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ABSTRACT The Maya Lowlands and the Middle East occupy two contrasting latitudinal zones of ancient settlement, the former comprising part of the semi-tropical belt of low-density urbanism whereas in the Middle East dense nucleated settlement has predominated. Building upon the foundation lain down by Robert McC. Adams and published in 1966, but primarily drawing upon new evidence from archaeological landscape surveys, this paper explores the commonalities and contrasts between these two landscapes. Emphasis is placed upon settlement and landscape dynamics, specifically those features that contribute to our understanding of settlement sustainability or fragility. In addition, the different responses of large and small sites to both internal and external stresses are examined with particular reference to models of collapse and resilience. This paper selectively draws upon evidence from case studies from each geographical zone. These include those previously presented from the Maya region together with case studies drawn from the large data base available from Durham University's Fragile Crescent Project. Key features of settlement landscape dynamics include: agricultural intensification, polity size, transport networks, and patterns of exchange. In addition, reference is made to settlement landscapes in the sub-humid and semi-arid Yemen highlands which occupy a latitudinal zone equivalent to the Yucatan Peninsula and which show some characteristics of low density urbanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theorists have described innovation as the ability to develop and reform the business idea and concept of a firm through changes in the market, firm, competencies and business system. The purpose of this conceptual study is to investigate innovation and competitive advantage, and its inter-relationships within the manufacturing industry sector in Yemen. The main conclusions from this particular study are that innovation is very important regardless of manufacturing industry; and that innovation has a greater effect on how a business should be structured in firms. However, scholars are now paying growing attention to the possibility that the collective capability of innovation plays a key role in determining a firm's competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is therefore to fill gaps in the manufacturing innovation and competitive advantage literature, especially by providing insights into the relationship between innovation and competitive advantage in manufacturing enterprises, in Yemen and the Middle East, and the economic development of developing countries worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comparative descriptive study sought to determine the impact of glocalization on international social work education. Using quantitative methods, this study reports objective findings for a randomly selected, non-probability, purposive sample of 178 faculty members who were geographically distributed among faculties and departments of social work at 22 universities in eight Arab countries. The primary research instrument used was a standardized paper and pencil questionnaire. Data analysis of the responses of the faculty members found that participants’ attitudes were equally weak on the track of glocalization and international social work education. This could be attributed to the variables of faculty members, social work students, university textbooks, quality of library services, methods of teaching, field practicum, and quality of student evaluation. In contrast, the attitudes of the faculty members averaged on the track of glocalization and international social work education, which could be attributed to the variable of social work curricula. The analysis also revealed a marked absence of sustained contact with social work professionals and scholars from other regions and societies of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the Neolithic in the Yemeni highlands still rests on very limited sampling. The available data for the eastern belt of the plateau derive from the Italian Mission's explorations of 1981-84, still largely unpublished, and a survey conducted in Wādī Khamar in 1987 and 1990. Focusing on settlement problems, this paper attempts an examination of locational choice from a review at both the regional and local scales, including information obtained from a study of the late A. de Maigret's notebooks. Regionally, specific settlement patterns appear to emerge and significant links to mid-Holocene environmental 'enclaves' can be advanced, permitting speculation on land use. On the local scale, site composition and variation are reviewed on the basis of the three excavated sites (Jabal Quṭrān, An-Najid al-Abyaḍ 7 and Wādī aṯ-Ṯayyilah 3). Understanding the specificity of Neolithic settlement in the uplands is still a distant goal, and the considerable unknowns involved are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]