29 research outputs found
Thermal ecology and activity of the sand fish lizard, scincus mitranus (Scincidae) in Central Arabia
No full textAuthors: Al-Johany Awadh M.& Al-Sadoon, Mohamed K. From Department of Zoology,
Author: Al-Farraj Saud A., From Department of Biology
Riyadh, Teachers' College, King Saud University, P.O. Box 4341,
Riyadh 11491. Saudi ArabiaThermal ecology and activity of Scincus mitranus was investigated during winter and summer seasons. Emergence and basking behavior and seasonal activity were studied and analyzed. The lizard was active throughout the year except during cold spells of winter. However, it was found that during winter, daily activity was unimodal, which contrasted with the bimodal pattern during summer. Selected body temperature, critical minimum and maximum were studied and determined in the laboratory
Competitive strategies and barriers to achieving competitive advantage : a study of two Saudi Arabian industries.
Get PDFThis study focuses on how organisations achieve and sustain competitive
advantage and the possible barriers to this advantage. It first deals with a
theoretical framework by examining related literature on developing a better
understanding of competitive advantage and generic strategies, as well as the
important aspects that may affect a firm's achievement and the sustainability of
its competitive advantage. This study extends the strategic management
literature on competitive advantage and generic strategies mainly based on
Porter's (1980, 1985) work. In particular, instead of the two generic strategies
(differentiation and cost leadership) put forward by Porter, four competitive
strategies are developed. These are (1) price leadership, (2) low cost
differentiation, (3) imitation and (4) differentiation.
Barriers to competitive advantage are conceptionalised in terms of
"strategic coherence" model, which has three aspects. Competitive strategies
require internal consistency referred to as 'competitive coherence'. In addition,
'organisational coherence' needs to be built, involving the structure of internal
and external elements affecting an organisation's ability to achieve its
competitive advantage. The creation of this structure is not automatic. The
difficulties increase with growing dynamism and complexity of the environment
in which an organisation is operating. While competitive and organisational
coherence might exist accidentally, the third aspect developed in this study is
called 'cognitive coherence'. The lack of coherence in one or more of these
aspects is a barrier to a firm achieving and sustaining its competitive advantage.
Secondly, this study reports empirical evidence on the validity of the theoretical
framework. This study takes the case of two different industries (petrochemical
and food) in Saudi Arabia.
Results indicate that all four competitive strategies are possible and
statistically defined. In addition, high-performing firms, in both industries, have
more strategic coherence than lower performing firms. The results suggest that
high-performing firms are able not only to achieve their competitive advantage
but also to sustain it over time. Moreover, in each industry, firms with different
competitive strategies have different barriers to achieving their competitive
advantage. These results are consistent with those found in the existing
literature, lending support to the view that western strategy models seem to be
applicable to developing countries such as Saudi Arabia
Early recurrent ischemic stroke complicating intravenous thrombolysis for stroke: incidence and association with atrial fibrillation
Get PDF<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> Mechanisms of early neurologic deterioration after treatment with intravenous, recombinant, tissue-type plasminogen activator (IV rt-PA) include symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) and early recurrent ischemic stroke. We observed a number of cases of acute deterioration due to recurrent ischemic events.</p>
<p><b>Methods:</b> We undertook a single-center, retrospective analysis of consecutive acute stroke patients treated with IV rt-PA between January 2006 and December 2008 to define the incidence of early neurologic deterioration (>= 4-point drop on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale within 72 hours) and its mechanism. Deterioration was attributed to SICH when associated with a PH1 or PH2 hemorrhage on postdeterioration computed tomography scans, to recurrent ischemic stroke when there was clinical and radiologic evidence of a new territorial infarction or new vessel occlusion, and otherwise to evolution of the incident stroke.</p>
