Sustainable Heritage Preservation to Improve the Tourism Offer in Saudi Arabia

In recent years Saudi Arabia has launched many campaigns to promote a model of global excellence to be a pioneer in future growth. As part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Vision 2030, the country encourages the improvement of national quality services based on the commitment of the government to build up a prosperous country, starting with the valorisation of local traditions. In particular, the Saudi, Arab, and Islamic heritage, built by an ancient civilisation and deeply rooted in the country’s history, is currently valorised to strengthen the national identity of local Arab values. The country aspires to preserve heritage sites and the local environment by promoting hospitality services for tourism. In the last years, Muslim pilgrims and all visitors to heritage sites entering the country from abroad have reached eight million people, tripling the numbers in the last decade. The government has started many initiatives and promoted many urban planning processes, programmes, and projects to enhance the touristic offer. The intent is to reach a sustainable approach to target the healthy growth of the country and the Saudi Arabian cities. The article presents some interventions that are currently under development to pursue the Saudi Vision 2030 and its goals. The recent third expansion of the Two Holy Mosques, the modernization of national airports, and the Mecca Metro project to complement the railroad and train public transportation offer will be presented and discussed as part of the national strategy to achieve a sustainable economy and tourism

Protective Efficacy of H9N2 Avian Influenza Vaccines Inactivated by Ionizing Radiation Methods Administered by the Parenteral or Mucosal Routes

H9N2 viruses have become, over the last 20 years, one of the most diffused poultry pathogens and have reached a level of endemicity in several countries. Attempts to control the spread and reduce the circulation of H9N2 have relied mainly on vaccination in endemic countries. However, the high level of adaptation to poultry, testified by low minimum infectious doses, replication to high titers, and high transmissibility, has severely hampered the results of vaccination campaigns. Commercially available vaccines have demonstrated high efficacy in protecting against clinical disease, but variable results have also been observed in reducing the level of replication and viral shedding in domestic poultry species. Antigenic drift and increased chances of zoonotic infections are the results of incomplete protection offered by the currently available vaccines, of which the vast majority are based on formalin-inactivated whole virus antigens. In our work, we evaluated experimental vaccines based on an H9N2 virus, inactivated by irradiation treatment, in reducing viral shedding upon different challenge doses and compared their efficacy with formalin-inactivated vaccines. Moreover, we evaluated mucosal delivery of inactivated antigens as an alternative route to subcutaneous and intramuscular vaccination. The results showed complete protection and prevention of replication in subcutaneously vaccinated Specific Pathogen Free White Leghorn chickens at low-to-intermediate challenge doses but a limited reduction of shedding at a high challenge dose. Mucosally vaccinated chickens showed a more variable response to experimental infection at all tested challenge doses and the main effect of vaccination attained the reduction of infected birds in the early phase of infection. Concerning mucosal vaccination, the irradiated vaccine was the only one affording complete protection from infection at the lowest challenge dose. Vaccine formulations based on H9N2 inactivated by irradiation demonstrated a potential for better performances than vaccines based on the formalin-inactivated antigen in terms of reduction of shedding and prevention of infection

SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication in human gastric organoids

COVID-19 typically manifests as a respiratory illness, but several clinical reports have described gastrointestinal symptoms. This is particularly true in children in whom gastrointestinal symptoms are frequent and viral shedding outlasts viral clearance from the respiratory system. These observations raise the question of whether the virus can replicate within the stomach. Here we generate gastric organoids from fetal, pediatric, and adult biopsies as in vitro models of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To facilitate infection, we induce reverse polarity in the gastric organoids. We find that the pediatric and late fetal gastric organoids are susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, while viral replication is significantly lower in undifferentiated organoids of early fetal and adult origin. We demonstrate that adult gastric organoids are more susceptible to infection following differentiation. We perform transcriptomic analysis to reveal a moderate innate antiviral response and a lack of differentially expressed genes belonging to the interferon family. Collectively, we show that the virus can efficiently infect the gastric epithelium, suggesting that the stomach might have an active role in fecal-oral SARS-CoV-2 transmission.Several clinical reports have described gastrointestinal symptoms for COVID-19, though whether the virus can replicate within the stomach remains unclear. Here the authors generate gastric organoids from human biopsies and show that the virus can efficiently infect gastric epithelium, suggesting that the stomach might have an active role in fecal-oral transmission

