Abstract
This paper provides a history of agriculture in Syria from the beginning of the last century. It shows how agricultural trends have shifted and examines the outlook for the future.

Paper Outline:
Introduction
History of Agriculture
Early 20th Century
Middle 20th Century
Latter 20th century
Conclusion
Bibliography

From the Paper
"Beginning in 1950, Syrian farmers expanded the use of fertilizers and new seeds, and began practicing new farming techniques. As a result, productivity in cotton, fruit and vegetable cultivation improved. In 1953, agriculture provided 40 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Changes in rainfall rates affected crops, with secondary effects on the rest of the economy: trade, transport, and food processing. The low rate of growth of transportation had an adverse effect on the development of important agricultural regions."

Tags:Jebel, Druze, Range, Baath, Euphrates, Dam

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses the industrial revolution and its effects on agriculture. The paper reviews the pre-industrial history of agriculture as well as the sweeping changes within the agricultural sector during the eventful period when the manufacturing sector was being transformed by a wave of technological innovation. The paper concludes by noting how inextricably linked are agricultural change and technological change.

Tags:agriculture, changes, technology

Abstract
This paper discusses the effect on agriculture on changes in fuel costs, the market economy, and technology. It notes how changes in the external environment have affected the way those in agriculture do business and so the prices charged at the market, adding to costs or reducing them, depending on the nature of the change and the way farmers are able to respond.

From the Paper
"Agriculture is like any other sector of the economy and is affected by many of the same forces, including changes in fuel use and fuel prices, the market economy, and technology. The first of these forces is in the news now as agriculture has to raise its prices to cover higher fuel costs for farm machinery and for delivery costs. The nature of the economy affects agriculture by raising prices for other goods, which also can cause farmers to raise their prices to stay ahead of inflation. New technology can be both a capital expenditure to buy what is needed and a boon by increasing production and reducing costs over all. Such changes in the external environment have affected the way those in agriculture do business and so the prices charged at the market."

Tags:agriculture, fuel, economy

Abstract
This paper examines the impact of the Great Depression on agriculture in the US. It further gives an account of the pre-Depression depression suffered by the farm economy in the 1920s and why it had an effect on the Great Depression.

From the Paper
"The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of the Great Depression on agriculture as well as the decline in agricultural production as a feature of the Great Depression. The plan of the research will be to set forth the basic facts about the Great Depression and then to discuss the dynamics of agricultural production and the human demographics surrounding them with a view toward evaluating why the status o fagriculture was so important a factor of the event. In popular imagination the Great Depression is..."

Tags:Great Depression, Agriculture, farm economy, New Deal, Dust Bowl

Abstract
This paper takes a look at the challenges Syria faces in its current educational system. A history of education in Syria is presented especially as it relates to the developing economy and population demographics of the nation. The author notes the power of the ruling Baath party and its influence on the educational system. The paper also considers the consequences of the Baath one day losing power and the potential for an Islamist educational system to take root. The paper concludes that the overall quality of education in Syria appears to be quite low, due to the government's refusal to base their educational system on secularism and the slow progression of the economy, which in the long run must improve so that Syrian students can compete in today's global economic environment.

From the Paper
"Beginning in the late 1960's, primary and secondary schools and all institutions of higher learning at the university level came under the control of the Syrian government with the Ministry of Education being "responsible for all aspects of administration" and curricula development ("Syrian Education," Internet). In 1967, Syria signed the Arab Cultural Unity Agreement with its Arab neighbors which introduced new curricula examinations, teaching methods and teacher training requirements for every educational level. Unfortunately, this new system proved to be quite ineffective, due to being based solely on Islam and the decision of the minister of education to make "no attempt to inculcate notions of tolerance or respect for religious traditions other than Sunni Islam" and certain tenets of Christianity (Landis, "Islamic Education in Syria," Internet)."

Tags:Middle East, Secularism, Educational Reform, Islamic education, Sunni Muslims

Abstract
This paper examines the history of the conflict between Israel and Syria over the Golan Heights. Syria remains the one Arab neighbor that has never entered into formal negotiations with Israel. It looks at how Gaza and the West Bank have become subjects not only of negotiation but also of active peacemaking and how the Golan Heights alone has never been brought to the peace table, much less placed on it. It provides a brief description of the history and the geography of the Heights and the current situation and analyzes the prospects of any form of local peace in the near future.

From the Paper
"Yet for all these similarities, there is one profound difference: Assad has always been a "player" in Middle Eastern politics, while Saddam Hussein has never been. To some degree this can be explained by geography: Syria has a border with Israel and therefore must be integral to any overall Arab-Israeli settlement, whereas Iraq does not. However, that cannot be the only explanation; Iraq is an important regional power, and the Arab-Israeli issue is not the only game in the Middle East; there is also (among others) the Persian Gulf. The more fundamental reason is the nature and skills of the two men themselves. Both have a gift for staying in power, but Assad also has shown great talent at making himself an indispensable man: without his support no general Arab-Israeli peace can be established, but also without him no anti-Israeli front was viable."

