REDEVISED EDITION OF PHYSICAL SKILLS COMPETENCIES OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM CONTENT OF THE THIRD YEAR SECONDARY SCHOOL IN OMAN

The present study was designed to continue exploration to ensure the availability of physical skills; By examining the physical education curriculum to investigating the relationship between the goals of the physical education curriculum content and physical skills of the third year secondary school in Oman. The present study sought to examine the physical skills divided in the physical education lesson. The physical education context has been reconstructed at secondary school in Oman. In addition, the present study sought to analyze the Physical Education curriculum document for the third years with the degree of distribution of physical skills and cognitive competencies. Furthermore, the present study sought to suggest the distribution of the same skill competencies among a 10 lesson plan during the third year. The study revealed a weakness in the availability of knowledge competencies according to the Physical skills. The study recommends the strengthening and training of the cognitive skills and competencies.  Article visualizations

Unleashing AI in Ethical Hacking: A Preliminary Experimental Study

This technical report details an experimental study aimed at evaluating the integration of AI, specifically ChatGPT, into ethical hacking. Conducted in a controlled virtual environment using a MacBook Pro host with VirtualBox 7, the study focused on assessing ChatGPT’s efficacy in aiding the penetration testing of target virtual machines, including one running Windows. This experiment was carried out to validate the claims made in the companion position paper, "Unleashing AI in Ethical Hacking". The primary aim was to explore ChatGPT’sutility in enhancing various stages of ethical hacking, such as Reconnaissance,Scanning, Gaining Access, Maintaining Access, and Covering Tracks. This technical report comprehensively documents the laboratory experiment and will be used to support the position paper, which is being prepared for conference presentation. The results underscore ChatGPT’s highly effective and remarkably helpful role in supporting and streamlining the penetration testing process

Characteristics of Hepatitis B Infection in a Sample of Omani Patients

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the demographic and virological characteristics of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in a sample of Omani patients, and indirectly assess the efficacy of hepatitis B vaccination programmes and catch-up strategies. Methods: A retrospective study was undertaken of all patients with chronic HBV infections evaluated and followed-up at the Hepatology Clinic of the Armed Forces Hospital (AFH), Muscat, Oman, between January 2009 and April 2011. Results: A total of 154 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age of infected patients was 33 years with 72.7% being over 27 years. Females constituted 47.7% of the patients. Half of the cohort was referred either from the AFH’s Obstetric Clinic (29.2%) or its Blood Bank (22.1%). A family history of chronic HBV infection was present in 70% of patients. A total of 95% had positive hepatitis B surface antigens, while only 5% had isolated total hepatitis B core antibodies. Most patients (96%) were hepatitis B e-antigen-negative. The majority (77.9%) had low HBV dioribonucleic acid levels of <2,000 IU/ml. Radiological features of liver cirrhosis were observed in 5%. Patients requiring treatment were in the minority (9%). Conclusion: Almost 50% of the infected patients were female, the majority being of childbearing age. Medical authorities in Oman should consider enforcing a screening policy for all pregnant women using complete hepatitis B serological testing

Managing Identity Management Systems

Although many identity management systems have been proposed, in- tended to improve the security and usability of user authentication, major adoption problems remain. In this thesis we propose a range of novel schemes to address issues acting as barriers to adoption, namely the lack of interoper- ation between systems, simple adoption strategies, and user security within such systems. To enable interoperation, a client-based model is proposed supporting in- terworking between identity management systems. Information Card systems (e.g. CardSpace) are enhanced to enable a user to obtain a security token from an identity provider not supporting Information Cards; such a token, after en- capsulation at the client, can be processed by an Information Card-enabled relying party. The approach involves supporting interoperation at the client, while maximising transparency to identity providers, relying parties and iden- tity selectors. Four specific schemes conforming to the model are described, each of which has been prototyped. These schemes enable interoperation be- tween an Information Card-enabled relying party and an identity provider supporting one of Liberty, Shibboleth, OpenID, or OAuth. To facilitate adoption, novel schemes are proposed that enable Informa- tion Card systems to support password management and single sign on. The schemes do not require any changes to websites, and provide a simple, intu- itive user experience through use of the identity selector interface. They fa- miliarise users with Information Card systems, thereby potentially facilitating their future adoption. To improve user security, an enhancement to Information Card system user authentication is proposed. During user authentication, a one-time pass- word is sent to the user's mobile device which is then entered into the com- puter by the user. Finally, a universal identity management tool is proposed, designed to support a wide range of systems using a single user interface. It provides a consistent user experience, addresses a range of security issues (e.g. phishing), and provides greater user control during authentication.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Prevalence of Hepatitis C among Multi-transfused Thalassaemic Patients in Oman : Single centre experience

