The effectiveness of using augmented reality in teaching geography curriculum on the achievement and attitudes of Omani 10th Grade Students

[EN] This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using a mobile Augmented Reality application in the geography unit for 10th-grade students on their achievements and attitude. The unit is part of the Omani’s social studies curriculum and entitled, “Environmental Problems and Hazards”. To achieve this purpose, a quasi-experimental study design was conducted. The instruments designed, validated and used to collect data were pre-post achievement tests and attitudinal scale. The participants were 64 male students, divided into two experimental and control groups. The field application period took four weeks in which the control group studied the unit using the normal teaching method, while the mobile Augmented Reality application, HP Reveal, with a website that supports its features, was integrated to teach experimental group. Findings show that there was a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-field applications in terms of students’ achievement and attitudes. Nevertheless, there was no impact observed when the control and experimental groups’ achievement was compared.  The researcher suggested conducting further investigations to examine the value of integrating Augmented Reality in the educational system considering various factors and variables.Al Shuaili, K.; Al Musawi, AS.; Hussain, RM. (2020). The effectiveness of using augmented reality in teaching geography curriculum on the achievement and attitudes of Omani 10th Grade Students. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences. 7(2):20-29. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2020.13014OJS202972Akçayır, M., & Akçayır, G. (2017). Advantages and challenges associated with augmented reality for education: A systematic review of the literature. Educational Research Review, 20, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2016.11.002Al-Asheeri, H. A. Y. (2017). Effectiveness of Using Augmented Reality Strategy in Enhancing Learning English for Cycle One Students in the Elementary Stage in the Kingdom of Bahrain. US-China Foreign Language, 15(7), 409-419. https://doi.org/10.17265/1539-8080/2017.07.001Al-Azawi, R. (2018, April). Embedding augmented and virtual reality in educational learning method: present and future. Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Information and Communication Systems- ICICS, Irbid, Jordan. Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8355470. https://doi.org/10.1109/IACS.2018.8355470Al-Maamari, S., Al-Nofli, M., & Al-Gharibi, Z. (n.d.). The state of social studies in basic education schools in Oman. Asian Social Science, 10(7), 213-220. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n7p213Al Maashri, A., Al-Asadi, S., Tageldin, M., Al-Lawati, S., & Al Shidhani, A. (2015, February). Augmented Reality for Tourism in Oman Using Free Open Source Software. Paper presented at the 2nd Free and Open Source Software Conference FOSS-2015, Muscat, Oman. Retrieved from https://fossc.om/images/papers/Ahmed_AlMaashri_Fossc_Oman_2015.pdfAl Musawi, A., Ambusaidi, A., Al-Balushi, S., Al-Sinani, M., & Al-Balushi, K. (2017). Effectiveness of Learning with 3D-Lab on Omani Basic Education Students' Achievement, Attitudes and Scientific Thinking. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 5(11), 177-188. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v5i11.2743Alhumaidan, H., Lo, K. P. Y., & Selby, A. (2018). Co-designing with children a collaborative augmented reality book based on a primary school textbook. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 15, 24-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2017.11.005Alkhattabi, M. (2017). Augmented reality as e-learning tool in primary schools' education: Barriers to teachers' adoption. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 12(2), 91-100. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v12i02.6158Al Musawi, A., Resheidi, A., Jadeedi, M., Alsaadi, A., Riyami, H.A. (2016). The impact of an augmented reality system in teaching machine dynamic course for engineering students, Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, Special Issue, July 2016; 562-564. http://www.tojet.net/special/2016_7_1.pdf.Basha, S., Abbas, M., Yusufi, G., & Rajbunisa. (2019). Augmented Reality Based Education for the Improvement for Sustainable Learning Ability in Oman Educational System. International Journal of Advanced Trends in Computer Science and Engineering, 8(12), 110 - 115. https://doi.org/10.30534/ijatcse/2019/1881.22019Chang, H.-Y., Wu, H.-K., & Hsu, Y.-S. (2013). Integrating a mobile augmented reality activity to contextualize student learning of a socioscientific issue. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(3), 95-99. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01379.xGarzón, J., & Acevedo, J. (2019). Meta-analysis of the impact of Augmented Reality on students' learning gains. Educational Research Review, 27, 244-260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2019.04.001Georgieva, E. (2006, June). A comparison analysis of mobile learning systems. Paper presented at at International Conference on Computer Systems and Technologies - CompSysTech' 2006, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2e3c/61c97bf06dcb86c8e94125407c79bb0b2a9f.pdf.Gómez-Ejerique, C. & López-Cantos, F. (2019). Application of innovative teaching-learning methodologies in the classroom. Coaching, flipped-classroom and gamification. A case study of success. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences, 6(1), 46-70. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2019.9959Romero Forteza, F. & Carrió Pastor, M. (2014). Virtual language learning environments: the standardization of evaluation. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences, 1(1), 135-152, https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2014.2199Safar, A. H., Al-Jafar, A. A., & Al-Yousefi, Z. H. (2017). The Effectiveness of Using Augmented Reality Apps in Teaching the English Alphabet to Kindergarten Children: A Case Study in the State of Kuwait. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 13(2), 417-440. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00624aShelton, B. E., & Hedley, N. R. (2002, September). Using Augmented Reality for. Teaching Earth-Sun Relationships to Undergraduate Geography. Students. Paper presented at The First IEEE International Augmented Reality Toolkit Workshop, Darmstadt, Germany. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.116.3323&rep=rep1&type=pd

