Journal of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies

• Published by Scientific Publication Journal – Kuwait University.
• Acting Editor Chief Prof. Benyan Saud Turki.
• Contributors are academic faculty members from various universities and faculties in both Arab and English and French.
• It's newly published the Journal No. (168) for the month of January 2018. It includes Ten academic researches about different issues :

First Research : Issues of Imbalanced Regional Development in Saudi Arabia, the Region of Al-Baha Province : A Case Study.
Prof. Taher A. Ledraa
     The paper starts by discussing the issue of regional disparities in Saudi Arabia with a special focus on Al-Baha Province. It starts by outlining development inequalities between regions and within the region itself. In its case study, the current paper explains some regional disparities in Al-Baha Province, which suffers huge developmental imbalances between its major city and the smaller territorial units located in its rural hinterland. Then the paper discusses the indices in order to reveal the intra-regional disparities within the region of the case-study. In the light of its findings, the study hypothesizes that the experience gained so far in pursuing social assistance and sector-based policies has fallen short of inducing regional development that may adjust the existent imbalances between the territorial units. It, therefore, argues for a shift towards introducing a new set of territorially-based development policies. Such policies would be more likely to foster a locally-based development in each and every spatial unit throughout the region. The paper concludes that it is important to abandon the conventional sector-based development policies that seem to have exacerbated the problem of regional disparities, and to embrace territory-based policies that may lead to locally based development take-off. Policies that insist on local population empowerment, investment in human capital, and effective public participation in the process of development can help mitigate many developmental issues at the local level.

Second Research : Demographic Controls of Population Growth in Qatar : A Study in the Geography of the Population .
Prof. Noora Y. Al-Kuwari
     This study addressed the issue of population growth in Qatar through its two main components: natural growth and immigration, comparable to many of the Gulf countries, which are characterized by high annual growth rates of immigrants that far exceed the international rates.
     Due to the increase in population growth in Qatar, which started in the 1950s with the discovery of oil and the great revenues generated by its exportation, population growth can be divided into three stages: the phase of rapid growth, the phase of gradual growth, and the phase of explosive growth.
     It was indicated that the population increase achieved by natural growth did not exceed 1% in 2010, and that the contribution of non-Qataris toward such an increase was greater than the Qatar is contribution; the proportion of the immigrants was more than half of the natural growth, as it reached 60% of the total natural growth in 2010. Other studies show that the development in the marital system and the age of marriage of Qatari women played a role in the decline of the rate of new births.
     The study also addressed the issue of immigration and its role in the population growth in Qatar through the high rates of immigrants growth which reached their peak in 2010 (17.7%), that almost equaled their rate in 1970s (17.2%). While the growth of non-Qataris was increasing as it reached 70% in the period from 1990 to 2013, the Qataris growth was decreasing significantly as it reached 21.7% after it was 41.2% in 1970.
     The study concluded by projecting that the annual growth rate of the Qataris will be 4.3%, and that they will reach 700.000 between 2020 and 2025. This increase is linked to their natural growth as well as the numbers added through the process of naturalization. For the immigrants, they will increase by 7.5%, and their numbers will reach 2 million between 2020 and 2025.

Third Research : The Criminal Activity of the Crime of Misuse of Company Funds and Loans, and its Problems: A Comparative Study between Kuwaiti Legislation and French Legislation .
Dr. Husain J. Buaraki - Prof. Meshari K. Al-Eifan
     This study deals with a new topic in the field of Arab jurisprudence, which is the crime of the misuse of company funds and loans, and it focuses on the problems of the criminal activity of such a crime and its assumed associated elements. The study aims at exploring the boundaries and legal frameworks of the civil and commercial legal obligations and texts that regulate the work of board members and managers to set the boundaries between the two types of criminal and civil liability. Since these problems are related to the existence or absence of the presumed conditions of the crime, and the concept of its criminal activity, the research plan of this study came as follows: the first topic covers the presumed conditions of the criminal activity; the second topic involves the concept of criminal activity; and the third topic examines the link of the criminal activity with the interests of the company.

