Feasibility study on utilization of palm fibre waste into fired clay brick

Malaysia is the second largest of palm oil producer after Indonesia, which contribute to 50 % of palm oil production. With this demand, the increasing of palm oil plantation over the years has led to the large production of agricultural waste, for example palm fibre waste. This study investigates different percentages of palm fibre (0 %, 1 %, 5 % and 10 %) to be incorporated into fired clay brick. Manufactured bricks were fired at 1 °C/min heating rate up to 1050 °C. The effects of manufacture bricks on the physical and mechanical properties of manufactured brick were also determined. All brick samples were tested due to the physical and mechanical properties which include dry density, firing shrinkage, initial rate of suction (IRS), water absorption, porosity and compressive strength. Findings show that increasing palm fibre waste affected the properties of brick, which decreased their density, besides increased firing shrinkage, IRS, water absorption, porosity and compressive strength. However, all the manufactured brick still followed the requirement

The Effectiveness of Using Poetry in Developing English Vocabulary, Pronunciation and Motivation of EFL Palestinian Students

This study aims at investigating the effectiveness of using poetry in developing English vocabulary, pronunciation and motivation of EFL Palestinian students. The researcher adopted the quantitative method to collect the required data. The researcher used a questionnaire for both students and teachers to examine their attitudes towards using poetry in the language classroom. The participants of the study were both teachers and students from Hebron. The sample of study consisted of 73 female Tenth grade students and 214 English language teachers. One school has been chosen to form the experimental group. The analysis of the post-test revealed that the experimental group has significantly outperformed the control group in both vocabulary and pronunciation competences when they read poetry. Likewise, the results of the questionnaires showed that both teachers and students have positive attitudes towards using poetry in the language classroom as a means for teaching English language. In short, poetry has positive effect on developing the English vocabulary, pronunciation and increasing students’ motivation

Characterization of LUSI Mud as Geopolymer Raw Material

The mud of mud volcano samples were collected from an eruption site named ‘LUSI’ (Lumpur “mud” –Sidoarjo), East Java, Indonesia for characterization. Analysis showed that, the major constituents of mud are SiO2 and Al2O3 which are higher than those in fly ash. The particle of mud has a flake-shaped particle and the overall particle size is dominated by particles between 2.5μm – 25.0μm. The results of XRD shows that mud of mud volcano have a characteristic of structurally disordered compounds, and a set of peaks corresponding to minor crystalline phases such as quartz, feldspars, and kaolinite. FTIR adsorption bands of the raw material of mud have the chemical bonding between bands 1-5

An Analysis of the LPCs’ Returns in the Middle East Markets: The Search for the Efficient Frontier

This paper analysed the performance of selected property companies (PCs) stocks returns observed over the time period from Jan 2007 to June 2012. The analysis is based on the Markowitz Model and the Single Index Model (SIM). This paper focused on the results from the Markowitz Model in particular, as the SIM is a simplified approach. The selection of the assets for either portfolio was exhaustive relying on various reputable data sources reporting financial characteristics of each stock. The specific criteria for selecting an asset in all portfolios are volume, P/E ratio, return on equity, positive returns and data sufficiency. Thus, the current study considered PCs stocks with large trading volume to avoid daily swings in security prices. The study compared the return on equity (ROE) of each stock with the ROE of its real estate sector, selecting only those stocks that historically outperformed the sector. PCs with unusually high P/E ratios and those with missing P/E data were excluded. Monthly returns were used for the calculations. The analysis of the results clearly indicated the significance of selecting an appropriate time span for the historical stocks returns used for calculating the efficient frontier. It was shown in this paper that the estimated parameters of the models differ considerably when different time frames are chosen for the analysis. In addition the number of observations used for the calculations has great ramifications on the accuracy of the estimates. As long time spans do not reflect the current character of stocks it becomes important to keep the intervals between observations as narrow as possible. The efficient frontiers for both models were analysed and justifications for the inclusion and exclusion of certain stocks were discussed. Certainly, it is important to note that the outcome of this paper is specific to the PCs stocks that were included in each portfolio and during the period in which this paper was conducted. Also this study concluded that as Real Estate market becomes more volatile, such results may not hold due to greater imbalances and global market inefficienc

An Overview of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Jordan: Review the Literature of Usage, Benefits and Barriers

This paper presented a background of the extent of the ICT, IT, and EC-B2B in Jordan. It was mentioned that the development of the ICT in Jordan brings benefits to the enterprises and their TPs. In this paper the EC-B2B systems’ readiness in Jordan is defined as the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefits from ICT development. The government in Jordan has taken forceful measures towards adoption IT and IS applications and Internet awareness. In 2010, it was reported from the DOS in Jordanthat the percentage of individual Internet usage did not exceed 4.7 percent of the population inJordan[1]. This paper highlighted through subsections on the benefits and risks faced EC-B2B system adoption in Jordan. Based on the recent studies and reports in Jordan, the EC-B2B system adoption was mainly adopted by large enterprises in the supply chain rather than by SMEs. The study concluded that the main two barriers of ICT development and adoption inJordanare organizational readiness including lack of new education methods, and lack of information and knowledge