<p><b>Results:</b> Of 228 consecutive IV rt-PA-treated patients, 34 (15%) developed early neurologic deterioration, 18 (8%) secondary to incident strokes 10 (4.4%) due to SICH, and 6 (2.6%) due to early recurrent ischemic events, which were significantly associated with atrial fibrillation (present in 5 of 6 patients; 4 paroxysmal, 1 permanent). In 4 patients, sudden clinical deterioration developed during or shortly after IV rt-PA infusion, and in 2, deterioration developed 3 days later. All died 2 days to 2 weeks later. The single case without atrial fibrillation had a recurrent, contralateral, middle cerebral artery stroke during IV rt-PA infusion and multiple high-signal emboli detected by transcranial Doppler. Early recurrent ischemic stroke accounted for 5 of 12 (42%) cases of early neurologic deterioration in patients with atrial fibrillation.</p>
<p><b>Conclusion:</b> In this single-center series, the incidence of early recurrent ischemic stroke after IV rt-PA was 2.6% and was associated with previous atrial fibrillation.</p>
سیر ملک اودھ یوسف خان کمبل پوش کا دوسراغیر مطبوعہ سفرنامہ
No full textThis paper introduces an unpublished text of a travelogue by Yousuf Khan Kambalposh, written in 1847. This manuscript remained unknown to the Urdu world until now and has been discovered for the first time by the author of the paper. The manuscript consists of 156 folios of 7.9*5.4 size and has been written in clear nasta'liq. This travelogue narrates the accounts of his visits to many cities, villages and areas around the city of Lucknow, the capital of the state of Awadh in the regime of the last Indian emperor of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah. It is a very interesting narrative and gives first hand information about the socio-political conditions of the state of that critical period. This narrative is of great importance in terms of historical and linguistic records.
An introduction to the Manuscript: Tareekh-e-Mohtashim
Get PDFAwadh in terms of its important role in the fields of history, literature, culture and civilization of India is considered among the most important areas of the vast country. In the second decade of the eighteenth century person named Burhan Sadat Ali Khan, the Mughal king then India, to suppress the rebels was dispatched to the area.The author in this paper has introduced the historical events that took place in that era, and are discussed in this manuscript
Information systems project work in a Saudi organisation : an ethnographic study
Get PDFThis study examines IS project trajectories in a Saudi organisation showing how the project is shaped and re-shaped in day-to-day activities. Three project features are adapted to characterise project phenomena: project complexity, embeddedness and project learning.
Accordingly, the first objective is to investigate project complexities showing how they are dynamically changed due re-defining project properties of goals, methods, deadlines and team relations. The second objective is to understand the interactions between project members and external groups and individual from the surrounding context and how those interactions shape and re-shape local project context. The third objective is to analyse the challenges which bound project members’ knowledgeability.
The research methodology incorporates a self-ethnography over twelve months of participation and observation study of three IS projects in a Saudi organisation. Structuration theory is used to guide the research philosophically and to offer an analytical perspective to understand collected data. Structuration theory is implemented to highlight the dynamic nature of project trajectories taking into consideration that project is not a result of an isolated local context or shaped only according to surrounding organisational procedures: rather project trajectories are results of a series of recursive interactions between the project’s local and surrounding contexts, where project member’s knowledgeability plays a role in informing actions.
