The Arab Uprisings and the United States: The Dichotomy Between Balancing Stability and Upholding Commitment to Democracy

The Arab Spring, a revolutionary movement for democracy that swept across the Arab Middle East in 2010, has contributed to the downfall of several oppressive authoritarian regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. The movement represented several uprisings that placed the United States in a precarious position. While the uprisings have shaken U.S. policy to the core, they also presented a historic opportunity for American policymakers to craft a new and comprehensive policy that is compatible with the much‐coveted principles of democracy, freedom, and justice in a region that has historically been unable to grasp such principles. This article argues that the American administration under President Barak Obama squandered this opportunity by pursuing an incoherent and inconsistent policy. This policy revealed Obama's support of the uprisings calls for political reforms that aligned with American liberal values. However, the policy also reflected a commitment to ensure security and stability by maintaining autocratic regimes the protesters hoped to overthrow. This article demonstrates that the policy lacked consistency and clarity as it shifted from one uprising to another.     

Research-based learning for undergraduate students in soil and water sciences: a case study of hydropedology in an arid-zone environment

This article reports the efficacy of a research-based learning (RBL) exercise on hydropedology of arid zones, with guided and open research projects (OPR) carried out by teams of undergraduate students in Oman. A range of activities and assessments was used to support student learning during the three-month course. Assessment included monitoring of field trip and lab activities, attendance recording, scrutiny by a panel of written reports and open oral presentations. Students’ feedback through teaching evaluation is compared with other courses in the Department-College, illustrating high level of students’ satisfaction. OPR best fit the scaffold of RBL.     

Reviews

Kavosh‐e rasad khaneh‐ye Maragheh va negahi be pishineh‐ye setareh shenasi dar Iran , [The Excavation of the Maragheh Observatory and a Look at the History of Astronomy in Iran], Parviz Varjavand, Tehran: Amir Kabir, 1987, xvi+ 513 pp.

Khans and Shahs: A Documentary Analysis of the Bakhtiyari in Iran , Gene R. Garthwaite, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983, xiii + 213 pp., 3 microfiche negatives.

Kalila wa Dimna: An Animal Alleqory of the Mongol Court: The Istanbul University Album , Jill Sanchia Cowen. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, xiii + 176 pp. + index, 16 color plates and some 75 black‐and‐white illustrations. $40.00.

Content and Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic World , Priscilla Soucek, ed., University Park & London: Pennsylvania State University Press for the College Art Association of America, 1988,277 pp., 223 black‐and‐white‐photographs; hardcover, $42.50

The History of al‐Tabari: Ta'rikh al‐rusul wa'l‐mulük, an Annotated Translation , Muhammad ibn Jarir al‐Tabari, General editor, Ehsan Yar‐Shater, various translators, vols. II, IV, VII.’XVIII, XXVII, XXXV, XXXVII, XXXVIII, New York: State University of New York Press, 1985‐, SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies (ed. Said Amir Arjomand): Bibliotheca Persica (ed. Ehsan Yar‐Shater).

Iran: The Crisis of Democracy 1941–1953 , Fakhreddin Azimi, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, xi + 344 pp., notes to p. 404, bibliography to p. 422, index to p. 422. $39.95.

The Vanished Imam: Musa al‐Sadr and the Shi'a of Lebanon , Fouad Ajami, Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 1986, 228 pp., $17.95.

Freedom from the Self: Sufism, Meditation, and Psychotherapy, Mohammad Shafii, New York: Human Sciences Press, 1985, 261 pp.

A Jeweler's Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book from the Vever Collection , Glenn D. Lowry, with Susan Nemazee. 240 pp., 76 color plates, b&w illus.

An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection , Glenn D. Lowry and Milo Cleveland Beach with Roya Marefat and Wheeler M. Thackston. 448 pp., 456 b&w illus.Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and University of Washington Press, Washington, D.C. and Seattle, 1989, 2 volume set, $125.00

Iran in the Twentieth Century: A Political History , M. Reza Ghods. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1989, 296 pp., including notes, selected bibliography, index. $35.00 cloth.

Insurgency Through Culture and Religion: The Islamic Revolution of Iran , M. M. Salehi. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988, pp. vii + 186. $37.95 cloth.

Qajar Persia , A.K.S. Lambton, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1988, 341 pp., index, hardcover, $27.50.

Nameha‐ye Tab'id , (Letters in Exile), Mirza Aqa Khan Kcrmani, Homa Nateq & Mohammad Firuz, eds., Bonn: Hafez Verlag, 1365/1986, 201 pp., no price indicated.

The Iranian Mojahedin , Ervand Abrahamian, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989, 261 pp., notes, bibliography and index to p. 307, hardcover $27.50

Texte sur Agrargesetzgebung in der Isiamischen Republik Iran, übersetzt, kommentiert und annotiert , [Texts about Agrarian Legislation in the Islamic Republic of Iran], Asghar Schirazi, (Ethnizität und Gesellschaft, Probleme ethnischer grenzziehung in gesellschaften des vordern und mittleren orients, Frcie Univcrsilät Berlin), Berlin: Das Arabisch Buch, 1988, 381 pp.

