Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum Volume 2012 Issue 1

Background: The mammalian proprotein convertases (PCs) constitute a family of nine secretory serine proteases related to bacterial subtilisin and yeast kexin. Seven of them (PC1/3, PC2, furin, PC4, PC5/6, PACE4 and PC7) activate cellular and pathogen precursor proteins by cleavage at single or paired basic residues, while SKI-1/S1P and PCSK9 regulate cholesterol/lipid homeostasis via cleavage at non-basic residues or through induced degradation of receptors. PCs are now considered attractive targets for the development of powerful novel therapeutics. In this poster presentation, I will summarize the physiological functions and pathological implications of the PCs and discuss proposed strategies to control some of their activities, including their therapeutic application and validation in selected disease states. Objectives: The concept of the cleavage of precursor proteins to generate active products was born 47 years ago and the cognate convertases were identified during a 13-year period that ended in 2003 with the identification of PCSK9. Since the discovery of the PCs, efforts have been deployed to identify specific functions of PCs in animal models and humans in both health and disease and they have been implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes that regulate both body homeostasis and multiple disease states. While most PCs exert their functions through cleavage of substrates either at basic or non-basic amino acids, PCSK9 only requires its enzymatic activity to autocatalytically process its prosegment in the endoplasmic reticulum, and is secreted as an inactive protease. The challenging identification of safe orally active small molecule inhibitors of some of the convertases, especially PCSK9, is definitively a future goal that should be pursued vehemently. Conclusions: The use of biologics and desirable automated injection procedures or minimally invasive methods may be the future for effective PC-based therapies. The future is indeed bright and awaits innovative and practical approaches to target these exciting and multifunctional enzymes. The topics discussed here will encourage the investigation and development of potent and effective PC-inhibitors/silencers, and minimally invasive procedures for delivery to patients, which would be highly beneficial in the clinical treatment of diseases in which PCs play a key role.

Background: The recent approval by the FDA of the autologous, cell-based vaccine Provenge was hailed as a major advance for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer (PCa) and reinvigorated interest in the field of PCa immunotherapy. Peptide-based vaccines represent a viable, cost-effective formulation in the field of cancer vaccine development. This approach has been used successfully to treat melanoma where vaccination with gp100-derived peptide in combination with IL-2 gave a 6.7 month improvement in overall survival compared to IL-2 alone. Objectives: Our goal was to identify immunogenic epitopes from gene rearrangement products and tumor coding mutations to generate vaccines for prostate cancer immunotherapy. Methods: We used a 3-step, in silico/in vitro/in vivo approach to identify HLA-A2.1-restricted, immunogenic epitopes derived from the highly prostate tumor-specific antigen ERG, a component of the TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion that occurs in about 50% of PCa cases. We designed longer epitopes that exhibit helper function through activation of CD4 T lymphocytes. We screened RNAseq data from prostate tumors to identify potential immunogenic epitopes that rise from coding mutations. Predicted epitopes are tested in humanized mice for immunogenicity. Anti-tumor effect of epitope-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes is tested against human prostate tumor cell lines. Results: We have identified several epitopes from ERG that induced a strong immune response in humanized HLA-A2.1+ mice and overcame peripheral tolerance in prostate specific ERG-expressing TRAMP-HLA-A2.1-ERG+ mice. Additionally, we have designed long peptides that target both MHC-I and MHC-II molecules and overcome the need for helper peptides. These immunogenic epitopes are naturally processed and presented by tumor cells to mediate cytotoxicity. Finally, we used RNAseq to identify a high number of tumor-specific, panHLA-customized, coding mutations, including those from KRas oncogene, that exhibit immunogenicity in vivo. Conclusion: Our findings provide proof of concept for peptide-based vaccines that are tailored to the tumor's molecular profile, and lay the ground for future development of personalized vaccines for clinical use.

Background and Aims: Tumor suppressor proteins (TSPs) are inactivated by many different mechanisms, including nuclear exclusion by the chromosome region maintenance protein (CRM-1). Increased tumor levels of CRM-1 have been correlated with poor prognosis of patients with different cancers, making it a therapeutic target. We have developed selective inhibitors of nuclear export (SINEs) that bind to CRM-1 to irreversibly inhibit its ability to export proteins. Here we investigated our new class of SINEs in multiple tumor models. Methods: We studied the effects of SINE analogs in a panel of pancreatic, colon, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), prostate, non Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) cell lines and non-transformed/normal cells using proliferation, apoptosis, immunoblot, co-immunoprecipitation, small inhibitor (Si)-RNA, and fluorescence microscopy analyses. The effects of the SINEs were also investigated in mice with subcutaneous, orthotopic tumors and in disseminated liquid tumor models. Results: SINEs (KPT-185, KPT-127, KPT-205, and KPT-227) inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of both solid liquid cancer cells, but did not affect normal lymphocytes or immortalized non-transformed cells. The nuclei of cells incubated with KPT-185 accumulated major TSPs such as p53, p73, p27, FOXO, p73, and prostate apoptosis response 4 (PAR-4) and inhibited interactions between CRM-1 and these proteins. Mutations in the region of CRM-1 that binds to SINEs (Cys-528), or siRNA knockdown of TSPs, prevented the ability of KPT-185 to block proliferation and induce apoptosis of cancer cells. Oral administration of the KPT SINEs to mice reduced growth of subcutaneous, orthotopic and disseminated xenograft tumors without major toxicity. Analysis of tumor remnants showed that KPT-SINE disrupted the interaction between CRM-1 and TSP, activated TSP function, and reduced proliferation of tumor cells. Conclusion: We identified SINEs that inhibit CRM-1 and promote nuclear accumulation of tumor suppressor proteins in multiple tumor models. Oral administration of the drug to mice reduces growth of xenograft tumors. Based on our solid preliminary studies a phase I clinical trial has been initiated for both solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Our results provide conclusive evidence in support of a global therapy for different cancers that involves targeted inhibition of nuclear export protein function and warrants advanced clinical investigations.

Background: Self-assembly and self-organization processes offer a powerful strategy for the design of nanomaterials from the ground up with predefined dimensions and properties. Central to these approaches is the design and synthesis of molecules with a built-in ability to undergo a hierarchical sequence of supramolecular reactions, culminating with the formation of a well-defined functional superstructure. The rosette nanotubes (RNTs) are a new class of biocompatible organic nanomaterials with tunable dimensions and properties. They are obtained through the hierarchical self-assembly of small synthetic organic molecules. They can be readily tailored to target and kill cancerous cells. Objectives: Our aim is to address the following issues: (i) extent to which the RNTs can capture and deliver siRNA to a tumour while retaining their activity, (ii) advantages and/or limitations of RNTs compared to clinically tested drug delivery systems (DDS), (iii) effectiveness of RNT-based formulations in cancer treatment, (iv) specificity and real-time tracking of the RNT DDS, (v) toxicity profile of the new RNT DDS, (vi) identification of optimal cancer targets for the RNT DDS, and (vii) categorization of the therapeutic advantages/challenges of this system in animal models. Methods: We have designed a family of RNTs and characterized them chemically and structurally. We have also tested their ability to capture siRNA and deliver it to cancer cells. Results: The binding efficiency was shown to be a function of RNT/siRNA ratio, net charge, and local cationic density. These formulations were reproducible at different ionic strength media and were shown to protect siRNA from degradation by serum nucleases. Moreover, the presence of siRNA also played a role in dictating the supramolecular shape of the nanocarrier, which may reflect in-cell uptake and the resulting silencing process. Fluorescence microscopy showed that Caco-2 cells can take up RNT derived assemblies very readily within 4 hours and retain siRNA up to 72 hours. Silencing experiments showed a dose-dependent reduction in VEGF protein levels secreted by Caco-2 cells reaching approximately 40% reduction at 20 nM siRNA. Conclusions: We have shown that the RNTs are effective oligonucleotide carriers. Future studies will involve animal studies and further optimization of the observed therapeutic effect.

Background: The multi-disciplinary team (MDT) coordinator’s role is relatively new and as such is evolving. What is apparent is that the coordinator's work is pivotal to the effectiveness and efficiency of an MDT. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the views and needs of MDT-coordinators. Methods: Views of MDT-coordinators were evaluated through an online survey that covered their current practice and role, MDT chairing, opinions on how to improve MDT meetings, and coordinators' educational/training needs. Results: 265 coordinators responded to the survey. More than one third of the respondents felt that the job plan does not reflect their actual duties. It was reported that medical members of the MDT always contribute to case discussions. 66.9% of the respondents reported that MDTs are chaired by surgeons. The majority reported having training on data management and IT skills but more than 50% reported that further training is needed in areas of oncology, anatomy and physiology, audit and research, peer-review, and leadership skills (Figure 1) Conclusions: The MDT coordinator’s role is central to the care of cancer patients. The study reveals areas of training requirements that remain unmet. Improving the resources and training available to MDT-coordinators can give them an opportunity to develop the required additional skills and contribute to improved MDT performance and ultimately cancer care. MDTs in the developmental stage should benefit from the experience of well-established organisations to enhance the cancer care. Finally, this study acknowledges the recent launch of a new e-learning training programme for MDT coordinators that is an important resource for these cancer key workers.

Networks of dynamical systems occur in diverse areas of engineering, such as distributed computation, automated vehicular formations, and power systems networks. We investigate the interplay between network coherence and the network's interconnection topology. In such networks, synchronization or more general coherence under stochastic uncertainty is an important measure of performance. For example, in power systems this notion corresponds to phase and frequency coherence of multiple generators (the lack of which may lead to so-called inter-area oscillations), while in vehicular formations this notion corresponds to how well vehicles are collectively tracking their commanded trajectories. We study abstractions of all of the above problems as distributed/cooperative control problems. We investigate the asymptotic limits of performance when network sizes become large as a function of the networks' topologies. This has important implications for the design of future highly-distributed-generation power networks, as well as large vehicular formation schemes such as those in proposed automated highway systems. This talk will specifically address the notion of network coherence under stochastic disturbances, and its dependence on network topology and various notions of network dimension. Regular lattices and fractal networks provide case studies with both integer and fractional dimension. We give asymptotic lower bounds on network disorder and show its dependence on both the complexity of individual node dynamics, as well as network dimension. It turns out that higher connectivity improves coherence, while more complex node dynamics can hinder it. However, in all cases there is a critical network dimension above which purely local interactions can lead to the emergence of global order. We outline the connections between these results and those on the statistical mechanics of harmonic solids. For future highly-distributed-generation power networks, we quantify the cost of synchronization in terms of resistive line losses due to the power flow needed to achieve this synchrony. We show that this cost scales unboundedly with the number of generators in the network and is independent of the underlying connection topology. This result is a further argument for the use of information communication rather than only power flows to enhance synchrony in such large networks.

