Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations

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    The Bible in Arabic - Translational Trends, and the Issue of 'Islamic Arabic' Usage
    (The University of Edinburgh, 2024) Alghamdi, Ahmed; Israel, Hephzibah
    For more than a thousand years, the Bible has undergone numerous translations into Arabic, either in its entirety or in portions. Since the emergence of the Arabic Bible around the eighth or ninth century CE, this translation tradition has showcased a captivating array of styles and linguistic approaches. Amidst this fascinating diversity, a particular aspect has recently drawn the focus of certain scholars examining Christian Arabic biblical (and non-biblical) texts: the presence of what they perceive as 'Islamic/Quranic Arabic'. This thesis critically examines the rich and diverse tradition of Arabic Christianity, aiming to provide a comprehensive perspective on its linguistic and translational heterogeneity. The objective is to deepen our understanding of this tradition, with a specific emphasis on a critical evaluation of the category 'Islamic Arabic'. This examination will be accomplished through textual and contextual analyses of various Arabic Christian texts, placing particular emphasis on biblical translation, involving an in-depth examination of twelve Arabic biblical translations spanning diverse geographical, temporal, and denominational contexts. In light of this critical examination, this thesis proposes that the translational and linguistic diversity, including the presence or absence of the so-called 'Islamic Arabic', can be attributed to the influence of certain major norms that have influenced the Arabic Christian tradition. Furthermore, the analyses undertaken in this thesis reveal that the manner in which these norms were approached in various Arabic Christian contexts may have implications regarding questions of unique linguistic culture (or elements) and linguistic integration with the surrounding speech community, or distinctiveness from it, giving rise to a religion-based style of the language, or 'religiolect'. Furthermore, through a critical examination of Arabic Christian linguistic usage in textual content, this thesis aims to elucidate the problematic nature of prevailing scholarly perspectives regarding the use of the so-called 'Islamic Arabic'. Such perspectives often portray this linguistic phenomenon within Christian texts as anomalous and primarily confined to a specific historical period. In contrast, this thesis reveals that the usage of this so-called Islamic Arabic is not anomalous but rather indicative of the nuanced cultural circumstances and enduring linguistic diversity inherent within Arabic Christian traditions. Drawing primarily on the perspectives offered by Translation Studies, this research examines translational styles within Christian Arabic biblical and non-biblical texts, highlighting how language-related cultural expectations are navigated across different domains within the Arabic context, and examining processes of both cultural isolation and integration within a cultural landscape dominated by Muslim-established linguistic conventions. Additionally, incorporating secondary insights from sociolinguistics has proven particularly illuminating in understanding this socio-linguistic dimension. Incorporating these theoretical frameworks, this thesis reveals that the diverse linguistic and translational styles within Christian Arabic biblical and non-biblical traditions represent a complex cultural dynamic interaction that has persisted throughout the history of Arabic Christianity.
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    Challenges Facing the International School Leaders in Saudi Arabia and Strategies Developed to Overcome Them
    (Flinders University, 2024-06-28) Alghamdi, Ahmed; Rogers, Bev
    Using qualitative grounded theory, this paper aim to investigate the challenges facing international school leadership in Saudi Arabia. Data and information are collected from published researches, governmental reports, and academic experts’ opinions and stories. The significance of this paper is its contribution to the limited academic literature in this area, and it is hoped that the findings to be useful to inform policy makers and educate them about the challenging situation for international school leaders while they are doing their jobs. Those schools are a crucial part of the education system and provide quality education to millions of student Saudi nationals and foreigners. However, they operate a liberal approach to education which does not align with the conservative nature of the community. This situation creates many challenges for the school leaders that they need to deal with on a daily basis. The literature review chapter highlighted a number of serious challenges faced by international school leaders in Saudi Arabia mainly related to the MOE framework and restriction, staffing and human resource problems due to high turnover among leaders, and managing parents’ expectations, among many others. The copying strategies developed by those leaders to overcome and mitigate these challenges is the second topic this paper is interested in researching. The reviewed literature shows that compliance and circumvention are the two major copying strategies developed by school leaders. Compliance with the MOE framework and policy,meaning they were not able to develop or introduce new policies, rather go with the ministry. Circumvention is another coping strategy where some school leaders try to bypass the rules lying to the ministry, and keep it quiet within the school. Also, this paper investigates how leaders perceive their leadership role in a highly challenging environment. Given their unique structure, and role, international school faces more challenges than public schools. It takes a proud leader to lead any of these schools. While many of them burn out and leave their role as they cannot handle the pressure and mounting challenges, they have to face day in and day out. Through this paper, we will learn how leaders perceive their leadership role, and whether these challenges help them be creative and think outside the box. Limitations and delimitations are presented and discussed in this study as well. The study concluded with a recommendation for more research and studies in this area
