On the Acquisition of Derivational Suffixes by Kuwaiti EFL Learners

This study aims to test the extent to which 90 Kuwaiti EFL learners are aware of the correct use of derivational suffixes in English. It also identifies the mains reasons of the errors that Kuwaiti EFL learners may make. In addition, it investigates whether the English proficiency level of the participants plays a role in their answers on the test. To this end, the participants were tested twice in this study; a multiple-choice test was used to check their comprehension skills, whereas a fill-in the blank test was used to measure their ability to produce the correct derivational suffixes in English. Following data analysis, the results reveal that Kuwaiti EFL learners are fairly aware of the correct use of English derivational suffixes to a certain degree; the total mean on both tests (comprehension = 70% and production = 56%) is 63%. The participants obtained higher percentage of correct answers on the comprehension test (mean= 70%) compared to the production test (mean = 56%). Additionally, the t-test shows that the participants’ English proficiency level plays a central role in their comprehension and production of these suffixes. The performance of the Advanced Learners (ALs) (comprehension = 77% and production = 62%) is better than that of the Intermediate Learners (ILs) (comprehension = 64% and production = 48%) on the tests. In particular, there is a statistically significant difference between the answers of ALs and ILs on both tests. Regarding the types of error made by the participants, I argued that the most noticeable ones are due to: (1) the modification that non-neutral derivational suffixes cause when they are attached to the word (stems/roots); and (2) first language (L1) influence. Finally, the study concludes with some recommendations for further research

An Analytical assessment of Lean Manufacturing Strategies and Methodologies Applied to Kuwait Oil Company (KOC)

Effluent water is one of the significant volume waste streams in the industry of oil manufacturing; this report addressed the effluent water management in the Kuwait oil Company (KOC). A Research methodology adopted quantitative and qualitative analysis, in order to focus on the difficulties and barriers facing the process of effluent water management, it may be abridged that the parts of effluent water have an alternate possible effect on the surroundings. Subsequently, decreasing these segments, particularly the destructive ones, all together to achieve the most reduced level regarding diminishing the rate released with generated waste water, is the essential objective of the oil manufacturing industry, Due to effluent water disposal & injection practice which is being carried out at KOC can be observed some problems can be summarized as The water cut (W/C) in oil wells start increasing dramatically after water injection back to the reservoir which reduces the oil rate productivity of the wells, Scaling issue in the flow lines start taking place recently at KOC which also reduces the productivity of the wells and need some costly projects to resolve it., There is a great impact on the integrity of our facilities (corrosion issues) . It has been observed that the salinity of the brackish water which is produced from artesian wells is increasing dramatically as well due to effluent water disposal into shallow layers underground

Evaluation of “AIRQUAL” scale for measuring airlines service quality and its effect on customer satisfaction and loyalty

Globalisation and stiff competition have changed the landscape of doing business. Decrease in customer loyalty and increase in customer expectations have challenged businesses to come up with unique methods of enhancing their quality of service. The same is true for airlines industry too. As a result, many airlines have transformed their marketing strategies, especially with regard to service quality, in order to compete efficiently in the global market. The marketing literature has introduced models of service quality, e.g.: SERVQUAL and AIRQUAL to help organisations measure and enhance customer experiences. SERVQUAL has been extensively researched and applied in many industries. Similarly, AIRQUAL, a model for the airline industry, has been developed but applied only in Cyprus. Moreover, the AIRQUAL scale lacks validity, as its development process is incomplete. This research, therefore, adapted 30-items of AIRQUAL and assessed and validated this revised scale. The validated scale was then applied to the airline industry of Saudi Arabia. Further, a comprehensive model is proposed, where the impact of the validated scale of service quality is tested with its impact on customer satisfaction, attitudinal loyalty, word of mouth, repurchase intentions and complaining behaviour. The assessment and validation process is divided into two main stages: first, qualitative; where four focus group interviews were undertaken that generated 46 items for the adapted scale. These items describe the perceptions of airline customers regarding service quality and were classified on the bases of the scheme proposed by Parasuraman et al. (1988). Second, a three-phase two sample, quantitative, research was performed to derive a validated 30-item scale comprising five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Further, the improved scale was tested in a new market (Saudi market) in order to assess the service quality of Saudi Airlines. A total of 500 self-administered questionnaires were distributed among airline customers. The returned questionnaires underwent thorough screening and cleaning. The reliability of the scale was tested through Cronbach’s Alpha, followed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), which emerged with five dimensions. The content, convergent and discriminant validities were established. Further scale confirmation was conducted on a sample of US airline passengers. Finally, the proposed model with nine hypotheses was tested, which resulted in statistically significant results for all the proposed hypotheses