Optimal Conditions Measured for Production of Prodigiosin from Serratia marcescens Bacteria Isolated from Different Sources

Selected optimal conditions for production of prodgiosin for pathological and environmental isolates of the bacterium Serratia marcescens which was isolated from pathological and environmental sources, the results showed that the peanut powder medium at 2% concentration was the highest production of pigment under the conditions of pH 8, volume 50 ml from the medium in 250 ml conical flask at 28 ºC for 72 hrs without light

The Effect of Organic Matter Application on Phosphorus Status in the Calcareous Soil

A field experiment is conducted to study the effect of different levels of peat (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 Mg ha-1 to uncropped and cropped soil to wheat. Soil samples are taken in different period of time (0, 3, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 days after cultivation to determine (NaHCO3-Exteractable P at 3 different depths (0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm). Field Experiment is conducted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replicates. Wheat, Al-Rasheed variety, is cultivated as a testing crop. The entire field is equally dived in two divisions. One of the two divisions is cultivated to wheat and the second is left uncropped. The effect of five levels of peat namely 0, 25, 50, 75, 100 Mg ha-1 is investigated. Soils are fully analyzed to determine its physical and chemical characteristics. The soil samples are collected after 3, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 days for determining essential parameters and indicators that reflect the effect of the level of peat applications. Sodium bicarbonate - extractable P in uncropped and cropped soils at all depths, markedly decreases with time after peat application which has been attributed to plant uptake and rapid reaction of P with soil constituents. Sodium bicarbonate - extractable P with time in soil receiving 50 Mg ha-1 in both uncropped and cropped soil linearly decreases with the time of cultivatio

Conspiracy Beliefs Are Associated with Lower Knowledge and Higher Anxiety Levels Regarding COVID-19 among Students at the University of Jordan

The world has been afflicted heavily by the burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that overwhelmed health care systems and caused severe economic and educational deficits, in addition to anxiety among the public. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the mutual effects of belief that the pandemic was the result of a conspiracy on knowledge and anxiety levels among students at the University of Jordan (UJ). An electronic-based survey was conducted between 29 March, 2020 and 31 March, 2020. The targeted population involved all undergraduate and postgraduate students from the health, scientific and humanities schools at UJ. Survey sections included 26 items on: socio-demographic information, knowledge and sources of information about the disease, attitude towards the false notion that COVID-19 stemmed from a conspiracy and items to assess the anxiety level among students during the quarantine period. The total number of participants was 1540 students. The mean age of study participants was 22 years and females predominated the study population (n = 1145, 74.4%). The majority of participants perceived the disease as moderately dangerous (n = 1079, 70.1%). Males, Jordanians and participants with lower income were more inclined to feel that COVID-19 is very dangerous. A lower level of knowledge and a higher level of anxiety about COVID-19 were associated with the belief that the disease is part of a conspiracy. Females and participants with lower income were more likely to believe that the disease is related to conspiracy. Belief in conspiracy regarding the origin of COVID-19 was associated with misinformation about the availability of a vaccine and the therapeutic use of antibiotics for COVID-19 treatment. The Ministry of Health in Jordan was the most common source of information about COVID-19 reported by the participants (n = 1018). The false belief that COVID-19 was the result of a global conspiracy could be the consequence of a lower level of knowledge about the virus and could lead to a higher level of anxiety, which should be considered in the awareness tools of various media platforms about the current pandemic

