Implementing smart community engagement should consider careful planning and collaboration with numerous stakeholders, including the community. The technology and program must be designed to frame its purpose and should link back to specific goals of implementing smart community engagement. Digital services do not guarantee a smart engagement between the community and the local government. This is the case for the Kubang Pasu local government where several online services have been provided in their attempt to implement the smart community concept. However, understanding on the preferences of features and requirements of existing web-based systems and the impact of these systems is lacking. Therefore, a perception study needs to be conducted to obtain information regarding smart community engagement implementation. This study aimed to discover the community’s perceptions on smart community engagement, specifically for Kubang Pasu in terms of its local context. To achieve this, a combination of interview and online survey was employed involving stakeholders of several organizations and 309 respondents among the community in Kubang Pasu. Result of the interview and survey revealed moderate engagement between the community and organizations due to low awareness, moderate engagement between the community and local authorities, low exposure to online services, as well as the weaknesses of the current online systems. It can be concluded that the satisfaction level of the respondents with officers at the organizations was only moderate. The implementation of e-services could reduce face-to-face interactions, which could help to improve the satisfaction level. This could also help in moving toward the smart community engagement concept. Therefore, the smart communication method via social media, email, and website could be employed to increase the low rating of public engagement with the authorities. This move will foster the prompt implementation of smart community engagement.
Background: Chronic kidney disease is a gradual loss of kidney function with diabetes and hypertension as the leading cause. Chronic kidney disease is one of these systemic diseases that can affect salivary contents. Aims: This study aimed to assess salivary immunoglobulin A, interleukin-6 and C- reactive protein in chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis and those on conservative treatment in comparison with control subjects. Materials and methods: Ninety subjects were included in this study divided into three groups: 30 patients with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis for at least 6 months ago; 30 patients with chronic kidney disease on conservative treatment and 30 healthy control subjects. Secretory immunoglobulin A, inte
... Show MoreBackground: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a condition characterized by an elevation of oxidative stress, which has been implicated in diabetic progression and its vascular complications. Aim: Assessing the impact of gliclazide modified release (MR) versus glimepiride on oxidative stress markers, glycemic indices, lipid profile, and estimated glomerular filtration rate in uncontrolled type 2 diabetic patients on metformin monotherapy. Methods: This was an observational comparative study conducted in Thi-Qar specialized diabetic, endocrine, and metabolism center. Sixty-six patients were randomized into two groups based on the addition of the sulfonylureas (SUs). Group 1 (33 patients) was on gliclazide MR, whereas Group 2 (33 patients)
... Show MoreIn this paper, a cognitive system based on a nonlinear neural controller and intelligent algorithm that will guide an autonomous mobile robot during continuous path-tracking and navigate over solid obstacles with avoidance was proposed. The goal of the proposed structure is to plan and track the reference path equation for the autonomous mobile robot in the mining environment to avoid the obstacles and reach to the target position by using intelligent optimization algorithms. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) Algorithms are used to finding the solutions of the mobile robot navigation problems in the mine by searching the optimal paths and finding the reference path equation of the optimal
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The study aims to build a training program based on the Connectivism Theory to develop e-learning competencies for Islamic education teachers in the Governorate of Dhofar, as well as to identify its effectiveness. The study sample consisted of (30) Islamic education teachers to implement the training program, they were randomly selected. The study used the descriptive approach to determine the electronic competencies and build the training program, and the quasi-experimental approach to determine the effectiveness of the program. The study tools were the cognitive achievement test and the observation card, which were applied before and after. The study found that the effectiveness of the training program
... Show MoreBackground : Knee flexors tightness has been documented in apparently healthy adults and in those with musculoskeletal problems, but the influence of age on the tightness has not been studied in Iraq. This study was therefore designed to determine the influence of age on knee flexors tightness in apparently healthy subjects.Methods: Knee flexors tightness was measured using the active knee extension test (AKET) in 200 apparently healthy male and female subjects, aged 13 to 59 years. The subjects were recruited into 5 age groups using the purposive sampling technique.Knee flexors tightness was compared across the age groups using one-way analysis ofvariance (ANOVA). The independent t-test was used to compare knee flexors tightness on both
... Show MoreIrrigation scheduling techniques is one of the suggested solutions for water scarcity problem. The study aims to show the possibility of using practical and applicable irrigation scheduling program which was designed by Water Resources Department at the University of Baghdad by using Spreadsheet Formulas for Microsoft Excel program, version 2007, with some modification to generalize it and made it applicable to various climatic zone and different soil types, as a salvation for the shortage of irrigation water inside the irrigation projects. Irrigation projects which incidence of Tigris River basin will be taken as an applicable example. This program was based on water budgeting and programmed depending on scientific concepts which facili
... Show MoreAfter studying the reality of application to occupational safety in new Iraqi building projects and sampling the situation wilt that in developed and neighboring countries, researcher found that there is a big gap in the level of safety application conditions, this indicates the need fora quick and clear reference for local engineers to use it on site for safety conditions in their projects . As a case study the monitors work the researcher studied a huge project in the United Arab Emirates.This project considered for safety requirements to highest grades. This case study may be far away from the projects in Iraq, but we hope to rise the Iraqi work level in the near future. After seeing the way of administration work and how they were ra
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