Holiday Destinations: Understanding the Perceptions of Omani Outbound Tourists

It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the growing numbers of Islamic tourists from countries such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) zone and Indonesia. This thesis aims to understand Omani outbound pleasure travellers by identifying their travel motivations, the main travel and leisure constraints they experience, and how they overcome these constraints. It also investigates the influence of Islamic teachings on their choice of a pleasure destination and their participation in leisure activities. The main data collection methods involved in-depth interviews (n = 27) (the qualitative phase), and the distribution of a self-completion questionnaire (n = 298) (a quantitative phase) to both actual travellers and non-travellers. A mixed method approach allowed further insight into the research phenomenon as well as enhancing the trustworthiness of the research findings. Content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data using CatPac (CATegory PACkage) and Leximancer software, while the quantitative data were analysed by utilising analysis techniques including T-tests, ANOVA, factor analysis, cluster analysis, regression, and MANOVA in SPSS. The study identifies: (a) the most important push and pull travel motivations for Omani outbound tourists; (b) the main travel and leisure constraints that inhibit Omanis from travelling overseas and participating in leisure activities; and, (c) the most frequent travel and leisure negotiation strategies that are adopted to overcome these constraints. The results of the study also determine the influence of socio-demographic variables (gender, marital status, age, educational level, income, and occupation) on Omani tourists' perceptions and behaviours. In terms of the impact of Islamic teachings, this study finds that the Islamic teachings have an indirect influence on the choice of a pleasure travel destination and a direct influence on participation in leisure activities. In relation to market segmentation, the study finds that it is possible to segment Omani outbound tourists based on their travel motivations. Further, this study suggests that participation, or nonparticipation, in overseas travel is an outcome of the joint action of travel motivations and constraints. Other useful findings relate to the three-dimensional leisure constraints model as well as the influence of travel motivations and constraints on the use of negotiation strategies are reported. The current study provides information that will aid the travel and leisure industry in targeting the Muslim travel market to formulate effective marketing strategies and develop appropriate product plans. Finally, both the managerial implications of the study’s results, and possible future research directions, are discussed

Arithmetic properties of overpartition functions with combinatorial explorations of partition inequalities and partition configurations

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in ful lment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2017.In this thesis, various partition functions with respect to `-regular overpartitions, a special partition inequality and partition con gurations are studied. We explore new combinatorial properties of overpartitions which are natural generalizations of integer partitions. Building on recent work, we state general combinatorial identities between standard partition, overpartition and `-regular partition functions. We provide both generating function and bijective proofs. We then establish an in nite set of Ramanujan-type congruences for the `-regular overpartitions. This signi cantly extends the recent work of Shen which focused solely on 3{regular overpartitions and 4{regular overpartitions. We also prove some of the congruences for `-regular overpartition functions combinatorially. We then provide a combinatorial proof of the inequality p(a)p(b) > p(a+b), where p(n) is the partition function and a; b are positive integers satisfying a+b > 9, a > 1 and b > 1. This problem was posed by Bessenrodt and Ono who used the inequality to study a maximal multiplicative property of an extended partition function. Finally, we consider partition con gurations introduced recently by Andrews and Deutsch in connection with the Stanley-Elder theorems. Using a variation of Stanley's original technique, we give a combinatorial proof of the equality of the number of times an integer k appears in all partitions and the number of partition con- gurations of length k. Then we establish new generalizations of the Elder and con guration theorems. We also consider a related result asserting the equality of the number of 2k's in partitions and the number of unrepeated multiples of k, providing a new proof and a generalization.MT201

Effect of OPTN and OPTN phospho mutants on the innate immune response to Toll-like receptor and NOD Like receptor stimulation

