Thesis at UOB Calls for Using it to Develop Their Communication Skills

 A scientific study at the University of Bahrain (UOB) called for the development of an advisory program for students of practical training in universities to facilitate the process of training and participation in the labor market and help create job opportunities for them by developing effective communication skills.

This came within the recommendations of a scientific thesis submitted by Mahmood Jamil Al-Shaikh, a student in the Master of Psychology program at UOB, in order to fulfill the requirements for obtaining a master's degree in psychology.

The thesis was recently discussed by an examination committee and it was titled “The Effectiveness of an Indicative Program in Developing Effective Communication for Vocational Training Students at the University of Bahrain”.

The researcher Al-Sheikh stated that "Studying and developing effective communication skills among students of vocational training in universities is one of the important and urgent matters of our time," noting that "developing these skills helps students create job opportunities for themselves."

Describing the counseling program prepared by him as a program required in many aspects, such as the psychological aspect, the educational aspect, and the professional aspect, and is considered a necessary prerequisite for achieving professional and social harmony.

Moreover, the researcher prepared a questionnaire for a random sample of students from UOB, then selected another sample of students with weak communication skills and divided them into an experimental group and a control group to apply the counseling program on them, which included training workshops on verbal skills, non-verbal skills, and writing skills.

The researcher Mahmood Al-Shaikh used the quasi-experimental method in his study, and he pointed out that the program included 10 sessions, in addition to an introduction and conclusion that examined topics such as biography, methods of self-expression, professional presentation, model questions and answers, and so on.

According to the researcher, the study showed resulted in the students of the experimental group acquiring verbal communication skills, non-verbal communication skills, and written communication skills, which confirms the success of the counseling program and the achievement of its objectives.

Furthermore, the researcher measured the effectiveness of the program two months after the end of the sessions, and the results showed the continuity of the impact of the training program for communication skills of the study sample.

The study suggested re-profiling the practical training course in the colleges so it would consist of scientific credit represented in instructional lectures through which the counseling program sessions are applied, before the student joins the training in the facility.

Also, she called for attention to psychological counseling programs for university students, as these programs contribute to strengthening the students’ idea of ??themselves, their abilities and potentials.

The student examination committee discussed the researcher Mahmood Al-Shaikh and it consisted of Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at UOB, Dr. Ahmed Saad Jalal as a supervisor, Associate Professor of Psychology in the same department Dr. Mohammad Hasan Al-Mutawa as an internal examiner, and professor of psychology at Arabian Gulf University, Dr. Aladdin Ayoub as an external examiner.

Sustainable Development Goals:

4 Quality education

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words:

A scientific study at the University of Bahrain, the impact of the training program, the quasi-experimental approach, students’ weaknesses in communication skills, the development of communication skills

Stressing That "Distance Learning" Will Reformulate the Concept of Universities In The World

Dr. Bulaila: E-Learning Is Here to Stay Despite the Need to Develop Its Mechanisms

 Participants in the Sixth International Conference on E-learning recently organized by the University of Bahrain (UOB) unanimously agreed that e-learning will not disappear when the Corona pandemic is gone, stressing that seeing its positives and the potentials it provides will make it an effective choice in educational institutions, especially higher education institutions, which was confirmed by the Dean of the College of Arts, Dr. Abdulaziz Mohammed Bulaila.

The conference was organized by the College of Arts at UOB earlier this December in cooperation with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and it discussed 85 research papers in several themes, including sustainable higher education, learning at home and workplaces, distance education, co-education, return on investment on distance learning, and e-learning models and theories.

Moreover, Dr. Abdulaziz Bulaila stated that “The conference papers were unanimous that e-learning will shape the features of education in the future because of its innovation, flexibility and low operational cost,” indicating that “distance learning may change the concept of universities and scientific institutes because it develops innovation and self-reliance values among students, which makes educational systems value it. "

Pointing out that one of the main challenges presented by the conference in its two-day sessions, was to develop mechanisms for evaluating students' performance and monitoring exams, expressing his confidence that technicians and educators shall be able to develop more effective methods in this field.

The conference was held via visual communication technology featuring 300 researchers, experts and technologists in the fields of distance learning, teaching methods and learning technologies from about 40 countries in the world.

Furthermore, Bulila indicated that e-learning issues have captured the interest of many researchers in the recent period, which paves the way for the advancement of the distance learning system, indicating that the participants agreed on the importance of continuing to organize this Conference annually or at least every two years to discuss e-learning developments.

