Sustainable water management in Iraq (Kurdistan) as a challenge for governmental responsibility

During the last few decades, a critical scarcity of water has occurred in the Middle East due to climate change and the mismanagement of water resources. The situation is complicated by the absence of an effective legislative framework at the local level as well as by the incapability and disrepute of the local water authorities. Most Iraqi citizens depend on the surface waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have their sources in upstream neighbouring countries. Water crises concerning the shared waters urgently require a solution at the international level. Unfortunately, Iraq has faced several wars in a row (1980-2003), which has prevented the country from establishing its institutions. The rapid increase in the population of the transboundary countries on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and the high demands on agriculture, are accelerating water exploitation. In this paper, the present state of water management in Iraq from the viewpoint of the legislative framework, water balance, and transboundary issues will be discussed, with special attention to Kurdistan. Many legislative documents have been established or amended by the Iraqi and Kurdistan parliaments since 2003. In 2015, the Kurdistan Government Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, in cooperation with the EU, issued a guide for environmental legislation related to all environmental components such as air, water, and soil. The recommendations on actions needed in the water management in Kurdistan will be presented; they are inspired by the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) implemented in EU member states.Web of Science1011art. no. 165

Redesigning the Schedule Time Slots for Qatar University to Cope with Local Specificities

This study is concerned with the redesign of the class meeting pattern at Qatar University. It examines the existing meeting pattern based on its operational efficiency, its alignment with the strategic plan of the University, and its perception by the students and the faculty members. The analysis reveals serious limitations and shows the need for a new pattern with a full non-teaching day and no one-hour lectures. A capacity analysis proves the feasibility of such a pattern. Taking into consideration the specifications of the Qatari society, it was judged that the non-teaching day be split in two-half days. The present research recognizes the distinction between scheduling and class meeting patterns and aims to address the under-researched theme of having the meeting pattern as a variable rather than just an input to scheduling

Strangeness production at finite temperature and baryon density in an effective relativistic mean field model

We study the strangeness production in hot and dense nuclear medium, by requiring the conservation of the baryon density, electric charge fraction and zero net strangeness. The hadronic equation of state is investigated by means of an effective relativistic mean field model, with the inclusion of the full octet of baryons and kaon mesons. Kaons are considered taking into account of an effective chemical potential depending on the self-consistent interaction between baryons. The obtained results are compared with a minimal coupling scheme, calculated for different values of the anti-kaon optical potential and with non-interacting kaon particles. In this context, we also consider the possible onset of the kaon condensation for a wide range of temperatures and baryon densities.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Controversial debates about workforce nationalisation: Perspectives from the Qatari higher education industry

Workforce nationalisation in the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries is a crucial challenge for their development plans. The current study explores controversial debates about workforce nationalisation to understand the existing threats from the views of less examined key stakeholders, namely, educators and senior students. The study argues that the identified obstacles relate not only to policy flaws but also to the education – employability gap, phantom employment, and detrimental social and community perceptions. Given its exploratory nature, the study adopts a qualitative approach and uses 28 semi-structured interviews to identify critical obstacles to effective workforce nationalisation from human development, legal development, and socio-cultural perspectives. The findings contribute to the literature on GCC workforce nationalisation by unpacking educators’ and senior students’ views

Analysis of Nonsequential Double Ionization Using Virtual Detector Theory with Path Summation

We apply the virtual detector method, which is based on non-destructive numerical quantum detections and the propagation of Bohmian-like classical particles, to study in an ab initio way the nonsequential ionization dynamics of a model two-electron atom with helium character. Single- and double-ionization events are characterized and displayed using detector signals measured at different points in the two-electron two-dimensional position-space. The double photoelectron momentum distribution is calculated via coherent path-summation over virtual particle trajectories. Insights into different ionization and electron recollision pathways are gained from detailed virtual particle tracking and energy-time readouts. This study demonstrates a new extension of our application of virtual detector theory to strong-field multi-electron quantum dynamics.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Development of Gulf Cooperation Council human resources: an evidence-based review of workforce nationalization

