Performance of Large-Scale Gezira Irrigation Scheme and its Implications for Downstream River Nile Flow

Policy makers adopt irrigated agriculture for food security, since irrigation doubles crop production. Therefore, the development of large irrigation systems has a long history in many places worldwide. Although large-scale irrigation schemes play an important role in improving food security, many schemes, especially in Africa, do not yield the expected outcomes. This is related to poor water management, which is generally due to a lack of effective evaluation and monitoring. The objective of this study, therefore, is to propose a new methodology to assess, evaluate and monitor large-scale irrigation systems. Information on irrigation indicators is needed to enable the evaluation of irrigation performance. The evaluation is the first and the most significant step in providing information about how it is performing. After reviewing extensive literature, a list of indicators related to the performance of irrigation, rainwater supply and productivity is suggested. The irrigation efficiency indicators Relative Irrigation Supply (RIS) and Relative Water Supply (RWS) are selected. Potential rainwater supply to crops can be tested based on the Moisture Availability Index (MAI) and the Ratio of Moisture Availability (RMA). Water productivity can be assessed by Crop Yield (Y) and Water Use Efficiency (WUE). However, the central problem facing large-scale irrigation schemes is always the lack of data, which calls for the development of a new method of data acquisition that allows evaluation and monitoring. Remote Sensing (RS) technology makes it possible to retrieve data across large areas. Two different approaches via RS, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Actual Evapotranspiration (ETa), can be utilized for monitoring. The well-known Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), derived from the NDVI, is modified (MVCI) to allow a qualitative spatio-temporal assessment of irrigation efficiency. MVCI takes into account crop response to water availability, while ETa indicates whether water is used as intended. Furthermore, the assessment of the possible hydrological impact of the irrigation system should be considered in the evaluation and monitoring process. The Sudanese Gezira Scheme of 8,000 square kilometers in the Nile Basin, where performance evaluation and monitoring are absent or poorly conducted, is no exception. This research takes the large-scale irrigation of the Gezira Scheme as a case study, as it is the largest scheme, not only in the Nile Basin but also in the world, under single management. The first long-term historical evaluation of the scheme is conducted for the period 1961–2012 rather than only on a short-time scale as is the common practice. An increase in RIS and RWS values from 1.40 and 1.70 to 2.23 and 2.60, respectively, since the 1993/94 season shows decreasing irrigation efficiency. MAI and RMA for summer crops indicate a promising rainfall contribution to irrigation in July and August. The Gezira Scheme achieves low yield and WUE in comparison to many irrigation schemes of the globe. Low productivity is mainly due to poor distribution and irrigation mismanagement. This is indicated by the 15-year MVCI spatio-temporal analysis, which shows that the northern part of the scheme experiences characteristic drought during the summer crop season. Although MVCI can be considered a monitoring tool, the index does not deduct the soil water content, and water could be wasted and available in other ways (e.g. water depressions). Spatio-temporal information for ETa is required to better quantify water depletion and establish links between land use and water allocation. However, several RS models have been developed for estimating ETa. Thus, improving the understanding of performance of such models in arid climates, as well as large-scale irrigation schemes, is taken into account in this study. Four different models based on the energy balance method, the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL), Mapping EvapoTranspiration at High Resolution with Internalized Calibration (METRIC™), Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) and MOD16 ET are applied in order to determine the optimal approach for obtaining ETa. Outputs from these models are compared to actual water balance (WB) estimates during the 2004/05 season at field scale. Several statistical measures are evaluated, and a score is given for each model in order to select the best-performing model. Based on ranking criteria, SSEB gives the best performance and is seen as a suitable operational ETa model for the scheme. SSEB subsequently is applied for summer and winter crop seasons for the period 2000–2014. Unfortunately, one of the limitations faced in the current research is the absence of validation data on a regional scale. Therefore, the assessment focuses on spatial distribution and trends rather than absolute values. As with the MVCI distribution, the seasonal ETa for the Gezira Scheme is higher in the southern and central parts than in the northern part. This confirms the robustness of the developed MVCI. To avoid using absolute values of ETa, the ratio of ETa from agricultural areas (ETagr) to the total evapotranspiration (ET) from the scheme (ETsum) is calculated. The ETagr/ETsum ratio shows a descending trend over recent years, indicating that the water is available but not being utilized for agricultural production. This study shows that SSEB is also useful for identifying the location of water losses on a daily basis. Around 80 channels are identified as having leakage problems for the 2013/14 crop season. Such information is very useful for reducing losses at the scheme. In addition, Rainwater Harvesting (WH) is addressed and found to be applicable as an alternative solution for accounting for rainfall in irrigation. It is seen that these management scenarios could save water and increase the overall efficiency of the scheme. It is possible to save 68 million cubic meters of water per year when the overall irrigation efficiency of the scheme is improved by only 1%. A level of efficiency of 75% is predicted from the proposed management scenarios, which could save about 2.6 billion cubic meters of water per year. In conclusion, the present study has developed an innovative method of identifying the problems of large-scale schemes as well as proposing management scenarios to enhance irrigation water management practice. Improved agricultural water management in terms of crop, water and land management can increase food production, thereby alleviating poverty and hunger in an environmentally sustainable manner