The Dean of the College of Arts concluded his speech by saying, "E-learning is here to stay, and this is a belief entrenched in educators and academics, as it is a model that can be called the democracy of education for its flexibility and the freedom it offers."

Sustainable Development Goals:     

 (4) Quality education.

 (11) Sustainable cities and communities.

 (17) Partnerships for the goals.

Key words

University of Bahrain, e-learning, the Sixth International Conference On E-Learning, digital transformation, education system, higher education.

Head of The Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies At UOB:

Plans to Establish Research Partnerships with Prestigious Universities and To Attract Visiting Professors

The head of the Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies at the College of Arts at the University of Bahrain (UOB) stated that the Department is planning to conclude research partnerships between its professors and their counterparts in Arab and regional universities, expressing her hope to benefit from the cooperation agreement between the College of Arts at UOB and the College of Arts at King Saud University, which is currently underway, in order to initiate visits and critical scientific research.

Also, Dr. Al-Ka’abi further stated that "The Department has a future vision for offering a bachelor’s degree in Arabic language for non-native speakers and creating partnerships with Middle Eastern studies departments in some foreign universities that has a solid international reputation."

Noting that the Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies is also looking forward to attracting visiting professors who contribute to stimulating the research and scientific movement and achieving further scientific diversity, as UOB hosted many major critics at the level of the Arab world in the nineties of the last century.

Furthermore, she said: “With the start of the activation of the cooperation agreement between the College of Arts at UOB and its counterpart at King Saud University, we will work to attract visiting professors, as we can now host them in light of the Corona pandemic remotely (electronically),” noting that “the Department discussed three master's thesis at the end of the last semester by remote (virtual) hosting of three external examiners from prestigious Arab universities.

It is worth noting that the number of students in the Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies at the undergraduate level is approximately 1,500 students, which are divided into two divisions: the Arabic Language Division and the Islamic Studies Division.

The Department was established in the year 1978 and in addition to the Bachelor of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, it provides university requirements for all University students, including a course on language skills (Arabic 110) and Islamic culture (Islam 101). Also, it’s worth mentioning that the number of students in postgraduate studies at higher diploma and masters in Arabic language and literature reaches about thirty students, including students from GCC countries.

Sustainable Development Goals:

4 Quality education.

17 Partnerships for the goals.

key words:

University of Bahrain, College of Arts, University of Bahrain, Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, Bachelor of Arabic Language for Non-Native Speakers, Research Partnerships

Work Begun on A Critical Study of Bahraini Folk Tales ... Dr. Ka’abi:

A Narratives Laboratory to be Inaugurated at UOB Next Semester

05 December 2020

The head of the Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies at the College of Arts at the University of Bahrain (UOB), Dr. Diya Abdullah Al-Ka’abi, expected that the "Narrative Lab" would be inaugurated within next semester, expressing her hope that the laboratory would contribute to achieving critical academic partnerships UOB and prestigious universities in the Arab world and beyond.

During a press interview, Dr. Al-Ka’abi expected that after the inauguration of the lab, it will initiate partnerships with universities that have narrative labs, such as King Saud University, Casablanca University, Alexandria University, and others, noting that “this important critical project works to create interdisciplinary studies that view the concept of narratives in its broadest meaning that intersects with human knowledge fields.

It’s worth noting that this project is one of the distinguished academic initiatives of the Department, which is one of the founding departments of the College of Arts.

Also, Dr. Diya noted that the Department of Arabic Language is working on investing in digital interactive spaces by creating a "virtual laboratory" aimed primarily at postgraduate students of master's in Arabic language and literature and professors of specialization.

Also, Dr. Diya along with about 100 students in the department of Arabic language have completed the folk tales encyclopedia “Bahraini Folk Tales: A Thousand and One Tales”, which is a collection and documentation project that took ten years of continuous work (2007-2017).

This work is considered the largest collection of folk tales at the level of the Arab world, and the first field survey of Bahraini folk tales in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Furthermore, Dr. Al-Ka’abi revealed that the project is now in its second phase, which is the completion of the first critical study of Bahraini folk tales according to a solid methodological basis, confirming that the project in its later stages seeks universality by translating Bahraini folk tales into international languages ??and indexing them according to the international classification of global folk tales to be made available to researchers from various countries of the world.

The head of the Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies stated that one of the projects the department is working on in this regard is the establishment of an electronic laboratory for the Arabic Language for non-speakers Program.

Also, it’s worth mentioning that Dr. Al-Ka’abi holds a Ph.D. in Arabic Language and Literature from the College of Graduate Studies at the University of Jordan (specializing in modern literary criticism - narratives) from the year 2004.

