Chemical control and herbicide resistance of hairy fleabane [Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist] in Jordan

Two field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of 12 herbicides in controlling hairy fleabane [ Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist] in a date palm orchard located in the central Jordan valley during the spring of 2017. Results showed that C. bonariensis resists paraquat (2.5, 5 and 7.5kgha -1 ), oxadiazon (5kgha -1 ) and oxyflourfen (3.3kgha -1 ) herbicides applied at normal or higher than the recommended rates. None of the three herbicides was significantly effective against the weed and treated plants continued growing normally similar to those of untreated control. Higher rates (10-fold of the recommended rates) of the same herbicides failed to control the weed. The effect of other tested herbicides on the weed was varied with bromoxynil plus MCPA (buctril ® M), 2,4-D- iso-octyl ester, glyphosate, glyphosate trimesium and triclopyr were most effective and completely controlled the weed at recommended rates of application. Testing paraquat, oxadiazon and oxyflourfen using the normal recommended and 10-fold higher rates on two populations of C. bonariensis grown from seeds of the date palm and al-Twal (another site in the Jordan Valley) weed populations and grown in pots under glasshouse conditions showed that Date palm population was resistant to the three herbicides at both application rates while al-Twal site population was highly susceptible and completely controlled at normal and high rates of the three herbicides. It is concluded that certain populations of C . bonariensis developed resistance to paraquat, oxadiazon and oxyflourfen but control of this weed was possible using other herbicides of different mechanism of action. Herbicide rotation or other nonchemical weed control methods have been suggested to prevent or reduce the buildup and spread of resistant populations of this weed species. These results represent the first report on herbicide resistance of C. bonariensis in Jordan.

The Early Iron Age at Tell Abu al-Kharaz, Jordan Valley

The present monograph by Teresa Bürge deals with the material culture of the city of Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the northern part of the Jordan Valley. The basis and starting point is an extremely well-preserved domestic compound dating from the early Iron Age – one of the most controversial periods of the Eastern Mediterranean: it follows the political and economic collapse of the Late Bronze Age and results in a re-structuration of the political and social organization, which – due to the present state of research – is well documented only for the later Iron Age. In addition to a detailed examination of the architecture, the find material, its contexts, the relative and absolute chronology, and the possible function of the building, the study aims at an integration of the evidence from Tell Abu al-Kharaz into a broader picture. Special attention is devoted to the economy and social organization of the early Iron Age town, to aspects of tradition versus innovation, and patterns of economic contacts and migration. Therefore, the study contributes to a better understanding of processes of continuity and change in social and political organization and cross-cultural relations of pre- and protohistoric societies.

Statistical Indices of Land Use Changes and Nutrients Balance of Tomatoes and Peppers Production in Jordan Valley and Highlands (1999-2019)

Climate change has caused pressure on water resources in Jordan. This was accompanied by the Syrian refugee crisis during the period 2009 to 2019. This descriptive study was conducted in the University of Debrecen, during the years 2020 and 2021 within the course of sustainable land use by collecting official statistical data from reliable sources in Jordan on the production of tomato, pepper, and paprika during five years 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 to compare the change in land use, crop sown structure, country production, unit area average yield and estimation of unit area pollution with major nutrients. The study showed an increased land used for the production of vegetables by (+ 37.84%) during the period from 2004 to 2014, high productivity per hectare for three crops from 2014 to 2019. Jordan had the highest tomato and paprika crop yields in 2014. The reason is due to the increase in the local and global demand for these crops along with other reasons, which have promoted the use of mass production agricultural techniques, the most important of which is chemical fertilization. Which caused the accumulation of phosphorus and potassium in soils.

