Wael Almetwaly

In the era of communication technology and its integration with the learning process, the role of the educational institutions has significantly changed, especially after the expansion of Internet use and the rise of what's currently known as “Internet-based learning environments”. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary for researchers to search for alternatives to the traditional pedagogical approaches of maps teaching so as to cultivate well-educated learners able to adapt to rapidly changing technology-enhanced learning. Hence, the aim of this study is to develop the learning process in the Geography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) departments in the faculties of Cairo University. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study in Egyptian universities and research associations that utilized GIS and open-source technology to use such a system in classroom pedagogical settings. For achieving this aim, GIS capabilities and a bunch of open-source technologies were utilized to build online maps archiving system that provides rapidly discover, preview, and retrieve digital maps of different types from multiple repositories through several query operations. This will facilitate the teaching process for both staff and students and will make it more interactive and safer. To ensure the efficiency of the designed system, it was tested by a set of tools (Checklist and Questionnaires). The findings of the study point to the proposed system as contributing in significant ways to developing the learning process, increasing students’ interaction with maps, and providing the necessary learning tools.

The nascent state of Saudi Arabia's tourism industry belies its potential to ascend to a prominent position as a global tourist destination. Najran is poised to become an emerging and promising tourist destination due to its cultural and historical significance, which is exemplified by a variety of historical sites. This study's primary objective is to demonstrate that geoscience, geoeducation, and geotourism can all benefit from geological heritage (geo-heritage). When selecting geotourism resources in the province of Najran, the visibility of geoheritage is a crucial factor to consider. Numerous geomorphological landscapes and geomorphosites have been discerned as focal points. This investigation employs Geographical Information System (GIS) methodology in conjunction with on-site field research in order to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the study region. The evaluation of potential geoarchaeological heritage resources significantly contributes to geoconservation and efficient management strategies. By categorizing the geoarchaeological sites in the study area, it was discovered that the region is rich in geodiversity, particularly in areas where archaeologically significant sites and valuable geological features coexist. A substantial body of geoheritage knowledge pertinent to the study area already exists, as the current research has yielded fundamental insights. However, it is evident that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia places a greater emphasis on other developmental initiatives, marginalizing the necessity of sustainable regional growth. It is concluded that the area's geoarchaeological heritage resources should play a role in the research agenda and sustainability plan. Therefore, additional research is required for the prudent and effective use of the available geoarchaeological heritage resources.

The increasing number of building and demolition projects results in huge amounts of construction and demolition wastes (CDWs) that are illegally dumped. However, these wastes must be disposed of in appropriate legal sites to protect the environment and human health. After reviewing the literature, no prior research examined optimal site selection for dumping or recycling CDW in an Egyptian city. Furthermore, the absence of field surveys did not offer a holistic understanding of the specific criteria used in the model for this region, nor did it permit an assessment of the suitability of existing dumpsites, thereby revealing certain limitations in the final results. In this regard, this research aims to apply a multi-criteria geographic information system (GIS)-based framework to identify an optimal site for CDW disposal in Kafr El Sheikh City. The criteria affecting the site selection are identified and categorized from prior literature, which are further refined using field surveys and focus group to evaluate their applicability in the context of an Egyptian city. After conducting questionnaire surveys, the trapezoidal interval type II fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is applied to compute the weights of the identified criteria from the perspective of each group of experts. The entropy-based aggregation approach is employed to identify the compromise weights taking into account the preferences of different groups. GIS is a powerful tool for geoprocessing and analyzing spatial big data. The result is a scenario map for the optimal site locations with varying suitability scales (i.e., excellent, very good, good, average, poor, and very poor). The proposed methodology provides what-if scenarios based on a selected set of criteria. According to the results of the multi-criteria decision analysis models, the suitability varies based on the weights of the criteria. For the equal-weighted criteria model, the excellent category covers 5.96% of the study area, increasing to 6.48% for the weighted criteria model. These areas primarily lie in the northeast direction. Conversely, the majority of the study area, 41.80% under equal-weighted criteria and 32.39% under weighted criteria, falls within the average and poor suitability categories, respectively. In general, the most suitable areas are located on the outskirts of the city, and the suitability decreases near the central business district. To bridge the gap between research findings and practical applications, a land use analysis employing satellite imagery is conducted to pinpoint suitable locations for CDW disposal. Existing CDW dumpsites predominantly fall within the range of poor to very good for the equal-weighted criteria model, while the weighted criteria model categorizes them into the poor (16.66%) and average (83.33%) categories. The findings demonstrated the applicability of the proposed framework for CDW disposal management and planning.