Background: A techno-economic analysis has been performed for a coal-fired power plant retrofitted with solvent-based post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) technology where thermal energy is partially supplied by solar thermal collectors. The plant is compared with a generic PCC plant where all the thermal energy is provided by steam bled from the steam cycle. A suite of solar thermal collectors which include flat plate collectors, compound parabolic collectors, linear Fresnel collectors, evacuated tube collectors (ETCs) and parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) have each been tested for their viability. The plant has been simulated for several different locations in Australia: Sydney, Townsville and Melbourne. Objectives: This study investigates the integration of solar thermal energy in the energy mix of a power plant by using it to partially compensate for the debilitating energy penalty burdened by the introduction of the carbon capture process. Methods: The overall system consists of three subsystems: power plant, PCC plant and solar collector field. A base case scenario is studied in which there is no heat integration between the three subsystems and is compared to a system with heat integration. Additionally, incentives such as renewable energy certificates (RECs), carbon tax/credits and government subsidies have been considered in the economic model and a sensitivity analysis has been performed for each scenario of incentives for all five solar collector technologies at the three locations. Results: The ETC is found to be the best performer amongst solar collectors when the three subsystems have good heat integration while the PTC is the best performer in the case of no heat integration. The best location for the solar-assisted PCC (SPCC) plant is found to be Sydney. Conclusions: The SPCC plant is only economically viable in Sydney and Townsville once incentives such as RECs, carbon tax and subsidies are taken into account. By the use of solar energy and the available government incentives for their deployment, the cost of carbon capture is shown to be reduced.

In recent years, concentration has been adopted as a promising strategy to high $/W ratio of photovoltaic energy conversion. In concentrated photovoltaics, the Sun's energy is focused into a smaller area allowing for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using only a small low-cost photovoltaic cell. Conventional solar concentrators, which use III-V are, however, costly to produce. Ideally, the material should perform well under high concentration and be affordable. We propose to construct solar cells based on an excellent candidate materials system, InGaN, whose band gap can be adjusted from 0.7 eV to 3.4 eV as the indium content is reduced. Recent progress has resulted in InGaN solar cells with 97% internal quantum efficiency and 57% external quantum efficiency with an active region only 60 nm thick. This work demonstrates that electron-hole pairs are very efficiently collected in InGaN materials and the absorption is very strong at the band gap. The toughness of the nitride materials translates into its excellent performances under harsh environments: high temperature and humidity and high concentration. Georgia Tech-CNRS and their partners have developed unique lift-off technologies that dramatically lower nitride cost as a result of the ability to reuse the substrates used for the growth of nitrides. These lift-off technologies are also favorable for integration of InGaN cells with building materials like glass or metal, or with other solar cells, such as those made of silicon. In this presentation InGaN solar cells progress and results will be presented.

The evaluation of the contaminant transport is dictated by the Federal Soil Protection Regulation (BBodSchV, 1999) for sites that are suspected to endanger the groundwater. Vulnerability maps are often used for this evaluation. However, vulnerability maps consider the intrinsic vulnerability according to different methods taking some soil properties into account. Such qualitative method is not accurate when it comes to calculate the contaminant transport and looking at the specific vulnerability. Within the framework of a research project, a new investigation concept for the prediction of contaminants input into the groundwater was developed. This concept considers the estimation of the emission (E) of the contaminants, i.e., the time dependent amount and concentration of the leachate of the contamination source. The amount of leachate can be estimated by the infiltration of the groundwater recharge for every hydrological year using hydrological parameters. The expected concentration can be obtained from elution tests. In a second step, the transmission (T), i.e., the pollutant transport through the unsaturated zone into the groundwater is evaluated. This evaluation considers the transport mechanisms advection, diffusion and the retardation potential of the transmission zone. As a result, the immission (I) into the groundwater, the amount and concentration of the contaminants input can be estimated. Finally, it is important to evaluate the sensitivity of the system by classifying the groundwater according to the source value. This evaluation technique comprises a characterization of the site and an estimation of the contamination potential by conducting laboratory and in-situ tests and a numerical simulation modelling involving iteration for a contaminant mass balance. In this paper, a new testing method in a diffusion cell for the determination of the characteristic parameters for the transport mechanisms including the retardation potential is described and an evaluation concept for the contaminant transport based on the testing results is presented and discussed.

Water is not just the essential ingredient for life, but also a fundamental factor in the economy and security of any country. Coupled with increased population and climate change effect, the availability of food, water, and energy are the biggest challenges that the world faces. There is also the dependency of these essential gradients and basic needs on each other; i.e., water is needed to produce energy and energy is needed to produce water as well as both water and energy are needed to produce food. Over the next two decades water demand will exceed water supply by about 40% according to many scientific studies and reports. Food and energy demands will exceed supply by 50% and have also been described by the UK government's chief scientific advisor, Prof. John Beddington, to create the ''perfect storm'' by 2030. The provision of drinkable supplies through desalination could offer a sustainable solution to the drinking water problem but also presents a technical challenge too as well as all existing methods involve high operating and investment costs. A novel manipulated/forward osmosis (MfO) desalination process has been invented and developed at the Centre for Osmosis Research and Applications at the University of Surrey in collaboration with Modern Water plc (Modern Water). In the MfO process seawater is converted into an osmotic agent's solution by taking advantage of the natural osmosis process. Pure water is then recovered from the osmotic agent's solution using a membrane process, where the agent is reused. The technical obstacles being overcome in this process are the avoidance of all scaling, bio-fouling, high operating pressures, and necessity for pre-treatments and the associated chemical wastes, which result in direct and indirect reduction of cost. The concepts also serve as a platform for applications in power generation and other industrial applications. The pilot plant and Modern Water's commercial plants data in Oman and Gibraltar that follow from the manipulated osmosis (MO) process route offers up to 30% saving in the specific energy consumption over a conventional reverse osmosis (RO) process. The MO process also offers an increase in fresh water recovery rate coupled with minimal membrane fouling propensity and brine disposal. Additionally, the process can be incorporated into existing RO and thermal plants with reasonable modifications. New plant based on the MO principle should also have lower capital costs and smaller footprint. The new technology can be used to obtain clean water from any available water source irrespective of its purity, such as waste streams, seawater, brackish water, river water, etc. The provision of drinkable supplies through desalination could offer a sustainable solution to the drinking water problem but also presents a technical challenge too as well as all existing methods involve high operating and investment costs. A novel Manipulated/Forward Osmosis (MfO) desalination process has been invented and developed at the Centre for Osmosis Research and Applications at the University of Surrey in collaboration with Modern Water plc. In the MfO process seawater is converted into an osmotic agent's solution by taking advantage of the natural osmosis process. Pure water is then recovered from the osmotic agent's solution using a membrane process, where the agent is reused. The technical obstacles being overcome in this process are the avoidance of all scaling, bio-fouling, high operating pressures, and necessity for pre-treatments and the associated chemical wastes, which result in direct and indirect reduction of cost. The concepts also serve as a platform for applications in power generation and other industrial applications. The pilot plant and Modern Water's commercial plants data in Oman and Gibraltar that follow from the MO process route offers up to 30% saving in the specific energy consumption over a conventional RO process. The MO process also offers an increase in fresh water recovery rate coupled with minimal membrane fouling propensity and brine disposal. Additionally, the process can be incorporated into existing RO and thermal plants with reasonable modifications. New plant based on the MO principle should also have lower capital costs and smaller footprint. The new technology can be used to obtain clean water from any available water source irrespective of its purity, such as waste streams, seawater, brackish water, river water, etc.

'Big Data' analysis has become a central activity in business and science. Companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, and Google now own petabyte-scale data warehouses that are accessed on a regular basis. Terabyte-scale data warehouses are now common in many smaller organizations. This big data analysis is mostly supported by the MapReduce programming and execution model and its implementations, most notably Hadoop which is now one of the major big data platforms. Users of MapReduce often have analysis tasks that are too complex to express as one MapReduce job. Instead, they often use high-level query languages such as Pig Latin, Hive, or Jaql to express their complex analysis tasks. The compilers of these query languages translate queries into workflows of MapReduce jobs. Each job in such a workflow produces an output that is stored in the distributed file system used by the MapReduce system (e.g., HDFS in the case of Hadoop). These intermediate results are used as input by subsequent jobs in the workflow. The current practice is to delete these intermediate outputs after finishing the execution of the workflow. In our work, we developed ReStore, a system that improves the performance of workflows of MapReduce jobs generated from high-level query languages by storing the intermediate results of executed workflows and reusing them for future workflows submitted to the system. ReStore can be built on top of dataflow language processor such as Pig, which translates queries into workflows of MapReduce jobs. Each of these MapReduce jobs has a physical query execution plan that contains one or more physical operators that are executed by this job. ReStore rewrites the MapReduce jobs in a submitted workflow at the level of the physical query execution plan in order to reuse job outputs previously stored in the system. ReStore also stores the outputs of executed jobs for future reuse, and creates more reuse opportunities by storing the outputs of parts of jobs (which we call sub-jobs). We have implemented ReStore as an extension to the Pig dataflow system on top of Hadoop, and we experimentally demonstrated significant speedups on queries from the PigMix benchmark.

With over 80 million Internet users in the Arab world, Arabic content growth continues to grow dramatically but lags behind other languages in comparison to the number of global Internet users. Many factors are challenging the growth of Arabic language content on the web. Just like any market and economic formula, supply and demand complement each other. The greater demand on content, the greater the need for supply. However, the supply must be in the same language and format which the web consumer is demanding. Content for the web is significantly different from the traditional media (newspaper, magazine, radio and TV). Content must be relevant, local, and original to become highly ranked on search engines and served to browsers. Understanding the habits of the online reader is important to supply the appropriate content across multiple screens. Online content should follow certain formats, such as shorter paragraphs (online documents should not be more than 1,000 words) and should keep the reader in mind when writing or presenting rich content as people on the web are impatient. People on the web are looking for information and if you make it easy to find, they will thank you. Put the important content in the second or third paragraph and you risk losing the reader. In a similar approach, rich media content, such as videos, needs to be direct with very little distractions. Ideally, videos should be recent and not longer than 6 minutes to retain the browser. The web is a combination of EPC (experience, product and content). In order to promote Arabic content on the web, the user experience must be natural, easy to navigate through, simple and appealing (think of site maps, fonts, colors, etc.); with a product that is reliable, stable and modern (think of iPads); and content that is local, original, and engaging (think two way engagement and search engine optimization).

Background: Minimal technologies exist that provide tissue specific molecular information to the surgeon in real-unsupervised principal components time. Rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry allows near real-time characterization of tissue by mass spectrometric analysis of the smoke plume released during electrosurgical dissection. Objectives: To develop and optimize a statistical strategy for the real-time recognition of cancer margin status during surgical excision of liver metastases. Methods: Fresh tissue samples from 25 patients with liver metastasis from colorectal adenocarcinoma were collected and analyzed using monopolar diathermy coupled to ion trap mass spectrometry. At the point of rapid evaporation of tissues during electrosurgical dissection, tissue specific charged particles are formed and these ionized molecular species are transferred within the diathermy plume to the mass spectrometer using Venturi air jet pump and PTFE tubing. Intense spectral profiles are produced (m/z range: 600-900) which are associated with the structural phospholipid content of tissues and vary significantly between the distinct histological tissue types. Results: The resulting dataset was analyzed by unsupervised principal components analysis for explorative analysis of similarities/differences in molecular ion composition between samples. The maximum margin criterion analysis, a supervised dimension reduction technique, was subsequently applied to extract tissue specific discriminating molecular ion patterns. The 3-nearest neighbour classification algorithm was applied on a reduced set of discriminant features and 10-fold cross validation carried out. Discrimination of healthy and malignant tissue was possible with a sensitivity of 96.8% and cross validation demonstrated the validity of the supervised methods. Conclusion: When paired with real-time data analysis, the iKnife is a viable potential method of real-time tissue identification including the intra-operative assessment of oncological resection margins.

