scholarly journals Computing Competency for Civil Engineering Graduates: Recent Updates and Developments in Saudi Arabia and the US

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Danish Ahmed ◽  
Mohammed Nayeemuddin ◽  
Tahar Ayadat ◽  
Andi Asiz
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Technical Committee ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Office Work ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Construction Automation ◽  
The Us ◽  
Computing Skills

This paper discusses recent updates and developments of computing-based courses in the civil engineering discipline. Competency in computing is one of the most important capabilities for university graduates to obtain given the rapid development of computer technology in professional work. Civil engineering is no exception. In fact, many contemporary civil engineering projects require a high degree of computing skills, ranging from performing basic office work to programming for decision support system application in controlling flood water gates to executing construction automation via digital printing technology. However, the curriculum content for computing in civil engineering has been developmentally stagnant in the past several decades. This could be partly due to learning outcomes for civil engineering graduates, which do not explicitly mention a certain degree of achievement with respect to computing skills. Several computing-based courses offered in various civil engineering programs across Saudi Arabia and the US were examined, and their contents were compared to recent survey results administered by the American Society of Civil Engineering Technical Committee on Computing and Information Technology. The discussion is extended by examining technical courses offered in the Civil Engineering Program in Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University with respect to computing skills. The outcomes of this study are expected to give input and suggestions for future upgrades of computing-based courses offered within the civil engineering curriculum.

The Development of Epigenetics and Related Inhibitors for Targeted Drug Design in Cancer Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (28) ◽  
pp. 2380-2394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Na Liu ◽  
Rongtong Zhao ◽  
Yue Ma ◽  
Dongyuan Wang ◽  
Chen Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Design ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Epigenetic Changes ◽  
Disease Treatment ◽  
Nucleosome Remodeling ◽  
Epigenetic Modifiers ◽  
The Us ◽  
Targeted Drug ◽  
Heritable Change ◽  
Lymphoma Therapy

Epigenetics process is the heritable change in gene function that does not involve changes in the DNA sequence. Until now, several types of epigenetic mechanisms have been characterized, including DNA methylation, histone modification (acetylation, methylation, etc.), nucleosome remodeling, and noncoding RNAs. With the biological investigations of these modifiers, some of them are identified as promoters in the process of various diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and virus infection. Epigenetic changes may serve as potential “first hits” for tumorigenesis. Hence, targeting epigenetic modifiers is being considered as a promising way for disease treatment. To date, six agents in two epigenetic target classes (DNMT and HDAC) have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Most of these drugs are applied in leukemia, lymphoma therapy, or are combined with other drugs for the treatment of solid tumor. Due to the rapid development of epigenetics and epigenetics targeted drugs, it is becoming an emerging area in targeted drug design.

scholarly journals Faster than warp speed: early attention to COVD-19 by anti-vaccine groups on Facebook

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth C Kalichman ◽  
Lisa A Eaton ◽  
Valerie A Earnshaw ◽  
Natalie Brousseau
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Vaccine Information

Abstract Background The unprecedented rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines has faced SARS-CoV- (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy, which is partially fueled by the misinformation and conspiracy theories propagated by anti-vaccine groups on social media. Research is needed to better understand the early COVID-19 anti-vaccine activities on social media. Methods This study chronicles the social media posts concerning COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines by leading anti-vaccine groups (Dr Tenpenny on Vaccines, the National Vaccine Information Center [NVIC] the Vaccination Information Network [VINE]) and Vaccine Machine in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (February–May 2020). Results Analysis of 2060 Facebook posts showed that anti-vaccine groups were discussing COVID-19 in the first week of February 2020 and were specifically discussing COVID-19 vaccines by mid-February 2020. COVID-19 posts by NVIC were more widely disseminated and showed greater influence than non-COVID-19 posts. Early COVID-19 posts concerned mistrust of vaccine safety and conspiracy theories. Conclusion Major anti-vaccine groups were sowing seeds of doubt on Facebook weeks before the US government launched its vaccine development program ‘Operation Warp Speed’. Early anti-vaccine misinformation campaigns outpaced public health messaging and hampered the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

Theory of Teaching Techniques Used in Civil Engineering Programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 145 (2) ◽  
pp. 02518008
Author(s):  
Eric Forcael ◽  
Gonzalo Garcés ◽  
Elena Bastías ◽  
Miguel Friz
Keyword(s):  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Engineering Programs

scholarly journals Barriers to the Diffusion and Adoption of Green Buildings in Saudi Arabia

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Mosly
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Green Buildings ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Disasters ◽  
The Us ◽  
And Diffusion

<p>Many countries around the globe have recently pursued sustainability. The public and governments are demanding sustainability due to worldwide environmental disasters caused by pollution and man-made activities that impact the ecological system. Green buildings represent a significant component of sustainability, as their construction is intended to reduce natural resources consumption through energy and water conservation. Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s richest countries, but its number of certified green buildings is notably low. In addition, all of these buildings are certified by the US Green Building Council LEED rating system and not by a national organization. It seems that numerous barriers exist, slowing the development and diffusion of green buildings in Saudi Arabia. Through a systematic qualitative research approach, this research aims to explore barriers to the diffusion and adoption of green buildings in Saudi Arabia, which will facilitate the development of green buildings in Saudi Arabia. This research concludes the identification of 14 green building barriers, with lack of skilled personal and unsupportive government policies and regulations being the most significant barriers.</p>

scholarly journals HSE in Civil Engineering Programs and Industry Expectations

2017 ◽  
Vol 196 ◽  
pp. 327-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel André Danielsen ◽  
Olav Torp ◽  
Jardar Lohne
Keyword(s):  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Engineering Programs

scholarly journals Energy Security Problem amid Global Energy Transition

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 772-784
Author(s):  
Yury V. Borovsky
Keyword(s):  
Energy Security ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
The United States ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

