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Tuberculosis is the main health issue worldwide and a disease that has raised the mortality rate globally. Compliance with anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) medication regime is very low, especially regarding children. The bad taste of the drugs used to treat tuberculosis is cited as a primary cause. This study has examined the multipatriculates dosage form (spheroids- minitablets) of anti-TB drugs (isoniazid (INH), pyrazinamide (PZD), and rifampicin (RIF)), for children. Differential scanning calorimetry, the torque rheometer MTR, and the stress control rheometer were used. In the first part of this study, the rheological behaviours of wet powder masses were studied as a function of granulation liquid (deionised water) and various grades of crospovidone (XPVP) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). XPVP-CLM required more granulation liquid to reach the saturation for extrusion-spheronisation (ES) stage compared to the standard MCC-PH101 grades with the three anti-TB drugs. In the second part of the study, XPVP-CLM-based spheroids were manufactured using ES at ratios ranging between 10%-60% for the three drugs. XPVP-CLM was a robust ES-aid with anti-TB drugs. Increasing the fraction of crospovidone led to the overall quality of spheroids that were within the acceptable values of the quality target product profile (QTPP). A high proportion of the aid led to uniform particles with acceptable physical and mechanical features (friability, shape factor and flowability characteristic). The three drugs were well distributed within the spheroids. The third section of this work has examined fluidized coating of the spheroids, and at different film coating thicknesses. An increased thickness of film coating was needed to mask the taste of isoniazid due to its high solubility. The final part of this work undertaken has manufactured minitablets, to provide a better flexible dosage unit than spheroids. Overall, the dose at different fractions of the three drugs showed acceptable values within the standard value of the USP. Dosing was flexible by using different size commercial capsules for the three anti-TB drugs. The taste-masked multiparticulate oral dosage form can simplify the dosing regimen of the combined medicines to treat TB in children compared to fixed-dose combination FDC.

For ages past, inscribed culture heritage materials have been preserved, organised, and disseminated by libraries, museums, and archive centres. Arabic manuscripts, as one of the most fragile and valuable examples of mankind's heritage, are kept in different parts of the world. With the increasing demand for these manuscripts by users, many Arabic manuscript holders have tended to use technology in order to preserve this fragile information resource and provide a better service for users. Digital libraries open new frontiers for Arabic manuscript providers and end-users. In the last five years, a number of digital libraries providing access to some Arabic manuscripts have been launched in several parts of the world. There are also ongoing projects to establish a digital library of Arabic manuscripts (e.g. in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). A number of studies have called for the involvement of users in building and maintaining digital libraries to provide a better service. This study aims to explore and specify Arabic manuscript users' (providers and end-users) requirements to provide best practice for digital libraries of Arabic manuscripts. In order to elicit Arabic manuscripts users' requirements, the study has employed both desk research and a mixed methods approach. This study has selected the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as the research environment. The findings of this study show willingness by number of Arabic manuscript providers to establish a digital library of Arabic manuscripts. In addition, the majority of surveyed end-users have previous experience of using internet resources (e.g. digital libraries) for locating and accessing Arabic manuscripts. End-users have specific requirements based on their informationseeking behaviour which are in contrast with those of providers, such as obtaining a hard copy of a manuscript.

The Objective of this project was to assess the nutritional status of a group of school children and to determine the risk variables that may predispose them to coronary heart disease (CHD) later on. The study was conducted among 1585 pupils selected randomly from 30 primary schools representing all the primary schools in Riyadh City (capital of Saudi Arabia). Two age groups were included, 8.5-9.5 and 11.5-12.5 years, boys and girls. Sociodemographic aspects, physical activity and fitness, dietary pattern and intake were measured. Blood levels of micronutrients and vitamins, blood count and lipid profile were preformed. Blood pressure, heart rate and anthropometry were measured. The participation rate was 80.6%. Boys had 17% higher activity score than girls; in addition they had higher values for VO2max. The hypoactivity level was higher for girls. 8.3% of all pupils have a risky blood pressure. Total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (HDL/TC), triglycerides (TG) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) risky levels for boys were 33.4%, 5.1%, 26.3% 30.4%) and for girls 32.1%, 6.8%, 41.8%), 35.8% respectively. Obesity was detected among 11.6%) boys and 14.1%) among girls. Anaemia prevalence was higher among girls than boys (9.0%, 7.1% respectively). A positive correlation was detected between socioeconomic level and blood lipid risk factors. Similar correlation were elicited between BMI and LDL as well as between body fat percent and TG, TC, LDL. One or more CHD risk variables were present among 52.2%) and 71.6%) boys and girls aged 8.5-9.5 years respectively. They were present in 59.0% and 72.3% among those aged 11.5-12.5 years. Hypoactivity, hypercholesterolaemia and obesity were the main prevalent risk factors. A positive family history of cardiovascular disease was much lower in Saudi schoolchildren compared with industrialized countries. Saudi boys had 3.9% (1.7-6.1%) compared with 32.3% (26.5-38.1%) in a similar study of schoolchildren in Northern Ireland, where CHD rates are among the highest in the world. However the level of combined risk factors was even higher in Saudi children than children from Northern Ireland. 26.5% of boys and 15.5% of girls in Saudi had > 3 risk factors compared with 17.1% of boys and 11.2% of girls in Northern Ireland. These findings suggest that Saudi Arabia faces an epidemic of cardiovascular disease in the next century unless risk factors levels are reduced by appropriate interventions. The study signifies the importance of early intervention for CHD risk factors in childhood to prevent its emergence in adulthood.

