Factors impeding organisational change in education :a case study of Tatweer

PhD ThesisThis study investigates the factors impeding organisational change in the public educational sector of Saudi Arabia. It does so to avoid the waste of financial resources by proposing solutions for better management of change in the public education sector. It also identifies the sources of resistance to change, approaches used to control them, and explores the role of internal and external communication in stakeholders’ engagement and in the management of change initiatives. A case study approach was adopted, focusing on the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Public Education Development Project (Tatweer), the most comprehensive reform initiative introduced in the Saudi educational system to date. Data collection occurred via semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and reviewing documentary evidence. The research used snowball and maximum variation sampling to interview key informants from officials from the Ministry of Education, as well as teachers and head teachers at Tatweer pilot schools and private schools, to provide in-depth insights into the context of change and to explore the factors limiting implementation. The software package Nvivo10 was utilised to aid analysis. This commenced by coding to explore and compare perspectives. Matrices were developed for comparative pattern analysis at the Ministry of Education and school levels. Private schools do not perceive public schools as competitors and competition is not visible between public schools. The analysis of the management of the project revealed several problems surrounding the project’s implementation, particularly insufficient communication, lack of incentives, limited training, and improper resource allocation. Resistance to change emerged due to insufficient communication and incentives. The culture and social norms of Saudi society interfere with effective organisational management. Internal and external communication plays a crucial role in change initiatives and minimising resistance to change. However, in the Saudi public educational system, external communication is limited and tends to be viewed as superfluous, competition between schools does not exist, and external stakeholder participation is minimal. The findings revealed that parents’ minimal involvement impeded the implementation of change initiatives. Schools seldom engage in strategies to enhance student recruitment and without providing incentives, schools are less interested in enrolling additional students, which reduces competition, and consequently external communication remains of marginal importance in Saudi Arabia

Synthesis of Biguanides and Guanamines and Their Effect on Glycogen Phosphorylase a and Steroid Metabolism in Cultured Hepatocytes From Normal and Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats

Since the introduction of beta-phenethylbiguanide (DBI)) as an outstanding blood sugar lowering drug, considerable attention has been directed towards the synthesis of compounds which are in some way related to biguanides as potential anti-diabetic compounds. It may be noted that the biguanides when written in cyclic hydrogen bonded form (I), resemble a triazine-like structure (II). On the basis of the consideration as to whether stabilisation of the biguanide group by ring formation could enhance the anti diabetic activity of these compounds, a series of substituted s-triazine derivatives was synthesised and tested as oral hypoglycaemics in various animal models. [diagram] Guanamine-like compounds have previously been shown to lower blood glucose levels in normal as well as diabetic rats. In the present study a series of biguanide and guanamine derivatives were synthesised and tested for their ability to decrease glycogen phosphorylase a in hepatocytes isolated from non- diabetic and streptozotocin-induced (STZ) diabetic rats, as a measure of their insulin-like action. The biguanides such as the phenyl-, benzyl- and phenethyl (phenformin, a therapeutically useful) derivatives were cyclized into guanamines to see the effect of cyclization on the activity of the compound. It was also possible to determine the effect of changing substituents in various positions and to determine the structure-activity relationship of these compounds synthesised for their insulin-like action. All of the results can be summarised as follows.(1). In hepatocytes isolated from control animals, (a) all of the synthesised biguanides and guanamines mimic insulin in decreasing glycogen phosphorylase. (b) in the biguanide series, the benzyl and phenyl derivatives were more potent than phenethylbiguanide (phenformin). (c) cyclization of the biguanide to the corresponding 1,2,3-triazines (guanamines) still gives compounds which inhibit the activity of glycogen phosphorylase. (2). In hepatocytes isolated from diabetic rats, all compounds were seen to increase glycogen phosphorylase a activity in contrast to the inhibition seen in cells from control animals. The most potent compounds were phenethylbiguanide (phenformin) and phenethylguanamine. This effect is opposite to that seen in hepatocytes from control animals and may be compensation for the inhibition of glycogen phosphorylase activity seen in liver from diabetic animals which is, perhaps, due to the low amount of glycogen seen in the liver of these animals. In contrast to the situation in control hepatocytes, diabetic hepatocytes showed the greatest response to phenethylbiguanide and only a moderate response to benzylbiguanide. As in the control animals, however, biguanides and guanamines mimic insulin and thus, the guanamines may prove useful as antidiabetics. (3). The effect of biguanides and guanamines on glycogen phosphorylase a in the insulin treated diabetic rat was much more like the effect of the compounds on normal rat hepatocytes. (4). The next series of experiments was performed to try and elucidate the reason for the differences in effects of compounds on glycogen phosphorylase activity in different types of cells by preincubation of normal rat hepatocytes in different concentrations of glucose. A similar structure-activity relationship was observed in control cells preincubated in 30mM glucose as in cells isolated from STZ diabetic rats. (5) It was observed that all of the compounds mimic insulin in stimulating the activity of glycogen phosphorylase when the diabetic cells are preincubated in 10mM glucose and by decreasing glycogen phosphorylase activity in cells preincubated in 30 mM glucose. This result suggests that cells isolated from STZ diabetic rats are not normal and respond differently to cells isolated from control liver. (6). The insulin-mimetic effects of phenethylbiguanide and phenethylguanamine in increasing androst-4-ene-3,17-dione metabolism were examined in order to extend our knowledge of the insulin-like action of biguanides and guanamines from glycogen metabolism to steroid metabolism. Phenethylbiguanide and phenethylguanamine are both able to mimic the effect of insulin in normal rat hepatocytes with respect to androst-4-ene-3,17-dione metabolism. However, the cyclization of phenethylbiguanide to phenethylguanamine gives a compound which is only effective on the cytochrome P450- dependent enzymes (7alpha- 6beta- and 16alpha-hydroxylases). This possibly indicates that the three cytochrome P450 dependent enzymes are more susceptible than the flavin-dependent enzymes to the triazine moiety in phenethylguanamine. Overall, biguanides and guanamines have been shown to have significant, direct, insulin-like effects on glycogen phosphorylase a activity and androst-4-ene-3,17-dione metabolism in hepatocytes isolated from control and STZ-diabetic rats. The effectiveness of the compounds depended on the enzyme under study and on the original state of the animal (diabetic or not). Further investigation is warranted on the usefulness of congeners of the presently used biguanide, phenformin, and on the cyclised biguanides, such as the guanamines and, perhaps, the five-membered structures, the triazoles

