A re-examination of the Salicornias (Amaranthaceae) of Saudi Arabia and their polymorphs

During the period from 1964 to 1999 Saudi Arabian species of Salicornia were wrongly treated under the European species, S. europaea L. Recent explorations proved that there are two separate allopatric species of Salicornia in Saudi Arabia, one inhabiting the inland salt-marshes of the Najd (highlands) and the other inhabiting the Arabian Gulf Coast (lowlands). Morphological, ecological and exploratory studies confirm that they are two distinct species. The two species differ in features of bark, axillary spikes, basal vegetative segment(s) of spike, fertile segments, colour of senescent plants, and flowering, fruiting and germination phenology. As both the species have been described earlier from Iran, they are now new records for Saudi Arabia. The species are, S. persica ssp. iranica (Akhani) Kadereit & Piirainen and S. sinus-persica Akhani. S. sinus-persica, of which the status was thought doubtful has been confirmed. Both the species have been described and illustrated. Each species comprises a number of polymorphs. As leaves and flowers are rudimentary, confusing species circumscriptions, a proliferation of binomials has resulted in the taxonomy of Salicornia. To mitigate such confusion, the full range of variability of the Saudi Arabian species has been documented

Determination of Seed Viability of Eight Wild Saudi Arabian Species by Germination and X-Ray Tests

Our purpose was to evaluate the usefulness of the germination vs. the X-ray test in determining the initial viability of seeds of eight wild species (Salvia spinosa, Salvia aegyptiaca, Ochradenus baccatus, Ochradenus arabicus, Suaeda aegyptiaca, Suaeda vermiculata, Prosopisfarcta and Panicumturgidum) from Saudi Arabia. Several days were required to determine viability of all eight species via germination tests, while immediate results on filled/viable seeds were obtained with the X-ray test. Seeds of all the species, except Sa.aegyptiaca, showed high viability in both the germination (98–70% at 25/15 °C, 93–66% at 35/25 °C) and X-ray (100–75%) test. Furthermore, there was general agreement between the germination (10% at 25/15 °C and 8% at 35/25 °C) and X-ray (5%) tests that seed viability of Sa.aegyptiaca was very low, and X-ray analysis revealed that this was due to poor embryo development. Seeds of P.farcta have physical dormancy, which was broken by scarification in concentrated sulfuric acid (10 min), and they exhibited high viability in both the germination (98% at 25/15 °C and 93% at 35/25 °C) and X-ray (98%) test. Most of the nongerminated seeds of the eight species except those of Sa.aegyptiaca were alive as judged by the tetrazolium test (TZ). Thus, for the eight species examined, the X-ray test was a good and rapid predictor of seed viability

Tour d'horizon

Intervención de S.A.R. Príncipe Turki al Faisal en el Real Instituto Elcano el 26 de septiembre de 201

A comparison between the dispute settlement procedures in the international court of justice and the world trade organisation

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The International Court of Justice (ICJ) came into being due to a perceived need for international judicial settlement, whereas the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was created for the purpose of specifically promoting international trade by reducing tariffs and other barriers to trade. Alternative structures for each institution are also considered, as is the older dispute settlement process of arbitration, by means of cases. It is a voluntary submission by both parties to a dispute, when they have agreed on the issues, but need external assistance to proceed further. As a type of judicial settlement, it is binding, can permit third party or non-state involvement, and is a precursor of international tribunals. In the WTO, one aim is to use cases to test conceptual points. The specific aspects of dispute settlement including the application of rules and procedures, and implementation and processes, will be discussed. The working procedures of the Appellate Body (AB) will be analysed in detail. Another aim is to compare with the ICJ, wherever possible. Legal concepts such as jurisdiction, judicial aspects of reasoning, the burden of proof, and the standard of proof will be discussed. The Appellate Body’s (AB’s) standard of review of panel recommendations and rulings will be analysed. Compliance and enforcement are compared between the two organisations. Economic and political considerations will also be touched on when relevant to this study. In the ICJ, the application of concepts such as judicial restraint and activism will be assessed, including the degree of inconsistency found in different cases. The implications of the different types of agreements between states that can lead to or have led to the ICJ’s jurisdiction will be examined, and the impacts assessed. The ambiguity involving provisional measures will be studied in detail. The ICJ’s relationship to the UN Security Council will also be assessed. The lack of monitoring or enforcement, and of no stated compliance timeframe are considered. The thesis will end with various future recommendations

