Issue No. 2 - MAY 2015
‫علمي‬
Academic Bulletin Published by Deanship of Research
Academic Publishing:
Current Situation and
Society Outreach
Dr. Jumana Saleh:
The Sweet Poison: New
directions for adding
sugar in the diet
Study :
Greywater Reuse Potential
for Sustainable Water
Resources Management
TRC Chairman to Tawasul:
We are proud of what has been achieved
in supporting research in the Sultanate
20
Practical
Academic Publication
Award System: Impetus
for Researchers
‫دائرة النشر العلمي والتواصل بعمادة البحث العلمي‬
Editorial Supervision
Prof. Khaled Day
Editor - in - Chief
Ali Nasser Al-Hadrami
Managing Editor
Salim Rabia Al-Gheilani
Translated and Edited by
Dr. Hisham Jawad
Photography
Amur Khalfan Al-Kharusi
Proofreading by:
Dr. Charles Leo Campbell
Design and Production
Scientific Publishing and
Outreach Department
4
Main news
SQU celebrates 15th
anniversary of H.M.
the Sultan’s visit
13
23
Innovation Affairs
4 students applying
for the registration
of a patent
28
Book at a Glance
A New Book on
Porcelain Paints
29
Study
Conferences
Sand Encroachment
in Oman: a Serious
Threat
Updated
Conference
Attendance System
‫دائرة الن�صر العلمي والتوا�صل‬
‫لفن والعلم‬
‫ة مفادها اأن‬
‫صللي اخلزف‬
‫ل تقليدية‬
‫هذا الكتاب‬
‫ة والعملية‬
‫�صللية يف فن‬
‫تعر�س هذا‬
، ‫اء امللحي‬
.‫ت الرماد‬
The 15th Anniversary and
Enhancement of Research Efforts
Today, Sultan Qaboos University celebrates the 15th anniversary of the royal
visit of H.M. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said
– May Allah Protect him – amid a host
of achievements in research, which is a
key element in the progress and development of nations.
The University has been keen to fulfil
the wise visions articulated in H.M.’s
speech during the visit in 2000, in being a prestigious academic and research
institution, generating scientific studies
that could provide solutions to the problems of the society and shedding light
on its diverse issues.
Meanwhile, the University exerts active
efforts to enhance the research environment and maximize the production of
knowledge. In this regard, it will promote the Research Centers in terms of
excellence and productivity. Hopefully,
new research centers and chairs will be
established.
Conscious of the importance of providing a strong infrastructure and adequate
Editors
resources for research, the University
will carry on sustaining human and material resources to meet the needs and
motivate researchers to achieve excellence, creativity and innovation.
Believing in the significance of reaching out to other agencies, the University will foster and expand research
partnerships with the public and private
sectors, both inside and outside the Sultanate, in order to create new funding
opportunities that serve research in the
Sultanate.
Given the essential role of publishing in
the delivery of research outcomes to the
community, the University will invest
all available resources to deliver the
results of its big research efforts to the
Omani society and beyond. In this way,
the University seeks to attain ambitious
goals, mainly to become a top research
institution, assuming its role in disseminating new knowledge and contributing
to the development of Oman in particular and the world in general.
Editorial
Main
news
SQU celebrates 15th anniversary of H.M. the Sultan’s visit
This year, the 3-day event is held at the grand hall
Sultan Qaboos University
(SQU) is celebrating today the 15th anniversary
of the Royal visit of His
Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin
Said under the auspices of
His Excellency Dr Yahya
bin Mahfoudh al Mantheri,
Chairman of the State Council. This year, the opening
ceremony will be held at the
grand hall of SQU Cultural
Center, whereby a speech
will be given by Dr Ali Bin
Saud Al Bimani, SQU ViceChancellor, and another by
Professor Amer Bin Ali Al
Rawas, SQU Deputy ViceChancellor for Higher Studies and Research. There will
be a film showing research
at SQU produced by the
A film depicting
research
achievements
and new
publications
A three-day exhibition for
augurated. It will display
research and scientific ac-
prototypes of scientific proj-
tivities of all colleges and
ects carried out by the col-
research centers will be in-
leges and research centers,
along with students’ innova-
May 2015
tions with intellectual prop-
4
Department of Academic
Publication and Outreach.
A number of distinguished
researchers, academics, employees and students at SQU
will be awarded.
Colleges
and Centers
showcase
their research
potentials
erty rights.
New books published by
the Academic Publication
Board will be launched.
Meanwhile,
all
colleges
Awarding
distinguished
researchers,
academics,
and students
will mark this occasion by
organizing exhibitions and
seminars covering diverse
academic achievements.
News
Deanship of Research
Showcase Its Services
Deanship of Research at Sultan
Qaboos University has recently
held a seminar to introduce its
efforts and services for the enhancement of research.
At the beginning of the lecture,
Dr Khalid Day, Dean of Research, said the Deanship was
established to achieve several
goals that would help promote
research and researchers.
Then, Lamia Al Anboria, from
the Department of Research,
reviewed the Department’s duties, sections, goals, research
statistics and funding.
Director of Academic Publication and Outreach, Ali Al
Hadhrami, talked about the
duties of the three sections of
his Department, i.e. Academic
Publication, Conferences, and
Outreach.
He explained that there are
e-procedures for publication
awards and attending conferences. The Outreach Section
is charged with marketing research output through a variety
of media such as the academic
bulletin Tawasul, a monthly TV
newsletter and a weekly radio
program.
After that, Acting Director of
Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Sheikha Al Akhzamiyyah,
listed the services provided for
innovators and entrepreneurs
and outlined the procedures
to be followed when seeking
patents. One case she referred
to was a patent licensed to a
curator at the main library, in
addition to other patents to be
granted for the University. She
also talked about the Department’s links with local and in-
ternational competent authorities.
Later, an open discussion was
held and inquiries made by academics and researchers which
were addressed by the Dean of
Research.
Being the first lecture of its
kind given by the Deanship,
it comes as part of a plan by
the Deanship to introduce researchers and academics to its
diverse services.
May 2015
As to the structure of the deanship, he pointed out that it
consists of three departments,
namely, the Department of
Research, the Department of
Academic Publication and
Outreach, and the Department
of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Each is entrusted
with specific competences and
objectives oriented to serving
scientific research at the University.
5
Interview
‫حوار‬
TRC Chairman to Tawasul:
We are proud of what has been achieved in supporting
research in the Sultanate
The Research Council (TRC) was set up in 2005, marking the culmination of years of hard work to encourage scientific activities and promote research which would contribute both to generating new knowledge that could have
future applications and to achieving a better understanding of the social and economic issues in the Sultanate. The
Council aims to consolidate partnerships with other competent public and private agencies, including Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) which has been exerting considerable efforts to raise societal awareness of the importance of
research findings for the community.
In this edition of Tawasul, we feature the following interview with TRC Chairman Dr Hilal Ali Al Hinai, who talks
about the Council’s roles, objectives, challenges, relations with public and private sector and the Innovation Park
Muscat.
Roles
May 2015
What roles does TRC assume in
enhancing research in Oman?
6
The Royal Decree No. 30/2010
has defined the functions and
competences of TRC, such as
drawing up a national plan for
scientific research and identifying the priorities in light of the
economic and social development plan requirements in coordination with the concerned
authorities in the Sultanate.
Such a plan would have to be
developed by providing the programs necessary for encouraging and stimulating researchers
to undertake research projects.
Other responsibilities have to
do with supporting individual
innovations, publishing knowledge of scientific value, holding
conferences and events, devising standards for assessing the
quality of research projects,
implementing programs aimed
at raising awareness of the importance of scientific research
and innovation and providing
consultancy services in scientific research.
TRC’s vision is that Oman will
become a regional hub for innovation, a leader in producing
new ideas, products and services; will have the largest research
capacity in the region; will excel in selected fields of national
importance; will have a research
culture that responds swiftly to
local social and economic needs
and will have a world-class infrastructure for evidencebased policy making.