The Responses of Human Neutrophils to Tobacco Smoke Components

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Tobacco smoking is considered a major modifiable risk factor for periodontal disease. Tobacco contains about 6700 compounds and almost 4000 compounds of these have been identified in tobacco smoke. Nicotine is the addictive ingredient in tobacco and has been shown to affect multiple cellular processes. Cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) is the particulate matter of smoke. It is believed to be a powerful inducer of inflammatory responses. Neutrophils are the first line of host defense and are critical cells in the maintenance of periodontal health through their role in the control of bacteria, but they can also contribute to the progression of periodontal disease by the production and release of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Virulence factors from periodontal pathogens, such as Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), stimulate the respiratory burst of neutrophils. In this dissertation, three studies aimed at understanding the oxidative activity of neutrophils when stimulated with either nicotine, cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) or four other components of tobacco smoke (2-naphthylamine, hydroquinone, acrolein, and acetaldehyde) with or without P. gingivalis supernatant. The release of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was also examined. ROS production increased significantly when the neutrophils were stimulated with nicotine. P. gingivalis induced the maximum ROS production when compared to all the other components examined. The combination of nicotine and P. gingivalis did not have an additive effect on ROS production. Nicotine significantly increased the MMP-9 release from the neutrophils. On the contrary, CSC inhibited ROS production at all the concentrations examined. The combination of CSC and P. gingivalis resulted in the inhibition of ROS production. MMP-9 release was also increased from the CSC-treated neutrophils. The four other tobacco smoke components examined affected ROS production and MMP-9 release differently. These projects demonstrated that CSC inhibited the ROS production from neutrophils, which can be attributed to several components in tobacco smoke that may include acrolein and hydroquinone. More research is needed to determine the mechanisms of inhibition and if other tobacco components are involved in ROS inhibitio

