title: Religion and political survival: The regional strategies of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar

authors: Townshend, Estelle Jane

subjects: religion and politics

abstract: Do Middle Eastern regimes use the contest between secularism and religion as a domestic authoritarian survival strategy, and if so, has this been projected into their regional policies in response to the ‘Arab Spring’? Post-Secular Theory has focused on the role of religion in domestic politics, neglecting the international and regional sphere, whilst also disproportionately focusing on the West, neglecting, for instance, the Middle East.  To address this gap in the literature, this research looks at the domestic motivations for foreign policy, specifically for the purposes of regime survival in four key states: Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. The investigation uses existing theories that consider regime survival strategies, such as Selectorate Theory, and religion and domestic politics, including Jonathan Fox’s Secular-Religious Competition Perspective. These have been adapted and applied to the Middle East, exploring their usefulness beyond providing explanations for domestic political behaviour. 
To test this, the co-optation patterns of sect and degree of secularism/fundamentalism within Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar was compared to the militias sponsored by each respective regime in the civil wars in Syria and Yemen as a means of discovering the existence of authoritarian survival strategies that use religion in the regional sphere. The research found that the case study states sponsored militias that matched the regime’s domestic winning coalition of support in terms of position on the secular-fundamentalist scale and sect. The secular-fundamentalist scale was created to rate the regimes and the militias in terms of religiosity. In doing so, it provides a tool for assessing the ongoing societal contest between secularism and religion, as outlined by Fox’s Secular-Religious Competition Perspective.
The significance of this research is that it establishes the presence of the contest between secularism and religion, and also sectarianism, as regime survival strategies in the regional sphere, specifically in militia sponsorship in Yemen and Syria. Therefore, this research proposes the incorporation of an additional causal variable into explanations for international state behaviour in the Middle East: the desire of elites to stay in power and the subsequent regional externalisation of the domestic strategies they use to secure their rule.

text: Religion and political survival: The regional strategies of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar Do Middle Eastern regimes use the contest between secularism and religion as a domestic authoritarian survival strategy, and if so, has this been projected into their regional policies in response to the ‘Arab Spring’? Post-Secular Theory has focused on the role of religion in domestic politics, neglecting the international and regional sphere, whilst also disproportionately focusing on the West, neglecting, for instance, the Middle East.  To address this gap in the literature, this research looks at the domestic motivations for foreign policy, specifically for the purposes of regime survival in four key states: Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. The investigation uses existing theories that consider regime survival strategies, such as Selectorate Theory, and religion and domestic politics, including Jonathan Fox’s Secular-Religious Competition Perspective. These have been adapted and applied to the Middle East, exploring their usefulness beyond providing explanations for domestic political behaviour. 
To test this, the co-optation patterns of sect and degree of secularism/fundamentalism within Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar was compared to the militias sponsored by each respective regime in the civil wars in Syria and Yemen as a means of discovering the existence of authoritarian survival strategies that use religion in the regional sphere. The research found that the case study states sponsored militias that matched the regime’s domestic winning coalition of support in terms of position on the secular-fundamentalist scale and sect. The secular-fundamentalist scale was created to rate the regimes and the militias in terms of religiosity. In doing so, it provides a tool for assessing the ongoing societal contest between secularism and religion, as outlined by Fox’s Secular-Religious Competition Perspective.
The significance of this research is that it establishes the presence of the contest between secularism and religion, and also sectarianism, as regime survival strategies in the regional sphere, specifically in militia sponsorship in Yemen and Syria. Therefore, this research proposes the incorporation of an additional causal variable into explanations for international state behaviour in the Middle East: the desire of elites to stay in power and the subsequent regional externalisation of the domestic strategies they use to secure their rule.

year: 2020

title: A Comparison of the BTT and TTF Test-Generation Methods

authors: Legeard, Bruno

subjects: computer science

abstract: This paper compares two methods of generating tests from formal specifications. The Test Template Framework (TTF) method is a framework and set of heuristics for manually generating test sets from a Z specification. The B Testing Tools (BTT) method uses constraint logic programming techniques to generate test sequences from a B specification. We give a concise description of each method, then compare them on an industrial case study, which is a subset of the GSM 11.11 smart card specification.

text: A Comparison of the BTT and TTF Test-Generation Methods This paper compares two methods of generating tests from formal specifications. The Test Template Framework (TTF) method is a framework and set of heuristics for manually generating test sets from a Z specification. The B Testing Tools (BTT) method uses constraint logic programming techniques to generate test sequences from a B specification. We give a concise description of each method, then compare them on an industrial case study, which is a subset of the GSM 11.11 smart card specification.

year: 2002

title: A translation of Moodle into Te Reo Māori

authors: Manuirirangi, Hōri

abstract: This paper is an assessment of the Te Reo Māori translation of the Learning Management System ‘Moodle’, used by students and teaching staff of the University of Waikato. Moodle: [Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment] has been the university’s primary online learning environment since 2008. It has an open code-base that allows users the ability to modify its software. This particular feature makes the LMS appealing to both Māori and Pacifika users as it allows Moodle to be developed and customized to meet their unique cultural needs. This paper discusses the rationale for the translation of Moodle into Te Reo Māori, and gives insight into the processes implemented by translation staff of Te Ratonga Whakamāori and the university’s WCEL team. The primary focus of this paper is to outline the benefits of translating the online learning environment of Te Reo Māori second-language learners, whilst highlighting how the integration of this technology augments students’ learning inside and outside of the classroom.

text: A translation of Moodle into Te Reo Māori This paper is an assessment of the Te Reo Māori translation of the Learning Management System ‘Moodle’, used by students and teaching staff of the University of Waikato. Moodle: [Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment] has been the university’s primary online learning environment since 2008. It has an open code-base that allows users the ability to modify its software. This particular feature makes the LMS appealing to both Māori and Pacifika users as it allows Moodle to be developed and customized to meet their unique cultural needs. This paper discusses the rationale for the translation of Moodle into Te Reo Māori, and gives insight into the processes implemented by translation staff of Te Ratonga Whakamāori and the university’s WCEL team. The primary focus of this paper is to outline the benefits of translating the online learning environment of Te Reo Māori second-language learners, whilst highlighting how the integration of this technology augments students’ learning inside and outside of the classroom.

year: 2017