Gearbox Misalignment on Combustion Gas Turbine Generator

Case StudyTo share with you Abqaiq Plants’ successful experience in resolving a high vibration problem on a Gas Turbine Load Gearbo

A cloud-based collaborative virtual learning environment for the higher education institutions in the Sultanate of Oman.

Advances in cloud computing have made it possible for collaborative environments to be developed for educational services. However, some HEIs are still using traditional VLE tools which receive minimal utilisation by users mostly for uploading and downloading course materials. This study focuses on challenges and concerns that limit or even prohibit the use of a cloud-based collaborative virtual learning environment (CBCVLE). More specifically, this study considers the influences of Omani culture upon utilisation of CBCVLEs. A mixed methods research approach is adopted which includes a preliminary study, a questionnaire-based survey, and a set of interviews. The issues are identified by reviewing the related literature and the surveys and grouping them under five headings: (1) ICT infrastructure and services, (2) operational environment, (3) user’s experience and expectations, (4) factors affecting the use and acceptance, and (5) cultural influences. The findings indicate lack of sufficient ICT infrastructure and services, as well as insufficient financial resources in some higher education institutions for establishing their own ICT infrastructures. Moreover, the findings highlight users’ experience as an important influence for utilisation of CBCVLEs. Regarding the operational environment, a wide range of concerns and challenges are identified by participants in the surveys. A number of issues are found to have an effect on the use of VLE tools and collaborative environments. Factors affecting the use and acceptance of a CBCVLE are also identified and classified as motivators or deterrents. Most importantly, cultural influences are found to be critical and vital for the use of CBCVLE. Family, religion, language, customs and traditions and gender can have a critical effect on users’ participation in collaborative projects. The study’s findings contribute to a better understanding and promotion of high utilisation and acceptance of CBCVLEs. A novel framework is proposed which incorporates key elements and their relationships associated with a cloud-based collaborative environment. The framework aims to mitigate issues and factors influencing low utilisation and the acceptance of CBCVLEs

Gearbox Misalignment on Combustion Gas Turbine Generator

Case StudyTo share with you Abqaiq Plants’ successful experience in resolving a high vibration problem on a Gas Turbine Load Gearbo

Evaluation of the effectiveness and predictive validity of english language assessment in two colleges of applied sciences in Oman

This thesis investigates the effectiveness of English language assessment in the Foundation Programme (FP) and its predictive validity for academic achievement in the First Year (FY) at two Colleges of Applied Sciences (CAS) in Oman. The objectives of this study are threefold: (1) Identify how well the FP assessment has met its stated and unstated objectives and evaluate its intended and unintended outcomes using impact evaluation approaches. (2) Study the predictive validity of FP assessment and analyse the linguistic needs of FY academic courses and assessment. (3) Investigate how FP assessment and its impact are perceived by students and teachers. The research design was influenced by Messick‟s (1989; 1994; 1996) unitary concept of validity, by Norris (2006; 2008; 2009) views on validity evaluation and by Owen‟s (2007) ideas on impact evaluation. The study was conducted in two phases using five different methods: questionnaires, focus groups, interviews, document analysis and a correlational study. In the first phase, 184 students completed a questionnaire and 106 of these participated in 12 focus groups, whilst 27 teachers completed a different questionnaire and 19 of these were interviewed. The aim of this phase was to explore the perceptions of the students and teachers on the FP assessment instruments in terms of their validity and reliability, structure, and political and social impact. The findings indicated a general positive perception of the instruments, though more so for the Academic English Skills course (AES) than the General English Skills course (GES). There were also calls for increasing the quantity and quality of the assessment instruments. The political impact of the English language FP assessment was strongly felt by the participants. In the second phase, 176 students completed a questionnaire and 83 of them participated in 15 focus groups; 29 teachers completed a different questionnaire and of these 23 teachers were interviewed. The main focus was on students and teachers‟ perceptions of FP assessment, and how language accuracy should be considered in marking academic written courses. One finding was that most students in FY tended to face difficulties not only in English but also in what could be called „study skills‟; some of these were attributed to the leniency of FP assessment exit criteria. Throughout the two phases, 118 documents on FP assessment at CAS were thematically analysed. The objective was to understand the official procedures prescribed for writing and using assessment instruments in FP and compare them against actual test papers and classroom practices. The findings revealed the use of norm-referenced assessment instead of criterion referenced, incompatibility between what was assessed and what was taught, inconsistency in using assessment criteria and in the unhelpful verbatim replication of national assessment standards. The predictive validity studies generally found a low overall correlation between students‟ scores in English language assessment instruments and their scores in academic courses. The findings of this study are in line with most but not all previous studies. The strength of predictive validity was dependent on a number of variables especially the students‟ specializations, and their self-evaluations of their own English language levels. Some recommendations are offered for the reform of entry requirements of the Omani higher education

The cloud computing systems’ adoption in the higher education sector in Oman in light of the COVID-19 pandemic

The objective of the research was to find out the key factors that influence the acceptance and usage of cloud computing systems in the Omani higher education sector, with special emphasis on the COVID-19 outbreak. For this purpose, a quantitative research approach was conducted where 200 students from several Omani higher education institutions were surveyed, and by using Partial Least Square (PLS) to analysis the collected data. The findings revealed that the intention to use cloud computing in this context is significantly dependent on its perceived ease of use, usefulness, perceived reliability and responsiveness. It is noteworthy that this is one of the early studies that address the subject of cloud computing usage during times of crises, and specifically the COVID-19 outbreak. As such, it provides significant contributions in the area of technology adoption

Risk factors for periodontal diseases among Yemeni type II diabetic patients. A case-control study.

