The Impacts of Cognitive Style on School-Based Saudi Education Students' Problem Solving Ability in English Language

The purpose of this study is to find out how cognitive style and problem complexity affected the problem-solving abilities of school-based Saudi education students taking a Saudi power and technology class. The method of this research is the analytical method, through which statistical methods used in analyzing the research data of questionnaire study achieve the objectives of the research. Study tool, the research will use the electronic questionnaire form as a tool for the field study by preparing the questionnaire and its axes and phrases by using the theoretical framework of the study, previous studies related to the subject of the study. The five-degree Likert scale was used in answering the questions of the study tool. The sample was in total, 77 students volunteered to take part in the research. Sixty-eight of them finished the entire study and successfully detected the defect in their allocated. The research used the SPSS23 to analyze the data of questionnaire. The result indicated that there is a statistically significant impact of Cognitive Style on School-Based Saudi Education Students' Problem-Solving Ability in English language and the impact is positive. Keywords: Cognitive Style, Problem Complexity, Problem-Solving Ability, School-Based Education DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-30-08 Publication date:October 31st 202

Inclusive education for deaf students in Saudi Arabia: perceptions of schools principals, teachers and parents

This study is set in Saudi Arabia within the context of increasing national and international emphasis on inclusive education of deaf students and where policy overtly supports increasingly inclusive schools. This research is important because it is one of the few qualitative Saudi Arabian studies that have been conducted within the interpretive paradigm with a view to understanding the complexity of inclusive education. It specifically explores the factors that have influenced its theory and practice at inclusive boys’ primary schools for deaf students in the Saudi educational context. The empirical study which was set in the Local Educational Authority in Riyadh city focuses on the perceptions of schools' principals, teachers and parents of deaf students. It explores the knowledge, understanding, attitudes and experiences of these three groups of participants regarding the inclusive education of deaf students, in order to establish the factors that influence inclusive education and determine the kind of services that are needed for inclusive education of deaf students in the Saudi context. The study had two stages: the first involved exploratory focus-group interviews with schools' staff including schools' principals, teachers and parents of deaf students; and, stage two was based upon individual interviews, observations and documentary data. I adopted a purposive sampling strategy in both cases and overall 61 participants were included. A key finding was that principals of inclusive schools lacked the knowledge and understanding of inclusive education necessary for effective education for deaf students. This arguably has affected their attitudes and unconstructively influenced their attitudes towards the inclusive education of deaf students in their schools. Whilst the majority of teachers of deaf children had more knowledge and the necessary positive views towards their inclusive education and have tried to adapt classroom materials and activities to accommodate deaf students, the lack of support from principals inhibited them. In addition parents appear to lack knowledge about inclusion and its possibilities for their children and they are as such excluded from influencing educational policy and mostly do not play the role in inclusive schools to support their children that Saudi Arabian policy suggests they should. Other inhibiting factors for inclusive education for deaf students included insufficient facilities and resources, lack of training courses and lack of collaboration among school staff and between staff and parents of deaf students. My research indicates that these insufficiencies cannot be addressed without there being a symbiotic relationship between principals, teachers, parents, the Local Educational Authority, the Ministry of Education and the school environment. There is a strong need to create mechanisms to change the knowledge, attitudes and qualifications of principals, teachers and parents. Therefore in response to these findings I have developed and proposed a strategic model that focuses on the deaf student and their educational support, for the Saudi Education System. There is considerable research needed if inclusive education for deaf students is to be more grounded in an understanding of the context. The study ended with utilising its findings and previous literature to develop recommendations for theories of inclusive education and made contributions to knowledge about the role of attitudes. It also provided a set of policy guidelines and made suggestions about pedagogy. In Saudi, organisationally the Local Educational Authority need to pay more attention to funding inclusive schools and providing facilities and specialised training to school staff and parents. With work this may lead to successful inclusive education for deaf students in Saudi Arabia

Designing an Educational Program Based on (Micro: Bit) and Its Effectiveness in Acquisition of Basic Programming Skills and Computational Thinking Skills for Primary School Students