Optimization Parameters of Injection Moulding Machine For Reducing Warpage of Dog Bone Plastic Part

The optimization of processing parameters on warpage of polypropylene (PP) in the application of injection moulding machine was studied. The appropriate parameters were adjusted to reduce the warpage defect on the tensile test specimen of dog bone. The type of injection moulding machine used in this research is Arburg 420C 800-250C. Four parameters that have been investigated; injection pressure, clamping pressure, back pressure and holding pressure.A concept of design of experiment (DOE) has been applied using Taguchi method to determine the suitable parameters.To measure the warpage of the dog bone, digital height gauge was used to measure the flatness of the part surface.According the analysis of variance (ANOVA), the most significant factor that effect the warpage was holding pressure by 57.82%, followed with back pressure by 25.75%, clamping pressure by 16.27% and injection pressure by 0.16%. Itis found that the optimum parameters setting that have been obtained were injection pressure at 950 bar, clamping pressure at 600 kN, holding pressure at 700 bar and back pressure at 75 bar. The depreciation value of warpage minimum index in this experiment was decreased by 4.6% after confirmation run

Effect of accumulated Stomach Gas due to Positive Pressure Ventilation in Children on Oximetery Values

stomach gas in children, undergoing positive pressureventilation with face mask, helps in improving the arterialoxygen saturation. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental studywhose procedures were performed at Combined MilitaryHospital, Lahore and Mardan, from May 2005 to Nov 2006.Fifty children scheduled for surgery were included. Agerange of patients was between 06 months to 02 years.Patient status was American Society of AnaesthesiologistsI and II. All were ‘nil by mouth’ for the past 4-6 hours.In 25 cases undergoing positive pressure ventilation, thestomach gas was removed by nasogastric tube (Group A).In the other 25 cases the stomach gas was not removed(Group B). Oximetery was done during the conduct ofanaesthesia. Average value of each case was determinedand the data compared and analyzed. Results: 80% of patients in whom stomach gas wasremoved showed 100% oxygen saturation (SPO2) and theremaining 20% patients had 99% saturation. Whereas thegroup in which stomach gas was not removed, 48%patients showed 100% saturation, 32% patients had 99%and 20% patients had 98% oxygen saturation. Conclusion: Positive pressure ventilation with facemask in children can cause gaseous distension ofthe stomach. Removal of this gas can help improve theoxygen saturation

Knowledge, attitude, and practices of complementary and alternative medication usage in patients of type II diabetes mellitus