Tourist Experiences with the Service Quality of Sushi Restaurants in Norway: User Generated Content on TripAdvisor

One of the most significant aspects in determining a firm's achievement is its aptitude to satisfy customers with its goods and services. Consumer loyalty is something imperative that ought to be accomplished by the organization. Customers who are dissatisfied with the services they receive are more likely to abandon the business (Skrede & Tveteraas, 2019, pp. 1286-1301). The organization normally takes estimations to decide the degree of consumer loyalty with the goal that it can take a stab at the best service. According to Oklevik et al. (2019, pp. 1804-1824), reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy, and responsiveness are the five theme variables that can be used to measure service quality. User-generated content (UGC) about food has been the subject of recent research that has cast doubt on its credibility and relevance. In any case, diners’ both international tourists and local citizens do not just peruse and use data from the Web during their pre-booking decision process, they also in addition, post content on the Web during and post-dining stages. Moreover, these data are helpful and significant to other sushi restaurants' decision cycles, however, in various degrees. So, what makes a UGC useful, and who is it for? TripAdvisor customer feedback on restaurant experiences in Norway was gathered to comprehend these questions better. The findings confirm the existence of distinct traveler experience profiles about UGC restaurant-related topics. Likewise, the outcomes further build up the writing comparative with the significance of online web-based socials in the dynamic consumer cycle and the general eatery experience. This examination was directed in Norway, where the five variable factors were analyzed to determine which factors impacted consumer loyalty. The data for the study came from TripAdvisor's User-Generated Content (UGC), written by diners (both international tourists to Norway and local Norwegian citizens) at sushi restaurants about their dining experiences. SPSS was used to analyze the data. From the aftereffects of the study, it tends to be reasoned that reliability, tangibility, empathy, and responsiveness subjects impact consumer loyalty in Sushi cafés in Norway

The Role of Emirati Women during the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Challenges

Using a qualitative methodology of personal interviews and participant observation, this research investigates the role of Emirati women in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent impact/challenges. Research participants included female Emirati health care workers and educationists. We observed Emirati families to help better understand the challenges women went through during the pandemic. Contrary to existing narratives about the invisibility, docility, marginalization, victimhood, and dependency of Arab women, this research reveals that Emirati women were able to exercise agency in the fight against the pandemic due to the following factors: longstanding government empowerment of women, a sense of patriotism, supportive male relatives, and female dominance in the health and educational sectors. During the pandemic, Emirati women have contributed in the following ways as: volunteers; international aid workers; care givers; health information agents; and virtual teachers. Despite this, challenges abound because of the following: increased family conflict; domestic violence; the psychological toll of Covid-related deaths; economic challenges; and increased domestic responsibilities. The Emirati women’s case provides lessons for policy makers and societies desirous of women’s empowerment

