The 16th round of Hajj and Umrah Research Forum, which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Shabban 17-18, 1437H, shed some light on the scientific research's role as an important way to figure out innovative solutions to facilitate pilgrim services. During the debates held during the two-day forum, the participants underscored this key element as the best way to overcome challenges facing pilgrims and helping them feel comfortable while performing rituals.

During the forum's first day, the participants discussed a number of items including "the Administration and Economic Studies and the Fiqh (Jurisprudence) of Hajj and Umrah", "Environment and Health", and "the Construction and Engineering". They pointed out that the scientific and technological development resulted in creative solutions for serving pilgrims during Hajj and Umrah.

The first session was chaired by Hatem bin Hassan Kadi, advisor for Minister of Hajj and spokesman Hatem Qadhi. It opened discussions by the first item named "the Administration and Economic Studies and the Fiqh (Jurisprudence) of Hajj and Umrah." During the discussion, Dr. Abdullah Mohamed Abdurrahman provided a research paper investigating "the social and economic dimensions of central Medina street vendors." Abdurrahman appended to his paper a number of recommendations that suggested direct and indirect remedial alternatives.

Another paper was put up for discussion by Dr. Khaled Jeraisy, Assistant Professor at College of Shari`ah and Islamic Studies. The research was titled "the effects of the Hajj-related transmission of infectious diseases from the jurisprudence point of view." It investigates an opinion to deny access for pilgrims who suffer infectious diseases. The researcher found out that the patient who suffers an infectious disease may perform the rituals of Hajj and Umrah provided he can control the transmission of the disease while the patient who cannot control infection shall not be given access to the holy sites in order to maintain safety of others.

In the meantime, Dr. Fatema Al Zewahri provided a research paper titled "Crisis management and its role in maintaining safety of pilgrims." It probes two main subjects: Crisis Management which covers: The definition, goals, attributes and characteristics, stages of a crisis and its reasons. It also provides examples of the best practices, techniques adopted to maximize benefits of a crisis and the management requirements. Hajj Crisis Management: In this subject, the researcher investigated some sorts of crises that were reported during Hajj in addition to challenges that blocked way for solutions and best go-arounds found using positive thinking skills and a plan (b) to overcome challenges.

For his part, Dr. Omar Khaiyat from King Abdullah Medical City presented a paper under the title "Cross-sectional study on the role played by King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC) in serving patients during Hajj." In this research, Khaiyat described the KAMC's medical convoy during Hajj and services provided to help hospitalized patients perform Hajj rituals according to strict health standards. The study summed up Hajj medical convoys data in addition to description of cases received the services.

The 1st session closed debate after discussing a study raised by Hassan bin Hussein Nafe' from the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA). The study was titled "the behavioral and cognitive aspects of health services providers to carry out responsibilities and duties during response preparation for disasters." It introduced behavioral traits of the field and specialized health service providers in holy sites and operation rooms. The researcher depended on a qualitative, descriptive and analytical methodology which provided statistical structure that depends on questionnaires as a main tool with the random sample.

The 2nd session, which was held under the theme "Environment and Health", chaired by ex-head of the Holy Makkah Municipality and member of Makkah Region Council Fouad bin Mohamed Ghazaly. Dr. Omar Bashir Ahmed, a researcher at the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research, proposed a paper on the climate change-related health effects on pilgrims. Ahmed noted a rising number of insolation and dehydration cases during Hajj and Umrah. The research investigated the physical exhaust resulted from the climate change during the religious seasons. It provides data on climate change recorded by automatic weather stations (AWS) in Makkah which reported the highest temperatures on Dhu al-Hijjah 10-11, 1436H.

Dr. Hassan Qassem, researcher at King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC), said seasonal flu jab is a key measure to maintain sound health of service providers and staff members. In a research, titled "the Seasonal influenza vaccination and the vaccinators' commitment during the Hajj season (1436H - 2015) at KACST," he reiterated importance of the vaccination to keep performance at health facilities at high levels. He recommended a policy of obligatory vaccination for staff members at Hajj health facilities. The main objective of the research is calculating response rate among health service providers at King Abdullah Health City and studying related factors that may be or may be not affected by vaccination.