Background: Chronic periodontal diseases are one of diabetes mellitus complications. The present study aims to compare the periodontal status of type II diabetic patients to a control group and assess the role of risk factors in both groups. Materials and methods: A case-control study was conducted of 270 individuals (132 type II diabetics and 138 non-diabetics). Full mouth periodontal examination including plaque index, gingival bleeding, gingival recession, clinical attachment loss (CAL), tooth mobility, furcation involvement and the number of missing teeth. The case group was subdivided according to glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) status (poorly controlled HbA1c >8 and well controlled HbA1c ≤8) Likewise, the duration of diabetes mellitus as short or long duration (DM ≤10 or >10). The diabetic group was also subdivided according to smoking and Khat chewing habits.  Result: The severity of periodontal disease among type II diabetic patients were significantly higher compared to the control group regarding the plaque index 2.6 (1.6-4.3), bleeding on probing 3.5 (2.3-13.0), gingival recession 2.0 (1.2-3.4), furcation involvement 4.0 (2.3-6.7), clinical attachment loss 5.7 (3.1-10.5), tooth mobility 2.0 (1.2-3.4), and number of missing teeth 4.4 (2.3-8.5). In addition, poorly controlled type II DM and long duration had higher CAL and number of missing teeth than well-controlled DM and short duration. No significant differences were found between smokers/nonsmokers and Khat chewers/non-chewers among the diabetic group. Conclusion: Type II diabetic patients have severe periodontal destruction and tooth loss compared to non-diabetic people and there were no differences within the diabetic group in regards to smoking and Khat chewing habits

Educational Reform in the Sultanate of Oman towards Achieving Qualitative Internal Efficiency of Basic Education Cycle 2 System

Isu utama kajian ini berkisar tentang reformasi pendidikan dan bagaimana memimpin ke arah menghasilkan kecekapan terutama kecekapan dalaman sistem pendidikan Oman? Pelbagai usaha telah dilakukan serta pelaburan wang yang begitu banyak telah dilakukan untuk membuat reformasi sistem pendidikan sejak empat puluh tahun kebelakangan ini. The main issue of this study was on the educational reform and how it was leading towards efficiency particularly internal efficiency of the Omani education system. Much has been done by so many people and a lot of money has been spent to reform the system over last fm1y years

Tongue lesions and anomalies in a sample of Yemeni dental patients: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Tongue examination helps considerably in diagnosing the underlying health state of the patient, especially in the cases of chronic diseases. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and association of tongue lesions with risk factors among Yemeni dental patients. Materials and methods: An oral medicine specialist examined all 713 patients attending the dental polyclinics at the University of Sciences and Technology (Sana’a, Yemen). The examination sheet was designed to include information related to patient characteristics, medical history, dental history, habits, and tongue lesions. Results: The prevalence of tongue lesions among the examined participants was 76.5%. The prevalence rate was 83.4% for males and 69.2% for females. Fissured tongue was the most common condition. Logistic regression analysis indicated that older age (p<0.001), gender (p=0.007), khat chewing (p<0.001), and smoking (p=0.001) were associated with fissured tongue; gender (p<0.001), khat chewing (p<0.001), and smoking (p<0.001) were associated with hairy tongue; and older age (p<0.001), khat chewing (p=0.001), and smoking (p=.021) were associated with coated tongue. Conclusion: The prevalence of tongue lesions among this sample of Yemeni population was 76.5%; fissured tongue and hairy tongue were the most prevalent lesions. Khat chewing, smoking, and older age were the associated risk factors for many of studied lesions and anomalies

Determinants of Social and Environmental Reporting Practices Disclosure in Libyan Oil and Gas Industry: A Managerial Perspective

The purpose of the study is to investigate the management behaviour in reporting CSER activities and the factors that influence their decision behaviour in the case of Libyan Oil and Gas industry. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 9 managers working in Oil and Gas industry in Libya. The transcribed interviews were then analyzed using thematic approach. The findings revealed that the managers recognize companies' social and environment responsibility, on a self-motivation basis as well as due to the potential negative impacts of a company's operations on the environment and society. On the other hand, the oil and gas companies deem themselves obliged to report their CSER practices due to the increased awareness about the potential negative impacts of the oil and gas industry. Nevertheless, the disclosure of these practices is still limited due to the lack of a comprehensive framework that sets all CSER requirements for Libyan companies. It is noteworthy that this is the first study that focuses on the management behavior in reporting CSER activities in the Libyan oil and gas industry. Hence, it makes a great contribution and lays the foundation for the future studies in the CSER area. Keywords: Social and Environmental Reporting, Managerial Perception, Developing Economies, Oil and Gas Industry JEL Classifications: Q43, Q52, Q54, M14, L71 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.1082

Delayed presentation of congenital diaphragmatic hernia: a case report

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is known as a structural defect caused by inadequate fusion of the pleuroperitoneal membrane forming the diaphragm, allowing peritoneal viscera to protrude into the pleural cavity. It affects nearly one out of 2500 live births. We here report the case of a six-month-old boy with left diaphragmatic hernia presenting with poor feeding, breathing difficulty, cough, and recurrent pneumonia in the last 2 months. Chest X-ray and computed tomography scan revealed left sided CDH. The defect was corrected through open surgical repair without complications. At 5-month follow-up a radiograph was performed which revealed full recovery. The primary goal of this report was to alert physicians to suspect this diagnosis in patients with unexpected presentation of diaphragmatic hernia