The Arab people and the early Islamic period

This MA thesis, entitled The Arab People and The Early Islamic Period, has been written in response to the post 9/11 interest in the Arab people and early Islam among Western academics. It gives a brief account of pre-Islamic Arabia, the beginnings of Islam and the philosophies and ideologies contained in the religion in an attempt to address the following two fundamental questions: 1. Are there any real grounds for the widely-held perception of the Arab people as a backward race, uncivilised, fragmented, unwilling to develop and making no contribution to the international community? Does their history support this perception? 2. Do the origins of Islam and the way it developed and expanded during its earliest days support current criticisms that Islam itself is an inherently violent religion? A study of the theories of the Arabs as a Semitic race, their geographical distribution and civilisations, the tribes of pre-Islamic Arabia and the ruling powers which influenced the region up to the 6(^th) century will be presented, before an examination of the origins of Islam, from the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in AD 570 to the death of the fourth Caliph in AD 661. It was during this period that Islam reached its zenith as a religion. During this time the essential, fundamental Islam can be surveyed - before imperial Islam was born, before it was adapted to suit differing needs and before it fragmented into sects. All original knowledge of Islam came from this period, what followed merely being derivatives of it. By examining the nature of the expansion of Islam - whether it was spread by military force or through trade and missionaries - we attempt to address questions concerning the Prophet’s confrontations with the enemies of Islam. Were he and his caliphs impoverished, power-seeking imperialists or did they just respond to challenges resulting from what they saw as a duty to make the Prophet's ideology known to people? The conclusion will argue that the Arab people, those of pre-Islamic Arabia as well as those of today, are direct descendents of the early inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, bound by common history and language with no ancestral discontinuity. Arabia is the birthplace of the earliest civilisations and has always been the home of many religions and ideologies. This region has always played an important role in other civilisations, in terms of imperial expansion, trade and the exchange of ideas. Many of its qualities were adopted and encompassed within those other civilisations. That Arabia became the birthplace of Islam seems natural, given that it has always been a region rich in ideas. Its emergence was also timely, as the other two monotheistic religions had been, coming at just the right moment for humanity. Islam embraces other faiths and religions, does not call for the enslavement of mind or body and does not encourage violent acts. The negative perceptions of Arabs as anti-establishment and violent and of Islam as a dangerous religion which threatens humanity is ill-founded. The reactions to Islam currently being witnessed mirrors events of 7(^th) century when the Byzantine and Sassanian superpowers sought to secure land and natural resources under the pretext of ideological differences. It is likely that this region will always be a theatre of conflict, due to its geographical location as a crossroads between continents. This study is divided into the following four chapters (excluding introduction and conclusions):Chapter 1 ： Ancient Arabia and the World Leading to the 6(^th) Century Chapter 2: Prophet Muhammad and the Birth of Islam Chapter 3: The Rāshīdūn Period Chapter 4: Islam - The Ongoing Legacy. In surveying and summarising such a large span of time, from the early history of man up to the century, this work gives a broad overview rather than going into great detail on any of the topics covered. Whilst referring to other civilisations, such as ancient Egyptian, Greek and Persian where pertinent, this work focuses on the Arabian Peninsula and on the civilisations within that geographical region. In addition, there are few references from the time of the early Muslim expansion which reflect the opinions of opposing sides. References from the 9(^th) century onward are more widely available. Therefore, it was decided that presenting a history of the misrepresentation of Islam was beyond the scope of this MA. given that extensive research would need to be carried out in order to present an accurate, balanced account. This work is addressed to non-Arabic speaking readers. Regarding research, a decision was made to rely for sources on Western books and references easily available to examiners and readers. It was considered that the use of Arabic references could prove problematic, as understanding them without full knowledge of the Arabic language would be difficult. As there is no linguistic aspect to the scope of this thesis and given that it is addressed to non- Arabic speaking readers, a standardised simplified transliteration system has been used

