109 research outputs found
Innovation for All: Unleashing the Power of Assistive Technology in Special Education in Arabic-Speaking Countries
This topical review digs into special education teachers' growing usage of Assistive Technology (AT) in Arabic-speaking countries to serve children with impairments. This study investigates AT's benefits, drawbacks, and possible applications in this educational setting by reviewing the available literature from six major academic databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, ERIC, Academia, and ResearchGate. The findings highlight the need for tailored and student-centered approaches to AT adoption and effective training and ongoing support for educators and students. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the potential of AT to improve academic and functional outcomes, allowing students to overcome obstacles and actively participate in their educational path. The significance of these findings for future special education research and practice is examined, laying the groundwork for further investigation of AT's influence on children with disabilities in Arabic-speaking countries. The outcomes of this review emphasize the need to implement AT in Arabic-speaking special education settings using tailored and student-centered approaches. Students with disabilities can effectively use AT solutions to enhance their learning experiences by tailoring AT solutions to specific needs. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of instructor and student training and ongoing assistance. Proper training provides instructors with the skills and information they need to properly deploy AT tools, while continual support ensures that AT remains effective in the classroom
The Impact of storytelling to enhance thinking skills of primary school students:‎ A contextual study of Saudi Arabia
The current research aims to identify the impact of the use of the educational story in the development of some thinking skills among primary school students in the northern region. The research sample consists of primary school students in the northern region of Saudi Arabia. The semi-experimental approach was used to assess the impact of story narration skill as an effective tool on experimental and control groups. A random sample of sixty students were divided into two groups; one experimental group of 30 students who were exposed to the instructional story method, and the control group of other 30 students didn’t follow any intervention as such and followed the regular method.  The SPSS program for the purpose of answering the research questions and verifying the hypotheses. The results showed that there were differences between the control and experiential groups in the telemetry in all fields of thinking skills (fluency, originality, flexibility, and narrative flow). The differences were in favor of the experimental group members
Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease and Their Quality of Life
This study aimed at exploring the assessment of Quality of Life (QOL) in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), and aiming at assessing the QOL of patients with stages 1–5 Chronic Kidney Disease CKD on conservative treatment in order to identify a possible association between Quality Of Life QOL and progression of kidney insufficiency. The results were compared with those obtained for patients on hemodialysis. Sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory data were also evaluated. And the study concluded that research efforts have expanded significantly to determine the state of pediatric CKD patient HRQOL and the factors that impact HRQOL across all stages of CKD and all modalities of renal replacement therapy. Data from all studies suggest that children with a renal transplant fare better with respect to HRQOL than those receiving dialysis.
Uso de Flashcards en el Tratamiento de las Dificultades de Lectura y Escritura en los Estudiantes con NEE
Various research studies have found that DI flashcards is a highly effective intervention technique when academic skills deficits are found in the students with disabilities. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a flashcard system in dealing with reading and writing problems with 40 5th grade female students with learning disorders. Students with learning disorders experience academic problems, which is preceded by signs such as distorted language or a delay in picking up a language etc. It means that the problems are natural, neurological and behavioural at times. The school identified for the present study was located in an urban school district in the Northern Border areas of Saudi Arabia. A specific textbook My beautiful language by Lughati Al Jamila for 5th grade elementary pupils was chosen as a tool for the study, based on the students’ pre-test scores. The effects of the flashcard procedure were assessed across sets of problems. The post study data reveals that all participants improved their mastery of reading and writing skills. The flash card procedure was inexpensive and easily implemented in a resource room setting. Varios estudios de investigaciĂłn han encontrado que el uso de tarjetas de instrucciĂłn directa (flashcards) es una tĂ©cnica de intervenciĂłn altamente eficaz cuando los dĂ©ficits de habilidades acadĂ©micas se encuentran en los estudiantes con discapacidades. Este estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar los efectos de un sistema de tarjetas en el tratamiento de problemas de lectura y escritura con 40 estudiantes de 5o curso con trastornos de aprendizaje. Los estudiantes con trastornos del aprendizaje experimentan problemas acadĂ©micos, que son precedidos por signos tales como lenguaje distorsionado o un retraso en la recolecciĂłn de un idioma, etc. Esto significa que los problemas son naturales, neurolĂłgicos y en ocasiones conductuales. La escuela identificada para el presente estudio estaba ubicada en un distrito escolar urbano en las áreas de la frontera norte de Arabia Saudita. Se seleccionĂł un libro de texto especĂfico, My beautiful language de Lughati Al Jamila para los alumnos de 5o grado como una herramienta para el estudio, basado en los resultados de los estudiantes antes de la prueba. Los efectos del procedimiento de flashcard se evaluaron a travĂ©s de conjuntos de problemas. Los datos del estudio posterior revelan que todos los participantes mejoraron su dominio de las habilidades de lectura y escritura. El procedimiento de la tarjeta flash fue barato y se implementĂł fácilmente en un entorno de sala de recursos.