Further, the TRC’s
objectives can be
outlined as follows:
building
research
capacity, achieving
research excellence,
building knowledge
transfer and providing an enabling
environment for research and innovation. Accordingly,
we have disseminated a culture for
research and innovation and established
supportive
programs,
which have stimulated the
research culture in the
Research environment
Have you managed to create a stimulating research
environment?
The lack of such an environment in the Sultanate is one
of the major challenges facing researchers. So, we have
been keen, right from the
beginning, to provide robust
catalysts for such conditions
by setting funding programs
for scientific research. Today, we support university
student research, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, in addition to the
open research grants for PhD
and higher degree holders.
Funding is also offered to researchers who conduct studies in various fields of scientific research and develop
quality research proposals.
Last year, TRC launched
awards for researchers within the open research grants
program, honoured the winners of the national award for
scientific research in various
research fields and organized
the first annual forum for
researchers. Currently, we
are preparing for the second
annual forum, which will
tions to invest in scientific
research and for innovators
and entrepreneurs.
Contributions
Can you reflect on the
most important contributions made by TRC since
its inception ten years ago?
Today, we are proud of what
has been achieved in supporting research in the Sultanate since the Council has
actually assumed its roles
in 2009. The national strategy of scientific research is
perhaps one of the most important achievements, a significant stepping stone to embark on many research and
innovation support programs
and provide a stimulating environment for researchers in
the Sultanate. Now, we have
a clear vision about the mechanisms of supporting and encouraging scientific research.
To this end, TRC has created
the strategic research grants
program which subsumes
five strategic programs,
namely the Road Safety Research Program, Dubas Research Program, Social Observatory Research Program,
Renewable Energy Research
Program and Omani Cultural
We seek to see Oman as a
regional hub for innovation and a
leader in producing new ideas
include the National Award
for scientific research, in addition to the incentives and
attractive environment provided by Innovation Park
Muscat for both the institu-
Heritage Research Program.
These include a number of
research projects.
As for the open research
grants program, TRC has
managed, between early
The National Research
Strategy is an important
accomplishment
2009-2014,
to
provide
funding for 150 research
proposals, including 140
Masters and 67 PhD grants.
Research and studies have
come up with findings and
recommendations covering
various domestic issues in
the fields of health, education, communications, etc.,
and some of them have had
ground-breaking
results.
One example is the research
project on frankincense conducted at the University of
Nizwa. On the other hand,
the students’ research support program has provided
over RO240,000 for 111 research projects. The second
year, the program has seen
a growing number of applicants. Another program is
the graduate research support program, which was
launched last year and supported 13 research projects
in various research sectors.
In supporting ​​innovation,
TRC has taken active steps
towards the establishment of
an integrated system of innovation support programs.
We have approved the innovation oasis project at a cost
of RO6.2 million, subsuming
four major programs, namely
industrial innovation support,
educational innovation support, academic innovation
support, and community and
May 2015
Omani society.
7
individual innovation support. We have also financed
the construction of the Industrial Innovation Center
in collaboration with the
Ministry of Commerce and
Industry. On the other hand,
the educational innovation
support program has made
several achievements, mainly
having in place five innovation incubators in a number
of schools in Muscat and the
dissemination of a culture for
innovation and entrepreneurship among students.
Addressing community
issues
Do you think TRC pays
enough attention to societal problems?
May 2015
When TRC was established,
the top priority on its agenda
was to draw up a national
strategy for scientific research in the Sultanate. In
drafting this strategy by
academics and experts from
various state institutions, a
number of elements have
been taken into account, such
as the analysis of the current
situation, expecta-
8
It is not as important to come up
with direct research solutions as
to provide information and facts
tions and future scenarios.
Research priorities in the
Sultanate are defined relevant to each sector. That’s
why allocating funding to
research proposals is based
on the priorities in each sector; certainly, we seek to
update these priorities according to the requirements
at every stage. No doubt, the
role of scientific research in
finding solutions for the development of communities
is highly important. Therefore, priority was given to
the Road Safety Research Program
and
Dubas
Research
Program, as well as the Social Observatory Research
Program. Such efforts are of
paramount importance, even
from the point of view of the
public.
As to the research results, it
is not as important to come
up with direct research solutions as to provide information and facts on which
one can build and carry out
further in-depth studies in
a given field or draft recommendations or scientific
proposals, and it is
the duty
of the concerned bodies to
take advantage of them.
We should also mention
here that you need between
15-25 years to see any outcomes of scientific research
applications. Having said
that, there have been some
good results from research
applications in Omani universities and colleges. The
Road Safety Research Program has developed a database which provides accurate scientific data about
road safety in the Sultanate. As it is run by the
Royal Omani Police, it will
provide valuable information which would help find
appropriate solutions to address road accidents.
Partnership
Are there any plans to expand your close research
partnership with SQU?
Since its inception, TRC
has been keen to involve
all academic, research,
and public and private sectors in devising the National Research Strategy.
It maintains close ties with
academic and research institutions in the Sultanate, including SQU, as it
provides funding for research proposals submitted electronically by researchers. There is also a
joint research
ing the private sector which
is represented in the TRC
board by the chairman of the
Chamber of Commerce and
TRC considers SQU as a key
partner in supporting the
research and innovation system
lab and research projects.
We have also master’s and
doctoral students who have
started their studies within
such projects. The two institutions also collaborate
through supporting the
academic innovation program, which focuses on
the development of practical skills among university
students and enhances their
skills to establish small and
medium-size
companies
and improve their output.
TRC considers SQU as a
key partner in supporting
the scientific research and
innovation system.
How do you characterize
the role of the private sector in supporting research
efforts in the Sultanate?
We have sustained partnership with all parties, includ-
Industry. We have been keen
to have the sector on the
steering committees of the
strategic programs in order
to contribute to policy-making, be aware of all research
aspects and processes and
participate in supporting and
funding research or in converting research outputs into
products that benefit society.
However, the culture of supporting research and innovation has not been completely
embraced. It is hoped that
the private sector will have a
greater role in the future.
TRC has always maintained
links between research institutions and the private sector
through financing the establishment of an industrial innovation center as part of the
industrial innovation support
program. The center was
opened in 2010 in the Rusayl
industrial district in collaboration with various stakeholders and relevant institutions, especially the Ministry
of Commerce and Industry
and the General Organization of Industrial Districts.
The Council also expanded
its partnership with the private sector through the establishment of the Omani
Company for Innovation
Development in collaboration with a number of private
sector agencies with a capital of five million RO. It is
hoped that this company will
contribute to boosting the
knowledge-based economy.
Plan. Built on an area of ​​537
000 square meters, the compound is designed to be an
incubator and basic environment for researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs.
The first phase of the project
started in March 2013, whereby three buildings have been
constructed: the main “innovation building,” a social
building, and a design and
prototype building. The second stage sees four research
institutes in four specialized
sectors; the third phase will
focus on developing a number of support services to assist in attracting innovators,
both from Oman and abroad.
The culture of supporting research and
innovation has not been completely
embraced by the private sector
Innovation Park Muscat
Innovation Park Muscat
is a cutting-edge project.
What benefits will it offer
to the Omani society?
Innovation Park Muscat is
one of the leading initiatives
TRC is carrying out as part
of the National Research
In principle, the Innovation
Park Muscat project will focus on four sectors that will
achieve sustainable development progress and contribute to overcoming many
challenges facing the Sultanate, in particular, and other
countries, in general. These
May 2015
chair in the field of water
desalination nanotechnology with a 5-year budget
of RO3,071,000, a related
9
sectors cover food security,
health, environment and water resources and renewable
energy.
The project aims to raise
awareness of scientific research and innovation and
their importance for the
economy, to provide technical advice to researchers and
innovators and to deliver administrative services at nominal cost. It will also provide
companies with incubators
and will market and promote
their products, such as techniques and devices used in
scientific research and innovation.
