The Student Experiences of Teaching and Learning in Transnational Higher Education: A Phenomenographic Study from a British-Qatari Partnership

Transnational higher education (TNHE) of UK universities has been noticeably expanding during the last two decades in the Arab Gulf region, but few studies investigated qualitatively the different ways in which students in that region experience both teaching and learning. The aim of this study is to understand the ways that students conceptualise their learning and educational experiences at a British TNHE in Qatar. Employing a phenomenographic approach, we interviewed forty students in a TNHE UK programme within a Qatari higher education institution (HEI). The outcomes of our interviews generated three hierarchically related categories as follows: developing academic skills, acquiring self-learning skills, and acquiring employability skills. Our findings also suggest themes of interdependence in learning and transferability of skills developed by students. This study offers HEIs a better understanding and insight into the design of TNHE programmes that would respond to the students’ learning experiences and educational development.

Low Detection Rates of Genetic FH in Cohort of Patients With Severe Hypercholesterolemia in the United Arabic Emirates

Background: Programs to screen for Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) are conducted worldwide. In Western societies, these programs have been shown to be cost-effective with hit/detection rates of 1 in 217–250. Thus far, there is no published data on genetic FH in the Gulf region. Using United Arab Emirates as a proxy for the Gulf region, we assessed the prevalence of genetically confirmed FH in the Emirati population sample.Materials and Methods: We recruited 229 patients with LDL-C >95th percentile and employed a customized next generation sequencing pipeline to screen canonical FH genes (LDLR, APOB, PCSK9, LDLRAP1).Results: Participants were characterized by mean total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) of 6.3 ± 1.1 and 4.7 ± 1.1 mmol/L respectively. Ninety-six percent of the participants were using lipid-lowering medication with mean corrected LDL-c values of 10.0 ± 3.0 mmol/L 15 out of 229 participants were found to suffer from genetically confirmed FH. Carriers of causal genetic variants for FH had higher on-treatment LDL-c compared to those without causal variants (5.7 ± 1.5 vs 4.7 ± 1.0; p = 3.7E-04). The groups did not differ regarding high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, body mass index, blood pressure, glucose, and glycated haemoglobin.Conclusion: This study reveals a low 7% prevalence of genetic FH in Emiratis with marked hypercholesterolemia as determined by correcting LDL-c for the use of lipid-lowering treatment. The portfolio of mutations identified is, to a large extent, unique and includes gene duplications. Our findings warrant further studies into origins of hypercholesterolemia in these patients. This is further supported by the fact that these patients are also characterized by high prevalence of type 2 diabetes (42% in the current study cohort) which already puts them at an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. These results may also be useful in public health initiatives for FH cascade screening programs in the UAE and maybe the Gulf region.

Exploring the GCC Progress Towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals were agreed in 2015 by all the members' countries to be achieved by 2030. The results of several reports reveal that some countries are making good progress to achieve these goals, the progress of others is low and most likely they will not be able to achieve these goals by the deadline if serious actions are not taken. The purpose of this article is to explore the progress of the Arabian Gulf region towards these goals and identify the Goals in which the region has major challenges. A qualitative research approach using PRISMA compliance is adopted to extract the region's progress and commitment from 91 different documents. The results show that the region has major challenges in four Goals. Specific issues associated with these goals and the GCC countries plans to overcome these issues are discussed in the paper.

Association between Awareness on Antibiotic Resistance and Antibiotic Misuse Among Saudi University Students

Background: Saudi Arabia has the highest prevalence of resistant pathogens in the Gulf Region, with a rapid increase in antibiotic resistance seen in recent years. Misuse is common despite laws prohibiting dispensing antibiotics without prescription. This study was conducted to determine the association between awareness of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic misuse among Saudi university students. Specifically, it aimed to determine the proportion of university students who were aware of antibiotic resistance, the proportion of university students who were aware that antibiotic resistance is a public health problem, the prevalence of antibiotic misuse among university students, and the association between awareness and antibiotic misuse. Methods: The study utilized an analytic cross-sectional design. By using a self-administrated survey, responses on awareness of antibiotic resistance as well as antibiotic use among bachelor students were obtained. Two-stage stratified cluster sampling was conducted to select the required 825 participants. Epi Info® version 7 was used to estimate the proportion of students who were aware of antibiotic resistance as well as the proportion of students who misused antibiotics. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between awareness of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use. Results: Over 75% of university students were aware of antibiotic resistance (95% CI: 72.09% - 77.98%), while 54.67% (95% CI: 51.26% - 58.03%) were aware that antibiotic resistance is a public health problem. Nearly 67% misused antibiotics (95% CI: 63.63% - 70.04%) with failure to follow the prescribed number of days of antibiotic therapy and using leftover antibiotics as the most common forms of misuse. Students who were aware of antibiotic resistance were 27.96% less likely to misuse antibiotics (OR = 0.7204, p = 0.0642). Those who were aware that antibiotic resistance is a public health problem were 51.32% less likely to misuse antibiotics (OR = 0.4868, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Awareness of antibiotic resistance is associated with lower antibiotic misuse. Education campaigns on the consequences of inappropriate antibiotic use and the development of antibiotic resistance should be intensified.