Purpose – This study aimed to contribute to the field of Human Resource Management (HRM) by providing a critical review of existing scholarly research and a thematic analysis of the workforce nationalization domain in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. To strengthen the literature on this topic, it seeks to identify key gaps and areas for further exploration. Design/methodology/approach – A two-step systematic research methodology (qualitative and quantitative) and a thematic analysis of empirical and theoretical studies were used in this study. The quantitative review was conducted using a predesigned coding framework. Findings – The study identified and discussed four perspectives of workforce nationalization in the GCC countries. These were (1) the conceptualization of workforce nationalization; (2) the role of institutional policies in achieving it; (3) the practices and outcomes of nationalization efforts and (4) the impact of gender and women in the nationalization process. Research limitations/implications – This study has several limitations, which the authors have addressed by proposing several future research avenues. For example, the reviewed studies are skewed toward certain countries (e.g. UAE and Saudi Arabia), which limits the generalizability of their findings. Practical implications – A more comprehensive definition of nationalization, development of qualitative and quantitative measures to enhance HRM practices and outcomes, and the identification of alternative approaches to improve the employment of locals are emphasized as needs. Additionally, revised measures and mechanisms to rectify negative perceptions about entitlement and the revision of policies to integrate females in the national labor force are suggested. Originality/value – Workforce nationalization initiatives in the GCC region offer a unique and rich research phenomenon replete with managerial, organizational, economic and political dilemmas. The investigation of this phenomenon would profoundly enlighten employers, policymakers and scholars. Keywords GCC countries, Workforce nationalization, Localization, Human resource management Paper type Literature revie

Factors influencing public attitudes toward paid online newspaper subscriptions- a field study

Despite the implementation of new business models in several Western media organizations, most Arab newspapers have not yet explored these models, and little is known about public attitudes towards their willingness to pay for online news. The study sought to identify factors that encourage the public to pay. It was applied to a sample of 530 newspaper consumers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. The study concluded that there are unfavorable trends in the public regarding their interest in following up on the news and did not show willingness for paying for online news. Most of them prefer to pay for entertainment materials. The study found that demographic variables such as age and income were important indicators of the public’s willingness to pay. Most respondents were not yet exposed to the paywall and anticipated difficulty in implementing the culture of paying for online news in Arab societies. They also expected that many print newspapers will disappear in the near future, and the idea of paying for online news was not seen favorably

A piecewise-linear reduced-order model of squeeze-film damping for deformable structures including large displacement effects

This paper presents a reduced-order model for the Reynolds equation for deformable structure and large displacements. It is based on the model established in [11] which is piece-wise linearized using two different methods. The advantages and drawbacks of each method are pointed out. The pull-in time of a microswitch is determined and compared to experimental and other simulation data.Comment: Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association (http://irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/16838

Sustainable issues in low-middle income apartments in urban Amman/Jordan: heating devices and health concerns

Energy security constitutes a major challenge for sustainable development of the Kingdom of Jordan. This has led the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to integrate a comprehensive energy master plan for developing the energy sector by 2029. Of the total residential energy consumption, 61% is consumed for heating spaces. GHG emissions produced by domestic stock in Jordan are anticipated to increase by 59% by 2018. Most households heat their houses using traditional devices such as portable unflued kerosene and LPG stoves. Combustion of such heaters generates toxic by-products causing symptoms and illness among residents as a result of poor indoor air quality. This paper discusses aforementioned issues in view of urban low-middle income apartments in the capital Amman, aiming towards investigating types of stoves used and health implications associated with using them. A representative sample of 106 low-middle income households in urban Amman have been surveyed, through semi-structured interviews, to explore how they responded to the environmental conditions. Results showed that unflued kerosene and LPG stoves were used for heating spaces by around 39% and 89% of the total surveyed households, respectively. It was also found that almost 65% of them used more than one device for heating their apartments. Furthermore, around 50% of those households reported different health problems related to asthma which could partially be due to the use of these heating devices. The field study also showed that almost 75% of households lived in apartments constructed with external envelopes of cement hollow blocks leading to poorer fabric performance. The paper concludes with calling for thrift retrofit interventions for existing low-middle income apartments and raising inhabitants’ awareness towards the proper use of stoves. This would enhance their thermal comfort, reduce carbon emissions and help improve residents’ quality of life, which eventually would contribute in ameliorating related health issues