33 research outputs found
Water Elites’ Perceptions of Water Security in the Middle East and North Africa Region
No full textThe Middle East and North African region continues to face significant water security challenges. The purpose of this dissertation is to gain a deeper understanding of water elites’ perceptions of water security in the MENA region. It is not meant to generalize the findings. Instead, the intention for the research is to identify, explain, and analyze by national elites\u27 contrasting perceptions in Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Tunisia.
The study examines water elites’ perceptions in four areas: current knowledge level of water security, water resource management, water service delivery, and water-related risk mitigation. These elites’ perceptions of water security will help to better align this discipline with other areas of MENA security studies such as cooperation between states; ethnic conflicts; hydro-hegemony; stabilization and nation-building; conflict, armament and regional security; and the nexus of diplomacy, development and defence; terrorism and none-state actors.
The study seeks to find out to what extent, if any, are there significant similarities and differences between water elites\u27 perceptions of the most critical factors affecting water security in the MENA region overall and in the countries within which they live therein specifically. The author concludes that demographics and national factors drive water elites\u27 perceptions of water security, as measured by perceptions of water resource management, water service delivery, and water-related risk mitigation, in the MENA region overall and in the countries where they live therein. This study adopted cross-country mixed-method research approach using the triangulation system
The effect of computer-based grammar instruction on the acquisition of verb tenses in an EFL context
No full textThis paper presents results from two experiments which used
computer-based grammar and teacher-driven grammar (chalk and
talk) instructional methods. Each method involves teaching verb
tenses using two deductive approaches (a) the initial rule-oriented
approach (involves initial presentation of explicit rules followed by
illustrative examples) and (b) the structure-guessing approach
(involves explicit presentation of rules in response to structureguessing
exercises). The effectiveness of these methods and
approaches are compared based on the results obtained from the
post-test administered at the end of the experiment. The results
reveal significant differences between the four groups in favor of
the computer-based grammar instructional method, and more
specifically the structure-guessing approach except for the present
perfect tense. However, the study shows that both methods
(computer-based and teacher-driven) and both approaches (the
initial rule-oriented and the structure-guessing) are effective in
teaching English verb tenses.Corresponding Author:
Dr. Ghaleb A. Rabab’ah, PhD
English Department, University of Jordan
Email: [email protected]
ASSESSMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES OF URINARY TUBERCULOSIS
No full textKhalid Ghaleb a,* , Magdy Afifib, Mohamad El-Gohary c
aDepartment of Medical Laboratories, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, King Khalid University, Bisha 551, Saudia Arabia
bDepartment of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assuit 71524, Egypt
cDepartment of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assuit, Egypt
• The corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] Current Tel: 00966595388496 Saudia, 00201119338055 Egypt
The place of the study worked : Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assuit 71524, Egypt, e-mail: [email protected] Tel: 00201006554961
Abstract
Early diagnosis of active tuberculosis remains an elusive challenge. In addition, one third of the world's population is latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and up to 10% of infected individuals develop tuberculosis (TB) in their lifetime. In this investigation, the incidence of urinary tuberculosis among renal patients was studied. Three hundreds urine samples were processed for detection of Mtb by Ziehl-Neelson (ZN) smear examination, Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) medium, radiometric BACTEC460 system as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA Enzyme Immunoassay (DEIA) test. Out of 300 urine samples, 2 were positive by both ZN smears and LJ medium with incidence rate of 0.66 %, 3 positive samples by BACTEC460 culture system with incidence of 1%. PCR assay gave more positive results than smear and culture examination (i.e. 8 positive samples with incidence rate of 2.6%). The specificities were 25% for both ZN smears and LJ medium, 37.5% for BACTEC460 culture system, and 100% for PCR test, while sensitivities of all assays were 100%. Thus PCR is a rapid and sensitive method for the early diagnosis of urinary tuberculosis.