Other goals include achieving leadership in scientific
research and providing many
job opportunities for local and
foreign experts in scientific
and technical fields. Furthermore, there are plans to attract
local and international companies specialized in the above
four areas to invest in the
Sultanate and to create centers for research, development
and training in the Park. Such
centers will be established on
ten parcels of land with areas ranging between 8,000 to
10,000 square meters.
that hinder scientific research in the Sultanate. So,
we developed a combination
of two approaches, guided
by expectations and current
circumstances. We found a
number of gaps in such areas as research quality, academic publishing, research
capacity (the percentage of
researchers to the population), volume of spending
on scientific research, excellence in research, enabling
environment and lack of
research culture. Indeed,
the ratio of spending on scientific research to the gross
domestic product is the biggest challenge, as it amounts
to just 0.2%, which is much
lower than the average global spending on scientific research. Despite these difficulties, we have managed in
a short period to overcome
many of them through introducing several programs of
supporting research, targeting researchers, academics,
university students and graduates. Several workshops,
seminars and conferences
were held to contribute to
the transfer of knowledge
and an increasing aware-
Innovation Park Muscat is an incubator
and basic environment for researchers,
innovators and entrepreneurs
May 2015
Challenges
10
What are the challenges
facing TRC, and how can
they be overcome?
When we started to draw up
the National Research Strategy, one of the objectives
was to remove the barriers
ness of the importance of
scientific research. Incentive
programs were designed to
encourage research, the increase of academic publications and a larger research
capacity and to achieve the
goal of creating a conducive
research environment.
You said in a press statement that the number of
researchers in the Sultanate is small. What solutions
can you think of to increase
their numbers so as to keep
pace with the scientific research developments?
researchers. Figures show
that there were 3175 staff
in research and experimental development in 2011,
including 484 full-time researchers. That said, the situation is improving, as large
numbers of people take advantage of the various pro-
Providing sufficient funding
for research is the major
challenge
The number of researchers
in the Sultanate has always
been one of the challenges
confronting research plans
in the Sultanate, as it is still
modest compared to the
number of the population.
We also have less full-time
grams offered by TRC, in
addition to the increasing
number of graduates who
benefit from government
and private grants or those
offered by TRC. Hopefully,
the coming years will see
many more researchers.
Study
Date pectin and its effect on date syrup quality
Dates are rich in many compounds that can be utilized
to produce value added products. Pectin is one such element. It is produced commercially as a by-product of other
products mainly because it
exists in small quantities. Although its percentage is very
low, pectin has big influence
on the quality of date syrup,
a product of dates. Such an
effect is basic, because pectin can exist in many forms
and sizes depending on the
maturation stages. Therefore,
a good understanding of the
changes and their timings will
effectively provide dates processors with good knowledge
to control the quality of date
syrup between batches. Furthermore, pectin is somehow
considered as an unwanted
component in the date syrup.
So, if the processors can alter
the extraction conditions to
target only sugars in the date
and save pectin, then the pectin can be used as a valued byproduct.
In press remarks, Dr Ahmed
Ali Al-Alawi, the lead investigator, has outlined the longterm outcomes of his study
They are: to establish complete understanding of the
changes of pectin during maturation and processing, to develop new value-added products from date syrup industry
by-products and to come up
with recommendations to improve the date syrup industry
in the Sultanate. Two Masters
students are involved in the
project.
As to the short-term outcomes, he listed them as
follows: study the chemical changes in pectin during
maturation and processing;
examine, for the first time,
the size distribution of date
pectin; see whether the date
syrup quality is variety-dependent or not; and find the
optimal conditions and meth-
ods for date syrup production.
As to the findings of his research, Dr Al-Alawi has
pointed out that date syrup
was produced from different
date varieties, using different
treatments. New ideas were
evaluated. The ultrasound
treatment was found to produce a less colored product;
however, it didn’t really increase the efficiency of extraction. All treatments required the concentration step,
which was found to be a key
step in the date syrup industry. More efforts will be made
in the future to modify the
existing concentration procedure.
He concluded: the pressing
method was found to give a
higher yield compared with
other existing methods; however, the ultrasound procedure
gave a better quality yield.
May 2015
An academic at the Department of Food Science and
Nutrition has investigated
alternative, economical and
effective procedures for
producing new value-added
products from the date syrup
industry by-products. Other
objectives are to improve
the date syrup industry in the
Sultanate and conduct a comprehensive study on changes
that take place in the pectin
during date maturation and
processing. The research
work has, for the first time,
determined the molecular
weight of date pectin and
how this may affect date syrup processing.
11
News
Earth Science Research Center: A New Landmark
May 2015
The Earth Science Research
Center was established in September 2014 to join the other
nine centers at Sultan Qaboos
University.
12
It seeks to achieve a number of short- and long-term
goals. As to the short-term
objectives, the Center aims
to house a database on various aspects of Oman’s geology and to be the premier
provider of geo-scientific
data, investment opportunities, information and
knowledge for sustainable
use of natural resources. It
also provides a full range
of continuing education
courses, training, short
courses, and workshops
on earth science topics.
As to the long-term goals,
the Center endeavors to deliver
consultancy services for exploration, quarrying, mining and
mineral resource evaluation, as
well as advising on engineer-
ing geology related aspects,
such as site investigations and
environmental issues including
geohazards, geotourism and
geo-conservation.
To become an internationally
recognized center of excellence
for research in earth sciences, it
will collaborate with other colleges and centers at SQU and
beyond.
Hopefully, the Center will contribute to
the economy of Oman
through developing new
strategic research ideas,
applications and techniques in different fields
of earth sciences, mainly
the oil, gas and mining
sector. Further, it will
foster cooperation in the
field of the geosciences
between academia, government and industry,
nationally and internationally.
Study
Sand Encroachment in Oman: a Serious Threat
Monitoring stations and desert research centre are
necessary to address the problem
Sands cover approximately
20% of the area of the Sultanate. Sand encroachment
causes various problems to
several roads and inhabited
regions. Sand movements
differ in speed, amount and
characteristics.
According to the principal investigator, Dr Ahmed
Abdelsalam Ali, the study
used several techniques:
“Field study was the major
technique where 180 sand
samples were collected from
over 200 sites and analyzed
chemically,
mechanically
and microscopically; sand
traps were used to study the
quantities and direction of
sand encroachment; measurement of movement was
carried out in various ways,
the most important being survey devices and wind speed
measurement. The team also
analyzed maps and aerial
photos and space images in
addition to doing a laboratory analysis to study sand
sediment size, elements and
microscopic features by utilizing a scanning electron
microscope”.
He added that: “Various sand
areas and forms were identified and then were divided
into eight regions. Types and
patterns of sand dunes were
also identified as longitudinal, crescentic, transverse,
star and network dunes.
These types vary accord-
ing to their movement rates
and direction. Identification
of these types is important
as they result from different
types and rates of movement.
The results of the sediment
analysis of sand samples
show that the sands range
from fine to coarse sands.
Sands of 3 Ø represent 72%
of sand samples, the largest
percentage; 4 Ø represent
about 13%; and sand size of
1 and 5 Ø are negligible.”
He went on: “Chemical
analysis of sands showed the
presence of a significant percentage of iron, chromium,
zirconium and astronshiom.
The results also identified
hazards and problems arising
from sand encroachment: accumulation of sand on roads,
reduced visibility, burying
farmland and the erosion of
some desert infrastructure.
Regions were divided into
three sectors in terms of the
hazards requiring intervention. The rates of dune movement differed from one re-
gion to another. The rate of
movement reached 6.4 m/y
in Um Alzmaim, 21 m/y in
Al Duqm- Sinaw road, 8
m/y in Abu Ood near Ras Al
Jinz. The rate of increase in
the height of dunes in Um Al
Zamaim reached half a meter
per month.”
In conclusion, Dr Ali revealed that “the average sand
movement ranges from 6
to 21 meters per year. The
zones exposed to sand movement can be classified according to whether they are
high, medium or low risk
areas and whether there is a
need for intervention.” He
underlined the importance of
continuous collection of data
through the periodical use of
recording stations in the areas of sand movement, and
the establishment of a desert
research centre to try various
methods of sand stabilization
and urgent intervention in
high risk areas.
