ADOPTION OF E-LEARNING IN SAUDI ARABIAN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION: THREE FACTORS AFFECTING EDUCATORS

Information and communication technology (ICT) is an important if not crucial trend in 21st century learning and education. The adoption of ICT as an educational process has led to improved teaching and learning processes, both inside and outside the classroom. Among the many advantages of ICT technology is that it allows students and teachers to communicate outside the classroom and utilise new techniques and skills. The adoption of ICT in teaching has undoubtedly improved learning and teaching processes, on the other hand there are some factors are hindering the successful implementation. This paper reviews the literature as it pertains to factors affecting effective application of eLearning for educators and students in educational institutions in Saudi Arabia Universities. Through a search of academic databases, 32 relevant literature studies and reviews were identified for the Saudi Arabian context; most were directly concerned with Saudi Arabia’s higher education sector, while others country-specific studies were included when deemed appropriate. Based on the review the literature, this paper concluded that ‘lack of time’, ‘lack of training’ and ‘lack of institutional support’ were the major factors influencing faculty members’ decision to adopt and utilise ICT in teaching practice. In terms of solutions to the challenges identified, reducing academic staffs’ workload to allow them to have more time to use E-learning tools, alongside the provision of sufficient and practical training and institutional support for academic staff should be considered as essential to the successful implementation of technology in education.   Article visualizations

Optimal Model Predictive Control for Virtual Inertia Control of Autonomous Microgrids

For the time being, renewable energy source (RES) penetration has significantly increased in power networks, particularly in microgrids. The overall system inertia is dramatically decreased by replacing traditional synchronous machines with RES. This negatively affects the microgrid dynamics under uncertainties, lowering the microgrid frequency stability, specifically in the islanded mode of operation. Therefore, this work aims to enhance the islanded microgrid frequency resilience using the virtual inertia frequency control concept. Additionally, optimal model predictive control (MPC) is employed in the virtual inertial control model. The optimum design of the MPC is attained using an optimization algorithm, the African Vultures Optimization Algorithm (AVOA). To certify the efficacy of the proposed controller, the AVOA-based MPC is compared with a conventional proportional–integral (PI) controller that is optimally designed using various optimization techniques. The actual data of RES is utilized, and a random load power pattern is applied to achieve practical simulation outcomes. Additionally, the microgrid paradigm contains battery energy storage (BES) units for enhancing the islanded microgrid transient stability. The simulation findings show the effectiveness of AVOA-based MPC in improving the microgrid frequency resilience. Furthermore, the results secure the role of BES in improving transient responses in the time domain simulations. The simulation outcomes are obtained using MATLAB software

Improving the current use of eLearning in two newly established Saudi universities from teaching staff and student perspectives

This thesis was conducted in Saudi Arabia in two recently established universities. These universities are given pseudonyms for ethical considerations. The study aimed to investigate the opinions of faculty members and learners about the integration of technology in Saudi universities, especially those established recently. The participants in this study were educators and students from both universities. Data was gathered using questionnaires and interviews, based on the TAM model. The results from the study indicate that the adoption and integration of technology in education environment by both educators and students was rare. As well as, the study mentioned that more training and encouragement for both educators and students are needed in order to improve the current adoption of eLearning initiatives in teaching and learning process

Grafting improves cucumber water stress tolerance in Saudi Arabia

Water scarcity is a major limiting factor for crop productivity in arid and semi-arid areas. Grafting elite commercial cultivars onto selected vigorous rootstocks is considered as a useful strategy to alleviate the impact of environmental stresses. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using grafting to improve fruit yield and quality of cucumber under water stress conditions. Alosama F1 cucumber cultivar (Cucumis sativus L.) was grafted onto Affyne (Cucumis sativus L.) and Shintoza A90 (Cucurbitamaxima × C. moschata) rootstocks. Non-grafted plants were used as control. All genotypes were grown under three surface drip irrigation regimes: 50%, 75% and 100% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc), which represent high-water stress, moderate-water stress and non-water stress conditions, respectively. Yield and fruit quality traits were analyzed and assessed. In comparison to the non-grafted plants, the best grafting treatment under water stress was Alosama F1 grafted onto Shintoza A90 rootstock. It had an overall improved yield and fruit quality under water stress owing to an increase in the total fruit yield by 27%, from 4.815 kg plant−1 in non-grafted treatment to 6.149 kg plant−1 in grafted treatment under moderate -water stress, total soluble solid contents (13%), titratable acidity (39%) and vitamin C (33%). The soil water contents were low in soil surface and increase gradually with soil depth, while salt distribution showed an adverse trend. The positive effects of grafting on plant growth, productivity, and water use efficiency support this strategy as an useful tool for improving water stress tolerance in greenhouse grown cucumber in Saudi Arabia

Assessment of Water Requirements by Several Methods and Impact of Deficit Irrigation on the Date Palm Productivity and Water use Efficiency

This study was conducted on (Khalas) date palm, which is well-known for its cultivation in the regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to estimate the monthly, annual irrigation water requirements and effect of different deficit irrigation levels on yield, soil moisture distribution and water use efficiency. The experiment consisted of four levels of deficit irrigation: 60%, 80%, 100% and 120% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) compared with traditional irrigation. Two different water qualities: well 4.79 dS/m and treated electrical conductivity 1.86 dS/m. Several methods of estimating water requirements were used, such as the Penman Monteith method, the evaporation pan, and the water balance. The results indicated that the traditional irrigation (farm method) gave the highest amount of productivity with the most water consumption. The results showed that the water requirements of the Khalas date at the 100% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) were 53.57, 37.67, 58.89 m3/year/tree, calculated using water balance, the evaporation pan and Penman Monteith equations, respectively. The results indicated that an increase in the amount of well water added by the traditional irrigation compared to the deficit irrigation, whereas the increase % at 100% ETc ranged from 38.71% to 195.59% using well water, while the increase % ranged from 22.63% to 280.37 % in March and November, respectively. While in the case of comparing the quantities of water added by the traditional method with 60% ETc of the water requirements, the increase% ranged from 78.71% to 235.59% in the case of well water and 62.63% to 320.37% using treated water of March and November months, respectively

