The Dynamics and Attractivity for a Rational Recursive Sequence of Order Three

This paper is concerned with the behavior of solution of the nonlinear difference equation where the initial conditions are arbitrary positive real numbers and a,b,c,d,e are positive constants

Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Levels of Technology Integration in Teaching among Teacher Preparation Program Students at Taibah University

The purpose of this study was to examine levels of knowledge and self-efficacy related to technology integration among students of a teacher preparation program at Taibah University. Many studies have explored factors of pre-service teachers that might affect the use of technology in teaching, however, no study has been found to address the topic of the current study. This study applies the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) as a theoretical framework. The sample was randomly selected and consisted of 106 female students, who enrolled in a teacher preparation program at Taibah University, Medina. Results of the study showed that female pre-service teachers at Taibah University had medium levels of TPACK and self-efficacy regarding technology integration in teaching. In addition, a positive correlation has been found between the two variables. Therefore, this study recommends taking into consideration the TPACK model when measuring or developing knowledge of pre-service teachers in order to improve their self-efficacy for a more effective use of technology in education. Keywords: knowledge, self-efficacy, technology integration, teacher preparatio

Challenging Barriers to the Evolution of the Saudi Animation Industry Life-Cycle

Conference proceedings were published with the paper available on https://www.waset.org/abstracts/industrial-and-manufacturing-engineering/27685The animation industry is one of the creative industries that have attracted recent historiographical attention. However, there has been very limited research on Saudi Arabian and wider Arabian animation industries, while there are a large number of studies that have covered this issue for North America, Europe and East Asia. The existing studies show that developed countries such as USA, Japan and the UK have reached the Maturity stage in their animation industry life-cycle. On the other hand, developing countries that are still in the Introduction phase of the industry life-cycle face challenges to improve their industry. Saudi Arabia is one of the countries whose animation industry is still in its infancy. Thus, the aim of this paper is to address the main barriers that hinder the evolution of the industry life-cycle for Saudi animation – challenges that are also relevant to many other early stage industries in developing countries. These barriers have been analysed using the early mobility barriers defined by Porter, to provide a conceptual structure for defining recommendations to enable the transition to a strong Growth phase industry. This study utilized qualitative methods to collect data, which involved in-depth interviews, document analysis and observations. It also undertook a comparative case study approach to investigate the animation industry life-cycle, with three selected case studies that have a more developed industry than Saudi animation. Case studies include: the United Kingdom, which represents a Mature animation industry; Egypt, which represents an established Growth stage industry; and the United Arab of Emirates, which is an early Growth stage industry. This study suggests adopting appropriate strategies that arise as findings from the comparative case studies, to overcome barriers and facilitate the growth of the Saudi animation industry

Modeling the time-dependent characteristics of perovskite solar cells

We proposed two different time-dependent modeling approaches for variation of device characteristics of perovskite solar cells under stress conditions. The first approach follows Sah-Noyce-Shockley (SNS) model based on Shockley–Read–Hall recombination/generation across the depletion width of pn junction and the second approach is based on thermionic emission model for Schottky diodes. The connecting point of these approaches to time variation is the time-dependent defect generation in depletion width (W) of the junction. We have fitted the two models with experimental data reported in the literature to perovskite solar cell and found out that each model has a superior explanation for degradation of device metrics e.g. current density and efficiency by time under stress conditions. Nevertheless, the Sah-Noyce-Shockley model is more reliable than thermionic emission at least for solar cells

Cross‐Talk Between Hypoxia and the Tumour via Exosomes

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and this is often attributed to the nonspecific symptoms. Additionally, delayed diagnosis and a lack of treatment options negatively impact prognosis. Recently, the role of extracellular vesicles in cancer progression, specifically, in metastasis and in the capacity of several tumours to invade and colonise specific organs has been established. Reduced oxygen tension due to imbalanced oxygen supply and consumption is termed hypoxia and is one of the most commonly observed features in solid tumours. This is often correlated with poor cancer prognosis. Several reports have established that low oxygen tension (i.e. hypoxia) is a common feature of the tumour microenvironment often enhancing the process of epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer cells, thus promoting tumourigenesis and metastasis. Furthermore, hypoxia increases the number of extracellular vesicles released from cancer cells and also modifies their bioactivity and function. The aim of this chapter is to review the association between the tumour microenvironment and extracellular vesicles (EVs), focusing on a specific subpopulation of EVs of endocytic origin, termed exosomes