Dr. Al-Kaabi is a critic who works in the field of cultural narratives and feminist studies and has several publications in the narrative field, including: “The Old Arabic Narration: Cultural Patterns and Problems of Interpretation”, the book “Arab Popular Narratives”, the book “Cultural Representations and Interpretation” in association with Dr. Moujib Al-Adwani, and the book "Controversial Discourse in Arab Culture: Interpretive Approaches", in association with Dr. Moujib Al-Adwani as well, in addition to her supervision of the publication of the encyclopedia "Bahraini Folk Tales: A Thousand and One Tales"

Sustainable Development Goals:

4 Quality education.

17 Partnerships for the goals.

Key Words:

University of Bahrain, College of Arts at the University of Bahrain, Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, Narrative Laboratory, Laboratory for Arabic Language for Non-Speakers, electronic laboratory, folk tales,

Dr. Aldoy Earns International Consultants Certificate in Sustainability Applications 

Assistant Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Social Sciences at the College of Arts at the University of Bahrain (UOB), Dr. Mooza Isa Aldoy, received the International Certificate and Membership Card as an International Consultant in Sustainability Applications from the Regional Network for Social Responsibility.

As Dr. Aldoy has recently engaged in an intensive international program in sustainability applications that qualifies trainees for sustainable development applications in institutions and companies and introduces them to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and their instruments, as well as ways of aligning the sustainable development goals with countries’ national strategies goals.

Also, Dr. Aldoy expressed her pride in being the first academic from UOB to obtain the international certificate and membership card as an international consultant in sustainable applications, noting that the endeavor of UOB’s faculty members and researchers to develop themselves and advance university, research and community performance are some of the indications of earning such certificates.

It is worth noting that Dr. Aldoy holds a doctorate in sociology from Ain Shams University in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and a master's degree from the University of Jordan in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Also, Dr. Mooza Aldoy has many research papers in national, Arab and international journals and has participated in many local and Arab conferences.

Sustainable Development Goals:

4 Quality education

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words:

Sustainability Applications from the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, research and community,

The Excellence Unit at UOB Holds a Workshop for its Professors on Interactive Electronic Activities Design

20/9/2020

More than 60 faculty members at the University of Bahrain (UOB) recently participated in an electronic workshop entitled "A 5 Stages Model and Frameworks for Electronic Activities to Ensure Student Success", which was organized by the University's Unit for Teaching Excellence and Leadership (UTEL) and presented by the CEO of Education Alchemists Ltd in the United Kingdom, Prof. Gilly Salmon and the General Manager of Planning in the Company Ron Angood.

Prof. Salmon indicated that the workshop provided participants with models that would help them design interactive and applicable electronic activities and support their educational practices using distance education during the current academic year, stating that "The participants praised the importance of the workshop and its educational outcomes that refined the knowledge structure of the applied concepts and models provided by the workshop presenters."

Furthermore, the director of UTEL at the University, Dr. Diana Abdulkareem Al-Jahromi, stated that the two-day workshop was held under the supervision of the Assistant Professor in electrical and electronic engineering at the College of Engineering at UOB, Dr. Sanaa Ahmed Al-Mansouri.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words

An electronic workshop, Unit for Teaching Excellence and Leadership at the University of Bahrain, interactive electronic activities design, remote education, 

University President: Broad Participation Opportunities are Provided for Students in All Fields to Develop their Talents

A Fine Arts Student at UOB Wins the "Your Talent at Home" Award

13/9/2020

The President of the University of Bahrain (UOB), Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah, congratulated the student Mazen Najeeb Ghurbal, who won first place in the "Your Talent at Home" competition launched by First Vice President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and Chairman of the Bahrain Olympic Committee His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Moreover, the President of UOB commended the objectives of the award launched by His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, given the creative youth energies in various fields in which they honorably competed, and especially in light of the current circumstances, as this award motivates Bahraini youth to show their utmost talents from their homes, in line with the precautions taken by the Kingdom in an effort to limit this pandemic and its effects, noting that stimulating youth energies in various fields is one of the things that open the paths for them to further improve themselves and their societies.

Prof. Hamzah stated that "This well-deserved victory of the student Ghurbal in this exceptional and new competition proves the number of talents and capabilities that UOB contains in various fields, including the artistic field. Praising at the same time the developmental role of the fine arts professors at the University in the students’ talents and their artistic abilities

Also, Prof. Hamzah, confirmed that UOB keeps an eye for art exhibitions in which students can participate in the future, whether for display of art or competition, to create an environment conducive to friction with various art schools, and to benefit from top artists at the national or international level in order to develop their artistic talents and visions.