Forth research : Assessment of the Sustainability of the Water Management System in the Municipal Sector in the State of Kuwait .
Mohammad M. AlShammari - Prof. Waleed K. ALZubari - Prof. Alaa A. El-Sadek
     Kuwait is one of the most water-scarce countries with a per capita share of renewable water well below the extreme water-poverty line (500 m3/year/per capita). Meeting the rapid increase in the demand for water for various consuming sectors and the high financial, economic and environmental cost which associates the policy of maximizing water resources is one of the main challenges facing the planning and management of water in the State of Kuwait. The research aimed to assess the water situation in the State of Kuwait and to define the options and available administrative alternatives for its sustainability. And that was done through assessing the current situation and identifying the most important problems and issues in the water sector and analyzing policies for managing water resources in the State of Kuwait, and then building a dynamic mathematical model of the water sector by using a (WEAP) model and then identifying options for balancing water in the water sector and analyzing the cut costs of each option compared to the reference scenario, which represents the continuation of the current conditions and policies, and finally reaching conclusions and recommendations. An important result shows that the costs (financial, environmental and economic) to be borne by the State of Kuwait currently and will be borne in the future, according to population growth and consumption patterns, can be reduced significantly and effectively through the application of administrative procedures (raising consumers awareness of water (10%) or re-evaluating the tariff system (7%) or water conservation devices (20%) or reduction of leakage from the distribution network (5%) or all together), which are considered relatively less expensive than increasing supply procedures (the expansion of desalination plants and treatment) currently used, and these procedures will lead to reducing the financial burden on the national budget and maintaining the assets of the natural resources of energy (the primary source of income), as it will reduce the environmental costs associated with the water sector and municipal wastewater treatment sector. The study recommended the planning and management of water resources in an integrated manner to gain access to water sustainability.

Fifth research : Secondary School Teachers' Appreciation of their Profession in Al Farwaniya Governorate of Kuwait : A Field Study .
Dr. Rasmeyah A. Almutairi
     The study aims at identifying the degree of professional appreciation among secondary school teachers in Kuwait. The study investigates whether secondary school teachers appreciation of their profession in Kuwait varies according to the variables of gender, occupation, and years of experience. The study followed a descriptive analytical approach, and in order to achieve the goal of the study, a questionnaire of (15) items was prepared and verified for its validity and reliability. The study sample comprised (106) male and female teachers working in secondary schools in  Al-Farwaniya Governorate, and the data were processed statistically. The results of the study showed that teachers value their profession at a high rate of (78.1%). There were no statistically significant differences due to the gender variable. Differences were attributed to the nature of work and in favor of the administrators. There were also differences attributed to the years of experience and in favor of those with longer experience. In the light of these findings, the study presented some future recommendations.

Sixth research : Impediments to Strategic Planning in the Departments of Advocacy and Islamic Culture and Special Education at the University of Qassim from the Viewpoint of Faculty Members .
Dr. Zyiad K. Al-Lala
     This study This study aimed to identify the impediments to strategic planning in the departments of Advocacy and Islamic Culture and Special Education at the University of Qassim, from the viewpoint of faculty members, in order to highlight the biggest obstacles and try to find appropriate solutions. To achieve the objectives of the study, a questionnaire of (29) items was prepared to uncover the obstacles facing strategic planning, and it was applied on a sample of (66) faculty members comprising (36) males and (30) females.
     The results showed that there were high and medium level obstacles to strategic planning, and that there were statistically significant differences ascribed to the variable of Academic Department, and in favor of the Department of Special Education, where the obstacles were much bigger than was the case in the Advocacy and Islamic Culture Department. The results showed that there was no statistically significant gender difference between the average males and females. Moreover, the results indicated that there were also statistically significant differences between the means of the sample attributed to the teaching experience in favor of those who had a teaching experience of more than (3) years.
     The study recommended implementing the following procedures: the adoption of the standards of excellence and efficiency in the selection of academic leader sat the university at all levels, the organization of advanced training course son strategic planning and its strategies for academic leaders at the university, and the insistence on the participation of faculty members in the process of strategic planning at the university and in following up the implementation of the plans.