The impact of the implementation of the quality system (9001) in controlling administrative, financial and logistical matters in the Ministry of Education – An applied study on education in the southern Jordan Valley –: أثر تطبيق نظام الجودة (9001) في ضبط الأمور الإدارية والمالية واللوازمية في وزارة التربية والتعليم – دراسة تطبيقية تربية الأغوار الجنوبية –

The aim of the current research is to reveal the impact of the application of the quality system (9001) in controlling administrative, financial and supplies matters in the Ministry of Education, an applied study in the Directorate of Education of the Southern Jordan Valley, and to achieve the objectives of the research, the descriptive analytical method was used, and a questionnaire was developed to collect data from the study sample which consisted of (130) male and female employees working in the Directorate of Education of the Southern Jordan Valley. The research reached a set of results, the most important of which are: the level of apply the quality system came at a high degree with a means of (3.84), and the degree of controlling administrative matters was high with a means of (4.47), and the degree of controlling financial matters was high with a means of (4.26), and the degree of controlling necessary matters was high with a means of (4.09). In addition, there is a statistically significant effect at the significance level (α≤0.05) between the application of the quality system (9001) in all its dimensions (administrative responsibility, procurement, document control, and control of quality records) in controlling administrative and financial, and supplies matters in the Directorate of Education of the Southern Jordan Valley. Based on the results reached, the research recommended the need to constantly develop and update the quality system in line with the quality standards (9001) due to its clear impact on improving the performance of the Directorate of Education in the Southern Jordan Valley and its employees, and working to embody the standards and principles of the quality system (9001) in the organizational culture of the Directorate of Education of the Southern Jordan Valley, so that it becomes a major feature of the organizational culture axis and a fundamental pillar for the success of its performance and achievement of its objectives.

The effect of playing electronic games on student behavior in public schools in Jordan from the teachers' point of view: أثر ممارسة الألعاب الإلكترونية على سلوكيات الطلبة في المدارس الحكومية في الأردن من وجهة نظر المعلمين

The study aimed to identify the effect of playing electronic games on students' behavior in public schools in Jordan from the teachers’ point of view, and to achieve the aim of the study, the corresponding study tool was prepared and its validity and reliability were confirmed. The study sample consisted of a number of public school teachers in the Northern Jordan Valley. In the governorate of Irbid, who numbered (45) teachers, and they were chosen by the intentional method, the researcher used the qualitative approach to suit the nature of the study and its objectives, and the study reached the following results: The results of the interviews of the respondents showed that there are unusual behaviors that appeared on students as a result of their merging with electronic games and this What all the interviewed individuals indicated, and the majority of the study sample indicated that there are changes in students ’behavior such as irritation, violence, hitting, blind imitation of some wrong behaviors, immoral habits and negative habits that affected their social habits with their peers, and most of the respondents indicated that the academic achievement of students who Playing electronic games has clearly decreased, and in light of the results of the study, the researcher presented many m The recommendations include conducting many studies and research on the impact of electronic games at different age stages, educating parents about the danger of electronic games on children, holding awareness and introducing workshops on the dangers and negatives of electronic games, highlighting the school’s role in addressing the problem of electronic games for students, by educating them and guiding them about the harms of this Games for their behaviors.

The effect of computer courses on developing teachers' technological skills from viewpoint of teachers of Southern Jordan Valley schools: أثر الدورات الحاسوبية في تنمية مهارات المعلمين التكنولوجية من وجهة نظر معلمي مدارس الأغوار الجنوبية

This study aimed to uncover the effect of computer courses on developing teachers’ technological skills, and in order to achieve the aim of the study, a descriptive analytical approach was used and a questionnaire was developed to collect data from the study sample, which included (333) teachers from the southern Jordan Valley schools, where (324) questionnaires were retrieved and valid for statistical analysis, with a rate of (97.3%) of the total distributed questionnaires. The results of the study showed that the degree to which teachers of Southern Jordan Valley schools possessed technological skills was of a moderate degree, and there is a statistically significant effect at the level of significance (α≤0.05) for computer courses with all its dimensions (training material, trainer, activities) in developing the skills of technological teachers. In light of the results obtained, the study recommended the necessity of increasing attention to training centers for computer courses in terms of providing them with adequate and modern technological equipment, and using qualified trainers who have extensive experience in the field of computers and technology.