Objectives: Regular blood transfusions are essential for patients with thalassaemia major. However, infections with hepatotropic viruses remain a major concern. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection among patients with homozygous beta thalassaemia in a single centre in Oman. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 200 patients treated at the Thalassemia Unit of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) in Muscat, Oman, between August 1991 and December 2011 was performed. Relevant demographic and clinical characteristics were collected, including age, gender, HCV status and the presence of endocrinopathies. Results: A total of 81 patients (41%) were found to be anti-HCV-antibody (anti-HCV)-positive. HCV ribonucleic acid tests were performed on 65 anti-HCV-positive patients and were positive among 33 (51%); the remaining 16 patients died before these tests were available. Anti-HCV-positive patients were significantly older than anti-HCV-negative patients (P <0.001) and were more likely to be diabetic than anti-HCV-negative patients (27% versus 8%; P <0.001). A total of 100 patients had been transfused before they were transferred to SQUH in 1991; of these, 70 (70%) were anti-HCV-positive. Only 11 (11.5%) of the 96 patients who were seronegative in 1991, or who were transfused later, became seropositive. Conclusion: It is likely that the high prevalence of HCV among multi-transfused thalassaemic patients in Oman is due to blood transfusions dating from before the implementation of HCV screening in 1991 as the risk of HCVassociated transfusions has significantly reduced since then. Additionally, results showed that anti-HCV-positive patients were more likely to be diabetic than anti-HCV-negative patients

Frequencies of the Arg16Gly, Gln27Glu and Thr164Ile Adrenoceptor β2 Polymorphisms among Omanis

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the distribution of missense mutations in the adrenoceptor β2 (ADRB2) gene in an Omani cohort. Methods: This study was carried out between May 2014 and March 2015 at the Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. Blood samples were taken from 316 unrelated Omani subjects. Genotyping for rs1042713 (c.46A>G, p.Arg16Gly), rs1042714 (c.79C>G, p.Gln27Glu) and rs1800888 (c.491C>T, p.Thr164Ile) polymorphisms was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping assays. The allelic frequencies of these polymorphisms were estimated on the basis of the observed numbers of specific alleles from the genotype data for male and female subjects. The genotype frequencies for each polymorphism were tested for deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Results: Gly16 and Glu27 were the most frequent variants found among the cohort (63% and 75%, respectively). The Ile164 variant was not detected in the study population. There was a significant linkage disequilibrium between the rs1042713 and rs1042714 SNPs (r2 = 0.209; P ≤0.001). The most observed haplotypes were Gly16-Gln27 and Arg16-Gln27 (0.37 and 0.38, respectively). The frequency of Gly16-Glu27 was 0.25, comprising all Glu27 carriers. Conclusion: The allelic distribution of variants in this Omani cohort was similar to distributions reported among Caucasian populations

Effectiveness of Learning with 3D-Lab on Omani Basic Education Students' Achievement, Attitudes and Scientific Thinking

This paper aims to measure the effectiveness of the 3DL on Omani students' acquisition of practical abilities and skills. It examines the effectiveness of the 3D-lab in science education and scientific thinking acquisition as part of a national project funded by The Research Council. Four research tools in a Pre-Post Test Control Group Design, findings show statistically significant differences in student achievement in favor of the experimental group. The results show students' attitudes are positive towards using 3D-lab in teaching. Improvements in logical and visual thinking are also observed. The paper then draws conclusions and recommendations

An investigation of professional communities amongst those responsible for English teacher development in Oman

Research into professional communities has grown internationally over the past three decades. Although there are a range of definitions, most agree professional communities provide an environment for professionals, including educators, to share knowledge, problem-solving and professional values, while developing networks. This research sheds light on two kinds of identified professional communities: ‘Communities of Practice’ (CoPs), and ‘Professional Learning Communities’(PLCs). The latter was recently adopted in the Omani educational context, as a model for improving the achievements of schools and students. This study investigated the collaborative work (or lack of it) of English-subject teacher-educators acting as trainers, supervisors, and senior school teachers – roles which were created after educational reforms in 1998/1999. There is scant research regarding how these groups operate together as teacher-educators supporting school teachers. Embracing an interpretive approach over fieldwork totalling 6 months, I investigated the perceptions of 8 trainers, 12 supervisors and 11 senior teachers across three governorates in Oman and 5 senior staff from the Ministry of Education (MoE)‘s Supervision and Training departments. I used semi-structured interviews, an in-depth analysis of national policies, and non-participant observation of group meetings for data triangulation. The study highlighted seven key findings. The most salient revealed mixed attitudes in participants’ perceptions regarding their collegial workplace-relationships and collaborations. A number of participants highlighted the passive role played by their MoE leadership in terms of enhancing better relationships and communication between them. The findings also revealed an overlap in the roles and responsibilities of trainers and supervisors, which causes conflict between these two groups in some governorates. Finally, obstacles such as negative attitudes, differing cultural behaviours, an overwhelming workload and the extensive range of duties demanded were all highlighted as challenges that would hinder the implementation of professional communities. The study recommends that MoE officials consider addressing these obstacles to implement professional communities effectively in the future and calls for more collaboration between the three groups to enhance their working relations. The study extends our understanding of how Western ‘professional communities’ principles work when adapted for use in the Omani context

Browser Extension-based Interoperation Between OAuth and Information Card-based Systems

Whilst the growing number of identity management systems have the potential to reduce the threat of identity attacks, major deployment problems remain because of the lack of interoperability between such systems. In this paper we propose a simple scheme to provide client-based interoperation between OAuth and an Information Cardbased system such as CardSpace or Higgins. In this scheme, Information Card users are able to obtain an assertion token from an OAuthenabled system, the contents of which can be processed by an Information Card-enabled relying party. The scheme, based on a browser extension, is transparent to OAuth providers and to identity selectors, and only requires minor changes to the operation of an Information Card-enabled relying party. We specify its operation and also describe an implementation of a proof-of-concept prototype. Additionally, security and operational analyses are provided