The organizing committee of the "Your Talent at Home " competition announced the names of the winners, where student at the College of Arts at UOB, Mazen Najeeb Ghurbal, won first place in the adults’ category of College of Arts at UOB, and got qualified for the finals among 250 participants in the adult category.

Ghurbal expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the encouragement and support he received from UOB, and especially from Dr. Sama Alawi Al-Hashemi in the Department of Graphic Art and Design, who was encouraging all students to develop their skills and participate in various fields, noting the role of his family with the continuous moral support and encouragement.

Moreover, Ghurbal wishes to be supported by his participation in art exhibitions so that he has the opportunity to display his artworks, and to have the support of cultural authorities in order to promote his artistic works, confirming that the "Your Talent at Home" competition has put him in front of a great challenge, as there was a large number of talents in many fields that participated at an advanced level. Ghurbal further stated that “The daily practice of drawing is the most important key to mastery, stressing that he always seeks to develop his abilities in drawing realistic scenes by looking at things with perspective to their color, light and shape, and seeing the dimensions in their true form, which gives the artist an opportunity to match the artwork with reality.”

Also, Ghurbal said that he aspires to continue this talent after graduation by teaching in the Department of Arts at the College of Arts at UOB.

It’s worth noting that the competition aims to achieve the optimal investment of youth energies, directing them towards innovation, discovering talent and motivating them, and investing leisure time at home considering social distancing, in order to show their talents and ensure the continuity of their innovation and creativity.

Also, the competition includes several areas, including acting, singing, show performances, magic shows, playing instruments, acrobatics, and drawing, for two categories, the first is the adult category for those from the age of 16 and above, and the second is the children category for those who do not exceed the age of 15.

The competition allocated more than 60,000$ in prizes to the winners in the framework of supporting talents and investing youth energies.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words

Your Talent at Home, Khalid bin Hamad, youth energies, talents, Department of Fine Arts, Department of Art and Graphic Design,

Family Conciliation Office Visitors Are Less Aware of Compatibility Factors

Proposal to Require Obtaining A "Marital Life Permit" Before Marriage

5 August 2020

A scientific study at the University of Bahrain (UOB) showed that those visit the Family Conciliation Office in the Kingdom of Bahrain are less aware of the factors that contribute to marital compatibility than those who do not visit it, calling for the provision of awareness programs to those who are about to get married and giving them a "license" to lead marital life.

The study was prepared by the student in Master of Counseling Psychology program at UOB, Mohammed Bader Hashem Al-Sayed, to meet the requirements for obtaining a master's degree in counseling psychology.

According to the researcher, Al-Sayed, the study aims to identify the factors that contribute to marital compatibility, as the visitors and non-visitors of the Family Conciliation Office in the Kingdom of Bahrain may realize.

The researcher defined marital compatibility as "the ability to communicate and establish dialogue between spouses, compromise and resolving conflicts that may arise between them, which is the mixing, assimilation, containment and integration between spouses in all psychological, physical, sexual and social aspects, in addition to the ability to express feelings and emotions and social participation, and the ability to love and give".

The researcher relied on the descriptive and comparative approach as the study’s methodology, as he selected the study sample from the visitors and non-visitors of the Family Conciliation Office in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

It’s worth noting that the Ministry of Justice established the Family Conciliation Office in 2015 in accordance with a law requiring the transfer of Sharia cases in which reconciliation is permissible to the Family Conciliation Office before they mandatorily reach the Sharia courts.

The Family Conciliation Office aims at amicable settlement to address marital disputes, consider marital disagreements and disputes from a social and psychological perspective and try to resolve them with the consent of the parties and their agreement.

The researcher relied on the marital compatibility scale that he prepared to measure compatibility in the organizational, personal, emotional, cultural, social, health and physical dimensions.

Moreover, the researcher Mohammed Al-Sayed indicated that marital compatibility "indicates the psychological health of marital life, which means the ability of both spouses to change their behavior and form a satisfactory relationship with a life partner, and it is achieved to a high degree among couples who have the ability to reconcile personal differences," explaining that "an interconnected family can achieves greater family safety for its children, which positively impact their enjoyment of psychological health and well-being."

The findings showed that the non-visitors to the Family Conciliation Office are more aware of the factors that affect marital compatibility than its visitors. Also, the study did not show any differences between the two samples of males and females visiting the Family Conciliation Office in being aware of the factors contributing to marital compatibility.

