KIIT Digital Library: An open hypermedia Application

The massive use of Web technologies has spurred a new revolution in information storing and retrieving. It has always been an issue whether to incorporate hyperlinks embedded in a document or to store them separately in a link base. Research effort has been concentrated on the development of link services that enable hypermedia functionality to be integrate into the general computing environment and allow linking from all tools on the browser or desktop. KIIT digital library is such an application that focuses mainly on architecture and protocols of Open Hypermedia Systems (OHS), providing on-line document authoring, browsing, cataloguing, searching and updating features. The WWW needs fundamentally new frameworks and concepts to support new search and indexing functionality. This is because of the frequent use of digital archives and to maintain huge amount of database and documents. These digital materials range from electronic versions of books and journals offered by traditional publishers to manuscripts, photographs, maps, sound recordings and similar materials digitized from libraries' own special collections to new electronic scholarly and scientific databases developed through the collaboration of researchers, computer and information scientists, and librarians. Metadata in catalogue systems are an indispensable tool to find information and services in networks. Technological advances provide new opportunities to facilitate the process of collecting and maintaining metadata and to facilitate using catalogue systems. The overall objective is how to make best use of catalogue systems. Information systems such as the World Wide Web, Digital Libraries, inventories of satellite images and other repositories contain more data than ever before, are globally distributed, easy to use and, therefore, become accessible to huge, heterogeneous user groups. For KIIT Digital Library, we have used Resource Development Framework (RDF) and Dublin Core (DC) standards to incorporate metadata. Overall KIIT digital library provides electronic access to information in many different forms. Recent technological advances make the storage and transmission of digital information possible. This project is to design and implement a cataloguing system of the digital library system suitable for storage, indexing, and retrieving information and providing that information across the Internet. The goal is to allow users to quickly search indices to locate segments of interests and view and manipulate these segments on their remote computers

Developing a Framework to Implement Public Key Infrastructure Enabled Security in XML Documents

This paper concentrates on proposing a framework to implement the PKI enables security in XML documents, by defining a common framework and processing rules that can be shared across applications using common tools, avoiding the need for extensive customization of applications to add security. The Framework reuses the concepts, algorithms and core technologies of legacy security systems while introducing changes necessary to support extensible integration with XML. This allows interoperability with a wide range of existing infrastructures and across deployments. Currently no strict security models and mechanisms are available that can provide specification and enforcement of security policies for XML documents. Such models are crucial in order to facilitate a secure dissemination of XML documents, containing information of different sensitivity levels, among (possibly large) user communities

The Development of a Sustainable Quality Management Framework for Libyan Higher Education System

An increasing interest in implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) in the Higher Education Sector has been observed over the past decade. However, TQM sustainability is one of the major challenges facing this task. In this context, experts have emphasised on the need for understanding the synergies between TQM and sustainability models. The topic "Sustainable Quality Management"(SQM) explored through this research is an evolutionary future-oriented concept that is synonymous with "Sustainable TQM". This paradigm aims to integrate TQM with economic, environmental, and social an aspect which is commonly referred as the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). The aim of this study was the development and evaluation of a framework for SQM in the Higher Education Sector with a particular focus on the Libyan system. A sequential exploratory design was adopted to achieve this objective that involved quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods techniques. Through a review of key literature Eight Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and 72 Quality Action Programs (QAPs) concerning SQM were identified. Also, the links between the design criteria adopted by TQM models (Deming, PDSA, and EFQM) and Sustainability models (TBL and Five Capitals). These links were analysed in the cultural context of the Arab and Libyan Higher Education System, and five types of QAPs implementation gaps visible in the Libyan Higher Education System were evaluated. Through a structured questionnaire comprising 72 questions on various QAPs, responses collected from 678 academic and non- academic staff of two Libyan Universities, National Quality Centre and the Education Ministry were statistically analysed for trends and significant differences among the 26 groups classified for the study. These results were combined with 31semi - structured interviews that portrayed opinions of the Libyan Higher Education experts, using mixed methods techniques. This study identified several environmental and ethical QAPs that are relevant to be applied through TQM models in the TBL perspective of University campuses. In general, low levels of implementation of SQM QAPs was observed in Libyan Higher Education System due to lack of awareness, inadequate knowledge of quality management tools and techniques, the absence of quality training, incompetence towards evolving SQM policies and strategies and lack of measurement of key results. The thesis concludes with the SQM framework for steering the leadership of the Libyan Higher Education System towards improved sustainable quality standards and associated policy and strategy.Libyan Embassy London – Cultural Affair

Representations matter: it is critical to deconstruct the narratives and visuals of development campaigns

