Development of a Curriculum Framework for the Public Health Institute, Sudan

Curriculum development is the overall process of curriculum design, including aim and objectives setting, learning and teaching methods and quality enhancement mechanisms. Realizing that the area of curriculum development is a wide area, this dissertation will analyse briefly the different elements of the process while trying to identify a possible framework appropriate for the public health institute in Sudan who is intending to introduce a postgraduate master’s degree in health system management (MA HSM). The Public Health Institute (PHI) was established in 2009 under the management of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) with the mandate to contribute to health staff and health system development in Sudan. The author is affiliated to the PHI and is expected to act as the programme coordinator for the MA HSM. The area of health management training is relatively new and literature specifically relating to curriculum development in this area is scarce. In Sudan, most training institutions still lack health management curriculum, the PHI currently lacks staff with the needed capacity and skills to develop such a programme. There is also a great need to improve the health management capacity of health professionals in Sudan. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop an understanding and theoretical framework of curriculum development for a postgraduate level training in health management for the PHI, Sudan. The main objectives and expected outputs are an overall understanding on how to develop and implement a curriculum suitable for postgraduate level training, a framework of a health management curriculum suitable for the PHI context and contribute to improving the capacity of PHI staff including the author in delivering health management training. The methodology used is an in-depth analysis of secondary data mainly from literature review and internal PHI records for the overall understanding of curriculum development and the context and to come up with a suitable framework for the PHI. Two conceptual frameworks are used. The first is to show the different components of the curriculum development process and influencing factors and the second framework is used to analyze the internal strength and weaknesses of the PHI and the environmental threats and opportunities (SWOT analysis). The main limitations of this paper are scarcity in relevant data especially from Sudan and the realization that the framework suggested is the author’s own opinion and it’s for discussion and consultation with the PHI staff. Literature review has shown that models of curriculum development illustrate four common elements: Needs assessment; objectives; teaching and learning strategies; assessment and evaluation processes. The modern trend also shows a shift to a student-centered, problem-based, integrated, and community oriented approach to curriculum development. The resources for curriculum implementation and quality enhancement are important considerations like staff and learning resources. The key to a suitable curriculum framework for the PHI would be forging an educationally sound and logically linked objectives, course content, teaching and learning methods and assessment while taking into consideration the PHI factors, student characteristics and Sudan context. This includes a proper training needs assessment which is already conducted in January this year, a clear aim and SMART objectives, a flexible modular type curriculum with core and specific modules and a module based on independent study like a dissertation to complement a master level degree. Elective (optional) modules might not be possible at the current PHI capacity. Teaching methods should support deep learning approaches and critical thinking among students through the use of postgraduate teaching techniques like small group teaching, problem based learning (PBL) and tutorials. A quality enhancement culture needs to be fostered through the set up of a guiding policy and setting appropriate academic standards including student assessment, promoting teaching assessment and curriculum evaluation

Determining the factors affecting social interaction in the parks of Baghdad city, Iraq

Since the war in 2003, Baghdad has suffered from different aspects of political, administration, economic ethnic, sectarian, etc. that led to the loss of lives, social capital, destruction of Iraqi infrastructure and important buildings, increased crisis aggravation between different ethnics, as well as the disappearance and destruction of many Baghdad’s open spaces, parks, and recreational places. This paper addresses the issue of social interaction in Baghdad city, resulting from the lack of open spaces, parks, and recreational activities. The objective of this paper is to determine the key factors affecting social interaction of Baghdad residents in the parks of the city. This study employed Creswell recommendations (Creswell, 2014) to design the research methodology in general. A quantitative method was adapted to collect and analyse the data of this study by using a survey, i.e. questionnaires, to assess 270 respondents’ opinion about the issue of the study. Respondents were selected randomly in a single-stage procedure by using a simplified formula (Yamane, 1973). Closed-ended questions were used to collect the data of the study from the Karkh district in Baghdad city. Findings of this study confirmed that the factors and criteria of the parks are essential means to achieve sound social interaction in Baghdad, in which, the most influencing factors towards Karkhs' parks users are crowding of visitors and noise, followed by availability of high quality diverse activities. The results of this study are a useful reference for urban and landscape planners, architects, social psychologists, the Municipality of Baghdad, and researchers in this field

Criteria for public open space enhancement to achieve social interaction: a review paper

