This qualitative descriptive study explored the experiences of three Kuwaiti pre-service teachers with guided reflection and the extent to which video technology facilitates reflection. The data sources were semi-structured and video-elicited interviews, field notes, and researcher reflective journals. The study was guided by two research questions: In what ways does video elicitation facilitate Kuwaiti pre-service teachers’ reflections? What do Kuwaiti pre-service teachers reflect about? I used Rogoff’s Sociocultural Theory (2003; 1995) as my conceptual lens for this study which stresses the importance of cultural contexts in all areas of education. I developed a concept I call “third-eye” thinking to define a multifaceted approach to education and reflection. I also developed a concept I call “cultural spheres of influence” to describe the multitude of cultural influences that shape individuals and groups in unique ways. This study also depended on guided reflection to complement the process of video elicitation. The findings of my study indicated that video elicitation provided concrete material as a basis for reflection. My findings showed that Kuwaiti early childhood preservice teachers reflected on various topics including: teaching tools and materials, strategies and techniques, everyday problems and challenges, classroom dynamics and management, and evaluators and the evaluation process. This research contributes to the existing body of literature by giving reflection a new culturally-rooted definition based on its application by Kuwaiti pre-service teachers and through a careful consideration of the cultural spheres of influences that shaped who the participants were and what they brought to the reflective process.

The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of students towards, and use of ICT in KHEIs (private- public), as well as identifying the factors that influence students‟ attitudes towards using ICT in their daily learning. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to examine the influence of the factors: type of university, gender, academic discipline, language of learning, students‟ ICT experience and ICT support, on the Perceive Ease (PEOU) of Use and Perceive Usefulness (PU), as internal components of attitude. This study employed mixed research methods to achieve its aims and objectives. The study sample consisted of 717 students from the sciences and humanities at both the Public University and the private University in Kuwait. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from students by distributing questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The principal quantitative results of this study were: (1) the overall attitude of public university students towards using ICT in their learning are more positive than the attitudes of students at the private university; (2) the type of university, gender, level of ICT experience and ICT support factors have an influence on students‟ attitudes through the PEOU and PU; (3) the factor of academic discipline only influences students in terms of the PEOU and PU, and (4) learning English has a positive influence on students‟ attitudes towards ICT. At the same time, the qualitative results show that the use of ICT tools in their English version can improve students‟ English language skills. Another qualitative result shows that the social communication between students and the peer learning can positively influence their attitude towards ICT, as well as improving their ICT experience and skills. Recommendations were subsequently made to stakeholders and educators at both universities, based on the findings of the study. Further ideas were then identified for future research.

This Thesis examines the benefits and usefulness of a National Drug Policy (NDP) for the developing of the Health Care System in Kuwait. The NDP is one of the most important structures of the Health System which can lead to improved health services by establishing guidelines, proposals and directives to organize, structure and regulate health legislation; it is of help to ensure the availability of quality, safety and efficacy in using medicines and it can reduce the irrational use of medicines. The NDP is a frame work between the government, schools and universities, media, health professionals, pharmaceutical industries and companies and public. It is cooperation between the public and private sectors to achieve the goal of access to good quality medicines for all. However there are many key factors which need to be examined before the National Drug Policy is introduced and these are considered the baseline for establishing a good policy, and includes; selection of essential drugs, affordability of drugs, drug financing, supply management, drug regulation, rational use of drugs, drugs registration, purchasing of drugs, health research and human resource development. During this research study from 2012 – 2015 several visits to the public and private health areas, were undertaken. At this time there were discussions with 121 health professionals and data was collected and this indicated that in Kuwait there are no such policies. This is despite the availability of financial means, specialized human resources and the existence of the ministerial decisions and regulations governing the health sector in both public and private, whether hospitals, health centers, pharmacies and health departments. In addition it is suggested that the process of a good NDP should be built around 3 main components which includes: 1.Development, 2. Implementation and 3. Monitoring and Evaluation. Therefore the establishing of a NDP without implementation and monitoring is not enough and does not achieve the desired results. The aim of this Thesis is to establish a NDP in the State of Kuwait. This policy is necessary for the State of Kuwait to ensure development an improvement of the Health Care System and ensure better health for population.

