Matrix/fracture transfer function during counter-current spontaneous imbibition in naturally fractured reservoirs

Naturally fractured reservoirs are abundant in the earth’s crust and host a substantial percentage of oil reserves globally. The main mechanism of oil recovery during waterflooding of these types of reservoirs is through spontaneous imbibition of water into the matrix and simultaneous counter-current flow of oil out of the matrix. Understanding the predominate recovery mechanism enhances reserves estimates, accurate simulation forecasts and overall sound development plans. Dual-porosity and dual-permeability simulations are used in the industry to simulate waterfloods in naturally fractured reservoirs. One of the key parameters in these simulations is the matrix-fracture transfer term, which is not well understood and modeled, especially in mixed-wet reservoirs. The same transfer term is used for primary, secondary and tertiary recovery processes, though it should change depending on the mechanisms of oil recovery. The key mechanism during primary recovery is depressurization, not spontaneous imbibition. The main goal of this research is to develop an accurate representation of the matrix-fracture transfer term in waterflooding for dual-porosity simulators. The analytical and semi-analytical solutions for 1D counter-current imbibition were studied for defining the exact solution in fractured porous media. Fine-grid, single-porosity numerical solutions were developed that are consistent with the 1D analytical solutions, in conjunction with coarse-grid single-porosity conceptual models. Both single-porosity models are used as reference against dual-porosity conceptual models to address the built-in matrix-fracture transfer terms through recovery of the matrix element. The error in simulation was defined as the difference in recoveries between the fine-grid single-porosity solution and the dual-porosity solutions. A detailed investigation of both rock and fluid inputs affecting transfer terms in dual-porosity was made in an effort to match the transient solution obtained from fine-grid single-porosity models. The inclusion of transient effect in dual-porosity requires optimizing the following inputs which are shape factor, capillary exponent and oil relative permeability exponent. Two main processes were proposed for optimization. Firstly, an accuracy-based Latin Hyper Cube sampling method was utilized that converged to the solution quickly. Secondly, utilizing a machine learning algorithm (specifically an Artificial Neural Net model) that predicts recovery accuracy based on the aforementioned chosen inputs. The machine learning model needed many iterations to converge to a solution.Petroleum and Geosystems Engineerin

Effect of differential applications of phosphate and zinc sulfate to a soil of the Mediterranean group on the growth of sudangrass

Thesis (M.S.)--Agriculture, A.U.B.Includes bibliographical references

Cognitive, emotional and behavioural consequences of child abuse in Saudi Arabia

The negative impact of a history of child abuse on the executive functioning and psychological health of children and adolescents has been well documented in the international literature. However, there is a notable paucity of such studies in Arab countries. Thus, the current thesis examined the impact of abuse on cognitive functioning, cortisol levels, psychological health, social support, and parenting disciplinary styles on a cross-sectional sample of school-aged Saudi children and adolescents. The thesis contains ten studies that are divided into two parts (each part comprises five studies). The primary sample consists of 104 school-aged Saudi children and adolescents (54 males) aged 9−15 years. The aim of the first part was to compare two groups— children with a history of abuse (n = 69) and controls who had no history of abuse (n = 36). In the second part, 69 children and adolescents (36 males aged 9−15 years with a history of abuse were included. This group were classified into two groups: high behavioural problems (High-BP; n = 37) and low behavioural problems (Low-BP; n = 32). The results suggest that a higher level of abuse history is associated with more trauma symptoms, negative parenting disciplinary styles and behavioural and emotional problems. In addition, more abuse is associated with poorer executive functioning, less social support, less resilience, poorer psychological security and poorer self-regulation. The overall findings and limitations are discussed in chapter five from the perspective of their clinical implications and social sensitivities in the context of the Saudi culture and family system

Evaluating the effectiveness of special education classes in the United Arab Emirates

