Editorial

Citation

Pounder, J. and Clarke, M. (2008), "Editorial", Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, Vol. 1 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebs.2008.34901caa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, Volume 1, Issue 3

The importance of education in the Middle East is one of the central themes of issue three. Madhi Khorasgani opens the journal by reinforcing the importance of higher education to the economic well being of a nation; in his analysis, the nation in question is Iran. Nevertheless, MaryTyler Holmes, in her argument for overall higher education reform in Egypt, highlights the fact that the ability of a national higher education system to make such a contribution requires that the system be subjected to rigorous scrutiny to bring about substantial overhaul in areas where it is found wanting. Hanada Taha-Thomure makes a similar point regarding the need to review and overhaul the education system with a specific emphasis on the teaching of the Arabic language. The remaining articles depart from the educational emphasis with, first, a lucid and articulate excursion by Monica Gallant into the area of feminism in the Arab world. Ghada el Kot and Mike Leat examine an area of interest to the feminist movement given the oft cited concept of “the glass ceiling”, namely human resource management and discuss the extent to which human resource practices are a reflection of the cultural context within which they are practiced; in their case, Eqypt. Finally, Tara Henari and Roohi Mahboob give the discussions in edition three a global perspective as they examine the global growth of e-commerce and then narrow it down specifically to its acceptance and potential in Bahrain. We hope you enjoy the contributions in issue three.

James Pounder, Matthew Clarke