Religion, language, gender, and culture: challenges experienced by Saudi international students in Humboldt County

The effects of culture shock on individuals living abroad are well known. Less well known, however, are the specific experiences, needs, and challenges of Saudi Arabian students studying internationally, especially in Western nations. In this study, I used qualitative research to explore the needs and difficulties of Saudi international students in Humboldt County and at Humboldt State University (HSU). Using semi-structured interviews with eight participants, diversified by gender and marital status, I provide a holistic view of HSU Saudi international students’ experiences and challenges which could help to understand Saudi students’ experiences abroad generally, and in Humboldt County specifically. I highlighted three major themes which emerged from the interviews: language and cultural challenges, discrimination and religious challenges, and gender challenges. The participants discussed similar and different issues compared to prior studies, as well as new points, such as the role the host family played on these students, the difficulties these students encountered when they interacted with members of another gender, and how cultural differences between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. created some social and academic problems. It is important to understand these students’ experiences to ease their challenges and make their experiences in the U.S. more successful

Pursuit of quality in the process of higher education in Saudi Arabia: a study across three stakeholder groups in two public universities

In 2004, the Saudi Higher Education Supreme Council (HESC) established the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA). According to the Secretary General of the NCAAA, introducing this system at the national level was essential for economic and social development in Saudi Arabia. The emergence of the NCAAA represents the central focus of this thesis, specifically in relation to the NCAAA’s role in improving the educational process in Saudi higher education institutions (HEIs). The overarching objective was to explore and describe the present engagement within Saudi higher education with the recommendations made by the NCAAA directed towards the enhancement of the quality of student learning, with the intention of identifying whether the attributes of the Saudi higher education system were consistent with these recommendations. This overarching objective was further divided into the following three more specific objectives: a) To explore administrators’ (i.e. faculty deans’) perceptions of the extent to which the recommendations made by the NCAAA have been adopted in two public Saudi universities. b) To explore teachers’ perceptions of their practice, considering comparisons between the two institutions. c) To explore the students’ experiences, again considering comparisons between the two institutions. The above objectives drove the data collection process, and these data constituted the empirical base of the study. The research was conducted in two public universities located in two geographically distinct provinces of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from three groups of stakeholders, including senior administrators, teachers and students. This was done by means of individual interviews with 11 senior administrators and the collection of survey data from 78 teachers and 430 students, who were recruited from 11 faculties across the two institutions. Semi-structured interviews with senior administrators focused on their personal views and opinions of the educational process with respect to student learning, in order to identify the extent to which their faculty/unit was engaged with the NCAAA recommendations. The questions in the teacher and student surveys were derived from the recommendations published by the NCAAA with regard to the improvement of the educational process, and focused on their teaching practice and learning experiences respectively. The qualitative analysis of the administrators’ data suggested some differences in terms of how the two institutions engaged with the NCAAA’s recommendations and thus I adopted a comparative approach to the analysis of the teachers’ and students’ responses. A factor analysis was carried out to further clarify the themes present in the surveys from the perspectives of both teachers and students, and descriptive analyses were then used to explore the extent of resonance with the recommendations of the NCAAA. Inferential statistics were applied to investigate any differences between the two institutions against the outlined themes. The administrators’ responses at both institutions indicated that there was room for improvement in adopting the NCAAA’s recommendations. While the perceptions of teachers at both institutions seemed to suggest compliance with these recommendations, the statements of the students were more congruent with those of the administrators. The findings of the study indicate that there is yet some way to go towards the realisation of the aspirations of the NCAAA. They further suggest the desirability of a greater degree of student involvement in the evaluation of the quality of the educational process. Finally, the transformation of a series of recommendations for quality enhancement into a culture of quality within an individual institution is a process that can be expected to take some time. The study, while indicating a degree of commitment to, and espousal of, the recommendations of the NCAAA, suggests that there is some considerable way to go before this will be seen to impact directly and significantly on the student experience

Effects of Music Therapy on Mood in Stroke Patients

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of music therapy on depressive mood and anxiety in post-stroke patients and evaluate satisfaction levels of patients and caregivers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen post-stroke patients, within six months of onset and mini mental status examination score of over 20, participated in this study. Patients were divided into music and control groups. The experimental group participated in the music therapy program for four weeks. Psychological status was evaluated with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) before and after music therapy. Satisfaction with music therapy was evaluated by a questionnaire. RESULTS: BAI and BDI scores showed a greater decrease in the music group than the control group after music therapy, but only the decrease of BDI scores were statistically significant (p=0.048). Music therapy satisfaction in patients and caregivers was affirmative. CONCLUSION: Music therapy has a positive effect on mood in post-stroke patients and may be beneficial for mood improvement with stroke. These results are encouraging, but further studies are needed in this field.ope

Studying the Level of Angiotensin II in Various Areas of Jordan with Different Altitudes