May 2015
New research has recently
examined variations of sand
dune encroachment in terms
of rates of movement and
amounts of accumulated
sand in the Sultanate. It identified the problems resulting
from sand encroachment and
analyzed characteristics of
sand dunes and sediments
and their sources. Further,
the study classified areas exposed to the hazards of sand
encroachment, according to
the degree of seriousness and
the need for intervention, and
recommended methods to
resist sand encroachment in
each individual region.
13
Study
May 2015
The Law of competition protection
and antitrust: a new study
14
The Law of competition protection and antitrust, promulgated by the Royal Decree No.
67/2014 in 2014, was part of
the Sultanate’s efforts to develop the legislative infrastructure
and thus follow a commercial
competition policy aimed to
achieve a balance between the
requirements of international
trade freedom and competition, and the need for society
to ensure a minimum level of
consumer protection. The law
includes four chapters: Chapter One identifies some of the
concepts whose controversial meanings may raise some
problems in application; Chapter Two identifies the practices
prohibited in this area; Chapter
Three addresses the regulation
of the procedures needed in
implementing the rules of the
law by identifying those who
violate the law; Chapter Four
specifies the penalties applicable in case of violation.
In this regard, Dr Amal Kamel
Abdullah (Assistant Professor
of Commercial Law), from the
College of Law, gave a presentation at a symposium on
the Omani law of competition
protection and prevention of
monopolistic practices.
Dr Amal reviewed some sections of the new law, saying:
“The Omani legislation has defined monopoly in the form of
one or several persons control-
ling, directly or indirectly, the
amount or price of a commodity or a service, leading to restricting or damaging the freedom of competition. The direct
control, for example, is done
by refraining from producing
a particular commodity or reducing the quantity produced
in order to raise the price when
there is much demand. The indirect control is exemplified
by the manipulation of certain
commodity prices, individually
or in coordination with some
producers, to fight competitors
in order to get them out of the
market of producing or distributing a particular good or service.”
She remarked that the definition provided by the Omani
legislation translated monopoly
as a prohibited behavior focusing on its effects, since it is not
possible to consider the control
or domination over a particular
market by controlling the volume of production or prices
for a particular good or service
as a kind of monopoly, unless
that would lead to restricting or
harming the freedom of competition.
Dr Amal carried on: “Articles
(9) and (10) of the Protection
of Competition and antitrust
law suggest several techniques
for regulating the competition
behavior in the Omani mar-
Visions
monopoly and market dominance. They are
concerned with organizing cases of economic
concentration, and anti-competitive alliances
(cartel), refusal to deal, aggressive pricing, collusion, and linkages.”
“Article (8) of the Protection of Competition
and antitrust law bans any agreements or measures that lead to a monopoly of dealing in a
particular commodity through import, production, distribution or sale procurement law. This
text included the prohibition of all kinds of coordination in order to control a particular commodity market (cartel), including legal actions
in the form of contracts.”
The legal expert noticed that the text of the law
“is confined to the criminalization of coordination to monopolize goods without any reference
to the coordination for the monopoly of services, despite the proliferation of coordination for
the monopoly of services in the world, the most
prominent type of which being the monopoly
of the air and maritime transport services and
control over prices.”
As to the behavior of collusion, which concerns
the cooperation of competing companies that
adopt certain policies on pricing certain commodities or services in order to achieve mutual
interests, she says: “the Omani legislation has
not deviated from this approach because we
find in the beginning of article (9) the prohibition of any agreement or contract in Oman or
abroad or of taking any measure or practice,
whether written or oral, expressed or implied,
which would aim to prevent, limit or undermine competition.”
In her concluding remarks, Dr Amal said: “In
view of the fact that all measures to reduce monopoly and support free competition may not
lead to the desirable goal without criminal protection, it is appropriate to see what the Omani
legislation has decided in terms of procedures
to ensure respect for the principles of the protection of competition and to impose penalties
for those who violate such principles.”
Research Efforts:
Reality and Prospects
By: Dr Talal Al Wahaibi
Assistant Dean of Research
Since its inception, Sultan Qaboos University has been keen to assume a considerable position as a reputed international institution, a beacon of research
and a source of pride for Omani society, characterized by excellence and creativity. In promoting this vision, the University has paid special attention to
research, considered as a key pillar of its scientific and academic reputation.
Promoting this role, the University has long put in place diverse forms of funding for academic research in order to come up with results and discoveries that
would lead to producing new knowledge and developing concepts aligned with
the research and educational objectives of the University. In 2001, a strong
impetus was given to research at the University with H.M. grant, allocated to
funding strategic research projects of an interdisciplinary nature, which are of
paramount importance for the Sultanate. In addition to this funding and other internal grants, there is funding for joint research, the Research Council’s
grants, external grants, and consultancy services.
Owing to the role assumed by research centers in disseminating knowledge and
promoting collaboration among scholars, the University has set up ten centers
dealing with various disciplines.
No doubt, such an infrastructure for scientific research has contributed to creating an environment conducive to creativity and to enhanced pioneering research efforts which have come up with solutions for many problems in various
fields. For example, in 2014, the University has conducted about 100 studies
in areas such as the environment, biology, education, energy and renewable
resources, basic research, human studies, social science, information and communication systems, industry, life and health sciences and materials research.
These sustained efforts of researchers at the University have been reflected in
the growing rate of publications as shown in the number of published papers
which jumped in Scopus from 432 in 2010 to 773 in 2014. Further, the number
of conference papers also jumped from 460 in 2010 to 635 in 2014. The research projects funded by H.M. grant were 71; those supported by the Research
Council were 88, in addition to 400 research consultancies.
Not only have researchers managed to win more grants, but they have been able
to improve their work in terms of quality so that they have received funding and
consultancy contracts from various countries around the world.
Keeping up the current momentum of research efforts requires relentless pursuit by the University and its researchers to expand the applied research of a
strategic nature, with a view to research priorities locally and regionally. There
is also a need for expanding the opportunities for funding such research locally,
regionally and internationally. Multi- and inter-disciplinary studies should be
encouraged by supporting scholars to develop strategic research programs of
national and regional importance and an industrial dimension. For the research
system to be complete, the University has to adopt an advanced program for
research management which can be done by gradually introducing a decentralized structure.
May 2015
ket in order to resist any illegal move towards
15
Feature
Academic Publishing: Current Situation and Society Outreach
Academics and specialists highlight the
University’s efforts
Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) has exerted sustained efforts to market research findings and acquaint the local community with its various studies and projects that address diverse issues of special interest to the Omani
society and offer solutions to current problems. Through the Deanship of Research, the University has put in
place all resources in order to promote academic publishing. There are the bimonthly academic bulletin Tawasul, a monthly TV newsletter, a weekly radio program, and a spotlight on research through the Deanship’s
accounts in the social media networks. The Deanship also publishes academic books, shown in local and international book fairs, and encourages the University’s researchers to participate in scientific conferences.
To shed light on the University’s academic publishing, in terms of challenges and solutions, Tawasul has interviewed a number of academics and staff and asked them about their views and suggestions as to how to develop
May 2015
this important domain.
16
Dr Belqacem Mukhtar, from
the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) believes that: “In terms of
scientific value, the University’s academic publications
are comparable with what is
published by other institutions; even the University’s
refereeing procedures are
quite strict. It is also possible to increase the number
of published works if the
University’s researchers and
academics become aware of
the potentials and available
resources. In addition, SQU
publications will be better
marketed through enhancing
the paper and electronic distribution process.”
In this regard, Dr Maher Abu
Hilal, from the College of
Education, said: “No doubt,
SQU academic publishing
has made great strides in
such areas by producing seven journals indexed in such
databases as Scopus, some
of which publish contributions by researchers from
other Arab universities. Indeed, academic publishing
has promoted the position of
the University among other
Arab and international institutions. Nowadays, e-publishing is highly popular and
efficient, which should be
adopted by the University.”
Saif Al Sinani, a research
expert at the office of ViceChancellor for Postgraduate
Studies and Research, pointed out that: “The University
encourages researchers to
publish their work in leading
international journals and in
those published by the University, and provides, for
that matter, financial incentives.”
