Beyond Critical Communication: Noor\u27s Soap Opera

Noor has occupied the minds and the hearts of the Arab audiences. This Turkish soap opera has reached levels beyond ordinary success of a soap opera and gained wide ranges of popularity. The aim of this research is to examine traditional and modern roles that the main characters play within the episodes of Noor. Paying special attention to the roles of female actors within the episodes, the critique will also scrutinize how Noor presents the Western definitions of acceptable roles for women. It is hoped that the results will help to illustrate a wide-ranging dialogue about women and feminism in the Arab world

Examining Zika Virus: Transmission, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus that was first isolated in Uganda in 1947 and has since caused outbreaks in many parts of the world. It has multiple routes of transmission and may cause acute illness and death if not treated. The Zika virus becomes a major concern if transmitted from mother to fetus as it increases the chance of birth defects and developmental problems to the unborn baby. This article highlights the importance of early diagnosis and describes Zika virus’ transmission, treatment, and prevention

Yes, I know this IoT Device Might Invade my Privacy, but I Love it Anyway! A Study of Saudi Arabian Perceptions

The Internet of Things (IoT) ability to monitor our every move raises many privacy concerns. This paper reports on a study to assess current awareness of privacy implications of IoT devices amongst Saudi Arabians. We found that even when users are aware of the potential for privacy invasion, their need for the convenience these devices afford leads them to discount this potential and to ignore any concerns they might initially have had. We then conclude by making some predictions about the direction the IoT field will take in the next 5-7 years, in terms of privacy invasion, protection and awareness

Performance measurement systems and metrics: a framework for monitoring oil operations

Oil operations involve high levels of capital equipment and high capacity production processes for which performance measures can assist with monitoring production throughout the oil industry stages. The approach taken in this paper is to utilise the lifecycle approach of asset management as well as organisational resource factors in an integrative manner. This research will examine the use of performance measurement in both private and public oil companies with a focus on Developing Countries. National Oil companies are of national economic importance in Developing Countries. Thus purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for performance measures of current and future oil operations and the associated asset management for field operations. The approach taken is to recognise the national context and strategic drivers and then to examine within this context the three areas of: Asset Management; Oil Operations (including Technology and Development; Management approaches; Partnerships) and Performance Outcomes

Minimizing the residual topography effect on interferograms to improve DInSAR results: estimating land subsidence in Port-Said City, Egypt

The accurate detection of land subsidence rates in urban areas is important to identify damage-prone areas and provide decision-makers with useful information. Meanwhile, no precise measurements of land subsidence have been undertaken within the coastal Port-Said City in Egypt to evaluate its hazard in relationship to sea-level rise. In order to address this shortcoming, this work introduces and evaluates a methodology that substantially improves small subsidence rate estimations in an urban setting. Eight ALOS/PALSAR-1 scenes were used to estimate the land subsidence rates in Port-Said City, using the Small BAse line Subset (SBAS) DInSAR technique. A stereo pair of ALOS/PRISM was used to generate an accurate DEM to minimize the residual topography effect on the generated interferograms. A total of 347 well distributed ground control points (GCP) were collected in Port-Said City using the leveling instrument to calibrate the generated DEM. Moreover, the eight PALSAR scenes were co-registered using 50 well-distributed GCPs and used to generate 22 interferogram pairs. These PALSAR interferograms were subsequently filtered and used together with the coherence data to calculate the phase unwrapping. The phase-unwrapped interferogram-pairs were then evaluated to discard four interferograms that were affected by phase jumps and phase ramps. Results confirmed that using an accurate DEM (ALOS/PRISM) was essential for accurately detecting small deformations. The vertical displacement rate during the investigated period (2007–2010) was estimated to be −28 mm. The results further indicate that the northern area of Port-Said City has been subjected to higher land subsidence rates compared to the southern area. Such land subsidence rates might induce significant environmental changes with respect to sea-level rise

Glucose adulteration in Saudi honey with visible and near infrared spectroscopy

This article reports on the implementation of visible and near infrared spectroscopy for the detection of glucose concentration in a mixture of Saudi and imported honey samples adulterated by glucose syrup of five concentrations: 0, 5, 12, 19, and 33 g/100 g. Honey samples were scanned in trans-reflectance mode with an AgroSpec mobile, fibre type, visible and near infrared spectrophotometer (tec5 Technology for Spectroscopy, Germany), with a measurement range of 305–2200 nm. The entire data set of 345 spectra was randomly divided into calibration (70%) and prediction (30%) sets. The first group was subjected to a partial least squares regression analysis with a leave-one-out cross-validation to establish a calibration model for the prediction of glucose concentration, whereas the second group was used to validate the partial least squares model. For the cross-validation, the values for root mean square error of prediction, coefficient of determination, and ratio of prediction deviation, which is the standard deviation divided by root mean square error of prediction were 4.52 g/100 g, 0.85, and 2.53, respectively. A slightly lower range of accuracy was obtained in the prediction set, with root mean square error of prediction, coefficient of determination, and ratio of prediction deviation values of 5.56 g/100 g, 0.78 and 2.06, respectively. The results achieved suggest that the visible and near infrared spectroscopy is a powerful technique for the quantification of glucose adulteration in Saudi honey

