The Effectiveness of the Problem-Solving Strategy in Enhancing the Academic Achievement of Islamic Studies Students at a Saudi College

Recently, there has been a shift from teacher- to student-centered teaching paradigms, which have proven to lead to better learning outcomes. However, teaching in the Islamic Studies Department at Ad-Dilam College of Education, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia, is currently mainly lecture-oriented. This is attributable to the nature of Islamic courses, which conventionally focus on lecturing on the part of teachers and memorization on the part of students. This study has explored the effectiveness of a student-centered teaching strategy, the problem-solving strategy, in enhancing the academic achievement of Islamic Studies students at Ad-Dilam College of Education. One group of students (N = 22) was taught a unit in the Special Teaching Methods Course using the problem-solving strategy. Another group (N = 20) was taught the same unit using conventional lecture-oriented teaching. An author-developed achievement test was used to compare the performance of the two groups after the intervention. Means, standard deviations, and independent samples t-tests revealed that the problem-solving classroom significantly outperformed the lecture-oriented classroom in skills, values, and total achievement. Both groups achieved comparable gains in the knowledge dimension of achievement, thus the difference between the groups in knowledge was not significant. Classroom observation during the intervention revealed that students in the problem-solving classroom were more enthusiastic and interacted more actively during classes. Based on the findings, implications are drawn and recommendations offered

Soft Skills Training Strategy and Its Effect on Nurse Interns' Civil Behavior

Contents: Soft skills are socio-emotional skills, essential for personal development and workplace success. While civility is defined as having respect for others, and it is necessary to bring attention to the importance of soft skills and civility and discuss its impact on teaching, learning, and patient outcomes.Aim: This study aimed to assess the effect of soft skills training strategies on nurse interns' civil behavior. Methods: The study was conducted at Ain-Shams University Hospitals, where nurse interns have their training, namely; Ain-Shams University Hospital, El-Demerdash hospital, Pediatrics Hospital, and Cardiovascular Hospital using a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design. The subjects of this study included all available nurse interns having their training in the settings mentioned above during the data collection period (the academic year 2017-2018). The study sample was 90 nurse interns, 35 males, and 55 females. The data were collected by using two tools, namely the soft skills elements questionnaire and the workplace civility index. Results: The study revealed a highly statistically significant improvement in nurse interns' total knowledge in the post and follow-up phases p<0.01 as compared to the pre-intervention phase. Also, there was a highly statistically significant improvement in nurse interns' soft skills in the post and followed-up phases p<0.01 as compared to the pre-intervention phase. In addition to a highly statistically significant improvement in nurse interns' civil behavior in the post and follows up phases p<0.01 as compared to the pre-intervention phase. Conclusion: Implementing a soft skills training strategy for nurse interns is effective to improve their civil behavior. Based on the study findings, it was recommended that soft skills training strategy should be applied in all nursing curricula. The faculty of nursing should be supplied with all the learning resources needed in the educational system to support the students’ soft skills development, and further studies should be developed to handle the barriers of implementation of soft skills training strategy in nursing education

Simultaneous Determination Of Stock Price Synchronicity And Dividend Payout Ratios: Evidence From The MENA Region

This paper examines the determinants of cross-sectional differences in stock price synchronicity and dividend payout ratio in the MENA region during the period between 2003 and 2013. These variables are related not only directly, but also indirectly, through their relationship with information environment of firms. To distinguish these effects, we examine the determinants of both variables within a system of equations. Our results indicate that both of these variables affect each other negatively. We argue that higher information asymmetries associated with firms exhibiting high synchronicity leads to lower payout ratios, while lower information asymmetries that accompany firms paying high dividends lead to lower synchronicity

The Blue Button Project: Engaging Patients in Healthcare by a Click of a Button

The Blue Button project has become a way for many Americans to download their health records by just a click in any way that suits them, such as in print, on a thumb drive, or on their mobile devices and smartphones. Several organizations have developed and applied Blue Buttons on their websites to allow beneficiaries to securely access and view personal medical information and claims. The purpose of this literature review is to highlight the significance of the Blue Button project in the field of health information management. Findings suggest that the project could empower and engage consumers and patients in a healthcare system by allowing access to medical records, thereby promoting better management and overall improvement of their healthcare. To date, the project has gained wide support from insurers, technology companies, and health providers despite the challenges of standardization and interoperability

The Importance of Public Library for Youth Development in Malaysia

The purpose of this paper is to examine the usage of public library towards youth development. Generally, a public library offers information and educational resources to a community. Being that in the modern world, there are other modes in seeking information, the public library is often disregarded and being ignored of its existence. Factors that affect the use of public library such as accessibility, availability, comfortability and the maintenance of it plays an important role in determining its usage among youth. The paper will look into four research areas of the urban and rural areas involving 800 respondents (youth) in Malaysia as the base of this study to see whether the public library is used by the youth to gain information apart of other resources available.Keywords:Public Library, Youth, Youth development.ISSN: 2398-4287© 2017. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

