Access to Knowledge in Egypt


Book Description

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. "This book is an important contribution to recovering a nuanced, contextually aware view of access to knowledge and global knowledge governance" Yochaie Benkler, Harvard Law School "This is a 'must read' for scholars and practioners interested in economic devlopment, cultural production and access to knowledge" Susan Sell, George Washington University This volume features five chapters on current issues facing intellectual property, innovation and development policy from the Egyptian perspective. These include: information and communications technology for development, copyright and comparative business models in music, open source software, patent reform and access to medicines, and the role of the Egyptian government in promoting access to knowledge internationally and domestically. Together these chapters offer an overview of the challenges and opportunities facing efforts to promote access to knowledge. Combining both theoretical and empirical approaches, the work will be of interest to scholars and practitioners dealing with intellectual property and innovation property the world over.




Access to Knowledge in Africa


Book Description

"This book is a result of an international and interdisciplinary research project known as the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) project"--Acknowledgments.




Islamic Knowledge and the Making of Modern Egypt


Book Description

This historical study transforms our understanding of modern Egyptian national culture by applying social theory to the history of Egypt's first teacher-training school. It focuses on Dar al-Ulum, which trained students from religious schools to teach in Egypt's new civil schools from 1872. During the first four decades of British occupation (1882-1922), Egyptian nationalists strove to emulate Europe yet insisted that Arabic and Islamic knowledge be reformed and integrated into Egyptian national culture despite opposition from British officials. This reinforced the authority of the alumni of the Dar al-Ulum, the daramiyya, as arbiters of how to be modern and authentic, a position that graduates Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb of the Muslim Brotherhood would use to resist westernisation and create new modes of Islamic leadership in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Establishing a 130-year history for tensions over the place of Islamic ideas and practices within modernized public spaces, tensions which became central to the outcomes of the 2011 Arab Uprisings, Hilary Kalmbach demonstrates the importance of Arabic and Islamic knowledge to notions of authority, belonging, and authenticity within a modernising Muslim-majority community.




A Critical Guide to Intellectual Property


Book Description

Ours is an era when human genes can be copied and patented. From genetically modified foods to digital piracy, the concept of intellectual property (IP) and the laws upholding it play a foundational role in our society, but its political and ideological dimensions have rarely been understood outside of specialist circles. This collection cuts through the legal jargon that so often surrounds IP, to provide both a comprehensive history and analysis that explores the corporate interests that shape its conception and the movements that are developing alternatives. As the nature of industry changes, we might ask: what are the wider implications of the concept of IP, be it for agribusiness and pharmaceutical companies or the film and music industries? Has IP law has been used to safeguard and assert the ownership of ideas and creativity, or is it an essential foundation of our culture? Today, with mounting challenges from the growth of free software and open source movements, this collection provides an accessible and alternative guide to IP, exploring its significance within the wider struggle between capital and the commons.




Handbook of Research on Creative Cities and Advanced Models for Knowledge-Based Urban Development


Book Description

Discussing global society entails discussing the predominant characteristics of knowledge-based activities in all walks of life. Its main characteristics are based on creativity, innovation, freedom, and networking. The emergence of such a society poses several challenges to all disciplines of social sciences. Within such a context, sociologists must have practical encounters to the theoretical, methodological, and empirical challenges imposed within contemporary global society. In this vein, studying creative cities from an interdisciplinary perspective helps provide critical readings of the phenomenon and the different levels of the concept in reality. The Handbook of Research on Creative Cities and Advanced Models for Knowledge-Based Urban Development provides global models and best practices of creative cities worldwide and illustrates different theoretical blueprints for the better understanding of contemporary global society. While defining key concepts of creative cities, global society, and creative class, the book also clarifies the main differences between hubs, parks, and precincts and their contributions to knowledge-based development. Covering topics that include knowledge economy, social inclusion, and urban mobility, this comprehensive reference is ideal for sociologists, urban planners/designers, political scientists, economists, anthropologists, historians, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students.




Language and Identity in Modern Egypt


Book Description

Focussing on nationalist discourse before, during and after the revolution of 2011, Reem Bassiouney explores the two-way relationship between language in Egyptian public discourse and Egyptian identity. Her sources include newspaper articles, caricatures,




Female Youth in Contemporary Egypt


Book Description

Based on interview material, observations and content analysis, this book captures the everyday life structures of a cohort of Muslim/ex-Islamist female youth in Egypt who have joined or established new networks that share the common interest of doing ‘good’ to the society based on their religious worldviews, representing a broader societal movement. Female Youth in Contemporary Egypt posits that despite the fact that the 2011 Egyptian uprisings did not necessarily materialize with the political effects anticipated by some of its activists, it seems to have led to the formation of a new generation of active youth with a distinct worldview. Four broad and intertwined theoretical considerations have been taken into account. First, the book delineates the emergence and continuous development of post- (and sometimes non-) bourgeois public spheres in Arabo-Islamic contexts and conceptualizes multiple publics of overlapping Islamic structures rather than one Islamic public. Second, it offers an empirical as well as a conceptual understanding of the positioning of religion as public/private. Third, it presents a critique of Islamist thought conducive to the rise of post-Islamism; and fourth it offers a critique of feminist thought to throw light on novel forms of Muslim women's discourses and activism in line with post-Islamist worldviews. This book will be of interest to scholars in Middle Eastern Studies, women’s studies, and political studies.




Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt


Book Description

This book is a vivid reconstruction of the practical aspects of ancient Egyptian religion. Through an examination of artefacts and inscriptions, the text explores a variety of issues. For example, who was allowed to enter the temples, and what rituals were performed therein? Who served as priests? How were they organized and trained, and what did they do? What was the Egyptians' attitude toward death, and what happened at funerals? How did the living and dead communicate? In what ways could people communicate with the gods? What impact did religion have on the economy and longevity of the society? This book demystifies Egyptian religion, exploring what it meant to the people and society. The text is richly illustrated with images of rituals and religious objects.




Driving Access to Knowledge


Book Description




A Companion to Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt


Book Description

An authoritative and multidisciplinary Companion to Egypt during the Greco‐Roman and Late Antique period With contributions from noted authorities in the field, A Companion to Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt offers a comprehensive resource that covers almost 1000 years of Egyptian history, starting with the liberation of Egypt from Persian rule by Alexander the Great in 332 BC and ending in AD 642, when Arab rule started in the Nile country. The Companion takes a largely sociological perspective and includes a section on life portraits at the end of each part. The theme of identity in a multicultural environment and a chapter on the quality of life of Egypt's inhabitants clearly illustrate this objective. The authors put the emphasis on the changes that occurred in the Greco-Roman and Late Antique periods, as illustrated by such topics as: Traditional religious life challenged; Governing a country with a past: between tradition and innovation; and Creative minds in theory and praxis. This important resource: Discusses how Egypt became part of a globalizing world in Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine times Explores notable innovations by the Ptolemies and Romans Puts the focus on the longue durée development Offers a thematic and multidisciplinary approach to the subject, bringing together scholars of different disciplines Contains life portraits in which various aspects and themes of people’s daily life in Egypt are discussed Written for academics and students of the Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt period, this Companion offers a guide that is useful for students in the areas of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and New Testament studies.