Exploring Students’ Understanding of Traffic Artworks in Jordan

Driving consequences in Jordan are becoming a major concern for all Jordanians despite of their age; occupation; socio-economic status. Education is as important as engineering and enforcement to maintain safety and efficiency on our streets. Unsatisfactory levels of traffic knowledge and safety culture is spreading among Jordanians. The knowledge base among students in Jordan universities and schools is explored in this research when administering a questionnaire to more than one hundred students. The subject of the questionnaire is the contents of eight artworks developed by school kids expressing their understandings of traffic and traffic safety issues. The drawings contained more wrong concepts than correct concepts, and less of the interviewed subjects were able to identify the incorrect concepts compared to those who identified correct concepts. University students were more capable to identify incorrect concepts. The topics and the quality of drawings contribute to the variation in responses among students. No clear trend is detected in that regard. This research is setting the ground for future work to examine the knowledge base of traffic issues among Jordanian. The next step is to examine more artworks with control sets who have been subjected to various orientations prior to examination. Keywords: traffic safety, traffic artworks, traffic safety knowledge, traffic safety awareness, students’ traffic safety

The Relationship of English Language Scores on International Students\u27 Academic Success

International graduate students at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are not completing graduate programs at the same rate as domestic graduate students. One of the main differences in the admissions process for international graduate students compared to domestic students is the English language test requirement. The purpose of this study was twofold: to test if the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the (International English Language Testing System) IELTS scores have any statistically significant linear relationships to international graduate students\u27 academic success as defined by their cumulative grade point average (CGPA). Secondly, this study sought to understand how international graduate students feel about the TOEFL and/or IELTS, and whether or not they feel prepared for study with regards to their English language ability. Using mixed-methods research, data were retrieved from international graduate students who graduated from UCF during the 2012 – 2016 academic school years. Information from a total of 583 international graduate students was included in the retrieved data collection and data analyses. A survey was also utilized to assess current international graduate students\u27 perceptions of the English language test and requirements. A total of 235 students completed the survey. The study demonstrated that TOEFL and IELTS scores do not have any statistically significant linear relationship to international graduate students\u27 CGPA. Therefore, results from this research study did not indicate that the English language test scores have an impact on academic success for international graduate students who met the UCF admission requirements. The findings also demonstrate that international graduate students generally feel the scores are an accurate assessment of their English language abilities. However, many international graduate students expressed a desire for additional English language resources. The findings are beneficial in able to better understand whether or not English language test scores have any impact on international graduate students\u27 success, and to more accurately comprehend the international graduate students\u27 perspective regarding the language requirement

Prevalence and treatment patterns of psoriatic arthritis in the UK.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of PsA in The Health Improvement Network (THIN), a large population-based medical records database in the UK, to examine factors associated with prevalent PsA among patients with psoriasis and to describe the use of DMARDs in patients with PsA. METHODS: Two cohorts were derived from THIN to examine the prevalence of PsA in a cross-sectional study among all patients aged 18-90 years and among a subcohort of 4900 psoriasis patients aged 45-65 years. Prescription codes were used to describe therapies after the diagnosis of PsA. Associations for prevalent PsA among psoriasis patients were assessed using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Among 4.8 million patients in THIN between the ages of 18 and 90 years, 9045 patients had at least one medical code for PsA, giving an overall prevalence of 0.19% (95% CI 0.19%, 0.19%). Of those patients, 45.9% with PsA have been prescribed DMARDs. Among the 4064 confirmed psoriasis patients, the prevalence of PsA was 8.6% (95% CI 7.7%, 9.5%). PsA was more prevalent among patients with severe psoriasis [odds ratio (OR) 3.34; 95% CI 2.40, 4.65], obesity (OR 1.77; 95% CI 1.30, 2.41) and duration of psoriasis for ≥10 years (OR 7.42; 95% CI 3.86, 14.25) in the fully adjusted model. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of PsA in THIN is consistent with previous population-based estimates. Limitations include a definition of PsA based on a diagnostic code rather than Classification Criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR) criteria. Given the large population of PsA patients, THIN is an important resource for the study of PsA

The Relation Between Speed-Lane Choice and Road Accidents in Jordan

More than 96% of traffic casualties in Jordan take place on nonintersection roadway segments. Speed variation and improper lane change are considered to be some of the main factors contributing to these casualties. This research paper describes an attempt made to study speed-lane choice behavior in Jordan. Drivers’ behaviors with regard to their choice of speed and/or traveled lane are assessed. One-fifth of the observed drivers are speeding and one-forth of them changes lanes along the tested segment. Two models are developed and investigated to describe the relationships between speed and lane choice using binary and linear regression models. Results indicate that driving behavior varies with respect to roadway geometry and lane. Speed influences the driver choice of lane changing and his/her decision about changing lanes influences his/her speed choice

Analysis of the amount of lost fluids, some blood components and mineral salts in volleyball under hot weather conditions

The research objective was to study the amount of lost fluids, some blood components and mineral salts in volleyball players under hot weather conditions. The sample of the present study was composed of 12 volleyball players of Al-Sinaa Club (Baghdad, Iraq) in the 2022/2023 season. The variables analyzed in this study were: Heart rate before and after exercise, internal and external body temperature before and after exertion, potassium ion, sodium ion, calcium ion, and the amount of fluid lost (the player's weight) before and after the exercise. The tests were conducted at a temperature between 42-47 degrees Celsius. The maximum anaerobic exercise was performed with volleyball. The results showed that to play volleyball under hot weather conditions (42-47 degrees Celsius) significantly increased the following variables in volleyball players: heart rate, external body temperature, internal body temperature, sodium ion and calcium ion. However, potassium ion significantly decreased. Therefore, training in hot weather has positive physical repercussions. The authors recommend to train in different weather conditions

Experimental and Theoretical Study of Square Deep Drawing

This work aim to study the effect of process parameters used in square deep drawing operation such as ; die and punch profile radius, blank size, blank shape, on produced cup wall thickness, strain distribution across the wall of the drawn part, punch force, earing shape and height of the drawn cup. 3-D model of square cup (41.4mm by 41.4mm), and 0.7 mm thickness from Low carbon steel (AISI 1008), has been developed. Because of the symmetry in the specimen geometry, only one fourth portion of the model was needed to be analyzed using finite element method, a commercial available finite element program code (ANSYS 11), is used to perform the numerical simulation of the deep drawing operation, and the numerical results of earing shape were compared with the experimental work. In this work, three types of blank shape (circular, square, and octagonal), with different sizes, four types of punch profile radii of 3, 5, 6, and 7mm and three types of die profile radii of 3, 5, 7mm have been chosen to form a square cup. The results show that, excessive earing will appear in the square cup when square blank was used, due to excessive material in the corner and minimum material in the flat side, and when using octagonal blank which have an equivalent surface area to the square blank, the earing in the cup corner is reduced because of extraction of the excessive material from the corner of the blank. The best results were obtained from the circular blank, according to useful drawing height and earing