U.S. Newspaper Representation of Muslim and Arab Women Post 9/11.

This study examines U.S. newspaper representation of Muslim-Arab women post 9/11 with an aim of better understanding how women are portrayed in relation to religion, society, politics and the economy. Through a discourse analysis, I examined local articles from across the nation, in addition to international articles, that examine various aspects of Muslim-Arab women’s lives between 9/11/2001 and 9/11/2005. With the increasing focus on the Muslim world in general, and Muslim women in particular, it is necessary to determine how women are portrayed. Muslim-Arab women have increasingly been on the face covers of magazines and front pages of newspapers since 9/11 and all the events that followed; among the major topics covered were the war in Afghanistan, the U.S.-led Iraqi invasion, as well as the elections in both countries. This project aims to provide a comprehensive examination of the diverse stereotypes used by Western reporters to describe Muslim-Arab women, their appearance, status, roles, obligations,responsibilities and aspirations. The analysis also examines the journalistic practices that contribute to distortion and stereotyping

Relation between Nursing Students’ Knowledge of Aging and Attitude towards Elderly People and Their Will and Intent to Work with the Elderly

The changing population structure has many implications for the elderly and nurses must be prepared to meet the challenges of caring for this rapidly increasing segment of population. Aim: Assess nursing students’ knowledge of aging, attitude towards elderly people, will and intent to work with the elderly and determine the relation between nursing students’ knowledge of aging, attitude towards elderly and their will and intent to work with the elderly. Method: A descriptive co-relational study was used via self reported questionnaire, completed by 596 students from the faculty of nursing-Mansoura University. Students’ responses were analyzed using factor analysis, correlation coefficients, T-test, and Anova test. Results: Mansoura nursing students have a lack of knowledge of aging and held a positive attitude toward the elderly. As well they showed a high score of intent and will to work and care for the elderly people. A statistically significant correlation was found between knowledge of aging, attitude toward elderly, intent and will to work and care for the elderly. Conclusion: knowledge of aging of the nursing student should be increased in order to improve quality of care and to provide effective care services to the elderly people using new teaching and educational strategies. Key Words: Knowledge of aging, Attitude, Elderly people, Nursing students, Will, Intent

Mediatization in the Arab World: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of New Media Use

New media (including online and cellular technologies) are being embraced around the world, and younger people have led the way in their adoption. These technologies have spread particularly quickly in the Middle East as a result of innovations in satellite, cellular, and Internet technology. In addition, the Arab Spring was a major milestone for new media adoption in the Middle East and helped define appropriate uses for these technologies. Although they have been used for activism and expression, evidence suggests that these are not (or perhaps are no longer) the primary uses of these technologies among young Arabs. Drawing on the concept of mediatization in an analysis of surveys of American and Arab young people, this study explores cultural influences in recent online and cellular technology use in the Arab world, as well as cultural consequences of the increasing adoption of these technologies. In particular, it identifies and explores similarities and differences among the two groups regarding ownership of devices, online and cellular activities, and frequency of these activities. Findings reiterate the prominence of new media in the Arab world and suggest a continuing influence of traditional values, as well as an increasing influence of Western culture

