The Marketing Practices of Private Schools Leaders in Selected School Districts in Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of private school leaders regarding their practices on school marketing. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, the following questions were answered: (1) how do private school leaders perceive their school marketing practices? and (2) do private school leaders differ in their perceptions of school marketing practices based on their gender, levels of education, and administrative experience? To conduct this study, the descriptive research model was applied. The population of this study included all private school leaders in two-selected school districts in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was a data collection instrument of this study, which consisted of 31 items that focus on marketing practices. The data were collected during the school year of 2016-2017. Descriptive and inferential statistics have been applied to analyze the data. The findings of this study revealed that the overall mean score for perception of private school leaders regarding marketing practices was classified as usually occurs.  The findings revealed that there were not any statistically significant differences between groups based on gender, levels of education, and administrative experience regarding their perceptions of school marketing practices. The study concluded with some suggestions and recommendations for private school leaders to be successful in marketing practice. Keywords: school leadership, school leader, school marketing

Experiential versus attitudinal topic types and task performance in EFL monologues

With the aim of contributing to the existing ‎literature on the relationships between task ‎and topic facets, discourse features, topic ‎familiarity, and task performance in speaking, this study used EFL monologues to examine how two different sets of ‎topics―experiences/preferences versus opinions/attitudes―relate to task performance. The ‎task performance was measured using discourse features, including how language ‎elicited was complex, fluent, and lexically diverse. The study also explores how discourse ‎features themselves relate to one another across the two sets of topics. The data for the study ‎came from monologues performed by 63 adult EFL learners at the intermediate level of an ‎intensive English program in Saudi Arabia. The learners produced the monologues in response ‎to two summative tests (i.e., Test 1: experiences preferences and Test 2: opinions ‎attitudes). Using parametric statistical analyses (incl., the paired samples T-test and the ‎Pearson correlation), it was found that while experiences and preferences evoked more fluent ‎language than did opinions and attitudes, the latter elicited more complex and lexically ‎diverse language. Also, a significant, positive correlation existed between fluency and complexity for experiences and preferences, whereas lexical diversity was significantly positively correlated with complexity for opinions and attitudes. The study report concludes ‎with practical implications for enhancing task performance of monologues in the areas of ‎complexity, fluency, and lexical diversity.

Integration of Stimulated Recall, Self-Observation, and Retrospective Interview in the Collection of Strategy Data in Computer-Assisted Language Testing

Research on language learning and use strategies has made extensive use of procedures that involved self-reporting and/or -revelation in data collection. However, scholarly reviews have pointed to certain flaws associated with such procedures especially whenever one procedure was used by itself. On one hand, strategies revealed through self-reporting (e.g., questionnaires) do not accurately represent the actual strategies used in response to language tasks. On the other, self-revelation (e.g., think-alouds) interferes with strategy use on language tasks as well as task performance. Drawing on empirical evidence, this paper proposes that the integration of three procedures of verbal reporting, namely stimulated recall, self-observation, and retrospective interview, in computer-assisted research can tremendously help capitalize on their strengths and control their weaknesses

Test-taking Strategies on Reading Comprehension Tests: A Review of Major Research Themes

There is a growing body of thought and research on strategy use on tests of reading comprehension. Nevertheless, there have been few research reviews that have treated major themes involved in thought and research on test-taking strategies, specifically in the context of reading comprehension. Hence, this paper reviews the themes that are central to the discussion of strategy choice and use on reading comprehension tests. Research themes that form the foci of the paper include discussion of test-taking strategies as they relate to the process of reading test-taking, formats of reading tests, validation of reading tests, level of language proficiency, and performance on tests of reading comprehension

Test-taking Strategy Use on the Reading Section of the Toefl Ibt: a Study of Arab Esl Learners

