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Reviewing the literature on political participation and civic engagement, the article offers a critical examination of different conceptual frameworks. Drawing on previous definitions and operationalisations, a new typology for political participation and civic engagement is developed, highlighting the multidimensionality of both concepts. In particular, it makes a clear distinction between manifest “political participation” (including formal political behaviour as well as protest or extra-parliamentary political action) and less direct or “latent” forms of participation, conceptualized here as “civic engagement” and “social involvement”. The article argues that the notion of “latent” forms of participation is crucial to understand new forms of political behaviour and the prospects for political participation in different countries. Due to these innovations it contributes to a much-needed theoretical development within the literature on political participation and citizen engagement.

Long description: Ezidi people (Yezidi/Yazidi) and their culture suffered greatly at the hands of Daesh before, during, and after the 2014 Sinjar (Shingal) Genocide. Since the resulting forced migration, the Ezidi ­community as one of the most marginalised societies in the Middle East has undergone a significant amount of society-wide transformation. New avenues for agency have opened, and Shingali Ezidi women have taken these opportunities to express transformed identities, filling spaces previously unavailable, and altering “traditional” gender roles. This first extensive ethnographic work ever conducted with Ezidi women examines origins and developments of transformations in their female identity and agency. The analysis of their expressions and performances is particularly notable because of the subaltern position under numerous layers of minority, e.g. ethnicity, geography, religion, politics, culture, language, as well as gender. The aim of this study is to investigate the utilisation of subaltern identity to actualise agency among women after genocide. Biographical note: R. Latham Lechowick is a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, working within the Global History Lab at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities. After studying in the USA and in Sweden, he earned his PhD in Ethno-Political Studies from the University of Exeter. An aid-worker as well as an academic, Lechowick endeavours to combine these two passions throughout his career.

BackgroundTobacco companies employ various advertising methods, including immersive consumer experiences and cultural imagery, to promote their products. To our knowledge, no prior studies have explored how cigarette companies exploited perceptions of waterpipe tobacco in their marketing activities.MethodsWe conducted a search of the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Library using keywords and snowball searches. Initial terms included ‘water pipe’, ‘hookah’, ‘tradition’, ‘culture’ and ‘lounge’, supplemented by programme, agency and individuals’ names. Findings were cross-referenced with published scientific literature and advertising archives.ResultsAmerican Tobacco Co (ATC) introduced the Waterford cigarette in 1965. The cigarette used pinchable water capsules in its filter tip, emulating the waterpipe smoking mechanism of passing smoke through water. ATC used several waterpipe tobacco elements (textual and pictorial) in Waterford cigarette advertising. RJ Reynolds (RJR) executed the Camel Casbah Programme from 1998 to 2003 to target young adult smokers. It featured smoking lounges in outdoor concert amphitheatres with VIP treatment, including greeters and ‘cigarette girls’, to create a ‘Camelesque’ environment that enhanced the ‘Pleasure to Burn Experience’. The programme operated in 30 US concert venues with, averaging 600 events annually, generating over two million consumer names for RJR’s database. Casbah used hookah imagery and artefacts in interior décor, stories and the design of its Exotic Blend line extension ads.ConclusionsATC and RJR used cultural imagery related to waterpipe tobacco and hookah to promote cigarettes. Understanding these methods can help address contemporary tobacco product advertising practices using cultural artefacts.

This study is the first to examine infant-mother attachment in the Arab culture. Eighty-five Arab 1-year-old infants from Israel were observed in the strange situation, and maternal sensitivity was assessed from home observations. Supporting attachment theory's normativity hypothesis, no differences were found between the Arab-Israeli attachment distribution and Jewish-Israeli, Western, and non-Western distributions when examined at the two-way secure versus insecure level, although a few differences emerged when examined at the four-way ABCD level. Supporting the sensitivity hypothesis, mothers of secure infants were more sensitive than those of insecure infants but only in the case of Christian (and not Muslim) mothers. The findings provide support to attachment theory's generalizability but raise questions regarding the assessment of maternal sensitivity cross-culturally.