Online Assessment of Distributed Generation Connection for Smart Grid

Increasing renewable energy generation is among the most important objectives of smart grid, especially due to the increased environmental concerns, energy demand, and depletion of fossil energy resources. Introducing incentive feed-in tariff (FIT) programs to promote renewable distributed generation (DG) in distribution systems is an essential step towards smart grid implementation. However, current regulations of FIT programs for small-scale DG sources strictly limit the aggregated installed DG capacity to a small fraction of the system peak load. Limiting the DG capacity avoids the need for detailed connection impact assessment studies for the DG connection. Conducting detailed CIA studies for each small-scale DG project application is impractical due to the large number of applications, which can lead to delaying the DG connection process. However, avoiding assessment studies and imposing such strict limits result in rejecting numerous applications for renewable DG projects, and therefore losing a significant amount of renewable DG capacity. Such situations underscore the need for research that suggests new directions for increasing small-scale renewable DG projects under FIT programs. In order to accomplish this target, this thesis presents a planning model and a management scheme for DG connection online assessment in smart grids. The planning model achieves two objectives: insuring an adequate profit for DG owners and maximizing the number of installed DG sources in the systems. The management scheme controls the curtailment of the connected DG units to satisfy the system operational constrains. Implementing the proposed work evades the need for detailed connection impact assessment studies prior to installing small-scale DG units since the assessment is performed on an online basis. This feature can therefore reduce the number of rejected applications for renewable DG projects under FIT programs while accelerating the DG connection process. The proposed planning model and management scheme for DG connection online assessment are based on dividing the output power of each DG unit into two components: unconditional and conditional. The unconditional DG component refers to the portion of DG output power that is not subject to curtailment for all online conditions of the system; this component guarantees an adequate profit for the DG investors. The conditional DG component denotes the portion of the DG output power that is subject to curtailment. The curtailment of the conditional DG component is controlled using the proposed management scheme for DG connection online assessment. The first phase of this work introduces an economic model for calculating the unconditional DG component. This model ensures that the unconditional DG component, which is not susceptible to curtailment, yields adequate profit for DG investors. The first part also presents a techno-economic planning model that maximizes the number of DG units installed based on the technical and economic constraints. The second phase of this work presents a novel algorithm for DLF analysis that can interact with the continual changes of load and network topology in smart grids. This algorithm can solve the DLF problem in a specific area of interest in a distribution system without necessitating the inclusion of all of the system buses. This ``zooming'' feature leads to a significant reduction in the required DLF solution time, especially for large distribution systems. This DLF algorithm is utilized in obtaining load flow results in the proposed management scheme for DG connection online assessment, presented in the third phase of this work. The third phase of this work introduces a management scheme for DG connection online assessment in smart grids. The assessment is performed using a novel scalable optimization model that utilizes the ``zooming'' feature of the proposed DLF algorithm, presented in the second phase of this work. The scalable optimization model can therefore minimize the curtailment of the conditional DG components in a specific area of interest in the system without including all the system buses in the optimization problem. This feature ensures fast calculation of the minimum DG power to be curtailed based on the online condition of the system. The simulation results include a comparison between two maximum renewable DG capacities - that which can be installed according to the current FIT rules in Ontario and that which can be installed by implementing the proposed planning model with the management scheme for DG connection online assessment. The comparison indicates that implementing the proposed work would significantly increase the number of small-scale renewable DG projects that can be installed

Changing Focus: Exploring Images of Women and Empowerment in Egypt

In moving away from prescriptive one?way communications exercises, participatory development communications use better strategies to engage communities and capture nuance. This article examines a communications case study in Egypt: a photography competition aimed at understanding how local photographers depict women and empowerment in their images. Opportunities for discussion and self?reflection provide cultural producers the space to delve into how they see women and how they then choose to represent them. This type of communications initiative actively courts a richer understanding of empowerment, leaving room for the complexities this might entail

Non-penetrating deep sclerectomy versus combined trabeculotomy–trabeculectomy in primary congenital glaucoma