HEK-293 cell lines have been widely used for over 35 years by the scientific community. Currently HEK-293 cells are the most efficient system for the improved production of ribosomal proteins and viral vectors by large-scale transfection of suspension-growing cells in serum-free medium. Also, it is the most established cell line for the production of adeno- and adeno-associated viruses, retro- and lentiviruses for gene therapy applications. Additionally HEK-293 cells sustain replication of many viruses that are evaluated as vaccines or viro-therapeutic agents. Consequently numerous viral vectors produced in HEK-293 cells have been approved for phase II and phase III clinical trials. In this presentation, major achievements in process developments completed at NRC to support the large scale manufacturing of viral vectors and vaccines using HEK-293 technology platform will be reviewed. In particular, we will discuss the development of REOLYSIN®, an oncolytic reovirus type 3 Dearing based therapeutic that is currently evaluated in phase III. The REOLYSIN® manufacturing process was scaled-up to a 100 L operation volume to support multicenter clinical evaluation. Advanced online monitoring tools allowed a very precise characterisation of viral infection and production kinetics to demonstrate process robustness, define critical process parameters and establish the process operating space according to the Quality-by-Design guidelines. Through different examples, the presentation will also discuss practises and experiences at NRC in supporting translational research and technology transfer.

Background and Objectives: This NPRP project focuses on the assessment of urban qualities needed to enhance the sustainability of urban developments with a focus on Qatar's capital Doha. Since the end of the 20th century various urban development strategies have been introduced to reduce the economic dependence on fossil fuels by attracting knowledge economies and thus to transform Doha into an international hub. Particularly, Advanced Producer Services (APS) were attracted by public investments into urban developments and the liberalization of local markets. The immediate result was a construction boom, which has caused vast immigration reshaping socio-economic realities and producing a new urban environment. The decentralization of urban governance and speculative interests have led to fragmented and inefficient urban morphologies as well as to missing diversity and identity endangering future sustainability. The long-term establishment of knowledge economies heavily relies on the proactive integration of distinct urban qualities to enhance consolidation processes and thus to foster sustainable urban growth. In order to assess the inter-weaved factors producing urban qualities an integrative framework was elaborated as basis of this research project. Methods: Since urban sustainability can only be achieved if social, economic and environmental aspects are equally developed, the framework was at first elaborated on a theoretical level to establish links to the general scientific discourse. The empirical research itself is based on GIS-analyses of recent urban developments as well as a series of interviews with planning authorities in order to assess the efficiency of morphologies. Furthermore, space syntax studies on spatial integration in combination with interlocking network analyses were used to investigate the diversification process of urban structures. Thirdly, environmental observation studies and a survey questionnaire were applied to analyze the various images of urban spaces within the city. Results and Conclusions: Based on these methodologies the three dimensions of sustainability - ecological balance, economic growth and social peace - are analyzed in relation to the urban qualities needed for producing them. These investigations are further utilized to clarify the challenges and limitations of sustainable urbanism in the context of the rapid urbanization process in the emerging city of Doha.

Background: Regeneration may be induced by various drivers or catalysts - such as the improvement of neighborhoods, the introduction of art and culture, the construction of iconic architecture, the reactivating of ecologies, the restoring of landscapes and archaeologies, the recycling of transport and industrial infrastructures, the revitalization of communities and economies. Good cities are dynamic and constantly reinventing themselves and Qatar has a number of existing or potential projects that can be classified as regeneration projects. Objectives: This research was carried out as part of a course in Design and Regeneration in the Master in Urban Planning and Design at Qatar University. The objectives were to understand the many definitions, typologies and processes of urban regeneration and to reflect on how these could relate to and be applied in Qatar, and to speculate on scenarios and strategies of development. Methods: Regeneration projects were examined through varied lenses and in different geographical and morphological contexts. A series of sites were then identified in Qatar which presented opportunities to apply a variety of types and strategies of regeneration. These included: Abu Nakhla Reservoir, West Bay, Al Jumail Village, Al Thakira Village and Mangrove Park and Labour Housing in the Industrial Zone. Site visits were conducted with faculty and experts, and data was collected. Results: The students developed regeneration plans and scenarios - developing future visions and strategies for their sites - that took into account national and city masterplans, cultural strategies of the QMA and the guidelines of the Qatar National Vision, as well as identifying the various stakeholders involved. The work was presented in a short video and a series of posters, as well as an online blog. Conclusions: One of the objectives of the course and research was to discuss what regeneration means in an emerging metropolis such as Doha and in a fast-growing economy like Qatar. The research and projects were successful in developing critical thinking and raising important questions concerning the concept of regeneration in Qatar and initiating an important discussion and the blog was initiated as an interactive tool for dissemination and debate.

Background and Objectives: We randomly assigned invitations to a savings-focused financial literacy workshop for migrant Indian workers in Qatar. Via surveys of migrants, as well as their wives remaining behind in India, we provide a unique window into financial decision-making in transnational households. We examine impacts on financial decision-making of the migrant workers, migrants' attempts to influence the financial decision-making of their wives in the home country, migrant beliefs about their wives' behaviors, and the wives' actual behaviors. Method: A randomized control trial approach was used to assign migrants to a control and treatment group. After completing a baseline survey, migrants were randomly offered an invitation to attend a one-time financial education workshop. A follow-up survey was administered 16 months later to all couples. Results: The treatment led to substantial changes in migrant financial practices, and more joint financial decision-making with their wives. Migrants with below-median baseline savings are most responsive to the treatment, increasing their own savings and the remittances sent to their wives. Comparison of treatment effects on financial outcomes reported separately by migrants and wives provides evidence of substantial information asymmetries within transnational households. Conclusions: The fact that a short, simple financial education invitation had identifiable and (in many cases) large effects on financial behaviors and outcomes is one of the key findings of this study. While we cannot tell whether the intervention improved the overall well-being of migrants or their families back home, we do identify a subgroup (migrants with initially low savings) who saw increases in two outcomes of significant interest to economists and policy-makers: savings and remittances. That migrants were induced by a relatively minimal intervention to change important economic behaviors suggests that this population could not have had very strong priors that their previous behaviors were optimal. From a practical standpoint, our results suggest that financial literacy interventions have real potential to change migrant financial behaviors. These findings should be an impetus for further exploration of the impacts of financial literacy interventions in different populations and contexts. Future work might also profitably explore what factors lead to suboptimal financial decision-making in transnational households.

أن ظاهرة المديونية ليست بظاهرة جديدة على الانسان كما أنها منتشرة بين كل الشعوب، إلا أنها تأخذ أشكالا ًوأبعاداً مختلفة، كما أنها تظهر لأسباب و ظروف متباينة. و تأتي هذه الدراسة في ضوء اتساع ظاهرة المديونية بين الأسر القطرية و لجوء الكثير منهم لتمويل إنفاقها الاستهلاكي أو الاستثماري عن طريق القروض مما يشكل عبءً على كاهل بعضها ويؤثر على مستوى رفاهيتها. تهدف الدراسة إلى قياس حجم ظاهرة المديونية على مستوى الأسر القطرية و أفرادها. هذا بالإضافة إلى التعرف على خصائص تلك الاسر و تشخيص العوامل المؤثرة في الظاهرة و أخيراً التعرف على خصائص القروض و العبء الذي تشكله على كاهل الأسر و أثرها على رفاهيتها الاقتصادية. أما من حيث المنهج المستخدم فقد اعتمدت الدراسة على إجراء مسح بالعينة شمل ( 1368 ) أسرة قطرية ، و باستخدام استمارة مقننه و يمكن تلخيص نتائج الدراسة في: *أن ثلاثة أسر من بين كل أربع مدينة كما أن فردا واحداً على الأقل من بين كل أربعة مدين. * وجود ارتباط قوي بين ظاهرة المديونية و كل من متغير الدخل، النوع، المستوى التعليمي، الحالة الزواجية، نوع حيازة المسكن و العمر. * أهمية العامل النفسي عند الانسان و قناعته بشكل عام و بما لدية من موارد مالية بشكل خاص على مستوى رضاه عن وضعة الاقتصادي من ناحية و على قراراته المالية من ناحية أخرى. *يمكن تقسيم الاسر ممثلة بأفرادها حسب سبب لجوءها للديون لنوعين، الأولى أسر تسد حاجات أساسية لها، وهي غالباً ما تتصف بكبر حجمها، انخفاض دخلها و المستوى التعليمي لأفرادها ، كما ترتفع معدلات خدمة ديونها و بالتالي هي أكثر عرضة لمخاطر التعثر. أما الثانية فهي أسر تلجأ للديون لسد حاجات كمالية مرتبطة بنمطها الاستهلاكي المبالغ به و بالتالي تحمل نفسها عبئا اقتصادياً هي في غنى عنه. *تشكل قروض السيارات أكثر أنواع القروض انتشارا ، تليها القروض العقارية،. كذلك تحتل البنوك المرتبة الأولى كمصدر رسمي للقروض تليها جهات العمل فمصادر التمويل غير الرسمية. تقترح الدراسة مجموعة من الإجراءات التي تتجهة لتعزيز شبكة الحماية الاجتماعية. كما تقترح اجراءات ترفع من مستوى الوعي و الثقافة المالية بما فيها آليات مختلفة لتوفير مصادر معلومات للافراد. هذا بالإضافة إلى اجراءات تعزز شفافية المؤسسات المالية و مراجعات تشريعية أخرى تتعلق بتسوية الديون و اعادة هيكلتها

In the view of many non-Muslims, Islam is a religion that promotes hatred and violence and claims are repeatedly heard of how difficult it is for non-Muslim minorities to live in peace and harmony in Muslims countries. Moreover, recent clashes between Muslim and Christian groups in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution have exacerbated prejudices against Islam, namely that it is a religion that promotes violence and that Muslims are inherently militant and irrational people who cannot tolerate living and cooperating with the followers of other religions. This misconception has sounded alarm bells amongst many Arab Christian leaders, who warn Christians in the Arab world of the danger of allowing Muslim groups to rule. It therefore becomes imperative to counter such depictions. The aim of this article is to explain from a Qur'anic point of view what should characterize Muslim relations and attitudes towards non-Muslims in day-to-day life and the rules that should be applied to non-Muslims. It concentrates on a selection of key Qur'anic verses relating to the subject and attempts to demonstrate that Islam as prescribed in the Qur'an and exemplified by the life of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions accepts, celebrates and even encourages diversity, harmony and peaceful co-existence with non-Muslims.