The Chronicle of Theophanes , Translated from the Greek, with an introduction and notes, by Harry Turtledove, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982, 201 pp.

“The Government of God” — Iran's Islamic Republic , Chery1 Benard & Zalmay Khalilzad, New York: Columbia University Press, 1984, xiv + 240 pp.

Advice on the Art of Governance (Mau'izah‐i Jahangiri) of Muhammad Baqir Najm‐i Sani: An Indo‐Islamic Mirror for Princes , Persian translation with introduction, translation, and notes by Sajida Sultana Alvi, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989, x + 215 pp., Paper $14.95; cloth, $44.50

Cinema in Iran, 1900–1979 , Mohammad Ali Issari, New York: Scarecrow Press, 1990,446 pages. Hardcover. Illustrated.

The Ghazals of Hafez: Concordance and Vocabulary , Daniela Meneghini Correale. Rome: Cultural Institute of the the Islamic Republic of Iran in Italy, 1988, 894 pp.

Naser‐e Khosraw's Book of Travels (Safarnama) Translated from Persian, with introduction and annotation by W.M. Thackston, Jr., Persian Heritage Series, No. 36, New York: Bibliotheca Persica, 1986, xii + 135 pp.

Roots of North Indian Shi'ism in Iran and Iraq: Religion and State in Awadh, 1722–1858 , J.R.I.Cole, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988, xiv + 327 pp., $38.00.

Musaddiq, Iranian Nationalism, and Oil , James A. Bill and W.M. Roger Louis, eds. London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd., 1988, 358 pp. Published simultaneously by the University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas. $30.00 hardcover.

A Bibliography of Afghanistan , Keith McLachlan & William Whittaker, Cambridgeshire: Middle East & North African Studies Press Limited (Menas Press Ltd.), 1983, xiii, + 671 pp., index, map, hardcover, UK£ 55.25, paperback, UK£ 19.50

The Qashqa'i of Iran , Lois Beck. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986, xvi + 384 pp., maps, bibliography (p. 353), and index (p. 369). S30.00 hardback.

Iran Media Index , Hamid Naficy, compiler. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984, xxxiii + 265 pp.

Religious Trends in Early Islamic Iran , Wilferd Madelung, Albany: State University of New York Press (Bibliotheca Persica), 1988, x + 128 pp., hardcover $32.50, paper $9.95

The State and Social Revolution in Iran: A Theoretical Perspective, Farrokh Moshiri, New York: Lang Publishing Inc., 1985, xvii + 232 pp., no price listed.     

The potential of hyperspectral and multi-spectral imagery to enhance archaeological cropmark detection: a comparative study

Aerial photography has made the single most important contribution to our improved appreciation of the density, diversity and distribution of archaeological sites in Britain since World War Two. This is particularly the case for areas of intensive lowland agriculture where ploughed-out sites are known mainly from marks in the crops growing above them. However, reconnaissance for such cropmarks is not equally effective throughout the lowlands, because of the particular conditions of drier weather, well-drained soils and arable agriculture required before they become visible, and is highly unpredictable.     

Preparation of Engineering Geological Maps of Bam City Using Geophysical and Geotechnical Approach

Engineering geological mapping was carried out at a scale of 1:25000 in the city of Bam, located in southeastern Iran, to provide engineering geological information as a base for seismic microzonation of the city. In this study, Seismic Refraction and Vertical Seismic Profiling (VSP) surveys were employed along with boreholes in order to identify the characteristics of subsurface material in Bam city. A number of different kinds of maps of the city were prepared consisting of Iso-depth, Iso-velocity, and Iso-Poisson's Ratio maps. The study also involves trial pitting and continuous core recovery, in-situ, and laboratory tests. Borehole data, index properties of soils, and standard penetration test results were used to assess subsurface conditions. Geophysical and geotechnical data were combined to simulate geotechnical boreholes and prepare engineering geological maps to provide basic data for seismic geotechnical microzonation to facilitate in the reconstruction of the city of Bam.     

Calibration of an Advanced Constitutive Model for Babolsar Sand Accompanied by Liquefaction Analysis

In our research, we apply numerical modeling for prediction of liquefaction of sands during and after dynamic loading. In numerical modeling, to properly simulate the generation, redistribution, and dissipation of excess pore water pressure during and after dynamic loading, it is important to use a suitable constitutive model for soil. In this article, Dafalias and Manzari’s model [2004] (a critical state bounding surface plasticity model) was used to model the behavior of saturated sand due to relatively simple of formulations and a unique set of input parameters for a wide range of initial stress and void ratio. The attention in this article is on Babolsar sand. After calibration model parameters for Babolsar sand, the analysis of liquefaction using the modeling of a centrifuge test and predictions of model was carried out. The results indicate a reasonable performance of the model for prediction of behavior of types of sands. Also, Babolsar sand has more prone to dilatancy than Nevada and Toyoura sands.