هدفت الدراسة الحالية إلى تصميم برنامج تعليمي قائم على المايكروبت (Micro: Bit) وقياس فاعليته نحو إكساب المهارات الأساسية للبرمجة ومهارات التفكير الحاسوبي لدى طلاب المرحلة الابتدائية، واستخدمت المنهج شبه التجريبي، وتألفت عينة الدراسة من (22) تلميذًا، وبعد التحقق من ثبات وصدق أدوات الدراسة (بطاقة الملاحظة للمهارات الأساسية للبرمجة، ومقياس التفكير الحاسوبي)، تم تطبيقها على العينة قبليًّا، ثَم نُفِّذَ عدد (15) درسًا بأسلوب التعلم بواسطة المشاريع لمدة شهرين، ثم تم إعادة تطبيق المقاييس البَعدية، وأسفرت النتائج عن وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى الدلالة (0.001) لصالح القياس البعدي لمقياس مهارات التفكير الحاسوبي والمهارات الأساسية للبرمجة للمقياس ككل، وبحجم تأثير عالي مقداره (0.81) لمقياس مهارات التفكير الحاسوبي، وحجم تأثير متوسط مقداره (0.74) للمهارات الأساسية للبرمجة، كما أظهرت تباينًا نسبيًّا في مستويات الدلالة وحجم الأثر في المهارات الفرعية لكلٍّ من المهارات الأساسية للبرمجة، ومهارات التفكير الحاسوبي. وأوصت الدراسة بتضمين دروس تعليم البرمجة باستخدام المايكروبت في مقررات المهارات الرقمية لطلاب المرحلة الابتدائية.The study aimed to design an educational program based on the Micro: Bit and measure its effectiveness in acquisition of basic programming skills and computational thinking skills for primary school students. The quasi-experimental method was used. The sample consisted of (22) students. After verifying the releablity and validity of the study tools (the observation card for basic programming skills, and the computational thinking scale), they were applied as pre-test, then (15) lessons were implemented using project-based learning for a period of two months. After that, the post-test was applied. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences at the significance level (α = 0.001) in favor of the post-test of the computational thinking skills scale and the basic programming skills overall, and a high effectiveness of (0.81) for the computational thinking skills scale, and an effectiveness of (0.74) for basic programming skills. It also showed a relative variation in the levels of significance and impact size in the sub-skills. The study recommended the inclusion of programming lessons using Micro: Bit in the digital skills curricula for primary school student

Availability of Quality Standards in the Special Education Program at Majmaah University - Saudi Arabia, from the Perspectives of Teachers and 8th level Students