Background and objectives: angiotensin II is involved in the development of hypertension. The main objectives of the study were to measure and compare the levels of angiotensin II among normal population in various areas with different altitudes Methods: Study design: cross- sectional study was conducted to collect data from participants at the same time. Study setting: participants from various areas with different altitudes were recruited to participate in this study. A total of 1500 participants were included. Study procedure: data was collected from participants based on a questionnaire that was constructed for this study. Blood samples were withdrawn from participants by a well- trained nurse. Angiotensin II was measured using enzyme linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis: data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Data was represented as means, standard deviations, frequencies and percentage. The relationship between variables was tested using independent T-Test. The significance was considered at p value <0.05. Results: the level of angiotensin II was 8.84± 4.65 pg/ml in Dead Sea, 11.21± 6.05 pg/ml in Sea level, and 12.08± 5.19 pg/ml in Ajloun. There was a significant difference between the means of angiotensin II between Ajloun and Dead Sea (p=0.039). no other significant differences were observed between the study areas. Conclusion: the angiotensin II varies between the areas according to their altitudes and this consideration should be taken into account when hypertensive drugs are prescribed

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Voting : a citizen's political action and a reasoned action

Associé à la démocratie représentative, le vote en France est souvent observé à travers ses résultats (chiffre d’abstention, du vote blanc, inscription ou non inscription sur les listes électorales, etc.), ce qui laisse entendre que le fait démocratique serait caractérisé par les suffrages exprimés. Or, pour le citoyen le vote a un sens qui va au-delà du rituel des urnes. En tant que Sujet socio-psychologique, il vote en agissant autour d’enjeux fondamentaux dans le but de construire et de se construire par un acte puissant et utile en confirmant son histoire.Pour comprendre la signification du vote en tant qu’agir politique articulé à de nombreux agir (s) sociaux, eux-mêmes reposant sur des fondements psychologiques de l’agir humain, nous nous sommes positionnés en amont et en aval de la dynamique électorale et envisagé le comportement votant en fonction des connaissances, des croyances, des prédispositions normatives, affectives, bref, de l’attitude qui le sous-tend.La question générale de notre recherche est de décliner les conditions qui construisent le comportement votant.Associated with representative democracy, voting in France is often seen through its results (abstention, blank vote, registration or non-registration on electoral lists, etc.), which suggests that the actual democratic would be characterized by the votes cast. For the citizen, the vote has a meaning that goes beyond the ritual of the ballot box. As a socio-psychological subject, he votes regarding fundamental issues in order to bring out solutions and construct himself through this historical action seen as a powerful, effective and useful. In order to understand the significance of voting as a political act expressed in many social actions, which are based on the psychological foundations of human action, we positioned ourselves upstream and downstream of the vote and considered the voting behavior relatively to knowledge, beliefs, normative, affective dimensions, in short, to the attitude that supports it.The general aim of our research is to specify the conditions that construct the voting behavior

Reclaiming Altered Landscapes: The Bingham Canyon Mine Memorial

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2012Open-Pit mining in America has created landscape alterations that are vast and permanent. These landscapes have created and erased entire communities in order to extract ore for human use. Despite their destructive character, working open-pit mines have also become tourist attractions to the public. When abandoned, mines often take on qualities of repulsion and attraction as nature reclaims such sites. These ruined landscapes have been open to interpretation, often misread as "natural". This thesis explores the reclamation of the lost memories of these altered landscapes through a narrative architecture, while projecting it to its future state

Modification of the Error Equation in Angular Theodolite Measurements

In this information era. automation of surveying operations becomes a must, simply because an excessive amount of information cannot always be handled manually. However, prior to automation, rigorous mathematical models should be formulated in such a way that all effective parameters are taken into consideration. This step is important, otherwise automation will always be defective. From this perspective, the authors examined the famous equation of the theoretical accuracy of theodolite angular measurement and reevaluated it by considering the effects of target type and observation distance length on the measuring process, beside that of the reading error, the pointing error and the initial setting error being taken care of in the original equation. A new mathematical model for estimating the theoretical angular error in theodolite works was then developed and tested

The after-school teacher's experience of working with student groups of different sizes

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur lärare i fritidshem upplever att arbeta med elevgrupper i olika storlekar i fritidshemsverksamheten. Studien är inspirerad av det fenomenologiska perspektivet, det vill säga tillvägagångssättet tar sin utgångspunkt i individens upplevelser samt personliga erfarenheter. Undersökningen är baserad på kvalitativ metod i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem lärare i fritidshem. Studiens resultat visar att fritidslärarna upplever att arbete med elevgruppens olika storlekar utgör både hinder och möjligheter. Fritidslärarna upplever att elevgruppens storlek inte är det enda som har betydelse för deras möjlighet att utföra sitt arbete, utan att det är en av flera faktorer som har betydelse. Det som nämns är bland annat planering, genomförande, lokaler, personaltäthet, övervakning och kontroll samt relationer. Studiens resultat analyseras utifrån ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv och följs upp av en diskussionsdel med koppling till tidigare forskning samt styrdokument