Public-private partnerships (PPPs) in education in the Sultanate of Oman at the basic and post-basic education levels :towards a suggested framework

PhD ThesisThis research aims to explore the public–private partnership (PPP) phenomenon at the basic education and post-basic education levels in the Sultanate of Oman. Specifically, it identifies the types of existing PPPs and probes different stakeholders’ perspectives of PPPs. It also highlights the challenges that impede the effectiveness of PPPs in the Omani context and identifies approaches to alleviate them. Finally, it suggests a PPP framework for the Omani context. This study employed a case study design with a mixed-strategy approach to elicit data from a range of sources: the public education sector, the private education sector and other sectors. The research used semi-structured interviews, focus groups and documentary analysis as key data collection instruments. The public education sector participants comprised government officials, school principals and supervisors. The private education participants included school owners, school principals and chief executive officers (CEOs). Other participants were drawn from other governmental and non-governmental sectors. A total of four focus groups with 29 participants (six to nine participants in each group) and 32 semi-structured interviews covering participants from the different sectors were conducted. The research findings reveal that a range of PPPs exist in the Omani education context. These however, are predominantly informal and voluntary. They also seem to address financial aspects and rarely tackle key quality aspects such as curricula and learning outcomes. In this study, it transpires that in Oman, PPP is envisaged as a multi-stakeholder approach with reciprocal and long-term benefits rather than relating to privatisation or philanthropy. The research also concludes that PPPs in Oman seem to be challenged chiefly by political and regulatory impediments, as well as some practical barriers related to capacity and evaluation mechanisms. It is hoped that these results, together with the suggested PPP framework, will serve as a guideline for the promotion of public–private collaboration in education, as well as the development of a PPP programme at the basic education and post-basic education levels in Oman.The Government of the Sultanate of Oman

Toponyms in the Jos Plateau and the impact on intergroup relations: an ethno-historical perspective

The history of the Jos Plateau area in the past two decades has been characterized by irresolvable crises and conflicts. These conflicts have multifactorial reasons like politics, religion, and economy. To this list the toponymic factor can be added. Indeed, for the past fifteen years since September 2001, intergroup relationships especially between the Hausa and “indigenes” or, what others erroneously see as Muslims versus Christians, have been marred by internecine crises. The result has been the destruction of lives and property, mutual suspicion, migrations, relocation of settlements, change in settlement patterns and re-naming of settlements. In light of this, the paper looks at one of the manifestations of this conflict, which is the counter-naming or renaming of some settlements in Jos Plateau area in order to claim historical ownership of settlements. This paper aims to prove that the current situation portends danger to national cohesion, development, free movements and association of people in the Jos Plateau

Wine Routes and Sustainable Social Organization within Local Tourist Supply: Case Studies of Two Italian Regions

The paper is aimed at investigating wine companies’ perceptions and attitudes towards the role of wine routes as an actual tool to improve their tourist attractiveness and sustainable tourism on a territorial level. Through a comparative approach, some wineries from the Italian regions of Abruzzo and Tuscany have been surveyed and in-depth-interviews to key local stakeholders have been conducted. The aim of the survey is to investigate the companies’ perception about wine tourists’ characteristics and wine route management. Through a multivariate analysis, the reasons behind wineries’ satisfaction/discontent have been analyzed. The findings identify a close relation between the complexity of the services offered, the companies’ involvement in the wine routes management and their satisfaction about the results obtained. The more complex the services are, the more satisfied the companies. The comparative analysis of the strengths and weaknesses pointed out by the wineries’ keepers has allowed some general considerations about the tools to use for the improvement of wine routes management. In a broader sense, the wineries’ direct involvement both in investment and in governance appears to be key in the success of the routes as a model for local tourism development

Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Korban Letusan Gunung Semeru Melalui Program Aksi Solidaritas Kemanusiaan di Kabupaten Lumajang

The geographical location of this volcano is in two urban areas, Malang and Lumajang. This service analyzes the needs of the Semeru community after the burst of Mount Semeru, Lumajang Regency, both from the psychological aspect and the aspect of economic needs. Method The method used is participatory action research using a rapid rural appraisal (RRA) approach and a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) approach. Can ease the burden on the community of victims of the eruption of Mount Semeru b. people receive education in dealing with with various life problems so that they are not depressed c. People are driven and inspired to rise to organize a brighter life. Conclusion Humanitarian solidarity action program is important to be carried out as a form of implementing empathy and sympathy for the wider community, especially the people who need to solve various problems they face. The solidarity action programs carried out from the psychological aspect are a. educate people who experience depression through a spiritual approach b. assist in logistics and cash to ease the burden suffered by the victims of the Mount Semeru eruption

