Dr. Ali Al Musawi
College of Education
There is an increasing need to draw the attention of Arab educators in the areas of curriculum and educational and information technologies to the new generation of learners' requirements in scope of the information burst coming from space, computers, and internet equipping the Arab kids with a high degree of IT skills even before their enrolment in schools. These skills must be appreciated, nurtured, and developed by educators and curricular planners in the study timetable and outside the schools. Teachers should be also trained to keep abreast of these developments.
The objective of this research project is to measure the effectiveness of the design and use of new software in learning Arabic reading at Omani first basic education cycle's schools. It follows the qualitative and quantitative methods, both descriptive and evaluative, in its field work; and systematic approach in its design, implementation, and evaluation where it involves the design of research tools, software, training guides and then their development, field implementation, and evaluation.

Dr. Mahmoud Emam
College of Education
Reading Disorders (RDs) refer to a number of difficulties in reading relatedprocesses which pupils experience due to neurological related causes, atypical brain functioning as well as atypical informal processing. Known as the most common learning disability (LD), RDs have severe academic, social and emotional consequences on pupils. In western contexts, epidemiological studies show that the number of pupils with LDs in schools ranges from 15% to 30% of the pupils' population. Of all pupils with LDs 70%-80% have deficits in reading (Christo, Davis, &
Brock, 2009; Veuillet et al., 2007; Silver et al., 2007). In general, school practices for pupils with RDs have been informed by two competing models, namely the discrepancy and the Response to Intervention (RTI) models. Given the increasing number of pupils with RDs in cycle1 basic education schools in Oman and the fact that identification and intervention practices have been inadequately shaped by mere labeling as guided by the discrepancy model, the purpose of the current research project is to establish an optimal framework for teaching pupils with RDs in Oman.
The framework includes identification of RDs based on a comprehensive neuropsychological perspective in addition to setting up a model of best practices informed by the RTI multi-tiered instructional strategy for teaching pupils with RDs in schools. As such the current research project has a number of long-term goals. It aims to:
 Establish an optimal framework for teaching pupils with RDs in cycle 1 basic
 education schools.
Establish a model of best practices in the identification and intervention of RDs in
Oman.
Enhance the quality of school life for pupils with RDs in Oman. 
 Provide policy makers with empirical data with regard to the problem of RDs in cycle1 basic education schools.
As such, the current project is expected to have a number of outcomes which form its short term-goals. These include:
1. Developing the first neuropsychological screening battery of RDs driven by the
Omani context.
2. Developing the first neuropsychological diagnostic battery of RDs driven by the
Omani context.
3. Identifying prevalence rates or RDs in Oman, thus be the first study to assess the prevalence of RDs in Oman.
4.
Identifying teachers’ perceptions of children with RDs in schools.
5. Educating teachers about the nature of RDs.
6. Identifying the support needs which are essential for establishing an optimal framework of teaching pupils with RDs in cycle 1 basic education schools.
7. Design of multi-tiered quality instruction strategy which will both identify and intervene for RDs in cycle 1 basic education schools.
8. Training teachers on how to accommodate and teach pupils with RDs in class.
Using mixed method approach grounded in positivist and interpretivist research paradigms, the current research project will involve a national sample of 50% of the student population in cycle 1 basic education schools. The project targets the training of pioneer cohorts of teachers to radically change the current practices as well as the provision for pupils with RDs in order to present a model of best practices which will set up a nationally optimal framework for teaching pupils with RDs in Oman.

Dr. Rahma Ibrahim Al-Mahrooqi
College of Arts & Social Sciences
The government of Oman attaches much importance to English in the education of
Omani youth and their preparation for a multinational, multicultural world of employment and socialization. Hence, it has poured resources into supporting
English language teaching and learning in schools, colleges and universities.
Unfortunately, this major investment (involving qualified manpower, free textbooks, computer laboratories and classroom aids) has not yielded commensurate results
(Al-Mahrooqi & Asante, 2010; Moody, 2009). School students continue to graduate with inadequate English language proficiency (Al-Busaidi, 2001; Al-Toubi, 1998; Al-
Issa, 2007) to the extent that a majority, before study at the tertiary level, require remedial or intensive English courses in a “foundation” year (Al-Issa, 2011). Yet, even with the aid of “foundation English”, which might extend to two years at Sultan
Qaboos University, the Colleges of Higher Technology and the Colleges of Applied
Science, students’ competence in English remains inadequate for success in their majors. Although there has been speculation about the causes of this weakness, no comprehensive investigative study has ever been undertaken in Oman. A project is needed that examines how students are taught English at school and why this teaching is not producing the desired results.

