THE USE OF PHYSICAL PHENOMENON AS AN INNOVATIVE SOURCE IN ART EDUCATION

It is undoubtable that there is a reciprocity relationship between the different sciences and fields of knowledge. The relation between art and science is one that extends ancient times since both of them use search and experimentation methods in pursuit of reaching the best results and satisfactory solutions which makes them in continuous development. Likewise, Art education draws its references and aesthetic values from all that is found neoteric whether it is in nature, heritage or other sciences. The idea of integration between art and science prompts on finding innovative ways towards creativity, because whenever the sources behind the design were of a scientific nature, the higher the visual connotations are closer to perception and mental receptivity. Hence, researchers are trying to create new experimental approaches through the study and analysis of some physical phenomena, such as energy, frequency and vibration, which produces precise and perfect artistic forms in harmonious rhythms and in accordance with formalized geometric and mathematical relations of scientific origin that can be used by art students to create innovative design works as intellectual starting points, can be consulted and relied on as technical references, with a formal logic, and mental legitimation, which contributes to the enrichment of the aesthetic values ​​of the art work. So, this study aims to take advantage of some physical phenomena such as energy and frequency and vibration and its formal output as an innovative source in teaching arts

Anchored Bulkhead Failure on the Arabian Gulf

A 1500-m long anchored bulkhead with a height of 20m exhibited a localized failure in the form of broken and overstressed anchors several months after construction. The wall had not yet been subjected to its full design loadings. The soil conditions in the failure area differ from those occurring along the rest of the quay wall by the presence of a very soft silt/clay layer, and during construction the wall had been strengthened in this area. Post-failure analysis of the anchored bulkhead indicated that the primary cause of the failure was overly optimistic design assumptions for the strength of the silt/clay layer and mobilization of passive pressure. The effects of certain construction methods employed and the settlement of the silt/clay were contributing factors in the failure. A relieving platform constructed one year after the failure was designed for the original undrained strength of the silt/clay, without taking into account the effects of soil consolidation and strength gains which had occurred

School gardening in early childhood education in Oman: a pilot project with grade 2 students

While school gardens are familiar in many Western contexts and research has reported significant pedagogical and affective is correct benefits of these resources, there is limited reporting of their use in non-western contexts. A pilot school gardening project involving a quasi-experimental mixed method design was undertaken in the Sultanate of Oman with several Grade 2 and Grade 7 classes to determine if this resource might provide benefits in this particular context. This paper reports on the findings for the Grade 2 cohort. While these findings were somewhat mixed and need to be treated tentatively given that the study was a pilot, they do suggest that school gardens in Oman could provide affective and possible health benefits for students. The potential health benefits could be particularly significant because the Omani population is beginning to exhibit a rapid increase in “lifestyle diseases,” most notably diabetes and cardiovascular illnesses. These illnesses appear to be linked to poor dietary habits and a more sedentary lifestyle among the younger generation

Art Criticism, the Reality and Difficulties Sultanate of Oman as a Model

This research aims to address the context of Art Criticism in the Sultanate of Oman by investigating and analyzing written criticism. The significance of the current research is that it summarizes the reasons behind the absence of a critical movement in the area of Fine Arts in Oman. This research tries to gather and review the writings in art criticism in order to propose improvement and project a future vision of the field. This research uses historical methods to trace the writings on art criticism, and descriptive analytical methods to describe and analyze the forms and contents of the critical writings that guided the fine art movement in Oman. This research proposes some recommendations such as the importance of promoting the culture of art criticism in Oman. Particularly, the study suggests that a group be formed to promote and disseminate the culture of the Visual Arts. It is also recommended that general and impressionistic writings on fine arts be avoided and replaced by more systematic and academically rigorous writings. The study recommended that both the researcher and the critic should be given more attention and that the media should play a role in promoting fine arts criticism by broadcasting specialized programs in this area. These programs should be presented by expert art critics. The study also recommends that fine art criticism be emphasized in fine art classes in schools in order to create a generation that is capable of appreciating and critiquing art

Introducing school gardens to the Omani context: a preliminary study with grade 7 classes