هدفت الدارسة إلى تقدير مدى توافر معايير الجودة في برنامج التربية الخاصة في جامعة المجمعة، من وجهة نظر أعضاء هيئة التدريس وطلبة المستوى الثامن المتوقع تخرجهم، في ضوء عدد من المتغيرات. واتبعت الدارسة المنهج الوصفي المسحي، ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة تم تطوير أداة الدراسة متضمنة ستة أبعاد هي:(أهداف البرنامج، وطرق التدريس، والخطة الدراسية، وتقويم الطلبة، والمرافق والخدمات، والتدريب الميداني). وتكونت عينة الدراسة من جميع أعضاء هيئة التدريس في قسم التربية الخاصة في كلية التربية بالمجمعة، وعددهم (42)، وطلبة المستوى الثامن المتوقع تخرجهم خلال الفصل الدراسي الثاني للعام الجامعي 2015/ 2016. وعددهم (62). وقد أشارت نتائج الدراسة إلى توافر معايير الجودة في البرنامج بدرجة مرتفعة من وجهة نظر أعضاء هيئة التدريس، وعلى كافة أبعاد الأداة، وبتباين بسيط بين مختلف الأبعاد " المعايير "، حيث جاء معيار أهداف البرنامج في المرتبة الأولى، في حين جاء معيار المرافق والوسائل والخدمات في المرتبة الأخيرة. أما من وجهة نظر الطلبة المتخرجين، فقد أشارت النتائج إلى توافر معايير الجودة في البرنامج وفقا لبعد أهداف البرنامج فقط بدرجة مرتفعة، بينما جاءت على كافة ابعاد الأداة الأخرى بدرجة متوسطة. في حين لم تشر نتائج الدراسة إلى وجود فروق ذات دلالة عند مستوى (α=0.05) بين متوسطات آراء أعضاء هيئة التدريس تعزى إلى متغيرات (الجنس، سنوات الخبرة)، بينما أشارت إلى وجود فروق ذات دلالة (α=0.05) تعزى لأثر المؤهل العلمي، لصالح كل من حملة الماجستير، والدكتوراه، وكذلك لم تشر نتائج الدراسة ايضاً إلى وجود فروق ذات دلالة عند مستوى (α=0.05) بين متوسطات آراء الطلبة المتوقع تخرجهم تعزى إلى متغيري (المعدل التراكمي، والجنس). الكلمات المفتاحية: معايير الجودة، برنامج التربية الخاصة، جامعة المجمعة، الطلبة المتخرجون.The aim of the study was to assess to what extent the quality standards in the Special Education Program at Majmaah University, were available from the point of view of faculty members and 8th level students who were expected to graduate, in the light of a number of variables. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher  used a  descriptive survey method and developed a questionnaire, consisting of six areas:  (objectives of the program, teaching methods, and curriculum,  students’ evaluation, facilities and services, and field training). The study sample consisted of all faculty members at the Department of Special Education in the College of Education, totaling (42) faculty members, and (62) 8th Level students who were expected to graduate in the academic year 2015 / 2016.  The study results revealed the availability of quality standards in the program to a high degree from the point of view of faculty members, and in all the areas of the questionnaire, with a slight variation between these areas  "standards ". The standard “objectives of the program” ranked first, while the standard “facilities and services” ranked last. From the students’ perspective, on the other hand, the results indicated that  quality standards, which are related to program objectives only, were available in the program  to a high degree. In other areas of the questionnaire, students’ perspectives had a medium degree. The results of the study did not show any significant differences at the level (α = 0.05) between the means of the faculty members perspectives, attributed to the variables (gender, years of experience), but there were statistically significant differences (α=0.05), attributed to the impact of level of education, in favor of MA and PhD holders. Also, the results did not reveal any significant differences at the level (α = 0.05) between the means of the students’ perspectives due to the variable (GPA, gender). Keywords: Graduate students, Majmaah University, Quality standards; Special education program

Selected Dietary Nutrients and the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Adult Males and Females in Saudi Arabia: A Pilot Study

published_or_final_versio

Temporal variations of the earth's gravity field from GPS and SLR

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Impact of ammonia treatment and platinum group or nickel metal decoration on the activated carbon storage of carbon dioxide and methane

Greenhouse gases, chiefly carbon dioxide (CO _2 ) and methane (CH _4 ), emission is responsible for the global warming and heat waves which strike the world causing floods and droughts everywhere with more CO _2 attributions. The adsorption and desorption capacities of CO _2 and CH _4 at room temperature and up to 5.0 and 100 bar, respectively, were investigated for the untreated and ammonia-treated activated carbons (ACs), metal-anchored (metal: Ru, Rh, Pd, Ir or Ni) samples. We merged ammonia treatment and metal decoration to discover their influences on the CO _2 and CH _4 storage capability of ACs and the potential use of such modified ACs for capturing greenhouse gases and purifying natural gas from CO _2 . The CO _2 storage capacities ranged between 25.2 and 27.7 wt% at 5.0 bar with complete regeneration upon desorption, while the uptakes for CH _4 were in the range of 9.6 − 12.6 wt% at 35 bar with hysteresis behavior of the adsorbed gas. The highest adsorption capacities were achieved for the pristine samples, showing that metal decoration reduced slightly the adsorption. Ammonia-treated samples showed minor enhancing effect on the CH _4 adsorption in comparison to the CO _2 adsorption. The higher adsorption capacities of CO _2 than those of CH _4 could be employed for upgrading the natural gas, while the 9.6 wt% (2.2 mmol g ^−1 ) CO _2 storage capacity would allow for its removal from the flue gases at ambient temperature and pressure. The higher adsorption capacity and preferentiality of CO _2 over CH _4 could be attributed mainly to its higher quadrupole moment and its higher clustering above the AC surfaces, while a minor effect, if any, would be attributed to the modifications of the ACs, implying that physisorption mechanism acted significantly in the adsorption process in comparison to chemisorption mechanism at the studied conditions