ترمي هذه الدراسة إلى تجلية الاشارات النفسية في مؤلفات علماء الدين الاسلامي وإلى الكشف عن مدى تمكن بعضهم في الحديث عن الشخصية الانسانية من الناحية النفسية ومن خلال اطلاع الباحث على مؤلفات اولئك العلماء فقد لاحظ شمول مؤلفاتهم على المشاعر الانسانية كما لاحظ كذلك أنهم طرحوا جملة من الاطروحات وعددا من القضايا التي يمكن ان تضاف إلى الرصيد العربي في مجال علم النفس. يعد الدين من مكونات الثقافة الأساسية في كثير من المجتمعات ويقوم علماء الدين بتوضيح التعاليم والاحكام الدينية لكل مجتمع وتوجيه الخطاب للعقول البشرية ويتطلعون الى شكل التفاعل والاستجابة فهم يبحثون - في عملهم- عن الاثار النفسية في ذوات الناس. وحسب ماتوصل إليه الباحث فإن التراث الذي تركه علماء الدين الاسلامي قد احتوى على ابعاد واشارات نفسية من الممكن ادراجها تحت مظلة الاراء النفسية، ويجد الباحث تقاربا ملحوظا بين بعض النظريات النفسية وبين ماتناوله بعض علماء الدين الاسلامي في مؤلفاتهم كالغزالي وابن تيمية وابن القيم وأبي زيد البلخي وخصوصا في المواضيع التالية: الانفعالات. الجوانب المعرفية للشخصية. مفهوم اللذة والألم الاكتئاب والوسواس الامن النفسي. أما اهداف البحث فهي: ١-جمع الاشارات النفسية التي احتوتها مؤلفات علماء الدين الاسلامي وتحريرها وبيان ارتباطها بالعلوم النفسية. ٢- الاستفادة من مضامين تلك الاشارات النفسية لصالح التنمية البشرية. ٣- تبيين القيمة الكبيرة للاشارات النفسية في النصوص المقروءة لا سيما الروحية منها فالقراءة تسهم في تشكيل الفكر والمبادئ والسلوك. ٤-استقراء النصوص الدينية لدى العلماء من الناحية النفسية ومايتبعه من اضافة في مواضيع البحث في العلوم الانسانية. ٥-تشجيع الدراسات النفسية لتراث العلماء المسلمين. ويتبع الباحث المنهج الوصفي في هذا البحث. واهم النتائج: ١-كشفت الدراسة عن ابرز الاشارات النفسية التي استخدمها بعض علماء الدين الاسلامي في مؤلفاتهم. ٢-تعرفت الدراسة علئ ابرز تلك الدراسات للافادة منها في ميدان التنمية البشرية. ٣-تظهر الدراسة توافق رأي علماء الدين الاسلامي مع علم النفس في عدة مواضيع. واهم التوصيات: ١-تفعيل التواصل بين علماء النفس وعلماء الدين لتكتمل دائرة التنمية البشرية للمجتمعات بتضافر الجهود العلمية. ٢-العمل على انشاء مراكز ابحاث نفسية لدراسة التراث الديني. ٣-اعداد مناهج وتأسيس اقسام في الجامعات في الدراسات النفسية لمؤلفات علماء الدين

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Cultural diversity provides opportunities and challenges. Diversity in the workplace requires efficient communication to deliver effective leadership. Hamad Medical Corporation's expatriate population is one of its strengths. However, communication between cultures remains an issue. The aim of the study is to correlate relationships between the cross-cultural communication barriers and the leadership styles of nurse managers; it sought to answer the following: (1) What cross-cultural communication barriers are perceived in the Nursing Department of Hamad General Hospital? (2) What are the leadership styles of the nurse managers as rated by the staff nurses and the nurse managers themselves? (3) Is there a significant relationship between cross-cultural communication barriers and the leadership styles of nurse managers? (4) Based on the findings of the study, what transcultural management model can be proposed? METHODS: The study employed the descriptive-correlational design with convenient sampling as a technique. A sample size of one hundred forty-one (n-141) participants was utilized. Validated survey questionnaires using Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used. There were two questionnaires on leadership styles and one questionnaire on cross-cultural communication barriers. In finding the relationship of the cross-cultural communication barriers and the leadership styles, the correlation coefficient 'Pearson r' was utilized. RESULTS: - Stereotype has negative high correlation (-0.71) in Autocratic Leadership Style. - Different Expectations (0.96), Language Differences (0.94), and Misinterpretation of Communication (0.93) have very high correlations in Democratic Leadership Style. - Different Expectations (0.98), Language Differences (0.96) and Distrust (-0.91) have high positive and high negative correlations in Laissez-Faire Leadership Style, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Both the nurse managers and staff nurses believe that Different Expectations and Language Differences are top cross-cultural communication barriers. (2) Both the nurse managers and staff nurses believe that democratic leadership style is most evident in the workplace. (3) Cross-cultural communication programs should be considered to address Different Expectations, Language Differences, Stereotypes and Distrust. (4) Adopt a transcultural management model such as the M.D. Santos Transcultural Management Model.

This research project explores the implementation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs within the broader rule of law program context. A case study is presented using field research and primary sources of one well-developed ADR country, Qatar. In particular, Qatar showcases how arbitration and mediation are being used as positive means of resolving legal disputes and working towards better administration of justice. ADR has been introduced as a method that offers newly-developed mechanisms and alternatives that greatly assist judges, barristers and legal experts in expediting legal cases, finding creative legal ways to solve court issues and facilitate the unclogging of institutional bottlenecks that usually characterize the Arab legal systems. As such, Qatar's example may have the potential to serve as a template for other MENA countries that are embarking on their own rule of law reforms, since it is perceived as model nation in the region (in terms of spearheading the adoption of ADR laws). However, ADR laws in the region as a whole, remain relatively undeveloped despite the existence of a supportive legal framework. My research would analyze the current legislative framework of ADR within MENA countries, with a focus on Qatar - given ADR advancements there, particularly the dispute settlement procedure and administration of justice. The research presents an important opportunity to consider the impact of ADR law on expanding access to justice, reducing burdens on court systems, introducing greater flexibility and creativity to the dispute resolution process, and opening avenues for conciliatory resolutions. Through the country case studies, this research seeks to place within the context of rule of law development, the use of ADR to increase access to justice and extend more widely the protections and benefits of the rule of law for advancing administration of justice by complementing the work of the formal justice system. Its essence is that it gives an in-depth look on the current ADR development challenges facing the Arab region and its future development as a means to resolve legal disputes, in accordance with national and traditional standards.

One of the terms that cause confusion, suspicion, many conflicts and disagreement is "Islamic renewal". While renewal is legitimate and necessary, as admitted by the imams of Islam, this term has become a source of contention in recent times. Some have tried to give this term a strange mission and vision far from the truth and essence of Islam. One of the greatest fields where controversy erupts is the field of renewal of Islamic jurisprudence, where there are three different calls: The first call believes that the renewal of jurisprudence leads to alienation of religion. The second call, however, sees that the renewal of jurisprudence is legitimate. The third call is also calls for renewal, but the renewal of its vision - meaning reformulating doctrine and religion to something different from what it known of Islam throughout its glorious history - to make it subservient to the values of other civilizations and its concepts. Hence from that, the importance of this research to differentiate between "legitimate renewal" and the renewal which is alleged to undermine Islam. This research was divided into four sections and a conclusion. The first section deals with the concept of jurisprudence and its status and historical background. The second section addresses the concept of renewal of Islamic jurisprudence. The third section addresses some very important issues pertaining to renewal of Islamic jurisprudence. The fourth section is allocated to discuss "alleged renewal" and the conclusion records the most important results of this research.

الناظر إلى واقع الأمة الإسلامية اليوم، على مختلف اتجاهاتها وتياراتها الفكرية والسلوكية؛ يرى انحرافا خطيرا عن الوسطية التي هي أخص خصائص هذه الأمة، إما إلى إفراط وإما إلى تفريط، إما إلى غلوّ وإما إلى جفاء. هذا على مستوى الأمّة عمومًا، فإذا نظرنا إلى واقع الغيّورين الذين أقضَّ مضاجعهم هذا الواقع المؤلم لأمّتهم، فطفقوا يبحثون عن سبل العلاج وطوق النَّجاة، فإننا نجد انعكاس واقع الأمة على حالهم، فمنهم المفرِط والمفرِّط، والمشَرِّق والمغرِّب، منهم من غلا وأفرط في الغلوّ، فنشأت جماعات تكفير ، وعادت سوق الخوارج رائجة، ومنهم من فرَّط وجفا، فأضاع معالم الدّين وأصول العقيدة، ففشا الإرجاء، وانطمست معالم التَّوحيد، وحقيقة العبادة. وبين هؤلاء وأولئك: فئة على منهج الوسطية تقتفي الأثر، وتصحِّح الطّريق، وتجدد الدين على منهج أهل السنة والجماعة وإن فضيلة الشيخ أبي الحسن الندوي -فيما نحسب ولا نزكي على الله أحدا- علم من هؤلاء العظماء الأعلام الذين استضاء بهم تاريخ أمتنا ، وجمعوا من الصفات ما بوأهم منزلة القيادة والريادة وهذا البحث وإن كان قد سبقه كثيرون كتبوا عن فضائل ومآثر هذا الإمام وفاء بحقه وتعميما لفضله وخيره، إلا أنه يركز على إبراز شيء مختلف فهو يعنى بدراسة جوانب الوسطية والتجديد في حياة الندوي، وهذا الجانب المهم لم يعتن به الآخرون، ولم يولوه حقه من البحث والدراسة. خطة الدراسة: قسَّمت هذه الدراسة إلى تمهيد وثلاثة فصول وخاتمة : أما التمهيد فيتضمن الحديث عن مفهوم الوسطية والتجديد، إذ هما المَعْنيَّان بالدراسة في حياة هذا الإمام. وأما الفصل الأول فتضمن التعريف بأبي الحسن وحياته العلمية. وأما الفصل الثاني: فتحدث عن جوانب الوسطية في شخصية وعلم وفكر أبي الحسن. وأما الفصل الثالث: فيتحدث عن أبرز جوانب التجديد التي اعتبر بسببها أبو الحسن أحد المجدٍّدين في العصر الحديث. وأما الخاتمة: فقد بثثت فيها بعض مشاعري تجاه هذه الشخصية العظيمة والتي عايشتها من خلال كتبها فترة تعلمت فيها الكثير. والله أسأل أن يجعل هذا العمل خالصا لوجهه الكريم وأن ينفع به كاتبه وقارئه، وجميع المسلمين. والله من وراء القصد، وهو حسبنا ونعم الوكيل.

Research has shown that students' performance on college-level mathematics is poor across the globe and Qatar is no exception. Thus, there is a need to analyze in depth the weaknesses in the educational system, its pedagogical approaches and the materials it employs. The main purpose of this research is to assess the mathematics performance of college students in Qatar. There could be a number of reasons for this under-performance. However, based on our experience as mathematics instructor, our research will focus on the following two aspects: Firstly, college level mathematics cannot begin unless students have followed preliminary courses in appropriate sequences which could provide them with a solid foundation. Consequently, we will attempt to answer this first question: 1. Is students' under-performance due to a lack of understanding of the basic mathematics studied earlier in their schooling? Secondly, most materials used in Qatari colleges are written in English; for instance, the current textbook in use. Furthermore, many colleges in Qatar either require students to sit for American exams, such as SAT, ACT, either at the point of entry or at the end of their foundation program. Since the majority of students in Qatar learn English as a second language, a second pertinent question is: 2. What is the relationship between students' language ability and performance in mathematics? In order to address these two questions, we conducted a survey among students in our college and prepared the same questionnaires for similar institutions. To gather enough evidence about the students' performance, we analyzed 'Beginner' and 'Advanced' group students' results on entrance examinations and several end-of-term tests within the foundation program. To get more information about the participants, we will conduct interviews with a sample of the students that will address the two research questions more deeply. The results of this research will facilitate a better understanding of student's under-performance specifically in mathematics and, possibly, other subjects. Since the leadership in Qatar sees education as key to social and economic progress, the results of this research could be useful to all educationists in Qatar in informing their future decisions.

