SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN THE STATE OF QATAR

Every single consumption choice that consumers make has an impact on the society and on the environment. By choosing products that have a limited impact on the environment and the society consumers can help saving the environment and help in having a sustainable resources, thus bring the changes they want in the marketplace. The purpose of this research paper is to identify what people in Qatar include in the concept of responsible consumption, with regard to many choices, and which are the responsibilities they think they have as responsible consumers. A questioner was developed and distributed to different category of the society to measure their social responsible consumer behavior. A total of 129 respond has been collected. The paper has concluded that there is no relation between different consumer groups and their social consumer behavior. The consumers in Qatar do not have much awareness in that filed due to many reasons. Society wealth, lack of awareness from the government and the social responsible culture might be some of reasons for that problem

Coronary artery bypass grafting in a patient with polycythaemia rubra vera - a rare indication with a spectrum of complication: a case report

Coronary artery bypass surgery for coronary artery thrombosis in patients with polycythaemia rubra vera has been rarely described. The main issue with such patients is their risk of both bleeding and thrombosis and as such the ideal postoperative management of such cases is unknown. Hereby, we describe a case of a 62-year-old man with polycythaemia rubra vera who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. Although his initial postoperative course was complicated, his long-term outcome was good

Using SDN as a Technology Enabler for Distance Learning Applications

The number of students who obtained degrees via distance learning has grown considerably in the last few years. Services provided by distance learning systems are expected to be delivered in a fast and reliable way. However, as the number of users increases, so does the stress on the network. Software-Defined Networking, on the other hand, is a new technology that provides a rapid response to the ever-evolving requirements of today’s businesses. The technology is expected to enhance the overall performance of cloud services, including those provided by distance learning. This paper investigates the benefits of employing such a technology by educational institutions to provide quality services to the users. The results of the experiments show an improvement in performance of up to 11%, when utilizing the technology. In addition, we show how resource reservation features can be utilized to provide quality service to users depending on their role in the distance learning system

WBSN in IoT health-based application: toward delay and energy consumption minimizing

The wireless body sensor network (WBSN) technologies are one of the essential technologies of the Internet of things (IoT) growths of the healthcare paradigm, where every patient is monitored through a group of small-powered and lightweight sensor nodes. Thus, energy consumption is a major issue in WBSN. The major causes of energy wastage in WBSN are collisions and retransmission process. However, the major cause of the collision happened when two sensors are attempting to transmit data at exactly the same time and same frequency, and the major cause of the retransmission process happened when the collision takes place or data does not received properly due to channel fading. In this paper, we proposed a cognitive cooperative communication with two master nodes, namely, as two cognitive master nodes (TCMN), which can eliminate the collision and reduce the retransmission process. First, a complete study of a scheme is investigated in terms of network architecture. Second, a mathematical model of the link and outage probability of the proposed protocol are derived. Third, the end-to-end delay, throughput, and energy consumption are analyzed and investigated. The simulation and numerical results show that the TCMN can do system performance under general conditions with respect to direct transmission mode (DTM) and existing work

Ultra-broadband and polarization-insensitive metasurface absorber with behavior prediction using machine learning

The solar spectrum energy absorption is very important for designing any solar absorber. The need for absorbing visible, infrared, and ultraviolet regions is increasing as most of the absorbers absorb visible regions. We propose a metasurface solar absorber based on Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) substrate which increases the absorption in visible, infrared and ultraviolet regions. GST is a phase-changing material having two different phases amorphous (aGST) and crystalline (cGST). The absorber is also analyzed using machine learning algorithm to predict the absorption values for different wavelengths. The solar absorber is showing an ultra-broadband response covering a 0.2–1.5 µm wavelength. The absorption analysis for ultra-violet, visible, and near-infrared regions for aGST and cGST is presented. The absorption of aGST design is better compared to cGST design. Furthermore, the design is showing polarization insensitiveness. Experiments are performed to check the K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN)-Regressor model’s prediction efficiency for predicting missing/intermediate wavelengths values of absorption. Different values of K and test scenarios; C-30, C-50 are used to evaluate regressor models using adjusted R2 Score as an evaluation metric. It is detected from the experimental results that, high prediction proficiency (more than 0.9 adjusted R2score) can be accomplished using a lower value of K in KNN-Regressor model. The design results are optimized for geometrical parameters like substrate thickness, metasurface thickness, and ground plane thickness. The proposed metasurface solar absorber is absorbing ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions which will be used in solar thermal energy applications