Basma Al Shabibiyya, Head
of the Academic Publication Section, the Department of Academic Publication and Outreach, stated
that: “SQU has always paid
special attention to the academic publishing of various manuscripts, including
books, periodicals, and research papers. This is one
of the important objectives
the University has sought to
achieve; one can see the remarkable outcomes of such
efforts in just ten years of
gle-author, joint-author, and
funded. There are also papers published in leading local, regional and global journals, while others have won
local and regional prizes. On
the other hand, there are academics whose output is not
satisfactory, which might be
due to the lack of incentive
for research.”
Challenges
As to the challenges facing
academic publishing at the
University, Dr Mukhtar sees
that: “The distribution process at home and abroad is
not that efficient, nor broad;
also the participations in
book fairs are limited; we
have also the process of publishing manuscripts, which
Abu Hilal:
great strides
in this
direction
developing a system to reward researchers who publish in outstanding journals.”
Meanwhile, Dr Magdi Mohammed Abed Rabbo remarked that: “There are
many talented researchers
who publish two or even
three studies per year, as sin-
takes longer periods.”
Dr Maher Abu Hilal believes
that: “The challenges lie in
the tough competition with
other international journals
and researchers; our academics publish their work in
those international journals
which have a long history
May 2015
Mukhtar:
publications
should be
increased
continuous hard work. Academic publishing has undergone two stages: in the first
stage, necessary policies and
regulations were devised,
while the second stage has
been characterized by an
expansion of publishing and
visibility of SQU publications in international book
fairs and forums, in addition
to research contributions
made by our researchers.
This has had a positive impact on the University’s international ranking with reference to its research profile.
In addition, the Academic
Publication Board, in charge
of drafting and implementing relevant policies of publishing at the University, has
provided all kinds of support, including funding and
17
and experience, which backfires on the University’s periodicals. We also fall short
of finding those books of
high scientific value. Books
and research papers have
different publishing requirements; writing a book takes
culture of research and its
importance as viewed by the
University’s academics.”
Al Shabiniyya argues that:
“The challenges lie in how
to assemble all the capabilities under one roof. Academic publishing requires
May 2015
Al Sinani:
networking
academics
18
year to two years in some
cases. Other difficulties relate to the inconsistency in
endorsing already published
works for academic promotion, which raises the question: if promotion committees do not consider such
works, then what is the point
of refereeing done by journals?”
New ideas
a longer period, apart from
the modest reward offered
to such publication. For
writing books, advanced
universities provide all the
resources to authors, including the time needed, sources
and sabbatical leaves. This
is not available in many universities in the developing
countries, and I think we
suffer from another problem with regard to books,
especially those written in
Arabic, which is the lack of
international referees.”
more specialized staff to
work at the Department of
Academic Publication and
Outreach. We try to benefit
from the experience of other
staff at other units to carry
out diverse tasks including translation, designing,
proofreading,
reviewing,
and all aspects of publishing. However, if we want
to promote publishing, we
should establish a professional centre for academic
publishing.”
Al Sinani thinks that: “The
major challenges facing
publishing in the University is the lack of scientific
publications, especially in
the University’s journals,
in addition to a relative decline in research productivity compared to that in the
developed countries. There
are also factors related to the
Dr Abed Rabbo has his say
on this: “One would assume that the problems in
this respect can be envisaged by the small number of
periodicals published in the
Arab countries, monotonous
publishing procedures and
longer waiting periods for
research papers to appear,
which may take from one
Concerning the efforts made
to enhance publishing at the
University, Dr Mukhtar said:
“There are a number of ideas
for realizing the goals of
academic publishing. These
may include upgrading and
indexing our journals in
the international databases,
providing more financial
support for researchers and
relevant departments, at-
Dr Abu Hilal believes that:
“Upgrading our websites
will boost periodicals in
terms of worldwide spread.
It is also necessary to adopt
more stringent standards
for publishing journals and
books, in addition to providing financial and logistical
resources. Other possibilities have to do with recruiting full-time researchers,
developing the procedures
of attending conferences
and establishing partnerships with the private sector
to support research projects.”
On this issue, Al Sinani suggests that: “The most important factor in enhancing
publication is the allocation
of incentives, both material
and moral, that would encourage researchers to conduct scientific research and
Al Shabibiyya:
a centre for
academic
publishing is a
must
tracting researchers from
inside and outside the University, developing the distribution operations at home
and abroad, building the
human capacity of the publishing units, and appointing
full-time editorial boards for
the University’s journals.”
generate publications. One
can also hold workshops and
conferences and develop
mechanisms for networking
among academics, at the regional or international level,
and to exchange expertise in
diverse disciplines, so as to
keep abreast of the current
Partnerships with the
community
Al Shabibiyya notices that:
“Academic publishing at the
University has made a step
forward in the book industry, now that we have a good
number of manuscripts
covering a variety of cultural and scientific topics.
However, what is needed
now is to develop interest
in translation and Arabization of important books that
contain significant information which could be useful
to the Omani and Arab readership.”
Another important aspect
discussed by the debaters
was the ways and means for
reaching out to the community and achieving the goals
of academic publication. Dr
Mukhtar says that: “This can
be possible through having
links with the local community, holding scientific meetings, developing research
partnerships with public and
private organizations and focusing on applied research
that may encourage the local
community to demand more
studies in diverse domains.”
Dr Abed Rabbo suggested
that academics can only attend a conference if they
have paper submissions.
Awards and other forms of
incentives may be offered
for distinguished researchers.
Dr Abu Hilal argues that:
“This may take some time.
However, the Omani society will soon be 100% literate, which could accelerate
the pace of interaction between the community and
researchers – at the Uni-
versity or research centres
– through the media. Reaching out to the community
has become faster and wider,
thanks to technological developments; therefore, the
University should be more
active in publishing its research output and expanding the distribution of its
journals to every institution.
Otherwise, what is the benefit of printing 500 copies
most of which get dumped
in the University’s stores?”
Al Sinani indicates that:
“The society has a complementary role in disseminating research findings and
supporting the efforts of various agencies in this regard.
Many areas of research, particularly the humanities and
community studies, require
the participation of all segments of society. In addition, the public and private
sectors should assume their
role in publishing research
results by providing financial and logistical support.”
Here, Al Shabibiyya expresses her view: “The University provides all kinds of
support for the publication
of books, bearing all costs.
This should galvanize researchers into enriching scientific scholarship with authorial manuscripts.”
For the community to benefit
from the University’s publications, Dr Abed Rabbo sees
that two things can be done:
the ministries may encourage their departments to collaborate with the University
by establishing partnerships,
and joint committees can be
set up between the University’s academic publishing
department and the public
and private sectors.
May 2015
developments around the
world.”
19
Publishing
Practical
Academic Publication Award System:
Impetus for Researchers
511 papers in 2013
The idea of establishing
​​
a
system of academic publishing awards at Sultan
Qaboos University emanates from the belief in the
role research plays in contributing to sustainable development in the Sultanate.
It also comes in line with
the University’s research
strategic
plan
(20092013), which aims to raise
the research profile of the
University by stimulating
the faculty members and
students to increase their
publications in international journals. Such a system
will help enhance research
in terms of quality, impact,
and scope of distribution.
It will achieve a number
of benefits including: appreciating and encouraging
researchers, attracting outstanding scholars, enhancing the morale of researchers, supporting a research
culture, promoting international research collabora-
tion between the University’s academics and leading
institutions in the world,
and devising transparent
standards for research.
Journal Category
May 2015
No
20
College / Center
Listed in JCR of
Web of Science
Listed in
Scopus
SQU
Journal
Listed among top
30% of Humanities
Journals
Listed among
bottom 70%
of Humanities
Journals
Total
1
College of Sciences
85
28
4
-
-
117
2
College of Medicine and Health
Sciences
53
27
9
-
-
89
3
College of Engineering
58
28
1
-
-
87
4
College of Agriculture and Marine
Sciences
44
34
3
-
-
81
5
College of Education
7
11
10
5
4
37
6
Center
20
10
1
-
1
32
7
College of Art and Social Sciences
5
4
4
5
5
23
8
College of Economics and Political
Sciences
8
8
-
-
-
16
9
College of Nursing
3
8
3
-
-
14
10
Hospital
2
9
2
-
-
13
11
College of Law
-
1
-
-
1
2
Total
511
Microscope
The Sweet Poison:
New directions for adding
sugar in the diet
He remarked that the database of the award
system would contribute to the research strategic plans for the coming years, hoping that
faculty members and students would boost
their research publications in international
science and humanities journals.
