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STUDENT AFFAIRS

2ND STUDENTS RESEARCH CONFERENCE

Conducting researches is just one of the ways to get deep into a topic. Presenting these researches in a conference is another skill, which was accomplished by the English department students at SQU. Ali AL-Yaaqubi and Dhufra AL-Kharusi gather
VOL 4 ISSUE 8 / MAY 4, 2012

some frank opinion about the 2nd Students Research Conference held on April 17.

Hi there
Welcome to our new issue. We have brought you a variety of marvelous topics that will make your day much more interesting. And not only that, we will also enlighten you with some SQU breathtaking events! Being a student at SQU is not an easy mission; as students we are required to conduct research within specic academic standards contributing to the academic elds. On this light, the English Department at College of Arts & Social Sciences launched its 2nd Students Research Conference on the 17th of April. H!SQU highlights the conference on the cover story. How far does our society appreciate translators? And what is the future of translation eld in our country? Well, these kinds of questions were raised in the Ninth Translation Forum which was held on the 14th and 15th of April. Besides, the Language Centre (LC) organised its 12 ELT International Conference. Read more about this in this issue. Never forgotten ve days of a nourishing experience for Khalifa Al-Riyami, who spent them with international representatives as part of a cross-cultural expedition, are reveled here. Continue to be inspired by Mr. Wise. Thinking deeply about his words which will, perhaps, change the way we tend to perceive things. Although humanity is destroying the environment, there are still individuals who thought; yes I can make a difference. From Earth Hour to Earth Day is just the tip of the ice break on the mission to save planet earth, Abdulrahman Elhadi believes. How amazing will it be to go in a trip with 15 individuals, each to hisown country? And, for those who have a air for writing, something interestings coming up. An opportunity to explore the writing talent within you, to let your creative juices take over and bring forth the ideas, the aspirations, the ambitions or even the imaginative currents within you. You can pen down what strikes you most or what would mobilise the opinion of others in favour of your thoughts or simply indulge in ctitious ings. Writers who send in their contributions before May 17, can see their work in print in subsequent editions of Hi SQU. So, dont wait for another invitation, grab a pen or dash to your keyboard and let the words ow. This is your chance to write, and, perhaps, the beginning of a fruitful career as a writer. Cheers till we meet next time

What is the Students Research Conference? Mr. Bader AL-Jahwari, a lecturer at the English department and the organiser of the conference, explains that Students Research Conference is an initiative by the English department to give opportunity for students to participate in a real conference. He adds, it familiarises students with the nature of conferences and the professionalism involved. Mr. Bader explains that his team tried to give everybody the chance to present, however, the priority goes for those who have completed either the course of the research project for English education students or the advanced writing course for literature students. In addition, Dr. Andrew Littlejohn, an instructor at the English department, states that 12 papers were presented at the 2nd conference which may not be as much as the audience expected, but at this stage we try to focus more on the quality of papers rather than quantity. In contrast, Saud Al Khanbashi, an attendant, thinks that it will be a good idea to increase the number of presenters in the 3rd conference to credit various topics discussed by the students. Variety of topics The choice of the topics is very open to the researchers, yet students topics have to be a researchable, related to their expertise major and can be localised in terms of collecting data, Dr. Littlejohn proposes. Asma Al Nabhani, a literature student who presented at the conference says,my research was titled womens liberty and I raised this issue because the Arab region women are not given the right opportunities as men in politics, education or employment sectors. She states, even though I have faced some difficulties in nding resources, I didnt lose my determination and Im glad I have presented. In contrast, Mahmood Al Maawali, a presenter from College of Education, explored Omanis social, occupational, and educational perspectives on SQU and its graduates. He says, I decided to present the paper at the conference, so I would be able to share my ndings with the professors and students.

