Faculty Members' Readiness for E-learning in the College of Basic Education in Kuwait

E-learning exposes students and instructors to different learning models such as constructivism rather than the traditional learning. E-learning as a part of today's technology has proven that it is appropriate for most students' mentalities and is a mind tool which promotes different learning models, such as problem solving strategy, collaborative learning, and critical thinking. The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) in Kuwait consists of more than 10 academic colleges with a total number of 120 faculty members. The College of Basic Education (CBE) is one of them. The implementation of e-learning at the College of Basic Education requires that all the learning community members, instructors and students, understand that an e-learning course is like a learning community with the privilege of sharing knowledge, opinions, experiences related to class subject, and productive outcomes that are beneficial to this learning community. This study indentified the statistically significant differences in demographic characteristics of e-learning adopters and non-adopters among faculty members at CBE, examining faculty members' attitudes and skills toward e-learning readiness. The study will explore perceived barriers that face e-learning at CBE. Applying the Rogers diffusion of innovation theory, the influence of 4 factors was examined regarding faculty readiness for e-learning at CBE. Chi-square techniques, t-tests, and factor analysis were conducted to analyze the data and answer research questions. Statistically significant differences were identified among e-learning adopters and non-adopters regarding age difference and department discipline, both technical and non-technical

Survival Rate of Patients with Cardiothoracic Injuries in Road Traffic Accidents, and their Relationship with ISS, GCS and blood transfusions.

Severe thoracic trauma is one of the major causes of injury-related mortality. In the United States, thoracic trauma results in one-fourth of all trauma deaths. Globally, cardiothoracic trauma is also a major contributor to mortality. The most common cardiothoracic injuries include rib fractures, thoracic vertebral fractures, haemothorax, pneumothorax, flail chest, and lung contusions. The purpose of the present study was to determine the survival rate of patients with cardiovascular injuries in road traffic accidents and its relationship with ISS, GCS and blood transfusions at King Khalid Hospital. This study is a useful addition to the literature, as research in this topic is lacking. A total of 189 patients were transported to the hospital with cardiothoracic injuries during the study period. Data was gathered regarding age, gender, nationality, vehicle user type, anatomical region injured, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), blood transfusion, treatment and mortality rate. The neurological status was assessed using the GCS score. Injury Severity Scores were calculated to categorize the injury severity. The mean patient age was 31.81 years, with a peak age of between 21–30 years. Males predominated (93.7%) with a male to female ratio of 15:1. Most of the patients were Saudi nationals (61.3%). Overall mortality was 7.9%. Factors that were significantly associated with mortality were head and neck involvement, ICU admission, age (above 60), treatment delivered, and blood transfusions. Cardiothoracic trauma is associated with a high mortality rate, which may depend on the clinical presentation such as GCS, ISS, degree of shock, pattern of injuries, and associated injuries. Immediate management is vital for patients with life-threatening cardiothoracic trauma, as mortality is high if the diagnosis is missed, wrong or left untreated

Quality of Life among Surgical Residents at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Surgical residency program is considered one of the toughest residency programs, which affects quality of life of the residents during training years. To date, no study has evaluated quality of life among residents, especially surgical residents here in Saudi Arabia. AIM: The objective of this study is to evaluate quality of life among surgical residents. METHODS: The study is a cross-sectional study conducted during September 2018 in King Khalid Hospital at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The study utilized the Work-Related Quality of Life, WRQoL, scale which measures perceived quality of life covering six domains: General Well-Being (GWB), Home-Work Interface (HWI), Job and Career Satisfaction (JCS), Control at Work (CAW), Working Conditions (WCS) and Stress at Work (SAW), in addition to demographic questions, asking about (age, gender, marital status, resident level, specialty, BMI, smoking, number of days of exercise per week, hours of sleep per day, on-calls per month, clinics per week, operations per week). RESULTS: Of the 99 surgical residents training at KAMC, 73 residents returned the survey with a response rate of 72.8%. The mean age of the residents was 28 ± 2.1 years with the mean BMI of 25 kg/m2. 54.8% were married, and 42.5% were smokers. Half of the residents (50.7%) working in King Abdulaziz Medical City have low work-related quality of life. In comparison between male and female residents’ overall Quality of life, there was no significant difference between them (p = 0.363). CONCLUSIONS: Our main study finding is that half of the residents (50.7%) working at KAMC has low work-related quality of life, and there is no significant difference between male and female residents. Further studies are needed to determine the causes and improve the work-related quality of life among surgical residents

Cloud Computing Delivery and Delivery Models: Opportunity and Challenges

The rapid growth of Internet and computing field results in several technological advantages. In the meanwhile, security challenges that emerge along with the growth complicate the aspects of cloud based computing. Security is by now one of the most pressing concerns in Internet business where cloud computing lies in. Cloud-based services are evolving each day introducing new business trends. Since cloud computing entails storage of information in remote servers, unauthorized access to such sensitive information becomes a looming concern. The advantages offered by cloud computing, without robust security measures and flexibility, could lead to lose its credibility. This paper reviews various aspects of cloud computing and issues inherent within its contexts. This paper has identified the gap within the topic of study through the creation of the conceptual framework, which is designed as the way of attempting to connect the different concepts. The intention of the theoretical framework is to determine the potential gaps in the research and link the gaps by the present study and its results. The delivery of both, the cloud computing as well as its models is a relatively new phenomenon within the academic libraries where the study is at the stages of nascent. The conceptual framework could not be comprehensive. Instead, it was a progressive work. Thus, this new topic could be added to form the branch within the theoretical framework. This article tries to look at different concepts of cloud computing as well as the issues, which are inherent within its contexts. It analyzes this part due to the advent and growth in the sector of cloud computing, which is developing the platform for the computing in the future