At the same session, Researcher at the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research Dr. Saif El Din Mohamed Khair presented a research paper dubbed "Evaluation of Thailand's experience in supplying frozen ready meals to pilgrims during 1435H Hajj" in which he discussed ways to keep food clean from physical changes and chemical and biological contamination. He stressed that storing ready meals in a freezer is the best way to inactivate microorganisms that spoils food and cause diseases. Frozen meals may swiftly be defrosted and cooked by taking the steps of the Thai experiment. In 1435H, Thailand served its nationals performing Hajj rituals in Mina, a few kilometers east of Makkah. They used boiling-water bath to thawing meals before serving rice to more than 10,000 pilgrims in three camps.

For his part, researcher in KACST's General Directorate for Research Grants Ahmed ibn Hady Al Hamedy discussed a research named "a survey on noise pollution" which included details on health and economic damages resulted from pollution. He provided a list of related pollutants and effects comparing to international standards.

Abdul-Sattar Nizami, researcher at the King Abdulaziz University, put up another paper for discussion under the title "the economic and environment value of waste recycling in the holy city of Makkah." In this research, Nizami estimated the wastes produced by the city at 2,400 tons per day which increase to hit 3,100 and 4,600 tons during Ramadan and the season of Hajj. He warned that inappropriate management of wastes would come back with negative effects on the environment. He recommended waste recycling as the best way for managing the issue.

The first day's discussions reached a conclusion when the 3rd session wrapped talks on "Construction and Engineering". During this session, which was chaired by Al-Faleh, Dr. Ayman Mustafa, a researcher at the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research, presented a scientific study that probed smart walking trails envisaged to generate electricity from walking and solar energy. In his study, Mustafa put emphasis on energy as a pillar for creating a civilized community. He reviewed recommendations announced by international energy-centric organizations including the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and International Energy Agency (IEA) and called for innovation and building more smart cities with sustainable infrastructure. The study sheds light on two important factors existing in the mosques known for high visitor arrivals where clean energy can be produced: the first one is the kinetic energy which is produced by motion of visitors (up to 8 million pilgrims are visiting the kingdom every year and they are expected to hit 15 million upon delivery of the ongoing development projects). The second one is the solar energy as Saudi Arabic comes next to Algeria as the most shiny countries. The researchers suggested smart walking rails may be applied to generate green energy while the solar energy may be used to limit production fossil fuel and its polluting emissions.

For his party, Dr. Sami Borhamin, another researcher at the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research presented a research on "a mechanism for improvement of Hajj and Umrah services" with supporting proofs that success of the entities in concern of planning, operation management, and providing necessary facilities are the base for successful Hajj and Umrah seasons. On his way to finish the study, the researcher stopped by a list of requirements for improving facilities that included (co-existence and harmony - integration and interaction - operation and maintenance - measurement, development and improvement). The research aims at improving Hajj and Umrah management system to maximize the heavenly and earthly benefits of these rituals and to limit the possibility of accidents that might harm pilgrims. The researcher tried to bridge the scientific gap existing between studies on facility and service management on the one hand and its applications on the other hand.

In a research paper titled "Driving crowds to the Jamarat Bridge", Dr. Mohamed Edris - a researcher at the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research - discussed ways to make use of the crowds moving to Jamarat Bridge by reviewing studies made on crowds control, studying status of Mina and naming locations of the Tawaf agencies in addition to providing the necessary suggestions.

During the forum, Dr. Fadel Othman put another research forward for discussing increase of pilgrim arrivals to hit 5 million per year. According to the study, the plan may be put into action and gradually achieve this number with zero extra costs. Dr. Othman explained that the integration of studies made on Hajj services improvement to meet pilgrims' needs and take into consideration the nature of the place within a feasible economic scheme may be achieved by strong participation of private sector.

The session closed discussions by a debate on a paper raised by Engineer Badr bin Mohamed Assilimi, a UQU's PhD student who enrolled in the University of Technology - Malaysia on scholarship. In his study, Assilimi focused on the collective awareness of the crowd and gauge needed to measure the human and locative aspects among the southeast Asian pilgrim crowds. The researcher developed a methodology through field surveys information collected from random sample that included 128 pilgrims during the 1436H on Dhu al-Hijjah 10-12. Following information collection, the researcher analyzed data using the T-Test (Independent Samples) and the correlation and linear regression techniques. The results demonstrated that pilgrims are noticeably affected by realizing the fact that they are in a crowded place especially while performing rituals in Mina. Therefore, the results would mark out the limits of the feeling of being safe experienced by the pilgrims.

MAA