Tags:assad, netanyahu, plo, arafat

Abstract
This paper briefly discusses how visiting Syria and walking in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, the Apostle Paul and the Roman Emperors Alexander Severus, Elagabalus and Marcus Julius Philippus could only be described as an experience of a lifetime. The paper briefly describes the history of the country, the main tourist spots as well as cultural compromises that should be taken into consideration.

From the Paper
"Travelers should also visit the historical city of Palmyra which has been mentioned in historical records as far back as the 19th century B.C. When asked of her experience at Palmyra world renowned novelist Agatha Christie remarked "It is lovely and fantastic and unbelievable" (qtd. in Shultz 412). The incomparable ruins spread across a 100-Acre site that mimicked Rome in grandeur. For those who enjoy a more chivalrous age and are fascinated by knightly tales the Krak des Chevaliers will certainly not disappoint. "In 1909, before he was Lawrence of Arabia, twenty-year-old T.E. Lawrence toured dozens of the Holy Land's Crusader castles and described Krak des Chevaliers as "the finest castle in the world. Certainly the most picturesque I have ever seen-quite marvelous" (qtd. in Shultz 411)."

Tags:arabs, Palmyra, Moslem

Abstract
This paper examines how the next conflict in the Middle East may be over water, not oil. It discusses how, with fast-growing populations to feed, Middle Eastern countries are looking anxiously at where they will find the water for agriculture and industry. It looks at how the water problem has come, in the recent years, to the forefront in the relations among the countries of the Middle East and occupies an important place on the agenda of several international organizations.

Outline
The General Situation
Turkey vs. Syria and Iraq
Israel vs. Lebanon
Conclusion

From the Paper
"A 1998 conflict over water nearly resulted in war. Syria was upset over a Turkish scheme to build a string of dams cross the Upper Euphrates as part of its South East Anatolia Project, which was depriving Syria of water on which its agriculture so heavily depends. The Syrians complained not only about the quantities released but also the quality. The series of dams built by Turkey upstream on the Euphrates means that the water reaching Syria had been used several times for irrigation, thus increasing salinity and harming crops, as well as causing erosion on the banks since it ran faster after being deprived of silt."

Tags:syria, turkey, lebenon, israel, euphrates, agriculture, industry

Abstract
In this paper the author looks at the regime of Abdul Nasser in Egypt and the changes it brought to the Egyptian lifestyle. He starts the paper with an examination of the early years after Nasser came to power, as a result of the monarchy at that time being overthrown. Nasser declared Egypt a republic, was anti-colonial and steadily developed a state form of capitalism that was typically nationalist. The author goes on to detail the changes that Nasser instituted into society which benefited the Egyptian people, like the laws that privileged industry over agriculture. The author mentions the special law that was introduced which spared new companies from paying taxes on profits for a seven year period. The paper also looks at the political changes that Nasser introduced and how he played the Soviet powers against the U.S. powers. In conclusion the author describes Nasser as a pragmatic leader, willing to cooperate tactically with the West so long as this cooperation was based on his own stipulations.

From the Paper
"The Ba'th considered that a conservative boycott might very well result in election victories for the better-organized communists, which would have been particularly true in Populist-dominated Aleppo. The communists were about the only ones in Syria who wanted the municipal elections held as planned. Seventy communist candidates had enroll for the vote by 11 October, compared with 75 for the much more numerous Nationalists and 35 for the Ba'th. Nasser and his Ba'thist allies believed that they could help their cause in Aleppo by staging a dramatic
'rescue', with the likelihood of changing the view of most Aleppans toward Egypt and thus providing more votes for Ba'thist candidates. It is not astonishing that the Egyptians and Ba'thists exaggerated the Turkish threat, giving plenty of airtime to the purported Turkish battle cry 'on to Aleppo'. Nasser and the Ba'thists, as well as the conservatives, were clearly worried about communist advances in Syria and the concomitant increase in Soviet influence. The Ba'th had allied itself with the communists to combat imperialism and the old-guard Syrian politicians; when they thrive, with proportionately more power ensue to the communists as Syria's relationship with the Soviet Union tightened during the crisis."

Tags:arab, bourgeoise, politics, capitalist, syria, populist, military, coup, muslim

Abstract
A report on the growing crisis in the Middle East due to the lack of substantial water resources. This lack of the necessary fresh water for agriculture and everyday uses has been brought about by a number of factors, the most important of which is the fact that the region now has too great a population to be supported by the ecology of the region. The paper looks at how the water shortage is dealt with in each of the region's individual countries and includes facts and figures relating to water usage and needs in the area.

From the Paper
"Some Middle Eastern nations, like nations in other parts of the globe, are increasingly turning to the use of deep aquifers as a way to supply their people with water, but the long-term consequences of this may prove to be environmental perilous. Moreover, such use of aquifers often (rather than resolving regional and international water conflicts) actually makes them worse, as is the case with the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer, which lies under the national territories of Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan."

Tags:israel, egypt, sudan, jordan, aqua, nile, purification, resources, natural, syria, golan