El impacto de las historias educativas para mejorar las habilidades de pensamiento entre los estudiantes de la escuela primaria: un estudio contextual de Arabia Saudita
URL del artĂculo en la web de la Revista: https://www.upo.es/revistas/index.php/IJERI/article/view/2979The current research aims to identify the impact of the use of the educational story in the development of some thinking skills among primary school students in the northern region. The research sample consists of primary school students in the northern region of Saudi Arabia. The semi-experimental approach was used to assess the impact of story narration skill as an effective tool on experimental and control groups. A random sample of sixty students were divided into two groups; one experimental group of 30 students who were exposed to the instructional story method, and the control group of other 30 students didn't follow any intervention as such and followed the regular method. The SPSS program for the purpose of answering the research questions and verifying the hypotheses. The results showed that there were differences between the control and experiential groups in the telemetry in all fields of thinking skills (fluency, originality, flexibility, and narrative flow). The differences were in favor of the experimental group members.La investigaciĂłn actual tiene como objetivo identificar el impacto de la historia educativa en el desarrollo de algunas habilidades de pensamiento entre los estudiantes de la escuela primaria en la regiĂłn norte de Arabia Saudita. La muestra de la investigaciĂłn corresponde a estudiantes de escuela primaria en la regiĂłn norte. Se emplea un enfoque semiexperimental para evaluar el impacto de la habilidad en la narraciĂłn de historias como una herramienta efectiva. Una muestra aleatoria de sesenta estudiantes se dividiĂł en dos grupos; un grupo experimental de (n = 30) estudiantes a los que se les aplicĂł el mĂ©todo de la narraciĂłn de historias, y el grupo de control compuesto por otros treinta estudiantes a los que no se les aplicĂł ninguna intervenciĂłn y siguieron el mĂ©todo tradicional. El programa SPSS se empleĂł con el propĂłsito de responder las preguntas de investigaciĂłn y verificar las hipĂłtesis. Los resultados mostraron que habĂa diferencias entre grupo control y el experimental en la telemetrĂa en todos los campos de habilidades de pensamiento (fluidez, originalidad, flexibilidad y flujo narrativo). Las diferencias fueron a favor de los miembros del grupo experimental.Universidad Pablo de Olavid
Thermodynamic modeling of hydrogen–water systems with gas impurity at various conditions using cubic and PC-SAFT equations of state
Hydrogen (H2) has emerged as a viable solution for energy storage of renewable sources, supplying off-seasonal demand. Hydrogen contamination due to undesired mixing with other fluids during operations is a significant problem. Water contamination is a regular occurrence; therefore, an accurate prediction of H2-water thermodynamics is crucial for the design of efficient storage and water removal processes. In thermodynamic modeling, the Peng–Robinson (PR) and Soave Redlich–Kwong (SRK) equations of state (EoSs) are widely applied. However, both EoSs fail to predict the vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) accurately for H2-blend mixtures with or without fine-tuning binary interaction parameters due to the polarity of the components. This work investigates the accuracy of two advanced EoSs: the Schwartzentruber and Renon modified Redlich–Kwong cubic EoS (SR-RK) and perturbed-chain statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT) in predicting VLE and solubility properties of H2 and water. The SR-RK involves the introduction of polar parameters and a volume translation term. The proposed workflow is based on optimizing the binary interaction coefficients using regression against experimental data that cover a wide range of pressure (0.34 to 101.23 MPa), temperature (273.2 to 588.7 K), and H2 mole fraction (0.0004 to 0.9670) values. A flash liberation model is developed to calculate the H2 solubility and water vaporization at different temperature and pressure conditions. The model captures the influence of H2-gas (CO2) impurity on VLE. The results agreed well with the experimental data, demonstrating the model\u27s capability of predicting the VLE of hydrogen-water mixtures for a broad range of pressures and temperatures. Optimized coefficients of binary interaction parameters for both EoSs are provided. The sensitivity analysis indicates an increase in H2 solubility with temperature and pressure and a decrease in water vaporization. Moreover, the work demonstrates the capability of SR-RK in modeling the influence of gas impurity (i.e., H2–CO2 mixture) on the H2 solubility and water vaporization, indicating a significant influence over a wide range of H2–CO2 mixtures. Increasing the CO2 ratio from 20% to 80% exhibited almost the opposite behavior of H2 solubility compared to the pure hydrogen feed solubility. Finally, the work emphasizes the critical selection of proper EoSs for calculating thermodynamic properties and the solubility of gaseous H2 and water vaporization for the efficient design of H2 storage and fuel cells
Evaluation of cubic, PC-SAFT, and GERG2008 equations of state for accurate calculations of thermophysical properties of hydrogen-blend mixtures
Hydrogen (H2) is a clean fuel and key enabler of energy transition into green renewable sources and a method of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Underground H2 storage (UHS) is a prominent method offering a permanent solution for a low-carbon economy to meet the global energy demand. However, UHS is a complex procedure where containment security, pore-scale scattering, and large-scale storage capacity can be influenced by H2 contamination due to mixing with cushion gases and reservoir fluids. The literature lacks comprehensive investigations of existing thermodynamic models in calculating the accurate transport properties of H2-blend mixtures essential to the efficient design of various H2 storage processes. This work benchmarks cubic equations of state (EoSs), namely Peng–Robinson (PR) and Soave Redlich–Kwong (SRK) and their modifications by Boston–Mathias (PR-BM) and Schwartzentruber–Renon (SR-RK), for their reliability in predicting the thermophysical properties of binary and ternary H2-blend mixtures, including CH4, C2H6, C3H8, H2S, H2O, CO2, CO, and