Narrow Results

Corruption has been and continues to be evident in all societies, with differences only in manifestation and degrees. We focus on the manifestation and impact of corruption in the Persian Gulf oil-exporting countries and benchmark these countries against a set of non-oil-exporting Islamic countries and major non-Islamic oil-exporting countries. We first measure the degree of corruption in these countries using five of the most widely accepted direct and indirect indices of corruption. We then examine the relationship between corruption and various indicators of economic, social, and human development. Finally, we examine the association between corruption and oil endowment and the Islamic label, two common characteristics of the countries in the Persian Gulf. As such, the key focus of the paper is on the manifestation and impact of corruption in the Persian Gulf oil-exporting countries from a political-economy stand point and measurement of the impact of corruption on economic, social, and human development in the region. It should be mentioned that this paper was written before the blossoming of the “2011 Arab Spring.” The major reasons, to varying degrees, for the protests in the Mideast and North Africa have been because of decades of economic deprivation, autocratic rule, political injustice, institutional corruption, and human rights violations.

Once known for its rich maritime history where Sinbad the Sailor had infamously sailed his dhow to China, the Sultanate of Oman plays a crucial role across the Persian Gulf and in the Middle East. Oman has been a tax-haven nation for its residents and businesses but has enforced VAT from 16 April 2021 and is expected to introduce personal income tax from 2022; this will have an impact on existing and future businesses.

The focus of this study was antimicrobial membrane-activity of microorganisms isolated from soils of Iran. In this work soil samples were collected from desert and farming zones of Northern and Central of Iran. A total number of 75 species consist of 36 bacteria, 28 fungi and 11 actinomycetes were isolated from the soil samples. In the primary screening that was performed to evaluate antimicrobial activity, isolated microorganisms were analyzed in terms of their general inhibition effects to indicator strains E. coli, C. albicans, and S. cervisiae. It has been found that 23 isolates including 4 bacteria, 13 fungi and 6 actinomycetes, were effective against test microorganisms. In the secondary screening to determine membrane-active metabolites producing microorganisms, isolates which had an inhibitory effect against test microorganisms, were analyzed for membrane activity using a Rapid Chromatic Detection method. Based on color and fluorescence changes that are easily identified by the naked eye and fluorescent microscope, 3 species consist of 1 fungus and 2 actinomycetes had membrane-activity effect and were stored for the sake of further study and identification.

A model that predicts tidal elevations and flow velocities is developed and applied to the Persian Gulf. The model uses finite difference techniques applied to two-dimensional spherical-coordinate equations that govern tidal movement in coastal regions. Because of the importance of the Gulf to the shipping and fishing industries, it is necessary to be able to predict tidal elevations and flows at many near-shore locations. However, it would be impractical to use a very fine finite difference grid over the whole Gulf, because of its size. A technique is developed for nesting a fine grid within a coarse grid, so that important areas can be modelled more accurately.