Keywords:
List of abbreviations:Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB)-Base pair (bp)-DNA Enzyme Immunoassay (DEIA) -Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis (EPTB)-International Union Against Tuberculosis (IUAT)-Lowenstein Jensen (LJ)-Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) -Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-Tuberculosis (TB)-Urinary Tuberculosis (UTB-Urogenital Tuberculosis (UGTB)-Ziehl-Neelson (ZN
The Romanian Civil War: A Theoretical Discussion On The Proximate Causes of Violence
No full textThe paper is a theoretical account of the Romanian Revolution viewed from the eyes of an American international security strategist who recounts his childhood in Romania. The author believes that the unresolved nature of the violence during the revolution discouraged many historians and political scientists from applying genuine theoretical foundations to the study of a sustained conflict that resulted in 1,104 official deaths and 3,352 wounded. Ultimately, the author suggests, the proximate causes of the violence in 1989 provide sufficient evidence to define the revolution as a coup related civil war. The fact that a conflict that meets the casualty element of the civil war definition does not attract the attention of the academia is an injustice not only against the families of the victims of the conflict, but also against the study of contemporary history itself
Natural Gas as an Instrument of Russian State Power
No full textThis monograph is meant to provide an unbiased examination of: the scarcity of natural gas in the contemporary security environment; the salience of natural gas in Russia’s national security strategies; and, the natural gas pipeline politics in Eastern and Central Europe. While the tendency of most energy security scholars has been to collectively analyze Europe’s dependency on oil and gas, this author analyzes the two energy markets separately, and demonstrates that natural gas is a more potent instrument of coercion in the contemporary security environment than oil was in the traditional security environment. Sufficient evidence is also provided that Russia continues to perceive NATO as a hostile alliance, and that future natural gas disruption by Russia—who holds a monopoly on the supply of natural gas via pipeline to Eastern and Central Europe—will prove deadly to the economies of many NATO member states. The salience of natural gas as an instrument of state power is emphasized in Russia’s negotiations with Ukraine; this monograph credits the 2006 and 2009 gas wars between the two nations as the main causes for the failure of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. Ultimately, today, Russia uses the same tools it used in Ukraine—in the context of natural gas negotiations—to bribe Western European nations; to divide the NATO Alliance; and to rule over its traditional sphere of influence in Eastern and Central Europe. Finally, the author emphasizes that with the Russian construction of Nord Stream and South Stream natural gas pipelines, and unless alternatives to Russian natural gas are found, it is only a matter of time until Russia will use natural gas as an instrument of coercion against NATO member states.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1332/thumbnail.jp
Persuasion in Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump\u27s Presidential Debates: A Critical Discourse Analysis
No full textThe present study aims to provide a critical discourse analysis of the persuasion tactics, power distribution, and the ideological stands in the American presidential debates of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The methodology adopted in this study was based on Fairclough\u27s model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (1995). The thorough analysis of the debates revealed strong dichotomy and contested ideological stands, dissimilar power distribution, and the use of varying persuasive tools of both candidates on all the issues of concern such as immigration, economy, human rights, etc. The author recommends further investigation of the presidential debates across varying cultures based on Fairclough\u27s model of CDA
Tarık Minkari ve Eserleri Hakkında Bir Değerlendirme
No full textTürk edebiyatında cerrah-yazar' olarak tanınan Tarık Minkari anı, gezi ve mizah türünde eserler vermiştir. Yazar, daha çok gezi türünde eserler vermiştir. Anı eserlerinde genellikle mesleği ön plana çıkarken, gezi eserlerinde ise okuyucuyu adeta dünya turuna çıkarır. Yazarın mizah eserleri, diğer eserlerinden derlenmiştir. Cerrahlıkta olduğu kadar yazarlıkta da başarısını gösteren Minkari, edebiyatımıza önemli eserler kazandırmıştır. Çalışmamızda Minkari'nin eserleri incelenmiş, genellikle hangi yönünün ön planda olduğunun üzerinde durulmuştur. Bu çalışmanın anı, mizah ve gezi türleri ile ilgili yapılacak araştırmalarda da önemli bir kaynak olacağı düşüncesindeyiz.Tarık Minkari, has given works in the type of memory trip and humor who is known as a surgeon writer in literature. The author has given more work in the type of trip. While he take over generally with his job in the memory works, he almost go on a world tour to reader in the trip works. His humor works complied from his other works. Minkari has gained the important works to our literature who has shown that as much as in surgery's success in writing. İn our study, this works are examined and emphasized which that is at the forefront of which direction. We are thinking this study would be an important source at the researches about types of memory, humor and trip
An Evaluatıon About Tarık Minkari And Hıs Works
No full textTürk edebiyatında cerrah-yazar' olarak tanınan Tarık Minkari anı, gezi ve mizah
türünde eserler vermiştir. Yazar, daha çok gezi türünde eserler vermiştir. Anı eserlerinde
genellikle mesleği ön plana çıkarken, gezi eserlerinde ise okuyucuyu adeta dünya turuna
çıkarır. Yazarın mizah eserleri, diğer eserlerinden derlenmiştir. Cerrahlıkta olduğu kadar
yazarlıkta da başarısını gösteren Minkari, edebiyatımıza önemli eserler kazandırmıştır.
