This study investigates self-perception and self-branding on Instagram among young Arab women in the UAE, focusing on how they curate, negotiate and perform their digital identities and whether their digital self-presentation in any way compromises their sense of authenticity. The study is based on 11 interviews with young women in the UAE, between the ages of 20 and 30, in addition to online observation to follow the participants’ activities on Instagram. The study demonstrates that while social and digital media platforms may play a role in “empowering” Arab women, women tend to set their boundaries of authenticity shaped according to their audience’s expectations and their in-groups. This confirms the r

The splicing design of the existing road and the new road in the expansion project is an important part of the design work. Based on the analysis of the characteristics and the load effect of pavement structure on splicing, this paper points out that tensile crack or shear failure may occur at the splicing under the repeated action of the traffic load on the new/old pavement. According to the current structure design code of asphalt pavement in China, it is proposed that the horizontal tensile stress at the bottom of the splicing layer and the vertical shear stress at other layers of the splicing line should be controlled by adjusting the position and size of the excavated steps in addition to the conventional design ind

Utilizing phase change materials in thermal energy storage systems is commonly considered as an alternative solution for the effective use of energy. This study presents numerical simulations of the charging process for a multitube latent heat thermal energy storage system. A thermal energy storage model, consisting of five tubes of heat transfer fluids, was investigated using Rubitherm phase change material (RT35) as the. The locations of the tubes were optimized by applying the Taguchi method. The thermal behavior of the unit was evaluated by considering the liquid fraction graphs, streamlines, and isotherm contours. The numerical model was first verified compared with existed experimental data from the literature. The outcomes re

An integrated GIS-VBA (Geographical Information System – Visual Basic for Application), model is developed for selecting an optimum water harvesting dam location among an available locations in a watershed. The proposed model allows quick and precise estimation of an adopted weighted objective function for each selected location. In addition to that for each location, a different dam height is used as a nominee for optimum selection. The VBA model includes an optimization model with a weighted objective function that includes beneficiary items (positive) , such as the available storage , the dam height allowed by the site as an indicator for the potential of hydroelectric power generation , the rainfall rate as a source of water . In a

This article is an endeavour to highlight the relationship between social media and language evolution. It reviews the current theoretical efforts on communication and language change. The descriptive design, which is theoretically based on technological determision, is used. The assumption behind this review is that the social media plays a significant role in language evolution. Moreover, different platforms of social media are characterized by being the easiest and fastest means of communication. It concludes that the current theoretical efforts have paid much attention to the relationship between social media and language evolution. Such efforts have highlighted the fact that social media platforms are awash with a lot of acronyms, cybe

The field of autonomous robotic systems has advanced tremendously in the last few years, allowing them to perform complicated tasks in various contexts. One of the most important and useful applications of guide robots is the support of the blind. The successful implementation of this study requires a more accurate and powerful self-localization system for guide robots in indoor environments. This paper proposes a self-localization system for guide robots.  To successfully implement this study, images were collected from the perspective of a robot inside a room, and a deep learning system such as a convolutional neural network (CNN) was used. An image-based self-localization guide robot image-classification system delivers a more accura

This study aims to investigate the behavior and strength of self-compacted ferrocement slabs under punching shear load. Experimental results of thirteen square ferrocement slabs of 500×500 mm simply supported on all edges are presented.  The main parameters investigated include the volume fraction of reinforcement, slab thickness and size of load-bearing plate. The load deflection and cracking characteristics of the tested slabs are studied and compared.  The test results showed that the volume fraction of wire mesh has significant effect on both ultimate load and displacement. The increase of slab thickness leads to decrease in deflection values and increase in stiffness of slabs. Both ductility and stiffness increase as the

Background: Practicing self-medication is common and a worrisome issue because of irrational drug use. This study aimed to evaluate self-medication knowledge and views among the final year pharmacy students in Iraq.  Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from December 2018 to January 2019. A pre-validated and self-administered questionnaire was recruited to survey pharmacy students at the University of Baghdad and Al-Rafedain University College. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 (SPSS v. 20) software used to save and analyze the data. Results expressed as numbers and percentages. Results:  A total of 344 students (response rate: 94.24%) with a mean age of 22.10 years includ

Embracing digital technological advancements in media and communication has led government entities to adopt communication practices fully aligned with the digital and networked system in government communication. Traditional media practices within the government environment increasingly rely on the ability to utilize digital tools and systems for content creation, communication, evaluation, and the management of the entire communication process within an electronic and intelligent framework for government services. Naturally, this transformation has caught the attention of communication and public relations researchers worldwide, as the digital and networked aspects of government communication now form an intelle