Determinants of Sustainability Disclosure of Saudi Listed Companies

The objective of this paper  is to examine the determinants of environmental sustainability disclosure of Saudi listed companies. Two main dimensions of the factors influencing sustainability disclosure were investigated: company characteristics (size, age, profitability, type of industry and leverage) and board of directors’ characteristics (size, independence and annual number of meetings). This  research study utilized the content analysis approach in order to collect data from annual reports of non-financial companies listed in the Saudi stock market between 2015 and 2017. The total number of annual reports that were covered in this research is 357, which pertain to 119 non-financial companies that were listed during the study period. The study focused on disclosure of environmental sustainability, which is one of the three branches of sustainability (social, economic and environmental). The Global Initiative Reports GRI (G4) issued by the United Nations in 2013 was used to examine these annual reports with respect to the disclosure of environmental sustainability. The findings of this paper reveal that the type of industry, company’s profits, company size and company age are important determinants when it comes to the disclosure of environmental sustainability for Saudi non-financial companies listed in the period of 2015–2017. The elements of corporate governance except for board independence are not important factors, which might be due to the voluntary nature of disclosure of sustainability information. These results suggest that factors related to the identity of a group of companies might influence the disclosure for such type of companies, particularly when the disclosure is voluntary in nature. Therefore, the explanation provided by legitimacy theory with regards to voluntary disclosure is more influenced by bounded factors that reflect upon a group of companies. The results of this paper should help in evaluating the overall contribution of Saudi companies toward the achievement of Saudi Vision 2030, which intends to enhance the quality of life in Saudi society. Keywords: Sustainability, Disclosure, Environmental report, Saudi companies, Accounting sustainability. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-2-09 Publication date: January 31st 2020

An Analysis of Compliment Responses by Kuwaiti EFL Learners: A Pragmatic Approach

This study investigates the extent to which 80 female Kuwaiti EFL learners produce target-like compliment responses when they are communicating in English, through comparing their responses to those of British English speakers. It also examines whether the English proficiency level of Kuwaiti EFL learners plays a role in their responses to compliments in English. Essentially, this study explores whether pragmatic transfer has an impact on the Kuwaiti participants' responses. A Discourse Completion Task (DCT) was given to 50 female native speakers of British English (the control group) and to 80 female Kuwaiti EFL learners (the treatment group), in order to determine whether the responses of the latter group are similar or different to those of the former group. The results reveal that the English proficiency level of the treatment group had no effect on their answers on the DCT. In comparison with the control group, the results also demonstrate that the treatment group transferred both L1 expressions and strategies to respond to compliments in English. This has been attributed to the fact that they may not be aware of any culture-specific nature of verbal communications crosslinguistically, among other reasons. Finally, the study concludes with recommendations for further research

National and Local Antibiotic Prescribing Trends and Prescribing Appropriateness in Older Adults

