Analysing Assistance Discourse Provided to Stakeholders to Utilize E-Learning in the Higher Education

This paper analyses how the E-Learning Unit at the university level (re)constructs instructions that facilitate the utilization of e-learning by stakeholders. More specifically, the paper presents an analysis of an assistance discourse during the University of Ha’il transition to distance learning that was prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers suggest revising educational regulations for in-depth qualitative analysis of stakeholders’ views on policy. In so doing, they conducted various levels of analyses using two sets of data: (1) two surveys (for students and academic staff); (2) and four interviews with the coordinators of the E-Learning Unit at the university. The surveys identify the institutional context during the transition period to distance learning. The interviews are also analysed using Fairclough and Fairclough’s (2012) practical reasoning approach to clarify the strategies for supporting stakeholders. The main finding of the research is that the style of assistance discourse and the types of support should be stated clearly in university policy to enhance the effectiveness of the E-Learning Unit’s support of stakeholders

The Effects of Electronic Waste Burning on Lead Concentration in Water and Blood in South West Hebron: Descriptive-Comparative Study

Electronic waste (E-waste) is a collective name for all electronic devices which have been expired of their useful life periods like discarded computers, computer peripherals, mobile phones, televisions, and others. E-waste has increased the total waste volume and after dismantling and burning, it releases various toxic and carcinogenic gases and metals which are posing a threat to human health and also contaminate the environment (Kowsar, Khan et al. 2010).Great acknowledge to the European Union for their financial support, this project was totally funded by the European Union commission in Jerusalem, under the theme of PFP projects. Also the authors would like to acknowledge Mohammad Thaineh, Teacher Physiotherapy Department Ahliya University for their contributions and assistance during all over the study stages. Great thanks go to Eng. Safa Sultan for her contribution in editing and final conceptualization of the report. Many thanks also go to the two municipalities of South west Hebron and Halhul for their cooperation. Special thanks to all participants for their voluntary participation and their time. Finally thanks go to the Medical Relief Society for their kindly cooperation

Pesticide use and opportunities of exposure among farmers and their families: cross-sectional studies 1998-2006 from Hebron governorate, occupied Palestinian territory

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adverse health effects caused by pesticide exposure have been reported in occupied Palestinian territory and the world at large. The objective of this paper is to compare patterns of pesticide use in Beit-U'mmar village, West Bank, between 1998 and 2006.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied two populations in Beit-U'mmar village, comprised of: 1) 61 male farmers and their wives in 1998 and 2) 250 male farmers in 2006. Both populations completed a structured interview, which included questions about socio-demographic factors, types of farming tasks, as well as compounds, quantities, and handling of pesticides. Using the 1998 population as a reference, we applied generalized linear regression models (GLM) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) in order to estimate prevalence differences (PD) between the two populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 1998, farmers used 47 formulated pesticides on their crops. In 2006, 16 of these pesticides were still in use, including five internationally banned compounds. There were positive changes with less use of large quantities of pesticides (>40 units/year) (PD -51; CI -0.60, -0.43), in applying the recommended dosage of pesticides (PD +0.57; CI +0.48, +0.68) and complying with the safety period (PD +0.89; CI+0.83, +0.95). Changes also included farmers' habits while applying pesticides, such as less smoking (PD -0.20; CI-0.34, -0.07) and eating at the work place (PD -0.33; CI-0.47, -0.19). No significant changes were found from 1998 to 2006 regarding use of personal protective equipment, pesticide storage, farmers' habits after applying pesticides, and in using some highly hazardous pesticides.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results were based on two cross-sectional surveys and should be interpreted with caution due to potential validity problems. The results of the study suggest some positive changes in the handling of pesticides amongst participants in 2006, which could be due to different policy interventions and regulations that were implemented after 1998. However, farm workers in Beit -U'mmar village are still at risk of health effects because of ongoing exposure to pesticides. To the best of our knowledge, no studies on long-term changes in pesticide use have been reported from developing countries.</p

Reuse of building materials : A case study about the Andersberg pre-school in Gävle