Derivation of Spatially Distributed Thermal Comfort Levels in Jordan as Investigated From Remote Sensing, GIS Tools and Computational Methods

Thermal comfort is usually calculated using discrete point measurements. This procedure is not suitable to study thermal comfort for inhabited areas with rugged terrains where climate gradient is high. The wide availability of remote sensing data and GIS tools have revolutionized data management, processing and visualization. The present paper implemented digital elevation data, GIS tools and a computational algorithm to generate spatially continuous maps of climatological elements which were employed to derive thermal comfort levels across Jordan. Results show detailed information of the spatial distribution of the degree of thermal comfort in winter and summer across the country which cannot be resolved using discrete point measurements. It is shown that the mountainous areas in the country, where most urban centers are situated, experience “slightly warm” to “warm” indoor apparent temperatures in summer. The Jordan Valley and the desert experience high indoor apparent temperatures in summer. Cold conditions prevail over most parts of the country, with the heating degree days ranging from 2100 in the southern mountains to values close to zero near the Dead Sea area. The presented procedure demonstrated that the very low levels of ambient vapor pressure is an important atmospheric forcing contributing to the widespread cold conditions prevailing over the desert areas in winter. The efficiency of direct evaporative cooling systems to achieve thermal comfort in the various parts of the country is investigated. The procedure presented can be used over regional scales with different levels of spatial resolutions for a wide range of climatological studies.

»Erez Israel from the Air 1937–38«

In September 1938, German-Jewish merchant, publisher and patron Salman Schocken, who emigrated to Palestine in 1934, presented an album of 40 aerial photographs of the Land of Israel as a sign of gratitude to the well-wishers on his 60th birthday the previous year. The pictures were taken by Hungarian-Jewish photographer Zoltan Kluger, who had worked in Berlin since the 1920s and became the »chief photographer« of Keren Hayesod and the Jewish National Fund after his immigration at the end of 1933. There is only little information about their collaboration on this extraordinary project and the album of which a copy has been preserved in the Archives of the National Library of Israel. »Erez Israel from the Air 1937–38«, as the album is also known, with Klugerʼs stunning aerial shots, shows a unique view of historical and biblical landscapes, the Judean Desert and the Jordan Valley, but first and foremost they are a visual record of the architectural history of the Yishuv: starting with the settlements of the First Aliya, the founding of Kibbutzim and Moshavim, the urban development of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, up to the Stockade and Tower settlements since the outbreak of the Arab revolt in 1936. They are presented in the following article. Readers are invited to view the whole album and the photographs at a higher resolution online here: https://rosetta.nli.org.il/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE38046962.

Novel semi-decentralised mobile system for the sanitization and dehydration of septic sludge: a pilot-scale evaluation in the Jordan Valley

The provision of effective sanitation strategies has a significant impact on public health. However, the treatment of septic sludge still presents some challenges worldwide. Consequently, innovative technologies capable of an effective and efficient sludge treatment, mostly at a decentralized level, are in high demand to improve sanitation provision. To address this problem, this study evaluates a novel semi-decentralised mobile faecal sludge treatment system, the pilot-system for which consists of a combination of several individual processes including mechanical dewatering (MD), microwave (MW) drying, and membrane filtration (ultrafiltration [UF] and reverse osmosis [RO]). The system evaluation was carried out by treating raw, partially digested faecal sludge (FS) from septic tanks—hence, septic sludge (SS)—in the Jordan Valley, Jordan. The pilot-scale system exhibited an effective and flexible treatment performance for (i) sanitizing faecal sludge and related liquid streams (MW and UF); (ii) reducing the treated sludge mass (and sludge volume) (MD and MW); and (iii) producing a high-quality treated liquid stream ideal for water reclamation applications (UF and RO). The MD process removed approximately 99% of the initial SS water content. The MW drying system completely removed E. coli and dehydrated the dewatered sludge at low energy expenditures of 0.75 MJ kg−1 and 5.5 MJ kg−1, respectively. Such energy expenditures can be further reduced by approximately 40% by recovering energy in the condensate and burning the dried sludge, which can then be reused inland applications. The membrane filtration system (UF and RO) was able to produce high-quality treated water that is ideal for the water reuse applications that irrigation requires, as well as meeting the Jordanian standard 893/2006. In addition, the system can also be powered by renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic energy. Therefore, this research demonstrates that the evaluated semi-decentralised mobile system is technically feasible for the in situ treatment of SS (sanitization and dehydration), while also being effective for simultaneously recovering valuable resources, such as energy, water, and nutrients.