INTERACTIONS OF HUMAN ENDOTHELIAL CELLS WITH STREPTOCOCCUS MUTANS

poster abstractStreptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is the major etiological agent for den-tal caries. Nicotine is the addictive ingredient present in tobacco and has been shown to affect the growth and metabolism of oral bacteria, specifically S. mutans. Cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) contains all the chemicals present in cigarette smoke. Dissolvable tobacco products are new tobacco products that do not require one to light up, but may still harm oral tissues. This project examines the effects of S. mutans exposed to these chemicals on human endothelial cells in terms of cytotoxicity and cytokine/growth fac-tor expression. S. mutans treated with these tobacco components are hy-pothesized to increase the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines/growth factors from endothelial as compared to the controls. S. mutans was grown with each of the reagents for eight hours and then the bacterial cells and su-pernatants separated. Protein assays were used to determine the protein amounts of the cells and in the supernatant. The cytotoxicity of each will be determined by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. Non-toxic amounts of the bacterial cells and supernatants will then be used to treat endothelial cells for three days before the conditioned media collected and analyzed by cytokine/growth factor protein arrays. The protein assays showed that the protein levels were lower in tobacco treated cells, while the supernatants showed similar protein concentrations throughout. It is hypothesized that the treated bacteria cell will increase cy-tokines/growth factors that increase inflammation and lead to vascular issues

The Islamic Decorative Patterns and their Reflectionson Vasarely’s Paintings

يعنى هذا البحث بدراسة الأنساق الزخرفية الإسلامية وانعكاسها في رسوم (فازاريللي)، وقد قسّم البحث إلى أربعة فصول: خصص الفصل الأول ببيان مشكلة البحث وأهميته والحاجة إليه وهدفه وحدوده وتحديد المصطلحات الواردة فيه، وقد تناول مشكلة البحث موضوع دراسة الأنساق الزخرفية الإسلامية وانعكاسها في رسوم (فازاريللي)التي يلخصها التساؤل الآتي: كيف تشكلت الرؤية التأثيرية للفنان (فازاريللي) في الفن الإسلامي؟ وبماذا تميز الانعكاس الفني في رسومه؟ وما هو الانعكاس النسقي والجمالية التي شهدت فيرسومه الفنية؟ وتضمن الفصل الثاني مبحثين عنى الأول بـ(مدخل في الأنساق الزخرفية للفن الإسلامي)، فيما عنى الثاني بـ(التحولات النسقية في الفن الأوروبي)، وتضمن هذا الفصل عرضاً لمؤشرات الإطار النظري والدراسات السابقة. وتضمن الفصل الثالث إجراءات البحث، واختص الفصل الرابع بنتائج البحث واستنتاجاته. أولا:النتائج اعتمدت رسوم (فازاريللي) في مرجعياتها على أنساق زخرفية إسلامية تتابعية عبر النسق الزخرفي المتتابع متشابهاً لنسق الزخرفة الإسلامية من حيث تكرار الأشكال الدائرية وتوظيف هذه الأشكال، بتأثيره البصري المتأثر بالزخرفة الإسلامية وخلّف أشكالا بصرية تحمل دلالات من العمق الإنساني للفن. استعار (فازاريللي) في معالجاته الفنية في بعض رسومه أشكالا مستمدة أو تناصات من الأعمال الفنية للحضارة الإسلامية،ما يمنح الشكل نسقاً دائريا رائعاً متكرراً بإيقاع منتظم دائري دلالة على ارتباطه الوثيق بالحضارة الإسلامية والفن الزخرفي معتمداً على التحريف في الفضاء ومبتعداً عن المنظور التقليدي لينهل منها ما يجدد رؤيته الفنية، والجمالية. ثانيا:الاستنتاجات. تأثر الفنان (فازاريللي) في رسومه بالفنون الإسلامية؛لأنه وجد فيها مصدر إلهام للذات الإنسانية، فراح باحثاً عن الحياة مختزلا في الشكل واستبعاد كل ما يحيط بالواقع مباشرةً. فاللوحة بعيدة عن الواقع المرئي باحثاً عن رؤية جوهرية جمالية إنسانية تتولد عبرها إحساسات روحية.دارت رؤية (فازاريللي) في إبداع أشكال، وتكوينات، ومعالجات فنية في عوالم ذاتية متخيلة تبتعد عن المحاكاة وهي جوهر لإيقاظ الدهشة لدى المتلقي عند قراءته للعمل الفني في صياغة جديدة للفن في معالجات ذات أنساق متعددة.       This research is concerned with studying Islamic decorative Patterns and their reflection in Vasarelypaintings. The research was divided into four chapters. The first chapter was devoted to explaining the research problem، its importance، need،purpose، and limitations، and defining terms contained therein. The research problem dealt with the topic of studying Islamic decorative Patterns and their reflection in (Vasarely)paintings Which is summarized by the following question: How was the influential vision of the artist (Vasarely) in Islamic art formed، and what distinguished the artistic reflection in his paintings? What is the reflection of the  coordination and aesthetic that witnessed through his artistic paintings? The second chapter included two topics، the first concerned with (an introduction in the decorative Patterns of Islamic art)، and  the second concerned with (coordinate transformations in European art) This chapter included a presentation of the theoretical framework indicators and previous studies، and the third chapter included research procedures، while the fourth chapter focused on the results and conclusions of the research Firstly: the results Vasarely paintings in its references depended on sequential Islamic decorative Patterns through the sequential decorative pattern similar to the Islamic decoration pattern in terms of the repetition of circular motifs and the use of these forms، through its visual impact affected by Islamic decoration and behind visual forms bearing connotations from the human depth of art. (Vasarely) borrowed in his artistic treatments some of his paintings drawn forms or symmetries from the works of art of Islamic civilization، which gives the figure a wonderful circular pattern with a regular circular rhythm indicating its close association with Islamic civilization and decorative art، relying on the distortion in space and away from the traditional perspective to draw from it What renews his artistic and aesthetic vision. Secondly: the conclusions.  1- That the artist (Vasarely) was influenced in his paintings by Islamic arts، because he found in them a source of inspiration for the human self، so he sought life، reduced to form and excluding everything that surrounds reality directly. 2-The vision of (Vasarely) revolves around the creation of forms، configurations، and artistic treatments in imagined subjective worlds that are far from simulation and are the essence of awakening surprise to the recipient when reading artwork in a new formulation of art in treatments with multiple formats

