Collective Coordinate Approach to the Dynamics of Various Soliton-Obstruction Systems

Various soliton-obstruction systems have been studied from analytical perspective. We have used collective coordinate to approach the dynamics of solitons as they meet a potential obstruction in a form of square barriers and holes for three models in (1+1) dimensions, namely: $\lambda\phi^{4}$ model, deformed Sine-Gordon model, and a model that give rise to Q-ball solution. We have shown that our approximated field solution is valid enough to describe the behaviour of solitons scattering off a potential obstruction.Comment: 26 pages, 18 figure

Occupational Burnout Among Omani Physicians Across Different Stages of Their Career

The occupational psychology literature indicates that physicians are at an elevated risk of burnout and mental distress. Notably, there is a lack of contribution to this field from Arabic and Islamic cultures. This commentary critically analyses the contribution of twelve published papers to the field of occupational psychology, focusing primarily on stress, health, and wellbeing. The overarching aim is to examine the scale and determinants of occupational burnout among Omani physicians across various stages of their careers using quantitative research methods. Following an introduction and contextualisation, the synthesis of published work proceeds in three chapters. Firstly, four published papers report how mental health and psychological distress are conceptualised among Omani healthcare workers and the public. Secondly, five publications address occupational burnout, the overlap with depressive symptoms, and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirdly, three publications focus on burnout moderators among young Omani physicians: personality traits, emotional intelligence, and preparedness for hospital work. The findings revealed that burnout is common among Omani physicians, particularly during residency training. Long working hours and pre-clinical stage predicted burnout in regression analysis. However, the prevalence rates in our setting were lower than those reported in the international literature. Also, the published work highlighted the adverse effects of mental health stigma, prevalent in Oman, on willingness to disclose and seek help for psychological distress. Besides, the results highlighted the relationship between surgical speciality and psychoticism. Also, emotional intelligence correlated with specific demographic, including the female gender, while Omani physicians who graduated from international medical school endorsed a high level of preparedness for clinical work. Considering the methodological and theoretical limitations of the published work, conducting a prospective mixed-methods study is vital to scrutinise the burnout construct and its discriminant validity from clinical depression while paying attention to the cross-cultural factors. Moreover, future work should investigate factors improving work engagement and mitigating burnout in the Omani healthcare setting. The publications make an original contribution to the knowledge by culturally re-contextualizing burnout research and advancing the literature on occupational burnout via analysis of: (i) the magnitude and correlates of burnout in Omani physicians; (ii) moderating variables such as personality traits, emotional intelligence; and (iii) preparedness for clinical work. From a practical aspect, the published work has informed several initiatives and interventions to promote wellness and mitigate burnout at both the individual and organisational levels in Oman

OTENTIKASI PEMAKAIAN PROGRAM APLIKASI LABORATORIUM BERDASARKAN JADWAL KULIAH

Remote jaringan adalah hal sering di lakukan seluruh dunia yang digunakan untuk mengontrol aktifitas yang dilakukan oleh komputer client salah satu progam yang digunakan untuk mem buatnya yaitu Aplikasi Program VB, di dalam bidang bisnis, dalam bidang kemasyarakatan sudah banyak diimplementasikan dan terbukti memberi manfaat untuk masyarakat. Program VB yang dapat membuat beberapa program yang kini sudah melirik potensi pada jaringan komputer. Berdasarkan perkembangan teknologi dan kebutuhan masyarakat akan akses layanan publik yang praktis dan efisien, lahirlah konsep membuat program VB sebagai jawaban atas tuntutan tersebut. Tujuan dari pembuatan proyek akhir ini adalah untuk mendapatkan susunan perangkat lunak (software) dari sistem yang akan dibangun, mengembangkan aplikasi Visual Basic 6.0 untuk Otentikasi pemakaian program aplikasi laboratorium berdasarkan jadwal kuliah Berbasis Program Visual Basic 6.0. Metode yang digunakan dalam membangun pemakaian program aplikasi Terjadwal Berbasis Program Visual Basic 6.0 ini menggunakan metode rancang bangun yang terdiri dari beberapa tahap yaitu: (1) Identifikasi kebutuhan, (2) Analisis kebutuhan, (3) Konsep rancangan, (4) Pembuatan dan (5) Pengujian. membangun pemakaian program aplikasi Terjadwal Berbasis Program Visual Basic 6.0 terdiri dari (1) Program VB digunakan untuk membuat program itu sendiri, (2) Program Ms. Acces digunakan untuk menyimpan data (data base) yang di pakai oleh program VB. aplikasi jaringan atau teknologi lain yang berkaitan dengan pemakaian program aplikasi Terjadwal yang bertujuan untuk meningkatkan akses, efisiensi, efektivitas, dan kualitas dari proses belajar mengajar