The words and images we use in development campaigns tell a story – they amplify some ideas and erase others. Examining girl-focused campaigns, Shenila Khoja-Moolji urges that we ask: what kinds of knowledges about people in the global South are produced in/through these campaigns? What is highlighted and what is erased? What are the consequences of such representations for development policy and practice

An analysis of the content and questions of the physics textbooks of the basic education level (ages 13-15) in Libya

This study aims at determining the extent to which the physics textbooks contribute to the achievement of the stated objectives of physics teaching at the basic educational level (ages 3-15). The cognitive demand of the content of the textbooks of the 7th, 8th and 9th grades and the questions at the end of each chapter are analysed. Chi-square tests are used to compare the distribution of the textbooks' (questions among the levels of Bloom's cognitive domain with a suggested distribution from the literature. The findings show that the contribution of the content to the achievement of the stated objectives is limited to the students' acquisition of facts and basic concepts. Most of the questions (51.6%) require knowledge by simple recall which puts them in the first level of the cognitive domain, while upper levels are only tested by 2.5% of all the questions. There is a significant difference (p<0.001) between the observed and the suggested distribution of questions among levels. These results reflect the importance of the objectives concerning the acquisition of specific scientific knowledge given by the content and questions of the textbooks at the expense of other objectives of physics teaching, such as the development of scientific thinking skills, interests and attitudes. In conclusion, some suggestions are made to promote the acquisition of objectives in the higher levels of the cognitive domain.peer-reviewe

Nutritional status of vitamin D and dietary intake of key bone health nutrients in Saudi Arabian women - Implications for bone health.

Osteoporosis is a common highly prevalence public health problem affecting both gender in all age stages in worldwide. Little information is known about the bone health and lifestyle characteristics of women living in Middle Eastern countries in general and Saudi Arabia in specific. The complete information and statistical figures of osteoporosis prevalent and vitamin D deficiency among population it has not yet been identified. The strong correlation between dietary intake and bone health has been explored in Western populations but no data are available in Middle Eastern countries. The aims of this study were four fold: (i) to examine the extent of poor bone health in the Saudi population of postmenopausal and premenopausal women; (ii) to investigate the effect of lifestyle factors including physical activity levels and sun-time exposure on bone integrity; (iii) to determine the extent of vitamin D deficiency in the population and the effect of this status on bone mass and calcium/bone metabolism; (iv) to evaluate the dietary quality and quantity in Saudi women and investigate fully the effect of diet on bone health indices. As part of our investigation, a total of 212 Saudi Arabian apparently healthy women were voluntarily participated in this study. A total of 112 postmenopausal and 100 premenopausal women. They were aged 45-60 years and 20-30 years respectively. Bone mineral density (BMD) was determined at the lumbar spine (L2-L4) and femoral neck using dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Calcaneal bone mass was measured by broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA). All subjects were interviewed concerning their habitual dietary intake, physical activity levels and general lifestyle. Information on dietary intake of each individual was obtained using 3-day estimated food diaries. The amount of food consumed (in grams) for the five food groups was calculated for each subject. Intakes were converted to frequency of consumption (time/d) by dividing food groups by average portion sizes. Using the only existing Food Composition Table for the Middle East, the nutrient values for energy, protein, fat, fibre, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin C, vitamin D and potassium were chosen for the five food groups identified and calculated per 100g. Bone resorption was assessed by measurement of pyridinium crosslinks (PYD) and (DPD) using a second morning urine sample. Bone formation was assessed by bone specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP) and osteocalcin (OC). Serum 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)D, PTH, calcium, and phosphorus were measured. Bone health indices indicated a high prevalence of low bone mass in these groups. According to WHO criteria (WHO, 1994), a total of 52% of postmenopausal and 37% of premenopausal women were osteopenic at the lumbar spine. Osteoporotic prevalence was 13% and 2% respectively. Similar results were found for the femoral neck. Physical activity levels were low and exposure to sunlight was low. A significant correlation was found between period of sunlight exposure (min/d) and axial BMD and calcaneal bone mass. The 'quality' of food consumption by Saudi Arabian women does not follow the recommended food guidelines, and the intakes of energy, fibre and potassium in women are lower than those recommended in western population but intakes of phosphorus are somewhat higher. Calcium, vitamin C and iron are around recommended levels. Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in Saudi women, with 78% of women being below the classical threshold of 12ng/ml. A low milk consumption was associated with higher bone resorption in both postmenopausal and premenopausal women which remained significant after adjustment for the key confounding factors of age, weight, height and menopausal status. A low intake of fruit and vegetables and nutrients associated with high fruit and vegetable intake including vitamin C, potassium and estimates of net endogenous acid production were found to be related to poorer indices of bone health. These results are a cause for concern. It indicates that bone health is poor and dietary and lifestyle factors are not favourable to skeletal integrity in Saudi Arabian women