Technology Based Model of a Mobile Knowledge as a Service to Facilitate Education Community

Technological enhancements as well as the demand of students to access learning information on time and quickly has resulted to the development of e-learning across the world. Mobile learning has been adopted by most learning institution as a mobile technology that allows learners to access learning materials and share information among themselves and respective educators easily and quickly. This article discusses the intention of users in learning environment adopting m-learning, their perceptions as well as factors that hinder implementation of m-learning in the gulf region. Effective mobile technology adoption also enhances knowledge management through mobile applications that allow information capture, storage, retrieval and sharing. This study uses systematic literature review to collect information from post 2017 studies previous conducted by other researchers. Articles were searched through highly ranked databases from which 657 journals were identified. After the screening and eligibility assessment, 24 journals were retrieved. The back and forward search retrieved 4 more journals bringing the total to 28 journals that were included in the study. Based on this information, a conceptual model is developed to help assess the m-learning perceptions, adoption intentions and factors influencing its adoption among learning institutions in the gulf region. This model is built based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Based on the developed model, main constructs such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence are greatly impacted by other factors like learner’s creativity and mobility.

Connectivity in Superblock Street Networks: Measuring Distance, Directness, and the Diversity of Pedestrian Paths

Superblocks are a common urban development strategy used in cities of the United Arab Emirates and the larger Gulf region. In planning new neighborhoods, these cities utilize superblocks structured using various street network designs. Despite their key role in shaping its main transportation network, the connectivity of these designs has not been frequently studied. This paper addresses this research gap, analyzing ten different superblock designs, and focusing on their internal and external connectivity properties. Internal connectivity is studied by measuring connections between plots in the superblocks. External connectivity is measured from plots to the superblocks’ corners, the points from which to access surrounding areas. Connectivity is measured in terms of distance, directness, and route diversity. The results show that strong similarities exist across the studied designs, particularly in terms of travel distances. Differences are found in terms of efficiency and, most notably, route diversity. Findings are discussed in relation to walkability, the costs associated to each design given network length variations, and the importance of creating rich and diverse street systems that support open-ended exploration. While based on a sample of ideal cases and in need of validation with built cases, this paper outlines a method by which to evaluate and compare superblock network design alternatives.

Optimizing Seawater Based Fracture Fluids Rheology Utilizing Chelating Agents

Due to the scarcity and high cost of freshwater, especially in the Gulf region, utilization of seawater as a fracturing fluid gained noticeable interest. However, seawater contains high total dissolved solids (TDS) that may damage the formation and degrade the performance of the fracturing fluids. Numerous additives are required to reduce the damaging effect and improve the viscosity resulting in an expensive and non-eco-friendly fracturing fluid system. Chelating agents, which are environmentally benign, are proposed in this study as the replacement of many additives for seawater fracturing fluids. This study focuses on optimizing chelating agents to achieve high viscosity employing the standard industry rheometers. Carboxymethyl Hydroxypropyl Guar Gum (CMHPG) polymer, which is effective in hydraulic fracturing, was used in this research with 0.5 and 1.0 wt% in deionized water (DW) as well as seawater (SW). It was first tested as a standalone additive at different conditions to provide a benchmark then combined with different concentrations, and pH level chelating agents. In this study the hydration test was conducted through different conditions. It was observed that CMHPG, when tested as a standalone additive, provided slightly higher viscosity in SW compared to DW. Also, increasing polymer concentration from 0.5 to 1.0 wt% provided three folds of viscosity. The viscosity did not show time dependence behavior at room temperature for the aforementioned experiments where all hydration tests were run at 511 1/s shear rate. Temperature, however, had a significant impact on both viscosity magnitude and behavior. At 70 °C, the fluid viscosity increased with time where low viscosity was achieved early on but kept increasing with shearing time. Similarly, high pH chelating agents provided time dependant viscosity behavior when mixed with CMHPG. This behavior is important as low viscosity is favorable during pumping but high viscosity when the fluids hit the formation. The study investigates the possibility of utilizing chelating agents with seawater to replace numerous additives. It acts as a crosslinker at early shearing times, where a gradual increase in viscosity was observed and a breaker in the reservoir harsh conditions. It also captures the divalent ions that are common in seawater, which replaces the need for scale inhibitors. The viscosity increase behavior can be controlled by adjusting the pH level, which could be desirable during operations.