Dr. Shahid Al-Balushi
College of Economics & Political Sciences
This research proposal is developed on the premise that improvements can be made to the healthcare sector in the Sultanate of Oman by applying Lean thinking to deliver higher-quality healthcare to all citizens. The project will identify the readiness factors, it was carry out demonstration/pilot projects and develop a national strategy for implementing Lean in the Omani healthcare sector.

Prof. Sobhi Nasir
College of Science
Meteorites are the remnant fragments from the formation of the Solar System. By examining a meteorite, we are looking at the chemical composition of the solar system as it was being born. In 1999, meteorite hunters discovered that the desert in southern and central Oman is a favorable area for the collection of many rare specimens. The gravel plains in the Dhofar and Al Wusta regions of Oman, South of the sandy deserts of the Rub' al Khali, had yielded about 5,000 meteorites as of mid-
2009. Included among these are a large number of lunar and Martian meteorites, making Oman a particularly important area both for scientists and collectors. Early expeditions to Oman were mainly done by commercial meteorite dealers, however international teams of Omani and European scientists have also now collected specimens. In recent years Oman has been one of the world centers of meteorite discovery. In 2011, the Sultanate contributed around 14 % of all the world’s meteorite finds excluding Antarctica. Scientists are still building their knowledge of our planet and solar system thanks to Omani meteorite finds.
The broad spectrum of Oman meteorites and their exceptional preservation make them key research tools that can enhance our understanding of the beginning of the
Solar System. In this research we intend to characterize and classify a collection of
Omani meteorites through detailed geochemical, mineralogical and petrological analysis and publish the result in a book as well as research journals

Dr. Sundararajan Narasimman
College of Science
Uranium is a strategically important mineral having wider applications in the field of energy (electricity) and other industrial, R & D sectors; this resource is of exceedingly great future importance to any developing country and the Government of Oman is keen to evaluate its resources. The Proterozoic basement of the Dhofar region of Oman may be a potential source and trap for uranium and associated minerals as 30%-40% of the global production of Uranium comes from Proterozoic basins (Canada). Further, the reconnaissance surveys carried out during the late
1970s suggest the possibility of Uranium occurrence in this region. The emphasis
(area of interest) for further detailed investigation lies on increased radiation levels for which the Neoproterozoic rocks of southern Oman and some members of the
Huqf Supergroup in Al Wasta region can be considered as the major hosts for potential Uranium enrichment. An association of evaporates, C-rich shales, and accumulated hydrocarbons, presents a perfect geochemical trap for an initial concentration of elements such as Uranium, from where successive redistribution processes may lead to a Uranium enrichment/mineralization in a particular strata.
Therefore, the objective of this proposal is to go for an intensive and detailed geophysical and geochemical surveys to map the Proterozoic basements in Oman in order to ascertain the exact spatial position of this precious resource.

Dr. Sarim Dastgir
College of Science
The production of polyolefinic materials with controlled properties remains a challenging task and industrially important goal. The materials properties strongly depend on the types and the regularities of the stereocentres along the polymer backbone. Therefore, there is a need to develop a versatile synthetic methodology to control the microstructure of the polymer such as tacticity and comonomer incorporation, for example acrylates. This will allow to tailor critical material properties, such as glass transition, melting and heat deformation temperatures, creep, adhesiveness, wettability and hardness, all of which have a determining impact on the applicability and end use of the material. The proposal deals with the synthesis of polyolefinic materials with controlled properties and controlled amount of polar monomers via coordination polymerisation. This will be achieved by developing a novel series of molecular catalysts composed of bi- & tridentate ligand frameworks containing N -heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and phosphinidine moieties. The potential applications and possible economic advantages of this proposal to the local industry such as Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (ORPIC) are enormous, when compared with the existing technologies currently used in the industry. Therefore, it is anticipated that after the launch of the project, future funding could be obtained from local as well as international chemical companies such as
SABIC, Shell, DuPont, Exxon-Mobil, BP, Rohm and Haas and BASF.