Clay Mineralogy of the Soils above Basalt from Azraq Area , Jordan

Twelve clay samples were taken from three pits below the basaltic loose veneer rubble down to the basaltic bedrock in order to discuss the origin of the clay minerals in relation to the origin of the soil. The non-clay minerals present are: quartz, calcite and feldspar which are abundant in all soil samples. The basaltic bedrock as well as the loose fragments are made up of fresh basalt. There is a sharp contact between both the basalt fragments and the soil. The clay minerals are: palygorskite, kaolinite and a mixed-layer of illite/smectite. These were observed in the distribution of the clay minerals, and no transitional phases were observed along the pits. The clay minerals were formed by the effect of wind-blowing /detrital and transported. Consequently, soil accumulation north of Azraq Al-Druze seems to be wind blown and not due to basalt alterations

The Impact of the Perceived Services Quality on Customer Loyalty in the Jordanian Mobile Telecom Companies

This study aims to examine the impact of the perceived quality of the services provided by the Jordanian mobile telecom companies on customer loyalty, also this study aimed to determine the most important classifications of perceived quality measurement. A questionnaire has been used as a tool to collect data from the industrial companies. In addition, the study hypotheses were tested using a simple linear regression analysis. The study found out the existence of positive impact of the perceived services quality dimensions (Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Safety and Empathy) on customer loyalty, except responsiveness dimension, which did not show a statistically significant in this study. Hence, top management in these companies need to work on increase the interest of the tangible aspects of the service quality, and achieving the requirements responsiveness dimension, and reduce waiting times at the reception office and the telephone service centers

Factors Affecting Attitudes of Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors affecting attitude of undergraduate students toward students with disabilities. To achieve this purpose, Attitude Toward Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP) was administered on a sample consisted of 493 undergraduate students which were randomly selected from three Omani universities. The results of the study revealed that the general overall attitude of the participants were negative. Gender differences were detected. Female students scored significantly higher on the attitudes scale compared to their male counterparts. In addition, senior students attained higher scores compared to freshman, sophomore, and junior students

The Effect of Soiling and Periodic Cleaning on the Performance of Solar Power Plants in Ma’an, Jordan

Environmental variables such as soiling in the outdoor environment can affect the overall efficiency of solar plants in arid regions with scarce rain negatively. The reduction in power is caused by reducing the amount of solar energy absorbed by the solar panel itself. The cleaning process of the photovoltaic can contribute to a significant cost of the plant operation cost. The objective of this work is to study the effect of soiling and the periodic cleaning process of solar cells in Ma’an district, Jordan. Yearly degradation and performance were studied in outdoor exposure between January and November of 2017. The study found that based on a one cleaning process per month, the worst scenario will cause a power degradation of 2.99% with an average of 2.22% for the whole period of the study. Keywords:Solar energy in Jordan, Soiling and Cleaning, Performance ratio, Degradation, Photovoltaic solar panel

Attitudes of Pre-school Teachers towards Movement Education

Educators’ attitudes have drawn attention of researchers worldwide, where numerous studies have been conducted to explore the factors that influence educators’ attitudes toward educational topics in order to understand them and direct them in ways that contribute to the enhancement of the educational practices. In this study, we aimed to identify attitudes of early childhood educators in the Sultanate of Oman towards movement education, and to investigate the differences in attitudes according to nationality and qualification. The sample of this study consisted of 201 pre-school female educators in the Sultanate of Oman. The participants responded to Attitudes towards Movement Education Scale, which consisted of three dimensions (emotional, cognitive and behavioral). This scale was designed and modified for the purpose of this study. The results of this study revealed that the participants’ attitudes towards movement education were positive in general. The emotional dimension ranked first (87.7%), followed by the cognitive (82.6%) and behavioral dimensions (78.8%). The results also showed that there were differences in attitudes towards movement education due to educators’ nationality and educational levels