Building a Scale to Measure the Psychological Effects of the COVID -19 Coronavirus on Omani University Students

The world was surprised by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic started in China and rapidly spread in the world. This pandemic impacted different aspects of life such as the economy, health, and social life. The study aimed to build a tool to measure the psychological effects of the corona COVID-19 pandemic on Omani university students. The sample of the scale consisted of (566) students from different Omani universities. The researcher used an electronic method to distribute the questionnaire, which was Google Drive. Fifty-nine factors were used in its initial form to measure the psychological effects of the pandemic on Omani university students. The results showed that the tool is an appropriate indication of validity and reality. They revealed the results of factor validity and face validity on a scale consisting of (45) items divided into five areas: thinking about the future, pressures resulting from the requirements of the study, restrictions of movement and communication, and concern about the disease. The study recommended that student councilors and people in charge of Omani universities can use this measure to overcome the psychological effects of the pandemic on students and conduct other studies to verify the applicability to other samples.

Building a Scale to Measure the Psychological Effects of the COVID -19 Coronaviruson Omani University Students

The world was surprised by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic started in China and rapidly spread in the world. This pandemic impacted different aspects of life such as the economy, health, and social life. The study aimed to build a tool to measure the psychological effects of the corona COVID-19 pandemic on Omani university students. The sample of the scale consisted of (566) students from different Omani universities. The researcher used an electronic method to distribute the questionnaire, which was Google Drive. Fifty-nine factors were used in its initial form to measure the psychological effects of the pandemic on Omani university students. The results showed that the tool is an appropriate indication of validity and reality. They revealed the results of factor validity and face validity on a scale consisting of (45) items divided into five areas: thinking about the future, pressures resulting from the requirements of the study, restrictions of movement and communication, and concern about the disease. The study recommended that student councilors and people in charge of Omani universities can use this measure to overcome the psychological effects of the pandemic on students and conduct other studies to verify the applicability to other samples.

The Behaviour of Half-Slabs and Hollow-Core Slab in Four-Edge Supported Conditions

In this study, qualitative tests were carried out to compare the behaviour of selected slabs exposed to short- and long-term loading. Full-scale models of the half-slab and hollow-core slab with dimensions of 6.30 m × 6.30 m, built of four different precast panels, were tested. The first two were semi-precast lattice girder slabs, the third semi-precast prestressed ribbed panels, and the last was composed of hollow-core panels. A common feature was the lack of joint reinforcement and the same modular width of 600 mm. The short-term load was applied sequentially in the first stage, and displacement was measured using an electronic method. In the second stage of long-term testing, the load was mainly applied to one part of the slab. Testing under short-term and long-term load allows determining the change in the performance of panel slabs over time. The panels maintained the ability of load redistribution based on their interaction despite the work of the longitudinal joints being only through the concrete cross-section. The behaviour of slabs with concrete topping shows more significant lateral interactions than elements connected only by shear key. Comparative calculations were made based on four computational models. Comparative analysis showed that the current design procedures lead to a safe but conservative estimation of the slab behaviour.

Comparison of the Performance of Prestressed Ribbed Panels and Hollow Core Panels Supported on Four-Edges

Tests of full-scale models of the precast slab with dimensions of 6.30 x 6.30 m, built of two different precast panels, were carried out under short-term load. The models were made of autoclaved aerated concrete (700 type) brick with a thickness of 240 mm and a height of 2.24 m. The slabs were supported at four edges. The first slab was precast prestressed ribbed panels with concrete overtopping. The second slab was made of prestressed hollow-core panels. The panels had the same modular width of 600 mm. Tests were carried out under load placed on the top of the slab. The short-term load was applied sequentially, and displacement measurements were measurement by the electronic method. The load was initially applied evenly distributed. In the last step, part of the load was transferred to one-half of the slabs. The obtained load was different for each half of the slab. The first part of the slab were panels 1 to 5, loaded with the value of 1.7 kN/m2, and the second part was panels 6 to 10 loaded with the value of 7.7 kN/m2. The tests allow determining the difference in slabs' performance depending on shear key construction. The panels maintained the possibility of load redistribution based on their interaction despite the longitudinal joints' work only through the concrete cross-section. The slabs had a different character of transverse displacements depending on the presence of concrete topping. The models revealed a different response to transferring part of the load to one-half of the slabs. There were no cracks in the line of longitudinal joints on the upper surface of the slabs. Also, there were no cracks on the bottom of the panels. At the panels' connection with the wall, rotation and lifting corners of the slabs were noticed. The measured displacements were significantly smaller than for the corresponding models of single-span slabs with a parallel load.