Furthermore, the study called for granting a "license" to lead marital life for those who are about to get married and making it a necessary condition for the completion of the marriage contract, just like the pre-marriage medical examination, by holding training courses all about marital life for those who are about to get married, and after completing the courses, they shall be given a "marital life license."

Also, it called for providing awareness programs for those who are about to get married, for their effective impact on achieving marital and family happiness and working on developing training programs for spouses in all marital stages to help them deal with stressful marital life situations with wisdom and in good measure.

Stressing the importance of setting a free hotline for family counseling to reduce spouses’ resource to courts and police stations, and to design an awareness program to increase the awareness of those who visit the Family Conciliation Office that instructs them on the factors contributing to marital harmony.

The study suggested adding the service of “Know your partner” within the “Happiness Laboratory” project of the Ministry of Health in health centers, which is a test to get acquainted with the life partner for those who are about to get married and are taking a pre-marriage medical examination.

The examination committee discussed the researcher Mohammed Al-Sayed in his thesis, and it consisted of the member of the faculty in the Department of Psychology at UOB Dr. Amani Abdulrahman Al-Shirawi as a first supervisor, the member of the faculty in the same department Dr. Tawfiq Abdulmoneim as a second supervisor, the faculty member in the Psychology Department Dr. Sheikha Ahmed Al-Junaid as an internal examiner, and the faculty member at Ain Shams University in the Arab Republic of Egypt Prof. Mohamed El-Beheiry as an external examiner.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality Education

 17 Partnerships for the goals.

Key Words

Family Conciliation Office in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Happiness Laboratory, marital life license, those who are about to get married, pre-marriage medical examination, family counseling, family safety.

Recommending Diversifying News Sources and Increasing Reliance on Reporters

A Study: Press Photo Attracts Readers More Than Content

29 July 2020

A scientific study from the College of Arts at the University of Bahrain (UOB) found that the press photos attract readers more than the journalistic content and that readers consider the press release incomplete without the photos.

The scientific study presented the student in the Master of Media program at the University, Shaima Al-Alawi, investigated "the news function of the front-page pictures of newspapers in the Kingdom of Bahrain in light of the public's interests."

As the study aimed identify how important it is for " Gulf News " and "Al-Ayam" newspapers to put press photos on the front page, the topics covered by these pictures, and the topics that readers expect.

Also, the research monitored the types of press photos used by the two newspapers, the sources that the newspapers rely on to obtain the pictures, the place of the photo in the newspaper, whether or not they are accompanied by an explanation or a caption, and the values ??they carry.

Regarding the importance of her study, Shaima Al-Alawi said that the study sheds light on the importance of front-page photos in carrying out the reporting function that helps persuade the reader more than written words in a way that instantly gives the reader the content of the news.

Furthermore, she continued saying that the topic of photos did not receive the required attention from academic researchers, so this study is important because it is the first in Bahrain to address press photos on the first page.

The researcher used a random sample of Bahraini citizens of both sexes between the ages of 18 and 50, within the limits of 400 individuals, who live in the four governorates of Bahrain: the Capital, the Northern, the Southern, and Muharraq governorates.

An examination committee discussed Al-Alawi in her thesis, which consisted of Professor of Journalism and Media in the Department of Media, Tourism and Arts at UOB Prof. Ashraf Saleh as a supervisor, Professor of Media and Public Relations in the same department Dr. Ashraf Abdelmogeth as an internal examiner, and Professor of Journalism at Cairo University Dr. Sami Taya’a as an external examiner.

The findings of the newspaper content analysis on front-page photos conducted by the researcher showed that there is a clear diversity in the subjects of the photos published by the "Gulf News" and "Al-Ayam" newspapers, in that they covered various fields and issues, whether local or foreign and the priorities for selecting news photos on the first page were similar in the two newspapers to a large extent.

Moreover, the findings showed that there is a clear interest in front-page photos to highlight the photographic coverage of international events, in order to give priority to the reporting function of the press photos, as news related to the GCC countries was at the forefront of international topics with a rate of (23.1%) of the occurrences of pictures.

The researcher recommended working on increasing diversity in news sources and increasing reliance on newspaper reporters, taking into account the developments that have emerged with the emergence and spread of social networking sites, so that online reporters are hired just like traditional reporters.

Also, she stressed the importance of publishing press photos with an explanation and commenting on them, because the continuation of displaying photos without any explanation or comment strips the photos of its automatism, its intrinsic value and its ability to reflect the content.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words

Press photos, press content, types of press photos, newspaper content analysis, newspaper reporters, publishing press photos with comments