Factors and Impacts of Low Utilization of Internet: The Case of Arab Countries

The Arab countries are greatly behind in terms of their levels of Internet usage. The Arab countries are under pressures to adopt and promote digital transformation. Data in Arab countries are hard to get, resulting in paucity of understanding the factors that affect the use of Internet in Arab countries. This paper combines research from academic and major international organizational literature to examine and synthesize the current use of Internet in Arab Countries. The obstacles and the factors that affect the use and growth of Internet are language, government policies, culture, cost and technology. They are discussed with their impacts

Estradiol attenuates spinal cord injury-induced pain by suppressing microglial activation in thalamic VPL nuclei of rats.

In our previous study we showed that central pain syndrome (CPS) induced by electrolytic injury caused in the unilateral spinothalamic tract (STT) is a concomitant of glial alteration at the site of injury. Here, we investigated the activity of glial cells in thalamic ventral posterolateral nuclei (VPL) and their contribution to CPS. We also examined whether post-injury administration of a pharmacological dose of estradiol can attenuate CPS and associated molecular changes. Based on the results,in the ipsilateral VPL the microglial phenotype switched o hyperactive mode and Iba1 expression was increased significantly on days 21 and 28 post-injury. The same feature was observed in contralateral VPL on day 28 (P<.05). These changes were strongly correlated with the onset of CPS (r(2)=0.670). STT injury did not induce significant astroglial response in both ipsilateral and contralateral VPL. Estradiol attenuated bilateral mechanical hypersensitivity 14 days after STT lesion (P<.05). Estradiol also suppressed microglial activation in the VPL. Taken together, these findings indicate that selective STT lesion induces bilateral microglia activation in VPL which might contribute to mechanical hypersensitivity. Furthermore, a pharmacological dose of estradiol reduces central pain possibly via suppression of glial activity in VPL region

Foster care in Egypt: A study of policies, laws, and practice.

Foster care in Egypt is regulated by Ministry of Social Solidarity according to detailed procedures of the child law no 126 for the year 1996 and its amendments of the year 2008. The system combines features of western foster care as well as adoption with the guidelines of Islamic Kafalah system. Children who are deprived from parental care for any reason are eligible to enter the foster care system. This qualitative study analyses the child law against the UN guidelines on alternative care to identify legislative and procedural gaps. It also analyses the current field practices of how placement of children with foster families take place against what is actually mentioned in the child law to identify challenges and opportunities for the enhancement of the service. The study has shown significant discrepancies between practice and national and international legislation

SOCIOCULTURAL AND ACADEMIC ACCULTURATION CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED BY SAUDI FEMALE STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES

Coming from a completely different culture, Saudi female students encounter a number of challenges adapting to the American culture. These acculturation challenges may affect their academic, social, and life experiences in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore the acculturation challenges encountered by Saudi female students in the United States and their strategies to cope with their challenges. The study also aimed to investigate the roles of participants demographic variables and the historical changes in Saudi Arabia on their experiences in the United States. To achieve these objectives, a mixed methods research was adopted implementing an online survey and semi-structured interviews. Data were collected from 100 Saudi female students living and studying in different parts of the United States.Results showed that social challenges were the most difficult acculturation challenge encountered by Saudi female students in the United States, followed by cultural challenges and familial obligations. Discrimination challenges, on the other hand, appeared to be the least challenging issue facing Saudi female students in the United States. Coping with their different challenges, Saudi female students adopted a variety of strategies that helped them adjust to their new environment. Exploring the role of Saudi female students demographic variables on their acculturation challenges in the United States, participants demographic variables of age, living in big city or small town, previous overseas experiences, educational level, English skills self-rating, and marital status seemed to significantly influence Saudi female students experiences in the United States. However, there was no significant relationship between participants acculturation challenges and their regions of origins in Saudi Arabia, regions of residence in the United States, length of residence in the United States, and children. For the effect of the recent changes in Saudi Arabia on Saudi female students experiences in the United States and the way they perceive themselves, a number of positive aspects and effects were highlighted by the participants such as the empowerment of Saudi women, gaining more freedom, receiving equal job opportunities, and becoming stronger, more confident, more independent, and more excited to work hard and go back to Saudi Arabia

Study on Effect of Functional Competency on Performance of Indian Manufacturing Sector

India is one of the fastest emerging global manufacturing hub with a large number of firms shifting their manufacturing base to the country due to cheap labor and good supplier(s) base. Over the years, India has the largest number of companies, outside of Japan, that have been recognized for excellence in quality. As many as 21 companies have received the Deming Excellence awards; 153 companies have achieved Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Excellence Award for their total productivity management practices by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) committee (Source: IBEF, 2010). Here in this research article author(s) conducted an empirical survey among Indian manufacturing firms to understand how manufacturing competency effect the firm performance. It has been observed that manufacturing competency has negative impact on firm performance which is contradicting with the so far empirical studies conducted in European, Japanese and American countries. Here in this study authors provides in depth analysis to explain this negative impact and how this can lead to positive impact

Measuring indian patients' satisfaction : a case of private hospitals

Exposure to global markets and competitors has placed increasing demands on all sectors of the Indian market. Introducing consumer choice was one of the key motivations underpinning the various healthcare utility privatization of the Indian Hospitals in 1980s, along with enhancing the quality of ser­vice provided to consumers. Customer satisfaction is becoming increasingly important for organizational survival, let alone prosperity. This paper aims to study the effect of service facilities provided to patients in private hospitals of India. Suitable satisfaction drivers are identified from the literature and talks with experts. A new customer satisfaction index is discussed. This index is based on American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI}. The concept is developed specially for the private hospitals operating in New Delhi and NCR market of India. A survey was carried out and 180 responses were collected. Application of factor analysis for satisfaction drivers shows that these variables are well represented by four dimensions, viz. information, process, service and expectation. From the point of view of the user, an advantage of the new customer satisfaction index, which can be named the Patients Satisfaction Index (PSI}, is that the values of the coefficients of the satisfaction drivers give clear hints on potential improvements for researchers and practitioner

Seasonal dynamics of heavy metal uptake in some aquatic plants of the Tigris River

This work aimed to study the accumulation of heavy metals Cadmium, Lead, Chromium, and Nickel in different aquatic plants along the Tigris River. The research focused on the seasonal variations in heavy metal uptake by Phragmites australis, Typha domingensis, Persicaria salicifolia, Azolla filiculoides, and Ceratophyllum demersum. Samples were collected from three distinct locations along the river, each characterized by varied environmental conditions. Using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry, the quantified metal concentrations were measured, revealing significant differences across seasons and locations. The study provides crucial insights into the dynamics of heavy metal accumulation in riverine ecosystems, underscoring the role of environmental factors and plant species in metal uptake

Distributed Resource Allocation for D2D Multicast in Underlay Cellular Networks

We address the problem of distributed resource allocation for multicast communication in device-to-device (D2D) enabled underlay cellular networks. The optimal resource allocation is crucial for maximizing the performance of such networks, which are limited by the severe co-channel interference between cellular users (CU) and D2D multicast groups. However, finding such optimal allocation for networks with large number of CUs and D2D users is challenging. Therefore, we propose a pragmatic scheme that allocates resources distributively, reducing signaling overhead and improving network scalability. Numerical simulations establish the efficacy of the proposed solution in improving the overall system throughout, compared to various existing schemes