Water resources in Saudi Arabia with particular reference to Tihama Asir province

Although Saudi Arabia has made great progress in almost all aspects of development, the availability of water has remained problematic. It is, therefore, important to study water resources, and also the increasing water demands in Saudi Arabia in general, and in Tihama Asir in particular. Climate is influenced to a limited extent by the relatively high altitude of the mountains, especially where rainfall is concerned, and an annual average between 30mm and 300mm is recorded. The rate of evaporation, however, is very high, because of the cloudless sky and high temperatures. Runoff occurs only after torrential and monsoon rain, when the wadis collect floodwaters from their many tributaries. Two hundred dams have been built in recent years in an attempt to increase underground water recharge, and to provide potable water in sufficient quantity and quality, and to provide for irrigation. The ground water resources, including the shallow aquifers of wadis and the deep aquifers, could be of greater benefit with the modification of their current use. A large number of desalination plants have been constructed along the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf to meet the increasing water demands of Saudi Arabia's increasing population. The utilization of treated sewage effluent should be increased to stop the threat of ground water contamination and to reduce the pressure exerted on available resources. Results indicate that modem irrigation methods reach high levels of average field irrigation efficiency, and traditional practices show the highest average levels of energetics performance. Based on water resources and water budget analysis the following recommendations are suggested to the Ministry of Agriculture and Water with regard to water uses in Saudi Arabia and Tihama Asir in particular.- Modernize traditional and intermediate irrigation methods on as many acres as feasible.- Introduce small green-houses on as many private farms as possible.- Develop water resources extension service programmes and training programmes that address fundamental aspects of improving domestic water use, and alternatives to natural and artificial supplies. The developed database can be used as an information source to support future water resource-oriented decision making

An investigation into the perceptions of male smokers and health care professionals in the smoking cessation clinics in Riyadh on the Tobacco Control Program in Saudi Arabia

Aim: The aim of this dissertation is to produce an original piece of investigative research into perceptions of smoking cessation services provided by the TCP in the Riyadh region. Objectives: In order to realise this aim, the dissertation has the following objectives: 1. To investigate perceptions of the extent of the health care (smoking cessation) services provided under the TCP for smokers in the Riyadh region. 2. To investigate the perceptions of male clients and health care services professionals in the smoking cessation clinics in this region, on the effectiveness of the clinics in raising awareness of the dangers of smoking, in order to encourage smokers to quit. 3. To identify the perceived strengths and limitations of health care (smoking cessation) services provided for smokers in the Riyadh region specifically as a platform for developing those strengths in the future. Design: Primary data was collected through questionnaires administered to male clients attending the smoking cessation clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and professional staff working in those same clinics. The views of respondents represent their individual subjective experience of one specific aspect of an objective social experience, in this case the functioning of the Tobacco Control Program. Methods: A questionnaire was devised based on the policies and activities of the Tobacco Control Programme in Saudi Arabia. Convenience sampling was used, conducting the survey among 500 male clients attending the smoking cessation clinics in Riyadh and 30 staff in the clinics. The sampling was purposive, seeking to obtain the views of service-users and service-providers in the clinics, as those who would be expected to be more informed about the Tobacco Control Programme rather than a random sample drawn from the general population, such as a household survey. The Pilot Study was conducted in a smoking cessation clinic run by an anti-smoking charity in Riyadh. Results: The results obtained from both sets of questionnaires indicated in Sections A and B that respondents considered that the Tobacco Control Program was actively engaged in a series of activities relating to tobacco control, in raising awareness of the hazards of smoking and providing treatment. Responses in Sections C and D suggested that clients and staff 3 perceived that the Tobacco Control Program was operating effectively, despite some difficulties occasioned by a lack of resources. Conclusions: The level of satisfaction with the performance of the Tobacco Control Program indicated in the responses was high. The uniformity of the responses may be responsible due to two factors – a relative lack of cultural diversity among respondents, and limitations of the study itself in overcoming potential problems of reporting bias. Given the setting of the study and the methods chosen, this may have resulted in a measure of unwillingness to criticise aspects of the Program. Nevertheless, as the first study of satisfaction with the TCP since its inception in 2002, valuable lessons will be learned for future surveys to obtain data, perhaps based more closely on surveys such as those conducted in the UK to measure satisfaction with the NHS. A more standardised international approach should, therefore, be the way forward in terms of research design and methods