Detta arbete är grundad på byggnadsmaterialåterbruk. Syftet med arbetet är att reda ut vilka byggnadsmaterial och inventarier som kan återanvändas vid ombyggnation av Andersbergsgården förskola i Gävle, samt betrakta lönsamheten hos dessa byggnadsmaterial eller inventarier om de skulle selektivt rivas, lagras och sedan återanvändas. Genom en litteraturstudie i början av arbetet samt kontakt med de berörda företagen har både ny information (utöver litteraturen) och resultat formulerats. Litteraturstudien visar att 95% av byggnadsmaterial kan återvinnas. Denna procent överensstämmer om byggnaden inte innehåller farliga ämnen i konstruktionen och är i dåligt skick.I studien presenteras några av de hinder som föreligger för ett mer omfattande användande av återbrukade material. Exempel på detta är att säkerställa garantier och kvaliteter för materialen. Det har visat sig att kostnaden för den traditionella rivningen är generellt högre än den selektiva rivningen. Det som kan lagras och återanvändas är till exempel dörrar eftersom de är i bra skick.Till slut kan det sägas att alla konstruktionsmaterial i Andersbergsgården förskola går att återvinna förutom betong och värmeisolering, detta är på grund av att betongen har haft fuktproblem och isoleringen är för gammal för att återvinnas.This work is about recycling of building materials. The aim of this work is to find out which building materials and equipment could be reused after the deconstruction of the Andersbergsgården preschool in Gävle, and to examine the profitability of these building materials and equipment if it is to be selectively demolished, stored and then reused.Both theory and conclusion were formulated through a literature study at the beginning of the work and contact with the involved companies. Research shows that 95% of building materials can be recycled. This percentage can be achieved if the building does not contain hazardous substances in the construction or it´s in bad condition.The study highlights some of the barriers to the wider use of reused materials. Examples of this are the verification of guarantees and qualities of the materials. It has been shown that the cost of traditional demolition generally is higher than the cost of selective demolition. What can be stored and reused are doors because these are in good condition.In the end, the conclusion is that all building materials in the Andersbergsgården preschool, with the exception of concrete and insulation, can be recycled. The reasons for this are that the concrete has had moisture problems and the insulation is too old to be recycle

Reuse of building materials : A case study about the Andersberg pre-school in Gävle

Detta arbete är grundad på byggnadsmaterialåterbruk. Syftet med arbetet är att reda ut vilka byggnadsmaterial och inventarier som kan återanvändas vid ombyggnation av Andersbergsgården förskola i Gävle, samt betrakta lönsamheten hos dessa byggnadsmaterial eller inventarier om de skulle selektivt rivas, lagras och sedan återanvändas. Genom en litteraturstudie i början av arbetet samt kontakt med de berörda företagen har både ny information (utöver litteraturen) och resultat formulerats. Litteraturstudien visar att 95% av byggnadsmaterial kan återvinnas. Denna procent överensstämmer om byggnaden inte innehåller farliga ämnen i konstruktionen och är i dåligt skick.I studien presenteras några av de hinder som föreligger för ett mer omfattande användande av återbrukade material. Exempel på detta är att säkerställa garantier och kvaliteter för materialen. Det har visat sig att kostnaden för den traditionella rivningen är generellt högre än den selektiva rivningen. Det som kan lagras och återanvändas är till exempel dörrar eftersom de är i bra skick.Till slut kan det sägas att alla konstruktionsmaterial i Andersbergsgården förskola går att återvinna förutom betong och värmeisolering, detta är på grund av att betongen har haft fuktproblem och isoleringen är för gammal för att återvinnas.This work is about recycling of building materials. The aim of this work is to find out which building materials and equipment could be reused after the deconstruction of the Andersbergsgården preschool in Gävle, and to examine the profitability of these building materials and equipment if it is to be selectively demolished, stored and then reused.Both theory and conclusion were formulated through a literature study at the beginning of the work and contact with the involved companies. Research shows that 95% of building materials can be recycled. This percentage can be achieved if the building does not contain hazardous substances in the construction or it´s in bad condition.The study highlights some of the barriers to the wider use of reused materials. Examples of this are the verification of guarantees and qualities of the materials. It has been shown that the cost of traditional demolition generally is higher than the cost of selective demolition. What can be stored and reused are doors because these are in good condition.In the end, the conclusion is that all building materials in the Andersbergsgården preschool, with the exception of concrete and insulation, can be recycled. The reasons for this are that the concrete has had moisture problems and the insulation is too old to be recycle