Introduction Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is becoming popular among individuals affected by chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus. We aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practices of complementary and alternative medicine use among type 2 diabetes patients in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods An observational, prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in the institute of diabetology in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan from 1st March 2018 till 31st August 2018. All patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the clinic for routine follow-up visits during the study period were interviewed. Their demographic characteristics, clinical data, and knowledge, attitude, practices towards use of CAM products were assessed. Data was managed using SPSS for Windows version 16.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). Results CAM therapies were being used by 151 (57.8%) individuals. Herbs (n = 121; 80.1%), specific diets (n = 98; 64.9%), and cupping (n = 68; 45.0%) were the most readily utilized CAM practices. CAM practices were associated with diabetes-related complications [p \u3c 0.000; Odds Ratio (OR) 2.57; Confidence Interval (CI) 1.53, 4.34], poor glycemic control (p \u3c 0.000; OR 0.29; CI 0.17, 0.5), lack of trust in pharmaceutical products (p \u3c 0.000; OR 5.08; CI 2.28, 11.32), poor patient-doctor relationship (p = 0.06; OR 1.47; CI 0.26, 8.17), CAM products being readily available and cheaper (p \u3c 0.000; OR 6.1; CI 3.02, 12.32), and belief that CAM products have fewer side effects (p \u3c 0.000; OR 12.32; CI 6.83, 22.22) and can help in diabetes control (p \u3c 0.000; OR 35.76; CI 16.79, 76.15). Conclusion Use of complementary medicine products among Pakistani diabetic population is high. Herbs and specific diets were common modes of CAM practices. Use of CAM showed significant association with female gender, older age, unemployment, longer duration of diabetes, diabetes-related complications, and poor glycemic control

Increment of High-Grade Gliomas Among Pediatric and Young Adult Population

Background/Objective:  Glioblastomas are among the commonest primary brain cancers. This study aimed to assess the trend shift of high-grade glioma in our setting among the young and pediatric population. Materials and Methods:  This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study; it was carried out at the Department of Neurosurgery, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, between duration. All cases with suspected brain tumors, irrespective of age or gender were assessed for glioblastoma. Once a solid tumor was identified on imaging with consistent features of glioblastoma, a provisional diagnosis was established. After that, the patient underwent a brain biopsy. Patients' gender, demographics, clinical presentation, radiologic records, etc. were collected in a predefined proforma. Results:  22 patients were diagnosed with glioblastoma with a high frequency of patients between the age range of 20 to 30 years. The most common location of the tumor was subcortical near the midline. There was slight male predominance. 8 patients had levels of KPS at presentation < 70 and among those two were infants, four were in a vegetative state, and two had a loss of consciousness secondary to increased intracranial pressure. The recurrence rate among those who came back for follow-ups was 27.2%. Conclusion:  Though it is a short study with short follow-up results were astonishing due to perhaps trend shift among Glioblastoma patients, a further detailed workup is needed in different dimensions especially molecular level and genetics to know exactly about the disease and the national registry should be carried and alarmed to identify the problem at once, counter effectively and make a future strategy

International Human Resource Management: A Review from Pakistani Perspective

This article provides information about the International Human Resource Management and discusses HRM according to the international prospective in Pakistan. In this article it is discussed that how environmental and cultural factors affect the recruitment, selection and industry/employee relation in Pakistan. In the end some conclusions are made in reference to the context

A Quantum Safe Key Hierarchy and Dynamic Security Association for LTE/SAE in 5G Scenario

Millions of devices are going to participate in 5G producing a huge space for security threats. The 5G specification goals require rigid and robust security protocol against such threats. Quantum cryptography is a recently emerged term in which we test the robustness of security protocols against Quantum computers. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a security protocol called Quantum Key GRID for Authentication and Key Agreement (QKG-AKA) scheme for the dynamic security association. This scheme is efficiently deployed in Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture without any significant modifications in the underlying base system. The proposed QKGAKA mechanism is analyzed for robustness and proven safe against quantum computers. The simulation results and performance analysis show drastic improvement regarding security and key management over existing schemes

Systematic assessment of visible-light-driven microspherical v2o5 photocatalyst for the removal of hazardous organosulfur compounds from diesel