Sympathy, Skepticism and Conversation in Laurence Sterne\u27s Tristram Shandy and Henry Mackenzie\u27s the Man of Feeling

While Tristram Shandy and The Man of Feeling have received continuous literary attention, few has been done in reading the skeptical and sentimental aspects of the two novels. This thesis glances through “conversation”, a reader-author conversation may be defined as a dialogue with a reader which is mediated by text. Both Sterne and Mackenzie engage in a conversation with readers by making them laugh, question, criticize, sympathize, and reflect on the deeper meaning of the novels. Moreover, this author-reader conversation is impossible without the wide use of conversations in both novels, through which characters convey their emotions and thoughts. Both novels use conversation in all its forms and manifestations. As thesis shows, these novels employ satire, skepticism, and sympathy in a way that engages readers in conversation with the authors and their own beliefs and preconceptions. While some critics analyze Tristram Shandy and The Man of Feeling by separating their didactic spirit, or treating either side as the “winning” side. This is a false dichotomy as these novels neither strictly sentimental nor strictly skeptical, but they offer two sides perpetually in conflict. Sterne and Mackenzie balance sentimentalism and skepticism in a way that make them complementary rather than competitive

Developing an IS-impact decision tool: A literature based design science roadmap

This paper derives from research-in-progress intending both Design Research (DR) and Design Science (DS) outputs; the former a management decision tool based in IS-Impact (Gable et al. 2008) kernel theory; the latter being methodological learnings deriving from synthesis of the literature and reflection on the DR ‘case study’ experience. The paper introduces a generic, detailed and pragmatic DS ‘Research Roadmap’ or methodology, deriving at this stage primarily from synthesis and harmonization of relevant concepts identified through systematic archival analysis of related literature. The scope of the Roadmap too has been influenced by the parallel study aim to undertake DR applying and further evolving the Roadmap. The Roadmap is presented in attention to the dearth of detailed guidance available to novice Researchers in Design Science Research (DSR), and though preliminary, is expected to evolve and gradually be substantiated through experience of its application. A key distinction of the Roadmap from other DSR methods is its breadth of coverage of published DSR concepts and activities; its detail and scope. It represents a useful synthesis and integration of otherwise highly disparate DSR-related concepts

The Effect of Utilizing Hologram Technology on Developing EFL Communication Skills and Attitudes towards English among Middle School Students

The research investigated the effect of utilizing hologram technology on developing EFL communication skills and the attitudes towards English among middle school students. The Quasi-Experimental approach was adopted (pre/post-test design). The sample consisted of (84) middle school students and was divided into two groups: the experimental (N=42) and the control (N=42). The instruments were prepared by the researcher as follows: (1) An EFL Communication Skills Test included (40) items of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills and (2) An Attitude Scale included (20) items in two dimensions (Attitudes towards language learning and Attitudes towards using language in linguistic communication). The findings showed that there were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (? ? 0.01) among the mean scores of the students of the experimental and control groups in favor of the experimental in the post-application of an EFL Communication Skills test and the Attitude Scale. It was concluded that there is a positive effect of utilizing hologram technology in teaching English communication skills. Therefore, it is recommended to train EFL teachers on using hologram technology inside their classrooms