Inequities in learning motivation among school students have been attributed to many factors, among which school environment and family support are important and well documented. Most of these studies have been in culturally different societies, which do not share much commonality with schools and societies of Arab world. Diversity within Arab world countries, with respect to their socioeconomic status, further thins down the possibility of establishing any grounded theories on these aspects, based on relevant literature available from studies conducted in Arab world countries. Schools with sufficient resources and infrastructures, and families without any economic constraints do influence the learners' motivation differently in some Arab countries, and lead to inequity, contrary to other findings elsewhere. A qualitative study was conducted in a boys' boarding school over a period of six years, with an initial pilot study with 12 selectively sampled students to establish the issues to be used for further interviews. The final interviews were conducted with the same 12 students and 54 other selectively sampled students of age ranging between 13 to 18 years. Information was gathered through records of students' academic performance, observation of students' classroom and out of class academic attitudes and interviews with open ended questions about their perception of school and family support. Common themes of perception of lack of belonging and support, from school and family, were prominent reasons for decreasing motivation for learning among these students. Negative perception of school environment induced by isolation emerged as a factor for reduced motivation. A new role of private tutors emerged to be influencing the motivation to learn. Private tutors, parents with less contact time, and disturbed family structure, did negatively affect the students' motivation to learn. Learners who were able to merge themselves with the school system were able to get self motivated. Such merger was influenced by the students' cultural adaptability, involvement of students' family member in the day to day affairs of the student in school and involvement of parents in school affairs and activities. The findings warrant, revision of curriculum and school policies, and social awareness, for affecting student learning motivation.

Energy consumption can be attributed to many factors; technology, energy prices, general economic conditions, attitude and behavior towards energy use. Studies indicate that although people are often aware of the benefits of using energy more efficiently, a variety of social, cultural, and economic factors often prevent them from doing so. This paper presents the findings of a research project funded by Qatar Foundation to understand the behaviors, attitudes, and levels of understanding among faculty, staff, and students related to energy use in Qatar University buildings. A multi-method approach was used in five buildings including web surveys, behavioral observations, environmental measures and focused interviews. The analyses considered differences between the three population groups. Among the findings, QU staff is most concerned about conserving energy in QU buildings while students are the least concerned. A significant proportion of survey respondents are not aware of the university's efforts to conserve energy and many felt that university efforts are inadequate. The observations and self-reports indicated an abundance of energy-consuming equipment in offices, and lights and computers are often left on when work spaces and conference rooms are unoccupied. Furthermore, occupants tend to wear heavy clothing during warm weather months, requiring excessively low building temperatures. Finally, most occupants are willing to accept higher building temperatures during warm weather months and lower temperatures during cold weather months. This research attempted to understand the psychological, cultural, and institutional context within which energy-related decisions are made in educational facilities and how these factors influence energy consumption. Understanding these factors helps public agencies design and implement more effective energy-saving policies and programs. Methods and tools developed by this study can be duplicated in other building types and facilities.

Objective: We dedicated our work to study the socio-demographic aspect of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients seeking psychiatry treatment in outpatient clinic of Hamad General Hospital for a duration of approximately 5 years of continuous follow-up. Methods: Out of 8878 individual patients who attended the psychiatric outpatient clinic from August 1996 to December 2001, we reviewed a total number of 348 patients with a diagnosis of OCD (according to International Classification of Diseases-10 diagnostic criteria). We divided them according to age, sex, nationality, duration of illness, occupation and marital status. Each patient was interviewed using a structured interview technique and evaluated by a psychiatrist in one session at the psychiatric outpatient clinic. Results: We found that the disorder is more prevalent among non-Qatari people (52%) (Arabs 26.2%, non-Arabs 15.8%) than Qatari people (48%); more common at the age groups of 31-45 years (44.8%); more frequent in the category that visited the outpatient clinic for a period of 1-4 years (60%). We found that the married females (34.5%) are affected more than the married males patient (24.7%). It was also found that in the diagnosis of OCD predominantly obsessional thoughts were 54.9%; more frequent in the sample than the other diagnosis. Conclusion: In the state of Qatar, where expatriates usually outnumber Qatari patients, we discovered that non-Qatari patients are affected more with OCD than the natives. Sex, marital status and occupation also proved to be important factors. From our study, in the female married group, being a housewife seems to pose a greater risk in developing OCD. Predominantly obsessional thought was the most common sub-type of OCD affecting the patients in Qatar.

Background & Rationale: The national vision of Qatar 2030 seeks to advance human development, social development, economic development and environmental development in the region, allowing it to modernize and stay relevant to 21st century global interactions while maintaining its morals, traditions, and culture. The Qatari government has already devoted significant resources toward providing services that strengthen families in Qatar. As in many countries, various social campaigns are promoted through public service announcements in print media, billboards, and via radio and TV. However, technology and society are changing and these traditional approaches may not be the only way (or the best way) to reach all intended audiences especially in the field of developmental and charity work. Purpose: The study tested and evaluated the effectiveness of public service announcement campaigns and determineed if utilization of newer communication technologies (SMS, social media, etc.) can positively supplement more traditional methods of distributing public service announcements (e.g. billboard, radio, TV) and how this would be reflected on shaping public awareness and response to these campaigns in developmental and charity work. The project enlisted the support of local organizations (such as Qatar Foundation, Supreme Council of Education, Supreme Council of Family Affairs, Supreme Council of Communication) and non-governmental organizations, regional and international agencies to assess the effectiveness of various public service announcement campaigns. In particular we were interested in how well messages reach target audiences via traditional means and what is the impact of these messages on public awareness and response. The project also investigated the effectiveness of new alternative messaging strategies to see if alternative messaging techniques such as SMS and social networking pages could enhance and improve the effectiveness of these campaigns. Methodology: The study depended on comparative methodology using content analysis, focus group discussions and surveying target audience. The study will compare and assess different campaigns locally, regionally and internationally so as to set a new model of designing and better use new media tools and techniques. The results of this research provided useful data to help agencies determine the best ways to reach communities for which they can provide services.

In order to meet the customers' requirements, firms need to design a product line rather than a single product because customers belong to different segments and each segment has its own specific product requirement which usually does not meet by a single product. The two major objectives of Product Line Design (PLD) are: (i) customers' satisfaction and (ii) the firm's profit maximization. Existing works consider customer preferences for a product selection based on an attraction choice model using a different combination of attribute levels and the firm's own pricing strategy. The existing models utilize Bratley-Terry-Luce (BTL), Multinomial Logit (MNL), Multiplicative Competitive Interaction (MCI) techniques for computing customer choice, which suffers the limitation imposed by Independence of Irrelevant Alternative property. However, these models do not consider the impact of customer leakage and impact of competitor pricing on product offering for the same customer segment. In this research work we model the PLD problem which considers both customer leakage and competitor pricing strategy. It also use Mixed Logit (MXL) to fix the limitation imposed by IIA property. The resulting model is NP-hard, which computationally intractable for realist problems using an exact solution approach. Thus, this research discussed the use of meta-heuristics to solve the problem. In addition, the utilization of Radial Basis function (RBS) in neural networks is demonstrated to estimate customer preferences and other model related parameters.

أثر استخدام ذوي الإعاقة لوسائل الإعلام الاجتماعي علي تفاعلهم الاجتماعي في اطار نموذج الحوكمة الاعلامية مشكلة الدراسة: شهد العالم اهتماما متزايدا بقضايا الإعاقة علي المستويين الرسمي والشعبي مما أثمر عن صدور اتفاقية الأمم المتحدة لحقوق الأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة التي أكدت حقوق المعاقين في ان يعيشوا حياة كريمة ويتمتعوا بكافة حقوقهم مثل أقرانهم الآخرين ، غير ان الممارسة الفعلية لهذه الحقوق تثبت عدم التطبيق الكامل لهذه الاتفاقية -علي الاقل فيما يخص الجانب الاعلامي - فما زالت الصور النمطية التي تقدم عن المعاقين في الاعلام وخاصة الدراما العربية بشقيها الافلام والمسلسلات سلبية ومن بينها تكريس صور للعجز والشفقة والانحراف والفساد ومهادنة السلطة والمهن التقليدية وهو أمر لا يتناسب تماما مع الواقع الفعلي للمعاقين في العالم عامة وفي قطر خاصة ، ومن هنا تتحدد مشكلة الدراسة في الإجابة علي السؤال البحثي التالي :ما طبيعة الصور الحالية التي يقدم بها المعاقين في الدراما العربية - بشقيها الأفلام والمسلسلات- وما هي الأسس العلمية التي ينبغي مراعاتها عند إعادة تقديم هذه الفئة في ضوء نموذج الحوكمة الاعلامية ؟ هدف الدراسة: ترشيد استخدام الدراما كأداة جذابة ومشوقة لتكوين صور ذهنية لدي المعاقين من خلال التقديم الواقعي لهذه الفئة بما يعكس دورها ومكانتها في المجتمع لتكوين صورة ذهنية طيبة عنها لدي الافراد. الأهداف الفرعية : 1- التعرف علي طبيعة وحجم الصور الايجابية والسلبية التي قدم بها المعاقين في الدراما العربية. 2- قياس الي أي مدي تقترب الدراما العربية من تطبيق نموذج الحوكمة الاعلامية عند تقديمها لصور المعاقين. أهم النتائج 1- ثبت ان الصورة التي يقدم بها المعاقين سلبية جدا في مجملها وتعكس معاني العجز والشفقة والخضوع ومحدودية الفكر وتولي المناصب التقليدية او البطالة والاعتماد علي الآخرين والانحراف الأخلاقي والسلوكي والفساد ، كما ان هناك اعاقات معينة تبرز للاثارة اكثر من غيرها. 2- تعاني الدراما العربية عند تقديمها لصورة المعاقين نقصا شديد في فهم طبيعة ونفسية المعاق وما زالت تقدمه في اطار يكرس معاني الانفصال والتبعية . 3- الدراما العربية تهتم فقط بالاثارة عند تقديم صور المعاقين ولا تراعي مباديء المسؤولية الاجتماعية او الحوكمة الاعلامية. 4- هناك العديد من الاسس الواجب مراعاتها عند التقديم الدرامي للمعاقين سواء في الافلام او المسلسلات.

In consideration of the many challenges associated with Qatar's continued growth and demographic changes, the government of Qatar is interested in updating its school transportation system (STS). This work assesses the perspectives of parents and school administrators on Qatar's STS, identifies a vision and goals for the STS, reviews international norms for school transportation, and discusses strategies to achieve the vision and better align Qatar's STS with international norms. The authors articulate four elements of a vision for Qatar's STS: 1 - provide safe, efficient, and high-quality transportation for Qatar's students 2 - support educational options by enabling mobility and access 3 - provide a transportation experience that is supportive of Qatari values and culture 4 - minimize the impact on traffic congestion and the environment. The authors recommend 13 strategies to help achieve this vision, such as establishing clearly marked schools zones with standardized safety features and establishing standards for licensing and training bus drivers. The authors also provide a preliminary evaluation of several other strategies with less certain costs and benefits, such as changing the composition of the school bus fleet, implementing bus stops, and staggering school start times.