INTERACTIONS OF HUMAN GINGIVAL FIBROBLASTS WITH TOBACCO TREATED PORPHYROMONAS GINGIVALIS

poster abstractPorphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and tobacco are risk factors for periodontal disease. The objective of this study was to determine the effects that tobacco treated P. gingivalis cells have on human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). The study was conducted to examine the effects that cigarette smoke condensate (CSC), nicotine, and dissolvable smokeless tobacco (DST) strips treated P. gingivalis has on cell cytotoxicity and the expression of cy-tokines and growth factors from HGFs. The P. gingivalis was grown at 37°C and then the cells and supernatant were separated. P. gingivalis cells were then washed and killed. The concentration of protein in the cell pellet and supernatant were determined by protein assay using the Bradford method. The lowest non-toxic levels of the cell pellet and supernatant will be used to treat the HGFs for 72 hours and then cytotoxicity was determined by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. The cytokine/growth factor expression will be determined by antibody protein arrays. The protein assays showed that the tobacco products reduced the protein amounts as compared to untreated bacteria. The results should show an increase in cytotoxicity with increasing protein concentrations, along with increased pro-inflammatory cyto-kine/growth factors expression by the HGFs treated with tobacco treated P. gingivalis compared to P. gingivalis that was not treated with tobacco prod-ucts. A better understanding of the detrimental effects that tobacco has on the underlining causes of periodontal disease can advance the quest of con-trolling the disease. This study was funded by the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis Multidisci-plinary Undergraduate Research Institute (MURI)

THE EFFECTS OF TOBACCO TREATED PORPHYROMONAS GINGIVALIS ON HUMAN EPITHELIAL CELLS

poster abstractBacteria and tobacco are risk factors for periodontal diseases. Bacteria-host interactions play a critical role in disease development and progression. The effects of tobacco-treated bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis on epithelial cells have not yet been examined. Therefore, P. gingivalis were treated with different tobacco products (nicotine, cigarette smoke conden-sate (CSC), and dissolvable smokeless tobacco (DST) strips) to determine the effects that they have on epithelial cells. P. gingivalis were grown with or without the products for 24 hours at 37◦C. The cells were separated from the supernatant, washed with 0.9% NaCl and incubated at 60◦C to kill the bacte-ria. Protein assays was performed to determine the protein concentration in the cell pellets and supernatants. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays are being used to measure the cytotoxicity of the cells and supernatants on epi-thelial cells in a dose dependent manner. Non-toxic amounts of the cell pel-lets and supernatants will be used to treat epithelial cells for 72 hours and the media analyzed by cytokine/growth factor protein arrays. The protein assays showed that CSC and nicotine treated P. gingivalis cells had less pro-tein than the others. The total protein in the supernatant for the CSC treated bacteria was less compared to others. The protein data suggests that CSC and nicotine affect protein expression in and by the P. gingivalis cells. To-bacco-treated bacteria are hypothesized to increase the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines/growth factors by the epithelial cells, thereby con-tributing to the inflammation seen in periodontal diseases. This research was funded by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Multidisci-plinary Undergraduate Research Institute (MURI)