Background: Antibiotic overuse/misuse has been documented in several reports to increase the risk of Clostridioides difficile (C.diff) infection and antibiotic resistance. The older adult population is more prone to use antibiotic medications than any other age group due to decreased immune function, use of urinary catheters, ventilation during hospitalization and other factors. Antibiotic resistance and C.diff are major public health problems. However, studies examining the trends of antibiotic use and the association between the antibiotic use and negative health outcomes among older adults in the outpatient and emergency department settings are limited. Objectives: The main objectives of this dissertation were to: 1) calculate the national antibiotic trends among community-dwelling older adults in the United State; 2) evaluate the antibiotic trends and antibiotic appropriateness among older adult patients visiting the geriatrics clinic and adult internal ambulatory care clinic at VCU Health; and 3) examine the antibiotic trends and antibiotic appropriateness among older adult patients and middle-aged patients visiting the emergency department at VCU Health. Methods: For the first objective, data were obtained from Medical Expenditure Panel survey (MEPS) a nationally representative dataset (2011-2015). Descriptive analyses were conducted and multiple logistic regression was performed to assess the association between the antibiotic use and demographic and sociodemographic characteristics. In the second objective, data were obtained from VCU Health outpatient clinics (geriatrics, and Internal medicine ambulatory care clinic only). Descriptive statistics were calculated and multiple logistic regression was performed to assess the association between antibiotic appropriateness and type of clinics and other demographic characteristics. In the third objective, the emergency department electronic medical records at VCU were used. Trend analysis was performed across the dissertation studies using the Cochran–Armitage test. All variables were considered statistically significant at an α level of 0.05. All the statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Analysis Software Version 9.4 (SAS v.9.4), (SAS Institute Inc, Cary, NC). Results: There were 105,762,134 prescriptions dispensed to older adults in the outpatient setting in the US from 2011 to 2015. Antibiotic prescriptions were more common among women (18%) compared to men (12%). White participants received more antibiotics (27%) than African Americans (1.77%) and others (1.4%). Among the 3,515 patients who visited either Geriatrics or Internal Medicine ambulatory clinic at VCU Health from 2012-2017, 1,534 antibiotics were prescribed. Potentially inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions were similar between the two clinics (30% in Geriatrics clinic and 28% in Internal Medicine ambulatory clinic) with p-value of 0.08. In addition, 6,343 middle-aged or older adult patients were dispensed and prescribed an antibiotic in the ED at VCU Health from (2012 to 2017). Eighteen percent of the antibiotic prescriptions received by middle age group were considered potentially inappropriate, compared to 9% among the older adult patient (p \u3c 0.0001). Conclusions: The rate of antibiotic use overall remains unchanged despite the national and international efforts to reduce antibiotic prescriptions and eventually to reduce antibiotic resistance. The changes in the patterns of use in some of the antibiotic categories appear to be driven more by the safety concerns rather than reducing overall use. Future research is needed to strengthen antibiotic stewardship programs for older adults in outpatient settings

Understanding The Experiences Of Saudi Arabian Mothers Of Children With Autism In The United States

This narrative research examines the experiences of five Saudi Arabian mothers of children with ASD who are living in the United States. Multiple interviews were used in qualitative research to learn more about the different experiences of these mothers. The purpose of the study was to learn about the participants’ experiences, including their stressors, beliefs, and thoughts about raising their children with ASD in a culture that is different from the one where they were raised. Culture can shape mothers\u27 attitudes and beliefs about raising children with disabilities. Saudi Arabian mothers living abroad are likely to observe different ways of mothering, and they may be exposed to new ways of thinking about mothering. When a Saudi Arabian mother of a child with ASD lives in a developed country like the United States, she may enjoy opportunities to live her experiences far from her extended family, with whom she may or may not have conflicts. She may also learn about resources that can foster her child’s development. Living abroad means exposure to other people and other ways of thinking, which can lead to personal growth and change. The most significant finding from these mothers was the comparison between the educational and the medical sectors in the United States and Saudi Arabia. All of the mothers hope that the services in both sectors will improve to help people with disabilities. This study has implications for educators, doctors, and communities. Future research is needed to study the experiences of Saudi Arabian mothers of children with ASD who are living in Saudi Arabia

The Prevalence of Dietary Supplement Use Among Older Adult Population Using National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2012

Background: Dietary supplements (DS) use has increased in the U.S. in the past 20 years. More than half of the U.S. population reported using DS. There are few studies to our knowledge that have assessed DS use specifically for older adults. In this study we purposed to evaluate the trend of using DS among older adults and to test the association between using DS and several demographics, socioeconomics and health characteristics. The second objective was to evaluate the reasons behind using DS among older adults using a nationally representative database. Methods: This is a cross sectional study using the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database 2009-2012. It is a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized adults in the U.S. Frequency and weighted percentage (standard error) were reported for dichotomous variables. Multiple logistic regressions model analyses were used to evaluate the predictors of DS use after testing model assumptions, multicollinearity, and outliers. P values 0.05 were considered significant. All the statistical analyses were conducted using SAS software version 9.4. Results: Out of 2625 older adult participants (65 years and older) 70.5% of them reported using DS in the past 30 days. Female, non-hispanic white, obese, overweight and excellent and very good self-reported health status participants were more likely to use DS. Multivitamin-multiminerals (MVMM), calcium and vitamin D were the most commonly reported supplements among older adults. 71% of oldest old (80≥ years) reported taking DS and prescription medication in the past 30 days concomitantly and 73% of polypharmacy users reported using DS. To stay healthy, to improve overall health and for bone health were the most commonly reported reasons behind using DS. Conclusion: majority of older adult participants reported using DS in the past 30 days. Health care professionals need to evaluate the dietary supplement information from older adults in order to improve health care