In the early 2020s the worlds transition from carbon-intensive to climate-neutral energy use has already become a discernible and a difficult-to-reverse process. With Joe Bidens election as US president, the United States have returned to the Paris Climate Agreement and have become a key driver of this process (along with the EU and China). As a result, the international community has reached a consensus on the ongoing energy transition. This process will require considerable effort and may take several decades. Nevertheless, the impact of energy transition on traditional approaches to energy security, which emerged largely as a result of the global oil crises of the 1970s and 1980s and are centered around the supply of fossil fuels, is already a relevant research topic. This problem is examined relying on the relevant terminological, theoretical and factual material. The article concludes that energy transition will ultimately undermine the carbon paradigm that has underpinned energy security policies since the 1970s. Rapid development of renewable and other low-carbon energy sources will certainly remove key energy security risks of energy importers and, possibly, allow them to achieve energy independence. However, a post-carbon era may also generate new risks. For countries that rely heavily on oil, gas and coal exports, energy transition will result in the loss of markets and revenues. It may present an energy security threat for them as well as it will require a costly and technologically complex process of the energy sector decarbonization. Some exporters, especially those with high fuel rents and insufficient financial reserves, may face serious economic and social upheavals as a result of energy transition. The EU and the US energy transition policies reflect provisions of all three fundamental international relations theoretical paradigms, including realism. This means that the EU and the US policy, aimed at promoting climate agenda, may be expected to be rather tough and aggressive. China as the third key player in energy transition is still following a liberal course; however, it may change in the future.

Desert Geopolitics

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-105
Author(s):  
Natalie Koch
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Political Geography ◽  
Us Southwest ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Political Narratives ◽  
The Us ◽  
Milk Cows ◽  
History Of

Abstract In 2014 the largest dairy company in the Middle East, Almarai, purchased a farm near Vicksburg, Arizona, to grow alfalfa as feed for cattle in Saudi Arabia. Almarai is headquartered at Al Kharj farms, just outside of Riyadh, where it has a herd of more than 93,000 milk cows. Given that dairy and alfalfa farms both require an immense amount of water to maintain, what explains these developments in the deserts of Arizona and Arabia? The answers are historical and contemporary, demanding an approach to “desert geopolitics” that explains how environmental and political narratives bind experts across space and time. As a study in political geography and environmental history, this article uncovers a geopolitics of connection that has long linked the US Southwest and the Middle East, as well as the interlocking imperial visions advanced in their deserts. To understand these arid entanglements, I show how Almarai's purchase of the Vicksburg farm is part of a genealogy of exchanges between Saudi Arabia and Arizona that dates to the early 1940s. The history of Al Kharj and the decades-long agricultural connections between Arizona and Saudi Arabia sheds light on how specific actors imagine the “desert” as a naturalized site of scarcity, but also of opportunity to build politically and economically useful bridges between the two regions.

Comments: Oilfield Services Face Low and Slow Recovery

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 10-10
Author(s):  
Pam Boschee
Keyword(s):  
Capital Investment ◽  
Technical Committee ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
Drilling Rig ◽  
Well Completion ◽  
Market Responses ◽  
West Texas ◽  
Fuel Demand ◽  
The Us ◽  
Capital Spending

OPEC’s easing of production cuts originally planned for January may be delayed until mid-2021 because of the global increases in COVID-19 cases occurring in November. As restrictions are renewed, extended, or newly instated, fuel demand is expected to decrease. Following a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) meeting on 16 November, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo underscored the need to remain “vigilant and diligent” in the months ahead. The JTC recommended that supply increases be postponed from 3 to 6 months. The OPEC ministers plan to hold an online meeting on 30 November to decide on production levels among the 13 member countries. By the time you read this in early December, their decisions - and the market responses to them - will be evident. Approximately 7.7 million B/D, or about 8% of global production, are currently tamped down. The recent encouraging announcements of two vaccines’ effectiveness in early clinical trials buoyed oil prices, which are hovering around $40/bbl (West Texas Intermediate closed at $41.38 on 16 November). The past 8 months brought with them upheavals in operators’ and service companies’ short-term reactions to market conditions based on their financial resiliency, and as the pandemic persists, the fallout sputters on as layoffs, bankruptcy filings, mergers and acquisitions, and new collaborative business deals arise almost daily. One sector thought to have bottomed out globally is oilfield services (OFS) and drilling, according to Moody’s Investors Service’s outlook published 13 November. Improvement in earnings is expected to be slow in 2021 as a result of the limited growth forecast in development activities and capital investment. Low and slow growth may be the sector’s motto for some time. The record lows in the third quarter of this year in the drilling rig count and well completion/servicing activity hit the OFS hard after operators reined in capital spending. Some recovery in the US has occurred since August when the rig count tanked at 244. By late October, it neared 300. The international rig count drop has slowed and reached fewer than 700 by later October. Moody’s reported the decrease will continue, but at a slower rate, through the end of this year.

Developing of the Course of Civil Engineering Material

2013 ◽  
Vol 677 ◽  
pp. 549-553
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Ying Li
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Strength Characteristics ◽  
Engineering Material ◽  
Teaching Content ◽  
Test Database

Civil Engineering Material is one of the main special courses offered to undergraduate students whose major is Civil Engineering. It aims to let students know major civil engineering materials, their physical properties, mechanical properties, how they are used in construction, how they are tested in the lab, and their strength characteristics-information, so that they can solve problems arising from civil construction. Rapid development in civil engineering material requires construction of this course, which could keep the teaching content up-to-date with current situations. This paper analyzed the current conditions of this course and aims for construction and then describes a construction plan, including revision of the teaching content, improvement of teaching methods and class mode, compiling of test database and exercise database.

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