Thalassorama - Socio-Economic Structure and Performance of Traditional Fishermen in the Sultanate of Oman

Understanding the basic structure of fishing communities is vital information for a country's economic policy formation. Basic information such as income, educational level, and age of fishing participants can be useful in determining socio-economic changes between different geographical locations and fishing communities. Market supply and demand information is essential for the promotion of fishing industry improvement programs, as well as for food subsidy policies. Social and economic data for traditional fishermen in Oman is very limited in scope. Available information indicates that Omani traditional fishermen may contribute as much as 80% of the country's total catch. Worldwide, this figure is only about 25%. There are currently a number of challenges facing the Omani fishing sector, such as fish quality improvement for markets and to what extent traditional fishermen are participating in government-sponsored programs. The findings of this study have practical policy implications. For example, preliminary data indicates that traditional fishermen are aging, many have very limited educational levels, there are minimal alternative employment opportunities, and there is a need to utilize more modern equipment.Traditional fishermen, fiberglass vessel, socio-economics., Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q22,

Applying the “abcd” Monthly Water Balance Model for Some Regions in the United States

As watershed models become increasingly functional and useful, there is a need to extend their applicability to other locations to explore the possibility of calibrating and evaluating them in such new locations. This study used the “abcd” monthly water balance model for three catchments in different places in the United States in order to investigate the feasibility of this model in different regions. Although the regional calibration led to nearly perfect regional relationships between catchment model parameters and basin characteristics in catchments with little or no snow, practicality of this model in regions dominated by snow was questionable. Keywords: “abcd” model, water balance, watershed hydrology, United State

Pembelajaran kewirausahaan di PTAIN Jawa Timur: perspektif strategi pembelajaran

Entrepreneurship education, as a local curriculum, is needed to enlarge and support the students’ skill. So it is needed modification of conventional education method to obtain information about education strategy of entrepreneurship at Islamic State PTAIN Jawa Timur of East Java. Findings obtained from the study are (1) the education process of entrepreneurship subject in Islamic State PTAIN Jawa Timur of East Java is given by a master who has profession as a head of official functionary on fisheries institution in PTAIN Jawa Timur . He organizes the subject in a written summary that will be read in front of the class, (2) the class is started by giving the students real phenomenon to strengthened their view and it will be finished by giving them writing exercise or individual/group task; the students searching many literatures to be resumed. Lecturer is used as a media and the method used are lecture, discussion, and literature, (3) Creating students’ interest into the real phenomenon in order to strengthened students’ view. Pre-test and post-test given in written exercise or individual/group task will generate good studying motivation to each of the students and it also will increase interaction between lecturer and students on the subject studied

Transnational Higher Education in Selected Private Colleges in Oman: Academic Staff Perceptions and Experiences

The primary aim of this study was to develop an in-depth understanding of Transnational Higher Education (TNE) in Oman by investigating the implementation of TNE programmes hosted by two Omani private colleges. TNE in private Higher Education (HE) is the outcome of government policy requiring all private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to establish collaborative partnerships with credible international universities; the latter being responsible for awarding the degrees. With the private HE sector in Oman currently accommodating about 50 percent of the new students entering the national HE system, it was important to examine issues around the nature of institutional partnerships; curriculum development; academic impact (teaching and learning, and quality of education) as well as problems or challenges faced in the delivery of TNE programmes by private local HE colleges. By recognising the dearth of research in this area, this qualitative study focused on the perceptions and experiences of academic staff regarding TNE in Oman. It also examined the policy drivers for TNE in Oman and its implications at the national and institutional levels, in order to understand the political and economic context in which these institutions were operating in. Data were generated primarily through the use of semi-structured interviews carried out with 27 academic staff from two selected private colleges. The data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis which enabled the identification of various key themes from the data. The study confirmed that the provision of TNE by private colleges is driven by government policy which seeks to accelerate the building of national capacity through the provision of good quality HE. The academic staff were generally satisfied with the provision of TNE programmes, however, the study highlighted that the implementation of TNE programmes was affected by a number of factors including,financial constraints; socio-cultural challenges; and ineffective communication among key stakeholders. The thesis further investigated participants‟ views regarding the ways in which the implementation of the existing TNE programmes could be improved. Participants identified that enhancing the role of the local colleges in the development of a quality culture and rethinking of the role of the foreign partner Universities and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) in the development of TNE programmes were key areas for policy and academic action

Learning, Scholarship and Public Libraries in Pre and Colonial Sudan

Although the idea of providing public library services to the general public is basically a westernized concept, nevertheless the Sudan has a long tradition of learning and scholarship in which one could argue that an embryonic and rudimentary public library service of some sort had been established. The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical overview of this learning and scholarship development and to explore the forces social, historical and political that led to the emergence of public libraries in pre and colonial Sudan. The historical research method was used to describe such forces employing mainly books, journal articles and to a lesser extent theses and dissertation. This will be followed by a discussion and conclusion

A comparative application of flood routing models on the rivers Wear and Tees with special reference to the state variable model

An analysis of a number of flood routing methods has been carried out in this study. These methods are namely, the Muskingum-Cunge Method, the Variable Parameter Diffusion Method, the State Variable Kinematic Wave Model, and the state variable modelling of nonlinear Muskingum Model. The Muskingum-Cunge and Variable Parameter Diffusion Methods are recommended for use on British Rivers by the Natural Environment Research Council flood studies report, 1975.In using numerical flood routing model, it is very important to calculate the model parameters. For instance storage routing models require a suitable form of storage-discharge relationship. Past flow records were used for the above calculation. The state Variable Kinematic Wave Model has been applied for routing the flood hydrograph through river reaches. The stage and discharge are computed by a kinematic wave routing technique using the state variable approach in which the one-dimensional differential equations of unsteady flow are solved by state and output equations of the state variable model. The nonlinear Muskingum equation has been solved using the state variable modelling technique. Two parameter estimation techniques namely, Hooke-Jeeves and linear regression, are employed for the calibration of the nonlinear Muskingum model parameters (a, x, and m).The applicability of the flood routing model computer programs to different flood events of different seasons for reaches of both the Rivers Wear and Tees is demonstrated. Discriptions of the geology and hydrological data for reaches of both the Rivers Wear and Tees are given in this study. The computed and observed hydrographs of flood routing models used in this study are compared