Inflammatory diseases represent a large section of conditions affecting the oral cavity. Many chronic diseases may last for life, with their causal factors deemed multifactorial or unknown. Optineurin (OPTN) is an adaptor protein with multiple roles in cellular function. One of its primary roles is related to the promotion of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines expression and secretion. Gene mutations within OPTN have been identified to contribute to multiple inflammatory or autoimmune conditions. The main aim of this study is to investigate a link between OPTN and NOD2 activation with MDP in the form of a phosphorylation site in OPTN structure. Also, to test the ability of this phosphorylation site to impact NOD2 activation of the NFkB pathway through phosphoproteomics modification in OPTN structure. Finally, measure the significance of this link to inflammation and bacterial response in the form of cytokines release. During this study, I identified a novel phosphorylation site in OPTN that impacts the NFkB pathway by activating the bacterial receptor NOD2. THP-1, the human monocytic cell line, was genetically modified to express human OPTN tagged with EGFP on its N-terminus (THP 1 OPTN). The THP-1 OPTN cell line was utilised to study protein localisation intracellularly, immunoprecipitation and phosphoproteomics. I identified a novel Serine 526 (Ser526) phosphorylation site induced after NOD2 stimulation with muramyl dipeptide (MDP). To determine the functional consequence of Ser526, phosphorylation site-directed mutagenesis was used to introduce an amino acid substitution at position 525 in the EGFP OPTN, resulting in phosphomimetic amino acids. Phospho-dead and phospho-active OPTN constructs were generated by switching Ser526 to Ala526 (S526A) and Glu526 (S526E), 5 respectively. In addition, stable THP-1 cell lines were produced (THP-1 S526A and THP-1 S526E), and the impact of these mutations on the immune response downstream of NOD2 and Toll like receptors (TLR) was investigated. THP-1 S526E cells demonstrated a significant elevation in the induction and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines upon NOD2 stimulation. THP-1 S526A ability to secrete cytokines was significantly impeded upon stimulation. The phosphorylation at Ser526 seemed to augment TLR signalling resulting in a significant boost in the induction and release of cytokines. These studies have identified a novel role for OPTN in the immune response downstream of NOD2. The phosphorylation of Ser526 upon NOD2 activation acts as an immune booster which can cooperate with other receptors, such as TLRs, upon bacterial challenge. Mutations in OPTN and NOD2 are associated with a host of human diseases, and the relevance of this pathway to these conditions warrants further investigation

The use of health information technology in the follow-up of patient test results: an exploration of the experiences and views of primary care staff in the North East of England

Background Computerisation in general practices in the UK over the last 30 years has enabled paperless clinical record keeping but the process of ordering tests and receiving results electronically from hospital systems has been a relatively recent development. The Integrated Clinical Environment System (ICE) provides an electronic link between general practices and hospital-based facilities, facilitating the timely transfer of test results across healthcare boundaries. Whilst the existing literature covers the technical aspects of such systems, there is a paucity of information about how these systems function in real life and what views healthcare staff have of using them. Aims and Objectives This research sought to ascertain the experiences and views of health care staff in general practice about their use of health information technology (HIT) systems for the ordering, processing and follow-up of test results. The research described the test ordering processes and the subsequent actions taken by healthcare professionals. It provided an understanding of different staff roles in this process, including what obstacles GPs and administrative staff faced and their views on the possible subsequent impact these obstacles had on patient care. The human element in the process of requesting and dealing with test results has not been previously described in detail. Methodology The programme of work comprises, in the first section, a narrative and systematic review of the literature, initially from the UK and then, because of a paucity of data, the global setting, on using HIT to order and act on test results. This was followed by a description of the established Donabedian model for evaluating healthcare processes through the stages of structure, process and outcome, with a description of how these components applied to this research. The third section of the thesis consisted of empirical qualitative research project involving semi-structured interviews with 18 staff members from 13 general practices within the North East of England, to ascertain and explore their experiences, views and perceptions around using HIT systems for the follow-up of test results. A conceptual framework was generated by which these data were labelled and sorted. The analysis process involved identifying recurring themes and concepts. Results The reviews indicated that users found the HIT systems easy to use and felt that these systems improved their efficiency compared with the previous paper-based systems, which was confirmed in this study. A new finding, reflecting aspects of the literature, was that results’ management was also perceived to be associated with increased workload, sometimes due to receiving multiple warning alerts about abnormal findings and because of results received from tests done elsewhere. A further, new finding, was the blurring of responsibility and duties about who should review, interpret and act on certain test results received. This task was sometimes left to administrative staff, whose role was to file ‘normal’ results but often found themselves in a position of not knowing whether such results had clinical significance. This factor appeared to be related to GP workload and the delegation of tasks. Participants also felt that the numbers of tests ordered and received had increased, an issue highlighted recently in the literature. There also appeared to be an increasing level of dis-continuity in the clinical care provided in practices, related in part to the use of locum and sessional doctors. Tests ordered were not necessarily designated for follow-up by a specific doctor. These factors may also be contributing to the increasing number of tests ordered. Conclusions and Discussion This study found that whilst the new HIT systems for tests have been associated with ease of use and efficiency in the transfer and availability of results, there appears to be a number of challenges in processing and actioning these results. Applying the Donabedian model for evaluating healthcare processes through the stages of structure, process and outcome shows how the components of the differing procedures have potential drawbacks and could contribute to compromised patient care. This is largely related to the changing structures of general practice whereby continuity of care can be a problem. There appeared to be no standardised procedures for dealing with tests and a standardised approach might be a necessary way forward. This work revealed the importance of human factors in the structure and process of tests results’ management, and how clarification of responsibilities and maintenance of continuity of care are crucial elements in delivering high quality care