Russian Anecdotes on the "Corona" Theme: Problematics and Poetics

The article deals with an issue of the widespread distribution of anecdotes about the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia and demonstrates the relevance and necessity of theoretical understanding of this phenomenon. The importance of the research problem is due to the need of recreating the models of situation perception which are reflected in the texts as well as tracing public reaction to the current events and ideological attitudes. The research aim is to identify the peculiarities of the problematics and poetics of the anecdotes about coronavirus infection. The analysis of the regularities in functioning of humorous miniatures shows that a number of genre-forming features of an anecdote are partially restored due to digital technologies. The study reveals that witticisms adapt to the changed communication conditions. Under the conditions of a declared emergency, the electronic method of information transmission sometimes becomes the only possible option. The problematic of anecdotes relevant during the period of 2020 and 2021 indicates that collective consciousness is sensitive to manifestations of the epidemic process. The article lists and characterizes the main thematic groups of anecdotes, their leading motifs and images. Obsessions with eroticism as well as the focus on violation of official taboos are noted. The study found that the actualization of the idea of national identity is an effective way of getting positive emotions. The findings include the figures of speech and expressive means that form the automatism of perception and its unexpected destruction in the final formulas. The article concludes by identifying the literary device of anthropomorphization of the coronavirus image as well as the key functions of the "COVID-19" anecdotes, including communicative, compensatory, psychotherapeutic and harmonizing functions.

Impact of Games and Online Activities on Students with Learning Disabilities in Improving Visual Perception and Maintaining Vision Power

The study aimed to identify the impact of games and electronic activities in improving visual perception in students with learning disabilities using the descriptive survey curriculum study. The study members are from the entire community of 160 teachers and a teacher of doctors with learning disabilities of education directorates in The Province of Oman. The results showed that the level of impact of games and electronic activities in improving visual perception in students with learning difficulties has come with an average result. The average arithmetic of the total degree (3.66), as well as the results, showed statistically significant differences in the impact of the sex variable and for females, the effect of the variable scientific qualification, and for the benefit of the bachelor. The impact of the variable years of experience and in favor of experience from (5years to 10 years) and the effect of the variable method of teaching came in favor of the electronic method.

Handwritten Tamil Character Recognition Using Convolution Neural Network by Adam Optimizer

Optical Character Recognition is a widely used electronic method for recognition of handwritten images. Tamil handwritten character recognition is complex to recognize. Hence considerable research efforts have been taken in this field. The complexities of writers and the characters, structure over looping and unwanted character portions are the major challenges faced in Tamil characters. RGB to grayscale conversion, image complementation and structure morphing are enclosed in the preprocessing phase. The processed images are subject to recognition with optimized CNN. The connected layers are enhanced using ADAM optimizer for improvement of the standard. The accuracy and performance of the proposed work is compared with other models with certain performance measures.

Information Sharing Challenges in Government Cybersecurity Organizations

Cyber-attacks happen faster and more spontaneously than traditional warfare. This cyber landscape offers new challenges to organizations due to its unique nature. Building organizations to defend against cyber terrorism and innovating offensive solutions calls for strong information sharing amongst government and military organizations, as well as industry partners. Using an innovative electronic method to collect quantitative and qualitative data from experts, this study seeks to explore the effectiveness and establishment of information sharing practices and procedures in U.S. government cybersecurity organizations. This study also considers the impact of media leaks and terrorism on information sharing practices and procedures.

Government and Industry Relations in Cybersecurity

The existing domains of warfare are land, sea, air, space, and now cyberspace. Once President Obama addressed the public on the cybersecurity threat and Executive Order 13636 was issued, the government gained traction in creating policy and collaborating with industry to gain a better presence in the U.S. Industry owns, operates, and controls most of the critical infrastructure in the U.S. and is perceived to have better knowledge, skills, and abilities in cybersecurity operations and capabilities. This study seeks to fill a gap that currently exists in scholarly research in the areas of partnerships in cybersecurity. Using the innovative e-Delphi electronic method to collect qualitative and quantitative data from experts, this study explores the competency, expertise, and partnership aspects of the U.S. Government and industry relationship in cybersecurity organizations.