A Review of Thermal Design for Buildings in Hot Climates

Most of the developed world currently lives above the tropic of Cancer in cold climate regions. It follows that most of the top architectural firms are from the same countries, and most of their work is based on that experience. Experience that does not travel well to hotter countries. This paper is mainly concerned with the climates of the Middle East region, which are hot in summer and have mild or cold winters, and where the humidity ranges from dry to humid. It is a review of the factors, designs, and solutions that designers sometimes ignore, undervalue, or on the other hand, put too much weight on when working in such climates. An overview of thermal solutions is conducted, and a critique and suitability of each one for hotter climates are offered. Some of the solutions, which are thought to be helpful, have little benefit, especially traditional ones, which are not up to present-day standards and lifestyles. Others, such as courtyards, do more harm than good. A couple of case studies to evaluate houses with and without thermal measures showed improvements of 23-48%. The paper will evaluate architectural, cooling, and building design solutions according to suitability in dry and medium humidity, warm and hot countries.

Organizational learning, resilience and psychological empowerment as antecedents of work engagement during COVID-19

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the relationship between organizational learning (OL) and work engagement (WE) in the Middle East region amid the COVID-19 pandemic and to test the mediating role of employee resilience (ER) and psychological empowerment (PE) on this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe sample size was 208 respondents working in the Middle East area during COVID-19. Hypotheses were tested using regression analysis with bootstrapping.FindingsThe findings indicate a significant positive impact of OL on WE. Moreover, both constructs – ER and WE – were identified as mediators for this relationship.Practical implicationsPractical implications within this study call for organizations to focus on promoting a learning culture in order to adapt and respond effectively to unprecedented external challenges.Originality/valueThe current study extends previous research and strengthens the antecedents of WE, namely, OL, ER and PE in the Middle East region while controlling for COVID-19 perceptions.

Molecular epidemiology of Candida auris in Qatar using whole genome sequence data

Candida auris is an emerging, multidrug resistant fungal pathogen that has become a public health threat worldwide. Candida auris spreads easily among patients within and between hospitals, and the incidence of infections has increased substantially in the last decade. Multiple C. auris outbreaks have been reported worldwide including India, USA and United Kingdom. Infections and outbreaks caused by C. auris have also been reported in the Middle East region including Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar; however, the origin of these isolates is largely unknown. This study uses whole genome sequencing (WGS) data to determine the epidemiology and the drug resistance mutations from C. auris in Qatar. Forty samples isolated from the patients and the hospital environment were sequenced by Illumina Nextseq. Core genome SNPs revealed that all isolates belonged to the Indian lineage, which could be originated from the expatriate labour from South Asia. The genetic variability among the isolates was low but comprised of more than one genetic cluster. The environmental isolates were identical to the clinical isolates, and the isolates from patients of different hospitals/outbreaks clustered together, suggesting the transmission of C. auris could be linked to infected/colonized patients and the hospital environment. Mutations associated with azole and echinocandin resistance were discussed.

Youth as an Object of Online Extremist Propaganda: The Case of the IS

A youth audience is the most vulnerable part of society as an object of influence of radical ideas. The authors argue that the most efficient tool of involving young people of different origin and confessional affiliation into the extremist activity on the present stage is social networks. Despite the fact that the practice of using communication networks in the Internet space by terrorist organizations have existed before, it was the information policy of the ISIS (and later IS) that was characterized by the greatest effectiveness, due to the creation of an integrated media structure, which consisted of numerous foundations and agencies (Al Furqan, Aynad, Itisaam, Al-Hayat, etc.), allowing them to spread their extremist religious and ideological doctrine on a global scale. The use of the widest range of high-quality media products in Internet media and social networks has expanded the organizations area of influence by attracting supporters not only from the Middle East region, but also from European countries and the Russian Federation. The case-study of the mechanisms for attracting European youth through social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, etc., to extremist activities under the auspices of the IS is held. In conclusion, the prospects for the influence of IS propaganda in social networks after the defeat of a terrorist organization in 2018 are assessed. As a methodological basis of the research, aspect and activity approaches, as well as analytical, statistical methods and the method of content analysis are used.