Using peer tutoring and manipulatives to improve mathematics education in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) study was to research, pilot, test and develop mathematical pedagogies to improve attainment in schools in Saudi Arabia. The pedagogies explored included the use of manipulatives and peer learning. The thesis reports an investigation using a factorial design of the effects of incorporating peer and resource-led learning into teacher pedagogies. It examined the effects of using peer tutoring and manipulatives, both separately and together, on the mathematical education of fourth grade students (aged 10 and 11) in elementary schools in AlAhsa city in Saudi Arabia, with regard to (a) attainment in mathematics, (b) attitudes towards learning mathematics, (c) attitudes towards learning partners and (d) the students’ social relationships. Twenty-four classes were randomly chosen and assigned to different groups. One control group of six classes was taught as usual, and six classes were assigned to each of three experimental groups: that is, six each to the manipulatives group, the peer tutoring group and the group using peer tutoring and manipulatives together. Each experimental group undertook a 12-week programme in the fractions and decimals sections of the fourth grade elementary school mathematics curriculum. The research methods and materials were initially developed during a pilot study involving 8 classes of fourth grade students (aged 10 and 11) in elementary schools in AlAhsa city. The results of this RCT suggested that the use of peer tutoring and manipulatives, separately and together, significantly affected the mathematical education of those students regarding their attainment, attitudes towards learning mathematics, attitudes towards their learning partners and social relationships. The results also showed that the improvement in the students’ social relationships predicted their attainment scores. Suggestions for further research into the effects of using peer tutoring and manipulatives, both separately and together, on mathematical education in elementary schools, are also made

The Holy Triangular Along the Christian Pilgrims Road, East of Jordan River ( Baptism Site, Aenon Near to Saleem, and Tyrue Cave)

Since 1996 the systematic excavations started on the eastern part of Jordan River, archaeological works  have uncovered the ruins of a dozen ancient churches and monasteries - some with splendid mosaic floors - scattered over small hills and barren terraces in an area  located between Wadi Iraq Al Ameer, and Wadi Hesban where  both water of the two Wadies joints together in the lower area of Livias; recently called Rama & Kafrein. There were also wells, baptism pools and elaborate water system built by the first converts to Christianity. The article  will focus on the important discoveries was made in these  three locations  Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Aenon Near to Saleem & Tyrue Cave  near Jordan River and analyze the importance of this area during the Classical Period . Keywords: Archaeology, Anthropology, history, Holy Sites, Church, Tourism, artifacts

Cross-Cultural Conflict and Pursuit of Identity in Ameen Rihani’s The Book of Khalid

Multiculturalism is an outcome of developing global culture emanating from ceaseless flow of people between nations and intercultural interactions. Crossing the borders results in psychological transformation of the immigrants as their ethnic identity shaped by social, religious, historical and political forces over decades is in continual flux. Though different kinds of responses to the situation of cultural multiplicity may be diagnosed, the fact remains that there are no simplistic ways of dealing with or responding to multiculturalism. The immigrants face cultural clash and find difficulties in acculturating. When the immigrants come to install in another country, they are accosted with a new culture, a new statute and a reserved group of people who do not mix so very easily. Everyone does not have the capacity to adjust their feelings and mind. They form a community of diaspora who are always reminded of their roots in an alien land. The impact of diasporic experiences on immigrants’ psyche depends on their level of belonging in an alien land. Ameen Rihani’s odyssey from Lebanon to United States gives him a cutting edge over his contemporaries to be established as most revered author of Arabs diaspora abroad. Rihani, molded and transformed by the cultures of his countries of origin, movement and settlement, has been earnestly engaged in re-conceptualizing the idea of diaspora as a profitable affair as opposed to the popular beliefs that render immigration and displacement as a condition of loss. His novels are bulging with different protagonists of staunch spirit and calibrating credence who win the tussle with cultural conflict and in the process evolve and finally lost. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how Rihani’s protagonist  Khalid in his novel of the same name evolves with cultural changes, endeavors for pursuit of identity in both origin and adopted worlds and finally takes control of his destiny