Between Sumud and Submission : Palestinian Popular Practices on the Land in the Edge Areas of Jerusalem

This thesis delves into two ‘edge areas’ located in and around East Jerusalem. It attempts to unfold and analyze the dynamics in these edge areas, while investigating the agency of the people present there through their own perceptions and practices towards the land, the urbanization processes, the power circulation and the structural impositions. Squeezed by a settler-colonial domination that continuously encroaches further on their lives, the Palestinians, in return, seek to carve out a space for their own enduring presence on the land. That pursuit combines elements of sumud (steadfastness) and adaptation, tenacity and accommodation, actions that sometimes subvert the occupation and some other times submit to its logic. The thesis traces the contradiction between a proliferating ethos of individual enrichment and the remaining collective culture of political struggle. It also scrutinizes the ways that Palestinians move between those poles as always conditioned by the pressure from the overarching structure of settler-colonial domination. Furthermore, the thesis examines how certain structural patterns are unconsciously reproduced by the agents of these specific areas, even when their intention and desire could be to resist them. The thesis argues that East Jerusalem should be approached from the theory of settler-colonial hegemony. Thus, these areas are the by-products of the settler-colonial domination present in East Jerusalem, intentionally assembled by the Israeli authorities as“containers” that collect undesired Palestinian Jerusalemites, while leaving them trapped in a state of permanent temporariness. This situation has developed gradually through the construction of the separation wall, so as to further enhance the systematic displacement of the Palestinian Jerusalemites and achieve the Judaization of Jerusalem. The thesis claims that acts of resistance and accommodation of certain colonial practices have the inclination to collide and interact with each other, and hence obfuscate the demarcation between them. This dynamic has been unpacked through coining the concept ‘enclosures from below’. The thesis aims to contribute to scholarship on Palestine and provide a detailed analysis that could feed into awider analysis of the dynamics of settler-colonialism, as well as inform Palestinian strategies in the ongoing struggle for liberation

PENGARUH BIONUTRIEN AMA2 DAN PBAG2 DENGAN PENAMBAHAN ION LOGAM TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN DAN HASIL PANEN TANAMAN PADI GOGO (Oryza sativa L.)

Telah dilakukan kajian mengenai pengaruh bionutrien AMA2 dan bionutrien PBAG2 dengan penambahan ion logam terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil panen tanaman padi gogo (Oryza Sativa L.) varietas Towuti. Metode ekstraksi basa digunakan untuk memperoleh bionutrien AMA2 dan bionutrien PBAG2. Bionutrien AMA2 dan bionutrien PBAG2 diaplikasikan terhadap tanaman padi dengan variasi dosis 0,25%; 0,5%; 1%; 2% dan 2,5% dengan penambahan ion logam (Ca2+, Mg2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Mn2+ dan Zn2+). Pada blanko tanaman hanya diberikan air dan kontrol positif tanaman diberikan pupuk sintetis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa bionutrien AMA2 dan bionutrien PBAG2 mengandung gugus fungsi –OH/–NH, –CH sp3 (stretching), –C=C, –CH (bending) dan –CN. Bionutrien AMA2 dosis 0,5% dan bionutrien PBAG2 dosis 1% dengan penambahan ion logam memberikan pengaruh positif terhadap pertumbuhan tanaman padi dengan konstanta laju pertumbuhan tertinggi yaitu sebesar 0,1224 minggu-1 dan 0,1473 minggu-1, berturut-turut, dibandingkan blanko dan kontrol. Hasil panen tertinggi untuk bobot 1000 butir diperoleh bionutrien AMA2 dan bionutrien PBAG2 dosis 2,5% dengan penambahan ion logam dibandingkan perlakuan lainnya. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa penambahan ion logam terhadap bionutrien AMA2 dan bionutrien PBAG2 dosis 2,5% memberikan pengaruh positif terhadap kualitas hasil panen tanaman padi.-------- A research study of effect bionutrient AMA2 and bionutrient PBAG2 with the addition of metal ions on growth and yield of upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties Towuti have been conducted. Alkaline extraction method used to obtain bionutrient AMA2 and bionutrient PBAG2. Bionutrien AMA2 and bionutrient PBAG2 applied to rice plants with a dose variation of 0,25%; 0,5%; 1%; 2% and 2,5% with the addition of metal ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Mn2+ and Zn2+). Moreover blank group is treating by adding water and positive control group is treating by adding a synthetic fertilizers. The results showed that bionutrient AMA2 and bionutrient PBAG2 containing functional group –OH/–NH, –CH sp3 (stretching), –C=C, –CH (bending) dan –CN. Bionutrient AMA2 0,5% and bionutirent PBAG2 1% with the addition of metal ions had a positive effect on growth of rice plants by generating the highest growth rate constants of 0,1224 and 0,1473 week-1, in succession, than of blank and control group. The highest yields for 1000 grain weight by adding bionutrient AMA2 and bionutirent PBAG2 dose of 2,5% with the addition of metal ions than of other treatments. From the results, this study can be concluded that the addition of metal ions to bionutrient AMA2 and bionutirent PBAG2 dose of 2,5% had a positive effect on quality of yield