Social Network and Privacy

Whiles some use the internet basically for commerce, other use for educational purposes whiles to others, it is all about entertainment. The internet can therefore be likened to a blank check, which serves different purposes as and how a person wants to define it. The user variety of the internet notwithstanding, recent studies have actually confirmed that an aspect of internet usage that seem to have caught up with over 70% of all internet users is the phenomenon of social media networking (Compaine and Gomery, 2011). The research paper was conducted with the aim of finding the privacy risks associated with the use of social networking sites and for the practice of social media networking. To realize this aim, five major objectives were set, based on which research questions were developed. The research questions became a guide for the researcher to collect primary and secondary data, with particular emphasis on primary data collection, where a questionnaire was prepared for 50 respondents selected from a university campus. All 50 respondents were users of social networking sites and had strong academic background in journalism and communication, putting them in a position to provid well informed answers to the questions to the respondent. The primary data collection emphasized largely on the attitude of the respondents towards privacy issues whiles using social networking sites. The primary data collection exercise was also committed to knowing the depth of knowledge on privacy issues with social media networks. Through secondary data collection also, the researcher had the opportunity of knowing what the hosts of social networking sites are doing to protect the privacy of users

Status of Bahraini Women in the Banking and Financial Sector: Challenges and Opportunities

The purpose of this study is to investigate the current status and the challenges of Bahraini women in the financial and banking sector; this sector is in continuous growth and needs to invest in human resources properly to attract talents. To enhance women’s access to senior positions in this sector, it must acknowledge the factors that influence women leadership, where the significance of this study stands out. The study presents how different factors affect the mainstreaming of women progressing to the top-level management. The study followed both quantitative and qualitative methods in data collection, and three different types of survey have been used in the study. The first questionnaire was directed towards Bahraini working women, the second questionnaire was directed towards Bahraini women who have left the sector, and these two questionnaires contained implicit references to the factors of the study. The third questionnaire was directed towards the human resource managers in the financial and banking sector. The total number of Bahraini employees in this sector is 14,675, with about 37% Bahraini women, which represents 25% of the total workforce (Bahrainis and expatriates). The results illustrated that approximately 8% of women reached the Board of Directors and 4.5% of Bahraini women among the Bahraini workforce attained the position of CEO. According to the findings of the study, the most significant factor affecting Bahraini women in the workplace was “the need for women in leadership positions”. The factor with the lowest response was “fringe benefits”. In contrast, the factor relating to “family concerns affecting women” was less significant. Recommendations were made to guide every women on workforce participation and the decision-makers to try remove all or some of the barriers that might hinder women from reaching those positions, aiming to provide women equal access opportunities to leadership positions in the this essential sectors and other sectors in the future

Factors influencing nursing student academic success : a mixed methods study

Student success is a core indicator of program effectiveness in nursing education. Student failure or delay in progression burdens the already limited educational resources, financially taxes the students and educational institution, and hinders an effective response to the growing demand for more nurses in health care settings. Recognizing influential factors of academic success or failure can inform academic support interventions. This sequential mixed-methods study examined factors that influence student academic outcomes at Oman College of Health Sciences by focusing on the relationship among student input, the academic environment, and student outcomes. In the first phase 267 students' academic records from seven satellite campuses were analyzed using Pearson correlations and bivariate and multiple regression to identify predictors of student success, defined as the GPA at the end of each year in nursing. A survey was distributed to 372 graduates to assess their satisfaction with the quality of their educational environment. The second phase included 11 one-on-one interviews of graduates on their opinions of what factors affected their success in the nursing program. Findings showed that the current admission criteria were marginally predictive of subsequent academic achievement in nursing. Gender, living arrangements, and student scores on English level-3 courses were strong predictors of student success. With a response rate of 91.1%, nursing graduates were somewhat satisfied with the quality of their educational environments. Analysis revealed a positive correlation between graduates' mean satisfaction and their graduating GPAs. Findings from the qualitative phase resulted in four themes perceived by graduates to have influenced their academic success: (a) positive prenursing academic experience, (b) student motivation and a support system as a positive influence on academic engagement, (c) language difficulties throughout the nursing program, and (d) a challenging program design and delivery. Understanding interconnections among student input, educational environments, and student outcomes can inform a systemic approach to facilitating a positive learning experience and promoting student success.Includes bibliographical references

Effect of treated BAPCO oil refinery effluents on the marine environment in Bahrain

