Disinfection By-Products of Chlorine Dioxide (Chlorite, Chlorate, and Trihalomethanes): Occurence in Drinking Water in Qatar

The occurrence of disinfection by-products (DBPs) of chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) in drinking water, namely: chlorite, chlorate, and THMs as well as the concentration of ClO₂ were investigated. Two hundred ninety four drinking water samples were collected during the time period from March to August 2014. The water samples were collected from seven desalination plants (DPs), four resevoirs and eight mosques distributed in South and North Qatar. The ClO₂ level was ranged from 0.38 to less than 0.02 mg/L, with mean value of 0.17, 0.12, and 0.04 mg/L in the desalination plants (DPs), the reservoirs (R), and the mosques (M), respectively. The chlorite level was varied from 12.78-436.36 ppb with median values varied from 12.78 to 230.76, from 77.43 to 325.25, and from 84.73 to 436.36 ppb in the DPs, the reservoirs, and the mosques, respectively. While chlorate was varied from 10.66 ppb to 282.71 ppb with mean values varied from 35.58 to 282.72 ppb, from 11.02 to 200.69, and from 10.66 to 150.38 ppb in the DPs, R, and M respectively. However, the average value of THMs was 4.90 ppb, while maximum value reached 76.97. Lower disinfectant residual was observed in few samples, however this could be attributed to the normal decomposition reaction of ClO₂ with organic and inorganic compounds, including biofilms, pipe materials, corrosion products, formation of slime or may due to the fact the water in distribution system experience water aging problem. Significant differences were observed in the concentration level of chlorite, chlorate and THMs between DPs, reservoirs and the mosques. However, the concentrations of all DBPs fell wihtin the range of the regulatory limit set by GSO 149/2009, WHO and KAHRAMAA (KM). It is recommended to slightly increase the average ClO₂ dosage at the DPs. Such slight increase would provide safer margin at the customer point of use in case of any microbial activities. Consideration must be given to the overall demand and should account for seasonal variations, temperature, and application points. As well as a monitoring approach is recommended for the drinking water safety assessment. Re-conducting the study to include other DPs of ClO₂ is recommended

Supporting Next-Generation Network Management with Intelligent Moving Devices

The concept of fixed infrastructures capable of fulfilling the requirements of moving devices in terms of connectivity and reliability has been the optimal solution for the past few decades. Today, such a solution is no longer feasible in the Internet of Things (IoT) era. All things are now connected, and a significant number of them are mobile, hence leading to connectivity and reliability issues. Connected and autonomous vehicles, in addition to more contemporary flying and moving devices such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and IoT devices, will play a significant role in next-generation networks (NGNs). Node-to-node communication will also play a key role in NGNs and will provide alternative solutions toward connectivity in many complex environments for applications such as smart transportation. With that said, today\u27s wide availability of smart moving devices provides a wider set of alternatives to autonomy for NGNs. In this article, we discuss some of the existing solutions that use connected vehicles, UAVs, and other moving intelligent devices to not only provide connectivity support, but also perform on-location data collection, anal-ysis, and decision making to enable the management of moving NGNs for intelligent services and applications. We envision a solution that is capa-ble of adapting generalized and decentralized learning on mobile devices, such as federated learning, with the advances in deep learning to support the autonomy and configurability aspects of moving NGNs

The Degree of Applying Accountability Principles in Public & Private Universities in Jordan: A Comparative Study BetweenYarmouk University and Jerash University

The study aimed to identify the status of applying the principles of accountability in the public and private universities in Jordan. This was done by comparing between Yarmouk University and Jerash University from the perspective of the employees. The study sample consisted of 250 faculty members and one administrator at Yarmouk University and Jerash University. The questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. The study reached several conclusions, most notably of which include the presence of statistically significant differences in the reality of applying the accountability principles at universities in general, and in the administrative, and academic fields. This, however, is dependent on the variable of the university in favor of Jerash University. The study concluded on a number of recommendations most important of which is the necessity of activating the accountability mechanisms and tools in three areas: administrative, and academic areas of public universities in a higher degree. It also includes a commitment with unified criteria of accountability to ensure the maintenance of an acceptable level of justice and transparency