With the focus on how a sample of 25 Arab ESL learners respond to the TOEFL-iBT reading tasks, this study aimed to find out what strategies respondents tend to use, investigate if there are differences between high- and low-scorers in strategy use, and determine aspects of effective strategy use among respondents. Data were collected using a procedural integration of stimulated recall, self-observation, and retrospective interview (SRSORI). A pilot study was conducted to evaluate and refine materials and procedures. Data collection was carried out over three stages. First, each participant was oriented to SRSORI and trained in producing verbal reports. Second, the participant responded to two reading sets, and thus was engaged in two SRSORI sessions. And third, the participant was debriefed about his test performance and scores. Data were then transcribed, and results of item analyses were used to decide on episodes for coding. A coding scheme was constructed for each task item by means of inductive coding. Data analysis made use of frequencies to identify patterns of strategy use and qualitative accounts to describe strategy use in relation to such factors as item format, scoring level, and answer correctness. Major findings were as follows. Test takers used strategies depending on item format and difficulty in ways that allowed them to achieve different goals, adapt strategies to various task items, and apply strategies using several textual and technical means. High test performance and scoring were characterized by superior skills of both comprehension and test-management as well as high levels of strategic awareness and monitoring. Conversely, low test performance and scoring were associated with poor skills of comprehension and excessive use of test-wiseness. And, test takers sequenced strategies such that certain strategies derived from other strategies, endorsed or facilitated functions of other strategies, or acted in sync with other strategies. It was concluded that strategy use has three facets: purposeful, multi-form, and resourceful. High test performance and scoring on reading tasks draw on response behaviors and strategies that differ from those associated with low performance and scoring. And, aspects of effective strategy use occur in tandem with logical sequences of strategies.English Departmen

Impact of pharmacist intervention in patient counseling at point of hospital discharge in a specialized cardiac center in Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To determine the interventions associated with the pharmacist’s patient counseling and review of discharge prescriptions of patients from a specialized cardiac center in Saudi Arabia.Methods: This was a prospective interventional study conducted at Prince Sultan Cardiac Center (PSCC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a duration of 12 months. The pharmacist responsible for providing patient counseling reviewed the patient records, collected patient demographics and clinical data, as well as medical and medication history, diagnosis and discharge (treatment) plan.Results: The study included 2008 patients who met the inclusion criteria. The counseling pharmacist identified and provided interventions to 358 (18 %) patients for 508 (3.4 %) items. About half of counseling pharmacist interventions concerned involved the addition of a drug to treatment regimen followed by drug discontinuation (28.1 %). The most common reason for adding the drug during patient counseling was the omission of medications (35 %). Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARBs), antidiabetics and antihyperlipidemics were the classes of drugs often associated with counseling pharmacist interventions. The cost-saving interventions identified were 200 (39.4 %). Out of these, drug discontinuation (n = 143) was the most frequent suggestion provided by the intervening pharmacist, followed by a dose reduction resulting in cost savings of 66.5 % (US $6,590.10) and 8.9$ 882.32), respectively.Conclusion: The results indicate that discharge medication discrepancies decrease as a result of pharmacist-facilitated patient counseling at the point of hospital discharge.Keywords: Discharged patients, Cardiac, Counseling, Pharmacist-intervention, Coronary artery diseas

Nickel challenge up regulates CD69 expression on T lymphocyte sub-sets from patients with nickel induced contact dermatitis

