Perceptions of pioneer female Saudi higher education EFL teachers: a qualitative study of their experiences in English language Teaching

This study argues for EFL teacher autonomy and empowerment in Saudi higher education institutions based on the assumption that participating in school decision-making would help to enhance teachers’ perceptions, expertise, and commitment towards their own practices. This research is teacher-centred in the sense that it is written from the teacher’s point of view, at a time of multiple changes in Saudi Arabia, where teachers’ views are not always taken into consideration. The research focus is on teachers’ perceptions of current EFL practices and the role they play in curriculum development and planning, and considers what barriers are hindering them from working towards student-centred and active inquiry-oriented learning environments. The data used to examine teachers’ perceptions and experiences of current English language teaching (ELT) practices are drawn from a sample of 12 female Saudi EFL teachers, who have been awarded international degrees and who are practising ELT in a university in Saudi Arabia. Data sources include semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, focus group discussions and a drawing activity. The findings revealed: (1) Overall, bureaucracy and a top down approach adopted by the higher education institution affects teachers’ perceptions and pedagogical quality; (2) Empowerment appears to be an essential, but not sufficient condition to achieve real changes and successful educational outcomes as it depends on teachers’ expertise and their own methods of instructional practice; (3) The need for more continuous professional development (CPD) programmes is an emergent aspect that requires further attention. Three significant issues were raised for further research and comment, relating to the mismatch between current policy aspirations for professional development and the reality of teachers’ experience. At the end of this thesis, implications for in-service training of teachers in a mono-cultural society such as Saudi Arabia were discussed

Unsupervised Learning: Using Educational Videos as a Learning Tool to Enhance the English Vocabulary Use for the I-Generation

Words are the foundation that we need to build our meaning on therefore without vocabulary one cannot communicate properly or create a single comprehensible conversation Ghazal 2007 p 84 Furthermore Bowen and Marks 2002 describe vocabulary as follows words are the base of language which makes them the base of communication indicating the pivotal role of vocabulary knowledge in second language acquisition as cited in Ebrahimzadeh 2017 p 1 Consequently not having an adequate amount of vocabulary leads to a deficiency in language production Ebrahimzadeh 2017 p 1 This paper aims to highlight the most salient studies that are related to enhance the new generation of EFL students vocabulary attainment through the use of educational videos outside the classroom settin

A Study of Airlines Customer Satisfaction in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The quality of service plays a major role in service industry especially when it comes to customer satisfaction level. This paper focuses on investigating the customer’s satisfaction levels towards services provided by Saudi Airlines. For this purpose, a questionnaire was developed and distributed among 165 domestic as well as international passengers at the airport. After scrutiny, it was found that only 159 questionnaires were completed in all respects and were included in the study. The data collected afterwards were analysed in order to measure the actual satisfaction level of customers. It was found that the domestic as well as the international passengers of Saudi Arabia airlines were not happy and satisfied with the services provided by the airlines. Thus, the major problem area includes baggage handling, treatment of passengers at airport in case of any grievances, food quality, and entertainment on board. Based on the outcome of the research, certain strategies to overcome such issues were recommended by the authors

A Systematic Review on Clinical Safety and Efficacy of Vancomycin Loading Dose in Critically Ill Patients

Background: The clinical significance of utilizing a vancomycin loading dose in critically ill patients remains unclear. Objective: The main aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of the vancomycin loading dose in critically ill patients. Methods: We performed a systematic review using PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, the Web of Science, MEDLINE, Scopus, Google Scholar, the Saudi Digital Library and other databases were searched. Studies that reported clinical outcomes among patients receiving the vancomycin LD were considered eligible. Data for this study were collected using PubMed, the Web of Science, MEDLINE, Scopus, Google Scholar and the Saudi Digital Library using the following terms: “vancomycin”, “safety”, “efficacy” and “loading dose” combined with the Boolean operator “AND” or “OR”. Results: A total of 17 articles, including 2 RCTs, 11 retrospective cohorts and 4 other studies, met the inclusion/exclusion criteria out of a total 1189 studies. Patients had different clinical characteristics representing a heterogenous group, including patients in critical condition, with renal impairment, sepsis, MRSA infection and hospitalized patients for hemodialysis or in the emergency department. Conclusions: The study shows that the target therapeutic level is achieved more easily among patients receiving a weight-based LD as compared to patients received the usual dose without an increased risk of new-onset adverse drug reactions

Perceptions of pioneer female Saudi higher education EFL teachers: a qualitative study of their experiences in English language Teaching

This study argues for EFL teacher autonomy and empowerment in Saudi higher education institutions based on the assumption that participating in school decision-making would help to enhance teachers’ perceptions, expertise, and commitment towards their own practices. This research is teacher-centred in the sense that it is written from the teacher’s point of view, at a time of multiple changes in Saudi Arabia, where teachers’ views are not always taken into consideration. The research focus is on teachers’ perceptions of current EFL practices and the role they play in curriculum development and planning, and considers what barriers are hindering them from working towards student-centred and active inquiry-oriented learning environments. The data used to examine teachers’ perceptions and experiences of current English language teaching (ELT) practices are drawn from a sample of 12 female Saudi EFL teachers, who have been awarded international degrees and who are practising ELT in a university in Saudi Arabia. Data sources include semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, focus group discussions and a drawing activity. The findings revealed: (1) Overall, bureaucracy and a top down approach adopted by the higher education institution affects teachers’ perceptions and pedagogical quality; (2) Empowerment appears to be an essential, but not sufficient condition to achieve real changes and successful educational outcomes as it depends on teachers’ expertise and their own methods of instructional practice; (3) The need for more continuous professional development (CPD) programmes is an emergent aspect that requires further attention. Three significant issues were raised for further research and comment, relating to the mismatch between current policy aspirations for professional development and the reality of teachers’ experience. At the end of this thesis, implications for in-service training of teachers in a mono-cultural society such as Saudi Arabia were discussed