ANALISIS KESANTUNAN BAHASA MAHASISWA DALAM PESAN WHATSAPP TERHADAP DOSEN PROGRAM STUDI PENDIDIKAN BAHASA INDONESIA

Tujuan penelitian ini mendeskripsikan pematuhan prinsip kesantunan berbahasa dan pelanggaran prinsip kesantunan berbahasa pada pesan whatsapp yang dikirim mahasiswa kepada dosen Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Indonesia. Metode yang digunakan adalah metode deskriptif. Data berupa tuturan-tuturan dalam pesan whatsapp yang menunjukkan pematuhan dan pelanggaran prinsip kesantunan bahasa. Sumber data penelitian ini berupa pesan whatsapp yang dikumpulkan  periode Januari sampai Juni 2019. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan ialah teknik dokumentasi. Langkah-langkah analisis data (1) mengumpulkan pesan whatsapp, (2) membaca pesan, (3) mengidentifikasi maksim-maksim, (4) mengklasifikasikan maksim-maksim, (5) menganalisis maksim-maksim, (6) kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan (1) pematuhan maksim kebijaksanaan mengucapkan Assalamualaikum bapak, maaf mengganggu waktunya pak, menggunakan salam sebagai bentuk sapaan sekaligus penghormatan. (2) Pematuhan maksim kedermawanan penutur memiliki kesadaran untuk meringankan beban seperti mau mengembalikan buku. (3) Maksim penghargaan seperti terimakasih arahannya. (4) Maksim kesederhanaan penutur mengurangi pujian pada dirinya sendiri dan mencaci dirinya sendiri mohon maaf mengganggu waktunya. (5) Maksim pemufakatan, penutur memiliki kecocokan dengan mitra tutur supaya percakapan terasa santun. (6) Maksim kesimpatian mengucapkan Sebelumnya mohon maaf lahir batin ya pak penutur menunjukkan bentuk kepedulian. Pelanggaran kesantunan (1) maksim kebijaksanaan Hari senin bisa saya bimbingan ngga bun penutur tidak memberikan pilihan. (2) Maksim pemufakatan penutur tidak mampu menyiapkan dirinya dalam membentuk kesepakatan

Pengembangan Instrumen Penilaian Higher Order Thinking Skills Pada Mata Pelajaran Pendidikan Agama Islam

Research on development of Higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) is aimed at: (1) to produce higher order thinking skills (HOTS) instrument of PAI class X SMK Ibrahimy 2 Sukorejo Situbondo and (2) to know the feasibility of higher order thinking SMK Ibrahimy 2 Sukorejo Situbondo seen from the results of student trials. This research was research of development of higher order thinking skills (assessment instrument using 4D model. Based on the results of the analysis on the book PAI package and making test questions created by teachers in SMK Ibrahimy 2 Sukorejo can’t measure the ability of higher order thinking (HOT). The ability of students was still relatively low known from the making of questions that still level 1.2 and 3, while the matter can be said higher order thinking (HOT) if it is in the realm of cognitive C4, C5, C6

What is Shared about African Modernism? What is African about Modern Heritage?

The Shared Heritage Africa (SHA) project focused on the rediscovery of modern university campuses and seminal buildings in West and East Africa from the 1950s to the 1970s. The project involved nine research fellows from Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda, who conducted heritage research, local writing and photography workshops, exhibitions, and published content to document Africa’s built cultural heritage, eight of them are presented here. This initiative aimed to promote sustainable urban and social development, drawing on African and international efforts and targeting students and young professionals to foster social, cultural and political awareness

Prosurvival autophagy is regulated by protein kinase CK1 alpha in multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a tumor of plasma cells (PCs). Due to the intense immunoglobulin secretion, PCs are prone to endoplasmic reticulum stress and activate several stress-managing pathways, including autophagy. Indeed, autophagy deregulation is maladaptive for MM cells, resulting in cell death. CK1α, a pro-survival kinase in MM, has recently been involved as a regulator of the autophagic flux and of the transcriptional competence of the autophagy-related transcription factor FOXO3a in several cancers. In this study, we investigated the role of CK1α in autophagy in MM. To study the autophagic flux we generated clones of MM cell lines expressing the mCherry-eGFP-LC3B fusion protein. We observed that CK1 inhibition with the chemical ATP-competitive CK1 α/δ inhibitor D4476 resulted in an impaired autophagic flux, likely due to an alteration of lysosomes acidification. However, D4476 caused the accumulation of the transcription factor FOXO3a in the nucleus, and this was paralleled by the upregulation of mRNA coding for autophagic genes. Surprisingly, silencing of CK1α by RNA interference triggered the autophagic flux. However, FOXO3a did not shuttle into the nucleus and the transcription of autophagy-related FOXO3a-dependent genes was not observed. Thus, while the chemical inhibition with the dual CK1α/δ inhibitor D4476 induced cell death as a consequence of an accumulation of ineffective autophagic vesicles, on the opposite, CK1α silencing, although it also determined apoptosis, triggered a full activation of the early autophagic flux, which was then not supported by the upregulation of autophagic genes. Taken together, our results indicate that the family of CK1 kinases may profoundly influence MM cells survival also through the modulation of the autophagic pathway

The small GTPase RhoU lays downstream of JAK/STAT signaling and mediates cell migration in multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a post-germinal center B-cell neoplasm, characterized by the proliferation of malignant bone marrow plasma cells, whose survival and proliferation is sustained by growth factors and cytokines present in the bone marrow microenvironment. Among them, IL-6 triggers the signal downstream of its receptor, leading to the activation of the JAK/STAT pathway. The atypical GTPase RhoU lays downstream of STAT3 transcription factor and could be responsible for mediating its effects on cytoskeleton dynamics. Here we demonstrate that RHOU is heterogeneously expressed in primary multiple myeloma cells and significantly modulated with disease progression. At the mRNA level, RHOU expression in myeloma patients correlated with the expression of STAT3 and its targets MIR21 and SOCS3. Also, IL-6 stimulation of human myeloma cell lines up-regulated RHOU through STAT3 activation. On the other hand, RhoU silencing led to a decrease in cell migration with the accumulation of actin stress fibers, together with a decrease in cyclin D2 expression and in cell cycle progression. Furthermore, we found that even though lenalidomide positively regulated RhoU expression leading to higher cell migration rates, it actually led to cell cycle arrest probably through a p21 dependent mechanism. Lenalidomide treatment in combination with RhoU silencing determined a loss of cytoskeletal organization inhibiting cell migration, and a further increase in the percentage of cells in a resting phase. These results unravel a role for RhoU not only in regulating the migratory features of malignant plasma cells, but also in controlling cell cycle progression