Potential Use of Communications and Project Management Systems in Remote Construction Projects: The Case of Saudi Electric Company

Remote projects have their unique problems that are caused mainly by the remoteness of the project itself thus the loose control over management. This is due to a number of reasons such as lack of human resources and infrastructure. Research studies that were undertaken worldwide - regarding this issue- has highlighted few unique management problems. The aim of this paper is to investigate how far the IT tools would help in managing remote construction projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Due to the lack of previous research regarding remote projects within the Gulf region and the KSA, a pilot study was conducted in 2009 to define and test the wording of questions that are part of the main survey. The main survey was undertaken on Saudi Electric Company (SEC). The study found that IT systems and tools have the potential but this potential is hindered by a number of technical, managerial, staff factors. Therefore, successful application of IT systems would require changes to the present management settings at various levels. This would ensure that the SEC is capable of achieving the full benefit from using these advanced systems

Macrosegregation during plane front directional solidification of Csl-1 wt. percent Tll alloy

Macrosegregation produced during vertical Bridgeman directional solidification of Csl-1 wt. pct. Tll in crucibles of varying diameter, from 0.5 to 2.0 cm, was examined. Gravity driven convection is present in the melt even in the smallest crucible diameter of 0.5 cm. Observed solutal profiles are in agreement with the analytical boundary layer model of Favier which describes macrosegregation in the presence of convection. The scintillation efficiency of Csl decreases along the specimen length as the thallium iodide content of the alloy increases

Fatigue crack growth under variable amplitude loading

Fatigue crack growth tests were conducted on an Fe 510 E C-Mn steel and a submerged arc welded joint from the same material under constant, variable, and random loading amplitudes. Paris-Erdogan's crack growth rate law was tested for the evaluation of m and C using the stress intensity factor K, the J-integral, the effective stress intensity factor K(sub eff), and the root mean square stress intensity factor K(sub rms) fracture mechanics concepts. The effect of retardation and residual stresses resulting from welding was also considered. It was found that all concepts gave good life predictions in all cases

The role of public gardens in enhancing diabetic patients’ health and wellbeing

Cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have experienced rapid uncontrolled urbanism due to the absence of robust planning measures. This causes lack or ill distributions of facilities and segregation between these facilities and the residences in districts and neighbourhoods across the King-dom. It also encouraged citizens to adopt unhealthy lifestyles which in turn aggravated their health conditions. This paper discusses the critical relationship between the unhealthy lifestyle of diabetic patients and the proximity of public gardens. A survey on 76 diabetic patients and their living conditions was carried out. A visual and mapping survey was conducted on public gardens and vacant lands around diabetics’ homes. The study found that cities in the Eastern province, KSA have unhealthy urban and suburban settings in terms of the proximity and characteristics of public gardens. It is revealed that patients have unhealthier lifestyle and frequent diabetic symptoms when gardens are far away and vacant lands are nearer to their homes. This calls the need for emergent amendment of the present planning regulations for the use of vacant lands and public amenities including public gardens in Saudi cities so they would help improving the physical, psychological and spiritual health of the diabetic patients and the community

PENINGKATAN PEMBELAJARAN MATEMATIKA POKOK BAHASAN RELASI DAN FUNGSI PADA SISWA KELAS X KL SMK NEGERI 1 SITUBONDO DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE STAD

This type of research is classroom action research. The subjects of this research were 38 students of Class X KL SMK Negeri 1 Situbondo, Situbondo Regency. The purpose of this research is to describe the process of learning mathematics using the STAD method on the subject of Relations and Functions. Data collection tools and methods used in this research were tests, observations, and questionnaires. The results of this study 80% of students are happy about cooperative skills, and 75.5% argue that the device used is new. In addition, students' responses about process skills 82.6% were happy and 72.2% thought that the process skills used were relatively new. From these data shows that students like to be involved in learning using cooperative skills and process skills, especially in the process of observing skills where the opinions of students feel happy in doing observations by 95.7%.   Keyword: STAD, student achievement, cooperative skills, process skills, relations and function

Innovation crisis in design studios: whom to blame? / Bhzad Sidawi

Design is a social phenomenon and researchers suggest that communications and negotiations between designers are essential to initiate creativity. Within the design studio environment, the social interaction and design negotiations between students and tutors and with their mates is influenced by a number of factors that hinder students from fully utilizing it in the design scheme. Design studios' students from the third to fifth year at the College of Architecture, UoD were surveyed the influences on the production of innovative design projects. The research found a number of potential interrelated factors that would play a negative role in hindering student's creativity. However, to develop students' design/innovative abilities, the researcher recommends that certain measures should be considered. These would include the use of innovative design precedents, development of students and tutors' communications skills, and transformation of the design studio into interactive and friendly learning environment that motivate students to produce innovative design projects

The Relationship Between the Diabetic Patients and the Built Environment: the Islamic View