N2, in addition to Helmholtz-energy-based EoSs (i.e., PC-SAFT and GERG2008). The benchmarked models are regressed against the experimental data for vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) that covers a wide range of pressures (0.01 to 101 MPa), temperatures (92 K to 367 K), and mole fractions (0.001 to 0.90) of H2. The novelty of this work is in benchmarking and optimizing the parameters of the mentioned EoSs to study VLE envelopes, densities, and other critical transport properties, such as heat capacity and the Joule–Thomson coefficient of H2 mixtures in a wide range of associated conditions. The results highlight the significant effect of the temperature-dependent binary interaction parameters on the calculations of thermophysical properties. The SR-RK EoS demonstrated the highest agreement with VLE data among the cubic EoSs with a low root mean square error and absolute average deviation. The PC-SAFT VLE models demonstrated results comparable to the SR-RK. The sensitivity analysis highlighted the high influence of impurity on changing the thermophysical behavior of H2-blend streams during the H2 storage process
Wind Energy Assessment Using Weibull Distribution with Different Numerical Estimation Methods: A Case Study
The demand for electrical energy is increasing every day, which is one of the critical challenges facing the world today. Hence, the necessity of turning to clean renewable energy sources that are not harmful to the environment as an alternative to the traditional generation based on fossil fuels has become more important than ever before. Wind power is one of the renewable sources that provides a clean solution to generate electricity. In this context, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announces renewable energy projects to generate 9 GW from wind in 2032. Hence, the aim of this paper is to investigate the most suitable method of Weibull parameter estimation in order to predict wind characteristics and employ it for wind energy assessment in the Qassim region located in the center of the country. In this study, wind data is collected from NASA's forecasts of global energy resources for 2010–2015 based on their availability at altitudes of 10m and 50m and analyzed by using six different methods for Weibull parameter estimation: the graphical method (GM), standard deviation method (SDM), energy pattern factor method (EPF), moment method (MM), alternative maximum likelihood method (AMLM), and novel energy pattern factor method (NEPF). The efficiency of each method is tested by calculating the root mean square error (RMSE) and the relative wind power density error (RPDE). The comparison shows that the most appropriate method for estimating wind power density in the country is the Moment Method (MM), with the lowest RPDE ratio equal to 0.2018%. It has been found that the wind power density in the Qassim region falls into the class 1 category, as it is less than 100 W/m2 at a height of 10m and less than 200 W/m2at an altitude of 50m. The results show the region is only suitable for small off-grid projects. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-06-024 Full Text: PD
Integrating Complementary and Alternative Medicine into Family Medicine Practice: Narrative Review
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) has witnessed a significant surge in usage across various populations and regions in recent decades. This review article delves into the prevalence and patterns of CAM usage, from cancer patients to cultural practices in Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. In Saudi Arabia, CAM practices, especially spiritual ones like prayer and reciting the Quran, are widely adopted, with herbs, honey, and dietary products also being popular. New Zealand healthcare professionals, including general practitioners and midwives, generally hold a positive view towards CAM, with acupuncture being particularly favored. However, concerns about CAM's scientific evidence, safety, and costs persist. In the U.S., while CAM is popular, many family physicians feel inadequately trained to address CAM-related patient queries. In Germany, a significant number of family physicians use CAM in their practices, emphasizing the need for increased CAM education and research. The data underscores the global trend of CAM adoption and the need for its effective integration into mainstream healthcare. Despite its popularity, the integration of CAM in medical education remains limited in many regions, including Saudi Arabia. However, there's a noticeable shift with some medical schools beginning to incorporate CAM into their curriculum. The article underscores the importance of evidence-based practice, education, training, open communication, regulation, interdisciplinary collaboration, a patient-centered approach, thorough documentation, continuous research, cultural sensitivity, and cost-effectiveness evaluation when considering the integration of CAM into mainstream healthcare. The recommendations provided aim to ensure that patients receive holistic care that is both safe and effective. The overarching theme is the need for a balanced, informed, and collaborative approach to integrating CAM into family medicine practice
Assessing preferential choice of modern teaching methods: An insight into special educators’ role in Saudi Arabia
The study aimed at identifying the level of use of modern teaching methods by primary teachers of pupils with learning difficulties in Saudi Arabia. It also aimed to know if there are statistically significant differences in the level of use of teaching methods in comparison to the elementary school teachers. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, three instruments namely survey, observation, interview were used. Survey was distributed on a sample of randomly selected English teachers and instructors (n = 51) from the schools in the northern border region of Saudi Arabia. The researcher used three modern strategies, namely cross-teaching, training method, multi-sensory. The researcher used the Analytical Descriptive Curriculum to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that the use of modern methods is followed moderately and the teachers are found to be intermediate level users who need to be guided and encouraged to further advance their understandings about the latest intervention methods so that the desired objectives can be achieved
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