Acquired symptomatic external punctal stenosis: A tertiary referral center study

Background: To report the prevalence of acquired symptomatic external punctal stenosis (EPS) in a tertiary referral center in Kuwait, and to study the associated risk factors, etiologies, and management outcomes. Methods: This prospective interventional hospital-based study was performed at the Farwaniya governmental hospital in Kuwait between November 2018 and November 2019. All patients were referred to the oculoplastic clinic with symptomatic epiphora, age > 18 years, epiphora Munk score equal or more than 0, tear film meniscus equal or more than 2 mm, and punctum with a grade equal or less than 2 (smaller than normal size, but recognizable) were included. Exclusion criteria were congenital causes of epiphora, previous eyelid surgeries, and traumatic or neoplastic causes of punctal or canalicular obstruction. Results: A total of 418 patients with symptomatic epiphora, who were referred to our oculoplastic clinic, were enrolled in our study. The prevalence of EPS was 70.3%. Examination of the puncta revealed different shapes, including tangential, pinpoint, elevated, slit-shaped, horse shoe-shaped, and membranous puncta, with the tangential type accounting for the greatest proportion (65.3%). Bilateral punctal stenosis was observed in 206 patients (70.1%) and unilateral involvement in 88 patients (29.9%). Dilatation and syringing were performed for all puncta upon diagnosis, and repeated dilatation was performed for 225 puncta (32.7%). Placement of a Mini-Monoka tube was performed in 11 puncta (1.6%). Conclusion: EPS was a common cause of symptomatic epiphora in our study. Aging and female sex were identified as common risk factors. Most etiological factors of EPS were associated with a pathophysiological inflammatory mechanism. For exact estimates of its prevalence, a population-based study is necessary in future

Non-Palpable Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Initially Diagnosed by Inguinal Lymph Node Biopsy

Metastasis from breast cancer to the inguinal lymph nodes or the vulva is a rare event with very few cases reported in literature. A 38-year-old lady presented complaining of progressive abdominal enlargement. Physical examination was unremarkable apart from abdominal enlargement and enlarged right inguinal lymph node. Radiology showed marked ascites, omental thickening, bilateral small ovarian masses, suspicious right inguinal lymph node (LN) as well as breast fibrocystic disease. Cytological examination of the ascitic fluid revealed malignant cells. Core needle biopsy from the inguinal LN suggested metastatic breast carcinoma. Breast MRI showed heterogeneous fibro-glandular tissue and moderate parenchymal enhancement. Random core needle biopsies from the breast led to the diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma. The patient received 8 cycles of docetaxel/carboplatin protocol, with partial response. Next, she was maintained on hormonal treatment (Anastrazole) till the ascites re- accumulated. Vulvar nodules appeared whose biopsy revealed infiltration by the same tumoral tissue. She received 6 cycles of Endoxan and Pharmarubicin till regression was achieved, and then she was subjected to Exemestane. Thorough clinical assessment including of all lymph node basins and gynecological assessment are crucial in all breast cancer patients, particularly those with invasive lobular subtypes. Keywords: Breast neoplasms, Lobular, Vulva, Vulvar metastasis, Neoplasm metastasi

Youth Development and Public Library Significance

The purpose of this paper is to examine the usage of public library towards youth development. A public library offers information and educational resources to a community. Being that in the modern world, there are other modes in seeking information, the public library is often disregarded and being ignored of its existence. Factors that affect the use of public libraries such as accessibility, availability, comfortability and the maintenance of it plays an important role in determining its usage among youth. The paper will look into four research areas of the urban and rural areas in Malaysia as the base of this study to see whether the public library is used by the youth to gain information apart from other resources available. Keywords: Public Library, Youth, Youth development, eISSN 2398-4279 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.&nbsp

Biodegradation of Synthetic Polyesters (BTA and PCL) with Natural Flora in Soil Burial and Pure Cultures under Ambient Temperature

Abstract: The aim of this study was to study the biodegradation of two synthetic polyesters, one aliphaticaromatic (1, 4-butanediol, terephthalic-adipic acid, BTA) and the other aliphatic (poly (,-caprolactone), PCL, under different soil types (canal shore soil, garden soil, compost and Peat moss, respectively), as well as using locally isolated cultures at ambient temperature. The results showed that the BTA films buried in canal shore and garden soil were degraded faster than that in the other soils. After six weeks about 90, 88 and 80% were degraded in garden, canal shore soil and compost respectively, while only 52% were degraded in Peat moss. On the other hand, 95 and 93% weight loss was obtained for PCL films buried for three weeks in canal shore and garden soil respectively. The Scanning Electron Microscope photos confirm the results of weight loss and revealed the presence of cracks and fungal growth on films buried in different soils. The results with pure cultures, especially with Fusarium solani, also confirmed the biodegradability of two polyesters under ambient temperature. Finally, it could be concluded that both synthetic polyester are degradable under ambient conditions