By: Dr. Jumana Saleh, Biochemistry Department,
College of Medicine and Health Sciences
Numerous studies associate increased sugar intake with several diseases
including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, aging and even cancer. This issue is currently a hot topic, raising the interest of many well-known researchers and scientists. Research findings have led many health experts
to call for reductions in recommended sugar intakes defined by the world
health organization (WHO). Sugars, such as fructose and lactose, are naturally found in fruits, honey and milk, but these sugars, and others, may
also be added to diet by manufacturers to add pleasurable taste. Examples
of «added sugars» are sucrose, fruit juice concentrates, high-fructose corn
syrup, malt sugar, molasses and even honey. Unfortunately, many foods we
consume contain large amounts of «added» sugars such as in soft drinks,
cakes, chocolate, fruit drinks and desserts. A single can of 350 ml soft drink
contains up to 10 teaspoons of added sugar (each teaspoon = 4 grams). It is
now well established that added sugars are strongly associated with obesity
in adults and children. Obesity has doubled in children and quadrupled in
adolescents over the past 30 years. In 2014, studies suggested that added
sugars may increase the risk of high blood pressure, even more than salt.
Also, a strong association of increased added sugar intake with risk of
«death» from cardiovascular disease (CVD) was found. This association
was independent of cholesterol levels and other heart disease risk factors
including BMI and sedentary life style. Mostly, the link was associated
with consumption of soft drink beverages loaded with sugar. Even more,
it was reported that sugar is a «toxic» substance that causes addiction. Experimental rats that consumed a high-sugar diet displayed signs of craving
and withdrawal when their sugar intake was reduced. Many people turn to
artificial sweeteners as a sugar alternative, but according to recent reports,
these sweeteners may still drive diabetes and obesity as shown in a study
published in the esteemed journal Nature. Unfortunately, sugars in our diets
have become much higher than the amounts recommended by health organizations. WHO states that we should consume no more than 10% of total
daily calories from sugars. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that women should consume no more than 100 calories a day (6 teaspoons) and men no more than 150 calories a day (9 teaspoons) from added
sugars. However, scientists now claim that even consuming added sugars
at these recommended levels may be harmful to our health. International
bodies are now moving towards recommendations that cut «added sugars»
that only add calories but no nutrients. Also, WHO prepared a proposal to
revise their added sugar recommendations last year proposing to halve their
recommended daily free sugar intake from 10% to 5%. Many health experts
and nutritionists are now recommending the «no added sugar» option.
Do we need sugar in our diets? When consumed from its natural resources
sugar normally serves as the major source of energy for humans, but «added» amounts are definitely not needed. No reported evidence is available of
an association between natural dietary sugars in fruits and vegetables and
disease, and these could be consumed within a healthy, balanced diet and
active lifestyle.
May 2015
Reflecting on the papers approved for awarding, Yahya bin Said Al Hajji, in charge of
running the research award system at the
Deanship of Research, has disclosed that
there were 511 papers published in 2013 by
staff of all colleges, centers and the University hospital. The College of Science had
the highest number of published papers, i.e.
117, followed by the College of Medicine
and Health Sciences with 89, the College of
Engineering, 87, the College of Agricultural
and Marine Sciences, 81, the College of Education, 37, the Research Centers, 32 papers,
the College of Arts and Social Sciences, 23,
the College of Economics and Political Science, 16, the College of Nursing, 14, the University hospital, 13, and, finally, the College
of Law had two papers published.
21
Study
Oil Spills in the Coastal Regions of Oman
Dissolved oxygen poses a threat to marine life
A research group from the
College of Engineering have
carried out a study to quantify the oil-related pollution of
coastal water along the Omani
coast of the Gulf of Oman and
to explore remedial measures.
May 2015
Reflecting on the methods
applied in conducting the research, the lead investigator,
Dr Ahmad Sana, has said that:
“One of the modern water
quality measurement devices,
the
Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) probe, was
used to measure electrical
conductivity,
temperature,
pressure, dissolved oxygen
(DO), chlorophyll and turbidity. Water samples were also
taken to determine the concentrations of lead and vanadium,
which are good indicators of
oil-related pollution. The measurements were carried out
on board the research vessel
22
of Sultan Qaboos University,
“Al-Jamia”. Waves and currents were also measured at
selected locations using an
Acoustic Doppler Current
Profiler (ADCP). Such types
of detailed measurements
have not been done previously
along the Gulf of Oman.”
As to the results of their work,
he pointed out that “the range
of seawater temperatures was
found to be between 25°C and
30°C. The conductivity ranges
from 54mS/cm to 62mS/cm.
The average value of salinity was about 36.75ppt. The
temperature, conductivity and
salinity show stratification at
some measurement stations
in summer which is usual in
these climatic conditions. The
temperature,
conductivity
and salinity at most measurement stations in winter had
a constant value over depth,
whereas these values in the
upper layer differ from place
to place.”
He added: “An average value
of dissolved oxygen (DO) of
5ppm was observed at most
of the measurement stations;
a value corresponding to the
lower limit of healthy marine
life. If DO levels remain below 1-2ppm for a few hours,
significant fish kills may result. It was observed that the
average depth current ranges
from 0.1m/s to 0.5m/s (0.2 to
2 knots approximately) during
the measurement period and
the range of significant wave
heights was 0.2 to 1.4 m with
peak wave periods of 4 to 5
sec. Chemical analysis of the
samples showed that seawater
is suffering from petroleumrelated pollution, especially
close to Port Sultan Qaboos,
Muscat and the Oman LNG
plant. The maximum concentration of lead was found to be
0.050 ppm and the maximum
concentration of vanadium
was 0.006 ppm. These concentrations are extremely high
compared to other locations in
the world (Global Lead Concentrations, Central Atlantic
water: 0.00005 ppm average).”
The academic concluded his
remarks: “The research project
completed important measurements and modeling of hydrodynamic and water quality parameters in the Gulf of Oman.
Such detailed measurements
had not been carried out before. It was found that the dissolved oxygen levels along the
northern coast of the Sultanate
of Oman are generally low,
posing a possible threat to marine life. The concentrations of
petroleum-related trace metals
are alarmingly high compared
to other locations in the world.
Regular monitoring of water
quality and strong enforcement of environmental regulations are needed to protect
seawater quality in this area.”
Innovation
Affairs
Four SQU Students File a Patent Application
The invention relates to tactile
display apparatus, and particularly to a method and system to
convert portable document format (PDF) files to Braille.
The Braille system scripts for
the blind were derived by Mr.
Louis Braille in France. Louis
was born on the 4th of January 1809 and died on the 6th of
January 1852. Louis Braille devised the six embossed system
based on a twelve-dot secret
code system originally developed by Charles Barbier for
the French Intelligence that enabled soldiers could to communicate silently and without light
at night. The Braille system is
a method that is widely used
by blind and partially sighted
The invention includes an electrical interactive refreshable dynamic board connected to a processor that inputs scanned text
and outputs embossed Braille
tactile indicia readable by anyone who can read Braille via
the sense of touch. Moreover,
the method supports Arabic
language. The device converts
PDF to a TIF image file with the
aid of an open source program
called ImageMagick®. Also,
the device uses an open source
OCR engine called Tesseract to
convert the TIF image to Text,
which was developed at HP
Labs between 1985 and 1995,
and now is at Google. The module of converting Text to Braille
has been completed by using
functions liblouis, which are
written in C language. Liblouis
is an open source Braille translator.
