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Grammaticalization and Degrammaticalization in an Arabic Existential Particle šay
No full textAgainst the usual assumption that Arabic grammatical operators based on reflexes of šay derive from the Arabic word for 'thing' šayʔ, it is argued here that indefinite quantifiers and partitives instead derive from an existential particle šay that is present in some spoken Arabic dialects of the Arabian Gulf, Oman, and the Yemen. The ambiguity of the existential particle in constructions in which it sets off items in a series lends itself to its reanalysis as a quantifier, and its ambiguity as a quantifier motivates its reanalysis as a partitive. This is consistent with grammaticalization theory, whereby lexical forms give rise to grammatical forms, which themselves give rise to even more grammatical forms. Yet, existential šay likely did not arise from a lexical form. Instead, it is either a borrowing from Modern South Arabian or it is an inherited Semitic feature, ultimately deriving from an attention-focusing demonstrative. Either way, the grammaticalization of a quantitative šī/šē/šay cannot have proceeded directly from word 'thing'. To the contrary, the word šayʔ meaning 'thing' can easily derive from an indefinite quantifier or partitive šay, in a process of degrammaticalization
Development and Evaluation of Nano-silica Sustainable Concrete
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Civil Engineering by Habib Hassan Abdulla Alqamish entitled, "Development and Evaluation of Nano-silica Sustainable Concrete," submitted in May 2017. Thesis advisor is Dr. Adil Tamimi. Soft and hard copy available.The concrete industry is one of the main contributors in the emission of carbon dioxide. Yet, it is the most used man-made material. In the past few decades, different pozzolanic materials were used as a partial replacement of Portland cement. These materials played a major role in reducing the carbon footprint associated with the production of Portland concrete. Furthermore, they greatly improved the concrete's strength and durability. However, these materials are also responsible of causing significant shortcomings to the concrete such as the slow rate of strength development. In the last decade, the nanomaterials made a major breakthrough in the concrete industry in terms of reinforcing the concrete with unique properties. In this study, 1% and 2% dosages of nano-silica were added to concrete mixtures that contain 30% and 70% ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) dosages. Adding 1% of nano-silica to the 30% GGBS concrete mixture showed an increase in the compressive strength by 13.5%, 7.8%, 8.1%, and 2.2% at 1-day, 3-day, 7-day, and 28-day, respectively. The 2% of nano-silica increased the 30% GGBS concrete mixture's compressive strength less effectively by 4.3%, 7.6%, and 4.9% at 3-day, 7-day, and 28-day, respectively, when compared to the 1% dosage. On the other hand, adding 1% and 2% of nano-silica reduced the 70% GGBS concrete mixtures' compressive strength. Moreover, nano-silica reduced the deformability of the mixtures significantly which caused the increase in the Young's modulus. The flexural strength of the 30% GGBS concrete mixtures had similar behavior as the 28-day compressive strength. On the other hand, the flexural strength of the 70% GGBS concrete mixtures increased as the nano-silica's dosage increased. Nano-silica addition improved the microstructure and the interface structure of the mixtures due to its high pozzolanic activity and the nano-filler effect which is confirmed by the rapid chloride permeability test's (RCPT) results, and the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Life-365 service life modeling showed that the 1% and 2% dosages of nano-silica extended the service life of the 30% GGBS concrete mixtures by 2.5 and 4.9 years and the 70% GGBS concrete mixtures by 11.2 and 24.7 years, respectively.College of EngineeringDepartment of Civil EngineeringMaster of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE
ELT Teachers' Perspectives on the Discussion of Culturally Sensitive Topics in the United Arab Emirates
No full textA Master of Arts thesis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) by Omnia Tharwat El-Sakran entitled, "ELT Teachers' Perspectives on the Discussion of Culturally Sensitive Topics in the United Arab Emirates," submitted May 2017. Thesis advisor is Dr. Rana Raddawi. Soft and hard copy available.This study examines secondary school teachers' perceptions towards the discussion of culturally sensitive topics in three private schools that are located in the Emirate of Ajman, the Emirate of Dubai and the Emirate of Sharjah, all located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It looks at teachers' perceptions on the relationship between culture and language and whether English can be taught without covering its cultural aspects. It also investigates the implications of discussing such topics on the teachers' career path. Besides, it questions whether there are consequences on the students' cognitive skills when teachers cover taboo topics in classrooms. Data were gathered through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with the three private school teachers, analysis of some of the teachers' open ended answers, and interviews with a senior Ministry of Education (MoE) teacher trainer and a female English teacher who works at one of the schools. Findings indicated general positive teachers' attitudes towards the strong connection between language and culture. Results also show the reasons behind teachers' decisions of covering or ignoring sensitive topics. They also revealed that some teachers might avoid covering culturally sensitive topics to be on the safe side; that is in order not to jeopardize their career paths. Results also revealed that teaching the culture of the language and covering its sensitive topics have positive impacts on the student's cognitive skills. This study concludes with some pedagogical recommendations and suggestions for further research.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of EnglishMaster of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL
Urban Resilience and Planning Support Systems: The Need for Sentience
No full textDeveloping resilience in built human environments is a complex undertaking. It requires decision support tools that can convey complexities in meaningful and understandable ways. Building smart cities and generating big data, however, is not enough. In order to improve decision-making and ultimately inform resilient communities we need to be able to translate big data at scales and in ways that are useful and approachable. In this paper we argue that creating more resilient communities calls for planning support systems (PSSs) that go beyond the ones we have today. We call for PSSs that possess a greater degree of sentience—that (a) possess a greater awareness of application context and user needs; (b) are capable of iterative learning; (c) are capable of spatial and temporal reasoning; (d) understand rules; and (e) are accessible and interactive. We consider the questions: How might intelligent or sentient information delivery systems allow for more strategic, context-aware, resilient, and ultimately sustainable communities? What primary design considerations would make such a system possible and useful given that, as of yet, no technology exists that is fully “sentient?
Measurement of Vigilance Using EEG Source Localization
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Electrical Engineering by Salma Khaled Mohamad Zeid entitled, "Measurement of Vigilance Using EEG Source Localization," submitted in November 2017. Thesis advisor is Dr. Hasan Al-Nashash and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Hasan Mir. Soft and hard copy available.Vigilance, or sustained attention, is crucial for jobs where attentiveness for prolonged times is required. These jobs include air traffic control, luggage inspection, and surveillance jobs. Vigilance decrement can cause catastrophic consequences. Therefore, vigilance level assessment is a widely-researched topic. Several methods have been used to assess vigilance levels such as eye tracking techniques which include monitoring saccadic eye movements and pupil size variation. Other methods used are heart rate variability, and physiological data such as electrocardiogram (ECG), electro-oculogram (EoG) and electroencephalogram (EEG). EEG data has been found to have strong correlations with human's vigilance level. This thesis report presents a novel method for the assessment of vigilance decrement using EEG data that embarks upon the brain's temporal behavior. An experiment based on a 20 to 30-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), that simulates real applications where vigilance decrement is observed, was carried out on 33 subjects and their EEG recordings and reaction times were collected. In the PVT task, subjects were required to respond to target events while refraining from non-target events. Vigilance reinforcement by challenge integration was tested where 22 out of the 33 subjects had an additional task where they had to respond to noisy target events. The spectral power density characteristics namely the delta, theta, alpha and beta waves of the EEG data are compared for low and high vigilance states. Furthermore, EEG source localization is utilized to monitor source dynamics of the brain in transition from vigilance states. Results from both methods are analyzed using Student's t-test with the significance threshold set at 0.1. Power spectral density analysis showed that power in AF8 electrode in delta, theta and alpha bands increased with vigilance decrement with p-values .023, .079 and .020 respectively. The source localization approach showed an increase in prefrontal source distribution with vigilance decrement with p-value of .015. The joint probability function of the prefrontal delta, theta and alpha bands as well as the source dynamics of prefrontal activity showed promise in constructing a vigilance assessment model to identify vigilance state from labeled data by yielding an 84.85% accurate detection.College of EngineeringDepartment of Electrical EngineeringMaster of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE
The relative effects of isolated and combined structures input and structured output on the acquisition of the English causative forms
No full textThe present study explores the effects of structured input and structured output when delivered in isolation or in combination on the acquisition of the English causative. Research investigating the effects of processing instruction and meaning output-based instruction has provided some interesting and sometimes conflicting results. Additionally, there are a number of issues (e. g., measuring a combination of structured input and structured output, measuring discourse-level effects) that have not been fully and clearly addressed. To provide answers to the questions formulated in this study, two classroom experiments were carried out. In the first study, fifty-four Chinese university students (age 18–20) participated. The participants were randomly assigned to four groups: structured input only group (n=13); structured output only group (n=15); combined structured input and structured output group (n=16); control group (n=10). In the second study, thirty school-age Greek learners (age 10–12) participated. The participants were randomly assigned to three groups: structured input only group (n=10); structured output only group (n=10); combined structured input and structured output group (n=10). Only subjects who participated in all phases of each experiment and scored lower than 60 % in the pre-tests were included in the final data collection. Instruction lasted for three hours. The control group received no instruction on the causative structure. Interpretation and production tasks were used in a pre-test and post-test design. The design included a delayed post-test battery (3 weeks after instruction) for both experiments. In the first study, the assessment tasks included an interpretation and production task at sentence-level, and an interpretation task at discourse-level. In the second study, an additional discourse-level production task was adopted along with the interpretation discourse-level task. The results indicated that learners who received structured input both in isolation and in combination benefitted more than learners receiving structured output only. These two groups were able to retain instructional gains three weeks later in all assessment measures
Thermo-economic analysis of an integrated solar power generation system using nanofluids
No full textIn this paper, a thermo-economic analysis of an Integrated Solar Regenerative Rankine Cycle (ISRRC) is performed. The ISRRC consists of a nanofluid-based Parabolic Trough Solar Collector (PTSC), and a Thermal Energy Storage System (TES) integrated with a Regenerative Rankine Cycle. The effect of dispersing metallic and non-metallic nanoparticles into conventional heating fluids on the output performance and cost of the ISRRC is studied for different volume fractions and for three modes of operation. The first mode assumes no storage, while the second and the third assume a storage system with a storage period of 7.5 h and 10 h respectively. For the modes of operation with the TES, the charging and discharging cycles are explained. The results show that the presence of the nanoparticles leads to an increase in the overall energy produced by the ISRRC for all modes of operation, causing a decrease in the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LEC), and an increase in the net savings of the ISRRC. After comparing the three modes of operation, it is established that the existence of a storage system leads to a higher power generation, and a lower LEC; however, the efficiency of the cycle drops. It is seen that the maximum increase in the annual energy output of the ISRRC caused by the addition of Cu nanoparticles to Syltherm 800 is approximately 3.1%, while the maximum increase in the net savings is about 2.4%
MaterialNature: An Opportunistic Paradigm of Architecture and Landscape Ecology
No full textIn this space, small-scale coastal erosion, and natural growth become the vehicle for project based architectural speculation that leverages the resources of local landscapes and creates a new architectural trajectory based upon the need and aesthetic of ecology. Here, MaterialNature is a series of architectural entities that become landscapes over time, made from a mixture of residual materials designed specifically to be weatherized. Its design is intended to provide a potential architectural amenity in areas of recreational activity as well as areas devoid of human contact, while simultaneously realizing a potential for architecture to be born from waste or local material, and to return to nature without providing further waste. As such, this architecture moves from one of formal composition to one where the formal characteristics of local ecology and landscape become more apparent than the form itself
Liposomes as a Promising Ultrasound-Triggered Drug Delivery System in Cancer Treatment
No full textThe initial uses of ultrasound waves in the medical field were limited to the thermal ablation of solid tumors and as a diagnostic tool. Recent advances at the preclinical stage have allowed the use of ultrasound as a powerful tool to improve drug delivery when the agent is administered encapsulated inside a nanoparticle. This spatial and temporal control of drug release, using a non-invasive modality, is a promising approach to decrease the side effects of conventional chemotherapy in cancer treatments, as it reduces the interaction of the anti-neoplastic agent with healthy tissues. In this review, we explain the physics of ultrasound, introduce and discuss several examples on the use of nanoparticles as drug carriers, with a focus on liposomes. Examples of in vitro and in vivo studies are presented and discussed.American University of Sharja
Parental Transfers and Fertility: Does the Recipient's Gender Matter?
No full textThis paper examines the role of parental transfers on family size. We introduce a simple theoretical model of fertility decision where preferences towards children may differ between female and male spouses. Parental transfers increase both the household income and the bargaining power of the recipient spouse. Therefore, transfers from wife's and husband's parents may have dissimilar effects on the number of children. We empirically test and confirm this hypothesis using a unique household-level data for Japan. In particular, received transfers from the wife's parents reduce the demand for children. In contrast, both received and expected transfers from the husband's parents increase the demand for children. These results hold important policy implications