Enjoyable experience Asma Al Nabhani reveals that after getting through this amazing experience, the least she could do is to encourage other students to present their papers. She says, Students should not be hesitant and should go for the 3rdconference. Furthermore, Mahmood Al Maawali says that nding relevant literature was a problem for him, but he strongly wants to encourage students to participate. He believes that its a priceless chance that one should not miss. Students views Dhuha AL Subhi, a literature student who attended the conference explained that it gave her a clearer image of how to conduct and present a research paper. We came across many new topics which added to our pre-knowledge. Samira Al Riyami, a translation student, thinks that it gave her more understanding of the topics that she should choose for her research. One of the sessions moderators, Maryam AL-Qarni, says, the conference can enhance the skills of research especially the comments and questions which were asked by the audience. Fullling Dr. Andrew Littlejohn believes that the conference met their expectations as the participants were articulate, well organised, and handled questions very well. Regarding the audience, he says the number of those who attended was good, but I hope that in the next conference we will be able to increase it. Dhuha Al Subhi feels that overall the conference was good enough to the extent that if she had the chance to present in the 3rd Research Conference, she wont hesitate. Aliya Al Shabibi, a presenter in the conference, explains that the conference was well organised, yet she believes that it would be great if other colleges from outside SQU were invited toparticipate; that would be more enriching. To enhance it, she suggests, organisers can take this point into consideration in the 3rd conference to upgrade the level of the conference henceforth.

Hi SQU Team

Editorial Coordinators
Ali Al-Yaaqubi & Sumaiya Al Kindi
HiSQU is brought to you by the English and Translation Society at SQU. Email your views / suggestions / articles to hi-ets@hotmail.com or hi@timesofoman.com

www.englishsqu.net

Search for what is hidden, express yourself!

VOL 06 ISSUE 06 / MAY 4, 2012

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Mr. Wise

SQU

From Earth Hour to Earth Day

by ABDURRAHMAN ELHADI
College of Arts & Social Sciences, Media

Acupuncture in medicine
by HALAH AL-HADHRAMI
4th year medical student

Sydney, Paris, London, New York, Moscow, Kuala lampur, Dubai and Muscat. What do all these major capitals have in common? They all turned the lights off in their main iconic buildings for a whole hour in order to raise awareness about the climate change for Earth Hour 2012 (March 31st). It starts from Sydney Opera House to the Empire State building and all the way to Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Today earth hour stretches across to 147 different countries and to around 2 billion people creating a global phenomenon. The Earth Hour all started in Sydney in 2002 where the opera house and 2.2 million people all turned off their lights for a whole hour in an effort to raise awareness about the negative changes in the climate. Here in Oman, people didnt miss out on the action, as it is reported that about 20,000 people took part and turned off all their excess lighting at home. It includes the grand mosque, the newly built Royal Opera House Muscat, 40 different schools and universities and a number of corporate rms like Bank Muscat and

Omantel. The initiative in Oman which was led by the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) was well recognised and widespread. Asaad Al Maqbali a student at SQU said, I was really excited as I turned off all the lights at home and had dinner in candle light, while Haitham Al Bahlania, a graduate from SQU, said I heard about it but I dont know what it is about. In SQU there were no special activities but posters were put up around the campus to create awareness. Earth day which is an annual event held all around the world, urging people to pledge to the safe keeping of their environments, is now in its 42nd anniversary aiming for a billion acts of green this year. The ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs leads the way with this years motto climate change and sea shores. While many other establishments and businesses alike, are going to celebrate this Day. What are you going to pledge? And if you havent yet, be sure to do so for you, and for your children. Towards a billion acts of green!