Knowledge Management (KM) helps extend the knowledge of individuals or groups across organisations in ways that directly affect performance. Further, it is a formalised and integrated approach to identify and manage an organisation's knowledge assets. The study is an exploratory investigation of the implementation of IT-based Knowledge Management Systems. It is also a comparative study of the Kuwait and UK public sectors with the specific aim of building a best practice model for KM implementation in conjunction with IT. This includes examination of the relevant literature, a comprehensive analysis of case studies of KM implementation in 91 organisations presented in the literature, in order to arrive at the most critical factors of KM implementation and their degree of criticality, and an exploratory survey of 68 organisations both in the UK and Kuwait relating to their experiences in implementing initiatives such as KM and the role of IT in that process. In view of the intensive and extensive data for interdependence relationships between variables, statistical techniques were used, and in-depth studies of 16 leading organisations, to understand how the KM implementation processes and the critical factors identified were addressed and implemented. This study identifies critical factors of success in KM domain that applicable to Kuwaiti organisations. These factors were categorised under four different headings: (1) Technology, (2) KM processes, (3) Change management, (4) Top management commitment. A generic holistic model for effective KM implementation is proposed. / Kuwait Ministry of Interior.

In recent years the important of leadership in the organization has become an area of interest. Leadership has been noted to impact corporate culture, employee commitment and response and the overall performance of the organization. Given the fact that leadership is such an important part of organizational development and discourse, effective methods for developing effective leadership in the organization are needed. Without definitive methods for leadership development, organizations will not be able to optimize the outcomes of leadership in the organization. Thus, there is a clear impetus to delineate what works best in the context of leadership development. This study used concurrent qualitative and quantitative research to understand better the effect of cross-cultural influences on the leadership development programmes and leadership practices development in a study population consisting of managers and supervisors in the Kuwaiti banking industry. Although Kuwaiti organisations employ many international employees and operate foreign subsidiaries, they have not created leadership development programmes to improve cross-cultural leadership skills for managers. As a result, Kuwaiti managers often rely on traditional transactional methods and an authoritarian style of leadership that may be less effective with employees from different nations and cultural backgrounds. The qualitative phase of the research collected data from Kuwaiti bank managers through interviews while the quantitative phase of the research collected data with survey instrument. The quantitative phase of the study also tested the validity of a conceptual model and hypotheses using structural equation modelling and regression analysis. The research was guided by distributed leadership theory, which considers leadership as a series of interactions between leader and follower with the follower sometimes adopting an informal role as temporary leader. The theory also considers the context in which the leader operates as a critical factor for motivating leadership practise. The testing and validation of the theoretical model in the study led to the acceptance of a new 'Effective Cross Cultural Leadership' (ECL) model. This model describes the relationship between the exogenous or independent variables of cultural differences, training and development in traditional Kuwaiti leadership, cross cultural leadership development programmes and international leadership practises with the endogenous or dependent variables of leadership development programmes and leadership practises development. The testing of the hypotheses of the study showed a statistically significant relationship between the four independent variables and the two dependent variables with exception of the relationship between the independent variable of international leadership practises and the dependant variable of leadership programmes development. The quantitative findings also indicated that demographic variables do not have a moderating effect on the model. The qualitative findings of the study determined that cultural differences between employees and managers influence the managers' leadership behaviours and their understanding of the type of leadership development programmes to improve their cross-cultural leadership skills. Managers with greater experience or knowledge of foreign cultures adopt more flexible leadership practises when leading international teams. The qualitative findings also determined that front office managers are more willing to use participative leadership styles in leadership practises, while back office managers rely on authoritarian leadership styles focusing on tasks in their leadership practises, indicating that the context influences leadership styles and practise. The findings of the study including the development and validation of the Effective Cross-Cultural Leadership (ECL) model contribute to the theoretical and practical knowledge of cross-cultural leadership in Kuwait that can be extended to other Middle Eastern nations. In addition, the study finding extends cross-cultural theory by indicating that international influences both internal and external to the organisation affect leadership styles despite national norms and preferences. These findings implied that Kuwaiti organisations experience significant pressure to adopt some international leadership practises and styles to accommodate the expectations and needs of the many international workers employed in Kuwait. The practical implication of these findings showed that Kuwaiti managers would benefit from leadership training emphasising that no standard or correct approach to leadership exists and that it can be acceptable for leaders to use participative styles when warranted by the situation.