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    Classification of Unresolved Target Based on Specular Reflection
    (University of Arizona, 2024-05-08) Alghamdi, Ahmed; Elkabbash, Mohamed
    This thesis explores using specular reflections to enhance remote sensing capabilities for identifying unresolved targets. Traditional remote sensing methods often struggle with the resolution limitations imposed by distance and target size, making distinguishing and classifying distant objects difficult. This research proposes a novel approach to overcome these constraints by harnessing the unique properties of specular reflections. Through a series of methodically designed experiments conducted in laboratory settings and real-world scenarios, this study demonstrates the potential of specular reflections to act as optical 'fingerprints.' These experiments validate theoretical models and show the practical applicability of specular reflections for long-range identification and classification tasks. Key experiments included detailed analyses over 27 kilometers, revealing how specular reflections can be captured and analyzed to provide critical data beyond traditional imaging capabilities. The findings of this research have significant implications for military surveillance, environmental monitoring, and space debris tracking, offering a new tool for enhanced observation and identification of distant objects. This thesis proves that specular reflections can extend the visual reach of remote sensing technologies, paving the way for more precise and reliable long-distance optical sensing.
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    Characteristics of Dental Implants at Case Western Reserve University; A Five-year Retrospective Study
    (2023-07-10) Alghamdi, Ahmed; Schincaglia , Gian Pietro; Ricchetti , Paul; Catherine A, Demko
    Objectives: To assess the clinical outcome of dental implants placed at Case Western Reserve University-School of Dental Medicine during the last five years, 2017-2021, and to assess the prevalence and characteristics of complications and failures of dental implants used in a teaching institution. Materials and methods: This study employs a retrospective cross-sectional design examining electronic data from patient charts at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine between 2017-2021. The study focuses on patient and implant-related variables. Factors studied include patient demographics, smoking and diabetic status, history of periodontitis, antibiotic usage, and implant characteristics such as manufacturing company, implant dimensions, installation protocol, bone type, type of restoration, presence of peri-implantitis, and implant loss. Patients under 18 or those whose implants lacked post-restoration radiographs were excluded. The research employs descriptive and inferential statistics to investigate the associations between independent variables and the outcomes of peri-implantitis and implant loss. A chi-square test is used to explore these associations, and a multi-level analysis adjusts for implants clustered within patients, minimizing non-independence and Type 1 error. The analysis is computed using SPSS V28 with statistical significance determined by a p-value of <.05. Results: This retrospective study reviews 1301 implants from 727 patients at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine between 2017-2021. Most patients were over 40, non-smokers, and non-diabetic. The prevalence of peri-implantitis and early or late implant loss was found to be relatively low (10.4%, 1.7%, and 2.4%, respectively). Antibiotic usage before surgery showed a significant inverse association with peri-implantitis and a borderline inverse association with implant loss. Implant brand and length demonstrated significant association with peri-implantitis but not with implant loss. A strong association was noted between implant loss and peri-implantitis. In a patient-based sub-analysis, implant length, and brand were no longer significantly associated with peri-implantitis, but prophylactic antibiotics usage remained significant, with no peri-implantitis cases in those who received antibiotics before surgery. Conclusions: The retrospective study assessed a substantial number of dental implants over a five-year period. We observed a low incidence of both early and late implant failure, as well as peri-implantitis. Notably, patient or implant-related parameters did not display a significant association with peri-implantitis or implant failure. At the implant level, the implant's length and brand were significantly correlated with peri-implantitis, but this correlation was not observed at the patient level. Prophylactic use of antibiotics prior to the implant procedure
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