An-Najah National University

About: An-Najah National University is a education organization based out in Nablus, Palestinian Territory. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Adsorption. The organization has 1857 authors who have published 2607 publications receiving 68226 citations. The organization is also known as: An Najah National University.

Evaluation of various hydroponic techniques as decentralised wastewater treatment and reuse systems

Abstract: A hydroponic system as decentralised wastewater treatment and reuse was tested. The hydroponic system was built in a greenhouse in order to improve growth conditions for plants including orchard trees, vegetables and flowers. The experiment was conducted from 2007 until present, in a model greenhouse which was installed at An-Najah National University’s new campus, in hydroponic barrels and channels filled with soilless-media. Findings showed that the hydroponic system is effective in reducing various pollution loads. The performance of hydroponic barrels was better than the channels, and winter squash and trees were better than flowers and vegetables.

Benchmarking the scientific output of industrial wastewater research in Arab world by utilizing bibliometric techniques.

Abstract: Rapid population growth, worsening of the climate, and severity of freshwater scarcity are global challenges. In Arab world countries, where water resources are becoming increasingly scarce, the recycling of industrial wastewater could improve the efficiency of freshwater use. The benchmarking of scientific output of industrial wastewater research in the Arab world is an initiative that could support in shaping up and improving future research activities. This study assesses the scientific output of industrial wastewater research in the Arab world. A total of 2032 documents related to industrial wastewater were retrieved from 152 journals indexed in the Scopus databases; this represents 3.6 % of the global research output. The h-index of the retrieved documents was 70. The total number of citations, at the time of data analysis, was 34,296 with an average citation of 16.88 per document. Egypt, with a total publications of 655 (32.2 %), was ranked the first among the Arab countries followed by Saudi Arabia 300 (14.7 %) and Tunisia 297 (14.6 %). Egypt also had the highest h-index, assumed with Saudi Arabia, the first place in collaboration with other countries. Seven hundred fifteen (35.2 %) documents with 66 countries in Arab/non-Arab country collaborations were identified. Arab researchers collaborated mostly with researchers from France 239 (11.7 %), followed by the USA 127 (6.2 %). The top active journal was Desalination 126 (6.2 %), and the most productive institution was the National Research Center, Egypt 169 (8.3 %), followed by the King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia 75 (3.7 %). Environmental Science was the most prevalent field of interest 930 (45.8 %). Despite the promising indicators, there is a need to close the gap in research between the Arab world and the other nations. Optimizing the investments and developing regional experiences are key factors to promote the scientific research.

Pre-service teachers’ modelling processes through engagement with model eliciting activities with a technological tool

Abstract: Engaging mathematics students with modelling activities helps them learn mathematics meaningfully. This engagement, in the case of model eliciting activities, helps the students elicit mathematical models by interpreting real-world situation in mathematical ways. This is especially true when the students utilize technology to build the models. Researchers have been interested in the phases of modelling processes that students go through when engaging with modelling activities, where looking at these phases from a cognitive aspect gives us insight regarding students’ processes of mathematizing real situation. This was the goal of this research, specifically when middle school pre-service teachers use technology in model eliciting activities. Six groups of pre-service teachers participated in the research engaging in modelling the “summer reading activity.” Three different cycles of modelling processes were identified, differing in the phase of technology use and in its role in building the models. This variability in pre-service teachers’ utilization of technology, in our case the spreadsheets, imply that the technology which is appropriate for a specific modelling activity could be a flexible tool used by the learners to mathematize the real-life situation expressed in the activity.