Dialogue Patterns in Mahmoud Darwish’s “Mural”

This study aims at reading Mahmoud Darwish’s collection of poems “Mural” through an artistic technique, which is the dialogue with all its different patterns and types. The study will clarify the development of Darwish’s poem and his dramatic and epic lyrical spirit, and introduce a definition of these patterns and the way the Darwishian poem extends through them, as well as how its artistic and thematic discourse matures through them, reaching the level of universal poetic experiments in form and content. After that, the deals with defining dialogue as the central element in the dramatic structure and in the research, by defining it and connecting it with the other dramatic elements such as action, event, conflict and the interactive relationship among them theoretically and practically. The study introduces the three dialogue patterns, which are: the external dialogue, the internal dialogue, and the plurality of voices.The study has deduced, through studying and analyzing the poem, the role of external dialogue in demonstrating the poet’s quotes and his poetic speech through “the other,” with its different images, in the text. By using internal dialogue the poet reveals his inner feelings and his internal conflict, and this deepens the single dialogue, rescues it from simplification and leads to plurality of track, as well as, artistic and aesthetic complexity. Using plurality of voices, the poet introduces death as a third party, with which he engages in dialogue, as death seems to be the central character in the poem which enriched the text with an attempt to confirm the ego and the self in death’s conflict with them

The Range of the Availability and Practice of Authentic Assessment Competencies for Intermediate Stage Teachers in Sharurah Governorate

This study aimed to identify the range of the availability and practice of authentic assessment competencies for intermediate stage teachers in Sharurah governorate, and addition to known the effect of these variables (gender, major, experience)on The range of the availability and practice of authentic assessment competencies . a questionnaire was designed which consisted of (44) items measuring five domains of the availability and practice of authentic assessment strategies competencies .It was applied on a sample which consisted of (67) teachers. results of the study showed that the range of the availability and practice of authentic assessment competencies  were highly degree , there were no statistically significant differences were found in the range of the availability and practice of authentic assessment competencies  due to the influence of some variables: (gender, major).and differences were found due to the experience variable, also the result show that a high Correlation between availability and the practice for authentic assessment competencies, and there is a statistically significant effect between the degree of availability of authentic assessment competencies and the degree of  practice of authentic assessment competencies, and we reached to a multiple regression equation, The study included many recommendations, The most important one was the necessity of providing training programs for teachers in the field of modern assessment strategies in order to improve the ability of teachers in this field. Keywords: Learning  competencies , Authentic assessment, Assessment strategies, Intermediate stage.                               

Antecedents of Consumers’ Behavior towards Halal Food among Jordanian Customers: A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Approach

The Halal concept has been a major element among consumers living in an Islamic country like Jordan. This study aimed to examine the relationships between the antecedents of consumers’ intention and consumers’ behavior towards Halal Food in Jordan, and the mediating effect of consumers’ intention (INT) in the relationship between perceived behavior control (PBC) and actual consumer behavior (ACT) towards Halal Food. A total of 250 consumers completed a survey that was conducted at middle locations in the capital of Jordan (Amman). The study used the structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques (Amos 20.0) to evaluate the casual model and the confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to examine the reliability and validity of the measurement. Results of the study demonstrated the strong predictive power and explained the consumers’ behavior in Jordan. These result demonstrated the ability of the original Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model to explain consumer’s behavior towards Halal Food in Jordan. The findings highlighted that the relationship between consumers’ attitude and subjective norm were significant and positive on consumers’ intention, and consumers’ intention on consumers’ behavior was found to be significant with a positive relationship. And one hypothesis resulted in an insignificant relationship namely; perceived behavior control and consumers’ intention. Moreover, intention was found to have no mediating effect. Keywords: Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) consumers’ attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control, intention and consumers’ behavior, Jordan. Field: Marketin

The level of Test–wiseness for the students of arts and science Faculty at Sharourah and its relationship with some variables