Background: The primary mode of therapy in children with primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) and mild or no corneal edema is goniotomy, which has a high success rate. However, in developing countries, the diagnosis of PCG is usually delayed, and corneal cloudiness interferes with goniotomy. Therefore, trabeculotomy may be the best choice in such eyes. We compared the short-term efficacy and safety of primary combined trabeculotomy–trabeculectomy (primary CTT) with that of non-penetrating deep sclerectomy (NPDS) in managing PCG. Methods: This prospective, randomized, comparative study included patients with PCG referred to Al-Azhar University Hospitals within a 1-year period. Eyes were randomly allocated to one of two groups: eyes in NPDS group underwent NPDS, and those in primary CTT group underwent primary CTT. Baseline and frequent postoperative assessments of intraocular pressure (IOP), cup-to-disc ratio (C/D ratio), corneal diameter, and axial length were performed for up to 6 months. The success rates were recorded in both groups. Results: Forty eyes of 26 patients were included, with 20 eyes allocated to each group. The mean (standard deviation) age of all patients was 12.9 (9.5) months, with comparable ages and sex ratios between groups (both P > 0.05). Both groups demonstrated a significant reduction in IOP and C/D ratio at each postoperative visit compared to the baseline visit (all P < 0.001), with no significant difference detected between the groups (all P > 0.05), except for a significantly lower IOP in NPDS group at 1 month (P < 0.05). The corneal diameter and axial length were comparable between groups at baseline and remained unchanged at all postoperative visits (all P > 0.05). The groups had comparable success rates (P > 0.05). No serious complications were detected. Conclusions: CTT and NPDS both yielded reasonable IOP control and reversal of cupping in eyes with PCG. We observed equal effectiveness of the surgical procedures without major safety concerns. Further large-scale clinical trials with longer follow-up periods are needed to verify our preliminary findings

Longitudinal changes in peri-papillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in patients with unilateral branch retinal vein occlusion

Background: Associations between retinal venous occlusion (RVO), elevated intraocular pressure, and glaucoma have been reported. Further investigations into structural alterations in the fellow eyes of individuals with unilateral RVO have revealed that the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer is thinner than in healthy eyes, suggesting that there may be systemic risk factors common to both RVO and glaucoma. We aimed to evaluate changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (pRNFLT) among individuals with unilateral branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Methods: This prospective observational study recruited 30 individuals (60 eyes) with newly diagnosed unilateral BRVO and macular edema, and a control group of 30 healthy individuals (30 eyes) with no abnormalities on fundus examination or concurrent systemic comorbidities. After baseline measurements, the participants were reassessed at 6, 12, and 24 months by measuring global and sectoral pRNFLT using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Results: The mean age and sex distributions were comparable between the patient and control groups (both P > 0.05). When compared to fellow eyes, global and sectoral pRNFLT in eyes with BRVO were significantly higher at baseline (all P < 0.05). Over time, pRNFLT decreased dramatically, and by the conclusion of the two-year follow-up, there was a significant reduction from baseline in the affected eyes (all P < 0.05). Likewise, affected eyes experienced a significant improvement in best-corrected distance visual acuity and central macular thickness over the two-year follow-up (both P Less than or equal to 0.001). Comparing the global and all-sector pRNFLT of fellow eyes in the patient group with those of normal eyes in the control group, there were no significant differences at any visit, except in the temporal sector, which revealed a significant reduction in pRNFLT at 24 months in the fellow eyes of patients with unilateral BRVO (P = 0.02).   Conclusions: Patients with unilateral BRVO experienced a significant reduction in pRNFLT in the affected eyes and, to a lesser extent, in the fellow eyes, compared with that of the control arm, suggesting that they are prone to retinal nerve fiber layer damage. The reduction in pRNFLT in the normal fellow eyes of patients with BRVO may be attributed to age or concurrent systemic comorbidities. Further studies with long follow-up periods are required to shed light on the etiology of functional and structural changes in both the retinal nerve fiber layer and ganglion cell complex in the normal and affected eyes of patients with unilateral BRVO

Social media and protest mobilization: evidence from the Tunisian revolution

This article explores how social media acted as a catalyst for protest mobilization during the Tunisian revolution in late 2010 and early 2011. Using evidence from protests we argue that social media acted as an important resource for popular mobilization against the Ben Ali regime. Drawing on insights from “resource mobilization theory”, we show that social media (1) allowed a “digital elite” to break the national media blackout through brokering information for mainstream media; (2) provided a basis for intergroup collaboration for a large “cycle of protest”; (3) reported event magnitudes that raised the perception of success for potential free riders, and (4) provided additional “emotional mobilization” through depicting the worst atrocities associated with the regime’s response to the protests. These findings are based on background talks with Tunisian bloggers and digital activists and a revealed preference survey conducted among a sample of Tunisian internet users (February–May 2012)