This research can be considered as a theoretical contribution to IS project management literature. This study is situated in new project management literature as distinct from dominant traditional project management prescriptions. This study suggests a view of the project phenomenon merging the three separate project features: project complexity, embeddedness and learning. On the methodological level, this study introduces the project phenomenon as an ethnographic object stressing its dynamic and social nature embedded in daily activities. Finally, on the context level, this study contributes towards compensating for the paucity of studies about the context of Saudi Arabia in project management and management studies in general
Effectiveness and Tolerability of Rufinamide in Children and Young People: A Survey of Experience from the United Kingdom
No full textIbn Bājja - Analyse von Tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid
No full textThis work analyses the symbols and utopian thought in the book of Ibn Bājja as well as his philosophy about the purpose of the human being to reach perfection and the essence of life. Through reading closely his work Tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid and with some other sources about the work, I formulated some questions which I will then answer in this essay. From Ibn Bājja’s, what are the ways to achieve perfection ? How do solitary people achieve a utopian life? What is the meaning of al-mutawaḥḥid (solitary)? Tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid was used for analysis to answer these questions. By reading this book, I can directly understand Ibn Bajja's philosophy on utopia and the idea of solitude from the corrupt society and upgrading the soul with virtuous morals. Also there are secondary sources, between articles and books that analyse Ibn Bājja’s book, as well as discuss the idea of isolation from society. In order to be able at the end of this work to conclude whether the Ibn Bājja’s work leads a utopian life or not, it was necessary to define the concept of utopianism. There are some general sources that give a brief overview of what Utopia is, as well as compar it with the utopianism of Ibn Bājja in his book Tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid. It'll be interesting at the start of this essay to introduc the author of the book Tadbīr al-mutawaḥḥid. This summary introductory of the aspects and circumstances of his life may be of some help in understanding the idea of his book, especially the idea of isolation and loneliness
Orientalism in Children’s Literature: Representations of Egyptian and Jordanian Families in Elsa Marston’s Stories
No full textChildren’s literature plays a significant role in people’s lives. For children and young adults, a story is a discursive space where they find answers, solutions, and ideas. Contrastingly, to adult writers, it is a space dedicated to promoting ideological beliefs and values to young readers. Thus, this study attempts to investigate the problematic representation of Arab city and village families found in two children stories written by American author Elsa Marston (1933-2017). She classifies families into two opposing extremes; the civilized city families and the poor, conservative village families. Using Edward Said’s Orientalist discourse analysis, alongside David Spurr’s rhetorical trope of Classification, the researcher explores how and why Jordanian and Egyptian families are classified with disregard to cultural differences. The analysis reveals that Arab families, both Jordanian and Egyptian, are equally classified based on education, social class, and culture. City families are viewed as developed due to their interaction with the west, whereas village families are portrayed as ignorant and uncivilized for their lack of communication with the west. The analysis also detects the author’s negative attitude towards village families
Comparison of Long-Term Outcomes in Patients with Supratentorial Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage Treated with and without Surgical Intervention
No full textOriginal Article
Comparison of Long-Term Outcomes in Patients with Supratentorial Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage Treated with and without Surgical Intervention
Sharma, Agrata*; Agarwal, Ayush*; Garg, Ajay1; Vishnu, Venugopalan Y; Nilima, N2; Bhatia, Rohit; Garg, Divyani; Pandit, Awadh K; Joseph, Leve1; Billa, Srujana; Singh, Manmohan3; Suri, Ashish3; Kale, Shashank S3; Gaikwad, Shailesh B1; Srivastava, MV Padma
Author Information
Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology 28(2):p 220-226, Mar–Apr 2025. | DOI: 10.4103/aian.aian_497_24
Open
Abstract
Background and Objectives:
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with high mortality and morbidity. Uncertainty still exists regarding the benefit of surgery in the management of supratentorial spontaneous ICH (sICH), especially of the basal ganglia and thalamus. Studies have not shown the clinical benefit of early surgical management compared to best medical management plus delayed surgery, when necessary. Our aim was to compare the efficacy of different neurosurgical interventions with best medical management and best medical management alone.
Methods:
We conducted a single-center, retrospective study at a tertiary care center in India in sICH patients between January 2015 and December 2022. The primary outcome was functional disability evaluated by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 3, 6, and 12 months. Time-to-event outcomes were compared using the Kaplan–Meier curve.
Results:
Among 2600 stroke patients screened, 661 had sICH. Median age was 55 years, and 250 patients (37.8%) underwent neurosurgical intervention. The most common intervention was craniotomy and hematoma evacuation. The median mRS at discharge and follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months was lower in the conservatively managed group (4, 3, 3, and 3, respectively) compared to the surgical intervention group (5, 5, 5, 4, respectively). However, the ICH score at admission was lower in the conservatively managed group and after adjustment for ICH score, there was no statistically significant difference between the two. Among the interventions, patients undergoing decompression craniectomy had the best functional outcome.
Conclusions:
Neurosurgical intervention was not associated with better functional outcome when compared to conservative management