Features of Grotesque Art in Designing the Iraqi Contemporary Theatrical View

يعد الغروتسك مصطلح يشمل كل ما هو غير منتظم وغرائبي، إذ أنه يدخل ضمن التصنيفات الجمالية كونه يحمل بعداً فلسفياً يناقض النتاج الثقافي التقليدي، ويمكن القول بأن الغروتسك يرفض التمحور في اطارية تشكيلية جامدة كونه يحمل في داخله مكنونات جمالية تجعل العرض المسرحي يبدو في حالة جدلية.     يتسم الغروتسك بأنه ظاهرة اجتاحت بعض العروض المسرحية كونه يظهر في صلب مشاهدها المسرحية في العرض المقدم وخاصة في عمل الممثل الذي يكون حضوره واضحاً الى جنب العناصر التقنية الاخرى، لإظهار كل ما هو غريب ومتناقض وغير مألوف في الوسط العام لدى المتلقي، ومن الممكن أن تجسد ملامح الغروتسك في المنظر المسرحي عن طريق طرح صورة منظرية بدلالات جديدة متحولة ومتناقضة على شكل لوحة مشهدية غير مألوفة في المسرح، لذا وجب على المخرج أن يخلق التناغم مع مصمم المناظر المسرحية من أجل تحقيق صورة مسرحية تهشم العادات المألوفة للمنظر واعطائها بعداً تضادياً، فيستطيع المصمم أن يخلق علاقة غير متوقعة (غير منسجمة) بين عناصر العرض المسرحي بلغة الغروتسك، فنحن أمام منظر متناقض وغريب قائم على العلاقة بين الممثل والمتفرج، ويمكن للعرض المسرحي أن يجسد الغروتسك ويظهر التشويه والغرائبية في المنظر المسرحي والذي يعبر عن تناقضات الشخصيات واختلافهم.              احتوى البحث على أربعة فصول، تضمن الفصل الأول ـ الإطار المنهجي للبحث، ومشكلة البحث المتمركزة في الاستفهام الآتي: التعرف على ملامح الغروتسكفي تصميم المنظر المسرحي العراقي المعاصر؟ كما تضمن الفصل (أهمية البحث) لأنه يتناول أحد الموضوعات المهمة التي تكشف عن المعالجات التقنية لموضوعة الغروتسك في المنظر المسرحي. لذا تكمن أهمية البحث في  سعيه في الكشف عن تلك العلاقة بين الغروتسك والمنظر المسرحي وفقاً لمفهوم المصمم وبعد التقصي في البحوث الموجودة في المكتبات لم يجد الباحثان دراسة من هذا النوع لذا تكمن اهمية البحث في اغنائه للمعلومات التي تخدم المسرح. أما حدود البحث فقد اقتصرت على عروض الفرقة القومية للتمثيل، وللمدة من 2014- 2016 م، وأختتم الفصل بتعريف المصطلحات الأساسية والمصطلحات التي وردت في متن البحث.             أما الفصل الثاني: الإطار النظري والدراسات السابقة، فتضمن المبحث الاول دراسة مفهوم الغروتسك من حيث النشأة والتطوير مستعرضا ً اهم المخرجين الذين مارسوا مفهوم الغروتسك ولا سيما في المنظر المسرحي.             أما المبحث الثاني:  فتضمن دراسة البنية التركيبية لتصاميم المنظر المسرحي في مشاهد الغروتسك التقديمية. ثم اختتم الفصل بالمؤشرات التي أسفر عنها الإطار النظري، ثم جاء الفصل الثالث: والذي تضمن إجراءات البحث من مجتمعه وعينته التي قام الباحثان باختيارها بصورة قصدية معتمداً المنهج الوصفي في تحليل عيناته.             وخلص البحث في الفصل الرابع على نتائج البحث والاستنتاجات، وقد أوصى الباحثان بعض التوصيات واقترح مقترحات ينبغيان منها خدمة البحث العلمي، ثم تلتها قائمة المصادر والمراجع.The Gharwtsk term every thing is regularly covers and oddity, since it falls within the categoriesaes theticbeing carriesa philosoph icaldimension contradictstra ditional cultural production, and we can say that Gharwtsk refuses pivoting in the fram ework plasticrigid beingcarries within aesthetic Mknunatmake the playseemsin the case of the dialectic. Characterized Gharwtsk that phenomenon swept some theatrical performances being shown at the heart of her scenes play in the offer, especially in the work of the actor who will be attending the clear side other technical elements, to highlight all that is strange and paradoxical and unusual in the middle year the recipient, it is possible to embody features Gharwtsk the view in a theater by offering a scenic image new connotations mutant and contradictory in the form of panel scenic unusual in the theater, so must the filmmaker to create harmony with the designer landscapes play in order to achieve a play with a crush of habits familiar to the scene and give it dimension Tdhadia image, he can count designer that It creates unexpected relationship (inconsistent) between the display elements Gharwtsk the at errlanguage, we have a paradoxical and is based on the relationship between actor and spectator view, and candisplay that embodies the theatrical Gharwtsk shows distortion and exoticismin the theatrical scene which expresses the contradictions of the characters and their differences. So The research includes four chapters, the first chapter included the systematic frame work of the research hproblem Find stationed in the following question: Search research problem stationed in the following question: How can finding consensus and contradictions in the idea of landscape design in theatrical scenic Gharwtsk Also it included a chapter (importance of research) because it deals with one of the important topics that reveal the technical wizards to Gharwtsk placed in the theatrical landscape The importance of search in his quest to reveal the relationship between Gharwtsk and theorist theatrical according to the concept of designer and after investigation in research in libraries researcher did not find a study of this kind, so is the importance of research in the beneficiation of information that serve the theater.  As the limits of research has been limited to the band Offers National representation, and for the period from 2010-2014, and concluding chapter defines keyterms and terminologycontained in the body of research. The second chapter: the theoretical frame work, guarantees the first section study Gharwtsk conceptin terms of origination and development presenting the most important filmmaker swho have exercised the concept of Gharwtsk especially in the the atricall and scape The second section: studycompositionalstructureincludesdesignsceneinthetheatricalscenesGharwtskpresentations., Chapter IIIF in d it within the procedures of the community and appointed by the researcher in a deliberate choice based descriptive method in the analysis of specimens. Chapter IV: it contains the search results and conclusions, the researcher recommended that some of the recommendations and suggested proposals holidaying including scientific research service, and then followed by a list of sources and references