The aim of this thesis was to study the effect of the treated oil refinery effluents of Bahrain Petroleum Company ( BAPCO ) on the marine environment. The study has been carried out in seven chapters, the first de~ling with general introduction about the physical environment of the Arabian Gulf and its oil industry in addition to marine pollution and fishery in Bahrain. The second chapter was aimed at studying the quality of water at different areas in Bahrain to compare it with the quality of water at an area adjacent to the refinery outfalls. The third chapter deals with the impact of the refinery on the marine environment. The research approach adopted was ecological and observational I involving water and sediment analysis. The fourth chapter was aimed at studying the effects of the refinery effluents on the fish through toxicity tests and estimation of trace metals and hydrocarbons in the fish tissues. The studies were conducted with several effluents from the main and side streams of the refinery, outlets of the induced air flotation unit and Sitra separator. The fifth chapter was aimed at studying the effect of Sitra oil storage tanks treated effluent on the intertidal fauna of the adjacent area. The sixth chapter deals with a general discussion on the whole studies. While the seventh chapter deals with sions and recommendations. From the study conducted , it could be said that in general the water quality of the western and northern regions of Bahrain is better than the water quality of the eastern region. The east has in general higher pH, higher ammonia, higher nitrite, lower nitrate, and higher phosphate levels than the other regions. The higher concentrations of all these substances reflects the urbanisation and industrialisation of this part of Bahrain and the consequent discharges of waste material. The fish, safee, were tested with different concentrations of the refinery main stream effluent using both short and long term exposures. The same experiment was set up using effluents from the side stream, the I.A.F. discharge of the refinery and Sitra separator outlet. The results indicated a greater toxicity of pollutants in the I.A.F. and Sitar separator effluents than in the main and the side stream effluents. The lethal concentration of I.A.F. and Sitra separator effluents which brought death to fifty percent of the test population of fish (safee) within 96 hours was approximately twenty percent. Fish from the experimental media showed a higner concentration of heavy metals. The study of the effect of Sitra oil storage tanks treated effluent on the intertidal fauna of the adjacent area revealed that no fauna was found at stations located just outside the effluent outlet. The sediment of these stations was black, slimy, heavily oiled with a bad smell and contains dead shells and turrets. Away from the effluent, a diverse fauna was found. It is concluded that the BAPCO refinery has a measurable impact on the marine environment of the east coast of Bahrain, and recommenqations are made tor the development of future policies with regard to Bahraini coastal waters

Model based development of torque control drive for induction motors for micro electric vehicles

Electric vehicles are attaining significant attention recently and the current legislation is forcing the automotive industry to electrify the productions. Regardless of electric energy accumulation technology, drive technology is one of the vital components of EVs. The motor drive technology has been mainly developed based on the application which required position/velocity control. In automotive application, however, torque control is an important aspect since the drivers have already used to drive the vehicle based on torque control approach in traditional powertrain system. In this article, a model-based approach is employed to develop a controller which can guarantee the precise control of the induction motors torque for a micro electric vehicle (EV) application regardless of operating conditions. The implementation of the control drive was conducted in MATLAB/Simulink environment, followed by Model In the Loop simulation and testing at various test conditions to confirm the robustness of the developed drive. Direct Torque Control (DTC) with optimum voltage vector selection method is employed to control the motor torque that requires fewer power electronics to process its operation and hence lowers the cost of implementation. The result shows the practicality of the designed control system and its ability to track reference torque commands. Vitally, the controlled approach shows fair abilities to control IMs to produce torque at both the motoring and regenerative modes which is a highly important requirement in electrical propulsion powertrains. Furthermore, the controller’s response time was within the industrial standard range which confirms its suitability for industrial implementation at low cost

Techno-economic analysis and decision making for PHEV benefits to society, consumers, policymakers and automakers

2012 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are an emerging automotive technology that has the capability to reduce transportation environmental impacts, but at an increased production cost. PHEVs can draw and store energy from an electric grid and consequently show reductions in petroleum consumption, air emissions, ownership costs, and regulation compliance costs, and various other externalities. Decision makers in the policy, consumer, and industry spheres would like to understand the impact of HEV and PHEV technologies on the U.S. vehicle fleets, but to date, only the disciplinary characteristics of PHEVs been considered. The multidisciplinary tradeoffs between vehicle energy sources, policy requirements, market conditions, consumer preferences and technology improvements are not well understood. For example, the results of recent studies have posited the importance of PHEVs to the future US vehicle fleet. No studies have considered the value of PHEVs to automakers and policy makers as a tool for achieving US corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards which are planned to double by 2030. Previous studies have demonstrated the cost and benefit of PHEVs but there is no study that comprehensively accounts for the cost and benefits of PHEV to consumers. The diffusion rate of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and PHEV technology into the marketplace has been estimated by existing studies using various tools and scenarios, but results show wide variations between studies. There is no comprehensive modeling study that combines policy, consumers, society and automakers in the U.S. new vehicle sales cost and benefits analysis. The aim of this research is to build a potential framework that can simulate and optimize the benefits of PHEVs for a multiplicity of stakeholders. This dissertation describes the results of modeling that integrates the effects of PHEV market penetration on policy, consumer and economic spheres. A model of fleet fuel economy and CAFE compliance for a large US automaker will be developed. A comprehensive total cost of ownership model will be constructed to calculate and compare the cost and benefits of PHEVs, conventional vehicles (CVs) and HEVs. Then a comprehensive literature review of PHEVs penetration rate studies will be developed to review and analyze the primary purposes, methods, and results of studies of PHEV market penetration. Finally a multi-criteria modeling system will incorporate results of the support model results. In this project, the models, analysis and results will provide a broader understanding of the benefits and costs of PHEV technology and the parties to whom those benefits accrue. The findings will provide important information for consumers, automakers and policy makers to understand and define HEVs and PHEVs costs, benefits, expected penetration rate and the preferred vehicle design and technology scenario to meet the requirements of policy, society, industry and consumers