Impacts of Biochar on Hydro-Physical Properties of Sandy Soil under Different Irrigation Regimes for Enhanced Tomato Growth

The performance of biochar application in water conservation, salt distribution, water infiltration, and tomato growth was evaluated under regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) (40%, 60% and 80% of ETc) and partial root drying (PRD) systems by using different quality irrigation water. Date palm derived biochar was applied to sandy soil at 4% (w/w) in pots, and tomato was grown as the test crop under greenhouse conditions. The results indicated that soil moisture was decreased by 27.38% to 24.95% without biochar application at different levels of irrigation, whereas it increased by 8.11% and 5.48% with biochar application, compared with control treatment of 100% of ETc. Soil moisture was decreased by 12.78%, 15.82% and 12.78% for the 1st stage, 2nd stage and 3rd growth stage, respectively, while it increased by 37.93% at the 4th growth stage compared with full irrigation. Soil salinity ranged between 0.5 and 1.4 dS·m−1 with biochar application, while 0.7–2.1 dS·m−1. Cumulative infiltration at one minute varied between 1.89 and 2.79 cm and 1.74 and 2.79 cm for biochar and non-biochar treatments, respectively. Infiltration rate varied from 0.98 to 2.63 cm min−1 and 1.48 to 1.68 cm·min−1 for fresh and saline water, respectively. Overall, the results revealed that biochar application substantially improved the characteristics of sandy soil, subsequently resulting in water conservation

Impacts of Biochar on Hydro-Physical Properties of Sandy Soil under Different Irrigation Regimes for Enhanced Tomato Growth

The performance of biochar application in water conservation, salt distribution, water infiltration, and tomato growth was evaluated under regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) (40%, 60% and 80% of ETc) and partial root drying (PRD) systems by using different quality irrigation water. Date palm derived biochar was applied to sandy soil at 4% (w/w) in pots, and tomato was grown as the test crop under greenhouse conditions. The results indicated that soil moisture was decreased by 27.38% to 24.95% without biochar application at different levels of irrigation, whereas it increased by 8.11% and 5.48% with biochar application, compared with control treatment of 100% of ETc. Soil moisture was decreased by 12.78%, 15.82% and 12.78% for the 1st stage, 2nd stage and 3rd growth stage, respectively, while it increased by 37.93% at the 4th growth stage compared with full irrigation. Soil salinity ranged between 0.5 and 1.4 dS·m−1 with biochar application, while 0.7–2.1 dS·m−1. Cumulative infiltration at one minute varied between 1.89 and 2.79 cm and 1.74 and 2.79 cm for biochar and non-biochar treatments, respectively. Infiltration rate varied from 0.98 to 2.63 cm min−1 and 1.48 to 1.68 cm·min−1 for fresh and saline water, respectively. Overall, the results revealed that biochar application substantially improved the characteristics of sandy soil, subsequently resulting in water conservation

Biodegradation of 17-β-estradiol in water

This study reports a potential biotechnical method of 17-β-estradiol removal in aquatic systems. The different bacterial strains isolated from sewage water samples were Bacillus sp., Enterobacter sp. I, Enterobacter sp. II, Klebsiella sp., Aeromonas veronii and Aeromonas punctate. These isolates were characterized on the basis of a single PCR reaction from the 5′ end of the PCR fragment to obtain > 700 bp of high-quality sequence. The adjoining lineages of each organism were obtained by BLAST searches. The identified bacterial species were incubated in a saline media under different concentrations of 17-β-estradiol in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The concentrations of CO2 and 17-β-estradiol were measured by GC and HPLC, respectively. The percentage degradations of 17-β-estradiol in aerobic and anaerobic conditions were 100 and 91.56%, respectively, using Klebsiella and Bacillus species. The developed and reported method is an inexpensive, selective and economic. This method may be used to remove 17-β-estradiol in any water resource

SPE and HPLC monitoring of 17-β-estradiol in Egyptian aquatic ecosysetms

Solid-phase extraction and HPLC methods are described for monitoring of 17-β-estradiol residues in Egyptian aquatic ecosystems (water, fish, mollusks, sediment, and drinking water) at the Nile River, Suez Canal region, and northeast of Egypt. Molecular imprinted polymer was prepared and used in extraction. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns used were Supelcosil C18 and Nucleosil C18. The mobile phases used were different combinations of water and acetonitrile. The concentration of 17-β-estradiol in water, aquatic animals, and sediment samples were of 265.13–7988.12 µg/L, 0.503–96.167, and 0.775–11.884 µg/kg, respectively. Marine lake was contained with high levels of 17-β-estradiol (P < 0.05). Similarly, the Nile River downstream showed high levels of 17-β-estradiol. The detected concentrations in mollusks were significantly higher than those detected in fish. Tilapia fish did not show 17-β-estradiol. Contrarily, low concentrations were detected in the rivulet streams supplied by the Nile River. Besides, 17-β-estradiol was also detected in the sediments at low levels. Detection of 17-β-estradiol in the Egyptian ecosystems attracted attention toward heavy reliance on some esterogenic medicinal products in Egypt. The monitoring of 17-β-estradiol in other water bodies was recommended. Besides, the development of methodologies of bioremediation to eliminate 17-β-estradiol from the Egyptian and other water resources of the world was also suggested