Background Of the 464 million patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus globally, type 2 diabetes accounts for 90%. Type 2 diabetes contributes to other conditions such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular diseases. Glycaemic haemoglobin control is essential in reducing long-term macrovascular and microvascular complications. Pharmacist interventions have been documented to have a positive role in diabetes management. In Kuwait, type 2 diabetes prevalence is increasing and found in a young population. Aims To evaluate the influence of the pharmacist-led intervention on diabetes knowledge, medication adherence and HbA1c, and hypertension. In addition, to estimate the 10-years risk of developing cardiovascular events and assess the cost of diabetes-related complications. Method The study was a randomised controlled trial with control and intervention arms conducted at the military hospital in Kuwait. Participants (n=177) were randomly allocated to the intervention group (n=88) and control group (n=89), using a 4-block randomisation procedure. The intervention group received face-to-face education and counselling from the pharmacist with a monthly follow-up for six months. The primary outcome was glycaemic control, and secondary measures were hypertension, lipid profiles, medication adherence, diabetes knowledge, 10-year estimated cardiovascular events and cost. QRISK3 and UKPDS-OM2 were used to estimate the risk of CVD events and cost comparison analysis. ii Results Compared with baseline, the mean reduction of HbA1c, blood pressure, and lipid profiles showed significant improvement in the intervention group. Additionally, improvement in medication adherence, diabetes knowledge, 10-years estimated cardiovascular events were reported with the intervention group. Also, the pharmacist-led intervention was cost-saving. Conclusion The study highlighted that adult type 2 diabetes patients who received the pharmacist-led intervention experienced a reduction in adverse clinical outcomes, improved non-clinical outcomes, and assisted in lifestyle modification.

Imperial powers have employed a range of strategies to establish and then maintain control over foreign territories and communities. As deploying military forces from the home country is often costly – not to mention logistically stretching when long distances are involved – many imperial powers have used indigenous forces to extend control or protect influence in overseas territories. This study charts the extent to which Britain employed this method in its informal empire among the small states of Eastern Arabia: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the seven Trucial States (modern day UAE), and Oman before 1971. Resolved in the defence of its imperial lines of communication to India and the protection of mercantile shipping, Britain first organised and enforced a set of maritime truces with the local Arab coastal shaikhs of Eastern Arabia in order to maintain peace on the sea. Throughout the first part of the nineteenth century, the primary concern in the Gulf for the British, operating through the Government of India, was therefore the cessation of piracy and maritime warfare. Later, British interests were expanded to suppressing the activities of slave traders and arms traffickers. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, Britain also sought to exclude foreign powers from gaining a foothold in the area. It was during this time that the British government assumed full responsibility for the external relations of these shaikhdoms and that Britain conferred the status of ‘protected state’ upon them. Up to this point, when Britain needed to protect these interests or use force to compel local rulers to comply with its wishes, naval power usually sufficed. By the midpoint of the twentieth century, Britain’s interests in the area had swelled and migrated inland – first because of the establishment of air stations servicing the imperial route to India, then as a result of oil exploration and production. At the same time, growing international opposition to colonialism and a steady reduction in Britain’s ability to project military power overseas made it more and more difficult for Britain to discharge it security duties in the Gulf. So how did Britain bridge this gap? Studies of British security policy towards the Gulf have focused almost exclusively on Britain’s formal military architecture. Using India Office records and British Government archival documents, this study provides a reinterpretation of the means by which Britain sought to maintain order, protect its interests in the region and discharge its defence obligations. The records, it will be shown, point to a broad British policy before 1971 of enhancing the coercive instruments available to the local rulers. Rather than having to revert to using its own military forces, Britain wanted the Gulf rulers to acquire a monopoly over the use of force within their territories and to be in a stronger position to defend their own domains against cross-border raiders and covetous neighbours. This policy was not always successful; Britain was progressively drawn into the internal security affairs of a number of ITS protégés, especially after the Second World War. The security forces that emerged – armed police forces, gendarmeries and militaries – varied considerably, as did Britain’s involvement in their establishment and running. Nevertheless, taken as whole, a trend emerges between 1921 and 1971 of Britain pushing the Gulf states to take over more and more of the security burden. Indeed, at a time when its traditional sources of global power were fading, indigenous security forces were an important tool in Britain’s pursuit of its interests before its military withdrawal from the Gulf in December 1971. This aspect of Britain’s approach to security in the Gulf has largely been overlooked.