Cloud computing services and its Effect on tertiary education : Using google classroom

This paper examines the effectiveness of the Google Classroom App in learning for higher education institutions in Oman. The massive advancement in technology has contributed to changes in learning and delivery of learning resources in the classroom. Thus, it has saved the resources and reduced the cost of learning associated with the traditional learning model. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the students' perception about the cloud computing services accessibility, ease of use and usefulness by measuring the implementation effectiveness of Google Classroom as a mode of teaching. This study used quantitative approach mode to determine the effectiveness and the effect of using Google Classroom e-learning model, 225 completed questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS tool. Its evident that using Google Classroom for the learning is more effective and gained highest level of satisfaction among the learners. As a general result of this work students can use Google classroom in very comfortable and easy way really on the ability of online, remote, and time unconstrained conditions. The students also like to learn through the lecturer with the support of google classroom

Alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase enzyme inhibition and antioxidant potential of 3-oxolupenal and katononic acid isolated from Nuxia oppositifolia

Nuxia oppositifolia is traditionally used in diabetes treatment in many Arabian countries; however, scientific evidence is lacking. Hence, the present study explored the antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of the plant extracts and their purified compounds. The methanolic crude extract of N. oppositifolia was partitioned using a two-solvent system. The n-hexane fraction was purified by silica gel column chromatography to yield several compounds including katononic acid and 3-oxolupenal. Antidiabetic activities were assessed by α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition. Antioxidant capacities were examined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) scavenging assays. Further, the interaction between enzymes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) and ligands (3-oxolupenal and katononic acid) was followed by fluorescence quenching and molecular docking studies. 3-oxolupenal and katononic acid showed IC50 values of 46.2 µg/mL (101.6 µM) and 52.4 µg/mL (119.3 µM), respectively against the amylase inhibition. 3-oxolupenal (62.3 µg/mL or 141.9 µM) exhibited more potent inhibition against α-glucosidases compared to katononic acid (88.6 µg/mL or 194.8 µM). In terms of antioxidant activity, the relatively polar crude extract and n-butanol fraction showed the greatest DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity. However, the antioxidant activities of the purified compounds were in the low to moderate range. Molecular docking studies confirmed that 3-oxolupenal and katononic acid interacted strongly with the active site residues of both α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Fluorescence quenching results also suggest that 3-oxolupenal and katononic acid have a good affinity towards both α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes. This study provides preliminary data for the plant’s use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Effect of thermal comfort on occupant productivity in office buildings : response surface analysis

Thermal environment is one of the main factors that influence occupants' comfort and their productivity in office buildings. There is ample research that outlines this relationship between thermal comfort and occupant productivity. However, there is a lack of literature that presents mathematical relationship between them. This paper presents a research experimental study that investigates effects of indoor environmental quality factors on thermal comfort and occupant productivity. This study was conducted by collecting indoor environmental quality parameters using sensors and online survey for twelve months. Data analysis was done using Response Surface Analysis to outline any mathematical relationship between indoor environmental quality and occupant productivity. The outlined relationships confirmed dependencies of occupant thermal comfort and productivity on various indoor environmental factors. These dependencies include the effect of CO2 concentration, VOC concentration. These relationships were analysed to rank nine indoor environmental parameters as per the degree of effect on occupant thermal comfort and productivity. These findings would help design professionals to design better office design that would improve occupants’ comfort and their productivity. Study results have different implications for professionals working in design, construction and operation of office buildings. It is recommended that design guidelines for office buildings should consider occupant productivity and incorporate recommended range for indoor environmental quality parameters in respective categories and criteria

History of architecture in Kuwait: The evolution of Kuwaiti traditional architecture prior to the discovery of oil

This research examines the evolution of Kuwait\u27s architecture since its creation in the eighteenth century up to the discovery of oil in 1936. Using a chronological approach, this study discusses the spatial architectural and urban strategies, building materials and construction techniques, and styles over time. Chapters of this study examine how Kuwaiti architectural meanings changed in response to different social and cultural factors. This historical study intends to fill the gap that exists in the documentation of Kuwait\u27s history as it relates to architecture and urbanization prior to the discovery of oil. The existing literature on the subject of traditional architecture of Kuwait is fragmented and incomplete. While some studies focus on stylistic and technological accounts, existing literature is unsupported by sufficient data and conducted with little or no in depth examination of the relationship between built form and socio-cultural developments. This study clarified the complex and multi-faceted relationship between Kuwait\u27s built forms on the one hand, and its socio-cultural forces on the other. Besides giving an extensive description of Kuwaiti architecture, this study investigated the mechanisms that produced a specific and distinctive architecture in Old Kuwait

E-Learning Models: The Effectiveness of the Cloud-Based E-Learning Model over the Traditional E-Learning Model

This paper sought to understand the effectiveness of the traditional and cloud-based e-learning model. The growth of internet has been a game changer in the education sector. The internet has made it easy to for learners and educators to share information interactively, which is vital in enhancing education. Nonetheless, the storage of the content of learning has led to the adoption of cloud computing in the education sector in general and in higher education in particular. The adoption of cloud computing is in line with the objective of saving resources/saving costs and improving the interaction between students and the educators. Cloud-based learning has been slowly gaining popularity, with researchers arguing that it has the potential of replacing/improving the traditional e-learning model. It is worth noting safety (privacy and security) of information and data remains a huge priority for individuals who want to the e-learning model the best learning model for individuals learning from home and for education providers as well. The study utilizes a quantitative technique, where participants were drawn from two institutions. The respondents answered and presented a questionnaire for evaluation. Based on the results of the study, it was clear that the cloud-based e-learning model could effectively address the problems related to the traditional e-learning model. There is a need to improve the safety of the information contained in the e-learning platforms