Today, in the globalized world in which we are living, with a full diversity of beliefs, thoughts and cultures, it has become essential for us all to focus on common ground and areas of cooperation, as well as challenges that face us regardless of our faith or belief systems. Our mutual coexistence is facing numerous challenges, starting with the acute ignorance of one another, the increase of mistrust amongst followers of different religions, through to the more extreme trends and symptoms of discrimination, hatred and violence. In the light of all of the above, it is clear that interreligious dialogue has become a necessity, rather than a luxury, and that one cannot build agreement and cooperation without first building trust and understanding. It is vital that interfaith dialogues continue to build more trust and clearer understanding of one another's faith, but it is similarly vital that now what is needed is to move from the 'interfaith dialogue' phase to 'interfaith collaboration'. This paper attempts to explore such challenges that face the interfaith encounters and the prospects to establish a more solid interfaith collaboration.

Background/Objectives: Qatar's entry to the global elite sporting scene, most obviously through its stunning coup to win the hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, has been accompanied by pressure to increase participation of female athletes. In response, Qatar has dedicated considerable resources to women's sports and Qatari women have been prominently featured in the 2011 Arab Games and the 2012 Summer Olympics. Qatar officials have publicly voiced their hope that these women will serve as role models who encourage women and girls to engage in physical activity and sports. At the same time, lifestyle changes linked to globalization have wreaked havoc on the health of all Qataris, with rampant diabetes and obesity rates that are among the highest in the world. Women in Qatar may face particular constraints that make it potentially more challenging for them to engage in regular physical activity to combat these diseases. The particular question this study aims to answer is "are Qatari elite female athletes influencing women in Qatar to engage in physical activity/sports?" Method: We have utilized an 84-item survey to investigate what influences the physical activity of women in Qatar. The survey was open before, during and after the summer 2012 Olympics in English and Arabic. Results: The data reported here are based on one set of questions from the larger survey. We found that while personal role models such as friends and family play an important role in physical activity, public figure role models, such as those cited by Qatari officials, are far less frequently cited as influences and in fact, only one Arab public figure of any kind (celebrity, athlete, etc.) was mentioned as a role model for sports or physical activity participation. Conclusion: While the Qatari elite female athletes are smashing gender barriers, they have not yet started to function as significant role models for women in Qatar. Strategies to increase their effectiveness are identified. At this historic point in the development of elite female athletics in Qatar, the research provides data Qatari health officials can utilize in their attempts to combat diabetes/obesity and increase all women's activity levels.

Based on the idea that museums are non-formal education places and therefore play an important role in the collective memory of their respective societies, this paper aims to examine the Olympic Education Program realized in the 'Olympics through Media Exhibition' organized by the Qatar Museums Authority departments in Doha, Qatar in 2012. The phrase 'olympic education' (OE) was first used by Norbert Muller in 1975. Muller based his studies on Pierre de Coubertin's (founder of the modern Olympics) writings. Naul explains that the writings of Coubertin were interpreted by several authors and all these studies were included in the framework of an OE. Thus, the OE became a complex topic used in a multidisciplinary field connecting different areas of knowledge and having the main focus on the Olympic sport, the multiculturalism and the fair play. Based on that, formal and non-formal educational institutions develop programs of OE. Olympic and sport museums can be considered non-formal educational institutions where OE can be developed through exhibitions. Education in museums can be defined "as a set of values, concepts, knowledge and practices aimed at ensuring the visitor's development; it is connected with the notion of awakening, which aims to arouse curiosity, to lead to questioning and develop the capacity to think". Following this approach, the educational program of the 'Olympics through Media Exhibition' was planned. The program was based on the values of Qatari society and the Olympic values. The staff was trained to promote interactivity in a dedicated area for children. There the activities included drawing, painting, video-gaming, quizzes, puzzles, guided tours, etc. The exhibition took place during school vacation; therefore an exclusive Holyday Program was organized with more than seventy children of different ages. The formal teaching of OE is still under development in Qatar. However the non-formal initiatives, such as cultural exhibitions, are already contributing to this process. The places of non-formal education, once they are connected with the local culture, are able to transmit important values from sport to society.

Qatar aims to transition to a knowledge-based economy by 2030. This vision requires labor forces with high skills. On the other hand, high school students are reluctant to enroll in disciplines such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering and technology. This fact raises questions about the society capacity to provide the appropriate labor force to achieve such a vision. Therefore there is a need to search for ways to raise the high school students' confidence to study those scientific disciplines. This research aimed to identify the learning possibilities offered by integrating secondary schools students within an advanced learning environment which offered research expertise. The method depends on using research as an activity for self-learning to understand basic science laws and unique applications. Twenty five high school students (18 male and 7 female) were randomly selected from the participants in Al-Biraq learning program in Qatar University, spring 2011. All the demographic characteristics of the participants in the experiment were unified such as; age, educational level (secondary), grades (12), academic background (independent schools), cultural background (speak the same language). The research team assessed the impact of the program by testing the students' performance. Pre-post-test was the assessment tool. Teachers and parents were also surveyed to provide indications of changes in student behavior in classes and at home. The results showed an improvement in student attitudes towards research and invention. The percentage of the students who agreed that they are capable of invention increased from 52% to 84%. The students who strongly agreed that their skills has increased after participating in scientific experiments from 48% to 72%. The study also, showed that there is significant change in attitude after attending this program as the confidence increased from 35% to be 75%. Findings did not reveal any differences based in gender. The overall outcome of the research is to emphasize the importance of non-traditional teaching methods based on research activities to improve students' attitudes and knowledge about science. Acknowledgement: The authors would like to thank the following companies for their sponsorship of the program: RasGas, Shell, Msheireb, Qatar Petroleum

Background and Objectives: This study examines the production of urbanism by focusing on the collective spatial practice and inhabitants' perceptions of the urban environment in emerging cities, with Doha as a case study. While the built environment is necessarily an important and obvious aspect of cities, this study attempts to apply a holistic approach to the understanding of what the reality of the space of a city is - beyond the face value of its concrete, urban reality. Therefore, the notion of the lived space is introduced to illustrate how it can be utilized to identify factors necessary for understanding the process of space production. In this respect, it is vital to understand the role of inhabitants and how they comprehend, appreciate, and appropriate urban environments with a focus on two main factors: urban identity and urban diversity. Methods: A set of various methodologies is applied to investigate the complex interrelationship between urban environments and human behavior. The two main categories of selected methodologies are observation studies focusing on mapping urban spaces and movements and, secondly, a survey questionnaire that aims integrating the individual views of inhabitants. After conducting a typo-morphological analysis of key urban spaces in Doha, behavioral mapping was applied to survey the use of these spaces by inhabitants according to days of the week and various times of day. The questionnaire was distributed to 350 employees working in high-service sectors in order to assess their perception of certain urban environments and their general experience of living in Doha. Results and Conclusions: The analysis and combination of these two types of empirical studies led to various recognitions relevant to the complex relationships between physical urban developments and Doha's inhabitants. Since the urban environment of the city has been undergoing major transformations finding answers to the question of how inhabitants are part of this kind of urbanism and how they may contribute to the diversification process and the establishment of a vibrant hub is essential.

Background: Sleep deprivation is associated with a reduction in sustained alertness and increased risk of road traffic crashes. Sleep deprivation has been reported in Muslims who observe daily intermittent fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. Epidemiological studies from Muslim countries, UAE and Saudi Arabia, show an increase in road traffic crashes during Ramadan. Aim: To determine the effect of Ramadan fasting on sleep and sustained attention levels in order to understand driving hazard during daylight hours. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental design in which sleep and sustained attention were compared between fasting Muslims (n=9) and non-fasting (n=9) subjects. Each subject maintained a sleep diary and completed the computerized rapid visual processing (RVP) task to evaluate sustained attention. The RVP was conducted at 4:00 PM on three different occasions (before Ramadan, 1st week of Ramadan and 3rd week of Ramadan). Results: In fasting subjects total sleep time before Ramadan (7.2±0.5h) was not different during Ramadan (7.4±0.3h, p=0.708); this was the same for non-fasting subjects (7.8±0.3h vs. 7.5±0.4h respectively, p=0.291). The mean latency to correct response on the RVP task before Ramadan (417.3±23.7 ms) was reduced at the end of Ramadan (368.7±23.7 ms, p=0.002) in fasting subjects only. Total misses were insignificantly greater in fasting subjects (4.3±1.2) than non-fasting subjects (2.8±1.2 p=0.348) at the end of Ramadan. False alarms remained unchanged in both groups. Conclusion: In this study, Ramadan fasting had no adverse impact on sleep or sustained attention. These results suggest that habitual sleep quantity is necessary to maintain daytime sustained attention levels in those fasting during Ramadan.

يعتبر السلوك العدواني في المدارس أحد المظاهر السلوكية المنتشرة بين الطلاب على اختلاف أعمارهم ومستوياتهم الدراسية. وتعاني المدارس في قطر مثل بقية المدارس في العالم من هذه الظاهرة، وإن كانت لم تبلغ هنا تلك الحدود القصوى التي عرفتها بعض البلدان حيث يقع فيها اللجوء لاستعمال الأسلحة بكل أنواعها. تكمن أهمية هذا الموضوع في الآثار السلبية الناتجة عنه التي تطال الطلبة، وتهدد تماسك الأسرة، والعلاقات بين الجماعات في المدرسة، بين الطلبة أنفسهم، وبينهم وبين المعلمين. من هذا المنطلق تبرز أهمية إجراء دراسة مسحية تساعد على تحقيق معرفة أدق بهذا السلوك العدواني المتمثل في التنمر "Bullying". وقد هدفت الدراسة إلى الإجابة على عدد من التساؤلات الأساسية المتعلقة بطبيعة هذا السلوك والعوامل التي تقف وراءه، وكذا الآثار التي تقع على الطالب نفسه، وعلى من حوله سواء في محيط المدرسة أو في الأسرة. وقد اعتمدت الدراسة على أسلوب المسح بالعينة لمجموعة من طلاب المدارس في دولة قطر في المراحل الثلاث الابتدائية، الإعدادية والثانوية من البنين والبنات، بلغت 2400 مفردة. كما تضمن البحث إجراء مقابلات معمقة مع عينة مستهدفة من الطلاب الذين يمارسون سلوك التنمر ومن الطلبة ضحايا التنمر، وكذلك مقابلات مع عينة من الأخصائيين الاجتماعيين العاملين في تلك المدارس. وقد سمحت الدراسة سواء في شقها الكمي أو النوعي بالتوصل إلى مجموعة من النتائج المهمة التي تسلط الضوء على التنمر في المدارس القطرية. من أهم النتائج التي حققتها الدراسة، معرفة الخصائص العامة للعينة المدروسة، ورسم صورة واضحة المعالم للطلبة، سواء كانوا من المتنمرين أومن ضحايا سلوك التنمر، حسب النوع والعمر والجنسية ومستوى التعليم والوضعية الاجتماعية لأسرهم. وكشفت الدراسة عن مدى انتشار هذا السلوك بين طلاب المدارس حسب عدد من المتغيرات الأساسية مثل النوع والعمر والجنسية والمرحلة التعليمية، وعضوية الجماعات المدرسية...الخ. كما سمحت الدراسة بمعرفة أنواع المضايقات التي يمارسها الطلبة المتنمرون، وتلك التي يتعرض لها الطلبة الضحايا، كما سمحت بتحديد الأماكن والأوقات التي ينتشر فيها هذا السلوك بقوة. وتوصلت الدراسة إلى التعرف على بعض العوامل المساعدة على انتشار سلوك التنمر بين طلبة المدارس في قطر، وتحديد عدد من التأثيرات السلبية الناتجة عن ممارسة سلوك التنمر أو الوقوع ضحية له، سواء كان ذلك على الصحة النفسية للطلبة، أو على العلاقات الاجتماعية ضمن الأسرة، وفي محيط المدرسة، وعلى الأداء المدرسي للطلبة.