Blind people have the right to
know the new events and news
that happens around the world,
so the project will have an optional feature that will allow
blind people to read the news in
an easy way. This feature can
be opercted by using Wi-Fi or
Bluetooth technology to interact with other devices. Another
function is a text-to speech engine to allow the user to hear the
file contents being converted to
Braille. The device can include
CD, flash memory, or other type
of media or machine-readable
medium suitable for storing
electronic instructions.
May 2015
A new invention entitled
“Method and System to Convert Portable Document Format
to Braille” has been filed as
provisional patent application
in the US Patent &Trademark
Office (USPTO). The invention
is a final year project from the
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in the College of Engineering for the inventors: Ahmed Mohammed Al
Busaidi, Ahmed Salim Al Abri,
Saif Salim Al Farei and Fahad
Salim Al Hasani.
people to read and write. Nearly all Braille modules available
today use piezoelectric ceramic
bimorph reeds to actuate the
Braille dots. The problem with
all of the aforementioned devices is cost, lack of Arabic language support, and lack of environmental friendliness. Thus,
a method and system to convert
portable document format file
to Braille solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
23
Study
Greywater Reuse Potential for Sustainable Water Resources Management
May 2015
With over 13,000 mosques in Oman, the reuse
potential of ablution water is huge
24
A new study suggests that
the majority of Omanis are
in favor of treating and reusing greywater, or sullage,
a kind of relatively clean
waste water from baths,
sinks, washing machines,
and other kitchen appliances. This is a key finding of
a large-scale research project conducted by a team of
researchers to evaluate the
potential of greywater as
an alternative source of water in Oman. Dr Sanmugam
Prathapar led several investigators from the College
of Agricultural and Marine
Sciences.
Oman is an arid country
where groundwater reserves
are under pressure. There is
a need to identify alternative
sources of water and develop
appropriate technology to
harness them to reduce pressure on freshwater reserves in
Oman. One of the alternative
sources of water is greywater.
Defining the methodology of
the study, Dr Prathapar said:
Device
He added: “ A greywater
treatment unit was constructed at the South Al Hail
mosque using locally available material. A fourth bench
scale treatment unit using a
Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) was assembled
at SQU. Performance of all
four units was monitored.
In the final phase, guidelines for reuse of treated
greywater based on the experimental results and on
international literature were
developed. In addition, a
financial analysis to determine the Internal Rate of
Return and Cost:Benefit ratios for various scenarios to
install and operate greywater
treatment systems was carried out.”
As to the findings, the researcher pointed out that
“the volumes of greywater
reuse monitored at houses
were comparable with estimates made with questionnaire data and manufacturers’ specifications. Analysis
showed that 84% of Omanis
are in favor of treating and
reusing greywater. Those not
in favor of treated greywater
reuse cited religion, health,
environmental degradation,
including groundwater contamination, and costs as reasons. In Oman, approximately 80% of the water used in
houses is greywater. This is
approximately 140 liters per
person per day, and more
than the per capita volume
of greywater produced in
Europe and Japan. Depending on the size of a mosque,
ablution water available at
mosques ranges from 1000
liters per day to 10,000 liters
per day.
He
concluded:
“Since
there are more than 13,000
mosques in Oman, the reuse
potential of ablution water
is very high. Greywater and
ablution water collected in
Oman require chlorination
to remove biological contaminants such as E. coli
and coliforms. Since the
suspended solids in Omani
greywater and ablution water are high, they require
filtration if pressurized irrigation methods are used
for irrigation. Chlorination
and sand filtration will be
adequate to treat greywater
from households if kitchen
water and blackwater are not
mixed with other greywater
produced.”
Research device
CTD Profiler
In marine ecology and oceanography, the vertical structure of
the water column is one of the essential descriptors of the ocean.
CTD profilers (where CTD stands for Conductivity, Temperature,
Depth) were originally designed to quantify the physical characteristics of the water masses through variation of salinity (the
quantity of salt dissolved in the water) and temperature over depth.
Today the manufacturers CTD profilers have extended these 3 fundamental variables of the ocean water by a whole range of additional sensors that measure dissolved oxygen, in-situ fluorescence
(a measure of the quentity of phytoplankton in the water), pH,
light availability, etc. The Idronaut company, manufacturer of the
Ocean profilers is located in Brugherio, near Milan in Italy, and
produces a series of instruments with high accuracy and flexibility. For instance, their proprietary conductivity probe (the physical measurements of the ocean water used to calculate salinity)
measures conductivity with a resolution of 0.005mS/cm and their
temperature probes is accurate within 0.005ºC.
The profiler itself can sample all parameters in different modes
(continuous, at predefined —and user defined—time intervals or
as a function of depth). In continuous mode, the logger can sample
all parameters at 10 Hz and store up to 64Mb of data with a 16 bit
digitization per probe. The data can either be directly uploaded to
a computer in real time, using underwater connectors and a specially designed data cable connected to an oceanographic winch,
or stored onto the probe memory and downloaded after profiling
using a watertight connector and a RS-232C and RS422 serial interface to a computer for further analysis. The whole system is
encased in a polyethylene housing which is pressure resistant to
1000m (100 bars).
May 2015
“In the first stage of the project, a review of the literature
on greywater treatment and
reuse was carried out. The
use of Greywater at over 200
households was estimated
based on completed questionnaires and manufacturers’ specifications. Furthermore, greywater use at 12
houses was monitored for
approximately six months.
During this period, water
quality analysis of greywater
was also undertaken. During
the second stage of the project, commercially available
greywater treatment systems were installed at a domestic premise and at SQU
mosque.”
25
Study
Modeling Pollutant Plume at Wadi Suq
Groundwater was found not to be potable
nor suitable for agriculture
May 2015
A team of researchers, from
the College of Engineering,
have conducted a study aimed
to characterize and model the
movement of the pollutant
plume in the area of Wadi Suq.
Their work has also provided
risk-qualified estimates of the
plume and its movement and
assisted decision-makers with
respect to groundwater quality,
pollutant control, and remediation.
26
A geo-statistical modeling
technique was applied as an
analytical and estimation method to investigate the spatial
distribution of different hydrochemical parameters. Groundwater numerical simulation
was used to study the advective solute transport within the
aquifer system. Potability of
groundwater was based on the
Omani standards whereas international standards were used
to assess its suitability for irrigation, specifically for growing
date palm and alfalfa.
can be injected into the upper
stream side as a new remediation approach. This water could
be transported by the existing
pipeline, which was used previously to transport seawater
from the coast.
Significant variation in the concentration of heavy elements in
the groundwater is attributed to
the local geology and the effect
of the copper processing which
has enhanced ion mobility,
whereas increasing salinity has
been entirely a consequence
of mining. Groundwater was
found not to be potable nor
suitable for growing date palm
and alfalfa due to the high levels of heavy elements. Sources
of water (e.g greywater, treated
waste water) from the coast
The mining-related pollutant
plume has extended over the
area of Wadi Suq, with salinity
emerging as the major problem. In addition to salinity,
high levels of some heavy elements were confirmed. Analysis found that the effect of the
heavy metals was comparatively low for some metals, such
as copper. However, lead was
found to be a major pollutant,
although it is believed to have
originated as a background due
to the natural geology of the
ophiolite rocks. The widely
distributed geological structures in the area, such as faults
and fractures, acted as conduits
enhancing the spread of the
plume. Due to groundwater
pollution, a large area in the
downstream part of Wadi Suq
was found to be under risk of a
decreasing yield of agricultural
products such as dates.
Groundwater in the area poses
a serious threat if it is used
for drinking or irrigation. The
proposed remediation action
could provide a source of aquifer recharge in addition to the
cleanup of the environmental problem. Furthermore, the
study indicated the ability of
geostatistics as a tool to model
pollutants in groundwater.