Evaluation of Nine Operational Models in Forecasting Different Types of Synoptic Dust Events in the Middle East

This study investigates four types of synoptic dust events in the Middle East region, including cyclonic, pre-frontal, post-frontal and Shamal dust storms. For each of these types, three intense and pervasive dust events are analyzed from a synoptic meteorological and numerical simulation perspective. The performance of 9 operational dust models in forecasting these dust events in the Middle East is qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated against Terra-MODIS observations and AERONET measurements during the dust events. The comparison of model AOD outputs with Terra-MODIS retrievals reveals that despite the significant discrepancies, all models have a relatively acceptable performance in forecasting the AOD patterns in the Middle East. The models enable to represent the high AODs along the dust plumes, although they underestimate them, especially for cyclonic dust storms. In general, the outputs of the NASA-GEOS and DREAM8-MACC models present greater similarity with the satellite and AERONET observations in most of the cases, also exhibiting the highest correlation coefficient, although it is difficult to introduce a single model as the best for all cases. Model AOD predictions over the AERONET stations showed that DREAM8-MACC exhibited the highest R2 of 0.78, followed by NASA_GEOS model (R2 = 0.74), which both initially use MODIS data assimilation. Although the outputs of all models correspond to valid time more than 24 h after the initial time, the effect of data assimilation on increasing the accuracy is important. The different dust emission schemes, soil and vegetation mapping, initial and boundary meteorological conditions and spatial resolution between the models, are the main factors influencing the differences in forecasting the dust AODs in the Middle East.

TURKEY’s «SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP» WITH THE TALIBAN: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EU AND NATO

The article focuses on two international political aspects of the radical changes in the situation in Afghanistan after the seizure of power there by the Taliban: the problem of legalizing the new government through its recognition by other states, first, and Ankara’s intensified efforts to establish «special relations» with the Taliban, second. The attempts of the latter to achieve their recognition on the world stage have at the moment not led to the desired result for them. Neither the «collective West», nor Russia, China and the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia are in a hurry to recognize the government of the group classified by the UN as a terrorist organization. At the same time, the threat of a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan is becoming more and more obvious. The world community is looking for ways to provide assistance to the population of this country. At the same time, Russia (the «Moscow format») and Turkey have noticeably stepped up their diplomatic efforts. The article examines the main motives of Ankara, which, according to the author, perceives the problem of Afghanistan not only from the perspective of bilateral relations with it, but also in the broader context of rivalry between the leading states of the Middle East region. The author emphasizes that the Taliban and the Turkish leader RT Erdogan are linked by a common ideological platform – Islamism. At the same time, Erdogan seeks to present himself in the eyes of NATO partners as a mediator between the alliance and the Taliban government.

MULTILATERAL CONFLICTS OF PALESTINE - HISTORY, PRESENT AND TRENDS

Palestine, a historical land inhabited by both Jews and Arabs, has been the source of disagreement for the two ethnic communities since their establishment in this territory. Over time, as a consequence of this antagonism, the Middle East region has hosted a multilateral conflict generated by a number of factors (historical, ethnic, national and religious), which is currently manifested in three subsequent disputes: Arab-Israeli, Israeli-Palestinian and religious. The social dispute was initially generated by the inter-communal misunderstandings between Arabs and Jews, in the territory of the British mandate of Palestine and degenerated into a series of wars between Israel and the Arab states that led to an open armed conflict between Israel and Gaza. Also, the religious dispute, which permanently accompanied the other two, is related to the equally claiming by Jews and Muslims of both the entire territory of this historical land, as well as Jerusalem. The paper is intended to be a clarification of what the historic Palestinian region represents and how it has transformed under the impact of the conflict generated against the background of the desire for statehood expressed by Jews and Arabs in the same space. In the following, some aspects will be shown presenting the historical sources of territoriality, statehood and conflict in the region, and current forms of Palestinian multilateral conflict, as well as the predominant side of the conflict in the contemporary period, focusing on developments in the first half of 2021, but also some trends that are expected in the evolution of the Palestinian issue.

Web-enhanced computer science course

Information and communication technologies have changed the way students learn, and higher education institutions in the Middle East region strive to attract professors who use technology in their daily teaching and learning practices. This study examines students’ experiences of a Web-enhanced computer science course. In an online survey based on the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) model, 132 students’ responses to 31 items were measured and analyzed. Factor analysis revealed three pre-dominated factors: technology, pedagogy-content and TPACK; of these, technology was found to exert the strongest influence on students’ educational experiences. The findings are discussed in relation to the TPACK model, along with implications for theory and practice. This investigation provides insights into current initiatives in the Middle East region that encourage higher education institutions to implement technology in teaching and learning. It contributes to the literature by deepening understanding of how new approaches in education are diffused and adopted.