The Theory of Retroactivism: Arab Resistance to Educational and Technological Progress

The article examines the reluctance of Arab culture to ‘Western’ ideas of education and technology. It, first, establishes a conceptual framework for those cultures dominated by ‘retroactivism’—a school of thought that advocates a return to traditions and argues against progressive innovation. The article then puts this framework into practice, addressing the research question: In what instances, if any, do retroactivists accept educational and technological progress? This question was answered by first examining the ways in which a retroactivistic culture approached educational and technological progress. This examination helped generate a timeline of attempts to introduce educational and technological innovations into Arab culture. This timeline shows that Arab culture resists innovation in all its various forms and therefore sustains a retroactivism-dominated way of life. Retroactivists believe in what ‘renewism’ or ‘revivalism’: referring to movements that emerge from time to time throughout history that issue appeals to adhere to old norms and values, using strategies to remind society of the need to return to past ideologies. This means that, although retroactivistic cultures might accept certain innovations, there can occasionally be ‘renewistic movements’ that seek to bring society back to old times, thereby seeking to (peacefully or violently) undermine or eliminate existing innovations.     

Voluntary Turnover in the Omani Public Sector: An Islamic Values Perspective

Following four decades of economic growth the public sector, Oman is experiencing an emerging problem of labor turnover to the private sector. We examine this phenomenon through semi-structured interviews with 26 current and former public employees. The rate of turnover is low but this masks the impact of losses on key technical and management roles. The main reasons for turnover are dissatisfaction with management style, reward practices, and promotion opportunities. Findings are interpreted in the context of Islamic work values and implications for public management reform in Oman are provided.     

B. Reviews: general

THE FATIMID VIZIERATE 969–1172. By LEILA AL‐IMAD. Berlin, Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1990. viii, 229pp.

SEMINAR FÜR ARABISTIK UND ISLAM WISSENSCHAFT, WESTFÄLISCHE WILHELMS UNIV. MÜNSTER

MAPAS, PLANOS Y FORTIFICACIONES HISPANICOS DE TUNEZ (S. XVI‐XIX)/ CARTES, PLANS ET FORTIFICATIONS HISPANIQUES DE LA TUNISIE (XVIe‐XIXe S.). By JUAN Bta. VILAR. 488pp. Text in Spanish; Table of Contents, Preface and Introduction in Spanish and French. Madrid, Instituto de Cooperacion con el Mundo Arabe, 1991. Ca. ptas. 7.000.‐.

SEPHARDI ENTREPRENEURS IN ERETZ ISRAEL: THE AMZALAK FAMILY 1816–1918. By JOSEPH B. GLASS and RUTH KARK. Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 1991. 202pp. $20 (hb).

JEWISH LIFE IN MUSLIM LIBYA: RIVALS AND RELATIVES. By HARVEY E. GOLDBERG. Chicago & London, University of Chicago Press, 1990. 181pp.

FRENCH JEWS, TURKISH JEWS: THE ALLIANCE ISRAELITE UNIVERSELLE AND THE POLITICS OF JEWISH SCHOOLING IN TURKEY, 1860–1925. By ARON RODRIGUE. Bloomingtom, Indianapolis, Indiana University Press, 1990. 235pp.

KLÉBER EN ÉGYPTE: 1798–1800. Edited by HENRY LAURENS. (Voyageurs occidentaux en Egypte, 25.) Le Caire, Institut français d'archéologie orientale, 1988. 2 vols. Vol. 1, Kléber et Bonaparte: 1798–1799, viii, 342pp., map. Vol. 2, Kléber et Bonaparte: 1798–99 [sic]. 234pp., map, illustrations.

SADAT AND AFTER: STRUGGLES FOR EGYPT'S POLITICAL SOUL. By RAYMOND WILLIAM BAKER. London, Taurus, 1990. 365pp. £26.50.

EGYPT: MOULIDS, SAINTS, SUFIS. By NICOLAAS H. BIEGMAN. The Hague/London, Gary Schwartz/SDU, Kegan Paul International, 1990. 175pp.

SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES FOR ISRAEL'S ARAB POPULATION. By AZIZ HAIDAR. (Westview Special Studies on the Middle East.) Boulder & Oxford, Westview Press, 1991.

THE SYRIAN INVOLVEMENT IN LEBANON SINCE 1975. By REUVEN AVI‐RAN. Boulder and Oxford, Westview Press. 241pp. £19.95 (pb).

THE IRAQI REVOLUTION OF 1958: THE OLD SOCIAL CLASSES REVISITED. Ed. by ROBERT A. FERNEA AND WM. ROGER LOUIS. London/New York, I.B. Tauris, 1991. xxiv, 232pp.

LETTERS FROM TEHRAN: A BRITISH AMBASSADOR IN WORLD WAR II PERSIA. By READER BULLARD, edited by E.C. HODGKIN. London, I.B. Taurus, 1991. xiii, 301pp. £29.95.

AGRICULTURE, POVERTY AND LAND REFORM IN IRAN. By MOHAMMAD JAVAD AMID. London, Routledge, 1990. xii, 177pp. £30 (hb).

REVOLUTION AND ECONOMIC TRANSITION: THE IRANIAN EXPERIENCE. By HOOSHANG AMIRAHMADI. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1990. 420pp.

TURKEY AND THE MIDDLE EAST. By PHILIP ROBINS. London, Pinter for the Royal Institute of International Affairs. 134pp.

THE US‐TURKISH‐NATO MIDDLE EAST CONNECTION: HOW THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE AND TURKEY'S NATO ENTRY CONTAINED THE SOVIETS. By GEORGE McGHEE. Foreword by Lord Carrington. Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1990. xvii, 224pp. £40 (hb).

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN TURKEY: GOVERNING GREATER ISTANBUL. Edited by METIN HEPER. London, Routledge, 1989. 92 pp.

CENTRE DE WULF‐MANSION, INSTITUT SUPÉRIEUR DE PHILOSOPHIE, UNIVERSITÉ CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN

MUSLIM‐CHRISTIAN ENCOUNTERS. By W. MONTGOMERY WATT. London & New York, Routledge, 1991. 164 pp.

ISLAM: THE FEAR AND THE HOPE. By HABIB BOULARÈS. London & New Jersey, Zed Books, 1990. xii, 144pp. £26.95 (hb); £8.95 (pb).

ISLAMIC LAW: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXTS. Edited by AZIZ AL‐AZMEH. London, Routledge, 1988. 277pp. £27.50.

MODERN LITERATURE IN THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST 1850–1970. Edited by ROBIN OSTLE. London, Routledge, 1991. ix, 248 pp.

A PERSIAN REQUIEM. By SIMIN DANESHVAR, translated by ROXANE ZAND. Peter Halban Publishers. 279pp. £13.95.

MINARET: SYMBOL OF ISLAM. By JONATHAN BLOOM. (Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, VII.) Oxford, OUP, 1989. 216 pp. £25.00.     

Globalization and Utopian dreams: Deconstructing the ‘G’ word

Paul Hirst and Grahame Thompson, Globalization in Question (Polity Press, Cambridge, 1996), 227 pp., ISBN 0–7456–12458

Winfried Ruigrok and Rob Van Tulder, The Logic of International Restructuring (Routledge, London, 1995), 344 pp., ISBN 0–415–12239–2

Robert Boyer and Daniel Drache (eds), States against Markets (Routledge, London, 1996), 448 pp., ISBN 0–415–13726–8

Dick Bryan, The Chase Across The Globe (Westview Press, Oxford, 1995), 204 pp., ISBN 0–8133–2356–8     

Unusual suicides with band saws: Two case reports and a literature review

Suicides or suicide attempts with power saws (band, circular or chain saws) are rather rare events and only a few case reports exist in the forensic literature. The use of a band saw, in particular, has been extremely rare in cases of suicide.We report two cases of suicide that occurred in the same suburban area, three years apart. In each case, the victim was a carpenter and had a history of psychiatric disorder and/or of prior suicide attempts.We summarize the findings of the death scene investigations, the pertinent autopsy findings, and also summarize the world literature pertaining to suicide committed with power saws.