Argumentation and Persuasion in Saudi TEDx Talks: A Political Discourse Analysis Approach

TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) is a platform for individuals to persuade a wider audience with their ideas. While several studies have investigated the persuasive elements of TEDx talks in different languages, the research on persuasion in Arabic TEDx talks is scarce. This dissertation integrates argumentation theory, framing theory, and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), using the Political Discourse Analysis (PDA) approach (I. Fairclough and N. Fairclough, 2011, 2012) on ten Saudi TEDx talks. The analysis is supported by an open-ended questionnaire that explores the audience’s perception of persuasion in these talks. This study strengthens the PDA model by including Aristotelian approaches to rhetoric (epideictic and forensic rhetoric; logos, ethos, and pathos), adapting the critical questions to focus more on the ‘rational acceptability’ rather than on ‘truth’, and analysing how other rhetorical strategies are used to frame arguments. This is complemented by audience evaluations, which provide additional evidence for analyses. Together, this provides an in-depth and less subjective analysis of how language in persuasive discourse shapes and is shaped by ideological assumptions and power relations. The findings reveal that speakers in Saudi TEDx talks exert power of persuasion by sharing personal stories to convince the audience of the logicality of their argument. These stories shape and are shaped by ideological assumptions that align with Saudi social norms, such as the importance of family, passion, success, God, perseverance, objectivity, and career, which are overtly expressed. However, ideologies that contradict prevailing social norms, such as prioritising skills over formal education, are conveyed in a more implicit manner. Moreover, the study suggests that the speakers also promote ideologies of personal development and making a change in the world, which are consistent with the aims of Saudi 2030 Vision, which seeks to empower individuals and promote a sense of entrepreneurship and innovation

Patterns of pediatric trauma in Ramadan: an observational study

Introduction Motor vehicle crashes are a major cause of death among the Saudi population. In Ramadan, the working hours and the road traffic rush hours differ from other months of the year; the pattern of trauma may also differ. We compared trauma in the pediatric age group in Ramadan with non-Ramadan months in terms of frequency, patterns, and severity.Methods We conducted a retrospective study, which included all pediatric trauma cases, from 2001 to 2009, who were registered in King Abdulaziz Medical City Trauma Registry. Trauma patterns were divided into two groups according to the date of occurrence: victims in Ramadan versus victims in non-Ramadan.Results A total of 3766 patients were included. The average number of trauma per month was 39.2 versus 44 for non-Ramadan and Ramadan months, respectively (P = 0.79). The mean patient age in Ramadan was 8.04 years compared with 8.07 years in non-Ramadan months (P = 0.037). Blunt trauma was the most common type in both groups. The median of the Injury Severity Score was the same and equal to 4. In both groups, neurological and vascular injuries were more common in Ramadan: P = 0.02 and P = 0.03 respectively.Conclusion There were no significant differences between trauma in Ramadan and non-Ramadan months, except for the higher percentage of vascular and neurological injuries in Ramadan.Key words: children, head injury, motor vehicle accidents, Ramadan, Saudi, trauma, vascular injur

Relationship Between Organisational Trust and Decision - Making Participation

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the degree of trust among the Amman Education Directorates and how much educational supervisors participated in decision-making. The study sample is made up of 240 academic supervisors. The study’s findings showed that the Education Directorate appeared to have a moderate level of faith in organizational elements such management style, administrative policies, creative possibilities, and organizational values. Furthermore, the study revealed a significant relationship between organizational trust and the level of involvement in decision-making processes, with a significance level of (a≤0.5). However, no statistically significant variations in the sample members’ replies according to their gender, education, or experience were found. Based on these findings, the research recommends that educational directors give priority to strengthening supervisors’ organizational commitment to support educational policies that promote trust and provide them chances to apply their creative thinking to administrative tasks

Advancements in cardiac structures segmentation: a comprehensive systematic review of deep learning in CT imaging