The Sultanate of Oman is beginning to experience a rapid increase in ‘lifestyle’ diseases, most notably diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. These may be linked to increasing poor dietary habits, and a more sedentary lifestyle, amongst the younger generation. In a number of Western contexts, school gardens have been shown to improve not only student attitudes to diet but also improved learning and affective outcomes. A pilot school gardening project involving a mixed method quasi-experimental design was undertaken in Oman with a number of Grade 7 classes. While the outcomes of this study should be treated tentatively, the quantitative findings indicate that employing school gardens as an educational resource might improve learning outcomes in the area of science skill development. The qualitative findings suggested that the project had a positive impact on the affective domain of students and in some cases encouraged them to pursue healthier eating habits

BRIGHTNESS PRESERVING HISTOGRAM EQUALIZATION (BPHE) TECHNIQUE FOR CLASSIFICATION OF DATES

Brightness preserving histogram equalization (BPHE) technique was used to enhance the features to discriminate three dates varieties (Khalas, Fard and Madina). Mean, entropy and kurtosis features were computed from the enhanced images and used in an Artificial Neural Network classifier. The classification efficiency of 4 sets of hidden neurons (5, 10, 20, and 30) was tested and the network with 5 neurons yielded the highest classification accuracy of 95.2%

Computer Vision Techniques for Quality Assessment of Dates

Computer vision (CV) is a technique in which the image of an object is obtained through any imaging system and the image is analyzed to characterize the quality of the object objectively. The advancement in electronics has made this technique utilized in various fields. In North America, food industry is one of the top ten industries utilizing CV technique for quality monitoring. However, CV technique is not much utilized in the food industries in Asia. Dates is an important fruit crop in Oman and many other Arab countries. The quality assessment of dates during handling and processing are mainly carried out through manual inspection method. But this method has many challenges such as the efficiency of a worker, subjectivity, and so on. There are lots of opportunities to utilize CV technique for measuring and monitoring various quality aspects of dates. Through an Open Research Grant program funded by The Research Council (TRC), Oman, potential of CV technique for various internal and external qualities of dates was determined. This paper describes the efficiency of CV systems for variety identification, surface crack detection, texture and hardness determination

Trajectory Calculation as Forecasting Support Tool for Dust Storms

In arid and semiarid regions, dust storms are common during windy seasons. Strong wind can blow loose sand from the dry surface. The rising sand and dust is then transported to other places depending on the wind conditions (speed and direction) at different levels of the atmosphere. Considering dust as a moving object in space and time, trajectory calculation then can be used to determine the path it will follow. Trajectory calculation is used as a forecast supporting tool for both operational and research activities. Predefined dust sources can be identified and the trajectories can be precalculated from the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) forecast. In case of long distance transported dust, the tool should allow the operational forecaster to perform online trajectory calculation. This paper presents a case study for using trajectory calculation based on NWP models as a forecast supporting tool in Oman Meteorological Service during some dust storm events. Case study validation results showed a good agreement between the calculated trajectories and the real transport path of the dust storms and hence trajectory calculation can be used at operational centers for warning purposes

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The use of high throughput DNA sequence analysis to assess the endophytic microbiome of date palm roots grown under different levels of salt stress

Date palms are able to grow under diverse abiotic stress conditions including in saline soils, where microbial communities may be help in the plant’s salinity tolerance. These communities able to produce specific growth promoting substances can enhance date palm growth in a saline environment. However, these communities are poorly defined. In the work reported here, the date palm endophytic bacterial and fungal communities were identified using the pyrosequencing method, and the microbial differential abundance in the root upon exposure to salinity stress was estimated. Approximately 150,061 reads were produced from the analysis of six ribosomal DNA libraries, which were prepared from endophytic microorganisms colonizing date palm root tissues. DNA sequence analysis of these libraries predicted the presence of a variety of bacterial and fungal endophytic species, some known and others unknown. The microbial community compositions of 30% and 8% of the bacterial and fungal species, respectively, were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) altered in response to salinity stress. Differential enrichment analysis showed that microbe diversity indicated by the Chao, Shannon and Simpson indices were slightly reduced, however, the overall microbial community structures were not significantly affected as a consequence of salinity. This may reflect a buffering effect by the host plant on the internal environments that these communities are colonizing. Some of the endophytes identified in this study were strains that were previously isolated from saline and marine environments. This suggests possible interactions with the plant that are favorable to salinity tolerance in date palm. [Int Microbiol 19(3):143-155 (2016)]Keywords: Phoenix dactylifera · endophytes · salt stres