Detecting Coronary Artery Disease from Computed Tomography Images Using a Deep Learning Technique

In recent times, coronary artery disease (CAD) has become one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality across the globe. Diagnosing the presence and severity of CAD in individuals is essential for choosing the best course of treatment. Presently, computed tomography (CT) provides high spatial resolution images of the heart and coronary arteries in a short period. On the other hand, there are many challenges in analyzing cardiac CT scans for signs of CAD. Research studies apply machine learning (ML) for high accuracy and consistent performance to overcome the limitations. It allows excellent visualization of the coronary arteries with high spatial resolution. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) are widely applied in medical image processing to identify diseases. However, there is a demand for efficient feature extraction to enhance the performance of ML techniques. The feature extraction process is one of the factors in improving ML techniques’ efficiency. Thus, the study intends to develop a method to detect CAD from CT angiography images. It proposes a feature extraction method and a CNN model for detecting the CAD in minimum time with optimal accuracy. Two datasets are utilized to evaluate the performance of the proposed model. The present work is unique in applying a feature extraction model with CNN for CAD detection. The experimental analysis shows that the proposed method achieves 99.2% and 98.73% prediction accuracy, with F1 scores of 98.95 and 98.82 for benchmark datasets. In addition, the outcome suggests that the proposed CNN model achieves the area under the receiver operating characteristic and precision-recall curve of 0.92 and 0.96, 0.91 and 0.90 for datasets 1 and 2, respectively. The findings highlight that the performance of the proposed feature extraction and CNN model is superior to the existing models

Hydrogen Storage in Untreated/Ammonia-Treated and Transition Metal-Decorated (Pt, Pd, Ni, Rh, Ir and Ru) Activated Carbons

Hydrogen storage may be the bottle neck in hydrogen economy, where hydrogen spillover is in dispute as an effective mechanism. In this context, activated carbon (AC) was doped with nitrogen by using ammonia gas, and was further decorated with platinum, palladium, nickel, rhodium, iridium and ruthenium, via an ultrasound-assisted impregnation method, with average particle sizes of around 74, 60, 78, 61, 67 and 38 nm, respectively. The hydrogen storage was compared, before and after modification at both ambient and cryogenic temperatures, for exploring the spillover effect, induced by the decorating transition metals. Ammonia treatment improved hydrogen storage at both 298 K and 77 K, for the samples, where this enhancement was more remarkable at 298 K. Nevertheless, metal decoration reduced the hydrogen uptake of AC for all of the decorated samples other than palladium at cryogenic temperature, but improved it remarkably, especially for iridium and palladium, at room temperature. This observation suggested that metal decoration’s counter effect overcomes hydrogen spillover at cryogenic temperatures, while the opposite takes place at ambient temperature

Storage and separation of methane and carbon dioxide using platinum- decorated activated carbons treated with ammonia

Activated carbon (AC) was treated with ammonia for nitrogen doping and then was further anchored with platinum nanoparticles through ultrasound-assisted impregnation method. Methane (CH _4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO _2 ) storage of the pristine and modified activated carbon were determined at ambient temperature. All the samples showed high storage capacities with preference towards carbon dioxide storage, which would be favorable for both energy and environmental applications. Ammonia treatment slightly improved the storage of both CH _4 and CO _2 for all the samples, which could be attributed to the little improvement in the micropore properties upon nitrogen doping. Platinum decoration had an opposite influence on both CH _4 and CO _2 storage, which might be due to the absence of metal encouraging storage mechanism such as gas dissociation or reconstruction on platinum’s surface in addition to the harmful effect of metal pore-blocking and higher density of metal particles