Acupuncture, an old treatment that originated from the Chinese civilization, is considered as one of the most valid means as pain reliever. It is an alternative medicine that is mainly accomplished by insertion of ne needles into specic areas in the body called acupuncture points. There are about 365 points divided into 14 major lines called Meridian parts. Meridian lines are further subdivided into different zones specied for different organs in the body. Acupuncture is commonly used for treating various diseases of different body systems including: musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and genitourinary systems. Although all these uses of this method in treatment, its mechanism and efficacy remain doubtful. Several studies have been published regarding how acupuncture can relieve pain. A study showed that it causes blockage of the pain pathway before reaching the spinal cord or higher in the brain. Another study suggested that it causes the production of pain relieving substances endorphins. Regarding the controversy behind using this kind of treatment, several studies showed that the only limitation is about the person who will apply or insert the needles. It requires a highly-trained expert to do so. Indeed, it is basically about the patient and how he/she perceives it as a treatment. Body systems cured by acupuncture: Musculoskeletal Cardiovascular Gastrointestinal Genitourinary

ETS 9th Translation Forum

by BUTHAINA AL HADRAMI
College of Arts and Social Sciences, English

Awareness campaign
by ZIYAD AL SHIHI
College of Education, English

Under the patronage of Dr. Abdullah Al-Harrasi, Chairman of Public Authority of Radio and TV, the English and Translation society (ETS) had its ninth translation forum on 14th and 15th April. The Role of Translation in Intercultural Communication was the theme of the symposium and it was greatly reected in the exhibition. The opening ceremony started by a speech by the Head of the English Department, Dr. Muslaam Al-Maani and then awarding the speakers of the symposium. Three workshops and seven papers were presented by instructors and students from different universities as well as from the SQU English Department. There were two plenary speakers in the symposium who were: Dr. Peter Amry, University of UAE, and Prof. Adnan Abdullah, University of Sharjah. In terms of the workshops, Subtitling Workshop was the main workshop conducted by Munthir Al-Siyabi, a translation student, who participated in translating the movie Animal United. It should be noted that this movie is one of the groups essential projects during this academic year. Regarding this workshop, the presenter Munthir Al Syiyabi, says in order to meet the symposium theme, we have to exchange our experience in translating this movie. The forum closing ceremony comprised the awarding of participants and a vote of thanks by the Translation Group Head. By all means, the forum was successful and Dr. Musallam said it is by our students; they organised everything and we are really proud of their skills and great achievments.

Some students and members of faculty of the College of Arts, Sultan Qaboos University, (SQU) have recently started a Campaign to spread awareness about certain critical issues that are affecting all of us. The three issues that have been taken up initially are careless driving, smoking and littering. A Facebook page has been set up for members to communicate easily with each other, and on May 8th a function is being organised at the College of Arts to officially launch the campaign. Khalid Al Siyabi, the rst Omani to climb Mt Everest, and Ahmad Al Harthy, top racing driver, have both agreed to support the campaign which will soon see the sun.

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VOL 06 ISSUE 06 / MAY 4, 2012

SQU

by KHALIFA AL-RIYAMI
College of Education, English

The experience of the ve-day Cross Cultural Expedition (March 30th to April 3rd) in Jabal Akhdar in Nizwa was the best cross cultural experience I have ever had. Being chosen along with Waleed Al Suleimani to represent the host country, the Sultanate of Oman, was a great honor and an enormous burden because we had to give the right image of the Omanis. In addition, there were 16 ambassadors from 16 different countries, 8 European countries, 7 Middle Eastern countries and one representative from East Asia. The trip was a real physical and a fascinating cultural challenge for the groupsas we had to hike around 30 kilometers during the ve days of the expedition. While walking, we shared so much about each others cultures and traditions as well as different personal experiences and different sorts of knowledge. Additionally, we had 3 main group discussion meetings after each meal. In these meetings, we discussed different topics such as communication, our top ve values, the most inuencing people in our lives, cultural differences, cultural misunderstanding and many other topics. The group generally concluded that we have more values that unite us than the ones that separate us. Sharing the same food, same tents and the same re to gather around to avoid the extreme cold nights of Jabal Akhdar changed the 18 young ambassadors from being strangers to each other on the kick-off Friday, to brothers and very good friends by the other Friday. Everyone was back to his own land equipped from the great mountain of Oman with a great sum of knowledge that equals mountains of books.

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