Background Segmentation of cardiac structures is an important step in evaluation of the heart on imaging. There has been growing interest in how artificial intelligence (AI) methods—particularly deep learning (DL)—can be used to automate this process. Existing AI approaches to cardiac segmentation have mostly focused on cardiac MRI. This systematic review aimed to appraise the performance and quality of supervised DL tools for the segmentation of cardiac structures on CT. Methods Embase and Medline databases were searched to identify related studies from January 1, 2013 to December 4, 2023. Original research studies published in peer-reviewed journals after January 1, 2013 were eligible for inclusion if they presented supervised DL-based tools for the segmentation of cardiac structures and non-coronary great vessels on CT. The data extracted from eligible studies included information about cardiac structure(s) being segmented, study location, DL architectures and reported performance metrics such as the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC). The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Checklist for Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging (CLAIM). Results 18 studies published after 2020 were included. The DSC scores median achieved for the most commonly segmented structures were left atrium (0.88, IQR 0.83–0.91), left ventricle (0.91, IQR 0.89–0.94), left ventricle myocardium (0.83, IQR 0.82–0.92), right atrium (0.88, IQR 0.83–0.90), right ventricle (0.91, IQR 0.85–0.92), and pulmonary artery (0.92, IQR 0.87–0.93). Compliance of studies with CLAIM was variable. In particular, only 58% of studies showed compliance with dataset description criteria and most of the studies did not test or validate their models on external data (81%). Conclusion Supervised DL has been applied to the segmentation of various cardiac structures on CT. Most showed similar performance as measured by DSC values. Existing studies have been limited by the size and nature of the training datasets, inconsistent descriptions of ground truth annotations and lack of testing in external data or clinical settings. Systematic Review Registration: [www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/], PROSPERO [CRD42023431113]

A systematic review of artificial intelligence tools for chronic pulmonary embolism on CT pulmonary angiography

Background: Chronic pulmonary embolism (PE) may result in pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Automated CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) interpretation using artificial intelligence (AI) tools has the potential for improving diagnostic accuracy, reducing delays to diagnosis and yielding novel information of clinical value in CTEPH. This systematic review aimed to identify and appraise existing studies presenting AI tools for CTPA in the context of chronic PE and CTEPH. Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched on 11 September 2023. Journal publications presenting AI tools for CTPA in patients with chronic PE or CTEPH were eligible for inclusion. Information about model design, training and testing was extracted. Study quality was assessed using compliance with the Checklist for Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging (CLAIM). Results: Five studies were eligible for inclusion, all of which presented deep learning AI models to evaluate PE. First study evaluated the lung parenchymal changes in chronic PE and two studies used an AI model to classify PE, with none directly assessing the pulmonary arteries. In addition, a separate study developed a CNN tool to distinguish chronic PE using 2D maximum intensity projection reconstructions. While another study assessed a novel automated approach to quantify hypoperfusion to help in the severity assessment of CTEPH. While descriptions of model design and training were reliable, descriptions of the datasets used in training and testing were more inconsistent. Conclusion: In contrast to AI tools for evaluation of acute PE, there has been limited investigation of AI-based approaches to characterising chronic PE and CTEPH on CTPA. Existing studies are limited by inconsistent reporting of the data used to train and test their models. This systematic review highlights an area of potential expansion for the field of AI in medical image interpretation. There is limited knowledge of A systematic review of artificial intelligence tools for chronic pulmonary embolism in CT. This systematic review provides an assessment on research that examined deep learning algorithms in detecting CTEPH on CTPA images, the number of studies assessing the utility of deep learning on CTPA in CTEPH was unclear and should be highlighted

Perceived responsibility for mechanical ventilation and weaning decisions in intensive care units in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background: Optimizing patient outcomes and reducing complications require constant monitoring and effective collaboration among critical care professionals. The aim of the present study was to describe the perceptions of physician directors, respiratory therapist managers and nurse managers regarding the key roles, responsibilities and clinical decision-making related to mechanical ventilation and weaning in adult Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: A multi-centre, cross-sectional self-administered survey was sent to physician directors, respiratory therapist managers and nurse managers of 39 adult ICUs at governmental tertiary referral hospitals in 13 administrative regions of the KSA. The participants were advised to discuss the survey with the frontline bedside staff to gather feedback from the physicians, respiratory therapists and nurses themselves on key mechanical ventilation and weaning decisions in their units. We performed T-test and non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests to test the physicians, respiratory therapists, and nurses’ autonomy and influence scores, collaborative or single decisions among the professionals. Moreover, logistic regressions were performed to examine organizational variables associated with collaborative decision-making. Results: The response rate was 67% (14/21) from physician directors, 84% (22/26) from respiratory therapist managers and 37% (11/30) from nurse managers. Physician directors and respiratory therapist managers agreed to collaborate significantly in most of the key decisions with limited nurses’ involvement (P<0.01). We also found that physician directors were perceived to have greater autonomy and influence in ventilation and waning decision-making with a mean of 8.29 (SD±1.49), and 8.50 (SD±1.40), respectively. Conclusion: The key decision-making was implemented mainly by physicians and respiratory therapists in collaboration. Nurses had limited involvement. Physician directors perceived higher autonomy and influence in ventilatory and weaning decision-making than respiratory therapist managers and nurse managers. A critical care unit’s capacity to deliver effective and safe patient care may be improved by increasing nurses’ participation and acknowledging the role of respiratory therapists in clinical decision-making regarding mechanical ventilation and weaning