This study aimed to identify the level of using Test–wiseness strategies for the students of arts and science Faculty at Sharourah and its relationship with some variables. a questionnaire was designed which consisted of (29) items measuring three domains of Test–wiseness strategies. It was applied on a sample which consisted of (299) students. Results of the study showed that all Test–wiseness strategies were highly used. The strategies used after answering become in the first rank; followed by strategies used before answering; and lastly the strategies used during answering, and no statistically significant differences were found in the degree to which students’ using Test–wiseness strategies due to the influence of some  variables: (gender, academic level, major).and differences were found due to the achievement level, the study recommended constructing similar studies using other classifications of TW strategies, and their relationship with some variables. Keywords: Test-wiseness, Test situation, Test –taking, Faculty students

Securing Critical IoT Infrastructures with Blockchain-Supported Federated Learning

Network trustworthiness is considered a very crucial element in network security and is developed through positive experiences, guarantees, clarity and responsibility. Trustworthiness becomes even more compelling with the ever-expanding set of Internet of Things (IoT) smart city services and applications. Most of today;s network trustworthy solutions are considered inadequate, notably for critical applications where IoT devices may be exposed and easily compromised. In this article, we propose an adaptive framework that integrates both federated learning and blockchain to achieve both network trustworthiness and security. The solution is capable of dealing with individuals’ trust as a probability and estimates the end-devices’ trust values belonging to different networks subject to achieving security criteria. We evaluate and verify the proposed model through simulation to showcase the effectiveness of the framework in terms of network lifetime, energy consumption, and trust using multiple factors. Results show that the proposed model maintains high accuracy and detection rates with values of ≈0.93 and ≈0.96, respectively

A Federated Learning and Blockchain-enabled Sustainable Energy-Trade at the Edge: A Framework for Industry 4.0

Through the digitization of essential functional processes, Industry 4.0 aims to build knowledgeable, networked, and stable value chains. Network trustworthiness is a critical component of network security that is built on positive interactions, guarantees, transparency, and accountability. Blockchain technology has drawn the attention of researchers in various fields of data science as a safe and low-cost platform to track a large number of eventual transactions. Such a technique is adaptable to the renewable energy trade sector, which suffers from security and trustworthy issues. Having a decentralized energy infrastructure, that is supported by blockchain and AI, enables smart and secure micro-grid energy trading. The new age of industrial production will be highly versatile in terms of production volume and customization. As such a robust collaboration solution between consumers, businesses, and suppliers must be both secure and sustainable. In this article, we introduce a cooperative and distributed framework that relies on computing, communication, and intelligence capabilities of edge and end-devices to enable secure energy trading, remote monitoring, and network trustworthiness. The blockchain and Federated Learning-enabled solution provides secure energy trading between different critical entities. Such a technique, coupled with 5G and beyond networks, would enable mass surveillance, monitoring and analysis to occur at the edge. Performance evaluations are conducted to test the effectiveness of the proposed solution in terms of reliability and responsiveness in a vehicular network energy-trade scenario

Realizing Health 4.0 in Beyond 5G Networks

The advancements of Edge and Internet of Things (IoT) devices in terms of their processing, storage and communication capabilities, in addition to the advancements in wireless communication and networking technologies, have led to the rise in Intelligent Edge-enabled IoT architectures. Federated Learning (FL) is one example in which intelligence is adapted to the edge to offload some of the processing load from centralized entities and maintain secure localized model training. With Health 4.0, it is anticipated that distributed and edge-supported Artificial Intelligence (AI) will enable faster and more accurate early-stage disease discovery that relies significantly on intelligent remote and on-site IoT devices. Given that healthcare systems are highly scrutinized by both governments and patients to maintain high levels of data privacy and security, FL coupled with the support of blockchain will provide an optimal solution to reinforce today\u27s healthcare frameworks. In this paper, we propose a FL-enabled framework for healthcare systems that is supported by edge-computing, blockchain and intelligent IoT devices. The solution considers a pneumonia detection use-case as a proof-of-concept and is applicable to an extended set of health-related use-cases. Different pre-trained models are compared against the proposed FL-supported model, namely, CNN, GG16, VGG19, InceptionV3, ResNet, DenseNet, and Xception. Results show high model accuracy attainment and significant improvements in terms of data privacy