27
May 2015
Book at a Glance
Book
A New Book on Porcelain Paints
Dr Al Maamari: it is one of the few Arab manuscripts
that deal with the chemistry of porcelain paints
technique that originates in the Islamist heritage and
is based on the degree of glossiness of ceramics and
the variety of procedures followed to work out the exact paint; Chapter Seven covers all kinds of printing,
particularly the silk screen, because of its importance
Reflecting on the publication to Tawasul, the writer compared to other printing methods.”
had this to say: “A few years ago, when I was teaching
As to the significance of his publication, he said: “The
ceramics at the University, I noticed that there were
importance of this book lies in the fact that there are
few sources on porcelain paints, especially with revery few Arabic references that deal with the chemisgard to their chemical aspects;
try of ceramic coatings. This work
so the book was developed to
has been simplified to cater to the
become a teaching textbook.”
needs of students of porcelain at
Dr Al Maamari added: “In fact,
‫دائرة الن�صر العلمي والتوا�صل‬
different academic institutions,
porcelain may be considered
porcelain
amateur
‫فا�صلل ًا بني الفن والعلم‬
‫التطبيقية يعد اخلزف حد ًا‬practitioners,
‫مللن بني معظم الفنللون‬
‫ ولأننا اعتدنا على �صورة ذهنية تقليدية مفادها اأن‬.‫وخ�صو�صا علم الكيمياء‬
as something between art and
‫ فقد جاء هذا الكتاب ليكون معينا ملمار�صللي اخلزف‬، ‫اخلزف فن زخريف فقط‬
craftsmen
and artists; it serves as
‫على خمتلف �صللرائحهم من اأجل احل�صللول على نتائج ا�صتثنائية ل تقليدية‬
science, especially chemistry;
‫ و�صللواء كان املمار�للس حرفيا او هاويللا او اكادمييا فللاإن هذا الكتاب‬.‫فح�صللب‬
‫املعرفللة العلمية والعملية‬
‫اجلرعات الكاملللة من‬
‫�صلليفتح له الطريللق‬
a practical
book
that‫لتلقي‬can
be used
‫لعدة تقنيات يف طااءت اخلزف املعا�صللر وهي تعد الطرق الرئي�صللية يف فن‬
and since we have conceived
‫ و�صيتعر�س هذا‬.‫اخلللزف والتي تفرعللت منها التقنيللات الثانويللة الأخللرى‬
in the، ‫امللحي‬lab
than
a ‫للتقنيللات‬
theoretical
‫ والطاء‬rather
، ‫انت�صار ًا كتقنية الراكللو‬
‫الفنية الأو�صللع‬
‫الكتللاب‬
of porcelain as a decorative art
.‫ وطاءات الرماد‬، ‫ والطباعة باأنواعها‬،‫ وطاء اللي�صرت‬،‫والطاء البلوري‬
one.”
only, the book can be of aid
Porcelain Paints is a book recently published by the
Department of Academic Publication and Outreach.
It is authored by Dr Badr bin Mohammed Al Maamari from the Department of Art Education, College
of Education.
May 2015
to all practitioners in order to
obtain exceptional results. Beginners, practitioners and academics can benefit from this
book as it offers scientific and
practical knowledge covering
several techniques in contemporary ceramic paints.”
28
As to the contents of the book, he said: “Chapter One
focuses on diverse kinds of porcelain, their uses, temperatures and other important aspects of pottery prior
to the painting process; Chapter Two is a review of
the Japanese Raku technique in the ceramic coating; Chapter Three introduces the technique of saline
paint; Chapters Four, Five and Six are focused on a
He added: “The book was mainly
designed to be used as a teaching
tool at universities, colleges and
schools specialized in arts; personally, I hope that it is going to
be used at Sultan Qaboos University.”
ISBN 978-99969-0-488-2
9 789996 904882
Dr Al Maamari talked about the challenges faced in
collecting the material of the book: “Of course I faced
some difficulties, especially with regard to simplifying complex scientific information, facilitating the
use of chemical terminology for an Arab readership,
which was the target group, and seeking copyrights
for the pictures used.”
Conferences
Updated Conference Attendance System
Sending reports
electronically
electronic system accessible
to all SQU employees. The
system allows users to submit an electronic application
for attending conferences.
By introducing the new e-
system, the Section seeks to
cut red tape and save time
and effort, and thus streamline the processing of applications. Other advantages
have to do with the technical support provided for users, a database of conference
papers, conference statistics
available for all units, regular conference reports, and
assessment of academics
based on their conference
attendance reports.
The system makes it possible to publish the conference
research papers in collaboration with the DAPO through
setting a database of such
research.
Maintaining high efficiency
in delivering on its assignments, the Section has de-
veloped such an e-system in
order to address the needs
of researchers for instant
processing of their requests.
Therefore, more functions
have been added, such as:
Sending reports electronically, coping with the new
trend of electronic governance
The applicant will have access to all previous and current applications, including the days spent in every
conference, and the kind of
funding used
Uploading all formats of
files with the application
Showing statistics of each
college through the system
without the need to request
them from the department
The system will allow the
heads of departments, assistant deans, deans, and others
in charge of approving e-applications to access previous
complete applications of all
employees
Providing emails at every
processing stage to the applicant and processing staff
Accessing the system offcampus as well as on-campus.
Emails at every
processing
stage
Such changes will help save
time and effort in processing
applications. It is also hoped
that the new system will offer statistical data about
all papers submitted
at regional and
international
conferences.
Deans and
their assistants
have access to
applications
May 2015
The Conference Attendance
Section is one of the recently established units of the
Department of Academic
Publication and Outreach
(DAPO). It is in charge of
regulating the process of
attending conferences by
academics through an online
29
Creations
SQU receives patent from US
Al Habsi: The invention keeps books in an orderly
arrangement on shelves
May 2015
Sultan Qaboos University
(SQU) has been granted its
first patent registered in the
US Patent Office for the
invention of an automatic
book shelf for libraries by
Yaqoub Saif Al Habsi, a librarian at the main library,
SQU.
30
In his remarks to Tawasul,
Al Habsi talked about the
idea of his invention and
how it started: “The main
library has open shelves;
students and researchers
approach the shelves immediately after getting the
classification number of a
book; books are arranged on
shelves according to their
classification and numeric
sequences, and there are a
lot of visitors from inside
and outside the University
who borrow sources from
the library. Keeping books
in an orderly arrangement
on the shelves is a difficult
task and even more difficult
when the students and researchers do not return the
books to their correct positions; so, the librarian is
faced with the tedious job
of returning the books to
their correct shelves; hence
retain books on the shelves
according to their classification and numeric sequence.
The significance of this
invention is that it helps
keep books on the shelf in
a straight orderly arrangement.”
the idea behind the
​​ invention.”
As to the importance of his
device, he said: “The invention is useful in libraries. As
we all know, shelves in public libraries have a support,
but it does not function in
such a way that could help
He explained the logistical
aspect of his work: “First,
you must search in patent websites, such as the
websites for the US Patent
Office, the European Patent Office and the World
Intellectual Property Organization to see whether
your work is new or not.
This is the most difficult
step, where you find in the
Patience was key in
overcoming barriers
The librarian described his
invention and how it works:
“The device is a mechanical book prop specially de-
to reposition the books in
the rack and thus closes the
Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Department
helped register, market and
protect the device
signed for bookshelves in
libraries and working with
a rechargeable battery. It
functions in such a way that,
when a book is removed
from the shelf, an electrical
circuit automatically opens
and the prop moves forward
gaps arising between the remaining books. On the other
hand, when a library visitor
does not borrow the book,
the circuit will be closed and
the book cannot be returned
to the shelf again. This
means that the device keeps
the books in their places according to their serial numbers, which is the second
function of the invention.”
He expressed his appreciation for the support he received from the Department
of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, including Acting
Director, Sheikha Al Akhzamiyyah, and other employees for their efforts in having his invention registered,
marketed and protected, and
for providing advice and
guidance. He also thanked
the former director of the
main library, Dr Mosa Al
Mufriji, and his colleagues.
May 2015
websites hundreds or even
thousands of innovations
which must be sorted out,
analyzed, and read by you.
Second, if it turns out that
you have a new invention,
you should start developing conceptions and graphics for that discovery. Third,
start experimenting with the
invention several times to
make sure that it works in
every attempt. You should
be patient, since the international procedures apply
to all innovators in all countries.”
31
‫ديسمبر ‪2014‬‬
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