The main theme of the study is exploring and understanding the impact of an innovative continuing professional development model for integrating ICT into classroom pedagogy. The focus is on the relationship between teachers’ beliefs, knowledge and pedagogic practice in the process of developing and adopting new knowledge and skills to cope with 21st century education. The study explores the 'future schools' primary teachers’ education, in-service training, status, beliefs, knowledge, and skills of using ICT in practice in the Kuwait context. The finding from the exploratory study shows that teachers’ lack of Technological, Pedagogical and Content knowledge TPACK and that this impacts on their capacity to improve their pedagogic practice. The study applied a social-constructivist approach to understand the process of change in the nine participants' teachers' beliefs, knowledge through an innovative continuing professional development model, and stimulating teachers to develop a reflective practice skills focusing on improving pedagogic practice and using ICT. A case study approach was used as the methodology of the study to develop an understanding of the process of change in the nine participant teachers' reflection on and experienced of the effects of adopting alternative pedagogic practice and integrating ICT. The numerous small findings from the quantitative and qualitative methods applied to the six months of continuing professional development involving nine primary teachers come under four main themes: 1) In-service teachers' beliefs and knowledge development, 2) Classroom pedagogy for autonomy with ICT integration, 3) Constraints affecting future schools’ teachers' integration of ICT, and 4) The key principles of an RP-BCPD model for teachers CPD in Kuwait. The understandings from the findings of the study show that the quality of the CPD for improving teachers' pedagogic practice is affected by the socio-cultural context of the 'future schools'. The study shows that the nine participant teachers can develop effective alternative pedagogic practice and successfully integrate ICT, when they are empowered to reflect, inquire into their practice, and learn from each other and from cross-cultural best practice. The unique finding of the study indicated that the nine participant teachers experiences some difficulties with engaging in the change process because of classroom cultural context such as: teachers' TPACK knowledge and competences, curriculum overload, and classroom size. Finally, the finding shows that providing the participant teachers with reflective practice as the base of CPD programme within schools context linked learning theory to improve pedagogic practice.

This study examines and aims to disclose the current policies and practices of Training and Development (T&D) within Kuwaiti government and private/joint-venture organisations. The literature review indicates that although much attention has been devoted in studying Training and Development practices, a very few focus on T&D related factors on organisation performance in developing countries. The literature also indicates the need for considering these factors in order to have a better T&D effectiveness, and hence organisation overall performance. In this study the Training for Impact model was adopted and tested within Kuwaiti context in terms of training needs assessment and evaluation and follow-up. This research uses data collected from 100 organisations in Kuwait. 50 of these were government and 50 private /joint venture listed in Kuwait Stock Exchange. Therefore, all managers (100 training personnel) who are in charge of T&D function/programmes, were samples of the respondents of the present study. The main data collection methods adopted by this study were interviews (semi-structured) and "drop-in and pick-up" self-completion questionnaires. The data were quantitatively analysed and triangulation of quantitative findings was carried out in order to find out the difference between the two sectors in Kuwait in terms of T&D practices and related factors. To establish a causal connection between related factors and identified dimensions (T&D effectiveness, organisational rating, and satisfaction with evaluation process), a multiple regression technique was employed. The major findings of this study are noted below: Results indicate that the majority of the investigated organisations do not have a formal T&D system. T&D programmes are still carried out on a piecemeal basis rather than a systematic long-term policy. Findings which were common among the majority of the approached organisations were absence of a systematic organisational training needs analysis, use of conventional training methods, lack of effective procedures for T&D evaluation. The study explores the training personnel's way of thinking towards their T&D function and to the proposed T&D dimensions framework (integrated HRD strategy, top and line management commitment, a supportive formal system, T&D mechanism, organisational culture, and training budget). The findings indicate that most of the training personnel perceived these dimensions as providing motivation, commitment and support to their T&D function. Six main factors were found to influence T&D practices in government and private/joint venture organisations. These factors are: top management commitment, mutual support between organisational philosophy and T&D activities, line management support T&D involvement in organisation strategy, T&D policies and plans, and T&D effects on employees self-development. The study also identifies T&D effects on organisation performance in Kuwaiti organisations in terms of eliminating problems; increasing commitment and motivation; fulfilling individual needs and personal objectives, improving interpersonal and interdepartmental relations, improving quality of goods and services; and leading to effective utilisation and investment in human resources. In addition the study establishes a causal connection of T&D related factors with performance dimensions, organisation rating, and satisfaction of T&D evaluation. The author recommends that for the T&D function to be treated as seriously as other organisational functions, then Kuwaiti training personnel, as well as top and line management, need to be more willing to play proactive and strategic organisational roles in T&D activities.