فاعلية قانون المرور رقم (19) في الحد من الحوادث المرورية وأثره على سلامة الأسرة والمجتمع كان صدور قانون المرور رقم (19) لسنة 2007 تعبيراً عن اهتمام دولة قطر في مشكلة الحوادث المرورية وأهمية السيطرة عليها حفاظاً على الثروات البشرية والاقتصادية وعلى الأسرة والمجتمع. وهدف هذه الدراسة قياس اثر القانون المذكور على الحوادث المرورية وذلك بعد مرور سنة على تطبيقه واقتراح الإجراءات التي من شأنها المساهمة في زيادة السيطرة على الحوادث المرورية وتقليلها والحد من اثارها. وقد اعتمدت الدراسة على تصميم استبيان مفصل تم تطبيقه على عينة عشوائية من 2000 شخص ممن يقودون المركبات المختلفة من جنسيات وأعمار ومستويات دراسية وعملية مختلفة وفي مختلف مناطق الدولة. توصلت إلى مجموعة من النتائج كان من اهمها ان مستوى الوعي بخطورة الحوادث المرورية ياتي بالمقام الثاني بعد قضية المخدرات والمسكرات من بين قضايا الأمن والصحة في المجتمع، وإن مستوى الوعي بخطورة الحوادث المرورية بالمقارنة مع أهم القضايا الأخرى التي تهدد الصحة والأمان لازال دون المستوى المطلوب، بالرغم من الوعي العالي بمسببات الحوادث المرورية. وجود تأثير إيجابي لقانون المرور الجديد في تخفيض معدل الوفيات ومعدل الإصابات نتيجة للحوادث المرورية، لكن لم يكن كذلك من حيث شدة الحوادث. زيادة نسبة مخالفات تجاوز الحد الأقصى للسرعة، تجاوز الإشارات المرورية، التجاوز بصورة خاطئة. انخفاض نسبة مخالفات عدم استخدام حزام الأمان، الوقوف الخطأ، وجلوس الأطفال دون سن العاشرة بالمقاعد الأمامية للمركبة,الرغبة بزيادة الغرامات المالية لمخالفات عدم الالتزام بالإشارة المرورية، تجاوز السرعة المحددة، التجاوز من اليمين، القيادة بدون رخصة، قيادة المركبة عكس اتجاه السير،و قيادة المركبة تحت تأثير المسكرات والمخدرات. أن مستوى وعي السائقين بقانون المرورضعيف. أن للأسرة الدور الأكبر في مجال التوعية بأخطار الحوادث المرورية تليها المؤسسة الإعلامية ثم المؤسسة التربوية. أن أكثر من نصف الأسر تتأثر بالحوادث المرورية من حيث الخسائر البشرية والإصابات. ومعظم الأسر تتأثر اقتصادياً نتيجة للحوادث المرورية. يمكن إيجاز توصيات الدراسة في وضع خطة واضحة وقابلة للتنفيذ للتوعية المرورية، زيادة غرامة تجاوز السرعة ومضاعفتها عند تكرارها. زيادة مبلغ الغرامات المالية لبعض المخالفات و زيادة عدد كاميرات المراقبة على مختلف الطرق. ايجاد تنظيم قانوني وفني يربط بين الحوادث المرورية و التآمين. زيادة عدد دوريات المرور واللوحات الارشادية وكذلك تطوير صيغ التدريب في مدارس السياقة, كما تم التعرض لدور المؤسسة التربوية في تعزيز الثقافة المرورية.

Background & Objectives: Our research investigates the social implications of genetic knowledge in Qatar. Specifically, a social and cultural context for the specific interface between consanguinity and genetic risk is the focus. Genetic disorders are particularly significant in the Gulf region and the Middle East because of marriage among close relatives, which is a risk factor for genetic disorders. We are focusing on the way in which genetic knowledge is being negotiated and communicated in the region and on popular understandings of genetics and risk. Thus, this research will aim to map the perception of risk in Qatar. Medical anthropology has shown the way illness and illness beliefs are shaped by culture. We consider the way that new medical information is interpreted along the backdrop of previously held cultural notions. New medical technologies are not transferred into cultural "voids" when they reach disparate societies. Prior ideas about kinship, reproduction and the causes of illness are likely to influence the way people interpret and negotiate genetic information. We investigate the meanings that are attached to the practice of genetic technologies and practice. Methods: This research uses the approach and methods of medical anthropology. Ethnographic methods provide an in-depth understanding of how genetic information is being developed and understood in Qatar. Our main method is semi-structured interviews. Anthropological methods are particularly appropriate for providing insight into the issue of perceptions of genetics as they will provide a means to developed a nuanced and layered understanding of the issue. Results: As the project is ongoing, we can only comment on preliminary findings. Qataris interviewed are aware of the discourse of genetics, but are actively involved in negotiating different arenas of risk. They are weighing up and engaging with risks such as those arising from environment: i.e. pollution, dust, nutrition. Our participants were aware of potential risks of consanguinity, but were balancing these with other concerns: such as the social risks of not marrying in the family. Conclusions: At this stage it is too early to comment on firm conclusions, but we are confident that our research is producing some nuanced and interesting data.

This study explores the secular increase of national intelligence in Qatar (Flynn effect) between the periods 2000-2011 by using the Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) that was standardized on a representative sample of 1135 participants from Doha area, to age group 6-11.6 year olds (males N=517, females N=618). The SPM was administered in 2011 to a representative sample of 1003 (males, N=469; females N=534) of the same age and in the same region. The 2011 study showed that IQ is normally distributed in Qatar. The percentage of children with high ability (1.6%), the intelligent participants (8%), above average (20.4%), average (46.5%), below average (15%), borderline (6.4%) and mentally handicapped (2.1%). Furthermore, the study showed that younger children (6 to 9.6 year olds) obtained very high IQ (104.37 points), however, older children (10 to 11.6 year olds) obtained lower levels (95.73 points). With adjustment to Flynn effect, the smart fraction in Qatar at 95% obtained an IQ of 117.8, while the non smart fraction at 5% obtained an IQ of 58.3 points. The most remarkable finding of the study is that the national intelligence has been increasing in Qatar by 11.25 points in 11 years from 2000 to 2011. The rate of increase per decade and generation was 10.22 and 30.66 points, respectively. Children in Qatar were responsible for one of the largest levels of increase of IQ in the world. The increase in rate of intelligence per decade in some economically developed countries like Britain was 2 points, USA and most European countries 3 points, Israel 6.2 points, Korea, 7.7 points and Japan 7.7 points. Additionally, Qatari children obtained the highest scores of intelligence in the Arab world without adjustment (101 points) and with adjustment (90 points) to Flynn effect. This result showed that the calculation of Lynn and Vanhanen for the IQ scores in Qatar is incorrect. Finally, 10 assumptions as possible causes for the increase of national intelligence need to be investigated by scientists and intelligence tests such as WPPSI, WISC and SPM+ need to be adapted in Qatar.

This is a sociocultural linguistic study on the ways whereby language is used by residents, both natives and expats, of Qatar, a highly globalized country in the Gulf area. The motivation for this study is Arabic sociolinguist Reem Bassiouney's observation that issues of social stratification and how the latter is reflected on language in the Arab world, and most prominently in the Gulf countries, are under-researched. Against this backdrop and trying to fill in this gap, the described methodology combines linguistic ethnography with research on archives and books describing issues of social organization relevant to contemporary Qatari society. Linguistic ethnography is seen as 'a method of social research, [which] seeks to capture and understand the meanings and dynamics in particular cultural settings'. My study includes data from ethnographic interviews with 3 people, one Qatari, one Italian and one Indian, who have been working in Qatar for at least six months (in this way, they are familiar with the (working) context of the country). The questions used in the interviews focus on the participants' (socio)linguistic choices, lifestyle choices, ideologies, beliefs, and values. It is argued that social class, at the level of people's self-reflections is constructed via sociolinguistic upscaling, namely by alluding to higher-order scales, which create social norms and are thus associated with power. Such an upscaling is further argued to index upward mobility. What this means is that higher orders tend to be more abstract, hence more powerful, exactly because they are associated with rules and norms of the society. In a nutshell, the basic finding in this study is that upward mobility in class consciousness takes place sociolinguistically by alluding to power via upscaling. Finally, the overarching argument put forward is that globalization tends to metamorphose the very essence of social class, as it renders it mobile, in constant flux, and eventually a new system consisting of resemiotized identity units. The findings will appeal to both linguists and sociologists working in and on Qatar.

In recent decades, scholars of the Middle East have observed the activism of the Middle Eastern poor in response to conditions of increasing economic deprivation and social marginalization. Much of the work has exclusively focused on the poor's reactive acts of political agency. Surprisingly little is understood, with any empirical leverage, about the mechanisms involved in leading poor individuals to adopt the decisions and strategies that they do. A large part of the puzzle is the role of culture, which some have touched upon, but few have studied systematically. Poor people in the Middle East, so these researchers infer, are aware that they have become increasingly excluded under the new global market economy and so resist its effects by reasserting their power within extended family and community networks or maximizing their economic interests by engaging in petty unlawful practices. However, current approaches can neither show patterned differences in the ways that poor people in the region think and react to their social worlds nor can they provide explanations of how culturally-based motivators inform how the poor move in their pursuits. This article addresses these shortcomings by systematically examining the role that cultural factors play in shaping poor young people's particular choices and decisions. It relies on two years of ethnographic fieldwork among poor young men and women in two urban capitals in Iran in order to show how poor youth manage their everyday lives and attempt to move forward. In so doing, it is shown that in order to understand poor young people's preferences for undertaking certain actions over others, we must place their choices within a larger moral universe that is guided by their conceptions of good and bad. In this moral universe, the moral codes of honor and work provide both guidelines and an evaluative code for individual initiative and conduct. It is suggested that current perspectives should incorporate the role of moral systems and reassess the relationship between poverty and behavior in the region.