Background: Persistent antigenic stimulation due to repeated exposure to nickel may lead to chronic inflammation resulting in allergic contact dermatitis (ACD).Objectives: This study was performed to assess nickel induced immune activation among patients sensitized against nickel.Patients and Methods: A total of 35 patients (29 females and 6 males; mean age 36±9 years) with nickel contact dermatitis and 20 patch test negative healthy individuals  (14 females and 6 males; mean age 29±7 years) were included in this study. Peripheral blood of patients and controls was incubated with nickel sulfate for 24 hours. Immune activation was assessed by CD69 up-reg- ulation on T lymphocyte sub-sets by flow cytometry.Results: Base line expression of CD69 on CD8+ lymphocytes was higher among patients compared to controls (4.1±1.3%vs2.8±1.1%;p<0.009). There was no difference in proportions of CD±CD69+ cells between patients and controls (3.2±0.9%vs2.3±0.8%). Exposure to nickel induced expression of CD69 on a significantly higher proportion of CD4+ lympho- cytes (22.1±6.2%) of the ACD patients compared to controls (2.8±2.5%;p<0.0001). Similarly nickel induced CD69 expression on a higher proportion of CD8+ lymphocytes (18.2±5.3%) from ACD patients compared to the controls (1.9±1.8%;p<0.0006).Conclusion: CD69 molecule appears to be an important regulator of immune response in nickel contact dermatitis.   Keywords: Nickel, CD4+, CD8+, CD69, contact dermatitis

Mandibular Third Molar Impaction and Bone Change Distal to the Second Molar: A Panoramic Radiographic Study

Background: The mandibular third molar is the most frequently impacted tooth. An impacted mandibular third molar (IMTM) can have negative consequences on the adjacent mandibular second molar (MSM), such as bone loss. An IMTM can be identified using orthopantomography (OPG). Our objective is to compare changes in bone level distal to the mandibular second molar (MSM) in patients with an extracted IMTM versus non-extracted IMTM using OPG. Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, 160 orthopantomograms (OPGs) of 80 patients who attended Dental Hospital of the University of Barcelona (HOUB) were randomly selected. Participants were stratified into a study group and control group. Results: Males and females experienced bone gain in the study group and bone loss in the control group. However, the difference in bone-level change was not statistically significant regarding gender in the study group. Within the study group, the age group of 29-39 years demonstrated significant (p-value = 0.042) bone gain after extraction compared to other age groups. However, the control group demonstrated bone loss in all age groups in which the difference is not statistically significant (p-value 0.794). Conclusions: Bone improvements distal to the MSM were observed after the extraction of an IMTM compared to when an IMTM was not extracted

Metabolomics: a promising tool for deciphering metabolic impairment in heavy metal toxicities

Heavy metals are the metal compounds found in earth’s crust and have densities higher than that of water. Common heavy metals include the lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, copper, manganese, chromium, nickel, and aluminum. Their environmental levels are consistently rising above the permissible limits and they are highly toxic as enter living systems via inhalation, ingestion, or inoculation. Prolonged exposures cause the disruption of metabolism, altered gene and/or protein expression, and dysregulated metabolite profiles. Metabolomics is a state of the art analytical tool widely used for pathomolecular inv22estigations, biomarkers, drug discovery and validation of biotransformation pathways in the fields of biomedicine, nutrition, agriculture, and industry. Here, we overview studies using metabolomics as a dynamic tool to decipher the mechanisms of metabolic impairment related to heavy metal toxicities caused by the environmental or experimental exposures in different living systems. These investigations highlight the key role of metabolomics in identifying perturbations in pathways of lipid and amino acid metabolism, with a critical role of oxidative stress in metabolic impairment. We present the conclusions with future perspectives on metabolomics applications in meeting emerging needs

Dynamic Resource Management in Integrated NOMA Terrestrial-Satellite Networks using Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning

This study introduces a resource allocation framework for integrated satellite-terrestrial networks to address these challenges. The framework leverages local cache pool deployments and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) to reduce time delays and improve energy efficiency. Our proposed approach utilizes a multi-agent enabled deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm (MADDPG) to optimize user association, cache design, and transmission power control, resulting in enhanced energy efficiency. The approach comprises two phases: User Association and Power Control, where users are treated as agents, and Cache Optimization, where the satellite (Bs) is considered the agent. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that our approach surpasses conventional single-agent deep reinforcement learning algorithms in addressing cache design and resource allocation challenges in integrated terrestrial-satellite networks. Specifically, our proposed approach achieves significantly higher energy efficiency and reduced time delays compared to existing methods.Comment: 16, 1