Arabic Sign Language Recognition through Deep Neural Networks Fine-Tuning

Sign Language is considered the main communication tool for deaf or hearing impaired people.  It is a visual language that uses hands and other parts of the body to provide people who are in need to full access of communication with the world.  Accordingly, the automation of sign language recognition has become one of the important applications in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning.  Specifically speaking, Arabic sign language recognition has been studied and applied using various intelligent and traditional approaches, but with few attempts to improve the process using deep learning networks.  This paper utilizes transfer learning and fine tuning deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) to improve the accuracy of recognizing 32 hand gestures from the Arabic sign language.  The proposed methodology works by creating models matching the VGG16 and the ResNet152 structures, then, the pre-trained model weights are loaded into the layers of each network, and finally, our own soft-max classification layer is added as the final layer after the last fully connected layer.  The networks were fed with normal 2D images of the different Arabic Sign Language data, and was able to provide accuracy of nearly 99%

“The truth” behind the Quranburnings : A critical discourse analysis of the Quranburning controversy and social polarization in Sweden

This study analyzed how mass media portrays specific groups of actors involved in burnings of the quran, more precisely, burners of the quran and demonstrators opposed to it. The study has compiled 18 digitally published news articles derived from four different news agencies. By using critical discourse analysis as a theoretical and methodological framework, the study has applied the three-dimensional model developed by Norman Fairclough to examine the empirical findings. Conducted analysis of the news articles resulted in the identification of three prevalent themes also referred to as discourses. Identified themes were as follows: “The normalization of violent riots”, “Collective culpability of demonstrators”, “The quranburners as victims and the process of victimization of the quranburners” Furthermore, an analysis of the identified themes was conducted. The mentioned themes were further analyzed with textual tools as provided by Fairclough, as well as two sociological theories as necessitated by Fairclough’s theory of critical discourse analysis. The theory of stigmatization and labeling theory were applied. The empirical findings suggest that violent riots are depicted as inevitable consequences, thus undergoing a process of normalization. Furthermore, the protesters present during the manifestations are generalized into specific social groups such as muslims or arabs. Burners of the quran were on the contrary depicted as victims in a vulnerable position. Lastly, a discussion is held regarding the possible repercussions the discourses may have on a societal level and their potential impact on the field of social work. Denna studie analyserade hur massmedia porträtterar en specifik grupp av aktörer som är involverade i koranbränningar, nämligen, koranbrännare och demonstranter utifrån en kritisk diskursanalys. Studien har sammanställt 18 digitalt publicerade nyhetsartiklar från fyra olika nyhetsbyråer. Genom att använda kritisk diskursanalys som ett teoretiskt och metodiskt ramverk har studien tillämpat den tredimensionella modellen utvecklad av Norman Fairclough för att undersöka de empiriska resultaten av materialet. Genomförd analys av nyhetsartiklarna resulterade i identifierandet av tre förekommande teman, även refererade till som diskurser. Temana är följande: "Normaliseringen av våldsamma upplopp", "kollektiv skuldbeläggning av demonstranter", "Koranbrännarna som offer och viktimiseringsprocessen av koranbrännarna". Slutligen förs en analys av samtliga temana, nämligen "kampen mellan olika diskurser – hegemoni kontra antagonism". De nämnda temana analyserades vidare med diskursiva verktyg som tillhandahålls av Faircloughs tredimensionella modell och två sociologiska teorier som nödvändiggjordes av Faircloughs teori om kritisk diskursanalys, nämligen stigmatiseringsteorin och stämplingsteorin. Det empiriska resultatet tyder på att våldsamma upplopp framställs som oundvikliga konsekvenser och genomgår därmed en normaliseringsprocess. Vidare generaliseras demonstranterna under manifestationerna till specifika sociala grupper som muslimer eller araber. Koranbrännarna avbildades i kontrast som offer i en utsatt position. Slutligen diskuteras de möjliga konsekvenserna diskurserna kan få på samhällsnivå och deras potentiella inverkan på det sociala arbetets domän.

Arabic Sign Language Recognition through Deep Neural Networks Fine-Tuning

Sign Language is considered the main communication tool for deaf or hearing impaired people.  It is a visual language that uses hands and other parts of the body to provide people who are in need to full access of communication with the world.  Accordingly, the automation of sign language recognition has become one of the important applications in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning.  Specifically speaking, Arabic sign language recognition has been studied and applied using various intelligent and traditional approaches, but with few attempts to improve the process using deep learning networks.  This paper utilizes transfer learning and fine tuning deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) to improve the accuracy of recognizing 32 hand gestures from the Arabic sign language.  The proposed methodology works by creating models matching the VGG16 and the ResNet152 structures, then, the pre-trained model weights are loaded into the layers of each network, and finally, our own soft-max classification layer is added as the final layer after the last fully connected layer.  The networks were fed with normal 2D images of the different Arabic Sign Language data, and was able to provide accuracy of nearly 99%.</p