Design and analysis of LTE-WLAN wireless router with QOS preservation

Future wireless networks are envisioned to embrace a higher level of heterogeneity whereby different wireless technologies such as Long Term Evolution UMTS (LTE), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), WCDMA/HSPA, WiMAX, etc, not only will coexist but will also cooperate more closely. This is motivated by the fact that several complementary characteristics exist between these technologies. For example, one technology can be used as access technology while the other can be used for backhaul. To interconnect two or more wireless technologies, the usage of routing device is inevitable. In order to preserve the Quality of Service (QoS) across these technologies which come with different QoS definitions, a more comprehensive approach is required to preserve QoS across two diverse wireless technologies i.e. Enhanced Distributed Coordination Function (EDCA) for WLAN and Uplink/Downlink packet scheduling for LTE. WLAN is reasonably priced, easy to deploy and has been enjoying a wide market acceptance especially in the indoor. The LTE is expected to be the dominant 4G cellular technology. However it will take some time before LTE can attain the same level of adoption as what WLAN has achieved especially in the consumer market. The main objective of this research project is to design an access router that enables the interworking between WLAN and LTE with QoS preservation. First, the performance of both WLAN and LTE radio interfaces are investigated independently in terms of the data rates, user/system throughput, effect of multiple access and spectral efficiency. Next, different approaches and schemes which facilitate QoS preservation between WLAN and LTE over the router are investigated and evaluated in terms of different performance metrics (voice Mean Opinion Score, video delay, video traffic received, video jitter, video packet loss rate). The design and analysis of the performance are carried out through simulation as the only feasible approach to accomplish this work. OPNET Modeler is used to model the LTE-WLAN router as well as to perform the analysis. The results of this research verify the feasibility of the proposed router architecture and the interworking paradigm. The elegance of the proposed router implementation is that it does not require massive change in the existing wireless systems, LTE and WLAN to preserve the QoS. The results of the performance analysis show that it is crucial to have a QoS preservation mechanism in the router IP layer at any potential congestion point in the wireless network, to ensure that delay-sensitive and loss-sensitive applications, such as real-time video and voice, pass through unimpeded, relative to the loss-tolerant and delay-tolerant data applications. The comparison of the designed IP QoS preservation scheme namely, Priority Queuing without Block Acknowledgement (PQ noBA) shows that it can support 50% more multimedia application across the router than the other scheme

The effectiveness of automated writing evaluation: a structural analysis approach

Modern advancement in learning technologies and tools has presented innovative written corrective feedback (WCF) methods based on artificial intelligence (AI) and existing corpora. Research has shown that these tools are perceived as exciting and useful by students, yet studies on their effectiveness and impact on students’ writing are relatively insufficient. To this end, the present study investigated the effectiveness of Grammarly writing assistant as perceived by 98 undergraduates who used the tool for a 14-week semester. The study adopted a questionnaire based on a modified technology acceptance model (TAM). The gathered data was analyzed using SmartPLS 3 software. The results revealed that different factors predict students’ perceptions about Grammarly and their intention to use it. Some of these factors were not presupposed. The findings imply using Grammarly as an extra learning tool rather than a basic one. It is suggested that future research on the efficacy of Grammarly should adopt longitudinal and experimental approaches

Interference coordination for LTE-advanced and FM broadcasting interoperability

The surest way to guarantee that multiple wireless systems can concurrently exist harmlessly, when operating in the same or adjacent channel, is by analyzing spectrum overlapping. This paper proposes a more accurate model to evaluate the interference power from co-channel and adjacent channel of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing-based long term evolution-advanced (LTE-Advanced) towards broadcasting frequency modulation systems at 800 MHz. Power spectral density overlapping factor is employed, and closed form of the interference power loss is derived. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method evaluates more exact interference power than the advanced minimum coupling loss (A-MCL) method, where the co-channel and adjacent channel interference powers are reduced by 1.3 and 3 dB, correspondingly, compared to that obtained using the AMCL method. This decreases the minimum separation distance between the two systems, which can eventually lead to efficient radio spectrum resources utilization