIM-type, or IMP-type producers were detected. Multiple clones were detected with seven clusters of clonally relatedKlebsiella pneumoniae. Awareness of CRE in GCC countries has important implications for controlling the spread of CRE in the Middle East and in hospitals accommodating patients transferred from the region.


2021 ◽  
pp. 107-129
Author(s):  
A. Alzayed ◽  

Requirements engineering (RE), the process of defining the requirements of a system, is critical to the successful implementation of software projects. Although many studies have been globally conducted on the different facets of RE in software engineering, studies explicitly focusing on the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have been scarce. GCC-specific RE research studies are needed because of the unique cultural characteristics and common work ethics in GCC countries. Besides, the investigation of the state of RE practices in the countries of the GCC is crucial as the globalization of software development becomes imminent. This study compares the state of RE practices within the six countries of the GCC, namely, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, using six RE factors. To understand commonalities and differences in the RE practices and methods, 163 software practitioners in GCC countries are surveyed in this study. The results show that the RE practices are relatively similar among the six countries, with subtle differences. Initiating software-related projects with unclear requirements and undefined project scopes are the two major limitations of the RE practices among the survey participants. The results of this study contribute to providing project managers and system analysts, who are working globally and within the GCC countries, with valuable decision-making tools to help them consider the identified RE techniques, methods, and challenges and their related risks early in their software development projects


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-54
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Abdulla ◽  
Mark A. Runco ◽  
Hanadi N. Alsuwaidi ◽  
Huda S. Alhindal

AbstractPersonal obstacles to creativity were investigated by sampling 297 Arab women from four Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Obstacles to Personal Creativity Inventory, as self-report, was used. It assesses four types of obstacles (a) inhibition/shyness, (b) lack of time/opportunity, (c) social repression, and (d) lack of motivation. The results showed that the highest mean was reported for the lack of time/opportunities factor, followed in order by the three other factors: lack of motivation, inhibition/shyness, and social repression. (A high mean is indicative of more obstacles.) A multivariate analysis of variance indicated that reported obstacles to creativity significantly differed by field of study. Women in the arts reported experiencing fewer obstacles related to social repression in comparison with women in engineering, who showed the highest mean. No significant effects were observed for level of education, country and income in the GCC countries. The MANOVA also showed significant interactions between (a) education and sector (i.e., government vs private), (b) country and sector, (c) income and field of study, and finally (d) between field of study and sector. Results from this study were compared to two other studies, in Brazil and Mexico, that used the Obstacles to Personal Creativity Inventory. The high mean found for the lack of motivation in GCC countries deserves further investigation, given that motivation is so important for creativity and often is something that can be encouraged.


Subject Prospects for the Gulf states to end-2017. Significance Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries agree on the need to check Iran’s regional aspirations, but differ radically on how to achieve this goal -- pushing Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to open confrontation with Qatar and leaving Kuwait and Oman caught uncomfortably in the middle. At the same time, they face the major challenge of adjusting their economies to long-term expectations of lower oil revenue.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (06) ◽  
pp. 2030004
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Durugbo ◽  
Odeh R. Al-Jayyousi ◽  
Soud M. Almahamid

Innovation management (IM) for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region poses unique socio-economic challenges due to the multi-faceted nature of Arab and Islamic countries. Additionally, proposals for indigenous initiatives, sustainability transitions and outward-oriented strategies in economic reform plans of the GCC add further complexity to IM scholarship and practice with imperatives to harness the potentials of these strategic visions. Yet, there is an absence of a systematic review to scrutinize IM literature on the GCC region. This paper systematically reviews the IM literature whose subject involve the GCC countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The review scrutinizes theories, trends and targets in this literature, covers the period from 1980 to 2019, and involves 110 journal papers from high quality IM-related publication outlets. Using insights from the review, the paper develops theoretical foundations for creative complementarities, institutional-pumps and a ripple model of regional innovation. The review also details some methodological, theoretical, conceptual and topical directions for future regional IM research studies.


2020 ◽  

This policy brief builds on a larger father involvement study that encompasses 10 countries in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region to identify some of the key challenges of father involvement in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Using mixed methods with a modified Fatherhood Scale survey and life history interviews, the study found notable differences in father involvement in education across geographic, gender, and generational factors. Overall, fathers in GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) tend to be perceived as more encouraging of their children’s education, especially for their daughters, but are less engaged in the types of quality involvement that are key to educational achievement. Based on the findings of this study, this policy brief highlights some of the key challenges of GCC fathers’ involvement. We conclude by offering recommendations to create and support an education environment in the GCC that values quality father involvement.


Author(s):  
Mehmet Akif Destek ◽  
Müge Manga ◽  
Neşe Algan

This study aims to investigate the validity of natural resource curse hypothesis in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for the period from 1980 to 2014. In doing so, the relationship between real GDP, natural resource abundance, financial development and gross fixed capital is examined using with second generation panel data methodology which allows to cross-sectional dependence among countries. In case of mean group estimation, it is concluded that natural resource rents, financial development and capital positively affects the real GDP in GCC countries. However, in case of individual country estimations, we found that natural resource curse hypothesis is valid only in United Arab Emirates.


foresight ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuti Saxena ◽  
Tariq Ali Said Mansour Al-Tamimi

Purpose The study aims to underscore the initiatives taken by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in spearheading their drive towards creating “smart” cities. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative approach by invoking documentary analysis supplemented by responses provided by 13 interviewees from public and private sector. Findings All the six GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) are keen on building upon their infrastructure to push their “smart city” agenda which would go a long way in furthering the economic diversification objective of their region besides improving the quality of public services. Originality/value Hitherto, research has been focused on appreciating the “smart city” initiatives of developed countries; this study seeks to build upon the literature on “smart cities” by contextualizing the research setting in the developing countries. Second, the study shows that with the ongoing oil prices crisis in the GCC, the “smart city” initiatives of the countries are conceived as possible avenues of economic diversification and competitiveness.


2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmi Hamdi ◽  
Rashid Sbia

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The aim of this paper is to examine the inter-temporal relationship between government revenues and expenditures within a trivariate framework by modeling them together with gross domestic product.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our sample is based on a panel of 6 countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council </span><span style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10pt;">(GCC) <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">i.e. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, for the period from 1990 to 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We perform an econometric model based on the Toda and Yamamoto procedure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our empirical results show that government expenditures Granger cause government revenues for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates only, while government revenues Granger cause government expenditures for Saudi Arabia only.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also found a unidirectional causality running from government expenditures to GDP in Bahrain only.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regarding Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, GDP Granger cause government revenues while GDP Granger cause government expenditures for Oman and Qatar.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>


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