Patterns of Reading Errors among Emirati Second Grade Students

The impact of morphological awareness on reading proficiency has been neglected and there has been much focus on researching the impact of phonological awareness on reading skills. The aim of this study was to examine reading errors among second-grade Emeriti students by mapping a threefold paradigm (i.e., difficulty level, lexical category, and reading error patterns). The study sample included 168 Emirati second grade students (87 males and 81 females). One hundred forty four words were randomly selected from the Arabic reading curriculum. Those words were classified into lexical categories as nouns (45%), verbs (34%), adjectives and adverbs (10%), and functional words (i.e., prepositions and conjunctions; 11%). Those words were classified into three levels of linguistic difficulty (i.e., easy, difficult, and very difficult) according to their morphological complexity. The results revealed that reading difficulties may be the result of a threefold interrelated paradigm: the difficulty level of the words (i.e., morphological complexity), the lexical category (i.e., nouns, verbs, adjective and adverbs, and prepositions and conjunctions), and the pattern of the reading error (e.g., omission of a letter or a syllable and reading the geminated letter as ingeminated). The results also indicated that identifying this paradigm in each student can be useful in early detection of reading difficulty and thus, may assist in constructing appropriate remedial programs

Civic Nationalism and Language-in-Education Policies in the United Arab Emirates

A founding principle of the United Arab Emirates is the belief that tolerance promotes peace, while isolation encourages division and conflict. With more than 200 nationalities residing in the UAE, Emiratis constitute only 10% of the population, making them a minority in their own country. Despite the government promoting diversity and tolerance as the norm, such demographic imbalance come with a cost to the Arabic language, the national identity and culture, and the education system. This chapter addresses those concerns through a series of recent government initiatives. The author classifies neo-nationalist movements into different types, arguing that the one in the UAE largely fits within the civic type with its non-hostile, overall welcoming attitude toward foreigners. At the end of the chapter, she discusses the impact of neo-nationalism on education and calls for clearer policies that take into account language(s) as a right and as a resource

The Effect of New and Traditional Sources of Financing on the Performance of Small and Entrepreneurship Businesses: The Case of Qatar

Purpose: This paper investigates how entrepreneurial finance in Qatar affects the performance of small and entrepreneurship businesses (SEB). It is the first study examining the financial decisions of SEB in Qatar, illustrating the advantages and disadvantages of traditional and innovative sources of finance. In addition, we investigate the impact of different funding sources on three dimensions of SEB performance: financial, marketing and internal business and development performance. Methodology: Our sample included 300 SEB owners and managers, selected randomly and contacted in January to March 2020. Following the delivery and collection process, the study obtained 161 questionnaires, which were analysed using ordinary least squares regression. Findings: The results suggest that diversity and accessing new and innovative sources of finance affect the performance of SEBs. Meanwhile, this effect varies among different aspects of performance. The study concluded that SEBs prefer equity to debts. The performance of SBEs is mainly derived through accessibility to funds, governmental support, using innovative finance and the availability of collateral. Implications: This study contributes to the literature and industry by being the first to examine the accessibility of innovative sources of funds for SEBs in Qatar and their impact on different dimensions of performance. Our findings can help decision-makers to consider the impact of diverse sources of funds on different performance dimensions, which affect financing decisions made based on the performance priorities. Moreover, we find a negative impact of governmental support and using crowdfunding on internal business and development performance; this implies that less efficient SEBs, in terms of their internal business and marketing performance, are more active in obtaining both governmental support and crowdfunding, as they may be not eligible for other sources of finance. Our work highlights the key role of adapting to the new accessibility of funds in improving the performance of SBEs in Qatar, which is ultimately reflected in the diversification of the economy.This work was supported by the Qatar National Research Fund [UREP24-027-5-003]

Development and comparison of conventional and 3D-printed laboratory models of maxillary defects

Background: Recording accurate impressions from maxillary defects is a critical and challenging stage in the prosthetic rehabilitation of patients following maxillectomy surgery. The aim of this study was to develop and optimize conventional and 3D-printed laboratory models of maxillary defects and to compare conventional and digital impression techniques using these models. Methods: Six different types of maxillary defect models were fabricated. A central palatal defect model was used to compare conventional silicon impressions with digital intra-oral scanning in terms of dimensional accuracy and total time taken to record the defect and produce a laboratory analogue. Results: Digital workflow produced different results than the conventional technique in terms of defect size measurements which were statistically significant (p 0.05). Conclusions: The laboratory models of different maxillary defects developed in this study have the potential to be used to compare conventional and digital workflow in prosthetic treatment procedures

The impact of precipitation on speed–flow relationships along a UK motorway corridor

Although the fundamental traffic diagram provides the characteristics of a typical road traffic speed-flow relationship, little consideration has been given to the impact of adverse weather conditions on the relationship and the subsequent impact on local speed-flow. For the first time, this study uses precipitation radar along with a state-of-the art traffic information system to ascertain the relationship between speed-flow and precipitation on a UK transport corridor at the local (junction to junction) scale. It is evident that precipitation causes a significant reduction in speed and maximum flow on many links of the corridor as well as a downward reduction in the overall speed-flow relationship. With increased instances of heavy precipitation predicted in the UK as a result of climate change, these findings highlight the subsequent impact on journey travel times and associated economic costs.</p