THE CHANGING PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS

Assessment represents the core of learning attainment. It is considered the most contentious area of education both historically and in contemporary debate. In addition, it is a major educational issue where rapid changes are taking place. It plays a crucial role since it provides teachers and learners with the needed information in which they can apply many decisions. Such decisions can affect pupils’ attitudes and choices in life. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to identify the purpose of assessment and make it beneficial to the pupils. The aim of this paper is to discuss the changing trends and purposes of assessment from the 60s to present day. In this paper, we will try to answer some of the following questions: Why do we need to assess? What are the main purposes of assessment? And how should we assess? In the following paragraphs, we will shed light on the traditional view of assessment together with the new and old trends in this regard; also, we will investigate the changing purposes of assessment in Saudi Arabia. In addition, there will be a brief discussion of the emerging trends in this field as well as mentioning some of the implications for teaching and learning

Enhancing Cybersecurity in the Internet of Things Environment Using Bald Eagle Search Optimization With Hybrid Deep Learning

Nowadays, the Internet of Things (IoT) has become a rapid development; it can be employed by cyber threats in IoT devices. A correct system to recognize malicious attacks at IoT platforms became of major importance to minimize security threats in IoT devices. Botnet attacks have more severe and common attacks and it is threaten IoT devices. These threats interrupt IoT alteration by interrupting networks and services for IoT devices. Several existing methods present themselves to determine unknown patterns in IoT networks for improving security. Recent analysis presents DL and ML methods for classifying and detecting botnet attacks from the IoT environment. Consequently, this paper develops a Bald Eagle Search Optimization with a Hybrid Deep Learning based botnet detection (BESO-HDLBD) algorithm in an IoT platform. The presented BESO-HDLBD approach aims to resolve the security issue by identifying the botnets in the IoT environment. To reduce the high dimensionality problem, the BESO-HDLBD method uses the BESO system for the feature selection process. For botnet detection purposes, the BESO-HDLBD algorithm uses HDL, which is an integration of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM), and attention concept. The desire for the HDL technique in botnet detection utilises the intricate nature of botnet attacks that frequently contain difficult and developing patterns. Combining CNNs permits for effectual feature extraction from spatial data, BiLSTM networks capture temporal dependencies, and attention mechanisms improve the model’s capability to concentrate on fundamental patterns. The selection of hyperparameters of the HDL approach takes place using the dragonfly algorithm (DFA). The experimental analysis of the BESO-HDLBD system could be examined under a benchmark botnet dataset. The obtained outcome infers a better outcome of the BESO-HDLBD technique compared to the recent detection system with respect to distinct estimation measures

Genetic Diversity, Analysis of Some Agro-Morphological and Quality Traits and Utilization of Plant Resources of Alfalfa

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important perennial forage crops to build effective diets for livestock producers. Forage crop improvement depends largely on the availability of diverse germplasms and their efficient utilization. The present investigation was conducted at Ismailia Agricultural Research Station to assess twenty-one alfalfa genotypes for yield components, forage yield and quality traits during 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. The genotypes were evaluated in field experiments with three replicates and a randomized complete block design, using analysis of variance, estimate of genetic variability, estimate of broad sense heritability (hb2) and cluster analysis to identify the inter relationships among the studied genotypes as well as principal component analysis (PCA) to explain the majority of the total variation. Significant differences were found among genotypes for all studied traits. The general mean of the studied traits was higher in the second year than the first year. Moreover, the combined analysis showed highly significant differences between the two years, genotypes and the year × gen. interaction for the traits studied. The genotype F18 recorded the highest values for plant height, number of tiller/m2, total fresh yield and total dry yield, while, the genotype F49 ranked first for leaf/stem ratio. The results showed highly significant variation among the studied genotypes for crude protein %, crude fiber % and ash %. Data revealed that the genotypes P13 and P5 showed the highest values for crude protein %, whereas, the genotype F18 recorded the highest values for crude fiber % and ash content. The results revealed high estimates of genotypic coefficient and phenotypic coefficient of variation (GCV% and PCV%) with high hb2, indicating the presence of genetic variability and effective potential selection for these traits. The cluster analysis exhibited considerable genetic diversity among the genotypes, which classified the twenty one genotypes of alfalfa into five sub-clusters. The genotypes F18, F49, K75, S35, P20, P5 and P13 recorded the highest values for all studied traits compared with other clusters. Furthermore, the PC analysis grouped the studied genotypes into groups and remained scattered in all four quadrants based on all studied traits. Ultimately, superior genotypes were identified can be utilized for crop improvement in future breeding schemes