Al-Quds University

About: Al-Quds University is a education organization based out in East Jerusalem, Palestinian Territory. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Microemulsion. The organization has 956 authors who have published 1491 publications receiving 34293 citations.

The influence of trial order on learning from reward vs. punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: experimental and computational analyses.

Abstract: Previous research has shown that trial ordering affects cognitive performance, but this has not been tested using category-learning tasks that differentiate learning from reward and punishment. Here, we tested two groups of healthy young adults using a probabilistic category learning task of reward and punishment in which there are two types of trials (reward, punishment) and three possible outcomes: (1) positive feedback for correct responses in reward trials; (2) negative feedback for incorrect responses in punishment trials; and (3) no feedback for incorrect answers in reward trials and correct answers in punishment trials. Hence, trials without feedback are ambiguous, and may represent either successful avoidance of punishment or failure to obtain reward. In Experiment 1, the first group of subjects received an intermixed task in which reward and punishment trials were presented in the same block, as a standard baseline task. In Experiment 2, a second group completed the separated task, in which reward and punishment trials were presented in separate blocks. Additionally, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying performance in the experimental conditions, we fit individual data using a Q-learning model. Results from Experiment 1 show that subjects who completed the intermixed task paradoxically valued the no-feedback outcome as a reinforcer when it occurred on reinforcement-based trials, and as a punisher when it occurred on punishment-based trials. This is supported by patterns of empirical responding, where subjects showed more win-stay behavior following an explicit reward than following an omission of punishment, and more lose-shift behavior following an explicit punisher than following an omission of reward. In Experiment 2, results showed similar performance whether subjects received reward-based or punishment-based trials first. However, when the Q-learning model was applied to these data, there were differences between subjects in the reward-first and punishment-first conditions on the relative weighting of neutral feedback. Specifically, early training on reward-based trials led to omission of reward being treated as similar to punishment, but prior training on punishment-based trials led to omission of reward being treated more neutrally. This suggests that early training on one type of trials, specifically reward-based trials, can create a bias in how neutral feedback is processed, relative to those receiving early punishment-based training or training that mixes positive and negative outcomes.

Pedagogy under Siege in Palestine: Insights from Paulo Freire

Abstract: This paper analyses the relevance of Paulo Freire's pedagogical and philosophical ideas within the context of occupied Palestine. It specifically focuses on the work in continuing community action and education carried out by a particular centre established at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, and at the heart of the ‘old city’, for this purpose. The major focus here is on community theatre foregrounding issues related to women in Palestinian society. Major themes broached include the politics of education, social mobilisation, women and the Intifada, the collective dimensions of knowledge, learning and praxis, purging oneself of the ‘oppressor within’ to break the cycle of violence, education for liberation.

Osmotic pressure in polyelectrolyte solutions: cell-model and bulk simulations

Abstract: The osmotic pressure of polyelectrolyte solutions as a function of concentration has been calculated by Monte Carlo simulations of a spherical cell model and by molecular dynamics simulations with periodic boundary conditions. The results for the coarse-grained polyelectrolyte model are in good agreement with experimental results for sodium polyacrylate and the cell model is validated by the bulk simulations. The cell model offers an alternative perspective on osmotic pressure and also forms a direct link to even simpler models in the form of the Poisson-Boltzmann approximation applied to cylindrical and spherical geometries. As a result, the non-monotonic behaviour of the osmotic coefficient seen in simulated salt-free solutions is shown not to rely on a transition between a dilute and semi-dilute regime, as is often suggested when the polyion is modelled as a linear flexible chain. The non-monotonic behaviour is better described as the combination of a finite-size effect and a double-layer effect. Parameters that represent the linear nature of the polyion, including an alternative to monomer concentration, make it possible to display a generalised behaviour of equivalent chains, at least at low concentrations. At high concentrations, local interactions become significant and the exact details of the model become important. The effects of added salt are also discussed and one conclusion is that the empirical additivity rule, treating the contributions from the polyelectrolyte and any salt separately, is a reasonable approximation, which justifies the study of salt-free solutions.

Perceived peer norms, health risk behaviors, and clustering of risk behaviors among Palestinian youth.

Abstract: Relatively little is known about patterns of health risk behaviors among Middle Eastern youth, including how these behaviors are related to perceived peer norms. In a sample of approximately 2,500 15-24 year old Palestinian youth, perceived engagement of general peers in alcohol consumption, drug use and sexual activity was substantially greater than youths' own (self-reported) engagement in these activities, suggesting a tendency to overestimate the prevalence of risk-taking behavior among peers. Individual participation in a risk behavior strongly covaries with the perceived levels of both friends' and peers' engagement in that behavior (p = 0.00 in each case). In addition, significant clustering of risk behaviors is found: youth who participate in one risk behavior are more likely to participate in others. These findings for a rare representative sample of Middle Eastern youth are strikingly similar to those in the US and Europe. The clustering of behaviors suggests that prevention programs should be structured to deal with a range of connected risk behaviors for which certain youth may be at risk. The findings also suggest that adjusting expectations about peers' behavior may reduce young Palestinians' engagement in risk taking.