The organosulfur compounds present in liquid fuels are hazardous for health, asset, and the environment. The photocatalytic desulfurization technique works at ordinary conditions and removes the requirement of hydrogen, as it is an expensive gas, highly explosive, with a broader flammability range and is declared the most hazardous gas within a petroleum refinery, with respect to flammability. The projected work is based on the synthesis of V2O5 microspheres for photocatalytic oxidation for the straight-run diesel (SRD) and diesel oil blend (DOB). The physicochemical properties of V2O5 microspheres were examined by FT-IR, Raman, UV-vis DRS, SEM, and Photoluminescence evaluations. The as-synthesized photocatalyst presented a trivial unit size, a narrow bandgap, appropriate light-capturing capability, and sufficient active sites. The desulfurization study discovered that the anticipated technique is substantial in desulfurizing DOB up to 37% in 180 min using methanol as an interfacing agent. Furthermore, the outcome of employing a range of polar interfacing solvents was examined, and the 2-ethoxyethanol elevated the desulfurization degree up to 51.3%. However, the anticipated technology is constrained for its application in sulfur removal from SRD. Additionally, the mechanism for a photocatalytic reaction was seen in strong agreement with pseudo-first-order kinetics. The investigated photocatalyst exhibited a compromised recyclability and regeneration tendency

A conceptual framework of the way forward to a community pharmacist- general practitioner collaborative medication therapy management model for chronic diseases in Malaysian primary care: a qualitative study

Background There is a growing global interest in interprofessional collaboration between community pharmacist (CP) and general practitioner (GP) in primary care. Objective To conceptualize a stakeholder driven framework to improve collaboration between the CP and the GP in Malaysian primary care to effectively manage medicines in chronic diseases. Design and Setting A qualitative study that involved individual semi structured interviews of the leadership of various associations, guilds, and societies representing CPs, GPs, and Nurses in Malaysia. Method This study collected and reported data in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting of Qualitative Studies guidelines. Key informants were recruited based on purposive (expert) sampling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data were coded in NVivo based on the principles of thematic analysis. Result A total of twelve interviews (5 CPs, 5 GPs and 2 Nurses) were conducted. Five themes emerged: Theme-1 highlighted comparison of community pharmacy practice in Malaysia and developed countries; Theme-2 involved the current practices in Malaysian primary care; Theme- 3 encompassed the advantages of CP-GP collaboration in chronic diseases; Theme-4 highlighted the barriers which impede collaboration in Malaysian primary care; and, Theme-5 delineated the way forward for CP-GP collaboration in Malaysia. Conclusion The actionable insights obtained from the Malaysian stakeholders offered an outline of a framework to enhance collaboration between CP and GP in primary care. Generally, stakeholders were interested in CP-GP collaboration in primary care and viewed many positive roles of CPs including prescription review, adherence support and patient education. The framework of the way forward includes: separation of roles of the CP and the GP through a holistic revision of relevant legislation to grant an active role to the CPs in chronic care; definition of protocols for collaborative practices; incentivization of both stakeholders (CP and GP) and, Design and implementation of an effective regulatory mechanism where the Malaysian Ministry of Health may take a leading role

Mitral regurgitation as a phenotypic manifestation of nonphotosensitive trichothiodystrophy due to a splice variant in MPLKIP

Background: Nonphotosensitive trichothiodystrophy (TTDN) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of neuroectodermal origin. The condition is marked by hair abnormalities, intellectual impairment, nail dystrophies and susceptibility to infections but with no UV sensitivity. Methods: We identified three consanguineous Pakistani families with varied TTDN features and used homozygosity mapping, linkage analysis, and Sanger and exome sequencing in order to identify pathogenic variants. Haplotype analysis was performed and haplotype age estimated. A splicing assay was used to validate the effect of the MPLKIP splice variant on expression. Results: Affected individuals from all families exhibit several TTDN features along with a heart-specific feature, i.e. mitral regurgitation. Exome sequencing in the probands from families ED168 and ED241 identified a homozygous splice mutation c.339 + 1G > A within MPLKIP. The same splice variant co-segregates with TTDN in a third family ED210. The MPLKIP splice variant was not found in public databases, e.g. the Exome Aggregation Consortium, and in unrelated Pakistani controls. Functional analysis of the splice variant confirmed intron retention, which leads to protein truncation and loss of a phosphorylation site. Haplotype analysis identified a 585.1-kb haplotype which includes the MPLKIP variant, supporting the existence of a founder haplotype that is estimated to be 25,900 years old. Conclusion: This study extends the allelic and phenotypic spectra of MPLKIP-related TTDN, to include a splice variant that causes cardiomyopathy as part of the TTDN phenotype