Diabetes mellitus, is a serious disease that may lead to severe conditions such as blindness, end-stage of renaldisease, limb amputation and a variety of debilitating neuropathies. Previous research indicated that diabetesis caused by a complex interaction of patient\u27s genetics, life-style and environmental factors. It alsohighlighted that providing quality and healthy built environment to citizens including diabetic patients wouldprevent the decline of the patient condition. Accordingly, the Islamic built laws derived from Islamic Shariahave set the grounds of how to provide healthy built environment for citizens. Little research was conducted inthe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in regards to the effect of environmental conditions on the health status ofdiabetic people. In 2011, the present researchers have surveyed a number of diabetic patients to find out thepossible impact of built environment settings on the patient\u27s lifestyle thus how far it would affect the progressof the diabetes. The results showed a close link between a poor home and environmental settings, the patient\u27slifestyle, and the health status. The paper argues that certain changes to the built environment must be doneand to provide a healthy and safe environment for diabetic patients. The Islamic built laws would largely helpin provisioning such healthy environment that helps people to live to abandon their bad habits and adopthealthier lifestyle

Fasting ghrelin levels are decreased in obese subjects and are significantly related with insulin resistance and body mass index

© 2017 Dimitrios Papandreou, Christos Karavolias, Fotini Arvaniti, Eleana Kafeza, Fatima Sidawi. BACKGROUND: Ghrelin is a 28-amino acid peptide that predominantly produced by the stomach. Strong evidence indicates the effects of ghrelin in the regulation of metabolic functions and its potential role in the aetiology of obesity. AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of ghrelin levels with obesity, insulin resistance and glucose in normal and obese subjects. METHODS: Thirteen normal (n = 13) and seven (n = 7) obese weight subjects aged 20-22 participated in the study. Fasting plasma ghrelin, insulin and glucose levels were measured after overnight fasting. HOMA-IR was calculated to evaluate insulin resistance. RESULTS: Ghrelin and insulin levels were found to be statistically significantly lower and higher in obese subjects (P \u3c 0.001), respectively. Glucose levels were clinically higher in obese subjects but not statistically significant. Fasting plasma ghrelin was negatively correlated with BMI (r = -0.77, P \u3c 0.001), fasting insulin levels (r = -0.55, P \u3c 0.001) and HOMA-IR (r = -0.66, P \u3c 0.001). There was no correlation between ghrelin and glucose. In multiple regression analysis, insulin levels (Beta: -2.66, 95% CI: -2.49, -2.78, P \u3c 0.001) HOMA-IR (Beta: -2.41, 95% CI: -2.33, -2.55, P \u3c 0.001) and BMI (Beta: -1.77, 95% CI: -1.66, -1.89, P \u3c 0.001) were significant independent determinants of fasting ghrelin. CONCLUSION: Obese subjects have low fasting ghrelin levels that they are significantly related to insulin resistance and body mass index. More prospective studies are needed to establish the role of ghrelin in the pathogenesis of human obesity

The place-based impact of built environments: Diabetes, living conditions, homes and neighbourhoods

AbstractMany studies have demonstrated the adverse effect built environments have on health and differentiated between their direct and indirect impacts. In the case of diabetes and other chronic diseases, such studies concentrate on the direct impact built environments have on the living conditions of citizens either at home or in the neighbourhood. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), little research has tackled the indirect and so-called place-based impact of the built environment. This study reports on the findings of surveys carried out on 76 diabetics who usually visit the King Fahd Teaching Hospital of the University of Dammam, Al-Khober in the Eastern province of KSA. It investigates the relationship between the place-based impact of the built environment, diabetes and living conditions. The working hypothesis is that: living conditions found in the homes and surrounding neighbourhoods of those suffering from diabetes do aggravate the symptoms of the disease, which in turn have an adverse impact on the medical condition. The study provides evidence to support this hypothesis as the findings reveal there is a positive correlation between the place-based impact of built environments, diabetes, living conditions, homes and neighbourhoods and these jointly aggravate the symptoms associated with the medical condition. Keywords: place, impact, built environments, diabetes, homes, neighbourhoods and healt

Caso clínicopatológico: varón con neoplasia de próstata y disnea de origen incierto.

Se presenta el caso de un varón de 79 años con una neoplasia de próstata diseminada, antecedentes de cardiopatía isquémica y embolismo pulmonar reciente que presenta disnea progresiva de forma subaguda, ingresando en el hospital para estudio. Tras completar el algoritmo diagnóstico no se consigue detectar la causa de su disnea, falleciendo en el hospital. El caso se presenta en el foro de las sesiones clinicopatológicas del Hospital Son Espases.The case is that of a 79 year old male affected by a disseminated prostatic neoplasm, isquemic cardiopathy and a recent pulmonary embolism. He was addmited with progressive subacute dyspnea. After testing, there was no evidence about the etiology of the dyspnea, dying at the hospital without certain diagnosis. The case is discussed in the context of a clinico-pathologic general session at Hospital Son Espases