The Northern Region of the Sudan is poorly endowed with natural resources. Agriculture is the main economic activity. Because of the aridity of the region and the high cost of irrigation, agricultural production is confined to the vicinity of the Nile. Three forms of agricultural production co-exist in the Northern Region. The Shendi area was selected for field survey. These are state, cooperative and private forms of organization. Several philosophical approaches were considered and structuration approach is adopted. It allows for the explanatory role for structures where these dominate over the participating individuals and/or groups. Within structurational context the study argues that these forms of organization have different impacts on land use and development variables. The variables considered are cropping patterns, land use intensity, land productivity, poverty eradication and income distribution. The three forms are different with regard to their ideological stances, group composition, power relations, motives and objectives. These differences are hypothesised as resulting in different applications of management functions and material agricultural inputs. Production relations, land tenure systems, commercial cropping, rotation system, application of fertilizer and labour inputs are different under the three forms of organization. Differences in their operations were found to be a function of differences in structural composition. Private form of organization ranks first with regard to the application of agricultural inputs followed by state and cooperative forms respectively. Differences in operations resulted in differences with regard to their spatial and development impacts. Cropping patterns are different. Land use intensity is higher under private form of organization followed by state and cooperative forms respectively. There is high degree of land under-utilization under all the three forms. Land productivity, capacity to eradicate poverty and patterns of income distribution are remarkably different between them. With all these variables private form of organization ranks higher than the other two. State scheme ranks second and cooperative is a poor third. The three forms of organization have different structural compositions, different operations and different impacts of space and development.

This thesis describes a study into the torsional behaviour of reinforced concrete members, in particular solid Lsections under pure torsion. It consists of three distinct but linked phases: (1) development, assessment and application of a three dimensional nonlinear finite element model for short-term behaviour of reinforced concrete, (2) an experimental programme and (3) a numerical parametric study. Nonlinear behaviour takes into account concrete cracking, nonlinear triaxial stress-strain relations of concrete, concrete crushing and yielding of steel reinforcement. Cracking behaviour is modelled by a fixed orthotropic smeared crack approach, allowing up to three cracks to occur at any sampling point. Modelling of post-cracking behaviour allows for shear transfer and tension stiffening effects. Concrete behaviour under all multiaxial stress states is governed by a short-term constitutive law and a peak stress failure criterion. A bilinear uniaxial stress-strain law allowing for isotropic strain hardening is used for steel reinforcement. 20-noded isoparametric brick element is used to represent concrete, with single bars embedded within the concrete elements to simulate reinforcement. A modified Newton-Raphson approach was used for solving the nonlinear problem, based on the evaluation of a secantial elasticity matrix. The program was assessed by studying the behaviour of deep beams, shallow beams simulating beam-column behaviour, rectangular beams subject to pure and combined torsion and L-sections under pure torsion. Through systematic study, the influence of some of the major nonlinear material and solution parameters was established for these applications and limits on their values were set. The experimental programme involved testing a series of solid reinforced concrete models of L-shaped cross sections under pure torsion in a specially designed and built test-rig. The tests were devised to: (1) assess the current British Code design procedure for torsion of solid L-sections, (2) obtain an insight into the torsional behaviour of these types of sections and (3) provide detailed results to assess the reliability of the finite element model in the analysis of torsion of fully reinforced flanged sections. A dual approach of complementing the experimental results with a numerical parametric study, using the developed finite element model, is adopted where more variables not included in the experimental programme were investigated. The current British Code design procedure for torsion was found to be too conservative for solid flanged sections, and it is concluded that the code's rules can be less stringent. Some recommendations that might help bring the code's torsion design procedure in line with other major codes of practice are given.