Seventh research : Native Plants in Kuwait: Environmental and Economic Perspective .
Dr. Ali M. Al-Dousari - Modi M. Ahmed - Noor M. Al-Dousari - Safaa M. Al-Awadhi
     The development of Kuwait's desert environment has been facing great challenges as a result of the acute shortage of water resources, the deterioration of the vegetation cover, the increase in sand encroachment and the expansion of degraded land. Without vegetation cover, the soil and desert sand shall be constantly exposed to wind erosion that leads to an increase in the rate of sand drift, which has socioeconomic consequences in Kuwait. This long study consists of three main stages:
     The first phase lasted for two years, 2005-2007. Its objective was to identify the morphological, physical, and chemical properties of the wind deposits that accumulated around 15 dominant species of native plants (Nabkhas) in Kuwait andthe Gulf region which are: Nitrariaretusa, Tamarixaucheriana, Halocnemumstrobilaceum, Salicorniaeuropaea, Cyperusconglomeratus, Haloxylonsalicornicum, Rhanteriumepapposum, Astragalusspinosus, Lyciumshawii, Citruluscolocynthis, Panicum turgid, Calligonumpolygonoides, Arnebiadecumbens, Heliotropiumbacciferum and Convolvulus oxyphyllum. Approximately 1640 samples were collected from Nabkhas around perennial plants and four green belts of Tamarixaphyllae and Prosopisjuliflora. The study showed that both Tamarixand Prosopistrees and Nitraria from saline environment; and Lycium, Haloxylon, and Calligonum from desert environment; have the highest quality in naturally capturing quicksand, which makes them most effective for present and future applications in the field of sand control.
     The second phase was an analytical study of the economic value provided to the community by the native plants through the adoption of statistical and analytical methods of data collected to address the costs that the State had incurred as a result of environmental degradation and its association with native plants as a sustainable solution. During this period, statistical data were collected on the costs of sand and dust removal in Kuwait over two periods: the first was in 1993 and the second was in 2013. During these periods, removal costs of moving sand and dust in Kuwait increased from 0.497 KD/m3 (1.78 USD) in 1993 to 1.489 KD/m3 (5.33 USD) in 2013.
     The last phase from June 2011 until May 2015 was the most strenuous period as it involved carrying out an applied test of the role of native plants in facing sand and dust movement by implanting native plants in the area of Liyah that lacked any vegetation cover. With the participation of the community, approximately 110 thousand native plants were implanted in the form of 6 plant islands with a focus on plants threatened by extinction in Kuwait, such as Lycium, Haloxylon and Rhanterium. These plants have been implanted to test their potential as means of controlling sand and dust movement and to monitor wind deposits. The implanted plants captured about 115 tons of moving sand, which saved the State an estimated cost of KWD 1,707,675 (USD 6,112,764), which would have been the cost of the removal of sand accumulated on the civil and military facilities. It also contributed to reducing the sand and dust movement by 94% and 64.5% respectively.

Ninth research : Aspects of Social Underdevelopment in Contemporary Kuwaiti Society .
Dr. Maha N. Ghannam
     The main aim of this study is to identify the most important aspects of social underdevelopment in contemporary Kuwaiti society as seen by members of the community. To achieve this aim, a random sample of 338 respondents of both sexes has been selected from the students of both the College of Social Sciences in Kuwait University and the College of Basic Education in the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET). A questionnaire was prepared as a major tool for data collection, and a special Scale was developed to measure the attitudes and opinions of the respondents toward the aspects of social underdevelopment as outlined in the study. The Scale included a number of socio-cultural variables, and the validity and reliability of the instrument were verified. Data entry and analysis were carried out by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The study results showed that Violence came first followed by Sectarianism in second position on the scale of the aspects of social underdevelopment according to the study sample. The data also showed that there were statistically significant gender differences with respect to their attitudes toward all the social underdevelopment aspects on the Scale. The data also showed that there was a statistically significant relationship among all the dimensions of the study scale with respect to the aspects of social underdevelopment.

Tenth research : Determinants of the United Arab Emirates' New Assertive Foreign Policy .
Dr. Mohamed M. Bin Huwaidin
     The United Arab Emirates has adopted an assertive policy against Islamist-affiliated movements and Iran. Both are seen by the UAE as the main threats to the conservative tradition within not only the UAE but also the Gulf region. This paper examines the new assertiveness in the UAE's foreign policy and discusses the determinants of such policy and the challenges that it may face.
             

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