Leadership and collaboration in project management education: A case study

This paper discusses about the importance of practical experience and multidisciplinary collaboration in project management success and the apparent lack of emphasis placed on this within the context of university education. It introduces a multidisciplinary approach currently being implemented in the College of Engineering in Qatar University between the departments of Architecture and Urban Planning and Industrial and Systems Engineering. The research items cover specific areas of collaboration and leadership in project management and the collected data was then analyzed to compare Architecture and Engineering students in their approach to the multidisciplinary project and in the proper application of managerial tools for planning scope, time, cost and risk managements through integration, technology and communication. The paper provides strategies of effective practices applied for embedding enterprise and employability in higher education, in respect to the specific project experiences that are mandatory for each project manager. The students' outcomes demonstrate their ability to recognize the dialectic relationship between project management and the multidisciplinary approach to recognize the diversity of roles, needs, values, tools, as they relate their experience to the current environment for project management in Qatar. In other words, the question is: can the multidisciplinary collaboration, applied in higher education, enhance the interaction between theory and practical experience in a field mainly dominated by the theoretical approaches of different disciplines?Scopu

Urban development and identity between modernity and tradition in the global oil city of Doha, Qatar

Today, Doha is a cosmopolitan city of about two million inhabitants with more than a hundred different nationalities within its borders. However, the speed and intensity of this urban development have favoured a model of 'fragmented' city, characterized by a low population density, social polarization, and based on the use of the car. From a spatial point of view, Doha presents advanced infrastructures and spectacular architecture, but, also, enormous corridors that fragment its urban fabric into 'islands'. Also, due to the rapid urbanization, many historic buildings have been demolished to give way to new residential towers and shopping centres causing the loss of important historical roots. A permanent conflict, thus, afflicts the growth direction of the city: on the one hand the formation of a new postmodern identity and international status, represented by spectacular mega-projects and state-of-the-art architectures; on the other, the need for a redevelopment of the ancient urban fabric and its historical architecture, in an attempt to establish new connections with local culture and traditions. In the debate between innovation and tradition, this article presents some urban projects recently concluded and highlighted essential issues regarding the processes that affect the urban development of Doha

Urban Heritage in Saudi Arabia: Comparison and Assessment of Sustainable Reuses

Saudi Arabia witnessed unprecedented urban development starting from the 1930s due to oil discovery, leading to the construction of new contemporary cities and high-tech buildings. Recently, starting from the late 1990s, an increasing feeling of esteem toward vernacular architecture and local traditions has promoted several heritage rehabilitation projects. This paper aims to assess selected urban heritage interventions to highlight the importance of sustainable approaches in heritage reuse. An assessment of sustainable reuse was conducted by adopting sustainability criteria and principles in compliance with Saudi Arabia’s national vision for 2030 (Saudi Vision 2030), which targets sustainable growth in the post-oil era. Analyses and data collection make it possible to compare four selected case studies based on materials and techniques for preservation, governmental institutions involved, the assessed methodologies of intervention, and relevant parameters (legibility, reversibility, overshadowing, alteration, replacement, and anastylosis). Results show how different institutions have adopted diverse approaches in conservative methodologies based on heritage values to provide flexibility in the reuse of buildings and adaptation to contemporary needs. Assessing the sustainable reuses of Saudi heritage can lead to a strategic change in national growth targeting social, economic, environmental, and ecologic results

Urban Challenges in the Globalizing Middle-East: social value of public spaces

This publication aims to investigate the nature of social life in public and urban spaces in the cities of the Middle East, considering the value of environmental approaches. It aims to develop a better understanding of the patterns of social interactions and activities in public places, which have been influenced by cultural heritage values. Sustainable and livable open spaces can help in improving living conditions in cities. Public spaces are relevant as they satisfy many human needs. In public spaces, people interact and meet; people with different cultures and social backgrounds can communicate and learn from each other in social and spontaneous ways. However, decision-makers tend to forget the value of public spaces, especially in the absence of a national regulatory framework in emerging globalized cities. The book provides a multi-disciplinary approach in reading the characteristics and values of public spaces in the emerging cities of the Middle East

Towards new directions for public spaces in the globalising Middle East

While cities are growing, public spaces are shrinking and declining world-wide. Nevertheless, public spaces have enormous potential, strategically supportingcities’ economic, environmental, and social agendas. Research on the impact ofurbanisation in the globalising Middle East is growing. Recent studies have beenbroadly discussing the speed and intensity of urban growth in this geographicalarea, specifically in the Arabian Gulf region where an unprecedented urbanisationprocess has taken place in the last few decades. Nevertheless, while hybrid typolo-gies of public spaces other than the traditional piazza, square, or street are material-ising, their form, use, and social value are still poorly understood. Investigating theseemerging urban directions raises the question of improving the quality of the builtenvironment to facilitate and promote liveable public spaces that, in turn, promotehigher living standards. Accordingly, this work’s fundamental objective is to explore,investigate, and demystify contemporary urban challenges faced by the globalisingMiddle Eastern cities and their urban spaces, discussing theories and design prin-ciples, supported by case studies, that influence and affect the urban growth andtransformations of these cities, and it discusses the social value of their public spaces