Recently, the numbers of Higher Education institutions that are using Web 2.0 technologies and social networking sites are increasing dramatically. These sites offer unique and diverse learning opportunities. There is evidence that a sense of community can be created online and that this community is connected with perceived learning. Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) introduced and developed the Community of Inquiry framework as a dynamic process model and a comprehensive framework to guide the research and practice of online learning communities, and to describe and measure elements supporting the development of these communities. This framework consists of three elements - social, teaching and cognitive presence - as well as categories and indicators to define each presence and guide the coding of transcripts. The categories of social presence are affective responses, open communication and group cohesion. The categories of teaching presence are instructional design and organisation, facilitating discourse and direct instruction. Previous studies suggest that a positive social climate on an online learning community is important as it can improve learning experience and cognitive presence. This study aims to explore and understand the nature of Community of Inquiry presences, in particular teaching presence and social presence. The aim of the study is to understand the influence of a different teaching presence on students’ development of social presence. This study provides a more comprehensive picture of developing students’ social presence over changing teaching presence in a social network environment in a Kuwaiti higher education context. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, the following research questions are explored: 1- How does a students’ sense of social presence change with a different teaching presence in the social network environment within a Kuwaiti higher education context? a. Does a students’ sense of social presence (affective responses, open communication and group cohesion) change as a result of a different teaching presence (facilitating discourse - direct instruction) in the social network environment in a Kuwaiti higher education context? b. Why do participants maintain or change their social presence level during the course? 2- How does the use of teaching presence promote the development of students’ social presence in a Kuwaiti higher education context within the social network environment? The study was conducted in the second semester of 2010/2011 at The Education Technology Department - The College of Basic Education - The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), within the State of Kuwait. The study was carried out on the Educational Communication module and involved 46 male participants. This study uses the equivalent of mixed methods design to answer research questions. The sequential explanatory strategy is embedded within an applied quasi-experimental approach. Quantitative data is collected and analysed, which is then followed by the collection and analysis of qualitative data. The researcher used a messages analysis and a content analysis approach to reveal the level of social presence in an online community and then develop stimulated recall interview questions. A combination of individual interviews and focus group interviews were used. Garrison et al.’s (2000) social presence coding schemes were developed to make them more suitable in the study context. Quantitative and qualitative data show that there is no significant difference between the effects of facilitating discourse and direct instruction in terms of students’ social presence level. Stimulated recall interviews reveal that most participants cannot distinguish between facilitating discourse and direct instruction. The participants believe that facilitating discourse and direct instruction are similar. The participants’ responses lead the researcher to search for other motives that could promote the development of students’ social presence in the higher education context in the social network environment. The study concludes that there are two factors that could promote the development of students’ social presence. First, instructional design and organisation, such as web design satisfaction, network effect, instructor responsiveness, the nature of the task and awarding degrees. Second, learner-specific matters, such as previous experience, peer influence, friendship, attitude, self-esteem and self-confidence and something I refer to as the Wave Effect.