Authentic Assessment: Evaluating the Saudi EFL Tertiary Examination System

As early as 1983, Rossi propounded that one of the issues of particular interest and development within the foreign and second language teaching profession is that of proficiency testing or the evaluation of a learner's level of linguistic and communicative competence. This still holds true. On the contrary our pilot study using the Question Paper Evaluating Checklists (included in this paper) indicates that all is not right with the designing of EFL question papers in Saudi Arabia though EFL assessment patterns in the KSA have undergone much change from the time that English was first introduced into the curriculum as a compulsory foreign language. It is the demand of time that evaluation patterns be evaluated on the touchstone of latest research and their relationship with classroom practices be established. This will help the learner-teacher combine to plug the loopholes in language training. In other words, we have to realise as educators that good assessment forms the basis of a wealth of learner information that has direct and indirect ramifications on curriculum and pedagogy. Hence the need to study this aspect of EFL in the light of modern literatures in order come up with constructive recommendations

Risk management framework for build, operate and transfer (BOT) projects in Kuwait

Successful implementation of build-operate-transfer (BOT), infrastructure projects is dependent on a full and thorough analysis of factors that include social, economic and political, amongst others. Alongside the financially focused evaluations, qualitative factors will also have a strong impact on the project and so require specific techniques for the analysis. This paper presents a new evaluation framework, based on the analytical hierarchy process technique, for use in assessing the most common and significant decision factors relating to risks in BOT projects. Consultations with an expert group identified a series of risk decision factors. The results produced twenty-eight critical Risk Factors, which have a particular impact on the risks of BOT projects. The project risk framework was constructed by classifying the factors into five categories. The framework was successfully validated using a BOT project case study. This research seeks to make a valuable contribution to the field by having developed and validated a new risk evaluation framework, focused on BOT projects in Kuwait

The influential factors of business development among SMEs in the food Industry of the GCC region

SMEs are the core engine of most economies around the world. Empowering SMEs with the right tools, especially those tools utilized to formulate business models would help the ventures to thrive more successfully. This study aims to provide such business development support tools to the food sectors SMEs of the GCC. This paper presents the results of an on-going research, part of which is investigating the factors influencing business development decision making, among SMEs operating in the food industry of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). To that end, the paper conducts an extensive literature review on the topic, which is followed by an industrial field study, and analysis of the data obtained. The field study involved 36 companies within the food industry of the GCC region. The findings from this study show that the SMEs in the food industry in the GCC region will need to have an effective business model in order to successfully run or grow their businesses. The initial result of this research shows that the business model canvas is the most suitable for SMEs in the GCC food sector. Furthermore, from the field study, a total of eleven influential factors have been identified, and these factors influence the approach to the business development process and the eventual success of such business development activities. Finally, from the eleven factors, three themes were established. These themes showed the relationship between the influential factors and the BMC; the themes were the value proposition design, customer segmentation and business planning. In conclusion, it was identified that the major challenge the food SMEs face is that of establishing a product-market fit in the development of their products and services. Product market fit as a challenge in the GCC is associated with the rapid geopolitical and social changes being experienced in the region. Hence, leading to changes in the demand and delivery of food products. Product market fit challenge is also linked to the fundamental weakness of the BMC identified in the study. Therefore, further research is required to see how the BMC can be enhanced, to make it more effective to the specific needs and structure of the GCC market environment. To do this will require to capture and incorporate the knowledge from this study and those from successful food SMEs into a single enhanced BM

Perceptions of Online Learning Among Instructors: How to Maximize Instructors’ Competencies in Virtual and Blended Learning

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate instructors' perceptions of e-learning at the Public Authority For Applied Education and Training (PAAET) in Kuwait. It sheds light on the effectiveness of Ms-Teams as a learning management tool used by instructors and students. The outcome of the study will help to introduce guidelines for enhancing the role of instructors in virtual and blended learning. . Theoretical framework: Information technology will change education if used properly by skilled teachers. Technology's rapid adoption and investment have changed education, and instructors are crucial to 21st-century learning standards and methods. Because AI, advanced technology, and automation will rule the future, the next generation of workers must be tech-savvy. This study will identify instructors' digital skills and provide recommendations and a road map to support advanced technological tools and new innovative learning strategies in human resource management.   Design/Methodology/Approach: The research used both qualitative and quantitative methods. A focus group session was conducted to investigate further, and the results of the session helped shape a survey questionnaire that was distributed to 161 instructors at PAAET. The survey aimed to identify the challenges and opportunities presented by online learning.   Findings: Instructors have a positive view of online learning and Ms Teams as a learning management. The study also found some obstacles to online learning platform implementation. These issues include poor helpdesk support, training, management motivation, and electronic educational resources. These obstacles must be overcome for PAAET to adopt a learning system that improves academic performance. No significant gender differences in instructors' perceptions are found.   Originality/Value: This study should help education policymakers be more brave when investing in IT and human resources "Instructors" to create a better and more competitive teaching and learning environment. This study proposes an HRM-based framework to improve digital instructors and the educational process