SYMPOSIUM: RESURGENT ISLAM IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The following is an edited version of the proceedings of a symposium sponsored by the Middle East Policy Council on May 26, 1994, in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. Former Senator George McGovern, President of the Council, introduced the panel; Thomas R. Mattair, the Councis Director of Research and Policy Analysis, was the organizer and moderator; Michael Collins Dunn, Senior Analyst of The International Estimate, Inc., and editor of its biweekly newsletter, The Estimate, was the discussant.     

The Federal Solution: Assessment and Prognosis for Nigeria and Africa

Federalism has not been a resounding success in Africa, althoughunitary regimes have had no better record One promising politicalsystem has been the consistently federal and periodically democraticgovernment of Nigeria. The principal challenges facing Nigeria,which are not unlike those facing other heterogeneous Africancountries, are national unity, democratic politics, and socioeconomicdevelopment. Examined here are the nature of these challenges,Nigeria's responses, potential alternatives, and possible implicationsof Nigeria's experience for federal democracy in Africa.     

Books in review

He is the author of Importing Foreign Workers: A Comparison of German and American Policy.     

Generational equity or privatization of social security?

He is primary author of Ties That Bind: The Interdependence of Generations,a study that examines the framing of the generational equity debate. He is currently doing research for a book concerning the planning of retirement of the baby boom generation.     

Industry Knowledge Sources and the Role of Universities

In recent yems, rapid growth hm occurred in both the number and diversity of university-industry progrmns in the United States. While little comprehensive assessment of these programs exists to date, this paper argues that a systematic empirical analysis of a cmpany's perception of universities as knowledge sources is critical toa clear understanding of the newallknces between industry and academia. From a survey of216 companies, a pattern emerges where the sources of technical knowledge perceived as important by industry are complex and highly interrelated, and they also vary according to the characteristics of companies, especially size. It is seen that university research rather than universities as institutions per se are critical ingredients to the development of new products and production processes.