The aim of this thesis is to cast light on a group of senior managers currently working in Iraq. It investigates their personalsocial background. career patterns and decision-making styles in the light of the Western management standards. The thesis also tries to bring into the light how the Iraqi managers spend their time and what activities they exercise inside their firms. In addition. it attempts to show the contemporary social constraints or pressures which face managers in Iraq. The assumption is made that in order to understand management styles and the principal personal-social background and career patterns of a group of managers in a given country. prior understanding of their social and cultural values is vital. Without such prior understanding of the social and cultural context. the analysis and the interpretation of the managers' characteristics and their management styles will be incomplete. Thus, the point of departure is to start the analysis by careful examination of Iraq; its geography, social communities, religions, education, political and economic development. In addition, the analysis extends itself to cover the past and the contemporary attitudes toward men and women, time. manual work and toward the size of the family. The thesis then proceeds to discuss the principal characteristics of forty four Iraqi manuging directors. The results broadly indicate that most of the personal-social characteristics and career patterns of these managers are a reflection of their larger society. The same is equally true with their management styles. What already exists in the industrial firms studied also exists in the larger society; the links between industrial organisations and the Iraqi society in terms of social values and attitudes toward time. manual work. superiority of men over women. remain strong despite the fact that the society is undereoing considerable social and economic changes. So. too, the principal characteristics of the managers studied. whether in terms of their personal-social background. their career patterns or their decision-makine styles. are by and large similar to the general features of the society in large. The analysis also indicates that in order to work according to Western management standards. the Iraqi manager needs not only a long period of time, but also requires massive efforts to get rid of a heavy heritage of different but interlocking social pressures and constraints.

This study addresses approaches and methods used in the delivery of electronic resources in two academic libraries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Central Library of the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, and the Central Library of the King Saud University (now known as Prince Salman Central Library). The study also attempts to discover the impact generated by the current methods in the delivery of electronic resources through examined libraries' websites. The study hypothesizes that the current methods in the delivery of electronic resources through the websites of the studied libraries can be anticipated to have a negative effect on the rate of the effective use of electronic resources. The research used the survey methodology to describe the phenomena and to obtain information. The sample for this research was purposive sampling of academic staff at the Library and Information Science departments in both universities. The researcher distributed 50 questionnaires, and received 42 usable responses. In addition, the study presents the techniques and methods used in the libraries studied. The study findings were that the examined libraries use primitive methods in the delivery of electronic resources through their websites, and they depend for the delivery of electronic resources on the library system providers or on the aggregators or vendors of the electronic resources. In addition, there is a lack of experience among the libraries' staff in dealing with electronic resources. In terms of the impact of the delivering electronic resource services, the research found that more than a quarter of respondents do not use the electronic resources provided by the studied libraries. In addition, the majority of respondents (78.6%) use electronic resources which are provided by other institutions or universities. However, the knowledge of the respondents about the types of electronic resources provided by the libraries was also investigated. The majority of respondents did not know that their libraries provide electronic journals, with only 19% of respondents stating that the library provides electronic journal. The study affirmed that there was dissatisfaction among the respondents about the methods adopted in delivering electronic resources through the internet by the examined libraries.

In any online literature digital library, findability precedes usability: users cannot use what theycannot find. Four research directions that support better findability in digital libraries are(a) Accurate scoring functions to assign importance/prestige scores to publications,(b) Accurate similarity measures for publications to locate publications similar to a givenpublication(c) Accurate ranking measures to order search results based on their importance andrelevance to users interests, and(d) Helping users develop search keywords that lead to successful searches.The contributions of this thesis are as follows.1. Propose and comparatively evaluate score functions for publications, authors, andpublication venues, as well as similarity measures for publications, towards researchdirection items a and b.2. Validate a new model for the evolution of research and citation behavior, namely, theResearch Pyramid Model. Then, propose and evaluate two algorithms for identifyingresearch pyramid structures in publication citation graphs, and for research-pyramid-basedpublication score generation, towards research direction item a.3. Propose and evaluate a citation-based publication popularity growth and decay model,towards research direction item c.4. Using the Research Pyramid Model and the identified research pyramid structures, developtwo literature digital library searching and ranking tools:a. A Research-Pyramid-based ranking tool that assigns accurate scores for publications, andb. A scalable content-driven Search-Keyword Suggester that helps users to put togetherquery search terms effectively.

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The purpose of this dissertation is to study the planning and budgeting processes in Jordan to determine whether the findings of Caiden and Wildavsky about those processes in other poor countries generally are applicable to Jordan. An attempt is made to answer the research questions by comparing data from national plans, budgets, and expenditures during a fifteen-year period (1970-1984). In Jordan, as in other developing nations, the role of planning and budgeting is highly significant to the success of the country's hopes for development. This research tries to evaluate the role of planning and budgeting as policy instruments in the process of development in Jordan. The second focus of the dissertation concerns the possibilities and problems of assessing the impact of governmental policies on development. Specifically, an assessment is made to determine the impact of governmental expenditures on development as evidenced in Jordan s gross national product during the last fifteen years. The following questions are addressed in order to examine the impact of government action on economic development. First, what are the impact and significance of government expenditures, as a combined measure, on the gross national product in Jordan? Second, which governmental expenditure areas provide the greatest contribution to an increase in the Jordanian GNP? Data for Jordan are compared with Caiden and Wildavsky's assumptions about planning and budgeting in poor countries, and conclusions are drawn about how planning and budgeting have influenced economic and social development in Jordan.