Çalışmamızda Minkari'nin eserleri incelenmiş, genellikle hangi yönünün ön planda
olduğunun üzerinde durulmuştur. Bu çalışmanın anı, mizah ve gezi türleri ile ilgili yapılacak
araştırmalarda da önemli bir kaynak olacağı düşüncesindeyiz.Tarık Minkari, has given works in the type of memory trip and humor who is
known as a surgeon writer in literature. The author has given more work in the type of
trip. While he take over generally with his job in the memory works, he almost go on a
world tour to reader in the trip works. His humor works complied from his other works.
Minkari has gained the important works to our literature who has shown that as much as
in surgery's success in writing. İn our study, this works are examined and emphasized
which that is at the forefront of which direction. We are thinking this study would be an
important source at the researches about types of memory, humor and trip
The N-H stretching frequency of substituted hydrazines
No full textThesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityPLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you.Little work has been done on the effects of the substituents R and R' (where R & R' are either alkyl or aryl groups) on the N-H stretching and bending frequencies of substituted hydrazines. In this project an investigation was undertaken to correlate the N-H stretching and bending frequencies of 1, 1-disubstituted hydrazines. The difference between Vs and Vas was also investigated. The presence of hydrogen bonding made it difficult to assign the symmetric and asymmetric stretching frequencies of 1, 1-disubstituted hydrazines both neat and in dilute carbon tetrachloride solution. To overcome this difficulty vapor phase studies or some of the above compounds were undertaken.2999-01-0
Studying the Impact of Noises in Build Breakage Data [Online Appendix]
No full text<p>This document represents an Online Appendix of our article, which has been accepted for publication in the IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (TSE) in August 2019. The Online Appendix includes a replication package of the scripts and data we used in our work, in addition to more detailed results of the findings reported in the article.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Abstract.</strong></p>
<p>Much research has investigated the common reasons for build breakages. However, prior research has paid little attention to builds that may break due to reasons that are unlikely to be related to development activities. For example, Continuous Integration (CI) builds may break due to timeout or connection errors while generating the build. Such kinds of build breakages potentially introduce noises to build breakage data. Not considering such noises may lead to misleading results when studying CI builds. In this paper, we propose three criteria to identify build breakages that can potentially introduce noises to build breakage data. We apply these criteria to a dataset of 350,246 builds from 153 GitHub projects that are linked with Travis CI. Our results reveal that 33% of the build breakages are due to environmental factors (e.g., errors in CI servers), 29% are due to (unfixed) errors in previous builds, and 9% are due to build jobs that were later deemed by developers as noisy (there is an overlap of 17% between these three types of breakages). We measure the impact of noises in build breakage data on modeling build breakages. We observe that models that use uncleaned build breakage data can lead to misleading associations between build breakages and development activities (e.g., the role of developer). However, such associations could not be observed after eliminating noisy build breakages. Moreover, we replicate a prior study that investigates the association between build breakages and development activities using data from 14 GitHub projects. We observe that some observations reported by the prior study (e.g., pull requests cause more breakages) do not hold after eliminating the noises from build breakage data.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Citing this research.</strong></p>
<p>If you intend to use any materials (i.e., scripts, data, approach, or findings) of this work, please cite our article as follows:</p>
<p>@article{ghaleb2019studying,<br>
title={Studying the Impact of Noises in Build Breakage Data},<br>
author={Ghaleb, Taher Ahmed and da Costa, Daniel Alencar and Zou, Ying and Hassan, Ahmed E.},<br>
journal={IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering},<br>
pages={1--14},<br>
year={2019},<br>
publisher={IEEE},<br>
DOI={10.1109/TSE.2019.2941880}<br>
}</p>
<p>The official publication of this research can be found at <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TSE.2019.2941880">https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TSE.2019.2941880</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Replication Package.</strong></p>
<p>You may download the whole replication package (i.e., scripts, data, approach, or findings) using the zip file shown below. Please note that the size of the raw build logs used in this work is approximately 107 GB. You can download raw build logs using from Travis CI (using Travis API) or its AWS S3 backend (using Amazon S3 API).</p>
<p> </p>