Perspectives, practices, and challenges of online teaching during COVID-19 pandemic: A multinational survey

The result of the movement restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic was an impromptu and abrupt switch from in-person to online teaching. Most focus has been on the perception and experience of students during the process. The aim of this international survey is to assess staffs' perspectives and challenges of online teaching during the COVID-19 lockdown. Cross-sectional research using a validated online survey was carried out in seven countries (Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Indonesia, India, the United Kingdom, and Egypt) between the months of December 2021 and August 2022, to explore the status of online teaching among faculty members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Variables and response are presented as percentages while logistic regression was used to assess the factors that predict levels of satisfaction and the challenges associated with online instruction. A total of 721 response were received from mainly male (53%) staffs. Most respondents are from Brazil (59%), hold a Doctorate degree (70%) and have over 10 years of working experience (62%). Although, 67% and 79% have relevant tools and received training for online teaching respectively, 44% report that online teaching required more preparation time than face-to-face. Although 41% of respondents were uncertain about the outcome of online teaching, 49% were satisfied with the process. Also, poor internet bandwidth (51%), inability to track students' engagement (18%) and Lack of technical skills (11.5%) were the three main observed limitations. Having little or no prior experience of online teaching before the COVID-19 pandemic [OR, 1.58 (95% CI, 1.35–1.85)], and not supporting the move to online teaching mode [OR, 0.56 (95% CI,0.48–0.64)] were two main factors independently linked with dissatisfaction with online teaching. While staffs who support the move to online teaching were twice likely to report no barriers [OR, 2.15 (95% CI, 1.61–2.86)]. Although, relevant tools and training were provided to support the move to online teaching during COVID-19 lockdown, barriers such as poor internet bandwidth, inability to track students’ engagement and lack of technical skills were main limitations observed internationally by teaching staffs. Addressing these barriers should be the focus of higher education institution in preparation for future disruptions to traditional teaching modes

Public knowledge, attitude and practice towards antibiotics use and antimicrobial resistance in Saudi Arabia: A web-based cross-sectional survey

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a global issue that causes significant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study aims to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of the general Saudi populations toward antibiotics use. Design and methods: A cross-sectional, anonymous online survey was conducted from January 1 to May 11, 2020, across five major regions of Saudi Arabia. Participants (aged ≥18 years) were invited through social media to complete an online self-structured questionnaire. All data were analyzed by Statistical Package (SPSS v.25). Descriptive statistics, Pearson's Chi-squared, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation analyses were conducted. Results: Out of 443 participants, the majority (n=309, 69.8%) were females, 294 (64.4%) were married, 176 (39.7%) were 25-34 years of age, 338 (76.3%) were living in the Eastern Province, 313 (70.7%) had college or higher education, 139 (31.4%) were not working, and 163 (36.8%) had a monthly income of USD 800-1330. Overall, most participants demonstrated good knowledge and practice (88% and 85.6%, respectively).  However, 76.8%had inadequate attitude score levels towards antibiotics use. Of all the respondents, 74.9% knew that not completing a full course of antibiotics may cause antibiotics resistance, 91.33% did not agree that antibiotics should be accessed without a prescription, and 94.04% will not hand over leftover antibiotics to family members. Factors associated with adequate knowledge were female, medical jobs, and higher income (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our findings revealed that while most participants were aware of antibiotics use and demonstrated good knowledge, good practices, they had negative attitudes towards antibiotics use