هدفت الدراسة إلى التعرف على مدى فاعلية فصول التربية الخاصة في دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة من وجهة نظر المعلمين. واشتملت عينة الدراسة على(132) معلماً ومعلمة منهم (25) من الذكور و (107) من الإناث. وقد تم استخدام مقياس أعد من قبل الباحثين للتعرف على مدى فاعلية فصول التربية الخاصة، واستخرجت دلالات صدق وثبات للمقياس، حيث دلت المؤشرات على أن المقياس يتمتع بدرجة عالية من الثبات والصدق، وكان معامل الثبات (0.90)، واشتمل المقياس على (57) فقرة، مثلت خمسة أبعاد وهى: البيئة التعليمية، والتشخيص، والهيئة التدريسية، والتعاون، والبرامج.وقد أظهرت نتائج الدراسة أن فاعلية فصول التربية الخاصة بمدارس وزارة التربية والتعليم الإماراتية بلغت 66% ، وذلك حسب استجابة أفراد عينة الدراسة، كما أظهرت نتائج الدراسة عدم وجود اختلاف في وجهات نظر المعلمين في مدى فاعلية فصول التربية الخاصة يعزى لاختلاف الجنس وسنوات الخبرة، وكذلك أظهرت نتائج الدراسة وجود ارتباط دال إحصائياً عند مستوى أقل من (0.05) بين البعد الأول والثالث، والثاني والثالث، والثالث والرابع، وارتباط دال إحصائيا عند مستو ى أقل من (0.01) على الأبعاد الأول والخامس، والثاني و الخامس، والثالث والخامس.This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of special education classrooms in the United Arab Emirates from the view point of teachers. The sample of the study consisted of 132 teachers (male = 25; female= 107). An instrument was designed by the researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of special education classes, which consisted of 57 items in five areas; environment; assessment; faculty members; collaboration, and programs. The results indicated that the effectiveness of special education classes was 66%. The results also showed no significant differences between male and female teachers on their view-points of the effectiveness of special education classes. Also, there was no significant difference between teachers based on their years of experience. However, there were significant differences between the first and the third area; the second and the third area; the third and the fourth area; the second and the fifth area and the third and fifth area

Evidence-based strategies to support children's emergent literacy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

This study was designed to examine teachers’ reported use of evidence-based strategies to support children’s emergent literacy in Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The study participants comprised 644 kindergarten teachers from four countries, including Saudi Arabia (n = 154), Qatar (n = 105), United Arab Emirates (UAE) (n = 190), and Oman (n = 195). The researchers designed a 29-items questionnaire that addressed five dimensions, examining evidence-based strategies that support emergent literacy: phonological awareness, knowledge and understandings of books and other texts, print awareness, knowledge of letters and words, and early writing. The results showed that teachers reported higher use of strategies concerning knowledge of letters and words, followed by those concerning print awareness. In addition, they reported lower use of strategies concerning early writing. Moreover, teachers in the UAE reported higher use of strategies in support of emergent literacy followed by teachers in Qatar and Oman, whereas teachers in Saudi Arabia reported lower use of evidence-based strategies. Finally, statistically significant differences were found regarding teachers’ use of emergent literacy strategies due to teachers’ demographic background. Implications for future research are discussed, and they include highlighting evidence-based emergent literacy strategies in early years settings in the GCC countries as well as expanding the scope of the study to include samples from different contexts.Scopu

Social and Emotional Challenges Encounter Jordanian Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The current study aims to identify daily social and emotional challenges encountered by parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its relation to some demographic variables. The study sample consists of 223 parents whose children having a diagnosis of ASD and receiving services at special education institutions in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. A validated scale was developed to measure social and emotional challenges. Findings revealed that while the most common social challenges were lacking social support, anger and aggression were the parents' dominant emotional challenges in this study. The association between the severity of ASD and the level of challenges was positive, whereas it was negative between household income and challenges. Parents of girls with ASD tended to experience a higher level of challenges.</jats:p

The Role of the Jordanian Media in Addressing the Issues of Persons with Disabilities from the Perspective of their Families

The purpose of the study is to explore the role of Jordanian media in dealing with persons with Disabilities and adopting their problems as perceived by their families. A random sampling totaling (656) parents of disabled participated in the study to achieve its goal. A scale to measure the role of media in dealing with Persons with Disabilities issues was developed consisting of (50) items with (6) domains within Likert scale, then calculated validity and reliability. The findings of the study showed that the means of the items ranged from average to high degrees. Further, there were no significant statistical differences attributed to gender on the role of Jordanian media in dealing with Persons with disabilities issues; there were significant statistical differences attributed to working parents; there were significant statistical differences between families of children with severe disability and families of children with mild and moderate disability in favor of the first. Moreover, there were significant statistical differences attributed to scientific qualification in favor of master’s degree and above. Based on the findings, the researchers called upon media representatives to use the services of experts and specialized people in preparing programs that aim to improve the stereotype image in the minds of the audience; directing media to spread the public awareness of the issues of Persons with.</jats:p