إثبات حكمة الله تعالى وتعليل أفعاله وأحكامه بالمصالح من أجلّ المسائل العقدية المتعلقة بالتوحيد إذ بها تظهر حكمة الله تعالى وعظمته ورحمته بعباده. كما أنها ضرورة ملحة لفهم الكتاب والسنة واستلهام هديهما، إذ لا يتأتي ذلك إلا بإدراك أن لكل فعل من أفعاله وحكم من أحكامه غاية يحققها وحكمة يعمل لإيجادها ومقصداً وهدفاً يقصده ويستهدفه لتحقيق مصلحة الإنسان أو دفع مفسدة عنه ، ومن هنا كان ارتباط الحكمة والتعليل بالبعد المقاصدي للشريعة ارتباط الروح بالجسد والأصل بالفرع ولعل هذا ما حدا الإمام الشاطبي أن يستفتح القسم الذي خصصه للمقاصد بالبحث في مسألة التعليل والإنكار على الإمام الفخر الرازي قوله بأن أفعال الله تعالى وأحكامه ليست معللة . والقول بتعليل أفعال الله وأحكامه لازم لإثبات محاسن الشريعة المطهرة وتنزيهها ودعوة الناس إليها كما أنه أيضا ضروري لقطع الملحدين ورد شبههم عن الإسلام ،وفي هذا يقول العلامة صدر الشريعة: ( وما أبعد عن الحق قول من قال : إنها غير معللة ؛ فإن بعثة الأنبياء عليهم الصلاة والسلام لاهتداء الخلق ، وإظهار المعجزات لتصديقهم ، فمن أنكر التعليل فقد أنكر النبوة ..) ، وللأسف قد وقع خلاف كبير بين علماء الأمة في إثبات الحكمة والتعليل ، ولزم من ذلك إنكار مقاصدية الشريعة في حق من نفى الحكمة والتعليل ، لأجل هذا أحببت أن أدلي بدلوي في كتابة هذا البحث المتواضع في هذا الموضوع الهام، قاصداً إثبات الحكمة والتعليل في أفعال الله وأحكامه كقضية عقدية وما يلزم من ذلك من وجوب الإيمان بمقاصدية الشريعة المطهرة مع بيان طرق ومسالك استنباط المقاصد من الحِكَم والعلل االجزئية . خطة البحث : قد قسمت هذا البحث إلى مباحث : المبحث الأول : الحكمة والتعليل ومقاصد التشريع بين اللغة والاصطلاح . المبحث الثاني : الخلاف في تعليل أحكام الله تعالى وأفعاله ويتضمن خمسة مطالب : المطلب الأول : أثر التحسين والتقبيح العقلي في الاختلاف في الحكمة والتعليل. المطلب الثاني : الأقوال في الحكمة والتعليل . المطلب الثالث : أدلة الأقوال . المطلب الرابع : الترجيح . المطلب الخامس : ثمرة الخلاف . المبحث الثالث : الحكمة والتعليل والبعد المقاصدي ويتضمن مطلبين : المطلب الأول : الإيمان بمقاصدية الشريعة . المطلب الثاني : طرق ومسالك إثبات مقاصد الشريعة من الحكم والعلل . خاتمة: وسجلت فيها أهم نتائج البحث.

بحث ادارة استراتيجيات التفوق البشري لأطفال الربيع العربي المقدمة تعد قطر من الدول الرائدة في مجال إعانة شعوب الرَبيع العربي مادياً وسياسياً ، وكون الطفل العربي المحور الأساسي لربيع يزهر علماً ،فكراً ، سلاماً ، ارتأينا أن ندعم الطفل العربي ذهنيًا بإقامة مركز خاص يشرف على تطبيق مشروع الاتساق الذهنيَ ، نعمل من خلاله على ادارة استراتيجيات التفوق البشري لبناء شخصيتهم المتوازنة ومساعدتهم على تجاوز الصَعوبات ، فبناء الفكر البشريَ السَليم في ظل هذه المتغيرات يساهم في خلق آفاق عربية سليمة. الأهداف : 1)فتح المقر الإداريَ لأول مركز تنمويَ ثقافيَ فكريَ تدريبيَ متخصَص للفئات العمرية من 6-14 في العالم العربي . 2)تنفيذ 30 برنامج تدريبيَ للأطفال عبر الجمعيات المشرفة ،يعتمد منهج تدريبيَ نفسيَ ،اجتماعيَ، علاجيَ وفكريَ ، وإعادة برمجة الأطفال على استعمال استراتيجيات الدماغ المتقدمة في أنماط التفكير، الإبداع و القيادة . 3)تقديم استشارات و برامج متخصصة للمراكز المشرفة على الأطفال . 4) تأهيل 30 مدرب من كافة الجمعيات ، للمشاركة في تعميم الأثر المباشر. 5)فتح موقع الكتروني يقدم مساهمات لكل المراكز العربية عبر العالم بمشاركة كفاءات المراكز . منهج البحث : نعتمد المنهج الوصفي ، أمَا الابواب هي: أ‌.معايير إدارة التفوق البشري : 1-انارة العقل . 2-تخلص من قيودك. 3-الليونة العقلية والجلد الذهني 4-الرؤية بعين الحق 5-الهدنة مع الذات 6-الاتساق النفسي والعقلي . 7-استراتيجيات التفوق العقلي . ب‌.منظومة إدارة البرامج العقلية : 1-مختبر إدارة الذات. 2-مختبر إدارة العقل. 3-تحرر. 4-التغلب على الصعوبات. ج. بناء الهوية التكوينية. النتائج : 1-توظيف هذه الأساليب لتوفير فرص أفضل لحياة كريمة ، آمنة تتوافق وتطلعات الأمم السَاعية للتقدم . 2-اكسابهم استراتيجيات التفوَق البشريَ القائم على السَلام والتَعاون البناء بين الجميع 3-غرس المواطنة الصَادقة عند الأطفال . 4-تأهيل قيادات الألفية الثالثة الإيجابيَة 5-استثمار الرأسمال الفكري البشري 6-نشر ثقافة السَلام والقضاء على التطرف . التوصيات 1.توعية المجتمع لأهمية التعليم الذهني ،وتطوير القدرات العقلية والنفسية لبناء الشخصية المتكاملة من خلال الدَورات . 2.تبصير المؤسسات والمراكز التطوعية باستراتيجيات التفوَق البشري وكيفية ادارته . 3.تقديم الاستشارات المتخصصة للعاملين في المراكز التطوعية والخيرية . 4.تكثيف الحملات الإعلانية للتعريف بالبرنامج . 5.إقامة شراكات واتفاقات مع المراكز القطرية التطوعية الخيرية ،لبناء نموذج قوي لادارة المشروع من و في قطر .

Qatari society is witnessing an increase in cultural diversity due to a large number of immigrants from different cultures. This cultural diversity may create a kind of cultural isolation between non-Qataris and Qatari people. International migration has led to diverse and plural cultural identities and ethnic groups in the same society. Studies have shown that immigrants face problems of adaptation to, and integration with, the culture in the communities to which they migrate. This study aims to identify the degree of social integration between expatriates and Qataris Methodology: This study used a focus group (14 focus groups, total of 65 participants from different nationalities) with an open-ended question. By using convenience and snowball sampling techniques Results: The primary arenas of interaction between Qatari and non-Qatari were in work/educational contexts. For example, participants from all groups revealed that while they have good working relationships with Qataris (or expatriates), these relationships remain in the public sphere at work or school and generally do not extend beyond these boundaries. Barriers to Integration: Language: Considered as the major barrier by most expatriates to relationship with Qataris. Culture diversity: Foreigners who share an important identity such as religion (e.g., Muslims, Arabs) are more able to make relationship with Qatari people and more likely to assimilate into Qatari society. Transient nature of expatriates: Most expatriates come to Qatar on 2-4 year work visas. This was mentioned as a barrier to social integration by both expatriates and Qataris. Appearance of Qataris: The national dress is worn by most Qatari men and women, and several focus groups mentioned that this attire can be intimidating and act as a barrier to casual interactions. Security and lack of security: While the expatriates expressed comfort and a sense of security in Qatar, the nationals showed lack of security. Conclusions: The results showed some manifestations and causes of cultural isolation between Qataris and expatriates. It showed that immigrants who come to work in Qatar faced difficulties in communicating with the Qatari people.

Bilingual education was introduced to Qatar schools several years ago in order to achieve Qatar's National Vision of 2030. The main purpose of the research is to provide a clear image of education in Qatar and show how bilingualism affects the country academically. The term 'bilingualism', in its simplest definition, is knowing two different languages based on competency in four skill areas; understanding, speaking, reading and writing. Therefore, bilingual education in Qatar refers to the use of secondary language in schools for teaching certain subjects. The design of the study is based on a comparison between the academic improvements of graduated students from independent and government schools. The data was collected by questionnaire surveys of 40 undergraduate students from both schools to evaluate the level of education they have gained and the problems they have faced in university. Moreover, a survey was distributed among teachers and parents to discover their experiences with bilingualism. In addition, for data collection, statistics from the Supreme Education Council website was used to get an overview of the level of independent schools. In the beginning, the idea of implementing bilingual education in schools was not accepted by students, teachers and parents, because they found some difficulties adapting to the English language. It resulted in low scores in science and mathematics courses; thus, students faced some problems in the admission requirements for Qatar University. On the other hand, the students' level in English has risen noticeably. Moreover, there was an argument that bilingual education may affect the Islamic religion and Arabic culture, but the parents' survey showed that there is no major effect under the SEC supervision. Despite all the obstacles, the SEC is working on several strategies to overcome the problems by strengthening the level of teaching and teachers to deliver the correct information to the students. From this study, it can be concluded that the usage of English language in Qatar schools has a great impact on the society. Therefore, in the near future, by raising the education level, Qatar will achieve public welfare, high standards of living and significant academic performance.

Background and Aims: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex disease with multiple metabolic defects including insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction. Although both insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction are present in type 2 diabetic individuals in all ethnic groups, we previously have shown that the contribution of each abnormality to the deterioration of glucose homeostasis is ethnic dependent with the greatest role of beta cell dysfunction being in Arab individuals. In the present study, we compare the efficacy and safety of a novel therapeutic approach of initiating subjects with new onset T2DM on triple therapy with agents that correct the metabolic defects in T2DM (metformin/pioglitazone/exenatide) versus the American Diabetes Association guidelines (starting metformin and sequential addition of sulfonylurea and basal insulin) which are based upon the concept of lowering the plasma glucose concentration. Research Design and Methods: 133 new onset T2DM patients (age = 45±1 y; BMI=36±0.5; HbA1c = 8.8±0.1%; diabetes duration = 5.6±0.5 mo) were randomized to receive metformin (2000 mg/d), plus pioglitazone (45 mg/d), plus exenatide (10 micrograms BID) (triple therapy, n=64) or escalating doses of metformin (2000 mg/d), followed by sequential addition of sulfonylurea (glipizide, 20 mg/d) and basal insulin to maintain HbA1c <6.5 (conventional therapy, n = 69). Results: Subjects who received triple therapy, HbA1c decreased from 8.6 to 6.1% at 6 mo and to 6.0% at 24 mo, while in the conventional therapy, HbA1c declined to 6.2% at 6 mo and subsequently increased to 6.5% at 24 mo. Despite lower HbA1c, subjects in triple therapy arm experienced a 13.6-fold lower rate of hypoglycemia compared to subjects in conventional therapy arm. 14 of 66 (21%) of T2DM patients in the conventional therapy arm have required insulin therapy to maintain the target A1c value. Subjects in the triple therapy arm experienced mean weight loss of 1.2 kg compared to mean weight gain of 3.6 kg (p=0.02) in subjects in the conventional therapy arm. Conclusion: The present results demonstrate that antidiabetic therapy targeting the metabolic abnormalities responsible for hyperglycemia is more effective and safe than therapy simply aimed at lowering the plasma glucose concentration in T2DM.