This paper presents a various literatures, studies, transcripts and papers aiming to provide an overview of some theories and existing research on the significance of natural environments and green open spaces to achieve social interaction and outdoor recreation. The main objective of the paper is to identify the factors that affecting social interaction in green open spaces, through proving that an appropriate open spaces is important to enhance social interaction and community. This study employs (qualitative) summarizing content analysis method which mainly focused on collect and summarizing of documentation such as transcripts, articles, papers, and books from more than 25 source, regarding the importance of public open spaces for the community. The summarizing content analysis of this paper is the fundament for a qualitative oriented procedure of text interpretation used to analyse the information gathered. Results of this study confirms that sound social interaction need an appropriate physical space including criteria of: design, activities, access and linkage, administration and maintenance, place attachment and users' characteristics, also previous studies in this area have a health perspective with measures of physical activity of open spaces in general

A Bottom-Up Approach in Pediatric Ethics Education: Residents Leading Ethics Curriculum Development - A Pilot Project

Presented as a poster at 2020 IUSM Education Day

Draft genome sequence of plant growth-promoting endophytic Streptomyces sp. GKU 895 isolated from the roots of sugarcane

Streptomyces sp. GKU 895 is an endophytic actinomycete isolated from the roots of sugarcane. GKU 895 has a genome of 8.3 Mbp and the genome exhibits adaptations related to plant growth-promoting activity. It also has extensive specialized metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters apparent in its genome

Acne Vulgaris Awareness and Impact on Quality of Life and Psychological Status of Adolescent School Children in Jazan, Saudi Arabia

Severe psychological impairment is found among 7.3% of adolescents with no difference between sexes

Developing a Proposed System to Organize the Investment Opportunities in Iraq

...... The Iraqi government seeks to overcome the financial crisis by investing and privatizing some projects to achieve sustainable growth. Most of the investment projects in Iraq suffer from many constraints that greatly impact the success of these projects. A survey of the opinions of a group of experts was conducted to identify the most important constraints facing the investment process in Iraq. Then the experts' answers were arranged in a closed questionnaire and distributed to the research sample for which the statistical analysis was conducted. Through it, the most important (17) factors that had the greatest impact on the failure of investment projects in Iraq were reached. One of the main constraints was the slow and routine administrative procedures. Therefore, the main objective of the research is to identify the most important constraints facing the investment process in Iraq and to develop a proposed system to organize the procedures for applying for investment opportunities, given the importance of long-term investment, the importance of the referral stage, and the selection of the competent investor who meets the criteria required for the success of the investment project. The researcher concluded that many factors impact the failure of investment projects, which must be addressed for the success of these projects, as management systems and computer technology programs greatly organize investment procedures, save time and reduce routine and slow procedures

Pocket parks for promoting social interaction among residents of Baghdad city

Purpose: The residents of Baghdad city has been suffering from various issues, including poor social relations, low quality of life, as well as neglect of many public spaces and small parks. Therefore, there is a need to devise effective alternatives to compensate for the loss of large public open spaces so as to enhance the residents’ social interactions and other social activities. Having that said, this study identified the types and characteristics of public open spaces to enhance residents’ social activities in Baghdad city. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted the questionnaire survey method to gather quantitative data from 306 respondents based on the single-stage random procedure. The targeted population of this study refers to the residents of the Karkh district, the western part of Baghdad. Findings: The study outcomes highlight the need to provide pocket parks with adequate characteristics to promote the residents’ social interactions in Baghdad city. Practical implications: This study contributes by emphasizing the significance of establishing pocket parks for social interaction in Baghdad City. Originality/value: The study shows a number of solutions related to pocket parks by studying the critical actionable attributes that can be embedded into new development, land-use policies, or to upgrade existing parks. The study may serve as a useful reference for urban and landscape planners, architects, social psychologists, the Municipal of Baghdad, and other interested researchers in this field

Environmental Impact Assessment for Modern Brick Factory in Baghdad, Iraq

The environmental and social impacts of a bricks factory was evaluated and the information's have been collected from a community questionnaire, as well as the analysis quadrilateral (SOWT) strategic for default modern bricks factory. The results devolve toward the manufacture of bricks with a modern and environment friend technology showed the extent of the community's awareness about contaminants posed by traditional brick plants. The analysis of the strategic quadrilateral project gave positive results in terms of overcome strength elements and of weakness in the internal environment and opportunities to overcome threats in the external environment for the modern factory. The study summarizes number of recommendations concerning, the most important use of modern technologies to reduce pollutants outside of the brick factories and alternatives and environmental monitoring plan for the project so as to ensure that the protection of the surrounding environment