March of this year will mark 12 years of civil war in Syria. Alongside the horrific and ongoing humanitarian impact, the archaeological heritage of the region also came under attack. In August 2015, militants of the so-called Islamic State destroyed the temple of Bel in the ancient city of Palmyra; this act was followed a month later by the destruction of some of the well-preserved funerary architecture in the nearby Valley of the Tombs. Despite the devastation, archaeologists continue working to record and understand the archaeology of Palmyra, with projects such as Archive Archaeology: Preserving and Sharing Palmyra's Cultural Heritage through Harald Ingholt's Digital Archives (Miranda & Raja 2022) demonstrating how archive material can help to reconstruct what has been lost. This NBC features two recent additions to the Studies in Palmyrene Archaeology and History series, dedicated to deepening knowledge of the ancient city. These volumes, and the others reviewed below, share a focus on the ancient Middle East, especially during the late antique and early medieval periods, and highlight exciting new research and discoveries.

Date palm cultivation is highly relevant, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, mainly due to the fact that it is considered an eco-efficient crop (based on its few growth requirements and the fact that it is economic and sustainable) that produces a nutritious fruit (date fruit). Recently, its implantation has rapidly spread to other areas of the world as a viable option to fight against the consequences of climate change, but also due to several health benefits associated with date fruit (pulp and seeds) which make them a potential source of functional food ingredients. This review provides detailed recent information on the nutrition, nutraceuticals and bioactive properties of date palm fruit (reinforced with in vitro and in vivo evidences) and their potential for developing novel and functional foods as a way to highlight the wide possibilities for this crop. Date fruits are rich in phytochemicals, such as phenolics, anthocyanin, carotenoids, tocopherols, phytosterols and dietary fiber, which have been linked with their biological activities (antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, prebiotic, anticancer and antitoxic properties) and are responsible for their use in the prevention and control of current diseases such as diabetes, cancer and gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases in industrialized countries.

(1) Background: Home health care (HHC) services guarantee good patient care and family support. Understanding how we can better help our informal caregivers (ICs) by understanding their needs and the burden they experience is crucial. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to September 2024 at an HHC facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 22-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI-22) was used to assess the caregiver burden (CB). ICs of patients with specific diseases (palliative, cancer, chronic, and dementia patients) and other factors were studied to identify any association with informal caregiver burden (ICB). (3) Results: Significant CB was defined as ZBI ≥ 21. The IC (384) participants comprised 119 caregivers of dementia patients, 104 caregivers of chronic patients, 83 caregivers of palliative patients, and 78 caregivers of cancer patients. The total mean of the ZBI-22 score among ICs was 31.66, representing a significant CB. The means by groups were as follows: chronic patients, 38.28; dementia patients, 34.97; cancer patients, 25.21; and palliative patients, 22.94. Other variables, such as the duration of care, education level, relationship with the patient, and unemployment, were associated with CB (p-value < 0.05). (4) Conclusions: The caregivers’ characteristics and the patients’ disease were associated with significant CB. More interventions from healthcare workers to support ICs are essential to release their burden.

The traditional and indigenous architecture in Saudi Arabia is being replaced by modern, Western-style buildings, resulting from the growing influence of Western culture. This change is evident in architectural elements such as Mashrabiya, which was once a symbol of the country’s Islamic architecture. The research paper aims to analyse the impact of modernization and the resurgence of Mashrabiya on a building’s energy efficiency, as well as the cultural and religious integrity of its historical counterpart in the context of Saudi Arabia. The study employed mixed research methods, including an online survey with Saudi Arabian households to study the public perception of Mashrabiya, case studies of residences with traditional and modern Mashrabiya, and a range of dynamic thermal simulations on a residence with traditional Mashrabiya to study its impact on energy consumption. The survey revealed that the public is aware of the changing face of Mashrabiya and its impact on the cultural and religious identity of the region, mainly privacy, but it is largely uninformed about ways to preserve its true essence. The simulations demonstrated a significant improvement in thermal comfort, i.e., an approximate 14% reduction in operative temperature and a 77.8% reduction in peak solar gain; an improvement in energy efficiency, i.e., a 5.7% reduction in monthly cooling load and a 35.5% improvement in daylight factor. Based on the findings, the research provides several recommendations to preserve the identity of traditional Mashrabiya while enhancing their energy efficiency, such as the incorporation of traditional design elements into the plans of the Saudi Arabian government.